Chapter 2: Choices
Wendy was in pain. The Fairy Law spell affected her to a huge extent. She had heard from Erza and Lucy about the spell before, and she had seen it in action when they had fought Alvarez. But she had no real idea about what it would do to the person it was cast on. Now she knew, and it terrified her. All her worst fears, all of the pain she had ever suffered, was brought to the forefront of her mind. It showed her al the pain she had inflicted upon others and it was reflected onto her. She barely had enough strength to stand, let alone use magic. Compounded on this fact was that Natsu had used a forbidden Dragonslayer art.
The four slayers emerged from the spell that Natsu had cast, finding themselves at Natsu's home in the woods. Natsu took a few trembling steps forward before he coughed up blood and sank to one knee. Wendy cried out and managed to hold onto him before he hit the ground. He was still conscious, how, Wendy did not know. She could tell he was in a massive amount of pain.
"L-Laxus. There is a Lacrima hidden underneath the floorboards of my bedroom. Get it and bring it to me. We need to get out of here as fast as we can, and it is the only way." Laxus nodded and gently laid Gajeel down on the ground, propping his head on Natsu's leg. He rushed into the house and ran into Natsu's bedroom.
Laxus was in no mood to search for this Lacrima under the floorboards. So, he raised his fist, encased it in lightning and slammed it into the floor, throwing floorboards this way and that. He saw a large Lacrima crystal, about the size of his fist and snatched it. It was a golden jewel, and as the light from his magic hit it, sprays of color shot across the room. But Laxus was in no mood for watching pretty lights. He raced out of the house and held it out to Nastu.
Natsu held the jewel, staring at it for several seconds. "I thought I would never have to use this. But it seems I was wrong. Everyone, stand back." He raised the Lacrima above his head and slammed it into the ground. The crystal shattered into a thousand pieces and golden light began to leak out of the fragments.
The light faded and a man in golden flowing robes stood in the place of the jewel. He turned to the Dragonslayers and spoke. His voice was soft and musical, but it also sounded like the voice was hiding a deep dark pain. And an interesting combination. "Natsu I see you have finally…" The man's eyes widened in surprise at the states of the four Dragonslayers. The stare quickly turned from surprise to rage and finally, fury. "What has happened? Who dared to harm my grandson? Whoever did this will pay!" the man roared in fury, releasing his magic power.
Laxus was taken aback by the magic power this being commanded. He knew if the power was directed at them, they would have probably suffocated under the pressure. Even when they fought Acnologia, they had never felt anything like this. The ground cracked under the man's feet, spreading thirty-foot-long cracks in every direction. Rain began to sheet down and lighting flickered in what was previously a blue sky. The temperature began to fluctuate, going from unbearably hot to freezing cold. But then the power was gone as soon as it was released. Laxus and Wendy stood still in shock. Who in the name of all that is holy was this man?
"You must be Laxus and Wendy, would you mind holding Gajeel and waking him up? I'll do my best to help him, but I will try to help Natsu first, as he is closest to death." The two nodded numbly and began to try to wake their friend up. The man placed his hand on Natsu's chest and a soft glowing gold light spread across Natsu's body. When she saw it, Wendy gasped.
"That…that is sky dragon magic!" Laxus and the now somewhat awake Gajeel looked in awe. They had never heard of another sky Dragonslayer. The man smiled at Wendy.
"It's not actually sky Dragonslayer magic. It is the magic that it was based on. Quite a bit more powerful, and it drains you quite a bit more." Wendy took a step to look at Natsu. Most of Natsu's wounds had disappeared. The only thing that remained was the lack of Natsu's left eye. Natsu, once he finally recovered enough to speak muttered to Wendy that he was fine. "Now that my grandson is fine, I'll see what I can do for his friend." The others exchanged glances. This young man was Natsu's grandfather? He had never even mentioned having one, let alone that he was alive.
"I know this we aren't meeting under the best of circumstances, but it is a pleasure to meet you all," the man said as he inspected Gajeel's burnt face. "My name is Aurum, the Dragon Emperor." He said this matter-of-factly as if this was normal. Laxus narrowed his eyes and rubbed his ears.
"I'm sorry but I think you said you were…"
"The Dragon Emperor. First of his name, king od magic, etc. I'm sure Natsu has told you all about me."
"No, he hasn't." came the response from Gajeel, Wendy and Laxus.
A river of tears began to flow from Aurum's eyes, spilling onto Gajeel's head. The Iron Dragonslayer was not too happy about becoming a makeshift fountain, so he tried to get away from Aurum, but to no avail. "I thought my grandson would have at least had the love and respect for his old grandfather to mention him to his friends!"
Natsu sheepishly looked at the ground. "Well sorry Ojīchan, how was I supposed to bring something like that up in conversation? 'Hey guys, no big deal, but my grandfather is the Emperor of Dragons and the most powerful being on the planet?'"
"Exactly like you just did." Muttered Aurum, the tears finally lessening. He turned back to Gajeel. "So, you're Black-steel. You remind me quite a bit of your father. Which is to be expected, I guess. I have good news and bad news. I'm unable to heal your face. Elementals do not use magic, and as such, you will not be able to heal any wounds dealt by them with magic. However, I will be able to stop an infection from occurring."
Gajeel nodded in understanding. "How will you be able to do that with magic?" He asked. Even though Gajeel didn't act or look like it, he was an avid reader. He knew enough from reading Levy's books that an infection could lead to death in extreme cases if it was not treated.
Aurum dryly chuckled. "That is bad news. I'll be able to stop an infection by searing the wound closed with a metal plate. However, it will be extremely painful. You must prepare yourself for that."
Gajeel went white as Aurum began to explain what would happen. But then after a minute or two, his signature smirk surfaced on his face. "Don't matter to me as long as it works. Not the first piece of metal I've stuck to my face." The others chuckled, glad that even in pain, their friend maintained his humor. Aurum walked into Natsu's house for about fifteen minutes and they began to hear hammering and metal screeching.
"So, Salamander…" Gajeel muttered. "Your grandpa is the Dragon emperor. Didn't mention it went we went up against old Acno did you?"
Natsu stared at the ground in shame. "I couldn't. My Ojīchan could have killed him, and all of the other dragons, but he couldn't. He is forbidden from involving in Ishgar and Alvarez's affairs. He wanted to, believe me, especially after dad died. But as the Dragon Emperor, there are rules that even he, with all of his powers, are subservient to."
There was a brief pause in the conversation, and it was eventually interrupted by Aurum who walked out of the house with an iron half mask. It was made to cover everything but Gajeel's right eye, ear and mouth. (Think Phantom of the opera mask but wraps around to the back of his head, and also goes over his head.) It was studded with Iron over where Gajeel's eyebrow used to be, to match the studs on the normal side of the face. Aurum held the mask up to Gajeel and asked him for his opinion. When Gajeel gave his approval, Aurum gave the mask to Natsu, who slowly began to heat up the metal on one side.
Aurum turned to Laxus. "Could you please knock him out? It'll be better for him this way." Laxus nodded and hit Gajeel over the head, knocking him out. Aurum then instructed Wendy to start healing Gajeel's face up until the point when they placed the mask upon his face. Natsu had gotten the mask red hot and Aurum snatched the mask and carefully placed it on Gajeel.
The smell of burning flesh hit their nostrils, causing Wendy to turn and start heaving. Soon the sour smell of vomit mixed with the smell of flesh. Natsu walked over to Wendy and gently helped her to her feet, one hand on her back, stabilizing her.
Aurum stood and walked over to Natsu. "Tell me everything that has happened."
And so Natsu began, starting with the battle with Erortis and ending with Makarov's Fairy Law spell and them teleporting here. Laxus' eyes were trained upon Aurum, searching for any reaction during the story. The only visible reaction he saw was the man tightly clenching his fists when Natsu told about Fairy Law. Eventually, the tale came to an end and the Dragonslayers (minus Gajeel) looked at Aurum waiting for a response.
Aurum sat down on a log and pulled out an old wooden pipe. With a snap of his fingers, the tobacco inside was lit, and a trail of smoke left Aurum's mouth. "I assume you know why Fairy Law hurt you, so I need not say any more on that. My question to you is this: What will you do now? Will you try to take revenge against your so-called family, or will you do something different?"
Natsu sat down opposite his grandfather. "I don't know about the rest of them, but I cannot just ignore what the people who I called my family did to us. Lucy thought it would be better to leave Gajeel to die and have Wendy support the rest of us than save him. Do I want revenge? To an extent I suppose. I don't want to kill them, that's petty, and we would be no better than Acnologia, screaming to the world that life is unfair."
Laxus nodded in agreement. "After what Gramps did, I don't know if I'll be able to forgive him and the guild. I think that Natsu is right. I don't think that physically hurting them will make us feel any better, and it will just prove those rumors true." Wendy really didn't have much to say. She was still shocked by the event of the day and slowly but surely began to pass out.
Gajeel caught her before he hit the ground. Natsu stood and walked over to him.
"She alright?" He asked.
Gajeel nodded. "Short-stuff had a long day. Seems the adrenaline finally wore off." Natsu then asked how he was feeling. Gajeel thought about it for a moment. He reached his hand and felt the cold iron that had now become half of his head. The iron seemed comforting somehow, and he took solace in the fact. "I've been better Salamander, but I can't complain. Thank you, Aurum, for helping me." Aurum held up a hand and told him that it was no trouble at all. He was more than happy to help his grandson's friends. "I was listening a bit to what you were talking about. Maybe it is for the best if we just leave. Erortis was right when he said the country fears what it doesn't understand. I doubt it will just blow over, but maybe leaving the country for some time will do that." Gajeel paused as he saw Laxus and Natsu staring at him with wide eyes. "What?"
"You said something that wasn't about fighting…" Natsu said, his voice a whisper.
"And it wasn't completely stupid." Finished Laxus, chuckling.
Gajeel turned red and launched himself at the two. "I CAN DO THINGS BESIDE FIGHT!" The three began to roll around on the dirt punching each other and throwing insults this way and that. Wendy slowly woke up from her "nap" to the sight of them fighting. She looked over at Aurum.
"Are you going to stop them." She asked, her voice faint.
Aurum shook his head, his eyes gleaming. "Of course not. I want to see my grandson kick their asses so I can brag about it when I get back home!" Wendy responded by giving him a look. Aurum tried to resist Wendy's sad puppy dog eyes, but he, like so many others before him fell prey to its effects. He rose and grabbed Natsu and Gajeel by their collars, separating them from Laxus.
"I understand that you might want to leave the country to get away from the council, Fairy Tail and these rumors being spread about you. You also feel betrayed and you don't want to do anything rash against your former friends correct?" The Dragonslayers nodded. Aurum continued. "I have a solution for both of your problems. Come with me to Aurora!" Natsu gasped and the others looked at him in confusion.
"Natsu, what is Aurora?" asked Wendy.
"Aurora is the home of the dragons, where they came from originally. It is another continent thousands of miles away. By ship, it would take six months to get there. Only maybe a hundred people in both Ishgar and Alvarez know of its existence. The only creatures there are dragons." The other's jaws flapped open as they finally understood the offer that Aurum proposed.
"You would be afforded the same rights as a dragon there, and I would find you all teachers in order to train you to become extremely powerful mages. You would be able to rival Acnologia in time. That will also solve your other problem. You will be able to get away from Ishgar for some time, and I will send people to dispel these rumors about you. You can come back after a few years or so, well trained, extremely powerful and be able to show your former family what they decided to betray. The best revenge is a life well lived I say. In addition, I will formally adopt the rest of you as my grandchildren so you will be able to move freely in our lands without being challenged to a fight to the death."
The Dragonslayers were floored by Aurum's offer. Laxus eventually turned to Aurum and thanked him for the offer. "We accept your offer Aurum. We would be happy to go and train under you in Aurora." Aurum smiled at them.
"You have thirty minutes to collect everything that you want to bring with you and bring it back here. Bring your exceeds as well." Before Natsu raced to the guildhall, Aurum stopped him. He ripped off a piece of golden cloth from his robe and tied it around his grandson's eye. "Much better. Now go grab Happy. Talk to no one and try not to be seen." Natsu nodded in understanding and ran for the guildhall.
It didn't take long for the Dragonslayers and their exceeds to regroup with Aurum. They stood surrounding the man, with all of their belongings piled at their feet. Aurum smiled at them and clapped his hands three times. A magical circle appeared at their feet and they vanished.