To Kill A Dragon

Magic Must Be Given Freely

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima, Tiamat is loosely based on Tiamat from Forgotten Realms which Belongs to Wizards of the Coast, LLC. The traits of the chromatic dragons have been altered to match the dragon slayers in the Fairy Tail Universe.

Chapter 9: Magic Must Be Given Freely

The two men observed Erza and Gray nervously, even as Mira gave them a welcoming smile.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, how can we help you?" Mira greeted them kindly, not seeming to realize who had just entered their guild. She glanced over at Erza, confused by her behavior.

"We'd like to speak to your Master. My name is Connor, I am the Master of the Penta Dragons," The older of the two men spoke, and gesturing towards the other man added, " My companion's name is Justin."

Justin bowed briefly, but his eyes never strayed from Erza and Gray.

"We know who you people are," Gray growled at the visitors, "You have a lot of nerve coming here." He could barely contain his rage. These people were responsible for the condition Natsu was in, and that was not something he was willing to ignore.

"GRAY! These men are our guests, you will either calm down or leave," A voice that could only belong to Makarov came from the second floor. Although he sounded friendly enough, he must have had the same idea as Gray because Laxus was nowhere in sight. He made his way downstairs to meet their visitors.

"But Gramps--," Gray protested, but Makarov cut him off with one scowl.

Erza took the hint and grudgingly sent her sword away.

She looked over at Gray worriedly, willing him to calm down as well. He'd been a mess ever since Natsu had disappeared. She knew exactly how he felt. Hell, she was itching for payback just as much as he was, but she understood it was best to let their Master handle it.

Gray glared at Makarov but began clenching and unclenching his hands in an attempt to keep himself under control. He very much wanted to hear what this man had to say.

"Please forgive my children, they are usually friendlier than this," Makarov remarked evenly, holding out his hand for a handshake. "I am Master Makarov. How can I help you?"

"It's alright. I wouldn't be too fond of me if I were him either," Connor replied, unconsciously moving closer to Justin as he acknowledged the barely contained rage in Gray's eyes.

"I am Connor," The Penta Dragons Master bowed his head in deference and gave Makarov his most charming smile before shaking his hand firmly.

He regarded the short man that stood in front of him. Connor knew the man was a powerful wizard, one of the Ten Wizard Saints of Fiore, but it was hard to reconcile that fact with the seemingly harmless old man that faced him.

"I want you to know that I had nothing to do with what happened to your dragon slayer, none of us did," Connor began, even though he knew this was a half-truth at best. He may not have known what Tiamat was up to, but he hadn't exactly gone out of his way to find out either, and it had been his idea to use the dragon slayers in the first place.

"It was never part of our plan for any of the dragon slayers to be hurt," Connor looked at Makarov apologetically. "Is he okay? Justin and I were barely able to get out of the building."

"What was this plan exactly?" Erza asked with as much diplomacy as she could muster. She hadn't missed that Connor had just admitted to leaving Natsu defenseless in a burning building.

Connor was about to speak when Makarov stopped him. "Hold on, let's go down to the library. There are some people there who should listen to this."