Natsu vs Smaug: Part 2

For the first time in a while, Happy was fighting and winning, without just flying around dodging. Well, technically he was still doing that, only now he was carrying a magic doll. During this, Carla was made to fall back and take shelter, somewhat frustrated that she was being outclassed by Happy of all cats.

"Kitty Smackdown!" Happy said, as he held up the doll, and flew downward, sending a dark mage slamming into the ground, knocking several others away.

Meanwhile, Lily smacked another thug away, causing him to drop his sword. On reflex, Lily grabbed the sword, and he swung it, knocking away with both one swing. As he held it back, it changed size suddenly, much to Lily's surprise.

"This is just like my Buster Arm," Lily noted as he held up this weapon, before grinning, "I like this sword, I'm keeping it!"

"Ah come on," the thug groaned pitifully, "That thing was expensive."

(with Team Natsu)

During all of that, the battle between Laxus and Hades continued. Gray and Erza had tried to help, but a broken leg on Gray's part, and a couple broken ribs for Erza rather severely hampered their efforts. Wendy, who was severely drained on magical power, had curled up against the wall, to stay out of the way. That left Lucy, who was still holding Natsu close, her attention on him rather than the fight, as scales continued to crawl up his body. As for Natsu himself…

(in the mental world)

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Natsu brought down his fire enhanced arms on Smaug, who held his head down and endured the attack. With a roar, the dragon brought his claws up, and grabbed Natsu, before slamming into the ground.

"Is that really all you have, little wyrm," Smaug sneered. For an answer, Natsu grabbed one of Smaug's fingers, and leapt out of his grasp, breaking the finger in the process. Smaug roared in pain, only for the roar to be silenced when he got punched in the jaw, breaking a couple of teeth in the process. The force knocked the dragon back.

"Is that all you've got, you overgrown snake!" Natsu sneered, Smaug shook his head to clear it, spitting out the loose teeth in the process. With a roar, he exhaled a torrent of fire at Natsu, who had to remind himself to dodge it. Smug's tail then lashed out, and struck Natsu, sending him bouncing away. Not giving Natsu a chance to recover, Smaug held up a clenched fist, and drove both it, and Natsu, into the ground.

"You're weak," Smaug said, "You don't deserve the power of a dragon."

"Screw you!" Natsu snapped, as he pulled himself out of the ground, rubbing his head. However, he was promptly pinned back to the ground.

"Really, is that all you have to say?" Smaug sneered, "You think the power of a Dragon Slayer makes you a dragon." He pressed Natsu harder.

"The dragons are the great serpents of magic," he said, "No lowly mortal is worthy of such power. Why dragons would ever bestow it upon you is beyond me?"

"That much is obvious!" Natsu snapped. Smaug narrowed his eyes.

"Do so enlighten me."

"Its to deal with dragons like you!" Natsu said, "Igneel taught me this magic so I could stop you, and all the other evil dragons!"

"Evil?" Smaug growled, "I should expect such low thinking from such a low creature. You think you can sort everything into such clean roles? Fire is not good, nor is it evil. Do you think the wildfire that burns down the old forest is evil? Fire merely is. It is the purest avatar of destruction." At first Natsu was silent, which Smaug took as invitation to continue, only for a strike of pain to shoot up his finger. As he recoiled back, he realized Natsu had bit him.

"You're wrong!" Natsu said as he leapt back to his feet, "Fire is not destruction!"

"Then pray tell, what is it?"

"Its strength, its power," Natsu declared, "But above all else…" He clenched his fists, as images of Fairy Tail, Haru, and Lucy flashed through his eyes.

"Fire is life!" he declared, "And I will not let you taint its power!" Igneel, from his perch, only smiled at the sight of his son.

"Very well then, little one," Smaug said, holding back his claw, as his chest lit up, "Let us continue."

(in the physical world)

Lucy tightened her hold on Natsu, who continued to pulse with magical energy. As she did, Laxus was knocked back into the wall, grabbing onto his side.

"Laxus!" Gray called.

"Don't distract me!" Laxus snapped, as he charged his fist. Hades cracked his neck, glaring at Laxus.

"You are certainly not bad, boy," he said, "Though you remind me more of Yury than Makarov. Curious, the resemblance you bear is beyond uncanny."

"I couldn't care less…" Laxus was silenced when one of Hades' magic bullets shot him in the thigh. That shook Laxus off rhythm just long enough for an Amaterasu formula to form around him.

"As skilled as you are," Hades said as the seal exploded, "You are still no where near the necessary level." As the dust cleared, it showed Laxus on the ground, nearly motionless.

"No," Erza whimpered, tears gathering in her eyes. Gray tried to get up, only to fall back down. Lucy saw that, and narrowed her eyes.

"You fought valiantly," Hades said, "All of you. But valiance is not enough for victory."

"Who said we were done here?" Laxus said, as he tried to pull himself up, "I'm just getting…" He was silenced when he got kicked in the face by Hades.

"Even in my day, Fairy Tail could never give up," Hades said, "You need to know your own limits." He then kicked Laxus repeatedly.

"Please stop," Wendy said weakly.

"You bastard!" Gray said, trying to get up, only to fall again.

(in the mental world)

Natsu let out a cry as he had to dodge another strike from Smaug' s claws.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu had been aiming for Smaug's shoulder, but the dragon shifted, as his massive tail came up. Said tail struck Natsu hard, and slammed into the ground. When he tried to move, he found that he was pinned.

"I am a being of pure fire magic," Smaug said, "There is nothing you have at your disposal that can harm me." Natsu tried to protest, but could only grunt as he was pushed further into the ground by the dragon's tail.

(in the physical world)

Hades continued to kick Laxus, before he apparently got bored with the tormenting.

"Just go to sleep now," he sneered, holding up his finger to the mage. However, just as he was firing, Hades received a sudden head butt from Laxus. The forced knocked him back, as Hades was then blasted by a jolt of electricity.

"How did…"

"Who said I was the one to beat you?" Laxus said with a smirk, "I'm technically not a member of Fairy Tail now, so its not my problem to take care of these brats." That was when Hades got kicked in the face by a wind enhanced kick. Wendy panted, as she landed, as Hades skidded to a halt.

"After all you've been through, how…" That was when he noticed a strange glow. Everyone looked in the direction to the island. Something wasn't out place, so much as something was in place.

"The tree…," Erza said.

"That's impossible!" Hades snapped. The Tenrou Tree was standing again.

(at the Tenrou Tree)

Ultear panted, as her magical seals swirled around her. Perhaps she was betraying her guild, but at this point, she knew she had to do this. From behind, Meredy watched in silence, with an indeterminable expression on her face. Mavis also watched with a stern expression that evolved in a smile of approval.

"Well done," was all she said. Further behind, Azuma sat in the branches, as he looked in the direction of the air ship.

"Go, Fairy Tail!" he said, "Fight for your guild."

(at the airship)

Lucy looked at her hand in surprise, as her guild mark glowed. The same thing was happening for her guild mates, as their guild marks lit up. Suddenly new strength coursed through their bodies. Through some unspoken communication, Erza, Gray, and Wendy all jumped into the air together.

"Bluemblatt!"

"Ice Make: Harpoon!"

"Sky Eclipse Dragon's Roar!" The three attacks combined into one. That struck at Hades, who only had time to create a brief barrier of dark energy. It may have reduced the attack slightly, but it still sent him tumbling back. Wendy, her Sky Eclipse Dragon power enhanced, she kicked Hades again, driving him into the ground.

"Ice Make: Hammer!" Gray created a hammer of ice that came down, and smashed Hades again.

"You damn hellions!" Hades said, as he began to pull himself up, only to be faced with Erza holding the Ten Commandments in its Explosion Form.

"Taste this!" Erza said, "Taste Fairy Tail!" Focusing all her magic energy into the spear, she released the explosion that was so big, it blew a piece of of the ship. For a time, dust concealed the whole area, as Lucy coughed. When it cleared, they couldn't see Hades anywhere.

"They did it," she said, smiling, hugging Natsu more. Her guild mates all doubled over right then.

"I think we overexerted ourselves some," Erza admitted.

"Let's just be glad its over," Gray said.

"Let me get to Natsu," Wendy said, making her way over to her brother.

"I won't deny that I'm impressed." Everyone was silenced as they looked over towards the dust, as Hades pulled himself out of it.

"Its been a long time since I've been hurt this badly," Hades said as he cracked his neck, and reached up to his eye, "As a reward for putting up a good fight, I will show you the full extent of my power." He then ripped off his eye patch. At first nothing happened, but then a ripple of dark energy came out from over him.

"Now witness, the Abyss of Magic!" the dark mage proclaimed, "The truest of all magic!"

"This power," Erza said, "Its…"

"Its terrible!" Wendy finished.

"Time to end this," Hades said, as he held up his hands, "Witness the deepest level of the dark! The deepest level of magic itself! The One Magic!" He then began waving his arms, before clasping them together.

"I invoke the 4th Chapter of the 12th Scripture of the Book of Zeref!" Hades said, "Nemesis!" From the rubble, dark hands reached out. Soon enough, monstrous creatures made out of pure darkness began to pull themselves out of the ground, and assembled around Hades.

"Now let the fairy be consumed by the demon." Fairy Tail tried to get into the fight, only to find themselves completely paralyzed by fear. Wendy even found herself sobbing. I can't do anything Lucy thought I'm too scared. Please… help…

"Help us, Natsu!" she cried.

(in the mental world)

"Help us Natsu!"

New power swirled through Natsu's body, as his Fairy Tail mark started to glow. His eyes then snapped open.

"I won't give up," he said, as he started to push again. Smaug arched an eye crest.

"As long as I can fight, and as long as my family needs me, I won't give up!" With that, using his fire as a booster, he finally freed himself from Smaug's tail. Smaug opened his mouth, only to get struck in the nose.

"You little…" The dragon couldn't finish the insult, as Natsu came down like an anvil onto the crown of the dragon's head. A claw then came up, and slashed the air that Natsu was once in. When Smaug noticed he missed, he looked around, and was at first unable to see Natsu, only to notice that the Dragon Slayer was hanging onto one of his horns.

With a roar, Smaug reached up with his claw, only to get struck in the palm with Natsu's Fire Dragon Iron Fist. The force was so great, it broke the dragon's hand. Bellowing in pain, Smaug grabbed onto his broken hand. This distracted long enough for Natsu to put a devastating blow on the dragon's abdomen. This sent Smaug tumbling back into the smoke.

Natsu panted, as he wiped the side of his mouth. He had been doing this for what felt a while, and he wasn't making much real progress. He wasn't sure why, he'd been putting all his fight into the effort. Perhaps he had been approaching this the wrong way. Igneel once told him that fighting fire with fire made for a good analogy, but in practice, it only made things burn hotter.

That gave him an idea. Whenever he encountered a fire, he would generally just eat it. Though he had tried multiple times to eat it, it hadn't worked, since it was apparently his fire. But maybe Natsu hadn't been approaching this whole fight from the right end. With that in mind, he decided to do something he never tried before: not fighting. Smaug growled as he emerged out of the smoke.

"You will burn!" Smaug roared.

"Don't steal my lines," Natsu said with a smirk.

"Why are you smirking about?" Smaug hissed, his eyes turning to slits.

"You ain't worth the effort I've been putting into this," Natsu said, "You're inside of me, so that makes me the guy in charge."

"You impudent mite!" Smaug said, as his chest lit up.

"I've spent far too much time screwing around with you," Natsu continued, "Lucy and my family need me, don't we just finish this here and now?"

"Happy to oblige," Smaug said, as he released his fire onto Natsu. But to his surprise, the Dragon Slayer let the fire engulf him. He held still as he let it happen, but then Natsu opened his mouth inhaled deeply. That was when the fire that swirl around him began to slowly be absorbed into his jaws. Smaug was surprised, but still kept breathing fire, confident that it would eventually incinerate him.

I've been trying too hard to fight the fire, Natsu said,And if I can't fight he fire, I'm going to control it! He continued sucking the fire into his maw. Igneel, from his position smiled.

"Well done, Natsu," he said, "True power cannot be fought, it can only be harnessed." Smaug couldn't even roar in defiance, as he was seemingly sucked in with the fire, vanishing into the Dragon Slayer's jaws. With that, Natsu snapped his mouth shut, and swallowed.

Suddenly, everything was still, and then…

(in the physical world)

There was a blast of hot energy that sent Lucy hurtling back from Natsu. Everyone turned, as they saw that the Dragon Slayer had been consumed by fire that turned into a pillar.

"The power of the dragon is your's, Natsu, now use it!"

A pair of great wings unfolded from the pillar, as did a long tail. A long neck then reached out, revealing a pair of glowing eyes, and a gaping maw of sharp teeth. The massive serpentine dragon let out a tremendous roar, the force of which could be heard all across the island, as the demons all shattered like stone. Hades couldn't even speak as he stared up in horror at the massive dragon looming over him.

"Where did that dragon come from?!" Gray demanded.

"Is that…," Erza said slowly.

"Big brother?" Wendy called weakly.

"Natsu," Lucy whispered. The massive serpent was still for a time, as its glowing gaze went down towards Hades.

"How is…" Hades couldn't finish as with a roar, the dragon held up his claw, and brought it down. Things seemed to slow down for Hades as the claw came upon him. To think, this is what Makarov's generation was able to produce was all he had time to think as the dragon's claw slammed him into the ground.

There was an eerie silence, save for the sound of growling from the dragon that was Natsu, as he pulled his claw back. It revealed Hades utterly defeated, depressed into the ground.

"With just one strike…," Erza said in awe.

"Is that… really Natsu?" Wendy asked, tears still welling in her eyes.

After a time, Natsu spread his wings, and roared to the sky, as his draconic melted to flames, and faded away. Back in human form, Natsu floated to the ground, as he shifted slightly to maintain his balance. He looked around, to see everyone staring at him.

"What?" he asked with a weak grin, "Is that really the craziest thing you've seen me doing?" For a time, Lucy just stared, before a weak smile spread over her face

"That's at least in the top 3," she finally answered. Natsu chuckled slightly, as he fell to his knees. Lucy hurried over, and managed to catch him.

"You hot-headed idiot," she whispered slightly as she held Natsu close.

"You weirdo," Natsu countered, as he breathed in Lucy's scent. For a time the two savored the moment, before Natsu whispered two words into Lucy's ear:

"Marry me."

Note: So Natsu has truly harnessed the power of the dragon. Some may call this ending anti-climatic, to which I would disagree. The characters all had their moments in the sun, including characters like Lucy who otherwise might not have been. Also, Natsu fought hard and long to achieve this power. This has been a long time coming, since the beginning of the story.

I cut the part where the Exceeds destroyed Hades heart, mostly because it wasn't really necessary. I don't think a dragon like Natsu turned into would really need such a thing for an advantage. I did try to give the Exceeds some stuff to do, though.

I'm going to say now, that I'm not going to show the skirmish with Acnologia, for the simple reason that there is nothing to show. Its exactly the same as canon in this version, and the result will be the same. But is that really a surprise? Its not like Natsu can use his new power on repeat.

Please review.

With two more chapters before the end of Fairy Tail, I'm curious as to what we'll be shown. Considering how Rave Master concluded, I'm inclined to think that Chapter 544 will be the conclusion of the battle, and I hope the last chapter we'll be able to see all the couples together. Mashima doesn't seem like the kind of writer to not leave such things fully resolved. I'm going to miss Fairy Tail.