"Oi, look at that…!" Luke pointed to the sky where the timer was, another image projecting itself right on top of it: Natsu vs. Jack.
"That's Natsu…!" Lucy's face lit up with excitement. "He made it to Jack!"
"But he's only got ten minutes…" Laxus said while walking in, arms crossed. "
"Man you people are just showing up out of nowhere today…" Luke sighed.
"I believe in him…!" Lucy said with a firm nod. "He's got 9 minutes and 59 seconds! It's not over until that timer hits zero!"
"Ya got that right…" Laxus agreed to Lucy's statement with a small nod. If everything went well, this crisis would be over with within the 10 minutes remaining.
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"Gah!" Gajeel grit his teeth in frustration and annoyance once the lacrima camera came on. "I don't believe this!"
"I know! We've only ten minutes left…!" Levy cried out in a panic.
"No, not that!" Gajeel shouted. "Salamander beat me to Jack! This is unacceptable!"
"We have bigger problems to deal with GAJEEL." Levy couldn't help but raise her voice at the iron dragon, aiming to bring him back into the reality of the situation. "So what if Natsu got there first?! If he somehow manages to lose we have these flares to deal with…!"
"I know, I know…!" Gajeel grit his teeth, still frustrated by the fact he didn't get the chance to fight Jack.
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"Tch…We could still make it," Diamond huffed. "Knowing Joker he's probably waiting for just right moment to take him and Salamander down, since he has the chance to right now…"
"What will we do, then?" Spade asked. "For once, I don't have an idea on this…"
"Where the hell did Strong go?!" Diamond looked around, completely unaware of Strong's whereabouts at the moment. This was the worst time for him to be MIA!
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"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu exclaimed, unleashing a funnel of fire across the building towards Jack.
"You'll never hit me from so far away!" Jack replied while quickly flying out of the way, now making his way towards Natsu with a claw pulled back, swiping it towards Natsu quickly.
"Tch!" Natsu grunted as he jumped to the side, just narrowly avoiding the claw strike. Natsu then placed his hand on the ground and performed a front flip, fire flaring around his feet as he aimed a powerful axe kick towards Jack's side. "Talons!" A direct hit, Natsu's feet struck the sides of Jack's armor, causing Jack to skid away a few inches. It was time for a follow up to keep the offensive momentum; Natsu dashed forward, fire trailing behind his arms. "Fire Dragon's Wing Slash!"
"Guh…" Jack grunted softly as Natsu's direct attack, but he was able to recover in time to evade the incoming Wing Slash by flying into the air. Once in the air, Jack tucked his wings in and dove towards Natsu at a breakneck pace.
"Wha..!?" Natsu's eyes widened as he rolled, just narrowly avoiding Jack's first trip.
"I'm not done with you yet!" Jack grinned as he turned around quickly, aiming for a second trip which was going to be a certain hit on Natsu.
"Natsu, look out!" Happy shouted before flying in at Max Speed, lifting Natsu up just before Jack could hit him.
"Thanks, Happy!" Natsu grinned to his partner before pointing to the space above Jack, silently thankful for the fact the interior of the cathedral was so large. "We have to get above him!"
"Aye!" Happy nodded and flew off into the air, aiming to get above Jack. "Natsu, now!"
"Too slow!" Jack shouted with a cocky grin, appearing above Natsu and Happy before they had the chance to get above him.
"He's fast…!" Happy's eyes widened in pure shock.
"You'll never get above me! Not like that!" Jack then formed a Wicked Flame the size of a Blaze in his two hands, throwing the sphere of purple flares directly towards Natsu and Happy. "Disastrous Flame!" The flame hit Happy and Natsu direct, causing the two to split up and hit the ground as a purple explosion occurred.
"Gwah!" Natsu grunted as he hit the ground, quickly rolling back up while panting softly. Now he was really in a race against time, as he could feel the magic he had left in his body slowly beginning to sap away from the effects of the Wicked Flames. "Dammit…"
"Ugh…" Happy laid on the ground in a slight daze.
"I thought you were going to stop me!?" Jack shouted while hurling multiple Wicked Flames down at Natsu, giving a maniacal laugh while doing so.
"Don't get the wrong idea! Because I'm going to!" Natsu replied with a yell while dashing forward, orange flames covering his body as he bent his knees. Once close enough, he pushed himself off the ground, charging headfirst towards Jack in a reckless fashion. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"
"Guh!? You're crazy…!" Jack shouted in surprise at Natsu's headfirst charge, though it was a direct hit for the Salamander as he slammed right into Jack's abdomen, causing Jack to spiral around in the air before he caught himself, looking down to see that his armor had been cracked slightly. "Hmph…" He shrugged it off, giving a grin towards Natsu. "Heh, now I think it's my turn. I never did get to show you the full extent of my power back then, so consider yourself lucky. This is a rare sight for anyone to see." Jack then held his hands at ten and two, slowly creating a magic seal in front of him by rotating his arms clockwise. "Wicked…Flare!" From the magic seal, a large funnel of Wicked Flames shot out, traveling directly towards Natsu.
"Whoa!" Natsu's eyes widened at the speed of the incoming flare, but he countered the only way he saw fit. He cupped his hands together over his head, generating a large sphere of fire in his hands. "Dazzling Blaze of the Fire Dragon!" He shouted, throwing he blaze towards the Wicked Flare. The two attacks collided in a stalemate for a second before the Wicked Flare completely overpowered the Blazer and struck Natsu, a cry of pain escaping his lips as he rolled across the floor, burn marks covering his body. "Ugh…" Natsu picked himself up slowly, panting heavily as a result from the damage and the magic energy slowly seeping out of his body. He couldn't keep this up for much longer and he could feel that time was running low on him. "Dammit…he's strong." Natsu then pounded his fist together, refusing to give up until Jack was down. "Secret Art!" Natsu then dashed forward, throwing multiple flaming punches at Jack in rapid succession. "Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist!"
"You're not the only one who can play that game!" Jack shouted while his Wicked Flames appeared on his hands, and he met Natsu in the intense close combat. Natsu's rate of punches was much higher than Jack, so Natsu was indeed able to land a few hits on Jack, but the S class mage could do the same thing, and his attacks hit harder and had a more devastating effect. Natsu swung his fist upwards for a finishing uppercut blow, but Jack evaded it by leaning his head back. "Too slow!" Jack then went for his own finishing blow, a strong haymaker to Natsu's face, causing Natsu to cry out in pain and roll across the ground once again.
"Natsu…!" Happy finally got up and flew over to Natsu, lifting him up once again so the playing field would be even, but even now Happy could feel his magic power emptying out due to the Wicked Flames.
"Agh…We have to fight him in the air!" Natsu stated. "I WILL get above you for an attack and it will take you down!" Natsu shouted to Jack, who hovered in the air with a challenging grin.
"Come now, I dare you to try!" Jack beckoned the two to come at him.
"Let's go, Happy!" Natsu roared.
"Aye, sir…!" Happy shouted in response, flying towards Jack quickly. "Go get 'em, Natsu!"
"Aye!" Natsu reared his fist back as flames surrounded it, swinging a Fire Dragon's Iron fist for the visor of the child, but it was a miss as Jack flew to the side. "We're not letting you get away!" Natsu growled, puffing his cheeks out once again and unleashed a Fire Dragon's Roar towards the evading Jack, but this attack was a miss as well, leaving Natsu more irritated than anything else. "Go up!" Happy complied and flew towards the ceiling, but Jack was strong to his word and beat the duo up there, hands cupped above his head. "…!"
"What did I tell you!?" Jack said while slamming a hammer fist into the skulls of both Natsu and Happy, sending them rocketing back down into the floor with such force that it caused a crater. "You two will never get above me! I won't allow it!"
"Ugh…" Natsu writhed on the floor in pain, slowly pushing himself up to his hands and knees. His last roar was all the magic he had left in his system, but he still had his bare hands and he intended to use them. "I'm…not done…yet…"
"Keh…" Jack hovered a few feet above Natsu, a large Wicked Flame swirling his hand. "You're done. It was a fun fight, but it's time to call curtain." With that, Jack threw the flame in his hand towards Natsu, consuming the Salamander in its malevolent flare.
"N-Natsu…!" Happy cried out weakly. It all seemed over while the fire burned, but an inhalation sound cut through the silence of despair, causing the eyes of both Happy and Jack to widen immensely. "That sound…!"
"No…" Jack whispered in shock.
The Wicked Flames slowly died down, and when they did Natsu was standing tall, a purple aura around his body as he wiped his mouth with the back of his lips, a wide smirk on his face. "Now that I've gotten a taste of those flames…I can say that they really taste as bad as you are…But even so…thanks for the meal." Natsu then let out a battle cry, his orange flames mixing in with the purple flames of the Wicked Flames he consumed.
"W-WHAT?!" Jack's eyes widened even more if that was even possibly. He backed up, his face showing blatant fear. "T-THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE…! No, it just happened so it isn't…but…YOU'RE FREAKING INSANE!? THOSE FLAMES WILL TEAR YOU APART FROM THE INSIDE BEFORE YOU CAN BEAT ME!"
"Then I guess I'll just have to beat you before that happens…" Natsu replied as orange and purple fire flared around his dominant hand. He lunged forward, pulling his arm back while letting out a yell. "Iron Fist of the Wicked Flame Dragon!" Natsu threw his fist forward, colliding with the face of Jack Corvus, the impact so powerful it send Jack flying across the building before he came to a stop, panting heavily. But Natsu was nowhere near done. He chased after Jack, and before a retaliation was possible Natsu swung his leg upward, landing a direct hit on Jack to send him into the air. Natsu followed with a jump, once again aiming to get above Jack to finish him.
"Not so fast!" Jack exclaimed, recovering just in time to stop Natsu's attempted finisher. Jack swung his leg down, striking Natsu right in the chest, sending him back to the ground.
Natsu hit the ground but quickly rolled up, his cheeks beginning to puff out in the process as orange and purple fire surrounding his mouth. "Roar…of the Wicked Flame Dragon!" Natsu lurched his head forward, unleashing a massive funnel of Wicked Flame and Fire Dragon slayer magic, traveling directly towards the airborne Jack.
"WHA!?" Jack crossed his arms, which was the best he could do to soften the blow against the powerful attack. The roar hit Jack and travelled through the building, shooting off into the distance for at least a mile. "GAAAH!"
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"HOLY SH…!" Luke's eyes widened at the sight of the roar shooting from off in the distance.
"That's Natsu alright!" Lucy clapped her hands together while giving a gleeful smile.
"There's no way an attack like that ISN'T the finishing hit…" Jellel mumbled to himself while standing a few yards outside the cathedral now, able to maneuver himself out of the way of any traps.
"Go, Natsu-san!" Wendy cheered.
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Natsu finally finished exhaling, falling to a knee after the heavy amount of magic he used. He looked up into the smoke, eyes widening at the sight before him. "No way…"
Jack floated down from the air, his armor heavily damaged from the attack, but he himself seemed fine. "That…kinda hurt…" Jack admitted with a twisted grin. He could tell by Natsu's expression that it was just about everything he had left put into that final attack. "You even damaged me some…" He panted heavily, yet his grin remained. His eyes then shifted to the timer. Only 60 seconds remained. "What did I tell you!? You weren't gonna beat me, and least of all in 10 minutes! By the time that timer runs out the Wicked Flames you ate will destroy your body, but you won't be around long enough to witness it!" With that, Jack spread his wings and broke through the ceiling, now flying towards the center of town.
"D-Dammit!" Natsu screamed towards Jack. "GET BACK HERE!"
"N-Natsu…! We have to stop him…!" Happy said weakly. "Those flames will destroy everything…!" Happy then spread his wings out, gripping Natsu once again and flew after Jack, though he was a bit slow because his magic was just about empty.
"HAHA!" Jack grinned widely as he flew high above Magnolia, higher than anything else that could fly, dead center in the town as the Wicked Flames began to burn brightly, creating a magic draining field on the entire town at his level and below him. "See that, Magnolia!? Your warrior has failed to defeat me! And there's only 35 seconds left on the clock! I'll show you what happens when you take away something dear me to by taking everything away from you!"
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"He didn't make it!" Lucy gasped.
"Shit…!" Laxus grunted, preparing to intercept Jack with his lightning body but the magic draining properties stopped him cold, causing him to fall to an immediate knee. "D-Dammit…I can't move…!"
"M-Me neither…" Erza groaned as she tried to force herself to move.
"J-Jack! Stop this…!" Diamond pleaded.
"Wendy…" Cynthia felt weak, leaning against Wendy while breathing heavily. "We'll be fine…right…?"
"W-We have to be…" Wendy nodded slowly.
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"Happy, we have to get above him!" Natsu shouted as Happy tried to fly higher.
"I'm trying! But Natsu, you'll only have one shot…!" Happy warned as he began to surpass his limits in terms of flight, slowly reaching the appropriate distance which was around Jack's level.
"One shot is all I need…!" Natsu replied. "Let's go, Happy!"
"AYE, SIR! MAX SPEED!" Happy shouted, now entering his top speed and sped towards Jack. "Ready, Natsu!"
"Ready!"
"GO!" Happy then threw Natsu high into the air, allowing Natsu to take care of the rest.
"Say goodbye, Magnolia!" Jack screamed as the Wicked Flames around the city intensified.
"JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!" Natsu shouted from above, catching Jack's attention.
"WHAT?!" Jack turned, eyes wide at the sight above him. "He got above me!?"
In Natsu's left hand, flames of the fire dragon, and in his right, Wicked Flames. Held both hands over his head, screaming at the top of his lungs for his finishing blow. "DAZZLING BLAZE…OF THE WICKED FLAME DRAGON!" Natsu clapped his hands together once he neared Jack, the two flames on his hands expanding to enormous sizes with Jack right in the middle, letting out a loud scream of pain as the two flares consumed him, which eventually resulted in a near catastrophic explosion. As a result, the small flame barrier covering the city and the flames themselves dispersed and both parties began to fall towards the ground.
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"Did he do it…!?" Gajeel asked while skidding to a halt.
"The flames are gone! Natsu won!" Levy squealed, bringing Gajeel into a tight hug afterwards.
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Natsu and Jack both hit the ground. Natsu on his stomach while Jack fell on his back. Natsu had a goofy grin on his face while looking at the timer. It stopped with one second remaining. "Ha…I told you I was going to stop you…"
"No…" Jack groaned, and against all odds and the damage he took, he slowly brought himself back up to his feet, multiple parts of his armor broken off from the last attack and most of it nearly shattered. "I won't be defeated by the likes of you!"
"…!" Natsu's eyes widened as Jack stood up once again. "N-No…!"
Jack limped over to Natsu, kicking him so that he would be lying on his back. "There…now you can watch as everything you love is reduced to nothing but cinder…!" Jack raised his hand up, reigniting the flames around the city. At the same time, the clouds in the sky began to darken considerably. "I said…say goodbye…MAGNOLIA…!"
"JACK!" A voice screamed out, causing Jack to freeze in his tracks immediately, looking over to where the voice was coming from. It was none other than Queen Tia, still in handcuffs. Beside her were Doranbolt and Lahar. "What on Earthland do you think you're doing!?"
"S-Sis…!?" Jack's eyes widened from the mix of emotions he felt from finally seeing his sister after all this time.
It was around that time that Lucy found her way over, rushing over to Natsu while letting out a sigh of relief. "They made it…"
"Jack…what are you doing…?" Tia asked while giving her brother a concerned look. "You weren't supposed to fly off the handle like this…"
"You…You got captured!" Jack replied. "That wasn't supposed to happen! Joker told me all about it. Fairy Tail was the reason you were captured, and because they took you away from me, I was going to take everything they cared about away from them! Heartless was in the council, right!? So why didn't she rescue you!?"
Tia blinked a few times, completely surprised by Jack's outburst. "I…I'm sorry…I knew how much you needed me and yet…" She shook her head. "Fairy Tail had a small part it my imprisonment, but the truth of the matter is that I was defeated by Ace, and as a result, I spent time in the slammer all this time. I used the time to think about myself and the order we were going to create. Heartless offered to take me back, but I refused because I needed more time to think, and I still do. Jack…please, please tell me that you didn't take a single life in this fiasco…that goes against everything we believe in…"
"I…" It was Jack's turn to be speechless. "I don't know if I can answer that…"
"Not a single person was killed," Doranbolt repeated. "I just checked the entire town and all the citizens are accounted for. Some injured, but nothing to drastic."
"Thank goodness…" Tia let out a sigh before approaching Jack slowly. "Look, I know I'm a horrible sister for leaving you all alone, even though I thought I had a good reason…but come with me…together we can truly think about what we want in our life. We can think about if staying with Dealer is the right path or if going our own way is the correct way…"
After a few moments of silence, Jack slowly gave a nod. When he was with or near his sister, all of his bottled up aggression and angered really did vanish. She was the only person in Earthland who could calm him down. "Alright…I'll go with you."
"All we needed to hear." Lahar then walked over to Jack, slapping the magic sealing cuffs on him. "Let's go."
"Wait…" Tia said, turning to Natsu and Lucy. She walked over to them slowly, giving a nod of appreciation. "Natsu…thank you for fighting against Jack. I think that helped with most of the aggression he's been holding in, and thank you for holding him off long enough." She then turned to Lucy. "And Lucy…I appreciate the fact you thought to call me. I knew Jack was going to unleash his anger but I didn't think it would be on such a large scale. Thank you both…I know we'll be meeting again, but if enemies or allies, I cannot say. Until then…" She nodded, then proceeded to walk off with Doranbolt, Lahar, and Jack. The clouds in the sky slowly began to disperse as well...
"Whew…" Lucy let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's finally over…"
"So you called her over, huh…?" Natsu groaned as he sat up, wincing at his injuries. "Man…I can never tell with her what she's thinking. One minute she's trying to kill us and the next she visits Lisanna's funeral and…ugh…" He was exhausted and frustrated. He lost to Jack. If it wasn't for Tia...Magnolia would've burned to the ground.
"Don't think about it too hard…" Lucy said with a soft smile. "We should get you to Wendy or something…"
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"It looks like it's finally over…" Wendy said with a sigh of relief. "Are you okay…?"
"Yeah…" Cynthia nodded slowly, giving Wendy a soft smile. But in the back of her mind she couldn't shake this feeling about the future. Well…there wasn't anything she could do about it now. It was a bridge that would be crossed at some point…
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Just after the conflict was finished, Strong returned to Diamond and Spade. "...Did we miss it...?
"Where the hell were you!?" Diamond shouted at Strong, now noticing how roughe dup he was as well. "And what happened?!"
"...Lost to the big Strauss guy." Strong sighed. "I wasn't...strong enough." He glanced off to the side.
"..." Spade looked elsewhere. "We shouldn't stay here for long, lest the Council notice us too..."
"...Lisanna Strauss is still alive." Strong reported. Diamond and Spade looked at him in shock.
"What!?"
"Yeah. That big guy told me himself." Strong crossed his arms. "...Ace saved her."
"Ace..." Spade mumbled. So Joker didn't kill anyone after all? Well, it's not like he wasn't trying to, but still...
"...Heartless should've known..." Diamond realized. "She went to the Council, I know she saw Tia. Tia fought Ace, so...!"
"So Heartless hid it from everyone..!?" Strong gasped. "But why...!"
"...I suppose we'll have to ask her when we return." Spade did shudder at the thought of appearing back to King empty handed. Granted, this was never an official mission to begin with. They only went out because they wanted to stop Jack, and they failed.
"I guess so…" Diamond sighed, punching the ground. "Dammit…we couldn't do anything again…"
"This is really quite depressing..." Spade let out a heavy sigh before looking towards the other two.
"...Spade, are you thinking about your..." Diamond began.
Spade shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Shall we return to base…?"
"We don't have much of a choice…" Diamond replied.
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"Are you guys alright?" Luke asked Selene and El Rayo. "That was a pretty crazy right…"
"I've had it up to here with Dealer to be completely honest with you…" Selene let out an annoyed groan, pinching the bridge of her nose. "It's always something with them. At least no one was killed…"
"Aye…" El Rayo nodded. "This situation could've turned out worse, but thankfully it went about as well as it could've. Are we going home?"
"I need a three day nap, so yes." Luke nodded. "Let's get going."
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"Not bad, Mason…" Roy said while patting the young mage on the head, though Mason didn't really take too kindly to that.
"Man, that stuff was rough…" Mason sighed, stretching out after. "Last time I try to mess around with two girls. Bringing me into trouble like that."
"Women, right?" Roy laughed and so did Mason. "C'mon, let's get going. You've had a long day and deserve some rest."
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"Lisanna! Mira!" Elfman, though injured, was happy to give his Sisters a hug. They were back in the Fairy Tail guild and things were dying down after the incident.
"Elf-nii!" Lisanna hugged her brother in turn.
"I'm glad you're okay..." Mira said with a gentle smile.
"Whoa, sorry I'm late…!" Ace said while rushing into the Fairy Tail guild hall where most of the members were getting treated. "Oh…"
"You're late," Makarov sighed while drinking from his mug. "By about 11 minutes."
"Sorry…!" Ace let out a nervous laugh. "My teleporter was shot like I said so I had to book it over here…but it looks like you have the situation well under control. I know what happened, I had to rush. I'm sorry I didn't make it in time..."
"I called the Council and explained the situation to them and asked them to bring Tia over to calm Jack down. If they didn't arrive the second they did I worry about what would've happened…" Lucy replied.
"Tia was here…?" Ace blinked a few times before shaking his head. In the end, Tia really was the only one who could stop Jack. Natsu failed, after all... "I see…Did anything else happen?"
"Nothing important, aside from some Dealer bugs tryin' to get to Jack too," Gajeel replied. "Like I said, nothing important, though."
"I see…" Ace merely replied with a small nod. "They showed up to stop him...if this happened in the past, they would've have even batted an eye. What's going on in Dealer..." He then turned around, frowning, but refused to let anyone see it. "Once again, I can't keep anyone safe..."
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Moments before Jack and Natsu's fight came to an end, Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear were truly pushed against the wall against Joker. No matter what they did, they just weren't able to break through him whatsoever. Things were looking dire for the three of them. Even though Joker did show signs of damage across his body, his overwhelming power was more than enough to keep him going. "I'm disappointed. I expected more from wizards of your calibur."
"How is he so strong..." Ultear panted heavily. "Nothing we do works. This strength is abnormal!"
"I will always be stronger than you." Joker explained calmly. "No matter how many people come at me, no matter their strength...I will always be superior."
Meredy grit her teeth. "That doesn't mean you'll defeat us!"
"It's time." Jellal knew how he had to bring this fight to a close. He pointed his fingers at the ground and took a stance. This prompted the clouds above to darken considerably, and a large surge of magic could be felt. "You are a tremendous foe, Joker! But this will be the move that brings your end!"
The area began to rumble violently. Joker could sense the spike in magic and looked to the sky, noticing the large empty space within the clouds. Something was forming...something was coming. "So, all or nothing?" He drew his hand back, a crimson orb appearing within his palm. "If you intend to fight me with everything you have, you will learn that it pales in comparison to my power."
"Ultear!" Jellal exclaimed.
"I know!" Ultear knew what to do. Jellal was preparing to use Sema. But he wasn't sure if just a single meteor would be enough to put Joker down. With Ultear's Time Ark, they could turn Sema into something truly catastrophic, beyond what it was normally capable of. "I wouldn't approve of this at any other time, but we don't have a choice!"
"True Heavenly Body Magic...!"
"DREAD..."
Everyone was about to put all the stops in, but just before they could...
"SAY GOODBYE, MAGNOLIA!" Jack's voice loudly rang out, catching everyone by surprise. They all looked to see Magnolia engulfed in a sea of purple flames.
"Oh no!" Meredy gasped.
"...We wasted too much time...!" Jellel grunted.
"..." Joker said nothing. The battle came to an abrupt end as the fate of Magnolia was hanging in the balance...and the flames suddenly dispersed. "...So, it's over."
"It's over?" Jellal looked to Joker.
"...I can surmise that Jack has been detained. There is no longer any point in continuing this farce of battle." Joker said before firing his Dread Laser at the trio. It exploded in front of them, forcing them to take over. When the smoke cleared...Joker was gone.
"...He left." Meredy sighed. The clouds from Sema began to clear, since Jellal never got to release the spell and stopped. "...That was...scary."
"He was impossibly strong." Ultear took a seat on the ground. "It felt like...we were never going to surpass his strength. I can't explain it."
"No...I understand." Jellal crossed his arms.
"I felt his magic ebb and flow with ours." Meredy's sense link vanished. "The stronger our magic became, his rose in turn. When we tried something weaker, his magic also got weaker, but he was still stronger than us the whole time. Also...there was something else that bothered me."
"Something else?" Ultear looked at Meredy.
"i can't explain it. But I didn't...feel anything from Joker." Meredy looked at her wrist. "No happiness...no sadness, nothing. Not a single emotion was felt while I was connected to him. To be completely honest...I can't even tell if he's human or not..."
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Natsu: "Finally, it's time to party!"
Lucy: "I've been waiting all year for this festival! Nothing could possibly ruin such a good time! And everyone's invited!"
Cygnus: "Is that so? Well, don't mind if we do!"
Cynthia: "I think you spoke too soon, Lucy…"
Sting: "Oh, a party! I love these things!"
?: "Oh, we do too! Long time no see, am I right?!"
Evanee: "Oh, not these guys again…"
Next time: Magnolia Festival!