40 freaking chapters people!
As usual, a huge thank you for following along with me for this long, I am so lucky to have you all! I can never overstate how much I appreciate the support, writing is one of my big stress relievers, but it is all of you who inspire me to keep FTTD going!
If you haven't before, consider leaving a review of a few words, they really do make my day.
Enough rambles, lots of action ahead, plus the main conclusion to this arc.
~Onward
40
X377
Haru leapt off Glaciea's back, propelling himself at high speed toward the destroyed ridge beneath them, the jet of water that surrounded him burst apart on impact. Having already taken point on the battle, Haru darted around the form of a green dragon with a storm of water and ice building up around him. He dove under the belly of the dragon "blizzard water dragon's jagged tsunami!" Haru called as he swiped his arms up in a large sweeping gesture to bring forth a massive arc of serrated ice and the dragon roared as the sharp edges of ice cut at its' belly. A blast of water followed the wave to submerge the dragon before freezing instantly up to the shoulders. Turning, the dragon loosed a torrent of soil and rock that obliterated the ice trap.
"Natsu!" Haru was already passed the green dragon, head on a swivel as he searched wildly for the fire mage. A silvery beam of energy cut across the ground tearing a fresh line through the already heavily cracked ground straight for Haru, but Glaciea sailed overhead and intercepted the attack's source. The dragon's scales reflected the pale blue of Glaciea's form as she sunk her claws into his shoulder. Her head snapped in the direction of the green dragon when the other drew a deep inhale, she countered with blizzardy roar of her own and Haru inhaled the remnants as he skirted between the three warring dragons to continue his search. "Nats—"
A tower of fire erupted from the ground a couple kilometers up the ridge and Haru whirled in its' direction, lips parting as his eyes raked over the sight, marvelling at the heat he could feel even at the distance. 'Natsu, what the hell,' he thought, he knew it couldn't be Igneel, Igneel was still visible in the skies far behind him. Haru dissolved into the watery arches of his flash step to close the distance rapidly and materialized out of the water just as Natsu shot by with streams of fire flying off his body.
Gold eyes found his as he skidded to a stop, "Haru! –Shit, am I glad to see you!"
"What the hell happened Natsu?!" Haru yelled back as they both dodged blasts of magic and slashes of tails and claws.
"We were ambushed, Igneel and I didn't sense—holy shit," Natsu flipped around the strike of a large talon and launched upward to find purchase on the back of a cobalt dragon's neck.
Haru's eyes crawled over the state of the cobalt dragon, it was clear he'd been grounded by the gaping hole in the webbing of his right wing. A set of large gashes marked the dragon's neck as well, marks that Natsu couldn't have possibly inflicted, which meant Igneel must have dealt some major damage at some point. Haru jumped to dodge the swipe of the dragon's tail, grabbing hold of the appendage to be swung through the air. At the top of the arc, he released his hold rolling above the beast to land next to Natsu. Overhead a dragon with yellow-gold scales and the smaller fire dragon that attacked him and Glaciea earlier soared by with Igneel in close pursuit, releasing a vortex of fire as he flew. Tearing his attention back to the dragon flapping damaged wings and thrashing angrily in attempts to rid the pair from its' back, Haru and Natsu exchanged a quick look and agreed silently, now was as good a time as any to get it right…
Releasing their magic to paint the space around them with red and blue auras respectively, the four elements controlled between them pulsed in outward waves. With full concentration on the precision of combining all four elements into a semblance of stability, the dragon slayers still managed to maintain their balance on the raging dragon. With the power of the elements seething in a giant globe around them, Natsu and Haru slammed their hands together, moving as mirror images, and unleashed a cataclysmic force straight across the dragon's back to explode around its' head and upper body. The cobalt dragon shrieked in pain as it collapsed mid run and the shockwave of the spell threw the Twin Dragon's off their footing to skid across the ground multiple meters away. Haru came to a stop, hands and feet dug into the ground, he eased himself up from the crouch to find the cobalt dragon down. "Natsu—"
The pinkette was looking at him mouth agape as well, "we fucking got it!" Natsu breathed in surprise.
"Abyss break…" They'd been working toward the high-level spell for months, and it finally paid off when they needed it the most. But there was no time for celebration, the roars of the battle continued as Igneel and Glaciea fought the three remaining dragons, two other dragons also appeared to have been eliminated from the fight at some point recently. Glaciea backed up closer to Igneel, facing away from him and fired a powerful blizzard across the dragon before her, as Igneel released a devastating torrent of fire in the opposite direction. Natsu took off at a sprint toward the dragons and Haru followed close after, but Natsu ground to a halt well before reaching their target. Gold eyes wild and his head whipping toward the horizon where the sun hung unobstructed in a clear sky. Haru stopped beside him, "what is it Natsu?" he asked wearily, only to be interrupted by a new ear-splitting roar that demanded all attention.
"The fuck?!" Natsu swore loudly as he reactively gripped his rune-marked arm.
"No…" Haru breathed, eyes widening. Dead black wings beat against the vibrant blue of the afternoon sky, the shocking blue marks were unmistakable. "Acnologia?!"
-Present-
Natsu
Natsu opened his eyes and lowered his arms from his defensive posture, a deep red field of dense magic surrounded him, and his gaze swept over the streaks of black that rippled across its' surface. Not fire. He hadn't consciously cast a spell, but he could feel the Etherious signature, and immediately knew his largely dormant demonic nature must have conjured the shield in response to the threat. Eyes narrowing as he scanned the corridor tinted red from the spell, he realized the ceiling was gone entirely as was much of the walls to either side, obliterated in Hades' last attack. Natsu let the Etherious energy crack apart and pivoted, searching for his comrades and their enemy. Clouds of thick smoke and dust filled the air around him, but he caught sight of a shadowy form at the far end of the destroyed corridor. Haru darted passed him a moment later, and Natsu spun to chase after him when he realized the water mage had located their teammates. "Gray! Gajeel! –Shit!"
Haru vaulted over the remnants of what had likely been a thick iron wall conjured in attempts to block the devastating bomb configuration spell. Natsu skidded to a stop and turned to stand between the three men and the previously seen obscured figure down the hall, now certain the shadowed form had to belong to Hades. He glanced back over his shoulder, Haru had two fingers against Gray's throat seeking a pulse and sighed in relief a moment later. Gajeel was on his knees, large patches of his metallic scales shattered to reveal a torso that was more purpled hues than flesh toned.
Tearing his attention away from his injured comrades to keep his attention on Hades who was now advancing toward them at a steady pace. Natsu's muscles tensed in anticipation of another attack, ready to defend the three behind him. "Gajeel, can you stand," Haru was asking the other dragon slayer, he got an irritated grunt in response. Natsu listened to the conversation distantly, keeping the entirety of his enhanced senses trained on the imminent threat. "Good… Take Gray—" Natsu risked a peek back at the others again, Haru had dragged Gray's slack form up, deep bruising that covered the ice mage's shin surely marked a bad break, and a gash below his eye was just as concerning.
Gajeel grumbled angrily, not wanting to retreat from the fight and Haru rounded on him in a rare outburst that matched that anger, "don't make me pull rank! Follow Wendy's scent, she should be with the royal family and you both need healing!"
"I don't take orders from anyone," Gajeel snapped back indignantly.
Listening absently with his own patience slipping slowly, Natsu watched apprehensively as Hades emerged from the settling dust with his arms extended to his sides, palms out. Shadows swirled up around the Grimoire master's hands, and four layers of magic circles appeared in front of him, the largest would have spanned the width of the hall, had its' walls still been intact. Gritting his teeth as he eyed another exceedingly dangerous multicast spell. Natsu's magic flared up around him in response, a column of fire licking off his body into the exposed sky overhead. Without turning to look at his fellow guildmates, Natsu addressed the stubborn iron slayer, "this isn't a slight to your power Gajeel! You can barely stand, and Gray might be critically injured for all we can tell. If you refuse to retreat, you will be putting all four of our lives at risk."
Natsu left the 'get the fucking led out,' unspoken, watching as Hades lazily lifted one arm, palm behind the largest of the magic circles. "Amaterasu: Formula 72," Hades said flatly, a black-purple light charged up at the deepest layer, growing more powerful as the magic condensed to a point across the multilayer cast. Natsu surged forward in a storm of fire toward the dangerous Amaterasu spell. Haru was next to him in the blink of an eye and violent waters joined the flames to thrash around them both as they flew forward. "Jupiter cannon!" Hades shouted; his voice now edged with a maniac tone.
"Twin Dragon's secret arts: strike cannon!" Fire and water magic whipped together tighter and tighter until the magic auras blended into a vibrant purple ethernano that exploded forward to collide with the opposing cannon strike. The resulting blast reverberated outward blowing away even more of the crumbling structure and the three men shot out of the collapsing wing of Mercurius in zig zagging blurs as they dodged falling chunks of stone. Flashes of visible magic, red, blue and shadowy purple crashed into each other in the palace's immaculate courtyard. Bursts of magic shattered outward with every collision causing further destruction and unbeknownst to the mages involved, drawing more people to the slowly growing crowd that surrounded the palace. The fight continued with no sign of either side slowing.
Lucy
Lucy stood with rigid posture; the warmth of her star magic wrapped around her fists was a mild comfort in the face of the pure rage that had replaced the amusement on their enemy's face. A quick glance to the side found the same unease reflected in Erza and Mira as well. Bright light flashed next to her and Erza requipped to her flight armour, vanishing at untraceable speeds as she leapt to meet Bluenote's threat head on. Her circle of swords still floated in the air before clattering to the ground under a rapid increase in gravity again, Erza shouted angrily as the Grimoire mage shot her back with a horizontal change to the gravity's vector. Red hair fanned around her as she slid back on the balls of her feet, prompting Lucy and Mira to charge in on either side of Bluenote to exchange physical strikes as Erza regained her balance. Flying forward in unpredictable patterns between stray blasts of magic, Erza flipped up over top of the gravity user, a long spear appearing in her hands to swing down over the man's head. But Bluenote's hand shot up reflexively without even looking to catch the spear's shaft and he swung Erza around, sending her crashing right into Lucy.
With a pained gasp at absorbing her friend's weight unexpectedly, Lucy wrapped her arms around Erza protectively as they both went flying back to collide with the wall. "Erz-a," she choked out, sucking in a breath, "are you okay?"
Erza pushed herself off the blonde and dropped onto her knees, "yes Lucy, just low on magic from my previous fight."
"Me too," Lucy alluded through clenched teeth, the only reason she had any magic reserves at all was the brief reprieve after Ultear retreated, and Mavis bolstering her power. Mira was the only one of the three of them that hadn't been in a major battle prior to Bluenote's arrival. The She Demon was spinning around Bluenote, carefully dodging gravity enhanced punches and using her agility to her advantage. But it still didn't appear that she was managing to land blows that were any more effective than what Lucy or Erza had previously. Struggling back to her feet, Lucy dragged Erza up with her and the two leaned heavily on each other as they caught their breath and prepared to jump back in at the first sight of Mira needing support.
Mira whipped around and blackened water trailed her movements, raging up around her as she continued to throw a multitude of punches and kicks at the large man. Lucy's lips parted as her gaze followed the demonic whirlpool now encircling Bluenote and their white-haired friend. Snapping her jaw shut with a click, Lucy snagged a key from her belt and sprinted forward ignoring Erza's protests. She thrust the key into the water, "open, gate of the water bearer: Aquarius!"
"'Bout time you called me!" Aquarius barked, launching into a furious lecture about how she dared to disappear for two years and not beg her forgiveness as soon as she got her keys back. Lucy blinked back incredulously, "now is really not the time!"
It was only then the temperamental spirit seemed to absorb their surroundings, her lips pursed, and her eyes narrowed slowly, as she readied her chalice. Her eyes snapped back to Lucy's for one more quick moment, "don't think you're off the hook!" she growled, and then shouted animalistically as she twirled around with the magical container to unleash a massive tidal wave. The blonde rolled her eyes, 'same old Aquarius,' she thought derisively, though not without affection. Returning to Aquarius' star dress, Lucy ran for the dense whirlpool of black and blue waters and Erza was quick to follow having donned her sea empress armour, brandishing her water blade. Both women further manipulated the waters into a column that tore through the ceiling of the wide hall they fought in. Mira shot out of the watery vortex the moment before they sent the magic imploding inward to finally rip a pained cry from Bluenote's throat.
-Flashback-
X377
Jet black wings carried the apocalypse dragon closer to the ridge with every beat and Natsu stood staring numbly at the sight, he was vaguely aware of Haru not far to his side standing frozen too.
"Time's up!"
The words came in an urgent rumble, and Natsu flinched back, post-traumatic stress making everything outside Acnologia's approach seem a world away. "Natsu!" Igneel landed hard from travelling at high speeds, throwing up a massive cloud of dust and gravel. Suddenly Igneel was in front of him, and Haru was beside him shaking him harshly by the shoulder. The pinkette shook himself from his trance, pulling his attention from Acnologia with visible effort. Igneel's head flung around, and a stream of fire shot from his maw that encompassed most of the ridge, before snapping back to the boys, "you two need to go. Now."
That brought reality crashing down around him in an instant, Natsu's eyes shot open, "what?!" he growled angrily, "I already told you—"
"NO!" Igneel roared furiously, "do you ever want to see Lucy again?! Your team?!" his eyes flickered over to Haru, who Natsu knew was standing at his shoulder internally warring with the same impossible choice. "What about you? Mira? Do you two wanna see Fairy Tail again or not?!"
Absently, Natsu became aware of the tears welling in his eyes, his nails biting into the skin of him palms, and Glaciea's own desperate pleas being added to his father's. "But Dad—" he choked.
Acnologia colliding into Igneel cut the conversation short, and Haru dove to the side taking Natsu down with him as he sailed to the ground, just barely avoiding the two dragons as they fell back in a tangle of thrashing wings and tails, snapping jaws and swiping claws. Igneel clamped down on the chaos dragon's neck as fire exploded off him again and the heat climbed so fast that Haru was forced to release his blizzard magic to escape being scalded. Then Glaciea's wing was folding around them in protection, "look at me, both of you." With their attention, albeit somewhat divided, as her own was, she continued, "it is time for you both to return to your time. We will hold off Acnologia."
As if to challenge her statement a sharp beam of shocking white tore across the mountain range, vaporizing entire mountain peaks and a blast of fire followed with equal power. The two dragons continued their devastating fight but Glaciea's eyes didn't flicker over to them for even a second, her faith in Igneel unwavering. "We will see each other again, you just have to trust in that," she told them, even as the ice wall she had reflexively erected to block the aftershocks of the attacks melted away under the heat.
With a loud roar that set the rock to trembling around them, Igneel threw the black dragon into the air and sent a gigantic fire ball to strike him in his underbelly. The ball exploded on contact and Acnologia gave a pained screech as he crashed into one of the untouched peaks that secluded the ridge. "Go. Now!" Igneel demanded, and when Natsu hesitated again, a gleaming smile stretched across the dragon king's face, "Natsu, do you really believe I'd let myself be done in by the bastard that took Seraphia from me? –I won't die, not before I see Acnologia's end."
The conviction in his father's eyes gave Natsu pause, and… confidence, however dire the situation seemed. But it didn't stop the tears that fell when Igneel turned, promising to meet again, and flew head on into Acnolgoia once more. Glaciea whipped across the ridge as well, and fire and ice warred on the battlefield in opposition to the dark abyss. Haru forcibly dragged him further from the ongoing fight, between a pair of unconscious –or dead—dragons and they slipped over the edge unnoticed to pick their way down the treacherous mountainside. Natsu glanced at his partner, catching sight of the tears that trailed down his face as well, neither mentioned the pain they shared as they retreated.
-Present-
Lucy
A hole ripped through Aquarius' center and Lucy was certain the bewilderment on the spirit's face was mirrored on her own. Aquarius barked an order to be careful even as she vanished in a golden glimmer, it was clear that she hadn't seen the attack coming any more than Lucy had. The blonde's attention whipped back to the whirlpool that still encircled Bluenote and despite his pained scream earlier, his magic pressure remained unaffected, still as daunting as ever. Magic pressure or not, Lucy couldn't determine how the Grimoire mage had attacked from within a dense swirling wall of water. Her question was answered when a multitude of water blades shot out from the vortex, Lucy jumped and met the one headed for her with a hammer kick and the blade splashed to the ground like ordinary water again.
'Does he use water magic too?' Lucy wondered, 'Wait… no…" she suddenly realized he must have manipulated gravitational force around small volumes of water to compress the liquid into blades. Bluenote's mastery of gravity was as spectacular as it was terrifying, she shivered as the raging water trapping him burst apart to reveal their enemy looking battle worn and deranged.
"I have never been challenged like this…" he stated through clenched teeth.
Lucy's back slammed into a wall winding her, and she fell forward onto her hands and knees with a gasp. Her mind hadn't even registered being struck, or being sent flying before the impact, and then just as quickly she found herself flattened out on her stomach under the weight of the world. Barely managing to wrench her neck to the side she glimpsed her comrades sprawled out flat under Bluenote's gravity as well.
'Damnit! How in the hell do you overcome gravity though?!' Lucy grumbled internally as she fought for air under the force squeezing her lungs. All at once it came to her and she struggled under the pressure to reach her keys, she just needed a momentary reprieve.
Moving her limbs under Bluenote's crushing spell put an awkward twisting on her joints that sent new ripples of pain through her. With a gasp of pain both from the air being pressed from her lungs and the strain on her body, Lucy managed to brush her fingertips over the warm metal of a key. "O-open, gate of the L-li-on, an' O-pen, gate o—the sea goat—" Lucy choked out as gravity increased further.
She squeezed her eyes shut as sharp pains racked her body, but she'd succeeded in summoning both her strongest melee spirits who manifested in a shimmer, clad in pristine black suits. They didn't need her instructions, both charged Bluenote and launched a flurry of brutally precise strikes that forced the man to break his attention on the girls. He threw his hands out to slam both spirits into adjacent walls and Lucy coughed violently as gravity abruptly eased and oxygen rushed back into her lungs.
Still coughing for air, the stellar mage pressed herself back up to stand on shaky legs and began wrapping star reform magic up around her fists again while Leo and Capricorn continued to distract Bluenote. The orbs of gold grew larger, and Lucy braced her stance as she slapped her hands together, reminiscent of Natsu's brilliant flame. The two orbs combined and ribbons of black streaked through the gold as the spell continued to grow in size. Eyes snapping open to fix onto Bluenote, Lucy maneuvered the now giant orb overhead and propelled it toward him, "star reform: SUPERNOVA!"
The mix of gold and black overtook Bluenote and collapsed in on itself before exploding violently and taking a large chunk of the palace walls with it. Lucy was blown back by the force of her spell and suddenly Mira was catching her, and Erza was in front of them both slamming her Adamantine shield into the floor as the aftershocks of the spell pulsed all around them. When the magic began to dwindle Erza and Mira vaulted over the massive shield in a blur, and Lucy slumped to the side to peak around the shield. Her comrades clad themselves in powerful transformations and shot forward in red and white streaks to slash across Bluenote's form in an X to deal the final blow. Unable to defend, the large gravity mage finally went down with an agonized sound.
"Supernova, a collapsing star… the absence of gravity—" Erza breathed, as the girls returned to her side, "Lucy, that was brilliant!"
Lucy smiled weakly, "did we win?" she asked.
Mira helped ease her up into a seated position and Leo leaned an elbow on the Adamantine shield to look over her as well. "Thanks to you!" Mira chirped.
"Are you okay Lucy?" Erza asked, voice thick with concern.
Nodding even as her consciousness blurred and her head spun, Lucy reassured them, "I think so, just… remind me to pick a nice, easy escort mission next." She heard Mira giggle softly as she finally let herself succumb to the exhaustion, thoughts of how Natsu was fairing pressing at the edges of her mind.
-Flashback-
X377
Acnologia's army had made their move the same day he and six of his followers had ambushed Igneel's ridge, and all over the continent the rebel dragons were raining storms of magic down on major cities. Consequently, the false dragon slayers had seemingly mobilized from nowhere in response and filed into the cities in numbers more vast than the dragons had ever trained… which meant, they'd been doing their own recruiting and training during their absence. It became apparent quickly, that the dragon slayer army could barely be considered much more friend to the average citizen than the dragons hunting them. Not that they ever committed violence against people, they did manipulate, exploit, and demand absolute obedience and fidelity. It seemed likely, those demands would impoverish people at the rate they expected payment 'for protection.'
Natsu peered around the corner from the alley he and Haru hid in once a group of false slayers had passed by, identifiable by the bright red cloaks they all wore. Overhead a pair of dragons soared across the sky, pacifist or rebel, Natsu couldn't be sure. He leaned back into the wall and slid down to his butt, tugging the deep hood of his cloak further over his head. It had taken over two weeks, by a combination of walking and hitching rides with the occasional merchant carts to get back to the Kingdom of Dragnof, he was exhausted and Igneel and Glaciea played on his mind near constantly. Haru glanced at him, mid sip and lowered his canteen as he fixed him with a considering look, "what?" he asked simply.
"It's going to be really challenging getting back into the palace with these dragon-wannabes running around," Natsu grumbled, as he snagged a piece of dried meat from the package between them. "How did they even manage to get into the walled city?!"
Haru shrugged a shoulder and took another refreshing sip from the canteen, before handing it back to Natsu to requip. "Come on, let's get moving… if we can get closer to the palace, maybe we can sniff out the orphanage, get Anna's help… we need her help to open the gate anyway."
Nodding slowly, Natsu requipped their supplies and watched as Haru pulled his hood back up as well. They both slipped into the busy throng of the streets, just behind another pair of dragon slayers. Natsu was thankful, not for the first time, that the false slayers didn't have the enhanced senses that the Dragon Soul Ritual granted, or they'd have to worry about being sniffed out as 'dragons.' Still, they had to be careful not to draw too much attention. The occasional worn poster, warranting their capture, could still be found plastered around the walled city due their jail break nearly a year ago. Natsu eyed one such poster, an artist's rendering depicted his trademark pink hair and scaled scarf, his hand absently reached for his currently naked throat. Noticing the poster that held Natsu's attention, Haru chuckled, "I told you it would be best to requip it for now…"
Natsu narrowed his eyes and gave his partner a sidelong glance, even if he begrudgingly had to admit that it had been a wise suggestion. But the artist had captured their appearances at a near perfect level, and if anyone got a good look at their faces, it would be obvious who they were regardless. The pair kept their eyes forward on the castle looming up ahead of them, dwarfing the rest of the sprawling walled city. An explosion rocked the street a little ways ahead, and both he and Haru stopped dead, exchanging a quick look. Groups of people ran screaming from the blast, darting around them in search of safety. Yells filtered through the shouts and screams of the citizens and when the crowd thinned out a foursome of men was revealed to be harassing a family at a small market booth. Red cloaks furled around one as he restrained an elderly man and another who grabbed the wrist of a younger woman when she wound up to slap him. She cried out as he bent her wrist back and dropped to her knees begging the man to release her father, Natsu was about to intervene when the water mage beat him to it.
"Hey! Let her go!" Haru demanded, running forward to glare up at the taller man. Natsu ran forward after snapping out of his surprise and slashed an open palm strike across the other man's grip to release the elderly man in a heap. Behind him Haru had gotten the girl out of the other's grasp as well, and the family scrambled back a safe distance. The four dragon slayers circled them quickly.
"How dare you oppose us. This man refuses to pay his taxes—" one of them growled, stepping into Natsu's space in a show of intimidation. "Protection doesn't come free."
"These people need protection from you!" Natsu spat. But it appeared the other men weren't in a discussing mood, he declared indignantly that no one crossed the dragon slayers and Natsu just rolled his eyes. Fire flared up over the false slayer and he struck out with a whip of fire at the Twin Dragons, both leaped outward to clear the cords of fire. Haru spun around the back of a second slayer and connected a strong side kick to his back thrusting him off balance right into the fire user. The four all called various elements to throw back at the boys, who still simply dodged around them in quick by bored movements, countering with basic hand to hand strikes.
"Fire dragon's roar!" the fire mage called and Natsu actually burst out laughing at the irony of having one of his attacks used against him—and on such a weak scale. Grin widening, he inhaled the flames and smiled dangerously, "thanks for the snack…" he said, licking his lips. He was mildly aware of Haru slapping his hand over his face and growling his name in exacerbation.
"What the fuck—how did you—"
"Ohh, sorry, can you not eat fire? Some dragon…"
"Natsu!" Haru whispered irritably in warning.
"Wait…" another of the foursome started, eyes narrowing as he looked between the two, "I know you two from somewhere. You aren't from one of our satellite branches, are you?"
Haru cursed under his breath, he quickly flipped around with a wide spin kick and a whirlpool surged up around the four slayers. The waters shattered into a spray of ice shards that sent them all sailing across the cobblestone streets with a shared cry. Haru snagged Natsu's wrist harshly, "time to go!" he said shortly and pulled the pinkette into a sprint with him as more red cloaks convened to the spot in response to the commotion.
"What on Earthland were you thinking?!" Haru breathed as they ducked into a small alley toward a side street with a group of false slayers on the heels.
Turning back to size up the numbers following, Natsu gave him an apologetic half smile, "he was an embarrassment to fire dragons…" Haru rolled his eyes at the predictable response, and Natsu's name came out in an exacerbated sound again.
"Shit!" both the boys cursed when another throng of their enemies spilled into the street just ahead pinning them down. Instinctually, they both channeled bursts of magic to propel up the roof tops and begain skipping across the buildings with the shouts below following them. It wasn't long before a trio of their pursuers were joining them on the rooftops and in close chase again, herding them between the groups on the ground. The line of homes came to an end and the boys vanished into their respective elements, shooting across a small plaza framed with beautiful gardens. Charging into another narrow street, Natsu looked around wildly, searching for an escape route as the men closed in on them again.
"This way!" A hand grabbed his cloak and tugged at him, and Natsu reached out to grab Haru's arm in turn, they pivoted as a unit and followed the random kid that had appeared out of nowhere. The boy released Natsu's cloak and guided them down an alley barely wide enough to walk without turning sideways, and after a few turns, he was crouching to pull up a slab of stone. "Down here," he instructed.
Haru hesitated a moment, eyeing Natsu, "we should be careful, he might be a kid, but we don't know who the dragon slayers have pulled into their pocket."
"We can trust him," Natsu declared with a quick toothy grin and without another word of explanation, he dropped into the hole. He landed in a dimly lit sewer system and immediately regretted the musky assault on his nose, Haru landed next to him with an equal grimace of displeasure.
The boy followed a moment later, "mannn, I hate travelling the sewers," he whined, pinching his nose between his fingers. The sounds of the red cloaks above faded after some sporadic shouts when their trail came up empty. "Idiots…" the kid trailed off, he waved a hand as he passed by them, "come on, I know a safe place…" They followed silently, carefully picking their way along the thin path that edged the filthy underground waterway. Fortunately, it wasn't too long before the kid was climbing up a ladder and pushing up another stone slab with a loud breath of relief at the fresh air. Natsu and Haru had similar reactions once free of the stagnant air below.
. . .
Haru's jaw dropped a bit when they found themselves standing in the familiar classroom of Anna's orphanage after the long months across the continent. Their guide waltzed across the room and tossed his hood back nonchalantly, he faced them again with a wide smile and a shock of pink hair. "I don't know who you two are, but anyone who pisses off those dragon-rejects is a friend in my book!" The kid announced boisterously, he held a hand up in a wave, "My name's Natsu! And I'm a fire dragon slayer… a real dragon slayer," he added for good measure.
Chuckling, Natsu ruffled his younger self's hair, "thanks for the save kid," he told him. "Name's Sal, and my partner here is uh—Gray," he quickly settled on. Haru deadpanned, honestly, he was surprised his hothead partner, who'd gotten them into their current situation with reckless behaviour in the first place, had had the wherewithal to provide fake names. Even if he'd only appropriated his moniker, Haru considered himself lucky Natsu hadn't introduced him as 'Pos,' or something.
"Nice to meetcha!" the younger Natsu said enthusiastically.
"You wouldn't happen to know where Anna is? Or when she'll be back?" Natsu asked.
The small pinkette tilted his head, "you know Anna?" he pursed his lips in interest and shrugged. "Dunno, ever since the dragons began attacking… she hasn't been able to visit as often." The boy jumped up onto a desktop and swung his legs lazily, "but last time I saw her she said we—me 'n' my friends—would be taking a trip soon."
Haru exchanged a fleeting look with Natsu, July X377 was right around the corner, it must have been the escalation of the war that had been the triggering event to send the kids through the gate when Anna did. It made sense, Weisslogia was one of Igneel's council that had the ability of memory manipulation and should also be in the palace. In a few days' time, the young dragon slayers would have their memories altered and be sent to X777 to find themselves completely alone. Haru felt a flash of guilt, but he knew there was nothing he could do and besides, those tough years shaped them and eventually brought them together. "Well then, do we wait here and hope she shows up? Or do we try to sneak back into the castle?" Natsu questioned.
"If Anna is planning to send the kids through the Gate, then she'll have to come get them soon. We might as well take a break; we've been going nonstop since…" Haru trailed off with a sidelong look at the younger pinkette. He watched as Natsu sighed and slunk down to the floor pulling his cloak off as he did so to reveal a head of hair the same shade as his own. They were lucky Igneel and Glaciea had taken some time to teach them some basic transformation magic, Natsu's pink hair was just too distinguishing a feature. Even Natsu's naïve younger self would have wondered at the pink hair when combined with his dragon senses and they still couldn't be certain what would happen if their younger selves figured out who they were. Haru removed his own cloak and settled down as well.
-Present-
Natsu
Hades slashed his arms out in a wide circle with numerous glowing chains spiralling through the air around him, one wound itself around Natsu's ankle and swung him clear across the garden into a stone pillar that crumbled on contact. Gasping as the air was torn from his lungs, Natsu dropped heavily to the ground again, forcing his eyes up to catch sight of Haru snagging hold of a pair of the chains and trying to use Hades' own chains to throw him instead. Ice crawled over the chains in a fast wave and subsequently up the dark mage's arms.
Natsu vanished in a flash of fire and reappeared behind Hades with a brutal spin kick that caught the bearded man in the temple. Shattering the remaining chains, Haru leapt forward to sandwich their enemy between them again, raining down a torrent of magic enhanced hits. Hades' power still seemed to dwarf their own, but he couldn't come close to matching their speed in Force. The dragon slayers darted around him in untraceable blurs and to the average eye it would appear as though Hades' body was being bent in various directions by unseen blows. Iron punches were thrown simultaneously into the dark mage's jaw from either side to produce a sickening crunch, and Natsu ducked under a counter strike before latching onto the offending arm. With the arm locked in place, he slammed a talon attack into the guild master's unguarded hips and then Haru struck down at the restrained elbow with a hammer kick. Hades' howled in pain when the bone snapped and cradled his arm as a surge of dark magic exploded off him to force the pair back.
Rambling angrily about the insolence of Makorav and his brats, Hades' good arm moved rapidly through the space before him, tracing out invisible script. "You're done this time, you brats," he stated flatly, another series of magic circles appeared to encompass a large stretch of the palace gardens on either side of them and the diameter of most of matched the boys' heights. Natsu and Haru turned back to back and scanned the new Amaterasu formula.
"Do we try to dodge or—"
"We have no idea what the reach of this one will be, or what it'll do. Based on the spread of the circles, it could very well take a chunk of Crocus with it for all we know…"
"So, we face it head on."
Haru looked back at him, with equally determined eyes at his conclusion, and Natsu smirked, "we best not screw this up!"
Their red and blue auras coloured the air around them, taking deep breaths in, they briefly let their eyes close as their magic spiked exponentially on last time. Pivoting, their eyes shot open, the gold of their irises nearly hiding their pupils entirely and then they darted straight down the line of the dangerous spell. Hades was at the end, flanked on either side by the magic circles, still tracing script through the air and chanting an incantation in a language neither understood. Fire, water, lightning, and ice whirled and crackled around them as Hades' circles glowed with deep purple power. "Amaterasu, formula 81—"
-Flashback-
X377
The palace was devastated, huge columns of fire towered into the sky painting the sun an angry red and the sky an dingy yellow through the curtain of smoke and ash. Half of the previously gleaming marble towers of the castle had collapsed or were crumbling under the assault of various dragons clashing in the skies overhead. Anna hurried them along, dodging in and out of the crowds of people that were racing away from the destructive beasts and the squads of soldiers racing toward.
"Sh-shouldn't we r-run?" a little Wendy was asking, clinging to the back of the younger Natsu's shirt. The eight children all clung to each other in one way or another, though Natsu and Gajeel were more subtle about it than others, pretending they were fearless and just supporting the younger children.
"We will be fine, just stay close," Anna assured them, peeking back at the Twin Dragons who trailed the group to keep the kids protected in the middle. She pulled open the same hidden passage they'd escaped the castle from so long ago and ushered them all through.
As predicted, it had only taken a couple days before Anna had turned up at the orphanage. During that two days, Natsu and Haru had kept confined inside the walls of the shabby building, fully aware of the likelihood that the false dragons had spread their descriptions around the city. The kids came and went, often reappearing with scraps of food or trinkets to sell that marked them as common street rat thieves, but in the midst of war, it was a necessity to survive. If Natsu was being honest, it was a little disheartening to see how close the eight of them had been as kids, knowing that all those memories would be stripped from them after travelling through time. Haru had especially had difficulty coming face to face with the young blizzard slayer, knowing the child's fate and not being able to save him for Glaciea's sake.
When Anna showed up on the afternoon of the second day, it was with a face dirtied with soot and panting for breath. Her eyes had crawled across Natsu who had been lounging over a cushion on the floor, and hastily commanded the children that were present to round up the ones who weren't. Her voice had drawn Haru from the small kitchen and Anna had alerted them that Shaurhan had returned from a patrol after spotting a group of Acnologia's rebels not far from Dragnof. The Dragon Wars were reaching a climax and it was time to get the young dragon slayers as far from the turmoil of this time as possible.
Now they raced through the halls, herding the kids between them. The castle walls were swarming with red cloaks and royal guardsmen alike, and as often as not, gaping holes in the walls lent views of the dragons that clashed just outside. The group skirted around a corner and Anna stopped, throwing an arm out to the side to halt everyone's progress at an intersection of corridors. "Sal, summon Leo," Anna instructed, with a quick glance back over her shoulder, Natsu quirked a brow in confusion. "Leo knows his way around the castle as well as I do, get everyone to the Gate, I will meet you there."
She didn't offer any further explanation as she took off down the hall, and Natsu blinked after her, before pulling Leo's key from a cord around his neck. Haru was looking at him with equal confusion and the fire mage just shrugged, "open, gate of the lion: Leo!"
Leo materialized in the middle of their group and appeared rightfully confused when he glanced at the children all staring up at him in wonder. Apparently, Anna didn't summon spirits around them often, or ever. "Uh, Nat—" Natsu slapped his hand over the spirit's mouth, as Haru quickly interrupted him, "Sal, and I need your help getting to the Eclipse Gate."
Looking just as confused and slightly irritated as Natsu removed his hand, the lion rolled his eyes at the lack of information and moved passed them down the opposite hall to the one Anna disappeared down. Leo kept them moving at a steady pace, and Natsu and Haru kept the young dragon slayers corralled between them as they navigated the passages. Lucky for them, neither the guardsmen nor the red cloaks seemed to pay them much mind, apparently too preoccupied with dealing with each other and evacuating the castle's nobles to safety due to the destruction the dragons were causing the castle. So, it wasn't long before they were all slowing to stop as they entered the vacant chamber that housed the Eclipse Gate, but it wasn't just the giant gate that warranted attention this time… the entire end of the chamber was crumbling away into a substantial hole. It was a wonder the gate itself was still standing. The group exchanged some uneasy glances and Natsu gestured them over to the shadows along the far wall to wait for Anna's return, they were at a standstill until she could get back to them.
The little pinkette pulled at Natsu's cloak and he turned from where he and Leo were guarding the chamber's entrance, with a questioning look. His younger self threw his fists into his hips and puffed up his chest, "you can stop worrying, I will protect everyone."
Tilting his head with a lopsided smile, Natsu crouched down, "I'm sure you will. Keep training to get stronger Natsu, always, so you can protect those you love."
"Well duh! O' course!"
Their conversation was distracted by a massive quake that tore through the castle, the walls around them shook and Natsu chewed his lip as a trio of dragons whipped by in a storm of dragon magic. Anna ran into the chamber with a white-haired man on her heels that Natsu recognized as Weisslogia's human form. Queen Irene ran in right behind them, "the Kingdom of Dragnof is falling! We must hurry!"
"Sal, Gray," Anna addressed them with their fake names, "you will be going through the Gate with the kids, now remember, the Gate is being opened at two distinct points in the future right now… By Layla in X777 and your friends on whatever day you specified." The Twin Dragons exchanged a glance with quirked brows, not fully following the line of thought. "If you don't want to end up back in X777 it is crucial that you keep your focus on your destination both physically and in time."
"If that's the case, how do we know the kids will end up in the correct time?" Haru asked.
"Weisslogia is altering their memories right now," Anna made a sweeping gesture toward the white dragon who was making his way around to each of the kids, fingertips shining with holy magic at their temples. "He will implant a subconscious focus for their destination."
The kids were now gathered in front of hulking magic structure, herded over by Leo who was looking back at the group of adults expectantly. Weisslogia approached, "they're ready… tomorrow they will wake up in X777 with no memory of this time, any of us, or each other…" his eyes crawled over Natsu and Haru, "it is a small comfort to know that it works out."
"Natsu and Haru," he continued, no longer concerned with the children learning who they were, "I know you said Sting has turned out to be a… well, I believe you called him a pompous ass… but please try to help him find his way out his obsessive quest for power."
"You can count on in," Haru told him.
"—But not before we kick that cockiness out of his ass!" Natsu added with a bright grin.
Weisslogia threw his head back and laughed heartily, "seems fair," he said, grasping the pinkette's hand in a firm shake. "I'm sure we'll be seeing you both again soon."
"Yes," Irene put in, "first, we need to escape Dragnof, regroup with Igneel and the rest of his Council."
Hope settled over Natsu as Anna strode passed, arms outstretched, and palms upturned with all 12 of the gate keys hovering in the air around her. Gold magic bathed the entire room, and the Gate responded to Anna in kind, the Zodiac spirits appeared to flank her as the giant doors groaned.
"Woooah," the kids awed as the doors began to split apart revealing the first line of pure white light to press out into the chamber. Natsu pulled Anna into a bear hug and thanked her profusely as the young dragon slayers each advanced into the light, laughing and shoving each other playfully. They couldn't possibly grasp the gravity of this plan or their own importance to the future of the magical world, they were simply kids embarking on an adventure. Natsu released Anna and turned back to his partner, holding his hand out and Haru threw his own into the grip again, they'd finish this journey the way they'd started it. Together. "Time to go home…" Natsu said in a bare whisper, and the Twin Dragons walked forward to be swallowed by the white void again.
-Present-
Mira
Leo and Capricorn vanished once they confirmed the girls had everything under control, leaving Erza and herself along with Lucy draped between them in the middle of the destroyed corridor. She shared an exhausted look with her red-haired companion as she helped ease their unconscious friend onto the Knight's back. Mira led the way, carefully picking their path through the unstable structure to navigate their way to safety. But after rounding the corner of the corridor they'd been battling in, Mira found herself following a trail of extensive damage that would presumably lead them to the dragon slayers.
"Is it really a good idea to try to track down the guys with Lucy in such rough shape?"
Mira glanced back at the blonde head that lulled lightly to the side over Erza's shoulder, and paused, "Wendy should be with them…" she pondered. Erza shifted Lucy's weight carefully, neither the redhead or Mira were in great shape either but it wouldn't be like Wendy would be able to stop mid fight to help them anyway—if she was even with them still. "Maybe we should just find a—"
"No," the blonde grumbled from Erza's back, brown eyes cracked open to meet Mira's, "no, we have to find the guys. They might need help."
Another explosion rocked Mercurius followed by a series of smaller blasts that sounded in the distance, Erza didn't look any more certain than she had prior. Torn by wanting to help their comrades and getting Lucy to safety with the injuries she sported, much as the blonde herself denied their severity.
"Natsu would kill me if I brought you into the thick of battle in your state—"
"I don't care!" the blonde spat, and Mira's eyes widened at her combative demeanor. "Please…" Lucy whispered in desperation, eyes softening immediately at her friends' shared concern, "I just need to know they're okay."
Signature Fairy Tail stubbornness, through and through, Mira looked at Erza and shrugged in defeat. They turned and continued toward the sounds of warring mages cautiously. Occasionally dodging around collapsing bits of the palace, and chunks of the vaulted ceilings that broke loose. The girls finally emerged from a spectacular hole at the end of the west wing into the overcast afternoon. Mira and Erza froze in their tracks, looking out over the gardens and Lucy struggled to get a better look from over Erza's shoulder. Not twenty meters ahead, massive magic circles lined the garden and unidentifiable streaks of red and blue were flying down the centre toward Grimoire's master. Blizzarding winds that crackled with static and lightning swirled around the conflict making the details even more difficult to make out. Though it was obvious they'd found their Twin Dragons.
Torrents of fire and water joined the raging elements and the blurs of their comrades vanished suddenly, only to reappear in the sky high above Hades. The dark mage widened his stance, and Mira could pick up his maniac laughter even at the distance, it seemed to echo around them. His power quaked across the lines of magic circles, and the palace courtyard trembled with them. "Amaterasu, Formula 81," Hades' voice boomed, "see you in Hell, fairies—Hell's gate!"
Every Amaterasu circle shattered to release a cataclysmic explosion of black-purple magic and Mira cried out in terror, distantly aware of the cries of her companions' joining her own. A pair of giant tidal waves welled up on either side to buffer the reach of the devastating power and collided in the centre flooding the gardens and Mira's eyes whipped back up to the dragon slayers. "Twin Dragon's secret arts:" four elements raged all around them and in perfect unison they clapped their hands together, "ABYSS BREAK!" Four elements bled together in a blinding mix of colour and struck straight through the power of Hades' formula to break Amaterasu and overwhelm the rogue master. The resulting tortured scream pulled from Hades felt like a physical weight off Mira's shoulders. The Grimoire master went careening back, crashing into the ground hard with a force that cut a deep line into the courtyard.
Silence stretched out for a long moment as all the light mages remained rooted to their spots, clouds of dirt and smoke slowly settled down to reveal the bearded man sprawled flat in the thin layer of water that covered the gardens. Hades' jaw was slack, eyes wide with barely visible pupils, and his magic power was no longer detectable…
Mira stared disbelieving for a moment and then a cry of happiness burst from her as she spun and threw her arms around the other girls, nearly knocking Erza over in the process. Lucy was swiping at tears in her eyes with one arm, the other still wrapped firmly around Erza's shoulders, a wide smile now stretching across her face. The girls finally broke apart from their embrace and quickly took off across the gardens waving and calling to the guys. The two slayers were both laid out flat on their backs laughing in slightly pained gasps when the girls came to a stop to look down over them. Mira quickly disregarded Haru's potential injuries and threw herself over him in a bruising hug, that he barely protested despite his body's protests to the rough treatment. He lifted one arm to wrap around her waist but stayed flat on his back, too exhausted to move much more than that.
"Luce, geez! What happened to you?!" Natsu's concerned eyes were fixed on Lucy as Erza knelt and carefully released the blonde to crawl to his side.
"I'm better then you!" she scoffed, "idiot—"
"You had me so worried!" they both broke in simultaneously, blinking back at one another before falling into fits of laughter. Lucy dragged Natsu's upper body onto her lap, brushing the damp bangs from his face as she leaned down to press her lips to his.
Erza dropped ungracefully to her butt in a splash of water and smiled over at them all, "well, I'd say that was quite the reunion mission…" she said with a half-smile.
The Fairy Tail mages all broke into whole hearted laughter at that, and Natsu joked, "so, what dark guild should we take out next week?" He burst out into laughter again only to regret the action when his body decided to remind him of various injuries. He whined weakly through subsequent chuckles and Lucy flicked him in the forehead and warned him to stay still or likely face Wendy's wrath.
"Speaking of," Haru interrupted the blonde's lecture, "I just updated her, she and some of Mercurius' medical mages are headed our way." Sounds of gratitude spilled from them all and the group relaxed further where they were, content to rest in the shallow pool of water while they waited. After all, they couldn't move even if they wanted.
A/N. Regarding Abyss Break: this version would be a Secret Art take on the elemental spell that can only be accessed in Force with their four elements, as it is usually a heavenly body spell utilizing fire, water, wind and earth.
Annnyway, that's mostly a wrap to a huge arc, purely original material is exhausting! So hopefully you all had fun reading it, if so, I will make a point of doing more completely original arcs. Next chapter will tie up the loose ends and see plenty of fluff to break from the near constant action.
And considering I was so apprehensive about doing a GMG arc, I've actually been having a lot of fun with it. What are you all hoping to see in GMG, I will happily listen to any ideas you may have. Feel free to drop a line in the reviews or PM me.
Virtual hugs to Roll24k, SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta, Joker D. Zero, FireShifter, Valerioux, EternalFlame and all you guests!
'Till next week,
R&R
xx. Loka Muse