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Chapter 86:

Natsu wasn't even sure when he fell asleep but he has woken up in the middle of the night quite abruptly. Voices filled with panic and fear assaulted his ears and he jumped to his feet, red eyes quickly adjusting to the lack of the light only for the doors of the infirmary to burst open and for someone to slam the light switch on. He hissed, blinking at being suddenly blinded before he willed his eyes to adjust again and he couldn't help but stare at the sight that greeted him.

Mira was standing beside him, eyes filled with worry as she watched the other members bring Laxus and his team into the infirmary. The lightning mage was the only one who appeared at all lucid, his tall form leaning heavily against Gray as the ice mage practically dragged the dragon slayer to the closest bed. Half of the guild clamored around the doors but most stayed outside as Porlyusica walked inside in her long quick strides. She glanced at him, eyes wide for a moment before she looked away, skin white and she refused to look at him again.

"Tartaros," Mira explained in a whisper to Natsu's unasked question, "One member attacked Yajima's restaurant… From what we gathered if it hadn't been for Laxus they all would've been dead"

A dark look settled on Natsu's face as he watched Porlyusica rush around the room. The frantic pace didn't slow down the whole night and the whole atmosphere grew grimmer and grimmer and then Porlyusica finally spoke what was wrong with them. Magical Barrier Particles. Inhaled in such quantity it was a miracle they were alive. Laxus especially, considering the number of Particles he ate just to keep them from swallowing the whole town. It was nearly morning, no member of the guild had moved from their spot just outside the infirmary and Natsu was still standing near the bad when Laxus moved. The dragon slayer looked sick, pale skin with bluish lips and skin around his eyes dark as if bruised. His eyes cracked open, bloodshot and watery and something in Natsu's chest squeezed. He was worried.

"Is… Is my team alive?", he finally croaked and Natsu, being the closest to his bed answered. "Yes," they were not out of the woods yet but they were alive at the moment.

"It was Tartaros," the dragon slayer said, voice barely a whisper. Natsu nodded, anger bubbling under his skin again at the thought. The lightning user was looking at him, bloodshot eyes staring at his burned skin but he didn't say anything. Coming to the right conclusion, no doubt, the dragon slayer stayed silent for a while and Natsu wondered if he had passed out again. "Is the town safe?", he finally asked.

Natsu paused. He had no idea and so he stayed quiet. Makarov was the one to answer. "Yes, you saved them"

There was an odd tone to his voice and Natsu looked up sharply. Was he lying? With narrowed eyes, he realized that, yes he was. He looked back at Laxus, and with a sigh, stayed quiet. The dragon slayer was staring at him again, tired and worn and looking paler by a minute.

"Tartaros is after the council members, all of them," he said after a moment of silence, and before Natsu could ask anything the mage fell unconscious again.

"We should give them space," Porlyusica said sharply, eyes still not meeting Natsu's, and the dragon almost sneered at her. The few members that were inside the infirmary looked at each other, obviously not sure what to do and with a heavy sigh, Makarov squeezed his grandson's hand and walked out. The others followed soon, silent. Natsu suddenly found himself standing alone in the same room as Porlyusica.

"You died," she finally managed to say, her voice barely a whisper. Natsu stared at her. The old woman was pale, worn out by making sure the poisoned members did not die. Part of Natsu was taking a sadistic sort of pleasure that her pallor was likely a result of his own presence just as much as her tiredness.

"I got better," he finally said. The doors of the infirmary were closed but he could hear that everyone else was still outside. He suddenly remembered that in the morning Makarov had wanted to announce that he was stepping down as a guild master. He hoped the old man would not just announce who he had in mind for his successor without Natsu there.

Porlyusica stared at him, eyes pausing on the red skin of his arm and the bright pink new scar on his jaw and neck. "You were hurt"

Natsu didn't reply, finding it unnecessary to say anything about the obvious and simply nodded. She seemed to be struggling to find the words before she finally asked, blunt and to the point, "Do you know that I knew about your death?"

"Yes"

"Do you hate me?"

Natsu considered. "I am furious"

Porlyusica flinched but nodded, expecting as much. "I am sorry, for what it's worth"

"Nothing," Natsu shrugged and then turned around, moving to the door of the infirmary. He looked one last time over his shoulder, worried eyes once again stopping on the dragon slayer whose face was twisted in pain. Porlyusica watched him leave and the clear worry in his eyes let her relax when she hadn't even known how tense she was the whole night purely because of the dragon's presence and his eyes that bore into her back.

Natsu was furious at them. A few years ago, he would've likely killed them or at least maim them. He knew Acnologia would kill them without a second thought if the dragon king learned of the Vision. But any thought of that quickly evaporated out of his head when he stepped outside of infirmary and every eye turned to look at him.

He glanced at Makarov, eyes narrowed and the old man shook his head, his face still grim. So, he hadn't told them. Natsu resisted the urge to look back at the infirmary.

"Let's go downstairs," Makarov announced to the crowded hall. "There are a lot of things we need to discuss"

He once again looked at Natsu and several members turned to look at him as well, and despite the situation were obviously curious. As quickly and orderly as Fairy Tail could, they crowded around the stage in the guildhall, worried and angry whispers circulating the place.

Natsu suddenly felt someone squeeze his hand and looked down to see Annie smile a tight but sincere smile at him. He squeezed her hand back. She knew exactly what was about to happen. He hadn't spent much time with her lately, he realized. A memory of her braiding his hair when it had been longer and she was younger popped out in his mind's eye and he shook his head, not sure where did that come from. She was eight when she and Arthur moved into the same place as him and Arthur was ten and while they both were rather reluctant to talk to him, they bonded with Mira and Ultear pretty quickly.

'He's terrifying,' she had said to her brother a few weeks after they had lived with them. Arthur had shushed her, saying she was rude but he hadn't had disagreed with her. And Natsu, in a fit of good mood he couldn't remember the source of now, had later that day let the girl braid his hair. It was a horrible mess that he had barely untangled later but both kids seemed less reluctant to talk to him after that.

He blinked, realizing his mind had wandered off and Makarov was already up on the stage talking, "– crossed every line," he said grimly, "and we will not stand by and let them complete whatever their plans are"

A loud chorus of 'Yes's followed and the old man took a breath before eyeing them all with an unreadable expression. "I have been a master of this guild longer than I care to admit," the guild quieted at the seemingly random change in subject, "And Tartaros wants war, a war I cannot lead you into"

More confusion and even some denial.

"I am stepping down as the master of Fairy Tail," the old man said and raised his hand to quiet down the suddenly loud members. "I will stay here, of course, I have no intention of leaving. I am simply leaving us all in better hands"

Natsu didn't miss how he said 'us'. He raised an eyebrow as he watched the man talk, wondering why the man couldn't tell him the truth when he obviously trusted him with what was effectively his family. He couldn't help but still see this as some elaborate way to end back in his good graces, or just as likely, to end in good graces of Acnologia. It would be very profitable for anyone to be able to say the dragons were on their side.

He felt Annie nudging him in the side in support. Arthur was still staring agape at Makarov and Ultear and Mira were silent in shock. He shook his head. The old man, despite all his misgivings, was not manipulative and never intentionally sinister… He frowned. Almost never.

"Natsu, could you come here," Makarov voice once again brought him out of his musing and the guild turned so silent you could hear a pin drop. For Natsu, that saying was quite literal.

Feeling oddly disconnected from himself he made his way to Makarov, the guild parting in front of him. He held his head high, back straight and his footsteps sure. A long-forgotten memory of his first visits to the Dragon Island came to his mind and he almost smiled.

He stood in front of the guild, watching their stunned faces and wondered what he should do now. He paused for a moment, trying to think of the best thing to say when Arthur suddenly started clapping and almost immediately everyone followed, their shock seemingly broken. Makarov smiled at him. "I think they agree," he said, referring to Natsu's earlier statement that he will accept only if the guild is okay with it. Natsu couldn't help but smile at that. "It would seem so," he said softly, staring at the mages in front of him in quiet wonder.

"Makarov is right," Natsu finally said, without even raising his voice everyone fell silent, "This is war. Tartaros started it. We will finish it"

A battle cry. That's the only way the resounding cry could be described.

Deep underneath the guild, Natsu stood alone with Makarov. The dragon stared at the crystal in the middle of the room, a pale blue glow it was giving the only light in the room. Mavis' body stood frozen in the crystal. Natsu's skin turned to goosebumps, the whole room singing with something so pure and light it almost hurt. How did he never feel it before? But hadn't he? The Fairy Tail always seemed to draw out the best in people. Could this be partially the reason behind it?

"Lumen Histoire," Makarov said, eyes looking away from the crystal to look at Natsu with a knowing smile. Natsu realized his mouth was open and he quickly closed them turning to look at the old master. "What is this?"

"Fairy Heart," a new voice joined them and Mavis suddenly stood beside them. A sad smile stood on her face as she regarded the two. "It is nice to see you again, Natsu," she turned to Makarov inclining her head, "The guild is in good hands"

Makarov nodded, eyes still wide and after a moment, he spoke, "You… disappeared months ago"

Mavis looked back at Natsu, the dragon prince suddenly remembering his funeral. "I am dead, Makarov," she said after a moment, her voice soft, "But I am always here. I always watch after Fairy Tail"

Natsu's lips turned upwards into a small brief, smile. "Thank you," he said and Makarov was certain there was a whole other world behind those words that he couldn't even comprehend. That gratitude had little to do with her watching over Fairy Tail. Mavis understood and she smiled as well before she turned to her body. "Lumen Histoire," she began, "Is Fairy Tail's light. But also its darkness, its most powerful weapon and it is the master's job to keep it safe. To keep it from falling into the wrong hands"

Natsu looked at the blue crystal, still feeling a bit off-balance in its presence. But he couldn't actually feel any magic coming off of it yet he knew it must be there.

"Its magic is outside of our possibility to comprehend," Mavis said after a moment as if reading his thoughts and Natsu turned to her and stared at her for a moment. He stayed silent for a long time. When he spoke, his words shocked Makarov, "The essence of a god"

Makarov opened his mouth to say something but then fell silent, unsure, and looked at Mavis who seemed to consider what the dragon prince said. "Yes," she said at last and didn't elaborate but instead asked, "Did you know it is possible to kill a god?"

Makarov wanted to object but Natsu nodded, "Nothing is truly immortal"

A strange smile passed Mavis' lips and she nodded in agreement. The three again found themselves in silence. Mavis finally broke it, "Take good care of my guild, Seventh Master of Fairy Tail"

She turned towards the crystal as if leaving and Makarov spoke up, "Will we ever see you again?"

Mavis smiled a pretty smile at them and shrugged. "Who knows," she said and disappeared. No light or smoke or sound. One moment she was there, the next, she was gone.

"We need to find out what Tartaros wants with not just current council members but former as well," Natsu found himself saying to the guild. "And it will be easier to find council members than Tartaros"

"Wait," Erza said, frowning, "You want to use them as bait?"

Natsu felt like rolling his eyes. "They are already the targets"

She still looked unconvinced, so Jellal spoke, "Look at it this way, we can protect them this way as well"

"You are not going anywhere," Natsu told the blue-haired mage bluntly, eyebrow raised as if the other mage was being ridiculous. Jellal frowned, eyebrow raised in question before it dawned on him and he frowned. "I am perfectly capable of defending myself"

"But if you go to another council member wouldn't that make both of you bigger targets?", Arthur asked. Jellal opened his mouth to answer but closed them with a snap when he realized he didn't have a good enough argument to counter that. Natsu stayed silent, his eyes on the paper in front of it where the addresses of all the members they managed to find were written. He looked at the gathered mages again and sighed, "Here is how we'll do it –"

"'Fairy Tail's dragon is back'," the former council member Michello read the headlines of the newspapers, ears twitching. His granddaughter looked over his shoulder at the headline in shock, "Didn't he die?"

Michello stayed silent, reading the article, his eyes narrowing. "If this is to be believed he did not," he paused, still glaring at the paper, "Before the Massacre at Era the council declared that he was never dead but was, in fact, taken away in a critical state by those dragons of his"

"You think they are lying?", Michelia asked, putting a lock of hair behind her ear. She eyed the picture of the dragon prince they printed on the front page, taken sometimes during GMG. Michello nodded, "It was a formal announcement from the council, they wouldn't do that if they didn't try to cover something up"

"So, you think he was dead?", Michelia asked in shock and Michello shook his head, "I doubt that… how crazy would that be? No, the most logical conclusion would be that he was doing the council's dirty work"

Michelia nodded in agreement, it seemed like the most likely explanation.

A knock on the doors interrupted their conversation and both looked at them in shock. Who would knock here? Carefully, Michello stood up and took hold of his staff. He walked to the doors, palming the handle and opening the doors by few inches to take a look at who was outside.

"Hi!", Lucy greeted the man with a grin. Michello stared for a moment before he finally recognized the symbol on his hand and his eyes widened before he promptly moved to slam the door into her face.

A male boot found its way between the door and the frame, and Arthur grinned. "Sorry, we're here to protect you from Tartaros but it will be easier to do that if we're actually near you," he said, obviously not sorry at all.

Michello gaped before he scowled, "Protect me?! You led them here!"

"They likely know you're here anyway," Annie said apologetically, "We are just trying to help"

Before Michello could tell them where to show their help his granddaughter opened the door fully and smiled at them. "Thank you, we're grateful," she shot a look at her grandfather who snorted.

"Do you have any idea why Tartaros would be after you?", Arthur asked as the three mages entered the small home. Michello paused, glaring at them before he sighed and actually tried to think of something. The council had so many secrets and weapons and it could be any one of those that Tartaros is after. He paused, his face suddenly white. Could it be? No… they couldn't… how would they know of that?

"Face," a whisper escaped him in his horror and the three mages looked at him.

"What did you say?", Lucy asked, staring at the man.

"Nothing!", Michello snapped, "I know nothing!"

"Doesn't seem like it," Arthur muttered, eyebrow raised. Lucy frowned suddenly, "Is it just me or do you hear water running?"

Michello frowned, glancing at Michelia who shrugged. "It's not just you," Annie said after a moment. "It's coming from there…", she said, frowning as she pointed at the window on the other side of the room. The black liquid was trickling down the open window, a sizable puddle already formed on the floor.

Michello stared at it, taking a moment towards it before his eyes widened in horror. "It's them!"

The tension in the room spiked, but nothing happened, the black water still trickling into the room seemingly out of nowhere.

"Don't touch it," Lucy finally said, eyes fixed on it and Arthur and Annie nodded, Michello and Michelia inching away from it, towards the three mages.

Without a warning, the trickle suddenly turned into a blast, as if someone opened a dam, and the water suddenly filled the house to their knees in a matter of seconds. "We need to get out of here," Annie said, wide-eyed as she moved through the water to the former councilor and his grandson.

Arthur nodded, going for the door and Lucy watched the window, waiting for any sign of the attack. Annie waved a hand in the air, concentrating, and with a muttered name of the spell Michello and Michelia found themselves standing on a pair of wooden planks above water.

Lucy blinked, eyes moving from the window, "I didn't know you could make your illusion's corporeal"

Michello frowned after hearing that, tapping the wood with his stick. It did look real.

"It's harder and I can't do it for long," Annie replied with a grin, "but yea, I can. I've been practicing"

"Door's jammed," Arthur announced after a moment and moved back in the elbow-high water. He pressed his hands together, "Shadow-make: -"

He stopped midsentence when a shape rose from the water right next to Lucy.

"Lucy!"

She turned around, wide-eyed at the purple-skinned humanoid who for all the world looked like he couldn't care less about the three mages now staring at him, all of them ready to use their respective magic.

"I am here only for the councilor, there is no need for you to die as well," the man said after a moment. "You'll have to go through us first!", Lucy shot back, hand flying to her keys.

The Tartaros member sighed, "So be it"

"What?!", Michello squeaked, "Get him out!"

"Arthur, get them out of here! Lucy and I will hold him back," Annie demanded suddenly of her brother who looked at her in shock. "What? I'm not leaving you here!"

"You're the only one who can get them out of here," she told him, the tone of voice she used eerily similar to Ultear's when she didn't have time to argue. She was younger than him! Shouldn't he be the one telling her what to do? "Please Arthur"

"Yes! Save me already! That guy will kill me!", Michello shouted, still watching the odd man with shark features who seemed content to stand there and watch them argue.

"Fine, fine!", he said, "But I'll be back!"

Arthur sunk into the shadows underwater and in that second the demon moved. He disappeared under the water so quickly that the two girls barely had time to react before he reappeared right in front of Annie and the former councilman. Annie's eyes widened as she trusted her hands out. "Duplicate!", she cried out, seconds before the demon's arm slammed into her and the demon's eyes widened slightly as his hand passed through the girl's chest and she turned to smoke, a dozen copies of her surrounding him.

Lucy swallowed her shock, taking out Aquarius' key before thinking better of it at the glance of the black water and she pulled out Taurus' key. "Gate's of the Golden Bull, I open thee; Taurus"

The bull spirit popped beside her and looked at her with a grin, shouldering his ax. "Get the water out of here!"

Taurus grinned again, turning towards the wall. "Moooving it will be a pleasure"

Lucy looked back at Annie, her slight form still multiplied as the demon tried to get them out of the way. She was surprised to see the girl was actually decent in hand-to-hand combat. She wasn't anywhere near the skill of the Tartaros member but the guy still had to concentrate just enough on her that he couldn't ignore her. She glanced at Michello and his granddaughter just in time to see them sink in the shadows with Arthur.

One of Annie's copies glanced her way and just in time for the demon to destroy the last of them. "What is this water?", Lucy finally asked as she stared at it, the level still rising even though Taurus pretty much took down an entire outer wall.

"It's poisonous," the demon supplied, sounding quite proud of it. "And since you have no intention of letting me finish my mission, I will have to kill you. The dignity of my guild would suffer if I failed"

"Poison?!", Annie's eyes widen. By now the short girl was fully swimming in it and the demon disappeared under the water.

Lucy's eyes widened as well, "I can't call Aquarius in this! And I don't have any spirit that could fight in water like this!", she glanced at Taurus who was standing next to her, eyes fixed on the black water below. Annie watched the murky, dark water beneath her in trepidation, not seeing the demon underneath it.

"Ocean!", she finally said and the water turned a bright blue much to Lucy's surprise. The water was clear, and Lucy could easily see the floor underneath them.

"It's still poison! It's just an illusion", Annie quickly warned, wide eyes still looking around them. "This won't last long but we can't fight him if we don't see him!"

"We should consider moooving outside," Taurus supplied, gesturing to the hole he made and Lucy nodded, looking back at Annie who was staring at her wide-eyed. "He's not here!"

Lucy's own eyes widened and the two moved to the exit quicker. "He went after Arthur!"

Arthur coughed, blood flying out of his mouth as the demon's fist slammed into his stomach. "Stay back!", he warned Michello and Michelia needlessly since the old man was already running away screaming at the top of his lungs.

"You should have let me kill him, this does not concern you," the demon said with a frown, moving quickly to drive a knee into Arthur's face. The shadow user managed to push himself away, twisting away and he gripped empty air, shadows twisting in his grip into a blade. "Shadow-make: Dagger!", he hissed, slashing at the demon who quickly moved away, the surprisingly sharp blade leaving a thin line on his cheek.

"Who are you? What do you want?", Arthur demanded, breathing heavily.

"My name is Torafuzar," the demon told him, eyes moving to the retreating form of the councilor, "What we want is… beyond your comprehension"

Arthur resisted the urge to roll his eyes, hoping he could keep the demon talking, "Really? Try me!"

But Torafuzar had no intention of explaining himself and the demon rushed towards Arthur who braced for the attack only for the demon to jump over him and rush towards Michello who was running over a bridge. Arthur sunk into the shadows again, ignoring how exhausted he already was from crossing such distances in that form and he shot after the demon.

He reached him just in time to push them both off of the bridge and he ended up submerged in the water of the canal. Arthur's eyes snapped open, the murky water of the canal burning his eyes as he looked at Torafuzar who was glaring at him. Black liquid once again started spreading through the water, the demon at the center, and Arthur moved to swim for the surface, the air he hadn't taken when he fell underneath now sorely missing. Torafuzar grabbed his leg, appearing underneath him in a second and Arthur's mouth flew open in shock, water mixed with black entering his mouth and he almost choked.

His eyes wide he tried to move into the shadows only for Torafuzar to send him flying through the water with a powerful swing. "I realized you have to be still for a moment before you melt into the shadows," the demon spoke as if they weren't underwater. Arthur could already feel the darkness creeping to the edges of his vision and it had nothing to do with the growing blackness of the waters around him. He pushed his hands together, shadows responding to his call as he tried to form an attack.

Torafuzar slammed into him before he managed to stop himself and his head slammed into the wall of the canal and he must have lost consciousness for a moment because the next thing he knew, Annie was pulling him out of the water. The younger sibling stared at him wide-eyed in fright and terror and Arthur coughed, water spilling out of his parted lips and he sat up, feeling something warm trickle down his soaked back and neck and his fingers brushed against the back of his head and came back bloody.

"Whe – Where's Torafuzar?", he asked, the world spinning around him and Annie looked to the side and Arthur followed her look, his heart stopping at the sight of Lucy hugging the sobbing granddaughter of the former councilor who lied at the other side of the street, pale lips parted in death, black liquid dripping out of them.

"How long was I out?!", Arthur sat up, horror filling his eyes. 'I failed,' he thought, brokenhearted. "No longer than a minute," Annie said, her voice still worried as she looked at him and he gave her an odd look, "We need to get you back to the guild quickly, Lucy will take care of things here"

"Wha – No, I feel fine," he tried to stand up only to fall back down when the world dangerously tilted. "I don't know how you are even alive, Arthur!", Annie finally snapped and he looked at her, realizing she was fighting back tears, "The black stuff the guy was spreading is poison and you swallowed it"

Arthur blinked, shocked. "It was not a lot, thankfully," Annie said through gritted teeth and nodded back at the corpse of Michello, "The demon, Torafuzar I guess, forced Michello to swallow it and he died in a matter of seconds, the canal is poisoned as well and the black stuff still seems to be spreading through it even though the blasted demon left"

"He just left?", Arthur said, blinking back the black dots in his vision. He probably should hurry back to the guild. Annie looked troubled as well, "As far as we could tell, after killing Michello, yes, he just left"

"How are we going to get to the guild?", Arthur asked, finding his surroundings fuzzier and fuzzier. Annie squeezed his hand, her voice trembling, "Lucy sent a message to the guild via lacrima when we found you"

Arthur closed his eyes, nodding as he suddenly fell back to the concrete, and Annie's eyes widened. "Arthur!"

"'m awake," he said… or he thought he did because Annie's frantic calls echoed for some time in his head.

A cold hand appeared on his forehead so suddenly it made him flinch. "Arthur?", that was Natsu. What was he doing here? He suddenly couldn't feel the concrete beneath him and it took him a moment to realize that Natsu lifted him. "Annie, stay with Lucy," he heard the man say and the two suddenly seemed to sink, a feeling not unlike going down in an elevator. His stomach flipped and a moment later his back hit the soft mattress.

His eyes refused to open and he once again felt a cold hand on his hot, too hot, forehead. "It's going to be alright," Natsu's voice again, so quiet Arthur barely heard it. Who was he trying to convince?

Acnologia tore off the creature's wings with satisfaction, blood sprouting into his mouth as he clamped his teeth on the joint of the wings.

The thing screeched and turned it's one eye towards him, ready to use the energy beam before its head was reduced to ash and Igneel spat after it as it fell into the ocean.

"This is the fourth today," the fire dragon king said, staring after the falling corpse before it disappeared underneath the waves. Acnologia nodded grimly. "This is getting ridiculous," the dragon king growled, the two turning back to the island, landing on it moments later. "Not one scout I sent found anything. We have no idea where they are coming from"

Igneel sighed, looking at Himmel who was talking to two sky dragons before the two flew off. "Did they find anything?", Acnologia snapped and Himmel's head turned towards them, his pristine white feathers bristling in his agitation. "Nothing, my king," he said with a heavy sigh. "It truly looks like they just appear out of nowhere"

"Nothing appears out of nowhere," Kindra suddenly appeared, hissing. She looked at Acnologia, her voice dropping, "Could they be from, Ausul, High King?"

Acnologia's expression darkened even further, "Considering what my son told me and what happened it is a real possibility but as you said, Queen Kindra, nothing appears out of nowhere. We should've been able to find from where they came. Even Creatures of Ausul need a gateway and they don't just appear anywhere"

Igneel sighed again, looking at the waters below them. "We can't just let this continue. If demons are attacking the Floating Island that means Gods of Underworld declared war on Mortal Plane"

"Technically it wasn't them who attack first," Kindra spoke, annoyed only to be pinned by Acnologia's glare. "Be careful what you say, Queen Kindra. They took the soul of a dragon, it was our right to take it back"

"Will other Gods see it that way?", Kindra shot back and knew in a second, she crossed the line when black sparks of chaos energy flickered around Acnologia, his face thunderous and in one quick movement he was standing in front of her as he stared her down, his bulk larger and taller than her own. "Do not forget who is your king, Kindra"

She froze, the omission of her title stung but she found her voice dying at the spark in Acnologia's eyes. The king changed so drastically after his son's death that it was staggering. In one moment, he appeared to be far more relaxed and easier to approach, on the next a spark of ages-old madness crept up, the madness that almost destroyed the dragons once upon a time. She looked away, unable to meet his glare anymore but still feeling her anger spike, her pride hurt. She glared at his back as he turned around to bark orders at the others. A moment later a grim smirk lifted her lips and she shook her head. Himmel gave her an annoyed look that seemed to say 'You had to make his already bad mood worse?' and she felt the need to roll her eyes. She and Acnologia will always say exactly what they think of each other. They respected each other too much to do anything less.

"And here I feared it would be boring with Acnologia sane," Atlas Flame said, not even bothering to whisper and a few dragons turned to look at him, most still not used to his sudden reappearance. Acnologia glared at him, a beginning of a growl deep in his throat before he turned and stalked off. "You're all acting like children! I can't believe I'm younger than you!"

Igneel nudged his friend into the shoulder, snickering, "You know, sooner or later you'll say something when he's in a bad mood and then I'll have to save your sorry butt"

"Isn't he always in a bad mood?" Adalstienn said, his attempt to be quiet ruined by his booming voice.

Himmel stared at them, his expression scandalized. "We shouldn't talk like that about the King! It's… It's against etiquette!"

End of chapter 86.

What will happen to Arthur? Will he die? Will he live? Who knows? :P

Let me know what you think! I'd greatly appreciate that and well... see you next week! Please review and thanks for reading :)