Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
June 1, x792.
"Wow!" Shizuka shouted excitedly while pointing in a certain direction. "What's that, Fonzie?"
Currently, Alfonzo, Shizuka, and Mavis were sitting in the cockpit of the Blackbird with various magical screens set up, watching the war situation from high above the town of Magnolia.
"Hmm… It looks like that's where the fighting began." Alfonzo said after looking at the screen Shizuka was pointing at. "That's… off the coast of Hargeon."
"That's where we expected them to show up first." Mavis said while also looking at the screen. "And it looks like Team Natsu did not wait for them to get close to the coast before starting their attack."
"That's just what we expected, too." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Whether letting those ships land would be bad or not, we all know that there was no way Natsu would be able to wait long enough to find out."
Hearing that, Mavis could not help but smile in return. Meanwhile, Shizuka continued to stare at the screen projecting the battle between Team Natsu and the Alvarez Empire airships. And when she saw the huge sandstorm that appeared out of nowhere, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Whoa! That's a lot of sand." Shizuka exclaimed.
"Sand… Huh?" Alfonzo asked himself rhetorically. "Then, that must be one of the Spriggan 12, Ajeel Raml. Irene told us about him."
"Indeed." Mavis replied with a nod. "It's a good thing we sent Team Natsu there. With Natsu's [Fire Dragon Slayer Magic] and Erza's [Flame Empress Armor], they should be able to nullify most of his attacks with the temperatures they can produce."
"I just hope all that glass that will fall into the sea won't do any harm." Alfonzo muttered while going back to checking the other screens. "A lot of the fish and seafood we eat at home is caught near the site of the battle, after all."
*Gasp!*
While Mavis looked at Alfonzo helplessly, thinking that there were more important things to worry about than the fish that would show up on the dinner table, Shizuka gasped audibly as her eyes widened.
"Oh no!" Shizuka exclaimed in panic. She then turned to Alfonzo and grabbed one of his arms. "Fonzie! You have to get there and finish the fight fast. What are we gonna do if all the shrimps die?"
Hearing that, Alfonzo could only smile wryly. He then reached out and started combing his fingers through Shizuka's beautiful blonde hair, causing her panicked expression to melt away as she leaned into Alfonzo's touch.
Meanwhile, Mavis' helpless expression shifted to include Shizuka, as well. {Pic}
"Are you two even taking this war seriously?" mavis muttered to herself. She then shook her head and focused completely on Alfonzo. "No, I can understand Shizuka acting like this. But why are you indulging her, Alfonzo?"
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Hargeon.
"You! You're Ajeel of the Spriggan 12, aren't you?" Erza asked while pointing her sword at the ship Ajeel reappeared on.
"You're well-informed, it would seem." Ajeel replied with a disdainful sneer curling his lips. "In that case, you should know that resistance is futile. Submit to me and I will ask his Majesty for leniency on your behalf. Perhaps you will be allowed to join the glorious Alvarez Empire when all of this is over."
"Not a chance!" Natsu shouted as he, with Happy's assistance, tore through the air towards Ajeel. "You're here to hurt Fairy Tail! And no one tries that and gets away with it! Happy! Let's go even faster!"
"Aye, Sir!" Hapy shouted his reply as he pumped even more magic power into his [Aera Magic].
*Swoosh!*
In the next instant, Happy's wings grew in size and began glowing brightly. Then, he and Natsu accelerated, practically vanishing from the sight of all those below the level of an S-Class wizard.
"Fire Dragon King's Destruction Fist]." Natsu chanted, his voice seemingly echoing throughout the entire battlefield.
"Hmph! Ignorant fool!" Ajeel shouted angrily. "Very well. Then, you can die along with the rest of your insignificant guild. [Raml Fa'as]."
As he chanted his spell, Ajeel watched Natsu gather an immense amount of fire in his cocked back right fist while a large amount of sand from the [Sand World] spell broke off from the floating sand protecting the airships and condensed into a large, double-sided battle axe.
A moment later, Natsu and Happy arrived in front of Ajeel, who had raised his axe, and was ready to swing it at Natsu with all his strength. Then, the two attacks collided.
*Boom!* {Pic}
*Shatter!*
And when they did, the collision produced a shockwave powerful enough to knock the closest flying warships flying, disperse some of the sand surrounding the warships, and even cause Erza's flight to become unsteady for a moment.
At the same time, the axe in Ajeel's hand rapidly heated, turning to glass in less than a second. And because of the heat, he was forced to throw it away, as the high temperature would more than likely burn straight through the ships haul were he to drop it.
Yet, Ajeel was not the only one heavily affected by the impact, as Natsu and Happy, not having the benefit of stable footing, were sent flying back in the direction from whence they came.
"Damn… He's stronger than I thought." Natsu said as Happy regained stability in the air. "But he's not strong enough to stop us, right little buddy?"
"Aye!" Happy shouted with determination shining in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Ajeel was glaring at the two opponents he just sent flying while shaking his hands vigorously.
"Damn you…" Ajeel muttered as he glanced down at the serious burns on his palms. "I underestimated you. But that won't happen again. [Sand of Death]."
Once again, Ajeel produced a large amount of sand. However, this time, everyone on the battlefield could feel something different. This sand was no ordinary sand.
"Happy!" Natsu shouted after sensing the ominous aura coming from the newly produced sand. "I don't know what's up with that sand, but we can't let it touch us!"
"Aye!" Happy replied solemnly. "Don't worry, none of that sand will touch us."
As if to put Happy's declaration to the test, the [Sand of Death] began to move, headed straight for Natsu and Happy. And to show his determination, Hapy began to fly with Natsu masterfully, avoiding all Ajeel's attempts to box them in.
Happy even used the Alvarez warships to block Ajeel's line of sight. Yet, instead of avoiding the warships, Ajeel, already fed up with Natsu and Happy, engulfed the ships and all their occupants in the sand in an attempt to get rid of the two Fairy Tail wizards as quickly as possible.
And when the first warship was engulfed by the [Sand of Death], that was when everyone saw exactly why they had such a bad feeling about it.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
Just as the battle between the Alvarez Empire and Team Natsu was raging off the coast near Hargeon, other battles had started between other forces set to protect Fiore from the invasion.
However, Fairy Tail was not the only guild protecting their homes, as their allies, namely Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, mermaid heel, Quatro Cerberus, Sabertooth, and Final Fantasy were all engaging with the Alvarez Army, as well.
"Oh, it looks like Squall is fighting someone he knows." Mavis said while looking at one of the magic screens in the Blackbird's cockpit. "I believe that was the young man who left Final Fantasy after being dissatisfied with his rate of growth. What was his name again?"
"Seifer Almasy." Alfonzo replied, more from his meta knowledge than actually remembering the conversation with Edea. "He uses a gunblade, too. Apparently, he and Squall have been rivals since childhood."
"That's the name." Mavis said with a nod. She then looked at the screen that showed Team Natsu's battle and exclaimed in surprise. "Things aren't looking too good for Team Natsu! That sand---"
"it's decaying everything it touches." Alfonzo said in a solemn tone. "No, it's dehydrating everything it touches. That might be even worse."
'I forgot this guy could do that.' Alfonzo muttered internally.
["It's like that one pirate from the manga in your past life."] Bedlam said in an amused tone. ["What was he called again? Crocodile? He ate one of those Devil Fruits, right?"]
["It was the Sand Sand Fruit!"] Riot corrected more energetically than usual. ["But he was a total weakling. I mean, he lost to Luffy before he even learned [Haki]."]
At that moment, Alfonzo's inner world fell silent. Both Alfonzo and Bedlam could not help staring at Riot with strange expressions. Especially Alfonzo. Although he knew they had unrestricted access to his memories of both this life and his past life, he never paid attention to what they looked at.
But to think that Riot, the perpetually angry little gremlin, would be so into One Piece that he immediately named Crocodile's Devil Fruit and started bashing the guy without even thinking about it, caught him off guard.
["And you!"] riot shouted angrily while pointing up towards the sky of the inner world. ["What kind of loser are you? How could you die before the end of the series? Now, how am I supposed to know what happened after the Straw Hats left the Gran Tesoro?"]
Alfonzo's expression immediately changed to one filled with disdain. Then, he turned his attention away from his inner world, leaving Riot to ceaselessly complain about not being able to know what happened after that point in the One Piece manga. Meanwhile, Bedlam, immediately noticing Alfonzo's change in attitude, could not help bursting into uncontrolled laughter.
With his attention back on the screen displaying Team Natsu's battle, Alfonzo watched as Happy flew around the aerial battlefield with Natsu, dodging the [Sand of Death] as it disintegrated the Alvarez Empire warships and Erza avoided becoming collateral while cutting down even more warships.
At the same time, Alfonzo struggled to keep his priorities straight as Shizuka, with her arms and Breasts wrapped around his left arm, shook him back and forth in nervousness while she screamed at Natsu and happy through the screen to be careful.
"I wonder what Natsu said to that guy to make him so angry that he completely disregarded the lives of his companions." Mavis said quietly while her gaze flickered between all the screens as she gave orders via her lPhone.
"Nothing, probably." Alfonzo replied, his voice shaking along with his violent movements thanks to Shizuka's shaking. "If I had to guess, it's because of pride. But I wonder if Zeref didn't tell his people that Natsu is his brother? Don't they know that if Natsu dies, Zeref will die right along with him?"
"Huh?" Shizuka exclaimed as she stopped shaking Alfonzo. Then, she turned to look at him as she continued. "But I thought you and Igneel fixed that little problem. Doesn't Natsu already have his second [soul Armament]? And isn't his Etherious side the [Armament Spirit]?"
"That's right." Alfonzo replied with a smile as he once again started to comb his fingers through Shizuka's hair. "But Zeref doesn't know that."
"Ah!" That makes sense." Shizuka said, an expression of realization on her face.
"I'm actually curious to know, too." Mavis added. "This doesn't sound like something a subordinate would do."
"Well, we'll just have to wait and see." Alfonzo said with a shrug. "Honestly, this fight won't last much longer, anyway. There's no way that guy could beat Natsu. And even if by some miracle he did manage to get the win, Erza would flatten him."
In response, both Shizuka and mavis nodded in agreement. The trio then went back to watching the fight.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Hargeon.
After a few more minutes of cat and mouse, the only warship remaining in the sky was the one where Ajeel stood. The others had either been disintegrated while he tried to catch Natsu and Happy or were cut down by Erza. Meanwhile, Gray and Lucy took care of the soldiers who were able to land safely on the iced over ocean.
"Looks like you're the only one left!" Natsu shouted smugly while completely ignoring the crew of the warship Ajeel was standing on. "Don't you think it's time for you to give up?"
"Hmph!" Ajeel's response was a disdainful snort. "You can't even get close to me. Yet, you think I should give up? Ridiculous. As a Dragon Slayer, you can't even fight me on this ship without getting sick. And if you can't fight me with stable footing, there's no way you'll even be able to harm me."
Hearing that, Natsu could not help gritting his teeth in frustration. At the same time, however, his mind, which only worked properly when it came to fighting and eating, was spinning at high speed. Meanwhile, Happy, who was still carrying him through the air, looked at Natsu with worry.
"Natsu, he's right." Happy said apprehensively. "What should we do? Should we just leave it to Erza?"
Immediately, Natsu's head shot up to look at Happy, his teeth grinding together even harder at the suggestion. Then, he shook his head.
"No, I don't need Erza to handle this for me." Natsu said with a glint of determination shining in his eyes. Then, his eyes lit up with a good idea... for him, anyway. "Happy, throw me at that guy!"
"What?" Happy asked in a dumbfounded tone.
"Throw me at that guy!" Natsu shouted. "Throw me as hard as you can. I'll take care of the rest!"
"I don't think this sounds like a good idea..." Happy said in an uncertain tone.
"Just do it!" Natsu shouted excitedly. "Otherwise, we'll have to leave it to Erza!"
Although he was not sure about it, Happy eventually gave into Natsu. He then, with Natsu's vest gripped tightly, began flying around the only remaining warship as fast as he could. Then, when he could not accelerate any further, he aimed at Ajeel and let go of Natsu, sending the pink-haired Dragon Slayer flying through the air.
"[Fire Dragon King's...]" Natsu chanted loudly as he flared his magic power to his limits.
"Suicidal fool." Ajeel said disdainfully while watching Natsu fly towards him. "The only thing you'll accomplish with a move like this is dying soon er."
As he spoke, Ajeel began gathering all the [Sands of Death] in front of him. By the time he finished, the sand had been formed into a giant hand that reached out towards Natsu, intending to catch him while simultaneously draining his body of all its water.
"[... Purgatory]!" Natsu shouted just as the fingers of the giant sand hand began to close around him.
In the next instant, Natsu's entire body was engulfed with high temperature flames that turned the [Sands of Death] into glass upon contact. {Pic}
Meanwhile, as soon as the soldiers aboard the ship saw things turning bad, they all hurried to leap overboard, using their magic and magic items to slow their descents towards the frozen sea below. And it was a good thing they did. Because as soon as the last one cleared the deck...
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~!*
... the flames surrounding Natsu exploded outwards in a sphere, completely destroying the glass hand and the ship.
As for Ajeel, with such high temperature flames, he could not chance transforming into his [Sand Form]. Instead, he quickly created a shield made of sand. Yet, there was no way he would be able to block such a powerful explosion with such a hastily created defense. So, like the flaming pieces of the warship, he was sent flying at high-speed, the force of the explosion causing him to spit a mouthful of blood before he was rendered incapable of fighting.
"Ahahaha!" Natsu's laughter echoed throughout the area. "See, Happy? I told you I wouldn't need Erza's help!"
"Do you think he remembers that he can't fly without Happy?" Lucy asked curiously.
"Of course he doesn't." Gray replied in a disdainful tone. "But he probably won't even realize he's falling until right before he's about to slam into the ice."
"*Sigh* As much as I'd like to refute that, I know it's true." Lucy said in a tired tone. "So, I'll just watch from here."
And just as Gray said, a few seconds before Natsu would have slammed into the ice, he started to panic, finally remembering that he could not fly on his own. Luckily, Happy, after throwing Natsu at Ajeel, had never taken his eyes off his best friend. So, just before Natsu slammed into, and more than likely through, the ice, he swooped in and caught him.
Meanwhile, Erza, who had no doubts that Natsu would win, was staring off towards the horizon in the direction where the warships came from.
"This is only the beginning." Erza muttered to herself. "There's no way this will end so easily."