A/N: I'm sorry with how long I've made you wait, but as I was proof reading this chapter, it just didn't feel right... so I deleted it and started over. This chapter will be shorter, because I'm breaking it into two and possibly three chapters, so forgive me, but I do hope you enjoy it!

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Chapter 6: Fate is calling

Gajeel released a heavy sigh as he watched his wife disappear off into the distance. She seemed so happy giggling as she watched the small dragons do small loops in the air. Laxus was next, taking off toward a mountain with a dark and ominous looking sky, Laxus gave a last salute before he disappeared himself. He was the only one left sitting at the table other than Draco the Celestial Dragon. Wendy was already off somewhere, he hoped that she would use the lessons that the group had taught her to keep herself safe. Gajeel worried for her as though she were his real sister, it was actually a little painful to be seperated from her as well as his wife, they had all been together every moment since the whole dragon link incident, and he had grown rather accustom to having it that way.

Gajeel was some what relieved that Levy wouldn't be with him for his training, even though it hurt his heart to be away from her. He didn't want her to witness how incredibly ruthless his father could be, she would surely be worried if she saw how he would almost definitely get injured. Metalicana wasn't exactly hiding his murderous intent here either, Gajeel had felt it the moment he had come near his foster parent. He was not looking forward to the beat down that would be coming when their training started. Gajeel knew he needed something to take his mind off of his impending torture so when he saw the tall graceful man, with his silken golden hair, standing ready to make his way toward his own charge, Gajeel followed close behind.

He was smart enough to keep his mouth shut as they entered the small cabin, knowing that Lucy and Natsu were still in pretty bad shape and would most likely take the news poorly. Natsu seemed to have finally been able to open his eyes, which had calmed the very frustrated looking Lucy more than he could tell from the way she looked. Her usually well kept appearance was in shambles, her hair matted and her eyes red and puffy from hours of shameless weeping. Gajeel felt a tinge of understanding and compassion for his comrades.

He himself didn't think he could handle half of the challenges that his friends had gone through already. Battling with an enemy was one thing, it was easy to let yourself become a vicious animal when the time came, it was being human and dealing with the emotions that came with it that was more difficult than he could ever explain to anyone. He had always found it easier to keep himself at a distance, never allowing anyone close enough to cause this particular type of pain. Gajeel could handle broken bones, even bruised organs, but he was sure that if something were to happen to these people, especially Levy that he would completely lose himself to the darkness of hatred.

Draco paced slowly in the center of the room feeling overwhelmed by everything that he needed to tell them, he could barely form the sentences as he looked between them. How long had it been since Igneel had come to tell the dragons that there was finally hope, and that these children held the destiny of freeing them from the agony that they had endured for countless centuries? The idea that children like them were the key to everything rocked the very foundation of the proud dragon's being. Draco was about to settle his nerves and tell them what had come to pass, but was silenced when the gruff voice of the young iron dragon slayer broke through the silence.

"The mystery of the door in your dream has been solved brat." Gajeel kept his distance, leaning against the wall to hide the tension in his squared off shoulders. "It's a demonic chamber that essentially sucks out your soul and your magical powers leaving you to live on as an empty container for the rest of time." It was a simple and effective explanation, clear cut and to the point just like Gajeel himself. He felt that the dragon was having trouble putting things into words that would keep them from panicking so he took it upon himself to do the deed. Lucy had every right to know exactly what it was that she had been seeing, and he knew that knowing the full truth would drive her to find a way to change their fate.

He had been paying attention when Lucy explained that she felt like they were behind the door, and now he knew what that had meant. If it got to the point that Lucy had seen, it was clear that they had failed in their mission, and every last one of them was dead, and the man in her vision had gained the power of the reaper, so he was as powerful as all of them combined. Lucy was an incredible mage, but he knew that once the others rejoined that everyone would be close to if not at the level she was at the very moment. A combination of all their powers would be nearly unbeatable, even for her. Gajeel knew that she hadn't shown them the full extent of her powers, but still taking on three first generation Dragon slayer, Laxus and Levy after being trained for any amount of time with the dragons was going to be an intense battle.

Gajeel was afraid, nearly terrified, and Lucy could sense it. Her gut twisted with the feelings of his heart, she knew exactly what he meant, and she hated to admit it, but she agreed. There was no way she could take on their powers combined, not alone, but Lucy knew that she would fight to the death no matter what happened. Everything had finally started to fall into place, everything she had seen up to this point had finally fit together, and she felt his fear, marred with hatred for the people who would cause their family this type of pain.

Silence enveloped the room as the words Gajeel spoke sunk in.

Natsu could barely raise his head, but he was thankful that he had regained his consciousness as well as the use of his vocal cords only a short time ago, but his body was still not ready for the stress of moving around. He had listened just as closely to the taller man speak, unaware of the fear behind his words. His connection from the dragon's link had temporarily been affected by the seal breaking, so when the flood of Lucy's emotions hit him he felt completely paralyzed. Right at the front of everything was the nearly tangible fear shared between his friends, it was completely heartbreaking to listen to their inner voices echo the same words over and over. As Natsu got over the shock of the link reconnecting, everything that had happened while he was unconscious came flooding through him catching him up to speed on the conditions his team/family were currently in. Natsu felt slightly guilty for everything that his friends had been put through during this process, it wasn't fair that he had to drag the others into something this painful, and dangerous. Deep down though he knew that each and everyone of his new family would have come whether or not they had been invited. Natsu knew that he would have done the same had their situations been reversed, fate had bound them all together, and the only way they would make it through this was to stick together and see it through till the very end.

"Igneel has sent your other companions off with private tutors." Draco broke the tense silence after observing the worried glance between the married couple. "Each of them has two capable teacher who will guild them to a point where they will be suited to fight along side the heads of the family."

Lucy sat listening to every word of the dragon's explanations and what Igneel had ordered. Everyone was separated now, off on their own for god knows how long, while the two of them were still trapped due to injuries. Her head began to spin from pure shock that they had all left with out so much as a good bye.

"I'll be heading out once Metalicana comes back from explaining everything to Grandine. It seems her and Wendy had already headed out before the rest of us." Gajeel was almost ready to head out himself, knowing full well what was waiting for him. As he put his hand on the door knob Natsu spoke out in a scratchy voice.

"Do what needs to be done. No one here will judge you if it comes the that, remember Gajeel we are a family." Gajeel froze in his tracks, knowing what the fire breather meant, but felt as though he couldn't believe that such a person would approve of something so terrible. Gajeel already knew that it might come down to a one on one death match between him as his father, especially when the dragon had looked him over with his impassive and cold steel grey eyes. It was nearly a certainty.

"If Levy gets back before I do, don't tell her. If it comes to that I want to be the one to explain myself." With out waiting for a response he continued. "If I don't... make sure to take care of her for me." Gajeel turned the knob and made his way out of the cabin.

Lucy watched the exchange with a grimace knowing full well what they were talking about. In the situation, Lucy would have been certain that Natsu would have gone ballistic at the very idea of a death match between father and son, but it seemed that now everything was slightly different. It was a custom for Metalicana's breed, and there was no way around the inevitable. Gajeel would have to do what was right by him, and handle this. Lucy had no doubt that Gajeel was strong enough to hand the deed, but she was also aware that he was still human and taking life was never easy.

"Everyone is off now, what are we supposed to do, just sit here and wait?" Lucy sounded impatient as she observed the Dragon who only sighed as a reply. Lucy tapped her foot impatiently on the floor, keeping her gaze as menacing as possible, it took a while to ware the dragon down enough for a real response.

"Right now what is important is that you both heal up properly. We have all the time in the world to do what is necessary, and there is still many things that need to be discussed." Draco had himself seated at the small table that was over by the window, the thick wool curtains were drawn back letting in the light of the noon high sun. "There are many things that I myself do not understand." His voice betrayed his frustration, as he gazed out at the forest beyond the window.

"I agree, we need to heal properly before either of us can run off to train." Natsu leaned himself back against the rough pillows on the bed, wincing slightly as his still sore abdominal muscles tightened. Lucy was by his side in a matter of seconds hands glowing as she prepared to heal anything he may have re-injured. Natsu waved her off quickly. "I'm not hurt would you stop worrying so much." The situation they were in was already doing a great job of grating on his nerves, it had begun facilitating his pent up aggression rather well. Natsu was sure that if her wasn't careful it would be directed at someone in an unhealthy manner especially if he didn't get out of that room soon.

"I don't want to run off and train right this moment, but I also don't just want to sit here waiting for everyone else to come back, it makes me feel useless." Lucy keep her eyes averted, careful not to make contact with either male. Her pride was shaken along with her deep rooted fears of the dreams becoming reality.

"Igneel will be coming for Natsu when the time is right." Draco took a few deep breaths before looking back at the young couple. "I'm here to over see Lucy with the remainder of her training, as Igneel has commanded." Lucy walked over to her own bed folding her legs into her chest. She laid her head on her knees allowing the turmoil inside her mind to flow freely around as silence fell in the small room once more. Natsu listened to her thoughts, making sure he was fully aware of everything she knew. Lucy kept a blank stare plastered across her face as the hours went by, she was happy that there were no clocks to tell the time, because she knew that if there had been one its ticking and tocking would surely have driven her mad.

"My time line is all messed up now." Lucy's nerves were showing from under her calm facade when she finally couldn't stand the images in her mind any longer. "I have to get some form of bearings to stand on before I can go anywhere." She leaned over and pulled up her pack, rummaging through till she found the documents she was looking for. She fretted over the many pages of lists she had worked on over the travels. Mira and the others had been working hard to recruit as much help as possible, but the details were all still so uncertain that they were finding it difficult.

"The guild has been greatly weakened in the past seven years, we have lost a lot of members." This was the reality of being dead last in rank, but the core members were all back and working to catch up to where the enemies were. Over the time that had passed, some of the mages who had been newly instated had returned once they had heard rumors of the S-class mages re-appearing as well as the candidates for S-class. Faith in the guild was being established from scratch, and with a 'battle royal' for the masters seat being spread out as credible information, it seemed that a lot of mages were willing to take the chance to return.

"The last we heard from Mira, some of the dark guilds were on the move." Natsu figured working on a battle plan might not be a total waste of time since he would be stuck in the bed for at least a few more days, and it would divert his attentions for the most part. Lucy was the one who did the thinking, she and Levy had served as the stratigists while the men were the acting force. Wendy was the support and medical crew. It was a well balanced team, and Natsu was sure with there powers taking down those guilds would be nearly too easy. The problem all came down to how reliable their information was.

"We have our major players, everyone that was on the island is currently working on getting stronger. Then we have to members who were left behind like Max and Macao, even Romeo. I want to keep the young ones as far out of the line of fire as possible." Lucy was scribbling on some scrap pieces of paper working out the numbers that they had to deal with, as she recounted everything out loud.

"And there are the mages of Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scales that had agreed to support us. We may not have the numbers we used to, but that's never stopped us before." Natsu smiled as he threw his hands around wildly to bring his point home.

"This isn't going to be like any other battle, even though you are aware of what you're up against, if some how the barrier to the door's realm is breached..." Draco ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't think that even the both of you combined could stop the repercussions once that happens, for the simple reason that magic is void in that space, except for the reaper himself." Draco leaned back in his chair looking up towards the sky. "Many of us gave our lives to seal that horrid thing, including Adelaide one of the most talented of our kind. She was the one who created the seal, and made sure the cursed black dragon couldn't get back inside." Draco looked as though he were lost in a fond memory, his gaze softening ever so slightly.

"This must be hard for you." The statement came out quieter than Lucy had wanted, letting in float in the air around them like a wisp of some dream that had once been held by these amazing creatures.

"It never gets easy, but life moves on and so do we. I'm not the only one who lost a mate in those battles." Natsu couldn't help but feel sorry for this creature, Draco knew the pain of lose so much deeper than most others, and his heart resounded with a similar pain.

"I'm so sorry." Lucy couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes, but she knew that he didn't want her pity so she brushed them away before he could catch sight of them.

"A lot of the bloodlines were completely wiped out by the great battles, it's only natural that mates would lose one another. It was the reality we had to live with for hundreds of years. If it weren't for Igneel and the others of his generation we may have lost even more, during those last battles. He had been at the front of every battle, rallying for our victory. He was one of the lucky ones, his mate had stayed behind opting to take care of the younger generations. It was a real shock when his own daughter went mad." Draco laughed. "She found herself in her human form, and was convinced that she was one. She left the colony and it drove Igneel crazy. He searched for her for years, and when he finally got close, he found Natsu instead."

"That's tragic." Lucy kept her eyes glued to the floor knowing that Natsu didn't want to see the look of pity on her face as much as Draco hadn't.

"You know there hasn't been peace in this world since the great wars, you would think that we would get some form of reprieve after what we all had to go through. Igneel and what was left of the Ancients worked for hundreds of years to bring it about, but there was nothing we could do. Igneel tired his damnedest when he found your mother, Lucy, they tried to settle things between the spirits and the dragons, in hopes that we could join forces to take down the growing threat that was consuming the world again, but they weren't successful. I was never told the specific details of what happened, and Igneel doesn't like to talk about it, but I can assume it was extremely hard on him. Their efforts gave us new hope when the two of you came into the picture, though. The Fates had told us when it all began, to look for you, and here you are, bringing the two sides together, as well as the humans." He rested his chin in his hand as he continued. "We all took turns coming to watch over all of you before Igneel made the order for us not to interfere, none of us could keep away. You are the hope that has been keeping us going in this never ending cycle of sadness. Many of us have also been watching your friends closely to make sure that you are getting the best support possible. There are many magics that have been waiting for the right people to master them, and it has been my task to help Igneel decided who was best suited for which techniques." The dragon sighed deeply once more. "Everything will work itself out in the end, I'm sure of it." Draco sent them a smile that seemed slightly forced before turning back to the window.

"So Igneel had this in mind before we got here?" Natsu asked the obvious question, cause the other two to chuckle.

"We've just been waiting for all of you to get here." Draco finally stood up from the table and stretched his arms above his head. "I'll be back for you soon Lucy, I have a feeling that your friend Levy may be able to use some of the books I have stashed away in my private collection. I'll be back once I've arranged for someone to deliver them to her." Draco bowed politely as he excused himself from the small shack.

"Focus your energy on keeping the balance of the magics even, once you have the balance down we can move on." Igneel watched on as Natsu worked to balance his fire magic with Makarov's fire magic. "Once you can balance it you can consume it completely, using it as if it were your own power." Igneel used a firm voice as he watched the two battle back and forth. Natsu was nearly immune to the flames of a dragon, so it had been far to easy for him to assimilate the powers of Igneel's fire into himself. Makarov had offered his services to help in any way he could. Young Natsu had been taking his time to gauge his opponent, and get a proper feel for the the magic his elder used. It took several rounds of flames being thrown back and fourth in the wide expanse of the clearing before Natsu was finally able to get the none dragon fire consummation down properly.

"How was that?" Natsu beamed with pride as he approached his grandfather.

"You are doing very well my son, soon you will be able to learn to absorb the other elements just as easily as fire." Igneel reached out a calloused hand and ran it through the young boys spiky hair.

"Now show me the three basic dragon slayer attacks." Igneel watched his grandson walk back over to Makarov who was only a foot shorter than Natsu himself. Pride and anticipation filled the dragon's heart as he watched the young boy train his heart out, as he did every day.

"Come now, you can do better than this." Igneel chuckled as he watched Natsu, a full grown man, relearn all the things he had done as a young child. It was taking less time than he had originally planned. Natsu seemed to have already learned how to consume other elements, and infusing them with his fire during his years of being sealed. Lightning seemed to be the one element he had the most practice with and had actually used it in combat. Lucy had been smart to send Natsu off to train with Laxus in the fashion she had, his grandson had always responded better to physical lessons rather than explanations and charts or learning the theory behind the magic first. His hands on approach is honestly what made Natsu so well apt to battle with opponents who would always underestimate him due to his size and silly nature.

"You say that like this is easy old man!" Natsu found himself facing off against a dragon that was twice his size, her scales glittered in the sun with there metallic coating before they began to spark with a bright purple charge. She growled dangerously preparing for another attack. Igneel had ordered her to fight him like he was a real enemy, and she had taken his words to heart, and attacked the mage with her full ferocious nature. Her sparks spread out around her like a halo, before she sent another attack crashing towards Natsu who barely dodged to his left.

"It's no different than what you did with Laxus." Natsu laughed inwardly as he remembered the brutal torture inflicted on him while learning to balance the two different types of magic in his internal container. This dragon was a lot more skilled with her attacks than Laxus, and she had the advantage of flight on her side, all these things made it difficult for Natsu to memorize the feel of her powers. "Your not going to get the time to feel out your enemies in battle Natsu. Listen to your instincts, now that your dragon blood has been awakened again, it should feel more natural to do it this way." Natsu gritted his teeth as he prepared for her next attack. He allowed himself to just do, instead of think, breathing in and feeling the burning buzz of her magic fill him. He kept his magic securely contained as he worked on condensing the new power.

"Lightning fire dragon's roar!" Natsu released his infused attack, striking his opponent directly. She crashed to the ground breathing irregularly. Natsu swallowed back the the roar of victory as he rushed over to make sure he hadn't killed her.

"You still show mercy for your opponents." Igneel's tone noted that he was not shocked, but rather displeased.

"I will not take a life if I don't have to." Natsu recovered and straightened himself to his full height showing his grand father how seriously he took this particular moral. "Fighting is one thing, but I'm not a killer."

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I hope that you all feel a tad bit better about Gajeel's action in the previous chapter after his conversation with Natsu. It was difficult for me to force that out come, but it was also something that needed to be done. I'll have the next chapter up soon.

~Chrys