Chapter XXI

Visitors on Mount Hakabe

The air was cold, but the skies were clear over Mount Hakabe, with gentle winds blowing about the peak and through the mane of the Winter Dragon, Zyma. She looked to the horizon and spoke to herself: "It won't be long now, those frozen antibodies have been destroyed. They'll be coming, and a wondrous age of dragons will dawn. That sun will rise on this mountain!"

"Eh, they won't be living here, would they?" a balkan asked.

Ever since Zyma claimed Mount Hakabe her home the balkans have quickly learned not to mess with her, but that she won't bother them if they don't bother her, leading to a relatively respectful and distant coexistence.

"No, monkey, this won't be the climate for them to live here; but it would be wise on your part to make yourselves scarce."

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Zyma smiled when she heard the first dragon approaching. She looked its way and could tell by the colors that it was Gajeel. She watched calmly as he flew her way, and noted that he was flying rather well.

Gajeel swooped in, touched down, and looked to Zyma with a glare.

"Welcome, Gajeel," Zyma spoke, it was a very polite tone with an honest smile, she then heard something fall to the ground and looked down to see that it was Levy dismounting: "Levy, I'm happy to see you too."

"I wasn't going to leave Gajeel alone," she replied.

"Of course, especially not that he really needs you. Now, I've got some meat in the cave if you're hungry, along with some giant strawberries. When I established some form of peace with the balkans, they were happy to help me harvest them," Zyma replied, and she then showed them into her cave. Inside, they found meat and fish hanging from skewers of ice on the walls and a large basket of ice with strawberries. Looking about, they also saw that Zyma had decorated her cave with her beautiful ice sculptures.

"In the tunnel on your right, Levy, I've prepared some human accommodations. There's no ice, there's beds, and wood for fire," she spoke.

"Hmph, you're really playing nice now, kid," Gajeel growled.

"I've never wanted to hurt you, but even I came to recognize that my actions were a bit more on the villainous side... but, now that I've committed my evil I now want you to learn how to cope with it. The only way for me to make my wrong not so wrong is to help you take human form again. Truly I hope that we can meet some friendly terms again."

Gajeel tilted his head and sneered before brushing past her. His folded black wings were like a sweeping cloak trailing behind him, his dark and wild mane gave him a rather feral appearance, but his eyes still held intelligence as he examined the cave and then watched as Levy explored the human accommodations. There were two decent beds, a brazier, plenty of blankets, and a table. Not a bad setup.

Perhaps half an hour had passed since Gajeel's arrival, that was when they heard the approach of another dragon. Zyma perked up and spoke: " I'm willing to bet that's Natsu, and he's probably going to want a fight."

She left the cave, and sure enough there was a red dragon approaching and he wasn't looking too happy.

"I smell Lucy," Gajeel spoke as he stuck his head out of the cave.

"Great, she and Levy can have some girl time while you're here," Zyma replied. She flew up and called out: "Over here, Natsu!"

Natsu growled, charged with Lucy screaming, and then rammed into Zyma with his head following it up with a punch before she broke off and slapped his face with her tail: "ENOUGH, NATSU!"

They landed, Lucy caught her breath, and Zyma rubbed her ribs: "Natsu, you look just like your dad... Ugh... There's food inside if you're hungry, also Gajeel and Levy are already here.

Lucy dismounted, looking almost as sick as Natsu normally does on a train and she walked into the cave. Happy followed after her.

"Remember this, Natsu: in the Ice Arena, I was your enemy; today, I am your friend, and in few days I'll show you how to take human form," Zyma spoke, and she then stepped aside to let Natsu in.

"Hey Lucy," Levy greeted, the dragons just eyed each other.

"Lucy, look at all this fish!" Happy called out, he was hovering before a big salmon.

"Yeah, its causing a bit of a smell," she replied.

"Then we better eat it," Zyma announced, she then set some aside for Happy to eat raw before she turned to Natsu: "Natsu, can you grill some of this up without turning it to charcoal?"

With one small breath of fire he cooked some of the meat, and it really did smell good.

"I've managed to season and cut the meat myself. In the Necropolis, I've found that a lot of dragons had such culture."

"Why are you so intent on bringing them back?" Levy asked.

"I think that they're awesome... It also broke my heart somewhat when I learned that there were some dragons that supported coexistence with humans, but then the humans - the dragon-slayers - rose against them and pretty much wiped them out to the point of extinction. It is for those particular dragons that I want to make their dream a reality. However, like I said before, I think that they're amazing creatures and I happened to find myself in a unique position to bring them back."

"Still, you could've at least asked if we wanted any part of this!" Natsu snapped.

Zyma huffed: "I still can't comprehend why you would want to turn away such an opportunity in the first place. Especially you, Natsu; as you are now, you might be strong enough to beat Erza, Laxus, and Gildarts."

There was a pause when Natsu's eyes turned from a scowl, to contemplative, and then realization.

"DON'T GET ANY IDEAS, DRAGON BOY!" Lucy shouted.

"Although, if there was a non-slayer that could best a dragon, I would have to say that it would be Erza," Zyma added.

They ate and tension seemed to ease. Afterward, Zyma proposed a flying race to while away some time, and to let Lucy and Levy to have some girl time.

"Alright, Zyma, you're on! I'll beat you and Gajeel!" Natsu announced, the roar in his voice made the cave shake! The three dragons took off pretty quick after that!

"Hopefully they won't destroy any cities while they're at it," Levy spoke.

"Knowing the guys it would take a miracle," Lucy replied. Now that they were on the subject, she asked: "How did Gajeel transform?"

"We were on a job and we got separated during a fight with a dark guild. I was almost a goner when he turned up and gave them everything he had, and that's what made him transform."

"Hmm, Natsu transformed during our job too. It was supposed to be a ninja-type mission: Infiltrate a party at a mansion, destroy one thing and steal another, but we got ambushed, Natsu transformed during the fight, and he ended up demolishing a good chunk of mansion in our escape," Lucy replied.

"Aye, that's Natsu for ya," Happy interjected.

"By the way, where are Lily and Athena?" Lucy asked.

"At home; we got Mirajane and Lisana to help watch over the baby... I don't like being away from her, but Gajeel needs me and I wasn't going to bring an infant here... Maybe I should give them a call."

"Yeah, go ahead."

Levy pulled out her communication lacrima and headed into the human accommodations tunnel for a few minutes. She checked in on how things were going and to say those sweets things that parents say to their kids over audio-communication.

Levy returned to Lucy: "They sounded a little stressed, but things are under control."

"Hey, has Gajeel changed in any other way since his transformation?"

"Not really... He's scared for the future though, but other than that he seems just fine."

"Alright, and have you heard anything on Wendy?"

"I only know that she's taken that job with Cana, but I haven't heard of anything else and she's not here yet," Levy replied.

"Okay, one more question: Have you been giving Zyma's offer to us any thought?"

"The one where she's willing to turn us into dragon-slayers? I have... and I'm starting to lean towards accepting it."

"You ARE?" Lucy replied in surprise.

"Lucy, dragons live a long time, and I want to be there for Gajeel. Also, between him, Natsu, and Wendy, we have proof that they can be great parents to human children."

"Oh, I didn't even think about the lifespan." Lucy admitted.

"Maybe that's a secret reason as to why Zyma wants to bring the dragons back, and why she picked Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel. Her Cold Magic slows her body's aging process, she's already lost her home and family, she's likely lost some friends too, and we were the people to help her fill the void those people left in her heart. Now that she's also a dragon, perhaps she simply wants to make sure that she will have friends that can live out a prolonged lifespan with her."

"If that's true, then that would make her a more sympathetic villain... Should we talk to her about this?"

"Maybe, but not today, there's just so much on my mind already," Lucy replied.

A moment later, they heard the dragons re-enter the cave. Natsu and Gajeel butted heads and started arguing while Zyma brushed past them while shaking her head; given that the guys were in each other's faces, there were only a few guesses as to what had happened.

"They haven't changed a bit," Zyma muttered.

"What happened?" Levy asked, though she already figured what may've gone down.

"They started throwing cheap shots at each other and it escalated into a fight."

"Yep, that's Natsu and Gajeel for you," Lucy replied: "Are you sure that allowing them to turn into dragons was a wise idea?"

"I'm not one to regret my decisions," Zyma replied.

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They were about to settle in for the evening when they heard the approach of another dragon.

"Ah, now Wendy's coming!" Zyma declared.

Wendy flew in with Carla on her back: "Whoa, you guys are here already?" she spoke, looking at Natsu and Gajeel. Zyma raised her head and with a smile spoke: "Wendy, you look magnificent!

"Well, I suppose, for a dragon at least... but four wings?" she replied, and then she displayed them.

"Well, you are a sky dragon, after all, so it's best for you to have the adaptations to spend long periods of time in the air," Zyma remarked, she also noticed something: "You don't seem as agitated as the guys when they got here."

"Well I've enough agitation for the both of us! It was quite the unsettling experienced for us and Miss Cana when she transformed!" Carla declared.

"I apologize for that, though I had no control over it. Anyway, Wendy, welcome to me cave, we were just about to call it a night."

Carla and Happy flew into the human accommodations with Lucy and Levy while Zyma built a fire for Natsu to light, and they just curled up in their chamber. The dragons' sleeping breaths made the ground vibrate, but at least the girls and exceeds were able to fall asleep.

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