Here is the next chap. The start is rated M, so you are warned, but you can read what is in Italics and then skip to 3rd person POV and continue reading there, if you want to skip the more M part.

Thank you oxybry for you review, and I'm glad you like it : )

For those that wonder about Layla and so on, all in good time. I can also say that there will be a memory in this chap, about how they meet, but just a short one. Then later the connections will be made. The training is starting and our main characters are about to enter a new adventure ;)

R&R

Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Memories

Natsumi's POV

I kept staring as the red dragon flew above me. Mernia stood in front of me. By her feet laid my mother. She did not look dead, however I knew better. Water magic could easily do damage without making any obvious wounds. She was grinning towards me and I took a step back. She transformed into a mermaid and used water to bring herself closer to me.

The ground shook and I noticed the shadow that was huge covering the ground. Scared I looked to my right where the red dragon stood. Mernia started to laugh. Mumbling something about the dragon being an illusion. The dragon turned its head and the eyes connected with mine.

Ever so slowly I felt a tingling sensation go through my body and I shuddered. The dragon seemed to do the same and he shook his body. Mernia attacked and the dragon jumped in front of me.

The roar was loud and the smell of fire was overwhelming as I tried to cover my ears. The shadow disappeared and I opened my eyes. The dragon was carrying Mernia further away from me and to the center of the small village. I took a deep breath. She was not twitching; she did not look to breathe.

Oh, god, I might be the next, I thought.

I started to back away and the dragon turned his head and looked at me. He slipped Mernia and came some steps closer to me. Then he turned and started to breathe fire and the village started to burn, so did the bodies within it.

I turned and I started to run.

Heavy steps shook the ground as the dragon came after me.

I screamed.

The shaking stopped. I sat on my knees covering my head, afraid of death. There was sound of breathing. Carefully I opened my eyes and slowly turned. The dragon was laying behind me. Watching me carefully. His eyes closed.

I ran.

I woke up with a start as the memory came back to me. Beside me, Igneel reacted when he noticed my distress. His eyes met mine.

"What's wrong?" he asked, voice heavy with the signs of sleep.

"I just had a memory dream," I answered as I leaned forward and rested my chin on my knees. Igneel copied my position, just with one arm around me. "It was the first time I saw you. When our souls connected for the first time. But I also remembered that in that moment I was utterly terrified."

Igneel chuckled quietly. "I remember that quite clear. Your heart was beating so fast. I tried not to scare you; however, it seemed to make everything worse. So I closed my eyes, giving you a choice."

"Mm…wonder what would have happened if I had stayed," I muttered quietly.

"Don't dwell by that. I did do it right by meeting you as a human the second time around."

"Yeah, you did," I whispered as I leaned back against his arm. We fell back and hit the mattress.

Turned facing him I kissed his chin. He looked at me with hungry eyes and captured my lips with his.

I moaned as my body started to get warm. Just to be with him like this, it felt amazing. I rested a leg over his hip, as we were naked already. His hands touched me, teased me and I returned the favor as we made each other ready. Then slowly he entered me while keeping our lips sealed. To part would be dreadful, and I enjoyed the heated kiss as much as I enjoyed the feeling of being complete when he was inside me.

I started to move my hips against him to make him pick up his speed as I felt I was getting closer to an orgasm. He broke the contact of our lips and made me lay on my back as he filled me with such force that I screamed his name in pleasure. Soon he joined me as we rode out the waves of pleasure together. Then when my mind came back to reality, I still felt him inside me and he was moving with great speed. I smirked as I knew what he was up to.

"Igneel," I whispered huskily.

The fact that I brought him back made him stop. However, he was still inside me and my smirk grew. I pushed on his hips and made him lose contact. Not thinking over that I missed the contact, I forced him to lay on his back.

I straddled his hips and let him fill me again. I started to move and moans of pleasure escaped my lips as I felt the orgasm built up already.

I looked to my mate and noticed that he was on the same page. I leaned forward and rested my hands on his shoulders and he grabbed me and started moving up against me.

The orgasm that shook through my body was so intense that my fingers dug deep into his skin as I moaned his name. Then finally calming down I moved to be in his arms again as he held me tight.

"It is strange," I whispered.

"What is?" he asked quietly.

"Ever since you returned I have been much more horny and impatient to be with you," I muttered.

He chuckled and pressed a kiss against my forehead. "My love," he started. "I know exactly how you feel."

My laughter filled the hotel room we were staying in. Not caring about our 'neighbors' that might be sleeping in their beds. I slowly calmed and traced his abs.

His breathing deepened and I wondered if he was asleep. I licked my lips and pushed myself slightly up to look at my mate in the dark room. His eyes were closed, but the smile busted him. I was about to turn away when he dragged me so I landed on top of him, my head resting on his chest. Then he lifted my chin just to meet my lips. I started to moan again as the familiar heat spread in my body once again.

This was going to be a long night.

3rd person POV

Anja woke up with a sour expression. Taking in to a hotel with the two other slayers had been the biggest mistake of her life as she and Silver ended up in a room beside the two slayers. They had kept it going all night. Keeping Anja awake. Silver managed to sleep through it all.

"Worst night of my life. Would have thought they were teenagers," Anja complained aloud as Silver was waking up.

"What's going on?" he wondered.

"Our two friends kept going at it for hours this night!" Anja complained. "Sometimes it might have been a thirty minute break, then they started again. It was a total pain to get any sleep at all," she continued, arms crossed over her chest.

"I didn't hear a thing," Silver said slowly.

"Lucky you," Anja answered sarcastically.

"Oh, come on. We have been teenagers as well, but then again you have to count all the years apart for them," Silver said softly and embraced his wife.

"Aw, you're right," Anja agreed and hugged him back.

Anja was looking at the pink-haired girl in front of her. Who in the whole world had pink hair? She kept teasing her as they both stood in front of Makarov, the master of Fairy Tail. A guild for wizards.

Both girls had magic, strong magic, and Makarov had offered to help them, but the girls had to share a room at Fairy Hills.

"Stop teasing the poor girl, Anja," Makarov said with a firm tone.

Anja stopped and quietly apologized to the master, then the girl who was named Natsumi. She told the master about the village and that everyone had died because of a mermaid, then she had fled. Anja felt like she had left something out but did not comment on it.

"I-I swear to never become like her!" Natsumi yelled with tears trailing down her cheeks.

Anja raised a brow.

"Now, Anja, please tell me how you ended up here," Makarov said and waited.

"Erm…well, my parents were dragon slayers, they were in a guild and took a hundred year quest, leaving me with the guild… Recently there came words of my parents' location. Their bodies were found so the master kicked me out for having weak parents." Anja started to cry. "I just wanted to practice my magic and become strong as they were. But they left me to the street so I could rot away!" The last part she spat as she angrily looked towards the floor.

"We can be family." Natsumi's voice was soft as she hugged Anja. "Neither of us have any parents, but we have each other," she said softly.

Makarov's eyes were wide when he saw the two girls work it out between themselves. He gave them the guild marks and welcomed them wholeheartedly into his guild. With the years he watched them grow and mature as they advanced in their training and early on they were also joined by a boy. Together they eventually made out the strongest team of Fairy Tail.

Lucy saw Natsumi and Igneel walk into the guild with bright smiles, followed by a tired looking Anja and content Silver. Natsu and Gray went up to greet them, Natsu a bit more excited and enthusiastic than Gray.

Gray turned his head and met her eyes, it did not go unnoticed by the females as he then looked to Natsu with a calculating stare.

Today they would start their training. However, Lucy could not help but feel that there were missing parts in Igneel's story. Why in the first place did her mother have to connect the celestial world with the dragon realm? Why did it have to be done in the first place? Then, she did neither know that her mother had an aunt who was alive. And if she was the Dragon Queen, didn't that mean that her mother or at least her mother again, had to be a dragon?

"Why so serious?" Natsumi asked as she approached Lucy.

"Er…it's nothing," Lucy mumbled, as she was still halfway in her thoughts. Ever since the last day she could barely believe what Igneel had told her, but at the same time she took it rather calm. Sure, she was not sure why, maybe it was that the absence of her mother had started to finally heal? No, she would never forget losing her mother. For god's sake! She was still writing her letters, well; to her father too…She still loved them. She just did not know how to connect the pieces quite yet.

"Yosh! Let's do this!" Natsu's excited yell brought Lucy out of her thoughts as she turned her head to look at the pink-haired male.

So childish, she thought with a small smile.

Gray let his fish land on top of Natsu's head. "Idiot," he muttered.

"I see we are ready to go then," Anja said with an eyebrow raised.

Natsumi pulled Lucy after her as they went on their way to the training ground.

Natsumi was running. The train was about to depart! She yelled, telling them to stop, she was too late. The impact came out of nowhere and she fell to the ground with a 'thud'. Anja came running behind her, panting.

"It departed?" Anja asked harshly. "And you're laying on the ground resting?" she scolded.

"I crashed into something…" Natsumi trailed off as she saw a blonde girl about their age on the ground as well.

"You mean someone," Anja corrected.

Natsumi nodded.

"I apologize; I did not look where I was going. I tried to catch the train before it departed," the blonde girl said. Her brown eyes looked sad as she realized she had lost the train.

"I'm sorry as well," Natsumi mumbled and a blush covered her cheeks.

"I got our tickets!" Silver's voice brought the three girls out of their little bubble and they all looked to him. "What?"

"It departed," Anja said in monotone.

"It can be used on the next train as well," Silver said and gave a bright smile.

"When is it?" Anja then asked.

"Er… In about four hours or so…"

"Well, let's make the best out of it while waiting then," Natsumi said happily as she helped the blonde girl up. "I'm Natsumi," she said and held out her hand.

"Layla," the blonde girl replied quietly, taking her hand.

"Anja."

"Silver."

"It is very nice to meet you, and again, I am sorry for what happened," Layla said with a quiet blush covering her cheeks.

"Naw, don't worry about it," Natsumi replied happily.

"It could have happened to anyone. Natsumi tends to not watch where she is going," Anja said with a smirk.

Silver started to sweat. If it continued to go on like this, it would not end well. "So where are you going?" he then asked to distract the two girls who was glaring at each other.

"Oh. I'm going to join the guild Love and Lucky. I'm a celestial mage!" Layla said happily. "I have three golden keys," she then whispered.

"Isn't that a very exhausting magic? I mean, it takes a lot of magic energy," Anja wondered.

Layla nodded.

"The gold keys are rare," Silver muttered so only the little group would hear.

"You must be awesome then!" Natsumi exclaimed and hugged Layla.

Anja stretched out her hand and grabbed Natsumi and pulled her away from Layla. "You're going to scare her, moron."

"What did you say?"

"Please! Stop! Don't fight over me, it was fine."

"Hey, Layla? Do you want to join us for this mission before you join that guild?" Natsumi wondered and met Layla's eyes with her own excited ones.

"Erm…are you sure?" she asked shyly.

"Of course!" Anja agreed and crossed her arms with a small smile.

"It would be a pleasure," Silver added.

"Then…yes! I would really like that."

Then a little later on the train while Layla was sleeping, the trio was discussing if they could make her join Fairy Tail. After all, it would be great to have a new friend join.

But in the end Layla could not sway away from her purpose. She had promised her mother to join that guild, for what reason, they did not get to know…

"That's it, Gray!" Anja yelled as she pushed magic energy into her son. "Feel it, grasp it, use it!"

"Natsu, focus. You need to focus on me and your mom if you want to learn more magic and become stronger," Igneel hissed, as his son once again turned his head to look at Gray. Getting distracted again.

"Not that he needs to get stronger," Natsumi teased as she stood beside Lucy. "Did you remember what I told you?" she then asked and met Lucy's eyes.

"Summon Capricorn, Aquarius without water, and Loke," she said quietly.

"Right!" Natsumi said with a smile as she saw Lucy get ready. "Remember, your mother was able to summon Aquarius without water, as well as two other zodiac spirits. If you want to honor her, you will have to be able to do the same."

"Yes," Lucy agreed.

Natsu and Gray stopped what they were doing as they both noticed the golden glow surrounding Lucy. Capricorn was standing beside her, talking to her as she then summoned Loke. They were all waiting for Aquarius.

"Remember, you can do this," Natsumi said softly. "You're strong Lucy, believe in yourself. Because we believe in you."

"I-I can't," Lucy stuttered as she tried to push magical energy into Aquaruis' golden key. The energy was there, wasn't it?

"Don't hold back, Lucy," Anja spoke up as she noticed the girl a bit further away, frowning.

"We can all feel it, you're holding back," Natsumi whispered softly. "What are you afraid of?"

"I-I c-can't." Lucy stopped and forced the gates of Loke and Capricorn, close. She turned away from the others and ran towards the guild. She had to get away.

"Lucy!" Gray and Natsu shouted and started running after her.

Anja caught Gray. "Let him go after her. They both need the talk."

As Anja let go, Gray gave a tiny nod.

"Did you push her too hard?" Silver asked as he made his way over to Natsumi.

"I-I don't understand. She was doing great one moment… then…"

"It's ok, we'll work it out," Anja said as she gave Natsumi half a hug.

"Ok, Gray. Back to focus!"

Gray groaned. This was going to be a pain.

Oi o.o What happened there? ;)

Hope you liked it : )

Love