Erza had noticed some subtle changes in Natsu in the three months since he had returned from the dead, so to speak.
The first was during Fairy Tail's annual 24 Hour Endurance Road Race. Since the rules allowed for all magic, except for flying, Natsu had used his Fire Dragon's Iron Fist attack as rocket boosters. It was an unusual way to use that technique, and it definitely wasn't cut out for prolonged use. He made it halfway last year before he ran out of magic. This year, however, Natsu never stopped. He never ran out of magic. The dragon slayer had blasted off once Master Makarov shouted 'go', and had made it to the mountain and came back with a Wyvern Scale in just over three overs.
That wasn't the only case either. Natsu no longer found himself having to eat fire to replenish his magic on jobs simply because he now seemed to have an endless supply of magic. Erza had him test it with her once. She Re-Quipped into her Flame Empress armor and let Natsu attack her until he dropped from magical exhaustion. Only, it never happened. Erza had to call the experiment quits because she could only go three days without eating or drinking, and at that point the pinkette had shown no signs running out of magic anytime soon.
So, impossible as it seemed, Natsu's already ridiculously high magical stamina had increased to astronomical levels. Erza was starting to believe that there was no end to the amount of magic Natsu now had.
Logically, it was a great thing, a never ending source of power. But it still caused the red head to worry as to how it was possible and where the massive amount of magic was coming from. She also feared the Council would catch word of Natsu's new ability and take him away to be one of their soldiers, or worse, keep him under lock and key for observation.
There were other incidents as well. Once, on a mission to protect a merchant's, who specialized in magical items, cargo, they had encountered a bunch of dark guild members. Defeating them wasn't a problem, the twenty mages were no match for them, but one member had a sword that could slice through magical attacks. His sword had gone right through Fire Dragon's Wing Attack.
Erza nearly had a fit. She had not suffered for seven weeks believing Natsu to be dead, only for him to die because some lousy dark wizard had cut open his abdomen and spilled his guts on the ground. But the sword had bounced of Natsu's abdomen with an audible clang, jarring the wielder badly enough that Natsu was able to knock him out before he could retaliate.
But, apparently his skin was now as hard as dragon scales. If Erza looked really closely and squinted a little, she could actually see scales.
She and Natsu figured these new abilities were a part of the dragon's true power that Igneel told Natsu about. Erza definitely thought these new powers to be great advantages for Natsu. A power source that never emptied; he was guaranteed to win any battle if only because his magic would last longer leading him to overpower whoever he was up against. Dragon scales for skin; he certainly would never be injured again, something she was sure the dragon slayer was ecstatic about.
If this was only a little bit of the true power a dragon was supposed to wield, then Erza was nervous. Natsu was already unbeatable as far as she and Master Makarov could tell. What would he be when they discovered the rest of his potential?
'The most powerful mage to ever exist.'
And that was the thought that worried Erza most. If Natsu was the first dragon slayer in centuries to have the potential to unlock the true power of a dragon, that meant, once, there had been mages capable of it before him. But what possible reason could one have for needing so much power? And did Natsu's learning a dragon's true power foreshadow the coming of something so strong, so powerful, so evil, that only the immense power of a true dragon slayer could stop it?
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Erza's unspoken fears were recognized the next day. The Dark Wizard Guilds were on the moving, banding together for nefarious purposes. Just the idea of Dark Wizards forming alliances made a thrill of grip Erza. There was no situation in which Dark Wizards putting aside their pride, greed, and false sense of honor could be anything other than trouble with a capital 'T.'
She hoped that the Master's plans of an alliance between Fairy Tail, Caitshelter, Lamia Scale, and Blue Pegasus would work, but she couldn't help but worry. What if a handful of wizards from each guild wasn't enough to handle Oracion Seis?
"Oracion Seis only has six members. . ."
"Are you kidding me, old man? You need four guilds to take down six mages? Fairy Tail could handle this on our own. We don't need help from any other guild!"
Erza sighed. Natsu would think that. Although whether it was due to his new power burst, which strangely, he wasn't very aware of, he still believed it was completely normal for him, or because he was just being himself she didn't know.
The Master leveled the dragon slayer with a dark look for interrupting him and then continued his explanation as if Natsu had never spoken. "As I said, their guild only consists of six members, but each one of them is incredibly strong. That is the reason for four guilds banding together to defeat Oracion Seis."
Master Makarov went on to say that she, Natsu, Lucy, and Gray were expected at some villa that was part of Blue Pegasus where the four guilds would set up base. He gave them a stern warning to be very careful and not to engage in one on one battles until they knew their enemies strengths and weaknesses, and even then only as a last resort. Oracion Seis was a dangerous group of Wizards searching for something called Nirvana, and it was their job to stop them from finding it, whatever it was.
Natsu bounced out of the office. "Alright! I'm all fired up! I can't wait to beat these Dark Wizards! They don't stand a chance against Fairy Tail!"
Erza wore a small smile as she gazed fondly at Natsu's back as he and Gray fought. Even without trying to he managed to lift her spirits and fill her with hope and courage and strength. 'Yes,' she thought, deciding just this once to not break the two idiots apart, 'we will take care of Oracion Seis. Because we are Fairy Tail, and we never give up.'
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Erza let a groan. What on earth was Ichiya doing here? She respected the man as a wizard, barely sometimes, but he really managed to give her the creeps with every word he said.
She forced her mind to think of something other than him. Looking over the other members of the alliance, she felt confident that they would be able to handle Oracion Seis. The group comprised of two dragon slayer (admittedly of different skill sets, Wendy was a heal and support type and Natsu was currently something beyond a dragon slayer, although the young girl also came with her own talking flying cat making Erza wonder if having one was a requirement for all dragon slayers), two ice mages, a celestial wizard, that weird girl from Galuna island that deal with doll magic, three S-class mages, herself, Ichiya, and Juri, and he was one of the Ten Wizard Saints (which made her wondered if the Council's naming of Natsu as one was still valid since he wasn't dead), and the three boys from Blue Pegasus whose abilities she didn't know. But with so many different types of magic, Erza truly believed that they could keep Oracion Seis from finding Nirvana.
The current plan was basic since they knew next to nothing about the members of Oracion Seis. Blue Pegasus had an airship that was coming to give them aide, so until it arrived, the alliance would have to stay on the down low and avoid attracting Oracion Seis's attention, something that Natsu was extremely displeased about. He wanted to burn down the forest and force the Dark Guild out of hiding.
The pink headed dragon slayer got his wish about an hour later when they were ambushed by one of the members of Oracion Seis. They had split into smaller groups in order to search for Oracion Seis and their hideout. The second the decision to pair up had been made, Natsu had grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her into the forest.
Erza mentally cursed Natsu as he charged straight at the enemy. They were supposed to be trying to find Oracion Seis, not picking fights with them. With great effort she ignored the voice in the back of her head that said they had found Oracion Seis.
The enemy the duo had encountered was Cobra. What little information they had on him, which wasn't much, was about his pet venomous snake that he fought with. And it was a large purple snake that most likely could have wrapped around the Master in his giant form. He had dark red hair that reminded Erza of dried blood. He dressed simply in red pants, a black shirt, and white trench coat.
He looked at them through narrow slanted eyes that Natsu, of course, insulted.
Natsu charge, intent on burying a flaming fist into his face and giving the guy bruises to match his snake's scales. Erza Re-Quiped into her Heaven Wheel armor. Two dozen swords came into existence, all aiming at Cobra and his pet snake.
The Dark Wizard dodged Natsu's fists and her swords as if a child had thrown them. Lashing out with one long leg, he sent Natsu sprawling into the dirt. "I can hear your next move, Titania." He mocked her with a smirk.
Erza switched into her soaring armor thinking that he wouldn't be able to predict her attacks if she was moving faster than he could see. She attacked relentlessly, but every elbow jabbed, every kick launched, every sword aimed to remove his head from his shoulders was deflected. That annoying smirk never left his face.
"It's no use, Erza Scarlet. I can hear your movements. Your breathing. The contraction and expansion of your muscles. Your very thoughts even."
Was that how he blocked her attacks so effortlessly? He had read her thoughts and knew every move she was going to make. But that didn't make sense. Why would he mention hearing her movements, her muscles, if he could simply hear her thoughts?
Erza leapt back. How could she win against a wizard that could hear her thoughts and essentially defend before she could even attack?
"Cubelios!" The giant purple reptile that had not moved struck at Erza blindingly fast. A split second before its foot long poisonous fangs latched onto her arm Natsu rejoined the battle, taking the bite intended for her.
The snake retreated just as quickly as Natsu sank to his knees. She could only stare at Natsu with wonder. He had miraculously saved her again, and the fool got poisoned for his efforts. Erza knelt beside him and gripped a sword in one hand and his arm in the other, fully prepared to cut off his arm to keep the poison from spreading.
"Cubelios's poison doesn't take effect immediately." Was that supposed to comfort her somehow or make her sick with worry? "It lets you live for a while in pain." He was entirely too smug as he said that.
Erza pulled Natsu's arm closer to her so she could examine the wound only to find there wasn't any. She cursed herself for forgetting Natsu's new powers. The snake's fangs stood no chance against the scales of a dragon and had not pierced the dragon slayer's skin.
If possible, Cobra's eyes slanted more, as he stared enraged at his prey that was standing instead of trembling on the ground in pain. "I see. You are a dragon slayer. A fire one. Guess what little dragon. I'm the Posion Dragon Slayer."
'Poision Dragon Slayer?' Erza's thoughts echoed. She had never heard of a dragon that used poison magic.
"The old generation of dragon slayers should cease to exist."
'Old generation?' Just what was this guy talking about?
"I suppose I'm not a true dragon slayer. I had a dragon lacrima implanted in me. But my dragon magic is far superior to yours." It seemed that he was done gloating. Cobra sucked in a large breath and spewed out an, unsurprisingly, purple cloud of poison.
Natsu had picked her up bridal style and leapt upwards into the trees and out of reach of the spreading poison. He set her down on a branch and stupidly jumped into the purple cloud.
'Natsu, you idiot. Stop saving me and think about yourself for once.'
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Natsu was sure that the poison affected him somehow, but as he furiously attempted to land a hit on the infuriating dark wizard, he wasn't sure how. He knew that his abilities had improved since his return from the Tower of Heaven ordeal, but even he didn't know to what extent so he had no clue how this poison was supposed to be impairing him.
"You don't stand a chance of winning against me, gramps." Gramps? That guy was way older than Natsu so who did he think he was calling gramps? "I can hear you."
'I can hear you.' Natsu repeated in his mind. He had said something like that earlier to Erza. Was this his normal magical ability? Listening Magic? Could he really hear his thoughts and movements like he claimed?
Natsu smirked, showing off pointing teeth. 'Well, there's only one way to find out.' The true dragon slayer released a high pitch dragon roar that shook the trees around him. A thud to his right revealed Cobra, who had crumpled to the ground with his hands over his ears and fallen unconscious.
The poison dispersed and Natsu cheered at his victory. His elation only lasted until Erza jumped down and slapped him in the back of the head for endangering himself needlessly. He flashed a grin and told her not to worry, and then fell unconscious himself. Apparently that poisoned breath did affect him after all.
Erza pulled one arm over her shoulder and began to trek back to the villa that the alliance was using as their base. Wendy had stayed behind, with Jura to protect her, and she would be able to heal Natsu.
She smiled to herself as she carried his dead weight. Natsu had protected her once again and had beaten the guy out to get her, even if they didn't know why he had been targeting her. But he had saved her again.
Erza wondered if Natsu would ever not be there to save her when she needed him.
No. Natsu would always be there for her.