Chapter 30
"I have a what?!" Gray spluttered, staring in disbelief at the two dragons in front of him.
"A dragon soul," Atlas repeated slowly, "As in, you used to be a dragon."
"How the hell does that even happen?!"
"Many years ago, there were all kinds of dragons on this Earth, but in recent years that's changed. Disease, infighting, and of course, the war, they all took their toll on our once numerous populations," Igneel explained calmly, sensing that this approach would be more productive than Atlas' bluntness.
"It's my guess that as fewer dragons were born and human populations exploded, the dragon souls found their way into humans. Nature has a way of balancing inequities out," Igneel shrugged.
Gray stared at him, his mouth still open in shock, but there was something in his expression that gave Igneel hope. He could tell that the boy was already considering this information and what it could mean to his situation.
"Natsu's mother?" Gray asked, his brows furrowing as he tried to understand, to give credence to what he was being told.
"We think she might have possessed a dragon soul as well," Igneel responded. "It would explain why her magical ability was so much stronger than any other human I encountered while living in Talos, or why she was my mate."
"I used to be a dragon?" Gray's voice trembled as he looked down at his body, "That's very hard for me to accept."
"I won't try to convince you. You already saw it for yourself," Atlas said impatiently, "You have within you the soul of an ice dragon. There haven't been many of those for a long time."
"That explains so much, though," Atlas' laughter was loud, his mirth echoing inside the room and irritating Gray.
"What's so damn funny?"
"Well, while it's true that you can never be sure who you will end up with as a soulmate, most pairings happen within races. Matings between dragon races are not unheard of, but it is quite rare to find them within dragons of opposing elements."
"That's true," Igneel agreed, "but when they happen, as with Sting and Rogue's dragon parents, the bonds that develop are incredibly strong. Just like the bond you share with Natsu. I highly doubt many other bonds would have survived the damage yours suffered."
Gray's eyes widened as he absorbed Igneel's words. "Okay, let's say for now that I believe you," Gray said, "Why does any of this matter? Regardless of what kind of soul I have, I'm still a human, and Natsu is still a dragon."
He fixed his gaze on both dragons and tried to wait patiently for an answer as they once again had a conversation he wasn't privy to.
Igneel finally faced him, looking more solemn than Gray had ever seen him. "What if there was a way for you to live your life out with Natsu as equals?"
"As equals? What do you mean-," Gray stopped in mid-sentence, suddenly grasping what the dragon was asking him.
"You want to turn me into a dragon somehow?!" The words sounded ridiculous to his ears, but he could see from Igneel's quiet nod and Atlas' scowl that it was precisely what the dragons were proposing. "But how is that even possible?"
"It would be a gamble," Atlas revealed. "But I've been looking into soul magic, among other things, and it is at the very least within the realm of possibility to move your soul into a dragon body."
"You can't be serious," Gray argued, "That's impossible."
"Not impossible," Atlas corrected, "It would just require very complex magic. The amount of latent energy existing within all life forms is enormous. It's a combination of magical potential, body size, and life force. Some spells, like the one Igneel used to turn into a human temporarily, require so much magic that they eat up amounts of your life force in exchange. If we deconstructed your body and converted all of that energy into magic, we can harness it to-"
Atlas stopped in mid-sentence, his gaze shifting to Igneel and studying him carefully. His expression twisted into one of distress as he yelled out, "Is that how you were planning to generate the energy we need?"
Igneel remained silent, but he looked away, and that seemed to be answer enough for Atlas. "NO! I will have no part of this!"
"Atlas," Igneel finally gazed upon his brother, his expression guarded, "There is no other way, you must know that."
"NO! I will find another way!" Atlas roared, charging out of the room.
Gray didn't know what was happening; he'd understood little of what Atlas had been trying to explain, but given his reaction there was more at stake than what he was being told. "What's going on? Why is he so upset with you?"
"It's nothing for you to worry about," Igneel smiled, but Gray could tell that Atlas' reaction had upset him. "All you need to do is decide whether this is something you want. Would you give up the life you have now for a chance to live together as a pair of mated dragons?"
Gray didn't like being kept in the dark, but he supposed it would only be a problem if he went through with it, and he could always ask more questions at that point. "How long do I have?"
Igneel tilted his head as he thought over Gray's question, "I wouldn't take longer than a week or two to decide. A spell of this magnitude requires a lot of preparation, and we're only going to get one shot at it."
"Only one? Why?"
"I won't sugarcoat it. There are risks involved in what we are attempting, but it's still a windfall given your situation. You should continue practicing your astral projection," Igneel advised, "Learn to control it so that you can remain in that state for long periods, no matter the circumstances. It might very well mark the difference between success and failure."
Gray got an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. Igneel had always answered all his questions honestly, but he had clearly avoided this one. Just what did this spell entail?
"I'll take my leave now; I should go speak to my brother."
Gray watched Igneel leave, trying to ignore the tense way in which the dragon held himself as he walked towards what would most likely not be a pleasant conversation.
I have a dragon soul.
He allowed that thought steep in his brain. Was it actually possible? Gray knew what he had seen in that mirror, but could he trust it? The whole thing felt so surreal, and he wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.
But if there was even a sliver of a chance at having a normal life with Natsu, one where they could live together as a couple for longer than one day out of the year, shouldn't he risk it? Would he come to regret it if he didn't?
He sat back on his bed, determined to practice his astral projection. Maybe spending more time as his dragon self would help him arrive at a decision.
0-0
"I said that I want nothing to do with this, and I meant it," Atlas roared the second Igneel entered his bed-chamber.
"Atlas -," Igneel took a deep breath, collecting all the patience he'd developed in his long tenure as King.
"No. Don't you dare Atlas me!"
"It's the only way, and you know it," Igneel kept his voice low and soothing, the same way he did when trying to calm Natsu down.
"How can you expect me to just go along with it?"
"I have been responsible for so much pain over the years, but none worse than the grief all my mistakes caused Natsu. Gray as well, for it was my apathy that killed his family. If I can do this for them, I have to try. Why can't you see that?"
"That's not true. I'm the one that sped up his transformation. If anyone should pay the price for what happened to Natsu, it should be me."
"Atlas, I've lived a long, happy life. I found my soulmate, fathered a child, watched him grow into someone I'm proud of. You know this, you were always right beside me. I know this is hard for you to accept, but I want to do this. Natsu doesn't need me anymore, but he needs Gray. This current arrangement they have, you know it's hurting them both. Besides, it's time for me to return to Porlyusica."
"If you do this now, you'll never be able to reunite with her," Atlas announced, "Acnologia has a portion of your soul trapped inside of him, if you die before he does, your soul will disintegrate into nothingness."
"I was hoping you hadn't figured that out," Igneel grimaced, even as his shoulders sagged, "but that still doesn't change my decision."
"You know, and you're still willing to go through with this? This is madness! At least let me go after Acnologia. Once I kill him then we can do this," Atlas pleaded, "You've waited for so long, what's a little longer?"
"We're only going to get one shot at this, and Natsu can't know about it before it happens. He'd never agree."
"You can't just leave him like that, Igneel! He's already lost so much," Atlas pleaded, clinging to anything that could change his brother's mind.
"I've already said my goodbye to him," Igneel said simply, giving his brother a sad smile. "Please, don't make this any harder than it has to be."
Atlas refused to let things end like this for his brother, so while Igneel continued to work out the specifics of the spell they were writing, Atlas began the long process of poring over every single tome and scroll in their library. Searching for any scrap of information regarding soulmates and soul bonds, anything that might help him keep his brother from suffering a fate that he knew would be worse than death.
0-0
"Okay, what the hell is going on with you?" Lyon demanded, sitting down at the table where Gray was eating his lunch in the Village Guard's dining room.
Gray turned his head to the side, surprised to find his brother next to him.
"Huh?"
"Exactly that. You've been out of it for days," Lyon pointed out before shoving a heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.
"Oh, just have a lot on my mind, I guess," Gray chuckled nervously, not having the first clue on how to explain to Lyon the thought that was always on his mind.
Would you give up the life you have now for a chance to live together as a pair of mated dragons?
Lyon would think that the stress of his situation with Natsu had finally driven him mad, and Gray couldn't blame him. The whole thing was insane. Deep in his heart, Gray knew what he wanted to do, but he also realized it was selfish to even consider it.
The same excuses repeated themselves in his head. There were plenty of people who needed him - Lyon, Erza, Anna, even Juvia. They all cared about him, and he would hurt them if he vanished from their lives, this time for good. Then there was the promise he'd made to protect the village from danger, which he took seriously.
He'd still spent hours training his astral projection, remembering Igneel's warning. The more he practiced, the easier it became to separate his soul from his body. At first, he'd only thought about getting good enough to have Atlas teach him how to reach the astral realm so that he could talk to Natsu.
Then he realized that would be a mistake. How would Natsu respond to seeing him there? To know that despite Gray possessing the soul of a dragon, their situation hadn't changed. He couldn't do that to his mate, not until he had finally decided.
"Worried about Natsu?" Lyon asked, and when Gray nodded, he quickly changed the topic. "I've been meaning to ask you something," he announced in between bites, "I'm planning on visiting Ur's grave in a couple of days. Would you like to come? It's been a long time since we've been to see her."
Gray thought about it briefly. According to what Igneel had said, he still had plenty of time to decide, and it had been a very long time since he had gone to visit her. "Sure, sign me up!"
"Great, I'll make sure Erza gives you the same day off," Lyon declared, "So, how are the dragons treating you? I can't even imagine how you manage the heat. The one time I was in there, I was miserable."
"No joke! It's stifling, especially with this heat. Natsu's uncle cast some spell in our room that lowers the temperature so at least it's comfortable in there," Gray explained, "To be honest, it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be, Natsu's dad is nice, and the other two mostly leave me alone."
"God, this summer has been brutal! Erza used to stand in front of the refrigerator to get cool until she realized she could turn me into her personal cooling unit," Lyon sighed, but they both knew he was full of it, he loved every minute of it.
Gray laughed and listened to Lyon go on about Erza and even offered some Natsu stories in return. Lunch was over much too soon, but Gray eagerly awaited their upcoming day trip.
Several days later, they set off towards the village where they had lived with Ur, reminiscing about some of the people they had known and wondering what had become of them. They stopped at a field not too far from their destination to pick flowers for her grave.
Gray wondered what Ur would have advised him to do if she'd been aware of his predicament. She'd never been one to tell them what to do, preferring to let them figure things out on their own, occasionally guiding them when she felt they had lost their way. It was one of the things he'd always admired about her.
Remembering her love of roses, Gray carefully molded some around her headstone, creating small crevices where they could arrange the flowers they had picked.
"You've always had such a great eye for detail," Lyon praised, admiring Gray's creation, "I rather think you would have made an excellent artist if you hadn't had magic. I was always too impatient, so Dynamic Ice-Make was a better fit for me."
Lyon grabbed some flowers and placed them in pleasant bursts of color. "You know, it's been all these years, but I still miss her."
"I do, too," Gray admitted, grabbing another bunch and helping Lyon. He tied the remaining flowers together with a bit of string and placed them underneath the engraving of her name, Ur Milkovich. He spread the blanket they'd brought along and sat down facing the grave.
Lyon joined him, and they sat quietly for a few minutes, each caught up in thoughts of their teacher.
"So, are you finally going to tell me what's bothering you?" Lyon asked; his eyes never straying from the headstone.
Gray gawked at his brother in disbelief, "Are you telling me you planned this whole thing just to manipulate me into talking to you?"
Lyon chuckled, "I mean, I had been planning on asking you to come with me to visit, but I kept putting it off. There never seemed to be a right time. I think she'd like to know what we were up to."
Gray debated keeping the situation to himself, but he quickly realized there was no one better to discuss it with. Lyon had always tried his best to be supportive regarding his relationship with Natsu. It would be a colossal mistake to waste this opportunity when his brother was clearly willing to listen. He threw caution to the wind and confided, "What would you say if I told you I had a dragon soul?"
"A dragon soul?" Lyon pulled out a blade of grass and chewed on it thoughtfully. "Where did you get that idea?"
"The dragons, but it's not an idea. I've seen it," Gray emphasized, not wanting there to be any misunderstanding on the matter.
"I guess I'd say start from the beginning," Lyon shifted until he was lying on his side, propping his head up with his hand as he got ready to listen.
"You're not going to tell me I'm insane?"
"Nothing that comes out of your mouth surprises me anymore. You're married to a fucking dragon, for God's sake."
Gray laughed at his response, feeling relieved now that he knew Lyon wouldn't attempt to discredit what he was going to tell him. The words poured out of him. He recounted how he had learned how to astral project, hoping to communicate with Natsu while he was away. Described his shock at seeing his reflection in the mirror and his reluctance to accept what he had seen.
He told Lyon everything, including how the dragons had thought they could create a spell that could move his soul into a dragon body and his suspicion that Igneel was hiding something from him. Once finished, he waited for any response from his brother.
"Wow, gotta say I wasn't expecting that," Lyon admitted, sitting up and staring at Ur's grave while he thought. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know," Gray confessed, "I know what I'd like to do, but it doesn't feel right."
"Can you show me what you look like?" Lyon asked, his eyes full of a curiosity that made Gray smile.
"Uhm, yeah, sure," Gray closed his eyes briefly, focusing on what he'd now seen many times in the mirror before calling on his magic and creating a small replica in his hand. He took great care to add as much detail as he could remember.
Gray started by creating a basic dragon shape, with its four legs directly underneath it, each foot sporting three forward-facing claws and another backward-facing one at the rear of the foot. Next, he worked at the snout, making it narrower and forming the spiky horns that sat atop his head, their shape resembling the ice swords he often molded in battle. Gray added the elegant fin-like membranes of the wings, which looked like they were crafted from the smoothest ice he'd ever seen. Lastly, he focused on the tail, shaping the fins that covered the lower half of it, culminating in a clump of ice spikes that tapered into a very sharp point. There was no simple way to show the fur covering his body, but he tried his best to give the impression of it. Gray kept working at it until he was content with the results. Only then was he ready to show it to his brother.
Lyon's sharp intake of breath was unexpected, as was the request to hold the sculpture. Gray handed it over, watching as Lyon turned it around and around, looking at it from every angle until he seemed satisfied.
"That's beautiful," Lyon breathed.
He put the sculpture down gently on the blanket and worked at creating his own. He worked at it for a few minutes, but as he'd mentioned, he wasn't the most patient. However, it didn't take long for Gray to understand what Lyon was trying to do. He was creating a likeness of Natsu. It was much less detailed than Gray's dragon, but it was still easily recognizable. Once done, Lyon imbued it with some of his dynamic ice-make magic, and the sculpture flew around them gracefully. Lyon grabbed Gray's sculpture carefully and did the same until both dragons flew side by side in fluid, graceful movements. It made Gray's heart ache to see his fondest wish displayed right in front of him.
Lyon chuckled at whatever he saw reflected in Gray's face, "It seems to me you've already made your decision. So what's the problem?"
"How can I leave you all behind, after everything you've done for me?" Gray voiced his concern, expecting his brother to understand his feelings on the matter.
"I'm gonna stop you right there," Lyon snapped, displaying an anger Gray had rarely seen, especially directed at him. "Don't you dare use us as an excuse! You're being offered an incredible opportunity, one that solves all of your problems. If you're afraid of going through with it, then you need to admit that to yourself. Fear is healthy, and you can figure out where it's coming from. Heck, I'll even help you, but this has nothing to do with any of us. This is about you and Natsu."
"But what about whatever Igneel is hiding?" Gray nibbled on his lip, hoping Lyon could tell him something that would make him feel better about the whole mess.
"What about it? Do you trust Igneel?"
"Well, yeah, as far as I know he's never lied to me, and he's always been kind," Gray replied honestly. He liked his father-in-law very much, but he couldn't stop wondering what he was keeping secret. It gave him a bad feeling.
"Then you just need to accept that whatever he's hiding is his problem, not yours. You aren't responsible for the choices or actions of others." Lyon pointed out, pragmatic as always. "All I know is, if Erza and I were in your situation, I wouldn't think twice about it. I'd be a dragon already."
Gray didn't question the truth of that statement. For all the wavering and insecurity Lyon had held at the beginning of his relationship with Erza, Gray was aware there was nothing his brother wouldn't do for his wife.
"Do you still hate dragons?" Lyon asked him quietly, a contrast to his previous outburst.
"No, it's not that."
"Then what is it?"
"I just, I don't know the first thing about being a dragon," Gray finally admitted, "If I changed, I'd really be the Dragon Queen or King or whatever. What if I mess everything up? Not to mention I'd have to leave everything I know behind, I'd never see you or Erza again."
"Whoa there, dude, you're making me anxious just listening to you," Lyon complained, "Of course you'd see us again. What's the big hurry, anyway? Can't you just talk to Natsu about this when he returns?"
"No, they want to do the spell before Natsu returns from his trip, Igneel said I had about two weeks to decide."
Lyon studied him intently, his words coming out as a groan, "Why is nothing ever simple with you two?"
He scratched his head, "In the end, none of that changes anything. It's just noise. There is only one question you need to ask yourself. Do you want to spend the rest of your life with your husband as equals, or are you happy with things the way they are?"
"You know I'm not, I want to go back to the way things were, but that's not possible."
"Then isn't this the next best thing? Don't forget, dragons live for a very long time. You'll have plenty of opportunities to learn everything you need. Just promise me you'll give me a ride once you change!" Lyon grinned excitedly.
"God, can you imagine what Ur would have thought of all this?"
"I think she would have enjoyed fighting against an ice dragon," Gray mused.
"Oh, definitely! Kind of curious what types of things she would have molded," Lyon landed the two sculptures gently and handed them to Gray to examine.
He looked at the two dragons standing together, and he felt his chest tighten. This could be them.
Gray knew Lyon was right about everything.
He was afraid, which was one of the worst reasons to shy away from a course of action. And he couldn't deny what his heart wanted. To be free to give and receive affection, to fight for fun like they used to do, to experience life on their terms. He could almost imagine the shock on Natsu's face when he saw him, and he smirked in anticipation, remembering how Natsu had said ice dragons were pretty. For once in their tumultuous relationship, fate had seen fit to correct a mistake. He'd be a fool to refuse this chance.
"Alright, I'm going to do it!" Gray exclaimed. And now that he'd finally decided, he felt excited about the future. He still had a lot of work to do on his end, and he wanted to do everything in his power to help things along.
"Good." Lyon smiled, giving him a quick hug before unpacking the lunch Erza had prepared for them. "It's about time something went your way. I swear, sometimes I wonder who you two pissed off up there."
Gray nodded, grabbing a sandwich and wolfing it down. They began reminiscing about their childhood and their time with Ur. Once lunch was over, they talked to their teacher, telling her everything that had happened since they had last seen her.
The time to leave Ur was soon approaching, and it made him sad to know he might never be back. It was a grim reminder that he would also have to say goodbye to Lyon and Erza soon. Something he wasn't ready for, despite his growing excitement about the future.
"I never thanked either of you for coming to my rescue at that bakery," Gray lamented, "You've been such a great brother ever since, even when I was difficult."
"You've always been difficult," Lyon teased, and when Gray sniffled, he couldn't hide his own tears. Gray felt strong arms wrap around him tightly, and he rested his head on Lyon's chest, letting the tears flow until there were none left.
"You know Ur didn't like tears," Lyon chided gently, "How about we show her how far we've come instead."
Lyon stood and immediately got into his molding stance, and Gray followed suit. He'd always loved sparring with Natsu, but Lyon had been his first real opponent, the one that he measured himself against. He did his best against him now, eager to show off his progress to the woman who had given him a home when he'd had none.
0-0
Natsu and Happy had been flying for days. They rarely took a direct route to Drak Aast, well aware that Acnologia was out there somewhere, and he was more than likely trying to find its location. They had only kept it a secret by not telling any dragon outside of their most trusted circle where it was.
Acnologia's absence was something that was working at Natsu's nerves. He wasn't naïve enough to believe that the renegade had given up.
And it wasn't just Acnologia who was absent, neither Natsu nor Atlas had found any sign of the other renegades for months. Something which made them think either Acnologia was attempting to unite them under him for an all-out attack, or something even more sinister was going on.
Neither possibility was reassuring. Natsu knew they needed to come up with a strategy to take the renegade out once and for all, but it seemed like an impossible task. Their most significant asset, which was magic, was useless against him. Having absorbed portions of the souls of so many dragons and linked them with his magic, Acnologia had made himself immune to most of their attacks.
Natsu recognized there had to be a way to defeat him, but he couldn't see it. He could only hope that the next time they met, he'd be able to figure something out since so far he'd been the only one to have injured the renegade significantly.
His first glimpse of the island interrupted his thoughts, its shape barely discernible in the distance. He extended his senses out one last time to make sure they weren't being followed and began his approach with Happy on his tail.
Natsu relaxed as they got nearer, looking forward to visiting with his friends and exploring the island with Happy. But first he'd have to placate Belserion by taking care of all the duties he'd neglected in his absence.
They'd reached the center of the island when the sounds of a fight reached his ears. He and Happy looked at each other in confusion and hurried towards the noise.
A group of dragons hovered near the entrance of his cave, launching their breath attacks at the Talos dragons, who had positioned themselves in a defensive circle around the dragon slayers. Belserion yelled at the slayers to run into the cave as Metalicana took to the air.
"What is going on here?" Natsu yelled, hoping that his voice would be enough to stop the fray, but both sides were too intent on the other to hear him.
"Happy, go in the cave and protect the slayers," he requested, wanting to keep his friend out of whatever this was.
"Aye, sir!" Happy chirped, making his way carefully to the cave's entrance.
Once he was inside, Natsu made his way over to Belserion, landing at his side.
"Nice of you to show up," the dragon scowled.
Natsu ignored him for the moment, examining the dragons that were attacking. There were several types of dragons present, so whatever they were unhappy about was something that affected multiple dragon races. They continued launching their breath attacks, but now that the slayers were safely inside the cave, the Talos dragons were retaliating, which was only going to escalate the problem.
Natsu wasn't about to let that happen. He let out the most imposing roar he was capable of, determined to get their attention. He followed it up with a bellowed command, which he knew they were conditioned to follow.
"ENOUGH!"
The other dragons finally noticed his presence, and both sides ceased their attacks, although none of them seemed content to do so.
"Did you learn nothing from the war? We can't afford to fight amongst ourselves," Natsu reminded them, shifting his gaze from dragon to dragon, disturbed when all met his gaze evenly. Whatever this was, it was important to them. It would need to be dealt with, or the peace they'd managed so far could shatter.
He recognized one of the attacking dragons, an Earth dragon that had fought at his side during the war and called out to him. "Efigénia, can you tell me what this is about?"
Efigénia bowed his head as a sign of respect before addressing Natsu bravely. "Dragon King, we demand that the slayers leave Drak Aast immediately."
The anger he'd heard in the voice of the Earth dragon stunned Natsu. He'd been aware of some animosity developing between the dragons and the slayers, but he clearly hadn't understood how far it had progressed.
"But this is their home. They're here with their parents," Natsu responded, trying to think of a way to mediate this to a peaceful outcome.
"This is our home, the only safe place left for us to thrive," Efigénia declared to the boisterous agreement of the other dragons that stood with him, "Our eggs will soon hatch, and we don't want the slayers here when that happens. They betrayed us once, and they could do it again. We are not willing to take that chance."
Natsu wanted to defend his friends and protest that they would never do that, but he remained silent, reflecting on the dragon's words. Dragons were extremely territorial, having them all share one island already placed a lot of stress on them. Creating a situation where they were also anxious for their young might push them well past their breaking point.
The dragons only wished to protect their offspring from an attack that, in their minds, could come at any time. As much as Natsu would like to tell them they were worrying over nothing, he knew he couldn't do that.
Despite possessing dragon magic within them, slayers still thought of themselves as mostly human. They had different desires and motivations. It wasn't an unreasonable request, and if he wanted to maintain their hard-earned peace, he had no choice but to support it.
"Very well," Natsu responded, "I have heard your demand, I give you my word that I will consider the matter. Belserion and I will discuss how to proceed. Return tomorrow for my decision."
The dragons nodded their acceptance and flew away. Natsu waited until he could no longer make them out before turning to Belserion. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize things had gotten this bad. I would have attempted to get here sooner."
Belserion shrugged, "There's no point in fighting over things that we can't do anything about. The question is, what are we going to do about this?"
"The only thing we can. We have to tell the slayers they have to return to the human world. I mean, do they even want to stay?"
"Some of them do," Belserion pointed out, "Irene, Wendy, maybe some others. Then there's Sting and Rogue," he added carefully, aware that it was a sore subject.
"What about them?"
"Where are they going to go?" Belserion asked, the severity of his expression confusing Natsu.
"Home?" Natsu shrugged, not understanding the issue.
"I didn't expect to hear you say that after what happened," Belserion replied honestly.
"Talos is their home," Natsu declared, and this was the truth. They had lived there most of their lives, and he had no desire to take that away from them. "They are welcome to return there if they so choose, I won't stand in their way."
"I think they would only accept that coming from you," Belserion remarked, observing Natsu hopefully.
"I will consider talking to Rogue later," Natsu muttered, "I am interested to see how he's doing with Gajeel's contraption."
"Natsu-" Belserion attempted, but Natsu didn't want a lecture at that moment.
"That's the best I can offer," Natsu declared before turning away and entering his cave.
The dragon slayers stood huddled together in the cave's antechamber, looking spooked, while Metalicana and Skiadrum stood guard over them.
"Hey, Uncles," Natsu greeted them with a fond smile, happy to see them again after several months away.
"Natsu," Metalicana grinned, "That was quite the roar, Gajeel almost soiled his pants."
"Hey! Speak for yourself, Bucket of Bolts!" Gajeel snapped, and Natsu couldn't help but laugh at how little the two had changed.
Natsu searched the cave until he found Happy excitedly talking with Rogue. He observed the dragon slayer for a minute, noticing the metal legs. It pleased him to see that Gajeel's idea had worked. He'd hated the thought of Rogue being unable to move on his own for the rest of his life.
"I see you were good for something after all," Natsu praised Gajeel, nodding his head towards where Rogue stood.
Gajeel flushed at the compliment, "Yeah, we had a few false starts, but we figured it out. He won't win any races, but he can get along on his own pretty good now."
"I'm glad," Natsu declared, "Thanks for not giving up."
"It's not like there's a hell of a lot else for me to do here," Gajeel grunted.
"About that, I'd like to talk to you and Irene in private," Natsu requested, knowing that the two were considered the leaders of the remaining slayers.
"I'm here," Irene announced from behind Natsu, and he turned to greet her, immediately dismayed by what he observed. It was a sight he was familiar with from his own injuries. Some of the skin on Irene's face had cracked, revealing red scales underneath.
She had begun to dragonify.
It hit him harder than he thought it would, and he could understand why the dragons were so riled up. That must have brought back terrible memories for them. He had a bad feeling that Irene wouldn't want to return home after all, and he could only think of Erza and how long she had been waiting for her mother's return.
Natsu remained silent for the moment, deeming it better to wait until he could talk to her alone. "Let's go to my room."
Belserion, Gajeel, and Irene followed him, none of them speaking until they had arrived at his chamber, the one place where they wouldn't be interrupted.
"Belserion and I have discussed it, and we think it best if the slayers leave Drak Aast and return to the human world. As their leaders, we'd like your help in coming up with a reasonable plan of action on how to make that happen safely." Natsu examined the expressions of both dragon slayers at his decision, wanting to gauge how much opposition he could expect, but neither looked particularly surprised by his proclamation.
He waited a few minutes more to give them a chance to protest, but again there was nothing.
"They'll be able to decide where they want to go and we can provide transportation. If we do it at night, we should be able to avoid detection."
"What about their magic?" Gajeel asked.
"If they wish to keep it, they are welcome to. They've earned that right, I think. If they wish to remove it, we can do that too. We will need to remove all memories of their time here, though. I don't want there to be any chance of them returning or worse leading someone here."
"You're thinking about Acnologia, aren't you?" Irene guessed.
"We haven't seen him since his attack on Talos. I don't know what he's up to, but we have to assume he's trying to find us. "
Irene and Gajeel nodded in agreement.
"He won't stop until he achieves his goal of destroying all dragons," Irene frowned, "It's a little concerning that he hasn't shown himself in so long."
Gajeel frowned, "I think a lot of the slayers understand the situation, but I'm gonna be honest, you're going to get some pushback on the memory spell."
"That part is not up for discussion," Natsu snapped, "I am not about to create a situation where a slayer could lead Acnologia here in exchange for their life."
"I'm not saying you're in the wrong Runt. I'm just telling you you can expect pushback," Gajeel remarked.
"Right, sorry," Natsu apologized, realizing he'd overreacted.
"You know, rather than getting pissy at me, you should just have it out with Sting about what happened," Gajeel pointed out.
"How many dragon slayers are currently on the island, and how many days will they need to get ready to go?" Natsu ignored Gajeel's words, causing the Iron Dragon Slayer to sigh.
"There are fifteen altogether," Irene declared, "most of them from different towns. We should coordinate groups, with Acnologia still out there, I don't think it wise to send any dragon out alone."
"That's true, and I'd have to go on every trip as I'm the only one besides Atlas who can cast the memory spell," Natsu reasoned, "Belserion should stay here in my absence, so I guess I'll have Metalicana and Skiadrum come as backup."
Belserion grunted his agreement at his choices. "We could start three days from now, that should give you enough time to deal with the most pressing issues before heading out. You and Happy can take the Talos folks' home when you're ready to leave. Bright side, you'll be home much sooner than usual."
Natsu thought about that, deciding it was worth the hassle if he could both appease the dragons and get home to Gray sooner than expected. "Alright, that sounds good."
"Gajeel, can you go talk to the slayers? I need to talk to Irene for a bit."
"Sure thing, your Runtness," Gajeel gave him a mock bow and left.
Natsu snorted at the moniker but turned his attention to Irene.
"When did it start?" He asked, examining the scales more closely now that they were alone.
"A few months ago, I was hoping it was just a fluke, but as you can see, it's only getting worse," Irene gave him a crooked smile. "I should have expected it; I'd just hoped that I could escape it."
"Has Grandine tried to heal it?" Natsu fretted, trying to think of a way to make it go away so that Irene could return home.
"Yeah, both her and Wendy tried, it made no difference," Irene shrugged disinterestedly, "There are more pressing things to worry about at the moment."
"You can still go home," he implored, "Did you know that Erza's married now?"
"She is?" Irene breathed, the longing in her eyes unmistakable, although a steely glare immediately replaced it. "Who did she marry? What are they like?"
"She married my mate's foster brother, an ice mage by the name of Lyon. He doesn't have any problems putting me in my place," Natsu grinned, "I'm sure you'll love him."
"Anna misses you too," he added, hoping that bringing her up would sway Irene.
"I can't let them see me like this, Natsu," Irene pleaded with him.
"What if I removed your magic?" Natsu peered at Belserion for an answer to his next words, "If I did that, it shouldn't be able to progress, right?"
Belserion appeared pensive, tapping his claws against the cave floor, "I think it should stop."
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it wouldn't get rid of what's already there," Irene pointed out.
"It's a start," Natsu urged, "Atlas created an illusion spell that covered my scales so that Gray wouldn't see them. Maybe he could do the same for you. You can't give up, Irene. Do it for Erza. Don't you think she's waited long enough?"
Irene's eyes bored into him, "I could ask you the same thing. Don't you think Sting has waited long enough for you to talk to him?"
"That's an entirely different situation, and you know it." Natsu could feel the anger building as it always did when Sting's betrayal came up.
"Is it?" Irene squared her shoulders, "I know things can never be the same between you, but can't you at least grant him forgiveness? He still loves you."
"Don't ask the impossible of me!" Natsu snarled, his tail swishing dangerously behind him. "All of you need to back the hell off. You have no idea what he did!"
"Of course we don't!" Irene pressed her lips together, "Because you refuse to talk about it. All I know is he sent Acnologia to Talos."
"Isn't that enough?" Natsu ranted, "Or are you fine with him sending that abomination to where Erza is?"
"Of course not," Irene argued, "But everything turned out alright in the end, didn't it? You protected the town. Everyone is fine, and he's sorry. He wants to make amends."
"He wants to make amends?" Natsu growled in outrage.
"Let me see if I understand. Because everything supposedly turned out okay, I'm just supposed to forget the whole thing ever happened? Is that what you're saying?" Natsu knew his voice was getting louder by the second, but there was no holding back now.
Irene backed up towards Belserion, who was watching him with concern.
"You want to know how okay everything turned out?" Natsu roared, finally fed up with everyone's well-intentioned meddling.
"Fifty years, Irene. I was supposed to get at least that much time with Gray before turning into a dragon for good. Thanks to Sting's betrayal, I got six months. Six months!"
"Turned into a dragon for good?" Irene balked, "What are you talking about? How could you expect Sting to know something like that?"
"No, he's right, Irene, I knew," Sting's voice pierced the air of the cave, "I was the only one besides the red dragons who did."
He made his way inside slowly, struggling with every step as Rogue tried to pull him back.
Natsu bristled at seeing Sting enter his room. "Get out!" he seethed.
"No," Sting replied calmly, "This has gone on long enough. I know you're angry, but you've avoided me since you found out what I did, and this might be the only chance we have to talk. We've been friends our entire lives, Natsu. There has to be a way for me to make this right."
Natsu couldn't help but laugh bitterly, "No, there isn't. You don't even understand what you did. Do you?"
"Then tell me! Yell at me, fight me, I don't even care what you do. Just do something, because the silence—it's killing me."
Rogue let go of Sting's shirt with a long drawn-out sigh, choosing to grab his hand and stand by his side in a display of solidarity.
"We need to know what we did," Rogue pleaded, "You've kept us from it long enough."
Rogue's words sliced through some of his anger. Ever since Natsu had learned of Sting's betrayal, he'd focused most of his rage on him. Even though on some level he'd always realized that Rogue wouldn't have been entirely blameless. But Rogue had also suffered his own set of consequences during the war. Consequences that could have been avoided if Natsu had just stayed with him instead of letting him take on that dragon on his own.
But it was more than that. Rogue had been the first one of the slayers to see his dragon form and accept it. He had kept something from Sting just to help him protect Gray. And despite learning Natsu hadn't been entirely truthful with him about what he was, he'd still offered his support when Natsu came clean to the others.
Sting had taken the only course of action available to him that allowed him to protect his mate. Natsu had always understood that. What Sting didn't seem to understand, was that in doing so, he'd put Gray in danger, and that was not anything Natsu could ever forgive. His much stronger dragon instincts wouldn't permit it.
But as much as he wanted to remain angry, Natsu found he couldn't do that when faced with Rogue's resigned gaze.
"You took away my future, Sting. How can you expect me to forgive that?" Natsu stared into Sting's eyes, hoping the dragon slayer would back down from a conversation that would only hurt them, but he remained resolute.
"I have to know," Sting pleaded, and Rogue nodded his agreement.
Natsu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. So be it. He wouldn't keep them from it any longer.
"Fine, I'll tell you. Gray and I had just returned from our honeymoon when he showed up," Natsu recounted, telling the story as calmly as he could manage, given the circumstances. "Gray refused to flee, so I had no other choice but to transform to save the town. Acnologia came at me hard. Our fight wrecked the village. He got away from me and went after Gray, slamming him into a building, breaking his back and nearly every other bone in his body. And I couldn't do a damn thing to help him until I chased that monster away!"
"Do you have any idea how it feels to see your mate bleed out before your eyes and not be able to do a damn thing about it? Because that's what I had to do until I could get him somewhere safe."
"Gray—is he?" Rogue wasn't able to finish his question, covering his mouth with his hand, but it wasn't enough to silence the whimper.
"He's alive," Natsu monotoned, trying his best to stay in control, "It took almost every ounce of magic I had left, but I healed him enough that he survived."
He could see Rogue relaxing somewhat at that, and it irked him because, to him, what came after was much worse.
"You wanna guess what happened once Gray came to and realized what I was?"
Sting shook his head slowly, turning his face away so Natsu couldn't see his tears, but he could still smell them.
Natsu disregarded Sting's refusal, wanting him to understand just how far the repercussions of his actions ran. "Well, it should not surprise you," he fumed, "He rejected me. Just like I always feared he would."
"Stop," Sting pleaded, "I can't—"
"No!" Natsu responded coldly, "You wanted to know, so I'll tell you the rest of it."
"I ended up removing Gray's memories of our time together, so he didn't have to remember that I was a dragon, or live with the guilt of having rejected me."
"So don't you dare tell me you're sorry, or that you want to make amends. What happened with Rogue was an unfortunate accident, but you knew damn well what would happen to me when you made your choice."
"You make it sound like he had a choice," Belserion argued, "You know more than anyone what it's like to stand against that monster. The pure unadulterated fear he invokes. What did you expect him to do, just let Acnologia destroy his family? Could you have done that to protect him?"
"I know I wronged both of you, but I've spent all this time trying to come up with ways to redeem myself," Sting cried, "Can't you at least let me try?"
"You want to redeem yourself? Go home, Sting. Make it up to them. That's a much better use of your time, and they will appreciate your efforts."
"Please!" Sting beseeched, leaving Natsu feeling uneasy because Sting Eucliffe did not beg.
Natsu turned away, hating that the tremor in Sting's voice affected him. "I can't forgive you, but I suppose I can't stop you from trying to change my mind."
"Thank you," Rogue bowed his head, and grabbed Sting, pulling him out of the room before he could do anything to jeopardize what he'd earned.
Natsu nodded, watching their exit with mixed feelings.
Now that he'd let out some of his rage, he didn't feel as confident as before. He and Gray were together again. Their situation wasn't ideal by any measure, but it was better than he could have hoped for under the circumstances. Should he continue to hold a grudge, when everyone else seemed to have forgiven him?
He could feel Belserion and Irene observing him, and despite how tired he felt, he wanted to get out of the cave, which suddenly seemed much too small.
"I'm going to see what's changed since the last time I was here," Natsu muttered, feeling adrift for the first time since he'd understood Sting's role in what had happened. He could hear echoes of Sting's pleas playing in his mind, in stark contrast to the loud objections of his dragon instincts.