AN: Woot! This story has over 100 reviews. Thanks for all the support and sticking around for sporadic updates with terrible cliffies. And to make up for my terrible lack of time management skills, a lengthier chapter.
AN:2 4/6/23 Thanks to Guest who pointed out a conversation that really didn't make any sense.
"NATSU! STOP!"
Natsu heard Jellal yelling, but there was no way he was going to listen. He was not going to stop. He would not let this foul excuse for a king, no person, live. Faust was destroying his world.
"SHE'S NOT DEAD!"
He froze. Every muscle in his body stiffened. Not dead. How was that possible? Natsu had seen her take the full blast of the king's attack. How could she not be dead?
"ERZA'S ALIVE, NATSU!"
The dragon swung around, uncaring that his tail slammed into the metal dragon and knocked it of its feet. He shifted back to human form, shoved Jellal aside, not caring that it was rude, and gently gathered Erza into his arms.
Just holding onto the love of his life, Natsu could feel the slight rise and fall of her chest. He could see her eyes moving under her eyelids, a sign that she was close to waking up. Warms tears spilled down his face. Erza was alive.
He hadn't lost his mate. He could tell her he forgave her and apologize for not using his brain as she was always telling him to. Once they were back in Earthland, Natsu was never going to leave her side again. He would never let his love out of his sight.
He would never watch her die again.
"Natsu." His name came out weakly between harsh coughs. The pink haired dragon slayer pulled Erza tight against his chest. He didn't let go until she winced.
Natsu opened his mouth, intending to rant and demand that she never scare him like that again. Instead out came a stream of apologies, anything and everything he thought he could apologize for. Erza stopped his verbal diarrhea with a hand over his mouth.
"I'm the one that should be sorry, Natsu."
He protested. "It was my dragon that thought you had rejected us! It's not your fault, Erza. I'm so sorry."
"It is my fault," she insisted. "It was my decision that made him doubt us. I asked you to save someone you hated. Someone who had hurt me. You were only trying to protect me and I didn't take your enhanced dragon sense of perception into consideration.
"You should hate me. You should hit me. I deserve it."
"No!" Natsu said vehemently. "I would never hit you, Erza, and you would never deserve it. You made a mistake. So did I. So let's just put this behind us, kick the king's ass, rescue Fairy Tail, and go home."
"Sounds like a plan."
Natsu carefully lifted the scarlet haired wizard into his arms. Jellal trotted after him as he settled his mate against part of the still standing palace wall. He spared the blue haired man a quick look, long enough for his glaring black eyes to get his message across, Protect her or I'll kill you, and was crossing the courtyard to the still fallen king of Edolas.
"Natsu." He looked over his shoulder at Erza's call. "Don't hold back. Cause as much damage as possible."
Natsu mirrored her smile, and stalked forward like a predator hunting its prey.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Faust lay trapped inside his ultimate weapon. Dorma Anim was supposed to be unbeatable, the only weapon with an unlimited supply of magic due to its ability to absorb magic from the world itself. His own people feared Dorma Anim, and rightly so. It was a weapon of destruction, completely unstoppable.
But this mere boy had destroyed. With little to no effort, he had destroyed the most feared weapon in all of Edolas. All because he had hurt the Knightwalker doppelganger.
How could one person be so strong? How could he destroy the one weapon that was there protection against the Exceed? And why? Why was he willing to go so far for people not of his world?
The king was unable to move, but how he wished he could run when Natsu appeared once more in the hole of Dorma Anim that he had put there only moments ago himself. He had never wanted to face an angry dragon.
And that's exactly what he was dealing with.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
The pinkette frowned at the old man that cowered away from and into his smoldering chair. What was he going to do with him?
"Are you going to kill me?"
Kill him! Natsu's mind reeled with shock. He had never planned on killing Faust. He never wanted to kill at all. The only thing he planned to kill was Acnologia. He could never kill another human. He didn't even really want to kill a dragon, but he had promised Igneel, so Natsu would see it done. He only wanted to teach Faust a lesson. Magic wasn't everything, and as a leader he had a responsibility to his people. Faust should have found an alternative that didn't involve stealing magic and killing people, or learned to live without magic.
"No."
Faust's eyes widened.
"I challenge you for the throne on behalf of your son Prince Jellal of Edolas. You are not fit to rule over the kingdom and it is time for you to step aside." Natsu recited the words Jellal had told them when the two of them first planned to fight Faust for the crown. "Now, we can either consider battle over, I've won and Jellal is crowned king, or I can continue to beat the crap out of you until you forget your own name and then see Prince Jellal on the throne.
"It's your choice, Faust."
"You win! You win! No more! Please don't hurt me!" the old man screeched.
Natsu smirked, already knowing that Faust would fold like a wet paper towel, and punched him across the face. He was pretty sure he broke the geezer's nose. It wasn't necessary, but it definitely made him feel better.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
The citizens of Edolas ran around like chickens with their heads cut off not that they no longer had magic lacrimas to rely on. Or any magic at all really.
If Natsu didn't feel so guilty about being the cause of it, he would have been laughing uproariously.
There was also the fact that the lack of magic made it impossible for him and Erza and the rest of Fairy Tail to return to Earthland.
Natsu was supposed to be resting. He hadn't been very injured, what wounds he did have had been treated and wrapped, but Wendy couldn't do anything for exhaustion. The rest of Fairy Tail had taken over a dining hall. They thought this new other world was cool and in typical Fairy Tail manner had thrown a party and showed off their ability to do magic without instruments. No one mentioned it was due to the pills Jellal gave them and Natsu didn't feel up to correcting them.
He was more concerned about the fact that he wouldn't be returning home. None of them would. How was he supposed to fulfill his promise to Igneel if he wasn't even in Earthland? Unless Acnologia miraculously managed to make his own portal to Edolas, Natsu was stuck here with no way to keep his vow to slay the black dragon.
He had briefly thought about making a new home in Edolas. It was something he could easily do. While the rest of the guild's magic would eventually run out, Natsu would always have access to his magic. Maybe he could learn to imbue lacrimas; that way Edolas' way of life would continue as normal.
The thought hadn't lasted long. Edolas would never be home to him the way Fairy Tail was. And while his guild was here, it wasn't the same. Eventually he and Gajeel and Laxus and Wendy would be the only members of Fairy Tail with magic and he was sure they would come to resent the four dragon slayers. And to be honest, he couldn't stand the idea of living in the same world with a Fairy Tail that was full of cowards. Remorseless, self-absorbed, uncaring, unfeeling cowards with no belief in which they believed in enough to fight.
Natsu did not want to be stranded in a world with a guild that had the same face as his nakama but shared none of the same values.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Erza paced nervously outside the room Natsu had been given. She knew that he wouldn't be resting like he was supposed to. The pink haired dragon slayer had laughed off Wendy's warning that he would be stuck in bed longer if he didn't rest and affirmed that he would be out of bed in an hour.
In a move uncharacteristic of the sweet blue haired girl, Wendy had forced Natsu to sleep while the rest of Fairy Tail gaped at her with dropped jaws. Shy little Wendy who was prone to tears had just taken control and forced Natsu to rest.
It didn't matter that her eyes had immediately filled with tears afterwords and she gave many apologies to the unconscious pink haired man.
Anyway, Erza was worried that Natsu wouldn't want to speak with her. Part of her didn't blame him. When she had pleaded and begged him to save Jellal from going to jail, she had completely disregarded his own feelings for the man, forcing him to rescue a man he loathed because it was what she wished. He had done it, and in doing so she had pushed him away. One action made hastily in thought of the boy she had once known had torn apart what she and Natsu had shared.
A larger part of her thought that he was being unfair. Natsu had always done everything in his power to save his friends. That was all that she had done too. Jellal had once been her friend and she believed that he deserved a second chance. He had been possessed by Zeref, and she had forgiven him for what he had done to her, to Simon, and all the other children that had been trapped on the island. Why couldn't Natsu do the same thing? He wasn't normally one to hold grudges.
Erza hated that he had vanished in the middle of the night. That he had left without speaking to her. That he could even think that she could love anyone more than she loved him. She hated that he didn't trust her. She had listened to him when he explained that he loved her and only her, and would only ever love her due to his dragon instincts. She had understood that she didn't have to feel the same way but she had.
Erza Scarlet knew that she loved Natsu.
And right now she wanted nothing more than to bring out her Fire Empress armor so she could give him the beating he deserved for even thinking that she didn't love him as much as he did her.
But she couldn't do that. If it was only a problem of misunderstood feelings Erza would have stormed in and thoroughly beat some sense into his thick skull. But it wasn't that simple.
She had made the dumbest mistake yesterday. She had accused him of wanting to attack the helpless citizens of Edolas. Erza couldn't even remember why she had said it. She knew that Natsu would never harm an innocent bystander. But all she could think about was how enraged he had been when he learned they were going to kill the rest of Fairy Tail for their own magical gain and feared that he would try to take his anger out on the people that wanted their magic at the cost of his guild.
It was stupid. She knew it was. But she had said it anyway. And Erza knew that he must hate her now.
Erza straightened, throwing off her self-depreciating thoughts as she grasped the door's handle.
There was only one thing she could do now.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Natsu froze.
He had automatically turned to face the door and whoever was entering. He wasn't prepared for it to be Erza that walked through. His heart constricted painfully, reminding him once more just how much he loved her even though she had only caused him pain and suffering recently.
Erza looked the most contrite he had ever seen her. She had chosen to forgo armor, dressed only in her white blouse, blue skirt, and boots. Her chin was pointed at the floor, and she wasn't looking him in the eyes.
"Erza." Natsu didn't know what else to say.
"Hit me." Natsu blinked.
"W-What? Why?"
"I hurt you horribly yesterday. Therefore you deserve to hurt me in return. Punch me, Natsu. I promise I won't move."
The dragon slayer could only stare at her. Not even in surprise. Erza had a nasty tendency to think she deserved to be punished for failing, whether it was somebody else or herself that she had failed. No one had ever taken her up on it. She was human; she was expected to make mistakes. Natsu had always thought it was an odd thing for her to do, but now that he knew about her experience with the Tower of Heaven he understood where it came from.
He didn't approve of it. He thought she was stupid to think she ought to be hit because she screwed up.
"I-no. I can't. I won't hit you!"
"But why not?" The scarlet haired mage had sounded so heartbroken and finally lifted her eyes to meet his. Her brown orbs were teary and shone with pain and hurt.
For the first time in days Natsu reached out to her. One hand gently cupped her face, the other forced her head up.
"Because I love you, Erza. And I would never hurt you." He said softly. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Making you think that I could hurt you. For running off. For not staying. For not fighting. For not protecting you."
"Fighting?" she repeated.
"Fighting for you. I should have proved that I was the better mate for you. Instead I left to wallow in agony and caused you pain. And then you got dragged here and I couldn't do anything to save you. I thought that you were dead."
Natsu leaned his forehead against hers. His breath ghosted over her face. Despite the tears that had started rolling down her face, Erza felt her lips pull into a smile.
"I love you." Natsu stated.
"You love me."
"I love you, Erza Scarlet." Natsu repeated.
Erza laughed happily, and a little hysterically after the craziness that had been her life recently, which he took advantage of as he soundly kissed her.
"I love you, too, Natsu Dragneel."
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
The pair joined the rest of Fairy Tail, where Natsu challenged Gray, who had lost most of his clothes, to a drinking contest, which Cana crashed, all the while ignoring the ineffective glare Wendy was giving him for drinking when he should be upstairs resting.
Natsu got completely smashed, kissed Erza at every opportunity, promised to attend Jellal's coronation, beat the pants, which Gray had just found and put on, right off him again, starting a guild wide fight not unlike the one he had caused by his dramatic return from death.
All in all, it was a great night and Natsu enjoyed being with his guild again.
It stopped being fun when he started glowing and was pulled towards the sky.
Natsu was the only one to curse or exclaim as he suddenly found himself floating. The whole of Fairy Tail was surrounded by the yellow light and flew out the window and up into the sky to what looked like another anima.
"Good luck, Natsu."
The pink haired mage looked down and was surprised to see Prince Jellal standing next to a giant black cat that was taller than him with a scar to the side of his left eye and a sword strapped behind his back.
"There was enough magic to reverse the anima and send you back to Earthland." Jellal explained.
Natsu didn't know that he could do that, but was thankful nonetheless.
"Unfortunately it means that there will be no more magic in Edolas, so I'm going to blame it all on you."
Natsu gawked at the smirking prince for a few seconds before laughing uproariously.
Natsu didn't stop laughing even after he slammed into the ground with an "umph." He did stop when Lucy landed on top of him.
"Damn, Lucy! You're heavy!"
The busty blonde leapt off him, screaming insults and insisting that she was not.
Natsu listened with half an ear. It was great to be home.
AN: Look! No cliffhanger! I can write a chapter without being cruel!