Okay, got another chapter up! Now the story moves from Natsu growing up to the actual plot. From this point on, things will get much better action wise. That's it for now, so as always, please review and thanks for reading!
Chapter 5: Shattered Peace
Natsu woke up and stretched, then growled. His spine itched. With a glance back, he appraised the swollen wing casings, which looked ready to burst any minute. Natsu's belly rumbled, and he could feel the heat more prominently than the day before.
He was ten years old now.
Sunrose was already awake, while Igneel slumbered at her side. She watched her son get up and start pacing.
"Don't make yourself crazy, Natsu." she said, "It won't be long now."
"I don't know how I'm going to stand it." he hissed, "It feels like bugs are crawling all over my scales."
Sunrose hummed with sympathy, "I know, little one, but be patient. It's worth the wait."
Natsu grunted, then thrashed his tail with a snarl, "Grah! Can't I just rub against a rock?! I'll do anything to get this itch out of my back!"
His mother sighed, "Well, try lying in the water pool. I'll warm the water. It should help a little, at least."
"I won't fit." he muttered in exasperation.
That was an understatement.
Having reached his first decade, Natsu had really grown up. Nine meters long, muscular, and by now a seriously powerful young dragon, even if he still didn't have his fire. His scales were now fully colored, in bright shades of crimson and salmon. The flame patterns on his jaws and neck were more vibrant than ever. Natsu's claws, teeth, and spines had definitely grown out too. And now he had small horns coming from the base of his skull.
Forget the days when Natsu made an effort out of killing bear, now it was usually just one bite: gone. The only things keeping him from being a true dragon were his lack of wings and inability to breathe fire. Which would soon be available to him.
Sunrose seemed to realize that the water pool was indeed to small for Natsu to submerge his irate spine and shook her head, "Well, then you'll just have to wait it out. I did. Your father did. I know it's not easy, but just hold out a little longer."
She sniffed his wing casings and murmured, "You're so close. It won't be more than an hour at the most."
"I'm not going to wait a whole hour with this itch!" Natsu hissed.
He usually wasn't so ill-tempered, but the itching was seriously driving him insane. The casings were being strained because his wings were fully grown and ready to come out. But for whatever reason, nature made it notoriously difficult for the wings to burst free.
Igneel was woken by the ruckus and stared at the source of his son's immense discomfort. He grunted, "Natsu, go out to the woods and rub those against a tree. Bark won't damage your wings, and it'll keep the mess outside."
"Thank you!" Natsu didn't hesitate a second and almost flew out of the cave. Sunrose barely jumped out to catch him and lower the young drake to the safety of the ground.
She sighed as they landed, "Do remember before you jump out of our cave that you can't fly yet and the drop is nearly three hundred feet."
"Yeah, thanks mom!" Natsu hissed back and shot off into the woods.
Sunrose shook her head and hummed with amusement, "Always on the move."
/
Natsu tried a few pine trees first, but he was so desperate to relieve the itching that he knocked them over. When that plan failed, his eyes found a huge oak.
Without hesitating, Natsu raked the right side of his back across the tree. The wing casing swelled even more, then caught a jagged bit of wood and was finally pierced. Natsu gasped with relief, but kept rubbing the tree, opening the casing more and more until at last, his right wing came out in a spray of blood.
Yes!
Natsu turned and watched his wing extend, trembling from the strain of breaking free. It was dripping blood from the casing, but he'd worry about that later.
His left side needed attention. NOW.
After shredding the case on his left and freeing the other wing, Natsu reared up and spread his wings out, letting the air dry them. He turned his head and licked the wounds where his wing cases had been, nipping off loose bits of skin that still remained.
Freeing a dragon's wings was a messy business, if the streams of blood running down his sides said anything, but the relief of finally being able to reach the sky was instantaneous and extraordinary.
Natsu's wings were colored the same bright crimson as his body, with the membrane being pitch-black, but with light salmon markings coloring the dark with flame patterns. Spread to the max, his wingspan reached nearly sixty feet.
Overjoyed, Natsu turned his head skyward and bellowed in ecstasy.
/
His parents heard the roar from the cavern and laughed.
"Very excited, isn't he?" Sunrose hummed.
Igneel chuckled, "I was. All dragons are. It means he can finally touch the heavens."
/
The roar echoed for miles, frightening animals and humans alike, who started casting uneasy glances towards the skies.
Only one looked towards the direction of the sound with interest.
/
Now Natsu learned to fly.
He started by just running along the ground with his wings spread, jumping when he felt an updraft of air. After a few tries, he managed to glide, albeit shakily. Once he gained his balance, Natsu tried flapping his wings while gliding. In no time, he was flying over the treetops. But that was easy.
Instinctively, Natsu climbed. He flew up in a spiral shape, trying to reach the highest point he could. When at last the air was too chilly and his breathing too hard, Natsu tucked in his wings and fell.
Exhilaration would never be enough of a word to describe the feeling Natsu had while falling towards earth. It was an utterly perfect freedom. He cried out in jubilation, corkscrewing through the air. And still, he continued to fall.
Natsu finally spread his wings again and pulled up, recovering from his free fall. Gasping for air, his head still swam from the altitude and ecstasy, so he glided lazily to the entrance of the cave.
He staggered a little when he landed, but he didn't care. Natsu had never felt so free in his life.
Igneel and Sunrose saw him land, so they got up immediately and walked over to their son.
"Natsu, you've flown!" Sunrose cried joyously, licking her son's forehead despite his protest.
Igneel almost purred, "You've finally become a lord of the skies. Congratulations."
"Thanks." he panted, then grinned, "That was just…I've never felt so good in my life."
"Isn't flying simply amazing?" Sunrose hummed.
Natsu laughed, "That's an understatement."
Igneel chuckled, "Well, let's celebrate with a hunt, shall we? All of us, flying together."
Natsu and Sunrose agreed without hesitation. And so the family flew out together for the first time.
/\/\/\/\/\
Their hunt was one of the greatest the dragons had experienced.
Natsu, Igneel, and Sunrose all ate their fill, returning to the cave with satisfied bellies.
During the flight and the hunt, Natsu had felt the heat in his stomach warm up further. He now sniffed his scaled underbelly with curiosity, "I hope I get my fire soon…"
"Won't be long." Igneel grunted, "Dragon's breath always comes soon after the wings."
Sunrose nodded, "We should ask Atlas Flame and Fire Lily to come again. They haven't been here in quite some time. I'm sure they'd love to fly with Natsu."
In fact, Atlas Flame and Fire Lily had made frequent visits to the dragon family over the last ten years. They'd enjoyed spending time with their friends, or family in Fire Lily's case. Though lately, they hadn't come for a visit because of an internal issue amongst the fire dragons.
Smaug had only come one other time since Natsu's first year. When the young dragon was seven, the huge drake had taken him with Igneel to go hunt the elephant herds. Even though he had been too small to hunt the giant mammals, Natsu had loved it. Just watching his father and Smaug take on the beasts was more than a little exciting for a young drake.
Natsu grinned at his mother, "I'd like that."
"Before we talk about another visit, let's sleep." Igneel muttered, tired from the hunt.
He lay down, and Sunrose followed him. Natsu joined them with a satisfied sigh. His head was still spinning with glee.
I'm really a dragon now…
/\/\/\/\/\
When Natsu woke up, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, casting it's bleeding rays of light over the landscape. It looked like flames were bathing the forest, but he had no time to appreciate its beauty.
Something felt…different.
Natsu nudged his mother with his nose, "Mother, wake up."
Sunrose lifted her head with bleary eyes and a yawn, "What is it, Natsu?"
"Does something seem…off..to you?" he asked.
His mother frowned, then sniffed the air. Her eyes narrowed, "Yes…But..I can't quite…Igneel, get up."
The flame dragon growled and opened one eye, "What?"
Then the earth shook.
The dragons froze as the cave rumbled ominously beneath their feet, then settled down.
Natsu's scales were bristling, "What was that?"
Igneel slowly rose to his feet and sniffed the air a few times, "It couldn't be…This volcano has been dead for nearly a century…"
"It's not the volcano." Sunrose murmured, "That was an earthquake. I think it was just the shock waves, but still…it feels like it might have-"
The earth rumbled again, more strongly and more dangerously. Then it settled down again.
"…woken up the volcano." Sunrose finished with wide eyes.
Igneel walked towards the cave mouth abruptly, "Come on, you two. This cave isn't safe right now. And we need to get our ruby out of the volcano pit."
Natsu and Sunrose followed him out without a second thought.
But they would never see the nest again.
/
Igneel went down to the volcanic crater and moved the boulder, then retrieved the hidden ruby. He flew back up to his family as the most powerful tremor yet cracked the frozen lava below.
Sunrose shook her head, "It's coming back to life. I didn't think it was possible."
"Watch this closely, Natsu." Igneel murmured, "Few ever see a volcano born, and fewer still have the privilege to see one come back to life. Nothing like this will ever happen again for several more millennia."
Natsu was watching, but something else on the wind had his attention. He scrunched his nose up, "What is that? This wind reeks…"
Sunrose scanned the horizon, "I don't see anything. You're probably smelling sulfur. It's not the best smelling thing in the world, but it's not harmful to flame dragons. Don't worry about it."
"No, that's not it." Natsu muttered, shaking his head, "It doesn't smell like fire…it's more like a-AHHHH!"
Something clamped down on his neck with razor sharp teeth. Natsu screeched in pain.
Igneel and Sunrose stared in horror. All they had seen was a black blur, then heard Natsu's scream.
The black dragon…
Acnologia.
The beast had dove down from above, which was why its scent had been so hard to detect. Now it had Natsu in a death grip and was tearing through the scales on his neck. Even as he struggled to get free, Natsu realized with terror that Acnologia was over a hundred feet long, easily three times his size.
He stood no chance against that monster.
"NATSU!" Sunrose shrieked and lunged for the black dragon, biting and slashing at Acnologia madly in an effort to make it free her son. Impossibly, it ignored her with little more than a growl.
Igneel changed that.
The Flame Drake slammed into Acnologia full force, making it stagger in midair. The beast released Natsu and spun with a hiss of fury, snapping at Igneel as spittle flew from its jaws. Igneel answered with a torrent of fire and an enraged roar from his open maw.
Natsu dropped like a rock, falling as another earthquake ruptured the volcanic crater and generated an explosion of lava. He was barely conscious. The pain from his wound was excruciating and he briefly wondered if his neck was broken.
Sunrose dove after him and caught her son in her claws, lifting him above the geyser of lava. Her eyes were locked on him with a horrified light, "Natsu! Igneel, he's hurt!"
"Get him out of here!" Igneel roared as he dodged another bite from Acnologia. He flapped twice to rise above it quickly, then banked sharply and twisted to sink his fangs into the base of the monster's skull.
Acnologia screeched, not in pain, but rage. Igneel felt he couldn't pierce the incredibly tough scales and instead let his body drop onto the huge black dragon, weighing it down while he got a death grip on its neck and wing.
Sunrose started to fly off with Natsu in her claws, but Acnologia wasn't about to let them get away so easily. Even with Igneel weighing it down, the black dragon flapped its wings madly and rammed Sunrose into the side of the volcano with all its power.
Her scales cracked from the force and a sharp rock pierced deep into her back leg. Sunrose shrieked in pain and shook the black dragon off, carrying Natsu out of its reach. She knew her leg was definitely broken, but she clung to her son despite the agony, otherwise she wouldn't be able to carry him. Even if he wasn't fully grown, Natsu was still too large to carry with just three legs.
Acnologia roared after them, enraged that its prey was escaping. It started charging blue energy in its mouth, preparing to shoot them down with a breath attack.
Igneel's claw came around and slammed its jaw shut, preventing the black dragon from firing. Then the Flame Drake spun Acnologia so it was belly up and twisted his body to appear on top of the monster again. Igneel and Acnologia roared point blank at each other, generating a volume of sound that made the volcano tremble even more.
"You die here!" Igneel bellowed and clamped his jaws onto Acnologia's throat, then blasted it with every bit of breath he had. The black dragon snarled in rage and slashed at him with its claws, but couldn't sink its fangs into Igneel's hide with its neck currently immobilized.
They fell as the volcano erupted violently, dousing the two warring dragons in an explosion of magma.
/
Sunrose watched with horror as the volcano exploded with Igneel and Acnologia still battling within it. In her claws, Natsu managed to keep conscious enough to stare at the burst of fire which climbed higher into the sky than he ever had.
Lava trailed out of the crater and doused their cave in a burning river, incinerating the nest.
Sunrose's lower lip quivered as she sobbed, "Goodbye my love…"
Feeling her heart breaking from loss, Sunrose flew off with Natsu still in her grasp, desperate to save the last of her family.
"GRRAAAHHHHHH!"
The roar made her stop dead. Sunrose's head whipped around as she saw a blur explode out of the ash cloud and take to the sky. The fire in her became cold.
Acnologia had survived.
Natsu saw the monster fly up over the volcano and managed a weak gasp, "D-dad…"
"Hush." Sunrose whispered, then flew as fast as she could, ignoring the pain in her leg. She had to get Natsu out of there, before the black dragon saw them.
In desperation, Sunrose thought about making for the direction of the Fire Capital, but it was on the other side of the erupting volcano and Acnologia…
She swallowed and decided to head for the coast. It was closer, and there was more cloud cover that way. She could hide herself and Natsu in the white so Acnologia couldn't find them.
/\/\/\/\/\
Sunrose didn't stop flying until the sky was dark and she could no longer hear Acnologia's terrible roars, which only deepened the pain in her broken heart.
But eventually, she had to land.
Natsu had fallen unconscious during the flight, but his mother couldn't afford to stop and check on him. There was still a risk that Acnologia was still pursuing them, but even the black dragon had to stop flying at night. Even it needed to rest sometime.
Sunrose landed carefully on a beach and dragged Natsu into a small cavern. The pain in her leg was almost too much to put weight on, so she collapsed to her side the moment Natsu was safely in the dark.
She sniffed the wound on her son's neck. There was a deep gash, one that would definitely scar over once it healed. If it healed. Natsu had lost a great amount of blood from the injury, and nothing was certain for him.
Sunrose felt tears in her eyes and did her best to lick the wound clean, only stopping once she couldn't see blood trickle anymore. Natsu also seemed to sleep easier, his breathing becoming deeper and slower.
She sighed and looked at her own injury. Her wound was also deep, and had certainly cracked the bone. Sunrose did her best to lick it clean, but it hurt every time she touched the injury. She did what she could and settled down, laying her head beside Natsu's.
Igneel.
Sunrose cried. Igneel couldn't have been killed by lava, but the fact that he hadn't risen from the crater could only mean that Acnologia had fatally wounded him. The dragonelle knew that he was more than likely dead, gone with the precious ruby they'd held so dear. All she had left of her mate was Natsu.
Sunrose draped her wing over her injured son, keeping him warm in the cold, dark cave. I swear I'll protect you, Natsu. I won't ever let anyone hurt you again. I promise…