Hey there!

Thank you all for supporting this story so far. I really appreciate all the time everyone of you puts into reading this.

Also, I want to apologize for this story's slow progress. Currently I'm in the middle of preparations for my final exams as a hotel professional and I'm working on an other story at the same time as well.

I hope you'll enjoy chapter 9

################################################################################

Master Makarov was worried. Last night, he'd been filled in on what had happened with Natsu's group the day before via lacrima.

It appeared, his dear dragon child had suffered more at this despicable man's hands then he'd expected. As Master, he needed to keep Fairy Tail's interests in mind, especially since the Magic Council was watching them all the time anyways. Having one of his mages involved in an incident like this could very well prove to be quite dangerous for the guild.

Of course, kicking Natsu out was the last thing he wanted to do. Sighing, he shook his head. How on earth had that man even managed to do what he had done in the first place? Dragons were among the strongest of all magical creatures and to have that guy break a spell one of them had worked on for years sure was impressive.

How would the others react? He had informed the majority of his mages about Natsu's current condition, however he'd left out the detail about what had happened to this group of bandits. He'd merely stated the fact, that the young Dragon Slayer was now looking a bit different from before.

Now, all of those still present were quietly talking among themselves. The tension in the air could almost be felt with bare hands. His children seemed nervous and on edge. They were used to Natsu getting in to trouble more often then not, but this was different. None of them had been given any specifics so far, so of course speculations were running wild among everyone.

Gildarts had told him they'd be back sometime today. It was already past noon and still, there was no sign of them anywhere.

If they wouldn't get back during the next hour, he'd have to send out another search party.

From the very start of this mission, he'd had a bad feeling about it. This feeling had only intensified when they hadn't returned safely after a few days without further explanation. When a week had past after team Natsu had left, he'd finally had enough and send out a search party. Some might have said sending Mira and Gildarts, as well as Wendy, had been overkill, but he'd wanted to make sure to get his kids back home safely.

And now this.

If Erza and Gray hadn't killed that monster, he'd surely done so himself. Officially, none of that had ever happened of course and he certainly didn't plan on letting the council know about Natsu. Those fools would certainly try keeping his boy as some sort of test subject of decided to have him killed or imprisoned in case he was dangerous.

And speaking of that… As long as he wasn't a hundred percent sure that the Dragon Slayer was mentally fit to carry out missions, he wouldn't let him out of his sight. And even if he was, Makarov had yet to lay eyes on the new form of the teen. If it was too obvious that something wasn't right with him, he couldn't let Natsu handle clients. They'd either get scared, or try to keep him as some kind of exotic pet.

The loud sound of bells ringing pulled him out of those dark thought. The way it sounded, the city was undergoing one of her Gildarts changes.

Finally. This definitely meant they were back. He would do whatever it took to make sure the young Dragon would get through this as smoothly as possible. They were family after all and family never gave up on one of their own. Natsu would be fine. Dragon or not, he would make sure of that.

About fifteen minutes later, the double doors finally opened, revealing the long awaited group.

The first one to enter were Gildarts and Erza. Both of them looked dead serious. Next were Lucy and Wendy who, despite the situation, just seemed happy to be back home. After them, Mira walked in, her usual sweet smile on her face while she waved at everyone. And lastly, Gray strode in, alongside a, completely wrapped up in Gildarts' ripped black cloak, person who he assumed to be Natsu. The ice mage had a look on his face that clearly dared anyone to say anything, making it perfectly clear that he wasn't in the mood for answering any of their many questions.

"Welcome home my children! I'm happy you've made it back to us safe and sound." Even if the words sounded hollow to his own ears, the old Master knew that they were necessary in order for them to ease up a little bit. "Can I trust that there hasn't been any more trouble on your way back?"

The scarlet haired knight nodded. "Yes Master, and thank you. It's good to be back home."

Everyone was watching them closely. Most of the guild seemed really interested in the still covered figure standing beside Gray, still as a statue.

This wasn't good. Crowding them like this surely wouldn't do the exhausted group any good, especially the still covered Natsu, who apparently had no intention on changing his attire for them at all.

He was sure they had gone through quite an ordeal. He really didn't need to make it any harder for them by having them tell him all the details in front of everyone.

"Well my children, why don't you come up to my office so we can talk? I think there are a few things we need to discuss in private for now."

Gratefully, they nodded and followed him upstairs. Once inside, he closed the door behind them and enchanted the worn wood against eavesdroppers.

When he turned around, he could see a red scaled and clawed hand sneak out from under the dark piece of cloth, slowly working on removing the piece of clothing. A long tail the same color as the scales was now visible as well. Clawed feet dug through the soft carped and into the wooden floor underneath. With one final tug the last of the black fabric slid to the floor.

Of course, Gildarts had told him about this, but seeing it in real life was way different. If it hadn't been for the salmon colored head of hair, Makarov would almost not have recognized his child.

The Boy that stood in front of him grinned, revealing sharp fangs in the process as he unfolded his majestic wings slightly. "Yo Gramps, nice to see ya!"

Even his voice was different. Not much, but enough to be noticeable. And his eyes… One thing was fore sure. Natsu was definitely not human anymore.

Grinning now himself, he extended his hand. "Welcome home my boy, you look like you've got quite the tale to tell, don't you?"

The dragon-like teen carefully took the offered hand. "Yeah, it's good to be home."

It was painfully obvious just how nervous Natsu was. His tail was swaying slightly from side to side, his wings were rustling lightly and he seemed tense, almost as if he was ready to either attack or flee during the next second.

"I'm just happy I'm out of that cloak!"

Makarov could understand why. Natsu's new form certainly didn't seem to be suited for being hidden and/or restrained at all. Nodding in understanding, the old man mentioned for the group to sit down on various chairs and the sofa he kept in his office just for private conversation like this.

"Well then, why don't you start from the top and tell me everything that happened since you went out to handle that request in Hargeon? And don't worry about the time, I've made sure no one will bother us for as long as this is going to take."

And so, they started talking. With each sentence he heard and with each terrible thing he was told about being done to his children in detail, he got more and more angry.

It took them more then an hour to fill him in on everything that had happened. He noticed Natsu keeping quiet for most of the time, only adding a comment or two here and there and keeping his explanation about what had happened with Igor to and absolute minimum. He didn't blame the boy. From what he'd gathered, it was quite impressive that he was still in his right mind after enduring all of that.

Once they were done with the report, everyone fell silent. What should he do now? He couldn't just let Natsu roam around Fiore alone like that, especially when there was a risk of him killing without hesitation if need be. Thank god the teen lived in a remote house in the forest. At least, he wouldn't be bothered by too many people out there.

First things first though. The Guild needed to know.

With a deep sigh, he looked at Natsu. "Listen my boy, I know this won't be easy, but I think it would be a good thing if the others downstairs at least knew what you look like right now. Don't you agree?"

"Wait Master, do you really think this is a good idea?" Secretly, he agreed with Erza, who looked at him worriedly. Even if he trusted his children, this still was no guarantee for none of them spilling any of this to the wrong people.

However, before he could say anything, Mira intervened. "I think Master's right Erza. Even if there is a risk involved, they are still our family. If we can't trust them, who can we trust at all?"

The two woman glared at each other for a few seconds, before Erza sighed and then preceded to nod. "I get your point. I just don't want to take any risks after everything that's already happened."

Gildarts nodded approvingly. "I don't think hiding the kid would do any good right now. They're all way to curios about all of this by now anyways. If we didn't tell them, they'd probably try to figure things out by themselves, only creating rumors and incomplete or false information like this. That said, I still think we should keep an eye out, just to be safe."

"B-but Erza-san, Gildarts-san, wouldn't it be best if we let Natsu decide this? I mean, he the one who's gonna be affected most, right?" The blue haired sky Dragon Slayer looked at them expectantly.

Makarov smiled to himself. His kids sure had grown strong. "Well said young lady. I wholeheartedly agree." Turning to Natsu he expected to see the boy following their conversation. To his surprise however, the teen didn't seem to have listened to them at all.

He was staring out the window and into the sky while watching the seagulls fly through the air, a longing look on his face.

"Natsu my boy, is something the matter?"

Slowly, flaming eyes turned into his direction. "Ahhm… Sorry Gramps, was there anything you needed?"

"Yes, we were just discussing how to precede from here on out. "

"What do you mean?"

"Well, do you want to tell the Guild about your … condition or do you want to keep it from them for now?"

The salmon head looked at him confused. "Why would I want to hide from them?" Was there uncertainty in his eyes? Maybe even something akin to fear?

"So, you want to show them then?"

"Y-yeah, of course!" He was definitely hesitating.

Taking a moment to collect himself, he got to his feet and mentioned for everyone to do the same. "Very well. Shall we go downstairs then?"

Nodding, they made their way outside, all anxious about what would happen next.

################################################################################

Natsu wasn't sure what to make of all this. All this talking didn't make much sense to him. Was it really such a big deal for him to say he wanted to show everyone who and what he was now? Sure, he was scared about their reaction, or more like nervous, but they were still family, right?

It wouldn't be much fun if everyone thought of him as a monster after all. He needed to make sure to act as normal and human as he could.

Nervously, he chewed on his lover lip, while walking towards the staircase that would lead him to his entire family. Mira had promised that most of them would be okay with him like this, maybe not from the very start, but eventually, right? Now that he was this close to finding out, he wasn't so sure about that anymore.

Descending those steps was harder then he'd though, especially while trying to act normal. Every fiber of his being wanted to just spread his wings and fly away. His shoulders were itching, it had been too long since he'd had a chance to move those sensitive appendages.

Already during the conversation with Master, he'd been able to hear his guild mates downstairs speculate about him.

Earlier, when they had just been surrounded by nature, he hadn't quite understood how sharp his senses had become. Now however, inside a big city like Magnolia, he was overwhelmed by noises and scents off all variety and kind. Food, people, waste and animals had only been some of the scents he'd picked up. Even before they had even been remotely close to the guildhall, he had managed to make out the voices of his family. He could even tell there was a sailboat a few miles out on the open sea.

It was amazing. Sure, he'd need to get used to this level of awareness for a while, but he was sure it would be so worth it in the end.

Only a few steps left…

Taking a deep breath, he jumped down the last of them and there he was.

At first, the others didn't notice the new arrival, but then, one after the other started to notice him. Instead of saying or explaining anything, he just stood there and let them stare at him.

"N-natsu…?"

He could hear paws making their way towards him, even before he could make out the small blue form of his companion, who tentatively was walking in his direction.

"Natsu, is… is that r-really you?" Now, tears had started to gather in the felines wide and unbelieving eyes.

Kneeling down, he extended his hands towards the blue fur-ball. "Hey there buddy, missed me?"

"NATSU!" Like a small and furry hurricane, the blue Exeed jumped into his companions arms, as tears flew out of his eyes. "Natsuuu! I was so worried! And what happened to you?"

For a minute or two, he only concentrated on Happy, not caring about anything else. To have his long time friend reject him would have been the worst thing that could have happened to him.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm back home now." Scratching his cat's ears, he picked Happy up and took care to keep a firm, but gentle hold on his friend.

When he looked around, he noticed that now, everyone had gathered around them. Some were simply looking on with mild interest, others stood and stared at him slack jawed and… yeah, some looked actually scared. However, those thankfully were only few in number.

"So uhh.. yeah. Hey guys, I'm back!"

From this point on, the tension seemed to disperse at least a little bit. The people he'd grown up with started asking questions and seemed genuinely interested. Lisanna, Cana, the thunder legion and even Gajeel were among those people. Levy of course was all over this and asked him again and again to describe the magic circle in as much detail as possible to her.

He was happy. There was nothing else he could say to that. His closest friends had apparently accepted him. Of course, they didn't know everything yet, but they would with time.

However, all of this didn't make him overlook the fact that some people were keeping their distance. Mostly, it were people he didn't really have much to do with anyways, so he could deal with that.

Somewhere behind him, he could hear Gramps sighing relieved. Apparently the old man had been quite worried.

All the good atmosphere and the smiling faces were sure relaxing and caused him to let his guard down. Big Mistake.

A sudden sharp pain shot up from the tip of his tail through his spine. He felt as if someone had just tried to cut the appendage off or something like that.

Blindly, he violently pulled his poor tail free while growling fiercely and blindly lunged at whatever despicable son of a bitch had just dared to step on part of his body.

He could hear screams all around him, someone even tried to pull him away from the person trapped underneath him. At this point, Natsu didn't even care who it was anymore.

He could feel his sharp claws drawing blood as they dug into his prey's soft skin. The person groaned and tried to get away, bet he wouldn't let them. With a warning growl from deep within his chest, he positioned his fangs close to the other person's throat. Whoever it was went completely slack immediately, apparently sensing the danger their life was in right now.

Suddenly, he could feel something cold and sharp between his shoulder blades. This managed to draw his attention elsewhere for a moment.

"Natsu! Stop this, you're hurting him!"

That voice… he knew it, didn't he? Turning his head carefully, he saw a familiar head of crimson hair and a lance that was delicately resting its tip on his back, ready to strike if need be.

"Let him go."

Why should he? Didn't she see what just happened? It was his right to punish whoever assaulted him or his family!

Another voice, a soft one this time, rang out to his other side.

"Please Natsu, let my brother go, okay? I'm sure he didn't mean it!" He knew that scent… They had spend a lot of time together and he knew she'd never hurt or deceive him on purpose.

With one last warning hiss, he retreated from the still figure on the floor that he now recognized as Elfman.

He could almost feel the relief come in waves off of everyone as they called back the magic they had held at the ready, just in case. Only Erza didn't put away her lance. She continued to eye him warily.

Why was everyone acting like this? That brute had been the one to disrespect and mistreat him damn it!

Lisanna, who'd just knelt down beside her brother, released a sigh of relief.

"Okay everyone, you can calm down now, he isn't hurt! I think my big bro just got a little bit scared, that's all." The fake cheerfulness didn't escape anyone in the room. However, despite that, it helped.

"Oh MAN; I thought I was a goner!"

"Oh come on Elf-nii, it wasn't that bad now, was it?"

"Easy for you to say!"

Most had backed up for the time being. Natsu didn't mind. He was getting tired of everyone staring at him like he was some kind of zoo animal anyways. With a hiss, he slowly got back up to his feet.

Turning to Elfman, he looked the other in the eye. "Sorry man, didn't mean that. You just took me by surprise there."

The huge male still was pale and had sweat beading on his face. "O-okay, but I really don't want to see you pissed off for real bro."

He actually didn't really feel like apologizing since it hadn't been his fault in the first place, but he understood that this had been necessary. Everyone was on edge as it was, so trying to save the situation and acting like any human would, was certainly the easiest and fastest way to resolve this.

"Okay brats, that's quite enough now!" Great, Gramps had decided to step in. "Everyone, go back to what you were doing earlier. Erza, put that lance away. And Lisanna, take your brother to the infirmary and make sure he's okay. And Natsu…" Now, the old man looked directly at him… "I think it would be best for you to take the rest of today off and go rest at home. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

A chorus of "Yes Master" could be heard throughout the guildhall as everyone went back to their normal everyday activities.

Taking a calming breath, he looked at Happy, who had become rather silent. "Wanna head home buddy?"

The Exeed nodded and the two of them started to walk towards the exit. Just as they had reached it however, Master's voice rang out once again.

"Oh, and Natsu? Make sure not to draw too much attention towards yourself out there, okay?"

Only waving in response, he and Happy finally left the building.

"Hey, Natsu?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

His companion looked as if he was fighting with himself over something. "You… you don't only look different, do you?"

Of course his friend had noticed. Sure, it would be a miracle if there was anyone who hadn't, but he'd still hoped Happy wouldn't question it, at least for now.

"Yup, you're right buddy, but don't worry, I'm still myself. I only react differently in some situations, that's all, promise."

"You really sure?" The hope shining in those huge eyes was almost too much for him.

"Of course, don't you worry."

They continued to walk in silence for another minute.

"Say, Natsu?"

"Hm?"

"Are those things on your back just for show or why are we walking right now?"

"Wanna bet who'll be home first?"

"Aye!"

Grinning broadly, he spread his wings, just as the blue Exeed was doing the same. "Ready?"

"You bet I am!"

"Okay, then let's go!"

And just like that, they took off towards the clear blue sky.

################################################################################

Okay then, another one done.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

See you guys next time!

nahesa