Chapter 83

The Calvary

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip

Ichiya stood at the entrance of the cathedral, shocking the Thunder Legion. "What the hell are you doing here, Ichiya!?" Bickslow shouted.

"I cannot believe you forgot how cruelly you treated me." The troll replied, confusing the trio. "No matter, I shall deal with this ruffian first."

"No matter how many people you bring, the outcome will remain the same." Wall declared, scanning Ichiya. "I can see everything you-" He froze in place as he looked at Ichiya. "You have too many weaknesses!"

"I don't know if that should surprise me or not…" Evergreen chuckled.

"It may have only been a short time, but you were members of Blue Pegasus." Ichiya declared. "And I never forgive anyone who harms my guild mates, be they human or otherwise. Now face me-"

Wall charged forward and slammed his fist into the gut, sending Ichiya flying. "Your many weaknesses may have caught me off guard, but all it means is that you're pathetically weak!" Wall declared.

"Maybe so…" Ichiya said, rolling to his feet. "But even machines have one inescapable weakness…" Pulling out two vials, he shoved them up his nose before lightning started sparking off him. "Take this! Manly Thunderbolt of Destruction!"

The bolt struck true only to find the Machina glowing with eyes. "Did you really think I wouldn't overcome my own weakness?" The energy sprayed through out the floor, taking out everyone but Freed. "By absorbing electrical energy, I can enhance my strength!" Wall declared, his body transformed into a bulkier form as he walked over to Freed.

"Back off!" Evergreen and Bickslow charged from behind and tackled the machine.

"You still have some fight in you…" Wall spun and threw the two at his soldiers.

"In that case…" Bickslow and Evergreen swapped machines and destroyed them instantly.

"But it seems you're still one step behind." Wall said, his hand on Freed's head.

"On the contrary, it seems you're the one behind." The vernette chuckled. "Your western forces have been obliterated, and one of your allies has been captured. You underestimated the power of Fairy Tail wizards, and now…" His eye turned black as his body transformed into a demonic armor. "You must pay the price!" He charged forward and destroyed the enemy to pieces.

The head of Wall rolled next to Ichiya as he pushed himself up. "Ichiya, were you in Magnolia the whole time?" Evergreen asked.

"Did you really forget about me?" The smaller man questioned back. "Good grief, you Fairies are so forgetful. You don't even remember what happened a few days ago? You burst in, took our ship, dragged me halfway around the world and left me here…" The trio turned to each other, trying to remember what he was talking about. "IT WAS ONLY A WEEK AGO!"

"Well, you could've just gone home…" Freed pointed out.

"How far do you think you flew!?" Ichiya asked back, stomping on the head. "The Christina needs time to refuel and restock, and then 'boom', Alvarez attacks out of nowhere! I'm very angry right now!"

"Uh, sorry…" Bickslow mumbled out. "But you did saved us, Ichiya…"

"As if that's enough to soothe me." He huffed back.

Freed suddenly noticed a light starting to shine out from the open mouth of Wall. "Ichiya! Move!" He charged forward as the light got brighter and brighter before suddenly exploded.

Gasping for air, Ichiya stared up at the now exposed sky above him. Weakly pushing himself up, he found the Thunder Legion had covered him from the blast, knocking them out.

Southern Haljion Sea

A hard laugh echoed out from one of the many ships, annoying a blonde warrior named Dimara. "Would you please stop that disgusting laugh already? You're ruining the sound of the waves."

"Ah-hya-hya!" The real form of Wall gasped for air after laughing so hard. "Oh man… things have become a lot more interesting than expected… but then I could…" He chuckled again before sitting up. "Oh well, guess I should stop with the talk. So machines won't be enough, huh?"

"Did you break that toy of yours?" Dimara teased.

"No, that I expected to happen." Wall confessed, slowly standing up. "What's really interesting is how they've taken Ajeel down and captured Brandish."

Dimara stared at him before giving a soft chuckle. "Randy's been captured by the enemy? How pitiful…"

"Man, that was a good laugh." Wall said with a grin. "These Fairy Tail guys really have it in them, but I can't have them underestimating me, now. That'd be BORING!"

"Calm down. We'll reach them soon enough, and our first mission is to take control of the port once we land." The blonde reminded, only to see the machine slam his fists together. "You planning to blow up the port? We still have about 30km to go…" A massive cannon formed from his arms, a targeting screen near his eye. "You're going for guild? That's 400km. No way you actually hit them."

"Don't underestimate me, the Machias tribe elite Wall!" He shouted before a massive beam of magical energy straight at the guild.

Fairy Tail Guildhall

"The sensors are picking up a heat source coming from the southeaster- wait, is that magic!?" Warrod asked in shock. "Either way, it's coming at us fast!"

"Is it one of their attacks!?" Max questioned, fearful of the answer.

"Just how far away are they shooting at us!?" Romeo asked.

"That explosion must have knocked out Freed and the others." Mavis surmised. "Everyone, take cover!"

"The guild's gonna be destroyed again!?" Jet asked, ducking under a table.

"I won't let that happen!" A voice cried out before a massive shadow covered the guild, taking the shot and heavily damaging the ship.

"Ichiya used the Christina as a shield?" Happy asked in shock.

"This is a fight…" The wounded man gasped out from the cockpit. "But not one that you will fight alone…" Slamming his hand on a large button, the speakers on the ship echoed out. "Fiore communications network online! Do you hear me, ladies and gentlemen of Fiore!? This is our fight!"

The sun shinned over the damage in the city as Makarov looked out over his pseudo children. "We managed to fend off the first wave of attack. However, the fact remains that we're facing enemy forced from all sides."

"But now we have support from every other guild in Fiore!" Jet cheered. "We can win this thing!"

"I'm afraid not." Mavis replied. "This is Fairy Tail's problem… I had hoped to keep our fellow guilds out of the conflict."

"That kind of attitude is only gonna get us killed." Laxus said from the bar. "Ishgar is getting turned into a warzone, so everyone on it's soil has to fight. As for me, I'll start by stomping the guy who attacked the Thunder Legion."

"Laxus makes a excellent point." Makarov added. "We should accept the assistance with dignity and devise a new strategy accordingly. Warren, give me a situation report."

"R-right!"

Guild Cellar

Lying on the ground with her hands cuffed behind her, Brandish stared at the shadows her cell cast. "Will these sealing stones really keep her in check?" Macao asked his oldest friend.

"Considering how quiet she's been, they must be." Wakaba stated with a small blush as she looked to him. "Damn, she's quite the woman, ain't she?"

"Do all chicks from the west wear this kind of get up?" The pyromancer asked.

"You kidding, look at Bisca!" The smoker replied. "Hey, while we're at it, we might as well tie her up in a bit of a sexier way, know what I mean?"

"Knock it off, you pervs!" Both men were smacked in the back of the head by an annoyed Lucy. "The master told you to treat her with respect, didn't he?"

"We look away for one second and this is what happens?" Cana asked with a huff, scaring the older men out of the room.

The blonde stared down at the prisoner before finally speaking. "You. Tell me. What is your relationship with my mother?" Her question finally got Brandish to look up. "You refereed to me as 'Layla's daughter', didn't you?"

"I have nothing to say." Brandish declared, starting to sit up. "If you're going to kill me, hurry up and get it over with."

"We won't treat you like a prisoner of war, or anything like that… Please, just tell me about my mother." Lucy begged.

"You should just kill me while you have the chance." Brandish replied, sitting on her knees. "I'm sitting right here in the middle of your guild, this may be your one and only chance…"

"Don't waste your breath, Lucy." Cana huffed before the two walked up the stairs, Warren in mid sentence.

"Concerning the army assaulting us from the north, Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus are moving to intercept them! As for Hargeon, Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel are heading there to liberate it!"

"Then our plan is clear." Mavis declared. "Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, Gajeel, Levy, Lily, Brianna, Slate! You will head to the north! To the south, Erza, Natsu, Juvia, Gray, Wendy, Carla and Laxus!"

"Hold on, what happened to Natsu?" Gray asked looking around the guild.

"He is fine." Nicholas declared, walking into the room on a crutch. "I'm headed up north, too. Like hell I'm letting metal mouth steal all the fun."

"Lucy and Cana will continue to watch over the prisoner." Mavis continued. "The rest of the guild will focus on the defense of the guild. The enemy may attempt to launch a surprise attack on us at any moment."

"First master, what about the west and the north?" Makarov asked.

"The Western forces are moving slow, so it's most likely Zeref is marching with them." She explained, shocking the guild. "The east has our greatest threat, but the finest forces in Fiore are headed there now."

"The Four Emperors!?"

"Hell yeah!"

"If it so happens those three sides cannot hold, then I do not think any mage on the continent can back their power." Mavis confessed. 'I'm counting on you, Warrod…'

"I got Natsu's location!" Warren declared. "Hold on, why's he heading that way!?"

"No… he wouldn't…" Makarov mumbled.

"Does Natsu think he can take on Zeref all by himself!?" Elfman asked. "That's not manly, that's just stupid!".

"Change of plans, it is. Let's go!" Gray yelled.

"No." Erza blocked his path, the redhead glaring at the ice user. "We'll move according to the First Master's plan. Let's leave Zeref to Natsu for now." The redhead continued.

"You serious!?" Gray snapped back. "We're talking about Zeref here! And he has the book of E.N.D. with him!"

"Natsu said he has a secret technique to defeat Zeref." Erza reminded. "He'll be alright."

"You've put too much faith in him, Erza!" The ice user snapped back, shocking the guild.

"So does that mean you DON'T believe in him?" She asked back, glaring right into his eyes.

"All we can do is put our faith in Natsu." Mavis spoke up. "He's too far ahead for any of us to catch up with. And while it's seems reckless, he realizes that the only way for us to end this war is to defeat Zeref. We need to believe in him."

"I know, I know!" Gray snapped back. "But what idiot goes out to face Zeref alone!?"

"He's not really alone." Carla declared. "Happy is there with him, am I right?"

Far West of Magnolia

Sitting atop a precession of troops, Zeref smiled as Invel listed a report. "It seems that Ajeel and Brandish, who were the leading the charge, have both been defeated."

"That is to be expected." The emperor replied. "It would be a bore if you couldn't manage at least this much, Mavis."

"To think that not one, but two of the twelve would be killed. This surpasses my predictions." Invel confessed.

"You're wrong." Zeref explained. "They haven't been killed. And there in lies the enemy's weakness."

"M'lord, there is an object approaching at high speeds." Invel declared as Zeref looked up.

"You ready to finish this, Zeref!?" Natsu shouted, Happy flying him at high speeds.

"There's so many of them!" The Exceed shouted looking down. "It's like a giant black carpet."

"Then I'll just burn them like dirty rug we used to have." The pyromancer declared. "Take us in, Happy!"

The cat nodded as Natsu ignited his hands as the pair spiraled through the army, knocking the troops into the air. Stunned by their attack, the soldiers were unprepared as Happy dropped his passenger and he slammed his burning fist into the ground, the force blasting a large portion back.

"GET HIM!"

Natsu threw a flaming punch and blasted a clear line through the army before series of explosions impacted him, creating a massive blast. To the surprise of the army, Natsu simply inhaled the flames as he glared at the troops. "Sorry, but I got a wedding to help plan!" He declared as he pulled his head back. "Fire Dragon King's Roar!" Unleashing an inferno of a breath attack that roasted anyone or anything in its path, leaving only molten ground in its wake.

"He-he's a monster…"

"How many troops are did he take down!?"

"973 men…" A black ball declared before it started swirling into a mist. "But I still over 99 thousand left…"

Zeref stood up from the center of the mist as the fire wizard smirked. "You got here quickly. Works for me…" Natsu said, gripping the wraps on his arm.

"I was quite eager to say hello, Natsu." Zeref replied.

"You're just in time to say goodbye, Zeref." The pyromancer declared, undoing the bandage.