Author's Note: Sorry about the delay, writer's block and so many plot bunnies for other projects. I thought of a nasty twist, make things interesting, so I hope ya'll like it

Chapter Eight

Quest For The Water Star Pt 2

"James! You can't keep doing this! Looking into myths isn't going to bring Harry back to us!"

Harry jumped with a start, coming to as he saw himself in a fancy, but homey, parlor. Inside were a man and a woman, the man looking strikingly like him and the woman possessing his eyes. They seemed to be having an age-old argument.

"Enough with the myth-talk, Lily! The legends are as real as our magic! You should know after facing Death itself!" The man, James, snapped back, ruffling through some books.

The woman, Lily, slumped her shoulders in defeat. Her fire had seemingly gone out. Harry could tell that wasn't right or normal. "I miss my baby boy, James. It's been six years, and yet the family magic says he is nearing adult age. My little boy, my Harry, wherever he is, he's growing up without me,"

"Time definitely is not on our side,"

"That was cheap, even for you,"

"Guilty,"

"They've paid dearly, Peverell,"

Harry spun on his foot, hand ignited with dark red flames, but whatever that had snuck up on him had disappeared. "Such an intriguing specimen. You should be dead to rights, Peverell. Starvation, the strain on your body, pushing beyond your limits again and again, yet here you are, alive and well. Flourishing young. Intriguing,"

"Show yourself, bastard!"

The voice laughed and Harry lit himself up like a human flashlight, but saw nothing but infinite darkness and shadows. "You shall never see me, Peverell, but I shall forever see you," The voice said before a fist burst through his chest and he felt his heart get pumped full of some strange magic.


"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!"

Laxus charged the lady again, shattering the earth where she once stood with extreme prejudice and rage. He couldn't help but see red from the moment Harry's body hit the ground. This lady had attacked his comrade, and if by some luck he survived, he wouldn't tear her in two.

But he did plan to break her face in.

"Stop, child of lightning, this is pointless,"

"Lightning Dragon's Crushing Claw! Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

He roundhouse kicked her, but she blocked and flipped through the air to give a point-blank Dragon's Roar. It hit head on, and when the dust settled, he saw a very pissed lady. "Your friend is awake, brute," The lady spat disdainfully. It was official, Laxus was on this lady's shit-list. And with her disheveled and frizzled hair, Evergreen could get why.

Coughing, Harry choked on his own blood for a moment before Freed and Bickslow helped him up. One look at the lady and he sent his own beam of magic at her, shaving a line of her hair. The lady now looked incensed. "Enough! As soon as the child of fire returns, you all BEGONE!" Her temper flaring, the lady rippled and the air sparked with red lightning, her eyes full of fury.

"If it's any consolation, lady, I want to get the hell away from you just as badly,"

"Impudent brat!"

"Wrinkled hag!"

"Wrinkled! I am the epitome of noble beauty, you insolent cur!"

"Heh, I've seen better,"

Incensed beyond belief, the lady was just about to snap when the air opened and Natsu fell out of a hole in the air. "Finally! Do you have what you sought, child of fire?" The lady at least remained cordial with Natsu, though her patience was thin, enough for him to notice. Looking around, he mouthed 'What happened' but they all shook their heads.

Shrugging, he pulled out a necklace bearing an owl symbol. It was a ruby and gold necklace with an octagonal-shaped locket. Engraved into the locket were the words Never Give Up Hope. The lady smiled satisfactorily. "Indeed, you are by far wiser than your two fellow Dragon Slayers. Hope is man's greatest treasure, for without it man is nothing," Natsu was curious as to her biting remark about his brother and Laxus, but kept silent, proving her words true in Evergreen's eyes.

"Now for what you came to me for," The lady turned to the lake, and raising both hands, raised the blood-red water from the lake, revealing a graveyard of bones at the bottom. Immediately, Natsu jumped in and grabbed the talisman.

The skeleton that wore it opened its mouth in a silent scream, releasing a black misty roar, much akin to a Dragon's Roar, and they watched it disappear into the sky. Soon each skeleton did it, and once the last had done it, they turned to dust. "His and his men's souls have been released," The lady said primly, a simple explanation.

They left the Blood Lake, said a quick goodbye to the lady, and made their way back to the castle where Freed nervously walked inside with the talisman. Thankfully, it didn't take too long for him to return, though he was pale and clammy. "Where do we need to go?" Harry eagerly demanded, shaking Freed by his shoulders.

"The Heartfilia Estate," He barely got out, eyes spinning.


A beautiful mansion nestled in the mountains was home to a powerful family. Gardeners tended to a beautiful garden, servants and maids tended to their duties, and within the mansion, in a room that overlooked the land he had come to own through hardwork and shrewd business deals, Jude Heartfiilia was busy looking over an offer when one of his maids entered his office.

"Master Heartfilia,"

"Yes, Janet,"

"A group of mages are here. They say they have business with you, but when I checked your appointments and they didn't appear, one of their group said they are here to see the Water Bearer,"

Immediately Jude stood up. The Water Bearer. He was not a fan of mages, and if they were here for that person, they were either thieves or fools. "Thank you, Janet, I shall deal with them,"

Walking through his house he came to the huge entrance room where a sizable group of mages indeed stood. Almost immediately he saw a young dark-haired man he swore he had a portrait of sharing a hug with Anna Heartfilia, the ancestor of the Heartfilia.

"What is your business here," He demanded, cooling his nerves and settling his face into a firm frown. The group shifted and the dark-haired youth stepped forward.

"Aquarius is here. Please. Let me see her,"

Jude looked perturbed. Thinking over every harsh thing he had ever done to his daughter since his wife's passing, he steeled his heart of this boy's plight. He could sense it in the boy's words, an emotion strong, that he needed to snuff out for the betterment of his daughter.

"No. Aquarius the Water Bearer's key is in the possession of my daughter. Now leave,"

An almost broken look appeared on Harry's face, and Jude thought he could see Layla's spirit frowning at him. Sighing, he couldn't deny her spirit. Maybe he was going soft after all. "Come to my office, and we shall discuss a deal of sorts. My daughter just so happens to want to join your guild of ruffians, gods know why," The almost joyful expression on the youth's face made him want to bang his head on the wall.

I've gone soft.

They make their way to his office, where they meet his daughter. She was a buxom blonde of average height, with soft brown eyes and a rare beauty. She wore a pink dress, and smiled demurely at the group of Fairy Tail mages, trying valiantly not to squeal in delight and ask them a bunch of questions like a fangirl.

Jude rested his hands on the table and looked at the group of mages with a businessman's face. "I will let my daughter join your guild so you may be reunited with Aquarius," He nodded to Harry, who grinned. "However I expect something in return. Consider it merchandise rights for your guild. Action figures, toys, accessories, the works,"

Laxus grunted, his orange-eyes gazing sternly at Jude. "You won't get better than thirty percent out of us. The guild gets seventy percent of the cut. Before you say shit, I don't care about you thinking you have the upper hand, there are other ways for us to acquire Aquarius the Water Bearer and they're all perfectly legal amongst mages, which your daughter is,"

Jude sighed. "If your guild falls out of favor, I will demand compensation. A hundred million Jewels," Laxus smirked. He could save that amount for an emergency. "Deal. Where do I sign on behalf of my guild," The two men did business, Jude being quite happy that he was in for a lucrative business deal and his daughter would end up being happy.

He knew he hadn't been the greatest father, so he hoped this made up for some of it.

"Daddy, so I can join Fairy Tail?" Lucy Heartfilia asked, hesitant and unsure. Her father nodded and squealed in delight before rushing over to hug him.

Fairy Tail Guild

The group returned to the guild. And Harry was trying valiantly to make Lucy summon Aquarius, but the blonde was reasonably freaked out by his incessant pleading and even his knowledge of Aquarius. How did he know she liked smoked crab for dinner?

Finally she gave in. "Fine! I'll summon her! Let's go find a clean body of water," Harry grabbed her arm and was about to rush outside with her, when Max Alors threw open the doors and everyone saw his bloodied appearance.

"The city's under attack! Caelum is invading us!"

Makarov was immediately on his feet, growing in height until he was the same height as his grandson. He pointed to half the guild, where most of his lower ranked mages were. "Evacuate the civilians immediately!" He pointed to Jet. "Jet! I need you to rush to the capital city. Inform the city Caelum has invaded our shores!" Jet nodded and was gone in a dust cloud.

He stood with the stronger mages of his guild, veterans and those that made up the next generation. "Come! We'll fight those bastards until relief arrives!" Everyone understood and rushed outside, the Dragon Slayers feeling a burn in their blood, an adrenaline rush like no other.

But what they saw was terrifying. High in the sky, flying ships were dropping soldiers, mages and knights of varying ages, and beneath, dominating the seas, was a large fleet of battleships. Caelum was just invading. They were intent on conquering them.

"Fire-Make: Sword of Helios!"

A fiery blade hotter than any flame, golden as the sun, and burning with titanic Magic Power, formed in Harry's hand, and he rushed into battle, cutting down knights and mages with his burning blade of borderline sunfire.

He had cut a path of blood and death until he reached the shoreline, where he made his power known. Clasping his hands together he muttered "Secret Art: Serpents of the Sea" Immediately sea serpents made of water rose up from the ocean depths and wrapped around the battleships, capsizing them.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

He turned to see Laxus launching a breath attack at the flying ships, but to their combined horror, the ship absorbed the magical attack and launched it back down at the city. "Shit! We're going to have to get up there to take those damn things down!" Laxus cursed before finding himself surrounded by mages.

"Ready to die? Well I'll gladly send you to hell! Roaring Thunder!"

Swinging his sword, he ended the life of another knight, their head cleaved in two. Turning on his heel, he rushed over to provide Lisanna and Elfman Strauss some release when it happened.

Blood flew in the air and Lisanna screamed.


He ran faster than he ever had before. The trees and dirt road blurred as his vision tunneled. Sound barriers broke as he pushed himself to his limits to reach the capital city in time. Already he had been running for an hour, time was of the essence.

He couldn't fail them. No. He wouldn't. How could he face Levy if he failed. What if she- NO! He would sooner die than let those Caelum bastards get to Levy. Pushing himself faster, he broke the sound barrier again, moving faster and faster.