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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
- 12
- 13
- 14
Chapter 13: Natsu's Decision

"NATSU!" Erza screamed as she watched her comrade fall to the ground. She took off, running toward the pink haired dragon slayer, who obliterated the monster Deliora with an attack she couldn't even describe in words. However, the thing that worried her was the fact that he used that technique again. She knew that if he didn't use that technique, Deliora would have probably destroyed not only this island, but also wreak havoc all over the country. She knew he had no choice, but it didn't change the fact that he used a technique that was slowly killing him. Not only that, but she saw him transform both his arms. 'Natsu…' She thought as she ran through the forest. She had this strange feeling that she hoped wasn't true. Was Natsu dying faster when he transformed more of his body? She didn't know if this was true or not, but…she hoped to whatever God or deity out there that it wasn't.

When Erza finally came out of the forest, her eyes widened at the large crater that was created after Natsu's attack. She was speechless. However, she snapped herself out of her trance and looked around for any sign of her comrade. She spotted him in the center of the crater, his back on the ground, and jumped down. She slid down the large slope and then sprinted toward Natsu once she reached the bottom. "Natsu!" She screamed. She fell to her knees next to him and started shaking him. "Natsu! Wake up!" He didn't. He stayed motionless, but Erza saw his chest moving. She sighed in relief. He was still alive. 'Thank goodness…' She thought in relief. She looked around to try and find something she could use to get Natsu out of the crater, but it was useless. She cursed and looked down at him. She sighed once more before grabbing his arm and swinging it over her shoulder. She placed her hand on his waist and then started moving forward. 'You're heavy…Natsu…' She thought, but smiled at him. 'You really have become stronger…but…I didn't think you would go to this length to do it…'

"Erza! Natsu!" Erza raised her head to see Lucy waving at her and Natsu. Erza sighed in relief that she was able to find the others. After barely managing to carry Natsu out of the crater, she wandered into the forest, trying to find either the village or the others. Luckily for her, she found one of the two. "Is Natsu okay?" Lucy asked, frowning at the Dragon Slayer's unconscious form, as Erza was able to make it to the blond mage.

"Yeah…he's fine…just unconscious…" Erza told her. Lucy sighed in relief. "Where are the others?"

"Over there!" Lucy pointed to Gray, Lyon and Happy all sitting around some rocks. Erza nodded and with help from Lucy, the two carried Natsu over to the others.

"Oi, is he alright?" Gray asked as he looked at Natsu.

"Natsu! Please be okay! Speak to me!" Happy cried, flying in front of Natsu.

"He's fine, Happy." Lucy told him. "He's only sleeping."

"Huh? Sleeping? I see! Silly Natsu!"

"Let's set him down." Erza told Lucy. The Celestial Mage nodded and helped the scarlet knight lay Natsu down against a boulder.

"Ne...how the hell did Natsu defeat Deliora? Even Ur couldn't do it." Gray asked, looking at Natsu.

"It's that new technique of his." Erza was the one to answer him. "Dragon Metamorphosis."

"What the hell is that?" The ice mage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You saw it didn't you...the way Natsu's arms looked." Gray nodded.

"Yeah...it was creepy looking..." He responded with a look of disgust.

"Well, that's what he learned during the two years he was away." Erza told him.

"I see...but why is it that I never heard of it?" Lucy asked.

"It's because it's lost magic." The group turned to Happy.

"Oi...isn't that also forbidden magic?" Gray replied.

Happy nodded. "Aye...but the Magic Council never banned anyone from using it."

"Huh? Why?" Lucy asked.

"The person who taught Natsu how to use it said that Dragon Metamorphosis was a technique that disappeared about the same time that the Black Mage Zeref died." Happy explained.

"Zeref? Just who is he?" Lucy asked. She heard the name before, but there was so little books about him that she didn't know who exactly he was.

"He's an evil mage that lived about 400 years ago. They say his powers were so evil that he was not only the strongest mage of his time, but also the worst. He used his own magic to kill others and caused other destruction." Erza answered her. "Master told me about how evil he was and from the stories he told me, Zeref was a despicable man." Lucy slight shrieked at the glare she had on.

"By the way Happy...who is this so called teacher that you and Natsu met?" Gray made a noise in surprise at the reaction he got from Happy. The blue cat's entire body shook in fear.

"T-T-That man...h-he's evil..." Happy cried, hugging himself.

"I s-see..."

"I don't mean to butt in or anything..." The group turned to Lyon. He looked back at them from his seat on the ground. "...If I recall correctly, lost magic is powerful, from what I just saw, there is no question just how powerful this 'Dragon Metamorphosis' is...however, the stronger the magic, the more risky the consequences are...am I right?" Erza and Happy both made a slight noise in surprise.

"Yeah...that is mostly how magic works..." Lucy replied. "But...does this technique have such a thing?"

"Erza..." Gray said her name. "You know something...don't you?"

The scarlet knight narrowed her eyes to the ground. Should she tell them? Natsu told her that he didn't want the others to know because he knew they would worry about him. He didn't want that. She knew he didn't want that, but she also didn't want to keep secrets from the others. Granted she had a few of her own, but she still felt like telling them the truth about the technique. She looked over at Happy and he looked back at her with a frown. Sighing, she quickly made a decision. She just hoped it was the right one. "The truth is..." She began, but then stopped when she heard Natsu groan and the group looked over to their pink haired dragon slayer.

They all watched as Natsu began opening his eyes. He blinked a couple of times to get his vision cleared before seeing his friends all look at him with smiles. "Natsu!" Both Happy and Lucy screamed and to everyone's surprise hugged him. Lucy was too happy to see Natsu wake up that she didn't realize that she was hugging him. Erza looked at the embrace and felt a weird and unknown feeling in the pit of her stomach. Lucy opened her eyes and finally realized that she was hugging Natsu and felt her face blush in embarrassment. "N-Natsu...this isn't...I mean..."

"Good to see you too...Lucy..." He smiled at her and her blush grew before she let go of him and stood up. She chuckled in embarrassment and avoided eye contact with Natsu. The Dragon Slayer continued to smile at her and then tried to stand up, but felt really weak. He managed to get up halfway before falling back down to his knees.

"Are you alright, Natsu?" Happy asked, frowning at his friend.

"Y-Yeah...I'm fine buddy..." He replied while smiling at him. He raised himself again and this time managed to stay on his feet. "So...what's going on?" He asked looking at everyone.

"Nothing much...just waiting for your lazy ass to get up." Gray mocked.

"Shut up, ice boy." Natsu retorted.

"It's good to see you up and about, Natsu." Erza told him. She then glared at him and he cringed slightly as he somehow knew what she was thinking. 'We are going to talk later about you using that technique!' He gulped and chuckled a bit.

"But isn't this great Natsu! We completed an S Class Mission!" Happy exclaimed in joy.

"That's right!" Lucy regained her composure. "I wonder if we can go up to the second floor now."

"Don't be ridiculous. You disobeyed orders, so you will get punished." Erza corrected her as she cringed in fear.

"But the Master..." Gray tried explaining, but the older woman didn't want to hear it.

"Yes, the Master may have allowed you to go on this quest because Natsu was with you, but don't forget, Natsu declined becoming an S Class Mage and thus is still not qualified to go on S Class Missions."

"Now that you mention it, Erza...everyone..." The group all turned to Natsu. "...I've decided to accept that promotion." All of them gasped at his sudden decision.

"W-What? Wait a minute..." Gray put a hand forward. "...what the hell is wrong with you? First you decline, then you decide to go on the S Class Job and now you want to become an S Class Mage, I don't get you."

"Gray's right Natsu..." Lucy agreed. "...why are you changing your mind now?"

"The truth is...I didn't know myself if I was able to handle an S Class Job. That is why I asked Happy to grab a S Class Job from the second floor so I could see for myself if I can handle the jobs." He grinned. "Turns out, I was ready to be a S Class Mage after all."

"I see...it somewhat makes sense...but...you still broke the rules and will have to be punished for it. Not only that, but this job isn't complete yet." Everyone besides Lyon and Natsu made a noise in surprise.

"B-but with Deliora defeated...the curse should be lifted..." Lucy told her.

"No...Deliora didn't cause the phenomenon you call a curse..." Erza corrected her. "Moon Drip's enormous power harmed people. There is no way this situation will change because Deliora was defeated."

"N-No way..."

"So...how do you expect us to fix this?" Gray asked. He then realized there was someone who might know the answer next to him. He looked at Lyon and he knew what Gray was going to ask him.

"I don't know." He replied.

"Whaaa?" Happy and Natsu both said.

"How can you guys not know about it? If you don't, then how can we help the villagers?" Lucy exclaimed.

"We never went to the village nor did they ever come to use. We've been on this island for three years. We knew that there was a village on the island, but that's about it."

"They never visited you for three years?" Erza asked, surprised.

"Hmm...you know...something feels weird...if they knew that the Moon Drip shone down on the ruins...why didn't they investigate?" Lucy wondered.

"I don't know...but we've also been basked under the same light for three years." Lyon told them as they realized he was right. "They're hiding something. Not that it matters to me anymore...this from now on is a Guild's job correct?"

"Yeah..." Gray muttered. He looked at Lyon with a frown on his face.

"Let's go." Erza told the others. "Let's go find out the truth from those villagers." The group nodded their heads and started walking toward the ruins. Gray stopped after a few steps and then looked back at Lyon.

"What?" The white haired ice mage asked.

"Lyon...I..."

"Don't worry about it...I give up trying to surpass Ur. After I watch your comrade destroy Deliora, I knew that I didn't have a chance to defeat that monster, even if I was at 100%. It sucks, but that is the truth. It's too bad I didn't figure that out before I melted that ice."

"Lyon...I knew how much you wanted to surpass Ur...but I didn't think you would go as far as doing what you wanted to do...but I'm sure that even Ur...even after all you did...she would still be proud to call you her student." He said with a smile.

"Gray...you..." Lyon muttered a his eyes widened in shock.

"Maybe you should join a guild, Lyon. You'll have comrades and rivals. I'm sure that you will find a new goal if you do." He told him before running to catch up with the others.

"Gray...you idiot..."

"Oh...you are back!" Mocha noticed Natsu and the others arrive at the village. "Tell me mages...when will you finally destroy the moon for us? Hooogggaaa!"

"Hold on a minute..." Lucy raised her hands to try and calm the Mayor down.

"We'll get to destroying the moon in a bit." Erza told him.

"She's saying something that outrageous like nothing." Gray sweat dropped.

"Aye!"

"But before we do anything, I want to ask you something. Can you please get everyone together?"

"Huh? S-Sure..." Mocha agreed to the scarlet knight's request and went to gather everyone. As soon as the entire village arrived, Erza examined everyone one of them. So...let me get this straight...you all gained that appearance when the purple moon showed up, correct?"

"W-Well to be more precise, we only turn like this when the moon is out." Mocha responded.

"That started three years ago, according to your story, correct?" Mocha nodded his head. "However, the Moon Drip ritual has been held daily for three years on this island. You should have been seeing a ray of light at the ruins everyday. Meaning, that's the most suspicious part of the island. So let me ask you this, why didn't you investigate it?" The villagers all looked at each other and began talking amongst each other.

"That's because it is forbidden for us to go to those ruins." Mocha answered for his village.

"Yeah...but...the situation was serious, wasn't it?" Lucy asked. "I mean, you did have casualties and even offered an expensive reward for it."

"Can you tell us the truth?" Erza finished as Mocha started to sweat nervously.

"Honestly...we don't know what is going on. We tried to investigate the ruins a bunch of times. However, we couldn't get anywhere near the ruins, even if some of us charged with weapons. We noticed that every time we tried to go down the road toward the ruins, we would always wind up in front of the village gates."

"What? What do you mean?" Lucy asked as she, Happy and Gray were shocked to hear this.

"We don't know...but we kept it quiet because we thought you wouldn't believe us!" One of the villagers spoke.

"But it's true! We tired many times to get to those ruins!"

"But none of the villagers were able to go there!"

"As I thought..." Erza responded.

"Eh? Erza?" Lucy asked.

"So...you know too Erza..." Natsu said as he looked up to the sky.

"Yeah...but I'm surprised you know..." She replied.

"I'm not a total idiot...I learned a lot of things while I was away for two years." Natsu retorted, narrowing his eyes at her. She smiled.

"Wait a minute...can someone please tell me what's going on?" Lucy asked the two.

"You're an idiot Lucy..." Happy told her as he placed his paw in front of his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

"And like you know what they're talking about?"

A short pause. "...Nope!"

"Stupid cat!"

"Care to tell us...Erza...fire breath...?"

"Just watch and see ice boy!" Natsu retorted as Erza started to use her Requip magic.

"Come with me Natsu. Let's go destroy the moon!"

"EEEEHHHHH?" The other three yelled in shock, their jaws dropping to the ground.

Natsu chuckled and both he and Erza climbed up one of the towers. "Oooooh...are we really going to see the moon get destroyed?" One of the villagers said in amazement.

"Right here and now! Incredible!"

"We're finally going to go back to normal!"

"Destroying the moon? Even if its Erza that is impossible..." Gray muttered.

"Yeah...but how the heck are they going to do something like that?" Lucy wondered.

"Aye! It's kind of exciting!'

"In a way...yeah..." Lucy sweat dropped.

"Are you ready, Natsu?" The scarlet knight asked the pink haired dragon slayer, in which he gave her a nod. "Alright then! This armor is the Giant's Armor. It increases one's throwing power and with this Evil Crushing Spear..." A large spear appeared as she spoke. "...that subdues darkness...we will destroy the moon."

"W-Wait...is she planning to throw that..."

"...at the moon...?" Gray finished Lucy's question. "Impossible..."

"Aye..."

"Natsu...I need your help...I want you to use your flames as thrusters to give me a boost when I throw the spear at the moon."

"Aye!" Natsu responded, sounding like Happy. "Let's do it!"

"Alright!" Titania got into position. "Do it now!" She yelled and started moving her arm as Natsu ignited his arm and punched the back of the spear. "Reach it!" The spear was thrown at a velocity that could rival the speed of sound or even surpass it. The entire village watched with their jaws dropped to the ground as the spear was launched toward the purple colored moon. They all waited in anticipation for the moon to be destroyed, while the three other members of Team Natsu felt nervous.

Finally, the sound of an explosion was heard and the dust from the explosion was seen visible in the sky. Everyone watched as cracks began forming to what they thought was the moon. The villagers all cheered in joy, while Team Natsu was so shocked that they dropped their jaws to the ground, except for Natsu and Erza. Suddenly, the cracks expanded and it no longer looked like the moon was the object cracking into pieces. Instead the entire sky started cracking before it collapsed into many shiny pieces that descended downward toward the island. Everyone was surprised by this.

"W-What...? The moon didn't break...but the sky did..." Lucy commented as she raised her hands to catch the falling pieces in her hand like snow.

"It's because this island was covered by an evil layer." Erza explained.

"Layer?" The blue cat of Fairy Tail asked.

"Think of it as exhaust fumes produced by moon drip. They crystallized and created a layer in the sky. That's why the moon looked purple." The Scarlet Knight explained as the villagers began glowing.

"W-Wow..." Lucy commented at the beautiful light the villagers were emitting from their bodies.

"Now that the layer is gone, the villagers should return to their normal forms." Erza continued and the light soon disappeared, but nothing changed. The villagers all looked the same before there was any light.

"H-Hey...n-nothing happened..." Gray muttered in shock.

"Yeah..." Happy agreed frowning.

"No, that is their regular appearance." Erza told them. "The moon drip didn't affect their appearance, but their memory. 'We became demons at night'...wrong thoughts like that."

"N-N-No way..." Lucy's body shook.

"That's how it is. They were demons to begin with."

"You got to be kidding me!" Lucy shouted, falling to her knees.

"S-Seriously...?" Gray asked one of the villagers.

"W-Well...we're still a little confused..." He responded to his question.

"They all had the ability to transform to humans and came to believe that their true form is that of a human. That was moon drip's effect on their memory."

"But why weren't Leon and the others affected?" Happy asked.

"It's because they were humans. I guess this memory flaw only effects demons. Also, the villagers can't approach those ruins because they are demons. People from the darkness can't approach the ruins that hold holy light." Erza answered his question.

"Amazing...I'm glad I left it in your hands..." Everyone turned their heads to the direction of the voice. Everyone was in complete shock at the sight of the Mayor's son Bobo, who waved his arm at them. "Thank you...mages."

"AAHHHH! GHOST!" Lucy and Happy screamed while they hugged each other.

"Y-You're that sailor!" Gray shouted in shock as well.

"Eh? But...ehhhh?" The villagers shouted.

"Come on! Do you seriously think we demons would die because we were stabbed in the chest? Come on!" Bobo laughed at their reactions.

"B-But didn't you disappear from the ship?" The ice mage of Fairy Tail asked. Bobo smiled at him before suddenly disappearing again, making Gray;s eyes pop out of his eyes in shock.

"I'm sorry for not being able to tell you the truth back then." Bobo's voice was heard and everyone looked up to see him smiling down at them. Gray looked in awe of the wings he had behind his back as the mystery of his disappearance was finally solved. "I got away from the island because I was the only one who got their memory back. I was scared of everyone because they thought they were human." He revealed as his father began crying tears of joy before flying upward to hug his son.

The villagers all celebrated the reunion between father and son as another screamed something about a party to celebrate a job well done by the mages of Fairy Tail. The group decided to join in on the party and were guest of honors.

Sometime into the night, Natsu slipped away from everyone and walked into the forest. He continued to walk deep into the forest until he came to a stop at the view of the large crater he created after using his Dragon Metamorphosis technique. He looked down at his hand and frowned.

Natsu thought about what Zeref told him. He remembers Zeref telling him specifically to not change anything in the past because of the chance of never meeting him again. However, he already did things that changed the past. An example of that would be transforming Lullaby when they were still at Oshibana. It didn't happen like that, but Zeref made it that way because he wanted test Natsu's strength. He gritted his teeth in anger when it dawned on him the possibility that he may have killed people who stayed behind in Oshibana. The thought of killing those people made him think back to the death of his friends.

No matter if it was in the future or now...Zeref continued to kill people. Granted the people of Oshibana were those that he didn't know, but he still failed in protecting their lives. He didn't know how many people got killed during that fight, but he was certain there were casualties. He trained for two years to get stronger so that no one had to die. He raised his other arm and looked down at both with a frown.

He had the power and yet, there was a nagging voice in the back of his head that told him that it wouldn't be enough to defeat Zeref when the time came. He tried to ignore it, but the voice stuck around like an annoying fly.

Then there was the problem of almost blowing the secret of him coming from the future. The way Gray suddenly grabbed his scarf and demanded an answer from him told him that if Deliora wasn't around he probably would have blown the secret and then everything would have changed. He knew Gray would keep a secret, but the problem is, how long would the secret last. When one person learns a secret, then another would know, then another until a bunch of people know. That is something he anted to avoid. He knew how dangerously close he came to spilling the secret. He had to change. He had to stop giving off these small hints that would threaten the chance of him revealing the secret.

Yes, he had to change. He acted like an idiot because he knew that he always acted like a child. He believed that because of his attitude and naivety, it cost the lives of his friends. He clenched his fists tightly. It was time for him to change. It's time for him to change everything. Zeref was changing the past and he had the right to do so too. He had enough of this. If changing the past meant the possibility of never meeting Zeref and his friends dying anyway, then he was going to change it so that he does meet Zeref and protect his friends as well.

He made his decision. He was going to do things his way. He was brought to the past so that he could become stronger and defeat Zeref. If he wasn't able to do defeat him before, why would doing the same things change anything. Sure he got stronger, but would do really accomplish anything. Natsu didn't know, but it was about time he did things his way and not what some bastard wanted him to do. He would keep the fact that he is from the future a secret and make sure he didn't spill any more info on it, like he did with Gray. It was time for him to change the past. The time to make things go his way and not Zerefs. It was time for Natsu to be the person to defeat Zeref and the man who will protect his friends no matter what challenges come before him.

Acknowledging his decision, he stared in front of him with the eyes that showed every meaning of the word determination. With his decision placed and written in stone in his head, he turned back around to return to the village. When he got there, everyone was knocked out from all the festivities they endured. He smiled when he saw his fellow guild members. 'Everyone...I will protect you...I will make sure that Zeref or anyone else hurt you...I will become the light that will shine on the darkness known as Zeref...' He clenched his fists tightly and looked up to the sky. He grinned before falling down to the ground on his back and falling asleep.

Meanwhile, in the northeastern part of Fiore resided Oak town, an old castle structured town that was situated on a hill and surrounded by forests and mountains with a river flowing nearby. The castle like building was home to a certain guild that was considered one of the strongest legal guilds in the continent, alongside Fairy Tail. The castle belonged to the members of the Phantom Lord Guild. Outside the castle was calm, but inside was a different story.

A black haired man with many round studs, most of them visible on his face, growled in pain as he crashed down onto one of the few tables that were not recently destroyed. Looking around the guild, there were many bodies of beaten Phantom Lord Guild members everywhere. The culprit was hidden behind the shadows as he smirked at the destruction he caused in the guild. He chuckled menacingly as the man he recently thrown started to slowly get up. The black haired man glared at the man hiding in the shadows.

"Damn you..." The black haired man cursed under his breath.

"My, my...is this really one of the two strongest guilds on this continent? Seeing how easy I was able to defeat all of you...I guess your nothing but weaklings." The man in the shadows smirked and pressed his foot deeper into the man that was under it. "See! Even your master is so weak that he didn't stand a chance against me."

"Who the hell are you?" The blacked haired man demanded.

"Why should I tell a weakling who I am?" He replied. "How about you actually beat me...maybe then I might tell you."

"You bastard!" The man charged at him again.

No one was able to see what happened next, but the black haired man was suddenly lifted from the ground, with a hand grasped around his neck. Blood was also seen falling down from his mouth to the floor. "And you were supposed to be the great Iron Dragon Slayer Gajeel...the strongest Dragon Slayer on this continent...when I heard the rumors about a Dragon Slayer here, I assumed it was him, but it seems I was wrong...hehe...to be honest...you're not close to that Dragon Slayer's level." Gajeel looked at the man, gritting his teeth. "But how about I help you with that?" The man then dropped him to the ground and he started catching his breaths. "I hear that you guys have some sort of conflict with another Guild on this continent. It so happens that I heard a rumor of a Dragon Slayer in that particular guild as well. So, how about it...with my help, I'll make you guys the strongest guild and help myself to that Dragon Slayer. Kill two birds with one stone."

Gajeel glared at the man, thinking of the proposal he offered to them. He then smirked. "Sounds interesting..."

"I like your style kid." The man in the shadow responded. "But first...I want you to tell me about this woman you were asked to bring back to that rich man..." He chuckled.

"You know...that injury might leave you with a scar..." Lucy told Gray as Team Natsu were preparing themselves to set off, back to their Guild.

"I don't care..." He simply replied.

"But it's on your face..."

"I don't care where I get hurt as long as my injuries are visible." He said with a proud smile.

"Hrm? Well said." Lucy replied with wink of the eye.

Natsu didn't say anything and only ate his fire. Normally he would mock Gray, but he made a choice. Then again, whoever said changing was easy. "I guess that'll make you ugly...along with a scar."

"Shut up! Why don't you butt out when I say something cool?" He shouted at his rival as Lucy sighed.

"W-What? You can't accept the reward?" The villagers all gasped as Erza shook her head.

"Yup...your happiness is enough for us. We appreciate it." She told them with a smile.

"B-But..."

"As I told you last night, our guild didn't officially accept your request. A couple of idiots just rushed into the request without doing it properly."

"But that still doesn't change the fact that we were saved by all of you. Will you accept this as a thank you gift to friends, instead of a reward for a guild? Hooogga!"

Erza sighed. "When you put it that way, it's hard to reject your offer."

"Sweet! We're getting 7 million Jewels!" Gray exclaimed in happiness.

"But doing so would go against what our guild stands for, but we're happy to accept the additional reward: The Golden Key" Erza told them.

"I don't want that!" Gray shouted.

"But I do!" Lucy shouted in response as Natsu only chuckled.

"But at least let us take you back to Harujion." Bobo offered.

"No need. We already have a ship ready for us." Erza declined again as the villagers and Team Natsu all looked at Erza in confusion.

With that, Team Natsu said farewell to the villagers and followed Erza to the location of their ship. When they reached the beach, Team Natsu's eyes widened at the pirate ship that was docked on the shore.

"A pirate ship!" Gray shouted in shock.

"Woah...don't tell me you hijacked it Erza!" Happy exclaimed in awe.

"No! I don't want to ride that!" Lucy wrapped her arms around her in fear.

"I'll accompany you if you decide to swim!" Natsu told her and Lucy quickly told him no.

They all got on the boat and as soon as Natsu stepped foot on it, he became sick. The others sweat dropped at him and then Erza told the pirates to start setting sail. "Everyone! Thank you so much!" The group turned their heads to see Bobo shouting at them and waving his hand goodbye. They also noticed some of the villagers were standing behind them, doing the same. Team Natsu all grinned, except for the sick Natsu and waved goodbye to them as well.

"Take care!" Lucy shouted for the team and with that, Team Natsu began their journey home.

"I'm kind of disappointed with the Deliora case." Ultear spoke as she entered the room Siegrain was reading a book in.

"Well, I can't be helped. However, it helped me a lot." Siegrain replied as he closed his book and settled it down on the table next to him.

"With what?" She asked curiously.

"Sorry, but that is a secret." He told her and she frowned.

"Oh...I though we agreed to not keep secrets."

"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with our plans, I assure you. By the way, did you release the spell over the island before you left?"

"Yes, I did. May I ask why you asked me to do so?"

"I guess as a favor."

"You guess?"

"It's not important. Although, I'm impressed your mother's magic was able to hold such a beast frozen for over ten years."

"You think too highly of my mother, Siegrain-sama."

"Don't say that. I respect your mother for what she was able to do. I bet that if she was still alive, she would be one the Ten Holy Great Mages."

"Hmph...my mother was a pitiable woman possessed by evil and dumped by my father."

"Remember this Ultear...the more important the things you lose, the stronger the powers you gain are. Someone I know, knows that pretty well." Ultear was confused by that, but shrugged it off, knowing he wouldn't tell her even if she asked.

"I'm just a speck in my mother's life."

"Really? Maybe she raised two pupils out of regret."

"Enough about that." She told him and put a finger to his lips. "Rather, let's move onto the next step."

"Hey...you..." Ultear raised her eyebrows in confusion at his shocked expression, until she felt her cheek get swollen. She placed a hand to it to feel it and she screamed as a result.

"Kyaaahh! What is this?" She screamed as Siegrain laughed.

"So, it finally swelled up!" He continued to laugh as she pouted and used her magic to heal the swelling. "So, how what do you think of Natsu?" Ultear wasn't startled by the question, but for some reason, she felt her cheeks get slightly warm.

"He's strong...there is no doubt about that. I'm just glad I didn't face him when he used that technique." She told him truthfully.

"Yes...that ancient lost magic...it sure is quite a sight..." Siegrain smirked. "The child of Igneel...I pray for you to keep on burning...for the sake of my dream..."

"Finally! We're back!" Lucy cheered as she and the others were making their way back to the guild to reunite with their friends.

"Aye!"

"Man...we went through all of that just for a simple key." Gray sighed, hands in his pockets.

"And it was an S Class job too." Happy added.

"It wasn't an official job so this is fair enough." Erza told them with a smile.

"Yep! No need to complain!" Lucy grinned widely.

"But Lucy is the only one who gained something...we should sell it!"

"What are you saying, you stray cat!" Lucy jumped in surprise at his words. "I've told you before, there are only 12 Golden, Ecliptic Zodiac Keys in the World. They're pretty rare."

"So, which one did you get?" Gray asked.

"Sagittarius, the Archer!" She exclaimed cheerfully, showing Gray the key.

"Sagittarius!" Gray shouted in excitement as an image of what he thought it would looked like showed up in an imaginary bubble above his head.

"N-No...more like this..." Lucy sweat dropped at his image and showed him her view of the spirit, which was opposite of what Gray had.

Erza looked back at them and smiled. She then looked over to Natsu and noticed that he was pretty quiet. "Something wrong, Natsu?" She asked as the others stopped talking and looked at Natsu.

"Not really...just don't have anything to say." He replied with a smile.

"Heh? You have nothing to say? That's a first..." Gray muttered.

"Shut up!" Natsu retorted.

"Oh yeah...that's right...you guys need to be punished once we get to the guild." Erza remembered as the others cringed.

"But I keep telling you Erza! The Master told me to go with Natsu, Lucy and Happy!" Gray defended himself.

"Yeah...and I decided to accept the promotion...doesn't that count as something?" Natsu defended himself. The remaining two had no excuse so they knew they were doomed.

"Even so...you guys broke the rules and have to be punished..." Erza told them. "Although...I kept thinking I could overlook your actions. If what you are saying Gray is true and is confirmed by the Master, then I guess you won't be punished." The group all let out collective sighs in relief. "We'll see once we get back to the guild, let's go!" The team began walking again and as they walked through the town, they began hearing whispers among the civilians. Natsu looked down to the ground with a frown, knowing what he was going to see. The others didn't so he didn't blame them for having confused expressions.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked the question all their minds.

"Something is wrong with the Guild..." Erza said as she stared at the location where their guild was supposed to be. The others looked and saw their guild.

"W-Wha...?" Gray mouthed out in shock.

"No...this is..." Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she placed her hands over her mouth.

Natsu felt a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his face at the familiar scene. "Our guild...who...?" He asked, even though he knew who the culprit was.

"W-What happened here...?" Erza asked, feeling anger build up inside her.

"Phantom." They all turned their heads to see Mirajane walking up to them. "This was Phantoms doing...as well as that mans..."

'That...man?' Natsu thought in confusion. 'Who is she talking about...? Gajeel...? No...just what is going on?' He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. Only one suspect that he could think of came to his head. 'Zeref...'

To Be Continued...
- 12
- 13
- 14
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Time is the Path to Strength