Natsu has always been famous amongst the guild for his fiery temper. It raged and burned and could be fueled by practically anything. It was as unpredictable and as uncontrollable as a forest fire and could explode with the force of a bomb.

Right now, that fuel came from the whole damn Royal City and the stupid world it resided in. The entire city was in an uproar. He could hear people celebrating a return of magic to their world. They set off fireworks. FIREWORKS for Igneel's sake. The city was prepared to commit murder just so that they would have magic.

And it sickened Natsu. So much so that he was able to ignore that he was currently locked in a cell with Erza, who had rejected him, and Prince Jellal, the Edolas counterpart of the man his mate had rejected him for.

The current issue was getting out of the cell and saving the rest of Fairy Tail. Natsu had tried once already to escape. The jail cell's bars were embedded with lightning lacrima, and he was shocked so badly that his spiky pink hair, which already stood on ends, smoked and blackened at the tips. He could still smell the burning hair.

That was over an hour ago.

Natsu had been ready to burn the bars down and hunt down the idiotic king that thought he would get away with smashing his crystalized friends to bits, but Erza had staid his hand, forced him to wait until she and Jellal had created a concrete plan of attack.

The dragon slayer paced the small five by five stone room anxiously as his cell mates argued over their next move. Erza wanted to take care of Knightwalker first, being of the opinion that getting out wouldn't matter if her insane alter ego put them right back with increased security. Jellal, on the other hand, wanted to approach his father and try to talk some reason into him, which would be difficult to do considering the prince had been exiled years ago.

"SHUT UP! Both of you just shut up!" he roared.

Erza and Jellal stared at him, shocked by his outburst.

"Have both of you forgotten that the guild has been transformed into a giant lacrima that your stupid father and your stupid other plan to smash to bits. They're going to kill Fairy Tail, and you two sit there bickering over who's the biggest threat!"

The red haired mage dropped her head shamefully. "You're right, Natsu." She missed the flinch he gave when she said his name. "We should be devising a plan of escape and find the location of the lacrima."

"Devise a plan of escape?" Natsu echoed. "WE ALREADY HAVE ONE!"

He made an exaggerated movement of his arm to point at himself and then the bars. "Dragon slayer. Door. I can use magic to break us out of here. Something that I would have already done if the two of you had listened to me."

This time the pink haired male didn't wait for them to start arguing the pros and cons and the best way to go about this. He drew in a deep breath, expanded his gut as now enlarged lungs took in more air, ans spewed fire at the door. "Fire Dragon's Roar!"

The flames were so hot that it left scorch marks on the stone and completely obliterated the bars. There wasn't even a puddle of melted metal on the floor. Natsu walked through the now open doorway and sniffed the air, searching for the largest source of magic, positive that would be his friend since this world had little magic of its own.

Jellal and Erza gaped, shared a look in which the red head wanted to know why Natsu could use magic when she couldn't and the question was not answered, and followed the bright pink hair as he tore through the castle.

Natsu thanked Igneel that the Erza of Edolas was unaware of the magic that he possessed and of the fact that he could use that magic. The only security in place had been the bars of the jail cell which he easily destroyed. No one thought to think that the wizards from Earthland's Fairy Tail might be capable of using magic in Edolas and didn't bother to put in place and guards or magic monitoring devices.

Their stupidity and ignorance made his mission easier. He followed his nose through the empty castle. His path lead him to a large tower where the scent seemed as if it was coming from above him. He craned his neck to stare above him.

The floating islands that he thought had been so cool when he had first seen them were no longer the most awesome thing Natsu had ever seen. Way above him, on one of the larger islands, was the largest lacrima crystal he had seen, not including the Tower of Heaven. It was floating above the heads of the people celebrating. The king was showing off the lacrima that would supply Edolas with years to come. In the courtyard where the celebration was being held he could see a cannon, already loaded and waiting to be fired.

Natsu would not let that cannon be fired. He would die before he let his guild be destroyed.

Fire exploded into existence behind him, taking on the appearance of dragon wings. Erza grabbed him just as he was about to launch himself from the tower. His body shivered at her touch, which he hadn't felt in so long.

"Wait, Natsu! You can't just jump down there and attack everyone. Those are innocent people. Jellal and I think it would be better if you destroyed another part of the city, draw away the guards and mercenaries surrounding the king so he and I can take care of him."

Any joy he had felt when Erza touched him disappeared when she cautioned him against hurting the crowds of people. He felt the strangest sensation, as if his heart felt like it had frozen. She thought he would kill innocent citizens. Bystanders and children. Erza believed him capable of thoughtless murder. The icy feeling continued as she detailed hers and Jellal's plans.

Natsu halted her speech with a hand. "Even if I did draw away every guard in that courtyard, what could you and Jellal do against the king? Neither of you can use magic. You would only succeed in getting yourselves locked up again or killed on the spot."

Erza blinked at his harsh words. The Natsu she knew never spoke to her like that. Actually, he never spoke in that manner at all. He was lighthearted and fun and teasing.

"And I would never kill innocent people."

With that parting shot said, Natsu dive bombed off the tower, aiming for the gleaming cannon. Erza could only slap herself when she realized that he had been intending to target the cannon all along. She had opened her mouth too wide and proceeded to shove both feet right in.

How was it that every time she talked to Natsu lately, she said things she didn't mean to say? Erza didn't know, but she promised to not let it continue. The next time she was able to sit down and talk with the dragon slayer wizard, she would tell him that she loved him and explain that she hadn't chosen Jellal over him and wanted him to return home to Fairy Tail and be with her.

xxxNatsuErzaxxx

Natsu reveled in his ability to fly as the wind whipped through his hair and clothes. Somehow, he found it easier to think when he was flying. Below him, he could already hear the screams as people noticed his fiery wings heading their direction.

The party ended abruptly as people tried to run in every direction and get away from the approaching fiery form in the sky. The courtyard dissolved into chaos. Guards blasted bolts of pure magic at him. He dodged some, ate others, and laughed as they futilely tried to stop him.

Natsu ignited his whole body on fire and rammed into the cannon at full speed. "FIRE DRAGON'S SWORD HORN!"

The cannon exploded into pieces of metal shrapnel, which clattered harmlessly to the paved courtyard that was now empty, and a brilliant blaze of flames, which became a pick me up for the fire dragon slayer. Natsu stood from the wreckage and faced King Faust, who was cowering without protection because his bodyguards had long since fled.

He raised another flaming fist, internally delighted when the king flinched at the movement. "Return my friends to me now."

"What friends? They were in the same prison as you."

He cringed when Natsu grabbed him by the throat. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed to keep his flames from burning the cretin, but the pathetic man still thrashed and wriggled, trying to escape. "Not those two. I know where they are. I want you to turn my friends back. Undo whatever you did to make them into a lacrima, or I'm going to destroy this world and everything in it so that you won't ever need magic again."

"No. Edolas needs more magic. I'm going to destroy your friends and let magic rain down on Edolas and renew this world." The king spat.

Natsu dropped him in disgust, wiping his hand off on his waistcoat.

The king stood, slamming his scepter into the ground. The ground shook violently. Whatever the king was doing was drawing a substantial amount of magic towards him. And not just from the ground. He took it from the sky too. A smaller island crashed into a townhouse without the magic to keep it afloat.

"What are you doing?"

He got his answer when a large black object broke through the ground beneath them. The king scurried inside while Natsu took to the air.

The king was sitting in an enormous machine dragon. The king's voice rang out.

"This is Dorma Anim. It has the capability to nullify all magic attacks. Surrender now, and I will kill you first so that you do not see your precious friends destroyed."

"You're not going to be killing anybody, you old geezer!"

The old king spluttered at the term geezer. "You can't stop me, Fairy Tail Wizard. What can one wizard, even if you can perform magic, do against me? Your other two friends are separated from you and the rest of your guild has been transformed into a magical lacrima. Face it, you're are alone and cannot hope to win this fight."

"I may be separated from my friends," Natsu admitted, "BUT I AM NOT ALONE! I WILL NEVER BE ALONE! I am not alone. I can hear them... I can hear everyone's voices... I can sense everyone's feelings... I am not alone... Everyone's feelings... They support me... They are what give me the will to stand and fight!"

"You wish to stand and fight? So be it." The king released a magical blast, larger than Natsu had ever seen. But it hadn't been aimed at him.

"ERZA!"