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Chapter Text

Weisslogia and Skiadrum were the first. Dragons may have been rare, but they were still around. And being two male mated dragons, they couldn’t have hatchlings, the lifeblood of dragon magic. So when they stumbled on two human boys, barely three seasons old, they felt like they had found blessings in the form of humans. The two boys, Sting and Rogue, were a learning curve for the nest, and how to behave in the human world.

Igneel found Natsu next. The boy was barely five when he wandered into Igneel’s cave and fell asleep next to him. To say that Igneel was shocked was understatement. And when the boy showed interest in fire dragon magic, Igneel was unable to resist the spunky child. He would take Natsu to the mountains to train, teaching him to roar and to destroy mountain tops. All in all, Igneel taught Natsu how to “over-do it.”

Metalicana and his mate, Anahita, found Gajeel running from villagers trying to stone him. Anahita had used her water magic to sweep the villagers away while Metalicana looked over the boy to see he had no hope, no life. He felt a twinge of pity for the child, and Anahita had cooed over how cute the human hatchling was, despite he was almost seven, heading into the youngling stage of a dragon’s life. It didn’t matter to them. Metalicana began teaching the boy how to roar right away, and how to distinguish good iron from bad iron to eat. Anahita just enjoyed having her own hatchling, having given her last egg long ago.

The island of dragons was a happy one.

Then Grandine found the little basket with the newborn girl swept up from a previous storm, the wreckage of a ship surrounding her. Grandine left the nest for five years, barely a blip in a dragon’s lifespan, but still lived close enough for the others to find her. She came back to the nest when Wendy, as she was called, was five years old. Then she began training her little human in healing magic, for injuries were common in a nest of dragons. Natsu and Gajeel immediately began treating her as their little sister, while Sting and Rogue were the roughhousing cousins.

Together, they grew up to be “dragonslayers,” trained to take down Achologia, the worst dragon of them all.

All in all, it was an interesting life. Look for magic jobs, go back to the nest, scare some villagers with dragon sightings, look after the hatchlings when an aunt needed a break. A good life. Until one day…

Chapter Text

The Fairy Tail guild was on the run. All members, new and old, were racing to get to the Port of Hargreon before the Fiore army or, worse, the Rune Knights caught up to them. They barely had time to pack the essentials and a few precious memorabilia before taking off. Their master, Makarov Dreyer, made sure to spread out their escape, some going on foot, others by wagon or carriage, or riding the rails, each in groups of three or four.

“I can’t believe that this is happening,” whispered a blonde girl to her companions. “How could they do this to us?”

“I don’t know, Lucy,” whispered a silver haired girl, around the same age as the blonde. “We’re known for property damage, not assassinations. At least we have friends helping us right now.”

The blonde, Lucy, couldn’t help but let a few tears slip out at her friend’s answer. All of her companions had silver hair, being siblings, but they were more than that. Lisanna, the girl who had answered her, was the one who found her after being away from home for a year. Mirajane and Elfman provided solstice on bad days when her team, consisting of Erza, Gray, Juvia, and Romeo, cause enough damage to cut into their reward money on missions. They were family, just as the rest of the guild and Lucy’s spirits were.

Currently, the four were in a wagon, Mirajane reading a newspaper with the front page headline proclaiming, “Fairy Tail Gone Dark!” and the rest mourning the loss of their guildhall and homes. Lucy dared a peek out of the wagon, barely seeing the ocean coming into view over Hargeon’s skyline. The wagon rattled to a stop, and the driver turned to the little group of fugitives with a sad smile.

“This is as far as I’m supposed to get ya, kids. Your master’s orders. I would have driven straight to your ships, but that would look suspicious, apparently,” their driver said, a sorrowful look on his face. “Magnolia isn’t gonna be the same without the Fairy Tail guild.”

“We’ll be back as soon as we clear our name!” Mirajane promised, her cheery voice sad.

“Be careful; Hargeon reported seeing two dragons nearby. With the army and the Rune Knights after you, you guys don’t want to meet up with those as well,” their driver warned.

“Ha! Like dragons can take down a real man!” Elfman scoffed.

“Knowing our luck right now, we’ll meet all three at the same time,” Lucy grumbled as she hopped out of the wagon.

“Gonna be weird, not seeing ya walk by the river, Miss Lucy,” the driver admitted as he gave each wizard a hug. “Magnolia will miss your happiness. All of you.”

“We’ll be home before you know it,” Lisanna reassured him, a few tears leaking out. Lucy had given up the battle and was freely letting her tears fall. Lisanna was the first to wrap her up in a hug, tears streaming down her face as well, before being joined by Mirajane and Elfman as their driver clucked for his horse to head back to Magnolia. They stayed like that for a while before Lucy finally squirmed away, wiping her tears away.

“Sorry,” she sniffed. “It’s just...”

“We know, Lucy,” Lisanna reassured, giving her a small smile. Lucy smiled back, grateful that the Fairy Tail guild had been the one to find her, filling the hole in her heart from a lifetime of isolation with her father. Being rich had perks, but it didn’t stop the loneliness of an overworking father and a dead mother. It didn’t buy family.

Fairy Tail became Lucy’s family after she helped the Strauss siblings with a job, specifically Lisanna. The youngest Strauss sibling had been grateful and impressed by Lucy’s celestial spirits that she invited Lucy to join Fairy Tail, and the rest was history.

And now Fairy Tail was leaving, accused of crimes that they didn’t commit. Sure, they caused plenty of property damage on jobs, but the attempted assassinations of the entire Magic Council was a rather large leap. The Council also wanted them to be executed, hence the running away with their tails between their legs.

Lucy took a deep breath and forced her gloomy thoughts away.

“I’m gonna go find Levy, look for any magic shops for last minute supplies and stuff. What about you guys?” Lucy asked.

Lisanna perked up and exclaimed, “We’re gonna go look for the Thunder Legion! And then head to the ships after picking up some groceries for the trip.”

Lucy nodded and said, “Sounds like a plan.”

“Remember,” Mirajane warned, “we’re to meet up at noon to leave. We need to stay ahead of the authorities. Everyone got their guild mark covered?”

Lucy nodded with confidence, raising her right hand to show Mira her mark covered by a fingerless glove. Lisanna and Mirajane easily covered their marks with their clothes, but Elfman had to wear a scarf to hide his. They quickly headed into the city before separating to look for their guildmates.

Lucy found Team Shadowgear easily, at one of Hargeon’s many bookshops. Jet and Droy looked almost bored as Levy eagerly searched the shelves for any new books to tide her over until their mess was straightened out.

“Hey, guys!” Lucy greeted quietly, Jet and Droy greeting her back just as enthusiastically. Levy was still distracted, and Lucy giggled before tapping her best friend’s shoulder gently. Levy jumped about a mile high before turning to see Lucy.

“Hey, Lulu!” Levy said before hugging her. Lucy giggled as she returned the hug.

“See anything you like?” she asked, referring to the books. Levy pouted and shook her head.

“No! I’ve read just about everything here! I wish I could bring my library with us, but…” Levy trailed off, remembering how massive her personal library was. Lucy winced in sympathy, having seen Levy’s collection of books before. Jet and Droy were sobbing as well, as they were likely to do when Levy was sad. Lucy rolled her eyes at them; the two boys loved Levy, but she didn’t love them romantically as they do. Still, they were sweet enough to her.

“Where’s Pantherlily?” Lucy asked. The black cat, or Exceed as he called himself, liked to hang with Team Shadowgear, but he could still do whatever he wanted. Especially when he could fly and talk (a shock to most laymen).

Levy laughed. “He went looking at new weapons. Mavis only knows if he has enough.”

Lucy giggled; Pantherlily, or Lily to everyone in the guild, used to be a commander in another dimensional world called Edolas and was considered the “tank” of Team Shadowgear. So, it was understandable that he would be interested in such things.

“I’m gonna look for a magic store for a new key. Wanna join me, see if they carry any new magic books?” Lucy asked Levy. She knew the answer at “books.” Levy’s eyes were sparkling.

“That sounds great!” Levy replied. She turned to her two teammates. “You guys wanna come with?”

Jet and Droy quickly shook their heads. “Nah, we’re gonna go get some last minute supplies before we have to leave. Just stay close to the docks, okay?” Jet said. Lucy and Levy quickly agreed to the plan before going their separate ways. As the two girls wandered around the sea town, all the residents were talking about the Fairy Tail guild and every market stall had newspapers either declaring that they had gone dark or that they had been framed, but all had described how the Magic Council was almost assassinated and all signs were pointing to Fairy Tail. Lucy gritted her teeth; many of Hargeon’s residents didn’t believe that Fairy Tail had committed such crimes, but some of the more vocal residents were utterly convinced that her guild had committed the crime.

“Easy, Lucy,” Levy chided when she noticed Lucy’s hand unconsciously going for her Celestial Keys. “We can’t give ourselves away now.”

Lucy took a deep breath and took her hand off her key pouch. “I know. It’s just hard---”

She was interrupted by a massive roar that shook buildings and rattled glass. Another roar, just as powerful, followed it. Lucy and Levy looked at each other before looking toward the outskirts of Hargeon, where the roars originated.

“Looks like those dragon rumors are true,” Levy muttered.

“Let’s find that magic shop,” Lucy muttered back, and the two girls hurried to the magic shop. Which turned out to be the only magic shop in town.

“Sorry, girls,” the shop owner said apologetically. “But Hargeon is more of a fishing town than a magic town. But! I do have the latest magic items!”

With that he began to pull various magical items, including a color changing module intent on changing clothes, from behind the counter. Lucy and Levy gave each other disappointed looks before turning back to the shop owner.

“Sorry, but I’m looking for some new Celestial Keys,” Lucy said.

“And I’m looking for some new magic books about runes,” Levy added.

“Ohhh, Celestial Keys and runes, eh? You two must be pretty powerful wizards then,” the shop keeper commented, not noticing the chilly fear surrounding the girls. Lucy had to work to calm her heart and she began to look through the shop’s shelves. She could tell that Levy was just as rattled because she was just as quiet in her inspection. Lucy let her eyes roam before noticing a small wooden case. It was open, revealing a silver key with a blue emblem at the top nestled in blue fabric. Lucy recognized the emblem and gasped excitedly.

“It’s the Little Doggie!” she squealed. Levy peeked around the corner to see what had Lucy so excited.

“The Little Doggie? That one isn’t that powerful,” the shop keeper said dubiously. Lucy shook her head and said, “I know, but it needs a home!”

She always had a special connection to Celestial Spirits, one that she could place to her late mother, and could just tell that this key had been here for a while, being passed over and over again for more powerful keys. It was alone, like she had been before Lisanna brought her to the guild. She looked toward the shop keeper and was about to ask about the price when Levy’s excited squeal alerted her of her own find.

“Lucy! Look at this!” Levy practically vibrated in excitement at her discovery. Lucy looked to see an old book on Boscian runes and temples in Levy’s hands. Her blue haired friend continued, “It has all the major temples, and pictograms, and ancient spells that we can still use today! Oh, I hope that it’s for sale!”

“Those what you want, ladies?” the shop keeper asked. Lucy picked up the case with the Little Doggie key and nodded.

“Yes, sir! How much a piece?” she asked.

“Twenty thousand jewel for each!” the shop keeper proclaimed happily. Lucy felt her jaw drop at the price and a quick look at Levy told her that she was just as appalled at the price.

“Are they really worth twenty thousand jewels?” Levy whimpered quietly.

“Unless you can’t afford them…” the shop keeper said, his tone saying that if they couldn’t afford them, they should put the key and book back. Lucy hopped up onto the counter and gave the shop keeper a sultry grin and a wink.

“Oh come on! How much are they really worth?”

Five minutes later, both girls walked out of the shop with lighter purses and new purchases.

“I can’t believe that old geezer only knocked off two thousand jewel a piece!” Lucy seethed.

“Easy, Lulu. At least he didn’t rob us of all of our money,” Levy soothed, straightening her orange crop top from under her blue vest. Another pair of roars interrupted them, and both girls looked toward the woods beyond Hargeon nervously.

“If those two dragons keep that up, the army will be arriving,” Levy said nervously.

“Yeah, and that won’t be good for us,” Lucy agreed. “Let’s get to the ships. It’s almost time for us to leave anyways.”

Levy nodded and the two girls continued to the port, trying disparately not to look too suspicious. They were half way there when a voice called out, “Hey, you two beauties. Would you like a drink?”

Lucy’s nose crinkled in disgust at the horrible pickup line and whispered to Levy, “Just keep walking. He’ll leave us alone if we ignore him.”

“Yeah,” Levy whispered back. They continued past the guy, but being a persistent man, and a drunk to boot, he continued to call out to them. All they gave him was the cold shoulder. Lucy heard the guy growl before her hand was grabbed. Her right hand that currently had a glove on it, hiding her Fairy Tail mark.

“Hey!” Lucy growled.

“I was talkin’ to ya! Rude girls like you two usually end up in alleyways!” the drunk growled.

“Rude! What about you, you pervert? Let go!” Lucy snapped. She yanked her hand away…and her glove came off, revealing her pink Fairy Tail mark. Lucy’s body went cold as the drunk’s eyes widened.

“Solid Script: Silence!” Levy cast her spell, but the drunk toppled over before she could quiet him. Immediately, he began screaming, “Fairy Tail wizards! Fairy Tail wizards in Hargeon! Call the army!”

Lucy felt panic begin to take over as people stopped and stared. She felt Levy grab her hand and the two began to run towards the port. They didn’t make it very far before they saw the blue and gold uniforms of the army heading towards them.

“Crap!” Lucy cussed under her breath as she tugged Levy into an alleyway full of barrels and crates. She quickly selected a golden key and commanded, “Open! Gate of the Twins! Gemini!”

A doorbell sound later, and Gemini, one of Lucy’s Zodiac Spirits, appeared.

“What is it, Lucy?” Gemi asked.

“What can we do?” Meni added.

“Thank goodness! I need you guys to go to the port and find Master Makarov! Tell him what happened and that we’re cut off from the port by the army! We’ll find a way to get to them! If he refuses, then summon Taurus and have him lift anchor! Everyone should be on board right now, so it should be okay!” Lucy ordered.

“But what about you guys?” Meni asked.

“Yeah!” Gemi agreed. Another pair of roars, this time more ferocious, vibrated the port town again. Lucy looked to see Levy’s “planning face” on, looking toward the woods. Towards the roars. Lucy’s eyes went wide.

“Levy, no—” she began, but Levy cut her off.

“It’s either death by army or death by dragons. Either way, we have a better chance of escaping giant dragons than the army. Plus, the guild will be safe. They’re our best chance, Lulu!” Levy reasoned. Lucy grimaced, but knew that the dragons would be better than being executed. Lucy turned to Gemi and Meni and said, “Okay, get going! We’ll lead the army in circles, giving them plenty of time to escape.”

“You got it! Pidi pidi!” Gemini cried before disappearing with a “poof!” Lucy could feel her two little Spirits pop back up again, but the distance between their hiding place and the port was too far for her tell how well they were doing. She looked at Levy and nodded, who nodded back before the two fugitives took off running. Various shouts behind them that the army had spotted them again and were giving chase.

They weaved their way through the town, nearly giving the army the slip a couple times before being spotted again. Finally, they made it to the woods beyond the town and began to run full out. Lucy was panting hard and the stitch in her side and the thumping of her backpack made things worse. But she refused to be caught before her guild’s name was cleared. So, she kept running with Levy.

“Where are these dragons anyways?” Lucy panted.

“I don’t know!” Levy panted back. “But how can it be to find two giant----whoa!”

Lucy skidded to a stop next to Levy as they watched the two massive dragons face off with another portion of the army. One was a scaly red with numerous scars on his muzzle, with wings that could easily shadow a whole forest. The other was pure metal, shiny and chrome, with spikes on his tail and wings made for slicing. And from what Lucy could tell, they were just playing with the soldiers, snapping at the spears and, in the metal one’s case, eating swords. Lucy and Levy were above them, looking down the bowl that they had situated themselves in.

Finally, the two dragons appeared to have enough and reared on their hind legs, giving Lucy and Levy the perfect escape plan.

“We need to jump on them!” Levy hissed, backing up and taking a running start towards the metal dragon. Lucy nodded and copied her best friend, aiming for the red dragon’s back. They barely made it, for as they launched themselves towards the dragons, their rides had spread their wings and took off. Lucy felt her breath leave her lungs as she landed on the dragon’s back hard, and barely had time to hook her arms over the wing joints before rocketing to the sky. She shut her eyes tightly against the whipping tree branches before being greeted by open sky and heading to open sea. She glanced over to see Levy on her dragon and heading the same way. Lucy shook her fist in victory before having to cling tightly as her dragon decided to do numerous barrel rolls. She wasn’t sure if he knew that she was there, but she didn’t want to go splat in the streets. She clung on tightly, refusing to let go and die from falling so high.

Finally, the red dragon stopped rolling, leaving Lucy very dizzy from the spinning. Shaking her head carefully, she saw nothing but open water. She looked behind her to see ships, her guild’s ships, leaving Hargeon as fast as they could sail. She turned to see Levy sitting up on the metal dragon’s back and grinned at her.

They had made it. They had all made it!

The dragons had flown all day, and it was getting hotter. Lucy wanted to change into her bikini, but she didn’t want to risk the red dragon looking over his back and seeing her naked. So, she stayed as still as possible, trying not to overheat. She looked over at Levy, who was probably being baked by the metal dragon’s scales reflecting the sun’s rays. The blue haired girl’s vest had come off, so that she was just in her crop top and shorts. Lucy sighed in envy before noticing a pair of islands. One had a massive tree on top of it, creating an island on top of an island, and the other was riddled with mountain tops and some ruins on the east side of the island. Lucy realized the tree island was Tenroujima, Fairy Tail’s sacred island, and the other island….

The dragons were heading to the other island.

Lucy’s eyes widened and she desperately waved her arms to get Levy’s attention. Levy looked over to see Tenroujima as well…and the reason why Lucy was panicking.

“We need to get to Tenroujima!” Lucy quickly hand signaled. Levy nodded in understanding before looking down at the ocean below. The dragons apparently had felt safe enough to be almost skimming the water’s surface, and Levy looked back at Lucy with a quirked brow, asking if they should jump. Lucy nodded once before standing up. Levy did the same, throwing her vest back on. Lucy held up three fingers, signaling a countdown.

“Three.” Levy held up two fingers.

“Two.” Lucy held up one.

“One.” And with that, they jumped off the dragons. Lucy quickly crossed her ankles and held her arms over her head in preparation for hitting the water, Levy copying the technique as well. Hitting the water sucked, and Lucy couldn’t help the grunt of pain as she sunk in the water. She began to paddle upwards, but her goal was cut short by the giant red scaled paw wrapping around her middle. A quick glance over at Levy told her that she was in the same trouble as her.

Maybe hitching a ride with dragons wasn’t the best idea, Lucy thought darkly as the paw dragged her up.

Chapter Text

Igneel was seething as the little blonde human sputtered and snorted as she hung from his paw. How dare this little girl jump on his back and then try to leave before reaching the nest? And jumping from his back into the ocean, no less! Not even Natsu was that stupid and reckless!

He glanced over to Metalicana quickly to see that he was just as angry with the little blue haired girl. Even over the ripping wind, Igneel could hear him snarling and growling about how stupid the girl was for jumping into the water. With a snort, Igneel turned back to the nest’s island and started back to his goal with a powerful flap of his wings, Metalicana not far behind him. Together, they flew toward their island, circling past the ancient human ruins before reaching the nest’s mountain. Landing as gently as he could, mindful of the young woman in his paw, he marched in and tossed the young woman into their bathing pond. A blue haired blur followed the blonde into the water, and Igneel gave Metalicana a quick glance to see that he was stomping his way to his hollow.

With a snort, he turned his attention to the sputtering girls as they surfaced the pond. The blonde was the first to recover and quickly seized a rock and threw it at his muzzle. He barely felt it; she needed to work on her throwing.

“What the hell was that for, bub?” She cried. “We weren’t going to stay with you!”

“Yeah!” The blue haired girl agreed. “Don’t dragons want to be all secretive about where they live?”

“Silence!” Metalicana growled. Igneel snarled as he got right into the blonde’s face, showing off his fangs. He heard rather than see the blonde gulp in fear, but then her starry night scent alerted him to what she was. A Celestial mage.

Igneel pushed the girl over with his muzzle, just to test her. She quickly unraveled her whip and cracked it at his nostrils, actually causing a light sting! Igneel could hear the rest of the nest listening in, and the scramble of hatchling talons trying to escape from their parents’ paws.

“You two were the idiot ones who jumped on us, so now you belong to us,” Igneel snarled. “You decided to jump on us, you have to stay with us. We won’t let you endanger us.”

“We aren’t going to endanger you!” The blonde snapped.

“We were just trying to get away from the army ourselves!” The blue girl added.

“Oh, so you’re criminals, as well?” Metalicana asked, a wolfish grin on his face. “That makes this so much easier.”

The blue haired girl’s scent spiked in fear, and Igneel couldn’t wait to hear her excuse as she shook her head.

“We’re not criminals!” the blonde girl snapped. “Our guild was framed! We just want to clear our names.”

“And being with you two lunkheads was a better option than being executed on the spot!” The blue haired girl growled. Igneel couldn’t help but be impressed by their courage....or stupidity at yelling at dragons.

“Hey, uhhh, Igneel?”

Igneel turned to see a youngling, almost ready for his first flight, shuffle his feet uncomfortably.

“I thought that you and Metalicana were getting whales for dinner? Why did you bring back humans instead?”

Igneel would have roared in frustration if it wouldn’t have shaken the stalactites loose from the nest ceiling and cause major harm to the hatchlings. The whole reason why he and Metalicana were in Hargeon in the first place was to grab a couple of migrating whales to feed the nest. Their human children were currently away, so they didn’t have to worry about them getting sick from too much whale blubber. But the army had killed that plan, and now they had two new humans to worry about. Igneel growled lowly.

“I’ll be back. Metalicana? You coming?” he asked. Metalicana was still staring at the two girls before growling and telling them, “We’ll deal with you later. Watch them!”

The last part was snapped at the younglings who were around as he stomped his way out of the nest and took flight. Igneel was about to take off as well when he remembered seeing a pouch that the blonde girl was carrying on her hip that contributed to her starry scent.

“Oh! And before I forget,” he said before plucking the pouch off of her. The blonde’s eyes went wide and she jumped up to try and snatch the pouch away.

“Hey!”

Igneel stood up on his hind legs and placed the pouch in the crevice of a stalactite. He could hear the blonde screeching numerous curse words about his dignity, his looks, and his...size. Nevertheless, he chuckled inwardly before lowering himself back down and took off in flight. She had spunk!

“We’ll discuss rules when we get back!” he called over his shoulder, and more curses from both girls followed him.

After hunting for a couple of hours and catching several mahi-mahi, a swordfish, and a couple of dolphins, Igneel felt that it was best to return to the nest with their kills. He could hear Metalicana muttering about what to do with the blue haired girl, where to have her sleep, what boundaries to set up for when Gajeel and the others returned on Anahita, and what restrictions to put on her magic. Igneel knew what some of the restrictions he would place would be, but the rest he’d make up on the spot as needed. He landed outside of the nest’s entrance, expecting two subdued human girls being watched over by hatchlings and adults alike.

What he was not expecting when they got back was complete mayhem. The blue haired girl was crying out “Solid Script: Hole!” and the word “hole” would appear on the nest floor. The blonde girl was trying to climb up the walls to reach the stalactite that had her key pouch. And the rest of the nest was trying to calm them down, roaring and growling. Igneel growled to himself and shook his head; dragons weren’t exactly known for being quiet.

Dropping his kills at the entrance of the nest, Igneel quickly seized the blonde in a paw and pinned her to the ground. One of his hind legs sunk into the “hole” writings and he quickly realized that the blue haired girl was a Script mage. Metalicana was gonna have his hands full, he thought, like I am now.

The blonde managed to wiggle a hand free and Igneel saw the glint of gold in her hand. He looked up at the stalactite that previously had her key pouch and realized in surprise that she had gotten it back. How did she do that? He shook his head; now was not the time to wonder about how, he needed to stop her from summoning a spirit that could help her and her friend escape. And from his admittedly limited knowledge of Celestial Keys, her gold key meant that she had a contract with a Zodiac spirit. Not a good thing.

Igneel brought his muzzle right in the blonde’s face and growled, satisfied when her heart started to speed up.

“I’m only gonna tell you this once, little girl,” he snarled. “If you even think about hurting this nest, I, Igneel, will personally hunt you down and the last thing you’ll remember will be ‘I shouldn’t have done that.’ Do I make myself clear?”

The blonde gagged, probably because of his breath, and nodded hurriedly. Igneel wasn’t about to let her up though. He could hear Metalicana talking lowly to the Script mage, and it sounded like he was laying down the law as well.

“Now that your little stunt is over, I was going to let you have unrestricted freedom, seeing as there’s no way you can leave the island, but now I have to explain your new restrictions to you. And the first one is that you cannot summon your more powerful spirits.”

The blonde gaped at him. “What? That’s not fair! What if there’s an emergency?”

He pressed his paw down on her, easing the pressure when she gasped and nodded her head quickly. “Okay, okay! You win!”

“Second,” Igneel continued as if she didn’t interrupt him, “if you wish to stay here and not face the predators outside, then you are to help with the hatchlings when needed. Third, when my son, Natsu, and the others come back, I will be placing you under his watch. Fourth, you will sleep in the nest with all of us. I don’t care about your silly human need for ‘privacy’ while you sleep. And finally, until I can trust that you won’t go telling everyone and their mother about us, you will be staying here, indefinitely.”

The blonde hissed, “I’m not a child! You’re being ridiculous!”

Igneel growled and pressed his paw down again, just enough pressure to be a warning. “Swear.”

“What?” The blonde gasped as she struggled to lift his paw off her.

“Swear on your honor as a Celestial Spirit mage that you will follow the rules,” Igneel snarled. He kept pressing down until she gasped, “I promise! We have a contract!”

With that, Igneel lifted his paw off of her, snorting at the gritty feeling between his fingers. She must not have washed off the sea salt before getting her keys back. Just how important were those Celestial Keys? He could understand if she had one or two Zodiac Keys, but the rest would be silver Keys, correct? He let her pick herself up and dust off the dirt and pebbles from her back before nudging her towards Grandine. She must have come back from her own hunting trip while he was busy laying down his rules.

Metalicana was still going at it with the blue haired girl, who had the audacity to argue back to a fifty foot dragon. Igneel ignored them for now. Grandine would get him to stop soon enough. Just because she was as gentle as a lamb didn’t mean that she wouldn’t knock some sense into another dragon...or a dragon slayer.

“Now, go get clean. Dinner will be ready soon,” Igneel ordered gruffly. “There’s a pool of water in the back of Grandine’s nest that you can use.”

Grandine nodded at the blonde in greeting before turning to Metalicana...and slamming her tail on his head. Igneel winced sympathy as Metalicana jerked up with a roar and released the blue hair girl from his paw. She quickly scrambled away from the Iron Dragon.

“Really, you two. Can’t you smell how tired they are? And Metalicana, did you have to lose your temper like that?” Grandine scolded. The two girls went for their bags as Grandine berated them. The white feathered dragon went for Igneel next. “And you! She is not like our children! They are both our guests for the time being, not prisoners! Shape up or I’ll take care of them myself!”

The other female dragons muttered in agreement, and Igneel gave a slight glare at them. He knew better than to challenge them though; female dragons fought dirty. But nonetheless, he growled and nodded his head; it was no wonder where Carla got her proper manners.

With that, Grandine nodded her head and began to herd the two girls to her hollow. Igneel watched as the blue haired girl made eye contact with Metalicana and made the universal sign for “I’m gonna keep my eyes on you/it’s on.” The blonde girl stopped just outside of Grandine’s hollow and turned to him.

“By the way, Igneel,” she said, “my name is Lucy, since that’s how people usually introduce each other.”

Igneel was startled by her sauciness as she turned and went into the hollow, following Grandine and the blue haired girl to bathe. The red dragon snorted in annoyance. Those two were going to be trouble. It was the sound of tearing meat and chewing that caused Igneel to tear his eyes away from the hollow.

“Don’t you younglings even think about eating one of those mahi-mahi! That’s for the girls!” he roared. Damn bottomless pits.

After a roasted mahi-mahi was prepared for Lucy and her friend, whose name turned out to be Levy, Igneel kept an eye on them as they cautiously explored the nest. The females greeted them softly, even after all the trouble they caused while he and Metalicana were out, but the males of the nest growled and pulled their hatchlings closer to them. The eight younglings, the only ones currently in the nest, were curious about their new human guests and constantly inspected them, putting their muzzles in their faces. Igneel lost track of how many times he and Metalicana whacked them with their tails.

Now, it was dark, the sky lit up with stars. Igneel stood at one of the nest’s entrances, looking toward the west, keeping an eye out for Anahita and the dragon slayers. He knew that they would be gone for a while, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t worry about his Natsu. He was his father, after all.

After a few more minutes, he turned and went to his hollow. Lucy was already in Natsu’s hammock, fluffing up the pillows and making herself cozy. Laying down, Igneel listened to the nest settle in for the night. He chuckled as he listened in to Metalicana having an argument with Levy about...a book?

“I can read if I want to,” Igneel heard Levy say. A snort from Metalicana was her response.

“It’s time to sleep, not to read! Go to bed!” he replied. Igneel had to stifle his snort of amusement. Did the big metalhead really think that a girl who had the audacity to argue with him before would give up?

“No way, you giant lugnut!” Igneel couldn’t help the bark of laughter at that one. Maybe he should keep score of who won arguments between the two.

“It’s lights out! Put that book up and go to sleep!” With that, the light shining from Metalicana’s hollow went out. He must have snuffed the lantern, Igneel thought. Shifting around, he made himself comfortable, laying his head on his paws.

“Solid Script: Light!”

Igneel hissed and squinted at the bright light pouring out of Metalicana’s hollow. He may not be facing the light head on, but considering that it was bright enough to inch its way into his hollow and blinding the hollows across from them, he was getting irritated as well. And judging by the looks the other dragons were giving them, they were getting just as irritated.

“That does it!” Metalicana’s roar echoed throughout the nest. Igneel rolled his eyes as he heard Metalicana stomp around before snapping his head up at “Hey, that’s my book! Give it back!”

“No!” Metalicana snarled. Igneel heard Gajeel’s blankets shift around and a slight clank! Something must have hit Metalicana’s scales, or at least one of the many scrap metal piles littering his hollow.

“Give it back! I’ll still be able to reach it from up there! Hey! Put me down! Put me down right now! Jerk!” Levy’s voice echoed. Igneel felt the grin on his face widen. Poor Metalicana. Another thought came unbidden and he had to resist laughing outright. Poor Gajeel.

A slight “Oof!” came from Levy and Metalicana’s scales made a scraping sound against the ground.

“Now go to sleep!” Metalicana groused. Igneel barely made out the muttered curses that Levy was aiming at the Iron Dragon. He chuckled and looked over at Natsu’s hammock, which was currently occupied by a sleeping Lucy.

She must be used to these sorts of things, Igneel mused. He noticed a bare little foot peeking out of the blankets and nudged it back in gently. Lucy merely rolled over with a sigh. Igneel looked at her in amusement; Natsu might be happy about a new roommate. With that, he went to sleep.

It was the middle of the night when he woke up again. Igneel listened to the nest, confused about what woke him up. There was no danger; everyone was snoring away. He looked over to Natsu’s hammock to see that Lucy was no longer there. His head shot up in surprise and quickly sniffed around for her scent.

She hadn’t been gone for long, probably to use the latrine that they had set up for their dragon slayers. Still, Igneel got up and checked in Metalicana’s hollow for Levy. He had to quirk a brow at Metalicana’s methods; he had Levy pinned between his head and his paws, preventing any form of escape....or use of her hands. Igneel shook his head at the sight before tracking Lucy’s scent again. She had gone outside, but not towards the latrine.

Sneaking as best as he could, Igneel went to the other main nest entrance to see Lucy sitting on an outcropping, talking to...two floating dolls? He cocked his head in confusion and listened in.

“Everyone doing alright?” Lucy asked the two dolls. Igneel furrowed his brow; who was everyone? The marks on them suggested that they were part of a guild, he knew that much. But why would she be so concerned about her comrades? Surely they can take care of themselves.

“Yep!” one doll said.

“Master wasn’t pleased, but everyone else got away safely!” the other doll said. Lucy’s shoulders dropped down from her ears.

“Thank goodness,” she sighed in relief. Igneel could honestly say that he wasn’t expecting that reaction; dark guilds weren’t known for kindness. So Lucy and Levy weren’t from a dark guild, as he suspected, and their claims of their guild being framed might have some validity.

“Thanks, Gemini,” she whispered. “At least everyone is okay. Will you and the rest of the gang watch them while we’re here?”

“Sure thing!”

“We’ll watch them!”

“Pidi pidi!” And with that, the pair of dolls disappeared with a poof! Igneel was shocked. He knew that Lucy had a Zodiac Celestial Key, but to have Gemini contracted to her was not what he was expecting. Who else did she have contracts with?

He walked over to the beginning of the outcropping and growled gently. Lucy whirled around in surprise, rising to her feet quickly with red cheeks. Her body was tense, and her lips were pinched together like she was preparing for a fight.

“So,” Igneel began, “you have a contract with Gemini.”

Lucy nodded, still tense, eyes narrowed at him. Igneel pressed, “How many of the Zodiac do you have contracts with?”

“None of your business,” Lucy snapped at him. Igneel growled at her attitude.

“Since you won’t tell me, I’m just going to place another rule: only one spirit per day, barring ‘emergencies.’”

Lucy’s head snapped up at him in shock. “What? That’s not fair! You can’t just add to our contract whenever you like!” she exclaimed angrily. Igneel merely huffed in amusement; of course he could, he was a dragon.

Lucy must have picked up his body language because she crossed her arms and said, “Well. If we’re making changes to our contract, then I have some for you. Just because you’re a dragon doesn’t mean that I still can’t kick your tail with a single kick!”

Igneel chuckled; these girls were stubborn! However, he couldn’t deny that he was making new rules just for his benefit; she needed some sort of illusion of freedom.

“All right, then,” he allowed.

“First off, Levy and I can’t stay here forever. We’re wizards! And we have to pay for food that isn’t fish,” Lucy said, crossing her arms. “We get to leave the island in two weeks.”

“Three months,” Igneel growled. He understood the need for other food besides fish, but two weeks was too short of a time for dragons to trust. Three months was too short as well, but he didn’t want to push her too much.

“Three weeks,” Lucy countered firmly. Igneel realized that she wasn’t backing down from this.

“Two months,” he reasoned.

“A month,” Lucy wouldn’t give up. Igneel growled and came to the final compromise.

“A month....and you have to take Natsu and/or Gajeel with you and come back,” he said. He could practically see Lucy’s mind working out the possibilities of a different deal, and hit the nail in the coffin. “Final offer.”

Lucy growled, “Fine.”

Igneel resisted laughing at her growl; it was adorable by dragon standards, like a hatchling trying to act tough. He didn’t have a moment to comprehend what he just agreed to before Lucy made her second demand.

“Secondly, if you’re imposing this ‘one spirit a day rule’ on me, Gemini doesn’t count for today because you just made it up on the spot. And Levy and I get to practice our magic; we’ll get rusty otherwise. Nothing dangerous, of course.”

“Of course,” Igneel grumbled.

“Finally, stop treating me like a child! I’m an adult, and I’m not your kid. I don’t need another father in my life,” Lucy said, muttering the last words darkly. Igneel narrowed his eyes at her and threads of smoke drifted out of his nostrils in anger. But he couldn’t deny that he and Metalicana were treating the girls like children. Though after jumping off their backs to the ocean, who could blame them?

“Fine,” Igneel growled back. Lucy nodded in finality before seemingly perking up.

“Oh! And I almost forgot! One of my spirits shows up whenever he wants and there’s nothing I can really do to stop him,” Lucy explained, rubbing the back of her neck. “So, unless I actually call for him, he doesn’t count either.”

Igneel bared his teeth at her. He really didn’t want to submit to this, but it was only fair...and it might help Natsu later. Lucy took his silence for agreeing, and walked back into the nest, like she hadn’t just negotiated with a dragon. Igneel followed her, watching as she fell back asleep in Natsu’s hammock.

She’s stubborn, he thought ruefully as he laid back down. I just hope that Natsu will be able to handle her.

Chapter Text

When Levy woke up in the morning, she had hoped that the day before was just a dream. Unfortunately, the giant metal head of Metalicana quickly squashed that hope. She huffed in annoyance and wiggled around, trying to at least get some feeling back into her legs. She hissed as pins and needles started from her feet all the way up to her legs. Metalicana continued to snore away, not even feeling her struggles. Levy growled in frustration before noticing a tiny gap between his leg and his head. Wiggling her body over with limited use of her hands was difficult, but she managed to escape from the giant dragon’s clutches.

She hurried over to the entrance to the hollow to see that it was barely dawn. None of the other dragons were awake either, and she could hear Lucy snoring away in the hollow next door. She hurried over, heart pounding against her rib cage. Any moment, the dragons would wake up and then she wouldn’t be able to speak to Lucy about escape...if they could.

Tip toeing past a snoring Igneel was beyond nerve-racking, Levy’s imagination going to overdrive if he caught her sneaking into his sleeping area. She knew that they wouldn’t cause permanent damage, but she didn’t know if they even knew their own strength.

Levy gently poked Lucy, trying not to earn a kick to the face. All it did was cause her to turn the other way with a sigh. Levy knew that her best friend could be a heavy sleeper, but this was ridiculous! They were with dragons, for Mavis’s sake!

“Pst! Pst, Lucy!” Levy hissed quietly. Lucy groaned tiredly, a good sign that she was waking up. Levy hissed again, “Lucy! Lucy, wake up!”

Levy was relieved when Lucy opened her eyes, squinting at her friend. “Levy? What time is it?”

“Not even dawn yet,” Levy replied. Lucy narrowed her eyes and Levy could tell that she was going to go back to sleep. Quickly, she added, “Listen, we need a plan on how to escape.”

The look Lucy gave her made her heart sink to her stomach. She looked like she had bad news, and Levy wondered what happened while she was asleep.

“Lulu? What happened last night? After Metalicana took away my book,” Levy asked tentatively. She saw Lucy’s throat swallow nervously.

“Igneel and I....chatted last night. After I summoned Gemini to ask how the guild was doing. We came to a couple of compromises, but one was that we couldn’t leave the island for a month, and even then, we would have to take one of their sons with us,” Lucy whispered, defeated. Levy’s stomach twisted into a sailor’s knot; that wasn’t the news she was hoping to hear. She was hoping that Lucy was able to use her spirits to get help, to have some idea of getting away, at least. But no, they were well and truly stuck.

“Let’s go outside to talk,” Levy suggested, throwing a nervous glance at the still snoring Igneel. She wasn’t sure about dragon hearing, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Lucy nodded and carefully climbed out of the hammock she had been sleeping in. Tip-toeing past Igneel was just as nerve racking as the first time, both girls nearly jumping out of their skins when he coughed right behind them. Fortunately, he was still sleeping. Getting past the other dragons was a little easier, but not much. Levy was sure that she was going to expire by the time that they reached the eastern nest entrance.

What was I thinking yesterday? she thought as she followed Lucy to an outcropping. Hopping on dragons to escape was the worst idea I’ve ever had! Though it’s better than being dead, I guess.

“So, do you have any ideas?” Lucy asked her hopefully. Levy thought carefully before groaning.

“Not in terms of an escape, no. But we might be able to use their terms against them to ensure that we at least get some space. I don’t know about you, but dealing with two Metalicana’s is too much for me,” Levy replied. Lucy cocked her head curiously.

“Like what? What can we use against them?” She asked.

“We can’t leave the island, right? Who says that we couldn’t leave the nest?” Levy reasoned. Lucy’s eyes widened.

“You think the ruins?” She whispered. Levy nodded and looked to Tenroujima, barely visible on the horizon. Master Makarov had explained that Tenroujima was the setting for their S-class trials, and full of dangerous creatures. Originally, the plan was to stay at the ruins on Tenroujima, but they were far away from the shore, according to Master. So, they would have to have a watchtower and shift schedule to be on the lookout for any ships. The ruins on this island were closer to the edge, and thus preventing any accidents between their guildmates and any local wildlife.

“I wish we could go scouting,” Levy murmured, pouting slightly. “Then you could send one of your spirits to our guild and tell them what happened.”

“I’m limited to one spirit per day,” Lucy said apologetically, reminding Levy of the new changes. “Since I wouldn’t tell Igneel how many Zodiac keys I had.”

“So he’s punishing you by making you choose spirits?” Levy gasped, shocked. Levy knew that Lucy was attached to her spirits, treating each like a guildmate, and listening to each like their problems where her problems. Lucy nodded, a pout forming.

“But I don’t count,” a smooth voice said behind them. Levy nearly jumped out of her skin, her heart pounding, and she could tell that Lucy hadn’t expect it either from the way she pressed her hand against her chest. Both of them whipped around to see a tall, lithe man with copper hair styled into pointy ears and blue sunglasses behind them. His suit was pressed and tailored, fitting him nicely. He looked like he was about to head out on an expensive night on the town.

“Loke!” Lucy gasped. “How many times have I told you to stop that?”

The spirit made a show of counting on his fingers before flashing a playboy smile and replying, “Lost count after the hundred and fifty-third time, gorgeous.”

Levy rolled her eyes at the response, but allowed an amused smile for Loke, also known as Leo the Lion of the Zodiac. He was part of Fairy Tail as well, and the reason that he was contracted to Lucy was that she saved his life. He called himself “Lucy’s Knight;” Lucy called him “pain-in-her-ass.”

“Anyways, ladies,” Loke said, leaning against the mountain wall. “You two need a scout for this place?”

“Yeah, Loke. And then go to Master and tell about what happened to us, the deal and all that. You know that I don’t break promises,” Lucy said. Levy knew that she was hinting for Loke to go and tell Master about the change of plans, but she needed to hurry up before any of the dragons woke up. She could hear scales shifting against stone walls and a couple of snores have stopped completely.

“Hurry!” Levy hissed.

“As the princesses command,” Loke replied with that flirtatious smirk of his.

“Get going!” Lucy barked. With a hearty laugh, Loke jumped off the edge of the outcropping before Levy heard his footsteps race away. Levy heaved a sigh of relief; she liked Loke, she really did, but sometimes he was too much.

Suddenly, her stomach decided to let out a loud growl. Levy blushed and placed a hand on her belly, just as Lucy’s stomach echoed the sentiment. The two girls looked at each other and giggled.

“Guess we need to get some breakfast,” Lucy snickered.

“Yeah,” Levy giggled in agreement. “Something that isn’t fish!”

Levy and Lucy got up from their position on the outcropping and walked into the nest. Several dragons, mostly hatchlings and a few adults, were already up and stretching out their legs. Levy and Lucy scrambled past them all, heading to Grandine’s hollow. The white feathered dragon was stretching out her wings, flapping them and stirring up the air. Levy peeked out from behind the gentle dragon, noticing that Metalicana was still snoring away.

“Good morning, Miss Grandine,” Lucy called out softly, Levy echoing the greeting.

“Good morning, you two,” Grandine replied warmly, her wings coming down to rest against the pebbled ground. “Sleep well?”

Levy pinched her lips together, keeping a sarcastic remark of “well enough for being prisoners” behind her teeth. It wouldn’t do them any good to insult the only dragon that seemed to like them.

“I slept okay, despite being next to Sir Snores-a-Lot over there,” Lucy said, motioning toward Igneel. Levy giggled; Metalicana’s snoring was like having screeching gears shifting back and forth. She would have cast Solid Script: Silence on the bed in order to create her own little bubble of silence, but the giant brute pinning her to him made that difficult.

Grandine sighed and rolled her eyes. “I do apologize for them. I know that they are...rough... but they care about our safety. You two kind of threw them in a loop.”

Levy shuffled uncomfortably, guilt mixing in with her hunger at realizing how much danger her and Lucy’s presence could hurt these rare beings. Two fugitives, and soon a whole guild, on an island of dragons trying to stay hidden was not exactly a winning combination. Maybe they should figure out a new deal with the dragons...

“But, nonetheless, we look at humans as challenges. Dragons may be powerful and intelligent, but humans are adaptable. Your people seem to thrive on making new discoveries,” Grandine said, not noticing Levy’s discomfort. Or maybe she did and was ignoring it to be polite. The white dragon continued, “Come! I bet you two are hungry. I believe that there’s some food left in my hollow...”

Lucy shook her head. “That’s not fair to you! Igneel and Metalicana are supposed to be in charge of us; they should be providing us food,” she reasoned.

“Lucy’s right; you shouldn’t be taking care of us. That’s what they should be doing,” Levy agreed. At this point, almost all the dragons were awake and watching the conversation curiously. Grandine looked like she wanted to argue about it some more, but Levy continued, “Plus, wouldn’t it be better if they own up to the responsibility of their actions?”

A devious idea wiggled its way to the forefront of Levy’s mind. It was childish, it was dangerous....it was a great way to get back at Metalicana. She wanted to do it, and since it would get them breakfast faster and no damage, what was the harm? Lucy and Grandine were looking at her, one contemplative and the other slightly panicked. Levy knew that Lucy was nervous about pissing off Igneel and Metalicana, but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

“And how do you plan on waking them up? Those two are the heaviest sleepers in the nest,” Grandine asked. Levy flashed her a mischievous smile and replied, “Just watch.”

Lucy seemed a little uneasy. “This isn’t going to be like the time you hid all the alcohol from Cana, right?”

Levy blushed at the memory; she had been on a pranking spree that week and thought that hiding all the alcohol in the guildhall in random places would be hilarious. No one else thought that it was funny, especially Cana, who wanted her barrels of beer earlier than normal. Needless to say, there had been a lot of repair work done that day.

“It’s not going to be that bad! At least, I hope so,” Levy reassured Lucy as she walked to Metalicana. She felt all eyes on her as she prepared her spell. It was a simple spell, but she needed to move quickly if Metalicana decided that trampling her would be called for.

Levy giggled as she swung her hand in an arch right in front of the metal giant’s snout.

“Solid Script: Horn!” She cried. Immediately, “horn” appeared in big bubble letters and began to vibrate, a loud high-pitched noise coming from it. The effect was instantaneous. Metalicana’s eyes shot open as he stormed out of his hollow with a roar. Igneel wasn’t far behind him, snorting smoke and fangs bared. Levy barely got out of the way as the two dragons charged out of their hollows. She giggled to herself as Metalicana tried to snap “horn” in half as Lucy darted between the two behemoths to her side.

“Solid Script: Silence!” Levy cried, swishing her first two fingers in standard script magic position, casting the word “silence” in blue bubble letters. The two words cancelled each other out, only leaving two girls’ laughing bouncing off the nest walls. Metalicana slowly craned his neck to glare at her, but Levy refused to flinch. Her insides may be quivering like Jello, but she didn’t want to show weakness to her keeper.

“Was that really necessary?” he growled. Levy giggled.

“Yep! We’re hungry, you’re supposed to be taking care of us, as part your kidnapping responsibilities, and your bodies blocked the way to the back!” she chirped, listing off the reasons for his loud wake up call. Her cheerful answer was just a facade; she could feel her heart beating hard against her ribs, waiting for his reaction.

She could barely breathe as Metalicana and Igneel both glared at her and Lucy, who was standing stiffly next to her, her chin set stubbornly. Finally, Igneel broke the standoff first with a snort before muttering, “There’s some breakfast things, I believe you call them, in the second nook to the left.”

“Cooking supplies are my hollow, third nook on the right,” Metalicana grumbled before dipping his head into a pool to drink. Levy stared after him for almost ten seconds before her stomach reminded her that it needed food now. Lucy had already gone back over to Igneel’s hollow to get the food, so she rushed past the piles of metal to get the cooking supplies. For some strange reason, the kitchen pots and pans were organized by size. Levy stared at the mess before shaking her head and grabbing a small pot. Maybe the previous tenants of the nest, before the dragons took it over, kept their cooking stuff there and Metalicana just saw it as a handy spot for snack storage. She had seen him eat from one of the piles of metal last night, and after expressing concern, was informed that dragons could eat their own element to gain power.

“Oatmeal sound good?” Lucy called from Igneel’s hollow, the nest walls bouncing her question to Levy easily.

“Sure!” Levy called back, pot in hand. She saw a cooking tripod near one of the piles of metal and grabbed it as well before heading back to the eastern entrance. Lucy was already there, opening the bag of oatmeal.

“We’re in luck! The magic seal was still good!” Lucy grinned as she began to set up a fire ring of stones. Levy would have kissed the bag of oatmeal if it wouldn’t have looked weird to the dragons; magic seals were only good for keeping food fresh for a limited time after opening.

“These guys really did have humans around,” Levy murmured as she set up the tripod.

“Wonder what happened to them?” Lucy muttered as she stacked some tinder into a cone shape, mindful of the dragons making a ruckus inside.

“If they got sick or didn’t get the magic antidotes that we got when we were kids, they might not have made it. Probably recently too, if the beds are any indication,” Levy reasoned, feeling a twinge of guilt over sleeping in a bed that used to be someone else’s. Probably one of the reasons why the dragons were so adamant about keeping them; they missed their humans.

Levy casted a sad look over her shoulder as Lucy did the same.

“Poor guys. They really must miss them if they kept us,” she said, sympathy making her voice lower. Levy nodded as she cast Solid Script: Fire on the tinder and watched as the fire consumed the wood, added sticks to keep it going. Lucy added clean water to the pot and dropped a couple of scoops of oatmeal into the pot before covering it with the lid.

“In a couple of minutes, we’ll be having some delicious breakfast!” Lucy cheered. Levy caught a flash of red behind Lucy and peeked around her shoulder to see clumps of berry bushes.

“Berries! We can have something sweet too!” Levy cried excitedly, rushing over to the bushes. She checked to make sure that they weren’t poisonous before picking as many ripe ones as her hand could hold. Lucy had come over as well, plucking blackberries gently. Levy plucked a couple of the sweet berries for herself before realizing an important item that would complete their breakfast.

“Bowls,” Levy said. Lucy looked at her confused. Levy clarified farther, “We need bowls for the oatmeal!”

Lucy stared at her for a moment before groaning. “And spoons. I refuse to eat oatmeal without one.”

Levy had to agree with her, eating oatmeal without a spoon would be...gross. She shuddered at the thought as Lucy placed her berries next to the campfire and walked back into the nest. Levy did the same and was shocked at the sight of the dragons chowing down on a massive rooter, a grey monster with thick black scales and a knobby head. When did they get that? Levy thought in shock.

She shook her head to get rid of the thought. Breakfast was more important, as her stomach reminded her once again. She and Lucy skirted around the snarling horde of dragons and dashed into Metalicana’s hollow. Lucy began checking the scrap piles while Levy checked the nook with the pots and pans. Maybe I missed them the first time, Levy thought as she shifted a stack of skillets to the side.

“I found spoons!” Lucy cried out triumphantly.

“Still looking for bowls!” Levy called over her shoulder as she pushed a wok to the side. The dragons’ previous humans were horribly unorganized. Finally, she found the bowls just a roar echoed through the nest. Backing out of the nook quickly, she and Lucy rushed over to the main cavern of the nest to see four of the young dragons brawling, nipping and scratching each other. Levy could tell that they weren’t serious, but it was still frightening.

“Why can’t we ever have a normal breakfast?” Lucy whined, thinking about all the breakfast brawls that happen with the guild.

“Because our guildmates don’t do quiet,” Levy giggled. Lucy couldn’t help but giggle as well. Levy added, “Let’s just treat this as a morning in the guildhall, bob and weave and roll.”

Lucy nodded. “Right.”

With that, Levy took a deep breath and ran. She ducked under flying tails, weaved between stomping feet, stopped right before a wing could sweep her off her feet, all the way to their cooking pot. She skidded to a stop in front of the fire, Lucy mere seconds behind her.

“Yes!” Lucy cheered, throwing up her arms in victory, spoons clutched tightly in one hand. “Avoiding guild brawls does come in handy!”

“With oatmeal our reward!” Levy agreed, her face feeling warm from the rush. Plopping to the ground, she filled her bowl with oatmeal before sprinkling in the berries she collected. Lucy copied her as she stirred the oatmeal and berries together. Levy giggled as she and Lucy cheered with their bowls before taking the first bite of their hard-earned breakfast. Moaning, Levy reveled in the taste of sweet berries and oatmeal. She was about to take a second bite when she realized that they were being watched.

Turning almost simultaneously with Lucy, who had a spoon sticking out of her mouth from her second bite, Levy saw that all the dragons were slack jawed, wide-eyed staring at them. Levy shifted uncomfortably under their gaze, not sure how to react. What was wrong? Did their previous humans never eat in front of them? Finally, Lucy finished chewing before asking curiously, “Ummm, can we help you?”

A white dragon with a beard (who knew dragons could grow beards? Did he style it any? Levy wondered) standing next to a black dragon with red eyes rolled his eyes to the back of his head and, to Levy’s shock, fainted, shaking the ground as his body flopped over.

“Weisslogia!”

After breakfast, and reassuring poor Weisslogia that no, they were not crazy and yes, what just happened was a common daily occurrence in their guild, but no, that didn’t mean that they were crazy, Levy discovered one thing as the day dragged on.

Being a prisoner/guest to dragons was boring.

After washing the dishes, their clothes, and laying them out to dry in the sun, there was nothing much left to do. Levy retrieved her new book from the high ledge Metalicana put it after smashing her Light spell. She settled herself onto the bed, a twinge of guilt pinging from her heart to her stomach about using a dead person’s bed. They must have recently died because their smell was still on the sheets. Levy couldn’t bring herself to wash them, since they were probably close to Metalicana. Plus, whoever they were, they smelled really good. She really shouldn’t think that, especially about a dead person, but each time she took a deep breath, the smell of sandalwood, musk, and iron just filled her head and she just wanted to bury her nose into the pillows to drown in it.

She shifted a little more into the pillows, getting comfortable as she read more about the ancient Boscian runes. Metalicana was outside the nest, sunning himself and keeping an eye on the hatchlings, so he wasn’t breathing over her shoulder. She could hear Lucy sorting through her bag, muttering about her new key.

Levy tried to keep her attention on her book, but she was curious. She had never seen a contract be made between Lucy and one of her spirits before. She closed her book and slipped of the bed, walking towards the hollow entrance. Lucy had her things strewn everywhere, and she was patting and shaking her bag. Levy noticed a small green hatchling nervously making its way over to Lucy.

“What doing?” it asked, a squeaky little girl’s voice surprising Levy. Lucy must have been surprised as well, whipping her head up to see the hatchling.

“I’m looking for my new key. I just got it in Hargeon! Before being kidnapped by Igneel!” Lucy yelled at the nest entrance. Levy giggled as Igneel yelled back, “You volunteered to come!”

“It isn’t voluntary to come here!” Lucy yelled again. Levy had to agree about that; they did try to leave.

“Must say a lot about your commitment!” Igneel snarled as he poked his head back in the nest. Levy laughed as Lucy stuck her tongue out at him as the hatchling cocked her head.

“Uncle Igneel grabbed you?” She asked. Levy couldn’t help but inwardly cooed. So adorable!

“Yeah,” Lucy sighed. Levy shivered as the memory of metal talons wrapping around her waist came unbidden.

“Part of nest?” the hatchling asked hopefully. Levy raised a brow at the question; why would they be part of the nest?

“No,” Lucy said just as Igneel yelled, “Yes!”

“Shuddup!” Lucy yelled at Igneel as she threw a rock at him. Levy looked at the red dragon in horror. No, they were not part of the nest! They weren’t staying forever!

Igneel laughed as he dodged the rock and retreated his head back outside.

“Nest!” cried the remaining hatchlings, jumping up and down. Levy looked at them in surprise as they all rushed to her and Lucy. They bounced up and down, pushing against her legs.

“Hey, hey! Hold on! Calm dowwwwwn!” Levy yelped as the excited hatchlings managed to push her over. They clambered all over her, talons digging into her skin and feet squishing her ribs. She groaned and pushed at the hatchlings, trying to get them off of her. She could hear Lucy yelling at them to get off as well, but considering that the hatchlings were about the size of border collies, it was understandable that volume was needed.

“Kids, no smothering them,” the black dragon Skiadrum called from his hollow with Weisslogia, not even opening his red eyes. Levy rolled her eyes as she pushed a pink scaled hatchling off her bladder; of course they order the hatchlings but then provided no disciplinary actions. And Grandine said that they were used to humans, she thought bitterly.

“What this?” The green hatchling that started the mini-celebration asked, nudging a shiny thing among Lucy’s things. Levy had just managed to sit up, surrounded by happy hatchlings snuggling up to her, the pink scaled hatchling making herself at home in her lap.

“My key!” Lucy cried in excitement. She snatched it up and cooed over it. “Where was it?”

“Under these!” The green scaled hatchling held up a pair of scandalous panties. Levy felt her cheeks heat up in secondhand embarrassment as Lucy’s face turned completely red. Snatching the panties away from the hatchling, she scolded, “It’s not polite to wave another person’s underthings around.”

“Why?” The green hatchling asked. “Human thing?”

“Yes, it’s definitely a human thing,” Lucy confirmed as she stuffed her things except her new key into her bag. Levy cocked her head curiously.

“Are you about to make a contract with your new spirit?” She asked.

“Yep!” Lucy chirped, a spark of magic in her eyes. “I might as well, since it’s so quiet around here.”

It was true; most of the other adults had gone hunting. The only dragons left in the nest were Igneel, Metalicana, Weisslogia, Skiadrum, the hatchlings, and the eight subadults.

“Yay, magic!” the hatchlings cried, bouncing around again. Levy looked around in alarm as the hatchlings continued to jump around, flapping their wings at the same time.

“Hey, hey! Calm down! I can’t do it if you don’t settle down!” Lucy yelled, motioning for the hatchlings to quiet down.

“Come on! Sit on your rumps! You’ll miss her summoning if you keep moving. That includes you, sweet pea,” Levy ordered, directing the nickname to the pink hatchling. Eventually, all the hatchlings were ordered by Weisslogia to settle down to watch Lucy. Levy once again had her lap filled by Sweet Pea, as she had mentally dubbed the pink hatchling.

“Okay, now watch carefully, kids,” Lucy said as she held up her silver key. Holding it straight out, her stance strong, she recited the incantation, “I call upon thee, in the world of the Celestial Spirit! And now, I beckon you to my side! Pass through the gate!”

A magic circle shined under Lucy’s feet as she performed the incantation, and with a slash of the key, Lucy cried, “Open! Gate of Canus Minor! Nikora!”

A doorbell sounded through the nest as the magic circle kicked up dust and gravel, spinning around as the spirit formed. Levy watched as a little orb came out of the circle, sprouting a little body, arms, and legs, with a pointy nose to round it out. The spirit was white and shaking, a wobbly smile on its face. It was adorable!

“Awwwwwww!” Levy cooed, the hatchlings copying her sentiment.

“Well, that’s....um...very impressive,” Wesslogia said, sounding unsure. Skiadrum was snickering into his paw.

“That’s who’s supposed to come out, jerks!” Lucy snarled at the pair. Levy’s widened, scared about how they would react. Their reactions weren’t what she was expecting.

Skiadrum just laughed harder while Weisslogia looked surprised before smirking. “Of course.”

“Hmrph,” Lucy huffed before turning her attention back to the Nikora spirit staring at her. Immediately, she picked it up and started to cuddle it, cooing, “Such a cutie-patootie!”

“So it’s a dog?” Igneel’s voice asked. Levy whipped her head around to see him and Metalicana watching the spectacle curiously. He continued, “Doesn’t look like a dog.”

“And you don’t look like a king, yet you are,” Lucy snapped back as she picked up a notepad and pen. She turned her attention back to the spirit and said, “Contract time! Are you free Mondays?”

The little spirit made a negative sounding noise as it shook its head. Levy watched as Lucy wrote down the days that it was free and any other conditions that they wanted.

“That was easier than I expected,” Levy said as Lucy put her notebook back into her bag. “After meeting some of your other spirits, I was expecting something more....eccentric.”

Lucy snorted. “Sure, let’s go with eccentric. I think I figured out a name for the little guy!”

Levy looked at her friend in surprise. “Don’t they already have their own names?”

“Sure, the Zodiac Keys and some of the other silver keys do, but this little guy doesn’t take much magic power to summon, and there are lots of them, so he’s part of a species. Lots of wizards keep spirits like them as pets,” Lucy explained as she cuddled the Nikora again. “I’m gonna call you Plue!”

“Plue?” Levy asked, curious. She wasn’t the only one; the hatchlings were muttering to themselves about how it sounded like “blue.”

“It’s an adorable name!” Lucy defended. She nuzzled Plue’s head. “Right, little Plue?”

Plue made a confirming noise before jumping out of her arms and began to dance in front of the hatchlings. Levy smiled as the hatchlings were cautious about this new thing that was moving around in their home, but soon joined in with the dancing. The only one who didn’t join was Sweet Pea, who seemed content to stay in her lap. The little hatchling nuzzled up against her, and Levy began stroking her neck. Sweet Pea purred in response, eyes closed in contentment.

“Gajeel will like you,” she murmured happily. Levy couldn’t help the stab of fear in her heart that chilled her blood. Barely pausing in her petting, Levy asked, “What makes you say that, Sweet Pea?”

Sweet Pea pressed her body closer into Levy, and the blunette had to bite her tongue as her bladder was once again stepped on.

“You nice,” Sweet Pea murmured happily. “You smart, and pretty! Gajeel need happy.”

Levy didn’t reply, just continued to stroke the pink hatchling. Gajeel would be more upset than happy about having to play bodyguard to her. He probably wouldn’t even watch me, Levy thought, trying not to be bitter.

She turned her head toward the nest entrance, where she could see Metalicana watching Plue in boredom. She sighed inwardly; if Gajeel was anything like his father, then she didn’t have a chance.

After all, how would a dragon like Gajeel be happy with a girl like her?

Chapter Text

Metalicana really couldn’t get a read on the little Script mage. She acted all nice to the hatchlings and polite to Weisslogia, Skiadrum, Grandine, and the other adult dragons, but when it came to Igneel and himself…

She seems intent on driving me crazy, he thought ruefully. Levy was currently going through his and Gajeel’s supply of metal, picking up various pieces before either putting it back or placing by her side. He couldn’t tell exactly what she was doing, but it was rather confusing. He looked toward the book that lay innocently on Gajeel’s bed, Reisha the pink hatchling napping next to it. Levy had read to the little dragon, calling her “Sweet Pea,” and soon after the hatchling fell asleep was when she began her strange search through their scrap piles.

It wasn’t until she went to the fourth scrap pile that Metalicana finally had enough. He stomped over to the blunette, towering over her. He waited for all of three minutes for her to realize that he was glaring at her before growling lowly. Levy looked up from her sorting, craning her neck back to see him.

“Yes?” she asked curiously, her hazel eyes immediately deflating his anger. Well, he could always fake it; she was messing with dinner, after all! And if there was one thing these girls needed to learn, it was not to mess with a dragon’s food!

“What do you think you’re doing?” Metalicana growled. Levy looked between him and the scrap pile she was currently sitting cross-legged in front of. She gave him a look like he should know what she was doing.

“Looking for any artifacts before you and your son chomp them up into tiny pieces of shrapnel,” Levy replied nonchalantly as she turned back to the scrap pile. Metalicana looked at her in surprise. Did she honestly think that they would have any magical artifacts to eat? He and Gajeel would have been able to sense any magical residue before grabbing it!

“Seriously, girlie? You don’t think we would really eat a magical artifact? Those taste nasty!” he scolded Levy. Levy looked up at him in outrage.

“Artifacts don’t have to magical, idiot! Here, for example,” she said, picking up a pot covered in ugly faces and dead writing. “This is a cauldron for poisons! See, the faces are a warning and a part of the potion making process! And the writing is in Ancient Isgardian! It has beginning poison recipes, and ingredients that work best in the metal the cauldron is made of!”

Metalicana gave her a flat look at her enthusiasm. He asked, “Are you planning on making any poisons any time soon?”

Levy looked shocked and hurt. “Why would I do that?”

“Are there any traces of poison left?” Metalicana knew the answer; that cauldron hadn’t been used in decades. Still, her reactions were hilarious! He could see Gajeel having fun with just seeing what reactions he could drag out of the Script mage.

“How am I supposed to know?” Levy shot back, indignant. Metalicana snorted.

“Then it’s a snack,” he growled, his maw opening to snatch the stupid cauldron up to eat. He jerked back at the clang! and sharp pain between his nostrils. He jerked his head up in time to see the rocky “STONE” fall to the ground, digging into the hard nest floor. Growling, he narrowed his eyes at Levy, who still had her fingers poised to cast another spell if she needed to.

“Don’t you dare, this cauldron is easily two hundred years old!” she snapped at him. She was acting brave, but Metalicana could smell the fear coming off of her in waves. She has guts, I’ll give her that, he thought ruefully. I don’t know if Gajeel will be taming her or the other way around.

He growled again. “Why would you want to keep that junk anyways? Aren’t you younglings always looking for the latest lacrimi or something of that nature?”

Levy’s eyes began to sparkle, and once again, Metalicana felt all his anger and frustration just disappear. How did she do that?

“I love ancient languages!” she exclaimed happily. “I love reading about them and translating ancient texts and learning the grammatical styles and how unique each one is! They’re all so wonderful!”

Metalicana wasn’t sure how to respond. On one paw, he could let the little mage translate the junk to her heart’s content, keeping her occupied for the rest of the day and not coming up with anymore…tricks. On the other paw, she was messing with his dinner! Which was the whole point of interrupting her! Until she looked at him with those damn eyes. Well, damn. He really was stuck.

He grounded his teeth together, causing them to screech together. Levy winced at the noise, her hazel eyes finally showing some spark of fear. For some reason, that spark took the angry wind from his indignant sails.

Finally, he huffed and growled, “Fine, do whatever. But put them back later! That’s our dinner!”

He winced as Levy gave a little squeal and exclaimed, “Thank you!”

He rolled his eyes and snarled, “Just put everything back as it was!”

He stomped back out of his hollow, calling himself ten kinds of idiot under his breath. He had turned to go to the western nest entrance, intending on keeping an eye on the skies for Anahita and their children, when he heard a low growl from a hollow. Glancing over, he saw the green youngling Jadious glaring at younglings Amaranth and Solferino. He sighed inwardly; Jadious was their most difficult youngling, and often would be on the outskirts of their plans. Occasionally, the Iron Dragon would compare him to his own Gajeel, jealous of what others had.

“Jadious, what is it?” Metalicana asked in Draconic. He didn’t want Levy or Lucy to hear what their conversation was about, just in case it was about them.

“Amaranth and Solferino have said that they were gonna take Lucy and Levy on First Flight,” the youngling growled, staying in Draconic as well. Metalicana knew that it had to about First Flight, it was all the younglings ever talked about now. Jadious continued, “So I’m gonna grab both of them, keep them with me and they can be with me for First Flight instead.”

Metalicana was shocked to hear the youngling’s plan. He growled at the insolent youngling.

“It is not the call of any of you if the girls go with you. You didn’t even ask if they would fly with you. That is not the correct way to ask,” he scolded. Jadious growled and stood up, the scales on his back hackled. Metalicana’s brow narrowed; the green youngling may be half the size Anahita, but his lineage included plant magic, and his scales were pointy and sharp. He must be really upset if he thinks that he can win against me, Metalicana thought smugly.

“For once, can’t I have something for myself?” Jadious roared, lunging for Metalicana. The Iron Dragon easily stepped aside and batted a massive paw against the youngling’s back. Jadious roared again and snapped at Metalicana’s leg. Metalicana headbutted into Jadious’s side, knocking the youngling over. He could hear the other dragons watching, snarling and growling at the fight, but he ignored them. Jadious had been acting uppity for a while now, and if he was the one to remind him of the manners needed in the nest, then that’s what he’d do.

Pinning the arrogant youngling’s head with a paw, Metalicana leaned down and growled quietly, “I suggest that you apologize about the girls. They are under Igneel and my protection, and the fact that you were thinking about taking even one of them is extremely insulting to our skills.”

Jadious squirmed under his paw before giving up. Metalicana let him stand up, waiting for a proper apology. Jadious shuffled his feet before craning his neck to the side, exposing his vulnerable pulse. Metalicana snorted approvingly, and Jadious trotted over to his family’s hollow before grabbing a shiny object from his hoard, Metalicana didn’t care to notice what it was. Taking it from Jadious, he turned back to see Levy back into his hollow quickly. He sighed, figuring that the scuffle had made her nervous. Hopefully, it hadn’t traumatized her; females could be so sensitive about certain fights.

--------------------------------------

“The girls are melting, Metalicana,” Igneel’s voice cut through his nap. Metalicana growled, lazily opening an eye to glare at the Fire Dragon King.

Apparently not as traumatized as he thought, Levy had decided to give the two of them another wake-up call, this time with a Solid Script: Storm that roared in their ears....and that Grandine was able to eat for breakfast. Then they decided that another heart attack was in order, snatching up a haunch of giant pig leg for breakfast....while everyone was still feasting on it. How the two girls made a bungee cord strong enough to hold both of them was still a mystery, and Skiadrum was the one to faint as the pair nearly met their end by his teeth.

After that and the scolding both girls received from himself and Igneel, saying if they wanted a certain part of their meal that all they had to do was ask, Metalicana decided that it was best if he got an early morning nap in. He was going to need all the energy he could get to deal with Levy today. Grandine had looked at the sky and immediately declared that it was going to be hot and humid, with little to no wind, with a big storm to rattle their island in two days. As he hadn’t had to deal with Levy while the weather decided to be a sauna all day, he wanted as much energy as possible.

“Humans don’t melt, Igneel,” Metalicana growled, closing his eye to return to his nap. He could practically hear Igneel roll his eyes. He added, “They aren’t made of wax.”

“Then it’ll be a human first because they’re acting like they’re melting,” Igneel snorted, nudging Metalicana to get up. The Iron Dragon growled lowly in his throat as he finally opened both eyes and stood up, stretching. He could already feel his strength being sapped away, the heat infiltrating the nest and making it as hot as outside. Exiting his hollow and following Igneel outside the nest, he was shocked to see that Lucy and Levy were indeed looking like they were going to melt.

Both of them were in bikinis (the only reason he knew that was because Wendy had asked Grandine if she could get one the next time the slayers went to the mainland) and they were in the shadow of an outcropping, spread out on a pair of flat rocks. Lucy was in a more traditional bikini, white with a couple of pink flowers, complimenting her guild mark on her hand. Levy was a little more conservative, with her orange top covering her chest and her white bottoms more like shorts than bottoms. Metalicana couldn’t help but notice that both of the girls’ swimwear matched the colors of their guild marks, and couldn’t help but wonder if it was coincidence or something they consciously did. Both girls looked like they were overheating, giving the ocean longing looks.

Metalicana sighed and whispered to Igneel in Draconic, “How long have they been like that?”

“Since breakfast,” Igneel whispered back, keeping in their natural tongue. “They changed as soon as they heard Grandine’s weather report.”

Metalicana shifted his massive body, thinking. Having two overheated girls would not be fun for their children to deal with, even if Grandine casted healing spells on them. In this humidity, it would have been pointless.

He glanced over his shoulder at the bored younglings and hatchlings inside. Since their new form of entertainment was outside and doing nothing, they were getting restless. He could hear the growls of the younglings, ready to fly but unable until First Flight.

“They need exercise,” Igneel growled to him. “Strengthen their wing muscles.”

Metalicana knew what he was hinting. Going to the ocean would give everyone a chance to cool off, especially after the temper tantrum Jadious threw yesterday. Not only that, but since First Flight, the day that younglings finally fly for the first time and considered full fledge adults, was just around the corner, the younglings couldn’t afford to slack off. He nodded to Igneel, who gave a sharp grin before turning back into the nest.

“Children!” he roared. Metalicana watched as the girls barely stirred, only turning their heads to Igneel. The Fire Dragon continued, “Field trip time! We’re going to the ocean!”

A cheer exploded from the nest, and Metalicana could hear the scrapping of talons against stone as the young dragons scrambled to get ready, grabbing any toys they wanted to bring. He was surprised when the girls didn’t move. In fact, they looked more morose than tired now. He growled. Where they really that ungrateful?

“You know, most people would be happy at the opportunity to cool down in this weather,” he couldn’t help but prod them. Both girls’ heads snapped up to look at him, and he was surprised that they didn’t get whiplash.

“We get to come too?” Levy asked, surprised. Metalicana snorted; of course they were coming, they were the whole reason that they were going in the first place! But he didn’t want them to think that he was actually worried about them.

“Well, if you two want to roast out here—-“ Metalicana didn’t even finish before Levy and Lucy peeled themselves off their rocks and sprint over the hard dirt back into the nest, whooping.

“I’ll pack towels and food!” Lucy’s voice echoed.

“I’ll find an umbrella!” Metalicana had to cock his head as Levy’s voice reached his ears. Why would they need an umbrella? The storm was a couple days away.

He stepped back into the nest, barely avoiding stepping on Beryl as she dashed to Igneel’s hollow with her favorite ball. The hatchlings were all heading to there, and Metalicana couldn’t understand why. Was it because Lucy and Levy were finally moving?

Within minutes, everyone had something in either Igneel’s hollow or his own. Metalicana couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Levy with a big colorful umbrella emerge from his hollow, and the only way that something like that would ever show up in his hollow would because Gajeel had stolen it from Natsu in revenge for something or another. Lucy had a bag filled to the brim with the toys the hatchlings brought her, covered in colorful towels that she must have gotten from Natsu’s hoard. Igneel was sitting on his hind legs, arms crossed, looking at the blonde.

“Did you pack snacks?” he asked. Metalicana didn’t need to be close to see Lucy roll her eyes.

“Yes,” she growled her answer. Igneel seemed to ignore her attitude and pressed on.

“Water?”

“Yes.” Another growl.

“Sunscreen?”

“Quit acting like you’re my father!” Lucy finally snapped, whipping her head up to glare at Igneel. Metalicana watched the interaction curiously; was this what finally push Igneel’s patience?

But instead, he was shocked when all Igneel did was growl and grind his fangs together. It didn’t deter him from watching her as she and Levy continued to pack up for the ocean. It wasn’t until Weisslogia and Skiadrum brush past him that Metalicana realized that he was in the way.

“We’re going to go ahead, make sure that everything is safe. Maybe grab a couple of sharks if we can,” Skiadrum said, spreading his wings. Weisslogia had already taken off, heading to the cove where they usually trained the younglings. Metalicana smirked and replied, “Have fun!”

Skiadrum snorted and gave him a toothy grin in return. Metalicana knew what the two of them were really going to do while the rest of them walked, but there was no reason to point it out with the children there. They were all parents, they all knew the meaning of some alone time. He and Anahita would probably going to go somewhere secluded when she got back with Gajeel and the other Slayers.

But he had to focus on the now because apparently all the packing was done, and a handful of hatchlings were looking up at him expectantly. He chuckled before lowering his bulky body low enough for them to climb up.

“Come on, let’s get going,” he ordered, and the hatchlings clambered up to his back, and he noticed that Reisha was with him. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder to see Beryl on top of Igneel’s head, wiggling excitedly. He smirked at the slightly disgruntled expression on the Fire Dragon King’s face, but didn’t laugh. He would probably have a hatchling on his head by the end of the day as well.

“You two are going to walk?”

Metalicana turned his head to see Levy and Lucy going down a path that their human children use to leave the nest. Levy was still carrying the hideous umbrella while Lucy had the bag slung over her shoulder. Levy turned around at the youngling who asked, a small grin on her face.

“Sure! I mean, you guys are walking too, right? It’s only fair,” she replied. Lucy was focused on walking down the trail, the bag making her balance a little off. Metalicana snorted disdainfully.

“The ocean is over two hours away by walking. You two couldn’t possibly keep up.”

Lucy finally hopped down the last five feet of the trail, barely keeping upright. She leveled a glare at him, and he growled in return. He wasn’t Igneel; whatever deal the two had, he wasn’t really part of it. Her scent barely turned sour with fear, but it was still there.

“We have two good legs, we can walk with you giants,” Lucy huffed before walking away. Igneel coughed to get her attention as he clambered down from the nest.

“We’re going this way, Lucy,” he said, ignoring how the blonde had stopped mid-step and her face flushed red.

“Right,” she said as she turned around and began walking down the trail to the beach. Metalicana heard Levy giggle as she trotted after her friend. He looked over to see Grandine still in her hollow, head pointing to the other entrance.

“Not coming, Grandine?” he asked. The Sky Dragon shook her head.

“I’m going to stay here, just in case Anahita and our children come back. Someone has to explain the mischief that you two get yourselves into,” she explained. Metalicana rolled his eyes and snorted.

“We’ll be back by nightfall!” he called over his shoulder as he followed Igneel and the girls.

-----------------------------------------

Metalicana could have sighed in relief as the sight of the ocean came into view. The two-hour walk, normally peaceful, was full of steering Levy and Lucy away from different trails and sticking to the correct one. He knew that Levy would intentionally try to go down the wrong path, her eyes twinkling and her scent slightly spicy when she knew that she was being mischievous. He never thought that he would meet someone who was more playful than Happy, but apparently, he was wrong. He lost track of how many times he had to nudge her back into the trail, that colorful monstrosity of an umbrella whacking his snout by accident.

But they made it, Weisslogia and Skiadrum were in the water waiting for them, and Lucy and Levy were unpacking the bag, handing out the hatchlings’ toys. Metalicana barely had time to set the hatchlings down before the younglings had rushed past him and splashed into the water.

“Listen to Skiadrum and Weisslogia!” Igneel roared. “They’re in charge of you while you do your laps!”

“Yes, Uncle Igneel!” cried the younglings over their shoulder. Metalicana growled and yelled after them, “And leave the hunting to the adults! You aren’t ready yet!”

“Yes, sir, Uncle Mel!” they replied, not even looking over their shoulders. He snorted and looked down to see that Lucy and Levy had once again disappeared, leaving only the bag, umbrella, and Lucy’s belt with her key pouch and whip. He swung his head around, searching for the two mischievous girls.

“Oh for fucks’ sake,” he growled to himself, noticing that the hatchlings were gone too.

“Mel, everyone’s already in the water,” Igneel rumbled in laughter.

Metalicana turned to glare at the Fire Dragon just as the sound of splashing and laughter rang in the cove. Looking over to the source of the noise, he saw Levy playing in the shallows, the water coming up to her hips, as she and Reisha played with another hatchling with a couple of balls. Lucy was floating on her back, Beryl on her belly. They looked perfectly happy to be like that for the rest of the day.

He smirked. Well, since everyone else was in...

With a mighty flap of his wings, he launched into the air, hovering over a deeper part of the cove before yelling, “Look out below!”

With that, he folded his wings and dove head first into the water. He heard the screech of the hatchlings barely over Levy and Lucy’s surprised screams and grinned to himself. Maybe that will teach them to wake us up early! he thought to himself.

Surfacing, he saw that all the babies and two humans were on the beach, coughing and sputtering out salt water. Igneel was laughing boisterously, rolling onto his side.

“Do it again!” Reisha demanded, scrambling to get back into the ocean. Levy followed as well, laughing. Metalicana couldn’t help the twinge of disappointment, hoping the Levy would be upset about being washed up, but if it was fun she wanted, then she better be tough enough to enjoy it!

He flew into the air before diving back into the ocean, creating another wave for the kids to play in. Again, they demanded that he create another wave for them to ride on. Eventually, Igneel joined in, splashing water everywhere and sending the little ones to the beach over and over again. The younglings were doing laps, strengthening their wing muscles, while Weisslogia and Skiadrum made sure that they weren’t slacking off.

When Lucy and Levy finally left the water, they rolled out the set of towels they brought with them and laid in the sun. Metalicana snorted out salt water before checking out where the sun was in the sky. It was mid-afternoon, so when the sun was about to reach the horizon, they would leave. He glanced down from his own sunning spot to see that Lucy had summoned Plue again, who was hugging his wizard happily.

“Well, this is a great view! Think I’m gonna stay here for a while.”

Metalicana whirled around at the distinctively male voice, fangs bared and deep growl rumbling from his chest. A flash of red and a snarl told him that Igneel was on the defensive as well. Lucy and Levy rolled to their bellies, their scents confused. Metalicana couldn’t afford to take his eyes off the man that was laying against a tree, his copper hair shaped like cat ears.

The man gave a lazy wave and Metalicana’s growl became louder. Who did this arrogant male think he was? He took a deep breath through his nose, picking up the newcomer’s scent, and was surprised that he smelled like fire, light, and night, with a hint of cat.

“Loke! It’s great to see you!” Levy’s voice called. Metalicana jerked his head in surprise. They knew this....human looking creature?

“Who is he?” Igneel snarled, refusing to let down his guard. Metalicana shifted his body so that his shadow was covering Levy, scales shifting to making himself bigger.

“My pain in the ass spirit that shows up whenever he wants,” Lucy answered dryly. Metalicana whipped his head down to the blonde wizard in shock. He almost smacked into Igneel’s head as he copied the action.

“He’s the one that shows up any time he wants?” Igneel growled.

“You may know me better as Leo the Lion,” the spirit said. Metalicana felt a chill course through his blood. Leo the Lion was the leader of the Zodiac Spirits, and he didn’t earn that title by being weak. That this young wizard had him contracted to her meant that she could be extremely powerful.

A quick glance at Igneel shocked him; the fire dragon looked resigned. Metalicana immediately knew that this was the spirit that the nest was warned about. How did he get here without Lucy summoning him?

“How did you get here? What do you want?” he snarled. Leo tsked, shaking his head.

“Can’t a spirit see his friends without reason?” he asked, a charming smile on his face. Metalicana wasn’t buying it; spirits grew weaker in the mortal world the longer that they were there.

“Loke, behave. Or I’ll send you back home,” Lucy warned, waving a gold key at him. Leo/Loke put his hands up in surrender and laughed.

“Okay, okay. No need to fight dirty, gorgeous,” he said flirtatiously. Metalicana growled as the spirit sat down next to the girls. He didn’t like this; something felt off. Then Levy turned to him and made her eyes seem...bigger. He felt a chill go up his spine as he finally realized why he was so easily manipulated by her; she looked like Anahita when she wanted something. Then Levy stuck out her lower lip into a pout. Oh no, not Puppy Dog, he groaned inwardly to himself.

“Can we please talk?” She asked. “We haven’t been able to talk to our guildmates in a while. We miss them.”

Metalicana could smell the white lie, but she was giving them the Puppy Dog look, and Lucy was looking at Igneel like he had kicked her kitten. Metalicana groaned in defeat, Igneel echoing him as they realized that they were fighting a losing battle.

“Fine,” he growled. He stomped away from the trio, giving them the illusion of space before flopping down on the sand. He watched as Igneel turned his back on them and head into the water to watch the hatchlings.

“Thank you!” he heard Levy chirp. He rolled his eyes and focused on watching the younglings, who had finished their laps and were now free to play with everyone else. Weisslogia was snuggled up to Skiadrum in the water, light snores coming from the White Dragon as the Shadow Dragon watched his mate fondly.

Metalicana wasn’t about to listen in on the girls’ and Leo’s conversation, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t watch them. The three of them sat on the beach for an hour, talking and laughing, before Leo left with a promise to check up on them soon. Metalicana narrowed his eyes at them, not liking the sound of him popping up whenever he wanted, but besides squishing him and sending him back to the Spirit World, there was little to be done.

After Leo had left, the girls continued to play with the hatchlings, splashing and laughing. But something about their scents seemed off; they seemed eager, excited. Metalicana felt like they were anticipating something, something special. He growled to himself; they were planning something, he could tell. A growl next to him told him that Igneel could tell as well, and not happy about it.

They let everyone play for a few more hours before packing up, Weisslogia and Skiadrum placing sleepy hatchlings on their backs. Metalicana noticed that Levy was a little unsteady, her eyelids drooping as she balanced the umbrella on her shoulder. He shook his head as Skiadrum placed Reisha on his back before lowering his head to nudge Levy upright.

“C’mon, little girl,” the Iron Dragon rumbled. “On my back. And bring that colorful monstrosity with you.”

Levy groaned as she straightened up, turning her head to look at him. She shook her head and muttered, “I’m fine. I can walk.”

Metalicana snorted; she was listing to the side again, her head almost knocking into his leg. He looked over at Igneel to see him place Lucy and her bag on his back, between Beryl and his wings. Dipping his head down, he gently gripped the straps of Levy’s bikini in his teeth, making sure that she wouldn’t slip out or worse as he picked her up. Levy protested weakly, kicking and squirming, but he ignored her as he placed her on his back. He could hear Weisslogia snort in annoyance at his method, but he had done it before with Gajeel with little complaints.

Almost immediately after he placed her on his back, Levy curled up around Reisha and the hideous umbrella and nodded off. Metalicana huffed in amusement before turning to Weisslogia and Skiadrum.

“We’re heading back now; got to cook these fish up for supper tonight after all,” Skiadrum said, holding up one of the sharks that they had hunted down earlier. Metalicana smirked; Shadow Dragons always got their prey. With narrowed eyes, Weisslogia added, “Be gentle with those girls.”

Metalicana snorted and replied, “They’re fast asleep. How can we be mean to them?”

Weisslogia narrowed his eyes a little more but didn’t answer. Instead, he followed his mate into the air, sharks in talons, and headed back to the nest. Metalicana followed them with his eyes before turning his attention to the younglings.

“Time to go! Remember, no flying!” Igneel snarled before marching towards the nest. Metalicana made sure that all the younglings had trooped ahead before taking up the rear.

“Hey, remember when Sting convinced Natsu that he could eat a washed-up jellyfish?” a youngling called. Metalicana couldn’t help the bark of laughter. Igneel’s loud groan could reach him as he replied, “He wouldn’t eat anything but fire for days after that!”

Metalicana snickered at the memory. He added, “Gajeel and the massive whale shark.”

Everyone erupted into laughter. Another youngling chortled, “He didn’t believe you and Aunt Anahita that they were vegetarians! And got his butt kicked because he didn’t watch the tail!”

Stories were recalled about their human family members, each one making the dragons laugh ridiculously. Metalicana felt his belly ache by the time the nest came into view. As he started climbing up to the entrance, he felt Levy stir on his back.

“We almost back?” She asked, her voice drugged with sleep. Metalicana rumbled in agreement, knowing that she would feel the vibrations. He heard her sigh in relief and mutter, “Can’t wait to take a bath and read one of those books I found in your hollow.”

Metalicana felt his blood chill at the mention of “books”; those books belonged to Gajeel, and while he never read them, protected them as ferociously as if they were gold. He smacked down Rogue when he tried to read one, and Skiadrum and Weisslogia were most unhappy with the man as Wendy patched up her cousin. After that, Gajeel made a bookshelf in the farthest corner of the hollow and moved all the books to it, claiming that no one was to touch them until his mate, who smelled like the books, arrived to read them and decide what to do with them.

“No,” he snarled firmly. “Don’t touch those. Those are Gajeel’s.”

He felt Levy pout against his back. He knew that she was a reader, but it was for her safety that she didn’t touch that bookshelf.

“Why not?” She whined. He really should have come up with a better excuse, or even told the truth, but what came out was probably not the best thing to say to a bookworm.

“Because those books are extremely old, and you probably don’t have the knowledge to read them anyways. Besides, Gajeel would rip your arm off if you even think about touching them,” he said as he snagged Levy off his back and nudged her to Grandine’s hollow. “Now go take a bath, get that salt off.”

The dirty look Levy gave him would have set shivers down mortals’ spines, but Metalicana barely noticed it, too worried about Gajeel and his temper over those books. A quick glance at Grandine gave him hope; she gave him a wink that said that his mate and child were almost home. He sighed in relief. Backup was on their way.

---------------------------------------

Tap tap tap.

Tap tap tap.

Tap tap tap.

“Mel.”

Tap tap tap.

“Mel.”

TAP TAP TAP.

“Metalicana!”

Metalicana snorted awake, blearily opening his eyes to see his beloved mate standing in front of their hollow, his son next to her. Anahita looked furious and Gajeel had a stern expression on his face, though he could see the corner of his lip twitch. Metalicana narrowed his eyes at his son, but before he could snarl at him Anahita growled.

“Mel, you and Igneel have some explaining to do.”

Metalicana groaned and stretched, closing his eyes in pleasure at the feeling of joints popping in his spine. He could hear Natsu and Happy laughing their heads off about something, but right now he had to focus on calming his mate down. Opening his eyes, he gave his sea green mate his attention. He hoped that whatever she needed to say woke Levy up; it would be glorious payback for all the times that she had given him an early wake up call.

“We sent you two to Hargeon for whales,” Anahita growled. Metalicana winced at the memory, the shame of failure still fresh. She continued, “And we’ll talk about the two girls that we can smell in a little bit...”

Wait, smell? he thought, confused. They weren’t in bed? They hadn’t seen them yet?

“But right now, I want know why you felt the need to pick up finger paints,” Anahita hissed, putting plenty of scorn on the dread art form.

Metalicana stared at his mate before crying out, “What?”

“Huh?” was Igneel’s surprised reply. Gajeel finally broke and began to snicker as Natsu laughed harder next door. The great Iron Dragon could hear the echoes of the rest of nest laughing as well. Metalicana looked between his mate and his son, trying to get some clarification. Anahita raised a scaly brow and demanded, “Have you looked at yourself today?”

Metalicana growled. “What are talking about, woman? We didn’t get finger paaaaaaaints!”

He screeched in surprise, drawing out the last word as he finally noticed his scales. But instead of the familiar shiny metal scales he was used to seeing in the morning were instead rainbow colored and swirled, creating a tie-die effect. He whirled around to see his entire body turned rainbow colored, swirled and splattered. Furious stomping drew his attention away from the terrifying moment, and Metalicana saw that Igneel was just as affected as he was. But instead of being a rainbow, the Fire Dragon was covered in blue and white stars, shooting across his hide in showers.

If it had been anyone else in the nest, he would have been impressed by the girls’ dedication. But, no, looking around at Grandine, Skiadrum, Weisslogia, and the others showed that they were the only ones who had changed colors. Ready to chew out Levy, Metalicana whirled around to Gajeel’s bed.

Gajeel’s neatly made, empty bed.

Metalicana saw red and roared, “LEVYYYYYYYYYY!”

Chapter Text

Earlier that morning

“Hee hee! Finally home!” Natsu cheered as he hopped off his aunt’s back, stretching his arms over his head.

“Aye sir!” his blue flying cat, Happy, agreed, floating next to him. “Those jobs took forever to do!”

“Only because you guys kept breaking things and having to stay and help fix them,” Wendy, Natsu’s sorta little sister, piped up. Her white flying cat, Carla, added, “And you made us lose a portion of the reward each time!”

“Next time we go to the mainland, we’re leaving you and Sting behind,” grumbled Rogue. Natsu turned to snarl at his cousin, not appreciating his teasing.

“Hey! Why are you lumping me in with Natsu? Gajeel’s more destructive than me!” Rogue’s brother, Sting, complained, pouting and leaning against their Aunt Anahita’s leg. The Sea Dragon snorted in amusement.

“Enough, boys. Now, get these groceries off of my back and in the Cool Cave,” Anahita ordered.

“Yes, ma’am,” the dragon slayers chorused, save Gajeel. Natsu looked over to see the older Dragon Slayer standing in front of the nest entrance, his back straight and tense. Natsu cocked his head curiously and called, “Hey, Metalface! Didn’t you hear your ma?”

“Shut up, Salamander,” Gajeel growled back. “Something’s wrong.”

Natsu immediately went on the defensive, carefully placing the crate of vegetables he had down and stalking over to the Iron Dragon Slayer. Sting followed him, and Natsu could hear Rogue, Wendy, and their flying cats quickly divesting Aunt Anahita of the rest of the groceries. The pink haired boy took a deep whiff through his nose, easily sorting through familiar scents before the scent of two new humans hit him like a freight train.

“What the—-?” He muttered.

“Girls?” Sting nearly shouted, his brows rocketing almost to his hairline.

“Where?” Lector asked, looking around in case the “girls” emerged from the shadows with bows and hair ties (the tabby’s worst nightmare to date.) Natsu could practically hear Gajeel roll his eyes as he snapped, “Besides them!”

“Where is everyone?” Wendy asked, peering into the nest. Natsu saw Rogue step in front Frosch, the pink frog suited cat huddling behind the Shadow Dragon Slayer’s armored leg. Sting was doing the same thing with Lector, placing himself in front of the tabby. Carla and Happy were flying by Aunt Anahita’s horns, watching the dark nest with worry.

Natsu strained his ears to hear anything that meant that everything was all right....just as a massive collection of snores assaulted his ears.

“They’re still asleep?” he gasped, astonished. Their nest usually woke up a little after dawn, and it was mid-morning now. Why would his dad still be asleep? Was it because of the unknown girls?

“Sounds like it,” Gajeel confirmed. “Don’t smell any breakfast remains either.”

Natsu felt his stomach twist into a knot with worry. His dad was one of the toughest dragons in the nest, and none of the other Slayers’ parents were slouches either. What could have possibly have the power to keep over twenty dragons asleep for so long?

“Stay behind me, kids,” Anahita ordered before heading into the nest. Natsu felt Happy land on his shoulder as he followed his aunt into the nest. He really wanted to rush to his dad’s side, see that he was okay, but his aunt was in charge, and disobeying her was the biggest mistake anyone could make. He could hear his fellow Dragon Slayers shift anxiously, eager to see if their parents were okay as well.

Anahita took a few deep whiffs, trying to determine if the danger was still in their home. Natsu took a couple of whiffs as well, but all he could identify as new was the two girl smells and a weird sweet sheep smell. But there was no panic, fear, or anger lingering from...whatever happened. Natsu took a quick peek in a hollow to see Beryl and her parents snoring away.

“Nothing’s here,” Rogue said as he materialized from the shadows. Natsu nearly jumped out of his skin, and from Wendy and Gajeel’s reactions, he wasn’t alone.

“Ryos! How many times have we told ya not to do that?” Gajeel growled. Rogue merely raised a brow at his cousin and replied, “I’ll stop when you stop calling me ‘Ryos;’ only Dad gets to call me that.”

Natsu heard Sting snicker at his brother’s retort. He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped from him; his family may get on each other’s nerves, but they loved each other.

“Nothing’s here,” Anahita growled in frustration. “Go ahead and wake everyone up.”

Natsu grinned and shook Beryl. “Rise and shine! C’mon, sleepyhead! We’re home!”

“Quit being so rough with the hatchlings, Natsu! They’re only little ones!” Carla scolded as she floated over to Grandine’s hollow. Natsu ignored her as he continued to shake Beryl as gently as possible.

“C’mon, Beryl! Wakey wakey! It’s your favorite cousin!” he continued to say, his heart tight with fear that his dragon family wouldn’t awake up. He could hear Sting and Rogue calling for their fathers, Frosch and Lector were in the Jade hollow, and Wendy had immediately rushed over her hollow to see her mama. Finally, Beryl’s eyelids began to flicker, and the green hatchling groaned sleepily.

“Natsu?” she asked in sleepy confusion. “You’re home early.”

Natsu felt his heart loosen as Beryl’s golden eyes looked at him, still glazed over with sleep. The mutterings and growls from the other dragons told him that everyone was slowly waking up. He snorted and answered, “Beryl, it’s mid-morning. Why is everyone still sleeping?”

Beryl looked at him like he lost his mind. “It’s not mid-morning!”

“It is too!” Natsu growled.

“Is not!”

“Is too!”

“Is not!” Beryl snarled, all forms of sleepiness gone as she stood up to face Natsu, scales bristled. “Uncle Igneel needs to get you a watch!”

He sighed and was about to counter with another “Is too!” when Beryl’s mother interrupted with, “Is it really mid-morning, Natsu?”

Natsu turned just in time for Beryl’s father to ruffle his pink hair gently in greeting. He pushed away the dark green snout enough to answer, “Yeah, it’s mid-morning. What happened? Why were you all still asleep when we got in?”

Beryl’s father blinked owlishly before shaking his head. “I don’t know. I guess we were just really tired. The younglings and hatchlings went to the beach while we went hunting.”

“I had a dream about pink cotton candy! Maybe Lucy would know what it means!” Beryl exclaimed happily, trotting over his dad’s hollow. Natsu cocked his head curiously as he heard Skiadrum and Weisslogia wake and ask how their sons’ trip was (“Pa, Frosch almost got frognapped!” “You and Rogue must have gave those frognappers a fright, hmm?” “Not really. They were really bad at kidnapping.”)

“Lucy? Is she one of the girls we smelled when we got here?” he asked. His aunt nodded.

“That’s right. Your father brought her home from Hargeon,” she explained. “She jumped on his back.”

Natsu stared at his aunt in shock, his jaw dropping to the floor. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, a girl had the guts to jump onto a dragon, and a powerful one like his father? She must be crazy!

“She jumped on Dad?” he demanded, his voice going up an octave.

“Close your mouth, Natsu, flies will get in,” his aunt scolded. Natsu closed his jaws with a snap as Anahita growled, “Oh dear gods.”

Natsu whirled around to see Gajeel and Anahita standing in front of their hollow, staring into it. Gajeel’s shoulders were shaking, and a massive grin was spreading on his face. Anahita, however, looked like she was going to chew someone up and spit them out. Natsu had a feeling that it was going to be his Uncle Metalicana or either this “Lucy” girl or the other girl.

“Uhhhhh, Natsu? You might want to got over here,” Happy called, sounding strained. Natsu trotted over to Happy, who looked like he was about to have a conniption, paws over his mouth and shoulders shaking.

“What’s wrong, little buddy?” he asked. Happy just pointed to the hollow, and Natsu turned to see....

....his dad, the great Igneel, covered in painted blue and white stars.

Natsu wasn’t sure what to feel first, anger over his father being punked, amazement that his dad got punked, or entertained that his dad was punked. By girls! Finally, he couldn’t hold in the bellyaching laughter. Happy echoed him, tears of hysterical laughter streaming down his face.

“They got finger paint,” Anahita hissed, her eyes blazing with fury. Natsu winced in sympathy as his aunt began to tap her talons against the ground. Finger paint had been banned from the nest since x781, after an accident involving Sting, Jadious, Amaranth, Lector, Happy, and himself. Natsu still shuddered at the memory of scrapping crusty paint off of the nest walls.

Natsu still couldn’t help but laugh as the rest of the nest woke up. All around him were “Oh no” and “They did that for a wake-up call?” He collapsed to the ground, Happy following him as they rolled around in laughter. His aunt’s voice carried over their laughing and immediately, Natsu thought, The storm is coming. Poor Dad!

Natsu was still laughing after his father and Uncle Mel regaled their story of the two girls who hitched a ride with them from Hargeon and the amount of chaos that they caused. Happy was rolling around the nest floor, tears of hilarity rolling down his chubby cheeks. Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue were laughing too, while Wendy was the only one trying not to laugh.

“I don’t see how any of this is funny!” Carla exclaimed angrily. “Gajeel! Natsu! Your fathers have been humiliated! Aren’t you angry?”

Natsu snorted, “A little. But, they look so ridiculous!”

“Payback for Samhain!” Gajeel agreed, leaning against his mother. “Damn, I wish we were here when ya brought them in!”

Igneel snorted from where he was soaking in the bathing pool, trying to get some of the paint off. Natsu snickered at the grumpier than normal look on his dad’s face. His dad growled, “It’s not that funny, Natsu!”

“It is too!” Natsu laughed. “You guys got pranked multiple times by two girls!”

“Where are they, anyway?” Gajeel asked, a couple chuckles still escaping him.

“Yeah! Wouldn’t they want to see their handiwork?” Lector asked, giggles escaping him.

“Frosch thinks so too!” Frosch agreed. Natsu grinned; even their cats thought that this was the greatest thing ever.

Metalicana snorted as he continued to scrape his scales against the nest walls, trying to get the colors off that way. Anahita was glaring at him, amused at his attempt but unhappy with how he get that way.

“They left,” he growled. “I’m guessing some time before dawn. Their scents are somewhat fresh still.”

Natsu looked at his uncle in horror. They were gone? He was so ready to meet them, after all the chaos that they caused! He glanced over at Gajeel, who had the same horror-struck face that he probably had. Quickly, his older brother’s face morphed into anger, his pierced brows narrowing dangerously.

“Ya let her escape?” he growled. Natsu felt his stomach twist into a knot. Their jungle home had many nocturnal predators, and while most would be asleep by dawn, there was the rare chance that something big and/or dangerous would still be hunting. Natsu gasped, “They’re out there all alone?”

“We had told them to stay with us if they didn’t want to face the predators, in exchange for hatchling-sitting, but apparently they didn’t think we were serious,” Metalicana growled as he continued to try and scrape his scales back to silver.

“Levy and Lucy are gone?” Reisha demanded as Beryl began to wail unhappily. The other hatchlings followed their example and Natsu winced as the volume escalated and assaulted his sensitive ears.

“No no, guys! It’ll be okay!” Wendy said hurriedly, trying to placate them.

“Natsu and Gajeel are going to get them! Right?” Rogue chimed in, giving his cousins a look. Natsu nodded, silently confirming that he would get the girls back.

“Where’s something that has their scent?” Gajeel growled, sounding ready to hunt. Natsu knew that his brother took tracking and destroying dark guild jobs when they were over the mainland, so he would follow his example.

“Try your beds,” Metalicana answered, amusement lightening his growl. “They’ve been sleeping there for the past couple of nights.”

Natsu slammed into Gajeel, who had stopped abruptly at his father’s words. The Fire Dragon Slayer looked at his uncle, who had a smirk on his snout.

“They were in our beds?” Gajeel growled. Natsu took a quick peek at his brother to see that his ears turning bright red and making its way down to his cheeks. He couldn’t blame him; where were he and Happy supposed to sleep if that girl, Lucy, was still there?

“Yes,” Metalicana drawled.

“Where were we supposed to sleep, huh?” Natsu demanded. Igneel snorted and growled, “We’ll figure that out when you two bring them back! Now go get them!”

“Going!” Natsu yelped, heading to his hammock.

“Aye, sir!” Happy agreed, flying after him. Natsu held his hammock still and tentatively began to sniff for Lucy’s scent. The first thing he noticed was the smell of starry night after a storm, followed by vanilla and lavender. He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent. He could smell silver and gold mixed in; did she wear jewelry? He hoped that she was wearing heart and star things, then he could add them to his collection!

“Do you have her scent, Natsu?” Happy asked as he floated above him. Natsu nodded.

“Yep! Let’s get Gajeel and go after them!”

They hurried over to Metalicana and Anahita’s hollow....only to see Gajeel rolling around on his bed, inhaling deeply and growling. Natsu stared at his older brother, confused. The Levy girl couldn’t possibly smell that good, right? Lucy’s scent was good, but he didn’t want to rub his face all over his hammock because of it!

“Gajeel? What’re you doing?” Happy asked, sounding just as confused as Natsu felt.

Gajeel growled, “She smells good.”

Natsu raised an eyebrow at his answer and said, “Uhhh, okay? So?”

Gajeel shifted so that he could scowl at Natsu and said, “You don’t understand. This Levy chick smells good.”

What the heck was that supposed to mean? Natsu thought. But before he could say anything, Wendy popped up next his elbow.

“Maybe you should go get her! That way you can smell her more,” she suggested. Natsu could hear his father and uncle’s growls by the bathing pool, so he figured that his little sister was just trying to help them get a move on.

He was about to start a fist fight with Gajeel when the Iron Dragon Slayer finally sat up after a couple more inhales and nuzzled his pillows, and nodded. “Let’s get going, Salamander.”

Natsu yelped as his older brother clasped a gloved hand around the back of his neck and began to drag him out. We were the ones waiting on him! he thought mutinously as Gajeel turned and walked toward the nest entrance.

“They’re mages, so watch out! Lucy has Celestial Spirits to help her!” his dad called after them.

“And Levy uses Solid Script magic! If it has a word, she can create it!” Metalicana added.

“You brought mages home?” Anahita screeched, swinging her tail at Igneel and Metalicana. Natsu snickered as his father and uncle yelped as her tail made contact.

“Calm down, Anahita. Both girls are sweet...to everyone not named ‘Igneel’ or ‘Metalicana,’” his Aunt Grandine joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“If we’re not back by lunchtime, come get us!” Natsu called as Gajeel continued to drag him away, Happy flying next to them.

“Don’t toast them!” Sting called back, his fathers once again snickering. Natsu rolled his eyes at his cousin.

“That was only onnnnnnce!” Natsu screeched as Gajeel finally took off running, heading into the jungles.

Natsu was running hard to keep up with Gajeel, who was currently setting a harsh pace down a trail that led to the ancient ruins. Happy had given up trying to keep up and was currently holding onto his scarf for dear life. Natsu could smell the two girls’ trail, and it was getting fresher and fresher each step.

“So, do you think that Dad and Uncle Mel’s gonna make them scrub that paint off of them?” he called to Gajeel. He heard Gajeel laugh over his shoulder, a high pitched “Gi he he!”

“Probably! If we catch them soon enough for lunch, we could get dinner and a show!” he called over his shoulder. Natsu snickered as he continued to run.

“Hey, Natsu! Do you think that they’ll have any fish on them?” Happy asked. Natsu chuckled at his best buddy’s question; he was always thinking about fish!

“Nah, little buddy! They’re trying to get away, not go fishing!” he called over his shoulder in reply. He heard his cat groan in disappointment as he continued running.

“So what was going on with the Fairy Tail guild you like so much?” Gajeel asked over his shoulder. Natsu’s heart sank to his stomach at the reminder. He worked with Fairy Tail on several jobs, and he liked the guild. Hell, if it didn’t mean leaving the nest, he would have joined them! But now, Fairy Tail being accused of an attempted assassination of the Magic Council was tearing his mind. Natsu wasn’t much of a thinker, more of a doer, but he knew, knew, in his heart that Fairy Tail wasn’t capable of going dark. Not even Gray Droopy-Drawers.

Natsu growled and replied, “I’ve known them for a long time, Gajeel. They couldn’t have done it! They couldn’t have!”

Gajeel merely grunted; he didn’t have previous experience like he did with the Phantom Lord guild. They rotated which guilds to work with to not create too much suspicion. But Natsu knew that Gajeel only liked working with Phantom Lord because his best-friend-that-wasn’t-family (yet) Juvia was a part of it.

“Saw some opinion articles about them. Seems most people are with Fairy Tail being innocent,” Gajeel said as he slowed to a stop. Natsu nearly rammed into him, not expecting him to slow down. Usually, when Gajeel was hunting something down, he stayed focused on the trail.

“Hey! What gives?” Happy cried from Natsu’s back.

“They split up here,” Gajeel growled. Natsu peeked over his shoulder to see the trail fork, going down two different paths. The Iron Dragon Slayer continued, “They’re trying to confuse us.”

“Maybe they were expecting Dad and Uncle Mel,” Happy suggested. Natsu had to agree; their dads would probably have tracked them if the Slayers hadn’t arrived that morning. He sniffed carefully, picking up both girls’ scents going down each trail. But instead of both scents being strong, only one from each girl was fresh.

“They must have taken something from each other before splitting up,” Gajeel grunted. “Clever.”

“So now what?” Happy asked. Natsu sighed and stood up from the crouch he took to identify the trails.

“Guess we need to split up too, huh?” he said, looking at Gajeel. His older brother nodded, arms crossed over his chest.

“Looks like it. Be careful; we have no idea how strong these girls are. You have Lucy’s scent, go after her,” he ordered before taking off running after Levy

“Hey! You don’t get to order us around!” Natsu called after him, but his retort just bounced off of that damn black mane of his. Natsu settled for scowling before turning down the other trail.

“C’mon, Happy. Let’s go get her,” he told his cat before taking off in a dead sprint. Happy kept up with him, wings flapping hard.

“Aye, sir!”

The sun was almost in the middle of the sky, breaking up some of the clouds, by the time Natsu finally got a glimpse of the mysterious Lucy. Her blonde hair had caught a ray of sunlight, a stark contrast to the green and brown of the jungle. Natsu grinned to himself and signaled to Happy that their target was nearby. He leapt over a clump of ferns, going off the trail, and crept up on her. Getting closer, he peeked around a tree trunk to get a good look at the girl who painted his dad.

That’s her? he thought in shock. That’s the crazy girl who jumped on Dad? Natsu felt Happy collapse to the ground in shock at the sight of this Lucy.

Blonde haired, big racked, and pale skin were what they could see from the side of her, so Natsu immediately thought “bimbo.” But as she finished turning around, he couldn’t help but stare. She had chocolate eyes, but he could still see the stars glitter in them. Her blonde hair turned to gold, held together with a side ponytail. Her chin was stubborn, her lips full and pink. Her nose, however, was completely delicate, like she had never been in a fight before.

“Natsu! Let’s get her!” Happy whispered excitedly. Natsu snickered quietly into his hand; this was too easy! All he had to do was grab her and then head home! Honestly, what was his dad worried about?

“Okay, in three...two...one!” Natsu leapt out from behind the trees, Happy right behind him. He couldn’t help the grin spread across his face at the sight of her surprise.

“Gotcha!” he cried, lunging at her.

“We got you!” Happy cheered. Natsu should have known better than to surprise a girl. How many times had he been on the receiving end of Erza’s sword? Or Cana’s tarot card magic?

He expected the scream. He didn’t expect the kick that came after it.

His head slammed into the tree he and Happy hid behind, Happy’s cat face squished his head and her foot. Natsu was surprised that she was able to hit him in the first place; how come she wasn’t shocked by a flying, talking cat? Happy was basically a rarity! Almost as soon as his skull registered that he was in pain, Lucy’s foot disappeared.

“Owwwwwww!” he whined as Happy dropped to the ground. He rubbed where her foot had connected and turned to see her holding a whip in her hands, a determined look on her face. He scowled at her and whined again, “That hurt!”

“I should hope so! It’s called an ass-kicking!” she snapped back him. Natsu’s eyebrows shot up to his forehead at her snappy response. Okay, maybe that’s how she was able to handle Dad, he thought.

Before he could make a comeback (it was gonna be a good one, too, dammit!), Lucy demanded, “What are you doing here? What do you want?”

Natsu grinned and answered simply, “You.”

“We’re here to take you back!” Happy added, flying by Natsu’s Head after recovering from Lucy’s kick. Natsu smirked at Lucy, whose determined look began to falter. He raised a fist, allowing his magic to engulf it in flames. Lucy jumped back with a gasp.

“Even if we have to use force,” he finished with a smirk. He chuckled; intimidation wasn’t exactly his strong suit, but it must have worked this time! Until Lucy narrowed her eyes at him and hissed, “Is that dragon slayer magic?”

“Yeah!” Natsu felt excited that she knew what his magic was, dropping his fist and extinguishing his flames. “Finally! Someone who knows what my magic——owwwwww!”

Natsu rubbed at his abs, where Lucy had cracked her whip at. A quick glance and his eyes widened as a welt was already forming. He snarled, looking at Lucy, who merely challenged, “You want me? Come and get me.”

And with that, she took off running. Natsu stared at her before his brain clicked that she was running away from him. Then he took off after her, shouting, “Hey, get back here!”

“Aye!” Happy agreed, flying after him. Lucy didn’t even give them a glance over her shoulder before turning and flicking her whip again, striking at his knee this time. He yelped and hopped around, clutching his knee. When he looked up again, Lucy was farther away than before. Natsu growled and rushed after her, shouting, “I’ll just keep smelling you! You can’t run forever!”

“Animal!” Lucy called over her shoulder.

“Take that back!” Natsu snarled.

“Normal people don’t track like hound dogs!” Lucy snapped back as she whirled around for another strike. Natsu was able to dodge the strike, but Happy wasn’t quick enough and got a welt on his butt, causing him to wail in pain.

“Hey! That’s not nice!” Natsu growled. Lucy ignored him as she picked up her run again, darting between trees. Natsu growled and followed after her. He was definitely faster than her! Right?

He followed her with his eyes, Happy trying herd her towards him but she was apparently too smart for that. Natsu was getting more and more frustrated as she continued her weaving pattern, his feet slipping a couple of times, allowing her precious distance. Sometimes, she would circle around.... and then crack her whip and leave a welt on his ass!

Finally, Natsu had enough.

“You ain’t getting away!” he roared. “Fire Dragon Iron Fist!”

He punched a tree, shattering it. Lucy gave a little scream, ducking as splinters rained down. Natsu grinned and punched another tree with Fire Dragon Iron Fist, shattering it as well. Lucy ducked again, running faster.

“That’s for all the welts!” Natsu yelled after her, running after her again. They were getting closer and closer to the ruins, and Natsu knew if that if she reached them that she would never come out.

“All right, that does it!”

He heard Lucy growl before his eyes widened as her whip glowed shimmering blue and gold before slinging out to a tree around fifty yards away and coiling around a branch. Natsu’s jaw dropped to the ground as she swung away from him, landing neatly and taking off again.

“She’s getting away! C’mon, Natsu!” Happy cried, flying after her. Natsu snapped his jaw shut and ran after his best friend, his brain practically overheating with the thoughts racing through his head.

Was she running from him because she didn’t want to clean up the mess she made of his dad? Did his dad tell her anything about him? Maybe he told her some of his more....destructive incidents of his childhood. But he really wasn’t all that bad! His aunts constantly tell him how sweet he was, and how well he watched the hatchlings and play with Wendy! And yeah, most of the destruction he caused was because he would get caught up in the moment and be a bit clueless, but he wasn’t bad!

“Come back here!” Natsu called after Lucy, who was still using her magic whip thingy to swing ahead of him. “Hold on!”

Lucy continued to ignore him, and Natsu’s eyes widened as the trees began to thin. He knew that this path led to the ruins, but to continue to them meant climbing down a cliff and crossing a field. She was heading straight for the cliff. Natsu ran faster, ignoring the roots and vines trying to trip him up.

“Stop!” Natsu cried.

“You’re heading towards a cliff!” Happy cried after her, panicked. Lucy either couldn’t hear them or was out right ignoring them because she pressed on. Happy turned to Natsu and cried, “She’s not listening to us!”

“Grab her, Happy! Before she jumps off and kills herself!” Natsu ordered, eyes glued to her swaying backpack. A blue vest was peeking out from the top, and he could smell that it didn’t belong to her. Lucy broke through the trees, and the vest came loose.

“Shit!” They heard Lucy curse as she whirled around and grabbed the vest. It allowed them precious seconds, and Natsu felt himself grin in relief. They’re gonna get her!

The grin disappeared as Lucy looked over the cliff. Natsu found a new gear and ran faster, almost passing Happy.

“Hold on!” he cried, stretching out his hand. “Don’t jump!”

Lucy gave him a look before activating her magic whip and swinging herself over the edge. Natsu felt his heart stop, and he skidded to a halt before the ledge. Happy dropped to the ground next to him, shocked.

“She...she just....” the blue cat whimpered. Natsu could only nod in shock. “You don’t think...?”

“I don’t know,” Natsu sighed. Magic whips have to have a limit, right? Cautiously, he looked over the edge of the cliff....only to see Lucy standing on a hardy tree jutting out of the rocky cliff. His jaw dropped and he screamed, “You gotta be kidding me!”

“Let’s see you get me now, Mr. Dragon Slayer!” Lucy called up to him triumphantly, grinning like she won. Natsu frowned down at her and simply jumped down onto the tree with her, shaking it. Happy followed, hovering around his head.

“Oh yeah?” Natsu growled playfully. Lucy’s grin disappeared from her face.

“Dragon slayers are really tough! A jump to here is no problem at all!” Happy explained. Natsu chuckled as Lucy paled a little.

“Seriously? What is it gonna take to get you out of here?” she cried in frustration.

“Just give up so that we can all go home, Miss Tube Top Mini-Skirt,” Natsu snickered. Lucy growled as she covered her almost exposed chest with her arms.

“No way, jerk!”

“Whelp, looks like we’ll have to drag her back, Happy,” Natsu said with a grin as he stepped forward.

“Aye, sir!” Happy agreed as Lucy took a step back. Natsu took another step forward, Lucy backed up, and the tree began to bend a little. This little game continued under the tree was completely bent.

“C’mon!” Natsu whined. “You can’t go anywhere! Just give up!”

“No way!” Lucy snarled at him. Natsu was surprised when she kept her teeth bared; apparently some things rubbed off during their little stay with the nest. He took another step, and the tree creaked dangerously. Lucy looked around before asking, “You think I can’t leave this tree?”

“Not unless you wanna break your legs once ya reach the ground,” Natsu replied readily. Lucy looked at him and Natsu had to steady his heart the mischievous sparkles her eyes contained.

“Good thing we’re not over ground. Buh-bye!”

And with that, she jumped off. Natsu gaped at her before the tree snapped back and crushed him and Happy against the cliff rocks. He felt something pop in him, but he wasn’t quite sure where considering that he had branches where no branches should ever be. The tree let them go quickly and he landed sideways on the trunk.

“Happy, you okay?” he croaked, worried about his buddy.

“Lucy won. Let’s go home,” the blue cat whined. Natsu groaned just as a pair of roars erupted from the direction of the nest. Looks like Dad and Uncle Mel are tired of waiting on us, he thought ruefully as a splash reached his ears. He looked down to see Lucy surface from a pond that he didn’t see.

“Like I said, she won,” Happy groaned in pain. Natsu snorted and gingerly go to his feet.

“No way! C’mon, we can cut her off here!” he declared. Happy groaned miserably before grabbing Natsu’s black vest and flying them down. Natsu’s feet touched ground just as Lucy splashed to the shoreline. She stopped cold and produced a gold key from the pouch at her side.

“You aren’t going to hurt them,” she growled, taking a defensive stance. “You’re not even going to touch a single scale of those dragons!”

Natsu felt confused; what was she talking about? His dad was a dragon, he gave him hugs all the time!

“Open, Gate of the Scorpion!” Lucy cried, slashing the golden key in the air. “Scorpio!”

Natsu could only watch in shock as a tall man with red and white hair, tan skin, and dressed in a frilly collar and pants covered with an overskirt appeared in a blast of sand. A mechanical tail arched over his back, giving him more of the scorpion look than what Natsu was expecting.

“Wicked!” the man cried, his fingers pointed into the universal “rock on” sign. “Time to blast you away!”

“I won’t give them up!” Lucy finished with a cry. “I swear as a member of Fairy Tail!”

Natsu felt his body freeze up in shock. The only thought that popped in his head before the man (Scorpio?) crouched down and released a blast of sand at him was She’s a member of Fairy Tail?

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, as Natsu chases Lucy

He could almost see her. Her scent was filling his nose and making his mouth water, despite the fact that he had been running since leaving the nest. Gajeel was coming up fast on this Levy and he couldn’t wait to see her. This mysterious girl who was gutsy enough to prank his old man needed to come back. And while Gajeel was impatient about a lot of things, if he needed to take his time coaxing her back to the nest and stay with him, then that’s what he’d do.

His feet pounded the trail as her scent became fresher and fresher. Gajeel grinned to himself; catching her off-guard will be so easy! Maybe he could get a face full of her delicious smell if he pinned her down fast enough. He licked his lips, imagining burying his face into her hair as he held her in his arms. Good gods, he couldn’t wait to meet his other half!

He remembered the first time he realized that he had a mate, and that they loved books.

“I don’t get it, Ma!” fifteen year old Gajeel whined. “I don’t even like to read! Why did I buy this book?”

Anahita chuckled and said, “It’s part of being a dragon, dear.”

Gajeel looked her confused. “What do ya mean, Ma?”

His mother looked at him with a gentle smile and asked, “Do you remember the story of how your father and I met?”

Gajeel nodded; it was one of his favorite bedtime stories when he was younger. His old man had met his ma a couple of days after the summer solstice, five hundred years ago. His pops knew that his ma was his mate from her magic. Ever since he began to mature, he had been fascinated with seashells and dried starfish, collecting as many as he could over the centuries. His ma, on the other hand, had collected shiny objects, all in iron.

“You had stacks of iron,” Gajeel said, gesturing to the piles of scrap metal laying around, “while Pops had seashells in jars.”

He pointed to a nook in their hollow, where his ma had the jars of seashells. Anahita nodded and said, “That’s right. But do you know how I knew to collect iron?”

“No,” Gajeel replied, shaking his head. His ma nuzzled him before poking his chest.

“In here,” she rumbled. “My heart told me. What was yours saying when you saw that book?”

Gajeel thought long and hard before answering, “It said to get it. It smelled good.”

“Then your mate must love books. Now you know where to begin. Follow your heart...and your nose,” his ma giggled.

Gajeel smiled at the memory before he heard a low rumbling sound. He dove off the trail, hiding behind some bushes. The noise didn’t sound like it came from a predator, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He couldn’t afford to tangle with a creature of the island and lose his other half.

The rumble sounded again, and Gajeel frowned. It sounded like....a hungry stomach? Did Natsu and Happy follow him? If they did, they were gonna be in a world of pain!

“Shoot,” he heard a voice a little farther ahead. He perked up at the realization that the voice was female, and soft and lilting. It sounded like a voice that would work well with his voice when he performed with his guitar. He hoped she liked guitars!

He stalked down the side of the trail, carefully avoiding snapping twigs and dry leaves. He couldn’t alert her of his presence until he got a good look at her. She was still muttering to herself.

“Should have nabbed something to eat before leaving. But food would have woken Metalicana up faster. Stupid dragon senses.”

Gajeel peeked through some bushes, careful to make sure that he didn’t make a sound, and saw a woman with wild blue hair, hazel eyes, and a thin frame. He was slightly disappointed that her chest area wasn’t huge, but he heard enough complaints from Juvia and her rack that big boobs didn’t exactly mean anything. Besides, he wanted to see if those capris were filled out like they were supposed to. Although, he thought, that bra looks damn good too.

He was practically hypnotized just looking at her. What would happen if he tried to talk to her? He didn’t want to make a fool of himself, but he needed to get her back home!

Suddenly, he remembered something that his old man and uncles had told him and the other Dragon Slayers, excluding Wendy. Dragons can purr to calm their mates or to reassure them, but most of the time it was the males trying to calm females. Hence why Metaliana and his uncles had the lot of them practice the purr for a while afternoon. Gajeel had hated the exercise at the time, but now it could prove useful.

She was rubbing her stomach, as if that would quiet it, when he began his purr. He kept it low enough that she wouldn’t be able to hear it, but loud enough that the vibrations would reach her. He grinned widely, showing off his sharp canines, when he saw her shoulders drop and she stretched, arms over her head. I’m gonna have to get those cats some good tuna! Gajeel thought to himself. Metalicana and his uncles had enlisted the help of Happy, Lector, and Frosch when the purring lesson had happened. They were coaching the boys, explaining how to get it right.

And all that practice is paying off, Gajeel thought gleefully as Levy stretched again. She turned around, and Gajeel’s jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the most perfect ass he’d seen on a bookworm. He didn’t stop his purr, however, and deepened it, hoping to relax her enough that he could snatch her up with little trouble.

He took a step forward and a twig snapped under his heavy boot. He winced as Levy lost the relaxed stance she had taken.

“Who’s there?” She called, clutching the strap to her red bag. Gajeel mentally called himself five types of stupid before plastering on a smirk and emerging from the bushes.

“Gihihi. Too easy to track ya down. Should’ve made it at least interesting,” he said. Levy’s scent went from ink parchment lilac to the sour smell of fear. She took a step back, narrowing her eyes at him.

“You’re tracking me?” she parroted back at him. Gajeel felt his smirk widen, showing off his sharp canines.

“Gihihi, thought ya were the smart one,” he gloated her. Levy wrinkled her nose and how was it possible for her to get cuter in one move? It wasn’t fair!

“You know who I am,” she said, making it more of a statement than a question. She continued, “Who hired you? The Magic Council? The king himself? Or some dark guild that didn’t have the courage to come after us?”

Gajeel snorted. “No one hired me. I just got lucky.”

Levy took a step back and cried, “Solid Script: Iron!”

Gajeel jumped back as the word appeared above him and imbedded itself into the ground. He could smell that the word really was iron, and a damn good quality too. Grinning, he grabbed the “n” and broke it off before taking a large bite. He had to resist moaning as the best iron he ever tasted filled his mouth. The shocked look on Levy’s face as he chewed made it so much better.

“Thanks for the meal. Best iron I’ve had!” he said, his smirk returning. Levy’s body was shaking, from lack of energy or fear he couldn’t tell.

“You’re a dragon slayer, like the one that comes around sometimes to the guide,” she whispered. Gajeel narrowed his eyes at her; was she really comparing him to his idiot brother?

Before he could voice his indigent thoughts, a red bag met his face with a loud thunk!

“Gah!” he grunted in surprise (yes, grunted, not yelped!) before falling over.

“Iron-hearted jerk! Good luck trying to get me!” Levy screeched, footsteps running away from him. Then black blocked his vision.

Gajeel opened his eyes with a groan. Damn, he wasn’t expecting that! That little shrimp had more power in her than her lithe body showed. He sat up and sniffed the air, ignoring the light dizziness that his fall gave him.

She was still nearby, and he could hear her footsteps still. Must’ve only been a couple of seconds, he thought to himself. He grinned as he got up and took off running after her.

He only had to run a few yards when he caught sight of her again. She was going all out in a dead sprint, not looking behind her. He could smell her fear, but she was also determined too. To get away from him? He knew that he looked like someone from a dark guild, with his piercings and black clothes, but that didn’t mean that he really worked for one.

Though with the way that Phantom Lord is headed, she might not be wrong, he thought darkly, remembering how Jose Porla had been acting the last time he visited, looking for Juvia. Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. He was closing the distance between him and Levy.

“Solid Script: Stone!” Levy cried, pointing her fingers at him. Gajeel barely missed having his head smashed in by the spell, a rocky “stone” in big bubble letters blocking his view of her.

He snarled, “Iron Dragon Club!”

His arm turned into a pillar of iron as he thrust it into the word, shattering it and sending rocky bits flying. One particular piece smacked itself into Levy’s back, causing her to stubble with a cry of pain.

“Shit!” Gajeel curses to himself as she righted herself and kept running. He chased after her, shouting, “Hold on! Get back here!”

He could see a bruise forming on her back already. Gajeel cursed inwardly; definitely gonna need to break out the bruise balm when they got home. He smashed his fist into the ground, sending his magic into the ground. Pillars of iron shot up in front of her, and Gajeel grinned to himself. Then, Levy darted to the side....just as a pillar erupted. Gajeel’s eyes widened as her leg was scraped by the iron, not enough to draw blood but definitely enough for serious bruising. His heart sank as Levy yelped in pain and started to limp a little. He knew from experience that having something as heavy as iron scrape against skin always stung and caused massive bruising.

But instead of stopping, Levy just kept going. Gajeel felt a twinge of admiration at her stubbornness and continued to chase after her. He snarled as she threw another spell at him, this time “snow” appeared and blanketed him in the cold white stuff. He had to claw his way out of the massive amount of snow just in time to see her disappear into a hollow log, crawling away. He knew every trail on their island and knew that there was no way that crawling through a log would help her escape him. Especially if she was heading to the ancient ruins like his old man thought that she was.

He shook the rest of the snow off and bounded overtop of the log, listening carefully. She was somewhere in the middle, but he wasn’t about to punch a log to splinters just to get her. He knelt down, his fingers ghosting over the rotten wood as a blast shook the ground. He looked up just in time to see a yellow-brown cloud mixed with black paint the sky.

Looks like Natsu found Lucy, Gajeel thought peevishly, and she’s not going without a fight either. He didn’t have much time to think anything else because his heavy booted foot crashed through the downed log and stepped on something soft.

“Ow!”

Or apparently, someone soft.

“Shit!” Gajeel swore, already pulling his foot out. He didn’t expect two tiny hands grab him by the heel and toe of his boot and twist. He grunted at the pain before realizing as she twisted his foot more that she was trying to pop his knee out. He jerked his leg back, escaping her grasp and toppling off the log. Right into some sticker bushes he went, and Gajeel snarled as the sharp seeds grabbed at his clothes and skin.

“Solid Script: Light!”

Gajeel looked up in time for a harsh light to burn his retinas. He hissed and held up a hand to fruitlessly shield his eyes.

“Solid Script: Stone!”

“Oooof!” Gajeel grunted as he was pinned by her magic word. Blinking sunspots out of his eyes, he barely saw Levy dart away before she yelped and rustling leaves was heard. She must have tripped over something.

Gajeel’s temper finally snapped. First, he had been attacked unprovoked, then he was made a fool of himself! By a shrimp of a girl! Never mind that she might be his mate, but he didn’t want to be outwitted the first time they met! He roared his frustration and summoned his Iron Dragon Sword, quickly making the spikes on the edge spin. He hacked the “STONE” to bits, shoving the remains off his chest before destroying the sticker bushes that held him hostage. He leapt up and gave chase once more, using his sword arm to make a new trail. Occasionally, he could hear and smell Natsu’s fight, but he ignored it in favor of catching Levy.

Gajeel kept off the main trail, intent on getting in front of her and pinning her hands so that she couldn’t throw another spell at him. He finally caught sight of her (and her perfect ass) as the jungle thinned to the downward slope of a former mudslide. He ran faster, slicing through any vines or tree limbs that got in his way before turning his arm back to normal. Levy was trying to navigate her way around the jutting rocks and rubble from the mudslide, and Gajeel grinned as he saw a clear path that she hadn’t noticed yet. He angled himself and ran straight into her, wrapping his arms around her. Levy screamed as the momentum of his launch caught her off guard, and Gajeel wince as the high pitch assaulted his sensitive ears. They tumbled down the clear path, earning more bruises. Gajeel snarled as a particularly irritant rock jabbed him in the side, and he coated his body in iron scales to prevent more rocks from stabbing him. Even better, they should prevent more bruising on Levy.

Finally, they made it to the bottom. Gajeel made sure that Levy was above him, not wanting to squish her with his heavily scaled body. He groaned as he shifted away from a stick that was digging into his back and came nose to nose with Levy. He gulped as her eyes captivated him, a mix of bronze and emerald and gold that shimmered. He could hear her heartbeat racing, and his own felt like it was ready to meet hers. He could feel the silence pressing down on them, and her petal pink lips were tempting him more and more.

“Gihihi! Got a pair of lungs on ya, huh?” Gajeel joked, trying to break the silence. Levy’s face contorted into a cute little pout, and Gajeel was grateful that he still had his scales out as she tried to knee him in the stomach.

“Owww!” Levy yelped, and Gajeel was grateful that his hands were still on her hips as she stretched down to rub her knee. He gave another chuckle at her antics.

“Ya really think ye can escape me now?” he growled playfully. Levy opened her mouth to retort when an eruption of noise came from the direction of Natsu’s fight. She snapped her head up and Gajeel quickly craned his head back to see the sand-smoke clouds gone and instead a calamity of yelling, whooping, and the overall beginnings of a brawl reached his ears. He barely his teeth in a snarl; what did his idiot brother do? Make that Lucy chick call all her spirits?

“The guild,” he heard Levy whisper above him, and that was his only warning before his throat was struck. Immediately, he began to choke and heave to air back to his lungs; he would need to thicken up his scales there because no one ever dared to strike his neck before. He felt Levy wiggle out of his grip as he gasped for air and took off running.

Gajeel rolled over, still gasping for air, and laid still for a moment as he watched her run off and around a bend. He growled to himself, a feral grin on his face. This was turning out to be the best hunt he had in a long time.

After recovering from the surprise strike, Gajeel took off running after Levy once more. It was a little harder to catch up to her this time, mostly due to his now sore throat, but he managed to catch sight of her going around another bend, almost to the ruins. His legs churned as he made the bend as well....only to skid to a stop at the crazy sight of the field before the ruins being churned up with the mass of bodies fighting.

Gajeel’s jaw dropped. He heard right about the brawl earlier, but he had been expecting Natsu and Lucy to duke it out, not forty to fifty people! And from the looks of them, they were all mages. Magic flared again and again, either zapping someone, knocking people out, or sending them flying. And in the thick of it was Natsu, who was throwing punches left and right, having the time of his life.

Gajeel groaned and rubbed his forehead before catching Levy’s scent again. He looked around and felt his heart stop. All he saw was her wild blue hair weaving through the mess with all the nimbleness of a doe. She was able to dodge bouncing wizards, fists, and magic like it was nothing, and Gajeel now understood how Uncle Weisslogia and Uncle Skiadrum fainted so easily. Gajeel gritted his teeth; he was going to have to wade through the fight to get her.

He took off like an enraged bull, shoving and elbowing anyone who got in his way. His boots fell on any bodies under him, and slowly he made a path to Levy. It was hard, but he was enjoying pushing people aside to reach her. The breeze picked up and he could smell his cousins and little sister. A quick glance up the cliff him that they were perched on the edge and were passing a bowl of popcorn between them. He snorted just as Natsu bumped into him.

“Watch where you’re going!” they both yelled at each other. Gajeel snarled at his brother and peeled himself away just as two voices called out over the din.

“Levy!”

Gajeel’s head snapped toward the calls, and he snarled as a ginger twig and a fat guy ran towards Levy. He could smell the lust coming from both of them, and he saw red. He charged at them, stepping on and punching anyone who got in his way. He even blew past Levy, who had skidded to a stop in surprise.

“Iron Dragon Club!” He roared, sending his iron arm in a sweeping arc, knocking them away from Levy. He stood in front of her, fearsome scowl on his face. He didn’t even need to look over his shoulder to know that Levy was scared for these males, he could smell it.

“Jet! Droy! Be careful! He went easy on me, but he’ll break your bones!” Levy called out. The ginger man was up first, his bun askew. He glared at Gajeel, who merely smirked in response. He had changed the atmosphere of the brawl; there had been no malice before, just extreme roughhousing, but now it was a full blown fight. The fat guy was on his feet next, and Gajeel braced himself for a quick smack down.

“High Speed!” The ginger cried, racing at him. Gajeel barely saw him move, but managed to dodge and deliver a swift kick to his head. The ginger grunted in pain as he met solid earth harshly.

“Jet!” Levy screamed. Gajeel fixed his attention to the fat one, who had an arm cocked back to throw something. He sniffed the air and smelled plant magic. Unusual.

“Sacred Seeds: Knuckle Plant!” The fat guy yelled, throwing little seeds at him. Gajeel snarled as the seeds grew rapidly and the leaves turned into fists. He turned his arm into Iron Dragon Sword again, slashing through the plants with ease. Turning his arm back to normal, he quickly sent another Iron Dragon Club as a kick, hitting the fat one square in the gut.

“Droy!” Levy cried out once more, and this time Gajeel paid attention to her. She smelled distressed, and he realized that she wasn’t emitting any lust, but rather familial worry. He didn’t have anything to worry about with these Jet and Droy boys. He snorted and began to trot to Levy, ignoring the moaning and groaning from the two boys. In the distance he could hear Natsu yell something about his ass and whipping, and while interesting, not important.

Levy had taken a fighting stance once more, fingers posed to cast more spells. Gajeel adopted a smoldering look: eyes narrowed, lips pulled into a light smirk, a purr ready. However, the look was ruined by something bouncing off his head. He snarled and looked around, only to see Happy on the ground, hogtied with his own tail.

“What the—-?” he barely got out before two tiny feet slammed into his head. He went down with a thud! Snarling, he shook his head and looked up to see...a black teddy bear wearing green pants?

Gajeel stared at it before realizing that it had a long tail all fluffed up and twitching. A cat. He had been kicked in the head by a cat with a scar by his left eye and green pants!

“Pantherlily!” Levy cried joyously. “My boys!”

Gajeel snarled at “boys.” He scrambled to his feet as “Pantherlily” drew a thick dagger from his back sheath, a cat-mile face for the hilt. Looks like the cat wants to fight, Gajeel thought smugly. Like he’ll win. How many times had he tickled Frosch and Lector to submission? The times where he pinned Happy under Natsu during a wrestling match? This cat had nothing on him, even with a dagger.

He just making plans to use the dagger as a toothpick (and maybe take a bite out of it, it smelled different) when Levy yelled, “Pantherlily, be careful!”

“I can handle him!” Pantherlily called back. Gajeel rolled his eyes before widening them as a puff of smoke wrapped around the black cat, transforming him into a muscle-bound cat warrior. A chest plate with teeth lined the abs and shin guards on his legs told Gajeel that he was serious, and the “dagger” grew in size as well. Around him, wizards took notice and began to yell.

“Oh shit! Fifty foot radius guys!”

“Bustermarm’s out! Run!”

“Fifty feet! Fifty feet!”

Immediately, Gajeel found himself alone with the cat-warrior, everyone backing away from them. Levy’s two lackies were in front of her, eyes glaring at him. He scoffed; like he cared what they thought about him. But this cat was his main priority. He would deal with them as soon as he finished with this Pantherlily guy.

White wings erupted from Pantherlily’s back, and he took to the air. Gajeel snarled, “Coward!”

Pantherlily snarled back as the red crystals on his sword glowed.

“Bustermarm deploy!” he commands his sword, swinging it with both hands. Gajeel stood shocked as the sword’s blade extended to four times its wielder’s size easily. He barely got out of the way when Pantherlily swung it at his head, shattering the ground. He gaped as the blade left a massive crack in the ground as Pantherlily lifted the sword with ease before swinging at him again.

“You dare hurt my teammates?” he roared. “You will pay!”

Gajeel leapt out of the way, allowing the blade to eat dirt once more. He could hear Happy trying to escape his own tail, but he ignored the blue cat. He didn’t have a cat yet, so he was very well versed in fighting on the ground.

“Your teammates? So, you don’t have a Dragon Slayer?” Gajeel called up to him. “Or do they not care about ya?”

Gajeel swore that the cat warrior’s eyes narrowed into slits as he swung his sword up for another strike.

“Team Shadowgear welcomed me when I was still exiled from the other Exceeds,” Pantherlily snarled. “And unlike your kit, I don’t need a Dragon Slayer! Exceeds destroying Dragon Slayers? It was all a lie!”

With that, the sword came down and Gajeel barely had time to get an arm up before he was run through. He roared as the sword pushed him away from the Team Shadowgear (and Levy!), his arm straining to block the blade. Finally, his boots stopped skidding as he dug his feet in, glaring at the massive black cat. Pantherlily’s face looked at him stoically, but Gajeel could just tell that he was impressed.

“We gotta help Lily!” he heard Levy whisper to her lackies before tiny footsteps crunched the grass. He couldn’t afford to take his eyes off Pantherlily, but he could hear the other two grab her and whisper, “No way, Levy! Your magic is almost halfway gone! Pantherlily can handle this jerk!”

Ignoring them (for now, he’ll beat those boys down for touching his girl), Gajeel swiftly wrapped his arms around the blade and yanked hard, sending Pantherlily to the ground. The cat warrior made a indentation into the earth, kicking up rocks and dust. Gajeel growled when Pantherlily didn’t loss his grip on his sword.

“Don’t get along with yer own people, huh? I did too,” he told the cat as he got up, sword posed to strike again. It was true; before Metalicana and Anahita adopted him, he had been part of a very conservative village, one where if anyone stepped out of line, wear something that wasn’t part of the rules, or do magic that didn’t help keep the village going, they would be shunned. Gajeel’s metal Magic hadn’t been useful at the time, so he had been rumored about, kicked out, and even attacked by adults before he ran away. His rough personality, even at ten years old, made him a prime target.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Pantherlily hissed as he struck again. “You’re a challenge, and as much as I would love to truly test you, you hurt my teammate. Unforgivable!”

Gajeel blocked the strike, arms crossed over his head, as Levy yelled, “They’re just bruises! I can take care of myself, you know! I’m not that delicate!”

Gajeel grinned at her proclamation as he drew his magic to his arms, cracking the earth under his feet and the sword above his head. This cat was strong, smart, and an outcast, like him.

“You’re coming home with me!” he declared as the sword shattered. Pantherlily looked shocked, and Gajeel took the opportunity to leap up into the air before punching him in the face. Gajeel continued, “I’m gonna show ya and the Shrimp off to the others, and then they’ll be so jealous!”

“What the shit?” he heard Sting mutter as Rogue spat out whatever he was drinking. Wendy was probably the one thumping Rogue’s back as he coughed out the rest of his drink. Gajeel didn’t care; he was always the last to learn something new about his magic, but having a warrior magic kitty cat and his mate all in the same day would make up for years of disappointment!

“But first we’re gonna haveta see who’s stronger!” Gajeel challenged before pommeling Pantherlily. It had been a long time since he had a good fight. The feeling of muscle dimpling under his fist gave him a high like no other, and he wrestled his family on a regular basis! With a final punch, he sent the cat warrior back to the ground with his broken sword.

“Iron Dragon Roar!” Gajeel roared the spell, unleashing shrapnel upon Pantherlily and sending him farther into the ground. The great cat roared in pain as the spell hit him, and Gajeel could hear Levy scream, “Pantherlily!”

Gajeel landed on his feet, still ready to fight and laughed maniacally. He knew that he had a slightly deranged grin on his face, but it had been so long since he had a challenge. Happy, finally freeing himself from his own tail, flew by him with a cry of, “Super scary face!” Gajeel ignored him, keeping his eyes on the rising Pantherlily. He chuckled and cracked his knuckles as Pantherlily brushed dirt off his arm guards and chest plate.

“That all ya got, kitty?” he growled. Pantherlily narrowed his eyes at him before saying, “Aren’t you difficult.”

Then he grinned, showing off sharp teeth, and leapt at Gajeel. Gajeel’s red eyes widened as his face was punched. He grinned widely; now here was the true fight! He punched Pantherlily’s face, and the black cat returned the favor. They exchanged blows, grinning like maniacs.

“Think we should get you to the ruins?” he heard the fat one whisper to Levy.

“We might be here for awhile,” the ginger agreed.

“We can’t leave Lily behind to deal with that Dragon Slayer by himself! And yes, I know that he’s enjoying himself!” Levy hissed furiously. “Besides, we can’t let that brute find the DRAGONS!”

That last part was screamed so loud that Gajeel’s ears were ringing. He managed to get a hold on Pantherlily and looked up just in time to see his old man plowing into the ground, a nasty snarl on his snout and still a rainbow mess. Wizards scrambled out of his way, but the Iron Dragon apparently didn’t care. Gajeel felt his blood go cold when he saw that his dad was heading straight for them.

“Oh shi—-“ he barely got out before Metalicana rammed into him and Pantherlily, also sending Levy, her two dogs, and a couple other wizards into the air. Gajeel barely clung onto his father’s snout as he finally stopped and pulled his head up. He shook his head with a growl before looking up to see where everyone was at.

He gaped at the sight of Levy hanging on for dear life on his father’s eyebrow scales, Pantherlily on top of his head, and the two lackies, Jet And Toy?, sitting on his father’s neck. Gajeel groaned and pressed his pierced brow against his dad’s snout before muttering in Draconic, “Ya have the worst fucking timing ever.”

Metalicana snorted, blowing hot air over him before growling back, “You were the ones taking your sweet time getting them.”

“I was having a good fight!” Gajeel hissed. His old man would have had a snappy comeback if Pantherlily hadn’t asked an important question.

“Levy,” the black cat drawled, “was this dragon originally silver or multicolored?”

Gajeel looked up to see Levy blushing bright red. She murmured, “Silver.”

“Oh boy. What did he do?” the fat one asked, a shit-eating grin on his face. Gajeel wanted to smack it off.

“He got drunk!” Levy blurted out. Gajeel’s jaw dropped. He felt his father’s jaw drop as well at her words. His shoulders began to shake as he clamped his mouth shut to prevent the eruption of snickers he could feel coming. His dad? Drunk? That would take a lot of moonshine, barrels of it, and even then, his old man wouldn’t touch the stuff!

“What?” Pantherlily laughed. Gajeel looked up at the other wizards to see that Pantherlily was humoring Levy, and her dogs weren’t convinced either. A blush on her face, Levy jumped into her story.

“He drank a lot and started to moan about how he hated his scales and how hard it was to maintain the shine of them. So, he asked if I knew any color changing spells, and when I said yes, demanded that I used them.”

Gajeel could barely hold on to his dad’s snout, he was shaking so hard. He didn’t want to laugh out loud; Metalicana had allowed him to laugh back at the nest, but in front of other humans, he wouldn’t allow it. A new scent entered his nose, and he peeked around Metalicana’s massive body to see his mother land nearby, far enough to not interfere with any brawling mages but close enough to hear Levy’s tall tale. While she kept a calm face as she walked closer to them, Gajeel could see a twinkle in her eye that said that she was amused by Levy’s story.

“So did you just paint him with multiple colors?” the fat one asked, looking like he didn’t believe Levy. Gajeel looked up to see Levy blushing even more, her face bright red as her arms began to shake from holding on to his dad’s scales.

“Errr, actually, I used a single spell,” Levy murmured. Gajeel raised a brow at her admittance; a single spell against a dragon? Just to humiliate him?

“Ah-huh. What did he really do?” Pantherlily asked, looking like he had enjoyed Levy’s immensely.

“Said that I wasn’t smart enough to read his son, Gajeel’s, books!” Levy growled. “Even after I was translating his scrap metal the other day!”

Gajeel growled and smacked his dad’s snout, causing Metalicana to throw his head up in surprise. Levy yelped as the motion caused her to lose her grip and land next to Pantherlily.

“You deserve ta be a rainbow after that stunt!” Gajeel hissed in Draconic to his old man. Metalicana growled and was about to reply when Levy peeked over his head and screeched, “Lily! That Dragon Slayer is still here! He’s gonna hurt Metalicana!”

Gajeel barely had time to comprehend what she said before Pantherlily tackled him to the ground. He snarled as he hit the ground and grabbed the great cat by his chest plate, tossing him into a group of brawling wizards. It did little to deter him, as the black cat simply shrugged off the attack and punched Gajeel in the face. Gajeel grinned as he picked up where they left off before his old man interrupted them, but kept an ear out as he heard shouting from Levy.

“Hold him off, Lily! We’ll get Metalicana out of here!”

“Good!” Pantherlily grunted over his shoulder as Gajeel punched him. “I was interrupted before I could teach this fool what it means to be a true warrior!”

Gajeel snarled as their fight picked up where they left off. He felt so confused; didn’t his dad tell Levy that he was coming? Did she really not want to meet him, get to know him? They were bound to be together, his nose had never steered him wrong before!

“Come on! You gotta go!” he heard Levy groan at Metalicana, sounding a little strained. Gajeel allowed Pantherlily to punch him in the face, peeking over to see the blunette and her lackeys pushing against his dad’s foreleg. He would have gaped openly at them if he didn’t have to focus on Pantherlily. But that doesn’t mean I can’t listen in, he thought as he swept Pantherlily’s legs out from under him with a grin.

“Come on! Move! Go back home!” Levy was growling. “You gotta get out of here!”

“Get back here! You will fix me right now!” Metalicana snapped. Gajeel grinned when Levy yelped, “Watch it! Your teeth are sharp!”

“Mel, go easy on her,” Anahita’s voice called. “You did deserve to be a rainbow. She doesn’t have to take it off right away.”

“Where did you come from?” the ginger screeched in shock. Gajeel blocked a couple more punches from Pantherlily and saw that his Uncle Igneel was by a pond by the cliffs, sneezing from continuous blasts of sand. He could hear high-pitched yelling, and a blonde blob by his uncle’s toes. But most of his focus was preventing Levy’s Pantherlily from tearing out one of his numerous piercings and knocking him out. He could tell that everyone was still brawling, but it had gone back to the attitude of roughhousing rather than enemy engagement.

He grinned as he listened in on the argument between his father and Levy, who was just as nimble at avoiding Metalicana’s jaws as she was avoiding the brawling. He couldn’t wait to get her and Pantherlily home. Finally, he heard a scream of frustration from Levy.

“You thick-headed Brobdingnagian pile of scrap metal! Do you really want to die? That’s a Dragon Slayer! There’s only one reason why he’s here!” she berated Metalicana.

Gajeel’s mind finally clicked in on what was really going on. She hadn’t run from him because she thought that he was taking her back to the nest, she was trying to lead him away from the nest. She attacked to keep his attention on her, not on any “strange” shadows in the sky. Despite turning his dad into a Rainbow Dragon instead of an Iron Dragon, she cared about the nest and tried to protect it. He had to end this, now!

Moving quickly, he grabbed Pantherlily in a Full Nelson, snarling as the black cat warrior began to wiggle. He turned his head to his struggling father, who somehow lost Levy, and bellowed, “HEY, POPS! DID YA, I DON’T KNOW, FORGET TO MENTION SOMETHING?”

The brawling around him stopped, then started up again when other wizards bumped into them. Gajeel rolled his eyes at them and flared at his old man, who was looking a little sheepish, if a dragon could manage to. He heard Levy yelp “Pops?” before a clang! was heard from his dad’s leg. He smirked as Levy slowly looked around Metalicana’s leg, rubbing the back of her head gingerly. Her scent changed again, and her heartbeat was going double time, maybe even triple.

“I talked about you!” Metalicana grumbled, still looking like he got caught with his paw in the rust stick jar.

“But did ya mention that we’re human?” Gajeel growled. His dad cleared his throat nervously, making Levy and her two boys in front of him clap their hands to their ears.

“Figured sleeping in your bed would clue her in,” he grumbled under his breath before his ma smacked him with her tail.

“You definitely deserve to be a rainbow now!” she snarled. Gajeel released Pantherlily, who had finally stopped struggling, and watched Levy. She was still sitting on her butt behind Metalicana’s leg, staring at him.

“You’re Gajeel,” she whispered, making it a statement rather than a question. Gajeel smirked and began to purr again, trying to calm her overworking heart. It didn’t work as Pantherlily noticed and elbowed him in the gut. He growled at him just as Levy darted away to hide behind his ma’s leg. Her two lackeys stepped in front of her.

Like they can provide any protection, he thought sourly. He was about to walk over, ready to reassure Levy that he wasn’t mad at her, that he understood what she had been thinking, when an eruption of noise came from where Uncle Igneel was.

 “Lucy! Put her away!”

“She’s overkill! Seriously!”

“Get out of the water!”

“I’m trying!” wailed the blonde blob by Uncle Igneel. “She’s forcing her gate open!”

“Natsu!” Uncle Igneel roared. “Get over here, now!”

Gajeel cocked his head, confused on what the chaos was about now, when he was snatched up.

“Hey, hey!” he groused. Seeing blue scales, he growled as his ma plopped him down on his dad’s back. “Ma!”

“Stay low,” Anahita ordered, stepping in front of them, scales bristled as she stared at the pond. Gajeel looked at the pond and was shocked to see a massive magic circle glowing in the center as a doorbell sound echoed off the cliff wall. Something shot out of the pond as the magic circle faded. Gajeel’s eyes widened as a mermaid, blue scales and hair glistening with water and adorned with jewelry, with a silver urn hovered in front of Uncle Igneel. A shiver went down his spine as he felt how much magic energy she had, a dark aura surrounding her.

Anahita growled, almost reverently, “Aquarius.”

Chapter Text

There had been only a few times that Igneel felt true fear. In fact, he could probably count them on one paw: the Dragon King Festival against Achnologia, the jungle wyvern that tore into the boys when Skiadrum and Weisslogia first arrived, when Zirconis the Jade Dragon wanted to eat Natsu. Those were in the top five moments when he felt true fear.

But facing down an angry Aquarius was topping them all.

He knew the stories about her. She could sweep away whole ports, drown islands, create tsunamis. If her master wanted it done, she would do it to a degree depending on her mood. And she was always in a bad mood.

I’m going to have to tread carefully, he thought to himself as he crouched protectively over Natsu. She is dangerous. He locked eyes with her, scales bristling, a low rumbling growl echoing in his chest. He couldn’t afford to take his eyes off her. If she was as furious with him as he thought, she could easily sweep him away to the sea and drown him.

The blue mermaid spirit had a dark blue aura of magic power around her, and her urn was ready. All the wizards who had been brawling stopped, watching them with fear. The field was silent, save for the rumbling growls from himself, Metalicana, Anahita, and the rest of the Dragon Slayer parents hiding in the jungle. Lucy was looking between them and the tan man with red and white hair and mechanical tail, shivering with weakness in the water. Keeping two spirits in the human world took a lot out of a summoner, even more so when the summoning was forced by the spirit. Two other girls, one with short silver hair and another with dark blue, huddled together with Lucy and supporting her until she gained some of her strength back.

Igneel was barely handling the pressure. The tension in the air was thick like a hazy hot summer day, and he wasn’t sure if he could keep up this little staring contest with the spirit. Those ocean eyes were cold and unforgiving, and a finger was twitching on a handle of her urn. Whether it meant she was getting impatient or she wanted to sweep him away, Igneel wasn’t sure. But he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of dominating him. He was the Fire Dragon King! He wasn’t going to bow down to an uppity spirit who didn’t know how powerful he truly was.

He was about to snap his teeth at her, to try and make her flinch, when a joyful voice cried out.

“A fish!” Happy cheered, a drop of drool hanging out from the corner of his mouth. Igneel’s eyes widened as the blue cat flew straight for Aquarius, ready to take a bite from her tail.

“Happy! No, don—-“ he called out, just as Aquarius swatted Happy away. She didn’t take her eyes off him as she sent Happy straight to Natsu with a whack from her urn. He felt rather than heard Natsu falling backwards from the unintentional headbutt Happy gave him. Now he was getting angry; no one hurt his boys!

“That wasn’t nice, wench!” he growled menacingly. Aquarius merely gave him a “tch!”

“Like you’re one to talk about nice,” she shot back. He snarled, taking a step into the water. She wasn’t even fazed.

“Uhhh, Scorpio? Think you can step in now?” Lucy stage whispered to the other spirit on the edge of the pond. “You know, before things get worse?”

“No can do, Miss Lucy,” the other spirit, Scorpio, replied. “I got my hits in, it’s Bahama Mama’s turn.”

“Seriously?” Lucy groaned. Igneel’s opinion about how strong Lucy’s Magic was went down significantly. How did she expect to survive if she couldn’t control her own spirits?

“C’mon, just sweeten her up a little! Just so that she’ll go easy on him!” Lucy pleaded. Igneel was taken aback by her words. Why did she want Aquarius to go easy on him? She painted him, ran away despite her promise, and then want her spirit to “go easy on him”?

“No, wickedly no!” Scorpio replied. “And after Aquarius gets done with him, it’s Gemini’s turn!”

“Oh man,” Lucy whined.

“Everyone is mad at him, Lucy,” Aquarius called down to her, keeping her eyes on Igneel. The great dragon snarled at her; do Lucy’s spirits really like her that much that they would take him on one on one?

“Now,” Aquarius turned her attention back to him. Igneel growled menacingly at her, trying to scare off. Yes, he could just snap his jaws at her and send her back to the Spirit World, but if she was willing to tap into her wizard’s magic to force open her gate, then she would be willing to do it again. Aquarius continued, “I do believe that you were about to complain about how I was ‘mean’ to that Exceed of yours?”

“And my son,” Igneel snarled. “Uppity spirit!”

Aquarius’s eyes narrowed and she gave him another “tch!”

“Then it’s the beginning of the pain you caused our girl,” she replied. “You have no idea what you have done to her.”

Igneel refused to let the confusion he felt be shown to the water spirit. Surely she would have said something as important as that to Grandine or one of the other females, right? She had avoided him and Metalicana on principle, as she had been angry and then annoyed with them. Was she talking about the contract he forced on her?

“If you’re talking about the contract we have, then forget it. She should have known better than to stir up trouble with dragons,” he growled.

“Which I’ll be having a nice chat about with her later,” Aquarius growled. Igneel heard Lucy whimper a little; apparently her chats were less than desired.

“But, no,” Aquarius continued. “I’m talking about you cutting her off from us. A spirit a day? Really? Do you know how much she loves us? How much you hurt her by limiting her summonings?”

Igneel didn’t mask his surprise, his eyebrows rocketing up. Some Celestial Wizards only saw their spirits as tools or pets. Spirits contracted to a wizard pledge their loyalty, but Aquarius was acting like Lucy’s contracts went deeper, that she had earned their loyalty.

“Really? I was under the impression that she saw you as pets,” Ingeel said, giving Aquarius a little white lie. She treated Plue as a pet, but she never forgot that he was a Spirit too.

“Ass!” Lucy called up at him.

“Watch it, lady!” Natsu growled from his spot under Igneel. Lucy narrowed her eyes at him and lifted her coiled whip up. The Fire Dragon King heard his son give a little yelp before backing into one of his legs. Aquarius merely pressed her lips together, nostrils flared as she took deep breaths in as Scorpio crouched down, tail ready to blast him with more sand, face hard.

“You take that back, wicked beast,” the Scorpion Spirit growled. Igneel snarled back just as a water cyclone landed an uppercut to his jaw. His head snapped back, and he vaguely heard Natsu yelling before another roar of water caused him to grunt in pain. Growling, he shook his soaked head and glared at Aquarius, who was looking down at Natsu.

“Stay out of this, whelp,” she ordered him. “Or my next attack will send you out to sea.”

“Yes, ma’am!” he heard Natsu agree quickly, surprising Igneel immensely. His son didn’t bow to people easily; only people who had beaten him many, many times had earned Natsu’s compliance. Igneel puffed his chest out and showed off all his teeth, just as Aquarius snapped her attention back to him.

“Now,” she began, “break your contract with my girl.”

Igneel almost released a Fire Dragon Roar at her. First, her wizard painted him! Second, she ran away when she was contracted to stay! He wasn’t about to let that go! And now this spirit wanted him to “break” it?

“You really want to turn in a cooked fish, don’t you?” he roared. Aquarius merely quirked an eyebrow.

“If you even think about throwing fire at me, forget it. I’ll just put it out. And if you do manage to hit me, I’ll just come back,” she said primly. Igneel snarled and got right in her face.

“Can’t use your water if it’s boiling, can you? Be helpless without it!” he said with a vicious grin. Aquarius gave him a dirty look.

“What.”

The tone of her voice was dry ice, burning his ears and sending shivers down his spine. Igneel has the fleeting thought of She’s gonna kill me for that when Aquarius spoke again.

“Water temperature doesn’t matter to me. This blonde bubblehead has summoned me for bath time before,” she hissed at him, eyes narrowed and hard.

Igneel subtly glance down to see Scorpio grinning and Lucy blushing, her head barely above the pond water.

“I was eight!” she muttered under her breath as the two other girls looked at her in shock.

“You actually did that?” the silver haired girl whispered in shock.

“And she wasn’t mad?” the other girl added.

“No no, she was. She just put up with it,” Lucy corrected them. Aquarius gave a “hmph” at that. Igneel snorted at her.

“No,” he growled. Aquarius smirked as the dark aura around her grew.

“I figured you greedy dragons wouldn’t understand, so I’m going to simplify this for you so that your possessive mind of yours will understand,” she said pleasantly, an undertone of iron in her voice. Igneel barely had time to process what she said before his nostrils were pinched and yanked down. He was shocked to see Aquarius’s blue eyes drilling holes into his, her sharp nails digging into his nostrils to keep his head in place.

“There’s this concept called ‘love.’ It’s a feeling that you feel with your heart, and it causes you to do crazy things....like allowing yourself to be summoned from a tiny mud puddle,” Aquarius began. Igneel bared his teeth; how dare she lecture him about love! Natsu had his heart wrapped around his pinky finger within a week of meeting him.

Aquarius continued, “Lucy loves us, and we love her. So, I suggest that you break the contract you forced on her, especially the part about how many Spirits she can summon in a day, or that little mountain top that you call home will be flushed out. Clear?”

Igneel felt his heart constrict at her threat. She would flood the nest all for Lucy, as a show of her loyalty to her.

“Like hell you will!” Anahita snarled from across the field. “Water Dragon Roar!”

Igneel’s eyes widened as Anahita unleashed her spell, a power stream of boiling water heading straight for him and Aquarius. The Water-Bearer Spirit didn’t even turn her head as she released one of his nostrils and aimed her urn at the stream. The water diverted from the Spirit to her urn, being sucked up into it.

“Don’t. Interrupt. Again,” Aquarius commanded, her voice hard. Igneel growled at Anahita, who had taken a step forward to fight. The Water Dragon bared her teeth in anger but backed off, making sure not to step on Levy. Aquarius turned her attention back to him.

“Well?” she drawled.

“You’re caring more for this little girl than any of your previous masters combined,” Igneel growled, the pain from her hold on his nostrils getting to him. “What makes her so special?”

He was expecting her not to answer. He was expecting denial. He wasn’t expecting her to answer with a heartfelt reason.

“I have been raising that girl ever since she first summoned me from a goldfish bowl,” Aquarius hissed. “My previous wizard, her mother, left her in my care. She doesn’t see us as tools or pets, but as family. Something that you wouldn’t understand, even if you have a son.”

Igneel shifted on his feet uncomfortably, digesting her words. She was acting like a mother, or an aunt at very least. Aquarius wanted the contract gone to watch over Lucy, and her temper tantrum was the best way of letting him know. Her threat of flooding the nest was real, he had no doubt, but it came from a Spirit trying to protect her wizard. He snarled; he didn’t want Lucy to wonder about on her own without someone to watch her. Finally, he snarled.

“The only part of our contract that I will not concede to get rid of is that she has to have Natsu with her when she visits the mainland,” he grumbled, the taste of defeat like the ashes of a gas fire. Aquarius hissed and looked like she was going to yank on his nostrils again when Scorpio spoke.

“Baby,” he called up to Aquarius. The Water-Bearer Spirit snapped her head down to the Scorpion Spirit. He continued, “You ain’t gonna get anything else from him.”

Igneel snorted in agreement, making sure to spray Aquarius with some snot. She hissed at him before staring at him, her mouth still thin and her eyes hard. They glared at each other for a while before Aquarius growled, “Fine.”

With that, she released his nostrils, pushing his snout down roughly. Igneel blew puffs of smoke into her face, but she floated down to Lucy before it could reach her. She had also slapped his snout with her tail as she went down. Lucy was leaning heavily against the other two girls, looking exhausted. Aquarius hovered above the water and called to Scorpio, “Honey? Head back to home, please? Lucy’s tired.”

“Can do, beauty. I’ll see you later, Miss Lucy. Wicked?” Scorpio called back, looking at Lucy with concern.

“Wicked! Bye, Scorpio!” Lucy waved goodbye, and with a final nod, the Scorpion Spirit disappeared with a poof! Igneel rubbed his snout with a paw as Aquarius sighed.

“You know, I should really ream you and your little bookworm friend for hitchhiking with dragons, but I think you two learned your lesson,” she said. Lucy ducked her head down with a sheepish grin. Igneel could see that being called out by Aquarius embarrassed her.

“Before I go, for the love of the stars, get a boyfriend!” Aquarius groaned. Igneel raised a scaly brow as Lucy gave an unladylike snort.

“I’m the ‘Blonde Beast of Magnolia,’ Aquarius. I’m not gonna get a boyfriend with my reputation,” Lucy scoffed. Igneel heard his son give a little growl at that, probably in agreement.

“Just means I made sure that you had standards with men,” Aquarius replied. “Now, get out of that water before the three of you catch a cold!”

“Yes, ma’am!” the three girls squeaked, scrambling out of the pond. Aquarius made sure to stay as Lucy and her friends made it to the edge of the pond, keeping an eye on him the entire time. With a final hiss at him, she disappeared in a watery shimmer.

“Jeez,” Igneel heard Natsu whisper to Happy. “And I thought that Erza was scary!”

“Scary fish lady!” Happy agreed. Igneel sighed in relief and stepped back so that he could see his boys. The twisted knots that had formed in his belly were disappearing with Aquarius’s departure, and he nuzzled Natsu and Happy gently.

“You two all right?” he asked quietly. Natsu rubbed his head against his cheek gently, nodding. Happy hugged his snout tightly, and Igneel winced as the nail marks Aquarius left him were brushed.

“You didn’t tell me Lucy was part of Fairy Tail, Dad!” Natsu exclaimed, pouting a little bit. Igneel looked at his son in surprise.

“What?” he said.

“Yeah! That guild mark on her hand means that she’s from Fairy Tail!” Happy piped up. Igneel glances over at Lucy and her two friends, who were currently being swarmed with their fellow members. He knew that she and Levy were part of a guild, just not his son’s favorite one. His stomach began to twist again; Natsu loved regaling tales of Makarov and his dreaded “punishment games” to any troublemakers of the guild. He also heard how he was a Wizard Saint, one of the highest honors a mage can receive.

“Well, now that the drama has calmed down, perhaps we can actually talk?”

Igneel snapped his head up to see a tiny old man with tufts of hair sticking out of the side of his head, a cape around his shoulders and dressed smartly. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, Igneel thought sourly. Makarov. He growled at the Fairy Tail guildmaster, but the old man merely quirked an eyebrow at him. Next time that mermaid shows up, Igneel thought venomously, I’m snapping my jaws on her. He must be getting rusty if Makarov wasn’t scared of him.

“Now, now. No need to get all grumpy,” Makarov chided.

“Says the man in charge of the guild on our island,” Metalicana growled. Makarov continued on like he didn’t hear the Iron Dragon.

“In any case, I would ask for us to meet tomorrow to talk more at length. I feel that my children have had enough excitement for one day,” he requested. Igneel bared his teeth and was about to tell him where he could shove his request and how far when something landed on his head, forcing him down to the ground. A quick glance up confirmed that Grandine had landed on him.

“I believe that we all had enough excitement for one morning,” she quickly agreed. “Perhaps we could meet officially tomorrow morning, when tempers are cooler?”

Igneel snarled, struggling to get up without squishing his boys. He tried to pull his head out of Grandine’s talons, but the female had a tight grip.

“Tomorrow morning sounds wonderful,” Makarov quickly agreed, conveniently ignoring Igneel’s struggles. “Perhaps we can do proper introductions then as well.”

Igneel felt Natsu duck his head a little bit and mutter something about talking about him often enough to know who he is.

“Introductions will be done as well,” Grandine agreed. “Though I have a feeling that some of our children have spoken about us more than they should.”

Igneel growled in defense of his son as the pink haired boy ducked deeper into the safety of his father’s side. The white feathered dragon ignored them and continued, “I believe that Levy is by Anahita?”

“No, I’m over here!”

Igneel turned his head enough to see Levy being carried by the black cat, hovering by the ruins. He heard Gajeel snarl in rage. With a quick glance, he saw that Metalicana’s son had launched himself from his father’s back, only to be hanging from Anahita’s jaws by his tattered scarf.

With a final tug, Igneel freed his head from Grandine’s grasp. His snarl at her was cut short at the glare she gave him. The unspoken rule rang through his head: if a female isn’t happy, then no one is happy. It would be wise to let her have her way...for now.

“I trust that your guild is all together now?” Grandine asked.

“They better be, or there’ll be hell to pay,” Makarov grumbled. Igneel resisted laughing as the humans around him shuffled with slightly guilty expressions on their faces. Makarov turned to them and jerked his head, signaling to head to the ruins. Lucy and her two girls began to walk away, to Igneel’s horror. He was still covered in stars, dammit!

“Hold it!” He snarled. Immediately, every human around him stopped and turned, some glaring, some curious. Lucy in particular looked annoyed and maybe even a little scared.

“Change us back at once, girls!” Igneel demanded. He heard Grandine and the others groan behind him, but ignored them. He glared at Lucy, who looked like she was fed up with him. He added with a snarl, “Now!”

“I don’t know, Dad, you look pretty good to me,” Natsu piped up from under him. Igneel snapped his head down to glare at his son.

“Natsu,” he growled warningly. Natsu gave him a playful grin in reply.

“Do you know how hard it was to paint those on?” Lucy demanded. Igneel looked up at her and bared his teeth. Lucy continued, “And trying to create the perfect color scheme!”

She sighed dramatically. Igneel growled at her.

“Get. It. Off,” he ordered.

“What’s the magic word?” Lucy shot back. Igneel was about to use a Fire Dragon Roar when Natsu piped up again.

“Well, could you please tell us how to get it off?”

Silence. Igneel looked between Natsu and Lucy in surprise, while the latter looked at the former like he had grown a second head.

“Umm, well, yeah,” Lucy stammered. Igneel leaned forward, eagerly waiting for her to answer.

“Just spill it already!” Metalicana roared. Apparently, the Iron Dragon has enough of being ignored.

“We practically left it in plain sight!” Levy shouted at him. Igneel turned his attention to the tiny Script mage, who looked like a mischievous little fox.

“Oh really?” he growled. Levy nodded enthusiastically, playful grin still on her face.

“Yep!”

“And what, pray tell, is ‘it’?” Metalicana growled.

“We left some soap for you!” Levy chirped in reply, her grin getting bigger. Igneel stared at her, gobbedsmacked.

Soap? That was what all it took? But they tried everything: the rocks, the bathing pond, even Grandine’s industrial strength tummy reliever! Although, that might not have worked as well as they were hoping considering that one of the main ingredients was chalk, but a dragon had to try.

“Soap,” Metalicana growled. “That’s it.”

“Yeah....?” Levy confirmed, looking at Metalicana like he had gone deaf. Gajeel was still struggling in his mother’s jaws, trying to reach the little Script Mage.

“And where exactly did you two place this soap?” Metalicana asked almost pleasantly as he took a couple of steps toward Levy. Immediately, the two boys Gajeel had first taken out were in front of her, ready to fight. Igneel heard Gajeel growl at this, but that was prodding for another time.

“By Gajeel’s bookcase,” Levy answered pleasantly, almost like she was talking about the weather or a misplaced toy. Igneel felt the hot rage burn in his mind. That’s where they left it? Not somewhere that they could easily see it? Unconsciously, his lips started to peel back, showing off his teeth.

“Okay, then!” Grandine declared hastily. “We’ll be on our way now, and we see you tomorrow!”

With that, she turned and glared at him. Igneel shrank a little bit at how ferocious she looked, but didn’t back down. He’d pay for it later.

“Dad?” Natsu called up softly. “C’mon, let’s go home. Happy’s tired.”

Igneel looked down to see Natsu holding Happy, who was exaggerating how “tired” he was by flopping around like he was trying to find a comfy spot and sighing loudly. He shook his head fondly as Grandine walked over to the cliff and extended her head up for Wendy to hop on. Clara floated down after Wendy situated herself on her mother’s back, taking her spot in Wendy’s arms. Skiadrum and Weisslogia’s scents were already fading, as was Rogue and Sting’s. A quick glance at the new humans retreating to the ruins sealed the deal.

“Fine,” Igneel growled as he lowered himself down for his boys. He would have preferred Lucy clean him off, but that wasn’t going to happen. He waited until Natsu and Happy were sitting on his back before taking off, wings flapping hard. He couldn’t resist looking back to see Lucy still leaning against her two friends, watching them leave.

“Scrub harder, Natsu! It’s finally coming off!” Happy encouraged Natsu as he pushed the hard bristled broom over Igneel’s back.

“My arms are about to fall off and my ass hurts, Happy, I’m doing the best I can!” Natsu snipped at his cat as he pushed the soapy mess around. Igneel sighed as the bristles scratched his back pleasantly. The two had been snipping at each other ever since they started washing him. It probably wouldn’t be so bad if Reisha and Beryl weren’t wailing their heads off.

The two hatchlings had immediately pounced on them as soon as they got back to the nest, peppering them with questions about why they didn’t have Lucy and Levy with them. After learning that they left the girls with their guild, Reisha and Beryl began to cry. No matter who tried to comfort them, the two hatchlings were upset that the two newcomers were not coming back.

Igneel ignored his son’s bickering with his cat to look over at Metalicana and Anahita’s hollow. The Iron Dragon had insisted on being washed first, as he was the most covered in paint. Igneel gave little fuss over it, preoccupied with trying to calm down Reisha and Beryl. Gajeel had washed his father quickly but thoroughly. As soon as he was done, he immediately rushed over to the hollow and began to search.

Igneel winced as loud clashing came from the hollow and Gajeel swore.

“Language!” barked Grandine. Natsu snickered as he continued to scrub.

“Sorry, Aunt Grandine!” Gajeel called as another clash of metal echoed from the hollow again. Igneel shook his head as Sting stood up from comforting Reisha and walked to his cousin’s hollow.

“Gajeel?” the blond called, barely avoiding a random cooking pot. “What are you looking for?”

Igneel arched a brow as Gajeel muttered a few choice phrases before releasing a triumphant cackle.

“Find what you’re looking for, my son?” Anahita asked dryly, a small smirk on her face. Gajeel laughed as he trotted to the hollow entrance and showed off the old tin. Igneel cocked his head curiously as Gajeel declared, “The perfect apology!”

“A tin?” Frosch asked curiously.

“How’s that the perfect apology?” Sting scoffed. Gajeel growled and opened the tin lid. Immediately, Igneel smelled lavender, aloe vera, and mint with a touch of magic.

“Bruise balm?” Rogue guessed. Gajeel’s smirked.

“Right.”

“Hey, Gajeel. Can I borrow some of that?” Natsu called from his back. “Lucy was really tough.”

“With a spirit like Aquarius, I wouldn’t doubt it,” Igneel growled, thinking about how Aquarius had the audacity to threaten him.

“Hard to think a sweet girl like Lucy would have a spirit like her,” Grandine admitted.

Igneel practically heard Natsu’s eyeroll as he asked again, “Seriously, Gajeel, can I use some of that?”

“You have some of your own, Salamander. Just go through your hoard,” Gajeel snapped as he pocketed the tin.

“C’mon, bro! Just a little bit!” Natsu whined. Igneel snorted at his tone.

“Maybe you can find yours if you actually organized your hoard a little,” Rogue teased. Igneel couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped out.

“I can make some more for you, Natsu, but it’ll take a little time,” Wendy offered. Natsu groaned in reply.

“Why not just heal him straight up?” Lector asked.

“Because Lucy whipped his butt!” Happy said cheerfully.

“We saw that, Happy. Never thought I would see the day that my cousin back down from a girl,” Sting drawled dryly. Igneel waited for Natsu to tell Sting off, but nothing came. The Fire Dragon King’s interest peaked. Natsu always had a fresh comeback, even if it wasn’t the best.

“Goodness! Look at his face!” Carla’s voice rang. Laughter rang through the nest.

“Like I said! Lucy whipped Natsu’s butt!” Happy repeated over the laughter.

“How many times did she get you, man?” Sting cackled.

“Shut up, loser!” Natsu snapped, throwing down the broom. Igneel growled before Natsu could leap at his cousin.

“Don’t you dare, Natsu! You aren’t done yet!”

Natsu grumbled some choice words under his breath, but picked up the broom anyways and continued scrubbing. Igneel turned to Happy and ordered, “Go look through your hoard. It’s there somewhere.”

“Aye, sir!” Happy chirped before zipping over to their hollow. Igneel shook his head at how cheerful his son and his cat were and finally settled down as Natsu continued to scrub. He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, it was late afternoon and Natsu was yelling in his ear, “Dad! Dad! Time to wake up!”

Blearily blinking, Igneel yawned and stretched, the dirty water from his bath splashing around. Around him, the conversation had shifted to the next morning and what Makarov wanted to talk about.

“Think he’ll want to do some trading?” Lector asked from his place next to Sting.

“Maybe,” Grandine replied. “But I have a hunch that tomorrow will be more about Natsu and Gajeel than anything else.”

Igneel stomped out of the bathing pond, barely avoiding the massive “SOAP” bar that they had used, as Lucy and Levy said. (Seriously, how did they miss it the first time they looked?) He shook himself outside of the nest, keeping an ear open for the conversation. It wasn’t until he decided that he was dry enough when Wendy piped up, “Has anyone seen Beryl?”

Igneel stuck his massive head into the nest to see Wendy searching various hollows, concern wrinkling her forehead.

“Reisha hasn’t been seen either,” Carla piped up, checking the nooks and crannies. Igneel felt his heart skip a beat. Reisha and Beryl were particularly attached to Lucy and Levy, and were highly upset that the search party didn’t bring them back. Anahita was the first to check the back entrance, sniffing the ground hastily. She snapped her head up, looking at the rest of the nest with horror in her eyes.

Reisha and Beryl were gone.

Chapter Text

Lucy looked over the room she claimed and frowned. Her bookshelves were in order, her kitchen neatly put away, and her bed...

That was it. Her bed. It was in the middle of the room instead of by the window like it should be. She grabbed one end of the bed and called over her shoulder, “Hey, Virgo?”

Immediately, the pink-haired maid spirit looked up from her sorting of Lucy’s clothes. “Yes, Princess?”

“Could you help me move my bed to the window, please?” Lucy asked.

“Of course, Princess,” Virgo replied, moving the bed with a single push to the window. Lucy stared for half a second, hands posed to grab the headboard and help push the bed before Virgo pushed it herself. She gave her spirit a dry look and said, “You know, I had meant ‘moving my bed together,’ not by yourself.”

“Does that mean punishment?” Virgo asked, sounding a little eager. Lucy felt her hair stand on end; why did Virgo always want to be punished?

“No!” Lucy snapped, heat coming to her cheeks. She sighed and looked around again, this time with satisfaction. Her apartment was as it should be, and while she missed having Magnolia’s river to lure her to sleep, the ocean lapping at the shore would do just fine. Her room was perfect.

“Thanks again for all your help, Virgo,” Lucy said, turning to the maid spirit.

“It was my pleasure, Princess. I am glad that you are able to summon us again,” Virgo replied.

“Yeah, I think Aquarius took care of that,” Lucy chuckled nervously. A shiver went down her spine at the memory of Aquarius chewing out Igneel, and she prayed that Aquarius wouldn’t give her a little “chat” the next time she summoned her. Though she did say that we learned our lesson, Lucy thought to herself.

“Head home, okay? You did a great job today,” Lucy praised.

“As you wish, Princess,” Virgo replied, bowing before poofing away. Lucy sighed and flopped onto her bed, watching as the setting sun bathed her room orange. Her body felt like jelly after four summonings and helping fix the ruins so that they were habitable. Plus painting Igneel and running from his son really wore her out.

Natsu, Lucy thought. How am I going to deal with you? And why haven’t I heard about you from the guild?

A knock on her door alerted her of guests. Lucy groaned as she stood up and crossed the room to the door. Gingerly, she opened the door to see Erza, Gray, and Jellal. She smiled tiredly at them and said, “Hey, guys! Come in!”

“Thanks, Lucy. I know that you’re probably tired, but there are things that we need to discuss with you,” Erza said formally as she entered.

“Mostly to do with the Flame-Brain you tangled with this morning,” Gray grumbled. Lucy stared at him as Jellal followed Erza in and took a seat at the kitchen table.

“So the guild knows Natsu? How come I’ve never seen him before?” she asked confused.

“To my knowledge, he isn’t an official member of the guild,” Jellal agreed. Lucy looked at him nervously; it wasn’t that long ago that the Tower of Heaven incident happened, followed by the Oración Seis and battling Zero. He may have changed, but it was hard to let go past experiences. But it seemed like he really was different than in the Tower, and he made Erza happy. And if Erza was happy with something other than strawberry cake, then that’s fine with her.

“He isn’t,” Erza said bluntly. “He’s a freelance wizard that likes Fairy Tail. He never officially joined us on account of ‘protecting his family.’”

“After meeting them, I don’t blame him,” Gray grumbled. Lucy couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of the nest being discovered. The only country that coexisted peacefully with dragons was Ishgar to the east of Fiore, and their borders had been closed to outsiders for generations. Everyone else either screamed for the army or ignored their giant scaly neighbors.

“So now what?” Lucy asked hesitantly. “Is he going to be a member of the guild now?”

“Mostly likely,” Gray answered easily.

“The Master won’t send just anyone out to do jobs, and everyone has known Natsu since he was a little boy,” Erza added. “He won’t send you out with just anyone, Lucy.”

Lucy’s heart sank at her words. Great. How am I going to deal with that pyromaniac after I attacked him? she thought nervously.

Gray must have seen the nervousness on her face and said, “Don’t worry. Natsu maybe an idiot but he’s fairly good-natured for a fire wizard. I don’t think he even knows the word ‘grudge.’”

Lucy looked at him, a little surprised. “Really?”

Gray nodded. “Really.”

“How come I never heard about him until now?” Lucy asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

“If he was so well-liked, he would have popped up in conversations before, correct?” Jellal asked.

“True, but the last job he had with us was....somewhat disastrous,” Erza answered. “He goes from guild to guild, months at a time, never coming twice in a row.”

Lucy cocked her head curiously at Erza. How did she know that? Igneel never mentioned anything about what Natsu did for work. Then again, he never mentioned that his son was human either...

Erza must have noticed her look, because she continued, “The guildmasters talk about him at their conferences. Most are annoyed about how he hasn’t picked a guild to join.”

Lucy nodded; a person wasn’t considered a full wizard until they joined a guild, even if they had powerful magic like Lost Magic. It was a way of making sure that guilds were held accountable in case legal issues came up and the Magic Council can easily find the wizard.

“So, he’s been hopping around so that his dragon family doesn’t get discovered?” Lucy reasoned.

“Sounds logical to me,” Jellal agreed.

“And the reason why he’s not in a guild,” Gray finished. Lucy looked toward Erza and said, “What about Levy and Gajeel? He isn’t part of a guild too, right?”

“According to Juvia, Gajeel did the same thing as Natsu, going from guild to guild,” Erza informed her. Lucy looked at the requip mage in surprise.

“Juvia knows Gajeel?” Lucy asked, surprised. She knew the water mage’s past involved being a part of Phantom Lord and its elite squad known as The Elemental Four, but she never mentioned anyone else from her old guild.

“Yes. Apparently, Gajeel stuck close to Phantom Lord the same way Natsu did with us,” Erza explained, her face stony and voice grim. Lucy didn’t blame her for her attitude toward Phantom Lord; the two guilds worked with each other only once with Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale to defeat the Oración Seis, but once was enough. The only good thing Fairy Tail could say about Phantom Lord was that they gave up Juvia to them.

“Juvia volunteered to talk to Levy about Gajeel since she knew him best,” Jellal added. Lucy felt relief rush through her with the knowledge that her best friend was being informed about their new...bodyguards? neighbors?

Still, she had so many questions, but none of which her friends could answer. She would have to talk to Natsu, and while the others may have said that he didn’t hold grudges, Lucy wasn’t eager to talk to him anytime soon.

“C’mon,” Gray said gruffly, standing up to sling an arm around Lucy’s shoulders. “We should meet up with the others for the party.”

Lucy couldn’t help but giggle as she was dragged out of her room by her friends. Master Makarov had declared that they should have a celebration for the reunion of the guild and surviving a week long voyage across the sea. And if there was one thing she learned about her adoptive family, all they needed was an excuse to have fun.

The guildhall was established in what probably was a mead hall or something similar. It was large enough for two floors, and according to Levy, a basement in desperate need of help. Makeshift tables were littered everywhere, as well as some of Laki’s magicked tables. Mirajane had claimed an entire wall for the bar, and had already had Freed making enchantments on the hastily built shelves to protect the liquor from any fights that break out.

Everyone in the guild was at a table, either unpacking a bagged lunch or drinking heavily. Lucy felt her heart sink a little at the sight. Her guild was rundown, a bit scared, and exhausted. But they were together again, Lucy thought firmly, trying to push back the negative thoughts. And now, they had dragons as potential allies, or enemies.

But Master will make everything right, Lucy thought hopefully. He’s one of the ten Wizard Saints. He can figure something out.

“Lucy!”

Lucy turned around to see Lisanna’s blue grey shirt in her face before being pulled into a massive bear hug. The Celestial Spirit mage had barely put her arms around her friend when she felt massive arms pick both of them up and her feet were no longer touching the floor.

“Elfman, you giant lug! Put them down!” Lucy heard Evergreen berate the largest of the Take-Over siblings as he cried, “These are manly tears!”

Lucy laughed quietly to herself as she felt her hair become damp and as other members began to gather around them, yelling at Elfman to let them breathe.

Fairy Tail always seems to bounce back, she thought to herself as Elfman finally set her and his sister down. Lisanna hadn’t let up on her own hug, and Lucy playfully gasped, “Lisanna! Need...air!”

“Right! Sorry!” Lisanna said as she finally released Lucy. “But you are okay, right Lucy? I hadn’t seen much of you today and Natsu didn’t hurt you, did he? I’ll kick his ass for you if he did and gods, how did he even find you?”

Lucy shook her head as Lisanna continued to ramble before finally cutting in.

“Lisanna! I’m okay! Nasty didn’t hurt me, and I think I might have done more to him than he did to me.”

“Yeah!” Elfman cheered as Lisanna caught her breath. “It’s way manly of you!”

“She isn’t a man, you ape!” Evergreen scolded, and the two of them began to argue, not even noticing how they were being pushed away by the other guild members. Lucy was lost in a whirlwind of questions and reassurances that she was all right. She could barely answer before another guildmate interrupted. She merely rolled her eyes with a smile and let her guildmates talk.

It wasn’t until she spotted Levy sitting down at a table that Lucy began to wiggle her way out of the crowd that surrounded her. She had to squeeze her way out, barely able to escape and make her way to her best friend. Jet and Droy were sitting with her, unsurprisingly. What did surprise Lucy was that Juvia was sitting with them, and the boys were pouting, for lack of a better word. Lucy strode over to them, hoping to hear what Juvia and Levy were so enthusiastically talking about.

“So he really did lose his hair?” Levy was giggling.

“Oh yes! His pride was really stung that day. That dark guild didn’t know what hit it, and he was temperamental for weeks after. I believe that he was fourteen at the time? It’s hard to say,” Juvia replied, laughing as well. Jet and Droy were the only ones not laughing, and Lucy had a feeling that it had to do with Juvia’s story.

“Hey, guys!” she greeted. Jet and Droy looked relieved to see her, Juvia looked up at her with a nod, while Levy stood up with a “Hey, Lucy!” and a hug. Lucy gratefully returned the hug and slid into the seat next to Levy.

“You okay, Levy?” Lucy asked worriedly. Levy nodded and replied, “Just bruises. Gajeel could have done worse.”

Lucy nodded, remembering how the dark man was with Pantherlily.

“But he didn’t,” Juvia said. She turned to Lucy and continued, “Love Rival shouldn’t worry about Gajeel. Juvia knows him. It just takes time to get to know him.”

Lucy rolled her eyes at “Love Rival,” but didn’t try to protest. She and Gray were only friends, and Juvia can pursue him all she wanted. Juvia gained a sparkle in her eye and said, “Juvia won’t have to worry about Love Rival soon, especially with Gajeel’s brother here.”

Lucy muttered, “Not even a rival for you,” before realizing what she said. “What do you mean?”

“Gajeel’s brother, Natsu, was chasing you,” Juvia explained mischievously. “He seemed very interested. Was he going to take you back like a caveman?”

Lucy felt her cheeks go red hot all the way up to her ears at Juvia’s suggestion.

“No!” she snapped peevishly. “If anything, I would have been scrubbing Igneel’s paint off.” She crossed her arms and purses her lips, trying not to pout. Juvia and Levy giggled a little before Lucy rounded tow Levy and demanded, “I thought that you didn’t know Natsu! Why did you act all surprised?”

Levy raised her hands in protest and exclaimed, “I didn’t know that Igneel meant our Natsu! I knew that Natsu knew Fire Dragonslayer magic, but I thought that he was from Ishgar! It only made sense!”

Lucy shifted in her seat uncomfortably as Jet added, “Pretty sure everyone thought Natsu was from Ishgar.”

“Yeah, think the question that he got the most was ‘Why did you leave?’” Droy continued.

“Juvia thought the same about Gajeel. She thought that he was from Ishgar as well because of his magic,” Juvia admitted. Lucy nodded in agreement at the logic; Ishgar had the largest population of dragons, so it only made sense that everyone assumed that the Dragonslayers were from there. But something was nagging in the back of her mind.

“If they were from Ishgar, then how would they have left? And did their dragons come from Ishgar as well?” she asked worriedly. What if they left because of some sort of taboo they committed? Or some crime?

“Juvia doesn’t believe that the dragons are from Ishgar,” Juvia said thoughtfully. “I’ve seen some dragons on the Ishgarian border of Fiore, and they don’t look like Ishgarian dragons, nor do they sound like them. They have a more hissing accent, and Gajeel would have picked that up living with them.”

Lucy nodded in agreement, thinking about her own upbringing and having to speak in a pompous and “proper” tone before realizing that a member of Team Shadowgear was missing. She asked, “Where’s Pantherlily? I thought that he would be on bodyguard alert with Gajeel on the island.”

“He’s exploring the island,” Levy explained with a smile. “The word he used was ‘patrolling,’ but we know that he’s really exploring.”

Lucy giggled as a deep voice said, “He shouldn’t have gone.”

Heart pounding in surprise, Lucy whirled around to see Laxus, Master Makarov’s exiled grandson, behind her. Freed Justine, his boyfriend, was standing next to him, looked at the blond in adoration. Lucy immediately snarled, “What are you doing here?”

Laxus has been expelled from the guild for attempting a coupe with the help of his Thunder Legion. When the guild caught on what he was doing, Master Makarov expelled him and sent him away, but allowed the Thunder Legion to stay.

Laxus raised an eyebrow and replied, “Grandpa was convinced to let me come back until this mess with the Council was over.”

“Gildarts pointed out that any member of the guild, present or expelled, would be in danger,” Freed said in his matter of fact way. “So the Master sent a message to Laxus to meet in Hargeon.”

Lucy scowled at the pair, not happy with this development. Before she could saying anything else, Juvia asked coldly, “Why do you think that Pantherlily shouldn’t patrol?”

“Natsu and the dragons,” Laxus said arrogantly. “Dragons are very prideful, and what happened today really would have stung.”

Lucy looked over at Levy and rolled her eyes. Her best friend merely shrugged her shoulders, shrinking a little away from Laxus at the same time. Lucy turned back to Laxus and said, “The dragons and dragon slayers aren’t going to be an issue because they aren’t coming back until tomorrow. They made a deal with the Master.”

Immediately after she said that, the guildhall doors slammed open, and wailing filled the hall. Lucy whipped around to see Pantherlily in his battle form, carrying two wailing hatchlings under each arm, looking like he fully regretted his decision. Lucy’s eyes widened as she saw the green scaled hatchling.

“Verdi?”

“Sweet Pea?” Levy squeaked.

“Told you,” Laxus said smugly.

Lucy jumped up and rushed over to Pantherlily, making sure to step on Laxus’s foot. Levy followed her, worry etched on her face.

“Sweet Pea! What are you doing? Why did you leave the nest?” Levy cried out over the ruckus of the guild. Lucy immediately took Beryl from Pantherlily, who looked like he was relieved to get some help with the wailing hatchlings. Levy took Reisha and held her close as the pink hatchling continued to cry. Lucy stroked Beryl’s back as she wailed in her arms.

“Little Verdi, what are you doing here? What’s wrong?” Lucy asked, using the nickname she had given the little green hatchling.

“You leeeeffffft!” Beryl wailed. “You left us!”

“Come back!” Reisha cried, burying her head into the crook of Levy’s neck. Lucy’s heart squeezed painfully in her chest at hearing their wailing. She looked over at Levy to see the same conflicted look on her face.

“I’m sorry, girls. I found them while patrolling,” Pantherlily explained apologetically. “I know that you two are exhausted, but they kept crying for you and I couldn’t leave them alone.”

“It’s okay, Pantherlily,” Levy assured the giant Exceed, cuddling Reisha. Lucy began to stroke Beryl’s back, trying to calm her down.

“No, it’s not!”

Lucy turned around, wincing as Beryl dug her talons into her shoulders. Droy was standing up, Jet next to him. Lucy glanced around to see that the rest of the guild had reduced their volume to murmurs and whispers, interested in the action. Jet picked up where Droy left off.

“If they’re here, then their parents will be here soon! And they’ll be pissed off at us!” he snarled.

Lucy rolled her eyes at the Speed mage. She argued, “If they come here pissed off, it’s because these two snuck off. Dragons can be rational.”

“Luuuucy! Please come back! We’ll be good!” Beryl begged in her arms, wrapping her tail around her waist.

Lucy sighed. “Verdi, Levy and I wouldn’t have a lot of room to work with. We would be all cramped in the nest. Besides, we can be neighbors! Neighbors can be together, right?”

Beryl shook her head against Lucy’s chest and wailed, “Nooooooooo!”

“Please stop crying, Sweet Pea. We can’t come back with you guys. We just finished unpacking and we need to stay with our nest,” Levy begged. Lucy couldn’t look over to her best friend. She was too busy trying to calm down.

“Come, little ones,” Makarov chided, appearing next to Lucy and scaring her. “You wouldn’t want Lucy and Levy to be sad, do you?”

Lucy stared as Beryl hiccupped and quietly said, “No.”

“No,” Reisha echoed, sniffling.

“They would be happier with their family, and you can still visit with permission from your parents,” Makarov continued. Lucy’s stomach began to untwist itself from the nervous knot it was in. Beryl looked between her and Makarov, eyes still watery.

“But,” the green hatchling started. Lucy’s heart sank a little.

“But we want them hoooooooome!” Reisha wailed, causing Levy to wince. Lucy winced as well as Beryl started to cry again.

“Little ones, please!” Pantherlily attempted. The hatchlings just wailed harder.

Suddenly, the guild went on alert, standing up and pushing tables back, arming themselves with their magic. Lucy looked toward the direction that they were facing and her heart stopped. In the open doors of the guildhall, there stood the Dragonslayers, and Natsu was looking right at her.

“Well, this is a party now,” she heard Laxus grumble.