The city of Crocus was exactly the same as they had left in after the Grand Magic Games. The city was covered from all sides by it's massive, circular walls, and the castle Mercurius rose from the center of the city like a pyre of royalty. Entering the city garnered them a fair amount of attention, which was to be expected. They were all well know, after all. Despite being in a hurry, the group was as kind as possible to those who approached them or said hello, trying to not appear like they were stuck-up. Which was hard for Nashi, because she was already antsy as it was.
Like, couldn't these people tell they were in the middle of something important? Why the hell did they keep coming up to them? Just go away!
Of course, she said none of that, and smiled as politely as she could as a young boy asked for her autograph. Speaking of her fame, it had been reported that her death had been faked in order to confuse Fairy Tail's enemies, which the press and public ate up like ice cream. Now she was known for faking her death to fool enemies, which made it even worse.
After what felt like a century, they managed to clear away everyone who wished to see them and made their way for the castle. As Wendy had explained, the Dragon Graveyard had been excavated over the years by archaeologists in order to learn more about dragons. However, anyone who wanted to enter legally needed a permit from Queen Hisui herself. That would not pose a problem at all, seeing as they were personal friends with her.
"State your business in the castle," A guard at the gate said.
"Wendy Marvell of Fairy Tail," Wendy replied, "We need an audience with the Queen. We won't take up too much of her time." The guard seemed to know Wendy as well, as he didn't question why this random woman thought she could get an audience with the Queen. As they waited for word to continue, Nashi cast a glance over at Drake to try and gauge how he was doing.
He'd been in better spirits since leaving the guild hall, though he refused to say why. Saying it was still a secret. Whatever it was, Nashi was glad for it. Seeing him in a better mood made her in a better mood. He had a really cute lopsided smile.
She felt her cheeks flush as she thought that, looking away from him.
C'mon me, not the time. We've got other stuff to worry about.
After a few minutes the guard returned and gave them permission to enter, and so they did. They sped through the halls at a brisk pace, hoping they didn't look odd for power-walking down the halls. Soon enough they came towards the throne room, with it's massive golden doors already swung open in preparation for them. As they entered, Nashi looked towards the throne to see the Queen.
Before a week or so ago, Nashi wouldn't have recognised the Queen. But now that her memories were back, she identified her immediately. Hisui's gorgeous jade-green hair was flowing down her shoulders, having forgone the ponytail she'd had during the Grand Magic Games. Her green eyes shone kindly, just as they had before as well. Thankfully she seemed in a good mood.
"Welcome friends," she said as they entered. "I'm so glad to see all of you, especially you Nashi. I'm overjoyed to hear that the reports of your death were falsified." Nashi grimaced at this, but managed to turn it into a smile.
"I apologise for the deception, Your Majesty," she said. "But it was necessary."
"Of course, of course. Enemies don't need to know everything, am I right?" Nashi nodded. "I must say, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting you all. What can I do for you, Wendy?"
"Your Majesty," Wendy said, "we won't take up too much of your time, but it's imperative we gain access to the Dragon Graveyard beneath the city." Hisui's expression grew curious at this, and she leaned forward in her throne.
"Whatever for?" She asked. Wendy cast a glance at Drake, who shook his head a little. She didn't need to know unless she turned them down.
"There is something must confirm with my own eyes," Wendy replied. "I hope to not leave you feeling left out, but the information is sensitive to a mission of ours. Will you grant us access despite this?"
"Well, naturally I will," Hisui replied, "you are all more than trustworthy. Well, perhaps except for not destroying things." This seemed to alarm her. "Please do not cause any harm down there. It'll cause a riot in the archaeology community. The last time that happened was when some fool tried to pass off fake bones as proof that not all dragons had wings. I do not wish to relive that." Nashi snorted at this as Wendy cast her a brilliant smile.
"Of course we'll be careful," she said. "There should be no cause for destruction. I promise you." Hisui nodded, clearly satisfied.
"Then I grant you permission," she said. "You there, guard, lead these four to the Dragon Graveyard, and tell any in your way they are there on my behalf. They aren't to be troubled, understood?" The guard who she had gestured too near the wall nodded and saluted.
"Of course, Your Majesty," he said, gesturing to them. "Let's go, then I'll lead you to the Dragon Graveyard."
The guard that led them to the graveyard showed them that their was a tunnel there present in the castle, only used by the Queen and other officials. They travelled to the back of the castle and found the door easily. The guard accompanied them down the hallway, obviously to say they had clearance should anyone stop them. They walked for what felt like forever, and seemed to get no closer. Getting bored, Nashi slowed her walk down to walk beside Drake, who was lagging behind.
"You alright?" She asked. He shrugged.
"I'm as good as I can be," he replied, looking over at her.
"And how good is that?" She asked, curious. He cast her a look which really told her all she needed to know. "Right, I suppose I should know you're not feeling great." He snorted.
"Thanks for asking," he said, "even though everyone's treating me like I'm made of glass. It's really quite the opposite."
"Well, we just want to make you comfortable, I guess," she replied. "But don't worry, we won't let you turn into a dragon. There's a way, there has to be." He smiled at her weakly.
"I appreciate that everyone is being positive," he said, "Cause I don't feel it." He punched her shoulder, saying, "thanks for coming along. It means a lot to me." Nashi felt heat rush to her face and she looked away from him.
"Well, you did everything you could to help me," she said. "It's the least I can do to help you back."
"I suppose you owe me that much, huh?" Drake asked. "Besides, you owe me a lot more than tha-" Drake stumbled over his words, and as Nashi looked over at him she saw him stumbling literally. He nearly fell over himself and put his hand against the wall, breathing heavily.
"What's wrong?" She asked him, alarmed by his expression. He looked exhausted. Drake gritted his teeth and put a hand over his nose.
"All I can smell is death," he hissed. "It's overbearing." Nashi made a face, inhaling deeply. Sure, it smelled stale in the hall, but she couldn't smell death.
"What are you talking about?" She asked. "I don't smell anything."
"We're here," the guard said from ahead of them. Nashi looked up, seeing the hallway open up ahead of them. Helping Drake to his feet, she helped him walk to the end of the hallway and, when she looked ahead, her breath was taken away from her.
The massive cavern in front of them was absolutely littered with the bones of dragons. It seemed like it would be nearly impossible to not step on a bone, save for the fact that they were so big that you'd need to step over them. She could see that paths had been carved into the graveyard, but she couldn't see anyone near them. Drake didn't seem to feel any better in the cave. His face was pale, and his eyes darted all over the room.
"Seems there's no one near here," the guard said, "so I'll take my leave. Holler if you need anything."
"Will do," Wendy replied. The guard left, and as they turned to say goodbye Wendy and Elise finally saw Drake's state.
"Are you okay?" Elise asked, sounding really concerned. Drake swallowed hard.
"I can smell the death," he hissed, "it's turning my stomach." Elise, too, inhaled to check.
"I don't smell it," she said.
"His sense of smell is getting stronger," Wendy said with a grim expression. "We need to hurry, his pupils are sharpening too." Looking at Drake's eyes, Nashi saw she was right. Drake's eyes were growing more slit-like, as if he was a predator chasing it's prey.
"What the hell do we look for exactly?" Elise asked, "looks like hundreds of dragons died down here."
"I'll need some time to cast Milky Way," Wendy replied, "until then, search around for any bones that seem to have residual magic clinging to them. That's the sign of a dragon whose soul it still left here."
"Anything else?" Elise asked. Wendy shook her head.
"No, but we do need to find a Poison Dragon for this to work best. I don't know if we can make any sort of vaccine from another dragon's DNA. It might only worsen Drake's situation. So, find me some bones with magic still clinging to them." Having been given their task, Nashi spread out with the other two and began to search. She soon found that it wasn't hard to find dragons who still had some soul to them, as the bones that didn't have any power left didn't hum with magic.
It occurred to Nashi then, surrounding by dragons who died over four hundred years ago, just how truly powerful dragons had been. Even now, after four centuries, their power still clung to their lifeless bodies. To have that amount of pressure, that power, it was insane to her. She wondered, as she searched for anything that might be a Poison Dragon, if she could even actually kill a dragon. That seemed impossible.
She stared down into the eye sockets of a nearby skull, pondering who the dragon had been in life. Had he been one that ate humans? Or was he one of the human allies that Acnologia betrayed? Hell, was it male or female? She couldn't tell.
"You think any of them cursed us in the end?" She asked allowed.
"Us as in who?" Elise asked from her left.
"Humans," she replied. "Dragons are basically extinct now, because of us." Elise grunted at this, kicking a rib.
"They did it to themselves," she replied. "Treating us like cattle to be slaughtered at their convenience. Ironic which race is still standing, huh?"
"It's sad," Drake said from her other side. Both of them looked over at him, seeing him kneeling next to another skull some ways away.
"You think?" Elise asked. Drake nodded solemnly.
"So many wise, powerful dragons," he said quietly. "Slaughtered by Acnologia."
"They had it coming," Elise said pointedly.
"Some were our allies," Drake replied. His voice was hoarse, as if he was holding back tears. "And yet he slaughtered them all. If that bastard wasn't trapped forever, I'd kill him myself." Nashi didn't spare a thought to point out to Drake that Acnologia was far to powerful for him to kill. She was just worried about his expression. The whole graveyard seemed to be disturbing him a lot. More than was appropriate. She glanced at Elise, but the girl shrugged. She had no idea either. Shrugging as well, Nashi returned to her search and tried her best to locate anything that felt like Drake's magic, figuring that was her best chance at actually finding a poison dragon. She came close a few times, but nothing felt close.
"Over here!" She heard Wendy shout. Turning, she saw the blunette standing in front of one of the biggest skeletons near them, hands on her hips. They ran to join her, and she noticed that Wendy had already drawn the magic circle for Milky Way in the dirt at her feet. She turned to them as they arrived, looking determined.
"Here's what's going to happen," she said. "I'm going to summon this big guys spirit with the spell, and you guys are going to ask him what we can do about this. Whether or not he knows is irrelevant, we just need to know if they know anything."
"Is it a Poison Dragon?" Elise asked. Wendy shook her head.
"No," she said, "but I can't be certain what it is. Ready?" Everyone nodded, so Wendy took a deep breath and raised her hands out in front of her. As she did so, the circle beneath her began to glow with bright green light. Nashi waited with baited breath as Wendy cast the spell, the green light slowly taking shape in front of them.
And then it changed and it's shape became known.
The dragon was at least as tall as the cavern in a sitting position up on it's hind legs, and it's white stomach towered high as well. Even though her body was massive, it was also slender and agile looking. As for the scales, they were the deepest and most beautiful blue that she had ever seen in her life. She knew for a fact she had never seen a blue this gorgeous before. As she glanced up, she saw that the dragons head resembled that of a sea serpent, pointed and sharp. Bone protruded out behind it's head to form a terrifying tiara of dark blue spikes, which continued in a line down it's back. And then the dragon opened it's eyes, and Nashi was startled. With were crimson red.
"Who was woken me from my endless slumber?" The dragons voice rumbled through the cavern, and it became apparent the dragon was female. Nashi gulped, stepping forward.
"We're sorry to disturb, great one," she said, making the dragon's eyes focus on her. "But we've called you to ask for advice. May I ask your name?" The dragon continued to eye her curiously, but nodded.
"I am known as Nessia," she said, "I am known as a Water Dragon. And who are you, fiery one?"
"Nashi Dragneel," she replied, "I can use Fire Dragon Slaying Magic." Nessia rumbled.
"You are one of Belserion's Dragon Slayers," she noted.
"I-Indeed," Nessia's eyes narrowed, and Nashi felt like the dragon was trying to figure out if she'd get her stuck in her throat if Nessia were to swallow her.
"What would one of the oath-breakers ask of me?" She asked, her tone much less forgiving now. "We sought to help your kind, and you murdered us. Now you come for help again. I feel obliged to reject it."
"You were on humanity's side, then?" Elise asked. Nessia seemed to finally notice her, nodding.
"I was," she said. "I thought our practice of eating other intelligent life abhorrent. You had a society of your own, and I found it disgusting how my kinsmen seemed to not care for it. Your ancestors prayed to my kin and I to control the tides and give them good harvest. And we did so. We made sure that they're crops were never over-watered, that the fishermen always caught what they needed. And in turn Acnologia and his allies slaughtered us!" The cave rumbled in response to Nessia's anger. "Why should I help you?" Nashi gulped at this, drawing a total blank. What the hell was she supposed to say? They'd happened upon a bitter dragon right away!
"It may be of concern to you, Nessia," Elise spoke up, "that our fathers played an important part in defeating Acnologia." Nessia hummed at this, turning her attention to Elise.
"Is that so?" She asked. Elise nodded, looking confident.
"They were," she said. "My father is Gajeel, who was trained by Metalicana. Nashi's is Natsu, trained by Igneel. They sealed Acnologia away forever before we were born. He can never harm anyone ever again." Nessia hummed again at this, tilting her head to the side. She sounded pleased.
"I see," she said. "This news pleases me. I remember both Metalicana and Igneel. They were for coexistence. I do not recall what happened to them, though. Are they alive now?"
"No," Elise replied, "Acnologia killed them." Nessia sighed.
"I see," she said. "This saddens me. However, I assume you share this knowledge to tell me that you are not like Acnologia, yes?" Elise nodded again.
"We aren't," she said, "Calling us Dragon Slayers is a bit much. None of us have killed a dragon." Nessia watched them for a few seconds quietly, clearly trying to figure out what she wanted to do. Finally, she sighed.
"What is it I can for you?" She asked, "clearly you have called me for a reason."
"Yeah, we needed a dragons help," Nashi said, picking up the narrative. "Did you ever hear rumours of the Dragon Slayers becoming dragons?" Nessia watched her with one big eye, nodding her head.
"I did," she said, "though I never lived to see any sort of proof of that. I assume it is true?" Nashi nodded, and Nessia said, "and you hope a dragon laying dead here can provide a cure of some kind."
"That was the idea," she said. Nessia rumbled and shook her head. "Igneel and Metalicana protected ours dad by creating antibodies in their body. Do you know how to do that?"
"I know of no such cure," she said, "who is the afflicted one?" Both of the girls gestured to Drake, who had up to this point been silent. Nessia leaned her head down and examined him, her eyes narrowed.
"Your smell is odd, young one," she said. "Who and what are you?" Drake looked surprised to be addressed so directly, but he spoke up, saying,
"My name is Drake. I, uh, wasn't trained by an actual dragon. I got the magic from my Dad, but it was implanted in him artificially." Nashi had assumed they would now have to explain the idea of an artificial dragon slayer to Nessia, but the dragon simply nodded.
"And these side effect does not affect him?" She asked. Drake shook his head. "I see. You smell of poison, young one. Is that your element?"
"It is," Drake replied. Nessia made a face at this.
"Poison Dragons were an odd sort back in my day," she said, "their power was never as high as other dragons, but the after-effects of their abilities were horrifying. I won't ask you to delve into how your father obtained that power. All I can say is that I can't help you." Nashi frowned at this.
"Do you know if any dragons here can help us?" She asked, hoping the dragon had an answer. Nessia shook her head.
"I cannot," she replied. "The only dragon I can think of that may be able to help you was Mercuria, Queen of Toxins. She was the strongest Poison Dragon in my day. Tell me, have you heard the name?" Nashi and the others shook their heads. "I feared as much. I will tell you this much, young ones; Mercuria is not among the slain here. Although she was for coexistence, she did not fight in the battle that took place here. She was spending much time with the Sun Dragon Sirius before my death."
"Do you remember what she was doing?" Elise prompted. Nessia shook her head.
"I do not," she replied. "I know not if she or Sirius survived to this day, but if they does they must be far away."
"Are there any Poison Dragons here?" Nashi asked. Nessia shrugged.
"I know not," she said. "There was total chaos reigning here. I cannot recall who or what fought with and against me. All I know is Acnologia betrayed us." Nessia swayed then, saying: "my power wains. I feel the void of sleep calling me. I regret I was not able to offer you any help, young ones. But, I do thank you for telling me the traitor Acnologia lays defeated. I will sleep much easier knowing that." Feeling defeated, Nashi bowed a little to hide her frustrated face.
"Sleep easy, Nessia," she said. The Water Dragon's form faded from view, and Wendy lifted her head from wear she was kneeling.
"Didn't learn much, did we?" She asked, evidently listening to that conversation. Nashi shook her head.
"No, but we learned a name," she said, "Mercuria, Queen of Toxins."
"She's not here though," Elise said, "Nessia said so."
"But she also said she isn't dead!" Nashi said, "so there's a chance she's alive!"
"What are the odds of that though?" Drake asked weakly.
"Slim," Wendy answered. "I haven't heard of any dragons since we defeated the Dragon Gods. If Mercuria is out there, she's been hiding for four centuries."
"But there's a chance she's out there!" Nashi said, "that's good, right?" No one replied for a few seconds, and Wendy sighed.
"Let's just go with plan B," she said, "we get some DNA from a dragon and try to make a cure ourselves."
"And if that doesn't work?" Drake asked dejectedly. Wendy offered him no answer. Figuring they had no better options, the group set about with their new task. They were about to use Nessia's DNA for the cure, Wendy having a small pick and a test tube in her hands, when she suddenly raised her head and looked off into the distance.
"Do you guys hear that?" She asked as she got to her feet. Nashi looked around and sharpened her hearing, but heard nothing.
"No," she said.
"Me either," Elise said.
"I do," Drake replied. He took off without another word, leaving them with no choice but to follow him. Drake bounded around countless skeletons into the darkness of the cave, before coming to a stop. When Nashi and the others reached him, she saw that he had stopped at a skeleton that had some space between it and others. The bones themselves were smaller, but it the area surrounding them was anything to go off of, it had been a powerful dragon. Nashi was no genius, but it looked like he was surrounded by the bones of his enemy dragons.
"I can hear this ones voice," Drake said, "He's awake! He's calling us!"
"Milky Way must have woken him up," Wendy said, "Should we see what he wants?"
"If he can help, of course," Nashi said. Wendy nodded, and went about casting Milky Way again. As she drew the magic circle on the ground in front of the skeleton, Nashi paused to wonder about the dragon who they were summoning. He had to be one of the more powerful dragons here, seeing as he was still alive to some degree. But what did he want?
She would soon get her answer, as Wendy raised her arms and activated Milky Way again. The air shimmered again, and soon a new form appeared before them. He could not be anymore different from Nessia if he tried. His scales were crimson red, while his belly a dark black. His body, while small, hummed with more energy than Nessia had remaining. His head was thicker than Nessia's, with bones circling beside and under his jaw like a cursed helmet. When he opened his eyes, they thrummed with magic power. This dragon was strong, even as a whisper of himself.
"Ah," the dragon said, his voice deep and melodious, "I thought I sensed Grandeeney's Milky Way spell being cast." His eyes fell to them, focusing in on Wendy. "Ah, that one smells like the old one. She must be a student of hers." His eyes then fell on them. "And others, I see."
"Uh, hi," Nashi tried. "Did you call us over here?"
"I did," the dragon replied, "For the Milky Way spell interrupted my slumber. I did not hear much of your conversation with Nessia, but I did hear how you asked after a cure to dragonification, is that right?"
"You know of it?" Drake asked. The dragon nodded with a laugh.
"Of course," he said. "But I'm being rude. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Secarus. A Blood Dragon." Nashi felt a chill going down her spine.
"A Blood Dragon?" She asked weakly, "that sounds horrific." Secarus laughed.
"Oh and I was," he said, "with my magic I could drain the life of any living creature with but a thought. But, as was with all Blood Dragons, we had weaker constitutions. Oh our power was great, but our bodies limited. Do you see all the dragons dead around me? I caused that." Alarms went off in Nashi's head. This guy was bad news.
"So do you know a way to stop dragonification?" Drake asked. Secarus snorted.
"Of course I do," he replied. "I was the one who asked after the side-effects of giving humans our powers. But the fool Belserion went and did it anyway. And here we are. Oh, but Igneel listened with interest, he did. He listened quite attentively when I said that the best way to prevent a human from becoming one of us was to create a counter-agent. To use our own power to prevent it."
"And you know how to create that counter-agent?" Elise asked hopefully. Secarus seemed to grin, revealing pitch-black teeth in his maw.
"I do," he answered. "Shall I tell it to you?"
"For nothing?" Nashi asked, still alarmed by the dragons attitude. Secarus nodded.
"But of course," he said. "For I am but a whisper of who I was. A soul lingering in this graveyard to my kind. It would be my pleasure to assist a Dragon Slayer. May I?" There was a cautious glance shared between the three of them, seemingly arguing what to do. But no one got to say anything, because Drake walked closer to Secarus in this moment.
"Tell me what we need to do," he said, Secarus grinned again.
"But of course," he said. He leaned his head down to be on level with Drake, the two staring at each other quietly.
And then, a flash of light.
Nashi gasped and held a hand over her eyes as the light seared her skin. She didn't know what had happened, but clearly Secarus had done something. And then, as soon as it started, the light faded. Nashi blinked a few times to clear her eyes, and looked up. Secarus had disappeared, and Wendy had stood up as well. Drake was standing alone, away from them.
"What just happened?" She asked weakly, swaying a bit. The flash had left her ears ringing.
"I don't know," Elise answered. "Drake, you alright buddy?" Drake gave no answer, his clothes smouldering. He slowly lifted his hand to check it, flexing is fingers. Then he grinned.
And Secarus' laugh escaped his lips.
"Finally!" the dragon's voice shouted from Drake's lips. "Finally, a foolish Dragon Slayer came to me! FINALLY!"
"Drake?" Nashi asked quietly, slowing lifting her hands to fight. This was bad, very bad. She knew they shouldn't have trusted Secarus. Drake turned around, but his eyes were different now. They were the same as Secarus', bloody red.
"Sorry ladies," he said, "but this is technically the only way. The Dragon Seed in your friend is too mature to prevent with a mere spell, so I reckon he'll become a dragon sooner or later. But don't worry; while he's with me I can slow it down by creating those antibodies you crave so much. I am a Blood Dragon after all, antibodies are my speciality."
"And you expect us to just let you have Drake's body?!" Wendy demanded. "Give him back control, now!" Secarus laughed.
"And what will you do, daughter of the sky?" He asked, "I have finally found a host! Soon, I will defeat this boys soul and make this husk my own. I will walk the earth once more, and I'll make humans a meal once more! I will restore the pecking order! No more will you subspecies rule this land! Dragons will rule!"
It occurred to Nashi then that they had no asked if Secarus had been a human ally during the Dragon King Festival.
She watched, horrified, as purple wings forced themselves out of Drake's jacket and flapped once, creating a gale of wind.
"Come, Dragon Slayers!" He shouted, "I heard you tell Nessia you've never killed one of our kind, so come! Let me test your strength!"
I might be a bit of a prick. I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!