AN: Hey there guys! First off, thanks for all the reviews! You're awesome! We've reached 100! And the favs and follows are nearing 300, that just incredible. I'm very happy. So here is the new chapter, the longest I've written for this story so far! The old man, some of you are close. But he'll stay a mystery for just a little bit more. But next chap you'll see him!
I hope you'll like this chapter, as I wrote it with pleasure.
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Chapter 5: Family
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"Would you stop glaring at me, Erza?" Natsu said after a sigh. She hadn't stopped staring at him with a fierce look since the morning. To answer his question, she huffed and mumbled something under her breath, and even with his acute hearing, he was able to distinguish only a few words: "sleeping", "enemy", "use", "Seduction Armor". The last one caused him to sigh again. What had gotten into her? "Have they left already?" he asked, turning toward Macao that sat nearby, silently discussing with Lucy.
"Yes, Bacchus preferred to go home as quickly as possible. Their mission seemed quite important."
"Well, I'm sure Goldmine will tell me when I'll see him later." Natsu replied, and then taking his bottle of beer, raised it to his lips. Stopping an inch away, he sighed and put it back on the table, then with a flick of his wrist made it slide to Erza. "Take a sip; it'll calm you a bit." He said with a grin.
After another huff, she sipped a bit of the cold drink and a slight smile formed on her beautiful face. It wasn't quite bad if she had to tell the truth. With a bigger smile, she raised the bottle again.
"Where is Ultear-chan by the way?" Wakaba asked with a puff of smoke, after sitting to his left. Natsu sighed again, and not a second later the sound of broken glass attracted attention to the redheaded Requip mage. Her hand was tightened into a fist, bits of the broken bottle of beer littering the table. "Did I say something strange?" Wakaba continued, oblivious to the current atmosphere.
The pink haired Dragon Slayer could already feel the headache coming. Fortunately, the eagerness of a certain mage saved them from a really awkward conversation. For not even a second later, the young Master turned around and caught Laxus' lightning engulfed fist. The force of the hit was so powerful, that a little shockwave pushed back the mages around the now deadlocked pair.
"Impatient, aren't we?" Natsu said with a smirk.
"Yes, to weep the floor with you." Laxus replied with a feral smile of his own. That smile transformed into a grimace of pain, after Natsu stood up, still holding the Lightning Mage's hand, and with incredible speed delivered to him a sucker punch with his right knee. While the blond was still in levitation from the hit, the Fire Dragon Slayer caught his left shoulder, and after a quick spin, launched the surprised Laxus through the now opened giant doors of the Guild.
"Just because we have a mage that can repair damage doesn't mean that we have to wreak havoc everywhere." He said, calmly leaving the hall under the incredulous eyes of his friends.
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When everyone was outside to observe the confrontation, they saw that the Dreyar had been launched quite a distance from the building. He stood there with a frown on his face, but otherwise unharmed.
"Jet, would you kindly?" the young Master asked without losing his adversary from sight.
"There's no need to ask, Natsu." The orange haired speedster replied with a smile, before blurring away. Every second, he appeared and disappeared all around them, leaving seals on his wake. After only a dozen seconds, he was back in his starting position, work done.
"Was that the containment seals?" Lucy asked with wonder.
"Indeed." Jet answered with a smile. "I learned Requip magic to store all those seals so as to rapidly use them when in need. As you can see, it's quite handy."
"You-…you learned Requip?!" Lisanna asked surprised. That magic was so used by Erza, that seeing someone else with it felt strange.
"Well, we weren't just sitting around those past seven years, you know. The world is moving, and you either move with it or stray behind; and with someone like Natsu with us, there is no way to stray behind." Jet explained as he watched the said young man walk toward Laxus.
"I'll say it now: go all out on me, or you'll have no chance whatsoever."
"Don't try to bullshit me, Salamander! A few years haven't changed anything."
"Have it your way then." Natsu replied with a sigh. "Then come at me". He continued with a cheeky smile. Not waiting for it to be said twice, the Lightning Dragon Slayer took the form of his magic namesake and traveled the distance between them in the blink of an eye. After reforming, he launched a quick right hook, but Natsu easily side stepped his strike and with his right hand pushed Laxus away, the force being enough to separate them by a dozen yards.
"You're fast, but after training with the fastest man alive, to me your movements seem quite sluggish." The pink haired mage said with a smile. "You'll have to do better than that, brat."
With a cry of rage, Laxus disappeared again, this time going at the double of his original speed, but in the same manner, he was pushed away after missing his mark. Jumping again, this process was repeated a few more times before the Dreyar lost his composure and launched a Lightning Bolt toward his opponent. Natsu, for his part, outstretched his right hand and just as the attack was to strike him down; the lightning swerved to the side and wrapped itself around his arm, circling it like a snake. Then, pointing his index and middle finger toward the disbelieving Laxus, launched the attack back. After side stepping his own returned attack, the blond frowned.
"What's so surprising? After all, you were the one that gave me this power. Seven years were more than enough to learn to control Lightning." Natsu said with a grin.
"He learned to harness lightning?!" Gray exclaimed not believing his ears. With every new discovery, he started to understand that his rival was now in a completely different league…
"You better start to use your Dragon Slayer Magic, because I'm starting to fight back." Natsu continued taking on a fighting stance. An instant later, the enraged Laxus appeared to his left, bringing a quick kick to his face. But, the pink haired mage blocked the incoming hit with his left hand and with his right, delivered a powerful hook to the blond's face that sent him skidding back.
Without giving Laxus a second of respite, Natsu arrived on him and after countering all the incoming attacks, sent a kick of his own, causing his opponent to lose his breath. Then, swinging his right arm, he delivered an uppercut to the still dizzy Dreyar.
"Fire Dragon's: Roar!" Natsu exclaimed suddenly, and wave of fire of enormous proportions sped to the wobbling Lighting Mage. His eyes widening he raised his arms in protection and let his magic explode around him just a second before being engulfed in fire. As the dust settled, Laxus could be seen with his arms still raised in front of him, completely burned on the sides.
Then with a snarl he jumped forward crying: Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd! And as the giant spear shaped attack neared his unmoving opponent, Natsu leant his head back, and inhaled; the effect was instantaneous, as the spear broke apart and the lightning dissipated in the air. Then bringing his fists together, he roared: Lightning Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame!, and fired the attack at the still hovering Laxus. The said man morphed into his lightning form in the hopes of escaping, but he wasn't fast enough. As the technique slammed into him like a flying Dragon, he let escape a cry of pain, before being completely engulfed in the fire.
Before the dust was settled, a bruised Laxus jumped from it in a surprise attack, his fist illuminated in lightning, but the pink haired Master caught it with ease, a small grin appearing on his face.
"You're strong Laxus; you'll most likely kick Jura's ass, and maybe a few others'. But now, the gap between us is just too great, and I'll show it to you." Natsu said, his tone taking on a deadly tint. His hold on Laxus' fist tightened to unbearable heights and the blond crumbled to his knees despite himself. Then, like a switch being turned, unimaginable quantities of magic literally exploded from the Fire Dragon Slayer, creating a large crater under him from the sheer pressure. Surprising everyone around them, another spike of power escaped from Natsu and the crater under him widened to twice its former size and the pressure got so overwhelming that the spectators started to fall all to their knees, sweat rolling down their frozen in horror faces. After only a dozen of seconds, Natsu was the only one still standing as the deadly aura leaked from him in waves. His eyes were no longer visible, replaced by white sclera; his muscles started to bulge from the power cursing through them; and slowly, scales started to from on his skin.
All of his friends were mutedly staring at him, too overwhelmed by his show of power. But one of them wasn't shocked nor impressed by his power, no, she was trembling in fear. Fear, because such a thing shouldn't be possible. The thing she felt from Natsu wasn't supposed to exist…
Suddenly, the pink haired young man closed his eyes, and like another switch, the pressure was lifted from them, letting them breathe again. Slowly, on wobbly legs, they all stood up, still under the shock of this display. But Mirajane was still trembling. And no one had seen her lapse, no one, bar one. A gentle hand was put on her shoulder, making her jump in fright, before turning around.
"Come with me, Mira. It seems, he was right, after all…" Macao said with a serious face, as he silently led her away, overlooked by the still dazed guild mates.
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The guild was silent. All of them were seated in the hall, but no one was courageous enough to break the silence. That is, until a certain blue flying cat decided that it was enough. "Natsu, I'm hungry!" and just like that, the heavy atmosphere disappeared. The said pink haired young man walked to the bar and after rummaging for a bit, launched his childhood friend a fish. Happy caught it with ease and started to shew on it, humming a merry song.
"I think we should postpone any other spars for now." Natsu said, turning toward Gray and Gajeel.
"Oh! Hey, well, don't worry about that. Haha. There is always a time to fight later." Gray replied with an awkward smile, to which the young Master nodded.
"You sure have grown stronger, Salamander." Gajeel continued with a frown. "I feel quite weak in comparison now."
"Oh, don't worry, you'll get used to it!" Wakaba exclaimed with a snort of laugher. "Natsu is on a completely different league than us."
"I sure as hell won't let it stay like this!" the bandaged Laxus exclaimed suddenly, with fire in his eyes. "And if you take it lying down like this, you're weaker than I gave you credit for!" he continued, turning toward the Iron Dragon Slayer.
"Who are you calling weak?!" Gajeel replied, jumping to his feet.
"That's more like it." Natsu said with a smile. "Train hard and we'll have a rematch."
"Hey Flame Brain, I wanted to ask, where are Warren and Reedus? I haven't seen them since we returned." Gray asked out of the blue, a frown appearing on his face.
"Warren…is on a mission, but he'll be back soon." Natsu replied. "As for Reedus…" he stood up and walked toward a door that none of them had paid attention to until now. He opened it and walked inside, without uttering a word. Perplexed by his actions, his friends followed him through the door only to freeze in shock.
There in a small garden, a few gravestones could be seen, and on one of them was written: Reedus Jonah, X757 - X785, A great friend and mage, lived until his last breath, protecting his family.
"No…" Lucy whispered, tears falling from her eyes. "How…why…?"
The rest of them weren't faring better, as they cried silently for their great fallen friend.
"Sometimes, Life likes to remind us that we live in a merciless world." Natsu whispered his hands tightened into fists. "A lesson that we learned…" he finished, before turning around and leaving.
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'It's time that you show yourself, Warren.'
'I just couldn't bear seeing all their happy faces, filled with joy. A bunch of naïve children that haven't seen the harsh reality of the world.'
'And I have the intention to leave it that way. A group of monsters is already enough…'
'Taking the brunt for the others, you haven't changed in the slightest, Natsu.'
'And I hope that I'll stay that way.'
'We all hope for it, Natsu, we all do…'
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With a sight, the pink haired young man finished his telepathic conversation with his friend and walked to the bar, where Happy had already finished his third fish. Giving his buddy a smile, he took a bottle of alcohol and gulped a bit before sitting down.
A few minutes later, when his friends had returned in the hall, he stood up, his previous sadness completely erased. "Let's go Gramps. We have an appointment with the Council. And I want to be done with it as quickly as possible." Makarov nodded and approached the young Master to the doors. But before they could leave, they were opened and a figure walked inside.
"Oh! Ul-chan! You're back." Natsu said with a smile. And for the first time, his friends observed her in details. She was quite tall, with her long dark hair combed back, maintained by a white headband. A tightfitting black bodysuit accentuated her voluptuous curves; her arms were covered by elbow long black gloves; in the same way, tight high black boots covered her long legs. The ensemble was protected by a blue cloak, with the Fairy Tail mark in the back. But what attracted attention the most, was the lace choker around her neck, encrusted by numerous gems, twinkling from the slightest of movements.
"Beautiful…" Lucy whispered. The woman before them was gorgeous in every right; it was only logical that she had garnered Natsu's attention. And suddenly she felt self-conscious.
"Have you found him?" the pink haired young man asked, the smile still adorning his face.
"Yes. He'll come." Ultear replied with her own smile.
"Good; very good. Now, gramps, it's time for us to go." He said and started to walk away. Stopping beside the Time Mage, he took her hand in his and gave it a slight squeeze. "Don't worry, Ultear. I'll be back in no time." He whispered and leaning toward her he gave her a peck on the cheek, before leaving the Guild, followed by Makarov.
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Slowly, she approached the bar and took the glass from Laki's outstretched hand. With a nod of thanks, she sat down with the rest of her guild mates, before taking a sip of her drink. "Good morning." She said with a calm voice, sweeping her gaze around her. After her greeting was returned, another silence took place. Taking another sip, she spoke up: "I hope that our past differences won't hinder our relationship."
"Who I am to judge, when I'm coming from the same situation?" Gajeel replied with a smirk. That remark broke the heavy atmosphere and all of them smiled. "You're strong, have a unique and useful magic, and most of all, you tamed Salamander! What else there's to ask for?"
"Well, I'm not sure about who tamed who, but thank you." Ultear said with a warm smile.
"Your choker is very beautiful." Lucy admired with a shy smile.
"Ah, indeed, it's a present from Natsu." The Time Mage replied, unconsciously running her fingers along it.
"It must have cost a fortune." Lucy continued with sparkling eyes. "Can I…?"
"Of course." Ultear said with a smile, before undoing the chocker and handing it to the blonde. But the Celestial Mage was frozen in shock, starring at her neck with an open mouth. There was a large scar around her throat, slightly resembling…fingers?
"What…? What happened?" Lucy asked with horror. "I don't remember it being there seven years ago."
"Oh, yes. It's a mark left by Natsu after he nearly killed me." She explained calmly with an innocent smile.
"What?!" the until now silent Erza cried out in surprise. "He…he nearly killed you?!"
"Well, we didn't get along very well at first, if I say so myself." The Time Mage continued. "Just after the incident on Tenrou, Natsu was quite…volatile."
"Then how did you two…well…you know." Erza asked, a slight blush coming to her face.
"He wanted to help Meredy and I. But every time he looked at me, I remained him of his loss. So our relationship was…shaky at best. At the time, I was still from a Dark Guild and the Council wanted my head. They never were able to take it, but not for a lack of trying, no. Because despite everything, I was under Fairy Tail's protection, and Fairy Tail never abandons its members. Natsu crushed every battalion of Rune Knights that they sent after me; and after many unsuccessful attempts they finally relented. I think that having the same enemy, maybe for different reasons but still, brought us closer. I finally found a place to call Home, and he found a new friend to rely on."
"That's so…Natsu." Lucy whispered with glimpses of tears in her eyes.
"And how long are you…um…together?" Gray asked.
"Four years."
"Well, that's quite a number."
"Indeed." Ultear agreed, putting back the choker around her neck.
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"Hello everyone. Welcome back." A male monotonous voice suddenly said out of nowhere. Everyone turned around to see a man standing at the door, completely dressed in black, his face hidden by the shadow of his hood. "Hi, Ultear." He continued.
"Warren." The said woman replied, with a nod, causing cries of surprise from the others. Surprising them even more, Warren only nodded again, before walking away.
"What the…?! Why didn't he come to talk to us?" Gray asked with a frown.
"The hell happened with the guy?" Gajeel continued.
Macao sighed before massaging his temples. He was too old for all of this! "Like I said before, many things happened in your absence. Good and bad. More bad than good, to say the truth." He said with another sigh. "During that accident where the King's Palace was attacked, all of us were fighting on different fronts. As you can imagine, we fought the members of the Dark Guild, while Natsu took on the giant Demon. Despite all his efforts, the beast refused to submit. It was too strong. I, along with Ultear and Jet fought their Master. The guy was a monster in his own right and I don't know how we didn't hear about him before. At the same time, Warren with a few others was doing everything to evacuate the civilians. With his Telepathic Magic, he contacted everyone his could in 3 miles radius, telling them to flee. And in that particular moment, the Demon used one of his attacks and vaporized an entire block, along with every person with it. Warren was still connected to them while they died. He felt…he felt them die, hundreds, thousands of them. And he died with them, all those times." Macao explained with a pained face.
"Oh my god…!" Lisanna whispered, openly crying. A sentiment shared by her friends, as they sat there, utterly shocked beyond words.
"Enraged for not being able to stop it in time, Natsu entered a berserker state. Flying from the ashes of the wreckage left by the Demon, he took on a strange bird-like form and slayed the Demon with his white flames. The desperate people that were present at the time saw him like a Phoenix rising from its aches to unleash holy judgment on their aggressor. But once the deed was done, he crumbled to the ground, the strain being too much for him to bear." Macao continued. "What we didn't know was that, the Dark Guild had summoned two Demons and the second one stumbled upon the fallen Natsu. Despite his near catatonic state, Warren felt the dark presence and tried to inform us. Reedus was the only one that heard the call, and without thinking about himself, he rushed to Natsu's aid. They fought it, but it was too strong for them. In the end, Reedus pushed Natsu from an attack and took a killing blow. With his dying breath, he drew a secret Seal and trapped the Demon inside. When we arrived, it was already too late…" Macao finished with difficulty.
"As you saw in the garden, Reedus wasn't the only loss that day. Numerous Fairy Tail mages perished in that fight." Wakaba supplied, with a puff of his cigarette.
"You talk too much, Macao. And you forgot to tell that the seal was stolen a few years ago." Warren said in his monotonous voice. "Natsu is back." He continued, before sitting at the bar.
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As Natsu and Makarov entered the guildhall, they immediately felt the heavy atmosphere. With a long sigh he closed the doors and turned toward his friends. "Welcome the Old New Master." He said pointing toward the old Dreyar.
"What? You stepped down?" Gray asked suddenly.
"Well, like I said before, I was the Master only until gramps returned. Now that he's here, the job is his." Natsu replied with a smile. "Of course, I still have some privileges." He continued with a dangerous smirk. "Anyway, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Jet, Meredy and Ultear, you're coming with me, I have a mission." He finished.
"A mission?" Lucy asked her eyes widening. The first mission since their return!
"Those that I didn't call, don't worry, your time will come very soon. The rest come with me, I'll explain en route." The pink haired young man said before leaving the guild, closely followed by the others.
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"So, you're telling us that there is a sighing of strange monsters near a small village, and we have to get rid of them? That's all?" Gray asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, actually, this mission will be a perfect occasion for you to get used to our new working pattern." Natsu explained with a smile, as he swerved to the right with the Car. After a few more minutes, they stopped near a small village in the middle of a sandy plain.
"Gray, Lucy you'll go with Jet, go west. Erza, you're with Ultear, you take north. Meredy is with me and we'll head east. Slay everything that's suspicious. Let's meet here in three hours. If something happens, Meredy will inform me. Now, good luck." He said as they started in their chosen direction. But before Erza could walk away, Natsu caught her by the hand and tugged her back. "Listen to her Erza." He whispered, before leaving with Meredy.
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Slashing the insect like monster with her sword she jumped backward only to see a wave of Ice freeze a dozen of them in place. Turning around, Erza slayed three others while Ultear reduced a few into ashes with her Time Magic. Those monsters weren't particularly difficult to kill, but it was still a good exercise of teamwork. When the last of them fell to the ground from her sword, she heard a clap of hands behind them. Instantly on guard, the two of them turned around only to see a man sitting on a branch of a three, with a smirk on his face.
"Who are you?" Erza asked, summoning another sword.
"Oh, you must be the Titania that I heard so much of, Erza Scarlet."
"I'll give you another chance, before my sword pierces you." The Requip Mage replied with a scowl.
"He feels strange, Erza. Stay put."
"Yes, yes. Stay put, little Fairy. Listen to your friend." The man mocked with a laugh. Just as he leaned his head backward to laugh even more, Erza was on him, the tip of her sword ready to pierce him through. But just before the deed could be done, the man evaded the strike, and as if in slow motion, brought his left hand, gripping a wicked dagger, to her face. Preparing herself for the pain, Erza was surprised when a green sphere deflected the blade, before Ultear, arriving from the side, delivered a powerful kick to the man's face, sending him away from them.
"I told you to stay put, didn't I?" the Time Mage asked gritting her teeth. "He feels very strange, and familiar, I can't put a hand on it."
"I would have been fine. It won't happen again." Erza replied, before magic engulfed her and the Black Wing Armor appeared around her. Then, jumping forward she flew toward the man, swinging her blade. Again, the man evaded the strike, but this time decided to jump to the side, where a giant ice rose bloomed from the ground, hitting him on the side. The scarlet haired woman was upon him in second, but her swing was only able to slice his cloak. Discarding the cloth, he raised his hand and a small sphere started to form in front of his palm, as his eyes took on a red quality.
Suddenly Ultear remembered where she had seen him and her eyes widened as she started to run toward the Requip Mage.
"Run Erza! Don't try to resist! You can't stop it!" but she refused to listen, raising her sword as her Adamantine armor took place. The man fired his attack and a laser like beam travelled the distance between him and his enemy in the blink of an eye. As if in slow motion, Ultear saw the glee in the monster's eyes as the deadly beam approached her guild mate. Sweeping her left hand, she willed her Arc of Time to help her, and just for a nanosecond, time stopped still, but it was all she needed to jump and tackle Erza.
When the said redhead understood her position on the ground, covered by Ultear, she pushed the Time Mage from her and wanted to ask what was all that about, when her heart missed a beat. Ultear lay there with wide eyes, a fist sized hole piercing her chest…
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With another sweep of his arm, the pink haired Dragon Slayer incinerated another of the strange bug like beasts. Surprisingly enough they had stumbled upon a good hundred of them; but their little resistance as well as fragile bodies posed no problems whatsoever for the pink haired duo. Raising both of his hands, he summoned a wall of fire and burned the rest of them to a crisp. With a snort he turned toward his daughter-like figure and gave a thumb up.
"Natsu!" she cried out suddenly, her eyes widening.
"What is it?!"
"Ultear!" she replied, her hands starting to tremble. Dragneel's eyes narrowed as he approached her.
"Where?" he asked, and she showed him with a touch. His eyes widening he took a few steps back, and turned away. Not a moment later, white fire exploded around his body and long wings made from fire shot from his back. After crouching a bit he suddenly propelled himself high in the air, and when his inertia was no longer carrying him, his wings started to beat behind him, taking him forward at incredible speeds, leaving a fire trail behind.
Only a few second later he arrived to the scene, crashing a few yards beside the lying women. His eyes widening even more, and his heart beating even faster, he approached the still form of Ultear, lying in Erza's arms.
"Ultear…" he whispered, as tears started to form in his eyes.
"N..Na-…-tsu…" she choked out, blood leaking from her mouth.
His eyes still wide he stood up, turning toward the smiling man.
"You…"
"Yes, me. I'm happy to see you again, little Dragon. Our last fight was postponed by a friend of yours. Now, we're free to exchange blows. But before that, tell me, how does it feel to know that you still can't protect your friends despite all your training? How many times did we fight? Well, I'll say many; but every time you were too weak to win. And look, now another fell by my hand."
"She's not dead yet." Natsu replied with a growl.
"Oh, well, to me she seems like a corpse."
Suddenly Natsu cried out in rage and colossal quantities of magic began to leak from him, crushing the ground around him by the cheer pressure. Raging fire started to swirl around him, with bolts of lightning slamming here and there. Scales started to appear on his skin and the pressure quadrupled in intensity, pushing Erza to the ground.
Crouching low, he jumped forward, leaving a crater behind him as he flew toward the man at breakneck speed. Bringing his fist back, he swung it toward its face, now engulfed in deadly white flames. Upon contact, the man was sent flying, his skins melting away.
Standing up, he brought his hand to his now disfigured face and tore the skin away, revealing his true form, that of a Demon. "Not a bad punch, little Dragon; but I'm sure you can do better." He said before raising his hand and launching another of his laser like beams.
Rapidly dodging to the side, Natsu propelled again toward his opponent, flame wings growing from his back, but the Demon was ready; already preparing another beam. Just as the pink haired Dragon Slayer approached him, he exploded into flames and vanished from sight, only to reappear behind the Demon, delivering a skull crushing blow to his head. As the man flew from the hit, Natsu reappeared in his way to bring another strike, swinging his flame engulfed hand through the Demon's arm, severing it from the body. Before he had time to scream from pain, a kick sent him away. But again, the Dragon Slayer reappeared in his way, only to catch him by his face.
The look that Natsu adorned was demented, and very alien on his usually smiling face. His hands were crushing the Demons skull, and what wasn't crushed was slowly burned to crisps by his hot fire. Producing another cry of rage, the pink haired mage exploded in flames, his victim exploding along with him. And as the fire slowly settled around him, Natsu stood alone, only aches at his feet.
"Natsu!" Meredy cried out suddenly appearing beside the lying Ultear, with Jet holding her by the hand. "Natsu!" she continued as tears escaped from her eyes.
Like a switch, the raging magic dissolved in the air as he looked back to his daughter. Not paying attention to the others, Natsu rapidly approached the dying woman and took a hold of her hand. "Ultear." He whispered again.
"Na…-tsu…" she replied again, raising her shaking hand to his cheek. "I…lo-..ve..y-..ou…"
"I'm sorry Natsu. All…all is my fault! I…I refused to listen to her! She told me but…but I refused. And now…"
"Quiet." Natsu interrupted her, his voice taking on a deadly tone. "Meredy, connect us."
"But Natsu…"
"Do it!" he ordered with force. She nodded with teary eyes and waved her hand around her parents. Suddenly, the Maguilty Sense appeared on their hands, and not a second later, Natsu doubled in pain. Blood started to leak from his nose and mouth, as he gritted his teeth. Then, he closed his eyes and uttered: "Arc of Time."
"What…is he doing?" Lucy asked silently between sobs.
"By completely linking with her being, he can use her magic, but at the same time, he feels everything she feels…" Jet explained with a pained expression.
"What you don't know, is that Ul's magic is peculiar. She can accelerate or revert the time of objects. But when it's a person, things are different. With a simple injury, she can accelerate the body and it will repair the damage that would have taken months, in seconds. But when the injury is mortal, by accelerating you'll only kill the person. So the only solution is to rewind the time backward. But to erase the future of someone, you have to pay, with your own time." Meredy explained, still crying, but at least now, knowing that all would be alright.
They silently watched as Natsu, engulfed by a magical aura, worked on Ultear. Slowly, but surely, the organs started to mend together, closing the gaping hole. At the same time, a patch of Natsu's hair on the side of his head began to lose its color. Finally, after agonizingly long minutes, Ultear was healed and safe from harm; and Natsu now portrayed a patch of white hair.
Sighing, he wiped the blood on his face and scoped Ultear in his arms. After a moment, she regained consciousness and upon seeing him, a smile formed on her face. "Natsu… Selfless idiot." She whispered, caressing his cheek with one hand.
"A few years of my life is but a small price to pay, Ultear."
"Just don't make a habit of it." She continued with a small laugh.
"As long as you're beside me." He replied with an exhausted smile.
"I love you, Natsu Dragneel." She whispered.
"As I love you, Ultear Milkovich." He whispered back, before leaning toward her and giving her a kiss. She returned the kiss with fervor, tightly wrapping her hands around his neck.
When they were finally seated in the Car, Erza bowed to the Time Mage and said: "Please forgive my foolishness. Because of my actions, you nearly lost your life. Please, give me any punishment you deem necessary, I'll take it without complaints."
"There is no need for any of that, Erza. I did what I did with a light heart, knowing that I was saving a member of my family." Ultear replied with a smile. "I'm sure you would have done the same." She finished. Erza could only nod in mute astonishment.
After a signal from the fire Dragon Slayer, they all seated themselves in the Car and began the long way home, to Fairy Tail. All along, Ultear stared at Natsu's back, with a loving smile on her face, holding the crying Meredy in her arms.
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AN: I hope you liked the backstories I made for a few of the characters. Tell me what you thought about this chapter. See you soon
Zegeth.