Another chapter up and running!

Not only that, but it's time for another opening!

Hope you guys like it! Enjoy the read!

The opening starts with Happy with a wand surrounded by a circle of various fish.

Then it switches to everyone in Fairy Tail having a good time with Natsu, Gray, and Plue putting on a show wearing tribal clothes with Natsu blowing a horn spewing fire, Gray playing the guitar, and Plue playing the maracas. Lucy is off to the side reading a book and Erza is on the balcony watching with a smile on her face.

Then it switches to Team Natsu being outside surrounded by various creatures with Lucy and Erza looking at the audience smiling, Natsu and Happy on a rock looking into the distance in awe, and Gray standing next to a bear looking confused trying to figure out where he's going. Taurus is also seen in the middle smiling.

We now see the Cait Shelter guildhall as we zoom in eventually revealing inside an old man sitting inside. He was slim, bare-chested, had a long white beard that connected his mustache and eyebrows, wore a headdress of purple and white feathers, had a red tattoo comprised of a dot surrounded by two arched lines on his head, wore a necklace with three large white teeth, wore bandages on his wrists and gold bands on his upper arms, and had a light gray cloth with dark brown pants underneath, and simple brown shoes.

We switch to Nirvana which was preparing to unleash a powerful magic beam at Cait Shelter

We quickly zoom in towards the opening where the beam is going to fire and we see a man who looks like Brain. Only his skin was white with blood red eyes, had wavy silver hair and wore a green military outfit with black stripes. The man grins evilly awaiting the destruction of Cait Shelter, but we quickly move away from him to see that on top of a pile of rubble Team Natsu along with Wendy and Carla stand ready to fight the man.

We see Natsu and Happy looking determined to stop the man and then we see Natsu roaring getting ready to fight.

Now we switch the blue sky as the Fairy Tail logo appears fading in.

Kinou wo kuyan datte ato no matsuri
Oto ni tada mi wo makasete mireba

The Fairy Tail logo disappears and Wendy with Carla carrying her zooms in flying high in the sky. We then see a flashback of Wendy and Jellal as children walking together smiling at each other.

Kimochi made karuku shite kureru yo
Ima ni demo tobe sou jan

Panning upwards we see the members of the Oración Seis starting with Cobra in the middle, Angel on the right, Racer on the left, Hoteye on the upper right, Shark on the upper left, Brain on top, and Midnight in the middle.

Soko ni yama ga aru kara. Sou itteta tozan ka
Kekkyoku kotae wa tanjun de

We close into Midnight as the background fades making Midnight in the middle of town on Nirvana's back. He then creates a small red ball made from his own magic power, clenches it, and then releases it as he jumps unleashing blade-like waves of his magic.

Dare mo ga idomi tsudukeru tabibito nanda

We see a blade from a bisentō revealing it to be held by Erza who is now wearing an outfit that was comprised of a short purple tunic and revealing on the sides and chest held by a black obi with a red rope around it, a long cloth covering the groin area, bandages covering her forearms and wrists, pink stockings going up to her thighs, and simple sandals. She twirls her bisentō and then slashes it at her unknown enemy.

Hora ame sae mo
enerugī ni kaete
Egao sakase odori akasou

Now as we pan upwards, we see the members of Lamia Scale. Sherry, Lyon, and Jura. Then Ichiya along with the Trimens come in dancing to the rhythm of the song.

Taiyou wo shimesu bokura no konpasu
Tadotte yuke ba jiyuu ni nareru kara

We switch to see the very damaged Magic Bomber Christina soaring high in the sky. We also see a transparent image of the Trimens looking battered, but not beaten as they use their magic to keep Christina flying.

Tomo ni uchiage you hanabi

We now see a bruised Jellal inside of what appears to be an ancient room inside of Nirvana his hand held out and holding a golden flame.

Kimochi hitotsu ni shite

Next, Team Natsu is in a hallway inside of Nirvana looking battered and tired with Natsu punching his fist into the floor refusing to be defeated.

Taiyou wa shizumi kuri kaesu
Ashita hare nante hoshou wa nai kedo
Donna aranami sae mo umaku nori konashite

In another room of Nirvana, Natsu stands before the white-skinned man with red eyes ready to fight letting his magic power flare as he's shrouded in fire. He then engages Brain in battle by throwing a punch at him. but the man blocked his fist with his hand. The man tries to hit Natsu in the face, but Natsu barely manages to dodge. Natsu then uses his Fire Dragon Iron Fist and tries to uppercut the man on his chin which he blocks using both hands and unleashing streams of green and dark magic. Natsu retaliates and unleashes a Fire Dragon Roar breaking through the man's attack and scoring a hit. However, the man is unharmed as he and Natsu come flying straight into each other their faces inches away from each other.

Unmei no rakuen wa ima

We see an image of Gray unleashing a powerful Ice Make Geyser, then we see an image of Erza wearing an armor that was black with silver trims that revealed her cleavage and belly and had a pair of bat-like wings, and we see a now very muscular Ichiya smashing through a rock while flexing his muscles.

koko ni aru

Wendy is now hugging a very surprised Natsu crying tears of joy. We also see a split image of Erza. On the right, Erza sitting by some rubble curled in a ball, and on the left a close up of Erza looking very sad and crying. We see an image of Lucy and Happy surrounded by Lucy's Celestial Spirits looking cheerful. Finally, we see Natsu emerging from his flames letting out a fierce roar with a mirage of his dragon Igneel above him as the music ends.

Chapter 46

Poison vs Fire

In a different part of the city, Carla and Wendy had just touched down to the ground. Carla was out of breath and felt very exhausted due to using her magic excessively and carrying Wendy.

"Carla are you alright?" asked Wendy worriedly. "I'm sorry for making you work so hard. I wish that I could have done more for you."

"It's alright child," reassured Carla. "All that matters right now is that we made it in one piece. Mostly. But now that we're here, what exactly do you plan to do? I take it that you want to find Jellal person?"

"No, you've got it all wrong!" denied Wendy automatically raising her voice.

Carla raised a brow in suspicion. "Do I? Tell me the truth Wendy," she said.

Wendy then blushed and then looked away in embarrassment scratching her cheek. "Um... well... I guess in a way... I am... but I also know that we have to stop this thing." She then looked back at Carla feeling a lot more confident pumping her fist. "So now that I'm here, maybe there's a way I can help to put a stop to this thing!"

Carla was surprised at Wendy's sudden confidence, but then a small smile worked its way to her lips. Then she noticed something as she happened to look in the distance past the Woodsea. Her smile was quickly replaced with utter disbelief and horror. Wendy felt worried.

"Carla? What is it?" she wondered. "Is something wrong?"

"No... it can't be..." murmured Carla as she slowly stood up and walked towards the edge looking towards the forest and mountains in the distance. "It has to be some kind of coincidence, right?" She soon came to the edge with Wendy following suit. "No... it can't be... Please tell me it's not going where I think it is..."

"What is it Carla?" asked Wendy. "What do you mean? Where do you think it's going?"

"If Nirvana keeps traveling on the same course it is now..." Carla spoke quietly. "Then soon it'll reach our home... it's heading straight for the home of the Cait Shelter guild!"

Wendy could only look at Carla and then towards in the distance with worry as Nirvana continued its march.

It was now night as the battle between Natsu and Cobra raged on with Brain and Shark watching as the spectators. Natsu was trying his best to try and land a hit on Cobra, but every single time no matter what he tried, Cobra was able to read his moves and blocked them with ease.

"Damn it! I can't land a single hit on this guy!" growled Natsu. "Why can't I hit him?!"

"I wonder he's using some kind of magic," wondered Happy. "I don't suppose that you have any ideas do you Natsu?"

"I don't know, but all I know is that we gotta take this guy down and quick!" said Natsu giving Happy a sideways glance. "We'll never be able to beat that Brain and Shark guy if we don't. Let's give this guy a beat down he won't forget and stop this hunk of junk in its tracks!"

"Aye sir!" said Happy.

"It's no use," called out Cobra. "No matter how much you struggle, there's no way that you two can win. Although this will be a riot and a great source of entertainment while we make our way over to our next stop."

Happy then looked back towards the Royal Throne where Brain and Shark stood and saw that the magic circle that Natsu had destroyed a while back had now reappeared.

"Hey, Natsu! Look!" he said. "Didn't you destroy that thing with your last attack?"

"Yeah, I did," replied Natsu. "Guess in order for it to vanish, we'll have to take out the guy with the tats."

"You really think it's gonna be that easy?" smirked Cobra. "You do realize that there's no way that's never gonna happen, cause I ain't gonna let you."

"Don't underestimate us!" snapped Natsu.

"That's right!" said Happy. "When the two of us are working together, there's nothing in the world that can stop us!"

"Master are you sure it was wise for me to stand down?" asked Shark. "If the two of us fought the fire dragon slayer together, we would have been more than a match for him.

"True Shark, but I need you by my side," said Brain. "Since I can't use my magic while I'm using this magic circle, I need someone to guard me just in case. Besides, Cobra is more than a match against that dragon slayer on his own. Just remain with me until I give you further orders."

"Understood Master," acknowledged Shark.

Brain then called out to Cobra. "Cobra! Eliminate those fools for me."

"Sure thing boss," said Cobra. "They'll make a pretty nice feast for Cubellios anyway."

"Hey! I'm not food!" said Happy indignantly. "You eat me, and you'll get one nasty hairball!"

"And a mean case of heartburn!" added Natsu. "Bring it on!"

Cubellios with Cobra hiding on her back immediately went on the attack flying straight towards them baring her fangs, but Natsu and Happy zipped and dodged avoiding her snapping jaws. Then Natsu ignited his fists on fire and punched them together creating a large ball of flame in hands as he threw it straight at them.

"FIRE DRAGON: BRILLIANT FLAME!"

At the last second, Cubellios swerved to the right dodging the attack with ease making the attack fall harmlessly into a building in the city with a boom.

"Oh man! You missed em!" cried Happy.

"Don't worry! I'm just getting warmed up!" said Natsu. "Let's see him dodge these!"

He then unleashed a barrage of Fire Dragon: Brilliant Flame attacks hoping to get at least one hit in, but Cubellios slithered around the attacks with Cobra riding on her back. The attacks all fell into the buildings below causing dust to go everywhere.

"Come on Natsu! You call this warming up?!" complained Happy. "You didn't even hit em once!"

"Give me a break!" panted Natsu. "I threw as many fireballs as I could, so you'd think that one of them should have hit him! What's the deal?"

"I'm... not sure that's how it works Natsu," said Happy flatly.

Then they saw Corba and Cubellios fly up above them. "I told you before, I can hear your moves before you can make them," said Cobra flashing a cocky smile. "There's no way you'll be able to land a hit on me!"

"Yeah, yeah! Whatever!" scoffed Natsu as he immediately shot straight towards him. "So, what if you got supersonic hearing!? I'm still gonna kick your-"

Natsu was then immediately cut off by Cubellios who smacked him square in the face using her tail three times. Two of them were both to the face and the third was right on top of his head sending Natsu falling straight into the ground. It seemed that he would crash into the ground, but Happy managed to pull up at the last minute guiding Natsu back into the air.

"Whew! That close! Thanks, little buddy!" said Natsu gratefully.

He looked around trying to find Cobra and Cubellios, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd he go?" wondered Happy. "I don't see them."

Then when they flew past a building, Cubellios and Cobra suddenly appeared net to them surprising them. Cubellios opened her mouth wide threatening to swallow Natsu and Happy with one bite, but Natsu and Happy got out of the way just in time. The two then dove straight into the city hoping to find some cover.

"You can run all you want, but I will find you!" Cobra called with a gleam in his eyes. "It just makes hunting you weaklings all the more fun for me!"

"That cocky little punk!" growled Natsu. "I'll melt that grin right off his face!"

"I'll bet that he's one lonely dude with an attitude like that!" said Happy. "The ladies don't usually like the super-cocky type!"

Then as they came to a building, Natsu had an idea. "Happy! Quick! Hide in that building over there!"

Happy did what Natsu asked and flew through a window-like opening to a room. "Natsu what are you planning to do?" he asked.

Natsu answered by quietly shushing him and also pointing to the corner of the room. "Let's hide in that corner! Once he comes in. we'll catch him by surprise and sock em in the teeth!"

Happy grinned and answered with an "aye" as he and Natsu hid in the corner waiting for Cobra and Cubellios to come. A few minutes later the wall began to crack and crumble until it finally burst making a cloud of dust. Natsu smirked feeling very clever as he went on the attack seizing his chance.

"I gotcha now snake boy!" he crowed

He used Fire Dragon: Iron Fist and pounced right into the cloud of dust. However, when he swung his fist into the cloud of dust he felt it hit nothing. Cobra and Cubellios were nowhere to be seen.

"Wha- What the !?" cried a baffled Natsu. "He's not there!? Where'd he go?!"

Then Cobra leaped out of the doorway and slammed Natsu in the face with his knee. Natsu and Happy recoiled from the impact but managed to float back up into the air as Cobra leaped back onto Cubellios' back and followed suit.

"Man, some plan that was!" grumped Happy. "He's got ears like a dog or something."

"Give me a break. Did you really think that I would fall for that?" scoffed Cobra. "And for that matter you blue fleabag, I may be cocky, but I'm not a lonely dude!"

"Wait a minute, you heard that too?!" yelped Happy. "You weren't supposed to hear that!"

"Grrrr! This punk's really starting to bug me!" growled Natsu. "You know what?! Screw this! This chump's going down!"

Natsu once again used his Fire Dragon: Iron Fist and swung it at Cobra, but he once again dodged with ease.

"Hey! Quit dodging me you jerk!" he yelled. "Stay still so I can hit ya!"

"Like I would!" Cobra yelled back. "You're the one that doesn't seem to learn!"

"Says you! You're just a cheating punk who's scared of taking a hit!" Natsu shot back.

"It's crazy though," said Happy. "Is he using some kind of magic to predict our moves?"

"Not even that," said Cobra. "I just listen. I can always know what you're going to do because I can hear the voices in your mind."

Now Natsu and Happy felt puzzled.

"So... you're basically a psychic," said Happy. "If that's true then what am I thinking right now?!"

There was a moment of silence as Happy began thinking about something in his mind. A few seconds passed and then Happy's stomach let out a loud growl causing Cobra to smirk.

"Look furball, I don't gotta listen to your thoughts to know that you're thinking about fish," he said.

"Holy crap Natsu! He can hear your thoughts!" panicked Happy. "I was thinking about fish the entire time! He's really good!"

"Seriously?! That's awesome!" said Natsu excitedly. "Now do me next! Do me!"

"What the heck do you I am some kind of sideshow?" asked Cobra flatly.

Then Natsu tried his hand by saying something in his hand. A few moments passed again. This time Cobra broke into a fit of laughter.

"Oh man! I never heard that one before!" he laughed while holding his sides. "Even I gotta admit, that's pretty funny!"

"I know right?" grinned Natsu. "It really slays!" He turned to Happy. "Well, it's official buddy. Guess he can hear our thoughts after all."

"Hey! What were you talking about?" pouted Happy. "I want in on the joke too!"

"I'll tell you when you're a little older," said Natsu. "Right now, we need to focus on taking this guy down. Although I don't know how we're gonna."

"Don't worry. I've got an idea," said Happy. "Although I'm not sure if it'll work though."

"Let me guess," interrupted Cobra. "You're planning to attack from the left while thinking about attacking from the right. Please, you weren't the first ones to come up with that one, so try to be a little more original. When are you gonna learn that you have no chance of winning?"

Natsu gawked at Cobra in surprise and then he started to flood his mind with multiple thoughts at once hoping to confuse Cobra, but it didn't do any good.

"Oh? That's an interesting approach," said Cobra. "But flooding your mind with multiple thoughts at once must be hard for your brain. A pretty good try, but it's gonna take a lot more than that to throw me off you dumbass."

"Hey! You're not being fair!" cried Natsu indignantly now feeling very angry. "You know what? Screw this! I'll just attack you head on!"

"I'm with you Natsu!" said Happy. "I say it's time for Plan T!"

"Take em by storm!" they both cried.

Natsu then went the attack and Cobra dodged them once again while telling what Natsu was thinking out loud.

"Right hook."

Natsu threw a right hook and Cobra side-stepped to the right.

"Followed by a left kick."

Natsu coated his left leg on fire and kicked, only to have Cobra duck dodging the blow.

"Then a right leg sweep."

Natsu then cloaked his other leg and back-kicked Cobra, but Cubellios dipped down a little making the attack miss.

"Then finish him off with a straight right punch."

Natsu then punched Cobra with a right punch with all of his strength, but Cobra dodged the attack tilting his head. Or so he thought. Cobra then felt a sting sensation on his cheek causing his eyes to widen. He looked at his cheek and was surprised to see that Natsu's attack had barely grazed it. Then before he had a chance to react, for the first time ever Natsu landed a powerful punch square into his face knocking him off Cubellios and sending him plummeting towards the ground, but luckily Cubellios was able to catch Cobra with his tail. Natsu smirked victoriously having to have finally landed a hit as he went on the attack again. Cobra tried to listen to what Natsu was thinking, so he could dodge it, but this time he couldn't hear Natsu's thought at all.

"What the hell is going on here?!" he thought. "Why can't I hear him?! It's like he's turned off his mind!"

Natsu seized this chance by punching Cobra again in the head with a downwards punch and then gave him a right-handed uppercut and then kicked him square in the stomach knocking the wind out of him. Cobra recoiled landing close to the end of Cubellios' tail. Natsu letting out a battle cry let loose one more punch at Cobra hoping to knock him off completely, but Cobra finally managed to block the attack by catching the attack with his hand.

"I don't know if you're an idiot or genius!" he smiled clearly impressed. "I've never met anyone who's been able to land this many hits on me! Well then, guess my little sideshow trick is not gonna cut it. Better start getting serious then."

Then suddenly as Cobra squeezed his hand, Natsu felt a burning and numbing sensation on his hand causing him to yell in pain. He immediately pulled his hand back and saw that it was red like it was burned.

"Natsu what's wrong?!" asked Happy worriedly. "Are you OK?!"

"My... my hand!" winced Natsu. "It hurts...!"

They both then looked up at Cobra and their eyes widened in surprise. Cobra's arms had completely changed. They were now bulkier causing the sleeves to burst off and were covered with crimson scales with smooth and milky white bottoms and his hands had turned into claws.

"I hope you're ready, Fire Dragon," he said branding his claws. "Because now you're facing the poison dragon now! Prepare to die!"

"No way... he can't be!" murmured Happy. "Please tell me I'm seeing things..."

"You're not. I see it too," said Natsu. "But... he can't be..."

"This guy's a dragon slayer!" the two of them said in shock.

Then Cobra went on the attack using Cubellios to fly straight towards Natsu and Happy. His claws began to cloak with poison that was a gradient color of red and black substance and while Natsu's ignited his fists once again to retaliate. The two collided, again and again, causing the air to tremble from the impacts, but Cobra once again held the advantage sending Natsu flying with his attacks. Using Cubellios, Cobra then gunned straight at Natsu and with a mighty swipe of his claw released a shock wave of his poison. Luckily Natsu managed to fly upwards and dodged the waves just in time, but Cobra wasn't done there. Using Cubellios' tail as a springboard, Cobra leaped into the air cloaking his leg with poison and then gave Natsu a powerful kick to his cheek. The attack sent Natsu and Happy spiraling towards a building about to hit it, but Happy managed to change course and they were soon flying right again. Natsu shot a hand to his cheek feeling major pain from the impact, but at the same time, his cheek felt very numb. In fact, his entire body was starting to go numb due to Cobra's attacks.

"Natsu! Are you OK?" asked Happy worriedly.

"I think so," said Natsu wincing in pain. "But something's weird about his attacks. Every time this guy hits me, my body gets more numb."

"You can thank my poison for that," said Cobra as he readied for another attack. "One single touch from a poison dragon slayer, and you'll start to decompose until your body is nothing but mush!"

"Oh yeah? Too bad your poison doesn't scare me!" Natsu growled as he too readied to attack. "I'll just burn through your poison! After all, fire beats poison any day! FIRE DRAGON: IRON FIST!"

Natsu shot straight to Cobra with another Iron Fist attack, but Cobra unleashed a spell of his own.

"FESTER AND FALL! POISON DRAGON: FANG THRUST!"

A giant stream of poison shot out from his hand giving it the appearance of some kind of serpent. The Fang Thrust and the Iron Fist collided causing a powerful explosion shaking the entire area. However, the shock from the attack sent Natsu and Happy plummeting towards the ground. To make things worse, Happy had accidentally let go of Natsu making crash into a building. Happy seeing this quickly dove straight into where Natsu crashed to find that as soon as Natsu had touched the ground, he immediately began to suffer from his motion sickness.

"You gotta be kidding me!" cried Happy. "You barely touched the ground!" He then grabbed onto Natsu's back and took him into the air again. "I'm sorry that I dropped you, but you gotta pull yourself together!"

"N-no worries..." groaned Natsu. "I'm OK... I'm fine..."

"Man Cubellios, this guy's one totally careless loser ain't he?" Cobra said to his snake companion. "I almost feel sorry for the poor guy."

"Hey! Don't be calling me a loser you jerk!" Natsu snapped angrily. "Just for that I'm gonna punch your teeth down your throat!"

He attacked again with an Iron Fist in anger, only to have Cobra dodge the attack with ease.

"Looks like I hit a nerve," he smirked. "It must be so hard for you having an empty head and a crappy disposition to boot."

"Come on Natsu! What happened? You were hitting him a minute ago," said Happy. "I thought that you weren't thinking."

"I know, but finding out that this guy's a dragon slayer's got my mind running like crazy," said Natsu. "It's kinda hard not to think right now."

"You can't let that get to your head," said Happy. "If you keep thinking then this guy's gonna keep playing mind games with you! Besides, it's not like you to think. You don't even use your brain to begin with."

Now Natsu felt insulted. "What's that supposed to mean!?" he snapped. "You trying to say that I'm a good-for-nothing idiot?!"

"Don't put words in my mouth!" Happy said. "All I'm saying is that you need to do what you usually do and go with your gut! That's suits you a lot better than thinking!"

"So now you're saying I'm a meathead?!" Natsu growled angrily. "What's the deal man!? I thought you were my friend!"

As Natsu and Happy now began to fight each other, Cobra couldn't help but feel a little put off from seeing the two. However, he couldn't help but feel a little envious of them. He looked over at Cubellios and gave her a sad smile. Then he refocused and attacked Natsu and Happy hoping to take advantage of them arguing.

"POISON DRAGON: SPIRAL JAW!"

He jumped into the air until he was upside down and cloaked his legs with poison and proceeded to kick Natsu. Natsu saw the attack and countered with kick-based attack of his own by cloaking his legs on fire.

"FIRE DRAGON: TALON!"

The attacks collided, but Cobra was more powerful than Natsu thanks to Cobra's attack sending Natsu and Happy flying into one of the torch lacrimas near the Royal Throne. The lacrima torch tipped over and then when it hit the ground, it exploded with a mighty boom. Fire billowed everywhere. Cobra riding on Cubellios' back flew over close to the flames to see if he had finished the job.

"There's no way he could have survived that," he said. "Guess he's nothing, but cinders now."

Then he heard a strange noise like something slurping and the flames began to disperse. He then saw Natsu who sucking up all the flames to regain his stamina and magic power.

"Well, what do you know. He's eating all the fire," said Cobra. "Get ready Cubellios. We're about to have a real fight on our hands."

Soon Natsu finished eating the flames feeling and looking much better. "Oh yeah! Now I've got a fire in my belly!" he grinned.

"I gotta admit, I've never seen that before," said Cobra. "But that doesn't change anything. Now that you've had your final meal, I'd say it's time to end this!"

"Fine by me!" said Natsu.

He then used his Iron Fist once again, but Cobra dodged once again. However, instead of attacking again Natsu instead darted away from Cobra.

"Come on snake boy! Are we too fast for ya?!" he called teasing

"Why don't you come here and say that to my face?!" growled Cobra. "POISON DRAGON: SCALES!"

Cobra swung his arm and then unleashed a barrage of scale-shaped bullets of poison. Natsu using Happy dodged and weaved dodging them causing them to destroy a building causing smoke and dust to billow everywhere. Then something shot out from the dust high above, expecting it to be Natsu Cobra prepared to fight, but he was surprised to see that only Happy was flying up above. He then turned around and blocked Natsu who was hoping to catch him off guard from behind.

"You're never gonna learn, are you? I told you no matter what you try and plan, you can't hit me!" said Cobra. "I know your every move before you make it!"

"Oh yeah?! Then about how about a close-range attack?!" cried Natsu as he chuffed out his cheek. "FIRE DRAG-"

Natsu was about to use his breath attack, but Cobra prevented him by grabbing his face with a poison cloaked claw flinging him away. Luckily, Happy was able to catch Natsu before he fell.

"That was way too reckless Natsu!" the blue cat said. "What were you thinking you reckless idiot!?"

"I don't see you coming up with any ideas," pouted Natsu. "You don't need to rub it in!"

"You know what? All this is working up my appetite now," said Cobra. "Guess it's my turn to eat. Now Cubellios!"

Cubellios then opened its mouth and released a large cloud of poison and then Cobra began to suck up all the poison into his mouth.

"Oh man! He's eating the poison!" said Happy worriedly. "That can't be good!"

"No kidding," said Natsu. "I don't even know if that's even healthy..."

Then Cobra finished eating the poison wiping his lips smirking. "Now I've got a fire in my belly," he said.

"Hey! Don't steal my line you jerk!" snapped Natsu.

"Now it's time to put an end to you!" said Cobra as he began chuffing his cheeks.

Natsu and Happy immediately knew what was coming next.

"Oh crap! It's a breath attack!" cried Natsu.

"POISON DRAGON: ROAR!"

Cobra then unleashed a powerful stream of poison from his mouth. The attack barreled straight into Natsu and Happy making the two covered into poison.

Natsu was now feeling all kinds of wrong as he was now more poisoned than before, but he tried to remain strong.

"You... call that a roar? That was more like a squeak to me..." he said.

Then suddenly he began to drop towards the ground. He looked back to see that Happy was poisoned as well and was starting to feel weak.

"I feel... so weak..." groaned Happy as he tried to keep Natsu airborne.

"Happy! You gotta hang in there!" panicked Natsu. "We're losing altitude! If you don't do something quick, we're gonna die!"

"How was that?" called out Cobra. "Those who are hit by my Poison Dragon: Roar will become infected with viruses, gradually sapping away at your strength and life until you finally die. The moment my attack hit you, both of your fates were sealed. Continuing now would be pointless, so give up now and-"

"Shut your damn mouth!" roared Natsu as his magic power flared into life. At the same time, Happy managed to get his second wind and was able to get Natsu back into the air. "Poison don't mean anything to us! In fact, what do you say we shut this guy up for good Happy?! Ya with me?!"

"Aye, sir!" cried Happy with determination.

Cobra was shocked to see the two still having the strength to fight, but he quickly flashed a predatory grin.

"These guys either don't pay attention or they have one hell of a death wish!" he thought.

"FIRE DRAGON: WING ATTACK!"

Huge streams of fire erupted from Natsu's hands as he hurled the streams releasing a large shockwave of fire. Cobra leaped off Cubellios dodging the attack and then kicked Natsu in the stomach sending him reeling.

"I told you it's useless!" he yelled. "I can your every thought and move!"

"Come on Natsu! Will you stop thinking and beat this guy already!?" cried Happy. "This is getting annoying!"

"How about you just focus on flying and stop bossing me around?!" snapped Natsu.

"Enough with your lovers spat!" interrupted Cobra. "I'd like to finish this fight sometime today, that is if an older generation dragon slayer like yourself can continue fighting."

"Wait... older generation? What do you mean by that?" asked Natsu.

"I mean that I'm a part of a new wave of dragon slayers," said Cobra. "By having a dragon slayer's lacrima implanted into my body, I was able not only use dragon slayer magic but now I've become even more powerful than those who came before!"

"That's just like what Gramps was talking about before," said Natsu.

"Yeah! He's no different than Laxus!" said Happy indignantly. "He's a fake dragon slayer!"

"Oh please! Like your pyro friend is one to talk," scoffed Cobra. "There's no such thing as a real dragon slayer. Only dragons have the power to master such a magic and in this day and age, human's will never be able to obtain it because the dragons are long gone and extinct! Everyone knows that!"

Now Natsu was absolutely livid. He ignited his fist once again and shot straight at Cobra. "That's a filthy lie!" he yelled. "Igneel is not extinct! I know because I saw him with my own eyes!"

He punched at Cobra in anger, but Cobra ducked out of the way. "Get real kid! If you think he's so real, then how come no one but you had seen him? POISON DRAGON: TWIN FANG!"

Cobra then swiped his hands putting them into a cross and two streams of poison that were shaped like snakes shot out at Natsu and Happy hitting them and sending them recoiling into the air. At this point, Natsu's entire body felt numb and he felt weak and he could barely move.

"Looks like the poison has circulated throughout your body," said Cobra. "In a manner of seconds, you'll rot away and die. Hope you have a pleasant trip to the afterlife old generation.

"We can't take another hit like that..." groaned Happy weakly. "We have to do something before it's too late..."

Natsu then had an idea. "Happy... I want you to drop me on top of him," he said.

"What?! Has the poison made you crazy!?" cried Happy. "You can barely move anymore, and you want me to drop you!? What are you planning to do?!"

"Just trust me..." said Natsu. "We have to end this now... before it's too late..."

Cobra who had overheard everything the two said chuckled with triumph thinking his victory was assured. "Let me guess, a full-powered Fire Dragon Roar? Come on! When are you going to learn that it's not gonna work?!" he called. "I can hear every thought and move you make!"

"Happy! Now!" Natsu yelled weakly.

Happy then let go of Natsu making him free fall straight at Cobra. Natsu then prepared to unleash his breath attack. Cobra then flashed an evil smirk and then bounced off Cubellios' tail making himself right on top of him grabbing his head with his claw.

"Give it up. You were going for a wide-spread attack, so I wouldn't be able to dodge it," he said. "Think again! You won't be able to hit me if I'm behind you!" He then stood on Natsu's head using him like a board as they both plummeted towards a building. "I'm going to crush that empty skull of yours like an egg! Say goodbye and then say hello to your dragon in the afterlife!"

"NATSU!" cried Happy in horror as he saw his friend beginning to fall to his doom.

It seemed that Natsu would soon meet his end, but then what happened next, no one knew. Perhaps it was Natsu's instinct or perhaps he was enraged because being unable to hurt Cobra. Anyway, Natsu let out a tremendous and deafening yell. The yell was so loud that it echoed throughout Nirvana. It sounded just like a dragon roaring. Cobra having his ability to hear his every thought and move active picked up every single wave of that yell and it was too much for him to handle.

"MY EARS!" he yelled in agony as he fell off of Natsu and hit the ground with a thud.

Happy quickly took advantage by grabbing onto Natsu's back and pulled him up to safety.

Back on the Royal Throne, Brain once again felt another pang of Brain as yet another black line on his cheek vanished.

"I don't believe it," he murmured. "Even though it was just a fluke, he defeated Cobra by using his greatest strength against him. It would appear that I've underestimated our foes... greatly."

"What should we do now master?" asked Shark. "Another one of our comrades has fallen."

"I think it should be obvious Shark," said Brain. "It's time that we take action now, but we must do so immediately before it's too late. Take me to where the dragon slayers fell."

"Understood Master," said Shark as he spread his water wings and prepared to take flight.

Happy having to have saved Natsu from falling looked down at Cobra who was now unconscious.

"Wow... that was a pretty loud yell," he murmured. "What a set of pipes..."

"Y-yeah! I totally meant to do that!" said Natsu grinning. "Just goes to show that having great hearing isn't as great as you think! My plan worked perfectly!"

"That was dumb luck and you know it," said Happy flatly. Then the poison was now catching up with him as he began to drift slowly to the ground. "Oh man... I feel so good Natsu..." he mumbled.

"Me either..." said Natsu weakly. "It's because... of his poison..."

Soon enough, Natsu and Happy came crashing to the ground falling flat on their faces unable to stay airborne. Not only that, but Natsu began to feel his motion sickness come on.

"Oh man... this sucks," he groaned trying not to throw up. "Not only can't I move... but... now I'm on a vehicle too... It can't get any worse..."

Unfortunately, it did. For right then, Cobra had regained consciousness and was now standing above Natsu. He was covered with bruises and scratches and he was pissed having to have let Natsu get the upper hand on him.

"You bastard..." he growled. "I'm not finished yet... On my honor as one of the six demons, I swear with my entire being I will kill you!"

Natsu could only look up at Cobra as Cobra cloaked his hand with poison and prepared to finish off Natsu once and for all.

"I can hear it," continued Cobra as he raised up his hand preparing to strike down. "The sound of your life and the older generation of dragon slayers coming to an end! Say goodbye!"

Natsu shut his eyes and braced himself for the blow, but the blow never came. He also heard the sound of something being hit with a powerful blast of magic. He opened his eyes wondering what it was to see that Cobra had been struck from behind by someone he never would have thought would strike him, Brain. Cobra staggered as he looked back at his attacker with shock.

"You have done enough Cobra," said Brain as he lowered his staff. "You may stand down now."

"But... Brain... why...? What the hell... are you doing?!" demanded Cobra.

"You have done well. Extraordinarily in fact," said Brain. "But now you need to rest."

Then Cobra happened to listen to Brain's thoughts which revealed his true intentions of attacking him.

"How pathetic. What good is false dragon slayer to me? Especially one that could be so easily beaten by someone from an official guild," he heard him say. "Besides, I have a real dragon slayer by my side, so now there's no need for this trash anymore."

Cobra started at Brain at utter disbelief and his eyes filled up with tears of anger and betrayal as Brain chuckled evilly at him. He couldn't even believe what he had just heard.

"Oops. I'm very sorry. Did you hear that?" mocked Brain as he laughed even louder.

"How... how dare you!" yelled Cobra as he turned around fully towards his attacker. "You traitor! I'll make you pay for that!"

Having the strength to move and now completely overtaken with rage, Cobra leaped towards Brain cloaking his hand with poison in an attempt to take his revenge on the man. But then, someone barred his way and planted a powerful fist right in his gut intercepting him. Cobra looked down at the fist coughing up a little blood and looked up at the person who the fist belonged to.

"Shark..." he croaked. "Not you too..."

"I am sorry Cobra," said Shark. "But my master has ordered me to eliminate you, as you are no use to him anymore. In addition, anyone who dares to defy or harm my master shall pay the price. Even if you were an ally."

Shark punched Cobra again and making him stagger and then summoned his oil-colored water sword and shot past Cobra in a speed that he couldn't follow. A few seconds passed, and Cobra's chest burst with blood as two gashes in a cross on his chest appeared. He coughed tasting the blood in his mouth as he sank to his knees beginning to black out. As he started to fall unconscious, he remembered back to when he was a child at the Tower of Heaven. He could remember that fateful day to when he met a certain purple snake.

"My prayer... was to hear my one true friend's voice..." he thought. "That was all I ever wanted more than anything else..."

Just before he fell, he looked at his friend in particular who appeared to be confused as to what was going on.

"Cubellios..." he mumbled as he fell to the ground succumbing to his wounds.

Natsu having to have seen everything couldn't help, but feel sorry for Cobra. Not even he deserved to be treated like that even if he was his enemy. He looked at Brain with an angry scowl as he struggled to his knees.

"How could... you do that to him?" he spoke weakly, but angrily. "I thought... that he was your friend..."

"With the power, I have at my disposal, I will have no problem gathering more friends," said Brain. "Nirvana will make it so."

"Is that what you think friends are?!" growled Natsu. "You don't get those... with power and intimidation! That's nothing more... but a puppet!"

"Come now. There's no need to be so hostile," said Brain coolly. "After all, your power's proven to be quite intriguing. It would be good if I have a friend like you." He then smiled evilly and dangerously at Natsu. "Or to be put it in your words... to have you as my puppet. My second one at that."

"Second one?" wondered Natsu. "What do you mean... by that?"

But Brain ignored Natsu as he turned towards Shark. "Shark. I want you to take this dragon slayer with us," he said. "He may prove to be very useful to me."

"Understood Master," said Shark.

Brain the grabbed Natsu by the collar of his shirt and started dragging him along the ground heading back to the Royal Throne with Shark close behind.

I know, I know. Another chapter without Shark.

Some of you are getting bored and are about to go bat crazy insane for lack of Shark and boredom, and I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again.

Fear not! Hang in there a little longer!

This much I promise you. Things will get insane in the next chapter!

Until then... Dragoman out!