Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon
Chapter 69
The Half-Dragon roared its powerful roar while lifting its head to the sky. The Fairy Tail mages stood in disbelief at what they were seeing.
"How? How the hell did you create a Half-Dragon?" Gracie demanded.
"Your friend was very helpful in that endeavor," Jarvan said with a smile. "He was also very generous with his donations."
"Donations?" Gracie repeated as she got a sick feeling in her stomach.
"Yes. Thanks to my subordinate constantly cutting him open, I had plenty of blood and tissue to work with."
Mira hunched over and put a hand to her mouth to keep herself from vomiting. "You're a monster," she hissed, but it came out muffled from her hand.
"That still doesn't explain how you created a Half-Dragon," Gracie said.
"My, it seems that now you're in a very talkative mood," Jarvan teased. "Should I put my toy away for the time being?"
"Answer my question!" she roared.
Jarvan sighed. "So hostile. I can see that you inherited more of Blaine's personality than your mother's." He gestured to the creature beside him. "While I admit that my latest creation has no transformative capabilities, the term 'Half-Dragon' is still very well suited to it. You see, I was able to combine the very complex DNA of your friend with that of a live human test subject. I won't bore you with the details, but as you can see the result of the experiment was a being who is half human and half dragon. Of course, I would honestly say that it's more dragon than human."
Gracie looked at the creature and then back at Jarvan. "Why? Why create such a thing?"
"For money and power!" Jarvan exclaimed while thrusting his arms out to the side. "Do you understand how much of an impact this new weapon will have on the world? Towns, countries, nations will pay millions of Jewels for a weapon that could single-handedly wipe out all of Earth Land! And I will be here, sitting upon a throne of riches and watching the world descend into the chaos that dwells deep in its heart."
"Why do something like that?" Erza asked. "Why would you want that to happen?"
"This world is vile," Jarvan spat. "I'm giving it the chance to start over. That is what I aim to leave behind with my great-great-great-great grandfather's legacy; a world that can start anew."
"The world can never start over as long as you and your organization exist," Christina said. "Please, don't do this!"
"Oh, but it will change!" Jarvan assured. "With my organization and I at the top of the world, we can watch over it and make sure that all fall into their place."
"But can't you see that leading people with threats of violence won't help anything?" Christina asked. "Besides, your organization is founded on weapons. As long as that driving mission exists, there can never be hope for a new world."
Jarvan sighed. "Seeing as all of you oppose me, it would appear that you are all very naïve. Very well. If you do not wish to stand beside me as my vision becomes a reality, you will be my first guinea pigs instead."
"Your guinea pigs?" Gajeel spat. "We ain't no guinea pigs!"
"Oh, but you are," Jarvan said with a wicked smile. "You're going to show me just how powerful my new weapon is. This will be its debut, the first trial run and I look forward to good results." He lifted his hand. "Don't disappoint me." He snapped his fingers.
The Half-Dragon's golden eyes glowed brighter and it roared once again before taking to the skies. It then flew directly at the Fairy Tail group with its fist drawn back. Everyone dove out of the way, but when the Half-Dragon's fist collided with the ground, large pieces of rock flew in all directions. Some of Cliff's men were not fortunate enough to dodge the rock chunks and were crushed under the large boulders.
"Holy shit!" Cliff exclaimed. "How strong is that thing?"
Gracie quickly summoned her katanas and took a defensive stance. "Be careful, everyone. This thing's arms are clearly designed for incredible physical strength. Don't let it hit you or you'll probably find all of your bones snapped like twigs."
"Surround it!" one of Cliff's men shouted.
"Don't let it take flight!" another cried.
All of Cliff's men surrounded the Half-Dragon as it rose, tearing its fist out of the pavement. A thick cloud of dust surrounded it, showing nothing but a black silhouette. The men could hear heavy, low breathing.
"You idiots! What are you doing? You're gonna get yourselves killed!" Gracie exclaimed.
"Don't worry, Miss Gracie; we were professional mercenaries not too long ago," one of the men said. "This is what we did for a living."
Jarvan smiled. "You would have been wise to heed her warning," he said softly to himself.
"You're not thinking straight! This thing is as strong as a dragon. Fall back while we plan!" Gracie said.
However, it was too late.
The Half-Dragon roared loudly before lunging forward. It tackled one of the men to the ground and caved in his skull with a heavy punch. The men were surprised by the sudden attack, but quickly went on the offensive. With their weapons at the ready, they charged the Half-Dragon.
The Half-Dragon eyed its attackers with its glowing golden eyes as they approached from all directions. With a roar, it began batting them away with its large tail and thick arms. Each man hit went flying into a building with a cry of fear before dying upon impact. It effortlessly handled each man as if he were an annoying gnat. Some men were even grabbed by their heads and slammed into the ground. One by one, each man was crushed, swatted away, or slashed with large, sharp talons. And not a single one of Cliff's men could get a single hit in.
"No way," Cliff breathed. "This thing is fighting off my men like they're nothing."
"I tried to warn them," Gracie said as she clenched her fists. "Such idiots."
Erza put a hand on Gracie's shoulder. "You did all you could do."
Gracie nodded. "We're gonna have to take this thing down, but we can't just rush in without a plan like they did."
"So what do we do?" Christina asked.
Gracie thought. "This thing is strong and is also incredibly fast. We can't assume any blind spots and we have to assume that it has the senses of a dragon."
"How do we beat it then?" Lucy asked.
"No clue." Gracie twirled her katanas. "I don't know enough, so here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna attack that thing. Everyone watch closely and look for any weak points that you can."
"That's insane. I won't allow it," Cliff said.
"With all due respect Uncle Cliff, you have no right to hold me back," Gracie said. "This is happening. It's the only way we can possibly win."
"I have to agree with Cliff, Gracie," Erza said. "This doesn't seem like a good idea."
"Yeah. We'll just attack as one," Levy said.
"Look, even if we attack as a team, that won't change anything. Look at what's happening right in front of us." Gracie paused to point towards Cliff's men who were attempting to retreat. Unfortunately, many were chased down by the Half-Dragon and killed instantly. "They attacked as one and they were nothing but play things to that monstrosity. If I can find a place to attack it or even injure it, that will help lead us to victory."
"And what if you get yourself killed?" Gray asked angrily.
"Then I die so that the world doesn't have to ever see this thing!" Gracie shouted back. She then took off running at the Half-Dragon.
"Gracie, get back here!" Cliff bellowed.
Gracie ran past the frightened men with her katanas at the ready. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. 'Gotta stay calm and gotta stay focused. What kind of weakness could this thing have? It's not like I'll have the time or opportunity to try everything. So where should I try first?' She narrowed her eyes. 'The wings! If I take away its ability to fly then that's a big disadvantage for it!'
"Gracie, don't be reckless!" Mira begged.
Gracie lowered her body to increase her speed. She saw the Half-Dragon eyeing her with its golden eyes, but she just kept running. She ran until she was directly behind the Half-Dragon.
The Half-Dragon roared and swung its arm around to try and smack Gracie away. It was a fast attack, but Gracie expected it. She slid underneath it, leapt back to her feet, and kept running around the Half-Dragon since its momentum had turned it around to face her.
The Half-Dragon chased her around and around as it tried to slash and hit the young girl. It was getting annoyed at the opponent's dexterity, though, for Gracie dodged every single strike.
"What are you doing, you stupid Half-Dragon?" Jarvan roared. "She cannot be killed! Cease your attacks immediately!"
The Half-Dragon did as it was told and stopped trying to attack Gracie. And Gracie laughed. "Thanks, dick face! I appreciate the assist!" She ran behind the Half-Dragon, leapt at his wings, and swung her blades at the membrane.
The Half-Dragon quickly turned around and held up its forearms. It easily blocked the blades and pushed Gracie back.
Gracie landed on her feet and slid away. She fell to a knee, dropped her katanas, and grabbed her wrists. "Shit, that hurt."
"Gracie!" Wendy cried.
"What happened? Is she hurt?" Christina asked.
"I didn't see anything that could have happened," Erza said.
Jarvan laughed. "I bet that felt pretty good, huh? This Half-Dragon's scales are harder than any blade. You have no hope in hell of cutting through it."
Gracie felt like her wrists were on fire. When her blades struck the Half-Dragon's scales it was like smacking her wrists against a cement wall with all of her might. There was no yield in the Half-Dragon's defense at all. "Damn it."
"I think it's time to show this guy that having strong scales isn't enough to win," Natsu said with a smile.
"Well said, Salamander," Gajeel chuckled.
"We'll tear this lizard apart," Gray said as his shirt was tossed aside.
"We have to try!" Wendy said while pumping her small fists.
"Let's go!" Natsu said as he took a deep breath. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" A column of fire barreled towards the Half-Dragon.
Gajeel inhaled deeply. "IRON DRAGON ROAR!" A twister of steel rocketed towards the Half-Dragon.
Wendy took in the air. "SKY DRAGON ROAR!" A tornado of wind shot towards the Half-Dragon.
Gray took his Maker stance as ice crystals began to form. "ICE MAKE LANCE!" Hundreds of ice lances shot from his hands and raced towards the Half-Dragon.
"Oh shit!" Gracie cried upon seeing the combined attack approaching. She grabbed her katanas and somersaulted away.
The Half-Dragon, however, made no attempt to move. The attacks all collided with it, shaking the very ground and creating a large smokescreen.
"Right on target!" Happy cheered.
"Was that really enough, though?" Cliff asked.
"I hope so," Mira said. "We need to go save Nikolias. We don't have time to deal with this ugly thing."
Gracie brushed off some dirt and shot a death glare at her friends. "Are you trying to kill me? Geez!"
The dust cloud cleared and standing there, completely unharmed, was the Half-Dragon. It growled at the Fairy Tail mages before releasing another powerful roar.
"No way! That didn't even scratch it!" Lucy exclaimed.
"I was hoping ranged attacks would be more effective," Erza noted. "Those scales are stronger than I thought."
"This thing is harder to take down than that Dragonoid," Gray grumbled.
"But we did defeat the Dragonoid eventually, so we can win!" Wendy said.
"I see," Jarvan said. "So you're all wizards? Interesting. This is a perfect opportunity to learn more about magic." He snapped his fingers. "Alright, my pet. Play with them for a while so that I may collect some good data."
The Half-Dragon roared and took off for the Fairy Tail mages on its large black wings.
Vyril dragged the pail along behind him as he approached the laboratory. He grunted with each pull since the pail, even thought it was empty, was still heavy. Plus, he was an old man now. Difficult physical labor such as this wasn't good for him. "Damn that Cahill. Where did he run off to?"
He stopped in front of the door to catch his breath. "I should really try to collect the remaining blood in this last trip. I don't think my back can handle another round of dragging this blasted thing." He took one last deep breath and swung open the door. However, once he did, he noticed something was off.
Nikolias was missing.
Vyril's eyes went wide. "NO!" He scurried inside as the door started to swing closed behind him. "How? How could he escape? Gorn's machine should have cancelled his dragon abilities and should have shocked him if he tried to break the chains! So how? This is beyond comprehension!" The door shut behind him and it was then that a low growl echoed from behind him. His eyes widened, but before he could turn around, he felt immense pain shoot through his body. He cried out in agony and looked down to see a pair of blood-soaked claws protruding through his small chest. Blood ran from his mouth as he slowly turned his head around. "I…Impossible!"
Nikolias, in his partial dragon form, glared at him with glowing red eyes as he lifted him off of the ground. "Nothing's impossible. As a man of science, I thought you believed that."
Vyril coughed, sending blood flying through the air. "That's…the Red Eye. But still…how did…you escape? Our cage for you…was perfect."
Nikolias sneered at him, revealing his sharp dragon fangs. "I can't tell you that. But you're in luck! I've decided that you'll get to experience first-hand exactly what happened to Gorn."
Vyril shook his head, fear clear in his eyes. "No, please. Don't kill me!"
Nikolias turned his claws in Vyril's body so that the claws were facing away from each other. He made sure he had a good grip on Vyril's flesh. "Funny. I didn't know monsters could beg for their worthless lives." Without another word, Nikolias pulled with all of his might, ripping Vyril completely in half. He released Vyril's corpse, letting the two halves hit the cobbled floor with a dull thud. He snarled at his body. "Rot in hell, you twisted son of a bitch." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he reopened them, his eyes had returned to their golden color.
Suddenly, the ground shook somewhat violently like an explosion had just taken place in the distance. Dirt fell from the ceiling and Nikolias looked up and sniffed the air. "Something's going on outside. And…I smell Mira! And there's Gracie! I recognize a number of these scents, but there are several I don't recognize." He went down on all fours and bolted out the door in search of an exit. "I need to get up there. I need to help Gracie!" He ran down hallway after hallway at random, desperately trying to find an exit to the labyrinth he was in. He was determined to reach the light of day and to help his friends.
The Half-Dragon reared back its head and fired a large fireball straight at the group. They all managed to dodge before the attack crashed into the ground.
"Keep your distance!" Erza shouted. "We can't pierce its scales, so we have to try and weaken it with ranged attacks!"
Gray took his Maker stance and created a cannon of ice. "ICE MAKE CANNON!" He gripped the cannon firmly and fired a thick ball of ice at the Half-Dragon. It collided with its head with enough force to make it flinch, but the ball ended up shattering on its scales and leaving behind no damage. "Damn it!"
Erza requipped into her Morning Star armor. She lifted her dual sabers and charged them with magic power. "PHOTON SLICER!" She put the tips of her two sabers together and fired an intense beam of magic power at the Half-Dragon. The attack connected with its chest, but left no trace of damage. "How can we weaken it if nothing can pierce those scales?"
"You cannot hope to," Jarvan replied. "These scales are stronger than any weapon you have. Not even you can scratch it, Iron General."
Cliff gritted his teeth. "Yeah? Well I think I'll give it a shot anyway!" He charged forward with his sword drawn back. He leapt off of the ground at the large Half-Dragon before swinging his sword. The Half-Dragon blocked it with its enormous forearm, but the sheer force of the swing from the large sword sent the Half-Dragon crashing back to the ground. Cliff landed as well and leapt back. "Damn it. Not even a scratch I bet."
The Half-Dragon rose from the ground and glared at Cliff. Sure enough, there was no scratch on its arm. The Half-Dragon had still taken no damage.
Natsu held out his palm and collected fire within it. "Try this out! FIRE DRAGON PULSE!" Natsu aimed his palm at the Half-Dragon and fired the ball of flames. It connected with the Half-Dragon and discharged a powerful wave of fire outwards. The force pushed the Half-Dragon back, but still no evidence of weakening the creature. "Man this thing is tough!"
Jarvan scratched his chin as he watched. "This isn't telling me much. I can't comprehend how they use their magic. Are they tapping into some kind of inner energy? Can anyone use magic? There's so much I don't understand. I suppose I'll have to keep them alive to further study them."
Lucy whipped out one of her keys. "OPEN GATE OF THE LION! LEO!" In a flash of light, Loke appeared before Lucy. "Loke, see what you can do about that Half-Dragon!"
Loke eyed the Half-Dragon. "That's a Half-Dragon?"
"Yeah. This guy Jarvan created it using Nikolias."
Loke nodded. "Right. I'll see what I can do!" He charged his fists with light. He then moved them in a circular motion to create a magic circle. "REGULUS BLAST!" A beam of light shot from the circle and crashed into the Half-Dragon. The Half-Dragon was pushed backwards, but the result didn't change. Loke looked on in disbelief. "No effect? But how?"
"Its scales are ridiculously strong," Mira said. "None of our attacks have had any effect at all."
Christina nocked an arrow and pulled back on the string. "What if we aim where there are no scales?"
"That's a great idea, but how?" Levy asked. "That basically leaves the wings and eyes."
Christina aimed her bow. "Then that's where I'll aim!" She released the arrow and let it fly. It sailed towards the Half-Dragon and landed right in its eye. It roared in pain as it thrashed around.
"You did it!" Gracie cheered. "Damn, what a shot! Come on, while it's distracted! Everyone go for the wings!" Everyone nodded and went to attack the wings. The only ones who stayed behind were Christina, Wendy, Mira, Lucy, and Levy.
Jarvan looked at the blonde girl with the bow. "You're quite skilled, young one," he called out. "Tell me; do you use magic to help your aim?"
Christina turned to face Jarvan and shook her head. "No. I don't use any magic. My skill was obtained through hard work and training."
Jarvan sighed. "I see. Too bad. If you don't use magic, then I have no interest in you." He snapped his fingers yet again.
Upon hearing its master snap his fingers, the Half-Dragon ceased its thrashing. It pulled out the arrow and flew into the air. It flew past the charging Fairy Tail members and Cliff, paying them no mind. Instead, it flew right where Christina was standing by herself.
"Shit! CHRISTINA, MOVE!" Gracie called out.
Christina turned toward Gracie and her eyes widened with fear to see the furious Half-Dragon flying right for her. Her knees began to shake as she found herself frozen. "Help," she squeaked softly. Her voice had even betrayed her.
The Half-Dragon cocked back its right fist as it prepared to crush the girl who had shot it in the eye.
"CHRISTINA!" Gracie cried.
Suddenly, something burst from the roof of the house behind Jarvan and shot forward like a blur towards the battlefield. The figure rammed its head into the side of the Half-Dragon, sending it flying far into the distance before it crashed into a house. It then landed on its feet and roared at its fallen opponent.
Everyone stared with wide eyes. For Cliff, his men, and Christina, it was in disbelief. For everyone else, it was with happiness.
"NIKY!" Gracie cheered as she ran to where he stood. She dropped her katanas at his feet and threw herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Tears began streaming down her face. "You idiot. You're okay."
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Nikolias asked. "You all ran across the freaking world to find me. It was so obviously a trap."
She tightened her grip around his neck. "Shut up. Don't ruin this."
He sighed and wrapped his clawed hands around the small of her back. "I'm glad to see that you're all okay."
"NIKOLIAS!" Mira cried. Tears were already streaming down her face as she ran to him with the biggest smile on her face. She threw herself at him as well and joined the group hug. She buried her face into his shoulder. "You're okay. Thank God you're okay. I was so worried."
He nuzzled her head. "I'm sorry to have worried you. As soon as this is all over I owe you an apology kiss."
Gracie leapt out of the hug. "What about me? You worried me, too. What do I get?"
He patted her shoulder. "There there."
"Hey! She's gonna get a kiss and I get a freaking sympathy pat on the shoulder? What is this?" Gracie asked.
"What do you want from me? I'm here, I'm okay, done deal."
"Not done deal, you jerk!" Gracie looked down at the ground. "I really was worried about you. I mean, it's my fault that you went out on that job alone."
Nikolias sighed. He let go of Mira—a most challenging task, for Mira did not want to let go—and pulled Gracie into a hug. "None of this is your fault. Do you hear me? None of it. So stop blaming yourself, okay? Everything's fine now."
She buried her face into his tattered shirt and nodded. "Okay."
"Good." He pulled away and looked off to the right. "Now get back."
"Why?" she asked while wiping her eyes with her arm.
"You think that thing is done after a headbutt and a fall? No way." Sure enough, a roar could be heard from the rubble of the destroyed house. "Now all of you get back. I'll take care of this opponent."
"Niky, let me help you kill that Half-Dragon," Gracie said as she picked up her katanas.
"Half-Dragon? That's what that thing is?"
"Yeah. Jarvan created it as a new weapon."
"I see. That's what they were talking about. Anyway, you can't help, Gracie."
"Why not?"
"Because this thing was made from my blood and my body. I need to be the one to erase this abomination from existence. Besides, you have other business to take care of."
"I do?"
"Yeah. I think you should be the one to fight and kill that Jarvan bastard."
"But…"
"Think of it as taking revenge for me."
Gracie smiled. "Fine. Alright. We'll take care of Jarvan. But you better not get yourself killed fighting that Half-Dragon."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Jarvan was looking on in disbelief. "How? How could you have possibly escaped?"
Nikolias looked over his shoulder and glared at him out of the corner of his eye. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Jarvan gritted his teeth. "Damn it. A perfectly good subject wasted. No matter. I can still get information from your corpse!" He snapped his fingers and the Half-Dragon burst from the wreckage of the far off house. It flew towards Nikolias with a roar.
"Everyone stay clear!" Nikolias said as he returned the roar. "You call yourself Half-Dragon? Don't make me laugh! I'll show you what a real Half-Dragon can do!" He took to the skies and shot towards the fast approaching Half-Dragon.
Gracie turned to face Jarvan as did all the other members of Fairy Tail. "Niky's got that thing covered." She lifted her katana and pointed it at Jarvan. "Now I can come for you. Get ready, asshole. For Mom, for Dad, for Cliff, for Niky; you're through!"
