Chapter 53: Igneel

About 20 years ago: The city of Rosemary

"HAHAHAHA! THE AGE OF ETHERIOUS HAS COME!" Jackal's cheering rang out through the night. The city was completely destroyed, it went up in flames and had been burnt to the ground thanks to the awakening of E.N.D.

"Careful not to get overzealous Jackal…there is still much work left to be done…" A calm feminine voice muttered next to the large werewolf looking demon who let out an animalistic growl.

"Shut it Kyoka!" Jackal glared at the green-haired harpy who was putting on some kind of helmet. The woman glared right back at him, their expressions mirroring each other. The only light in the city was coming off of the buildings that were still burning. Jackal rolled his eyes and turned away from her, before he could walk away she stomped one of her bird-like legs into the dirt.

"Don't forget…we still have those troublesome friends of Igneel rebelling….Just cause our lord was successful in awakening E.N.D. doesn't mean this war is over….you would be wise to stay on guard." When she was finished speaking, instead of letting Jackal respond she just spun around and walked away from him leaving the explosive demon fuming.

"Stupid Kyoka…what does she know anyway! Like a bunch of human trash is going to stop us…pfft yeah right…we are indestructible." Jackal grumbled, and kicked a rock into the air relishing in it exploding in the air. He grinned maliciously and ran one of his claws through his mohawk.

"Indestructible you say? Why don't I put that to the test?" A shrill steely voice called out to Jackal from behind him causing the Etherious to whip his head around and glare at a tall figure, clad in raggedy black and silver clothes, long, spiked dark black hair that went down his back, the man also had several piercings from his ears, nose, and even his eyebrows, and bottom lip. His striking red eyes stared unblinking at Jackal, his mouth curled up into a cocky smirk. The sleeves of his black shirt were cut-off to reveal a black tattoo of a dragon on his shoulder. Jackal sneered at the newcomer.

"I take it you are of the dragons?..." Jackal yawned, causing the man to roll his eyes.

"No shit Sherlock….I'm Metalicana! The iron dragon!" Metalicana announced proudly. Jackal sighed.

"Very well, I take it you want to fight the Great Demon Jackal!" Jackal lowered himself onto all fours, his tail wagging in excitement. Metalicana cracked his neck before getting into a fighting stance.

"Oh trust me it won't be too much of a fight." Metalicana replied.

In fact, it was not a fight. Unfortunately Metalicana's fighting style that was extremely similar to Gajeel's combined with Jackal's curse was a recipe for disaster. Without too much effort on Jackal's part he was soon standing over Metalicana's unconscious form laughing his signature wicked laugh. He was about to deliver the finishing blow, but as he lowered his hand to impale Metalicana's chest he noticed the air around him begin to get warmer, and warmer. His fur stood on edge and when he sniffed the air he was alerted to the scents of two newcomers who were walking towards him.

"Who's there?!" The demon shouted at the two figures. One clad in a black vest with gold trimming, and black pants. A white scarf with black stripes wrapped around his neck. Long red hair, with a matching colored beard on his face, and a mark on his shoulder just like Metalicana's. The other wore a long white fur lined coat, and a blue shirt and jeans under the coat. Her long blue hair was tied up in an untidy bun.

"Get away from him!" The man growled, and a fireball shot out of his hands, that Jackal had to leap out of the way of. He stared down the man who was now walking towards him. The girl broke away from his side to rush over to Metalicana.

"Hang in there! I'll have you patched up in no time!" She muttered and began to heal Metalican with her hands that glowed green. Metalicana's wounds were soon healed and he slowly sat up.

"Thanks for the hand…" He muttered.

"GRANDEENEY! GET HIM OUT OF HERE! I'LL TAKE CARE OF UGLY!"

"YEAH, YEAH! I'M ON IT!" Grandeeney snapped back as she threw Metalicana's arm over her shoulder and helped him onto his feet. The two began to walk away from the fight.

"IGNEEL!..." Metalicana yelled back, causing the man to look back in their direction.

"Don't take this guy lightly…..FIGHT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!" After he finished he slipped back out of consciousness.

"Igneel huh? So you're the guy my master met with weeks ago….I've heard a lot about you!" Jackal smirked at the man who just glared back at him.

"Then you should know exactly how dangerous I am…" Igneel growled in reply as red and black flames began to swirl around the man. And red scales began to pop up all over his body. Jackal chuckled.

"Oh don't worry I'm not scared…"

Present Day: Shirostume

"So who's it gonna be? You….or me?!" Natsu's question sent a chill down Jackal's spine. Jackal's breathing became shallow as he stared at the pink-haired teenager who was glaring at the demon with such intensity that Jackal was forced to remember the events from twenty years ago. His body stiffened as he noticed the red, and black flames that enveloped around Natsu's body. They gave off the same heat as…that freak from the past….the eyes, the intense, cold reptilian eyes that they shared. The maroon colored scales….it was all so similar. Jackal was having trouble catching his breath as he stared at the boy in fear. A complete difference to how he had been arrogant throughout this entire fight. It was impossible. It had to have been right? But sure enough the boy in front of him was standing across from him the same way Igneel had, Jackal's eyes landed on the white scarf around Natsu's neck that he had been oblivious with until this very moment.

"I-It….c-can't be…..YOU BOY! DO YOU HAVE ANY RELATION TO IGNEEL THE FIRE DRAGON!" Jackal questioned, his voice shaking something that caught Natsu off guard.

"Yeah! He's my dad! What about it?" Natsu snapped back. Jackal's eyes widened in fear. The glowing red mark on his arm began to fade a little, something Natsu noticed.

"NOW ENOUGH STALLING! LET'S GO!" Natsu sped at Jackal with a speed that he had never thought possible of himself, probably thanks to his dragon force being active. Jackal was still in a state of shock, and fear. He watched as Natsu drew closer to him his movements, a carbon copy of Igneel….the man who killed him all those years ago. He was so lost in thought that Natsu's strike went uncontested and unblocked. The force of Natsu's first punch mixed with the flames that were way more powerful than they were before sent Jackal in a tailspin through the air. Natsu wasted no time in sending a burst of flames out of his feet, making him fly through the air after Jackal. He wrapped his arms around Jackal and while holding him the two flew out of the city and into a neighboring field. Natsu did this to make sure Levy, and Wendy were out of harm's way. The two soon crashed into the grassy plain, Jackal snapped out of his memories, and fear and grabbed Natsu by the skull and threw him. Natsu flipped and landed on his feet, but golden circles formed on his arms and head. Jackal smirked as he watched.

"You might've powered up brat, but it won't be enough to survive my curse! What good is all the power if you can't even touch me!" Jackal was back to his normal cocky self. Natsu stared the demon down before flashing a grin of his own. When the golden circles exploded he concentrated all of his effort into absorbing the explosions like he had done to beat Gajeel so long ago.

"That would've been the case…if I didn't remember a little trick I could do….Now I dare say they tickle." Natsu grinned as the last of the explosion's flames caused the ones spiraling around him to spike and grow a little more intense. Jackal of course was caught off guard by the fact that the explosions had no effect on Natsu.

"Thanks for the boost….now I got a fire roaring in my belly, and it's ready to break free!..." Natsu grinned, and shot at Jackal. Strategy was lost, no longer was Natsu concerned about Jackal's curse. He was going to fight the demon his way. Jackal growled as Natsu sped at him he clenched one of his hands into a fist. The two swung at each other at the same time. Their fists connected, and a gigantic eruption of golden light mixed with red, and black flames followed their contact. A crater formed under their feet as the two stood in front of one another, their fists still connected in a power struggle.

"What a turn of events…I was starting to get bored…" Jackal grinned, and licked his jagged teeth. Natsu smirked back up at the giant dog-like monster.

"I'll say….I'm all fired up!" Natsu exclaimed before crouching down and sweeping at Jackal's legs. The demon saw it coming and jumped over Natsu's kick. He clenched his fist ready to strike. An explosion from his elbow caused him to shoot down at Natsu with an immense speed. Natsu rolled out of the way of the punch that made the ground from under them rumble. The small crater they were in grew larger due to the following explosion from Jackal's punch. Natsu acted fast and delivered a powerful punch to Jackal's jaw. The red and black flames around him grew hotter. It was so hot that the grass he was standing on died instantly having all hydration from the rain evaporate just being near Natsu's flames. Jackal stumbled back while Natsu stayed on the offense. He ignored the golden circle that had appeared and subsequently blew up on his hand. Natsu attempted a roundhouse kick that Jackal blocked with his large forearm. He grabbed Natsu's leg and lifted him off the ground and upside down. Natsu made no attempt to struggle, instead he puffed his cheeks, and chest up. Jackal's eyes widened as Natsu unleashed his most powerful roar attack he had ever unleashed thanks to his dragon force mixed with his father's power swirling within him. A large red and black flame blast shot out of Natsu's mouth and Jackal couldn't move out of the way or block it due to the fact that he was still holding Natsu upside down by the leg.

The large blast enveloped Jackal causing him to let out a pained filled scream. Instantly dropping Natsu and stumbling back, his yellow fur burning leaving a foul stench in the air.

"LUCKY SHOT!" Jackal shouted and threw a punch at Natsu who blocked it with his forearm. Natsu flashed a grin.

"Maybe so! But there is nothing lucky about this one!" Natsu delivered a knee strike right to the demon's stomach making him double over. Jackal growled while he was bent over and responded to Natsu's strike by opening his large canine mouth and clamping down on Natsu's leg with his pointy teeth. Natsu screamed out in pain.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Natsu roared and dropped his elbow onto the top of Jackal's skull causing the demon to release his bite. Natsu slipped out of the way wincing as he put pressure onto the leg that Jackal had just chomped on. Warm blood ran down his leg causing him to limp, he groaned and stumbled. Jackal shook his head to recover from Natsu's elbow strike. Leaving the two to stare each other down once more. This fight was going to be tougher than either of them first imagined.

Meanwhile at the guildhall the members of fairy tail had been left staring at the screen which was only showing static. The last thing they had seen was Jackal transforming into his true form as he had called it, and a large flame pillar from Natsu that had knocked the news helicopter out of the sky. The silence was deafening. Lucy had finally snapped out of her previous daze and was now fixated on the screen with her hands folded in front of her as if she was praying. Cana put a hand on her friend's shoulder causing the blonde to look at her.

"Take a chill pill Lucy everything will be okay…..I'm sure of it….Natsu has never let us down before…." Cana tried to comfort her, but Lucy just frowned and shook her head.

"I hope you're right." Was all Lucy could speak, finding her voice was starting to fail her. The others were no better. Gajeel had been silent now ever since he had first seen Levy rush in and join the fray. Now he was silently berating himself for not being there with them to help. To protect Levy, to prevent Wendy from getting hurt, and backing up Natsu. Of course he wasn't the only one wishing they were there to fight. Erza, and Gray were in the exact same boat as him.

"Are we back?" The familiar feminine voice of the reporter came out of the television's speakers breaking the guild out of their thoughts. They all turned to look at the screen. The static was starting to fade away and become replaced by the image of the reporter holding her microphone and looking into the camera.

"I believe so…" The camera man said as he waved his hand in front of the camera lens.

"If that's the case we welcome back those of you watching at home….we apologize for the brief lapse in our coverage. Our helicopter was blasted out of the sky, luckily the two of us, as well as our driver escaped relatively unharmed….since we have been off air things have really started to escalate..." The reporter explained as the cameraman spun around and pointed the camera at the direction of the field where Natsu and Jackal were brawling. He had to zoom the lens all the way in and even then the two were nothing more than blurry specs in the distance. Squinting at the screen the people in the guild were barely able to make out what was going on in the fight.

"We apologize for how little you can see, but we have decided it is best that we continue watching on from a safe distance as the demon and Salamander continue their brawl! I'll try my best to commentate!" The reporter explained, but the guild really weren't listening to her they had all moved in closer to the TV crowding around one another to get a good view.

"What…is with Natsu?" Jet muttered as he noticed the swirling red and black fire.

"It's dragon force…." Gajeel muttered in reply, noticing the scaly texture that was barely visible on Natsu from the distance of the camera. Lucy's eyes widened remembering the one time she had seen Natsu like that…A memory she had tried to suppress where he lost control and was moments away from killing Brain.

"Come on Natsu…you can do it…" Mirajane mumbled to herself. Natsu and Jackal were trading harsh blow after harsh blow. They were moving at such a fast pace that it was almost impossible to keep up with due to how far they were.

"DAMN YOU!" Jackal shouted and attempted to bite down on Natsu's arm as the dragon-scaled boy threw a punch that missed by a mile. Natsu watched as Jackal opened his mouth wide.

"NICE TRY! I'M NOT FALLING FOR THAT AGAIN!" Natsu yelled as he took the opportunity to shoot a large blast of fire out of his hand and right into Jackal's open mouth. The demon cried out in pain and held his hands to his mouth which was now literally and metaphorically on fire. The flames trickled down his throat burning it, Jackal hissed in pain. He spun and delivered a strong backhand to Natsu causing the boy who wasn't expecting the blow to be shot backwards and land on his back. A groan escaped Natsu's mouth and he rolled onto one knee. Natsu glanced down at his arm where the mark, the source of his father's power, was glowing red. It had faded quite a bit since the start of the fight. The mark that had taken up his entire forearm now only took up about half. He was wasting too much time, he had to hurry and wrap this fight up before it faded entirely and he lost the last gift his father had given him. If Jackal was still standing by then there would be no way Natsu could beat him.

"You really are a brat…" Jackal winced as he talked due to the pain in his mouth.

"I hear that a lot…" Natsu replied as he wiped away some blood that trickled down his forehead. Jackal didn't stand around chatting for long before he launched himself at Natsu who leapt up to his feet in haste to prepare for Jackal's attack. The two simultaneously delivered strong punches to each other's face. Natsu took a page out of Jackal's book and bit Jackal's fist. His sharp fang impaling the demon's hand. Jackal groaned in pain, and Natsu took the chance to place a fiery kick to Jackal's side. Jackal stumbled back, his golden colored blood poured out of his fist where Natsu had bitten.

"YEAH HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?!" Natsu asked, ignoring the pain in one of his legs as he sped at Jackal. He leapt off the ground, and like before summoned flames out of the bottoms of his feet and torpedoed himself into Jackal's stomach head first. Jackal fell backwards leading to Natsu delivering a strong punch into the demon's snout making a few of Jackal's teeth crack at the impact. Natsu soon stood above Jackal who laid flat on his back. As the golden circles formed on Natsu Jackal smirked and placed his hand on the ground underneath Natsu. As the circles on Natsu's body blew up and were quickly absorbed into Natsu's skin boosting the strength of his flames Jackal formed another larger circle under Natsu who was distracted by the ones on his body that he was oblivious to the landmine under his feet until it erupted sending Natsu spiraling through the air. Natsu landed on the ground hard and rolled for a bit until he was able to regain control of his body. The two kipped up to their feet at the same time. Both breathing heavily, both sore, and both failing to gain an upper hand.

"C'mon dad….I need more…this power…it's still not enough…." Natsu muttered, his heart pounding in his head. He had already used up too much of his own power that he was now reliant on just his dad's power.

"I have to admit human…..you sure are a scrapy one….but that doesn't change the fact….THAT YOU ARE STILL HUMAN SCUM! YOU MUST BE WIPED OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH!" Jackal snapped, causing Natsu to growl as a response.

"You talk a lot…of trash about humans…you think that you are so much better….well guess what buddy….you don't seem to be faring too well against just little ol' me….and there are several that are stronger than me…" Natsu choked out, wincing as he shifted his weight onto his injured leg. His father's flames grow hotter, and more intense.

"Like Gildarts….or Erza….Gramps, Mira…..That means that you will fail! As long as there are humans willing to fight, the Etherious won't win! You failed decades ago….and you will fail now!" Natsu surged forward. Jackal was taken aback at Natsu's words and growled.

"You FOOL! WE WILL NOT FAIL! ONCE E.N.D. IS RESURRECTED THERE WILL BE NO STOPPING US!" Jackal caught Natsu's punch, but wasn't ready for the kick to the bottom of his jaw. Jackal let out a mighty roar, and smoked Natsu with his tail. Natsu winced and formed a fireball in his palm. He held it up to Jackal's chest and pressed it down. Jackal cried out as the hot ball of flames shot him backwards. While on the backfoot Jackal let out another roar and holding out both his large clawed hands unleashed a wave of explosions at Natsu which he dodged with his dragon-like reflexes. He dodged a second one, but wasn't as lucky with a third one that knocked him off his feet and onto his backside. Natsu propelled himself back onto his feet. Natsu waved his arms in a half circle causing red and black flames to form a spiral in the air, Jackal watched the attack draw closer and like he had done with Wendy's attempted to disperse the blast with a well timed explosion. The explosion from Jackal's hand was enough to send Natsu's attack to go up in smoke. Natsu instantly sent another blast Jackal's way which the demon easily sidestepped. Natsu ran towards Jackal and the two once again unleashed a flurry of strikes at one another. Both were getting in several good shots that left bruises upon impact. Elbow to chest, fist to face, punches, and kicks traded over and over. Natsu's smaller frame, and more agile fighting style made it harder for Jackal to land any really good strikes on Natsu. Luckily Natsu was having no problem and soon delivered a real good uppercut that made Jackal fall onto his back. Natsu stayed on the offense, while Jackal laid on the ground Natsu jumped into the air and stomped down onto Jackal's gut. The demon coughed out, and grabbed Natsu by the neck.

"JUST DIE!" Jackal Screamed and held his free hand to punch Natsu with such force that Natsu didn't just go flying through the air. He was shot off like a rocket going into space. Natsu winced as he was unable to focus and absorb the flames from the explosions and took the full force of them. The teenager cried out as he landed on his back. He was struggling to catch his breath, his heart was racing. The sound of his heartbeat pounded in his head. He was running out of time, he was growing weaker by the second. He had to hurry up and find a way to finish this. Jackal's laughter pierced through his thoughts.

"Oh man what a rush! Get up! I'm so excited my body is shaking! This fight….it's got me fired up!" Jackal burst into laughter. Natsu scoffed and made the motion to rise back up to his feet. His energy was drained, his body was sore. His power was fading. His heart pounded in his ears, it was racing a million miles a minute. Natsu struggled to get back to his feet, but he soon rose onto shaky legs.

"YES! YES! YES! THAT'S IT! NOW COME HUMAN! IT'S TIME FOR OUR FIGHT TO REACH ITS CLIMATIC FINALE!" Jackal broke into a fit of laughter once more as he cracked his neck and hands. Natsu panted as he stared at Jackal, this was it. It was now or never. He had to defeat this demon. Natsu tried to shrug off his exhaustion by shaking his head. Igniting his fists he prepared himself for the final act of this fight, as he took a step towards Jackal however….his body had other ideas. A chill passed through his body making his normally fiery hot insides run cold. The black and red flames of his father soon faded away, as did his scales. Looking down at his arm revealed that he was out of time and out of power. The mark on his arm had completely faded away. His heartbeat no longer pounded in his head, it went silent. Natsu's vision grew fuzzy and with a cough of blood he stumbled before falling face first onto the ground motionless. His body had completely given up and shut down. He was down for the count.

Chapter 54: A Hero is Born!