WARNING: HAVE CHANGED UPDATE STYLE SO PLEASE READ UNTIL AT LEAST THE XXXXXXXXXXX

Hello! I rise from the dead! I bet a lot of you thought that I had given up on this story, but I trust you, I never did.

I wanted to tell you guys what was going on but I know there's nothing more disappointing than getting a notification saying a story has updated but then it's nothing but an author's notice. I wanted to wait until I had at least a partial chapter written before I posted anything on this story.

A large part of why I haven't gotten any writing done was because of procrastination, the bane of people everywhere. There was also a lack of motivation, but a LARGE part of it was severe writer's block. I stuck Natsu in a corner and I had no idea how to get him out. I finally talked to a friend of mine about it(her account name is Devil Wolf Girl if you want to check her out) and she helped me get past it. I finally get around to writing it, complete it, and then think of a better way to write it. Curse my imagination!

My procrastination kicked in again with that but I didn't want to leave you guys in the dark any longer, even if I only posted a short chapter, so I ended the chapter at what I thought would be a suitable cliffhanger.

Some of you who explored my profile may have noticed that I have been recently posting another story, Age Means Wisdom… Right?. I already had those chapters prewritten so I thought that I would post those while I got around to writing this one. Because of the surprising positive reaction to that story, and with how long it took me to update this one, I am going to be trying a new system with my updates.

Since I jump between stories a lot in my ideas, I will be working on which ever story I have inspiration/motivation to work on. This will lead to slower updates on stories, but hopefully more progress.

I have a few chapters of a Bleach/Naruto crossover already written so I will be posting those monthly for the next two months. Afterwards I do not know when the next update will be so prepare yourselves for that.

Also, I received three emails(which I am highly suspicious about because they were from separate accounts but I received them all within ten minutes), and a few others, all asking the same thing, that I turn this story from a pure Natza fic into a Natza and Natear fic. They pointed out the fact that I am making it look like that. Right now I simply have Natsu and Ultear as friends, but I want you opinion on the matter. What do you guys think?

Message me your opinions, I prefer PM but will takes reviews, and I will see what happens depending on your answers.

I will say this now, this is not a majority vote. I am simply taking your comments under advisement and going from there. Thank you and I hope to hear your thoughts.

Thank you for being patient with me and for coming back for this chapter, despite how short it is. It means a lot to me.

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Meazm: You know what? You're absolutely right. I thought that I looked up the write term, but it looks like I was wrong. Thanks for catching it. Funny enough, I later used Nee-san correctly in a different story.

RadioactiveJet: Action, romance, adventure! Something along those lines anyways, but definitely Natsu being a badass.

tigerswiftblade5: It might take me awhile, but I'll keep it coming until the story finally ends.

PropHunter: Thanks, I'm glad you like it!

Kazuka746: Thank you for being so patient, and I'm glad you liked it even though there was no action. Thank you for the well wishes about college, I'll definitely need it for the next three years!

midnightscar17: I'm only up to the Tower of Heaven. Sorry, I don't know what story you're talking about.

RadioactiveJet: Thanks for promising to stay loyal, I appreciate it a lot. I'm glad you're enjoying the relationship development. Like any relationship there's rough patches, but they'll work it out in the end. As for why I chose Gajeel… I can't even remember why my past self chose him. I'd say it was because of their relationship, Gajeel's personality, he's also a dragon slayer, and Natsu wants Gajeel to trust him as soon as possible.

NatsuDragneel56: I am here to deliver you request. Hope you enjoy!

ShadowDeathSkull: I'm glad you like it and I'll try.

Erasenpai946: Thank you for being honest about saying there's things wrong with this story. As for Natsu and Ultear, I'm debating including it because I can see a relationship there but I also want to keep them friends. We'll see how it goes.

Eltonalmedia9: What's note 10? And with all of the reviews about it, Natsu and Ultear might- MIGHT- be a possibility. We'll see.

Alduca4510: Funny enough, you're not the only one to ask about that. Only time will tell, as even I'm not sure yet.

Kawabanga258: I've thought of multiple ways for Natsu's relationship with Ultear to go, but not an actual romantic one. With everyone asking for it though, it could be possible.

Sonic: Thanks, and I like how simple your name is. Did you make your account really early? I figured that would have been taken already.

Creativesm75: Thank you!

Jermen: School has been fairly easy this semester but my motivation in this story has unfortunately gone down.

Now, a short but hopefully fulfilling chapter!

Sneaking in had been a piece of cake. After releasing everyone from the cards, the Fairy Tail mages and Simon and his friends had taken Simon's ship since the guards would be expecting them. When they arrived, Simon, Wally, Sho, and Millianna had disembarked with Erza in tow. Her hands were bound, but the ropes were loose enough that she could slip out if need be.

Juvia and the rest of the Fairy Tail mages were hidden below deck, waiting for the guards to leave so they could disembark and meet up with the others. A couple of the guards stayed on the ship, but it had been a simple matter of knocking them out and tying them up below deck.

"That was easier than I thought it would be," Gray commented as they snuck off the ship.

"That's because you don't know Jellal," Natsu warned. "This was just to get into the tower as quietly as possible. If he doesn't already know we're here, he will soon.

"Natsu's right. We need to make our way up the Tower as quickly as possible. The higher up we are before the alarm sounds, the better of reaching Jellal," Simon agreed as he approached them with the others in tow, Erza free of her bonds. Natsu shot her a small, comforting, smile which she returned gratefully.

They had discussed letting the Tower group simply take Erza to Jellal and demand answers, but Natsu had immediately shot it down. He wasn't going to risk it.

They had no idea how strong Jellal was, and if the talk turned into a fight, the rest of the Fairy Tail mages wouldn't be able to help them. So that left them sneaking into the Tower and moving as a group.

With Simon and the others guiding them, the group made their way through the Tower much faster than the first time. They had kept a look out for any guards patrolling the halls, but besides the one's on the ship they didn't see anyone else.

"Something's wrong," Simon murmured. "We should have seen someone by now."

"And I don't smell anyone either," Natsu added, sniffing the air.

"What do you think is going on?" Millianna asked.

Before anyone could answer, the eyes on the figures on the wall suddenly began to glow red. Everyone stiffened in surprise when a voice suddenly spoke.

"By now, my dear intruders, you've noticed that the Tower seems to be lax in security," It said in a male voice. Gray glanced over at Erza, whose hands were clenched into fists.

"Is that Jellal?" He asked quietly. She just nodded stiffly.

"The reason for the lack of guards is because I told them not to patrol the Tower, partially to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed, but mainly to satisfy my curiosity," It continued.

"It was certainly a surprise to see my former comrades let a group of mages onto the island, especially when one of them is the Salamander."

"He's known we were here the whole time," Natsu growled angrily. "He was just playing along."

"It was certainly amusing watching you sneak through my Tower," The voice said, as if agreeing with him. "But now it's about time for a round of Heaven's Game.

"The rules are quite simple. I wish to use Erza as a sacrifice to resurrect the Dark Lord Zeref. If I succeed, the Gates of Heaven will open, crowning my victory. However, if you can find a way to stop me then you will be the winners of the game.

"To make things more interesting, I have enlisted three knights to battle on my behalf. The only way you'll be able to get to me is if you defeat both them and the followers who are still loyal to me. In other words, a battle royale, the eight of you against everyone else.

"And there's one surprise. The Magic Council has the satellite square focused directly on this tower. And it is highly likely they will attack. At this very moment they are in the midst of voting on whether they should fire an Etherion blast. There's no telling how much time is left. Should the Etherion strike, complete annihilation is eminent. No players left to win.

"Game over."

"Is he insane?!" Gray demanded.

"N-Natsu was right?" Millianna asked, tears starting to pool in her eyes.

"This ain't dandy. This ain't dandy at all," Wally muttered to no one particular.

Natsu barely noticed their reactions, focusing entirely upon Sho.

"What are we going to do Natsu?" Happy asked, distracting the dragon slayer. It was a costly mistake as right when Natsu turned to the Exceed, Sho made his move.

There was a sudden flash, and everyone turned to see Sho holding a card up. Inside it they could see Erza banging against it as if there was a barrier.

"Sho, what are you doing?!" Simon demanded.

"I won't let him lay a finger on her. I'll beat Jellal all by myself!" Sho exclaimed before running off.

"Get back here!" Natsu shouted, chasing after him.

"Natsu, wait up!" Lucy called.

"I'm going to rescue Erza from this idiot, we'll meet up later! Be careful!" He told them before continuing his chase.

'He's faster than he looks,' Natsu thought in annoyance.

'He reminds me of a mouse, weak and pathetic but fast as hell,' Etherious chimed in. If the dragon slayer wasn't chasing after said mouse he would have laughed. Instead he just picked up the pace, running as fast as he could.

Eventually he emerged from the hallway and into a large room filled with water. The only way across was a bridge with several red gates, like those found at shrines, stretching across it. In front of him Sho was stretched out prone on the ground, the card containing Erza next to him. At the far end of the room was a beautiful woman with pink hair, a white kimono, and a deadly looking sword in her hand.

"Oh? Another challenger?" She asked with a raise of her brow. Natsu growled at her before glaring at Sho.

"Sho, release Erza now!" He demanded.

"I-I won't!" The dark skinned boy said defiantly.

"Sho, listen to him!" Erza begged, her voice distorted by the card.

"No!"

"You stubborn-" Natsu began before his instincts flared in warning. He jumped to the side, the wood under his feet exploding a moment later.

"It's rude to ignore an opponent," She acted calm but there was an edge to her tone. Natsu gave her a look before glaring at Sho.

"I'll kick your ass later for kidnapping Erza," He said, turning to focus on the woman. "For now I'll deal with you."

"Natsu be careful! That's a magical sword she's wielding!" Erza warned him.

"Don't worry, I've taken you on remember? This will be a breeze," He said with a grin.

"So assured are we? You shouldn't divert your attention from your opponent," The pink haired woman.

"What are you-"

Natsu gasped, a sharp pain crossing his body. He stumbled slightly before glaring at the woman.

"What the hell was that?"

He hadn't even see her move!

"I am Ikaruga of Trinity Raven, and this is my Mugetsu style. The boorish man has already experienced it first hand when I severed his nerves. I was about to show it to Erza when you so rudely interrupted," She explained. "It seems that you will have to do instead."

"Natsu, be careful. She's too fast for you to see her attacks. You'll have to pay close attention to your surroundings," Etherious warned.

'Don't worry. I'll hit her before she has the chance to attack again,' The dragon slayer assured him, walking to stand in front of Erza and Sho and pulling out his staff. He slammed it into the floor, the wood breaking under the strength of the blow.

"Fire Dragon's Eruption!" He shouted. The wooden walkway exploded as a torrent of fire rushed towards Ikaruga . She raised her eyebrows in surprise at the attack.

"Impressive, if a bit brutish," She said, putting a hand on her sword. In an instant the flames were sliced apart, the remains too small to continue burning. By the time the attack reached her it was nothing but a warm breeze.

"What? How did you do that?" Natsu demanded.

"I'm able to sever a person's nerves, are you that surprised I can also cut something as simple as fire? Though your staff was slightly more difficult." As she spoke, Natsu's staff fell apart, the pieces separated by several clean cuts.

"Do you know how much effort went into making this staff?" The dragon slayer growled angrily, dropping the remains of his weapon.

"Oh I'm sure you put plenty of effort into it, unfortunately it wasn't enough," She said, once more putting her hand on the hilt of her blade. This time Natsu was ready, dodging to the side a second before her attacked ripped through the area he had just been in.

"Natsu, you can't face her head on. You need to get behind her somehow," Etherious told him.

'Yeah, easier said than done,' Natsu snarked. The longer he let this woman distract him the closer Jellal was to finishing his plan.

The problem was she had a huge advantage on him. Not only could she cut through his flames, but the only land in the room was a straight walkway that she had full control over, the rest of the room covered in water.

'The water!' He realized, a plan forming in his mind. He'd have to limit her movement first, otherwise it wouldn't work.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He roared, but instead of charging at her, he punched the wood beneath his feet. The attack from earlier had weakened the structure, so he had no trouble blowing out a massive chunk of the walkway and forming a large gap between Natsu and Ikaruga. A single pair of pillars supported his remaining platform while she had three supporting hers.

"Did you hope to accomplish something with that?" She asked with a raised brow.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Natsu taunted. She narrowed her eyes, and that was all the warning he had of her next attack. Igniting his flames under his feet, he rocketed to the left, off of the platform, before she had the chance to attack.

"It's impressive that you can fly, but don't think that you can escape my range." She told him as he headed towards a wall.

He ignored her, focusing on what he was about to do. As he approached the wall he spun around, landing on his feet. He paused just long enough to gain purchase before rocketing off again, several slashes appearing on the wall a moment later. He didn't escaped unscathed though, a sharp pain running through his leg.

Instead of heading towards the opposite wall or back to Sho and Erza, Natsu shot straight into the water, going into Dragon Force a moment before impact. The result was instantaneous.

Most of the water vaporized on impact, the steam rising to envelop the room.

"I can't see anything!" Sho cried out.

"Natsu! Where are you?" Erza called out, but he didn't respond.

Unlike the other two, Ikaruga didn't panic at the sudden lack of visibility. She retained her elegant pose, unbothered by the sudden obstruction.

"A clever attempt at a surprise attack, but if I can cut your flames, what made you think I can't cut through this as well?" Ikaruga called, spinning and slashing behind her. True to her word, her attack cut through the steam. But that was all it cut, the dragon slayer not behind her like she thought he was.

"Where did you-" Was all she managed to get out before the wood beneath her feet exploded. She quickly leaped back towards Erza and Sho, her reflexes fast enough to avoid the attack, but she was still pelted by shrapnel from the bridge.

Landing, Ikaruga looked at the new hole in the bridge. Like the last one, an entire portion of the bridge was gone, leaving her on an island of wood as a strip of space separated her from the other parts of the bridge. The only reason her platform hadn't collapsed was because of the pair of pillars that stood on either side of her.

'The pillars!' She realized, moving to jump to the empty portion of the walkway. But before she could, she heard the sound of splintering wood. She stumbled as the entire platform tilted as one of the pillars was blown out.

Natsu finally reappeared, once more using his flames to rocket to the wall. Landing on it, he paused long enough to make eye contact with Ikaruga before shooting straight for her, his body wreathed in flames.

"You have wasted enough of my time," Ikaruga said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. She took a sword stance for the first time, sliding one foot back and placing a hand on her sword sheath and the other on the hilt of her sword.

"Funny, I was going to say the exact same thing!" Natsu shouted at her.

Faster than lightning Ikaruga drew her sword, but as she started to slash at Natsu, the platform beneath her feet finally collapsed from all of the punishment it had taken. It was a testament to her skill that despite losing her footing she still managed to land a blow on him.

Natsu bit back a cry of pain as his shoulder suddenly exploded in pain, blood starting to pool from a large gash across his shoulder. He lost concentration on his flames, giving Ikaruga enough time to leap out of the way.

"You're not getting away!" Natsu exclaimed, pushing past the pain. Using an extra burst of strength, he managed to clip the swordswoman's side as she jumped away, leaving her hissing in pain as his flames burned through part of her kimono and scorched her skin.

She landed on the empty side of the walkway while Natsu landed on the remains of the platform in the middle of the room, almost collapsing to his knees when he landed on solid ground.

"I will admit, that was a brave attempt," Ikaruga complimented, looking at the damage he had done before glaring at him. "but a foolish one at that."

"I'm not done!" Natsu said, but even he knew he was almost finished. That attack had been a last ditch effort to take her down, and even that hadn't worked. He hated to admit it, but he was out of ideas.

'There's always my power,' Etherious reminded him.

'I had been wanting to save that as a trump card against Jellal, not even counting the fact that it probably won't work against her anyways. I don't really have a choice though, do I?' He asked, focusing on the dark power inside him. It eagerly answered his call, black flames roaring to life around him.

Ikaruga's eyes widened in surprise as the power washed over her, an empty warmth that made her involuntarily shiver. She hadn't expected this power form a mage of Fairy Tail.

At the top of the tower, Jellal gave a dark grin.

"So he truly does have a power such as this! This game keeps getting interesting!" He said with a laugh, a tinge of madness in it.

Back with the fight, Ikaruga has recovered from her shock and drew her blade, giving Natsu a hard look.

"You hold the title of Salamander, but you're nothing but a mad dog now, snarling and biting even though you've already lost," She said coldly before suddenly disappearing.

"Allow me to put you out of your misery."

Natsu's eyes widened in shock. That had come from behind him! He didn't even get the chance to turn around though before his entire body exploded in pain, blood spraying forth from dozens of cuts. He gasped in shock, in too much pain to even scream. He collapsed to the ground, his flames disappearing into the air.

'She moved too fast for even my flames to have an effect,' Etherious said grimly, but Natsu barely noticed him.

His entire body felt numb. He tried to move, to push himself up and keep fighting, but his body wouldn't respond.

'I need to get up!' Natsu exclaimed. 'I need to protect Erza!'

But nothing he did would work. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move. He was helpless, lying in a pool of his own blood. All he could do was glare up at Ikaruga as she flicked his blood off her sword.

Noticing his glare she frowned, her gaze cold as ice.

"You are a tenacious mutt, I will give you that. Every time I think I'm done with you you continue to surprise me."

She raised her sword high, the cold steel of her blade ready to impale his body and end his life. "I'll make sure that time, there will be no surprises."

'I won't die here! Not after everything I've been through, not when I haven't even faced Zeref yet! I refuse!' He screamed in frustration.

But all he could do was watch as the blade came down to claim his life.