Author's note:
Ramble incoming -
Hello, my lovelies! I'm so, so sorry about the impromptu hiatus! It's just. You know how degrees are. There are a lot of assignments to do. And exams. And I figured that since I'm paying a lot of money (and wow it's easily the most expensive whim I've ever had, all thanks to one RT podcast episode) to do this, I want to actually do best I can. On the plus side, all my hard work has paid off, and I've actually passed my first year, and at the top of my class no less, so. Onwards to second year next month! Where the work will be even harder!
Ramble over: Anyway, I technically had this written months ago, but I like having at least two chapters in a queue/backup. So. \_(ツ)_/ I've only just recently edited it though. Really hope this turned out okay!
As Natsu ran down the mostly abandoned hallways, striking down any unfortunate Phantom wizard that happened to be in the way, he was continuously listening out for Lucy. Distantly, he could hear her screaming, but it sounded muffled, as though he was hearing it from several rooms away. The thought that someone was causing a comrade of his pain, pain enough to scream like she had done, made his blood boil.
"Natsu?" Happy asked tentatively, gliding a touch lower so he was almost level with Natsu's face. Natsu hummed to show he was listening, and Happy continued, "What're you gonna do when we find her?"
Without thinking, he let out a small snarl, and Natsu replied, "I'm gonna burn whoever's hurting her to ash." A beat, punctuated by the sound of frantic footsteps, then, "I'll burn the whole guild down. Nobody messes with Fairy Tail."
Happy said nothing, but Natsu could feel the nervousness emanating from him, like a beacon of light. He ignored it, though, in favour of running. When it came down to it, he knew Happy wouldn't object to him turning whoever was hurting Lucy into a pile of ashes. Suddenly, another loud scream sounded out, louder than the others, causing Natsu's ears to twitch. At the same time, he caught Lucy's scent, along with someone else's – he growled as he recognised the other scent. Abruptly, he looked upwards, towards the ceiling, and had his suspicions confirmed. The scents and noise seemed to be coming from almost directly above them. He listened for another moment, trying to pinpoint their location.
"Natsu?" Happy asked worriedly, hovering fretfully next to him. Saying nothing, Natsu gently grabbed hold of Happy, making sure he was secure, and had flames burst out from his feet. Immediately, with an angered yell, they shot upwards towards the ceiling, towards where he could hear Lucy and the iron dragon slayer. The ceiling broke as Natsu's free fist came into contact with it, and the next one rushed down to meet them. On and on they went, Natsu smashing through the ceilings and Happy yelling at him, until finally, when they smashed through another, Natsu caught a glimpse of blonde hair, lying against a wall.
The flames on his feet vanished, and he dropped down to the ground with a thump. From what he could see, Lucy seemed to be holding on, although judging by the bruises and grazes that marred her skin, she seemed to have been the subject of some pretty brutal things as of late. Natsu didn't even bother to try and hide his rage, and he slowly turned to face the other occupant of the room – well, technically there were some other Phantom members there as well, but their magic power levels weren't even a blip to him. As such, he ignored them.
Gajeel laughed. "I guess there is a trick to catching a salamander." He grinned, then said, "I knew I smelled you here."
"Unlike you Phantom creeps, I watch out for my friends," Natsu snarled, small flecks of fire starting to appear over his skin. Behind him, where Lucy was still lying, he could hear Happy talking to her, but he paid them no mind. There were bigger fish to fry, then turn to ashes. "I won't let you lay a finger on her!"
"Natsu," Lucy said quietly, but Natsu ignored her. There would be time for talking later, once he was done with his theoretical fish frying.
"Stay back," he commanded, as gently as he could, given his current rage levels. "This could get ugly." He momentarily glanced over his shoulder. "You too, pal," he added, and Happy nodded, settling down next to Lucy with another worried look on his face.
"Gajeel!" one of the lesser Phantom members said, looking like he wanted to join in on their budding battle as well, but Gajeel smirked, readying his stance.
"This one's mine," he said lowly, launching himself forward in a flying attack. Natsu watched with a flat expression as Gajeel came sailing towards him, waiting until he was seconds away from kicking his face, then disappeared in a flash of flames. With a rush of adrenaline, and something akin to primal excitement rushing through his veins and ears, he reappeared in a split second behind Gajeel.
With a roaring, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" he launched his fire covered fist into Gajeel's unprotected back, and used the momentum that the other slayer had to propel Gajeel forwards. With a blank expression, he watched Gajeel fly forwards, then twist himself around in the air like a cat, and landed in a kneeling position. His nails elongated for a brief moment as they dragged along the floor, leaving large trenches in the stone. He looked up, and whilst there were marks on his face now, he looked no more worse for wear than Natsu himself did.
Natsu hummed thoughtfully. "You're more durable than I thought," he said tonelessly, fire idly spreading up his arms. "Maybe I'll actually get a challenge for once."
Gajeel grinned, straightening back up and cracking his knuckles. "This might actually be fun," he mused idly, before launching his arm forward. It immediately elongated into an iron club, and he swung it towards Natsu. In response, Natsu dodged to the side, grabbed hold of it and leapt up into the air, spinning them around and throwing Gajeel against the opposite wall. Gajeel planted his feet into the wall, causing a giant, splintering crater to appear in the stone, and held up the club as Natsu flew at him, body engulfed in flames.
The resultant explosion of the two elements going against one another sent a shockwave through the room, shaking the ground. The insignificant other Phantom members immediately started shouting unintelligibly, scurrying about in an attempt to get away from the battle ground.
Gajeel pushed himself up from the wall, kicking at Natsu as he twisted in the air, and Natsu let out a grunt of surprise as the hit actually connected with his stomach. Almost instantly, a dull ache spread across his torso, but nothing that couldn't be ignored. Growling in retaliation, Natsu pulled his fist back, and shot it forwards, fire engulfing it like a comet. It struck Gajeel across the cheek and eye, and there was something far too satisfying in the way Natsu felt the bones beneath his knuckles crunch, the way Gajeel shot across the room like a goddamn shooting star and ploughed into the wall on the other side of the room and causing dust and debris to rain down around them.
Maybe the demon in his heart was getting a bit too much enjoyment out of this, but Natsu couldn't bring himself to care. Not when the one responsible for Levy, Jet, Droy, and Lucy's injuries was within punching range.
"Fire Dragon's Talons!" he yelled, launching himself across the room with flames shooting out of his feet. Teeth bared in frustration, he kicked at Gajeel again, and as his flames came into contact with the iron club again, another fiery shockwave shot outwards. The entire room seemed to be getting warmer just from that alone, which suited Natsu just fine. The warmer, the better. Gajeel grinned, and, like a self-destruct button had just been pressed, a wave of grey magic exploded from his arm, and Natsu found himself flying backwards, thoroughly surprised.
He landed a few feet away, half crouching with his nails digging trenches into the ground, just as Gajeel had done, and he smirked. Wordlessly, he drew his arm upwards, then slammed it down with such force that the ground beneath his fist shattered into a small crater. Fire coursed down his arm, sinking into the ground. Less than seconds later, they reappeared where Gajeel was picking himself up, bursting out of the ground like a twisted, hellish geyser. Gajeel dove sideways to avoid it. Strictly speaking, that tactic wasn't exactly slayer magic, but Gajeel was a dragon slayer. Like Natsu, he had the durability of a dragon, and could handle it.
Slowly, Natsu straightened up, not taking his eyes off of his opponent. Gajeel did the same, his eyes darting around as though expecting more geysers of fire to shoot up out of the ground.
"For being fairy scum," he said conversationally, hand going to his jaw and cracking it, "you sure are cocky."
Natsu growled, a stream of smoke shooting out of his nose in the process. "You're the scum here, pal," he replied, biting back the urge to just be done with the fight and destroy everything around him. "You beat up Lucy." His tone turned darker, fire spreading outwards to his fists and arms. "I'm gonna make sure to return the pain a thousand times over, starting with melting that iron face of yours."
Gajeel laughed, cracking his shoulders and back. "Sounds like fun." The grin sharpened, his fangs flashing. "So give it a shot!"
At the same time, they both took off running, and leapt at each other. Gajeel had transformed his arm into the iron club again, and Natsu smashed his fist into it, determined to shatter him into scraps of iron. He heard Gajeel land, then a kick immediately come flying towards him. Natsu turned and moved to the side, just enough to dodge the kick, and leapt up onto the iron club, using it as a platform to launch himself into the air. He then used his flames to propel himself forward, and smashed his fist into Gajeel's face.
Another wave of grey magic hit him, and the two slayers were sent flying apart. Natsu stood up, and noticed that Gajeel had traded his iron club for a different weapon. This time, his arm looked as though it was a sword, with spikes protruding from the edges of it, and coloured the same grey as the magic he wielded.
"That's a pretty gnarly toy you've got there," Natsu commented idly, nodding at the sword, and Gajeel grinned, raising it up slightly.
"This is the Iron Dragon's Sword," Gajeel said, and the spikes on it began moving at a pace so fast, not even Natsu's eyes could keep up with it, and eventually blurred into a dangerous looking halo. "Anything it touches is torn to shreds!" The sword made a noise, as though agreeing with Gajeel. "I thought I'd give you an up-close demonstration!"
Natsu hummed. "Nice," he said, a touch flatly. "I'm so scared."
Gajeel cackled, sounding as though he'd lost it along with the iron club, and immediately launched forwards. The sword swung forwards, heading towards Natsu, and Natsu transported himself a few feet away, watching with a bored expression. Where he had been standing seconds before, the sword had created yet another crater in the ground, the spikes still moving at that unintelligibly fast pace. After watching for a moment, he grinned darkly.
"Flash," he murmured, swiping his hand down, and a small, spark-like flame appeared where his hand had stopped, and immediately sailed further into the air. After a second, it exploded, and everyone in the room started yelling, incoherent panic in their voices. Taking advantage of their momentary blindness – the result of using that particular Curse – Natsu quickly transported himself again, this time behind Gajeel, and proceeded to punch him in the back again, fists aflame. Gajeel shot forward, but managed to stop himself from flying into the wall by digging his fingers into the ground.
A retaliatory swing of the lethal-looking sword came Natsu's way again, and he leapt up into the air to avoid being skewered by it. He glanced down, and saw that Gajeel was grinning again.
"What's the matter, Salamander?" he asked, swinging the sword at him again. "Are you scared?" Natsu didn't reply, landing a few feet away. "I've gotta give you credit for being such a nimble little fairy, though."
Natsu regarded him with a cool look that felt out of place with his current mood. "And you're more durable than I thought you'd be," he replied, repeating his words from before.
Gajeel smirked, and a green magic circle appeared below him. "You ain't seen nothing yet." Before Natsu's eyes, Gajeel's skin slowly turned iron-grey, and light shone off of it, accentuating the scale pattern. Natsu tilted his head, interest piqued. The magic circle vanished, and Gajeel was left with his entire body covered in what looked like iron armour. "Are you ready, fairy?!" he yelled, and Natsu gave a grin, eyes darkening.
"Come," was all he said in response, raising his body temperature and the temperature of his fire. Gajeel leapt forwards, almost roaring,
"Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!" Gajeel yelled, smashing his iron-covered fist towards Natsu. Natsu raised an arm, in a mockery of what Gajeel had been doing earlier with the iron club, and Gajeel's fist slammed into it. Instead of flying backwards like most wizards would, though, Natsu remained standing, as though nothing had touched him. Gajeel looked stunned that they were even able to be in a stalemate.
"You're not the only one who can do that," Natsu commented, voice somehow flat as before, yet teasing on mockery. A fire, starting in the arm locked in the stalemate, started to spread across his body, engulfing every inch of him. He could even see flames flickering in the edges of his vision. He pushed back slightly, raising his body heat a bit more, and growled, "Fire melts metals."
Gajeel kicked at him, swiping his legs at Natsu's knees, and retorted, "Your puny flames are no match for my iron!" He shoved back, as though to prove a point about his iron. "This ain't normal iron!"
"And this ain't normal fire, either!" Natsu snapped back, Calling upon his latent Etherious strength – strength that was normally hidden for the sake of people around him – he drew his fist back, and launched it and himself forward, smashing it against Gajeel's face. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" The fire on his opposite hand suddenly flared up, and he brought his hands together, and slammed them into Gajeel's chest, sending him flying into the wall. Natsu stared for a moment as Gajeel straightened up, a predatory gleam in his eyes, and remarked, "You sure I can't crack that armour?" Gajeel frowned, then, looking confused, and Natsu nodded towards his arm. "You sure you don't feel a draft?"
As if on cue, the armour shattered – small, shining pieces of iron falling off of him like a sharper version of snow and ash. Gajeel looked like he couldn't formulate words for a long moment, but turned back to Natsu. The fight was still there in his eyes, and Natsu took a couple of steps forward. "I won't be losing to you," he said quietly, hyper-aware of the eyes on him. His expression shifted, ever so slightly. "Not whilst I have my friends with me. Not whilst I'm fighting for them."
Natsu stared around the large room of the building he'd walked into, partially out of wonder and partially out of self-consciousness. Humans of every age were sitting around him, most paying him no mind as he slowly made his way through the assorted tables and chairs. Sitting on a wooden bar on the other side of the room was a short, older man, drinking something that smelled nauseating. Taking a breath, Natsu made his way over to him, keeping his eyes to the ground.
The old man noticed him approaching, put his drink down, and smiled at him. "Hello, there!" he said cheerfully, and Natsu reluctantly raised his head. "How can I help you, young man?"
Natsu opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying to come up with the right words. "Is this a wizard's guild?" he asked instead, glancing around again. A couple of the humans were looking at him in interest, now, but Natsu himself paid them no mind. There were more important things to do.
"Yep!" the old man replied, jumping down off the bar and standing next to him. He seemed even shorter when standing next to Natsu, he idly noted. "This is Fairy Tail, and I'm the master of this guild." He gave Natsu a strange look, almost knowing. "Do you have magic?" At Natsu's befuddled look, he explained, "I can sense your magic power. It's very different to everyone else's here." Another look, curious this time, then, "What sort of magic do you use?"
"Dragon slayer magic," Natsu replied, and the master's eyes widened slightly.
"Now that's a magic I've not seen or heard of for a long time," he mused, giving Natsu another curious look.
"I – yes. Right," Natsu stuttered out, feeling a bit flustered. He took another deep breath to try and calm himself. "I'm looking for my dad. I was wondering if you could help me find him?"
"That depends." The guild master jumped back up onto the bar and stared at Natsu, idly twirling his staff. "Who is he?"
"Igneel." At the blank look he received, he elaborated, "The Fire Dragon King."
The master's eyes widened, yet again, and he leaned forward, surveying Natsu with interest. "A dragon, huh?" he asked, looking away for a moment in thought. "There haven't been any dragon sightings for centuries…" Natsu's face fell, the thought of no one having seen his father sending a strange pang through his chest. "Although, I'm sure that if you stuck around with us, you'd be sure to hear if he shows up!" the master quickly added on, gesticulating wildly. "After all, a guild is where everyone takes on jobs. We'd know immediately if there was a dragon sighting."
"I – " Natsu compulsively looked around, and found a few more people watching them. One of them, a boy around his age, was watching curiously, dark eyes glinting under dark hair. Natsu noted that for whatever reason, he was missing all of his clothes, bar his underwear. He paused, and tried again. "I – "
How could he put into words the reason why he couldn't join the guild, without revealing what he was?
The master narrowed his eyes for a moment, before the expression softened. He jumped down from the bar again, this time bringing the cup of whatever liquid he'd been nursing before. "How about we talk somewhere private?" he suggested, tone gentle, and Natsu wordlessly nodded. The master began to make his way through the tables, and Natsu hesitantly followed him, ignoring the eyes on him, and followed him up the stairs to a small room in the corner. He then cautiously sat, watching the master move his hand over the door. A strange golden glow filled the room for a second, then faded as quickly as it started.
"So the nosy brats can't hear us," he said, noticing Natsu's befuddled expression. Natsu slowly nodded, watching the master make his way around the desk, and sit on the other side. Once settled, with the cup of disgusting liquid in front of him, the master leaned forward, hands clasped together. "Now, is there something troubling you?"
The tone of voice he used, even just his general demeanour, reminded Natsu so much of Igneel – and even Zeref, to an extent – that it sent another strange pang through his chest. He swallowed, took a deep breath to try and calm himself, and replied, "I can't join your guild…" He wanted to, though. He paused, breath coming out in stutters, then, "I shouldn't join your guild."
"Why do you think that?" the master asked, leaning forward a bit more, a softly inquisitive look on his face. Natsu couldn't meet his eyes, looking down at his hands, twisting in his lap.
"You wouldn't want me to join your guild," he said, voice quiet. He squeezed his eyes shut for a long moment, and heard the non-committal hum from the other side of the desk.
"I don't see why I wouldn't want you to join Fairy Tail," the master said, voice frank, and Natsu looked up again. He opened his mouth, not sure entirely what he was going to say, but any words died away almost instantly. "You seem like a nice kid, with plenty of magic power to spare." He gave Natsu a look that he couldn't read. "I've been told that I'm a good judge of character."
"I'm a demon!" Natsu blurted out, before quickly shutting his mouth. He didn't know why he suddenly admitted it, other than trying to convince this old man why he couldn't join his guild. Maybe it was because talking to him felt like he was talking to Igneel, that even being here was making the hole in his heart feel less empty. He slid as far down in his seat as he could go, and added on, "A demon of Zeref." He chanced a look up, and the old man was watching him. Instead of fear or disgust, though, he instead found something that looked horribly close to acceptance, and Natsu felt that strange twinge again. Why didn't the old man get it? "Zeref is my brother," he finally ground out, in an attempt to make him see reason. He closed his eyes, waiting for the fear, the anger, the disgust that seemed to follow him wherever he went.
"So?" Natsu's eyes snapped open, shock reverberating through him at the steady calm he heard in the master's voice, the unending kindness in his eyes. "In Fairy Tail, it doesn't matter what someone is, where they came from, or even the strength of their magic." He paused, and a serious glint passed through his eyes. "What matters is the strength and compassion in their hearts, their ability to love." Natsu stared, words taken from him. "You said you were looking for your father. That, to me, shows that you have a lot of love in your heart." Natsu stayed silent, and the master got up from his chair, walked around the desk and stood in front of Natsu. "I can't guarantee being able to find your father," he admitted, and Natsu looked down. "But here, we're a family, and we'll certainly try our hardest to help you find him."
Hope was starting to rise, something he hadn't felt since he was with Igneel. He slowly, and cautiously, looked up. The master was still looking at him with the kind, wise eyes. "Will you join us?" After a moment, Natsu wordlessly nodded, and the old man smiled, holding out a hand. "Welcome to Fairy Tail, my boy."
Natsu lit his fists on fire again, the tendrils of flame flickering up to his elbows, and he took another step forward.
It had been a year since he'd first joined the strange guild known as Fairy Tail, ever since he'd thrown his theoretical caution to the wind. To Natsu's surprise, the other humans – people, he mentally chided himself – in the guild had been much like the master, Makarov, when they were told about his being a demon. A few words, a couple of comments, and then nothing was ever said. The strange kid that Natsu had seen on his first day, the stripping one, seemed to have a thing about fighting him, but the red-haired girl usually put an end to that.
He'd become friends with an older teenager, Laxus, bonding over the fact that certain members of their families had bad reputations – his father had been kicked out of the guild for endangering his fellow guild mates, months before Natsu had joined. And Natsu could understand all about family members endangering others. Their other pivotal bonding experience was over the fact that they were both dragon slayers, although Laxus wasn't allowed to talk about it openly.
Natsu often wondered if Igneel would be proud of him. Whether or not Zeref would be happy that he'd found friends all on his own.
The tapping of a wooden staff behind him made him turn around. Makarov – or Gramps, as he'd recently taken to calling the old man – was leaning on his staff, looking at him with a pensive expression. After a moment, he walked forward, and stopped next to Natsu.
"It's hard to believe it's been a year since you joined us," Gramps said idly, glancing at Natsu with an expression he couldn't read. "The time has really flown, wouldn't you say?" Natsu hummed absently in agreement. The companionable silence stretched on for another moment, before Gramps asked, "Being in the guild – do you enjoy it?"
It was a simple question, yet it felt like it was incredibly weighted. Natsu let out a breath, then decided to say the first thing that came to mind. "Yeah," he answered, and was surprised by how much he meant it. He couldn't help but smile.
His expression shifted into something blank, but the eyes were narrowed. "I will never stop fighting for my guild," he said, and without warning, he launched himself forward, fuelled by his simmering rage, the bonds he felt in his heart. With a roar, he yelled out, "Fire Dragon's Retribution!" His fist smashed into the centre of Gajeel's torso, and a large explosion of red and orange flames erupted from the impact. For a second, beyond the flames, nothing seemed to happen, but then Gajeel was sent flying backwards. He landed against the wall, and slowly slid down to the ground.
Natsu slowly made his way over, and observed that the iron armour that Gajeel had created over his skin had been completely obliterated in the attack. From the looks of things, he wouldn't be getting up again any time soon. Humming, he turned back around, and stared at the damage he'd accidentally caused with the last attack. The ceiling had been entirely blown away, and in the middle of the room, where there had been a vast expanse of floor, there was now a giant hole. Natsu was amused to see that the hole extended to the room below them, that he could see two floors down without actually moving.
"Ah…" He looked up at the sound of a whimper, and saw that the lesser Phantom members were still mulling around, staring at him with wide-eyed expressions. Upon his look, one of them squeaked out, "We surrender!"
He stared at them for another moment, then sent a jet of flame flying towards them. They immediately scurried from the room, yelping incoherently as they faded from his range of hearing. With a sigh, Natsu turned to Lucy and Happy.
"Hey," he said quietly, kneeling down next to them and looking at Lucy. "You okay?"
Lucy's eyes were wide, as well, but unlike the lesser Phantom members, she didn't look scared. She didn't seem any more worse for wear than she had been when he'd found her, though, which was good. She nodded, giving a small smile. "Yeah," she replied, and despite himself, Natsu breathed out a sigh of relief.
"We should probably get out of here," he said, motioning to the room around them – or, more accurately, what was left of it. "The room's probably gonna collapse."
"And whose fault is that?" Lucy replied flatly as he helped her up. She gave him an unimpressed look, and gestured around them as well. "You went overboard!"
Natsu didn't reply to that, busy manoeuvring everyone into an area where he could safely get them away. His ears twitched as he vaguely heard the sounds of shifting bricks and supports nearby, a tell-tale sign that the room would definitely be collapsing any time now. In the corner of his eye, he spotted Gajeel, still out cold on the floor, and he swallowed. Before anyone could say anything, he ran over to him, and carefully draped his arm around his shoulder, walking back over to Lucy and Happy.
"Why're we taking him with us?" Happy asked, pointing a paw at the unconscious Gajeel.
"I'd feel bad if we didn't," Natsu tried to shrug, as best he could with a heavy dragon slayer's dead weight on his shoulders. "I know I beat him, but I don't want him to die." Before they could say anything else, Natsu quickly activated the transport spell, the familiar dark magic circle appearing beneath them for a second before flames wrapped around them. The room disappeared from view, and within seconds, they were looking at the room where Natsu, Gray, and Mira had come across Erza.
"Lucy! Natsu!" came a voice, and Natsu spun around, nearly dropping Gajeel. Mira and Gray were running towards them, looking worried and relieved to see them. Breathing out in relief at seeing them unharmed, Natsu put down Gajeel – not exactly gently, but not being deliberately violent, either – and walked over with Lucy and Happy to greet them.
"Hey," he greeted, waving a hand. "Is everyone okay?"
Mira nodded. "Yeah," she replied, hands clasped together. "No one's been this way, and Erza woke up a bit ago." She smiled slightly. "She wasn't very happy about the amount of explosions we heard."
"Erza's awake?" Natsu asked, focusing on that. When he'd left the room before, to go and find Lucy, Erza had been unconscious, and he knew that she had multiple injuries from the Jupiter cannon. He looked around again, and this time noticed Erza, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall, but looking quite alert. She gave him a nod, regarding him coolly. He let out a sigh of relief. "That's good."
Erza smiled slightly, looking down. "I never wanted you to see me in such a wretched state," she admitted, clenching her fists for a moment before relaxing them again. "I suppose I still have a long way to go."
No sooner than a few seconds after she said that, Natsu became aware of another presence in the room. It set the hairs on the back of his neck on end, sent goosebumps coursing down his skin and making it itch uncontrollably. From the looks on everyone else's faces, they sensed it as well – the overwhelming presence and stench of what could only be described as death. It was so palpable, it felt as though it could be sliced with one of Erza's swords, choking tendrils of cold and fear wrapping around them.
"What the…" Gray trailed off, his eyes wide as he stared straight ahead.
"What is this?" Lucy asked, rubbing her hands down the tops of her arms. She was shaking, slightly, though whether or not from the oppressive cold feeling, Natsu didn't know. Mira had one hand over her nose and mouth, as though it was choking her like smoke.
"Death is here," Natsu growled out, thoroughly on edge. His fists clenched, his entire body felt taut like a bow, but he didn't dare move.
"I don't like this," Happy said quietly, drifting over to Natsu's hair and slowly sitting on it. Natsu could feel the small, almost-invisible trembles Happy was letting out.
"Whatever this is, it's pure evil," Mira added, the words coming out muffled from behind her hand. Natsu had to agree with her on that. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but the closest thing he'd felt to this feeling was being around the other demons of Zeref. Hell, he couldn't even remember Zeref's presence being so overwhelmingly evil, and he was repeatedly mentioned to be the darkest wizard that ever lived. A moment of loaded silence filled the room –
Then the sound of clapping, loud in the oppressive silence, and all of them whirled around to face whoever had appeared in the room with them. As soon as his eyes landed on them, Natsu felt his heart jump up to his throat. Phantom Lord's master, José, was standing on the other side of the room, cloaked in a dark mist that seemed to cling to him. Natsu felt his heart sink, from his throat and right down through the floor and back to Hell to see Mard Geer. He might have fought demons like Deliora and won before, but Natsu could feel his magic power levels – he had enough to take on a strong wizard, yes, but José Porla was a Wizard Saint. A wizard, magically speaking, who was in the same league as Gramps.
Natsu glanced towards the still-unconscious Gajeel, unceremoniously dumped in a corner. The strong attacks, both the, for lack of a better term, fire geyser, and Retribution, had both taken a lot of power from him, both magic and otherwise.
"Bravo," José said amicably, still clapping. "I'm impressed, my Fairy Tail wizards. You're all quite keen." He smiled at them, no warmth in the expression. "I knew that this would be entertaining, but I didn't know it would be this entertaining." Natsu, out of the corner of his eye, saw Lucy edging away from the crazy guild master, almost getting behind Natsu in the process. "You annihilated the Jupiter cannon," José continued, glancing at Natsu in what seemed like almost-interest, "disposed of my elite Element Four and dragon slayer, and you even managed to bring my Giant to its knees." He held his hands out at his sides, like a statue posing.
"Master José!" Erza exclaimed, and the others all took a collective step backwards.
"This creep is Phantom's master?!" Gray demanded, arms shaking and fists clenched.
"It's like there's a cloud of malice hanging over him," Mira said softly, hand still over her mouth. "I feel sick just being near him!"
"Thank you, you've been so kind to entertain me," José said, spreading his hands out further, as though making a great speech. "I simply must return the favour."
Then he smiled, wider still, and Natsu felt another chill run through his bones. For once, as he stared at the crazed smile, at the predatory gleam in the Phantom master's eyes, he didn't feel like the hunter in the room.
Author's note: So, that was Natsu vs Gajeel. I really hope that was okay. I know it took a while to actually post, and like I said, I'm really sorry about that!
So, pretty recently I've made a new tumblr, and I'm hoping to use it to post fics and such to in the future (obviously along with here). Right now, I'm posting this story on there, because I'm super proud of it, and it's honestly become my favourite thing to write, but hopefully I'll be able to post little one-shots and such. And maybe you even could throw me an ask about this au if you ever get bored or curious, or even throw out prompts to write? I don't know. Obviously, you don't have to do any of that - this was more of a 'hey, by the way, I'm doing this now, so if you're interested...' thing \_(ツ)_/ so if you're interested, the new tumblr is abbzeh.
Anyway, as I said before I started rambling and getting off track, hopefully, this was okay, so please let me know your thoughts! :)