All Rights to Hiro Mashima
The beginning got a little…abstract and dark? I like it though. :3 Hope you all do too. Love you long time my precious cupcakes.
LoadedEel.
Chapter 42: Tektite
From the Greek "tēktós" meaning "molten" small natural glass bodies formed from terrestrial debris ejected during meteorite impacts; lack microlites like terrestrial volcanic glass.
"I knew you'd be back worm. I knew you wouldn't have enough strength yourself alone, even with the help of that lizard."
All he felt was anger. And fear, that was there too, in his heart, in his mind, in his blood. But mostly a nearly blinding amount of rage. White hot and blistering.
"—Let me out, boy."
This heat…it was too much, too sudden. He was meant to be doing something. Right? Not just bathe in the lava that flowed slowly through his veins. Was he fighting? It was—important?
He felt too hot. His skin blackened and cracked. There was too much anger and red rage in his bones.
"LET ME OUT!"
He was peeling at the seams. The threading of his mind coming apart with every thought of anguish and pulse of terrified agony.
"Free me, you insolent worm. Free me from this prison."
Something rattled and shook. He shied away from it. But not too far, he was curious but wary.
He was supposed to keep going. For her. For someone. Fire bubbled and spat, ash filled his lungs.
"I can promise revenge."
Yes.
That was what he wanted.
Adamantine chains snapped, iron doors crumbled, seals ripped to pieces.
Something purred and slithered through his skin. He shuddered and writhed, the feeling repulsive but welcomed. He remembered this feeling, of two beings in one body, of being double.
Of being more.
Black fire consumed his mind, smoke curled and slipped over his nerves. Too much, too much.
Demon.
His smile was wicked and sharp, matched only by massive gleaming fangs and curled talons.
The smoke finally cleared from his eyes. He saw a massive Dragon on the ground, wings bent at an unnatural angle, silent and still.
Igneel.
Something hotter and wilder than anger whipped through his blood. He seethed with a need to destroy, to taint, to rip and tear.
Monster.
Nothing mattered but that insidious Dragon that dared to take someone important away from him. Did he not realize who he was? Who he sheltered within his mind? Who he was reborn again to be? Did Acnologia not know that he was END?
He would now.
They collided with a crash and a roar so violent it ripped the air in half. He felt bone and flesh and sinew give way under claws and teeth, blood so vivid, red and dark flowed from wounds.
He reveled in it. The sound of ribs snapping gave him pleasure. Scales tearing sent him into sadistic shivers. If he could have smiled with his mouth, he would have.
Beast.
Acnologia wiggled like a worm trapped on a hook, pawing at his underbelly to get at the soft scarred skin between scales. He was still trying to win.
But he should have known it was futile when END was enraged.
They took to the sky again, dirt and gravel, volcanic rock and blood caught in their claws, painting them both with streaks of colour that didn't belong on their hides.
Animal.
A sharp pain tore through his midsection, claws had found purchase and ripped a jagged wound through his side.
Before he had time to lash out in agony, muscles spasming under the strain, a crackle broke through the thin air. It was a sound he recognized, even if his mind was muddy and clouded with black smoke and tar.
A light arrow collided with the massive head of Acnologia, exploding on impact, teeth and jawbones like shrapnel.
Savage.
Acnologia wailed, high and reedy. He was disfigured, blind in one eye and crazed. The Dragon wheeled around and instead of attacking his airborne opponent, took a direct path towards the one on the ground.
But he couldn't get that far. He would make sure of it. Precious things were on the ground, standing among the dust and blood.
He would protect those precious ones. Claws sank into unmarred back muscle, shredding a wing and crushing scales and bones alike with no discrimination.
Fiend.
With no effort, he pushed them to the wide-open field to make his final stand. Acnologia would meet his end and he would be the one to do it. His body demanded it, his heart silent, mind whirring, buzzing like a horde of bees in his skull. Something wasn't quite right, was it?
A golden blur followed him on the ground as he soared through the sky. He knew that little light, didn't he?
His light.
His—Lucy.
Acnologia wiggled in his grasp, misshapen jaw snapping in anger. A last-ditch effort to cause damage. He wouldn't allow any more. No more.
He bore the Dragon into the ground, the crash shaking his teeth in his skull. He growled at the Chaos maker's eye as it wheeled in its socket. A deranged Dragon filled with hate and unbalanced magic.
Suddenly his own eyes snapped to the little light, his Lucy as she stood tall beside their massive forms. Her helm lay next to her feet, her gaze never left his. She didn't shake in terror or curse his name. He huffed as affection curled lazily next to his quiet heart. He wouldn't drag this out or allow more suffering, for both their sakes.
Experiment.
She nodded.
It was time.
His jaw clamped down over a muscular neck, and with a quick jerk, it snapped.
And it was done. Acnologia the Chaos Dragon was no more. His roar of triumph filled every corner of the field, snuck into every mind and bolstered resolve.
He nudged his snout against his little light's hand as she held it out for him, just waiting until he was ready.
"Natsu."
He huffed and closed his eyes, the name pushing the last of the bitter black cloud from his body.
END.
-ooo-
Sting tracked the descent of the mad Dragon down through the air. None of them dared follow Lucy as she sprinted to meet Natsu and Acnologia where they fought. Even though he wanted to be right at her side, this seemed like something that they had to do together, no distractions.
And if Natsu's new form was anything to go by, he might not be as amenable to crowds of people around him, even if it was his own nest.
He turned back to Grandeeney, her soft green magic spread out over the ex-King's broken body. Igneel was still breathing, yes, but he had wounds, and both of his wings were snapped, the bones shattered. Even with healing magic—it was a tough call.
Rogue shifted out of the shadows, coming to stand quietly at his other half's side. While Sting was Lucy's Right Hand, Rogue would always be his brother. The Yin to his Yang as it were. "How is he?"
Grandeeney huffed in irritation. "I can work with muscle and tissue much better than bone, unfortunately. He had some internal bleeding and bruises, that I fixed, but his wings…I don't know if he'll ever fly again. At the very least, it will be painful."
Sting's heart swelled with sorry for the King. Their wings were their freedom, nothing compared to the feeling of the wind, of soaring high and diving low.
"But Igneel is strong, willfully, stubbornly so. I just don't know yet."
Ryos nodded and fell into a broody silence, most of the fight had finished, with Erza and Laxus scouring the grounds for the last of the twelve shields. They were starting to round up survivors and take prisoners, allowing those who would like to surrender, to do so. Not many in Alvarez's army had been there by choice.
Everything was changing, the end near, the hope on the horizon shuffling closer, like the sun breaking over mountain tops. It was invigorating. But there was one last thing to do, and none of them had any say in how it was finished. Zeref was still here and he needed not to be.
Sting was almost glad that Igneel was unconscious for this. The suffering, the anguish of knowing that it was your child you raised with your own hands that had caused so much death and destruction, to know that your other child was once dead and raised from that death, that he would most likely have a hand in the death of that first child.
It was enough to make any sane man twist upon himself.
But like Grandeeney said, Igneel was strong. And stubborn. There would be melancholy. But Sting believed that most everything would be alright in the end.
Even if he couldn't be by Lucy's side at the end. Natsu was there with her, and that was as it should be. He just hoped they would both make it out.
There was still a chance that they wouldn't.
The blonde shifted his eyes towards the corpse of Acnologia again, looking for his Drake and Lucy, but they were already gone.
-ooo-
Lucy watched as the Demon-Dragon shrank its considerable size down to one she recognized. Just as the beast that had been Natsu and END all rolled into one had been different, this form was as well.
Eyes as black as pitch, gleaming like onyx beads, ashy hair, red scaled. Black wings unfurled from his back, deep as the night with no stars. Massive spiraling horns pushed through that hair, stately and sharp like daggers. His tail flickered back and forth as he cocked his head to the left. The motion endearing and entirely her mate. She had no doubt who was in there, but perhaps there was more?
He was different. But also, the same in some respects. The way he looked at her, for one. Only Natsu could ever look at her like that. Even as children, he would watch her, look at her and not through her. Like she was a person and not something to barter or use. She was still just Lucy with him, and he was just Natsu to her. Even when he was only END, it was the same.
Lucy watched eagerly as scrolling script she couldn't read dripped and ran down his shoulder like pools of oil. It wrapped around his wrist just as she spied another line drift over his knee and up over his pelvis.
Which reminded her, he was naked again and on the battlefield of all places. But he held no shame, and neither did she, not right now. He had taken down Acnologia in an amazing feat of strength. They had other things to think about right now other than his state of dress.
In her peripherals, she could see the rest of the nest just on the outskirts of where Natsu had fallen, Grandeeney already there plying her hand at healing Igneel. Good. At least he wasn't alone. But whatever they saw here…they kept their distance, uncertain and curious in the way they all stood around watching. Sting jittered with agitation but remained where he was.
Lucy slid her gaze back to Natsu, but not-Natsu. More of him, of END. Of both.
A purr rumbled through his chest as she lazily perused his body, frowning when she spied the jagged talon wound on his side. He lifted an eyebrow before drawing a single black flame tipped finger over the lesion, abdominal muscles jumping and twitching as it cauterized and left it pink and ragged.
He would have another scar.
"Natsu?" They needed to get back to the battle, their family, their freedoms counted on it. But she could take a couple more minutes to curb her curiosity.
The smirk he sent her was dangerous, deadly, distracting. Tipped in gleaming fangs and painted with self-assuredness. "Caelesti."
Lucy's mouth quirked up into a bemused smile. His voice was his, Natsu's…but layered with another, something deep and bold, it resonated and rang in her head like a bell. The word sounded like he was addressing her, and being called something other than "Luce" by Natsu or END was—disconcerting at the very least.
"This one did not lie when he thought of your beauty." He sighed and hummed in thought as if the comment was an off-handed observation.
Her face flushed as END…Natsu, whichever was in control now, prowled closer, his gait as slow and sure as a jungle cat. "Am I right in assuming that I'm addressing END?"
Natsu nodded. "Yes…and no. It is better to say that it is—both? Yes, both." Wide shoulders rolled and stretched, claw-tipped hands skimmed up toned muscles, soft skin spattered with scales and pale scars. Through blood and mud and Demon ichor. "This one's body is pleasing, don't you think? His strength is admirable and shape close to my own when I had corporeal form eons ago."
It was a little distracting watching Natsu touch himself like that, with such reverence. She knew how that touch felt on her skin. Lucy shivered as a phantom hand slithered down her back. Her body remembered his fingers.
He smirked again, the little shiver she gave noticed under his watchful eyes. "Oh. And how this one loves you. Emotions were never needed, but it is intriguing to feel so much for one person."
Lucy had never doubted it, and it was a little strange to hear both Natsu and not-Natsu speak of his feelings like he wasn't there. "Caelesti." He whispered the word again, the name, that damn endearment so close to her she could feel his breath on her face. He was alluring like this.
"What does that word mean?"
He hummed again as if rolling the word around in his mouth for a moment before answering. He was so close again. His eyes grew darker with something else other than anger, the black all-consuming. Natsu shifted forward and breathed shallowly over her lips. "It is not easily translatable, but I think…heavenly would be the closest word."
She gave into the desire to kiss him, just once, just this one kiss, before the end of all things. It was anything but chaste, full of tongue and teeth. He nipped at her bottom lip once before drawing back to a safe distance.
An explosion of light and sound ripped her out of the little world she and Natsu – END – had been in. The nest must have moved back into the fray. Sting must still be with Leo, she could feel his gate still open, that signature light blinding and burning with the strength of stars. "We must get back to the battle Natsu."
Sharp eyes raked over the ensuing fight, no doubt his heightened eyesight allowed him to see it clearly. He didn't address it though, instead getting to the heart of the issue, the last thing that Lucy had pledged herself to do. "Is it time?"
She nodded. "Yes, we cannot allow this to drag out any longer than it already has. It's robbed both Natsu and I of friends and family, years together which we would have otherwise spent together."
A growl rumbled out of his toned chest. "This one does not like that fact. That you were alone. That he was unable to remember."
"I know. But END, before we go on, I must thank you. For giving Natsu life again where there shouldn't have been any."
He shrugged. "All we did was crawl into his skin and refused to leave. We were warm there, his blood is filled with flames and we liked his pink hair, I think. The Dragon was annoying, keeping us in check for all those years. I think it knows that at the end of all things, we need the strength of a Demon. But, even if there were no memories, this one is truly stubborn when it comes to you, our little light. We would have made our way back to our Caelesti no matter what."
Lucy turned her eyes back to the battlefield, then to what was left of the black fortress. "What of our promise Natsu?"
"We are one and the same now Caelesti, this one made the promise, and we will carry it out. Just because we are Demon, doesn't mean that our promises mean anything less. Dragon, Demon, man…it makes no difference."
"I never doubted you END."
"This one would follow you wherever you go, and so will we."
-ooo-
Two massive black doors stood in between them and the two things they had left to take care of.
Zeref.
And Mavis.
Lucy looked towards Natsu, towards END. "Together, then?"
END, crowned with a wreath of black flames, tipped his head to the side, ebony eyes sparking. "Together, Caelesti. This one wouldn't have it any other way. Neither will we."
Hands wrapped in golden gauntlets pushed open those heavy doors, ready and willing to meet what was inside.