Here is the next chapter, my readers!

This chapter was hard to write, given my schedule, but I managed to do it!

Here is the final chapter of the Phoenix Priestess Arc!

Enjoy the read!

Chapter 142

No Matter What Sacrifice

As the three of us made our way to safety, dozens of people were now a panic as the phoenix continued its destructive rampage, blasting one attack after another, causing the whole town to rumble and shake. The sky seemed to take on a red tint, and the smell of smoke and gravel filled the air. However, I tried not to pay too much attention to the terrible sight as I, along with Lucy, carried Eclair while Mira and I kept an eye out for them.

Soon enough, we came to an obscured alley that enough to hide us from the chaos. Lucy and I set gently set Éclair down to the ground, and Lucy took out a cloth and began cleaning the soot off of her face.

Mira also found an old tattered cloth on the ground and then wrapped it around Éclair. "Here. It's not much, but at least it'll keep you covered up for the time being," she said kindly.

"Thank you," Éclair said gratefully.

"Willy, you think that you can use your healing magic on Éclair?" asked Lucy.

"Sure I can," I said with a nod. "Just leave it to me."

But as I held out my hands to start healing her, Éclair turned away.

"Please. That won't be necessary," Éclair spoke quietly. "I'm all right."

"But Éclai, you're hurt!" Lucy objected. "You just barely survived getting burned alive!"

"Not to mention, if we don't get you treated, those burns will get infected," I also said. "So, this isn't the time to be acting tough."

Éclair looked at us, giving a small smile. "I'm not trying to be tough. Trust me, I'm fine," she said. "Not only that, but there's something I have to tell you all. I remember now."

I couldn't help but be surprised, feeling my eyes getting wide a bit.

"Wait, you mean you regained your memory?" asked Mira.

Éclair nodded in response as she glanced towards the ground as she continued. "Veronica was built on the ruins of the Fire Village many years ago. That was where I lived."

"But, I don't understand..." Lucy spoke, confusion evident in her voice.

"Lucy, let her explain," Mira shushed, squeezing the blonde's shoulder.

"The Fire Village burned to the ground four hundred years ago, because Veronica's raid," continued Éclair. "On that night, the elder of the village saved my life by having me drink the phoenix's blood, therefore granting me eternal life. After that, the elder brought me to safety, entrusting me with dispelling the Phoenix Stones, so that they could never be used again. However, probably as a result of drinking the Phoenix's blood, my memory had been wiped clean. For a long time, I carried the stone with me without knowing why, while wandering throughout the countryside for what seemed like to be an eternity. Time marked only by the graves of those I loved and held close to my heart who have died before me."

There was a long silence as the three of us stared at Éclair, not believing what we had heard. This girl had been living for four hundred years, and had been alone all this time, experiencing sorrow and loneliness throughout those times without having a clue who she was up until this point. I couldn't help but feel not only sorry for Éclair, but also somewhat amazed that she had endured those years by herself.

Éclair then mirthlessly smiled. "Four hundred years. An expanse of time that no one should have to endure."

"I can't imagine how terrible that's been for you, Éclair," Mira spoke apologetically. "Living through those years alone."

"Now I understand what you meant when you said that Magic brings sorrow," Lucy spoke quietly.

Éclair's eyes then began to overflow with tears as she began to cry. "This curse I carry was brought about by Magic," she wept, trembling. "And it's caused me nothing but pain."

As she continued to sob, Lucy gently embraced her in a hug to comfort her as she stroked her hair. Not wanting to see her cry like this either, I hugged her as well, and Mira joined in too. After holding her for a few seconds, there was another powerful explosion that sounded pretty close by as it shook the area.

"I hate to break up this moment, but we better get out of here," Mira said. "That sounded a little too close by."

"You're right. It's too dangerous here," I said. "Lucy, help me get Éclair up."

"You needn't worry about me. I am immortal, so I'll be able to live through it," Éclair said bitterly. "You should just leave me here. I won't mind if you do."

"No way! We would never do that!" Lucy objected, grabbing Éclair by the shoulders. "Nobody in our guild would ever leave a friend of ours behind."

"That's right," said Mira with a smile. "It kinda our thing after all."

"As they say in the Three Musketeers, "All for one and one for all," I said. "Besides, you're one of us now. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Éclair looked at us, surprise evident on her features, before a tiny smile curled up on her lips as Lucy, and I helped her to her feet. The four of us then exited the alley running as fast as we could. At that moment, there was a loud stomp that came from the phoenix that shook the ground, and when that happened, it suddenly disappeared beneath my feet. Next thing I knew, Lucy, Éclair, Mira, and I were falling into a large crack in the ground. I was about to spread my wings hoping to fly us all out before it was too late, but at that moment, something soft and flat saved us by spreading from one end of the crack to the other treating itself like a hammock.

"Geez, the four of youse are heavy," the hammock complained.

I couldn't help but glance down at the hammock and saw something quite familiar. On this mysterious thing, were purple letters that read G.E.E.S.E on it. Then, it lifted up, curling and lifting us safely out of the hole, and in a puff of smoke, the hammock turned into a familiar face that I didn't expect to see. It was none other than the bandit that Mira, Lucy, and I tried to catch not too long ago, Geese of the Baccus Bandits.

"No way! You are...!" I began to say before trailing off.

"So we meet again," Geese grinned. "How's it going?"

"But what the heck are you doing here?!" Lucy asked incredulously.

Geese then looked back towards the phoenix. "Well, word on the street was this duke had some kinda special stones," he explained. "Figured they'd be worth a' bundle, so I came here to check it out. But I don't think I'll be getting my hands on 'em after all." He then looked back towards us with a grin. "Ain't this a strange twist of fate or what? You guys were just trying to collect a bounty on me not too long ago, but if you had managed to capture me, youse guys would have ended up taking a long nap in the dirt, and I wouldn't have been here to save youse guys."

Well, the four of us couldn't help but stare at Geese incredulously with that kind of logic. Weirdly enough, he was right, despite this being one heck of a coincidence. Then, the phoenix let out a ferocious shriek making the ground rumble and shake again, causing us to look up at it.

"Well then, that's my cue to leave," Geese said. "I'm outta here!"

The bandit then turned on his heel and took off running, but as he did, I couldn't help but call out to him.

"Hey, Geese!"

Geese then stopped and turned around, and I gave him a small bow of respect.

"I honestly don't know what your motivations are for saving us, but thank you," I spoke. "From the bottom of my heart."

Geese smiled. "You're welcome, but you and your friends owe me one," he said. "See you around!"

And with that, Geese took off not wanting to stick around.

Éclair then spoke up. "You're all quite special people," she said with a smile. "You make connections with every person that you meet, just like you did with me."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far..." Lucy said with a wry smile.

Then there was another explosion, which caused us to look towards the phoenix again. This time, there was a large, familiar, flame on top of its back that flared brightly. It didn't take an expert wizard to know who was the owner of that flame.

"That's Natsu!" I spoke, pointing.

"He must be fighting someone on that thing's back," said Mira. "It's most likely Dyst, since I haven't seen him since he awakened the phoenix in the first place."

At that moment, three familiar streams of magic barrelled into the phoenix's body, one of them being water, the second of wind, and the third, a storm of steel.

There was also a massive blast of ice that crashed into the middle of the beast as well. There was no doubt that attacks came from the rest of the group and were trying their best to fend off the phoenix, but that seemed to make it even more rampant as it let out another agonizing shriek as it walked forward, unleashing another volley of attacks creating more earth-shaking explosions.

But then, as soon as it took a step, it suddenly seemed to lose balance, and with a startled cry, the phoenix fell to its side, crashing into some buildings creating a powerful concussive blast of wind, which was so strong that it caused me to shield my face with my hands, trying not to get blown back. At first, I wondered what could have happened that caused the phoenix to fall like that, but then as I glanced up, I saw a pillar of lightning that sparked and cracked from up top the roof of another building a few meters away, which could have belonged to one person.

"That lightning...! Could it be..." I began to say.

"It's Laxus!" cried Mira happily.

Sure enough, the very man leaped out of the pillar of lightning, taking to the skies, and unleashed a powerful stream of thunder at the phoenix. And he wasn't alone, for flying alongside him, was the Thunder Legion, Bixlow, Evergreen, and Freed, all of which unleashed their attacks at the beast as well.

At that moment, the flame which represented Natsu, grew and got even brighter than before, and thanks to the phoenix being on its side, I could see the fire dragon slayer who was locked in an intense fight with Dyst like Mira predicted. Natsu, enveloped with his fire magic, fist clenched, and tried as hard as he could to get to Dyst, who was using his magic to keep Natsu at bay.

"Natsu! You're wasting time!" I heard Laxus yell. "Be a real Fairy Tail wizard and kick his ass already!"

Those words made Natsu's fire burn even brighter than before, the flames taking a whole new intensity as he started to get closer to Dyst, his emotions fueling the power surging through his body. Then when he was close enough...

"FLAME LOTUS EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!"

With a mighty shout, Natsu unleashed his Dragon Slayer Secret Art, a spiraling and devastating whirlwind of fire magic that swallowed Dyst up entirely. The Carbuncle wizard screamed in agony as the flames burned his entire body, overpowering him, and sending him plummeting off the back of the phoenix, unconscious and defeated. Appearing to be exhausted after unleashing such an attack, Natsu began to fall as well, but Happy swooped towards him, managing to catch the guy and flew him to safety.

"Yes! Natsu beat Dyst!" I cheered, all smiles. "Way to go!"

"Don't count the chickens before they hatch, Willy," warned Mira. "Natsu may have won, but we still have the phoenix to deal with, and considering the phoenix hasn't taken any damage so far, we've got quite the fight on our hands."

"Then I guess you're going to need some backup, eh, Sis?" said a voice from behind us. "You and the others do look like you could use a couple of hands."

The sound of the voice made us turn around to see a surprising sight. Standing behind us was a group of our Fairy Tail friends, Elfman, Lisanna, Macao, Wakaba, Alzack, Bisca, and Cana.

"Everyone! You're here!" Lucy gasped.

"Well, since you guys didn't make much of a stealth team in the first place," said Macao with a grin. "We decided to screw the stealth team idea, and all came here to help."

"And considering the fact, we're dealing with that monstrosity," said Wakaba. "You guys are gonna need all the help you can get."

"That's right," said Elfman. "A real man isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty!"

"Yeah! Let's give Natsu and the others a hand!" said Lisanna, as she used her Take Over Magic to turn her hands into wings.

"Willy, you should stay with Lucy and Eclair," Mira said. "They'll need someone to protect them just in case."

"But what about you?" I asked her. "Are you going to join them?"

"Yeah. After all, as Wakaba said, we'll need all hands on deck," Mira smiled. "Besides, I wouldn't mind letting off a little steam right now."

Mira then took a couple of steps forward, her body radiating with magic, and in a blinding flash of light, she transformed into her Satan Soul form.

"All right! Let's do this!" Mira roared, as she spread her bat-like wings taking flight with a mighty flap.

Everyone else then rushed past Lucy, Éclair, and me, charging towards the phoenix, ready to take it down. As much as I would love to join in the fight, it was more important to make sure that Lucy and Éclair were protected, so I didn't object, but that didn't make me feel all the more worried.

"Be careful, everyone," I quietly spoke to myself. "Don't go and get yourselves killed now."

Then Éclair spoke up. "You both have such wonderful friends with everlasting bonds. I'm quite amazed."

I looked towards the girl and smiled at her. "Yeah, and it's not just them. You're our friend too, Éclair."

"That's right," agreed Lucy. "And just like with the people in Fairy Tail, we cherish our friendships too."

A surprised look crossed Éclair's face for a brief second, before it changed into a warm smile.

"After all these years, after all the pain I've been through, I'm finally experiencing happiness again," Éclair spoke quietly. "It seemed that I've forgotten it, but now... I can't help but feel happy."

"And why shouldn't you be?" I chuckled. "You deserve to be happy."

Then, suddenly, an agonized look crossed Éclair's face as she let out a cry in pain as she clutched her chest, beginning to falter. Luckily, Lucy and I were able to catch her before she fell.

"Éclair, what's the matter?!" Lucy asked worriedly.

"It's... it's the phoenix!" Éclair gasped. "It's gathering power... from everything around it!"

At that moment, a glow from above causing me to turn my attention to where it came from, to see that the phoenix now upright once more was generating an enormous fireball, that grew larger by the second along with the magic it had within it.

Then I started to grow a little weak, which made me fall to one knee. "Wh-what? What's going on here?"

"I feel so weak all of a sudden," Lucy spoke.

"It's not either of you," Éclair said. "It's because the phoenix is stealing power from all living things around itself. It will take all the magic it can until it has enough to destroy the world."

Lucy and I looked back at Éclair, feeling horrified.

"But why would it do that?!" Lucy asked.

"It's in the phoenix's nature to be reborn," Éclair replied, her eyes never leaving the beast. "However, for it to achieve this revival, it must first be destroyed. The entire world must burn, so it alone can rise from the ashes."

"That is precisely why that it must be stopped," said a familiar, elderly voice. "No matter what the cost. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Éclair?"

The three of us looked up to see Makarov and Tu-Chi now standing before us.

"Master Makarov! Master Tu-Chi!" I gasped.

"But how can we do that?" Éclair asked the two. "The people of the fire have lost for years, and their technique to dispel it along with it."

"We will not seal the phoenix away," Tu-Chi said. "Instead, we will destroy it."

"Destroy it?" I repeated. "But, none of our magic attacks couldn't even faze that thing, so how do you think we should go about destroying it?"

"Four hundred years ago, the great wizard Kalard completed work on a magic item that was to be used against the Phoenix," Tu-Chi said. "It was known as, "The Arrow of Evil's Destruction." When he did, he entrusted it to the Magic Council."

"My... my father did?" Éclair breathed in amazement. "Could this be the dispel magic that he spoke of?"

Makarov and Tu-Chi both silently nodded.

"It is an extremely, powerful magic item," Tu-Chi said. "One that will annihilate the phoenix."

"Then where is it?" I asked. "If it does as you say it does, then let's use it to take it out!"

"It's currently in Erza's possession," Makarov spoke quietly. "She will fire this arrow when I give the signal."

Lucy and I couldn't help but feel thrilled by this news, but our joy didn't last long, for Makarov and Tu-Chi's faces looked very solemn, hinting that there was something else they hadn't told us yet.

"What's the matter?" Lucy asked. "We have a way to destroy this thing, so why do the two of you look so sad?"

There was a brief pause. Then Makarov looked at the three of us, his face looking even more grave than before.

"Yes, the phoenix will be destroyed, but there's something else, you both need to know," the old man spoke quietly. "Anyone who has consumed the blood of phoenix will die along with it."

Time seemed to stop right there and then as I felt my heart stop beating and my blood run cold from the shock, while staring at the two with wide eyes.

"Say what?!" I suddenly yelled. "You're saying that not only will the phoenix die, but Éclair will, too?!"

"She wouldn't do that!" Lucy objected. "Erza would never fire that arrow if it meant killing Éclair!"

"We know," Makarov said. "Which is why we chose not to disclose that information with her. This will be our sin to bear alone."

"THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN DO THAT!" I hysterically yelled. "THERE'S GOT TO BE ANOTHER WAY THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE ANOTHER ONE OF OUR FRIENDS DYING!"

"There is no other way, Willy," Tu-Chi spoke firmly to me. "Believe me, Makarov and I have searched for all other options, and this was the only one that we have. Besides, there isn't any time to waste. In a matter of seconds, the phoenix will destroy everything, and millions of lives will be lost, including us."

A few seconds of silence had passed, until finally, Éclair spoke up.

"Go ahead. You have my blessing."

Lucy and I looked at Éclair in shock and disbelief, as Makarov and Tu-Chi bowed, giving their thanks and condolences.

"No, Éclair! Don't do this!" I yelled.

"Please! You can't die! Not like this!" Lucy begged.

"Lucy, Willy, it's all right," Éclair said. "I'm not afraid to die. It's for the best. Besides, Momon is waiting for me."

"What are you saying?!" Lucy cried, snapping her head towards the girl in her arms. "How can you say that it's okay for you to die when it's not?!"

"Yeah! We've already lost Momon! We don't want to lose you too!" I also cried. "You can't die like this! You just can't! What about living your life and joining Fairy Tail with us?!"

Éclair smiled kindly. "Really. It's okay. I've had a four-hundred-year life, but I don't want it to last forever," she said quietly. "If anything, the only thing that should be eternal for me, is the memories I made of being with you two and the rest of Fairy Tail. Those memories are a special gift, and I will never forget them for as long as I live, that I can promise both of you. In a way, I suppose that makes me already a part of Fairy Tail."

Lucy and I could only stare at Éclair in silence, not knowing what else to say. Lucy's eyes began to fill up with tears as she sobbed, while I stood there, biting my lip hard, trembling and shaking, while feeling my eyes start to burn.

At that moment, Makarov rose his hand, giving the signal to wherever Erza was. When he did, a blue streak of light shot across the air heading straight toward the phoenix, much to my horror as well as Lucy's.

"PLEASE, NO!" Lucy shrieked.

But the blue streak of light hit its mark, impaling the phoenix square in one of its glass eyes. The phoenix let out a bellowing shriek of pain, reacting like a wounded animal as it trashed around in agony. When that happened, Éclair let out another cry of pain, her face warping in a grimace. I was about to rush on over, when the phoenix's head came falling straight towards us as it continued to thrash around. Luckily, Makarov enlarged his arms, crossing them, blocking it just in the knick of time, pushing it off.

The phoenix soon recollected itself, and when it did, the red orb which had swelled to an enormous size, suddenly shot upwards going high into the air. With a mighty boom, it had taken an eerie red color as it expanded all across the sky as it continued to grow, falling straight towards us. In a matter of seconds, it would hit, and I didn't even want to think about what would happen if it hit.

Then as I stared up at the impending attack, Tu-Chi's words suddenly echoed in my mind.

"With the fate of Veronica as well as the rest of the world hanging in the balance, while it's admirable to protect your loved ones as a priority, your top priority should be the completion of your mission. No matter what you have to risk... or who."

That memory made something click inside of me, which caused me to look towards Éclair and Lucy. Then after staring at the two for a few seconds, I swallowed a lump in my throat and returned my gaze towards Makarov and Tu-Chi.

"Master Tu-Chi. Master Makarov," I said. "You're both positive that there's no other way?"

The two could only answer with a silent nod. I then looked back towards Éclair and Lucy; my gaze focused solely on Éclair.

"Éclair, is this really what has to happen?" I asked her. "Is this really what you want?"

The girl looked up and gave a sad smile. "Yes, it is," she said, her voice growing weaker. "If that attack makes impact, everyone will die, and I don't want anyone else to die, especially my friends."

I turned around fully and walked over to Éclair, and I embraced Éclair in a very tight hug. Éclair wrapped her arms around me and returned the hug in earnest, as I swallowed another lump in my throat before pulling away.

"Éclair, I just want you to know, you'll always be my friend," I said. "You know that, right?"

"Of course I do," Éclair said. "And I feel the same about you and Lucy, too."

I then stood back up, turning away, and taking a couple steps forward, making a decision, thanks to Éclair's words. I looked towards the phoenix, and saw the same blue glow coming from its eye as it seemed to stay still.

"Willy, what are you doing?" Lucy asked me. "Don't me you're..."

The only thing I could say to Lucy was these three words as I spread my water wings.

"Please, forgive me."

And with a mighty gush of water from the bottoms of my feet, I took to the air flying straight towards the phoenix.

"Willy! No! Come back!" I heard Lucy yell hysterically. "Don't do it!"

But I kept on flying forward, heading straight towards my designated target, not daring to look back. As I got closer to the phoenix, I could see that the arrow was sticking out from its eye. I knew that this was going against everything that I stood for, but I knew that this was for the greater good, despite the hefty price.

I closed my eyes, concentrating hard on what I was about to do. If I was going to do the deed, I was going to need a lot of power to do it, and there was only one thing in the world that could provide that for me.

Then I opened my eyes again, and sure enough, I found myself in the blue and green room, and the little girl was sitting on the chair by the tank sipping a cup of tea. The girl then looked up.

"Well, well. Look who's here," the girl said, setting her cup down. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Willy?"

"I don't have time for your games, right now, girl," I said curtly. "Remember how you said that you could provide me with power? Well, now would be a good time to put that offer back on the table."

The girl rose a brow as she set her cup on the table. "Oh? Is that so?" she said. "You've constantly been rejecting my offer for quite some time now, and now all of a sudden, you suddenly want to it? Tell me, why the sudden change of heart?"

"Look, there's no time for me to explain myself," I snapped impatiently. "The only thing you need to know is that I need power. More power than I've ever had before. So if you know of a way I get it, then I'll do whatever you want, and see where it takes me."

The girl stared at me, quizzically as she got up, walking over to me. Then a smile crept up to her face as she beckoned me with a finger.

"If that's the case, then come with me," the girl spoke. "Overwhelming magic and power await you."

I followed the girl, not sure what to expect, but also knew what was coming. The girl then snapped her fingers, and then just like what happened before, the rectangular door opened, revealing a pool of water underneath.

"All you have to do in go in there, and let yourself go," the girl told me. "Once you do that, the rest will fall into place. You better hurry. It seems you don't have a lot of time."

I walked over to the edge of the water, and stared at it for a good few seconds, steadying my nerves. Then with one small hop, I splashed into the water, letting myself sink deep into it, the area slowly growing dark.

Then, a shadow came swimming out from the darkness, slowly coming straight towards me. It was the same shark-like creature made of shadows that I was so terrified with before. This time, instead of running away, I let it come to me knowing full well what I had to do. The shark grew closer, its green eyes gleaming in the darkness, and its razor-sharp teeth glimmering, but I still didn't move, allowing to get as close as it wanted. Then just when it was just a couple of feet away from me, it stopped. The shark looked at me, and I looked at it, the two of us not moving a single muscle.

"Listen, you, I don't know what you are, and I could care less," I spoke to it. "But I have something to do, and I'm not about to let anyone stand in my way, not even you. So if you don't mind, I could use some help right now, so why don't you help me out for a bit?"

I then held up my hand, placing it on the shark's snout. At that moment, strange dark streams shot out from the shark's body and entered my body through my wrists, my ankles, and my neck where my scars were. The darkness swirled around my body as it continued to absorb the strange substance, making me feel an unusual and hot feeling surge through my body as I started to blank out.

"D-Damn it! It feels like this is eating away at my consciousness, just like before!" I thought. "But... I can do this! I will stay in control this time! I have to!"

I grit my teeth, clenched my fists, and tightened my muscles; then I let out a bellow as my body exploded in light, as magic power surged through my body.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself back in reality, my body radiating with magic power in the form of navy blue light. Refocusing my attention towards the phoenix, I brought back my hand, focusing on all of my magic and strength towards it, while aiming the monstrosity.

As I did, unknown to me at the time, my gloves, boots, and my choker ripped off, as my scars were revealed, glowing in an ominous black light. My eyes were also glowing bright green, becoming pupilless at first, but then the pupils reappeared still glowing green instead of brown. The phoenix rapidly got closer, and I could see the arrow still stuck in its eye. I steeled my heart for what I was about to do, and let out a bellowing roar.

"DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART! AQUA LOTUS: SHARK SURGE FIST!"

Water overtook my right fist, growing to a large size, transforming into the head of a shark that roared menacingly. Then with a mighty explosion, my fist collided with the arrow, and using the force of my attack, I began to push with every ounce of strength I had within me.

I could hear the phoenix let out another agonizing shriek as it moved underneath me, trying to shake me off, but I kept going feeling the arrow start to give away from my pushing as the red glow from above grew brighter. It was now or never. With one more yell erupting from my mouth, I summoned the rest of my willpower and strength, as I pushed the arrow with one last time.

Finally, the arrow gave away, suddenly slipping inside the phoenix's glowing red eye. The phoenix then stopped, and the red glow from above, vanished as quickly as it appeared. It then began to change into a lifeless gray color as it began to crumble away. Then, as it faded into dust, there was a bright burst of light, causing me to look up. In the sky above, a gorgeous golden firebird appeared, letting out a majestic cry as it transformed into the Fairy Tail symbol before vanishing into the night sky.

That was when I knew, that the deed had been done. The phoenix was now dead, and so was Éclair.

NO POV

The atmosphere was solemn as everyone in Fairy Tail remained silent. The only person who made any sound at all was Lucy, who was sobbing with grief over the loss of Éclair and Momon. Makarov and Tu-Chi had just explained the details to Erza, and needless to say, she couldn't help but feel remorseful.

"I didn't know... that she would die," Erza spoke in an apologetic tone. "Had I known..."

"Please don't blame yourself, child," Tu-Chi spoke quietly. "Makarov and I take full responsibility for what has happened. I only wish that there could have been another way, but there was no other choice."

Makarov didn't say a word, wearing an expressionless look on his face.

Then Happy and Natsu arrived, the two of them approaching Lucy. Happy's eyes were filled with tears, while Natsu was a little less emotional, but he felt sorry for Lucy as tears overflowed from her eyes.

"N-Natsu, does magic only cause sadness?" Lucy asked between sobs, remembering what Éclair said before. "Could that... really true?"

The fire dragon slayer answered with a silent shake of his head, his eyes never leaving Lucy's. The grieving blonde then fell forward, falling into Natsu's chest as he caught her so that she didn't fall.

"If magic is what's making me this way..." continued Lucy. "Then, there's got to be a way it can make me stop crying."

Natsu then pulled away from Lucy by the shoulders, and kindly spoke to her. "At the very end, Éclair was smiling, Lucy."

Lucy stared at Natsu, her tear-stained eyes having a small glimmer of light in them. "She was?"

Natsu smiled in response. "It's going to be okay, so don't worry."

The fire dragon slayer then took her into his arms once more as Lucy began to sob, even more, letting out all her tears into his shoulder. At that moment, the first light began to break through the horizon, signaling not only the end to a long battle, but the start of a new day.

It was then that Mira realized that someone from Fairy Tail wasn't with them. She looked around wondering where that person could have been, but she couldn't see anything or anyone other than the ruins of Veronica. Mira was just about to ask if anyone had seen anything, when her eyes fell on Tu-Chi of which was looking at her, and as if she had read Mira's mind, Tu-Chi shook her head, silently telling her to leave things alone for the time being. Mira then turned her gaze over towards the outsides of Veronica, her eyes filled with pity.

"Willy..."

Outside of Veronica, a young boy stood alone on top of a hill in the middle of the rocky landscape, the wind softly blowing across sands, as he had his back turned to Veronica. The boy stood silent, his trembling hands tightened into fists, his gaze on the ground, and his mouth twisted in a grim frown as a turmoil of emotions racked his heart.

Then, unable to keep his emotions inside anymore, the boy let out a wail. A loud, sorrowful, and bellowing wail that echoed throughout the landscape, like a coyote in the night, while his body flared with magic power causing the ground to crack from the pressure.

I'll be honest, I wanted to end this arc on an emotional note, and I succeeded because I almost cried writing this.

Anyway, if you have any tips or questions, feel free to PM me!

If you liked what you read, leave a review, or a follow!

Stay safe out there, and until then...

Dragoman, signing off!