Back to the battle

"Lucy look!" Happy was shaking her hair with some gusto and pointing to the ground. She'd been so wrapped up in the standoff between Natsu and Laxus she hadn't even noticed but there was a huge ring around them both, one mixed of fire and lightning - seeming even their elements were battling before the dragonslayers had landed a punch yet.

"It's a part of the fight. No one else can enter the ring if they try they'll get battered with the power of them both. Gheesh, totally unnecessary if you ask me - no one in their right brain would interrupt a dragon brawl." Gajeel had interjected seeming to understand the confused looks of Lucy and Happy, "it's also their battleground - stops em leaving"

Natsu and Laxus seemed unfazed by the ring both surrounded by their element crackling around them just staring at each other, until Laxus threw Natsu a smirk and vanished into lightning bolts scooting around their battleground before reappearing to Natsu's left and throwing a punch at him. Natsu wasn't quite fast enough to avoid the punch altogether but he'd flinched away to turn it from jaw breaking to bruising but it hit him with enough force to put out his flames, sliding from the impact heels digging in to the ground as he neared the ring but stopped just short of it avoiding the elemental punishment.

"Now you've done it Laxus!!", Natsu took off in Laxus' direction fists flaring back to flames "fire dragon wing attack!". Swinging for Laxus but missing as he vanished into lightning bolts again. "Fire dragon iron fist!...fire dragon sword horn!...fire dragon flame elbow!..." again and again Natsu threw attacks at Laxus who just kept zipping into the lightning and evading him completely.

"You not man enough or something Salamander, can't even hit him and you call yourself a dragon!" Gajeel goaded Natsu trash talking the dragon. Natsu threw him a dirty glare but Lucy knew it was Gajeel's way of encouraging him and trying to fire him up she was reassured of this when she just about heard him mutter "Jeez come on Salamander, you gotta land a hit else you're gonna be dragon meat", he was grinding his teeth against a bolt obviously nervous for the dragons.

Natsu's flames got bigger and brighter around him at Gajeel's taunting but just then Laxus decided he was done with the defence method and with a series of flashes Natsu was being thrown across the field and before he could land Laxus would be there to launch an attack at him to throw him around and around the field. He then smashed him down into the ground, he foot landing heavily between Natsu's shoulder blades.

"NATSUUU!!" Lucy was screaming at him now tears free flowing down her face at the sight of her best friend being pulverised in front of her "please stop Laxus, stop hurting him!"

"Tough luck Blondie, I'm just getting started having fun with flame boy here. And I don't take orders from you, don't you dare try it again!" He glared at Lucy, those black orbs meeting hers as he stomped down on Natsu's back repeatedly and sending electricity flowing down into his spine shocking his body with every stomp laughing menacingly.

Her brain kept yelling at Laxus to stop but her mouth just wouldn't open to voice it, she guessed she'd just have to try a different route, breaking from Laxus' eyes she dropped to Natsu's crumpled form on the floor. "Natsu please, please just give up it's not worth it!", Happy didn't have it in him to comfort her this time or tell her Natsu could do this and she was being silly, Natsu hadn't stood up in a while and it was worrying him so much his paws were starting to shake.

"No..." he was quiet but she could hear him, and just as he spoke Natsu twisted suddenly so he was on his back and his hand caught Laxus' foot mid stomp cutting off the other slayers laughter, "you're wrong Lucy...you're freedom IS worth it and don't ya forget it!" With that he pushed back on Laxus throwing him off balance stumbling away from Natsu long enough for him to shakily get to his feet. "I don't know what made you to do this to Lucy but I will put this right Laxus and if that means beating your sorry ass then I will not fail. You won't beat me! FIRE DRAGON ROAR!!" The flames caught Laxus even as he tried flashing back away the flames too wide from the roar for him to totally evade, a grin spread across Natsu's face as he landed his first hit "oh yeah, I'm definitely fired up now".

The dragon fight continued, less one sided than it had started and soon they were both landing blows as impressive as the other as Natsu managed to keep up enough speed to stop Laxus flashing around.

"Stop this!" Lucy, Happy and Gajeel spun their heads around quickly at the newcomer, shocked to find Freed landing just behind them as his wings vanished looking completely exhausted and disheveled. His outburst did not deter the dragons though, he sighed, quickly gathering a breath "STOP THIS, THAT IS NOT LAXUS!", now that got the attention of Natsu and Laxus making them both pause in their blows to look up at Freed, one look of anger and the other pure confusion.

"HUH?!?!" Collectively came from Lucy, Happy and Gajeel jaws hitting the floor at Freed's words.

Relief flooded Freed's face noticing he'd halted the battle and he doubled over hands on his knees taking a much needed moment to breathe. While he recovered Evergreen came flying in after him looking equally exhausted "oh good, you got them to stop Fre..." and with that Evergreen's wings vanished mid air and she fell from the sky. Bixslow came darting just managing to catch her before she hit the ground, his knees buckled and he dropped to the ground with her in his arms panting heavily. The trio on the whole looked like they were long overdue some rest and like they'd just come from a major battle.

Lucy had wondered where Laxus' lackeys had been and was still curious especially given their state, but a question weighing more heavily on her mind was what did they mean that wasn't Laxus?

Just wanted to say thanks to anyone following my story and thanks Oseaena for your review, you're my first reviewer and I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the story, hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint! I'll be aiming for a chapter a week so stay tuned, we'll start getting to some answers soon! :)