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Chapter 6

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When she woke up, Lucy was disoriented. It took her about ten seconds to remember what had happened the previous day and that she wasn't a prisoner anymore.

The night spend in the forest had been pure heaven. She had slept very soundly, knowing that Igor was dead and couldn't hurt them anymore and knowing that Natsu was with them again. Turning around, she looked at the lump of red scales curled up a few meters away from her and the others, who were still soundly asleep.

Smiling slightly, she rose to her feet and slowly walked over to where her reptilian friend was doing a pretty good job at imitating a sleeping bird. Since he had his head stuck under one of his wings, she couldn't see his face, but still, she was sure, he was resting peacefully. His breathing was deep and even and he wasn't moving around, which was something he would do when having a nightmare. And since Natsu used to sleep in her apartment a lot, she knew what she was talking about.

Remembering back to the night before, she still could feel the relief she'd felt then, when they'd found out that Natsu still remained somewhat sane and human. Of course she was aware that the pink haired teen still could start to act more...animalistic then last night, after all, he'd seemed very tired then, almost to a point where she had feared he might not open his eyes ever again if he fell asleep.. To her relief, this really seemed not to be the case.

Looking at her companion, she thought about what had happened to him.

What had that spell been anyways? The celestial magic she used herself was pretty old alright, but the spell Igor had used? The pure time and effort it must have taken to research and create all of this must have been huge! It had covered the floor, the walls and even the sealing. Most of the runes she remembered seeing had been ancient. She had only seen those in one of Levy's oldest books. Most of the spell however was something she had never seen, nor heard of before.

The magic that had come from it had seemed so very old and powerful. So full of energy and, there really was no other way to put is, live. The whole thing had been so perfect and harmonic, it had almost seemed as if it were part of a living being. She was sure her bookworm of a friend would have loved to get a look at it. Maybe she would have been able to decipher it and return Natsu to the way he used to be if she had come with them.

Should they head back there? She wasn't even sure which direction Igor's hideout was from their current location. It had been fairly dark when they had made their escape through the forest and no one of them had bothered to mark their way or even try to remember which way they were going. They all just had wanted to get away as fast as possible.

However, now she was regretting not doing so. If they would be able to find their way back, maybe they could find a way to help their friend? Shaking her head, she discarded the idea again. The most important thing right now was to get Natsu back to the Guilt, maybe even to Polyusaca. After all, therewas really no way of knowing what that spell may have done to him.

She sat there, buried so deeply in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed the sun rising higher and higher on the horizon. They should be leaving soon. It was still a long way back home and she really didn't feel like sleeping outside more then necessary, no matter how comfy some spots out here could be. There was really nothing better then the one's own bed when it came to sleeping after all.

Walking over to where Gray and Erza had made camp, she crouched down and shook their shoulders lightly.

"Gray? Erza, its time to wake up, it's light already."

Erza was awake right away. The red haired knight was alert the minute she woke. Gray not so much.

"Ah, good morning Lucy. Has anything happened?"

"No, I just though we might want to leave soon, the sun's up already."

Erza nodded, then turned to the still sleeping ice mage next to her. "Better wake him." She muttered and got to her feet. Towering over the poor boy, she said in her most dangerous and authoritative voice: "Gray! Get up NOW!"

Within a second, the dark haired teen had woken and was on his feet. Lucy suspected him reliving some kind of childhood trauma involving Erza and oversleeping or something like that. With her current team, there was nothing that would surprise her anymore.

"What about Natsu? Is he still-"

"I'm awake."

Surprised, the trio turned around to face their comrade. While they had been talking, he had apparently woken and was now slowly making his way to his feet. He was still swaying slightly, but she suspected this being due to him not being used to walk around with all those new body parts yet.

When the boy had managed to stand somewhat safely, he started slowly moving his tail and wings. He seemed to be able to do so consciously which was a good sign. At least he'd be able to control them and not have them flap around whenever they saw fit without him agreeing.

They were still watching, mesmerized by the whole thing, as Natsu took his first few awkward steps. It was clear that he wasn't used to walking on claws at all.

"Feels weird…"

He seemed to have forgotten that all of them were still there. "Natsu?"

He looked at her. For a second, she forgot to breathe. Now that he was actually awake, those eyes were even more stunning then she'd thought possible. The sparkled like fire, shades and color slightly changing when light fell into them. It was like looking into a Volcano. Beautiful and dangerous at the same time.

"Did you need anything?" He looked confused.

She realized she'd been staring at him for a few seconds now. "I ahh…"

Thankfully, Erza came to the rescue. "I think what Lucy wanted to ask was, if you will be able to walk on your own. If we want to get back to Magnolia, we'll need to leave soon."

He nodded.

"Thank god! Because if you wouldn't be able to walk, I certainly would have no desire to carry your fat ass home flame-brain."

"Well Ice-princess, no one asked for your opinion!"

They continued this for a few minutes, the two woman only watching. It was nice to see that at least some things hadn't changed. When those two started to scuffle however, Erza quickly interfered.

From her point of view, it was quite obvious why. Natsu wasn't fighting like he normally would. Instead of using his fists or even some of his magic, he was readying himself to strike his rival with his claws, teeth barred, while snarling at the other, his tail swaying from side to side.

"Stop this, both of you! We haven't got time for this!"

They halted in mid movement. Now, Gray seemed to notice the change in his friend as well.

"Hey flame-brain, you okay there?"

Up until now, Lucy hadn't noticed, but now that it was silent, she could hear Natsu growling. The whole thing was starting to worry her. First everything had seemed fine, but now, her friend wasn't acting like himself at all anymore. He looked more like… an angry animal ready to kill.

Slowly, Gray put his hands up in surrender and started backing up.

"Hey now, come on man, I was just fooling around, calm down."

First, Natsu didn't show any indication he'd heard his rival at all, then, he slowly lowered his hands and stopped growling. Cocking his head to the side, he looked at them questioningly.

"Is everything okay? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Hadn't he noticed what he was doing just now? He'd looked as if he wanted to kill Gray right where he stood.

"Well," Erza said, "you were… growling just now. "

"Oh." He seemed to think for a moment, then nodded his head. "Yeah, I was, something wrong with that?" Grinning widely while showing off his sharp fangs, he turned around and started walking. "Weren't we supposed to be heading home?"

"Natsu?! Do you even know where you are going?"

"Sure, come on or I'll leave you behind!"

"How?"

"Oh shut it frosty, I just know, okay?"

From the look on Gray's face, it wasn't. But before he could even open his mouth, he was silenced by Erza. They shared a few meaningful looks. Maybe Natsu hadn't come out of this whole thing as unscathed as they'd initially thought. If something like the small argument earlier could set him off like that, what would happen in a real fight?

They needed to get back home. Fast. Before this could start to get out of hand.

While they continued their journey home, the three humans started to realize that this could very well get a lot more difficult then they'd thought possible.

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Natsu was feeling surprisingly good. Sure, the new body parts were something he would need to get used to over time, but all things considered, it could be worse. Sure, Gray was just as annoying as always, but it had still been quite funny to see the look of fear on his face when Natsu had growled at him earlier. To be honest, it had just felt right at the moment. He didn't have to think about how to get used to those new dragon-like characteristics. Apparently, his body did that for him already. It had reacted instinctively when he had been annoyed earlier. It just felt so… natural, acting like this, having a body like this… It felt as if he was meant to be like this all along.

Would he be able to fly? Those wings seemed big enough, so why not? He thought about trying it right here and now but that would probably not work in his favor. After all, they were in a forest. He remembered Igneel telling him that it was very important to have enough space when attempting to fly.

Walking on his new feet had been a challenge at first, but after a few minutes, he'd gotten the hang of it. He just needed to take care not to trip over them and to balance more carefully. His tail was a great help with that. It seemed to react even to his smallest movement, always guaranteeing maximal stability and balance.

The horns were pretty cool as well, although he didn't know what he was supposed to do with them yet. Scales, Spikes… He loved his new form.

Igor was dead. He was certain he'd smelled the man's blood on Erza and Gray earlier. It didn't bother him at all. This piece of crap had deserved it for hurting his flock.

Speaking of which… Those three were walking a few paces behind him silently. He could sense their worry and light fear. It was like a very faint scent, something he hadn't been able to detect before. Could he do this with other people as well? It would become quite in handy during a fight.

He knew the others were worried about him. In their place, he'd probably be too. After everything they saw him go through during those last few days, it was no surprise they'd think like that, asking themselves if he was traumatized or if he was still the same Natsu they knew and so on, In his opinion, those were stupid questions. Of course he was. Maybe a bit more dragon than before, but who cared, right?

They had accepted him berfore, so why should it be a problem to them now? He knew that not everyone might do that so easily. Some might even be scared of him. It saddened him a great deal that some of his family might start to think of him of a threat, rather then a friend.

Sure, there were also those moments, when he felt guilty for worrying them like this, even scaring them like earlier. He had no control over his newly sharpened instincts, so what was he supposed to do? Accepting things as they were now would probably be the easiest way to deal with all this. Suppressing those instincts would only drive him mad anyways, so why bother?. He just wished the others could see and understand this as well.

He'd given this matter a lot of thought. When the others had fallen asleep last night, he'd made his way over to the lake he'd led them to earlier. Sitting down,, he had observed his reflection in the moonlight on it's surface. Strangely, it hadn't scared him. Actually, it had calmed him down quite a bit. The new way he was thinking and feeling, the urge to just let his instincts take over occasionally, it all had started to make sense. He wasn't feeling like a human now because he just wasn't one of them anymore. But he wasn't a full dragon either, so it made sense that he would act rather human at times as well.

Could he decide what he wanted to be? Was it even possible? Would he be trapped in between forever?

He'd spent hours staring at his own reflection, thinking about it. When he'd grown too tired, he'd made his way back to camp and had finally been able to sleep.

He'd made his choice. He'd just live normally, trying to be both. Dragon and Human.

This could prove to be hard, but like this, he wouldn't have to lose part of himself. It would be confusing for the others, that, he was sure of. They wouldn't know how to act around him at first.

He was sure there would come a time when he would have to explain all of this to the Guild. Maybe there would also be a day where he would need to decide what he wanted to be, but now wasn't it. He planned on continuing to live with the guilt, to go on jobs and to just continue his life like he'd been doing before.

Crossing his arms behind his head, he continued his walk through the forest, enjoying the company of his friends and the warm sunlight on his face whenever they crossed a clearing. It was peaceful now.

When the sun had risen to it's peak, they decided that it was time for a break.

Sitting under a huge fir tree was very relaxing. He closed his eyes, only listening to his friends' breathing and the whispering of the forest around them. He took in a deep breath, inhaling all the scents around them and marveling about, what he could smell now. Sure, there were animals, he'd been able to smell them before, but now, his range had increased and rather then a general direction, he was able to make out every single step it had taken, apparently even days after it had happened.

The range had increased as well. He knew where they were supposed to go because he could smell something… familiar. He wasn't sure if it was Magnolia, Fairy Tail, or just something that reminded him of his home, but he was sure it would lead them there anyways.

Suddenly, there was a scent, he'd recognize anywhere. They were still far away, maybe about a whole day's journey, but he was still sure it was them.

"So, they've sent someone after all, huh?"

The others looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see in a day or two, don't worry Erza."

"Natsu, There are a few things I am very curious about, do you mind me asking?"

He nodded his head. Maybe it would be better to reassure them a bit anyways. The three of them all had seemed a bit weary of him since this morning. He didn't want that. They were his family. Did they really believe he'd hurt them?

Just to think that hurt.

"Okay then. The first thing I want to know is what you can do now. It will be very important for all of us to know, don't you think?"

He had to agree with her on that. It could be dangerous for the others if they got into a fight and they didn't know which defenses they could employ and how effective an attack could be.

"What do you mean in particular?"

"Well, I… I don't really know where to start actually. But after this morning, I think there are just a few things that need to be talked through. You certainly agree with me on that, don't you?"

No, actually he didn't, but since she was a friend, he'd oblige her anyways.

"Okay then. I've still got my magic, but I don't know how strong or weak it is right now compared to what it was before. It feels a bit… different. I'll have to test it out later."

That much was true, although he was pretty sure it had become much stronger, rather then weaker.

"As I told you yesterday, my senses have improved as well. Everything else I'm not sure about. As I told you just now, I'd have to try before I can tell you anything else."

Erza didn't look convinced, but apparently decided to roll with it for now.

"What about this morning? I know you and Gray fight a lot, but this time you looked like you wanted to… actually hurt him.. To be honest, you looked like a wild animal or something like that. It worried me quite a bit to be honest."

He ducked his head apologetically before answering her.

"Instinct."

She just looked at him. "Explain."

So she wanted to do this now? Okay.

"Well, as you may have noticed, I'm not all human any mo-"

"Natsu! Stop it, don't even say that, of course you're still...-"

"NO1 Erza, That's just the point! I'm not!" He didn't even know why her comment upset him like this.

He felt insulted.

"Listen, I'm only telling you this once: He didn't just change my appearance, okay? I don't think like I used to, I don't see humans like I used to either. I don't even consider myself as one of them anymore!"

He knew what he'd said just now had hurt them.

The way they looked at him, the expression in their eyes… There was so much emotion in there. He could see it and he could smell it. Their anger, their fear and sadness, but also their confusion. Of course they didn't understand. They had been raised as humans by humans after all. He wasn't. Maybe he'd had a human's body for the longest part of his life, but that was over now.

"I'm sorry guys, maybe I should explain a bit further. Children who were raised by dragons don't learn to live like a human. We were raised to be as close to dragons in body, mind and soul as possible. You heard what they said about those dragon particles, right? Our parents knew that a transformation like this could happen, no matter what they did to prevent it, so I think they tried to prepare us for that in their own way."

They were listening to him very closely now. Lucy had tears in her eyes, Erza looked genuinely interested and Gray seemed to be rather pissed. Nothing out of the ordinary then. He continued.

"When I met you guys, I had no idea how to act around you. I had never spend time with your kind before, at least I don't remember doing so. I think you two," he turned to Gray and Erza, "may remember that time. I didn't act like you guys because I just didn't know how. This right now isn't much different from back then, only that I actually am at least half dragon now and that I am aware of what is going on. What happened this morning was just the way any dragon would have reacted to a provocation like that. I know how to ACT human now, but since I'm not one of you guys anymore, it wouldn't be more then that. I just want to be myself, which is now a lot more dragon-like then before."

"Yes, I do recall you being a bit… strange back then. Just after you joined, you still moved a bit strange and didn't seem to have any idea about human society as well."

He could see the curiosity in Lucy's eyes. After all, she was the only one of them that hadn't known him back then.

"Moved differently? How?"

"Idiot was always curling up to sleep, holding his hands like claws to fight and stuff, you know? Sometimes even growling a bit, but not like earlier…"

Gray's tone was still very defensive, almost hostile. Before he could snarl a retort, Erza efficiently stopped him by asking another question.

"So, you will continue to act like that?"

"Like what?" He couldn't keep the snarl out of his voice this time. What did she mean with that? He wasn't acting!

"Do I really need to explain it?"

Shaking his head, he rose to his feet. "Erza, in case you hadn't noticed or didn't listen to what I told you just now, This is just how things will be from now on. I am no human anymore, actually, I never really have been! For the first time since Igneel left, I feel like myself again. Please just accept this, okay?"

For a very long moment, he could see doubt in her eyes. Would she refuse him? Try to shape him back into the way he had been before? But then, the look faded and was replaced by a determined, yet gentle look.

"Okay, for now I will accept your decision. "

Natsu hadn't known he'd needed to hear this from his childhood friend so badly right now. Those words calmed his flaring temper and let him think a bit more clearly.

"Thank you. I'm sorry about earlier, but I can't help it. But you can still trust me, I'm not going to hurt you, you're my family." He could feel tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Up until this point, he hadn't allowed himself to actually grieve for them. Of course, they weren't dead, but he thought they were, he had believed it wholeheartedly.

It had been the worst pain he'd ever felt in his life.

"When… when he told me you guys were dead I- I just...-" He couldn't continue. His emotions were all over the place. Everything that had happened those last few days, everything that was still going to happen, it all came crushing down on him in this very moment. He couldn't breathe, just thinking about it brought the pain and sorrow he'd felt back full force.

His friends were talking to him, trying to soothe him, to find out what was wrong, but he couldn't even understand what they were saying. Their gentle words turned into Igor's laughter, the soft grass of the forest into the stones of his cell. His friends turned to corpses and then, there was pain. Or was it the memory of it? He wasn't sure anymore.

A sharp stinging sensation on his cheek brought him back into reality. Blinking confuses, he stared into Erza's hazel eyes, those warm, alive eyes that he would recognize anywhere. Right behind her were Gray and Lucy, worried and pale.

Taking a few deep breaths, he managed to sit up. Strange, when had he fallen to the ground in the first place?

"Natsu? Hey Natsu, can you hear me? Come on, answer me!"

"E-Er-za?"

She nodded, carefully placing her hand in his hair, stroking it gently and massaging the spot between his horns lightly. Her hand was warm, alive. Even with the armored glove she was wearing.

He felt himself relax at her touch. Everything was okay, they were alive and well. Natsu could hear their heart beats and breathing. It did wonders to soothe his frayed nerves. He told this to himself over and over again. "S-sorry about that, I just…"

"It's okay, if anything I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have asked those questions so soon. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too, I shouldn't have reacted so aggressively, sorry flame-brain."

Wow, now Gray was apologizing to him? He must really look like crap right now if those humans- no if his friends acted like this.

"But what was that just now? You looked like you were having a panic attack or something-"

"Leave him for now Gray!"

"But Erza-"

"I said leave it!"

Grumbling, the dark haired teen retreated a few steps. Lucy looked confused, but didn't ask any more questions either.

"The only thing we need to know for now is that we can trust him and that he won't hurt us. We'll figure anything else out as time goes on." She turned to him and looked him in the eye. "Natsu, do you want to rest a bit before we continue? You look tired."

She was right, he did feel quite worn out. But he didn't want to waste any more time either. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to see the others, go fishing with Happy and fool around with Elfman and Gajeel. He wanted to go on quests together with his team. He missed all of them so much…

"Thank you Erza, but I really want to go home."

"Okay, I understand, but if you need a break, just say so. Your body will probably still need some time to recover from that transformation."

Slowly, they all got up and started walking again. This time however, they stayed together closely.

"N-Natsu, can I ask you something?"

He looked at the blond, then nodded. Her tone of voice indicated that whatever she wanted to know was important.

"Why did you believe him when he told you we were dead? I mean, Sure, he was cruel and evil, but still…"

That was a really good question. Why? Why had he allowed that monster to manipulate him like that? How could he ever have believed that this monster would have been able to kill those three exceptionally strong mages in the first place?

"I… I'm not sure. He didn't look like he was lying and he… he was-…" He didn't know how to continue. When Igor had told him, there had been no lie in his eyes. He had proved to be certainly cruel enough to do so and Natsu had been weakened considerably… Maybe a combination of all this? He shook his head.

They fell silent again, just walking. When the sun began to set again, they all needed to rest. Natsu was unimaginably tired. All this talking and walking and everything else had really taken a toll on him and he knew he couldn't hide it any longer. To his luck, the others had grown tired of walking as well and had started scouting for a place to set up camp.

When they finally had found a suitable spot, he almost collapsed to the ground. It took all his willpowe not to do so and to slowly lower himself down onto a bunch of fern bushes after drinking something and then curling up into a tight ball. When had been the last time he'd eaten anything? He couldn't remember and to be quite honest, he didn't care.

Closing his eyes, he listened to his friends basically doing the same as he was right now. He yawned, then stuck his head under one of his wings. Doing one last check of the surrounding area using his keen sense of smell and his hearing, he determined they were safe. With no immanent danger and his body's demand for sleep, he could feel himself drifting off.

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Well, an other chapter done.

I really hope you enjoyed reading this one as well. Leave me a review if you want, I always enjoy reading them.

See you guys next time

Nahesa