A/n: Cubellios is still a snake in the story and she remains a snake. Sorry not sorry. So heads up.
Natsu and the others were currently sat eating fried chicken and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch when one of the little Magic blue birds flew in with a stack of new requests. When Natsu laid eyes on the request at the top of the pile he gasped slightly his eyes widening. Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Natsu? What's wrong?" He asked. Natsu sighed. "I hope you're all ready for a group mission." He said his usual grin replaced with a serious expression. "What's the mission?" Kyon said resting his chin on Natsu's shoulder so he could read the request. "Saving a hostage from a small but dangerous dark guild. It's from the magic council so we definitely can't ignore it. If the magic council is calling in a guild to handle it then it must be serious. But they've specifically asked for us to take the job. Even though we aren't an official guild yet." He said , there was a hint of nervousness in his voice but he tried his best to look calm. Rose whimpered a little. "A dark guild...I'm not good at f-fighting I can't do it..." Natsu rubbed her back gently. Rose reminded him a lot of Wendy when he first met the sky dragon slayer. "Shh it's okay Rose. Your stronger than you think you are and you won't be alone. But if you really don't want to go I won't force you." He comforted. Rose took a deep breath. "If you can believe in me then...then I'll be brave!" She said determinedly. Natsu smiled proudly and gave her a hug. Alex smiled and playfully punched Rose's arm. "I'll electrocute anyone who hurts you don't worry." She'd only been in the guild for three days now but she was starting to warm up to them quickly. Rose giggled and hugged Alex happily nuzzling her face into the blonde's collarbone. Alex rolled her eyes and awkwardly patted her on the back. She still wasn't used to affection but she was slowly accepting it and on the odd occasion initiating physical contact with the others. They all function as a sort of pack. A pack of dragons. "Well then let's put our heads together and form a plan. I'll let the council know we'll be accepting the job." Natsu stated as he slid off the bar counter and shimmied away to his office. "We should put our strongest fighters in the frontline. So that would be Kyon , Alex and Natsu , then Rose and I can bring up the rear and provide Defense and support. Yuki said softly. They nodded in agreement. When Natsu came back after sending his letter to the magic council they continued to discuss what to do to save the hostage , they were leaving in two hours....
*deep within a forest*
Five hooded human figures moved silently through a forest that was devoid of all life. The trees blackened and barren. Nothing but soil and dead grass underfoot. No wildlife to be seen , animal or plant. Four small figures were perched on four of the five humans shoulders. They trekked silently through the dead forest till they reached a rundown building. It seemed abandoned. Grey stone walls chipped and cracked. Moss and ivy growing in the damp nooks. It was large and imposing. The only windows were nothing but holes with wrought iron bars that were stained with rust. It looked like an old prison. Clearly no longer in use. However it made the perfect hide out for a dark guild , especially a dark guild who were holding a hostage. The lead figure went to one of the large barred windows. He produced a black flame and melted the bars away until they crumbled into ash. The window was large enough for them to fit through so one by one they crawled through the gap into the foreboding building. They crept down cold stone halls. It was damp and musty. Fungi , moss and Ivy being the only plants thriving anywhere in the decaying forest covered the damp walls. Stagnant rain water trickled from holes and cracks. The lit torches flicked with the draft. The leader of the hooded group grabbed one of the torches and added some of his own orange flames to it making it it burn brighter , illuminating their path easier. The further they went the more they needed it. It got darker and darker. Eventually they came to a crossroads. The group sniffed the air before turning left. They repeated this every time they had to choose a path. Pausing , sniffing , then deciding. What felt like an endless maze of twists and turns finally came to a halt in front of a flight of uneven stone steps that led to a metal door adorned with black ancient symbols depicting a ritual and strange red stains that weren't from rust. There was an abundance of different noises coming from the room. Shuffling , chains rattling , weak coughing and wheezing , panting and gasping. The leader gestured to another member of the group who stepped forward. He placed his hand near the key hole as cold mist started to form. A key made of ice appeared in the key hole. Everyone took a stance ready to fight if needed. The hooded Mage twisted the key and it clicked before dissipating as he pushed the old door open. The room looked like something straight from a horror movie. Blood splattered tools lines the walls. Scalpels , whips , blades of every shape and size. Spiked bats. Chains and magic weapons. There was blood stains on the wall and floor. A flat metal table with metal restrains lay to one side. To the other a large cage. Inside the cage was a person. Curled on their side breathing heavily. Multiple heavy chains attached to their body. When they got closer to the cage the leader of the hooded group let out a murmur of surprise. "Cobra...?" The maroon haired male glanced up. There was a thick metal collar around his neck a heavy chain leading from it and attaching to the ceiling. Similar cuffs gripped tightly around his ankles and wrists. He was gagged and covered in blood. His bare chest and back covered with fresh wounds. His arms and face were in no better condition. Tattered black trousers were the only article of clothing he had. He was breathing heavily through his nose. His chest rising and falling in short , shallow gasps of air. He was flushed with fever and his eyes were dazed and confused. Nastu went rigid in shock for a few moments. Seeing cobra in this condition was a shock to the system. "Wasn't this guy in Oracion seis?" Kyon asked in a whisper. "Yeah but if the council has asked us to rescue him then we rescue him." Natsu replied in a hushed voice. He looked at how thick the metal of bars and chains were. He knew he was going to have to go full demon form but it was his first time trying to active it on command since merging his consciousness with E.N.D's but he had to try. He concentrated his magic. Black markings spiralled up his body , his eyes turned red. Scales adorned his cheeks. Horns curved from his head and red dragon like wings burst from his back. A demonic tail swayed behind him and his hands became like dragon claws. Only Yuki had seen his demon form so it came as quite a shock to everyone , even cobra. "Guard the exit. It may take me a while to free him. If you hear something signal with your hands." He ordered. His voice was different too. Softer and smoother , certain letters were more pronounced , sounding akin to a snakes hiss. It sounded very regal. Everyone nodded in affirmation before taking up fighting stances. Natsu got to work on disintegrating the cage bars. Once he was able to get into the cage he sighed softly. "Okay I know you hate me but your gonna have to trust me right now." Cobra locked eyes with Natsu. 'If you can get me out of this hell then do it. Whatever you have to do just do it.' He said directly into Natsu's mind. 'Since when could you use telepathy.' Natsu said in his mind as he started to drag a sharp heated claw down the think metal collar. Cobra rolled his eyes. 'There's a lot you don't know about me pinky pie.' Natsu's scoffed quietly. 'I know you're a dick and if you call me pinky pie one more time I might accidentally melt your face off.' Cobra would of smirked if it wasn't for the gag. As Nastu opened the metal collar to peel it off , he nearly threw up when he realised that it had large metal spikes on the inside of it. They were conveniently placed to avoid piercing major arteries but it had to be agonising. He fought down the urge to be sick and took the gag off. Cobra coughed and groaned in pain , though he was glad to be free of the damn thing. His jaw ached and his throat felt like sand paper. Natsu was busy disintegrating the cuffs. He noticed how badly Cobra was struggling to breathe even more now that the gag was gone. He could hear how raspy and laboured it was. Was it because of infection? He glanced at the puncture wounds around Cobra's neck. Fresh beads of crimson leaking down his neck. "Hey you better not be dying on me you stupid snake eyed bastard." Natsu hissed in worry. Cobra smirked but it was strained. "Awe...didn't know..you cared..." his voice was broken , hoarse and raspy with misuse. Rose glanced at him. "He looks really ill Natsu. Likes he's been poisoned..." She observed. "He can't of been poisoned though...he's a poison dragon slayer so poison has no effect on him...right?" He turned to Cobra. "So you do have half a brain..." he coughed out. "I can't be poisoned in the way you can....they injected me...with anti-venom. It does the same thing poison does to you." He huffed out weakly as he started feeling lightheaded. His wounds pumped out more blood as his body struggled to clot. Natsu panicked trying to think of a way to stop Cobra from dying. Thankfully he was smarter than people gave him credit for. "Okay I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you insult me. Rose can you make some poisonous berries? Like deadly nightshade or something?" He asked. "I could try?" She replied softly as her palm glowing with a pale green light. Slowly a sprig of shiny black berries and lilac flowers grew grew from her palm. She plucked the berries off and handed them to Natsu before the plant wilted and disappeared. Natsu sighed helping Cobra sit up. The poison dragon slayer had to lean against him unable to support himself. He was now free from his restraints but they'd have no hope of getting him out of there in the state he was in , and although they hadn't ran into any trouble yet Natsu knew all to well that nothing went off without a hitch. "You better hope that extremely lethal toxic berries are enough to combat the anti venom." Natsu huffed as he fed Cobra the berries because the alpha was too weak to lift his hand. Cobra ate berries , careful not to bite Natsu's hand. He had a feeling the pinkette wouldn't take too kindly to that. The more berries he ate the more he felt his strength returning. His wounds seemed to be pumping out less blood and he felt less dizzy. He was able to support his own weight sitting. "Looks like they worked well enough for now." Nastu said as he took off his cloak and used it as a makeshift bandage for the largest of Cobra's injuries. A gaping open wound on the right side of his abdomen. "Can you stand?. He asked offering a hand to Cobra. Cobra grasped it weakly and allowed himself to be pulled up. He stumbled a little , swaying and braced himself to go crashing back to the ground when lithe arms quickly supported him. He looked at the smaller dragon slayer who'd gone back to his original form now. "Let's get you out of here quick." Natsu said softly and nodded to his others. "Wait...Cubellios...they have Cubellios." He rasped out. "Who's Cubellios?" Kyon asked. He was a very Curious person. "Cubellios is Cobra's snake. A snake with wings. Instead of an exceed buddy he has a winged snake buddy. Where are they keeping her." He asked Cobra firmly. "Down the hall from here. It'll be the first door you come across. I can hear her. She's scared." Natsu nodded. "Kyon , take cobra. You and the others get him out of here. I'll save the snake." They looked at him worried and unsure. "I'll be fine guys. That deadly nightshade gave Cobra some strength back but he's still injured , our job was to save him so that's what we're going to do. I can handle this. If these guys think they can take on E.N.D , the strongest demon in the book of Zeref , then they have one hell of a death wish." He grinned toothily trying to reassure them. "You're E.N.D? But he's the master of Tartaros , a dark guild? That doesn't make sense?" Cobra said clearly perplexed. Was there two E.N.D's? "Well I am a guild master but not of a dark guild. Whoever that guy is he isn't E.N.D he's a fake. E.N.D stands for Etherious Natsu Dragneel." Cobra thought for a second. "They must still be under the Impression that they can revive E.N.D then." Nastu sighed. "We can discuss this later okay. Right now we need to get you out of here and save your snake." He nodded to Kyon who Came and took over supporting Cobra. They exited the torture room and parted ways. Kyon and the others going back the way they came , accompanied by cobra , and Natsu in the direction of Cubellios. Cobra couldn't stop thinking. His mind was racing with thoughts. Thoughts of wether Cubellios was okay or not , thoughts of the small discussion with Natsu who was now apparently the demon E.N.D and thoughts of Tartaros who clearly believed E.N.D was lying dormant in the underworld and could be revived. If they figure out Natsu is E.N.D would they go after the fire dragon slayer? For some reason that didn't sit well with him. He didn't know why he suddenly cared about the pinkette. Or why he suddenly had a strong urge to protect him. Was it because the selfless boy had rescued him and prevented him from dying , or because he was going to save his snake despite them having been enemies since they met. Or a different reason. Then more thoughts about the fiery tempered omega intruded into his brain. Hadn't Natsu said something about being a guild master. Did that mean he was no longer in Fairytail? Had something happened? He was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when he came face to face with some of the members of the dark guild that had kidnapped him and put him in a cage like a he was an animal. Their guild Mark was two skulls back to back. "Where do you think you're going dragon boy! The TwinSkulls guild won't let our precious little pet walk on outta here ya know!" One of the members shouted. Alex nudged Yuki lightly. "Hey Yuki I got an idea but it'll be hard to pull off , think you're up for the challenge." She whispered something into his ear. At first he seemed hesitant but quickly a look of fierce determination came over him and he nodded. "Hey what you whispering about missy! Or are you a boy...I can't really tell." Alex growled. "Hey didn't your parents tell you to never let water near electrics. She slammed her palm against the ground and Lightning crackled travelling along the ground that was splashed with puddles. "Now Yuki! She ducked behind the snowy haired omega as he created the thickest wall of ice and snow he could muster. They shivered as the temperature dropped drastically. On the other side of the wall. The lighting made contact with the water creating a explosion. Yuki grit his teeth as the ice she'd started to crack and the smell of smoke seeped through. He needed to keep the ice shield up until they were absolutely sure it was safe. He panted softly as he fought desperately to keep the shield up. After a few minutes Alex spoke up. "It should be safe now Yuki." The omega sighed in relief letting the thirteen inch thick wall of compact ice and snow shatter. Rose made some blackberries grow from her palm and handed them to Yuki. "Here. To help you get your strength up a little. Don't worry their just blackberries not poisonous." She smiled. Yuki gratefully took the berries and felt a little more energised after eating them. They carefully stepped over the bodies of the frazzled dark mages and continued to advance down the winding stone halls. They ran into another group of TwinSkull mages. Rose saw that this Particular corridor had an abundance of poison ivy growing on the walls and it gave her an idea. She twisted her hand and the ivy followed her will , shooting out and wrapping around the mages like leafy tentacles. "Hey what the hell lady! Wait this is- p-poison ivy!" The mages started struggling harder when they realised it was poison ivy. But the more they struggled the tighter the ivy squeezed them , cutting off their air supply. "Everyone duck!" She called out. They did as she said just in time for the ivy monster to hurl the almost unconscious mages with such force they didn't just slam into the wall behind them , they went through it. Anyone who hadn't been unconscious from being squeezed definitely was now. The ivy retreated back to normal after waving a leafy tentacle at Rose as a goodbye. Rose waved back giggling. "I can't believe that worked." She breathed out a few seconds later as they started walking again. Alex grinned and ruffled her hair. "I knew you had it in ya. I'm proud and I know Natsu will be too." They finally made it outside of the squalid prison. Kyon set Cobra down under a tree letting the maroon haired Male rest. Cobra closed his eyes , his chest was in agony and it was still hard to breathe even without anti-venom coursing through his veins screwing up his body. He coughed harshly and felt blood trickle down his chin. Definitely broken ribs. "Hey dude don't go dying yet. Want some water?" Cobra just gave a small nod. He was parched. Kyon made a large bubble of fresh cold water appear and float towards Cobra. Cobra inhaled the water letting the icy cold liquid soothe his sore , dry throat. But he couldn't stop thinking. Suddenly the prison exploded. Yuki quickly made a dome of ice around them shielding them from debri. "Do you think...Natsu's okay?" Yuki's wall disappeared when he deemed it was safe. "I hope so..." he mumbled. "Jeez guys have a little more faith in me~" a voice teased from behind them. Melodic and regal. They turned to find Natsu in his E.N.D form and partially wrapped around his body a gaint purple snake , her head resting on his shoulder. She kept flicking her tongue out against his cheek like she was giving him little snake kisses. "She likes you." Cobra hummed absentmindedly. His head was starting to feel foggy again and everything felt too hot for comfort but maybe that was because the prison was on fire. "I like her too~ she's pretty. Oh Kyon , can you put the fire out before the forest catches fire? Since everything is so dry and dead the whole place would be engulfed in seconds. Kyon nodded. "Sure. Water Dragon crushing vortex!" He yelled as a massive vortex of water enveloped the prison dowsing the flames and leaving nothing but smouldering remains. "Dont worry about the people by the way. I rounded them up restrained them with those thick heavy chains they were using to keep Cobra prisoner. They certainly weren't laughing when they were on the receiving end. The custody enforcement unit will be here soon to take them to jail. Speaking of...I suppose they'll be taking you back...?" He said turning to cobra. He actually sounded a little disappointed , or maybe the blood loss was just getting to Cobra. "Nah I'm a free man now pinky. I'm on Parole. Gotta join a light guild and have the guild master inform my parole officer how I'm doing. But it's better than being locked up I suppose. I was looking around for potential guilds when I got ambushed and taken to that dump." He huffed. The fire was out yet he still felt too hot. Why was it so damn hot? "You could join our guild?" Natsu said without hesitating. "It's a guild for a dragon slayers. We're a light guild...but we also all have enemies we'd like to get revenge on. I'm sure you do to. As long you don't kill them or break the law then you're welcome to get revenge how you want. I want revenge against Fairytail. They betrayed me and tried to kill me. You'll have a place to live and work , you can complete your parole and be free." He smiled cutely. "Alright. S'pose it's better than joining those other wacko light guilds. Their a bunch of...weirdos..." suddenly his eyes felt too heavy and drooped shut. He fell onto his side with a thud. "Cobra? Cobra?! Oi wake up you slanty eyed bastard. Dammit this isn't funny!" He shook Cobra trying to rouse him. His fever was back at full force now. His pulse was weak and the cloak Natsu had used to bandage his abdomen had become soaked with blood. His chest heaved with each short gasp of air he drew in. Every breath rattled his ribs. Cubellios licked some of the blood from Cobra's face. She paused and then suddenly sunk her fangs into his neck. Cobra subconsciously flinched in pain before relaxing. "Um if she's his friend why is she attacking him...." Kyon asked his head titled to the side in confusion. It clicked in Natsu's brain what she was doing. "She's not. She's helping him. The nightshade combatted the anti-venom for a little bit but it wasn't enough. She's injecting streams of venom into his body to combat the anti-venom." They watched as Cobra's skin that had become ashen , regained its healthy tan colour. His breath became lighter. It was still partially laboured due to his broken ribs but no longer as severe. The bleeding slow downed and his pulse was stronger. Cubellios released her hold on her master , licking gently at the bite wound. He remained unconscious but Natsu was glad he was doing better. Kyon noticed that the unconscious Male was shivering slightly. He wasn't wearing much and the forest was very cold , plus he'd been exposed to a damp , cold environment so he was probably cold and sick. He took of his cloak and slid it over the males arms being careful of the mans injuries. Yuki took his cloak off and handed it to Natsu. "Hey you should probably put this on before the enforcement unit arrive since your technically wanted for murder." Natsu pouted but put the cloak on. Just in time for the enforcement unite , led by Lahar to arrive. Natsu pointed to where he'd left the chained up dark mages and most of the soldiers went to go collect them but Lahar stayed. Natsu had managed to alter his voice slightly. "Is there something wrong? Cobra is a free man now is he not?" He asked , wondering why Lahar was still hanging around. "Well he's on parole yes , he is clearly injured so we'll take him to a hospital and then to his parole officer so they can talk about joining a guild." He said firmly. "Actually , we talked and Cobra decided he wanted to join our guild. If that's alright." Lahar thought for a second. "Well...although you're not an official guild you've been a great help and so far you haven't broken any laws. So I suppose it's alright...I'll talk it over with his Parole officer but I'll allow him to go with you for now." Lahar nodded curtly before leaving. Kyon ended up having to carry Cobra back to the guild hall. Cubellios following him. The snake made the exceeds feel a little on edge especially happy but Natsu was sure they'd warm up to each other eventually. He sighed , now he had a trouble making dragon slayer on parole to deal with. He really felt for Gramps. He smiled wistfully wondering how his old friends were doing. 'I'll see them again eventually , even if we're on opposite sides.' He thought himself. He hummed leaning against Yuki as they walked. Heading home to get a good rest.
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A/n: another chapter~ it's 5:16 AM and I haven't slept yet but I just really wanted to write some more of this story. So Cobra finally makes an appearance Yall! I love my Snake Son. I'm sorry if he's a little out of character it's hard keeping him in character. Anyway I've narrowed down the guild name to two choices and want you guys to pick. So the first is DragonTail. It's cute and simple and it makes sense since the guild was built from Fairytail's betrayal and their like a new and improved Fairytail. I've kind of fallen in love with this one now...whoops? The second one is Draconis Ignis. If I translated it right then it should translate to Dragon's Fire in Latin. Latin sounds cool , I'm a Harry Potter nerd , Latin is used in magic things a lot and their a bunch of dragon slayers who have fiery tempers. So which one sounds better for the guild name. As much as I love DragonTail I'll be fair whichever wins , wins. Now to beat my insomnia up with a baseball bat. Goodbye my lovely kittens 🐱🖤💜🖤💜🖤💜🐱