Chapter 35
Natsu Dragneel stood staring ahead completely shook to the core. Lucy held his hand beside him staring at him concerned "Natsu….are you sure you want to do this ?" she asked him. "You know I've got no other choice left Lucy, I have to do this" Natsu replied. "Natsu….please don't do this, there has to be another way" Levy pleaded. Gajeel looked at Natsu his face completely pale "I can't believe I'm going to say this Salamander, but Shrimp is right don't do this, it ain't worth it". "Thank you guy's but I have to do this" Natsu said as he took in a deep breath "Yosh….i'm all fired up now" he said moving forward. As Lucy and the others looked on concerned.
"What's going on here ?" came two very stern voices from behind the group, as Erza and Laxus stood staring at the scene in front of them. Natsu stopped right in his tracks with one foot inside the wagon, "it's just a new training method that I've created for us Dragon Slayers" Natsu responded nervously. "Is …it so why don't you show me the result of your new training then ?" Laxus egged him on. "Wait…you're not at all mad at me for this ?" Natsu asked surprised. "No….as a fellow Dragon Slayer this is really intriguing to me" Laxus said smiling eerily at Natsu. " But…Laxus" Erza began but was stopped by Laxus as he held his hand up to silence her as he motioned Natsu to carry on. "Wait….i change my mind, I forfeit please let me out right now" Natsu pleaded as he tried to exit the wagon."Lucy…." He called out to her turning towards her but before she could respond, Gray interjected "You heard them, now let's go" he said kicking the wagon down the slope as it barrelled towards the end, with all that being audible were Natsu's screams, as it echoed around the area.
"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here, now ?" Erza demanded. Laxus' face turned serious "Yeah, not gonna say that Natsu didn't deserve that he must have done something to deserve it. But even though it was pretty amazing, you people have some explanation to do" Laxus said his demeanor completely different. "So you had no idea why Natsu was doing it and you still egged him on ?" Mest questioned him completely flabbergasted. Laxus turned towards him "And do you have a problem with that ?" his lighting crackling around him as Mest retreated to the back of the group. "Laxus that's enough" Erza said while Mira held him back. "Geez…did you guys seriously think I was going to fight" he asked as he relaxed his aura the lightning fading away, but Mira still didn't loosen her grip on him. Lucy,Gray,Juvia,Wendy and Levy had already taken off after Natsu, while Gajeel stayed behind interested in the interaction between Laxus and Mest, now started following the others.
Gajeel extended his hand turning it into a iron hook and catching the wagon just before it could crash into a rock. A groggy Natsu sat in the wagon holding his stomach and looking really sick, Lucy ran into the wagon and pulled him out, which turned out to be a very bad decision as Natsu began to retch near their feet. "Awww….that's the most romantic thing, I've seen" Gray mocked them as Lucy glared at him comforting Natsu.
As Natsu recovered from the ordeal a very angry Erza stomped towards him "Seriously Natsu ?...a bet ?" Erza demanded. "See this….is why I asked you guys to stay behind" Laxus said staring at the Thunder God Tribe. "Well….if we hadn't accompanied you along the way, you would never have gone to that council meeting in the first place" Bickslow said with his trademark grin "Aint that right, my babies" he said as the dolls chimed "That's right….." in unison. "Beside's what's the big deal…..looks like Natsu had everything under control in our absence" Evergreen replied as Freed glared daggers in her direction. "Freed….of all the people, you left Natsu in charge ?" Laxus demanded furiously. "And you…." Erza said turning to Natsu her eyes blazing with anger, as Natsu tried to scamper away from her. "You're the one in charge, and you're the one responsible for all this mess ?. How irresponsible of you Natsu…..i will make sure you pay for this" Erza said as she caught him before he could run away.
"Hey…Erza it's fine, we were almost done with the reconstruction and helping the townsfolk for the day, when Gray and Natsu bet on who could get more work done. If Natsu won,Gray would have had to do Natsu's chores for a week and well you already know Gray's condition" Lucy said a sweat drop forming on her forehead as Natsu tried to hide himself behind her as much as he could, while Erza glared at both of them. "And we would have won, if some backstabbing Ironhead hadn't switched teams at the last minute" Natsu said glaring at Gajeel, who simply smiled back retorting "Hey…..i only support winning teams" while casually fist bumping with Gray as Natsu glared at them.
"Ok...now that, that's out of the way can we all just calm down and go back to the guild now ?" Mira asked smiling sweetly at Erza and Laxus. "Fine..." they responded as the whole group made their way back to the guild.
"You know Lucy...you shouldn't go so easy on him" Natsu heard Erza say as the two of them trailed behind him. "The offer's still on the table i will help teach you the ways, you could discipline" her sentence was cut off as Natsu turned towards her and Laxus "Hey Laxus...why did the two of you need to go to the council meeting ?" he asked. "What...do you mean why...? isn't it obvious ?" Laxus answered completely disinterested. As Lucy and the others turned their attention to the conversation between Laxus and him. "I mean wouldn't it have been enough for you to go to the meeting alone representing Fairy Tail ?" Natsu asked . Laxus stopped as he turned towards Natsu his voice serious "As i told Erza already, that would be me representing Fairy Tail as its Master, who... i... am... not". "Well what's wrong in that i'm sure no one would have a problem with you being the Master" Natsu said as the others surrounding him all agreed in unison, while Erza beamed and thanked him smiling proudly at Laxus.
"What's wrong with that, you're talking about a person who single handedly almost tore this guild apart" Laxus replied furiously. "One...you didn't do it single handedly you had the Thunder Tribe with you" Natsu said "Two...On many other instances, you almost gave up your life defending this very same guild". Laxus scoffed as Natsu continued "Alright, how about this then, you and me have one last serious fight" as Laxus replied "Seriously Natsu you think an that's an incentive, you're completely delusional" as he began to laugh. "Let me finish" Natsu said "If you win me or anyone in the guild will never ask you to be the Master ever again, if i win though you will take Gramps place whether you like it or don't".
"You two...seriously are not considering this are you ?" Mira asked concerned turning to look at Laxus and Natsu. "Erza, you definitely are not going to condone this are you ?" she asked as Lucy looked at Erza their faces filled with desperation and concern. "I am not a big fan of this decision, if that's what you're asking me, Mira. But if this is what it takes to get Laxus to take on the responsibilities he's destined for, then so be it" she said.
"So what do you say Laxus ?" Natsu asked excited. "Well...if that's what it takes to shut your mouth, it will be my privilege. And Natsu, fair warning i'm not going to hold back anything this time around" Laxus grinned. "Well fair warning to you too, i am not the kid you are used to pulverizing all these years" Natsu replied. "It takes a Man, to admit that. You go...Natsu" Eflman cheered along from the sides.
"Man...Natsu is going to get pulverized" Gray said excitedly. "Yeah my money's on the Lightning Dragon" Gajeel replied. "That's not fair, Natsu has grown strong too, even without END he's pretty formidable and hasn't he already beaten Laxus once ?" Levy asked. Gajeel put an arm around her "Shrimp it's alright you don't have to keep acting around me, Bunny Girl isn't listening, so you can drop the act" he said grinning. "Hey that was a pretty mean thing to say Gajeel, and i wasn't supporting Natsu because of Lucy-san" she said. "What about you Wendy ?" Gray asked turning towards her. "I don't want them to fight" Wendy said as tears threatened to spill from her eyes and Carla reprimanded Gray, who began to comfort her. "Gray Sama, you didn't ask Juvia about who she supports" Juvia said smiling at him. "I already know its Laxus" Gray said as Juvia clung to his arm "You know Juvia so well, Gray Sama" she replied.
On the other hand the group turned to see Lucy who hadn't responded to the conversation, nor was she even listening to the conversation to begin with, instead she stood staring at the fight as both Natsu and Laxus took fighting stances. "Hey...Lucy we were just kidding, i mean neither Laxus or Natsu are going to hurt each other badly or something, we were just having a discussion" Gray said trying to lighten the mood as Lucy ignored him, while Juvia glared at her angrily which Lucy ignored.
"Lucy i am sorry about these idiots, i promise i will make sure nothing gets out of hand, if it feels like it's going too far i promise i will interfere and stop the fight myself" Erza said smiling at her. "Would all of you just shut up and let me concentrate" Lucy retorted as Erza stepped back completely taken aback by Lucy's outburst. "Oh...Erza, i am sorry i just need to focus on this fight and find out his weakness" Lucy said apologizing to them. "Whose weakness do you want to find out about ? Laxus ?" Happy asked curious. "No Natsu, why would i fight Laxus ?" Lucy asked confused. "Well...why do you need to find a weakness of Natsu for, it's simple transportation" Happy concluded proudly. "Oh...shut up you stupid cat, i may miss something important" Lucy said as she turned her attention back to Natsu and Laxus. "I will find your weakness and beat you Natsu" Lucy said a determined expression on her face. "Oh no...Gray do you realize what just happened ?" Happy asked him as Gray looked at him having no clue. "There are two Natsu's now" Happy replied pointing at Lucy and then Natsu, as Gray's face grew pale. "Hey Natsu...give us back the old Lucy" Happy shouted out loud as the group agreed and began to shout in agreement.
Natsu and Laxus had walked out into a clearing to minimize the damage to the surroundings and their guildmates, when the shouting voices reached them. "What's all that commotion about ?" Laxus asked as the two of them focused on each other instead. "They just maybe excited about the two strongest mages in Fairy Tail duelling" Natsu responded. "I didn't know Gildarts was coming" Laxus replied. "Oh...once i'm done with you, you would be begging that it was Gildarts, instead of me fighting you" Natsu retorted. "Well that's for sure because you wouldn't even last a minute with me" Laxus replied. "Are we going to fight or not?" Natsu asked his temper rising. "Geez that temper will be your downfall Natsu" Laxus said as the lightning crackled around him.
Laxus straightaway transformed into his Lightning Dragon Slayer mode and charging a Lightning Dragon's Roar at Natsu who teleported away to dodge the attack, but Laxus had already imbibed his body with lightning and reading Natsu's movement managed to appear beside him in time landing a crushing blow to his stomach, that sent him straight into a set of tress that got demolished completely. "I know your holding back Natsu, i am really disappointed if you thought this fight would have been that easy for you" Laxus said as Natsu reappeared behind him, this time with his Dragon Force activated. But Natsu's attack just phased through Laxus. Who caught Natsu before he could escape, "There's nowhere left to run, Natsu" he said. "You're forgetting one thing Laxus" Natsu said holding onto his arm "I have your abilities too" as he let out a Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar at Laxus, who simply ate the lightning in response.
"Hey...that's unfair. I need some fire to replenish my magic too, then" Natsu said. "You're the idiot that used that attack knowing that i'm a Lightning Dragon Slayer. "Alright that's it" Natsu stated completely flustered, activating his Fire Dragon King mode. The two went back and forth but it was obvious that while Natsu had comparatively more raw power, whereas Laxus with his mastery over his lightning and speed had a upper hand over Natsu, dodging most of his attacks. Natsu stood completely nonplussed about his next move before lightning started to crash around the place as Laxus began to attack. Flustered Natsu thought "i have no choice i have to try it, it's the only way i can overcome the speed gap between us". "Lightning Fire Dragon King" Natsu said as the markings reappeared around his arms only this time with lightning sparks appearing around him.
"I didn't know you could do that ?" Laxus questioned surprised. "You have your tricks, i have mine" Natsu answered. Natsu charged at Laxus using the lightning and extra burst of speed in addition to his Teleportation to confuse and gain the upper hand over Laxus, as he managed to land a Lightning Fire Dragon King's Demolition fist into his chest, that slammed Laxus into the ground with such a force that a huge crater formed. Erza tried to run in and stop the fight but was met with lightning strikes blocking her path and guarding the area as Laxus stood up in the crater bleeding but smiling. "Erza...stay out of this it's only getting interesting. Though i have one more trick up my sleeve, Natsu" Laxus said smiling as the lightning around his fist began to turn red. Natsu teleported further away from Laxus keeping his distance his aura a mixture of blazing red and gold as the fire and lightning crackled around him, while Laxus on the other hand was having lightning that turned a deep blood red blazing around him.
Laxus charged at Natsu "Raiko" as he punched with such immense force that the trees around them were obliterated into ashes. "Hey...Laxus that could kill me" Natsu shouted as he kept dodging attack after attack. Suddenly the intensity in the atmosphere changed as all the Dragon Slayers grew stiff looking into the distance. "What is it ?" Levy asked concerned as even Lucy turned away from the fight. "I have no idea, it was eerily familiar, but it was there, for just a second. It's gone now whatever it was" Gajeel replied.
Natsu who was distracted by the same scent, was suddenly met with a red streak that hit him right in the face as Laxus had taken the opportunity to land his hit and he felt the blackness taking over him, as he fell down unconcious. The lightning surrounding the area disappeared as Laxus though bleeding badly stood victorious. "So i take that count's as my victory" Laxus grinned as Wendy came forward to heal him, he politely declined asking she heal Natsu, first instead.
Once Natsu was healed he stood up as Wendy healed Laxus, "You still need to rest both of you, and if you feel something wrong you should definitely meet Porlyusica" Wendy said looking at the two of them. "That was cheap Laxus, if you were so scared to lose, all you had to do was just quit" Natsu said furious. "Stop complaining, Natsu in a real fight you wouldn't be alive, if i hadn't toned down that attack" Laxus retorted. Lucy grew pale as she held Natsu's hands who just grinned at her "C'mon Lucy relax, he knows i could take anything he throws at me, he's just covering it up" Natsu grinned as Laxus grew irritated. "So did you really hold back ?" Freed whisper asked Laxus curious. "I did but i couldn't hold back all of it though" Laxus said as the two of them stared at Natsu half worried and half surprised.
As Laxus began to leave Natsu teleported infront of him. "Natsu i think we are done, unless you have a death wish" Laxus said. " No we are not done Laxus, i don't care about that fight" Natsu replied as everyone including Lucy's mouth fell open completely in shock. "Then, what do you need now ?" Laxus asked starting to get annoyed. " I want you to be Fairy Tail's new Master" Natsu replied. "You do understand how a bet work's right, you lose, i win, i don't have to listen to you" Laxus said walking away. Erza walked towards him "Laxus, the Dreyar family have always led Fairy Tail" she began "Not necessarily as the Master" Laxus interjected. "I know that Laxus, but all of us here want you to lead us as the Master" Erza said "And i feel that's what Master Makarov would have wanted" she said as everyone agreed.
"The old man never, wanted me anywhere near the authority of the guild and you know that's the fact" Laxus replied. "Master Makarov wanted you to enjoy your life, today was just one of the many incident's that he had to handle as the Guild Master, something he didn't want to burden you with. Whereas we all know that, there's no one in the guild who could lead us better than you could" Mira said as she stood beside Erza. "What about my father, how can you people trust and believe that i could never become like him ?" Laxus asked. "Because your father, never looked back at Fairy Tail ever. But you never stopped caring about Fairy Tail. Laxus trust me you've got this." Natsu added "Besides….if that's all you're worried about I can kick your ass, if you ever think about following your father's footsteps".
Laxus had a smile as a single tear rolled down his cheek "It's funny huh old man, I always thought, getting you out of the way was the only way I would become the Master. But now I would give anything to have you back by my side leading this guild old man" he thought staring into the sky as the tears rolled down. "So are you going to willingly accept or do we have to force you into accepting ?" Natsu asked a serious look on his face. "You guys are just not going to let this go are you ?" Laxus asked "Erza…?" he asked turning towards her. "No Laxus this time it's your turn to lead us" Erza answered. Laxus finally gave in as everyone around him started to cheer. "Yosh I'm all fired up" Natsu shouted excitedly as Laxus turned towards him "All fired up are we ?, that's good Natsu because for all the ruckus you've caused you will stay behind and clean the guild after-hours" he said grinning at Natsu. "Hey…that's unfair I was the one that convinced you to become the Guild Master" Natsu groaned. "And that is my first order as the Guild Master" Laxus responded proudly as Natsu sulked whining and walking behind the group.
As the group made their way back to the guild Wendy and Gajeel stayed behind, "Do you smell that Gajeel-san the scent has become a lot stronger" Wendy asked looking towards him for answers. "Stand your ground Wendy the scent is very familiar and it's gaining on us" Gajeel answered. " I haven't been advancing on you. I've just been trailing behind keeping my distance you pathetic excuse for Dragon Slayers" came the voice of Dimaria. Gajeel immediately released his Dragon Force mode "Wendy stay back, that's one of the Spriggan" he said standing protectively infront of her. Wendy herself released her Dragon Force form "I know Gajeel-san I was the one who defeated her along with Sherria" she said smiling and looking at the Spriggan ready to fight.
"That wouldn't have happened, had you not had help" Dimaria growled in anger as she walked right past them freezing them. "Even so….i am here on much more important matters" she said as she found her path obstructed by a wall of ice. "I will have to say that no matter what your reason's, we will not let you go forward" came Gray's voice from behind the ice. Dimaria's expression darkened as Gray stepped through the ice, and the four mage's prepared to battle.
Suddenly a wall of flames surrounded them as Natsu appeared in their midst. "That's enough Dimaria stand down" he demanded. "Master Natsu…." Dimaria answered as she bowed respectfully. "What's going on ?" Gray whispered. "Natsu-san is still a Dragneel, so I guess that could be the reason why Dimaria is being respectful to him" Wendy answered.
"Dimaria, I honestly am in no mood to spar with you or to battle you right now, I just had a exhausting fight with our future no actually present Master,so….." Natsu trailed off as Dimaria interrupted him "I'm not here to spar with you or seek revenge with you, the war and battle is all in the past I am here because there's someone that want's to meet you" Dimaria answered as Natsu stared at her confused. "Who is it…? And where are they ?" Natsu asked excited all of a sudden. As the remaining trio sighed and followed the two of them.
"Dimaria you do know we are going towards the guild right now, I don't think there's anyone over there who you could possibly know" Natsu said. "Would you just follow me without asking anymore question's ?" Dimaria asked huffing exasperated. As the group entered the guild Natsu was surprised to hear a voice.
" I have been waiting a long time Uncle…." came the voice of Larcade as Natsu stared at Brandish and him sitting casually talking to the rest of the guild.
AN : Hey...people thanks for the Favorite's and Follow, please leave a Review if you liked it.