Chapter 5: Frozen Sky ans Blood Stained Earth
"That's how it is, Igneel says that it's time for you to train her seriously, and you are to contact him when you feel the human is ready." Metalicana explained in a gruff and irritated tone. "Now I've got to get back to my own brat and toughen him back up. It seems the years with other humans has made him go soft." The great steel dragon took off leaving a slightly panicked Grandine on the edge of a high cliff. She stayed there trying to make sense of what she had been told for a long time.
When she finally decided to make her way back to where Wendy and Icilo were laughing, she found it hard to hide the fact that she was troubled. Usually she was high spirited no matter the circumstances but this news was more than even Grandine the sky dragon could shrug off.
"What was that all about?" Icilo asked, curiosity lighting his clear eyes as he turned away from his conversation with the small human.
"Igneel has given the order to train Wendy and her companions to the best of our abilities." Grandine shifted to her human form and took a seat on the ground near her companions. She played with the snow that was accumulating on the grass next to her still slightly lost in thought.
"What caused him to make such a thing an order, we are planning on do that anyway aren't we?" Icilo's curiosity grew, as did Wendy's upon seeing Grandine run her finger through her course pink hair. A worry line seemed to creep up in between her eye brows as she sized up her beloved Wendy.
"Wendy, can you tell me about that dream Lucy has been having?" The small blue haired girl took a sharp intake of breath, unsure of how her mother knew about her friend's current circumstances, but figured something important must have happened back where the others were currently camped out. That must have been a messenger to give her mother an update on the situation. Wendy tired to keep her cool, as she knew what was going to be happening sooner or later.
"Did Levy-nee finally break the code on the door, is that why you're acting so panicked?" Wendy was a perceptive as ever, this was no surprise to Grandine, but Icilo seemed to be slightly lost. Wendy and Grandine shared a meaningful glace, as silence fell over them for a long minute.
"Draco helped her with the translations, yes. He is certain of what it says, but I want to be sure for myself. Now can you tell me the details of the dream?" Wendy tried to keep her calm as she explained how Lucy seemed to be underground, and that she was lost, and couldn't find her companions. She explained Lucy's powers and how it seemed that either they were in a space where those powers were void, or Lucy was the only one there. She explained in as great a detail as Lucy had what was across the monstrous set of doors and the man in the shadows.
"It has come to her less frequently for the last month or so, but she still wakes up in a cold sweat screaming that she'll protect her family every time. The fear in her eyes is what worries me the most. It's almost like she feels the dream is real." Wendy laid back on the soft snow coated grass and looked up at the sky, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "That is one of the reasons why I want to get stronger." She turned on her side to look at her mother. "I am a Dragon slayer and they are my family. I want to offer more than just medical magic or support magic. I know that Gajeel-nii and Natsu-nii don't want me to fight, not even Lucy-nee does she told me so herself, but I can't let them fight while I stay behind. I can't let them keep protecting me. I'm still young enough that I know there is a lot left for me to learn, but I don't want to be treated like a kid for the rest of my life." Wendy sighed and turned her eyes back to the sky oblivious to Charle, who was frowning deeply. She had her own little visions of what was to come, though she had been keeping them to herself, but she was just as unhappy about Wendy putting herself on the front lines as the others.
Grandine and Icilo listened carefully as Wendy tried to show them with words, the strength of her determination. They knew that Wendy would be stubborn about this, and whether they helped or not was irrelevant because she was planning on fighting no matter what. Not like they could refuse an order from Igneel, but it pained Grandine to think that she would be sending her child off to battle with a very deadly foe not to far into the future.
"Well, there are plenty of sky magics left for you to learn." Grandine smiled light heartedly before laying back in the snowy grass as well. "Doesn't the air here taste nice?" Wendy giggled nodding her head. The two lay in a comfortable silence, enjoying the company they had both sought for many years. "I think for a few days we will take time to go over what you have learned in these past 14 years." Wendy instantly felt slightly uncomfortable as she remembered what had happened over that span of time.
"For us it's really only been seven, we were frozen for seven long years, that's why I've only just turned thirteen. I've learned a lot in the last couple of years though, since I met all my new friends, and Charle is always around to encourage me." Wendy sent her small winged friend a warm smile. "She is my partner, and has been since just after you left." Grandine could feel the sadness that they both experienced from parting so long ago. "Grandeeney, why did you leave?" Wendy rolled over on her belly, playing with her fingering in a manner that gave away how hard she was trying to hold back her tears.
"It was an order from our King. We were to leave, not one of us was allowed to interfere with the humans any longer. The only way to make sure of that was for all of us to come home." Grandine didn't fight the tears that streamed down her face. "I never wanted to leave. We barely got any time together, and you were so small and fragile, but Igneel's word is law so I had no choice."
"That doesn't explain why." Wendy wanted to be angry but seeing her mother the way she was, in one piece and crying over her actions, seemed to quell any resentment she had ever held, calming her own tirade of tears. Wendy only felt joy here in the presence of the one who had raised her, who was the only parent she had ever known, and whom she loved deeply.
"Igneel would never answer that question for me either, he just said it needed to be this way." Wendy's smiling face calmed the dragon's tears. Grandine found herself gathering the small child up in her arms in a hug that had been long over do. "Do you know how proud I am to see how far you have come?" Wendy nodded, returning the hug just as warmly.
"Well now that the reunion is over we can get back to business." Icilo laughed casting a puff of frosted breath into the air. "Wendy you have the Sky Dragon's Roar mastered right?"
"I wouldn't say mastered, but yes I learned how to use a breath attack." Wendy smiled at the frost dragon, watching as he tapped a long finger on his chin. Icilo cast his gaze toward the sky as he lost himself in thought.
"That must be you're biggest offensive move right?" He asked after a long time.
"I suppose so, but Lucy-nee gave me those other spells that were passed down from the ancient Sky Dragon, they are on a level far greater than my breath attack." Wendy's eyes sparked with the hope that she could master those spells. She was part of this whether anyone else liked it or not, and she was going to do everything in her power to stand tall beside her brothers and sisters when the time came.
Charle kept quiet as she watched on from a slight distance. She was glad that Wendy had not only gotten to see her Jellal once more, but now she was getting to spend time with her mother. Wendy had already been through so much in her short years of life, the pain from her losses was something that had made Charle want to protect her from everything. Deep down she wanted to take all the burdens away from her closest friend, to give her freedom from the ache she masked with a smile. Charle had watched her friend grow over the past 'year' since they joined Fairy Tail, it was remarkable to see not only her magic improve, but also the sadness was always shrinking, even if it was only a little bit at a time. It was enough that Charle had become comfortable enough to get close to the others as well. Wendy was no longer the timid child who had belonged to Catshelter, she was now a proud, and strong mage of Fairy Tail and everything about her was beginning to radiate confidence and pure power.
Charle didn't like to admit it, but she had started to come round about Happy in some ways. He was just as brave and loyal as his best friend Natsu, which was admirable in its own rights. Charle had taken him more seriously since they returned from Edolas, and found that she honestly enjoyed his company, though she wished he would stop trying to buy her affections with fish. The blue feline often acted differently when they were alone, he would cast off his childish nature, and let the person who was intelligent and charismatic come through. It was in those times that Charle could see it progressing pasts the acknowledgement stage of their relationship, but it was all to frequent that he would revert back to his happy-go-lucky side kick routine, and that irritated her to no end.
Here she found herself missing his antics though. She was unsure of how long they all would be separated, and it came as a shock to her that the fact that she wouldn't be seeing him made her stomach churn uncomfortably.
"Charle has powers too." Wendy's voice broke through the white cat's day dreams as the three turned to look in her direction. "She can use wing magic, and she has foresight." Charle watched Wendy light up with pride as she spoke. "It's really quite amazing." Charle just smiled nodding her head slightly in agreement.
"You are supposed to train with Wendy." Grandine said while standing up and dusting off her long gown. Her long loose hair whipped around her in the gusting winds, making her look very wild and whimsical. Everything about Grandine made Charle and Wendy feel at ease, like it was the most natural thing in the world to be here at this moment in a dimension where time was nearly irreverent and their companions were all off getting trained with dragons as their masters.
"I intended to from the start." Was Charle's simple answer.
Charle watched as Icilo instructed Wendy to show him all the moves she was able to use so far. It was a grand showing, especially when she began to show them how she had learned to use her wind around her hands like Natsu used his flames.
"If I do this my melee attacks are increased in both speed and power, since I can't use a lot of other attacks, I find that this is really helpful in close combat situations." Wendy demonstrated the combat skills she had been honing for the past five months, all the tutors she had worked with so far had given her a very mixed style of fighting. Gajeel and Natsu were the type that taught her to go all out on your enemies, but never so far that it would kill them. Lucy and Laxus taught her more of the ways to size your enemies up in the first few minutes of the battle, and to always keep your strongest moves in reserve so that if you were underestimated by your opponent you could use the element of surprise against them.
Wendy and Icilo were enjoying their little sparing match while Grandine and Charle watched from a short distance away.
"Thank you." Charle was slightly confused as to whom the lovely woman was speaking to, she looked around for a moment making Grandine laugh. "Thank you for looking after her." Charle was about to say something witty when she saw the tears well up in the dragon's eyes once more. "It warms my heart to see that my precious Wendy has found herself a real home, with a real family. Charle, promise me you'll always stay by her side." Shock kept words from forming so Charle simply nodded before turning back to watch Wendy land a well placed kick on the much taller opponent's rib cage.
Icilo laughed as he fell over backwards, complimenting her ability to get though his defenses. The continued their sparring match for a few more hours, to test Wendy's endurance. Luck was on Wendy's side from her time training with her dear sisters. The first lessons she had learned, even going back to her training with Gajeel were that the combatant who lasted the longest was usually the one to win the fight. Endurance was the first and most prominent lesson through out any training she had encountered so far.
Wendy showed them her strength when it came to the precision of her attacks, she wasted no extra energy, and made sure every physical action corrilated with the amount of force she was inflicting on her opponent.
"You have been trained well." Icilo huffed in near exhaustion. "But you aren't going in for a killing blow, why is that?" Grandine smiled to herself as she watched with pride.
"I am a Mage of Fairy Tail, and I have have no need to take a life." Wendy lifted herself from her crouched position, steadying herself just in case the frost dragon decided to strike out at her once more.
"Well said." Icilo laughed, clapping his hands happily. The dragons stepped of to talk among themselves for a few moments. When they came back the transformed and beckoned the two young mages to follow their lead off to what Wendy assumed would be their training ground.
The weeks seemed to fly by as they trained on the tallest portion of mountain range. They had been up so high that Charle found it hard to breath from time to time. It was freezing for the most part as well, leaving the none dragons to nurse sore cold limbs before settling into the cave on the side of the mountain. Icilo had insisted that they all stay together because he planned to over see Wendy's physical training. The cave wasn't anything special, but it had become a place they came home to after training in the heavy snow. Wendy was glad for the charm Levy had placed on their bags, which allowed her to pack much more than she would have been able to carry by herself.
In this particular climate both Wendy and Charle gave up on wearing dresses and skirts, opting for warmth in away way possible. It had taken Wendy two months to master the basics of frost magic, it hadn't truly been that much of a difference from using her sky magic. She found that infusing her two magics into one attack proved to make her attacks more effective, and powerful. Icilo was rather impressed with her progress and continued on to help her master the secret ancient dragon techniques for the sky, as well as a few defensive frost magics.
Charle spent her time working on expanding her magic complicity as the group had been doing since Lucy returned from the spirit world. She also tried to force her foresight abilities to sharpen. It took months of dedication and sheer will power, but she knew she was growing. She was finally able to see things on command, and more than a day ahead. Wendy had been training just as hard, mastering a technique that she dubbed "Sky Maiden Secret technique: Frozen Sky".
Up here in the mountains it was difficult to tell what effect it would have in real combat situations, but Wendy explained it to Charle as an ability that allowed her specific control of the atmosphere, and she was able to create a situation that was similar to a blizzard. Wendy was gaining control over the whole of her element. Where before she was only able to sense things like a change in pressure or a drop in humidity just by tasting the air, now she was able to manipulate these aspects of her element.
"Do you really have to leave?" Icilo looked more distraught than Grandine at the news.
"I'm sure the others have all headed back to the clearing, I have a duty to my family, and if they are all ready than I need to be as well." Wendy had grown taller in her nearly two years of training, her clothing was tight, and as she had become used to the cold climate her skirts had become rather short. Wendy hadn't looked at herself in the mirror for a long time, but she knew that she was beginning to fill out and mature on the outside just as much as she had on the inside.
"You don't want us to go with you do you?" Grandine's voice was soft and full of a bittersweet pride in the young woman who was standing before her. Wendy smiled and shook her head whipping her long braided hair back and fourth.
"It's best if Charle and I head back alone." Grandine wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling her in for a close hug.
"Show the others just how strong you have become my little one." A fond smile played across her face as she released her child.
"When this is all over maybe we can come to see you some time." Icilo rubbed at the back of his neck with a sheepish grin on his face.
"We would like that, right Charle?" Wendy turned to her friend who nodded with a bored expression.
Wendy handed Charle her pack before pulling on her own. With one last wave she summoned her wind to take her off in the direction of the place they had all been told to meet back at. Excitement coursed through her veins as she realized that she was one step closer to her final goal. A wide smile over took her features as she watched the snow covered scene, she had become so used to, slip away.
Gajeel was sent flying yet again, his back snapping several trees into splinters as he continued. Blood flowed freely from his mouth as well as several deep wounds all over his body. When he finally landed in the river with a large splash he made up his mind that he would just stay there for a little while.
Memories of his youth had never seemed this brutal, but then again he was a child and children want to believe that their parents have the best intentions towards their children. His father at this moment seemed hell bent of making him tougher than the steel he coated his body with, in the most painful and brutal ways he could imagine. Over the months that they had been 'sparring' his father had nearly killed him several times over.
"WHERE ARE YOU LITTLE BRAT?" Gajeel ignored the enraged screams of his former father, his body begging for comfort. No matter how many scraps he had gotten himself into with the other members of the guild he had never seemed to feel this inferior before, not even when he lost to the idiot flame eater. Gajeel felt that he was losing more than just his dignity with every nearly fatal blow. He was glad that no one was around to watch him fail so miserably. His father's screams continued to echo across the wide valley, his shrill voice sounding on the edge of insanity as he called for the human to show his disgraceful face.
The cool water from the river eased the pain a little, but it was enough to settle his troubled heart. Absentmindedly he brushed his fingers along the mark on his chest, a smile crept up across his features as he remembered why he was here. He now knew what had happened to his foster parent, and he was supposed to be training to get stronger. The only way to do that would be to fight seriously, putting everything on the line. Gajeel had already known that there wasn't much else that his father could offer him now, no their hearts had grown in very different directions, and he was no longer the monster that this dragon had created.
"What Dragon Slayer are you, Brat? You have no intent to kill anymore! How can you call yourself my son?" The dragon was beyond irate as he called out the mage with the most vile insults he could come up with.
Gajeel felt the pride swell in his chest as he picked himself up out of the river, water cascading down taking the dirt and dried blood with it. For once in his life Gajeel had a place that he truly called home, and people who he cared for. Levy had given him so much, and so had the others. Gajeel was happy for the first time, truly happy and he was going to fight to the death to protect his happiness. It only took him a few minutes to make his way to where the enormous metal dragon was pacing calling out for his 'lousy excuse for a dragon slaying son' the words rolled off the tall dark haired mans back this time as he readied himself to fight.
"I am stronger than you think." Gajeel covered himself in his metal scales. The dragon merely scoffed as he released a gust of shrapnel infused breath. Gajeel took the attack head on, without flinching. In a flash he positioned himself in the air above his former parent and unleashed his demon sword, biting into the dragons neck. "You want me to show you the strength of my Dragon Slaying, then here you are, father." A roar of pain echoed across the low valley, Gajeel was certain that you could hear it for miles. He wasted no time in taking the life of the last cold hearted iron dragon. His heart cried out for the lose, but deep down Gajeel was sure that this was how things were supposed to play out.
Slowly he walked back to the river side, allowing feeling he had pushed down his whole life to bubble to the surface. Gajeel was so lost in himself that he barely noticed the small dragon curled up on his lap, his deep chocolate brown scales shining as he buried his face in the dragon slayers lap. Xylon had watched for months while that great Metalicana beat his 'child' into near oblivion. Often he had wanted to intervene but was more than aware that he, a gentle earth dragon was no match for a very serious iron dragon. All he could do was lay in wait until something was resolved.
No one should have to go though such things, Xylon felt the pain it must have caused the rugged looking human to take down the dragon he called a parent, but if he hadn't surely he himself would be the one who's cold body was leaking it's last ounces of blood into the earth. There was no telling how long the two sat in silence waiting for something to make sense again, and finally it happened. Heavy drops rained down on the brown dragon's face, he looked up to see that the young man named Gajeel was crying, and in a manner that was not meant to be seen by other people. The heart that had for so long been wrapped in metal was now vulnerable and Gajeel was unsure what he was supposed to do next.
Xylon gave Gajeel space for a few days, letting reality sink in as he processed what he had done and came to terms with it. On the fifth day he finally spoke, looking at the small dragon that lay next to him.
"Well, I guess if I was able to kill my master there is nothing more for me to learn." Gajeel heaved a sigh shifting before pushing himself into a sitting position.
"I can teach you something that might be helpful." Xylon's voice was calm and reassuring, he had made the decision to stay in his normal form in front of Gajeel for the simple fact that he wanted to be taken seriously.
"And what is that? You are an earth dragon, I have no interest in the type of magic you perform." Gajeel reached for his pack pulling himself to his full height. He began to walk off the way that they had come the first day of training.
"That's a pity, because I know iron isn't always easy to find in the middle of a battle field. I figured you might be interested in learning how to extract it from the elements of the earth, but I guess I judged you wrong. Well then have a nice trip." Gajeel stopped in his tracks turning back to size the small dragon up, it only took him a few moments to make up his mind.
"Fine, but I'm not staying here, teach me with we travel." Xylon wasted no time as he joined the man who was walking much slower. They discussed the theory of earth magic, and how one could use it to separate iron ore and lead out of the earth itself. It took a week of traveling for them to pick a new home for Gajeel to train on putting this theory into practice. It was easier than either had anticipated for the dragon slayer to master the element of the earth. It was also useful to be able to control the individual elements of the earth, Gajeel found that with the right mixtures he was able to create small explosions which would come in hand when they entered a combat situation.
Gajeel was through with the training in less that five months and found himself wanting for the company of other people.
Panther Lily had kept mainly to himself for the duration of Gajeel's trials, knowing full well that his friend needed to face his problem head on in order to be satisfied with himself. The black cat took that time to work on his own short comings. Over the year that they had been separated from everyone else Lily had increased his 'battle mode' time limit to around a half an hour. He took the time to practice his swordsmanship as well as expand his own magical limit.
When the time finally came, Xylon was the one to bid them farewell. He two had been away from his family for such a long time that he could barely stand the idea of being away for any longer.
"I trust you will find your way back alright. Take care of yourself and your family." The brown dragon took to the sky as he yelled his parting words, disappearing into the lush tree line.
"I guess it's time to head back buddy." Gajeel slung his pack over his shoulder with a satisfied smirk before making his way back to were they had agreed to meet up.
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Next chapter is back to real time guys. We only have Natsu and Lucy left and then it's back to everyone being together again! No one commented on the last chapter, so I hope you all didn't hate it... but I don't really care at this point, I'm writing this for my own entertainment as much as yours. I'm sorry in advance if this has left you wanting for something different, but I don't want to be like every other writer and do something predictable. Once we leave the Dragon's Lair all hell is going to break loose, and I myself am in tears with some of the things I'm writing. But it needs to be done.
Yep so that's where I'm at. Since no one answered me from the last chapter I am going to chose option 3... which I didn't give to you all! MAWAHAHAHAHAHA!
I'll have the next chapter up a hell of a lot faster now that my daughter's break is finally over, and I'm not so sick any more. For those of you who are still reading, thanks. ^_^
~Chrys