Chapter Forty Four - Grimoire Heart Attacks

Makarov clapped loudly, attracting the attention of the entire Guild. According to Erza, there was a serious matter to attend to, and it meant that the next step of the trial would have to be delayed... "Everyone. There is a powerful dark wizard on this island," he said.

"We gotta hunt him, right? C'mon, Happy!" Natsu shouted, clearly trying to get an advantage over the other participants.

"No," Makarov said, reaching out with one elongated arm, slapping Natsu out of the air and sending him back down to the ground with a soft "ow." "No, this is a very real, very powerful dark wizard," he explained. "He doesn't wish to harm anyone, but he will, if approached. Unfortunately, he's not the only dark wizard we'll be having to deal with."

"Huh?" Natsu asked, frowning, but also no doubt speaking for the rest of them.

"You see, this 'dark wizard' is actually cursed. The nature of his curse is incredibly powerful and deadly to anything that dares to approach him. Some, however, believe he is actually Zeref himself. Those people plan to come right here, to Tenrou Island, to forcibly recruit him into their ranks!" From what Erza had explained, it was Zeref, but that would just waste time. "The next stage of the trial will be dealing with these would-be attackers: none other than the Grimoire Heart Guild!" There were suitable gasps from some members of the audience. The rest looked more confused than anything else. "They're a top three part of the Balam Alliance, like the Oracion Seis."

That made everybody who hadn't gasped the first time, gasp. Much better. "Can we really hope to fight them unprepared? Oh no, if they beat us, I'll never marry my beloved Lee!" Juvia said, hurriedly clinging to the man in question. Makarov restrained his glare of jealousy. Juvia was still wearing that sexy bikini! Lee, you lucky son of a bitch!

"Worry not," Lee said. "I am certain we can reign triumphant. We know their weaknesses, don't they?"

"Yes," Makarov said. "Now, there are some documents about the membership I have here..." He reached into his pants, only to find the papers that had been prepared soaked through by sweat. Damn this island's abominable heat! "Ahem. They appear to have been... damaged, somehow." He held the crinkly things up, and everybody responded as if they were truly disgusting. "It's just sweat!" He cleared his throat. "Now, we did, in fact, prepare for this... all of you were kept in the dark, just in case the Grimoire Heart Guild was watching somehow!"

"How would they be watching..." Konata mumbled.

"In any case! Ur!" He shouted the words out, pointing into the forest for the woman in question to make her dramatic entrance.

Instead of appearing from the forest, though, there were just trees. Then a rabbit burst forth. Then he heard Ur's voice. "Hey, Lee," she said, sounding shockingly sultry and seductive, curling up around him from behind. Gah! He was even going after the MILFs too?! How was that fair? Surely there should be some women left for an old man like himself?! "I heard you'd be on this hot, sweaty island..."

"I-I'll accept you taking on another woman!" Juvia said, burying her face into Lee's shoulder.

"Relax," Ur said, giving Lee's ass a quick swat. Why wasn't that his ass getting smacked by a gorgeous thirty-something MILF who had been trapped in ice?!? "I'm just teasing him. I'm here to... hopefully... reunite with my daughter."

"Yes. Ultear is a member of the Grimoire Heart Guild. Our first priority, however, must be to defeat Azuma! Uhm... there was a picture here," he said, pointing to the soggy papers. "But basically he's dark and buff and has a beard. A bit like a younger version of myself," Makarov explained, placing one hand on his chest as he spoke.

"In no way does he look anything like you, old man," Konata said.

Makarov glared at her. Grant an old man his vanity! One day you'll be old and gray too! "In any case," he cleared his throat. "He has a sort of tree manipulation power, and he will try to use it on the Great Tenrou Tree. Lee!" He turned to Lee. "Your job will be to stay at the Great Tenrou Tree, undoing anything Azuma might try to do."

"Can I stay with Lee? This Azuma sounds dangerous!" Juvia asked, obviously wanting to stay with Lee for entirely different reasons.

"Erza will be staying with Lee," Makarov explained, as that was the original plan... and Juvia promptly melted onto the ground in a puddle. "For the rest of us - the hunt is on! If you find the cursed wizard on this island, don't interact with him! Instead, tell him to hide in..." He held the papers in his hands again. "Well, just tell him to hide somewhere, and we'll signal him when it's time to come out! Tell him that Lee can use his magic to fix his curse," Makarov explained.

"Also, that Lee's magic has brought back the dead and Lee isn't cursed for that," Konata added. "Otherwise he'll probably think you're full of crap."

"Ah. Yes," Makarov agreed. "That's true. Now, to maximize coverage, we'll be organized into teams, as follows!"

* * *

Zeref sighed, standing among the deceased wolves. They had come too close. He hadn't wanted this, but... this was his fate. The price he had been forced to pay. He let out a long exhalation of breath - when he heard human voices from nearby! This island should have been unoccupied! He hurriedly moved away from the sounds of the voices, though he also could not help but listen carefully to every word, just for the chance to hear a person again.

"At least the cursed wizard is a guy... otherwise Lee would definitely start banging her, eh, Juvia?"

"Y-yes! Obviously! I'm not upset by the thought of my beloved Lee having sex with someone else, even a little! That makes me a more desirable wife than you, which is why Lee decided to marry me and not you, Lucy!"

"I think it's mostly that you asked," came the lazy reply from Lucy. Both voices were female.

"Hey, hey. That's my potential future son-in-law you're talking about. I'm sure he has a better reason than that. Also, remember to keep yourselves back. Zeref's dangerous." That was a man's voice.

"Wait, Zeref?" Lucy asked. "The Zeref?"

"Oh. Uh." There was a moment's hesitation from the guy, then he laughed. "Sorry! See, Grimoire Heart thinks he's Zeref, but we don't know his name, so we've been kinda calling him Zeref just to have something to call him. He's not really the actual ultimate evil wizard or anything like that." The man let out an affected laugh.

There were people on the island searching for him, specifically. They even knew his name. How? Why? He had picked this island because it had been completely unoccupied, and by the way they spoke, they weren't even alone.

"I'll see if Virgo can't help finding him," Lucy said. "Open, Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" A Celestial Spirit Mage with one of the Zodiac keys... this was definitely bad. "Now remember, Virgo, you can't get close to him. He's dangerous. Just tell him to hide out, and that we've got somebody who can cure his curse."

A cure for his curse? That was impossible. Utterly impossible. The curse on him was worked by Ankhseram himself. It was irreversible for any mortal mage - he knew. He had tried.

"Hello," came a female voice, from just a few feet away. Zeref jerked in surprise at the sudden voice, turning to see a pink-haired girl in a maid uniform. "Are you Zeref?"

"Stay back! Don't come close!" Zeref said, leaping to his feet and moving away. "Whatever you think about my curse, it can't be fixed," he said. This was Virgo, he realized.

"I see." Virgo pressed one finger to her cheek. "But Master Lee managed to bring back the dead without issue. I'm supposed to mention that to you?"

Zeref frowned at that, but shook his head. "Such a feat can be performed by an ordinary mage on a recently deceased person." The line between alive and dead was hard to draw, sometimes. This Lee person most likely managed to bring someone back from the cusp. Violating Ankhseram's law.

"No, the person was my Princess's mother, who had been dead for years," Virgo replied, pointing at Zeref. "Therefore, you have to do whatever I say! Now, go hide in a hole! We'll send a signal when we can fix you! Otherwise, dark wizards will try to kidnap you!"

He didn't really understand any of this - but to be honest, hiding probably would be best. If dark wizards were coming to kidnap him... he turned to flee, and almost barreled into the muscular man who had presumably been the one speaking, because he was accompanied only by three girls half his age. Zeref's legs managed to pinwheel stop him, as he ran back in a different direction. "Zeref, right? I saw a nice cave a bit that way. Don't worry. Lee can work miracles. He gave me back my arm and leg," he said, waving one hand with a cocky grin on his face.

This was absurd - but Zeref was left to wonder at the possibilities, even as he ran in the direction the man had shown him to. He needed to avoid human contact, first and foremost, or the curse would take its dire effect. He moved to run in the direction he was told.

* * *

I sat among the branches of the Great Tenrou Tree, halfway leaning against them, Erza sitting on an adjoining branch, her gaze occasionally flicking out against the horizon before returning to me. I couldn't help but detect some almost-imperceptible discontent coming from my lover, but I couldn't put my finger on what might have caused it. "I must ask what troubles your heart, Erza," I said, at last.

"I heard that you're marrying Juvia," Erza said, tightening her fist into a ball and looking away. "I assume it is because she is more feminine than me. If only I had worked harder to cook for you! Juvia truly figured out the way into your heart."

"Ah..." I let out a laugh. "Erza." I reached for her hand. "Juvia asked if she could marry me, and I said yes. There is no more to it than that. I do not rate my lovers in the fashion you suggest, weighing up their benefits and detriments. Your brilliant inner beauty and Juvia's own are two beautiful items that cannot be compared like a shopper at a bazaar picking which vase to purchase," I explained, making Erza flush.

"I see. In other words, it was rank foolishness that I assumed this meant the end of our relationship?"

"I would not call it foolishness - I suppose I should have been clearer."

"No! It is my fault for misreading the situation and creating awkwardness! Please, strike me for my error!" She looked genuinely a bit upset, so I gave her butt a slap instead of her face, making her let out a small noise of surprise - and delight. "Ah... Lee, you know that we are waiting for Grimoire Heart themselves... we most certainly can't afford a distraction like that..." She said, in a tone of voice that made it obvious what she was thinking about. "But maybe if we..."

"Ahem. I think it is wisest to save such lovemaking for after Grimoire Heart is defeated," I told her.

She nodded in acceptance. "Yes. You're correct." At that, her hand twisted around to grip my wrist, quite sharply, her gaze going to me. "In other words, if I were to ask you to marry me, you would say yes?"

"Of course, Erza," I said, as her fingers dug into my wrist. I used my time magic to quietly minimize the damage.

"In that case-" Erza dragged me close to her, pretty much slamming my body against hers, "-Lee. Would you marry me?" She stared down at me as our bodies pressed against one another like that, looking for all the world like the handsome prince asking his beloved to marry him. Only in this case it was Erza Scarlet herself asking to marry me.

"Yes." She squeezed me in a tight hug at that, mashing her lips against mine ferociously, her tongue invading my mouth as she pushed our bodies together. She was so close, so intimate, so ferocious, I did wonder if I would be able to keep breathing as she worked to press her tongue ever deeper inside my mouth, squeezing me ever tighter against her. She slurped and sucked on my mouth hungrily, and I would probably have preferred if we had gone straight to sex, particularly given her current choice of outfit was the Clear Heart Clothing she wore for her canonical duel with Azuma, which meant I could feel her breasts mashing against my chest, her own taut, bare stomach pushing against my muscular one as she ferociously kissed me.

As suddenly as she had started, though, she snapped off the kiss, turning to the horizon, where a floating ship seemed to be coming in. "It appears the celebration of our upcoming wedding must be cut short, Lee," she said, letting go of me and rising to stand on her feet on the tree. Unfortunately, she'd dragged me off my perch into the kiss, so I started to fall pretty much immediately, scrambling at the tree for a second in naked panic, Erza oblivious as she stared off at the ship with a grim expression on her face.

Luckily I could just use time magic (once I remembered to) to snap back onto my perch. Erza didn't even notice my mad scramble, which was quite lucky for my ego.

* * *

Ur rested atop Makarov's shoulder, the form of the guild leader having transformed into something of truly gargantuan scope. The man in question stared down the flying vessel of the Grimoire Heart Guild, the method by which they would assault the island - already, their forward forces were scurrying around, but here stood Makarov, ready to repel the main force. One furious punch slammed into the side of the vessel, smashing through thick armor, metal and wood shorn off and flying away in thin pieces of shrapnel. She and Loke both slid down that arm as fast as they could, rushing forward for the vessel in question.

It listed to one side, but with a wave of her hand, ice flew out for it, and she slid across the ice in a smooth movement, Loke following alongside her. "You know-" he started.

"I don't want to hear it," she said. She knew what he was going to say. You can't be sure that Ultear will listen to you. She understood that perfectly well. Her body rose and fell in a smooth arc as they made their way across the final curve into the ship, landing inside it and coming to her feet, eyes darting around, looking for Ultear. "Do what you want, spirit. I'm here for my daughter."

"I'm here for my friend," Loke countered, rushing inside himself as the pair hurriedly searched for any sign of the Seven Kin of Purgatory. One of them was apparently an enslaved spirit, currently possessed by Zoldeo - and by extension, one of Loke's friends. Another - the leader, even - was her own daughter.

The ship suddenly repaired itself, pulled back together by Ultear's own time magic. It was quite powerful - maybe even a rival for Lee's own. There was a thin smile of pride that ran its way across Ur's lips, but she raced forward anyway, having to fight her way through a mass of enemy soldiers before she skidded to a stop, seeing the Seven Kin arrayed there. Her own daughter among them. "Ultear!" She shouted the word out, almost fruitlessly, as her daughter's face twisted up with hate.

She couldn't have this conversation here. She raced forward, her footsteps enhanced by the ice beneath her, and she simply slammed into Ultear, making her gasp in surprise as the pair of them continued on. She'd aimed true, because they were soon sent careening out of the window of the ship, some voice screaming after them. She didn't recognize the voice itself, but whoever it was was shouting Ultear's name, with the sort of pain that Ur knew all too well.

Some part of her was happy that her daughter had found someone who cared about her, even in as dire circumstances as she'd found herself in. The rest was focused on the rapidly racing upward waves below, stretching out with one hand as she held Ultear close, turning a plummet into a slide, and then into a skid, sliding along as she glanced at Ultear. The girl scowled at Ur with a baleful glare, but they were, at least, away from the ship now.

"Ultear," she started.

"Damn you, mother!" She shouted, full of rage already, starting to beat against her furiously with her hands. Ur accepted the strikes with the grace of a woman who knew she deserved them, for abandoning her daughter. "It wasn't enough for you to abandon me! Now you have to ruin everything?! We're so close! With Zeref, I-"

"With Zeref you have nothing. Zeref isn't what you think he is."

"What would you know?" Ultear demanded.

"The same way we knew that you would be coming here. The same way we knew that Zeref was on Tenrou Island, the same way I know that Meredy has the ability to share her senses with others, that I know 'Caprico' is actually Zoldeo possessing a Zodiac spirit. We have a time mage of our own, even more powerful than you." It was a slight deception - but only just.

Ultear stiffened at that, her eyes widening. "You- you-"

Pain lanced through Ur's chest, and she collapsed in agony on the ground, twitching and gasping in pain against her own ice, losing her grip on Ultear in the process. "Do not touch Ultear." It was the same voice that had cried out for Ultear. She twisted around, seeing a young girl with a cold expression, her hands raised towards Ur, ready to fire more magic. Her eyes welled up with tears, not just from the pain, but also the quiet reminder that she should have been the one there for Ultear all this time, and instead it had fallen for another.

"Wait," Ultear said. "A time mage more powerful than me?" Ur grunted, nodding through the agony. "Who?"

"Lee," she said, grunting, halfway raising herself up to her feet. "He can bring back the dead," she explained, woozy in place.

"Impossible. Only Zeref can do that."

"He brought me back, didn't he?" Ur asked, a lopsided smile on her lips. "Brought back Lucy's, hnn, mom, too," she explained, managing to force herself to stand up straight despite the agony continuing to lance through her body. "Ultear. I love you. I am sorry that I wasn't there for you. Losing you, was the worst I ever felt as a mother, and I know that I will regret not investigating your death more thoroughly for the rest of my life. I don't care if you hate me, but the path you're on will bring you only to ruin."

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!" Pain lanced through Ur's body as Meredy began firing again, sending Ur toppling down again - she heard, in the background, the horrific sound of an entire airship slamming into the waters, terrifically high waves threatening to wash over all of them. Ultear looked at that wave in concern, and Ur reached out with one hand, raising up a titanic, thick ice wall, splitting the rushing water and sending it safely to either side of the three of them. "Idiot," Ultear said, with a baleful voice, stepping towards where Ur laid on the ground. "You could have gotten rid of Meredy if you'd just made the safe zone smaller."

"Why would I want... to get rid of your friend?" Ur said.

Ultear slammed a kick into her stomach - it was no less than she deserved, really. "As if I'd believe that!"

"I love you, Ultear. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." A kick. Another kick. Pain lanced through her body, but she just wrapped herself around Ultear's leg, halfway crawling up her daughter as she just toppled the girl to the ground with her weight, hugging her beneath her. Pain lanced through her body again as Meredy fired that magic of hers through her from behind, the younger girl walked towards her with slow, deliberate steps - not trusting herself on Ur's ice. Ur just gripped her daughter for dear life, holding onto her tightly. "I love you, I love you," she whispered, wanting desperately to make up for all the times she hadn't been there to say it, to make at least the last memories that Ultear had of her mother to be her declaring her honest love, rather than her having moved on, believing her dead. "I love you I love you I love you." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she held her daughter tight to her chest.

Meredy grabbed a tangle of Ur's hair, yanking her off of Ultear, leaving her gasping in quiet pain. "I will eliminate her." The new position let Ur see her daughter, tears on the girl's face, not her tears having passed down, but Ultear's own tears as she looked up at her mother. She gave Ultear a smile, raised one hand loosely up. She couldn't do much more, with the pain that wracked her body as another magic sword sliced into her chest.

"I forgive you," she said, to Ultear. She did. She hadn't been there to guide her daughter - she had abandoned her to the worst sort of people. How could she blame her daughter for taking those lessons to heart, instead of the ones she would have wanted her to learn.

"Stop!" Ultear said, raising one hand desperately up to Meredy. Meredy's body ceased its movement, whatever she was about to do ending. "Stop... let her go," she said, her voice warbling with emotion. "Let her go, Meredy."

"I do not understand."

"Let her go!"

The hand gripping Ur's hair let go, and Ur collapsed to her knees, the pain in her chest subsiding quietly as she was left, panting and desperately gasping for air. When she looked up at Ultear, her daughter approached her, tentatively, slowly. "I love you," Ur said, one last time.

Ultear's throat bobbed. "I... believe you," she said, then wrapped Ur in a genuine, honest hug. Ur just let out the largest sigh of relief she'd ever felt in her entire life.

And that idiot Konata thought that she'd convince Ultear to stop by beating her up. How ridiculous.