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Time is the Path to Strength	By : Repiece Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 47111 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 12
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Chapter 11: Natsu's Team VS Lyon's Team

"Why...?" Gray asked, his entire body shaking in fear as he looked up at the monster frozen in ice before him. "WHY IS DELIORA HERE?" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Natsu stared at Gray over his shoulder and frowned at his rival. Both Happy and Lucy cringed at his outburst. Both of them never heard Gray yell so loud before.

"G-Gray...? W-What's wrong?" Lucy asked. Gray gritted his teeth in anger. He glared at the monster with so much hate and anger that it almost felt like he was piercing a hole into the chest of the monster.

"I-Impossible! I-It can't be here!" He continued yelling, ignoring Lucy's question. He continued to shake in anger and fear. It just couldn't be possible. Why was Deliora here? He shouldn't be here. What the hell was going on?

"Gray...calm down..." Lucy tried to comfort him, but it wasn't working as he continued to shake. Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder and Gray started to settle down. He unclenched his fists slowly and took a deep breath. Once he was calm, he looked up at Deliora. "Gray...what is that thing anyway?"

"Deliora..." He told her with venom in his voice. "Devil of misfortune and disaster..."

"Devil of misfortune and disaster...?" Lucy tilted her head.

"It hasn't even changed one bit...what the hell is going...?" Gray muttered to himself. Lucy frowned at him and then heard voices behind her. She turned her head and saw shadows moving toward the large cave they were in.

"Someone's coming..." Lucy told the others. "We got to hide!" They all agreed and went into hiding as two people walked into the cave. One of the men looked like a tall lion and the other was shorter, man with very bushy eyebrows.

"Is it around here that you heard voices?" The man with bushy eyebrows asked and looked around to see if there was anyone in the cave.

"Ooooon." The other responded, looking around as well.

"Daytime...I'm sleepy..." The shorter man groaned.

"Oooon." The other responded again. The shorter man looked at him.

"Hey...did you get any Moon drip on you? You have ears and stuff." He asked.

"I DIDN'T! IT'S JUST DECORATIVE! YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT!" He shouted at him getting offended.

"I'm just teasing you idiot." He told him as the two walked around the cave again.

"Ooooon." The lion man responded.

"Moon drip? Did he mean the curse?" Lucy whispered after over hearing their conversation.

"Yuuka-san, Toby-san, I have some sad news." A third voice spoke as a female this time entered the cave.

"Sherry." The shorter man named Yuuka said.

"Ooooon." Toby responded to her arrival.

"Angelica was harassed by someone..." Sherry told them as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

"IT'S JUST A MOUSE!" Toby yelled at her.

"She's not just a mouse..." Sherry responded, lowering her hands to her stomach. "Angelica is a hunter that gallops the darkness...and love."

"Something is severely wrong about her." Lucy muttered, looking at Sherry like she was some kind of weirdo.

"They're not from this island...they're smell is different." Natsu told them as he laid his back against the rock he hid behind and placed his hands behind his head in a relaxed position.

"Yeah...and they don't seem to be cursed..." Happy added. "Although...I don't know about that ear guy though..."

"Intruders, eh?" Yuuka said and the others felt their hears skip a beat, except for Natsu, who looked like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Moonlight will gather soon...but how sad this is..." Sherry frowned and looked up to the ceiling of the cave. "We better hurry and get rid of them before Reitei-sama hears about this. Yes...before the moon shows herself..." She looked over to the two as they nodded.

"Agreed."

"Oooon."

"Since they have seen Deliora, we can't let them get back alive." Yuuka told his comrades.

"Eternal sleep to the intruders...in other words, 'Love'." Sherry responded in agreement in her own way.

"'DEATH!'" Toby yelled at them. "WE'LL KILL THEM!"

Team Natsu waited until they disappeared before coming out of their hiding spot. "Now what?" Happy asked the group.

"We wait." Natsu answered him and plopped down to the ground.

"Shit! Why the hell did they bring Deliora here?" Gray cursed under his breath. "I mean, how did they find where Deliora was sealed?"

"Sealed?" Lucy asked.

"It was in an iceberg on the northern continent." Gray told them. "It's an immortal demon that devastated the Isbin Area 10 years ago..." He then looked up at Deliora. "It's a demon that my magic teacher, Ur, sealed at the risk of her life." Lucy gasped and her eyes widened in shock. Happy did the same and Natsu simply stared at Gray. "I don't know how it's related to this island's curse...but this isn't something that should be here. Reitei...I don't know what you are doing, but I won't let you disgrace Ur's name!"

"B-But...do you think this monster has something to do with this island's curse?" Lucy asked.

"Possibly...the devil's still alive anyway." Gray answered her.

"Hey...what if I told you, I could melt that ice?" Gray made a noise in surprise and turned around to look at Natsu. Even Happy and Lucy looked at him in shock. Gray then glared at his rival.

"It's impossible...but that doesn't mean I won't kick your ass if you do something stupid!" Gray told him and glared as hard as he could at Natsu. Natsu stared back at him, unfazed by his glare.

"Whatever..." Natsu replied to his threat. "Besides, I doubt ice like that can be easily melted."

"Yeah..." Gray calmed himself down. "My teacher cast a spell called 'Ice Shell' on Deliora. It's an unmeltable ice that not even a tremendous flame magic could melt it. If they knew they can't melt it then why did they bring it here?" Gray wondered.

"Maybe they didn't know. Maybe they're trying to melt it somehow." Lucy commented.

"For what?" Gray gave her a glare as she cringed at his angry glare.

"I...I don't know..." Lucy stuttered in fear.

"Tch! I can't be myself." Gray turned away to look at Deliora again. "If I only knew why they brought Deliora here..."

"Why don't we just chase after those three?" Happy asked.

"Yeah." Lucy agreed.

"No. We wait." Gray told them. "We wait until the moon's up."

"What do you mean, Gray?" Lucy asked.

"I can't help thinking that everything, this island's curse, Deliora, is somehow connected to the 'moon'." Gray answered. "They said, 'The moonlight will gather soon'."

"I see...I guess all we can do is wait..." Lucy said and then looked over at Natsu. "What abo-" She stopped when she saw Natsu in the same meditating pose he was in back when Erza returned to the guild. She opened her mouth to call his name, but remembered that when he was like this, he won't answer to anyone. She sighed and then sat down on a flat rock. Gray did the same, but sat closer to Deliora.

'Ur...' He thought as he remembered his teacher.

Gray...can you handle it? My training is hard.

Yup! I can do anything!

"Ahhh! Even if we did agree to wait, it's still so boring." Lucy moaned in boredom.

"Aye!" Happy agreed, sitting down on the same rock Lucy was sitting on.

Lucy then had an idea. She reached down to her key ring and grabbed a silver key. She then pointed it forward. "Open! A door to the Lyre. Lyra!" A poof later, a stellar spirit, with a harp on her back, appeared and as soon as her eyes met Lucy's, she squealed.

"Kyaaah! I haven't seen you in ages, Lucy!" Lucy smiled at her stellar spirit.

"Hey." She greeted Lyra.

"Awww! You only summon me once in a while!" She squealed again.

"But I can only summon you like three times a month." Lucy sweat dropped at her excitement.

"Another weirdo." Happy commented in a low voice.

"Eeeehh? Is that so?" Lyra said and then sat down next to Lucy, reaching behind her for her harp and laid it on her lap. "So, what song would you want me to sing today?"

"Anything is fine." Lucy simply told her and as soon as Happy heard that this spirit could play songs, he jumped at the chance for her to play a song he liked.

"A fish song!" Happy cheerfully exclaimed.

"Yaay! Then I'll just sing something!" Lyra exclaimed in excitement.

"Lyra is really good at singing." Lucy told Happy. He looked at her with a disappointed look.

"Mira's good too. She sings fish songs for me." Lucy chuckled and sweat dropped at his disappointment. Lyra played her harp and then started singing. Lucy closed her eyes and let her stellar spirits beautiful voice take her in to a nice trance that made her body feel warm inside. Happy couldn't help but close his eyes as well. He didn't like the fact that the sing wasn't about fish, but it was fine. Gray looked down to the ground and rested his forehead on his connected hands. He listened to the song differently than the others and memories of the time he spent with his teacher resurfaced. Lucy opened her eyes and looked at Gray in time to see a tear escape his eyes as he shook.

"G-Gray?" Lucy's eyes widened at the tear.

"H-Huh?" Gray said turning his head to hide his face, but enough to be able to see Lucy. "What's up?" He asked like nothing was wrong.

"He cried..." Happy commented sadly.

"I'm sorry..." Lucy apologized. "I knew Lyra is good at singing about people's feelings..."

"Gray cried." Happy repeated.

"Urusai! I didn't!" He yelled at them and turned back around.

"Wah! Lyra, can you sing something more cheerful?" Lucy asked of her spirit.

"Eeeh? You should have told me so!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Wait! What would you do if someone comes? Just keep quiet." Lucy told her spirit.

As time went by, Lucy, Happy, Lyra and Gray fell asleep. Gray falling asleep sitting up. Natsu opened his eyes and saw everyone sleeping.

'Yosh...' He stood up and then looked over at Deliora. He stared at the monster before turning toward the pathway that the three weirdos went to. He quietly left the cave. When he reached the top, he looked around to see if the coast was clear. It wasn't. He stared at the person who was standing in front of the hole that the moonlight was going to go through. He wondered why there weren't any of those weird spell caster people around, but he assumed it was this person's responsibility. He then walked toward the person.

The person sensed Natsu's presence and turned around. "Oh? Who are you?" The person said, smirking at Natsu. Natsu glared at him. "Are you one of Reitei's men? I don't remember ever seeing you before."

"Cut the crap!" Natsu yelled. The person made a noise in surprise at his outburst. "I know who you really are. You're that women who asked about that guy...what was his name again..."

"Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about? As you can see, I'm a man."

"Oh? Then how about I beat you to a pulp...maybe then you will turn back." He told the person and punched his fist into his open hand.

"No need for violence..." The person chuckled. He chanted a spell and a blue circle appeared above him. The circle started descending down. Once the circle reached the ground, the person turned into a woman. "I'm impressed that you knew who I was." Ultear smirked at Natsu. "Although...I do wonder how you knew it was me."

"Your smell." Natsu answered. "The scent of your disguise and yourself was the same."

"Oh my...you're making me blush." Ultear giggled.

"What are you doing here?" Natsu asked.

"That is my business and my business only." She replied. "However, I would tell you if you tell me more about Zeref."

"I told you before...I don't know who this Zeref person is..." Natsu replied.

Ultear giggled. "I see...then why is it that I don't believe you." Natsu kept his poker face on. He couldn't make any type of movement that would signal her that he knew about Zeref.

"Don't know...but I really don't know this Zeref person. Is he like some old boyfriend of yours?" Ultear couldn't help but laugh. That surprised Natsu.

"My...that was a good joke, but no." Ultear giggled. She then suddenly appeared in front of Natsu. She leaned toward him and whispered something to his ear. "Don't interfere, Natsu-kun. You wouldn't like it when I'm angry." She giggled at the end and moved away from him. Natsu stared at her.

'What is with this woman...?' He wondered. "Sorry, but if anyone hurts my friends, I won't hesitate to beat them up." He glared at her.

"I see..." She closed her eyes and hid a smirk behind her sleeve. "Well then good luck, Natsu-kun." She said before she walked away. Natsu continued to glare at her until she was gone. He then sighed. He turned his head toward the hole and walked toward it. He leaned forward and looked down. He barely was able to see the ice that Deliora was frozen in.

"Who are you?" Natsu's eyes widened and he quickly turned around. His eyes met the man who he knew to be Gray's friend/fellow student, Lyon, although he was in disguise. Natsu cursed. He wasn't supposed to meet him until tonight, but he hung around too long.

"He must be one of those intruders." Yuuka said as he walked from behind Leon to his right.

"Intruders?" Lyon asked.

"Oooon." Toby answered yes in his own way, walking to Lyon's left.

"Could he also be the one who hurt Angelica?" Sherry clasped her hands together and frowned.

"IT'S A MOUSE!" Toby shouted at her.

"Enough!" Lyon yelled at the three as they stopped. "Who are you?" He asked Natsu again.

"I don't need to tell you." Natsu answered. Natsu made a mental note to kick himself for doing something stupid like this. He didn't plan on confronting them this early, but he didn't know when they were going to return and he should have thought of that before wandering off.

"How dare you talk like that to the Reitei-sama!" Sherry yelled at him.

"Enough, Sherry." Lyon told her. She looked at him with a frown before nodding her head.

"Sorry, Reitei-sama." Lyon stared at Natsu.

"I don't know what you are after, but I assume you are from a guild that those villagers contacted." Leon said.

"Maybe...maybe not..." Natsu replied.

"Your irritating." Lyon said annoyed. "Yuuka, Toby...deal with him." He ordered them.

"Hai, Reitei-sama." Yuuka said.

"Oooon!" Toby roared and charged first at Natsu. Natsu watched him and waited for the right moment. When it came, he stepped to the side and Toby ran past him and was now hovering over the hole. "Huh?" Toby blinked and then looked down. He started to sweat. "OOOOONNNNNN!" He yelled as he fell down the hole.

'What an idiot...' Natsu sweat dropped at his stupidity.

"That idiot..." Yuuka growled in frustration.

"So...you're next, right?" Natsu smirked, motioning Yuuka to come at him.

"How dare you underestimate me..." Yuuka glared at him. He raised his hands and created two orbs on them. "Wave Bullets!" He shouted and shot out several wave bullets at high speed at Natsu. Natsu didn't move and simply slapped all of his bullets away like they were pesky flies. Yuuka eye's widened at this and gritted his teeth in anger.

"He's strong..." Lyon commented. Sherry frowned and held her hands closer to her chest.

"Damn you..." Yuuka growled at him, but remained his composure. He shot more wave bullets at Natsu and this time, the pink haired dragon slayer dodged his bullets while quickly running toward Yuuka. When Yuuka saw what he was doing, he continued shooting his bullets at Natsu, tempting him to continue getting closer to him. He smirked as he thought Natsu brought the bait and raised his hand. "Wave Shield!" A magical shield appeared in front of Yuuka. Natsu didn't care about the shield and threw a fist at it. 'Fool...'

'Like I'm going to fall for that...' Natsu smirked, igniting his elbow to give his punch more pop. Yuuka's eyes widened as Natsu's fist went through his shield and then connected with his cheek with so much force that it sent Yuuka flying past Lyon and Sherry and into a rock behind them.

"Looks like I have to do this myself..." Lyon said.

"Wait, Reitei-sama..." Sherry stopped him. "You don't have to get your hands dirty on someone like him. Let me do it, in the name of 'love'."

"No...he's too strong for you..." Lyon told her and she blushed.

'Reitei-sama...you care...' She put her hands on her cheeks to feel how warm they were. She misunderstood the meaning behind his words.

"I don't know who you are, but from the mark on your shoulder, it seems your a mage of Fairy Tail, correct?" Lyon asked.

"Yeah..." Natsu nodded his head. "But that also means that you're an enemy of Fairy Tail now and that is the biggest mistake you ever made!" He glared at Lyon, who cringed slightly, but did his best to stay calm and collective.

"Fine then...prepare yourself..." Lyon told him.

"OOOOOOONNNNNNNN!" Toby screamed as he fell down the hole. He then hit his head right on top ice that froze Deliora, sending a large shiver run down his spine. Normally, he would be dead, but since this is an anime, he tipped over and fell to the ground in front of Deliora. His loud voice, plus the loud sound that was made with his head hitting against the ice and finally the thud that came after, woke the rest of Team Natsu up.

"W-Wha...what was that sound?" Lucy asked getting up and rubbing her eyes awake.

Gray stood up and looked around the cave before he spotted an unconscious Toby in front of Deliora. "W-Wha...?" He asked confused.

"Huh? W-Where's Natsu?" Happy asked, looking around for his friend. Lucy and Gray all looked at the spot they last saw Natsu and saw that he was indeed gone. Then, the sound of a large explosion was heard above them as the cave shook from it's impact.

"What was that?" Lucy wondered, looking up.

"I don't know, but let's go!" Gray responded and rushed toward the pathway Natsu used.

"Ah! Wait for us!" Lucy called after him and both she and Happy followed Gray.

"Ugh..." Lyon groaned as Natsu's fist broke the ice shield he made to defend himself with. 'Damn this bastard...' He cursed mentally and started panting.

"Reitei-sama..." Sherry watched in worry that the person she was in love with have difficult time with Natsu.

"Come on...is that all you got..." Natsu snickered. He knew that he wasn't the person to defeat Lyon. It was Gray and it will be Gray. Why not have some fun for a while? No harm in that right?

"You bastard..." Lyon growled and clenched his fist tightly. "Ice Make: Wolf!" He shouted and a ice made wolf shot out from his fist toward Natsu. Natsu smirked and ignited his fist.

'Let's see if I can melt his ice after what happened last time...' Natsu punched the ice wolf in the face and within seconds, the ice started to melt. Lyon's eyes widened in shock as the ice that traveled from his fist melted into water, leaving behind a long line of water on the ground. 'Yosh! It was a success!' Natsu grinned.

"Natsu!" Natsu turned his head to see his three comrades running toward him.

"Yo! What's up?" He grinned at them and raised a hand to greet them.

"You idiot!" Lucy yelled at him and smacked him over the head.

"Ow!" He put his hands on the spot where she hit him. "What did you do that for?"

"Weren't you the one who told us that we should wait?" Lucy pointed a finger at him.

"Huh? I thought Gray said that?" He replied, crossing his arms and tilted his head to the side.

"Natsu...who's that?" Happy asked, pointing his paw at Lyon.

"He's the one who's trying to revive Deliora." Natsu answered and just as he expected, Gray clenched his fists tightly and glared at him furiously.

"So...it's you..." Gray growled.

"It's been a while...Gray." Lyon responded. Gray's eyes widened at the familiar voice.

"You...is it really you...Lyon?" Lyon chuckled and removed his helmet. Gray's eyes widened even further.

"L-Lyon...why are you...?" Gray shook in disbelief.

"How long has it been...Gray?" Lyon spoke, smirking at Gray.

"Lyon!" Gray suddenly shouted. "Why are you trying to revive Deliora?" Lucy cringed at the volume of his voice.

"I never expected the townspeople to call the very same guild that you are affiliated with...do you know about this or is it a coincidence? Oh well...not like it matters..." Lyon ignored Gray's question. He then turned to Sherry. "Sherry...I want you to go obliterate the town." This earned sounds of surprise from Team Natsu, except for Natsu.

"Anything for you, Reitei-sama..." Sherry smiled at him. With that, she started heading sown the path to the village.

"W-Wait! Why are you going after the village?" Lucy shouted. "They have nothing to do with this!"

"On the contrary...anyone who is a threat to my plans should be obliterated and that's that." Lyon told her.

"So cruel..." Lucy muttered, feeling angry.

"Happy..." Happy turned to Natsu. "Take Lucy and go after her." Lucy made a sound in surprise. Happy didn't question him.

"Aye!" he saluted and then grabbed Lucy by her shirt and started flying off, after Sherry.

"Ah! Wait a minute! Why am I...?" Natsu grinned at her and waved his hand.

"Good luck in your fight!" He shouted.

"Huh? F-Fight? W-Wait a minute!" Lucy shouted and then she and Happy were gone, leaving only Gray and Natsu with Lyon.

"So...it's going to be a two on one fight..." Lyon muttered his observation.

"Nah...just you and Gray..." Natsu replied, taking a seat on the ground. Both Lyon and Gray looked at Natsu in surprise.

"Natsu..." Gray muttered his name.

"What? Don't you have some beef against this guy? Get on with it." Natsu told him. "I enjoy watching a good fight. Besides...if it gets boring I could always look at the sunset."

Gray wasn't sure if he should thank him or hit the crap out of him. Either way, he was grateful that Natsu was going to let him handle his own business with Lyon. He smirked and then glared at Lyon. "I won't let you do this...Lyon!"

"Hmph...your friend is making a big mistake...Gray..." Gray cocked an eyebrow at his words. It was then he remembered that Lyon's ice magic can freeze anyone in it's range. Gray could feel the cold magic around him. He panicked and turned to Natsu to warn him.

"Natsu...what...huh?" Gray blinked in surprise. Lyon's eyes widened in shock.

"What?" Natsu tilted his head to the side.

"Y-You're n-not frozen..." Gray muttered.

"No...why? Should I be?" He tilted his head to the side.

"Impossible..." Lyon muttered under his breath. "No flame can unfreeze my ice magic..."

Gray started walking toward Natsu. As he got closer, he felt the temperature get warmer. Gray realized that he was heating himself up with his magic to keep himself from freezing, but there was no way his flame magic could easily melt Lyon's. When he got really close, he couldn't believe how hot it was. He could literally feel his own skin melting. He quickly jumped away from Natsu. 'Damn...how much heat is he emitting from his body...no wonder Lyon's ice magic didn't freeze him.'

"I don't know what is going on...but I can't let you interfere with my plans!" He yelled and clenched his fist tightly. He slammed his hand down on the ground as shards of ice popped out of the ground. The ice headed toward Gray and he retaliated with the same attack. It wasn't as big or strong as Lyon's, but it did stop his attack. Both of them continued to apply more of their magic into the attack until the pressure was too much and the ice broke into many pieces.

"Lyon!" Gray yelled as soon as he was able to see Lyon. "Your not Ur's student anymore!"

Lyon chuckled in amusement. "Same goes for you...Gray."

"Ur isn't alive anymore..." He shook in anger. "SHE LOST HER LIFE IN ORDER TO SEAL DELIORA! YOU'RE TRYING TO DESTROY WHAT UR LEFT US!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Lyon wasn't fazed by his outburst.

"Don't fool your own memory...you killed Ur, Gray." Lyon corrected him and Gray shook violently at his words. "How could you live like that?" Natsu stared at Lyon. He didn't know exactly what happened with Gray and his teacher, but from what he understood from Lucy when she told him, Ur used some magic that turned her into the ice that Deliora was frozen in. He didn't quite get it, but he got gist of it. "It's presumptuous enough to even say your name." Before Gray could blink, Lyon shot out a large block of ice at Gray. The attack connected with Gray and sent him through a broken piece of stone.

Gray sat up and looked at Lyon in disbelief. "L-Lyon..."

"What's wrong? Do you feel guilty that you won't fight back? If that's the case, then I ask you not to get in my way. I'll revive Deliora." Lyon said. Gray glared at him.

"I won't let you!" He yelled back and stood up.

"That's the spirit! Now...let's have a match. It's been a while." Lyon smirked. "Ice Make: Eagle!" He pointed his hand at Gray and ice eagles flew toward Gray.

"Ice Make: Shield!" Gray created a shield to defend against the several ice eagles. However, the ice eagles changed direction and flew either above, to the sides or behind Gray and struck him. Gray covered himself with his arms to decrease the amount of damage dealt to him and then ran away to avoid any more damage. He rolled on the ground and then placed his hand on the palm of his free hand. "Ice Make: Hammer!"

Lyon looked up and saw a hammer made out of ice appear above him. The hammer descending down to him and Lyon raised his hand above him. "Ice Make: Ape!" A large ice ape was formed behind him and blocked the hammer. The hammer broke into pieces. "You're still using two hand to form your magic...you're pathetic."

"It's Ur's teaching." Gray responded as he stood up. "One-handed molding is incomplete and not balanced."

"I'm special." Lyon told him. "I've surpassed Ur's power long ago."

"Don't think to highly of yourself..."

"I should return those words to you...were you even able to hit me once?" Lyon asked as Gray gritted his teeth in anger.

"I'm not the same as I used to be!" Gray informed him and slammed his fist into his other hand. "Ice Make: Geyser!" Gray slammed both his hands down to the ground. Out from the ground, several shards of ice popped out and attacked Lyon.

"Same old, same old." Gray's eyes widened in shock as his attack broke into pieces and Lyon came out from the attack unharmed. "I was the senior pupil, and I was stronger than you. I could mold one-handed, but you couldn't. Nothing has changed. Even our paths differ, time has been frozen since then." He raised his arm and pointed it at Gray. "Ice Make: Dragon!" Gray's eye's widened as the ground erupted in a small geyser of ice and then a dragon made of ice appeared blowing Gray away.

"Gah!" Gray screamed in pain. He fell to the ground with a thud and then sat up to stare at Lyon.

"That is why I'm melting the ice; in order to start walking on the path that was blocked." Lyon continued.

"Don't be stupid! There is now way to melt that ice!" Gray yelled at him.

"Moon drip." Lyon responded. Gray blinked at him in confusion. "That is what I'm using. It's the only thing that can be used to melt that ice. I have been waiting for this day a long time...Gray. Ur was always my goal. It was my dream to surpass her. However, you ruined my dream. I thought it'd be impossible to surpass Ur now. But I realized that there is another way. By defeating Deliora, the monster that even she couldn't beat...then I can surpass her. I can continue dreaming."

"You're insane! You should know yourself how deadly and powerful Deliora is! It's impossible!" Gray yelled at him.

Lyon's eyes widened in surprise at his words. Soon, anger enveloped him and he summoned a large wave of ice that shredded the clothes off of Gray and delivered several cuts on his chest. Natsu's eyes widened. Soon, the nightmare from last night resurfaced. Gray's body laying there, covered in blood. The mental image itself was enough to make Natsu so angry that he wanted to rip apart Lyon. However, he restrained himself. He couldn't do that. This was Gray's fight and he had no right to interfere. Then again...he didn't care about that the last time...so why didn't he do so now?

"Don't 'impossible' me..." Lyon growled in anger. "Back then...we told you the exact same words..." He continued despite Gray's cries of pain. "Don't tell me you forgot." He yelled and pointed his hand at him again. Suddenly, a large burst of magic erupted around Gray, dealing more damage to his body. "You have no right to mention Ur's name! Vanish!" Gray groaned as he bled from the cuts he received from Lyon's attacks and then collapsed to the ground. "Die!" Lyon finished as he stared down at Gray's unconscious form. He then turned to Natsu. He flinched slightly at the cold, hard glare he was giving him. "W-What's with that glare? You should have helped him."

"This is a fight between you two...I have no right to intervene..." Natsu told him. "Then again...you hurt one of my nakama...you hurt a nakama from the guild I love...even though it's Gray...I can't forgive you..." Natsu growled, doing his very best not to jump at him and tear him apart.

Lyon didn't know how to respond to that. He looked up and saw that the fight took longer than he expected and it was already dark out. He then turned back to Natsu. He was about to tell him to move, but thought better not to anger him anymore than he already is. He cursed under his breath. He wanted to continue using moon drip, but he saw that Natsu wasn't going to move from his spot. He could have attacked him...but something was pulling him back in his decision. "I don't know who you are, but don't interfere...or otherwise...I'll do the same to you that I did to Gray..." With that said, he left.

Natsu watched as Lyon walked away until he didn't see him anymore. Natsu sighed and stood up up. He walked over to Gray and looked down at him. "Damn...you suck..." He chuckled at his taunt. He then picked Gray up, carried him over his shoulder and headed down the mountain toward the village.

Meanwhile, on the ocean outside of Garuna Island...

"W-Why are you going to that island for?" A pirate with a pig nose asked the red haired woman behind him.

"Just navigate." She told him with a stern voice that made him cry in fear.

"Pardon me..." He stuttered. "Garuna Island is the cursed island...I heard humans turn into devils there..."

"I'm not interested..." She replied, unfazed by his words that would make others turn tail and run. "I'm going to punish anyone who breaks the rules." Erza told him. "Simple as that." The pirate gulped and turned back around to steer the ship. Erza stared at the ocean in front of her, hoping she could get to the island as soon as possible. 'Natsu...please don't use that...you promised me...so please don't...'

"Get back here!" Lucy and Happy both shouted as Sherry ran from them.

"I won't stop...in the power of 'love'." Sherry told them.

"Stop saying that!" Lucy yelled at her. She then looked up at Happy. "Happy can you get in front of her."

"Aye!" Happy nodded and increased his speed. He managed to get in front of Sherry and then descend downward to stop her in her tracks.

"Hold it right there!" Lucy told her, pointing a finger at her.

"You fell into Angelica's trap."

"Huh?" Lucy blinked at her in confusion. Suddenly, the giant mouse that Natsu knocked out appeared behind her. Lucy's body shook in fear and turned her head around to stare wide eyed at the mouse. The mouse growled at her and without a moment's hesitation Lucy and Happy ran. "Kyaaahhh!" Lucy screamed as the mouse stormed through the jungle, taking down trees and plants alike that were in Angelica's path.

Sherry, who was riding on Angelica's shoulder, watched in amusement. "This is wonderful, Angelica. Squash them so that Reitei-sama would be pleased with my work." Lucy had to think of something. She knew she couldn't run forever. She jumped over a large root that went from one tree to the other and when Angelica tried to run through it, she wasn't able to break it and tripped. "Kyaah!" Lucy continued to run until she heard the scream and thud and then stopped. She turned around and saw Angelica on the ground face first. This was her chance.

"Open! A door to the Bull! Tauros!" She took Tauros' key and summoned him.

"Mooooo!" Tauros cried his battle cry and raised his axe in the air.

"Tauros! Quick! Attack that giant mouse so that it doesn't get back up!" Lucy ordered her stellar spirit. Tauros roared and did as he was told. He jumped in the air and then slammed his hooves down on Angelica's stomach. Angelica spat out saliva before falling into unconsciousness. Sherry watched Lucy's stellar spirit take out her beloved Angelica and felt anger build inside her. "Way to go, Tauros!" Tauros turned his head to look at Lucy and his eyes turned into hearts.

"Anything for your breast...Lucy-san!"

"Would you stop that?" Lucy yelled at him for the perverted comment.

"Pervert." Happy added, deciding not to congratulate him after hearing what he said.

"You..." The three of them turned their heads to Sherry angrily glaring them. Tears fell from her eyes. "Thank you for all you have done...girlie. Now...Reitei-sama's confidence in me has dropped. I WON'T BE LOVED ANYMORE!"

"Again with the love thing..." Lucy sweat dropped.

"On top of that...you did this to Angelica...I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!" Sherry yelled at Lucy.

"Bring it on!" Lucy told her, standing her ground. "Tauros! Go!" Lucy told her spirit and he roared. He took a few steps before turning around to look at Lucy. "W-What?" Lucy asked and then her eyes widened when Taurus swung his axe at her. She quickly dodged her spirit's axe. "Kyaaah!"

"Stellar Spirits are unfortunate to meet me..." Sherry told her.

"W-What? Tauros! What are you doing?" Lucy asked as he swung his axe at her again. She dodged again and Happy flew to the air to avoid getting hit.

"Moooo!" Tauros roared again. He then grabbed Lucy around her neck and slammed her to the ground. Lucy groaned in pain as her back hit the ground. She opened one of her eyes to look at Tauros. "W-W-What are you doing...?"

"My magic, 'Doll Play Attack' is a magic that can control anything but humans. That applies to Stellar Spirits since they're not humans as well." Sherry explained as she motioned her hands like she was playing with a puppet.

"You..." Lucy muttered, trying to get Tauros' off of her.

"Now then...strip her clothes off." Sherry ordered Tauros.

"With pleasure!" He exclaimed in excitement.

"Are you really being controlled?" Lucy yelled at him, doing her best to prevent him from stripping her.

"Pervert." Happy commented as he watched from the sky above.

"Why don't you help me, you flying cat!" Lucy yelled at Happy.

"I'm moo-st sorry about this...Lucy-san...but I can't control my body..." Tauros told her. He continued to shred her clothes.

"Close! A door to the bull!" Lucy shouted hoping she could do a force closure, but it didn't work.

"Oh? Doesn't it require for both the mage and spirit to close the gates? You cannot close it one-sidedly." Sherry told her, but Lucy ignored her and continued yelling to close the door. No matter how much she tried she just couldn't do it. However, she didn't stop.

"Close the door, Tauros!" She yelled.

"So...I guess this is the level of a mage from Fairy Tail." Sherry mocked and it angered Lucy. She then yelled at the top of her lungs.

"CLOSE! A DOOR TO THE BULL!" To both Lucy's and Sherry's surprise, Tauros' disappeared. Lucy couldn't believe she did it. She raised her hands and looked at them. "I can't believe I did it. A forced gate closure. I actually managed to do it!"

"It can't be possible...I didn't know you could do something like that...I miscalculated..." Sherry said in disbelief. Lucy turned her hand around and stared at the mark of Fairy Tail. She then grinned.

"Yup! I'm a member of Fairy Tail too and I can feel myself getting stronger!" She took out her whip and stared at her opponent. She then reached for her key ring. "Let's see...I still have other spirits in my disposal..." Lucy then reached for a silver key. "Open! A door to the lesser dog! Plue!" With a poof, Plue appeared.

"Puuun!" Plue cried as his body shook as usual.

"That won't work!" Sherry smirked. "Doll Play Attack: Puppeter!" Plue was now in Sherry's control as he winded his arm and charged at Lucy. Sherry watched in disbelief as Plue only pounded his paw against her leg. Lucy smirked.

"You fell for it!" She told her opponent and attacked her with her whip. Sherry gritted her teeth and jumped back to avoid the whip and then canceled her control over Plue. Plue returned to normal, but Sherry already initiated her next attack. "Doll Play Attack: Rock Doll!" In an instant, the rocks around her began forming into a giant rock monster. Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief at the new problem she had to deal with. The rock monster attacked Lucy by slamming his fist down at her. Lucy ran again.

'What is this? Do I even have a stellar spirit that can take this thing on?' She wondered and because of that, she tripped and fell to the ground. She groaned in pain and then look forward to see the sea. The sea. 'Ah! I can use her!' Lucy thought of an idea and quickly stood up. The rock monster roared behind her and Lucy reached for a golden key this time.

"You have no where to run...girlie. Even if you do summon a spirit, I will only control it and use your own spirit against you." Sherry reminded her.

Lucy ignored her and then summoned her spirit. "Open! A door to the water bearer! Aquarius!" Aquarius appeared through her normal fashioned way.

"W-What? Aquarius! You have a spirit as strong as her!" Sherry yelled in shock.

"Tch." Aquarius rolled her eyes at Lucy.

"You've got a bad attitude as always! Can you just finish her off?" Lucy yelled at her spirit while pointing at Sherry and her rock monster.

"Ah! It's the mermaid..." Happy commented as he was now flying next to Aquarius. She looked over to him.

"It's a flying blue cat...tch..." Happy gawked at her. "You're annoying as always." She redirected it toward Lucy. "That's why you never can get a boyfriend."

"That's none of your business!" Lucy yelled back.

"Tch...I wonder if you'll ever summon me when you have a boyfriend..." Aquarius muttered. "What about that pink haired guy I hear you're always around with?" Lucy blushed.

"T-That's...-Natsu is...WOULD YOU JUST FINISH HER OFF?" She stuttered before yelling at her again.

"Doll Play Attack: Puppeteer!" Sherry used her powers to control Aquarius. Sherry then chuckled. "Hehe...now you can't use Aquarius anymore. Make her go home at once."

"Sorry, but...she's my trump card!" Lucy smirked.

"Then go away and scatter with that sea power! Aquarius! Attack her!" Sherry ordered her now controlled spirit.

"Huh?" Aquarius asked. "I WOULD DO THAT EVEN WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION!" She roared and summoned her water to attack everyone.

"AAAHHHHH!" Sherry, Lucy and Happy all screamed as Aquarius' power started washing them away into a tidal wave.

"Tch! All of you are idiots..." Aquarius told them and then disappeared. Both Lucy and Sherry stood up after her attack and felt extremely dizzy. They started walking toward each other like two drunk girls as Happy laid on the sand, his eyes as two swirls going round and round.

"Aquarius...always does stuff like this...attacking both enemy and ally..." Lucy told Sherry.

"I-I was careless..." Sherry replied as the two tried their best to stay balanced, but they were still dizzy. "But see...she still couldn't defeat my rock doll..."

"So what? The doll can only move when it is manipulated by someone...so if I keep you dizzy and staggered like this...there is no problem..." Lucy replied, chuckling a bit at the end. The two of them then started slapping each other while still being dizzy. "This is a Fairy Tail mage..."

"I can't believe I settled you with a tie..." Sherry replied.

"A tie? No way! This is my win!" Lucy countered.

"What are you talking about? You're staggering too!" Sherry told her.

"Then how about..." Lucy closed her eyes to get her head steady. "...this!" She then clothesline Sherry.

"N-No...I can't lose..." Sherry groaned as the rock monster began crumbling. "Even if the candle of my life will be blown out...my love for Reitei-sama won't change..."

"You won't die! You're exaggerating!" Lucy told her, looking at Sherry with one eye.

"Angelica...avenge me..." Sherry said her final words before she fell to the ground unconscious.

"Chuuu!" Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she turned her head around to see the giant rat jumping out of the jungle.

"Eh? N-No way..." Lucy dropped to her knees and couldn't move her legs to get out of the way. Lucy looked up and her eyes widened in horror. Lucy closed her eyes and covered her body with her arms to protect herself. Only one name entered her mind at this moment. 'Natsu!'

"You damn mouse!" Lucy's eyes widened as she looked up just in time to see Natsu hit Angelica away from Lucy.

"Natsu!" Lucy couldn't help but shout in joy the name of her savior. However, it didn't last long before she noticed that Natsu swung Gray's motionless body at Angelica like a staff. Her eyes widened in complete shock. Angelica crashed into the jungle so hard that she fell into unconsciousness again instantly. Gray crashed onto the sand on his back and let out a groan of pain at being used like a weapon.

"What the hell did you do that for, you asshole!" Gray shouted at Natsu before coughing up blood and then losing the ability to argue any longer with the pink haired dragon slayer.

"What? That was the only way for me to save Lucy." Natsu told him.

"Thank you...Natsu..." The dragon slayer looked at her and grinned.

"No problem!" Lucy blushed and he helped her up.

"Where's Happy?" Natsu asked, looking around for his feline friend.

"Ah! Oh no! I forgot about Happy!" They both looked around for the blue cat. When they found him, his eyes were still swirling around.

"What happened to him?" Natsu asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Hehe...I'm sure it was nothing..." Lucy giggled nervously, knowing it was her fault Happy was like this. She then turned her head to Gray. "Is Gray okay?"

"Yeah...he'll be fine...we should head back to the village though..." Natsu told her and then picked up Happy. He handed Lucy Happy and then walked over to Gray. He picked him up over his shoulder and turned back to Lucy. "Let's go!" Lucy nodded her head and they headed back to the village.

"Why didn't you finish that brat named Gray...Reitei-sama?" The small man who was really Ultear asked Lyon.

"No particular reason..." He answered looking up at Deliora. "You should know that I don't prefer blood."

The man chuckled and turned around. "Even so...you didn't hesitate to order your comrades to kill the villagers. I guess you still have a soft spot for your fellow student."

"Nonsense!" Lyon said loudly as the man walked toward Lyon and stood next to him. "I've beaten him so badly; he wouldn't dare oppose me...but if he thinks about trying to stop me again...I won't hesitate to kill him."

"Oh? Really?" The small masked man chuckled.

"Looks like we're here." Natsu told Lucy as she nodded her head in agreement. "Oi! Open up!" Natsu shouted to the guards.

"Ah! It's you guys! Why didn't you tell us that you had another member of your guild coming?" One of the guards told them. Natsu smirked knowing who it was, while Lucy raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Huh? But we didn't know..." Lucy muttered as the gate began opening. As soon as the village came into view, Lucy's eyes widened at the woman standing. The red haired woman didn't look very happy.

"E-E-Erza..." Lucy stuttered her name as Erza glared at the group.

"You...idiots!" She yelled at them. Lucy shook in fear. She did not want to feel the wrath of the strongest woman in Fairy Tail. Natsu only grinned stupidly.

"Yo! How's it hanging...Erza?"

To Be Continued...
- 10
- 11
- 12
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Time is the Path to Strength