Chapter Two: We'll Win This (Dattebay-okay, okay! I know, wrong anime)
Authors Note: I like puns and I've been re-watching Naruto. Sorry not sorry. Let's GO!
The party lasts all day and all night and well into the next morning. Kinana and Mira work on waking people up as the day begins and they realize that they don't want to clean up after everyone.
"Master?" Kinana says softly as she approaches the form of a sleeping Natsu underneath a table. She bends down and shakes his shoulder to no avail. Gray, who had already been woken up, gains a smirk upon seeing his sleeping rival. Happy seems to be right there with him and hands the ice mage a black marker from within his green sack. Kinana watches mortified as they take their time to draw on the pinkettes face as the dragon slayer had done to them in the past. Beside Kinana, Mira just snickers at their antics before adding her own suggestions on what to be drawn. They finish before anyone who would stop them wakes up and Happy is quick to dispose of any evidence.
"Guys..." Lucy gasps once she sees it and immediately looks to her team. Happy looks away in an obvious show of trying not to seem guilty but Gray just crosses his arms. The bland look on his face doesn't give him away at all.
"Luce?" Natsu groans as he wakes up at a surprisingly early time compared to his younger self. The trio jump back from him as he rubs one eye and the other onyx stares at them. "Luce!" He shouts for joy and jumps up. Only for the table to get in his way and he slams his forehead on the bottom of it. The bang awakens the nearby members alongside the thud of his head hitting the ground. "Oww..." He whines as he rubs the reddening spot on his forehead.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asks with a wince as she bends down to his level. He cracks open an eye and nods mutely. She smiles at him but the snickering form of Happy catches his attention. He cocks his head to one side and slowly sits up. This time, he's careful to avoid the table as he gets out from under it.
"Hey bud!" He says with a smile and then the blue cat openly laughs out loud. As other members wake up and see their master, they all go between anger, mortification, and openly laughing at the confused pinkette.
"Who has done this to you!" Erza growls when she sees her friend. Natsu raises a brow in confusion before looking at his hand to see a dark smudge on it. He wipes at his eye and his hand comes away with more black ink.
"Here." Lucy says and her half smile gives away that even she's amused by the situation. Mira from behind the bar chuckles as she whispers to the other guild members the truth. Natsu gladly takes the mirror and braces himself for what he knows he's going to see. A smudged monocle, mustache, and all sorts of silliness that he knows Happy is the root of. He twitches for a moment and slowly passes Lucy her mirror.
"I'll give you two ten seconds."
"How do you know it was us?" Gray says with a smug grin but after a moment he realizes he incriminated himself.
"One."
"It was all Gray!" Happy shouts and points to the ice mage with a fluffy finger.
"Two." Natsu continues seamlessly and Happy hesitates for a moment, looking between Gray and Natsu, before speeding for the door.
"Three." Gray foolishly stands his ground with a scoff and Natsu looks up, the laughter in his eyes clear as he sees Happy frantic over finding a hiding spot behind the bar, a hiding spot Mira seems adamant to deny.
"Mira, please!"
"Now now, Happy." She says sweetly but the aura around her betrays her sweet smile. Natsu chuckles at the exceeds plight and joins the laughter of the guild at his own plight. He looks to Gray with mirth in his eyes.
"I didn't think I was still that much of a deep sleeper." Once Gray is sure that he is out of the clear, which confuses him because the Natsu he knows wouldn't just brush this off, he offers his own smile.
"It'd be weird if you weren't." He admits and Natsu just laughs as he continues wiping his face. Natsu scans his hungover guild with a sigh at the damages.
"Everyone's helping to clean this up." He states and there are immediate groans of protest. "Or you can all pitch in to pay for your damages." That seems to wake a lot of them up and then slowly shove the tables near them to roughly put them where they need to go. The sober people laugh at the plight of their friends who just can't function. They seem to just roll around in their attempt to seem like they're cleaning when in reality they are causing more damage than it's worth.
"Should someone stop them?" Lucy asks as she sees someone try to bring a glass to the bar but drop it partyway and it breaks on the ground. Natsu just shakes his head before sighing.
"They'll clean it up eventually." He states and walks to the bar. "Hey, Mira." He flashes her a bright smile and the sight of it warms her heart.
"You scared us when you flew off like that." She says as she cleans a returned glass. The pinkette thinks on her words for a moment, confusion clear on his face.
"Uh..."
"Back on Tenrou."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry?" She eyes him but accepts his confused apology. They both know he isn't really sorry so she doesn't pressure him.
"How did you become master?" She asks and he takes a seat at the counter.
"I don't really know." He admits. "I blame Romeo." He admits and she passes him a water. The thanks her with a smile before gladly sipping at it.
"You still have the mustache." She giggles as she happily prances away and Natsu watches her go with a smile before attending to the remaining face mark. The guild slowly comes back to life and is cleaned up by sobering drunks. They begin picking jobs and the Tenrou group stands around, conversing with missed people. The continuous traffic through the doors makes their opening a common and undisturbed occurrence, however when they open and the large figure of a male comes in, everyone immediately notices something off about him.
His intense aura is unmistakable for many, and for the Tenrou group he feels like a threat that they are immediately prepared to face. They weren't potential S-Class mages without reason.
Natsu doesn't stop his conversation with some guild member and just continues until finished, but the man doesn't care and he confidently walks towards the pinkette. He stands behind Natsu, his looming form and his white eyes flash a bright red shade. Natsu only moves once the man's shadow completely overtakes him and the person he is talking with suddenly becomes frozen in fear.
"I'm surprised you're willing to come into my guild, Jiemma."
"I hardly count this as a guild." The man growls and it immediately grates on everyone's nerves.
"Who is he?" Lucy whispers as she silently shakes more in anger than fear.
"Jiemma, Sabertooth's guild master." A new member responds under his breath.
"It's a den of flies," the man spits in Natsu's face, "and you're the rotten meat attracting it." Natsu hardly responds and his gaze sharpens on the larger man.
"So, kitty, what do you want?" He sneers and Jiemma's murderous intent only grows which puts everyone on edge.
"I wanted to inform you of a few things." He says through clenched teeth and Natsu tilts his head.
"For being flies under your feet, you sure are being nice to us." Natsu isn't taunting the man, not as much as he could be and not directly, but all the same Jiemma's face seems to get redder.
"We will be taking back the title of the strongest guild in Fiore." He states and Makarov is oddly reminded of Jose and Phantom Lord. Seems Sabertooth is a new enemy they will have to overcome. Natsu just raises a brow but allows for the man to continue. "And second." He then smiles a devilish and unwanted grin that sends shivers down the spines of weaker willed people, "is I will beat you this year." Natsu creases his brow in confusion at the odd wording which just makes Jiemma's smile grow. Natsu then grins back at the man.
"Can't wait." Jiemma then turns around after having said his piece. "But," the large man freezes, "if you think you will beat us, you're dead wrong." Jiemma looks over his shoulder and sends Natsu one final glare.
"You'll see."
"In three months, you'll be taking that back." Natsu says with a shrug. "See ya." But the threat in his words is there as they are sharp and clear. Get out. The jovial personality Natsu is known for becomes replaced by a hardened glare but Jiemma seems unaffected as he slowly walks out of the guild. As he passes the defiant Sting and Rogue, he sends them their own glare but they stubbornly stand their ground. They had seen worse than him. Far worse.
Once the doors close behind him, they all feel the relief flood in at his absence. Many of the members turn to reassure and comfort each other after the man had left, while Sting stands in place and fumes over the man.
"How can you let him badmouth Fairy Tail like that!" Romeo screeches from his father's side. Natsu's smile turns into a thin line but his clenched fists give him away. The vein twitching on his forehead is a clear sign of his anger.
"Let him." He finally says. "He's all talk. Actions speak louder than words." Natsu states as he crosses his arms. Steam begins to rise from his shoulders which sets everyone on edge, especially as his magic leaks alongside it.
"What's in three months?" Wendy timidly asks and tries to slightly change the subject. Natsu's angry aura leaves him as he stares at the bluette and smiles.
"The Grand Magic Games. A tournament that decides who's the best guild in Fiore." He states and looks to the Tenrou group.
"We've been reigning champions for six years." Sting then jumps in and heads towards the pinkette. His anger has not quite dissipated but he's calmed down enough.
"And I've just decided our teams." Natsu says with a grin. "Of course, Gildarts, then Laxus, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and Juvia as a reserve." He laugh maniacally at the set up that ensures a clear and dominating victory. "The second team will have-"
"I refuse." Gildarts says with a sheepish raise of his hand.
"What?" Cana blanches from his side.
"Don't tell me you're headed off." Natsu says with a sigh as the older man nods. "Fine. Then it's… Erza, Gray, Elfman, Lucy, and Jellal." Lucy looks to the ground, oddly bothered by the fact that she wasn't initially on the team, and also by her lack of faith in herself.
"Jellal?" Erza asks and Team Natsu looks to the pinkette in confusion.
"Yeah. He's a guild member now!" Natsu says with a cheeky grin and she smiles at the pinkette. It seems they did beat the magic council in that regard. "The second team will be Laxus, Gajeel, Sting, Rogue, and Mira." Many people in the guild groan in silent objection but few are willing to voice their disagreeing. Many of them understand their master, and those who don't understand him just trust their master too much to have a strong dissenting opinion.
"A team of dragon slayers, huh." Sting says with a smirk towards his new teammates. They all also have their own smirks and from behind the bar Mira feels the excitement.
"You have three months to prepare. And Tenrou group, you really need to catch up." Natsu states but Gray just growls.
"Fight me, I'll show you I'm still good enough." Gray states with a strong resolve. Natsu looks at the man for a moment, cogs turning in his head.
"Hey Max," Natsu says with a hidden smirk, "wanna fight Gray?" Max looks between Natsu and Gray for a moment. He remembers those seven years ago when he was no match for either of them. But, if Natsu believes it will be alright, then his decision is set.
"Sure." Gray rolls his eyes at that and looks to Natsu.
"Really?" Natsu then smiles.
"If you think you aren't up to the challenge-"
"Of course I am! Max, let's go!" Gray commands as he storms from the guild.
"Will Max really be a challenge for Gray?" Erza asks and the pinkette smirks.
"You'll see." They all head outside and the battle that ensues shocks everyone present, including Max who is somehow prevailing in the battle.
"How!?" Gray shouts in shock as the sand user somehow easily defeats each attack sent his way. "It's Max!"
"I'll take no offense to that." The man says as he goes on the offense and knocks Gray back.
"Max's beating Gray?" Jet gasps as he looks between the battle and Natsu.
"You've been getting stronger and we're stagnant." Lucy says but Erza steps forward and places her hands on her hips.
"We'll close that gap in three months." She says sternly. "Gray! Max! We're done!" She orders and they both immediately stop. Gray is panting while Max seems to have just broken a sweat.
"Dammit. Dammit!" He curses and stops because he's not weak! He's not!
"We're going now!" Erza states and Gray turns to her with sharp eyes.
"Hell yeah we are." He responds with the same resolve as her.
"Let's go." Lucy adds with a smile and the trio are quick to head off. The guild silently laughs at their odd haste in leaving to get stronger.
-x-
Three months went by like a breeze. For Lucy, Erza and Gray, it went by in a day because of the Celestial Spirit Worlds time difference. Thankfully, they ran into Ultear, Jellal and Meredy, had a small reunion, and opened up their second origin.
When they come back to the guild, barely on time and struggling to get even a little bit stronger than before, they find the guild mostly empty except for the people planning to participate in the games alongside a few others.
"Where is everyone?" Lucy asks and Mira smiles at them from her seat at the edge of the bar.
"They went ahead to Crocus. To get good seats, they said." Natsu then appears at the top balcony and smiles down at them.
"I was afraid you wouldn't make it!" He shouts down at them before flashing to the first floor in a bolt of lightning. Most of them jump in shock at the sound of the crack and the flash of light but Natsu just stares at them. "What?"
"You just used my technique." Laxus states, not quite over the shock.
"Oh, yeah." Natsu then shrugs but Laxus remains unsatisfied. "Remember? We were fighting Hades, you came in like Mr. Super Hero, kinda... lost, and gave your magic to me. I beat Hades with it. I've been able to do lightning ever since." Laxus then nods in acceptance.
"I didn't think you'd keep it."
"Me neither." Natsu admits with a laugh. "Imagine my shock when I sneezed lightning one day!"
"Fight me." Gray says as he walks up to the conversing pinkette.
"Really, Gray?"
"I'm stronger now."
"Only because of Crime Sorciere." The pinkette states. They had kept their independent guild name as their team name, and considering how their goals are the same, it suits them.
"How did you-"
"They're members of Fairy Tail, Gray." Natsu rolls his eyes at his old rivals stupidity. Of course he knew.
"Just fight me dammit!" He shouts and swings a fist at Natsu. A shockwave goes out and it ruffles Natsu's hair but does nothing more thanks to Sting. Sting is suddenly there and standing next to Natsu, Gray's fist in the dragon slayers firm grip.
"Do not touch him." The dragon slayer hisses which shocks those of the Tenrou group.
"Sting." Sting looks to his master and sees the scowl aimed his way.
"They don't know a thing." Sting growls but lets go of Gray. "If they did, they wouldn't be so stupid."
"Hey!"
"There would be no way for them to know, Sting." The pinkette says wisely but that just peaks their interest even more.
"Know what?" Erza asks in her impatience.
"If you won't tell them, then I will." Sting says and Natsu just shakes his head and sighs.
"You're acting like it's a secret."
"You sure are treating it like one, Salamander." Gajeel joins in. He's becoming annoyed by the odd secrecy alongside everyone else.
"It's a pretty long story." Natsu says as a way to try and distract his friends but they don't buy it.
"We'll be expecting a lot of those." Lucy says as she walks towards him.
"It's also an important one, so lets get going." Sting says as he turns towards the guild doors.
"Can't we do it here?" Gray asks but Sting resolutely shakes his head and keeps walking. Begrudgingly, they follow him out and Natsu shakes his head before following at the back. He knows the topic is sensitive for Sting - really, for everyone - and he can't have Sting go off on the group or miscommunication ensue.
The small group heads down the streets after Sting. A few people had decided to stay behind and prepare the guild to be deserted for some time. And they understood the importance of this to the people closest to the pinkette.
"Okay, so…?" Gray prods and they turn to the pinkette in the back of their group.
"It happened about six years ago?" Sting nods in affirmation and Natsu smiles at the boy. "You had just joined the guild, right?"
"Yeah." Natsu slowly makes his way to the front of the group and leads them without even thinking about it, Sting's words slowly falling to the background. "Zeref's demons have gotten more active these seven years."
"Did you fight one?" Gajeel asks although the answer is obviously yes.
"One attacked Magnolia.
Flashback
Natsu notices the creature by pure chance. He's outside of the guild because he's trying to not join in the brawl. He had decided after becoming guild master that he couldn't instigate brawls anymore. Well, that and he instigated one out of pure habit and it didn't end well. It really did show him that he really is the strongest mage in the guild at the moment. For all he wanted to become strong, a part of him acknowledged that there would always be someone stronger. And for them to be so suddenly gone means far more than he initially thought.
He didn't realize how hard it was to not join brawls, it had practically become a habit. Although, with the people he'd typically fight being gone, it's not as hard as it could be.
He had taken to standing outside and enjoying it instead of fighting. It helped in an odd form of meditation. But when he takes in a deep breath, the air smells different. It's thick with malice and Natsu's eyes fling open. The hairs on his arms stand up and he whips his head around as he finds himself scanning for Lullaby or Deliora or something. But he can't see it and that just scares him more. He's quick to burst back into the guild and stop the brawl.
"Everyone!" He shouts but only a few seem to listen to him. He doesn't want to show them the panic thrumming through him but he needs their attention. "LISTEN!" His magic ripples from him in a wave of harmless fire that goes throughout the entire guild. They all look to him and Jet slowly sets down the chair he was about to throw.
"Natsu?"
"We need to evacuate the town. Now!" He commands but they just stare at him for a moment.
"What's wrong?" They ask but he just growls.
"Get them to safety. Go! Now!" The last part comes out in a growl but they all take notice of his urgency and the hint of fear in his voice that they hardly ever hear from him. They make haste in running from the guild and into the town. But they don't know where to take the civilians.
Their predicament changes quickly as the mages are quick to notice the looming presence. It's vile power seems to float through the air and it helps them notice a shadow coming in on the horizon.
"What is that?" Macao blanches as he sees the form that is slowly becoming larger. Wakaba blinks in both fear and confusion before herding people faster than before.
"I don't wanna know." And anyone who hears him can't help but agree.
"It's huge!"
"A dragon!?"
"Impossible!" The screams and awed voices of the townspeople fill the air. The guild members fight back their fear as they decide to just focus on their task. Natsu watches them for some time, unsure of what to do at that exact moment. But as a roar from far off hits them in its echo, he knows what he has to do. After looking across the town once more from his advantage point by the guild, Natsu runs down the long street and towards the growing shadow.
The closer it gets the more Natsu can analyze its form. The red draconic creature is nothing like Igneel and its dragon appearance brings him no comfort. It has six legs and four wings which add to its intimidating form. Natsu is sure the golden horns aren't just for show and he doesn't want to experience them first hand if he can help it.
It lands on many buildings and Natsu prays to everything that those people had been evacuated. In one swift movement, it destroys all the houses around it with the club at the end of its tail. Horrified screams fill the air and Natsu closes his eyes and just keeps running.
If he's going to distract this thing, fight this thing, and even hope to beat it, he can't be distracted. He'll let the guild deal with the people, he has to trust them. Because they trust him.
"Help us!" They cry for him but he regretfully runs past, tears in his eyes that he forces himself to not shed.
"RUN!" Natsu bellows in response and he tries not to see their heartbroken and fear filled faces. Finally he reaches the beast and faces it head on. Its onyx eyes pierce into his own, but they are void of anything and everything. He gets the vague feeling that the creature is a demon but the feeling of dread that accompanies the thought makes him block the idea out. He can't get distracted. Not by fear, not by sadness or anger or-
"Get away!" Natsu screams as he sees more people. Civilians that need to leave they need to-
The dragon roars and Natsu shakes his head. He's too scatterbrained to not be distracted!
"Lets see if your dragon enough for a dragon slayer to defeat." The pinkette tries to fake confidence and the dragon actually looks to him. The demon towers over him, taller than the cathedral and Natsu hopes the beloved cathedral doesn't get destroyed through all of this. The next roar takes over his senses. It's blood-curdling and Natsu bites his lip.
A buzzing fills his senses alongside a fear comparable to what he felt on Tenrou while facing Gildarts. But... he can't back down. Not with Magnolia and his guild behind him, he'd never back down. The situation reminds him of when Gramps had decided to face Acnologia on his own, the thought makes a small smile spread across his face. He hopes that this time, the guild won't try to come to his rescue (although, the fear in his heart makes him doubt and he's sure Makarov felt the same. Few people want to look death in the face, let alone by themselves). Stretching its wings it stands on its four back legs, puffing its chest out to show a golden under-belly.
The sound of fire cracking and a sharp intake of breath sets Natsu on guard. The beasts chest expands as his chest glows like an ember. Opening its mouth as large as a small house, the pinkette sees a glow emitting from its throat. He knows what is about to happen, a dragon had raised him after all. Apparently this roars the same way. But, turning around he sees people still evacuating in its direct line of fire.
"Shit-" The thing releases a torrent of fire, much larger than Natsu anticipated it to be. Well, at least it uses fire, I can take this thing on! He begins to suck in the fire as fuel. Except he soon becomes near full, and he can tell the demon isn't even close to being done.
Taking some focus off the fire he turns to see the street behind him empty, and he lets the rest of the heat go. He watches the fire go by but then sees some movement down the street. He missed someone?
Did I just kill someone?
He refuses to believe all is lost and reaches for them, wanting to go through the fire and save them. The fire won't hurt him, he's a dragon slayer, but it will kill them. And it would be his fault.
When his left hand begins to feel pinpricks of pain, Natsu realizes something is wrong. Pinpricks suddenly become unbearable and take over his entire hand in a searing hot poison. Instinctual, he stumbles back and his hand numbly shakes. He sees it covered red in his blood and in burns that he should not be able to receive.
He ignores the fact that his lungs are oddly okay.
"GAAHHHH!" He falls to the ground in pain. Natsu is very familiar with burns and can immediately tell that his hand will be scarred beyond recognition. Needles are attacking all of his nerves, but after a few seconds it numbs which is always a bad sign. The beast stops its flames once Natsus' scream of pain comes to a close.
This is bad. The thing drops back down and stares at Natsu with it's dark eyes. Not looking in the least bit exhausted, in fact, it looks refreshed. Well, at least it gave me a power-up. Forcing himself to stand he stares down the beast once more. He can ignore the pain, he's been through worse for his guild (he can't lie to himself, but he has to try.)
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" He screams and the beast roars in pain as the fire hits two of its six eyes. Only if I hit the eyes... its scales are fire proof... He analyzes and recalls one time where he hit one of Igneel's eyes and the dragon had, in pain, accidentally hit Natsu with a stronger attack than he meant to. He turns around to the path of ash and destruction, where flames lick at the edges of houses and hedges that lay at the border. And at the end of the path lay his home with a huge hole in it, the hole's edges blackened and the inside crumbling (he can't let it bother him. His home is his family. But it hurts to know that the rest of his family won't come back to the same building. He swore he would protect it for them.)
"GRAAAAHHHH!" The demonic dragon screeches in anger and thunders towards the Fairy Tail guild master. Swiping a claw at him it slams the pinkette into the buildings to his right. Crashing through the wall he screams out in pain, the claws digging into his flesh. His back gets stabbed by wood and brick but Natsu bites back any more cries. As it draws the claw away, Natsu falls out of the hole in the house. Natsu stares up at the beast in pain and feels warm blood cover his chest and back. Is there anything I can do? He analyzes the beast for a weakness, then Natsu notices the scales which were hit with his own fire have scorch marks and dents. Just one more roar and those things'll break off! A smile dares to grace his lips through the pain at the new-found information.
The demon is a few meters away when he begins to run through the ash of former houses, gritting his teeth as a pain shoots through his torso and blood breaks from his lips, spilling down his chin in a thin stream. He moves towards the guild, Good thing I know more than fire magic. As he runs, the angered demon follows him in its slow steps. He then spots a flash of white jumping on the houses rooftops beside him.
"Natsu-nii!" Natsu's not shocked by the young dragon slayers shout for he had recognized the child a moment before.
"Why aren't you helping people escape!?"
"Almost everyone is out, I came to help you!" At this, Natsu stops and spins around to face the demon. Maybe... His eyes flick to Sting. He had been there not too long ago, Sting is too stubborn to send away, after all (and it's nice to not stare a demon down by yourself, although he'd rather it not be a kid who doesn't deserve this torment.)
"Sting! Hit it with your roar!" The young boy shows a face of joy that his guild master hadn't shunned his attempt to help him, and he immediately does as he was told.
"Holy Dragon's Roar!" Hitting the side of the face Natsu hadn't, scales rip off and show the red skin below. Perfect! Natsu gives Sting the thumbs-up in forced cheerfulness as a form of praise, because Sting should understand his importance and strength and - and the dragon turns to the young boy. And something doesn't just drop in Natsu's stomach, but rather all his injuries open anew there and bleed until he just wants to tear it all about because nonono. Not Sting. Not because of him. The growl reverberates through the air and Sting suddenly seems to really see the thing for what it is. The pinkette watches the terror grow in the young boys eyes - because that's what he is, a young boy (and now Natsu understands Gray more than he ever thought he would. Or perhaps, he understands Ultear.)
"Roar at me!" Natsu fakes a confidence and through Stings fear, the young boy can only see his strong guild master. The dragon smashes a few buildings as its target changes to the blond-haired boy. Sting doesn't take his eyes off its growing figure. "Sting!" The kid switches his fearful gaze to his master, "I'm right here, I'll protect you." The calm voice comforts the young boy as the demon lumbers towards him. "Now, roar and run Sting. Go to Rogue, Lector's waiting for you."
More houses are crushed under the creatures weight as it gets closer to Sting.
"Uwahh!" He cries out, turning back towards the beast that nears him, nearly 20 meters away. He trembles in fear and and jumps at each new sound the beast makes.
He likes dragons. This is no dragon. He refuses to associate Skiadrum or Wessilogia or hell, even Igneel (though he never met him,) with this monstrosity. Dragons make him feel alive.
Right now, he would rather die and deal with this thing for one more second (although he wouldn't want this thing to kill him.)
"Sting, look at me!" Natsu yells and gives a smile,"It's not fear or cowardice to know your limits. I won't let it hurt you." 10 meters. The hot breath hits the small boy, "Come on. Do it." The words calm the boy, and even as the house beside him gets crushed he shows courage and obeys his guild master.
"H-Holy Dragon's Roar!" He cries out and Natsu sucks in the breath attack. The demon is right on Sting who cowers below it and backs away slowly with a hand on his heart. The beast lifts one heavy claw, intending on crushing the young boy, as though it relishes in pain and it is more fun to crush than to just send a breath attack and be on its way."NATSSUUUU!"
As it lands dust flies everywhere, mixing with black ash as it soars upward. For a moment all is still, but when Sting looks up he sees a man standing above him. His arms are covered in a white and red light. Under the pressure of holding the beast, cracks appears beneath his feet and he creates two large craters.
"G-go!" He turns to Sting, and through the pain he gives his signature smile,"Go back to Lector." Sting ignores how breathy and pained the pinkette sounds. With tears in his eyes, he nods and scrambles away from the monsters foot. He trips slightly at first but blasts out of there all the same. Glad he could somewhat help the older man.
Once he's long gone, Natsu slowly inches to the edge of the foot, allowing the pain to show on his face. As the beast presses down harder he tries to slide out, knowing he can't hold on much longer.
He's not fast enough as he barely gets his body out, but the foot crushes his right arm.
"GAAAHHHH!" He cries out, and through the pain (he can't focus on it, he can't think about the bones breaking - the skin tearing - the fact that it can't all heal right) he looks up at the belly of the beast. "Holy Dragon's..." He struggles to take in a breath, the air enters his aching lungs and expands his broken ribs but he has to he has to. So he bites back the pain and welcomes the foreign power that envelopes him in its foreign warmth, "ROAR!" He hits its throat and the left side of its head, making it stumble into its previous path of destruction. Upon the pressure leaving, he feels pain flood his senses. His bones cracks and fractures, the debris stuck in the back of his arm, every sensation that Natsu has to force himself to ignore floods his senses in a moment of blinding pain that lasts too long for Natsu to function. He growls and hisses and bites his lip to try and drag himself back to reality. Because he can't he can't he can't lose himself. Not now, not when he's so close.
So he forces the pain away, he forces the fear away and he stamps down the panic in his lungs and lets the adrenaline take over. Natsu blinks away the tears and forces his beaten body to stand up on unsteady legs. This time, he welcomes the terrifying numbness and ignores the consequences of tomorrow (he channels his old self. The stubborn idiot who could brush off the worst of it so long as his family is by his side. But as a guild master, they aren't beside him, they're behind him, and that means so much more.)
"RRAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHH!" It bellows, staring down its opponent. Its blood drips on the ground below and burns it like acid. He's made progress . But... He looks up at the demon and realizes one simple fact, I can't beat it. It hurts him to admit that simple fact to himself. But I must stop it. Stop it from hurting my guild, my town, and anyone else. He doesn't know how and a sloppy plan begins to form in his head.
Then, as he watches the beast stand and narrow its eyes on him, it hits him. He knows what he has to do... the only thing he can do. If he can even do it.
"Holy Mavis... This better work." He sighs, remembering when someone else had done the same as he's about to do, but they had failed. Walking out in front of the beast he stands tall. Neither of my arms are ready to do this... Oh well. "HOLY DRAGON'S ROAR!" He lets loose the most powerful roar he can muster.
It hits the beast square in the face, in all taking out four eyes, many of the scales on the cheeks and down the neck, also some on the front legs. It screams out in pain as it falls backwards. As it does, Natsu gets on his knees and uses his left hand to draw a magic circle in the dust. He winces at each movement and the trembling makes it difficult to make the perfect lines he needs. Better the burnt arm rather than the fractured one, he figures. Making sure it's all correctly written, he looks up to see the beast with a new found anger for him.
Once again it powers for a burst of fire and Natsu hops in front of the magic circle to protect it. But the fire has a purple tint to it as it begins to come from its mouth. Might as well try... The fire comes from its throat and he sucks it in, feeling an overwhelming power surge such as the one in Tower of Heaven, or when he faced Zero.
"Dragon force!?" He gapes and looks at his body after the attack had been stopped. "It's now or never. Holy Fire Lightning Dragon's Roar!" He isn't sure if the attack will work or even technically exists, but he tries one last time and succeeds in blowing off one of its horns. It loses the majority of its facial scales at this final attack and the lightning causes it to be mildly paralyzed. The energy radiating off of it has lowered, but not nearly enough.
It was just playing with him, and turning his head to look at the destruction, he's okay with it staying like that. Going to stand in the magic circle, Natsu begins to recite the spell. Any outsider would think this is too drastic of a measure, that he could just defeat the beast, but Natsu knows otherwise. This thing is far out of his league, he's almost completely exhausted and this thing is just warming up.
Plus, Natsu notes to himself, it heals itself. Upon finishing the spell, he raises his hands, palms facing the beast. Or he tries to, but as the muscles in his right arm try to work he can only cry out in pain as the bones can't move. With a heavy wince at the movement, he raises his burnt hand only and even that is painful and it shakes uncontrollably (how can something numb still hurt so much?)
He has to do this right. A black spell circle goes in front of him and drains a lot of his magic energy. The demon slowly moves forward, the lightning's effect wearing off and cutting Natsus' time short.
"Shit!" He curses under his breath as the beast takes a thunderous step towards him.
"Natsu!-"
"Master!-"
"Natsu-nii!-"
"What are you doing!?" The guild members shout as they see him. He gives them a look and spares a smile. Seeing them all means that everyone is safe. And that's the comfort he needs to get through this.
"Whatever it takes." He finally says once he finishes the spell. One of these days, he's sure those will be his final words. Assuming this works. The beast soon has a dark magic circle in front of it and two appear above and below Natsu. "ORRRAAHHHH!" He screams as the spell takes effect, the demon echoing in roars of pain. Both soon are covered in a blinding light that bathes the entire city with its warmth.
Once it dissipates, the beast is gone. Natsu lays on the ground, barely conscious. But what they care about is that he doesn't look exactly like Natsu. The guild soon surrounds him and he gives a weak smile before coughing up a concerning amount of blood. He already lost too much.
"W-what did you do?" Macao kneels next to him, trying to decide which wound needs his immediate attention. Natsu doesn't answer as he weakly coughs before his eyes get hazy and he passes out.
A/N: Different but makes a bit more sense, I hope. Warmed my heart to watch the views for this story go up within an hour of posting it. I was afraid you all were just gonna shun me for falling off the face of the planet!
Also, odd thing. A while back I found a story eerily similar to I Will Save You. Like, point for point seemed exactly the same. And I can't seem to find it. Whether it was taken down or I just can't find it, if any of you are aware of what I'm talking about and could point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate that. I'm not against people drawing inspiration from my stories - in fact, I'm greatly flattered. I never really thought anyone would actually read these - however, if it really is just a total copy with no credit given, that I do have an issue with. Also, love that story and Alternate Ending, so, shameless self-promoting, if you haven't read those, you should. Honestly my favorites of what I've written.
Well! Thank you all so very much! Reviews are much appreciated from you lovely people! Til next time, see ya!