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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
- 15
- 16
- 17
Chapter 16: Natsu Awakens

Several Minutes ago...

"Oi Natsu...you dead?" The figure asked as he lightly kicked Natsu on the side. 'Hmm...this is odd...he calmed down so he should have woken up by now.' He decided to kick him again, but there was still no reaction. 'He's either dead or sleeping...' The figure sighed and rubbed the back of his head. So, he decided to kick him again and this time planned to put more force into it. Just before he made contact with his body, Natsu grabbed his leg. "Oh...you're awake now..." Unexpectedly, Natsu suddenly bit down on his leg. "Ow! What the hell? Let go of me, you idiot!" The figure yelled as he shook his leg to get him off.

Seeing as how Natsu wasn't going to let go, he jumped in the air and then kicked him with his other leg in the face.

"..." Natsu responded as he sluggishly stood up.

"Hmm?" The figure raised an eyebrow as he saw something black coming out of his mouth. 'That's...' The man sighed and removed the glove off of his right hand. 'So...this is the path you have to take...you always have to go all out don't you, Natsu...' The figure ran toward the zombie like form of Natsu. A small magic circle appeared in front of his hand and then slammed it into his stomach.

"Gaah!" Natsu groaned in pain as he felt magic enter his body. The man then started pulling his hand back and when he did, the black thing that was coming out of Natsu's mouth, began coming out of his stomach. With one strong pull, the man was able to pull out all the black stuff as it soared into the air above them. Natsu dropped to his knees and started catching his breath. "W-What...w-what happened...?" Natsu said in between his breaths.

"You're finally awake, huh?" The man said, keeping his eyes on the dark matter above them. He watched as it descended back down and started taking form. Natsu looked up at the man and saw him looking at something else. He stood up and then turned his body to see what got his attention.

"W-What?"

"So...you finally were able to control your powers...I must say...you do know how to give people heart attacks...however...your true test comes here..."

"W-What the hell?" Natsu asked as he stared at someone who looked very familiar to him in front of him. "What is this?"

"This...Natsu...is the final test to be able to control your true strength...you must defeat him to finally end it all..."

"Yeah...but..."

"Your opponent is the one thing that is keeping you still here while your friends are out there fighting...Natsu...you have to face the man who embodies every ounce of the fear that you kept hidden in your heart...the same fear that kept you from controlling your true strength...the same fear that turned itself into that person in front of you...he has many names...but I think the best name to call him is...Anti-Natsu."

"A-Anti-Natsu..." Natsu repeated a she stared at his look-a-like as he opened his eyes to reveal his dark colored sclera and white colored pupils, as he gave Natsu one of the most sinister smirks he has ever seen. He then licked his lips with his tongue signaling that he was hungry for him.

"What's up...asshole!"

"Who you calling an asshole, asshole!" Natsu yelled back pointing a finger at his dark half.

"Oooh, somebody call the burn department...you suck!" He mocked.

"Bastard!" Natsu shouted and charged at his dark half. Anti-Natsu only smirked as he watched a fist head straight right into his face. The fist blew right through him as he dispersed. "W-What?" Natsu asked looking around to see his dark half disappear. "Where are you?"

"Natsu!" The fire Dragonslayer's eyes widened when he recognized the familiar voice and turned around. His eyes widened when he saw Lucy standing a few feet away from him. She was smiling at him.

"L-Lucy...w-what are you doing here?" He asked, confused and surprised.

"Natsu..." She repeated again. Natsu started walking toward her, as a grin was starting to grow on his face.

"Lucy!" He ran toward her. Suddenly, something felt wrong and his eyes widened in horror as his dark half appeared behind Lucy and then stabbed his hand through Lucy's chest.

"N-Natsu..." Lucy spoke as blood ran down the side of her mouth and her chest.

"LUCY!" Natsu shouted and ran as fast as he could toward her. Anti-Natsu smirked and removed his hand from her chest before jumping away, allowing Lucy to fall straight onto Natsu's chest. "Oi! Lucy!" He cried out to her.

"N-Natsu...I...I..." She then became silent as he saw no life in her eyes.

"LUCY!" Natsu screamed as his friend died right in his arms.

"Aww...poor little old you...you couldn't save your nakama again...even after all that training you did..." Natsu heard his dark side's voice as he kept his eyes shut tightly. The tears that fell down his face stopped. He then wiped them away, before putting Lucy down.

"Shut up..." He growled.

"Aww...is the little dragonslayer all sad now...you really are pathetic...maybe you should just let me take over and I'll save those friend of yours...and then maybe...they might let me do something that I want as a reward..." He said in a tone that Natsu despised.

"I said shut up...!" Natsu roared as his flames erupted from his body like a volcano explosion.

"Hahaha! Now we're getting somewhere!"

"ERZA!" The guild all shouted as Gray ran toward her.

"After Makarov...now Erza is unable to fight..." Jose's voice rang out through the microphone inside the walking guild. "You don't stand a chance. So...hand over Lucy Heartfilia. Right now!" He demanded with a very angry face.

"No way!" Alzack was the first to fire back.

"What kind of guild would give up their comrades?" Bisca followed.

"Lucy's our comrade!" Macao agreed.

"Yeah!"

"That's right!"

"Get the hell out of here!"

"We'll never give her up!"

"Hand her over!" Jose spoke through the speaker again.

"I...I..." Lucy started to tremble and tears began forming in her eyes. Hearing everyone from the guild saying all these things made her feel so happy, but also conflicted as well. She wants to stay with them so much that it hurt. The faces of Makarov and Natsu made her feel miserable because she felt it was her fault that they ended up the way they did. She couldn't handle it if the rest of her comrades joined them.

"WE'D RATHER DIE THAN GIVE UP OUR OWN COMRADE!" Erza shouted as Lucy gasped at her words. Despite everything, they still wanted to protect her. The rest of the guild cheered as well and it only made the warm feeling inside of her increase in joy. Her tears of happiness started slowly falling from her eyes as she placed her hands over her mouth to prevent her sobs from being heard by her comrades as they prepared to fight for her.

"I see..." Jose spoke. "THEN WE'LL FIRE AN EVEN BIGGER AND STRONGER BLAST FOR YOU INSOLENTS! NOW STRUGGLE IN THIS 15 MINUTES OF TERROR UNTIL IT'S RELOADED!"

"What?"

"J-Jupiter..."

"They'll...fire it again?"

"Erza!" Gray shouted as he looked over the scarlet haired woman. When he saw that she was breathing heavily and her eyes were closed, he knew she wasn't going to be able to fight for a while. 'Damn it...even for Erza stopping one of those blasts was too much...' He turned his head back to the others as he picked Erza's head off the ground.

Suddenly, a bunch of ghostly looking soldiers came out of the walking guild. This was a surprise to the members of Fairy Tail.

"W-Wha...? Their soldiers are coming out!"

"No way! Aren't they just going to fire Jupiter?"

"No mercy..."

"Feel the pain Fairy Tail! You have two choices!" Jose spoke again. "Get killed by my soldiers or die by Jupiter!"

"I-Impossible! He plans to kill his own men with Jupiter as well?"

"He's just threatening us...he won't fire it..."

"Yes he will..." Cana told them. They all gasped in shock. "That's Jose's magic...'Shade'...they're not human but ghost soldiers that he created himself."

"Shade?"

"G-Ghosts?"

"We gotta do something about Jupiter..." Cana said in worry.

"I guess there is only one thing to do...we gotta destroy it." Gray said as he walked past Cana.

"Gray..."

"We have to destroy the cannon in 15 minutes...seeing as Erza and Natsu are both it's up to me to stop it." Cana nodded her head.

"I'll go too!" Elfman exclaimed as he stood next to Gray, his arms crossed over his chest. "It's a man's duty to help his comrades!"

"Aye! Me too!" Happy exclaimed and stood in front of the two, his small paws on his side.

"Alright then! Let's go, Elfman!" Gray shouted as both men and cat charged toward the building, Gray created an ice bridge toward the building.

"Loki...both me and you will strengthen our defense here, alright?" Cana said as Loki nodded and pushed his glasses up.

"Yeah..."

Lucy looked at her comrades as they prepared to fight and she started wondering if she should do something to help them. Mirajane then came up to her and grabbed her arm, surprising the blond haired celestial spirit mage. "Lucy! Come this way!" She told her.

"Huh?"

"We have a hideout for you to hide in until the war is over." She told her and started dragging Lucy away from the others. Loki heard them and turned his head to look at the two.

"B-But..." Lucy began to argue as she pulled her hand away from Mirajane's grasp. "...but I want to stay and fight too! It's my fault that this is happening."

"No Lucy." Mirajane replied with a serious tone. "No one thinks it's your fault. For our comrades who were defeated for our guild and to protect you...everyone's proud of this war." Lucy looked down tot he ground at her words and shook slightly at the thought of Erza, Natsu and the Master. "So please, listen to me." She smiled at her and then placed her hand on Lucy's forehead. She was surprised by this and then felt herself get drowsy. She then felt her eyes get heavy and she started falling only to be caught by Mirajane. "Reedus! Bring Lucy to the hideout!" Mirajane asked the large painter as he nodded his head and painted a wagon before it magically appeared. "I'm counting on you!"

"Oui!" Reedus replied as he grabbed Lucy bridal style and entered the wagon. Mirajane watched as the wagon drove off before transforming herself into Lucy.

'I...I don't have any more power to fight...but I'll protect my friends at any cost!' A determined Mirajane thought as she looked back to the others as they started their battle against the ghost soldiers as 14 minutes remained.

"Uuuwaaah!" Elfman roared and slammed his beast arm down at the cannon. However, he couldn't even put a dent in it. "Looks like we won't be able to break it from the outside." Elfman told Gray as he nodded his head in agreement.

"Looks like we have to destroy it from the inside." He concluded and with that, both men entered inside the cannon through the opening. They crawled as fast as they could through the cannon and entered a room with a large sphere like machine in the middle of the large room. "T-That's..."

"Looks like a La'cryma that gathers magic power..." Happy replied.

"But I never seen one this big before..." Gray responded.

"Well, with a weapon like Jupiter it's no surprise it's so big." Elfman examined the La'cryma.

"You have a point there...yosh...all we have to do is break it and Jupiter will be stopped!" Gray grinned as he prepared himself to use his magic.

"I won't let you do that..." A voice said as the three of them looked down to see a man standing in front of the large sphere machine.

"Hm? Who's that?" Elfman asked.

"I won't let you...destroy this cannon." One of Phantom Lord's Element 4 members, Totomaru told them.

"You look weird..." Happy stated.

"Shut up, talking cat!"

Meanwhile...

The battle between Fairy Tail and the ghost soldiers was looking like a never ending fight. No matter how many of the soldiers they took down, more would appear.

Max used his sand magic to take down several of the soldiers. However, he lost concentration when one of the soldiers appeared behind him, ready to strike him down. Max saw the soldier a little bit too late and wasn't ready to defend himself. Luckily for him, Cana destroyed the ghost soldier, saving him. "Sorry, Cana." He apologized.

"Pull yourself together, Max! Protect the guild at any cost! They don't feel the sadness of losing comrades, or chagrin for their guild being destroyed! We won't let this scum take over our guild!" Cana shouted before returning to fight against the ghost soldiers as nine minutes remained before Jupiter is fired once more.

- FT -

"I don't know who you are, but get out of our way! We're gonna destroy that thing!" Gray told Totomaru as he chuckled.

"I said I won't let you, didn't I? You are nothing but fools."

"You bastard!" Elfman roared and changed his arm into beast mode and threw a punch at Totomaru. The Element 4 member sighed and avoided the punch by stepping to the side. "W-What the...?" Elfman exclaimed in shock as he looked at his arm.

"Fool..." Totomaru said and then kicked him in the face, sending him to the ground.

"Elfman! You bastard!" Gray clenched his fist and placed it on his opposite hand. "Ice Make...Lance!" He shot out multiple lances out toward Totomaru.

"Ice...huh? Too bad I'm the wrong opponent for you..." He said and raised his hand. Red fire came out of his hand and melted the ice lances before they could reach him.

"Fire...is that his element?" Gray whispered in surprise.

"That's right..." His opponent replied, being able to hear Gray's words. "My element is fire...and I won't let you destroy the cannon."

"Elfman! Gray! We don't have time for him! You have to destroy the La'cryma before Jupiter fires again!" Happy told them as he flew around the area.

"We know that Happy!" Gray responded. "Oi Elfman! You alright?"

"Y-Yeah...Gray be careful...I don't know why, but I felt like my movements just got slower..."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"When I went to go punch him, I felt my movements go slower." He explained.

"So then...it's like before..." Gray commented.

"Y-Yeah..."

"What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know...but I think it would be best to attack him together." Elfman suggested and Gray nodded in agreement.

"Yeah...let's do this quickly...time is running out..." Both of them then charged at Totomaru.

"It doesn't matter how many of you come at me...I won't let you destroy the La'cryma!" Totomaru shouted and then launched an orange flame this time. Both men jumped away from the flame, but not even they could escape the foul smell that came from the flames.

"Ugh...that fucking stinks!" Gray coughed as he pinched his nose.

"A man should not do something that stinks as bad as this!" Elfman cried at how bad the stench was.

"You guys! We're running out of time!" Happy told them. Suddenly the La'cryma began glowing. "AAAAHHHHH!"

"Shit!" Gray muffled as his eyes widened in shock. "Quick Elfman! We got to finish him off!" Five minutes remain.

"Yosh!" Elfman roared and charged forward. Gray got into his ice making stance to back up his bigger comrade.

"Ice Make...Bow!" Gray formed a bow made out of ice. "And...Arrows!" He continued as he created a large amount of arrows and began shooting them at Totomaru.

"Fool! Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" He raised his arm again and created flames to melt the arrows. When all the arrows were gone, he lowered his arm and stopped letting out his magic, only to be surprised by the sudden appearance of Elfman through the fire.

"Wraaah!" Elfman roared and threw his beast arm at Totomaru. Just like it happened previously, he was able to step to side and dodge it.

"Fool...do you think you can land a hit against me as long as his magic is in effect throughout the building." He revealed.

"I don't know who or what you are talking about...but you won't defeat me!" He was prepared to kick Elfman again, but Gray jumped and went into his Ice Make stance in the air just above him.

"Ice Make...Freeze!" Gray froze the area around Totomaru to stop him from moving anywhere.

"We got you!" Elfman roared and charged once more at the enemy.

"Oh?" Totomaru smirked and raised his arm to release the smelly orange flames from before. Elfman couldn't help but cover his nose from the foul stench and backed away from Totomaru. The Element 4 member looked down at the ice and released his red flames to melt it. He then looked in Gray's direction as he dropped back down to the floor.

"Damn...what the hell is going on with us?" He wondered. Ever since they were fighting against Phantom back at their guild, he felt his magic leaving his body and in return, his opponents seem to be getting stronger. He looked up to the La'Cryma to see it getting close to fire another blast.

"Gray! Elfman! We only got three minutes left!" Happy warned them as he started flying around in circles above the battlefield.

"Damn it..." Gray cursed and got into Ice Make stance. 'What should I do...we have to stop the cannon, but we can't do that as long as...wait..I just got an idea.' He glared at the Element 4 mage. "Ice Make...Sword!" He created a sword out of ice and then charged at his opponent.

"Fool...do you think that would work against me?" Gray only swung his sword at him. Totomaru dodged his swings as fluently as possible. After several more swings and misses, Totomaru decided to grab his sword with his hands. "I told you that wouldn't work..."

"Oh no! Only two minutes left!" Happy had an expression of horror on his face. The cannon on the outside began showing it's magic power as the others started to panic as soon as they saw the magic build up.

"Is this really what Fairy Tail has...w-what is this...?" He asked in shock as his hands began turning into ice.

"Elfman!" Gray shouted.

"Right!" He roared and charged at Totomaru.

"No! Head for the La'Cryma!"

"W-What?" Totomaru shouted in shock.

"Huh? R-Right!" He changed direction and headed toward the La'Cryma.

"You bastard!" He shouted at the man who was holding him in place because of his ice magic. "Do you think that this ice will stop me?"

"Of course not...but..it will give us enough time.." Gray grinned.

"You bastard!" Totamaru began to melt the ice. He then released a large amount of flames that burned Gray and pushed him away from the Element 4 member.

'Damn it...Elfman...do it!' Gray thought as he fell on his back.

"You bastard...I won't let you..." He didn't get to finish as his eyes widened as Elfman's beast arm connected with the La'Cryma and destroyed it. The explosion that occurred from the destruction of the La'Cryma extended all the way tot he cannon and started to explode. It then started to collapse as the debris fell down to the water with loud and large splashes.

- FT -

"They did it!" Fairy Tail cheered.

"Good job!" Cana smirked at the small, but very important victory for their side. She then looked over to the other members. "Okay! The cannon is destroyed! Now we have nothing to fear! Go eliminate the enemy!" She ordered and they all cheered before charging toward the ghost soldiers and continued their fight against them.

- FT -

"M-Master Jose...the cannon was destroyed from the inside..." One of the guild members informed him. Jose clenched his fists tightly in anger.

"I thought you said with your help, nothing will stop us from accomplishing our goals!" He spoke toward Alastor.

"Hey now...it's not my fault you have idiots for Guild members." He replied with a smirk.

"T-Those disgusting brats..."

- FT -

"I-Impossible..." Totomaru said in disbelief.

"You should never underestimate Fairy Tail...you asshole..." The Element 4 mage slowly turned his head and met Gray's fist as he punched him across the face. The blow pushed him into Elfman's monster arm as the one-two combo from Gray and Elfman was enough to knock out Totomaru.

"Damn...this was much harder than I thought it would be." Elfman said as Happy flew down to them.

"You guys did it!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it sure was a pain." Gray sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Suddenly, the building began to shake and slowly move. "W-What's going on?"

- FT -

On the outside, the building stood up on it's legs and began to move into a standing position.

"Huh?"

"W-What's going on?"

"I-It stood up!"

"What are they planning this time?"

Everyone watched in horror as the building slowly began transforming itself to what looked like a giant robot looking transformer thing. "W-What is that...?" Cana asked as she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Super Mage Giant Phantom MK. II!" Jose announced as most of the members of Fairy Tail had looks of worry and horror as they stared at the giant. The giant then suddenly took a step forward and headed toward the others as they started to panic.

"Ahhh! It's coming this way!"

"What do we do?"

"It's going to trample us and the guild!"

"Everyone calm down!" Cana shouted. "Concentrate on the enemy in front of us! Gray and Elfman are sure to stop that giant!"

"Right!"

- FT -

"W-What the hell was that?" Gray asked as he rubbed his head to soothe the headache he had.

"Something must have happened to the building." Elfman gave a response as he pulled Happy's head out of debris.

"Ah! Thank you!" He sighed in happiness as he was free.

"Hey Happy, you think you could go check out the situation outside?" Gray asked and the blue flying cat nodded his head and then grew his wings. He flew out of the building and to the outside to see what was happening.

- FT -

"Huh? W-What is that thing doing?" Max asked as he saw the hand of the giant begin to move and write something in front of it. Cana's eyes widened in shock.

"T-That...that's a magic seal! That giant thing is a mage!"

"EEEEEEHHHHHHH?"

When Happy saw the giant robot that was once the walking guild they were in, he became so shocked that he started sweating bullets.

Mirajane gasped as she recognized the magic seal that the giant was creating. "Oh no! That's the Abyss Break Seal! That's one of the forbidden spells!"

"Crap! A huge seal like that could wipe out everything all the way to Caldia Cathedral!" Loke cursed as he took out a ghost soldier that was coming at him.

Happy quickly flew back inside to tell Gray and Elfman as he reached them as quickly as he could. "You guys! The building turned into a giant and it's casting a spell!"

"Nani?" They both shouted in shock.

"They said that it could wipe out everything all the way to the Caldia Cathedral!" He continued.

"That's half the town!" Gray shouted.

"What the hell is Phantom thinking?" Elfman wondered, feeling angry as he clenched his fists tightly.

"In any case, we have to stop it!" Gray told them. "We should split up and find the source of whatever is controlling that thing!" Elfman and Happy nodded in agreement of his plan and the three set off to find the source.

"Damn it! What are we going to do?"

- FT -

"We just have to believe in Gray and Elfman!"

"Hey Mira..." Cana leaned her back to the wall of the guild as she talked to Mirajane from inside the building through a window. "How long until this spell is activated?"

"Probably about ten minutes." Levy answered as she entered the room from below. "A spell like that needs at least that much time to complete."

"Yeah..." Mirajane nodded her head in agreement. "I wonder if there is a way to destroy the power source."

"The guys on the inside must be thinking the same thing." Cana said.

"I know Gray went, but who else did?" Mirajane asked.

"Elfman and Happy went in too." At this news, Mirajane's eyes widened.

"E-Elfman! W-What is he doing inside that thing?"

"Don't be so surprised...Elfman is..."

"He can't! Elfman can't fight! You should know that too, Cana!"

"He can fight! He took part in the fighting before..."

"It's one thing to go up against a soldier, but if he winds up against the leaders the way he is right now then he could..."

"Hey Mira...I know you and Elfman were both terribly hurt, but Elfman is trying hard to keep moving forward." Mirajane couldn't say anything. She looked down to the floor and started to think about everything Cana told her. It was then that she remembered what Natsu told her as well.

"Then don't blame yourself either!" He yelled softly. Mirajane gasped at his words. "Mira-chan...stop telling me and Elfman to not blame ourselves for Lisanna's death! It wasn't your fault!"

"But..." Mirajane tried to argue.

"No buts! I'll stop blaming myself for Lisanna's death and so should you...so please...don't blame yourself..."

"Mira..." Levy whispered as she stared at Mirajane, who was in disguise as Lucy.

Mirajane clenched her fists tightly as she felt a new determination flow through her body. 'Elfman...I too should be...' With a nod of the head, Mirajane opened the door, surprising Cana and walked toward the battlefield.

"M-Mira-san!"

"Stay back! It's dangerous here!"

"Get back Mira-chan!"

However, she ignored them and stood in front of the giant and spread her arms out. "I'm the one you're after, right? Stop attacking the Guild right now!" She shouted as Jose looked down at her. 'This should buy us a little bit of time...'

"Master that's..." A member Phantom told Jose as he saw Mirajane, who was transformed as Lucy through his binoculars.

"Disappear! You imposter!" He spoke through the microphone as Mirajane was in shock that it didn't work.

'No way...'

"I knew right from the start that Lucy wasn't here. There's no way that the person who was targeted would be sent to the front lines." He continued.

"Damn!" Cana cursed at the failure of the idea.

Mirajane couldn't believe it. She felt tears sting her eyes as she transformed back to her usual self. 'I'm...so useless...' She cried as the giant continued to write the spell.

- FT -

"Uooooooogh! I will protect Fairy Tail even if it costs me my life!" Elfman roared as he ran down a hallway. "But seriously, what a crazy room." He then stopped when he felt someone's presence behind him and turned around. "Huh?" He watched as someone rose from the ground.

"Salut!" The man spoke as he swayed from side to side.

"Who the hell are you?"

- FT -

"Don't worry Mira..." Cana tried to comfort the crying white haired former so called demon.

"But Elfman can't fight..." She sobbed as tears continued to fall from her eyes. Cana only frowned at her, but she had to forget about her for the moment as she looked back at the giant.

"Damn...the magic seal is almost complete..."

"You want to leave the guild behind?" Cana asked.

"Ah...no..."

"Then believe in the guys inside that they will get the job done!" She shouted and the members of Fairy Tail nodded and continued to fight against the ghost soldiers.

'Elfman...you're in no state to fight against someone this strong...' Mirajane thought as she pressed her hand to her chest. The tears that were falling stopped as she knew she had to be strong for everyone else. She couldn't help but have one person on her mind that she knew could save them. 'Natsu...please wake up...'

"Gah!" Natsu screamed in pain as he felt get punched once more in the stomach by his darker self.

"Hahaha! Is this really all you got? What happened to all that magic power you showed earlier?" Anti-Natsu yelled as he kicked him. "Come on, where is that power?"

Natsu groaned as he slid to a stop after getting hit by his leg. He glared at his darker self. He wiped the side of his mouth and ignited his fists into flames. "How about this?" He roared and tried attacking him, but he simply dodged it.

"That's not it, you asshole!" Anti-Natsu yelled and punched Natsu in the face, sending him flying.

"Gah!" Natsu felt himself spitting out blood. He crashed onto the dark floor. 'Damn it...' He slowly lifted his head and his eyes widened as he saw Erza in the spot that Anti-Natsu used to be on. "E-Erza!"

"Natsu..." She said and tried to take a step forward, but as soon as she did, Anti-Natsu appeared behind her and then slit her throat. Natsu's eyes widened in horror as he watched Erza fall the floor, dead. The image of seeing his comrade and close friend die in front of him again hurt Natsu so bad that he didn't even noticed that his flames were those of before when he saw Lucy die.

"ERZA! YOU BASTARD!" Natsu roared with anger as he charged at his darker self.

"Yes, that is the power! Show me your strength, asshole!"

"Kyaahhhh" Mirajane screamed as the giant's free hand grabbed her and started squeezing her by his fingers.

"Mira!"

"Mira-chan!"

"Attempting to deceive us...I don't think I like you, girl. I'll just smash you to pieces!" Jose said.

"Miraaaaaaa!" Cana screamed as she destroyed a ghost solider that grabbed her from behind. "Damn it! Gray, Elfman, Happy! Stop that giant!"

- FT -

"My name is Sol. But you can call me, Monsieur Sol." Sol greeted as Elfman took off his coat.

"Great timing! You can tell me how to stop this giant!" He then raised his arm and transformed into his beast form. "Beast Arm: Kokugyuu!"

"Oh? Do you think by transforming only your right arm that you can defeat me?" Sol said as he moved side to side. "It seems the rumors are accurate."

"Huh? What rumors?"

"I know all about you...no...I know more than that. My head contains details pertaining to all the mages of Fairy Tail."

"Dammit! Don't you ever stop talking?" Elfman yelled and threw a punch at him, but he jumped up and dodged the punch.

"I do believe you have a big sister, right?" He said while in midair. Elfman's eyes widened at that, but before he could say anything, Sol used an attack.

"Sable Dance!" A small sandstorm was created around Elfman as he took damage from it.

"Ugh..." He groaned and tried to locate his opponent. "Where did he...?" His question was answered when Sol spun around multiple time sin the air before kicking the ground and sending rocks at him.

"Roche Concerto!" He called out his attack as Elfman was pounded by many rocks. Similar to what happened with Totomaru, Sol's magic power was increasing, while Elfman felt his decrease.

'Damn it...not this again...' He thought in annoyance as he did a back flip and landed on his feet.

"If I recall correctly..." Sol started, "...a while back, you underwent a full-body takeover, but it went wrong and you ran wild...your darling little sister gave her life to stop you from going on a rampage, isn't that right? Not only that, but the trauma of it resulted in you from never using the Full-body takeover ever since." Elfman glared at him and then transformed his arm again, but this time to the Testugyuu. He threw a punch with his new arm, but Sol slipped into the earth to dodge and then reappeared from behind Elfman. He turned his head and before he knew it, the Element 4 member began spinning in a circular motion around his arm, gripping it tightly with his body like a snake.

"W-Wha...?"

"Salut!"

"You disgusting freak!" Elfman cursed and tried to remove him from his arm, however it was not working no matter how hard he pulled.

"Non, non, non! That is nonsense with three 'nons'!"

"Why don't you get the hell off me you Moncher Sol!"

"Actually, it's Monsieur."

"Like I care!" Elfman shouted as he struggled to get his opponent off of him. Sol spun around again and kicked Elfman across the face and followed it up by another kick that sent the bigger man to the floor.

"Have we reached the finale yet?"

'Damn this guy...' Elfman wiped the blood that was dripping from the corner of his mouth before standing up. 'Looks like I have no choice but to use that...' He clenched his fists and stored his magic power and it caused his arms to start transforming again. However, the image of his dead younger sister Lisanna appeared in his head, causing him to hesitate. 'Lisanna...' A sudden surge of pain came from his right arm that caused him to buckle and drop down to one knee.

"Hmm! You should avoid attempting that which you cannot! It would appear your magic has dropped drastically from just trying to use that!" Sol charged at Elfman. "Viola!" He shouted his attack in a french accent and kicked him in the stomach. Elfman spat out blood as Sol started motioning for his next attack. "As a gentleman, I feel like I should end this with my most powerful attack." He stated and then created a large fist made out of plaster and launched it at the Strauss sibling. "Platre Sonata!"

"Gaaahhh!" Elfman groaned in pain as he crashed into the wall and breaking it. The sunlight shone through the opening as his head slightly hung from the edge.

"This is the power of the Element Four!" Sol told him.

'Damn...how is he so strong...' Elfman wondered as he started to open his eyes. When he did, his eyes widened at what he saw happening just across from where he was laying down. "W-What the...?"

"E-Elfman..." Mirajane winced in pain as she saw her younger brother. She felt the hand that had her captive give another squeeze making her let out a scream in pain.

"Nee-chan!" Elfman turned around and lifted himself up with his arms at the sight of his sister, disregarding the intense pain he was feeling throughout his body.

"Oh...would you look at that...isn't that your older sister...the same woman who happens to be the famous Mirajane-sama, once feared as the 'Demon'? My, my...it would seem her powers have dwindled as well...how unfortunate." Sol spoke as he touched his monocle. "I am afraid she is currently being punished for deceiving us. I'm pretty sure she'll be crushed any moment now..." He chuckled and swayed back and forth.

"E-Elfman...r-run..." Mirajane told him. Despite her predicament, she only cared about his safety.

"W-What the hell is this? Let her go!" He roared. Sol jumped right on top of him and pushed his face back down to the ground.

"Stop it!" She screamed. "It doesn't matter what happens to me, just leave Elfman alone!"

"Nononon! That's three Nons! I wonder if you'll have to go through it again? Such a pity...first losing your younger sister and now your older sister right in front of your eyes!"

"Elfman! Please run!"

"W-Why...?" Elfman muttered, as he felt angry. "I swore that I'd never see your tears ever again, Nee-chan...so why are you crying?" He roared, trying to get himself up.

"E-Elfman..."

"WHO WAS IT THAT MADE YOU CRY?" He roared and pushed himself up with so much force that he knocked Sol off of him. Mirajane's eyes widened as she watched Elfman start to go on a rampage and begin to transform his body the same way that happened before.

"No! Elfman! Don't do it!" She screamed as the tears started to fall rapidly. "You can only use your right arm!"

"She's right you know." Sol agreed with a smirk.

"Lisanna died because I was too weak..." Elfman said while storing his magic.

"That's not true!" Mirajane tried to reason with her younger sibling.

"I...I never want to feel that way again!" He shouted as tears stung his eyes. He saw his sister scream in pain again and it only made him go ballistic. "I want to become strong, strong so that I could protect Nee-chan! I want to protect Nee-chan! I...I...I will...

...protect her...

Elfman's eyes widened and both Mirajane and Sol looked at Elfman in confusion as the transformation he was trying to do stopped. "E-Elfman..." Mirajane whispered as she stared at her younger brother. Elfman stared at the floor as a certain voice stopped him from going berserk.

"N-Natsu..."

Flashback

"Yo Elfman!" The male Strauss sibling turned around as he saw Natsu waving his hand and walking toward him, his stupid grin on his face.

"What are you doing here, Natsu?" He asked.

"Oh you know...just walking around." He answered.

"Really?" He asked a little confused. "Where's Happy?"

"Don't know...he said something about Lucy having some fish or something for him..." Natsu answered.

"Oh..."

"So, what are you up to?" He asked as he saw the bags in his arm.

"Oh...Nee-chan asked me to go get some things we were missing at home." He answered. "I'm just heading back home."

"I see...mind if I join you?"

"Huh? Sure...but why?"

"What? I can't walk and talk with an old friend?"

"Well...I suppose not..."

"Great! Let's get going!"

"Yeah..." Elfman was a little confused by Natsu's actions. Heck, he would be lying if he said that he didn't find the Dragonslayer weird. However, there was just something even weirder about him ever since he returned. He wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

"So...what's been happening the past two years?" Natsu asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Huh? Oh...nothing much, same old, same old...I guess." Elfman wasn't sure how to answer his question. After all, two years ago was when Lisanna died. He felt like shit because he blamed himself for her death. He could still see the image of his older sister crying on her bed on countless nights. He blamed himself for her tears. He didn't want to see his sister like that ever again. That sad, tearful face was something he hated seeing. He swore he would never see her face like that again.

Then Natsu suddenly disappeared. He wasn't sure why he left, but that very same night, he saw a sad and distant look on his older sister's face. He wondered why did she have that look? He wanted to ask, but something was stopping him from doing so.

Then, he came back. Suddenly, the sad and distant look she had was gone and she was as cheerful as he ever seen her for the past two years. Lately, he would see herself beaming with happiness whenever she saw Natsu at the guild. He was confused by this sudden change in her mood, but he can't say he wasn't happy for his older sister. He looked at Natsu and wondered why his return made his sister feel happier. He wondered if he should as his older sister, but again something was stopping him. He couldn't put his finger on it.

"I see...well that's good..." He replied with a wide grin as he placed his hands behind his head.

"Yeah..." Elfman nodded. "Hey Natsu..."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I wanted to ask you something...something that has been bothering me for a while..."

"Shoot!"

"Did something happen between you and Nee-chan?"

"Huh? Nothing really...why?"

"Well, lately she has been happier than usual..."

"Really? Isn't she the same as before I left?"

"No...this is different..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Elfman stopped walking and stared at the ground. Natsu stopped as well, but a couple of steps in front of him. "I can't really explain it but...when Lisanna died..." Elfman clutched the bags tightly at the memory of his younger sister. He took a deep breath before continuing. "...when Lisanna died, Nee-chan wasn't the same. Whenever I saw her at home, she had this painful look on her face. Whenever I saw her like that, I...it made me angry. Angry at myself. I killed my own sister and yet not only was it my fault, but I also made Nee-chan sad. I made Nee-chan cry. What kind of man am I to do such a thing?" He shouted in anger. The pedestrians passing by looked over at the two Fairy Tail mages in wonder. Natsu didn't say anything because he felt like there was something more he was about to say, so he let him continue. "Then...when you were gone for the past two years...Nee-chan's expression became worse..."

"W-What...?" Natsu said, shocked by what he just told him.

"It sounds strange...but I know what I saw. Nee-chan wasn't the same when both you and Lisanna were gone. I kind of felt angry at you for leaving without even telling us...when you returned...there was a part of me that want to punch you back to wherever the hell you ran off to...but...when I saw Nee-chan hug you like that...she changed. Now I don't see that look on her face anymore. I mean...I know she is still grieving over Lisanna's death...just like I am..but she has been more happier than usual...I don't understand why...but I guess I kind of wanted to thank you..."

Natsu stared at him as Elfman did the same. He then chuckled. "You know...this doesn't sound like you at all...whatever happened to all that manliness talk from earlier?"

"Shut up! Even a man has to share his feelings!" Elfman shouted, getting pissed at his response.

"Calm down...I don't know if it was because of me that Mira changed...but there was something I did tell her a couple of days ago..."

"Huh? What was it?"

"It was to stop blaming herself for Lisanna's death."

"W-What?" Elfman's mouth gaped open and eyes widened in shock.

"I talked to her in front of Lisanna's grave. I told her that I blamed myself for her death. I should have been there to protect her. I told her that and she told me to not blame myself because it was her fault. I got angry that she said that. I told her to not blame herself either. I told her that I won't blame myself anymore as long as she doesn't blame herself."

"Natsu...you..." Elfman muttered in shock.

"There was also something else. I also told her that you wouldn't blame yourself for her her death either."

"W-What?" His eyes widened even farther.

"Look...I know what happened and to be honest...I should have talked to you about this. I don't know personally what you are going through. However, I don't know whether this would help you or not, but stop blaming yourself for her death. I promise you that both me and Mira will stop as well." He grinned.

"Natsu...but..."

"I know it won't be easy, but I can guarantee you that Mira will be even happier if you do." Natsu's grin widened as Elfman was shocked by his words.

"A-Alright...I'll try and do it...but...what if something happens to Nee-chan...I mean...what if I'm not strong enough to protect her...and then something like that happens again..."

"Then I'll protect her as well..." Elfman made a noise in surprise. "Something like that won't happen again because you and I will protect her as well as every one of our friends...right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

End of Flashback

Elfman looked down at his hands. Natsu's words played in his head as he turned his head to look at his older sister. She winced a bit as the hand that held her captive squeezed her again. He clenched his fists and looked at Sol. He wanted to save his sister, but the first thing he needed to do was defeat this guy, otherwise he wouldn't be able to help her. He could feel something inside of him that he never felt before. It was something he couldn't describe, but he did decide to go with.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!" He roared as he felt his magic course throughout his body. Unlike before, it was different. Before he had no control over what was happening, but now it was like a new sensation. Something that he was able to control. Next thing that Sol and Mirajane knew, Elfman transformed his entire body to that of a beast.

"H-Hold on a minute...t-this is...this is...Full-Body takeover Beast Soul?" Sol shouted in fear as sweat rolled down his face.

"Elfman...no!" Mirajane cried again as she feared that her younger brother lost control.

"It's alright...Nee-chan..." She gasped as she heard his voice and looked at him. Her eyes widened when she saw his eyes. He was in control. Tears started to fall again, but they weren't that of sadness, but both relief and happiness. "...I'll save you..." He told her and then look back at Sol.

"Nononon! That's three nons! Just wait a minute! I..." Before he could say anything else, Elfman charged at Sol and delivered a crushing blow that knocked Sol out unconscious after the first hit. He looked down at Sol, who's leg twitched and let out a sigh. He won. He then walked over to the hole and jumped over to the arm that held his sister. He looked down at her and smiled before opening the giant's hand and catching Mirajane before she fell. He pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry Nee-chan..." He apologized.

"What are you apologizing for?" Mirajane asked, smiling into the embrace.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for making you sad for the past two years about Lisanna's death. I saw how sad you looked almost every night."

"Elfman...you..."

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping on you, but I heard you cry and saw how sad you looked that I just wished I could have do something to help you, but I just couldn't."

"It's okay Elfman..."

"Yeah...I know..." He said and let go of her. He slowly turned back to his normal self and smiled at her. "I also wanted to tell you that Natsu told me about how he blamed himself and that he promised you that he'll stop blaming himself as long as you stop as well." Mirajane slightly gasped. "It was because of Natsu that I was able to stop from turning back into that monster. It was because I remembered our conversation that I was able to control myself. I just want you to know that I am also going to stop blaming myself for her death. So...I want you to do the same as well. Let's look forward to the future instead of looking back at the past." He grinned.

Mirajane looked at him with a warm smile. One that Elfman hadn't seen in a long time. She walked toward him and placed her head on his chest. He could feel some of tears touching him, but he knew she was crying tears of joy so he didn't mind them. He made himself a mental note to thank Natsu for bringing back his sister's smile as well as coming back to the guild.

Mirajane couldn't help the tears of joy that were falling from her eyes. She didn't know how long it was since she felt this happy. She was just so happy that her younger brother was no longer blaming himself for Lisanna's death. She was happy that Elfman didn't lose control when he transformed in his full body beast take over. She also was happy that Natsu was the one who helped Elfman realize that he shouldn't blame himself for what happened. He helped her realize that it wasn't her fault as well. She had to thank him for everything he did for her and Elfman. However, there was something else she had and her brother had to do before that. Defeat Phantom.

She pulled away and looked up at her brother. Her eyes widened when she saw something. "W-What's wrong, Nee-chan?" Elfman asked as he turned around to look at what she was looking at.

"The speed at which he's drawing the seal...it became slower."

"Eh? Seriously?"

"Yeah...but...I wonder why?" Mirajane thought about it. 'The Four-Elemental Forbidden Spell...Abyss Break...four elements...fire...water...wind...earth...' It then hit her. "Of course...Elfman...how many of the Element Four are remaining?"

"Huh? Ah...let's see...I think they're are two of them left." He answered.

"I see...it makes sense now...when you defeated that guy, the giant's movements became slower."

"What?"

"In other words, the giant's power source is the four elements! If we defeat all of the Element Four, we can stop the giant!"

"Really?"

"Quickly! They must be somewhere inside this giant!" Mirajane told her brother.

"Yeah!"

- FT -

"Phew...it looks like Mira is okay." Cana sighed in relief as she looked up to see both Strauss siblings head back inside the giant. A sudden pain in her head made her drop to a knee and clutch her head.

"Cana!" Macao shouted, seeing her drop to a knee.

"Don't worry about me! The most important thing is the enemies in front of us! We have to protect Fairy Tail!" She yelled back and then stood up to fight again.

"R-Right..." He said and then smirked. 'Damn...she's pushing herself too hard...but honestly...I wonder why it is that every woman in our guild are so damn strong.'

"Looks like another on of your idiots were defeated." Alastor chuckled in amusement.

"Shut up...I blame you for this..." Jose said.

"Oh and why is that? I told you before didn't I...my territorial magic gives them strength, but it's how they use this power boost...from what I could tell...they were idiots..."

"You bastard..."

Natsu's eyes widened as he watch his Anti form slowly kill each member of the Strauss family. He tried to save them, but no matter how hard he ran toward them, he was always too late. Seeing his friends get killed one by one again was so painful for him. He promised himself that he wouldn't let it happen again, but here it was happening again! The worse part of it was the fact that there person who was killing them was himself. Okay, maybe his darker side, but to him it was like he was killing them himself. He needed more power. He needed to get stronger.

"Damn you!" He shouted and charged at his darker half, only to get kicked in the gut once more.

"What the hell you fucking idiot?" The Anti-Natsu yelled. "Where is that power you showed a while back? What are you afraid of? Use that power! Let me see that power!" He then attacked Natsu again and punched him across the face. "Do you want me to kill another one of your friends? If that is what you want then I'll be more than happy to do it!"

"Shut up! Don't you dare touch my friends!" Natsu stood up and charged at Anti-Natsu again, only leading to the same result. A kick to the stomach and then a high kick to the face. He was slammed to the ground hard and struggled to get back up.

"Looks like you still don't get it...do you?" Anti-Natsu told him as he walked toward him. "Let me see that power!" He roared and grabbed Natsu by his vest. He delivered a swift kick to the stomach, making him spit out blood. "How much longer do you want to suffer? How much longer do you want to see your friends get killed right in front of you?"

"I...I don't want to see...any of them get hurt!" He yelled.

"Then stop being a pussy and release your true power!" He yelled at him and then punched him, sending him to the floor. He watched as Natsu struggled to get up. "This is pathetic...I guess I have no choice. You brought this upon yourself asshole." He then disappeared as Natsu looked around for him.

"Damn it...where is he?"

"Natsu..." Salamander's eyes widened as he turned his head to see Gray, looking at him.

"Gray..."

"What the hell man? Are you this weak? Seriously...I thought you would be stronger than this. What kind of rival are you that I could kick your ass?"

"Damn it...shut up Gray!" He growled.

"Yeah Natsu-san..." Natsu gasped again as he saw Wendy to his right.

"W-Wendy..."

"I believed in you Natsu-san...why won't you help us? Why are you this weak?"

"Wendy...I..."

"This is pathetic...I couldn't believe I lost to some one like you." Laxus appeared behind him.

"Stop it..."

"Natsu...why are you so weak...I thought you were my best friend...I thought best friends help each other..." Happy appeared.

"No...please stop it..."

Suddenly, each and every member of the guild and everyone who he befriended started appearing. They were telling him at how much of a failure he was, how weak he was and how they hated and other things that made Natsu's chest hurt like his heart was about to explode.

"Please...no...I...I wanted to protect all of you! I want to protect you...please...stop this!"

"What the hell? Since when did it start raining?" Gray wondered as he felt rain drop down from the sky and onto him. "So weird...oh well...that doesn't matter right now...I have to stop the Abyss Break Spell!"

"Drip, drip, drip..." Gray turned his head to see a woman, holding an umbrella walk toward him.

"Huh? Who's that?"

"I am Juvia, the woman of rain as well as a member of the Element Four...drip, drip, drip..."

"Element four...huh?"

"To think you are able to defeat two of the four elements. However, Juvia and Aria shouldn't be taken lightly." She told him. Gray glared at her.

"Sorry, but I don't care if you are a woman or a child...I won't go easy on anyone who hurts any of my friends!" He told her.

Juvia stared at Gray. A blush suddenly appeared on her face. Then she turned around and started walking away. "Y-Yes...I have lost this battle...farewell."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell is with that?" Gray shouted as his jaw dropped and eyes popped out of his head in shock.

'Ah...Juvia are you somehow afflicted...this pitter patter in your chest...'

"Hold up woman! Stop this giant at once!" Gray yelled at her as he ran toward her.

'Must make him mine...Juvia, there is no turning back!' She turned around and raised her arm and pointed it at Gray. "Water lock!" She shouted as the ice mage was suddenly engulfed into a ball of water. Gray struggled to breathe and he then winced in pain as the wound he had opened up and blood start leaking out. When Juvia saw this, she started to panic. "Ahh! How could I wound him so? W-What action should I take? I must release him at once!" She muttered to herself. While she contemplate don what she should do, Gray started to freeze the water ball and then shattered it when it was turned to ice. Juvia was surprised that her water lock was broken. He blush only grew more red. 'No way...he froze it and then shattered it apart...Juvia was so sure that no one could break it...he and I...is this some kind of fate?'

"Damn...you got me good..." Gray muttered as he had his hand on his open wound. Juvia let out a gasp as Gray started taking off his shirt.

'W-Why is he taking off his shirt? M-M-M-My heart...my heart is not prepared for this!' Juvia started to panic again as her face became warmer and warmer due to her blush. Gray removed his shirt and then put his hands in his ice make stance.

"Ice Make: Lance!' He shouted and pointed his hands in front of him to launch lances made of ice at her. However, the lances only went through the water woman as she blushed at the contact. "N-No way..."

"My body is made of the rain...drip, drip..." She told him, still blushing.

"Water!"

'Just now...he assaulted me...yes...this man is an enemy! Juvia must be strong! This is war!' She thought to herself as she squirmed around like a high school girl in love. "Farewell, sweet flower of love!" She shouted and shot a wave of water at the ice mage. "Water Slicer!"

"What the hell is this woman saying?" Gray didn't understand the feelings of a woman as the attack hit him. Due to Alastor's territorial magic, Juvia's attack was stronger than expected and it caused Gray to be pushed back, despite his guard. He dropped to one knee and glared at Juvia. "Ice Make: Battle Axe!" He threw an axe made of ice at her, but it only sliced through her as she was amazed by his determination.

"You can't defeat Juvia, it is impossible. There is still time for you to be saved." Juvia told him. "I request that you bring me Lucy. If you do then I can talk tot he Master to see if he can withdraw."

"Shut up and quit screwing around!" He yelled at her, which made her cringe slightly. "Both sides have come too far to stop now! Lucy's our nakama! I won't hand her over even if I die!" Juvia suddenly dropped her umbrella which surprised Gray. He looked at her and saw her shocked expression and tilted his head to the side in confusion.

'Even if I die...even if I die...even if I die...love...love...love...love...a rival in love...' Juvia concluded from what he just said and put her hands on her cheeks as they got hotter and hotter with each passing second. She moved around weirdly, in Gray's point of view, but then something happened that not even Gray knew how she was able to do it. She became so angry that she looked like she was boiling as steam came out of her body. "Aaaargghhh!"

"What the hell?"

"JUVIA CANNOT FORGIVE THIS! JUVIA CANNOT FORGIVE LUCY!" She shouted in anger as some of the water fell on top of Gray. His skin burned at the contact of the water and quickly went to wipe it away.

"Damn...boiling water? It's so hot...and why is she so mad at Lucy for?" He wondered.

"Zella!" She shouted as she transformed herself into a water blast.

"Damn it..." Gray's eyes widened as he saw her coming at him. "Ice Ma-" He couldn't finish his spell as he quickly dodged her attack, but the heat of the water caused some burns on his skin. "So fast! My Ice Make magic can't keep up!" He dodged another attack and continued to do so as she came at him time after time. "If I don't make some time then..." He said and then ran toward a window before jumping in and falling down to the ground. "Ice Make: Shield!" He managed to create his ice in time, but it didn't do anything as her boiling water only melted the ice shield. "No way..."

"My jealousy is boiling!"

"What the hell is that got to do with anything?" He sweat dropped and yelled. Gray was then hit straight in the chest as the boiling water burned his skin. "So hot..." Then, a sudden burst of boiling water shot at him as he had to hold his breath or the water would enter his lungs and burn those as well. He was sent back up to the outside as he gritted his teeth in anger. "Damn it...I only need to freeze something..." He moved himself around and then punched the large stream of water. "Freeze!" He shouted and put every ounce of his magic into freezing the water. When the water started to freeze, he grinned in success as the stream slammed him to the ground, but he was able to freeze the water and thus freeze Juvia as well.

"No way...my boiling water...is getting frozen...but how?"

"Damn...I cannot believe I owe Natsu some thing. This temperature is nothing compared to the heat that fire breath was emitting." He grinned.

"And not only that..." She blushed when he felt Gray squeeze her breast.

"GAH!" He realized what he just did and pulled away immediately. In the act of doing so, he unfroze her, which surprised her. "I'm sorry! It wasn't...I mean..."

'He released me for the ice...why? He's...so kind...' She looked up at him with a blush and tears of joy threatening to fall.

"D-Do over..." He told her.

"No...I...I can't hurt you..." She told him.

"Huh? You can't hurt me?" He asked confused.

"I'm stronger than Lucy. I can protect you." She told him, not daring to look at him.

"Huh? Protect me? Why would you even do such a thing?" He asked.

"It's because...I...I lo...lo..." She stuttered as she tried to say the words.

"Why is the rain coming down harder all of a sudden?" Gray asked.

"Aaaaahhh! This is so frustrating!" Juvia screamed as her emotions were making the rain come down harder.

"Jeez...this rain is so depressing..." Juvia's eyes widened in horror.

'H-He's just like all the rest...' Juvia clenched her fists at the realization. "Aaaaarrrrgggghhh! Who needs love?" She roared as she shot another stream of boiling hot water at Gray.

"Bring it!" Gray shouted, thinking he could just freeze the water again. However, the temperature of the water was hotter than before. 'How is it hotter?' He wondered as his skin burned.

'He is just like the rest...I don't need love...I am one of the element four...I am a Phantom mage!' Juvia decided as she was about to strike Gray again. "Zella!"

"I won't lose..." Gray got into position. "...to someone like Phantom!" He yelled and put his arm in front of the attack and started freezing it. "Nuaaarrrrgghhhhh!" He roared and put more of his magic into freezing her attack again. Juvia's eyes widened as he was able to freeze her boiling water. Not only that, but she looked up to see him freezing the rain as well. Her heart started to beat faster.

"Ice Geyser!" He shouted and created a large geyser made of ice that struck Juvia, making her calm down.

"I...I lost?" She stated as she looked up to the now clear blue sky that she longed for to see.

"How do you feel? Have you cooled off?" Gray asked as he was standing above her.

"The sky...this is the clear blue sky?" She stated as Gary looked up as well.

"Well, what do you know...it stopped raining." He stated.

"It's so beautiful..."

"So..." Gray spoke to her. "Do you want to continue?" He smirked at her. Her eyes suddenly became hears before she screamed and then fainted. "Oi! Are you okay?" Gray asked, but she was able to hear her as she was no longer conscious.

"Just what is going?"

"It's been more than ten minutes...shouldn't the Abyss Break spell be cast already?"

"Urgh...this waiting is killing me?"

"Oh and these ghost things aren't?"

"Shut up!"

"Hey, isn't the giant moving slower than before?"

"Gray and the others must be the cause of that!" Cana stated. "Let's just hope they succeed!"

"Another one is down...just who do you allow in your guild anyway?"

"Shut up..." Jose growled at the comment made by Alastor.

"Oh well, there is still one more of those element people right? I also hear he is the strongest of them all...so, we'll wait and see what happens."

"Hmph, Aria won't lose to the likes of them."

"Didn't you say that about the others?"

"Shut up!"

"Gray!" The ice mage turned his head to see Elfman and Mirajane running toward him.

"Elfman! And...Mira-san? W-What are you doing here?" He asked confused.

"That's not important. Is this one of the Element Four? She asked looking at Juvia.

"Yeah..."

"That's three down and only one to go..." Elfman stated.

"Yeah...if we defeat him then we can stop the Abyss Break." Mirajane added.

"Really?" They both nodded.

"However, the next Element Four is Aria of the wind and he is the strongest of them all." Mirajane said.

"It doesn't matter. We'll kick anyone's ass that dares to hurt our friends." Gray stated as the Strauss siblings nodded their heads in agreement. "But wait a minute...if we are here...then that means that...oh crap..."

"You don't think..." Elfman added, knowing what Gray was talking about. They looked at each other.

"CRAP! WE GOT TO HURRY!" They both yelled.

- FT -

"G-G-ray...E-E-Elfman...N-N-Natsu...HELP ME!" Happy shouted as he stood in front of Aria of the wind.

"So...my opponent is this cat...SO SORROWFUL!" Aria cried.

"Why are you crying?" Happy shouted and sweat dropped.

"It would be so sad to defeat a poor defenseless...purple colored cat!"

"I'm blue! Somebody help me!" Happy cried out.

"It's too late for you, purple cat!" Aria cried and was prepared to attack Happy and defeat him.

"I'M BLUE! AAAAAAHHHHH!" Happy cried as he prepared himself for the worse. However, it never came as someone appeared and pushed Aria back and away from Happy. Happy opened his eyes to find out why no attack hit him and his eyes widened from joy. "ERZA!"

Erza glared at Aria as he did the same through the bandages that covered his eyes. "You...you are the one who did that to the Master..."

"Yes...that is correct...but to see you standing in front of me is a sad surprise...I thought the Jupiter cannon dealt enough damage to you that you wouldn't stand for a while..." He said as Erza continued to glare at him.

"Are you sure you are okay, Erza?" Happy asked, worried.

"Don't worry, Happy...I'll defeat him..." She told him and looked at him with a smile. He gave her a nod.

"So sorrowful...but to bad I will end your life right here and now!" He said. "Since I am facing the mighty Erza, I should go all out." Erza watched as he took off his bandages. "Now then, let us begin our sorrowful fight that will end with your life being taken away."

- FT -

"Hey! The magic circle is shining!"

"No way...is the circle complete?

"What do we do now?"

"Is this really the end?"

'No...someone...please stop this...' Cana prayed as she and the others watched the light get brighter.

- FT-

Erza stared at Aria's eyes as there was something strange about them. However, at the moment she didn't care and only glared back. "Come at me...Erza. I have activated the airspace of death, 'Zero'. This airspace consumes all life!" He shouted as a blast of wind blew by Erza. Happy hung on for dear life as the wind threatened to blow him way.

"Magic that consumes life..." Erza muttered in anger. "WHY DO YOU FIND IT SO EASY TO STEAL PEOPLE'S LIVES AWAY? YOU BASTARDS!"

"Hahahaha! Now let's have some fun." Erza charged at Aria. "I wonder...can you survive in this airspace?" He shouted. Erza didn't say anything and only swung her sword. Aria's eyes widened in shock as Erza was slicing the airspace like bread. "No way...how are you slicing the airspace?" Erza didn't answer him and only continued to swing her sword as she got closer and closer to Aria. "W-Wait..." He tried to plead with her, but Erza was having none of it as she quickly Re-quipped her armor to the Heaven's Wheel Armor and dealt the finishing blow.

"TENRIN BLUMENBLATT!" Aria was struck with many waves of slashes that knocked Aria out unconscious. Happy's jaw dropped to the ground at how easily she was able to beat the final member of the Element Four. "There is no way Master would lose to someone like you...that tale will never appear in your saga..." She glared at him.

"Erza is scary..." Happy shook in fear. "But...SHE WON!"

- FT-

"Everyone get down! It's about to fire!"

"Don't be ridiculous! This isn't the type of magic we can dodge by just simply ducking our heads!"

"We're doomed!"

Suddenly, one of the arms of the giant exploded. Then, one by one, the giant started to collapse. Cana was the first to have a smile on her face as it was over. "They did it!"

"YEAH!"

- FT-

"ERZA!" Happy shouted as he flew to her and grabbed her before she fell to the ground. He lifted her up slightly before gently putting her down as the room shook.

"Erza! Happy!" Gray, Elfman and Mirajane ran over to them.

"Everyone! You're okay!" Happy cheered in happiness.

"Yeah...but wait...why is Erza here?" Gray asked. "And why is the place shaking?"

"The Abyss Break...it stopped!" Mirajane cheered as she saw Aria's unconscious body. "We did it!"

- FT -

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Jose screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Hahahahahaha! This is just fucking hilarious! So much for your strongest members!" Alastor laughed his ass off.

"You...just what the hell have you been doing this entire time! I thought you would give us the strength to defeat them!" He yelled. He cringed when a sword appeared in front of his neck.

"Listen here you dumb ass! Don't blame me for your guild's incompetence!" He glared at him as Jose gulped in fear.

"R-Right..."

"Now that you understand...I assume you came back with good news..." He looked in the direction that Gajeel stood as he had Lucy in his arm.

"Unless this isn't good news...I don't know what is..." He smirked and dropped Lucy to the ground. "So...those Element Four idiots lost...I guess they're nothing but trash who lost to trash."

"You know...I'm starting to like you..." Alastor told him. "Unlike this guy..." He eyed Jose.

"Oi Gajeel...she's still alive, right?" Jose asked ignoring Alastor.

"Hmm..." He hummed and looked down at Lucy. He then kicked her in the stomach causing her to gasp in shock at the pain. "Yep...looks like she is, hehehehehe!"

"Damn you..." Lucy muttered in anger as she opened one of her eyes to look at Gajeel. She saw Jose and Alastor as well, but then groaned from the pain in her stomach.

"Hahahaha! Good work Gajeel!"

- FT -

"Reedus! What happened here?" Loke asked as he had this bad feeling and ran as fast as he could to where Lucy was being hidden. When he arrived, he saw the damage done to the hideout and hurried inside to find Reedus in bad shape. "Where is Lucy?"

"I-I'm...sorry...I...I couldn't protect...I couldn't protect her..." He started to cry at his failure. Loke gritted his teeth in anger.

'Damn it...I knew I had a bad feeling...I knew something like this would happen...damn it! What was I so afraid of? I was afraid to come and help! I'm the worst! Dammit!'

- FT -

"All you Fairy Tail members out there! I have some news that might interest you. We have captured Lucy Heartfilia!" Many collective gasps were heard at the news.

"W-What?"

"N-No way..."

"No...they found the hideout..." Mirajane gasped in shock.

"Our first object is complete..."

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Lucy scream was heard through the speaker.

"Oh no!"

"That's Lucy's voice!"

"This can't be happening!"

"Please...please stop this!" Mirajane covered her mouth to stop the sobs from escaping.

"Natsu..."

"Huh? Erza...?" Happy asked as he and the others looked down at her. "Natsu...you got to wake up...please..."

Gray and Elfman clenched they're fists. Happy started to cry as Mirajane did the same.

"NATSU!"

"Damn it! Stop it! Leave me alone! I'm not weak! I want to get stronger!" He shouted as the voices of his comrades were going back and forth. "Stop it!" He opened his eyes and watched in horror as his Anti self started to kill his friends one by one.

"What are you waiting for? What are you so afraid of, huh? Release your power! Fight me with that power that you are so afraid of releasing!"

"I...I...I...I can't..."

"Then continue to watch your friends die one by one!"

"No...don't do it! Stop it! I can't release my power...I can't control it! I'm scared that I won't be able to control it and because of it I can kill my friends!"

Then the killing stopped as his friends disappeared and his darker half appeared in front of him. "That is what you are afraid of? Are you fucking kidding me? I was doing all of this because of that?"

"W-What?"

"Listen here asshole! You know why you are here? This trial is one that causes the person taking it to overcome the secret fear hidden inside them. I am that fear. I look like you because you are afraid of killing your friends with that power that you locked up with those shitty chains around your wrists. If you want to get out of here and help your friends, who are waiting for you to wake up and help them with that guild war they are involved in."

Natsu made a noise in surprise. 'That's right...my friends...they're involved with Phantom...damn it...how could I forget something like that! What am I doing? What am I fucking DOING? My friends are in trouble! I can't stay here much longer!' He then looked at the darker half of himself that was supposedly his darkest fear. 'He's right...I promised everyone that I will protect them. Lucy, Gray, Happy, Erza, Old Man...everyone...I told myself I would do anything to protect them. To save them. I can't do this alone. I need my friends. I need their help just as much as they need mine. I can't defeat anyone without their help! I can't believe I forgot about that! I'm so fucking stupid!'

"So...are you ready to face your fear or are you just going to watch me kill off each and every one of your friends again?"

"Shut up..." Natsu growled as he lifted his hands. A sudden bright light shined on his wrists as two golden chains formed around his wrists. The Anti-Natsu watched with a smirk as Natsu broke apart the chains. "Let's do this!"

"What the hell is going on?"

"Why are these ghost things so much stronger all of a sudden?"

"It's Jose...it must be his doing!"

"Gah! Cana screamed as she was hit hard by one of the soldiers. She fell to the ground and lifted herself up with her elbows to watch as her comrades were getting beaten as well.

- FT -

"If you want something done...do it yourself...Gajeel, keep an eye on Lucy...I will go deal with the pests..."

"Yeah...yeah..."

"It's almost time..."

"Hmm? Time for what?" Gajeel asked looking at Alastor.

"Nothing..."

- FT -

Meanwhile, in the forest outside of Magnolia.

The Master of Fairy Tail was being kept with a watchful eye by Porlyusica as she mixed some potions together. She then turned her head to look at Makarov as she noticed some slight movement to see him slowly opening his eyes.

"Makarov..."

- FT -

"Damn...we got to go save Lucy!" Gray clenched his fists as the others nodded. Suddenly, a chill went up everyone's spine as Mirajane wrapped her arms around herself.

"W-What was that?"

"You brats think you are so damn good..." The five had their eyes widened in shock as they turned their heads to see Jose walked toward them. "But...you did put on a very good show for us." He chuckled.

"Master Jose!" They screamed.

'This guy...' Gray and Elfman thought as the atmosphere felt nauseating.

'How can someone's magic feel so evil...?' Mirajane wondered as she placed a hand on her mouth. 'It's making me physically sick from just being near him.'

"Well then, I must thank you for providing me with such entertainment. I've had my fill...now it's time for you to die!"

"No! Get away from him!" Erza screamed.

"Take this!" He raised his arm and shot electrical magic at the two of them. Both were already so badly injured that the attack was too much for them and they were knocked out.

"Gray! Elfman!" Mirajane screamed.

"Damn you..." Erza growled as she tried to stand up, but struggled doing so.

Jose however wasn't finished as he swiped his hand to the side that caused a large burst of dark magic to deal even more damage. Mirajane screamed as her head hit the ground hard and knocked her out as well. Happy was also blown away and hit his head against a pillar, knocking him unconscious. Erza stormed at him, Re-quipping her armor in the process as Jose pointed his arm at her and shot a blast of his magic at her. She dodged and swung her sword, but Jose dodged it easily and then grabbed her leg before swinging her at the wall.

"You know...I am surprised you are still standing...after all...taking on Jupiter must have taken a toll on your body." Jose said as Erza stood up.

"My friends are what is keeping me on my feet." She told him. "As long as I'm fighting for the people I love, I won't lose!"

"What an admirable and touching heart you have...yes, you are definitely a woman worth killing." He smirked as his eyes grew dark like his magic.

- FT -

Lucy cringed as a kunai was thrown at her only to be pierced through the wall next to her that she was chained onto. She bit her bottom lip at how close the kunai was to almost stabbing her in her face. She opened one of her eyes to look at Gajeel as he twirled another kunai in his hand. "Damn...I thought that one was going to hit you for sure."

"Gajeel...you shouldn't do that...you might really hurt her and we can't have her hurt or worse killed..." One of the members of Phantom told the Iron Dragonslayer.

"Eh? But I'm bored..." He replied, sighing. "Now then...where should I aim next?"

"J-Just stop it..." He tried again, but this time Gajeel slammed his head against his. The poor guy was slammed hard onto the ground, knocking him out.

"Shut the fuck up..." Gajeel growled in anger as he glared at him. "I don't care who this girl is. For what I care she is only one of those trash from Fairy Tail. Who gives a shit if she dies or whatever."

"But if she dies then the Master would be very angry with you." One of them told him.

"Who cares...I'll just blame it on you."

"No way!" They shouted in shock.

"Man this sucks...even those Tail idiots are throwing their lives away just cause this girl has some cash."

"Hahaha..." Gajeel's ears twitched as he heard Lucy laugh.

"Huh? You say something, girl?"

"You guys are complete idiots, aren't you? It's so sad that it makes me want to cry." She told him.

"Is that right? To be able to bluff in your current situation is impressive...maybe you might be worth something after all."

"You idiots aren't even the tiniest bit scared, are you...?" Suddenly, Gajeel threw the kunai in his hand and it almost grazed Lucy's cheek as it pierced through the wall.

"Sorry...but...did you say something?" Gajeel smirked as the other members cringed at how close that kunai was.

"You're the ones who'd be in trouble if I died, you know. There is no way Fairy Tail would ever forgive you! That's the kind of guild they are. You'd just end up cowering in fear against the most terrible guild in the world for the rest of your lives." She smirked.

"Oh...is that so? That is some interesting theory you have there...maybe I should put it to the test..." He chuckled as he held up another kunai.

"Wait Gajeel!" He ignored them and threw the kunai.

"Gajeel!" Lucy closed her eyes as she saw the kunai coming toward her. However, it never hit her and she looked up to see Alastor stopping the kunai in a huge surprise.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Gajeel asked, glaring at him.

"Don't look at me like that you asshole. This girl is way too important for you to mess around with. Besides, someone will be really angry if something happened to her." Alastor told him as he broke the kunai in half.

"Like I care what Master Jose thinks." Gajeel responded.

"Whoever said anything about him?"

"Huh? Then who the hell are you talking about?"

"You'll know soon enough..."

Gajeel blinked at him in confusion. "Fine...whatever..." He turned around and walked over to take a seat on one of the steps that led to the exit of the room.

"You are one lucky girl, Lucy Heartfilia..." Alastor told her as she looked at him. "But...you might also be the unluckiest girl as well." He chuckled before walking back to where he stood previously.

"W-What did he mean by that?"

- FT -

"Aaaaah!" Erza shouted as she charged at Jose. She swung her sword at him, but he simply dodged her blade and the swung his arm to shoot a wave of his magic at her. It connected as she was hit by the blow and sent flying to the other end of the room. "Damn you..." Erza winced in pain as she struggled to get up.

"This is starting to get boring Erza Scarlet. However, it is impressive that you are able to withstand everything. However, you have no chance of defeating me the way you are now." He chuckled. "It's too bad...I always wanted to face you, Titania."

"I haven't lost yet!" She yelled, trying to get up and she managed, but her knees were shaking violently.

"Oh...but you sure do look like someone who can't go on any further..." He smirked mischievously and raised his hand as his hand started to be surrounded by his dark magic.

Erza clutched her sword tightly as she knew she was at her limit. She knew she couldn't take another direct hit from Jose. However, despite all of that, despite the pain she was feeling all over her body, she knew she couldn't give up, not when all her friends were counting on her. 'I can't lose!'

"Die, Titania!" Jose shouted as he pointed his arm at her and shot out a blast of dark magic. Erza charged at it. She tried cutting the blast, but all she could do was block it as she was getting pushed back. "Nice try, but it won't work!" He shouted and applied more of his magic to the blast. It was too much for a weakened Erza as the extra power caused Erza to lose her grip on her sword. The sword was blown away and the blast hit her. She was pushed all the way to the wall, destroying it as it created an opening to the outside.

"Gah!" Erza spat out blood. She opened her eyes and was met with a clear blue sky. She tried getting up, but the pain in her body was too much.

"Well, well...would you look at that site..." Jose smirked at the scene. Erza heard his words and moved her head back to see what he was talking about and her eyes widened in horror.

- FT -

"Oh no...our guild!" Members of Fairy Tail watched in horror as the ghost soldiers attacked the guild building that they had so many memories in. The guild was starting to crumble as it was getting hit after hit. The guild members couldn't hold their own against the new powered up ghost soldiers as they struggled to hold them back. However, the ones who did get past them, attack the guild building with pillars and magic attacks.

Cana lifted herself up on her elbows as she struggled to stay up. She looked at what the enemy was doing to their guild building was just so horrifying. "No! It can't end like this! Not our guild!" She cried. "Please stop!" It was then that she realized that there were two people inside the building at that moment. "Oh no...Natsu! Levy!"

"What? Oh no! Those two are still in there!" Macao realized the same thing as he looked back at the guild.

"Levy!" Jet and Droy shouted as they tried to get inside to save her, but were held back by other members of the guild. "Let us go!"

"Don't be idiots! You want to get yourselves killed as well!"

"Let us go! Levy!"

Soon, then entire building collapsed to the ground as everyone watched with widened eyes. Cana was on her knees as tears started falling from her eyes. The guild building that she and the others loved was no longer there. It was nothing but rubble. The worst part of all this, was the fact that two of their guild members were in there when the building collapsed. "Natsu! Levy!" Cana cried as she tried to rush toward the building and began digging through the rubble for any sign of her nakama.

Jet and Droy joined her as they too started looking for their comrade. The others only looked on with frowns and some tears as they were still in shock over what happened.

- FT -

"Oh...would you look at that..." Alastor chuckled as he saw what happened.

"Hmm? What is it?" Gajeel asked, standing up and walking over to him.

"Allow me to show you..." He smirked and made two swords appear in his hands. He then faced the wall and swung his swords. Everyone watched as the wall was cut into hundreds of pieces. Sunlight entered the room. Gajeel smirked at what he saw.

"Hahahahaha! Oh this is just fucking great!" He laughed as Lucy struggled to get a look at what they were seeing. She managed to get a glimpse and her eyes widened in shock. Tears started to fall as soon as she saw the rubble that was once the guild. Not only that, but she knew Natsu was inside as well. Her chest suddenly tightened and she felt the worse feeling she ever did.

'No...Natsu...it can't be...'

Makarov ran as fast as he humanly could as he had a bad feeling lately. He wasn't sure why, but he knew something must have happened to his children. He heard some type of rumbling and was convinced that something did happen. He didn't stop to wonder what the rumbling was and only moved forward. 'Don't worry everyone...I'm coming...' He jumped onto a roof of a building and started to jump from one roof to the other. He noticed something was off. The guild building wasn't there. He didn't know why it wasn't there, but he continued to get to the place where his children were fighting for their lives. He then sensed something and stopped. "Who are you?"

"Calm down...Makarov-san..."

"I will ask again, who are you?"

"Me...well..." The man said as he put the canteen he had to his lips and took a large gulp of whatever was inside it. He let out one big sigh of relief before looking in the direction where the guild once stood. "...I guess I'm an idiot who decided to train an even bigger idiot..." He chuckled as Makarov looked at him in confusion. "I would really like to avoid a fight with you, Makarov-san...but why don't you just watch and see something that not even you won't believe..."

"Natsu! Levy!" Cana cried as her hands started to bleed from all the work she did in trying to find her two comrades. "Please be alright...please!" Everyone else couldn't stand to watch the sight. They wanted to help her, but it didn't look good for their comrades. "Somebody...anybody...HELP US!"

Her prayers were answered as from within the center of the rubble, a large geyser of red flames shot up. Everyone's eyes widened in shock at the sight. In the sky, the flames changed form into the image of a large dragon letting out a large roar to the sky.

From the view of Erza and Jose, both were shocked at what they were seeing. Erza knew of only one person who was able to do something like this. She couldn't help but put the largest and warmest smile she ever placed on her face. 'Natsu...'

Gajeel was stunned at the amount of magic that was being produced by the one man he thought he defeated. He gritted his teeth in anger as he then turned toward Alastor. "What the hell is this? I thought we..." He stopped when he saw the expression on the red head's face.

"Hehehehe...hahahahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHA! FINALLY! FINALLY YOU WAKE UP! FINALLY I GET TO HAVE SOME FUN!" He yelled as Gajeel backed away at how crazy the man was becoming.

Lucy saw the flame and couldn't help but smile as tears fell down her cheeks. She was so happy that he was okay.

The others watched in shock as the flames were so strong that it almost looked like a real dragon was right in front of them. They then saw a silhouette in the fire and looked there as the flames returned to their normal form. In an instant, the flame dispersed to reveal Natsu standing in the center of the rubble, Levy in his arms bridal style.

Levy started opening her eyes as the last thing she remembered was putting her arms over her head to protect herself. Then, she felt warm hands wrap around her body and now she was staring up at Natsu, who had a serious look on his face as he stared at whatever it was in front of him. She then saw the position she was in and blushed at how close she was to Natsu. "N-Natsu...what...what happened...?"

"Levy..." He said in a tone that made her shut up and look up at him with red cheeks. She watched a she turned his head to look at her and then he smiled. "...are you alright?"

"H-Hai..." She responded as she felt her heart beat all so quickly.

"That's good..." He said and then started walking over the rubble. He reached the end of the rubble and jumped onto the ground. He then gently let her down as she couldn't stop looking at Natsu. "You should be okay here." He told her and she simply nodded as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest. Natsu turned to look at the others and saw the look of both shock and sadness on their faces. He walked up to them and stopped next to Cana.

"Natsu..." She said as she looked up at him with tearful eyes.

"I'm sorry for being late, Cana." He told her and looked at her with a sad smile. "But...I'm back."

"You idiot!" She yelled. "What took you so damn long to wake up? You almost gave everyone a heart attack!"

"Yeah...sorry about that...but...right now...it's time to end this..." He told her as he started walking again. Cana watched him leave and for some reason, she had this feeling of hope as she watched his retreating back.

'Since when did he...become this cool...'

Natsu continued walking and noticed the ghost soldiers that were ready to strike him. He stopped and raised his arm. His arm ignited and when he did,m the soldiers charged at him. "Get out of my way." He stated and swung his arm to send a large blast of fire magic that burned each and every soldier to a crisp. The others were in complete shock as Natsu single handily defeated every single soldier like it was nothing. He then started walking forward again. His eyes never left the destroyed guild building that belonged to Phantom.

"That brat is still alive...damn that man!" Jose gritted his teeth in anger. "If you want something done, you have to do it yourself." He stated and then looked at Erza. "I will be back for your life, Titania!" He told her and then disappeared.

"That Salamander...how is he still alive! Fuck this! I'm going!" He stated and jumped out the hole.

"Impatient little bastard..." Alastor said as he watched Gajeel head down to the coast. He then soon followed.

Natsu stopped walking when he saw the three appear just a few feet away from him. He looked between all three of them and clenched his fists.

"You piece of shit! How are you still alive?" Gajeel shouted. Natsu didn't answer him.

"This is all your fault..." Jose blamed Alastor.

"I wouldn't talk to me like that...after all...I did kick your ass once before and I could still do it again." He warned him.

"Tch..." Jose turned his head back to Natsu.

"Not talking, huh?" Gajeel growled in anger. "Fine then! Action speak louder than words Salamander!" He charged at Natsu.

"He really is impatient..." Alastor chuckled.

"Take this!" Gajeel shot his arm forward as he transformed it into a steel club. Natsu didn't move and raised his arm. He lifted his index finger and that was more than enough to block Gajeel's attack. Gajeel's eyes popped out of his head and jaw dropped at what just happened. The others did the same. Natsu was able to stop his attack with just using his finger. "N-N-No way...you got to be kidding me...h-how did he...?" He then saw Natsu disappear. He then reappeared in front of him and before Gajeel could do anything, Natsu punched him in the face that sent him flying back to the destroyed Phantom Lord building.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Many of them shouted in complete shock as Gajeel was knocked out in an instant.

"S-Such power..." Jose stuttered in shock. He never seen such raw power before.

"You want to know something even more amazing..." Alastor said to him as he had a smirk the entire time. "He did that without using his magic whatsoever."

"What?" Jose yelled in shock.

"Oi..." Natsu called out to the two as they looked at him. "Who's next?"

To Be Continued...
- 15
- 16
- 17
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Time is the Path to Strength