~The Color Yellow~

Song; Bleeding Out

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Natsu glared at Mard Geer from where he stood feet away. The outline of his scales moved underneath his cheeks as he pulled his lips into a snarl. He took a step forward and continued forth toward Mard Geer who waited for him.

Soft desperate mutters caressed Natsu's ears and he glanced to the side.

His heart stopped.

Rouge was holding the still form of Sting close to his chest. His head was bent as he murmured to his partner. Rouge's voice was overflowing with sorrow and he was using a voice that quivered brokenly. Natsu clenched his jaw to stop a soft cry from escaping. Sting couldn't be...no...there was no way...

"Do not look so sad."

Natsu's eyes flashed to Mard Geer who looked indifferent. "It's a useless emotion to feel along with the others." He flicked his wrist in the air, "One life among so many does not create so much as a ripple in the sea of the thousands of others."

Natsu's jaw quivered with anger and his eyes flashed dangerously. "It may not affect many." He muttered lowly. "But if one life that is lost affects even one person... Then that shows that that one life meant something to someone else!" Natsu growled, his flames flaring up to back up his words.

"You hurt Sting!" He snarled, bashing his foot into the earth as he took a powerful step forward. "You made Rouge sad!" Natsu said darkly. "You're gonna pay for that!" Natsu kicked off the ground and came flying toward the Underworld King. "Mard Geer!"

Natsu's fist came down hard and the Demon Lord lifted up his hand to catch the Dragon's balled up hand. The ground beneath Mard Geer cracked as he pushed the Dragon Slayer back. Natsu came crashing down to the ground and skidded. He dug his talons deep into the ground to stop his decent. A cloud of dust attacked the air and took Natsu away from Mard Geer's vision.

The Demon Lord stood still as he allowed his eyes to search the area, keeping a sharp eye out for anything moving. Silence fell upon the battlefield as he searched for the hidden Dragon. Mard Geer could feel eyes burning into him from all sides.

"Where are you, Dragon?" He asked lightly. There was no reply. The dust curled around his feet and blocked out the moon's light. Wait, not the dust... Mard Geer jerked his head up. Natsu was the one who took the light away. He was falling from the sky with the moon at his back. Natsu cocked back his arm and let his fist fly with a low growl.

Mard Geer leaped back just in time to escape the blow that would have killed a person. Natsu straightened and continued to attack. He dealt out a series of powerful blows that Mard Geer dodged all too easily. Natsu let out a growl of frustration and leaped off the ground. He spun in the air, brought up his leg, and sent a spinning kick Mard Geer's way. The Demon Lord blocked the kick with his arm, pushing Natsu back.

The Dragon landed smoothly on his feet, however when he tried to get up from his crouch, he staggered. His hand flashed to his ruined side where Jackal had ripped into him. Blood spilled between his fingers as he took a deep breath.

Then the Underworld King was there.

Natsu's eyes narrowed as he tried to dash away. Mard Geer was too quick for him. The Demon Lord kneed Natsu right in his horrible wound. The Dragon reared back with a grunt of pain. Natsu's head cracked to the side when Mard Geer clocked him hard in the jaw. Natsu was sent through the air and came crashing back down. His back struck the ground and the breath was stolen from his lungs.

Natsu coughed and struggled to regain his surroundings. He planted his hands into the ground and pushed himself to his elbows which shook terribly. Natsu's cheek hit the ground when Mard Geer stomped his face into the dirt. The Demon Lord smashed the heel of his foot into the back of his opponent's head again and again.

Natsu sucked in a painful gasp as Mard Geer slammed the palm of his hand into Natsu's back. The blow could have been powerful enough to snap his spine in half. But Mard Geer had held back. A flash of understanding sparked in Natsu's agony filled mind.

The Underworld King was playing with him.

Like a cat would do to a mouse it was about to eat.
Natsu balled his fists into the dirt as his body continued to take a beating. Before he could do anything in retaliation, Mard Geer smashed his foot into Natsu's skull, sending him rolling across the hard earth. Blood slipped down his temple and trailed down into his eye, turning the whole world red. Natsu choked as Mard Geer buried his foot into his chest, crushing his lungs.

Natsu's vision began to fade as did his fire that was flickering out. Shit, he'd used up too much of his Magic when he'd dealt with Jackal. Mard Geer's blows and the impact that came after were staggering. The agony that the Demon Lord was giving him was enough to shut down Natsu's system.

He was in so much pain. He was so exhausted... The darkness that greeted him when his eyes finally closed was warm and comforting. The pain all began to fade away like it had never happened. Natsu knew he was going into shock. His body had finally given up its will to fight. But that did not mean his mind had.

His mind was screaming at him to get up! To fight! To win! To not give up!

No...Natsu thought numbly. That's not my thoughts...

N...!

The voice that had invaded his mind was waking him up.

Nat...

The darkness seemed to recoil away from the voice.

Natsu!

The darkness let go and Natsu's eyes snapped open.

The world came crashing down around him in a flash of color.
Yellow...
The world was bathed in sunshine yellow.
Why hadn't Natsu ever noticed how beautiful that color was? It was everywhere he looked. Whether it be the sun's rays, the swaying flowers, or...

"Lu...cy..."

Chocolate colored eyes welled with tears and those tears spilled over. Sparkling little droplets slipped down her cheeks and a glistening tear splashed onto Natsu's blood stained cheek. A sad laugh weighed down with sorrow met Natsu's ringing ears.

"Hey, Dragon," she whispered softly. "Welcome back." Lucy ghosted her fingers down his cheek, brushing away her tear. Natsu's hazy eyes flicked behind her and his voice was croaky when he asked. "W-where's...Mard...?" Lucy shook her head as more tears fell.

"Do not worry," she said, curling her fingers into his hair. "It's okay. I have to get you out of here, okay? Just stay with me." Her voice cracked as the sound of hissing and annoyed cursing flowed into Natsu's ears. "W-what's...?" Natsu couldn't finish his sentence when Lucy wrapped her arms around his middle. She began to try and drag him away.

Only she collapsed with a cry of pain, her hand hovering over her wounded leg. She hit the dirt with a balled up fist in frustration. Lucy couldn't get Natsu out of here. Not with her leg like this. She couldn't...couldn't protect him! Useless!

Lucy whipped her head behind her shoulder when she heard a yowl of pain that was abruptly cut off. A small bundle of blue fur fell from the air. White wings, heavy with blood, hung at an odd angle. Little, shredded feathers fluttered delicately down to the dirt. Happy's little body crashed to the ground as Mard Geer lowered his blood stained hand.

Lucy's heart was slowly being crushed.

She could not breath.

With a silent scream Lucy pushed herself off the ground and put all of her weight on her good foot. She reached uselessly for the the Exceed that seemed a thousand miles away from her grasping hands.

"H-Happy?" Natsu's soft, gruff question made the tears in Lucy's puffy red eyes stream down her cheeks. With the last of his strength Natsu pushed himself up to a sitting position in response to his kitten's voice.

"Buddy?"

The whole world collapsed around Natsu when he saw blood trickle down an incline in the dirt. The little drops of crimson formed a puddle beneath the fallen form of a small, blue kitten...

Natsu's bellow of agony echoed throughout the whole battlefield.

"HAPPY!"

Natsu scrambled and crawled through the dirt to collapse beside his fallen Exceed. With shaking hands and tears clouding his vision, he picked up the limp kitten, and held him close to his aching chest.

"Happy...?" Natsu whimpered, ghosting his fingers across his kitten's matted fur. "W-wake up..." His voice cracked as he lightly shook the unmoving Exceed. "H...Happy...?"

Happy was as quiet as the
stars above.

Natsu sobbed and screamed his heartbreak over his little Exceed who should never have been there.

Who never should have gone so soon.

Lucy's lips quaked and her whole body trembled with her own sobs. She put her hands to her ears to block out Natsu's watery screams. As Lucy fell apart, she could not help but think that this was all her fault.

Lucy had been the one who had brought Happy to her because of her injury. He was going to fly her away from here and get her help. But she had wanted to stay and help Natsu. So like a fool, that is what she had done. While she had worked on getting Natsu to awaken...Happy had gone to distract Mard Geer.

The price was too great to bear.

Mard Geer stood by, a blank look on his stone cold face as he looked at the Dragon's and Princess' tear stained faces. So much agony, he thought as he put his cheek in his hand. For such a useless little creature.

Mard Geer took a step toward the shaking, curled up form of the Dragon Slayer. He raised his arm and his Curse enveloped his hand. He hovered it over Natsu's bowed head.
"I shall take that pain away," Mard Geer murmured. "As well as your life." He slashed his arm down with his Curse filled hand heading straight for what was left of the Dragon's heart.

Something cold hit his cheek.

Mard Geer blinked and lowered his eyes to the ground. Next to his foot was a glistening, sliver ring. He blinked as he lifted his head and locked eyes with Lucy.

She stood tall before him, leaning heavily on her good leg, and with her head held high. Her brown eyes were blazing with anger and hurt. Her whip was held firmly in her grasp and her ring finger was bare.

Lucy had finally gotten rid of her wedding ring by throwing it at the Underworld King who had given it to her. "Get-away-from-him." She spat, cracking her whip in the air.

Mard Geer narrowed his eyes as he turned away from the pathetic Dragon Slayer. He headed towards Lucy who held his gaze without wavering a bit. "Oh?" The Demon Lord hummed, tapping his cheek with his index finger. "At last you stand and fight, huh?" He said, circling around her like a shark would do to its injured prey.

Lucy clenched her teeth and tightened her hold onto her weapon. "How dare you..." She hissed, her arms shaking. "Dare I? What did I do?" Mard Geer asked without a shred of emotion in his voice. "You-tch- you took Happy away from Natsu..." Lucy snarled, turning sharply to glare at the Demon Lord with hatred. "You took away the first friend he ever had."

Mard Geer raised a dark eyebrow at her accusation. "I may have taken that thing's heartbeat away..." He paused as he leaned forward, his breath brushing Lucy's flushed cheek. "But I was not the one who made sure that I did."

Lucy jerked away and lashed out with her whip. The heart shaped tip brushed right passed Mard Geer's face, and hit only air.

"You were the one who killed that insignificant creature." The Demon Lord whispered in her ear. Lucy spun around and threw one of her twelve knives. It sailed through the air and into the dirt.

Lucy let out a gasp and stumbled back unsteadily. She gritted her teeth as a fresh flash of pain stabbed at her leg. "You are the one who has brought pain to the Dragon's heart." Lucy let out a snarl as she lashed out all around her. Her whip snapped and cracked around her shaking body. But, somehow, Mard Geer's sickly sweet voice entered into her ears.

"You are the one who killed that creature."
No...
"It is all your doing, Princess."
No...
"And he,"
Please..!
"Knows,"
No!
"It."

"Stop it!" Lucy shrieked brokenly. Her shoulders slumped as she unleashed a heartbreaking cry. "I-I know..." She sobbed uncontrollably. "I-I-know...I'm so sorry...so...so...sorry..." The Princess' whip lay uselessly by her side as she cried and cried over the Dragon's pain that she never meant to cause.

The color yellow had brought with it joy and suffering.

Mard Geer smirked as his Curse reared its ugly head. It swirled and coated him in waves of darkness. "I shall take away your pain as well." Mard Geer told her softly, raising his hand to lay atop her wilted head. "Then I will take his..."

An incredible scorching heat smacked into the Demon Lord and Lucy. It swept through the clearing and the Demon Lord's Curse howled at the sheer volume of heat. Fire shot through the air and whatever dared come into contact with the lashing flames got turned into ash. Lucy looked over her shoulder and snapped her eyes shut at the burning red light. Her pale skin cracked and dried along with Mard Geer's.

Waves of overwhelming heat overtook the cool air. Then, everything just stopped. The heat vanished. Sound cut off. Time's ticking clock had been shattered.

Slowly, Natsu stood up, blood mixed with tears and dirt slipping down his cheeks. His shoulders were slumped and his head was bowed. Tendrils of hair hung in his shadowed eyes. Cradled in his arms was Happy, fur drenched in crimson, and a large slash streaking down his flank.

With the upmost care, Natsu Dragneel laid his first friend in a patch of flowers, and rose to face the Demon that had murdered his Exceed.

Ever so slowly, Natsu reached for the bandage on his arm, and grasped the ends. With a sharp tug, the once white wraps started to unwind. The beige bandages fluttered to the ground and the mystery underneath the bandages was revealed!

A Dragon tattoo filled Lucy's curious eyes.

The Dragon was curled around Natsu's arm protectively with its maw wide open, prepared to defend and attack. It shimmered in the slivery light of the moon. Giving off the illusion that the tattooed Dragon was alive.

Fire awakened around Natsu and gently enfolded him within its warmth. The flames slithered around his arms and upper body. The orange and red flames trailed up Natsu's wet cheeks and flickered in his hair. His fire swept down his neck and curled around his scarf. Natsu lifted his head, his hair falling away to reveal his eyes swathed in fire.

"Mard Geer!" Natsu roared, slamming his fist down into the ground, sending a shudder throughout the earth. "You just," he snarled as one of his wings bursted out of his back, and ruby scales popped up out of the skin on his face. "Awakened a," ivory horns burst forth on his skull and fire bellowed around him.
Natsu bared his fangs.

"Dragon's rage!"

Natsu has unleashed his most powerful Magic!
A Dragon's Rage!

This chapter is for

Dreaming-a-Fantasy

Let the Adventure Continue!