AN: Yes, it took longer than five days. We're sorry but we still had two parts to finish writing and we had to find time to do it together. This chapter may seem a tad short but we wrote most of the last (and final) chapter of this arc before deciding a cut-off point between the two. And you can kind of blame me, Foxy – I was stuck on the angsty part and had to re-write that a few times before I was satisfied, and a few scenes dragged on too long so we went back through and made them seem faster … 'cause battle scenes are supposed to go by fast, right? And wow … we were expecting people to say "Noooo the OCs!" but surprisingly a lot of you are relieved. XD Part 2! Please read and review!

Disclaimer: If we owned Fairy Tail … Zeref's name would actually be "Zeffy." Yes, we're going to get all of you to call him that.

Under the Flames

A Fairy Tail Fanfiction by Kitty & Foxy

Chapter Thirty Seven: Nirvana and the Beast (Part 2)

The air stung at his face and blew his hair behind him, his clothes pressed against his front half as they whipped on by behind him. The sensation of falling was never pleasant but at least it felt freer than being caught on a moving vehicle of any sort. Freefalling reminded him of the times he was allowed to ride on the Dragon's backs … flying on a Dragon was an experience to treasure, completely incomparable to any thrill a bird or flying device could give. A Dragon exuded not only the ability to fly but the power it took, and the power that came with it all.

Though this wasn't the time to really think about his past experiences: he was not using any magic that would allow him to fly as the Dragons did, nor would he be able to with the motion sickness he had endured. And, above all, he wasn't shatterproof.

Natsu threw curled his legs inward and shifted his weight so he could get a clear view of the fast-approaching ground. He heard nothing but the sound of the wind around him but he could see the earth being disturbed by the creature that neared. He recalled a trick Igneel taught to him that had served him well in the past: placing three of his fingers in front of his mouth he allowed a trickle of fire to swirl back and forth around his teeth before spitting it out, watching the sparks shoot far beyond him towards the ground at an unfathomable speed. The sparks grazed and sheared the crushed platform of wood below – likely crushed by one of Nirvana's heavy legs – tearing apart the wood into soot without it ever catching fire. It smoked and smoldered but turned to charcoal without any ignition.

He covered his mouth and his nostrils and squeezed his eyes shut as he rocketed through the plume of smoke, seconds away from the ground. He landed head first as the dark cloud of smoldering soot plumed, waiting about a minute before resurfacing above the ash. Fire Dragon Slayer he might be, but inhaling smoke or ash could still hurt him.

Holding his nose shut as he waded from the deeper ashen piles to the edges of the affected area, he began to feel the sores emerge from the impact. Sure his skin was tough but he could still get banged up now and then.

Oww … Natsu rubbed at his side, the numbness fading as whatever he had landed in the soot still managed to hurt. He dug his fingers into his cloak, lightly grasping the edges of the crystalline form he had torn from the snake-like man's stomach … his faced grimaced as he checked it over with his fingers to ensure he hadn't shattered it (or poked a hole in his ribs with it – either way was bad). Good, it's safe. But damn it, I look like a chimney sweeper – it's the West all over again -

Suddenly the sounds of smashing rocks and torn earth erupted to his right, the ground cracking and crumbling in the chaos. Alarmed he scrambled to his feet and shuffled over out of the area, the earths' rumbles at its peak as the glimmer of fangs emerged, chewing a hole away through the earth. It sprang up in a stream of darkness, rocketing high and above as the bits of earth fell off its scaly hide and into the massive hole below. Natsu watched as the massive, elephant sized creature leapt high and above, wings stretching out after a long time of dormancy.

Though he was at fault for its emergence, he wouldn't lie. He was a bit startled. He wasn't expecting it to emerge so close to where he landed.

… Didn't even notice me here. Then again, your senses are dulled when you leave the earth. Natsu thought sourly, looking up as the four-eyed Dragon leapt and landed halfway up one of Nirvana's legs, great gleaming silver fangs sinking into its metal and brick casings. The leg groaned and squealed as the hollow metals inside of it twisted, the magic supporting the great leg dispersing into the air around it.

Under its great weight the city of Nirvana began to tilt as the other legs strained to maintain the burden. It had already lost two of its legs due to malfunctions, and now a third meant that the other legs' capacities were taking a heavy toll.

I better leave before the whole thing comes crashing down here. Natsu decided, brushing off the soot that he could and dashing off into the forest as he willed himself to forget his motion sickness. The others will be alright so long as none of them are stupid enough to try to fight him.

*
The team from the King's Perch scrambled down the towers and through the streets, following Hibiki in the lead as he hastily led the way to the edge through the maze of streets and alleys. But a few blocks in Lucy felt Angel tap on her shoulder.

"Sorry, fellow Celestial Mage," Angel shrugged with a cute, sad smile, still holding onto the unconscious Midnight in her arms. "If this is a chance for us to escape and survive, we must take it. It was an honor to meet someone as honorable as you!"

"W-wait -!" Lucy panicked but Angel took off down another street in another direction, vanishing at a speed she didn't think the other capable of. "B-b-but -!" Lucy protested, but Eve shook his head as they continued to take off down the streets. He grabbed Lucy's wrist for good measure, to ensure she wouldn't try to chase after them.

"She knows that she, Midnight and the rest of Oracion Seis will end up in jail if they follow us." Eve theorized. "We don't have the time to be concerning ourselves with it."

"Besides," Hibiki added cheerily, "The army has probably noticed this thing by now – no doubt they'll be scouting the forests for all of us. Chances are we will still capture them once we get off of this thing!"

They're right, Lucy! Lucy tried to scold herself but she remained concerned about letting a former enemy go off like that. This isn't the time to worry, this thing is falling apart and if we stay too long we won't survive to find them or stop them again! "Aaargh, I hate this mission!" She snapped, continuing to do her best to keep up with the others.

Yet the surprises would never cease as a new ear-splitting shriek shot across the city.

"SCRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEE!"

Everyone slapped their hands to their ears, protecting what remained of their eardrums as the air around them became charged. It carried on for almost a full minute before it began to calm.

"Again? Tch, what is that thing?" Ren scowled, uncovering his ears as he felt the screeching die.

"N-no, it's a different one!" Wendy answered, feeling terror in her heart. She could smell it – a Dragon's scent but nothing belonging to someone familiar to her. She had yet to see it but she could entirely and yet scarcely believe there was one, here. No, there have to be two – there were two different roars. What is going on?

But before anyone could answer or question her conclusion they heard a cracking sound, and the city began to tilt and slide. Rocks fell past their feet as they tried to maintain balance. Lucy shrieked as she realized what was going on. "T-the city's falling over!" She hollered, grabbing onto Charle and Wendy who seemed just as terrified as she.

*
"What was that?" Happy trembled, pulling his paws off of his ears as he remained close to Erza. "What's making all those roars?"

Within a few moments they were at Nirvana's edge, feeling it shake under its own burden. Erza leaned over the side far enough to glance around, and was stunned at what she saw to her right. Her eyes darkened in a horrified realization as she witnessed the great dark shadow burrow through the remnants of the leg, Nirvana beginning to collapse on its own weight. It looks like a … a … she couldn't even get her brain to say it. They're supposed to be extinct, rare … why would one of those show up here? She clasped her fingers on the rail, turning her head to Jellal to see his face pale as he witnessed the same events.

"Is that what you were talking about?" Erza demanded as she watched him hesitantly nod. I don't think he knew what it was but he definitely knew of its danger. Can he really be trusted? Erza had to wonder, but she knew the imminent danger they were in as Nirvana began to fall onto its side, the rumble of buildings starting their own landslide behind them.

"Happy, fly Jellal out of here."

"Eeeh? But what about you –!" Happy cried, but the Titania interrupted him as a golden glow engulfed her, revealing the dark armor with bat-like wings. The Black Wing armor!

She saw the dark shadow jolt off of the broken leg and rocket into Nirvana's side, the ground jolting beneath them as Nirvana continued to fall. "Now!" She demanded, jumping onto the railing and jumping off, the wings catching the air as

Happy summoned his own wings and grabbed the back of Jellal's jacket, tugging him off of the railing and speeding out of there as fast as he could; Happy paid little attention to Jellal's panic at the sudden flight. But when the blue haired amnesiac turned his head back to look at Nirvana – the thing he had been asked to awaken for reasons he still could not fathom – he could see the giant city crumbling away, its power lost without its legs. It continued to fall onto its side, no doubt its two front legs struggling to attach themselves to the ground.

*
"Another one of Nirvana's legs must have been broken!" Hibiki answered, leading the group towards some buildings as they started to balance themselves on the walls (which were quickly becoming their floors). The ancient homes could no longer take the stress or the gravity and were beginning to crumble, bricks flying past them as they fell their way to the ground.

"Everyone grab a hold of someone!" Ren shouted, throwing his arms out and mustering what magical power he could. Everyone grasped at fingers, wrists, whatever was near (in Lyon's case an accidental grope of Sherry, who muttered something along the lines of love). The air rippled and swirled around the group, encasing them in a pressurized shell as Nirvana began to fall sideways – and they along with it as some of them screamed about what might happen.

*
"What are you so afraid of? This is our fate. Punishments for our great sins that we have committed." Robaul attempted to calm his guild members, letting them absorb his wisdom. But at that moment they heard the wails echoing from the direction Nirvana was in – unnatural screeching, distant though venomous.

They had all jumped at the sound of the screech echoing from beyond the mountains. "W-what was that?" The Cait Shelter mages began to chatter to one another, confused and worried about what it could mean. "Do you think that was Nirvana?" "I don't remember anything about it making a sound like that in its weaponry …"

"Master!" one of the guild members came tearing in, his face in a stunned shock as he gasped for breath. "The – Nirvana – it's being taken out!"

Taken out? A shiver ran down his spine as he recalled the old contract. Should Nirvana ever attempt to unleash evil on the world beyond this tragedy, we will destroy it and its people so it can never rise again.

"It can't be-!" Robaul's jaw dropped open, the liquor spilling out onto the ground. He ran out of the tent, gazing at the fringes of the beast he could see just beyond the mountaintops.

He was subsequently chided by a good portion of his guild as they followed him out. "Swallow before you open your mouth, Master!"

Yet his mind remained far too preoccupied with the screams, having heard the roar he never thought he would hear in this moment, in this time, in this day.

Dragon.

*
"Are you alright, Gajeel-dono?" Jura asked calmly, offering out a hand to help pull Gajeel up from the ledge he fell on.

The Iron Dragon Slayer glanced over the wall of the building they now stood on, seeing the ground far below. The drops were dangerous and he could tell that the buildings would not remain stable for long – the few that had not crumbled were in danger of collapsing to the forest below, needing only the provocation of a few more tremors.

"So the city fell on its side … heh, it must've rotted in the ground too long. I guess that Brain guy won't be getting what he wants after all."

*
Brain charged through the tunnels, chuckling darkly as he advanced down the corridors to the center of where Nirvana would fire. He was startled when the city began to tilt but he ignored it – the firing mechanism can still be recalibrated even off of the King's Perch. It is now in my command, after all.

He hurried uphill against the tunnels, eager to reach his destination before anyone else. Yet he stopped short when something tore through the tunnel's floor in front of him, burrowing its way through at an incredulous speed. He caught the sight of dark, oil-colored scales in front of him and he could scarcely believe what he saw in front of him.

A Dragon … inside of Nirvana?

Brain began to laugh, catching the attention of the beast tearing its way through the tunnels in front of him. It turned its head to glare at him, attention focused.

"What's a creature like you doing in here?!" Brain demanded, but the beast just snorted and flicked its tail. The hard scales stung as he was thrown back against the tunnel wall with an unbelievable force in such a short distance. He felt winded – no, crushed as he was thrown back into the tunnels' wall, embedded in it like a jewel in its golden setting. But even such a powerful throw from a beast would not stop him, despite how his head span and his bones cracked when he moved forward, snickering as the darker ego within him boiled and another tattoo burned across his face.

"Well – this, this is unexpected!" Brain laughed, his skin turning white as he achingly climbed back up onto his feet, his eyes turning a bloodshot red as the beast uttered a deep growl, all four eyes blinking back at him. "A Dragon was near Nirvana … though the lot of you are said to be extinct, here you are! Wouldn't you make a perfect minion of evil -"

The Dragon before him though completely ignored the squawking of what it saw to be a mere human, allowing a concoction of the darkness around it to boil inside of its stomach. It peaked and it came up it throat in a great mass, silver fangs snapping open in front of Brain as the darkness was coughed up from its throat.

Brain recognized what would happen but he did not have the time to react.

*
"It's coming!" Gajeel grinned practically from ear to ear as the dark matter blast through the "floor" of the city, though the two were surprised as a figure tumbled out with it.

Gajeel and Jura jumped to the sides as Brain was hurled down between them, smashing through the walls to the grounds far below. Though they only caught a glimpse of him, he looked to be utterly defeated, bruised and defenseless, rendered immobile. It wouldn't be certain he would make it to the ground safely.

"Was that-?"

"It was." Jura confirmed, his eyes narrowing. "If this thing could toss him that easily then we must be diligent in our battle."

The darkness above dissipated into the night air, and a few trilling sounds could be heard from within the hole nearly thirty meters above their heads.

"Heheh … my senses weren't tricking me …" Gajeel grinned, almost shivering in delight as he took in the scent and sight of what crawled from the hole above them. Great silver fangs, four gleaming violet eyes, dark shimmering scales as if its armor were made of oil in the few remaining strains of light. Thick toed claws and nimble features, a long neck and immense presence …

"So it would seem …" Jura confirmed, concerned about what he may have to fight with.

"A dragon."

They watched the creature sniff the air, the sound of its nostrils equal to the intensity of a horn's blow. It crawled out from the hole, latching its deep silver claws into the ground and in the buildings around it, scaling the structures as it cautiously, warily made its way around, stretching its dark-tinted wings.

SNIIIIFFF, SNIIIIFFF, SNIIIIIIIIFFFF.

"It's trying to figure out where its challenger is," Gajeel answered for Jura's thoughts in a wicked tone, thrilled to see the Dragon crawling across the Nirvit homes, walking on them as if crossing stones emerging from a lake.

If the 'challenger' is somewhere here, then could it possibly not be a Dragon? Or did Nirvana somehow have a mechanism that triggers a calling signal? Jura had to wonder, gathering his strength in case the Dragon decided to head their way in its search.

But they watched with bated eyes as for the next ten minutes or so it crawled its way around and around, continuing its sniffing ritual as it stuck its head in through the various cracks, eyes blinking and squinting as it sought out whatever it looked for. But one thing was for certain – even they could tell it was terrible at tracking.

Gajeel couldn't hold back the laughter. He hadn't seen something so pathetic before.

"Damn it's got bad eyesight!" Gajeel laughed, unable to hold it back at the rather dumb dragon curling its neck this way and that, all four eyes blinking as it sought out its prey but remained completely ignorant of their position. "And a bad sense of smell – is it really a dragon and not a wyvern?"

Taunting any creature is not the best idea. Unfortunately, being raised by a Dragon, Gajeel tended to think that he was above all of the other beasts and that he could get away with it, despite how foolish it made him look amongst others.

The Dragon perked up, eyes blinking in their direction as it took another sniff and snarled.

Jura assumed this couldn't possibly be good. "Apparently it has a good sense of hearing."

*
"I've been forgotten once again, men~!" Ichiya cried as he continued to roll down the streets, bouncing off the bumps in the road as he fell to the ground below.

*
Ren threw out the shield, scattering the debris that had landed on top of them every way he could manage. "This is ludicrous …" Ren couldn't believe he had managed to hold them all together within his air chamber and keep it active long enough to shield them all.

"That was brilliant, Ren-kun!" Hibiki answered, pulling himself off of the ground while getting an immense sense of vertigo staring up at the city above them. He helped pull all of the others up, checking for injuries while Ren recovered from the trauma. Apparently using magic so recklessly had caused the skin on his hands and arms to flake, deep enough that some areas were bleeding. Tch. This is nothing. He wanted to tell himself, but damn it, there went his perfectly tanned skin!

"What do you think caused that?" Sherry grumbled.

"I don't think the leg was capable of snapping on its own … it was old, and Nirvana's already shown it can detach its own legs in emergencies …" Hibiki frowned, turning back around to face the group. "It must be whatever made those roars earlier."

"I'm sorry …" Wendy squirmed, her lips trembling. "I – I don't have offensive magic … I can't fight a Dragon even if it's here …"

"Please don't concern yourself with it Wendy. We don't even know if it is a Dragon yet." Eve reassured but she drew her arms in tighter. She knew it had to be so. "Or even if it is the reason why Nirvana's falling apart."

"In any case we should all retreat to a father area. We're still in a dangerous zone – the city could finish collapsing at any moment." Lyon warned, his eyes narrowing as he shifted Gray back onto his back and stared up; he could see the trails of bricks continuing to fall and pommel down onto the ground around them. From a distance they fell so slow, but they could easily be killed in an instant if any landed too close to them.

And so the group took off again.

She sounds like me – believing she isn't able to do much. Lucy frowned, keeping a steady pace alongside Wendy as they followed the rest of the group away from the city before more of it collapsed on top of them.

"Wendy," Lucy spoke up, gathering all the confidence she could to be certain that Wendy would understand. "I know how you're feeling – like you can't really do much."

"E-eeh?" Wendy squeaked, Charle's eyes shifting suspiciously to Lucy. That girl, what is she trying to do?

"I used to – no, I still feel the same way with my team." Lucy explained quietly. "I mean, Erza and Gray usually do all the grunt work and I can't really fight on my own … lately I've found that it would go a lot smoother if I did."

"B-but Lucy-san, you're already very skilled! You're able to summon spirits so easily …!"

That's true, I can! "Yes, but there's always room for improvement. You and I both have a lot of skills, and yet we're still facing challenges we can't exactly meet just yet – I'm not about to go facing a Dragon either, but that's why we've got to adapt and find other ways to fight, practice different methods no matter how ridiculous they seem! That way we can be better prepared in situations like these!"

"S-so, I should try learning some offensive magic …?" Wendy asked hesitantly.

"Mmm! I'm sure Gajeel would be happy to teach you a few offensive skills!" Lucy nodded happily, then grimacing. Maybe happy isn't the right word for it. "Just please don't pick up his mannerisms."

The young Dragon Slayer nodded in agreement, blushing a bit as she stared nervously ahead. "T-thank you, Lucy-san …"

"Please, just call me Lucy!"

"Okay, L-Lucy!" Wendy stuttered with a bright and enthusiastic nod.

That girl, she's making friends fast. Charle couldn't fight the smile. I just wish it wasn't exactly with this lot.

They ran past a clearing, out of the immediate danger Nirvana poised, when Lucy saw something race across above them in a pattern unnatural to anything falling from the city.

"Aaah!" Lucy pointed up at the sky as two small, blurry figures zoomed on by in the sky. "Look, Erza! And Happy, I think!"

"Good, we know where they are headed! The alliance is safe!" Sherry sighed in relief, clasping her hands together as she ran barefoot through the forest after her comrades. "Soon this will be over and we can rejoice with love!"

What is with her and the love? It's getting annoying. Lucy gritted her teeth. She wasn't the only one thinking it either.

*
Erza couldn't fuel her magic much further, so she eyed a distant enough clearing and flapped her wings down, signaling to Happy where they were to land. Happy dropped Jellal gently enough onto his feet, and he stumbled a few steps forward before turning to look at where they had just come from.

Jellal for that eternal moment stared back at the city of the Nirvit, awed with a stunning childlike wonder as he realized its immenseness and its power. That is why they wanted to revive it, no doubt … to have something of that scale at one's command …

"We are on the ground. Away from that danger for the moment." Erza spoke stiffly, turning to face Jellal as his thoughts were interrupted. "You need to tell me why you are here."

"I …" Jellal swallowed, shrugging as his eyes dropped. "I don't remember why." He shook his head. "I don't remember how. I don't remember anything before now. I recall being awakened and asked to revive Nirvana … I tried to destroy it instead but I couldn't …" The guilt stored away inside of him began to resurface.

"You … you don't remember any of it." Erza growled. "You don't remember any of it? The crimes you committed, the friends that died because of your actions! How you hurt Simon, Shou, Miliana, Wally, and scores of others?!"

Jellal felt the tinges of guilt but he kept his gaze on the ground. "I don't remember anything … I remember only a few glimpses, I … I see you and I think of a great sadness … but I can't remember anything more than that."

It seems he is telling the truth. Erza hated to think that, especially since this could end up being a trick … but the early years she remembered with Jellal told her that he was truly defenseless and lost in this moment. She took a moment to listen to the sounds of the night before asking another question that nagged at the back of her mind.

"How do you remember Natsu?"

"He … he helped me," Jellal reasoned, trying to calm down and convince someone – anyone – that he didn't mean any harm. "We were on Nirvana; he's the one who told me that something else would attack it …"

Why would Natsu help Jellal? Erza continued to wonder, keeping her eyes locked with Jellal's, searching for any sign or hint that he could be lying. He fought with us before and he knew of Jellal's misdeeds. If he really did help him, then …

A cold realization washed over her, the answer so factual and so simple that she was a fool for never realizing it sooner.

Natsu is not a Fairy Tail mage.

The Fire Dragon Slayer could not be held to the same standards as a Fairy Tail mage.

Natsu is not a part of our guild nor a part of any guild … he's solitary. He's free to choose and change his alliances as he wishes. It was stupid to assume he would always immediately help us and keep our enemies in mind … Yet why? Why did that bug her? Natsu was never a part of Fairy Tail itself – she couldn't hold him to their side anymore than she could with a member from another guild or an ordinary civilian.

"Erza …" Happy mumbled quietly, big worried eyes watching her as he could see the battle raging inside of her – even if she could hide her reasons she couldn't hide her reactions from him. He was a cat. He could sense these things. He felt his own heart thud in his chest when he saw her turn her head down, a single stream of tears escape her left eye, not a sniffle nor a hiccup following but painful nonetheless.

Jellal, clueless as he was, felt the pain as well. Tears he couldn't stand to see on someone he remembered to be courage, someone he wished he could have protected, someone he still yearned to protect despite his inability to remember why. He reached a hand out to comfort her, but her head snapped up and the glare from her eyes stopped him short of making contact.

"We're going to sort all of this out later," Erza mumbled emptily, brushing Jellal's hand away. He withdrew knowingly, understanding that he was not welcome in her presence. "For now we need to locate the rest of the alliance."

I can't make assumptions until I talk to him.

The Titania turned on her heels and started to walk around the perimeter of the collapsing Nirvana, willingly ignoring the state it continued to disintegrate from, barely paying attention to the dark shadow leaping to and from its core in the high distance above. Her armor transformed back to its normal default, walking almost a haunted path before her.

Erza ... Scarlett … the name stung at the back of his mind and subconsciously he hurried to follow, to walk by her side. But Happy grabbed Jellal's leg, stopping him from catching up to her. The cat would not meet his gaze but Jellal could understand what he was trying to do nonetheless. Not to go, not to do what he longed to do.

Though Jellal wanted to comfort that which he knew he had hurt, while it continued to hurt before his very eyes …

… now was not yet the time to do so.

*
Iron Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel hollered, allowing the metal to congregate inside his stomach before jetting out with his magic, the green hue clashing with the scales of the Dragon but having no effect. Argh, it means it might be naturally resistant to Iron … but that only added to the excitement! He morphed his hand into the iron chainsaw and cautiously approached the Dragon from behind – tricking it as it span around in the opposite direction while searching for Gajeel – and jumped down; slashing at its scales but no damage of any kind remained when he stopped to see his work.

"… Not a scratch?!" Gajeel hollered, jumping back up before the tail could swat at him. At this rate he was only going to piss it off. Maybe he should go find a meal before taking this thing on for real …Damn it, there's got to be some iron somewhere nearby without having to run all the way to the legs.

The Dragon, irritated by the "pest" jumping around him, eyed the second pest and spat out another jet of shadows. Jura sidestepped the concentrated stream while using his magic to blockade it with rocks, but he too grimaced as it shot straight through his defense and blew them apart.

There's no way for my magic as it is to withstand such an attack. Jura realized as his rocks disintegrated in the shadows, consumed and destroyed in a mere moment. If either of us are caught in the path of its attack we'll be destroyed.

Jura shifted attention to Gajeel, who took thrill in leading the beast around the structures, scaling the city's foundations up and down as the fangs snapped after him. He couldn't help the sweat-drop, but he remained concern. Has Gajeel ever truly destroyed a Dragon before, or is he simply delighting in teasing it?

"We can't hide." Gajeel grumbled, jumping down with Jura as it snapped its fangs behind them again. "It has registered our scents. Even though it clearly sucks at finding anyone, once it sticks, it sticks."

"How would you know this?"

"It kept chasing me down accurately earlier, though it's got a tough time seeing anything." Gajeel didn't miss the incredulous look from Jura. "What, did you think I was letting it chase me at every turn?!"

Yes. "That is not our concern at the moment. It is welcome to destroy this city for us, but we need to be sure it will not continue to track us or the alliance down." Jura frowned. "It may be a kind of creature you are familiar with but it is still not a creature we can handle."

In that instant Jura caught the violet eyes blinking at him from his side; he threw up an arm and the rocks slammed into its face, a sharp trilling noise escaping its throat as the two of them bolted from the area. It inhaled deeply and spat out another stream of its magic, scarring the city once more as the darkness rocketed down its side and created an enormous ditch – sideways though it might be at the moment.

"We might have to kill it." Jura spoke, leaping to another safe place while the Dragon momentarily froze. "Before we anger it to the point it unleashes a full barrage."

Gajeel scowled. "You kiddin'? This is the first Dragon I've seen in years!"

"Are you willing to endanger everyone else in this alliance to let it rampage?"

Yet the creature appeared to be getting nervous, fretting about each which way more than previous. Before either Jura or Gajeel could question its odd behavior it unleashed a final desperate screech, enough to obliterate its surroundings with the mere shock of the sounds from its throat. The final remnants of the Kings' Perch fell and the Dragon shot past Gajeel and Jura at an unbelievable speed, zipping back through the hole it crawled out of and away from their site.

The two mages remained quiet as they climbed their way up to the hole, carefully gazing through it only to be shocked at how immense and deep it was. They could see clean through Nirvana, the emerging daylight seeping through it.

Gajeel took a sniff, disappointed at how quickly it had escaped. "Damn … I think it went back underground."

"So this is the damage a Dragon's Breath can cause …" Jura noted with awe and amazement, turning back to see the fine line of red over the far mountain ridges behind them.

"Cheh, I've never known a Dragon to run off like that …" Gajeel grunted, scratching the back of his head.

So you were teasing it.

Jura continued to gaze at the rising sunlight, a thought entering his mind. "It vanished with the rising sun …"

"Huh?"

"It emerged only in the night and vanished with the rising sun. It originated from the underground." The mage best known as the pride of Lamia Scale scratched his chin in contemplation. "Perhaps this thing could not tolerate the daylight. It senses were weakened by the presence of light … if we had encountered this thing underground or in the middle of the night …" Jura trailed off with his theorizations, troubled by what it could mean.

"I've seen Metallicana do worse … this Dragon wasn't too big, it's probably young." Gajeel mumbled.

"How old would you say that Dragon was?" Jura asked.

"Not that old." Gajeel added thoughtfully, scratching his chin. "Though don't ask me to put years on it, I never met that many Dragons to be able to tell." He still felt excited; a tingle across his skin at the mere thought a Dragon was still around. Now that the immediate danger vanished he could only feel the thrill of what this encounter meant. "Heheh, they're not extinct after all! You hear that you sh*tty world?! Metallicana's still out there!"

"It still is troubling." Jura noted, carefully peering over the edge, noting the hole behind them that the beast tore through the machine to see the sky and the mountains afar. "I recall Dragons as creatures that lived above the ground; instead this one emerged from it."

"Heh, maybe they all moved underground!" Gajeel answered rather excitedly. "It would explain why no one's seen them in forever! I don't know about you, but I'm goin' to follo—"

Jura interrupted. "No. We are not going after it – not during nor immediately after this mission."

The Iron Dragon Slayer gritted his teeth, a growl escaping from his gut. He recognized he had to behave in front of Jura – the old man would probably scold him otherwise. "Why do you say that?" This was Gajeel's chance to find a lead on the Dragons. Sure, Metallicana had ditched him and he didn't necessarily give a rat's ass before, but now that the opportunity presented itself he found a strong urge to follow the only lead he knew. And Jura wanted to prevent it?

"There are still many more troubling factors." Jura became stern, meeting Gajeel eye to eye in hopes of conveying it properly. "You said it answered a territorial call. A call that came from above the ground, within our battleground."

Gajeel had forgotten about that. Tching, he folded his arms. He's right – what was the source of that? The initial call had been draconic – no way would he recognize it as anything other than that.

"That Dragon held the energy that we felt beneath the ground this entire time, even while Nirvana lay dormant." Jura continued. "It may not have gotten either of us, and it may be young like you have said, but its power is immense and destructive. It took out Brain in only a matter of moments. We cannot go chasing after it as we are."

Gajeel frowned but even he could hear the logic. Going after a dumb Dragon might not be the best way to find them. It may not even consider itself a Dragon – maybe another kind of cousin to it or somethin'. He opened his mouth, about to give a half-assed retort or at least a snide remark, but the two of them felt the "ground" – the buildings – fall and slip beneath them, the machine rumbling as it began to tilt further.

Gajeel's eyes widened; even Jura seemed surprised for he could recognize what was going on. "Hey, is this thing –" Gajeel began, backing up as the green and brown forest below them started to come closer, the walls they stood on increasing in slope as he found it increasingly difficult to stand.

"It's collapsing onto its face." Jura nodded, throwing one hand into the ground behind him as the mechanical city picked up speed, falling forward. "Hold on!"

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" He hollered as he grabbed onto a nearby root and pulling himself through the hole as much as he could, hoping that he wasn't about to be squashed like a bug. The tower let out a huge CRRAAACK! as its own weight caused it to snap in two, the upper half of the King's Perch crumbling on the ground below as the rest of the city prepared to dive in on top of it.

From afar a man in a white and candy-colored garb watched through his glasses as the machine came crashing down, the power ultimately drained as the lacrimas inside of it exploded as they shattered, lighting up the daybreak beyond the mountains. He made a few signals to the army around him and his men sprang into action, the scouts sent off in their assigned patterns and the bulk of the men following him down the safest path they had found yet.

Though unknown to the guild alliance yet, a new power would be interrupting their business, involving itself in the chaos that had erupted in the Woodsworth Woods.

What else could be expected when such a disaster occurred in the country? The capital would be insane to ignore the panic in the region, hence why they had been assembled at an emergency beckon.

Fiore's military magic corps had arrived.

Next: The Idiot in Me