Chapter 77:

Natsu's hand closed into a fist, pulling at the fabric of Acnologia's coat before he sighed and reluctantly pulled away from Acnologia whose breathing sounded suspiciously on verge of something Natsu was reluctant to call sobs, one step removed from laughter and two steps of bawling. But when he looked into his face it was completely dry and carefully blank. Natsu blinked and looked around at the hopeful and slightly desperate faces of Acnologia's companions. They couldn't see him, he realized suddenly, their eyes looking through him, rather than at him and Annie's arm still hesitantly lifted in the air. He swallowed heavily, and ruthlessly pushed back the relieved sob that almost escaped his lips. He almost wished he could let Annie light the air around them, maybe not as brightly as the last time – but he knew he couldn't, the noise and disturbance they brought to the Fifth Circle already started drawing attention. And maybe that was for the better, he decided as he studied their faces. He hasn't exactly seen himself since he died considering the lack of mirror in this hellhole but he knew he wasn't exactly a pleasing sight. He pulled further back from Acnologia, ignoring how difficult it was to pull away from one of the first hugs he can ever remember his father giving him. None of them looked any different since he last saw them... which means he couldn't have been dead for very long. And that is a relief as well.

"Natsu?", Mira asked carefully, and Natsu twitches, suddenly aware how long he had been just standing in silence and he moves around Acnologia and walks to Ultear and Mira, mindful to make his steps as loud as possible to give them at least some semblance of where he was. He spreads his arms, catching both his girls around the shoulders before pulling them close and Ultear releases a surprised breath, half a laugh, half a sob. Natsu cracks a smile as Mira starts outright crying and laughing and he's happy he's not the only one unable to decide what to feel right now.

"It's... good to see you again," he told them, and he can see over the crown of Mira's hair that Jellal is crying as well and Arthur is hugging Annie with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face. Laxus is there, looking suspiciously wet-eyed and Gray and Gajeel promptly sat on the floor, laughter and relief shaking their shoulders. Lucy and Erza stand behind, Lucy crying and Erza looking entirely pleased with their current situation despite the fact the whole Castle Hell is hunting them.

It hurt more than he was willing to admit when his eyes passed all the faces and Wendy wasn't among them. But he did not dare to ask. Not yet.

A punch in his shoulder brought his attention back to the white-haired woman who pushed herself gently out of his arms. "You're an utter fool," she pointed out as if it were a fact. Natsu gave her a blank stare which goes entirely unnoticed, further pushing his emotions away, behind the wall he so carefully built since coming here, "Correct me if I'm wrong but I am under impression that the only fools here are you," and Natsu forces back the anger that suddenly spiked, that white-hot prickle under his skin he had been pushing down since transforming. "You entered Hell. Who does that?"

"No one sane," Acnologia supplied unhelpfully, fully ignoring the glare only he could clearly see. He's the one that thought him to glare like that – it would be laughable if it actually worked on him.

Natsu's glare melted into a dry look as he gave Acnologia another scathing look. "I know you are not sane. You should warn people it's contagious"

"Cheeky brat," Acnologia offered his own glare but it lacked the usual heat.

Natsu opened his mouth, ready to tell them it was probably a good idea to get moving, but before the first syllable left his mouth, a ball of fire flashed into existence and curved towards them. The mages scattered from the point of impact; the light the fire gave left them with enough light to not run into each other. A cackle, a laugh, and another fireball burst to life directly above them. Natsu cursed, pulled Annie by her hand and threw her out of the way as the searing hot ball of fire connected with him. He hissed in pain, feeling the skin on his back bristle and peel off. He ignored it, pulling his wings apart and the next fireball was intercepted with a ball of black and red three times smaller than the raging inferno. The explosion lit the circle and the dozen small creatures with thick, blocky bodies and small leather wings. One imp leered at them, small sharp teeth glinting in the light before it died down and like a swarm of angry bees the imps screeched and dived down towards the dead dragon. Natsu cursed, spread his wings even as the rest of the mages started firing blindly into the dark.

"Annie!", Natsu barked even as his clenched fist wrapped in Chaos energy sent one imp flying with a sound of a broken jaw. Annie didn't need anything else to be said, aware that they are at a disadvantage as they are now. She rose her hand, fingers spread and muttered the incantation needed just as she did before and at once the world was flooded with light. Natsu bit back a curse as he stumbles out of the way of a suddenly sloppy swipe of the imp's claws, the creature screeching at the bright light. Natsu pauses of a moment, willing his pupils to dilate to accommodate for the ridiculous amount of light suddenly flooding the darkest circle. The imp who was fighting him didn't recover so fast, his milky white eyes watering from the light and Natsu mercilessly caved his skull in with his tail, turning at the same time to blast a hole through the small Guardian that tried to swarm Laxus with other of his kind. The lightning mage grinned as the imp right in his face suddenly found itself headless and with a guttural roar, the dragon slayer tore his arms free of the two that were holding him. Natsu's eyes lingered on the others, on Acnologia who was putting the little beasts down as fast as they were coming at him (and the dragon king hadn't moved an inch from the spot he took when the fight started), on Mira and Ultear whose teamwork only seems to have improved since he last saw them, on Arthur who was jumping from shadows and taking down the demons that got to close to Lucy who had both Taurus and Cancer out, a whip in her hands, on Annie and Grey and Gajeel who were spinning around in a deadly dance and on Erza and Exceeds above and he can't help the smirk that thugs his lips even as he drives his fist through the imp's chest. He knows that he should be worried, the Fifth Circle has more Guardians than Seventh and while they were not as strong they were many. Natsu ducked under another fireball, cutting two more imps and grunting as one landed on his burned back and drove its tiny teeth into the skin on his neck that wasn't covered in scales. His hand moved towards its head but the imp moved faster, tearing its head back and ripping a good chunk of flesh out of his neck. Natsu stumbled and cursed, hand closing around the horn on the imp's head and with a vicious pull he slams the creature against the floor, its head bursting like a melon against the rock and splattering the black ichor over the surface. One hand on his neck, Natsu gave his surrounding another look, ignoring the way Acnologia was looking at him. They were all starting to get hit. But he is hardly as worried as he probably should be again. Because the wounds on his back are already half-healed and the bite in his neck will soon stop bleeding. Because the imps are pests and nothing more to a group as strong as this one.

Something stirs behind him and Natsu dives out of another stream of fire, eyes trailing to the imp that he killed and his eyes narrow. Apparently, they can heal a lot faster than other guardians.

"We should probably look for a way out," Gajeel yelled over the sounds of battle and his yell was followed by a grunt as an imp landed on his head only to be blasted off by Gray's ice-cannon, "Just a suggestion!"

"I agree!", Happy screeched as he dived out of the way of an imp.

"It… wouldn't hurt," Acnologia muttered under his breath before he blasted several imps into dust with a roar.

"I know," Natsu agrees easily, "I was thinking about that… the doors are not all that far but there are too many of them to make a run for it! And they are already -," he had to stop in order to blast a hole through one of them, "Waking up"

"We could blast a hole through them," Acnologia tries, looking around. "Or -"

Natsu's eyes searched the cavern, a weird mix of room furniture and all drapes and rotten and rusted metal and wood and partially rock and caves. The third layer is the last that is directly inside Castle Hell which means they'll be in the underworld and from there he could outfly any guardians and go directly to the doors. But not with these idiots – this family. That he can't leave behind. And how on earth are they even going to get out? He could try… he hadn't tried it yet, too little time to try something that could very easily 'kill' him. But now would be as good a time as any. And that's why he pushed back any doubt he was feeling in that moment. Once again completely and brutally pushing any emotion that would put a link to his flesh through his attacks, and his eyes darken. It might kill them but he didn't care. Not now. He can't allow himself to care if he hopes to succeed.

With that, he pulls at chaos, in him, around him, through the air and through the void. The gods didn't make the void disappear, they just strengthened the walls between and with enough force any wall can be broken. He is fairly certain Acnologia can feel what he is doing because the dragon's blue eyes widen in a mix of wonder and shock. With a guttural roar, Natsu slams his fist into the ground and cracks spread around like veins, but it was not the ground that cracked. Natsu glares at the ground, ignoring the jumping and biting imps getting closer. "Open"

And it does. The floor underneath all of them falls apart like it was never there, opens like doors and they slip down, the gravity of another dimension drawing them down. The imps screech and jump away, the few too slow suddenly ash as they are pulled out of their own circle and the castle punishes.

And just like that, they are again wrapped in darkness.

Ankhseram jumped to his feet like a wild cat, his Curse spiking around him like a fur of an agitated feline and he hisses like an angry snake. The other gods remain sitting down, eyes slightly wide but even the small change in their facial expression is enough to show the amount of shock they felt at that moment. Morrigan blinks slowly, hands drawing away from the magic circle that lets them watch the happenings of the group. "He… he broke through," Minerva's voice came out as a whisper. She looked up, red eyes meeting with Morrigan's yellow round orbs. "He broke through the wall we put up!", she said and her lips twitched in derision before she slammed her hands into the floor with a scream. "The little brat! Does he think he can do as he pleases?! That bastard father of his first and now this!", she jumped to her feet, rounding on Ankhseram who for all his lack of mouth gave an impressive impression of frothing in anger. "This is your mess! Your fucking mess"

"Mine?!", Ankhseram screamed, turning on the other Supreme with a wild look. "How is it my fault?!"

Morrrigan rose from her place, and Hades followed after her, the rest of the gods still sitting silently. "YOU – You!", Minerva gave an incoherent scream of frustration and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You revived him the first time! The little brat should've stayed dead! I told you he would be too powerful!"

"He was interesting!", Anubis jumped to Ankhseram's defense as if what he said was a good enough reason. And from the way, Hades and Satan were nodding maybe it was.

Morrigan clicked her tongue, looking back at the circle drawn on the floor. "' Tis useless to argue about that now. We have to put a stop to this before another war breaks out. 'Tis all fun and games now but sooner rather than later the Heaven will know that a demon of our own making broke through a wall we put up. I don't know about you, but I would rather avoid another war"

"Not to mention what will happen if they find out a dragon is in Hell," Hades added and it served as a fuel to the fire if the way Ankhseram's eyes flashed was any indication. "They can fuck themselves!", he said with a growl before turning away from the circle and towards the doors. "Where are you going?", Morrigan asked and Ankhseram didn't bother stopping as he answered. "To make a deal"

Before he reached the doors, a black hole in the fabric of dimensions ripped in front of him and in an instant later, he was gone. Minerva paused, red eyes relaxing from their narrowed state and a smirk lifting the corner of her lips. "Well… At least he'll deal with this on his own. The bloody bastard"

Morrigan huffed a laugh before she sat down, looking at the circle that showed nothing. It shouldn't be a problem for long now. The group must be aware they can't leave without at least one of the Supreme opening the doors for them and the Supreme want them gone. Knowing Ankhseram they'll get a deal they won't be able to deny. A smirk tugged her lips. And never make a deal with the devil.

They barely had time to scream before they hit the ground again. Gray hissed as he bounced off of the tiled floor, head swimming. Gajeel didn't sound any better, groaning in discomfort only to release a pained yelp when Lucy landed on him. The rest fell down like sacks of potatoes, only those capable of flying landed easily if the sound of Mira's, Ultear's and Erza's heels clicking on the floor was any identification. Natsu landed next to them and Acnologia landed with a criminal amount of grace. Jellal looked around, finding their surroundings very much deconcentrating and far too different but the lack of demons trying to swarm them was a definite plus. A long hallway stretched on either side of them, no end in sight and doors littered every inch of the walls on both sides. "Where are we?", Jellal asked and he wasn't sure why Acnologia was looking at Natsu as if the demon grew a second head. Not that Natsu seemed to care if his disturbingly blank face was any identification. Natsu made a noise in the back of his throat that might've been a surprise or maybe amusement but his face reminded blank, "In the void," he said, watching as the rest of the Fairy Tail got back on their feet, "How are you awake, however, is beyond me"

Natsu paused, as if in thought, and glanced at Acnologia who snorted next to him, "Heck if I know. Maybe it had something to do with you shattering the veil. Care to explain that?", his tone was completely mild but his eyes told a different story. Natsu shrugged and opened his mouth to answer but he stopped himself and closed his eyes as he breathed in. He opened his eyes as he released the breath and when he looked around his face was a lot less… empty and Jellal was starting to worry. It hadn't even occurred to him until now just how much Natsu might've changed in a place like this. "Honestly I didn't know it would work," Natsu told him, a slight smirk tugging his lips when Acnologia's eyes momentarily widened before they narrowed and Acnologia growled at Natsu in draconic something that sounded a lot like an insult. "You could've killed us all!"

Jellal can feel himself go tense. Natsu wouldn't do that. Not knowingly at least. He wouldn't put them in danger.

"I know," Natsu's smirk is gone, lips turned downwards and a slight frown on his forehead.

Jellal closes his eyes, cursing. It was naïve to think nothing would change.

"But I hardly had enough time to do something else. More were coming and we were already close to overwhelmed and -", he stopped and shook his head as if trying to clear it. He sighed, "It didn't kill you. That's quite fortunate but we need to get going. I punched a hole to get in but we can't get out through the same hole and we might as well start moving"

He didn't wait for confirmation, turning on his heel and walking down the hall, rightly expecting everyone else will follow. Jellal let himself study the back of his best friend, eyes tracing the new scars that littered his body. There were a disturbing number of them before… but now. He could hardly see a patch of skin that wasn't covered in them. And maybe he couldn't see his face now but he could easily recall the deep claw mark that dragged over his eye that was definitely not there before. He had seen Natsu with wings before, the form between human and dragon he used when he was alive (and it was still hard to believe that the dragon prince in front of him was actually not breathing, which now that he started thing about he couldn't pretend was not obvious) but this wings seemed larger, sharper and the tail had a wicked blade merged with the flesh. The curved horns, the dark scales, and bent legs. Jellal sighed, sorrow gripping at his. Natsu died. They found him, which is awesome. But it still didn't guarantee a happy ending to this misadventure.

Jellal wasn't aware Arthur was walking beside him until the boy sped up his steps and ducked around Acnologia to walk beside his father. The sixteen-year-old was a few inches shorter than Natsu, his blonde hair reaching his chin and hiding his eyes as he hung his head slightly lower and started whispering to the dragon prince. Whatever he said made Natsu stop and the dragon prince turned around to face him fully and his hands twitched but they barely moved before Arthur hugged him as hard as he could. Natsu let out a startled laugh that startled Jellal almost as much as the sudden movement and a smirk tugged Jellal's lips. Maybe he hadn't changed so much after all. Or maybe it wasn't all for the worse. "I missed you too, you brat," Natsu muttered as he pulled back, the smirk falling off of his lips, he glanced at the spot next to Jellal who suddenly realized Annie was there. Natsu rolled his eyes, a smirk rising his lips again and he nodded. "Yes, yes. You too"

Annie laughed as she ran at him and before Natsu could stop her she jumped up and almost tackled him to the ground. Arthur laughed happily while Natsu pried himself from Annie with a smirk. "Brats"

"You're starting to sound like Acnologia," Gray muttered from Jellal's right and the two dragons looked at him, "Bite your tongue"

Natsu paused, eyes moving down the hall before he started walking again, "Now that we have a moment to breathe, would you mind telling me how exactly did you plan I leave this place. As far as I know, I'll need a body"

"Igneel is fetching your own," Acnologia answered and Natsu's face contorted briefly before he glanced at Acnologia. "Wouldn't that be rotten by now?"

Acnologia didn't quite refuse to look him in the eye, he just found the doors on the other side of Natsu far more interesting. "Not completely. And once you're in it I'm fairly confident that pieces that are falling off can be stitched together by Himmel"

A curious sound leaves Natsu's throat and Jellal winced. No one really thought about it probably but being in a half-rotten body will likely hurt. Jellal glanced at Natsu but any feelings of guilt get squashed by the simple fact that no matter what it can be fixed as long as he's alive. Death is far more permanent than physical pain. Before the situation could get much more awkward, and knowing Natsu he wouldn't hesitate to make it so, the group stops in front of the doors and Natsu without so much as a look at them wrenches them open. A swirling blackness greets them and Natsu scowls. He pulls back his fist and Acnologia frowns as the fist comes crashing down. The swirling darkness breaks apart like glass, the shards flying away and disappearing into thin air as the familiar-looking cavern opens in front of them, still coated in crimson from the seals flashing over the doors.

"Souleater," the Gatekeeper greeted them, completely calm even when every member of Fairy Tail pointed their hands at him. Natsu didn't look at the giant, his eyes fixed on the figure standing in front of the demon. Natsu swallowed, unease settling in his stomach at the sight of the white orbs that looked back at him.

"Ankhseram," Natsu all but spat the name out and the god would've been grinning if he had a mouth to do so. Instead, he laughs, short and cruel and satisfied with just a hint of fury that takes Natsu entirely by surprise. Who would've thought that he could anger a god so easily?

"A lovely gathering you have there, Souleater. Don't you want to introduce me?", Ankhseram chortled even as every mage around Natsu turned their attention from the Gatekeeper.

"No. No, not really," Natsu replied easily and could feel himself going smug at the way Ankhseram shifted, the slight movement enough to tell the dead dragon he somehow managed to get under his skin.

"Well then," the god spoke, any trace of amusement gone, "I'm here to make a deal"

"A deal?", Acnologia scoffs and Ankhseram glares at the dragon king.

"A deal," the god repeats eyes turning back to Natsu, "You know I so love deals"

End of chapter 77.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sorry for the delay but the new chapters up! There's not much I have to say about this, to be quite honest. I'm not particularly happy but you guys waited long enough so here it is. I hope you enjoy it. And before I forget (again), if I were to choose a song as an opening to this arc of mine, I think Kamelot's Black Halo would fit pretty nicely. If anyone here is into that type of music, I strongly recommend listening to it. It's one of my favorites.

Please review and thanks for reading : )