Previously:      "Get a Move on Child, the Food will get Cold! Just because I'm old, doesn't mean I'm deaf! That chair shrieks like a dying mouse, and I don't hear that old thing shrieking!" Natsu chuckled. He pushed the chair forward and realised she was right, the chair really did shriek like a dying mouse. But how could a normal human hear something so high pitched? Oh well, she was being nice, so he didn't really mind.

        Natsu rolled the wheelchair down the hall to the bathroom, finding the door handle to be just the right height for him. Had Mistral fitted all the door handles to fit her short stature? he opened the door, rolled into the room, twisting awkwardly in the chair to close the door behind him. Once the door had shut, Natsu glanced around the bathroom, taking in the features. Were Kody and Mistral used to disabled guests or something? This whole bathroom had been kitted out to suit wheelchair users, from the walk in bath to the lowered sink and handrails surrounding the whole room.

        Natsu struggled out of his chair and did his business, somehow pushing the chair away from him so he couldn't reach it, mentally slapping himself for not putting the brake on. He cursed, only to Hear the old Lady screeching at him from outside not to cuss in her house. Seriously what was with her hearing? Was she a dragon slayer or something?

    Outside, Mistral was sat on an ornately carved stone bench. The back of the bench resembled the curving spine of a dragon, and one armrest was the tail, the other the head. The four legs of the bench were the Dragon's legs, and the seat was carved to look like piles of coins and gems. The old lady was reminiscing about her past, remembering the first time she'd made a friend....

(FLASHBACK)

    The young girl wandered through the darkening woods, not caring about getting lost. Dark twin pony tails bobbed on her head as she bounced along, humming cheerfully. Golden eyes took in the trees, bushes and moss surrounding her, noting the reddening of the sky as the sun set. She grunted, picking a few rowan-berries to satisfy her hunger, before grabbing a huge armful of moss and heading back the way she came. Little did she know someone was watching her.

     The pair of topaz eyes watched the little girl -she couldn't be more than five- as the child gathered the moss. Curious ears picked up the youngster's cheerful humming as she munched on the rowan-berries she'd picked earlier and an inquisitive nose picked up the strong scent of the forest surrounding the child. This human hadn't been around other humans for a long time. There wasn't even a faint whiff of people on her. She smelt wild.

      The girl returned to her little shelter, underneath a cluster of tree roots that arched to form a natural cave. Spreading out the moss, she settled down on her little nest, peering out with curiosity into the dusk. If she was lucky, the deer herd would be by again, and maybe the fawns would Let her pet them, before prancing away on their stilt like legs.

     Topaz eyes watched the girl as she settled down for the evening, curling into the moss like a wild thing. The creature had been watching this girl for a few moons now, wondering if she was really alone, or if the child had simply gotten lost. Tonight, despite being ultimately cautious and wary, curiosity won over the creature, who stepped from it's hiding place, making itself fully visible to the little girl.

      The little girl saw the rippling of the leaves, rather than the creature itself, at first. Then, as her eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom, she made out the sleek shape of something even she knew about, but had never believed. Maybe it was some memory from before she'd lived wild, but the little girl knew instantly that this beautiful, sleek leaf-green creature was in fact a species thought of be long extinct. Golden eyes met Topaz, but the girl was not afraid. If Giant Wolves, Gorians and Vulcans didn't scare her, why would a dragon?

     Topaz eyes watched cautiously, as the little golden eyed girl reaches out a soft hand, her soft voice asking permission before actually touching the leaf-green scales. A purr escaped from the small dragon, a smile spreading on the little girl's face. The dragon gently nuzzled the child, and the child hugged the creature back. Both knew they had made a new friend....

(FLASHBACK ENDS)

       Mistral sighed, wondering how Azalea was doing. It had been nearly fifty years since her dragon had fled, but the old girl still held onto the hope that someday, when the time was right, Azalea would come back to her, and never be parted from her again. She heard the high pitched shriek of the old wheelchair as the Demon-boy moved about. She wondered if the boy had realised hearing that shrieking wheel wasn't normal for a human. After all, she wasn't normal. She heard a thump and a curse from the demon-boy, so she yelled to him to stop cussing in her house. She them pursed her lips and whistled, a shrill, farmers whistle that had a neighbouring sheepdog barking in a frenzy.

      Natsu moaned in frustration as he laid in a heap on the floor, unable to get up, and unable to get into his chair. Soft clumping footsteps announced the arrival of the dark haired man, who politely knocked before entering. Kody, on seeing the indignant heap on the floor, chuckled softly. Natsu glared at him, grumbling about faulty brakes and headache inducing squeaky wheels. Luckily, Natsu had already covered himself and was decent.

     "Here, let's get you up." Kody offered, lifting the younger man up with far less ease than Mistral, who had to be at least twice Kody's age. (And probably three times her height). Once in the chair, Natsu swung it around and wheeled out of the bathroom, heading towards the delicious scent of fried bacon and scrambled eggs. He was hungry. Once breakfast was done, Natsu realised no one else was in the house. Where were they?

     He wheeled his chair outside, spotting The elderly Mistral sat on a stone bench carved to look like a dragon, though not a kind Natsu was familiar with. He headed over to her, about to greet her cheerfully when he saw a silent tear roll down her wrinkled cheek. He halted his chair, uncertain if he should interrupt. It looked like the old girl wanted to be alone.

     Mistral heard the boy approach, but didn't mind. She could do with a bit of company. Young Kody wasn't really the sort of person she could talk to about Azalea, and she felt like at least someone should know. After all, being friends with a dragon these days was considered impossible. After all, the beasts were extinct. She lifted her head and smiled sadly at the young Dragon Slayer, beckoning him over. Natsu nodded, wheeling his chair closer until he was beside the bench.

     "I see you like the Bench, child." She commented, observing the boy's facial expression. Did he recognise the species? Had he even heard of it? Natsu nodded.

    "I've seen fire, sky, shadow, white, iron, jade, earth and water dragons, hell, I've even met achnologia, but I've never seen one like this before." Natsu commented, hoping for an explanation to the strange shape of the statue. It was sleek, thin and muscular, and from the body proportions, it couldn't have been bigger than a large horse in real life, so a really really small dragon. Mistral smiled fondly, running her wizened hand over the stone carving's head gently.

    "I'm not really surprised. Forest dragons were really rare, even during Igneel's time." She commented, earning a panicked glance from the disabled boy, before she reassured him that Kody could not hear them. "Most dragons went extinct about three hundred years ago, but a few, like the sky, iron, shadow, white and fire dragons, only died out a few years ago. The black dragon acnologia survived too." The old lady told Natsu happily, Natsu noticing how animated she got when taking about his favourite animal.

     "How do you know so much about dragons, Mistral?" Natsu asked, curious. Had she read an ancient book or something? Maybe she'd even seen a dragon? But no, that was impossible, there weren't any dragons left. Were there?

      "I lived wild in the forest for a short spell, child. I used to watch deer and hares prance about in the evening. I met a forest dragon. I don't know who was more startled at being seen, me, or her. That's who the bench carving is based on, my friend Azalea. She was such a shy thing, always fleeing if she though she'd be seen. She taught me magic, and I taught her to be bold, like how I used to think she should be." Mistral chuckled, remembering the first time she'd used her Forest Dragon Roar. That part of the forest was still recovering, even eighty years on.

    "Wait... So you're a dragon slayer? But I thought there were only five of us sent through the gate thingy." Natsu exclaimed, mildly shocked when Mistral chuckled and shook her head.

     "It's true I know Forest Dragon Slayer Magic, But I wasn't born four hundred years ago like you, yokai." She chuckled, explaining that yokai meant demon in her native tongue. "Azalea was a very special dragon, she was the queen of the forest dragons, and now I think about it, probably the last of them too." Mistral spoke in a soft, distant voice. Natsu could see the fond memories flash across her face, as if she was reliving all the fun she and her dragon had had in the past.

     "Where..... where is Azalea now?" Natsu asked cautiously, fearing the answer would be the same fate as Igneel, Metallicana and Grandeeney. Mistral saw the hesitation in the young man's face, and smiled reassuringly.

     "Azalea? She's still out there, somewhere. She left me to protect something she called the Dragon's Heart, whatever that is. I wonder sometimes if she'll ever come back, or if I'm just an old fool thinking wistfully." Mistral voice wavered, cracked with age but still strong.

      "Did... did you say The Dragon's Heart? But that... it's a... I was always told by my dragon, Igneel, that The Dragon's Heart was a myth, even back when I was a kid.." Natsu trailed off, realising that in a world filled with magic, demons, monsters and talking flying cats, anything was possible. And hadn't Igneel told him that legend and myth often stemmed from some obscure truth? Could the legendary Dragon's Heart be real then? After all, friendly dragons had been a myth once too...

   "You've heard of The Dragon's Heart child?" Mistral asked, wondering if the young demon-boy knew any more than she did,that is to say, did END know what is was?

     "I was always told it was the place where dragons kept their... their...." Natsu trailed off, clutching his bandaged arm suddenly. It was agony all of a sudden, as if the Golden Fire had lit itself once again. Mistral watched with growing concern as the young man began to whimper like a snow leopard with a thorn in its paw. An unusual magical presence appeared, seemingly stemming from the bandaged arm. Mistral recognised that spell, she'd once seen a middle aged ice devil slayer use a similar spell on a Demon.

     "Child, where did you get that injury?. Mistral asked, Natsu explaining, between groans of pain and thoughts of why on earthland was he trusting this strange old woman, about being burned by a golden flame. Mistral leaped up, screeching for Kody suddenly, a hazy aura of magic surrounding her. It was the same spell that devil slayer had used. A spell to disable curses and track a demon until it died. She could only guess that the reason the child hadn't been found yet was because he wasn't a full demon, because his human side dulled the effects.

       Kody appeared, but Natsu wasn't really aware of it, the pain was getting too much, and it was spreading through him, not just his arm anymore. He wasn't sure if he was actually screaming, but it felt like he was,only he couldn't hear his voice. The world faded around him as the pain overtook all his senses, a wave of comforting darkness taking him into unconsciousness and out of his pain.

     Mistral could see the young Demon's pain, sense his fading consciousness, and reacted fast. The boy began screaming, a high, dragon like keen that was hard for the human ear to detect, but easy for a slayer or animal to pick up. Whoever had set that trap of golden flame for this boy would surely hear the pained keening, and likely be able to track his location just from the cry. This was one of the many times she wished Azalea hadn't left her, if only so the forest Dragon could help protect this young demon boy.

      Although it had been many years since Mistral had used her Dragon Slayer magic, the elderly wizard summoned up enough energy easily. Kody had just arrived at The young man's side, but he backed away respectfully as he sensed the terrible power radiating off his older friend. Kody would look back on this, even when he was old and grey, and Mistral knew this. After all, he didn't know she was a Dragon Slayer, only that she used plant magic, which was useful when she owned a smallholding.

     "Forest Dragon's cleansing mist..." she murmured, so quietly, Kody couldn't hear. Natsu would have heard, only he was currently unconscious. Kody blinked as a deep blue mist enveloped both the young man and Mistral, so thick was that mist, he could not see them. But he could sense something, a magical aura to the mist, and when it finally cleared, the Dragon Slayer was no longer writhing in pain. Kody opened his mouth to demand an explanation; he knew the old girl was a healer, but not a magical one. And this was no type of plant magic he'd ever seen before.

  Before Kody could speak however, a black glittering arrow shot towards her and Salamander, arcing through the air like a black bolt. He could only stand there in terror as he watched the arrow fly towards his friend and their patient. He knew Mistral was too old and slow to dodge that arrow, heck, he'd lived with her long enough to know how slow she was. So it came as a huge shock when she simply lifted up her arm and caught the bolt in her left hand in a swift movement that made a thunderbolt look slow.

    "SHOW YOURSELVES CHILDREN!' Mistral bellowed, startling The fire dragon awake. "I may be old, but I'm not stupid. I can smell you!" Natsu blinked. Mistral's eyes had changed from calm hazel to fiery golden and a dangerous aura surrounded her. He wasn't quite with it yet, having just recovered from such pain, but he could smell at least two people, one of whom smelt familiar. He managed to sit up, but his legs felt like lead. He still couldn't use them.

         A tiny black haired man with dark skin appeared, two taller female mages behind him. He glared at Kody, who glared back defiantly, and then turned his attention to Mistral and the boy currently on the floor. He assessed their threat levels, deeming the elderly woman to be of little threat, and the older man to be of no threat, as he sensed no magic from him. The boy on the ground, however, was a different kettle of fish. He radiated an aura of intense magical energy, one that had the man and his two friends shivering. There was something odd about this boy, but the trail left by the demon END had gone cold. Either the monster was dead, or he'd somehow cleansed himself of the golden blaze. Of course, only demons could get afflicted with the golden blaze, so any human was perfectly safe, unless of course they had devil or dragon slayer magic in them.

     "Where is it, you old witch?" The short man demanded, earning a furious glare from Mistral.

   "Where's what?" She asked, her voice startling Natsu and Kody. She sounded frail and weak all of a sudden, was this an act?

    "You know damned well what we're after. Where's END?"

      "What's an END? You youngsters should learn to speak properly, is this some kind of slang word or something?"

    "JUST TELL ME WHERE HE IS!" He screamed, certain that the senile old bat was hiding something. And that boy... the pink hair reminded him of someone..... come to think of it, didn't that fire dragon boy from fairy tail have pink hair? The pink haired boy spoke up suddenly, a dangerous look in his eye.

     "Why don't you ask fairy tail? It was one of you three that killed one of their S-class mages to bait Him, right?" Natsu growled, struggling to sit up taller. The man noticed the awkward angle of the boy's torso and the haphazard way his legs were splayed on the ground suddenly, and laughed.

    "You're awfully cocky for someone who can't even walk. Now tell me where that Demon is, before I begin killing the villagers." His eyes narrowed, glaring at the young man on the floor, and not paying attention to his surroundings. If he had been, he would have noticed the thick wall of briars now surrounding them, and the ivy creeping up his two assistants' legs. As it was, he was too enraged to notice, and it wasn't until Mistral chuckled that he noticed.

     "Wait... WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! You witch, what have you done?"

     "Me? I'm protecting my friend, that what I'm doing. This boy here..." she started, pointing to Natsu, "is the son of an old friend of my Mother, so I swear, if you lay a single hand on anyone, the villagers or otherwise, you'll regret the day you were born." Mistral's golden eyes blazed with power, an angry animalistic growl tearing through her. The ring of thorny briars created a space big enough to fight in, but secure enough to prevent anyone escaping.

"You trespass on my land, child. You dare attack my friend, child. Then you claim I am harbouring a demon. I may be an old, old witch my child, but I am not weak. And don't you dare underestimate this boy's power, either. Just because one of your opponents is an old hag, and the other is a cripple boy ...no offence child... does not mean we are weak. Now, you either fight us, or give up. Which shall it be, child?" Each word was hissed out in an angry, reptilian manner, tiny swirls of green and brown escaping the elderly Dragon Slayer's mouth as she spoke.

Natsu assured her that he had not taken offence, and smiled when she included him in the conversation. She was expecting to fight by his side. Not since before his.... accident had anyone but Gray expected him to use magic at all, let alone fight. Don't get me wrong, Lucy was just as loving, but she couldn't help but be a bit overprotective of him, and she blamed her natural maternal instincts for smothering him so much. (Or so she said, Natsu was positive she just liked to baby him and tease him.)to be honest, he wasn't even sure he could use his magic properly anymore.

The three dark wizards faced off Mistral and Natsu... (Mistral had released the two lackeys from their thorny bindings.) ...the leader could sense an odd magical presence, like a Dragon Slayer maybe, from the old lady, but the boy.... he couldn't sense any magic at all. So was shocked to see the boy dissolve, Literally dissolve into another form. Was this boy a takeover Mage then? No, that wasn't it, there was no magical energy radiating from him.

"Forest dragon's Roar." Mistral screeched, her old voice suddenly sounding much younger. Natsu's Etherious wings flailed behind him as he tried to get up. The tiny man sent a pulse of golden flame towards Mistral, who deflected it back at him with ease. The two femal wizards sent similar pulses of flame toward her, only this time, the flames were regular orange coloured.

     Natsu watched with growing concern as the two balls of flame hit the elderly Dragon Slayer square in the chest, knocking her back several steps, almost to the edge of the prickly wall surrounding them. The older dragon slayer just grinned, and, much to Natsu's shock, said a phrase that he, Gajeel and Igneel used.

     "I'm all fired up...." a dangerous amount of magical energy surrounded the dragon slayer, only for the energy to fizzle out suddenly, as if it had been drained by some dark magic. Fire blazed in Natsu's eyes, and his wings beat furiously and tail whipped about angrily as he struggled to stand using just his fragile wings and wiry tail.

      There was no way the three dark wizards could see it coming. One moment there was just an old woman and a crippled takeover Mage before them, next there were several.... creatures between them and their victims. The tallest of the creatures looked like a man, with a horses outfit, whilst the smallest looked like a pair of blue imps. All in all, six zodiac celestial spirits stood there, forming a blockade, protecting Natsu and Mistral. The two female lackeys looked about in shock, turning all around before glancing at the cripple boy again. Narrow green eyes glare at them tauntingly.

     "You really shouldn't mess with me." Natsu chuckled, flashing a twisted, darker version of his famous fanged smile. "After all, going up against a Demon with Multiple magic and curses is a stupid idea. Even for an idiot like me..." the tiny man screeched angrily in response.

      ...I KNEW IT. THE OLD HAG WAS HIDING YOU. MONSTER! DIE!" A blast of concentrated golden flame shot towards Natsu, but a ginger haired man steeped between him and the shot. The leader of the dark trio stared in shock as the man took the shot without even flinching, as if it had been nothing. That.... that was impossible. Only celestial spirits were not effected by his magic, but this ginger haired man was just that. A man. Or so he thought, until the ginger muttered in a just audible voice. Regulus impact.

   ......................................................

     (Back at the guild, shortly before Natsu's fight.)

         Lucy sat in relative silence, poking half heartedly at a slice of cake in a way that would have Erza raging about cake desecration if she hadn't been out on a job. Gray was in the infirmary with juvia, who had agreed to act as his girlfriend until He was ready to come out to the guild. Lucy was grateful to Juvia. When she'd found out (purely by accident) about Gray, Natsu and Lucy, she'd been shockingly understanding, and had protected their little secret dutifully. The rain woman claimed that as long as Gray was happy, she was too.

     Some of the older mages were curious as to why Gray had hidden himself in the infirmary, but a very angry axe wielding bull summoned by Lucy prevented anyone from prying too much. That didn't mean to say everyone wasn't curious though. Juvia was in there with the ice make Mage, and some of the more... ah... experienced members of the guild fleetingly wondered if Gray had gotten Juvia pregnant. But then, why hadn't Porlyusica been called? Lucy chuckled at hearing those speculations. She could just imagine the guilds reaction when the found out.... and she dreaded it.

       "LUCY!" Juvia's scream startled everyone, even the bizarrely sober Cana, who had passed out by the bar, a teacup in her hand. Everyone but Happy (who was out searching for Natsu) looked towards Lucy, wondering what the blonde had done to make Juvia scream like that. Was it a good or bad thing the guild wasn't flooded yet?

      Lucy smiled amicably to those giving her funny looks, before hurrying upstairs to the infirmary. Just as she reached out to open the door, Lucy felt a steep drain on her magic. Natsu must have summoned one or other of her spirits. She pushed open the door, only to see something she knew the others shouldn't see.

        Gray lay in agony, uncontrollable tears streaming down his face. For a start, it was far too soon, and for another, how the frigging hell did women go through this? The pain was almost... no worse... than when urtear unlocked his second origin. Don't get me wrong, Gray was more than accustomed to pain, years fighting with a kid who frequently set himself on fire and a Witch with an adamantine fist kinda guaranteed that, it was just.... almost too much. He was vaguely aware of Juvia shouting for someone, but he really couldn't focus all that well. It hurt too much.

     Another presence beside him. Who? He turned his head, the tears obscuring his vision, but he could make out a blonde blob. Lucy. His Lucy. He felt her warm hand pick up his colder one, and heard her soft voice. Another bolt of pain tore through him, and this time, unlike the other five, he screamed. He screamed so loudly, that the whole guild heard, jet racing off to get Porlyusica and Wendy sprinting up the stars towards the infirmary.