Chapter 7 - The Captured Dragon
Erza, Lucy, Gray and the rest of FairyTail stormed the beach looking onward as giant black aircraft rest above the shore.
"There!" Gray yelled pointing at the ship. They began running to its doors when they were stopped by several dark mages forming a shield wall. In front of them consisted of four of the Seven Kin of Purgatory: Kain Hikaru, Meredy, Capricorn, and Rusty Rose.
Kain stomped forward out of the ship eagerly while laughing. "Stay back guys. I got these puny wizards." He attempted to stomp on the closest which happened to be Gray but was quickly sent out of commission by Gray with an ICE-MAKE LANCE blasting the man well into the sky.
Their teammate's quick defeat instantly gained the attention of the remaining three. Meredy, Capricorn, and Rusty Rose quickly disbanded the shield wall and chose their targets simultaneously.
"I will take on the ice wizard." Meredy spoke while pointing out at Gray.
"I will take the red head." Rusty Rose spoke towards Erza who glared back.
"Then, I shall challenge the blonde." Capricorn glanced at Lucy, fixing his shades.
Gray charged the pinkette with an ice blade, however Meredy simply stepped back and avoided the attack with rather ease. She chuckled lightly at the frustration forming in his eyes. Is this the one who made Ultear suffer? Meredy thought as another ice attack came her way.
MAGULITY RAYS! Meredy cast as yellow beams shot out at the ice make wizard.
ICE-MAKE: SHIELD! Gray defended himself instantly feeling the rays bounce off his hardened ice and disperse, but also serving its purpose and penetrating the shield in the process rendering it useless.
Erza decided to begin by summoning into her HEAVENS WHEEL armor and equipping the sword that came with it.
JET BLACK SWORD! Rusty Rose fired off first with a spell that went directly for his opponent. Being the sword master she was, the red head easily deflected the throw and sent the dark blade crashing into the sand. However, she was surprised when he summoned another one and had to quickly bring up her sword up to block it. Surprise turned into shock as his sword went through her own cutting it in half. This is going to be a tough fight.
PURGATORY ARMOR Erza re-summoned into new armor glowing in a bright yellow light before transforming into her more intimidating armor. Her sword was now steel, much like Gajeel's arm when he fights. "You may have swords too, but mine are sharper and faster." She spoke aloud.
The man shot her a curious look as if she was a fool before beginning another attack, one that was quickly shut down. Out of nowhere he was crashed down upon by his pink haired guildmate.
"The hell Meredy?" Rusty Rose asked as his defense fell.
"It's not my fault!" She whimpered in embarrassment after Gray had tossed her aside. He and Erza looked at each other and nodded knowing how to end this.
ICE-MAKE... He began with Erza raising her sword waiting for Gray's strike.
ROCKET! Gray shouted firing off an icy blast directly at them with Erza bringing down her sword behind them. The two attacks smashed into the Grimoire Heart mages and knocked them unconscious rather quickly. Gray and Erza high fived one another before scanning the beach for any remaining stragglers.
"Let's go see how Lucy did." She stated as they went to go and find their friend.
"Okay blondie, I will not be going easy on you just, because you are a girl." Capricorn said.
"I wouldn't want your sympathy any way ya dumb goat." Lucy challengingly glared summoning one of her spirit.
OPEN GATE OF THE LION... LEO!
A black suited man with orange spiked hair similar to Natsu's emerged from golden light and got in a battle stance. "Stay back princess. I got this." He said smirking.
"Alright do your best Leo!" Lucy grinned and then added in an afterthought, "and quit calling me 'princess'!"
Before Capricorn could respond or even retaliate a REGELUS: ARM SLAM knocked the goat man into the ground effectively knocking him out of the world in one blow just like his partner Kain.
"Well…that was rather easy?" Leo confusedly stated aloud as he and Lucy looked at one another unsure of what to do next.
"At least that's over with." She signed in content as she turned to go find her guildmates
Not long after, Master Hades glanced around the room, looking at his guild mages and then at his captives. "Guard the dragon slayers so they can't escape, we don't want them rescued now do we. Zancrow, I'm trusting you to not fail me. Don't lose for a second time..." He ordered.
"I won't." Zancrow responded as Hades left the room, Azuma and Ultear following behind him.
Zancrow stalked over to the frightened dragon slayer. "How is it up there?" He asked smirking. She angrily glared at him refusing to answer. "Don't give me the cold shoulder little missy. Just because I beat your friend up, you can at least give me some respect cant ya?" Zancrow mocked as he planned to slap her again for her disobedience. However, a sudden rising dark aura boomed locking him in place and he looked curiously over at the figure who made the magical presence known.
"You would be wise to stop." Natsu snarled, the only thing holding him back from bashing the god slayer's face in was the chains that restricted his magic.
"Alright dragon boy, I've had enough of this two-dragon war." Zancrow evilly laughed. "Let's finish our battle. This time, to the death. Only one winner, the loser dies." He added ominously removing Natsu's restraints and getting into a stance. As soon as Natsu felt his magic replenish, dark red flames surrounded his figure as his eyes turned to slits, Wendy watching on horrified.
As soon as the fire dragon slayer's feet hit the floor he was upon his target, instantly slamming his fist into the god slayer's face with a raging fury. FIRE DRAGON's GRIP STRIKE! He followed up as he gripped the god slayer by his arm and blasted him at point blank range in his right-side jaw.
"Damn you!" Zancrow angrily shouted summoning a FIRE GOD's SCYTHE sending that cursed black scythe at Natsu. Due to his power boost, the dragon slayer burnt it to ashes his opponent. What the hell?
Having a couple of free seconds since his foe was recovering from the flaming surprise, Natsu looked back at Wendy only to see a shocked and terrified face staring directly at him.
He wanted to reassure her everything would be okay but was forced to play defense as a FIRE GOD's BELLOW came his way rapidly. Natsu barely had time to turn back around as he took the attack head sending them both crashing to the floor with a loud explosion erupting. That sounded like a roar! Natsu thought but once again had no time to comprehend as he was attacked again by the god slayer.
"Feel like surrendering yet you puny fair!" Zancrow mocked as he noticed Natsu's restricted magic hadn't fully recovered and even though he had only casted one spell so far in this fight he was in trouble.
"If you knew me bub then you'd know I never back down from a challenge!" FIRE DRAGON's IRON FIST! He aimed another punch to stun Zancrow, but the black fire mage side stepped it and fired back with his own which successfully landed sending the pinkette skidding a few feet back.
"Haha! Weak, absolutely weak!" The Seven Kin of Purgatory wizard hysterically chuckled toying with Natsu.
"You're wrong." A voice spoke instantly halting the battle. Both turned to where it had come from, a figure chained in the air against the wall. Unnoticed to the three in the room, Ultear had slipped back in and began chanting something quietly.
"Natsu is one of the strongest wizards I know. He isn't weak, you are!" The sky dragon slayer challenged hoping to give her friend a slight moment to take the dark mage down. Sensing his rival's distraction, Natsu flared his right arm letting loose a FIRE DRAGON's WING ATTACK!
The attack throttled him as he turned back to the fight flinging him into the center of the room giving the two some space. However before Natsu could continue his assault he began to notice he was being frozen. Shit!
Wendy noticed it too shouting with worry, "Natsu!"
"Quit playing dirty and fight like a man!" Natsu hollered frustrated as he was semi paralyzed due to being frozen with ice.
"Luckily for you Natsu Dragneel, I am a woman." She fired back with a triumph smirk glancing back at Zancrow.
"This has gone on for long enough and Master would not be pleased to see him unchained, finish him Zancrow." Ultear ordered while her guildmate evilly grinned.
"You're worthless dragon slayer, you have no right to even call yourself one. Let alone a fire slayer. Did you know who gave humans the knowledge of fire in the first place? It wasn't a puny human like you or a big bad dragon, it was the gods who created fire!" Having been half frozen on his face, Natsu was unable to respond as he wearily watched for the man's next move.
"Zancrow…" Ultear annoyedly mumbled.
"Just wait one moment, I'm almost done. You, yourself are done dragon slayer and with you out of the picture I will have full access to your friend here." He lustfully spoke staring almost like he was staring through and into her very being. Luckily, or in this case unluckily depending on which way you see it, you will not have to experience what she will go through. Now say goodnight ya fake." His demeanor did a one-eighty as he went from joking to a sinister grin.
Wendy seeing a future of despair now in their predicament began to shed tears her eyes still glued to her frozen friend. Miraculously, and with all his will power, Natsu was able to burn enough ice in order to speak.
"No, I refuse to accept your hellish future. I still have people to meet and goals to accomplish." Natsu refused, glancing back at the bluenette only to see water works. "Don't cry Wendy, we will escape I promise you." He grinned rather weakly due to the rest of his jaw line being frozen.
Natsu's stubbornness woke up something in Zancrow as everything went deathly quiet, sensing a storm about to broken loose. "Enough with the chit chat dragon. I'm gonna kill you right here and right now." He stated summoning a flaming black vortex around his entire figure.
"Zancrow, stand down that is an order!" Ultear yelled fearing for what was about to happen.
"Relax, I'm just gonna make sure pinky here doesn't wake up until he's been brainwashed haha."
Realizing what was coming, Natsu and Wendy both gazed at one another, one with hope the other with horror as judgement was made.
"You defeated me once and I defeated you once, it is time to settle the score!"
"Zancrow wait, at this close proximity you might kill the girl!" Ultear hurriedly shouted before the spell was fired.
FIRE GOD's EXPLOSIVE FLAME! Too late, Zancrow's power exploded outwards nearly sending shockwaves along with it. Still incased in Ultear's icy prison, Natsu failed to defend himself, instead doing the one last thing he could do. Having gone unnoticed earlier, he had thawed his left hand free as his own vortex of burning orange fire ignited. The heart of the FairyTail guild looked at those soaked eyes that were filled with worry and concern.
"Don't you dare give up Wendy! You hear me? FairyTail never turns its back on one of our own, we will be rescued!" Managing one last grin as bright orange flames grew around his arm he released a half-sized shrunken FIRE DRAGON's BRILLIANT FLAME in order to counter Zancrow's outburst.
Ultear was shocked when she noticed the direction the oranges flames were heading as instead of protecting himself, the pinkette formed his own shield around the bluenette absorbing the flames and saving her from being roasted. The sheer force and intensity of Zancrow's flames melted through her sculpture sending the dragon slayer flying into the side wall of the ship. The same side that was repaired, but rather still wounded from Makarov's thrashing earlier. Without a moment to spare, Natsu Dragneel found himself airborne with no magic power and nothing to support himself as he rapidly descended towards the chilling ocean waters.
Wendy watched in horror as her friend disappeared from sight through the broken wall as the Grimoire Heart ship began to gain speed and fly away.
"Shoot, Hades is gonna kill me." Zancrow grumbled after realizing what he had just did, only to get slapped in the back of the head by the woman next to him.
"That was so foolish you barbarian!" Ultear chastised him.
"How dare you!" Wendy yelled at him with fury building inside as something snapped and she thrashed around in her chains desperately trying to free herself.
"Shut up dragon girl." He ordered before quickly departing so Hades could not lash out at him even though he knew it was coming. After a quick glance at Ultear the two decided it was best to inform their guild master of what just transpired. "Uh, think he'll be okay with only one?" He asked.
Ultear turned her head piercing his eyes with her frustrated gaze before letting out an exasperated sigh, "You are in so much trouble… Hades is probably going to kill you."
Natsu watched his flames override Wendy's figure and protect her body from the disastrous black flames. However, his decision came with a costly price. The dragon slayer looked up into the night sky as he was blown off the ship's lair and felt himself torpedo down into the sea. This had to of been a nightmare right? FairyTail...have…save…Wendy. With those final thoughts he entered the frost chamber and sunk into its blackened abyss.
Sinking, deeper and deeper into the ocean, memories began to flash through Natsu's paralyzed body. Images of his foster father, Igneel and all of his adventures with the fire dragon king as a little kid played through his mind like a slideshow. Then, pictures of the FairyTail guild, his fated encounter with Lucy which led to him bringing her to the guild, meeting Wendy and Carla during Nirvana, and then finally... he saw pictures of Erza. She stood proudly overlooking a charred mountain with a sword raised high in the air signaling they'd been victorious. The Tower of Heaven replayed as he beat Jellal senselessly through the power of dragon force, showing no mercy once his rage overtook him causing him to nearly kill the possessed wizard. Zancrow's parting words clashed through his newly formed agonizing headache and one last appearance of Wendy's tears sealed the deal as the fire dragon slayer reached the bottom. He felt the flickering flames that once fiercely burned inside of him become snuffed out as a bright white light enveloped his fading vision, everything going dark.
A/N: Yeah, I know its been a while since I last updated, sorry about that once again. Been busy but now that Summer is here I am hopefully going to be able to write more as I have a lot planned in the upcoming 2nd Arc. Since its been more then a month since I released Ch 6 I plan to release a couple chapters within the next few days so I'll see you guys in the next one!
Goku275 - Appreciate the review means a lot! Sorry you had such a long wait between chapters and hope your still here, because the next chapter and entrance to the 2nd Arc is going to be a fun one and one I think you'll enjoy.