. Oculto .
They walked after that. Natsu walked with his head close to Lucy's, worried about her, and Lily flew above them all, seeing what was ahead. Gajeel kept close to Eberos, watching him with fiercely angry eyes, and Levy fell into step beneath Metalicana of all places, taking advantage of the shade that his massive body offered. He didn't seem to mind, glowing eyes simply full of amusement.
Levy was fond of the dragon. She wished that they didn't have to leave him at some point, possibly to never see him again. She wanted to make it so that they could see him whenever they wanted, but…
Something told her that just wasn't meant to be.
His massive lumbering steps that shook the ground each time he moved comforted her, and the petite mage hummed to herself for a while. She kicked sand, did anything to pass the time as they walked.
After a short while, she was relieved to find Gajeel stalking over to join her, Natsu having decided to take a turn in watching over Eberos. He ducked into the shade with a brief look of happiness that disappeared almost immediately. "Oi, shorty," he grunted, falling into step beside her. "Doing okay?"
"Yes," Levy confirmed. "Thank you for your concern, Gajeel." She flashed him a slight smile, pushing her messy hair out of her face. She was quiet for a few moments, the only sound in their ears that of Metalicana's heavy huffing breath that showed his annoyance with how long it was taking them to get to where he'd been attacked.
Suddenly, she spoke again. "I can't believe I'm a mage of Fairy Tail" Her lips trembled at the words she spoke, her voice shaking. But she believed what she was saying wholeheartedly when she admitted, "I shouldn't have been nominated for S-Class so long ago...I can't even take a simple job on my own." She shook her head in irritation.
He shot her a look that was nearly as deadly as the looks he'd sent Eberos. "You talkin' bad about yourself again, woman?"
Levy shrugged. "It's the truth," she muttered. She took a deep breath. "I'm not talking down about myself, Gajeel, I'm admitting my faults. There's a difference, you know? It's one thing to call myself weak. It's another to admit that while I'm not entirely weak, I can't take jobs alone."
He contemplated this for a second, and then shook his head, dark hair - already messy from the earlier adventure - nearly smacking her in the face. "Crazy woman," was all he said, ruffling her blue locks. She beamed up at him, searching his crimson gaze for a moment and smiling widely at the gentleness that only she saw in the fierce iron mage. "If ya need the money, I'll take ya on a job when we get back."
"I might just have to take you up on that," was her response before she finally looked away, instead glaring when she caught sight of a glowing red eye watching them. "Mind your own business, Metalicana!"
Metalicana snickered, simply lifting his head again and saying with a smug tone, "We're here."
The smiles faded from all faces. Gajeel and Levy broke into a jog to stand beneath Metalicana's chest rather than his stomach, studying the sandy area before them. Lily soared down to rest himself in Levy's arms, and she narrowed her gaze as she studied the mountain that seemed to jut out of the earth. It was large, towering above even Metalicana, and she realized that they hadn't even seen it until they were right in front of it.
"Magic?" she contemplated, narrowing her eyes as she looked up. "Maybe some kind of ward, or a rune like Freed's?"
"Possibly," Lucy agreed, her dark eyes searching the mountainside.
"What do you do here?" Levy asked the iron dragon, calling the question up to him, but he'd suddenly begun to lumber forward. He lowered his head to nose around, sniffing intently for a few minutes before he suddenly lunged forward, tongue lolling out of the side of his large metallic head. He buried his head into the rocks that littered the sandy earth, grumbling and tail twitching this way and that.
Suddenly, he pulled back. A large lizard was held in his jaws and the Fairy Tail mages stared at the size of it in surprise as he began to tilt his head back, devouring it with ease. Eberos didn't seem impressed.
"Couldn't have been one of those," the dragon slayer drawled lazily. He narrowed his eyes at the iron dragon. "If you can eat them, they can't kill you."
Gajeel grunted in disapproval at his words and exchanged a silent grin with Natsu, surprisingly pleasant towards the fire mage for once. Levy guessed it was the common hatred between them that was directed at the newfound enemy. "Say that to the dragons we defeated back in Crocus," Natsu snickered. "We kicked their asses and they could have eaten us in one bite."
"Less than a bite," Metalicana muttered, and then continued forward. "It is where I come for my iron." He indicated a massive hole in the side of the mountain that was a frightening pitch black. Natsu, not one to be scared of the dark, eagerly made his way over to it, dragging a protesting Lucy along as he lit his arm on fire.
"Natsu!" she hissed, and feeling bad, Levy released Lily and jogged after her blonde friend. Gajeel trailed after them with a roll of his eyes.
When they reached the entrance, Natsu swished some fire in his mouth and then spat it so that it went soaring into the cavern. The four watched curiously as it streaked through, blinding them with the amount of metal, gems, and more that reflected the light.
And then it struck something that shifted upon being attacked, a grumbling sound leaving them.
Levy immediately grabbed Lucy's hand, eyes flying wide as Natsu prepared to do it again, even as the blonde pleaded for him to not. Ignoring her, he spat another fireball.
This time, they were greeted by a roar, amplified by the narrow cavern. Levy dropped Lucy's hand to slam her hands over ears, cringing in pain, and Natsu dropped with a shout of surprise, his sensitive ears catching it even more than theirs did.
Gajeel was the only one who instinctively readied himself for a fight, even as Metalicana's head snapped around. The iron dragon's red eyes filled with rage at the realization that something else was in his territory, and he immediately stormed over as quickly as he could, retaliating with a roar.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Salamander?!" Gajeel bellowed as Metalicana's roar echoed around them. "Why would you try to piss it off?"
"I don't know," he snapped back, "Because I can?"
"You're an idiot," Lucy wailed.
"We should move," Levy decided, and then turned and sprinted over to where Lily was hovering near Eberos, watching over him for the rest of them. His ears were flat against his head, not looking excited by the loud sounds that were thrown by the dragon and whatever else was in the hole.
Eberos' sparkling ruby eyes were full of delight. "That's another dragon."
"And how the fuck do you know that?" Gajeel bit out, grabbing Levy by the back of her shirt and depositing her beside him. She shot him a look, but he didn't seem to notice, glaring at Eberos and resting his elbow on her head. She gave up and let him, eyes darting between Eberos and the dragon that was snarling into his iron deposit.
A second later, fire exploded out of the cavern, licking at Metaliana, who bellowed furiously.
"...oh, my god," Lucy breathed, her face suddenly filling with excitement She shook free of Natsu's tight grip and bolted back towards the cave. Natsu shouted her name, demanding she come back with fear for her wellbeing in his voice. But she ignored him, and scampered between Metalicana's legs, shouting at him to stop being so mean.
The iron dragon looked shocked that he'd been told to shut up.
Lucy stood at the entrance, flushed from the heat that came from within combined with the heat outside and then called into it, "Igneel?"
Silence met her answer. Natsu tensed in shock at the name, a strange expression crossing his face, shock, excitement, and just a little bit of anger flickering there before settling on worry for Lucy.
Metalicana lowered his head so that his eye was level with the blonde, staring harshly at her and then into his cavern. The plates on his back clinked as they rose and fell in his anger. Suddenly, Lucy jogged further into the cave, disappearing into the darkness, and that was enough for Natsu to throw himself after her, shouting for her to get her ass back to safety. Metalicana blocked him from entering, clicking his jaws warningly.
"Lucy!" Natsu shouted. "Get back here!"
Her voice was faint as she called back, "I'm fine!"
"No you're not, get out here!"
Levy licked her lips and exchanged a look with the iron dragon slayer beside her. He gave her a look that promised violence should she try to follow her friend into the cave.
A growl echoed from the cave suddenly, a snapping of jaws, and then Lucy's voice snapping right back, "Oh, shut up. You're Igneel, aren't you? Natsu's father? Come on, answer me!"
"She's just determined to die," Gajeel said, rolling his eyes in exasperation.
"Lucy!" Natsu tried again. "C'mon! Please!" He looked anxious, wanting his partner back beside him. His nose wrinkled, and Levy finally just yanked away to join him beside Metalicana. Gajeel made a sound of frustration and followed, leaving Lily alone with Eberos again.
Levy glanced to Natsu, whose face was twisted with horror. "What's wrong?" she demanded, "Why do you look like that? Is she okay?"
"Place reeks of blood now," Gajeel told her, wrinkling his own nose in disgust. "It ain't blondie's, though."
The fear that had filled her disappeared. She watched the darkness as flames suddenly lit up, and Lucy swore before jogging back out, a mass of flaming fury hot on her heels. She sprinted past them with a cried, "It worked!" and fled to hide behind Metalicana as he began to shift backwards, rearing his head back with jaws parted, ready to defend the mages. Natsu didn't move, even as the rest of them did, instead standing at the entrance without an ounce of fear.
The dragon suddenly rose from the cavern, flames swirling around its scales, and it parted its jaws to bellow out a roar that was deeper and more guttural than Metalicana's. Red scales glinted in the sun, and sharp eyes suddenly snapped down to the delighted pink-haired man.
"Igneel!" he shouted, overjoyed.
Igneel actually seemed to pause for a second, taking in the sight of a beaming Natsu. And then his rageful gaze turned on Metalicana, who had lost interest in defending his territory upon confirming that what Lucy had claimed was true.
The iron dragon yawned, tongue falling out to rest in an almost silly expression at the side of his mouth as he mused, "You're the one in my territory."
Igneel growled wordlessly before snapping furiously, "They were not supposed to be able to find you, Metalicana."
He didn't seem too concerned. "Was either I stay in hiding or my brat's little girly died. Wasn't about to let that happen. I like her."
Levy felt a flash of happiness snap through her and Gajeel snickered, looking a little proud of himself as he studied the fire dragon. Igneel rumbled another growl, annoyed, and then finally drew himself out of the cave entirely. He ignored Natsu, whose smile began to fade, replaced by a hurt expression when his father didn't acknowledge him.
Lucy slid around Metalicana to stand beside him, comfortingly touching his arm. He glanced at her and then leaned into her side, pressing his lips together.
Levy frowned, feeling bad for the fire mage. He'd spent years upon years looking for the fire dragon, his father, and when he'd finally found him, Igneel wanted nothing to do with him. The sympathy vanished, however, when something far more troubling was revealed.
Igneel stood proudly before them, red scales slicked with his own blood, which poured and dripped from a large wound in his belly. Whatever had created it had pierced the heavy and protective plating that was meant to defend his vulnerable underside and had left a nasty wound that had even the powerful Igneel trembling, trying his hardest to remain upright.
Levy's lips parted in shock. "Oh," she breathed.
"What the fuck?" Gajeel hissed, immediately confused. This was the second time that a dragon had been injured in such a way, and it was concerning to all of them that knew exactly how powerful a dragon truly was.
Metalicana's red eyes flashed. "Caught ya, too, huh?" he snickered.
Igneel flashed his teeth irritably. "Shut up."
"What attacked you?" Natsu demanded, looking worried, but Igneel ignored him again and instead turned his attention on the pair that had stuck close to Metalicana. Levy raised her chin as his eyes scanned them from head to toe. Gajeel merely glared defiantly.
And then Igneel grunted. "The girl found you first? Tch. You didn't train Gajeel very well, now did you?"
Gajeel snarled angrily, but Metalicana cut him off with a snippish, "And your brat is running around throwing fire into random caves! Look who's talking!"
Igneel merely sniffed, a look of pride crossing his face. "At least my son knows better than to try and start a fight with something that is stronger than him."
"My brat kicked a dragon's ass, thank you very much!"
"Mine beat two!"
"You're both badass dragons, now can you shut up please?" Levy moaned, reminded of the bickering arguments that their children had. She buried her face in her hands, and then gave up on any sort of civil conversation between the pair and instead went to fetch Lily. Gajeel kept an eye on her, aware that Eberos was there, watching with amusement.
"Why must dragons be so annoying?" Lily muttered into her ear as he dropped into her arms. She hugged him and then headed back over to where Gajeel was standing. Eberos trailed silently after her, eyes sweeping her form with a smirk. The action earned him a piercing glare over her head.
But he didn't seem to notice, simply cackling under his breath.
Natsu scowled, and then, suddenly, he opened his mouth and bellowed out a blast of flames at Igneel's face. It struck the dragon in the snout and he snarled, finally turning his attention entirely on Natsu for just a brief moment before looking elsewhere again.
Natsu puffed up in anger, glaring up at him. "Why won't you look at me?" he demanded, voice cracking. "I found you after you disappeared for so long, and you won't even look at me! I've been looking and looking!" Tears rose and threatened to fall as he shouted, "What right do you have to ignore me?!"
Igneel glanced towards him, studying his son for a few moments. And then he lowered his large head so that his breath washed over the upset Natsu and murmured, "You have grown since I last saw you. I've watched over you, and I am proud of what you have accomplished."
Natsu studied the dragon for a moment, and then gave a huge teary grin, his voice trembling as he retorted, "Stalker."
Lucy giggled, and then flushed when Igneel's attention turned on her. "And this is your partner, eh?" He snorted. "Trust you to choose a blonde."
Natsu slung an arm proudly around Lucy's shoulders when she scowled, and then beamed at her. "Luce is great! Don't know what I'd do without her!"
Gajeel interrupted irritably. "So what the hell happened? Who attacked a goddamn dragon?"
"Language," Levy huffed.
"Interesting that it caught two dragons unprepared, technically the iron dragon twice," Eberos purred, looking pleased by this information. Igneel's furious gaze turned on him. Eberos didn't seem to notice as he tilted his head fractionally. "Where did it attack you is perhaps the better question. Metalicana claims that it was here."
Levy wasn't all too fond of Eberos, but she agreed with his question. It was a good one. The man was cruel and not exactly the nicest person in the world, but she'd give him credit for being smart.
Igneel studied Eberos hatefully before he raised his head proudly. "I taught you to choose comrades better than this one, Natsu."
Natsu shrugged. "We didn't exactly choose him, he kinda just shoved himself and said he wouldn't do anything if we let him help us."
The dragon grunted, and then glanced at the blood that dripped from his wound. "Two miles south."
"Where it smacked you in the face," Gajeel told Metalicana with a thoughtful expression. He'd crossed his arms, the piercings on his arms glinting in the sunlight and casting strange lights on the sand before them. Levy was amused by the strange tan lines that decorated his skin. When she thoughtfully glanced at her own arms, they were red, burned to hell and back like she'd touched the sun.
She grimaced as she looked at Lily's dark fur. The poor Exceed must have been burning up.
"I know what it did, Gajeel," Metalicana rumbled, clicking his jaws together irritably. Gajeel snickered at the attitude of his father, and then spoke up again.
"I say you giant bastards stay here and let us go and investigate," he said firmly. "Salamander and I can handle it."
"We're here, too," Levy reminded sharply, refusing to let him think that she and Lucy would wait with the dragons. Her hazel eyes were fierce with determination. "Lu and I want to help, too. Besides, other than Lily, I'm the smallest target here. And even then, Lily has an awesome other form."
"It'd be harder for something large enough to land a blow on a dragon to try anything on one of us," Lucy agreed, furrowing her brow thoughtfully. "Smart idea, Levy."
Levy only grinned and planted her hands on her hips. "But we need a day or so of rest. Is there water down in that cave? I'm going to assume so since you were hiding down there, Igneel." She cast Gajeel a look. "We'll have to figure out how to deal with Igneel's wound so it doesn't weaken him further."
Igneel growled at the idea that he was any less strong than he'd ever been.
"It does look pretty bad," Natsu agreed, eyeing the wound. "We should have brought Wendy; for all we know, we could have miraculously tracked down Grandeeney out here, too."
"Grandeeney is far further than we ever were," Metalicana rumbled grouchily. "She is more of a bird than a dragon."
"Leave her be," Igneel snapped irritably, "You're the idiot that shoved himself into the ground."
"What happened to your home on some isolated island?" Metalicana challenged. "You're the Fire Dragon King and should know better than to intrude in others' territory, you fire-breathing fucker."
Gajeel rolled his eyes as the dragons began to bicker viciously between one another, Eberos watching with fascination. Grabbing Levy by the wrist, he forcefully hauled her towards where their nakama waited, his eyes fierce with annoyance. "C'mon," he told them, "We're gonna go hunt down some water. They'll be at it for a while."
Lucy and Levy exchanged a huge smile, and laughed to themselves as the fire dragon slayer immediately made some kind of retort about how it was Metalicana's fault. They began to bicker, replicating their parents, and the girls only shook their heads in exasperation.
Lily smacked a paw to his face and rumbled, "Come, let's find water while these morons bicker themselves into exhaustion."
Levy giggled and pressed her lips to his furry head before stepping into the dark cavern with Lucy at her side. She paused to summon Loke and Levy patiently waited as the usual flirting match was struck up before he agreed to use his magic to create lights for them to use so they could see within the dark cave.
No one noticed Eberos slip in behind them.
"Mira, have your received any word from Gajeel, Lucy, or Natsu on Levy's and Pantherlily's whereabouts?"
Mirajane paused in swiping the bar clean to glance up at Fairy Tail's guildmaster; Makarov looked worried, eyes full of concern for those that he considered children. It hurt the woman to shake her head and admit, "Nothing. The last I heard was when they arrived days and days ago… Lucy said there'd been something that Levy had left as a riddle for them, and part of it had been "tenrou", but that's all I know."
"So they were alive," Makarov said with a sigh of relief.
"There's that," she murmured, setting aside her rag. "I could go and check it out if you wish...Jet and Droy have been desperate." She jerked her chin in the pair's direction. They were both sitting in silence, distress written across their faces.
Makarov shook his head. "We'll give them more time. I'm sure that they've merely been caught up in whatever the job was about." Gajeel and Natsu were both powerful dragon slayers and Lucy a strong celestial mage. Not many could trump any of them to begin with with ease, and together, they were near unstoppable.
She tapped her chin in thought and then suggested, "Perhaps we could send word to the officials and see what they've heard in regards to Fairy Tail as of late? Then we'd be able to know what's going on even a slight bit."
Makarov muttered his agreement and reached for the beer he'd been drinking. He watched as Cana laughed and slammed a beer back, challenging Elfman, Macao, and Wakaba to meet her chosen amount. They gawked at her as if she was stupid, and she only cackled before simply chugging some more.
After a moment, Mirajane frowned and straightened. Biting her lip, she informed, "Master, I think we really should send someone...there've been reports of strange magic coming from near Oak Town for a while now, and I'm worried-"
Before she could finish speaking, the doors to the guildhall flew open and a flushed Wendy appeared, waving to catch everyone's attention. Charle hovered beside her, frowning, but she ignored the Exceed's concern and doubled over, catching her breath as silence fell. Finally, the young girl lifted herself upright and announced with a grim tone, "They're calling mages into Oak Town! A Council member caught me as I was leaving and ordered me to come back and tell everyone so that he could get in contact with another guild to help, too...there was an attack and the entire town was ripped to pieces!"
The look of shock that crossed over Makarov's face wasn't something that made most of the mages there feel all warm and fuzzy. Swearing softly, he slammed his drink down and said fiercely, "Mira, take everyone present. You're all going, packed or not. They're going to need a lot of help and there will be buried residents if the buildings are down."
Everyone murmured and nodded their agreement. Cana abandoned her drinking, serious as she glanced to Mira and demanded, "Didn't Gajeel drag Lucy and Natsu that way?"
Mira nodded carefully. "They were fine as far as we know. I didn't know of this, and I believe they set out into the desert to find Levy and Lily, so they may not even know about any of this...when we get there, some of us will head out to the ruins to figure out if they're still alright and see what they know."
Makarov nodded his approval. He approved of that plan and glanced over to where a peaceful Erza was listening, her gaze thoughtful. "Erza, why don't you and Mira go to investigate that when you arrive? Everyone else will be needed in the town."
"What about me?" Happy piped up from where he was sitting beside the scarlet-haired woman and the ice-make mage she'd been speaking with before the interruption had come. "I want to go, Natsu and Lucy are there!"
"You can go as well," Makarov told him with a smile. Happy looked pleased and beamed at the amused Erza beside him, tail twitching.
"I'll find a medical area and stay there when we arrive," Wendy offered. "People will need a healer."
Makarov gave his approval and stood, balancing with ease on the bar he'd been sitting on. "Alright, out! All of you! Go catch the next train! I'll send others your way if you deem the situation bad enough!"
Mira swept around the bar as everyone began to chatter amongst themselves and leave, pausing beside him as she murmured, "I'll inform you on our missing nakama as soon as possible, Master."
He gave her a nod and replied grimly, "I simply hope that whatever ruined Oak Town leaves them be."
Igneel's here! Gotta love Igneel. And Metalicana's nickname for him.
(Thanks to reviewers (NinaMika, AfterWriter, sassykitten1701, SilverGhostKitsune, Typhlosion8, Guest #1, and Tigerwoman188!) as well as those who favorited and followed!