Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
"Gajeel," Natsu glanced back.
"You were in Crocus too?" Natsu asked.
"When you threw that flaming rock, I was unsure if you around, Salamander," Gajeel smirked.
"Is he your enemy, Natsu-nii?" Tyson grabbed the hilt of his sword.
"Your sword is useless on him. He'll eat it whole," Natsu told the boy.
Tyson was confused, but Natsu lit his fists aflame. "There they go again," Lucy sighed and backed away.
Natsu and Gajeel attacked eachother head on. Flame and metal met. Their fight continued before Igneel spat fire everywhere. Tyson prepared the flames to reach him, but the heat was beginning to die away. Natsu ate them up without hesitation."Salamander, this fight isn't over," Gajeel was covered in iron and black shadow-like stuff came out of him.
"This fight's going to get destructive, so you better brace yourself," Lucy warned Tyson.
They watched as Natsu was covered in flame from head to toe and lightning came flashing from him. The young boy was so confused. At this point of what had happened to both dragon slayers. "Natsu's using his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode. As for Gajeel, he's using Iron Shadow Dragon Mode. This is something that the first generation can get as close to Dragon Force as possible," Lucy explained.
"Exactly how powerful is Natsu-nii?" Tyson asked.
"Enough to destroy quite a few towns. Well, that was how powerful he was back then," Lucy sighed.
"Is it the same with Gajeel?" Tyson watched the two battle.
"I'm not sure about Gajeel alone, but with Natsu, I bet they could destroy Crocus, over four towns, and still have enough energy to fight eachother," Lucy gave a small, nervous laugh as Tyson sweatdropped.
The fight ended quickly. Natsu was kneeling and panting. "Not so great, Salamander. What have you been doing for the past ninety years?" Gajeel asked.
Natsu didn't answer. "It seems he's not at his greatest. He'll need some training like me," Lucy smiled.
"It seems that you'll need some training, Natsu," Igneel gave a small laugh.
Natsu seemed to get annoyed. "Natsu, you're not the only one that needs the training. Plus, you and Tyson could train together," Lucy called out to him.
Gajeel cracked a smile. "Oi, Gajeel, you may need it too. Plus, you still have another ten friends to find," Metalicana told him.
"If you go east of here, then you'll find a good spot to train. Come back in a week and maybe we may have found another of your friends," Grandine told them.
The four left the area, and began to travel east. The journey was silent until Tyson asked, "Gajeel, how did you and Natsu-nii meet?"
Gajeel gave a bit of thought before starting. "At one point of time, we were in separate guilds. We had fought then, but I had lost to Salamander. Though, I joined their guild and if I'm correct, then the last time we teamed up was the Grand Magic Games," Gajeel explained, giving Natsu a small glare.
"Don't tell me you're still mad about that," Natsu eyed him.
"Pushing me in a cart, sending it off, and knowing that I had motion sickness? Of course I'm still mad about that!" Gajeel growled.
"That was ninety years ago! How can you hold such a grudge for so long?" Natsu threw back.
"Can I ask; what is the Grand Magic Games?" Tyson was quite curious.
The three were surprised by the question. "Well, the Grand Magic Games was one way of getting your guild to be the strongest. It was mostly made for fights and your abilities. Of course our guild, Fairy Tail, was the strongest in the last Grand Magic Games. Though, that was the last time that..." Lucy trailed off and it went to utter silence.
"Please continue," Tyson urged.
Natsu took over, "The beginning of the end of the magic world was when the eclipse gate was opened and seven dragons were let out in Crocus, creating havoc. If it weren't for me and my connection with Atlas Flame, we would have all died there."
"Isn't that why Lucy said 'this brings back memories'?" Tyson questioned.
Lucy nodded. Gajeel continued, "After that, the nine demon gates struck. This was the second stage end. If it weren't for us, we would have lost magic from FACE. We had gotten to enjoy the magical world a bit more."
"I've read about that! It said in one book that the guild 'Fairy Tail', the strongest guild in Fiore, were the saviors for once. Of course, other guilds helped, but Fairy Tail mages were the true heroes," Tyson said happily.
"I have to ask, did any of the books have the specific heroes in it?" Gajeel asked.
Tyson thought and then finally said, "If I remember correctly, it was Natsu Dragneel."
"I hate to tell you, but that's incorrect," Natsu told him.
"Why?" Tyson asked him.
"Natsu usually was the hero, but in this case, he had many help him this time in the battle. The true heroes in the battle were Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel. They were the ones standing against E.N.D. until the very end," Lucy explained, but continued, "The final stage was the king and princess of Fiore were assassinated and the crown was given to the assassin. He then ordered the knights to cover every trace of magic and there shall no longer be in a country filled with magic. At the beginning of the assault, I escaped into the forest with Happy dying in my hands. His last words were 'I wish that this world was like it once was'."
Silence fell between them. Gajeel wore a sad expression. Natsu's bangs covered his eyes. Lucy seemed to be on the verge of crying. "Why so sad?" Tyson finally said.
"Tyson, at one point of time, we were all so happy. I wish that one hundred and four years ago, Igneel never left me in the first place. I could have lived with him peacefully in the forest," Natsu told him and Tyson's eyes
widened.
"I wish one hundred and four years ago that I continued to be with Metalicana and live peacefully also," Gajeel admitted.
"I wish that one hundred and four years ago that my mom never died and I continued to live with my mom and dad peacefully. That's what we mean by 'how it used to be'," Lucy told Tyson.
The two dragon slayers nodded in agreement. They weren't paying attention since Lucy bumped into someone. Lucy fell back, but Natsu caught her before she fell to the floor. "Natsu-san, Gajeel-san," A blonde-haired man said, quite surprised. Standing next to him was an equally shocked short black-haired man.
"Sting, Rogue," Natsu acknowledged the two as Lucy got back onto her feet.
"You know these two, Natsu-nii?" Tyson asked.
"Well, tell me. Would you happen to know the two from your studying?" Natsu asked him.
Tyson took moments of examination before said with shock, "This can't be the twin dragons of Sabertooth!"
Gajeel and Natsu gave a small laugh. "You two had fought them in the Grand Magic Games. It's said that the twin dragons looked up to you two," Tyson was now bewildered.
"Well, it seems that we're still in the history books," Sting smirked and then turned to the two dragon slayers and said, "How about a small battle to see who's still stronger?"
"I'm going to have to refuse. I haven't used magic in quite a bit," Natsu shook his head.
"He's already lost to me earlier," Gajeel explained and Natsu gave him a hard stare.
"Exactly how long is 'quite a bit'?" Sting questioned.
"About eighty years," Natsu told him.
Sting was unreadable. "No wonder you lost to me, Salamander!" Gajeel laughed.
"Watch, by the end of this week, you'll be on your hands and knees begging for mercy," Natsu threatened.
Lucy laughed. "I heard that people had seen dragons flying into the forest," Rogue spoke up.
"Yeah, it was Igneel, Grandine, and Metalicana. They had sent us east to train for a week," Natsu explained.