When Nora found Natsu, the Fire Dragon-Slayer was waddling through the brush.

"Something to be said for determination," she commented quietly.

Natsu looked back, his eyes wide. "Valky!" He wobbled as he turned back to face her. "I can't melt the ice! Bust me out!"

"I would, but… I don't want to hurt you," Nora insisted, frowning at the boy.

'Can I even hurt him?' She wondered, a pit in her gut. 'Can I take that risk?'

"Why, 'cause I don't have that force-field thing you've got?" Natsu rolled his eyes, and Nora blinked. When she did not reply, too surprised for words, Natsu looked at her in equal surprise. "... That's it?" He raised an eyebrow, frowning. "That's a dumb reason."

"... Where I'm from, most of the... warriors... use these shields. You can pretty much consider them our armor," Nora admitted, and Natsu blinked. "Before I came to Fiore, I'd never fought anyone who didn't use one. Elfman was the first, and-…" The Huntress took a deep breath. "Look, I get that I'm weaker than most people you've faced—but I'm still worried that, if I use my weapon against a person, I could hurt them really badly without meaning to. I don't know if I will, but I'm scared to try because I've never had to restrain myself the way I'd have to for-..."

Natsu blinked again. "For... someone like me, who… doesn't have one of those shield-thingies to keep me safe." Nora nodded, and the Fire Dragon-Slayer grew strangely serious. "You're really worried you'd hurt me on accident, huh? I kinda thought you were being cocky."

"Hm." Nora glanced at Natsu and shook her head, frowning. "No." She looked down at her hands, sighing. "I really can bench five of me, even though I don't look like it. I've been swinging Magnhild around since I was thirteen, so it's practically nothing in my hands. I've been swinging my fists since before then…" She looked up at Natsu. "I want to get you out of there, but I'm worried that I'd break you right alongside that ice. I know it's dumb, but-"

"It's okay," Natsu said, frowning. "I really don't think you would, but I'm not gonna make you do it. It's like Erza said, remember? Maybe I should listen..." His eyes lit up, and he smiled. "When we get back to Magnolia, we can go out into the woods and you can practice on the trees! That's what I used to practice my punches on! Once you know how hard to hit without hurting them, you'll know you probably won't hurt me either and we can fight!" Nora blinked, then her eyes widened, and Natsu snickered. "You're weird."

"... Yeah." Nora gave a quiet laugh, reaching up and rubbing the back of her neck. "I guess I am… You know, you're pretty smart."

"I know, right?" Natsu tilted his head. "No one else seems to get it!" He looked down at the ice thoughtfully. "Hm. There's gotta be a different way out of this. You can't use your strength to smash it, I can't use dragon-fire to melt it. I got tossed off of a temple and it didn't break, so… what's the next idea?"

"... We can't use magic fire, regular smashing, or my weapon…" Nora recalled her first idea, waving a finger. "But there's one trick that could work, if I have it up my sleeve."

"Huh?" Natsu blinked as Nora kneeled and started rifling through her little bag. "What do you mean?"

"Master Mak multiplied all of the ammo I brought with me from home," Nora explained. "I was doing work in Mantle just before it all went wrong. They were freezing, so I had-" She felt her hand close around a crystal, and her eyes lit up as her hand warmed. "Yes!"

"What?" Natsu questioned her as she stood up, drawing a crimson crystal. "What's that? Some kind of lacrima?"

"It's not magic." Nora looked at him, grinning deviously. "And that's exactly why it just might work!"

"Huh?" Natsu was confused as Nora walked over and held the crystal to the ice with her palm, and he looked at her questioningly as frost started to coat her gloves while aura protected her skin. "Not magic?"

"It's a kind of crystal that's in the ground where I'm from, and it has special properties. We call it fire-Dust," Nora said. "There's a special technique I can use to trigger it, and then maybe... just maybe... it'll get you out." She raised an eyebrow. "You use fire. Do you have any spells you can use to make sure it doesn't hurt you?"

"Yeah, but this ice won't melt with fire," Natsu reminded her.

"Not magic fire," Nora agreed, shifting uncomfortably. "But Lyon wouldn't know how to prepare for this, right? That means it's worth a shot." She glanced at the crystal. "And anyway, this kinda goes off with a bang—so if it doesn't melt, it just might BOOM!" She tilted her head as she looked back at Natsu. "… You ready?"

"Bring it!" Natsu shouted, smiling eagerly, and Nora narrowed her eyes in concentration as she channeled her aura into the crystal.

The Fire-Dust began to glow, then it suddenly detonated in a blast of fire and Nora shouted as she was thrown back and into the base of a tree, her pink aura crackling around her body. The Huntress looked up woozily, aching from the sensations of the burning and impact her aura had halted her gaining injuries from, then she blinked as she saw scattered chunks of ice laying on the forest floor before she looked up.

Natsu was standing there, grinning and patting his stomach, then he opened his eyes and blinked before looking at Nora with wide eyes. "Whoa! Hey, I'm out!" He ran over and offered her a hand, and Nora readily accepted the help and let him pull her to her feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Nora nodded. "You?"

"Free, fed, and fired-up!" Natsu assured her, holding his fists up. "Let's get moving! Happy and Lucy are gonna need our help, so we gotta find the village!"

"Right." Nora nodded, then she pointed. "I think it's back that way, so-" She blinked, seeing that Natsu had vanished. "Natsu?" There were tracks leading back towards the ruin, so Nora sighed and started following them, smiling and shaking her head. "Yeah, this is definitely some kind of punishment. Heehee…"


Nora eventually caught up with Natsu while he was climbing back up onto the roof of the Temple of the Moon, and they bickered playfully about what direction the village wasin as they neared the top of the ruin.

"I'm just saying, I'm pret~ty sure it's back that way," Nora explained as they arrived at the roof, pointing, then she blinked. "And that there should be two fighting ice wizards, here…"

"Yeah…" Natsu frowned, glancing around, then his eyes widened. "Gray!" The pink-haired boy ran over and kneeled beside a figure laying on the ground, and Nora ran over and got down on one knee beside him, her eyes widening as well as she saw the battered and unconscious boy laying on the stone. "He's hurt bad, Nora!"

"Let me see." Nora began carefully checking the boy over, frowning. "Okay… It looks like the worst of it are these cuts and bruises on his stomach, see?" She pointed, and Natsu nodded as he took note of the wounds. "They're not too bad, but it's gonna hurt a lot for him to move. We need to get him someplace safe where we can get him patched-up and he can rest."

"Right." Natsu nodded, frowning, then his eyes narrowed. "But how did Gray lose?" He reached down and grabbed the other boy's shoulder, shaking it. "Wake up! Wake up, Gray!" The ice-mage groaned, his eyes fluttering open, and Natsu sighed. "How lame… You got your butt whupped good."

"Natsu..? Nora..?" Gray murmured weakly. "Why're you here?"

Natsu frowned. "I didn't know which direction the village was-"

Nora glanced at the fire-mage. "Even though I told him six times-"

"So we climbed back up to a high spot to get a look," Natsu quickly cut her off, then he moved to pick Gray up. "Let's head out."

"Wait." The ice-mage reached up with a shaking hand and shoved Natsu back. "I can walk…" Natsu stood with some reluctance as Gray forced himself onto his hands and knees, but Nora stayed kneeling as the ice-mage raised his head to look around. "Where's Lyon?"

"Dunno," Natsu replied. "No one's here." He gestured to the empty space. "The ceremony's over, too."

Gray's arms suddenly gave out, and Natsu had to catch the boy by the collar of his tattered shirt as Nora's eyes widened. "Gray!"

"I got 'im," Natsu assured the Huntress as he kneeled, pulled Gray into his arms, and stood up again. "Crap." He glanced towards the trees. "If Lucy's in trouble, it's our fault."

In the fire-mage's arms, Gray had almost curled-up into a ball in spite of the pain it must have caused his abdomen. "... Natsu..?"

Natsu glanced down at the ice-mage with a raised eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I have no right to say anything to you…" Gray whimpered, suddenly going limp as tears raced down his face. "No right…"

Natsu's eyes widened as he gazed down at the ice-mage, and Nora stood up and frowned at the two boys.

She could remember similar sights from the Battle of Beacon, how Sun had picked each of her friends up one by one and carried them into an airship when medics had been too busy and cots were too full. He carried Yang first, then Blake, then Nora herself, then lastly Ren—who had kicked and fought the whole way despite the condition he was in, insisting that he would not leave.

Ren had been in tears by the time Sun had placed him next to Nora and rested a hand on his head, the monkey-Faunus's own eyes watery as he said he would stay as long as he could to wait for Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha. He went to leave even as his teammates and Blake watched him, their eyes wide and disbelieving, but Ren had reached out and grabbed the other boy's hand-

"We can't lose anyone else."

Nora remembered that helplessness as two boys who were never that close tried to comfort each other on the airship, how Sun stayed with the injured as long as he could until Blake ran and he had to chase after her to make sure that she did not get herself killed by the White Fang.

She remembered how she and Ren had held Jaune and how he held them back, all of them gazing at an ash-covered circlet and shield brought to them by Qrow when he returned with a feverish and comatose Ruby in his arms.

The tears.

The pain.

The... not knowing what to do.

Nora guessed that some things were the same, no matter what world you stood on.

"Hey." She rested a hand on Gray's head, gazing down at him sadly. "It's gonna be okay. I know you're scared, Gray, but we'll-... We'll have each other's backs on this, okay?" She took a deep breath. "We'll keep each other safe. No more splitting up."

Gray sniffled, and Natsu actually seemed to be trembling a bit as he stared down at the other boy before his eyes narrowed. "Y-You gonna sit there mopin' all day 'cause you lost, Gray?! We're Fairy Tail, damn it! The guild doesn't know the meaning of the word 'stop'!" He suddenly took off running towards the village. "We only know how to keep running forward!"

Nora started running as well, and she looked at Natsu with a frown.

Not that she was one to talk, but the fire-mage did not seem to be able to handle grief very well—at least, from what she had seen at that point.

She wondered if there was something he was running from, or to, or both.

"Natsu, go easy on him," Nora tried. "This isn't about losing the fight."

Natsu glanced at her, then he looked forward with a glare. "Seven years, I've known Gray. I've never seen him like this."

"Sometimes, people are really good at hiding what hurts," Nora told him.

"Well, Gray should know better!" Natsu insisted, a snap in his voice. "In Fairy Tail, we're a family! We share everything with each other, even our sorrows! He's been in the guild longer than I have, so what's his excuse?!"

"... Maybe he didn't want other people to have to feel what he felt?" Nora decided, and Natsu blinked. "That's what sharing means, right? I've got stuff I wouldn't want to put on my worst enemy, let alone… family."

"Hm." Natsu glanced at Nora, giving a small smile. "You're new, so you've got a lot to learn. We're already with you, Valky—and going forward with your family is the only way to get us all to a better place." He glanced down at Gray, scoffing. "So, I'm gonna have to kick his ass for pulling this when he wakes up. We're supposed to deal with these things together, and he hid it for ten years? Tch."

"Like I said… Go easy on him," Nods insisted quietly, feeling a twist in her chest. "He's been through a lot."


/\


When the three Fairy Tail members arrived back at the village, Nora noticed that the entrance was open and that something was off about the patch of ground directly in front of the gate. She blinked, feeling her aura prickle, then her eyes widened.

"Watch out!" Nora shouted, suddenly darting forward and scooping Natsu up when she realized that the boy would not stop.

"Whoa!" Natsu cried out, holding Gray closer on instinct as Nora leapt over the odd patch of ground and landed on one knee on the other side. He looked up at the Huntress, stunned, then he grew aggravated. "Hey, what's the big idea?! You don't just do that!"

Nora huffed, setting the two boys down before gesturing behind her. "Trap."

"She's right!" Lucy ran up, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "You and Gray were about to fall right in!" She blinked, then she looked down at the ice-mage. "Gray…"

"Oh." Natsu glanced back at the trap, then he looked at Nora with a bright smile. "Thanks I guess, Valky."

The Huntress sighed, rolling her eyes and grinning. "Don't mention it."

"Those guys from the temple haven't shown up, yet?" Natsu asked, looking up at Lucy as he stood and grew serious.

"No," Lucy replied as Nora stood and crossed her arms, the blonde raising a hand to her chin. "It's weird, but they're taking their time. They left for the village before any of us, and yet we all managed to arrive here first."

"Yeah," Natsu agreed, gesturing to himself and Nora. "And it took us a while, too."

"They're up to something," Nora decided, crossing her arms. "They must have some sort of plan to take the village out, some strategy that they're preparing."

"That group from earlier?" Lucy asked, looking at Nora. "An attacking force?"

Nora shrugged. "Maybe, but then… why did Lyon only give the order to those three?"

"What's that?!" One of the villagers asked, pointing up, and the Fairy Tail members glanced up. "It's a flying rat!"

"... Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Nora said, her shoulders slumping.

High above, the giant rat from earlier was flying with its tail spinning like a propeller, its forepaws gripping a giant bucket.

"What's that bucket?!" Another villager asked as Nora just shook her head.

"From the sky?!" Lucy demanded. "My pitfall's pointless!"

"Not the priority, Lu," Nora commented, placing her hands on her hips, then she tensed as she felt her aura prickle. "What the-?"

A drop of green liquid fell from the sky, and Lucy let out a confused murmur of 'jelly?' just before Natsu managed to tackle her out of the way. "Lucy!"

Right where Lucy had been standing, the liquid struck the ground and burned a steaming hole into the earth.

"Acid!" Nora realized, taking a step back, then she looked up at the bucket as the villagers began to panic.

She looked up, her eyes wide, as the rat suddenly flung the acid to create a massive glob that fell down towards the village.

Lucy raised her hands to the sides of her face as she gazed up at the impending doom. "How are we supposed to defend against this?!"

'Okay, you know you're screwed when a wizard says that,' Nora thought, swallowing thickly. 'Not exactly how I expected to go out, but at least Laxatives never got the satis-'

"Everyone, gather into the village center!" Natsu shouted as he ran forward. "Happy, let's fly!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy swept his friend up into the sky, and the villagers swiftly began to assemble at the center of the enclosure, carrying Gray's unconscious form with them as they went.

Nora realized what Natsu was planning.

She also realized what it would cost.

Nora glanced around, seeing the homes of the villagers who had already lost so much and the weeping chief refusing to leave his son's grave even as death rained from the sky... and she dropped down onto one knee and drew Magnhild, knowing she would have to time this just right if it was going to work.

'I'm no wizard.' Nora's mind raced as she checked the number of canisters in her weapon before glancing up again. 'But I am a Huntress.' Her eyes narrowed. 'And even if I can't do much, there's always something I can do... and I owe it to everyone who's not here to try.' She gripped Magnhild tighter. 'And if there's one thing that's never let me down, it's Magnhild… Please, don't start today...'

Natsu created a powerful blast of fire that blew a hole in the falling pool of acid, blasting it outward to spare the villagers.

Nora did him one better.

The front of her grenade-launcher popped open, and Nora fired six grenades from Magnhild and watched them spin up into the sky around the descending Natsu and Happy with swirls of pink smoke, take on the shape of a cloudy pink heart, and detonate with a powerful pink blast. The acid blasted outward and struck the walls surrounding the village, melting them away, but the villagers' homes were left unscathed and a deep trench was made around the village to replace the destroyed wall.

Nora looked up, her eyes wide as she let out a shaking breath. Magnhild fell from one of her hands and hung from the other, brushing on the ground.

"Oh, thank the gods," she managed. "It worked."

"Awesome!" Natsu landed beside Nora, holding an arm up for Happy to perch on and grinning down at the Huntress. "I didn't think we could save the buildings!" He grabbed her free arm and pulled her to her feet. "Nice going, Nora!"

Nora blinked, then she looked up at the younger fighter in surprise before smiling lightly. "J… Just doing my job."

The members of Fairy Tail suddenly heard a cry of dismay and looked over to see a grief-stricken Moka looking upon his son's toppled tombstone as Yuka, Sherry, and Toby walked past him without a care.

"We must eliminate all of Reitei-sama's enemies," Sherry proclaimed, flipping one of her pigtails back. "We tried to mercifully give them an instant death, but now it seems blood must be spilled."

"Fifty people in the village, three wizards," Yuka noted as Toby snarled. "That should take about fifteen minutes, maybe twenty."

"Let's go," Natsu decided, his eyes narrowing.

Lucy placed a hand on her whip. "Yeah!"

"I'm going, too!" Happy insisted, and Nora idly noticed a pink-haired girl in some sort of maid outfit grabbing the chief and carrying him safely to his people before vanishing in a flash of blue light. There would be time to unpack whatever that was later… "Four wizards!"

As Moka began struggling to attack the enemy wizards for destroying his son's grave, Nora shifted Magnhild into its hammer form and glanced back at the villagers. "You need to evacuate! You'll only get caught in the crossfire if you stay here!"

"Right!" One of the villagers replied, and most of them fled, carrying their chief with them.

"I can fight, too…" Gray announced, staggering to his feet, and the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards regard him in surprise.

"Gray, you're awake?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide.

"Get out of here," Natsu said immediately, his voice oddly cold. "You'll be in my way."

Gray seemed to be struggling to even breathe, so it was a wonder he was standing. "Natsu, don't underestimate me!"

Natsu was suddenly there and punching Gray in the stomach, causing Gray to wheeze. "The injured should sleep it off."

"You bastard…" Gray grabbed Natsu's scarf, and Natsu caught the other boy before he could collapse and carefully lowered him back down to the ground.

"Why'd he do that?" Lucy asked warily.

Happy smiled knowingly. "That's just Natsu's compassion. Gray's not in any shape to fight, right now."

"So, that's the bond between Fairy Tail wizards," Lucy marveled, as if a deep revelation had dawned upon her.

"So… he shows affection by inflicting internal bleeding?" Nora raised an eyebrow, clearly missing whatever that revelation had been, then she snorted. "Must be a distant Xiao-Long." She blinked. "... Hold on-"

One of the lingering villagers picked Gray up, and Lucy regarded him. "Take care of Gray, okay?"

"Leave him to us," the villagers insisted, then he looked to the others. "Okay, let's go!"

With that, the remaining civilians all turned to continue their retreat.

"We won't let you escape," Sherry announced, smirking. "Reitei-sama has ordered us to wipe you all out. Angelica!"

The rat leapt up into the air, and Sherry leapt onto its back as it flew past.

"I'm a member of Fairy Tail, too!" Lucy shrieked, leaping up and latching onto the creature's paw, and Nora blinked as the blonde was carried off.

"... She's got that, right?" The Huntress asked, and Natsu shrugged as he stared up at the rat with wide eyes, ignoring the two enemy wizards who remained. "Hey, I'm asking if I should stay here or go there… somehow."

"She's nuts!" Natsu threw his hands up. "How am I supposed to know what she can and can't do?! Look at her, she just grabbed onto that thing and flew thousands of feet into the air without even thinking about it!" He blinked, then he lowered his hands and grinned. "Heh… Lucy's a Fairy Tail wizard, alright…" The rat suddenly fell out of the sky, and Natsu and Nora's jaws dropped before Natsu laughed out loud and raised a fist into the air. "Alright, Lucy!"

"Someone's gonna be ticked," Yuka muttered as he watched this, he and his remaining companion sliding down into the trench made by the spilled acid.

"I'm not ticked!" Toby insisted, like he was insulted.

Yuka sighed, exasperated. "Not you, idiot."

"Think she's okay?" Natsu asked, suddenly a little concerned as he lowered his fist.

"She'd be dead if she was crushed," Happy realized, then his wings formed. "I'll go take a look."

"Right." Natsu nodded as the cat began to fly away. "Countin' on ya." He looked at Yuka and Toby. "I'll clean things up here." He looked at Nora. "I don't do this often, but since you got me out of the ice and helped with the village, you can... help."

"Charitable," Nora joked, grinning, then she blinked as Natsu suddenly lunged at the enemy. "Okay, just diving right on in. You are absolutely my karma…"

Natsu headbutted Toby and knocked him to the ground before sending a blast of fire at Yuka, who blocked the flames with a wave of his hand.

"Those are some ferocious flames you have there," Yuka commented, lowering his hand. "Could you be the one I've heard rumors about, Fairy Tail's Salamander?" Toby stood up as Nora slid down into the trench. "We were once wizards from a well-known guild. You won't beat us so easily."

Nora raised an eyebrow. "We're from Fairy Tail, so… wouldn't that same logic apply both ways?"

"Well…" Yuka blinked as Toby scratched the back of his head. "Uh..."

As Natsu snickered, Nora snorted. "You put it right there, pal."

"... If I mention the wizard guild Lamia Scale to you, does that ring a bell?" Yuka tried to counter the Huntress.

Nora shook her head. "No."

"Exactly, that's where 'Iron Rock' Jura-" Yuka paused, growing surprised. "Wait, really?" Natsu suddenly blasted both Yuka and Toby with fire, and the blue-haired mage quickly blocked the flames again as he looked at the pink-haired boy in aggravation. "Hey, jerk! We were in the middle of a conversation!"

"I've never heard of 'em either," Natsu said, his fists clenching. Nora noticed Toby trying to pat out flames on his hair. "But it doesn't matter what guild you're from or who you know. You're getting in the way of me completing this job. In other words, you're an enemy of Fairy Tail. That's all the reason I need to fight."

"That, and you're trying to murder a village full of innocent villagers." Nora deadpanned, holding a finger up. "That's on the radar, too." She pointed at the two enemy wizards, shaking her head and wagging her finger. "Not cool."

"... Toby, hold off," Yuka insisted, his eyes narrowed. "I can handle these two myself." When Toby growled in assent, Yuka held out a hand as if to offer a handshake. "Wave!"

"I'll blow that away!" Natsu shouted, preparing fire in his hands and sending a blast at the blue-haired mage, then his eyes widened and he grabbed Nora and dove out of the way just before the ground where they were standing was blasted to rubble.

"Ah, so you've noticed what it was," Yuka mused, smirking. Natsu looked up from where he and Nora were laying on the ground and breathed a blast of fire at Yuka, who batted it aside with ease. "Wave! The vibrations I create can neutralize any type of magic! In other words, my magic is impregnable to magic!"

Nora blinked, then her eyes widened as her eyebrow slowly raised. 'Oh really, now?'

"So, that's why my instincts said I couldn't block that attack with fire," Natsu realized, his eyes narrowed as he sat up.

"When I was in Lamia Scale, I specialized in facing off against other wizards," Yuka explained as glowing-blue magic circles formed above his palms. "I think you can see why. It is because all wizards are powerless before me!"

"... Natsu, let me try to fight this guy," Nora said quietly, glancing up at the Fire Dragon-Slayer as she pushed herself up a bit from the ground. Natsu glanced at her, surprised, and Nora took a deep breath. "Remember the ice?"

Natsu blinked, then he grinned. "Heh. Oh, yeah—I remember."

Nora and Natsu leapt up from the ground to dodge two more blasts sent at them by Yuka, Nora taking Magnhild in her hands and gripping it tightly as Natsu landed on his feet some distance away from her.

The pink-haired boy glanced at Nora, then he looked at Yuka with a devious smile. "Powerless, eh? We'll see about that!"

Nora placed Magnhild's head on the ground, taking a deep breath, then she placed her heel on the tail. "Here we go."

'Maybe I am good for something.' Nora's eyes narrowed. 'One way to find out.'

Nora pulled the trigger on the handle and fired Magnhild, launching herself towards Yuka just as he raised a shield, but—given that she used no magic—she passed right through the vibrating wave of energy and slammed both of her feet into the wizard's stomach.

Yuka's eyes widened, as did Nora's. Honestly, she could not believe that worked!

"What?!" Yuka demanded as he was knocked back and onto the ground, and Nora landed on her feet before him, her eyes still wide. "How did you-?!"

Before Yuka could recover and get back on his feet, Nora swiftly struck the ground with Magnhild to produce a shockwave that knocked him further back as Nora's brute strength blew a small crater into the ground.

Yuka struck the side of the trench before falling and hitting the ground, groaning. "Ow..."

Nora stood up and rested Magnhild on her shoulder, staring at the fallen wizard in disbelief, then she grinned. "Heh..." The Huntress rested her free hand on her hip, then she looked back with a smirk. "And that is why I wouldn't hit you with the hammer." She blinked, then she raised a hand to her mouth. "Ooh! My teeth are vibrating. That's gross, gross, gross…"

"... You've gotta hit me with the hammer!" Natsu insisted, his eyes shining. "Screw the trees, that was GREAT! Once we get back to Magnolia, you and I are fighting PRONTO!"

Nora lowered her hand and deadpanned. "Natsu!"

"You're awesome," Toby decided, and Nora glanced back at him in surprise.

Natsu looked at him, slamming one fist into the opposite hand. "You're about to get some awesome all to yourself! Nora got the last guy, so it's my turn!"

"Yeah, right!" Toby smirked. "I'm stronger than Yuka, see!" He crossed his arms before his chest, and his fingernails swiftly grew long and began to glow green. "Paralyze-Claw: Mega-Jellyfish! These claws have got a secret hidden within them!"

"Like, they'll paralyze you?" Natsu asked dryly, and Toby gasped.

"How did you know?" He marveled, then he gazed at Natsu warily. "You're one amazing wizard…"

"Ugh." Natsu cringed, then he glanced at Nora. "I should've taken Wave Dude while I had the chance."

"Heh." Nora grinned, looking at Toby and shaking her head. "Think it'll be hard to deal with this guy?"

"Real head-scratcher," Natsu agreed, then he blinked. "Oh… I think I know how I can handle this idiot."

"Don't call me an idiot!" Toby shrieked, suddenly lunging at Natsu and swiping his claws, but the Dragon-Slayer evaded him. "One touch from these claws, and it's all over! You'll be shaking like a leaf, waiting only for death!"

"Wait, just a second!" Natsu insisted, then he rested a hand on his own forehead. "You've got something stuck on you, up here."

"Oh-!" Nora's jaw dropped as Toby immediately reached up and sank his claws into his own forehead, then the enemy mage yelped as he was zapped by green electricity and sent falling to the ground in a smoking heap.

"Yeah, definitely an idiot," Natsu concluded, not at all impressed. Nora looked at him, stunned, then she watched the Dragon-Slayer walk over to the toppled tombstone and pick it up. "Those guys did some pretty terrible stuff." He kneeled and set the stone down on its base. "But I'm gonna make sure the village and everyone in it goes back to the way they were. Bet on it!" He grew serious as he gazed at the stone. "I'm gonna get you justice." Nora walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, and Natsu closed his eyes and hung his head. "Nora?"

"Yeah?"

"They made family turn on family. They hurt innocent people and tried to kill them. They made Gray cry, and Gray doesn't cry," the pink-haired boy murmured. "I don't understand why."

"... I've faced a bunch of people who have done bad things," Nora said quietly. "One of them actually said why… Someone he loved died, and he took his pain out on the world." She gave a slow nod. "As I learned about other people who did bad things, that seemed to be a big trend. They were all angry or jealous or scared or sad or hurt, and they wanted others to have to feel the same pain they felt or worse because—somehow, I guess—they thought it might help."

"That's stupid," Natsu mumbled. "Why would hurting people who haven't done anything to deserve it make anything better?"

Nora shook her head. "I don't know, Natsu. I guess that, when you're that lost and that hurt, you get desperate and you let the pain blind you to what's right and wrong."

"What could you lose to make you that empty inside?" Natsu asked, sitting down and hugging his knees to his chest as he frowned at the tombstone. "I'll never understand it."

Nora sat down next to him, gazing at the stone with him. "... I hope I never do." She let out a soft sigh. "But I've gotta wonder, after everything… What more could I lose?"

"Whatever you've lost, you have Fairy Tail now," Natsu reminded her. "We're your comrades, and we always will be."

"Hm." Nora closed her eyes. "I think about that. I think about whether I-... If I made the right choice, joining the guild."

Natsu hummed. "'Cause you're so worried about being too strong?"

"Or if I'm not strong enough." Nora pulled her knees to her chest. "I don't know what draws the line between the good guys and the bad ones, Natsu. I mean... I lost everything, but… instead of wanting people to feel like I do, I guess there's some desperate, cra~zy part of me that hopes I can protect everyone from it." She opened her eyes and glanced up at the sky. "Even though, before… I failed."

"Whatcha mean?" Natsu raised an eyebrow.

Nora bit her lower lip, then she let it go and closed her eyes. "I had one job, 'be strong and hit stuff', and... I couldn't even do it when I was needed most. Now, I'm here and surrounded by people who are more-powerful than anything I've ever seen, and I just-..." She opened her eyes and looked at the tombstone again, shaking her head. "I don't want to mess it up, but I can't just stand back and do nothing. I'm not strong enough, but I have to try because I'd never forgive myself if I didn't."

"... That's the part of you that belongs in the guild," Natsu decided, and Nora looked over at him, finding that the boy was smiling at her. "The part of you that separates you from the bad guys, the one that... choses to do the right thing and protect people. The part that doesn't quit, even when it's hard." He nodded. "You belong in Fairy Tail, Nora, and you're definitely strong enough to fit right in.

Got me out of the ice and beat that Wave Dude, didn't you?" He nudged her arm. "You've got a long way to go before you and I should be doing any arm-wrestling contests, but Gramps says that folks can always become stronger and it's our job to help them. I'd say you're on the right track." He put on a devious smile. "Might even make the strongest team, if someone puts a good word in."

Nora blinked, then she snorted and raised an eyebrow, grinning tiredly. "Oh, really? What makes you think that would happen?"

"Well, you already played it cool with this whole S-Class quest thing, pat my back when I got sick, busted me out of some magic ice, took out a bad guy with your super-strength and cool hammer, and you're just nice." Natsu listed those things off like they were some specific qualifications he had been watching out for. "All you really gotta do now, is… fight me like you mean it when we get back to Magnolia." He smiled genuinely. "'Cause I don't think you'd really hurt me anymore than I'd really hurt you, even though I think both of us can do that 'carried away' thing everyone's always telling me about."

"... Fine," Nora relented, and she giggled when Natsu pumped his fist. Then, she sighed and glanced around, frowning. "When do you think Happy and Lucy will be back?"

"If Happy's not back, Lucy's fine," Natsu decided, and Nora blinked. "If she were in trouble, he'd come tell us. Since he's not here, he's probably taking her to meet Gray and the villagers." He nodded to himself. "Yeah, Lucy had the fight handled. She probably figures we'll catch up with her."

Nora raised an eyebrow. "Won't we?"

"Hm." Natsu looked at Nora. "Lucy just took out the biggest threat of this Lyon guy's flunkies, and Gray almost killed himself facing the jerk himself and still wants to get up and try again. Whatever this is, it's making Gray reckless." The fire-mage looked down. "I know it's his fight, but… I'm kinda hoping I can do something about it to make sure he doesn't get to try again, y'know?"

Nora blinked again, then she nodded. "Yeah, I getcha. Any ideas?"

"One." Natsu looked at Nora, giving a small but devious smirk. "And the good news is that both of us can get a little carried away."


/\/\/\/\


The next morning, Nora and Natsu returned to the Temple of the Moon.

They exchanged glances, smirking, then Natsu cracked his knuckles and Nora rested Magnhild's hammer form on her shoulder.

"Why can't all of our plans go like this?" Nora wondered aloud, raising an eyebrow.

Natsu snickered, a wild gleam in his eyes. "What do you mean? My plans go like this all the time!"


Inside the temple, Nora and Natsu worked together to begin smashing through the support-pillars on one side of the ancient structure, causing the entire building to shift. This, Natsu had told Nora, would affect the channel of magic to Deliora.

All around, the temple began to shift, and Nora cringed. "One day, archaeologists are gonna look back on this day with nothing but hatred for the two of us."

"Hey, at least there won't be a demon-sized hole in the place!" Natsu offered a counter-argument, then he breathed fire and blasted a hole through several levels of the temple before blinking as he noticed something above, then he laughed. "I was planning on destroying it before you found us out, but these ruins are a lot harder to bring down than I thought!"

"What are you trying to do?!" Lyon's voice demanded.

"Tip the building over!" Natsu replied as Nora ran over to stand beside him, the girl looking up to see Lyon, Toby, and a masked man looking down at herself and Natsu. Lyon was no longer wearing his helmet, and Nora could see that he was the same age as the rest of the kids she had gotten herself caught up with on this ridiculous job and that he had a shock of messy hair that could have gotten him through the Schnee family gates. "Then, the moonlight can't land on the demon in the basement!"

"Yeah, just blurt out the whole plan," Nora remarked, shaking her head but grinning at Natsu in exasperation. "That'll show 'em."

"How dare you, you bastard?!" Lyon snarled, looking absolutely livid as he gazed down at the two fighters. "Curse you, Fairy Tail!"

Nora noticed the masked man explaining the logistics of Natsu's plan to a confused Toby, and this seemed to make her companion grow impatient. "Enough blabbing!" Fire burst from Natsu's legs and feet and he shot up, striking Lyon in the stomach with his head, but the ice-mage shattered. "A fake?!"

Without even thinking about it, Nora activated the electrical-charge function of Magnhild to fill her body with strength and leapt up onto the next level, then the next, then onto the level which was filled with her enemies.

"Ice-Make: Eagle!" Lyon shouted, raising a hand, and several projectiles flew towards Natsu. "You can't avoid them all from the air!" Nora landed on her feet just as Natsu blew fire from his mouth and landed on the stone floor on his back to avoid the icy eagles, then she watched him blast fire from his feet which Lyon was barely able to avoid. "What random magic!"

"Roar of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu shouted, blasting a wave of powerful flames from his mouth, but the ground beneath him suddenly crumbled and he fell.

"Natsu!" Nora shouted, her eyes wide, then she looked up at the three enemies before her and took a step back as Lyon turned his narrowed eyes towards her. "I-..."

Nora's hands had started to shake even as she gripped her weapon, the twinge of the electricity still prickling against her skin. She had not used her semblance since she had gotten hurt, and she had just done it without thinking and now she was a ditz of a Huntress standing alone against three wizards.

What was she thinking, going up there?

What was she thinking, going on that mission?

What was she thinking, joining a wizard guild?

Nora was not strong enough for any of this, she never had been. It would all go wrong.

No, it already had gone wrong. It would just get worse.

"It seems you were in luck, Reitei-sama," the masked man remarked, snapping Nora out of her spiraling thoughts.

"Hm?" Lyon blinked, then he turned his gaze from Nora and glanced at his mysterious ally in suspicion. "What did you do?"

"What indeed?" The masked man mused, and Nora looked at the hole in the floor.

"Don't dodge the question," Lyon insisted. "It was your magic that destroyed the floor!"

"Ah, Reitei-sama…" The masked man grinned condescendingly at the ice-mage. "Nothing gets past your eyes."

"Not destroyed," Nora noted, and Lyon looked back at her with a glare. "Look." She freed one shaking hand from her hammer and pointed. "He turned the stone to sand."

Lyon blinked, then he looked at the area around the hole and took note of what Nora had noticed, then he looked at his masked companion with a frown. "She's right."

"Please, understand," the masked man said, suddenly frowning. "I cannot afford to lose you until Deliora is resurrected."

"Okay, that's a little suspect…" Nora murmured, glancing at Lyon with a frown as she returned her shaking hand to Magnhild and gripped her weapon tightly.

Resurrected.

Not defeated.

There was more going on than even Lyon knew, apparently.

Lyon's eyes had narrowed, and an icy mist surrounded him. "You're saying I'd be beaten if I was hit by those flames?"

And apparently, the enemy ice-mage had not caught on.

Ice suddenly flew out from the ground at Lyon's feet and crawled across the floor like the roots of a tree, spreading across every surface until it covered the temple floor, walls, and ceiling in slick, blue-green ice. The hole Natsu fell through, however, was left open and Nora, the masked man, and Toby were left unharmed.

That did not mean that Nora's eyes were not wide and that her body was not trembling, even though her aura protected her from the cold.

It was just like the room that Weiss, Ruby, and Penny had been pulled from, the Winter Maiden's chamber that had been frozen solid as one old woman held the Grimm-armed Maiden who killed Pyrrha, a Special Operative, and an advanced aura-using android all at bay.

Was Nora standing alone against that sort of power, now?

Lightning was one thing, one thing that Nora apparently had to come to terms with again. That was something she would have to unpack later, assuming she survived this.

Ice was another matter entirely, and as her shaking breath left her mouth as a puff of mist, Nora idly wondered what the other options in that portal-room would have been.

She hated the fact that she had to leave Remnant at all, but she absolutely did not leave a dystopian Magic Hell World for a fully-functional Magic Hell World where everyone could kill her with a flick of the wrist.

"Begone," Lyon commanded his allies (or his ally and whatever the masked man was) as Natsu finally clambered back through the hole. Nora glanced at him, feeling a little relieved, then she quickly turned her eyes back to the enemy ice-mage. "I will finish these two myself. I'm the one and only wizard who can defeat Deliora, Reitei Lyon. To even imply that I would have trouble with either of these brats is insulting."

"Huh?" Nora blinked as the masked man and Toby moved to depart. "This is about defeating Deliora? But… he's already trapped." Her eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"

Lyon's glare turned on Nora alone. "You're one of Gray's friends. Hasn't he told you?"

"He told us that his teacher, Ur, sacrificed herself while performing a spell called 'Iced Shell' to trap Deliora in the ice, ten years ago," Nora explained, frowning as she stepped back. Maybe she could buy some time for herself or Natsu to think of some kind of plan. "He told us that Deliora is the Demon of Disaster and that it's immortal, and that it was loose in Isvan. He also… kinda implied that it destroyed his home." She hesitantly stepped forward again, looking at Lyon questioningly. "This thing took his home and your teacher, and… you want to wake it up? Why?"

"It's all to surpass Ur," Lyon replied. "That has always been my dream."

"But this thing is immortal," Nora pressed, stepping forward again. "By the gods, it's horrible that your teacher had to sacrifice her life—but you're just lucky that it's trapped and it can't hurt anyone anymore. If you let it out, it's just going to wreak havoc until it gets trapped again." She gestured to the floor. "And what will that mean, huh? You or Gray having to make the same sacrifice she did? That's not surpassing her, Lyon. You have to live."

"I will live, and I will defeat Deliora!" Lyon insisted, raising his hand as it began to glow a bright blue. He sent a volley of icy eagles at Nora, but she acted on instinct and destroyed them with a wide swipe with Magnhild, sending icy shards scattering across the floor. "It's the only way I can surpass Ur, now that she is gone! If you want to blame someone for all of this, blame Gray! He's the reason why she's dead!"

Nora lowered her hammer, her breath shaking as she looked down at the eagles she had managed to destroy. 'Lucky shot.'

"Wouldn't-..?" She looked up at Lyon. "W-Wouldn't he have been a kid?!"

Natsu ran up to stand beside Nora, only to raise his arm to shield his face as a new eagle formed and struck him. He winced, then he looked up at Lyon, growing serious.

"I don't know what happened in the past, but what you're trying to do now is making a lot of people suffer," he told the enemy ice-mage. "I'm gonna make you open your eyes!" He bared his teeth as he lowered his arm and formed a swirling ball of flame around his fist. "With my hot flames!"

The fire-mage launched a blast of fire at Lyon, which the ice-mage deflected and sent smashing through one of his ice-walls.

Jagged shards of ice flew everywhere, and Nora blinked. 'There's something else I'm good for.'

The Huntress stepped in the way of the ice splinters and Natsu, allowing her aura to take the hit so that her ally did not take any damage, then she glanced back at Natsu with a tired smirk. "See, this is why my people have shields."

"Hehe." Natsu grinned, then he looked back at Lyon and scowled before swiping his hand and casting an orange magic circle just as Lyon swiped his hand and cast a blue magic circle.

The two magics collided and detonated, and Nora removed one hand from Magnhild and caught Natsu with her arm as he flew back, keeping him on his feet and steadying him while Lyon landed in a crouch and slid back before rising to his feet again.

Natsu stood up straight, glancing back at Nora and nodding in thanks, then he looked forward.

"Just give it up and surrender already, you pointy-eyed bastard," Natsu told Lyon. "Hurting other people isn't gonna make your hurt any better. Can't you see that what you're doing is wrong?!"

"Your eyes are pretty pointy themselves," was all Lyon said.

Natsu raised his fist, letting flames form around it. "Time to finish this."

"I like the sound of that," Lyon said, icy mist rising around him.

Nora gripped Magnhild in both hands, taking a deep breath as she tried to regain her bearings.

As much as fighting a wizard like Lyon freaked her out and she was still rattled after the unprepared use of her semblance, she needed to get her head back on straight and really help Natsu end the fight. She could not afford to be left on the sidelines.

Not again.

Suddenly, a wall of ice next to the fighters cracked before shattering, revealing a battered and bandage-covered figure.

"Gray?" Natsu asked, surprised.

"Natsu, Nora—let me take this guy down," the Fairy Tail ice-mage insisted, stepping into the frozen room to face Lyon.

"You already lost to him once, remember?" Natsu protested, his eyes narrowed.

"I won't, this time," Gray assured the pink-haired boy, not taking his eyes off of Lyon.

Nora frowned. "But you're hurt."

"I slept it off," Gray noted, and Natsu snorted quietly. "I'm alright. I'll finish this."

"That's some confidence you have there," Lyon remarked, his tone dry.

"... It was my fault that Ur died ten years ago," Gray said, frowning, and Lyon's expression hardened. "But…" Gray shifted his stance, closing his eyes. "Hurting my friends, hurting the village, trying to melt that ice…" He opened his eyes and glared at the white-haired boy. "I can't forgive you for that. I'll punish you for them all, Lyon."

Gray crossed his arms before his body, and Lyon's eyes widened as genuine fear entered his expression. "That pose… Iced Shell?!"

"Iced Shell?" Natsu blinked, then his eyes widened in disbelief. "No way…"

Nora glanced at Natsu, thinking the exact same thing. "Isn't that the death-spell?!"

"You bastard… Have you gone mad?!" Lyon demanded, his whole body tense.

"Return the villagers to the way they were, take your friends, and leave this island immediately," Gray commanded as a large blue magic circle formed beneath his feet. "This is the last chance I will give you."

"... I see." Lyon smirked. "You think you can bluff me with that magic?" He glanced away, acting aloof. "How pointless."

A swirling, icy mist formed around Gray and spun throughout the room with enough force to whip hair and clothes.

Nora shielded her face with her arm, her eyes wide, and she glanced at Natsu. "He's not bluffing, is he?!"

Natsu would not look away from Gray, his expression one of panic.

Nora felt a chill down her spine which had nothing to do with the cold.

"I'm serious," Gray stated, seeming to answer the question for everyone.

Lyon raised a hand. "Why, you-..!" His magic circle was dissolved just as soon as it formed, and the force of Gray's growing magical power threw him back. "Ah!"

"G… Gray!" Natsu shouted, barely able to keep his eyes open as he raised an arm to shield his own face. Through her aura, Nora could feel the bombardment of the wind and the growing chill in the air, and she wondered what it was like for the fire-mage. "Gray!"

"No matter how many years pass, it won't change the fact that it's my fault Ur's dead!" Gray announced, his skin starting to glow white to match the building power around his body—like he was already turning into the ice magic he was creating. "I had to take responsibility sometime, so this is it! I'm prepared to die, I've been for the last ten years!"

Nora glanced at Natsu, and she could see the complete and utter horror and disbelief in the Dragon-Slayer's face.

She knew the feeling.

She remembered that day in Kuroyuri when Ren threw himself at the Nuckelavee time and time again with rage and pain in his eyes—and she remembered the exact moment when she realized that, from the day she had met him, her best friend had been waiting for that specific moment to die even if he did not know it.

They had been together for eleven years, and she had nearly watched him kill himself because of his grief, anger, and guilt over something that happened when they were just kids.

Natsu was in that moment, realizing that Gray had been waiting to die since before they even met.

The same story with different people.

"You're serious?!" Lyon asked, his fear returning as he gazed at his fellow ice-mage, and Nora snapped back into the present and looked at the two former classmates.

"Answer me, Lyon!" Gray snapped as cracks formed in his pale, glowing face. "Do we die together or live together?!"

"... Do it." Lyon smirked again. "You don't have the guts to die. There's no way you do!"

"Hm." Gray's expression became resigned. "Too bad."

'He's going to kill himself,' Nora realized, and her entire being went numb.

Pyrrha lowered her weapons and walked towards the place where Ozpin was waiting for her.

Jaune raised his sword and shield as he faced a hardlight barrier separating him from aggravated soldiers.

Ren smiled, then he heard something and drew his weapons before looking back, his pink eyes widening.

Her partner's scream and the snarls of the Grimm still rang in her ears as Nora collapsed Magnhild and placed the weapon on her back.

"GRAY!" Natsu cried out as the entire room glowed white.

"Absolute Freeze…" Gray moved to swipe his arms apart. "Iced-!"

CRACK!

The white glow faded.

Gray's eyes were wide and the right side of his face was rapidly turning red. His skin was back to normal, flesh-colored away from the red mark and without those terrifying cracks.

Nora lowered her shaking right hand, standing to face the boy with her back to a wide-eyed Lyon.

Her aura was almost-screaming in protest, and Nora could tell it was starting to get low. Getting close to that spell had not been one of the smartest moves, but she did not regret it.

"... No," Nora said hoarsely, her eyes narrowing as every breath seemed to make her body shake, and her fists clenched as she looked Gray in the eye. "No." She shook her head, closing her eyes as her shoulders slumped. "You're both making big shows and big speeches, but neither of you have any idea-…" She took a deep breath. "... Lyon." She opened her eyes and glanced back at the ice-mage. "Even if you manage to kill this demon… after everything you've done and what you've sacrificed to get here… it won't make you the student who surpassed Ur."

"What do you mean?" The enemy ice-mage demanded, standing up.

Nora turned to face him. "Ur sealed this immortal demon away, right? She beat it, and she did it the way she did so that no one else would ever have to get hurt again." The Huntress crossed her arms, sighing. "Lyon… You ordered the destruction of a village that's being corrupted by the dark magic you're using, you told your followers to murder innocent people in cold blood." She looked Lyon in the eyes, frowning. "Don't you see what's happening? You aren't surpassing Ur, Lyon. You're surpassing Deliora… It's the demon's place you're taking." She gestured to Gray, who still had his arms crossed before him. "Right up 'til the end."

Lyon's eyes widened. "I-... I don't-"

"Think about it," Nora pressed. "Just… think about it, for a minute."

Lyon just looked at the Huntress, then he looked down at the floor, his eyes wide. "I'm not-..."

Nora watched him, then she looked back at Gray, seeing his astonished expression.

"Nora…" The Fairy Tail ice-mage was at a total loss, then he swallowed. "I-"

"That was not taking responsibility," Nora told him simply. "That was you giving in and giving up." Her expression softened. "Ten years ago, you were -what?- seven, eight? Ur made her choice, Gray. Don't throw it away." She reached up. "You-..." Her hand rested on his shoulder. "We have to be brave."

Gray stared down at Nora, stunned, then he bowed his head and closed his eyes… only to be blindsided by a punch to the face.

"IDIOT!" Natsu actually screamed, knocking Gray to the ground, and both Gray and Nora looked at the shaking Dragon-Slayer with wide eyes. Natsu looked absolutely rattled, but he seemed to be trying to cover it with fury. "You break into my fight, yammering about 'responsibility'?! Give me a break!" He pointed to himself with his thumb. "I'm the one who's gonna beat this bastard!"

'Yep,' Nora decided, stunned. 'Natsu definitely doesn't know how to deal with this stuff. Oh, geez—this kid and I might be able to split therapy bills, when this is over.'

"What?!" Gray shot to his feet, looking at Natsu incredulously. "Didn't I tell you that I'd take him down?!"

Natsu crossed his arms. "And did I ever say, 'yes—roger that, sir'?"

"Why, you little-..!" Gray seethed.

Natsu smirked. "What? You wanna go?"

"I have to be the one that finishes him off!" Gray snarled, grabbing Natsu by his scarf. "You two idiots don't know what you're talking about! I'm prepared to do whatever it takes, to-!"

Natsu grabbed Gray's wrist. "Since when is dying the way to finish a battle, huh?" The pink-haired boy's expression darkened. "We know exactly what we're talking about. You're just running away." At that, Gray's eyes widened, his body going tense. "You're trying to give up, and we're not gonna let you." Natsu's expression eased a bit, and he sighed. "Just get out of here already. Take Nora, too—she's acting kinda weird. I'll handle the rest."

Nora blinked, but before she could question Natsu, the building began to shake and she looked up in confusion. "What the-?"

"Wh-What's that?" Natsu asked warily as chunks of ice fell all around them.

Even Lyon seemed perplexed by the rumbling, the enemy ice-mage having lowered his guard after being left to ponder Nora's words.

The tilt in the ground gradually righted itself, and Nora's eyes widened as Natsu began to pound at the floor in frustration at the reversal.

"Now, the light of the moon will land on Deliora again!" Gray realized, looking up in alarm.

"Sorry for the interruption!" The masked man from before chimed, skipping into the room.

Lyon regarded him with a frown. "Zalty, is this your doing?"

The masked man laughed. "The moon will be out soon, so I returned the temple to normal!"

"What the heck is he?" Gray wondered.

"After all our hard work tilting it." Natsu fumed, righting himself to glare at the masked man, then he raised a fist. "How'd you fix it?!" Zalty looked at Natsu and merely laughed. "HOW'D YOU FIX IT?!"

"I suppose we should begin the Moon Drip ceremony," Zalty mused, ignoring Natsu and looking at Lyon, then he turned and ran off into the temple again.

"He ignored me?!" Natsu asked, affronted. "Oh, it's on!" The flame-covered boy suddenly ran after Zalty. "Hold it, bub!"

Nora blinked as Natsu ran after the masked man, who merely cackled at the frustrated boy's screams. "... Okay, then?"

"Natsu!" Gray shouted, glaring.

"I'm gonna go wallop that bastard a million times!" Natsu stopped and looked back. "You handle things here!" Gray blinked, then he nodded with a frown. "You lost last time, and it's a disgrace."

"Yeah," Gray agreed quietly.

Natsu looked forward. "Not for you."

"For all of Fairy Tail!" Both boys said together, then they exchanged smirks.

Natsu then grew serious. "Keep an eye on Nora, alright? I don't think she's feeling good."

"I'm fine," Nora said quickly, and Natsu looked at her with a frown before turning and running off after Zalty.

The Huntress watched him go, then she looked between Gray and Lyon warily.

"So…" The orange-haired girl began awkwardly, raising an eyebrow. "Are you two going to start beating the snot out of each other like idiots again or are you actually going to try and talk this thing out now that I've pointed out the idiot bits?" She pointed to the door. "Because if no one's gonna die and it's just gonna get personal, I'd rather not be around for that because… that would be pret~ty weird." She cringed. "But if I left and you two drama-queens fought and ended up as an idiot popsicle, that would be pret~ty bad. It's a lose-lose."

"What noisome people," Lyon remarked, though he had not raised his guard again.

"Did you count on them stopping me from using Iced Shell?" Gray asked the other ice-mage, not raising his guard yet either.

"No," Lyon admitted. "I honestly didn't imagine the Salamander getting anywhere near that kind of magic, let alone-..." He glanced at Nora, an eyebrow raised. "Hm. She's sharper than she looks, but her hands shake whenever she's not holding that gaudy hunk of metal and I don't sense any magical power coming from her. It's a wonder she's even in a guild."

"Tell that to Yuka," Nora said, smiling deviously and tilting her head.

"Wait…" Lyon blinked. "You defeated Yuka?"

"Yup." Nora nodded in confirmation. "See… I've kinda figured out pret~ty recently that I might specialize in magic-nullifying... specialists."

''Recently' as in 'last night', and only because I don't use magic,' Nora thought as Lyon gazed at her with newfound alarm and Gray looked at her with newfound respect. 'But you don't need to know that.'

"... And you don't have a scratch on you," Lyon realized, becoming confused. "I saw you take that hit for Salamander, and you don't have so much as a tear in your clothes."

Gray looked at Nora, surprised, then he became bewildered. "We've been thrown around since we hit this island, and you're not even bruised. We fell into the basement, and you started checking us for injuries and yet-..? Those with a higher magical power sometimes have a heightened durability in their bodies, but Lyon's right—I don't sense anything from you." The ice-mage tilted his head, blinking. "You aren't shivering, either. We're ice-mages and Natsu's a fire-mage, but you should be freezing in here—and getting close to me while I was preparing Iced Shell-..."

'Oh, boy.' Nora blinked. 'How are you gonna talk your way outta this one, Valkyrie?'

"... Hm." Nora shrugged her shoulders and grinned slyly. "Maybe you guys are just not as good at reading folks as you think you are."

'Not the smartest thing I could have said,' Nora decided, seeing Gray's bewilderment and Lyon's indignation. 'You're already six feet down just by being on this planet, Nora. Stop digging the hole!'

"It's all good, happens to everyone," Nora concluded quickly before she looked at Gray, frowning. "Just so you know, Natsu looked just about ready to tackle you. I just got to you first, so you're welcome..~!" She looked back at Lyon. "... You were just going to let yourself get hit."

"Exactly," Lyon agreed. "But I would have been saved. Once I realized that, I told you to just get it over with." He gave a small shrug, crossing his arms. "Even if I were to be trapped in the ice, I have allies with the same goals as myself—and this is the island where you can use Moon Drip to undo Iced Shell."

"You would've just let Gray kill himself," Nora said quietly.

Gray looked down. "I was careless. Iced Shell is powerless here, isn't it?"

"And yet, you still wish to defeat me?" Lyon asked, then he gave a wry grin. "You cannot win against-"

"Stop this already." Gray looked up, and Lyon blinked before uncrossing his arms. "Give up on Deliora."

"Hm." Lyon glanced at Nora, then he looked back at Gray with a bemused expression. "Trying thinks her way, now? You're supposed to attempt persuasion before you threaten, you know." He shook his head. "Idiot."

"Lyon." Gray looked up. "Listen carefully… Ur is still alive." Lyon's eyes widened. "Iced Shell was a spell that turned her body into ice, and that ice sealed Deliora." The Fairy Tail ice-mage grimaced as though the words pained him, and they might have. "The ice you are trying to melt right now is Ur herself!"

'Okay, plot twist,' Nora thought, looking at Gray in disbelief, then she glanced at the door. 'They really should've said 'leave'...'

"Ur became that ice and lived on today!" Gray insisted, then he sighed. "I apologize for not telling you before. I promised Ur that I wouldn't."

Lyon frowned. "Gray…"

"So please, Lyon, stop this!" Gray pleaded, his eyes narrowed as he looked up to try and meet his former classmate's eyes.

Nora's aura pricked, and she saw Lyon moving, his hand glowing blue.

"Gray!" Nora shoved the battered Fairy Tail member aside just in time for Lyon's hand to collide with her collarbone.

Lyon smirked as his hand was surrounded by a glowing-blue sphere of energy and Nora felt a rush of cold and a sharp feeling like her body had been pierced, but she also saw that familiar pink shine dance before her vision and she watched Lyon's expression flash in confusion.

Nora's grimace of pain at the chill that would not burn and the 'pierce' that would not bleed became a smirk as her aura shattered. However, her shield had done its job, and the Huntress reared a fist back with the last of her strength.

"Yeah, definitely a bad read," she announced just for the fun of it, then she punched Lyon in the stomach and sent him flying up a few feet before he crashed back down onto the icy floor and slid several feet away as a groaning pile of robes.

The Huntress staggered a step back and dropped down onto one knee, panting for breath.

The exhaustion was setting in so suddenly, as it always did after an aura-break.

"Nora!" Gray scrambled over to the girl, his eyes wide as his hand moved to her collar. "Hang on, I-!" He blinked as his hand brushed the frost aside on Nora's collar aside, finding no tear in her clothes—let alone a bleeding wound. "Wait… H-How did you-..?"

"Heh…" Nora looked up at the ice-mage tiredly, smiling even as she hugged herself and started to shiver in the cold. "They let m-me into the guild for a reason. I h-have a few tricks…"

"You're cold," Gray realized, then his brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand. What is this magic? How-?"

"I know… that old fairytale," Lyon announced, looking up from the ground with a sneer as he pushed himself onto one knee. "But that ice is no longer Ur! It's just some frozen remains!"

Gray looked up at his fellow student, absolutely horrified. "You knew?!"

"You honestly believe that Ur is still alive?!" Lyon shakily rose to his feet, clutching his stomach. "Grow up already!"

"You knew, and yet-..!" Gray's face twisted in rage as he stood up.

Lyon scoffed, lowering his hand. "What of it?" A punch from Gray was enough to throw Lyon back and into a wall. "Ah!"

"That's it." Gray was eerily calm as Lyon looked up at him with wide eyes. "I'm done trying to save you." He glanced at Nora. "Lucy, Erza, and Happy are outside, fighting his cronies. Go and join them, or find Natsu."

"Erza?" Nora blinked, then she frowned as she shakily stumbled onto her feet. "But-"

"Nora." Gray's eyes narrowed. "This is my fight to finish." He placed his hand on her shoulder, nodding. "And you have my word as a Fairy Tail wizard that I will not use Iced Shell."

"... I've only been in Fiore for two weeks, y'know?" Nora grumbled, though there was no bite in what she said. "I'm not exactly sure what anyone's word as anything is worth."

"Heh." Gray nodded, grinning. "Fine. Then, I guess we'll just have to show you. I'll see you when this is over, alright?"

"Hm." Nora weakly punched his shoulder. "Just don't die, okay? I told Master Mak I'd bring everyone home, so..." She chose her phrasing carefully. "Don't do anything I would do, okay? Especially when I was your age." She thought of all of the Grimm rodeos. "Yeah... Don't do that."

"Huh?" Gray blinked. "Wait, what? My age? But you're so-..." He looked down at her, seeming to be doing a re-estimate, then both of his eyebrows shot up. "How old are you?"

Nora snorted. "Live, and I'll get around to telling you at some point."

"Petty," the Fairy Tail ice-mage grumbled, and Nora giggled.

With that, the Huntress turned, made her way to the door, leapt through, and began navigating her way through the Temple of the Moon.


/\


Nora decided to weigh her options.

Natsu was up against a cackling old man who could fix an entire temple and instantly reduce stone to sand.

Erza, Happy, and Lucy were up against a small army of masked cultists, which really seemed like fodder-types.

Natsu was a tough kid.

As soon as the crisis was over, Happy and Lucy would be alone with Erza after having run off on an S-Class quest.

Clearly, there was only one choice if Nora wanted to avoid a massacre.

The Huntress was still shaking a bit and her body ached as she staggered to the front door of the temple and braced herself on one of the supporting pillars, and she saw Erza, Lucy, and Happy standing amidst the motionless forms of the Moon Drip cultists.

Nora's aura was gradually starting to replenish as time passed, but it was still low and feeling the impact of magic on her shields was something she would clearly have to get used to, even if she could withstand it—at least, in a physical form—like she could other attacks. That direct hit from Lyon had not been pleasant… but she shuddered to think about what would have happened to Gray.

Gray, who tried to—in Nora's eyes, despite what he said—kill himself.

Just a kid.

"Nora!" Lucy shouted, and the Huntress blinked before looking up tiredly. The celestial-mage was waving as she, Erza, and Happy looked Nora's way, and the orange-haired girl sighed before standing up straight and walking towards them, still sore and drained. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so good!"

"Rude," Nora joked, putting up a weak grin, then she looked up at the blonde. "I'm okay, really. It's just been a little too long since I've been out in the field." She raised a shaking hand to her collarbone, cringing, then she shook her head and rolled her shoulders back. "Agh… Natsu's dealing with some Zalty guy who fixed the temple, and Gray's fighting Lyon." She glanced towards the temple, frowning as she noticed a purple light. "Looks like someone's still running the Moon Drip. We need to get up there and stop it before they bust that demon out."

"We?" Erza raised an eyebrow, and Nora looked up at her. "You, Nora Valkyrie, may just be the most foolhardy person here. Not only are you defying the master's orders, but you are doing so after having been in recovery for injuries for your entire time as a member of Fairy Tail. Weeks of healing, and this is what you do the moment you are allowed to step outside the guild-hall?" Her eyes narrowed. "An example will have to be made of you. You cannot think that your punishment will be any less severe than the others' just because you are new and in poor physical condition."

"... Look, I get that folks are typically scared of you," Nora began, frowning. "And I'm not going to lie to you, Erza—after what I've seen these last few days, I've had my eyes opened." If Gray and Natsu were considered lower than Erza, Nora knew that she was facing something which was incredibly powerful and dangerous as she stood before that armored girl. "But I'm just the sort of person you can just intimidate or beat into submission. Not here." At that, Erza blinked, and Nora sighed crossed her arms. "I respect you as a warrior. Seriously, you're crazy-strong." She glanced down at all of the downed enemies. "You've... definitely earned your reputation.

Seeing your handiwork... I have no doubt that, if you wanted to, you could wipe the floor with me—especially with the condition I'm in, right now." Nora looked around at all of the downed enemies before she looked back at Erza, frowning. "Honestly... I am pretty scared, right now. I've been scared since I came to this island and it finally hit me how in over my head I am. I know I should be scared of you, and... I kinda am, Erza. You're beyond anything I've ever known or faced, and I really don't want to get hurt again after-..." She took a deep breath. "But when I have to make a choice, and the other option is doing what I think is right…

I don't have the luxury to let myself just be scared of anything, including you." The Huntress's eyes narrowed. "I came after Lucy, Happy, and Natsu because I thought that they were going to get caught up in some demon curse, but a citizen of this island told me that his people needed help now—and to be completely real: I don't think that suffering people should have to wait for an S-Class wizard's bank account to dip for someone to come and help them. And if we hadn't come here when we did, this demon would be out already and killing people, so... I'm not going to apologize for the choice I made."

"Eek!" Lucy actually recoiled, hugging Happy as both she and the cat shrieked in fright.

Nora took a deep breath. "So, go ahead and kick the snot out of me... Get it over with, so I can get back to work." She put on a light grin. "I'm already here, so... I have to finish what I started, especially with the whole... resurrecting demon thing."

Erza just looked at Nora, then she sighed before giving a small smile. "You certainly are a bold one, Nora Valkyrie." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "In your condition, you really came all this way to help these people and protect your comrades."

"Hm." Nora put on another weak smile. "I told you I had to get out of the guild-hall."

Erza huffed out a short chuckle, opening her eyes and raising an eyebrow. "Yes, you did."

"And…" Nora glanced away awkwardly. "I guess that, when I realized people were in trouble, I realized that I'd be a hypocrite if I told a bunch of kids not to do the right thing just because it's considered above their pay-grade."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Kids? How old do you think we are?"

"Like, seventeen or eighteen?" Nora raised an eyebrow. "And that's the second time today someone's been confused by-" She blinked. "Hold on, how old do you guys think I am?"

"I really don't know, now," Lucy admitted, looking down at the Huntress in bewilderment. "You're so-..."

Nora blinked again. "... By the gods, is this about my height?!"

"Enough." Erza cut them off. "We should hurry along and regroup with Natsu and Gray to halt the Moon Drip." She glanced at Nora. "We are finishing this."

"Right," Lucy agreed as Nora sighed in relief.

It looked like the Huntress had her stay of execution... again.

"Wait!" A voice commanded, and the girls and Happy looked back to see an old woman being supported by a young man. Both of them were in the robes of the Moon Drip chanters. "We can't let you interfere with Reitei-sama!"

"Those hair ornaments…" Erza's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You are the citizens of Brago, aren't you? Here to settle scores?"

"What?" Nora asked, looking over at the knight in confusion.

Erza frowned. "Brago was the last civilization to be destroyed by Deliora before Ur sealed it in ice ten years ago. It appears that our opponents are the survivors of that night."

Nora blinked, then she looked at the old woman in confusion. "If you've seen what Deliora can do, then… why would you ever want him to be set free? Why would you work with someone who would destroy a village and kill innocent people? It doesn't make sense, you're just helping do to others what happened to you!"

"Deliora needs to pay," the old woman replied, her eyes narrowed. "For everything we lost, for everyone we lost-"

"He is paying!" Nora insisted, her eyes narrowed as she stepped forward. "What's worse, putting him out of his misery or keeping an immortal being that craves destruction helpless and trapped forever while the world gets to live and grow and move on all around him?! Whether you free him or actually manage to kill him, you're just making things better for him!"

A hush fell as the old woman's eyes widened, then she looked down. "I-..."

"... I'm sorry," Nora said, her eyes widening as she raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my-... I-... I'm so sorry. I didn't-..." She sighed, closing her eyes and running a hand through her hair. "I've dealt with a lot of-... Recently, I-... Regardless, I really shouldn't have-... I'm sorry. That was so stupid, I-"

"You're right, young lady," the old woman murmured, and Nora opened her eyes. "You're absolutely right." The old woman looked up, tears forming in her eyes. "This… won't bring them back."

Nora lowered her hand, frowning. "I'm… still sorry." She bowed her head, raising a hand to her clip. "I shouldn't have-"

A hand grabbed Nora's, and she looked up to see the old woman analyzing her carefully.

After a moment, the old woman sighed. "You've faced demons of your own, haven't you?"

The ground suddenly began to shake, and Nora looked back with Erza, Lucy, and Happy as a strange noise—rumbling and roaring, then piercing and almost-musical—filled the air with enough force to make the trees tremble.

Nora cringed and used her free hand to cover her ear as Lucy and Happy both covered their ears and Erza grimaced.

"My ears are ringing!" Happy shrieked.

Erza's eyes widened. "What is that sound?!"

"Deliora," Nora decided quietly, glancing at the wide-eyed citizens of Brago, then she glanced at the temple. "... You guys, protect the civilians—all of them!" She pulled her hand free from the old woman's and turned away. "I need to go and make sure Gray doesn't do anything stupid!"

"Nora!" Erza shouted as Nora ran back towards the temple, reaching out. "Damn it! Do you ever wonder if you are the one who is doing something stupid?!"

"All the time!" Nora assured her, looking back with a forlorn grin, and Erza blinked.

Then, Nora looked forward and ran into the temple.

The girl slid to a stop right where Natsu had broken the floor the previous day and drew Magnhild, shifting it into a hammer and raising it above her head. She then brought it down and smashed the floor into pieces, allowing herself to fall down into the darkness.

Just before she would have struck the floor, Nora shifted Magnhild into its grenade-launcher form and released a blast of pink smoke from her weapon, used the force to propel herself up, and landed in a crouch before the tunnel as the pink mist dissipated behind her.

Nora looked up, frowning as another roar from Deliora shook the island, then she took off running down the tunnel that would take her to the demon's chamber.

She had to hope that she would reach it before Gray did.


When Nora reached Deliora's chamber, she could see that the demon had been melted out of the ice down to its ankles and the ritual was still going. The ground shook and debris fell from the ceiling with every sound let out by the massive creature.

As jumpy as Nora's aura had been before when the creature was frozen, it was going haywire in the presence of a near-freed demon. Part of her just wanted to go completely still, like a deer caught in headlights.

However, she had other things to worry about.

A battered Natsu standing on an island of stone in an underground lake while Zalty stood upon one which was somewhat higher.

"That spoiled brat Reitei could never have defeated Deliora," Zalty was saying as Nora ran towards the scene.

"Wait…" Natsu blinked, then his eyes widened in alarm. "That's really dangerous!" He tilted his head. "So, you'd defeat it yourself?"

"Of course not." Zalty scoffed. "I want to make it mine. There exist techniques to control even immortal beasts." He grinned manically. "It would be incredible for me to control such awesome power, don't you think?"

"How stupid." Natsu looked away, seeming disappointed. "Sorry I asked."

"Huh?" Zalty blinked, his face falling.

"I wanted it to be a plan that would get me really fired-up!" Natsu explained, looking up at the masked man. "But this was literally the first thing Nora thought you guys were up to when we found this place. She was like, they're gonna use the demon to hit things! And Gray was all like, no, they'd never control it!" He shook his head. "When it's called out right away, that makes it boring when the bad guy tries to use it for a big reveal later! Nora beat you."

"Guess I'm just that good," Nora remarked, hopping down onto a rock island close to Natsu's, and he looked at her in surprise. "That, and it's easy to predict a bad guy who does easy-to-predict predictable things."

"You still do not understand!" Zalty insisted before Natsu could reply. "There will always come a time when one needs power, but what I will do with that power?" He laughed. "That, no one could ever predict!"

"But when that time comes, I'll believe in my own power and the power of my friends!" Natsu announced, his eyes narrowed as he clenched his fist with a ball of flame around it. "The wizards of Fairy Tail!"

"That ego will lead to your destruction," Zalty assured Natsu, then he raised a hand. "Ceiling, speed your time and crumble!"

A white glyph formed and the ceiling above began to split with massive rocks falling down towards the fighters.

Nora reached into her bag and fumbled around frantically until she drew a crystal, blinking as she saw its yellow color, then she sighed and closed her eyes.

"Oh, I'm gonna regret this," she decided, then she threw the crystal up into the air before swinging Magnhild and striking it.

As Magnhild struck the crystal, a bolt of white lightning flew up and struck the stones, reducing them to rubble and scattering them before they could hit Nora or Natsu.

At the same time, lightning surged down through Magnhild's handle and into Nora's body, and while it was hardly enough to cause any damage or even hurt her as her muscles were actually charged with strength-

"Nora, wait!"

Nora dropped down onto one knee, her whole body shaking as she took deep breaths and her ears rang.

Her aura flickered weakly around her body, but she barely noticed before she shut her eyes to block out the spinning world.

"Nora!" Natsu's voice sounded far away for some reason. That was weird…

Everything went fuzzy for a while.

Sound.

Nora's vision, whenever she briefly managed to open her eyes again.

Even the rumbling of the ground seemed to buzz, if that was possible.

When Nora finally opened her eyes and kept them open, Zalty was lying motionlessly on a small rock island down below and Natsu was leaping up to land on Nora's island as another loud roar shook the earth.

"You alright?!" He asked, getting down on one knee beside the Huntress. "Damn it, you were supposed to be with Gray!"

"Y… Yeah, well—about that-" Nora looked up, her eyes wide, as a green light filled the room, she and Natsu both gasping as the massive demon before them was suddenly—finally—free from the ice. "Oh, my gods!"

"What do we do?" Natsu wondered, his whole body tense, then he sniffed before looking back in alarm. "Oh, no." He grabbed Nora's arms and pulled her to her feet before picking her hammer up and pushing it into her hands. "Come on, we've gotta move!"

Nora blinked, then she collapsed Magnhild and put it on her back before following Natsu as he hopped from rock island to rock island, charged by the residual electricity of her use of the lightning-Dust crystal.

She only had a few full-sized crystals on her when she left Remnant, so she would have to get them replenished as soon as she got back to Magnolia… if she ever wanted to do that sort of thing again…

What was Nora thinking? It would be stupid not to.

She had to get over this… whatever this was, and quickly.

"Gray!" Natsu shouted, snapping Nora from her thoughts, and the Huntress came to a stop alongside the Dragon-Slayer atop a rock island and they looked down to see the ice-mage standing in the water. "You're here?"

Gray looked up at them, seeming surprised to see them there. "Natsu! Nora!"

"We've got no choice, now," Natsu told his teammate. "Let's destroy that thing!"

An insane-sounding laugh rang out, and Nora blinked before looking back to see a battered figure in tattered clothes crawling across the ground to reach the underground lake. "It's impossible for you! I will… defeat it..!"

"Lyon," Gray murmured, gazing down at his former classmate with a grim expression.

Nora raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my gods. What did you do to him..?"

"In order to surpass Ur, I will be the one!" Lyon insisted, looking up with manic eyes.

Natsu pointed at the white-haired boy. "Looks way more impossible for you. Stay back, already!"

"... Seriously, what did you do to him?" Nora whispered, glancing at Gray with wide eyes as Deliora roared again.

Lyon looked up at the demon, grinning. "Finally, we meet again… Deliora!" He forced himself onto one knee. "The one monster that Ur was not able to defeat…" He stood, staggering a bit, then tried to right himself. "I will defeat it… with my own two hands!" He looked up at the demon, his eyes narrowed as his whole body shook. "I am going… to surpass you!"

Gray climbed out of the water, walked up behind the boy, and slapped the back of his head. This was enough to knock Lyon back down onto the ground, and Gray sighed.

"Enough, Lyon," he said, getting back into the water. "Leave the rest to me." He glanced back at Nora. "... I'm sorry." He looked forward, facing the demon, then he crossed his arms before him once more as his eyes narrowed. "I will seal Deliora! Iced Shell!"

"Don't do it, Gray!" Lyon shouted, looking up at his fellow ice-mage with a glare. "Do you know how long it took me to melt that ice?!" The other ice-mage was not moved by this plea. "You're just repeating history! One day, I'll melt the ice and challenge it again!"

"Oh, shut up!" Nora snapped, looking over at Lyon with a glare. "You can come back and join the discussion when you learn the value of a human life, you selfish jerk!" The Huntress looked back at Gray, her eyes wide. "Gray, stop! We'll find another way!"

"This is the only way," Gray announced. "Right now, this is the one thing that can stop it!" A pink-haired figure suddenly stepped between the ice-mage and the demon. "Natsu?!"

"I'll fight it," the Dragon-Slayer said without hesitation.

"Move, Natsu! Don't get in my way!" Gray ordered, his eyes narrowing in frustration, then he blinked as Nora walked over to stand beside the Fire Dragon-Slayer, her hammer gripped in her hands. "Hey-!"

"Before I'll watch you kill yourself…" Nora glanced back at Gray, her eyes narrowed. "I'll fight a demon." She gave a small smile. "You can join the discussion when you learn the value of a human life, you selfless jerk."

Gray's eyes widened. "Nora…"

"Don't you get it, Gray, or are you really that dense?" Natsu asked quietly. "We stopped you before 'cause we didn't want you to die. I figured I was clear enough, if Nora wasn't. We've been comrades for years; I still think I know you pretty well, all things considered…" He closed his eyes, sighing. "Maybe I didn't get through to you?" He opened his eyes. "... If you're gonna use that magic, then do it."

"Natsu…" Gray's voice shook.

Nora glanced at Natsu, then she looked up as Deliora raised a massive fist over them, her aqua eyes narrowing as she gripped Magnhild and prepared to make a move against the demon. "If you think I'm gonna get out of the way, Gray, I've got bad news for you: getting frozen in a fighting position while trying to talk a guy out of killing himself with a death-spell would not be the worst way I could go out." She tilted her head and hummed. "Though… if a Taijitu's coils got all kinds of gathered up-..." She nodded. "Yeah, I've fought bigger. Not immortal-er and probably not scarier-looking, but bigger." She looked at Natsu. "You?"

"I dunno. I fight lots of things." He shrugged his shoulders. There was resolve in his eyes, not the slightest twinge of fear. He was ready, no matter what came next. "I've lost track."

Nora snorted. "It happens. Carried away, right?"

"Hm." Natsu nodded, giving the smallest grin. "Yeah, I guess so."

Deliora's fist came flying down towards Nora and Natsu, and Natsu conjured fire around his fist as Gray cried out: "DODGE IT!"

"I'm not gonna give up 'til the end!" Natsu shouted, and he reacted first.

His fist collided with Deliora's in a flash of green and orange, and Nora's eyes widened as a crack rang out. Like it was made of stone, Deliora started to crack apart and give off clouds of dust, rapidly breaking apart and crumbling into pieces.

"What?!" Natsu stepped back as Gray dropped out of his stance, and the Dragon-Slayer looked down at his fist with wide eyes. "That wasn't me…"

"... No, it wasn't." Nora's eyes lit up, and she grinned. "Oh, my gods… Ur didn't just trap an immortal demon. She cracked the code…"

'There are spells to kill immortals, here??' Nora thought in awe, thinking of Salem, then she sighed. 'But they come at much too high a cost.' She glanced at Gray, taking a deep breath and nodding to herself. 'Much too high.'

"What?" Gray whispered, stunned.

Lyon's fists clenched. "Y-You're kidding me… It can't be… No way!" Gray's entire body was trembling. "Deliora was already dead… For ten years, its life force was sapped by Ur's ice… All we saw was its last moment…"

"Heh…" Nora replaced Magnhild on her back and crossed her arms, glancing at the water rushing out of the cave. She blinked, then she tilted her head and beamed. "Now, that is one heck of a wizard…"

"I can't compare." Lyon slammed his fists down on the stone ground, his eyes tearing up. "I can never surpass Ur!"

"Your teacher is pretty amazing!" Natsu chimed, looking at Gray with an honest smile.

Tears started to race down Gray's face, and he raised a hand to his forehead as he bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Th… Thank you very much… Teacher…"

"Hm." Nora glanced over at Natsu, seeing that he was still grinning at his friend, then she noticed Lucy running towards them with a smile and a wave as Happy flew by her side.

Happy flew into Natsu's arms to hug him, and Natsu grinned and hugged back, only to shriek when he noticed Erza's arrival and try to flee, but the knight caught him by his scarf.

Gray, meanwhile, went over to Lyon and helped him to his feet, supporting his fellow student as they walked over to the group with sad smiles and their eyes cast to the ground.

"Idiots done being -well- idiots?" Nora asked quietly, giving a light grin.

Gray looked up at her, snorting. "For now, I'd like to think we are."

"Tch." Lyon closed his eyes. "Ur would disagree. We'll always be idiots."

Gray looked at Lyon, surprised, then he huffed out a weak laugh before bowing his head and actually starting to laugh genuinely, and Lyon looked at him with a small smile before closing his eyes and starting to laugh as well.

"... They do make for some quality sibling content when they're not too busy murdering each other," Nora remarked quietly to Erza, who blinked in surprise. "But…" Her eyes went to where Natsu was looking back at Gray, a light grin on his face. "Siblings are just kinda like that, I guess." The Huntress shuddered. "You should've seen my friends Ruby and Yang after Ruby accidentally caught some of Yang's hair with her scythe. Now, that was bloody."

"Hm." Erza raised an eyebrow. "Really, now?"

Nora snorted. "You'd get it if you met Yang." She held her hands up and created Ls with her index-fingers and thumbs as if to help Erza picture it with her. "Imagine Natsu, but a blonde girl with a metal arm and gun-gauntlets plus older-sibling protective rage and hair-vanity. Oh, and a girlfriend."

Erza chuckled. "Combine Natsu and Lucy, add a younger sibling... I nominate Romeo... dis-arm, arm, and... swap out the scarf for hair." She raised an eyebrow. "Have I got that right?"

"You've definitely got jokes," Nora remarked, pleasantly surprised as she lowered her hands, then she giggled. "And yeah, sure. Close enough."

"... Indeed, bloody," Erza agreed, and she gave another chuckle as Nora giggled again.

The Huntress calmed herself, then she looked over at Lyon, who had calmed down and cast his eyes to the ground. "... Hey." The white-haired boy looked up, frowning, and Nora gave a light grin. "I guess you were only half-listening earlier, huh? I told you how to surpass your teacher." She grew serious. "Live."

"How is living surpassing a woman who vanquished an immortal demon?" Lyon asked softly. "She defeated him, she won... I can never compare."

Nora placed her hands on her hips. "Well... I come from a place where monster-hunting's the go-to warrior job, and there's kind-of a rule." She stood up straight. "... It's only a win if you walk away after. If no one walks away, no one wins. It's a sacrifice; brave, but... sad." At that, Lyon and Gray blinked in surprise. "So... you can surpass her by always finding a way to walk away. I think she'd like that." She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, guys?"

"... Okay," Lyon said in a hushed voice, closing his eyes and letting his head hang.

Gray looked at Lyon, frowning, then he closed his eyes and gave an exasperated smile. "Come on... Let's get out of here."

"Yeah," Nora agreed, then she reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, smiling nervously. "After all, we still gotta do what we came here for."

"Huh?" Lucy looked at Nora, confused. "What do you mean?"

Nora gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. "Uh... Village full of demons ringing any bells?"

Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Lucy's eyes bugged out of their heads as Erza sighed and glanced up at the ceiling as if to pray for patience.

At least, Nora hoped that it was 'patience'.

If it was strength, they were in trouble.


I consider myself both a bad person and a good person for this chapter.

On the one hand, I had Nora in the room both times when Gray tried to use Iced Shell and I kinda added a bit more to Natsu's already gut-wrenching reactions through her perspective. That was not nice.

On the other hand, an alternate title for this chapter could have been 'Quality Sibling Content' between Gray and Lyon, Gray and Natsu, and Nora with Gray and Natsu as she accidentally found herself bonding.

What can I say? I love Nora's relationship with Oscar and Jaune in RWBY-canon. Girl needs to collect all of the brothers, all of the siblings. It's valid, okay?

I really wanted to continue strengthening Nora's relationships with this chapter. I know I still really have to get to Lucy and Happy and get that bonding done, but I was kinda proud of how I handled Natsu, Erza, and Gray here.

Natsu and Nora are sort of in the same book but on different pages. They're in the 'be strong and hit stuff' realm, but while Nora has a lot of insecurities and self-doubt, Natsu is aware that there's more to him than just smashing through things even if that's his specialty. Natsu is often looked down upon intellect-wise despite his strengths while Nora is oblivious to the strengths everyone else can see, so I really wanted their relationship to be set on that foundation: they see each other, with Nora understanding that Natsu has a wisdom and intellect under his wild nature while Natsu comes to realize that Nora is unaware of her place in the world and unsure of herself and tries to help her. There's a lot of respect, even with the potential for future antics.

Erza and Nora respect each other a lot. Nora has a heightened awareness of how powerful Erza must be and knows not to cross her, but she also won't back down when she knows what's right. Erza, on the other hand, looks at Nora and understands that appearances can be deceiving and she's looking at a very brave and strong individual, even if she's not looking at someone who is very powerful.

Gray and Nora... hurt to write, really. There's a lot of understanding there on Nora's part, as she's seen a lot of people standing where Gray was standing and seeing it again so soon was something she was not ready for. She definitely wants to try and show this kid a better way, because all of these wizards are the same age she was when Beacon fell and she doesn't want to have to see them go through anything even remotely comparable to what she went through back then or since.

There were a few decisions I made here that I was on the fence about, but hey: what's the point of adding a character to the story if nothing will be changed by her being there?

Nora breaking the ice was my attempt to have our Huntress character start sorting out her place in a magical world. She's trying to figure out what tools she has at her disposal which might put a magic-user at a disadvantage, andafter realizing that magical fire and regular force were uselessshe decided to test a hypothesis and see if magic could counter something it never encountered. The ice was not melted or destroyed, but the blast was enough to shatter the ice and free Natsu from it unharmed.

Nora saving the village buildings was a so-so choice. I know that Ultear would have restored them anyway, but I thought that using her weapon on the acid would have been a good chance for Nora to realize that she was not entirely helpless against magic and thatby protecting the villagers with her weaponshe could still prove to be a functioning Huntress in a world of magic, even if she could have never done what she did unless Natsu had used magic to get the process started and she simply expanded the hole he made with a Dust blast. I tried to highlight her as constantly putting the civilian safety first when she could, as Nora was characterized that way especially in Atlas/Mantle and you gotta keep up that consistency.

Nora taking on Yuka was a bigger choice. Natsu vs. Yuka the Wave, while a short fight, was a title for an episode/chapter and for good reason: the fight showcased Natsu's ability to analyze an opponent and think quickly in battle, even when he could not rely on magic for a win. However, I saw this as a good opportunity for Nora to gain confidence in fighting a specific sort of mage (magic-nullifying) and a bonding opportunity for Natsu and Nora. Following this fight, Natsu recognizes Nora as someone who is truly capable and recognizes the value in her constant use of non-magical tactics (gotta be wondering about that, though). I was also sure to keep him involved as helping Nora out at the beginning, being the source of information which led to Nora realizing she might be able to fight Yuka, serving as a distraction, and finally using his wits to take out Toby on his own.

Nora knocking Gray out of his first attempt to use Iced Shell is something I'm still uncertain of, but I felt it was something I had to do given Nora's experiences. She would look at Natsu (who she has bonded with) watching Gray (who she has also bonded with) about to kill himself in the middle of a trauma-fueled fight and see Kuroyuri, and the girl would MOVE. I built it up with Gray and Nora's interactions in the last chapter, but I was debating it every second. I feel like I made the right choice in the end, but... *stressed screaming*

Nora taking the hit for Gray with her aura was my getting to display how aura holds up against magical attacks. As we see in RWBY, aura can take a lot of damage before it gives out, and I got to show a bit of that here: Nora protected herself from the cold, took the ice-shards for Natsu, approached Gray during Iced Shell, and took that final Ice-Make Snow Tiger attack before her aura gave. Had she not been protecting herself from the cold and had she not approached Iced Shell, she might have lasted a little bit longerbut I kinda imagined some "Day After Tomorrow"-type vibes for non-fire/ice-folks who get too close to that spell without aura, given how powerful it is.

Nora breaking the rocks Zalty/Ultear dropped was just my frustration with those rocks being forgotten in the anime as soon as they dropped. Sue me, I'm a bitter person who wants these things resolved. XD

Speaking of "resolved", you might be wondering about my choice to have Nora react poorly to the sudden, unprepared use of her semblance when she was fine with using it a day or two after her injury in RWBY-canon. Well, the way I see it, this was probably because the writers felt that giving Nora a longer and more-realistic physical and psychological recovery period might hamper the plot and remind viewers too much of Yang. That, and as you may remember, my Nora never got to have Jaune heal her or that reassuring talk with Ren.

My Nora used her semblance, got hurt, and lost everything. Her recovery is going to be a bit longer, and I wanted to display that all might not be sitting well with Nora regardless of what she previously thought. However, I also wanted to show her working through it and I definitely think that this chapter gave us back more of that snarky-but-awkward, no-'wrong-kind-of'-nonsense, strong and driven Nora Valkyrie we all know and love. She's just growing and changing and getting used to the people around her, and I'm having a lot of fun with that.

Nora's interactions with Lyon and the people of Brago were meant to be a little complex because of her history with villains on Remnant, as evidenced by her talk with Natsu. As all of this is happening, she's reminded of Hazel and what she overheard back at Haven regarding that particular enemy. She knows why these villains are doing what they're doing and tries to explain that to Natsu, who later uses her words when confronting Lyon, but she's still clearly frustrated by the villains making all of the wrong choices when she confronts them herself because she has a difficult time understanding how they could make the choices they made given her own experience. She knows, but she doesn't get it... and she's relieved when, at the end of all of this, the villains of Earthland do whatas far as she knowsHazel could not.

R.I.P. Hazel Rainart.

At least Nora knows Emerald made good, before the end?

I'll see myself out.

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