"FOR FAIRY TAIL!"
Soon enough, the team had made it to Grimoire Heart's airship. When they got there, they all looked up, to see Hades staring down at them, his arms folded.
"Are you Hades?!" Natsu demanded.
"And just who may I say is asking?" Hades asked calmly.
"We're Fairy Tail!" The master just chuckled.
"Very well then," he said, before gesturing, "Come then, third Fairy Tail. Let's see what you're capable of." With that, he vanished back into the ship.
"I'm going to like kicking his ass!" Gray declared.
"Don't get cocky," Erza said, "Don't forget he defeated Makarov."
"So all we need to do now is beat him, and we'll get off the island!" Lucy said, pumping her fist.
"Alright!" Natsu said, turning to the exceeds, "I need you guys to do something for us."
"What is it?" Happy and Carla asked at the same time.
"You guys can fit into places we can't," Natsu explained, "Look around for something we can use to bring this ship down!"
"You can count on us!" Happy declared, holding up his paw.
"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Gray declared, as he created a bridge out of ice up into the ship. With that, the group all charged up, while the exceeds went to find a place to sneak into.
"No holding back!" Erza instructed, "Considering what he can do, we have to go all out!"
"Right!" Wendy and Gray both said.
"The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can go home and cuddle with Haru again!" Lucy declared.
"I never hold anything back!" Natsu answered as his chest started to glow. With that, they all made into Hades throne room, where the dark mage calmly awaited them.
"Eat this you twisted bastard!" Natsu roared, as he inhaled, and released a cloud of fire. Hades simply held up his hand, as the fire bounced off of him.
"My compliments," Hades said plainly, "That was actually rather hot." However, as the fire cleared away, it showed Erza in her Black Wing Armor, carrying the Ten Commandments.
"Explosion!" The spear took on its red form, inflicting a major explosion on Hades. The force made Hades raise his arm, and when the smoke cleared, it showed Gray making a battle axe out of ice. While Hades managed to block, it gave Lucy enough time to pull out of a key.
"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull!" she said, "Taurus!" With a bellowing "moo", the giant bull appeared before Hades, and brought his axe down. Meanwhile, Wendy leapt into the air.
"Sky Eclipse Dragon Mode!" Wendy said, before unleashing her dragon's roar against Hades, who managed to leap out of the way. Chains came out of Hades' fingertips, and lashed out at the Fairy Tail members. While Natsu and Wendy blasted them away and Erza just managed to dodge them, Lucy and Gray were not so fortunate. While Gray was sent slamming into Erza, Lucy was sent flying towards a wall.
"Lucy!" Natsu cried, as he leapt at his beloved, using his fire on his feet as a booster to spring at her. While he managed to catch her, what he failed to notice was a ridge of spines growing up his spine, going to the end of it. There a small nub appeared at the base of his spine.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Lucy said, as she stood up with a nod, "Thanks." Meanwhile, as Erza, Gray, and Wendy gathered themselves, they all faced Hades, as he slowly emerged from the dust.
"Well," he said calmly, as he emerged completely unharmed, "I will admit, that was thoroughly impressive. I should commend Makarov for producing such a generation."
"All of that did nothing?" Erza said in horror.
"How are we supposed to beat him then?" Wendy said softly in horror.
"Simple, you don't," Hades sneered as he removed his cape, and cracked his neck, "But I'm not one to not regard skill and talent, and it would be a shame to not have the chance to see what you're capable of." With that, he held up and gestured.
"Let's see what you can do, third-generation."
"We do have a way to beat you! We do what Fairy Tail does best," Natsu declared, flexing his wing, "We break things! FOR FAIRY TAIL!" With a collective cry, the Fairy Tail mages all sprung at Hades once again.
(at the Fairy Tail camp)
As the guild members were all setting up barriers, and keeping watch around the perimeter, Makarov was left otherwise alone, drifting in and out of consciousness. As he did, he could sense a presence, and he glanced to his side, to see that Mest had appeared beside him.
"The hell are you doing here?" Makarov said weakly, "Don't you still have a job to do?"
"I… I heard something," Mest said, averting this eyes. Makarov narrowed his eyes.
"Well then boy, spit it out, why don't you?" With that, Mest told Makarov what he had heard. The old man's eyes widened at that, as his mouth opened slightly in shock.
"I'm not sure if it was really that but…"
"It was," Makarov interrupted, "There is no mis interpreting that." The third master then sighed, staring at the storming sky.
"To hear that name," he muttered, "I'm not sure just what to think."
"I can start evacua….," Mest began.
"Go," Makarov again interrupted.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"I can't leave the guild!" Mest said firmly.
"I'm not asking you to," Makarov responded, "If all goes well, we will escape the island without issue. But if worse comes to worse, the Council will be taking every opportunity to bring down our guild. You have to be there to ensure that such a thing doesn't happen to Fairy Tail." Mest's jaw tightened, as he stared at the ground. He definitely did not want to leave his guild, especially at this point. But he also had to trust his master's judgement at this point.
"I'll… I'll do it," he said. With that, he stood up and started to leave.
"Mest!" The black haired mage looked over his shoulder.
"Never forget who you are," Makarov said firmly, "You are a Fairy Tail mage." Mest looked at his master for a time in silence, before smiling.
"How could I ever forget that?" he responded.
(back at the airship)
Put simply, the Fairy Tail mages were losing. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to inflict the proper damage on the master of Grimoire Heart. As Lucy was knocked back, she tried to think of something she could do. Aside from her Celestial Spirits, she remembered that she still had her Star Dress, but on the other hand, Lucy didn't feel like she had the magical energy to spare in order to use it. She looked around at her guild mates, who weren't in that better a place. But Natsu seemed the worst somehow.
His reptilian traits had become even more prominent. The entire right half of his face was now covered in red scales, and the makings of a tail were at the base of his spine. But somehow, the most disturbing part was how his right eye was now completely in his Dragon's Eye form, even though he didn't seem to fully have a grasp on them. Lucy was now beyond worried about him.
"Is there anything else you wish to advertise?" Hades answered, as he dusted his shoulder off slightly.
"We're just getting started!" Natsu said, jumping to his feet.
"Big brother," Wendy said softly, as she got up as well. Natsu started to spring at Hades, who pointed a finger at him.
"Bang." A blast of magic energy shot out of his finger tip, which Natsu managed to block with his wing. He then brought his claws down at Hades, who easily evaded it, and kicked Natsu away.
"Natsu!" Erza cried. The Dragon Slayer skidded to a halt, leaving massive gashes in the floor as he did.
"Are you kidding?" Natsu said with a smirk, "That was nothing!" He then stood up, cracking his neck.
"Now let's…" Right then, Natsu keeled over, completely unconscious. For a time, nobody said anything, rather, they just stared. Until…
"NATSU!" Lucy cried.
(in Natsu's mind)
Once again, Natsu was standing in the volcanic landscape. When he looked down, he noticed that his draconic features had vanished.
"What the hell's going on?" he demanded out loud.
"I would've preferred it not happen this way." Natsu looked up to see Igneel sitting on the rocks over him.
"But that was the inevitable consequence of the power you invoked," he continued.
"What's going on?" Natsu asked for the second time.
"Isn't it obvious?" another voice asked. Natsu looked over his shoulder, and saw Smaug appearing through the smoke.
"Its time you and I settled our differences," Smaug sneered, "…violently."
"We're going to fight?" Natsu asked, but not eagerly, "Now's not a good time! I've got to beat Hades!"
"Frankly that decision is not your's to make," Smaug answered, "You kept drawing on this primal power. It is only natural that it eventually pulled me to the surface." Natsu opened his mouth to protest, but Smaug beat him to the punch.
"You have two choices: either fight me now, or let me consume you in a short while," he said, "What will it be?"
Natsu clenched his fists. He really didn't want to do this. He had to protect Lucy and his friends now more than ever. But if what Smaug was saying was true, it didn't seem like he really had a choice at this point. So with that mind…"
"Fine then!" Natsu said, cracking his knuckles, "I'll kick your ass like everyone else!" Smaug gave a sinister grin, as he reared up, his chest starting to glow.
"Understand Natsu, if you can defeat him, then all the power of a dragon will be yours," Igneel said. Natsu and to a admit he liked the sound of that.
"Alright then!" he said, "Then that's going to make beating Hades all the easier!"
"Be careful Natsu," Igneel said, "Many Dragon Slayers have tired before, and failed."
"Well I'm not them," Natsu declared, cracking his knuckles, as he glared up at the massive serpentine creature. With a roar, he sprung forward at Smaug, his fists ignited.
Note: So Natsu is going to be fighting the dragon within his consciousness, Smaug. But if he can beat him, he'll have the true power of a dragon.
People will no doubt draw comparisons with what happened in Naruto or Bleach, and yes, that is a very apt comparison. This is one of the major divergences I talked about,a nd there's hopefully going to more as the fight progresses.
Please review. Also, if you have any suggestions for what I could do regarding how to make Fairy Tail's disbandment after Tartaros (I told you to be up to date with the series) different, send me PMs now. I like to plan in advance.