Firefall || Fairy Tail

41 : g o o d b y e s

"I'm sorry, dad. You gave me a job...and I failed," Natsu spoke through his tears as he knelt on the ground next to the body of the Fire Dragon King, "so I can't hold it against you that you left. But I had so many questions." He paused, trying to keep his voice from cracking, "Stay."

His mind played through everything that had happened that morning. He could still feel how tightly Kia held him as they both watched their father fall from the sky. The pain in his chest grew as he remembered how poorly he had acted, going as far as to actually hit her. Natsu never thought that those moments might have been the last ones he would share with his sister.

The sound of her distant screams still echoed in his ears as he watched that column of black fire erupt where she had been fighting. He closed his eyes as his fingers dug into the dirt, "Kia is gone and I took everything out on her. How do I fix this?"

"Dad. I have so much I want to say to you!" His voice raised for only a moment before falling again, "So don't go."

||~x~||

The rest of Fairy Tail stood together as they stared up at the four dragons who were finally being reunited with their foster children. It was wonderful to see, even as the Twin Dragons tried to piece together what they were seeing and what they remembered.

"We altered your memories in order to help you grow strong." Weisslogia explained.

Skiadrum clarified, "It was an experiment of ours, one Igneel was against. We raised you both as Dragon Slayers. And to complete your upbringing, we gave you the experience of slaying dragons."

"However, it's incorrect to say that we're still alive."

The Slayers all stared at the White Dragon's calm declaration.

Grandeeney was the one to speak before any of them could even start asking, "In the truest sense, we've been dead for quite some time. Many years ago, Acnologia used his Dragon Slayer magic to tear our spirits from our bodies." She bowed her head closer to Wendy, "So we had three reasons for residing within you. Please understand." Tears were prickling at the edges of the small Slayer's eyes as she listened to her mother. "We did it to defeat Acnologia, and prevent you from transforming. But it was also the only way we had to survive."

The Shadow Dragon added, "But now that we've left your bodies, there's no way for us to return." He straightened his spine, "The demonstration of power we just gave will also be our last. We hope you can understand why we had to remain in hiding until the time was right."

"Even the mighty Igneel was unable to defeat Acnologia." Metalicana's deep voice spoke, "However, it must be said that Igneel fought from the very brink of death. When you tell tales of this day, do not let that sully the Fire Dragon King's name." A few of those gathered turned to gaze toward the smoke that still rose into the sky like a constant tribute to the red dragon. "None among us had his courage, or felt the depth of his compassion for humanity."

The White Dragon scanned the crowd, "Speaking of Igneel, we had hoped to thank his daughter for all she's done, even before you all passed through the Gate."

"Gate?" Rogue questioned.

His father responded simply, "The Eclipse Gate."

The four Slayers stared at Skiadrum in confusion and worry as Grandeeney took over the explaining once again.

"It was used so that the five young Dragon Slayers could come to a time more rich in ethernano while also hiding you from Acnologia. She was a great help in making sure everything worked out as it has."

Weisslogia allowed his own gaze to look toward the crater when his friend had fallen, "We will not interrupt her now, so we ask that you pass along our gratitude."