Chapter 2: Dragon's lair

"Hurry up, we are almost there!" Lucy called back to her companions. The cliff was steep, but she had managed to climb this far with out falling, so she pressed on. Only a few feet remained between Lucy and the cave that opened up to the dimension of the Lair of The Dragon King. Excitement coursed through her veins. She had waited so long for this day, and nothing was going to slow her down now. Lucy struggled, but made it to the edge of the cliff, pulling herself over and onto flat ground once more. Natsu was only a heart beat behind her, gasping slighting in the high altitude, his heart pounding wildly in anticipation.

As soon as everyone was standing together once more Lucy smiled towards Natsu. "He's in there." Lucy pointed to the enormous cave. Natsu took a deep breath and grabbed her hand, to steady his nerves.

"We need to stick together." He yelled back to their companions. It took a moment before everyone was holding onto something belonging to another in the group. "Ready, now lets go!" Natsu cautiously enter the cave, his nose twitched as the air around them became stale. As they continued, Natsu could sense the world they called Earthland fall away. They continued to walk on for what felt like hours. When the tunnel opened up once more, the group found themselves gasping at what lay in front of them. A description of what came into view was difficult to put into words, even for Lucy, who was an author.

"Wow." Was the most intelligible response to the sight.

Where the Realm of the Celestial Goddess had been in eternal night, The Lair of the Dragon King was bathed in mid day sun shine. It felt like a warm summer day, with a light breeze blowing the leaves of the trees near by. The forest was more vibrant than any the group had ever laid eyes on, with rich greens and earthy tone of brown. Wendy took a deep breath, the air was pure and clean, the tastes was so sweet, this brought a smile to her face. They looked off into the distance to see several mountains covered in lush greenery till the summits which were capped in snow. It was picturesque to say the least, the most beautiful sight any had laid eyes on.

A gust of wind startled the group out of their daydreams. "So you've finally made it here, Natsu." The red dragon named Igneel stood tall and proud, towering as high as Lucy's apartment building, before the group. "You all have grown." Igneel chuckled at the shocked faces of the young humans. Within moments his appearance shifted, and before them stood a tall man with long hair as red as Erza's, his black eyes showed no emotion (all black, like demonic looking *shiver*) yet a smirk played across his face, showing sharped canines that looked very similar to Natsu's. Igneel surveyed the group for a long minute before turning to walk away. Natsu and the others followed without question, eager to get the answers they all desperately longed for. They walked for miles though the dense forest keeping as close to the Dragon as possible.

Lucy marveled at the way the light shined down through the trees, casting shadows on the moss coated rocks and trees. Mentally Lucy made a note that she wanted to come back out here with her note book and pen, to describe the beauty of such a place on paper. Maybe it would come in handy for her novel. A smile crept across her face, while she continued to walk, completely content with the atmosphere.

When they came to a clearing, Lucy could hear the sounds of running water, and chattering and bickering of sorts. Before them stood a large group of people ranging in size from enormous to nearly fitting in the palm of your hand. A table had been set out with enough chairs for everyone, food was piled high, as well as tankard filled with some liquid, none would ask what it was till much later. "Come." Igneel motioned with a broad grin. It only took moments before Wendy and Gajeel sniffed out their dragon parents, cheers and laughter broke out as they were introduced to the rest of Natsu's colony.

"I guess we should introduce ourselves properly." Lucy said, elbowing Natsu in the ribs. He stared at her for a moment before laughing nervously.

"Right... Well I'm Natsu Dragneel, Igneel's s-um, grandson. This here is Lucy, my wife. The angry looking Blonde is her cousin Laxus Dreyer. The Metal face over there is Gajeel Redfox, and that's his wife Levy. And there is the youngest, Wendy Marvel. And these three guys here are our Exceed pales, Happy Charle and Lily." Natsu pointed to each person as he introduced them. Lucy twitched with irritation as he finished, smacking Natsu upside the head.

"Is that really how you're supposed to introduce your FAMILY to people?" She growled. "At least try to be nicer!" Natsu shrank back at her tone murmuring sorry.

A sharp bark of laughter made them turn to see Igneel holding his stomach.

"It's good to see that I placed my grandson in the care of such a feisty female. Ah, you are just like your mother." Igneel sat down at the head of the table motioning for the others to take their seats as well. "I know you have questions for me, but that can wait. I think this is an occasion that calls for some celebrating!" Igneel gave the others a wide toothy grin before everyone began to dig into their meals.

Slowly the other dragons were introduced to the group, Lucy found them all fascinating, especially Draco the Celestial Dragon. She knew it must have been difficult for such a creature to choose between the realms, being both Spirit and Dragon. "Being a Spirit Dragon is not that bad, Lucy. And I have always preferred the mountains of the Dragon's land to the open oceans and flat plains of the Celestial realm." He explained brushing his long golden hair behind an ear. Lucy was in awe of his beauty, (yes men can be beautiful) his pale skin seemed to glow in the mid day sun, and his amber eyes shined as he gave Lucy a devastating smile that made her knees shake.

Natsu was none to happy at his wife's reaction, but bit his tongue while they continued to talk. He kept himself entertained with eating as much as he could get his hands on. So far it had been the best meal he had eaten in months. Natsu was starting to believe that Laxus enjoyed depriving him of delicious food, as Laxus had been in charge of food for training as well as their more than three month journey. He found himself sighing as he drained his third tankard of what he assumed was ale. A full stomach was something that would make asking difficult questions easier, and maybe he could finally relax and get some real sleep when they were finished their discussions.

Happy kept himself busy next to Natsu, with a pile of fish. From time to time he would look over the table to watch his companions catch up with their respective dragons. A small knot formed in his stomach as he observed Gajeel and Natsu, neither had spoken a word since they had come into this world, and he knew that something was going to break at some point, he knew that Natsu at least would need to address Igneel sooner or later.

Levy found herself talking to the smaller dragons, they looked like little pixies in her eyes, and she was fascinated. "There are all sorts of dragons! For example we are called earth dragons, because we can control the earth element itself." The female called Abra explained. "It's a lot of fun to transform into a humans, it's been a very long time since we had an occasion that called for it." She smiled as she took a slice of bread and began tearing off small slices to eat. She was adorable with rich brown curls that hung loosely over her golden skin, down her back, her dress looked like it was made of discarded sunflower petals. Her eyes were startlingly clear shade of topaz, framed with thick lashes. Levy giggled and continued to converse with Uruloki and Terenius, two of the male earth dragons, about the different aspects of being an Earth Dragon.

Wendy and Charle spent their time with Grandeeney (Grandine), and Icilo the frost dragon. Wendy told them about the skills she had been working on and the spells which she still wasn't ready to master. "Lucy-nee brought me a few spells that the ancient Sky dragon used. I am lucky to be able to study such advanced magic" Wendy smiled brightly, beaming with pride as she spoke.

Both Dragons praised her for the work she had accomplished at such a young age. The sky dragon wrapped Wendy into her arms in a tight embrace burying her face into her young daughter's hair. Wendy's heart felt like it might explode form happiness as she inhale her long lost mother's scent.

Charle kept her mouth shut, listening closely to her best friends conversation. She held pride in how far Wendy had progressed since joining Fairy tail, but she would be lying if she tried to say she wasn't still a tad bit over protective.

"It sounds like you are a very driven young human, maybe we could train together, I would love to show you some tricks that you can add the the wind magic you are already familiar with." Icilo mused while putting a large hand on Wendy's head. She shivered as the temperature around her dropped, Icilo retracted his cream white hand with a dashing smile. Wendy was entranced by his crystal clear soft blue eyes, that seem to bore into her dark brown ones.

"Really would you do that for me?" Wendy was over joyed, she smiled brightly as she jumped across the table to give him a hug.

Gajeel and Lily remained quiet watching the others, from beside Gajeel's foster father. Something wasn't sitting right with his stomach, and he couldn't put his finger on it, which cause the dragon slayer slight irritation. Everyone seemed so happy and full of life, had they forgotten the reason they journeyed here in the first place. He had felt the calm glide over all of them as they walked through the forest, but he would not allow himself to let his guard down, no matter where they were.

"It is shameful isn't it?" The iron dragon scoffed while inspecting his nails. "You'd think that Igneel would want to get straight to business, but no, he has to make us all 'mingle' first." The harsh tone in his voice gave Gajeel a slight chill. Mentally he wondered if he was beginning to go soft, or if his father had become more cruel in his 14 year absence. Either way, Gajeel was sure that things weren't the same as when he was left alone in this world, by the only 'person' he had viewed as family before meeting Levy and the others. Gajeel made no attempt to reply, as he continued to observe his friends. He picked at the food, and took light sips of his drink while maintain a vigilant monitoring of Levy.

Laxus found himself conversing with Umbros, a dragon specializing in poisons, and Constantine a lightening dragon. It was fascinating to observe the different types of dragons, and how they related to each other. Laxus was the only one in the group who was a new age dragon slayer, which sometimes made him feel out of place with the others, though he would rather bite off his own tongue than admit it out loud. Deep down he held a great respect for the three younger mages who were brought up by some of these amazing creatures.

"So you have slayer powers because of a lycrima..." Umbros mused aloud, the idea seemed to catch his attention as Laxus explained his powers. "I bet if you trained hard you could increase your skills to that of a slayer trained in the old ways." Laxus crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eye brow at the two dragons.

"I'm pretty damn powerful as it is." Laxus said in his bored tone.

Umbros and Constantine looked at each other and smiled.

Laxus allowed a smile to escape at the idea of being trained properly, maybe this trip could turn into something more that just an escort mission.

A loud cough broke up the conversations around the table, as Lucy raised from her seat.

"So the main reason we are here is to break Natsu's seal." Lucy turned to Igneel, setting on a business like expression.

Silence fell over the table as every eye turned to look at the Dragon King. Igneel leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table his right hand cradled his chin, while he used his left to emphasize the words he spoke.

"That would be difficult to do in the outside world, I am glad you decided to come here to take care of it. It will give him more time to heal." Igneel took a long look at his grandson before moving to stand. "Your skills have improved, but you still have a long way to go." The dragon shook his long red mane, before looking around the table.

"I have to ask, is time in this realm the same as the Celestial Realm?" Lucy asked in a slightly less confident tone. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she hoped that it wasn't opposite, like the sun and moon, because then the time would be slipping through their fingers, and their battle would be drawling nearer by the second, they would have to face enormously powerful foes before they were truly prepared.

"It is not the same." Igneel answered, Lucy felt her stomach drop at the answer. "Time nearly stops completely here." Lucy's eyes widened for a moment as she had not expected such a response.

"So time doesn't pass by the outside while we are here?" Levy questioned, having just as much trouble wrapping her mind around the concept as Lucy outwardly seemed to be.

"Not completely, but it feels that way to us." Igneel gave a goofy grin. "Well then, I suppose we should get to work. After all that is the real reason you all have come."

Natsu stood up from the table and walked over to stand in front of his grandfather. He kept his eyes focused on the ground for a long moment, unsure of himself as he made his decision.

Those gathered at the table gasped in shock when a fist connected with the side of Igneel's head. A sickening crack echoed around them as Natsu's eyes finally lifted to make contact with Igneel's. The dragon didn't retaliate, he only gave the pink haired mage a frown.

"Do you know how much misery you have cause me, and everyone else?" Natsu's eyes were narrowed in his anger. Natu's fist balled tighter when Igneel did not answer. Natsu's fury grow as he waited, his knuckles turning white as his finger nails bit the pads of his calloused hands. When a few minutes had passed and there was still no response, Natsu pulled back his fist landing another hit to Igneels temple, followed by another and another. No one moved as Natsu vented his rage, throwing punch after punch, all aimed for Igneel's face.

"Feel better now Natsu?" The dragon wiped a line of blood away from his mouth, a frown marring his handsome features.

"Tell me why you had to do it?" Natsu huffed breathlessly. "Why did you have to make everyone suffer so much?" He kept his hands balled into fists, blood dripping on the ground from his raw knuckles.

"When we are finished breaking the seal you will understand why Layla and I made the decisions we did." Igneel turned to call the others to join them. "I suppose it's time." Igneel lead the group up stream to a cascading waterfall. He stopped taking a measured breath before wading out into the thigh high waters.

Lucy automatically moved into position, steadying her nerves as she knew what to expect.

"Wendy I will need your support for this." Lucy took a deep breath before calling Gemini.

"How can we help?" They chorused, bobbing up and down in a silly little dance.

"I need you to help heal Natsu, can you take on my form?" The two merged and nodded once they took on Lucy's appearance. This would be the easiest path, because Gemini would automatically know what to do, and would be the best support in this trial.

Natsu walked over to the waterfall and seated himself on the slick rocks closing his eyes and letting the roar of the water wipe away any anger he still held. Igneel waded out to stand in front of his grandson, the flame that he had just ignited around his hand was then placed on Natsu's forehead. Natsu gritted his teeth as the flames took over his body, surging high and burning so hot it evaporated the water before it could hit the Dragon Slayer's body.

"Wendy don't use to much magic, no matter how bad thing may look! Gemini and I can handle the majority, just keep an eye on our vitals!" Both Lucy and Gemini waded into the water, golden light acting as a barrier from the heat till they reached Natsu. An earth shattering scream ripped through the air, as Natsu's skin began to burn away. Lucy worked tirelessly to heal and restore what was damaged, before it got a chance to damage muscles or organs. A swirling of gale force wind encircled him increasing in force as each seal broke. Similar screams ripped through the air as Lucy's body began to burn as well. She did her best to keep a balance between healing Natsu and healing herself.

(Memories from the broken seals some of Igneel's memories are mix in)

The smell of blood caught my nose, I rushed through the forest allowing my nose to lead me. The smell grew, and my stomach churned at the sight of the tiny pink haired toddler I knew to be my Grandson laying nearly lifeless. The blood was still spilling from his throat where he had been cut. I shifted to my human form and picked the small child up in my arms. He whimpered in pain, keeping his eyes closed. "Mama" was the only word he uttered. Fury ran through my veins as I lite a flame to cauterize the wound. At least I could stop the bleeding.

"Wretched child! Has her denial gone so far that she would kill her only son?" My mind was in turmoil, unsure of what to do next. In a moment of sheer panic I decided to take the child to the only human I trusted. "I hope Layla can do something for you."

When I arrived, the young boy had already grown pale and weak, his whimpering stopped completely.

"Layla please can you help him?" Layla lay in her grand bed, eyes tired from her work.

"He is weak Igneel, but I sense that he will be ok with rest and nourishment. If you would have shown up any later his blood loss would have surely taken him." The blonde woman leaned back on her bed, stroking the hair of the toddler fondly. "He is a fire mage." She stated simply. There was a cry from a cradle in the corner of the room. "Little Lucy is awake it seems." A fond smile spread across her face, lighting her tired eyes.

Igneel walked over to look at the newborn baby, her skin was fair just like her mother, and her golden locks were barely visible making her look bald. Igneel leaned over and gathered the child into his arms. "It's good to see you survived little one" The dragon cooed rocking the crying child on his way back to her mother.

"Igneel, this boy is half dragon isn't he?" Her smile faded away.

"He is my grandson, so yes." Igneel came to sit in the chair near the bed, cradling the now sleeping baby Lucy.

"My little one is half spirit." Layla picked up the small boy and brought him closer to her chest. "Do you know what this means?"

"Are you sure?" Igneel knew what she meant, no one had to voice it aloud, Layla and he had tried and failed. Their mission was resulting in the degeneration of Layla's body, thus she had already officially retired from being a mage, and left in this weakened state.

"I am sure, take the boy and train him well, I can feel it already. They both posses powers neither you nor I have ever dreamed possible. I will make sure to train my Lucy just as hard." The too held out their hands, with a shake they made a pact to bring them up to be strong enough to accomplish what their predecessors could not. "What is the boys name?" Layla brushed the shaggy locks from the little boys face to get a better look.

"His parents called him some ridiculous name like Seamus or something." Igneel made a face that showed his distaste.

"So what will you call him?" Layla's eyes ghosted up to meet Igneels black eyes.

"Natsu, I think, he will be the summer breeze that brings life peace." Layla giggled at the corny line but agreed that it was a much more suiting name for the boy with pink hair and a fiery spirit.

"Natsu, one day you will be stronger than even me. You must never give up, do you understand?" The small boy nodded his head. "One day the dragons will look to you to lead them in my place, so we must study hard, you have a great deal of magic inside of you, and you have a will to live, and for a great purpose." The little pink haired boy nodded once more, listening to the dragon with out complaint.

"I am going to teach you everything you need to know. I will turn you into a Dragon Slayer." The young boy's dark eyes shined with amazement.

"I'll make you worthy of the title, Dragon Prince Natsu Dragneel. Son of the Great Dragon King Igneel." Igneel wrapped his tail around the three year old, pulling him close for a hug.

"How did you find me?" Natsu, barely older than four asked, eyes full of curiosity.

"I was walking through the forest, and smelled you." The dragon answered in a dull tone.

"You smelled me? Did I smell good? Were you going to eat me?" The little pink haired boy's eyes grew wide at the thought. The dragon let out a rich laugh wrapping his tail around his small charge.

"Yes I smelled you, and you smelled horrid! I would never eat a scrawny little runt like you anyway!" Natsu crossed his arms over his chest indignantly.

"Well you don't smell like flowers either IGNEEL..." The young boy pouted, casting his eyes down to the ground. The dragon let out another deep laugh but answered in a much less teasing way.

"You don't smell horrid anymore. Now you smell like a strong dragon, just like me." The dragon nuzzled the little boy's hair affectionately.

"Igneel, when I'm older will you let me study with the other dragons?" Natsu looked up with wide eyes, watching the stars in the sky.

"When the time comes. Right now, you need to focus on mastering your fire magic though." The dragon cracked open one eye to watch the young boy put his arm up, tracing the stars with his index finger.

"Will that Lucy girl get to study with dragons too?" Natsu stopped on the constellation of the Queen, wondering what she looked like.

"Lucy will train under many masters, maybe one day, a dragon as well. It all depends on the road she decides to walk down." Natsu flopped over on his belly, eyes searching the dragon's face for a long moment.

"Is she REALLY that special?" Natsu made a funny face, which brought a deep laugh from the dragon's throat.

"She is a princess, so yes." Natsu huffed before turning onto his back again.

There was a long silence.

"What's she like?" Natsu asked in a bored tone, going back to star gazing.

"Well, last time I saw her, she was starting to train with her cousin. It was rather funny to watch the tiny thing hold up a sword. She laughs a lot though even when he picks on her. She reminds me of a smaller version of her mother honestly. She has light blonde hair and large trusting brown eyes that sparkle when she smiles. She is even starting to learn how to wield her Celestial Magic. You better keep up your studies or she's surpass you." Igneel closed his eye, satisfied that Natsu wouldn't ask any more questions.

"Will we be seeing Mrs. Layla soon?" Natsu push a nervous hand through his hair.

"Are you worried?" The dragon asked, hiding his amusement as Natsu's obvious discomfort.

"No... well.. maybe a little. What if she doesn't like me?" Natsu whined rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.

"I have trained you, I'm sure that you will impress her as much as you impress me. You still have a while before you need to worry about that though. Plus it's Lucy you need to impress, not her mother." Igneel shifted forms and wrapped an arm around his adopted son.

"I thought I was supposed to get her mom's approval first though..." Natsu turned his head to the side. "Didn't you tell me that?" Igneel shook his head as he laughed.

"You are worrying to much. You are still to young to be focusing on silly things like impressing females, now go catch some dinner." Natsu smiled brightly and agreed before running off into the wilderness.

"Igneel! Why can't I go with you?" Natsu held on tightly to the scarf his precious teacher had given to him. "I want to come with you this time!"

"I'm sorry Natsu, but this will be the last time I see you for a long time." The dragon shifted into the form of a human.

"What about Lucy? What's going to happen to her?" Natsu's eyes filled with tears.

"For now I can't let you see her, it'll be best for you to forget about her." Igneel said sadly.

"How am I supposed to do that when you've been telling me about her for as long as I can remember? And now she is going to be all alone, and you expect me to just sit here like a good little boy while you just leave? That isn't fair and you know it!" Natsu anger was nearing it's boiling point.

"Master Dreyer has agreed to take you under his wing, and Lucy will live with her mother's husband. Neither of you will be alone, we will all see each other again some day, and when we do I hope you'll forgive me for this." Igneel placed a hand on Natsu's forehead and murmured something in an ancient language before Natsu collapsed.

A tear rolled down his face, at the sight of his precious grandson laying lifeless on the ground.

"I'm sorry, but the pain of knowing would haunt you." Igneel transformed back into his beastly state and took off, into the skies.

"Hold out a little longer! It's almost over!" Lucy yelled to Gemini. With a burst of gold light the twin Lucys were able to repair the last of the scorched skin on Natsu's exposed body. The fire had burned away everything save his precious scaled scarf. The wind tunnel finally broke, and Natsu fell face first into the water. Lucy and Gemini released their magic healing barrier, Gemini couldn't hold out any longer so they returned to their original form.

"We are heading back! There is nothing more we can do." The two chorused before disappearing.

Lucy fell to her knees breathing unevenly, but she knew that she needed to get Natsu before he inhaled to much water. She had expended almost all of her magic to keep him alive, she would be damned if he drown because she was to weak to make it to him. The blood loss was beginning to get to her, and she stumbled falling into the water not far from where he lay. She tried desperately to push herself up once more, she was so close. Igneel beat her to him, picking the both of them up and walking out of the water. Lucy let consciousness slip away once she saw that Natsu was safe and in one piece, complete exhaustion overpowering any other thought in her mind. The rest of Natsu's colony followed behind silently as the dragon lead them to an old looking building.

Igneel laid the two down on the beds set up in the room with a deep sigh. "Wendy look after them." The young dragon slayer nodded and pulled a chair over to sit in between the two beds. "They won't wake up for a while, feel free to go back, there is still plenty of food." Igneel smiled towards those who were left.

Laxus shifted before sliding down the wall next to his cousin. He remained silent as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

Happy and Charle sat on the edge of Lucy's bed, sobbing softly as they held each other.

Levy looked frantically from Lucy to Gajeel, unsure of what she should do.

Gajeel turned and walked out the door, leaning against the wall next to the only door, Lily quickly followed. Levy seemed to have decided to follow, setting herself on the other side of the door, tears rolling down her cheeks freely.

"Will they be ok?" Levy whispered, but no one cared to reply.

A/N:: So... Natsu's seal is broken. Remember it's a thirteen layer seal that stole his memories, as well as sealed his latent powers. Wendy might be going to train! So might Laxus... and time is practically standing still. They can take as much time as they want to, getting stronger to protect what is important!

In response to Heartgold12, thank you for your honesty! I hope that you read chapter two as I really am going to take your suggestions into account as I edit further chapters. Natsu has just regain a power that is gonna put Lucy's to shame. Plus, she has pretty much learned everything she can for now. Other than healing Natsu she isn't going to get much face time in the up coming chapters. I'm planning to spend much more time with Levy and Laxus in the next few chapters... you're going to get character development from all sides! Natsu is the lead character in this book, so I really don't need Lucy as much. The chapters in this fic are going to be longer than the first two, plus there will be more of them, so don't worry Everyone will get some spot light!

Levy and Wendy were just teasing her about the 'more for me!' comment, and if you're referring to her getting a sick stomach, it was because she was remembering the pain in her dream. Have you ever had a nightmare so bad that you wake up wanting to empty your stomach? Well that's how it was supposed to be... just sort of delayed. I mean it might be nice if they can have kids at some point, but they are on the verge of war, I don't think it would be smart to bring young life into the middle when they don't know if they will survive.

I hope this chapter made you feel better about the progression of the story, but again I totally understand if you're turned off by it. I often find that I can't continue when a chapter rubs me the wrong way as well.

To KeilaDragneel I hope you like the first two! The grammar is a little shaky at points, but that's because I write and post almost immediately, a lot of times I only read through it once or twice before posting. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Shiningstellar as always your review made me smile! When you get the chance you can totally PM me to let me know what you liked the most!

footster26, WaterPanda, Crystilia, and everyone else who reads but doesn't review constantly, I hope you guys got a chance to read, I'm super excited to see what you all think, and it's going to be WAY longer than the first two, which were really super experimental! This one gets down into the grind of training, it exploits their weaknesses and reveals their strengths! I'm sorry that this was a short chapter, but it needed to be pure and unadulterated!

As always THANK YOU FOR READING! I have really come to enjoy writing this, and the fight scenes are good practice for my novel. ^_^

~Chrys Stone