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Description
NO POV

Outside of the city of Veronica, by one of the gates, four guards stood outside standing guard, talking and drinking from their mugs. They were excited about the big event taking place in town and wanted more than anything than to be there, despite their having their duties. Then suddenly, one of the guards heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him and his comrades causing him to look up and in turn, caused them to look as well. They all could see two shadows just ahead from them in the darkness coming straight towards them.

"Hey! Who goes there?!" demanded one of the soldiers. "The gate's closed for the night!"

The shadow revealed itself to be Gray and Natsu who came out of the darkness, fist clenched tightly in his palm, and flaring with his ice magic, and flames erupting from his fists.

"We're Fairy Tail!" Gray yelled, as he unleashed a giant pillar of ice. "And we say it's open!"

"So you'd better get out of our way!" Nastu roared.

The blast from his ice attack, sent all four of the guards flying knocking them unconscious and caused severe damage to the gate, warping and bending it. Natsu then leaped into the air, and unleashed a powerful Fire Dragon Wing Attack which was enough to utterly destroy the gate with a mighty explosion. With their path clear of any obstacles, the two charged once more with the rest of the team following suit.

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WILLY'S POV

Thanks to Natsu and Gray obliterating the gate, we charged through the gates entering the city. I ran alongside Lucy and Mira, while Natsu, Gray, and Juvia went in front, Erza, Gajeel, Wendy brought the rear, and Happy, Momon, Pantherlily, and Carla flew from above. As we entered, there was another gate just ahead of us with dozens of surprised guards, readying their weapons.

"Once we're inside, our top priority is finding Éclair and bring her to safety!" Erza called out.

"Yeah! And we're not going to stop until we find her!" I yelled out.

"Then let's do it!" Natsu acknowledged.

The fire dragon slayer puffed up his cheeks and unleashed a massive Fire Dragon Roar that incinerated the second gate in a manner of seconds. Once we were inside the city, our party split up. Natsu, Happy, and Momon went in one direction, Gajeel went another, Gray and Juvia dashed into an alley along the canal, and Erza headed for the rooftops. That left me with Mira, Lucy, Lily, and Carla, of which we began our search for Éclair. As we rushed through the streets, I jumped up to the rooftops hoping to get a better look at the area.

As I quickly scanned the area, my eyes soon fell upon a large white castle in the distance where a lot of fireworks were going off. It was large, white bricked, had red rooftops, banners, and had several towers, one of them having a strange blue and gold crown. There was no doubt in my mind that had to have been Cream's and if Éclair was anywhere in Veronica, she had to be there. I jumped back down to the ground and rejoined the others as we continued to run.

"I just saw Cream's castle not too far away from us!" I said. "That's got to be where the ceremony is taking place and where Éclair has to be!"

"Then let's hurry over there!" Lucy cried. "If that's where Éclair is, then we got to get there before it's too late!"

Our group then continued down the street, rushing past the citizens who were all eager for the celebration unaware of the impending danger that would befall them if we were too late. But then trouble came. Just when we came to an intersection, a large mob of people out from the crowd cutting us off causing the citizens to flee from fright. They all were wearing outfits vaguely similar to Dist and all had weapons and magic at the ready, raring to fight.

"I was hoping that we could fool the guards into thinking we were a group of people with their cats," Pantherlily said as he changed into his battle form. "But it seems that those people aren't the guards."

"They've got to be from the Carbuncle guild," Mira spoke. "Why can't things just go smoothly without a fight?"

"Damn it. We don't have time to deal with these guys!" I complained impatiently as I took a stance. "Let's take them out quickly!"

"You scared Wendy?" Panthlily asked as he brandished his sword on his back.

"No. I'm actually not scared at all," Wendy replied. "After all, we're fighting for someone that we care about tonight, so we can't afford to be scared."

"Way to keep up the attitude, Wendy," Mira said with a smirk. "Never thought I'd hear words like that come out of your mouth."

"Wendy and I can handle this group from here," said Pantherlily. "Lucy, you and the others go on ahead."

"Thanks, you guys," Lucy said, taking out her whip. "Be careful."

"And make sure you catch up to us soon," I said. "We'll see you at the castle."

And with that, Lucy, Mira, and I forged on leaving Pantherlily, Carla, and Wendy behind. The three of us ran as fast as we could, Cream's castle looming higher as we approached. At that moment, as we rounded a corner, we saw another large squadron of guards as well as Carbuncle wizards just ahead, and they immediately saw us coming towards them.

"You there! Stop at once!" one guard yelled.

Immediately, the three of us went on the offense and attacked with our magic. Lucy took out one of her keys and pointed it out.

"OPEN GATE OF THE MAIDEN, VIRGO!"

In a puff of smoke, a young girl who was Virgo, emerged, having short pink hair with vacant blue eyes, and wore a maid outfit. "Hello, Princess," she said. "Do you wish to punish me for interrupting the celebration?"

"I might have to if you don't take out those guys!" Lucy snapped. "Just do what you do best!"

As some of the guards and wizards charged at her, Virgo then spun around drilling herself into the ground disappearing leaving a hole behind, surprising them. Then a couple more holes suddenly appeared from underneath the guards causing them to fall straight into them, while Virgo popped back up. The rest of the guards, with a loud yell, all charged with the intent to put us down.

"Mira! Let's back them up!" I yelled as I dashed forward.

"I'm right behind you!" Mira acknowledged.

I then jumped into the air making streams of water gush forth from and swung my arms. "WATER DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

Mira raised her hand and took aim before unleashed an array of bubbles. "DREAM KNOCK!"

My shockwave of water blew a good chunk of our enemies away, while Mira's spell put another chunk of them to sleep. Then two more Carbuncle wizards came down from above at me, in an attempt to surprise attack me. I was about ready to take them down, but then a whip glowing with magic shot out and slammed both of the wizards at once knocking them away in seconds. I looked back to see that the whip came from Lucy with gave it a mighty crack when she retracted it.

"Nice one, Lucy!" I said. "Way to stick it to them!"

At that moment, another soldier snuck up from behind Lucy and was about to pounce, the soldier disappeared into the ground in a hole and Virgo popped back up next to her.

"Princess, you and your friends must hurry," urged Virgo. "And please be careful."

"Thanks a lot, Virgo. We will," Lucy nodded. "Willy. Mira. Let's keep going!"

"Right," I nodded.

The three of us then resumed our trek towards the castle, our goal ever so closer, the castle only a few yards away.

Inside of the castle's courtyard, the ceremony was already underway with all the townspeople gathered around overjoyed and ready to witness what would happen. Éclair on the other hand, was now chained to a large, bird-like statue, struggling as hard as she could, frantically trying to break free, while Cream from up above prepared to address his people as stood on top of the balcony from above. As he did, Dist then appeared by his side, the Carbuncle mage bowering in respect.

"Your Grace," Dist spoke. "I have returned."

"You're just in time for the show, Dist," Cream smirked. "Now, watch as I, Prince Cream, usher a new age for Veronica and make history."

The prince then stepped forward making his presence known, spotlights shining, trumpets blaring, and his people of Veronica cheering wildly.

"My loyal subjects! Tonight, let us make merry, for I now have the two halves of the Phoenix Stones in my possession!" Prince Cream boomed out. "And so, to honor our beloved city of Veronica on this sacred year, I shall give her as well as her people the gift that will sustain her time without end, by uniting the two stones!"

As the crowd cheered even louder, while Éclair became even more frantic as she desperately tried to break free.

"Stop this! You cannot let those stones make contact!" Éclair shouted at Cream. "The Phoenix must not be revived!"

"Annoying girl," Cream scoffed. "You will be silenced soon enough."

The prince then went over to two of his servants, each of them carrying half of the Phoenix Stone on top of pillows, both of which were glowing brightly. Cream took the two stones into each of his hands and held them up to the people of Veronica, preparing to put them together.

"O, empire's divine pillar... O, twin, so long adrift..." Cream ominously spoke, the stones beginning to glow brighter. "Ye shall again be made one!"

"Please! This is madness!" Éclair shrieked, now more frantic than before. "You can do whatever you want with me, but the Phoenix Stones must not be united! I beg of you!"

Prince Cream was not listening as he, with a maniacal smile, brought the two halves of the stone together causing an incredible glow to erupt where he stood, while the guard stationed by Éclair used his spear as well as fire magic to ignite the pedestal where Éclair stood on fire, the flames starting to swallow it entirely with her inside. Éclair braced herself as the flames were about to envelop her body, when a trio familiar voices reached her ears.

"Éclair!"

"We're coming!"

"Just hang on!"

Éclair looked up and saw a surprising sight. Coming toward where she was by foot was Lucy, Mira, and Willy pushing their way past the crowd to get to her, while Natsu, Mamon, and Happy came down from the air. However, Éclair had no time speak or react as the flames flared overwhelming her body, and scorching her making her scream in agony.

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WILLY'S POV

Me, along with Lucy, Mira, and even Natsu, Happy, and Momon, finally arrived at the castle, and sure enough, we saw Éclair chained up to a strange-looking pedestal with a bird on it which was now ablaze with her inside the flame. Not hesitating for a second, I rushed straight toward Éclair, taking a deep breath about to use my breath attack to put out the flames, but then a powerful burst of force suddenly struck me, blowing me back along with Lucy, Mira, and any citizen that happened to be there. As I went flying, I happened to look up at the balcony to see Dist standing there, who had his hand stretched out, no doubt the one responsible for the sudden attack.

As I hit the ground tumbling a bit, I looked up and to my horror, saw Éclair in the flames writing in agony as she screamed. Then someone shot past me heading straight towards her. That, someone, was Momon who bravely flapped as fast as his wings could carry him. It was then that I realized what he was up to, and desperately scrambled to my feet trying to stop him.

"Momon! Stop!" I yelled. "If you go into those flames, you'll be turned to ash!"

At that moment, I heard Momon's voice. "Willy, thank you for all that you've done for me and Éclair. You and your friends were the best people we've ever met. But now it's time for me to save Éclair, as I promised. I'm only sorry that I won't be able to join your guild."

"MOMON, STOP!"

But Momon continued on, undaunted and unafraid as he entered the flames, disappearing. I ran towards the flame hoping to help Momon and Éclair before it was too late, but then a powerful wave of force shook the area as a bright light began to shine causing me to look up. On the balcony, instead of Cream being there, Dist now stood there with four unconscious soldiers embedded in the wall behind him, and the bright light was revealed to be the Phoenix Stone now in one piece, hovering above him.

"Now, gaze upon your new ruler! One whose reign shall endure forevermore!" Dist yelled out. "Now, mighty phoenix, bless me with the blood that grants life eternal!"

The light from the Phoenix Stone grew brighter to the point of it being blinding as powerful magic energy surged through it. As the glow continued to emanate as well as hover upward, I could see the stone began to bend and expand as it continued to grow with magic power, soon overtook the castle, it's sheer size alone causing a couple of towers to crumble and topple. One of the towers came falling straight towards us and hit the ground with a mighty crash causing a huge cloud of dust to overtake my vision, causing me to shield my eyes again as the wind whipped and the dust billowed.

After a few seconds, the dust settled and a shocking and haunting sight met my eyes. It was bigger than the castle itself yet smaller than Acnologia, looked entirely made out of metal with a pair of large wings made of cloth that ran along its long arms, bird-like, and had three diagonal red lenses that looked like eyes. It took two steps forward causing the ground to shudder and shake as it let out a beastly and ear-piercing cry, causing me to jump up and spread my wings to avoid getting stepped on.

"Just what the hell is that thing?!" I couldn't help but cry out. "That doesn't look like any Phoenix I've seen before!"

Then the mechanical monstrosity bent its head forward while holding out its claws, and began to generate power, creating a crimson-colored ball in them. The ball grew bigger and sparked with power as gained a golden tint. Immediately, sensing danger I flew to the side out of the way just as the creature fired the ball of power towards a random mountain in the distance causing it to explode in a thunderous explosion, destroying the mountain in of its entirety in a pillar of light and smoke.

I felt the color drain from my face as I stared at the explosion in horror. "My God! What power...!"

"Éclair!" yelled a voice. "Éclair, where are you?!"

This made me look down and I saw Mira, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy rushing toward the flame where Éclair was tied up. Then, I suddenly remembered, and shook off my fright as I swooped down towards them landing on the ground and ran along with them. At first, I was worried thinking of the worst while hoping that Éclair would be alright along with Momon, then I saw something as did everyone else.

In the midst of the destruction and fire surrounding her, Éclair emerged, barely managing to remain standing. Her clothes were completely burned off with the exception of a white band and her red dress now burnt to skirt, her pale skin how littered with burns and soot, and her ponytail was now free, her hair falling and burning everywhere. She looked and seen better days, but she was still alive somehow.

We all immediately rushed over to her just as she began to stumble, but Natsu and Lucy caught her just before she collapsed.

"I don't believe it!" gasped Mira. "She's still alive!"

"Éclair!" Lucy cried. "Thank goodness!"

Éclair slowly looked up, her eyes half-open. "Wh-where's Momon?" she wondered weakly. "I-Is he here?"

There's a brief and uncomfortable silence.

Happy then spoke. "He flew into the fire to save you," he said bitterly, desperately fighting back tears as they swelled in his eyes. "He tried so hard..."

"He knew that he would die in the process, but he did it to save you," Mira spoke with condolence. "He was a brave soul until the very end."

A brief saddened look crossed Éclair's face as she hung her head in grief. I, myself, couldn't help but feel saddened as well, my nails digging into my skin as I squeezed my hands holding in my grief. At that moment, a loud roar from the Phoenix shattered the atmosphere as a piece of debris came falling straight towards us. Immediately, Natsu and I stepped in front and caught the piece of debris, using our strength to hold it up with our hands.

"Natsu! Willy!" cried Mira.

"Get out of here while you still can!" Natsu strained, his arms trembling slightly.

"And get Éclair somewhere safe!" I grunted.

"You got it," I told the fire dragon slayer.

Lucy and Mira each took one of Éclair's arms and slung it over our shoulders and started to carry her to safety, but Éclair suddenly looked back at Natsu.

"There is no safe place anymore!" Éclair spoke in a tone filled with sorrow slight hysteria. "And unless we can stop the phoenix, there's no hope for anyone we hold dear! Everyone will die!"

Natsu and I stared at Éclair and then looked at each other for a brief moment, and gave each other a nod before looking back at her.

"Don't worry! No one's going to die as long as we're here!" I said. "We'll stop that phoenix at any cost!"

"And we'll save and protect everyone too!" Natsu also said. "Happy! You with me?!"

"Aye, sir!" said Happy.

Then Natsu took a deep breath and began eating the fire from Éclair's pedestal, his belly growing large and round until his hunger was sated, his belly shrinking to normal size. When he had his fill, and when we were out of the way, Natsu obliterated the debris with a mighty punch and as Happy took a hold of his back spreading his wings, the two took to the air disappearing from sight. I then turned back towards the girls.

"We need to take cover right away," Mira said. "And we need to treat Éclair's wounds as soon as possible."

"I can treat her using my healing magic," I said. "And while we're looking for a safe place, I'll cover you guys in case more debris falls. Let's go."

As the four of us, started to leave the area, I looked up towards the Phoenix as it continued its destruction and tried to see if there was any sign of Natsu and Happy. I didn't see them, but I knew that somewhere in that chaos, those two were off fighting somewhere trying their best to stop the phoenix.

"Natsu... Happy... you two better be careful. Don't you go dying on me. We've already lost Momon, I don't want to lose anyone else. And Momon, I won't let your sacrifice be in vain. I promise that I'll protect Eclair for you! I swear I will!"

I then returned my attention to the others as I jogged along to catch up with them.

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NO POV

The phoenix created about a dozen of the same orbs of magic power, forming a ring around itself, and with another mighty shriek, it released all of them at once, each one spreading to a different part of Veronica. Every single one of them hit the ground, each one leaving a giant pillar of light and smoke in its wake, causing the city, the ground, and even the air to tremble and shake as it let out another mighty shriek.

Description
NO POV

Outside of the city of Veronica, by one of the gates, four guards stood outside standing guard, talking and drinking from their mugs. They were excited about the big event taking place in town and wanted more than anything than to be there, despite their having their duties. Then suddenly, one of the guards heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him and his comrades causing him to look up and in turn, caused them to look as well. They all could see two shadows just ahead from them in the darkness coming straight towards them.

"Hey! Who goes there?!" demanded one of the soldiers. "The gate's closed for the night!"

The shadow revealed itself to be Gray and Natsu who came out of the darkness, fist clenched tightly in his palm, and flaring with his ice magic, and flames erupting from his fists.

"We're Fairy Tail!" Gray yelled, as he unleashed a giant pillar of ice. "And we say it's open!"

"So you'd better get out of our way!" Nastu roared.

The blast from his ice attack, sent all four of the guards flying knocking them unconscious and caused severe damage to the gate, warping and bending it. Natsu then leaped into the air, and unleashed a powerful Fire Dragon Wing Attack which was enough to utterly destroy the gate with a mighty explosion. With their path clear of any obstacles, the two charged once more with the rest of the team following suit.

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WILLY'S POV

Thanks to Natsu and Gray obliterating the gate, we charged through the gates entering the city. I ran alongside Lucy and Mira, while Natsu, Gray, and Juvia went in front, Erza, Gajeel, Wendy brought the rear, and Happy, Momon, Pantherlily, and Carla flew from above. As we entered, there was another gate just ahead of us with dozens of surprised guards, readying their weapons.

"Once we're inside, our top priority is finding Éclair and bring her to safety!" Erza called out.

"Yeah! And we're not going to stop until we find her!" I yelled out.

"Then let's do it!" Natsu acknowledged.

The fire dragon slayer puffed up his cheeks and unleashed a massive Fire Dragon Roar that incinerated the second gate in a manner of seconds. Once we were inside the city, our party split up. Natsu, Happy, and Momon went in one direction, Gajeel went another, Gray and Juvia dashed into an alley along the canal, and Erza headed for the rooftops. That left me with Mira, Lucy, Lily, and Carla, of which we began our search for Éclair. As we rushed through the streets, I jumped up to the rooftops hoping to get a better look at the area.

As I quickly scanned the area, my eyes soon fell upon a large white castle in the distance where a lot of fireworks were going off. It was large, white bricked, had red rooftops, banners, and had several towers, one of them having a strange blue and gold crown. There was no doubt in my mind that had to have been Cream's and if Éclair was anywhere in Veronica, she had to be there. I jumped back down to the ground and rejoined the others as we continued to run.

"I just saw Cream's castle not too far away from us!" I said. "That's got to be where the ceremony is taking place and where Éclair has to be!"

"Then let's hurry over there!" Lucy cried. "If that's where Éclair is, then we got to get there before it's too late!"

Our group then continued down the street, rushing past the citizens who were all eager for the celebration unaware of the impending danger that would befall them if we were too late. But then trouble came. Just when we came to an intersection, a large mob of people out from the crowd cutting us off causing the citizens to flee from fright. They all were wearing outfits vaguely similar to Dist and all had weapons and magic at the ready, raring to fight.

"I was hoping that we could fool the guards into thinking we were a group of people with their cats," Pantherlily said as he changed into his battle form. "But it seems that those people aren't the guards."

"They've got to be from the Carbuncle guild," Mira spoke. "Why can't things just go smoothly without a fight?"

"Damn it. We don't have time to deal with these guys!" I complained impatiently as I took a stance. "Let's take them out quickly!"

"You scared Wendy?" Panthlily asked as he brandished his sword on his back.

"No. I'm actually not scared at all," Wendy replied. "After all, we're fighting for someone that we care about tonight, so we can't afford to be scared."

"Way to keep up the attitude, Wendy," Mira said with a smirk. "Never thought I'd hear words like that come out of your mouth."

"Wendy and I can handle this group from here," said Pantherlily. "Lucy, you and the others go on ahead."

"Thanks, you guys," Lucy said, taking out her whip. "Be careful."

"And make sure you catch up to us soon," I said. "We'll see you at the castle."

And with that, Lucy, Mira, and I forged on leaving Pantherlily, Carla, and Wendy behind. The three of us ran as fast as we could, Cream's castle looming higher as we approached. At that moment, as we rounded a corner, we saw another large squadron of guards as well as Carbuncle wizards just ahead, and they immediately saw us coming towards them.

"You there! Stop at once!" one guard yelled.

Immediately, the three of us went on the offense and attacked with our magic. Lucy took out one of her keys and pointed it out.

"OPEN GATE OF THE MAIDEN, VIRGO!"

In a puff of smoke, a young girl who was Virgo, emerged, having short pink hair with vacant blue eyes, and wore a maid outfit. "Hello, Princess," she said. "Do you wish to punish me for interrupting the celebration?"

"I might have to if you don't take out those guys!" Lucy snapped. "Just do what you do best!"

As some of the guards and wizards charged at her, Virgo then spun around drilling herself into the ground disappearing leaving a hole behind, surprising them. Then a couple more holes suddenly appeared from underneath the guards causing them to fall straight into them, while Virgo popped back up. The rest of the guards, with a loud yell, all charged with the intent to put us down.

"Mira! Let's back them up!" I yelled as I dashed forward.

"I'm right behind you!" Mira acknowledged.

I then jumped into the air making streams of water gush forth from and swung my arms. "WATER DRAGON WING ATTACK!"

Mira raised her hand and took aim before unleashed an array of bubbles. "DREAM KNOCK!"

My shockwave of water blew a good chunk of our enemies away, while Mira's spell put another chunk of them to sleep. Then two more Carbuncle wizards came down from above at me, in an attempt to surprise attack me. I was about ready to take them down, but then a whip glowing with magic shot out and slammed both of the wizards at once knocking them away in seconds. I looked back to see that the whip came from Lucy with gave it a mighty crack when she retracted it.

"Nice one, Lucy!" I said. "Way to stick it to them!"

At that moment, another soldier snuck up from behind Lucy and was about to pounce, the soldier disappeared into the ground in a hole and Virgo popped back up next to her.

"Princess, you and your friends must hurry," urged Virgo. "And please be careful."

"Thanks a lot, Virgo. We will," Lucy nodded. "Willy. Mira. Let's keep going!"

"Right," I nodded.

The three of us then resumed our trek towards the castle, our goal ever so closer, the castle only a few yards away.

Inside of the castle's courtyard, the ceremony was already underway with all the townspeople gathered around overjoyed and ready to witness what would happen. Éclair on the other hand, was now chained to a large, bird-like statue, struggling as hard as she could, frantically trying to break free, while Cream from up above prepared to address his people as stood on top of the balcony from above. As he did, Dist then appeared by his side, the Carbuncle mage bowering in respect.

"Your Grace," Dist spoke. "I have returned."

"You're just in time for the show, Dist," Cream smirked. "Now, watch as I, Prince Cream, usher a new age for Veronica and make history."

The prince then stepped forward making his presence known, spotlights shining, trumpets blaring, and his people of Veronica cheering wildly.

"My loyal subjects! Tonight, let us make merry, for I now have the two halves of the Phoenix Stones in my possession!" Prince Cream boomed out. "And so, to honor our beloved city of Veronica on this sacred year, I shall give her as well as her people the gift that will sustain her time without end, by uniting the two stones!"

As the crowd cheered even louder, while Éclair became even more frantic as she desperately tried to break free.

"Stop this! You cannot let those stones make contact!" Éclair shouted at Cream. "The Phoenix must not be revived!"

"Annoying girl," Cream scoffed. "You will be silenced soon enough."

The prince then went over to two of his servants, each of them carrying half of the Phoenix Stone on top of pillows, both of which were glowing brightly. Cream took the two stones into each of his hands and held them up to the people of Veronica, preparing to put them together.

"O, empire's divine pillar... O, twin, so long adrift..." Cream ominously spoke, the stones beginning to glow brighter. "Ye shall again be made one!"

"Please! This is madness!" Éclair shrieked, now more frantic than before. "You can do whatever you want with me, but the Phoenix Stones must not be united! I beg of you!"

Prince Cream was not listening as he, with a maniacal smile, brought the two halves of the stone together causing an incredible glow to erupt where he stood, while the guard stationed by Éclair used his spear as well as fire magic to ignite the pedestal where Éclair stood on fire, the flames starting to swallow it entirely with her inside. Éclair braced herself as the flames were about to envelop her body, when a trio familiar voices reached her ears.

"Éclair!"

"We're coming!"

"Just hang on!"

Éclair looked up and saw a surprising sight. Coming toward where she was by foot was Lucy, Mira, and Willy pushing their way past the crowd to get to her, while Natsu, Mamon, and Happy came down from the air. However, Éclair had no time speak or react as the flames flared overwhelming her body, and scorching her making her scream in agony.

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WILLY'S POV

Me, along with Lucy, Mira, and even Natsu, Happy, and Momon, finally arrived at the castle, and sure enough, we saw Éclair chained up to a strange-looking pedestal with a bird on it which was now ablaze with her inside the flame. Not hesitating for a second, I rushed straight toward Éclair, taking a deep breath about to use my breath attack to put out the flames, but then a powerful burst of force suddenly struck me, blowing me back along with Lucy, Mira, and any citizen that happened to be there. As I went flying, I happened to look up at the balcony to see Dist standing there, who had his hand stretched out, no doubt the one responsible for the sudden attack.

As I hit the ground tumbling a bit, I looked up and to my horror, saw Éclair in the flames writing in agony as she screamed. Then someone shot past me heading straight towards her. That, someone, was Momon who bravely flapped as fast as his wings could carry him. It was then that I realized what he was up to, and desperately scrambled to my feet trying to stop him.

"Momon! Stop!" I yelled. "If you go into those flames, you'll be turned to ash!"

At that moment, I heard Momon's voice. "Willy, thank you for all that you've done for me and Éclair. You and your friends were the best people we've ever met. But now it's time for me to save Éclair, as I promised. I'm only sorry that I won't be able to join your guild."

"MOMON, STOP!"

But Momon continued on, undaunted and unafraid as he entered the flames, disappearing. I ran towards the flame hoping to help Momon and Éclair before it was too late, but then a powerful wave of force shook the area as a bright light began to shine causing me to look up. On the balcony, instead of Cream being there, Dist now stood there with four unconscious soldiers embedded in the wall behind him, and the bright light was revealed to be the Phoenix Stone now in one piece, hovering above him.

"Now, gaze upon your new ruler! One whose reign shall endure forevermore!" Dist yelled out. "Now, mighty phoenix, bless me with the blood that grants life eternal!"

The light from the Phoenix Stone grew brighter to the point of it being blinding as powerful magic energy surged through it. As the glow continued to emanate as well as hover upward, I could see the stone began to bend and expand as it continued to grow with magic power, soon overtook the castle, it's sheer size alone causing a couple of towers to crumble and topple. One of the towers came falling straight towards us and hit the ground with a mighty crash causing a huge cloud of dust to overtake my vision, causing me to shield my eyes again as the wind whipped and the dust billowed.

After a few seconds, the dust settled and a shocking and haunting sight met my eyes. It was bigger than the castle itself yet smaller than Acnologia, looked entirely made out of metal with a pair of large wings made of cloth that ran along its long arms, bird-like, and had three diagonal red lenses that looked like eyes. It took two steps forward causing the ground to shudder and shake as it let out a beastly and ear-piercing cry, causing me to jump up and spread my wings to avoid getting stepped on.

"Just what the hell is that thing?!" I couldn't help but cry out. "That doesn't look like any Phoenix I've seen before!"

Then the mechanical monstrosity bent its head forward while holding out its claws, and began to generate power, creating a crimson-colored ball in them. The ball grew bigger and sparked with power as gained a golden tint. Immediately, sensing danger I flew to the side out of the way just as the creature fired the ball of power towards a random mountain in the distance causing it to explode in a thunderous explosion, destroying the mountain in of its entirety in a pillar of light and smoke.

I felt the color drain from my face as I stared at the explosion in horror. "My God! What power...!"

"Éclair!" yelled a voice. "Éclair, where are you?!"

This made me look down and I saw Mira, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy rushing toward the flame where Éclair was tied up. Then, I suddenly remembered, and shook off my fright as I swooped down towards them landing on the ground and ran along with them. At first, I was worried thinking of the worst while hoping that Éclair would be alright along with Momon, then I saw something as did everyone else.

In the midst of the destruction and fire surrounding her, Éclair emerged, barely managing to remain standing. Her clothes were completely burned off with the exception of a white band and her red dress now burnt to skirt, her pale skin how littered with burns and soot, and her ponytail was now free, her hair falling and burning everywhere. She looked and seen better days, but she was still alive somehow.

We all immediately rushed over to her just as she began to stumble, but Natsu and Lucy caught her just before she collapsed.

"I don't believe it!" gasped Mira. "She's still alive!"

"Éclair!" Lucy cried. "Thank goodness!"

Éclair slowly looked up, her eyes half-open. "Wh-where's Momon?" she wondered weakly. "I-Is he here?"

There's a brief and uncomfortable silence.

Happy then spoke. "He flew into the fire to save you," he said bitterly, desperately fighting back tears as they swelled in his eyes. "He tried so hard..."

"He knew that he would die in the process, but he did it to save you," Mira spoke with condolence. "He was a brave soul until the very end."

A brief saddened look crossed Éclair's face as she hung her head in grief. I, myself, couldn't help but feel saddened as well, my nails digging into my skin as I squeezed my hands holding in my grief. At that moment, a loud roar from the Phoenix shattered the atmosphere as a piece of debris came falling straight towards us. Immediately, Natsu and I stepped in front and caught the piece of debris, using our strength to hold it up with our hands.

"Natsu! Willy!" cried Mira.

"Get out of here while you still can!" Natsu strained, his arms trembling slightly.

"And get Éclair somewhere safe!" I grunted.

"You got it," I told the fire dragon slayer.

Lucy and Mira each took one of Éclair's arms and slung it over our shoulders and started to carry her to safety, but Éclair suddenly looked back at Natsu.

"There is no safe place anymore!" Éclair spoke in a tone filled with sorrow slight hysteria. "And unless we can stop the phoenix, there's no hope for anyone we hold dear! Everyone will die!"

Natsu and I stared at Éclair and then looked at each other for a brief moment, and gave each other a nod before looking back at her.

"Don't worry! No one's going to die as long as we're here!" I said. "We'll stop that phoenix at any cost!"

"And we'll save and protect everyone too!" Natsu also said. "Happy! You with me?!"

"Aye, sir!" said Happy.

Then Natsu took a deep breath and began eating the fire from Éclair's pedestal, his belly growing large and round until his hunger was sated, his belly shrinking to normal size. When he had his fill, and when we were out of the way, Natsu obliterated the debris with a mighty punch and as Happy took a hold of his back spreading his wings, the two took to the air disappearing from sight. I then turned back towards the girls.

"We need to take cover right away," Mira said. "And we need to treat Éclair's wounds as soon as possible."

"I can treat her using my healing magic," I said. "And while we're looking for a safe place, I'll cover you guys in case more debris falls. Let's go."

As the four of us, started to leave the area, I looked up towards the Phoenix as it continued its destruction and tried to see if there was any sign of Natsu and Happy. I didn't see them, but I knew that somewhere in that chaos, those two were off fighting somewhere trying their best to stop the phoenix.

"Natsu... Happy... you two better be careful. Don't you go dying on me. We've already lost Momon, I don't want to lose anyone else. And Momon, I won't let your sacrifice be in vain. I promise that I'll protect Eclair for you! I swear I will!"

I then returned my attention to the others as I jogged along to catch up with them.

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NO POV

The phoenix created about a dozen of the same orbs of magic power, forming a ring around itself, and with another mighty shriek, it released all of them at once, each one spreading to a different part of Veronica. Every single one of them hit the ground, each one leaving a giant pillar of light and smoke in its wake, causing the city, the ground, and even the air to tremble and shake as it let out another mighty shriek.