Chapter Eighty

"Meredy's metrics are erratic to say the least." Alfie informed Wendy and Erza as they drew even closer. "She has cast a Life Link spell."

"What is that?" Erza asked and before Wendy could speak, another voice proved the crucial insight.

"It's a spell that ties two people together by their life forces. It's a near ancient spell and is often used as either a last resort or a way of torture." Jellal's voice made both girls skid to a stop and they watched as he appeared out of nowhere beside Erza. He was breathing hard.

"Torture?" They started running and he nodded, his strides outpacing both of theirs so they only saw his back.

"You put two enemies in the spell and when one is injured, it injures the other equally and they have no idea what is happening. They don't see the wounds, just receive the pain and injury from them. If one were to have their arm cut off, the other wouldn't lose the limb but would lose all function of it and would feel the searing pain of the loss limb."

"That is horrible."

"Indeed. During one of the earlier wars, Meredy's people made that spell illegal. I'm not sure how she knows it."

"But you said it could also be used as a last resort. What kind of last resort?"

"It allows one person to focus all of their life energy into a transfer; literally killing themselves so the other could survive."

"No…" Wendy suddenly gave off a roll of hot air and shot forward so fast that Jellal stumbled and Erza had to grab his arm to keep him upright.

"Wendy wait for us!" Erza cried and her armor changed into the dark set with wings and she wrapped her arms around Jellal's waist and took off flying to try and catch up. But the younger Dragis was motivated and she was constantly several wing flaps behind. But she stayed within sight, which was all the comfort she was getting.

"Meredy?" Ultear gasped and carefully used an ice spell to create a clone of herself that she sent running away from both herself and her injured friend. She had heard the words. She knew what that meant. "Don't you dare tell me you are dead already."

"She is not dead, but she is not in good standing. Her metrics are falling and quick." Alfie warned. "Wendy is closing in on your position."

Ultear turned and watched as the draconic tackled her ice clone and she crouched and started to run for the window. She groaned as she climbed in and looked around. It was dark, dingy and smelled of mold and something else. Something softer and almost spicy. She looked around and saw the bright pink of her friend's hair and hurried over. She knelt and stared.

Meredy was laying haphazardly over rubble, one arm bent under her back in an awkward angle and one leg obviously glittering with glass while the other was laying over top of it. She brushed at the hair covering her face and watched as her eyes struggled to open.

"This is…your only…chance." She breathed, her eyes unable to open. "I don't have enough life to fully heal you, but it should be enough…"

"No…I'm not using it." Ultear shook her head and the heart link on Meredy's wrist glowed. She grimaced. "You keep it. I'll be fine. Wendy is nearly here and…"

"And we will both be dead if you don't…fight." Meredy cut her off. She forced her eyes open. She offered a sad smile, blood trickling from the side of her mouth and Ultear felt ice clawing at her heart from within her chest. "This war…claims lives. It doesn't…have to claim both…of ours…right…now."

"Meredy no…" Ultear shook her head. "You have to believe that we'll be okay."

"You…will…be…okay." Meredy nodded, and a light started to shine brightly under her top. Ultear blinked, unsure of what it was. She again felt heat filling her from the link on her wrist. She shook her head again and then heard the shuffling of the draconic coming towards the building. The ice clone nothing more than a puddle and shards of ice where it had been pulverizing it.

"Meredy, you listen to me. I am your superior and you will pull yourself together." Ultear bit out and focused on the life force and pushed it back towards Meredy.

"And you…are my…friend." Meredy gasped then coughed, blood erupting and she turned a dimming set of eyes on Ultear. "My…best…friend."

"Then you have to stay with me, because I can't live without my best friend." Ultear felt the tears sliding down her face.

"You…can." Meredy lifted the hand that wasn't bent under back and cupped Ultear's face. "You…will."

"Mer…" Before Ultear could finish, she felt heat on her cheek and started to scream but before the sound ended, she found herself outside of the building. And outside of her section, the hair wall in front of her shaking.

"No!" She screamed and clawed at the hair but couldn't get through it. Hair strands were pulling her back, securing her from hurting it or herself. She could hear Juvia and Flare fighting the Draconics behind her. But she could also hear the sound of the Draconic stepping on broken glass. She looked down at her wrist and saw that there was only half a heart left in the link.

"Meredy!" She screamed and then a flash of blue sped past her and sliced through the hair wall and she gasped. Wendy skidded to a stop and the hair wall fell, even the hair holding her slipped to her feet and she stared. Wendy's hair was standing up on end, and was changing from blue to pink. Swirls of dust and debris floated around her and the air started to get heavy.

The draconic, which had been half way into the building were Meredy lay dying, stopped and turned. It stared at Wendy and then, to Ultears surprise; started to run away. Towards the opening of the section. Only, it didn't reach it. Instead a gust of wind knocked it off it's feet and sent it skidding into the far wall. The building shook but remained standing. Wendy lifted a glowing hand and pointed at the draconic.

"Holy Mavis…" Jellal murmured as he knelt beside Ultear who couldn't tear her eyes off of the sight in front of her.

"What is…?" Erza froze, unsure of what she was looking at.

"I've heard of this Dragis form but never thought I'd see it." Jellal murmured.

"What form?" Erza asked.

"It is known as the Dragon Force, and is the ultimate form of a Dragis' power." Alfie stated into the quieting silence around them. "It is when all of the dragon qualities in their blood, gifts from the real dragons they worship; unifies and their powers magnify. In recorded Dragis history; only five Dragis have ever entered Dragon Force, and none were Air Dragis."

"Oh shit." Erza murmured and turned her head and saw that Juvia and Flare were holding their own. "Jellal, stay here with Meredy, start treating her wounds. I'll go get Meredy."

"Be careful. Wendy may not recognize friend from foe in that form. There isn't enough knowledge on what that form does to the Dragis or their minds." He warned and started to pull medical supplies from his bag. Erza was about to start moving when Alfie hummed, as if to stop her.

Gray was fully encased in ice. His health tracker was so cold it was also slowing down in regard to its electrical output and Alfie started to hum around him. The ice was darkening, as if there was something inside of it, trying to obscure him from view. The lights turned up and the screens around the walls started to turn on, Alfie trying to produce heat.

Dark eyes laced with silver flew open, and one large solitaire crack formed down the front of the ice.

Alfie started to send the feed to the main shuttles.

"Great…Just great." Gajeel swore as he looked at the holo-screen that Minerva and Rufus had set up when Alfie's alert sounded. "Gray went and iced himself."

"What do you mean iced himself?" Minerva asked, the dark eyes with streak of silver reminded her nothing of the ice dragon that she'd met briefly over the years.

"It's an Ice Dragis thing to help amp up their powers for short bursts of time. But its dangerous."

"Why?"

"Because something about the ice isn't normal. I don't remember it all. Wendy was more into the history of it. But she made him promise to never do that unless he had no other choice."

"Well I guess he thought he didn't." Rufus murmured and Gajeel shook his head. The screen shifted and he saw Wendy and his mouth fell open.

"What is up with her?" Minerva asked, unease lancing through her.

"That's her Dragon Form." Alfie stated. Gajeel swallowed hard and watched as the Draconic in front of her shifted uneasily, not from the lack of balance but the lack of air. It was swirling around him faster and faster, more debris and dust getting closer and closer to it.

"What is a Dragon Form?" Minerva asked, uneasy at Gajeels obvious shock.

"It's the most powerful form a Dragis can taken. All of the dragon traits come to the surface, and it's as if we become an actual dragon. Only five Dragis have ever reached this state in recorded history." His voice had gone soft, barely above a whisper.

"And she reached it how? Why?" Rufus asked but Gajeel shook his head.

"I don't know. I mean…I could understand this if she was trying to heal everyone at once maybe. She's a healer. But to see her look like this while in a….fighting situation is…unexpected." He shook his head. Wondering if this was some hallucination. But the image didn't change.

"Wow. Look at her." Lucy whispered and Natsu was staring at the screen, his entire body tense.

"Natsu, if you don't inhale soon, I am worried you will pass out." Alfie stated and he took a deep breath. He felt, rather than saw, Lucy start to comfort him as she continued to watch the screen as well.

"What is that?" Lisanna asked and Alfie hummed softly.

"That is her Dragon Form. The most powerful form a Dragis can take."

"Wow. She's…gorgeous but terrifying." The whitehaired girl murmured and watched as Wendy moved, a streak of blue, pink and golden light. The Draconic screamed as she flew but, and then suddenly blood erupted and the draconic fell to the ground, dead.

"She's never taken a life before." Natsu murmured softly. Lucy inhaled, knowing how much that hurt him and would probably hurt her. She was a healer, and taking a life—even of an enemy, would take a toll on her.

They watched as she flew over to the building and stepped inside. The drones followed and they gasped when they saw Meredy's prone form. Lisanna started to cry, shaking her head.

"I cannot believe this." Laxus gasped, watching as Wendy knelt beside Meredy. The drone was focused on them both and they could see the light radiating off of Wendy.

"What happened that she hit this form?" Freed shook his head and everyone else watched in awe. Wendy carefully waved her hands over Meredy's body and air hit the ground and she was carefully lifted into the air, her body slowly twisting and turning by itself. No…not by itself. The air was moving her. Then Wendy put her hands on Meredy's chest and slowly lifted her eyes.

"Her eyes are…"

"She's done it." Gajeel murmured out loud, more to himself than those around him. They stared. "She's done it. What no Air Dragis has done in history."

"Done what?" Minerva asked and the holo screen zoomed in as Gajeel's stare intensified.

"She has reached the ultimate healing level. The white in her eyes have completely encircled her pupil. The white and blue are….twisting. Like…a hurricane."

"They are." Rufus murmured watching as the eyes on the screen seemed to intensify. The screen zoomed out and they watched as light felt Wendy and entered Meredy's limp body.

"I feel…warm." Ultear whispered and Jellal stopped what he was doing, the medical supplies laid out and ready to be used. He and Erza turned their gaze to Ultear and watched as the Shuriken wiggled out of her body, and the skin that was exposed from her torn top; slowly started to close.

"What in the name of Mavis?" Erza knelt and watched as Ultears other injuries also started to heal by themselves. Ultear, looked at her wrist.

"The Life Link Spell…it's…filling back up." And sure enough, the half heart was now two full hearts and the third was quickly starting to fill as well.

"Wendy…"

"She got to Meredy just in time." Alfie stated. "Her health metrics have started to race towards a healthy range. Her broken bones have also been healed and all of the glass and other foreign entities have left her body as well."

"Wendy is healing her this quickly….but how?" Jellal asked and there was an unusually low hum from Alfie. She didn't know the answer the hum seemed to express.

"Because her powers, especially her healing powers, are amplified in the Dragon Form state." Levy's voice was strong over everyone's comms and they inhaled fully for the first time since Wendy and Erza had left the shuttle. "Everything she does will be amplified in this state. I read about it while in the libraries on Fairy Tail. What few writings there were explained that this state amplifies every movement, every thought, even molecule of a Dragis to a nearly unchartable level of power. And the few Dragis who reached this form, were usually carted off by the actual dragons that the Dragis believe in so strongly. Believed to become the next reincarnation of the dragons themselves to continue their immortality."

"They better not come for Wendy." Natsu snarled ad Lucy nodded, knowing that they'd all fight tooth and nail or claw to keep Wendy with them.

"I doubt it. The last Dragon Form was before Mard Geer's influence caused all of the dragons to leave your world and travel the cosmos looking for whatever it was they went in search of." Levy said and the walls around her finished receding into the wall. She was watching the screen with the same intensity as them.

"Good, I don't want to fight a dragon any time soon to keep our family together." Lucy murmured and Natsu squeezed her hand but didn't speak.

"Meredy, open your eyes." Wendy whispered and Meredy tried, but the brightness around her was painfully bright.

"Too…bright."

"Open them anyway." Wendy ordered and Meredy did as instructed, feeling compelled to obey the young Dragis. Which made no sense. She had never taken an order from a healer. But as her eyes opened, she realized that Wendy wasn't the Wendy she remembered. This Wendy was beautiful but horrifying with her pain hair that was darker than even Natsu and her own, and her eyes were a swirling hypnotic twisting of white and blue. And she seemed to radiate light.

"You are going to be okay." Wendy smiled, and as she smiled, the light started to dim, and her hair started to drop to settle around her shoulders, the blue returning to the strands. She blinked twice and her eyes returned to primarily being blue, but there were four complete spirals of white around her iris; but the dominate color was still the deep blue they'd always been.

"What was that just now?"

"Dragon Form." Erza said and Meredy looked over at the redhead and then jerked her head even more.

"Ultear?"

"I'm here." Ultear walked into the building and Meredy sagged with relief. Ultear dropped to her knees and grabbed Meredy's shoulders and stared deep into her eyes.

"Ultear I…" She felt the comforting squeeze on her shoulders.

"You…Idiot!" Ultear screamed and Meredy found herself being violently shaken.