Chapter One: The Temple
Natsu felt it, a pull.
He had been feeling the pull for several weeks now and for the life of him, he could not figure out what the pull meant.
It was coming from somewhere and it just felt important, as if his entire life would change if he went and found out where the pull was originating from.
Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy and Happy had all just come back from Galuna Island and had a horrible experience with the changeling spell.
Natsu then sat up and started walking away, when Gray came over and said, "Hey Flame Brain, where you going?"
Natsu waved Gray off and said, "I don't know."
Natsu then walked out of the Guild, everyone inside the guild too stunned to move or react.
Natsu had just waved Gray off and didn't attack him? That was cause for concern.
"Master, why did Natsu just do that? He has never waved Gray off after Gray has tried to start a fight." Mirajane asked, worry laced her voice.
"I don't know Mira. Perhaps he feels guilty over the mess he created when he and Happy stole that S-Class request." Makarov said as he started to drink from his mug.
"What do you mean?" Mira asked, confused.
"Natsu got Gray badly hurt, nearly got Lucy killed twice, Happy was also nearly hurt and Erza had to come and bail them out of trouble. He took that request, trying to prove he can stand shoulder to shoulder with Erza, Laxus, Mystogan, Gildarts and myself and also you back in the day, he wanted to prove he wasn't a liability, but the opposite happened, he nearly got the people most important to him killed. I think he might be blaming himself for that event. I wonder how he is going to deal with it. I think this might be the for the best." Makarov said.
"How so?" Mira asked.
"This event might humble Natsu, might make him less destructive, less headstrong. Natsu is very powerful for a person his age, but his main hindrance is his charge head first into any dangerous situation and that mentality is going to get him killed one day if he lets it. This event might just the spark he needs to truly become an S-Class mage." Makarov explained.
Mira nodded at the master's words, but could't help but fell that something bad was going to happen and it was going to happen soon.
"Please Natsu, be safe." Mira thought to herself.
With Natsu...
Natsu continued to walk, the pull started to slowly get stronger as he walked towards Hargeon.
Natsu was walking when he heard a familiar voice say, "Natsu!"
Natsu turned around and saw his blue furred surrogate son by the name of Happy come flying towards him.
"Hey Happy, What's up?" Natsu asked.
"Not much. Why did you leave the Guild like that?" Happy asked.
"Because, I feel...something. A pull. I don't know where it's coming from or what it leads to, but I have to go find it." Natsu said.
"Well, wherever it is, I am coming with you." Happy said.
Natsu smiled and said, "It' always us, you and me. The two amigos. Let's go buddy."
"Aye sir!" Happy said happily as he flew up onto Natsu's shoulder.
Natsu smiled and then began to run, a smile on his face as he went towards the pull, unaware that events where happening that would change his very life.
Hours later...
Natsu and Happy had arrived back at Hargeon once more and where looking for a boat.
"Natsu, why are we trying to find a boat if we do't know where we are going?" Happy asked.
"We might just have to rent a boat and sail there ourselves." Natsu replied.
"But Natsu, you'll get motion sick and I can't sail a boat, no matter what size." Happy countered.
"Hm, good point. We might just have to swim there." Natsu said.
"But how far away are we from wherever we are going?" Happy asked.
"I don't know. This might be harder then I thought." Natsu said.
Natsu stared off into the sea, in the direction of the pull, so far away and yet the pull was getting so strong it was starting to become unbearable.
He had to find a way to get there, he couldn't stand it anymore.
Then, Natsu had an idea.
Natsu then lit his feet on fire and sent the flames out of the bottom of his feet.
This caused Natsu to go flying into the sky, leaving Happy there on the ground, stunned.
"Hey Natsu, wait for me!" Happy shouted out as his own magic activated, causing a pair of white angel wings to appear and allow Happy to take to the skies as well.
Happy eventually caught up to Natsu who said with a smile, "This is how flying feels? I love it."
Happy smiled and said, "Aye Sir!"
The two flew in silence for a while, conserving there magic as best as they could so they would not run out and fall to their deaths.
After an hour of flying, they eventually saw a small island up ahead.
The Island in question was about five miles in diameter, making a bit small than Galuna Island and unlike Galuna, there was no giant mountains on this island, the tallest point Natsu could see was only about 30 to maybe fifty feet tall, meaning this island was also a lot flatter then Galuna Island was.
"There it is Happy! The source of the pull I have been feeling." Natsu said.
"Let's get there quickly Natsu, I don't know how much longer I can keep my wings out." Happy said, strain clearly written all over his face.
"My magic's almost out as well." Natsu said, his magic containers barely had any amount of magic left in them.
The two quickly boosted their tired bodies as much as they could, desperately trying to get to the island before their magic ran out.
Just as their magic ran out, they reached the beach, so they fell face fist into the sands.
Natsu landed on his face, flipped end over end until he landed on his back, groaning in pain and tiredness.
Happy on the other hand fell into the sands as well, but when he flipped end over end, he landed face first into a tree, causing the small blue cat to groan in pain as he then fell off the tree and onto the ground.
Natsu, panting and barely conscious then said, "Happy?"
"Yes Natsu?" Happy replied, barely conscious as well.
"Let's never do that again." Natsu said.
"Aye sir." Happy tiredly replied.
Within seconds the two of them fell asleep, the snores echoing all over the small and deserted Island they had found.
Little did they know, that beneath the surface of the island, lay a secret that would change their lives forever.
Several hours later...
Nighttime had fallen over the tropical island when Natsu and Happy finally woke back up.
Natsu slowly got back onto is feet, his muscles still sore after flying all that time, plus having hit the ground pretty hard with his face also added to the pain he felt when he started to get onto his feet.
Natsu looked over towards Happy and saw his little partner also getting up onto his feet as well, with grunts and groans of pain as well.
"Hey Happy, you okay little bud?" Natsu asked as he started rotating his left arm to pop it.
"Aye sir, just a little stiff and sore." Happy replied as he popped his spine and sighed as the stiffness was relieved.
"Let's go see if there is a water source." Natsu said as the two of them then began to walk into the jungle, trying to find any source of water.
The foliage was thick, much thicker than that on Galuna Island and so getting through it was a bit harder and so slower for the two Fairy Tail mages.
After searching for any hour, they finally heard the familiar sounds of running water.
Running forth, the found a small little river running through the island, the river being 7 feet wide and a foot deep.
Natsu scooped up some of the water and drank it and said, "This is good water Happy, we can drink this."
When he turned towards his little buddy, he saw the cat had already dunked his head into the water and was greedily gulping as much as he could.
Ten seconds later the little cat brought his head back up with a gasp and said, "Best. Water. Ever."
Natsu shook his head and began to drink some of the water as well.
After quenching their thirst, the two mages then began to look for a place to sleep for the night.
They searched for about ten minutes when they saw a large tree whose branches were perfect for sleeping on.
Natsu climbed up the tree, Happy already snoring on his left shoulder.
When he found a branch he liked, he laid down onto it and quickly fell asleep, having moved Happy onto his stomach.
Natsu's eyes felt much heavier and soon, he was once again asleep, unaware of what would happen tomorrow.
Time skip, morning...
Natsu yawned as he slowly woke up and saw Happy was still sleeping on his stomach.
Natsu gently shook Happy awake and then the two of the climbed back down the tree and continued their walk through the jungle.
After an hour of walking, they found something
It was a large cave opening that had been carefully carved into that of a dragon's head.
They both knew that they were heading the right way now and so slowly entered into the cave, Natsu's right hand lit on fire so that they could see and also to attack if the need arose.
Slowly they went down the path, each step careful and quiet, their senses on high alert.
Eventually, they came to the end of the tunnel, which led them into a large open room.
The room was colored in red side's that were carved in such a way they looked like dragon scales, while the beige flooring looked exactly the same.
There were several torches on the sides of the walls that were all lit.
And in the back of the room was a massive flame onto of a alter that was carved to look like two serpentine dragon's intertwining and breathing fire.
Natsu approached the flame, feeling that same pull he had been following all this time.
When he got within fifteen feet of the flame, the flame suddenly grew even larger and much hotter.
Natsu could feel the heat that flame was giving off, it was incredible, the only flames he had met before that were hotter that this flame was Igneels.
The flame then began to change shape.
Bat wings that ended in tatters began to form, while large scaly arms came out of the top of the flame, while the bottom of the flame grew a pair of scaly legs and a large scaly tail. Finally came the long neck and the large head which showed a familiar face to Natsu.
The flame had transformed into Natsu's adopted father, Igneel, but this one was different.
For one the size. Where as Igneel had been well over a 150 feet in length, this flame born Igneel was only 15 feet long at the most.
Another thing that separated the real Igneel from this flame born one was the fact that this flame born one felt incomplete.
It felt as if the Igneel before Natsu and Happy was just a shadow, a small portion of the real Igneel.
The flame born Igneel opened his eyes and looked at Natsu and said, ["Natsu, my son. It is good to see you again.]
"What are you? You aren't Igneel." Natsu said.
["That is both true and false, Natsu."] Igneel cryptically said.
"What do you mean by that?" Natsu asked, question marks all around his head.
["When the real Igneel left you, he created me. He took a tiny portion of his soul and placed it in the flames of this temple built in his honor. I have all of Igneel's memories, personality traits, but almost none of his powers and I don't have a real body."] Igneel explained.
"So, your like a fragment?" Happy guessed.
["Indeed I am. I am fragment of the real Igneel, like a glass shard from a much larger pan of glass, I am both Igneel and yet at the same time, I am not."] Igneel said.
"Okay, I mostly got that. So, if Igneel created you, how did you contact me?" Natsu asked.
["When Igneel created me, he also created a telepathic bond between the two of us, so that when the time was right I could call out to you and you would hear me, no matter what."] Igneel explained to his son.
"That would be the pull I felt for the past few days!" Natsu said in realization.
["Exactly. I couldn't speak to you directly, our telepathic bond isn't that strong, so I did the next best thing and created a irresistible pull for you to follow."] Igneel said.
"Okay that so explains how you called to me, so the real question is why?" Natsu asked.
["Natsu, when you became a Dragon Slayer, your magic created a Dragon Seed. That Dragon Seed is an organism that, if you overuse your magic, will cause you to transform into a dragon."] Igneel bluntly said, causing both Happy and Natsu to gasp in shock.
"Wait, I am going to turn into a dragon?" Natsu asked in shock.
["No. The real Igneel already took care of that problem, doing a special ritual so that your Dragon Seed cannot transform you into a dragon."] Igneel said.
Both Happy and Natsu signed in relief and Natsu said, "That's a relief."
"Aye Sir." Happy said.
["But that is not the only problem."] Igneel said, causing both Natsu and Happy to look back up at him with worry.
"What's the other problem?" Happy asked.
["The other problem is something that has laid inside of you since before you and the real Igneel met."] Igneel said cryptically once more.
"What?" Natsu asked.
["Another type of seed. A Demon Seed."] Igneel said.
Silence reigned throughout the chamber as both Natsu and Happy had their mouths wide open, but no noise came out.
"A Demon Seed?" Natsu asked slowly.
["Yes. The real Igneel never learned how you got such a Seed, but that is not the important aspect. Right now, your Demon and Dragon Seeds are very slowly starting to merge. It will take another year or so until they pose a real danger to you, but best to snuff these types of problems in the bud."] Igneel said.
"Okay, so what do we do?" Natsu asked.
["I can, with your permission, use what little power I do have to directly influence your Dragon Seed to become stronger and destroy your Demon Seed, this will stop them from trying to merge and a little fact, if they do merge, it will kill you, so destroying one of your Seeds will also save your life."] Igneel said.
"Well, I give my permission, so just do whatever you need to do." Natsu said.
["Natsu, you need to know what this will do to you. If we go through with this, you will not be the same person."] Igneel said.
Once again, silence reigned throughout the chamber as the two mages processed what Igneel had said.
"What do you mean?" Natsu asked.
["Because a Dragon Seed is made from a Dragon Slayer when they get their magic, the Seed will grow throughout a Dragon Slayer life. The Seed is you, for lack of a better term. By manipulating the Seed to become strong enough to destroy the Demon Seed, the Dragon Seed will be irrevocably changed for the rest of your life. The Dragon Seed will forever have part of me within due to my tampering of the Seed. Your personality will change, you will have parts and pieces of my personality now permanently tied together with your own. Now only that, but your magic will be much better, more powerful, easier to control. In addition to your own magic containers growing much larger and it will be easier for you to grow stronger through training in the future."] Igneel explained.
Natsu was silent for a few minutes before he said, "So be it. The alternative is that I die, so I say once more. Do it Igneel. Destroy my Demon Seed and whatever happens after that happens. I trust you." He then gave Igneel a trusting smile, showing that he completely and utterly trusted Igneel no matter what.
Igneel stared at Natsu, at his trusting smile and all doubts he had were washed away.
This fragment of Igneel could finally see what the real Igneel saw all of those years ago.
He saw the light, the warmth and the love in those eyes that just made people want to be around Natsu and also made it so that even during the darkest times, those around still felt hope, just because they knew, Natsu was with them.
Igneel smiled and said, ["Very well. Prepare yourself. This will be most painful, but afterwords you will better then you ever thought possible."]
Natsu nodded, closed his eyes, gave a deep breathe and said, "I am ready."
Igneel's eye began to glow crimson red as two tendrils of crimson fire shaped like serpentine dragons came out of Igneel and wrapped around Natsu's body.
The serpentine dragons then entered into Natsu, right around where he heart was located and suddenly crimson bolts of bio electricity began to crackle throughout Natsu's body, causing him to scream out in agony as he fell to his knees, his entire body drenched in sweat as the pain grew and grew.
The pain was quickly growing still, the crimson bolts of bio electricity began to crack more frequently and with more intensity.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, the crimson bio electricity finally stopped crackling and the pain started to alleviate.
The two golden serpentine dragons came out from his chest and went back to Igneel, whose eyes finally stopped glowing.
Happy ran over to Natsu and said, "Natsu, are you okay?"
Natsu slowly nodded and said, "That was easily the worst thing I have to experience. The pain was almost too much for me to bare, but I managed to do it."
Igneel looked at Natsu and said, ["The Demon Seed has been destroyed and also your Dragon Seed, although it has grown much larger and stronger, it has been sealed away, so you will not have to worry abut becoming a Dragon. You can, if you try hard enough, transform into a half dragon, which would increase your power enormously, but that will take years of hard practice and work to achieve. I would suggest you stay here for a few more days to give your body some time to heal and recover, that was a lot of pain you just went through."]
Natsu nodded and then slowly went onto his back and was soon asleep, resting from the pain of what he had just experienced.
Happy crawled onto his stomach and fell asleep due to the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest.
Igneel stared at the sleeping form of his son and said, ["I wonder what man you shall become, now that the Demon Seed is gone and your Dragon Seed now having a portion of my soul. I guess now I shall live on, even if I die before you, for you shall always carry a tony portion of me, wherever you go."]
Igneel began to transform back into flames, but before he did he said, ["Good night, my son. I shall see in the morning."]
Igneel finished transforming back into the flames and then, there was silence throughout the chamber once more, the only sounds were the quiet snoring or Happy and Natsu, and the crackling of Igneels fire form.
What shall come of these events, now that Natsu is a different man? Only time shall tell.
Time skip, next morning...
Natsu groaned as he came back to consciousness, his body still sore and tired from going through with the destruction of his Demon Seed, which by the way is something he would never tell anyone to do, it is easily the most painful thing he has ever done in his life.
Natsu saw the sleeping form of Happy and smiled down as his surrogate son before he turned towards the flames on the dragon alter.
Natsu carefully placed Happy onto the floor, careful not to wake him so he could talk to Igneel alone.
Natsu then walked to the flames and quietly said, "Igneel?"
For a minute, nothing happened and then the flames transformed back into Igneel's regular dragon form.
["What is it, my son?"] Igneel asked.
"Do you know where the complete Igneel is?" Natsu asked.
The fragment of Igneel shook his head no and said, ["I am just a fragment of Igneel, I have no way of knowing where the complete Igneel is."]
Natsu nodded, expecting that answer and then asked, "Do you know why he left me?"
The fragment of Igneel was torn, he hated lying to Natsu, about why he had the Demon Seed within, the location of the real Igneel, it was too much for him.
When Igneel slipped a tiny portion of his soul to create this fragment, this fragment got a large amount of Igneel's love for Natsu, so he didn't want to hurt Natsu and he knew that lying to Natsu would eventually hurt him.
This Natsu wasn't an energetic, hyperactive boy, he was a young man who deserved to know why his only father figure in his life vanished one day.
Igneel was quiet for a minute before he said, ["Yes, I do know why he left you."]
Natsu's eyes became happy and he said, "Really, you do?"
Igneel nodded and said, ["The real Igneel left you, not for anything you had done, but for a very important reason."]
"What was the reason?" Natsu asked.
["During the Great Dragon Civil War, there was a Dragon Slayer called Acnologia, he killed hundreds of dragons all by himself and by bathing in their blood, he eventually became a dragon."] Igneel said to the shock of Natsu.
["Acnologia was a major threat, so Igneel and several other dragons hid themselves from Acnologia for their own safety. However, when they adopted their own Dragon Slayers, they knew eventually Acnologia would find them and possibly kill both themselves and their adopted children, so they left their children to protect them. That is why Igneel left you, to keep you safe from Acnologia. If he had found you, he would have killed you, because you along with the the other Dragon Slayers are the only things in this world that can actually pose a threat to him."] Igneel said to his son.
Natsu was silent for a few minutes, while several tears ran down his face.
"He did love me." Natsu said quietly, happiness clearly able to be heard in his voice.
["Is that what you feared all these years?"] Igneel asked.
Natsu nodded and said "I was always afraid that Igneel left me because I failed him, that I was too weak to be considered the son of Igneel. I made friends and they helped me grow stronger, both physically and mentally, but there was always that small nugget of fear in the back of my mind, always telling me that I wasn't worthy of their love and affection. It was always telling me I wasn't worthy of Igneel's love and I wasn't worthy of their love. I tried to hide it, but that fear was always there, locked at the back of my mind."
["Natsu, I may not be the real Igneel, but I do have all of his emotions and memories and I can honestly tell you this: Igneel only had the greatest amount of love for you. He was so proud of you. He may have been a little annoyed at you at times, but you never disappointed him. You always were ready to take on the next challenge, even if it was bigger then you were. You never backed down, you never gave up. Some might say that is your greatest weakness, but I say that is your greatest strength. You know fear, you know helplessness, but even so, you always stand up, you never back down. You have the heart of a dragon and the courage of one as well. You are and always will be, the son of Igneel, no matter where you go or who you become. To me and to Igneel, you will always be that little boy we found in the woods that day. You will always be our son, no matter what."] Igneel said.
Natsu contemplated Igneel's words and said, "Thanks Igneel. You always knew what to say to make me feel better."
["Good. Now stop your crying and stand up. You are the son of Igneel after all."] Igneel said with a teasing tone.
Igneel then turned deadly serious and said, ["Natsu. There is something you must do before you are allowed to leave here."]
"What's that Igneel?" Natsu asked.
["You must master Dragon Force."] Igneel said.
"What's Dragon Force?" Natsu asked.
["Dragon Force is the Ultimate Stage a regular Dragon Slayer can achieve. It boosts all the stats of a Dragon Slayer by a factor of ten. It is an invaluable tool to have in an Slayer's arsenal."] Igneel explained.
"Cool. Wait, you said a regular Dragon Slayer. What do you mean?" Natsu asked.
["You are unique, due to the fact you have your Dragon Seed boosted by myself and add in the fact you are the son of a Dragon King, making you a Dragon Prince. This means you are not bound to just getting Dragon Force, you can go beyond that form, although that will take a very long time. Now, onto how you are going to obtain Dragon Force. To obtain the form, you must seek out your innermost flames, the thing that makes you Natsu Dragneel. Once you have found it, you must grasp it and bring it forth, bring it out for all to see."] Igneel instructed.
Natsu nodded and then closed his eyes.
He began by searching within himself.
The first thing he saw was his magic, the flames of the fire dragon.
He had been the user of these flames since as far back as he could remember and his flames had never changed one bit, sure he had grown stronger and better at using these flames, but the core root of these flames had always remained constant over the course of his life.
Now, his inner flames felt different. They had been changed. The flames were stronger sure, but that was not it. It was the basis of the flames, his personality. It wasn't the same as before.
He couldn't even begin to imagine how he had changed due to Igneel's tampering of his Dragon Seed, but it was a little bit frightening to see the one that had never changed over the course of his life had suddenly become something different. He flames were similar to how they had been before Igneel tampered with his Dragon Seed, but they were different.
After a few seconds of looking at his new flames, Natsu journeyed further within his core, within his soul.
He began to feel something, something primal, something powerful, something that felt like a dragon.
He saw a mass of flames in the shape of a sphere, lying within his soul.
He reached out and touched the sphere and felt the blistering amount of power lying within the sphere, just waiting to be released.
It was like a blazing forest fire, untameable, unstoppable, a force of nature, destroying everything in it's path.
Yet at the same time, the sphere felt warm and comforting, the kind of warmth a parent excludes when they are comforting their child, it just makes you feel safe and secure.
Natsu concentrated on the power, sending out invisible waves to bring the sphere under his control.
The sphere began to slowly shrink down to the size of an apple, Natsu's hands on either side of the sphere, not actually touching it.
Natsu then began to concentrate on the sphere, bringing forth this sphere out for all to see.
The sphere responded, roaring forth like a wild dragon, blistering heat began to radiate out of Natsu, raising the temperature of the room by a wide margin.
Natsu began to growl lowly and then the growl raised in volume until he was roaring as loud as a real dragon.
Happy woke up to see Natsu engulfed in orange-red flames, roaring out as crimson scales began to form on his forearms, lower legs, sides and under his eyes.
His hair became spikier and a few centimeters longer as it waved in the air as if there was a breeze in the room.
Natsu's canines became a fraction sharper and a few milometers longer.
Natsu opened his eyes and showed that his pupils had disappeared entirely, leaving just two orbs of blazing orange and red in the place of his eyes.
Natsu's aura was beginning to crack the floor of the room and cause steam to start coming off several of the statues.
After a few minutes of this, Natsu stopped roaring and his aura stabilized.
The incredible heat began to lower and lower until the temperature was just as it was before Natsu turned the heat up.
The scales were fully formed now, crimson red in color just like Igneels.
Natsu's eye had reappeared now, though they were just a fraction slightly narrower than usual.
Natsu looked down at his hands and saw the crimson scales on his arms and marveled at their beauty.
"Natsu? What happened?" Happy asked.
"That Happy, was me unlocking the Ultimate Form a regular Dragon Slayer can unlock." Natsu said, still looking at his scales.
"Which is?" Happy prodded.
"It's called Dragon Force." Natsu clenched his hands and smiled.
"That is cool Natsu. What can you do now?" Happy asked, walking over to his surrogate father.
"According to Igneel, this form boosts all of my stats by a factor of ten." Natsu answered as he looked at his little friend.
"Really? That's so cool." Happy said excitedly.
Natsu smirked and said, "Heck yeah it is."
Natsu began to channel his flames into his hands and sure enough, his flames lit fire, but now the flames were red and orange mixed together.
Natsu then began to wave his on-fire hands through the air in arcs, just content with watching the flames move the way they did.
["Natsu."] Igneel said to bring Natsu out of his reverie.
Natsu turned towards the fragment of his father, who had a proud look on his face.
["Good job my son. You managed to bring out Dragon Force using your own will, it takes most Dragon Slayers years to do so. I am very proud of you. There are few other things we must do before you leave."] Igneel said.
"Really, what could possibly be left?" Natsu asked.
["I can teach you the remaining Fire Dragon Slayers spells that the real Igneel was unable to teach you before he left."] Igneel said.
"How? It took me years to learn how to use Fire Dragon Slayer magic, how can you teach me more moves so quickly?" Natsu asked.
["I can directly implant the knowledge on how to use these spells directly into your head. Before you ask, the reason the real Igneel didn't do this to teach the basics of Fire Dragon Slayer magic was because that you needed to learn the basics on your own, so that you could build upon those lessons and become stronger. Now that you know the basics, you can be taught the advanced lessons and not worry , because you already know what to do."] Igneel explained to his son.
"Oh, I get it. So, how will this work?" Natsu asked his father.
["Simply step forth before me."] Replied the Fire Dragon King.
Natsu stepped before Igneel, who raised his right hand up to Natsu's forehead and placed his hand upon his son head.
Igneel closed his eyes and then his hand began to glow.
Natsu gasped, he could feel the new information on how to use some of the most powerful spells a Fire Dragon Slayer could learn swimming around in his head as if he had known how to use them for years instead of seconds.
This went on for a few minutes, the red glow of Igneel's hand still prevalent as the information finished entering into Natsu's head.
Natsu then blinked as the information settled down in his head.
Natsu now knew how to do each and every single one of these spells perfectly, just as if he was using the Fire Dragon's Roar or the Fire Dragon iron Fist, moves he had been using for years.
Natsu opened and closed his hands a few times as he rolled his eyes to try and comprehend what was in his head now.
After a few minutes Natsu stopped and said, "Wow, that was an experience."
["You should be able to use all the spells perfectly, but I would still practice them later on so you can get the muscle memory of using these spells down. And now, we have, but one last thing to discuss before you can leave."] Igneel said.
"What is it?" Natsu asked, curious.
["It is taking me with you of course."] Igneel said bluntly to the two mages before him.
Silence reigned in the camber once again as both Natsu and Happy were completely stunned into silence.
"What?!" Both of them yelled out in shock.
"What do you mean take you with us?" Natsu asked, completely confused at to what his foster father was talking about here.
["Natsu, you have been alone for too long and I have seen the suffering you have gone through, I want to go with you, so that I can be there for you when you need me. With your permission, I shall create a link on your forearm were I shall reside inside of you, seeing what you see, feeling what you feel. After the link is formed, I will be able to talk to you and offer you support and advice for you to use."] Igneel said.
"So, you will be with me? Even after we leave this temple?" Natsu asked.
["Indeed, but only if you give me explicit permission to create such a link with you."] Igneel stated.
Natsu was quiet for a few seconds before he said, "Igneel, Fire Dragon King, I give you full permission to create a link between the two of us, so that you may be with me, always."
Igneel nodded and then dissolved into a stream of golden fire which arched out and touched the skin on Natsu's forearm.
Natsu screamed out as the fire entered his body, it wasn't as bad as having his Demon Seed destroyed, but it was far from a painless experience.
After a few minutes, the pain vanished and now on Natsu's forearm was a large tattoo.
The tattoo was of a dragon, with four large wings, two underneath two others. (Fire Dragon King's tattoo.)
Natsu panted for a few minutes before he said, "Igneel?"
It was silent for a few minutes before Natsu heard a familiar voice in his head say, ["I am here Natsu."]
"This is awesome!" Natsu cheered after hearing Igneel's voice in his head, satisfied that Igneel was still with him.
Natsu then turned towards Happy, who had been very worried for Natsu during the forming of the link, and said, "C'mon little buddy! We have to get back to Fairy Tail to give them the good news!"
Happy smiled and said, "Aye Sir!"
Natsu and Happy then went out of the temple and back onto the surface of the Island.
After getting a large amount of water, the two were ready to go back home.
"Hey Happy?" Natsu said.
"Yeah Natsu?" Happy asked.
"You want to ride on my back? I have enough magical power to fly both you and me back to Hargeon with ease." Natsu offered.
"Okay." happy said happily.
Natsu placed Happy onto the back of his neck and then crouched down.
Suddenly, red and orange flames erupted from beneath Natsu's feet and sent the two mages hurtling into the air.
Happy and Natsu were laughing out in joy, flying through the air was so liberating.
Happy also noted that Natsu was going much faster than before, but he decided it was just the fact that Natsu was much more powerful now and pulled out a fish from his backpack and began to eat the tasty fish flesh.
"Hey Happy? Mind giving me a fish?" Natsu asked.
"Aye, sir!" Happy said as he gave Natsu a fish.
After eating, the two of them settled down for the flight.
What both of them were unaware of, was that Fairy Tail was in desperate need of help right now.
Time skip, several hours later...
Natsu and happy were approaching the outskirts of Magnolia town after walking all the way from Hargeon to Magnolia.
The reason they didn't just fly all the way back was because Natsu planned on challenging Erza to a fight to try out his new powers and he wanted to be in tip top shape for when they fought.
Natsu and Happy had eaten some fish to sate their hunger, but now they wanted to eat some real foo,d well Natsu did anyway, Happy was quiet happy with his fish.
"Heh, today's the day Happy! I am finally going to beat Erza and prove I am an S-Class mage!" Natsu said.
Natsu may be a bit more mature, but when it came to fighting, it will be a long time before he changes.
"Sure you are Natsu! Even if things start going bad, you can just use Dragon Force." Happy agreed, for once saying Natsu could beat Erza.
Erza maybe strong, but Happy had felt the raw power of Dragon Force first hand and he knew Erza had now way of beating Natsu.
Oh he is going to make so much money for being one of the few people actually betting on Natsu and when Natsu pulls off an impossible victory, he is going to clean shop! He could practically taste all those perfect fish he is going to buy right now, causing him to start salivating.
Natsu looked at his little buddy as saw the cat drooling and knew Happy was in one of his fish fantasies.
Natsu shook his head as he and Happy came to the top of hill on the outskirts of Magnolia and both and Happy stopped dead in their tracks.
There, in the water near the guild, was a massive four armed mechanical walking building that currently was facing towards the guild.
"Happy?" Natsu asked his partner.
"Yes Natsu?" Happy asked.
"You are seeing the same thing I am right?" Natsu asked.
"Aye Sir." Happy, said his catchphrase, which was suddenly devoid of any joy, but instead filled with fear.
["That is something you don't see every day."] Igneel said from within Natsu's head.
"Happy, we have to get to the guild to find out what the heck is going on." Natsu said, a sense of urgency in his voice.
"Aye Sir!" Happy said, his voice becoming determined immediately.
Happy opened his wings while Natsu ignited his feet and the two of them flew off towards their guild, intent on finding out what in the name of all hat is good and holy is going on.
Meanwhile, with Fairy Tail...
It had not been a very good few days for Fairy Tail.
After Natsu had left, the guild was destroyed by large metal spikes that had been the work of Gajeel Black Steel of Phantom Lord.
Then Team Shadow Gear was found the next day in the park crucified to a tree and the symbol of Phantom Lord painted on Levy's stomach.
The Guild was outraged and declared war on Phantom Lord.
They then attacked the Phantom Guild Hall in Oak Town.
It had started okay, but then the master was defeated and nearly killed.
Without their master, Fairy Tail was forced to retreat, save for Gray, who had learned that Lucy had been kidnapped.
After interrogating a Phantom member, Gray went to the tower where Lucy was being held and ran there to save her, only to see her fall out off the top of the Tower.
Grey then jumped up and caught the girl before she hit the ground and then proceeded to chew her out for doing something so insane, only t have Lucy break down in front of him, claiming the attack had been all her fault due to her father hiring Phantom Lord to come and get her back.
Gray then took Lucy back to Fairy tail, who was currently licking their wounds and trying to get ready for Phantom's inevitable attack against them.
What they hadn't expected was Phantom to come to them in a giant walking Guild Hall and tell them to give up Lucy or die.
The Fairies had said no and so Jose, leader of Phantom, had ordered the activation of the Jupiter cannon, a powerful cannon capable of obliterating a large area with no effort.
The barrel of the cannon had just come out of the gut of the Phantom Guild Hall and was currently charging up a ball of ominous dark energy.
Erza had run out in front of her Guild and had changed into her Adamantine Armor, which drastically increased her defenses.
Her goal was to stop the Jupiter cannon's blast.
Her closed the armor's large gauntlets together to form a large shield, which glowed as a much large magical shield appeared before the shield, increasing the resistance.
Her entire guild cried for her to get out of the way, but she was unwavering in her determination to stop the blast, to keep her family safe.
Just as the Jupiter cannon was about to fire, a loud familiar voice shouted out like thunder, "Fire Dragon's Over Cannon!"
A familiar figure landed in front of Erza, and raised his hands in front of him, the palms of his hands facing the cannon as the palms glowed ominously red for a second and then a large red and orange magic circle with a dragon's head in the middle opened up in front of his palms and from the magic circle came an enormous red beam of fire.
The Jupiter cannon responded in kind by firing a massive purple beam of magic toward the red one.
Both magic beams struck in the middle, the force of their collision causing massive gusts of air that forced almost everyone present a few steps backward.
The beams went back and forth, the balance of power shifting between the two of them many times before the red beam won out and blasted straight through the barrel of the Jupiter cannon, which then exploded and fell into the ocean, completely useless.
Everyone present was completely amazed at what they saw, someone had not only matched but beaten the Jupiter cannon blast back to the gun itself.
The figure dropped his hands and turned around, showing the guild a familiar head of pink hair and a even more familiar ever panresent smile on his face.
"Sup guys? Need some help?" Natsu asked as Happy flew down to his right side.
Erza was the first to recover and said, "Natsu, Phantom Lord has declared war on us, they hurt Levy, Jet, Droy, and even put Makarov into a near-death state."
Natsu lost his smile and snarled out, "They did what?"
"They attacked our guild, put Levy, Jet and Droy in the hospital, and nearly killed the Master." Mira said to him.
Suddenly the surrounding temperature rose immensely as Natsu's rage took over, transforming his eyes into red coals as a very intense aura of fire now surrounded Natsu.
Natsu turned back towards the Phantom Lord Guild Hall and shouted out, "Listen up you Phantom Lord pieces of crap! If you mess with my family..."
At that moment, to Fairy Tail, Natsu had never seemed taller as he stood out front, calling out to those who had dared to hurt his family and they all suddenly felt a small piece of hope in their hearts that they might just win this.
"And you will get burned!" Natsu finished as he smashed his two flaming fits together, causing a flash of fire.
With the gauntlet thrown down, who shall win the day?
Fairy Tail or Phantom Lord?
All that is known is that there is now one very angry and powered Fire Dragon Slayer ready to get revenge on those that Phantom Lord hurt.
And he is not going to be stopped easily.