Master Zero crawled from the broken up icicle jutting out of the ground. Natsu watched Juvia and Gray run up to the pretty dour Raven Tail fortress. Lucy, Brandish, and Happy were already inside the fortress, so having Gray and Juvia would be some nice backup.

Zero straightened out and was about to say something when Natsu sniffed another presence nearby, and then saw that presence appeared next to him. Zero chuckled.

"Shades of before, it would seem," he said. His look and voice were just as they were when they fought in Nirvana, Natsu remembered. Even Jellal was there, as he was now.

"You bring any Lacrima for me to eat?" Natsu asked.

"Not this time," Jellal said.

"Then you can just head on outta here, Jellal," Natsu said. "I can take care of this guy just as easily as last time."

"You don't want to make a game of it?" Jellal asked. "Both you and I have defeated him. First one to knock him out wins?"

Natsu smiled and shook his head. A massive presence of malevolent magic was headed their way. Natsu saw Zero even careen his attention away from the two threats directly in front of him in favor of what was on its way.

"Smells like some fake Dragon Slayer magic on its way right now," Natsu said. "Acnologius, right?"

"Your senses are as good as ever," Jellal said. "But I think everyone in the fortress is more than aware."

"I don't know how much more I need to spell this out for you, Jellal," Natsu said. He finally glanced at Jellal, who studiously watched Zero for any sudden moves.

"I have no problem destroying both of you at the same time!" he exclaimed. "Just one of you isn't a challenge." His smile widened. "But I do love a good hunt."

"Gajeel and Levy are as much your responsibility as they are mine," Natsu said. "Go make sure they're safe. Lucy and Gray can handle themselves, but, Gajeel's defenseless right now."

"And he'll be dead very soon," Zero said. "It would seem my bait worked."

Natsu flinched, restraining himself. Just a few more moments and Jellal would be gone. Then he could go all out, holding nothing back against this monster.

"Fine," Jellal said. "But you owe me. Next time the Magic Council requires assistance from a guild, your name will come up first, Natsu."

Natsu clasped Jellal's arm, feeling the magic pulsing inside him. He was looking forward to the fight as much as Natsu, it seemed. Natsu's best card was thankfully the one he saved for last: his honor-bound duty to serve the Magic Council.

Jellal's hand flashed and he slammed it on the ground. A ray of light blinded Natsu for a moment, and when the light dimmed and Natsu could see, Jellal was all gone. The wastelands in front of Raven Tail's guild fortress were barren, save for Natsu and Zero.

"Good," Natsu said, rubbing his eyes. "Now we can get to it."

Just as he wrapped up the words, Zero's massive hands wrapped around his face and pummeled Natsu into the ground. Before Natsu could move, Zero's magic-fueled foot blasted Natsu in the ribs and sent him flying across the wasteland. Natsu tumbled to a halt against a pile of rock. They were well away from Gray's ice, now.

"You know what?" Natsu said, under his breath. He got back to his feet. Zero flew through the air toward him, pulling his arm back. "I think I'm going to enjoy this." He let his flaming aura engulf him. "It's been a while since I got to stretch out like this! Come on, Zero, hit me with everything you've got!"
Zero unleashed the blast. Natsu dove into the air, and spun, moving the flames to his feet. He launched four fireballs toward Zero, who blocked them all.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu shouted, and flames spewed from his mouth.

Zero, still airborne, sliced through them with a black-green hand and unleashed a wave of dark magic at Natsu. Natsu fell back, avoiding it. Zero soared through the sky and speared Natsu, leading with his head.

Saliva spewed from Natsu's mouth. He slammed his foot in the rock behind him, slicing up his calf something fierce, but stopped Zero's advance. He pushed Zero up and punched him across the face with a flaming fist. Natsu pursured.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu exclaimed, and upper-cut Zero in the chest, flipping him into the sky. Natsu prepared a Fire Dragon Roar, but had to evade as dark mist came and obliterated the area near him.

Natsu landed on a slanted rock, and Zero landed on uneven ground. He folded his arms behind his back once again.

"Very good, Dragon Slayer," Zero said. "Very good indeed."

"Enough with the warm-up, let's get straight to the good stuff," Natsu said.

"I was about to say the same! Now, face my true power! Dark Cappricio!"
Zero whipped one arm out from behind his back, and the vortex of green, black, and orange magic shot at Natsu. Natsu side-stepped and dodged. He listened for the change in the wind and ducked beneath the whip as it came back around.

"I learn from past mistakes, Zero!" Natsu exclaimed. He wreathed his entire right arm in flame, and when the beam drilled back at him, Natsu sliced it in two. "That won't work anymore!"

"Guess not," Zero said, and revealed his second arm.

Natsu had no time to react. The second beam blasted him upside the chin and knocked him into the air. He had just enough time to block it, but the first beam reformed and drilled him in the side, sending him spinning through the air.

Natsu watched as Zero cupped his hands together and exclaimed, "Dark Delete!" Dozens of black spheres shot from Zero's hand like bullets.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Natsu exclaimed, propelling himself away. The fire ball was just big enough to crash into all the spheres of darkness. They exploded, and the wind whipped all around them. Natsu's scarf caught his face for just a moment.

Natsu landed on a funny bit of rock again. Dark Cappricio shot out of the debris right for his face. Natsu dodged it as well as the second beam that snaked its way from his side. He flipped out of his awkward stance and saw the two beams coming right for him.

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Natsu exclaimed. His hands lit to an inferno and the beams incinerated. He locked his arms, ensuring that they wouldn't give under the pressure. Natsu grunted from holding back the weight.
"Too slow!" Zero exclaimed, appearing in front of Natsu. He reared his head back and slammed it against Natsu's own.

Natsu felt an explosion of pain and he saw nothing but stars…and yet he remained standing. His knees almost buckled beneath him. Natsu grinned.

"Fire Dragon Crushing Fang!" he said, and slammed his hands together on Zero's body. Zero stepped back. "Fire Dragon Claw!" Natsu immediately followed with a kick to the chest with burning feet, sending Zero flying all the way back to Gray's ice.

He sighed. Blood dribbled down his feet. He smacked his head a few times. Thankfully there wasn't much in there to begin with, but he'd like to keep what he had. Natsu refocused on a recovering Zero, who seemed astonished by Natsu's still-basic attacks.

Even if he wasn't going all out, Zero meant for that attack to knock Natsu out. He was physically strong, yes, but relied far more on his magic than he had before. That would be his downfall. One nice hit, a clean hit, would do him in for good.

Zero straightened up and folded his arms once again behind his back. He started approaching Natsu again, but this time with a scowl smeared across his face.

"Use your Dragon Force, boy," Zero said. "You were hopeless against me last time without it and you're hopeless against me now!"

"I don't know," Natsu said. He shrugged. "I seem to be doing alright."

"Oh really?" a voice asked behind Natsu.

Natsu didn't even bother turning, he just ducked but had to absorb the punch in the gut Zero delivered. Natsu crashed against a stalagmite, and was kicked through another. Zero followed it up with a magically-charged punch to the face, snapping Natsu's head back. Natsu rolled along the ground. He picked himself up, feeling the blood run from his mouth.

"I thought I would extend our warm up to allow you some confidence," Zero said.

"How?" Natsu asked. "How'd you move so fast?"

"I've been behind you this entire time," Zero said. He tapped his forehead. "You think I wouldn't evolve my magic as well?" He shrugged. "Alvarrez's invasion may have been the best thing to happen to me. I absorbed the pure dark magic of Universe One and bent it to my will, and my telepathy. Now I can move anywhere I wish, quick as that."

He snapped his fingers and was in front of Natsu, but reappeared at his side and blasted him away with Dark Cappricio. Natsu slid across the ground.

"Neat trick," Natsu said.

"I know!" Zero exclaimed, right in front of Natsu. He punched down at him.

Natsu caught the fist, matching his power exactly. Zero tried to yank it free but couldn't. Natsu felt the magic in his body quivering, as if it wanted to get free.

"But every magic comes with its own set of rules," Natsu said. "You can't move yourself if something is stopped you, if you're not grounded. That's why you can't dodge in the air!"

Natsu flung Zero into the sky. He filled his feet with flames and soared into the sky as well. Zero flipped and caught himself with his flight but was met by Natsu's punch across the face. Zero blasted back a few feet and launched himself at Natsu.

Natsu blocked each blow with ease and then kneed Zero in the gut. Zero ducked under Natsu's kick and a large dark sphere of Dark Delete rammed against Natsu's chest. Natsu flung it into the air and his flames from his feet caught him and allowed him more flight. Zero tried to spear Natsu but Natsu caught him.

Zero drove Natsu to the ground and let go of him immediately. Natsu heard a chuckle before Zero vanished. Natsu shut his eyes to heighten his senses but even that was too slow and Zero's knee connected with Nastu's back. Natsu hit the ground and rolled away from his stomp. Zero exploded the ground around Natsu, sending him back into the air.

"Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" Natsu retaliated with a large fire ball. Zero just swatted it aside and a black and green aura consumed him. Natsu sneered. And there it is.

Natsu tried to anticipate Zero's next move but couldn't and took another blast to the chest. Nastu rode it all the way and when he was back on the ground punched it into the rocks, creating a small crater. Natsu saw the wind shift in the dust that billowed, but didn't smell anything off about it. Instead, Zero appeared at his side. Natsu caught his fist and the two exchanged punches to the face.

Natsu reared his fist back. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

The attack missed and the air a dozen yards into the sky rippled just from the force of the punch. Zero reappeared and caught Natsu's arm. He sent magic running all up and down it before flinging the Dragon Slayer away.

Natsu landed on his feet and sighed.

"If you won't use your Dragon Force willingly, then I suppose I'll just force your hand," Zero said. "I'm sure you remember this spell quite fondly."

Natsu backed himself up, to give him some space. He felt the power bubbling up from within its core. The Dragon Force wanted to escape, it wanted to shoot free of him as Igneel once had. He opened his palms and the flames wreathed themselves across his body. Natsu sighed, exhaling hot air.

Zero rotated his hands until they came together, swirling darkness forming at their meeting. "Now, existence itself shall forget you! This is your end, Dragon Slayer! Genesis Zero!"

Natsu nodded and lowered his hands. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art." The flames intensified around him as an overwhelming feeling of cold and darkness rushed toward him. Zero's howling laughter broke through the stillness in his mind but it didn't afflict him.

The darkness hit him and the cold enveloped everything but his core, which remained aflame. Little demons laughed and taunted Natsu. Some jabbed at him with ethereal blades that pierced all the way into his soul, but they bounced off as wood bounced off of steel. The darkness swirled around constricted him, nullifying his already-slowed breathing.

"Dragon King's Fallen Flame."

Natsu's hands clenched and all the flames in his body shot into his clenched fists. He heaved his chest, and his power, and roared with all his might. His hands opened and the fires exploded around him, capturing his body entirely and completely obliterating the Genesis Zero spell.

As the flaming sparkles cascaded down, Natsu felt his Dragon Force start to take effect. He smiled. Scales crackled along his body, popping from the heat that his body gave off. His hair, longer and turned more scarlet, touched down to his shoulders. Much of his arms and legs were scale-like, and even his eyes felt sharper. In this form, Natsu felt truly at home.

The flames continued to swirl around him as if they themselves were drawn to Natsu, in a slow-spinning vortex.

Natsu saw, clear as day, Zero's shocked expression. "You've changed," Zero muttered, and with heightened senses, Natsu heard it quite easily.

"Like it?" Natsu asked. "Mastered it alongside my good buddies Gray and Wendy. Never really got a chance to test it on someone for real, though. I say we change that."

Zero swung his arms out and his aura also enveloped him. "This changes nothing, Dragon Slayer! This Dragon Force still won't stop me?"

"This Dragon Force is different from what you've seen before," Natsu said. "Finally managed to catch up to Wendy with a real transformation. This, Zero, is True Dragon Force!"

Zero vanished and Natsu saw him reappear this time—or, rather, his much-improved perception told him where to look. Zero faltered upon contact with Natsu's vortex, but broke through and almost punched Natsu. He dodged, allowing his hands to fill with flames.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist," he muttered, and punched Zero square across the face. Zero blasted back, crashing through Gray's perma-ice as easily as he would the rock. Natsu smiled. "Lots of talk for someone eating dirt!"

Zero once more vanished and reappeared, faster in front of Natsu. Both of his hands were filled with the Dark Cappricio.

"Be gone!" he exclaimed.

Natsu leapt back and dodged the two beams. They followed him into the sky. With two swipes they were gone, but Zero was right back on Natsu with a Dark Delete charged in his hands.

Natsu swiped it away with ease and Zero was exposed. Natsu swung, missed, and then his fist and Zero's connected. Zero's entire arm rippled and Natsu felt bone crack from the pressure. Zero screamed out in pain. Natsu slammed his head against Zero's and Zero crashed to the ground.

Natsu followed, and finally had Zero on the run. Zero ducked away and launched a desperate Dark Cappricio at Natsu, who blocked it.

"This is for Gajeel!" Natsu exclaimed, chasing Zero. "Fire Dragon Claw!"

He flipped and kicked Zero into the ground. Zero sprung up from the hit, and Natsu slid to a halt. He gathered his magic in his mouth and…

"Fire Dragon Roar!"

The flames shot Zero back, all the back into the fortress, where much of the wall he hit tumbled upon impact. Natsu glared at the wall, waiting, and nothing came save for Happy's little head popping out and cheering Natsu on. Natsu smiled and raised his fist.

A flame shot into the sky, then grew, and formed into the Fairy Tail symbol. Happy cheered his name, and Natsu hollered back at his best friend.


The group reconvened a little later. Mest took Gajeel back to Fairy Tail. Jellal confirmed that Levy and Lily were able to get away from Raven Tail's clutches, and that everyone involved with this ridiculous operation would be arrested for a long time.

"Much of Acnologius's forces remain," Jellal said. "And their Guild Master remains at large."

"Not to mention we dealt with Harmonia," Lucy said. "Well, not we, but, you know. Fairy Tail."
"Another dangerous group," Brandish said.

"Not for a Demon Slayer," Gray said.

"Regardless," Jellal said, cutting in. "We've all done good work today, especially you, Natsu. You really did a number on Zero."

"True Dragon Force?" Gray asked.

Natsu smiled and nodded. Gray sneered at him. He was just jealous he didn't get to show off all his cool tricks just yet. Natsu couldn't help himself.

Lucy slapped him upside the head. "Natsu, you idiot, you could've melted the entire place."
"Zero asked for it!" Natsu said. "Literally."
"And let me guess," Gray said. "You'll report it back to the council."

Jellal grinned. "As if we didn't already know about it? We keep a close eye on you, Natsu Dragneel."

His smile told him it was genuine, as a means of support. He was happy for it. Years and years ago the Council watched Fairy Tail for its destructive tendencies, and Natsu wouldn't be surprised if the other reason the Council watched Natsu was because of E.N.D.

"Then if everything's okay, can we head back to Fairy Tail?" Juvia asked, tugging on Gray's arm.

"Of course, but not everything is done," Jellal said.

"Yeah, something's been bothering me," Lucy said, and Jellal seemed to agree. "Why Zero?"

"What do you mean by that?" Gray asked.

"I mean if he were going to kill anyone it would make sense for it to be Jellal," Lucy said. "Not Master. Or Gildarts, or Sting. He has no reason to kill the other Guild Masters."

"And if this really is like the Oracion Seis before," Jellal said. "It means someone is influencing these events."

"Right," Gray said. "Titanfall's one of the Dark Guilds that didn't get involved with any of this. You think they're responsible?"

"Harloc, their leader, is someone shady that we've been trying to look into," Jellal said. "But he's somehow evaded us all this time."

"We should get back to Erza right away about this," Juvia said.

"Agreed," Jellal said. "And it's a long walk back to Fairy Tail. We'll catch a cart in the neighboring towns and head out immediately."

Everyone agreed and followed after Jellal. Natsu hung back with Lucy and Happy while the two chatted about taking down Acnologius and Raven Tail members left and right, but Natsu's mind was swimming with thoughts. Who? Why? How?

"Natsu, hey, Natsu," Happy said next to him.

Natsu snapped out of his daze and looked down to Happy. "Yeah bud?"

"I'm glad we're back," Happy said.

Natsu smiled and glanced up at Lucy, who beamed back at him. He held up his hand and she high-fived him. Happy joined them.

"Me too, pal," Natsu said.


END OF THE FIRST ARC!

Boy I had a blast writing this one. I hope you all did, too! I'll be taking a break before we get into the next arc, which'll deal with the mysterious Titanfall Guild, some business out in Stella (for those of you who saw Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry, you'll recognize this country!), and a return to a land not seen in several years! Thank you so much for reading!