3/3

"We didn't get to do anything, you know?! C'mon! Let's battle!" Natsu said punching around in the air with excitement.

"Stop it. It doesn't sound like a joke, coming from you." Lucy said with a sigh.

"If you really insist, then I'm not against taking you on." Cana said.

"Cana. Don't encourage him." Bisca scolded.

"Natsu. I don't think fighting a girl would count as a battle." Happy said.

"Guy, girl… Makes no difference to me. C'mon! Let's do this Lucy!" Natsu chased after the celestial wizard.

"S-Stop!" Lucy said.

"Huh? What is that?" Bisca questioned as the runes began forming into something.

"What the…?" Natsu questioned.

"Is he up to something else now?" Cana questioned.

"This time you're dealing with us!" Bisca said.

The runes then formed into a large head skull. "Can you hear me, old man?" Laxus's voice came from it. "And all you other guild people…"

"Laxus!" Natsu said.

"One of the rules has gone out the window, so I'm adding a new one now. I've activated the Thunder Palace in order to keep the Battle of Fairy Tail underway." Laxus informed.

"The Thunder Palace?!" Makarov questioned with wide eyes of shock.

"You have one hour and ten minutes. Do you have what it takes to beat us? Or will you give up instead, Master?" Laxus said as the skull started to vanish and all that was heard was an echo of Laxus's laughter.

"What are you thinking, Laxus?!" Makarov was beyond angry, he had veins popping around his head and he was clenching his fists. "Are you trying to drag innocent bystanders into this too?! Ugh!" Makarov suddenly grabbed his chest in pain.

"Master!" Cana shouted.

"Gramps!" Natsu shouted.

"What's wrong?!" Lucy questioned as the master fell to his knees.

"It's his heart! Levy go get his medicine from his office we will bring him to the medical room!" Bisca said as Levy ran towards the office.

"What is this Thunder Palace?!" Natsu questioned as they took him to the medical room.

"What happened?!" Mira questioned as they all entered and placed the master on the bed next to Itachi.

"His heart condition kicked in!" Cana said.

"Here's his medicine!" Levy handed the medicine over to Mira.

"Argh! What's this Thunder Palace?!" Natsu questioned.

"Look outside and you will see for yourself." Itachi said as he sat on his bed still shirtless. They all besides Itachi, Mira and the master went outside where they saw several lightning lacrimas floating around the city.

"What are those?" Natsu questioned.

"Lightning lacrimas…?" Levy said.

"What are they doing up there?" Cana questioned.

"They're floating around the city." Lucy said.

"An incredible amount of powerful lightning magic is stored inside each of those lacrimas. Could these be what he means?" Cana questioned.

"Is that what Thunder Palace refers to?" Juvia questioned.

"He's making Magnolia resemble one…" Cana said.

"Wait, what happens if those things discharge?!" Lucy questioned.

"Countless lightning bolts will rain down on the city…" Cana replied as an image of lightning bolts striking and destroying Magnolis came to everyone's mind.

"I won't let that happen! Sniper rifle requip!" Bisca brought out a sniper rifle and put her sights on one of the lacrimas. "Target Lock on!"

Stinger Shoot!

A magic bullet was shoot from Bisca's gun and destroyed one of the lacrimas. "All right!" Lucy cheered.

"Way to go, Bisca!" Cana praised.

"I'll take care of all these-" Bisca was suddenly struck by bolts of lightning.

"Bisca!" Cana shouted as they watched her get electrocuted as she screamed in pain. Once it was over Bisca fell to the ground and Levy rushed to her side.

"Hey! Say something, Bisca!" Natsu said.

"Bisca! Stay with us!" Levy said as she held an unconscious Bisca in her arms.

"What the…?! What's going on?!" Lucy questioned.

"Body link magic!" Cana said.

"Body link magic?" Lucy questioned.

"There's a spell on those lacrimas that links the damage they receive to whoever causes the damage! In short, if you attack them, the same amount of damage will be directed back at you." Cana informed.

"Oh no! If we don't do something, all the citizens will be…!" Levy said.

"We'll have to take down Laxus! Let's go!" Cana said.

"I'll try to evacuate as many townspeople as I can!" Lucy said and ran back inside.

"I'll come with you!" Happy followed after her.

"There are still two Thunder God Tribe members out there! Be careful!" Cana warned as she and Juvia ran back inside while Levy stayed and tended to Bisca.

"What is that bastard thinking?!" Natsu tried to jump down.

"Natsu!" Levy shouted.

"Hey!" Gajeel shouted as Natsu crashed into the barrier.

"You've gone too far!" Natsu tried to push himself out through the barrier. "If you wanna be master so bad, then just fight Gramps! I've had enough of your crap, Laxus!"

"Natsu! Calm down!" Levy said.

"I can't!"

"Just listen!" Levy said as Natsu kept hitting the barrier.

"Damn! There's an invisible wall here too!" Natsu shouted.

"It's an enchantment." Levy corrected.

"We already know." Gajeel said.

"It's a type of script magic. I might be able to do something!" Levy said.

"What?!" Gajeel questioned.

"Really, Levy?!" Natsu questioned.

"I have faith that you guys can stop Laxus!" Levy said.

They first went to the medical room and placed Bisca there. "What happened to her?" Itachi questioned.

"She shoot a lacrima." Gajeel replied.

"I see Body link magic, this is really becoming more troublesome." Itachi said with a sigh.

"You're still staying here." Mira said as she tended to Bisca's wounds.

"Yeah, yeah." Itachi sighed. "Where are you guys going?"

"Levy's going to try and do something about the barrier." Natsu replied as they all went to the main hall.

With Lucy and Happy. They were walking around the city and saw people enjoying the festival. "Why can't we use the guild's loudspeaker?" Happy questioned.

"There's an enchantment that says only the master can use it during the Battle of Fairy Tail. They sue were meticulous about every little thing… Anyway, we gotta get the townspeople away from the Thunder Palace." Lucy said.

"Actually, I don't think that's a good idea." Happy said.

"Why not?!" Lucy questioned.

"There are a lot of people from other towns here for the festival. The city is jam-packed." Happy said.

"But they're all concerned about those lacrimas!" Lucy said.

"Which is why it'll only cause a panic if we explain what they are. Tons of people will get hurt!" Happy explained.

"But, then… What should we do?" Lucy questioned.

"Yeah! What should we do?!" Three dolls appeared around Lucy.

"Lucy look out!" Happy swopped in and grabbed Lucy before the dolls blasted her.

"What the heck?!" Lucy questioned.

"It's Bickslow!" Happy said and pointed at Bickslow who was on top of the building in front of them.

"Yo! Are you the newbie everyone's telling stories about?" Bickslow asked.

"What do you mean by stories?! I'm almost afraid to ask!" Lucy said.

"You're a cosplay-loving, macho dominatrix with violent mood swings, right?" Bickslow asked with a grin.

"What kind of crazy exaggerations did you hear?!"

"What are you supposed to be? A cheerleader?" Bickslow asked on the account of Lucy's outfit. "Cheerleader! Cheerleader! Cheer!" The dolls chanted. "Okay, my babies! Get 'er!" The dolls then blasted several beams at Lucy and Happy who ran away from them and then they tripped. "Sorry I can't go easy on you since you're new and all, but we are in the middle of an intense game, you see…"

"Do you honestly think our master will let you get away with everything you've done!" Lucy said as she got up.

"We don't care what he thinks. By the time this game is over, Laxus will be the new master." Bickslow said as his dolls blasted towards Lucy.

"Urgh! Lucy leaped away from the blast. "Those flying things are annoying! Open, Gate of the Horseman! Sagittarius!" Lucy brought forth a golden key and out game a man in a horse costume.

"I am a horse! You called, hello!" Sagittarius saluted.

"Oh! Celestial magic! Wait, your celestial spirits cosplay too?" Bickslow questioned.

"It's not like that!" Lucy shouted. She then pointed at the dolls. "Aim for those flying things! Okay?"

"Understood, hello!" Sagittarius shoot them all down with arrows.

"Oh, my babies! First you were frozen, and now you're blasted to bits?! No! My babies!" Bickslow said.

"This is your last chance to surrender!" Lucy said.

"Your last chance!" Happy said.

"Oh, my babies… My babies…! Gotcha!" Bickslow smirked with his tongue sticking out. As Sagittarius was blasted by a blast.

"Sagittarius!"

"Hello…? I require a short repose… Thus…" Sagittarius went back to the spirit world.

"Oh, no!" Lucy said.

"Beneath me is a hobby shop! A treasure trove of dolls!" Bickslow said as a new set of dolls floated up.

"What are these things?!" Lucy questioned.

"It makes no difference how many of my dolls you destroy, their souls are what I control!" Bickslow declared.

"Souls?" Lucy questioned.

"Bickslow uses magic to possess dolls with souls." Happy informed.

"Then this time I'll-" Lucy said bringing out her set of keys that were snatched away by a doll. "Ack! My keys!"

"I'll get 'em back!" Happy flew after the doll but was kicked by another one.

"There's no turning back now. So sorry, cosplay girl. Give up your soul for Laxus!" Bickslow said as his green eye glowed under his helmet.

Baryon Formation!

The dolls began spinning around gathered in a circle, gathering up a huge amount of energy. As the blast was sent directly towards Lucy.

"What the…?!" Lucy questioned, as the blast approached her she was snatched away by a man with wild orange hair, sunglasses, wearing a dark open suit with a white shirt and a red tie. When the dust cleared Bickslow stared in shock as Lucy was being held in a princess carry by this man.

"I'm not sure why it is… But it seems I'm the only one who can pass through the gate freely without your intervention. Perhaps this goes to show that the barrier separating humans and spirits is no match for our love." The man said.

"Love…? That's silly…" Lucy said with a smile and a small blush.

"Y-You're…! Loke!" Bickslow said as the mysterious man was none other than Loke with a new look.

"Looks like it's time to fulfil my promise." Loke said.

"Loke! So you really were a celestial spirit after all! I kept quiet about it, yet you bare your fangs at me now?!" Bickslow said.

"He knew?" Lucy questioned.

"He can see people's souls." Happy replied.

"Your joining the Battle of Fairy Tail? Huh?!" Bickslow asked.

"I'm not very interested in any of that, to be honest. But I own't allow you to hurt Lucy, my owner, no matter what!" Loke declared.

"Won't allow? You're a riot! You never beat me before even though I always pulled my punches! Let's rough him up like old times, my babies!" Bickslow said as the dolls charged.

"Lucy stay back." Loke said.

"Nonsense!" Lucy brought out a whip. "Celestial spirits aren't shields! Fighting together is more my style!" Lucy said with a smile which Loke returned.

"They're in looooove!" Happy teased.

"Are not!" Lucy shouted.

The dolls began blasting them as they spread out to avoid the blasts. "I'll take care of the dolls! Once the path is clear, you go after Bickslow, Lucy!" Loke said.

"Okay! Let's do this, Happy!"

"Aye!"

"O, Regulus! Give me strength!" Loke began letting out a golden glow. Loke then punched one of the dolls with his fist surrounded in a golden aura, the impact of the punch broke the doll.

"Wow! Incredible!" Lucy said.

"He's a lion clad in light!" Happy said.

"I told you, it's no use! Attacks have no effect on souls! If you destroy their bodies, they'll just possess new ones! Go, my new babies!" Bickslow said as some new dolls appeared chanting. "Go! Go!" The dolls flew towards Lucy but Loke jumped in front of her.

"I won't let them get near Lucy, no matter how many you send!" Loke said.

"This is our chance!" Lucy said as Happy was holding her and flying towards Bickslow.

"Aye, Sir!"

Lucy swung her whip at Bickslow who jumped away dodging it. "You're scary, cosplay dominatrix!" Bickslow said.

"I told you, it's not like that!" Lucy said with thick marks on her head.

"Lucy! Take him out with brute force! Bickslow himself isn't very strong!" Loke shouted.

"Say what, you jerk?!" Bickslow shouted as Lucy whipped him right in the helmet. "Damn! Guess it's my only option now…!"

"It?" Lucy questioned.

"He doesn't mean���?!" Happy said sounding worried as Bicklsow took of his helmet.

"Figure Eyes!" Bickslow said as his eyes glowed green.

"Don't look at his eyes!" Happy warned. "All the Thunder God Tribe members have secondary magic in their eyes! Evergreen uses it as her primary magic, though. One look at Bickslow's eyes and he'll turn you into a puppet and control your soul!"

"What?!" Loke questioned as he and Lucy had both closed their eyes the second Happy warned them.

"That was close!" Lucy said.

"Oh, shut your eyes, huh?" Bickslow asked with a victorious grin. "Shut! Shut!" His dolls chanted and flew up in the air and began charging at Lucy and Loke crashing into them with energy around them.

"Don't open your eyes!" Happy warned.

Bickslow let out an evil chuckle. "No one is a match for my Possession and Figure Eyes combination!"

"Lucy! Close my gate for now and use Horologium to strengthen your defense!" Loke said.

"Easy for you to say! You can come and go as you please! My keys got stolen, you know! Besides… I believe in you, so do something!" Lucy said.

Loke smiled a little. "Okay! It's sink or swim, Lucy! On my signal, open your eyes and hit him hard!"

"But if we open our eyes…!"

"You trust me remember?" Loke said

"All right."

"Huh?" Bickslow questioned as Loke began letting out a golden aura of magic power.

"Regulus has reached its zenith…" Loke said.

Lion Radiance!

Loke let out a blinding light that Bickslow got an eye full of. "M-My eyes!"

"Lucy!"

"Okay!" Lucy wrapped her whip around Bickslow's upper body tying his arms up making him unable to also move.

"Loke! You can't possibly defeat me!" Bicklsow said as smoke came from his eyes.

"I'm different from before. I regained my true power as a celestial spirit after I met Lucy… No, I grew even stronger after meeting her." Loke was glowing as he walked up to Bickslow. "Unlike with your marionettes, love makes celestial spirits strong!" Loke said as all of the glow went into his fist. Bickslow opened his eyes and saw a golden magic circle.

Regulus Impact!

Out of the magic circle came a wave of spirit energy that had a lion head shape at the end. "AAAAAARRRGGGGHHHH!" Bicklsow screamed as it crashed into him sending him flying.

"Yay!" Happy cheered.

"Thanks, Loke." Lucy thanked.

"Look, Lucy! At the light of love!" Loke lifted his hand in the air as he let out a light with some letter with roses around it that spelled "I love Lucy".

"Uhh…"

"You're in loooove!" Happy teased.

"Quit saying that." Lucy said with a tired expression, she then sat down up against a wall. "I can hardly move…"

"Well, you did use two Zodiac Gates." Happy said.

"I will always come to your rescue." Loke said and Gave Lucy her keys back.

"Okay, thanks."

Back at the guildhall. Natsu and Gajeel looked at the barrier as the writing changed. "Oh, Lucy won!" Natsu said.

"Are you serious?! That cheerleader can fight?!" Gajeel questioned in shock.

"Lucy's pretty tough!" Natsu said.

"You gotta be kidding me! She's a cheerleader!" Gajeel said still in disbelief.

"Cheerleaders are tough, man!" Natsu said.

"I won't let them outshine me, either!" Gajeel declared.

"I've never heard that before! Haven't you heard about the race between the cheerleader and the tortoise?" Natsu asked as he and Gajeel were head to head.

"You mean hare, not cheerleader! And the hare lost in that story!" Gajeel shouted.

"Yeah, the first one! It won the next few hundred after that!" Natsu said as they were slightly disturbing Levy's concentration.

"I see! So it learned its lesson and…!" Gajeel said.

"That's it!" Levy shouted.

""What's what?!"" Natsu and Gajeel questioned in unison.

"Yes! You're supposed to decipher the two grammars at separate rates!" Levy said as Natsu and Gajeel had no idea what she was talking about. "You take the integral number of synchronized letter in a single pass, transform them into Geel grammar and then translate that into Logue! I got it!"

""Oh!""

"Hang on! I'll rewrite the enchantment!" Levy said.

""Yeah!""

"Natsu… Gajeel… Are you all set? You're about to join the Battle of Fairy Tail!"

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu said as his fist was burning.

"I'm gonna go to town on 'em!" Gajeel said as Levy rewrote the enchantment.

"Go!" Levy shouted as Natsu and Gajeel ran outside into battle.

Meanwhile in the medical room. "Looks like Levy did it." Itachi looked out the window and saw Natsu and Gajeel running outside.

"Yeah, everything will be over soon." Mira said as she tended to Bisca and the master.

*Cough! *Cough! Itachi began to cough and Mira instantly rushed to his side. "Mira…"

"What is it?" Mira asked as she patted him on the back.

"Could you get me a glass of water?" Itachi asked.

"Um, yeah sure. But don't you dare run away!" Mira warned.

"Why would I?" Itachi questioned.

Mira then went to the door and was meet by Levy. "Levy! Perfect timing! I'm going to get some water for Itachi, could you please watch over him and the others in the meantime?"

"Yeah, sure." Levy said as Mira ran out the door. She then walked over to Itachi. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Same as for the last 2 years." Itachi replied.

"Let's hope that Porlyusica can find a different way to help you. We should soon be over this Battle of Fairy Tail thing anyway." Levy said with a smile.

"Levy… I'm sorry…" Itachi said and looked at her with his sharingan activated. Levy began to look drowsy and then she fell asleep. Itachi gently placed her on a bed before he leaped out the window. He landed on the ground as he looked around. "Where are you hiding, Laxus?" Itachi muttered to himself and then saw a huge amount of magic power. "The church huh." Itachi ran through the streets.

Mira walked back into the room. "Itachi, I got your water-" Mira stopped when she saw that Levy was asleep and that the window was open, and Itachi was nowhere to be seen. She dropped the glass of water and clenched her fists, and gained a thick mark on her forehead. "Itachi… You're so dead!" Mira shouted.

Itachi ran through the streets as he felt the stabbing pain in his chest, he almost fell but he supported himself by holding on to the side of a building. He then heard Mira's scream and looked at the guild that was slightly in the distance. "I'm sorry Mira… But I can't sit by and do nothing." Itachi said as he began walking with his left arm supporting him on the side of the building, and his right-hand clenching over his chest. "This ends now, Laxus."

And that's the end for now!

So yeah Itachi stayed out of commission for the entire chapter, while as everyone else did what they did in the cannon story line mostly. We also found Itachi's main weakness, and that is dango… Will they be reunited again?!

So Mira is pissed off at Itachi, so who agrees he better run?

Also next time the final battle will happen, I have decided how it's going to go down but I think most of you can guess yourself.

Anyway, Itachi's sickness is currently extremely close to the stage he was at during his final battle with Sasuke.

Also in case anyone is wondering why I've put so much more focus into this story lately, is because I write what I feel to write and at the moment I feel like I mostly want to write this. But I think I will try and update "A Fresh Start" next week or maybe the week after that. I'm starting a summer job tomorrow so, not that easy to determine when I will be able to update.

Anyway, let me know what you think about this chapter and I will see you next time! And again, sorry if you're disappointed.

-Later!