Chapter 15: Fairy Tail Battle Royale: Lightning Rouge vs Fiery Renegade
Previously
"Nice and simple, that's just the way I like it!" The doors were completely obliterated as he entered, a hundred watts fangy grin on his face.
Lightning Rouge vs Fiery Renegade
"What the fuck were you doing all this time?!" Gray shouted from his spot on the ground, the Dragon Slayer, finally back in action, took slow steps towards the rouge mage who had his eyes on Natsu.
"Shut up princess, I was thinking!" Natsu's answer baffled the few people who knew him, irrespective of the situation; the Dragon Slayer was still in a mood.
"Natsu?" Shaking herself out of her shock, Erza called the Dragon Slayer as he approached them.
"This is a festival, right? So let's party." That's when Erza saw the wild look in her lover, his eyes were a little sharp at the edges and his pupils were slightly contracted to near slit like and a huge fangy grin. The wild animalistic lust for battle that radiated the usually go lucky pinkette was only felt by a handful.
"Glad you can see it my way! If nothing else, you at least got the right attitude kid." Laxus chuckled amusedly at the somewhat familiar pink head.
"Oh yeah!" Natsu's voice even with the wildness his body showed didn't go beyond his usual tone.
"What the hell are you doing man?! That guy over there will fry you!" Warren seeing the pink head for the first time warned his fellow member.
"Oh we'll just have to see about who's frying who, right Happy?" The Exceed didn't like this side of the Dragon Slayer; he always seemed to know more than him.
"Aye..." A grumpy Happy replied.
Turning to the big man on the stage, he stared into his eyes. "Why don't we get the show started?" Laxus raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"Salamander what are you doing?" Gajeel questioned through gritted teeth.
"Well, I think I got a rough idea, this dude over here has yellow balls all around Magnolia, so why don't you all leave this battle to me and go help Erza with taking down those things?" The said redhead looked at her man for a few seconds before nodding and bolted out of the cathedral, not looking back if anyone was coming with her.
"What! There's possibly no way you can take Laxus on your own!" Gray shouted. Gajeel grunted, not at all in the state to talk or advice anyone, not that it was his speciality or anything even if it was normal day.
"We will see, but more than this fight, you guys need to go save the people of Magnolia, I don't think those balls are just for fun." Gray couldn't deny Natsu's point. This 'game' has already caused a lot of damage, and there was no way in hell, will he let people die when he knew he could have saved them.
"You better not die fool, I still haven't beaten you!" Gray followed Erza's track and Lucy followed her friend, but not before giving Natsu a nod. Loke, Macao, Wakaba, Warren and Alzack followed the blonde out, before splitting in different directions. All who remained were Natsu, Gajeel and Laxus, the Iron Dragon Slayer tried to stay straight up, but his body still zapped with the residual energy attack Laxus unleashed on him.
"You ain't going Gajeel?" The Fire Dragon asked his comrade who continued to stare at Laxus with disdain.
"Guess I'll let you have him, this makes us even Salamander?" He asked as he walked away to the side where the remains of an iron window laid, time for some replenishment and didn't look back to confirm his answer. Turning back to look at Laxus, Natsu cracked his knuckles.
"Lightning or Fire?" Natsu looked smugly at the rouge mage who gave a smirk and turned his body into Lightning and charged at the Fire Dragon Slayer who himself turned into his Fire form, meeting the other man halfway. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!" Both mages came into human form in the middle of the cathedral, slamming their fist into the others. A shockwave ripped through the air, blowing away the benches as they brought down punches nonstop. Lightning clad fists countered Fire clad ones.
"Fire Dragon's Claw!" Natsu, bended his right knee a little before use it to jump up and bring his other flaming leg on to Laxus's shoulder, pushing away the Lightning mage away, but he stumbled back to a stop immediately.
"Hahahaha! This is amazing, out of all the weaklings, there's someone to counter my strikes head on? Great! This won't be a bore after all!" Laxus bellowed as he launched at the Dragon Slayer. With a feral grin Natsu blocked the Lightning clad fist by clamping his hands around Laxus's wrist and brought his other arm onto the Lightning mage's face in a series punches.
"What do you say now?" Natsu roared as he struck the other Dragon Slayer brutally, each blow to Laxus's face sent shockwaves across the hall of the cathedral.
"Lightning Dragon's Demolishing Fist!" The sudden attack in point blank range to the gut made the Fire Dragon Slayer let go of his iron grip on the other man as he screamed in pain and was blown away.
"What the hell..." Laxus shook his head a few times to get back his vision. Never before was he made to stumble from an attack, especially one that didn't employ magic. Looking over to the debris cloud, he saw no movement at first, but then he saw the deep reddish golden flames that whirled in a circular formation behind the transparent dust cloud.
"You won't win..." Natsu walked out, the Fire wiped out the dust cloud as it spun around him in slow lazy waves. "You don't have what it takes to be Gramps." There it was again, him compared to his grandfather.
"You doubt me?" Laxus's eyes darkened, as he stood there motionless. "Haven't you learned to respect your elder's boy?" Natsu stopped his advance and gave a look of curiousness at what the other man was saying. "But you have already spoken, so has the heaven above us..." That when the Fire Dragon Slayer's eyes widened at the sudden electricity that charged the air and the source originating from above Laxus.
'Shit...' Unprepared for an attack of that scale, the pink head shielded his face with his wrists as Laxus brought down the attack on him.
"Face the judgement of Heaven! Raging Bolt!" Natsu roared in pain as the electric waves passed through his body from the powerful magic. "Soon Magnolia will fall and the Fairy Tail that became a disappointment will go along with it! Then ill change everything!" Laxus laughed as he looked down upon the kneeling Dragon Slayer.
THUNDER PALACE OFFLINE!
The corner of his eye caught this written on his archive before it disappeared. "What the-" He stared in shock. "How could this be?"
"See, I told you it wouldn't work..." Laxus turned back to the Dragon Slayer who slowly got up from his knee and stretched his neck and arms before letting out a sigh and continuing. "Weren't you saying something about changing to make the guild better?" The Fire once again began to build around him while Laxus kept silent; his face was down and expressionless.
"Well that's funny, everything is getting along just fine to me, how do you expect to become our Master if you can't get along with the rest of us?" The flames grew thicker around him as he continued to observe the Lightning Dragon Slayer who didn't make any motion to speak.
"Tch..." Natsu tilted his head in curiosity at the sound. "I'll take by force if I have to!" Laxus roared, whipping his head up. "I'll take over Fairy Tail by force if I have to!" Laxus charged his body with lightning, his pupil dilated, as the ground around him began to crack with the enormous amount of magical output.
Natsu roared back in anger; both of their elemental magic's clashing with each other. "You better give up! Cus you are never gonna take over Fairy Tail! I'm never gonna let that happen!"
Cackling like a mad man, Laxus launched at the pink head. "Oh yea? You don't know who you are messing with! I am stronger than any of you could ever dream of becoming! Now shut up and just die!" His opponent didn't try to take any counter measures nor any imitative to dodge; Natsu's spiky locks covered his eyes.
"DIE!" Just as Laxus came near ten feet, his eyes widened at the familiar raise of Natsu's arm, closely relatable to a spell he used earlier on the pink head.
"Thanks for the move, Raging Inferno!" Natsu's voice was fierce as he looked up and Laxus too did the same action as he felt the magic energy descending on him, an exact replica of his Raging Bolt, but instead of lightning, it was fire.
Laxus cried out in pain and tried to overcome the fire by unleashing his magic, but it didn't go down that quickly as the Fire Dragon King's flames continued to burn the man for a while. "Rarghhh! Enough!" Laxus roared out, finally managing to cancel the spell that was frying him, although his body was burnt badly and had steam coming off.
Panting hard, the Lightning Dragon Slayer glared at the Fire Dragon Slayer. "You have lost Laxus, your team has been defeated, your Thunder Palace has been destroyed and you are outmatched and out of breath by me, are you ready to give up?" Laxus continued to breath hard for a moment before calming down and gave a smirk at Natsu.
"I gotta say, I did not expect some nobody from Fairy Tail to be this strong, hmmm, now I recall something that old hag said to me about you being tough, guess I was a bit ignorant...ah no worries, I shall correct myself, I shall cleanse Fairy Tail with all of you weaklings blood!" He laughed maniacally, drawing a confused look from the Fire Dragon Slayer.
Natsu watched Laxus bend his knees a little, and a look of concentration coming over the blonde's face as he held his hands in front of his abdomen with the palms facing each other as golden energy began to take form between the empty space of his palms, rays of light emerged from the ground, forcing the pink head to shield his eyes using his forearms from the unknown attack's light.
"Laxus! You need to stop!" Natsu's eyes widened in shock and whipped his head to the side upon hearing the voice that came from the entrance of the nearly destroyed cathedral.
"Levy! What the hell are you doing here?!" Natsu shouted at the blue haired bookworm who braved the flying debris and stood holding the side of the entrance.
She did not pay attention to the Fire Dragon, instead continued to shout towards the Lightning Mage who was still concentrating on his magic. "Laxus! You need to come and see your grandfather! The Master is very sick, he doesn't have much time!" Laxus seem to give a small pause at that.
"Hmmm." A broad smirk came over his face. "This is working better again for me, now that the old man is going to die, I have an even better chance of being the Master!" The spell's intensity once again began to rise. Natsu continued to stand there shell shocked at Levy's revelation of the Master's condition.
Upon realizing the spell that was about be used, Levy's eyes widened in horror. "Fairy Law..." Her voice was gone as her body froze in fear.
'So this is the one huh...' Natsu growled at the output shown by one of the most powerful spells in the world. "Levy! Get out of here!"He yelled at the girl who stood unmoving.
"Haaahahahaha! There is no escape!" Laxus laughed evilly as he brought his hands together. The light blinded the whole of Magnolia from the giant Magic circle that had the Fairy Tail symbol on it. Natsu roared in agony, as the light enveloped him, his eyes momentarily turned red, but more importantly, the glowing red marks that came over the back of his palms.
As the spell subsided, Laxus looked around, admiring his work. "So this is it, the beginning of a new era, under me!" Laxus roared out in laughter, but his laughter stopped on hearing the sounds of light coughing from the debris clouds. "Huh! You survived?!"
"Not just her Laxus, not a single person in Magnolia was harmed." The blonde saw Freed behind Levy, holding his right arm with his left and leaning on to the entrance.
"What! That's impossible, I casted the spell perfectly!" Laxus shouted in disbelief as he looked at his hands with wide eyes.
"Maybe so, but your true feelings betrayed you, it seems you have inherited more than just power from your grandfather, deep down you have his heart too. And deep down, you still care for your comrades." Freed's words burned Laxus with anger as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"Even with his mind planning to hurt us his magic won't with his heart still caring for us..." Levy muttered.
"The truth is that you still care for us as the spell only works on who the caster sees as an enemy, Laxus, please go see your grandfather!" Freed urged, hoping the revelation would change his mind and give this up.
"No, the truth is anyone who stands in my way will be destroyed. Let the old man die! He makes me mad!" Lightning flared out of his body like never before as it bulged in size once again making Freed and Levy stumble back.
"Laxus please! Come back!" Levy cried, drawing the attention of the Lightning mage whose pupils were gone in anger as he raised his arm in her direction.
"Shut up and die!" Laxus roared as he unleashed a huge torrent of lightning at the poor girl who screamed in horror at the incoming attack that will turn her to dust; she closed her eyes and waited it to happen.
"Gah!" She felt the magic shift sideways and slowly opened her eyes and saw Gajeel holding his arm turned club which absorbed the lightning completely, and added with his earlier damage from taking out a twenty of those lightning balls in the sky, he fell back, but not before shouting at the man who kneeled to his right. "Salamander! Get him!"
Natsu's tribal tattooed hands dug into the floor as fire erupted from his body and launched at Laxus who did the same, both of their fists met the faces of the other and continued to slam into each other, neither paid attention to the pain, the fire mage even more so. "Who do you think you are?! You ain't stronger than Gramps!" Natsu bent his left knee really low and slammed his right foot vertically up onto Laxus's under jaw, sending him flying into the roof and out into the air, making a gap there which Natsu used to follow him with a mighty jump.
"Damn you!" Laxus roared as he countered Natsu's attacks weakly, the power loss from Fairy Law was catching up fast.
"Fairy Tail is not something you can own! We are all family, and you have been a member long enough to know that blood ties don't matter!" From the ground the downed mages and the citizens of Magnolia watched in awe as two large streaks of lightning and fire danced, occasionally meeting each other.
"You are wrong! Blood ties do matter! And now you DIE! Lightning Dragon's Demolishing Fist!" Laxus roared as he slammed his lightning clad fist into Natsu's gut, sending the dragon slayer crashing on to the roof of the cathedral. Laxus landed a bit away, standing tall with a menacing aura. "Didn't anyone tell you to respect your elders?" Lightning cackled around him as Natsu got up slowly, not at all bothered by the powerful attack he took in his abdomen which could have levelled mountains.
Down on the ground, Levy supported Gajeel as they watched the two Dragon slayers face of against each other. "No..." They turned to see Freed behind them, his eyes widened in shock.
"What is it, green bean?" Gajeel grunted.
"That energy, it could kill Natsu!" Freed spoke in horror. "Laxus! Don't do it!" He yelled but the man ignored him.
"Ha, can't you see it greeny? Salamander still has a lot of juice." Gajeel smirked as he looked at the Fire Dragon Slayer. "He looks fine to me." Levy bit her lip in cold anticipation.
Laxus raised his arms, with the palms facing up as lightning began to take a shape. "You be honoured that I am using this on you." He growled at the pink head.
"Well? Bring it on blonde!" Natsu roared back.
"Lightning Dragon's Heavenly Halberd!" The lightning took the form of a large halberd as it sailed through the sky at break neck speed towards a charging Natsu who inhaled deeply.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" The powerful flames dissipated the Lightning and struck Laxus; he didn't stop there. "Fire Dragon's Sword horn!" He head butted the Lightning Dragon slayer.
"He really is amazing, his magic...it's almost like it can break through a Dragon's scale and shatter it's soul." Levy spoke as she held a grinning Gajeel.
"Dragon Slayer Sacred Arts..." Freed watched it in amazement at how the Lightning Dragon Slayer who thought to be the most powerful was getting beaten up by someone they thought to be a nobody till now.
"Dragon Slayer Sacred Arts: Fire Dragon's Demolishing Fist!" The flaming body tore through the lightning and headed straight towards a shocked Laxus who looked in horror as he saw the image of a gigantic red dragon accompanying the Fire Dragon Slayer as he bend over in pain from the fist that buried itself deep into his abdomen, saliva and blood came out of Laxus's mouth as his widened.
Natsu landed heavily on the roof of the cathedral and unleashed a roar in a show of primal dominance and soon enough, the Lightning Dragon slayer's limp body crashed a little behind him, twitching lightly, his mouth agape.
"He did it." Freed looked at the outcome, speechless.
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A ball of light floated amidst volcanic mountains, above the river of lava and stopped in front of a cave, the atmosphere and sky were charred red in colour as smoke and red ash flew around. "What are you doing here?" The deep gravelly and grumpy voice came from the dark cave which showed two large molten gold pools which unflinchingly looked at the light ball.
"Why, I am visiting an old friend." The light ball haughtily replied, producing a female's voice.
"Might I remind you that you are forbidden to come here, Grandine?" The large eyes started to move outside, revealing blood red metallic scales of a humongous snout of the legendary fire Dragon King.
"I must say, you are going to regret your actions in the near future and if you haven't felt it already, the process has begun, the antibody did not work and without your presence inside the body, it will only be a matter of a year or two before another Acnologia will come to exist." Grandine's voice was dry with disapproval of her friend's action.
"How dare you compare my son to that vile beast?" Fire suddenly erupted from the cave, destroying the roof and showing Igneel's full body which stood over lava. "Do not intervene in the human's affair! My son will do the right thing; he will become the protector of humanity, he will cleanse our greatest mistake! Now leave and go back to your host! Or do you wish to anger the one and only Igneel?" He flapped his wings in anger.
"Hmm I never should have come here, nor wasted my time arguing with you." Grandine spoke with disdain. "First you did not listen to us when you chose your student even after knowing who he is, then you did not heed Anna's words about his soul, you insulted her, you rejected her offer to send you and him through the Eclipse Gate and look at you now, half dying and guess what, that boy will follow you too if he doesn't lose his mid like Acnologia."
Igneel chuckled darkly. "Grandine, you think I want to live anymore than I already know of? I have already gone down on the halls of history. And about that human wench, she was annoying, and if I were to have followed her plan, my son would have been a weakling, if I were to follow her plan, my son would have been an insect for Acnologia. What is the use of teaching him Dragon Slayer arts if he is unable to use it defeat a Dragon?" A few more deep chuckles followed. "And about my son's soul, you forget one slight detail, a difference he has from all of your pupils..." His voice was dark.
"Oh? Do share." Grandine sarcastically spoke.
"He doesn't have one..." Grandine's stayed silent for a moment before flying away without a counter, leaving the fire dragon, once again alone to his devices.
'Natsu...I believe in you my son...' His mind replayed a memory long forgotten.
Four Hundred Years Ago
Far away from the main battle fields and destroyed city, situated deeply within the forest covers, in a clearing, over two thousand men and women stood, some walking with lacrimas and others with valuable war information. The crowd could be classified, one fourth of them were dressed in armour and equipped with swords, possessing scars on the only visible part, their face while the majority of the gathered were wearing a peculiar perfect suit that lacked armour plates and weapons, more over their hair were longer, men and women alike.
In the centre of all this commotion, stood a lady in a white suit from the second group who did not possess any weapons or armour pieces, he body was well built and curved with large sizable breasts and long green spiky hair. "Grandine, will he come?" The woman turned to another who had blonde hair and wore elegant robes with a keyhole blouse and a high collared cloak with a bunch of key at the side of her hips.
"Anna, be patient; he maybe reckless and arrogant being, but never was he a liar." The humanoid Grandine assured the younger woman.
"We do not have time to spare Grandine; the decisions must be made immediately." Anna urged the Dragoness.
"What you are asking is impossible, none of them will go a step further than what their King says." Grandine spoke with a small frown as she looked at the other humanoid Dragons. "Including me..." The humans quickly fell into battle formations while the humanoid Dragons face lit up. "Well speak of the devil..." Grandine grumbled as the large shadow fell over the clearing.
ROAR!
The dragons cheered at the sound, grinning widely as the majestic form of the Great King descended from the clouds; they hastily cleared a path as the giant dragon came down low, before getting encased in blood red flames which shrunk his mass fast and when he landed, black boots were what they saw first before the fire began to dissipated revealing dark red suit with golden markings and a similar fashioned top that clung to a very muscular body with broad shoulders.
His eyes had golden pupils, a scar on his slightly tan face, and a mess of short spiky red hair that reached till his neck with a bag falling over to the side of his face. "Igneel! Igneel! Igneel!" The dragons cheered as he took short steps towards Grandine and Anna Heartfilia, as he passed by, his men and women kneeled. Stopping a few feet away, the difference between their heights statuses were obvious. The King stood at a full 6'2 while his friend stood at a 5'11 and the human at 5'9.
Igneel raised his right hand and all chants were stopped. The humans quickly came behind the legendary Celestial Wizard, but the Dragon King didn't even spare a glance at them as his molten pools continued to stare into the Green ones of Grandine. She looked back at his emotionless face fiercely, but quickly relented and slowly bowed her head.
"Tell me the need of my presence here?" Hs voice was gruff and authoritative but lacked the thickness of his Dragon form but still had the hint of impatience.
"That would be because of me." Igneel turned his gaze to the blonde who stood next to Grandine. Her face had the look of determination and did not seem to waver from making eye contact with the Dragon King.
There was a moment of silence until Igneel spoke a bit annoyed. "Well, get on with it human."
"As you know, all these Dragons are mentors of humans in the art of Dragon Slaying, the only exception is you, or it may be because you haven't revealed to us of your disciple." Anna's voice didn't flatter like any of the other humans who had the misfortune of talking with him.
"Get to the point wench." The men and women behind Anna raised their weapons and fell into an offensive stance. The blonde raised her arm much like the Dragon did to make his people stop chanting his name.
"The point is that my clan has developed an antibody that could save the dragon slayers from Dragonification, but it is not nearly complete and requires the dragon's presence in the body, which will also help you to live much longer, especially with the loss of a part of your souls." Anna looked at the Dragon King for any kind of reaction but he seemed to remain silent. "With Acnologia running loose, this era is not safe for them to train and become strong."
"So what do you suggest wench?" He asked with mild curiosity.
"We will send them into the future, four hundred years from now, enough time to make that beast think all of the Dragon Slayers are dead, so that they could train in peace to destroy him." Anna looked expectantly at the large humanoid Dragon who seemed to be in thought.
"Good plan, although I must ask, won't the beast become four hundred years stronger? Or do you think he will be an old coot by that time?" Anna bit her lip at the question; this was all a game of hope. "Moreover, it looks like you greatly underestimate the intelligence of my species, let him be an artificial Dragon or not, he is bound to get curious about all of our disappearance. And even if he doesn't find us after a hundred years, he would still be resolute on destroying the Dragons and the Dragon Slayers." His words made the Celestial mage flinch.
"So what action do you suggest?" Anna questioned firmly.
"I have none, but I will not be leaving my timeline anytime soon." With that he flew away, transforming into his real form in mid air.
This decision of Igneel ultimately lead to the formation of the Dragon Sanctuary in the astral realm by banding all of his loyal followers with what remained of their souls all of them placing their hope onto one boy, The Fire Dragon Slayer.
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The town of Magnolia was once again filled with the joy and excitement of the Fantasia parade, overcoming the events that took place earlier was a bit difficult but still they managed it well. And the grumpy old Healer of Fairy Tail was making her way out of Fairy the populace, and back to her solitude.
"Ah man, Fantasia Parade won't happen till tomorrow!" She heard someone whine.
"I heard it's cus the Master is sick."
"Is he gonna retire?"
"Well, if he is, who's gonna be the next master?"
"Well Laxus would make the most suitable choice."
"But he's a real jerk! Look what he did to the town! All these drunken bodies everywhere."
"Yeah I really hope they don't put him charge..."
'The old fool still has the mind to pull this through? Well, be care full, Makarov.' She gave a small frown.
"Leaving already?" The old woman turned to see the Ice Wizard saint standing there with a few decorative items in a crate. "The parades tomorrow you know, it would be fun." She suggested.
"You humans celebrate for everything, and the noises and crowds are very annoying." Ur wasn't surprised at the reply but her smile didn't waver.
"Well, we don't know how to repay for your help, without you Master and the guild members would still be in danger from their injuries." Ur spoke again.
"Just keep yourselves away from my cottage." And she was walking away. Ur watched with a smile as the woman who saved Makarov yet again walk away with the same request.
Porlyusica stopped and looked at Ur over her shoulder.. "I would suggest you take it easy, you had a few broken ribs to begin with, added to the twenty Thunder balls, you could get permanently damaged." Ur winced at the reminder.
"I'll try." She gave a nervous laugh.
"Also, I'm not sure about those patterns that appeared on the boy, keep an eye on him." Now she didn't stop, leaving Ur with narrowed eyes at what Porlyusica said. "Natsu didn't act any different but something about him has changed after his forearms got those patterns.
Back at the guild everything was back to normal, minus a great many members who were injured and at home. Erza stood in the centre of the hall with a confident smile and spoke. "Thanks to Porlyusica's help, the Master will pull through this just fine, so don't worry he'll be back to work in no time!"
Her announcement brought cheers of joy from the gathered members. "Yeah!"
"Woohoo!"
Lucy gave a small smile as she looked at the reactions of the guild members from the news. "Thank goodness." She turned to Gray. "I gotta admit, I was getting a little worried."
Gray gave a grin. "Ah come on, it will take more than that to make Gramps kick the bucket." He reassured.
Picking up the conversation, Erza spoke out aloud. "Well he's not as young as he used to be, so any added stress to his heart could significantly affect his health, so let's be in our best behaviour." She instructed the guild to which they happily complied.
"AYE!"
"That means no cymbals Natsu." She monotonously said, not even look at the Dragon Slayer who was sneaking his way like a cat bugler to the infirmary with the said instruments in his arms with a grin. He stopped and threw away the items with a huff. "And give Mira back her Trumpet." Now he pouted visibly as he stomped his way to the platinum girl and handed her the instrument.
"She never lets me have any fun!" Natsu whined like a child as he passed by Erza.
"You sure Natsu?" Mira blushed hard at Erza's question, remembering the trumpeting they had done after the fight. They watched as Natsu plopped next to a heavily bandaged Gajeel.
"Well its better you go with those two, man." Gajeel snickered.
"Why?" Natsu asked bluntly.
"Because you are a man!" An equally patched up Elfman blew up.
Lucy looked around uncertainly. "I didn't think we will have the parade this year...after everything that happened..."
Mirajane quickly popped up from the side. "But the master wants us to have it, its a great way to cheer everyone up."
Juvia walked towards them with a big smile. "I can't wait to see what all of you have in store for the parade!" She clasped her hands and looked at her 'love'.
Gray smiled nervously. "Yeah?"
Juvia was quickly assaulted by the scent of booze as a drunken Cana threw herself over her. "You are gonna be in there with us little missy!" Juvia's eyes widened in pleasant shock.
"I'm there?" She spoke with a heavy blush. "I mean..I am a new member and all so..."
"Aye! A lot of members were injured so everyone needs to help to complete the parade!" Happy piped in with a fish stuffed in his mouth.
Looking at the cat with hopeful eyes the blonde asked. "Does that mean I'm in it too?"
"Yep, we need all the members we can, especially when we won't be able to use Elfman, Gajeel and me." Lucy turned around just in time to have her arms filled with a heavy crate as Ur unceremoniously dropped it ne her arms.
"Screw you and your parade!" Gajeel yelled from his spot.
"A real man should-" Elfman saw his sister giving him a small cute glare. "-rest and allow his injuries to heal for his sister." That shocked most of them.
Standing next to Titania, Ur spoke. "It's getting normal right? After being made to fight amongst themselves." She smiled as she saw Erza give a small nod from the side of her eyes as the guild engaged in drinking and friendly chatter.
The door to the guild opened abruptly, drawing everyone's attention to the person who made his entry known. And he wasn't someone the guild really needed right now. "Laxus?" Jet growled. "What are you doing here?" He went in front of the imposing figure of the Lightning mage.
The Lightning Dragon slayer was in no better condition than the rest of the injured, he had a band aid on his cheek, cloth wrapped around his forehead and body; the only upper covering he had was his tunic which was draped over his shoulders.
"Where's the old man?" he asked with a straight face that didn't waver at the looks of hatred he received from the many eyes of the guild members.
"You think you can walk in here after everything you did?" Now Droy joined his team member, taking a defensive stance. Soon enough the members began to form a human gate in front of Laxus with their arms stretched out.
"Quiet Everyone!" Erza ordered, silencing the people there.
Levy looked at the red head in confusion. "Erza what are you-"
"He's in the infirmary brat." Ur revealed. Laxus gave a small nod and walked past them but stopped when his way was blocked by the man who defeated him. From the side of his eyes he watched the pink haired man dozing off on his seat without a care and seemingly uninjured from their fight.
Nobody questioned the woman's decision, but that didn't mean they were happy about it. Till he disappeared behind a corner, Laxus could hear all the mumblings of insult and the hateful look that pierced his back.
"Show's over people, let's get ready for the Fantasia Parade!" He heard Erza's voice and the cheer from his 'comrades' as he opened the door to the infirmary where he saw his grandfather lying on a bed in the other corner. He leaned on the wall next to the door and looked to side with his hands in his pants pockets.
"They are a rowdy bunch aren't they?" He spoke out, unable to remain silent anymore.
Makarov let out a sigh and got up but remained in the bed. "Laxus..." His grandson didn't look at him. "I don't think you have understood the seriousness of what you have done..." The old wizard turned to Laxus and dropped his legs out of the bed. "Look me in the eyes young man." He sternly commanded the younger man.
Laxus slowly looked at his grandfather, his head and shoulder lacked the usual pride as he stared at him. "Fairy Tail is a place where friends gather, children with no kin to call as their own come, make them feel like being part of a family, it is not something that can be owned." He saw his grandson continue to look without any expression.
"It's important that not only each members should be loyal but also trust worthy otherwise no bonds will be formed and the entire guild will eventually fall apart." Makarov got out of the bed and stood in facing Laxus. "Your actions have proven that you lack both of these qualities, moreover you threatened the lives of your comrades, that is unforgivable."
Laxus bowed his head, finally regret striking his face. "I-I am sorry sir..." His fists were clenched as he couldn't face his grandfather. "I never meant to hurt the guild; I just wanted to make it stronger..."
"Hmm I am sure about you are just as eye sore as I am. You better try and relax or you'll end up in here with me." Makarov folded his hands. "Take some time to smell the roses, if you do you'll be able to see things you couldn't before and hear things you have never been able to hear before." He advised his grandchild. "Laxus, life can be a lot fun if you allow it to be."
Laxus looked down in shame and regret as he his body shook. Makarov gave a small sad frown as he bowed his head. "Over the years I have watched you grow into the man who you are today...where did we go wrong? What lesson didn't you learn?"
Laxus's eyes were near tears and his body sobbed as he waited his grandfather to say it. "But the past is the past; I am left now with only one choice." Makarov gave pause as he steeled his face and raised his right arm. "Laxus...you are hereby expelled from Fairy Tail.
The Lightning Dragon Slayer stopped his shaking, his eyes widened as he forced the bile back down. Slowly lowering his head, he turned. "I understand...thanks for everything." He began to make his way to the exit. Makarov turned around, unable to hold a straight face anymore. "...grandpa." The old man heard it, but didn't urn. Laxus could hear the hard breathing and the smell of salt in the air. Laxus gave a sad smile, but didn't turn around. "You take care of yourself, okay old man?"
Unable to hold back his tears any more, Makarov gritted his teeth. "Please just go!" He ordered and heard the sound of his departing grandson fading away.
.
.
.
The next evening in Magnolia was one of excitement, everybody was dressed fancily, mainly inspired from the Fairy Tail Mages. Happy costumes, Erza costumes, Mirajane's were some of the many. But all were not happy, especially a team of three, Fairy Tail's proud Thunder Legion.
"NO! Why would he kick you out and not the rest of us? How is that fair?!" Evergreen cried out at Laxus who finally revealed his excommunication from the guild.
"Yeah! We are just as guilty!" Bickslow agreed.
"We are just as guilty!" "We are just as guilty!" The dolls agreed with their master.
"Guess the old man doesn't see it that way." Laxus let out a tired sigh at his friends questions.
"Well if you are leaving the guild I am leaving too!" Evergreen spoke, her will resolute.
"Why should we stick around if you are not gonna be here?" Bickslow added.
Laxus smiled at his comrades before looking down. "You guys can be such a pain in the neck." His voice contained good natured humour rather than his usual dark one. "I mean can't you just say good bye and be done with it?" Laxus folded his hands as he looked at them.
Remaining silent till now, Freed spoke, selecting the obvious question that has been unasked. "I don't understand, we are at fault too, so why are you taking all the blame?"
Laxus gave a sad smile. "You got it all wrong my friends, you can say whatever you want, but I can say you are much more attracted to the guild than I ever could be." His friends couldn't deny that, but that didn't mean they are gonna give up.
"If we talk to the master, maybe we could change his mind!" Evergreen suggested hastily.
"Yeah, Ur, Gray and Erza respects you so they will probably go with us, he loves those guys!" Bickslow added with a hopeful smile. Laxus didn't reply as he stared into the busy Magnolia preparing for the festival and when he turned to look at them with a smile, they knew his decision was made already.
"You are really leaving..." Freed's eyes were a little wide and his face showed a hint of disbelief as his lifelong friend picked up his bag and pulled it over his shoulder as he turned around with a smile and left his overly sad companions.
"You take care of yourselves..." Laxus gave a wave as walked away from their lives.
"Laxus wait!" Evergreen yelled as tears flowed free.
"What's gonna happen to the Thunder Legion?" Bickslow cried out, but the Lightning Dragon Slayer didn't respond. "Man I can't believe this is happening.
Freed on the other hand had a different reaction as he had a sad but confident smile. 'I am sure we will meet again, Laxus.'
The blonde man walked slowly through the crowds, his face and body calm, unlike the previous times where he used to shove the people out of the way, he opted to go around or stop and allow the others to pass. He knew he couldn't stay in the city any longer, he couldn't let people think his grandfather to be a heartless man when they don't really know what he did.
Houses and shops began to get lesser in numbers along with the people as all of the citizens have gone to see the parade. "Well I guess you are leaving?" Laxus halted his movement and looked over his shoulder to see the last person he expected to see.
"Well I don't think the old man will want me to stick around Magnolia too much." He turned around to face the Fire Dragon Slayer who stood with a small smile.
"Never gotta a chance to thank you for that awesome fight!" Natsu's cheerful words made the other man raise his eyebrow in interest.
"Well it doesn't matter anymore since you have defeated me." He spoke monotonously. "And I think it's me who has to thank you for stopping me." He added. "But that can't be all that you came after me for, is it?"
Natsu chuckled embarrassedly. "Yeah...well I wanted to ask you if you had put these on my hands" He held the back of the palm facing Laxus who looked at the tattoos curiously before giving a small shake of his head.
"Ah man...I practically used up fifteen bar soaps to see if they would come off, guess I'll have to adjust with these...hmmm now that I think about it they do look kinda cool..." Natsu started a rant that made Laxus sweat drop.
'Is this really the same guy who fought me?' Somehow Laxus's concern reached the pink head.
"Oh sorry about that hehehe!" Natsu giggled lightly before calming down and looking at the other man with a clear face.
"Guess I should be leaving." Laxus turned around and began his walk.
"You are wrong you know." Natsu spoke calmly, but Laxus didn't stop. "About gramps not wanting you here, maybe you should go and see the Fantasia parade before going East." With that the Dragon Slayer turned around and started to return.
"Why should I?" Natsu heard Laxus loud and clear even though it was spoken very lightly.
"Who know, you might see something you thought wasn't there!" Natsu yelled before quickening his pace into a light jog, leaving an uncertain Laxus in the middle of the road.
"Argh to heck with it..." The blonde grumbled as he turned around and began to walk back.
By the time he reached the inner city, the parade has already began so he took his spot on the side alley as he watched his once comrades performing all sorts of stunts, and to say the least, he didn't think it was a waste of time. Especially when it had been a few years since the last time he saw or participated in one of these.
From the side of his eye, he caught the sight of the other two Dragon Slayers perched on the roof, one completely uninterested while the other had a huge grin on his face as he watched the show unfold. Then he looked down at the blonde and gave a wave.
'Guess I better start...' He began to turn around.
"Oh look it's the Master!" Laxus stopped at the word on his grandfather and turned to look at the old man who was waving his hands and dancing with a cat costume, making funny faces. "Why is he dressed like that?" "It's so weird!" Laxus smiled at the old man's antics.
"But how can you not ne in the Fantasia parade this year?" A small confused Laxus asked his grandfather who was a little shorter than him.
"Cus this is your big moment, but I'll be watching you from the sidelines." Makarov answered cheerfully.
Laxus seemed to like that idea but was still not okay with it. "But when I look into the crowd how will I find you?" He asked expectantly.
"Forget about me, today you're the star." Makarov encouraged the boy to drop his worries.
"Oh well...if you say so..." Laxus looked down disappointed for a second before snapping his finger as an idea popped up. "Oh I know! In the middle of the parade, I'll do this!" He raised his right arm high with his index finger and thumb extended. "You can see that right?"
Makarov looked at the action in curiosity. "You'll raise your hand?" He asked the boy in doubt.
"It's a message!" Laxus cleared. "When you see me holding up my hand like this, it means even if I can't see you, I am looking your way!" He cheerfully explained.
"That's my boy." Makarov's eyes glistened as he said that.
Laxus smiled at the memory as he looked down on his right hand which held itself in the same fashion he found the symbol. "Be sure to look for it okay?" He heard his childish voice resonate in his head. Giving one last look to his grandfather who was still dancing, he began to walk away for good this time.
He stopped abruptly, his eyes widened as he looked back at his grandfather who stopped dancing and was holding his right hand high above his head with the sacred symbol formed on the limb. But it didn't stop with the just the master, Cana. Macao, Lucy Bisca, Gray, Juvia, Wakaba and so on till Natsu; all of the raised their hands proudly.
Unable to hold back his tears, Laxus let them flow. "Gr-grandpa..."
'I may not be able to see you, there may be hundreds of miles between us, but I will always be looking your way. I'll be watching over you forever...' Laxus walked away with a tearful smile as the words came into his mind. 'I promise.'
"I know...thank you grandpa..." And he was gone.
"I'm all fired up!" Letting out a grin Natsu jumped off the roof and fired a few fire balls into the sky which exploded into beautiful fireworks. "The party's just started! Whose proud to be a Fairy Tail member?!"
"ME!"
"YEAH!" The loud roars echoed throughout Magnolia.
End of chapter 15
Please review if you liked
About how Natsu works, now I am not a hardcore fan of Goku although I used to love Dragon Ball Z till the day Gohan was turned into a bitch. Yep, I am a Gohan fan boy and I hated Dragon Ball Z when he was pushed behind. Now the reason why I mentioned this is because, this Natsu in Foretold Destiny is lightly inspired on Goku apart from the cannon similarities like food habits and naivety. What I bring here is Kid Goku's ability from dragon Ball to copy the moves of his opponents although Natsu in this one will be restricted only to fire and elemental attacks. For example, Raging Inferno, he can't produce lightning but he can make a similar attack, only it will be fire.