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Time is the Path to Strength	By : Repiece Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 47113 -:- 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
- 22
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Chapter 23: Natsu and Zeref Round Three

"Natsu! Where did you go!?" Happy shouted as he flew down a long corridor. He stopped and descended to the floor, making his wings disappear. "That's strange...I wonder where he went." Happy started walking. "Hm?" Happy stopped and looked up to see a woman standing in front of him. "...Cat?"

"Kyaaaaaaa!" Millianna squealed and rushed over to the blue furred Exceed, pulling him into a hug. "Such a cute kitty!"

"C-Can't...breathe..." Happy managed to breathe to from the tight grip she had on him.

"Oh...I'm so sorry kitty..." She loosened up on the hug. "But you're so cute...I got to take you back to my room..." She turned around and started skipping away with Happy in her arms.

"Someone! Help me!" Happy cried as he tried to get away from her, but couldn't.

"I can't wait for you to see my entire kitty collection..."

"HELP ME!"

Natsu and Jellal clashed fists once again as it caused a large shock wave that reached each corner of the room. Cracks were seen on all the walls that surrounded the room. The two skidded to a stop on each side of the room and smirked at each other, before they started a barrage of fists at each other. Their fists either connected with the other or blocked by another body part, but neither slowed down. They both knew that whoever fists connected strongly first, would gain the early advantage in the fight and both were not going to let that happen.

Soon enough, kicks were added into the assaults. Natsu almost had connected with a kick to the head, but Jellal quickly pulled his head back. Jellal however, lifted his right leg and tried to kick Natsu in the chin, but the Dragon Slayer blocked the attack with his hands. Natsu was lifted into the air by the attack as Jellal placed his hands on the ground and then used them to push up like a spring and deliver a powerful kick that made Natsu's hands break apart.

"Crap..." Jellal smirked and attack with his other leg. Natsu was hit in the face with Jellal's boot and crashed into the floor hard. Jellal landed on the ground, but then quickly ran at Natsu as he was getting up and slammed his fist into his gut. Natsu spat out saliva as he was sent flying into the wall.

"Hmph...looks like I have taken the lead...Natsu..." Jellal said as Zeref appeared as an image behind him.

"Heh..." Natsu jumped out of the wall and landed a few feet away from Jellal with a smirk on his face. "Maybe so...but let's see who has the edge at the end of this fight!" Natsu replied and ignited his fists into the golden flames. "Flames of Rebuke!" The golden flames surrounded Natsu as his smirk widened.

"Yes...let's just see who wind sup victorious!" Jellal made his entire body surround by his magic and using his magic increased his speed. Natsu barely had time to see Jellal appear in front of him, but still was able to duck under the kick he tried to deal to the side of his head. Clenching his fists tightly, the flames expanded and Natsu tried to punch Jellal, but the blue haired man crossed his arms in front of him. Natsu punched the man's forearms with enough force that it pushed him a few feet back. Jellal groaned at the pain he felt in his forearms, but Natsu wasn't going to let him rest for a second. He charged at him, clenched his fist once more and punched Jellal in the face. Jellal hit the ground hard several times before flipping onto to his feet and sliding to a stop. "Not bad...Natsu..."

"There is more where that came from!" He yelled and used the flames on his feet as thrusters to get to Jellal faster than he could stand up. Jellal noticed this beforehand and raised his arm to shoot out a beam of magic at him. Natsu dodged the beam as it created an explosion behind him. He then punched Jellal in the face again. Jellal however, wasn't sent flying as he grabbed Natsu's wrist, turned his body and then slammed his elbow onto Natsu's back. "Gah!" Natsu mouthed out as he slammed hard onto the floor. Jellal placed his hands together and tried to slam his combined hands down hard on him, but Natsu rolled out of the way as Jellal hit the floor, creating a small little crater.

Natsu got on his feet and then pushed on his legs forward to punch Jellal again. Jellal blocked the attack with his hands. Unfortunately, the punch was much harder than previously and caused Jellal to stagger a bit, making way for a spin around flaming kick from the Salamander. Jellal crashed onto the floor and his body slid all the way to the wall, crashing into it. Natsu panted as he stood up on his feet and glared at the hole his opponent laid in. His eyes widened suddenly when he saw a large sphere of Heavenly Magic heading toward him. With no time to evade, Natsu raised his arms, ignited them, and reduce the damage done by the spell. The attack, did however push him back all the way to the other side of the room and exploded when it made contact with it.

Jellal walked out of the hole he was in and smirked. "Come on now, Natsu. Is that all your flames can do to me?"

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" A large line of golden red flames came out of the hole on the opposite side of the room. Jellal raised his arm and launched a beam of Heavenly Magic at the flames. The two attacks collided in the middle of the room, causing an explosion that made Jellal brace himself from flying away. When the wind settled down, Jellal raised his head and saw nothing but smoke from the explosion.

"W-Where is he?" He wondered as he looked around for the Dragon Slayer.

"Lightning Flame Dragon's..." Jellal's eyes widened as Natsu appeared on the opposite side he was looking at and turned his head in time to get punched by an attack that was combined with both fire and lightning. "...FIST!" Natsu roared as Jellal spat out blood and crashed hard into the wall causing a large crack to appear all the way up to the roof. "Heh...how about that?" Natsu smirked.

The sound of some debris falling was heard as Jellal stood up and walked out of the hole. He raised his head up and smirked back. "It seems you have gotten stronger than your previous self..." He wiped the trail of blood on the corner of his mouth with his hand. "...but...it would take more than that to defeat me."

"You didn't have to tell me that!" Natsu roared and ignited his entire body with his lightning flames and then put his hands in front of his mouth. "Lightning Flame Dragon's...Roar!" Jellal smirked at the upcoming attack, raised his arm, it glowing with his Heavenly Magic, and simply swatted it away. The attack pierced through the wall and continued it's destructive path outside. Natsu's eyes were wide in shock.

"Come on now...did you really think I wouldn't increase my strength not that I know the strength level of your Lightning Flame?" Jellal's smirk widened.

"Shut up!" Natsu charged at him. He jumped and ignited one of his hands with his flames and the other with lightning. He combined his hands above his head. "Lightning Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" He slammed his hands down as a large semi-sphere of fire and lightning erupted where Jellal stood. Natsu gritted his teeth as the attack created a powerful explosion. Natsu landed on the ground and stared at the smoke for any sign of Jellal.

"I..." Natsu's eyes widened as Jellal somehow appeared in front of Natsu and kicked him in the stomach. "...won't..." He followed up with a punch to the face. "...be beaten..." Another punch, this time tot he opposite side. "...by magic..." He spun around. "...at this level!" He then kicked Natsu away so that he crashed into and through the wall. He spat out blood as he landed on the hard surface of a ledge that stuck out of the tower. He coughed out some blood as he felt his insides burn.

'Shit...that hurt like hell...' He took in several deep breaths. He opened his eyes and looked up. 'That's right...those geezers are supposed to fire Etherion soon...' He groaned as he turned around to his front. He lifted himself up onto one leg and then the other. He staggered a bit, still feeling shell shocked from the kick. He took one final deep breath before turning around and jumping up to the hole he went through. When he did, his eyes widened as he saw Erza in the room, pointing one of her swords at Jellal.

"Jellal!" She screamed as she glared at him.

"My, my...it's good to see you too, Erza. Look how you turned out after all these years." He smirked.

"Shut up!" She yelled. "I won't forgive you for what you did to Sho and the others!"

"Me? Why I didn't do anything? It was their choice to follow me."

"That's a lie!" She retorted. "You tricked them...deceived them...you told them nothing but lies!"

"Oh...have I now? Now that you mention it...I guess I have..."

"You..." She gritted her teeth in anger and clenched her sword tightly. "Where's Natsu?"

"Oh? Why would you ask me about him?"

"Because I know you and Natsu have been fighting...where is he?"

"I'm right here." Erza gasped at the sudden voice and turned her head to see Natsu walking over to her, wiping blood that trailed down the corner of his mouth. Erza scanned his body and saw that he was dirty and bruised, but other than that, fine. She let out a sigh of relief. Jellal smirked. He raised his hand and shot a beam of Heavenly Magic at Erza. "Watch out!" Natsu screamed and rushed over to her. He pushed her out of the way as the beam hit him.

Erza rolled on the ground until she came to a stop and panicked as she saw smoke coming out of the wall. "Natsu!" She screamed.

"Hahahahaha! The fool..." Jellal laughed. Erza glared over at the man who she admired during her days as a slave.

"You!" She screamed and charged at him, swinging her sword. Jellal evaded her sword with ease before grabbing it and then kicking her in the gut. Erza coughed up blood from the powerful kick as she lost her grip on her sword. She fell to her knees and held her stomach.

"You really have become such a strong woman, Erza...but you see...I'm no longer the Jellal you knew..." He smirked as he examined her sword. "...I'm stronger than you could ever imagine...and..." He stopped and his smirk grew. "...it seems the old fools are going to fire the Etherion in three minutes..."

Erza's eyes widened. "W-What!?"

"Hahahaha! Don't sound so surprised, Erza. Did you really forget what this tower was originally for?"

"Of course I didn't..." She yelled.

"Then it shouldn't be a surprise that the old fools will fire Etherion to stop it..." Jellal told her. "That is what is wrong with this world...old fools who do not know anything and yet they have the power to make the decisions...and because of that they are going to fire Etherion and possibly kill anyone near this tower..."

"You're wrong...the others...they're already on a ship away from this tower..." Erza shouted.

"Hahahaha! Do you think that will save them? You underestimate the power of Etherion, Erza. It doesn't matter how far they get in three minutes...they will still die..." Jellal told her. "All of us will be sacrifices for Zeref!" Erza looked at him in horror.

"Y-You monster..." Erza couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was definitely not the same Jellal she knew as a kid. This man, that she sees right before her, was a monster. "You monster!" She screamed and ran at him. Seeing how Jellal had her sword, the only thing she thought about doing was punching him, completely forgetting about the fact that she could have re-equipped into a different armor. Jellal easily avoided a right hook and then kneed her in the gut before grabbing her neck, raising her up in the air. "You..."

"You shouldn't let your emotions run wild...Erza...otherwise you'll get yourself killed..."

Suddenly a bright light appeared above the tower, high in the sky. After rescuing Happy and then getting everyone on board the ship they were able to sail away at a fair distance from the tower. Lucy, Juvia and Gray were unconscious from their battles as Happy, Sho, Millianna and Wally looked at the sky. "I can't believe they are actually firing the Etherion!"

"Myaaa!"

"Nee-san..."

"Erza...Natsu...you got to get out of there..." Happy cried as he looked on with tears stinging his eyes.

Erza gritted her teeth as she glared at Jellal. "You...m-monster..."

"Looks like Etherion will fire soon..." Then to Erza's surprise, Jellal smiled. Not smirked, but smiled. The smile that she remembered when they were younger. He let go of her neck and she fell to the floor, gasping for air. "Erza..." She heard him whisper her name in a gentle voice. She looked up and her eyes widened when he suddenly got down and pulled her to a hug. "If this is really the end...then let me stay like this...please..." Erza didn't know what to say. She couldn't even move. She was that shocked. All she could do was close her eyes and wrap her arms around Jellal as Etherion was shot down toward the tower.

The ship the others were on was destroyed by the waves that resulted from the large blast. The three that were unconscious woke up as soon as water hit them. They weren't sure what was going on, but as soon as they noticed they were underwater, they immediately swam up to resurface for some much needed air. "W-What's going on?" Lucy asked as she was forced back under due to the waves. The waves continued to thrash around as the impact of Etherion was very powerful. Juvia managed to create a large water bubble that she made sure everyone was in it.

Gray's eyes widened as he realized what happened and couldn't help but mumble, "Etherion..."

When the water settled down, everyone couldn't help but stare wide eyed at the large smoke coming from where the tower stood. "Natsu...Erza..." Happy whined as he feared for his friends.

"Simon..." Wally mumbled as Millianna and Sho looked on with the others.

Erza began to open her eyes and the first thing she noticed was that she was alive. "W-What? We're alive...but how...?" She asked looking around to see the walls of the room they were once in start to crumble.

"Hehehe..." She heard the man in front of her start to chuckle.

"J-Jellal...?" She blinked at him as he stood up and went to a full blown laugh.

"Hahahahaha!"

Everyone who was outside were in shock. As the wind blew the smoke away, there stood the tower, but this time it was made not of metal, but what looked like crystals. "W-What...?" Juvia spoke.

"The tower...the outside walls crumbled...leaving some kind of crystal?" Gray observed.

"Hey...they're alright, right? Natsu, Erza and that Simon guy..." Lucy wondered as she felt a tug in her chest. She placed a hand to her chest and clenched it.

"Hahahaha! Finally! The time has come!" He shouted.

"You...what did you...?" Erza looked at him with wide eyes.

"Surprised, Erza? This...is the true form of the Tower of Paradise...a gigantic pillar of Lacrima..." Jellal told her. "...and through the power of the Council's Etherion..." He raised his arms up. "...I have succeeded in gathering two billion, seven hundred million sources of magical energy!" Hey yelled as if he was screaming to the heavens. "The R-System is finally complete!"

"Y-You...you tricked me..." Erza growled at him.

"Tricked you...? I did no such thing...maybe you shouldn't think about past memories as if I returned to that old kid self..." He told her as Erza gasped and stared at him wide eyed.

"He's right you know, Erza." Erza heard a voice behind and quickly spun around.

"W-What!?" Her eyes widened even further as she saw Siegrain staring at her.

"You see...neither me nor Jellal had the power to complete the R-System...so I made sure those fools over at the council trust me and eventually use the Etherion...it was pretty easy if you ask me..." He told her.

"W-What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Come now Erza...think back, to when we first met...you thought I was Jellal and attacked me, but I don't blame you since we do look alike. When I finally got you to settle down...I told you that I was his twin brother...but you still didn't stop suspecting me..."

"Why the hell shouldn't I? You are his big brother and yet you did nothing to stop him! Worse, you were keeping watch over me, for him!" Erza yelled.

"You're right, I should have told you something like, 'I will find Jellal and kill him, without fail' or something like that." He responded. "However, meeting you was something I never planned on doing after I became a member of the Council."

"Having to come up with an excuse on the spot isn't easy." Jellal added as Siegrain now stood next to him.

"I knew it...you two were in on this together..." She glared at them.

"Oh? Do you really still think that? Come on Erza...you're smarter than that...the two of us are one and the same...we always were..." Erza's eyes widened even further as Siegrain's body started to disappear.

"N-No...you can't be...A Psychic Projection!"

"Hahaha, yes. Sieg is me, plain and simple." Siegrain's body vanished as it appeared to have fused with Jellal.

"I-Impossible!" Erza yelled. "Then that means that you fired Etherion on your own body! You;re telling me that's why you wormed your way into the Council!?"

"I hope you enjoyed your freedom...Erza. Zeref will soon be resurrected and you will become the sacrifice needed for it."

"You...how many people do you plan on deceiving!?"

"Hahahaha! My power...has returned." He raised his hand and then shot a beam of Heavenly Magic at her. Erza's eyes widened and she didn't have time to dodge as the beam hit her. She spat out blood as she rolled on the Lacrima until she came to a stop at a large crystal. She groaned from the pain and struggled to lift herself up. "Yes...you would make a wonderful sacrifice for Zeref..." He told her as he started walking over to her.

"Damn it..." She growled as she looked up to see Jellal walking over to her through her blurry vision. She knew she had to fight back. She got made it to her feet and was prepared to draw out on of her swords, but suddenly couldn't make her arm move. 'What the...?' She looked at her arm and saw a binding spell placed on her.

"Surprised? It's a spell I placed on you when we hugged." Jellal told her as she looked at him with wide eyes. The spell suddenly made it's way all around her body, making her completely immobile. Jellal stopped in front of her. "It's such a pity...someone as strong as you to feel so helpless at the moment." He told her as Erza started to cry through one of her eyes. "Please don't cry Erza...I'm sure that Zeref doesn't want to be reborn after knowing that his sacrifice cried..."

"Damn you!" She yelled.

"Oh...it seems we have a guest." Jellal suddenly said and turned around to see Simon standing on the other side, glaring at Jellal.

"S-Simon..." Erza whispered as she stared at her old friend.

"Jellal..." He growled. "Let her go!"

"Should you really ask me such a request, even after all we've been through." Jellal responded.

"Don't give me that crap! I knew your plan all along!" He yelled.

"Oh?"

"Let go of Erza!" He yelled again. Jellal smirked.

"Alright then..." Erza gasped as he grabbed her arm and then flung her at Simon. Simon caught her and slid back a few feet because of the strength of the throw.

"Erza! Are you okay?" He asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah..." She looked at him and gave him a warm smile. She then frowned and looked at Jellal. 'Why did he do that?'

"From the look on your face...I'm guessing you're wondering why I handed you over...well the answer is simple really..." He smirked and then raised his arms and crossed them over his head. Suddenly, a small orb of black magic formed above his hands. Erza's eyes widened as she could sensed the power of the technique he was about to use. She looked down and noticed that her shadow and Simon's shadow were drawn toward Jellal. She looked back up and the orb was quickly becoming bigger and bigger.

"Simon! You need to...get out of here..." She told him as he looked down at her. "You...have to get out of here...that spell...it's too dangerous..." Simon looked at her and then back at Jellal.

"...hahahahaha!" Jellal laughed. "It's too late to run anywhere! You were wondering why I returned you to him, well the answer is, like I said, simple...it's because I don't need you..." Erza's eyes widened. "It's true that you as a sacrifice will be enough to bring back Zeref...but...there is someone else in this tower who is even more suited for being a sacrifice!" Erza's eyes widened even further, but she had an expression of horror on her face.

"No...no!" She yelled. "Leave Natsu out of this! This is between you and me!" She desperately cried.

"Hahahaha! It's too late, Erza!" He laughed as a small white light appeared inside the dark ball of magic. "Goodbye! Altairis!" He launched Altairis at the two.

"No!" Erza cried. She was then suddenly dropped to the ground and watched with wide eyes as Simon walked in front of her body and raised his arms as if he planned to shield the attack. "Simon!" She yelled as aloud as she could as a sudden explosion occurred in front of her. She closed her eyes to prevent dust getting into her eyes. Once she was able to clear them, she snapped them open and look forward. "Simon!" She cried as she saw the large body of her friend. For a few moments, he didn't move and Erza feared the worst. She then heard a grunt noise.

"S-S-Salamander..." Erza's eyes widened as she looked past Simon and saw Natsu standing in front of Simon, his arms up just like Simon had. However, the big difference was that both his arms transformed into his dragon arms and from what she could see, his chest also slightly transformed.

"So...you finally returned...what took you so long?" Jellal asked, smirking.

Natsu grunted and fell to one knee as blood fell from his chest. "Natsu!" Erza screamed.

'Damn...even though my Dragon Metamorphosis took most of the damage...this guy...' Natsu raised his head and glared at Jellal as Zeref's image appeared behind him. 'You...I told you...as long as I'm around...I won't let any of my friends be killed!'

'Are you sure, Natsu? I mean, his death was an important part of-'

'Shut up! I told you before, if you want to change the past, then I will do it too and I will make sure that none of my friends get killed'

'Very well then...but...don't blame me if they get killed. It would be your own fault.'

'Shut up!'

"Natsu..." Erza cried out when he didn't respond to her. Natsu took a deep breath and then stood up.

"Simon...take Erza and go to the others...I'll deal with Jellal."

"Salamander..."

"What are you saying!?" Erza screamed. "I'm not leaving without you!"

"Erza...I promise you that I'll save Jellal...I won't let him revive Zeref...I will make sure to bring him back with me..." Natsu told her.

"Natsu..."

"Simon...please..." Natsu pleaded with the larger man. Simon eventually nodded and walked over to Erza and picked her up.

"No! Let me go!" Erza shouted, but because of the seal placed on her, she couldn't move.

"Thank you..." Natsu said as he heard the sound of Simon footsteps and Erza's screaming fading away. He smiled before glaring at Jellal.

"You do know that if you lose, I'll kill them anyway no matter how far they go..." Jellal told him.

"Then I won't lose!" Natsu roared and charged at Jellal with lightning speed that made even Zeref surprised. Natsu struck Jellal in the face with a strong right hook from his Dragon arm. Jellal's body slammed into the crystals of the tower. Natsu stopped just in front of the crystal and started throwing punches after punches. The crystal was getting destroyed by each and every strong punch from Natsu's Dragon arms, some connecting with Jellal's body. "Wraaaaaahhhhh!" Natsu roared throughout. He then pulled his right arm back. "Arm of the Salamander: Flaming Dragon Strike!" A large blast of fire magic shot out from his arm and causing a large explosion that was seen by the spectators outside. "How about that?" Natsu panted as he was exhausted from exerting so much energy from the punches and using a lot of his magic.

The smoke from the explosion was the only thing he could see from where he assumed Jellal was. He knew very well that there was no way the fight was over. He knew Zeref was watching him and knew about the strength of his Flaming Dragon Strike. The question was, was Jellal's body okay?

The sound of crystal clanging against the lacrima was suddenly heard as Natsu braced himself for whatever it was that was coming. "Not bad...but..." Natsu's eyes widened when he was suddenly punched by Jellal in the wound that he afflicted earlier. Natsu was stunned at how fast Jellal moved and the fact that he couldn't see him. "...it will take more than that." Jellal then followed it be a kick to the face and then a beam of Heavenly Magic that sent Natsu up into the lacrima above them. Jellal jumped and then kneed him deeper into the crystal. Natsu spat out blood from the impact. Jellal grabbed a crystal that was sticking out and hung from it as he smirked. "What's wrong? Is that all you got?" Natsu coughed as his body started to fall down. Jellal's smirk widened as he let go of the crystal and then kicked Natsu straight down to the lacrima, through it and down a level. "Hahahahahaha! I can't believe this is your power! I don't even have to use fifty percent of my power to defeat you!"

"Shut up..." Natsu thrust back up and slammed his body into his as he pushed through the lacrima and to the next level above them. The two separated and Natsu placed his hands in front of his mouth. "Mouth of the Salamander: Dragon Roar Strike!" He shouted and blew out a large beam of fire magic that struck Jellal. The blast pierced through the lacrima and down onto the next level where it caused a large explosion. Natsu panted as he dropped down to the lacrima and looked down from the hole he created with his attack.

"Meteor." Natsu's eyes widened as he suddenly felt himself getting punched in the face and then another strike and several more as it felt like only a second passed. He spat out blood while Jellal continued firing strikes so rapidly that Natsu couldn't keep up with them. He felt pain throughout his body from all the strikes and when Jellal delivered one final kick to the gut, Natsu was sent flying to a large lacrima crystal.

"Gah!" Natsu screamed in pain as he was pierced in the hip with one of the sharp crystals that stuck out from the lacrima. He fell to the floor. He grabbed the crystal stuck in his hip and pulled it out. He let out a scream when he did so and then tossed the crystal away. He panted and then raised his head to looked at Jellal and his eyes widened when he saw him about to unleash another attack.

"Grand Chariot!" Jellal shouted as the seals he cast connected to make a constellation. The same pattern was created under Natsu before a powerful blast engulfed his body. A scream was heard as a large explosion erupted from the attack. When the smoke cleared, Natsu was laying on the lacrima, his body bruised from the attack. "Is this really all that you have Natsu...I'm disappointed." He shook his head in dissatisfaction. "I'm only using 40% of my magic...not even close to the 50% I told you I was going to use..."

"Shut...up..." Jellal narrowed his eyes as Natsu was raising himself up with his arms. He raised his head and then glared at Jellal. "I am so fucking tired of hearing your voice..." He commented as he got up on one leg. "...you are so fucking annoying..." He smirked as he got back up to his feet.

"You..." Jellal growled. He raised his arm and a small orb of magic started forming in the palm of his hand. "Dark beam!" Natsu's eyes widened as a black beam shot out of his hand and at Natsu. Having little time to react, Natsu clenched his fist and then punched the beam with his dragon arm.

"Waaaaaahhhhh!" Natsu roared as he tried punching the beam back, but eventually the force between the two attacks caused an explosion that sent Natsu rolling on the lacrima. He did however, quickly get back on his feet, just in time as Jellal tried striking him again. Natsu looked in his direction and saw him smirk while starting to move his fist toward Natsu's face. However, just before it connect, something wrapped around Jellal's arm, stopping his attack.

"W-What the...?"

"Tail of the Salamander..." Natsu smirked as he now had a tail.

"You..." Jellal growled as the tail wrapped around his arm tightly. He was then lifted up in the air and then slammed down to the lacrima very hard. Natsu then got on top of him and raised his fist as high as he could before slamming it down on Jellal's gut. He spat out blood from the impact as the lacrima around him cracked. Natsu knew it would take more than that attack to defeat him. So he started to throwing strike after strike, digging him deeper into the lacrima. Jellal got tired of being a punching bag and grabbed Natsu's hand and then flipped him off of him. Natsu however landed on his feet as he saw Jellal getting up on his feet, clenching his stomach.

"Hurts...doesn't it..." Natsu smirked as he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Bastard..."

"Let me go!" Erza screamed at Simon as he ignored her the best he could and continued to run. "Simon! I have to go back! This is my fight!"

"Erza!" He suddenly raised his voice, making Erza stop and look at him with slightly widened eyes. "I know how you feel, but as Jellal is right now, nothing you do can help him. Salamander might be the only one who can get through to him." He told her. "I have faith in Natsu, so you should too."

Erza gasped and narrowed his eyes. She felt so useless. This was supposed to be her fight. She was supposed to stop Jellal, but she couldn't do it. She was still too weak. She let her own emotions get in her way and because of that, Natsu was now fighting her battle. She knew Natsu was strong, stronger than her, but she couldn't help but worry. Jellal was strong, stronger than she had ever imagined. She knew Natsu was probably the only one can stand up to him, but knowing the Dragon slayer, he would do anything to win. That was made her the most afraid. She was scared that he would go too far and slowly start to kill himself by using the Dragon Metamorphosis technique.

Simon wasn't sure how far he gotten down the tower, but since the shakes from the fight he assumed Natsu and Jellal were having became less and less violent, he figured he must have gotten down a long distance. He didn't know why he had faith in Natsu, but when he saw him standing in front of him, he immediately knew he could trust him with the task of saving Jellal and saving Erza's precious smile that he loved to see when they were kids. "The seal..." He heard the scarlet hair colored beauty in his arms said and he looked down to see the seal slowly disappearing. "...it's gone."

"We must have gotten far enough away from Jellal that the seal weakened. Either that or..." Simon hoped it was the latter as it would mean that Natsu defeated Jellal.

"I see..." Erza whispered. "I'm sorry...Simon..." He made a noise in surprise and looked down at her before he was met with her knee. He fell down on his back. Erza landed on the lacrima and looked back at him with an apologetic smile. She then tried to run off, but Simon recovered and grabbed her leg, making her fall down. "Let me go!" She screamed.

"I can't let you go back, Erza!" He yelled.

"Simon! I have to go back!" She retorted. "I know you said to put my faith in Natsu...but...but..." She clenched her hands tightly. "...what if he dies...then I couldn't help but blame myself..." She cried as she felt a tear run down her cheek.

"Erza..." He said her name.

"I'm sorry! I have to go!" She tried getting up, but Simon wasn't going to let her go anywhere. He got up on his feet and turned Erza onto her back, grabbed her arms and placed them next to her head and held them tightly so that she wouldn't escape. He then positioned himself above her. "Let me go!"

"Erza! Stop it!" He yelled. She stopped struggling and looked up at him. "You should know very well, better than anyone, how strong Natsu is!" He told her. "If you know that, then you should have the most faith in him than anyone else. I believe that Natsu will win and so should you!"

"Simon..."

"Erza..." The two stayed silent for a while before Erza spoke.

"Alright..." She said. "You're right...I should trust Natsu..." She said as Simon let out a sigh of relief that she calmed down. He let go of her arms and got up off of her. She sat up and narrowed her eyes as she looked down at her feet.

"We should go meet the others." He told her and she nodded.

"Alright..."

Jellal used his meteor to try and sneak behind Natsu and deliver a blow in his blind spot, but it was no longer a blind spot because of the tail. Whenever he tried to punch and kick Natsu, his tail would block the blow. "You cheeky bastard..." Jellal shouted and swung his leg, but was blocked once more. Natsu smirked as his tail wrapped around Jellal's leg and then raised him in the air before slamming him down hard on the lacrima.

Natsu then jumped, back flipped and clenched his right fist. "Arm of the Salamander: Flaming Dragon Strike!" A blast of fire magic shot out towards Jellal. He raised his arms up as the attack hit him, making him fall through the lacrima down to the next level. He crashed into the lacrima and an explosion occurred. Natsu fell through the hole and landed on the lower level. He panted a bit as he took time to catch his breath. He then saw his silhouette in the smoke and Natsu prepared himself for anything. A sudden blast of wind blew away the smoke and Natsu's eyes widened as the atmosphere around Jellal changed drastically. It felt a lot more darker than it did just a few seconds ago. When he saw him raise his head, Natsu's eyes widened as he saw one of his eyes look different. 'What the...'

"Natsu..." He growled in anger. "Wraaaaaaahhhhhhh!" He roared loudly as a blast of wind erupted from him, pushing Natsu back slightly. The lacrima around him started cracking from the sheer force of just his yelling. The skin around his eyes started to grow a certain pattern similar to that of his eye. It traveled all the way down to his neck and possibly even lower, but he couldn't tell because of his shirt. It even appeared on his arm.

'What the hell is this...?' Natsu wondered. The wind died down and Natsu glared at Jellal as he stood their with his arms slightly slumped down in front of his body. 'What is he planning...?' He then started to wave back and forth. Without knowing what happened, Natsu was suddenly punched in the face. "Gah!" Natsu rolled on the lacrima before getting to his feet and sliding to a stop. Natsu looked up and saw that Jellal was still waving back and forth...in the same exact spot. 'W-What the...what happened?' He was then punched again. Then another and another. 'How the hell is he doing this?' It didn't make sense. He was still in the exact same spot. Stilling moving back and forth.

"Natsu..." He growled again. Then he disappeared. Natsu then felt a strong wind go past him and then a cut appeared on his cheek.

'Damn...how the hell did he get so fast...I can't even see him...' Natsu started to panic. 'Shit...gotta calm down...' He took a deeper breath, but before he could concentrate, he felt a strong pressure in his stomach that caused the small Dragon skin on his chest to crack slightly. Natsu spat out blood. 'It hurts...not only did he become fast...but stronger...' Then another blow came. 'He only hit me once...but...it feels like I've been hit 100 times.' Jellal then finally made his appearance and swiped his arm, creating thousands of arrows of Heavenly Magic. Natsu's eyes widened as the arrows came at him in a flash, piercing through his body. 'D-Damn...it...' Natsu screamed as he was hit by arrow after arrow. Some of the arrows then pierced through his shoulder and shins and the arrows sent him toward a large crystal, pinning him there. Natsu couldn't move and whenever he struggled, pain shot throughout his body. 'Damn it...his magic...can even pierce through my dragon arm...' He winced as he felt pain in his shoulder when he tried to move it.

"Natsu..." He looked up to see Jellal in front of him. His eyes widened when he saw his eyes.

'Jellal...he's...' Natsu gritted his teeth in anger. "Zeref..." He growled in anger. Jellal was no longer Jellal. Jellal's was no longer in control of his own body. Zeref had full control over Jellal. Zeref smirked as he clenched his fists and started pummeling Natsu with punches. Natsu felt his entire body hurting and his insides burning up with every punch. When Zeref finally stopped, he opened his hand and tightened it like a claw and suddenly pierced through Natsu's wound that he received earlier when the crystal pierced him. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HH!" Natsu screamed in agonizing pain.

"It must hurt...Natsu..." Zeref's voice spoke through Jellal's body. "Do you want to know why it hurts as much as it does?" He turned his hand and Natsu let out another painful scream. "It's not because of my hand...it's because of my magic..." Another scream erupted from his mouth. "...my magic is slowly absorbing your own life...the longer I have my hand in your body...the shorter your life is becoming...that's why I hate my magic...it kills, never helps...that's why I need you to kill me Natsu...I showed you 50% of my strength and yet you still can't beat me...I gave you a chance...and you failed me...I won't kill you instantly...instead...I'm going to make you watch and see as I make your comrades suffer one by one...you will see them die again and this time I won't help you...I will make you suffer for not being able to do the one single job I asked you to do...you have failed me Natsu...and I can't forgive that..."

Natsu's eyes widened at the words he just said. 'No...' He repeated in his head. 'I'm not weak...I won't let you do it...I won't let anyone of them die!' Something snapped inside of Natsu. Zeref suddenly felt something weird and immediately pulled his hand out of Natsu's body. He jumped away from him and glared at Natsu. "I WON'T LET ANY OF THEM DIE!" Natsu roared as the heavenly arrows dispersed from his shins and shoulder. A large flame suddenly exploded around Natsu. Natsu's roar suddenly became a mighty roar, similar to that of a full grown Dragon. His eyes became the same color as his flames.

"This is..." Zeref muttered as he recognized the power. "When did he..." Zeref narrowed his eyes. "Etherion..."

"WRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Natsu roared even louder as the lacrima beneath his feet cracked. "Zeref!" Wings began to grow on Natsu's back. They continued and continued to grow until they became fully extended and shadowed over Zeref's body. "ZEREF!" He roared again and with a flap of the wings, Natsu slammed into Zeref, who was in Jellal's body. The two slammed into the lacrima, and continued to push through until they reached outside the lacrima. Zeref coughed out blood as he managed to use Jellal's Heavenly Magic to stay airborne.

"You...just how much of the Dragon Metamorphosis is that?" He asked, but all he got in response was another loud, dragon like roar.

"Minna! It's Natsu-san!" Juvia pointed as the others looked up to see Natsu and Jellal in the air.

"It's Jellal too!" Sho said.

"What the hell is up with those two? Why do they look like that?" Gray asked.

"That's Natsu's Dragon Metamorphosis." Happy responded.

"His what?" Lucy asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Ah! That was supposed to be a secret!" Happy placed his paws over his mouth.

"Oh? What else are you hiding?" Gray narrowed his eyes at the cat.

"N-Nothing..." Happy looked away to the side and avoided eye contact with the ice mage.

"Spill it!" Gray pinched his cheeks.

"Okway! Stwop pwinching mwe!" Happy said. He started explaining the Dragon Metamorphosis and their responses were what he expected, shock and worry.

"What do you mean Natsu is slowly dying by using that technique!?" Lucy screamed. Before Happy could answer, an explosion happened and they looked up to see both fighters gone and smoke coming from the tower. They then reappeared on the other side.

"WRAAAAAAHHHHHH!" They heard Natsu roared and watched as he shot out a large blast of fire magic from his mouth.

"S-Sugoi..." Juvia said in shock.

"Natsu..." Lucy muttered.

"Take this!" Zeref shouted and shout out a large beam of heavenly magic at Natsu. Natsu covered himself using his wings as the beam hit and caused an explosion. Zeref knew that wouldn't do much, so he acted quickly. He moved quickly and delivered a kick, but it didn't do anything. 'Shit...' Natsu opened his wings and then grabbed Zeref by his neck. He then turned around and tossed him into the tower. He flapped his wings and followed him back into the tower. Zeref got back onto his feet and placed his hands above his head. An orb of magic appeared above him. "Take this! Altairis!" He shouted and launched the attack on the approaching Dragon Slayer.

"WRAAAAAHHHHH!" Natsu countered as he placed both of his arms together. A small ball of fire appeared and quickly turned to a larger flame. "Arms of the Salamander: Roaring Flame Cannon!" Natsu exhaled a long stream of fire that was absorbed by the flame in between his arms and a burst of flame magic shot out from him arms. The two attacks made contact with each other. The tower shook from the ferocity of the attacks. Then, a large explosion that spread all the way to the outside occurred.

When the smoke began to disperse, the tower started to slowly crumble away. The tower shook as the two combatants stood on the other side of each other. Both glaring. Both bleeding. Both tired and bruised. Both, charged at each other. Fists collided after fist. The shock wave made the lacrima crack and crumble. A tail swipe, sent Zeref, in Jellal's body, down to the lacrima. Natsu soared downward and wanted to punch Zeref, but he quickly got up and dodged it, making Natsu's fist destroy the lacrima. Zeref then kicked Natsu across the face and into the crystals. He shot a beam of Heavenly Magic in his direction, but Natsu easily swiped it away with one of his wings.

Natsu then flapped his wings and slammed into Zeref tot he outside of the tower once again. Once Zeref was free, he used Meteor to kick Natsu up in the air and then once again, back into the tower. Natsu stopped himself by clawing at the lacrima and then opened his mouth to shoot out a blast of condensed fire magic at Zeref. Using meteor to dodge and then enter the tower once more. He tried to knee Natsu in the face, but he quickly raised his arm to grab a hold of his knee and then toss him into a crystal. The lacrima around the crystal broke and caused both fighters to fall down to the next level, where they continued their assaults against each other.

Each were able to land either punches or kicks, but neither was backing down. They both knew that if they showed any sign of weakness, they will lose this fight. However, Natsu knew that he was very close to using all of his energy. It might have not shown from the way he was fighting, but the Dragon Metamorphosis did use a lot of his energy and he knew that he couldn't keep it up much longer. Eating Etherion and holding the power within him until he was provoked didn't help either. The two collided fists and when they did, Natsu winced in pain as he felt pain in his Dragon Arm.

'Shit...' Zeref noticed and smirked as he grabbed Natsu's arm threw him over his shoulder and down to the lacrima. Natsu gasped at the pain. Zeref then stood above him and pointed his hand down at him as magic began forming in the palm of his hand. 'Crap!' Zeref smirked as he shot a powerful beam of Heavenly Magic. Natsu fell down to the next level and crashed hard on the lacrima. He panted as he felt blood trickled down his temple. 'Damn it...the Etherion...Dragon Metamorphosis...they're taking their toll on my body...I don;t know how much longer I can hold on...' He turned his body so that he was facing the lacrima. He tried pushing himself up, but had a hard time due to his body feeling like lead.

Something then landed hard on the lacrima in front of him and Natsu knew exactly what it was. He gritted his teeth and raised his head to glare up at Zeref in Jellal's body. Natsu was then slammed face first down to the lacrima by Zeref's foot. "You say you want to protect your nakama...but there is something you forgot...isn't there...Natsu..."

"W-What are you talking about...?" Natsu groaned as he turned his head to the side to speak. He felt Zeref's foot on his head push him further down to the lacrima.

"That you yourself are hurting one of the nakama you want to protect..." Natsu's eyes widened in shock.

"W-What?"

"Just who do you think you have been fighting, Natsu? Zeref...or Jellal?" Natsu realized what he was saying. His eyed widened even further, but this time in horror. "That's right Natsu...you have been fighting Jellal...not me...you have been hurting one of the people you promised to protect, did you not? You wanna know something else?" Zeref leaned down toward him. "The longer I'm in control of this man...the more I'm killing him."

Just those words themselves, made Natsu angry beyond belief. Something suddenly snapped inside Natsu that caused Zeref to get away from the Dragon slayer. "Zeref!" He roared as a large geyser of flame erupted from underneath Natsu and then took the form of a dragon. Zeref prepared himself for whatever it was that was coming, but not even that was enough as he was punched in the stomach and then pushed upward. He spat out blood and Natsu clenched his fists, ignited them with the Flame of Rebuke and started an onslaught of punches that continued to make Zeref rise higher and higher up the tower.

"Erza!" Lucy cheered as they saw Erza and Simon at the base of the tower.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Sho shouted in relief as Juvia moved the ball of water they were in toward them. When she finally reached them, the two got in and Happy immediately went to hug her.

"Waaah! I was so scared!" He cried as Erza smiled at him.

"I'm alright, Happy." She petted him and then looked up at the others. "Is everyone okay?"

"Of course...we're members of Fairy Tail..." Gray told her. Lucy nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah..." Suddenly the reunion was halted when they heard the sound of a roar coming from the top of the tower.

"What the?" Wally asked as they looked up and saw two figures soaring to the sky above.

"It's Natsu!" Lucy shouted as Erza saw who they were too and her eyes widened at the way Natsu looked.

'Natsu...' She remembered what Happy told her about the Dragon Metamorphosis and how the more of his body is transformed, the faster his life was draining away. 'No...please...not for my sake...Natsu...please...you promised...' She didn't notice that she began to cry until Happy pointed it out.

"Erza...why are you crying?" He asked. Everyone turned away from the two above the tower and at her.

Erza gasped and quickly wiped away the tears. However, they wouldn't stop. "I don't know...I don't know..." She couldn't answer.

"Oi...Juvia...get us away from the tower!" Gray suddenly said.

"Hai, Gray-sama!" She immediately did as she was asked by Gray and started to move the water bubble away.

"What's going on?" Simon asked.

"Natsu is about to do something stupid and dangerous..." He told them and they all looked up to see what Gray was talking about.

Natsu continued to throw punches at Zeref until they were high enough in the air above the tower. 'W-What is this...?' Zeref wondered as he couldn't believe what was happening. He felt every single punch that Natsu through at him, but Jellal's body didn't show any signs of being hit.

"Flame of Rebuke...has one other property to it..." Natsu told him as if he read Zeref's mind. "...out of the Six Flames of Lux Aeterna...it is considered to be the flame of light that destroys all evil...seeing as it didn't effect Jellal but you...proves that the flame sees only you Zeref has evil and not Jellal!"

'Damn it...' Zeref cursed as he tried to move Jellal's body, but couldn't. He wanted to use more of his strength, but couldn't because of the spell that was placed on Jellal. He looked down and saw Natsu flap his wings to get above him.

"This is it...Zeref...the final blow..." Natsu told him as he clenched his dragon fist tightly and ignited it with the Flame of Rebuke.

'Damn it...'

"Arm of the Salamander...Light Flame Dragon Strike!" Natsu delivered a powerful punch at Zeref, as a long golden flame traveled along with him into the tower, down level after level, all the way until Jellal's body slammed hard into the base of the tower, where a large explosion occurred.

The others were in shock at what just happened as the waves rock back and forth. Erza kept her eyes up at Natsu and watched as he started to fall down to the tower, his Dragon Metamorphosis

no longer anywhere on his body. "Natsu!" She screamed as he disappeared form view into the tower. Natsu continued to fall down the tower until he crashed into the lacrima somewhere in the middle of the tower.

"Ah...ah...ah..." He panted as he tried to catch his breath. He felt completely exhausted after the fight he had with Zeref. His entire body felt sore and he knew he wasn't going to be able to do anything for a while. He opened his eyes and looked up at the night sky and smiled. "I did it...damn that Master of mine...who knew he actually knew his stuff..." He chuckled. The tower then started to shake. Natsu looked around and saw that the tower was starting to become unstable. 'Oh no...the tower...it's coming apart...the Etherion...it's going berserk...' He couldn't believe he forgot. He assumed it was because he was too busy being preoccupied with Zeref that he forgot about it. 'Shit...if I don't do something...the others will...' Using all the strength that he had left, he crawled over to a crystal. The lacrima around him started to crack and fall down the tower, but that didn't stop him and he continued. When he finally got there, he used the crystal to lift himself up to his feet. He let go of the crystal and looked at it. 'Sorry...Erza...Happy...everyone...Mira...' He looked at the crystal. 'I don't know what's going to happen, but I won't die...I can't die...now with Zeref still around...that's why...wait for me...no matter how long it takes...' With a smirk, he raised his arms and dug them into the crystal as a bright light soon engulfed him.

The others were watching in horror as the tower was getting destroyed. "Natsu!" Erza screamed as she tried to get out of the bubble, but was stopped by Simon and Gray.

"Don't!" Gray shouted.

"It's too dangerous!" Simon added.

"But...Natsu...he's still in there! He's still..." She stopped when a bright light suddenly started to appear from the tower.

"W-What is that?" Lucy asked. No one knew the answer and all they could do was watch as the bright light got so bright that they had to cover their eyes. When they light disappeared, they all opened their eyes and did their best to clear their vision. When they did, they saw nothing. No tower, no crystal, no lacrima...nothing. "Hey...what's going on...?"

"W-Where is the tower?" Gray asked.

"W-What happened...to Natsu?" Happy asked.

"Natsu..." Erza wondered the same thing. Then she saw something above her and looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw a scarf heading toward them, flying against the soft wind. "T-That's..." Lucy placed her hands over her mouth and gasped. Gray gritted his teeth and widened his eyes. The scarf slowly landed on the water in front of the group as Erza stared at it. "No...i-it can't be...n-no...NATSU!"

To Be Continued...
- 22
- 23
- 24
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Time is the Path to Strength