S.R: So I... I've got nothing. Just read on. OH, wait that's right. Gray is going to be useless and most of the Erza fight will be off screened. Just a heads up.
Last Time
"Mate?"
"A Dragon's mate. Or in human terms, lover. But again I can tell that scent marker is pretty old, which is why I don't think Salamander realized he did it."
The room was silent at that. For Makarov it was just another piece of evidence to support his belief that Natsu and Cana were slowly going to fall in love. Cana just let the implications of that statement run wild in her mind as she recalled her fantasy from the previous night where she and Natsu had more children besides Michiko. Mystogan was silent out of respect since it wasn't really any of his business. Wendy was blushing heavily since the topic was something she couldn't help but be embarrassed by.
"Is…. Is there more to a scent marker than just warning others away?"
Cana finally managed to ask.
"In this case yes and no. Generally there isn't any other meaning, because the marker means that they want the person to be their mate, not that the person they've chosen is their mate. The marker is only meant to be temporary. But as I said I can tell this scent marker has been on you for a while. Until the scent marker is gone it's going to cause him to be more and more attracted to you. Unless you turn him down and he removes it, or you become mates and he replaces it, Salamander is going to fall completely head over heels for you."
This Time
Before anyone could say anything to Gajeel's explanation, Gray came running back into the room. He had wide fearful eyes as he was panting.
"You guys have to see this!"
Since he had a feeling that he knew exactly what the Ice Make mage was talking about Gajeel rolled his eyes at the other dark haired mans fear. They had warned the guild what would happen if you messed with a Dragons child. But he followed the group as they left the room anyway, having realized the fact Natsu was likely rampaging so heavily that the army of Edolas wouldn't be able to think about getting near the Lacrima to use as a power source to combat the pink haired man. Of course the fact that the ground hadn't stopped shaking, almost as if Natsu's power alone was causing a long and drawn out earthquake after he started rampaging was why he was able to come to that conclusion.
When the exited the building and found themselves overlooking the plains just outside of the city that the castle was build in. They could see hundreds if not thousands of soldiers. Erza could be seen flying closer to the battle but they hardly noticed her. Instead their focus was on Natsu, or at least where they assumed Natsu stood. Edolas's army was staring down an absolutely massive pillar of flames. Craters already littered the ground around between them, and even from a distance they could smell blood. The ground surrounding said craters was dead and crumbling, as if the land was a barren wasteland. After a moment the pillar of fire shook before a large funnel of fire burst forth torching a good chunk of the army that had been advancing while they just watched.
"This level of power is absurd!"
Mystogan said, completely shocked now that he could see what Natsu looked like when he wasn't holding back. Gray was panicking as he could already tell Natsu's flames were too hot for him to be of much help in dealing the army. His ice would melt before it could even begin to form itself into what he wanted it to, let alone before he could fight. Sure he could brawl and not use any of his magic, but once again the heat Natsu was putting off was just too much.
But Gajeel just laughed.
"We told you what to expect when you mess with a dragons child."
"But you guys are Dragon Slayers, not dragons! Besides there shouldn't be anything in the world with that much power!"
Gray responded as he just didn't understand how Natsu could have that much power when they were supposed to be equals.
"Natsu's in Dragon Force right now. He's more dragon than human so it doesn't matter what you want to call him at the moment. I'm just surprised he's still managing to hold back and not burn everything to ash."
Wendy said. Yet before they could respond to the blue haired girls words the ground shook even harder as an ear splitting roar was heard. Even at a distance they could see most of the men that were supposed to be fighting Natsu were trembling at the sound. Carla just watched on in awe of what the strongest Dragon Slayer was capable of, while Happy just cheered for his friend.
Meanwhile
'Dammit even with my most heat resistant armor it's still melting! This is ridiculous!' The red headed knight that was Erza's counter part from Edolas thought to herself as she struggled to get close enough to fight the pink haired man that was laying waste to the army. Normally the other captains would be with her, but Sugarboy was busy preventing the fire from destroying the city, while Bryo and Hughes was acting as the kings personal guard as they prepared for the worst case scenario.
When the massive pillar of fire shrank slightly while the person inside let out an enraged roar, she took her chance to get even closer, using her full speed to dash in and attack. Despite the heat, her weapon was still dangerous enough for her to believe that one good hit would be all she needed to tip the scales in her favor. So she forcefully attacked and ignored the feeling of her armor searing her body. 'At least my Ten Commandments is safe. I'd rather not risk destroying it in this heat, so this second rate spear is all I've got.'
But her blisteringly hot weapon was caught bare handed and turned into a puddle of molten metal almost instantly. The man didn't flinch when he saw her but he did soften up a bit.
"Get the hell out of my way."
"how about you surrender instead!"
She retorted. But Natsu just snorted, before his eyes flicked upwards. A small smile came to his face when he noticed the approaching figure. 'If Erza's here then that means Cana and Michiko are alright.' He told himself, before letting the heat of his flames die down a bit. Which confused the Edolas version of Erza. But that confusion didn't last long before a person who could pass as her own twin landed on the ground beside the man.
"Natsu! Calm down."
She barked at the man. Considering her tone, it seemed likely that the man would listen to the new figure, but he shook his head.
"Erza, you do not get to boss me around right now. The only reason I relaxed enough for you to even get this close is because I realized if you're safe then so are Cana and Michiko… That doesn't mean I'm not still pissed off, nor does it mean I won't tear through anyone that gets in my way."
Both red headed figures took a step way at the tone. While it wasn't one that promised death if they stood against him, it was still one that made them take pause.
"What the hell is going on?"
The Edolas version of Erza asked herself, a bit confused as to why this other woman was also named Erza and who the 'Cana and Michiko' the man spoke of were.
"Put simply We're people from Earthland and we're going to prevent you from using that giant lacrima."
Erza responded as she squared off with her fellow read head.
"We're doing more than that Erza. I'm going to teach these insignificant ants what happens when you mess with a Dragons nest."
Natsu commented before another feral sounding roar tore itself out of his throat. By that point Edolas's army had moved close enough for them to see who they were supposed to be fighting clearly. But When Natsu turned his glare on them they all froze.
"Turning my adoptive daughter into a lacrima? I won't forgive anyone who stands in front of me before I get to the bastard who came up with the idea!"
Natsu shouted before lunging towards the army. With a swipe of his left hand three large claw like bursts of fire shot out and began ripping through the men in front of him. Edolas's Erza went to attack him from behind but was stopped by Erza.
"I made the mistake of not believing in him once. But now? I will gladly protect his back to make up for it."
She told her counterpart as they locked weapons.
"So you're the Earthland Version of me? This might be an interesting fight. And confusing given our name. Just call me Knightwalker."
The Edolas Erza commented as they pushed each other back.
"Then just call me Scarlet."
With The Other Group
Gajeel and Wendy had been paying close attention to what they could hear from Natsu as they lead their small group towards the battle field. After seeing Natsu's massive roar take out a little more than a quarter of all the soldiers than had been sent to face him, they knew it wouldn't take long especially after Erza joined in.
But the entire group had gotten to the edge of the city in time to hear Natsu tell Erza off when she attempted to order him to calm down. Cana just blushed when she heard her name mentioned, as she still didn't fully believe Gajeel when he mentioned that she was just as important as the little girl in her arms to the pink haired man.
Makarov frowned, he knew Natsu always had an issue with authority but he would normally begrudgingly listen. Mystogan was shocked that Natsu would stand up to Erza since as far as he could tell she would normally have him cowering in fear of her anger. But both men were surprised to see Erza didn't say anything else to him. At least in Makarov's case he could tell that she was wary of upsetting him even more than she had when Natsu and Cana had announced the fact they adopted Michiko.
Michiko was squirming around in Cana's arms, now that she had been woken up by the chaos that resulted from Natsu's power being unleashed. But it wasn't because she was uncomfortable or scared, at least as far as Cana could tell as she looked down at her baby girl. To the older brunette it looked as if Michiko wanted to be held by Natsu since she could feel his magic.
'It's like her body is saying 'I can feel daddy is nearby, so I want him.' Which if I don't take the situation into consideration is actually pretty adorable. Especially since it's proof she's a daddy's girl.'
Cana thought to herself with a small smile. Even though she wanted to watch Natsu fight, she couldn't take her eyes off the little girl in her arms. But she could still hear since Natsu was shouting the names of his attacks.
"Fire Dragon's Crushing Maw!"
Then a moment later "Fire Dragon's Secret Art Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"
Even though she was looking down, Cana was still able to catch a bright flash of light from his flames. It was fairly strong too, so to protect Michiko's eyes she turned her body to better shield the little one.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
She couldn't help but smile after hearing his signature attack being called out. But when Wendy tugged on her side and pointed at Natsu who was up in the air she took the chance to see that Natsu was finishing up his fight. Only a handful of men were still standing, unless she wanted to count the people that had given up on subduing him and instead had chosen to flee.
"Time to end this. With the flames on my left hand, and the flames on my right hand… Bring them together, Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"
Cana had heard about this attack before and shielded Michiko's eyes by holding the little girl close to her chest… It was the right call as the moment the ball of flames touched down it expanded and exploded in a bright burst that made everyone flinch and wish they had closed their eyes instead.
While she was shaking her head to recover from the temporary blindness she had just gotten from watching his finishing move, Natsu moved close to the group. Makarov and Cana both gasped at just how dangerous he looked.
Natsu's canine teeth were clearly visible even with his mouth shut, his nails looked like they'd been extended, and his eyes were still reptilian slits. But what shocked them the most was the patchwork of red scales that covered parts of his body.
"It's good to see you can still hold back even while in Dragon Force, but I think that might be because it's an incomplete form Salamander."
Gajeel said, which reminded Cana of the fact that he and Wendy were present as well. Gray was a quivering mess as he realized that Natsu fighting without restraint was something he couldn't even dream to match. Wendy was already giving him a quick once over just to make sure he hadn't gotten hurt somehow.
Mystogan was almost certain that Natsu could have singlehandedly defeated Edolas's entire army, and the secret weapon his father had been developing when he ran away. Makarov was silent as he watched, proud to see his guild, even if it was only a small handful, weren't too scared to interact with Natsu after seeing him at his most extreme.
"Well you're still in perfect shape Natsu. You could probably keep going, but it would be a good idea to take a rest now that you can."
Wendy commented as she finished her exam. At that point Cana stepped forward so Natsu could see her and Michiko. She was ready to hand the little girl over so Natsu could be certain their daughter was okay, but instead he pulled her into a hug, even while smiled at Michiko.
Wendy blushed, Mystogan smiled, Makarov let a few tears fall as he mumbled about 'brats growing up so fast', and Gajeel just snickered while thinking 'I told you so.'
When he finally pulled away from the hug he accepted Michiko with a wide grin. Holding her up slightly the two smiled at each other as he began to coo at her.
"How's my little dragon holding doing?"
With The Two Erza's
Even though they'd been fighting each other both of them had still been able to witness Natsu utterly decimate the army with just a few attacks.
Swiping her sword horizontally to deflect the tip of Knightwalker's spear Erza stepped forward and grabbed at the shaft to push it out of her counter parts hands so she could safely take her legs out from under her. They fell to the ground together since Knightwalker wrapped her legs around the one that Erza had lashed out with.
"How? How are you so strong?"
Knightwalker practically screamed in frustration.
"Because we fight for our friends, no our family. When we fight to protect those we care about, Fairy Tail will never lose."
"How could you call that pink haired monster your family, let alone a friend?!"
Erza frowned at that, it was a subtle reminder of how she had hurt him back when she didn't have faith that Natsu and Cana could raise Michiko.
"Natsu's no monster, and he's not normally capable of using that level of power. He only fought as hard as he did because his adoptive daughter was part of that lacrima. As a Dragon Slayer just the idea of harming his child is enough to send him into a frenzy. Besides he's a good man and would never abuse his power."
With that said Erza finished the fight by using the pommel of her sword to hit Knightwalker's forehead with enough force to knock her out. Standing up Erza dusted herself off, and turned to face Natsu and the others. As she walked up to them Makarov spoke.
"Those were some wise words you told her."
"Even though my words are true, it doesn't erase the fact I made a mistake. After seeing the lengths Natsu just went to… And how he's handling things right now. I owe both him and Cana an apology."
The red headed knight spoke before bowing low towards the two in particular. Natsu smiled softly and Cana brushed it of while pointing out the smile on Michiko's face.
"We know you didn't mean anything bad by it. Besides it helps that you are trying to make up for it. See? Even Michiko is smiling at you."
Erza just smiled back at the little girl, while the group took a moment to relax and collect themselves. Makarov turned to face Mystogan again.
"Now then, I believe you know more about our situation?"
Mystogan just nodded, before explaining everything he had to the Dragon Slayers when the whole mess started. Now that they knew the whole story the others were just as angry as the slayers were. Gray's whole body was shaking in anger as he spoke. "So these bas-" but he cut himself off when he saw the glare that Natsu and Cana were sending his way.
"Anyway, I think we should hurry up and put the rest of your plan in action before they can make another move."
Erza commented as she chose to ignore Gray in favor of moving on and wrapping things up. Since Mystogan had explained his plan to them they all agreed, with Erza and made their way to the castle. There wasn't even a sliver of resistance against them as their group trudged towards the throne room. Not even when they through the doors open so Mystogan could make his announcement.
Mystogan did check to make sure at least someone with authority would hear him before he began to speak though.
"I, the runaway Prince Jellal have returned. But The reason for my return is the fact that my father, our king is no longer fit to be our ruler. As such I am making use of my authority as prince to demand the right to challenge for the crown."
He had expected silence to greet his words, or maybe even shock. But instead his father sat calmly on his thrown and clapped politely.
"Even though you are insulting me, that was very well spoken my son. I'll agree to your challenge under the basis of selecting a champion to fight in our stead."
Since he had figured his father would want to avoid fighting and ask to select champions he didn't have an issue with it. He'd known from the beginning who his champion would be however.
"Is that your only requirement to agree to the duel?"
"Yes. I already have a champion in mind after all."
"Well then you'll allow me to place a requirement as well. The recently made lacrima, the giant one created with the people of Earthland, is not to be touched at all."
The two men guarding the king shook their heads at the idea that their ruler would agree to such a term.
"Typically, the challenger has no right to set any rules or requirements for a duel over the crown."
The king mocked, which while infuriating Mystogan had expected.
"Allow me to rephrase. That lacrima is to be left completely alone or the man I would appoint as my champion will go on another rampage and I will not stop him."
S.R: Okay, so I debated with myself about ending it here. In the end, I decided to stop for a break. I really don't like this arc and just want it to be over already, but I also don't want to write it. Yeah I know it's a catch 22. Which is why I decided on a happy medium. I get to stop for a bit, before finishing it all with the next chapter. Anyway I'll see you guys next time.
