Chapter 16
"You should have waited in the cave like I asked," Natsu tried to keep his fury in check, but now that they were far enough away from Talos that he was no longer feeling Gray's despair tearing away at him there was nothing left to keep it at bay.
"You hurt my mate, Atlas," Natsu seethed, "You made him relive a traumatic experience and probably rekindled his hatred of dragons, something he'd been working against. You made everything worse!"
"I just wanted to show you he could accept us now that he was older," Atlas hung his head contritely, "How was I supposed to know he'd react that way?"
"Deliora burned down his village and killed his parents. What the hell did you expect?"
Natsu could hear Atlas muttering something under his breath, but he couldn't catch what he was saying. "What?"
"I said I'm sorry I'm only going to make it worse," Atlas repeated a bit more loudly.
"What do you mean by that?" Natsu demanded, still trying to calm himself down. It had been a very emotional day, and he was just about at his limit of what he could take.
"I need you to transform, Gajeel weighs a ton, I can't fly all of you the whole way."
"Transform? What do you mean?" Wendy asked, looking at Natsu with concern.
"Are you serious right now?" Natsu complained loudly. First Gray and now this. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought that Atlas was purposefully forcing his hand.
Atlas only nodded, and now that Natsu examined him more closely, he noticed the strain his uncle had been trying to hide. It appeared he was more beat up than Natsu had initially thought, and he felt guilty for yelling at him when he'd only been trying to help. He didn't know what Atlas had been through in the last two years, not really, and he had an idea his uncle had no plans to tell him.
"Find a place to land," Natsu requested, resigning himself to the inevitable.
The moment of truth had finally arrived. Maybe this would at least go better than the fiasco in the field. He felt a hand squeezing his shoulder and looked back to see Rogue giving him a reassuring smile, making him feel worse for having lied to him in the first place.
He could feel all the dragon slayers' curious eyes on him. For them, it was just a distraction, something to keep them from thinking about the decision they had just made, but for Natsu, it was something he'd feared for most of his life.
Natsu thought about the best way to tell them his secret. Should he tell them first, or should he just transform as he'd done with Rogue? He wasn't sure, but he would try talking first as he didn't want to startle Wendy.
Atlas found a clearing away from any human settlements and landed there. All the dragons slayers jumped off his back, wanting to give him a rest. They sat on the grass near him and looked at Natsu, waiting for him to say something.
"There's something about me I've never told you about," Natsu started and then paused, not quite knowing how to continue.
He could feel their eyes on him, and all words just escaped him. He could only stare at them wide-eyed.
"Just tell them, Natsu," Atlas urged, "Trust in the bonds you've forged over the years."
Natsu nodded slowly. "I'm uhm, I'm not like you guys."
"What are you talking about?" Gajeel growled, growing annoyed as Natsu remained quiet, "Just spit it out already."
"Gajeel! Just give him a minute," Rogue scolded, once again giving Natsu an encouraging look. "Just show them, as you did me."
Sting narrowed his eyes, "You know what this is about, Rogue?"
Rogue could only wince at the displeasure that was coming in through their bond. He knew it wasn't a good idea to keep secrets from Sting, but he'd decided to help Natsu protect Gray, and judging from what he'd seen of Gray's reaction on the field, it had been the right choice. He'd just need to make Sting understand that.
"Whatever it is, Natsu, you can tell us," Wendy smiled at him, her eyes warm and trusting.
Natsu took Rogue's advice. He closed his eyes and called upon the magic that allowed him to transform into his dragon form. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see their initial reactions. He heard a few gasps and opened his eyes slowly, looking down at his friends.
Wendy and Rogue had both moved closer to him. Rogue as a sign of solidarity, Wendy in curiosity, but Sting and Gajeel were watching him with something akin to dismay.
"You can turn into a dragon? That's so cool!" Wendy cheered, looking even more in awe of Natsu than before.
"Wait a minute," Gajeel declared, appearing confused, "Isn't being able to turn into a dragon a bad thing? I thought you guys said that only happened to the renegade dragon slayers that lost their minds."
"Well, I mean, it's not like he had much of one to begin with," Rogue joked as he tried to break up the tension that was brewing between them.
"Natsu isn't a dragon slayer," Atlas explained, "He never was. He's what we've called a hybrid. His father is a dragon, but his mother was human."
"You lied to us," Sting glared at Natsu, looking incredibly hurt, "This whole time we've known you—"
"That's enough out of you, Sting," Atlas growled, "Natsu didn't have a choice. His father forbade him from telling anyone."
"I'm sorry," Natsu tried to lock his gaze with Sting, but he refused to meet it. Instead, he walked off in a huff, and no one attempted to stop him.
"So it's not a spell?" Rogue asked, finally understanding he hadn't been told the whole truth.
Natsu shook his head, "It's something I've been able to do since I was young, I just couldn't control it very well."
"I don't get it. Why would your father forbid you from telling anyone?" Wendy asked, "Who is your father, anyway?"
"Igneel," Natsu replied, "Atlas is my uncle. You already know my mom was Porlyusica, a healer from Talos. Igneel forbade me from telling anyone because the one time I told a human about what I was, he hurt me."
"Gray?" Wendy's brow wrinkled as she remembered the story Gray had told her at the orphanage, "I think I'm beginning to understand. That time you met when you were little, is that what happened?"
Natsu nodded, "I tried to tell him what I was, but he didn't believe me. It was right after Deliora had destroyed his village and I had no control over the transformation so I couldn't show him. It was a disaster."
"Oh, Natsu. That must have been horrible for you!" Wendy attempted to hug him, and it made him feel good to know that she at least accepted him.
"I'm sorry, Rogue," Natsu felt miserable. Rogue had been so supportive, and now he'd learned that Natsu had lied to him.
"It's alright. I think I understand. I just wish you'd trusted us with the truth before." Rogue noticed Natsu looking towards where Sting had walked off to and sighed.
"I'll talk to him once he's calmed down," Rogue offered, but Natsu shook his head, "I've caused you enough trouble. I'll talk to him."
Gajeel walked up to him and studied him carefully, walking around him to examine his body before snorting, "You're kind of a runt for a dragon, aren't you?"
"I'm part human," Natsu shrugged, ignoring the taunt. "Igneel thinks I'm still growing."
"I don't understand how this is possible," Wendy questioned as she studied Natsu.
"I'm curious about that myself," Rogue admitted.
"Before you ask, dragons can't usually turn into other creatures. That requires a grasp of transformation magic few would bother to achieve, but Igneel and I have always loved magic," Atlas explained, "So when Igneel wanted to live among humans to help him decide what to do about the war, we set about devising a spell that would allow him to do so temporarily. Once he got to Talos, he met Porlyusica and quickly realized she was his mate. He couldn't leave her, so he continued to power the spell until she died giving birth to Natsu."
"You need to understand. None of this has ever been a choice for Natsu. It's just who he is. So whatever you think about him, you must sort it out now," Atlas growled, "Once we get to where we're going we can't afford to be divided."
The dragon slayers nodded in understanding and set off to look for Sting, leaving Natsu with Atlas.
"Were you really tired or was this just your way of getting everything out in the open?"
Atlas looked off into the distance, "The decision was out of your hands once they came along. This way you'll at least deal with it on your own terms. With things being the way they are, there's no way anyone outside of the family can know what you are. They will assume you're a renegade. That's why you're going to remain a dragon for as long as we're there."
"I'm going to have to stay like this the whole time?" Natsu protested. Although his uncle's words made sense, he hadn't considered that possibility.
"What did you think, that you'd be able to protect Igneel posing as a dragon slayer?" Atlas roared in amusement, "Your magic is much stronger in this form, and you know it."
Natsu frowned, now that Atlas put it that way it sounded stupid to think that, but the idea of only keeping to his dragon form made him nervous. He'd never done it for more than a couple of days at a time when he was younger, and even then Natsu had felt powerful instincts working at him. Instincts much different from what he was used to. His thoughts drifted to Gray, and he promised himself that he would return to him no matter what it took.
The dragon slayers were gone for hours, and Natsu was freaking out by the time they returned, bearing several kills for them to eat. Sting approached Natsu while the other slayers set about preparing their meal.
"Can we talk?"
"Sure," Natsu walked away from the others, knowing that Sting would prefer to speak privately.
"I'm sorry. I overreacted," Sting apologized quietly, "Rogue told me I was out of line and I guess he's right. It just feels like every time we're getting closer again, something happens to create more distance between us."
"I'm sorry too," Natsu confessed, "I know Igneel forbade me from saying anything, but I should have fought him harder. I feared how you would all react when you found out. You guys are all I have. I didn't want to risk losing you because of something I had no control over."
"You're such an idiot sometimes."
Natsu gawked at Sting, not sure of what he meant.
"However it happened, you gave us all a family, and we'll always be grateful to you for that. It might not be typical, but it was perfect for us and much more fun than living in the orphanage."
Sting gave him one of the mischievous grins that were often the precursor to them getting in trouble as kids, "I do feel cheated though. Can you imagine the things we could have gotten away with if I'd known?"
Natsu laughed until he remembered how when he'd met Gray he'd dreamed of doing just that. Going on adventures, flying for as long as he could hold his transformation, and then exploring wherever they ended up.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing, you just reminded me of something," Natsu dismissed Sting's concern.
"Judging by how miserable you looked, I'm going to assume it had something to do with Gray. It might take time, but he'll come around. I definitely understand your hesitation a lot better now, but you have to remember, he loves you."
"Yeah," Natsu agreed, but his tone was muted.
"Yes," Sting shoved him playfully as he repeated the word more firmly, "Now all you have to worry about is getting back home in one piece so you can make him yours."
"Can I really do that without telling him the truth?"
Sting had no answer to that, so he wisely changed the subject. "Do you think of yourself as a dragon or a human?"
"Neither I guess, if I had to identify as anything at all it would be dragon slayer, even though I'm not one. I've always felt like I belonged with you guys."
Natsu stared off into space, his thoughts once again on what it would mean for him to remain a dragon for an extended period. Igneel had always been against it, but he'd never explained why.
"What's wrong?" Sting's eyes flickered uneasily at Natsu's expression.
"Atlas said I have to stay like this for the entire time we're there."
"Makes sense I guess, maybe you should change back now, enjoy your last night as a human while you can."
Natsu changed back with Sting watching him, "Man, that's gonna take some getting used to."
"That's what Rogue said!" Natsu grinned and ran off towards the others, feeling better than he had before. He cackled as Sting chased after him, hurling good-natured insults at him.
The dragon slayers played and laughed, doing their best to let Natsu know they still saw him the same as before. Atlas supervised, feeling relieved that this at least had gone well.
"Alright, time for bed. We leave at dawn."
O-o
Gajeel rode on Natsu while the other three dragon slayers remained on Atlas. Natsu had to agree with Atlas, Gajeel weighed a ton, but they'd had a productive talk along the way. Gajeel would take over Natsu's role as their leader while he remained in his dragon form.
Atlas had warned the dragon slayers to be careful who they trusted as they still felt renegades were hiding within their ranks. He suggested they should stick to Irene as much as they could. He also promised Natsu that he would train with him as much as possible for the fights ahead.
It was nighttime when they arrived, but they could still hear loud noises that could only signal fighting. To their relief, Atlas led them away from it and into the back entrance of a cave not dissimilar from their own. They followed him through its winding passages, all their senses going into overdrive as they detected a myriad of unfamiliar scents. Natsu's heart raced in both excitement and apprehension at seeing his father for the first time in two years.
They bumped into a woman first, one that smelled eerily familiar even in the relative darkness.
"Where the hell have you been?" the woman smacked the giant dragon on his side, "We've been worried sick. Igneel feared the worst."
Atlas smiled nervously, "Just went to fetch a few things."
Sting, never one to remain quiet, added with a big grin and a wave, "Hi, we're the things."
"Sting Eucliffe? I swear to the Gods Atlas, if I see my daughter with you, I'll kill you myself," Irene smacked the dragon again. "What were you thinking? You know how Igneel feels about this."
"I had to do it, Irene. We've talked about this. We're running out of options," Atlas protested.
Irene studied the dragon sadly, "I won't argue with you, I imagine you did what you felt was right. Just realize that it will have consequences, especially when Igneel sees Natsu."
"He'll see I'm right," Atlas muttered stubbornly, although it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.
"For your sake, I hope you're right," Irene moved towards the dragon slayers, looking them over intently. "Let me look at all of you, you've grown so much! How's my Erza?"
"Bossy," Gajeel retorted, and although Rogue glared at him, Irene only laughed heartily.
She looked at Natsu for a few minutes and offered him a smile that was so similar to Erza's that it hurt. He tried to return it, and she placed her hand on his snout, petting him briefly.
"I have to go out and do some rounds, you kids might as well come with me so I can start showing you what you'll need to know."
"Even Wendy?" Natsu asked, glancing at the youngest dragon slayer with concern.
"She'll be fine, dear, I won't let anything happen to her," Irene smiled warmly before calling for Belserion. Once he arrived, all the dragon slayers climbed on and took off, leaving Natsu to stare after them.
"Don't worry so much kid, Irene is as tough as they come and although you might not see them, two shadow dragons are tailing them. They'll be fine. We might as well get this over with," Atlas moved through the many passages until they reached the entrance to a large chamber where Igneel stood, looking more enraged than Natsu had ever seen him.
Igneel glanced at the other dragons in the room that Natsu hadn't even noticed and asked them to leave them for the moment. They all made their way out of the chamber giving a small bow to Igneel as they exited and that surprised Natsu as well, especially as the majority were not fire dragons.
He'd always known his father was the King of the Fire Dragons, but it had never dawned on him that the title actually meant something to others.
Igneel nodded to Atlas, and his front claws glowed, a purple magic circle appearing in front of him as he created a barrier that would keep their words from being overheard.
"Have you lost your mind?! What is Natsu doing here?" Igneel roared, ignoring Natsu for the moment, but there was no denying the fury in his roar.
"You had no right to go behind my back. This decision was not yours to make. You're not his father, I am."
"I've been around for him just as much as you have."
"Then you should have left him at home where he would have been safe."
"I told you, I need to work on a counterspell," Atlas replied calmly, "I can't do that if I have to watch your ass all the time. Who else would I trust to protect you?"
"Damn it, Atlas, no more. Magic is what got us into this mess!"
"And it will get us out. If we can neutralize the renegade threat, we can negotiate the rest. We all want to go home, Igneel. Deliora hates your guts, he's never going to agree to a truce."
"That's where you're wrong, brother. He's already agreed to talk with me."
"Surely you're not thinking of going. It's a trap. Let me guess, he asked you to go alone?"
"No, he demanded you be present, says you're the only one he trusts, which of course we couldn't do because you'd disappeared."
"He wants me?" Atlas' laughter filled the large chamber, "Then it's definitely a trap. He hates me even more than he hates you."
Natsu stood there, not knowing how to feel. His father hadn't even glanced his way, and this entire conversation baffled him. It was like being a child again. Igneel and Atlas off doing their own thing while Natsu sat alone wishing he could be like them. Except this time it wasn't their usual pointless bickering. He could hear the anger behind their words, and it worried him because they sounded much too comfortable with it.
"I wanted to come," Natsu spoke up, figuring if nothing else it would redirect Igneel's anger.
Igneel finally looked at him, and it shocked Natsu to see how much his father had changed. He looked older and tired. Like Atlas, his body was covered in scars, and his eyes looked like they had seen horrible things.
"I never wanted this for you," Igneel still sounded angry, but he hugged his son and looked him over, "but you're here now, and it can't be helped."
"You've grown since the last time I saw you like this," Igneel noted with a smile, "Doing the nightly patrols must have made you much stronger."
"I did my best," Natsu peered at Atlas, hoping that he wouldn't go into how he'd expanded their territory or mention he'd been attacked.
Atlas met his gaze and shook his head slightly, "As far as I saw, the town looked just as we left it, although the population seems to have grown."
"I'm sure you did, I expected nothing less," Igneel ignored Atlas in favor of praising Natsu, "Tell me, have things with Gray improved since I left?"
"Somewhat?" Natsu covered Atlas in return, not wanting to add to the tension that existed between the two brothers.
"Gray knows what we are to each other, and we have an understanding of sorts. But he doesn't know what I am, and he wasn't happy I left."
"Well, that's progress I suppose," Igneel muttered thoughtfully, "We can do more catching up later, but there are some things you need to know now that you're here. You might have noticed that the other dragons were treating me differently."
Natsu nodded, "It's because you're the King of the Red Dragons, right?"
"I wish it was," Igneel bowed his head, "Our family, we're the last royal dragons left. The renegades or Deliora's dragons have killed all the others. The renegades seem to think royal dragon blood is the most powerful of them all. Not true by the way, the only thing that makes us any different is the magical knowledge we've gained over the centuries, and that can't be transferred by blood. As for Deliora, he just wants power, as he's always done."
"With all their royals gone, the remaining dragons have adopted me as their leader. I'm telling you this because once the enemy realizes who you are, you can expect to be heavily targeted as well. So if you plan to protect me, you're going to have to learn how to fight properly first. Atlas can start your training as he will be responsible for you while you're here," Igneel fixed Atlas with a glare that screamed he would hear no arguments on the matter and Atlas nodded in agreement.
"I imagine Grandine and the others already know you're here and will be glad to see you and their own children," Igneel managed a genuine smile for the first time since Natsu arrived.
"How did you know?" Natsu asked curiously even as he felt himself getting excited at the thought of seeing the rest of his family.
Igneel rolled his eyes, "You've been human for too long. You forget our sense of smell is much stronger, but even if it wasn't, we raised you to be a family. There was no way they would have stayed behind if you were heading into danger. Atlas might very well have damned you all."
"Think you can find them on your own? I need to speak to your uncle for a moment."
Natsu glanced at Atlas, but the dragon only gave him a bored look, so he assumed everything would be fine. He left the room and set about finding his friends.
"I was against this plan of yours from the beginning, but since you've taken the choice out of my hands, you will need to work as fast as you can," Igneel growled, "We both know what could happen if he stays in that form for too long."
"I'll do my best."
"No Atlas, you will do better than that. And trap or not, we will meet with Deliora. If we want to save what's left of our kind, we can no longer afford to ignore any path that can bring an end to this nightmare."
0-0
Three months later
Natsu flew out of the cave carrying Sting on his back. They'd been given a quick search and rescue mission to locate some dragon slayers that hadn't returned. Natsu was just happy to see his friend. He hadn't really seen much of the dragon slayers since he'd arrived.
He'd spent the first few weeks following Igneel around during the day and training with Atlas in the evenings, moving on to Belserion once Atlas felt he'd taught him all he could. Irene, along with Genya, another dragon slayer she trusted, had been training the Talos dragon slayers since they'd arrived.
To hear Sting tell it, Irene was even scarier than Erza, but she was very sharp, and they had all learned a lot from her. Atlas had been brutal in his training, but Natsu felt much more confident in his abilities than he had before, even though his uncle had to heal him extensively to ready him for the next day's session.
"Do you know this dragon slayer we're looking for?" Natsu asked curiously. After the renegades had attacked a few dragons while they slept, the dragons had demanded the slayers' living area be moved away from theirs.
"Yeah, she's about our age. She's an Ice Dragon Slayer. You'll love her," Sting teased, but immediately shut up when Natsu became quiet.
Sting changed the subject slightly, "She's friendly with Wendy, her name is Utari. She went out with Oliver, another dragon slayer, this morning, but neither of them returned."
"How are the others?" Natsu flew low, extending his senses to detect any other dragons in the area.
"They're fine, I guess. It's a really weird scene, man. Although, everyone loves Wendy, of course," Sting laughed.
"Of course," Natsu laughed along with him. The dragons mostly kept to themselves, and since Natsu spent most of his time shadowing Igneel, he didn't get to see his friends as often as he wished, so missions like this were the only time he really got to spend time with them.
"But, it's like no one trusts each other," Sting tried to explain, "Like the other day Oliver came back, and he was all covered in blood, and everyone just gave him a wide berth, like he was contagious or something. The blood ended up being all his, but people were scared, almost like they think this whole renegade business is contagious or something."
"But it isn't!" Natsu protested, and Sting stopped him.
"I know that, I'll tell you something else, they don't like Weisslogia at all, or me for that matter," Sting said more quietly.
"That makes no sense, neither one of you would ever hurt anyone," Natsu was quick to defend his friends.
"I don't know about that, I mean it's what we're trained for, isn't it?" Sting sighed, "It's nothing to do with that, though. There's this rumor going around that it was the White Dragons who started this whole thing, I've tried to ask Weisslogia about it but he just... anyway, I guess maybe there might be some truth to it."
"That's stupid! Even if that were true, the others followed soon enough," Natsu complained, outraged that anyone would mistreat his friends.
He was still worked up when he caught it. A scent of blood mixed with fear wafting into his nose. Natsu growled before he even noticed what he was doing, and he flew towards the smell.
"Natsu?" Sting looked down at his friend worriedly.
This was something they'd all noticed when they went on jobs with him. Natsu was changing. It wasn't very pronounced, but they had lived with him for years, so it was easy for them to pick out, especially now that they didn't see him as often. His responses were sharper and more dragon-like, not at all like how human Natsu would react.
"Huh?"
"Is everything okay?" Sting tightened his grip on his friend as he sped up beneath him.
"I think I found them, there's a potent stink of blood and fear in this direction. I smell two dragon slayers and at least one dragon, although I'm not sure what kind. I'm sorry, I think we're gonna have to fight."
"That's the job," Sting responded absently, worrying about what those changes in Natsu could mean. He promised himself he'd bring it up to Atlas the next time he saw him. "When we get close, I'm gonna jump off and help the dragon slayers while you take out the dragon, okay?"
"Got it," Natsu agreed, his mind already going over the things Atlas and Belserion had taught him. He flew even faster, wanting to help the dragon slayers who, despite their magic, seemed to be at a disadvantage.
It was a wood dragon, which explained why Natsu couldn't pick his scent out easily, surrounded as they were by nature. The dragon was on the ground, his entire body made up of braided tree bark with vines growing out of different areas which he was using to attack the dragon slayers. The vines flicked around like whips even as the dragon mocked their efforts at defense.
Natsu felt Sting jump off and use his magic to slow down his descent, allowing Natsu to speed up and ram the dragon while Sting checked on the dragon slayers. He'd only had enough time to notice one of them wasn't moving.
The wood dragon got up quickly, attacking Natsu with his vines, wrapping them around his limbs and tightening them in an attempt to immobilize him. Natsu raised his body's temperature drastically, coating his body in his flames and incinerating the vines into ashes that crumbled to the surrounding ground. He felt rage consume him, and he blew out fire in an enormous cone that engulfed the other dragon.
The wood dragon shrieked in pain even as he panicked and tried to put out the flames by rolling his body uselessly against the ground. Natsu continued to fire roar after roar at him, savoring the sound of the creature's screams.
He could hear Sting yelling at him to stop, that other things were catching on fire, but it sounded far away, and his mind screamed that he needed to continue his attack until his enemy was dead.
He heard Sting asking one of the dragon slayers if they could use their magic. Natsu was coming out of his frenzy and could see the damage his attacks had caused, but there was nothing he could do. It was his fire, and he couldn't eat it. Natsu turned to grab the slayers to fly them to safety when he noticed a young girl get into a fighting stance and call out a spell.
Ice Dragon Roar
Ice spewed out of her mouth and coated everything around them, putting out most of the small fires that had started from the dragon's thrashing and even though it was nothing like Gray's ice it brought back a conversation they'd had about dragons when Gray had first arrived at Talos.
Have you killed any?
No, and I rather hope I never have to. Killing is not something I enjoy.
Natsu threw up as he stared in shock at the smoking remains of the wood dragon he'd just killed. The easiest possible matchup for him out of all the dragons they could've encountered. Sting rushed over to him, checking to see if he was alright.
"Natsu! What's wrong?"
Natsu couldn't help the fear that gripped him as he remembered one other thing Gray had said in the heat of a fight.
You're not a kid anymore, Natsu, you need to get this idea out of your head that dragons are anything but beasts intent on destruction.
Had Gray been right all along? He'd killed that dragon without giving it a second thought, and with a sinking heart he had to admit to himself he'd enjoyed it.
"Natsu! We need to get out of here, others are coming," Sting urged and as Natsu smelled multiple dragons headed in their direction, he realized Sting was right. This had been a search and rescue mission, they needed to get back home quickly before they found themselves in a fight where they would be at a severe disadvantage.
The three dragon slayers climbed onto his back, and he flew them away as fast as his wings could manage, forcing his mind to focus only on getting away. The dragons had caught their scent and were giving chase, and Natsu found he had to fight his own instincts, which were demanding he turn around and fight.
Utari cried softly, and Natsu could only think of Wendy, and he felt shame for what he'd done. He'd taken a life callously, and it went against everything Igneel and Atlas had ever taught him.
He pushed his wings harder than he ever had before, determined to get the dragon slayers back to safety. The flight was bumpy, and Sting and Oliver tried to calm Utari down, whispering soothing words meant to offer comfort, but they weren't enough to keep her from crying the entire way home.
It made Natsu think about the dragon slayers as people for the first time. Dragons were everything he'd ever known, but for these humans, it was all new.
What must have brought them here, to accept these overwhelming powers and use them to fight what must amount to terrifying creatures? What had they seen and done since they'd gained their powers and did they regret their choice? When all this was over, could they return to their life? Could he?
What would be left of him by the time he returned home? Would Gray still love him when he learned the things he'd done?
Natsu wasn't sure what to think, the conflict between his instincts and his mind causing him to panic.
"Stop it, Natsu," Sting commanded, bringing him out of his thoughts, "You did what you had to do. Nothing more, nothing less."
"What—"
"I've known you for a long time, you're not that hard to read," Sting reminded him, "I think you can slow down a bit. They seem to have given up."
Natsu slowed down a little, but he couldn't wait to get back to the cave. Once he entered, Oliver climbed down, and Sting handed Utari over before jumping off. Natsu heard the two men whispering about the girl and moved away, not knowing where to go but not wanting to remain still.
"Natsu, wait up!" Sting chased after him, and Natsu stopped even though he refused to look at his childhood friend.
Sting sighed, petting Natsu's snout when he realized how worked up Natsu still was, "I don't know what happened to you out there but — let's just go talk to Atlas, okay?"
Natsu nodded, leading the way to their chamber only to be stopped by a lightning dragon.
"Highness, no dragon slayers are allowed past this point." The lightning dragon glanced at Sting in a way that wasn't entirely unfriendly but was decidedly wary.
"Sting needs to speak to Atlas," Natsu declared, moving forward and motioning Sting to follow.
"Then, I shall come with you as well," the dragon pronounced, following behind them as another lightning dragon appeared to take his place.
"It's really unnecessary," Natsu insisted, frustrated by the dragon's persistence, especially after what Sting had told him earlier.
"It's fine, Natsu, he's just doing his job," Sting shrugged it off, but Natsu could tell that it bothered him and he didn't know what to do to help. They remained silent until they reached Atlas' workspace, which was littered with scrolls and all manner of random objects.
"Hey Atlas," Sting greeted him, and Natsu was grateful to see Atlas brighten up at seeing the dragon slayer. He fought the urge to gloat as the lightning dragon stationed himself outside the room.
"What brings you both here?" Atlas peered down at them. It was unusual for him to have visitors outside of Igneel and Natsu.
Natsu remained quiet, not knowing what to say or how to bring it up, but Sting as usual had no problem speaking his mind.
"We went out on a job today, and Natsu killed a dragon. He was acting strangely."
"Oh, well, I mean it was his first kill. That's bound to feel strange," Atlas pretended to study the scroll he'd been holding, trying to avoid the nagging feeling that this was the beginning of what they'd worried about.
"No," Sting was quick to protest, "It's more than that, Atlas!"
Atlas took a deep breath and put a finger over his snout, motioning both of them to be quiet. Natsu saw him once again create the barrier that would allow them to speak without being overheard.
"Be careful what you say around others," Atlas chastised, "that goes for both of you. No one can know about Natsu, Sting."
"I know, I'm sorry, I just — we're worried," Sting placed his hands over his head and paced in the ample space, "Natsu's like our brother and ever since he got here he's been changing. We've all noticed it. And today, when he fought that dragon, it was like he was a completely different person."
"That's because he wasn't a person. He was a dragon," Atlas peered over at Natsu, who, unlike Sting, was standing in place looking off into space.
"Natsu," Atlas called out gruffly, trying to get through to his nephew, and when Natsu finally looked up at him, he prodded, "Have you felt any differently?"
Natsu thought about all the little things that had felt different or off, and about how he'd lost control of himself during his fight with the dragon, and he could only nod.
"I see," Atlas sat deep in thought and Sting stopped his pacing, choosing to go over to Natsu and stand next to him.
"Atlas will fix it. You'll see," Sting spoke gently, much like he had to Utari earlier, and Natsu nudged him with his head.
"You need to tell me when these things happen, kid," Atlas began and his tone was serious, "Did you ever wonder why Igneel didn't want you to stay as a dragon for long periods?"
"Yeah, but I thought it was just because he was afraid I'd get caught," Natsu replied.
"That was part of it, yes, but there's more to it than that. Your dragon side didn't manifest until you were a few years old. It would only pop up for a short time before receding, but every time it did, there were physical changes when you changed back. Your fangs are a glaring example of that."
"As best as I can figure, it comes down to heredity. Your dragon genes are in a constant battle to overwrite your human ones. Once we realized your mate was a human, we knew we had to let your human nature be in control just in case...," Atlas trailed off, not wanting to add more worries to Natsu's already burdened mind.
"In case what?" Sting immediately asked what Natsu wouldn't, trapped as he was in the certainty of what Atlas was going to say and the pain at the betrayal that came with it.
"In case one day, he couldn't turn back," Atlas couldn't shake that all the terrible things that befell his family always came back to him. He might have caused none of this directly, but he had been the one to create the spell that allowed Igneel to transform into a human and caused all this mess.
"I need you to tell me exactly what's been happening and what you've felt so that I can try to come up with a way to counteract it, and if I can't outright stop it, at least slow it down enough to ensure you can go back to Gray as a human at the end of this."
"You knew about this, and you didn't think it important enough to tell me?" Natsu reproached his uncle, even though he knew his decision to come with him would have been no different had he known.
"We didn't want to scare you," Atlas admitted, "We didn't know for sure. We just thought we should guard against it. I will find a way to fight this. I promise."
"No," Natsu replied forcefully, surprising both Sting and Atlas, "You're spread too thin as it is. You need to work on that counterspell, and I heard you're also trying to recover the parts of the souls that Acnologia reaped from Igneel and the other dragons. Both those things are more important than this. Now that I know it's happening, I can try to fight against it."
Sting looked at him in horror, "Are you insane? Let him help you, You don't know the first thing about this stuff."
"There are a few things that I think might help," Atlas mentioned quietly.
"Then point me to them, and I will learn them on my own while you work on your spells."
Sting and Atlas both tried to talk him out of it, but he had already decided. This was his battle to win or lose, and Natsu was not one to give up easily. If he had to learn magic to do it, then so be it.
He prodded at his bond, feeling only the slightest twitch in response. He had to win; he'd promised Gray he'd return, and that was precisely what he was going to do.
"Sting."
Sting turned towards him, and Natsu could see from the frustrated expression on his face that his best friend already knew what he was going to ask of him, and he didn't like it in the slightest.
"Please don't tell the others."
A/N: These last few weeks have been crazy, and I wasn't even sure I'd be able to update in time, but I managed it. I was planning on doing only one chapter on the war in Natsu's POV, but I quickly realized it wasn't going to happen. Not only would I never finish it in time, there was too much that needed to happen, and I didn't want to rush through it, or have everything lose its impact because there was so much to get through. So there will be at least one more, I'm not yet sure if this will affect the number of chapters yet, we'll see.