章 11: Chapter 11: Gray's Resolve: Goodbye Everyone
Chapter Ten
"You okay, Link?" Gray asked as they ran and after several seconds of silence he glanced back to see Link's ears still down low. "... You didn't need to do that, you know." Gray said as he looked forward again.
"I know." Link said simply before his ears twitched slightly and he immediately looked back.
"Gray, how far away are the ruins?" Erza asked as she and Lucy ran up, Happy flying along behind them.
"Erza?" Gray said in surprise as he turned around before dropping to a ready stance. "I already said-"
"We'll finish this job." Erza said as she stopped in front of him, locking eyes only with Gray. "I was... wrong." She said and Gray's eyes widened slightly. "In my anger at Lucy, Natsu, and Happy," Erza said and Lucy gulped slightly, "I ignored the pain these people are in." She said before looking back at Link apologetically. "Thank you for bringing me to my senses." Erza said and Link nodded his head with a small smile, his ears perking up slightly.
Erza gave a small smile in return before looking at Gray again, her face serious once more. "Gray, you seem to know what's going on here." She said and Gray's eyes went to the side as his right hand clenched.
"Yeah..." Gray said and Link's face went serious as everyone gathered around Gray. "But in order for you guys to understand... I'm gonna have to start from the beginning from when I met Ur and Leon." He said as called up memories of a beautiful woman with short black hair and a young child with white, spiky hair.
"But we don't have time to just stand around, so I'll explain on the way." Gray said as he shook his head to dispel the images and started running towards the Moon Temple again, the other following close behind.
Moon Temple Ruins
"How shameful." A young man with white, spiky hair said to an unusual looking man with cat ears and an almost feline-like face. "All three of you were taken out?" He asked; his eyes cool as he looked down at the slouched and obviously embarrassed man before him.
"Oohhnnn..." The man said as he looked down at the ground. "Please don't tell the others I took myself out... oohhnnn..." He said before they both looked to the side at the sound of obnoxious laughter.
"Though the fact that the three of you were defeated so easily is quite amusing," A small, rotund man wearing a tribal mask said as he walked around a corner, "this could cause trouble for Deliora's revival." He said and the young man with white hair looked at him in mild surprise.
"You were here, Zarti?" He asked and Zarti gave a small nod of his head.
"You do understand what I mean, don't you Reitei-sama?" Zarti asked and Leon's eyes narrowed slightly. "Tonight the moon's magical power will be maximized, and Deliora will finally be revived." He said before his wide smile tightened slightly. "But if the ritual were to be disrupted..." Zarti trailed off and Leon stood up swiftly, his cape billowing out behind him.
"Then Deliora will stay imprisoned in the ice forever." Leon said and Zarti nodded his head once as the cat-eared man looked down. "I should've taken care of this myself after all." He said as he grabbed a steel plate helmet.
"Oohhnnn... I'm sorry Leon-sama." The cat-eared man said.
"Get the preparations for tonight's ceremony ready, Toby." Leon said and the cat-eared man nodded his head.
"You have two new opponents, Erza the Titania and Maharathi Link." Zarti said and Leon looked at him as he put his helmet on.
"As usual, you're pretty fast with your information." Leon said after securing the helmet. "But they can't beat me." He said as he raised his left hand up. "Not with my ice magic that surpasses Ur." Leon said and Zarti smiled.
"That's reassuring." Zarti said before tilting his masked head down slightly as his smile became slightly more sinister. "But to ensure the safety of the ritual, perhaps I should join in as well?" He asked and Toby's eyes went wide.
"YOU CAN FIGHT AS WELL!" Toby yelled in surprise, even Leon's eyes widening slightly behind his helmet.
"Yes..." Zarti said, his face showing his enjoyment at their surprise. "A little bit of the... "Lost Magic"."
"LOST MAGIC!" Toby yelled in surprise as he stared at Zarti. "Oohhnn!"
"Hmph." Leon said as he walked down the three steps. "What a creepy guy." He said; getting a chuckle of amusement from Zarti, before they all looked around in surprise as the ruins started shaking.
"AN EARTHQUAKE!" Toby once again yelled at the top of his voice as the ruins continued shaking before they began to tilt to the right.
"Th... This is...!" Leon said as he looked up at the ceiling, his mouth open in shock.
"This is an interesting idea." Zarti said as he looked down and Leon and Toby both looked at him. "It appears he's tilted the ruins." He and they followed his gaze down through a hole in the ground.
"HIM!" Toby yelled in shock when he saw who it was.
"Huh." Natsu said as he looked at his handiwork, his hands on his hips, with a reflective look on his face. "Things break easily if I'm not aware of it, but if I'm actually trying to its surprisingly pretty hard." He said thoughtfully before looking up at Leon, Zarti, and Toby.
"You bastard..." Leon said as he grit his teeth. "What is the meaning of this?" He demanded angrily and Natsu looked up with fiery determination burning in his eyes.
"The ruins are tilted, right?" Natsu asked as he shifted his stance. "Now the moon won't shed its light on the devil underground." He said and Leon's right hand tightened into a fist.
"HOW THE HELL DID HE DO THIS!" Toby yelled in surprise as he scratched his head in confusion.
"It's simple really." Zarti said and Toby looked at him. "He destroyed half of the supporting props so that the Moon Temple would tilt; rather ingenious, but simple." He said with a smile. "You're smarter than you look, young Salamander." Zarti said and Natsu glared at him as flames erupted from his feet.
"PUT A SOCK IN IT!" Natsu roared as he launched up towards them.
"OOHHNNN! HE CAN CREATE FLAMES ANYWHERE ON HIS BODY!" Toby yelled right before Natsu rammed into Leon, sending his helmet flying off his head.
Toby looked over in shock before cracks started appearing over Leon's body.
Natsu's eyes widened slightly as Leon shattered before he spun in the air and did a flaming backhand as several ice eagles flew in at him, destroying all but three that slammed into him with jarring force.
Natsu, however, shrugged off the blows as he took a deep breath. "KARYU NO HOKO!" Natsu roared as he sent a blast of intense flames at Leon.
"Ice Make: Snow Dragon." Leon said as he held one hand out towards the incoming flames and the air around him swirled with freezing winds before a dragon made of ice shot from around him towards the fire.
The two attacks slammed together into each other, resulting in a large explosion that sent the still airborne Natsu back away from the hole and over solid ground. "You're agile, but can you dodge in midair?" Leon asked as he gathered magical power.
"Ice Make: Eagle!" Leon yelled as he thrust his right hand out and over a dozen ice eagles flew out from his hand at Natsu.
"Well actually…" Natsu said with a smirk before taking a deep breath and exhaling a blast of flames that propelled him to the ground and under the ice eagles. "Yeah, I can." He said before flames exploded from his legs and he spun around quickly on his hands, sending the flames outward in a large circle.
"Such unpredictable magic!" Leon said in surprise as he ducked under the flames while Zarti quickly ran away to avoid the flames and Toby got hit with the full force of the attack.
Natsu kept spinning on his hands as the flames kept rocketing from his legs to bring another stream of fire to bear against Leon.
This time Leon was forced to jump up to avoid the stream of fire, his cape billowing out behind him with the movement. "Hey now, what was that earlier about dodging in midair?" Natsu asked with his smirk still in place before he took a deep breath and Leon's eyes widened. "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" Natsu once more roared as he sent a blast of intense flames at Leon.
Suddenly the floor under Natsu crumbled, sending him down to the next level. "WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" Natsu roared in confusion as he fell, the sudden descent forcing the angle of the blast to go above Leon.
"My my… aren't you the lucky one, Reitei-sama?" Zarti asked with a smile as Leon landed lightly on his feet.
Toby coughed out a plume of smoke as he raised one burnt hand, a hand that matched the rest of his body. "Please don't tell the others I got hit." He said as smoke rose from his body.
Leon, however, ignored Toby as he turned to look at Zarti. "What did you do, Zarti?" Leon asked and Zarti looked at him in surprise.
"Pardon?" Zarti asked innocently and Leon's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Don't play dumb, it was your magic that caused the floor to crumble, wasn't it?" Leon asked and Zarti's smile came back.
"Excellent Reitei-sama, you saw through it after all." Zarti said before offering a small bow. "But please understand; I cannot lose you until we revive Deliora." He said and Leon's entire face went cold.
"You think I'd die from such a flame?" Leon asked before cold air erupted from him and in a matter of seconds the entire room was coated in ice. "I, Leon Reitei, am the only mage who can take down Deliora." He said before shooting an icy glare at Zarti, who was looking at him in surprise. "It would be a disgrace to my name if I were to lose to such a brat." Leon said as Natsu climbed up through the hole in the floor.
"Tch…" Zarti said in annoyance as Natsu stood up and glared at Leon and Zarti.
"Go and prepare the ceremony to revive Deliora, I'll be along after I finish up here." Leon said and Toby nodded his head before taking off. Zarti stayed still for a couple more seconds before bowing his head and running out of the room after Toby.
"Why the hell do you want to revive that thing?" Natsu asked as he locked glares with Leon. "It's already half dead, what's the point of fighting it now?" He demanded and Leon held his right hand out to the side.
"Anything to surpass Ur." Leon said as cold air gathered in his right hand. "AND KEEP DREAMING!" He suddenly yelled as he thrust his hand out and nearly two dozen ice eagles shot out at Natsu.
"Whoa!" Natsu yelled in surprise as he quickly jumped around to dodge the ice eagles. "If you want…" Natsu said as he kept moving around to avoid the ice eagles as they flew around to try and slam into him. "To surpass Ur that badly..." Natsu continued on while still dodging. "Challenge her directly!" He declared but Leon just continued to look at him coldly.
"Didn't you hear?" Leon asked as he moved his hand around to manipulate the ice eagles. "Ur died a long time ago." Leon said and Natsu's eyes widened slightly.
"It's a demon that my teacher, Ur, risked her life to seal."
So that's what Gray meant… Natsu thought before he was hit suddenly hit by four ice eagles in the chest. "GAH!" Natsu yelled out, more in surprise than pain, as he skidded back a couple of inches before standing firm.
"BECAUSE OF GRAY!" Leon yelled in outrage as he sent more of his ice eagles to home in on Natsu.
Natsu's eyes burned as he slammed his fists together then roared as flames exploded out from him in a dome, vaporizing the ice eagles. "I don't know what happened in the past, but right now there are a lot of people suffering from what you're doing." Natsu said as blood dripped from his chest and Leon's face went back to its icy glare. No wonder Link uses his fire that way so often. Natsu thought as he wiped at the blood on his chest.
"It's time to snap you out of it." Natsu growled out as flames exploded from his hands. "WITH A HOT PUNISHMENT!" He roared before launching towards Leon.
While Natsu and Leon were fighting; Gray, Link, Erza, Lucy, and Happy were still running towards the ruins.
"So Leon's trying to revive Deliora in order to fight it?" Lucy asked in surprise and Gray nodded his head.
"Leon's dream was always to surpass Ur while she was teaching us." Gray explained as they ran. "Now that she's gone, he's trying to defeat Deliora; the devil that even she couldn't defeat." Gray said and Lucy nodded her head slowly.
"In order to surpass the dead… that would be the only way…" Lucy said solemnly.
"Aye." Happy said as he flew beside her.
"No… Leon simply doesn't know…" Gray said as his gaze lowered and they all looked at him questioningly. "Ur did disappear but..." Gray trailed off before suddenly looking up again. "She's still alive."
"EEEHH!" Lucy screamed in surprise as Link and Erza shot him looks of surprise.
"BUT HOW?" Happy yelled as he grabbed his cheeks in shock.
"What do you mean?" Erza asked with a serious look on her face. "What exactly happened in the past?" She asked and Gray's expression tightened.
"Ten years ago, my hometown was attacked by Deliora." Gray said and images of the destroyed ruins his home had become flashed through his mind. "It didn't even need an entire day to completely destroy it… I was the only one who survived." He said and Lucy gasped in horror as she covered her mouth with her hands. "The only reason I'm still alive now though was because Ur and Leon happened to come by." Gray said and Link's expression turned solemn.
"Shortly after they rescued me, I asked Ur to teach me magic." Gray said before his eyes lowered again.
"Revenge." Link stated quietly, making Lucy and Happy look back at him surprise.
"Yeah…" Gray confirmed a few seconds later. "Several months later, I found out that Deliora was seen heading towards Burago. Despite Ur's and Leon's warnings, I ran off to challenge it." Gray said and his hands clenched into fists. "If only I had listened to them…" Gray said before trailing off as everyone stopped in surprise.
"The ruins are… tilted?" Lucy asked in confusion as she tilted her head to the side as they took in the bizarre sight of the Moon Temple tilted to one side.
"Heh." Gray said as he put his hand to face and Lucy looked at him in confusion before looking over as Erza laughed softly while Link shook his head with a small smile on his face. "I don't know how, but this has Natsu written all over it." Gray said with a smirk
"Aye!" Happy said with a wide smile on his face and Lucy looked at them in surprise before giggling.
Link's ears suddenly twitched and he quickly turned around while Equipping his two broad scimitars to deflect a dozen, small crescent shaped blades.
"What the-!"
"Show yourself!" Erza said, cutting of Lucy's panicked yell, as she Equipped two short swords to deflect more of the blades.
"We finally found you, Fairy Tail." The leader of a group of over four dozen people said as they walked through the underbrush towards them.
They were all dressed in the same purple ceremonial robes and masks and Lucy took a step back. "Th-these guys again!" Lucy said in surprise and Gray's face tightened as he started to bring his hands together.
Suddenly Link and Erza each put a sword out in front of him, making an X pattern, and he froze as he looked at them in surprise.
"Go." Erza said and Gray looked at her. "We'll take care of things here; you go and settle things with Leon." Erza said and both she and Link looked back with small grins on their face, Link nodding in agreement.
"That's right!" Lucy declared as she pulled out a whip and stretched it out. "The four of us can take care of these creeps!" Lucy declared and Happy nodded his head as he pumped his paw into the air.
"Aye!" Happy declared with a determined look on his face as he pulled out a fish skeleton from his bag.
"You guys…" Gray said before grinning and turning around. "Right, see you guys after this is over." He said as he started to run to the ruins while the sun began to set.
"Hey!" One member of the group yelled out before stopping as one person held him back.
"We'll take care of these interlopers first, and then go after him." The person said in a light, feminine voice and the other person nodded his head before they all took out two bizarre, almost crescent moon shaped, weapon and got into battle stances.
"We cannot let you mages stop us now, not after all these years." The apparent leader said before charging recklessly at them.
Link suddenly Ex-Equipped his two broad scimitars then Re-Quipped his Gilded Sword to his left hand and Erza looked over at him questioningly as she raised one eyebrow slightly, to which he returned with a small nod.
"Understood." Erza said as she brought her two short swords up and she Ex-Equipped her armor to Re-Quip her Flight Armor; a leopard pelt that barely covered her chest and shoulder guard with a fur collar and a cloth that covered her waist down to just above her knees, and a pair of leopard ears on her head to top it off, as Lucy looked at them with wide eyes.
Understood what? He didn't say anything! Lucy wondered in confusion.
Before she could say anything though, Erza disappeared in a blur of movement and Link charged in after her.
Natsu
Natsu gave a small grunt of annoyance as he plowed through an ice wall with a flame empowered punch before continuing his charge at Leon with his left fist held at the ready.
Leon held out his right hand as he summoned more ice and Natsu's fist slammed into Leon's palm, the two canceling each other out.
Natsu landed several feet away before summoning more flames around his hands. "This is pointless." Natsu suddenly said in annoyance. "Just go ahead and give it up already." Natsu said and Leon brushed at his cape.
"I could say the same to you." Leon said and Natsu smirked at the answer he was hoping to get.
"Let's settle this." Natsu said as he brought one hand up close to his face and waved at Leon to come in.
"This is more fun than I thought it would be." Leon said as a small smirk came to his face as well while more cold wind blew from him.
As they both prepared to charge, the frozen wall to Natsu's right suddenly started cracking. They both stopped and looked over in surprise when the wall suddenly shattered to show Gray.
"Gray?" Natsu said in surprise as Gray slowly walked in.
"Sorry about this Natsu, but I'm gonna have to ask you to stay out of private matters." Gray said and Natsu glared at him.
"YOU-!"
"Shut up." Gray said, cutting Natsu off mid-rant, as he widened his stance and crossed his arms out in front of him. "Leon, it's time to face your punishment for what you've done to my friends and the people of this island." Gray said and Leon's eyes went wide as he took a step back.
"That stance!" Leon said in shock as Gray's eyes narrowed.
"Change the villagers back to normal this instant and then gather your comrades to leave this island forever." Gray said and Leon steeled himself before sighing.
"I see… you intend to use Iced Shell as a threat-!" Leon started to say before taking another step back in shock at the magical power Gray suddenly released.
Iced Shell? Natsu thought with a confused expression before his eyes widened. But that's-!
"It's not a threat." Gray said coldly. "It's an ultimatum." He explained as his face tightened. "We live on like Ur wants us to… or we die together, here and now." Gray said and Leon continued to look at him with wide eyes.
"Go ahead." Leon said confidently a couple of seconds later, his composure regained. "You don't have the courage to use that spell." He said and Gray gave an internal sigh.
Link… Erza… and you too, Natsu… Gray thought as he prepared to unleash his spell. I'll leave the rest to you… Goodbye everyone. He thought while cracks started to appear all over his body.
"ICED SHELL!"
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.
Till next time.
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