"This place gives me the creeps," Lucy muttered, clutching her celestial spirit keys tighter as she looked around at the destruction. Merchant banners fluttered from splintered poles like grave markers, and the silence was broken only by the wind whistling through abandoned cargo.
"Aye! It's really quiet," Happy whispered, flying closer to Natsu's shoulder than usual. Even his normally cheerful demeanor seemed dampened by the eerie atmosphere.
"I take it back! I want to go home!!" Lucy shrieked.
"Come on, guys!" Natsu said, trying to sound confident, but Lucy could hear the slight tension in his voice. "We're Fairy Tail wizards! A little monster isn't gonna scare us off!"
Charmander chirped from its perch on Natsu's other shoulder, small flames dancing around its tail, but even the Pokemon seemed more alert than usual, its bright eyes scanning the devastated landscape.
They'd been walking for about an hour when the ground began to tremble.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound was rhythmic, like a massive heartbeat echoing through the earth. With each impact, loose stones bounced and rolled, and Lucy felt the vibrations travel up through her boots.
"Okay, that's definitely not normal," she said, her voice rising an octave.
"Aye! Something big is coming!" Happy squeaked, his ears twitching nervously.
The tremors grew stronger. THUD. THUD. THUD.
And then they saw it.
Rising above the rocky outcropping ahead of them came something that made Lucy's blood freeze in her veins. The Juggernaut was massive—easily twenty feet tall and covered in what looked like natural stone armor that gleamed with an oily, dark sheen. Its eyes were glowing red coals set deep in a skull-like face, and when it moved, the ground literally cracked beneath its weight.
"Oh my god," Lucy breathed, taking an involuntary step backward. "It's... it's huge!"
The creature let out a sound that was part roar, part grinding stone, and completely terrifying. It had spotted them.
"Alright!" Natsu cracked his knuckles, flames already beginning to dance around his fists. "Time to show this thing what Fairy Tail is made of!"
"NATSU, WAIT—" Lucy started to say, but he was already charging forward.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu yelled, unleashing a massive torrent of flames directly at the Juggernaut.
The fire engulfed the creature completely, and for a moment Lucy felt a surge of hope. Maybe this would be easier than she thought!
But when the flames cleared, the Juggernaut stood completely unharmed. Not even a scorch mark on its stone armor.
"What?!" Natsu's jaw dropped.
The Juggernaut's glowing eyes focused on him, and it began to move. When something that massive started running, it was like watching an avalanche with legs. The ground shook so hard that Lucy had to grab onto a broken wagon wheel to keep from falling over.
"IT'S NOT WORKING!" Lucy shrieked as the monster barreled toward them.
"I noticed!" Natsu dodged to the side just as a massive stone fist cratered the ground where he'd been standing. "Charmander, help me out!"
"Char!" The little Pokemon leaped from Natsu's shoulder, landing gracefully and immediately unleashing its own Ember attack. Small fireballs peppered the Juggernaut's armor, but they might as well have been throwing pebbles at a mountain.
"This is bad, this is bad, this is SO bad!" Lucy wailed, running for cover behind an overturned cart. "I want to go home! I want my mama! I want to be anywhere but here!"
"Aye! Happy wants to go home too!" the blue cat cried, hiding behind Lucy and trembling.
The Juggernaut swung its massive arm at Natsu, who barely managed to roll away. The creature's fist smashed through a boulder like it was made of paper.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu launched himself at the monster, his fist wreathed in flames. The attack connected with the Juggernaut's chest with a sound like thunder.
The creature didn't even flinch.
Instead, it backhanded Natsu, sending him flying through the air to crash into a pile of scattered cargo. Boxes exploded around him as he hit the ground hard, groaning.
"NATSU!" Lucy screamed.
The Juggernaut turned its attention to her hiding spot, those burning red eyes locking onto her position. It began stomping toward her, each step making the ground split and crack.
"No, no, no, no, NO!" Lucy fumbled for her keys with shaking hands. "Open, Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"
Golden light flashed, and the pink-haired celestial spirit appeared in her maid outfit, looking as calm as ever despite the giant monster bearing down on them.
"You called, Princess?" Virgo asked politely.
"VIRGO, HELP! BIG SCARY MONSTER!" Lucy pointed frantically at the approaching Juggernaut.
"Understood. Pitfall technique!" Virgo dove into the ground, and seconds later, a massive hole opened beneath the Juggernaut's feet.
The creature fell into the pit with a crash that shook the entire area. For a moment, blessed silence fell over the battlefield.
"Did... did we get it?" Lucy asked hopefully.
Her hopes were immediately crushed as the Juggernaut's massive hands gripped the edge of the pit. With terrifying ease, it hauled itself back up, angrier than before.
"This punishment was ineffective," Virgo observed clinically. "Princess, perhaps we should consider retreat."
"I'M TRYING!" Lucy yelled back.
Meanwhile, Natsu had picked himself up from the wreckage, wiping blood from his lip. "That... actually hurt," he admitted, looking shaken.
Charmander scurried over to him, looking up with worried eyes. The little Pokemon had been trying its hardest, but nothing they threw at this monster was making any difference.
"Char... Charmander!" the Pokemon suddenly cried out, and Lucy looked over to see it beginning to glow with a brilliant white light.
"What's happening to Charmander?!" she called out, momentarily distracted from her terror.
The light grew brighter and brighter, and Charmander's small form began to change. It grew taller, more muscular, its claws extending and its flame growing larger and more intense.
When the light faded, a Charmeleon stood where Charmander had been—bigger, stronger, and radiating much more heat than before.
"Charmeleon!" it declared, and unleashed a Flamethrower attack that was three times larger than anything it had managed as a Charmander.
The flames struck the Juggernaut squarely in the chest, and for the first time, the creature actually took a step backward.
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Natsu cheered, pumping his fist. "Alright, let's do this together, partner!"
But Lucy's brief hope was shattered as the Juggernaut shrugged off even the evolved Pokemon's stronger flames. The scorch marks on its armor faded almost immediately, like the stone was healing itself.
Even with Charmeleon's evolution, they were still hopelessly outmatched.
"It's not enough," Lucy whispered, watching in horror as the Juggernaut began advancing on them again, completely unharmed.
The massive creature let out another bone-chilling roar, raising both fists above its head as it prepared to crush them all.
"We're gonna die," Lucy whimpered, closing her eyes tight.
"Aye..." Happy whimpered from behind the cart. "Happy doesn't want to be squished..."
Natsu and Charmeleon stood side by side, both breathing hard, staring up at the monster bearing down on them. For the first time since Lucy had known him, Natsu looked genuinely uncertain.
They were in serious trouble, and they all knew it.
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, grabbing Happy and pulling him close. "I'm sorry, Mama," she whispered, bracing for the end.
Natsu threw himself protectively in front of them, even though he knew it was hopeless.
But the crushing blow never came.
Instead, there was a sound like wind chimes mixed with the ringing of church bells—beautiful, ethereal, and completely out of place on a battlefield.
"What...?" Lucy cracked open one eye, then both flew wide.
Golden chains, glowing with divine light, had wrapped around the Juggernaut's arms and torso. The massive creature was frozen mid-attack, its fists just inches from where they would have crushed Natsu. The chains pulsed with power, and no matter how hard the monster struggled, it couldn't break free.
"Aye...?" Happy peeked out from Lucy's arms, his jaw dropping.
"What the hell—" Natsu started, spinning around to look for the source.
A slow clap echoed across the devastated battlefield.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Well, well, well," came a voice that was smooth, amused, and dripping with sarcasm. "What do we have here? The great Natsu Dragneel, reduced to cowering in front of a glorified rock pile."
Lucy's heart stopped.
She knew that voice.
A figure stepped out from behind one of the destroyed wagons, moving with the casual confidence of someone who'd just been watching the whole disaster unfold like it was dinner theater.
He was tall, way taller than Lucy had remembered.
Beside him walked a woman who made Lucy's breath catch in her throat. She was absolutely stunning, with long crimson hair that flowed like liquid fire and an aura of regal authority.
"A-Aiden?! Irene…" Natsu gasped with equal parts relief and embarrassment flooding his features.
The woman—Irene—raised an elegant eyebrow, a small smile playing at her lips. "My, my. What an interesting situation we've stumbled upon," she said, her voice carrying centuries of authority wrapped in silk. "Aiden, darling, I believe your guild members have gotten themselves into quite the predicament."
The man himself raised an eyebrow, that smirk playing at the corners of his mouth as his gaze swept over the scene. "So, Natsu, how's that S-Class mission working out for you?"
Irene chuckled softly, the sound like wind chimes in a gentle breeze. "I told you we should have intervened sooner, Aiden. Look at the poor dears—they're absolutely terrified."
Natsu's face went through several shades of red. "I... we were just... it's stronger than we thought!"
"Stronger than you thought?" Aiden's voice was deceptively calm, but Lucy could hear the steel underneath it. "You mean you didn't bother to research what you were fighting before dragging..." his eyes found Lucy, and she felt like he was seeing straight through her soul, "...a newbie mage, Charmelion and a flying cat into a death trap?"
Irene stepped forward gracefully, her presence somehow making the entire battlefield feel more civilized. "Now, now, Aiden. Don't be too harsh on them. Young people must make their mistakes to learn." Her red eyes fixed on Lucy with interest. "Though I do hope they learn from this one."
"Hey!" Natsu protested. "Lucy's not weak! She's got celestial spirits!"
"Aye! And Happy helped too!" the blue cat added weakly.
Aiden's gaze shifted to Lucy, and she felt her cheeks burn "Lucy Heartfilia," he said, his voice gentling considerably, and a genuine smile replaced his mocking smirk. "It's been a long time, hasn't it"
Lucy's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. This was him. This was actually him. The man who'd saved her mother, who'd given her the chance to have a childhood, who'd made it possible for her to even dream of becoming a mage. A living legend.
"You... you remember me?" she managed to whisper, her voice trembling with emotion.
"Of course I remember you," Aiden said warmly, his entire demeanor shifting when he looked at her. "Though you've certainly grown up. How is your mother, by the way?"
"She's... she's wonderful," Lucy said, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "She's healthy and happy, and it's all because of you. I... I've wanted to meet you for so long, to thank you properly for saving her life."
Aiden's expression softened even more, if that was possible. "There's no need to thank me, Lucy. Seeing you both happy and healthy is thanks enough." His voice carried warmth.
"Though I have to admit, I didn't expect our reunion to happen while you were about to become monster food."
Aiden turned back to Natsu, his gentle expression immediately shifting back to exasperated irritation. "And you," he said, pointing an accusing finger, "thought it would be a good idea to steal an S-Class mission and bring her here? What exactly was your plan when you realized your fire doesn't work?"
Natsu shuffled his feet, looking like a scolded child. "I thought... maybe if I hit it hard enough..."
"Hit it hard enough," Aiden repeated flatly. "Your entire strategy was 'hit it hard enough.'"
"Well... yeah?"
Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose. "Natsu, you idiot. Do you have any idea what this thing is?"
"A... Juggernaut?" Natsu offered hopefully.
"A Titan-class magical construct," Aiden corrected. "Built specifically to be immune to elemental attacks. The more magic you throw at it, the stronger it gets. Congratulations, your fire attacks have been feeding it this entire time."
Lucy felt the blood drain from her face. "Feeding it?"
"Oh yes," Aiden said cheerfully. "Every flame, every ember, all of it just made this thing angrier and more powerful."
Charmeleon made a small, embarrassed sound.
The Juggernaut, still wrapped in golden chains, let out a frustrated roar that shook the ground.
"Don't worry," Aiden said casually, not even glancing at the massive creature. "I've got it handled. Though I do have to ask..." He fixed Natsu with a look that could have melted steel. "What were you planning to tell Master Makarov when you brought his newest guild member back in a coffin?"
Natsu opened his mouth to protest, but Aiden had already turned his attention to the Juggernaut.
"Alright, playtime's over," he said with a sigh, as if dealing with a twenty-foot magical construct was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
He raised his hand, and the golden chains began to glow brighter. The Juggernaut struggled against them, its stone armor cracking under the pressure, but it was like watching an ant try to break steel cables.
The golden chains suddenly compressed, and the sound they made was like the ringing of a thousand bells. The Juggernaut's roar cut off abruptly.
With a casual flick of his wrist, Aiden clenched his fist. The golden chains responded instantly, contracting with such force that the air itself seemed to scream.
The Juggernaut—this massive, "indestructible" creature that had been shrugging off every attack they threw at it—crumbled.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Lucy stared at the empty space where the monster had been standing just seconds ago, her mind struggling to process what she'd just witnessed.
"That was..." Happy's voice came out as barely a squeak. "...really cool!"
Natsu's jaw was practically on the ground. "You just... you just destroyed it like it was nothing!"
He dusted off his hands as if he'd just finished some light housework, then turned back to the group with that infuriating smirk firmly back in place.
"Now then," he said, his voice carrying just enough edge to make them all straighten up. "I believe we have some things to discuss about unauthorized S-Class missions and the proper way to not get your teammates killed."
Natsu gulped. Somehow, facing Aiden's disappointed look felt more terrifying than the Juggernaut ever had.
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