Ultimate Fairy
Chapter 52: Daphne and Dragons
…
Last time on Ultimate Fairy…
Ben and Erza laid down on a blanket looking up to the stars paying both attention to the magnificent sight and to the other person.
"We should come here more often." Erza said as the sight of the city and the stars never seemed to lose it's appeal "do you think your grandmother would like me?" she asked out of the blue as she heard from Natsu and Gray that Ben met with his grandmother.
Ben laughed at that "Erza my grandmother is basically like Natsu." he said as it was a frightening but true comparison "she'd tell you…well I don't really know what she'd tell you, but it'd be crazy and probably embarrassing." he said as he was sure his wildside came from his grandmother.
Erza didn't know weather to shiver or laugh as Ben did tell her how powerful the woman was and the thought she was like Natsu was horrifying "can we do this more?" she asked him getting an odd look from him "date more I mean, I wanna do this more." she said not wanting to wait an unknown amount of time for the next one she wanted to know when the next one was "can we do a date once a week?" she asked feeling that was more solid.
"Sure wanna do it in between missions or during?" Ben said jokingly.
"It'd be unprofessional to the client if we did so." Erza said seriously "but~ maybe a small date during meals would be nice." she said with a smile looking at him.
Ben loved this, having a girlfriend as part of his world of constant action was nice, he was so excited he just moved closer to Erza and kissed her both unable to deny the attraction and the mood which was perfect.
…
"I swear I need to reconsider doing this." Ben said as he was shopping for smoothie ingredients as Mira had him do it as he was the one who kept making outrageous combos with the smoothie maker 'I built the thing shouldn't I get a discount.' he thought in a small whiny tone, he went to the check out, but as he turned the corner and bumped into someone both dropping what they were carrying.
"Hey watch where you're-Ben?" Gray was saying starting angry, but his temper dropped seeing it was his friend.
"Sorry about that man." Ben said as he picked up his supplies and helped Gray with his "Metamo-Chan?" he asked seeing a box.
"Don't ask." Gray said before realizing something "Hey Ben I'll catch you later." He quickly took back the box from Ben, but before he could even step in the opposite direction.
"Gray how rude, you shouldn't be like that to a friend." a woman with a heavy western accent said from behind Ben.
Ben was curious as he peered his head back and saw a woman wearing a revealing outfit under an open trench-like lab coat "Uh, who are you?" he asked as he was pretty sure that he had never seen this woman and he and Gray often hung out a lot so he was sure he would've seen her at some point 'Juvia would've said something to.' he thought thinking of the water mage who was nowhere in sight luckily enough.
"Oh, where are my manors? The name's Daphne, pleasure to meet you." Daphne said introducing herself "and you're Ben Tennyson, I am such a fan, can you really turn into a dragon?" she asked stepping forward and getting a little too close for comfort for Ben.
"Maybe?" Ben said in an unsure tone 'Did someone from the guild talk?' he thought as many in the guild were gossips and he wasn't exactly subtle flying back to town, but so far it hadn't spread as fast as when he used Way Big during the Phantom Lord battle.
"That's so cool!" Daphne said bouncing in excitement "Gray told me a lot about Natsu and I have to say wow!" she said to him as Ben now looked even more curious.
'Gray…talked about Natsu?' Ben thought thinking there was something very wrong with this picture as while he knew Gray wouldn't speak ill of Natsu to other people, it seemed less likely that he would bring up the pyromancer mage to others 'maybe she just likes dragons.' he thought to himself as that made some sense as he shared that excitement when he first saw the species of Laserscale.
"So Ben." Gray said gaining both Ben and Daphne's attention "I guess we'll see you later." He grabbed Daphne's hand and pulled her away.
"Odd start to the day." Ben said to himself as he went to pay for his groceries.
…
Ben was home preparing for dinner today's earlier events still at the front of his mind as he rarely liked oddities in his friends as whenever Kevin showed a change of interest or character it usually meant something was happening either in general or with him was always a toss up.
"Are you ok?" Wendy asked, walking into the kitchen seeing the far away look in Ben's eyes.
Ben smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it's probably nothing." he said hoping it was as he couldn't shake the feeling something was off about that girl "Hey, has anyone ever seemed eager to ask you about dragons?" He was curious about her own experiences as Natsu dealt with his fair share of Dragon skeptics.
"Not really." Wendy said smiling awkwardly "I searched for Grandeeny whenever I could looking for the best rumors, most people think I'm crazy for looking for a dragon when they're supposedly extinct." she said to him.
Ben nodded serving her a plate of food and sat down to eat with her 'This girl, why does she bother me so much?' he asked himself as he was sure he had seen the look on the girl before.
"Why are you so interested?" Wendy asked him wondering why he asked that question.
"I met someone today who seemed interested in dragons, I was wondering cause I met my fair share of people interested in my aliens before." Ben said remembering when certain villains or people wanted to use his aliens or were desperately focused on them 'That's right.' he thought remembering why Daphne bothered him so much as he thought back to Dr Animo when he tried on every so occasion to mutate or abuse the animals or aliens he came into contact with 'Gray's not dumb.' he thought to himself as the ice mage was very analytical if one truly knew him.
"Should I be worried?" Wendy asked as if Ben was giving this person so much thought it had to mean this someone was worth some amount of concern.
"Not at the moment, she didn't seem to have much magical power, but she seemed smart, and sometimes brains trumped power." Ben said as Greymatter and Brainstorm certainly proved that.
Wendy nodded, taking those words in "Thanks for dinner." she said as she rinsed her plate and then went to bed.
'Maybe I'll ask Erza later.' Ben thought putting his thoughts down for the night.
…
Wendy was looking through jobs taking Mira's suggestion to work with a group into consideration as she had been offered by Levy and Lucy to work with their respective teams.
Ben was watching from a distance not being overly protective, but allowing Wendy the same freedom he had 'She can make good decisions.' he thought as she had a more level head than he did, he saw Gray approach Natsu and found it odd neither started anything.
"Hey, Natsu, did you hear the rumor?" Gray said in a calm tone surprising most that he could have a conversation with Natsu.
"What rumor?" Natsu asked more curious than his desire to clobber his long-time rival.
Ben listened to the conversation about how a dragon was spotted and how someone spoke to it, he was a bit more perplexed when Gray mentioned Daphne, the woman he saw with him the other day 'This seems odd, like Kevin shady level odd.' he thought to himself as Gray was making it sound like he didn't know Daphne.
"Can I come?" Wendy asked Natsu in excitement, forgetting about the question of which team she was going to work with "I wanna see if it could be Grandeeney." she said a hint of sadness in her joyful tone.
'Damn it.' Ben thought to himself now wanting to go 'better to be in a position to pull them out of the fire than not.' he thought as he had always done better in a situation rather than getting all the answers "mind if I come, might be useful to have a dragon of your own with you?" he asked him and chuckled as he saw the stars in Natsu's eyes at the thought of a dragon fight.
"You gonna tag along Gajeel?" Natsu asked more open to invite Gajeel as this could've been his parent as well.
Gajeel normally would've insulted them, but he had gotten a soft spot for Wendy and wasn't dumb enough to insult someone Ben had cared for to an almost familial level "you can go chase after hushes and whispers all you want Salamander, but I have more common sense then to jump at the first mention of a dragon." he said to him and sent Ben a look that he thought this was mostly crap.
"C'mon you gotta be as curious as we are." Natsu said as he knew deep within his gut that Gajeel wanted to see his dragon parent as badly as he and Wendy did.
"Stories like this are sucker bait, looks like they hooked one." Gajeel said as while he wouldn't admit it in his earlier years he was like Natsu searching for his parent, but found more schemes and traps than actual dragons "watch yourself kid, don't blindly follow that idiot, think about what you hear and decide if it has any merit." he said imparting the best advice he could to Wendy.
Ben was a little impressed by how Wendy was able to keep her cool and was acting more like the adult of the situation than the two elder dragon slayers.
"Do you really feel that way?" Wendy asked him, wondering how he could feel that way.
Natsu and Gajeel just stared each other down, both scoffing at the other.
"Guess it'll just be us." Ben said to the others.
"I hope it really is Grandeeney." Wendy said in excitement "I miss her." she said to them getting smiles from Ben and Natsu.
"I'm sure, but don't get hopes too high or you might be disappointed." Carla said to her dragon slayer.
"She's right." Ben said to her as he hated to admit it, but since these things were often dead ends like all the previous ones Natsu encountered it is likely this will be the same.
"Thanks for the tip man, I guess you are good for something." Natsu said to Gray as he was ready to dash through the door.
"My pleasure." Gray said to them seeing the dragon slayers run out the door.
"I'll be sure to tell you if anything exciting happens on this rumor Gray." Ben said to him making sure the ice wizard heard him perfectly clear as he left following after the two dragon slayers.
Gray actually began to sweat a little as he got the meaning loud and clear 'If something happens, I'm coming for you.' was the message Ben was telling him 'He and Erza are perfect for each other, both equally as terrifying.' he thought hoping nothing went wrong or it'd be his head.
…
"I'd like to order this one." Erza said in her favorite pastry shop picking the most heavily strawberry decorated cake, which had her guild symbol on it.
"Sure!" the baker said happily as Erza chose the most expensive one "I must say you are my most loyal and frequent customers." he said as the Fairy Tail guild often came here to him for baked goods, but Erza was his most frequent out of all of Magnolia.
"I buy one each time we recruit new members." Erza said as she liked to throw a traditional party with cake present for the new member or in this case members "I guess you could say it's tradition now." she said thinking of the cake she shared with Ben 'Hmmm should I get another chocolate for him or something new.' she thought off handedly as he was willing to share his favorite treat with her.
The baker smiled and laughed happily proud his work was so favorited by the famous guild "Happy to know my treats are appreciated." he said to her kindly.
"You're a master of your craft." Erza said from experience often savoring each strawberry cake she tasted comparing the differences and picking which was her new favorite out of the bunch "So are fifty cakes doable?" she asked simply not thinking of how her may have sounded to someone who didn't know her.
The baker looked at her oddly as that seemed like a ridiculous amount and seemed like an unbelievable request.
"You've recruited fifty new members?" the baker asked as that seemed a bit unlikely.
"No, just two the others are for me." Erza said shocking the man like all the other bakers who had received a cake request from the scarlet knight.
Erza soon walked out and felt something odd as if someone was watching her 'Who is that.' she thought as her instincts couldn't place who, she approached an alley and in a burst of speed a hooded figure charged her 'Whoever this is is fast!' she thought as she dodged a swipe of a sword and summoned twin blades to parry with the figure and when she went on the offensive and sliced through their blade they in turn used requip to summon their own twin blades "Requiping?" she said in confusion 'That was as fast as me.' she thought wondering who or what this was as it didn't seem human it seemed to copy her fighting style as the fight progressed and soon it vanished from her view "Just what was that?" she asked herself
…
"Kinda looks out of place huh?" Happy asked Natsu thinking Gajeel was right as they made it to Rise Lodge.
"Not to mention run down." Natsu said losing a bit of confidence in this lead.
"You can say that again I mean, we're a bit out of town." Ben said as the point of a inn was to have a place for people to stay, to have one in the middle of a place dubbed the wastelands was beyond suspicious "Guys can I be honest, this seems beyond shady to me, I mean where we are and the source of this info all seems to bizarre." he said to them wanting to let them know his thoughts.
"I think he's right Natsu I mean there's no one around." Wendy said thinking this was a bit to creepy.
"I think that's by design." Carla said as she saw a lodging lacrima and explained it's purpose.
"Still though, this lacrima looks like it's the only thing that has been maintained, can we access it somehow?" Ben asked Carla wondering if she knew how to.
Carla approached the lacrima and soon a screen appeared similar to archive magic "odd there is only one entry?" she said to the others.
"One entry as in current or one entry as in the entire time this place seems to have been here?" Ben asked as recent or old meant this place was made recently or has been here a while and Daphne had been here for that time.
"It's dated a few weeks ago and there are no other entries." Carla said picking up on how strange that was like Ben was.
They all saw Daphne was still here and began their search.
Ben approached the strangest looking door and saw something familiar above the door 'That's Happy, ok this is getting a little creepy…Zombozo level creepy.' he thought looking at the plush looking door wondering how much this woman knew about them.
"And I thought Miliana had a thing for plush." Natsu said remembering the feline woman's room when he went after Happy in the Tower of Heaven.
Before anything else could be said magic circles appeared under their feet and the door opened up and they were soon pulled inside.
Ben readied the Omnitrix feeling a little symbolic, he set in Laserscale so it'd be ready "I'll show this lady a real-" he was saying till he and the others witnessed fire works and more oddly assembled plush toys and Daphne talking about her 'Metamo-Chan' 'This would make a decent commercial.' he thought as it certainly got his attention.
Ben noticed he wasn't the only one who wasn't buying into this as Natsu wasn't either, although that could be chalked up to impatience and like all other times when Natsu was impatient he went off and told her they were here for the information they were lead to believe she possessed.
"We heard a rumor that you met one and that's the only reason we're here." Natsu said to her getting right to the point "So if you know anything tell us what it is, we need your help!" he said in a tone that was not of begging but of genuine heartache thinking this could be an opportunity to find his or Wendy's dragon parent.
"If only he was this serious on missions." Ben said to Happy who chuckled nervously as Natsu's attention was usually more focused on the fight "But yeah Daphne be straight with us, no more trying to sell us your food, do you or do you not have information for them?" he asked her in a serious tone not wanting Natsu or Wendy to be pushed so far on an emotional level as he remembered when his grandfather was missing and chasing down leads like Natsu was.
…
Makarov thought on what Erza had told him about being attacked as it set off some red flags that this was done in their home town especially after the war with Phantom Lord and Erza's description of the assailant 'I wonder?' he thought to himself thinking of possible scenarios of where a person could be considered 'non-human' like Erza described and still use magic like requip.
"Sounds like another dark guild needs a kick in the pants." Elfman said very unpleased by this development as he dislike espionage tactics where people attacked others when they were vulnerable 'so unmanly.' he thought to himself.
"We'll be cautious, but not overly so." Makarov said seeing no rise for concern "I'm sure we'll see them sooner rather than later." he said wondering about his choice in targets as Erza was not a wise target especially in broad daylight 'we may not be dealing with a another guild or dark guild.' he thought as this disregard for tactics and stealth made him think this person was acting on a not very thought out objective.
"So we'll sit back and do nothing?" Erza asked feeling a bit displeased as when they did that during the earlier Phantom attacks before the all out battle it ended in the loss of their original guild hall and team Shadow Gear to be attacked 'I don't like this.' she thought to herself wanting to get answers.
Makarov then explained that if they all went about their days as if nothing was wrong it should provoke whomever attacked Erza into revealing themselves, just as the meeting would conclude Lucy noticed Gray was gone.
…
"So you lied for marketing?" Ben asked her not sure if he believed Daphne or not as she seemed eccentric enough to actually do it
"That's to bad." Wendy said a little disappointed at the dead lead.
"And the winner is Gajeel!" Happy said holding a sign with a red circle.
"Not now little buddy." Ben said seeing the defeated look in the dragon slayers eyes, he didn't think they needed Happy rubbing salt in their wounds.
"Now Mr. Tennyson I'd like to make a business proposition to you." Daphne said with a smile losing her accent.
Ben was on guard now thinking this was the big reveal.
"I'd like to get some materials from you." Daphne said as magic circles appeared around Ben's wrists and ankles pulling him to the wall like the magic circles that brought them in the room.
"Hey what are you-" Natsu was saying till the same thing happened to him forcing him to the ground on his hands and knees "Solid script!" he said hating this as he remembered when he experienced this during Laxus' tournament "Wendy run!" he yelled to the young dragon slayer.
Wendy ran to the door and when she opened it she was shocked when she saw a void and as she reached forward she felt a barrier made of runes.
"Lady, you have no idea who you're messing with." Ben said unable to break free from his restraints with physical or mana means "So what is this about me or them?" he asked as she seemed more invested in him than Natsu and Wendy who had to be her original targets.
"It was about him." Daphne said as she looked down to Natsu who was giving her an angry look "I mean a real dragon." she said approaching him "Guess the Metamo-Chan's special ingredient will be true now." she said as she reached for his Omnitrix and smiled seeing Ben's dragon form all ready to go, she had asked Gray how this device had worked and he could only tell her how to operate the dial, she pressed the dial down and despite Laserscale's massive size the magic circles around his limbs were still intact despite him taking more of the wall.
"No way!" Wendy said as she charged Daphne channeling her wind and preparing to literally blow Daphne away, but just as she was an inch away she was frozen solid in ice.
"Wendy!" Natsu and Laserscale screamed stunned seeing the new member of the guild frozen in ice, they turned and saw someone enter the room walking past the barrier as if it wasn't there and that person was none other than Gray Fullbuster.
Laserscale felt minor surprise seeing who it was and growled loudly, his anger truly made his dragon appearance seem more terrifying "I thought against it, I believed in you and you sell us out to some crazy chick and have the gall to freeze Wendy!" he said glaring at him in such a way it made a chill go down his spine "You better pray that I don't get free cause if Wendy's harmed in any way you're done!" he said angrily.
Gray was silent as this was not going how he wanted it to as this was mostly supposed to be Natsu and he was trying to keep Ben away, it got worse when Wendy came along as well, even he was thinking that he deserved a beating for all that has happened 'sorry kid.' he thought to himself feeling truly guilty about that especially since she was a child.
"Thank you beloved." Daphne said looking at the frozen Wendy before her.
"You bastard, you're turning your backs on all of us for this psycho, I knew you were an idiot but this takes the damn cake!" Natsu said in anger looking at his rival.
Gray looked down at Natsu and then at Daphne "I told you I wanted to fight him." he said to her as he was gonna fight Natsu, but instead he was like Ben completely restrained.
"It's the same end result beloved." Daphne said as she took a bite of her Metamo.
"Tell me why." Natsu growled in anger wanting to know why he did this "I know you're the real deal, so tell me why." he said as this Gray had just this second removed his clothing and smelled identical to how he did earlier when they left the guild so his scent was still fresh in his mind.
"A city without sound." Gray said to him in a deadly serious tone.
Natsu was confused by that answer, not understanding or knowing how to respond.
"That's not cryptic at all now is it." Laserscale said his voice dripping heavily in sarcasm and before he could mutter another word he roared in pain as he looked down and saw a grayscale human-lizard hybrid, but what was really at the front of his mind was the pain that he felt as it ripped a layer off his scaly flesh.
"BEN!" Natsu screamed out in shock seeing his friend literally get his flesh ripped off "Why are you doing this you sadistic bitch!" he yelled at Daphne 'We need out of this!' he thought taking a deep hot breath.
"I hope you like my lizard man, Mr. Tennyson." Daphne said with a smile seemingly uncaring that his flesh was ripped off "You see Mr Dragneel, I have been interested in you for quite a while, I met dear Gray here a while back when I was looking into your background, he gave me everything and more." she said, winking at Gray.
Laserscale let out another roar of pain as the lizardman ripped off more of his scaled flesh.
"Mr. Tennyson though is the true prize a genuine dragon unbelievable." Daphne said looking at the dragon who was glaring at her "I believe I have enough." she said looking at the flesh her lizardman removed and saw the flesh Ben was missing on his legs and up to his stomach and some parts of his arms "Hidden darkness." she said as a hole opened up under Laserscale as he slowly descended into the hole via the magic circles.
"I hope you're proud of yourself." Natsu said to Gray "You let her rip our friend apart and maime him, I hope you can live with yourself, look at his blood on the floor you bastard!" he yelled as another hole opened up underneath him and he fell through quickly compared to Ben.
"What to do with you now?" Daphne asked as she looked at the frozen Wendy.
"She's a kid." Gray said to her as he was crossing many lines, but this was not one he'd ever cross.
"Oh so you still have some conscience left." Laserscale said as he was halfway down the hole.
"I guess we can-" Daphne was saying before the ice around Wendy shattered and she punched her in the face.
'That's our girl.' Laserscale thought proudly as Wendy punched Daphne in the face.
'How'd she break the ice?' Gray thought to himself in surprise wondering how she did it.
Wendy shook as she tried to stay up 'Thanks Natsu.' she thought to herself as when Laserscale had his flesh ripped off Natsu sent a concentrated breath of hot air toward her, which went unnoticed by Gray and Daphne as it made the ice weaker and melt slightly "That was for Ben!" she said anger adorning her face, she ran to Laserscale and pressed her hands on the bleeding area of where his flesh was more roughly pulled off, she saw the injury looked worse then it was glad Laserscale was not in any danger.
"Wendy listen you gotta get outta here, find the others." Laserscale said seeing some tears in her eyes and his blood on her hands "We'll be fine Wendy I promise, now run!" was the last thing Laserscale said as he was swallowed completely.
Wendy stood up feeling the tears build in her eyes 'I couldn't do anything.' she thought feeling a huge sense of uselessness build in her gut, but it soon turned to anger as she turned her head and faced Gray "You're next!" she said charging right at him and just as she was a second away from making contact a dark circle appeared in between her and Gray making her run right into it and soon winding up outside.
"My my my dragon slayers are certainly more impressive than I could've imagined and if she was that strong I can only imagine how strong Natsu will be on top of Ben when they are absorbed into the core." Daphne said as she rubbed her cheek where Wendy punched and despite the left hook she took, it did nothing to deter her excitement.
…
Wendy clenched her fists and tears came down her face as she couldn't believe she was so easily sent away.
"Wendy!" Erza said calling to the young dragon slayer "are you alright, where are Natsu and Ben?" she asked and became concerned when Wendy wouldn't meet her gaze, but noticed a small amount of blood on the girl's hands "Wendy, whose blood is that?" she asked as she felt terrible asking her that question, but considering who went with her, her gut sank at either possibility.
Wendy looked to the ground unable to face Erza as she knew how important Ben was to her remembering how far Ben went to save her, but she couldn't lie to her "Ben and Natsu were kidnapped by that Daphne woman, she ripped off a lot of Laserscale's flesh." she said before hearing Lucy gasp, calming herself Wendy looked Erza in the eyes as what she said next was even more serious "And Gray helped her, he's doing this of his own free will." she said seeing the shock Erza and Lucy had, but the most noticeable thing was the look in Erza's eyes she somehow displayed an icy cold look in her gaze, but also her own power made the very air heat up.
Lucy and Erza's eyes widened in shock never imaging that answer to come from the young dragon slayer.
Lucy would've retorted that claim in defense of Gray, but that quickly died in her throat as she saw someone standing on the Dragonoid and it was none other than her guild member and teammate, Gray Fullbuster.
"What is this Gray, have you truly betrayed Fairy Tail!" Erza asked him, her hand trembling "And did you truly allow this woman to injure Ben capturing not only him, but Natsu as well!" she demanded wanting to hear it from him.
"Yeah, I handed those two to Daphne on a silver platter." Gray said in an uncaring tone.
Erza was horrified, memories of when Jellal betrayed her at the Tower of Heaven years ago surfacing, never expecting it to happen again with someone she considered family.
"Yes yes yes!" Daphne said speaking through the dragonoid sounding proud "After countless hours of blood sweat and tears, I've produced this wonder of science, the Dragonoid!" she said loudly "If you had any kind of manners you'd at least congratulate me on a job well done." she said as if demanding recognition as if she deserved it.
…
"I got your recognition right here lady!" Laserscale shouted in anger from the void that was the dragonoid's core "Any ideas to get out of here?" he asked Natsu who tried to break free only for him to get electrocuted "Listen Natsu we have a real issue, if the Omnitrix times out this thing might begin to absorb its power and that's not a good thing." he said remembering his mission with Erza when the magic absorption device that fueled the car sent the car into overdrive 'If this thing has the same reaction we're looking at something worse than Nirvana, hell this thing might become a bomb.' he thought as that was the overall reaction, he was surprised it wasn't absorbing the energy from the Omnitrix now 'Transformation must be shielding it.' he thought before receiving his own shock like Natsu's.
…
Erza and Lucy heard the loud roar coming from the core they knew it had to be Laserscale
"What are you doing to them!?" Lucy demanded to know.
"I'm draining them of their magic power deary, my dragon may be artificial, but it'll have a real dragon's core when it absorbs Natsu and Ben into nothingness." Daphne said not even fazed that she was basically committing murder on two people as they were being absorbed.
Erza was deathly still hearing what ultimately sounded like death for Natsu and Ben "You vile woman, how dare you do this!" she shouted at her in anger and disgust
"It's all in the name of science darling!" Daphne said with a joyful tone as if that was all the reason and justification there was.
'Natsu…Ben.' Lucy thought wondering if her friends were all right.
…
"Ben you doing alright there man?" Natsu asked Ben seeing his now dragon friend looked a bit tired.
Laserscale was taking a deep breaths "Yeah." he answered quickly as he tried to keep his eyes open 'I'm always tired when I transform back after this kinda damage.' he thought as after some of his forms were shredded, destroyed, shattered, or incredibly maimed he was exhausted and tired 'But this will be even more painful and deadly.' he thought to himself as falling asleep with these type of injuries and with them being used as batteries was not a good thing 'We need you guys more than you know.' he thought thinking of his team before his eyes became heavy and all he heard was Natsu calling his name.
Natsu became further enraged as seeing his friend maimed and succumbing to his injuries was to much for him to handle "Screw this!" he said as an incredible torrent of flames shot out of his body.
…
"Yes yes, dragon boy keep powering my Dragonoid." Daphne said as she read her instruments and saw the power she was getting from Natsu.
Carla seemed to remember something as all of this seemed to fit into place with something she had heard in the past "I had heard of a deranged woman obsessed with dragons and tried to create artificial ones, but I thought that was a rumor." she said as at the time it seemed to far fetched to bring to Wendy's attention when she was on the search for her mother, but seeing this woman made her connect those dots.
Daphne heard that and became enraged and began to explain the gruesome process she went to in order to make her masterpiece.
'To do that to her home town, trapping them forever.' Lucy thought feeling ill just at the sheer thought.
"And after all these years I figured out the solution to the dragonoid, the power of a dragon from a dragon slayer, and I took it further by having Ben Tennyson become a dragon as well, they will become the perfect dragon core!" Daphne said in excitement unable to wait any longer wanting Natsu and Ben to be drained already so her core could be completed.
Erza requipped her purgatory armor fully intending on doing something Natsu would do and even be proud of, she was going to tear the Dragonoid apart "Your masterpiece will be nothing but scrap metal when my blades begin to make contact!" she said fully intending to use her entire arsenal as Natsu's power was nothing to scoff at and the fact Laserscale was being used made it especially important she didn't hold back.
"Oh Ms. Scarlet slash away as much as you'd like this will be a perfect field test for my dragonoid!" Daphne said slamming down the piano keys which were the controls to her Dragonoid.
Everyone heard the painful roar Natsu made from inside the Dragonoid.
The Dragonoid moved in response to the keys making the ground tremble with each action it took.
Erza charged toward it aiming for the core hopping to shatter it upon intact, but to her shock and dismay it didn't seemed phased by her attack and before she could react Daphne made the dragonoid slam its wing on its chest hitting her making her fall to the ground and before she could even get up the dragonoid stomped it's clawed foot on her pinning her down.
"Do you really think I would make it so easy!" Daphne said laughing vindicitvly "In previous models the exposed core was always something people tried to attack, so I made sure it was reinforced with each model, you're blades can't break it!" she said superiorly.
Erza struggled to get up with the claw pressing her down 'Damn it all, my purgatory armor is one of my most powerful offensive armors.' she thought not in the least bit amused 'And that core felt stronger than even the lacrima from Nirvana.' she thought as Daphne's boasts may have held truth.
Gray was watching from the distance not moving from his spot, but something caught his attention as he heard something approaching and when he turned his head he saw Elfman shooting at him like a missle.
"Hey!" Elfman roared blindsiding Gray, slamming his fist into his stomach and knocking him out.
"Elfman!" Lucy said seeing Wakaba and Macao driving in a magic mobile.
Elfman picked up Gray "Master sent us, he heard about what Gray had done so he sent us." he said to the others.
"Yeah, Gray has a lot of explaining to do." Macao said as he had a real soft spot for Natsu as a fellow fire mage and seeing the young dragon slayer grow basically made him see the boy as his student and another son.
'How did the master find out?' Wendy thought to herself amazed their master was so well informed.
Unknown to the sky dragon slayer, a certain iron dragon slayer sneezed.
Erza saw them arrive 'I need to get free.' she thought requipping out of her armor into her flight armor the momentary gap the change created allowed her to get out and she got closer to the others "Master sent you?" she asked them wondering if that was the case.
"Yeah, when he got word of what Daphne had been up to he sent us out here." Macao said to her.
"He said we'll decide what to do with her oversized lizard when he talks to Gray one on one." Macao said to her as he looked at the unconscious ice wizard wondering how it came to this.
Erza nodded, but noticed the dragonoid's wings began to shine 'She's channeling magic power into them!' she thought realizing what was about to happen "Everyone brace yourselves!" she said as not a moment later the dragonoid began to flap its wings taking flight "You all need to return to the guild and defend Magnolia, I'll do what I can." she said to them climbing on top of the magic mobile as they got in.
"Can she really fight that thing?" Wendy asked, seeing the scarlet knight stare down the flying dragon.
Lucy didn't know how to respond 'Daphne is using two of our strongest members as batteries and one of them has beaten her.' she thought as if it was just Natsu she'd have more confidence in Erza, but with Ben as well seemed almost impossible.
They all proceeded to go back to the guild.
…
Erza saw the dragonoid was as close as she could reach it "thanks for the lift." she said launching herself upward preparing her sword trying to damage the exterior in some way, but before she could reach it, she raised her blade seeing another lizard man 'how many of these does she have?' she thought not at all amused.
"Please Ms. Scarlet, my lizard man has seen much of your combat abilities the more you fight him the more he adapts." Daphne said as all her lizard men were constantly evolving learning from each and every battle.
The point was proven when Erza requipped into her black wing armor and the lizard man copied it.
"How is it doing this?" Erza asked as this felt like mimic, but to a more personal level "It doesn't matter, you'll never defeat me." she said calming her nerves "You may copy my abilities, but what you lack is a warrior's spirit." she said slashing through the lizard man.
Daphne was not at all pleased as while her lizard men were foot soldiers and basically cannon fodder she didn't appreciate them losing when she put in the information of the opponent they'd be facing, believing the statistics and data would win out ''Warrior spirit' please, so illogical.' she thought finding Erza's words meaningless and useless "Let's run a different test shall we!" she said loudly.
Erza saw more lizard men appear and saw them all have weapons similar to her other armors 'She's modified them.' she thought to herself 'I wonder if this was how Ben felt when we dealt with the Rabid Weasels.' she thought to herself as she remembered when they used his own aliens' abilities against them.
…
Elfman growled seeing the lizard men before them as they had been fighting lizard men with their abilities 'They know all our magic.' he thought to himself as he took a blow for Macao "Time to see the results of my training!" he said loudly as a magic circle appeared under him.
Macao saw the magic circle and was surprised when saw Elfman begin to grow fur on his body.
"Take Over: Wildsoul!" Elfman yelled out as his physical appearance changed much more than the average take over as his hair grew to a longer length matching his sister's and became more spikey, his body now had orange fur, he now had three gill like stripes on both sides of his neck, he seemed to have bone spikes coming out of his spine area on his back, he stood on two legs but they became hind legs similar to that of a dog, his nails on his feet and hands became talons, and his face morphed now no longer having eyes and all his teeth became fangs.
Wakaba made his way over to Macao in his injured state "Hey correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that look like one of Ben's transformations?" he asked his long time best friend.
"Yeah, but how did Elfman transform into it?" Macao asked no one in particular as that beast Wildmutt was far from normal.
(flashback)
"So, he takes up aggressive animals?" Ben asked Mira as they were taking a rest from training while Elfman still continued.
"Yep, I always think Elfman took to them more cause he had this aggressive and strong personality to him in a fight." Mira said as her brother was a stubborn one that was for sure and fought with all his might as those muscles were signs of his hard work and what his body seemed to adapt to.
"Well then, I know which aliens he might be able to take over." Ben said transforming into Wildmutt and charged right at Elfman not even giving him a moment to react.
Mira had seen the creature before knowing it was a predator the minute she saw it as all the muscle and claws were nothing to dismiss, she watched as Wildmutt and Elfman did battle.
The fight lasted a good while before Wildmutt got more serious by being patient.
'Is that…radar?' Elfman thought thinking about bats for a moment seeing as they were both blind 'This thing can see me no matter what.' he thought as the offensive was his only option as hiding and sneaking on it wasn't an option.
Mira had the same conclusion as her brother as fighting something that had used sound to make up for sight was a true challenge.
'Can't be nice about this Elfman, I intend to show you everything this form can do!' Wildmutt thought to himself as he roared before slamming the dial.
Mira watched in interest as Wildmutt was going into his ultimate form 'He's really gonna push it.' she thought smiling thinking this'd be good for Elfman.
"You ready Elfman, cause I ain't holding back anymore!" Ultimate Wildmutt said as he slammed his scorpion-like tail on the ground to make his message clear.
'Look at that thing.' Elfman thought as while he was not well informed on insects, he knew a few like scorpions 'That tail is his most dangerous weapon.' he thought as all Ultimate Wildmutt had to do was restrain or pin him for the tail to get him 'And I don't even know if it's lethal.' he thought as he knew Ben would never use his aliens more deadly powers and knew he could restrain some of them if he chose to, but he wondered what the tail could do.
Mira watched the two go at it and had to admit Elfman was doing better than she thought as lasting this long against Ben was no small feat, but the fact Ben limited himself to Wildmutt and his ultimate form and chose to fight her brother in close combat played more to his advantage 'Elfman may be ready for the S-class trials.' she thought thinking the day had arrived that her brother was ready 'But Ben is also ready.' she thought sure that he'd make S-class no problem and might finish the exam in record time.
The fight went on till Elfman became too exhausted to continue and Ben powered down.
…
"Do you think, he'll be able to copy that transformation?" Mira asked Ben as she cooked them some food over a fire, while Elfman slept.
"Wildmutt is one of my more animal based transformations and seems to fit Elfman's style best there are others, but I felt this would be best." Ben said as he chose Wildmutt as he was possibly his best in one on one combat given his senses.
"Think of any other forms?" Mira asked wondering if there was more Ben would show Elfman or if he was going to focus on Wildmutt with him in the meantime.
"I was thinking Ripjaws." Ben said as that be a funny sight if Elfman were on land "fish vary so much, he might get it the quickest." he said as Ripjaws was more a combination of fish than a fish man.
Mira nodded in understanding, a little impressed he understood the mechanics of her magic so easily "Why'd you show him your ultimate form?" she asked wondering what his logic was as she thought there was more to it than him pushing Elfman.
"I wanted him to get a clearer picture, my ultimate forms are more powerful, yeah, but I think it shows more about the alien itself." Ben said as in a weird way the ultimate ability showed more about his transformations than their original states.
Both were unaware Elfman stirred moments ago 'clearer picture huh.' he thought as the picture would be engraved in his mind as both of Wildmutt's forms pushed his resolve to even higher heights.
(flashback end)
'I never got the tail, but I was able to copy all of Wildmutt's other features.' Elfman thought as his take over was halfway between Wildmutt and Ultimate Wildmutt and unknown to him in his current 'blind' state the lizard man that copied his magic did the same transformation and the two engaged "time to fight like real men!" he said as he began punching it.
"Hey, am I crazy or is that thing standing still?" Macao asked seeing Elfman's lizard man copy not move.
Wakaba saw it as well "Must be because it can't see him, without eyes it might not know how to react." he said thinking that with it no longer having eyes like Elfman it couldn't fight.
Elfman growled at the lack of action from his enemy, but didn't have the option to complain as the dragonoid was still heading for his home town, he crushed the inferior copy and moved onto Macao and Wakaba's copies and began to battle them before inevitably destroying them.
Both senior members watched as Elfman changed back looking sweaty and exhausted.
"I did it." Elfman said as he had been trying to copy Ben's aliens and he actually succeeded in copying one even to a degree 'Wildsoul is still gonna take a while to get use to.' he thought as fighting without eyes sounded manly, but extremely difficult and even after Ben's explanation on how Wildmutt used sound to see and used his own knowledge with animals that used sonar and radar, it was still difficult to pull off.
…
Natsu was starting to feel the effects of the dragonoid as he felt tired as well, his mind drifted and remembered something from his past searching for Igneel 'the city without sound.' he thought to himself remembering a town where he found what he thought were dragon eggs 'I always thought I dreamt that place.' he thought as it was so long ago "So this is the lady that did it huh." he said in annoyance, he looked toward Laserscale not seeing the slightest hint he was waking up any time soon and the only reason he could tell he was alive was that his chest was moving.
Natsu's power reacted to his emotions and to his will "Don't worry Ben, I'll get us out." he said as his body glowed "I'll force my way out!" he said to himself as his power raged in all directions, but when it made contact with Laserscale it didn't harm him and didn't see the Omnitrix begin to glow.
…
"What?!" Daphne said seeing the power output was increasing drastically from the dragon core and her dragonoid was now acting erratic "Clever dragon boy yes yes, you thought you could overpower the core and overload my dragonoid, but too bad for you, I can increase the power drain." she said as everything stabilized "What's this?" she said checking her sensors "I have gotten next to nothing from Ben Tennyson, impossible if he is resisting my core than I will increase the draining process again!" she said wanting to bleed them both dry of their magic.
…
Mira waited patiently for her brother to return as she was worried about him as she didn't like this situation one bit.
"They're here!" Levy said as she was outside the whole time waiting for them to return and before she could blink Mira went right past her.
Mira saw the state they were in, but was glad they were alive.
"I did it sis, I transformed into Wildmutt." Elfman said having a look of pride on his exhausted face before he got serious.
"I knew you could." Mira said proudly of his achievement.
Elfman's face became very serious then "listen sis, you need to save Natsu and Ben." he said sounding as if nothing else was more important "I owe them both so much, bring them home." he said as those two were so alike and become very important to him truly being his family in everything but blood.
Mira nodded as Natsu was there for their darkest hour when they lost Lisanna, something she'd never forget as she'd return the favor for the rest of her life to him if she needed to and Ben was just as important as he shared the same faith in Elfman Natsu had, seeing the potential in him and inspiring him to go much further than even she thought, both would forever be friends of the Strauss family, but that didn't matter as their family was Fairy Tail "they're as good as saved." she said others nodding at that.
Elfman smiled before fainting losing to much power.
Gray saw this and before anything could be said Cana grabbed his shoulders and began telling him off Juvia coming to his aid just as fast.
Mira left Wendy with her brother glad the sky maiden was able to start healing her brother's wounds "You all heard my brother, we're going to save Natsu and Ben." she said in a tone that assured absolution that there was no possibility for failure.
Lucy nodded "We're all Fairy Tail wizards, let's take down that dragon and rescue our friends!" she said pushing aside her fear for the sake of her teammates trapped inside the mechanical beast.
Everyone nodded at that.
"If we were trapped Natsu and Ben would have freed us by now." Jet said with a smile as he had seen how those two acted first hand and when he heard of the first battle at Phantom they learned Natsu and Ben were at the front of the line looking to get some payback on their behalf.
"They've helped all of us, so it's time to pony up and return the favor." Droy said as those two did much for the guild and it wouldn't be right if they were unable to do the same for them.
"Yeah they were there for us during Phantom and they fight for what this guild represents and stands for." Levy said calmly but her voice failed to convey the sureness she felt in saving them.
Lucy smiled at team Shadow Gear's praise and declaration and was in awe as each person stepped forward 'those two.' she thought as Natsu and Ben were inspirations to not only her but others in the guild.
"Ok guys let's work together and bust them out of there!" Happy eager to free Natsu and Ben
"Aye!" was the unison chant they all cheered ready to save their fellow guild members.
"Not so fast!" Makarov said getting their attention as he stood on the balcony above them
"Master!" Lucy said wondering if he had any orders for them in the approaching battle.
Makarov took a deep breath as this would be slightly hard to say "The well being of Fairy Tail guild and the town of Magnolia are tied together." he said as they were this town's sworn defenders and defending their home and it's people was the most important task with the size of the threat they faced "Preventing Magnolia's destruction takes priority over everything else." he said as that was the simple truth of the matter.
"But what about Natsu and Ben?" Lucy asked in concern knowing he wanted them to fight the dragonoid to protect the town, but was concerned for her teammates well being.
"We can't destroy it with them inside!" Happy said not wanting to see partner and teammate harmed.
"I'll make this as clear as I possibly can." Makarov said taking on a sterner tone of voice not liking to take it himself "as your master I order you to destroy the dragonoid before it can reach the town." he said leaving no room for argument "do not worry Natsu and Ben are some of the strongest in Fairy Tail I have no doubt they will survive this." he said to them absolute assurance coming off his voice.
…
Erza parried as she was still battling the lizard men all of them attacking her on all sides "Natsu Ben, don't tell me you both are lying on the job!" she said as wanted to hear their voices, wanting some form of confirmation they could hear her and were alright.
…
'Erza.' Natsu thought as his body glowed a faint red, but was unable to do anything else as he blacked out.
…
"If it weren't for you both, I had given up a long time ago, I refuse to see you both give up." Erza said requipping into her Clear Heart Clothing with twin blades "I won't lose you, I can't." she said her statement being one of truth as without Natsu and Ben in her life, she'd be even more hollow than she ever was before sinking to new levels of despair and heartache "we'll leave here together" she said making that solemn vow.
…
Unaware to Erza, Laserscale twitched momentarily as if reacting to her voice, but soon returned to his still state.
The Omnitrix was starting to feel the effects of the dragonoid core or rather it was feeling its user's current state, so the Omnitrix began to blink a green light "Scanning…error form compromised DNA helix damaged, requesting sample from primus." it said before a red light appeared "Error unable to make contact with primus secondary DNA acquisition mode enabled." it said as the Omnitrix could scan unscanned forms, but it also had a scanner in it which could use a long-range scanner to detect a species, but the scan didn't have to reach far "New DNA found." it said as it scanned Natsu "Error hybrid DNA adjusting parameters of scan, attempting to repair existing damaged DNA with new DNA standby." it said as it used Natsu's DNA to replace the damaged DNA.
Laserscale in his unconscious state was unaware of how big the change he was about to experience.
…
"Hmmm interesting." a red dragon with a few scars surrounded by volcanoes said "You certainly lead an interesting life Natsu, has the otherworldy dragon become more like us or more like him." he said referring to a certain enemy he had no doubt Natsu would meet and seeing a new species of dragon was certainly something to behold as well as this 'evolution' Laserscale would now undergo as he saw the injuries beginning to heal and Laserscale's form take on a more muscled appearance.
…
Very far away from Fiore, a man with a spikey blue mane was currently killing a Wyvern covered in its blood till his body tensed up as if 'What is this, the taint of a new dragon.' he thought to himself 'No, this is something else not dragon and not human.' he thought to himself as this felt similar to himself but completely different as if it was a myriad of things, he chose to ignore it as it did not effect his mission.
…
Laserscale's body began to change subtly but surely, it grew more muscle mass gaining well defined muscles on the limbs and the underbelly, the face changed being less bird like and more similar to that of a chinese dragon with a horn popping up, the wings expanded more looking even more dragon-like than before and the inner parts of the wings turned an emerald jade color, and finally the colors changed the dark green becoming a brighter shade similar to the Omnitrix and the underbelly to turn to a tanish beige, overall Laserscale no longer looked like himself.
"DNA acquisition and adaptation completed." the Omnitrix said as it settled in the new DNA for Laserscale discarding what was left of the previous samples the new strand in Laserscale's slot in the Omnitirx.
…
Erza picked herself up off the ground after falling off the Dragonoid, she saw the mechanical dragon look her way, but it's attention was drawn to the others as they began to attack it 'we need reinforcements.' she thought knowing if this mechanical beast was truly powered by Ben and Natsu it'd be difficult to put down.
…
Makarov rarely felt anger to this level, Laxus attacking the guild being the most recent, but he was unable to believe that Gray was able to betray not one, but two of their members in such a way "It appears the battle has begun." he said calmly looking out his window seeing the Dragonoid "Now would be a good time to explain yourself." he said to his child wanting to know what drove him to endanger the guild, their town, and the lives of his fellow Fairy Tail mages.
Gray sat there not raising his head "I take full responsibility, but I didn't expect this." he said simply and before he knew it the master was in his face anger burning in his eyes.
"What do you think was going to happen!?" Makarov said unable to contain his rage "I know that Ben was tortured by this Daphne woman, being maimed having his very flesh ripped off, how do you justify this!?" he said as he knew Ben was possibly in a critical state and the fact Gray did nothing made it all the more worse, this felt like the Laxus situation all over again, but much worse 'Not even Laxus.' he thought as no matter how low his grandson fell, he'd have never let someone be tortured like that.
Gray had the decency too look guilty about that "Listen gramps, only Natsu can defeat that thing and he's right where he needs to be if we want that to happen." he said to him.
Makarov saw the look, but saw the guilt and unease in Gray's eyes, it didn't give him much confidence in the constantly stripping ice mage.
…
"Let me get this straight, master said destroying the Dragonoid was top priority?" Erza asked as Lucy filled her in "What about Ben and Natsu?" she asked her, wondering what the plan was for them.
"He says they're tough enough to survive." Lucy said sounding as if she had swallowed a bitter pill.
Erza clenched her fists hearing that answer as it did nothing to ease her worries or her nerves, she looked to the Dragonoid "Ben Natsu!" she called out again hoping they could hear her "we've been ordered by the master to destroy the Dragonoid by any means necessary, but I want to know what you want us to do!?" she asked them as they had a right to decide what course of action to take being inside the machine.
Everyone grew tense at the eerie silence of their guild mates not getting a response, but then they felt a powerful heat and the dragonoid core turned green.
"Finally, my core has reached maximum power. Ben Tennyson and Natsu Dragneel have been fully absorbed!" Daphne yelled proudly and in excitement now that her core was fully powered.
Everyone froze when they heard her say that.
'If the core is fully powered does that mean they've been absorbed!?' Lucy thought in terror that her friends were possibly gone.
…
Makarov and Gray heard the announcement Daphne made and felt complete shock all the way to their cores.
'No!' Makarov thought in sadness infused anger feeling an emptyness in him he would not wish upon anyone even his worst enemy, losing a child was a pain no parent should suffer especially multiple at the same time.
Gray felt complete and utter guilt as this happened all because of him, his friends suffered and now died because of him 'Damn it all!' he thought as a tear went down his face remembering his master's death, but somehow this felt even worse as he had a direct hand in killing his best friend and a friend he held a great respect for.
…
Broken…that's how Erza would describe how her heart felt in that moment, broken and shattered like glass, losing a man who had been like her little brother and losing the man who stole her heart, the man who gave her heart such warmth and love and now both were gone forever.
There was a sudden violent rumble from the dragonoid which was odd since it was standing still, then another came the core shaking as a result.
…
"What is that!" Daphne said feeling the full blunt of those vibrations through her creation, falling down as another struck.
…
Everyone looked at the Dragonoid and saw it's core began to crack and after another vibration a reptile like arm shot out and the core began to crack even further as they all saw familiar green eyes.
"Ben?" Erza said able to recognize that shade of green anywhere.
The scarlet knight's answer came as an incredible roar as Laserscale broke through the core taking to the sky, everyone able to admire his new form.
"Wow." Wendy said looking at Laserscale's new appearance admiring how noble, graceful, and powerful he now seemed, she flinched when he looked at her and flew near her and did a quick dive leaving behind a certain fire dragon slayer.
'Natsu's ok everyone.' Warren thought to everyone luckily able to pick up on Wendy's thoughts about his condition.
Everyone cheered at the news of their guildmates surviving.
…
Daphne was stunned as she saw the majestic creature land a little outside the town staring right at her 'It's just like that day.' she thought to herself remembering the day of when she was a little girl.
"You guys better get back." Laserscale said his voice not loud but was incredibly powerful.
The guild didn't have any reason to argue and thought it'd be best to allow the two titans to do battle.
Daphne didn't care no matter how this beast looked like, she wouldn't fail when she was on the brink of success "You think you can win no no, I have stolen much of your and Mr Dragneel's power, I will not lose, you may have damaged my Dragonoid, but it is still fully powered!" she yelled as she slammed her piano keys down as her Dragonoid prepared to fire.
Erza felt the power in the air flow toward Laserscale almost as if he was commanding the very ethernano in it to come to him.
"No way." Gajeel said nearby Erza, surprising the scarlet knight not knowing he was so nearby.
"What's happening Gajeel?" Erza asked him, wondering what it was he noticed.
"You've seen Salamander do it before red, this is the technique that all dragon slayers learn from their dragons." Gajeel said, unable to believe what he was seeing 'Laserscale was like a dragon before, now it feels like he is just like Metalicana.' he thought not the only one comparing Laserscale to their dragon parent as an exhausted Wendy and a now conscious Natsu were thinking the same thing seeing his new form and knew what he was about to do.
"Primus Dragon…ROAR!" Laserscale said as powerful green beam shot from his mouth
Erza knew the name Primus as Ben once told her it was an entire planet dedicated to housing all his transformations DNA for the Omnitrix 'The Dragon of Primus.' she thought as that title sounded like very regal and it was a respectable name.
Daphne saw the green beam approach and froze as she saw more than just power coming at her, she saw a legion of figures she could only guess were Ben's transformations from inside the beam itself, as if the attack was from the force of all his transformations coming together.
Everyone saw the beam hit the core of the Dragonoid making it fall to the ground no longer functioning.
"Take that." Laserscale said before his limbs decided to give and fell to his side.
"Ben!" Everyone screamed rushing to their friend seeing the dragon decrease in size before a familiar green light enveloped him showing Ben.
Erza ran to her boyfriend and checked him over, seeing he was just exhausted 'after what he had endured, he deserves a good rest.' she thought gently picking him up and soon saw Gray picking him up on his other side.
"Please." Gray said knowing he had no right to ask "I need to do this." he said as after what happened to Ben, he had much to do in order to make it up to him.
Erza truly wanted to say no, but Ben was the only one who should be able to decide what the status of the friendship between him and Gray should be.
…
The guild was glad there was minimal damage to Magnolia just a few shops and buildings destroyed, but Erza made it the guild's top priority to repair a certain baker's shop as she was otherwise preoccupied.
"I swear and people wonder why I hate humans." Polyussica said as she checked over a sleeping Ben in the infirmary "He's exhausted, whatever that machine did truly drained him of what little power he had and passed out as a result of whatever injuries he had." she said as that was her best conclusion as from what Makarov told her, Ben was tortured having his skin ripped off, but since all his wounds were not even present she had little to with him, she stopped as she saw a little girl with blue hair sleeping next to Ben's bed.
Makarov bowed his head in gratitude "Thank you Polyussica." he said his voice carrying nothing but thanks and appreciation.
Erza was at ease Ben would have no additional scars as this was something not worth remembering.
"And what of him?" Polyussica asked Makarov looking to Gray sitting in the corner, she felt disgusted by his presence as while she didn't like humans, she wouldn't put someone through the type of pain Ben had endured especially since Gray was there when Ben fell under Jellal's entrapment, it made what he did seem borderline evil.
Makarov sighed as Gray told him how this started and while he understood his motivation was the guild's reputation and belief Natsu was the only one capable of destroying the Dragonoid, he didn't know what to do and neither did the other members as while they understood it, Ben and Natsu were nearly killed as a result of his actions, Ben even more so after what Daphne had done "I am leaving his fate to Ben." he said as Natsu had forgiven him and Ben was the one who truly suffered as a result of Gray's actions so he felt that he was the best one to judge.
Erza looked at Ben's face as he slept hoping he was having a pleasant rest, she rubbed the side of his face gently with the back of her hand.
"How's he doing?" Natsu asked, looking a little tired as he was in the bed next to Ben magically exhausted, but was reeling back as Macao and Erza gave him some fire to refill him.
"He seem's to be doing fine." Erza said in both hope and assurance as she knew Ben would be alright.
"Ben's tough he'll be back on his feet in no time!" Happy said loudly before Carla smacked him in the back of the head.
"This isn't a room where you should be yelling tom cat!" Carla said in a loud but quiet whisper as she was mostly concerned about Wendy as she had been healing everyone that needed it.
Erza had to agree as Elfman was in the other bed next to Natsu sleeping as Wakaba and Macao came to see him after he battled their lizardmen, Mira had come into the room carrying some breakfast for the group along with Lucy.
Mira smiled cheerfully as she saw them all and sent a smile to Wendy as the bluenette had tired herself out helping her brother, Ben, and Natsu late last night.
"How do the repairs go?" Erza asked saddened she was not there to help, but felt she was needed here by his side more.
"Faster than with what had happened with Phantom." Mira said as there were less injured in the guild making more members able to assist, she watched as Lucy handed Natsu some flaming steak and eggs which the dragon slayer was grateful for, she left some pancakes next to Wendy hoping the smell would awaken her, she gave Erza a strawberry heavy breakfast, and finally her brother with a similar breakfast to Natsu but it was not on fire "oh that reminds me." she said taking a cup she had Lucy carry and walk over to Ben and put it close to his face or more accurately his nose.
They all watched oddly as they saw Ben begin to slowly begin to stir from his slumber.
"What was in that?" Erza asked as Mira merely gave her the cup and Erza examined the contents seeing it was a smoothie 'Is this mango with…jalapeno peppers?' she asked herself looking at her rival curiously.
"Listen Erza, your boyfriend has asked me for weirder things than that and he still eats it." Mira said as the only people who ate weirder food combos was possibly Gajeel and Natsu "Hey Ben." she said in a soft tone of voice trying to bring him to the land of consciousness.
Ben lifted his upper body up and groaned "anyone have the license plate of that truck that hit me?" he asked getting hugged by Erza "not the worst way to wake up." he said, making his girlfriend blush "so what happened?" he asked wondering what happened after he blacked out, he got out of bed and put Wendy in the bed he was using thinking she deserved a soft bed to lay on.
"You endured much, my boy and in the end saved not only Natsu, but Magnolia as well." Makarov said as he entered the infirmary, filling Ben on what the aftermath was with Daphne "Now are you alright my boy?" he asked him wondering if there was anything wrong.
Ben looked himself over not feeling anything out of place so he nodded toward the master.
Makarov sighed in relief "good, now come with me." he said sending a silent look to Gray as the three of them left to go to his office.
"Do you think the master will kick Gray out?" Lucy asked the rest of her team.
"I don't know Luce." Natsu said in a calm tone of voice which was odd for him.
Mira nodded at that "the guild has a reputation Lucy and we all fight to keep that image, Gray may have been acting to keep that image and to save another town, but what happened in between with Ben and Natsu being absorbed to the point of almost death and Ben being tortured, well that effects the guilds image as well." she said as she reminded her of how similar it was to Laxus noting the key differences that Laxus was never the cause of the suffering like with Phantom.
Erza nodded as no matter how one said it Gray did risk the guild's reputation with his actions.
…
The pregnant silence in the office was heavy and becoming unbearable as Makarov explained to Ben how the events had transpired to the point they did.
"So Daphne kidnapped an entire town?" Ben asked as that seemed a bit much in his opinion 'Kinda reminds me of something Animo would do.' he thought thinking of the mad doctor.
"Essentaily yes." Makarov said as the people being sealed away was more an accurate statement.
"Ben, I know sorry is never gonna be able to cut what I did." Gray said as he accepted that Ben would never forgive him for what happened, not even sure he would forgive himself "I was just trying to help those people." He said as that was what was guiding him originally.
Ben sighed as he took a breath "Gray listen I get it." He said to him seeing surprise in the ice mage's eyes "Trust me I've pulled my fair share of solo acts and stunts as a kid and even now." he said to him "But Gray while Natsu made a mistake, you made the same type of mistake since you didn't get any help and went it alone." he said knowing how hypocritical that sounded as he rarely asked for help as help mostly just arrived due to luck or something with him.
Makarov sat and listened as Ben was truly acting like an adult here 'If Gray had asked for assistance from anyone from his team or came to me, there would've been much less risk.' He thought as he saw many scenarios and if he told anyone Ben wouldn't have been there or they could've captured Daphne before she captured them.
Ben looked toward the master "Listen, no one was severely injured and things got out of hand, I don't think there's a need for punishment." He said as if Ben was being honest he would've done something similar to what Gray did.
Gray grit his teeth as he couldn't fathom how Ben was able to forgive him.
Makarov was impressed by this level of maturity in Ben as it was worthy of very high praise within the guild 'Perhaps.' He thought to himself thinking of something in the near future.
…
Author's Note-Hi everyone sorry for the wait been trying to get into the groove of this all on my own, still looking for a co-author for this story…not going well so far, but hey don't sweat the small stuff, also hate that a personal favorite of mine Jason David Frank has passed, no one said 'It's Morphin Time!' better than him, so hope to see some positive feedback and hoped you all loved the new and improved Laserscale and still looking for a co-author taking requests and checking to see if someone can help me with this, have a happy holidays hope to get some support on P-A-T-R-E-O-N.