#juvia and meredy render

[pyropsychiccollector]

Fairy Tail - Fervent Crimson Flame plotline notes (part 4)

Alvarez Arc:

            - A year passes by without any news of Zeref or Acnologia’s whereabouts. Alvarez remains a threat on the horizon, but it seems that Makarov’s efforts, in conjunction with the Ten Wizard Saints standing up to become the Council, has kept the rival continent at bay. As Natsu is an absolute novice at politics, he has Ultear as an aide to help break meetings down for him if they go over his head. Moreover, Laxus has stepped up to fill his Grandfather’s shoes as the Seventh Wizard Saint. With Natsu and Laxus technically not a part of Fairy Tail (let’s be honest, they’re still Fairy Tail at heart), that takes away some power from the guild… But they’re not the only ones who stepped away from the guild; Kagura, Sorano, and Millianna all went to help Mermaid Heel get stronger. Wally, Richard, and the Thunder Legion went to Blue Pegasus to boost their power. Cana and Sho went to help Quatro Cerberus get more powerful, as did Racer. Rusty Rose and Azuma, along with Simon and Meredy went to help out Sabertooth. Gray and Juvia went to help out Lamia Scale, as did Kinana and Cobra. Truly, everyone is still Fairy Tail at heart… But they do believe in helping out their fellow guilds as opposed to pooling all the power into one guild and hoarding it.  

                        - Future reference: God Serena, Draculos Hyberion, Wolfheim, Warrod Sequen, Natsu Dragneel, Jura Neekis, Laxus Dreyar, three fillers

            - Upon hearing about Serena’s defection, Erza grows increasingly concerned about Makarov’s possible situation in Alvarez. Natsu suggests reuniting their team again for a rescue operation, and the scarlet knight does like that idea, though she doesn’t like leaving the Guild or the children unattended. Not to mention seven high-caliber mages might be the absolute limit they would be able to smuggle into Alvarez’s borders… In the end, Team Mira tries to come along as support, but they are told to stay behind, as Ultear is cashing in a favor for getting in and out of Alakitasia. Mira is made the intermittent Master while Fairy Tail begins calling back its members to prepare for a possible war…

            - The rescue team sails to Caracole Island to refuel and inquire about the Alvarez Navy locking the island down. They encounter Marin and dispatch him with some minor difficulty for Erza, Meredy, and Simon. Brandish shows up shortly after, and is subsequently annoyed when intimidation doesn’t work on Natsu, let alone Erza. Using her Magic to seemingly disintegrate Kagura only enrages the Fairy Tail mages, and she is soon forced to fend off the remaining six of them; though she soon is horrified to discover that Wendy’s Enhancement Magic renders her Command T Magic ineffective against Natsu, and he subsequently beats her down hard. Once Brandish slips into unconsciousness, Kagura is returned to normal size, relieving the Fairy Tail mages, who thought her to be dead. From there, Natsu, Erza, Kagura, and Ultear wipe out the Navy stationed at Caracole when they foolhardily try to take back Brandish and Marin. This frees the neutral island, and Simon takes the four battle-weary mages to meet the spy, having already taken Wendy and Meredy to them.

            - The Fairy Tail mages are pleased to see Sorano after so long; and she decided to bring her darling little sister along to meet them. They are pleasantly surprised to see one of the Spriggan Twelve already dealt with. If worse comes to worst, they can at least use her to barter for Makarov’s release. Though Natsu’s all for playing for keeps.

            - Makarov finally meets with ‘Emperor Spriggan’ after a year of being made to wait, and the Black Wizard muses how he is pleased with Natsu’s growth thus far. Zeref feels he hasn’t quite awakened the power needed to kill him yet, but perhaps after some personal losses… At any rate, Zeref’s intent on starting a ‘massacre’ and wiping out Makarov to start chipping away at Natsu. However, Simon arrives and spirits the Third Master away to safety. Ajeel and August promptly give chase.

            - Ajeel catches up to the Fairies first, thanks to his Sand Magic being able to detect them, and Makarov warns them to keep running instead of fighting the man, as there will doubtless be reinforcements on the way. Nevertheless, Ajeel is persistent, and it takes Natsu with his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode to bring the Spriggan Shield down. Sufficiently recovered and close enough to the coast, Simon Teleports everyone just as August arrives on the scene to assist his ally. They couldn’t capture Ajeel, but at least they made it out of Alakitasia with Makarov, and they even got one Spriggan Shield and one of her subordinates out of this adventure.

            - In the days to come, Invel gathers what Spriggan Shields he can for a meeting called by Zeref. Invel, Dimaria, Ajeel, and August are already there; Neinhart, Wall Eehto, Bloodman, God Serena, Jacob Lessio, Larcade Dragneel, and Irene Belserion all answer the summons and arrive promptly. Dimaria marvels at Brandish’s ‘rebelliousness’, but Invel reveals that the Navy she commanded was massacred at Caracole Island, and she is presumed captured… if not dead. Zeref reminds him that one of Fairy Tail’s weaknesses is their sympathy, and that he suspects she is very much alive.

            - As Makarov had Mest wipe everyone’s memories about the Lumen Histoire being used by Hades to take out the Faces, barring Erza and Natsu (who Erza insisted that he be filled in on ‘Fairy Tail’s secret’), Makarov is forced to explain to the whole Guild why Alvarez is invading. Mavis chips in and fills them in on her bit of unknown history with Zeref. From there, they try to prepare as best as they can, but as Warren gets his radar established, thirty enemy ships reveal themselves above Magnolia, commanded by Ajeel. Bisca and Alzack attempt to fire the Jupiter Cannon they acquired from Phantom Lord on Ajeel’s ship, but the Spriggan deflects the blast and subsequently takes out some of his own forces. Deciding to take the fight to them, Ultear takes charge of the airship and takes Meredy, Capricorn (with Lucy’s permission), Rusty Rose, and Azuma with her to take on the Spriggan Shield. They decide to make it one last battle as the Seven Kin of Purgatory, with Rusty bringing back Zancrow and Kain through his Magic. Azuma’s explosions make quick work of the ship, as well as the ships surrounding the main one, and Meredy and Capricorn keep the grunts at bay, leaving the main fight to “Zancrow”, “Kain”, Rusty, and Ultear. Ajeel puts up a good fight, but once Rusty summons forth water with his Arc of Embodiment, the Spriggan becomes bogged down. It’s all left to Ultear to deliver the final blow. Rusty and Azuma are quite surprised to see the Arc of Time wielder show a sense of compassion in sparing Ajeel’s life, though Ultear muses that after eight years with Fairy Tail, and more specifically Team Crimson Flame, it hardly comes as a surprise to her. They take the Spriggan Shield to the holding cells, where Brandish and Marin are being held.

            - The Dragon Slayers – Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, and Cobra – make short work of the ground forces that belong to the Ajeel Squad, though they can all tell that there is much more on the way. Warren perceives at least five hundred ships to the North, five hundred to the South, and a mass invading force of over a million soldiers coming from the East. Three Spriggan Shields in command of each of those sides; with one more Spriggan Shield commanding a force coming from the West, and Zeref with them. Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus mobilize to confront the forces in the North, while Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel move to confront the forces in the South. Natsu wants to go out to confront Zeref personally, but Mavis advises that he go with the other three Gods of Ishgar to confront the overwhelming forces to the East (as God Serena is among them, and Natsu can’t help but feel conflicted and eventually decide he needs to deal with his ‘teacher’ before gunning after Zeref). Mavis doesn’t like these other Guilds jumping in, but Makarov assures her that Fairy Tail will not leave all the fighting to them.

            - After Laxus and the Thunder Legion counter Wall’s attempt at bypassing Freed’s Enchantments, they set out with Wendy, the Mikazuchi siblings, Meredy, Gray, Juvia, Rusty, Azuma, and Ultear to the Southern battlefield in Hargeon. Laxus takes out Wall with his Red Lightning; and Ultear, Wendy, and Chelia attempt to take on Dimaria (Chelia lands the finishing blow this time, and not through Third Origin; her Magic has the most effect on Chronos, and Ultear and Wendy handle Dimaria when Chronos is wrenched from Dimaria’s body and smited). Neinhart is impressed they managed to defeat his fellow Spriggan Shields, but he soon overwhelms that battlefield with his Historia of the Dead. The Historia of Jellal descends on Simon and Kagura, as does the Historia of Ezel on Wendy and Chelia, Ur on Gray and Lyon, and the Historia of Hades on Laxus, Azuma, and Rusty. With Laxus weakened from his earlier fight, Azuma manages to overpower Hades, as he is significantly weaker than he was in life, and Meredy backs Kagura and Simon up to take down Jellal. Kagura, Azuma, and Rusty tag-team Neinhart as they’re in the best shape, with the former delivering the finishing blow. Subsequently, the remaining Historias disappear. With the fall of the three Spriggan Shields, the Southern battlefront quickly becomes overwhelmingly in the favor of Fairy Tail and its allies. Wall was still killed, but Dimaria and Neinhart captured.

            - To the East, God Serena is accosted and reprimanded by Warrod, Wolfheim, and Hyberion for betraying his motherland; Natsu isn’t so much up for lecturing his ‘teacher’ as giving him a good thrashing instead. God Serena is amused, dancing and weaving around his “former” allies’ attacks without really fighting back. August can tell something is amiss, and orders Jacob to intervene. This proves to be a huge mistake as Natsu handily defeats Jacob, and is still clearly ready for the next round. God Serena reveals his true loyalties… namely to himself. And the fact that he passed down knowledge and Magic to Natsu, so that makes him Serena’s; and therefore, Ishgar will always be his. While the other Gods of Ishgar are mildly relieved that Serena was acting under some harebrained scheme as a mole for Ishgar… they’re still annoyed he didn’t run this by them at all. Natsu’s just glad Serena didn’t reject all their time together. Still, this angers August, as he’s the only Shield left able to fight for his Majesty in the East... Just as it’s about to come to an all-out brawl between August and the Five Gods of Ishgar, Acnologia descends onto the battlefield, and is quite annoyed with Serena’s arrogance. Despite the coordinated attacks of Natsu and Serena, Acnologia easily bats them away and grievously injures them (they, in fact, barely manage to live, hanging on by a thread). August is forced to let the Dragon Slayer pass, as he is intent on slaughtering all the Dragon Slayers. But now it’s down to him versus Warrod, Wolfheim, and Hyberion…

            - In the North, Bloodman is the major threat while his fellow Spriggan Shields stay back and let him go to work. Gajeel and Cobra are their best chance of defeating this Etherious, so they leave Bloodman to Dragon Slayers. Meanwhile, Levy, Kinana, Sorano, Yukino, Richard, Wally, Racer, Midnight, Panther Lily, and the Strauss Siblings tackle a majority of the grunt forces, taking back Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus. Unbeknownst to them, Irene leaves to ‘deal’ with Acnologia, unleashing her trump card of Universe One to ‘drown’ Acnologia and throw the whole map into disarray.

            - Prior to Universe One being unleashed, in the West, Jura tried and failed to take down Invel. Moreover, the surviving Etherious – Mard Geer, Sayla, Franmalth, and Torafuzar managed to take a chunk out of Zeref’s forces, but against the immortal himself they get soundly beaten and turned back into books. Zeref considers just burning them to ashes… But in honor of Natsu sparing their lives a year ago, just leaves them behind as he, Invel, and their remaining forces press forward.

            - Back in Magnolia, prior to Universe One, Lucy gets her ‘issues’ sorted out with Brandish, clearing up who killed Brandish’s mother. Brandish remarks about Fairy Tail’s futile efforts, as August is on his way to the Guild, but Makarov and the others are gaining confidence with Warren’s report that there are only four Spriggan Shields active. The Eastern and Western fronts are still worrying, but the South is liberated, and the North is gradually following suit. Brandish is shocked to hear of Jacob, Neinhart, and Dimaria’s defeats, along with the deaths of Bloodman, Wall, and Serena (well, he’s on death’s door), but she is equally quick to point out that she and Ajeel are prisoners, and the strongest Spriggan Shields are en route. Moreover, Natsu might very well be dead, which distresses Erza a great deal. Then Universe One occurs…

            - The Spriggan Shields are reunited, and Zeref has arrived at Fairy Tail while the Fairies have been spirited away to different locations. Invel is quite cross with Brandish and Ajeel for being bested, but Zeref is keen to remind his advisor that regardless of the losses up until now, everything has gone according to plan. He orders the defeated Spriggan Shields to re-enter the fray, and for Invel, Larcade, and August to make their debuts as well. August reveals God Serena’s treachery… so he’s left out in the street in his dilapidated state, left to die. Out of an obscure sense of compassion, Brandish tries to talk August down from ordering the execution of the Fairy Tail members, but he points out they have killed Wall and Bloodman, and that doesn’t even account for all the foot soldiers lost; no, August is quite determined to give Fairy Tail no quarter.

            - Fairy Tail begins to make its triumphant return to Magnolia… Natsu was miraculously left in the company of Erza and Wendy after Universe One, and the latter manages to heal his grievous wounds. The three of them connect back up with Gray, Juvia, Lucy, Meredy, Simon, Kagura, and Ultear – and together they begin attacking Alvarez’s forces. Wall and Bloodman are the first gatekeepers, but Gajeel, Cobra, and Laxus defeat their Historias handily.

- Invel is the first of the fresh Spriggans to encounter some opponents; Gray and Juvia wind up committing simultaneous suicide. This enrages Lyon and Ultear, leaving Chelia to try and heal the two Fairy Tail mages while they attack Invel. Gray loses much of his wrath with Juvia’s continued life, and so he sets out to just kick Invel’s ass – which he manages to do with Lyon and Ultear’s help. Sting and Rogue dispatch Larcade. Mira takes on Jacob, and Sayla comes in as an unlikely ally. Dimaria runs afoul of Hyberion, Wolfheim, and Warrod who never got their fight with August, and with her roughed up and deprived of Chronos she’s taken down. Neinhart is suped up by Irene, but dispatched by Mard Geer and Franmalth. Ajeel attempts overwhelming the Fairies, but is drowned out by Torafuzar, and only barely saved by Brandish, who shrinks him down for his own good. Brandish is left confronted by Lucy, Lisanna, and Elfman, and she tries reasoning with them since things have spiraled out of control. With nearly all of the elites down, Irene is sent out after Mavis tricks her and somehow slipped away with her physical body. It’s up to Erza to take down her own mother. While that battle’s going on, Makarov uses Fairy Law to decimate Alvarez’s forces until they’re about twenty percent left; he dies, subsequently.

            - Natsu and Wendy stumble upon Serena, and Wendy sees to fix him up at Natsu’s reassurance that he never betrayed Ishgar, not really. However, Invel still revealed to Gray – as well as Lyon and Ultear – that Natsu is END. This leads to a confrontation between Gray and Natsu, who still falls into a coma because of the seeds at war within him. Natsu goes on that journey of self-discovery, while Ultear and Wendy manage to talk Gray down from killing his long-time friend. Gray’s willing to hear Natsu out when he wakes up, but he’s still frazzled over this reveal. Porlyusica and Evergreen still stumble upon the group, and Porlyusica figures out what’s wrong with Natsu… Not that they can do anything for him. All they can do is try and keep him warm… And, well… Erza’s kinda busy, so Ultear’s left to handle this responsibility herself, not wanting to burden Wendy. Chelia and Juvia rejoin the group around this time, and God Serena regains consciousness… He’s not too happy his protégé is in such a terrible state, but he’s up for carrying on the fight against the remaining Spriggan Twelve members.

- Serena goes to join forces with Erza, and while it’s definitely a grueling battle… they manage to exhaust Irene and take her down as Irene has a private epiphany about her real feelings for Erza; this serves to distract her enough for her to lose. When Irene falls, and Universe One vanishes, August tries to avenge his comrades by obliterating Magnolia, but Gildarts arrives in the nick of time, and the two ‘strongest mages’ duke it out. This time… with Lucy’s support, as well as Ajeel feeling a lot better after talking it out with Elfman and Lisanna… Brandish and Ajeel attempt talking August down from going through with his suicidal attack. Their side has definitely taken a battering, but so has Fairy Tail and Ishgar – against all odds, Wall and Bloodman are still the only fatalities amongst the Twelve, they can turn Alvarez around and come back from this. Even Irene was not killed; just merely taken down. Invel, Jacob, Dimaria, Neinhart, and Larcade… They don’t need to fight to the death. But August is still all about fulfilling his father’s ambition… He’s about to strike down the two “traitorous” Shields (Serena’s betrayal still stings), Gildarts intervenes. And just as August is about to go forward with his suicidal attack, Mavis arrives on the battlefield, determined to help her guildmates… This leads to a fated “reunion” between mother and son, who is overwhelmed at being able to see and actually speak with her. Though Mavis is reluctant, she agrees to meet with Zeref and talk it out with him… She’s still pissed about Makarov’s death… But knowing that she has a son in August, it’s enough to jumble her emotions and make her conflicted.

- The motley crew of August, Brandish, Ajeel, Mavis, Gildarts, Cana, Lucy, Lisanna, and Elfman make their way for the Guildhall. August gets word out to the remaining Alvarez troops to ceasefire, and Mavis similarly has the Fairy Tail mages ignore the remaining Alvarez reinforcements and gun for the guildhall, where Hyberion, Wolfheim, and Warrod are the first to reach Zeref and attempted (and failed) to reason with him before they were taken down by the Black Wizard. Natsu’s new group of him, Erza, Gray, and Serena split off from Wendy, Chelia, Lyon, Ultear, Porlyusica, and Evergreen to reach the guildhall after the other Gods of Ishgar. Of course, with everyone so banged up, Natsu’s ironically in the best shape to take on his brother; he urges Erza, Serena, and Gray to get the other Gods of Ishgar out of there, but not before Serena manages to swipe the Book of END.

- Zeref gives his speeches about the futility of fighting; because Natsu’s going to die either way. Natsu disagrees, still possessing some Magic that Igneel left to him… And moreover, he trusts in his friends to work out some solution. But even if he dies… There’s no shame in fighting to protect those you love. Zeref fights back with embittered zeal, having gone hundreds of years without anyone accepting him. Mavis intercedes in their fight, and Zeref still ends up getting the Fairy Heart… Meanwhile, Serena gives Erza the Book of END, and she in turn gets it to Levy and Lucy, who can hopefully rewrite it somehow. August lends his expertise on Script Magic, and when the book proves too hard for Lucy and Levy to rewrite on their own, they have Erza step in for them and Gray still keeps the demonic energies at bay.

- While all of this is going on, Acnologia still attempts to kill Wendy, while Lyon, Chelia, and Ultear are unable to do anything against the Dragon of the Apocalypse. Nevertheless, Mard Geer, Franmalth, Torafuzar, Sayla, Rusty Rose, Azuma, and the former Oracion Seis all jump in to keep him at bay. On top of that, Laxus, Gajeel, Sting, Rogue, and many other allies jump in seeing that this is one ongoing fight that they can’t afford to lose. Anna makes her reappearance, pulling the Dragon Slayers out of the conflict when they prove to not be enough to truly make a difference against Acnologia just yet… She reveals her plan to lure the dragon to that hole in time, and while it’s crazy… They don’t really have another viable solution to take Acnologia down. Everyone’s quickly getting winded, even with Brandish and Ajeel joining the fray.

            - Erza and co. manage to replace the text that was destroyed when Zeref mortally wounded Natsu. Erza refusing to allow her husband, the father of their children, her most dearest friend to perish. Everyone waits with bated breath, and the text in the air stabilizes... But they won't know the outcome until it's over. With Natsu’s book successfully rewritten, he feels empowered by all his allies; even up against Zeref who has the Fairy Heart… His soul is lit aflame, the fires hot enough to burn through time… Zeref and Natsu attack each other at full force - Zeref with all his hate and sorrow manifested into power, and Natsu with his Flames of Emotion - and... Zeref loses. He's left with just his pants, and is severely burned all over. Natsu just doesn’t have the heart to kill his brother; not after all that’s happened. There’s been good, and there’s been bad… And Natsu just doesn’t know how to feel. He wants to see Happy, Erza, and everyone else. He leaves it up to Mavis, who has a heart-to-heart with Zeref. She can't forgive Zeref for hurting her family so much, for Makarov's death... Even so, she reveals to him that they had a son… He’s still out there, and he managed to get the remainder of Alvarez to stand down. It might be hard moving forward, but Alvarez will survive. As will Fairy Tail and Ishgar. Zeref feels uncertain of that with Acnologia’s threat… But he feels overwhelmed knowing that he has a son. He slowly realizes that, despite ranting at him about all the evils he's committed, Mavis does... love him. She sounds so proud of their son, and... Zeref can't deny that he's proud of August as well. Proud of Natsu, who has become so much more than the Etherious he created. In so many ways, Natsu, his brother, has truly been reborn. And it took Zeref this long to see it. The Curse of Contradiction makes them vanish while Mavis clings onto Zeref, bouncing from not wanting him to die and wanting to go with him, and Natsu senses their deaths as he’s making his way through Magnolia. He hooks back up with Erza, Gray, Lucy, Levy, August, and Serena, and while the deaths of his parents brings August overwhelming grief… He knows that they experienced love in the end. It’s up to him to look after Alvarez from now on, and he will do so. … They just need to see to Acnologia first.

            - Acnologia is seemingly beaten by Anna’s strategy, and all the survivors are left to revel in the elation of victory for a small time… But then the Dragon Slayers are all whisked away mysteriously, and Acnologia’s dragon form begins assaulting Hargeon’s Port. Everyone works together to beat Acnologia on both fronts; even Alvarez’s survivors chip in – August, Irene, Invel, Brandish, Ajeel, Jacob, Neinhart, Dimaria, and all their remaining forces. The Etherious – sans Natsu – all perished with Zeref’s death, including Larcade. Lucy gets the idea to seal Acnologia with Fairy Sphere, and meanwhile Natsu, Serena, Laxus, Gajeel, Cobra, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue all duke it out with Acnologia’s human form. It’s a tough fight… But with everyone coming together, they manage to pull it off, Natsu dealing the final blow which incorporated all their Dragon Slaying Magic. The Slayers are returned home, victorious…

            - The Wizard Saints suffered huge casualties with this war. Hyberion, Wolfheim, and Warrod all perished against Zeref; Jura against Invel. Serena, Natsu, Laxus, and the remaining Saints are left to scrabble to pick up the pieces. They look to appointing an official Council again now that things have settled; Ultear volunteers to step up, seeing as how she was on the old Council. Mest also steps up despite his previous posting… Natsu’s bummed about having to step down, but Laxus and just about everyone else are rather relieved his hands are off the wheel from now on. With nothing better to do, Serena decides to join Fairy Tail as its Ace. … Even though Gildarts is rather intrigued to duke it out with the supposed #1 mage in Ishgar, which has quite a number of Fairy Tail members quaking in their boots. The remaining Spriggan… Eleven members are in similar dire straits with the loss of their Emperor and overall goal. Not to mention eighty percent of their army was wiped out… August and Irene are weary of having to lead the scraps, but Ajeel is being groomed to succeed the Emperor. Invel is kept on as the advisor. Jacob, Neinhart, and Dimaria have much reflecting to do; and Brandish is left wanting to stay in Ishgar to be close to Lucy and avoid all responsibilities… But August cows her into remaining at her post. Not out of spite for Ishgar… Both continents have a long road ahead of them.

            - Ultear couldn’t restore all of Magnolia if she tried, so it’s up to everyone to pitch in and help rebuild. At least she managed to restore the guildhall, and the members were allowed to mourn Makarov’s death… Along with Jura, Warrod, and Mavis’s. Erza remains the Guildmaster, and is on awkward speaking terms with her mother, who is quite intrigued to have grandchildren… Ajeel also keeps in touch with the Strauss siblings, and August with Natsu. Alvarez and Ishgar are formal allies now, although they do need time to mourn their dead. Even though they have the freedom to go where they want, Rusty, Azuma, and the Oracion Seis stick around Fairy Tail. Meredy is still with Simon. Elfman with Evergreen. Erik with Kinana. Gajeel with Levy. Mira with Freed. Gray and Juvia are… friends, although edging closer to relationship status. Cana boasts she and Sho did the horizontal tango, and Gildarts… couldn’t be more proud, to Cana’s chagrin. … He wants grandbabies. Yukino is put out that Sorano still chooses Fairy Tail over Mermaid Heel… But considering the guilds are still stalwart allies, Yukino can’t complain too much.  Richard and Wally are still passionate brothers. Kagura and Millianna still visit Mermaid Heel a lot, but they’re Fairy Tail through and through. Lyon still keeps in touch with Gray and Ultear. Chelia with Wendy. Minerva and Kagura have patched things up between them. Sting and Rogue are still admirers and close friends of Natsu and Gajeel. Sting also met Yukino through his friendship with Natsu and Fairy Tail; they’re considering a relationship, though it might be tough because they’re in separate guilds… Speaking of. Ultear, Erza, and Natsu have reached an… arrangement. Considering she helped keep Natsu alive, and has long since proven her loyalty… Ultear has formally married Natsu as well. Erza’s not too pleased about it… But frankly, she can tell Natsu and Ultear share a bond, too. … And it’s not like Ultear will be able to do much from over in Era. … Right? … Natsu’s going to be away on missions, isn’t he? Damnit. Natsu, Erza, Ultear, Lyon and Juvia all went with Gray to visit his parents’ graves. And in turn, they visited the grave Natsu erected for Igneel… Erza laments that her mother is still very much alive. Racer’s free to run wherever he wants, but he still lingers around the guildhall, and he builds rapport with Team Shadow Gear, especially Gajeel. Midnight lounges in peace, still doing jobs at times but only if they’re particularly grueling. Erik, through Kinana’s insistence, has become friends with Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel, among others. Rusty is still a little sour over his past failures… But he’s mellowed out quite a bit, and has no complaints about flaunting his power… Even if it’s in Fairy Tail’s name. Azuma quickly proves to be a pillar for Erza to lean on in hard times. Through his Magic, and a few other factors, he’s given the guild a tree that functions much like the one on Tenrou Island, granting Fairy Tail mages additional power. Lucy keeps on writing her book…

            - A year later, Lucy’s given that Kamu Zeleon Award for Best Writer for her novel based off her own experiences, and she attends a fancy party accompanied by her rambunctious guildmates. Anna’s still a schoolteacher, and Princess Hisui still succeeded her father and became Queen, helping move the alliance with Alvarez along. Brandish and Dimaria came out to Ishgar for Lucy’s award ceremony, as did August in a rare show of goodfaith between the two countries. Lucy was honored, but feeling overwhelmed at “Grandfather August” (Brandish kept trying to push for Lucy to call him that) showing up like that… The couples mentioned above are still together. Romeo, Asuka, Ryo, and Mikoto are all still friends – and Levy and Mira tease that they may have “bundles in the oven”, too. Ultear is hopeful about such ventures, herself; not that Erza’s thrilled about it, but Natsu makes sure they’re both loved, and looks forward to having a huge family with them. The biggest surprise is still saved for the end with Zeref and Mavis showing up, reincarnated. August is floored upon seeing them, but glad that they’re doing well… Even if they have no memory of him. On that note, Porlyusica explains that they appeared in Magnolia a month after the war. They had no memory of who they were, not the slightest bit of Magical potential in either of them… There was also nothing afflicting them, meaning that they were rendered mortal. With these factors in mind, effectively having blank slates, Erza had them go wherever they wished. They kept this from August on the off chance that their return was only temporary… However, they’ve been living in Ishgar ever since, Mavis getting with a small publishing firm and Zeref was an aspiring writer. Zeref took on a new name of Arius, and Mavis a new name of Mio. Despite repeated interactions with Fairy Tail, nothing has triggered their memories, and in all this time not a trace of Magic has manifested in them, no Magic, no Curses. August calmly accepts these revelations, and is simply delighted that his parents can live… He’s still saddened they might not be able to forge a bond with him… But Natsu reassures August that he's able to approach and befriend them; even if that familial bond isn’t completely there, seeing them so happy and carefree… It feels nice, and August would agree with the Dragon Slayer. There’s much happiness in the air…

[prof-kenny]

[ao3feed-nalu]

rise of the evening star

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/yVaLZ0d

by maybelmascara

“You are light. You claim to be so powerful, but you forget how darkness can be oh so overwhelming. How easily you can be squashed and dwindled into a faint sparkle.” Hesperia straightened her posture, eyes glowering down at the blond.

“We are each other’s counterparts: light and darkness,” she whispered, twirling a blond lock. “Without you, there’s no me, but I’m a part of Fairy Tail. I will render you helpless, and there shall only be I in victory.”

The tale of Hesperia: the Shadow God Slayer of Fairy Tail.

Words: 1710, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Fairy Tail

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Happy (Fairy Tail), Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney, Future Rogue Cheney, Original Characters, Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Future Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, Lector (Fairy Tail), Frosch (Fairy Tail), Minerva Orland, Juvia Lockser, Gajeel Redfox, Laxus Dreyar, Makarov Dreyar, Mirajane Strauss, Rufus Lore, Orga Nanagear, Millianna (Fairy Tail), Wendy Marvell, Cana Alberona, Jellal Fernandes, Ultear Milkovich, Meredy (Fairy Tail), Mest Gryder | Doranbolt, Mavis Vermillion, Hesperia (OC)

Relationships: Sting Eucliffe/Original Character(s), Rogue Cheney/Original Character(s), Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet, Laxus Dreyar/Mirajane Strauss, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox

Additional Tags: I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Romance, Drama, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Multiple Pairings, Action/Adventure

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/yVaLZ0d

[lovelocksers]

I made a few posts in the past about how I liked (and kind of almost expected) Juvia being Mercuphobia’s daughter, and then I mixed Jellal into the family, and as much as I loved the idea I never really gave it much thought. But the idea was brought up in the gruvia server I’m in, and lo and behold, in the span of about 2 hours, we almost have a complete story for these three. So big big shoutout to @i-write-fanfics-to-procrastinate and @juvi-of-the-great-sea (and a few others) who gave me amazing feedback and ideas, and I definitely borrowed some of theirs 💙 So here’s the story:

- Mercuphobia fell in love with one of his worshippers, who eventually became pregnant (yes, they’re twins!) but because she was only a worshipper, and he was seen as a god, she thought it would be best if she left the town before anyone found out she was expecting.

- So, she moved in with her brother and gave birth. Unfortunately Juvia was born, or more like cursed, with an abundant amount of magic power, which she inherited from her father, and because of this, the skies always threatened to rain ever since she was born.

- As they were growing up, Jellal continued to tell Juvia that he would learn Heavenly Body Magic so she could see the clear night sky.

- One day, their mother left Juvia to stay with her uncle as she took Jellal out for a ride, where they stopped at a village full of recruiters for the Tower of Heaven. Jellal was taken, and their mother was killed.

- Believing that both of them were killed, Juvia’s rain increased to downpours and after a week the village she and her uncle inhabited was threatened by floods, all the while Juvia could not stop crying. Fed up with the crying, complaints from neighbors about the floods, and the fact that he was in no position to raise a child by himself, Juvia’s uncle attacked her, rendering her unconscious. Once he calmed down, he turned himself in, the guilt plaguing him that he attacked Juvia — the most important recollection his sister left him. Juvia woke up in an orphanage, told that her uncle was put in a facility, with no memories of her mother or brother.

- After the fight against the White Mage ended and his powers were returned, Mercuphobia decided to visit Fairy Tail to say thank you. However, after he gets there, Diabolos ambushes the guild. Juvia and Jellal just happen to be nearby when he’s almost attacked, and they protect him.

- Mercuphobia prepares to thank them, but when he sees them together, Jellal’s tattoo, and Juvia’s water magic, he stops right in his tracks and the gears start turning. He begins to tear up, muttering that they remind him so much of “her”. The two ask him what’s wrong, and he explains.

- Once the fight ended and Diabolos was defeated for good, Fairy Tail did what they did best: partying. Mercuphobia was the guest of honor, and while everyone was sober, Juvia and Jellal decided to tell the guild the whole story.

- Gray and Erza were possibly the most shocked, and somewhat worried that they wouldn’t get to spend time with either of them while they figured things out, although they’d never admit it (especially Erza, since she was new to the whole ‘jealousy’ thing)

- Jellal and Juvia didn’t really know how to interact with one another for the first few days, after all they had never done much interacting before, but occasionally they would say the same thing at the same time and look at each other like 😮

- One of the first things Juvia told Jellal was that she was now “obliged” to help Jellal and Erza get together, and he couldn’t say no.

- They tried going to restaurants together, whenever their guilds would allow, to catch up and share mementos that Juvia’s uncle and Merc sent them. Sometimes Gray and Erza tag along, and no, totally not because they miss them, only because they wanted to make sure they were getting along, of course, obviously. Not that Juvia minds though, because it’s essentially a double date, and it’s funny seeing Jellal and Erza scared to sit next to one another.

- One thing they had in common was that they both were introduced to Fairy Tail as enemies, and so they share with each other their regrets, but also advice on how they’re moving forward.

- Jellal became protective of Juvia fairly quickly, and now him, Gray, and Gajeel are the basis of the unofficial “Juvia Protection Squad.” Erza and Natsu are members too, of course.

- One time Juvia was making dinner when she cut her finger on the knife, it wasn’t bad but the shock caused her to curse and gasp in pain, the next thing she knew Jellal and Gray had busted down the door to see if she was alright.

- Juvia can also be protective though; she’s told the other members of Crime Sorcière (namely Erik and Sawyer) to stop giving Jellal a hard time a few times before.

- Then there was that time when Fairy Tail and Crime Sorcière joined forces, Jellal got hurt, and Juvia was almost as scary as she was on Tenrou Island. The other members of Crime Sorcière (and even some of Fairy Tail) knew not to mess with her after that, especially when it came to Jellal.

- Speaking of Crime Sorcière, Meredy was overjoyed at the news and she tried desperately to make them wear ‘sibling best friend bracelets’, which was the one thing Jellal would not do.

- The only downside to this new sibling relationship was dating. Jellal has followed Gray and Juvia a few times, telling Gray “if you hurt my sister I won’t hesitate.” Juvia gets somewhat annoyed but it’s not like she hasn’t followed Erza and Jellal, although for the exact opposite reason which would be to cheer them on.

- And yes, of course they tease each other. Jellal often rests his elbow on her head and tells her how short she is.

Gosh these were so fun to make! I got so into this 😂 I hope I’ll come up with more in the future, as well as a trio name that’s catchier than Mercuphobia, Juvia, and Jellal sooo suggestions are welcome!

[pyropsychiccollector]

            - A short time ago… -

            Brandish clenched her fists and she stared down at the all-out chaos going down below… Fairy Tail was making great progress in making their way back to their Guildhall, but they had a ways to go still. She didn’t know if she had it in her to go down there and… annihilate them. Invel had ordered it… But her heart could not be swayed. These people were the least deserving of genocide, and Invel still wanted to destroy them out of a misguided sense of vengeance.

            “Brandish.” … Speak of the devil. “Why have you not yet stepped in? With your power, we would quite easily crush them underfoot… So why do you hesitate? Well?”

            At the ice mage’s prodding, Brandish could only shake in a mixture of anger and grief, tears spilling from her eyes.

            “… I can’t. No matter how much you order me to, I… can’t…” The green-haired woman sobbed. Invel narrowed his eyes.

            “You… can’t?” His voice grew frigid and his face hardened. “Neinhart’s Historias are nearly eliminated. Jacob has fallen a second time, and Ajeel is soon to join him. August only watches. Irene is obtaining the Fairy Heart. It falls to you, Dimaria, Neinhart, and myself to stop the bleeding in our once healthy ranks. I shall not tolerate insubordination from you or August… And I do believe I have found a way to spur him into action.”

            Brandish gasped as she felt Invel’s enslavement collar appear around her neck once more. She stared at him wide-eyed and tearfully, even as her mind slowed to a crawl and she became but another of his puppets.

            “Since your mind is telling you to defy your orders as a soldier, I have taken the liberty of relieving you of your free will. You will go down there… and you will kill the mages of Fairy Tail and their allies without fail. Even if you kill our own soldiers in the process… you will do your duty to exterminate the enemy! Now go!”

            Compelled to obey, Brandish leaped down the hill and into the fray. Invel stared after her dispassionately. A few moments later, Dimaria stepped out of the shadows and glared angrily at Invel.

            “Subjugating Randi… I should kill you where you stand.” Dimaria hissed.

            Invel kept his back facing her.

            “But you won’t… Because you know I can remotely order her to kill herself. You wouldn’t risk her life, even with your time-based Magic…”

            Dimaria’s body twitched with rage, but she knew he was right.

            “This isn’t over…” She vowed.

            “It is.” Invel brushed off her warning. “With the Country Demolisher released from her shackles, this war is all but finished. However, you and I should step in as well. We need to ensure not a single Fairy will escape execution…”

            A cold wind followed Invel as he strode down the hill without another word to the Valkyrie. Tears blurred Dimaria’s vision and burned her cheeks as she wiped them away. As bad as it was to enslave Randi like that… She had to agree that it was probably for the best. Brandish was not acting like herself… And she was going to figure out which of the suicidal Fairies had brainwashed her Randi.

            She would make them suffer because making their death slow and agonizingly painful.

            ~*~

            - Present… -

            Erza knew something was wrong when people started exploding… At first, it was just a few Alvarez soldiers; the scarlet knight had assumed the soldiers were trying to use a Spell that had gone awry for them. However, when it started happening to some of her lesser known Guildmates… That’s when she knew for certain that they were no accidents or botched Spells. She could tell from a glance that bones and other internal organs had been enlarged way past the norm. That those poor, hapless souls had been killed off intentionally… perhaps even maliciously.

            It all came together when the Country Demolisher entered her field of vision,

            “B-Brandish…!?” Lucy gasped as she saw the buxom woman kill one person right after the other, not even pausing to take a breath. ‘Cold and efficient’ captured the essence of Brandish’s swift movements.

            Erza narrowed her eyes before whipping her head around to address as many Guildmates as she could.

            “Everybody fall back…! Do not engage that green-haired woman! She is Brandish Mu of the Spriggan 12!”

            Macao and Wakaba’s eyes widened as they turned to each other.

            “That hottie we were guarding?” Wakaba muttered.

            “That Brandish?!” Macao exclaimed, horrified.

            Kagura held out her blade in front of her as she trained her eyes on Brandish.

            “She’s one of the Spriggan 12 we haven’t encountered yet… We should take her down as quickly as possible. There are five more of the Spriggan 12 we haven’t located yet…”

            Lucy shook her head wildly and tried to obstruct Kagura’s path.

            “N-No, no, no! Cobra and I got her to negotiate with August earlier…!”

            Seeing that Brandish was still mercilessly killing in the background, Erza lightly, yet firmly pushed Lucy aside.

            “I’m sorry, Lucy, but you need to withdraw with the others. Allow me and Kagura to handle her;”

            “Just let me talk with her, please!” Lucy pleaded desperately, only for her words to fall on deaf ears.

            “She is single-minded in her movements, Lucy…” Kagura explained. “I do not know what transpired, but you will not be able to reason with her in this state. You’ll only get yourself killed.”

            When Lucy still didn’t budge, Erza’s voice grew harsh, even while she kept her gaze locked on Brandish.

            “Go, Lucy! We will do our best not to kill her!”

            Lucy remained rooted in place, stuck between her desire to trust in her teammate and fret over Brandish, who wasn’t acting like herself.

            And then another voice snapped her out of her stupor.

            “Droy…!” Jet screamed.

            Lucy and Erza gasped, while Kagura watched in silent horror as the portly member of Team Shadow Gear exploded from the inside… There was no doubt he was dead. And he wouldn’t be the only one…

            “D-DAD!!!” Romeo wailed even louder than Jet as his father met the same gruesome end as Droy; Wakaba and Laki followed in quick succession.

            Erza’s eyes hardened as far too many dear friends had lost their lives in the span of mere seconds.

            “Kagura!” She called out as she began to move. Kagura nodded rigorously before running in tandem with her.

            “Right…!”

            Lucy covered her mouth in a muffled scream and sob as she sank to her knees helplessly. All she could do was stare at the empty, bloodied, mangled husks that were once her friends… All gone. She wanted to hug Romeo desperately, but she didn’t have it in her to tear the boy away from his father’s lifeless body.

            Cana did, apparently. Of course Romeo struggled within her grip, as he wailed and sobbed for Cana to let him go, but the woman’s grip was like iron. The other members of Fairy Tail nearby were retreating far back to give Erza and Kagura a wide berth to fight Brandish… But no one looked happy about it. Lucy herself, though… she was frozen in place. And that painted a bright red target on her back…

            “So, you’re the one that tainted my Randi…!” Dimaria hissed as she appeared behind a shell-shocked Lucy. She clutched her fellow blonde by her ponytail. “You’re coming with me…”

            And before anyone could interfere, Dimaria whisked Lucy away in the blink of an eye. Cana, her hands full with Romeo, could only scream out hysterically. There was no sight of where that Spriggan 12 member had taken the Celestial mage…

            “LUCY!!!”

            ~*~

            “Water Slicer!!!” Juvia screeched, wiping out another squad of soldiers. Gray, Lyon, and Meredy were fighting alongside her. As the Water mage prepared her next attack, she was shocked when all the water froze up. Turning to the other Ice mage in the group, Juvia glared heatedly at him. “Lyon!! Juvia does not appreciate your interference…!”

            Lyon held up his hands peacefully.

            “I-It wasn’t me, my love! I swear!” He wept tears as Juvia continued to glare at him disbelievingly.

            Gray narrowed his eyes as all of them felt a severe chill flood the area.

            “Come to think of it, this cold…”

            Meredy rubbed her arms as she hugged herself.

            “B-Brr… I’m freezing…”

            Juvia couldn’t help chuckle at Meredy’s words.

            “Th-That’s what you g-get for wearing a skimpy outfit like that…” She grinned even as Meredy pouted at her.

            The chill got so bad, the girls could feel their bodies begin to stiffen. And soon enough, their whole bodies did freeze over with a layer of ice, rendering them incapable of moving.

            “Meredy! Juvia!” Gray and Lyon called out in shock, whipping their heads between the two girls in shock and horror.

            A new figure approached the two Ice mages. He was unaffected by the cold that froze Fairy Tail mage and Alvarez soldier alike.

            “Oh? You two seem to be immune to this cold. Fascinating…” Invel mused as he stared down his remaining opponents.

            Gray growled, forming an Ice Make attack.

            “So, it’s you…!” However, before he could complete his attack, Invel struck Gray with his own variation of Ice Magic that proceeded to smash Gray into a wall. Gray attempted to get back up, but was pelted by large balls of hail that kept him pinned down. ‘This feeling…’

            “Gray…!” Lyon called out, getting into his own stance for Ice Make Magic, but Invel struck him down with Ice Magic as well. With the two Ishgar mages reeling from Invel’s swift onslaught, the Spriggan Shield spoke up once again.

            “You two may address me as Invel Yura. I am he who brings winter’s wrath to all! Your paltry chill is naught before my winter…”

            Lyon and Gray both winced as they glared down their enemy. Both of them were shivering as the temperature in the air dipped even more.

            ‘This man…!’ Lyon trailed off in disbelief.

            Gray gritted his teeth.

            ‘Me, of all people… He’s actually making me shiver from the cold… My body is… freezing solid…!’

            “Lyon…!” Gray called out in good faith as he stood up and ran forward. Lyon nodded stiffly and followed after him.

            Invel attempted to impede their progress, but Lyon managed to block the attack.

            “Ice Make: Shield!!!” A shield in the form of flower petals formed in front of the two of them, taking all the impact of Invel’s attack.

            Gray raised his fist high and brought it down on his open palm.

            “Ice Make… Ice Impact!!!”

            A giant ice formation was brought down on Invel, but the man was able to raise his arm in the air and stop its descent, freezing the whole construct. Gray and Lyon were shocked by this.

            “I see, Ice Molding Magic… No wonder you were able to withstand my cold…” The ice above him then began to crack.

            “My Molding Magic…!” Gray said with dismay. His attack then crumbled apart. “He froze and then shattered it?!”

            “I am the purest of Ice mages…” Invel revealed with a cold gaze. “I do not simply make toys out of ice. I use the very essence of ice itself to freeze all. Your derivative flailings could never hold a candle to me! I will break them as easily as I would a child’s plaything.”

            Gray narrowed his eyes as he raised his arm, showing off the black markings that soon overtook it.

            “Then how about this stuff? I inherited this power from my Old Man! The power to slay Devils… A power for defeating END itself…”

            Invel’s eyes widened as Gray surged forward, cutting through him with some ice blade.

            “Ice Devil’s Zeroth Long Sword!!!” Gray roared, generating an explosion from his single strike.

            Invel gnashed his teeth as he clutched his wound. Lyon looked on in wonder and respect.

            “This… This power… Devil Slayer Magic?!” Invel took deep, steady breaths. ‘He uses this power to mold ice weapons?! This power eats away at the soul. Those who hunt devils cannot long retain their sanity.’

            Invel scowled sternly, eyes narrowed into slits.

            “… You have my attention.” He approached Gray and touched the large sword Gray crafted, freezing it over and shattering it. Though this time, by shattering Gray’s attack, he conjured a blizzard that overtook a very large area of the battlefield.

            From within the Guildhall, Irene looked in the general direction of the explosion of Magic she felt go off outside.

            “I see you’re starting to finally take things seriously, Invel…” Irene hummed, not letting the battles outside distract her from extracting Fairy Heart.

            Outside, atop Kardia Cathedral, August narrowed his eyes as he observed the blizzard that had suddenly appeared. His eyes also panned over to Brandish, who had grown to the size of a giant in order to overwhelm two opponents – two swordswomen. As he feared, Invel’s ice collar had grown along with Brandish… He could not step in yet.

            From their respective places on the battlefield, Dimaria and Neinhart also observed the sudden blizzard with a cruel indifference.

            The worst of the blizzard was at the heart of it, where Gray and Lyon were confronting Invel.

            ‘It’s cold! Cold enough to freeze!’ Gray hissed as he thought to himself. ‘But…’

            “At one time, you would have had what it takes to stand beside me as a comrade…” Invel sighed, causing Gray to widen his eyes. “I fear you are unaware of it yourself, but… Your heart is slowly being tainted by darkness.”

            “Eh?!” Gray exclaimed.

            “What are you blathering on about?” Lyon demanded.

            “The powers of darkness are the seeds of Black Magic itself. Proof of the reality of the powers of the Emperor himself.” Invel explained. Gray did a double-take.

            “What the…? So you’re basically telling me you know that you’re the bad guys?”

            “Darkness is a fearsome power that resides in the hearts of all. Darkness is neither good nor evil.” Invel refuted. “Your darkness is on the brink of releasing itself into the world.”

            “You’re starting to make my ears bleed…” Gray growled, clenching his fists. “I ain’t trying to play Mr. Superhero over here either, you know. If it’s my family on the line, I’ll be as dark and black a villain as I need to in order to protect ‘em!”

            Invel’s face darkened at this heartfelt declaration.

            “Even if that is your opinion… I did say that at one time you could have stood at my side as a comrade… You lost that opportunity when you allowed END to kill His Majesty. The only fate that awaits you now is the grave…”

            Gray narrowed his eyes at the implications of Invel’s statements.

            “That so? Well, if you did your homework, the guy that killed Zeref was Natsu, not END. I figure you were there to see it yourself.”

            Invel glared back at Gray unyieldingly.

            “You are a fool. Etherious Natsu Dragneel is END. His Majesty created END for the sole purpose of killing him… If you had just snubbed that Dragon Slayer out of existence, your Guild would not have made this war so personal. Your deaths could have been quick and painless… But now I will make you feel every inch of agony as I tear the flesh from your bones…”

            Gray’s eyes widened at the revelation that Natsu was END, as did Lyon’s. They didn’t even have an inkling… But before that revelation could hit them with its full weight, Invel made a flourish with his arm, snapping two collars onto Gray and Lyon; the collars were connected to each other by an icy chain.

            “Gray…!” Lyon exclaimed, looking to him in alarm. ‘My body… won’t do what I tell it...!’

            “Lyon?!” Gray returned his distressed look. ‘What the…?! Everything’s going dark…’

            “Ice Lock.” Invel revealed. “A Magic that seals a person’s heart and makes them my willing puppets. You two will now fight to the death. You have zero say in the matter.”

            Gray trembled with rage.

            “What’d you just say?!”

            “This chain cannot be removed until one of you lies lifeless.” Invel stated coldly, not caring about the predicament he set them in.

            “There’s no way this crap could ever…!” Lyon hissed as he felt his mind going numb.

            “My head…!” Gray exclaimed.

            Invel clasped his hands behind his back as he observed the soon-to-be gladiators. His gaze was cruelly indifferent.

            ‘As I see it, the Devil Slayer will emerge victorious… The moment he kills his friend and ally, his darkness will fully awaken…’ Invel suddenly smirked. ‘Of course… I don’t care to make an ally out of him anymore. I just want to see his face of anguish before I slay him myself. To avenge Zeref… killing and traumatizing this man is absolutely critical.’

            Gray and Lyon’s feet slid along the ground as they unwillingly turned to face each other, preparing Ice Make attacks…

            ~*~

            “This is… much harder than I thought it would be…!” Kagura hissed as she clutched her bruised side. She and Erza had attacked Brandish to keep her from killing anyone else, but… in response to getting attacked, the woman had increased her size significantly.

            Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. Bigger size meant a bigger target, especially when that target wasn’t wearing armor… However, Brandish could control the mass of objects. That meant any injuries they inflicted could be shrunken down to the size of pinpricks…

            To put it in blunter terms. They were mosquitoes, trying to suck blood before getting squished… That was how much effect they were having.

            Erza slid down Brandish’s left arm, using a sword to slow her momentum and leave a big gash in her wake. Much to her dismay, though, the large slash shrunk in on itself like all other previous injuries on the Spriggan 12 member.

            “How about this, then…?!” Erza brought forth her Sea Empress Armor and swung her blade right at Brandish’s face, generating a large whirlpool that circled up toward her opponent. Mid-attack, Erza transitioned to her Lightning Empress Armor and channeled lightning into the whirlpool, aiming to hit Brandish in the face with a collaboration attack.

            Seeing Erza concentrate on the head, Kagura decided to aim for the stomach. Drawing Archenemy from its sheathe, Kagura made a broad swiping motion once she got close enough. The slashing attack unleashed the full cutting force of her blade, and it did indeed manage to leave a deep gash as a massive amount of blood leaked from Brandish’s stomach and guts. As a result of the pair of attacks, Brandish hacked up blood and stumbled backward, taking the full force of Erza’s combination attack without doing anything to counter it. As a result, there was an explosion around her head, and the giantess fell backward, crashing to the ground unceremoniously. Erza flew back to the ground with the aid of her Flight Armor, and together with Kagura glared down their fallen foe.

            “Nice hit, but she’s not going to stay down…” Kagura observed warily, holding up Archenemy again.

            “No, she’s not… She holds more Magic power than Master Makarov, so she’s not going to be taken down by just a few hits. We have to aim to kill, or she’s going to make a lot more people suffer…”

            Kagura tensed as she detected movement from the giantess. She was starting to get up again.

            “Lucy won’t be happy if we do end up killing her…”

            Erza adopted a stern expression, holding her sword out in front of her in a battle stance.

            “I won’t sugarcoat it… But we may have to kill her, to prevent any more senseless deaths. It would be a tragedy if she died… But it would be even worse if she lived to be a monster that slaughtered all of Fairy Tail. I know that would devastate Lucy even more.”

            Kagura couldn’t help nodding in agreement.

            “You’re right, of course…” She trailed off, unsure of what else to say. Erza smiled with a grim reassurance at her as Brandish used her arm to steadily raise her upper body into a sitting position.

            “Still, I’m sure it won’t come to that. We’ll find some way to bring Brandish to her senses, if something has indeed happened to her.”

            Kagura nodded again.

            “Right…” She blinked as she and Erza heard someone tossing off their cloak. Turning in the general direction of the noise, they spotted Makarov slowly walking toward Brandish.

            “You have shed the blood of my children, and that will not be forgiven… I will not allow you to lay a finger on them anymore…!” Makarov bellowed as he used his Titan Magic to grow in size to rival Brandish.

            “Master…!” Erza called out distressfully, seeing the giantess narrow her eyes at Makarov.

            “We should back him up. Between the three of us, we might be able to take her down!” Kagura advised. Erza clenched her sword tighter.

            “Right…!” With a burst of speed from the Flight Armor, Erza took off. Kagura trailing just behind her.

            She would not let Master Makarov die.

            “I don’t think so, Lady Erza…!” Neinhart exclaimed, blasting the scarlet knight off-course with some kind of strange power.

            “Erza!!” Kagura cried out distressfully. Erza shook her head and regained her bearings, glaring down the new foe in their way.

            “Kagura, you go assist Master Makarov! I can handle this one!”

            Kagura tensed. The more she looked at Neinhart, the more she got a bad feeling from that man…

            “I don’t like this…” Kagura made her opinion known. But Erza shook her head again.

            “Brandish is the bigger threat! Don’t let Master die…!” Erza yelled as she flew straight at the cackling Spriggan member. Kagura squeezed her eyes tight before she nodded begrudgingly, changing her course back to assisting Makarov.

            She would believe in Erza… She would. If Jellal could take out that man with one hit, Erza could manage the same!

            ~*~

            “Problem after problem today…!” Dimaria hissed, deactivating her separate space. The speeding man before her smirked as he paused for the briefest of moments.

            Racer smirked at the frustrated woman.

            “Ya don’t got much of an advantage if I can slow you down, huh?”

            Dimaria growled at the man’s impudence, bearing her dagger threateningly.

            “You won’t be saying that when I carve the skin off your flesh…!” The Time mage spat. “I had just wanted to kill off that woman that tainted Randi… But I guess I’ll have to end your life first!!!”

            Racer scratched under his chin thoughtfully.

            “Uh-huh… Well, I’m sorry to break it to ya, but you might wanna duck now.”

            Dimaria narrowed her eyes.

            “What…?” No sooner did she say that lone word than did the wall behind her crack and crumble apart, Jellal flying through the opening with Meteor fueling his movements. The blonde’s eyes widened right before he smashed into her, sending her flying through the next wall, where Cobra was waiting on the other side. Cobra brought his scaly arm down on the woman’s head, instantly stopping her momentum and smashing her into the ground, Poison Dragon Slaying Magic channeled into his hand.

            “You get it now?!” Cobra grinned as he pinned her down with his foot. “Just take a nap, and it’ll all be over…!”

            Dimaria moved to resist, but Cobra performed a backflip before crashing down on her face with his scaly fist, again channeling his Magic. He held the fist down for a few seconds, transferring poison into her body that would knock her out cold. Once Jellal confirmed with his own eyes that Dimaria was unconscious, Jellal moved to free Lucy from the chair she was tied to.

            “H-How’d you beat her…?!” The bewildered girl asked. Jellal just smiled grimly.

            “We’re using the full powers of Crime Sorciere… Erik can hear the enemy’s thoughts, learns their secrets, and we strategize from there. Sawyer was perfect for getting her to drop whatever Magic she had activated; the rest was up to us.”

            “Too bad she was beaten already…” Cobra lamented, getting off of Dimaria after tying her up. “The remaining Spriggan Shields ain’t gonna be a cakewalk like this one.”

            “At least we can count on those Fairies to take some of ‘em down, right?” Racer grunted.

            Lucy looked down in worry. Some of her Guildmates were dead because of Brandish, and she was concerned that her friends would want to kill Brandish in retribution. All she could hope for… was that whatever was afflicting Brandish got dealt with.

            Because she knew Brandish wouldn’t just kill her Guildmates… Not when she’d been willing to negotiate with August for them. Brandish had a good heart, Lucy knew she did. Brandish was loyal to her country, but she wasn’t blind to the damage they did to Ishgar.

            … So why did Lucy have a very bad feeling that events were going to get worse from here?

            ~*~

            Gray staggered away from Lyon as the chain link between them broke. The ice sword he’d most recently created… Lyon had sliced it in two with the spear he chose to create, and then… and then…

            “Why…? Why would you do that, Lyon?!” Gray whispered at first, before his voice rose into a desperate, shrill scream that only Invel heard. The dark-haired young man clutched both sides of his head, yanking out his hair as his friend’s… his brother’s… last words rang through his head.

            “If I had to choose which one of us lived, Gray… it would be you. That’s why, before my mind fades away completely, I’m going to end my life! With my own hands!” Cutting Gray’s sword clean in two, he smiled bitterly. “Ur wished for both of us to live… to not throw ourselves away… But that was rather hypocritical of her, don’t you think? She threw her life away because she could see no other solutions… And… I will be following in her footsteps. Just like I promised I would. All those years ago.”

            “LYON!!!!!” Gray cried out in anguish as Lyon drove the spear through himself. The silver-haired ice mage gave a bloody grin as he coughed up blood, his chest caked in it.

            “You’d better live a long, happy life, Gray… I’m… going on ahead to see Master Ur… and I don’t want you joining us just yet…” Having spoken his peace, Lyon lost his balance and fell forward, whispering but one more word. “Goodbye…”

            Landing on the ground, the spear was driven in further, ending Lyon’s live for certain. Gray’s anguished screams rent the air…

            Gray shook his head vigorously, still pulling at his hair. He didn’t want to believe it, but no matter how many times he blinked, Lyon did not rise again. He breathed heavily as memories of Ur resurfaced again. He almost didn’t register Invel’s cold, condescending voice.

            “Now you know a fraction of what it felt like to lose His Majesty… It was quite a shock that you almost attempted suicide yourself, but it seems your friend was looking out for you to the very end. But it’s of no consequence… I shall end you here and now, as you wallow in despair.”

            As he half-listened to those cruel words, something in Gray snapped. Rage bubbled up inside, and all he could think about was how much he wanted to see Invel dead on the ground, a mutilated corpse…

            Whipping around too fast for the blue-haired man to counter, Gray slugged him in the face hard enough to smash his glasses and send him flying back several meters into a wall. Invel looked up in shock at seeing the look of utter hatred pasted on Gray’s face. Shock melted away into grim understanding.

            ‘I see… He seems intent on forcing me to unleash that…’ Invel thought to himself. Focusing in on himself, he conjured an intricate armor of ice around himself. “True-Ice Kamui…!”

            Gray roared as he rushed Invel again, fist poised to deliver another brutal strike. Invel stood his ground without a shred of fear.

            “This is ice from the depths of the underworld itself… All things unlucky enough to graze it shall freeze instantly!” Gray’s fist collided with him, full force. “Even the likes of you… and your body’s immunity to ice… it matters not!! This unholy armor freezes anything and everything without fail!

            As Gray continued to mindlessly scream, even as his arm did indeed develop a layer of ice around it, Invel spoke in a condescending tone.

            “Be forever frozen in time… shatter to pieces!!!” However, Gray’s fist did, in fact, inflict massive damage to his armor as he was punched back several feet. Part of his face was now exposed, as was his whole right arm. Invel looked back at him, stunned. “Wha… This cannot be!! You’re… utilizing ice of the same property… and molding it?!”

            Gray held his fist up as he began casting another Spell.

            “You stole away Lyon’s future! And that’s unforgivable!!!” Gray charged Invel again, channeling more of the same Magic, albeit in a higher amount of concentration. “You’re the one who’s going to shatter to pieces, you son of a bitch! Ice Devil’s Zeroth Destruction Fist!!!!!”

            The punch this time was hard enough to shatter all of Invel’s armor, as well as a good number of bones and organs in his body. Invel hacked up blood midair before unceremoniously crumpling to the ground in a boneless heap. Instantly, the blizzard around them died down, and the people around them began to thaw. Gray walked up to him as he was sprawled out, defeated. Invel’s regal clothes were torn and shredded.

            “I can stand here… and pound away at you all day and night… It won’t bring Lyon back! He’s… never coming back…” Tears pricked at his eyes again, hands balling into fists.

            Invel could only stare up at the sky, feeling an immense emptiness within himself. He did not sympathize with Gray, nor did he regret a single action taken against Ishgar… What he did regret… was being unable to take revenge for Zeref’s death with his own two hands. He was defeated. Beaten within an inch of his life. His purpose was to destroy Ishgar… But now even that was slipping away from him. At this point, only Alvarez’s mightiest mages could fulfill his purpose, and he’d already alienated himself from one while the other was busy with extracting Fairy Heart…

            He could only hope… that they’d bought Irene enough time to finish her job. There was no telling what Brandish and August would do now that his coercion was at an end.