Chapter Text
It was decided that the S-Class exam would be postponed, despite everyone’s protests.
Personally, Levy agreed with the Master’s decision. Even if they continued the test like nothing had happened, everyone was injured, and basically out of magic power. It would be miserable, and most people would probably collapse before actually accomplishing anything.
(Plus Cana revealed she’d already found the grave anyways, giving her an unfair advantage).
“We would have won,” Gajeel said as he crossed his arms and turned his nose up.
Levy couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. She wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t argue with him. “Well, I suppose you did get the fight that you wanted,” she said.
He grunted. “Could do without the busted ribs though. Hurts like a bitch.”
“Sorry.” Wendy didn’t have enough magic power left to fix anyone’s injuries. The poor girl had been worked to the bone, so everyone was going to have to put up with the pain until they got back to Magnolia and Porlyusica, or until Wendy’s power was replenished.
“Been through worse,” he said.
She frowned, and before she thought too much about it, stood on her tiptoes to brush aside his hair that had been caught in the bandage wrapped around his head. “Just because you’ve experienced something worse, doesn’t mean it’s okay to be hurt again.” She sighed and shook her head. “You really need to learn how to take care of yourself.” She didn’t think Gajeel even realized how bad his self destructive tendencies were. Or that he had self destructive tendencies at all.
He stared at her with wide eyes, and for a second, she thought maybe she’d gotten somewhere, but then he turned his head away and scoffed. “I can take care of myself just fine.”
She almost groaned in frustration. Why was he so damn stubborn? Why couldn’t he just accept that people cared about him and didn’t want to see him hurt? She leaned against a tree and crossed her arms, staring at the bright blue sky. She was wasting her time. The stupid man was never going to change.
Suddenly, Gajeel stiffened and began sniffing at the air.
“What?” she asked, praying it wasn’t another Grimiore Heart mage lurking around.
“Something’s coming,” he said as a wary growl built in his throat. “Something bad.”
The roar was so loud that Wendy cried out and slammed her hands over her ears. The entire island seemed to cower beneath the noise. She stumbled out of the tent, searching for the source of the sound and the horrible, crushing power that came with it.
“Wendy!” Natsu grabbed her and wrapped her in his wings before she could find out what was going on. She had to crawl up his torso and peak over his wings just to get a glimpse of what was going on.
Every single Fairy Tail member stared at the sky in horror, at the great black dragon descending on the island.
At first, joy sparked in her chest. A dragon. A real dragon! After all of these years! Maybe it knew what had happened to Grandine and the others!
But then she felt the overwhelming bloodlust that came from the beast, noticed the dead look in its eyes, and she realized that this dragon was here to kill them.
“Natsu!” Her grip on him tightened as she buried her face in his chest.
“It’ll be okay,” he assured her as he ran his hand through her hair. “We’ll win. We always do.”
The dragon roared again, and the sheer power that came from it had the trees splintering and cracking. The island shuddered as it landed, and the earth shattered beneath its great weight.
“Run!” Gildarts shouted, finally snapping the guild out of its panicked stupor. “There’s no fighting that thing! So run!”
“That’s the one you fought,” Natsu realized.
Wendy squeaked. If even Gildarts could barely survive this dragon, they couldn’t win against it! That wasn’t even an option.
“I don’t want to die today,” she said. It wasn’t fair! They beat Grimiore Heart! They beat Hades! Why? “I don’t want to die.”
Natsu’s grip on her tightened.
The dragon lashed out, stomping down one of its giant feet. Its warped snarl sounded almost like a cackle as they scattered.
Everyone screamed as the trees fell around them and the dragon continued to swipe and claw at them, like a cat toying with a mouse.
She broke out of Natsu’s hold and ran towards the dragon. “Why are you doing this!?” she screamed. “Why?”
It paused, its foot pulled back for another strike. For a second, she thought it would speak, that maybe they had some hope, but then the blood in her body pulsed, and she fell to her knees.
She felt drawn to this creature, like she belonged with him. She reached her arm out, wanting nothing more in the world than to touch him.
His giant foot came down again, and Bixlow grabbed her, pulling her out of the way just before his talons tore into the Earth where she’d been sitting. “What the fuck, kid?” he demanded as he sprinted away.
Wendy dangled limply in his grasp, staring at the great dragon as her blood roiled. She began to struggle, trying to get away from Bixlow.
She needed to return to Acnologia.
Erza just barely managed to dodge Gajeel’s snapping teeth as she used all her strength to help Levy drag him away from the dragon. His claws scraped down her armor with an ungodly screech. His extensive injuries were probably the only reason they’d managed to keep him from running straight towards his death.
She risked a glance over to see Gray, Juvia, and Lisanna having the same struggle with Natsu. And even Bixlow was having a hard time containing Wendy, who was snarling and frantically clawing at him.
“Gajeel, please!” Levy pleaded. “He’ll kill you!” She cried out as his claws tore into her shoulder, but she didn’t let go.
What the hell is wrong with them? She’d witnessed their instincts take them over multiple times now, but this was different. They were completely feral. They weren’t using their magic, just clawing and biting at them as they tried to keep them from running right into the dragon’s jaws.
All of a sudden, just after the dragon had landed, the dragon slayers froze, and Erza knew immediately something was wrong. She’d never seen Natsu freeze like that when he was in danger. His first instinct was to attack whatever happened to be threatening him.
And then they had begun to stagger towards the dragon, almost like they were in a trance. Erza had pounced on Gajeel, since he was the closest, before he could get too far, and now he was trying to tear her and Levy apart!
“Oh god,” Levy choked. “The blood! Erza! The blood! They have that dragon’s blood in them!”
She grit her teeth and grabbed a handful of Gajeel’s hair, yanking his head back and leaving him unable to bite at them anymore. “Then we need to get them as far away from that thing as we can. Hopefully whatever the hell this is will wear off with distance.”
She tried not to look towards her guildmates still scrambling around the dragon’s feet, firing off what little magic they could manage, trying to slow it down so the rest of them could flee. Mirajane, Freed, Evergreen, Elfman, Cana, Loke, Lucy. She couldn’t afford to be distracted right now. If she slipped up and Gajeel managed to escape her grasp…
She needed to get him out of here, and then join the battle.
No one was going to die today. Not if she could help it.
Gray resorted to freezing a muzzle over Natsu’s mouth. He felt awful about it, but he didn’t know what else to do. He’d taken a chunk out of Juvia’s arm, and since he wasn’t using his fire, his teeth were his most dangerous weapon at the moment.
He didn’t want to knock him out, not in a situation like this. They needed to snap him out of whatever this was. They were pit against a dragon! Hell of a time for their dragon slayers to have some kind of meltdown.
Lisanna was fighting back tears as they dragged Natsu across the ground, though his struggles were beginning to weaken. “Come on, Natsu,” she said. “Whatever this is, fight it.”
Gray gasped as his grip on his wing slipped, and Natsu managed to twist out of his grasp. He wrenched himself out of Juvia’s hold, and shoved Lisanna away. Gray lunged for him, but someone else grabbed him first. “Fucking snap out of it, lizard. We’ve gotta go,” Laxus said as he began to drag Natsu back by his scarf.
Guild members sprinted past them, abandoning all hope of holding back the dragon. Mirajane and Loke stopped to help Erza and Levy with Gajeel.
With no one holding the beast back, they were dead if they didn’t get moving.
“Oh no,” Lisanna gasped as her hands went to cover her mouth. “Master….”
Laxus grimaced, and Gray noticed the tears building in his eyes. “We have to go,” he repeated.
Gray finally noticed that the Master was the only one not running. “But—” He tried to run forward to help, but Juvia grabbed him and shook her head.
“Look at him,” she said. “He knows what he’s doing.”
Gray grit his teeth, and grabbed Natsu again. “Let’s go.”
It was similar. Too fucking similar to looking at Ur one last time as Lyon dragged him away, but once again, he had little choice.
As Natsu stared at Laxus, the glazed look in his eyes finally began to fade. He caught sight of the Master, and let out a panicked noise.
Laxus shook his head. “Not this time, Natsu.”
Natsu’s fire flickered, and the muzzle melted away. His struggles renewed, but for a completely different reason now. “I have to help him! We can’t leave him to die!”
Gray tried not to listen to the struggle as Acnologia fell on the Master. “I know. God, do I know, Natsu. But don’t let him do this for nothing. We have to get away.”
Gajeel blinked, the world coming into focus once again. The stench of blood and panic was so thick in the air he almost gagged. Pain spiked through him as someone drug him across the ground, aggravating his injuries. The roars of the dragon still rang in his ears. “Levy?” he gasped as her blue hair flashed in his vision.
“Gajeel!” she nearly sobbed.
Erza leaned over him, and he realized she was one of the people dragging him. “You back with us?”
“What the fuck…” he muttered. Had he passed out? How much had he missed? He stumbled to his feet, and he realized Erza, Mirajane, Levy, and Loke had been carrying him. He fell into pace beside them as they ran, trying to ignore the excruciating pain in his side. “We runnin’ from that thing?”
Mirajane choked back a sob. “The Master’s holding him back for us.”
“Huh?” He looked over his shoulder to see the Master struggling against the giant dragon. “That thing’s gonna kill him!”
“We know,” Erza said through gritted teeth.
“I thought you bastards didn’t leave people behind!” he shouted. “I thought you were different than Phantom Lord!”
“It’s what he wanted—” Loke began.
“Fuck off! I thought you were better!” he shouted.
“He’s right…” Levy whispered as she slowed to a stop. “We can’t leave him. Not like this.”
“Oy! Lightning bastard!” Gajeel shouted towards Laxus, who was dragging a struggling Natsu behind him. “Y’er a dragon slayer, ain’t ya? Let’s go kill a fucking dragon!”
Erza gripped Gajeel’s shoulder and shook her head. “You can’t get near that thing again. You, Natsu, or Wendy. His blood—”
“Laxus!” he roared. “Let my brother go! We’re gonna hit that thing with everything we’ve got!”
Laxus stopped, and slowly released Natsu from his grasp and turned back towards the dragon.
“We won’t win against the monster!” Gildarts shouted. “Fighting it is suicide!”
“We don’t gotta win!” Gajeel argued. “We just gotta get one good hit! A hit strong enough to buy us time to get away. All of us!”
“He’s right,” Erza said as she summoned a blade. “A retreat like this is shameful. Are we not the strongest Fiore has to offer? The strongest wizards of the strongest guild? How dare we leave our Master behind!”
Levy shook her head. “Gajeel, Erza was right. You, Natsu, and Wendy can’t get near him. His blood did something to you!”
He pretended not to notice the blood dripping down her shoulder, or the blood stuck beneath his claws. “I ain’t lettin’ him get to me like that again,” he snarled.
“But—”
Wendy ran forward. “He’s got some kind of influence over us. It might be easier to fight off now that we know about it,” she said. “We’re slayers. We can do it. This is what we were meant for.”
Erza raised her sword. “On me! One attack! All at once! Understand!?” She shot towards the dragon, every member of Fairy Tail following her rally cry.
Lisanna scrambled towards where the Master had fallen, batted away by Acnologia like he was nothing. Her magic wasn’t suited for an attack like this, so she had split off to help him to his feet and help him flee.
“What are you fools doing?” he gasped.
She shook her head. “You honestly thought we would leave you? I admit, our loyalty to you made us obey your order for a moment, but you know we were never too fond of rules.” She pulled him to his feet and sprinted away from the dragon as all the magic of Fairy Tail converged on their final enemy.
Loke never thought there would be a group more powerful than all twelve zodiac spirits. Supernatural beings that were powerful enough to topple armies at certain times? Of course they were the most powerful group to exist.
But as he charged into battle with Fairy Tail, united by stubbornness and love, following Erza Scarlet’s shining blade, with rage filled battle cries filling the air, he realized that this group of people might be able to tear apart the world if they wanted.
Magic swirled around him as they called on their power, building and building, until Erza gave the final command, gave them permission to unleash their wild power and rage.
Loke knew he would be around a lot longer than these people, but he didn’t think he would ever meet another group that terrified him as much as they did.
Despite the reputation she had built for herself over the years, Cana wasn’t stupid. Sure, she acted like a dumbass sometimes, but she really wasn’t.
She knew that charging towards this dragon was likely the last thing she would ever do.
Even with the Master sacrificing his life, they probably wouldn’t have all gotten away, and they definitely weren’t going to now that they were charging the monster.
She settled her cards between her fingers, ready for the attack. On her left and right, Lucy and Loke summoned their power.
Cana glared up at the black dragon, fire burning in her eyes. She didn’t want to die, but if she was going to, she didn’t want it to be anywhere else, doing anything else.
She was going to die next to two people she loved, and filling the beast that had dared to hurt her family with some pain of her own.
Fairy Tail was her family, her everything, and she would be damned if they went down without a bang.
“NOW!” Erza screamed.
Natsu scratched Happy’s ears as the cat steadied himself on his shoulders, careful to avoid getting hit by Natsu’s wings. “You ready, buddy?” he asked. “Watch out for the fire, okay?”
“Aye sir,” he said, his voice lacking its usual cheeriness.
The air began to swirl around Wendy and Charle as his sister summoned her power.
“You better not drop me, Lily,” Gajeel muttered.
“That was one time!” Pantherlily said through clenched teeth.
Natsu couldn’t help but snicker. Erza had asked them to attack from above while everyone else hit Acnologia with everything they had from below.
“NOW!” Erza shouted as she thrusted her sword forward, launching a wave of that new golden power of hers towards the dragon.
Fairy Tail’s power exploded, everyone calling on more power than should have ever been possible, considering how much they’d already used today.
Natsu felt the fire burn in his lungs as he called on it, breathing fire hotter than the sun. Flame burst through the sky, joining the Gajeel’s iron, Wendy’s air, and the brilliantly shining attack from below.
The power melded together, almost like a unison raid, but not quite. It was more natural, more powerful, as if they were all linked by something other than a magical connection.
The magic collided with Acnologia, and the dragon roared as the full power of Fairy Tail slammed into the beast.
Juvia relished in the great power that swirled around her. It invigorated her. All these powerful mages, bonded together by something she didn’t completely understand yet, but she knew she was a part of.
The magic hurtled towards the dragon, and she braced herself to run, knowing that even this immense power was not enough. They all knew that.
Hit and run. That was the plan.
The dragon slayers dropped back to the ground as the power of Fairy Tail barreled into the dragon.
The magic slammed into the dragon, and it roared.
For a brilliant second, Juvia thought they’d accomplished it. They’d injured the beast, giving them the opportunity they needed to run.
But then the power of the attack faded away, and the dragon stood unharmed.
Juvia fell to her knees.
“I warned you, an attack would not work,” Gildarts said.
Tears streamed down Lucy’s face as she realized what that meant. They were dead. They were going to die.
For a moment, with all that power in the air, she had let herself believe that they would get out of this unscathed, that they were all going to be okay, but it was a fool’s hope.
Cana grabbed her and held her close, whispering something in her ear, but Lucy couldn’t even focus on that. All she saw was the dragon glaring down at them, power swirling around it as it prepared for a breath attack.
Loke held her hand. “I’m going to try to shield us, but… I don’t know if…”
Cana nodded. “It’s okay. I knew that attack wasn’t going to work.”
The guild huddled together, staring up into the face of death. A few members scrambled for a defense, but no one was going to get anything up in time. Hell, even if they did, that dragon’s power would just tear right through it.
They were all going to die on this island, annihilated by the power of a dragon.
Loke squeezed her hand. “I’m proud to have been your servant.”
She looked up at him, blinking away tears so she could see him clearly. “You know,” she managed to say. “I never much enjoyed life until I met you.” She turned to Cana. “Both of you. So thank you.”
“Everyone pour what little power you have into a defense!” Erza said, still desperately trying to organize them, brace them for an attack that they weren’t going to survive no matter what they did.
“Erza…” Ever so gently, Mirajane took her hand and shook her head.
“But—”
“If this is the end,” Mirajane said. “Let’s all meet it together.” She held her other hand out to Lisanna. “Let’s hold hands.”
Mirajane gazed around the circle of her guildmates, stained with tears and blood. Erza held her hand so, so softly.
She was only twenty-one. She’d not lived a long life at all, and most of these people standing around her were her age or younger. It wasn’t fair for them to be dying like this, so young, butchered by some heartless monster.
But she couldn’t say that she regretted her life, regretted Fairy Tail. She wouldn’t change it, even if she were given the choice.
Natsu and Gajeel protected Wendy between them, gripping her small hands, and assuring her that everything would be okay, though she could see in their eyes that they knew… they knew this was the end. Levy held Gajeel’s other hand, her eyes wide with tears. The Exceeds sat at their feet, wings limp. Loke, Cana, and Lucy held each other, whispering soft things to each other. Lisanna shivered in between Mirajane and Elfman, though she refused to cry. Evergreen, Bixlow, and Freed traded insults for the last time, swearing to each other that this wasn’t going to be the last time they met. Gray took Juvia's hand, and gave Erza and Natsu a sad look. Though he hesitated, Laxus took the Master’s hand and joined the circle. Gildarts stared up at the dragon. “Guess you get to do me in, after all.”
Mirajane took a shaky breath. She would miss them. All of them.
Everyone gazed up at the dragon as it finally released its power, and destruction rained down upon them.
A warm smile appeared on Mavis’s face as she watched her fairies join hands, watched them face Acnologia one last time, after even their all hadn’t been enough to vanquish the beast. “I think I’ve chosen well,” she said. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”
She called on the power of Tenrou, on the sacred power granted to her and her guild by the ancient powers of the world.
Just as Acnologia’s attack befell her guild, Fairy Sphere flickered to life around them, shielding them from any harm that could possibly come.
“I can’t wait to see you all again,” she whispered. “And I will see you again.”
Zeref felt nothing as Tenrou crumbled beneath Acnologia’s might.
Mavis’s homeland, the guild he had helped her create, his little brother, all of it destroyed, replaced by the swirling waters of the ocean as Acnologia disappeared into the clouds once again.
“Farewell, Natsu.”
“So, you have decided to give up, though you know what that means,” a voice said behind him.
Zeref turned to see Mavis step over Hades’ lifeless body.
She sighed. “I do wish you hadn’t killed him. He may have strayed from the correct path, but he was my friend.”
Zeref shook his head. “Even when he is the one who caused this?”
Mavis gave Zeref a sad look. “You know as well as I that choosing to abandon your care for life, for this world, was your own choice. And you know what will come of such a decision.”
“You’re going to oppose me?” He nearly scoffed. Fairy Tail would become nothing without those wizards.
“You always knew I would,” she said. “Wasn’t that the deal we made, all those years ago? That should one of us need to be stopped, we would do so. I haven’t forgotten.”
Zeref turned to gaze out across the ocean. “You’ll break one day, too. Your heart has already darkened, Mavis, dear.”
“Perhaps so,” she said. “But that may be what I need to fight you. A hundred years is a long time. And you know what I created Fairy Tail for. What you created Fairy Tail for.”
He sighed. “It doesn’t matter now. They’re gone.”
“Are they?” she asked.
He turned back around to demand what she meant, but she had vanished.
He smirked. “If that’s how you want this to go, then so be it, Mavis. Show me what your fairies have become.”