Chapter 24: Spirits of the Dragon and Demon
Back at the School District 7
After Kouta's story about Maria and himself was explained. He assists Fairy Tail and their friends in ending the war and saving Maria.
The flying fortress's shape began to change drastically. "What is the flying fortress doing?!"
Gajeel, Levy, and Lily were looking at the strange shape of the fortress. "Looks like it's transforming or something!" Lily proclaimed.
"Question, what is transforming into?" Gajeel asked.
The flying fortress began to go lengthy body with long mechanical legs with dragon-like claws and tails. It was about four hundred long and two whiskers on the upper jaw. "Rrrrrrhhhh!" It landed on its feet and was about 500 meters in height.
"Holy crap!" Natsu exclaimed in shock.
"It's huge!" Saiji, Tsuhima, and Wendy yelled in unison.
"This is bad..." Erza muttered looking troubled.
Ancient Serpent Cyborg Dragon
Power: Magic: Ancient Dragon Soul
Power Level: Ancient Strong
The Serpant Cyborg Dragon fired a lightning bolt out of it's mouth destroying a nearby town.
B
From the Heaven's Canceller's hospital.
Anna, Yukino, and Index felt the sinister yet intense magic power as they looked out the window. Their eyes widened with disbelief and horror.
"Oh no..."
"Is that..."
"A cyborg...dragon?"
Despite Brandish and Dimaria being still unconscious, they faintly felt the magic presence as their eyes twitched.
Primo arrived and had his robotic eye scan the dragon-like cyborg. "Hmm..." His eyes widened. "No...that Cyborg is built with the same material that my people had."
"Primo...what is it?" Lahara noticed the Tech cyborg looking utterly stunned. Primo didn't answer as he was still scanning the giant dragon-like cyborg. His scanner picked up the lifeform. "Picking up Maria's body heat..." His eye caught something powerful. "What is this...is it her magic power...no...it's something else."
Irene was in the vehicle that she rode with Aiho and Erza. "Ugh...where am I?" She quickly sensed the strong magic power and for once she felt utterly afraid. She looked out the window and saw the giant dragon cyborg.
"Maria, what have you done to yourself?!" Kouta called out as the dragon's mechanical head looked directly down. "C'mon, what happened to you, ever since we woke up you haven't been yourself!"
No response came from the cyborg dragon despite there being no doubt that the cyborg was looking down and opening its mouth. "Maria...I ain't that friend yours anymore!" The cyborg dragon roared in a deep demonic voice. "I'm the Ancient Dragon Levi!"
"Ancient dragon..." Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel thought.
Rufus couldn't believe it. "Ancient Dragon, is it referring to the extinct kind that Sapphire comes from?"
Lucy was almost on the verge of shivering at the sight of the dragon. "Dang it, that thing is gigantic, probably even more than Acnologia."
Saiji looked almost nervous. "Crap, just when we thought this war was going in our favor."
Sherry had other thoughts. "Ancient Dragon, I never creatures like that existed."
Agnese arrived with her squad. "Orsola, Angelene, and Lucia, what is going on?"
"Trouble...the last enemy Maria that was in the flying fortress turned into a dragon-like cyborg," Orsola replied not looking back at the other nun.
Kanzaki looked troubled at the sight of the giant robot dragon. "Damn it, this just got severe."
Uiharu froze in fear at the gigantic cyborg dragon. "I can't believe something like that exists." Saten placed her hand on her friend's shoulder to calm her down. "Easy..."
Stiyl walked up to Kouta and grabbed him by the shirt. "Alright, did you know anything about this?" He demanded.
"No, I didn't I swear!" Kouta choked holding on to the red-haired magician's wrist. "I never knew the flying fortress was some disguised and that some cyborg-like dragon!"
"It doesn't explain anything about this cyborg dragon thing," Gajeel commented trying to make sense of what was happening.
"Though, we do know it's the spirit of an ancient dragon race," Wendy summarized getting the other's attention. "It's probably the same dragon race that Sapphire comes from."
"Kinda makes sense, though, why was there a spirit of the ancient dragon here?" Carla questioned.
"I think I know..." Sapphire appeared with Touma. "Back then 800 years ago, when my face was still living. My mother told me one of our kind went to another world with others. Sadly, they didn't return, we assumed that they died, though, we never figured that out."
"I figured that out," Uiharu came running at the group while holding her laptop. "According to the latest legend, there was a group of ancient people that paid a visit to Academy City. They shared their knowledge of magic and dragons. Things were going smoothly but, the humans started to get nervous fearing these ancient people would overpower them and rule the city."
"So basically, their fear caused them to attack the race and kill them," Saten concluded looking disgusted.
"Fear makes people do a lot of things," Erza said looking disapproved. "Especially when there are things that people don't understand. Fear comes from ignorance."
Just then RV drove by. Fisher Lily and her crew expect Isarbi and Aquapad to exit the vehicle. "Looks like we missed the party."
Touma turned to see female familiar faces before he could react. Nasagi wrapped her arm around Touma's shoulder as she put her index finger on his cheek. "Wow, you're so cute as I can remember." She giggled in a flirt.
Yuna wrapped her arms around Touma's body and she began to rub her face against his body. "So warm and a bit muscular."
"The scrawny little punk is popular with girls," Gajeel grumbled.
"Are you jealous that he might get me?" Levy teased.
"Shut up!" Gajeel retorted turning his head away.
"Damn it, Kamijou!" Motoharu arrived and looked a bit irritated more likely jealous. "Now you got monster girls after you this isn't fair!"
"Even in odd situations, you still know how to make silly jokes," Gray muttered with a sweat drop.
"Anyway, what do what we do now?" Carla asked.
Usagi looked at the cyborg dragon. "It's obvious that this thing is going to be a tough one to beat." He was using Observation Haki. "My Haki can tell the spirit in the cyborg is extremely powerful. Just as Acnologia."
"No problem," Natsu pumped his arm. "After all, we defeated Acnologia, so, we couldn't defeat this thing."
Erza smiled a little. "He's right. We can find a way to defeat this dragon and save Maria." She looked at the others. "Listen, we'll need to split into three groups. First one will need to go inside the cyborg and rescue Maria."
"How will we get in there?" Wendy asked.
"I can answer that," Primo approached the group. "There's a secret door at the lower belly, the only problem is the dragon's body is protected by an electric magic barrier. Once touched, you'll be zapped."
Lahar then stood by the Machias Cyborg's side. "Not only that, we found out its entire is made of the same tech that Primo's kind had. So basically, it'll defense armor is super strong able to withstand magic and esper abilities."
"So basically, magic and Esper's abilities won't work unless..." Gajeel began to say.
"We take out the barrier, but, I think someone can nullify the barrier for a short time," Kanzaki was looking at Touma, who realized it quickly. "Right, but, that's when I'll go inside."
"You won't be going in alone," Kouta stepped in. "I know the way to the top and I'll be one to guide the first group."
"What about the rest of us?" Kovu asked.
"More importantly, if you guys get inside the cockpit center, what will that accomplish?" Lahar asked.
Erza had that already figured out. "First off, the first group will be Natsu, Happy, Gray, Kotua, Touma, Usagi, and I." She then looked at Lahar. "To answer your question, the others will stay out here to protect the wounded. That'll be, Gajeel and his team including the Anti-Skills!"
Aiho nodded. "You heard her, gather the wounded and get them away!"
"That doesn't give much detail about how will we defeat the cyborg dragon," Lahar reminded.
Kouta had that figured out. "I think I can help with that. As you know Maria's body is possessed by the ancient dragon spirit. She's a puppet to the thing and is controlling it from the inside where the cockpit controls."
"That's when Touma will use his Imagine Breaker will nullify some of the demon's control, once that happens, Kouta will try to call to her and free here," Erza added.
"Even if Touma's power does lose the ancient dragon's control over Maria, it'll try to regain control," Kovu reminded.
"True, but, Touma can still try use his power to nullify the dragon's control," Wendy said.
Saiji smirked. "Sounds like a plan, but, won't the dragon still have its shield magic barrier?"
Kouta did consider that. "Yes, but, with my Esper ability. I should be able to hack the machinery and cause malfunctions."
"Wait, your Esper, I thought you were a magician," Itsuwa asked a bit surprised.
"I forgot to mention I'm also an Esper and the ability is called: Hacker Bug!" Kouta replied. "Touma, once you use your right hand to nullify the spirit's control, keep doing so which gives me more time to hack into the cyborg's control system."
"Sounds like a plan," Erza nodded as she tossed a communication lacrima to Saiji. "You and the other Awakusa Church will remain with others, your job will be to keep the dragon occupied. Once we manage to break the cyborg's barrier, I'll contact you and all of you will all your attack."
Lucy gasped worriedly. "Wait, what you guys keep blown up to if we launch an all-out attack?"
"There's a hatch door above the dragon's upper jaw which leads to the cockpit," Kouta answered. "Once we're done inside, we'll get through there and jump out."
Touma felt a little nervous. "Jump out...she says..."
"Alright, we know what our plans are, let's do this!" Erza declared.
"Yeah!" The other roared with determination.
The cyborg dragon continued to fire lightning bolts destroying a large number of buildings. "I will have my revenge on humanity!" The ancient dragon spirit roared. "My kind was once part of this world and the humans end up killing us like animals! They shall be judged by the cyborg dragon god!" It took a few more steps until it stopped a plane flying by. "A target in the sky, that's what I like" The cyborg dragon opened its mouth powering up a lightning attack once more.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy blew out her breath attack on the face.
"Water Nebula!" Juvia threw a water torrent at the dragon's face.
Kovu was in his Crimson Tyrannosaurus. "Crimson Flame Breath!" He blew a stream of crimson flames at the cyborg dragon's midsection.
Primo began to run as his motorcycle which was attached to the front and two laser blasters appeared on both sides of the cycle. "Anti Gatling Laser Beam!" The two laser blasters shot multiple energy beams at the tails.
"Everyone in the Amakusa!" Saiji declared. "Amakusa-Style Remix of Church!"
"Yes boss!" The other Amakusa church members saluted. "A Punishment of a Killer!" A several combat members used seven steal wires on their fingers creating a web of 350 wires surrounding the opponet's legs. The wires began to bind tightly as they could and mist began to surround the legs. An explosion was trigged throughout the wires damaging the legs, rather a little.
Rufus swipes one of his arms in the cyborg dragon's direction. "Memory-Make: Srhine of Turbulent Fang" Several vertical whirlwinds of medium size rapidly hone in on the target's by moving across the ground which engulfed the legs.
Styil was at the bottom by one of the legs. "Innocentus!" He summoned the pyro monster surrounding the flames on the right leg and scorched it.
The cyborg dragon halted its movement and looked down. "Pesky human scum!" The cyborg dragon roared angrily as it lifted its foot.
"Not so fast!" Lucy took out her golden Zodiac key. "Open Gate of the Centuar!" Her key glowed a brightly yellow. "Sagittarius!"
"I'm here miss Lucy," The horse costume man saluted.
"Star Dress: Sagittarius Form!" She wore an outfit consisting of a twin-tailed coat and sleeves that leave their shoulders and upper back bare. She wore a pair of dark thigh high boots with light trim at the top which splits above the knees to reveal the front of her thighs. Her hair was in a typical ponytail with two bangs framing the face. On her left shoulder was Sagittarius's zodiac sign.
She took a bow. "Star Shot!" She shot multiple energy arrows at the foot stopping it for a while.
"Iron Shadow Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel breathed out his attack right at the torso.
"Fish Tiger Pirates Attack!" Lily commanded as she threw a punch at the other leg. "Fishman Karate: Arabesque Brick Fist!" She released shockwaves in the air seemingly damaging the other dragon's leg.
Nasagi swung her staff. "Lightning Bolt!" The lightning bolt struck the leg.
"Caribbean Reef Shark Two Sword Style: Cross Slash!" Sanosuke jumped in the air and did a cross lash on the middle section of the robot's belly.
"Armament Hardening..." Holly Jones slashed the left side of the dragon's waist.
Yuna took out her pistol. "Lightning Ball Sphere!" She fired lightning-like ball sphere which electrocuted where Sanosuke slashed.
Vanessa pulled back her arm as a pack of water was on her hand. "Fishman Karate: Vagabond Drill!" She hurled the water and shoot a powerful water shockwave at the lower leg part.
Morgan was in her Mermaid Squid form. "Eight Squid Sword Style: Sixth Path of Six Blades!" She jumped at the robot's mid section and slashed about six times doing some damage.
Touma touched the lower belly and a sound of glass shattering was heard. "Got it!" Kouta went over and saw a door open inside was a little strange.. "Let's go inside!" Natsu declared as jumped inside with Happy. "Does he have to go so quickly?" Touma asked at the pinkette boy's recklessness.
"Enough gawking, let's go!" Erza ordered as she and the others went inside.
Shortly after, Natsu's team found themselves in a strange realm that resembled a space or a cyber world.
"Where the heck are we?" Natsu asked looking around the surroundings.
"Feels like we're in outer space or something," Erza speculated.
"Not quite, it's like cyber, like in a computer," Kouta explained. "Cyberspace is like a realm that's inside a computer world."
Gray didn't understand this. "but, this is the inside of a cyborg, how can behave something like this?"
"It doesn't matter, what does is that we need to find our way to the cockpit." Erza began to look up a strange white pathway that led the way up. "I think we should follow that."
"Correct, plus we can sense the enemy by detecting the strongest power level which will probably lead us to where Maria is," Usagi added.
All they agreed to follow the white path, strange cyborg-like wyvern came flying down from afar. "Looks like we got the welcome wagon!"
"Not funny!" Gray barked.
Erza knew there would be enemies. "Natsu, Gray, Happy, keep these monsters busy while we go on ahead, once you finish them. Meet up with us!"
"Do you have to work together again?!" Natsu and Gray complained.
"Is that a problem?" Erza asked in a demonic tone.
The two wizards whimpered while hugging each other comically. "No, ma'am!" The two engaged in battle against the cyborg wyverns.
Erza, Usagi, Touma, and Kouta followed the white path.
B
Aiho and her group along with taking the wounded Judgement officers away.
Saten and Uiharu were carrying Kuroko while Wanni and Awatsuki were following. "This is gotten so crazy!"
"Yeah, a cyborg dragon, we don't see that every day."
"Taking cats, talking bunny rabbits, a dragon girl, and fish creatures...what will be next?"
Mest was helping out the unconscious Judgement officers. "Erza...everyone be careful."
Back in the cyber world.
Erza, Usagi, Kouta, and Touma going on following the pathway. "This feels like it's taking forever."
"True, though, I can feel the power level that's up ahead getting stronger," Usagi said.
Just then a rabbit-like ninja android came dashing at them at high speed. Usagi sensed this quickly and using his Observation Haki, he was able to intercept the android ninja rabbit who was wielding a small blade.
"Go on, I'll take care of this one!" Usagi ordered as he took out his second sword. The rabbit ninja robot took out a small blade.
Once the path was clear, Touma and Kouta proceeded on and after a few minutes of running, they came across another portal-like doorway and went inside.
There was the cockpit surrounded by the cyberspace area. In the center was Maria sitting in the seat looking spaced out.
Kouta ran toward her. "Maria!" He tried to touch her shoulder but the moment he did he felt a strong force send him flying. "AH!" He screamed sending crashing on his side.
"What was that?" Touma asked.
Erza felt danger in the room. "Guys, we're not alone here."
"Hahahahah...so three human creatures made here." A voice laughed and darkness energy began to take the shape of a dragon. "Such persisant creatures you are."
Touma glared at the dragon. "Let Maria go now!" He demanded.
"I will not let this human go, I need her body to help operate this cyborg!" The dragon laughed once again.
Touma gritted his teeth. "Why are you doing this?"
The dragon sneered at the boy's question. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you. As you know, I'm Ancient Dragon, the last kind of the Ancient Dragon Race. A powerful race that once thrived on Earthland with abilities that ordinary dragons could use."
"I heard you guys have human forms and can use magic too. Not only that, you guys can't get motion sickness either." Touma said.
The dragon chuckled. "That's correct, but, that didn't stop humans and dragons from hunting us. As you know, both races feared we would learn to adapt more to our powers so they decided to hunt us down like animals. Before that, I traveled to the world and came across the gateway that led to your Touma Kamijou." The teenage boy let out a small gasp. "As you know, our kind learned to adapt to this world for a while. The people didn't seem to fear us until they got wind of our powers and identities. Once they found out about us, they were driven into fear and hatred. My family was hunted down, I tried to save them but the humans used their numbers to their advantage and overwhelmed us killing my family and my friend!" Tears were faintly seen in the dragon's eyes except the tears were black. "I was the last one, though, the humans driven me into a corner I was able to fight back and kill them then escape into a laboratory."
"Let me guess, it was the same one that Kouta and Maria were doing their research, right?" Touma questioned.
"That is correct, I died sometime and my spirit was trapped. Why you wonder, it was the strength of my hatred toward mankind. After what I've seen so far in this world nothing has changed. Humans haven't changed, they keep fearing anything and drive them to kill anything different!" The dragon snarled with anger and hatred. "Humans are nothing but evil monsters...terrible creatures just as Hordy Jones and his friends said!"
Kouta overheard this as he slowly lifted his body. "So, all this time Maria was possessed by the dragon spirit due to her hatred toward Academy City. Possibly, the anger that I betrayed her."
Touma clenched his hands getting sick of the crap the dragon spirit was spewing out. "Enough! You're just saying that because you don't understand what's going on in the real world! Sure humans are still selfish and discriminating against anything different from them!" He declared looking upset. "But, not every human is like that, I'm nothing like that so don't compare to those humans that hunted down your kind!" A look of seriousness was shown on Touma's face. "What about Maria, do you still control her body?"
The dragon chuckled evilly. "Not quite, her body may be a cyborg, but, in time she'll die."
"Doesn't that mean you won't be able to use this cyborg dragon?" Touma asked. "Speaking of, where did this kind of machine come from?"
"Back in ancient times, the race called the Tech was building a powerful weapon that would rival the dragons, however, it wasn't quite ready and later disposed of into this world, but, I guess someone managed to do some construction on it and complete it." The dragon replied with an evil smile. "To answer your other question, once Maria's body is no longer useful, it won't matter, I'll control this entire dragon cyborg body and use it to destroy the entire world!"
"She's insane..." Kouta thought feeling dreadful. "Maria...what we awoke..."
"What is your name?" Touma asked.
"My name...is Kisara, the queen of the Ancient Dragon Race!" The dragon spirit declared. "Enough of this chatter, I dispose lowly humans and you don't get to be here inside my cyber world!" She opened her mouth blowing out a stream of dark energy. Touma put his right hand out canceling the attack. "So, it's true your power nullifies other people's powers. No matter, I'll just crush your body into paste!" The dragon spirit's head lunged at Touma.
Kouta rushed at the dragon and punched her hard. "Not if I can help it!"
"Kouta!" Erza called out getting the former human to look at her. "You handle on getting through to Maria while we handle Kiara!"
Kouta looked at the scarlet mage for a few seconds before he nodded. "Flame Empress armor!" Erza equipped her flame empress armor while Touma stretched his right arm out. "I might understand the pain that you endured for so long but destroying this city to the people living in here isn't going to ease your pain!" The teenage boy stated with determination. "I will shatter that illusion that goes and show you humanity isn't as dark as you see!"
Kouta reached the cockpit as dark energy emitted from his childhood friend's body. "Maria...snap out of it!" He pleaded. "Please, don't let this dragon spirit control you! You're stronger than and you know it!"
Inside a dark abyss.
Maria was sitting while hugging herself and keeping her face buried in her legs. "Maria...listen to me, I know you can hear me! Please, I know you're strong, when you were still alive, you never hated the magicians, you hoped that someone we could work together someday and live in peace! That was the most thing you dreamt about. I thought it might be possible as long as we didn't give up! You always told me to believe and to have faith no matter how long a dream will take!"
Maria seemingly heard the words of her best friend. "Kouta..." She murmured with an emotionless expression on her face. Images of the knights from the magic side slaughtering her team flashed before her eyes. Hearing the screams, the cries, and begging for mercy were like a nightmare that wouldn't go away. "Kouta...betrayed...me..."
Kouta saw tears in her eyes, though, she showed a faint sign of anger and bitterness. He had a good idea of what she was probably thinking about. "Maria...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry for what I did..." He was on the verge of sobbing but tried to keep in. "I was driven by jealousy, fear, and hatred toward Zeref...honestly, he was a lot smarter than me and showed some compassion toward others even though he didn't show it. I can tell he didn't like wars just as much as we didn't like them." He had a sad smile. "Though, it doesn't change for what I did to you. You and our team were killed because of my selfish actions. I hoped to bring you back using the voodoo spell that Zeref showed me. Though, I didn't expect you to get possessed by a dragon spirit." He clenched his hands tightly. "Now, I have the chance to make things right and to save you so I bring you back to the person that you were! That was to create a bridge for scientists and magicians!" He declared with sheer determination. "After what I've seen so far, it looks like that dream will become a reality someday!"
Those words made Maria gasp softly. "My...dream...was...to build...a bridge...for magicians...and scientists..." She whispered as life in her eyes began to show some hint of emotions. A memory of her parents was flashed before her eyes.
"Maria, you know that there are magicians and scientists in the world. Both sides have differences, the kind that they don't agree which results in arguments and fights. Then could lead to war." Kouta said as he placed his hand on the girl's shoulder releasing a strong shock that electrocuted Kouta. "Ahhh!" He screamed as he felt the electric force shock him intensely. "Cough...cough..." Despite the pain he was in, he still kept his composure. "Maria...there are still people out there willing to expect others even if they are different sides. They work together, eat together, and laugh together!" Tears dripped down his cheeks. "Humanity has lost any faith and after what I've seen so far, there is still hope!"
Erza chuckled a bit and had a question for the ancient dragon queen. "Kirana...you said that you're the queen, right?"
"So, what if I am, human?!" The dragon spirit replied coldly.
"You said you had a family, did you have a daughter?" Erza asked.
Kirana just laughed. "You ask me about my personal life, how weird for a human." Erza wasn't taking for that an answer. "Answer my question?!"
"Yes, I had a daughter...or I did...she died...no she was killed by humans...those disgusting creatures...they treated her so poorly and they took her away from me. The scientists took her for experiments and later I learned she died." Erza was starting to put two together of her daughter's, and she had one last question to be sure. "Did you have sapphire color hair?"
"Yes...wait, do you know that?" Kirana demanded.
Erza took a deep breath. "She's alive..." Hearing that reply made the ancient dragon queen gasp. "You said she was taken away by the scientists and did some experiments on her then later learned that she died."
B
Sapphire looked at the cyborg dragon. "This feeling...no, the power I feel inside the cyborg...it feels like...my..." She quickly sprouts her wings. Wendy noticed her. "Sapphire, where you are going!" She flew toward the doorway that was opened, though, it was closed, but, by a miracle or luck, the doorway opened giving Sapphire a chance to get inside and enter the cyber world.
Natsu and Gray just defeated the two wyverns, but then more showed up. "Damn it, these bastards just keep coming!"
"So what, as long as we get to kick some ass, we're good,"
Gray could almost facepalm. "I should've known that you'd say that."
"That's Natsu for you," Happy teased.
Sapphire flew past them taking the three by surprise. "What was that, Sapphire?"
"How did she get in here?" Happy asked.
"The better question, is why is she here?" Gray saw how fast she was going like she needed to be somewhere. "Could it be she's worried about Touma, no...it's more than that."
Usagi was just done defeating the ninja rabbit cyborg and his Haki picked up a strong presence. Before he could react Sapphire came soaring at high speed taking him by surprise. "Sapphire, where are you going?" She didn't reply and just kept flying forward.
Kisara shook her head in denial. "No...you're lying. She's dead the scientists told me so, they even showed some blood clothes that belonged to her! I won't believe lies!" She roared unleashing a dark stream of mass energy.
Erza changed into different armor. "Adamantine Armor!" She combined her shields. "Adamantine Barrier!" A powerful magical barrier shielded from the energy mass. "Like you I experienced pain, my friends and I suffered too! On my journey, I went through more hardships. Yet despite that, I always found a way to move forward, if I gave into despair I would've ended up like the enemies I fought against!" She continued to defend against the dragon spirit's attack. "That aside, I can ensure that your daughter is alive...Sapphire was taken away but she was kept somewhere hidden by a scientist who felt sympathy toward her."
F
Sapphire was having a chat with Anna and Erza before the war. "I was taken away by scientists and they performed experiments on me. Their tests were so intense that I was getting sick and hungry. I would have died if it weren't for a human who saved and kept me somewhere safe. Then over 130 years later, I woke up and met Touma, who took care of me for a while until I heard that someone from the science side learned of my whereabouts, so I left. Though, I hope to see Touma again someday and repay him for his kindness." She had a sad smile on her face. "Though, I was shocked to see that he can't remember me because of what happened with Index."
Erza smiled. "That doesn't matter to Touma, he's still a caring young boy. From what I heard, he helps those in need even if they aren't human or he doesn't remember them. He cares for you still."
F
Kisara was stunned for a moment but she kept roaring like an angry animal. "No, I can't believe these lies! My daughter is dead...my family...because of humans!" She roared as her power was growing intense and dangerous. "Damn it...at this rate, my barrier will shatter."
"Maria...please snap out of this trance!" Kouta pleaded once more. "I know you can hear me, break free and we'll end this war together!"
Back in the dark abyss
Maria was starting to stand up as her eyes began to light up with emotions. "Kouta..." She saw a screen of some sort. "Kouta...it's you...I...save me...help me..." Kouta was able to see actual tears in her eyes.
"Touma! I think I'm getting through to her! Use your power to nullify the control over her!"
"Right!" Touma moved quickly as fast as he could jumped as high as he could and touched the girl on her head with his right hand.
Shatter
The darkness emitting from Maria's body ceased for good and she fell forward but Kouta caught her. "Maria...answer me...are you alright?" He asked holding her.
Maria's eyes began to slowly open in a squinting way. "Kouta...you're...here..." She sobbed with tears in her eyes. Kouta embraced the girl he loved in his arms tightly. "Maria...I'm sorry. My actions caused this mess and it came to this war. A lot of people were hurt and homes destroyed...but we have a chance to make things right."
"No!" Kisara roared in enraged though her voice sounded demonic.
Erza felt something off. "Her power is getting stronger...no...not just stronger...it feels different like it's coming from..." Before she could a word in, Sapphire flew into the room. "MOTHER!" She cried.
Kisara halted her next attack as she looked at a certain little dragon girl who was right before her eyes. "Mother...it's me, Sapphire!" She looked like she was crying tears of sadness and mostly joy.
Kisara was practically gasping at what or who she was seeing. "No...you're dead...I was..." The dragon-shaped head began to take a different shape and was in a human form. Her hair was white as the snow that reached her waist. "Mother, I was dead, rather I was dying, but a human saved me and set me free. I found myself in a different lab where I was kept sleeping safe and hidden from other scientists who wanted to do cruel experiments on me." She walked over to her mother. "After I woke after sleeping for 130 years, I met Touma as a child, we became friends but someone from the science side found out about who I am."
Touma and Kouta watched the scene.
"Mother, I had no idea that you're trapped as a spirit." Sapphire sobbed. "If I had known then I would've come to see you." She wiped her eyes and looked directly into her mother's eyes. "Humanity indeed has an ugly side, but, there's good in this world! I heard the things that Touma has accomplished, and the people he saved even if they were strangers. He gained so much from it, a lot of friends and Fairy Tail along with their wizard friends have shown their loyalty to their friends."
"Same here..." Usagi arrived as Kisara was taken off guard by a talking rabbit. "Forgive my intrusion, I'm Usagi, a member of the Mink Tribe and a wizard of Fairy Tail." He looked at Kisara. "Listen, the humans in my world were no better, but, there were some that cared for my kind and those that didn't mind who we were despite our appearances. Thanks to Fairy Tail, my friends and I were saved, we owe them so much and now we're members of Fairy Tail. A guild treats everyone like family no matter what!"
Kisara fell on her knees. "All this time...my despair, my hatred, my anger, and my suffering...it drove me to this...war..."
"I WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO END THIS WAY!" A demonic voice roared taking the earthland wizards by surprise.
"What was that?" Touma asked.
A dark demonic aura began to envelop Kisara's body. "I WILL TAKE DOWN HUMANITY EVEN IF I HAD TO REGAIN CONTROL OF YOUR BODY YOU SOFT DRAGON WOMAN BITCH!" A demonic spirit took shape from the Kisara's body.
"What the hell are you?!" Touma demanded angrily.
Natsu and Gray arrived at the time to see the demonic spirit coming from Kisara. "Okay, someone tells me what is going on now?"
"I'm the Ancient Demon of the Devil Imps. A powerful demon that unleashed absolute wrath on the human race and I will use anyone to punish humans including any other species that sides with them!" The demonic spirit replied as its energy was getting more powerful and sinister.
"What are you going do to my mother?" Sapphire asked almost demanding voice.
"I will use her body for a little while and transfer my soul to this entire cyborg body and continue my wrath on the human race! Once I find a way to get your world, I'll destroy it and everyone else you hold so dear!"
Natsu was pissed off. "Scew you! We will not let that happen!" Natsu began to transform his right arm into a dragon-like arm and a crimson dragon-like wing sprouted on his left side. His left foot and leg became a dragon's leg. "Dragonization!"
Gray was in total awe. "Natsu, how did you do that?" Natsu smirked. "This I got from the Dragon's Cry. I didn't know I would be able to use it again, however, I will use it to defeat this demon!"
Gray chuckled and put his right arm out covered in darkness. "Same here, let's end this fight by destroying it."
"And I know how to do that!" Kouta was at the cockpit and checking things. "I see, this entire cyber world is an illusion but if I press these buttons!" The cyber room was changed into a normal cockpit room but it was still big.
"Gray and Natsu, wreck the whole place with everything you got!" Kouta ordered. "I'm going to search for something else, something that'll make sure that this weapon will not be used again! But don't use your magic yet!"
"Aw man! Alright!"
"No!" The demon spirit used Kisara's body to unleash a dark energy beam.
Erza changed into her clear Heart Clothing. "Armament Hardening..." She coated her swords in black metal. "One Sword Style: Demon Blade Benizakura!" She swiftly passed Kisara slashing causing the demon to screech in pain.
"I'm next!" Usagi took out of his swords. "Sword Magic: Lightning X-cution!" A lighting-like appeared leaving an X gash on the Kisara's body.
Sapphire didn't want to fight against her mother but she saw that the demon was using her mother's body and wanted to save her as she transformed into her dragon form. "Dragon Sapphire!" She took a deep breath. "Water Dragon Stream!" A torrent of water was sent at Kisara. "Let go of my mother!"
The ancient demon spirit wasn't going to back down yet. "I will not die yet!" The demon created a sword-like blade from its dark body. "Dark Blade of Pure Darkness!" She slashed the ground creating a slashing ground move Erza, Usagi, and Sapphire moved out of the way, but Touma wasn't able to in time, and his right arm was cut off as he screamed in agony.
"Touma no!" Erza screamed.
Touma fell on his knees while using his left hand to hold his wound. "I will not...give up..." He opened his eyes with sheer determination. "YOU HEAR ME I WILL NOT GIVE UP!" His severed arm was replaced with a dragon's head.
Natsu quickly saw that. "Whoa, where'd that dragon's head come from?"
Gray was stunned to see what he was seeing. "No way, did his arm grow into a dragon's head!?"
Then seven more dragon heads appeared in different colors. "Dragon Strike!" Touma declared as his dragon heads launched their heads.
"So awesome!" Natsu laughed.
"Focus idiot!" Erza demanded startling the fire dragon slayer and she changed into her Nakagami Armor.
"NO!" The demonic spirit created multiple dark energy beams at the dragons, but, the dragon heads were even affected. "I WON'T BE DEFEATED BY HUMANS AND THEIR PETS!"
"YOU DON'T GET IT!" Natsu had sheer determination on his face. "NO MATTER IF WE'RE HUMANS OR NOT, WE'LL NEVER GIVE UP ON WHAT WE BELIEVE IN AND NOBODY CAN TELL US IT'S WRONG!"
"DAMN RIGHT!" Gray declared in agreement.
"LET'S SHOW ME WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DIFFERENT SPECIES WORK TOGETHER AS A TEAM!" Erza proclaimed with extreme confidence in her voice.
"YEAH!"
"FIRE DRAGON'S KING DESTRUCTION FIST!"
"ICE DEMON'S ZEROTH DESTRUCTION BOW!"
"WATER DRAGON STREAM!"
"ARMAMENT HARDENING...TWO SWORD RABBIT STYLE: LIGHTNING TOTSUKA!"
"NAKAGAMI STARLIGHT!"
Each of their strongest struck the demonic spirit as it cried in agony and pain. The demonic spirit's power was fading away as his spirit energy was fading away. "I lost...my power...my wrath is..over...I'm defeated...by humans...no by other races...this is over for me..." The demonic spirit was gone. "NO, I SHALL TAKE YOU WITH ME!"
The control cockpit started to go on alert. "What the..." Kouta saw the pop screen and it wasn't responding. "No, the system is on lockdown...I can't activate..."
B
Outside the cyborg dragon started to make a humming sound and was glowing.
"What is happening?" Lisanna asked.
Primo scanned the cyborg. "Not good, whatever the others were fighting, it must've activated a self-destruct program on it's own!"
"Which means..." Saiji began to ask.
"The cyborg will explode and...everyone nearby will die..." Lily concluded.
That left everyone frozen in fear.
"Alert self-destruct will activate in 9 minutes..."
"Self-destruct...that demon is going blow us up with him!" Gray yelled.
"That jerk...if it blows up, then everyone of our friends will be caught in the explosion!" Natsu exclaimed.
Erza growled in frustration. "Damn that demonic spirit!"
"Stop..." Maria got up despite her lack of consciousness. "I know of a way on how we can make sure that this power doesn't destroy the city or anyone living here..." She began to get at the cockpit controls. "There...I'm in..."
"How did you..." Kouta began to ask. "You forget already, I'm a genius...that hacking was also my skill. Though, the cyborg will still blow up."
"If that's the case, we need to abandon this!" Gray said as he went over to the hatch door. "Here's the shortcut!"
Erza was relieved. "Good, Kouta, Maria, Kisara, let's go!"
"Yeah, mother, we should leave now!" Sapphire said taking hold of her mother's arm.
Erza noticed the three were silent. "What's wrong?" Kouta looked at the wizards. "Listen, we won't be leaving with you guys?"
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Natsu asked.
"Listen, I didn't explain the entire plan. The demonic spirit is still controlling the Ancient Dragon Cyborg, however, with Maria and I hacking skills we'll be able to block off his control!"
Gray wasn't understanding much about their plan. "I don't get it, how controlling it going to help stop the explosion and how will you guys control it in the first place?"
"I will be the one to control this machine," Kisara stated. "This technology was also built by the Ancient Dragon Race and the Tech helped, so, basically since I'm a dragon, I will be able to control it freely." She looked at her daughter. "In other words, Kouta and Maria will use their abilities to block off the demonic spirits' control and allow me to regain control of this cyborg. Once that happens, we'll fly in the sky and go over to the ocean and by that time, this entire machine will blow up!"
Erza gritted her teeth. "No, we can't leave you three here!"
"She's right, you can't die here!" Natsu yelled.
"Mother, you can't leave me!" Sapphire sobbed tears falling down her cheeks.
Kisara hugged her daughter. "Listen, we're the only ones that regain control of this machine, if we don't it'll explode in the area and everyone will killed. We can't let that happen, but you guys can escape through that hatch!"
"She's right, I know how hard this is for you guys, but live on, for your friends!" Maria added with a happy expression on her face.
"Agreed, you have friends in your world who are waiting for you to return!" Kouta sobbed. "So go and live for them!"
Usagi lowered his head. "If that's what you want, then we'll respect it."
Natsu wasn't going to let this happen. "Like hell, we will!" Gray grabbed Natsu by his chest. "We have no choice!"
"Let's go!" Happy flew away with tears in his eyes.
Erza grabbed hold of Sapphire. "Come on, let's go!"
"Mother!" Sapphire cried tears continuing to fall down her cheeks. .
"My daughter...LEAVE THIS PLACE FOR ME!" Kisara sobbed as her lips curled. "YOU MUST LIVE TO FIND A PATH THAT YOU BE PROUD TO LIVE IN I KNOW YOU WILL AND THAT I WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU, MY DAUGHTER SAPPHIRE!"
Touma didn't say a word but he felt like crying, but, he knew it wasn't the time so he left. "Sapphire...let's go home." He said calmly as he placed a gentle yet firm touch on her shoulder. Sapphire nodded her head.
Outside the city.
The wizards noticed the machine suddenly began to slowly lift its long dragon head up and began to soar into the sky. "Where is it going now?" Kovu asked.
Primo quickly scanned the entire structure. "Something is happening, whatever is controlling this machine isn't the enemy that we were fighting!"
Lucy wondered if something happened and saw a few figures coming out of the mouth. "Look up there!"
Happy was flying down carrying Natsu.
Erza was in her Black Wing armor.
Gray created an ice-slump-like slide and created a sled for him and Usagi to ride down in. "Hold on!"
Sapphire was carrying Touma while flying with her dragon wings only appearing.
The Ancient Dragon Cyborg flew into the air as it began to lights began to flash around its body flying higher and higher to the sky until it reached the ocean.
The alarms inside the cockpit were going off. Maria and Kouta saw the timer was getting close to its limit.
Sapphire saw that they were far away and just time too as a sad smile was seen on her face. "I'm sorry...Sapphire..." With that, the Ancient Dragon cyborg blew up as all parts of it began to fall apart as parts fell into the ocean including the dragon's head.
"We did it!" Lucy cheered.
Natsu and his group made to their friends.
"Natsu!" Wendy hugged her friend. "Are you okay-" She saw a sad look on Natsu's face.
Carla saw Happy looking sad. "Top cat, what's wrong?"
Juvia approached Gray. "My love, are you okay?"
Gajeel noticed one person was missing. "Hey, where is Kouta?"
Erza took a deep breath and explained what happened inside. Most were distraught.
"Kouta and Maria reunite and they sacrificed themselves..."
"There was another Ancient Dragon that was being used as a pawn and she was Sapphire's mother..." Wendy sobbed seeing Sapphire all sad and she knew how she felt especially when she found out that Grandeeney was already dead. "She stayed to help regain control of the cyborg so it wouldn't explode in the city."
"Yes, they gave their lives to save us and everyone in the city." Usagi placed his hand over his heart. "I know it hurts, but we shall respect their last wish. We gave them hope and left the future to us. The future for Academy City."
Saiji sighed. "I guess it can't be helped."
Kanzaki had to agree. "Yeah, we should be happy that we're alive and honor the three that sacrificed themselves to save ours."
Natsu took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm sure they wouldn't want us to cry like this. We should honor their memory."
Erza chuckled wiping her tears away. "That's right, we have to move on, right Sapphire?"
Sapphire was silent for a minute until she wiped her tears away with her arm. Her eyes opened with determination. "Yeah! I WILL LIVE ON WITH ALL MY MIGHT AND MY FRIENDS THAT ARE STILL HERE!" The declaration made everyone proud.
"She's so manly!" Elfman bawled.
Aquapad and Isaribi arrived. "Lisanna!"
"Captain Lily!"
Lisanna ran over to her boyfriend and kissed him on the lips.
Elfman, Wendy, Natsu, Gray, and Juvia were left in awe while faintly blushing.
Sapphire walked over to Touma. "Touma..." The teenage boy looked over at her and to his surprise his lips were captured by Sapphire's.
Yuna, Morgan, Nasagi, Itsuwa, Kanzaki, Lessar, and Luci were staring with gaping mouths.
"We won't hear the end of this," Vanessa muttered with a face palm.
Jasmine just shrugged. "We'll have to anyway."
Motoharu face palmed looking so jealous. "Touma gets his first kiss! No fair!"
"Gee, you don't have to get overdramatic," Levy said with a sweat drop.
Sapphire pulled away while putting her hands behind her back. "Consider that thank you for helping back when we first met." Touma was just stunned not saying a word.
"Anyway, let's party!" Cana proclaimed as she wrapped her around on Touma's shoulder. "To celebrate our victory and our teamwork!"
Erza didn't think that was a bad idea. "I think that's a good idea."
"I'm way ahead of you guys," Ms. Komoe was there. "I have the place where we can have this celebration."
The Cyborg dragon was finally defeated, only that it cost the lives of Maria, Kouta, and Sapphire's lost mother Kisara. But they will continue to move forward and they'll party then Fairy Tail and their friends will return home.
End of chapter.