The Red Dragon

Chapter 35

Art by @khaoticvex, do NOT repost without her permission.

And here we are the end. 2 years and 10 months and a little over 200K words later.

It's been a long time coming and I want to thank you all for your patience as this was not an easy story to write. I hope you enjoy this final chapter, I tried to get in everything I reasonably could.

Chapter 35

Gajeel gazed at Wendy as she watched the huddled figures of Natsu and Gray sadly. He could tell she was about to go over there, and he held out a hand to her.

"Don't," Gajeel warned. He'd directed it at Wendy, but he meant it as a warning to the others as well. "I don't have the first clue what the hell all that was about, but I do know Natsu doesn't need us all over him right now."

"But-" Wendy protested, seeing as Happy had crept closer, but even he was giving them some space, content to rest near them.

Gajeel could hardly blame her. He felt the same urge to comfort Natsu. He knew exactly what it felt like to have your parents ripped away from you unexpectedly. Could relate to the emptiness and shock Natsu was undoubtedly feeling, which was why he also knew that his friend wouldn't want anyone but Gray and Atlas near him at the moment.

It had been a long, exhausting battle, and it left him feeling battered. It all felt so anticlimactic. They'd finally put an end to Acnologia's carnage, but he could find no joy in it. His heart felt heavy in his chest and all he wanted to do was collapse on the ground and avoid moving for a while, maybe thinking too.

Whatever they'd just witnessed, and Gajeel understood precious little of it, Igneel had been someone he'd cared about deeply. The fire dragon had always taken an interest in all the dragon slayers, chatting with them and making them feel at home from the first moment they had met him and the rest of the dragons. And he'd always seemed larger than life. Gajeel was still having trouble accepting he was gone, but with Natsu out of commission for the moment, it fell to him to once again be the leader of their little band of misfits.

The battle had taken a lot out of all of them, especially Natsu and Happy. They wouldn't be flying home for a while. The best thing they could all do for now was to get some rest and recoup some of their energy.

Gajeel moved away from the three dragons, nudging Wendy to follow. He found them a spot where they could sit somewhat comfortably and wait for Atlas to return with Irene and Oliver.

"Do you- do you think he'll be alright?" Wendy fretted, as was her way.

Gajeel could only shrug, "I'm sure he will, but he's going to need some time. We all will."

Wendy nodded and Gajeel changed the subject for both their sakes. "Rogue handled himself pretty well out there, don't you think?"

"Yes!" Wendy immediately perked up. "Those legs you made him work really well. He fought just as well as he did before."

Gajeel was about to say something about it to Rogue when he noticed the Shadow Dragon slayer and Sting were still locked in an embrace. "Ugh, you're all disgusting. I seriously need to find a girlfriend. I'm so tired of watching all of you."

Wendy smiled, "Well, you should definitely have better luck with that in Talos than you did in Drak Aast."

In his defense, it wasn't like there had been that many female dragon slayers in Drak Aast to begin with, and the few there had been were not overly fond of him.

"Oh great, here comes yours," Gajeel groaned as he noticed Atlas approaching.

The hellfire dragon landed near them and as he crouched down, his tail swished, yeeting Acnologia's corpse several yards away from them, where it slammed to the ground with a terrific thud.