AN: Thanks NinjaFang1331, AliceCullen3, Nox Zephyrus, and Goku275.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" shouted Natsu in dragon form. He flapped his wings, moving toward Motherglare with his flaming fist outstretched.
However, the Diamond Dragon twisted, flying around the attacking Fairy before opening her mouth. "Diamond Dragon's Roar!"
A storm of diamonds crashed into the Fire Dragon's back, knocking him away. Natsu regained control of his flight after a few seconds, turning back toward Motherglare.
"How pathetic," sneered Motherglare. "To think that a fool existed who would challenge me midair despite not knowing how to fight an aerial battle."
Natsu glowered at the dragon, even though he knew the insult was accurate. The only other flying opponents that he remembered fighting were Erik and that owl guy. Both of those battles had been years ago, and Happy had handled Natsu's flight for the former while the latter…
"Focus!" thought Natsu, shaking his head. He pushed away the memory of the owl guy before it made him nauseous. "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Natsu shot a stream of flames at Motherglare. The Diamond Dragon dodged, rising up and moving between Natsu and the sun. The Fire Dragon spent a few seconds squinting at the sun and looking for his opponent. He eventually caught sight of Motherglare shooting back down toward him in Diamond Form, albeit too late to avoid or counter the attack.
The crystalline-scaled Diamond Dragon collided with Natsu, pushing him down until he smashed into the ground then rising back into the air. Motherglare then looked down at him, eyes full of disdain and superiority.
"Urgh," groaned Natsu, turning to see what he had landed on. Upon recognizing the location, the Fire Dragon gave a small gulp. He had crashed into Mercurius. The Fairy's attention quickly returned to the fight, though.
"Shit, Happy made it seem so easy," grumbled Natsu, thinking about how the Exceed would always maneuver him into just the right position for whatever attack he had planned. "If we were fighting on the ground, then I could just deal with this dragon's tricky movements by…"
The Fairy trailed off, an idea forming in his head. Natsu smirked at his opponent and rose back into the air.
"Fire Spin!" roared Atlas Flame, ramming into the Corpse Dragon's chest and pushing him through an entire city block. When the attacked ended, the Corpse Dragon did not get back up.
"We did it!" cheered F-Blaze. "Great job, Un—"
"Uncle Atlas, mya!"
A familiar voice cut off F-Blaze's words. She and Atlas Flame turned to their left, where the younger Blaze emerged from an alley and entered the wake of their last attack. The ground was still steaming from the flames, but the little Hell Flame Dragon Slayer was unaffected by the heat.
"Is… is it really you?" asked Blaze as she approached the dragon, eyes full of hope.
Atlas Flame shifted uncomfortably. If given the choice between answering this question and fighting all the other dragons at once, he would choose the latter without hesitation.
"I apologize, Igneel's granddaughter…" he finally said. "I am indeed the Hell Flame Dragon known as Atlas Flame, but I'm not the Atlas Flame that… at least, not yet…"
"What he's trying to say," piped up F-Blaze as the Hell Flame Dragon's voice trailed off. "…is that he came through the Eclipse Gate like I did. Except, instead of being from the future like me, he's from four hundred years in the past. Long before he met us."
"I see," replied Blaze thoughtfully, nodding. "So, it is Uncle Atlas, mya!"
"Pff–"
F-Blaze and Atlas Flame both stifled a laugh. They had been worried that Blaze wouldn't understand the situation, only for it to turn out that they were the clueless ones.
"Yeah, I guess he is the same amazing uncle," agreed F-Blaze, recalling when she learned to be a dragon slayer.
"You truly are Igneel's granddaughter," stated Atlas Flame, smiling as he thought about his old friend. "Both of you."
The two Blazes smiled at this, and — as Atlas Flame watched over the Corpse Dragon to ensure that he didn't reawaken — the three of them began talking to one another (with F-Wendy taking over and chiming in whenever F-Blaze started over-embellishing stories about her exploits in the future).
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" shouted Natsu, punching at Motherglare.
"Pathetic," snorted the Diamond Dragon, twisting around the Fairy. "Don't you understand the futility of your act—?"
Wham! Motherglare's insult was cut off as Natsu's flaming fist struck the Diamond Dragon's torso, knocking the dragon back a few feet.
"What!?" screeched Motherglare, momentarily unbalanced from the surprise of and anger at being hit. "How did you strike me!?"
"I just did this," boasted Natsu, throwing another Fire Dragon's Iron Fist at the Diamond Dragon.
As Motherglare attempted to dodge again, observing the Fairy this time, the dragon was able to see jets of fire shoot from Natsu's feet and the elbow of the arm he was punching with. The flames allowed the Fire Dragon to gyrate, redirecting his attack toward where Motherglare had moved.
"In my human form, I use my flames to move around in fights," explained Natsu. "Sort of like a rocket. I can't believe I never thought of doing it in my dragon form, too. I guess this is the first I've had to deal with such a slippery opponent since becoming a dragon."
"You are not a real dragon!" snapped Motherglare, infuriated. "A real dragon would not use their magic to move around in such an abnormal manner! A real dragon would not treat food like equals! You are just some sort of… ridiculous counterfeit!"
After hearing the Diamond Dragon's words, Natsu frowned, staying silent for several seconds.
"…Maybe I am a fake dragon," the Fairy finally said, his voice low. Motherglare looked him in the eye, expecting to see shame or insecurity, but instead saw a raging fire. "…But I'm the fake who's going to defeat you! Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"
The Fire Dragon shot at the Diamond Dragon headfirst, producing flames from his hands to increase his speed and alter his flight path at will. The latter benefit proved unnecessary, though, because Motherglare recognized that avoiding his attack was all but impossible and chose a different response.
"My Diamond Form is more than enough for your forged flames!" shouted the Diamond Dragon, scales transforming into the precious gemstone.
This declaration proved false, however, with the blazing headbutt cracking Motherglare's scales and burning the dragon.
"You should've run," commented Natsu with a grin. He grabbed hold of the Diamond Dragon's right shoulder with one arm and pulled back the other, winding up for a punch. Fire Dragon King mode activated, flames shooting from his feet and the elbow of the punching arm to maximize the force behind his attack. "Fire Dragon King's Destruction Fist!"
When the Fairy's fist collided with Motherglare, it kept on moving. The Diamond Dragon was propelled backward by the force of the punch, which didn't fade even as Motherglare's scales shattered under its might.
Eventually, Natsu's advance came to an end when the Diamond Dragon's body smashed into a large, durable structure that absorbed most of the impact before it broke.
The Eclipse Gate.
"Hm?" went Minerva, confused by what she was seeing.
Shortly after Zirconis's defeat (and Wendy's subsequent collapse from the recoil of Lightning Sky Dragon Mode), it had been decided that they would take turns watching the dragon for any signs of him regaining consciousness.
It was currently her turn, and everything had started out normal. Then, Zirconis's body began to glow. Minerva anxiously called her allies over, and they all ran to the dragon, ready for round two. Fortunately, as the light grew brighter, the dragon's body simply faded away, returning to its proper time.
"What's going on!?" roared a battered Scissor Runner, who had suddenly started glowing. The dragon looked at an also-shining Levia and the humans with suspicion "Is this one of your experiments, Levia!? Or is this the White Dragon Slayer's doing!?"
Levia, on the other hand, quickly put together what was happening.
"What a shame," sighed the Shadow Dragon. "I had hoped to learn more in this fascinating time period. Hopefully I at least retain my memories of this experience. Farewell, Rogue."
"Farewell, Levia," replied Rogue as the two dragons vanished.
"Die! Die! Die!" screamed the Armor Dragon, the cracks in its scales now spread across the entire thigh. The dragon was so caught up in its murderous rage that it didn't even notice how its body was glowing.
Its attackers did, though, and halted their assault. They retreated to a safe distance on Gildarts's advice, the S-Class Mage having previously fought a few opponents who had shimmered like that immediately before self-destructing.
However, they were pleasantly surprised (and a bit confused) when the dragon simply disappeared without a trace.
"So, I'm going… back to my own time?" guessed Atlas Flame as his body glowed.
"Not just you," stated F-Blaze, her body also shining. The girl frowned. "Although, given that my terrible future no longer exists, I'll probably just fade from existence."
"That's aweful!" shouted Blaze, horrified by her future self's words. "Isn't there any way to save you?"
"I don't—" started F-Blaze, only to be cut off as F-Wendy took over her body. "Actually, I think I have a way to keep this version of you alive. But I'm going to need your help, Blaze."
"I'll do it, mya!" she answered immediately. "…What do I need to do?"
"Like father, like daughter," sighed F-Wendy, a smile on her face. "You just need to stand there while I…"
"Im… possible…" groaned Motherglare as a shining light engulfed the Diamond Dragon. "A mere human… defeating a dragon as great as I… What a bad joke…"
"Humans are stronger than you realize," said Natsu. Recognizing the battle was over, he returned to his human form. "So quit acting like your better than us, because dragons and humans are no different from one another. We both laugh. We both cry. The only different between us is the shape of our bodies, and simple Transformation Magic deals with that."
"How ridiculous…" spoke Motherglare. The light surrounding the dragon grew brighter, and Motherglare began to disappear. "Although… I was incorrect about the outcome of our fight… so, perhaps I'm also wrong now… and what you're saying is true…"
Natsu watched as the Diamond Dragon vanished, continuing to stare at the spot even after it became empty. "…If only you could have understood that sooner. Then, we could've been friends."
Unfortunately, the Fairy was snapped out of his reverie when a deafening roar resounded throughout the city. He turned to the source of the noise and saw something he'd hoped they had avoided when only seven dragons came through the Eclipse Gate.
The Black Dragon. Acnologia.
Natsu grimaced. He was worn out from fighting Motherglare, and he doubted that the others were doing much better. Nevertheless, the Fairy took a deep breath and grinned.
"Looks like another dragon wants to be slayed," said Natsu, feigning confidence. "And I'll be happy to fulfill your— Argh!"
Ba-dump!
An intense pain pierced the dragon's heart, bringing him to his knees. He clutched his chest, and his entire body began to heat up.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
"Natsu!" bellowed a voice directly into the Fairy's head, one that he would never forget. "It seems the time has come!"
Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Natsu twisted around, looking over the entire area for the speaker. As he did so, a single word left his mouth.
"Igneel?"
Omake
"There you are, Blaze!" shouted Porlyusica, a bit of anger seeping into her voice. She approached the dragon slayer, tugging along Asuka and Iggy by their hands.
After a moment, Blaze glanced at the medicinal advisor with a look of distraction painted all over her face. "…Oh. Hi."
"'Hi'? Is that all you have to say for yourself?" chastised Porlyusica, preparing to give another long lecture. "You jumped into the middle of a battlefield! Do you understand how reckless… and… stupid…?"
The elderly woman's voice trailed off as she caught sight of Acnologia flying through the sky above the city.
A few days later, Blaze would look back on this moment and think about how lucky she was that the Black Dragon appeared at that very moment. Acnologia was nothing compared to Porlyusica's lectures.
AN: Seven dragons down, one much, much worse dragon to go. Also, while most of you probably forgot about it, Carla's vision from during the GMG has come true; Natsu in dragon form crashing into Mercurius.
Tune in next time for the final battle. Until then, bye!