A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to the next chapter!
Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail, I only own my OC.
CHAPTER NINE: NATSU & AIRA VS YUKA & TOBY
Gray is defeated by Lyon. He is reminded of one of his training sessions with Ur in which he was in the exact same pitiful, defeated condition. Ur's words of encouragement are echoed into Natsu, who is standing over him.
"Wake up, Gray!" Natsu shouted.
"How lame... You got butt-whupped good." Aira said in disappointment.
"Natsu... Aira... Why are you guys here?" Gray asked.
"I didn't know which direction the village was, so I climbed back up to a high spot." Natsu replied.
"Sorry it took a while, snowball here takes forever to walk." Aira joked around.
"Shut up, water breath!" Natsu yelled. "Over there! Let's head out." Natsu grabs Gray by the collar.
"Wait! I can walk..." Gray said. "Where's Lyon?"
"Dunno. No one's here." Natsu replied.
"The ceremony's over, too." Aira added. Gray gets weaker as Natsu carries him over his iced body.
"Crap! If Lucy's in trouble, it's our fault!" Gray is reminded of the moment when Ur prohibited him from battling Deliora.
"Natsu..." Gray weakly said. Natsu listens carefully to what Gray has to say. "I have no right to say anything to you. No right at all." Gray starts to cry.
"You gonna sit there mopin' all day 'cause you lost, Gray?!" Natsu screamed. "We're Fairy Tail, dammit! The guild that doesn't know the meaning of the word "stop!" We only know how to keep running forward!"
"Enough with the inspiring words, we need to get back to the village." Aira said.
"Goddammit! It's really hard to run like this!" Natsu complained.
Meanwhile, Lucy, Happy, and Cain have reached the village. They inform the villagers of Lyon's team that they believe is responsible for their transformation into demons. At first she thinks they could fight them, because they have more numbers, but in fact, less mages. The villagers are not sure of this plan and Lucy hatches an idea. Chief Moka arrives, stating that he doesn't care about the enemies and demands for the moon to be destroyed. He is later taken away to be calmed by the villagers. The time comes for Lucy to put her plan into work, so she summons Virgo and orders her to make a pitfall. Happy eventually tells her that she is an idiot for thinking anyone will fall for that trap, but she is confident of her plan, even in the face of nearly everyone's disapproval.
"Lucy-san, someone is coming!" One of the villagers informed her.
"They're here already? Open the gate!" Lucy ordered. "Now, come to mama." As the gate opens, they see Natsu carrying Gray and Aira heading their way.
"Everyone, you okay?" Natsu shouted from the distance. They are all surprised to see the three.
"Stop! Don't come any closer!" Lucy tries to stop them. Natsu and Aira look at them weird. "I said stop! Stop!"
"Whoa there." Natsu and Aira immediately stop in front of the pitfall, but they do not know it's there. Lucy sighs of relief. "What's this?" They each take a step forward, causing them to fall in the pitfall.
"There was someone who actually fell for it." One of the villagers stated.
"Didn't expect that." Another villager said.
"Failure!" Lucy scolds to herself.
"Hey, hey, hey! Who the hell put a hole here?!" Natsu asked.
"Lucy, obviously!" Happy replied.
"I knew it!" Natsu shouted.
"I'm glad the three of you are safe though!" Happy said in relief as Cain nodded in agreement.
"There's nothing to be glad about! Gray's outta commission!" Aira stated.
"He got beat by the masked guy?" Lucy asked.
Natsu looks at himself and realizes that the ice is broken. "The ice came off! Even though fire didn't work?"
"R-Right, just like I planned!" Lucy tries to play it off.
"Perhaps the magic had weakened due to the distance between the caster and the victim." Virgo said.
"All right!" Natsu cheers to himself. The villagers carefully lie Gray down and take him to go treat his wounds.
"Great, but... They still haven't shown up yet?" Natsu asked about Lyon and the others.
"True, they're taking their time." Lucy said. "Even though they left for the village before you guys did, and yet you guys got here first."
"Yeah. And it really took me a while too." Natsu said.
"Not to mention the ice ball." Aira commented.
"Now's our chance! Cover the hole back up, hurry!" Lucy still believes in her plan.
"You're still goin' for the pitfall plan?" Natsu asked, annoyed with her.
"What's that?!" One of the villagers points to the sky as they look up. "There's a flying rat!"
"What's that bucket?" A villager asked.
"From the sky?! My pitfall's pointless!" Lucy said, disappointed.
Riding on top of the rat are Sherry, Yuka, and Toby. One drop falls, heading downwards towards Lucy. "Jelly?"
"Lucy!" Natsu pushes her out of the way. The drop happens to be strong acid. "What the heck is that dangerous smell?!"
"The bucket is filled with that?!" The villagers start to panic when they discover that the bucket is full of acidic jelly. "They're gonna pour it everywhere!" Sherry asks Angelica to drop the bucket who does so.
"How are we supposed to defend against this?!" Lucy starts to panic.
"Everyone gather into the village center!" Aira ordered. "Natsu, burn the ones that head your way!" Natsu agrees to his plan. "Cain, let's fly!"
"Right!" Cain takes Aira and flies him into the air.
"I won't leave! I won't leave Bobo's grave!" Chief Moka refused.
"Village Chief! I understand how you feel, but...!" One of the villagers said.
"The ocean of my right hand and the ocean of my left hand! Put them together, and...!" Aira's hands gets covered in water, clashing them together. "This will wash you away! Water Dragon's Tsunami!" A large wave of water came up from behind Aira.
"He disappeared it!" Yuka said.
"He's a water wizard!" Sherry exclaimed. All the jelly gets washed outwards, so the center is safe. Natsu burns the drops that fell in the center, protecting everyone. One of the jelly drops hit the grave where the chief is, but luckily Virgo saves him.
"Here's the village chief, ready for punishment." Virgo said.
"The village... It's all been dissolved..." A villager said. "This is terrible..."
"Is anyone hurt?" Another villager asked.
"Bobo's grave..." Chief Moka is surprised and glad to see his son's grave still standing. Yuka kicks it over as they approach the villagers.
"The Cold Emperor's enemies must all be expelled." Sherry said. "We were trying to show some mercy by making your deaths quick..." She is disappointed that they didn't expelled the villagers. "...but it seems there's going to be much bloodshed after all."
"Approximately fifty villagers. Three wizards. About fifteen minutes, I'd say." Yuka said.
"Let's do it!" Natsu positions himself in a fighting pose.
"Yeah!" Aira and Lucy agreed, preparing themselves to fight.
"Cain and I are here, too! That makes five wizards!" Happy pointed out.
"How dare they! how dare they ruin Bobo's grave...!" Chief Moka gets angry at the people who broke his son's grave. "They'll pay for this!" The villagers try to calm their chief down by taking him away.
"I'll help, too." Gray gets up, but still feels weak.
"Gray! You're conscious!" Lucy said, surprised to see Gray standing up.
"Get outta here. You'll only get in the way." Natsu coldly said.
"Natsu... Please...!" Gray gets punched in the abdomen by Natsu.
"Just lie down again. You're hurt." Natsu said as Gray gets unconscious again.
"Why...?" Lucy asked, wondering why Natsu punched Gray out of consciousness.
"It's Natsu's way of showing compassion." Aira replied.
"Gray's still in no condition to fight." Happy added.
"Is that the bond shared in Fairy Tail?" Lucy questioned. A villager carries Gray on his shoulder. "Please look after Gray."
"You can count on us." The villager said. "All right! Let's go!"
"There's no escape. The Cold Emperor ordered that everyone shall be eliminated." Sherry said. "Angelica." Angelica jumps into the air and flies after the villagers.
"I'm a member of Fairy Tail too, you know!" Lucy yelled. She accidently grabs onto one of Angelica's paws. "Wha...?! I was so into the moment that I grabbed on!"
"She might be stupid after all!" Happy commented.
"Too stupid!" Natsu added.
"Stop, will you?! Quit messing with the villagers!" Lucy punches Angelica's paw.
"Who are you?!" Sherry gets annoyed with her.
"How about this, then?!" Lucy tickles Angelica's paw.
"That will never work." Sherry said. Angelica starts to laugh causing her tail to stop spinning. "What are you doing?! If you stop your tail...!"
"I did it!" Lucy exclaimed. "Wahh! I'm falling too!" They crash to the ground as Natsu and Aira sweat drop at them.
"That's gonna tick him off." Yuka stated.
"I am not ticked off!" Toby snapped.
"Not you." Yuka commented.
"Think she's okay?" Aira asked.
"Hopefully it didn't crush her." Natsu said.
"She's be dead is it did. Cain and I will go check!" Happy and Cain fly away to check on Lucy.
"Right! Thanks!" Natsu said. "Meanwhile, we'll take care of business here!" Natsu and Aira charge at Yuka and Toby. Aira head butts Toby while Natsu blows his fire at Yuka.
"Such ferocious flames." Yuka blocks Natsu's flame with his Wave Magic. "Are you the Fairy Tail Salamander and Tsunami I've heard so much about?" Natsu looks at Toby who gets up perfectly fine. "We once belonged to a drowned wizard guild, too. This won't be easy as you think. Does the Lamia Scale wizard guild ring any bells? Yes, the guild Iron Rock Jura belongs-"
Natsu shoots his flames out of his hands directly at Yuka and Toby. "D-Don't you have the manners to listen until someone's done talking?!" Yuka asked.
"I don't care." Natsu said. "I don't care what guild you're from or who you're partners with. You're going after our client and interfering with our work. You're an enemy of Fairy Tail, in other words. That's more than enough reason to fight." Natsu and Aira give him death glares.
"Toby. Deal with Tsunami. I can take care of Salamander on my own." Yuka ordered.
"Ready?" Natsu grinned.
"Yeah." Aira agreed. Toby takes out his Paralysis Claw: Mega Jellyfish and slices at Aira who dodges most of the attacks.
"Wave!" Yuka extends his hand out at Natsu.
"I'll destroy that stupid thing!" Natsu fails to dodge to attack.
"Natsu!" Aira called out, dodging all the strikes from Toby.
"Oh? I'm impressed you recognized its properties." Yuka smirked. Natsu blows fire out of his mouth, but Yuka nullfies it. "The pulses by my hand neutralize every manner of magic. In short, it's magic impenetrable by magic."
"So that's why it felt like my fire couldn't block his attacks!" Natsu wipes his cheek.
"I specialized in anti-wizard work while I was in Lamia Scale." Yuka explained. "I take it you understand why. Because all wizards are powerless before me!" He throws wave boosts at Natsu, but he dodges them quickly.
"I wouldn't be so sure!" Natsu attemps to punch Yuka, but the wave gets in his way.
"I already told you. My waves nullify magic." Yuka repeated.
"That's no big deal, then! I just won't use magic!" Natsu evilly grinned. He gets his hand through the wave. "See! I broke through!" The wave electrifies Natsu's hand, causing pain to him.
"Plunging your bare hand into a vortex of magic energy is truly reckless." Yuka said. "It'll get blown off." Natsu ignores his warnings and gets his whole head inside the wave.
"Wha...?! He's sticking his whole body inside!" Toby said, getting distracted by Natsu. Aira lands a punch at his face.
"Maybe magic can't break through your wall, but brute strength can!" Natsu laughed.
"This guy's crazy!" Toby still gets distracted by Natsu.
"But what are you planning to do now, Salamander?" Yuka asked. "You can't use magic inside the wave!"
"But I can use it outside! Thanks for the advice! Fire Dragon's..." Natsu uses his elbow for a boost.
"You're using your magic as a booster to increase your fist's strength?!" Yuka asked in shock.
"...Flame Elbow!" Natsu punches Yuka away. "That's one down!" He looks over at Snow who is dodging most of Toby's attacks.
"There's a special secret to these nails!" Toby said.
"Poison?"Aira guessed, not amused.
"How did you know?" Toby asked. "Y-You're one hell of a wizard..."
"Oh, man. You're a moron." Aira said.
Toby quickly strikes at Aira. "Don't call me a moron!"
"Whoa!" Aira jumps back.
"One scratch from these and you're paralyzed! All you can do is wait for death!" Toby yelled.
"Hurry up, Aira!" Natsu impatiently waits for him to end the battle.
"I know!" Aira shouted. He turns to Toby, thinking of an idea. "Wait, hold on! You got something right here." Aira points to his forehead. Toby checks his forehead, accidently punctures himself.
"Oh, that feels kinda nice..." Toby falls backwards, unconscious.
"He really is a moron." Natsu said as Aira agrees with him. "These guys sure are mean." He picks up Bobo's grave and puts it back in place. "But the village and its people will go back to normal. I swear it! I will avenge you!"
Inside the ruins, a masked figure asks Lyon why he didn't finish off Gray. He responds that he has no taste for bloodshed despite having ordered the entire village wiped out. However, he doesn't forget to say that if Gray confronts him again, he will show no mercy.
Elsewhere, Lucy wakes up to a crying Sherry. She cries as she expresses her sorrow about how Lyon won't love her and also because Angelica is hurt. Lucy doesn't seem fazed by this and the cat fight begins. Sherry creates a Doll Attack: Wood Doll and Lucy summons Taurus who breaks the tree in one shot. However, Sherry reveals that Celestial Spirit Mages are at a disadvantage before her, since she can control the Celestial Spirits themselves.
Taurus unwillingly changes sides and attacks Lucy. He apologizes to her and feels ashamed, but Taurus simply cannot control himself. Sherry makes Taurus attack, while Lucy tries to make him reason. She reminds him of the day they made their contract and his promise to protect her. This makes him gain a little more control and Lucy, because of sheer will and her growing Magic Power, forces Taurus' gate to close. This makes her more confident than ever and she gets ready to fight using Sherry with her whip.
As their battle continues, Lucy comes out as the winner. However, in the last moment Sherry calls for Angelica to avenge her, and Lucy is unable to move. Lucy is saved in the last moment by Erza, who has arrived to the island. Lucy tries to act casual with her, but it doesn't work. Erza also captures Happy and Genie, and when Lucy tries to explain the situation to Erza, she threatens her with a sword. She states that she didn't come for a mission; she came to punish some rule breakers. She also accuses them of betraying the master, and states that they will not get out of this unscathed.
A/N: There you go!
Hope you enjoyed!
~Kyle