Just a reminder. Fairy Tail does not belong to me.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
"Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting! DISGUSTING!" He shouted.
The inside of a dragon was nothing like what Natsu was expecting. It was pink and slimy and squishing and wet and so dark. He would swear on Igneel that Acnologia was trying to choke him by constricting the muscles of his throat, or inducing himself to spit out the boy that had just flown down his throat at the very least, because the tissue surrounding him seemed to be closing in on him.
Natsu wasn't sure he should even be grateful for the light his wings provided. He might be able to see where he was going, but was it really necessary? It would only go one way. To the stomach.
So did he really need to be able to see what the inside of a dragon looked like?
The dragon slayer pulled in his fiery wings, so they wouldn't act as a parachute and get him blown back out the dragon's mouth, as Acnologia roared, dropping like a stone for a few seconds before flaring them out again.
"Just a little bit further," he muttered. He only needed to reach the fearsome dragon's lungs.
All dragon slayers, no matter who they learnt from and what their element was, when they used an attacked based on roaring or spewing out their element in general, it went through the dragon slayer's magically modified lungs. Their magic protected their lungs, allowing them to be unharmed as they shot out streams of fire, air, or metal.
Although the magic was based in their stomach, which was the reason why they could replenish their magic by eating their element, Natsu was reasonably confident that he could achieve what he wanted in Acnologia's lungs.
One of the few rules a dragon slayer had to follow was to never eat your own magic. The other was to not eat an element (magic) that wasn't yours.
Igneel had taught him those rules. Natsu had known he would be facing terrible consequences when he ate the Etherion at the Tower of Heaven. By all rights, eating an object that was made of pure magic, of all the elements should have killed him.
Natsu was hoping that the same concept applied to real dragons. That if he breathed his fire into Acnologia's lungs, or his stomach if he had to, that it would cause some reaction that would kill the Dragon King.
"Erza never taught me any of this shit," the pinkette muttered as he ripped through a wall of muscle and tissue. The dragon's resulting roar of pain from having a hole burned through the inside of his throat sounded oddly muted, but Natsu paid no mind to it.
The fire dragon slayer continued his descent, veering right when the path split. Natsu thought of nothing but Erza and the rest of the guild, which were more than nakama to him. Fairy Tail was his family. They were who he was fighting to protect.
When he finally reached the lungs he paused. "Wow," he whistled lowly. The black dragon's lungs were bigger than the cave he had just fought Gildarts in. Natsu thought he could shift into his dragon form and still fit in there comfortably.
And that's exactly what he did.
Natsu's abnormally enhanced vision, more so than that of another dragon slayer's, couldn't pierce through the darkness that surrounded him when his source of light vanished. All around him was unfathomable darkness.
Once in dragon form, Natsu turned his thoughts inward, focusing on his magic and bringing it forth to the surface of his skin.
This was one trick the dragon slayer hadn't told anyone. If he concentrated hard enough, Natsu could push his magic out of his body, forming a shield of fire around him. The more magic he pushed outwards, the larger the ball of fire around him grew.
He found this technique was easy to perform in his dragon form. As a dragon, he inherently had more magic available to him, but it was also easier for him to absorb magic from the environment. After the Edolas fiasco, the Master and Erza had concluded it wasn't his capacity for magic that had increased to unknown levels (because there had been an increase, just not one as dramatic as they had originally assumed) but that he was constantly replacing the magic he used from Earthland's ambient magic.
In the end he appeared to have an unimaginably large reserve. Which was true, all things considered. The only way Natsu would run out of magic was if Earthland's magic dried up.
Either way, that method of replenishing his magic did not apply while he was holed up in a dragon's lung. Enclosed within Acnologia, Natsu couldn't access the world's magic, and therefore only had his to rely on.
It took only minutes for Natsu to generate a giant ball of fire around him, although it seemed much longer. He was painfully aware that the longer this took the higher chance there was of Acnologia deciding to give chase after the fleeing guild.
So each second was agonizing. He had to remind himself to keep the flow of his magic steady. If he rushed it, pushed too much magic into the bubble of fire, it would explode prematurely. Natsu needed to get the fire to the right size first. From there, the next step was to condense the flames, thickening the bubble. Then he would have to direct his magic to fueling the fire, making it as hot as possible.
The pinkette was only going to get one shot at this. Whether or not his fire bomb killed Acnologia, Natsu wasn't sure he would survive the blast. Yes, his skin was even tougher now and more magically resistant, but he had never tested this attack on such a large scale.
A fire bomb larger than his dragon form was going to be insanely difficult to control. Natsu would consider himself lucky if he didn't vaporize himself taking down the Dragon King.
The moment of truth was in front of him all too quickly. The fire dragon slayer could sense how dangerously low his magical reserves had gotten. It was now or never.
"FIRE DRAGON'S EXPOLDING FIRE BOMB!" Natsu screamed as he released his hold on his magic.
For a split second, time ceased to exist. In the almost nonexistent amount of time between Natsu removing the restraints on his magic and his devastating fire bomb detonating, the pinkette saw everything.
The brightness of his flames nearly blinded him. The heat wafting off of them was unbearable even to a dragon. He could see the way the light bounced of his scales, shimmering shades of red, orange, yellow, and white, making it seem that he was literally on fire.
Memories flashed before his eyes. Gramps finding him in the forest after he thought he had been abandon by Igneel. Countless guild fights. Challenges against Erza, Gildarts, Gray, Laxus. Fishing with Happy. Feeling the wind whip his clothes about, rushing through his hair as he and his partner soared.
Galuna's island and the Tower of Heaven, filled with real and figurative demons. His conversation with Igneel. Watching his own funeral. Would that happen again? Returning to Fairy Tail and confessing to Erza.
Every time he worried about his mate. The feeling of his heart breaking when he thought she had chosen Jellal over him. His wonder of discovering another world of magic, a different world where he could not only stand transportation, but loved it. His elation at being chosen for the S-class trials, because Makarov had assured him that he would have chosen Natsu before the dragon slayer informed him that Igneel told him he needed to get to Tenrou Island.
His all-encompassing love for Erza "Titania" Scarlet. From her bright red hair to her frightful strength. From her brutish manner to her lust for strawberry shortcake. From her undeniable love for the guild to her sense of honor. All of her strengths and weaknesses. Her perfections and her flaws.
Natsu even thought he caught a glimpse of the future. Him and Erza, happy and in love. And their family. A large one, because Natsu always wanted a large family. Lots of pink haired and red haired children running would grow up to join Fairy Tail. Children that had learned to swing a sword and breathe fire as soon as they could walk. That would be wreaking having, causing destruction, and leaving trails of paperwork behind for the stupid council to deal with.
Then reality crashed upon him. The fire bomb exploded in a blaze of brilliant flames. Natsu could dimly hear Acnologia roaring in pain.
His world turned white.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Erza jerked awake. Her eyes blinked quickly, clearing away any sense of tiredness. She stared blankly at the wooden planks above her head, barely even registering the slight swaying motion she felt beneath her.
All at once she comprehended where she was. A boat. "But how. . . ?" The last thing she remembered was Fairy Tail's annual S-class trials. She had been preparing lunch while those who had passed the first test were searching for Mavis's grave.
And then there had been all those emotions from Natsu. Rage. Confidence. Worry. And serenity before there was only darkness.
Erza leapt from the bed. "Natsu!" Where was he? Why had she felt those emotions from him?
The sheets of the bed tangled her legs. Ignoring the smarting from hitting the floor, Erza ripped the sheet off her, unsteadily getting to her feet. With her left hand pressed against the wall for support, the Re-Quip wizard climbed the stairs that lead to the ship's deck.
The red head froze once on deck, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.
A dragon. An honest to goodness dragon. Throwing its dark head back and roaring to the heavens above.
But she had never heard of one that was so large. Erza had seen Natsu transform. Even without the two being side by side to compare, she could tell that the dragon in front of her would dwarf her mate many times over.
It was gargantuan. The only thing that had ever come close to that size had been that time when the Phantom Lord guild had kidnapped Lucy and attacked their guild. The Third Master had used his Titan magic before threatening the Phantom Lord Master with Fairy Law.
This dragon was black, with a grey underside. Its eyes were white and beady, and his head was round and blunt with four, large, elongated plates extending backward. The mouth was full of razor-sharp teeth, and, attached to his chin, was a protrusion that resembled an arrowhead. The large wings were feathery in appearance, akin to a bird's. The scales disappeared at the end of its tail, which ended in a stinger-esque shape.
"What is that?" she whispered, horrified.
Several of her guildmates turned around at her voice. Little blue haired Wendy was at her side instantly, chastising her for being out of bed. "You took a nasty blow to the head, Erza. You need to be resting."
Erza ignored her. "Where is Natsu?" The sky dragon slayer looked away from her. "Where is he?" she repeated. "TELL ME!"
"He's not here. The fool stayed behind to fight that dragon, alone. He's sacrificing himself again."
Erza turned horrified brown eyes on Gray. "What? What did you just say? No. You must be mistaken. He can't be. . . you're wrong." Her words were breathless. Gray snorted angrily.
Erza ran for the railing, intent on diving over and swimming back to Tenrou Island, which was shrinking in the distance. "NATSU!"
"ERZA! Stop this! It's too late!" Gray's arms latched onto her from behind, under her arms, and he tried to drag her away from the railing.
"NATSU! Stop the ship! Let me off! It isn't too late! I'll fight with Natsu! I can't let him die alone! Can't let him sacrifice his life for mine again! Let go of me! NATSU!"
Erza was sobbing uncontrollably, pleading for Gray to let her go.
"Erza, please don't do this to yourself. Wendy, can't you do something for her?" Lucy asked.
"I . . . I can knock her out again. It should last about a day." The girl offered.
"Do it," ordered Gray.
Before she could protest, Wendy's small hands were on either side of her head and darkness welcomed Erza for the second time that day.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Gray hefted the red haired mage into his arms. "I'll take her back down." The ice mage carried Erza below deck, tucking her into bed and had Fried put in place a barrier so she couldn't leave again in case Wendy's magic didn't last.
He had only just returned topside when the black dragon exploded unexplainably.
Then he saw the fire that erupted from within the dragon, and Gray knew that Natsu had done something stupid and reckless. "You idiot." White knuckles gripped the railing so hard the wood was creaking. Tears rolled down his face, unbidden.
"You flame brained idiot."
The explosion grew in size, the shockwaves from it easily stretching across the ocean and tossing the ship.
When the billowing smoke cleared, Tenrou Island was gone, as if it had never existed in the first place.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Erza was inconsolable when she awoke on the ship a second time. By the time Fairy Tail had returned to Magnolia Town she was catatonic.
At first the guild searched relentless for their sacred island, desperate to bring Natsu home. As the months wore on without even a trace, they grew disheartened. After a year they gave up, holding a second funeral for Fairy Tail's Salamander.
Only Erza never gave up hope. When they could get her to talk, the Re-Quip mage adamantly said she could still feel the bond between them. She searched for him on every job she took, listened for any rumor that might say he was still out there.
Little did Fairy Tail know that if they hadn't immediately returned to Magnolia town, if they had only waited three days, they would have seen Tenrou Island miraculously reappear and a red dragon that had been described to them countless times swoop down from the sky and fly away again, with something precious clutched in his front talons.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
There you guys go. The final (maybe) chapter of A Dragon's True Power. And I must say I am damn proud of this chapter.
Now you guys have a choice. I can either wrap the story up in an epilogue, in which case there is one more chapter to go and this isn't the last
OR
I can write a sequel, starting seven years after Tenrou Island in which Natsu returns. I'm not quite sure where the story would go, but I can already see a scene where Natsu transforms when Rogue brings the dragons and the dragons freak out about another dragon slayer turning into a dragon.
The choice is yours. Tell me in a review or vote on my poll. I find myself amazed by how well received this story is. I never thought I would get this much support when I first posted this, seeing as this was my first story.
You guys have gone above and beyond. 204 reviews. 165,700 views. 7 communities. 482 favorites. 484 alerts. 53,000 words.
So I'm leaving the decision up to you readers, who have loyally followed my erratic updates and made me fall in love with my story even more every time I read your reviews.
How the story ends is entirely up to you.