'Bastard Fires. Who the hell do they think they are?' Erik thought bitterly as he landed. He was half tempted to go inside his house and stay there because honestly? Fuck going with those stupid Ferals.
Why should he care that he had some so-called family in some faraway Feral Kingdom? If they actually cared that he was missing, they would've found him themselves.
And what can they do if he just went inside the house and never came back out until they left? They couldn't get through the barrier, and the only reason the Fires were here was because of Natsu, and he agreed to go with them, and quite frankly, they could fucking have him!
Erik was astounded at how quickly Natsu bought into all of those obvious lies the moment he was presented with the slightest hope that he and Igneel were related, as if everything Irene and Belserion did for them meant nothing.
But oh well, that wasn't Erik's problem.
What was his problem was the fact that Irene insisted the other six go anyway, wanting them to find their families as if they didn't already have family in Magnolia.
He hated the guilty feeling in his stomach, knowing that he was the reason they showed up to begin with. Of course the Fire that Belserion chased off would just run home and tell everybody there that there were Dragons in Magnolia that shouldn't be there.
His want for adventure caused so much more pain and sorrow than just his friend group and he hated it. He hated that he just had to be a dumb dragonet about it. Hated that he never once paused to think about it.
He was so stupid.
And now he had to be the one to tell his friends that he'd likely never see them again, causing even more pain, and he hated that so much.
Erik sighed as he slowly slumped towards their shared house and weakly climbed onto the porch, practically collapsing onto it.
He let out a heavy sigh as he heard his friends arrive, trying to will up the energy to explain everything.
"Erik! Oh thank goodness, you're alright!" Sorano wrapped her arms around his neck.
"That Feral's back again, and he brought more Fires with him?!" Sawyer exclaimed.
"They can't get through the barrier, a-and Irene's dealing with them, right?" Macbeth asked.
"I hope everything turns out alright.." Richard said.
"They're not here to cause problems," Erik stated. "They're here… They're here because they found out about Natsu and.. They're taking him back with them…"
"So he's going home..?" Sorano asked quietly, "That's good.."
"They want to take the rest of us too, because we were all stolen as well…" Erik hissed quietly.
"What?! They can't just-! They can't take you! Why can't you just stay here?!" Macbeth demanded.
"Irene. She wants us to go with them. Something about wanting to have us taken back sooner. About how we shouldn't have ever been here.." he sighed, "She wants us to go and.. I can't just say no to her. Not when this is something all of them have wanted ever since they found us.."
"Please.. don't.." Sorano sniffled, "You're our friend.. You can't…"
"I don't want to.." he said, "But if I don't, it'll just.. keep causing more problems.. You guys aren't safe around me.. Everything I do gets all of you in trouble and.. I can't do that to you guys.." he said.
"That's not true and you know it!" Sawyer exclaimed. "You're the best thing that happened to us!"
Erik felt tears well up in his eye, "I don't want to go.." he repeated. "I-I don't.. but I have to.."
"Will you at least come back someday..?" Richard asked. Erik nodded, "They can't.. They can't keep me away forever. I will find a way to come back.." He looked over every one of his friends.
"I promise."
xXxOxXx
Erik still felt guilt and resentment sit in his stomach like a heavy rock. He found himself constantly blinking away tears because he wasn't about to let everyone around him see him cry.
Even a long time after he was sent away from the others around the same time Gajeel was, Erik still found himself glancing over his shoulder, as if hoping the others were still there, but they weren't.
This was real.
Erik hated how real it was.
"So where are we going anyway? It's such a long flight," Erik commented.
"Our Kingdom used to be larger and not as far, but we were forced to move into smaller land, so it'll take some time to get there," the older Poison explained.
"Why?" Erik asked.
"Other Dragons. The Fires burned our land, stealing it from us. The Irons blamed us for their missing dragonet and attacked us. It was a war we couldn't win, but we weren't going to run and hide. Unfortunately, they pushed us back and stole land as well. Hopefully our Queen and their King can come to an agreement now." He sighed heavily, "But they weren't the only ones."
"I finally found my home and my Dragons, only to find out we're being bullied by all the other elements?" Erik asked incredulously.
The older Poison rumbled quietly, "While I don't exactly like that choice of wording… yes, in a sense, you could say we are.."
"What-?"
"We are here," the Poison interrupted, cutting off whatever Erik wanted to ask. Erik looked down and felt sick at what he saw. "Or, at least, we are in what used to be our land."
It was a rainforest, a place known for its beauty, but this one was anything but. Whatever wasn't scorched was torn to shreds–likely by Iron magic–the ground was ripped up in certain places, and there were even areas that were frozen.
"What did you guys do to deserve this..?" Erik asked.
"That is a question best saved for the Royals, should you get a chance to ask them," the Poison said. Erik nodded, then silently followed the older Dragon over the destroyed rainforest.
It took some time, but they did eventually reach a portion that was livelier. More normal. True to his beliefs, what was left unscathed was truly beautiful, far more than the books he read described them to be.
"Wow…" he breathed, "This place is incredible!" he grinned, then dove down towards it.
"Hey!" the older Dragon followed him, before herding him back up into the air, "You can go sightseeing later. The Queen needs to see you first. That way, we can discuss a potential peace treaty with the Irons."
"I didn't think I would be considered so important," Erik said, scoffing quietly at the fact that he was being herded around so much.
"You're very important. Should go without saying, you're living proof to the other Dragons that we weren't lying, so we can finally get some peace, and maybe get some land back." He sighed, "But that's probably just wishful thinking. Oh well, we need whatever silver linings we can get."
"Why did the Fires take land?" Erik asked, "They were blaming the Sages this whole time."
"You weren't the reason they started coming after us. Prince Ignia has been lording his power over all of us. Making fools out of our own Royals. If we try to fight back, he brings his Dragons and destroys our Queendom."
Erik grimaced, what an awful Dragon. He didn't pity Natsu for potentially being related to that.
"We're reaching the palace. Our Queen is likely to just ask you a few questions and then she'll send you on your way to find your family."
'If you have any left..'
Erik growled quietly at that line of thought. He then paused, not understanding why he was so indignant about it. If what the Dragon said was true, then they were likely losing Dragons by the day. Not to mention, he didn't want anything to do with them. His family was everyone back home waiting for him.
The Dragon dove down towards the palace, before landing on the platform protruding out. Erik landed behind him and followed him inside. Erik took a moment to examine the intricate carvings and colorful mosaics in the walls and the paintings on the floor and ceiling.
'Whoever made this took a lot of time to do so. That's some dedication,' he noted.
"Your Majesties," the serpentine Poison bowed, "I found something that is of interest. I found our lost Poison."
A large–very large–Dragon stepped forward. His long neck snaked forward, staring down at Erik, with the same shade of yellow and purple eyes as Erik's own, but a lot more intimidating. His most noticeable trait is the fins on either side of his neck–akin to the hood of a cobra–that flexed and folded as he examined the dragonet.
The taller female Dragon behind him–the Queen, if Erik had to guess–just looked even more intimidating.
"What is your name?" he asked, voice deep and gruff. Erik couldn't help but notice the gaps in his upper teeth as he spoke.
"E.." he cleared his throat, "Erik." He inhaled, finding his voice, "What's yours?"
"Odd name for a Poison. You were raised by humans, weren't you?" the Prince said, ignoring the question.
"Yes, sir," Erik nodded, "Is that going to be a problem?"
The large Prince snorted, "You need to learn when to hold your tongue depending on who you speak to. But no, it is not going to be a problem. Being raised by humans is better than Irons."
"I-I asked you a question," Erik stated, voice growing shaky no matter how much he wished it didn't.
"The name's Cobra, dragonet. Prince Cobra."
Erik eyed the fins on the sides of his neck again, "Fitting name.."
"Atlas Flame thinks the Sages stole all seven eggs and fled to the humans for safety. We were all too busy blaming each other to even think about such a possibility," the other Poison said.
"That'd be impossible. Sages can't replicate Poison magic," the Queen stated, sounding impatient. "It'd be impossible to frame us."
"That's what I said!"
"Probably just a trick. A sick joke played by a different Dragon," she said. "A treacherous Poison, perhaps.. But then, how could they replicate the other elements?"
"Maybe it's a group of Dragons," Cobra offered. "You can go now, serpent. We'll take things from here- Actually," he paused. "Bring us your daughter."
"My daughter? What for?"
"She is the Champion, is she not? I want to see what this one is capable of," Cobra lowered his gaze to Erik.
"Right…" he nodded, "Right away, your Majesty," he quickly took off after that.
"What are you gonna make me do?" Erik asked.
"It is tradition for the Champion to test the strength of all young dragonets such as yourself," Cobra explained. "I want to see what you are capable of. As of right now, your only use to us is to end this war."
"And how is me being able to fight a use to you?"
"We need all the capable talons we can get," the Queen stated bluntly. "I'll be headed out, son. Let me know how this goes," she said, before taking off out of the palace.
"Um.. where is she going?" Erik asked.
"She's off to deal with some idiotic Fires."
"Like.. uh.. Prince Ignia, perhaps..?"
"Yes." He hissed, two long, thin fangs unsheathing out of the gaps in his teeth.
"Ah, okay.." So that's what the gaps were for.
"Hm.." Cobra used a talon to gently move Erik's face, "You've seen your fair share of spats, haven't you? That's one nasty scar."
"I.. yeah.."
"Then I trust that you won't disappoint."
Fortunately, Erik didn't have to wait long for this 'Champion' to show up. A large, purple, winged snake–similar to the much larger adult–flew into the palace, landing between Erik and Cobra.
Erik was terrified.
Until he realized that this Champion was a Dragon no bigger and no older than he was.
"Father said you needed me, my Prince?" she asked.
"Yes. We found our missing Poison. You know what I need you to do," Cobra said.
The purple snake Dragon turned, eyeing Erik as she slithered around him–her eyes a brilliant green, like emeralds, "Wow! So you're the one the Irons stole? What was it like living with them?"
"I-I wasn't stolen by the Irons! I grew up with humans!" Erik snapped indignantly. If she was bothered by him snapping at her, she ignored it in favor of her excitement, "Wow! Humans? What was that like?" she asked, grinning to the best of her ability.
Erik reeled back slightly, not having expected a 'Champion' to be such an.. excitable young Dragon, no different than how he used to be.
"Uhh.. It was okay?" Erik said, unsure of how to comment. "I had plenty of friends. I had family, but then I was taken here.."
"Aww, that sounds amazing! I wish I had friends like that!" she grinned. "Oh, I forgot about names! I'm Cubellios! What's yours?"
"Erik.."
"Fun name!" she grinned.
"Cubellios," Cobra said, trying to remind her why she was here.
"Oh right! What do you know about fighting?" she asked, getting into a battle stance. As much as she can for a Dragon that can't exactly stand.
"I know a bit…"
"Then you'll do fine!" she winked. Erik hated how it actually felt reassuring.
Especially since he didn't do fine.
Even with all his experience learning new spells and practicing them whenever possible, his Twin Fang, Spiral Jaw, and Scales doing nothing against this Dragon. Despite being around his age, the experience gap was obvious.
With a movement he didn't think a serpent body could even be capable of, she threw him to the ground, where he landed hard on his side. With a growl, he rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up.
"I've seen enough," Cobra stated. "Cubellios, you are dismissed."
"Aww. I can't talk to him some more?"
The Prince sighed, "Alright. You can show him around if you wish."
"We can go find your family!" She exclaimed, slithering over to the platform, "They must've missed you so much!"
"How will you find them?" Erik asked.
"Hmm.. Well, I know of only one family who has ears like yours. No Poison has such prominent ears like that, so you must be a part of the Poison-Sound family!" she said as she took off. Erik followed close behind.
"Poison-Sound?" Erik tilted his head.
"Yeah! A long time ago, a Poison met a Sound Dragon and they fell in love, but sadly… the two elements didn't exactly like each other very much.. The Sound was banished from his Kingdom and the Poisons very begrudgingly let him stay with his mate, but they made it clear he would never be one of them, and neither would any of their hatchlings."
Cubellios shrugged, "But that was a very long time ago. Nobody really cares about it now," she said, "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."
"Wow.." Erik had no idea there was so much going on in his ancestry, but it did explain why he had his strange super hearing.
"I also know a couple of Dragons who look exactly like you! Vipress's dragonets! Follow me!" Cubellios dove down, elegantly swerving and weaving between the trees. It was amazing to watch. Or it would've been if Erik wasn't struggling to do the same thing himself.
Cubellios landed in a clearing, "Vipress! Vipress, I found something you might want to see!" she called. "Father found somebody I want you to see!"
Erik–who was now effectively covered in scratches and he was fairly certain there were a few leaves in his horns–shakily landed somewhere behind Cubellios, then shook himself off.
"What is it, dragonet…?" a tired looking Dragon walked out of the carved den. She looked almost exactly like Erik himself, but without the ears and her scales were a slightly darker shade of reddish-purple. Once her eyes settled on Erik, they widened, "Wh-what?!"
Erik felt his blood run cold when he looked at this tall Dragon. She slowly stalked closer to him, as if worried that any sudden moves would cause him to vanish.
"It's… It's you…" she whispered.
"Who are you?" Erik asked.
"I'm Vipress.. I'm.. your mother.." she said quietly, then broke down crying, "I thought you were dead.." she sobbed, "But you're alive.. You.. You're actually, really here.."
The world around Erik suddenly became very dull and muffled, and he vaguely felt himself fall into a sitting position. His mother?
Vipress let out a hiccupy sob and pulled Erik close to herself, wrapping her wings around him, "Oh, my sweet little hatchling! I've mourned you so much.." she suddenly gasped, "Oh, your siblings will be so happy to see you!"
She craned her neck back towards the den, "Dragonets! Come outside, please! You need to see this!"
Two Dragons walked outside curiously. They looked exactly like Erik aside from their scales and spikes. The female had more purple-colored spikes and scales, closer leaning to Cubellios's color, while the male had redder scales, leaning more towards Natsu's almost-orange red.
He felt a bitterness creep up on him at the reminder of Natsu.
"Wow!" the female ran around him, "He looks just like us! You must be our kidnapped sibling!"
"That is a wicked scar, what happened? Did the Irons do that?" the other asked.
"What? No.. A Fire did this," he said, placing a talon over his injured eye.
"A Fire?! By the stars, those Dragons really get under my scales!"
"No point in focusing on that now. This is not a time to dwell on bad things, but good ones! Your brother has come back to us!" Vipress exclaimed happily.
When she reared, Erik noticed nasty gashes on her neck. They had long since healed into scars, but there was residual blue magic around them. "What happened?" he asked, "If.. that's okay to ask.."
"Oh, these? I was attacked by the same Dragon that took you away from us. He has pitch black scales, which made it hard to see him, but he looked like an Iron…"
The magic around the injuries didn't look like Iron magic. The last time he checked, Gajeel never left anything of the sort on the training dummies back home, but that wasn't his biggest concern at the moment. "But it wasn't the Irons that kidnapped me… I don't know what's going on here.. But somehow, me and six other Dragons ended up outside of a human city. They raised us."
"Oh thank goodness.." Vipress said. "You found a good home with good people who protected you.." She sighed, "But I still wish to find out who did it.."
She huffed and shook her head, "No matter now, let's just celebrate together, as a newly reformed family! Aspis, Pythos," she looked at the purple one, then the red one respectively, "Let's go show.. Er.. Oh my apologies, I never got your name!"
"Erik."
"Erik? Wow, you were raised by humans," Pythos snorted. Aspis hit his wing with her own, "Don't be rude!"
"I was just messing with him!" Pythos raised his talons in surrender.
"Let's go show Erik here around the Queendom!" Vipress said, "Come along my sweet little serpents! Oh, and Cubellios? Tell your father that I am in his debt for finding my lost son!"
"I will!" Cubellios then took to the air, "Come find me later, Erik! I would love to talk with you again!"
Erik felt himself smiling as he watched Cubellios fly off, then his siblings follow his mother into the air. He originally hated the idea of being here, but seeing them all so happy, just from him being here, suddenly made this feel a lot more worth it.