Awaken the Sleeping Dragon Within

Nalu Canon divergence

Natsu moves with an extra spring in his step that morning. The job was a mission complete with no damages and full payment given. He'd found the perfect gift for Lucy that he'd been searching for and was now on his way back home to Magnolia. The perfect weather was like a bonus treat that made his travel by foot a pleasant one.

Things had been progressing in their change of relationship status. Through the whole 100-year quest, the shining revelation was not only that their bond could never be broken, but one that transcends the lines of simple friendship. When he'd said 'together forever' it was a phrase uttered from the heart towards a person he knew he'd always want to be around. But now he fully understood what it had meant, and it was time to solidify that phrase. To take it from mere words to action and the gift he held in his pocket would do just that.

It would be another half-day's journey to Magnolia, which meant he'd have to sleep under the stars one more evening. Natsu didn't mind so much. As long as he could see them, they reminded him of Lucy, and that made him feel less lonely without her at his side. The roads were quiet considering the holidays were so close in time. Natsu remembers passing very few travelers, and in the last several hours, none at all. Yet it was strange that he'd felt eyes watching him on a few occasions.

Just before nightfall, Natsu makes camp just off the side of the road in the first clear area he could find. He sets up his bedroll, a small campfire, and eats dinner before lying down to get some rest. The sooner he falls asleep, the faster the morning will come, and it doesn't take long for mister sandman to come a calling.

There was little warning than a downward draft of air from above bringing with it…

'What the hell?!'

Natsu jumps to his feet, awoken from a sound sleep by the scent of his brother blasting his senses. He barely has a chance to dive away and block as a stream of fire burns his belongings to a charred pile and blackens the ground where he had just been occupying.

"Ignia!" He screams at the dragon hovering above. "What the fuck is your problem?!" He was tired of these surprise attacks. Four times now, but he was glad this time Lucy wasn't around to be caught in the middle. The last one… she'd almost been burned.

But Ignia simply bellows a guttural laugh and sends another blast of fire at Natsu in response.

The slayer dodges stream after stream of fire sent his way, lobbing blasts of his own the few chances he gets. Ignia keeps up the volley at breakneck speed causing Natsu to endure a few near misses and a couple of singes. Oh, this is ridiculous! What kind of game was Ignia playing with him?!

As soon as Ignia pauses to change his flight pattern, Natsu takes advantage and lights up his feet. He rockets himself toward his brother, sending his own crackling of flames to overwhelm Ignia long enough to compromise the dragon's vision. Then he uses a flame whip to lasso its neck. Ignia thrashes at the binding, but it's too late. It gave Natsu just enough time to pull himself up and grab on to his brothers back, gripping tightly to the scales. "Dad… and.. uncle Atlas… would be… so.. pissed… at you!" He scoots up slowly, inching his way to the base of the dragon's neck.

His brother bucks harder to get him off, free diving and suddenly banking one way or the other, doing anything and everything to throw Natsu off him. "Fuck them, as if I care!" He growls. "They did nothing for me and now they're all dead!"

That pisses Natsu off! How dare Ignia speak ill of their family! "And you tarnish all they fought for by fighting me! Spare me your sob story, I will not let you talk badly about Igneel like that, you selfish asshole!" He lobs a ball of fire at Ignia's head. "Or Atlas!" Another ball. "Even he recognized me as Igneel's son!"

Several more blasts are levied at Ignia's head. From this close proximity, the dragon can't strain his neck far enough to retaliate or get a good hit on his brother, instead taking each one. His skin may be immune to fire, but it's effectively irritating. There's only one way he can think of to attack back.

He flames up his entire body.

At first Natsu's screams pierce the dragon's ears and he grins wide, assuming his brother still couldn't handle his flames. Several seconds tick on, but something changes. Natsu's screams die out. Did he kill his brother? That brings a wider-brimmed smile to his snout. He grins and cranes his neck as far as it could go, but the sight that greets him quickly sullies his demeanor.

"It won't work on me anymore… brother." Natsu's own grin brings a great roar from Ignia. The dragon bucks, but this time Natsu stands firm, holding tight to his flame whip now blue in color. The slayer was covered in his brothers flames from head to toe! The initial flame on had surprised him, hence the scream, but Natsu was able to slurp it up and take it in.

"You've learned to control it?!" Ignia screams. "I am a dragon god! How can a mere human handle my flame?!"

Their last fight had hardened Natsu's resolve to beat his brother once and for all. It wasn't a matter of choice, he needed to gain control over the flames to protect his loved ones. Ignia didn't need to know all the pain he'd endured to master this ability, but he will see the results.

The longer he continues to soak up his brother's flames, the more changes morph along his body. Scales over his extremities and around his face. Sharper claw-like nails and elongated canines. Leathery wings with horn spiked joints and finally, serpentine pupils. He was still humanoid, a hybrid of both worlds. "Because I am no mere human." Natsu's voice is low and full of pride. "I'm a demon and the son of the Fire Dragon King! For the sake of our father's honor, I do not wish to fight you, but I will if you continue to threaten me or those I love!"

Ignia wanted to defeat his brother, but he wasn't a fool either. He could sense the gathering strength flowing through Natsu and the threat was not baseless. This slayer or whatever he was, was not only on par with him power for power, but possibly even more so. There was a strange feeling to Natsu's energy… 'Tch, it's that stupid love shit again!' Ignia vaguely remembers his brother spouting nonsense about strength from family, friends, or something like that.

"Well, brother?" Natsu narrows his eyes and concentrates his flames towards his hands, pooling, and growing balls of fire around them. "Fight or live?"

"You're bluff!"

Before Ignia finishes his retort, Natsu sends one ball, hitting his brother in the eye. His fire, combined with his brothers explodes like white-hot shrapnel, burning through scale. If Ignia hadn't closed his eye soon enough, he would have been blinded.

The dragon shrieks in pain, tossing his head from side to side to shake off the burning sensation. It was unbelievable to Ignia that any fire could burn a fire dragon! And one from this damn slayer!

"I've come a long way," Natsu reiterates, "there is nothing I won't endure to protect."

"Get off of me!" Ignia screams. "Alright! I'll leave and go back to Guiltina!"

Natsu takes flight, hovering above and to the side of his brother. "Don't come back to Fiore, Ignia or I will not hold back! I will slay you as we were originally conscripted to do!"

The dragon blows out a puff of steam and without another word takes off towards the clouds. Whether Ignia keeps his word or not will remain unseen, but for now, it was over. Natsu looks down at the area he was sleeping in and remembers that his bedroll and backpack were destroyed, leaving him nothing to rest on. He groans. It was still a few hours till dawn, but with the wings, he could make it back to his cottage by morning. He didn't like staying in this form for so long because it drained his energy, but it might be better than sleeping on the hard ground. 'I'll just sleep when I get home…'

It was a loud banging on his front door that rouses Natsu from another dead sleep. "Come… coming…" He stumbles off the couch, wiping at the crusted drool on his cheek and chin. His body ached all over, not painful, just sore, like every muscle was on strike and his vision was foggy. His side bumps into the counter while trying to steady his wobbling gait. "Oww!" Natsu grabs his side. He looks down at where the pain was coming from and sees a large healing burn. It was only then that his mind snaps together enough to focus and starts to inspect the rest of his body. The burn was the worst injury he could see, but his top and vest were ripped or torn and barely hanging on his body, pants singed and tattered in a couple areas.

Another loud bang on the door followed by a woman's voice. "Natsu?! Are you in there?!" "He was supposed to be back by now," the woman speaks in a lower tone as if turned away to another person.

Natsu shakes his head, even his hearing was fogged up, and his sense of smell. That fight, nay, the transformation and holding it for hours is what zapped his reserves. He could barely remember making it home. The voice sure sounded like Lucy's.

Now a male voice. "Are you sure? Maybe the job ran late."

"But tomorrow is Christmas," the woman replies, "he promised to be home by then."

Wait a minute! Natsu whips his head towards the door. "Christmas?" he mumbles. That means he's been asleep for 3 days! "Christmas?!" He pushes away from the counter, trips over his own feet, but manages to grab hold of the doorknob, yanking it open. "Lucy?!"

"Natsu?!" She rushes up, throwing herself into his body, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "Where the hell have you been?! I've been so worried!"

"I…"

She pushes off to take a better look. Immediately, Lucy's joy at seeing her partner turns to a new range of emotions, going from happiness to sadness to anger in the span of nanoseconds. "Oh, my Mavis! What the hell happened to you?!"

"Aannd, this is where I take my leave," Gray takes a few steps back. Natsu was confirmed alive, but now was in another level of trouble. "See ya guys later." He makes a swift exit, leaving the rest to Lucy to deal with. A lover's quarrel was not something he was going to get in the middle of.

"Was it the mission? Did something go wrong? Who did this to you?!" Lucy fires question after question in rapid succession, matching the speed at which her mind was flying in that moment. Natsu was a total mess. His singed and torn clothing was one thing but the large wound on his side was of a bigger concern. She should run to get Wendy, but first, demanded answers! Just as Lucy was about to lay into him with more questions, Natsu swoons on his feet. His legs were buckling from exhaustion. Lucy swings his arm over her shoulder to steady him and drags him back to his couch. She brings him a glass of water, then when he finishes the drink, kneels in front of him.

Lucy takes a deep breath. She was furious over being worried half to death but knew a fight wouldn't accomplish anything. Instead she places her hand upon his knee, looks up, and in a softened tone, "Spill it Natsu. Tell me what happened."

So, he does, starting from when Ignia attacked to flying all the way home after the fight, leaving out no details. "I barely remember getting home or even passing out on the couch three days ago. The dragon mode took a toll on my body. I'm so sorry Luce, I never meant to worry you! All I had wanted to do was…" Natsu's eyes widen, the gift! He'd forgotten all about it! Did it survive the flames?! He reaches into his pocket and pulls the small box out. Its packaging seemed okay, but as he opens it, Natsu's heart sinks. The metal ring of the band was melted and warped. "Fuck!" He closes the cover and lifts his arm to throw it.

"Wait!" Lucy stops him, grabbing his arm and reaching for the box. "Don't! What is that?"

"It was your Christmas gift," Natsu's head sinks, and his eyes fall to the floor. "But it's ruined."

She was still trying to process the fight with Ignia and now this gift added another element to the mix. Lucy wasn't sure if she should be upset, or just happy that he'd become so powerful, because that growth had saved his life. How about both? "Next time Natsu, when there's something important like this, you should talk to me about it. I shouldn't have to find out by surprise that you had trained to wield his fire or that you can control your dragon form."

"I know…" he sighs.

Lucy sighs too, squeezing his knee. "I'm annoyed… but I'm also excited that you're home now and safe." She smiles, "I'll help you get cleaned up, and go get Wendy to heal your wound, okay?"

"Gah! I feel so bad, I don't even have a Christmas gift for you now."

She chuckles and waves her hand, "I don't need a gift. It's the thought that counts, and besides, maybe it's still repairable."

Natsu grabs her hand, "it's not… just a ring. Lucy, I…. I was planning on proposing to you tomorrow."

"Wait, what?" Lucy pauses in shock, but quickly regains her thought process. She starts to laugh, bringing a look of confusion to Natsu's face, like his girlfriend has just lost her mind. "I'm sorry for laughing," she chuckles again, "Natsu a ring isn't important." Her eyes crinkle in a smile. "If you want to ask me, then just ask me. You can fix the ring later if you still want to."

"Really?!" That brings a wide-brimmed smile back to Natsu's face. "Wait," he tilts his head, "is this a trick question?"

That sends Lucy into another round of hysterics. "No!" she laughs, "I'm serious!"

He pouts, "but I wanted to do the whole show, get down on one knee and stuff like they do in your books."

Lucy smiles from his cute gesture and caresses his cheek, "then I shall wait as well to say yes…"