Only one more review and we'll hit 400! With that milestone so close to being achieved, I just wanna take a moment to share one of the things I'm thankful for this year (since I didn't do it in the last chapter.)
I am thankful for YOU. Each and every one of you who read, favorite, follow, and review my stories (and me!) You guys have helped me achieve one of my life long goals of completing a story. With the end of this one so near, I'm close to doing that for a third time! And this one is so much longer than the other two are, so it really feels like I'm achieving something amazing. I have to thank each and every one of you, because without you- without your wonderful words, your love of reading, and your encouragement- I would never have gotten this far.
So for that, I have to say THANK YOU. Thank you for all the love guys. I really appreciate it.
And as always, happy reading!
"We're here."
Grandeeney came to a stop with the other dragons. Uncertain with their target, Leo flew passed and had to come back. When he did, he found the dragons in a circle, around nothing in particular that he could see. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely." With a smile, she nodded at one of the dragons with green scales, who opened their mouth and began a slow exhale.
"We won't be able to hold it open indefinitely," Grandeeney said as another dragon joined the first. "It will take us all to open it, and you'll have a short window to get in."
Three dragons were going at this point, their breaths mingling together to create a beautiful, swirling ball of magic. "We'll open it again in ten minutes so you can get back through. Unfortunately…" Grandeeney trailed off as she watched the ball of magic expand and then pop into a large portal.
Leo frowned. "I thought you said it would take all of you to open it?"
"It's supposed to…" Grandeeney turned and studied the portal as the other dragons looked on in concern. After a moment, she cursed quietly. "Natsu must be doing something."
"What could he possibly-"
"The border is thinner. That's the only way we would be able to open the portal without using all of us."
"So you think he's trying to get out?"
"It would be extremely dangerous, not to mention against all sorts of realm laws, but if he is being held against his will, I wouldn't put it past him."
The annual moved forward to enter the portal. "Wait, Leo." He stopped and turned towards Grandeeney, who looked worried. "Be careful." She shifted uneasily from side to side. "Natsu is strong, but it takes more strength than what a dragon of his age can call forth to tear a hole through the wall of a realm."
The angel let out a long breath. "You think he's let his other side out."
She nodded. Behind her, one of the remaining dragons added their breath to the portal as the first ran out of air. "Leo, I do not know if you'll be able to stop him. His demon side is very strong because it utilizes the strengths of both his bloodlines. If he has allowed his dragon side to be overcome, it may take more than what you have to stop him."
As the last of the original dragons switched out, Leo turned and stared at the portal. "I still need him, Grandeeney," he said eventually.
"Step carefully," she said. "His other side does not recognize friend from foe, and with our recent actions, he will be even more prone to lashing out at you."
He glanced her way. "Does that mean you won't be coming with?"
"I am sorry, Leo, but I cannot do that." She gave him an apologetic smile. "By helping you enter a private realm held by one of the demon kings, we are already breaking enough laws. I wish you luck, but I'm afraid I cannot join you."
Leo turned back and entered the portal after a long breath.
He was flung forward through the dark and landed with a thud on the other side. With a grunt, he found himself rolling over the side of a pile of loose bricks. He landed on his feet and cursed as he looked around.
He had landed on the wreckage of what used to be a large castle. Everything had been destroyed as far as the eye could see. The castle, the paths, trees, a pond… Even the ground had been ripped up.
"Damn it, Natsu, where are you?" He popped his wings and took to the air. Surveying the landscape from above, he realized it was worse than he thought. Natsu had reduced everything in the realm to rubble. There were no pieces big enough they could be identified, let alone salvaged. Zeref had quite a mess on his hands.
As he circled the property, Leo finally heard a disturbance. Off in the distance, there was a sound like nails on a chalkboard, along with screeching. With a deep breath, Leo flew towards the sounds, hoping he would only find an angry dragon.
Unfortunately, he soon found the opposite.
Natsu looked just as Virgo had described him in the arena in the Dark. Black shadows swirled around the large black form as he dug at the wall of the realm. Leo could see red splatters and drips on the walls and as he moved closer, he realized it was blood. Natsu was clawing at the wall with a violence that was terrifying, even to Leo. As far as he could see, most of his nails had ripped off, but he was still digging at the wall, trying to escape.
He had to get Natsu to stop and somehow push that demon persona back down. With another deep breath, he gathered his courage and readied himself to fight.
"Natsu!"
The demon whipped around, his burning eyes wild with anger and hate. His lip lifted to reveal sharp fangs as he growled and turned Leo's way. His shadows gathered around him and expanded as they covered Natsu from head to toe. Leo felt his skin tighten as the demon's eyes glowed even brighter.
He was studying him. Readying himself for a fight.
Leo didn't know how long he had before Natsu would attack, but he knew he had to try and get through to him fast.
"I know you're in there, Natsu," he called. The demon didn't seem to react as he continued to study his prey.
"Listen, I know you're upset with me. With Grandeeney, with Erza, with all of us… I'm sorry about what we did." Leo subtly floated backwards as Natsu bared even more of his teeth. "I know, you're upset, and I totally get that."
With a screech, Natsu suddenly disappeared into his shadows. Leo cloaked himself in his magic, a barrier that glowed faintly as his eyes searched around him for any sign of the demon.
"Listen, Natsu, I'm here to retrieve you. I need your help." He spun around slowly. "They got her. Lucy."
Leo jerked to the side, certain he'd heard something from Natsu. He saw nothing, but he kept searching. "Natsu, I can't find her on my own. They broke my connection to her." As the hair rose on the back of his neck, Leo jerked around. "Please Natsu. Lucy needs you. Lucy needs help. I need you to help me find her."
He moved higher into the air. "Can you do that, Natsu? Can you help me find Lucy?"
His breath was too loud. He took in a deep breath and held it, listening hard to the silence around him.
The attack hit him before he could react. He was shoved forward and landed hard on his stomach, bouncing a few inches off the ground. His shield protected him from most of the damage, but he didn't have long to enjoy the reprieve before he was flung back into the air. He was moving too fast to catch himself with his wings, but as he was flung away, he saw Natsu leave his shadows.
His jaw unhinged as he screamed at Leo and jumped at him. He caught the angel around the leg, clamping his teeth through the shield and into the meat of his thigh. Leo grunted, but he managed to keep from screaming as he landed on his back, Natsu's teeth sinking in deep. With a clap, he used his magic to force Natsu's mouth back open and took to the air. As his blood began to soak his robe, he quickly used his magic to close the holes.
The demon didn't give him a chance to do anything more as he appeared under him and then yanked on his bad leg to throw him. Leo caught himself before he hit the realm's barrier, but not in time to stop the large body from slamming into him. He lost his breath in a rush and then was flung back towards the ground.
Before he landed, he put up a barrier around himself. The ball of light bounced off the ground, but was slammed back into it as Natsu landed above him. Those soulless eyes glared at him as he used his remaining claws to try and break through the barrier.
"Natsu, stop this!"
The demon roared and slammed his fists into the barrier. After the third hit, it began to crack.
"Natsu, I need you to pull yourself together! Lucy needs you!" Nothing he was saying made a difference. He wondered how long he could hold up against the demon as he frantically tried to find a way through to him.
Natsu entered a frenzy as he clawed and slammed at the barrier. Leo took a deep breath to calm himself and as the barrier finally shattered, a bright light exploded around them.
The demon was flung into the air, but he caught himself quickly and dove back towards the ground. He roared when he realized his target had escaped and began to search around him once more.
He had to find his prey.
He had to eliminate his prey.
And then he had to find someone.
He didn't know who, but he had to get to them.
Needed to get to them.
He whipped around as he heard a noise. Teeth exposed, he moved forward.
And then froze.
"Natsu…"
It couldn't be…
The demon couldn't move, didn't even seem to be breathing as he stared. A woman, with blond hair and chocolate eyes was staring up at him. Her eyes swirled with a combination of fear and relief as she began to smile. "Natsu, it really is you…"
His shadows faded, and his scales began to change, the red expanding across his body as he slowly moved forward. His wings folded in close to his body and his head lowered. Lucy took a few steps back as he tried to take in her scent.
"Is it really you?" she asked, fear making her stumble a little.
He seemed to fight with himself for a bit, shaking his head and whining as his scales morphed from black to red and back again. His shadows swirled and disappeared before forming once more around him. His head changed back fully to black scales and then he slammed it twice against the ground. As the red spread once more, he roared in anger and began to claw at his head.
Lucy gasped and retreated, drawing his attention. He looked at her, and the anger seemed to drain out of him as the black scales all disappeared and his wings grew back to their proper size. When he had fully changed back, the dragon lowered himself and purred in Lucy's direction.
Then, with a pop, Natsu was revealed. His eyes filled with tears as he moved forward. "Lucy-"
"Wait." Lucy put her hands up. "Are you okay now? You're not going to turn back into… that again, are you?"
Natsu shook his head. "No. No, I promise I won't let him take over again."
"Good," she said with a sigh. With another flash, Lucy disappeared and Leo was revealed, looking rather uncomfortable.
Natsu jerked back with a hiss. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm trying to get you to come help-"
"HA!" Natsu turned away, but stopped after only a few steps as he looked around. Everything was destroyed around him. His brother's home was gone, as well as everything else in the realm. He hung his head as his anger flared once more in his chest.
"Please Natsu-"
"Go away, Leo," he growled. He kept his back turned as his eyes filled with tears. "I don't want to help you, don't you get it? You have no right to ask me-"
"Someone has Lucy," the angel said quickly.
Natsu whipped around, anger hardening his features. "WHAT?!"
"Listen-"
"No, you listen," Natsu said as he stalked forward and shoved his finger into Leo's chest. "I could have gone to the kings and fought to get permission to return to the human realm. I could have fought to resume my contract with Lucy. I could have done a lot of things to try and get back to her, but instead I came here to try and lick my wounds.
"I came here to try and pull myself together.
"I have been gone a few measly hours and you have already allowed her to be taken again! Are you angels good for nothing?!"
Leo took a step back as Natsu's scales rose once more to the surface. "You've been here a lot longer than that, Natsu. You've been gone from the human realm for a couple weeks already."
The hybrid seemed to falter a bit at those words, but collected himself quickly. "Does that matter? You still lost Lucy again!"
"I know, but it's not my fault."
"Nothing ever is!" Natsu shouted. "It was always my fault that she was getting taken, but I'm gone now and you still don't have her safe at home! What are you guys even doing if Lucy isn't safe with you?"
"We weren't prepared for new players."
Natsu crossed his arms. "What do you mean?"
"It wasn't Zalanoon this time. We confirmed he was the one who took her before, but he's been missing since we recovered Lucy last time. We're fairly certain that he's dead, we just haven't been able to find a body yet to prove it.
"At any rate, there hasn't been any activity in the Dark, so we know it wasn't him that took her this time. It was a different demon."
"Who?" Natsu asked with a growl.
"We think it was a nightmare demon named Midnight."
With a roar, Natsu whipped around and kicked at a pile of debris. "How?! Erza put him back after I found him wandering the human realm!"
"We think he has help, we just haven't been able to prove who yet."
With a hiss, Natsu turned back around. "Who do you suspect it is?"
Leo frowned. "We don't have any proof. Ezra just had a feeling, and I've got a similar one."
"WHO?!"
Leo sighed. "I don't think you'll like my answer."
Natsu stalked forward, smoke starting to leak from his nose as his eyes began to glow. "Who helped Midnight take Lucy?"
Leo sighed but answered after a short pause. "We think it was his king. We think Zeref has her."
