Keeping Secrets

by SlitheryOwl777

Natsu finds himself alone after Igneel's death and makes a shocking discovery about his past. Facing many new enemies and challenges, will Natsu's attempts to save his brother put him on a collision course with his beloved guild? Set after Tartaros, before Avatar.

11. Depths Of The Soul

Welcome back! Hope y'all enjoy Natsu's battle with Larcade... and the aftermath :)

KEEPING SECRETS CHP. 11- DEPTHS OF THE SOUL

Natsu walked back into the arena, the crowd roaring in excitement again. As he made his way to the center, Neinhart's voice boomed, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S TIME FOR PRINCE NATSU'S FINAL MATCH AGAINST HIS CHALLENGERS FROM THE SPRIGGAN 12! BUT FIRST, LET'S GIVE THE SPRIGGAN 12'S VALIANT LEADER, LORD AUGUST, A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR RESTORING THE ARENA!" Neinhart waited for the applause to die down before continuing, "NOW, I KNOW ALL OF YOU ARE DYING TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PRINCE, AND TO THAT END I HAVE GOOD NEWS- AFTER TODAY'S FESTIVITIES THE IMPERIAL REPORTER WILL BE CONDUCTING AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE PRINCE!"

"HOWEVER, UNTIL THEN, HIS FISTS WILL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO DO THE TALKING!" Dimaria enthusiastically added.

Meanwhile, Natsu had a look of pure bewilderment on his face. Exclusive interview?

In the royal box, Invel narrowed his eyes at Zeref. "You did inform Natsu about the interview, right, Your Majesty?"

Zeref kept his same solemn expression and continued to stare forward, refusing to make eye contact with Invel. "I... may have forgotten."

Invel sighed. "And suddenly, the resemblance between you and the prince deepens." He deadpanned.

"PRINCE NATSU'S OPPONENT IS SOMEONE YOU ALL KNOW WELL! HIS FANCLUB IS UNRIVALED AMONG THE TWELVE! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET'S HEAR A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR LARCADE DRAGNEEL!"

The crowd cheered as Larcade made his way to the center of the arena slowly, a tranquil expression on his face and steps seemingly full of confidence. Natsu rolled his eyes as he heard many women of various ages declare their love for Larcade.

"AS YOU ALL SURELY KNOW, LARCADE HAS BEEN IN THE SERVICE OF HIS MAJESTY FOR MANY YEARS NOW. HIS MAJESTY EVEN SO KINDLY BESTOWED HIS OWN FAMILY NAME TO LARCADE SINCE HE HAD NO FAMILY OF HIS OWN!" Neinhart said.

"YEAH, AND OUT OF THE PRINCE'S THREE CHALLENGERS, LARCADE DEFINITELY SEEMED THE MOST AGGRESSIVE IN HIS INITIAL APPROACH!" Dimaria added. "GUESS THERE'S SOME BAD BLOOD THERE!"

Larcade locked eyes with Natsu as he approached his uncle, tranquil face unchanging. "I'll admit uncle, you did very well in your matches against Ajeel and God Serena. Your power is impressive..." His tranquil smile curled into a smirk. "But not impressive enough to defeat me. I hope you've enjoyed your fifteen minutes of fame as prince of Alvarez, for it is rapidly approaching its conclusion. After today, you will no longer be welcome here. And father will no doubt see having you here was nothing more than momentary nostalgia."

"Wonder why he spent the week training me then." Natsu said, laughing as he saw Larcade's haughty look melt off his face.

Larcade's shock was quickly replaced with a furious scowl. "Your attempts to get under my skin with deception will get you nowhere, Uncle Natsu. We'll settle this with our fists!"

He really thinks that was a lie? Pfffft. Natsu tried not to laugh as he answered, "Fine by me."

In the royal box, Irene raised an eyebrow. "Your Majesty, did you really tell Larcade you would make Natsu leave Alvarez if he lost to Larcade today?"

Zeref chuckled. "Natsu agreed to Larcade's terms, I did not. Let's just say, regardless of the outcome today, Larcade will not be pleased. If he was smart, he'd throw the match. But seeing that he's not... well, it's probably for the best anyway. Natsu would be so disappointed if he did and I hate to see my brother so upset. So, we'll let them have their fun." Zeref summoned a flame to his hand for the final time that day, launching it across the sky.

"BEGIN!"

Natsu wasted no time launching himself towards Larcade, who raised his arms. "No human can resist their desires! Not even you, Uncle Natsu! Now, experience pleasure like you have never felt before!" White light seemed to flow from Larcade's fingertips. Natsu stopped in his tracks, falling to the ground, biting his lip and hands clenched.

"LARCADE'S PLEASURE MAGIC HAS BROUGHT PRINCE NATSU DOWN!" Dimaria's voice came over the loudspeakers.

"OH NO! THOSE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED LARCADE'S POWER KNOW OF ITS ABILITY TO BRING THE MIGHTIEST WARRIORS TO THEIR KNEES!"

"SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE THERE, NEINHART?" Dimaria's teasing voice came, followed by laughter from the audience.

"No comment."

"I hope you are in ecstasy, dear uncle," Larcade said as he approached, "for now-"

Larcade had walked close enough to fire a point-blank attack at his uncle, which is what Natsu was waiting for. He smirked, before yelling, "FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" His flame coated fist slammed into Larcade's face with an awful sounding crunch. Larcade went flying into the arena wall.

In the royal box, Zeref looked pleased as he commented, "Just as planned."

"A FAKE OUT! A BRILLIANT MOVE FROM PRINCE NATSU!" Neinhart exclaimed, his voice taking on a more suggestive tone as he said, "WHICH IF LARCADE'S MAGIC FAILED TO TAKE EFFECT, THAT MEANS THE PRINCE IS-"

"EXTREMELY RIGHTEOUS AND PURE OF HEART!" Dimaria cut him off, covering their mics, scowling at the other spriggan. "This is being broadcast all throughout the Empire! There are kids watching, you know!" She hissed.

"Haha, sorry... I got a bit lost in my excitement there..." Neinhart said quietly, smiling and laughing nervously.

Back on the arena floor, Larcade picked himself off of the ground, spitting out blood and a broken tooth out as he did. Intense pain radiated from his face, and he realized his nose was broken. Wiping blood from his nostrils, he glared at his uncle. "That was quite underhanded, Uncle Natsu."

Natsu smirked. "Yeah, well you can thank your dear old dad for that one."

Larcade felt a vein popping out on his forehead. "Father would have never- no, I don't care! I should have known better than to use that power on you! But my next attack is one you will undoubtedly fall to!" Taking the giant metal cross off his back, he flung it at Natsu like a boomerang. "FAMISHED SOUL!" Larcade raised his hands, and beams of light shot into the air yet again.

Natsu blinked rapidly as the giant metal cross flying at him suddenly transformed into... a giant flying pizza?! It's fine, I knew this was coming. Just ignore it, it's not a real pizza... However, the gnawing hunger in Natsu continued to grow at an unbelievable pace, and before he knew it, his body moved on its own to catch the giant pizza in between his teeth.

Except it was still a giant metal cross, not a pizza.

Ow ow ow ow ow! Natsu released the cross from his jaws, grabbing at his aching mouth. Larcade laughed at his uncle's distress. "Blades of light!" Around a dozen spears made of white-yellow light came flying towards Natsu. Distracted by the intense throbbing pain in his mouth, his movements were sloppy, and he didn't dodge as well as he would have liked, several of the blades grazing his sides, blood spraying from his wounds.

"I've done my homework on you, dear Uncle Natsu. I know how much you love to eat. I admit, you've put up a good effort, but it's time for this to be done." Larcade summoned a massive light blade and began moving towards Natsu.

Natsu grit his teeth. Larcade was approaching him, a smug look on his face, readying himself to hurl the blade of light at Natsu. This is my chance. I can't quit now! He inhaled deeply and allowed himself to be absorbed by his ever-growing ravenous hunger. Larcade's smirking figure was suddenly replaced by a giant chicken leg with a fork made of light sticking out of the top.

Natsu eyed his 'meal' ravenously. "DINNER!" He screamed, manically lunging towards Larcade. Larcade's eyes widened and startled, he stumbled back, his light blade disappearing. His shock had slowed him down, and he was unable to dodge his uncle's sharp teeth digging into his right arm.

Larcade screamed in pain, attempting to push, shake, and blast his uncle off his arm. He finally released the spell, and Natsu promptly let go. Larcade jumped back, clenching his bleeding arm.

"AMAZING! PRINCE NATSU OVERCAME FAMISHED SOUL BY CHOWING DOWN ON LARCADE!" Neinhart exclaimed.

In the royal box, Invel looked at Zeref. "Was that another of your plans, Your Majesty?"

Zeref, eyes closed and smiling, shook his head. "Actually, it was mine."

The other occupants of the box turned and looked at August, who had a satisfied look on his face. "Natsu's voracious appetite is well known, so we weren't sure how he could overcome it. His Majesty remembered that the hunger Famished Soul causes becomes so powerful it causes its victim to hallucinate anything and everything around them as food- including other people. This is quite effective in dealing with large amounts of enemies- but therein lies its flaw."

Irene nodded, smiling. "I see. When it's a one-on-one battle with nothing else on the battlefield, the opponent could in turn view Larcade as something to eat. Nice thinking, August."

August smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Irene." His eyes focused on Larcade, smile morphing into a smirk as he saw the etherious's face contorted in pain. Take that, you self-entitled brat!

"Your younger brother is a force to be reckoned with, Your Majesty. All he has now to overcome is Larcade's final spell, if my old mind is remembering correctly." Yajeel said with a smile.

Zeref nodded. "You are correct, Yajeel. And I have no doubt he will."

In the arena, Larcade grit his teeth as Natsu smirked at him. "You are an absolute nuisance, uncle." Larcade spat at Natsu.

Mirth danced in Natsu's eyes as he said, "Awww, and here I was thinking this was some nice Uncle- nephew bonding time."

Larcade sneered. "I've had enough of your irritating banter. I think it's time you face my final power. I promise, you will not be getting up this time."

"How about you let your attack decide that instead of hurling out empty threats."

Larcade's sneer was replaced with that tranquil expression of his again. "Very well, uncle. Try as you might, you are still human- and no human can resist the allure of this final desire!" Larcade spread his arms wide. "REST CALM!"

Natsu immediately began to feel drowsy. Can't fall asleep. All I gotta do is what we talked about before...

Recalling his final day of training, he remembered Zeref's advice- "You are human, Natsu. However, the power of the fire dragon king and power of the etherious are yours to command as well- use them to your advantage."

Eyelids drooping and body swaying from exhaustion, Natsu tapped into his curse power. The drowsiness was still there, but it was no longer overpowering. His eyes snapped open and he smirked as Larcade's eyes widened in panic. He stepped forward.

However, almost as soon as they had widened, Larcade's eyes became filled with intensity, and he manically smiled wide. "Dear Uncle, please, get your rest. It's bad for you to stay up when you're so clearly exhausted!" Larcade's body began to glow. Natsu's eyes widened as he felt Larcade's power skyrocket and drowsiness wash over him once more.

Zeref scowled. Invel's eyes widened. "He's entering his etherious form! Your Majesty, didn't you specifically forbid this?"

"Yes, I most certainly did." Zeref replied, irritation in his voice growing.

Larcade had stopped glowing, and Natsu was able to make out the changes to the etherious's body. Two curved red horns now protruded from his head, and his legs now resembled a goat's, complete with brown fur and hooves. Most striking were the six white, feathered wings he now had on his back.

"L...L... LARCADE HAS UNDERGONE A DRASTIC TRANSFORMATION! HE... HE... LOOKS LIKE… AN ANGEL!?" Neinhart stated in shock.

"MORE LIKE THE DEVIL, IF YOU ASK ME!" Dimaria added, shock evident in her voice as well.

In the royal box, Irene frowned and glanced at Zeref out of the corner of her eye. "Really? His power with that design... that's a bit on the nose, with all due respect, Your Majesty."

"Heheheh." Zeref smiled, closing his eyes and scratching the back of his neck. "I thought I was fairly clever with that there."

No one noticed August scowling at the newly transformed Larcade. I think the resemblance is fitting.

Natsu was finding it harder and harder to stay awake. His etherious power was maxed out.

Well, technically it wasn't.

Zeref, Invel, and August had instructed him to stop unlocking the seals on his curse power around the '50' mark, which was around where Natsu would need to start utilizing his etherious form. Zeref explained he had not designed Natsu's etherious form, that it formed around the state of Natsu's soul- who he was as a person. Natsu had become excited upon hearing this, believing his etherious form would be draconic in nature. However, Invel had pointed out this event was introducing Natsu to the general public- and their new prince suddenly transforming into a dragon would be terrifying to some people. And they wanted people to like him, not fear him.

Can't do either if I'm not around. Sorry, Invel. Fighting at the edges of consciousness, Natsu reached deep within his curse power. He remembered Zeref's warning about unlocking too many 'locks' at once. If I keep my mind focused on my goal to save him, I'll be alright! Ten at once should do the trick! With that, Natsu snapped ten locks open.

Zeref's eyes widened as Natsu was consumed in a pillar of fire that ascended to the Heavens. "He's unsealed more locks- he's shifting to his etherious form!"

Next to him, Invel sighed. "Unfortunate, but understandable given his current predicament. I blame Larcade for this turn of events." August nodded in agreement.

As the fire died down and the smoke cleared, the crowd gasped as Natsu came back into view. His body was covered in dark red and black scales, and his feet and hands had been replaced by talons. Two jagged black horns protruded from his head, while two dark red, leathery wings had emerged from his back and the whites of his eyes had turned black, his pupils now red.

"U-U-U-UNBELIEVABLE!" Neinhart stammered. "THE PRINCE HAS TAKEN DRAGON SLAYING MAGIC TO A NEW LEVEL! HE HAS BECOME THE DRAGON!"

In the royal box, no one seemed to notice Irene scowl.

Must...kill...Zer... Natsu grabbed his head, his talons digging into his flesh as he forced himself to look away from the royal box and back at Larcade.

He glared at Larcade, now wide awake. With one flap of his wings, he closed the distance between himself and the other etherious, slashing him across the face and chest. Larcade cried out in pain, before using his own wings to put some distance between the two of them.

He held up a hand to his bleeding face in horror, which quickly turned to rage as he glared daggers into his uncle. "No, no, NO! You cannot defeat me! I am the ultimate mage! The ultimate etherious! I alone will destroy Acnologia! I alone deserve to bear the Dragneel name! AND I ALONE DESERVE TO BE BY FATHER'S SIDE!" He spread his arms wide again. "SO, YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE UNCLE! NOW YOU WILL EXPERIENCE MY ULTIMATE SPELL! ETERNAL REST! SLEEP AND NEVER AWAKEN AGAIN!"

"LARCADE IS STEPPING HIS GAME UP! HE'S CAST... WAIT... THIS CAN'T BE RIGHT!" Neinhart's enthusiastic voice turned to panic when he realized the spell Larcade was about to use.

Invel jumped out of his seat. "HE'S GONE TOO FAR!" He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a communication lacrima. "Jacob, are your men in position? Good, get ready to fire on Larcade on my command-"

"I appreciate the fact you are always prepared to deal with the unexpected, Invel, but there is no need to trouble Jacob or his men." Zeref's voice was low and even.

Invel frantically turned to his emperor. "But Your Majesty, that spell-" Invel cut himself off as he glanced into his emperor's eyes, which were wide and glowing red.

"I will deal with Larcade myself," Zeref hissed, practically spitting the last word. "Requip." A small portal opened, and a white book with the word 'LARCADE' on its cover in large red letters appeared. Zeref placed his hand on it, and spoke, "Larcade, cease your spell at once and stand down."

Zeref suddenly dropped Larcade's book, grasping his temples and grimacing in pain, a look of shock on his face. "He... resisted me? How-"

Zeref cut himself off as he heard Larcade's voice in his head, " I'm sorry Father but I am doing this for you! You will finally be free from the curse of your brother that has plagued your heart for far too long!"

Zeref's eyes widened, before his face contorted in rage. He summoned flames back to his hand and aimed them at Larcade's book. "Your Majesty! Wait, look at your brother!" Yajeel cried out to Zeref. Zeref dropped the spell, and turned to look at Natsu, eyes wide.

In the arena, Natsu had continued to trudge forward despite it getting increasingly difficult for him to stay awake. Larcade's haughty smirk disappeared, transforming back into a furious scowl. "Cease this, uncle. You are finished. Accept your fate."

Natsu fell to one knee, but looked up at Larcade, smirking through droopy eyes. "Finished? Hehe... I'm not finished as long as my heart keeps beating." His words were full of conviction but they were getting slower and more slurred. I know I said I wouldn't do this either, but I'm kinda outta options. "And I highly doubt this is my fate, but even if it was- I SAID I WOULD BURN FATE TO ASHES! CURSED FIRE DRAGON KING MODE!"

A visible heat wave swept across the arena. Larcade shielded his eyes as the air itself began to burn them. He attempted to squint, and what he could make out horrified him.

Natsu was standing straight, eyes wide open, glaring into Larcade. In his right hand was a ball of blackened fire that somehow simultaneously was glowing a deep red. "CURSED FIRE DRAGON KING'S BRILLIANT FLAME!" The ball of fire grew til it was three times the size of Natsu and then he flung it towards Larcade, who could only stare in shock as his world was consumed by Natsu's fire.

As it made contact with the other etherious, everyone in the arena was momentarily blinded by the blast. As the massive cloud of smoke and dust cleared, Natsu and Larcade's figures could be seen, both shifted back to their human forms, with the former holding his fist up in victory, while the latter lay on his back, facing the sky, eyes rolled back into his head.

"I'M CALLING THAT!" Neinhart yelled into the microphone. "PRINCE NATSU HAS DEFEATED ALL OF HIS OPPONENTS FROM THE SPRIGGAN 12!"

The arena was filled with the roar of the audience as they clapped and cheered in Natsu's victory. Natsu let his mouth form into a wide grin. I did it... Zeref, I did it!

In the royal box, Zeref had a genuine smile on his face. Well done, Natsu.

Neinhart and Dimaria were saying something over the microphone and Natsu could make out Jackal running towards him. But now everything felt... hazy. Darkness encroached on his vision. His world began to spin, and Neinhart's, Dimaria's, and Jackal's voices turned from celebratory to concern to panic as Natsu hit the dirt, his vision completely overtaken by darkness.

Natsu wasn't sure when his awareness returned, or if he was even aware at all. Everything was pitch black, and nothing seemed to change that, no matter what technique he tried, who he called out to, or how far he ran. The darkness didn't go away.

Every now and again he'd think he'd heard someone speaking, but every time he made towards the direction of the voices, they faded away as quickly as they appeared.

He felt like giving up, but simultaneously felt like giving up would be a bad move. Sleep sure did seem enticing. He didn't know if that was leftover from Larcade's spell or if he was just actually exhausted. Either way, something in him told him to keep moving forward.

Eventually though, he had enough. He was getting nowhere, and his exhaustion was growing. He bent over, hands on his knees, attempting to catch his breath. I think… I'm done.

"...TSU!"

"ATSU!"

"NATSU!"

His eyes snapped open. Looking in the direction of the voice calling his name, he could see a faint, white light.

Everything within him screamed to run toward it.

So, he did.

It felt like he ran for ages, but the light drew closer and closer and got brighter and brighter. Eventually it was so bright it looked like he was surrounded by nothing but white. Beats nothing but darkness, I guess. And it's easier to stay awake now.

"NATSU!" Natsu heard his name called again, by a voice he could now recognize. He turned around and found himself face to face with Zeref. His brother's worried face slowly transformed into an expression of relief and joy as he pulled Natsu into a hug Natsu. "Thank God. I was starting to think I wasn't ever going to find you."

Natsu furrowed his brow. "What do you mean, find me? Weren't we just in the colosseum?"

Zeref nodded at Natsu, but a worried look re-entered his eyes. "Well yes, but I wasn't referring to your physical body. I meant you. Your soul."

"My… soul? What do you mean, my soul!? Zeref, that doesn't make any sense!"

Zeref sighed. "Sorry, this isn't simple to explain, but I'll do my best. When you activated your etherious form and fire dragon king mode at the same time… it caused an adverse reaction in your body. The part of you that allows you to use dragon slaying magic and the part of you that houses your etherious power began to merge."

Natsu scratched his head. "Ok… and from the way you say that I'm gonna take it that's not a good thing?"

"That's putting it lightly." Zeref's expression became serious. "Natsu, that should have killed you."

"But I'm still alive, right?" Natsu flashed Zeref a grin.

Zeref shook his head. "By a miracle, yes. We were able to get you to the infirmary in record time… and a woman named Irene, the last member of the Twelve you have yet to meet, and I discovered the problem fairly quickly." Zeref gestured to something behind Natsu.

Turning, Natsu saw two small seeds floating in the air, one red and one black. "These seeds contain your draconic and etherious power."

"They're really tiny." Natsu said, studying them closer.

"They weren't when we checked on you after your battle with Larcade." Zeref snapped his fingers, and the seeds suddenly towered over Natsu, startling the dragon slayer.

" AHHH! Hey, change them back!"

Zeref laughed. "It's only an illusion, Natsu. I wanted you to see what we saw." Zeref waved his hand, and the seeds seemed to collide, their respective red and black bleeding into the opposite seed. "Not only had they grown to an unbelievable size, but they were also beginning to merge together. A human body cannot handle that much convergence of energy. If we hadn't intervened, their fusion would've killed you."

" Oh… heh…. Uh…" Natsu couldn't come up with anything to say, and looking into his older brother's eyes, he could clearly see his worry. Feeling the gravity of the situation, Natsu hung his head. "I'm sorry Zeref. I really overdid it this time."

"It's alright, Natsu." Zeref offered a small smile. "I don't blame you for this. Larcade forced you into a corner- had you not utilized both powers, you also could have died." Zeref frowned for a moment before his features lightened again. "Irene and I were able to get the seeds under control, separated, and Brandish shrunk them back down. You should be out of the woods now."

"Thanks Zeref, that's relieving to hear." Natsu sighed, sitting on the ground and leaning back to relax. "But uh… where are we right now? Everything was just all black til a few minutes ago when you showed up."

"OH, well, we're inside your soul."

"Oh, ok." Natsu furrowed his brow. "WAIT WHAT? HOW CAN YOU JUST SAY THAT LIKE IT'S NOTHING NEW?!"

Zeref chuckled at Natsu. "Well… it's not. For me, anyway. Since I'm the source of your etherious magic, a small piece of my soul has always been inside yours. Or at least since I resurrected you."

Natsu narrowed his eyes at Zeref. "That sounds super creepy."

"Haha, well, I suppose it would, but it's not like I'm aware of what you're doing or seeing everything 24/7 or anything like that. Best way I can describe it is, occasionally I get flashes of a place you have a strong emotional connection to. Or I can sense your emotion whenever it's particularly intense. You should be thankful, though, my soul already being connected to yours made it fairly easy to get in here and work on your demon seed… especially since that's the thing tying my soul to yours so to speak."

Natsu looked at Zeref wide eyed. "I didn't get all of that, but I guess I'll agree with you that it was a good thing after all." Natsu stood up and grabbed Zeref in another hug. "Thanks for saving me again, brother."

To his surprise. Zeref leaned into the hug, patting his back. "Of course. Consider it one of the many things I'm doing to make up for taking your memories."

Releasing the hug, Zeref and Natsu turned to look at the two seeds again, separated and back to their small size. "Your dragon seed was a little trickier."

" How so?" Natsu asked.

" Well, I had Irene follow me into your soul, which is no small feat in itself… and then once we actually got in, she had to deal with some resistance from the seed itself."

" The seed resisted her? How?" Natsu looked at Zeref curiously.

A new voice, low and gruff, answered him; "Your seed had more stimulation in one day than it had ever had before in the 12 years you've had it in you- and then a strange woman showed up trying to force her way inside. Forgive me for only trying to ensure my son stayed safe!"

Natsu's eyes widened as he turned in the direction of the familiar voice, his grin widening once his suspicions were confirmed. "IGNEEL!" He screamed, running to and colliding with the massive dragon, doing his best to crush as much of his foster father as he could in an embrace.

Igneel's mouth formed into a wide grin. "Hello again, Natsu." He looked down to Zeref before adding, "And hello to you again as well old friend." The dragon's smile turned into a smirk before he continued, "I take it Natsu's memories are restored. So I'm going to take this opportunity to say, 'I told you so!'"His tone became very animated, as if he wanted to rub his statement in Zeref's face.

Zeref frowned. "You could, but I would also like to remind you that your initial refusal to work with us nearly cost Natsu his life."

Igneel's smile slipped away. "Hmph. As I said, I was simply trying to keep Natsu safe. Had you been the one that showed up, I would have listened right away. That Irene woman is incredibly bossy and impatient."

Zeref smiled a little at Igneel's grumbling. "Well, you're not wrong, but Irene does have good reasons she is the way she is."

"Yes, I inferred as much during the seed separation spell… I believe I glimpsed some of her memories as a side effect of our souls interacting so… rawly. She has suffered very much." Igneel's features lightened. "But at the end of the day, it is a very good thing you had another very powerful dragon slayer on hand, old friend. Without her assistance, we could have had trouble separating the seeds in time. I am grateful for her help."

Natsu let go of Igneel, his interest peaked. "Wait, another of The Twelve is a dragon slayer? AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!"

"Well, in my defense, I've been focused on saving your life." Zeref said flatly. The offended look on Natsu's face immediately slipped away in realization and Natsu turned away, embarrassed. Zeref chuckled, smiling at his brother's reaction. "I was going to introduce you after your matches. I'm sure you'll meet her when you wake up. She was impressed with your power. And impressing Irene is no small accomplishment."

Natsu had turned back to Zeref, eyes alight with excitement. "I'm all fired up now!" He then turned to Igneel. "But how are you here with us? Isn't this… my soul?"

Igneel smiled and nodded. "It most certainly is. And if a sliver of Zeref's soul keeps your etherious side in check, who do you think the keeper of your dragon side is?"

Natsu's smile widened in realization. Tears began to fall down his face. "You really have always been with me. I'm so happy to see you again, Dad." He leaned into the massive dragon.

Igneel wrapped his tail around Natsu. "And I'm glad I get to see you too." He looked off in the distance. "You know, sometimes… whenever I'm conscious… I get flashes of what the rest of my soul is experiencing… peace, warmth, light… I hope the rest of me can feel this moment right now." Igneel's smile faded. "At least the part of me that is in the afterlife."

Natsu furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? Where is the rest of your soul if not in the afterlife?"

"Natsu," Zeref said. "Do you remember when Igneel told you, the day you went through the Eclipse Gate, Acnologia had grievously wounded him and the other dragons? He wanted to spare you from the gory details… but in truth, Acnologia had absorbed part of each dragons' soul."

Igneel nodded. "Mostly, I get 'glimpses' of what I believe is Heaven. But other times… I feel cold, alone, and despairing. No doubt from the part of my soul trapped in Acnologia."

Natsu's features darkened. "Well, don't worry. I'm gonna kill Acnologia and let you rest in peace." His serious expression lightened into a cocky smirk as he added, "And I'm killing Ankheseram too! I'll send both of those bastards straight to Hell!"

Zeref sighed but Igneel smiled and laughed. "That's my boy. I know you won't let me down."

"You know, you should be discouraging such reckless ideas, Igneel, not encouraging them." Zeref said, clearly exasperated.

Igneel stared at the black mage for a moment before promptly sticking his tongue out at the older Dragneel.

Natsu promptly burst into laughter while Zeref rolled his eyes. "I forgot how immature you could be," Zeref muttered. He suddenly felt a tug on his robe and then he was lifted into the air by a massive talon. "Hey!"

Igneel huffed. "Don't lecture me about maturity, young man."

Zeref folded his arms, still suspended on Igneel's talon. "I'm not actually young anymore, you know."

"In dragon years, you are the equivalent of a bratty teenager." Igneel said, smirking. Laughing, the dragon set him back down, next to Natsu. Igneel stared at Zeref for a moment, his smile softening. "You know, I may have only technically taken Natsu in… but… and I hope you'll forgive the musings of a sentimental old dragon, but truly, I saw you as one of my own as well, Zeref. Knowing you both have each other again…it does my old soul well."

Zeref stared at Igneel, wide eyed. "I…I… don't know what to say…".

Igneel simply smiled. "Nobody can replace a parent when they're gone… but, I hope I honored your parents with how I looked after both of you boys. I know they'd be proud of you… I sure am."

Natsu nuzzled himself more against the side of the massive dragon, while Zeref made his way closer, and gently laid a hand on Igneel's side. He looked up into Igneel's eyes, his own glossy. "Thank you." He said quietly.

Suddenly, everything around them began to shake. "What's happening?" Natsu asked frantically.

"Looks like you're regaining consciousness." Zeref smiled. "See you when you wake up, brother!"

Natsu smiled and nodded, and looked back at Igneel, who in turn smiled at him sadly. New tears welled up in Natsu's eyes as he said, "I had so much more I wanted to tell you! I don't want to say goodbye again!"

"I know." Igneel said solemnly, his deep voice full of emotion. "And one day I hope we will have all the time in the world to catch up. But until then,"- he gently touched one of his talons to Natsu's chest, "I'll say I love you my son, and I'm very proud of you."

Natsu sniffled, wiping tears from his eyes as the light grew blinding. "I love you too Dad!"

The light continued to grow until Igneel and Zeref faded into it, and Natsu had to close his eyes from its intensity.

The first thing Natsu became aware of was how sore he was. His body felt like it had been rammed by a freight train. No doubt the leftovers from his fight with Larcade. Nothing seemed broken at least, but Natsu was far from comfortable.

Sounds began to fill his ears again, first it was the beeping and hissing of machines. Great, back in the hospital. Eventually he could make out different voices. Before he could make out conversations, he could make out words here and there.

Finally, he opened his eyes. The light was bright and his vision was blurry. But he could make out something at what he assumed was the foot of his bed. As he blinked, the 'something', he realized, was a person. He heard them speak, "Well, well, look who's awake. Welcome back to the land of the living, Your Highness."

As he blinked, the woman who was the source of the voice finally came into view. Natsu's eyes widened when he got a clear glimpse of her. It was someone he definitely was not expecting to see in his hospital room in the Imperial Palace. "Erza!?"

Originally in my notes, the battle with Larcade didn't end this dramatically but as I wrote it got wilder and wilder. I hope everyone enjoyed it!

Also special thanks to Spot of Tea, again, for reminding me about the dragon and demon seeds. Seems I've forgotten more than I thought, as the last time I watched Fairy Tail it was when the 'final' season was airing. So, if you see any continuity errors, it's probably not intentional, sorry :(

There was also a guest on (they don't allow you to reply to guest reviews over there) that pointed out that the black flames I was using for Natsu's cursed flames were the same as Zancrow from Grimoire Heart's god slaying flames- so those will be changed moving forward, and with an explanation that (hopefully) makes sense in regard to the story!

All that said, I have rewatched some particular scenes and re-discovered several things. I had thought the whole 'August has disdain for Larcade' thing was a result of fanfictions, but it's actually addressed in cannon- Larcade notes August frequently gives him dirty looks, which Larcade believes is because he misses so many Spriggan 12 meetings (haha). Also August was unaffected by Larcade's pleasure magic and called it vulgar!

Anyways thanks for reading! This is the end of the little tournament arc/ Natsu's welcome to Alvarez. The next part is going to explore the time period between now and the opening scene in the story. It's been a little challenging, bringing a bunch of vague ideas in my very messy notes into real scenarios, but there are plenty of bonding moments and shenanigans coming up, so I hope everyone will enjoy it.

Thanks again everyone! See you next week!