Chapter 6

AN: I will be making Gajeel a lot kinder and "soft" in this story, just as a heads up. Also I know that Rouge's real name is supposed to be Ryos, but to me Rouge is Rouge so his name shall be Rouge. Finally I had an idea for the story that will slightly change it, so happy will no longer be Natsu's Exceed and you will see what I'm doing with him but it does boost the people with Natsu not counting himself and Igneel up to 22 not 21; enjoy the chapter.

When Natsu felt his body was awake he stretched himself out but then remembered the conversation he and his brother shared with their dad. Anxiety consumed his mind, he was worried that if he opened his eyes that his father would be gone.

Getting a hold of his nerves Natsu slowly opened his eyes and instantly tears came to his eyes when he didn't see Igneel in front of him. Before he could shout and cry though he felt a warm breath on his back. When Natsu turned around his smile split his face as the normal comforting presence of Igneel consumed him.

"Igneel!" Natsu shouted not only waking up the dragon but also Eric as the boy jumped onto the dragons face and hugged his snout. Igneel let out a chuckle as Eric also charged him and grabbed onto the dragon. Igneel gently removed both boys from himself and gave them a smile.

All three were so happy and completely understood each other that they didn't even speak. After some time passed, Igneel finally stood up with his smile still present. "We will eat some breakfast and then head off to gather your friends Natsu, the closest one is Gajeel so we will head for him when we finish breakfast." Igneel said.

Eric and Natsu then nodded as Igneel turned and went into the forest looking for some food for the two boys. It didn't take him long, and he soon returned to the boys with cooked food for them to eat.

When the boys had finished breakfast they climbed on Igneel's back, and he then took off for the mountains where Gajeel would be. Along the way Eric asked Natsu questions about Gajeel because he had never met him before. Natsu told him that Gajeel was rather ruff looking, but at the same time he was very kind and compassionate.

Natsu then told Eric about the magic that Gajeel used, he explained how he used dragon magic like the both of them, but his was iron. Natsu then used some of the iron magic he learned as an example to show Eric.

It took the boys about a day to track down Gajeel, and when they did Natsu was very surprised he had never seen Gajeel cry before but clear as day he was. The crying ended when Igneel landed and Natsu and Eric jumped down though.

"I knew it so that stupid dragon just up and left me." Gajeel said before he fell to his knees and started to cry again. Before things could get out of hand though Igneel explained to Gajeel what had actually happened to his father Metalicana. When Gajeel heard the truth he just looked down and put a hand on his abdomen. "Dad" he silently whispered to himself while a smile came onto his face.

Gajeel then sat up and asked Natsu about who the other boy was and why they were here. Natsu then explained to Gajeel about the tower they had come across and how they saved Eric from the tower along with his best friend Cubellios. Natsu then explained that when Igneel had found him there was a strange symbol that he found, and after he had gathered all his friends that they were going to look for information on the symbol.

Gajeel took all the information in and was happy to go with Natsu and Eric seeing as how he didn't have anywhere else to go now that Metalicana was no longer able to care for him like before. Natsu happy with the statement asked Igneel where they would be going next.

Igneel had to think for a minute he knew that Rouge was closer to them, but at the same time he knew that he would need to get a form of carriage or saddle that he could put on his back seeing as he wouldn't be able to fly many more people without them having no room on his back.

After thinking that, he knew the giants would be his best bet as they could build something large enough for him and his passengers with ease, which also meant that Flare would be their next companion if she wished to join.

Igneel turning back to Natsu now that he had finished his thoughts told Natsu that they would head to the sun village to see Flare and Atlas while he had the giants make him a saddle thing to carry them.

AN: As for the saddle thing, if you have ever seen Avatar the last airbender, imagine the thing Appa wears; if you haven't seen that show then google Appa and you should get the gist of it.

After three days of flight, the group of now five had landed in the Sun village and were surrounded by the giants of the village. Natsu who had seen the giants before jumped off and greeted Flare who was near the front and then introduced her to Eric, Gajeel, and Cubellios. Flare was slightly nervous around so many people her size but was able to make quick friends with them seeing as how Natsu encouraged her to speak with them.

Igneel had asked the giants about the saddle he wanted, and they quickly agreed to build it for him. Igneel then used some of his magic and created solid gold to use as payment to the giants. They had at first tried to decline the money, but when Igneel insisted they relented and accepted his payment.

The saddle had taken the giants nearly a week to create, and in that time Natsu had introduced the others to Atlas and convinced Flare to join them on their journey so that she could see the world.

Once Igneel had the saddle tested and was able to put it on and take it off with ease the group took off again to find their next companion on their journey. Flare in the time that it had taken to make the saddle had become very good friends with everyone else and had come out of her shell and was very friendly and bubbly to everyone.

When asked where they were going though, Igneel told Natsu that the person closest to them was Rouge. Natsu then took it upon himself to explain to the others what Rouge was like. He told them that while we was very soft spoke and shy that he was extremely nice and kind.

When Natsu was first able to see Rouge, he was very surprised by what he had seen. Rouge was not only much stronger than when Natsu last saw him, but he also wasn't where Skiadrum had left him. Rouge had found his way into a town so Natsu had gone by himself while everyone else stayed with Igneel away from town so they didn't draw attention.

With Rouge was a walking talking cat that was inside a frog suit. When Natsu asked about the cat Rouge had told him that he found the cat shortly after leaving Skiadrum. She was next to an egg that had just appeared to hatch and seeing as how she was so vulnerable he took her in and gave her the name Frosch she also like frogs so much that he bought her a frog suit with some money he had made.

When Natsu asked Rouge to follow him to see Igneel, Rouge seemed hesitant but agreed to Natsu's request. When Rouge did see the majestic dragon some silent tears came to his face as he remembered Skiadrum. When he saw the other people Rouge was surprised but didn't question what was going on.

After Natsu had explained to Rouge what they were doing he had again had that reluctant look on his face and was trying to hide something. But Natsu had been able to see that and was able to get Rouge to tell him about what had happened. When Natsu heard what Rouge had said about killing Skiadrum he was surprised and worried, but then Igneel moved towards Rouge.

"Rouge I am going to tell you something that will seem hard to believe, but it is the absolute truth." Igneel said. He then began to tell Rouge how Dragons had the ability to manipulate others memories and make it seem as if the event really happened.

He told Rouge that was why he had suddenly gotten stronger, because Skiadrum had made him believe that he had killed a dragon to get stronger. When Rouge questioned where Skiadrum really was though, Igneel had explained to him much like he had the others about the dragon disappearing inside to the dragon slayers bodies.

While Rouge did have a problem believing what had been told to him he was glad that Skiadrum was alive and in the future he would again be able to see him. When he had come to the conclusion, a wave of gratefulness washed over his body. Now that he had finally made peace with what had happened or not happened according to Igneel Rouge agreed to accompany them as long as Frosch could come too.

Natsu only smiled and said the more people they had the more fun they could also have.

The people that Natsu and the others were now closest to were Ur and her students, so that would be their next stop. Natsu told the others that Ur and her students Grey, Lyon, and Ultear all used Ice make magic which allowed them to use magic to mold ice into varying shapes.

He then told them that Grey and Lyon had a stripping problem and that Ur often was without clothes as well. Everyone looked at him strange when he said that, but he just sighed and told them they would get used to it.

Two short days after leaving where they had found Rouge and Frosch they had come across Ur's cabin where she and her students lived. When Igneel landed in the back yard of the cabin so to speak, the first person to see him was Ultear who then left to get her mother and pseudo brothers.

When the group of four came out and greeted Natsu and Igneel, they were then introduced to everyone else that was with them. Ur then invited the others into her home even though it would be crowded.

Then next day after everyone had greeted and made friends with Ur, Grey, Lyon, and Ultear Natsu told them about the journey they were all going on. When Natsu drew the symbol for them to see Ur was surprised at the sight of it and spoke up.

She informed Natsu that she had seen a symbol like that before on a mage who was passing thorough the nearby town on a quest. When Natsu asked her what it was and meant, she told him that she believed it was a symbol for a mages guild but she didn't know anything other than that.

When Natsu asked her what a mages guild was though, she explained to him that it was a place where wizards like her and everyone else gathered to have fun and do jobs Natsu grew excited and wanted to find even more out about this symbol.

When Natsu asked the four of them to join him on his journey, Ur had agreed quickly and told him that it would not only be a good experience for everyone, but at the same time she herself had always wished to meet other powerful mages that gathered together at a guild and shared their magic with others.