My output the last year or so has actually be kinda okay. I'm proud of myself. Kinda.
Enjoy!
"I hate books," Gajeel muttered angrily. Natsu cast the Iron Dragon an annoyed look, a stack of books in front of him.
"I hate them too," he answered, "but that's not relevant! Find something to help Drake!"
"How long have we been at this, Salamander?!" He demanded. Natsu cast his eyes towards the clock on the wall, squinting at it.
Five hours," he replied.
"Gah! I hate this!" A book sailed across the library. "If it was common knowledge that Dragon Slayers turned into Dragons we'd have found something by now! I swear, I can't read another sentence from Dragons: A Lesson in Giant Lizards!" Natsu wanted to laugh at the book title, but it was no laughing matter. He and Gajeel had spent the last five hours in the library of the Magic Council, searching for a way to prevent Drake from turning into a dragon. And, as Gajeel's complaining was any indicator, they made no progress.
"I suppose we should just count our lucky stars that Steph doesn't use Dragon Slayer Magic," Natsu said as he returned to the book, "otherwise we'd been in twice as much trouble."
"I suppose," Gajeel grumbled, "but that doesn't help us solve this problem." Well, obviously not. Besides, Gajeel was right. If it was common knowledge that Dragon Slayers ran the risk of transforming into what they tried to kill, then they'd have found something by now. Natsu returned to his book, intent on finding something to help them.
"Find anything?" A new voice asked. Natsu looked up to see Mest descending the white staircase towards them, dressed in his Council uniform. He frowned and shook his head.
"No," he answered. Mest grimaced.
"Damn it," he hissed. "Do you need my help?"
"I don't know if it'd help," Natsu answered. In order to get into the library, the two of them had told Mest about Drake's problem. Swearing him to secrecy, of course. Even still, Drake's secret became less and less secret by the hour.
"Do you guys want somewhere to sleep?" Mest asked finally, "the sun's set already." Natsu cast a glance to the window, finding out that Mest was right. They had already spent all day at this. In had taken them long to get to the council, and then spending all this time searching. Natsu sighed, closing the book.
"Do you have any ideas?" He asked Mest. The man shook his head, his crystal earring jingling.
"My only idea would be a blood transfusion," he said. "Other than that...I really don't know. The only way we know for sure to prevent it is given by the dragons, and as far as we know, there are none of them left anymore."
Well, that was the crux of the problem.
If there was any dragons they knew were still alive, they could ask them. But Natsu had not seen hide nor hair of a friendly dragon in many years. There was no way they could get help that way.
"We'll have to bet on the blood transfusion," Natsu said. "I don't know if there's any other way." Mest nodded.
"Agreed. Let's just hope that one of you guys shares a compatible blood type with him."
"Oi, Salamander," Gajeel said, making Natsu turn towards him. "You think Wendy could lay some enchants on him? Maybe slow the process?" Natsu hadn't considered that. He often forgot the true extent of Wendy's power as an enchantress.
"It's entirely possible," he replied, "We'll have to see when we get back."
Something was off. Yesterday she hadn't been sure, but today Nashi was sure of it.
At first, she hadn't paid it any mind when Drake had gone to speak to Laxus about something. That was fine. What as odd, though, was how he left the office. Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy had been called inside of the office, and soon after Drake left with them and then left the guild hall with Wendy, with nary a word or glance in their direction. That wasn't like him. She also found it odd that apparently they hadn't even returned that night. Natsu and Gajeel reappeared in the morning, but Drake and Wendy had not. They were still missing into the next day, then they finally reappeared looking haggard and unhappy with themselves. Before Nashi could even approach and ask what was wrong, they had both disappeared into Laxus' office again. After that, she'd been swept up into a shopping trip by Steph and Ultear, and had missed to see if the two had left the office at any point.
Now they were into the third day of strange behaviour. Drake had not shown up yet, and it was noon. Giving a swift glance to Wendy made it apparent she was still sour, and while Gajeel always looked sour and her Dad varied, they looked pissed as well. She hadn't worked up the courage to ask anyone, but she was going to now. Something was wrong.
Or Rather, she'd been about to, when a pair of fingers snapped in front of her face.
"Ah!" She gasped in surprise, turning to find Steph smirking at her.
"Spacing out?" She asked coyly. Nashi shrugged.
"Have a lot to think about,"she excused. It was technically true. After all, the whole ordeal with her and the Demon Lords wasn't over. She had no idea what they were up to, but they hadn't done anything yet. That was good.
"Anything you want to share?" She asked. Nashi glanced at the others, already knowing her answer.
"Not especially," she said. "Anything going on with you guys?"
"Might need to find some work soon," Simon said as he picked at his lunch. "As much as I love sitting around here I'll day, I'm getting antsy."
"What if we get sent out?" Elise asked. Simon frowned.
"Oh yeah," he said. A silence descended on them then, no one daring to speak.
"Let's just not talk about that," Nashi said finally, desperate to change the subject. "There must be something we can do to pass the time. Why don't we order some drinks and see where-"
"Oi," A voice said. Nashi turned with the others to look at the end of the table, seeing her Dad standing there. He, as she'd seen before, looking unhappy. "All of you, come. Now."
"Why?" Nashi asked. "What's going on, Dad?"
"Now," Natsu said stoically. She hadn't heard her Dad speak to her like that in a while. It was unnerving. Although confusion was obvious on everyone's faces, they got up and followed her Dad to the door that resided at the back of the guild hall near Laxus' office. Opening it, she and the others descended into the guild basement.
The basement was dark as usual, with tables spread out everywhere. It wasn't often that the basement had many people in it, so it was no surprise that dust and cobwebs were all over the place. Reaching the bottom, Nashi found that there was already a group stationed there.
Among the people already present in the basement was Laxus, Gajeel, and Wendy, who were standing in front of the others with Drake. For his own part, Drake was biting his nails and watching them warily. Why did his eyes look so...strange? The rest of the group consisted of guild elites, which was all of their parents and some others. She could see Drake's mother there as well, who looked just as confused as everyone else.
"Good," Laxus said, "You're all here."
"What's this about, Dad?" Damien asked as Natsu joined them from up above, standing beside Wendy. Laxus took a deep breathe.
"It's not easy to explain," he said, "So let's just get it over with. Drake, show them." All eyes fell on Drake, who winced at the attention. Ever so slowly, he reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it up, exposing his stomach for everyone to gasp.
A patch of scales had nearly covered Drake's abdomen. They were an iridescent purple, gleaming in the small amount of light in the basement.
"What the hell is that?" She heard Simon demand.
"That," Laxus said, "Are dragon scales. Drake's turning into a dragon." From this, Laxus launched into his tale of Drake approaching him several days prior. He told them how he'd sent them off on missions to see if they could find a cure, and how they couldn't.
"As we can tell," Laxus said, "there seems to be no way to prevent dragonification except the antibodies given to the 1st Generation Dragon Slayers. Of course, Nashi, Elise, Michael and Keita all have them innately, but Drake..."
"Drake's dad doesn't have them," Wendy said, "because his Dragon Slayer Magic is unnatural. A dragon didn't train him, nor give him any antibodies."
"But why hasn't Erik turned into a dragon?!" Elise demanded.
"Same reason i haven't, I suppose," Laxus replied. "Our Dragon Slayers Magic isn't from a real dragon. It could be for any number of reasons; it's purified, it's not 'real' Dragon Slayer Magic, or anything else. But whatever the reason is, it doesn't apply to Drake. Somehow, his fathers 'unnatural' Dragon Slayer Magic is natural to Drake's body. It's turning him into a dragon."
"Isn't there any way to stop it?" Simon asked in an exasperated tone. Wendy made a sad sound.
"Not that we can tell," she said. "So far, nothing we've tired has worked. Yesterday, I even ran tests on Natsu, Gajeel and myself to see if a blood transfusion could help. Gajeel was compatible, but it did nothing. If anything, it accelerated the problem. That patch on his stomach wasn't as big before."
"Whatever the problem is," Gajeel huffed, "it seems to be a problem only a Poison Dragon can fix."
"And as far as we know," Natsu said, "There isn't a Poison Dragon anywhere."
Stunned silence fell upon the room. Nashi felt her head spinning violently. Where was she again? What was happening? There was just now way this was real. There was no way Drake was going to turn into a dragon, right? There had to be a way to stop this.
"There has to be a way to prevent this!" Kinana said for her, jumping to her feet. "I can't just let my son become a dragon!" Wendy flinched.
"As of now, the only thing I can do is cast some enchantments on him to see if I can slow the transformation. I can't do that forever though, so..."
"So Drake will turn into a dragon," Damien hissed, running a hand through his hair. Drake nodded sombrely.
"Seems like it," he said. Another silence fell upon the room, no one knowing how to break it. Nashi stared at the ground in shock, still unable to process the information she was being given. She was going to lose Drake? Seriously? There was no way she could let that happen.
"There has to be something!" She shouted louder than she meant too. "We can't just let this happen!"
"I mean, let's relax a bit," Laxus said, "Dragons aren't wild animals, so Drake won't become some mindless beast."
"...Probably," Drake amended quietly.
"...Probably," Laxus agreed.
"Someone think!" Nashi exclaimed, "there has to be a way to stop this! I won't just let us lose Drake after everything we've gone through! There has to be a way!" No one said a work for what felt like hours. Nashi wanted to cry. She felt on the verge of it too before Gajeel grunted.
"Well," he said, "I can think of one other thing we haven't done."
"What is that?" Laxus asked. Gajeel crossed his arms.
"We haven't visited the Dragon Graveyard," he said. The eyes of both Wendy and Natsu widened staring at him before exchanging a glance. Nashi knew what that was, of course. She'd heard the story from others. How Gajeel had stumbled across a graveyard of dragons that had been excavated deep underneath the GMG arena in Crocus.
"How can that help us now?" Natsu asked.
"Well," Gajeel said, "I don't know how vaccines and stuff are made, but, if we can find the bones of a Poison Dragon down there, maybe we can engineer our own antibodies for Drake."
"Would that work, Wendy?" Erza asked. Wendy rubbed her chin quietly.
"Well," she said, "It would mean we'd have to consider the dragonification a disease, not a mutation...But if I could find the DNA of a Poison Dragon, we could reverse engineer it's DNA to halt the mutation...Theoretically, of course. There's no guarantee this could work, or if a Poison Dragon even died down there. There's a lot of if's here."
"But it could work?" Nashi asked. Wendy nodded after a long silence.
"Could," she said. "Could. I won't make promises. But it is possible." Nashi felt a flicker of hope light up in her chest. They could prevent this. It was possible.
"Well then what are we waiting for?" She asked. "Let's go to the Dragon Graveyard! We don't have any time to waste!" Wendy nodded along with her.
"I'll go," Wendy said. "I doubt anymore dragon souls are still residing in that cave, but if there is, I need to be able to summon them. Maybe they can help us out."
"I'm going," Nashi said. "I want to help. Drake did so much to help me. I can do the same."
"Me too," Elise said. "I want to go to."
"Easy now," Laxus said before anyone else could say so. "There's no need to send the cavalry. A team of four is more than enough. Drake, I assume you're going too right?"
"Do I have a choice?" He asked weakly. No one answered, which was really an answer in and of itself. He didn't have a choice.
"Then that settles it," Wendy said. "We set out for the graveyard."
"So when exactly were you planning on telling me?" His mother demanded. Drake flinched and rubbed the back of his neck.
"...Soon," he said quietly.
"When?"
"Soon," he said again. She scowled at him when he said this, clearly unsatisfied with that answer. They were currently still in the basement of the guild hall, the two of them having a moment alone. The others were waiting for him up top, as they needed to head out as soon as possible. After all, no telling they had the time to dawdle.
"You're impossible," his mother scolded, clearly not done tearing him a new one. "What were you thinking, keeping this to yourself?"
"Trying to keep us focused on one catastrophe at a time," he answered earnestly. Her scowl only deepened.
"So you were just going to stay silent until we were almost out of time?" She demanded. Drake had no answer. "Seriously, Drake, it's okay to be selfish sometimes. You should of brought this up sooner."
"I know," he said, "and I'm sorry. But as far as we can tell, there isn't even a way to fix this, so..."
"Don't say that," she accosted, smacking him in the chest. "You and the others will find a way to fix this, I'm sure of it."
"And if we can't find the remains of a Poison Dragon?" Drake asked. He'd already figured out what the others hoped to find by going to the Dragon Graveyard, which was several options.
The first one was having Wendy summon the soul of a Poison Dragon, who may have been able to help them find a way to stop the dragonification. Wendy had said this was unlikely, as the last time she'd tried this she'd called upon the strongest soul. The odds of another one still lingering and being strong enough to pull through was slim.
The second one was that they hoped to get the DNA of a Poison Dragon, which they could somehow turn into a pseudo-vaccine. After all, if dragons were the only ones who could produce antibodies, then maybe they could use the remains of one to help them. It wasn't that far-fetched. Drake just doubted it would work.
He then remembered the voice that had contacted him several days ago, telling him they could help. He had not heard from the voice since, nor had they shown him any way to prevent this if they aimed too. Maybe it was all in his head. Was hearing voices part of turning into a dragon?
"Hey," his Mom said, making her look back at him. She smiled reassuringly at him, her green eyes sparkling. "It'll be okay?" He managed a smile back at her.
"At least one of us can think positively," he said. She scoffed.
"Well, someone has to," she said, "It may as well be me. You've thought positively for so many around here, it's time someone does for you." He snorted.
"Thanks Mom," he said. She held her arms out, and Drake rolled his eyes. Despite the sarcastic motion, he still melted into her embrace. Her hugs had always been the best. He relished the ability to hold her, knowing he may not get many more chances.
"Behave yourself in the graveyard," she said as they moved apart, though she still had her hands on his shoulders. "Don't go destroying any relics, got it?"
"Got it," he replied. She smiled at him again.
"I'm so proud of you," she said. "No matter what happens, remember that okay? I love you more than anyone, no matter what you look like."
"Even if I was a bloodthirsty dragon?" He asked weakly.
"Even then," she replied confidently. "I was a snake, it'd be kinda hypocritical of me to not still love you if you were also a lizard." He let out a weak chuckle at this.
"I suppose it would be," he replied. There was a silence between them then, and as Drake prepared to pull away to leave he was stopped by her again. "What is it?" He asked curiously. She still had a smile on her face, watching him lovingly.
"I was going to tell you another time," she said, "when I was more certain, but I figure now is a good a time as any."
"Tell me what?" He asked her. She smiled and, ever so gently, grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach.
"I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant again."
Nashi was anxious to leave, as were Elise and Wendy. They were still waiting for Drake while Kinana reamed him out, and it was taking longer than she would have liked. Eventually, though, Drake appeared from the basement looking dazed. He walked over to them and, with a brief nod to show that he was ready to go, they set off. Nashi lagged behind with him as Elise and Wendy walked ahead of them, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Was she rough on you?" She asked. Drake stared wide-eyed at the ground, before eventually turning to look at her with a smile.
"Yeah," he said. "But it was more than that."
"What was it?" She asked, curious. Drake laughed and ran a hand through his maroon hair.
"Nothing," he said, "I've just got one more person to fight for is all."
It's come to my attention the longer I write this story that some story arcs aren't very long chapter-wise. My only fear is that it may feel like I'm rushing alone sometimes. What do you guys think? I promise I'm not rushing on my end, but does it feel that way? Let me know! I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!