AN: Thanks Wadeparker, Agile PvP, NinjaFang1331, cg037, Goku275, AliceCullen3, QueerEpileptic, and scoolharis. Wadeparker, E.N.D. is gone for good in my story. The book is destroyed, and Zeref would have no reason to recreate him when dragon-Natsu has proven to be stronger.
Goku275, Natsu will already be in human form at the start of this chapter (which begins the day after the previous one), though he will remain a dragon for the rest of the story.
That is all. Enjoy!
"…and then he told me that Tenrou Island and everyone who was on it would return in six days," finished Natsu. Macao and Wakaba gawked at their guild master. "After that, I used Transformation Magic to turn back into a human and met up with you guys."
"…How is it that being able to switch between being a human and a dragon now is only the third most shocking thing that happened?" asked Macao incredulously.
Indeed, Natsu had found it ridiculously easy to transform into his human form, as if nothing had happened. It was a good thing that he had learned Transformation Magic from Mirajane alongside Happy and Lucy. That being said, he felt that his transformations could still be improved upon and intended to do so in the near future.
"I just wish you had let us enjoy the party before dropping these bombshells on us," sighed Wakaba.
In standard Fairy Tail fashion, the guild had decided to throw a party celebrating their victory over Tartaros the previous day. Thankfully, Magnolia Town was only minimally damaged due to the Dark Guild's focus being on the guild hall, located on the outskirt of town.
A bar owner had given them free reign of his establishment as a way of honoring the heroes of the hour, then him and his employees booked it to avoid getting caught up in the chaotic celebration. This may or may not have been because the mayor had agreed to pay for the party and all ensuing damages, plus a generous tip.
"Please, like this'll stop you from partying," said Natsu, dismissing his advisor's complaints. After all, he could celebrate despite hiding the horrible, life and world-altering truth that Zeref was his older brother. "Not yet. I'm… I'm not ready to tell someone yet." "Besides, I could use your help deciding who to take with me."
The two older men exchanged a glance, before Macao spoke up.
"Actually, between rebuilding our guild and reporting everything that happened to the proper authorities — whoever that is with the Magic Council in shambles — there's no way you'll be able to join the retrieval team."
Natsu's eye twitched, then he screamed. "Damnit! I hate fucking bureaucracy!"
Millianna looked at Ultear and Meredy, who were sitting at a table talking to one another. She sighed, then walked over to them. "This won't be pleasant."
Meredy, noticing Millianna and realizing her intent, excused herself to mingle with members of Fairy Tail. Ultear turned in Millianna's direction and, upon seeing her approach, gave an uncomfortable expression.
"Look…" started Millianna nervously. "During the battle with Tartaros, I may have… that is to say, I treated you too… what I want to say is—"
"I don't want you to forgive me," interjected Ultear, cutting off Millianna's apology. "Like I said during the fight with Silver, I've done terrible things. Things I haven't yet earned forgiveness for, assuming I ever do."
"But you are trying," countered Millianna, though it felt a bit weird that she was the one who had to say this. "And I acted like a jerk to you, refusing to acknowledge your efforts."
"Even so, I have a long way to go before I feel like I deserve it," replied Ultear, getting a faraway look in her eye as she gazed in Meredy's direction. "I've done horrible things to them, yet the two of them still see me as a comrade. As…"
Ultear trailed off, a look of guilt and self-hatred taking over her face. Despite the hostility she had felt toward the former Dark Mage not even 24 hours ago, Millianna felt her heart wrench.
"Alright," said the Fairy, snapping Ultear out of her funk. "But you have to promise me that you won't do anything stupid that would hurt Meredy and Jellal even more, like distancing yourself from them or throwing away your life to stop a bad guy. If you do that, then I can guarantee that you'll earn my forgiveness in no time, mya!"
Ultear gave Millianna a soft smile, her eyes saying 'thank you' from the bottom of her heart. "It's a deal."
"Strongest strongest number one!" sang Orga, completely off-key. "We rule! Fairy Tail!"
Everybody near the God Slayer grimaced and covered their ears, attempting to ignore him. All except one, that is.
"Excuse me, Orga," said Romeo as he walked up to the man. "Can I ask you something?"
"Huh? Sure, kid."
To everybody's relief, Orga stopped singing to hear out Romeo. The boy gulped, gathered his nerve, and then rapidly blurted out his question.
"Can you help me become a God Slayer!"
"What?" uttered Orga. "Didn't you want to become a master of fire magic? Why do you want to learn lightning magic from me?"
"I don't," replied Romeo. "I want you to help me figure out how to use Fire God Slayer Magic. Ultear and Meredy mentioned it earlier, back when my dad and some others were asking them questions."
"Ah, that makes more sense," responded Orga, nodding. "But it still doesn't answer my question. Why?"
Romeo sighed, a look of shame on his face as he answered. "During the fight with Tartaros, I could barely do anything. Even Blaze was able to take out more of those Lamy things than I could, and she's half my age!"
The boy paused after his outburst, taking a moment to calm down before continuing. "Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of the magic my dad and Mr. Totomaru have taught me. It's versatile, and a creative mage can find tons of ways to use it. But… there are times when what you need is raw power."
Romeo looked down the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with the God Slayer. Hope and dread warred with one another in his body. Finally Orga spoke.
"Heh, don't I know about fighting with raw power," he said, chuckling. "Sure, I'll do it. Although, we might need to get some help. I'm not exactly the teaching type."
The tension drained from the young Fairy's body, happy that his request had been accepted. And, later, Meredy would agree to join in on training Romeo, having gained some insight into Fire God Slaying Magic during a Sensory Link with her former comrade.
"Casually hanging out with former members of the Balam Alliance," said Doranbolt, giving a sigh. "At this point, I can't even say that I'm surprised."
Sting, who was standing next to him, winced. "I don't suppose you'd be willing keeping quiet about our friendship with Crime Sorcière, would you?"
"Don't worry, I won't say anything," replied Doranbolt, causing the dragon slayer to relax. "It's not like I'll be a member of the Magic Council for much longer, anyway."
Sting gave him a confused look, which Doranbolt responded to in a deadpan tone and with a matching expression.
"I released all 6 members of Oración Seis from prison. I'll probably be able to avoid getting arrested because of the desperate nature of the situation and my contributions to stopping Face, but my career is dead."
"Oh, right," said Sting sheepishly, remembering that Doranbolt had mentioned this to him while Blue Pegasus was making their preparations to join the fight against Tartaros. "Well, if you're looking for somewhere to work, Fairy Tail's door will always be open."
Doranbolt paused, taking a moment to look at the party going on before him. It was disorganized, foolish, and even violent at times.
Disorganized because they would accept anyone as family, no matter their past. Foolish because they would ignore any rules that held them back from being themselves. Violent because they would never let anyone harm a member of their family.
"I might just take you up on that offer," said Doranbolt, cracking a smile.
"You look like you're doing better," Minerva told Rogue, walking up to the dragon slayer.
"Indeed," replied Rogue, giving her a small grin. "I have stopped letting myself be consumed by guilt. It was only causing more harm."
"Good," said Minerva. "It isn't exactly pleasant to watch a friend suffer."
"I cannot believe you are the one saying that to me," muttered Rogue, irritating Minerva.
"What's that supposed to mean!" she demanded sharply.
"It means that you have a bad habit of not accepting help unless you are forced to."
"Oof!" went Minerva, Rogue's words hitting a bullseye. Her cheeks turned red as she attempted a retort. "W-well, I'm getting better. When I was worn out and Torafuzar had me cornered, I cried for help despite how humiliating it felt!"
Rogue began to chuckle, amused by the rare sight of his comrade flustered.
"C-can we change the subject!" snapped Minerva, blushing. Then, a devious idea occurred to her. "How about our date?"
The dragon slayer's laughter died, the redness shifting from Minerva's face to his. "Y-you were serious!?"
"Of course," replied Minerva with a smirk. "Why would I pass up an opportunity to eat as much as I want without paying."
The color drained from Rogue's face, her words reminding him of Fairy Tail's first and only annual eating contest. However, the crimson hue returned with Minerva's next sentence.
"Besides, I wouldn't mind going on a date with a nice, handsome guy like you."
With a wink she strutted away, leaving the dragon slayer with very mixed feelings about the immediate future.
"Listen up everybody!" shouted Natsu, grinning as he stood on a table. "I have an important announcement to make!"
The bar grew silent, everyone curious what the guild master had to say.
"After I defeated Mard Geer Tartaros, his creator, the Dark Mage Zeref showed up."
This was met with gasps and murmurs of confusion. How did Natsu get away from such a dangerous individual without any serious injuries?
"The weirdo congratulated me for destroying Mard and E.N.D., then destroyed the Book of Tartaros."
Half of the people present stared at Natsu in disbelief for bluntly calling Zeref a weirdo, while the other half just gave an exasperated sigh. Even after learning he was E.N.D. and becoming a dragon, Natsu was still Natsu.
"He made some cryptic comment after that and left, but not before saying something huge. In six days, Tenrou Island and all of our friends who went there for the S-Class Trial will reappear!"
Five seconds passed. Everyone gaped at the dragon in human form, mouths hanging open. Once they finished processing his announcement, the silence was replaced by chaos.
"Seriously!? Master Makarov and the others will be back!?"
"We're going to see Levy again!"
"I can't wait to meet them!"
"Who'll be picking them up from Tenrou Island?"
"I'll go!"
"No I'm going!"
"No me!"
The cheers quickly turned into an argument, which then devolved into a fistfight. Annoyed that they had all stopped listening, Natsu decided to regain their attention.
"SHUT UP!" bellowed Fairy Tail's guild master, channeling his no-longer-just-inner dragon. Everybody froze, their fighting forgotten. "My advisors and I have already decided on the retrieval team! We decided that we can't afford to send that many people since we have to deal with the aftermath of Tartaros's actions, and that it would be better if familiar faces caught the Tenrou Group up with everything that's happened."
This was met with groans from the ex-Sabertooth mages, which Natsu ignored.
"With that in mind, the retrieval team will consist of Alzack, Bisca, Jet, Droy, Warren, and Max. The six of you will go to Hargeon Port and take a ship to Tenrou Island. Bring our friends back home."
The Fairies nodded resolutely. Not even another war with a Dark Guild would stop them!
His announcement complete, Natsu got down from the table. The celebration resumed, and soon his wife walked up to him.
"It's finally happening!" exclaimed Millianna, jumping up and down with the energy of a hyperactive child. "Er-chan and the others are coming back."
"Yeah!" agreed Natsu, equally excited. "I can't wait to see them again and introduce them to Blaze and Iggy!"
"Same!" responded Millianna, before calming down a bit. "Though, hopefully Er-chan has had enough time to calm down from learning we're a couple."
The two paused, recalling that Makarov, Gildarts, and Mirajane had agreed to tell everyone about their relationship between the departure for Tenrou Island and the beginning of the S-Class Trial.
"Eh, even if she hasn't, it isn't that big of a deal," dismissed Natsu. "After everything I've been through in the past seven years, I'm not scared of Erza anymore. Though Gramps and Gildarts might be able to give me a good fight!"
Natsu and Millianna laughed, then start talking about what it would be like with their lost friends back. The future was starting to look very bright.
Omake
"Is something wrong, Irene?" asked Juliet Sun. "You seem angry."
"For some inexplicable reason," began Irene Belserion. "I have an intense feeling of rage directed toward something in the east."
"Ishgar, perhaps?" suggested Heine Lunasea cautiously, recalling Irene's past.
Irene frowned, putting the two girls on edge. However, her expression was not angry, but rather contemplative. "Not exactly. My wrath feels less like it is directed toward a country and more like it is aimed at an individual, as if somebody has personally affronted me."
She paused for a moment, then continued speaking.
"It doesn't matter, though. Given the recent reports of Face's destruction, our empire will likely conquer Ishgar in the near future. I expect that whatever or whoever is angering me will be crushed by then."
Far away, in the Kingdom of Fiore within Ishgar, a certain pink-haired human-turned-dragon shivered.
AN: Irene's rage stems from the fact that she spent years trapped as a dragon and is still only a human cosmetically, whereas Natsu can take on a fully human form after less than an hour. She does not actually know about him, though. I included this Omake to make it clear that Natsu's situation is different from that of a standard dragon slayer, for a reason that will be explained later on.
Speaking of foreshadowing in the AN section, I have finally revealed who this story's Fire God Slayer is: Romeo Conbolt. Under the tutelage of Orga and Meredy (who, if I recall correctly, did form a Sensory Link with Zancrow in canon), he will add this magic to his arsenal.
Next update begins another resting period between major arcs, like the one between the 1st GMG/Sabertooth Arc and the Tartaros Arc. Though, this one will probably end up being longer. Until then, bye!