XXV

The ruins had been just as flimsy as they appeared. With a few well-placed attacks Natsu had successfully tilted the temple within ten minutes, officially making the Moon Drip ritual impossible.

Igneel had to admit he was impressed. Mainly impressed that Natsu hadn't gone overboard in his usual Natsu way and just demolished the entire temple... but still impressed.

Natsu admired his handiwork for a moment before the inevitable question of what to do next arose. The question was answered quickly by Natsu: 'find and beat up that creepy-weird cult dude'. Not eloquently put, but Igneel supported his decision.

Stopping the Moon Drip was of utmost concern. With that task officially completed, the task of capturing and questioning the cult was next. The S-Class quest was technically to destroy the moon, but more importantly, it was to keep the village safe. The cult needed to be removed.

It didn't take Natsu long to overhear faint voices coming from inside the temple, a few floors up, and without any hesitation he launched himself from the ground using his flames, bursting through floors, stone and rubble flying in all directions. He found the cult leader, Lyon, soon enough, and with an entrance such as the one he'd had, an immediate battle was imminent.

Natsu failed to even take notice of a smaller man with an odd tribal mask standing and talking with Lyon beforehand. Igneel however, took note. Something about the aura that guy gave off was… familiar… but also unsettling.

Natsu wasn't too interested in the man named Lyon, and their conversation while fighting was short, but Igneel got the gist of the situation. Lyon had a dream to defeat someone named Ur. The person named Ur had died, however, and so his dream would forever remain unfulfilled. However, Ur had been the one to defeat Deliora, encasing it in ice, and so by defeating Deliora himself, Lyon would find his closure.

Igneel hissed at the conclusion. Deliora hadn't been encased in just any ice. It was a Zeref Demon, after all. Iced Shell had clearly been put into play which meant that Ur, the caster, hadn't died. They'd simply become the ice encasing Deliora. Lyon however, either didn't know that Iced Shell had been cast, or did not know of the true effect of the spell. Either way, he was making a grave mistake by undoing the spell this Ur person had cast.

Before Natsu's fight could really get underway, there was a crash and a loud thud and a hand on Natsu's shoulder. Gray had tracked them down and was looking at Lyon with steeled eyes of determination. There'd been a definite change in him since Natsu had seen him last. Igneel still did not know Lyon and Gray's exact connection, but it was clear that a fight with Lyon meant something deeply personal to Gray. In which case, Natsu should back off and provide backup if needed.

Social obliviousness struck again, however, when Natsu bickered with his rival over who got to fight Lyon. Gray won the argument, however, when he purposefully stepped forward, throwing his arms out crossed in front of him and gathering so much magical energy towards himself that the air went frigid and thin. Igneel recognized it to be the position of casting Iced Shell. Gray was going to sacrifice his life to stop Lyon.

A hasty decision if there ever was one, in Igneel's opinion.

Lyon and Gray had thrown a few insults and words of hate toward one another once he'd arrived, and any of the meaning behind them most likely had gone over Natsu's head. After all, he knew not of their past, relation, or anything about Deliora or the Iced Shell spell. Igneel wasn't sure what to hope for with Natsu, either. Gray was about to sacrifice his life, but Natsu didn't know that yet. He was about to make a terrible and poorly thought-through mistake that would cost him everything. He needed to be stopped, to be jolted back to reality and convinced that there were other options, because there were most certainly other options.

Natsu looked back and forth from Lyon to Gray, feeling the energy Gray was conjuring prickling at his skin and becoming so thick it was slightly visible in the air. His thoughts were running wild, confused, and going in all directions. He still sort of wanted to fight Gray because he'd interrupted his battle… and he definitely still wanted to fight Lyon because he was the guy they were after in the first place. But it appeared Gray had something vested in this…

Igneel was impressed he'd recognized that much.

Natsu looked back and forth once again, his eyes focusing on a small snowflake which had materialized in front of him, thanks to the immense cold Gray was producing. He could tell this spell was strong… something special… something that Gray wouldn't use on just anything or in just any fight. And in the way it was swirling around him… and the way he was talking as if this was his last chance and last effort to stop Lyon…

Natsu put one and one and one together and a unique sort of panicked rage overtook him.

Without a single further thought he'd jolted forward, reeling back and punching Gray as hard as he could, directly in the face. The Iced Shell was successfully interrupted and Gray snarled at him to back off. Igneel guessed that by now, Natsu couldn't have even if he'd wanted to.

He hated Gray, he really did. Fire and ice didn't mix well and while yes, it did provide him with a healthy and strong rivalry, it didn't bode well for a friendship. That said, Natsu still cared deeply for him. Whether in an 'if you die that means I won't have my rival anymore' or in an 'we've fought for so long we're practically brothers' sort of way, Igneel didn't know, but the fact was that the prospect of Gray sacrificing himself was impossibly horrible to Natsu. And something he absolutely couldn't let happen.

Natsu yelled at him then, saying that he wouldn't gain anything by sacrificing himself. He was only running away from the actual problem if he even tried.

Igneel could see the shaken expression on Gray's face, Natsu's words penetrating his haze of emotional determination. However, before he had the chance to respond the ground shook beneath them. A bout of motion sickness flared in Natsu's stomach but he kept it under control. In a few short seconds his work of tilting the temple had been completely undone, and it sat still, even once again.

The short little man in the mask reappeared then and suddenly Natsu had a new target. He gave Gray a look, one that both conveyed the fact that they needed to split up to tackle the enemies at the same time, and also one of reprimanding trust. That he trusted Gray to make the right decision, which would not be giving his life to defeat an enemy that he could well take on his own.

Though the stakes were higher now, as the Moon Drip ritual could in theory be performed at any moment.

Natsu catapulted upward and after the little man. Igneel didn't miss the one quick glance over his shoulder back at Gray, however, or the knot in his son's stomach as he hoped that Gray wouldn't give in to his own weakness. And that he wouldn't turn up one friend short at the end of this mission.

Sometimes I don't think we give Natsu enough credit. Because he does sometimes put stuff together. After all, he didn't know anything about Gray's past, as Gray only explained it to Lucy and Erza. But still... he kinda dense. XD
Igneel sort of stepped back in this one. I feel like he's pretty vested in Gray's well-being, though.
Anyway, enough of my silly rambles. ;D Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I always love to hear what you thought! Oh, and I hope you enjoyed! :D

~Foxtail-chan