Sorry, it's a short chapter today. I've been trying to build the tension up enough and not go too fast, but it's killing me slowly! Hopefully it's all worth it and keeping you all excited and eager for the next chapters :) Please shoot me a review, suggestions, comments, I love reading them! And even if you think it's insignificant, it helps me improve my writing greatly! Thanks guys!

Chapter 21

Natsu had been having the same dream for days. Every time he fell asleep, it was the same—the same dream, the same pain. It was like the images were burned into his eyes. He couldn't escape them. He wasn't sleeping well anymore. They were only a few days away from Mildea. He had to get back to Earthland and find Igneel. He needed help…and fast. Happy had noticed his strange behavior. Natsu was more withdrawn, quieter. Dark circles were forming under his slightly red eyes. He could tell his friend was starting to lose it, and that he was scared. But Happy didn't know what to do to help him.

Natsu tossed and turned as he slept. He had tried as hard as he could to stay awake, but he couldn't stop his eyes from closing.

The dream was just as horrible as ever. Arms wrapped around himself, he tried to fight back his dragon magic. Everything hurt! It burned! It felt like his head was splitting in two, like someone was driving a dull metal wedge into his skull until it was cleaved in two. Constraining the rampaging magic felt like electricity was coursing through his entire body, ripping it apart nerve by nerve. He screamed at the top of his voice, his lungs filling with thick smoke. The air was heavy with smoke and ash. He couldn't breathe! His eyes were watering. Acnologia's dark laughter rumbled above him.

You look like you're about to break, Dragon Slayer. It won't be long now.

The ground suddenly shook. A large, scaly red foot slammed down in front of Natsu. The earth trembled and a booming roar rang in his ears. The red dragon crouched low over the trembling Dragon Slayer.

"Be gone, foul beast!" Igneel growled. "Do not come near my son!"

Acnologia chuckled. You're a little late, fire dragon. You cannot stop it.

Natsu screamed. He could feel his bones start to twist out of shape. His arms ached as the skin stretched to accommodate the lengthening limbs. His magic was burning him up from the inside. His skin cracked into tough red scales. Fingernails grew and hardened into sharp talons. His eyes widened in fright.

"H-Help me! Igneel—Dad, help! What do I do?" His voice was shrill and frantic. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

"Fight it, Natsu! You are a Dragon Slayer—you control the magic, not the other way around!" he snarled. "Have you forgotten everything, foolish child?!"

The scales crept up is shoulder, spreading all over his body. Sweat poured down Natsu's neck. He could feel his mind slipping. It was like someone was hitting a glass door with a sledgehammer. It was cracking. Igneel growled, rounding on the black dragon.

"Black Demon, do not touch my son! Release the magic hold you have on Natsu!" He launched at Acnologia.

It felt like the glass barrier in Natsu's mind shattered. His consciousness snapped in an instant. The full dragon transformation took over. Bones twisted and warped to more than double their original size. Large bat-like wings burst from his shoulder blades and a tail sprouted from his tailbone. With an earsplitting roar, he leaped at his father. He pinned the fire dragon to the ground, growling and snarling like a feral beast. Everything in his thoughts was a jumbled mess. The only real thought pulsing in his broken mind was the blood.

Acnologia laughed. The form becomes you, Dragon Slayer.

"Natsu! Fight it! Don't let it control you!" Igneel shouted.

He can't hear you anymore. The boy can't tell friend from foe anymore. Anything—everything, is just prey to him now.

Igneel glowered at the black dragon, baring his sharp fangs. "And so the beast reveals itself."

With a ferocious roar, Natsu struck. His fangs dug deep into the red dragon's neck. The sweet taste of metallic blood filled his mouth before everything went dark.

V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V*

The next thing he realized, Natsu was back at the dark camp. His mind was fuzzy and his vision dark. Shaking his head, he tried to clear his thoughts. His vision swam in and out of focus. Finally he recognized the dull flicker of the campfire and dark shapes of his sleeping companions. The madness of the dream had been so real.

The blue gem on his wristband was glowing brightly. A lot of good the piece of junk was doing! Furious, he grabbed it to rip the useless lump of metal off his wrist.

No! Don't! Igneel's voice rang in his mind. His voice was so loud, it felt as if the dragon was standing behind him. Natsu spun around. But all he saw was his sleeping companions and the dwindling campfire. Don't take it off!

"Igneel?" he whispered.

Whatever you do, don't take it off! If you do, your humanity may never return to you! You'll never go back to being human again.

"Igneel! Help me! What should I do?! I'm so confused…I'm scared!"

His father's voice was silent. Maybe it had been some fluke that he heard the dragon's voice. Or maybe he was so tired he was just hallucinating. Whatever it was, it had sounded real. He stared at the wristband, the glow in the gem already starting to fade. He sighed.

"Natsu?"

He looked up, startled at the sound of the sleepy voice. Happy rubbed his eyes drowsily.

"Natsu, are you okay?" he mumbled.

"Uh…y-yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just…just a nightmare, that's all."

Liar. Natsu never had been very good at lying. "If something's bothering you, you can tell me," Happy said.

"I know. I just haven't been sleeping all that well. The issue with my magic has been keeping me up at night."

"You sure?"

Natsu forced a grin. "Yeah! Don't worry."

"Okay…. Just don't hide stuff from me, kay? Let me help. That's what friends are for."

He nodded. "Okay. Just…go back to sleep."

"Aye…." Happy rolled over and was instantly fast asleep.

Natsu sighed. What was he going to do? The best thing would be to go off by himself once they made it back to Earthland. He had to find Igneel. He needed to get a grip on things before they got too far out of hand. Before he hurt someone he cared about…or worse.

V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V*

As they were packing up camp, Natsu sat up straight. A familiar scent wafted toward him. He glanced around. Nothing but vast plains stretched as far as he could see in every direction. Haru paused as he was loading the gear into the cart.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"I just thought I smelled something familiar."

Happy walked up to him. "Like what?"

Natsu took a deep breath. "Like metal and…." A loud explosion off in the distance filled the air with dirt and debris. "Never mind."

"Surrender, you fools!" A female voice shouted. "You're no match for me!"

Happy's eyes widened. "That sounds like—"

"Erza," Natsu and Gray said in unison.

"Erza? Was that one of your friends?" Haru asked.

Off in the distance, swords glinted in the morning sunlight. More explosions rang in the air. And in a matter of seconds, a legion of Demon Card cronies were stampeding toward them. They were high-tailing it as far away from the armor mage as fast as possible. They didn't even seem to realize Haru and the others were there.

"Woah, look out!" Haru dragged the cart out of the line of danger.

Elie snatched Plue and Griff in her arms and darted out of the way, Ruby stumbling along behind her. Musica leaped out of the way, Natsu and Gray not far behind. Happy flew up above all the commotion. He shielded his eyes with his little paw and squinted. Erza's armor glinted in the sunlight as she stormed toward them.

"I see her! Erza's coming!"

"Wow!" Elie exclaimed. "A real live knight!"

Natsu and Gray sat panting. Natsu wasn't even sure if he was ready for Erza, not after what he had just seen. Chances were, she wasn't in a very good mood. The clinking of metal rang in his ears as a dark shadow loomed over them. Natsu looked up. Shadowed against the sun was a woman clad in armor, her scarlet hair flowing behind her. Hands on her hips, Erza stared down at them.

"What are you idiots doing here?"

"Looking for you," Gray muttered.

"And a way to get back home," Natsu said.

"Oh? What a coincidence. I was just looking for a way back to Earthland myself. I never thought I'd run into you three out here."

"Your armor is so pretty!" Elie said excitedly. "Is that the Heart Kreuz logo? No way! I never knew Heart Kreuz made armor!"

Erza smiled. "Yes. I had it custom made for me. I must say that they were wary at first, but I paid them well enough for it."

"Erza!" Happy cried. "Are you bullying Demon Card?"

"Demon Card? What's that?" she asked, turning to the little blue cat with a smile. "I've never heard of them. Is it another guild?"

"You mean you don't know who those guys were?" Haru said, pointing at the retreating soldiers, a cloud of dust billowing behind them.

"Aren't they another guild? They weren't very strong."

Musica snickered. "She doesn't even know who Demon Card is! Did you really just beat them up without knowing who they were?"

She glared at him. "They wouldn't answer my questions. All I did was ask for directions then they all challenged me to a match. And who are you? You look almost exactly like Gray."

"He does not!" Gray shouted.

Musica frowned. "Like hell!"

Happy laughed. Erza glanced down at Natsu. He looked more haggard and exhausted than she remembered. He had dark circles under his slightly red eyes. He wasn't nearly as lively and loud as usual. "You look terrible, Natsu. Aren't you sleeping?"

He forced a smile. "I'm getting enough sleep."

She frowned, leaning closer to him. "You had better not be lying."

"Like hell!" he growled.

"Where were you headed?" she asked.

"To this city called Mildea," Musica answered. "We're looking for Seig Hart."

"Seig…" she mumbled.

"He's a powerful wizard," Haru said. "I think he can help you all get back home. His hometown is Mildea—the city of time."

"So that's the name of the city. All I heard was there was a city of powerful wizards to the north. So that's where I was headed."

"You didn't know where you were going?" Happy asked.

Erza shook her head. "I heard rumors about it in town, and that was good enough for me."

Gray laughed. "That's Erza for you."

"Crazy woman," Musica murmured.

"Did you say something?" She glared at him.

He chuckled. "No. Nothing at all. So, you gonna be joining our little traveling party too?"

"If Natsu and Gray are with you, then I suppose I should. Where's Lucy?"

Natsu's face darkened. "We haven't found her yet."

"Well…she's bound to show up eventually," Erza said. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. She can take care of herself."

"Well, come one. Let's go!" Gray said, tossing his rolled up blanket in the back of the cart. "We're burning daylight!"

Erza nodded. "I agree. We had better be off soon."

"Aye, sir!"

Natsu trudged toward the cart, not too excited to be riding in the godforsaken wagon again. He hoped they would find Lucy soon. It would put his already troubled mind at ease. But at this point he wasn't sure if it was safer for Lucy if she was with him, or far away from him.

Chapter 22 will be up on Friday!