Hello once again readers, my name is Windbear and I'm bringing you chapter 21 of Only Time Can Heal a Dragons Heart, I hope you've enjoyed the beginning of the finale of this story and my triumphant return to finally finish the story that began my journey in Fanfiction. I actually began this chapter not long after the update of the last one, but I never finished and I never returned...until now!
I don't own Fairy Tail but I do own my plot and OC's
Chapter 21: Battle of Dragons Part 1
"My next opponent? What the hell are you talking about?" Natsu demanded
"He will be here in a matter of time, I suggest you prepare" the man said before yet another wave of darkness pulsed from the man, and before Natsu could react, he felt his vision darkening.
With Fairy Tail
The ship had just came into dock at the island, the original plan to have the participants race to the shore forgotten, as soon as thye got withing range of the island, every mage could feel that something was off.
"I want every one of you to search the island, find any intruders and take care of them" Makarov ordered but before anybody could act on said orders, little Wendy spotted something on shore.
"Dear god, Master, on the shore! Its Gildarts!" Wendy cried out in alarm, and in a split second, all heads snapped to the location she spoke about, and true she was, there laid Gildarts, Fairy Tails ace, unconscious on the shore, from this distance they couldn't quite make out his condition, but they could guess it wasn't good.
Every mage rushed to his side, and as soon as they approached they could see what state he was in. His skin was severely but not fatally burned, his clothing was almost non-existent, and after an examination, he had many broken bones, and mild concussion.
"Gildarts!" said Makarov as he tried to stir the crash mage
"Master, let me" Wendy stepped in with her healing magic at hand, with little protest from anyone.
"What kind of monster would be able to do this?" asked Lucy
"Gildarts himself was a monster, so anyone able to beat him this badly has to be a monster of monsters" added Gray
After about 30 minutes of healing, Gildarts finally stirred. Instantly he sprang to his feet and jumped into a battle position, thankfully, he didn't accidentally use his crash magic.
"Wha-? Wh-Where am I? What happened?" Gildarts asked
"We found you here on the shore, you were in a horrible state, luckily Wendy here managed to heal up most of your worst injuries" Makarov explained
Gildarts looked over at the Dragon Slayer and could see that she was wiped of energy.
"My thanks. But Anyway, Master, Tenrou Island has been invaded, some dark guild is here looking for something, and that's not even the worst part... Natsu is with them" Gildarts said as he looked down with shadowed eyes, and his fists tightened.
Dead silence swept over the group, until mutters of disbeleif and denial erupted.
"Flame Brain? No way, he'd never join some dark guild. Not in a million years"
"Why? Why would he join a dark guild?"
Lucy just stood there in silence as she stared at the ground.
"Gildarts, how do you know? Did you see him with them?" Makarov asked
"Because... Natsu was the one to defeat me" Gildarts said, refusing to look up.
All the murmurs ceased at that.
"Gildarts... you couldn't possibly mean... our Natsu? He beat you in fair combat? How is such a thing even possible, the last time we was him, he couldn't even fight Erza, and even she couldn't compare to you" Makarov asked incredulously
"You should have seen him, man, that kid is really something, he went toe to toe with me right off the bat, and it didnt take long before he decided to end it, and I didn't stand a chance" Gildarts said, with undisguised pride in his voice, despite the situation at hand, he was so god damn proud of that little fire ball.
"But why, why would he even fight you so seriously? That dark guild couldn't be making him do this could they?" asked Wendy
"No. When I first got here I knew something was wrong, there were people here that didn't belong, so I hunted them down. That's how Natsu found me, he tracked me down, he said that I hurt his friends, and that I had to pay, despite our past, its the same Natsu we all know after all. When he found me I was going up against some bear guy, he was pretty strong in his own regard, but no match for me. I could tell Natsu was particularly close to this one, seeing as how that was the breaking point fo him."
"And then you two fought?" asked Grey
"Yeah, it started of just fists, but we were about even, then he pushed me to use magic, I was able to nulify his first magic attack, but the next one got me an dput me out of commission. Im pretty sure he didn't even go all out" Gildarts confessed
"Dear god, how the bloody fucking hell did he get this strong!?" Grey cried out in anguish, all hopes of catching up to Natsu destroyed.
"I have no clue, but this goes beyond Natsu, there is a dark guild on this Island, I took out most of them, but I missed two of them, not counting the bear guy I never finished"
"So what then? What the hell do we do?" asked Grey
"We need to eliminate every last threat on this Island, then we can deal with Natsu"
"Hey wait. If Gildarts is here, then where are Erza and Mira?" asked Lucy, finally speaking up.
All eyes widened in realization, they had no idea.
The Grimoire Heart Base Ship
Erza and Mira kneeled on the ground, chained and magically drained.
Bluenote and Zancrow stood behind them while Master Hades approached them.
"Well look at this, two little fairies, captured. How quaint" Hades announced before erupting into a fit of maniacal laughter.
"Bluenote! I have some things to do down on Tenrou, so you're coming with me. Zancrow! When I get back, I don't want to a single inch of unmarked skin on these two girls bodies! Understood?
Bluenote just sighed while Zancrow's eyes flashed blue for a split second and his expression turned wildly sadistic.
"Good, I can see you are raring to go. Let's go stinger." Hades ordered before he and Bluenote disappeared in a flash of light.
"Looks like you to are about to see the wrath of a god!" Zancrow said before lighting his fists with his black fire.
Erza and Mira look ed to each other before looking back at Zancrow with stoic but determined eyes.
"Stupid Fairies!" Zancrow said before raising his fist.
Nova had just returned from leaving Gildarts at the beach to find Natsu unconsious on the ground and the ground and plants around him blackened and dead.
Nova let out a worrisome cry before swooping down to Natsu's side.
Nova nudged Natsu with his nose and turned him onto his back. Natsu's eyes weakly opened and his drake companion let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey Nova..." Natsu said before climbing weakly on the drakes back.
"God damn, my legs are so weak" Natsu groaned as he finally pulled himeslf up.
"Lets get back to the base ship, see who else is there and try to regroup" Natsu stated and Nova started running before he took off into the sky towards the air ship.
With Fairy Tail
"I can't sense their magical energies at all!" cursed Gray
"How the hell are we supposed to find them?" asked Wendy
"The are either concealing their own energy, or someone else is" Makarov replied
"So either they're hiding, or they've been captured" Stated Lucy worriedly
"Don't worry, i'm sure they are fine, Natsu was the only strong mage I encountered on the island, there were two others I had yet to get to, but considering the rest of their crew, I doubt they were much. And besides, I doubt Natsu would hurt them, unless they hurt one of his friends first and he walked in on them doing it like he did to me" spoke Gildarts with a slight laugh at the end.
"But still..." stated Lucy
"There's nothing we can do, but for now, I want everyone to stay in groups and search the Island for Natsu, or any intruders, if you find Natsu, bring him here, if you find an intruder, end them." Stated Makarov, and every mage nodded.
"For FAIRY TAIL!" they cheered as they rose their right hand and extended their thumb and index finger.
Zancrow was slightly panting as he steped back to get a better look at his handiwork.
Both Mira and Erza were bloody and bruised, Erza's left eye was swollen, and she had several gashes on her face and dozens covering her body, and Mira was no better, while both her eyes were open, she had double the cuts Erza had and she would definitely be bleeding out if the wounds hadn't been cauterized on contact.
Zancrow once again started laughing maniacally.
Man, you two broads are just so much fun to beat the shit out of, almost as much as Dragonshit. Oh, but you wouldn't know him by that name now would you, Salamander, FlameBrain... Natsu" Zancrow said as he gauged their reactions
Both Miras eyes and Erza's good eye opened widly in shock. This guy knew Natsu?
"How the hell do you know Natsu?" Erza demanded
"Shut up bitch!" Zancrow said before he apeared before he planted his fist in her stomach and she coughed out some blood.
"Fuck off" She stated
"Where is he!?" Mira asked angrily
"Didn't I just say to shut up!?" Zancrow cursed
Zancrow stepped over to her and grabed a fistful of her hair and pulled back his other arm.
But before he could do anything, the door to the room opened up and Natsu stepped through.
"Shit" He cursed.
Natsu's eyes stared on in shock as he took in what was going on.
Instantly, his shock turned to rage.
Erza and Mira looked behind them and saw Natsu there, they almost shed tears they were so happy, but they were stopped as the temperature in the room rose dramatically.
"Just leave Natsu, Hades ordered this, and besides, i'm having fun" Zancrow said as he released Mira's hair and his sadistic grin once again rose
No response was heard, just a low growling, Natsu's eyes were shadowed by his hair.
"What's wrong Dragonshit? Cant bear to see your old friends in pain. Well to ba-" Zancrow was cut off as Natsu appeared in front of him in a flash of fire and speed, with his fist planted straight into Zancrows face.
Zancrow was sent flying with tremendous force into the metal wall behind him.
Natsu remained there with his fist extended.
"How dare you. How dare you hurt my friends! Natsu demanded in a blind rage
"Fuck you Natsu. I was really having fun. Now I gotta deal with you first" Zancrow said as he climbed out of the dent in the wall.
Natsu stood his ground a few feet in front of Mira and Erza, his eyes glowing red as an inferno shrouded his form, leaving nothing but a silhouette.
"You don't scare me! You lowly stupid lizard!" Zancrow screamed before rushing at Natsu and appearing in front of him with his fist planted in his face.
The fire around Natsu died out instantly, but Natsu barely moved, the only proof of Zancrows punch making contact was the slight impression on Natsu's cheek.
Natsu grabbed Zancrow's wrist and snapped it.
Zancrow cried out in pain, but he didn't have long to worry about it as Natsu forced his other fist into Zancrow's Stomach, making him cough up blood as he fell to his knees.
Zancrow tried to summon up his fire, but for some reason he couldnt. The mere presence of Natsu in front of him made him powerless.
Pure, blind, undiluted rage is all that seeped out of Natsu. But there was no fire, there was no screaming or roaring. Just waves of soul piercing anger.
As Mira and Erza watched on, they fought to keep consciousness under the pressure of Natsu's anger.
Natsu released his grip on Zancrow's wrist and took a step back.
Natsu drew back, and the air around his fist twisted and churned.
Natsu's fist was a blur of speed as one second it was behind Natsus head, and the next is was extended straight in front of him as Zancrow made devastating impact with the wall several dozen metres away.
Natsu slowly turned around to face Erza and Mira, for a second, they let out a breath of relief, till they choked on that breath as they realized that Natsu wasn't relenting on the pressure.
"N-Natsu?" Erza stuttered
"Please Natsu...calm down" Mira begged.
But Natsu remained unresponsive. Suddenly, the chains that bound them to the floor heated up red hot before melting, yet only the metal that touched their skin remained cool.
Now free, Mira and Erza crawled back in slight fear.
Natsu just turned his attention from to the wall behind them. He stepped past them and forward to the wall.
Natsu placed his hand on the wall and it exploded outwards now.
Breathing in deeply, he let out a ground shaking roar, letting the entire island know if his presence, and of his current state of mind and mood.
As the roar died down, Natsu took a whiff of the outside air and his head instantly snapped to a specific point on the island, to which he launched off to with fire powered propulsion.
With Fairy Tail
Every Mage heard that roar and every one had the same thought, kind of.
'Natsu'
'Natsu'
'No way i'm going there'
'Natsu'
'Brat... what could have possibly made you so angry?
With Hades and Blue Note
As the resounding roar ceased, Hades and Bluenote looked to each other and up to where the roar came from, the base ship.
"Shit" the both said in unison, before noticing a dot growing in the distance, approaching fast.
"What in blazes is that?"
"You don't think it...?" Blue Note was cut off as something made impact with the ground a few meters in front of them, lifting up a cloud of dust. Before they could do anything, Natsu appeared in place of Bluenote as said man was sent crashing through trees.
"Natsu my boy? Whatever has made you so angry? Don't tell me it was what Zancrow was doing to those Fairies. After all, it wasn't truly his fault, I did cast a spell on him making him want to do it" Hades said as his smile turned sadistic.
Natsu instantly burst into flames as patches of crimson scales started to appear on his body.
Now Natsu, you wouldn't want to do something you'd regret, after all, if you do this, you might never find your father!" Hades said smugly.
Natsu just growled deeply, preparing to fight.
"I can see that this is inevitable, then I must bring out my ultimate power immediately!" Hades announced before he pulled off his eyepatch, and as he opened his eyes, it was glowing red with a black dot as a pupil.
But, in a matter of seconds, his eyes flashed back to his normal eye.
"WHAT!? WHY? HAS SOMETHING HAPPENED TO MY DEMON HEART!?" Hades demanded
'I was never yours Hades, I have chosen a new successor, and he lies before you' Durak sounded within the mind of Hades
"YOU DAMN TRAITOR!" Hades screamed before his attention returned to Natsu who was inhaling deeply with his head tilted back.
Hades let out a cry for help, but his voice was drowned out by the deafening roar of the monstrous inferno that engulfed him, and the entire section of forest behind him.
Hades screamed in pain as he was burned away into nothingness. Once his existence was destroyed, Natsu ceased the roar, before inhaling once again and releasing another roar straight into the sky.
Eventually, the glow in Natsu's eyes faded and he fell to his knees panting.
Once again, all eyes turned to to the deafening sound of Natsu's rage. Except this time, Fairy Tail looked from outside of the Grimoire heart ship, with henchmen littered all around them, as Wendy tended to Mira and Erza's wound.
"Natsu"
"Natsu"
"Damn that guy has a temper, seriously, how the hell does he get so angry"
"My boy, what is going on on this island"
"Damn, if I wasn't still angry over Natsu beating me, that roaring might actually scare me"
Suddenly, the whole Island shook as an entirely new roar resounded, only this one was much more power, and instead of this being a roar of anger, this was an evil roar, a roar of challenge.
Acnologia, the Black Dragon of the Apocolypse had come to challenge the Prince of the Fire Dragon Throne, the child of Igneel. Natsu Dragneel.
There you go guys, another chapter for OTCHADH, I hope you enjoyed it, and yes, Zancrow and Hades were easily defeated, i mean what did you expect, he beat Gildarts. And besides, Hades broke his promise, Natsu was just upholding his promise.
Well thats all for today guys, you can expect several more updates over the course of my christmas break, that is if my job doesnt get too demanding and take up all of my time (I pray to god that they dont and they leave me alone).
And for those lusting for a real fight, because most fights ive given you have been rather barren and ended quickly, I plan to have Natsu's battle with the black Dragon be epic, or at least, as epic as possible.
-WINDBEAR