The Demon Eyes of Fairy Tail

by Michael Shadow

Itachi is given a second chance at life for an unknown reason. He is sent to Earthland where he ends up in the tower of heaven, meeting a certain little red haired girl that becomes his little sister. Join them on their adventures with the Fairy Tail guild. Rated M just in case. I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

55. A Lost Girl!

Chapter 54: A Lost Girl

The ground shook, as the giant footsteps of Brandish echoed through a small forest populated area. Brandish groaned from a mild feeling of annoyance, Natsu Dragneel's body was emitting such heat at the moment, it burnt Brandish's hand slightly as she carried Natsu, Lucy and Happy. "Here should be good enough." Brandish jumps down into a ditch, where the now tilted Grand Magic Games arena laid. Having been transported to this ditch after Irene's Universe One spell.

Unbeknownst to Brandish, following her through the trees was Dimaria. Looking somewhat perplexed at Brandish's actions. Dimaria didn't take Brandish for one to seek for a fitting arena to slaughter such worthless cretins.

Without any word of warning, Brandish dropped Natsu, Lucy and Happy harshly to the arena. "What the hell are you tryin' to do?" Natsu groaned, his eyes looking weak and sleepy. Sweat pouring down his face showing he was under a lot of pressure.

"Natsu…" Happy carefully whispered as he held his tiny paws onto Natsu's head.

"Brandish please, I don't want to fight you!" Lucy while worried about Natsu, still also saw the need to solve matters with Brandish before things escalated into a fight. A fight Lucy honestly doubted she could win.

Brandish looked down upon Lucy with a conflicted look in her eye, when suddenly Brandish shrank down into her regular size. "I feel the same…" Brandish admitted, she had no desire to fight against Lucy. "I… feel indebted to you in a sense, I suppose. That is why… I have chosen to make a special exception to you three."

"Special exception?" Happy shivered a bit from Brandish's tone of voice. As it somehow made the statement seem less appealing.

"I am loyal to the Alvarez Empire. I will not betray my homeland. So, as of now… I will spare you three and allow you to escape. As I go to slaughter the rest of your comrades." Brandish's eyes were cold as she showed them this act of mercy.

"Do you realize how that sounds to us?" Natsu gritted his teeth and fought through the pain he felt aching in his head, pushing himself up to stand and ready to fight.

"I do." Brandish coldly replied to Natsu's question.

"Then you should know… That we won't just stand by and let you do as you please!" Natsu rushed at Brandish while coating his entire body in fire. Brandish with a mere snap of her fingers, suddenly had the running Natsu collapse to the ground screaming in agony.

"Natsu!" Lucy ran to Natsu's side, tending to the collapsed screaming pyro. "What did you do?!" Lucy demanded answers as she looked to Brandish.

"Expanded the size of that tumor that keeps bothering him. Not enough to be lethal of course. But this way, you should have no problem dragging him away. You should escape while you still can, this war is about to reach its end." Brandish gave one final word of warning, and seeing how Lucy was trembling Brandish felt a sense of accomplishment.

However, Brandish soon looked with bewilderment as Lucy stood on her own two feet. Changing into one of her Celestial Star Dresses, her Taurus star dress mixed with Aries. "I won't run away… not while my comrades are still fighting. I would rather die alongside them, than abandon them! Like you are to the empire, I am too loyal to my guild to ever abandon it!"

Brandish clicked her tongue in frustration. "Don't get cocky just because your nation has gotten lucky enough to kill some of the Twelve. Grandpa August, lady Irene, Larcade… are all ten times stronger than most of the Twelve. August even rivals his majesty. There is no hope for any of you in this war. The end result was decided before the war even began."

"Just because you say those words, it's not going to discourage us. We won't know until we try after all!" Lucy argued, even though the sheer idea of there still being members of the Twelve that were ten times stronger than the likes of Brandish was frightening. Lucy knew they couldn't back down, not now.

"I know what will happen, and it will end with all your friends dead. Just take your man, and pet and escape to start a family and grow old and happy." Brandish by showing restraint and still using her words, showed clearly, she really didn't want to fight Lucy. But if push comes to shove, Brandish would put the empire before anything else. Zeref would create a new reality, one where people like Brandish's mother was still alive. That on its own, had earned the Emperor Brandish's undying loyalty.

"Don't underestimate Fairy Tail, we've been in hopeless situations before and prevailed." Lucy unlike Brandish, didn't dismiss the idea that they actually might lose this war. Lucy was well aware that it was possible they would all die in this fight. But she was aware the same applied for the opposing side.

"… You don't know the true power of his majesty and the Twelve."

"And you have no idea of the true terror that is Fairy Tail." Natsu spoke through gritted teeth, even with the immense pain surging through his head that had left him immobile, he still resisted.

"… Tch! You fools have made your decision then?" Brandish trembled, clutching her hand onto her robe. "So be it!" Brandish removed her robe, and unleashed the full blunt force of her magical aura that caused the very land to tremble.

"I got her Lucy… just sit back and, ugh!" Natsu as he tried to get up, collapsed onto his knees once again.

"No, Natsu… don't worry. This is just a disagreement between us girls. You just rest up for a real battle, yeah?" Lucy comfortingly surrounded Natsu's body with Aries's wool to sooth him.

"…" Natsu with a look of amazement stared upon Lucy's back. How used he was to have her gaze upon his back, now their positions were reversed. As of now, Natsu truly saw how strong Lucy had grown since he meet her all those years ago in Hargeon. The runaway rich girl wanting to join Fairy Tail, had grown into a splendid wizard. "Yeah, you got this, Lucy…" Natsu drifted off into sleep, trying to rest his aching head.

And with that, Lucy rushed straight at Brandish and dealt a heavy spin kick aimed at the Spriggan's head. Brandish casually blocked the kick with her right forearm, as she stared Lucy down. The sheer power of Lucy's kick resonated in a small shockwave that tore up the arena floor.

"I must admit, your strength in this form is formidable. However…" Brandish's arms suddenly ever so slightly bulked up with muscle. "Command T: Expansion." With ease Brandish threw Lucy off balance by pushing her leg aside, and dealt a swift kick to Lucy's abdomen. Lucy groaned as she gasped for air, having the wind knocked out of her. "My magic increases and decreases the mass of things. Even living things. Increasing my own physical strength, is as easy as turning on a light switch." Brandish punched the very ground beneath them, causing the entire Grand Magic Games arena to break in half and sink further into a growing crater in the earth itself.

"Lucy!" Happy cried out as he was carrying the unconscious body of Natsu onto the bleachers of the arena. Lucy sprung quickly back up, and held out a golden key.

"Open! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!" Lucy also changed into her Scorpio star dress, as the wild sand Scorpion spirit appeared at her side.

"We are~" Scorpio smiled wildly, especially as he saw Lucy mixing in her Star Dress Aquarius with his. "Let's get wild, Lucy!" Scorpio generated a giant whirlwind of sand, from his mechanical scorpion tail like a cannon. The giant sand whirlwind carried Brandish into the air, having the Spriggan fly hundreds of feet into the air. Lucy jumped into the sand whirlwind, and moved around like a mermaid through water. Lucy bounced around within the sand storm, attacking Brandish repeatedly.

Growing annoyed at this, Brandish held her hand out as she focused her magic onto Lucy. "Command T: Reduction!" Lucy shrank into the size of a little mouse, and was quickly grabbed by Brandish. "I will squeeze the very life out of you!" As the sand storm dispersed, Brandish held Lucy out pointed downwards towards the ground. As they were freefalling from hundred feet in the air, Brandish had an aim to squash Lucy against the pavement bellow.

"Star Dress: Cancer Form!" Lucy wielding scissor like blades slashed them into Brandish's hand forcing her to let Lucy go. Brandish hissed in pain, as her hand was cut. The tiny Lucy bounced around Brandish's body, and dealt tiny cuts to her body.

"Enough!" Brandish roared as she suddenly expanded Lucy back to her regular size. Lucy leapt over Brandish, now in her Aquarius star dress.

"Aqua Metria!" Unleashing a violent spiral of water into Brandish, Lucy created raging waves of water that washed Brandish away.

Brandish groaned within the raging waters, putting her focus into the surrounding clashing waves Brandish utilized her magic. "Command T: Reduction!" The water around her shrunk, and condensed itself into a vibrating sphere of power between Brandish's hands.

"She compressed my magic?!" Lucy gasped in shock as Brandish prepared to launch the blast.

"This is the difference in quality of our magic powers. Between you, and a Spriggan!" Brandish thrusted her arms with the water sphere forward. "Command T: Expansion!" The water was expanded into twice of its original size, and clashed into Lucy.

"Gah!" Lucy gasped as she crashed against a wall, the damage dealt to her had Scorpio vanish as a result. "I admit… you are far stronger than me. But who cares?!" Lucy stood up on her own feet, as she stared down the amazed looking Brandish. "I don't have the luxury of losing! The truth is, I am struggling mustering the will to fight you right now! But as conflicted as I am, it is something I have to do! Because I am going to protect Natsu no matter what!"

Before either combatant could make another move, the sound of footsteps approaching them came from the dark hallway of the arena, followed by the sound of slow clapping. "Okay, enough with this farce of a battle." It was Dimaria of the Spriggan Twelve.

"Mari…" Brandish seemed a bit on edge now that Dimaria was here.

"Another one showed up…" Happy trembled in fear, as Lucy was already in danger with just Brandish here.

"Farce? What are you talking about?" Lucy scowled at Dimaria, having heard she was the one responsible for killing Sherry and Ren.

"Ah, ignorance sure is bliss, isn't it?" Dimaria casually taunted Lucy with a knowing smirk. "Let me put it simply for you. Randi here had no intention of killing that man, or even you for that matter. Is that clear enough for you?" Dimaria snorted at the shocked reaction from Lucy, but then Dimaria turned to look at Brandish with a calm gentle looking smile. "Expanding the size of his tumor? Please, we both know you could have just expanded the size of his organs until he popped like a ballon. And the girl, you shrunk her yet you didn't just squash her underneath your heel like a bug."

As Dimaria began explaining the chain of events, it became obvious to Lucy. Dimaria continued to walk closer to Brandish, who seemed to be on the edge. "Now, the question is, why didn't you? I have a theory… you realized I was watching from afar and decided to put on that farce of a battle for show." Dimaria's smile fell into a frown as she glared at Brandish. "Do you take me for a fool? Randi… You should know by now, that I know how you fight and all your moves… After all, I only know…" Dimaria grabbed onto a knife she had in her pocket.

"Sto-!" Brandish began shouting but was cut off, as Dimaria appeared behind her with a bloodied knife and a gash wound forming on Brandish's shoulder causing blood to erupt from it. "-op!" Brandish finished as she collapsed onto her knees.

"Because I love you." Dimaria finished her sentence, with tears starting to come out from her eyes as if she was parting ways with a loved one. Dimaria's tears dried up, as she stood before Lucy, with a look of pure hatred replacing her feeling of sorrow.

'It happened in a flash…' Happy was trembling, the fur on his body was standing as a result of this feeling of terror.

"No!" Lucy called out in terror as she saw Brandish collapse.

"Tell me… are you the one who corrupted my precious Randi?" Dimaria stomped her heel onto Lucy's back, pinning her down. "I will make sure your death is slow and painful… you little bitch!" Dimaria snarled with tears running down her face.

"Lucy!" Happy in a desperate attempt, tried to fly in and maybe grab Dimaria to lift her off of Lucy. But to no avail, as in a flash he was shot out of the sky, as the knife Dimaria used to cut Brandish pierced Happy's wing nailing him to a wall.

"Happy!" Lucy cried out in terror as she was forced to watch her feline friend get nailed to a brick wall. Dimaria drew out a long sword, her blade remade after her battle with Beatrice.

"Now then… I need to make sure you stay awake long enough to feel every single cut. I think I will start with that face of yours. It's so timid, cute and weak it sickens me." Dimaria held her blade over Lucy's face, however before she could make a cut a flash of light erupted around them. Dimaria tilted her head backwards as a flashing glowing fist came at her in an upper cut. Backflipping away from this light, Dimaria stared with a bored expression as she faced the angered Leo the Lion.

"Loke…" Lucy mumbled upon the arrival of her strongest spirit.

Loke turned to Lucy with a gentle looking smile. "Yo, Lucy… seems you have gotten yourself into a heap of trouble." Loke greeted the celestial princess, and moved in a flash of light as he went to help Happy. Pulling the knife out from his wing. "Rest up little guy, you've earned it." Loke moved over to Natsu, placing Happy next to him.

"Took you long enough…" Natsu commented with a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, sorry… I had to cancel a few dates first." Loke jokingly replied as he vanished in a flash to Lucy's side.

"… And who might you be?" Dimaria questioned in annoyance at Loke's interference.

"I am the leader of the Zodiacs, the lion spirit. And the handsome sworn protector of our celestial princess, Lucy! Normally I tell beauties like you to call me Loke… but since you are such a bitch. To you, I am Leo the Lion."

"A Celestial Spirit?" Dimaria didn't care much for Loke's introduction, and instead looked on with an angered scowl. "A pathetic weak Celestial Wizard… is what ended up corrupting my Randi? Weak wizards, who cannot even fight for themselves. His majesty commands the Twelve with grace, and keeps us in line with his terrifying power. We know how strong his majesty is in a fight… But you, you are nothing more than a spoiled princess surrounded by guards, unable to fight on your own. Weakness like that disgusts me. A battlefield is meant to serve as a final tribute to those who will die fighting. It gives them a noble and a beautiful death. There is nothing more beautiful, nothing more gratifying… than dying to a superior opponent. Weak cowardly people like you… should be the first type of victims in this kind of battle. But by using others for their strength, you continue to survive like a disgusting cockroach." Dimaria went on a rant, her rage and hatred towards Lucy reaching its boiling point.

"There is nothing weak, about relying on one's comrades!" Loke had enough after hearing Dimaria's rant, and went on the offensive. "Besides, Lucy is not weak! Your narrow-minded view just can't comprehend her true strength!" Loke threw his fist back, and launched it forward in a series of showering golden energy blasts. "Regulus Gattling Impact!"

"*Click!" The sound of clicking teeth reached Loke's ears, as suddenly Dimaria appeared behind him slashing his back with her sword. "It is you, who seem to fail to comprehend what true strength is." Dimaria coldly addressed Loke, who looked with widened eyes as celestial energy leaked out from his body in the place of blood.

"Regulus Lucy Kick!" Lucy in her Leo Star Dress came up from behind and kicked Dimaria in the back of her head. Yet the Spriggan hardly even flinched. "Gattling Kick!" Lucy continued with several energy powered kicks to Dimaria, who resorted to effortlessly blocking off these attacks with her sword.

"Weak…" Dimaria snarled in disgust, when suddenly Lucy's attire changed. Mixing her Leo Star Dress, with her Taurus form as well. With the added strength, Lucy's kicks suddenly made Dimaria budge and bend the knee. Dimaria had a moment of disbelief come over her, but quickly recovered as she went on the offensive and slashed her blade at Lucy. Although Dimaria's sword came into contact, with the battle axe of the Bull Spirit Taurus.

Dimaria was actually sent flying by the heavy strike of Taurus' axe and Lucy's heavy powered kicks. With a stoic bored expression on her face, Dimaria dug her heels into the arena and skidded backwards. 'No Celestial Wizard… has ever fought like that before.' Dimaria tilted her head in slight curiosity. As Lucy fully came to view, standing tall with a trail of blood coming from a cut on her forehead caused by Dimaria's blade. 'Such a rugged look… not befitting of a princess. Her eyes… they are just like theirs…' Dimaria reflected as the images of first Linda, then Kagura, Wendy, Sherria and finally Beatrice came to mind. 'Eyes befitting of a wizard. Is this what got to Randi?'

"Lucy-san! Are you okay! Your beautiful face!" Taurus went into full panic at seeing the blood trail going down Lucy's face.

"I'm fine, Taurus… just a scratch, nothing new." Lucy declared, and as such Loke smiled with pride as he stood by Lucy's side. "Loke, have you healed yet?"

"Yeah, I'm good…" Loke removed his jacket, standing there in his white shirt. Loosening his tie, and removing his glasses to reveal his glowing eyes. Loke's hair turned more wildly like a lion's mane. "I'm fired up now…" Using Natsu's catchphrase, they stood ready to face off the Warrior Queen.

"…" Dimaria remained silent, still unsure of what to make of Lucy now. They certainly treated Lucy as if she was a princess, but she sure didn't act like one. Either all, to Dimaria, Lucy was nothing more than a boring nuisance. "Worm…" Dimaria spat out that word with venom in her voice, she dragged her heel back. 'I won't even need Chronos' power to take her head!' Dimaria sprang into action, moving at blinding speed as she thrusted her blade forward at Lucy.

"Mooo!" Taurus intervened and clashed his battle axe with the blade. "It is my duty to protect Lucy and her nice body! Feel the strength of the raging bull!" Taurus put all of his upper body strength into his swing, yet Dimaria looked only with a bored cold glare.

Dimaria actually kicked the arms of the bull spirit, pushing his muscular arms up high into the air leaving his body open for attacks. Then at blinding speed Dimaria slashed Taurus across the torso. Taurus winched in pain, spirit energy leaking out in the place of blood. Loke quickly jumped in to help his companion, as she slammed the back of his hand against the side of Dimaria's blade.

Dimaria glared at Loke, as suddenly the ground beneath them began to sink. The golden coated fist of Loke acting as a sturdy shield. Loke countered Dimaria with a backhand to the face, and bent his knee to go for a low attack. "Regulus Gattling Impact!" Driving his fist into Dimaria's gut, Loke unleashed a series of attacks into the Spriggan.

"Ho…." Dimaria however, hummed with a slight hint of intrigue in her tone. Reaching her hand out, she caught a hold of Loke's wrist stopping his attack in its tracks. "That was a nice punch." Dimaria complimented and then drove her own fist square into Loke's face, breaking his nose upon impact.

Loke cried out as blood poured out from his nose and he fell backwards. "Loke!" Lucy rushed in to intercept Dimaria who was going in for the killing blow. Twirling her body around, Lucy dealt a series of kicks aimed at Dimaria's head. Dimaria easily blocked off the kicks with her left forearm. 'Hmm, she fights directly… She is a rare type of Celestial Wizards it would seem. Still, too weak!' Grabbing onto Lucy's ankle, Dimaria swung Lucy around like a ragdoll, as she body slammed the Celestial Princess to the ground causing it to dent with small craters. "I will give you some small credit. Against a weakling like Randi's former subordinate Marin. You would have won, quite easily. But against one of the Twelve… or any of the stronger members of the Beta team, you would die rather easily." Dimaria stepped onto Lucy's stomach, pinning her down. "Lucky you, I will not give you an easy death. Consider this payback for mentally defeating my precious Randi." Dimaria slowly dragged her blade down Lucy's cheek, leaving a thin small cut.

Lucy grimaced a bit in pain, but she continued to glare at Dimaria, challenging her views and ideals. "Brandish is her own person…! She is not whatever your psychotic mind has made her out to be! Stop acting like you know who Brandish is, when it is clear you don't!"

Dimaria's eyes widened, an unbelievable amount of anger swelling in her eyes. "I don't know who Randi is? What the hell do you know?! You only met her a few days ago! I have known her for years! She is just like me! Broken by this world! We both lost everything! We both were supposed to be each other's everything! It is you who knows nothing!" Dimaria actually started shedding tears, as she raised her sword in anger to strike at Lucy. However, as she swung her blade suddenly shrank to the size of a toothpick.

Dimaria with a confused expression, looked to the side to see Brandish on her knees with her hand directed at Dimaria's sword. "Enough, Mari… please. Just stop." The slash wound on Brandish's shoulder had healed, as she had shrunken the wound.

Loke rushed in from the side with Taurus and they both charged at Dimaria to knock her off Lucy. Dimaria was successfully knocked off as Taurus shoulder charged into her. Taurus standing before them like a wall, while Loke tended to Lucy. "Are you okay, Lucy?" Loke checked the back of Lucy's head, but luckily with the durability that followed from Taurus' star dress, there was no serious head injuries despite Lucy having been slammed to the ground.

"I'm fine…" Lucy smiled with gratitude at Loke.

Dimaria glared at her shrunken blade, and with a hurt look she glanced over at Brandish. "Why, Randi? Why are you betraying me?"

"I'm not betraying you… I… lo-" Brandish stopped herself from saying anything more, recalling all the times they had used each other's bodies to relieve pent up emotions. And how Brandish always said they were nothing more than methods to relieve stress. After her mother's death, the first ones Brandish grew to care about. Was her adoptive grandfather and teacher August, and her best friend Dimaria. When had those feelings evolved to something more? Had Brandish noticed herself long ago, but decided to keep silent about it as to not get hurt again as when she lost her beloved mother. "Lucy… her mother and mine were friends. I can't… dishonor my mother by killing Lucy. I will not betray the empire, my home… But, I can't let you kill Lucy."

Dimaria looked with a broken distraught expression, as she shed tears. "Randi… Don't worry…" Dimaria clicked her teeth as suddenly she appeared before Brandish with her dagger stabbed into Brandish's gut. "I will save you from your struggles. I will take away the source of your inner conflict." Dimaria's sword regrew in size, as Brandish had to focus on her own wound instead.

"Brandish!" Lucy gasped in disbelief as she saw Brandish collapse to the ground. Before Lucy could react, Dimaria appeared before her and Loke in a flash, having cut down Taurus who began fading away back to the Celestial Spirit world.

"Dishonor her mother? If you cared what your dead mother might think, would you really have annihilated entire nations and armies on your own?" Dimaria had a look of sympathy as she looked at the bleeding Brandish. But as she turned to look at Lucy, that sympathy turned into a look of anger. "It's all your fault… you've corrupted Randi's mind and made her go soft." Dimaria moved to deal a killing blow to Lucy, who was losing her Taurus star dress. Suddenly an identical copy of Dimaria's blade clashed with her own. Dimaria looked with a raised brow, as she stared into the eyes of an identical copy of herself.

"Gemini!" Lucy had called forth Gemini, the spirits having copied Dimaria's body and strength. Lucy's star dress upgraded into a mix of Gemini and Loke's. With the same level of strength, Dimaria and Gemini were locked in a standoff. The sheer power emitting from them causing the ground bellow to tremble and rocks beginning to float around them.

"Ho?" Dimaria studied the face of her copy, admiring how accurate this Spirit was. "Heh, it is almost like looking into a mirror… with one minor exception." Dimaria smirked as Gemini ended up on the backfoot of their struggle. "That look of weakness in this spirit's eyes is too evident." Dimaria giggled as she booted Gemini back with a powerful kick to the gut.

"Piri… piri…" Gemini cried in pain, the spirit groaning and unable to stand on its feet.

"Pathetic." Dimaria clicked her teeth to freeze time and rid the battlefield of these embarrassments. As Dimaria moved in with her blade ready to deal the killing blow, Loke moved in and swiftly dealt an upper cut punch into Dimaria's chin sending her flying into the stands of the arena in a loud crash.

"Good work, Gemini…" Loke complimented his fellow spirit, as they were being tended to by Lucy. "But stay focused, this way we can at least fight against her time stopping ability." Loke readied himself, his hands emitting the golden glow of Regulus as he went into a battle stance with his arms held up.

Gemini having copied Dimaria's body and ability, was able to cancel out Dimaria's time freezing ability, enabling Loke to deal a swift counterattack. Dimaria quickly caught onto this, as she laid on top of broken stone made seats, Dimaria had a bored look on her face as she casually wiped her fingers across her bloodied busted lip, Loke's upper cut having made Dimaria bite into her own lip. "Tsk, annoying… mouth sores have to be my least favorite type of wound." Dimaria stood up from the broken seats, pieces of debris rolling off her body, with the rocks bouncing down the seats of the stands. Cracking her sore neck a little, Dimaria groaned and did some light stretches allowing a few light moans escape as she cracked her back. "I mean, you just can't help put touch it with your tongue, and that only causes it to sting even more. Not to mention it is a bitch to eat food… I'm going to have to ask Randi for a kiss to make it better~" Dimaria lightly purred at the thought.

Lucy and Loke both glared at the Warrior Queen, she was clearly not viewing them as a threat judging by her nonchalant act. She was just mocking them. "Hoo!" Dimaria lightly jumped up and down, whilst doing stretches with her arms and neck. "Now then…" With an exhale Dimaria jumped from the stands and shot forth like a bullet towards Lucy. Dimaria's glare was as cold as ice, and filled with killing intent as she was armed with her blade.

Two pairs of scissors suddenly clamped themselves down onto Dimaria's blade, keeping her in place, the spirit Cancer held Dimaria back from striking Lucy. "You okay? Ebi…" Cancer groaned as he held Dimaria back by a hair.

"Yeah, thanks Cancer…" Lucy took a small leap back, two more spirits appearing as the ground underneath Dimaria got dug up. As the pink haired maid Virgo came spinning out and clashing into Dimaria's gut, hoisting her high up into the air.

"You must be punished, for threatening the princess!" Virgo glared at Dimaria, as her intense spinning created a tall whirlwind.

"Keep her still lady Virgo!" Sagittarius stood at standby with his bow and arrow drawn, and Lucy with her Star Dress Sagittarius mimicking her spirit with her own bow. "Star Shot!" Master and Spirit together unleashed a series of golden arrows flying towards Dimaria.

'How many spirits did she summon at once?' Dimaria was a bit taken aback, as Lucy currently had five spirits on the battlefield. And yet, Lucy still had a great deal of magic power left. Dimaria groaned as the arrows came soaring in and exploded within the whirlwind created by Virgo.

"Wohoooo!" We are!" Scorpio appeared and added a giant sand buster to the whirlwind blocking out Dimaria's field of vision.

'Now six?!' As the golden arrows continued to explode into the whirlwind, it turned into a giant fire twister. 'No, she isn't summoning them, they are coming out on their own accord?' Dimaria was quick to catch on, with the lack of magic power being drained from Lucy made it evident. Lucy focused most of her magic power to keep her Star Dresses up and going. While most of the Spirits came to her aid using their own magic power to enter the mortal realm.

Appearing within the flaming twister, was now both Taurus and the goat spirit Capricorn. "This the one, Taurus?" Capricorn had Dimaria's front, while Taurus stood ready with his battle axe from the back.

"Moo! Yes it was her!" The bull spirit had warned the other Zodiac Spirits of Lucy that their friend was in danger, and all had come running.

"Very well…" Capricorn using his martial arts skills dealt several drop kicks into Dimaria's torso. Each hit was strong enough to break through bone, but Capricorn quickly made a gut-wrenching discovery. None of their attacks had any effect on Dimaria. "Taurus, wait!" Capricorn warned, but failed to do so as Taurus when swinging his axe down was shocked to see Dimaria catch it by the blade with one hand. "She's not taking any damage… the wounds on her body heal as we deal them!" Quickly both Taurus and Capricorn had the wind knocked out of them, and the giant fire tornado was torn apart through the brute force of Dimaria's aura.

"No way!" Lucy gasped as she saw waves of Dimaria's aura tear apart the top of the arena, and was pushing away all of her spirits. All except for one, a giant pink fluff wall of wool formed itself around Lucy and Aries.

"Thanks, Aries…" Lucy let out a sigh of relief. Lucy relief turned into a gasp of fright, as the bodies of her Celestial Spirits came falling down stacked on top of each other. First Taurus followed by Capricorn, Sagittarius, Virgo, Cancer, Scorpio and Gemini. All of them knocked out and unconscious, their bodies bruised and fading away in a bright light.

"Oh no…" Aries gasped in fright as the body of Loke smacked down to the arena floor next to her, although Loke was still conscious. "Loke!" Aries quickly ran to help Loke stand up.

"Damn bitch…" Loke groaned as he glared up at Dimaria standing atop the referee booth. She casually whistled whilst tapping her sword against her shoulder.

"Ho? You certainly are more durable than the others. I suppose that is why you are the leader of the Zodiacs…" Dimaria giggled as she jumped down before them. "Had to deal with that troublesome copycat first, but once that was done the rest was relatively easy."

"All of them… in the blink of an eye…" Lucy's eyes were wide like dinner plates, a look of horror stricken across her face.

"Ah, I missed one~" Dimaria giggled as she vanished from sight with a click of her teeth, and in the next she appeared behind Aries and pierced her sword through the ram spirit's torso.

"I-I'm sorry… Lucy." Aries spoke through muffled cries, as she vanished back into the Celestial Spirit realm.

"Aries!" Lucy and Loke both cried out for their friend.

"Now then, is that it? If you don't have any other powerful spirits, maybe I should just kill you and be done with it. Of course, I haven't forgotten your corruption of Randi… so before you die, I will make you beg for it." Dimaria looked with a sinister grin on her face as she slowly walked towards Lucy. Lightly teasing Lucy by clicking her teeth together for fun without freezing time. Dimaria giggled, as which each click, she saw Lucy flinch.

"Lion's Brilliance!" Loke unleashed a bright light from his very being, as bright as the sun itself the light stung Dimaria's eyes blinding her for a short moment. "Lucy…" Loke spoke in a serious tone, his eyes steeled and prepared for what was to come next following his next words. "You have to summon the Celestial Spirit King. And you need to use my key." Loke threw his arm back, unleashing a series of Regulus Gattling Impacts to bombard into Dimaria whilst she was stunned from the bright light.

"What…?" Lucy flinched, as the painful memory of Aquarius' death during the battle against Tartaros flashed through her mind. "But, I would need to…" Lucy shakingly mumbled, as she looked to her Zodiac keys. "Y-You would…" Lucy almost couldn't bring herself to say it, as it would only make it all seem so real.

"Yeah…" Loke cracked a smile from the corner of his mouth. "I know. I will join Aquarius in the night sky."

"N-No… Leo, I won't do it! I can't do it! Not again!" Lucy cried, falling onto her knees while hugging onto Loke's key for dear life.

"Yes, you can! Lucy, you are so much stronger than you think you are! Besides, you have to! We have no other chance of beating this bitch otherwise!" Loke seeing Dimaria beginning to move in the smoke left by his gatling impact, lifted his arms into the air. "Lion's Roar!" A giant pillar of light exploded around Dimaria, continuing to restrain her. "The Celestial Spirit King is the only Spirit that is strong enough to fight her! Lucy! I know you don't want to sacrifice any of us! But I want to give my life for you, I am sacrificing myself to save you, Natsu, Happy and everyone else! That is my duty!" Loke groaned, as in the back of his mind he remembered his former contractor, Karen. Even though she had her bad moments, Loke was still supposed to be her protector as well. And he failed, even if it was to protect his friend.

"No! I won't! We can beat her! I will fuse my Aquarius Star Dress with yours! No, with Gemini! I can neutralize her ability!" Lucy was shedding tears, as her hands were shaking whilst holding onto Loke's key.

"We tried that with Gemini… it didn't work! Lucy, I wouldn't be suggesting this, if there was no other way! If this battle continues! You will die! Natsu will die! Happy will die! And many more, will die as a result! You need to do this, break my key! And summon the Celestial Spirit King!" Loke pleaded, grinding his teeth as he tried to stand firm and keep Dimaria restrained to the best of his abilities, but to his surprise Dimaria stopped fighting back.

Happy realizing that Loke was about to sacrifice himself, gasped and quickly tried to shout for Natsu to wake up. "Natsu! You have to wake up! Loke is! Loke is going to die!"

"Loke…?" Natsu shakingly lifted himself up, his head aching like crazy and his vision was blurry. "Don't worry bud… I will… save… Ugh!" Natsu collapsed as his head was pulsating a strong electric surge of pain through his body.

"Ho? Is that so?" Dimaria gleamed with a grin through the pillar of destructive light. "Sounds interesting… Let me help you out with that." Dimaria said as she clicked her teeth, and time froze.

The sound of the click had Lucy flinch, feeling nothing in her grip anymore she looked down to see Loke's key missing. "Wh-Where did it-" Lucy froze as she saw the answer to her question standing in front of her. Dimaria had Loke's key.

"Such a brave spirit… I will honor your request and grant you a noble death." Dimaria gripped firmly onto the key.

"No! Don't!" Lucy cried, as to her knowledge the Celestial Spirit King could only be summoned should the contractor break the key. If Dimaria did it, Loke would die for nothing.

With no effort, Dimaria snapped the golden key in half. "Oops." She taunted Lucy as she dropped the broken key to the floor.

"NO!" Lucy let out blood curling scream as she ran for the broken key, holding onto the pieces tightly. Lucy looked back to Loke, seeing the Lion spirit frozen in place with wide eyes as his body began falling apart in a bright light. "Leo…" Lucy picked herself up, and ran towards her friend.

"Lucy…" Loke smiled warmly as he collapsed into Lucy's arms. "I'm sorry… I can't even die right." Loke weakly chuckled, his body beginning to lose its brilliant glow as he was phasing in and out from existence.

"Leo! Leo! No, please stay with me! Stay open! Gate of the Lion! Don't close!" Lucy tried pouring her magic power into Loke to keep him here.

On her knees watching in horror, Brandish felt the pain in Lucy's voice and shakingly looked over at Dimaria. Visibly Dimaria was twitching and flinching, Dimaria despite her crazed grin looked even mournful but not for Lucy and Loke. Lucy's cries of anguish were bringing out repressed memories of Dimaria's own childhood. "What have you done… Mari?" Brandish mumbled.

"Well, where is this Celestial Spirit King?" Dimaria asked as she witnessed Loke beginning to vanish in Lucy's arms, so snapping that key did indeed kill the Celestial Spirit.

Before Loke could even respond, thunder roared in the heavens. A columbous clouds began forming, a storm was coming. The blackened sky let out a ferocious roar of anger, as a giant foot came crashing down from the clouds. Loke seeing this was bewildered, then again, this was the first time someone besides the contractor of the Celestial Spirit broke a key. "Heh, it worked… old man, must have found a loophole…" Loke began laughing, as it turns out his sacrifice was not in vain after all.

"Leo! Leo!" Lucy tried to shake Loke up, trying to make him stand up on his own. Shakingly Loke lifted his head, and his gaze locked with Lucy's. His warm eyes gazed into the teary eyes of Lucy.

"I have no regrets…" Loke put his hand around the back of Lucy's head, and in a surprise, Loke move pulled Lucy in for a parting kiss. Lucy was stun locked, she gazed into Loke's eyes as he pulled away. He was satisfied, he had been able to protect his partner, unlike he had done with Karen. "Thank you… Lucy, for saving me from a life of regrets. Thank you, for letting me be by your side… it made me unbelievably happy." Loke smiled as his very being phased out from the fabric of existence.

As Loke vanished from her arms, Lucy collapsed to her knees, and began weeping into the palm of her hands. The clouds parted away, revealing the giant form of the Celestial Spirit King. His eyes burning with intense fury, the King was beyond livid at what had transpired. "Host of Chronos…" The King spoke with his booming voice that echoed through the valley. "You dare reduce my treasured friend to such a state?" His mighty hand trembled with anger as he gripped onto the handle of his galaxy blade.

Dimaria's eyes glowed golden, as the spirit of Chronos for a brief moment took over. "Celestial Spirit King… the God of the Stars. You lesser God, you dare stand against me? First Athena and her host, and now you?" Chronos's voice came from Dimaria's lips, and it was filled with the tone of arrogance.

"For my treasured friend… I shall stand against all. Be thy human, Dragon, Demon or a God. For my friend, and to honor my old friend, Leo the Lion and his sacrifice! I shall vanquish you with all my might!" The Celestial Spirit King drew out his sword, as he pulled his mighty blade out it generated waves of destructive energy. The color of the energy resembled the night sky filled with its various stars, and as the King lifted the blade it was as if he pulled the veil that was the night sky over the heavens. The sheer force of the blade being drawn, slashed down several nearby mountain tops, and parted away the clouds.

"God Soul: Chronos!" Dimaria had a wide crazed smile on her face, as a giant golden pillar of divine energy erupted around her. Piercing beyond the heavens, with its glowing shine visible from space.

Jumping out from the glowing pillar of light, Dimaria leapt up to the Celestial Spirit King's face. Throwing her arm back, Dimaria generated a huge amount of divine energy forcing it into the shape of a giant fist to smash into the King's face.

The Celestial Spirit King grunted, as he caught the giant golden fist of Dimaria. Easily tossing her aside, the Celestial Spirit King's eyes glowed as he fired blue eye lasers from his gem like eyes. The eye beams hit Dimaria like a freight train, and smashed her into the arena floor.

A giant black scorched stain was left on the arena floor, and in the center of it laid Dimaria. "Hehe, that stung~" Dimaria giggled, her body emitting smoke as Chronos' power reversed the damage Dimaria had suffered back in time. The Celestial Spirit King didn't let up, and rushed in with a second attack as he aimed to stab Dimaria with his giant sword. Despite the gigantic size of the King and his sword, Dimaria clashed her blade against the tip of the giant sword and was actually able to hold it back. "What's the rush, old man? We're just getting started." Dimaria giggled.

"Meteor Blade!" A bright blue celestial fire encased the blade, empowering it to new heights. The scorching flames burning Dimaria's skin. With a click of her teeth, time was frozen and Dimaria leapt out of the way. Only to quickly discover, the Celestial Spirit King was not frozen in time.

"Seriously? Just how many opponents am I going to face that are immune?" Dimaria lightly joked, still not looking very troubled by this ordeal even as she took a giant leap into the heavens. With no gravity to weigh her down in this time frozen realm, Dimaria floated above the Celestial Spirit King.

"I am the King of Celestials… I reside and rule over a realm outside of your comprehension of time and space. Time related powers hold no effect on me!" The Celestial Spirit King continued with a relentless wave of celestial fire, slashing waves of the fire into the sky to cut down Dimaria.

Dimaria casually took backflips and summersaults mid air to dodge and avoid the fire slashes. "Even so, you are out of your own element. This, is my world." Dimaria raised her sword, generating a giant meteor sized sphere of energy. With a downward swing, Dimaria flung the energy sphere down onto the King of the Celestials.

"Hn!" With a mighty grunt, the King slashed the incoming meteor sized sphere in two with his blade. 'The host of Chronos is correct… in this state, with my own power I forced myself into the mortal realm as I felt Loke's key snap. My powers are even more limited than the last time I was summoned as a result. But, all hope is not lost, there be one way to take down the host of Chronos.' The Celestial Spirit King's power in the mortal realm was limited due to the method he arrived in. Knowing he couldn't beat Dimaria in his current state, the King had thought of a counter plan against Dimaria. And the key to this plan, was Lucy. Reaching down, the Celestial Spirit King grabbed onto the time frozen mourning Lucy.

"Huh? What's going on?" Lucy gasped as she was suddenly able to move in the time frozen realm whilst in the hand of the Celestial Spirit King. Lucy nearly felt like screaming as she saw how high up she was. Lucy managed to hold her scream, as she witnessed the Celestial Spirit King holding off Dimaria.

"My dear friend… I apologize, but alone I cannot defeat the host of Chronos." The Celestial Spirit King made it blunt, in his current state his power was little more than half of his true power.

"What?! Are you serious?!" Lucy looked in shock, was Dimaria really that powerful?

"Fret not, there be one way to defeat her. But I require your assistance." The Celestial Spirit King with a swing of his blade generated a giant wall of celestial fire to block off Dimaria's relentless hail rain of energy blasts. "We need to form an official contract."

"Huh? A contract? But you don't have a key…" Lucy was a bit confused, according to Aquarius the Celestial Spirit King had no key, thus forming a contract with him should be impossible.

"A contract with me, is different from that of Celestial keys. It shares a similar method to your Star Dress forms. It requires a righteous Celestial wizard… only one Celestial Wizard has attempted this contract in the past, but failed. That person was your own ancestor, Anna Heartfilia." The Celestial Spirit King revealed, which had Lucy intrigued.

"But… if she failed, how can I…" Lucy gulped down a nervous feeling in her throat.

"Because Lucy, you are strong. Loke knew so. Aquarius believed so as well. And so do I." The King warmly smiled down at his friend, even as Dimaria breached through his defenses and lodged her blade into the King's shoulder. With a grunt, and a heave The Celestial Spirit King shook Dimaria off.

The mad cackling Warrior Queen stared up at the Celestial Spirit King. "Her? Strong? She's weak, old man… Whatever ritual you are planning, will fail because she is weak. Normally I would stand by and let my opponent power themselves up to their maximum level. But in this case, she's just too weak so why waste my time?"

"My dearest Lucy, has more strength than you will ever know. Host of Chronos. Her love for her friends, and us Celestial Spirits, is her true strength. Which is why, I am confident she will not fail." The Celestial Spirit King's body began glowing blue, as if he was disappearing back into the Celestial world. But no, the blue particles of his very being all gathered towards Lucy. "My very spirit, shall fuse into her. And grant her access to my full power as I were to wield in the Celestial Spirit world. Power of the stars, the cosmos, she will have it all."

"Wait, mustache face… Celestial Spirit King, what will happen to you?" Lucy held her hands tightly onto the Celestial Spirit King's thumb as he held her in his hand. Her gaze filled with concern that the King would give his life, as Loke did.

"Smile, old friend. There is no need to fret. As I said, it uses the same concept of your Star Dresses. You will be able to simply access my power, as if you were to summon a normal spirit. Only, I would not physically fight by your side. Instead, my power would manifest within you." The Celestial Spirit King's voice carried on, even as his entire gigantic form faded away into the blue celestial light. The light turning into a strong shade of gold, as it all fused into Lucy's body. "Just remember your love, old friend. And everything shall be fine."

The Celestial Spirit King's final word of advice, had Lucy reflect on all the important people in her life. Her mother, her father, Aquarius, Loke, her friends in Fairy Tail, Makarov, Mirajane, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Happy, Itachi, and most of all the one who brought her home to Fairy Tail in the first place, Natsu. Lucy's thoughts calmed her mind and spirit, freely allowing the energy of the Celestial Spirit King to flow into her. Lucy felt relaxed, she felt warm like she was being embraced from all her loved ones in a group hug. Lucy opened her eyes, and her usual brown eyes changed into a golden celestial glow.

Dimaria looked in awe and in disbelief, as the glow emitting from Lucy carried the Celestial Spirit King's power, and forcibly made time move again. Natsu, Happy and Brandish were all moving again, and in awe they collectively looked at the giant pillar of Celestial light surrounding Lucy.

As the power and the very spirit of the Celestial Spirit King fused into Lucy's very being. Her body glowed in the divine celestial light. Lucy's hair flew upwards, when suddenly a ribbon with a star ornament formed to hold her hair into an upwards ponytail. Her body was then cladded by pieces of armor. Armored shoulder pads, gauntlets and boots. All decorated with star emblems. A light green sash went down from her neck and all the way to her knees, decorated in various celestial symbols and a giant star near her chest area. Lucy was dressed in a long dark blue trench coat, with the lower half open to expose her legs that were covered in black leggings. Two pairs of belts were strapped to each of her thighs. A belt formed itself around her waist and over her light green sash, carrying a star symbol at the front. Another set of belts formed itself underneath Lucy's chest.

Lucy held her dominant hand out, as forming out of light within the grasp of her armored gauntlet was the sword of the Celestial Spirit King, shrunken itself down enough to fit into Lucy's hand. "Celestial Spirit King Dress!" The radiant aura of the Celestial Spirit King cloaked Lucy's body. Lucy's eyes shined golden as she glared at Dimaria.

"L-Lucy…" Natsu and Happy both gasped in awe, the way Lucy carried herself, the pure radiating power from her very being, not to mention that scary look in her eye. Really made Lucy look more like Erza.

Brandish like Natsu and Happy was awestruck, clutching onto her wound she was staring in disbelief at what she was sensing. 'What is going on here? Lucy's power… just skyrocketed.'

Lucy took a deep breath, and then proceeded to empty her lungs in a long exhale. Vanishing in a flash, Lucy reappeared right before Dimaria. The mad grinning Warrior Queen welcomed the challenge and swung her blade carrying the aura of Chronos to clash with Lucy's Celestial Spirit King sword. The sheer vibrating power of their clash, had the entire land vibrate and tremble. Flowers bloomed all over the Grand Magic Games arena, and trees sprung to life. The arena looked like it had been lost and forgotten to time, with how overgrown and abandoned it looked now. Lucy with her eyes peered onto her true enemy, swung and clashed her blade at a rapid pace against Dimaria's sword.

Lucy and Dimaria both moved their blades as mere flashes, their strikes appearing in more than a thousand places all at once. "N-Natsu… what just happened?" Happy questioned as he couldn't keep up with their fast-paced strikes.

"I-I think… Lucy just surpassed Erza and Mirajane…" Natsu was indeed correct, as of this very moment. Lucy had surpassed two of Fairy Tail's strongest women.

Dimaria was now cackling with a maniacal laughter as she held off Lucy's relentless attacks. "Now that is more like it sweetheart!" Dimaria's body exploded with a pillar of pure energy, and she stepped out of it in her God Soul: Chronos form. Dimaria fired off laser beams from her very fingertips as she swung her arm, she dragged the lasers with her and cut through the arena as well as surrounding vegetation.

Lucy for a moment, was buried underneath the rubble of the collapsing arena as well as falling trees. But then in a flash, Lucy appeared unharmed behind Dimaria. "Meteor Blade!" With a powerful swing of her longsword, Lucy generated an intense destructive blue aura that reached for Dimaria. Dimaria quickly clicked her teeth, and time was frozen. However, as time froze, the sheer destructive force of Lucy's attack slashed and carved itself through Dimaria's time space.

Dimaria gasped as her body was suddenly slashed with a thin cut across her torso. 'She… broke through into my world? No, it's the same as that Beatrice… she's using the power of the Celestial Spirit King to be able to fight within my time free world. She can move… when time is frozen. Because the Celestial Spirit King is not bound by the laws of time…'

Dimaria backflipped as Lucy's attack continued to tear apart her time frozen realm. Time for a brief instant began moving again. Dimaria quickly realizing she might end up being in the same predicament as she was against Beatrice. "Too bad, sweetheart. I have been in this position before~"

Dimaria tossed her sword aside, and held her hands together. Generating an intense amount of power from Chronos between the palm of her hands. The vibrating power of the Primordial God was unleashed in a powerful blast that scattered across the entire globe. It wasn't an offensive attack, no, as suddenly the very Earth itself stopped rotating. Time had frozen across the entire world. "This… is my trump card… Age Seal: Chronos Dead Lock Zone." Outside of the atmosphere, a giant aura of energy had taken form into a giant titan humanoid shape of energy, and placed two of its fingers onto the top and bottom side of the globe to prevent it from rotating. 'It consumes a lot of power just to keep this thing going… but this way, time won't move even if we make contact so no one will be able to help her. And she can't break out of here either. I have total control here. This, is my world!'

Lucy looking around noticed that time was once again frozen. Brandish, Natsu and Happy were all frozen in place. And the birds flying in the sky remained frozen in the air. Dimaria began levitating before her, as there was no gravity to keep her down. Dimaria generated volts of electricity and divine energy around herself. "A mere Queen of Celestial Spirits… Prepare to tangle with a God of Time." The taunting voice of Chronos spoke through Dimaria.

"… I'm fired up now." Lucy spoke through gritted teeth, carrying the pain of Loke's passing within her heart, Lucy channeled that pain into strength. As her longsword emitted a flaming blue aura.

However, even if time was frozen, it wasn't so for everyone. Across the continent of Ishgar several individuals were still moving. One such individual was Zeref himself. "Dimaria's Dead Lock spell, eh? Someone must really have pushed her over the edge. Now only those powerful enough to resist, and those without time themselves like me and Mavis… will be able to move."

Elsewhere, the Magic King August stood amongst a field of frozen soldiers. Mages from Ishgar, he immediately knew what was going on. "Dimaria, huh? Heh, well… suppose we should be thankful for such a golden opportunity." August unleashed the blunt force of his aura, and it instantly erased a whole platoon of mages around him. "Though, not that I needed it in the first place."

Walking on the frozen battleground, was Gray Fullbuster. His new Devil Force form, making him immune to the effects of Dimaria's time stopping powers. 'Whatever is going on… it seems like time itself has frozen. And I'm pretty sure this time, it's not because of me…' Gray looked into his arms, where he was holding his girlfriend Juvia bridal style. Juvia had suddenly frozen and stood still, so Gray decided to pick her up and just carry her. They had left Invel behind, after he disclosed the information on E.N.D's true identity. 'Natsu… I have to see it for myself first… But, I'm sorry dad… I don't think I can bring myself… to kill E.N.D after all, if what Invel said is true.'

As Gray was walking through the battlefield, he came across many people frozen in time. Gray looked to the side, seeing a frozen Elfman trying to protect an injured Lisanna from an armada of Imperial Knights. Gray glared at the Knights, and the third eye on his forehead pulsated as Gray and Juvia suddenly switched places with Elfman and Lisanna. Gray let out an exhale of his breath, not a breath attack, just his ordinary breath. But as he did, all the Imperial Knights before him froze into ice. First their armor froze, and then their bodies and blood. Then with a simple kick, Gray cut all of the hundreds of frozen knights down.

Gray having helped his two frozen comrades, didn't decide to stick around and continued on his way to find Natsu. Although any Imperial Knight he would encounter on his way, would end up slaughtered by his hand.

The orange fiery spectral warrior that was Itachi's Perfect Susano'o flew across the sky. Within his Susano'o were the resting and now frozen members of Quatro Cerberus, and Kakuzu, Freed, Warren, Jet and Droy. All those involved in the battles against Spriggan Jacob and his second in command Lugh. Itachi was upfront in the forehead jewel of his Susano'o, with his time frozen wife Mirajane in his arms. 'Time has frozen… and it's even affecting Mirajane and Kakuzu… this strange phenomenon however, seems to hold no effect on me. Although I was suddenly forced into my Partially Transformed E form…' Itachi reflected as his body was coated in the black speck of darkness of his partially transformed state. "I can only guess that the strongest of people, are currently unaffected by this."

Another of the Spriggan, Larcade remained unaffected by the time freeze. Having grown light grey feathered angelic like wings, granted him some form of immunity. "Sheesh, Dimaria is in trouble again? Well, I can't really be bothered to help her out this time." Larcade unlike Gray and August didn't care to slaughter the thousands of the time frozen enemies before him. Instead, he just sat there patiently waiting for time to resume. "It's no fun when you can't hear their screams of anguish, followed by their peaceful exhale of breath as death comes for them." Larcade looked up briefly and saw a dragon like figure soar beyond the clouds. "Ah, Madara is there too huh?" Larcade had a light sweat drip down the back of his neck. "Heh, taking on Acnologia one on one, sure… But with Madara thrown into the mix, I think I will pass."

In the heavens above, Madara stood atop the head of Acnologia as they flew across the land. "Time has frozen…"

"Shouldn't we just destroy everyone now?" Acnologia growled impatiently, he couldn't wait until this partnership was over so he could destroy Madara as well.

"Now why bother with such small weaklings? Besides… the real prize is over the horizon." Madara pointed out, as two vibrant auras were clashing in the distance. One of pure gold, and one crimson red.

Within a crimson bubble barrier, raged on the wild destructive power of Fairy Heart, all emitting from Mavis Vermillion and her feelings of anger for the death of her friend Warrod. The Scarlet Despair, Irene Belserion avoided a raining hailing storm of golden energy rays. "Hmm, this fight might get a bit destructive…" With a snap of her fingers, Irene had the entire space surrounding her and Mavis dragged away. Suddenly they were in a starry black void filled with floating debris.

'She used her enchantment skills to create some sort of pocket dimension?' Mavis wasn't really that surprised of Irene's skill, seeing as she is the one responsible for the Universe One spell. "Well, I suppose I should thank you. Now I can battle without the concern of endangering my friends." Around Mavis' forearms, formed the mark of the Fairy Glitter spell. Only unlike Cana, it was on Both her arms.

"Ho? That is a rich amount of Ethernano you are gathering… For not being a combat type, you sure are destructive." Irene actually sweated a bit in the face of Mavis' might, or rather Fairy Heart's might.

"Fairy Glitter: Fairy Forest!" A near endless set of golden rings of energy took shape in Irene's pocket dimension. And now the Scarlet Despair looked absolutely spooked. "This way, you have no place to run… And for insurance." Mavis formed several other rings, surrounding Irene and her various limbs. "Don't bother begging now… I already gave you your final chance." Mavis coldly glared at Irene, as suddenly the entire void was overcome with a brilliant display of golden lights. The vast empty void, suddenly looked filled as the Fairy Glitter detonated into several large destructive pillars of energy. The sheer dense amount of rising golden pillars, made it appear as if a forest with golden trees had formed within the void.

The explosive power from the near endless number of golden pillars of energy, had the entire void tremble. And all but Mavis remained unaffected, around herself she had formed the third Grand Fairy Spell, Fairy Sphere. However, unlike anyone else that would end up within the Fairy Sphere, the guilds absolute defense, Mavis did not succumb to the stasis effect of the sphere. Remaining wide awake, Mavis was the only one that could use this spell to such an effect. Being immortal, Mavis is neither alive nor dead. And thus, she never sleeps and has no need for it.

Mavis stared with cautious eyes, as she noticed the void was tearing itself apart from all this destructive energy. As the smoke cleared, Irene stood at the center of it. Her body trembling and covered in burns and white scales. Mavis widened her eyes in shock at seeing Irene covered in dragon scales of all things. "You brat… you missed a spot!" Irene glared at Mavis with a viscous smirk, both her arms missing. "Enchantment: Regrowth!" Irene let out blood curling screams, as suddenly her arms grew back out. Looking more dragonish than human.

"… What are you?" Mavis asked with genuine curiosity.

"Heh, I am Irene Belserion! I am the Scarlet Despair! The mightiest woman in all of the Empire!" Irene let out a maniacal sounding chuckle. Even as the void she had created around them crumbled to dust, and they were suddenly back in the real world. "So, that is the power of Fairy Heart, eh? I see now, why his majesty is so keen on obtaining such power!" Irene's scales retracted themselves, as she regained her normal human complexion.

"You, you are a Dragon Slayer, aren't you?" Mavis quickly deduced, as there was no other possible option. After the events of Tartaros, Mavis had overheard Igneel and the other Dragons explanations. How Dragon Slayers usually would turn into Dragons themselves. At being called that title, Irene snarled like a dragon and growled at Mavis.

"What of it?!" Agitated was a mild way to put Irene's current state, she was furious. As she leapt at Mavis and unleashed a red destructive wave of energy from her staff. However, Mavis with Fairy Sphere easily tanked the blast like it was nothing.

'If Fairy Glitter won't do the trick… I need to use Fairy Law.' Mavis readied herself, moving her arms in the needed ritual to use Fairy Law. A pure vibrating sphere of golden energy formed itself between Mavis' palms. She was close enough that maybe she could even hit Zeref while she was at it. And who knows, maybe the murderer of Warrod, that August was nearby as well.

"Not so fast!" Lifting her staff, Irene enchanted the very ground beneath Mavis, as suddenly spikes emerged out beneath Mavis' feet. Mavis groaned as she was impaled by rocky spikes from every corner of her body. And thus, her Fairy Law was also canceled out. "I couldn't help but notice, the speck of earth beneath your feet. Looks like there is a weak spot to Fairy Tail's absolute defense!" Irene chuckled as she saw the current state of Mavis.

Mavis groaned, as she walked through the spikes, her body getting torn to shreds and ripped apart. Only for her to regenerate and heal instantly, just like Zeref. "Heh, you are just like his majesty… Your healing factor and immortality are your strongest assets outside of Fairy Heart. I can see why. His majesty reveres you as the strongest female wizard there is. Even though I have to say… that it is a major insult to me!"

Mavis takes a deep inhale of her breath, and lets it all out again in a loud exhale. Wordlessly, Mavis points her dominant hand towards Irene. With her mere finger out, Mavis unleashes a destructive blinding wave of light. Irene quickly counters with a red wave of energy from her staff. The scarlet and the gold merge together, and detonate within Irene's barrier.

With the smoke clearing, Irene coughed lightly from it, but suddenly a large dark shadow cast itself over them. Irene gasped and jumped to the side, as the mighty black dragon claw of Acnologia smacked down and popped the barrier. Irene gasped as she gazed up on the Dragon King, and heard his ferocious roar that would bring despair to anyone. "When did Acnologia get here?!" Irene quickly acted with the presence of the Dragon King, and with her staff unleashed a destructive blast of red energy.

Expecting it to stall Acnologia, Irene instead gasped as she saw it went right through him, and Acnologia vanished into a cloud of smoke. "An illusion?!" Irene then noticed the barrier around them, was still very much intact. Irene quickly looked to Mavis, who once again was charging up Fairy Law. "Little runt!" Irene held up her left hand with her index and middle finger pointed upwards, as a red aura formed itself beneath Mavis feet and erupted into a destructive blast of energy.

Mavis groaned as she was thrown back by the explosion, and Fairy Law was cancelled once again. Mavis healing her wounds quickly, creates various forest creatures with her golden aura. "Domain of Fairies…" The forest animals made of her magical power, suddenly sprung to life and went to attack Irene. As the animals charged into Irene, and bit onto her, they all exploded upon making contact with the Scarlet Despair.

Irene was once again forced to use her Dragon Scales, to absorb most of the blast. "Unlike his majesty, who has come not to care for life… You need Fairy Heart as a crutch to prevent yourself from releasing Death Energy, correct? That just shows, how much more powerful his majesty is than you. And also exposes your compassion for others, which is why, you will always lose!" Irene began unleashing her magic to attack those outside of her barrier. Mavis gasped as several of her guildmates including Makarov were out there.

Irene cast various red spheres of destructive energy. One alone would be capable of erasing an entire continent off the map. Mavis was quick to create golden swirls of energy around all of those frozen in time outside of this barrier. The golden energy swirls tanked Irene's destructive red spheres, and shielded everyone outside. "Got you!" Irene gleamed with a smile as she unleashed a giant red blast wave of energy, ten times larger than usual. The blast clashed into Mavis, and tore itself through Irene's own barrier. Tearing apart the entire terrain, and erased everything it came into contact with. Mavis even though in pain, focused on shielding those outside. Creating a giant golden shield of energy to take on Irene's destructive blast attack.

Irene chuckled, as she had predicted, Mavis left herself wide open to protect everyone else. Irene gleamed with a menacing smirk as she approached the form of Mavis. Her entire skin had burnt off, and so had her hair. Mavis was panting, as she stood at center of a massively scorched crater. "It would seem no one perished from that blast. My, Fairy Heart is quite powerful. I am certain his majesty will enjoy its infinite supply of power. And put it to good use~" Irene reaches her hand out towards the form of Mavis, that slowly began to heal. "Indeed, you were a challenging opponent. In fact, had you just teamed up with us and Zeref. We could have defeated Acnologia and Madara. But alas you chose to be the fool on the losing side."

Then suddenly, the burnt and injured Mavis before Irene vanished into a cloud of smoke. Irene gasped as rays of light pierced through the cloud of smoke, revealing Mavis unharmed and with a fully charged Fairy Law in her hand. Mavis having already clasped her hands together. Irene had no time to interrupt Mavis from preparing the spell. 'Another illusion?!' Irene backed up in shock.

"The first illusion was just a test, to see how difficult it would be to subjugate you to one. And it wasn't…" Mavis glared with her cold eyes peering into Irene's very soul. The entire Acnologia illusion, had merely been a test. Mavis this whole time, had been preparing for this very moment. "The war is over." Mavis officially declared as light explodes from between her palms. "Fairy Law!"

The powerful light, expanded into a vast and giant sphere of golden energy enough to coat the entire battlefield. With this, the war would truly be over. But as light came, darkness quickly snuffed it out. The light vanished in the blink of an eye. As a third figure had entered Irene's barrier, having teleported himself inside, Zeref stood between his second strongest soldier, and his beloved. "H-How… Fairy Law should have…" Mavis mumbled out in confusion, somehow Zeref had cancelled out her Fairy Law.

"Mavis, I must say I am rather disappointed in you. Even with all your intellect, you were unable to see this coming. I am the one who taught you Law after all, it should go without saying that I know how to cancel it out as well." Zeref gently smiled upon seeing the frightened face of his beloved. She had miscalculated, Zeref was a far more experienced and a brilliant wizard than her. There was no wizard in the whole world, or in all of human history that surpassed the knowledge and skill of the Black Wizard Zeref Dragneel.

The shocked Irene was trembling, if Zeref hadn't appeared that would have been the end of her. As the feeling of fear in her heart faded, Irene's full attention went to her Emperor as he uttered her name. "Irene… Why don't you leave to find other bothersome prey? After all, this is merely a lovers quarrel between me and Mavis here."

Her initial shock had passed, and Irene quickly bowed and lowered her head to her Emperor. "By your command, your majesty." Her face beaming once again with a confident smile, Irene took off in a flight to find a new bothersome victim. 'I can't believe it… I experienced fear in that moment. I have never feared death before… for the longest time. Is it perhaps, because I cannot afford to die yet? Not until I reunite with Erza at least.' Irene had her mind made up of her next prey, as she began searching the battlefield for Erza Scarlet.

Zeref meanwhile, calmly approached Mavis. "Now, my love… shall we try this again?" Zeref with a snap of his fingers, suddenly had both him and Mavis teleported back to the Fairy Tail guildhall. "Forgive me, my love… but the poet in me, cannot help but feel. That this is the best suited place for this quarrel of ours. So, how about it? Mavis… Let's have one final dance to the death, shall we?" Like if he was asking her to be his dancing partner, Zeref held his hand out towards Mavis.

"… You certainly are persistent. Sorry, but to some girls that can come off as creepy." Mavis sarcastically hissed in Zeref's face as she stared down her lover once more. Mavis was then suddenly overcome with great shock, as tears actually began rolling down Zeref's face.

"Heh, it's strange… Even though I felt next to nothing when I fought with Natsu. With you, my usually still heart, simply won't stop beating… I truly love you after all, my dear Mavis. And because of my love for you… it pains me that I have to kill the current you, in order to create a better life for the new you." In the presence of Mavis, Zeref was releasing his Death energy signifying his feelings of love for her were true to his heart. But his mind was beyond twisted.

Mavis, being immortal herself was unaffected by Zeref's waves of death. But even so, Mavis' heart bleed from seeing this. She felt pity for her beloved, as much as it pained her to admit. Mavis could never bring herself to hate Zeref. For she understood him, his pain, his struggles, more than anyone else. Sharing the same cursed fate, they were the only ones that could truly understand each other. However, she cared too much for her guild, and would not let anyone stand in its way, not even if that someone was Zeref. Thus, she said nothing, she couldn't bring herself to say a word to Zeref. All she could do, was fight.

At the source of this time frozen world, within the tournament arena of the Grand Magic Games. A flashing display of lights shone through its many gaps and out from the top, followed by earth shaking clashes. Within the arena only Lucy and Dimaria were moving, whilst Natsu, Happy and Brandish remained frozen in place. However, a small glimmering fire began burning from Natsu's body, the bright flames turning darker as they burnt on in a small dying ember.

Dimaria's body glowed with the aura of divinity, the power of Chronos glowing in a bright golden light as it surrounded her body with her using God Soul. Dimaria threw her left arm back, and like on a canvas bright glimmering lights appeared on the sky behind her. Dimaria threw her left arm forward, unleashing five giant glowing meteor sized energy spheres at Lucy.

Lucy wielding the blade of the Celestial Spirit King, inhaled and puffed her chest out as she took a deep breath, and released all at once in a long exhale. "Star Blast!" Celestial flames erupted around the blade of her long sword, as Lucy slashed it before the incoming meteor sized energy spheres. The Celestial fire expanded into a massive slash wave, carrying the power of entire stars as it cleaved clean through the five meteor energy spheres splitting them all in half.

Dimaria grunted as her energy spheres blew up in front of her, and could only gasp as Lucy speed blitzed her with her blade in hand. Dimaria quickly acted and countered with her own long sword enhanced by the divine aura of Chronos. Fiery sparks of Celestial fire, and divine energy rained down from the clash of their swords.

'Odd… This feels so odd…' Lucy thought to herself as she pushed Dimaria's blade back, and they began clashing their blades with Lucy actually pushing Dimaria on the retreat. 'Her blade work… it feels… so simple now.' Lucy's eyes shined with gold of Celestial light as she went on the offensive. "You've grown quite powerful, my dear old friend. With my time controlling powers. The host of Chronos can no longer affect you with her time spells. What you see of her now, is her natural speed." The voice of the Celestial Spirit King guided Lucy within her mind, as Lucy's courage grew. She could actually win this. "Meteor Blade Shower!" Lucy rushed in with a series of attacks, her blade swings were faster than light and the power of her strikes rivaled that of meteor strikes itself.

Dimaria was overwhelmed, and quickly found herself getting cut on her cheek. Dimaria gasped as Lucy drew blood from her. A series of cuts appeared on Dimaria's body, thin bloodied cuts on her arms, shoulders, collar bone and stomach. Dimaria fell back and landed back down onto the arena.

Lucy took a flip midair, and gracefully landed on the arena facing Dimaria. Letting out an exhale, Lucy observed Dimaria's current state and grew more confident in her own abilities as a result. Dimaria's body was, the body of the Warrior Queen of the Twelve, was riddled in bloodied cuts. "See old friend, you are strong as Leo and Aquarius believed you to be." The Celestial Spirit King encouraged Lucy, who's eyes grew a little misty, her heart feeling touched as her deceased Celestial Spirit friends were right about her. She was much stronger than she thought she was.

Dimaria with a perplexed look on her face, grew a wide and twisted smirk on her face, and thus Lucy's confidence was robbed from her with a simple disturbing act. "Hmm~" Dimaria took her left hand, and dragged it through the cuts on her collar bones, soaking her hand with blood as she hummed with ecstasy. "Hmm~" Lucy and the Celestial Spirit King are both creeped out, as they see Dimaria smiling with ecstasy, as she drags her bloody stained hand through her blond hair with a twisted smirk on her face. "Who would have thought? Here I have fought a mermaid swordsman. A Dragon Slayer and God Slayer. A Goddess of War. And the greatest challenge I have had yet in this war, is a mere Celestial Spirit Wizard." Dimaria's compliment of Lucy's strength, was completely overshadowed by her next statement as her face twisted into one with a look of disgust at Lucy. "The same bitch who corrupted my precious Randi… Had it not been for that, I would have taken you as my pet. But now… All I want is to put your severed pretty little head on a pike!"

Dimaria's body glows with an ominous light, as she suddenly speed blitzes Lucy and thrusts her blade forward in a power strike. Lucy winces in pain, as her shoulder gets cut by Dimaria's blade who smirks with ecstasy. "That's good…" Dimaria smirks as some of Lucy's blood splatters onto her cheek. Dimaria reaches her tongue out to lick off some of Lucy's blood. "Watching you struggle, before I grant you a dignified death befitting of one of your levels of strength. Will make for great entertainment."

"… Dignified death? Is that what you believe you give people you slay? Ren… Sherry… Loke. What was so dignified about their deaths?!" Lucy hisses at Dimaria.

"It's my philosophy and way of life sweetheart. For a warrior, there is no better death than to die on the battlefield. It is how I was raised. War, is the best way to be granted a glorious death that will grant you many rewards in the next life. Those that live boring unfulfilling lives, and die sick and weak. Will only be granted the bare minimum to try and survive. It's better to die strong and fighting, then it is to die sick and weak. By having died to a superior warrior like me, they should be granted entrance to Valhalla. Rejoice, for you are about to meet the same fate."

"Is that why you tried to kill Brandish too?" Lucy remarked with a frown on her face as she glared at Dimaria. Although something notable changed with Dimaria's facial expression upon the mention of the Country Demolisher. Seeming to have hit a nerve as Dimaria had no comment to her claim, instead Dimaria took a giant leap over Lucy with a look of pure killing intent in her eye.

"Begone!" Dimaria snarled and thrusted her blade down onto Lucy and the arena floor, as a series of golden flashes sprung to life in the shape of a dome around the entire arena. "Divine Lightning!" Dimaria unleashed a series of golden energy slashes that tore apart at the arena floor.

Lucy's eyes focused, her pupils visibly shrinking as her eyes glowed gold. "Celestial Cosmic Trail!" Swinging her blade upwards, Lucy made what resembled a colorful cloud of gas composed of several glinting stars that acted like a veil over Lucy and caught all the slashes from Dimaria's blade.

"What the hell do you know about it?! Don't act like you understand me and Randi!" Dimaria's voice was filled with anguish and seething hatred for Lucy. Her voice growing more agitated as her dome of attacks could not reach Lucy.

"What a savage fighting spirit…" The Celestial Spirit King sounded a bit astonished, as through Lucy's eyes he gazed into Dimaria's eyes. "Such a broken spirit, trying to cling onto a dying glimmering star."

'What are you talking about?' Lucy questioned as she continued to hold off Dimaria's assault.

"The host of Chronos, her bond with that Brandish, is genuine. However, Chronos' host's mind is twisted, as she desperately tries to cling onto her only existing bond in this life. Hanging off the edge of madness and sanity. Can't you see it old friend?" The Celestial Spirit King tries to guide Lucy's vision, as to keep her eyes on Dimaria. Lucy gazed with a perplexed expression as she stared into Dimaria's eyes. "Link yourself with her, through your shared bond with Brandish… and peak into the host of Chronos' heart."

It was a like a three ways shared thread, connecting Lucy to Brandish, then to Dimaria and back at Lucy. Time in Lucy's eyes was slowing down, as she was able to see beyond the exterior and into Dimaria's heart and into her memories.

Lucy saw a small little humble farming village. She didn't recognize the area. It was a vast field of wheat. With various huts surrounding the village. Lucy saw a happy little blond hair girl giggle as she ran through the vast field.

"Papa! Mama!" The little girl that was Dimaria called out to a couple standing by the nearest hut. Her father was a very tall and muscular man with a beard and blond hair. And her mother was a beautiful woman that resembled Dimaria today, just with longer hair.

"There is my little fighter!" Dimaria's father hoisted the little giggling girl up. "Did you win against those boys again today?" Her father asked with a beaming smile, as the little Dimaria held a wooden sword.

"Yeah! I beat them up!" On closer inspection, the little wild girl was covered in small bruises but didn't seem to mind. Dimaria's father wasn't a farmer judging by his appearance, rather he looked like a warrior.

"That's my girl!" Her father laughed as he tossed her up into the air a few times. Dimaria was raised in a family of warriors, conquerors. Her father had always wished for sons, but was instead given a daughter. That didn't stop him from trying to teach her how to fight.

Dimaria would sit intently and listen to her father's stories. "Listen Dimaria, our family has for many generations fought in wars. We are always the elite on the battlefield. And are always amongst the first to be hired to fight. We live for war, we breathe war. Dying in battle, is the greatest honor for us. Girl or not, you are to be strong and brave. And not a weak coward, for you know what happens to them…"

"They always die first in war, and receive no glory from the Gods." The young Dimaria responded with great enthusiasm, she loved seeing her father be proud of her.

"That's right! Only the strong and brave are allowed to bask in the glory and rewards of Valhalla!" Dimaria's family belonged to a Viking like society, they believed there was glory in death through battle, and that they would be rewarded in the afterlife for their power.

Dimaria's village worshipped many Gods, mostly Gods of war. But one God that was prominent in the village, that her mother's side of the family worshipped as the God of Time and Space, Chronos.

"Oh dear, look at your face. What will you do if your cute face gets a scar?" Unlike her father, Dimaria's mother was kind a gentle. "What have I told you of encouraging her like this?" Her mother scolded Dimaria's father, who only scoffed.

"Traditions in my family dictate that the first born must be trained. Dimaria may be a girl, but she is my daughter and therefor strong." The father stubbornly declared, and Dimaria lightly chuckled in agreement as she flexed her muscles, well what little there was.

"You pair of muscle brained idiots…" The mother couldn't deal with the troublesome duo of her husband and their daughter. "Dimaria, maybe you would like to play with the other girls sometime? Or maybe help me out in the garden?"

"Mm, the other girls are boring and they tease me… I like playing with the boys, they like to fight." Young Dimaria pouted, but her eyes still looked to their garden of flowers. Even though she liked to playfight, young Dimaria also liked the view of flowers. "But I wouldn't mind helping you in the garden, mama…" Young Dimaria smiled as she gazed into her mother's beautiful glimmering eyes.

"Is that so? Well lucky me then." Her mother lightly giggled as they went to tend to the garden. Dimaria loved both her parents dearly, her father was brave and strong, and her mother was loving and gentle. Two opposites, but still Dimaria loved them both.

Dimaria remembered her father's greatest dream, was to die honorably on the battlefield to a superior opponent, and be granted access into Valhalla. Her father would always say there was no greater end to a warrior. Whilst her mother simply wished for a happy family life.

Looking around, Lucy saw that other people in Dimaria's village were gearing up for war. Their nation was at war, and Dimaria's father and his men had been hired as an elite strike force in that war. All of her father and her people, shared the same view, there was no greater glory than dying on the battlefield.

Which is why, when her father was blindsided in a cowardly ambush by the enemy and robbed of his dream. The enemy had attacked their village that night, and Dimaria's father was currently loading up some supplies along with his wife, when they were both shot down by arrows. Dimaria gasped, as she saw flaming magical arrows and Lacrima bombs rain down onto the village.

"Mama! Papa!" Dimaria rushed to her fallen parents.

"Dimaria! No! Stay back!" Her mother warned, as an arrow pierced through her back and blood erupting from her mouth. Dimaria's father stood on his two feet, despite dozens of flaming arrows being lodged into his sturdy back. He rushed and tackled Dimaria down, as more arrows came raining down, he shielded his daughter from the onslaught.

"Charge!" The enemy soldiers came running out from the fields, wielding swords. As one soldier went for Dimaria and her father, Dimaria could only gasp as her mother rushed before the blade and was slashed across the torso.

"Cowards!" Her father snarled and rose up, as his giant hand clamped down onto the enemy soldier's head. The soldier cried out in pain, as without any effort Dimaria's father lifted the soldier up and squashed his head like a grape with his bare hand. "D-Dimaria… are you?" Her father looked to his young 4-year-old daughter.

"Mama…" Dimaria muffled out cries, as she used a cloth to try and put pressure onto her mother's wound. Dimaria was letting out muffled cries, but was suddenly brought out of it as she heard a loud thud. Looking behind her, she saw that her father had collapsed from his injuries. "Papa… Mama… what should I do?"

Dimaria shakingly watched as her mother held onto her necklace, and began to pray. "Lord Chronos… I beg of you… please see my daughter Dimaria through this massacre… See to that she survives… please…" She pleaded as she as well collapsed from her injures.

"Mama… papa… mama…" Young Dimaria trembled as tears rolled down her eyes, as she cried and let out a loud shriek and screamed. "NO!" Her shrieks of despair sounded to the heavens, as divine energy rained down, and a magic circle formed beneath the young Dimaria who screamed at the top of her lungs. Golden markings began appearing like wildfire across the 4-year-old Dimaria's body.

Before long, when Dimaria stopped to take a breather. Something felt odd, before Dimaria had known it, everything around her had frozen. The fire, the enemy soldiers, the fleeing villagers. All had frozen in place like a beautiful painting. In a desperate plead for her parents, Dimaria had unknowingly stopped time with the power of Chronos.

And so, time was frozen in place across the entire globe, and so it would remain for more than six whole years. For these six whole years, Dimaria would grow up within the solitude of a frozen world. Plagued by loneliness and despair, Dimaria would lay curled up next to her frozen parents, unable to get a wink of sleep.

Dimaria would survive in this frozen world, by taking what food and water she could find. Whilst also reading up on how to maybe nurse her parents back to health, it was the only thing keeping her going. That slim glimmer of hope. Even as she aged within this time frozen reality, having aged into a 10-year-old girl. As Dimaria discovered there was no way to heal her parents of their injuries, Dimaria became so obsessed with making sure time never began moving again.

For all these days, weeks, months, years, Dimaria would lie cradled next to her mother and father, crying herself to sleep. The sheer loneliness she experienced traumatized her much more, than the attack on her village.

Dimaria would often talk to herself, her insecurities bubbling up. As the spirit of Chronos was the only source of contact she had for all these years. The Primordial God having taken refuge in Dimaria's body, and granted her this power over time and space. "You are strong child, you mother's prayers, and your unnatural amount of magical power is what had drawn me to you. You and I, my dear… will accomplish great things."

Dimaria felt like she was going insane, with only the voice of Chronos in her head to talk to. Dimaria found herself wandering the fields of her village one day. Watching the frozen battlefield, Dimaria gazed on the frozen villagers as they were being stabbed, shot down, or blown up. And the enemy soldiers armed to the teeth attacking. These so-called warriors, these so-called soldiers, had done the most dishonorable thing one could do to a fellow warrior. Their cowardly ambush, had robbed Dimaria's father of his dreams.

An intense burning hatred burned in Dimaria's soul. This cowardly act from the enemy, had made Dimaria grow to despise cowardly people who didn't face their opponents head on. These cowards had attacked her home, they had ambushed them when they least expected it. Dimaria as she was dressed in a white summer dress, that she had found in one of the neighboring huts. Having outgrown all her own clothes.

Barefooted, Dimaria walked through this field of blood, fire and carnage. And knelt down to pick up a dagger. Her pupils shrunken and her eyes glaring with intense hatred at these frozen enemy soldiers. Dimaria clutched onto the dagger, and let out a war cry.

Dimaria rushed at a frozen solider, and pierced the dagger through his neck. Her eyes burning with intense fury and killing intent, as blood escaped the man's throat. His blood splattered onto Dimaria's face, it felt warm as it trickled down her face. Dimaria had slipped off the edge, and fallen into the abyss of madness as a wicked smirk grew across her face.

Dimaria let out a blood curdling chuckle, as she went on her killing spree. Dimaria went around the entire frozen battlefield, and stabbed every soldier she saw. With a slash she cut open their jugulars, and with a stab she pierced their hearts. Their spraying blood dancing around her like red ribbons in the wind. However, unbeknownst to Dimaria, for a split second between every stab time began moving again. As a soldier's eye fell onto her with a look of fright. But after that split second, time was frozen again. Dimaria's uncontrollable magic power freezing time again and again.

By the end of it, 10-year-old Dimaria stood there with a bloodied dagger, and her white summer dress now red and stained with fresh blood. A 10-year-old, was responsible for killing over 400,000 soldiers singlehandedly. Dimaria's arms were elbow deep covered in blood, as she desperately clutched onto the bloodied dagger. "That felt… good." Dimaria chuckled as she had taught those cowards a lesson.

Walking back home to where her parents and their frozen bodies laid, Dimaria looked upon her time frozen parents and fell to her knees and started to weep. Dimaria wept over the thought that she would never hear her mother's loving voice again. Her father would never lift her up again in his strong arms.

Dimaria laid down next to her parents, clinging onto the sweet memory of her mother singing her lullaby's. However, Dimaria was starting to forget what her mother's voice sounded like. As such, she could only weep whilst stained in the blood of her enemies. Dimaria began mumbling out a few words, as she began singing the lullaby herself. "You are my sunshine… my only sunshine… y-you make me happy… when skies are grey… Y-You never know dear… how much I love you…. Please don't take my sunshine away… please don't take… m-my sunshine… away…." Dimaria sniffed as cradled herself closer to her mother.

Then suddenly, Dimaria discovered she had an audience as the sound of clapping echoed around her. In shock the young Dimaria sat up, seeing a young man dressed in black standing before her. "My that was quite lovely." It was none other than the Black Wizard Zeref Dragneel.

"W-Who are you…? How are you moving?" Dimaria shakingly asked.

"Hmm, that is complicated to explain. Let us just put it this way… I am someone who doesn't have any time to freeze." Zeref explained with a relaxed smile on his face, even though he smiled, his eyes held no feeling in them at all. His immortality, made him neither dead nor alive, thus his time could not be frozen as there was no time to freeze. "More importantly. I have been searching for you, for a long time. Ever since you froze time. I need you to make it move again."

At this request, Dimaria tenses up. "I can't… my parents will…" Looking to the frozen bodies of her mother and father. Dimaria could not let them die, if time began moving again, they would die to their injuries. She needed to find a way to save them, to make sure her father's dream could still become a reality. To make sure her mom could live the happy family life.

Zeref shows no care or sympathy, instead he bluntly tells her. "My dear, they are not frozen." Zeref declares after taking a quick look at Dimaria's parents, and the vast ocean of corpses before him. "In fact, majority of those soldiers aren't frozen either.

Dimaria looks up at Zeref feeling confused. "Wh-What do you mean?"

Zeref looked to her with an unfeeling smile on his face. "You can't freeze time for those that are already dead." Zeref bluntly declares, as Dimaria looks with a shocked hurt expression.

Trembling Dimaria crawls towards her parents. "N-No… They aren't dead… My mom and dad aren't… They are not dead!" Dimaria screamed at Zeref, her eyes glowing golden with the power of Chronos.

Zeref remained unfaced, and instead hummed with slight fascination. Carefree, Zeref walked to Dimaria's mother, and lifted her body up. Dimaria gasped and looked with seething hatred. "Don't touch her!" Dimaria shrieks at Zeref, although flinches as blood starts dripping from her mother's body.

"If she was frozen, her blood should be frozen in place as well. Her body, shouldn't feel this cold." Zeref then throws the body of Dimaria's mother back down like a sack of potatoes.

Dimaria shakingly crawls to her father's body, seeing his blood seeping through his wounds. "No… no it can't be…" Dimaria mumbles to herself as tears starts forming in her eyes.

Zeref takes one look across the battlefield. "Your magic ability… is to freeze time. However, time will only remain frozen as long as you don't get into contact with anyone. For years, you managed to keep time frozen by not touching anyone. You were afraid of what would happen if you did, right? Because you didn't understand your power, you feared it. But that all changed, once you killed all those men." Zeref pointed out at the ocean of the dead soldiers.

Dimaria trembled as she looks at the sea of corpses she had made, all the soldiers she had killed. Many had fallen to the ground, but some were still standing with their blood sprays frozen in time. "Each time you stabbed one, time continued for a short second. Normally it would take time before you could freeze time again. But due to your intense feelings of anger, your magic ran uncontrollably and froze time again after a mere second."

At Zeref's explanation, Dimaria's eyes widened in horror. "For each one you stabbed, time continued for a second. You killed a total of 416,194 soldiers on that battlefield. Which equaled to a total of 416,194 seconds that time moved. Your parents died whilst probably witnessing you going on a killing spree." Blood started trickling down Dimaria's nose. "Ah, see? It seems your body is starting to take a toll from having frozen time so often. Tell me, how do you feel?"

Dimaria looked in terror, as her act of killing all those soldiers had made time move, which resulted in her parents succumbing to their injuries. Despite her having frozen time initially to save her parents and keep them alive. Her anger and hatred for the enemy soldiers that caused her to kill them all, also caused her own parents to die anyway. Tears of guilt trickled down her face, but a smile was also slowly creeping its way onto her face. Followed by a broken laughter of madness that echoed across the battlefield. And time began moving again, as the sounds of the most recent stabbed soldiers cried in anguish and pain as they fell over, screaming in agony whilst slowly dying and choking on their own blood.

The sound of their screams and wails of agony, was like music to Dimaria's ears, as she fell deeper into the abyss of insanity. Dimaria just kept on laughing with her maddening cackle. Zeref continued to smile, not even in the slightest disturbed as he watched the little girl break down. "I feel…" Dimaria spoke in-between the laughing, tears running down her face. "I feel…" She sounded broken, as she looked with a twisted smirk on her face with tears running down her eyes. "I feel alone." She cried out, a broken insecure lonely shell of a girl.

"Good, then come with me. And I will give you a place where you belong." Zeref offered, reaching his hand out to his newest pawn. With nowhere else to turn, even with the nagging voice of Chronos in the back of her mind telling her not to.

"Don't! This entity is cursed by Ankhseram, the God of Life and Death. We mustn't get involved with him! Less we shall earn Ankhseram's wrath! He is the one God even other Gods don't dare disrespect!" Chronos' word of warning was met on deaf ears, as Dimaria accepted Zeref's offer.

From that day on, Dimaria was employed into the Alvarez Imperial army. Even though merely 10 years old, she rose up the ranks with her magical power dwarfing several others. Throughout years of servitude under Zeref, Dimaria would only find joy on the battlefield. The sounds of her enemies falling into despair like she did, and the sound of them dying ringing like music into her ears.

The psychological trauma Dimaria had suffered as a result of wandering the frozen time and space world alone for six years to keep her parents alive, had driven her to insanity. And also due to this insanity, her view on strong people became twisted and perverse. As she despises the weak, she likes to attach herself to certain strong people who were like she used to be. And give them the choice of becoming her pets. It was either that, or face a glorious death by her hand. With there so far, having only been once exception to this rule, in the form of Kagura. Who Dimaria did not want to kill, as Kagura resembled Dimaria's beloved Brandish so much.

Dimaria's relationship with Brandish began as they were trying out for the rank of Spriggan. At first, Dimaria was still broken and only enjoyed battle and warfare, and of course the enjoyment of mentally breaking others.

Dimaria now 18 years old, was considered amongst other potential candidates to serve under Zeref as one of his 12 Shields. Their test, was facing the one who was going to be the general of this squad. Magic King August. With there so far only being 3 Spriggan in the form of August, Irene Belserion and Larcade Dragneel. Irene and Larcade were seated next to their emperor spectating the test.

As August stood before those taking the test. Dimaria Yesta, Ajeel Raml, Neinhart, Bloodman, Wall Eehto, Invel Yura, Jacob Lessio. And lastly, Brandish, August's own personal apprentice and adoptive granddaughter. Were amongst these candidates. There were others, three of which would later become members of Beta Squad that were native to the empire, Arthur, Samuel, and Blitzkrieg. Everyone else didn't leave much of an impression on Dimaria to even bother remembering their faces let alone their names.

Dimaria recalled the test, August singlehandedly defeated all of them at once. They had failed the test Dimaria thought. She had failed the emperor, but would now meet a satisfying death at the hand of someone as powerful as August. But her death never came, instead August informed which of them to be worthy of the title of Spriggan. And of course, Dimaria was amongst them.

This did not sit well with Dimaria at the time, as she glanced up at August's wrinkled old face. "Kill me." Dimaria demanded.

"… Stand up, and salute his majesty. You are one of his shields now." August dismissed Dimaria fully, and ignored her. Without a doubt, not wanting to waste the potential valuable assets Dimaria would provide the empire.

"Kill me!" Dimaria once again demanded.

"Heh, stand still bitch and I will do it." Ajeel stood behind Dimaria with a sand axe. But Dimaria instantly glared at him and growled.

"Not you, you weak piece of shit! The old man!" Dimaria hissed at Ajeel, who grew more annoyed at being called weak.

"You damn!" As Ajeel was about to attack, a wave of power emerged from August and knocked Ajeel off his feet.

"Stand down." August commanded, and all the participants except for Dimaria and Brandish cowered. "As for you, why kill you here? This was a mere test. I do not think your Gods would accept such a pointless death. Save it for the battlefield instead." August advised, and Dimaria snapped back to reality for a moment.

"… Yes sir." Dimaria bowed her head, cursing herself for almost tossing away her opportunity to meet a glorious end on the battlefield, like her father had dreamed of. If she had done that, she would have spat on her father's memory.

As the initiation was over, Dimaria looked towards the stoic looking Brandish who seemed to always stick by August's side. Being the apprentice of August, Dimaria deduced that Brandish must be quite strong. Wanting to taunt and tease her, Dimaria grew a mischievous grin on her face, although stopped in her tracks as she saw the look in Brandish's eyes.

While the other of the Twelve mostly looked arrogant, or indifferent. Brandish's eyes were cold, and she simply brushed anyone that wasn't August or his majesty off. Even as the likes of Ajeel or Wall Eehto tried to challenge her for the same original reason as Dimaria had, to test themselves against the apprentice of the mighty August. Brandish had simply brushed them off, and not reacted to them like they weren't worth her time. But no, Dimaria could tell, there was a burning seething sensation of dislike and hatred Brandish held for these arrogant fools.

To Dimaria, seeing Brandish act so sheltered, Dimaria couldn't help but compare Brandish to how she used to be. Dimaria suddenly looked overjoyed, feeling the strain on her face as she smiled out of pure excitement. Brandish was just the same as her, they were like two sides of the same coin. And thus, Dimaria grew a strong desire to get close to Brandish, feeling Brandish was the only one who understood her. Both were broken from their individual loss, Brandish of her mother, and Dimaria of her parents.

"Hey there~" Dimaria cheerfully approached Brandish who looked a bit caught off guard by Dimaria's attitude. Dimaria was quick to break boundaries, and wrapped her arm around Brandish's shoulder, and poking her slight chubby cheeks. "My what a cute face~"

"Ugh, creep." Brandish scowled, feeling a nervous sweat run down her neck. She wasn't quite sure how to react to this sudden display of affection.

"Now don't be like that, I'm Dimaria. And you are?" Dimaria found herself getting brushed off, as Brandish pushed Dimaria's arm off her.

"Like you don't already know." Brandish rolled her eyes, although her cold attitude only served to fuel Dimaria's intrigue.

"I do, but a formal introduction seemed appropriate, wouldn't you say?" Dimaria didn't let up, as she froze time and had appeared in Brandish's way.

"… Brandish." Rolling her eyes, Brandish offered her hand in a handshake. Dimaria gladly accepted, and smiled warmly feeling genuine joy. From then on, they would bond over their mutual hatred of others in general.

And learning this, made it make sense to Lucy as to why Dimaria felt betrayed in some sense by Brandish. All this time, Dimaria had thought Brandish to be broken like her, disliking everything and everyone around her. And maybe she had been correct in that assessment. But Brandish's feelings were different.

Brandish, although disliked every arrogant member of the Twelve, only really bonding with this August that was like a grandfather figure to her. Brandish's affection for Dimaria, grew from the fact that Dimaria next to August, was the only one who cared for her. And Brandish like Dimaria, felt they were similar in many ways. Although Brandish being socially awkward had a hard time expressing her feelings at times, Dimaria didn't end up discouraged by it, and continued to spend time with her and genuinely caring about her.

But when someone like Lucy came into the picture, who was also similar to Brandish and didn't shove her aside. Brandish, by choosing to be friends with Lucy, in Dimaria's eyes sided with Lucy over her, and thus Dimaria felt betrayed by that. Feeling that Lucy in a sense, by rescuing Brandish from her despair and fixing her, had almost killed Brandish in Dimaria's eyes. And made it so Dimaria was all alone again in this world.

Amidst the flashing images of them both exchanging memories of their pain, Lucy and Dimaria were still able to see each other clearly and clash their blades against each other. Dimaria looked with a wide spread wicked smirk, as she like Lucy had to her, had seen Lucy's past as well. A rich girl that lost her mother at a young age, with a neglecting father, and sought adventure and excitement in life which led her to Fairy Tail.

"Heh, rich girl with daddy issues, seriously? Is that the limit to your pain and suffering?" Dimaria taunted, but suddenly found herself getting pushed back as Lucy added more weight onto her blade.

"My pain? No, my pain continues to grow over time… as I lose people I care about to scum like you!" Despite having seen Dimaria's memories through their shared bond with Brandish. Despite having seen the hurt and pain in Dimaria's heart, Lucy couldn't bring herself to forgive Dimaria, even though she understood her situation now. "Same with Brandish… Despite the pain of having lost her mother, didn't stop her from living her life. And as she goes on, she will feel more pain. That is a natural part of life. And you, you don't have to be alone. You can work on fixing yourself together with Brandish. Make a better life, instead of living in your own madness!" Dimaria only growled and hissed in responds to Lucy's words, although for the briefest moment, Dimaria seemed to hesitate for a fleeting moment.

Due to that one moment of hesitation, Dimaria's guard was down. So, Lucy pushes forward and headbutts Dimaria, knocking her off balance and pushing her backwards. "I understand, what it feels like to lose both your parents… I understand the pain of loss. Just like you, just like Brandish. My pain isn't any lesser than yours." Lucy's words only served to infuriate Dimaria, who hissed not just from pain as blood trickled down from a bruise on her forehead.

"Me, you, and Brandish… like so many others have looked into the abyss of loss. But there is a crucial difference between me and you, and what makes Brandish different from you as well. You know what that is?" Lucy asks as she enters a stance with her blade held up high. "When we looked into the abyss, and it looked back at us… you blinked." Lucy blitzed Dimaria in a flash and dealt a series of slashes, as a cosmic wave of energy danced with the swing of Lucy's blade. Having to constantly block off Lucy's hacks and slashes, Dimaria's blade ended up chipped and worn out. "And you channeled your pain, into bringing suffering onto others. You let the abyss break you." Lucy glared at Dimaria, as a golden cosmic aura of a star surrounded itself around her.

"Shut up!" Dimaria hissed, and charged up the divine aura of Chronos, unleashing a hailing rain of energy blasts. Lucy moved like a dancer, and slashed through the various blast attacks with her blade. Whilst also clashing her blade against Dimaria's.

Lucy noticed how easy it was getting to read Dimaria's moves, and how easily they were to counter even amidst this raining hail storm of energy blasts. "You know… Seeing you move, without your time freezing ability I realized something. Your skill with the sword, it doesn't even hold a candle to the likes of Erza, Kagura and Beatrice!" With her Celestial Spirit King Dress, Lucy had come to realize just how average Dimaria's swordplay was, as Lucy could easily move in the frozen time dimension.

At having her swordsmanship brought into question, veins began bulging around Dimaria's temple. "You suck! You suck at foreplay sweetheart!" Dimaria pushed on, putting all her energy into her next strikes. Dealing very heavy strikes to force Lucy on the backfoot. "So, let's just skip to the main event!"

Both combatants were so focused on their battle, they didn't notice the black burning fire surrounding a pink haired pyro. Natsu groaned as he stood up on his own two feet, and wobbly proceeded to walk out of the arena whilst clutching onto his head in pain. Natsu walked by the time frozen Happy, and then the time frozen Brandish and just walked out of the arena without anyone even noticing.

Dimaria has had enough of this battle, her angered face showing how displeased she was with it. Taking a giant leap into the sky, with no gravity to pull her down she just floated in the sky. Dimaria stretched her blade far out to the side, as it charged up a magic circle with the mark of an hourglass in the center. "Blade of Chronos: Timeless Strike!" Dimaria's eyes were trained onto Lucy, with her aim being slashing Lucy into ribbons in a single powerful series of strikes.

Lucy readied herself, mimicking Dimaria's stance as she firmly held onto the blade of the Celestial Spirit King. "Cosmic Slash…!" Lucy kicked the ground beneath her, and shot up like a rocket into the sky soaring towards Dimaria at super speed.

"Die!" Dimaria let out a war cry as she came crashing down towards Lucy. Both women let out a strong sounding war cry, as they swung their blades clashing into each other. Cosmic and Divine energy exploded around them, creating the image of a glowing star over the arena. The star began collapsing and imploding, as Dimaria and Lucy continued to power through to break the other's guard. Then suddenly, one blade began cutting through the other.

"Huh?!" Dimaria gasped in shock, as Lucy's sword began cutting through hers like a hot knife through butter.

Lucy's eyes widened and her pupil shrank as she saw her opening, her eyes glowing in the golden Celestial light as she pushed on. "Now!" The Celestial Spirit King called out within Lucy's mind. "AAAAARGH!" Lucy let out a war cry as she slashed through Dimaria's blade cutting it in half, and her blade slashing into Dimaria's torso as well. Lucy in a flash appeared behind Dimaria, and with the glint of a star, a giant blue pillar of light exploded around Dimaria.

Dimaria let out a blood curling scream as her body was burnt and slashed from the searing hot light around her. As Lucy struck Dimaria, the giant avatar of Chronos holding Earth in place between its fingers vanished, and the planet began rotating again, and time as well began moving as normal.

Brandish and Happy gasped in absolute shock and disbelief at what they saw. Lucy armed with her blade, behind a free falling badly burnt Dimaria. Dimaria's eyes were pure white, and her mouth was open in agape. "L-Lucy won?" Brandish mumbled out in complete surprise. Dimaria was one of the higher ranked members of the Twelve, and she wasn't defeated by someone like Itachi, Natsu, Gray, Jellal, Laxus, Erza or Mirajane. No, instead Dimaria was defeated by Lucy Heartfilia of all people. Even after having battled opponents like Kagura, Wendy, Sherria and Beatrice, it had been Lucy who had brought down Dimaria in this war.

Lucy landed gracefully onto the arena floor, and stood tall and victorious as Dimaria fell in a thud behind her. Dimaria let out small sounding gasps, and her burnt body twitched as she collapsed.

"Mari…" Brandish grunted as she wobbled a bit closer.

"Lucy!" Happy flew down, his injured wing not able to carry him far as he fell out of the sky and into Lucy's arms. "Lucy, that was amazing! You actually beat one of the Twelve!" Happy sounded beyond astonished at this feat.

"Heh, nice to know you had such faith in me little guy." Lucy warmly smiled at Happy, and held the blue feline close.

"I-Is she…" Brandish fell to her knees before Dimaria, and began checking for a pulse.

"She's alive…" Lucy confirmed, much to Brandish's feeling of relief.

Brandish, still on edge turned to face Lucy wondering if she was going to finish the job. But Lucy showed no sign of wanting to do so. "Why didn't you kill her?" Brandish found herself wondering. This was a war, and Dimaria had killed some of Lucy's friends in this war. So, why not take revenge and kill Dimaria now that she had the chance?

"Well… even though it would be easy to kill Dimaria here and now. If I do that, if I become consumed by vengeance like she did…. Like so many have throughout history…" Lucy mumbled as she also remembered the memory, that she had of seeing Itachi's memories and what became of Itachi's brother Sasuke. "If I let that abyss consume me… I will be just as weak as she is." Unlike Dimaria, no matter what hardship Lucy would face in life, Lucy would not blink before the abyss like Dimaria had and let it consume her. This, is what made Lucy stronger than Dimaria.

Brandish gives Lucy a mournful, yet also thankful look. Brandish felt a bit guilty, and sorry for Lucy for having lost her friend Loke. But she was none the less grateful that Lucy could show mercy, even to someone like Dimaria. "Thank you, Lucy… You are just as kind as your mother Layla."

At being compared to her mother, Lucy couldn't help but smile a little. The smile was short lived, as the sound of rattling armor reached her ear. "Randi…" Shakingly Dimaria lifted her arm to stroke Brandish's cheek, tears trickling down her face. "I'm sorry… please, don't leave me all alone…" Dimaria didn't sound like a mighty bloodthirsty warrior, instead she sounded like a broken weeping girl. The same girl that ended up lost in her own time frozen prison.

Brandish sighed, and held Dimaria close, placing the weeping girl's face into her bosom. "Idiot, I will never leave. It would be too much of a pain to find somewhere else to go." Brandish cradled the weeping Dimaria in her arms. "It seems we've lost." Brandish admits defeat, in their current situation there was no way she could beat Lucy anyway.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Dimaria continued to apologize to Brandish. With her act of mercy, Lucy had helped to rescue Dimaria from her own pit of madness. Bringing back the lonely girl in her, that was lost all those years ago.

"I know…" Brandish's next move comes as a surprise however, as she shrinks Dimaria's body to the size of a doll.

"Eh?" The confused Dimaria blinks, as suddenly Brandish lifts her up, and tucks the shrunken Dimaria in-between her boobs. "Eh?" Dimaria looks a bit flustered, as her tiny hands holds onto the side of the fleshy soft mounds that were Brandish's boobs.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Lucy asks looking a bit flustered herself.

"This will keep her from causing any more trouble." Brandish reveals, as she playfully pokes the top of the shrunken Dimaria's head. "Her time stopping ability won't work if she is in physical contact with someone. This way, she can't freeze time." Brandish with a mischievous grin on her face continues to poke at the shrunken flustered Dimaria.

"J-Just what kind of relationship do you two have?" From their memories, Lucy understood that Brandish and Dimaria were somehow more than just normal friends.

"The sexual kind." Brandish bluntly replies which causes Lucy to look a little more flustered.

"Well, wouldn't your relationship be… ruined? Are there no harsh feelings between you two… She did stab you after all." Lucy pointed out, she still didn't like Dimaria and a part of her wanted to persuade Brandish to abandon this relationship.

"Huh? Are you that dumb?" Dimaria trying to remain afloat by holding onto Brandish's boobs for dear life. "If I wanted to kill Randi, I would have cut off her head! With her mass altering ability she could easily heal that stab wound. I only stabbed her, so she wouldn't get in my way of killing you!" Dimaria's harsh declaration was met with a glare from Brandish, who with a flick of her finger shrunk Dimaria further so she almost fell into Brandish's cleavage.

"Don't bully my friend. After she went through the trouble of not ending your sorry life." Brandish harshly remarked.

"Friend, huh? Well in case we forget, I just killed one of her friends." Bringing up the memory of Loke's death, caused Lucy to flinch and glare in anger.

"Yes, you did… You also killed Ren and Sherry who were also my friends. And for that, I will never forgive you. The only thing keeping me from asking Natsu to burn you alive, is the fact that Brandish cares for you. And because I won't sink to your level."

Dimaria lightly flinches, and looks with a hint of regret, but quickly just scoffs. "This is a war, people die… That is the reality of things. I fought for my nation, just like you do for yours. We've all lost people in this war." Dimaria bitterly remarks, as she remembers her own second in command Linda who died the first day of the war.

"Well, the two of you are officially prisoners of war anyway." Lucy remarks and looks to Brandish, who didn't seem to object.

"We are I suppose." Brandish sighs and admits defeat. "But Lucy, even with this new power… the remaining of the Twelve… Larcade, Irene and August. Are leagues above myself and Dimaria. And I honestly don't see how you lot will even manage to defeat grandpa August. Even if you, Natsu and even your whole guild gangs up on him… Your chances of beating August are slim at best. Let alone his majesty."

At hearing this, Lucy only smirks. "Don't underestimate Fairy Tail. We've still got heavy hitters like Itachi, Natsu, Gray, Laxus, Erza and Mirajane around. Not to mention First Master Mavis. The way I see it, we have just as much of a chance to win this war as you do."

"Hey, where is Natsu?" Upon the various mentions of the pyro, Happy began to realize that Natsu wasn't with them. The sudden realization, had Lucy look around for any sign of the pyro.

"Natsu?" Lucy continued to look around, but found no sign of him. "Natsu!" Lucy called out his name, yet there was no answer.

"He couldn't have gotten far… I-I should have frozen him in place." Dimaria herself was even in disbelief, as this all meant that Natsu must have at some point been able to break through Dimaria's time freezing power, and just walked away. But why would he walk away in the first place?

Firey footprints made a trail from the arena, up the hill of the crater and through the forest. "Zeref…. Zeref… kill… Zeref…" Natsu incoherently mumbled out the name of his brother, as he was surrounded by a mix of his regular fire and black demonic fire. Natsu's hands had turned into black demonic claws, and black demonic marks were starting to spread all around his body along with dragon scales on the side of his face. The power of E.N.D had surfaced, as Natsu had entered his partially transformed state.

Natsu suddenly began laughing, his laughter turning into a crazed sounding chuckle. And a matching crazed smirk having formed on Natsu's face as he mumbles. "I am… E.N.D… master of Tartaros… Ugh!" Something in Natsu's mind was fighting back, as his brain pulsed and he collapsed onto his knees.

"No! No! I'm Natsu…! Natsu!" Switching back and forth between E.N.D and Natsu. His fire symbolizing his conflict as the regular flames grew and shrunk, same with the black flames. One grew stronger than the other, with every personality change from Natsu.

The air suddenly turned cold, and the flames even began dying down a bit as Natsu gazed up to see Gray in his Ice Devil Force state, standing before him with Juvia at his side. "Natsu…" Gray's eyes were conflicted, as the undoubtedly proof of Natsu being a Demon of the Book of Zeref was glaring right back at him.

Natsu's right eye was black with his pupil burning red, and his left eye was normal with his pupil looking lime green and with a black slit looking like a dragon eye. Black fire demonic markings growing across Natsu's face and body. "Gray…!" Natsu groaned in pain as he stared at his lifelong friend, and rival.

The giant spectral feet of the Perfect Susano'o crashed in the center of a whole army of the Alvarez Empire. Itachi having his spectral giant swing its giant sword across the entire battlefield slashing through an entire squadron of imperial knights. The Perfect Susano'o bent its knee, lowering its hand where it held the injured Bacchus and Kakuzu along with Minerva, Jet, Droy, Warren and members of the Quatro Cerberus. "Warren, contact a local medical team and have them tend to Kakuzu and Bacchus. Me and Mira will continue the advance on the enemy and provide the first master with assistance." Itachi commanded.

"Right away seventh master." Warren gave a quick thankful salute to his guild master, still a bit shaken up from nearly having been nuked by Lugh's final attack.

"Wait!" Minerva called out before Itachi could take off. "A squadron of my guild led by Rufus was wiped out. I need to go and find whoever did this and look for survivors! Please, take me to their last known location!" Minerva pleaded, practically begging.

"Well…" Itachi didn't want to deny Minerva's request, but with this being a war he didn't have time to get sidetracked. Luckily Itachi was a quick enough of a thinker to come up with a solution. "Jet, escort Minerva to the western front where the last sightings of Rufus' squad were reported. Warren, transfer the exact locations to Jet." Jet with his super speed could get Minerva to the western front in no time at all. And this way, Itachi himself didn't need to get sidetracked. He had to reach the guildhall, where First Master Mavis was reportedly headed alone.

"Roger that, hold on tight pretty lady." Jet nervously chuckled as he had to lift Minerva up bridal style.

"Careful that your hand does not wander too low, speedster." Minerva gave a glare of warning that rivaled one of Erza's scary looks. The sheer trauma Jet and so many other rowdy guild members had experienced at the hands of Erza, had Jet swallow down a nervous gulp.

"R-Right…" Jet nervously chuckled, as he carried Minerva and sped away at full speed.

Itachi looked around, and saw most of his fellow Fairy Tail members were here and recovering from battle. Noting that Elfman and Lisanna were among them, seemingly a little injured but nothing too major. Looking over his shoulder and to his wife Mirajane, Itachi asked. "Do you maybe want to tend to Elfman and Lisanna? Stay here maybe and hold the line…" Itachi had to admit, he didn't want Mirajane coming along as he was fearful of their unborn child in her stomach. So, he disguised the suggestion of leaving her behind, as a way for her to look after her younger siblings.

Mirajane sighed, and smiled warmly as she suddenly pinched Itachi's cheek. "Sweetie, you know I can see tell when you are worried, right?" Itachi fell silent, and lightly groaned in defeat, she had seen through his deception. "I know you want us to be safe, and baby I love you for it… But I won't leave your side, not during this battle, not ever. Because I love you too much to let you carry this burden on your own. Besides, there isn't any safer place for me to be than by your side." Mira took Itachi's hand and guided it, placing it onto her belly. "We trust that you will keep us safe, no matter what."

"You win… but you stay close. And if we find Zeref or Madara… you don't come near." Itachi warned, as with Zeref's death energy he wouldn't trust the Black Wizard to be anywhere near in the same vicinity as Mirajane and his unborn child. As for Madara, well that Itachi felt was self-explanatory.

"Yes, papa bear~" Mira lightly teased her husband, and planted a kiss on his cheek where she had pinched him earlier.

"Hn…" Itachi seemed somewhat flustered as his cheeks turned a little bit red. Without another word, Itachi had his Perfect Susano'o spread its majestic angelic wings and take a giant leap into the sky as it took flight.

Soaring over the battlefield, with the destination of the Fairy Tail guildhall in sight. The closer they got Itachi noticed someone in their path. Standing atop of a broken-down tower, armed with his magical staff was August. The General of the Spriggan Twelve stared down the colossal spectral warrior that was Itachi's Perfect Susano'o, fearlessly. Itachi brought his Perfect Susano'o to a halt, knowing he wasn't getting past August that easily.

Itachi had his Susano'o land before August. With the broken-down tower adding to his height, August reached up to the belt area of the spectral warrior. "We meet again, Demon of Extinction." August greeted Itachi in a casual manner.

"Hn, I'm guessing you won't let us pass…" Itachi had his Susano'o reach for its sword, aiming to cut down August right here and now.

August held both his hands onto his staff, and lifted the tip slightly off the tower. "Correct." August replied as she slammed down the tip of his staff, unleashing an explosive surge of magic power that knocked Itachi's Perfect Susano'o off balance, and tore through the entire terrain even causing the tower he was standing on to collapse. Yet August simply remained afloat.

"I almost forgot how frightening his magical aura was…" Mirajane commented with a slight cold sweat running down the nape of her neck.

"He certainly is different from the other Twelve we've encountered." Itachi acknowledged that August might just be a threat that rivaled that of Zeref himself. With instantaneous movement, August blitzed Itachi's field of vision and dealt a heavy spin kick to the forehead jewel of the Perfect Susano'o. The sheer force of August's kick actually knocked the Perfect Susano'o down to the ground.

"Hmm, it seems you suffer the same disadvantage I faced during our last encounter. Without Brandish here, I have no need to be concerned for her safety and can fight freely. But you on the other hand…" August raised his dominant arm up, holding his pointing finger out as he charged a sphere of energy. August was eyeing Mirajane who Itachi held onto within the Perfect Susano'o. "Carry your own weakness within your arms." August fired off a beam of energy from his finger tip, the beam expanded as it crashed into the Perfect Susano'o, bringing massive tremors and powerful winds sending spiraling clouds of dust around them.

"Weakness?" Itachi questioned, as his Perfect Susano'o was rising to its feet, pushing the beam from August back. "No…" Itachi groaned as he struggled to push August's beam back. August raised his brow, seeing the spectral warrior having formed a massive shield that nearly covered its entire body. "My wife is a source of unimaginable strength." The shield bounced the beam straight back towards August, the Yata Mirror having reflected the blast back with double the impact.

August snickered as he held his dominant arm out, spinning the staff around in a turbine motion as it blocked off the beam with ease. Although, Itachi took advantage of this opening, and had his Perfect Susano'o take a jump at August, ready to swing the Totsuka Blade into the Magic King. "Historia Tensei…" August's eyes glowed, as a coffin appeared out of nothingness next to him. The coffin broke apart, as giant trees erupted out from it and pushed against the Perfect Susano'o. The tree vines and branches wrapped around the limbs of the spectral warrior like snakes, hoisting it into the air.

'It's absorbing my chakra…' Itachi looked alarmed as the trees grew the more they got into contact with Itachi's Perfect Susano'o. Quickly Itachi cut himself free, using the Totsuka Blade to mow down the giant trees in an instant. 'That was Wood Style… not magic.' Itachi watched in awe, as a figure stepped out from the coffin. "It can't be…" Itachi mumbled out in complete awe.

"Who is it?" Mira looked a bit worried. She knew this couldn't be good judging by Itachi's shocked expression.

"The First Hokage… The God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju." Itachi was in full shock, seeing the man who was revered as the greatest Shinobi of all time back in his old world.

Hashirama moved his body unconsciously, as he formed a hand seal. "Wood Style: Cutting Technique!" Suddenly, what small remnants of wood, and tiny spores that had managed to breach into the Perfect Susano'o, expanded into giant exploding tree roots that pierced through the spectral warrior's entire body.

Itachi quickly acting grabbed a hold of his wife Mirajane, and leapt out from his Susano'o watching it fade away. Hashirama however wasn't done, making another hand seal. "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!" More trees grew out from the ground at a rapid rate, and reached towards Itachi and Mirajane in an attempt to squash them. Itachi quickly acted, and had black demonic markings spreading across his body, entering his Partially Transformed state. Itachi formed a giant blade of darkness around his left arm, and swung it around at super speed to slash and cut through the growing trees.

Light suddenly appeared in Hashirama's eyes, as he had gained his consciousness. "Hmm? Where am I now?" Hashirama looked around, not recognizing the scenery before him. "Is this the Edo Tensei again?" Hashirama looked at his own hands, seeing the cracked pattern on his skin that resembled that of the Edo Tensei bodies. Letting out a slight annoyed sigh, as he facepalmed. "Alright, who summoned me this time? Don't tell me it is that Orochimaru fella again?"

"Not this time." August gained the attention of the first Hokage, who turned to him with a perplexed expression. "And no, this is not the Edo Tensei. Rather it is a different version of that technique."

"And you are?" Hashirama rubbed his chin as he looked at August with a raised brow.

"Magic King August, General of the Spriggan Twelve and the supreme commander of the Alvarez Imperial army. Greetings, Hashirama Senju. And welcome, to my world." August casually greeted the God of Shinobi, who looked on August with a wary expression, Hashirama was rather quick to notice it.

'I can't move…' Hashirama noted, he was fully restrained and controlled by this August. He could barely move his arms around freely. 'This is quite some Jutsu… and his power, it surpasses that of my own for him to be able to control my movements like this.' Hashirama however, did also pick on the strange phrasing from August earlier. "What do you mean by, your world? Where am I? And why have you summoned me?"

"This world, is called Earthland. It is a different world from your own entirely. This is not the Shinobi world, but a world of magic. And, I have summoned you to fight for our Empire and on his majesty's behalf. We are in a war, and amongst our enemy… Are a small handful of people from your own world, that unlike a reanimated body like yourself, have been revived in this world by our Emperor, and now they stand against him." August summarized the situation enough for Hashirama to understand, although it sounded crazy, Hashirama had no reason to doubt August's words to be anything but the truth. "And here is one…" August looked down at Itachi and Mirajane.

"Hmm?" Hashirama looked with a raised brow, his gaze instantly falling onto Itachi. Although Itachi was covered by this strange black mass of darkness, his facial features were so familiar to the First Hokage. And most of all, his eyes. Hashirama looked as Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan morphed into that of the Rinnegan. 'Madara? No wait… Izuna? Sasuke?' Hashirama was a bit shocked, as he couldn't help but see the similarity in Itachi's appearance to that of Madara, Izuna and most of all Sasuke. "Is that you, Sasuke?" Hashirama questioned, wondering how much time had passed, as Itachi looked like an older version of Sasuke.

At hearing his brother's name, Itachi looked a little confused. "You know my brother?" As Itachi asked that question, it was like a light had been turned on in Hashirama's head.

"Ah! Wait, you are Sasuke's older brother, right?!" Hashirama asked with a wide excited looking grin on his face. This sudden question had caught Itachi completely off guard.

"Yes…" Itachi sounded a little bit skeptic, he hadn't expected Hashirama's mannerisms to be like this.

"Ah, I knew there was something familiar about you! Your brother revived us during the Fourth Great Shinobi War with help from Orochimaru using the Edo Tensei. He told me many great things about you!" To Itachi, there were so many questions that came from this alone. Sasuke revived Orochimaru? So that Orochimaru could revive Lord Hashirama to fight in the war? From what he knew from Obito, Itachi knew Naruto and Sasuke worked together towards the end of the war against Kaguya.

"He… told you about me?" Itachi mumbled out in surprise, although he had sort of made up with Sasuke before they parted ways. He hadn't expected Sasuke to sing his praise to the likes of Hashirama.

"Indeed… All that sacrifice and pain you went through and endured. You were, or rather are… a splendid Shinobi, even greater than myself." Hashirama beamed with the kind of smile Itachi had only seen on the likes of Naruto and Shisui before. Hashirama looked so carefree, and seemed a bit goofy. Although as Hashirama praised Itachi, a giant shadow flew over them.

Blocking the sun for Itachi and Hashirama, were the black wings of the Dragon King Acnologia that flew over them. Hashirama gazed up at the black dragon, or rather the one standing on its head, Madara. Both ancient Shinobi sensing each other's presence, they locked eyes.

For a mere fleeting moment, Madara reflects on his options as he glances down at his resurrected arch rival. The moment passed, and Madara turned his head away to look forward. 'Had this been more than a decade ago… I would not hesitate to fight Hashirama. But now, Ur is more important than Hashirama… I will not lose sight of my goal.'

"… Heh." Hashirama beamed with a smile as he saw Madara vanish into the horizon. Feeling a small sense of pride in his old comrade for seemingly having let go of their rivalry. "I see… So, you lot have him to deal with as well?" Hashirama could sense it, if he fought Madara now he would undoubtedly lose. Madara Uchiha was now stronger than he was.

"Yes, he is quite the problem. Any advice?" Itachi took the chance to ask the God of Shinobi.

"Sure, I will tell you all that I can." Hashirama was forced into battle position by August, compelling Hashirama to unleash one of his wide ranged jutsu's. "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!" Giant tree roots erupted from the ground, and made their way towards Itachi and Mirajane.

"Much appreciated." Itachi unleashed massive slash waves of darkness, the black mass around his dominant arm extending and growing into a large blade of darkness. Cutting down the entire top of the newly made forest surrounding them, Itachi had protected himself and Mirajane from any danger. However, flowers quickly began to bloom from the trees, unleashing a golden mist of pollen.

"Don't breathe it in." Itachi warned, and quickly held his arm around Mirajane as they shot up into the sky like a black bullet. Itachi floated above the clouds, and by simply spreading his wings of darkness the clouds beneath him were blown away.

"What was that?" Mirajane gazed down with curiosity at the pollen.

"A special type of pollen that is designed to entrap the enemy in a near unescapable mist of pollen and have them fall unconscious. Even my Susano'o wouldn't be able to block it out." Itachi has taken his time to study up on a lot of different types of ninjutsu in his previous life. Itachi observed every hand sign carefully from Hashirama. As now that Itachi knew wood style thanks to Zeref's alteration of Itachi's DNA, Itachi considered this the perfect opportunity to study up on some techniques from the God of Shinobi.

Madara in the meantime, tapped his foot onto Acnologia's head causing the Dragon King to growl that he was being treated like a pet. "Descend onto the battlefield, it's time we clear a way to Fairy Heart and destroy Zeref." Madara didn't have time to care for Itachi and Hashirama. After all, his goal was Fairy Heart, and if he killed Zeref in the process, Itachi would die as well due to Zeref having all his creations connected to his own life. Well, almost all. Madara was the only demon of Zeref that would remain after the Black Wizard's passing, after all, he was he only one who knew how to severe the connection. The race was reaching a crucial point, will Zeref get Fairy Heart from Mavis first? Or will Madara intervene and take it for himself?

That's the end for now!

Took a bit longer than I had hoped, but here we are. With only three remaining active members of the Twelve in the form of Larcade, Irene and August. Three other incapacitated or imprisoned with Brandish, Invel and Dimaria. And the rest dead. The looming threat of Madara and Acnologia descends upon the battlefield, in a race to take Fairy Heart before Zeref has the chance.

In the next chapter we will have the battle of Itachi vs The God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. And as well a confrontation between two friends, Gray and Natsu. Will Gray be able to fight his friend? Will Natsu be able to resist the growing persona of E.N.D? Will Itachi gain some valuable intel or skill needed for an upcoming confrontation against Madara? Let me know in the reviews what you think.

List of deceased:

Ishgar: Master Goldmine (killed by Jacob), Master Bob (killed by Bloodman), Edolas Jet and Droy (killed by Blitzkrieg), Edolas Elfman (killed by Historia Tensei Rustyrose), Edolas Levy (killed by Bloodman), Sherry Blendy (killed by Dimaria), Ren Akatsuki (killed by Dimaria), Wolfheim (killed by God Serena), Fiona (killed by God Serena), Mitsurugi (killed by God Serena), Noel (killed by God Serena), Warrod (killed by August), Jura (killed by August), Rufus (killed by Samuel), Loke (killed by Dimaria).

Alvarez Empire: Ajeel (killed by Kisame), Bakel and Kareem (killed by Laxus and Mirajane), Linda (killed by Beatrice), Marin (killed by Brandish), Grim (killed by Lyon), Bloodman (killed by Gajeel), Heine and Juliet (killed by Mirajane), Blitzkrieg (killed by Elfman and Edolas Mirajane), Wall Eehto (killed by Laxus), 4 unnamed knights (Neinhart's officers, killed by Erza Knightwalker), Neinhart (killed by Madara), Arthur (killed by Juvia and Gray), God Serena (killed by Beatrice), Lugh (killed by Bacchus), Jacob (killed by Kakuzu).

Leave a review!

-Later!

(Responds to reviews):

Shadow Joestar: Mavis doesn't really know anything about August at this point, only that he was the one who killed Warrod.

RHatch89: I can happily say, he isn't. Gray here even mentally apologizes to his dead father, saying that if Natsu really is E.N.D he can't bring himself to kill him. However, it seems a fight can still happen between the two.

keybladelight: Well, it seems Itachi will have the honor of fighting Hashirama. And Madara seems more interested in something else, lol. Shows not only Madara's growth in a way, but also shows how much he appreciates and values Ur, as she is clearly linked to whatever he has planned.

sprintony: Thank you. Sorry that it took so long.

Mr. Haziq: Love~!

38Solaire38: Thanks! Glad to see you caught onto the references.

Stealth9604: Yeah, I think that was a nice way for Kakuzu to wrap up his character journey. As he was able to overcome his own greed, and his distrust of others in order to win against Jacob.

Guest: Thank you as always Athallah. And don't worry, I understand mostly what you are trying to say.

Chase W53: Thanks!

acowles02: Yep, my grammar isn't the best. English is my third language so, yeah. And sometimes I end up typing something wrong, and it gets autocorrected which is annoying. And I end up missing it as I read over the chapter before posting. But I would like to think my grammar has improved over the years.

Arnab15: Because, Itachi views thing in a more pragmatic sense. He isn't an optimist that believes he can save everyone. Itachi at that moment had one goal, and that was get Erza out of there. He does evolve into someone who views things with more optimism. But at the beginning, no he isn't the type to try and save everyone.

StellarJade: Yes, I respond to reviews in my story because I like interacting with readers this way. I put them at the end now though, so it is easier for those that don't wish to read this section to just skip it.

Helltz: I'm not going to excuse anything, because at the start of the Phantom arc that was how things went. Even though my style of writing changed for the better over time.

Comic Manga: Okay, again, Itachi at the core as a Shinobi is pragmatic. He does what he believes to be the logical solution. In that moment, Itachi knew two things. One, he was low on chakra and didn't have the strength to save multiple people. Two, he had promised Rob to protect Erza so that is what he did. Itachi isn't the type to think he can save everyone, seeing as he couldn't save the Uchiha which heavily affects his psyche. He grows into a more optimistic person that will try and save everyone, even though he knows he can't, but that doesn't mean he can't try. That is the shift in mentality Itachi gets from being a part of Fairy Tail, and away from the mission comes first attitude the Shinobi world gave him as a child. Also, not to be mean, but I didn't understand what you meant at the end of that review, because the sentence wasn't put together properly.

Elite-Ninja2510: No problem.

AhmadiU: Yes, that is certainly a possibility.

Dragonsinofwrath17: Here it is, sorry it took so long.