Chapter 1: Expulsion.
It had simply begun as a normal S class mission. For the group of Dragonslayers, it was supposed to be easy. Laxus and Natsu were there, and the two of them made up two-thirds of the male powerhouses in the guild. In addition, Wendy was there to provide support and healing with her Sky Dragonslayer magic. Gajeel was there as well, albeit reluctantly, rounding out the group of four that had earned the title the clan of dragons by the general public.
However, this mission was something that even they with all their power could not withstand. A Giant yellow-green dragon called Erortis, the poison dragon had been ravaging the countryside for many weeks, killing humans and livestock for food indiscriminately. But still, he was just a normal dragon, wasn't he? The four of them had faced Acnologia and the five god dragons. But there was something that made this quite different. Erortis was smart.
Now, this wasn't to say that Acnologia and the god dragons were not smart, but Erortis' main ability was not through his strength of body or his magic. It was his mind. It was one of the reasons that he had managed to hide away and survive for hundreds of years under the noses of the deceased Dragon King. But now that the damned abomination of a dragon slayer was dead, he was free to roam the country, doing whatever he pleased. He knew the ones who killed the Dragon King would come for him, but he wasn't too worried.
And he was correct. The four Dragonslayers were unprepared against a dragon who was an intellectual first and a magical creature second. Natsu of course thought the problem was simple. Hit the Damn thing until it stopped working. It worked with Acnologia, so why change the plan?
"I'm all fired up!" Shouted the young man as he slammed into Erortis. Erortis, somewhat unprepared for the attack, roared in pain as a flaming fist slammed into his eye. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu began beating the dragon over and over. Soon enough, the rest of the team arrived to help.
"Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs!"
"Raging Bolt!"
"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" Erortis bellowed in pain, wings smashing through buildings as he skidded through the town, smashing the clean cobblestone road with his mere weight. Erortis finally slid to a stop in the center of the town. He had never felt such pain before and realized that he would never again. He had underestimated the power of the Dragonslayers, which now resulted in his critical state. He lay there, moaning in pain, as the four slayers came up to him.
"Nice job guys! Now next time, you'll think twice about terrorizing the city of Denish!" Natsu said triumphantly, fists raised in the air.
Gajeel grinned as well. It was nostalgic, coming back to the town he grew up in, and he was happy that he was able to save it from a dragon. He was also planning on trying to find a new stuffed Lily for Levy, as Natsu had accidentally burned the last one.
Laxus was patting Wendy on the head congratulating her for a good job. Wendy blushed at his praise. Laxus, like Natsu and Gajeel, had become a surrogate brother for her and she reveled in the praise. She was glad the mission was over and even though they had to kill a dragon, it was for the good of Fiore.
She walked up to the dragon and placed her hand on its snout. "I'm sorry that you forced us to do this. We really did not want to kill the last of your kind, but you left us with no option." She said sadly. Gajeel put his hand on her head, gently steering her away, telling her that it wasn't her fault. The four began to leave but then turned as they heard loud coughing.
Erortis laughed wetly. "Is that what you think, my little maiden of the sky? That the dragons are gone? You wish that was the case." Natsu, surprising everyone ran forward and slammed his fiery fist upon the dragon's head.
"You should stop spewing lies if you know what is good for you." He ordered, his eyes flashing. The others turned to him in shock. Even when he had faced his brother, they had never seen Natsu look so angry.
"And why should I" Erortis chuckled. "I am already dying. Nothing you could really do to me. You fear what is coming, don't you boy?" the dragon questioned, his voice growing soft. "Your nation believes that all the dragons are gone, and with that, they will give you peace? I can assure you, that is not the case. The only reason that your so-called friends keep you around is to the dirty work of slaying dragons. When you have outlived your usefulness, you will be cast aside. Even though you have essentially killed me, I have no wish for the same fate to be brought upon you all."
Natsu snorted, his eyebrow raised. "You expect me to believe that? Fairy Tail is our home, our family. No one, not the council, the queen or anyone else would do something like that." Wendy and Gajeel agreed with Natsu but Laxus had a look of worry etched upon his face.
"For your sake, I hope that is true. But all the same, I would make plans in case the worst happens. Maybe by calling the Emperor." Natsu's eyes widened at the statement. The others appeared confused. "I see you know who I am speaking about. The humans fear what they don't understand or cannot control. It is in their nature, while a dragon's is to run wild. We are opposites, and humans despise us for this. Be mindful of my warning young ones, for if you don't, we may see each other sooner than you expect." With one last shuddering breath, Erortis lay dead.
The group of four stood motionless for a while, none of them having the courage to speak up and break the ever-increasing silence. After some time, Laxus turned on his heel and told them that they were leaving. The rest walked back numbly. This soon passed, however, and every one of them tried to shove the conversation to the very back of their minds. But they were to find out that the conversation did have merit to it.
One month. That was all it took for whispers and rumors to spread throughout all of Ishgar. Stories of the Dragonslayers and their dangers to Fiore. For a while, that is all they were, simply rumors. But the older members of the generation remembered how the Dragonslayers had acted years ago and cases were recalled of the four Dragonslayers of Fairy Tail. Unfortunately, there was much truth to the claims. Laxus had been forgiven for holding all of Magnolia hostage, but that did not mean it was forgotten. Tales of Gajeel's less than stellar deeds while working under Jose of Phantom Lord were becoming common tavern talk and people would talk in loud voices about the destructiveness of Fairy Tail's Salamander, Natsu Dragneel.
But the four endured it. Four six long months they endured it, trying their very best to prove the citizens wrong. But it hadn't helped. No matter what they did, they were still found fault with. Natsu and Wendy took it the hardest, after their friends (Namely Erza, Lucy and Gray) decided that it would be better if they left team Natsu so they could make more money. Their Master was constantly getting after the four of them for the bills he was getting sent by the magic council.
Natsu withdrew into himself, never speaking to anyone save for the other Dragonslayers and their exceeds. What Erortis had claimed would happen was beginning to occur, and he was powerless to stop it. He watched as his friends and family drifted away from them. He began to drink and drink, trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol. But no matter how much he drank; he could never get the feeling of sadness and betrayal from his heart.
He was stirred from his ruminations when Makarov leaped to the stage on one of the guilds and told them that he was putting all S class mages on a special mission to kill a dragon. And he would go along personally.
Why don't the Dragonslayers just deal with it?
The only thing their good for anyway.
Yeah, that and causing trouble.
Gajeel ground his teeth in anger. Did those idiots think that they couldn't them? He stepped towards them only to be stopped by Laxus and Natsu. "Leave it. It's not worth causing a scene." Natsu muttered to his friend. Gajeel paused, not because he agreed with Natsu, but because he was flabbergasted by the fact Natsu didn't want to fight.
The S classed mages (Which included: Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel, Laxus, Erza, Gray, Lucy, Juvia, the thunder legion, Mira, Elfman, Cana and Mest.) left to deal with the SS level threat. A lava elemental that was awakened in a mountain south of clover as a result of mining.
The elemental was very awake and very angry. Fairy Tail leaped into battel throwing spells at the elemental left and right. Natsu wasn't very effective against the thing, as unlike dragons, elementals were not hurt by attacks of the same basic type.
"If you're not going to be useful Natsu, then get out of my damn way!" Erza shouted, re-quipping her Blackwing armor. Natsu leaped out of the way narrowly avoiding getting hit by a blast of Lava. He was shocked at the tone that Erza had used.
Levy was furiously writing in the air, shooting streams of water at the elemental. Soon the lava elemental quickly turned and threw a ball of lava at her. Levy, distracted by writing didn't notice it. But Gajeel did. "SHRIMP!"
Gajeel hit Levy, forcing her out of the way from the incoming blast. It hit the right side of his face sending Gajeel to the ground screaming in pain. Wendy rushed over to help him but was stopped by Lucy. "We need you to heal us if we need it, he'll be fine."
Natsu grabbed Wendy by the shoulder and raced over to Gajeel ignoring Lucy. "I don't know what the hell she was on about, but see what you can do, okay?" Lucy raced over to Natsu shouting at him that Wendy needed to get back to the fight. Natsu turned and snarled at her, stopping her in her tracks. "Gajeel will most likely lose half of his face, even with Wendy's healing magic. Now I personally am not going to ignore the fact that you told Wendy to let Gajeel die so she could heal you. We will speak of this with gramps after we are done here. Now get back to the fight!" He roared. Lucy was taken aback at the suggestion and raced back switching into her Leo star dress form.
Enough was enough, thought Makarov. He put his hands together and began to count down. "3….2….1…."
"FARIY LAW!"
The grand fairy spell began as intended originally. Then everything went wrong. The Dragonslayers began to scream in pain as the spell hit. Makarov had no idea why they were screaming. But he ended the spell as soon as he could. The elemental was no more, but the Dragonslayers were all still on their knees screaming. Makarov had no idea what had happened the spell shouldn't have worked on them.
Natsu recovered faster than the others, looking at Gajeel, whose right side of his face was almost completely burnt to a crisp. He was thankfully unconscious. The rest of Fairy Tail watched in stunned silence as Natsu roared and launched himself at their master. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" He screamed at the top of his voice. But Erza got in his way.
"Natsu, I don't know what has gotten into you, but it needs to stop now. How dare you attack the master?" She was answered by nothing but snarling. Natsu began to attack her but she slid past his flaming fist and reflexively brought her sword down upon Natsu's face, expecting him to dodge. But what she didn't count on was Natsu being so tired because of Fairy Law. The blade slashed open a long gash that ripped down the left side of his face. For Natsu, it was a peculiar experience. Light flashed in his left eye and his vision switched. He tried to rub his eye, thinking that there was something in it. But when he pulled his hand back, something came with it. The remnants of his eyeball. Then the pain started.
Erza dropped her sword in horror. Seeing Natsu there, holding his eye in his hands screaming shattered her heart. And the fact that she took it made it worse. Laxus turned to lightinng and flashed to Natsu and grabbed him, flashing back to the Dragonslayers. He sat Natsu next to Wendy who used her magic to try and stop the bleeding. Laxus spun around on the guild. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE/" He roared at them. They just looked back numbly. Laxus took one step towards them, lightning flickering off him, hitting the ground and crackling in the air with each step. Not even when he threatened the guild had they seen him so angry.
"Laxus!" barked Natsu from his sitting position. "Grab Gajeel and hold onto my shoulder! You do the same Wendy!" Natsu rose, fire flickering around him. "So, this is how it is, Makarov. I thought we were a family, sticking by each other through thick and thin, but It seems like Erortis was right."
Makarov walked towards the Dragonslayers. "Natsu, I don't know what happened, the elemental must have thrown off the spell. We'll get you to Porlyusica, she'll be able to help." His voice was soft with sorrow and he continued to beg until a ring of fire surrounded the slayers.
"Like we'd trust anything you say after what you did. That spell cannot be affected by magic. Only blocked. And you know what that means. I never thought I would have to say this old man, but you have made enemies here today. If you look for us, you won't find us. But on the off chance you do, we will kill you. What Zeref and Acnologia did to us is nothing like what you have done today. They were at least open about trying to kill us." With those words Natsu raised his hand to his mark and began to burn it off. The guild watched in silence as the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Natsu stepped back and raised his hands to the sky. "Forbidden Fire Dragon Secret Art: Final Escape!" The four slayers disappeared in a column of fire with the rest of the guild watching.
Makarov fell to his knees, tears running down the old man's wrinkled face. "What has happened?" He cried to the heavens. But the heavens had no answer.