Another day, another nonexistent dollar.

Enjoy!

Drake's entire being told him to run away. But he couldn't do that. There was no more time to waste. He needed to act now, before he lost himself.

Right now, he was shuffling towards the guild hall, intent on informing Laxus of his secret. He wanted to keep things quiet, but they needed a plan. Hell, maybe they could formulate a plan. He doubted it, be he allowed himself to hope. He absentmindedly noted that spring was coming soon. The weather was beginning to warm up, and the snow wasn't as thick as it had been a few weeks ago. He could sense it coming. He hoped he'd be a human to see it.

He spared a though for the voice that had spoken to him a few days ago, still unsure as to who or what it was. He hadn't heard a thing from them since, so it only mystified him. He couldn't just sit around and wait, though; he needed to act.

Finally reaching the guild, Drake pushed his way inside and took a deep breath to warm himself. That, and to steady his heart. It didn't work!"

"Drake!" A voice called. He turned to see Nashi smiling at him, beckoning him over. She had visited yesterday to tell him that she was back to herself, which made him relax so much he nearly fell over when she said it. He smiled at waved back at her.

"I'll be there in a minute!" He called back, "Just gotta see the Old Man!" She nodded along at what he said, returning to her conversation with Ultear and Steph. He led his smile fade before turning his head from them and walking for Laxus' office. He didn't want to worry them, not right now. He reached the door quickly enough, knocking on it curtly.

"Come in,"Laxus replied from inside. Taking a deep breath again, Drake pushed through the door and inside the office, pushing it close behind him. Laxus sat behind his desk, and almost inhuman amount of paperwork in front of him.

"Busy writing a book?" Drake mused as he walked over. Laxus snorted.

"I wish," he said, "I'm just writing up a report for the Magic Council. Apparently, they've still got their panties in a twist over the fact that we were to blame for Magnolia's destruction when The Olympians attacked. As if it's our fault." Laxus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Anyway, it can wait. What's up, Drake?" Drake let the smile fade from his face. He walked to the desk slowly, his legs feeling like mush.

"Listen," Drake said, "I uh, have a problem. A big one."

"What is it?" Laxus asked, matching his tone. He was glad the old man could take it seriously.

"I, um," Drake started, rubbing the back of his gloved hand. "Listen, this is a secret. You'll be the only other person who knows. I need to trust that you'll wait for me to say if it's okay to tell." Laxus raised an eyebrow at this.

"And you're confiding in me?" Laxus asked.

"I need someone to tell me what to do," Drake croaked, "Or I'll do nothing, and I can't do that."

"...Okay. What's the problem?" Drake swallowed hard at this, reaching his fingers under the glove on his right hand. His palm was facing Laxus, but he slowly turned it to reveal the patch of scales, which had grown in the past two days. Laxus; eyes widened in surprise, his mouth hanging open. He sat there like a dead fish, mouth gaping, for a few more seconds before his face regained it's usual seriousness. He stood from his desk, walked past it and Drake, and reached for the door handle. He locked it.

"...No one else knows?" He asked Drake, looking over his shoulder at him. He shook his head.

"N-No," he said, "I haven't told anyone."

"How long have they been growing?"

"Months." Laxus grunted at this as he moved from the door and stood in front of Drake, looking down at his hand. He gesturing for it, and Drake raised his hand for inspection, Laxus took his hand and ran his fingers over the patch of scales, giving Drake a strange feeling. It was odd, someone else touching your mutation scales. Laxus frowned.

"Show me how bad it us," Laxus said. "Is it just this?" Drake shook his head, reaching down and lifting his shirt to reveal the patches on his stomach and back. Laxus' frown deepened. He was quiet for a moment, not even breathing, before he closed his eyes with a sigh.

"We need to show Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy," he said. "I don't know how to fix this, if we even can. Are you alright with that?" Somewhat glad that he was no longer alone in this, Drake lowered his shirt and nodded. Laxus went for the door again, opening it and sticking his head. "Natsu! Gajeel, Wendy! Get in here, now!" Drake could hear a scuffle and some complaints outside, and then angry compliance. Laxus left the door slightly ajar for them, and soon the three filed in.

Natsu looked like he usually did, pink hair spiked out in every direction. His irritated eyes saw Drake and raised with confusion, but said nothing. He was dressed in his usual attire, even in winter, which was a black sleeveless vest open to the elements and black pants.

Gajeel also looked the same as normal, his long hair reaching the small of his back. He wore a leather jacket and jeans, also looking mad. Although that may have been because Gajeel had a killer case of resting bitch face.

Wendy came in last, her blue hair tied up in a ponytail with a red bow that matched her jacket. She also wore a skirt and black leggings, and was the only one to actually greet Drake.

"What's up, Laxus?" Natsu asked as he crossed his arms.

"Wendy, lock the door," Laxus instructed as he sat behind his desk. Wendy made a face but nodded, turning and locking the door. Laxus took a deep breath.

"I've been entrusted by Drake to make this secret for now, and now so are all of you. Keep this to yourselves, understood?" They all seemed confused, but nodded. "Drake, show them." Drake frowned and raised his scaly hand, showing them the patch of purple. All of their eyes widened.

"What the..." Natsu started.

"Fuck!" Gajeel exclaimed as if to finish for him, Wendy rushing forward and taking his hand.

"Scales," she said in a breathless tone, also running her fingers over them. "By the feel, dragon scales." Her eyes darted up to his own. "Eyes are more focused, pupils more slit-like. Also turning from purple to a light red." Wendy frowned at him. "How long?"

"A few months," Drake croaked back.

"Fuck it all," Gajeel exclaimed, "And why didn't you say anything?!"

"It didn't seem real at the time!" He answered back weakly. Wendy frowned deeper at this, running her thumb over the scales.

"Can it be undone?" Laxus asked, seemingly to Wendy.

"...I don't know," Wendy replied. "I've obviously never had a patient like this, and I doubt I know any magic that could help." There was a silence among the four adults, all of them exchanging looks.

"And Irene?" Laxus asked. Drake had no idea what they were talking about, but Wendy flinched and closed her eyes.

"She had no knowledge of this that's been left to me," she replied. "Seeing as she could never reverse her own transformation, I doubt there's a way at all if it completes."

"So what do we do?" Natsu demanded.

"What we do," Laxus said, "is keep this quiet. The last thing we need is everyone freaking out again if this can be easily dealt with. Natsu, Gajeel, I need both of you to head to the Magic Council's headquarters. Speak to Mest, get into the library. Look for any and all information you can on this. I doubt there's much, but you have to check. Wendy, take Drake and head to the Magic Library. You know how to get there?"

"Pretty sure I do," she replied. "Same check?"

"Yes. Also, try and help him anyway you can. Drake, I know you wanted to keep this quiet, but I need to get a hold of Sting and Rogue too. They might now something."

"O-Okay," Drake replied weakly. He really didn't want everyone worrying over him, but it was far too late now. It was clear to everyone the colour had drained from his face, he could tell from everyone's expressions.

"What about your Mom, Drake?" Gajeel asked gruffly, "Shouldn't you tell her."

"I don't want to worry her unless I have too," Drake replied, "especially with this."

"Don't worry kiddo," Natsu said with a reassuring smile. "We'll figure it out. Worst case scenario I give you a blood transfusion or something, right Wendy?" Wendy seemed ready to launch into an explanation of how that would or wouldn't work, but refrained and nodded.

"Exactly," she said, matching his smile. "There's always a way, Drake. Now come on, follow me. You'll be the first one from this guild in a while to go to the Magic Library." With this the four Dragon Slayers left the office, all of them with imposing looks on their faces. He could tell this was serious because Natsu and Gajeel weren't pissed at having to work together or go the Magic Council and a library too. He saw his friends watching him with confusion as he followed Wendy, but he just winked at that and followed Wendy to the door. Thank God he was the only one with Sound Magic around here.

It only took him and Wendy an afternoon to reach the Magic Library, a large spiralling building that seemed to take up the entire sky. Drake could not see the top of it from where he was standing, so it must have been massive.

"This is the Magic Library?" He asked in shock. Wendy nodded.

"Yeah," she said, "It's got so many books in here Levi could spent an eternity reading." Drake snorted at this remark. "Come on, let's go." As they approached, he saw that the gate was barred by guards, who crossed their pikes over the gate as they approached.

"State your business," One said gruffly.

"Wendy Marvel and Drake from Fairy Tail," Wendy said, "We need access to the library for research." Drake knew the guards needed no more convincing then that; Wendy was a well known figure. They had no further troubles entering, the guards letting them in without another word. As they entered the library, Drake felt himself getting vertigo. Where the hell had they gotten so many books? Every shelf up the sky was full!"

"When was this built?" He asked incredulously, making Wendy chuckle.

"No one knows for sure," she answered, "but Mages have been storing knowledge here for centuries. We've got to be able to find something here."

"...Where do we start exactly?" Wendy seemed to blanch at this, looking around them slowly. She let out a weak laugh at this.

"Well, I'm sure there's a way to find where to look," she insisted. Together the two walked further inside the library, and soon happened upon a massive book resting on a pedestal. And when he said massive, he meant it. The thing must have had at least a few thousand pages in it. Wendy went for it and flipped open the cover.

"Looks like an index of sorts," she said. "Seems to say which books can be found where."

"So what should we look for then?" Drake asked curiously. Wendy began to flip through the page quietly, seeming to already know what she wanted. After a while, she grimaced and began to flip through the pages faster. After what felt like a year or two, she stopped.

"Here it is," she said, "Dragon Slaying Magic-floor 43. We should start there. But just in case..." She flipped faster now, aiming towards the back half of the book. "Here, Medicines and Cures-floor 121. Keep that in mind." Drake logged the number mentally as Wendy closed the book, craning her neck to look up.

"We running up the stairs?" Drake asked weakly, also looking up. Wendy laughed.

"No," she said. "Come here." Drake stepped closer to her, and Wendy wrapped her arm around his shoulders. With a flick of her wrist, the wind picked up and shot the both of them upwards. Drake tried to not get sick as they flew, but with so many floors and books flying around them, it was kind of hard. Finally they began to slow, and Wendy drifted them over to the floor at the edge of the room. Landing softly, Drake stumbled away from her.

"Warn me next time," he said warily. She smiled softly at him.

"Sorry," she said, "But time is of the essence, wouldn't you agree?" Drake nodded, but it was then he noticed just how many books were around them. He paled as he realised every floor of the library stretched around the entire building. There had to be hundreds of books around them.

"D-Do we have to read all of them?" He asked weakly.

"Well, I'm sure we can exclude a lot of these," Wendy reasoned. "Ones that detail the history of dragons and such, we can forget about those. A lot of these probably just detail the history of the magic, important wielders, and the history of Acnologia. Those we don't have to worry about. The rest of them, though..." Wendy laughed, "We're probably going to be here a while."

And so they were. Drake didn't know how many books he'd read already, but it was more than he'd ever read before. He could barely remember the titles. Some seemed promising, like Dragon Slaying Magic: Do's and Don'ts, Dragon Slaying Magic for Dummies, and How Dragon Slaying Magic works, but none of these offered up a solution.

"This is ridiculous," he hissed as he flipped through the pages of Dragon Slaying Magic; A Lost Art. None of this is of any use to us."

"I'm sure we'll find something," Wendy murmured from a few feet away, looking through the books still on the shelf. "After all, it's a well documented side-effect of the magic. There's got to be something here."

"and if there isn't?" Drake asked weakly, fearing the answer. Thankfully, Wendy didn't give him one. She just kept looking. There was a silence between them then, but Drake's mind was far away from the book he was skimming through. He was too busy thinking about what was going to happen if they couldn't fix this.

"Wendy?" He asked after a moment.

"Yes?" She asked, flipping through a book in her hands.

"If I turn into a dragon, can...Can I count on you, Natsu and Gajeel to kill me."

"I won't be doing that," Wendy replied, turning to give her a stern look. "We're going to fix this."

"And if we can't?"

"We can."

"Wendy," he said gruffly, making her meet his eyes. She easily met his glare.

"Drake," she said, "Dragons are intelligent creatures. You won't just turn into a bloodthirsty predator if this doesn't work. There's no need to worry about that future." Drake knew that deep down, but that wasn't what he was worried about.

"And if my mind doesn't survive the transformation?" He asked, "I read about that in one of these books: most Dragon Slayers lose their minds during the transformation and become lesser dragons. What if that happens to me?"

"We'll cross that bridge if we have too," she replied sternly. "We don't have too right now."

"We should plan if I do."

"Think about something else," Wendy replied. "I'm proud of you for what you did to help Nashi. You and the others did good work."

"Even though we nearly messed up," Drake replied, happy to change the subject. "Especially me."

"I heard it was your Shade that dealt that blow. You have to know that isn't your fault."

"Sure," Drake replied with a shrug, "I suppose I do, but it's still hard to accept that I nearly messed up that badly." He flipped another page, then said: "I'm glad Nashi seems like she's back to normal again. If it hadn't worked I don't know what we'd do." Wendy smirked at this.

"I'm sure you'd find a way to help, wouldn't you?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Drake made a face at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded. Wendy shrugged in faux innocence.

"Nothing," she sang, "Just that you care a lot about her is all. Am I wrong?"

"No, but I'm not stupid enough to not know what you're insinuating," Drake replied. Wendy smiled at him.

"If you can see what I'm implying then you're already better off than some of the others think," she said.

"Huh?"

"Surely I don't have to spell it out, Drake: people think your dense." Drake frowned.

"I am not dense," he insisted. Wendy raised her eyebrow again.

"I'm not so sure," she said. "Sometimes it's hard to tell with you."

"How so?" He demanded.

"Well, it's hard to tell whether you view Nashi like a sister or the girl you want to marry." Drake could feel his ears burning at this. "You must know how it looks, Drake. I know you love all your friends, but it's so obvious you care about her more, or at least in a different way. Am I wrong?" Drake wanted to say yes, she was, but he didn't. Wasn't she right?

It was a harsh thing to admit, but he really did like Nashi more than the others. Not so much that he'd take her live over any of their's, but enough. After all, it had only really been him and her for a long time when they were kids. Steph was presumed dead but out of the picture. Elise had turned to bullying Nashi for her own enjoyment while Ultear, Simon and Damien were inconsistently there, usually taking jobs and making a name for themselves. But not him. He'd stayed with Nashi, unwilling to leave her to suffer alone. As a result, he was her best friend, and she his. But he knew Wendy was insinuating that he felt stronger for her than that. That he loved loved her. Did he though? He couldn't say.

"...I don't know," he finally answered, "To be honest, I've never given it much thought."

"Why not?"

"Because it's never really mattered, I guess. Before, I just wanted to make sure she had someone by her side. Then, after Natsu came back, it was like we had one life-threatening mission after another. Then she died, then came back but not really, nearly died again, and so on. I don't have time to try and try and sort out if these emotions are romantic or not."

"Well, we have some down time," Wendy said. "Why don't you think about it?" Drake grimaced.

"Did you forget I'm on a timer?" He demanded. Wendy's teasing smile faded. "We have work to do. Let's focus on that." She nodded and returned her gaze to the book she'd picked out, and he returned to his own reading. He tried to force Wendy's insinuations from his mind, but they worked their way in and made him distracted. Did he look at Nashi that way? He wasn't sure. He remembered back when Michael had asked him for advice about Nashi, and how easily he'd given it. It hadn't hurt him to do so, only at the idea that Michael might end up hurting her. Ironic that it was actually the other way around, but that wasn't the point of that realisation. That was Michael in and of himself.

If Nashi had gotten her memories back, then she remembered Michael. Which meant they could resume dating if they wanted too. That was good. He'd hate to see Michael hurt even more by this whole ordeal.

Then why did his heart hurt?

I just figured I'd say this because I'm sure people will ask, the mention of Irene was obviously a newer development from 100 Year Quest. Although for the most part I won't mention that story, I figured Wendy still having some Irene in her head was relevant for our current struggle, you know?

Also, If anyone is curious if i'm actually evil enough to do this to Drake now of all times, yes I am. I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!