The ocean had been many things for Mercury during his long life.

At one point, he might have called it home; at another time, it would have been a prison, something he dreamed of escaping

And now?

It was just water.

The connection that he once had to it was now weakened – there was nothing to tether him to the body of water, nor was there any reason for him to have any specific feelings towards it. Not fear. Not tenderness. Just apathy. In short, it was great. He'd never been so calm in his life while looking down to see practically endless darkness around him, and yet here he was, entirely unbothered.

Well, perhaps not 'entirely' unbothered. They still had a job to do – one that meant that Magnolia was going to be engulfed in a massive tsunami if they were unsuccessful, so it wasn't as though Mercury could revel in amazement at his own indifference for long.

Laxus's hand was grasped tightly in his own as the waters guided them towards the ocean floor, gentle in a way that he'd never felt before. That single connection was the only thing preventing Laxus from floating away and getting lost – as far down as they were, it was completely dark; if he floated away, there was no way he could find Mercury again. They'd long since passed the depth that light could pass through, leaving only the small, yellow scales that now patterned Mercury's body as the only source of brightness.

Laxus was blind, but Mercury wasn't. For once, his vision was just as good as ever, if not better than it usually was. In other words, he was both the only one who could be seen, and the only one who could see.

He stared at Laxus, searching for any sign of discomfort as they continued to descend. Using magic like that really was risky; if Mercury let up for a moment, Laxus would be crushed by the massive pressure and he'd immediately lose the ability to breathe… but he saw no such signs. Laxus had his cheeks puffed out and looked severely out of place, but he was just staring down into the darkness with an intense gaze.

Perhaps he should have been grateful that Laxus couldn't speak underwater, lest he get scolded for staring.

Finally, after what felt like ages – without any light, time was an indecipherable variable – Mercury spotted another figure floating. Floating alone. It was the one that they'd been chasing down, and yet there was something oddly different about him; quickly, Mercury realized that it was because his skin had given way to layers of black scales, and his hair was now the same as the rest of his siblings – an intense blue. Other than that, he looked exactly the same; same facial structure, same half-torn earlobe.

The change startled Mercury, but he didn't let it change his course of action. He gave Laxus's wrist a light squeeze to indicate that they'd arrived at their destination, and the man's body tensed.

"What the hell?" their opponent – still nameless – hissed as soon as they got close enough to hear his voice. "Still following me, huh?"

Yet another startling thing – his demeanor had changed entirely. Gone was the light, airy, almost noble-like tone, replaced now with something that would give a yankee a run for their money. He growled like Gajeel did while talking as Laxus was famous for.

This was the other person inside of their opponent – the original personality of Mercury's former sibling, and the one who hated humans so much that he'd want to wipe them out.

"I already said we weren't going to let you destroy Magnolia?" Mercury pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"That's true! Wish you'd just let me do it, though – would have saved me loads of trouble. I'm a little worried since I heard you two used to be quite the duo back in the day, but I'm honestly surprised you brought him down here with you."

… Didn't they just have this conversation?

"He wouldn't have let me come if I didn't."

"Ah. He's that type of person, huh? My partner's the same."

Mercury couldn't quite see the other version of the person in front of him as a worrier, but then again, the only thing he could see that man as was the one who found some sort of twisted joy in kicking his nose in. Maybe that's what made it so disconcerting to see that same face laughing with such lightheartedness that it wouldn't have been out of place at home in Fairy Tail.

"I'll admit," Mercury's sibling said with a playful smile on his face, "I'm a bit surprised you managed to figure out that he and I were sharing a body. Fiernen couldn't figure it out until the very end."

"You weren't exactly subtle about it."

"So you're saying you figured it out yourself? Interesting. I'd have thought that the little fragment you talked to would have told you," their opponent teased. It felt far more lighthearted than the words coming from his mouth. "Then again, it's pretty weak compared to the full thing, so I'm not surprised it couldn't tell the difference."

It was true that the fragments of Fiernen weren't particularly powerful in the first place, though the power he had now was likely stronger than most. Between "Fiernen" and "Mother," though, it made much more sense for Mother to have retained more power after all this time.

Emotions burned a lot brighter than logic after all.

"So then, Mercury, do you know my name? I'm interested to know how much you were able to figure out."

Mercury did, but he didn't say it out loud. He knew the name of the man speaking now, but he hadn't considered it to be the name of the man who only wore purple at all; though apparently sharing a body, they were entirely distinct people. His hand around Laxus's wrist had become almost a death grip, and yet the dragon slayer did nothing but squeeze back.

"Keeping quiet, are we?

"Why are you doing this?" Mercury asked. That seemed to be all he had been doing lately, asking questions, but now that there was a second person he could ask – one that seemed far more willing to speak – he figured he may as well ask again.

To be honest, he still didn't have a good grasp of the situation other than the fact that a sibling that had disappeared long ago was now trying to destroy what laid on the surface. It was more than enough for him to know that this person in front of them was their enemy, but this wasn't just someone unrelated to him; their actions had personally caused him harm, as well as the guild around him.

Mercury wanted to understand.

And with a straight face, their opponent answered, "Why wouldn't I? In fact, why wouldn't you? Humans have hurt you a lot, too."

"I seem to recall that being your fault," Mercury said dryly, his hand still holding onto Laxus's. The man must have been so incredibly bored listening to them speak in a language he couldn't understand when they were there to fight. In fact, could he even hear them? "I wouldn't have been trapped down there if it wasn't for you putting me there."

"Oh, right," said the man in front of him, looking almost bashful about it. "That was Cyrus's idea. I couldn't talk him out of it, but he's technically human too, so you can still blame them for that, can't you?"

Cyrus must have been the man who shared the body with him then, but their unrepentant response made Mercury feel like he wasn't even taking this seriously at all.

"I hate our kind more than I hate humans," he said after a long moment of silence. "Wouldn't it be easier if I just destroyed all of you?"

Their opponent laughed. It was a horrible sound underwater, and the bubbles that floated up out of his mouth popped immediately. "Correct you are, my dearest brother. Personally, I don't like them much either. They're far too restricted in their thinking, which is why it's so much easier to just control them instead."

Like Abyss. He had manipulated her the same way that she had always controlled Mercury's emotions.

How ironic.

Still, the fact that this man referred to him as 'brother' was irritating. "Don't call me that," Mercury said, glaring. "We're not brothers."

"Well, in the sense of familial relationships or in the magical sense, you're technically correct, but biologically speaking? You and I are the same – beings created from the remains of a dead dragon that just couldn't let go, just like the rest of the poor saps who are currently attacking your dearest Magnolia."

"It's not like anything about us makes sense, 'biologically speaking,'" Mercury repeated the man's words back at him. "I'm sure you're aware, considering that you were there somewhere, but my body wasn't exactly working well until like four hours ago."

"I already told you, it was Cyrus, not me," the man sighed, flailing his arms about like he was trying to swirl the waters around them. His actions seemed dramatic and over the top. "He and I are in control at different times, so I was just watching. Probably could have helped you out a bit if I wanted to, though."

For someone who'd just insisted they were actually siblings, he didn't seem to care much about Mercury.

"Then why even bother with all that in the beginning? Why capture me, and why work with humans in the first place when you could have just come and done this from the start?"

Mercury's brother paused, a contemplative look on his face as though he hadn't thought about it at all. "You're actually quite important to this plan, you know?"

"... I am?"

"You and I are unique among Fiernen's children. The rest of them are rather simple compared to us; they were made as copies of each other, but you and I are complex beings much closer to the original. The fragment told you, right? I'm the eyes, and you're the heart. I couldn't control her power without understanding you first."

What the hell?

"And," he continued, "understanding you meant we had to know how your body worked. How your magic worked. Everything about you – I almost had to literally become you in order to wrangle that party in. It's just like you're doing for that man over there." His gaze wandered over to Laxus, who was glaring out into open space somewhere in his direction. Mercury shifted protectively in front of him.

"To be honest, if you weren't made as you were, I'd have been able to kill you instantly when I first took control of Fiernen. There's a handful of us who are unique like that, but you're the only one who won't cooperate with me."

A couple instantly came to mind. Abyss. Lull. Mercury stayed silent, allowing his opponent to keep speaking.

He… wanted to know more. He had to know more, if he was going to move on with his life after this.

"I wonder what being her heart has to do with not listening to me. Perhaps it's because the heart represents love, or some stupid junk like that. You love those humans, don't you?"

Mercury bit his lip. "They're more like siblings than any of you have ever been."

"Ah, so you see them as family? That's fine. How about this? I'll keep those humans with that little guild mark alive, but the rest of them will die. Isn't that a good plan?"

"Hell no."

He laughed "That was pretty quick. Sure you don't want to think about it a little longer? I can't kill you without losing control of all this dragon's mana, so you'll have to live without them for the rest of your life if you don't accept."

"You think that I'm – that we're going to lose?"

"Of course. I watched Dreyar in the Grand Magic Games, you know. He's pretty strong all things considered, but we're not exactly in a situation where he can move freely, even with you protecting him."

"Laxus can do whatever the hell he wants, wherever the hell he wants." Mercury squeezed Laxus's hand even tighter, but the man didn't pull away.

Their opponent laughed. "You know where we are, right? There's a reason Cyrus dragged me all the way over here just to fight you two."

Mercury knew. He could feel it in the waters around them, drying out his skin despite being completely submerged.

It was salty. Far saltier than normal ocean water.

A brine seep. Literally containing so much salt that any life would die within minutes of entering, causing a desert-like seafloor. Both he and his opponent were able to filter the water so that the adverse effects wouldn't hit them, but Laxus used lightning magic – something that was incredibly potent with salt water.

All three of them were going to get zapped to hell and back if he even tried to use it.

But, as usual, there was a small caveat – Laxus could resist lightning magic well, especially when using the dragon slayer variation, and Mercury had been shocked by said magic more than he could remember. He had some resistance to it, too.

Besides, his heart was going to just restart if it stopped. He'd be fine.

Probably.

"Thanks for the concern, but we'll manage."

"That's a good bluff," their opponent huffed, "but he's blind, and I know you can't risk using magic while maintaining him like that. You're going to get your asses kicked."

"I think I speak for both of us when I say that you're vastly underestimating what we can do when the odds aren't in our favor."

Because Fairy Tail was almost always the underdog. They saw insurmountable odds and laughed. Mercury and Laxus? They were Fairy Tail's most chaotic duo, and they were no exception.

"Fine. I can't kill you without risking Fiernen's power rebelling, but I can definitely kill him. It'll be on your hands."

Mercury was realizing that this man was just like the rest of his siblings – possessive and manipulative. Perhaps that's how they all were. Mother certainly fit in such a category with how much she wanted to hold onto each of her children and never let go, even at the cost of their happiness.

Even Mercury was the same. He, too, had things he would never let go of, one of which being the hand that was tightly grasped in his own, hundreds of feet below sea level.

Well, of course they were made the same way; they were brothers.

He squeezed Laxus's hand twice to signal that the fighting was about to start, then let go to swim several paces from the man. Laxus wasn't surprised. This was all part of the plan that they had hastily come up with minutes ago in preparation for fighting an opponent that would have the overwhelming advantage.

It was true that Mercury couldn't use magic so long as he was helping Laxus breathe under the water, but that didn't mean he was defenseless. His body was inhuman. Rather than becoming what it was through years of evolution, it had been intentionally modeled after a dragon – a creature that had terrorized the world less than half a millennium ago.

His body was strong, and though his opponent had the same advantage, he was sure it was something he could overcome.

"I am Leviathan that Swallows the World, the eldest child of the dragon called Fiernen," their opponent announced finally, giving him a name – though Mercury had already known it. "You can just call me Leviathan, but I'll still be swallowing this world whole."

Feeling unusually brave, Mercury spoke up, too, formally introducing himself for the first time in almost a century.

"My name is Call of the Azure Tides," he said, "but I'll only ever be Mercury from now on."

"Well said, Mercury!" Leviathan proclaimed. He raised his fist towards Mercury like a gun, staring down his pointer finger. "Let's get this thing started! For the sake of that little town you're so proud of, you better defend well."

Water rippled in between them, shimmering as magic power was slammed into it like a river hitting a dam. Something flashed down the front of Leviathan's finger. At first, Mercury thought it was a star, eying it carefully until his instincts told him he needed to get the hell out of the way if he wanted to remain in one piece – which he did, and not a moment too soon. The area where his head had been moments ago was now swirling so violently that he was sure he'd be torn apart if he got too close.

It wasn't even water – just pure magic whirling like a whirlpool extending all the way from Leviathan's finger to where Mercury had just been. It felt so magically charged that the hairs on the back of Mercury's neck stood up, even with all this water surrounding them.

"Darn," said Leviathan with a laugh, "I thought I could end it in one."

Mercury grimaced; he'd definitely have to fall back to heal if he got hit with one of those, but he couldn't risk leaving Laxus to fight blind. He'd have to avoid taking any direct hits. Fortunately fighting two-on-one was the best way to get the advantage, because while Mercury pushed himself forward towards Leviathan, Laxus was starting to prepare his own attacks.

They'd discussed a plan briefly beforehand. It was a situation in which their opponent was running and they were forced to chase him, therefore the likelihood of the terrain being changed to a disadvantageous one was high. On top of that, they couldn't even communicate; speaking under water was difficult if not impossible, and Laxus couldn't see – they were likely to run into each other if they weren't careful.

… Though, in the end, that sort of was the plan.

Mercury got close to Leviathan, aiming to make it a close-quarters-combat battle, and he wasn't surprised by the fact that his brother seemed to welcome the invitation. Instead of pushing away to keep firing long-ranged attacks that Mercury couldn't dodge, he grinned widely, then grabbed the arm that was extended in his direction with a tight fist.

How many times was it now that Mercury had been swung around by someone? In the last twenty four hours, it was at least twice – except this time there was nothing to slam into, so when Leviathan let go he just went spinning away into open waters.

Fortunately, getting thrown around was, for once, well within his predictions. In the brief moment where Mercury had no way which way was up and which was down, Laxus unleashed his first attack.

A brilliant, violent flash lit up the water. Mercury slammed his eyes shut just in time, having felt it coming, but that didn't save him completely – even his eyelids weren't enough to stop bright white spots from embedding themselves in his eyeballs. The benefit of it, though, was that Leviathan was in the same boat. Even though the attack hadn't hit him, there was still a long pause between throwing Mercury and trying to actually pressure him.

"The hell…"

Mercury took the chance to attack again. In the moment that Leviathan was busy fervently blinking out his eyes – Laxus's attack hadn't hit him more than a light graze, so he was fine other than being momentarily blind – the water mage closed the distance. He dug his fingers into the meat on Leviathan's forearms and wouldn't let go.

His brother didn't seem happy in the slightest about the connection, actually scowling for the first time. It was actually somewhat pleasing to see that smile disappear – though the look that had been on his face still seemed like it was a real, genuine smile, it was still incredibly unsettling.

A small wisp of blood rose from where Mercury's nails pulled back at scales. Though they covered Leviathan's body, they were still fresh, and therefore weak – nothing like the ones on Mercury's body now. He could tell that they had only sprung up when Leviathan actually got into the water.

When Mercury pulled away, fingers slick and crimson, it was Leviathan who reached out to bring him back into range. His attention had been successfully pulled away from Laxus.

Mercury had been right when he predicted that the sight of his own blood would trigger something in the man – one of the two inside of that body, at least. It sounded like they had both been hurt before, and the Leviathan half of them acted like a child who couldn't care in the least about what was happening around them – but when something happened to him… when it became clear that this fight was going to involve his body, then he would be forced to get serious.

Their fight became feral, like two wild animals. Leviathan fought like a man on the verge of losing everything, his attacks desperate, yet hitting the mark every time as though he could sense Mercury's weaknesses. Everything felt instinctual. There was no thought put into his actions, no debating which move would bring him the most benefit – just pure intention put into action.

And Mercury had no choice but to do the same.

His brother's fingers stretched out to grab his throat, to slip his fingers under Mercury's gills in a way they both knew would hurt, so the water mage flung his knee upwards right into Leviathan's sternum to push him away. He was lucky that the battleground this time was the water. Neither one could claim an advantage in weight when the water made both effectively weightless.

Leviathan grunted as he was pushed upwards, barely audible in the water. Mercury took the chance to grab onto the man's right shoulder as he scrabbled for any sort of purchase on Mercury's scales, fingers quickly slipping against the smoothness.

They scratched at each other, prying and grabbing and biting for any sort of advantage over the other. Leviathan's nails gouged deep scars into Mercury's scales as Mercury's teeth sank into the ones on Leviathan's neck in exchange, hot blood springing up into his mouth. He spat it out, letting ocean water clear it.

"You fight like an animal," Leviathan commented, aiming to get a rise out of him. Mercury didn't respond.

Instead, he grappled to grab Leviathan's arms, holding him in place as another blast of electricity coursed through the water. The impact of it was several times stronger than it would have been on land. Leviathan let out a short scream that sounded incredibly painful, but Mercury just bit down on his tongue and took it like he was so used to doing.

He'd told Laxus it would be fine, after all, and really… it didn't hurt that much.

That's what he'd tell the lightning dragon slayer if he asked later, anyway. There was no point in telling him that it just jolted him so hard that he bit his tongue and couldn't open his mouth.

"He's hitting us both?" Leviathan hissed, grabbing Mercury's hair and tugging. "Is he insane? Aren't you two supposed to be friends?"

Mercury wrenched his head back and smiled. "He's more of a brother than a friend at this point, and I've always been taught that it's okay for brothers to hit each other if the need arises."

"How sentimental."

Leviathan then socked Mercury in the nose.

He reeled back, but didn't pull himself out of his brother's reach. There was no point – even if he got far enough away to dodge an attack, Leviathan was just funneling all the water back towards himself. Mercury would just be right where he started.

Another thin line of blood floated up in the water, stemming from his now-broken, still-crooked nose. Part of him wondered if he could fix it in time to make it straight again, but the thought was quickly swallowed in favor of slamming his foot into Leviathan's ribs, forcing the air out of his lungs. A crooked nose wasn't his priority in the slightest.

In fact, Mercury might just try to keep it like that as a memory of what had happened to him. He wouldn't run away from it anymore.

"I really don't get it, you know?" Leviathan said. He almost sighed it, like he was genuinely at a loss regarding his younger brother. "You're not even human, and yet they accept you so easily. How on earth did you trick them into letting you into their lives?"

Mercury wasn't sure if he was referring to the world as a whole or just to Fairy Tail; either way, he had no answer to give. It wasn't like he'd done anything other than be truthful to them – and he'd even been terrible at that in the beginning. He shrugged, continuing to claw and punch at Leviathan.

Another flash lit up the waters. Leviathan didn't close his eyes this time, but Mercury did, earning him a mouthful of water shoved down his throat. His brother's hand had been placed over his lips, a small magic circle appearing over his palm as magic turned to water and rushed in between even as submerged lightning hit them both. Unsurprisingly, he coughed, even under the water. He could breathe just fine, but the sensation was both startling and uncomfortable.

"Why you and not me?" Leviathan asked.

Mercury was momentarily stunned, allowing his brother to grab his arm and punch him in the same fluid motion.

"Did I do something wrong? Is that why humans never accepted me?"

More electricity spread out in the water. By now, both of them were fighting half blind. The pain was slowly becoming more intense for every one that engulfed both of them, either because Laxus was getting more amped up or because Mercury's resistance was getting lower with each hit. Hopefully Leviathan was facing the same issue. If not, they'd have to switch to a more volatile strategy soon, though there was no way to pass the message along to Laxus at this point other than pure intuition.

"Should I have pulled off all of my scales to make myself look more like humans? Is it so wrong to be different from them?"

Mercury's fingernails drew more blood from Leviathan's neck. The man was still healing, though his scales were retaining any damage they took, allowing subsequent hits to draw blood more easily.

"Only Cyrus accepted me… and look how he turned out. Do you know why we share a body?"

Leviathan didn't wait for Mercury to answer. His eyes were large, pupils massive as he grabbed onto Mercury's shoulders and got their faces close together. "He didn't tell you, did he? What happened after we became like this, I mean. He killed all those fuckers who tried to harm me, and the humans all treated him like a monster. Why? When humans kill humans it's wrong, but what they did to me was fine?"

"Humans can be vile," Mercury agreed. He pushed Leviathan away once more, then avoided the wave of water aiming to drag him towards the man again. All of his attacks seemed to be increasing in frenzy yet decreasing in accuracy and strength.

Like he was running out of strength to fight back.

"Then why the hell did you get to be so damn close with them? Why are they going so far just for you?"

Mercury had been asking himself the same question for well over a decade now. Why would they go so far for a man who kept far too many secrets to be healthy? Why would they continue to befriend and protect him even though he was far from the ideal human?

And the answer had only come to him recently.

That moment when the darkness was violently ripped away and light flooded into the basement that had become his life, when he saw Laxus's eyes flicker with not just rage but also fear and relief, Mercury had realized it like he had known the whole time and had been trying to ignore it. The look on Laxus's face had been the exact same that he had that moment when his brothers showed up on the beach to take him home and killed his hopes and dreams along with Chloe and Marissa.

Mercury and Fairy Tail? They were just as much family as Chloe and Marissa had been, and family meant going to the ends of the earth to keep each other safe.

"I got lucky," Mercury admitted. "If I'd showed up anywhere else, there's a chance I could have ended up like you."

Scared. Alone. Trapped in an unfamiliar land filled with hostiles. If there had not been one single person who reached out their hand to Mercury, extending with it not just a place to stay, but also the family that came with it, he definitely could have hated humans as much as Leviathan did.

"You're saying it all came down to luck? Everything I suffered for was because I was unlucky?"

"No."

"Then what the hell are you trying to suggest? I thought for so long that things would get better – that I wouldn't have to return to the rotting, stagnant ocean with that creature called Mother who saw us as nothing more than possessions, only to realize that the surface wasn't that much better. I was trapped and alone no matter where I went."

"Were you really alone though?" Mercury asked. He held Leviathan in place even though the man wasn't particularly trying too hard to get out of his grip. Even Laxus had paused in his attacks, waiting for something to happen.

"What?"

"I'm asking if you were truly alone."

"Of course I was," Leviathan hissed, raising his voice. "As much as I wished otherwise, the earth is made for the humans. We aren't welcome there."

"But it sounded to me like you had at least one person who was willing to stay by your side all of this time. Right?"

Leviathan looked stunned by the words. He might have even stopped breathing entirely, frozen by the statement. "... Who are you talking about?"

Perhaps that was just one more thing that they shared. They were brothers – at this point, in everything but name – and Mercury was realizing that, as much as he hated to admit it, they were incredibly similar.

Both of them had struggled for so long just to see what was right in front of them.

"Aren't you and Cyrus sharing a body? You two put together this whole ass shitty plan and came so far, and I somehow doubt that you'd go so far for someone you didn't think was on your side."

"You…"

Mercury watched the myriad of emotions that flashed on Leviathan's face, almost enraptured as he watched the real-time realization happen. From confusion came shock, and from shock came anger. Leviathan's brows twisted together and his lips drew a heavy tilt as his eyes somehow got even larger than before, lip curling.

It was a look of disgust – one Mercury had once seen on his own face every time he woke up. It was like, 'how had I not realized this?'

Leviathan's hands trembled as he ripped himself free of Mercury's grip, but he didn't go far. For a moment, Mercury thought he was going to give up entirely; his face had a shadow on it like the world he had been staring at for so long had suddenly been turned upside-down by Mercury's words.

But he didn't give up.

If anything, his anger was entirely unfounded, which was why his arms reached towards Mercury, catching him around the throat.

And surprisingly, Mercury didn't fight back. He simply watched, because he knew his words were true and the foundation that Leviathan had built his whole plan upon was as unstable as he was.

"What do you know?" Leviathan hissed. His thumbs dug into Mercury's esophagus – not hard enough to actively choke him, but definitely enough to be wildly uncomfortable. "Even if you're right, what does it matter? I'm still right. Humans are shit, and they deserve to be wiped out."

"Maybe so, but by that logic, you should be completely fine if I wipe out you and the rest of our siblings, right?"

Leviathan gave him a long, hard stare. "Half of them don't even know you. What does it matter to you?"

"And the vast majority of humans have never seen you in their life. They deserve to be killed because of the actions of the ones that hurt you?"

"Of course they do. Every single human is built the same. They'll just betray you in the end."

"My humans won't betray me."

It felt funny to say it like that – 'my humans.' Mercury's humans.

Fairy Tail were Mercury's humans.

Leviathan's face became even angrier, his grip tighter. Mercury was expecting another harsh jolt of electricity to run through them both as Laxus picked up the shift in tone again – the man had always been oddly good at that – but instead, there was just silence and peace. It was just Leviathan floating there, trying to choke out his own brother.

… Laxus?

Where was he?

A knot of fear tangled itself in Mercury's stomach at the absence of man. He never thought he'd grow fearful as a result of not getting shocked to hell and back, and yet here he was, eyes trying to somehow see through Leviathan to find the blonde. This whole plan was risky, especially because he had brought Laxus along with him; every step of the way could have resulted in the lightning dragon slayer's disappearance, which is why Mercury sat there in a stupor rather than shaking Leviathan off of him. Even when the pressure in his throat became real – when his brother was trying to get him to pass out so that he could safely destroy Magnolia – all Mercury could do was try to find a hint of yellow.

"Once you're out of the way," Leviathan huffed, far too out of breath for the situation he was in, likely on account of the anger rising in his veins, "I'll kill that blonde. And then I'll kill your stupid little guildmaster, and after that, it'll be the rest of those people, so when you wake up, you'll be just as alone as I am."

Mercury wanted to say, 'but I'll never be alone.' Even if he'd be horribly lonely without Fairy Tail and Leviathan's words would become true, he couldn't say anything, suddenly swallowed by the fear that he'd dragged Laxus down here to die.

"Why aren't you fighting back? Do you want to see them dead? I know you've seen those humans you grew attached to dead once. Will it not matter a second time?"

"Shut the fuck up," Mercury hissed, finally beginning to thrash. He wasn't scared of being hurt by Leviathan, but he was absolutely terrified of being down here alone. His brother's fingers grew pointed as he shifted from trying to strangle Mercury to ampting to slash his throat open, and the water mage kicked at his stomach to get him off.

He needed to get free. He needed to make sure that Laxus wasn't –

A hand appeared on Leviathan's left shoulder, and then a second one on his right shoulder. Large, scarred hands. Familiar hands. A flash of yellow and purple appeared behind his brother's head, and suddenly, his body was practically folded in two as someone kneed him in the back of the spine.

For fuck's sake… Did Laxus really have to scare him like that?

Mercury freed himself from Leviathan's grasp, kicking him as far away as possible once his hands loosened. He rubbed a hand to his throat. Meanwhile, Laxus gave him a brief once-over, his face so close to Mercury's – the only possible way for him to see anything in that dim ocean light to see anything at all – that every detail was visible. Nothing was going to escape Laxus's grasp this time. That was the promise that they had made before doing this whole thing.

Laxus was going to make damn sure Mercury wasn't going to get hurt this time – and if he didn't, there was absolutely no way the man was going to be free of the dragon slayer's sight for the foreseeable future. Or ever.

Mercury did his best to mouth, "I'm fine," quickly realizing he should just give Laxus a thumbs up. When that didn't work – Laxus refused to move away – he gave him the second best thing.

The middle finger.

That was enough, and Laxus slammed a fist into his head.

(And yet Mercury still smiled.)

"You two brats…"

Laxus could hardly hear Leviathan at all, but his gaze followed Mercury's on instinct. Their opponent wasn't far off – just a few feet out of Mercury's grasp – and yet they could both feel the waves of magic power starting to build between his palms.

It was both beautiful and horrifying.

Blue sparkled between the two groups, lighting up the water as though it were the night sky rather than hundreds of feet beneath the ocean's surface; Mercury shaded his eyes, while Laxus finally opened his own wide, seeing what was in front of him for the first time. A brief glance between Leviathan and Mercury confirmed that they were still fighting the same guy as they had been early.

"I didn't really care about you before, Mercury," Leviathan said as he let his magic build. "I needed you for my plan, but I probably could have made it work without you. It was Cyrus who wanted to incorporate you."

Laxus grabbed onto Mercury's hand, tugging. Nothing was said between them – the water itself was a wall, as though the ocean wanted to cut the two from each other – and yet their minds both went to the same place, allowing them to come up with a plan without words.

"It was still kind of my thought, though. He wanted to take the burden off of me, so he thought that finding you could make this whole thing easier. Ironically, I think things have gotten pretty damn difficult with you in the picture."

Mercury started to gather his own magic power within himself, ignoring the difficulty of doing that and keeping the magic between him and Laxus flowing. It wasn't for long. All he needed was one attack, and then they'd be done with this.

Hopefully.

"I'll admit it. I'm sure you're aware, Mercury – I can't perfectly control this power. As much as you hate her, Mother still loves you, so I can't attack you with it directly."

In hindsight, it was probably a miracle that Mercury and Laxus could have come this far. They were so different from each other, so individually unique that the odds of them becoming friends was quite literally one in a million. If that person hadn't reached their hand out to Mercury that day, if he hadn't returned to that guild during the specific time when he did, if he hadn't said the exact things he'd said to Laxus…

They never would have been friends.

They never would have been brothers.

Mercury never would have broken Laxus's nose in the cathedral during the Battle of Fairy Tail. Laxus never would have torn through an entire guild hall looking for him.

"But I am the eldest of Fiernen's children. I can overpower what little will she has remaining inside her if I try hard enough."

And yet Mercury and Laxus had one strong, unbreakable tie that unified them – something that neither of them could have predicted until recently, when one little girl had tried to heal a little papercut on his finger.

"I'm sure the blowback will be quite rough. Maybe I won't be able to move, but Cyrus will take over for me. Magnolia will be gone by tomorrow morning, along with everything you love there."

Both of them had the power of dragons residing within them. Whether or not they were both true dragon slayers didn't matter; the only thing that they knew was that it was something that they shared, a bond that could never be broken.

Their magic pounded in harmony, a unified chord that, for once, they could both hear.

"And after Magnolia, I'll swamp this rest of this damn continent. By the time you wake up, everything you know and love will be underwater."

A man who'd stolen a dragon's power was nothing between two who could claim themselves to almost be dragons themselves. Laxus, with the dragon slayer lacrima humming in his chest, and Mercury with the power gifted to him by the last remaining fragment of Fiernen in the ocean.

Their hands were grasped tightly together as they faced down a man who had dragged them this far. His magic was building and building and building until it was quite possibly the highest concentration of power that Mercury had ever felt in his life – such was the power of a dragon surrounded by its element and driven by desperation – becoming so loud that he thought his eardrums might burst.

But all Mercury could hear was the clashing of cymbals and a cascading piano to match.

"I wonder, will that man survive this, too? I know you will, but I don't have high hopes for him. Actually, Mother wants to see him dead almost as much as I do."

"He'll live," Mercury said. "You'll be the one that loses."

"Such confidence… I see you got that from your humans, too. Well, you can live and die like a human when all this is over. I don't even care anymore."

Leviathan gave him one last long, hard, withering stare, as though wishing he'd disappear entirely. In fact, that probably was it; all of his issues would be gone so long as Mercury wasn't standing in front of him, Laxus by his side and ready to stand against him.

Both sides would get one final attack. After this, Leviathan would suffer the consequences of going against the true owner of his magic, and Mercury would likely no longer be able to maintain the fragile magic connecting him and Laxus – causing the man to start drowning for real.

And maybe this one attack wasn't going to decide the fate of the continent. There were plenty of mages more than willing to stand up against the inhuman assault that was sure to come if they failed here, and yet for some reason, Mercury felt like everything was riding on this. He wanted to win here. Everything would end with this one attack – it would be decided by whoever's determination was stronger.

"We won't lose," Mercury repeated.

For some reason, he was absolutely certain.

If things were like this, he and Laxus would never be defeated.

"So be it. I'll see you when you wake up, dearest brother."

Leviathan swung his arm down towards the pair at the same time that his magic felt like it burst, rushing towards Mercury and Laxus at speeds that would have been unfathomable if one of them couldn't take the form of literal lightning. It was so bright even under the water that Mercury squinted, barely able to see past it. He was certain he'd get hit with some lasting vision impact in the near future once more, but he couldn't find it within him to care.

He felt at peace – like nothing in the world mattered more than the hand clasped in his own, or the magic building between them. It wriggled at first, like his water dragon slayer magic didn't want to coalesce with Laxus's lightning dragon slayer magic, but with a little push, they started to merge. Lightning sparked against the water of an ocean dragon just as the water dragon's magic started trying to stabilize the electricity. Laxus's push became Mercury's pull; Mercury's ocean moon became Laxus's electric sun, twisting and pulsating into something that was both neither of them and both of them at the same time.

"Lightning dragon slayer's –"

"Water dragon slayer's –"

Two magics had become one. There was only one possible name for a phenomenon like this – a Unison Raid, but it didn't matter; there was no need to put a name to it, because a situation like this was never going to happen again.

"Hydroelectric canon!"

For just a brief moment, Mercury and Laxus transcended all human limits.

Their combined magic slammed into the one produced by Leviathan. One second passed as the two overwhelming, otherworldly magics slammed into each other, producing light bright enough to blind anyone carelessly watching – which was, unfortunately, all three of them, as enraptured as they were while watching what happened.

Mercury held his breath. Laxus squeezed his hand, face scrunched up and yet not daring to look away because looking away felt like it would break the spell that they were under, watching the two forces of nature battle for dominance.

And slowly, surely, Leviathan's magic – Mother, Fiernen's magic – was being pushed back.

One inch.

Two inches.

Sparks flew between each force, and Mercury felt a scorching heat as the ocean around them started to boil despite how cold it should have been. His scales itched. His head hurt. He kept going, pressing forward with all the strength he could muster.

Because who cared if he was completely out of magic power after this? He was no longer afraid of what would happen if he did.

He was the same as any human now.

Their magic pushed Leviathan's magic back one more inch, and then it was over. The opposition faded completely, overwhelmed and unable to push back on the combined force of Mercury and Laxus, then disappeared as though it had never been there in the first place.

Through the brightness, Mercury could only see the barest traces of Leviathan's appearance – the shock, the anger, the fear that he must have felt as the yellow and blue force of magic destroyed his own before it overtook him. They locked eyes for the brief moment that felt like an eternity.

Leviathan's life must have been hard.

It was almost jarring how similar he and Mercury's situations were; both were extended a single hand that would lead one to salvation and one to ruin. That singular hand had led Mercury to so many wonderful things – to Fairy Tail, to his second family and all the joy that had come with it, as well as to the hand that he now clasped gently in his own. But Leviathan – he was unlucky. That hand he grabbed in the beginning – whether the hand belonged to Cyrus, the one who had come this far with him, or someone else – had brought him only pain and suffering.

They were so similar, and yet so different.

And perhaps Leviathan realized it right at the very end, because the last emotion that appeared on his face was far more peaceful than anything Mercury had seen so far. If Mercury had to put the feeling into words, he'd call it acceptance.

Acceptance of what could have been, and acceptance of what Leviathan already had. What he'd been ignoring all this time. What he had refused to see because it wouldn't fit his narrative of hatred.

There already was a hand that he was holding – one he wouldn't let go for the world.

Light faded, the sudden disappearance of magic hitting Mercury like a truck. His limbs went slack, yet he continued to hold onto his own partner's hand as though releasing his grip was going to force the world to end right then and there. Even if it was painful, even if that hand tried to force him away, he'd keep holding onto it.

Because like Leviathan, this was one hand he didn't want to let go of, either.