Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since I updated this story and I apologize for that.
I've been busy with my other story 'The unfortunate crow' (Haikyuu!) lately.
But since I've got some free time on my hands and because I've updated the other story just yesterday, I thought it would be nice to get the next chapter on 'Dragon's Child' done now as well.
Now then, on with chapter four.
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After waiting on any news concerning his missing guild members, Makarov finally decided, he'd had enough. Missing check in was one thing, but just disappearing completely and not returning at all was another. The last time he'd spoken with team Natsu, they'd just arrived in Hargeon and were meeting up with their client. When they hadn't contacted the guild for the next few days, he hadn't been worried, but now?
He totally was. They had been due to get back days ago and being late like this couldn't just have been that they simply had gotten lost or something like that. Even if they would have decided to spend a few days more in the port town, they would have informed him about it. But the fact that not even Cana had managed to locate them with her card magic meant, that they were certainly not in some kind of holiday retreat for some R&R.
Now, He'd decided to send some of Fairy Tail's best after them. If they had disappeared due to another mage, this particular person had been strong enough to overwhelm not only Erza, but everyone else on the team as well, which meant, they would have to bee exceptionally strong.
After carefully contemplating this, he'd decided on a team. Gildarts, Mira and Wendy would be going. The two S class mages would have the strength to fight every opponent head on and the little Dragon Slayer would take care of any injured team members they could possibly find. He was of course aware that Wendy was a skilled fighter herself, but her keen senses and supporting abilities had been the key factor as to her joining the others on this rescue mission.
Makarov would have liked to send in a bigger team, but since he didn't know what they were facing and if all of this may be a trap or an attack on the guild, he couldn't leave Fairy Tail unprotected, just in case.
The three mages were now standing in front of him, all suited up and ready to leave.
"Well then my children, I trust you will do your best and bring our comrades home, right?"
They nodded. "Don't worry master, we'll make sure they return safely."
"Very good, but don't forget that you'll probably be facing exceptionally skilled wizards whom were able to overwhelm one of our strongest teams, so be careful, I don't want to have more of my children missing."
With this word of advise, they were off. He always worried when his children left to go and do something dangerous, but this time, he really had a very bad feeling. Makarov wasn't sure if it was because of them, or because of the group they were searching for, but if there was one thing he'd learned in his lengthy lifespan, then to trust his gut feeling when it came to situations like this.
As he watched them go, he couldn't help wondering if he would be seeing all of them again once all of this was over. He prayed to everyone that was willing to listen and hoped his feeling would be wrong this time.
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Once they were out of the cell they'd been trapped it, they could immediately feel their magic energy returning to them. It was a huge relief to be able to feel and use it again. After all, this was the very essence of a mages life.
She and Gray were about to start running, but were stopped pretty quickly by their scarlet haired companion via sword.
"Oh come on Erza! What do you want now? We need to hurry!"
"I know Gray, but please think about this for a moment. We don't even know what direction to go! Do you think running around like headless chicken is going to accomplish anything?"
Lucy was well aware that Erza was right. But still… standing around and talking about strategy while they could be off searching really didn't feel right to her.
"Hey, can't we walk and think at the same time?" she offered while hoping the scarlet knight would accept this proposal. It would just relief some of their stress if they'd be able to at least cover some ground while thinking about strategy.
With a sigh, Erza nodded. "I think it would be best to head upstairs, after all, It'll be much easier to work from there and to escape later if we manage to find the exit beforehand."
On that note, they started searching for a staircase of some sort. Looking for Natsu's cell would be pointless since he'd been taken from there quite a while ago. She could still see his face and that hauntingly dead look in his eyes after he'd been told they'd died. She wished she could just go to him and take that look away. It was just too painful seeing the usually happy and active Dragon Slayer with that fiery personality of his like that.
"Over there!" Gray called as he rounded the next corner. "We can go up here!"
Following, the two women found themselves in front of a narrow flight of stairs leading up onto the next level. Due to a few torches lining the walls, they had been able to see fairly well in their windowless environment so far, but on the next level, there didn't seem to be any light at all.
"Creepy" she muttered while following her friends. She really hoped they wouldn't have to search for the next stairway once they were up, fumbling around in the dark was really the last thing they needed.
To everyone's delight, the stairs continued past the dark and cold hallway they had spotted earlier. But still… It really didn't seem to get any better on their way up. She really wished they'd taken a few of those torches with them, but when she had asked earlier, Erza had denied her request.
After all, it would be way easier to spot them if they were carrying something like that around with them.
She had no idea how much time had passed since they had started climbing those stairs, but to her, it felt like a very long time. Her legs had started protesting already as well. If it was because of the cold or because of exhaustion, she didn't know. By what she could make out in the dark, Erza and Gray weren't fairing much better. Their breathing had grown just as heavy as hers and their footsteps had started to sound heavy.
"Stop."
The simple command from their S class team mate was enough to make them stop moving immediately.
"What's wrong Erza, we don't have the time to-"
"Hush Gray! Can't you feel that?"
There was silence, then- "Magic?"
"I'm not sure, it feels a little off, that's probably why we haven't noticed it before, even if it is quite strong. "
Now that her two friend had mentioned it, Lucy noticed it as well. On first thought, it felt very similar to magic, but then, she noticed something odd about it. The energy she felt… didn't feel right. It was as if there was something more to it, a component none of them had felt before.
"What is this?"
Gray just shook his head. "I don't know, but it doesn't feel like any magic I've ever felt."
Erza agreed. "It doesn't feel like any human magic, that's for sure."
"You don't mean...-!"
"Calm down Lucy, I don't think it could be Natsu, after all, even if Ivan would have managed to succeed with his plan, Natsu's magic shouldn't feel too different from before, right?"
"You're right, his magic is already so similar to the one dragons use, it wouldn't change much, even if he got turned into one himself."
"That's what I think as well. However, there is one other thing that concerns me."
"What is it? Erza, come on, we don't have the time to-"
"Gray, don't you find it odd that a magic like the one Ivan is attempting even exists? Something strong enough to destroy the protection the dragons provided their children with would have to be either something new no one has ever seen before, or something very old the world has forgotten. Or even a mixture of both, do you get what I am saying? Also, it would have to bee very powerful."
Gray's face paled. "Crap, you don't think that monster is doing it right now as we speak, do you?"
The knight averted her gaze. She didn't need to answer, Lucy and Gray understood the meaning of her words quite clearly.
"There is one other thing I'd like to discuss: We don't know what might happen to Natsu if we interfere with the ritual. For all we know, it might kill him. I just don't want us to storm in unprepared and make everything worse for him."
By the sound of her voice, Erza was almost crying. "I think we're pretty close now, so when we get there, I want all of us to assess the situation before doing anything."
Now she felt like crying herself. What if they really couldn't stop it without killing their friend? She hadn't thought about this possibility at all until now. What if they had to watch him turn into a dragon and fly away with that man? They probably wouldn't see him ever again. And even if they did, there was no telling if what had been done to him could ever be reversed.
"Okay Erza, I promise I won't do anything reckless, but can we please continue now?"
"Yes we should keep going, thank you Gray. Lucy, I can trust that you won't do anything on your own either?"
The blond only nodded.
After climbing more stairs, it finally got brighter. Light had started filtering in through a door leading into another corridor. Judging by the windows that were lining one side of it, they weren't underground anymore. Also, they could see the last rays of the sunset. So, it was evening then.
No one of them had any idea how much time had passed exactly since they had been taken. She herself had estimated it to have been about two days or so, but she couldn't be sure.
Stepping out into the hallway, the three Fairy Tail mages started looking around. There really wasn't much to see. There were of course the windows, but except for that, there were only two other doors. One apparently leading outside, the other, a huge wooden double door, was located on the other wall, right in the center of it. Just by the looks of that thing, she assumed the room on the other side to be gigantic.
Taking a closer look, thy saw that it wasn't closed completely. A slight red and orange glow was filtering through, illuminating the hallway and bathing them in its soft glow once they stepped closer.
"Think we found it?" asked Gray, who was the one closest to it.
"Yes, I am certain the magic we felt earlier is coming from here and-"
Before Erza could continued, she was interrupted by something that could only be described as the most awful noise any one of them had ever heard.
Someone was screaming, or was it something? At first, she'd thought it had been a human, but after a second, the sound changed to something she could only associate with a tortured animal.
The three of them looked at each other, faces pale and utter horror visible in their eyes.
No one needed to say what they all were thinking. They had a terrible suspicion about the origins of that scream. Lucy prayed the were wrong about this, but the odds fot that were less then slim.
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The moment the shock had passed, Gray was at the door, ready to rip that thing out of its hinges. He was fairly sure that what he'd heard just now was his fried/rival. He'd heard the salmon haired mage scream like that before and he knew, the other two had as well.
The last time had been in Edolas when Natsu and Wendy had been caught and subjected to having their magical energy forcefully ripped from their bodies. Back then had been bad, but this? It had sounded way worse than he'd though possible.
Before he could touch the wooden door however, his hand was cough by an armor clad one.
"Hey! Let me-"
"Gray, please! You promised!"
He had, hadn't he? He paused his movements and looked at Erza. He was sure she wanted to rush in there just as badly as he wanted. After all, she was the only person besides himself that knew Natsu as well and as long as he did. She also cared for him more then almost anyone in the entire guild. If she was able to control herself, he should at least try, but it was just so… hard. Knowing that idiot was in there, suffering and in pain. It killed him not to be in there and do something against it right this instant!
"What are we supposed to do then?! I don't know about you guys, but I for one wont stand around here and listen to him being hurt like that!
"I know, and we won't, I promise! But we still need to secure the exit and then gather information before we-"
"Information my ass! Go secure that damn door, but I won't just stand by and watch!"
"And I don't expect you too, I just don't want us to be caught again!"
In a matter of seconds, the door leading outside had been pulverized. Then, they were finally ready to enter the other room. When another scream tore through their ears, this time audibly weaker then the one before, he had enough. Using both hands, he pushed the doors open. Nothing could have prepared him for what awaited him on the other side.
The firs thing he noticed was the heat. It crashed into him like a wave, making him close his eyes briefly. It was so hot, his skin started to burn. He instantly felt like he had a bad case of sunburn. When he opened his eyes again, he thought he was looking into hell itself. The whole room was glowing red and orange, as if it was filled with raging flames. On closer inspection, he noticed that all of this was part of one massive magical circle. He'd never seen something like this before.
Delicate patterns were covering every inch of space in there! The floor, the ceiling, as well as the walls. If he didn't know better, he'd thought it was beautiful. Runes and pictures of plants and animals as well as geometrical patterns and circles all delicately twisted into each other, forming a scene that almost seemed alive.
Focusing, he started looking for anything else. After a moment, he wasn't disappointed. A few feet away from them sat the one responsible for all of this. Ivan had both his hands pressed down onto the circle, his face drawn in intense concentration. It looked like he hadn't even noticed them entering until now.
However, he was distracted when he heard the horrified gasps coming from the two women who had entered right after him. Following their gaze to the rooms center, he couldn't help but to stare. What he was seeing there… clearly wasn't human.
Before he could look closer however, Ivan looked up from his work. The slight noises they had made just now seemed to have alerted him to their presence.
"WHAT?! Who the FUCK let you guys out?!"
"Shut up! This really is NONE of your business! What have you done to our friend?"
But instead of an answer, the man rose to his feet. As soon as his hands weren't touching the ground anymore, the red glow and the heat around them disappeared.
"How dare you interrupt? I'll need to deal with you before continuing now! If I wait to long, It won't work anymore! He wouldn't be able to become a full dragon!"
That was all the information they needed. In an instant, Ivan had been run through with multiple spears of ice, Before the man knew what had happened, Erza had used her sword to deliver the final blow. There really was no was they would have let him live after all of this.
Before the life faded from his eyes, he managed to mutter out a few last words. Gray really had to strain his ears to make out what Ivan was saying.
"So be it then. What you have done now is far worse then anything I ever did to this poor little dragon. Now he won't be able to live as either human nor dragon, he'll be trapped in between forever and nothing you could ever do will change that." One last breath and he went still.
What had he… Wait, Natsu!
Turning around, he now got a clear view on his friend. The dragon slayer was curled up on the floor, bound by heavy chains and apparently unconscious, only dressed in what remained of the pair of pants he'd worn when they were captured.
Suddenly, Natsu started to stir, a growl coming from deep within his throat. And now, they were able to see the full extent of what Igor had done to their comrade.
There were dark red scales covering multiple parts of his body. His legs didn't show any remains of human skin, his feet having changed to having four toes instead of five, three in front and one growing on the side, each of them ended in a sharp black claw.
The same thing could be said about his hands, although their shape didn't change much from before. His fingers were now ending in sharp talons as well. Scales were covering his arm up to his elbows, then fading and only reappearing occasionally up to his shoulders. Natsu's chest and stomach only showed some skin left in the center, scales growing in flame like patterns over his sides and covering his back. His throat was basically the same.
When his friend turned his head, he was finally able to see his face. It looked mostly human, except the scales growing under his eyes and the pointed ears, that were covered in scales as well. There was also a pair of elegantly curved black horns poking out from the salmon hair that was covering his head.
The biggest change however were his eyes. They had changed from their usual warm olive color to bright gold with a slitted pupil in the middle. Through the slightly parted lips, Gray could also make out sharp fangs instead of the just a bit sharpened human teeth that had sat there previously.
Finally, there were black spikes running along his rivals spine, that had lengthened into a long tail, ending in a few very sharp looking spikes. And of course the pair of huge wings that spread out from Natsu's shoulders and were now folded neatly against the salamanders scaled back. They seemed to be red with black spikes on their tips as well, although he suspected the thin membrane that connected the bones to be a bit more light in color.
"N-Natsu…?"
He saw Lucy slowly walking over to what was left of the Dragon Slayer. But before she could reach him, he caught sight of them. Gray could immediately see the change in his eyes. They had gone from confused and scared to downright shocked and unbelieving, before rolling into the back of his head. Before they could even attempt to catch him, Natsu had slumped back down to the floor again.
Hurrying over to him now, Gray, Erza and Lucy were at a loss about what to do. They knew he'd been injured earlier, but now, there were no traces left of those wounds. Maybe the transformation process had automatically repaired the damage?
Kneeling down, he carefully poured some of his magic into the manacles locks that were still chaining the salamander to the cold floor. When he'd gotten a feel for the them, he replicated a key and after a moment, they fell off.
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Looking down on her unconscious friend, Erza wasn't sure what to do. The moment Gray had taken of those shackles, they could have just left, but… She had no idea how to handle Natsu. Should they just carry him out and hope he wouldn't suddenly wake up? After all, they had no idea in what state of mind he would be, if he would still think and act like a human or if he wouldn't even recognize them anymore, maybe even attacking them. What if he started acting like a dragon? She had no idea how she'd handle her friend then.
There was also still the matter that Ivan had convinced him, that they were all dead. It would be quite the shock for him to see them again so sudden just like that.
Deciding that it would be better to leave this place rather then staying anyways, she looked at her, clearly still shocked friends. She couldn't hold it against them. After all, it was quite hard to believe that the creature in front of them really was the same Natsu Dragneel they had known for all this time. She wouldn't have been sure herself if it wouldn't have been for his hair. There was really no mistaking that color.
But now? Natsu really didn't look much like before.
How would everyone at the guild react to this? She was sure some wouldn't mind, but there was no guarantee for that. What if they couldn't? Fairy Tail was his home, where would he even go if they decided to chase him away? Erza really didn't want any more harm to come to the man she'd come to consider a younger brother for all those years.
"Gray?" The dark haired mage looked at her, confusion still evident in his eyes. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out eventually, Okay?"
After receiving a nod, she continued. "Could you help me carry him? I don't really know where to touch him, so we'll just pull one arm each over our shoulders, got it?"
"Okay, I had been wondering about that as well. Do you think it's a good idea to move him right now?"
"I think it's better than staying here."
"Ahhm… Is there anything I can do?"
Erza turned to the blond that had just spoken. She seemed to have recovered from her initial shock and had a determined look on her face. She didn't know why she'd been worried earlier. Of course they would take care of Natsu and someday, it would all be okay again.
"Yes, I'd like you to to keep watch while we walk. I don't want to get attacked again."
"Right!" The blond straightened up, making sure she'd be able to grab her keys in a split second if necessary.
After getting back up onto their feet, She and Gray pulled Natsu to his feet and started carrying him like they'd discussed earlier.
And then, the four mages made their way out of the building. Since they had no idea where they were, they just started walking in the direction they thought Magnolia was in. They had nothing to go on but the stars that started to come out as they were walking to lead them in the right direction. Since it was night now, They didn't run in to any other people.
She was happy about that. Natsu's current appearance wouldn't be easy to explain and she really didn't want people staring at the poor Dragon Slayer either. Because of this, they wouldn't be taking any of the main routes or public transport. They would avoid as much human contact as possible. It would be quite the long journey home like that, but it was better for Natsu like this.
Erza just hoped that they wouldn't run in to more trouble on their way home.
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Well then, that was chapter four. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'd really love to get some reviews on this.
I was thinking about putting up a picture of Natsu and the way he looks in this story, but only if you guys are interested, so let me know, okay?
See you guys next time!
Nahesa