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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
- 32
- 33
- 34
Disclaimer: Sorry about the April Fools joke. I was going to take it down, but many people said I should leave it up...just to screw with the heads of future readers! I think some of my readers are even more sadistic than I am. Oh and...Hiro Mashima owns this, blah-blah, all that disclaimer stuff.

Chapter 32

Fire and Earth
Sting watched on with a pained expression. Sure, Natsu was a rival, but he admired this man so much, he did not want to see him go like this. The creature in front of him snarled and hunched over. This was no longer Natsu. Even his smell changed, and that made Sting realize the horrible truth.
"We lost him," he whispered. "He's completely feral."
"Smells that way," Gajeel agreed. "He smelled bad before, but it's way worse now. Still, I ain't giving up hope on him yet."
Sting looked over in shock. "But I thought once a dragon slayer changed to a feral, there's no hope for them."
"Normally, yeah, but if he says there's a way to come back, I'm gonna wait and see. If anyone can defeat the inner beast and come back, it's Salamander."
The stubbornness in Gajeel's face amazed Sting. He was sure these two were rivals, too. They probably fought and bickered all the time. However, Gajeel looked like he was proud of Natsu and envied his inner strength.
Sting watched the scene. Balaur and Natsu were growling at one another, with Lucy trapped amidst impending chaos. She also looked worried, yet her face showed that she had no doubts that Natsu would come back to her.
If even a girl like her trusted this Salamander, Sting would, too.
Sting knelt down beside Lector, waved Frosh to join their little meeting, and whispered to them both. "Those two will be distracted as soon as they start fighting. Once there's an opening, you and Frosh zoom in there and grab Lucy. Bring her back here, behind us."
"Got it, Sting-kun!" Lector nodded.
Pantherlily grew to battle size. "I'll protect you, just in case."
Happy watched with tears in his eyes. "Natsu..."
Lector smacked the blue Exceed's back. "If that flame-brain can beat Sting-kun, he'll be fine, because there's no way Sting-kun would lose to a stupid beast."
Between the two feral dragon slayers, the tension grew. Flames surrounded the red-eyed, pink-haired, winged form of Natsu. His scarlet eyes glared with intense hatred, while across from him, Balaur grinned with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
The Earth Dragon Slayer rumbled gleefully deep in his chest, "Ferrrral."
The crimson and pink beast leered angrily. "Slayer not like to do this. Slayer angry. Angry Slayer makes angry Feral."
"Anger, yessss!" Balaur hissed. "Kill you. Then I'll become dragon."
"We won't allow it," Feral-Natsu snarled. "Save Lucy. Protect Lucy. Protect all nakama."
"Those are Slayer's desires," Balaur pointed out. "What are yours?"
"Same!" he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth. Feral-Natsu sneered with gleaming teeth. "We are same. Wants, same. Desires, same. I am Slayer. Slayer is me. We are one."
"You are weak!" Balaur spat. "End your Slayer, take his power, then fight me."
Feral-Natsu scoffed softly. "Is that how you did it? Then you're the weak one. Slayer is smarter. Not by much," he said, rolling his red eyes slightly with annoyance, "but still smart. Two minds think better than one."
"If Fire Slayer is still in control, you won't be strong enough," Balaur sneered. "Slayers are only shit."
"Maybe yours," Feral-Natsu chuckled. "Fire Slayer is not shit-for-brains. He is flame-brain." He grinned proudly at that.
To the side, Sting snorted out a laugh. "I can't believe he admitted that. Idiot."
Balaur only glanced in their direction from the laughter, then focused back on the feral in front of him. "This won't even be a fight."
"We'll see," Feral-Natsu grinned. He raised his clawed hand up and beckoned mockingly. "Come at us, shit-for-brains. We will burn you!"
"Can you even flame? Can you use Slayer magic?"
Feral-Natsu looked just a little doubtful.
"Even if a weakling like you can..."
"Weakling?" the pink feral shouted scathingly.
"...I still win." His dark wings beat harder. "Earth Dragon's Haboob."
"Who's boob?" Feral-Natsu asked in confusion.
Balaur's brown wings flapped faster, and an abnormal amount of dust swirled around, blinding Natsu and all around. Everyone had to put their arms up to shield from the dust storm.
"Now!" Pantherlily realized. He grabbed up Lector and Frosh and used the swirling dust as cover. He flew over the chasm and landed beside Lucy. She gasped when, through the blinding dust storm, she felt a large body beside her, but Pantherlily's large paw covered her mouth. "We're getting you to safety."
"But Natsu..."
"He'll be able to fight better without needing to protect you. You two," he said to the smaller Exceeds, "get her away. I'll try to shield this wind with my wings."
Lector and Frosh grabbed Lucy, each holding a shoulder, and lifted her into the air. The strong wind from Balaur's wings would have made flying impossible, but Pantherlily spread his wide wings and blocked the effects, allowing the small Exceeds to fly safely while carrying Lucy. They crossed the chasm and landed beside the three other dragon slayers. Sting immediately knelt beside her, helping to block the dust.
"You're injured badly," he realized as he saw the blood on her and how Lucy held her arm. "Rogue, you're good at medicine. Can you tend to her?"
He inspected her gashes and bruises. "You'll need a healer, but I can wrap something around this. Not until this dust settles, though. We don't want dust in your wounds."
"Th-thank you," Lucy muttered. She tried to look back at the shattered island, but there was still too much dust to know what was going on with Natsu.
Feral-Natsu's red eyes flicked one way, then another. There was too much dust to see, and he could not inhale deeply enough to smell his enemy. He thought he heard Lucy's voice, but he had lost all sense of direction. Where was she? He could not hurt her. Slayer would be mad.
He felt the dragon slayer's mind inside him. The beast realized this was different to when he simply took control. Slayer had given him control this time, he had not had to fight Slayer down, and that meant Slayer was still around, still watching, still thinking. Maybe if this was something one of them did not want, they would fight for dominance until one slid away into oblivion, but for the moment this was a fight they both wanted. They were working together this time.
If only they could find their enemy.
"Ferrrral."
Feral-Natsu looked sharply left, only to feel a slash to the right. He pulled away and saw a wisp of a shadow vanish back into the dust.
"Trouble, Fire Feral?"
He was ready for an attack from either side this time, but suddenly the ground under him thrust up, knocking Natsu off his feet. When he stumbled back down, spikes stabbed his feet. He cried out as the bottom of his sandals perforated and the soles of his feet bled.
"All earth is mine," Balaur chuckled.
Rocks flew through the air, hitting Natsu from all sides. He tried to smack them away and blew flames at some, but the bigger rocks struck him, pummeling him down. He stepped again, and the spiky ground tore at his feet.
Natsu blew fire at the ground until the soil melted and flattened. Then he crouched there until the barrage stopped. "Where are you, bastard?"
"Long distance fighter versus melee," the Earth Dragon Slayer said smugly. "I already win."
Slowly, the wind settled and the dust cleared. Balaur was high in the air, flapping his wings to keep him up. On the ground, Natsu was hunkered down with small slashes all over his face from the fierce dust, and a large gash sliced over his cheek from one of the rocks. His eyes were sharper, glaring scarlet in rage.
Balaur had a smug grin on his dark face. "Try your best, Fire." He spread his hands out to goad him. "Try to hit me."
Natsu growled, took a deep breath, and attempted to breathe fire. The flames flew hot but with no control, just a huge fireball that quickly dispersed. It did not even reach up to where Balaur hovered in the air.
"Pathetic," the dark feral sneered.
His hand stretched out, and as it did, fingers of stone lifted from the ground, wrapping around Natsu. The Fire Feral looked left and right in frantic confusion as the rocky hand lifted and the fingers curls inward.
"Earth Dragon's Stone Gauntlet." Balaur clenched his hand closed, and as he did the fingers of stone and dirt crunched around Natsu.
"No!" Lucy screamed. She tried to stand despite her injuries, but Gajeel plopped his heavy hand on top of her head, forcing Lucy to stay seated.
"Have some faith in that bastard," he told her sharply.
Balaur flew over and landed on top of the coffin of boulders. "Comfy, Fire?" He stomped twice on the rocks. "I could have crushed you to dust. I didn't. I want you to be alive when I fuck your girlie. I want you to watch her face as I pierce her." He leaned down toward the ball of stones and whispered into it, "She tastes really good. Warm inside. Wet. Moist field for my seed."
Gajeel stood directly in front of Lucy. "Like hell I'd allow that! My little shrimp would never forgive me if I let her best friend get raped."
Balaur turned to them. "You three. I've had enough of you. Hunting me. Tricking me. You are failures. You left the path of dragons, crushed the seed within you. So I will crush you. I will bury you! Your carcasses will fertilize the earth...like the shit you are."
Both of his hands raised, and rocky hands rumbled up out of the ground. One caught Gajeel, the other caught Sting and Rogue. Happy leaped from where he had been swept up on a finger of rock, and Pantherlily caught him.
"Gajeel!" Lucy screamed.
Gajeel's body became covered in metallic scales. "He's earth. He can't crush iron. Rogue, Sting!"
"A little stuck here," Sting yelled over. Rogue's foot was caught in a cluster of rocks. Sting was helping him to pull on it, trying to free him.
"Die," Balaur said coldly. "Earth Dragon's..."
Suddenly the fist he was standing on glowed molten hot. Balaur leaped off of it and took to the sky. An opening melted through the rocky gauntlet, searing flames shot out of the hole, and with them Natsu bolted up. His crimson wings spread, but it took some difficulty to stay airborne.
Natsu glared at the Earth Feral. "What did you say you'd do to Lucy?" he snarled. "Only I can fuck Lucy. She's mine! Stay the hell away. Kill you. Kill y-..."
He lost balance in flying and fumbled to land awkwardly back on the rock fist.
Sting laughed. "Idiot can't fly!"
Gajeel squinted as he looked at the trouble Natsu was having. "His wing is injured. The rocks tore part of the webbing. He's not used to flying anyway, and now he doesn't have balanced equilibrium."
Still, as soon as Natsu stabilized himself, he flew at Balaur and tried to engage him in hand-to-hand combat. The Earth Feral easily blocked his attacks and kept Natsu at bay with pelting rocks.
Gajeel climbed off his stone hand and walked over to the other. His fist turned to metal, and he punched the rock formation until it crumbled, freeing Rogue's boot. The Shadow Dragon Slayer could not put weight on that foot, so Sting held him up with his shoulder. Gajeel slapped Rogue's back, looking concerned by the injury.
"Just stubbed my toes a little," Rogue said lightly to Gajeel, trying to smile despite the injury. Gajeel could see that Rogue's ankle was also crushed. The Shadow Dragon Slayer tried to play it off, but his forehead was already starting to sweat from holding back the pain.
"Sit with Lucy," Gajeel ordered. Rogue opened his mouth to protest. "Sit, or I'm pounding you to the ground. Work out your ankle, see if it's broken, and tend to Lucy's wounds. She's still bleeding."
"But..."
"He's right, Rogue," Sting interrupted. "As your guild master, I'm ordering you to rest that ankle. If we need to fight, I need you to be capable."
Rogue bowed his head, honoring Sting's authority, and sat beside Lucy. "I'll tend your wound first."
Sting walked up to Gajeel and whispered softly. "What do we do if they go out of control?"
Gajeel frowned as this question matched his own worries. "I'd rather not kill either one."
"I know that, but we have to plan for it. It's a good possibility that both will become absorbed in their bloodlust and go wild. Natsu..." He glanced to where Rogue was unwrapping one of Lucy's impromptu bandages. Sting's brow crinkled as he realized she had her head angled to still be able to listen in on his conversation although her eyes were focused on Rogue. "Natsu might not return to normal," Sting whispered to Gajeel. "He's feral now. He's distracted with this fight, but once it's over, assuming he wins, he very well may attempt to hurt Lucy. If he loses...we know the Earth Dragon Slayer will harm Lucy. He wants to rape her, and I sure as hell am not going to allow that."
Gajeel's teeth clenched, but as Natsu and Balaur exchanged blows midair, he did not take his eyes off the fight. "You're saying we should be prepared to kill either one of them."
"Or both," Sting admitted reluctantly. "If they both get out of control, we may have no choice."
"Fairy Tail does not kill nakama!"
Sting looked at Gajeel steadily. "Is that beast out there really your nakama? He may have killed people, and he would kill again. Be realistic, Gajeel. He's feral. The Natsu you knew is..."
"Shut up!" Gajeel snapped. His narrow eyes sneered down at Sting's light blue gaze. "You shut the hell up! Natsu is going to win this. If he doesn't..."
"That Earth feral is ours," Sting said over him. "Rogue and I have been tracking him long enough. He's ours to deal with. But if it's Natsu who wins, and if he's truly a mindless, killing monster..."
"I'll deal with it," Gajeel growled. "That's what you're hinting at, isn't it? That I should be the one to deal with Natsu. And you're right. If anyone has to put that fire-bastard down, it'll be me. We're rivals, after all. If it comes to that, if we honestly have no choice, I'll be the one to end him."
He realized Lucy was looking up at him with an expression of horror. Gajeel tried to imagine if the tables were turned, if it was himself gone wild and Levy watching on, how would that shrimp feel? He figured she would bawl her eyes out. Such a crybaby! So he knew Lucy was a strong woman, just by how composed she was through this ordeal. He patted her on the head, just as he often did to Levy.
"I trust his strength," Gajeel assured her. "Natsu's a goddamn idiot, but he's strong, especially when protecting his friends." He gave a curt nod to Lucy, and he saw her face relax. Then Gajeel looked back to the blond dragon slayer. "He knows what's at stake, Sting. It's more than just who gets to fuck some girl." Lucy glared at him for putting it that crudely, and Gajeel realized he probably deserved the elbow in his kneecap from her. "That beast has made Laxus and Wendy suffer, he's killed people in Magnolia, he's attacked members of Fairy Tail—just look what he did to Lucy—and he'll kill the whole goddamn city if we can't stop him here and now. Natsu knows that." Gajeel looked back at the fight. Natsu had landed on the ground, nursing the injury to his wing, while Balaur had created a spire of rock jutting straight up and perched on it like a bird of prey, laughing at how useless Natsu's melee fighting skills were against him. "You can see the determination in his eyes. He knows what's at stake."
Back over on the island Balaur had created, Feral-Natsu was breathing hard. He had managed to fly up to Balaur's height and matched his speed, but his agility in flight was far weaker.
"Weak Fire," Balaur hissed in disapproval. "Hardly worth calling you Feral. I wonder if it will work."
"What work?" the pink feral growled.
"The ceremony to become dragon, killing another feral and absorbing all the magic. That's what Acnologia said to do."
"Acnologia stupid!"
"Acnologia is our king."
"Not my king. I am my own king. Even have crown."
Gajeel rubbed out his head as he remembered how Natsu had stolen the King of Fiore's crown. "Idiot."
Balaur's eyes narrowed in warning. "You should respect Acnologia, fear Acnologia...worship Acnologia."
"Fuck that! Only one dragon I respect. Igneel."
Balaur cocked his head to the side. "Fire dragon?"
"Our father," he grinned proudly. "There is something we understand that Slayers don't. We remember our dragon parent."
Balaur's eyes narrowed. "Terracia," he hissed in hatred.
Feral-Natsu nodded. "We remember all Igneel said, all Igneel taught. We remember things Slayer forgot. We remember...everything!" A wide, cunning smile rose onto his face. "We remember. But you? You must tap into Slayer. You must borrow his understanding of how magic flows. I not have to."
"Until you become a real dragon, you have to," Balaur protested.
"No. See, Lucy smart. Lucy said it before. I am Slayer. Slayer is me." The pupils of his red eyes flashed a hint of green, and for a second, his voice was normal again. "I am Natsu Dragneel." His hands lifted up to his mouth as he bellowed, "Fire Dragon's Roar!"
This time, the flames that shot out directed through his hands, with a large magic circle making the breath attack clear, direct, and allowing it to reach up to Balaur and beyond him. Balaur rose his arms in front of his face, and with them came a massive collection of rocks. They shielded Balaur from the attack. The flames kept coming, and the rocks began to glow white hot. However, the fire could not penetrate. Finally, Natsu stopped his flame and held his head in pain. Two personalities balancing one another was difficult.
"Natsu?"
The voice was no more than a worried whisper, but he heard it clearly. He looked over to where Lucy sat. He was relieved to see she was safe, and he managed a smile at her.
Lucy had no idea what to think anymore. That body, the red eyes, everything about the pink-haired creature in front of her was the feral, a monster that was a total nightmare, a beast that had claimed her, coveted her, and just yesterday it threatened to ravage her. However, that simple smile was all Natsu. The feral never smiled like that before. She realized he was still in there. Natsu was inside this thing, sharing his mind and body with the beast possessing him. As he had just said, Natsu was now both the Feral and the Slayer.
There was a loud roar, and what looked like a gleaming white comet flew forward. Feral-Natsu barely had enough time to dive out of the way. His flames had made the rocky armor around the Earth Dragon Slayer take on the appearance of magma.
"Fire...is...weaker!" Balaur screamed. "Earth Dragon's Lava Punch!"
His fist punched forward, and a stream of the molten rock shot out from his fist. Feral-Natsu leaped out of the way, but the blast hit his tail, burning a hole straight through it. He shrieked in agony as blood dripped out of the extra appendage. The fire feral fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
"Stupid tail," he snarled. Still, it was a part of his body and extremely sensitive. The pain was almost blinding, but he knew he had to fight. He shouted at himself, "Get up. Get up!"
A shadow loomed over him, making Natsu freeze. As he slowly turned his red eyes upward, he was met by yet another set of crimson eyes that gleamed amidst Balaur's dark face like some hellbeast. Feral-Natsu snarled, but he realized he was defenseless like this.
"You are weak. Not even fun. Die," Balaur ordered, and a glowing molten fist raised up to strike the fallen dragon slayer.
"No!" Sting bellowed. "White Dragon's Roar!"
Blinding light hit the feral and gave Natsu time to roll away.
Rogue cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted across the chasm. "Natsu! If you can, retract the tail and wings."
"How?" he sneered.
Rogue had no clue. He had never changed like that.
Gajeel knew the answer. "The best way to retract the appendages is to give the human side more control."
"Slayer is weak," the Fire Feral hissed.
"You'll bleed to death if you don't."
Feral-Natsu looked back to Balaur who was quickly recovering from the blinding distraction. "Fighting. Too busy."
Sting looked to Rogue. "How's the ankle?"
Rogue finished knotting a bandage around his boot. "I can fight."
"Good. Let's buy him time."
"Right," Rogue nodded. "Frosh!"
"Lector!"
Both Exceeds grabbed their partners and flew them over the chasm.
"Take it seriously, Sting," Rogue warned.
"I know that already. White Drive!"
"Shadow Drive!"
Light and darkness cloaked the twin dragon slayers.
Sting grinned at another chance to fight. "Let's go!"
Feral-Natsu crouched near the edge of the rock island. Give in to the human side? The feral side of him did not want to do that. It wanted control. It wanted freedom. However, the pain in his tail confused his mind too much. The shot was clean through and bleeding heavily.
But what might happen when the tail retracted. Would it heal? Would the injury become internal? These were the human side's fears, but the feral wanted to keep fighting; he could not do that with a hole in his tail.
"Don't be afraid, Slayer," he smiled to himself. "We will win. We will kill him."
« No, don't kill him. »
"I want to kill him. He hurt girlie."
« Lucy wants him alive. He's like us. He's tearing apart inside. You said you can save him. »
"Can make him whole. Can bring together what is two. Maybe whole is human. Maybe whole is dragon."
« We'll take the chance. »
"Is stupid choice, Slayer. Is better to kill."
« No. I don't want to kill anyone. Did you kill anyone while in control? »
"Maybe. Not sure. Lots hurt. Maybe dead, maybe alive."
« That's bad enough. I don't want anymore blood on my hands. »
"Lots of tasty animal blood."
« Shut up! That was you, not me. »
"That was us!"
« Well, now it's my turn to be in control. I always hated this damn tail. »
"Keep wings."
« But the wings are damaged, too. »
"Yes, but may need them. Can't fly. Little blue cat shouldn't be here."
Natsu looked to where Happy and Lucy stood across the gaping chasm. "Happy?"
The little Exceed's eyes widened. "Natsu. It's really Natsu."
Lucy looked down to him. "Are you sure?"
"That's Natsu now. He's in control."
Lucy wished dearly that this was true. "But his eyes are red."
"One is green."
Lucy looked and saw Happy was right. One eye was gleaming red, but the other was normal sage green, gazing at her and Happy with a face half in worry whether or not they were safe, half in determination to fight and protect them.
"Natsu," she whispered, happy to see he was not totally lost. Lucy cupped her hands around her mouth to shout. "Defeat him, Natsu! You can do it."
Natsu smiled. Hearing her cheer him on was all both sides of his mind needed. The feral loosened control. Natsu shut his eyes and concentrated. The tail retracted back into his body. It hurt, there was pain inside now, but he felt the wound vanishing. Then he looked to where White and Shadow were battling Earth. Sabertooth's elements were not suited for this fight. Natsu was unsure his element could defeat the Earth Dragon Slayer either. However, he had some advantages Balaur did not.
He was older, he had more time training with Igneel, and he had something to protect. That made him far stronger.
"Sting, Rogue!"
The two pulled back, shocked that it was not the hissing growls of the feral that called out to them, but Natsu's own voice.
"Thanks for covering for me," Natsu said with a nod of appreciation, "but this is my fight. Don't interfere. We're fighting over Lucy, so it's my fight alone."
Rogue disagreed, "We could defeat him easily if all four of us fight together."
"No. Protect Lucy. This is between us." Natsu glared at his opponent with green and red eyes. "It's a fight between ferals."
Sting gazed at him up and down. The smell was stronger than ever, although Natsu's voice was normal and sane again. "Are you really feral?" he asked in confusion.
"Yes," Natsu replied with a slight pout. "More than before. But I'm not like him."
Sting wondered what he meant. Maybe Natsu himself didn't know. "Are you dangerous?"
Natsu chuckling menacingly. "Oooooh yessssss!" The hiss was back, but only for a moment. "The beast in me...and the slayer in me...we're together in this." His eyes slid over to Sting. "So get off this island or the beast will fucking kill you."
That did not sound like Natsu. Sting backed off a step. The voice might sound like Natsu, but he was still a danger. He said so himself. Sting nodded to Rogue, and the two took off back to watch the fight.
Natsu walked forward to where the Earth Dragon Slayer tiredly flapped his broad, brown wings. "I hope those two didn't beat you up too badly."
Balaur was bleeding from a few lucky hits that had penetrated his tight defenses, but he did not look as badly injured as a person normally would be when facing two dragon slayers. "They are not even feral. They are shit."
"That shit just beat you up."
"I don't want them. I don't even want girlie anymore. All I want is you."
"Sorry, I don't swing that way," Natsu smirked arrogantly.
The feral snarled in annoyance. "I want your magic. Feral magic. Only you will make me into a dragon."
"You want it?" Natsu beckoned him tauntingly. "Come fight me and get it."
Balaur sneered at such a cocky attitude. He would end this arrogant and weak excuse for an opponent. "Earth Dragon's..."
"Too slow!"
Natsu leaped into the air. Without the weight of his tail, he moved faster, although he realized right away, he did not have a good ability to steer his direction. He did not need agility right now, though. Just speed.
The Earth Feral saw the speeding pink attacker and began to shift his magic from offense to defense. "Earth Dragon's Stonewall!"
However, before the rocks could come together to shield him, Natsu blasted past, using his massive black claws to swipe the bare torso of the Earth Feral. Balaur screamed as blood poured out.
"Yessss!" Natsu hissed with a feral growl to his words. He hovered midair and licked his fingers. "Blood tastes like shit. Earth Feral is shit."
Balaur spit on his hand. A little dust mixed in and created a poultice of mud that he slathered over the wound, stopping the bleeding. Then he snarled at Natsu. "Kill you."
"Try!" he mocked. "Fire Dragon's Claw!" Fire blasted from Natsu's feet, speeding him faster through the air. His fist stuck out firmly. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Flames cloaked his hand, and Natsu punched right through Balaur's rocky defenses. "And then...Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" The flames covered his head, and like a horn on a rhinoceros, he head-butted Balaur and blasted him into the sky.
The dark feral lost control, tumbled through the air, and spiraled to the ground. He landed badly on his left wing, and they all heard the crunch of bones. The fragile wing bones cracked and splintered, making the left wing droop uselessly.
Natsu slowed himself with back-flapping from his wings. "Another advantage I have is my best friend. I might not be used to my own wings, but years of flying with Happy taught me some neat tricks in aerial combat."
Happy leaped up and pumped his tiny blue fist into the air. "Aye, sir!" he cheered, jumping around excitedly. "Go, Natsu, go!"
Balaur slowly pushed himself up. His wing was useless. He breathed hard in agony from the crushed bones and torn webbing. His crimson eyes glared hatefully at his opponent just as Natsu delicately landed back on the island of rock and folded his scarlet and cerise wings in, tucking them away.
"Hate you," Balaur growled lowly, then he bared his teeth and screamed in rage, "Hate you!"
The dark feral inspected his opponent. Natsu's eyes were red with flickers of green. He had wings, although no tail. He walked firmly, not the loping gate of a beast, but the firm stride of a human. Rather than a scathing and snarling monster, he had a cocky smile and a swagger to his stance. Balaur sniffed deeply, but he still smelled the scent of a feral.
No...more than feral. It was stronger. Although his fighting style was purely that of a dragon slayer, Natsu's scent had gone beyond his own feral smell.
"What...are you?" he hissed warily.
Natsu's eyes narrowed. "I am closer to being a dragon than you will ever be."
Out of instinct, Balaur back down and crouched defensively. The move, done out of pure instinct, confused him. "No," he sneered. He forced himself to stand upright, not cower. "No! You are more human. Humans are weak. Only a dragon is strong."
Natsu scoffed softly at that. "Do you even know what a dragon is?"
"I know!" he sneered. "I've met Acnologia."
"So have I," Natsu stated.
"And Terracia!"
"And Igneel," Natsu added. "Have you ever fought a real dragon?"
Natsu took a few steps forward. Balaur crouched down again instinctively, and he sneered at how this half-human feral failure was affecting him. His subconscious instinct was to flee from this enemy, sensing it was too dangerous. Maybe not more powerful, but a different type of threat laid within Natsu's eyes. Balaur ignored those instincts, remained facing this enemy, and bared his teeth.
"I have," Natsu went on. "I've fought a few. And I've made friends with them." He glared at the crouching feral. "You don't know what a real dragon is like."
That declaration angered Balaur, and the ground began to shake with his shivering emotions. "Terracia..."
Natsu shouted over him. "How old were you when Terracia vanished?"
The ground shook harder and began to splinter. The rocky island swayed unsteadily. Where the others stood, the ground cracked. Frosh almost fell into a new crack, crying out as the ground opened under him. Lucy grabbed him and hoisted him into her lap. Rogue leaped over the crack in the ground, but his ankle gave way. He collapsed beside Lucy, ignored his own pain, and petted Frosh's head in worry.
"Frosh, are you okay?"
The froggy Exceed snuggled into Lucy's bosom. "Fro likes it here."
Sting shook his head at the adorable perviness. "Lucky frog."
Rogue glared up. "He's a cat!"
Pantherlily corrected them both, "He's an Exceed." Then he grabbed Frosh off of Lucy's breasts by the scruff of his frog outfit, held him up to eye level, and in a deep voice scolded, "Act like one."
"Fro will. Sowwy."
As the ground continued to fracture, Balaur grabbed his head and howled in rage. Memories of his human childhood wanted to come up, and he tried to thrust them down.
"Yes," Natsu said calmly. "Get angry. Think of the past. Be mad at your parent for leaving, and mad at yourself for not finding them yet. I know those feelings, too. But remember them. Remember your time with Terracia."
"No!"
"Then fight me. Fight me as a dragon, not as a human who wants to become a dragon. If you're that desperate for power, then you'll never find it. You, who barely remembers your own dragon parent, who has never fought a real dragon, who was told a bunch of lies from a dragon slayer...who failed!"
That infuriated Balaur. "Acnologia did not fail! Acnologia is king."
"He's a failure as a dragon slayer," Natsu declared in disgust. "Dragon slayers were created to protect humans, not kill them. You and I have hurt humans. You've killed them. I might have. Neither one of us deserves the honor of becoming a dragon. But you—you who seeks that path through bloodshed, just like Acnologia did—you don't belong on the path of dragons. I won't let a monster like you have that power!"
Balaur was on his hands and knees, but he glared up in anger. "It's the path of a feral, why dragon slayers were created, to become dragons..."
"Wrong! You listened to the words of a dragon slayer who failed the path of humanity. You've forgotten everything your own dragon taught you. Didn't I say it before? One advantage we ferals have over our human slayer is that we remember everything about our dragon. Think back to the parent who raised you."
"No! Hate her! Wanna kill her! Am feral. Am stronger."
"Stronger?" Natsu raised his hand and set it on fire. "Yes, you mentioned about feral magic. I sensed just dragon slayer magic at first, but now that I'm in my right mind, I sense a special feral magic under it. It's not the sort of power you think it is."
"Is stronger!"
"Physically, we may be stronger. No, physically I could kick the butts of all three of those idiots," he said, nodding over to the trio guarding Lucy.
Gajeel pounded his fist into his hand. "Wanna try it, Salamander?"
"The magic, though..." Natsu went on.
Sting chuckled. "He's ignoring you, Gajeel. He totally brushed you off."
Gajeel glared. "I'm kicking his ass when we're done here."
"...The magic!" Natsu looked at his burning hand in wonder as his scarlet and sage eyes reflected the flames. "This is what the beast meant: to bring together what is two. To weld them together. If you want to weld two things together..." A sly smile crept up. "...you need a really hot flame, hotter than a dragon slayer can make. A flame only someone with the magic of a feral can create...a flame only the son of Igneel can ignite."
Fire burst out, engulfing the solitary island of rock. Lucy shielded her face from the heat, Sting and Rogue backed up a step, and Gajeel quickly formed a blastshield of iron to block the searing burn from hurting their small group.
"Pointless," Balaur yelled from amidst the flames. "Fire does not scorch Earth. Fire can melt rock, but molten earth still exists. Fire makes me stronger," he gloated.
"I'm done fighting you," Natsu declared. "Now it's time to save you. Okay, beasty. Let's try your idea. Guys," he shouted to the others across the chasm. "This is going to be embarrassing. I might end up naked. Don't watch, okay?"
Lucy stood with pain and limped to the metal shield Gajeel erected. "What is he doing?"
Gajeel scoffed softly, "Hopefully winning."
A roar suddenly shuddered the ground. All of them widened their eyes at the booming voice.
Sting grinned with excitement. "That sounds like a..." He peeked around the blastshield, but his smile faltered. "What...the...hell?"
Lucy edged to the rim of the shield. "What's going on?"
"Careful!" Gajeel warned. "That heat is intense."
"But Natsu..." She peeked around the edge.
Lucy could not really see what was going on. The flames filled the entire island, soaring a hundred meters into the sky, smoking and making the air all around them shimmer with scalding heat. She felt her skin burn just peeking around for a few seconds. Any longer, and she knew she would have ended up with blisters on her cheeks. The quick scene she saw was confusing.
"What...what happened to him?" she whispered in horror.
Balaur glowed molten amidst the furnace of raging flames, but he backed away at the looming shadow in front of him. "No. Impossible. How are you like this?"
Natsu's voice answered, "Dragons fly. Flying involves balance. If you can't find balance, you can't soar."
"No!" Balaur screamed amidst the burning flames. "This..." He looked at Natsu longingly, and his eyes softened. "This is what I want. Acnologia said that the only way to reach it was by beating another feral. So how are you like this?"
"Easy," Natsu replied. "Because you're already defeated. Happy?"
"Aye, sir!"
"Take Lucy back three hundred paces. Same with all of you. Hurry! I'm not really sure how this will work."
Balaur turned to them. "No! Girlie is mine."
Before he could give chase, the shadow amidst those flames smacked him to the ground. "Keep your hands off her, bastard. Happy, go!"
Happy grabbed Lucy and flew her away. The other Exceeds also grabbed their dragon slayers and moved them to a safer spot. Now at a distance, Lucy could gaze into the mass of flames safely. Still, as she tried to look for Natsu, she could not see his familiar silhouette. Instead, it was as if Balaur stood facing a smallish dragon.
"Natsu?" she wondered, feeling a chill run down her arms.
Sting watched with his mouth dropped. "He's...a...a dragon? Natsu?"
Rogue looked to Gajeel for an explanation, but the Iron Dragon Slayer had none. Instead, glaring in confusion, Gajeel muttered, "What the fuck is going on?"
Happy grinned happily. "Natsu's a real dragon," he said with a sense of pride.
Lucy collapsed again, covering her mouth to keep herself from screaming as she looked at that silhouette amidst the flames. Was he really a dragon? Could he ever come back again? Had she completely lost him? Would he vanish, like all the other dragons had vanished? A myriad of worries flooded her mind as she looked at the reptilian form amidst those flames.
Natsu shouted over the roar of intense fire. "I judge you now, Earth Dragon Slayer. As the son of the Flame Dragon King, Igneel, I banish you from the path of dragons and bring you back to the path of humanity." The flames tripled and turned from red and yellow to intense blue and searing white. "May your sins as a feral be purged."
There was a gleaming white explosion on the island. Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue all used their magic to shield their group as intense heat blasted across the land. Lucy hugged Happy and Frosh to her, Pantherlily shielded Lector, who was closest, and they hunkered down as the flames from Natsu scorched the earth around them.

End of Chapter 32
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Beastly Possession