AN: Hello, everyone. I am sincerely sorry for how long this update took. I managed to pass all of my college classes for the fall though. I will tell you that updates will slow down for this and Mutants and Gems, but I'll do what I can.

Now then, all good things come to those who wait, so here it is, the second part of my original arc!

Now, the adventure continues!

X-Tail

Chapter 26: Sins of the Father

Part 2

Previously on X-Tail…

"Hello…Erzy." The wolf-man said familiarly.

"Jellal?!" Kurt and Erza yelled simultaneously.

"Yes." Jellal said as he gestured to the snow fox woman. "This is the formerly beautiful Ultear Milkovich…Kurt's half-sister."

"What?!" Kurt and Erza yelled simultaneously.

"Enough talk. It's time I 'talked' with my brother." Ultear said maliciously.

"This is crazy! I don't even know who you are!" Kurt yelled at Ultear as he unsheathed his Shadow Blade.

"She was Ultear Milkovich…a member of the Magic Council. She's also the one responsible for destroying their headquarters." Jellal revealed.

"Then she's a wanted woman!" Erza yelled as she readied her blade.

"Maybe once before. Not now. Not ever again." Jellal said unsympathetically.

"You're still just as evil as you were back at the Tower of Heaven!" Kurt yelled as Azure readied to cut out Jellal's throat.

"This time I'm stronger. This time…you will die!" Jellal proclaimed as the final battle begun!

Dungeon Room

Jellal held out his arms and summoned a golden magic circle. "Heavenly Arrows!" Suddenly, a dozen beams of light emerged from the seal.

Kurt, Erza, and Azure tried to evade the attack, but the beams moved at blinding speeds, far faster than they were before. The attack hit them square on and sent them flying back. The trio managed to gain their footing, but they were clearly injured.

"What the? Did Jellal get stronger?" Kurt asked as he sheathed the Shadow Blade for protection.

"I'm positive. Whatever's happened to him, he's much stronger than he was at the Tower of Heaven." Erza deduced as she sent her sword back in a golden light.

"He's not the only one, you red-headed bitch!' Ultear yelled as she summoned a magic seal and put her hands together like Gray, which made Kurt and Erza gasp in shock. "Ice-Make: Rosen Crone!"

Suddenly, giant, spiked ice roses appeared and began to wrap themselves around the trio, which made them all cry out in pain. Kurt then summoned a dark blue magic seal in one of his fingers.

"Shadow Bullet!" Kurt yelled as a small burst of lightning-fast Shadow Magic came out of his finger and shattered their ice bonds. The trio fell to the ground, bleeding slightly, but still alive. They all breathed heavily, only for Azure to fall over in pain.

"Azure!" Kurt yelled in concern before he knelt by her. He then heard her heartbeat and sighed in relief.

"Is Azure okay?" Erza asked.

"She'll be fine. She just needs to rest." Kurt answered, before he stared down at Ultear. "Hey, how'd you learn Gray's Ice-Make Magic?"

In response, Ultear laughed madly before she regained her composure and stared him down with her foxlike eyes. "It's because my mother taught me that! I am Ur's daughter, Ultear!"

That sudden declaration made Kurt and Erza's blood run cold. They both stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes. "That's impossible. Ur's daughter is dead." Erza muttered.

"Dead? As if." Ultear dismissed. "That bitch abandoned me and came up with that ridiculous lie?"

"I never knew her, but from what Gray told me…Ur would never lie." Kurt said, before he furiously stared her down. "How can you talk about your mother like that?!"

"That bitch deserted me! She left me in the hands of a maniac and took two little orphans to replace me! She deserved to die!" Ultear yelled.

"How can someone as evil as you possibly be my…?"

"No! Never call me that! Don't ever call me that!" Ultear yelled as she stared at her furry hands. "Your father did this to me. You're no family of mine. You're just a disgusting freak!"

"Maybe, but I'm not a monster like you." Kurt said before a dark blue aura surrounded his form. "I'm nothing like you!"

"This one's mine, Ultear." Jellal said eagerly. "Meteor!" Jellal yelled as he shot forward in a burst of golden light.

Kurt then flew using his Shadow Magic as boosters and reared back his left fist as he summoned a dark blue magic seal. "Ultimate Shadow Fist!" Kurt yelled as shadows coated with his aura surrounded his left fist.

When their fists collided, instead of a shockwave like last time, the two were equally matched and floated in the air, neither of them moved. After a period of silence, they merely descended and stared at each other in respect.

"Impressive. Still as strong since the last time." Jellal admitted.

"Thanks, puppy-boy. Let me guess, your mutation augmented your magic?" Kurt asked.

"You're damn right it did. Ultear and I are stronger than we ever thought possible." Jellal boasted. "You don't have a chance in hell."

"We'll see about that." Kurt said confidently.

"Oh, please. There's no way not even you have some kind of trick to defeat us." Jellal said dismissively.

"I'll admit it, you've definitely improved since the last time…but I young Jedi, am the master." Kurt said as he called out to Erza. "Hey, honey…let's dance."

Erza then nodded her head as Kurt came to her and the two began to dance, much to Jellal and Ultear's confusion. "They're…dancing?" Jellal asked.

"Yes. Very strange, but why?" Ultear added.

Suddenly, the two began to glow with their respective auras until they kissed and it became a dark purple. When it faded, it was none other than Kurza in Erza's Black Wing Armor, only with the previous red and blue color scheme.

"What the hell?!" Jellal asked incredulously.

"Of course, Fusion Magic!" Ultear yelled in recognition.

"Now, what was that about Kurt having no chance in hell of beating you?" Kurza asked as she summoned the Shadow Blade.

"How is this even possible?!" Jellal asked Ultear.

"Only when it's between lovers or close friends can this happen. I should've recognized it, but no one's been able to do a perfect fusion in ages!" Ultear revealed.

"Listen, neither of you can beat me. Just give up and leave this place so that I can find my friends." Kurza offered. "If I were you, I'd take it."

"Oh, please. Fusion or not, you can't beat us!" Jellal boasted. "This mutation has made us equal to even the strongest Wizard Saint! We will not be defeated!"

Suddenly, Kurza jumped high into the air and easily took out most of the lights with her Shadow Magic; the only one remaining was the one that focused on Jellal and Ultear; everything else was complete darkness.

"Oh, stop hamming it up, Jellal. You're pathetic." Kurza mocked from the shadows. Jellal angrily shot a beam of his Heavenly Body Magic, only to supposedly miss as Kurza started to laugh.

"Show yourself, bitch!" Ultear yelled.

"Oh, Ultear. You should've been smarter. Even with all your knowledge, you still mutated into a snow fox. You're even more pathetic than Jellal." Kurza mocked as Ultear summoned her only remaining green orb and fired it into the shadows, only for her to miss as well.

"Okay, bitch. Who do you think you're talking to?" Jellal said threateningly.

"Not a wizard, that's for certain." Kurza mocked. "I mean, come on. You were captured, tortured, and unwillingly mutated, which sucks; but that's not what makes you pathetic."

Jellal promptly began to shoot wildly into the darkness, only to miss every time.

"Your pompous arrogance is what caused your downfall." Kurza continued. "You think that this life is all about you and how you think that you're better than everyone else is. There is no god among men, Jellal. All you ever were was a sick, twisted, insane, megalomaniac murderer who still doesn't see the monster you've become."

"SHUT UP!" Jellal yelled furiously, until Kurza's tail wrapped around his neck. "Let go of me!"

"No. There's a reason why you can't defeat me Jellal." Kurza stated as she released her grip and emerged from the shadows to look Jellal straight in the eye.

"I am her fury, I am his patience. I am a conversation." Kurza stated as the Shadow Blade glowed a dark purple. "I am made of love!" With that, Kurza unleashed a powerful ebony and violet blast of Shadow Magic that sent Jellal flying backwards into the darkness. A resounding clang echoed throughout the dungeon, followed by Jellal's groans as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Ultear visibly sweated, or as much as she could since fur covered her body now. She had been too terrified to restore the lights. She knew how strong Fusion Magic was from what she learned in her books, but she never imagined she'd ever have to face one. Not only that, Kurza managed to defeat Jellal effortlessly. In short, she was utterly petrified.

"What's wrong, Ultear?" Kurza asked as she went back into the shadows. "What happened to all that bravado you had earlier? You know, for someone who managed to take out the Magic Council's headquarters, you're pretty cowardly."

"N-n-no I'm n-n-not." Ultear stammered as she tried to contain her fear.

"Your very soul is shaking Ultear. You know you can't beat me. Just give up." Kurza offered.

"N-n-no. I need my vengeance!" Ultear proclaimed as she started to fling her only green orb into the shadows again. Kurza's laughter was the only indication that she missed her. "Stop hiding and let me fight you!"

"I just need you to answer something for me, Ultear. Are you angry with Kurt for his alleged father mutating you or are you mad with yourself for not seeing the truth so much sooner?" Kurza asked, only for Ultear to fling her orb again.

"Just, shut up! He ruined my life!" Ultear yelled as she continued her onslaught.

"You ruined your own damn life, bitch." Kurza retorted coldly. "I don't know what happened that made you so evil, but all I do know is that you're clearly our alleged father's daughter. You're just as evil as he is."

"I'm nothing like him! He's a fucking monster!" Ultear yelled as she started to cry. "Look at what he did to me!"

"That's just your problem. You can choose to let it keep you down; then it becomes your excuse." Kurza stated, before her tone of voice became somewhat sympathetic. "Or you can choose to rise above them, and they become your strength."

Ultear stopped attacking and looked at her paws in reverence. She had a fleeting moment of doubt in her soul for what she became. However, she then snarled and activated her orb. "Ark of Time: Restore!"

Suddenly, the lights that Kurza smashed returned to normal, which revealed an unconscious Jellal in a broken cell and the unconscious Azure, slowly stirring back to normal. However, Ultear couldn't see Kurza anywhere. All of a sudden, she felt a massive punch to her head and slipped into unconsciousness.

"Game, set, and match." Kurza stated as she glowed a dark purple and split into Kurt and Erza once again.

"You were wonderful, Kurt." Erza said as she blushed a little.

"Only second to you, Erza." Kurt remarked as he blushed as well.

"Still, we need to bring Jellal and Ultear back home with us." Erza stated.

"Yeah, I know, but are you okay with Jellal rotting away in jail for the rest of his life?" Kurt asked as he gently cupped her hands.

Erza then stared into Kurt's yellow eyes and answered, "Yes. I will always care for Jellal, but he needs to pay for his crimes. It's for the best." Erza then lightly sobbed, only for Kurt to kiss her tears away.

"It's okay to feel sad, honey." Kurt answered lovingly as he took his hands away and embraced her, which warmed Erza's heart to no end.

"Thank you, Kurt. I don't know what I'd do without you." Erza said lovingly.

"Neither would I." Kurt said as he ended the embrace and stared into her magnificent brown orbs. "I love you, Erza Scarlet."

"I love you Kurt Wagner." Erza said as she leaned in and two shared a brief, but passionate kiss. When it ended, Azure fully woke up and snuggled by their legs to get their attention. The two shared a brief chuckle before Kurt picked her up and the two kissed her cheeks.

"We love you too, Azure." Kurt and Erza said simultaneously.

Azure only barked happily, as she licked their faces.

Hallways

After their little skirmish with Jose and Totomaru, Natsu made some chains out of fire and bound the unconscious duo together in one hand. Unfortunately, Juvia hadn't woken up, so he carried her over his shoulder. Natsu felt lost; he'd been dredging these mysterious hallways with no end in sight. All that he could hope for was that the others were okay.

Suddenly, he inhaled deeply and detected a familiar scent. Natsu ran frantically to it and discovered Gray and Lapis. However, he also saw Lyon and Toby, which made him angry.

"Gray, what are these bastards doing here?" Natsu asked irately.

"Calm down, flame-brain. They're good now." Gray said dismissively.

"He's right. Still, we're only teaming up to free Sherry and the others from this mind control." Lyon explained.

"Yeah. I still have a monster headache from it." Toby commented.

Natsu seethed for a moment, and then calmed down. "You better hope they don't stab us in the back."

"Unlikely, Natsu. They lack knives." Lapis stated innocently.

"You have weird taste in girlfriends, Gray." Lyon commented.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Gray yelled irately.

"Let's just get out of here." Lapis commented as he eyes started to change color rapidly. "I believe that my system is malfunctioning."

"How much longer can you last?" Gray asked in concern.

"I will make myself last. Don't worry." Lapis said as her eyes changed back to amethyst.

Natsu then sniffed the air and smelled what he was looking for. He gasped in shock and pointed ahead of the group. "Lucy and Happy are somewhere down that hall!" Natsu proclaimed as he handed off Jose and Totomaru to Lapis.

With that, the entire group ran in the direction Natsu pointed to.

Throne Room

Meanwhile, in Azazel's throne room, he stared into a giant lacrima orb that showcased all of their victories and current whereabouts; except that of his son's group. Knelt by his throne were his two other sons, Kiwi Black and Abyss.

"Strange. I should be able to see my son." Azazel commented.

"Perhaps there is some kind of interference with the lacrima orb, father." Abyss suggested.

"No. My Neyaphem scientists worked around that problem." Azazel dismissed as he turned around. "One of you has prevented me from seeing my son."

"Father, you can't actually be suggesting that…?"

"Silence Abyss!" Azazel bellowed. "I know who did this."

Suddenly, Kiwi stood up and put a silver collar around Abyss' neck. Abyss tried to remove it, but to no avail. When he tried to teleport, nothing happened.

"What is the meaning of this, father?!" Abyss asked frantically.

"Let me show you." Azazel said as he tapped the lacrima orb, which displayed an image of Abyss. It then showed a video of Abyss tampering with the lacrima orb by attaching something underneath. When it ended, Azazel pulled it off and effortlessly crushed it in his three-fingered hands.

"Oh, Abyss…you've been a bad, bad boy." Azazel chastised.

"Father, please!" Abyss begged as he fell to his knees. "I beg for mercy!"

"Why did you do it, Abyss?" Azazel asked.

"Please, forgive me!" Abyss pleaded as he ignored the question.

With that, Azazel turned his eyes a bright orange, which calmed Abyss down as his own eyes turned completely black. When Azazel's eyes turned back to normal, Abyss heavily breathed and collapsed onto the ground.

"I see. You wanted to kill Kurt and Erza by unleashing Jellal and Ultear onto them." Azazel revealed.

"Father, he doubts your very existence. He could never serve you the way Kiwi and I do! He denies his Neyaphem heritage!" Abyss pleaded, only for Azazel to disappear in a puff of red smoke.

Suddenly, Azazel reappeared in front of Abyss with his right hand stretched out. Abyss looked down and saw Azazel's hand right through his chest. He gasped fearfully and yelled out in pain and Azazel started to coldly move his hand out his chest. A trickle of blood left Abyss' mouth as his father continued to pull harder.

"Father…I beg you…" Abyss trailed off as his vision started to fade.

"Goodbye, my former son." Azazel said coldly as he finally ripped out his son's still-beating heart from his chest. The resulting action practically broke Abyss' chest and blood poured out of him. The last thing he saw was his father swallow his heart whole before he collapsed on the floor, dead as a doornail.

"He was such a terrible son, too eager to please." Azazel remarked coldly. "What did I ever see in his whore of a mother?"

"Father, I believe it's their turn to face me." Kiwi requested.

"So be it, my son." Azazel said dismissively as he dragged Abyss' corpse to the window. "Make sure to make them suffer."

With that, Kiwi teleported in a puff of black smoke as Azazel smashed the window and threw his son's body into the endless void of the Brimstone Dimension.

"I never loved you." Azazel coldly said as he watched his son's body drop. He then returned to his throne room and held the lacrima in his hands. He then saw Natsu and the others in the orb and smiled maliciously. "Forgive me, Kurt, but your friends must die."

Kiwi's Room

Natsu wound up leading his group to the front of a large, wooden door. Before anyone could stop him, Natsu set his leg on fire and kicked the door down. Natsu and the others took in the interior of the room.

It heavily resembled a prison cell with a single bed in the middle and a cage at the back of the room. Candles were mounted on the walls to illuminate the room. Natsu peered in and saw Lucy and Happy in chains.

"Lucy! Happy!" Natsu exclaimed as he ran to them. Unfortunately, the door was locked and Lucy and Happy appeared to be unconscious. With a mighty yell, Natsu punched the cage door with all his might. The clanging sound resonated throughout the room, but Natsu remained silent.

"Uh, what's wrong, Natsu?" Gray asked in confusion.

Expectedly, Natsu's hand grew red and swelled to cartoonish amounts and he sweat dropped in pain. Finally, the Fire Dragon Slayer couldn't take it anymore and dropped Juvia as he started to run around the room, screaming his head off.

"AHHHH! MY HAND! MY HAND!" Natsu exclaimed in agony, much to the annoyance of everyone. Finally, Gray punched his in his stomach, which made Natsu fall down in pain.

"Ow." Natsu meekly whispered.

"Serves you right, flame-brain. Now, let's get them out of here." Gray commented as the rest of the group made their way to the cage.

"Ice Make: Key!" Gray exclaimed as he summoned an icy blue magic seal and formed a small ice key. He put it into the lock and opened it, which allowed him to grab Lucy and Toby to grab Happy.

"Man, we've got a lot of people now." Lyon commented as Gray and Toby set down Lucy and Happy.

"Just be quiet, Lyon. We need to free them." Lapis stated as she morphed her finger into a small laser cannon and cut through their chains with some difficulty. Suddenly, Lucy's brown eyes fluttered and she got back up, clutching her head.

"Uh, what happened?" Lucy asked in confusion.

"That Kiwi guy kidnapped you and Happy." Natsu answered as he got back up. "We came all this way to get you back."

"Thanks, Natsu." Lucy said sincerely, only for her expression to darken. "We need to rescue the others."

"Others?" Lyon questioned. "Oh, you mean Sherry and Angelica."

"No. Kiwi mentioned that his boss has several other wizards in his control." Lucy revealed.

"Aye, ma'am." Happy commented as he woke up.

"No problem. We'll just bust them out!" Natsu said confidently.

"It's not that simple." Lucy said as her breathing hitched. "Jellal…he's alive."

"What?!" the remnants of Team Xavier exclaimed.

"It's true. He's been…changed by unstable X-gene." Happy added as he sprouted his wings and flew up to head level. "He didn't give specifics, but it's made him even stronger than he was at the Tower of Heaven."

"That's not all. They're abducting humans from our world and testing out the unstable X-gene on them." Lucy revealed, which shocked the entire group to its core.

"But…why?" Gray asked, horrified.

"Again, nothing specific. What's going on here is some kind of nightmare that we have to stop." Lucy said, until she noticed Juvia and tilted her head in confusion. "Uh, is Juvia okay?"

"Uh, well…it's like…I mean…" Natsu stammered.

"AH!" Juvia exclaimed as she sprang back up and smiled happily. "Natsu, you were amazing!" Suddenly, Juvia glomped onto Natsu and smothered him with her breasts, which made him turn red with embarrassment.

"Uh, why are you hugging him?" Toby asked.

"Oh, Natsu and I became one!" Juvia exclaimed with hearts in her eyes.

"Wait, what?!" the entire group exclaimed.

"Oh, it was so steamy and wonderful! It was the most magical experience of my life!" Juvia yelled as she continued to smother Natsu, which was slowly turning him blue.

"Uh, is she talking about what I think she's talking about?" Gray asked as his face turned red with embarrassment.

"I hope not. Otherwise, pinky's the luckiest guy I've ever met." Toby commented similarly.

"It was just so…oh, words can't describe it! Natsu was so amazing!" Juvia exclaimed, unaware that Natsu was turning a dark purple.

"Uh, Juvia? Natsu…"

"Stay away from him, you blond cow!" Juvia bellowed as she obliviously smothered him.

"But, Juvia…"

"You'll never know what we shared together!" Juvia interrupted again, which made the entire group go white with shock.

Juvia looked at them in confusion and looked at Natsu, who was comically unconscious with his soul sticking out of his mouth. The sight of Natsu in such a state made Juvia cry out in shock as she desperately tried to revive him.

"Oh, forgive me my darling! Don't go into the light!" Juvia yelled as she cried an ocean doing chest compressions on him. Eventually, Natsu woke up and took in a big breath of air.

"Are you okay, my darling?!" Juvia asked in concern.

"I'll be fine, but no more hugs like that, okay?" Natsu answered, which made Juvia nod.

"Uh, so what happened between you and Juvia, sir?" Happy asked cheekily.

"Oh, we just fused." Natsu answered nonchalantly, which made them all breathe a sigh of relief, except Happy who merely sighed in disappointment.

"Geez, from the way Juvia talked about it, she made it seem like it was something more." Gray commented, only for Lapis to punch him in the gut.

"It is a big deal, Gray." Lapis commented. "Fusion is the ultimate connection between beings in this universe. It is something that is precious and sacred. After all, we fused."

"Your robo-girlfriend's got a point, Gray." Lyon stated.

"For the last time, she is not my girlfriend!" Gray yelled angrily.

"Whatever. We need to save the others." Lucy stated, trying to get back on track.

"Oh, that's not going to happen." Kiwi said menacingly as he appeared in front of them all in a puff of black smoke. Lucy and Happy looked at him fearfully as the able wizards took their fighting stances. Lucy and Happy merely went back into the cell for safety.

"None of you will make it out of here, alive!" Kiwi yelled as he charged the group.

Hallways

After they subdued Jellal and Ultear, Kurt, Erza, and Azure made sure to prevent their escape. They locked them in cell doors and Erza put their hands in chains so that they couldn't use their magic. While they were tempted to bring them along, it was for the best that they stayed there until they found a way out of this strange place.

Suddenly, Kurt's ears picked up the sounds of their friends' voices. "Erza, I think I hear the others. They need our help." Kurt said.

"Okay. I wish that you could teleport." Erza admitted.

"It's okay. We'll just find them the old-fashioned way." Kurt said confidently as all three of them ran to where Kurt heard the voices.

While the trio made their way to the voices, they were unaware of Ultear awakening with a malicious smile on her face. Still, the injuries she suffered from Kurza made every bone in her body ache as she retrieved the dungeon key ring from her back pocket with her tail.

"I suppose there are benefits to being a fox." Ultear mused as she managed to undo the lock on her left chain. She then let the key ring drop into her open palm and used it to unlock her right chain. She rubbed her very sore wrists and then looked to the unconscious and trapped Jellal.

"Serves you right, you bastard. It's your fault this happened to us. Besides, you weren't smart enough to take the key from Abyss in the first place." Ultear mocked as she struggled to her feet. She then started to slowly walk towards the locked door and smiled when she found the key for the door. She put it in the keyhole and smirked maliciously to herself when she heard the tumblers open.

"I'm coming for you, Kurt." Ultear said malevolently as she slowly followed the trio.

Kiwi's Room

Kiwi charged at the group of able wizards as he took out the scabbard again and the blue energy took form once again, only this time in the form of a longsword. Kiwi aimed for Gray first, but Gray made a defensive stance and summoned an icy-blue magic circle underneath his feet.

"Ice Make: Shield!" Gray declared as a huge ice shield enveloped his body. Unfortunately, the power of Kiwi's longsword began to make visible cracks in his shield. Gray barely had enough time to get away before the sword completely shattered his ice shield.

Lapis morphed her arms into cannons and unleashed a barrage of electric blasts at Kiwi, only for Kiwi's blue energy to transform into a shield that effortlessly absorbed her attacks. Before Lapis could react, Kiwi sent her attacks right back at her. Lapis managed to morph her arms into shields, but it barely withstood the barrage from how weaker she was getting in this strange realm. Lapis promptly collapsed, much to Gray's concern as he instantly ran to her.

"Lapis, are you okay?" Gray asked in concern as he cradled the weakened Lapis.

"Gray…I…need to conserve energy. Keep fighting for me…make it out of here…alive." Lapis slowly said as her eyes closed and she said in her robotic voice, "Entering Power-Saver Mode".

With that, Lapis' body went dark, much to Gray's horror. While he knew that she would be okay, the fact that he was seeing her like this made his heart ache. Kiwi then approached him and transformed his blue energy into a longsword again.

"Now, then, let's see if you'll go to sleep." Kiwi threatened as he readied his sword, only for Lyon to summon his own icy-blue magic seal.

"Ice Make: Sword!" Lyon declared as he blocked his sword with his ice sword, much to the yellow mutant's disdain. Kiwi looked at Lyon and scowled, only for Lyon to smirk at him. "What, did you forget about the rest of us?"

"Water Slicer!" Juvia declared as three water whips snapped Kiwi's sword from his hands, much to his ire. Lyon then smirked, "How are you going to beat us without your fancy sword?"

"Do you think that any of you have a chance to defeat me?" Kiwi asked as he effortlessly crushed Lyon's sword in his hands and sent him hurtling towards Juvia. Juvia managed to turn into water to avoid the pain, but Lyon went flying until he hit the steel bars of Kiwi's cage and slipped into unconsciousness.

Juvia managed to reform quickly, but Kiwi retrieved his scabbard and the energy formed into a longsword again. Before Juvia could react, he slashed her across the abdomen, which actually hurt her, much to her shock, as Kiwi sent her flying into the emotionally distressed Gray.

"Okay, you Kurt wannabe, let's dance!" Natsu declared as he set his right fist on fire. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

Natsu managed to make contact with Kiwi's stomach, only for him to endure it, much to Natsu's shock. "What the…?" Natsu said, flabbergasted as Kiwi grabbed his arm and teleported them both to the ceiling. He then released his grip and teleported back to watch Natsu fall, only for the Fire Dragon Slayer to summon a jet of flames from his feet and safely land on the ground.

"You honestly thought that was enough to take down Fairy Tail's Salamander?" Natsu boasted as he charged Kiwi again, only for his whole body to be on fire. "Fire Dragon Sword Horn!" Natsu declared as he head-butted Kiwi into the air, which made Kiwi drop his scabbard again, much to the yellow mutant's shock.

Suddenly, Natsu grabbed Toby and threw him high into the air, much to the latter's shock. "Wait, what's going on?!" Toby asked incredulously as he ascended further than Kiwi.

"Use your claws to attack him!" Natsu declared, much to Toby's realization. "Oh, okay! Mega- Jellyfish Paralyzing Claws!" Toby declared as his fingernails turned green and grew long. He attempted to slash Kiwi and let him fall, but the yellow mutant merely teleported in a puff of black smoke.

"What, the…? Where'd he go?!" Toby asked incredulously, only for Kiwi to reappear behind him and deliver a swift blow to the head, which instantly knocked the dog-man out. He then grabbed Toby and teleported back down in a puff of black smoke. He then unceremoniously dropped the dog-man at Natsu's feet, much to the Fire Dragon Slayer's ire.

"You're out of allies, Dragon Slayer." Kiwi declared as he retrieved his scabbard and formed it into an axe. "You have lost."

Suddenly, Natsu began to chuckle, much to Kiwi's confusion. "Kiwi, there's one thing you need to know about Fairy Tail wizards…" Natsu then smiled at him excitedly, "…We never give up!"

Kiwi merely attacked Natsu with the axe, only for the Dragon Slayer to dodge at incredible speeds, much to Kiwi's surprise. He the saw Natsu in front of him and with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" Natsu declared as he summoned a reddish-orange magic seal.

Suddenly, a large fireball formed in Natsu's hands as he threw it at Kiwi, who merely managed to teleport into the sky to avoid the attack. The resulting impact illuminated the whole room, which forced the yellow mutant to shield his eyes. When he opened them, he saw Natsu in front of him, flying with his flames.

"I warned you. Fire Dragon Claw!" Natsu declared as the flames on his feet intensified. Before Kiwi could teleport, Natsu sent a powerful kick into his abdomen, which sent Kiwi hurtling towards the ground. Before he could make impact with the floor, Kiwi teleported in a puff of black smoke and landed safely, but in pain.

"Damn, it. I shouldn't be having this much trouble." Kiwi said to himself as he receded the energy back into his scabbard. He then stared at the Dragon Slayer as he descended. "Hmm, perhaps there is another way."

"So, you feel like surrendering now, Kiwi?" Natsu asked smugly.

"On the contrary, I have another way I can win." Kiwi declared as he teleported away in a puff of black smoke. Natsu scanned the room, only to see Kiwi by the unconscious Juvia, much to his horror.

"Hey, what's the big idea, punk?!" Natsu asked incredulously.

"Simple. Allow me to leave…" Kiwi bargained as he took out a strange gun with a large glass jar underneath the handle. "…and your girlfriend will not be harmed."

"She's not my girlfriend, and what is that thing anyway?!" Natsu asked incredulously.

"This is what our Neyaphem scientists have been working on, an X-gene Extractor." Kiwi revealed.

"What's that gotta do with her?" Natsu asked, as he tried to inch closer to Juvia.

"Simple. If I were to use this on her or any other unstable mutant, like your friends, it would instantly turn them into unstable X-gene to be collected in the jar." Kiwi revealed, much to Natsu's horror. "So, what's it going to be?"

Natsu contemplated his options for a moment and swallowed his pride. "Okay, you win. Leave."

Suddenly, Kiwi began to charge up the gun, much to Natsu's horror. "Hey, what are you doing?!" Natsu yelled incredulously.

"Simple. I'm getting rid of her, then you, then your friends." Kiwi coldly said. "I can play the convincing coward well, no?"

"You son of a bitch!" Natsu bellowed angrily as he charged towards Kiwi. Kiwi merely smirked and aimed the charging gun at Natsu.

"Farwell, Natsu Dragneel." Kiwi said as the gun finished charging, only for a blast of shadows to hit his back.

The resulting attack turned both of their attention towards Jose, who had hardly recovered and somehow broke free of his bindings while they were fighting.

"I…won't allow…you to hurt…Juvia." Jose wheezed, only for Kiwi to unceremoniously blast him instead. Natsu couldn't move fast enough and could only watch in horror as the blast hit Jose.

Natsu could only watch as Jose's body began to glow a bright blue, much to Natsu, Lucy, and Happy's horror, the latter two from the cell. Before anything else could happen, Jose summoned a dark purple magic seal and yelled, "Dark Pulse!"

Jose then moved his right hand vertically, which formed a huge explosion of Shade Magic that instantly destroyed Kiwi's left arm, much to the yellow mutant's horror. Jose then collapsed as his body began to glow even brighter. Natsu instantly knelt down by his side as he slowly began to melt.

"Natsu…tell Makarov…I'm sorry." Jose wheezed out as tears began to fall from his face. "Also…take care…of Juvia." With that, the former guild master of Phantom Lord closed his eyes as his body instantly liquefied into a pile of blue mush, much to Natsu's horror.

Meanwhile, Kiwi had been in agonizing pain as he struggled to get up, unaware of how Natsu's rage had grown. Kiwi managed to get to his feet, just in time for Natsu to come blazing towards him in an uncontrollable rage. Kiwi couldn't move in time to avoid Natsu as he yelled, "Fire Dragon Sword Horn!"

The resulting impact had a much stronger effect, which sent the incapacitated Kiwi into the air. Before he could react, Natsu flew up in a rage and stopped when he was just overhead of him. He then summoned a reddish-orange magic seal in his hands. "This is for Jose, you bastard! Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!"

Instantly, an even larger fireball appeared in Natsu's hands and hit the yellow mutant square on and sent him hurtling toward the ground, engulfed in flames. Kiwi landed with a massive crash, which formed an even larger crater in the ground. Natsu flew down and saw Kiwi.

Kiwi's clothes were in tatters with several burn marks and it appeared as though that there were several broken bones in his body. Kiwi struggled to get up, only to slip into unconsciousness. It was over; Natsu had won.

While he stared at Kiwi in anger, he looked up at the sky in reverence. "Jose…I'm sorry. I couldn't save you." He then looked to where his unconscious comrades were, including Totomaru, still alive, but in bad shape. "Well, at least everyone else is okay. I guess that's something."

Suddenly, Kurt, Erza and Azure ran into the room, only to see Natsu's handiwork.

"Whoa. Natsu really brought the house down." Kurt said, impressed.

"Indeed. He's getting much stronger." Erza admitted.

"Kurt, Erza, Azure, you're okay!" Natsu yelled jubilantly.

"Natsu, what happened?" Kurt asked as he, Erza and Azure approached him.

"I'll explain later. We need to beat the living crap out of Kiwi's boss!" Natsu boldly declared.

"You're right." Kurt said as he approached the jail cell of Lucy and Happy. "Can you guys still fight?"

"Maybe. But the others aren't in any condition to fight." Happy pointed out.

"Fair enough. Keep the others safe in here while Natsu, Erza, and I go to fight whoever's in charge here." Kurt declared.

"Wait, what about Azure?" Lucy asked.

"Azure barely escaped with her life against Ultear. I need you two to keep her safe." Kurt answered as he handed the small puppy to Lucy.

"We'll be back for you. We promise." Erza said as the trio left with a fire in their hearts.

Throne Room

Azazel had watched the entire fight from his lacrima orb and almost shattered it in fury. Not only did Abyss fail him, but now Kiwi?! He then breathed deeply and activated the communication feature in the orb.

"Send them to the Laboratory." Azazel commanded as the castle instantly did his bidding.

'The time has come, my son.' Azazel thought to himself as he teleported in a puff of red smoke.

AN: I know that this update took an insane amount of time, but I needed to get it as good as I could. I planned to write more, but that can be saved for the next part. Speaking of which, the next part will be my final part in this original arc. Again, I am truly sorry for how long this took. Now, time to recap.

Kurza's fight with Jellal and Ultear: yeah, that may seem a little OP, but I thought that it wouldn't be too unbelievable since Kurza combines the strengths of Kurt and Erza. I also made Kurza more verbal since Kurt and Erza are angry with Jellal and Ultear, but Kurza was only trying to get under their skin, nothing more, nothing less.

Killing Abyss: yeah, that was just to show how far Azazel is willing to go to protect Kurt. Also, I didn't really have much of a plan for him if he reappeared outside this arc.

Jose's death: yeah, that was more or less similar to Abyss since Jose never appeared again after the Phantom Lord arc and I couldn't see how I could use him again.

Natsu's battle with Kiwi: yeah, I wanted to make this longer, but I really wanted to add something before 2016 started. It's been five months and I kept you waiting long enough.

So, rate, review, and I'll be back with the final part of my original arc in 2016. I know that this is a little late, but since I won't have another one ready for a while, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year, everyone!

Next time- Chapter 27: Sins of the Father Part 3.