Chapter Four: Dragon's Force

Lucy's throat became hoarse, no longer able to continue shrieking in fear of losing her voice completely. The echo had carried through the wind but soon dissipated within moments. Holding back tears, she lifted her head to steal a glance at her captor. It was obviously a dragon based on its build. Its scales were that of a dark silver- almost like a tough sheet of metal had encased the beast. Its tail stretched out was very long with a club ending donned with spikes; a very threatening weapon in the heat of battle. Further up its spiny back sat its head where rested a pair of sleek black horns that curled much like a rams.

"W-where are you taking me?" Lucy stuttered through stifled sobs. When the dragon looked at her, she could see his dark red eyes before turning away, refusing to answer. "Take me back!" she demanded, fear evident in her voice.

The silver dragon only snorted, shifting his position and the air and causing Lucy to shake, scared he would drop her. Thankfully, the dragon wasn't a complete moron and decided to keep a firm grip as they picked up speed. His wings pulled in, gliding at a very quick pace through the wispy clouds. As the cotton white fluffs slowly faded, Lucy's gaze was met with a dead forest that came closer into view as her captor hovered above the gnarled branches.

He landed with a grunt in a sparse clearing, stray branches scraping against Lucy and furthering more tears into her dress. Around the base of the lifeless foliage roamed a blanket of fog, silhouettes of ridged trees standing visibly among the eerie mist. Lucy was still pinned under the dragon's claws; which were noted as long and came to a sharp point. She struggled to free herself, earning an amused chuckle from her captor.

"Why must you struggle so?" the voice came in a low rumble, faintly amused as he showed teeth in a dragon grin.

"Because its not right to kidnap and keep people against their will!" Lucy spat in response, frowning to hide her fear. "Especially when it's royalty!"

"Royalty, hmm?" the silver dragon's interest perked, murmuring to himself. "So that hot headed lizard finally caught himself a worthy prize. Interesting. This'll be more fun than I thought."

"You'd better let me go," Lucy threatened with as much malice as she could muster which was surprisingly a lot. "Or my fierce dragon companion will tear you to shreds."

The silver dragon released a loud laugh, trees shuddering at the intensity of something so loud in their dismal state. He stared at her through gleeful red eyes. "I don't suppose you're talking of Natsu?"

"So you've heard of him," the blonde replied, eyes narrowed. "Then you should know you're in for a world of pain." The dragon only laughed louder.

"If you mean he's in for a world of pain, then yes, I agree with you."

Their conversation was held short as an enraged roar caused the trees to shudder again, heavy footsteps crunching over dead bracken. From the fog stood a dark silhouette; a silhouette of a dragon no doubt. And there was only one dragon whom Lucy had made contact with besides the one she was currently taken hostage by. That one dragon being...

"Let her go, Gajeel," growled an icy voice, the mist fading to reveal the young dragon with pink tipped scarlet scales paired with a set of deep onyx eyes. "I highly recommend you release her or you'll be dealing with me."

As her dragon friend began circling the newly titled Gajeel, Lucy noticed the splash of dried crimson on his flank where he had been struck with the sword. The blade had now been removed though the wound had yet to be healed.

"Just my plan, Salamander," Gajeel retorted smugly, roughly nudging Lucy aside with a swipe of his claws and dropping into a crouch. Lucy fell against a tree for support and called over her status of "I'm ok!" after Natsu had giver her a worried look and prepared to advance out of fear. The scarlet scaled dragon regained control, still worried by the frequent glances he stole to make sure the blonde wasn't hurt.

Both reptilian beasts had began their match, circling each other with furious glares and the occasional warning swipe. Finally, one swing fell too far and suddenly both were locked in combat.

From the sidelines, Lucy was worried. Natsu shouldn't have gone into this type of battle right after taking a serious hit. Her anguish spiked once Gajeel had driven a hard swipe against the recent wound, the blood starting to freely flow once again. Natsu had thrown aside the larger dragon, flickering of flames peeking out from bared teeth. Followed by another snarl and roar, the dragons were thrown into a tussle of claws and teeth. The scarlet scaled dragon's temper flared, firing off a very large stream of orange at his opponent.

Using superior speed to dodge, Gajeel swung his mace-like tail at Natsu's crown, striking a direct blow to the head. This attack forced a shrill hiss from the fire dragon and lashed out with a flurry of orange flames. Several managed to hit their intended target but none seemed to do permanent damage against the steel hide dragon.

Gajeel quickly lunged again, drawing sharpened metal claws against the crimson stained wound, another slash ripping out a few scales with more blood splashing out at a much quicker pace. As the silver dragon pulled back, Lucy could see the dripping red from his claws. Natsu roared with fury, onyx eyes blazing as his body was consumed by flames, though none seemed to hurt him. Gajeel wasn't surprised; matching the roar before the spikes along his back grew, his claws growing longer as did his teeth. His mace-like tail had grown in size just like the rest of him, showing off deadly spikes of pointed metal. Hissing and spitting, the two dragons of immense power clawed, bit, and spat flames at each other. Well, at least Natsu was spitting flames. Gajeel kept to lashing out with extensions of his claws that abruptly shrunk back after striking to avoid getting hit.

"Quit dodging and fight!" the metal dragon snarled, swiping out again with an extension of his claws.

"I'll take you on anytime!" spat the fire dragon, lurching ahead at rocket speed and ramming full force into his opponent's chest. They were suddenly a mass of flailing spikes and scattered puffs of orange embers. Natsu's teeth clamped around Gajeel's front paw, but not for long as the metal reinforced dragon bashed him aside with a hefty swing of his tail. The scarlet scaled dragon was sent sprawling, his barrier of flames remaining strong burning, giving him the energy he needed to stand up again.

"You can still stand," the metal dragon remarked with a look of surprise. Natsu replied with an arrogant huff, refusing to reply with words and instead spraying a huge wave of fire towards Gajeel. The metal dragon was caught by surprise and furiously tried to slash away the embers, only surprised as the wave increased causing him to recoil several feet. As Natsu began advancing, Lucy could swear that the barrier of fire was increasing, spreading to nearly five or six feet from his body.

Roaring in fury, Natsu lurched forward and collided with the larger dragon. This attack knocked him backwards into a gnarled tree, the dead wood clinging to the spikes and refusing to release the metal dragon from its grip.

Nearing closer, Natsu's barrier of fire flickered several feet further and the nearest branch tips burst aflame. The flickering orange quickly zipped down the dead foliage, nearing the base of the trunk within seconds. Only minutes later, several trees were engulfed in flames before spreading to much of the dead forest. Trees had fallen, one of the largest trees actually pinning down the metal dragon. Gajeel wriggled helplessly under the burning tree, trying to lash out and escape with panicked roars and snarls. Natsu advanced with slow, deliberate steps, the fire barrier nearly consuming his body and preventing someone on the outside from seeing what was on the inside.

Lucy could see him though. Lucy could see the bloodlust in his lifeless onyx eyes. His rage driven emotions perking anxiety.

"Natsu!" she cried desperately. Just because Gajeel had kidnapped her, it didn't mean she didn't want to see someone die. The dragon halted, the flames practically flickering up against Gajeel's muzzle. His head turned to see the disturbance that had prevented his kill.

"You need to stop," Lucy said shakily, taking a few steps closer. "There isn't any need for pointless bloodshed and death. He may deserve it but as a favor to me...please don't kill him." Tears were brimming in her eyes.

The hardened look in Natsu's rage boiled optics slowly died, the barrier flickering out slowly and leaving an exhausted looking dragon behind. With weakened steps, he began trudging towards the blonde, meeting her halfway with a forced smile as she embraced him in a hug.

"Pathetic sap!" snarled Gajeel, still trapped although the flames had significantly died out once the Natsu's barrier faded. "You don't even have the courage to slay me and instead turn with your tail between your legs to a human!"

"I am showing you mercy, metal head," Natsu retorted, turning his crown to face the trapped dragon. "Out of the goodness in my heart, you can lay there defeated- but breathing. And now I take my leave. Don't test my power ever again."

Holding a wing over Lucy, the fire dragon guided her through the dead foliage at a slow walk, still rather fatigued so he couldn't exactly fly right away. Exhausted herself, Lucy leaned against her dragon companion, rather satisfied with herself and leaving on a positive note.

"You're an idiot, you know that right?" Lucy looked up at the bruised and battered fire dragon, the wound upon his side stained a bloody mess.

"But I'm your idiot," the dragon forced a grin despite the pain, now a numb thorn in his side. He playfully bumped her side and released a weak dragon laugh. Lucy returned the smile, brightening the dismal ambiance despite the depressing atmosphere of dead foliage.

"That's right Natsu," she murmured happily. "You're my idiot."

Dawww! More light hearted fluff after a triumphant battle. Don't fret, many more battles to come. This is only the beginning. Can anyone see a pattern here? Guess you'll have to wait to find out. Thanks to all who have reviewed so far! Thou appreciates it!

-Snarky