Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima, Tiamat is loosely based on Tiamat from Forgotten Realms which Belongs to Wizards of the Coast, LLC. The traits of the chromatic dragons have been altered to match the dragon slayers in the Fairy Tail Universe. Drakan belongs to Surreal Software.
Chapter 32: Love Makes You Stronger
"What the hell are you playing at Silver?", Natsu growled. He had been busy watching Kai and had not been aware of what was happening until he heard the arrow hit Erza's sword.
Erza Scarlet stood in front of Natsu in her Flame Empress Armor. She held her Flame Sword firmly in her right hand pointing it at Silver. She was mildly surprised by his resemblance to Gray but dismissed the thought. It didn't matter who he looked like, he was clearly a threat. Her body was riddled with wounds and her breathing was strained but it did nothing to deter the fierceness of her expression.
Erza was here and she looked pissed. Gray had never been so happy to see his friend.
"We'll explain later. Here's the short version.", Gray pointed at Silver, "That guy is being controlled by Tiamat. She wants him to kill Natsu. Natsu and I need to stop that little red dragon from using his magic or getting killed by Acnologia. We also need to find a way to stop Acnologia and Tiamat."
"Is that all?", Erza said her voice laden with sarcasm. She looked at Natsu and noticed that he looked haggard, "Well then, Gray can you keep him occupied while I tend to Natsu?"
Gray nodded at her and turned to face his father again. He prepared himself to fight.
"Ice Make: Cold Excalibur"
"Come on Dad, snap out of it! Don't make me use this."
"Get out of the way Gray.", Silver said calmly, "I have to kill Natsu."
There was a hidden edge to his voice that worried Gray. He didn't think Silver was fighting off the spell any longer. He asked himself how far he was willing to go to protect Natsu and immediately knew that he would go as far as was needed.
"No. I will not let you hurt him. I can't live without him.", Gray eyed his father tensely, "I already know I can live without you."
Gray moved closer to his father. He consoled himself with the knowledge that if it came down to it his father would likely be grateful for an end to his current existence. He still felt conflicted as he had grown to like the man. He'd hoped that they could get to know each other again after this conflict was over.
Erza used her armor's abilities to produce as much fire as she was capable of and moved it to her blade. She pointed her sword at Natsu and shot the flames directly at him. Natsu smiled as he ingested all of the fire.
"Thanks Erza. I'm all fired up now!", Natsu gave her his widest grin. The fire she had produced for him had replenished some of his magic and he felt much better. He turned his attention to his foolhardy son who was still flying around evading Acnologia's attacks. He admired the precision with which Kai flew. It was so graceful that it was almost beautiful. Outside of being in his dragon form he did not seem to be using any additional magic. He watched Acnologia try to close in on the red dragon as Metalicana and the others attacked the black dragon all at once forcing him to change his trajectory. He snapped out of his reverie and propulsed himself into the air.
"Fire Dragon Claw"
Kai noticed his father and immediately flew underneath him to let him ride on his back.
"What are you doing? You don't have enough magic for this, you'll die!", Kai yelled at his father.
"I could say the same about you.", Natsu replied.
"If I die it's not a big deal. I was never meant to exist in the first place.", Kai replied, glad that his father was not able to see his face, "I'm a creature born of pain and hate."
It was a feeling he had been fighting with ever since he had seen his father be raped by Tiamat disguised in Gray's body. The only reason he existed was because Tiamat had wanted to humiliate his father, to trap him into being with her so that she could lord it over Igneel, the dragon she had once loved. It was a messed up situation.
Igneel had brought him to the light and taught him everything he knew. He'd showed him who his father was and Kai had already basked in the great love and sacrifice that the dragon slayer was capable of, even if he didn't feel he deserved it. He wanted so much to claim that love for himself but there was also Tiamat. As much as he despised her he couldn't help but wonder what part of him she lay claim to. Would he have a darkness that was her contribution to the genetic muddle that had created him? Gray was probably the hardest of his parents to understand. Even though his body had been used he had not physically participated in Kai's creation but he selflessly insisted in laying claim to him all the same and Kai felt an immediate connection to him.
Natsu looked at Kai and was amused to hear him sounding so much like Gray already. Who knew gloominess was genetic, Natsu had thought it had taken Gray years to work himself to such levels.
"You're wrong about that, kid. It is very much a big deal. I'm not sure how you know anything about what happened but let me make one thing clear. It doesn't matter to me how you came to be. Gray and I both love you. Now, we're going to get out of this somehow but we need to find another way. I'll make you a deal. If you stop this nonsense, I'll back off too. Leave this to the other dragons."
"They're too weak. They won't be able to finish him. They can barely keep him off of us now.", Kai said, sad in the knowledge that the dragon's deaths were inevitable, "The only ones capable of taking him on now that Igneel is gone are Tiamat and maybe myself. I asked her for help but she refused, she just wanted me to go with her."
Natsu recognized the truth in Kai's words when he looked at the other dragons and saw that not only had their movements become sluggish but their faces had an air of defeat that was unmistakable. He looked down at Gray fighting to protect him from Silver and back at Acnologia's merciless attacks on his fellow Dragon Slayer's dying dragons and made the most difficult decision of his life.
He lamented that he and Gray had never had a chance. Ever since Tiamat had shown up their fate had been cast. He would have liked someday to replace the memory of his rape with the love of his mate but it was never meant to be. He would set him free if he could and he wished that someday Gray would find happiness again. He hoped that Gray would find it in his heart to forgive him.
"Kai, did Igneel ever say anything about Soul Bonds?", Natsu asked urgently.
Kai nodded, already not liking where this conversation was going but not being able to lie to his father.
"Is there a way to break it?"
"Yes.", Kai said sadly, his heart breaking for his parents.
Erza had had just about enough of this day. She had been drugged, captured, tortured and forced to battle extensively with a powerful demon who had caused her to feel more pain than she had ever experienced. It took a lot out of her to finally beat Kyoka into submission. Now she found that although it seemed like all the demons had been defeated they still had two dragons to fight, one of which was purposefully trying to kill one of her best friends. She could see that there were other things going on that she did not understand but that was ok. She was hurt, she was tired and she had to make the best use of the magic she had left. She focused her rage on Tiamat, the one who had started this mess when she'd had the nerve to pretend to be Erza. She requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and flew over to where the Dragon Goddess was controlling Silver.
"Dance My Blades"
Erza's blades positioned themselves in a circle around her and began to spin rapidly. She let the momentum build to increase the force of their impact.
Tiamat narrowed her eyes at Erza and cast her own spell with a scowl. She was beyond tired of fighting these damn mages. She used another one of her heads to cast a defensive spell.
"Globe of Invulnerability"
Tiamat focused on both her spells and she soon found herself inside a glowing sphere of soft warm light . She grinned at Erza from within the safety of her globe daring the requip mage to attack her.
"Circle Sword"
Erza unleashed her swords and watched them soar towards her target. They flew straight and true finding no resistance in whatever spell Tiamat had cast to defend herself. She allowed herself a smirk of satisfaction at the unadulterated surprise on Tiamat's face as the blades attacked her hardened body. Several of the swords pierced her and she began to bleed.
"Stop this now. Release your hold on that man.", Erza demanded.
"No. I will kill the fire brat and his ice mate. My son will have no choice but to come with me if he wants to live."
"You're pathetic, you can't force someone to love you, you have to earn their love."
"I may have craved his love once but now I only care about his power. You humans place too much value on the abstract notion that is love. It is your biggest weakness."
"You're wrong. Love does not make you weak, it feeds you strength when you think you have none. It gives you a reason to live that is much bigger than yourself. Look at him,", Erza pointed at Kai who had Natsu on his back, "he gives his all even though he can't possibly win just so he can protect others, that is love. If you want your son to love you then show him you are worthy of it. There's still time."
"I will not be so foolish.", Tiamat said stubbornly, "Now, shall we finish this? I can see I misjudged your power."
At her words Erza realized that she would need to risk everything on one big attack. She had just enough strength to requip into her Nakagami armor, with any luck she would be able to break Tiamat's spell on the man that was compelled to kill Natsu and her halberd would cause some serious damage to Tiamat that would weaken her further. Erza hoped her plan worked because she would be seriously low on magic after this. She focused on the head that she knew to be casting the spell that was controlling Silver and began to attempt to dispel it. She grabbed her halberd and aimed at one of the spots on the dragon's body that was already bleeding. Tiamat attempted to dodge the weapon but her injuries slowed her down. She howled in pain as she felt the weapon impale itself inside her. Her active spells were soon forgotten as she focused on her injuries. She fell to the ground.
"That's pretty harsh kid. If you won't get out of the way, I'll have to make you.", Silver said coldly.
"Ice Devil's Zeroth Longsword"
Out of Silver's palm there rose a long sword which he quickly swung at his son. Gray parried with his own blade. Their swords clashed and Gray push kicked Silver away from him. Silver came at him and Gray watched his shoulders trying to figure out where the next attack was going to be coming from. It came from the right and Gray managed to step out of the way. He kicked his father's legs out from under him. Silver was now on the ground and Gray placed his sword at his neck. Silver smiled and grabbed Cold Excalibur. He bit a large chunk out of it and began chewing noisily.
"I'm a Slayer Gray, I eat my element.", Silver smiled. He stood up calmly and attacked again. This time Gray screamed in pain as the longsword slashed across his front. Before he had any chance to react he found himself encased in the same ice that had been in the Sun Village. He desperately worked at breaking it, he couldn't allow Silver any time to get at Natsu.
"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Bow"
Silver drew the bow and aimed at Natsu's back. He let go and watched as the arrow flew towards its target.
Natsu made no noise when the arrow pierced his body exploding into millions of ice shards inside him or even when he fell off of Kai, his body turning in mid air showing the ground rushing at him as he hurtled down to meet it. Kai, however was screaming loud enough for both of them. Natsu felt cold, not the comforting kind that Gray had but a lifeless cold that was full of despair.
"FATHER!", Kai flew desperately trying to catch his father before his body could impact but he wasn't fast enough. He saw his father's broken body lying on the ground and he looked for the man responsible. They had moved away from the main fight temporarily. They had been so engrossed in their discussion that they had forgotten to keep track of Silver. He saw Gray frozen in ice as well and turned towards the Ice Devil Slayer in fury.
Natsu wanted to ask Kai to stop his yelling because it was already bad enough that he felt like throwing up from the unexpected drop but no words were coming out. It felt like there were shards of glass inside of him freezing his organs, so cold that they burned. He tried to warm himself by calling on his magic but it was no use doing anything. He thought this must be what being in shock felt like.
"YOU BASTARD!", Kai advanced towards Silver who only laughed, although Kai thought he also saw tears on his face.
"Fire Dragon Roar"
Kai let his magic flow into him and he aimed his hottest flames at the man who had taken his parents away from him. His roar was stronger than even Igneel's and he made sure to make every lick count. He was screaming at the sky in broken sobs as the red dragon turned back into a small boy.
Silver had no plans to defend himself from the attack. He deserved to die and it seemed fitting for his end to come from the child he had just orphaned. He didn't really understand how the sobbing child came to be or how Gray was his parent but it didn't really matter. He had loved him all the same. He could no longer feel Tiamat's control over him and he cursed his luck, wishing that it could have stopped just a minute earlier. He felt the flames engulf him and endured the pain that wracked his body as he hoped for the end. He saw Gray break his ice and was glad to see him.
"Kai, stop it! I'm okay. Don't use any more of your magic.", Gray froze his wound and ran to his son while sparing a look back at his father. He picked Kai up in his arms and let him hold on to his neck and wrap his legs around him as he continued to sob out the hurt of losing Igneel and now maybe his father as well. Gray placed one arm underneath the boy's bottom for support and used his other hand to rub circles on Kai's back. He made his way to Natsu not wanting to believe what was right in front of his eyes. He put Kai down and kissed the top of his head gently. He tried to carefully melt the ice that was inside Natsu. He had to make sure that the ice did not break into any more shards than were already present from the fall. They could cause additional internal injuries. Natsu was frigid to the touch, his usual super human warmth nowhere to be found.
"WENDY"
Wendy Marvell heard the wail that came with the screaming of her name and she tried to run even faster towards her friends causing her clumsiness to kick in. She tripped on her own feet and she would have fallen but for the arms that caught her. She looked up to see Romeo setting her upright and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Carla took pity on her and grabbed her quickly flying her to Gray.
One by one the dragons fell from the sky. Their dragon slayers rushed to try to talk to them one last time. Wendy looked at Gray pleadingly and he nodded in understanding. "Just go. You may never get the chance again. Natsu would understand"
He continued doing his best to melt the ice even though there was no response from Natsu. He heard someone approaching and saw Sherria Blendy running towards them.
"Keep doing what you're doing and I'll start healing what I can.", Sherria told him. She stretched her arms and began identifying Natsu's injuries so that she could begin healing.
"Thank you so much.", Gray said keeping himself busy so that he didn't have a chance to worry.
"Are there any fire mages nearby?", Sherria said urgently.
"I use fire magic.", Kai said in between sniffles.
"Ok, when I tell you I want you to surround him in fire, but not too hot. Think of it as lighting the wick of a candle. Understand?"
Kai nodded. He glanced at the dragons who were now disappearing after saying their goodbyes to their slayers and he wished that he had gotten a chance to thank them for their sacrifice. They had tried to do the impossible and now all the dragons were truly gone from this world. All that was left was an insane human that had turned into a dragon in his lust for power, a cold Dragon goddess who was also only interested in power and then there was him, he wasn't even sure what he was. Quite the poor showing. He watched Gray and Sherria work on his father and Wendy hurrying towards them. He grabbed one of his father's hands and held it in his and waited for Sherria's signal.
Tiamat took stock of herself. She had already been weakened when Erza Scarlet got there and somehow the redhead had been very effective against her. She would not be able to fight for much longer. She needed to teleport out of here soon. That was the logical decision to make. Get the hell out of this nightmare and fight another day. It was safe to say that this had not gone as she had expected. She had been cocky at the beginning and wasted too much power.
The dragons were truly gone. Igneel, the dragon who should have been her mate, was dead. Despite what she had told her son, she felt no satisfaction, just a dull ache she did not understand. It had started right after Kai had told her that the red dragon had never given up on her. She found herself humming the old lullaby that had come to her mind that morning and stopped when she noticed Erza looking at her strangely.
"Aren't you going to finish me off?"
"I don't enjoy killing, I have subdued you. That is good enough for now.", Erza replied, "What was that you were humming just now?"
"Just an old Dragon Lullaby.", Tiamat said, confused by the conversation. Erza should have tried to kill her when she had the chance but instead she was asking her about lullabies. Humans were strange creatures. She remembered Cobra and smiled. He had given her his magic so that she would defeat Acnologia and yet she had not even tried to fight him since their first encounter. Why was that? Her excuse of wanting to take Natsu and Kai home sounded hollow even to her. Was she just afraid that she would lose? Did it matter? What did she have left to be Queen of?
She was a Queen with only one subject and she had managed to fail him as well. She looked at her son who was currently holding on to his father, the ailing Dragon Slayer that she'd tried to have killed in a fit of jealousy. She saw his anguish and she wished that he could care for her even if just a little. She watched him cover the Dragon Slayer in his flames and after kissing him on the cheek, he talked to Gray who looked unhappy. After a brief hug Kai walked away and called out to the other Dragon Slayers. She continued watching letting herself feel for the first time in four hundred years. Maybe the redhead was right. Maybe she could still be worthy of him.
Now that the dragons had fallen Acnologia seemed to be considering Tiamat. Kai took the opportunity to call the dragon slayers and Exceeds to him.
"Look, we're all that's left. If we work together, we might be able to take him out.", Kai told the three male Dragon Slayers. His father would not be able to join them this time and neither would Wendy, she was busy healing Natsu. Kai only hoped they could help him. If his father died he and Gray would as well, although it would take Gray a bit longer.
"Igneel wanted me to train you to fight dragons properly.", Kai continued, glaring at them when he saw them snickering at him, "there isn't any time for that now so just listen."
"Spells will not work on him, he is immune to most magic and his hide is very tough. Exceeds, you will need to fly your slayers as we will need to stay airborne. Rogue, you can ride me. His eyes are in the front so he has to turn his body to look at any other direction. Rogue and I will use that to our advantage and come at him straight on. When he engages us, Gajeel and Sting you are going to attack him from behind. Hit him hard. Aim for his weak spots, any joint or connective tissue, he lost an arm so he will be favoring that side. If you pierce anything keep hitting there until you can carve a bigger hole. Gajeel that should be your goal, you have the best chance of penetrating his hide. I am going to try to shove Spellfire inside his mouth when he attempts to roar. If he turns to attack you, Rogue and I will attack from behind. I need an Exceed standing by in case I get into trouble and Rogue needs help. Any questions?", Kai looked at the Slayers and Exceeds and waited.
Gajeel couldn't get a handle on this kid. It was like he was two different creatures. When he was around the Salamander and the Ice Princess he acted like a small child but right now he had sounded like a general addressing his troops and he had that rare Spellfire magic. Gajeel found himself ready to follow him into battle without question. It was creepy but Gajeel had to admit Kai was kind of a badass plus he could turn into a dragon without being a major dick like Acnologia. He saw Sting and Rogue giving the kid similar puzzled looks and grinned.
"Alright, let's go."
Kai morphed into a Dragon and waited for Rogue to climb on. He took off quickly towards Acnologia who was closing in on Tiamat, his mouth already opening for his breath attack. Kai sped up and flew right at the Black Dragon's chest with the intention to ram him away from Tiamat. Acnologia saw a blur of red out of the corner of his eye and quickly moved away recognizing a threat.
"You are persistent, little dragon. Haven't you given up yet?", Acnologia mocked him.
Kai saw Gajeel and Sting getting in position behind Acnologia so he said, "I will only give up when one of us is dead."
He called on his blue flames and waited for Acnologia to open his mouth signaling an attempt to use his breath attack on him. His patience was soon rewarded. He quickly aimed as much magic as he dared at the dragon's mouth and saw some of it go in. Acnologia yowled in pain. Kai had not caused a lot of damage but he had caused some and that gave him hope. He needed to keep track of his magic usage so that he did not break the promise he had made to Gray. Gajeel used his Iron Dragon Sword to hack at Acnologia's wings. Acnologia turned to face his attackers and then realized his mistake as he felt attacks coming from behind him again.
Sting used his Holy Light to try to blind the dragon so that Kai could bite at the spot Gajeel had attacked. If they could ground him they would have an advantage as some of the other mages could join the fight.
Tiamat watched the fight above her with interest. She began to think of what she could do if she wanted to help given the limited magic she now had left to her. Her spirits sunk as she realized that without some sort of power boost she would not be able to do anything. She knew she would not be able to take Acnologia in a battle in her current state, but there was one thing she could do if she had enough magic. Once she had gotten the idea into her head she found that she really wanted to do it, it had a sense of poetic justice to it and she would be able to make amends to all the dragons she had failed.
"Erza,", Tiamat called out, " I have an idea that I think might work."
She told Erza her plan but the requip mage looked skeptical. "You are asking for a lot of trust considering the things you have done."
"Do you have a better idea?"
Erza had to admit that she did not. Everyone was exhausted, they had been fighting for a very long time. The dragon slayers were the only ones still fighting and that was only thanks to Levy's magic but even she was out now.
"I will go speak to the Master.", Erza said. She left Tiamat and looked for their Master finding him near Natsu. He had not yet woken but his body temperature was holding. Wendy and Sherria were taking a break, they were exhausted as well. Gray was holding Natsu's hand but his gaze was glued to Kai, who was fighting Acnologia. Gray had been in this position ever since Natsu had been captured and Erza felt for him. It wasn't easy to be the one left behind, especially when the ones leaving were so reckless.
She told the Master Tiamat's plan and he turned it over in his head looking for flaws or subterfuge. He could find none but even if there was he didn't see how they had any other choice but to trust her. If she could deal with Acnologia they had to try, there was no other plan. One look at the dragon slayers and it was obvious that they were fizzling out.
"Happy go fetch Rogue, I need to talk to him."
"Aye, Master sir!", Happy answered. He looked down at Natsu, afraid to leave his side but aware of his responsibility as a Fairy Tail wizard. He gulped and flew off towards Acnologia.
"Rogue, you need to come with me. Master Makarov wants to talk to you.", Happy yelled. He got as close to the fight as he dared and waited for the Shadow Dragon Slayer to acknowledge him.
"I can't leave right now.", he said while dodging Acnologia's claws.
"Just jump and I'll catch you!", Happy yelled.
Rogue jumped off of Kai and fell until Happy caught him and flew away from the battle.
"What does your Master want with me?", Rogue asked curiously.
"He'll tell you himself.", Happy said as he flew towards where he had left Natsu. They arrived quickly and Rogue faced Makarov.
"Rogue, I have something to ask of you. I can't force you to do it but I would like you to consider it. Tiamat has come up with a plan that we believe can take care of Acnologia once and for all but she doesn't have enough power to have a chance at succeeding.I need you to give her the last element required to regain her missing dragon magic."
"Are you out of your mind? We just spent all that time and effort to keep my magic away from her.", Rogue said angrily.
"I know. I don't know if we can trust her either but it's the only plan we have at the moment."
"I would like to hear what this plan is before I make a decision."
Makarov told him the plan and Rogue had to admit it could work. In his opinion it was worth the risk that she might betray them. Sting would kill him for doing it but it was the right thing to do. If they did not take care of Acnologia now there would be nothing left.
"What do I need to do?", Rogue desperately hoped he was making the right choice.
xxx
A/N I had every intention of finishing the story in this chapter but I found I had already reached 5K words and a lot of things still needed to happen. After all the work I have put into this story I really didn't want to hurry the ending. So I hope you're not too upset that there will be another chapter.
Globe of Invulnerability (Lvl 6) - An immobile, faintly shimmering magical sphere surrounds you and excludes all spell effects of 4th level or lower. The area or effect of any such spells does not include the area of the lesser globe of invulnerability. Such spells fail to affect any target located within the globe. Excluded effects include spell-like abilities and spells or spell-like effects from items. However, any type of spell can be cast through or out of the magical globe. Spells of 4th level and higher are not affected by the globe, nor are spells already in effect when the globe is cast. The globe can be brought down by a targeted dispel magic spell, but not by an area dispel magic. You can leave and return to the globe without penalty.