Chapter 43: Fairy Tail vs Sabertooth Part Four: Three Dragons, Reprise!
"So long story short after we swung by the guild and found out what happened Laxus decided to come here. When we got here we split up to search for Sabertooth's guild and that's when we ran into you…." Evergreen finished recapping the story of how the Thunder Legion were in Crocus to Gray who was listening intently with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He looked up at the looming dark clouds that covered the sky, dropping rain down on them.
"So Laxus is back huh?...I thought after he was expelled from the guild he went on some kind of worldwide trip of self discovery?..." Gray questioned, Freed just frowned and remained quiet while Bickslow cackled.
"If that's what you want to call moping around Hargeon and training so that he never loses to Natsu again then yup, that is exactly what he was doing when we ran into him on our mission." Bickslow laughed, but Freed just pouted.
"It's not something we should laugh at Bickslow, poor Laxus was beating himself really badly for what we did…"
"I mean, you did turn the populus of Magnolia into stone, and were going to bomb the place down to the ground just, because he thought that everyone was beneath him….if you ask me he needed a good smack in the head to come to his senses…" Gray muttered, receiving an offended look from Freed, but both Evergreen and Bickslow agreed under their breath, all of them feeling some sort of shame for their hand in Laxus' plan to overthrow Fairy Tail, and the city of Magnolia.
"Yeahhhh, we're still really sorry about that…." Evergreen blushed behind her glasses and nervously chuckled. Gray just shrugged his shoulders causing an awkward silence to come over the four.
"Gray!" The group stopped waking at the sound of a familiar voice calling out for Gray from behind them. Gray turned his head looking for the source of the voice, but couldn't see much thanks to the pouring rain. It wasn't until the extremely vibrant red hair was almost right in front of him that he saw Erza limping over to them. She looked to be really beat up similarly to Gray, she winced with every step she took, her legs almost buckling. Gray ran over to catch her as she stumbled and nearly fell onto the street below.
"Woah there, you look rough Erza are you alright?!" Evergreen asked sympathetically as she also rushed over to help support the armor clad woman. Erza just smirked up at them.
"Never been better, I made sure to get back at the person who hurt Lucy for Natsu….I made sure she won't be standing up anytime soon…."
"Looks like she also did a number on you too, it's a shame Wendy isn't here with us, she would have you patched up in no time." Gray sighed. Erza just chuckled and leaned on Evergreen to help stabilize herself.
"A pleasure to see you again Erza….I don't suppose you have run into Laxus have you?" Freed bowed his head politely. Erza raised an eyebrow at this.
"Laxus? You mean to tell me that he is here as well?" She questioned, and Freed just let out a sigh.
"You tell me, does it look like I'm here?" Laxus' booming voice caused the group to whip their heads in the direction where Laxus was walking with an injured Gajeel slouching behind him. The Thunder Legion were all grinning, except for Freed who was smiling like the cheshire cat.
"It's nice to see you again Erza." Laxus nodded his head in her direction causing Erza to awkwardly glance at Gray who was watching Laxus uneasily.
"Likewise…" Erza smiled, but sent him a warning look that silently told him that he better be on his best behavior or he might end up with one of Erza's many swords imbedded in his stomach. The blonde frowned and let out a short breath. Despite the uncomfortable standoff, Gajeel stepped forward and looked around the group.
"Say, where the heck is Salamander?" Gajeel muttered, but this caused everyone to look around them.
"Dunno, I haven't seen pyro since we got split up….." Gray shrugged his shoulders. Erza frowned as she looked down the dark, rainy street.
"Strange...now that you mention it things have been unusually quiet…"
"Do you think he is in any danger?" Freed asked, but the trio of Gajeel, Erza, and Gray all just looked at each other.
"I'm sure he's fine….I have faith in him….as for us….we need to figure out where Sabertooth's guild is at." Erza frowned.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually wish Natsu was here….he knows where their guild is and could have led us there."
"Agreed, but it is what it is. It's not like this is the largest city in Fiore right? How hard can it be." Gajeel sarcastically huffed looking down at the ground feeling slightly defeated. Laxus cracked his neck and stepped forward, moving past the group only stopping to roll his shoulders and look back at them.
"Well, we aren't going to find the damn place just sitting around and moping…." After speaking, he continued walking away from them.
"COMING LAXUS WAIT FOR ME!" Freed shouted and sprinted after him leaving Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Evergreen, and Bickslow to look at each other before shrugging and following them. Laxus slowly walked down the dark streets as thunder boomed in the sky and rain bounced off his head. His eyes slowly danced from left to right looking for any sign of Sabertooth's hideout.
"This place is freaky! It's like a ghost town…." Evergreen shuddered. That was a sentiment that they all agreed on, ever since their arrival in Crocus they hadn't seen one person. It was almost like the entire population had simply vanished. A quick look up at an apartment where the bright lights illuminated the street below showed that the citizens were probably all just safe indoors due to the bad conditions outside, and the late hour. The group were silent as they continued their search silently cursing the fact that the one person who knew the location of the guild hall was not presently with them. In fact he wasn't even on the same side of the city, when Minerva had teleported them earlier Natsu had found himself victim to a less than pleasant landing. With a groan the pinkette slowly rose to his feet, wincing at the bad case of friction burn he had received from being thrown across the harsh pavement of a cement rooftop.
"Darn it, where am I?" Natsu questioned out loud as he hopped down a fire escape. So far he had spent the last thirty some minutes wandering around in the unfamiliar place he had been suddenly thrusted to. If the past half an hour had taught him anything it was that he should never listen to his gut instinct, and that he was terrible at directions. As a loud rumble of thunder shook the sky Natsu zipped up the red hoodie with a black flame design that he was wearing. Igneel's scarf was wrapped around his neck and swaying in the wind. The black jeans he was sporting now had a hole in the knee due to his unplanned skid along asphalt courtesy of the Queen of Tigers. Sighing in defeat Natsu stopped walking and reached into his back pocket for his phone.
"Shit…..forgot to charge it…." Natsu cursed as his phone flashed with a critically low battery symbol.
"I knew I should've taken that left turn at Albuquerque…" Natsu joked, quoting an old cartoon that he recalled Igneel used to make him watch, he wasn't sure he had ever been this lost. Tucking the phone back into his rear pocket he stared up at the rainy night sky. A frown on his face soon formed into a frustrated pout. It had been a half and hour straight of nothing but walking nonstop praying that by some miracle he would stumble into one of his friends. Why did Crocus have to be so unnecessarily big? There were so many abandoned, condemned, and foreclosed buildings that served no purpose except for taking up space. Speaking of buildings, Natsu glanced at a large boarded up old apartment complex with a frown. Why did it look so familiar?
"Wait, don't tell me…" Natsu started as he began to spin around and stare closely at the buildings that surrounded him. An audible gulp left his throat followed by a loud frustrated shout.
"I'M RIGHT BACK WHERE I STARTED! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" He shouted, his voice being drowned out by the sound of the rain and thunder. His shoulders slumped in a defeated manner. He stared down at the ground below his feet, when his ears twitched. Snapping his head up he stared down an alley where he was sure he had heard something. But upon closer inspection with the limited amount of light he was given he couldn't see anything so decided to just shrug it off. His brain was probably just playing tricks on him, with a sigh he decided to keep on moving. Turning on his heels he picked a random direction to start walking in and did just that. As he slowly moved down the street a sense of uneasiness crept up on him, he kept gazing over his shoulder as if he was expecting someone to be there.
He couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone, it was like there was this strange presence following him. If it had been over a year ago he wouldn't have thought much of it, but ever since he had become Salamander he had learned that he needed to be ready for anything. He still remembered the rainy night months ago where he had a familiar sensation of uneasiness that resulted in him being poisoned to near death by Cobra and brought to the place that still haunted his dreams some nights. Nirvana.
"How bizarre….I've never been someone to look over my shoulder, but I can't shake this strange feeling that there is someone following me….." Natsu whispered to himself before he once again stopped in his tracks.
"You can come out now! I know you are out there!" He called out without bothering to turn around. No response. Natsu frowned and shook his head, maybe he was just being paranoid? But just as he was about to shrug it off and keep moving forward, every single one of the street lamps that hung over the road illuminating it flickered off. Natsu let out a shocked gasp as he was consumed by the darkness of the night. There was a flash of lightning in the sky followed by a roar of thunder. The quick flash of light gave Natsu a glimpse of a figure standing directly in front of him. The brief light that illuminated the road was too short for him to make out any details of the figure, but now Natsu knew his instinct was right he was indeed being followed, but by who? That remained yet to be answered.
"What a shame….our original plan was to watch you wear yourself out, and then take you out when you were exhausted…..nonetheless, this is the end of the line for you….Salamander." Natsu got into a defensive stance upon hearing the voice cut through the darkness.
"Who are you?!" Natsu shot back, and an instant later all the lightbulbs in the lamps returned to light, beaming down on them. Natsu was now able to see who it was that had been following him. Grinning back at Natsu was the familiar blonde spikey haired member of Sabertooth. Clad in his blue, fur-lined vest with a skin tight half shirt that revealed his toned abdomen.
"Oh, come on now….are you saying that you don't remember me?" The boy questioned with a dark expression on his face. Natsu just tightened his fists and growled in reply.
"Or me?..." A new quiet voice spoke from behind Natsu, causing him to whip his head in surprise. Standing behind him was the other half of the duo, long black hair that hid one of his eyes, a grey long-sleeved fleece shirt was hidden behind a long black cape with the Sabertooth mark stitched on the shoulder of it.
"You two? You're the guys I ran into yesterday aren't you?..." Natsu questioned before the features on his face darkened.
"The two who were bullying that innocent man." He finished the sentence in a dangerously low tone to his voice.
"That's right, in case you forgot our names….I'm Sting…." The blonde spoke with a large smirk.
"My name is Rogue." The black-haired teen scowled.
"And together, we are the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth." They spoke in unison causing Natsu to growl. He shifted his stance in preparation for the event of them charging him from either side of him.
"I remember….to tell you two the truth, I was kinda hoping I ran into you…" Natsu grinned and cracked his knuckles.
"Cause I still have a score to settle for what you did to that guy!" Sting chuckled at Natsu's announcement.
"That's good, because I too have been craving a fight with you for a good while Salamander…."
"You must also pay for your actions against our guild!" Rogue sneered. Natsu smirked as he felt his body begin to heat up in anticipation for this battle.
"So, what exactly is the deal with you two?" Natsu questioned, causing Sting to once again chuckle.
"If you must know, our parents were a part of the legendary eight dragons, and we were both fortunate enough to inherit their powers….I am the son of Weisslogia the white dragon!"
"I am the son of Skiadrum, the dragon of shadows…"
"So, shadow and light huh? I guess that explains why all the lamps went out….and I'm guessing the reason I felt like something was following me was your work?" Natsu asked, looking at Rogue who simply nodded.
"I'm getting tired of just standing here chatting, are we doing this or what?!" Sting snapped impatiently as he clenched his fist tightly. Natsu's eyes narrowed as they danced from Sting to Rogue. He slowly shifted his body into a defensive stance. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sting's first begin to glow a bright white. Meanwhile Rogue uncrossed his arms and looked to be ready to strike. The thunder in the sky, and the rain that was falling on them were toned out as Natsu let out a deep breath before letting two simple words slither out of his mouth.
"Bring it." He growled. Not even a millisecond passed after the words escaped his mouth before Sting and Rogue had simultaneously jetted forward at blistering speeds. Natsu barely had enough time to register them speeding toward him from both sides. In an attempt to block the attacks from the twin dragons he threw his arms up as the two threw a punch at him in unison. The impact from impact created a booming shockwave that echoed throughout the quiet night. Windows from the surrounding buildings exploded into thousands of tiny shards. Natsu winced, his knees began to buckle from the impact. Sting grinned seeing the panged look that flashed on Natsu's face. Both he and Rogue backed off, causing natsu to fall to his knees. Natsu shook his head and cracked his neck before slowly rising back to his feet. A puff of smoke exited his mouth as he glared at the both of them. Tightening his fist he attempted to ignite it in a ball of flames, but when nothing but steam rose from his hand he looked down in slight shock.
"What the?..." He questioned and once more attempted to summon flames into his hand, yet again he was met to steam instead of fire. Sting and Rogue studied this carefully in amusement. Meanwhile Natsu was horrified, this hadn't happened since he was first learning to control his power. Why was this happening now?
"Well how about that….." Sting grinned maliciously upon realizing what was happening with Natsu. Not wanting to waste this golden opportunity he sprinted at Natsu who was still looking down at his steaming hand in shock, and horror. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice Sting's leg glowing with a bright white glow until he was kicked in the cheek with enough force to send him sliding on his back several feet away. He groaned, and winced as the elbow's of his sweatshirt ripped, giving him a nasty friction burn on both arms. Igneel's white scarf now stained with mud, and blood that was trickling down to his neck from the cut on his cheek.
Attempting to shake it off he hopped back to his feet only to be blasted by a white beam into a nearby brick wall that belonged to one of the old condemned warehouses that surrounded them. His vision was hazy from the impact, but he was able to see Rogue standing there with his hand outstretched in Natsu's direction. Natsu growled and made an attempt to rush at Rogue, but his body didn't move it felt like he was superglued to the wall that he was pressed against. Looking down he noticed black shadowy tendrils that were poking out of the wall were wrapped around his torso, legs, and arms.
"Nice one Rogue! Keep him there, and I'll finish this off!" Sting shouted and surged towards Natsu who was struggling to break free of the Rogue's trap. Sting smirked as he leapt into the air with a glowing fist and threw the punch right into Natsu's face with enough force that the brick wall exploded behind Natsu and he was sprawled in the middle of the dark warehouse with holes in the roof letting in the rain. Despite the pain Natsu still felt nauseous about the musty odor of the rotten wood that plagued his nostrils. The sound of mice squeaking as their tiny feet pattered across the floor made him leap up to his feet at lightning speed. Looking around for where the twins disappeared to the teeny amount of light trickling into the building helped him become all too aware of all the various spider webs, cockroaches, and various other pests that gave him the creeps. He stayed completely still and tried to steady his breathing so that he could try to pinpoint where the inevitable sneak attack was going to come from. It didn't take long for a loose floorboard letting out an eerie creaking noise to alert him to something to the right of him. As he positioned himself to face that direction he was blindsided by a heavy hit that launched him upwards, it didn't come from behind him, nor in front. It was an attack that came from directly under him. As he landed on his feet he saw the fleeting traces of Rogue's face before it sank into the ground.
"What's the matter, Salamander? You seem to have lost your spark?!" Sting gleefully quipped from behind him just as he sent a beam of light into Natsu's back which sent him back onto the wet pavement outside. His hoodie was fully torn to shreds leaving him in a black undershirt that was ripping in the back.
"Perhaps the next time you decide to pick a fight you should look at the weather forecast." Rogue's voice sarcastically commented as he slowly rose back up out of the ground and stomped down on the small of Natsu's back. Natsu cried out and glared upwards at Rogue's dark features. Natsu clenched his fist and attempted to sweep Rogue's leg, but right when his forearm was about to make contact, Rogue seemed to dissolve back into the ground leaving Natsu laying on his stomach on the street. He slowly got to his hands and knees and rose back up.
"HEADS UP!" Sting shouted just as Natsu was back on his feet. Natsu whipped his head in the direction of Sting's voice just in time to see a ball of white light speeding down at him like a bullet train. He was able to roll out of the way to avoid getting hit by the attack, but he wasn't prepared for when it exploded on impact with the ground creating a large crater in the ground, as for Natsu he was left skidding on his hands and knees across the road, scraping all the skin off of them. When he stopped sliding his hands were raw, and bloody, as were his knees. He winced in pain as he slowly stood back up clearly shaken.
"Damnit." Natsu cursed under his breath, not making an attempt to disguise how frustrated he was becoming. Sure he had been in a fair share of lopsided battles, but even in his fights against Laxus, and Zero he was able to do something. Never had he realized just how much he relied on his powers until now.
"I'm starting to think that we don't even need to double team him, Rogue. I'm actually starting to feel bad." Sting chuckled while walking in front of Natsu.
"For the sake of your lousy guild I hope your friends can at least put up a fight...well, as much of one as they can." Rogue commented as he once again rose from the ground to stand next to sting.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Natsu snapped angrily. Causing Rogue to smirk.
"Simple, the odds were always stacked against you and your guild from the start."
"And once Lady Minerva got involved, whatever chances of victory you had faded away into nothing." Sting finished off the sentence expecting an angry response from the hotheaded pink-haired teenager, but what he was expecting was for Natsu to start chuckling. The twins looked at each other baffled as Natsu's chuckles evolved into a full blown fit of laughter.
"What is so funny to you?" Rogue questioned, annoyed, causing Natsu's laughter to stop, he reached up to his face to wipe a tear that had formed in his eye from laughing so hard.
"It's nothing...I'm just amused that you two idiots can be that confident, because let me tell you something…." In a second Natsu's face went from childish glee to a dark expression that put some of the villains he had fought to shame.
"My friends won't lose, for the very same reason I will beat you two…."
"Oh? Is that so?" Sting asked, clearly thinking that he was calling Natsu out on a bluff, but to his surprise Natsu just nodded.
"Your guild values strength over everything right? That's why you'll lose, cause let me tell you two something….I've been hit a lot….and I gotta say, you two have nothing on Erza, or even those jerks Gray, and Gajeel."
"He's just trying to get under our skin Sting, we have him right where we want him, so let's finish this!" Rogue muttered, obviously not bothered by Natsu's words.
"Right." Sting agreed, and the two simultaneously sped at Natsu, their fists being enveloped with their respective auras. Natsu didn't budge, he stood his ground and as they threw their punches he attempted to block them, but to no avail. He was blasted back into the side of a nearby parked car, denting the metal and shattering the glass windows, some tiny shards of the glass impaled themselves into his skin. Natsu hissed in pain and stood back up in time to avoid Sting's next attack, even though the blonde's punch narrowly missed, Rogue made sure his next strike was delivered with pinpoint accuracy. A hefty kick from him connected with Natsu's side creating an audible snap to bounce off of the tall buildings. Natsu fell back down to his knees clutching his ribs in pain and struggling for air. Sting didn't give Natsu a second to recover, he puffed out his chest and a large shining white beam of light shot out of his mouth, Natsu threw his arm out to block as much as he could, but it was a fruitless attempt. The blast pushed him down into the ground and created another large ditch in the ground with Natsu at the very bottom of it. He was sprawled out on his back breathing heavily, his body was heavily damaged, his arms were both covered in cuts and scrapes. His shirt was completely vaporized, and his jeans were ripped making them less pants and more like shorts.
"...Everyone is a copycat…." Natsu coughed. Obviously ticked off that yet again his attack was being used by someone else, did he need to file a copyright claim?
"Remind me, Rogue, didn't he say there was no way that we could beat him?" Sting cockily exclaimed as he and Rogue looked down in the ditch at Natsu.
"You would be correct, he also said that we didn't hit as hard as those weak friends of his."
"...I stand by that…." Natsu groaned as he sat up, and tried to work out the knot that had formed in his neck.
"You are either bluffing or delusional if you still think that we won't win." Rogue snapped aggressively, but to his and Sting's annoyance. Natsu began chuckling again. He stood up and slowly climbed out of the ditch he was in.
"I guess I must be delusional then, because I know for a fact that my friends will beat yours." Despite the rain Natsu felt his body beginning to heat up.
"Now that I think about it, you didn't let me finish earlier, I didn't even get to tell you the reason why we won't lose."
"I don't remember us asking." Rogue snapped back.
"Yeah! Besides, you are in no position to be talking down to us. Last I checked we have been kicking your ass this entire time, you haven't even touched us once." Sting added with a sneer, Natsu just shrugged.
"Yeah maybe, but you know what they say….it's not about how many times you get kicked down it's about how many times you get back up, and as I have told people was stronger than you….it takes a lot to keep me down, so much so that every single person who has dared to go against me has lost….each, and every last one of them." Natsu growled darkly.
"If that's the case then perhaps we should stop these shenanigans, and just end this…..right Rogue?"
"Agreed. I have grown tired of this." The two shifted their stances and held their arms behind each other.
"It's over, Salamander! Prepare yourself for our ultimate technique!" Sting shouted. Natsu began to brace himself, as he watched the two of them form a white, and a purple ball in their fists respectively. Wind began to pick up to near cyclone levels, causing Natsu's scarf to flap in the breeze, he struggled to remain on his feet as the power the twins were starting to emanate was like nothing he had ever experienced before. Sting's entire body was engulfed with a white aura, while Rogue was encased by a purple one.
"This can't be good…." Natsu muttered.
"You got that right. This is our most devastating attack, our unison raid!" Sting replied as the power coming from them kept rising.
"A unison raid?" Natsu tilted his head confused.
"It is an ability where two people who have a strong enough bond can combine their power for one final decisive blow!" Rogue shouted over the loud winds that were being caused by their skyrocketing power. Natsu gulped and shifted his stance preparing himself to take the hit.
"This fight….is OVER!" The twin dragon's shouted in unison and thrusted their fists in Natsu's direction. The two differently colored balls formed into one large white and purple ball and soon turned into a strong blast that was heading right at Natsu who stood there with his arms in front of his face, and despite what he had said earlier, doubt began setting in. As he watched the beam grow nearer to him he thought about his friends who had come to Crocus with him, and how they were. He didn't know what had happened to them since they had been separated, but he hoped they were okay. Right as the attack was right in front of him an image flashed in his head. The image of all of his friends that Sabertooth had attacked, Lucy, Wendy, Juvia, Mira, Cana, Levy, all of them. The whole reason he had come here in the first place. His eyes darkened. And a split second later he was engulfed by the strong attack, the force sent him backwards. He fell to the ground motionless. Sting and Rogue stood above him triumphantly.
"After all that talk beforehand, I have to say...I'm a little disappointed." Rogue muttered. Sting however looked down at Natsu's still body with a grin.
"I did it….I beat the Salamander…..how pathetic, to think that this is the guy I looked up to."
"Come on Sting, we should head back to the guild now, I'm sure the others are there waiting…" Rogue placed a hand on Sting's shoulder. The blonde boy nodded and together the two turned around and began walking away, but the sound of Natsu coughing, and shuffling made them stop in their tracks.
"No way…..it can't be...it's impossible…." Sting muttered as he slowly turned his head, only for his eyes to widen.
"I can't believe it…t-that was our strongest attack!" Rogue stuttered, taken aback as Natsu began rising back to his feet. He was wounded badly, but he didn't act like he was phased at all. His usually spiky pink hair was laying flat, sticking to his forehead and hiding his eyes from them. A low chuckle escaped his lips.
"Like I was saying before….the reason I will beat you…..is very, very simple." Natsu's voice was scarily low, and scratchy. His hair was still covering his eyes but his lips were downturned, and his nose was wrinkled, a snarl almost like a wild animal was the expression he wore on his face. The next thing that happened was something they weren't prepared for. Natsu's body heat began rising to a point where his entire body was now steaming in the rain, a loud crack of thunder broke the silence. Despite the rain dowsing out his flames, Natsu's body kept growing hotter, and soon enough the weather that was preventing him from using his powers became irrelevant. In an instant Natsu's entire body erupted into a roaring fire. The flames were burning so hot they were evaporating the rain droplets that dared to try and put the flames out, causing a large cloud of steam to come off his body. Sting and Rogue backed up as the air itself was growing warm from the immense heat coming off his flames.
"You hurt my friends, so now…." Natsu growled and clenched his fist tightly, which made the dancing fire around him grow even hotter, and larger. Slowly Natsu looked up at them revealing his eyes which were staring at them with nothing less than a quiet rage that had finally exploded. He gave them a look that was bordering on sadistic, in fact if they didn't know any better they would've thought that a demon had taken over Natsu's body.
"It's my turn." Natsu word's came out more as a primal growl than anything else.
Chapter 44: Fairy Tail vs Sabertooth Part Five: The Twin Dragon's Tale!
A/N: Ummmm so I am so sorry about how long it has been since my last update, the only thing I can say was that I had a bad case of writer's block, and just didn't know how to continue. I'm ashamed to say that there were times where I just thought about giving up this story, but thankfully I reignited my joy for this story and came up with ideas for more. I hope you can forgive me and I know a lot of you probably grew tired of waiting on me and won't return to this story. For those of you that have come back thank you. From the bottom of my heart, I promise I will give you a story worth reading, the best is yet to come!
Q: Let me hear your theories about what is to come next. I'd love to know where you think the direction this story is going.