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Beastly Possession	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 26740 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima is a troll, and I shall vanquish him with the Knight of the Mirrors! Mwahaha!

Erza's armor "Knight of the Mirrors" was inspired by Don Quixote.

Chapter 22

Sting and the Beast

Natsu slowly began to recover, all sickness shocked out of his system by Sting's bold declaration. He raised himself up onto his hands and knees, still shaky with illness yet determined not to show weakness after a challenge like that. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the rival dragon slayer.

"You're gonna kill me, huh?" Natsu sneered. "I'd like to see you try."

"I won't hold back," Sting warned, and his face showed true killing intent.

"Why do you have to kill him?" Lucy screamed. "He hasn't hurt anyone."

"Oh yes he has!" Sting said, glaring at the Fire Dragon Slayer. "I've seen the carnage left behind, bodies scattered in the streets: men, women, and children, all slaughtered with no survivors. He's a murderer. Isn't that right, Natsu?"

He shook his head, and pink hair fell into his eyes. "No...I...I don't think so. I don't remember anything like that..."

"Of course not. It was the beast within you. Still," Sting said sternly, "that beast is a murderer, and it's part of your psyche. By the laws of Fiore, that makes you guilty of all crimes committed by that body of yours."

"I didn't do anything," Natsu shouted. However, he looked over guiltily to Lucy. He had done things...horrible things! And to his friends, no less.

"I see the guilt in your eyes," Sting said in a low voice. "Do you really think you can live with yourself, knowing what you've done?"

All the pain and guilt Natsu had been hiding for weeks, knowing how horribly he had hurt Lucy, bubbled back up. His eyes began to water with self-loathing, and a fire far more painful than anything his flames could produce burning in his heart. Lucy looked back at Natsu and saw the fear in his eyes. She placed her hand up against the purple runes barrier.

"It's okay, Natsu," she whispered in forgiveness.

Gray stepped forward in his defense. "Even if Natsu has hurt people, he should be brought to a trial and face the guilt legally."

Sting's blue eyes narrowed. "I can't allow that. Do you have any idea how the public would react toward all dragon slayers if they knew this little secret? Even if you bring Natsu back to Magnolia, what will you do? Master Makarov's a smart man; he won't turn Natsu in for the same reason: it'd tarnish the reputation of dragon slayers. We would forever be seen as beasts about to turn into murdering cannibals. None of us would ever be trusted again. The families of the slain would go after any one of us in revenge. We would be hunted. I can't allow that to happen! Out of all the guilds in Fiore, Fairy Tail would suffer the most with four dragon slayers! Do you think Master Makarov wants that sort of reputation for his own grandson? As a dragon slayer, I have to stop him before he kills again, and before any civilians find out it's a dragon slayer doing this."

"But we're going to heal him," Wendy insisted, pleading with large eyes.

Sting looked down at her with sorrow. "Don't you smell it? He's too far gone." His eyes flicked up to Natsu and glared. "You smell like a feral beast."

Lucy gasped and looked at her love in dread. Natsu pulled back and blinked mutely in shock. Feral? Already? He shook his head, silently protesting that dreaded fate.

Gray looked back at his fiery rival. "It can't be!"

Wendy sniffled. "Are...are we too late? No!"

"I'm sorry," Sting said solemnly. "I can smell it. When someone gets to this point, you can't turn them back. There's only one thing you can do: be merciful and make it painless." Quickly, not giving anyone a chance to react, he shouted: "White Drive! Holy Blast!"

Light cloaked his body, and in that very instant a beam of pure white light shot out toward the cage of runes. Lucy watched in horror as the magic came right at her. With just a split second to spare, Gray leaped at her, knocking her to the ground and out of the way. Lucy fell under him while the light blasted against the cage.

"No!" Lucy shrieked. "Natsu!"

"Bastard!" Erza bellowed. Suddenly, she had her sword out, charging at Sting.

When the blinding light faded, they saw that the runes had protected Natsu. He blinked his eyes from the brightness, but he was unharmed.

Sting dodged Erza's sword and frowned that his attack failed. "Something more powerful, eh?"

Mirajane suddenly transformed into Satan's Soul, and she joined Erza in fighting the White Dragon Slayer. Wendy knelt beside Lucy, checking her for injuries. Gray leaped up, putting himself right in front of the cage. Natsu gazed at all of them in awe. They were all fighting...for him! Even though he might be a lost cause, they were still going this far.

Freed walked up to the cage. "I anticipated something like this. The runes hold Natsu in, but they also protect from attacks. He can't be harmed."

Lucy sighed in relief. "Thank goodness." Then she saw Sting charging another light blast. "Gray, watch out!"

"Ice-Make: Shield!" Gray yelled instead, and the blast from Sting deflected off the ice, scattering the rays into brilliant icy rainbows. "No offense, Freed, but I'm not taking chances."

Natsu watched, stunned that Gray of all people was defending him. He turned his eyes back to Erza and Mirajane. Although both S-class girls were insanely powerful, against the nimble moves of Sting and his powerful light magic, both women were only capable of holding him back. Sting, meanwhile, looked like he was enjoying the challenge of fighting the two strongest women in Fairy Tail.

"This is fun!" he laughed wildly, leaping back from Erza's sword while ducking Mirajane's swiping claw-like hand. "We should have a threesome."

Erza furiously swung at him. "Hell no! Requip: Knight of the Mirrors!" Her new armor was covered in metal polished so perfectly, it reflected all light.

"White Dragon's Claw!" Sting yelled, and he attacked her with his fist glowing incandescently. However, all that light reflected right off the armor, and the only thing that hit was a normal fist. Sting leaped back as he realized her armor negated his magic. "Dammit!"

Off to the side, Lector had arrived and was in the middle of a cat fight with Happy. Just as the red Exceed seemed to have hit the blue furball down, Charle leaped on Lector's back and pulled him away by his whiskers. Wendy heard their small shouts and ran over to yell at the three to stop fighting.

In his cage, Natsu shook his head in rage. Tumultuous emotions boiled in his mind. Anger swelled up, and frustration burned in his blood. He yearned to fight Sting himself. He knew he could beat the White Dragon Slayer.

"Let me out," he shouted.

"You know we can't," Freed said passively.

Lucy went over to get Wendy away from the Exceeds' fight as claws were brought out. Wendy cried as she saw Lector scratch Happy's arm, and Lucy had to hold her back. Then suddenly a stray shot from Sting grazed Lucy's leg. It knocked her to the ground with a cry. Wendy knelt down beside her with a panicked face as blood soaked down Lucy's thigh. Gray saw Lucy go down and rushed over to shield them from any more wild shots. With the cage no longer guarded, one of Sting's blinding hits bashed into the runes.

Natsu began to growl, and his eyes flashed red. "Let me out. Want freedom!" His voice began to snarl.

Freed saw the flash of madness just under the surface. "Calm down, Natsu."

Suddenly, Wendy cried out. Her spine snapped into an arch, and her face turned straight upward as she screamed to the sky. Worried, Gray reached out to her shoulder. He just barely touched her, and Wendy suddenly lashed out at him. Gray's arm drew back, but where Wendy scratched, his skin had been torn by sharp, black nails.

"Mira!" he shouted in a panic. "Wendy...Wendy, calm down. Don't change. Shit, Lucy, get away from her."

Lucy tried to scuttle back, yet she was still injured and unable to stand.

Mirajane left the fight with Sting and rushed over to Wendy. Sting saw the problem and cursed under his breath.

"Do you see this, Natsu? Your feral pheromones are hurting her."

Natsu's eyes went back to green as he looked in terror at how Wendy appeared. Her teeth had sharpened, her claws were predatory, and her eyes...

They were red!

"No," he whispered, trembling at the reflection of how he must also look. "No, not...not Wendy. Oh please, no! Get her away from me," he whispered, looking at Wendy's crimson stare. No one heard him over the clang of Erza's sword, the blasts from Sting's magic, the yells from the Exceeds' cat fight, and the growls and shouts around Wendy. Natsu flung himself against the runes and shrieked, "Get her away from me!"

Freed turned back around. "Natsu?"

"It's me that's doing it to her," he yelled, and tears ran down his face. "I'm...I'm hurting her. My smell...it's triggering this. For the love of God, get her away from me!"

Wendy suddenly broke free from Mirajane's hold, whipped around, and slashed over her face. Four claw marks tore into that perfect, adorably photogenic face, and blood poured down her cheek.

"Mira!" Freed screamed.

Natsu was shaking so hard, he looked like he was convulsing. Panic, anger, fear, rage...he watched Wendy losing control, and suddenly everything within him snapped. Wings and a tail tore out his back, scales covered his skin, and his eyes flashed crimson

"Get Tiny Slayer away from me! Is hurting Tiny Slayer. No hurt nakama. Is bad. Bad smell for her. Leave, go, run, get away." When neither Freed nor Mirajane moved, the beast tried to leap forward and shrieked, "Awaaaaay!"

Lucy saw the beastly form raging in the cage. "Oh God...Natsu?"

Gray tried to keep calm. "He's right. It's the feral smell that's changing her."

"He can't be a feral!" Lucy yelled angrily.

"We'll figure that out later. Let's try to draw Wendy away from here. Maybe if she's away from his smell, she'll go back to normal. Mira?"

"I'm fine," she lied as the blood poured down her cheek. "Lucy, your leg is injured, so stay here. Guard Natsu. Maybe you can calm him down again."

"I'll try," she nodded. She pulled out a Gold Key. "Open the Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!"

The horseman came out. "Moshi-moshi!" He gave Lucy a hand up and helped her to hobble over to the cage.

Meanwhile, Gray and Mirajane tried to pull Wendy off the road, but the inner beast was smart. It knew what was keeping the girl like this.

"No," beast-Wendy hissed with a wild grin. "Not leaving Fire Slayer. Smell is freedom."

"Dammit," Gray whispered.

"It knows," Mirajane realized.

Lucy walked up to Natsu. Those red eyes still scared her, but she forced herself to draw closer. "Sagittarius, blast away any attacks. Protect this cage. If you can get any clear shots at Sting, take them."

"Of course, Lucy-dono," he said loyally, and the Archer readied his bow and arrow, following Sting and Erza's movements keenly.

Lucy placed her hand against the violet glow. The beast inside watched her, sneering with anger. However, it raised the deadly claws up and place its hand next to hers.

"Girlie," Natsu's distorted voice said in a gentle whisper. "Is bad smell for Tiny Slayer."

"We know," she sniffled.

"Is not feral, though," the red-eyed creature insisted. "Is not! Slayer still has control."

Lucy caught her breath with a bit of hope. "Are you sure?"

The scaly face nodded. "We know. Is not too late to save Slayer. I not want that," it admitted honestly, "but...will make Lucy happy. We want Lucy happy. Love Lucy. Want Lucy. Is Slayer wants. Want smiles, not tears."

That spark of hope burned brighter in Lucy's heart. "Natsu," she breathed.

Those red eyes flicked over to the battle. "Tiny Slayer not safe until Slayer is back. Slayer not come back until White Slayer gone. I can fight White Slayer."

Lucy was stunned. "We can't let you out!"

"Is safe," the beast insisted. "Slayer in control."

"Obviously, Natsu's not in control."

"He is!" the beast shouted. "Tiny Slayer is hurting. Longer she hurt, worse it will be. Want fight! Need protect Tiny Slayer."

Lucy and Freed exchanged wary glances.

"Please!" the beast begged. "I return. I not hurt others, only White Slayer. I not kill. Please!" Those red eyes focused on the blonde. "Lucy...please, trust us."

Over at the side of the road, Mirajane let out another cry of pain and fell to the ground. Through ragged breaths, she grabbed her side and tried to hold back tears as blood soaked through her clothes. Gray stood over her to shield her and stared furiously at the little twelve-year-old.

"Wendy, stop it," Gray shouted. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Slayer not here," the tiny girl cackled. "No want to hurt Slayer? Is fun prey."

Mirajane clutched her side, and her eyes lifted to Freed. The runes mage panicked at seeing her injured, her face slashed, and clawed stabs to her stomach.

"Please," the caged beast begged again. "Tiny Slayer hurting much. Not like to hurt others. Will make heart painful. Must stop this. Must fight!"

Freed dropped his head. "I better not regret this. Remember what I said," he threatened. "I will kill you if you hurt anyone."

The beast nodded seriously. "Only White Slayer, then return. Is promise."

Freed pulled out his sword, and with the tip he rewrote the runes. Suddenly, the purple barrier was gone.

With no hesitation, the beast spread its wings and flew out of the cage with a fiery roar. Erza backed away in shock, and Sting had only a second to see the enraged creature barreling at him before the beast collided into his chest, knocking Sting back many meters. Sting skidded across the ground, and his face tensed up in pain. He lashed out with blinding light, but the beast above him slammed a hand into his chest, knocking all air out. For a second, Sting felt like his heart had stopped, too.

Lector saw his best friend go down and stopped fighting Happy. "Sting-kun! You idiots, why would you set that murdering beast loose?"

Sting recovered from the pain and gritted his teeth. "White Dragon's..."

Before he could say anything, the beast head-butted him, and everything momentarily went black. Sting laid on his back, feeling the overwhelming strength that pinned him down so easily, like an adult restraining a tiny child. As his vision cleared, he looked up at those red eyes, sharp teeth, and fiery scales. He sensed the intense power. Sting could hardly help but laugh that, after hunting the beast for so many weeks, he was defeated with such ease.

"Power of a real dragon, eh?" he sighed to himself.

The fangs bared, the beast snarled a smile of victory, and suddenly the beast's mouth struck down with a hungry growl. Erza's sword went to the beast's throat, Gray had ice already forming in his hands, Freed's sword was out and pointing their way, Lucy was ready to order Sagittarius to fire, and Sting closed his eyes in resigned preparation for the beast to rip out his throat.

When suddenly, the creature froze. Breathing heavily, it pulled back and glared down at Sting.

"Need slayer," he hissed. "But...not you."

Sting raised an eyebrow. "You're right, I don't know the ceremony to cure you. Only Gajeel and Rogue do."

"Yesssss...need them." The beast rose off of Sting, and the red eyes faded away. While still standing over the White Dragon Slayer with his wings out in a sign of dominance, Natsu glared down. "I'm still in control," he declared firmly, his voice back to normal, although weary sounding. "I'm not totally feral yet, but I don't have much time. The beast within is getting stronger. I'm starting to...to want to change."

Lucy covered her mouth to hear him say that. Gajeel's warning had been that when a dragon slayer wanted to change, his final phase of transformation was almost there.

"For now," Natsu panted, "I still have control. You're gravely mistaken, Sting. I haven't killed anyone."

"You weren't conscious..."

"The beast told me so!" Natsu yelled over him. "It hasn't killed any humans."

"I've seen the wreckage," Sting shouted. "Whole villages were wiped out by a feral!"

"It wasn't me. There's another dragon slayer out there. He's the one who triggered all of us: me, Wendy, Laxus as well. That's the feral, and he's been killing people in Magnolia. So please, Sting," he said, and Natsu bow down low. "Please, I beg of you, take Wendy with you, get her far away from me, and hurry to Magnolia. Stop the feral dragon slayer before it hurts any more of my friends. You and Gajeel are the only ones who can face him. If I came too close, he'd trigger the beast, and then I'd truly lose control."

Sting saw for himself that Natsu was sane. This was definitely not the mindless beast Rogue had described. Despite himself, Sting knew he had to believe in Natsu. He admired him too much. If anyone could keep that feral side at bay despite the smell being fully present, it was Salamander! Sting walked up close to Natsu and leaned into his ear.

"Maybe you're not feral yet, but you smell just like one. That smell will trigger the Sky Dragon Slayer," he warned, nodding to where Wendy was still lashing against Gray and Mirajane. "It's a miracle she's been able to stay in control even this long. She's one strong girl," he praised, smiling to her. Then Sting looked down at Natsu, who still had his face lowered humbly. "I'll take her with me for her own sake, but I suggest you try to keep the beast under control. Any more transformations and you might never return to normal. If that happens, as you can see, I have no hesitation against killing you."

"Got it," Natsu nodded, and the wings painfully shrank back in. He hissed at the change, but it was nowhere near as bad as it had originally felt. When he looked fully human again, Natsu took a step closer to his fellow dragon slayer. "Hey Sting." He glanced briefly to his teammates, then dropped his voice lower. "When Gajeel can help me through this, that beast...does it go away?"

Sting chuckled softly and shook his head. "I still feel it in there sometimes, but only as an awareness. Rogue says he hears that voice in his shadow. It's part of being a dragon slayer, to have that little bit of dragon instincts, a dark side lying in wait, hiding in the crevices of our heart. Good dragon slayers learn to suppress those instincts. Bad ones like Acnologia gave in to it. Or that's what I was told. I'll tell you what Rogue told me, and Gajeel told him." The White Dragon Slayer glared into Natsu's face. "Once you go through the ceremony to become an adult dragon slayer, you can suppress the beast indefinitely. However if, for whatever reason, you give into it, even once...you will never be able to return to normal. That's what happened to Acnologia. He gave in to the dragon's inner beast. You've seen the Black Dragon, and you know what he once was. If you allow it to take over again, you'll turn into a killing machine, not like our parents, but like Acnologia. That beast gives dragon slayers immense power, but we'll forever lose our minds and fall to the darkness. If you do that, I swear I will slay you."

"Same to you," Natsu smirked. "I'd treat you as if you were the Black Dragon itself. But don't worry. I've seen what this beast can do to friends. I would never give into that beast willingly, not even if I felt I might get stronger."

"Even to save a friend?" asked Sting. "Even to save someone you love?"

Natsu shook his head. "That beast...it hurt the person I love most." He glanced back to Lucy, who was helping the injured Mirajane, bandaging the wound to the Take-Over mage's stomach and dabbing the bloody cheeks.

Lucy sensed his eyes on her, looked over, and smiled happily. "She'll be fine," she called over.

Natsu gave her a relieved nod. Then to Sting he whispered, "I don't want that to ever happen again," he sighed sadly. "I know I'd only hurt those I care about, and I wouldn't even know that I was doing it. I can't allow that. I can't hurt nakama. Even if it's powerful, I can't trust that side of me."

Sting nodded solemnly. "Maybe you can be a smart kid after all."

Natsu laughed at the compliment. "At least I know when I'm dangerous."

He walked back to the cage of runes. Natsu paused just a moment by Lucy, looking at her wistfully. She rose up and took his hand, squeezing his fingers, finally able to touch after so many days. His hands were so huge, so warm, and so gentle. His rough thumb ran over her knuckles. He loved how soft her skin felt, how her hands were not quite cold yet not quite hot, and he wished for a day when he could touch her more.

"I love you," he whispered so softly, no one else could hear him.

Then he let go of her hand, forced himself to walk away, and sat obediently on the cart that had been his prison for days. Freed quickly rewrote a few runes, and the cage once again held Natsu in its purple glowing confines.

Sting turned and walked over to Wendy. With a nod to Gray, he stood in front of the girl. Although she tried to scratch him, he easily grabbed both of her tiny hands. He held her a bit tightly, enough to probably leave bruises, and looked straight into her eyes. His pupils narrowed, and slowly Wendy began to calm down.

"Want...slayer..." she whispered. Then she suddenly passed out.

Sting swooped her up into his arms. "That won't cure her, but it'll pacify her for a few hours, long enough for me to get away from this feral stench. I'll bring her to your guild as quickly as possible. I hope your master can do something for her."

"Then I'm coming, too," Mirajane insisted, slowly rising to her feet.

Freed rushed over in protest. "Mira, you're injured badly."

"It's my duty to watch over her," she insisted. "Besides, maybe if I hurry, I can get to a healer before these cuts leave a scar on my face. That'd really ruin my modeling career."

"Suits me," Sting said, briefly eying the lovely white-haired woman. Freed glared at him jealously. "The rest of you, don't travel too fast. Give us a little head start. See ya in Magnolia, Natsu. Let's go, Lector." Then he turned and, carrying Wendy, he and Mirajane headed down the road.

Natsu watched them leave, then let out a sputtering sigh and collapsed onto the floor of the cage. Lucy walked up and watched him through the violet glow.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I...hurt...everywhere," he admitted, staring blankly up at the sky. "I hope I never change like that again." Then he looked around at their remaining group. They slowly gathered around to check on him. "Thanks, everyone. Especially you, Freed. Thanks for trusting me."

Freed chuckled softly. "To be honest, I was ready to kill you at any moment."

Natsu chuckled wearily at that blunt honesty. "I wanna go home," he whispered.

Erza finally sheathed her sword. "Let's get going," she ordered. "We'll travel slowly."

Natsu felt the jolt of the cart and moaned. Slow traveling meant it would take even longer to reach the town. He kept staring up at the sky as they trudged down the road to Magnolia.

End of Chapter 22

A/N: I received an awesome fanart for Beastly Possession. http://fav.me/d68n0h7
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Beastly Possession