S.R: I don't really have anything to say this time, so let's just get right into it. Shall we?
Natsu and Michiko had been playing at a nearby park for a little over half an hour when a blue haired teenager approached them.
"Auntie Wendy!"
Michiko cheer as she charged into the older girls legs before latching onto them while laughing happily.
"Hey there Michiko. I'll come play with you in a minute, I've got to talk to you dad first."
Wendy said with a smile as she ruffled Michiko's hair. The younger girl pouted a little since she really wanted to play. Knowing that would happen Wendy reached down with her pinkie out.
"Come on, I pinkie promise okay?"
Since she had never broken a promise before, Michiko agreed to it instantly, though she still pouted as she begrudgingly and slowly pried herself off of Wendy's leg.
"I'll be on the swings 'kay?"
Michiko stated before trotting off. Natsu and Wendy both watched her go with a smile on their faces.
"So what's up?"
Natsu asked, without taking his eyes off of his daughter.
"Well…. You know the job I just came back from?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"I ran into a small pack of Wyverns…."
Turning to face Wendy while narrowing his eyes at her words Natsu practically demanded to know more. With a sigh the bluette told him about how she had managed to wound a couple of them, before the strongest of the group convinced everyone to settle down and talk things out. Similar to the job he and Gajeel had taken before they were made S-class the Wyvern explained that it had been sent to make contact with the Dragon Slayers.
"Nephele mentioned having a message for the Fire Dragon Slayer, and she asked me to bring you to talk."
Wendy finally finished her story. Instead of finishing the Wyverns off, she had befriended them instead, which was something Natsu wasn't expecting, but wasn't surprised to hear. Even though she had grown from her shy and timid younger self, Wendy still tried to avoid violence when she could.
Natsu sighed as he thought about reasons they would look for him in particular. The biggest and most likely reason was that because he was the son of Igneel, he would likely need to be tested to see if he had the strength to claim Igneel's throne as Fire Dragon King for his own. Though he did think there was a possibility they didn't know he already knew about the Dragon Gods and the task they had given the Wyverns.
"How far is she?"
"Just over on Mt. Hakobe."
Tilting his head in thought Natsu figured it was close enough that he didn't have to worry about missing too much. After all, the other S-class had practically ganged up on him before forcing him to agree to stay home with Cana for the last couple months before she gave birth. All because they knew she would need him, and that he'd be kicking himself if something happened while he was away.
"Alright then, meet me at the Northwestern gate tomorrow morning."
Wendy just nodded in response. But then Natsu lightly patted her on the shoulder.
"Now then, I think you've got a promise to keep." The pink haired man told her before pointing with his thumb towards Michiko. The little brunette was watching the two impatiently waiting for Wendy to come play like she promised. A small laugh escaped Wendy's lips as she walked over to the swings, ready to play with Michiko. Natsu chuckled to himself as he found a bench to sit and relax on, though he still kept an eye on the two, ready to move in case something happened.
Eventually Cana and Happy wandered away from the guild and it's party for the fact Natsu had been named a Wizard Saint. Recalling his idea of taking Michiko to the park, Cana led the flying blue cat on a walk to the nearest one, only to find Wendy carrying a tired Michiko towards Natsu who was setting on a bench. Despite the fact she knew Natsu had probably played with Michiko for a bit before resting on the bench the brunette walked up to him with a teasing smile.
"So your idea of taking our daughter to the park is to have her play with someone else while you sit around?"
"She wanted to play with Wendy. Who am I to stop her?"
Natsu replied as he stood up from the bench a smile on his face as he took his daughter from the blue haired girl. Cana was smiling as well, as she nodded in greeting and in thanks to her sister-in-law. Michiko tiredly placed her head on Natsu's shoulder as they left the park, and even yawned. Happy fluttered through the air to land on top of Natsu's head, having made it his official seat when he wasn't using his wings to move around.
The Next Morning
"Go back to sleep."
Natsu commented when he felt Cana's arms wrap around him as he tried to get dressed. Since it was a Saturday, he knew she was going to sleep in. After all, on Sunday's and Saturday's the guild didn't open until 11, and closed at 9. Though Natsu still hadn't realized the reason was that most of the time, the others in Fairy Tail preferred to take the weekends off.
"But I need my personal heater."
The brunette mumbled into his back, still half asleep.
"Wendy found something she wanted me to check out. But I promise I'll be back by tonight."
Natsu offered, hoping it would be enough to get his wife to let him finish getting dressed. Though he didn't know for sure if he really would be home by night. Since he said he'd be back, Cana loosened her arms but didn't pull away from him just yet. Having been married to her for a couple years now, Natsu knew it was Cana's way of asking for a kiss before he left. So with a small smile on his face, Natsu rotated in her arms before leaning over both her and the bed, to give his wife a soft kiss.
Cana still didn't remove her arms, but they both knew that even while half asleep, she wouldn't try to keep a hold of him, and her arms would just fall softly back on the bed when Natsu started to move again. So the pink haired man went back to getting dressed. Once that was done he moved to the small hammock that was Happy's bed.
Luckily the blue fur-ball was already awake, so with a jerk of his head towards the door Natsu gestured for his every present buddy to follow him. As the door shut behind him Natsu whispered what they were doing.
"We'll be meeting up with Wendy and Carla so she can show me something."
The mention of the white cat was enough to wake Happy up completely.
"You think I can convince her to share a fish with me?!"
Despite the fact Happy had been trying to get Carla to have a fish with him for years without success, Natsu couldn't help but chuckle as he replied.
"Maybe."
But rather than head downstairs to leave just yet, Natsu walked towards the only other bedroom in the house. After he and Cana got married the brunette started sharing his bedroom with him, and they prepared the room he had built for her and Michiko, to be their daughter's bedroom.
Peaking in Natsu, Natsu smiled when he noticed Michiko holding the stuffed dragon doll they'd gotten her for her first birthday. It was clenched tightly in her little arms, and you could clearly see that it was worn out, but she loved the doll, especially after all the stories Natsu had told her about Igneel. With a whisper of "Sleep tight, my little dragon." Natsu closed the door.
On The Outskirts of Magnolia
"Morning Wendy. Morning Carla."
Natsu greeted the two as he and Happy approached the spot he had asked Wendy to meet him at the previous night. But neither of them said anything, both shocked by his outfit. After he had been admitted to the ten Wizard Saints, the magic council had practically ordered Natsu to wear his saint's jacket everywhere he went for a few weeks so as to help spread the news that he had become one.
"Oh, yeah that's right you weren't back yet when I made the announcement."
He spoke after realizing why they were staring at him. Finally blinking herself out of the stupor she was in, Wendy excitedly congratulated him.
"That's amazing! Especially since it means the magic council recognizes you as one of the strongest in Fiore!"
Natsu didn't bother to tell her that they had given him the rank Jura held back when they first met the Earth mage. Nor that he was only one rank below Makarov's spot. Mostly because he was certain she'd start ranting about how they were underestimating him. After all, he was the one to defeat Brain/Zero, not Jura. So if anything she would probably argue that he should be above Jura in the ranks. Which while true, Natsu didn't really care about. So long as he could protect those he cared about, he was content.
"So tell me about Nephele, while we walk."
Natsu commented as they left Magnolia. He wanted to know more about the Wyvern that Wendy had met. Especially since she didn't seem to have any injuries at all, which was strange since the 'Dragon Gods' from Guiltina had sent them as a means to test the dragon slayers.
"I don't think she has the same task those Wyverns you and Gajeel dealt with back then. The moment she saw I was capable of wounding them without expending all my magic, Nephele jumped into the middle of our fight practically begging us to stop."
"Just because she stopped the fight doesn't mean they don't have the same task. We get stronger every time we kill a draconic being, so she might have decided that it'd be better if they were taken out by the strongest slayer instead. Make one exceptionally strong Dragon Slayer, instead of multiple decently strong Dragon Slayers."
The pink haired man suggested. Even though they had seen it happening, it was still amazing to Carla to see Natsu using his brain instead of being the brash idiot he was when they first met. Of course the white exceed was ignoring the advances of Happy, as she listened to the conversation, not wanting to be in the dark in case something were to happen.
After a few hours of walking the group finally managed to reach the foot of Mt. Hakobe. Wendy glanced up towards a cave, one that only she and Natsu were able to see from the ground, and even then it was only thanks to the fact their eyes were keen because of their Dragon Slaying magic affecting their bodies. Natsu noticed where she was looking, and let out a sigh.
"Well at least it's not hard to get to..."
He mumbled before turning towards Happy. The blue cat had given up on sharing a fish with Carla not that long ago, instead eating it on his own to quell his rising hunger.
"Hey buddy I know you want to eat but I'd like to get this over with quickly. Mind giving me a hand?"
Carla knew what Natsu was getting at, but Happy took a few minutes to realize Natsu wanted the two exceeds to use their magic to carry the slayers. It was a much faster method than climbing up to the cave after all. Activating their Aera magic, Happy and Carla both lifted their companions up off the ground before following Wendy's directions towards the cave.
As they got to the entrance to the cave a familiar smell hit both slayers dead on. That was all they needed to prove that the cavern was in fact, home to a few Wyverns. The two slayers both moved without hesitation when they were set down on the floor of the cavern by their exceeds. If they could smell the Wyverns, then the Wyverns could smell them. So it would be a waste to act cautiously. Carla and Happy had tired themselves out carrying the two, since it was cold weather. Because of that Natsu used a light Sleep spell on them so the two exceeds would be able to rest.
Letting Happy curl up on his head, Natsu watched with a smile as Wendy gently picked Carla up and carried her as if she were a newborn baby. The bluette gave him a thankful smile since she knew the two exceeds would argue instead of rest and regain their energy. After all they were probably going to need them to get back down the mountain in order to head home. Being quiet, Wendy just nodded for Natsu to follow her further into the tunnel.
"The youngling returns."
A very raspy sounding voice echoed around them as Natsu and Wendy stepped into the largest cavern of the complex network of tunnels and rooms that made up the cave system of Mt. Hakobe.
"I had asked her to. After all I am supposed to deliver a message to one slayer in particular."
A very beautiful and airy sounding voice responded. At that point Natsu's eyes focused in on one Wyvern in particular. It was the smallest of the bunch, but given the level of power he felt, Natsu was confident that it was the alpha.
"Nephele, I presume?"
The small Wyvern nodded, as he studied her appearance. Rather than the sturdy, somewhat blocky, and scaly appearance he was expecting, Nephele's body was more, smooth and fluffy. Her body seemed like it was made out of condensed vapor. Considering the way she looked, Natsu would easily have mistaken her for an actual cloud had she been in the air.
"I already know about the fact Wyverns have been sent here to test us Dragon Slayers and help us grown stronger, since it will come down to us to defeat Acnologia some day."
"That is not the message I was asked to pass along."
Nephele commented with a shake of her head at my words. Since she didn't seem to be related to the element of Fire in anyway he didn't think she wanted to test his abilities to see if he was worthy of claiming Igneel's throne. So he tilted his head in confusion.
"Okay, what is your message then?"
"Two of the Dragon Gods wish to meet with you in particular, young Fire Dragon Slayer."
Natsu's eyes went wide at that. Because he was concerned about what could happen back when he learned about the Dragon Gods, Natsu had found a world map, one that would accurately tell him the distance to Guiltina where they resided. If he was asked to go meet them…. The earliest Natsu would be able to return home to Fiore would be three years from now.
"I have an idea on why… But I cannot do that. My mate is pregnant right now, and I refuse to leave her to raise our soon to be born twins on her own."
Natsu finally answered after a moment. If they were connected in any way to the element of Fire, then they wished to discuss Igneel's throne with him. In a few years he'd finally be old enough that dragon kind would recognize him as Igneel's legitimate heir and would allow him to take the crown of the Fire Dragon King without hassle should he choose to.
"Yes, I had been informed of that when I first met the young Sky Dragon Slayer. One of my nest has already returned from relaying that information through our network to the Dragon Gods. They still desire to meet with you and have asked that we inform you that they will be arriving here in Fiore to make things easier for you to meet with them."
"Aren't they worried Acnologia may attack?! I thought the reason they were hiding in Guiltina was to avoid him becoming even stronger by defeating them?!"
Natsu shouted in a panic after hearing about them wanting to come to him. Even Wendy was wide eyed at the news. Thanks to his Sleep spell Carla and Happy were still fast asleep though.
"They've been in Guiltina for centuries now and that foul beast hasn't gone after them. Granted its possible he hasn't actually sensed their presence given how far it is to Guiltina from this land known as Ishgar. But even then, there are few dragons that have successfully managed to hide here as well. So the two of them will be just fine."
That calmed Natsu down a bit. He was worried that they'd attract Acnologia's attention. Which would be bad, since the pink haired man knew he was no match for the black dragon yet.
"Where ever I meet with them, it needs to be a hidden spot. There are very few people here in Fiore that wouldn't panic at the sight of a dragon."
"That is not an issue. There is a spell that we dragon kind can use once we're strong enough, that allows us to take a human form."
Nephele quickly informed Natsu. Since he was so worried about how to make sure they would be able to meet without causing mass panic, the Wyvern explained that the Dragon Gods had already come up with all the details.
The two Dragon Gods that wished to meet with him would come directly to him in Magnolia. They'd be using the special spell that allowed them to take human form, so as not to draw unnecessary attention. But as she was only tasked with telling him that they were coming to meet with him, Nephele was unable to confirm or deny Natsu's theory on why they wished to talk with him.
"The only details I can confirm are about the Dragon Gods themselves."
She said as she ended her commentary.
"Can you tell me about the Dragon Gods themselves, and then which two are coming to meet with me?"
"Of course. However, I do have another task to complete while I am able. You see, my nest and I are all dying. We have escaped from Acnologia once before, but we did not do so unscathed. That monster stole part of our souls. Because we will be dying soon, my nest and I wish to share our power with you Dragon Slayers."
Wendy frowned at the idea of the Wyverns dying, and Natsu nodded his head having expected that they wouldn't be letting the Wyverns live beyond this meeting.
"You want me to earn your knowledge by defeating your nest."
Nephele nodded at Natsu's statement.
"As much as I wish to, I cannot allow the Sky Dragon Slayer to fight my nest. She is capable of defeating us, but it would be detrimental to her growth at this point. Our power added on to hers, would make it even harder for her skill to grow. Should she wish to stand beside you when the time comes to fight Acnologia, she will need a much higher skill level. As a warrior you need skill, power, and experience in equal shares after all."
Wendy was confused at this point. She only partially understood why Nephele wanted Natsu to defeat her nest instead of herself.
"I'm not sure I completely understand."
"Think of it like this Wendy. I put a target in front of you. No matter where you hit, you have more than enough power and you break it. But what happens if you end up in a fight with someone or something that you can't defeat with raw power? Accuracy and control are what we mean when we say skill. If you're skilled enough, then all you have to do is hit the weak points on an enemy that you can't just bulldoze with raw power. In other words the target is set up to help you learn accuracy and control, not to show you can break it."
The pink haired man explained in a simple way. Understanding why a balance was needed between power and skill, Wendy was then able to realize why she wasn't allowed to gain the power from defeating Nephele's nest. It would make it harder to control her power. Harder to hold back and work on her accuracy. Which means it would be harder to improve her skill level to match her power level.
"Here's the thing though… I've already got a secondary element that I'm still working on mastering. So I'd rather not have to defeat you and gain a third element."
Natsu turned back to the Wyvern, voicing the problem with him taking the entire nest including it's alpha.
"While my entire nest would be too much power for her, just myself should be fine. So you take my nest down, I tell you all you want to know, and then I pass my powers along to young Wendy."
Nephele offered as a plan. Even though Natsu didn't want to, he knew killing her nest would be for the best. They were dying anyway, and it would likely be a very painful death, so ending them before that would be a mercy. His only real concern was how Wendy would be holding up at the end. She'd never even seen someone kill another living being, let alone killed anything herself.
But Wendy knew what he was thinking. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as she though of what to say in order to make him agree to Nephele's plan.
"I might be young, but I'm still a Dragon Slayer. I might not have gotten the same lessons you and Gajeel did because of my age, but I refuse to let that stop me from becoming strong like the two of you. This will probably destroy some of my innocence, but that's what happens when you grow up. If this will prevent them from dying a painful death, them I'm okay with Nephele's plan. Besides, I trust you to help prevent this from completely breaking me. Its your job as my big brother."
The blue haired girl commented, her tone strong and steady. Acknowledging that she had a point, Natsu softly lifted Happy off of his head for the bluette to watch over.
Twenty Minutes Later
"This was my actual nest, not one I was forced to accept as guards for my task like the other alpha Wyverns. I know what they were capable of… But to defeat them so quickly. I'm greatly impressed. I've met dragons that had to retreat because they couldn't handle my nest all at once."
Nephele commented as I finished off the last member of her nest.
"This would have been a lot harder if my secondary element wasn't Earth."
Natsu responded with a frown. Thanks to his talk with Gajeel after they had taken down the two nests back then, he was okay with killing again, so long as it was only when he had to, but he still didn't like it.
"The only alpha Wyvern I know that uses Earth magic is Laveatil. If he's the one you gained your secondary element from then there is no way my nest stood a chance, even if you used your primary element."
"I gained my Earth Dragon Slayer magic from Laveatil four years ago, at the same time our friend Gajeel earned Titanium Dragon Slayer magic from Titori."
Natsu explained after hearing the shock in her tone, understanding she was extremely impressed by the fact Laveatil had been defeated just from the fact she held him in a high regard.
"Both Laveatil and Titori have been defeated? They were the two strongest alpha Wyverns in Guiltina, and unless my senses are off, Ishgar as well. Titori became an elder the year before she was assigned the task of testing you slayers, and Laveatil… Laveatil was widely considered to be one of the strongest Wyverns, being of of the small handful of Wyverns that had grown strong enough to match a young dragon in one on one combat."
But Natsu didn't respond. He crouched down to allow Wendy to place Happy back on top of his head. When he was certain the blue cat was comfy he stood up straight again, with a smile as the weight of his friend settling on his head once more felt right.
"As much as I would love to learn more about Laveatil, so as to honor his memory properly, I have to shift our talk back to the Dragon Gods. As it's much faster to fly than it is to travel by human methods, I need to know. How long do I have before they arrive?"
Because of the fact he had to prepare for meeting with two of the Dragon Gods, Natsu decided to be practical and get as much info as he could. A grimace came to Nephele's face as she answered.
"Well... They were already on their way when I sent word back to them about your situation," here she shook her head before continuing "they are surprisingly impatient. As it is they are taking their time and will arrive separately, but you should expect both of them within a week of each other. Based on how quickly I received the news about their travel, I'd estimate you have two months until they are here in this land."
A small frown came to Natsu's face at that. Two months from now is when Cana was due to give birth. The idea of not being by her side during that time because of the two Dragon Gods was unnerving.
"You need not worry about them taking you away from your mate. As it stands they both understand the desire to stay close to your mate and the soon to be born hatchlings. While I can't say anything about what they wish to discuss with you, my intuition is telling me that there will be a lot of talk. You will likely have a few days worth of dialogue."
"Does that mean you at least have a few ideas on what they wish to talk about?"
"There are a few matters that come to mind. But for me to explain some of them I need to tell you about the Dragon Gods that wish to meet with you."
Natsu and Nephele talked as Wendy mentally prepared herself for what was to come after they were done. Despite watching Natsu slay the other 6 Wyverns that made up Nephele's nest, she was surprisingly okay. The sight did disturb her, but she was able to ignore the discomfort by telling herself it was a much nicer death than the painful one they would suffer as they slowly died from having their souls torn apart.
"Alright. I'd ask which Dragon Gods want to meet me, but all I know about them is that there are five of them. That's all I have to go on."
She understood that the pink haired man was trying to get as much info as possible to prepare for the future, even beyond meeting the two Dragon Gods that were coming to Fiore just to talk with him. So Nephele explained about the five Dragon Gods. Though she saved the one that would mean the most to Natsu for last.
Aldoron, the Wood Dragon God. Of the five of the Dragon Gods he was the largest and possibly the oldest. Even though he had expressed a desire to see the Dragon Slayers for himself to determine if they could handle Acnologia, he was unable to do so unless they went to him. After all, he had an entire city living on him. Which was something that baffled Natsu when Nephele mentioned it.
Mercphobia, the Water Dragon God. Like Aldoron the Dragon Slayers would have to go to Guiltina to meet him, due to responsibilities to a city that he was protecting. Mercphobia was the one that was in charge keeping the other Dragon Gods up to date on the slayers. Mostly because his town was a port town, so information from other lands was learned far more easily compared to the locations the others lived in.
Selene, the Moon Dragon God. The only female among the Dragon Gods. Due to how reclusive she is, the only other detail anyone knew about her is that her power revolves around the stars.
Viernes, the Gold Dragon God. As the most reclusive of the Dragon Gods, Nephele knew nothing about him other than his title.
"Personally I've only met Mercphobia. But thanks to Telepathy I've talked with Aldoron and the last of the Dragon Gods. I saved him specifically for last because you are connected to him."
Nephele commented as she neared the end of her explanations.
"How so?"
Tilting her head, Nephele took a moment to respond.
"You see, the last of the Dragon Gods is the Fire Dragon God. His name is Ignia and like you, he is a child of Igneel."
S.R: I'd say that's a good point to end it. Please don't riot because of the cliff hanger. I don't want to info dump too much on you guys at once you know. Anyway, I'll see you guys next time.
