Disclaimer: I still don't own Fairy Tail. If I had the power to change that within a few days, I probably wouldn't be here.

Also, not for nothing, but possible trigger warning for those who've been badly burned before.

Two Beasts

Max adjusted his weight against his beloved broom.

"Okay," he said. "Let's go over what we know."

Those still awake grunted half-hearted acknowledgement. Max, also tired, pushed nonetheless.

"C'mon. There's gotta be something we're overlooking that's just really obvious."

Warren lifted his head up from the table.

"That makes some kind of sense," he said, rubbing his eyes. "All right, a few hours ago, we'd cut down all but two of Zeref's guards."

Max nodded and contributed to the list, hoping to build some momentum.

"Mira broke off from Gajeel's group with Cana to deal with one of them," he said. Laki picked up from there.

"Gray dealt with the last one."

"And now his whole army," Warren said, staring at his Magic Radar. "Is just gone, him with it."

Alzack, who'd been dozing, yawned and picked himself up with a mumble.

"Why are we repeating stuff we already know to each other?" He asked.

Warren slapped his palms to his forehead.

"I don't know! We've been at this for hours and nothing about this makes sense," he said, his chin thumping on the table. "Never mind how he did it, why would he just vanish? His guards were beaten, yeah, but he's Zeref!"

Max rubbed his chin, a thought percolating in his mind.

"Well," he said, twirling his broom with one hand. "One thing has changed. Natsu's here now."

The others looked at him as one. Max wondered why he felt a weakness in his knees before Warren gulped.

"You don't think"

A loud cry and a crash from the second floor brought the brainstorming session to a screeching halt.

Makarov, with Mavis close behind him, slammed open the door to his office and ran into the foyer. He'd heard the crash and swept the room with his eyes before glancing up to the second floor. For all the things he'd seen in his many years, what he saw caused a numbing tingle in his hands.

Natsu sat on top of the second floor railing. The boy's skin had turned the color of coal, and his hair seemed a shade darker. These things didn't provoke fear from Makarov, though. The fear came because of the solid black Tartaros guild mark on the center of Natsu's chest- position mirroring Makarov's own guild mark- and the way the fire mage's eyes darted from one Fairy Tail wizard to another. He looked like he was hunting.

"Natsu-nii?"

Makarov heard Romeo's voice break into the quiet tension. Natsu snarled and jumped from his perch. A stream of white flames poured from his mouth. The guild members scattered on the floor below as demonic fire rained down. Natsu landed in the midst of it, the flames he spat out spreading faster than his dragon slayer magic. Tables burned away as if being erased from existence.

Makarov watched Natsu pick his target. To the old man's horror, he chose Bisca, who held a sobbing Asuka to her shoulder. Natsu lunged, Makarov moving to intervene.

Beast Arm: Black Bull!

From the other end of the building, Elfman stormed toward Natsu. The large man's voice and noisy approach distracted the fire mage from his initial target. Elfman struck Natsu's face with a huge black fist and sent him crashing through the guild entrance. The take over mage charged outside before Makarov could stop him.

"Get the flames under control," he said, running to stop Natsu himself. "And don't leave the building!"

Macao took issue with the master's orders.

"But"

The Fairy Tail veteran didn't get far in his protest.

"You brats will stay here until I tell you otherwise!"

Makarov's voice thundered above the already considerable clamor. The eldest Dreyar ran outside without waiting to field any complaints. He'd made such declarations once before, but his brats were stubborn. He prayed they would listen now.

"Natsu! Elfman!"

Makarov found himself staring at a massive white fireball careening toward the guildhall. He swore. There wasn't time for the wizards to evacuate.

Wasting no time or thought, Makarov called on his magic, doubling his size more than ten times over. In his giant form, he caught the flames. He used his light magic to nullify some of the hellish blaze, but the heat still seared his hands and his forearms.

Groaning with the effort, he dispelled the fireball with a greater output of light magic. His arms fell, blistered and glowing with harsh burns. Regardless, the old wizard saint had to find Natsu. The consideration of the force necessary to contain him crossed his mind. The unpleasant idea was followed by images of what might happen otherwise.

And, not for the first time that day, Makarov's body betrayed him. Pain seized his chest, and he couldn't help doubling over. The intense agony sapped his strength from him, and he shrank before collapsing.

"That wasn't Natsu-nii."

Romeo made a mantra out of those words as he scrambled with everyone else to stop the fire. His dad, Wakaba and Laki smothered the errant flames with their magic, while Max handled most of the damage control via his sandstorm. Bisca and Alzack used variations of their guns magic to keep the blaze from spreading. Asuka had gone from her mom to Romeo to Kinana in less than a minute.

All the while Romeo kept telling himself that whatever had started this panic wasn't his hero. He got a telepathic warning from Warren of more white flame leaping toward him. He ducked out of its path, watching it set in along the staircase to the second floor.

Second floor-

"Wendy," he gasped. He gathered himself and ran up the stairs. Despite the worried call from his father, Romeo leapt over the stray flames. He landed more on his shoulder than his feet, but he kept moving until he was in the infirmary. To his relief, though the room smelled of smoke, there were no flames. He noticed Natsu's scarf resting on a bedside table. Then he saw three bodies lying on the floor.

Wendy lay face down by Charla. Romeo knelt next to the young dragon slayer. Happy moaned, burn marks lining his paws and body. The blue Exceed mumbled Natsu's name, and Romeo stiffened.

"This wasn't Natsu-nii!"

"Romeo-kun," Wendy murmured. She shifted. Romeo forced his eyes back open.

"Wendy," he said, taking care as he rolled her onto her back. Her head fell onto his lap, and his breath caught. Her left arm was blistered and glowing from severe burns, and the same side of her face was-

"Wendy," he said again, his voice low and shaking. He pulled her up until she was resting against him. "Are- are you"

"It hurts," she said. A light whimper escaped her when Romeo's hand brushed her arm. He cringed and pulled it back. He looped one arm around her and rocked her back and forth in gentle motions, as much to comfort her as calm his own nerves. After several deep breaths, he found his voice somewhere in his dried throat.

"Where does it hurt worst," he asked, shutting out the commotion that lay just on the other side of the wall. "Arm or face?"

Wendy's eyelids fluttered. Romeo tried to school his expression into one of confident sympathy, hoping his fear didn't show.

"My face," she began. "Doesn't hurt at all."

Romeo's arm around Wendy tensed. He knew that the most serious burns left no sensation of pain. He shook his head.

"Okay," he said, working to keep his voice from cracking. "Uh, hold still for me."

Wendy mumbled in reply. Romeo hovered his free hand over her blistering arm. He could do this. Focusing, he created an icy cold, blue flame in his palm.

Elfman recognized that look in Natsu's eyes. He'd spent too many restless nights reliving too many nightmares to ever forget.

They were the eyes of a mindless being, of someone who'd lost control.

Natsu ran rampant in Magnolia, spitting fire at anything that moved. Elfman struggled to keep up with him while still preventing anyone who'd refused to evacuate days earlier from getting hurt. He watched a stray fireball land in the river that ran through the town. The water did nothing to weaken the flames. If anything, it spread faster. White fire coursed down the river.

Beast Arm: Iron Bull!

Elfman sprinted ahead of the roaring river of fire to a stone bridge. He shouted for anyone nearby to get clear. He stopped at the center of the structure and smashed down with his transformed fist. The bridge collapsed and the flow of water ebbed and stopped, boxing in the inferno. Elfman climbed out of the rubble, hearing the crazed dragon slayer approaching.

"Natsu," he said, closing his hand into a fist again. "Losing control is NOT MANLY!"

Elfman brought his fist across Natsu's face with a loud smack. The take over mage worried for a moment that he'd broken the fire mage's jaw. The pink-haired wizard seemed unharmed, though. Natsu paused when he turned back to look at Elfman, his head cocked. The white-haired mage thought he saw a glimmer of recognition in the dragon slayer's eyes. Did he get through to him?

Natsu quashed his hopes with a swipe of his hand. At least he had stopped spewing fire. Still, Elfman needed to get him away from Magnolia.

Take Over: Beast Soul!

Transformed, the muscular wizard leapt away into the night, prompting Natsu to follow him. It wasn't a very manly tactic, but he knew it was necessary. As he led Natsu toward the forest, he wondered how he could bring him back to his senses. Lisanna had- Elfman cringed. That method hadn't worked. But he had to try anyway.

He whirled around, greeted by Natsu lunging at him. Elfman set his feet in the dirt, locking hands with the berserk dragon slayer.

"Natsu," he said, raising his voice over the fire mage's growls. "You need to calm down. I know you can hear me- I've been where you are now."

Elfman set his teeth, the claws on his hands matched by those now on Natsu's hands.

"You are not a monster," he said. "You are a Fairy Tail wizard! You are a MAN!"

Elfman felt his legs shaking from exertion, yet he held his stance. He grunted and winced when Natsu mangled and broke a few of his fingers. Still, he held. The strength in his form left him, and even so, he kept on through his willpower.

Until he felt his magic vanish and his transformation die in the same instant.

"Wha"

Elfman's knees buckled and Natsu gnashed his teeth. Elfman fell backwards and was smashed head first into the ground. He shut his eyes against the sudden exhaustion and pain. Natsu's hands gripped his face. The fire wizard hoisted Elfman's huge form over his head, swinging him by his neck until-

Crack.

Elfman flew through the air and crashed into several trees. He landed in a pile of foliage, a moaning mess. He heard Natsu cry out as if in pain.

The take over mage couldn't move.

"Natsu," he said, breathing heavy from the effort just to crane his neck. The dragon slayer charged toward him again.

Crash!

A/N: Yo! I posted two things that I finished writing in the same day. I may be ill, but I'm feeling pretty good about that!

Things have started moving now. I did what I could working inside of each character's perspective. Let me know how I did and what you think in a review if you enjoyed it! If not, you know the drill, peck away at letters on the keyboard with your nose until the screen shows something to say!