Okay, next chapter introduces new characters, but this one sets the stage for Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy's attacks on Fairy Tail's territory. That's about it, so as always, thanks for reading!
P.S. Please review!
Chapter 9: Three Dragons
The three dragons traveled for nearly a week before they were at the edge of the territory Gajeel had told them of.
They had chosen to spend the night in a well-hidden cave in a cliffside that overlooked a huge plain. In the grassland, they could see buffalo, deers, and even huge, hairy elephants eating the rich grasses. The hairy elephants were, in fact, mammoths. Even though it was summer, the huge animals seemed to be unaffected by the heat, however that worked.
Natsu was standing guard by the entrance of the cave while Gajeel and Wendy checked it out, but he was really transfixed by the huge masses of animals wandering the plains before him.
"Looks alright. There's a big cavern in the back where we can build a nest for at least two full size dragons. I think we should make this our base." Gajeel grunted, "It's far enough so that few dragon patrols will come here, there's plenty of food, it's hidden, and easily defensible."
"There's a water pool in the back." Wendy padded out from a large, winding path with a smile, "It's fresh, clean water. I think it's from an underground reservoir or something, but it's really tasty."
Natsu nodded, "So we all agree that we should stay here?" At the agreement of the other two, Natsu looked back over the plains, "I don't think this should be our only base, though. It'll get really obvious if we stay here for long- the other dragons will definitely notice the prey disappearing from the plains."
Gajeel shrugged, "That's fine. So, we'll switch locations every few weeks, work around the territory and raid human villages while we're at it. That'll piss em' off."
Wendy frowned, "Why attack the humans?"
"Because the humans support the Thunders." Gajeel sighed, "As crazy as it sounds, the humans actually allow the dragons to live by their cities and damn near worship them as long as the Thunder defends them from outside threats. Like us." The Iron Drake bared his fangs in a grin, "But they won't even know what hit em'."
Natsu shook his head in amazement, "I still don't get how dragons and humans could coexist on this continent. I mean, the first humans I met here killed my mother, and the next were trying to kidnap dragons."
"Yeah, I know about the coastal ones." Gajeel muttered, "They were attacked a few years back by a dragon, or so I was told. It was a nasty surprise, so they adopted a, "Kill first, ask questions later" approach when dragons came by."
"What about those slave traders?" Wendy asked, seeming to shrink from the thought of the barbaric men.
Gajeel curled his lip in a sneer, "Those bastards work for a King in another country of this continent. Apparently, the old geezer is building a, "Revolutionary Army" of men and dragons to take over the world. Bah! He's just turning dragons into flying horses! Men are supposed to ride them, ride! Can you believe that?! It's just ridiculous!"
Natsu scraped the rocky floor with his claws angrily, "You know, I think one of the first things we should do when we take over this Thunder is put that bastard in his place. I'll bet he's never tried fighting a dragon before. We ought to see how he handles one of us baring our fangs at him."
Wendy nodded, "And he's kidnapped so many dragons already…My mom might be one of them! She got away, but I think she was hurt…they could have caught up with her…"
"Yeah, we have to free those dragons as well." Natsu growled, "So that's the plan. Raid this Thunder's land until they're weak enough for us to hammer them hard. We'll take them over, build up our forces, and move in on that bastard who's kidnapping dragons. After that, we head south and wipe Acnologia off the face of the planet. Sound good?"
"Sounds like a plan, I'd say. Gee-hee!" Gajeel cackled.
Wendy smiled with determination, "We'll definitely do it! We can definitely free the dragons and make the mean black one go away!"
Natsu grinned, "So, let's get a good night's sleep and we'll start scouting the territory tomorrow. Once we know what we're dealing with, we'll hit them from the weakest point, and just work our way up until they can't ignore us anymore. Goodnight, guys."
"Sweet dreams!" Wendy chirped.
Gajeel yawned, "Yeah, sure, whatever." The Iron Drake trudged to the big cavern he'd spoken of and was soon heard lying down. A moment later, a deep snoring reverberated through the cave.
Wendy turned to follow him, but glanced at Natsu, "What about you?"
"I'm gonna keep watch for a bit." Natsu said, "You get some sleep."
The young dragon hesitated, then went towards him instead and settled down at the Flame Drake's side.
Natsu raised an eyebrow, "You okay?"
"It's cold back there." Wendy mumbled.
Natsu realized that he couldn't tell if it was cold or not because of his inner flame, so he spread one wing and blanketed it over the little dragon.
Wendy opened one eye and smiled, "Thank you."
"No problem." Natsu said, "Can't have you freezing before we find your mom, can we?"
"Nope." she hummed with laughter, then sighed, "I hope my mom's okay…"
He nodded, "So do I. I really hope she's still alive…" Natsu trailed off and stared into the distance.
Wendy glanced at him, "Your mom died, didn't she?"
"Yes." he murmured.
"Your dad, too?" she asked.
Natsu nodded, "We were…we were living in a volcano. The day after I got my wings, an earthquake made the volcano erupt. When we tried to get my parent's Dragon Jewel out of the volcanic pit, Acnologia attacked us."
He shivered at the memory, "It got me first. I never even saw it coming. That's how I got this scar on my neck, see?" Natsu shifted his head so the huge slash mark from the black dragon's fangs was clearly visible to the young dragon.
Wendy shuddered, "That looks like it hurt a lot…"
"It nearly killed me." he admitted, "But my mother and I got away because my father stayed behind to fight that monster. After that…well, we headed for the ocean and flew over here."
Natsu decided to avoid bringing Kagura into the conversation. He would never be able to admit to Wendy, and especially Gajeel that he'd once been friends with a human.
He shook his head to clear the girl from his thoughts and continued, "But we came onto a human city when we finally reached the continent. Mother…" Natsu blinked moisture from his eyes and spoke coldly, "Those humans just didn't let up. I tore the ship apart and killed its crew, but I couldn't protect her…I was too weak…"
Wendy frowned, "I don't think you're weak. You saved me and Gajeel, how could you be weak?"
"It's probably because I didn't have my breath attack back then." Natsu muttered, "In fact, that time at the cave was the first time I used my breath. I'd never been so angry in my life until I saw what those humans did."
"But you're not weak." Wendy insisted, "Maybe you weren't as strong as you are now, but you aren't weak. You took down the whole ship and crew, didn't you? But you're not even fully grown! Just imagine how strong you'll be when your an adult dragon!"
Natsu smiled. He couldn't help it, what with Wendy's optimism and cheerful words. He lay his head down and murmured, "Thanks, Wendy. That means a lot."
"I know." she hummed, "You needed someone to make you feel better, and no offense to Gajeel, but I think he'd just tell you to toughen up."
Natsu laughed for the first time in a long time at that. Indeed, Gajeel would have been curt about his story to say the least.
Wendy smiled now that he was no longer depressed and closed her eyes, "Goodnight, Natsu."
"Yeah, you too." he chuckled, then focused back on the dark plains for watch duty.
But the night didn't seem so dark anymore.
/\/\/\/\/\
The next morning, there was a problem.
Gajeel's belly rumbled loudly, almost as loudly as the Iron Drake's snoring.
Not that Natsu or Wendy mentioned this to him.
"Damn, I'm starved." Gajeel complained, "Maybe we should get something to eat before we go out looking for another temporary base."
"You know, I'm pretty hungry too, Natsu." Wendy added.
Natsu sighed, "Alright, let's go hunting. What do you two want?"
"Mammoth." Gajeel grunted.
Natsu blinked, "Say again? I don't think I heard you right."
"Mammoth." Gajeel repeated.
The cave was quiet for a moment.
"…You're crazy." Natsu decided, "We're not-"
"-strong enough to take out a hairy elephant?" Gajeel demanded, "Have you forgotten what we can do? We can fly, you can breathe fire, and me," The Iron Drake grinned, "My breath can shred just about anything in sight. What are we up against? Oh, yeah, a big, furry animal with a couple of pointy tusks. Ooh, so scary."
Natsu hesitated, but Wendy spoke up, "Natsu, I think this might be a good idea. I mean, you and Gajeel could eat something as big as a buffalo and still be hungry, but one mammoth might be enough for the three of us to eat and not have to hunt again. And it might help your confidence."
"I don't have confidence issues." he muttered.
Gajeel saw the weakness and dug in, "Yeah, right! You were just worried about tackling a walking mountain of meat! How do you expect to take down a Thunder with that attitude, huh?!"
Natsu bared his fangs, "I'll do what I have to when I have to! You think I'm afraid of prey, is that it?!"
"That's what it sounds like, you damn flame brain!" Gajeel bellowed.
That was it.
Natsu roared, "I'll show you! I'll take the damn mammoth down myself! I'm all fired up!"
"Well then, GO!" Gajeel roared back, "We're hungry, you punk!"
Natsu flew out of the cave without another word, just snarling with anger.
Wendy giggled once he was gone, "Gajeel, you did that on purpose."
"That I did." Gajeel cackled, "And I don't even have to hunt my lunch. Gee-hee!"
/
"Afraid of prey. Bah!" Natsu muttered to himself. He flew up over the herds on the plain and scanned the mammoths for a suitable target. He found the biggest bull he could see and made his decision.
Natsu dove down silently, then landed on the beast's back with a roar, sinking his claws in deep and snapping at its neck.
The mammoth trumpeted in panic and shook itself violently, trying to dislodge him. Natsu was surprised by its power, realizing that the beast was plenty strong enough to fight back. It nearly shook him off, had Natsu not dug in and braced himself for the mammoth's thrashing.
He lashed his tail and folded his wings to keep his balance while the mammoth tried to shake him off, trumpeting with ridiculous volume. Natsu struggled to hold on and bit down on the huge animal's neck, but quickly realized that the thick fat in its body made piercing the arteries and veins difficult.
The mammoth, now beyond reason, started running, which resulted in the whole herd bolting into a stampede. Natsu clung on for dear life, knowing if he fell, he'd be trampled to death.
This isn't working so well, he thought. Natsu considered using fire, but that wasn't how he typically killed prey. It almost seemed like cheating. The other animal couldn't breathe fire- why should he?
That said, he wasn't coming up with many alternatives.
"Oi, oi, seriously!?"
He looked up as Gajeel flew overhead with an astounded look, "You're crazy!"
"Well don't just watch, help me out!" Natsu roared.
The Iron Drake dove down with a bellow, making the stampeding herd panic even more and scatter. Once he had a clear shot, Gajeel flew low and rammed into the mammoth's side, making it go off-balance.
Natsu leaped off as the mammoth toppled to the ground and trumpeted with alarm. He skidded to a stop and spun around to face the huge animal as it struggled to its feet. Gajeel was already on top of it, sinking his fangs into the beast's neck with as much force as he could muster. Natsu rushed the mammoth and attacked from the other side before it could shake the Iron Drake loose.
The two drakes locked their jaws onto the mammoth's neck and held on, gripping the monster's tusks with their claws to keep its head still. But it was unbelievably powerful, strong enough to rear up on its hind legs with an earth-shaking bellow, then slam into the ground and almost stun them into releasing it.
Hellfire, it's strong! Natsu thought in shock.
"Gee-heehehahaha!" Gajeel laughed crazily, even though his jaws were still firmly clamped on the mammoth's neck.
The mammoth kept trumpeting and thrashing in an effort to make them release it, but the dragons held fast and stubbornly refused to let go.
/\/\/\/\/\
It took nearly an hour for the mammoth to finally grow too exhausted to fight back, while Natsu and Gajeel were equally tired. They'd been shaken all over the place and would definitely feel it in the morning, but the two drakes hadn't let go despite the difficulty.
They still hadn't pierced the mammoth's vulnerable arteries, but their grip on it's neck was making it suffocate. At last, when the beast no longer had enough oxygen to keep going, it collapsed to its knees.
Gajeel let it go and pulled back to ram into its side, making the mammoth topple over. Natsu quickly leaped back to avoid getting crushed by its huge bulk, but he was on it again almost immediately.
The two drakes clamped down on the throat for another two minutes before the mammoth finally gave up and died.
Natsu sat back and panted for breath, "Geez…that wasn't…hard at all…"
"What are..you tired for…?" Gajeel gasped, "That was..easy…you wimp…"
Natsu glared at him, "What..was that?"
Gajeel bared his fangs, "You're…a wimp…"
The plains were silent for a brief moment.
Natsu lunged at Gajeel and tackled him with a roar, "I'll show you who's the wimp, you scrap-iron bastard!"
"Bring it on, you damn flame brain!" Gajeel bellowed and threw him aside.
While the two drakes started snapping and slashing at each other, they failed to notice Wendy, who had come down from the cliff on her own, pad up and stare at them as she came close to the mammoth carcass.
The little dragon licked her lips and smiled happily, "Well, thanks for the meal, you two!"
And she proceeded to eat while the drakes continued to fight.
/\/\/\/\/\
Later, the three dragons simply relaxed in the cave to recover their lost strength.
Wendy sighed, "Wow…I haven't been so full in my life…"
"I second that." Gajeel agreed, then belched.
Natsu snorted, "That mammoth was pretty good, wasn't it? But now we should probably leave this area for a while. Even between the three of us, we couldn't eat the whole thing. Other animals are bound to notice a half-eaten mammoth just lying out in the plains."
"You mean other dragons." Gajeel muttered, "You're probably right. Well, now that we've had breakfast, let's head out. I'm going to head to the eastern part of this territory. You and Wendy should head west. We'll hit Fairy Tail hard from both ends of their turf."
"Why do you think it's called Fairy Tail?" Wendy asked curiously, "I mean, it's not a bad name, but still…where did they come up with that?"
"One way to find out." Natsu got up and stretched, "We beat this Thunder and ask them. So let's move."
Gajeel grunted, "Right. We'll meet up here every three weeks. In between those meetings, we raid the human villages, hunt the Thunder's prey, and wreak whatever other havoc we can until they're so confused and divided that we can attack them head on."
Natsu and Wendy murmured agreement.
From there, Gajeel flew off east to begin their plan, while Natsu carried Wendy west to do the same.
/\/\/\/\/\
A week after they separated, Gajeel came to a small valley with a human settlement built in the center. It looked fairly prosperous, with many people, livestock, and homes concentrated inside a few square miles. The people looked happy, relaxed.
Safe.
Not for long, Gajeel thought as he licked his lips and grinned, "Gee-hee…"
/
On the opposite side of the territory, Natsu spotted a watch tower in a forested region.
Wendy called down from his back, "You think they've seen us already?"
"I'm sure they have." Natsu answered, "But we'll leave a few of them alive. If Fairy Tail knows that it's got attackers, they'll be on edge. And if we never attack them directly, they'll just get edgier and edgier until they snap from the inside. That's what we're aiming for- so let's blow up the tower and terrorize a few people."
"Um…I might not be so good at that…" Wendy muttered weakly.
Natsu offered a grin back at her, "You don't have to do much. Just hiss and growl, snap at a few people, and don't get hurt. Leave the rest to me."
"O-okay!" she replied, seeming to be a little relieved.
"Alright, let's go!" Natsu bellowed and dove for the watch tower, already hearing the shouts of panicking men.
The takeover had begun.