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English
Series:
Part 1 of The Bringer of Death and the Apocalypse
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Published:
2020-02-13
Updated:
2022-11-06
Words:
219,780
Chapters:
109/?
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61
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206
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The bringer of death and the apocalypse

Summary:

Chapters 1 to 81 have been edited. Chapters will be edited and uploaded in arcs. The arc currently being edited is chapters 82 to 100

"The child of the apocalypse. A creature that is neither man nor dragon. A creature that frightened both kinds. A creature destined to bring about an eternal nightmare to the world"

Gajeel Has always been slightly different from other dragon slayers although he never realised it. During his entire time in Phantom Lord, he never came into contact with another dragon slayer that was his age until his battle with Natsu.

The only dragon slayer he came into contact with was a young dragon slayer called Raios, who at the time, wasn't old enough to be using his magic.

Since he never came into contact with another dragon slayer, he didn't realise the habits that he found perfectly fine, were not.

After his fight with Natsu, things begin to take a more complicated route. Now his body is reacting differently and he doesn't know how to get it to stop.

And top of that, now he has other unruly dragon slayers to keep in check. How will he handle the change?

Notes:

This book is a slight AU based on a headcannon that I have. It takes place during the original thing but things have been altered.

Chapter Text

Strong gusts of wind tore through the now open roofed guild hall that was occupied by Phantom Lord. The room in question was decimated beyond recognition. Metal plates ripped from the floor, now jutting out from across the room with sharp, misshapen edges that were dangerous to approach. Flames licked at anything they could, searching for fuel amongst the metal. Across the room were clumps of people, all brought to their knees from the sudden slump in the robotic guild hall, leaving the room itself at an angle. A final tremor racked through the building before the robot powered down permanently. One mage stumbled forward; his tan skin littered with purple bruising that ran across his spine. He coughed once, two droplets of blood splashing onto the mangled floor beneath him.

"Give up Salamander. Ya ain't winin'." He lifted his arm, wiping just below his mouth where a trail of blood trickled down. His breath puffed out, chest rising and falling in an uneven fashion. He reached over to one arm, scratching the uneven, scarred skin.

"You.... *huff* you wish Redfox. I'll beat your ass." the other mage growled, lips pulled back to show off his fangs while shifting his legs so that his feet landed further out than his shoulders. He lifted up one hand, summoning flames that enkindled to life and wrapped themselves around his fist. They danced and flickered with the breath of the wind. The pink haired mage looked towards his opponent, whose scales were only appearing in waning patches across his body. He leaned forward, pressing down on the toe of his left. Then bursting forward with speed, he launching his fist forward and struck the other slayer in the jaw. The dragon slayer stumbled back, a strangled whine escaping his throat before he shook his head.

"Way to go Natsu!" A little small cat cheered, stumbling to his tiny feet only to lose balance and fall back down once more. The iron slayer snapped his head up to Natsu. Crimson eyes stared at him, almost piercing through his soul.

"I'm going...." he stumbled, one hand up to his head as a snarl bubbled out of his throat.

"I'm going to fucking kill you." his voice followed a crescendo, causing the fire slayer to clutch at his ears from the sound. He turned towards the iron slayer. The mage leapt forward, forgoing any magic and instead pushing the other onto the ground. Natsu cried out when his arm scrapped against one of the metal pieces, leaving a thin jagged cut that oozed blood. Sharp claws swiped at his jaw, hooking into the skin and drawing a deep line of red across his cheek. Natsu pulled his head back, shifting his body to try and get the larger slayer off him. A guttural snarl ripped itself from Gajeel's jaws, his teeth slowly pushing out from between his parted lips. He swung another swipe at Natsu's other cheek, his nails taking on a sharpened point that was coloured black. Natsu pulled his legs up, pushing them into Gajeel's stomach and kicking him off. The slayer tumbled back, dragging up dust with his journey. 

"What the- That was totally unfair." Natsu huffed, leaning on his right arm to push himself up. Gajeel curved sharply, digging sharp nails into the ground to stop his movement. He leaned his left hand forward to push himself onto his hands and feet, spine curving in a subtle arch. He snapped his gaze towards Natsu. The fire slayer focused on the other who's sclera had taken on a milky red hue. Some of the scales had flickered out of existence while others had been replaced with lighter grey scales in focused points on his body. Natsu pushed himself to his feet, swinging his left arm back to a crack sound. 

"Come at me. I'm ready this time." Natsu leaned in, arms spread wide in a challenge. Gajeel placed his hand forward, clawed fingers spread out across the surface for balance. He leaned his head down towards the ground, two oddly shaped bones, slipping out of two scarred over spots on his back. He pressed down on his feet, putting power into them before leaping forward at Natsu. The fire slayer prepped himself this time, swinging his foot up to strike Gajeel in the side of the head with flames. The iron slayer fell back, scrambling around with 7 limbs tangling. A series of clicks accompanied the dragon slayer's frantic movements before he finally found his footing. His jaws had moved forward slightly, silver scales shimmering atop his muzzle. 

"Yeah, take that bitch." Natsu laughed, pointing towards the shifting slayer. Said slayer opened his jaws, a series of hisses meeting the fire mage's taunt. Natsu jumped forward once more, charging up a punch which he used to strike the other slayer in the neck. The iron user stumbled back, devolving into a hacking fit when he struggled to bring air into his lungs from the blow. He reached up two scaled hands to his neck, rubbing across darkening skin with a weak whine. He huffed through his nose, curving his body around to tackle Natsu once more. Large silver wings spread from his back, casting long shadows below. They tumbled across the ground until Natsu wrapped his fingers around a pole, bringing them both to a skidding stop. He curved up his leg, kicking Gajeel in the knee who stumbled back and turned his head around to inspect the blow. Natsu turned to the side, spitting out dirt and rocks that had slipped into his mouth during their tumble. He was pushed down to the ground once more, head now hanging off the edge and leaning down towards the numerous rounded metal limbs and the ocean below.

“What are you doing? You’ll get us both killed.” Natsu snapped, pushing one hand up to the phantom mage’s face in hopes of push him off. Gajeel snapped at the other’s hand, teeth sinking deep into the flesh which elicited a cry from the fire mage. He pushed his other hand up against the iron slayer’s jaws, trying to pry them open to free his hand. The slayer snarled, applying further pressure to the hand pressed between his teeth.

SNAP.

Natsu cried out, pain flooding through the nerves in his hand like water flooding through a broken dam. He struggled, kicking up at the dragon slayer’s stomach in an attempt to push him off. A hard kick to the abdomen had the slayer groaning, jaws parting enough for Natsu to pull his hand back. Gajeel huffed, reaching one hand down to guard the area he’d been repeatedly struck in. While he was distracted, Natsu wrapped both his arms around the other’s neck and pulled him to the ground hard. A surprised yap escaped the slayer when his neck hit the edge of the floor, leaving him frozen in place for a few seconds. Natsu scrambled back, watching the other slayer for his next move. The iron mage rolled over to his stomach, using his arms to push himself up. Natsu pulled his right hand forward, flexing the fingers as he waited for the other to attack. Gajeel shook his head, stumbling to the side with another whine as his left hand came dangerously close to the edge.

“Hey wait. Redfox! Don’t move.” Natsu yelled, leaning forward in preparation to sprint forward. His voice was met with a snarl, Gajeel twisting around to face Natsu. Except his left foot didn’t meet any ground, instead pressing down on thin air. The slayer -startled by the sudden unbalance- collapsed forward, chin smacking on the ground before he slipped back. Another yap as he disappeared from view. Silence.

Clang.

Thud.

Natsu pressed forward, staring down over the edge. He scanned each individual robot limb for wild, dark hair. His eyes snapped to one lower down. The iron slayer was sprawled out over the limb, slipping off it and dropping towards the water below.

“Natsu. what’s going on?” Happy floated over to him, looking towards his dragon slayer companion. Natsu never took his eyes off the slayer or the water he was inching towards.

“Happy. Get me down there.” Natsu pointed towards the other slayer. Happy’s eyes rounded, and his ears pinned back.

“B-but Natsu-.” his tail flicked at the tip. Natsu shook his head but said no words. The blue cat lowered his gaze but didn’t continue his protest. He approached the slayer, tiny paws gripping onto the white scaled scarf. He lifted him up, gently hovering down towards the iron slayer. Happy shifted around in a half circle, avoiding the jutting metal and awkward limbs in his descent. Natsu reached out his right hand, fingers brushing against the other’s scales before he slipped back further.

“Happy. I need to get closer” Happy floated nearer, Natsu’s knee knocking against the metal. He reached out again, stretching his fingers out to grab for the other’s belt so he could pull him up easier. A rattle from above brought the two’s attention upward. The robot leaned further to the side, an ominous groan accompanying the movement.

“Lucy! Get out of there. I don’t think its going to hold much longer.” he yelled up towards the celestial mage who was clinging on to one of the thin poles of metal similar to the other members of the phantom lord guild. Another metallic groan as the metal of the robot shifted once more.

Splash.

Natsu turned back to where Gajeel had been, only to find empty space. Below, the water rippled, and a barrage of bubbles swelled and popped along the surface. He struggled to get out of Happy’s grip, reaching up to push at the cat’s paws.

“Let me go.” he ordered, kicking his legs about which sent them into a tail spin. Happy let out a pitiful mewl before releasing his hold on the fire slayer. He plummeted down towards the water, wind buffeting at his ears before everything was silent upon impact with the cold water. He squinted his eyes, trying his best to find the other slayer in the dark water. A tiny trail of bubbles a few feet in front of him gave the other’s position away. Natsu dived down, The movement ignited pain in his left hand, causing his fingers to twitch momentarily before falling dead. He finally came up close to the slayer who was unconscious and breathing in water. The fire slayer, wrapped his arms under the other’s and began pulling up. His lungs were slowly beginning to burn but he ignored the urge to breath and kept heading for the open water. The light reflecting off the surface of the water got closer and closer until finally, they breached the surface. Water flew back from the two of them, sending further ripples across the water. Natsu coughed, relishing in the air he could now breath in. Happy flew down towards him, having been over towards the main land.

“Natsu.” he cried out, circling above the two slayers. He hooked his paws into Natsu’s scarf once more and lifted the two out of the water. Natsu kept a tight grip on the otherwise still dragon slayer who was showing no sign of waking or even moving. Natsu looked him over, the strange dragon magic had disappeared and leaving only the bruising and cuts across his body. Happy floated above the rock edge for a few seconds before lowering the two. Lucy ran over, pulling Natsu into a hug and forcing him to release Gajeel.

“Natsu you idiot. You scared me.” she whispered, holding him close. He returned the hug, rubbing one hand up her back.

“Well I totally won so that makes up for it right?” he looks to her, sharp fangs exposed in a wide smile. The celestial mage laughed, wiping at the tears threatening to escape.

“Yeah.” she whispered, a smile of her own spreading across her lips. She turned to look at the crumpled heap that was the other slayer.

“I don’t want to be rude or anything but why did you help him?” she pressed one foot against the other’s back then retracted it, expecting the metal mage to lash out. He just lay still, his chest not even moving.

“Oh Serena. I don’t think he’s breathing.” Natsu bent down, rolling Gajeel onto his back. Small trickles of water escaped his parted lips but there was no other change.

“What am I supposed to do? How do I make him breath? Do I set him on fire?” Natsu looked towards Lucy. She crossed her arms over her chest with a pout.

“No, you don’t set him on fire. You have to preform CPR. Put your hands like this on his chest and press down.” Lucy instructed, positioning her hands how they were supposed to go. Natsu copied the position and pressed down full force on Gajeel’s chest. He pressed several times but got no reaction.

“It isn’t working.” he looked to Lucy once more, continuing with the chest compressions.

“You need to give him air. Tilt his chin up with two fingers and pinch his nose. Then you breath into him twice.” Natsu mimicked the instructions, pressing his lips against the other and breathing in twice. He got no reaction.

“Press on his chest 30 times and then try again.” Natsu returned to pressing down on the others chest, counting the amount of times he did before leaning in for the two breaths again. He pressed two fingers below Gajeel’s chin and tilted it up, pinching the other’s nose. Upon the first breath there was no reaction. Natsu leaned in once more and breathed a large breath into the iron slayer. This time there was a reaction. The slayer began coughing, spurts of water escaping from his lungs and dampening the rock around him. He coughed for about a minute before going still, his chest rising and falling ever so slight.

“Maybe we should bring him with us.” Natsu offered.

“Bring him with us? Have you forgotten what he did to the guild hall? What he did to Levy, Jet and Droy. He could have killed them.” Lucy looked over Natsu, trying to find some hint that he was joking.

“I haven’t but if we left him to die then…. Wouldn’t that make us the same. Someone once told me that if we treated our enemies how they treated us then we’d be no better. We don’t need to let him join or anything. Just…. Give him medical aid so he won’t die.” Natsu looked to the unconscious slayer.

“Natsu…” Lucy kneeled next to the fire slayer. Happy giggled.

“You just want to bring him along so you can kiss him again.” the little cat held his paws up to his mouth, snickering behind them as he looked at Natsu. Natsu bristled, puffing out his cheeks.

“Am not. Besides, I want to ask him where he learned his magic. He’s the only other dragon slayer I’ve heard of.” Natsu moves towards Gajeel, hooking his arms under the other’s and beginning to drag him towards the remains of the Fairy Tail guild hall.