Team Hot Air Part 3: The Final Act

Chapter 35 The Truth

Welcome to the final act of Team Hot Air! Been quite fun working on this fanfic and its become my most popular fanfic of all! I don't know how long this part will be for sure, but it will involve Natsu and Wendy discovering what happened to their dragons, dealing with both Grimoire Heart and Tartatarus wizards, and later you know who. So without further ado lets get the show on the road!

"Huh?" Natsu said again.

Wendy herself was shocked. "Four hundreds years ago! I'm not that old! I'm only 12!"

"Now I know this guy is crazy," Happy said.

"Indeed, that's not possible!" Carla said.

"Wait a minute!" Evergreen said, recalling something. "Remember in the Battle of Fairy Tail Natsu? You, Wendy, Gajeel couldn't go through one of Freed's barriers that prevented anyone over the age of eighty from going through."

Natsu remembered. After Evergreen had frozen all the other Miss Fairy Tail Contestants including Wendy and Lucy, he'd been unable to go through the barrier meant to keep Master Makarov from participating. Neither had Gajeel or Wendy once she'd been let out of stone following Evergreen's defeat.

"That's right!" Natsu said.

"Okay, maybe he is telling the truth," Carla said.

"I am," Zeref said. "As I was saying, I'm your older brother Natsu. Before I became known as Zeref the Black Wizard, I was Zeref Dragneel. We lived a happy life together with our parents, though you were too young to remember that being only a baby. I looked forward to watching you grow up. But you never did, cause of a dragon attack. Our parents and you were killed."

"Huh?" Natsu said again. "I died?"

Everyone looked at him.

Lisanna shook her head. "No! You're alive now!"

"Yes, he's alive now. Because I brought him back," Zeref said. "But that was a dangerous act, defying the order of like and death. For that the god Ankhseram placed this curse on me that caused me to destroy life the more I valued it, and that I would never die. It took many years for me to complete my research, I sought to revive you… while also creating the Etherious… or Demons of the Books of Zeref. Eventually I succeeded… and gave you to my friend, the king of the fire dragons, Igneel."

Natsu's eyes widened. "You were friends with Igneel?"

Zeref nodded.

"But… do you know Grandeena as well?" Wendy asked.

"Yes. And Metellicana as well, Gajeel's dragon," Zeref said.

"Do… do you know where they are now?" Wendy asked.

"Yes."

Natsu and Wendy's mouths both hung wide open. They were finally going to learn where their parents were!

"Where are they?" Natsu asked. "Why did they leave?"

"They didn't," Zeref said. "They died."

The two dragon slayers froze. Then Wendy's eyes began to tear up.

"No!" the young girl cried. "No it can't be!"

Lisanna walked over to her friend and put an arm around her.

"He may be wrong… or lying…" Lisanna told her fellow younger sister.

"They're not completely dead yet Wendy," Zeref said.

"What… what do you mean? Not completely dead?" Wendy asked.

"Four hundred years ago, when dragons were plentiful… there was a massive war. Some dragons wanted to subjugate mankind. Others wanted to live in peace. The two sides fought… the dragons who wished for peace with humans gave their magic to some of them… thus the first dragon slayers were made. But there was one slayer… a man who killed any dragon he came across. He bathed in the blood of dragons and eventually… turned into one. That is the fate of all dragon slayers."

This caused the other two dragon slayers to shiver.

"Almost all at least. Your dragon parents… they were wounded by dragon slayer turned dragon… he used his magic to rip their souls apart. They died… but a bit of their souls were able to find a place to stay until they were needed. Inside the dragon slayers they took in. Natsu and Wendy."

There was silence as Natsu and Wendy took in the tale.

"Igneel and Grandeena… are inside us?" Natsu putting a hand to his stomach.

"That's right," Zeref said.

"But if that's true than why haven't they ever spoken to them?" Elfman asked. "I'm really not sure whether I believe you or not."

"Because they are busy inside their bodies," Zeref said. "They are creating antibodies to prevent you to from ever turning into a dragon like that man and many others did. After they entered your bodies, you dragon slayers and your dragons… used one of my inventions… the Eclipse Gate… to travel forward in time four hundred years."

Natsu clutched his head. "Is this story over? My head is hurting. This is a lot to process!"

"Just one more part, little brother," Zeref said.

Natsu looked at him.

"You said I was the one strong enough to kill you."

"Yes. You are the one demon that can kill me Natsu. Or should I see E.N.D. Etherious Natsu Dragneel."

Everyone looked at Natsu.

"No!" Lisanna screamed. "That can't be true!"

"Yeah! My brother is not a demon! You're lying!" Wendy said. "He is kind! Well… most of the time! He's always protected me and all of Fairy Tail."

"Yeah, there's no way Natsu is a demon!" Evergreen said.

"That part of him lies dormant for now," Zeref said.

He looked toward the forest. "They're here."

"Huh?" Natsu said once again.

"A group of people who cause disorder. They seek my magic to use for their own ends. Wait… there's also… some of my failed demons among them," Zeref said.

…

On the other side of the island… Grimoire Heart's Airship flew near, the battle was about to begin.

Well, they've heard the truth but are they really ready to believe it? Either way, things are about to heat up. Who will get attacked first. Levy and Gajeel did in canon, and Levy nearly got her throat slit. If she's attacked first again can Lucy save her? I'm not sure about that. :/. Teeth chattering.