Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa or Fairy Tail. However, I own my own character(s).

Chapter 16: Showdown on Galuna Island

"You wouldn't! You're not brave enough to give your life!" Lyon taunted. "You're nothing but a coward!"

"Just watch me."

Natsu grimaced, shielding his face from the wind and light. The pressure in the room was building and building still, but he could tell that the spell was going to be complete soon. Gray could probably hold back from casting it for a while once he built up enough power, but not forever. That energy had to go somewhere eventually. Was he really going to go through with it?! "I said don't do it, Gray!"

Gray closed his eyes. Memories of Fairy Tail flashed through his mind, summoned by the sound of his guildmate's voice. Growing up with Natsu and Erza, guided and loved by Makarov, even the small amount of time spent with Makoto and Lucy… He didn't want to leave them. He didn't want to leave anyone. It was the last thing he wanted to do.

But there were no other options now. Lyon had to be stopped. They couldn't allow Deliora to be awakened, no matter what. The destruction would be endless, and the demon unstoppable.

So Gray gave him an ultimatum. A simple demand—abandon his plans of resurrection and leave the island forever. Otherwise, Gray would cast his spell, turning his body into indestructible ice and sealing Lyon within. For all intents and purposes, it was a choice between life and death.

Lyon believed his threat to be a mere bluff. He'd show him exactly how much of a bluff it was.

Time was up.

"Iced She—!"

"SHUT UP!"

A solid thwack echoed in the ice-encased room. The immense magic energy building in the room dissipated, aimless without a source to focus it together.

Gray stumbled, just barely keeping his balance. He placed a surprised hand on his throbbing cheek and then stared up at the one who'd interrupted him. "Natsu…"

The Fire Wizard was preoccupied for a moment, blowing on his arm and shaking it wildly. Pins and needles tingled beneath his skin and certain parts, especially his knuckles, felt so cold they burned. There were consequences to getting that close to a powerful ice spell, after all.

He soon regained the feeling in his arm and sneered at Gray. "You can't just bust in and steal the scene with a bunch of fancy talk! Get to the back of the line, pal!"

Gray stared at him a little longer. "Wha… Back of what line?!" he demanded.

Natsu's lips curled into a smug grin and he pointed to himself. "I was here first, so it's my fight."

"What?!" Gray shouted in disbelief. "When I got here, the first words out of my mouth were 'Leave him to me'!"

"Yeah, and I said 'No way, man' like a second after that!" Natsu retorted.

"Why you…!" Gray growled.

Natsu grinned. "What? You want some?"

Gray grabbed him by the scarf and yanked him close, glaring into his eyes from mere inches away. "I don't care who said what, I've got a score to settle with him, you understand?! And I'm ready to die if that's what I gotta do!"

A hand shot out and grasped his forearm with such intensity that it trembled slightly from the force.

"Yeah?" Natsu's face switched from childish teasing to deadly serious in a heartbeat. "And how's dying gonna settle it? 'Cause it sounds like you're running away to me."

Gray couldn't stop the small gasp that escaped him, as if it'd been physically forced from his lungs. Natsu's words hit home. He couldn't say anything to argue against him. Until Natsu had pointed it out, Gray hadn't realized how true the accusation was.

They were both forced to break eye contact when the temple started rumbling and shaking. Natsu regained his balance first and let out a frustrated growl. "Gah, what now?!"

"Do not falter!" one of Lyon's lackeys cried, an old woman by the sound of her voice. "We must strike down all who oppose the Cold Emperor!"

All of the minions let out battle cries and charged the group of wizards. Erza met them first, mowing them down with her sword as she ran past. She requipped a spear and knocked away several of the boomerangs the lackeys were using as swords. Her hands danced up and down the length of the spear to adjust for reach or power.

Lucy's whip flashed all over the place. It found its targets with consistent accuracy and either left them with stinging marks on their body or tripped them up at their feet. She flicked her wrist and the end of the whip wrapped around one person's arm. She pulled and yanked them into the path of their comrade who'd been charging at her with their weapon held high. They collided and fell to the ground in a heap.

Makoto stayed nearby, ready to back her up if too many tried to swarm her. His stone-encased fists were great for deflecting their sharp weaponry and smacking them away when they wouldn't get the message—though most of his attention was on defending rather than attacking.

The cats were heavily involved in the action as well. Happy flew high, pelting the enemy with various fruits and vegetables—god knows where he found those in plentiful supply. Maya went low, weaving in between the feet of the minions, confusing them when she zipped by and generally trying to trip them.

Abruptly, the combat was interrupted when a deep rumbling sound thundered from nearby.

Erza paused, her body tense and ready to leap back into action. Her grip on her spear tightened. "What's that sound?"

Lucy turned, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound—and froze when her eyes landed on the temple ruins. Though, it was probably more accurate to simply label it as the temple. Somehow, it looked good as new, exactly the way she remembered it the first time they found it! "No way!"

"The temple just completely fixed itself!" Happy gasped.

"But how?" Maya put a paw to her mouth and mumbled under her breath, "We should get the guild hall to do that."

Makoto's mouth hung open in shock. He couldn't think of any explanation for how the wreckage of the temple was suddenly restored—which probably meant it was due to magic of some kind, right? Someone inside the temple—likely working for Lyon because he doubted this was the result of the Ice Wizard—had magic powerful enough to repair the temple in a few seconds. What else could they do with that power? There was a chance that Gray would run into them, and that would delay him from stopping Lyon and Deliora's revival. That wasn't something they could risk.

"Makoto? Where are you going?" Lucy called when she saw him attempt to make his way past the enemy in the direction of the temple.

"Someone inside there managed to undo Natsu's damage, and that was really the only thing stopping them from getting moonlight," Makoto stopped briefly to explain. "I don't think it was Lyon or those three from last night, though. If they get in Gray's way, we could be in big trouble, so I'm going to help! You can handle it here, right?"

There was a flap of wings and Maya was in the air above everyone's heads, already heading his way. "I'll go with—!"

"I want you to stay here with the others," he interrupted. Part of him was hesitant to do so, conscious that this would be the first time they'd be separated during a battle, but a bigger part knew she'd be safer here. These people weren't too tough and he could count on Lucy and Erza to look after her. Makoto didn't even know whether he'd do well or poorly against this unknown wizard, but it was certain he'd struggle if he had to keep an eye on the tabby.

Maya hovered in the air and frowned at him. Her preference was obviously still to go along with him, but she wasn't making any other moves to follow. He took that as her answer to respect his wishes.

Erza defended herself against another attack and mulled over Makoto's words. While she agreed to let Gray take care of business with his old friend, she wouldn't hesitate to go support him if she felt it necessary. The situation had changed with this unknown factor present in the temple. And though they still hadn't met up with Natsu, he was unarguably inside as well. A part of her wanted to go herself and make sure the boys were okay.

But Makoto had already made his mind up about going, and arguing over who went would only delay them longer, so she gave him a firm nod. "Very well. I'll leave it in your hands."

"Right!" Makoto nodded back. He ducked under a sword swipe, braced his hands against the ground, and knocked the attacker's feet out from under them, sending them to the ground. With his final obstacle out of the way, he made a break for it, running down the path to the temple.

Natsu pounded against the ice, the floors, the walls—anywhere his fists would reach. From their position within the temple, it was difficult to tell exactly what was going on, but any damage that had been inflicted on the stone of the temple was undone. Even the hole that Natsu created getting up into the room was completely fixed. And considering how long and intense the rumbling was, it wasn't a stretch to assume the healing had occurred elsewhere.

Which meant that all his effort had gone to waste! He was really proud of that plan!

"This is bad," Gray grimaced while the Fire Wizard went on his screaming rampage. He'd come to the same conclusion—and without the destruction Natsu had caused to the temple, there wasn't anything hindering the Moon Drip ceremony from continuing come night time. "Now the moon's going to shine on Deliora."

"Pardon the interruption."

The three wizards in the room turned to stare at the newcomer—the man with the mask, Zalty—as he ran over to stand by Lyon's side.

Lyon narrowed his eyes. "I should've known. I take it you did this?"

"Indeed I did, sir," the short man answered cheerfully. "The moon will be out soon, so I thought I'd take the liberty of restoring the temple for you."

"That weirdo fixed it all by himself?" Gray asked, a little doubtful.

"And after I went to all that trouble to mess it up, too," Natsu grumbled, his irritation growing. He prided himself on his power, and somehow this guy undid all his destruction in a matter of seconds? He raised his voice and said, "Hey, so what'd you do to fix it, huh?"

Zalty looked over like he only noticed the Fairy Tail wizards' presence for the first time. They stared at each other for a bit. And then he let out a booming, mocking laugh.

Natsu's irritation levels rose a little higher. "Tell me how you did it, you jerk!"

Zalty dismissed him entirely and continued speaking to Lyon. "Now that everything else is in order, I suppose I should commence the Moon Drip ceremony."

The Dragon Slayer's rage exploded. "WOULD YOU QUIT IGNORING ME YOU DEMON-HEAD FREAK!"

Zalty laughed again, running for the exit before Natsu could grab him. Natsu let out a ferocious growl and chased after him. "GET BACK HERE!"

"Natsu!" Gray shouted at him.

Natsu stopped just before the exit and grounded his teeth. "I'm gonna pound him a million—no, a billion times!" Natsu turned his head and made eye contact with the Ice Wizard. "I'll let you handle that ice guy!"

Gray blinked from his sudden change of attitude. For how predictable it was for the Dragon Slayer to get distracted, it still surprised him after how much of a fuss he'd put up previously. Gray nodded in understanding.

"It'll look bad if you lose again," Natsu commented.

"Yeah."

"And not just for you."

"I know what you mean."

They shared a grin in understanding. "But for all of Fairy Tail."

With that, Natsu dashed out of the room to hunt down Zalty. His furious shouts gradually faded until they could no longer hear them.

"My, my," Lyon finally spoke up. "What a boisterous pair you are."

"Tell me something," Gray said. "A second ago, when I was going to freeze us both for good, you were counting on Natsu to stop me before I could finish, right?"

"No," Lyon shook his head. "The opposite, in fact. I never thought he'd be foolish enough to come near a spell like that."

Neither did Gray, but he supposed only Natsu would dare risk doing something that stupid. Gray furrowed his brows by what Lyon's words meant. "So you were just going to stand there and take the hit?"

"Exactly. Because someone would come to rescue me. You, on the other hand, would be finished for good," he pointed out. "Certainly it would be inconvenient to be sealed in ice, but my allies are as devoted to my cause as I am. And as long as we're on this island, they could use Moon Drip to melt the ice whenever they saw fit."

Gray looked at the ground. A feeling of shame welled up inside as he realized how hasty his actions were. "I… didn't think of that. Guess the Iced Shell is completely useless here."

Lyon scoffed at his phrasing. "Yet you still want to fight? After what happened last time? Don't fool yourself, you could never—"

"That's enough."

"…What?"

"Just forget about Deliora," Gray clarified.

Lyon's face twisted. "What kind of nonsense is this?" he demanded. "Your threats don't work so you turn to begging? Does your guild have a dentist that removes your fangs, or are you just a coward?"

Gray ignored his jibes. "Lyon, there's something I have to tell you."

Lyon frowned but decided to humor him. "What is it?"

"Ur is still alive."

Lyon's expression went completely blank. He didn't move a muscle.

"The Iced Shell doesn't kill its caster," Gray explained. His voice was steady and clear, finally relieving himself of the burden of knowledge. "It uses their body to form the barrier. The ice keeping Deliora sealed away—which you've been trying to melt—is actually Master Ur. She isn't dead. She lives on as that ice."

Gray chewed his lip and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry that I never told you the truth back then. Ur made me promise to keep quiet."

…

"If he found out I'd been turned to ice, he'd probably waste his entire life trying to find a way to undo the spell."

…

How ironic, Gray thought, that even without the truth of the Iced Shell, Lyon still obsessed over the ice, trying to melt it by whatever means necessary.

"…Of course," Lyon muttered quietly.

Gray approached him slowly. "It's over. There's no reason to go through with this anymo—"

Gray cut himself off with a strangled gasp, followed by coughed up blood. His hands twitched toward his abdomen where someone held the handle of a sword. An ice sword that pierced out the other side of him. Gray raised his head and met Lyon's twisted grin.

"You idiot. I know how the spell words," Lyon laughed mockingly. He pulled the sword out, slick with Gray's blood, and the Fairy Tail wizard collapsed to the floor. "I can assure you she's not alive anymore. That's nothing more than a chunk of ice!"

Gray grasped at his wound in a feeble attempt to stop the blood or ease the pain. "Y-You knew…" he breathed harshly. "You k-knew all along…?"

"Knowing is one thing, believing is another," Lyon sneered at him. "And if you truly believe Ur is alive in there, you're an even greater fool than I thought."

Gray gritted his teeth. The burning pain was quickly being replaced by a different type of fire. Rage flared up inside him as he glared at his former peer. "You knew the truth… and yet… you still did this…!"

Lyon looked down at him. "And what of it?"

The Cold Emperor was completely unprepared for the fist that flew at his face. The force behind it was strong enough to launch him into the far wall of the ice arena.

"Impossible!" Lyon pulled himself out of the indent created in the wall and stared wide-eyed. "How can you move with that wound?!"

"I've had enough!" Gray snarled. He breathed heavily and spoke in a calmer voice, no less serious. "I wanted… to save you. But I give up now."

"You want the title of star pupil for yourself?" Lyon shrugged. "Well I'm sorry, but I have to fight against Deliora soon and I'd rather not waste my magic energy on you."

"Then we'll just use our fists," Gray replied easily.

Lyon raised an eyebrow. "You want me to fight you without using magic? That's fine by me."

Gray charged at him, rearing his fist back to punch him again. Lyon moved before he could land his hit though. Pain exploded when Lyon kneed him right where he'd stabbed him earlier.

"Aim for your opponent's weak spot and hit it with all you've got!" Lyon grinned and mocked him. "Ur taught us that, remember?"

"You have no right to speak her name!" Gray snarled. "And I won't let you!"

He threw another punch but Lyon easily dodged again. Gray nearly choked on something in his throat when Lyon landed another blow to his stomach. The thought of their last fight came back to him, of how easily and thoroughly he'd been beaten. He hissed in pain and tried to focus. Gray wouldn't let it end the same way again.

Deep in the woods, Makoto peeked around his hiding place behind a tree. The plan of breaking away to get to the temple seemed simple at first, but he wasn't expecting there to be so many people guarding the perimeter. It was going to be impossible to get into the temple without being spotted. There was just way too many of them. He'd be overwhelmed by himself.

The first time he decides to leave her behind and it turns out Maya's power of flight would be useful. His luck continued to amaze him.

Fighting wasn't an option either. He didn't want fighting to be an option. The people in the woods earlier had attacked him and his friends, they had to fight back to defend themselves and give Gray an opening to run. But this—this would be a choice to do so. Even disregarding the issue of numbers, it didn't sit right with him to actively attack them, and if he didn't have to, he wasn't going to.

Besides, there was an idea in his mind that he'd been considering. Something had nagged at him since Gray explained the events leading up to the plan to revive Deliora. It was clear now why Lyon was doing something like this.

What wasn't clear was why all these people were following him. Lyon's motives behind his plan were incredibly personal—but how would the others benefit? If Makoto could understand that, maybe there was a better solution to this whole mess. Sometimes you just need a different perspective to find an answer. Consider other possibilities.

Perhaps it was a little optimistic for his abilities, but, well, that was his best quality, right? He'd made Moka see that acting rashly would be foolish, after all. He could pull it off. It was better than trying to beat them all into submission.

"Hey. You're one of the Fairy Tail wizards, aren't you?"

…He hoped his hypothetical solution was going to work better than his idea to sit in one spot right next to the enemy base. Makoto rose to his feet slowly in order to make it clear he wasn't going to jump them—asking for answers would be difficult if they started swinging sharp pieces of metal at him. Except he was surprised to see he recognized the two people before him.

"You're the wizards who attacked the village," he remarked with surprise. Sherry, the pink-haired puppeteer who Lucy fought and Erza eventually defeated, and the blue-haired man, one of the two Natsu took on. Both of them still looked exhausted from their earlier defeats, but Makoto felt that wouldn't mean they'd let him go free.

"I'm going to love getting even with you, Fairy Tail wizard," Sherry commented, twirling one of her ponytails around her finger.

Yuka's mouth twitched upwards. "You'd better prepare yourself for a world of hurt."

This wasn't going as well as he thought, Gray idly thought as his body endured blow after blow from his foe. No matter what kind of angle he went from, he simply couldn't land a blow on him. Lyon kept going for his wound every chance he got, which only made it ache more and made it more difficult for Gray to move the way he wanted to.

He didn't want to admit it… but he was reaching his limit. His back smarted from Lyon's latest blow that sent him straight through the wall of ice and into the stone behind. His various old injuries stung, not fully healed from his last bout against Lyon, and the stab wound was agony.

…

"Get up!"

…

Gray's head jerked up. Just then, a voice had echoed through his mind. It was Natsu's voice, from before, when he demanded Gray stand after the first time Lyon beat him. But now that he thought about it, that wasn't the first time he'd heard his guildmate use those words—Natsu also said it once, years ago, during a spar they had. It stood out in his mind from their many other spars because Natsu was the one on the ground beaten, not Gray. But the kid wizard still pulled himself to his feet, covered in bruises, still picking a fight.

He'd never admit it, but Natsu had really impressed him that day.

Lyon panted a little for breath and saw that his opponent was in a crumpled heap and not moving. Lyon smirked. "That settles it… You're no match for me after all…"

"Hold on…" Gray's protest froze him in his tracks. Using the wall behind him, Gray pushed himself back to his feet. A weak grin crossed his face and he near echoed the words Natsu once spoke years ago. "This fight's not over just yet."

Lyon let out a frustrated growl and charged at him. "I should've killed you when I had the chance!"

Gray yelled and both of their punches landed. Their clenched fists pushed against each other's faces, fighting to overpower the other. Eventually, one of them won the stalemate—and it was Gray, following through hard enough to throw Lyon back into the wall. A taste of his own medicine.

Gray stood up tall, his confidence boosted from his successful attack. "You're gonna have to step up your game if you wanna beat me!"

Lyon flew out of the dust and struck a blow against him. Gray stumbled but recovered quickly, drawing strength from his second wind. "I didn't give up against Natsu and I won't against you!"

He punctuated his declaration with a harsh headbutt. The two traded blows, back and forth, a rhythm almost developing in their attacks. The hits Gray took were powerful and dealt without mercy, but he didn't let it stop him. If anything, each hit only drove him on, taking the force and channeling it into his counter.

Several minutes went by without them realizing. They'd forced some distance between each other and were using the brief separation to recover their strength. Lyon dragged himself to his feet. He was unable to stand up straight under his own power and used the walls to aid him. "The Cold Emperor… defeated in battle by the likes of you…? I won't stand for it."

Gray narrowed his eyes. "Then get over here and fight."

Lyon continued the fight, all right—but he did so by holding his hand out. "Ice Make: Snow Dragon!"

The living ice serpent roared and flew at Gray, snatching him up between its jaws. Gray cried out in pain as the sharp, painfully cold ice dug into his injured side. He brought his elbow down on it to shatter it and he tumbled along the floor.

Gray placed his hand on his wound to prevent it from bleeding more. "I thought we agreed not to use magic, Lyon."

"Don't be such a sore loser," Lyon retorted. "This duel was pointless from the start—Deliora will be revived either way. Alas, it's far too late to stop me now."

Gray struggled to get to his feet from the renewed pain. The blows from Lyon were one thing, but the dragon's fangs pierced the skin again, bringing forth even more blood. "I won't… stop trying…"

Lyon reached up to the clasp on his cloak and tossed the regal white fabric away. "Try all you want, but Zalty is preparing to start the Moon Drip ceremony as we speak."

"Natsu won't let him…"

Lyon reacted to his words with surprise. Gray watched his expression change and smirked. "Trust me, the second you underestimate that guy is the second you lose."

Deep beneath the temple, Zalty watched the demon Deliora sealed within its prison. Night had finally fallen, which meant it was only a matter of time before the ceremony would be completed. "At long last…" he muttered with a grin.

"There you are!" Zalty blinked behind his mask and turned to see Natsu charging at him with a fiery fist. "I'll burn that grin off your face!"

Natsu swung down but only hit the rock below, cracking the surface. Zalty landed safely on a nearby rock, an island in the lake created from the melted ice.

"Must've taken you a while to come up with that one," Zalty snidely remarked. "By the way, how did you manage to find me?"

"I followed my nose, that's all." Natsu had followed down the masked man once, in the temple, but he'd vanished as soon as he located him. The Dragon Slayer had to trust his sense of smell after that, which led him down underground.

Natsu's nose wrinkled up. "For some reason, you totally reek of lady's perfume."

Zalty let out an amused laugh. "I would love to stay and chat," he continued, changing the subject, "but I've got more important things to do right now. Like reviving Deliora."

Natsu scoffed loudly and smiled. "Heh, just forget about that. It's not going to happen, okay?"

Zalty raised an eyebrow behind his mask at his casual tone. "Really? And why is that, pray tell?"

Natsu threw his arm out and pointed at him. "Because Gray's gonna kick that ice guy's butt. And any minute now, I'm gonna kick your butt. Like a billion times. And then this'll all be over."

"We'll just have to see about that…" Zalty grinned and faced the frozen demon. Natsu did the same and his eyes widened tremendously. A small but undeniably purple stream of light was seeping through a magic circle in the ceiling.

"That's… moonlight!" Natsu gasped. "There are people up there doing the ceremony right now?!"

"Only one person," Zalty corrected, "which means the Moon Drip isn't terribly powerful right now. However, that's hardly a concern since we've already gathered plenty of moonlight. We just need to give it a little nudge to finish the job."

Coinciding with Zalty's words, a large chunk of ice broke away and slid off the monolithic ice. Streams of water began dripping down and adding to the lake at the bottom of the cavern.

"Ohhhhhh this can't be good!" Natsu screamed. "Deliora's ice is melting like crazy! I gotta go stop that guy before things get ugly!"

Natsu turned back the way he came, but before he could make it more than a few steps, a large boulder crashed in his path. Natsu stopped and turned back to Zalty who smugly stood on his perch with an arm raised.

"Sorry, but you're not going anywhere! Looks like chasing after me was a mistake, Salamander." He gave Natsu a smile. "Better luck next time, eh?"

"Wave!"

"Rock Doll, get him!"

Yuka aimed with his two fingers and fired a blue magic beam at Makoto. He already knew that trying to block it wouldn't end well. Last time he tried, the beam exploded on contact and his rock fists did nothing to protect him. He jumped to the left to avoid it but in doing so he put himself right in the path of Sherry's puppet.

The thing was only tall enough to reach his waist, but when it crashed into him it dragged him down with its weight alone. It pressed down on both his shoulders, effectively pinning him to the ground. Makoto struggled to push it off of him but he wasn't making much headway. He had to think of something quick, before Yuka could attack again or Sherry could give the doll another command.

He stretched his neck and bit into the stone arm holding his left shoulder. The puppet let out a little shriek as its arm suddenly crumbled and the rest of it followed suit once Makoto prepared an Earth Dragon's Seismic Fist.

Makoto got to his feet and crunched down on the rocks still in his mouth. His magic swelled temporarily and he focused the energy towards his chest. "Earth Dragon's Roar!"

His two opponents barely got out of the way of the attack. Yuka regarded him with caution. "I've heard of Salamander, but I wasn't aware Fairy Tail had two Dragon Slayers."

"What does that matter?" Makoto asked. "Look, you're both exhausted. Please, stop fighting! You're going to make yourselves worse!"

"And let you interfere with our plans? You can forget it," Yuka retorted. "Not when we're inches away from our goal."

"Why do you even want to revive Deliora?" Makoto questioned. "I know what Lyon's reason is, but what do you gain from all this?"

"Don't pretend you love us enough to care. Even if we tell you, we all know you're just going to keep opposing us anyway," Sherry pointed out.

"Only because how you're going about this isn't right," Makoto argued. "There's gotta be a better way than—"

"There is no better way!" Sherry interrupted furiously. "This is the only way! The Cold Emperor will kill the beast! We'll finally be able to get our revenge!"

"Revenge? On Deliora?" Makoto blinked. The first thing that came to mind as a reason for that was… "Are you from Brago?"

"No," Yuka answered, a tad calmer than Sherry, but talking about it clearly brought some of his own anger to the surface. "Some of the others are, though. But we're all here because that monster destroyed everything we cared about."

Makoto frowned. "Deliora is sealed away in ice," he reminded them. "It's not going to hurt anyone ever again."

"That's not the point!" Sherry scowled. "It doesn't matter whether it'll hurt anyone in the future, it already hurt us. We don't want it sealed, we want it dead."

They couldn't see it, the consequences of their actions. "If you melt that ice, it could go on a rampage again, for who knows how long until somebody stops it. Would you really risk that?"

"The Cold Emperor will kill it."

"But what if he can't?"

"He will."

"That's not an answer. You're letting your anger blind you!" Makoto accused. "Revenge isn't the answer! All it's doing is bringing more suffering!" Images flashed through his mind of Bobo's gravestone, of the village ruins, of the villagers that first night they arrived… Something caught in Makoto's throat as he thought about everything they had been through. For this. For their revenge. "Can't… you see it? The pain you're causing the villagers…? The same pain you felt?"

Yuka furrowed his brows. "What do you mean? Our situations are nothing alike."

They both looked confused, unaware of how big of an effect their actions had on the people who lived on Galuna. So Makoto began to explain.

"The village's peace and safety has been threatened every day because of a curse. Everyone worries about whether the curse will affect someone close to them, turn them crazy and dangerous. All they can do is kill their loved ones to protect themselves." He paused for a moment. "And that curse? It started affecting them three years ago—the same time you arrived and started gathering moonlight."

The two wizards glanced at each other unsurely. "But…" Sherry tried to argue. "That demon…"

"I know you believe what you're doing is right…" Makoto interrupted, "but as a result of your actions, others are being forced to go through that same pain you felt because of Deliora. That same loss. Their families. Their friends. Their home."

That finally seemed to render them speechless. Makoto quietly asked, "Is that the justice you're searching for?"

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Zalty hopped backward out of the way of the attack. He grinned and taunted, "Are you sure you want to do that? Using your Fire Magic at a time like this might make the ice that's sealing Deliora melt faster!"

He was caught off guard when Natsu immediately turned and kicked at him again, his flames burning brighter and larger. Zalty barely dodged the attack, briefly being obscured by the cloud of dust kicked up from the strike.

Natsu glared at him. "If it could be melted by Fire Magic, you wouldn't have gone to all this trouble. Bluff all you want, but once I'm done here, all I gotta do is stop the Moon Drip and it's game over."

Zalty hummed, a little impressed. "I must say, I took you for a fool. But when push comes to shove, it seems you're surprisingly clever, Salamander!"

As they continued their fight, the Moon Drip rained down on Deliora's prison unimpeded. Another large chunk of ice broke off and slipped off, crashing down into the water hard enough to cause the ground itself to shake.

Gray frowned. Even several floors up in the temple, the tremors could be felt. "I got a bad feeling that ain't Natsu…"

Lyon smirked. "The ceremony is finally reaching completion. The ice sealing Deliora has begun to melt away."

Gray felt his breath catch in his throat. "Ur…" That was his teacher Lyon was talking about—the woman who taught him, raised him, loved him, and he couldn't stop what was happening to the remaining piece of her left in the world.

"There's nothing you can do," Lyon taunted. "It's too late to stop me. You and your friends have failed!"

He held out his hand, gathering his magic to cast a new Ice Make spell.

"Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this moment, Gray?" Lyon asked rhetorically. "Since I saw you last I've been gathering knowledge and allies who will aid me. I was fortunate enough to discover this place, an island where you can collect the light of the moon—Galuna."

Lyon released the spell and an endless barrage of ice birds soared towards his opponent. Gray gritted his teeth as he endured several blows from the magic constructs.

"It wasn't an easy task transporting Deliora from Brago, and the Moon Drip's taken three years!"

Gray erected a shield to protect himself from the birds and growled. "You've been wasting your time on this stupid plan for three years?!"

Lyon froze at the word. "Stupid?!" His magic grew until it created an aura around him. "How dare you say that?! You've spent the last ten years in some foolish guild piddling your life away!"

Lyon poured all his fury into his magic and created a massive bird that was sure to crush his foe. Gray jumped to the side and let it crash into the temple floor.

"Because I put my faith in what Ur told me!" Gray snapped back.

…

"In the western countries, there are plenty of wizards more powerful than me."

…

"So I went west," Gray said, "and eventually made it to Fairy Tail. And she was right! The guild was so full of powerful wizards that I couldn't believe it!"

…

A slightly younger Makarov placed his hand on his chin. "I don't think I can help you. The Iced Shell is based on the will of its caster. And because that will is absolute, a third party cannot melt the ice, no matter what magic they use."

"No way!" Gray gasped. "You're telling me even with all the strong wizards you got, you can't break the spell?"

"Hmm… Actually, now that I think about it, there may be a way." At the enthusiastic look that grew on the child's face, Makarov backpedaled. "A-Ah, on second thought, that's not a good idea." Gray looked crestfallen with the answer, and so the old man explained, "If you were to melt the ice, I'm afraid it would be no different than killing your master."

…

Gray thought for a moment and said, "I didn't know it at the time, but I bet the old man was thinking about Moon Drip when he said that. After everything Ur did for us, you'd kill her without giving it a second thought." He scowled. "You make me sick."

"Say what you will, I don't care," Lyon replied dismissively. "My entire life has led up to this moment. Our master is long dead! If we want to prove we have surpassed her, what can we do in her absence? Think, Gray! There's only one answer!"

Mist gathered around his hand and solidified, creating a lion's head complete with sharp pointed teeth. He lashed out at Gray, a manic grin on his face. "Deliora! I will surpass our master by defeating what she could not!"

"Well, I admit that's a pretty ambitious plan," Gray said as he avoided his strikes. "But I can't help thinking you've missed the point somewhere along the way!"

Gray created a sword out of his own ice and sliced through the lion's head. "Someone as blind as you could never be better than Ur! Not in a hundred years! Wake up, Lyon!"

Gray sliced again across Lyon's stomach. The attack was meant to incapacitate him, so he was shocked when Lyon crumbled to ice.

Lyon grinned from his position behind him. "Fooled you, didn't I? Ice Make: Snow Tiger!"

Gray looked up calmly at the giant animal bearing down on him. He jumped up to avoid its claws and backflipped. "Ice Make: Prison!"

The snow tiger crashed into the bars that suddenly formed in front of it. Gray got back to his feet and stared down at his opponent. "You see this, Lyon? This is what you are. A beast in a cage, lashing out at a world he barely knows."

"Utter nonsense!" Lyon shouted. He held his hand out and took command of his ice creation. "I'll make quick work of that spell of yours!"

The tiger snarled and bashed its head against the bars. It slashed at them and charged at them and chewed them.

But the cage held strong.

Lyon gaped, unable to comprehend why he couldn't break free. He was stronger than Gray! He'd always beaten him!

Gray hopped down from the top of the cage and barely gave the tiger a second glance. "Singlehanded spellcasting is too unbalanced," he recited. It was one lesson he had seen Ur give Lyon over and over again, clearly to no effect. "Your creations will let you down when you need them the most."

Gray held his arms up, focusing his magic. A flurry formed in the air above his shoulder until the ice was formed and a long tube of ice fell into his hands. Gray pumped even more magic into it, readying the projectile it would fire.

"Ice Cannon!"

The energy built up was immense and shone with a bright blue light. It shot towards Lyon with tremendous speed. There was no avoiding the powerful projectile. When the dust and ice mist faded, Lyon's outfit was shredded and the wall behind him was obliterated. The stars in the sky twinkled.

"Ur taught us that, remember?"

"G-Grayy…! URK!" Lyon collapsed to the ground, utterly defeated.

Gray sighed. Finally, it was done. He was able to defeat Lyon, and he could only hope Natsu had done well on his end. Then it would all be over—

"Gah!" Gray gritted his teeth and doubled over. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, his stomach wound was burning like crazy. He placed a hand on his stomach and cool ice began spreading over the injury. "Man, I should've sealed this wound up earlier…!"

He finished his first-aid and looked over Lyon's battered body. A part of him felt sad. Despite their rocky relationship and how they parted ways, they had still been taught by the same wizard. Maybe if he had told Lyon the truth ten years ago, he wouldn't have spent all this time trying to melt the ice? Ur told him to lie to avoid this exact situation. Would the result have been different?

He couldn't think on it any longer. The silence was shattered. An earsplitting shriek rang throughout the halls of the temple.

A roar.

The roar from his nightmares.

Deliora.

Natsu screamed at the pain its roar caused his sensitive ears. "IT'S SO LOUUUUD!"

The volume of the roar disrupted the already weakened ice. It shattered to pieces, leaving the demon's head out in the open.

Zalty grinned beneath his mask. "Yes, it's free!"

Even outside, the roar's intensity wasn't diminished. Makoto's face twisted in agony. He pressed his hands to the sides of his head in a futile attempt to block out the sound. "Gahhh…! My ears…!"

"That must be it…" Yuka mumbled. "They must have finished the ceremony…"

His words were enough to shake Makoto out of his pain. "It's awake?!"

He immediately headed off in the direction of the temple. He half-expected Yuka and Sherry to try and stop him but they just watched him go. As much as he wanted to know what they were going to do with the knowledge they now had, there was something much more pressing.

"This is bad!" Makoto said to himself. "That was just its roar! And considering the damage it's done in the past… We have to deal with it quickly, or else everyone on this island is in serious danger!"

Gray could feel his heart beat faster. "That sound… I could never forget that sound…"

Lyon awoke from his brief spell of unconsciousness. He was too weak to move but he knew what that sound was as well. "Deli… ora…"

"They did it…" Gray muttered in shock. "They actually revived it."

If the demon was revived, it had to be stopped immediately before it could repeat the events of a decade prior. But magic wouldn't be enough to kill it. Not regular magic. Gray bit his lip and stared at his hand. "There's only one thing I can do now… Iced Shell."

Hey there, my peeps.

Soooo, I finally sat down and got this done. I'm not… 100% happy with it tbh but really I'm at the point where I just need to post something. I kinda wanted to wait to post this until I had written more of Ch 17, you know, make some progress. Buuuuuuut plans change :P Exam season is upon me and I have no writing to show for it. So here's Ch 16 now. This arc has been going on for a while. Whoops.

Also can I give like a massive thanks to Archsage328? What a pal. He proofreads these chapters and deals with my lazy ass complaints. So cheers mate, you help motivate me to write and provide good ideas when I'm stuck. Appreciate it :D

REVIEW TIME

Soijin: I'm glad I've got hecking good timing, if nothing else haha. Yeahh, man I know. It's something I'm working to change. The thought of changing style mid-arc bothers me, so I'm hoping to give my style a revamp once this arc finishes. Um, if memory serves right, there's like 2 or 3 filler episodes? I wouldn't say those are going to change into an arc, but hopefully it's good testing grounds for my new style ideas. After that, we are going into the Phantom Lord arc, though.

Kairi4ever15: gOD this review warmed my heart. Thank you for mentioning the screech. It filled me with joy. Gray's stripping is hilarious, that scene of his habit developing gets me every time.

Atishoe (Guest): hhhhhhhhhhhhhh the dreaded moment. I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch that episode again. Ahh, thanks for your support, mate! Hope you stick around!

JJsanoguel98: "don't take one year" oops. Man, I love writing. This fic has a special place in my heart as my first fic on here. Unfortunately that means there's a lot of things I did in the past that I don't like anymore so regret and lack of motivation makes it difficult to work on. Not unenjoyable, just… tricky. Hope you enjoy this chapter, though.

WanderingWatermelon: WATERMELON YOU BRIGHTEN MY DAY. Bless ya, friend. Also oof, man I wanna know how some authors update on a regular basis. Like how? Share your secrets. I am prepared to sell my soul. "How do I pick" sakdfjhasdkjfh mood, FT has too many feels. Ooh those magics would be interested… aLSO THANKS I HATE IT.

Matt (Guest): it is a mystery.

RandomGuyonthestreet13: Hmmm… I think that's inspired me with a little idea. I'll note it down, thanks for the suggestion.

Outcast247: Hahh hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!

Archsage328: Man I'm excited for the reveal of Makoto's past. I haven't planned it much but, man. The possibilities. Fantastic. I'm so proud of Maya, she's turned out better than I thought she would as an OC. Haha, hope I meet your expectations!

Mr Haziq: He's done it once or twice. But the image does make me chuckle lol. Also oof good choice in sad moments.

Pikapalsforever12: I'm glad you have a positive outlook on my sporadic updates! Also mood with thinking about subjects I never have to do again, literally the other day I was shredding some worksheets from 3-4 years ago. So cathartic. OOF TOWER OF HEAVEN. Good choice. The DR3 dub is a goldmine of memes that compilation is beautiful. I BET MAKOTO DOESN'T LIKE PTSD MAKOTO WHY DO I MAKE HIM SUFFER HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE FREE OF THAT SCHOOL. Asjkdfh more excitement for events I haven't written yet. Hope you can stick around that long haha.

Fallenstreet01: haha that time is even longer now rip. Hhhhhh the last scene of the Tenrou arc always gets me in the feels. 10/10 would suffer again.

Blooky: Hmmm… A bit of both? Mostly separately.

AlphAOmegA151 (Guest): Poor Gray. Poor Ur. Even though Ur chose to sacrifice herself. Gosh she's so selfless asjdkfhask. Hope this chapter succeeds in bringing Makoto back into focus a bit more. Also yeah sorry kid, traumatised Makoto is just too fun to write. Yep, this is on Ao3! Chapters are updated at the same time though so the only real difference is formatting, I guess. Ooh yeah FT does have a lot of episodes… Could be worse though. I still want to get into watching One Piece but it's like 800+ episode? Oof. ALSO THAT SCENE KILLED ME INSIDE BYE.

Well, without spoiling… It would depend on how long it takes Makoto to find them, yes? A month has already passed since Makoto arrived, so I'd imagine they know their magic by now. "I believe I win" sdkfjskjdfhaskjdfhakj im cackling. Gosh you could do so much with the rest of the DR1 cast in this environment. Could be enough for a sidefic of shenanigans wow.

Nagito (Guest): Here's an update! Thanks for calling it awesome! And damn, it may take me ages, but one day.

SonicFanFlame: Huh, I'll admit, I'm curious as to what you thought the fic was going to be like. If I'm remembering right, the TVT rec had the same summary as here… It's probably starting off slow and I kinda regret how I wrote the previous chapters, but there's nothing for me to do but keep moving forward. I do hope you come back every now and then if it's interested you, though.

TatsumixKutome (Guest): Here'sssssss a hecking new update finally.

Jaiden (Guest): asdjfhaskdfh you reread it every time there's a new update? w ow thanks. Got a new update here for y'all.

RaiaYuki: Hey mate, just advising you that the way you've worded this comes off as quite demanding? Love the enthusiasm, but… A new chapter will come when it comes. Just be a bit patient, long delays are to be expected with me as the writer.

DarkRebellion (Guest): MAN I WANT IT TOO. Reunions are gonna be so fluffy I want it so bad.

PinkMew (Guest): thanks I hate it. Poor boy. Why do we make him suffer so much? Anyway it's something interesting for me to play with so into the ideas box it goes :D

Dakringeisreal: WHY DO WE ENJOY MAKING MAKOTO SUFFER. I MEAN I LOVE IT BUT THIS POOR BOY.

Ashia21: I'm glad you like how I write Makoto! Yeah, you'd think… but also consider that Makoto just returned from a panic-riddled trial, slept terribly, walked home for several hours, whilst dealing with Natsu. This boy has the patience of a saint but even he's gotten pissed in the past. Not too surprising he had enough with what Laxus said, right? Poor boy.

The Beast-King Beyond The Wall: man. mAN. YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I WANNA SKIP HUGE CHUNKS AND GET TO THE INTERESTING BITS. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT ARC SO MUCH. heheheh go makoto I choose you! use earthquake! the wild laxus fainted!

Flo463: Lots of mysteries afoot here. All questions will be answered eventually. Even the last one. Because. this is that chapter. its the next one. haha.

OnyxScythe (Guest): Lmao, not a fan of Hiro? To each their own.

Nagito (Guest): wait is this the same nagito as earlier? I mean I'll treat it as a different person but apologies if you are the same person. I haven't seen One Piece (even though I want to but I don't have the tIME UGH) nor Nanatsu no Taizai. So, sorry but I don't really know what you're talking about?

Toriko (Guest): Please be patient, my friend, updates will happen when they happen.

Totallynotobsessedperson: BUT IT'S TRUE? HE IS. As annoying as it was to have my spellcheck constantly ask me that, this comment has made it all worth it lmao.

Curious question!

Okay so I've kinda been bouncing around the idea of starting a Discord server? It'd be Danganronpa and Fairy Tail focused, some spoiler channels so people who haven't reached a certain point don't have to worry about that, with a couple general channels and one or two for my fics? Nothing's concrete yet so I'm mostly just asking whether people would be interested in this sort of thing. It'd be a small server to start off with, but benefits are:

-you get to talk to my lame ass

-you get to talk to awesome people who like my lame ass fics

-memes

-realtime updates on how lazy I am

-talking about fandoms

-talking about fics

-sneak peeks? possibly? Idk

-more memes

Reminder that this is literally just testing the waters, I haven't decided how I'm gonna pick people to invite, I haven't even made the server yet. Just let me know what y'all think of the idea I guess, whether you would be interested in joining if one was hypothetically made.

Keep smiling, readers!