Hey guys! It's Mslead again! I think we had a bit of confusion over our request for spoilers. You're more than allowed to talk about the chapter, just please don't list spoilers of the story as a whole (guessing is totally fine), just not listing every thing that's happened up until this point. So go ahead, talk to us about the chapter! Just don't spoil the WHOLE story.
Personally, I read reviews for stories before I get into them if they haven't been recommended by a friend. (also there's a filter for spoilers? holy crap I did not know this?)
Also, we're talking about the main story as well. I haven't been keeping up with the manga, so everyone screaming in panic every Monday or Tuesday morning in my inbox is frankly TERRIFYING. (seriously, wat. wat. WAT!?)
Also please don't be rude to Kytrin when she responds to reviews guys. If you don't want a review response, then... review anon? She didn't have to update in my stead while I've been working out my family issues.
For those of you who don't know, my grandma was diagnosed with cancer and we've been making the transition to have her live with us. Updating this fic hasn't been a priority for me but Kytrin has really stepped up to the plate. So please, show her a shred of respect for carrying on. She did it for you guys, so please be kind?
THIS FIC UPDATES ONCE EVERY THREE DAYS: Post, Break, Break, Post!
CHAPTER 29
Dragon
a mythical monster like a giant reptile. In European tradition the dragon is typically fire-breathing and tends to symbolize chaos or evil, whereas in East Asia it is usually a beneficent symbol of fertility, associated with water and the heavens.
To say their trip through the railroad was interesting was an understatement of the most severe kind.
Not only was it crippling dark through the tunnels, to such a degree that Natsu had to light a path, they had to fend off low level demons and monsters at every turn.
It wasn't as bad as it would have been though. Natsu roared angrily at several monsters that came too close, asserting himself in a bloody way that was the only way the monsters could understand at times. Though it was far from perfect. Several of the monsters had formed packs within the tunnels, and as they walked, they were stalked from behind and above by the creatures that wanted a piece of them.
The most dangerous time was when Natsu was asleep. While it was true he didn't sleep much, he did require rest from time to time, and that was unfortunately when the monsters were more likely to attack them.
They kept watch in turns to help give him a chance to rest, although there were a few times where Natsu had nodded off on his watch and found that a demon dog had dragged him halfway down the rails to try and separate him from the others.
"How much further do we have to go?" Lucy asked quietly near the end of their long journey as they watched the monsters around them warily. It was extremely unnerving to constantly be surrounded even if the monsters themselves were out of sight half the time. She could still feel their eyes on them, and sincerely wished they were there already.
"Not long." Gajeel grunted, his eyes narrowed on the eyes or glimpse of body in the darkness around them, "We're about a half day to a day from the end of the tunnel itself. Then it's another day or two to the edge of Igneel's territory."
"At least that means we'll be out of the dark soon." Levy groaned.
"Yeah." Lucy agreed, casting Natsu a worried glance. He'd kept a strong vigil on them all this time, but he was starting to show his exhaustion and strain clearly. He would need to rest, and soon, for as long an uninterrupted time as possible.
She was jerked out of her thoughts by the sound of a scuffle ahead and a terrified scream that jolted their entire group back into alertness.
"What was that?" She asked in shock, and Natsu's eyes narrowed.
"I dunno." He growled, "But I'm gonna find out!"
He bared his fangs as he lunged towards the voice, prompting the others to run with them lest they be left in the dark, and kicked and punched the monsters there out of the way to discover they'd been surrounding... a blue cat with wings?
"It's an Exceed!" Lucy gasped in shock as Natsu knelt down in front of the terrified feline.
"What's an Exceed?" Natsu asked in confusion.
"One of the sentient magical races." Gajeel rumbled, "I'd heard Igneel invited them to live on his lands after demons tore theirs apart, but I've never met one."
"D-don't eat me!" The blue cat cried, "I'm stringy and I don't taste good! Honest!"
"Natsu, his wing!" Lucy gasped, and Natsu nodded as he reached out and picked up the shivering ball of fur and feathers.
"Relax." He told the cat, "We're not gonna eat you."
"I mean, not right away at least, we've still got some food rations left," Natsu grinned at the cat, whose eyes darted from person to person.
"Natsu!" Lucy scolded him, and Natsu hunched his shoulders.
"I'm just kidding," He soothed the cat and curled his hands underneath the Exceed's small arms, "This is a pretty rough place for a little guy like you to be wandering around."
"I got separated from my friends and when I fell, I hurt my wing," the Exceed said hesitantly, his eyes wide as he expected the monsters to spring and attack them at any moment.
Catching where his gaze was going, Natsu gave him a tired smile, "Don't worry about them. So long as I'm awake they're not going to be able to hurt you. Promise."
He smothered out a broken yawn, but struggled to his feet. Natsu blinked as a monster growled and edged closer, clearly wanting the blue furry treat he was holding.
Natsu bared his fangs at the monster and snarled warningly.
Satisfied when the creature backed down, he looked back at the small furball in his arms, "My name is Natsu, what's yours?"
"H-Happy!" He proclaimed.
But he hesitated as he looked between them, "That was incredible, you just told those monsters to back off and they did!"
Natsu shrugged a shoulder and smiled crookedly, "Guess they did, huh?"
"Are you from Igneel's territory Happy?" Lucy asked curiously, and was pleased to see a smile cross the feline's face in response.
"Aye!" He squeaked, "The Dragon King gave us sanctuary before I was born after some demons tried to kill everyone. We have a whole valley to live in, and in return we grow food and make things for the dragons."
"Sounds like a nice arrangement!" Natsu grinned, pleased with the distraction Lucy's questions had created, "But what were you doing all the way out here?"
"Training," Happy sighed, "I wanna get stronger in magic, so I came out here to train."
"I'm sure you'll get back on your feet and flying in no time!" Natsu laughed enthusiastically.
If there was one thing he could appreciate it was wanting to get stronger. Happy didn't look like much, and if he was a standard example of his kind then they couldn't be strong magically, but Natsu approved of him trying anyway. Even if the results had been a bit mixed this time around.
"Maybe sooner than we think!" Lucy crowed excitedly and pointed, "Look! I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel!"
"Oh my gods!" Levy gasped, "I see it too!"
The group which had previously been dragging and exhausted seemed to find new energy as the end of their hellish trip was finally in sight.
Gajeel grunted low in his throat but there was an eager light in his eyes that they all reflected. Natsu bundled his arms around Happy, fire erupting under his ankles for a moment before he took the lead.
As eager as he was to charge of, he didn't want to risk leaving the others behind or damaging the cat in his arms. But his worries were unfounded as they all made it out into the open. Soon Natsu slowed his pace, dropping his run into a jog, and finally a walk. He swayed on the spot, and quickly set their new friend down at his feet.
As they made their way to freedom out of the monster's territory, Natsu fell into a sudden and not totally unexpected sleep. Gajeel burst out in laughter at the sight of the demon sleeping with his butt in the air.
No one noticed a figure break away from one of the monster's pack.
It was one of the more intelligent monsters, and it had something to report to the ones that commanded it's pack.
-::-
Once Natsu crawled back awake after the impromptu nap he had taken, they resumed their journey to Igneel's nest with Happy in tow.
The cat seemed nervous his would be saviors would be heading into such territory, and more than once he tried to warn them off their plan. The dragons were extremely hostile to humans.
But they didn't slow their pace. They had been traveling to the nest for so long, the fact that their prize was finally so close only seemed to galvanize them.
So when Gajeel switched places with Natsu, and the demon hung back to keep an eye on their collective backs, they all knew the time to meet the dragons was soon.
Old Fort was huge. It was a giant hole cut out of the mountain itself, a magical barrier cast around its boundaries to alert whoever was within to their presence.
Natsu looked around in awe, spotting large holes decorating all over the mountain, each one used for a dragon and their personal nest no doubt.
"Guys wait, wait," Happy tried one last time, "It's not safe for you all, you should try a different time!"
"And why is that?" Levy asked Happy, who had jumped over Lucy's shoulder to plant face first in Natsu's chest.
"Because it's morning, and that one of the nest's fiercest guards will be out!" Happy protested, "He's-"
"Right here." A dangerous voice purred above them, and they all looked up as one to find an enormous white dragon perched on a ledge above them.
Before they could do more than gawk the dragon stood up and leapt off the ledge he was on, shrinking in size as he fell until he dropped down in front of them in his human form, "So what have we got here?" He smirked, his fangs flashing threateningly, "A bunch of humans come to call hm?"
He prowled towards them, every inch of him screaming dangerous threat, "Happy should know better, but I guess the little guy tried his warnings. That was really stupid to ignore him you know." Light began to gather around one of his fists, "We're not real fond of humans around here. Especially nosey ones who show up uninvited!"
Natsu's eyes widened for a moment as the dragon rushed towards them and before he could think he'd rushed forward to meet the attack with one of his own.
"I didn't know it was dragon etiquette to attack people unprovoked!" He snarled, furious at the idea that this asshole, whoever he was, had tried to something like that. Especially since Lucy was directly in his line of fire.
"I attack any threats to my nest!" The dragon snarled back, his other fist balling with light as he swing at Natsu, "And all humans are threats!"
Natsu didn't have a chance to block the attack and was sent flying before he twisted himself around to land on his feet, "You don't even know why we're here!" He roared as his flames burst into being around him.
The sight of the flames seemed to startle the dragon for a moment, but Natsu no longer cared. He was pissed. This guy was attacking them without provocation and something inside him was snarling furiously at the attack, and he wasn't inclined to ignore it.
It seemed the dragon agreed as his eyes narrowed, "It doesn't matter why you're here. I'll kill you all and that will end the threat."
Natsu's power surged angrily at the threat to his mistress, and flames erupted all over him, "YOU WANNA GO ASSHOLE?!" He roared loudly, loudly enough to startle Gajeel, "LET'S FUCKING GO!"
"Natsu!" Lucy gasped in alarm and took a step forward. She was stopped from advancing even a step by Gajeel's hand.
"Don't," Gajeel's eyes were calculating and casting over the faces of the ledges. He seemed to have spotted something Lucy hadn't and wanted to watch this play out.
Dragons were so frustrating at times, they really were.
A loud crack! echoed across the mountain, drawing her attention back to the fight.
Natsu had managed to crouch and spring forward, his hand wrapping around the dragon's throat. The light dragon looked stunned by the sudden move, but Natsu's grip tightened and he roared.
His body twisted in a tight spiral and Natsu was able to use the momentum to lift his opponent's feet off the ground and crush his head into the ground. Fire licked out angrily around his mouth as he slammed a knee into the dragon's sternum.
He took a deep breath for his flames to gather in his chest. His eyes were slitted in anger and he driven by the instinct to protect his mistress as he ground the man's cheek into the ground, getting ready to release his flames and at least make this dragon a crispy reminder not to hurt his friends or mistress.
He stopped cold though when a sudden shadow shifted over them. It was heavy and covered all the light.
Natsu's body stiffened up from his position on the dragon as the one that had taken flight over head and was slowly coming down for a landing, demanded his full attention.
"Now you've done it," The dragon smirked, "You woke up the old man."
Natsu, however, wasn't listening.
He was staring up at the enormous red dragon slowly circling in to land, and felt something he didn't fully understand erupt within him. He dropped to his knees, unable to tear his eyes away, and felt a surge of instinctive terror overwhelm him. His entire being narrowed to the dragon and his approach. The flames he summoned puffed out uselessly from around his mouth.
He didn't hear Lucy calling him in worry, or the light dragon looking at him strangely and asking him what his problem was.
When the giant dragon finally landed with a thump that seemed to rattle his bones and began prowling towards him, Natsu ducked down and began to whine hysterically in submission.
He was in terrible trouble. He just knew it. He'd been loud when he shouldn't have been, and now he was in trouble!
"No way..." Gajeel breathed, his eyes wide as he watched Natsu prostrate himself before Igneel like an errant hatchling in serious trouble.
"Gajeel what's wrong with him?" Lucy asked worriedly.
Gajeel, however, didn't answer as Igneel regarded this unexpected development with first surprise, and then curiosity. He leaned over and pressed his muzzle against Natsu's back and huffed a breath of hot air over him, growling soothingly at the distressed demon.
Almost immediately Natsu relaxed and he let out an inquisitive whine that had the white dragon gawking in shock.
"You're not in trouble hatchling." Igneel rumbled as he sat back, "But I am extremely confused over who you are and how you came to be traveling with humans." He shot the white dragon a slightly steely look, "And how you came to be fighting with my son."
Natsu felt extremely confused himself. He opened his mouth and closed it, not able to find the words he was looking for. It was like everything Lucy had taught him over the past months had completely fled out of his head.
He couldn't remember a single thing to say, and further, he had no idea what happened to him. The scent of the dragon was warm like a campfire and Natsu felt as if it crackled soothingly against his very soul.
Gajeel approached instead, moving in towards the great dragon and bowing his head towards him.
"That would be because of me and my old man," Gajeel looked at Igneel. His heart beat nervously, knowing giving away his parentage could get his father into trouble, but also knowing they had been ready to take that risk if they got this far.
"My dad is Metallicana, your brother, my name is Gajeel," he gestured towards the dazed demon, "And this is Zeref's demon END, also your son."
Natsu's head snapped up at that, his eyes widening on Gajeel. His ears picked up Lucy's gasp, and the confused murmur of Levy.
There were murmurs and growls all around them, and it became clear they had a full audience, even if they couldn't see all the dragons around.
Igneel's face was at first stunned with shock, and then went stony as the words processed Gajeel's words, "My firstborn died by the hands of humans over four hundred years ago."
"The same time END was created," Gajeel responded without missing a beat. He gestured towards the other dragon Natsu had fought with, "You're gonna tell me that family resemblance is a coincidence? If I remember right, your sons were twins."
"Oh my gods!" Levy exclaimed in mingled shock and horror, "That's what the writing was talking about!" She dove into her pack, ignoring the dragon staring at her with narrowed eyes and started rifling around.
"Uh, Levy?" Lucy asked nervously, splitting her attention between the dragons and Natsu, "I don't suppose you want to elaborate on that a little?"
"The writings Lu!" Levy explained as she retrieved her lacrima containing the images of the door and pulled them up, "The ones we found with Natsu. I haven't deciphered it completely, but look here." She pointed at a section, "This talks about harnessing the power of a dragon! What if it wasn't a reference to mimicking dragons, but something more direct?"
"You mean Zeref somehow turned a dragon into Natsu?" Lucy asked in complete confusion, "But I don't understand how that's even possible..."
They were interrupted by an elegant hand gently plucking the lacrima out of Levy's hands, making them both jump a little in surprise. The owner of said hand, an equally elegant and beautiful woman, narrowed her eyes as she studied Levy's images.
"You're not far wrong young one." The woman, who had to be Igneel's mate from her bearing alone, murmured, "Your translation isn't entirely accurate, but it hardly matters as I can read this inscription." Her eyes were filled with such pain Lucy involuntarily reached out to comfort her, "Igneel. You must see this."
Igneel shifted a little, his stony expression hardening further, but he shifted down into his human form and prowled over to join them, "Surely you don't believe them do you my queen?"
"I'm not sure what to believe," She confessed, but held up the gem for Igneel to look at more closely, "However this cannot be ignored Igneel. Look."
"The designs here, this isn't a story or just a warning," She pressed a hand over her mouth, "But they are ingredients."
Lucy watched the man's shoulders stiffen. He had long fiery hair, braided down his back. His eyes were slanted, and had a handsome face that reminded her so much of Natsu, the resemblance seemed obvious now.
His eyes flashed up to Natsu, where the demon was still kneeling, shell shocked.
Igneel glared over at Gajeel, who was watching the exchange with rapt attention. The words on the tombs inscription wrote out precisely what had been used in the spell.
"Etherious combined with the fire from the Dragon king's son," his brow creased, a shudder pushing through his shoulders. It seemed absorbing the information laying evident before them had shaken the dragon.
It seemed like the dragons were beginning to calm, as the shocking news laid out before them.
Everyone calmed.
Everyone except Natsu.
The demon let out a bellow of fury and leapt to his feet. He plowed headlong into Gajeel, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and slamming him into the ground.
"You knew!" Natsu accused, fire beginning to lick to life around his lips and singing through his fingers, "That was the reason you brought us here! You knew this whole damn time and you didn't say anything!"
"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed in alarm and rushed over to him, "Let him go!" She grimaced at the angry look he shot her even as his hands began to uncurl on their own, "I'm sorry." She apologized, "But listen, there's not a way Gajeel could've known for sure. We only just figured out where you come from!"
She knelt beside him and curled her hand around his bicep, "Please Natsu. At least let Gajeel explain himself. I don't know his reasons for keeping silent, but he's not a linguist the way Levy is."
"But Lucy!" Natsu protested as he reluctantly pulled himself off Gajeel, "He had to have known something! If he didn't he wouldn't have been so sure!"
"I didn't know for sure." Gajeel grunted as he sat up, "I only knew what I saw and sensed. Natsu don't smell right for a demon. It wasn't easy to pick out at first, but he smells dragon under the demon." He scowled, "And he's started hoardin'."
"Demons don't hoard." He growled, "Ever. At least they don't hoard shiny things. Between that and what Levy said about the timin' I realized that as crazy as it was there was a chance."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Lucy asked softly, her arms curled around the still growling Natsu.
Gajeel shot her a glare that did nothing for Natsu's blood pressure, "This ain't somethin' you guess about." He told her sharply, "I wasn't really sure until he started bawlin' like a frightened hatchling back there."
He shifted his attention to Natsu, "That whine ain't an ordinary whine runt. It's the kind you only dish out when you know you've screwed up and you're trying to apologize before you get punished. And until you've got a queen, there's only two sets of people you give that whine to. Your parents an' your drake."
Natsu grit his teeth together and made an abortive attempt to lunge at Gajeel again. The orders held firm though and he slunk back.
He brushed himself off and stood up, "I suspected what you could be when we fought in the Capital. You spared me because you smelled the dragon in me."
"And there was only one fire dragon that ever had any run ins with demons or Zeref before," Gajeel turned his attention towards Igneel.
"I knew Jellal was right, we won't get anywhere in this fight without outside help, but sending one of Zeref's demons into Igneel's nest is just suicide," Gajeel muttered, "You were gonna try anyway, so I had to make sure there was a chance you could survive an encounter with a nest of pissed off dragons."
"Jellal didn't know the history with Igneel, and it wasn't my place to tell a secret like that," Gajeel's eyes narrowed.
Natsu seemed to deflate, the hot air escaping him as he relaxed in Lucy's hold.
"I don't understand what's going on," Natsu rasped, looking very small. His eyes searching for Lucy's.
Gajeel sighed and turned to Igneel, "If you have doubts. You know there is one way to clear this up."
Igneel frowned, looking hesitantly at the demon that would be his son. His heart twisted in his chest as he looked at Natsu's confused face. He could not deny the resemblance. It was uncanny.
"You mean for me to delve into his memories so we may see a complete history," Igneel answered.
Natsu's head lifted at that, his eyes growing suddenly wide.
"Can you do that?" His hoarse voice sounded so hopeful, it took Igneel by surprise.
Igneel blinked a little at the reaction he had not been expecting at all, "I can." He rumbled, "But most aren't eager to have that done..."
Natsu flushed a bit and looked away a little sulkily, "Most people don't have amnesia either." He grumbled, "I just thought if you could go in there maybe you could rattle something loose."
"Amnesia?" Igneel asked in surprise, feeling rather flat footed at the moment.
"He doesn't remember anything about his time before, er, before I bonded to him." Lucy trailed off a bit apologetically, not really sure how Natsu's potential parents would react to that bit of news, "Ahm, when we found him he was completely blank. Like a giant doll or something. It took several weeks before he woke up enough to even begin talking."
"He is right here you know." Natsu sulked and Lucy shot him an exasperated glare.
"Well it's not like you were going to explain all that!" She huffed.
Igneel firmly suppressed the smile that threatened to emerge at their interaction. It reminded him pointedly of himself and his very spirited queen, and despite the circumstances it amused him a little to see it.
"Very well." He interrupted before the pair could continue flirting with each other, "I can't promise your memories will come back on their own Natsu, but I will do what I can if they are worth remembering at all." He glanced at Lucy, "You may wish to stand back a little. Natsu may react violently to what I see."
Lucy nodded and stepped back, looking anxious, but giving Natsu her best encouraging smile as Igneel pinned him with an unflinching gaze.
There was a moment of complete silence as the world fell away.
Then Natsu began to scream.
AHAHAHAHA enjoy the cliffhanger peeps. ((puts on sunglasses and rolls on out))
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"What the?" Natsu whipped his head around, nearly whimpering at the sudden pain slicing through his throat. What the hell had happened to him? His voice was rough and it felt raw all the way down to his stomach.
The last thing he remembered was staring into Igneel's eyes. He had been about to ask Igneel when they could get started, when everything had just drifted away.
...And then he woke up in this place, feeling like he had just gone six rounds with the demons of Tartaros themselves at the same time.
"Oh! You're awake!" A small voice said eagerly by his side, and Natsu felt something cool and wet touch his forehead.
A small hand gently pushed him down by his shoulder. The owner of the hand was a small girl, with long blue hair and feathers woven into her hair, "Please relax. I'll get everyone! They'll be happy you're awake!"
Before Natsu could protest or question what was going on and why he was chained down, the girl had fluttered off with light feet.
