I never know what to say up here. How was your guys day? Have any fun?

Enjoy!

Drake's head hurt. He couldn't fathom why, but it was killing him. He grunted in irritation and reached up to rub his forehead, only to cut himself on accident. He cursed under his breath. How had he cut himself? Oh right, the talons on his arms.

Wait, talons?

Drake's eyes snapped open as he finally registered what had happened. His memories were foggy, but he could recall speaking to Secarus and then the explosion of light. He could also vaguely remember fighting, but other than that he recalled nothing. Scared, but determined, he looked down at his arms.

It didn't even resemble a human arm anymore. purple scales crawled up his entire arm, and his hand had almost totally transformed into a claw. He still had dexterity in it, thank God, but it wasn't looking good overall. Groaning, Drake leaned back and tried to stretch his wings, but found them trapped in his shirt.

Wings?!

Drake bounced up from the bed he had been lying in and tore the shirt off of his body, allowing the wings to get free. He gaped at them as he flexed his shoulder blades, working bones and muscles that had not existed last time he'd checked. The wings were purple like his scales, while the wing membrane was a dirty light-yellow. He flexed them, and they flapped. This created a small breeze in the room, but it wasn't cool. It was horrifying. Drake fought down a panic and tried to breathe, but it was hard. What the hell had happened? How had he ended up like this?

"Drake?" Looking up, Drake saw Nashi standing in the doorway, a surprised look on her face. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, which made his chest hurt. She looked upset. It was then he finally noticed he was in the infirmary of the guild hall, not in Crocus or anywhere else.

"What the hell happened to me?" He asked weakly, his voice hoarse. He hoped that wasn't an effect of the transformation. Nashi came inside and shut the door, picking up his discarded shirt as she went.

"What do you remember?" She asked him. Drake explained what he could recall, and Nashi frowned.

"Yeah, that's about when it happened," she said.

"When what happened?" He inquired.

Nashi went on to explain how, when Secarus had made contact with him, he'd used Dragon Soul Magic to connect himself and take control of Drake's body. From then he'd forced Drake's dragonification to accelerate, and fought her, Elise and Wendy. It had ended when Wendy used Milky Way to force Secarus out, which had left him incapacitated. They'd rushed him home from there and kept an eye on him. Thankfully the transformation hadn't gotten any worse since, but everyone was still out looking. Nashi told him that they'd involved the wider guild now, and practically everyone was out looking for a cure. No one had reported anything yet, but they were hopeful. Wendy had even gone back to the Dragon Graveyard with Natsu and Gajeel to keep asking dragons.

"Seems I've caused a stir," he said weakly after a while.

"Yeah," Nashi agreed quietly. "We got in contact with your dad too. He should be here before the end of tomorrow." Great, now his dad was coming too? Drake hated everyone falling over themselves to help him. Especially when he couldn't think of a way they could actually help.

"I don't know what good it'll do," he hissed as he stared down at his claws. "I'm turning into a monster."

"You're not going to be a brainless beast," Nashi scolded as she stood and grabbed a rag. She walked over and started dabbing at the cut on his forehead, maintaining eye contact with him.

"What if I do?" He asked as Nashi wiped the cut clean.

"You won't," she insisted.

"You don't know that."

"I do."

"How?"

"Because I know you," she said. "You'd never hurt us."

"It wouldn't be me, it'd be the beast this cursed magic will turn me into-"

"Drake," she said. Their eyes met, and they had a stare down. Nashi didn't back down. "You're not going to become some mindless beast. Think positive."

"Yeah, I'm working on it."

"I'm sure," she replied. She wiped away the last of the blood from his cut, investigating it with a frown. "It'll probably scar," she said. "It's deeper than it looks."

"Does it look cool at least?" Drake asked. Nashi smiled, bemused.

"Do you want it to look cool?" She asked. Drake shrugged.

"Of course," he said, "Simon's scar is so cool, so maybe I can match him."

"If it's a contest Simon's is still bigger," Nashi pointed out, rubbing her thumb across the cut. "His is down his face, yours is across your temple."

"Do I look cooler though?" He asked. Nashi smiled gently at him.

"You always look cool," she said softly. A silence fell between them, both of them just watching the other. As he watched her face, Drake couldn't help but think back to what Wendy had told him back at the Magic Library, about what his feelings for Nashi really were. He felt embarrassed by the thought, but he fought it back and focused on it more. He didn't have long to think about it.

Nashi had since moved away from him to look down at some medical equipment. She was saying something about it, how Wendy had been working to delay his transformation or something, but he wasn't listening. He just watched her. Actually watched her. He watched her mouth move as she talked, and how her eyes glazed over the equipment there.

Nashi had always had such pretty chocolate-coloured eyes. Deep and kind. The way they scrunched up a bit when she smiled was cute. They always reminded Drake of the milk chocolate sold downtown. Her hair, salmon pink like her fathers, was smooth and straight, and now it was tied up in a ponytail. He recalled she'd started to wear it like that after Michael said he liked it. He could see why. It was a good look. Her bangs still framed her face nicely, while the ponytail was much more of a battle-ready hairstyle than just letting it down. Pretty but prepared, like a wizard should be.

He found himself analysing the shape of her face. It reminded him mostly of Lucy, but there was a sharpness to her chin and nose that was distinctly Natsu. Her cheekbones were high-set, but not distractedly so. It gave her face a pretty shape, one distinctly her own. She was beautiful, really.

"Drake?" He heard her say. He blinked, realising she was in front of him now, watching him. "What's wrong? You look a million miles away." He blinked a few times at her, shaking his head in confusion.

"Sorry," he said, "I was just...thinking."

"About what?" Shit.

"...About what I'm going to do," he said. "Sorry, I didn't hear what you said." She smiled gently at him, raising the needle in her hand.

"I said this is the shot Wendy's been using to treat you," she said. "She and Ultear came up with it."

"What did Ultear have to do with it?" He asked curiously.

"Well, we were brainstorming how to help you when she came up with it," she said. "Since the transformation process is being caused by magic, Ultear figured she could used Arc of Time to slow or reverse the transformation. So she and Wendy came up with this shot, enchanted with Arc of Time, to help you out. So far it's been holding off your transformation, but it can't help forever."

"Huh. That's helpful." He watched as Nashi wiped his arm with an anaesthetic. moved the needle to his arm. It bumped off his scales. Nashi snorted weakly then moved the needle between the ridges of the scales. He felt a slight prick as it entered his arm, but other than that he felt nothing. "That work forever?" He asked as Nashi moved to wipe his arm again.

"No, it's technically an enchant that feeds off of Ultear's magic," she said. "She'll run out of magic eventually."

"Another temporary fix." He muttered as he rubbed his shoulder.

"We'll find a permanent one," she insisted.

"Yeah. Sure." he replied. Nashi frowned at him but sat down across from him.

"Let me see your arms," she said. "I'm supposed to keep track of the transformation for Wendy." Drake made a face but nodded, turning over his arms to her. She held his scaled arms gently and turned them over, inspecting them closely to see anything untoward. He didn't know what she was looking for, honestly. All he saw was scales.

"See anything?" He asked curiously. Nashi shrugged.

"The scales have hardened a bit since yesterday morning," she said.

"How long have I been out again?" He asked.

"Two days. We got home early in the morning the day after it happened."

"Huh." He fell silent as Nashi continued to inspect his arms, murmuring to herself as she did so. He found himself watching her again. Why was he doing that? He had no idea. Maybe he'd just never taken the time to appreciate her company. They'd had so much going on the last two years that he honestly couldn't recall the last time they'd gotten to casually hang out. To just look at her. He just found himself transfixed by her face. The way her eyes scanned his arms with purpose. Come to think of it, she looked a bit tired. Why was that? He'd ask later. Had her smell always been so intense? His head was swimming with the scent of firewood and lavender. He couldn't smell anything else.

Nashi looked up then, her eyes locking with his. Drake didn't look away, and neither did she. There was an almost uncomfortably intense silence between them as they stared at each other, but Drake could see Nashi's ears and cheeks were reddening.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asked softly. Drake shrugged.

"No reason," he answered. "Just absorbing your face for when I'm a dragon." She let out a weak laugh and broke his gaze, looking down. She'd let go of his arms, leaving them just sitting across from one another. Now he'd gone and made this awkward by being lost in his own mind. Thankfully, the door opened and saved the pair of them.

"Ah, so you're up?" It was Elise that walked through the door and saved them. "About time, Cyanide Breath. You were making us worry."

"I somehow doubt I made you worry," he replied as Nashi stood up.

"Any news?" She asked Elise. She shook her head.

"Nah, no one's come back yet." she said, looking at Drake. "How're you feeling?"

"Like shit," he replied.

"Good, you deserve it for scaring the fuck out of us." She replied. "Nashi, your Mom wanted to see you. Don't know why."

"Okay," Drake felt kind of insulted that she looked relieved to be able to escape. "Thanks for telling me." The two of them watched her leave, before Elise sighed and walked further into the room.

"You feel like hunting for deer yet?" She asked as she leaned on a nearby table.

"Yeah, I had dreams of carrying off massive game and tearing it apart," he replied.

"For real?" She asked, sounding alarmed.

"No."

"Oh. Don't say that then!" Elise looked annoyed now, but as oppose to usual Drake didn't really relish that fact.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Didn't mean it." He watched her weirdly for a moment before speaking up again, "Did I startle you?"

"Of course you did," she muttered, running her hands through her hair. Her cheeks were reddening as well. "Your my friend, you dumbass. I don't want you to turn into a dragon just because you annoy the shit out of me." Drake snorted, and unintentionally flapped his wings.

"I love you too, Bolt Head."

"Never mind, turn into a dragon for all I care."

Nashi was beyond relieved that Elise had saved her back in the infirmary. Drake staring at her was embarrassing. Granted, she didn't have the time or the peace of mind to figure out what exactly all that was about. After all, he was still turning into a dragon. That needed to be addressed.

After she left the infirmary, she quickly spotted her mother downstairs with her brother. Luke seemed busy with his lunch, while her mother seemed to have spotted her as well, smiling and waving at her. Nashi made her way over to her quickly, smiling as she got to them.

"What's going on, Mom?" She asked as she sat down next to her.

"I just wanted to see how you were," she replied. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Nashi asked. Her mother raised an eyebrow at her.

"I know you haven't been sleeping well," she said. "I can see it on your face."

"Well, maybe you need your glasses on. I'm fine."

"Nashi," she said sternly. "You're fooling no one but Luke, and he can't really understand the situation." Nashi cast a glance at her baby brother, who was still absorbed in his food.

"So maybe I have been struggling to sleep," she said, "so what? I need to spend as much time as possible looking for a way to help Drake. He's running out of time."

"Do you think he wants you running yourself ragged?" She asked.

"It's only fair," Nashi half-joked. "He had a rough time after what happened to me."

"That doesn't make it right," Her mother said. "Nashi, everything will be fine. If Ultear can slow his transformation with Arc of Time, than maybe she can reverse it."

"We don't know that," Nashi replied. "Especially since those boosters shots are still feeding off her magic. Where is she, by the way?"

"She went with Gray, Juvia and some others to go back to the Magic Library." She replied. "They said with more people, they could scan all the books related to dragons."

"Well, that makes sense I guess." She replied as she stretched her arms over her head. If she hadn't stayed back to help Drake, she would have gone with one of the parties out looking. But, she wanted to stay close to him. She wanted to help him.

For more than one reason.

Nashi fought off the blush creeping up on her. Not now. She could grapple with these feelings later.

"I'll do my best to get more sleep," she said. "Is that all?"

"Can I not want to see my daughter?" She asked teasingly, pulling on Nashi's ponytail teasingly. "Or are you too busy playing nurse up there?"

"I-I am not playing nurse!"

"If you were playing it any more, you'd be in costume."

"M-Mom!"

Drake had stayed the day in the infirmary, not wanting to go out of his way to see anybody. During the day, after Nashi and Elise had seen him, he'd been visited by his mother and Laxus, both of which said things were going to be fine and that they were close to coming up with something. Drake hated his Sound Magic in this instance, because he could hear that they were lying to try and soothe him. He wished someone would just be blunt with him for once. To just tell him like it is, that he was in trouble and was in need of a quick fix. But no, everyone kept saying it was fine. It wasn't. And they all knew it.

Drake sighed, indirectly making his wings flap. He had little control over these damn things, and they kept moving when he wasn't trying to make them. Were this not a horrible situation, he might have thought having wings were kind of cool. But this wasn't cool. Not at all.

He leaned forward in his chair and continued to stare out the window, lost in his thoughts. He allowed himself to indulge his deepest fears, that this would be a permanent, mind-rending transformation. That his consciousness would be torn apart and he as he was would cease to exist. No one else would let him think these thoughts, so he did it himself.

But he knew the others were right. Thinking like he was wasn't helping him. He needed to focus on what they knew, not what they didn't. He didn't know that his mind would break when the transformation finished, he was just assuming out of anxiety. He needed to focus. He needed to find a way to save himself.

"Did I not tell you I knew a way?"

Drake jumped in his seat and got to his feet, looking around wildly. He heard no one with his Sound Magic, and even then the voice was only vaguely familiar. Who was that?

"Hello?" He asked in a low tone. "Who are you?"

"Surely you haven't forgotten me already. We have spoken before. I said I could save you." Drake's eyes widened at this, his mind beginning to race. He remembered now. He'd heard this strange, booming yet feminine voice speak to him before. And it had said much the same as it was now.

"How are you?" He asked aloud again.

"I won't reveal that to you over a telepathic link. I'm already putting a lot on the line doing what I'm doing. Revealing myself before we meet face to face would do nothing."

"So how exactly do you plan of saving me?" Drake asked. "I don't know who you are, but surely you know this isn't an easy thing to do."

"Of course I know that. I'm no fool, child."

"Then what will you do?"

"As I said, I'm going to save you. But there are laws I need to follow, and a certain someone who has restricted my movements. I cannot come to you. You must come to me. Do you understand?"

"No, not at all."

"Listen when your elder speaks, fool!" The voice snapped, making him wince. "You will do as I say if you wish to retain your human form. Tomorrow night, you will depart from Magnolia and make your way to the Southern edge of your country. I know not what it's called, but if I remember anything about humans it's that you like to settle near water. You will find a boat and sail directly South in the ocean. I don't know anything about humans nautical speeds, but you will reach an uncharted island maybe three or four days in. I will meet you there."

"...What?" Drake asked incredulously. "What are you asking of me?! Isn't this a bit ridiculous? You really can't come to me?"

"No."

"Why not?" He demanded, "You expect me to just follow you on a whim? To listen to some random voice in my head like it's nothing? Do you think I'm insane?"

"Do you want to transform into a dragon and possible go insane?" She demanded back, making him go silent. "For someone with suck good ears, you're apparently hard of hearing. The reason I can't reveal myself or come to you is because of powerful wards, put in place many years ago. It took me a long time to even get permission to speak with you. If you do not do as I ask, I can't help you. And seeing as you're seeming pretty destitute, I doubt your guild has found a way."

"How did you-?"

"I said we have a telepathic link right now. I can see a lot of what's going on in there. Don't try to look back in on me, though. It would be detrimental to your health. So, do you understand me or not?"

"No!" He shouted in irritation, "Not at all! I have no idea if I can trust you or not! What if going to you is asking to get me killed?"

"Then you'll have to trust me."

"That's an incredibly hard sell, lady." Drake muttered. He thought he detected a chuckle.

"You yourself will be a hard sell, so it's give and take." She said, but Drake had no idea what that meant. He pondered the words of the mysterious voice for a moment, trying to discern if he could trust her or not. She seemed to know an awful lot about him, which was a red flag. Then again, she was offering him a way out of his predicament. No one else could do that. Yet, anyway.

"What am I supposed to do?" He muttered to himself. The voice hummed.

"It seems, my child, you have a choice to make."

Trying to see if anyone can guess what plots we got developing here. There's the obvious one with Drake and the voice, but what's the other one? I wonder if anyone will get it right. I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!