Chapter 124

Counterstrike

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

"Flashback"

"Magic"

Location/Date/Time Change

"What's going on in here!?" Cana shouted as she and Porlyusica burst into the room.

"Natsu… he fought with Zeref…" Happy said through the tears. "And… we had to retreat. And then, without warning, he just…"

"Natsu, get a hold of yourself!" Lucy shouted, shaking the Dragon Slayer. Quickly placing her ear over his chest, her eyes went wide in fear. "I can't hear his heartbeat…"

"Out of the way!" The elderly woman pushed Lucy aside and placed a piece of wood on him, only for it to start smoking. "He's always pushing himself beyond his limits and trying to do the impossible. This is a direct result of his constant overexertion. His magic power is overheating and now an anti-ethernano tumor has developed within him."

"Anti-… what the hell is that?" Cana asked.

"A malignant mass inside his body." Porlyusica dumbed down her diagnosis. "If we don't remove it promptly, he will perish. But there is no doctor capable of this fear in all of Ishgar."

"What about Wendy's power? Or Chelia's?" Cana asked in a panic.

"This is beyond the scope of even those two." The healer answered. "I'm sorry."

"This can't be happening…" Lucy mumbled, tears falling from her eyes. "Natsu, please answer me… Natsu!"

"These sealing stones… could you remove them for me?" Brandish requested, confusing the room. "My magic allows me to alter the size of anything in this world. If we can pinpoint the exact location of the tumor, I can shrink it to the point that it basically doesn't exist anymore."

Natsu rested on a bed as Makarov and Porlyusica stood over him. "Honestly! One moment he's flying out the door, and the next he's coming back to us sick!?" The Master complained.

"Stop acting irritable around my patient." Porlyusica warned him.

"You're the last person I want to hear that from!" Makarov shouted back before letting out a sigh. "Who would have thought in our hour of need, as opposed to having our weakness exploited, we would be saved by our enemy…"

"That girl is an enemy?" The healer questioned.

"Until the battle is over, I will not disclose those details." He replied. "Quite a confounding woman, if I do say so myself."

Looking out over the land from the top of the guild, Lucy stood next to her once strongest spirit. "Before all of this happened, there was something I wanted to tell you." Aquarius spoke up. "I mentioned that my key was reformed out in the world, right? It could be anywhere out in the world. In Ishgar, Alveraz, or somwehre unknown. And that's the only hint you're going to get from me."

"I understand." Lucy nodded. "I'll find it, no matter what. I won't give you up to anyone else!"

"I look forward to the day you find me." The spirit chuckled as she returned to her dimension.

Southern Fiore

Looking over a map, Lyon punched the table in anger. "Damn it, their manpower is utterly overwhelming."

"We can't even get near the city, let alone free it." Chelia added.

Kagura sat far away as she glared at any man who looked at her. "How utterly humiliating."

"Keep your eyes off her, ya pervs!" Risley shouted

Northern Fiore

"We've suffered too many casualties." Sting declared around a fire.

"Even so, we have to find a way to keep them from advancing." Rogue added.

Eastern Fiore

The Emperors of Ishgar lay on the ground, badly beaten by just one opponent. "Say goodbye, Warrod. I'll put you out of your misery."

'This is fair well, Mavis. However…' The tree mage thought, pushing his head up. 'As one of the founders of Fairy Tail, I will not go down quietly. God Serena, I'm taking you with me!' A massive tree burst out of the ground and pinned the traitorous wizard within its branches. Wolfheim transformed into a massive monster and slammed his fist into the tree, shattering it.

Jura waved his hand and a series of stone fists rose up and repeatedly struck God Serena. The Strongest Wizard suddenly grabbed his throat and began choking himself, looking over to see Draculos holding out his hand. "You underestimate your enemies, God Serena." The puppeteer declared.

His target merely chuckled as his eyes turned black. "Cavern Dragon Earth Collapse!" The entire ground broke apart and Draculos stumbled, losing his focus and letting God Serena charge in, his fist suddenly ablaze. "Purgatory Dragon Blazing Inferno!" The flaming punch ripped through the land before water suddenly appeared in a spiral. "Ocean King Dragon Charybdis!" The quartet was spun around at high speeds before slamming into the ground.

"Fire… water… earth…" Jura groaned in pain. "How much power does this man have…"

"The Dragon Slayer with 8 Lacrimas in him." Jacob chuckled. "That's one hell of a show…"

"Hybrid theory." August declared. "The man whom is loved by the Dragon God."

"There are no such thing as dragons or gods now." God Serena declared. "All dragons will crumble before me, and then the gods as well!"

"Let us move on…" Jacob said as the three started walking away. "Time to head towards the Fairy Tail guild."

'We must stop him…' Warrod declared as he looked up from the ground. 'We cannot let someone like him reach the guild… Someone…' A massive pulse of magic suddenly ripped through the field, the fear freezing the invaders.

"Wh-what is this power…" August gasped out as a lone figure walked forward.

Wild blue hair fell down his back as a black cloak covered his left arm, his exposed body covered in blue markings. "I smell a dragon…"

"Acnologia…" God Serena mumbled before breaking into a grin. "So you've come to me, aren't I lucky? I left Ishgar behind with the dream of killing you, so-" Instantly, Acnologia walked past him and a massive hole appeared in his side. The Second Generation Slayer gargled on his own blood before falling to the ground, dead.

"8 more Dragon Slayers… I will slay them all…" The Black Dragon declared, never once breaking his stride.

The living wizards stared in shock as Acnologia walked away. Jacob reached for his glove when August stopped him. "Don't… he isn't someone you can deal with. His majesty could, if only he had the Fairy Heart. We must hurry to Fairy Tail, and offer the heart to his majesty…"

Fairy Tail Infirmary

Lucy and Happy sat next to the sleeping Natsu, looking for any sign of change. "How's Natsu doing?" Freed asked from behind.

"He's still unconscious." She replied. "How are the others?"

"They'll be okay." He answered. "Where's Laxus?"

"He's headed south with Erza and the other to help free Hargion." Lucy explained. "Laki and Gray went there too."

"I see, I hope they aren't pushing themselves too hard…" Freed added. "I hate to have tell Natsu any horrible news about Laki…"

"We'll be reaching Hargeon tomorrow." Erza declared around a fire. "Rest up well for now."

"I brought this special sleeping bag, just for the two of us, my darling!" Juvia declared, holding up a heart-shaped bag.

"No way am I getting in that oven." He snapped back, making her cry.

"By the way, where's Laxus?" Wendy asked.

"He said something about being hungry and then ran off." Carla said.

"Maybe he went hunting for a bear or something." Gray huffed before leaning against a tree.

Just off to the side of the camp, Laxus gripped his chest as he panted. "How long has that been happening to you?" Laki asked from behind, scaring him.

"None of your business." He replied.

"We're in the same guild, you can tell me." She said, sitting next to him. "Was this from a year ago when you took in all those Bane Particles?"

"Don't tell anyone about this, least of all Natsu." The blonde glared at her, scaring Laki a bit. "It's no big deal, it just does this once in a while. Nothing for anyone to worry over. I'm not dying until this is over. And you ain't dying until that wedding."

On the northern part as Elfman snored next to his sisters, Gajeel sat on the ledge of a cliff, looking down. "Aren't you gonna rest, Gajeel?" Levy asked from behind.

"Like you're one to talk. He huffed back.

"Yeah, well… I've got this bad feeling we won't make it back…" She replied. "The enemy this time is way different from what we've been dealing with… my powers can't even compare to everyone else's. I don't even know why I was picked.

Iron pillars erupted around her and pinned her in place before Gajeel was suddenly in her face. "I'm gonna arrest you for complaining, ya know…" He chuckled. "And lock you up in the guild's dungeon for sure." Levy blushingly nodded, the two unaware that Lily was listening in on them.

The Next Day

Hargeon

"Today's the day we take back Hargeon! ATTACK!"" Kagura shouted as the coalition charged the occupied city, meeting the invading army.

Chelia jumped into the field and blasted a portion of the army into the air. Landing on the ground, her whole outfit was torn in a surprise slash from Dimaria. "I love it when cute girls look like that." She said with a smile. "I'll make sure you look as good as the other one. But maybe not today. You're a healer, aren't you? You're a pain, so maybe just die."

She charged forward only for a foot to kick her in the face, knocking her back. "Wendy!" Chelia cheered. "The Sky Sisters are back in action!"

"Did you… just kick me in the face?" Dimaria growled in anger.

"You're underdressed for the battlefield." Carla said as she placed a jacket over Chelia. "Wendy's jacket should fit you."

"Thanks." Chelia zipped up the jacket as quick as she could.

"Sorry, little girls, but do you realize where you are?" Dimiara spoke up.

"Careful. I still haven't figured out what magic she uses." Chelia warned.

"This is a battlefield, not some playground." The blonde declared. "Children like you don't belong here…"

"You're the one responsible for turning Hargeon into a battlefield in the first place!" Wendy snapped back. "We're gonna make you leave here, no matter what!"

"I don't care if you're kids, I show no mercy to anyone." Dimiara warned. "To tell you the truth, I could kill you all in the blink of an eye. A split second would last an eternity for you three."

"Lyon, we're pushing forward!" Gray shouted before he and Juvia raced forward.

"What are you doing here!?"

"This is our fight to begin with!" Erza declared, sword shining in the sun. "So of course we'll help return the favor!" As the battle raged through out the day, Erza sliced a soldier back.

"Erza, we need to proceeded forward." Kagura declared. "Mermaid Heel can hold the line here! The port is holding a third member of the Spriggain 12 whose yet to fight. The two of us shall join forces and eliminate him together."

"Right." Erza nodded before the two rushed into the city.

"Oh, those Fairy Tail brats are coming at us on their own!" Wall declared before suddenly getting smacked to the ground.

"This is for my friends, you freak." Laxus declared, lightning arching off his fist. Another punch launched Wall backwards and he bounced along the ground before flipping to all fours.

They glared at each other before chunks of earth started rising up, being sharpened to a point. "Release!" Wall launched the bullets forward, only for them to crumple to dust from lightning. A massive bolt cracked down in the city and launched a cloud of dust and rubble. "Not bad, big guy. What makes you tick…" Wall chuckled as he started scanning the blonde. "The hell!? Your organs are…"

Laxus launched himself forward as Wall's arm changed shape. The two meet fist to fist and stared at each other once more. "You're quite something, punk! I wanna know how you're even alive now. There's no way you're human…"

"'How am I alive?'" Laxus repeated as he pulled his rear fist back. "I never have and never will swear the details… It's how I live now!" His second punch hit his foe in the face, sending him to the ground.

"Gimme a break…" Wall chuckled as his left arm changed as well. "You humans are always fixated on your little 'morals' and 'expressions'! And for your information, lightning doesn't work on me!" A cross punch hit Laxus in the face, catching him off guard. "So how do you want to die?! Think EXTRA hard!"

Laxus slid backwards as a now bigger armed Wall punched him again, causing his cloak to fly off and his body to fly through several buildings. The human burst through a roof and delivered a charged heel flip kick, sending Wall crashing down through the building. "Analysis complete…" Wall mumbled as he shot out behind the blonde, who suddenly gripped his chest. "Assault Wall, ready for sortie."

'Now of all times…' Laxus cursed himself. 'Damn this body of mine.'