A little girl ran down a destroyed street as mute gunfire raced over her head.
She was being chased by an endless wave of yellow-skinned monsters of various sizes.
Suddenly, the door she ran out from busted free of the wall in a cloud of splinters, brick, and mortar.
Emerging from the dust was a large, twitching monster.
It focused on the little girl and charged after her.
BANG
The sound of a sniper rifle echoed throughout the warzone.
The world slowed as the bullet soared through the firefight.
A scream left the little girl's mouth as the round pierced her back and punched through her stomach.
She fell to the ground and started to drag herself along the ground to a group of soldiers, reaching her hand out to a red-eyed pinkette.
The colour started to drain from the world as a voice reached his ears.
"All around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn out faces…"
The monster caught up with the girl and brought its large foot up.
Within moments the girl was reduced to a grotesque red paste on the dusty road as a sickening crunch signified her death.
The colourless warzone was quickly filled with red as a roar echoed around it.
In a split second, the large monster was dead at the feet of the pinkette.
0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0
"Hey, Natsu, wake up!"
Natsu lurched forward as he wrenched his eyes open. "I'm up! What's wrong?"
A gentle hand cupped his cheek and turned his head to look at the person who woke him. "Master, I've been trying to wake you for a few minutes now, you were mumbling in your sleep and your markings activated… it started to get hot sitting next to you."
"Ah, sorry Seilah…" The pinkette placed a hand on the demon's head and ruffled her hair gently. "Just was having a rough dream. What did I miss?"
"We're halfway through Laxus' fight with Alexei, he is getting his ass handed to him." Seilah relaxed and leant against the man's arm once more.
"It's an illusion, he is fighting the whole of Raven Tail, nothing to worry about. I can sense them all down there and Laxus is easily holding his own."
"Isn't Raven Tail the dark guild ran by Makarov's son?" Ikaruga asked from Natsu's other side, causing him to turn his attention to her and see that she is fanning herself.
"Yeah, but they managed to be legalised. I don't know how."
"Yeah, and I bet you can't guess who Alexei is." As soon as Natsu spoke, the illusion fell, revealing all of Raven Tail's team laying on the ground, beaten by Laxus. "Well, looks like those guys have been disqualified."
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WHAT'S THIS? ALL OF TEAM RAVEN TAIL, AND THEIR GUILD MASTER?" Chapati shouted in shock into the microphone.
"I'll send some people to detain them, I never had a good feeling about them." Lahor informed the crowd and his co-hosts as he walked out of the room.
"Well, they were a legal guild, and all legal guilds can join." Yajima reminded Chapati as he turned to his co-host. "I believe a break may be in order while we deliberate, say… fifteen minutes?"
"Ladies And Gentlemen, We'll Be Silent For The Next Fifteen Minutes As We Discuss What Will Happen With Raven Tail With The Organisers. Feel Free To Get Some Refreshments And Use The Rest Rooms."
Natsu watched the large holographic screens displayed Yajima and Chapati leave their booth. "I think I'm going to take a leak and grab a bite to eat."
The salmon-haired man rose from his seat and walked to the nearest exits as Seliah and Ikaruga stood and followed the man. The pink-haired swordswoman came up beside him as cherry blossom petals floated around her. "We should do something about Ivan to prevent any further trouble for your guild."
Natsu looked at the woman with a surprised look, his eyebrows shooting up. "And here I thought you didn't care much for the guild."
"I don't, well I do somewhat after getting to know them, but that isn't my point." Ikaruga brushed the man off with a shake of her head. "It's about tying up loose ends. I get the feeling that he knows things that could be dangerous if spread about."
"Hmm… Point taken, looks like we need to do some tidying up." The pinkette changed his course and started heading down some flights of stairs. "I've got an idea on how to get custody of him."
"But where will we take him once we have him?" Seilah asked as she started to exude the aura she once had in Tartaros. "It will need to be somewhere quiet, isolated."
"A forest in the middle of nowhere would be good, alternatively, we could send a message." Natsu's eyes narrowed as they flashed red. "He is close, I can smell him."
As the trio rounded a corner, they came face-to-face with an armed escort for the remaining Raven Tail team members. The guard at the front came to a stop and stood up straight. "Out of the way, civilian."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Sir. You see, I have business with that man." Natsu raised a hand and pointed at Ivan Dreyar. "Please hand him over."
The guard looked down his nose at the scarred man, his jaw tightening as he puffs himself up. "We have our orders, we are to take all members of the team to meet with the Organisers and the Royal Family for judgement."
"This man." The pinkette took a step closer to the guard, his will unyielding as his dark eyes bored into the other man's. "Is an ex-Fairy Tail member, the son of Makarov Dreyar, he potentially has information about Fairy Tail that can be used to harm not only the guild, but those associated with them."
"I don't see how that has any bearing on my orders, you little punk." The leading guard snarled at the pinkette and stepped closer so he was practically nose to nose with the dragon slayer. "Get out of our path, or we'll arrest you too."
Natsu's eyes instantly turned a deadly red as he glared at the man, causing him to shrink back in shock. "You will turn him over to us for questioning, and if I deem that he is a danger to my guild, then he will be punished accordingly."
"A-and what should I tell my superiors?" The guard started to sweat under the intense gaze of the demonic man, his body trembling almost imperceptibly. "We were ordered to…"
"I don't give two shits about your orders." Natsu pushed the man up against the wall with enough force that he dinted the front and back of the breastplate.
A flash of black arched through the hall as the tip of Natsu's sword came to rest upon the guard's adam apple. "My duty is, and has always been, to prevent any harm from befalling the Fairy Tail guild, by any means necessary. And I will uphold this duty of mine to my dying breath. And I don't feel like dying today."
"You… you wouldn't kill me, you wouldn't kill a guard!"
Natsu's markings turned red and spread across his body, moving up to his jawline as dark demonic energy washed of him in waves. The long black blade started to glow a menacing red as the man snarled, baring his fangs for all to see.
"G-give him Ivan Dreyar… Now!" The guard snapped at his men as he looked at them frantically.
The tip of the sword was slowly removed from the man's throat as Ivan was shoved forward, he stumbled over his feet and collapsed to his knees in front of the demonic dragon slayer. "Good little guard, now back to your orders."
Natsu turned and slashed down through the air, rending space and slicing open a portal filled with violent energy. "Seilah, grab Ivan."
She was about to reach down and grab the guild master when she was stopped by a tanned hand lightly gripping her wrist. "On second thought, Seilah, let me do it."
"You think you're so tough, don't you. But know, that if I wasn't in these cuffs…" Ivan growled up at Natsu with hatred in his eyes but the man was swiftly cut off by a devastating kick to the jaw which sent the large man flying down the hall.
"If you weren't in those cuffs and you tried to attack me, then you'd be dead before you knew it." Natsu stalked down the hall, pushing guards and Ravens aside as he strode up to the downed Dreyar. "Make no mistake, I am not like any Fairy that you have met before."
Ivan spat blood out of his mouth as he worked his way to his knees, seething with hatred for the man before him, his bit and swollen tongue made it hard for him to speak. "Bullshit, all you Fairies are exactly the same, just a bunch of pussies!"
"Heh." The pinkette grabbed the guild master by the hair and dragged him back along the hallway to the portal. "We'll see about that in a few moments."
Natsu whipped his arm around and threw Ivan through the portal. He glanced his two companions and nodded at the portal, turning to the Ravens as they walked through it. "Give up this fool's pointless and petty vengeance and go live your own lives. It isn't worth your time, don't die for that moron who can't let go of his decades-old grudges."
With his piece said, Natsu turned and walked through the rift, emerging out into a dense forest where Seilah had Ivan pinned to the trunk of a large tree with a single hand.
"What the fuck are you!?" Ivan yelled as he struggled against her unbelievable strength.
"Seilah, show him. He's got some learning to do before we see him off." The salmon-haired man muttered with a jerk of his head at Ivan while the rift snapped shut behind him.
"So where are we?" Ikaruga asked curiously as she looked around, seeing nothing but trees packed closely together.
"It's a forest about an hour's carriage ride south of Magnolia, we're in the middle of it." Natsu replied as Ivan gasped at Seilah's horns. "Beautiful, isn't she."
Seilah blushed and slipped a lock of her behind her ear bashfully. "Master, not while we're working."
"You're a demon!" A tanned fist flew at the man's face, shutting him up quickly.
"Both of us are, fuckwit." Natsu wiped the blood off his hand with Ivan's cloak. "I'm END and she is Seilah, Goddess of the Chill Moon."
"Tartaros?!"
"Something like that." Seilah smirked as she backed up. "Stay put."
Ivan tried to move but found himself stuck, his body unresponsive and unyielding. "What have you done to me!?"
"Simple." The demoness chuckled softly at the man's confusion. "It's a curse that both END and I can use, it's called Macro, and gives us the ability to bend anything to our will."
"Like this…" Natsu grinned wickedly as he looked at Ikaruga. "Slap him."
A moment later, Ivan's abused face was met with a savage backhand from the pink-haired swordswoman. "Oi, at least let me do it myself!"
The pinkette held up his hands as he laughed heartily. "Ok, ok. Feel free to…"
Ivan's face was met with an even harder slap from Ikaruga, the smack echoed throughout the woods and spooked some birds which took flight.
"Ouch, that sounded painful." Natsu pulled his head back and blinked as his sensitive ears rang from the unexpected thunderclap. "Damn, you made my ears ring with that one."
"I'm not sorry."
"Are we done with him?" Seilah asked as she sat down on a nearby rock. "Or is there actually something you want to ask him?"
"Not really, I just wanted to take him somewhere quiet where he won't be found for a long while." The man took a moment to think be shrugging and glancing at his companions. "Let's get going then, I'm not sure how long we have been screwing around here."
"Wait! You're Just Going To Leave Me Here!?" Ivan shouted as the trio started to walk away, leaving him pinned to the tree.
"Oh, I had already forgotten about you, Ivan." Natsu's hand went to the hilt of his sword as he half-turned to face the man once again. "Should have stayed quiet, though I suppose this is better than dying for dehydration."
"Master, I see no reason to waste the effort. There is no point in wasting ammo or tainting your blade with the blood of that scum." Seilah muttered as she stayed the pinkette's hand by placing her hand on his elbow. "We should just leave him behind."
"Hmm…" It took a few moments but Natsu removed his hand from Durandal and turned his attention away from Ivan. "She's right, you're not worth it."
As the group walked away from the man, Natsu clicked his fingers and caused thick, thorny vines to erupt from the earth and wrap around Ivan Dreyar who shouted in shock. "What the fuck?!"
The trio paid the screaming man no attention as he was dragged beneath the earth, they just passed through the newly opened rift.
Night had fallen on Crocus and the Honey Bone Inn was buzzing with excitement. Natsu sat at the bar as the guild made merry around him. He was alone for the night as Seilah and Ikaruga wanted to take a trip home.
Something was making the hairs stand up on the back of his neck… Something felt wrong, different…
His thoughts were disrupted when a mop of pink hair careened into his side and knocked him off the barstool. He fell onto his back with his bottle of whiskey held upright so it wouldn't spill as Natsumi sat upon his stomach. "Oh, hey Natsu. What's up?"
"I just have something on my mind, Spitfire." Natsu slowly turned the bottle and chugged the rest of the drink before placing it down. "I'm going to go for a walk. Hey Gramps…"
"Yes, my boy?" Makarov asked as he leant over the edge of the bar so he could see the two salmon-haired dragon slayers.
"Since Raven Tail has been disqualified, we'll need to combine our teams into one. It'll be announced after the opening event so make sure you choose wisely."
"Oh, yeah. They did mention something about that to me at the end of Today's games."
Natsu moved his counterpart off of him and rose to his feet. He dusted himself off and turned to the door. "I need to check on something. I'll be back sometime during the night, maybe the morning."
Without a single glance back, the pinkette left the Inn and strolled down the street. 'Why hasn't she shown herself yet… could it be that this is the first cycle?'
Natsu stuck to the ground, he had been too lax when it came to staying undercover and he couldn't risk someone finding out about who he truly was. Not yet.
"Natsu?"
The man turned his head to the source of the sound and found Jellal move out from an archway. "Jellal. How are you going?"
"Pretty good, I haven't been faced with much suspicion. Kagura and Millianna might have caught onto me but Yajima covered for me." The blue-haired mage came to a stop in front of Natsu and gazed around at the buildings. "We've been picking up traced of Zeref's magic, do you know anything about that?"
"Yeah, the source is the Eclipse Gate that resides in Mercurius. Unfortunately, it can't be destroyed by magical means as it would just absorb the Ethernano from the magic, which I think will also nullify my Curses… It'll need a physical attack to destroy it."
Jellal motioned Natsu to walk with him as he strolled along the canal. "I remember reading something back when I was… a fanatic. Aren't Curses based in negative energy?"
"Yes, but that negative energy is transformed into a special Ethernano within my body which directly powers the curses." Natsu walked alongside the tattooed man, his eyes scanning his surroundings for any eavesdroppers. "In other words, I'm not sure what will happen if I tried hitting the Gate with a Curse. And I don't think it's wise to find out given its location, and how that act may draw unwanted attention."
"Hmm…"
"Jellal, those traces of Zeref's magic, are they moving?"
"Yes, why do you ask?" The Blunette glanced at the man walking alongside him with a curious expression.
"Because where I came from, there were two sources of these traces. Both coming through the gate from the future." Natsu turned and looked up at Mercurius as it sat menacingly in the distance. "One was the orchestrator behind the coming events, and the other came back to try and warn us. But I'm not picking up on her scent at all…"
"Her?"
"The one who came back to warn us was Lucy. But I can't smell her anywhere but the Honey Bone Inn where the one from now is…"
"Have you warned them yourself? Since you are also from the future technically."
"I have, but I don't think they grasp the sheer danger that they are in. Dragons aren't something that can be killed that easily. We had every single Dragon Slayer in play that night and we still couldn't slay a dragon…" Natsu punched a nearby wall, causing the bricks to shatter and create a jagged hole in the wall. "None of us were strong enough for it."
"You know, I've heard that the Dragon of the Apocalypse only feared one thing, the demon named END… Do you think that END at full power could make a dint?" Jellal watched the frustrated pinkette with a small grin, he saw the shadow of a smirk spread across Natsu's face.
"I'm pretty much betting on it. If I can at least hold them off then I should be able to buy everyone enough time to survive. Though it'll be tough, there will be little monsters that can easily tear even the toughest mage apart."
"Is that why you took up training those mages as hard as you did? With the Second Origin and all of your rigorous training. I'm not surprised that you guys are breezing through the Games."
"I'm was never just training them to win, I was giving them the tools to survive devastation. I just hope it works…"
"Well, I hope you find that woman you are looking for, Natsu. I'll let you know if I come across anything."
"Thanks Jellal." Natsu smiled at the man and took a look back at the archway that he found Jellal under. "If you need a hand at all, whether it is around now or in the future then feel free to ask. If I'm not around then just shoot someone at the guild a message and I'll drop by."
The pinkette watched Jellal disappear into the night. He sighed and started to roam the streets once more in search for the Future Lucy.
The next morning came quicker than Natsu had liked, he had spent most of the night roaming the city in search for the Lucy from the Future but couldn't find hide nor hair of her.
He sat up from his bed with a groan as he shielded his eyes from the light pouring into the room from the window. "Fucking hell… this isn't looking good. I was anticipating changes but not something on this scale…"
He took a deep breath as the sounds of the city rushed into his keen ears. He could tell that everyone had already left for the Domus Flau. The man sighed as he pried himself out of bed and threw himself through the shower.
A short time later he was dressed in black slacks and boots, along with his long black and red coat, he had chosen to forgo wearing a shirt due to running short on time.
He drew his sword and sliced a rift through space, he didn't really care where exactly at Domus Flau he'd turn up, just as long as it cut down the travel time.
Natsu stepped out of the rift but something immediately felt wrong… There was no pressure on his feet. His eyes darted down and he found that the rift was a mile above arena. "Oh fuck…"
Suddenly, Natsu felt the effects of gravity kick in and he started to plummet towards the earth. "Aaaah Fuuuck!"
Fire started to burst out of his back as his instinct kicked in and was summoning his wings, but he common sense shut that idea down and forced the wings to dissipate in a cloud of embers. "Fuck, two options… Take the hard impact or use fire to slow my fall. No, three, my rifts… but my momentum will carry on from the fall."
A great shadow started to cover the land below the plummeting dragon slayer, the heavens were clouding over and were about to burst with almighty wrath.
Natsu could see a large bubble of water rapidly approaching, it seemed to be growing larger at a rate that didn't match his descent. It seemed like the mages inside were really going at it, and judging from the power signatures it was Juvia and Lucy doing a Unison Raid against Minerva.
The magical bubble was straining to contain the destructive power of the three women, Natsu's keen eyes could see explosions ripple the surface from the inside as bursts of dense white bubbles surged around the torrential currents. All three mages were giving it their all and it seemed like the Fairies had teamed up against the stronger foe.
Lightning flashed across the sky behind the Dragon Slayer as he fell like a pin through the air, the streak of lightning was accompanied by a deafening roar of thunder as a storm opened up on Crocus and Domus Flau.
The massive bubble of water started to bulge violently as a powerful magical explosion ripped through the centre of it, an explosion of dense bubbles cascaded to the spherical surface with such force that the barrier collapsed.
The water flooded the arena as three bodies floated in three different directions, they were conscious but severely worn out.
Chapati's voice boomed through the pouring rain like a thunderclap. "Ladies And Gentlemen! It Looks Like We Have A Three-Way Tie On Our Hands!"
The magical water started to dissipate, leaving the three mages to slowly sit up and look around. Minerva seethed with rage at her draw with the two Fairies. Juvia still resembled water given a womanly form while Lucy was adorned in celestial swimwear with Aquarius' emblem standing out on her chest.
"That was quite the battle, who knew these ladies from Fairy Tail had such Aces up their sleeves." Yajima commented, his voice full of pride for his former guild.
A pink blur shot through the arena as a blast erupted from the floor, sending dust, dirt, and debris shooting out in a cloud.
"What The F…!" Chapati shouted before his mic was cut off.
"Sorry about that!" Natsu shouted as he flared his magic slightly to clear the dust cloud. "I was running late and kinda made a blind jump!" The man pointed up towards the savage storm above the arena. "I ended up falling for about a mile I think!"
The crowd was silent as they watched the man dust himself off and step out from the crater that his titanic impact had created.
Natsu glanced around at the women on the ground as he chuckled. "Nice work Lucy, and you too Juvia. All that training we did over the last few months has really paid off hasn't it?"
The water mage rose to her feet as her water body gently ebbed and flowed, she bent forward gracefully and bowed to the pinkette. "Thank you, Natsu-sama. Juvia and Lucy-san couldn't have done it without your help and guidance."
"Alright, calm down on the praises, you two deserve it more than I do." Natsu held up his hands as he grinned at the woman. "Now, you two should rest, that was a tough battle I bet."
He glanced back at Minerva who had risen to her feet and was staring daggers into his back for the last minute or so. She clearly had a grudge on him after how he had treated her back during the incident between Natsumi and Sabertooth.
"Come on you two, let's go get you checked over by the Doc." Natsu muttered as he helped both of his guildmates to their feet. He turned and waved to the crowd and the announcers' box as he grinned widely. "Sorry for dropping in like that, I wasn't really paying much attention to the destination of my rift, as long as it was at Domus Flau!"
"Thank you, Natsu-sama." Juvia mumbled as she felt the warmth of his hand heat up her water body.
As Natsu escorted the two women from the field, Chapati was allowed access to his microphone once more, albeit with a little less enthusiasm. "Well, Ladies and Gentlemen. After that three-way tie during the opening event, it is time to move onto today's battles. We'll be having Two V. Two Tag battles, where two members from each guild will be pitted up against two members of a competing guild."
Yajima leant closer to his mic as his calm voice flowed around the arena. "Though this does bring forth the problem of having an odd number of teams. But don't worry, we'll be sorting out the issue during the short break between the event and the first tag battle."
Lucy and Juvia laid on beds in the guild's allocated infirmary. They were surrounded by both teams, Makarov, Natsu, and Porlyusica. The pink-haired doctor checked over the water mage as Wendy tended to Lucy's injuries.
"Hmm, you brats sure know how to find trouble…"
"Give them a break, Porly." Natsu muttered as he leant against the wall between the two beds with Durandal leaning on the wall beside him. His words earned a sharp glare from the older woman but he brushed it aside. "They were up against Minerva, who'd give Erza a run for her money."
"Lucy, you're not in the best shape… Physical injuries aside, you chewed through your magic reserves using that power… What even was that?" Wendy asked curiously, her eyes flicking up to the blonde's chocolate orbs then back to the fractured right arm.
"Star Dress." Natsu interjected as he glanced at the young dragon slayer. "You imbue yourself with the power of the respective spirit. My Lucy taught her…" His eyes drifted over to the bedridden celestial mage. "But you lack her magical power and abilities in that area. That being said, you did good for such a short amount of time in training."
Lucy's eyes dropped to her injured body, her rough voice emphasising the pain she is in. "If only I was more powerful…"
"Cut the crap, Lucy." Natsu cut her off. "You and Juvia forced her into a tie. You should find pride in that, but what's more is that you were able to use Star Dress effectively and also do a Unison Raid with Juvia. You did a good job, now it's time for you to relax and heal up."
"Yeah Luce!" Natsumi cheered as she bounded over to her best friend and fluffed up her pillow. "Just lay back and let us take care of it from here on out!"
"Speaking of which. Gramps, I think you have something you wanted to tell us?" Laxus asked as he turned to his grandfather who was sitting atop a desk.
"I did, I've been told by the organisers that we have to merge our teams. This really hurts our chances of winning…" The old man started to cry comically as he could practically see the money fly out of the window. "But! I've got a plan."
"I don't like the sound of this." Natsu grumbled as he moved away from the wall and grabbed his sword.
"I propose that we put all of our strongest people front and centre." Makarov started as he looked around the room, his eyes lingering on five of the mages. "This is what I want to make a team with the following members; Erza, Laxus, Natsumi, Gajeel …and Natsu."
"And there it is." The salmon-haired man sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. "Knew it."
"Look Natsu, you have to see the position we are in. I want us to have the best chance we have to win."
"Gramps. You've had a better shot at these games than I had. We were rock bottom and didn't start bouncing back until the second and third days. Hell, my Lucy was brutalised by Minerva, and in her fight with Flare she had her magic drained by that cunt of a familiar that I turned into ash before these games had started. I think I've done enough."
Makarov watched the swordsman closely as he contemplated his next move. He let out a soft sigh and shifted onto his knees as he dropped his head down onto the desk in a bow. "Please, Natsu. Help my family recover from their suffering."
Natsu took a deep breath and slowly released it, his nostrils flaring as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. After what felt like ten minutes of silence the man finally responded to the still prostrating guild master. "Ok. Fine. I'll lend you my services. For today and tomorrow, but you owe me for this."
'YES! OUR VICTORY IS SECURE!' Makarov sat up as his eyes sparkled, he cleared his throat and pushed his inner voice aside. "Thank you, my boy. I'll return the favour when you call on it."
"We better show our faces then." Natsumi smiled as she hurried from the room excitedly.
Porlyusica took a pen from the top of her clipboard and scribbled on the medical documents as she stood beside Juvia. "Well, you see to be in rather good shape. Just a little bit of rest and you can head out." She turned to Lucy as the newly formed team started to file out of the room. "You'll need to stay here for at least a few hours, so we can properly mend your injuries."
Outside the room, the team was stopped by Erza as she turned around and crossed her arms over her breastplate. "Natsu, what's the go with today? We weren't able to find out last night as you couldn't be found anywhere in the Inn…"
"I was searching for clues about what could happen soon. But, these tag battles are fairly straight forward, as the announcers said each team will have two people fighting another team in each battle." The salmon-haired man walked past the woman, placing a hand on her shoulder and turning her as he passed by. "We're short on time, let's walk and talk."
"Do you know the line-ups?" Natsumi asked curiously as she walked alongside him.
"Things may change but I think there would be one constant in all of it and that is the final match of the day." Natsu glanced over his shoulder at the team. "The final battle will be between the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth, and Natsumi and Gajeel. I'm sure of this."
"But things can still change, right?" Erza asked, she had a good understanding of what Natsu had told them about the multiverse theory and how minute details can change entire timelines. "For example, it could be Natsumi and Laxus or Laxus and Gajeel."
"It is true. Those are the known Dragon Slayers in our team. So they are the possible permutations." Natsu scratched his chin in thought and was silent for a few minutes. "But that only accounts for the organisers, don't forget that these games can be influenced by the contenders too."
"Bets and challenges." Laxus muttered as they rounded the corner and started heading down the hallway to the arena.
"Correct, it makes for an interesting show in the organisers' eyes, which is why they would allow it."
"Ladies And Gentlemen! We've Just Received Word That The Newly Formed Team Fairy Tail Is Approaching The Arena As We Speak! Get Ready To Give Them A Warm Welcome!"
"Anyway, enough of that talk for now. It's best we keep that to private conversations." Natsu cut the conversation off as they neared the light flowing in from outside, it looked like the rain had stopped but the ground was still soaked. "Spread out, Inverted V formation."
The salmon-haired swordsman fell back to the centre as Erza and Natsumi flanked him, stood a little ahead with Gajeel and Laxus capping off the formation. The newly formed team entered the arena to a sea of cheers and whistles.
"Well, seems like we passed the popularity test…" Natsumi muttered softly as her onyx eyes roamed the crowd. She smiled and waved as they stood in a line and waited.
"There You Have It Folks! The New Team Fairy Tail!" Chapati cheered enthusiastically. "Featuring Laxus Dreyar, Erza Scarlet, Natsu the Ronin, Natsumi Dragneel, and Gajeel Redfox!"
"Hey, why do you get the cool nickname?" Complained the pink-haired dragon slayer as she pouted at her older counterpart.
"I still don't know what I think of that name, but then again, I'm not great at naming stuff anyway…"
"Case in point that power behind those markings of yours."
"Shush, Natsumi. There are ears everywhere…" Erza shot a sharp look towards her friend, urging her to shut up before she spills Natsu's secret.
"Don't worry about it Erza, if anyone had even the slightest clue of my powers then I'm sure they'd have worked it out by now."
"Team Fairy Tail, you're free to head to your booth." Yajima informed the group of mages. "Rabian, would you like to read out the line-up for the first match of the day?"
"Gladly." The Owner of the Scheherazade Theatre replied as he riffled through some sheets. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome to the field Rabbit and Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki from Team Blue Pegasus, they will be versing Rocker and Bacchus Groh from Team Quatro Puppy."
Natsu turned on the spot and cut a hole through space so they could quickly get to the booth, leading the way off the arena so that the first battle can begin.
'Hey kiddo, you seem tense, what's up?'
'Ah, there you are END, you've been quiet." The pinkette closed the portal once the whole team had passed through it and took a seat upon a bench along a wall. He requipped a cleaning kit and started to polish his sword. 'Something just feels off about all this, and I don't mean the very slight magical siphon coming from the Gate.'
'Yes, I've felt your unease. You're also probably feeling more than a little homesick.'
Natsu let out a slow sigh through his nose as he ran a cloth along his abnormally large sword, a light hum of magic resonating from it. 'Yeah, while I do like it here, our universe is different. I want to say less bubbly and bright.'
'You know the girls are going to swamp you when you get back, right?'
'Heh, yeah, I do know that, and I don't blame them. I've been gone for a long time.'
'Not the longest time you have been away though.'
"Hey, Natsu." Came the voice of Natsumi, interrupting the man's internal monologue. "Why is that Nichiya exceed with Ichiya?"
"Hmm?" Natsu placed the sword on the bench as he rose from it and walked to her side to observe the battle, just in time to see Nichiya taken out of the fight and Ichiya bulk up. "Ah, I'm guessing they probably met up at some point over the last seven years here, I never bothered asking questions about it."
"Oh… Who is your money on?"
"Ichiya." The man replied calmly, drawing strange looks from his teammates. "You all underestimate him." He watched as Ichiya turned the tables on the two members of Quatro Puppy and started to drag the win back into his court.
The guilds and crowds watched in shock as Ichiya claimed a surprise victory against the odds. Roaring applause ripped through the arena as the bulked-up man took a bow and carried out his exceed partner.
"Ladies And Gentlemen! What A Shocking Turn Of Events!" Jason shouted excitedly, his voice booming around Domus Flau. "Blue Pegasus' Ichiya Managed To Overcome The Chances And Pulled The Win From The Jaws Of Quatro Puppy!"
Natsu tuned out as Yajima introduced the next battle between Mermaid's Heel and Lamia Scale. His attention drifted around the arena, searching for traces left by the Gate that would alert him to the presence of either the Future Lucy or the Future Rogue.
Unfortunately, he still couldn't sense either presence in the arena. He knew that Future Rogue would be somewhere in Crocus, but since he couldn't get a read on the woman he came to the conclusion that this was definitely the timeline that Future Lucy belonged to.
The roaring sounds of the crowd drew his attention momentarily, he glanced down at the battle and saw that Millianna was taking on the other team by herself. She was holding her own exceptionally well.
The man was still mostly zoned out, ignoring the conversations of his teammates as his eyes followed the catgirl, following her movements and natural sway of her body.
'And you call me perverted.'
Natsu tore his eyes from Millianna and was about to reply to END but was interrupted by his instincts warning him of incoming danger. His hand snapped up to intercept the incoming attack, once he caught it he turned his hand to see what it was.
Someone threw a small rock right at him, from down in the arena. He glanced down and saw Kagura staring right at him as she levitated a few small rocks with her gravity magic.
Yajima's calm voice came through the speakers as he cut off Chapati's shout casting. "Miss Mikazuchi, please refrain from throwing rocks at bystanders."
Natsu could tell by the look she was giving him that she wanted to talk, urgently. He let out a sigh a leapt over the edge, his sword flew out after the falling man and sheathed itself in mid-air as it settled on his back.
"Natsu, you'll be disqualified if you interfere in the match." Yajima warned the swordsman as fell.
"Don't worry! I'll be good!" Natsu replied as he flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet. "I promise not to interfere!"
Kagura stalked towards him and grabbed the man by the arm, dragging him over to a wall and out of the way of the ongoing battle. She lowered her voice down to a hush as she leaned in. "We need to talk."
"I guessed as much, which is why I came down." Natsu replied, meeting her whisper as he looked down at her. He could see the anger hidden behind her stoic features. "What did you want to know?"
"Last night, what were you doing?"
The salmon-haired man's eyebrows shot up in surprise, he didn't realise someone had seen him. "I've heard whispers about some kind of danger. I was out last night to poke around and see if I could uncover anything."
"You say you are Fairy Tail's unseen protector. That you stride in the darkness to protect their light?" Kagura's eyes narrowed at the man as she took a step closer.
"Well, that's a poetic way of putting it, but essentially yes." Natsu replied with a nod of his head. Kagura opened her mouth to talk once more but was cut off by the pinkette placing a finger to her lips. "I know what you are about to ask, Kagura. I mentioned before that I heard stories about you, but I can see that you believe I know more than I was letting on."
"Why did I see you last night… with Jellal?" Her face contorted into a snarl at the mention of the despicable man who murdered her brother.
A sigh escaped the man's lips as he closed his eyes in frustration. "He is an informant of mine, he and his group have been providing me with information to do with my current investigation. I acknowledge his history with you, and I can provide you with information about events that occurred there."
"Then tell me!" Kagura whisper shouted as she glared right up at his face. "He killed my brother!"
"I'm not about to get into a heated argument right here." Natsu rested a hand on her shoulder and moved her back a little. "Cool your jets, come find me after this battle, or come visit me tonight. Bring Millianna, I'll tell you both what I know."
The swordswoman glared at Natsu as the grip on her sword tightened. After a few moments, she started to fall back into her stoic demeanour. "Fine. But I expect answers to all of my questions."
"I'll answer the ones I deem related to the topic, otherwise I may compromise my position or the guild." Replied Natsu as he turned and started to walk away from the woman. "I'll give you the information you want, but you won't like what I have to tell you."
His senses warned him of an incoming high-speed object that was about to collide with him, causing him to take a step back as Millianna smashed into the wall right in front of him.
"Owww. I'm sorry, Kagura…"
"Oh, hey little kitty." The salmon-haired swordsman blinked as he watched the catgirl face-plant into the wall. He crouched down and propped the woman up against the wall. "You ok?"
Millianna clasped her hand over her nose as blood rushed out of it, she groaned in pain as her whole face ached. "I think my nose is broken and my jaw has a bump developing…"
"Well, I think you have officially been taken out of the fight… I can help you but you can't go back and fight. Both of us would get DQ'd."
The catgirl nodded meekly and watched as Natsu moved her hand from her nose. She cried out as she felt a sharp pain shoot through her face. He had somehow reset her nose without touching it, this didn't really come as a surprise though as she had seen him manipulate things without touching them.
"Now don't panic, this may be fire but it will not hurt you." Natsu reassured Millianna as green fire erupted from his right index finger like a blowtorch. "I rarely use this as I had to recently develop it, but it was designed to heal. It isn't as good as traditional medical spells, but it'll fix your nose and jaw."
The feathered flame danced across the busty woman's face, it felt strange… Like someone was tickling her with a bird's feather. She scrunched up her nose and sneezed cutely. "Oh kami… Oh! It didn't hurt!"
"Good." A small smile slowly spread across Natsu's face as he ran the flame across her nose and jaw, causing the woman to devolve into a fit of giggles. "There you go, you should be fine there now."
A purr escaped Millianna's lips as she leant forwards with a seductive smile. "Maybe you could take care of the rest of my injuries~, I got beat up pretty roughly~."
"Easy there, kitty cat, we're not meant to put on that kind of show for people in the Grand Magic Games."
The woman pouted and slumped back against the wall as she crossed her arms under her breasts, only causing them to rise up and become more prominent. Millianna tried her best to keep her eyes off the man and keep watching the battle but she couldn't help to glance over at him often.
Natsu rested against the section of wall next to her, he took his sword out and started to oil the blade. Millianna's glances didn't go unnoticed but he didn't pursue them any further.
Millianna, however, had other plans. A cattish grin adorned her face as she pushed his arms up and out of the way as she laid down and placed her head upon his lap, a purr continuing to escape her lips.
"Constants and Variables…" Natsu muttered to himself as he heard grumbling spread across the arena at his fortune.
The catgirl looked up at the swordsman in surprise. "You're surprisingly warm, Natsu." A shiver went through her spine as she remembered the coldness brought on by Lyon's magic moments before.
"I seem to hear that surprisingly often." The pinkette raised his blade to his eyes to inspect the full length of the abnormally long blade.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but why is your sword so long?"
"It wasn't meant for killing normal beasts. And that is all I'll say on that matter."
"Oh?" Millianna pushed herself up onto her knees and looks closely at the sword. "It looks as if it is absorbing light instead of reflecting it…"
"That's just the oil I'm using, even though it looks like that, it does reflect some light." From over the top of his sword he saw Kagura invert gravity and cause Lyon to get pulled up into the sky towards her magic circle. "Hmm… Five… Four…"
Kagura launched through the air after the hovering mage, she sliced through the ice dragon.
"Three… Two…"
She neared her target and readied her final strike.
"One."
Kagura's attack stopped millimetres from Lyon's panic-stricken face just as the bell rang.
"TIME! That's it, Pumpkins! Thirty minutes have passed!"
"Well shit. That was a quick thirty minutes, this day have been moving fairly fast." Natsu muttered to himself as he sheathed the sword. "The climax seems to be rapidly approaching."
"Hehe, climax~." Millianna giggled, seemingly drunk off of his warmth.
"Oh shush you…" The man rose to his feet and placed his weapon onto his back as he started to walk to one of the exits. 'You're worse than END.'
'I heard that. And I highly doubt that.'
'Yeah, you're right, fucking pervert…'
'We should be careful, there may be telepaths listening into us.'
Natsu scowled as his eyes darted around the stands. 'Fuck, you're right, and I can't exactly play this off as insanity…'
'I donno, you are pretty insane.'
'Fuck you.'
'That's the job for your girls.'
'I wish you came with a mute button.'
'Now where is the fun in that?'
"Alright Folks! The Match Between Lamia Scale And Mermaid's Heel Has Ended In A Draw! What An Amazing Match!" Chapati announced with almost as much enthusiasm as Jason the Reporter. "Give The Two Teams A Round Of Applause And Please Welcome The Contestants For The Next Battle! Yajima?"
"For the next battle, we have something big in store. A battle between the Dragon Slayers! Please welcome Natsumi Dragneel and Gajeel Redfox from Fairy Tail as they face off against Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney of Sabertooth!"
A pair of bodies landed on their feet behind the pinkette, their scents identifying them as his teammates. Natsu glanced over his shoulder at the arena from the arena's exit.
"How about we make this a little more interesting?!" Said Sting as he landed, he took a step forward and looked up at the announcers' room. "You see, one of our members has a little personal grudge against one of Fairy Tail's team members. How about we make this a three versus three tag battle?"
"And who are you proposing joins the battle?" Yajima asked, brimming with curiosity. "Tell us and we'll consider it."
"Why don't we let her speak for herself?" Sting replied as he gestured behind himself as Minerva stepped out from thin air. Minerva looked down her nose at the announcers as she opened her mouth to speak but was cut off.
"Don't even fucking bother…" Natsu called out as he re-emerged from the hallway. "Why the fuck should I give you the time of day?"
"After that shameful situation you left me in!?" Exclaimed Minerva, her indignation palpable to even the densest person.
"You attacked me, what the fuck did you expect?" Natsu replied as he strode between his teammates and right up to Minerva's face. "All I did was in the name of preventing you from attacking me further, and trying to use me against Natsumi."
"She attacked our guild!"
"You expelled Yukino over some dumb fucking bullshit, all she did was lose her match."
"That was my father, not me!"
"You, and everyone else in your guild just stood by as she was told to strip naked and then remove her mark. She was publically shamed in front of your whole guild." A quiet growl escaped Natsu's throat as his eyes flickered red, his rage slowly bubbling to the surface. "I completely understand why Natsumi assaulted your guild. Why do you think I stepped in, I wanted to prevent harm to all parties."
"You attacked my father!"
"Bitch? Come again?" The man's head tilted as bafflement flashed across his face. "That fuckwit tried to intimidate me, threatened me, and then laid a hand on me. I gave him fair warning that I would retaliate if he didn't back down. And He Didn't."
"Did I miss something?" Gajeel loudly asked to no one in particular as he gazed around.
"Oh, Natsu just booted Jiemma Orland into a wall like it was nothing." Natsumi replied with heavy disinterest as she picked some dirt out from under her nails. "Maybe because it was nothing to him."
"You don't deserve my attention. Minerva." Natsu spat as he narrowed his eyes at the haughty mage. "But fine, I accept your challenge. Just don't beg me for mercy because I just ran out."
"O-Okay then…!" Chapati announced, due to his shock and confusion he had lost a little of his usual enthusiasm. "We've heard from the officials, they are allowing this!" He was thrown off his game and completely forgot the introduction he had planned, so the man decided to just start the fight. "Let The Match Between Fairy Tail And Sabertooth BEGIN!"
Sting and Rogue started to run forward but were distracted by the grin that spread across Natsu's face, they could have sworn that they saw a set of dragon fangs in his maw. Their distraction costed them as they were abruptly assaulted by Natsumi and Gajeel.
"You know, Minerva, you shouldn't have put your pride on the line like this." Natsu grinned demonically at the woman. His eyes turned red as his darker side surfaced.
'We made sure she can't spill our secret until we do, right?' END asked curiously.
'I've forgotten, but judging by Sting and Rogue's reactions just then, I'm guessing either we did or they didn't believe her.' Natsu kept his attention on the woman in front of him in case she finally decided to launch an attack. His fangs gleamed as he stared her down. "Do you want to know the best thing about fighting alongside dragon slayers?"
Minerva snarled at the man as she arrogantly looked down her nose at him. "Why should I care? I'm the most powerful mage here. I can handle this fight by myself." She charged her magic as orbs engulfed her hands.
Natsu suddenly found himself engulfed in Territory magic and taken to some other place. He glanced around but all he could see was darkness in every direction. "Well… this won't do…"
'I donno, feels like home to me.'
'I'm not that empty-headed…' Natsu grumbled as he freed his sword from its sheath. It glowed with violent red energy for a few seconds before he came up with a better idea. He placed his sword back into its sheath and focused his magical power.
The magical space started to hum and resonate with a specific frequency. Natsu tuned his magic to the same frequency then unleashed a torrent of magical power.
The space started to warp and stretch under the sheer pressure and light-filled cracks started to appear around the salmon-haired man. 'Heh, almost there…'
Multi-coloured fire erupted from Natsu and started to arch up the spherical walls. 'So I'm inside a Territory bubble? Strange… I wonder just how far her limits of control are…'
0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0
Outside the bubble, Minerva staggered backwards in shock. "How! How the hell are you overpowering my Territory?!"
The woman couldn't help but watch as fire seeped out of cracks in the air, often jetting out violently like a solar flare. More and more cracks started to appear and soon the entire sphere looked ready to burst.
Minerva started to channel more power into the orb but was sent skidding along the ground as both Sting and Rogue were sent flying into her.
"You know, I've got to say that this is really disappointing." Natsumi said as she sported a bored expression. "After all that boasting and posturing and this is all you can do?"
"This is a waste of my time." Gajeel grumbled and turned his back on the trio of mages. "I'm going to find something to eat."
"He's taking his sweet time, don't you think?" The female dragon slayer turned to her teammate and nodded her head over to the mess of cracks. "You think he'd just cut his way out. It wouldn't even take a moment."
"You know him the best, Salamander, if I had to guess I think he's just showing off. Gihi."
"That does sound like something he'd probably do in this situation." Natsumi laughed openly as two sets of magic powers soared behind them.
"We're not done yet!" Sting yelled as he became enveloped in white energy. "White Drive!"
"Shadow Drive!" Rogue announced as he too became encased in a magical aura.
"Did that pique your interest, Gajeel?" Natsumi asked as a fanged grin similar to Natsu's spread across her face. "Because I just got fired up!"
Sting and Rogue launched forwards in unison, they covered the distance with blinding speed. The twin dragon slayers were about to strike their two shocked opponents when a large explosion rocked the arena to its foundations.
Fire rained from sky and coated the floor in a blazing carpet. In the crater at the epicentre of the blast stood the red-eyed Natsu, a demonic grin plastered on his face as he gazed around at his handiwork. "Did you miss me?"
A roar of laughter reached the man's ears, causing him to turn to the source. Natsumi was bent double and pointing at Sting who got stuck headfirst into the wall by the blast. "So much for your White Drive!"
"You're a monster!" Minerva shouted in shock.
"Oh come on. All I did was see how much magic it took for your little trick to fail. It was a bit more than I was expecting, as you can see." Natsu replied as he gestured to the inferno around them. "Sorry if it's a bit toasty."
"You're a bit of an ass today~." Natsumi giggled at her counterpart as she walked through the fire and punched him in the arm. "Woke up on the wrong side of the bed?"
"Nah, I just don't have any patience for stuck up bitches." The man rolled his shoulders and started to walk towards Minerva with a menacing aura surrounding him.
"My Lady!" Sting called out as he charged towards the salmon-haired man in the blink of an eye.
"No! Don't He's A…!" Minerva started but found that she was still unable to tell them what the man really was.
"You know what… fuck it all!" Natsu shouted in annoyance, he was sick of hiding who he was, it wasn't his style after all. "I had planned to save this secret for later, but I'm not in the mood for games!"
Before Sting could register what was happening, a flaming fist bore down upon his face, on the other end of the fist were a pair of red and gold draconic slits. The blonde man collided with the wall even fast than he had left it.
'It time to tell some of the truth…' A growl left Natsu's throat as he brought his fist back to his side, both were covered with intense reddish-orange fire… fire belonging to a fire dragon slayer. "You probably would have picked up on the scent by now, how my magic signature resembles Natsumi's… I am a Dragon Slayer too, I was trained by Igneel at the same time Natsumi was. The old bastard wasn't very creative when it came to naming people…"
"Oh, so we can stop pretending now?" Natsumi asked curiously as she walked to the dragon slayer's side. "Do I get to call you Big Brother now?"
"No." Natsu shot her a sharp look. "I know you're joking, but don't call me that… we have different human genetics, it's just our dragon lineage that is the same."
"Aw~ I was looking forward to teasing you with that…" Natsumi burst out into a fit of giggles as she looked at her older counterpart. "So, I take it you'll be keeping your Ronin nickname?"
"I suppose it fits, a wandering swordsman with no master. Yeah, I guess so, but only when I'm travelling."
"I mean, that's what wandering means, isn't it?" Natsumi hid her giggles behind her hand as she gazed around at the inferno. "Can you turn the fire off? I think it's getting a bit stuffy in here."
Natsu clicked his fingers and extinguished the fire, he let out a sigh and muttered quietly to himself. "At least I didn't melt the place this time…"
"You have a habit of melting things?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. It happened a fair bit while you were stuck on the Island for seven years." Natsu scratched the back of his head and looked away in mock embarrassment.
"Well, you are the stronger one out of us two… So that doesn't exactly surprise me."
"Gihi, are you two forgetting that we are in a battle?" Gajeel grinned as he stepped up to the other side of Natsu and cracked his knuckles. "I bet these suckers didn't realise the mess they got themselves into."
"Gajeel, just treat fighting alongside me like fighting alongside Natsumi, our fighting styles are similar at the core." The salmon-haired man said as he strode towards Minerva once more. "Though I have but one request, leave this sadistic little bitch to me."
"Sounds like you've got beef with her?" The Iron Dragon Slayer asked curiously as one of his studded "eyebrows" rose up. "I won't pry."
"She's just a bitch who needs to be taught a lesson in humility."
"Like Hell We'll Let You!" Came two voices in unison as the Twin Dragon Slayers appeared less than a metre in front of Natsu and were about to land a pair of empowered punched.
The King of Fire lowered his demonic dragon eyes onto the duo, the faintly glowing orbs were full of contempt at his friends' current state. "You two aren't worth my time." He released a small burst of power to redirect the dragon slayers towards his teammates.
"Ouch." Natsumi giggled. "That one burnt a little." The pinkette and black-haired dragon slayers sent both rival slayers careening at each other then knocked them up into the air.
Natsu turned to look up at the announcers' booth with a playful smirk. "What's up, Chapati? You seem uncharacteristically quiet up there! I mean, you're no Jason but come on!"
"NATSU THE RONIN WAS A DRAGON SLAYER?!" Chapati yelled in shock, his voice causing an ear-piercing feedback loop in the microphone and the speakers.
"AH FUCK! MY FUCKING EARS!" Natsu roared as he fell to his knees with his hands blocking his ears. A quick glance around showed that all the other dragon slayers fell victim to the same debilitating noise.
'Ah! Now's my chance!' Minerva shot to her feet and unleashed a barrage of explosions on Natsu, shredding his coat and tearing his pants. "Hahaha! You think someone as weak as you could defeat me! I bet you can't even use Dragon Force like Sting and Rogue can!"
Through the cloud of dust shone the lethal red gaze of Natsu, the intensity cutting through the dust as if it wasn't even there. "Why would I need Dragon Force to defeat someone like you…?"
"What did you say to me? You little worm? Just because you're a dragon slayer doesn't mean you have anything on me!"
"WHIPLASH!"
Natsu's eyes flashed for a moment at Natsumi's shout, it was a technique they practised during training, granted she hasn't yet been able to manifest weapons from fire like he could. His senses alerted him to his counterpart's position, she was flying through the air on a course about a dozen metres behind him.
A line of fire shot out of the dust cloud and latched onto Natsumi's arm. "HERE WE GO!" Jets of fire roar from her soles and propelled her forward. As the dust settled it revealed a grinning Natsu, a whip of fire held firmly in hand.
Natsumi's speed increase to the point that she was creating a trail of dirt flying through the air in her wake as she rocketed around. "Hahahahaha!"
The whip burst into embers and launched the woman back towards a shocked Sting, he hadn't expected his attack to be countered in such a way. Natsumi's fist ignited as she closed the distance in the blink of an eye. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The dragon princess stood over Sting's downed body as Gajeel launched Rogue into the sky and kicked him in mid-air, sending him on a collision course with the other twin dragon. "How about you show us that Dragon Force that your Mistress was bragging about~?" Toyed Natsumi as she leant over the two men and batted her eyelashes. "I want to see how you two… size up~."
"Huh!" Both Sting and Rogue shouted at the seductive woman towering over them as blood started to rush south.
"Oops…" The princess giggled behind her hand, her mischievous eyes flicking down to their bulges. "Sorry~ but mine's bigger~." Two spinning magic circles appeared over her shoulders as two flaming rods emerged. "Fire Dragon's Secret Art: Hecate."
"Oi!" Natsu shouted across the battlefield as Minerva dodged one of his kicks and leapt back out of range. "Since when did you figure out how to do that? Last time I checked, you hadn't mastered that in training!"
"Oh, you know, I practice in my free time~." Natsumi turned on the spot to face her counterpart, her ass swaying side to side as she gives him an innocent look. "I like to experiment with myself after all~."
"Stop being pervy on the battlefield, Spitfire, if you get too distracted than your opponents will get the jump on you!"
At Natsu's words, Natsumi sensed movement behind her followed by a burst of magic power. Her face lost the innocent mask and turned serious as her eyes narrowed. "So this is true dragon force?"
Behind her stood the Twin Dragons, both covered in their respective dragon scales. Sting grinned boastfully as he gestured for Rogue to hang back. "I've got this, sorry Rogue, looks like you'll have to beat Gajeel some other time."
"Flashbang."
Sting shielded his eyes as a bight explosion ripped through the area. "What the hell?!"
"Airburst."
A second, more powerful explosion rang through the battlefield, followed by a cry of pain… It had come from Minerva.
As the light faded, it revealed Natsu's outstretched hand at the beginning of a cone of torn earth and stone. On the far end was Minerva, she was slumped up against the wall and half covered in debris. Blood slowly oozed from the cuts on her body.
His demonic dragon eyes slowly swept across the battlefield until they bored into the Twin Dragons. "You think you're hot shit, don't you?" His arm dropped to his side as he started to walk towards the shocked slayers. "You Slayers, the ones with Lacrima in you. You all can easily obtain Dragon Force, it's served to you on a silver platter due to the Dragon Lacrima inside of you. Us Gen Ones have to work for it, and as such our Dragon Force ends up much stronger than your imitation."
"How the hell would you know?! You're just some no-name Dragon Slayer who nobody knew about until today!" Sting yelled as he forgot about his target and charged Natsu himself. "Some weakling like you has to rely on cheap tricks to beat someone stronger!"
"Oh boy… He's in for a world of hurt…" Natsumi murmured as Sting appeared in front of Natsu with a fully charged Holy Nova enhanced by his White Drive and Dragon force.
The salmon-haired man grabbed Sting by the wrist and pulled him in closer, a vicious grin spreading across his face as scales raced up his arms and emerged from under his hair, a set of fiery horns bursting from his head. "Come now, you didn't think you two were the only ones who could attain Dragon Force?"
His scaled fist slammed down onto Sting's exposed stomach and slammed him into the ground, creating a crater from the sheer force of the impact. Spit flew from the man's mouth as the urge to vomit almost surpassed his will.
"Like Natsumi said before, out of the two of us Fire Dragon Slayers, I'm the stronger one!" Natsu grinned wildly at the prone man as he cocked his fist back, it became shrouded in a powerful crimson fire that shot well over ten metres into the sky. "Fire Dragon King's Destruction Fist!"
The sheer heat of the fire started to melt the battlefield and turn the ground into a molten volcanic mess. The crowd, teams, and hosts were shocked into silence at the raw power of the man, yet deep down they could tell that this was just a small glimpse of his abilities.
The fist rocketed towards Stings head, all the man could do was close his eyes and brace himself for impact at this distance. Searing heat race past his face and he found himself suddenly weightless.
Natsu's attack crashed into the ground next to Sting. The resulting blast ripping through the ground and vaporising the earth below. Nothing could stand in its way.
A set of dragon wings unfurled from Natsu's back as he rose up and watched while the blonde man fell into the abyss. "Natsumi, Gajeel. I'll leave these two to you, put on a show for us why don't you."
"F-F-F-Fire Dragon KING?!" A shocked Chapati exclaimed as all cameras showed a winged Natsu, still in his Dragon Force, hovering above the gaping hole in the ground. "Natsu the Ronin isn't just a Fire Dragon Slayer but the Fire Dragon KING?!"
"Oi!" Natsu shouted to his teammates as he turned to face them. "We're on the clock here, make sure we don't run out of time!"
'Hey kiddo, you should make a devil's tail from fire when you make your wings. I think it would fit with our state of being, a fusion of a demon and a dragon.'
'Eh, maybe next time.' Natsu replied to his inner demon as he floated down to safe land.
Gajeel grabbed Rogue by the scruff of his neck and dragged him over to the pit then threw him down into it without hesitation, he quickly dived after him while Natsumi just walked over to her counterpart. "Why did you show your hand? I thought you wanted to keep it close to your chest?"
The man sighed and scratched the back of his head meekly as he released his Dragon Force, his eyes returning to their normal shade of dark green as they gazed into the identical orbs of his princess. "I honestly got sick of pretending to be someone I am not, it's more fun just being yourself."
"Well duh." The girl giggled as she reached out and flicked the tip of his nose. "Anyway, why don't you find yourself something to eat or drink. I'll take care of the rest."
"I expect nothing less, Princess." Natsu smiled as Natsumi ran past him and swan dived into the abyss, leaving him alone on the edge of the crater, except for Minerva who had come to during his attack moments before.
The man gazed around the crowd, searching for any sign of the Future Lucy, but as he previously thought, there was no sign of her to be seen. With a sigh of defeat, he flew up to the booth belonging to his team. "Hey guys, you wouldn't happen to have anything to drink up here?"
"Yeah, here." Erza replied as she passed him a bottle of water. The man came to rest on the railing with his wings furled against his back as he watched the holographic display that showed the fight down in the pit. "You know, Natsu. I'm rather surprised at your actions during this fight. Not only did you reveal yourself to everyone, against what you had planned, but you also activated Dragon Force when you clearly didn't need to, not to mention your Fire Dragon King mode."
"And these wings of yours." Laxus added idly as he leant closer to the wings to get a better look at them. "What exactly are they made from?"
"Think of them like my Dragon Force scales, but the way I create the wings is basically giving my fire a form, though this is based in my dragon abilities." Natsu glanced over his shoulder at the two fairies. "I wouldn't pay them too much thought."
"I bet they come in handy." Erza smiled as she leant on the railing next to the man. She noticed Kagura and Millianna looking in their direction and waved to them.
"Constants and Variables…"
Erza shook her head and glanced at Natsu curiously. "What was that?"
Natsu pointed at the screen as Natsumi shoved Gajeel down the mineshaft and was preparing to counter Sting and Rogue's unison raid. "Even though I introduced the variables of my interference at Sabertooth's hotel, which resulted in Minerva challenging me today. The constants stay the same, Natsumi shoved Gajeel down the mineshaft, and will successfully overpower those two. Maybe I was being a little too overly cautious…"
"Caution is good, in some cases." The knight nodded slowly. "But sometimes throwing caution to the wind is the best course of action. And it suits you and Natsumi better."
"Yeah, yeah." Natsu brushed her off with the wave of his hand, but her strangely comforting voice eased his mind, as it has always done. "Tell you what, Erza. Doesn't matter where you are, but you always seem to help me relax. Thank you."
"I guess it's just in my nature, Natsu." Erza smiled kindly as the arena shook violently under their feet. "Feels like Natsumi won?"
"Probably, I better go check on them." The salmon-haired man laughed as he leapt from the railing and spread open his wings with a rush of wind.
The dust cleared on the screens to reveal Natsumi as the sole person left standing in the caverns below. The crowd cheered and roared as applause rung out around the arena. "THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS! The Battle Is Over And The Winners Are Gajeel, Natsumi, And Natsu of Fairy Tail!"
"Hey Happy! Give me a hand getting Natsumi and the others out of the pit!" Natsu called out as he plunged into the abyss.
"AYE SIR!" The little blue exceed shouted, he extended his wings and shot after the man.
A blast of dust and debris announced the arrival of the salmon-haired man on the former battlefield, he gazed around at the unconscious bodies of Sting and Rogue as he slowly approached them. "Nice work, Spitfire." The man started to clap his hands slowly, the loud echoes reverberating around the cave and up the hole. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm a little sore…" Natsumi groaned as she held her left arm and walked briskly towards her counterpart, a broad smile on her face. "They were tough. Really tough. But let's talk about you…" Once she reached Natsu, she wrapped her arms around his neck and slowly stroked one of his wings. "You're ok with my world knowing what you are? You've stepped out of the shadows and into the light, you revealed your hand… I hope it wasn't too early."
"Don't worry, my Princess." Natsu replied in calm, low voice as he brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "I've still got a few Aces up my sleeve."
"I bet you do." The Princess slowly dragged her lips along her King's jaw, softly biting and kissing along it. "Just make sure it's not the Dead Man's Hand." A giggle escaped her lips as her fangs dragged along his skin.
"They're In Love~." Happy said as he floated up from behind Natsu's wings, his little blue paws covering his cheeky grin.
"Can it, Happy." Natsu laughed as he gently batted the magical cat aside with his closest wing. "Anyway, we better get you three to the surface. Gajeel will find his own way back in due time, he might even find something interesting down there."
"Stop Foreshadowing!" Natsumi shouted playfully as she smacked him on the chest. "Happy, give me a lift out of here please."
"Aye Sir!" Happy flew around the two Fire Dragon Slayers and grabbed onto what remained of Natsumi's top.
"No, no, no!" Natsumi blushed as she started to hear fabric tearing, she immediately covered her breasts with her arms as her top started to fall apart. "Grab me under the arms!"
With a flash of light, Natsu brought out a shirt of his and held it out to the woman. "Here, before you have a Lucy Level wardrobe malfunction."
"If I did, at least my tits wouldn't bounce and jiggle for a solid minute." Natsumi giggled as she stepped forward, allowing Natsu to put it on her so she didn't have to uncover her breasts, once she was covered she slipped her arms through the sleeves and stretched as what remains of her top fell out from under the shirt. "Ah, much better, plus my girls are free too."
"Try not to give everyone nosebleeds then, Spitfire." Said Natsu with a chuckle as he turned and walked to the downed Twin Dragons. They groaned in pain as he picked them up and held them under his arms like two sacks of wheat. "Damn, sounds like you did a number on them."
"Says the one who blew up Minerva." Happy cheered as he flew over with Natsumi in his paws.
"I think I did more damage to her pride than I did to her." Natsu laughed as he took flight and rose out of the hole. "Though I do understand your point, I could have held back and drawn it out a little more."
"Hey Natsu?" Natsumi started to smirk as she glanced back at Happy. "Race ya to the top!"
"MAX SPEED!" Happy shouted as he blasted through the sound barrier.
"Oi! That's not fucking fair! I've got two dead weights!" Natsu shouted after them as he gathered magic in his feet and wings, they started to glow as hot air shot out from the underside of his wings and jets of fire from his soles. As the man accelerated he started to fold his wings to reduce air friction and channelled more power through them.
A cone of compressed air appeared just off of Natsu's head as the weight of the air started to press down upon him. The cone burst with a concussive boom as the man pierced the sound barrier and started to make up ground on Natsumi and Happy.
Light rapidly approached the two racing dragon slayers, the distance closing evermore. Behind them was a rushing cloud of dust, dirt, and debris. They were neck and neck, vying for first as their passed through the threshold and burst out into the blue sky.
"HAHAHAHA! We win!" Natsumi cheered at the top of her lungs as she and Happy flew slow laps around the column of dirt that shot out after them. "Eat that Natsu!"
"Hey, hey, hey! I was weighed down by these two…" Natsu grinned as he floated along in front of the princess, he flew backwards as he gave the dragon slayers under his arms a little shake. "Plus they aren't very aerodynamic."
"Hey, err Ronin… Sir!?" Shouted a voice from below them. Natsu glanced down and saw a team of medics with a pair of stretches ready for the twin dragons. "Could you please bring those two down here for us?!"
"Sure." The salmon-haired man glided down to the ground and touched down beside the team of medics. He placed the two dragon slayers on the stretches and dusted his hands. "Here you go."
Natsu turned to the gaping hole in the arena then glanced up at the Lamia Scale booth. "Yo Jura! You wanna fix this hole up? I kinda blasted the arena to bits…"
"Yes! Please do, Pumpkin!" Mato cheered as he appeared out of nowhere next to the pinkette. "We'll compensate you for the repairs!"
"Yeah… and it means we don't get hit with the bill… I know that annoys the Old Man when Natsumi's team destroys everything."
"Oi! You're no better!" The woman in question shouted as she landed in front of him and prodded his chest with a finger. "You're just as destructive as me …no wait! You're even more destructive because you're stronger than me!"
"Yeah." Natsu crossed his arms over his bared chest as he gave Natsumi a toothy grin. "But unlike you, I've gotta pay for my damages. I work from the shadows, remember. I don't have the Guild's treasury supporting me."
"So what? When you get to freely destroy things, you jump at the chance?" Natsumi couldn't contain the giggle that slipped out of her pursed lips.
"Well yeah…" Natsu laughed heartily as the ground sealed up next to them. "I gotta blow off steam somehow!" He flicked the woman's forehead and took flight once more. "I'll meet you at the Inn. I've gotta do something."
"Aw~ and here I was looking forward to winding down after a rough fight~." Natsumi pouted at her lover who just laughed and smiled at her.
"Maybe later, Spitfire. I've got some business to take care of." Natsu hovered in front of her as he reached a hand out and ruffled her hair. "Like I said, I'll be at the Inn." The man floated away from Natsumi and up to the Mermaid's Heel booth where he could see Millianna and Kagura waiting for him. The other members of the team must have already left or maybe they were waiting outside. "So? Where are we meeting? Too many ears here."
"We'll be heading to your Inn after nightfall." Kagura replied instantly as she and Millianna both stared at the dragon wings on Natsu's back. "Where will we find you?"
"If I'm not at the bar then ask whoever is there about my whereabouts. I'd be somewhere in the building."
"Can I make one request though…?" Millianna purred softly, she was unable to tear her eyes from the man's scarred muscular body or his draconic wings.
'Damn, what's with you and attracting catgirls…?' END burst out laughing inside Natsu's head as they both could see the lust brewing in the woman's eyes.
'Animal magnetism?' Natsu smiled as he landed in the booth and folded his wings behind him. "Sure, let's hear it."
"I get to soak in your warmth while we talk!" Begged Millianna as she clasped her hands in front of her chest and leant forwards, inadvertently making her breasts more pronounced.
"That sounds more like a demand than a request." The pinkette laughed as he gave her a head pat. "But sure, I'm fine with that."
Kagura shook her head and sighed through her nose at her friend's antics. 'Of course she'd want to cuddle up to him… Turns out he is a Fire Dragon Slayer…' She groaned quietly and stepped between Natsu and Millianna. "We'll meet you at your Inn. Don't stand us up."
"I've got no intention of doing that, you have my word." Natsu waved her off with a smile as he started to leave the booth. "See you all tonight."
As per usual, the Honey Bone Inn was abuzz with commotion as the members of Fairy Tail were in the midst of a rowdy party, dedicated to their progress in the games.
"Natshu! Natshu!" Natsumi shouted drunkenly as she stumbled away from the bar and over to a couch in the main lounge of the Inn. She tripped and fell onto the couch right on top of a relaxing Natsu, her drink held high with not a drop split in the fall. "Saved It!"
"Fuck~." Natsu coughed and hit his chest a few times as some of the Fire Whiskey he was drinking when down his airways. He looked down as Natsumi sat up on his lap and started to chug her beer. "Careful, nearly killed me."
"Aw come on~ Natshu~! If that could kill you then I'm sure you'd be dead a long time ago~."
"She's not wrong." Erza said with a smile as she nursed a strawberry daiquiri from the couch across the coffee table from the two slayers.
"So, that cave, how did it go?" Natsu asked curiously as his gaze wandered across the section of the lounge they were in. Sat around them were Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Juvia, and Gajeel, each nursing a different alcoholic beverage. "Anything interesting?"
"We're going to be leaving soon, once Salamander sobers up a little." Gajeel grumbled as he glared at the woman on Natsu's lap. "Burn the shit already and let's go!"
"But I wanted to spend time with Natshu~!"
"Tough tits, we need to go check out this cave." Gajeel growled at the pinkette. "And the sooner the better."
"Wendy." Natsu turned his attention to the blunette next to Erza with a kind smile. "What you'll find down there will fall under your expertise. But, all of you beware. Dangers lie ahead, keep a calm head and remain vigilant of your surroundings."
"Mmmnng Fine!" Complained Natsumi as she ignited the alcohol in her body. "It'll take a moment to fully take effect but let's go, I'll be sober when we get there." She rose up from Natsu's lap and turned to face him, leaning down as her hands softly cupped his jaw and she gave him a lustful kiss. "You better fuck me tonight after all this crap."
"Fine, fine." Natsu laughed as he gently pushed her back. "Hurry up and go check out the cave, let me know what's up."
"We should go with you, just to make sure nothing bad happens." Lucy said as she rose from her seat.
"No!" Wendy shouted forcefully as she glared at the blonde. "This doesn't concern you, Lucy. From what Gajeel has told Natsumi and I, and what Natsu has implied, it's a dragon graveyard. I'm not about to let you desecrate it!"
"Calm down, little one." Natsu chimed in quietly as he reached past a furious Natsumi and patted the little girl on her head. "I understand your sentiments, I shared them too, and in fact I still share them. But think of it as peace of mind, extra hands on deck if shit hits the fan."
"I'd rather have you join us, Natsu." Wendy calmed down at his touch, it was eerily quiet in the Inn due to the little girl's unexpected outburst. "You're one of us, you understand. And you'd be more capable."
"I'm sorry Wendy, but I have a meeting already set up, I can't go with you all." The man downed the last of his glass before standing and heading to the bar as the ruckus was revitalised. Natsu glanced over his shoulder and called out to the group. "Go without me, I look forward to seeing how it went!"
"Well, I suppose we'll be off then, we'll be back later." Natsumi said as she led the group of mages to the door. As the Princess was about to open it, the door swung open to reveal the two Mermaids, Kagura and Millianna.
"Oh, hello there." Kagura glanced at the group of mages before stepping to the side in the entrance hall with Millianna following. "Is Natsu in?"
Erza quickly hugged Millianna with a happy smile before turning to Kagura. "Yeah, he was at the bar a moment ago. If he isn't there then try upstairs."
"Thank you, good luck for tomorrow." Kagura bowed to the swordswoman and let the group pass out the door, as it swung shut the sound of the rowdy guild seemed to have gotten even louder. "So this is Fairy Tail?"
"MANLY PUNCH!"
The two Mermaids watched as Jet was sent flying across the room. But the second his feet touched the ground he had vanished. The man reappeared next to Elfman and was in the process of delivering an insanely fast spinning back kick to the mountain of a man. Unfortunately, Jet's kick didn't even cause the man to budge an inch.
A second punch sent Jet flying once more, he crashed into Laxus and caused him to spill his special homebrew Vodka, made from wheat and rye, all over the table that he, Bickslow, Freed, and Evergreen were sat at.
"God fucking damn it!" Laxus glared daggers into the speedster then shocked him and threw the poor man across the room.
And with that, chaos broke out all across the ground floor of the Inn. Bodies flew left, right and centre. Magic was occasionally tossed in, but was expertly targeted, though where the people they hit flew off to wasn't. Even the occasional bottle, tankard, or even barrel were seen rocketing across the sea of mages towards their unsuspecting target.
"About what I expected…" Millianna giggled as she watched the chaos. She glanced at her friend and noticed she had broken her stoic façade and her jaw was currently on the floor. "Welcome to Fairy Tail, Kagura, home of insanely powerful and insanely crazy and rowdy mages who make up one big family."
"Hey, who are you calling "insanely crazy", huh?" Spoke a calm, chuckling man as he walked through the flying bodies as if they weren't even there. The salmon coloured hair was a dead giveaway of who it was. Natsu grinned broadly as he effortlessly dodged punches and kicks, as well as people in general as he approached the two women. "I'll have you know, I'm only somewhat crazy!"
'Well you do talk to yourself!'
'Hey, enough of that, END.' Natsu grinned happily as he stopped in front of the Mermaids. "Welcome to Fairy Tail. As you can see, it's just another regular unscheduled fight. Makarov's in the corner over there." Natsu pointed to the end of the bar where the Guild Master sat balling his eyes out at the potential damages bill. "Probably running up a mental tally if you ask me. But, you're here for me, so let's find somewhere quiet."
"Where on earth would we find a place like that here…" Kagura murmured, wide-eyed as she gazed around at the insanity that was Fairy Tail. "Is this a normal thing for you all?"
"Yup, we do it to blow off steam and to see how we stack up against each other. Though mind you, no one really puts any effort into it, we don't want to completely destroy things." The pinkette turned on the spot and gestured for them to follow him back to the bar. "Stay close, I'll make sure no one collides with you, can't have you two injured during these games."
"During?" Millianna quoted curiously as her eyes darted around, she made sure to stick as close as possible to the man and was practically hugging his warm arm between her tits. "So outside these games?"
"It's free game." Natsu laughed and patted her on the head, he felt a purr rumble through her chest and into his arm. He turned his attention to the other side and noticed Kagura was close too but ready to counterattack anyone who came at them, willingly or not. "Back at our Guild Hall we don't get many guests like Blue Pegasus does, too dangerous for regular people. But when mages come and visit, our friends, we give them the full Fairy Tail Hospitality."
"That sounds like it includes a trip to the infirmary…" Kagura spoke coolly as she had finally regained her usual stoic façade, she kept her eyes trained on the flying bodies and debris.
"Sometimes." Natsu stopped at the bar and smiled at Mira who looked right at home, behind the bar with Armageddon raging around her. "A bottle of Fire Whiskey and three glasses, please."
"Are you paying, or shall I put it on the Guild's tab?" Mira asked curiously as she reached under the counter and took out three glasses.
"Come on, Mira… I think the old man has enough on the tab, what with the fight going on around us."
The white-haired model giggled as she reached up to a shelf behind the bar but couldn't quiet reach the bottle of Fire Whiskey. "Damn, a little hand here, please Natsu."
Natsu glanced up at the stretched out woman, smirking playfully as he let her struggle a little more before using his Macro to take the bottle down. "I take it that the staff have hidden in the kitchen?"
"Yeah, I asked them to go back there, for their own safety." Mira turned and scrunched up her face in an angry but very cute pout that made her nose wiggle slightly. "You're so mean~! I know you purposely waited a few moments."
"I don't know what you're talking about~." Natsu brushed the accusation off with a laugh as he fished out the money for the bottle plus some extra. "Here, give the change to the staff, an apology from myself on behalf of the guild and my thanks for putting up with us for so long."
Mira counted the money and placed the price of the bottle into the cash draw, it left her with a sizeable chunk of cash left in her hand but she didn't question it. "Enjoy your drinks, you three." She smiled at the trio as she turned and made her wait to the kitchen.
"Come, let's go upstairs now." Natsu said as he picked up the bottle and glasses and walked back into the chaos once again. As he reached halfway, he quickly shunted Millianna back off him which caused her to fall onto her ass.
Natsu pivoted on his left foot to gain more force as he delivered a devastating kick to a fit Droy's stomach. The plant mage practically folded in two as his eyes bulged in slow motion. Rings of air formed around Droy as the force of Natsu's kick had started to take effect.
The black-haired man quickly vanished from sight and was forced to carve a path through the carnage so that Natsu, Kagura, and Millianna could safely pass and reach the stairs.
"Alright, that should cut down on some of the annoyance." Natsu placed his foot back on the floor and glanced at the Mermaids. "Sorry for the rough shove, I had to react quickly and you were on my arm." The glasses and bottle floated out of Natsu's hands and he reached down to help Millianna to her feet.
A blush grew on the catgirl's face as her mind wandered to other kinds of roughness. "It's fine, thank you." Millianna dusted herself off and moved back to his side.
"Alright, let's hurry upstairs before someone gets thrown into us again." Natsu said as he quickly crossed the room with the Mermaids in tow, and rushed up the stairs.
"Where are we heading?" Kagura asked curiously.
"My room, since no one would dare eavesdrop on us there… Well… Mira may but that's Mira."
"What do you mean by that?" Millianna looked up at the scarred man as he opened the door to his room. "What is she like?"
"Mira loves gossip, and if she thinks there is something saucy to be found, then she'll be all over it." Natsu stepped inside and closed the door behind the two women. "Leave Archenemy by the door. You won't be needing it, I bear you no ill will." He gestured to the bed as he grabbed the chair from the desk by the window and placed it in front of the bed. "Take a seat on the edge of the bed, it's going to be more comfortable than this wooden chair."
"But I wanted your warmth~." Millianna complained comically as she pouted at the man, she didn't even give him a chance to respond as she quickly stole a spot on his lap when he sat down on the chair. "I'm sure this would be just as comfortable as the bed."
"Alright. Well, what is your first question?"
"We know that Jellal killed my brother. But I want to know what happened?" Kagura said calmly as she leant forward from her spot on the bed.
"The report from Erza Scarlet said that Simon Mikazuchi gave his life to stop an attack meant to kill Erza. I've talked to her myself on the matter lot long after the events to hear it from her very lips." Natsu turned slightly in the chair and draped his right arm over the back. "Etherion was fired upon the tower by the previous Magic Council, the one that Yajima was a part of. Siegrain, who turned out to just be a powerful Thought Projection of Jellal, had orchestrated it all."
After a short pause to let the information sink in, Natsu continued. "Once the superweapon fired on the tower, the tower transformed into one big and unstable Lacrima. Apparently, Simon woke up from being knocked out when this happened and saw that Jellal was about to launch Altairis at Erza. When this happened he selflessly leapt into action and took the hit for her, and suffering fatal wounds at the same time."
"How do you know all this?" Kagura asked as her rage at Jellal started to build. 'I will find that bastard and kill him!'
"It's my job. I talked to both Natsumi and Erza, and later Jellal himself once it was known that he had recovered his memories."
"Ok, so what happened next?" Kagura asked but her answer didn't come from Natsu, but from Millianna herself.
"I sensed a large burst of magic, it felt like Natsumi's. Erza told us later that she entered Dragon Force."
"That is mostly true." Natsu smiled and pet the catgirl's head softly. "Erza broke down as Simon, her friend, died in her arms. And Natsumi became enraged, she started to eat the overcharged Lacrima with the hope of gaining more power. Etherion is a mix of various offensive magics, taking them all in would have been like drinking poison for her. I've had to do something similar myself to get out of a sticky situation… It's not pleasant. That power you felt was an incomplete form of Dragon Force, her body wasn't ready for the full force of that mode so it only partially activated."
"So Simon died to protect Erza?" Kagura asked through gritted teeth.
"Yes, she blames herself for it to this day. But Jellal doesn't even hold full responsibility for his actions."
"WHAT?!" Both of the Mermaids shouted at the man, causing him to flinch a little at the loudness.
"Jellal had been brainwashed from a very young age by a member of Grimoire Heart. She was sent to the tower to oversee construction and ensure the revival of Zeref. That was her mission." Natsu said as he put Millianna on the bed as punishment for making his ears ring, she had struggled but it was fruitless when up against his strength. "This woman currently works alongside Jellal in their Independent Guild of former dark mages who seek atonement. They call themselves Crime Sorcière now, and their job is to root out darkness." He paused for a moment to check on how they are taking the information he was giving them. Natsu let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "But even this woman was brainwashed from a young age, she was taken from her mother and made to learn lost magics, while also being groomed for a position in the Dark Guild I mentioned before."
Both of the women dropped their gazes to the floor as the mulled over Natsu's words in silence. In their tunnelled vision they couldn't see the bigger picture, that there were puppets and puppet masters, pawns in a big game of chess. They were yanked from their thoughts as a pair of whiskey tumblers floated into few.
"I won't ever say to forget the past. But, you need to refocus your life. Living for revenge is a pointless waste of two extremely capable mages such as yourselves. So with that said…" Natsu raised his glass of Fire Whiskey with a kind smile. "To fallen friends and family, may they forever live on in our memory."
The two Mermaids raised their faces to look at the man, shock plastered on them but it soon faded away to relief and respect. "To fallen friends and family!"
The trio brought the glassed to their lips and down the spiced alcohol in a single go. Natsu smiled and refilled their glasses. "Hey, stay a while and have some drinks. I know we are technically enemies in the games, but we don't have to be like that outside of the arena. Let's shoot the breeze and enjoy ourselves."
"Alright! Party Time!" Millianna cheered with a giggle as she down the glass in a single go again.
"Sounds good to me." Kagura replied coolly, she felt as if a large weight had been taken off of her shoulders. "But I think we'll be regretting the morning."
"Let's worry about that latter, you buzz kill~." The catgirl giggled more and held her glass out for a refill. "Live a little!"
Sorry for the massive break everyone, I had my studies to take care off as well as a bunch of work. Now that I've got less on my plate I should be able to work on more chapters again. I know this one was a bit all over the place but I hope you all still like it. Please leave a review if you like, a few kind words go a long way for motivation and morale. Don't forget to follow and/or favourite if you haven't done so already. Not much else to say except have a Merry Christmas, Hanukah, or whatever holidays you are doing, hopefully the next chapter will be out before the new year but I'll be working on The Agency's next chapter after this one. I'll see you all next time!
