Before the Battle

Natsu, Luna, Happy, and Elise were on their way to Nankyoku Village. Happy and Elise were carrying their respective dragon slayers. The four of them agreed that they would be traveling by exceed flight as much as possible to minimize traveling by vehicle because of Natsu's and Luna's motion sickness. Earlier, while the four of them were at a restaurant, Luna figured out the locations of the three remaining MNTs (magic nullification towers). She devised a plan on how they were going to go about stopping Hell Spawn. First the four of them were going to travel to Nankyoku Village and destroy the first tower cores. Then they would head to the last tower's location, the Oasis Town of Tansui of the Salzar Desert the enter of the western hemisphere, to confront Hell Spawn, eliminate them there so they can't detonate any towers, then destroy the tower being set up there. After that, they would travel to the third tower's location, Hokkyoku City, the center of the northern hemisphere, and destroy that tower's cores. Luna estimated that the whole operation would take them approximately nine months and by the time they got home, a total of twelve months would have passed by. Just in time for the start of mating season for dragon slayers which was all summer.

'By the time all this is over with... it'll be... mating season...' Luna thought to herself, blushing slightly as she thought more about it. Even though she and Natsu were boyfriend and girlfriend now, she still wasn't sure she was ready for... well... sex. Luna and Natsu were 26 years old so technically they had been physically ready for mating season for 7 years now. This coming mating season will be the 8th.

'God, Natsu must be really backed up by now.' Luna thought as she remembered the fact that male dragon slayer's mating instincts build up and become more and more intense every year they don't mate once they reach mating age, which is 18 years old. Female dragon slayers just go into heat and phase out of it when mating season is over. Their hormones don't build up for the next year unlike the males. Natsu must have been able to smell Luna's pheromones for the past 7 mating seasons. But all these years he hadn't pursued her and she started to wonder why. All this time Luna was blushing as she thought about her and Natsu and the next mating season. Natsu noticed Luna's face getting redder and started to worry that she might be sick.

"Are you okay Crystal? Your face is all red. Do you have a fever?" Natsu asked Luna calling her by her nickname which interrupted Luna's thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, no I'm fine. Hey uh, when this is all over, it'll be mating season. We've been old enough to mate for 7 years now. This year will be our 8th year." Luna started what she knew was going to be an awkward conversation.

"Yeah? What about it?" Natsu asked, not really understanding what she was getting at. Luna sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, a little frustrated.

"Geez Pinky. You really don't get it, do you? I mean you must have been able to smell my pheromones during those past 7 mating seasons. Why didn't you pursue me all these years?" Luna asked as Natsu finally caught on. He sighed and looked Luna straight in the eyes as they flew through the air with their exceeds.

"You want to know the truth, right? I'm going to be completely honest with you. I've liked you ever since we were little and I was highly considering choosing you to be my mate. But during my 18th year, I met Lucy Heartfilia. As Lucy and I got to know each other more, I started to develop feelings for her as well as continue to harbor the feelings I already had for you. I was torn between you and Lucy so I didn't make a move on either of you. Since dragon slayers mate for life, I had to make sure I wouldn't regret the choice I made later on. So I waited for the moment that would finalize my decision. As you lay unconscious on the brink of death underneath me after that Frostus guy attacked you, I realized that I absolutely could not live without you. I'm not saying that I could live without Lucy, but I feel like the loss would be greater if I were to lose you. At that moment I realized you were my soulmate. So I've officially made up my mind for whom I want to be my mate. And it's you Luna." Natsu said as he reached over and grabbed Luna's hand in his and squeezed it gently. Luna blushed a bright red color.

"Aww thanks Natsu, I'm glad. But I feel a little bad for Lucy. She has feelings for you too. She told me how she felt about you because I'm her best friend. But I knew that before she even told me. I could tell by the way she looks at you and acts around you." Luna said as she paused, sighing.

"She told me not to tell you about her feelings for you. But I figured now that you've chosen me as your mate, it's important for you to know. I hope she doesn't hate me for telling you without her permission." Luna said, sighing again.

"I don't think she'll hate you for it. She might be a bit disappointed, but she doesn't seem like the type to hate someone for something like that. I mean she is your best friend after all." Elise said to reassure Luna who looked up at her and smiled. The four of them continued to fly until Happy and Elise ran out of energy. Natsu and Luna reluctantly resorted to traditional transportation to give their exceeds a rest.

~Time Skip: 3 Months~

Natsu, Luna, Happy and Elise finally reached their destination Nankyoku Village, the center of the southern hemisphere. It was a small village so it wasn't hard to find the large tower Hell Spawn had planted there, even in the whiteout blizzard.

"Wow Luna, it looks like you were spot on. One of the towers is here just like you said." Happy said as Luna smiled at him, patting him on the head.

"Yep! Mavis's tactical training definitely paid off. Now let's destroy this thing!" Luna said as she transformed into her dragon force form. Natsu followed Luna's lead and transformed into his dragon force form as well.

"Okay so here's the plan, I'm going to further lower the temperature of the spheres surrounding the cores by encasing them with the coldest ice I can make and then Natsu, you will blast them with the hottest flames you can muster. The drastic change in temperature should put stress on the curse iron, causing it to become more brittle and make it easier to break. Then we'll destroy the cores like we did last time. Happy and Elise, you guys better stand back." Luna said as the two exceeds followed her instructions. She then got into position as did Natsu.

"Ice Dragon's Roar!" Luna shouted as she breathed in and then blasted a powerful beam of ice that encased the spherical chambers with ice upon contact. Natsu then breathed in deeply to prepare his breath attack.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu yelled as he blew a huge pillar of flames at the ice encased spheres. The fire immediately melted the ice and made contact with the metal. They kept repeating the routine and like Luna said, the curse iron started to crack under the repetitive extreme change in temperature in a short span of time. Luna and Natsu took turns attacking the sphere's until they were weak enough to destroy with regular attacks. The cores fell to the ground as the spheres encasing them were broken open. Natsu and Luna then blasted the cores to dust with their icy and fiery attacks. The dust particles blew away in the freezing cold wind of the blizzard. Quite a few locals came out of their houses and businesses to see what all the ruckus was about. Luna and Natsu explained everything to them. The locals didn't even realize what kind of danger they were in and they were thankful that Natsu and Luna destroyed the tower cores. To thank them, the top restaurant owner of the village offered them a free meal at his restaurant free of charge. He ended up regretting that decision because of how much Natsu and Happy ate because their definition of meal was abnormally larger than the typical person's definition of meal. He made the guys work until they paid off the extra meals that Natsu and Happy ordered. Luna and Elise apologized to the restaurant owner for the two gluttons before the four of them took off to their next destination, the Oasis Town Tansui of the Salzar Desert.

~Time Skip: Another 3 Months~

Natsu, Luna, Happy and Elise arrived at the Oasis Town Tansui of the Salzar Desert. For being in the middle of a desert wasteland, the town was quite lively, buzzing with activity. The four of them searched the town for the tower but didn't come across one.

"They probably haven't arrived yet." Elise said as she looked around. Natsu suddenly tensed and sniffed the air. He furrowed his brows into a dark frown. Luna became uneasy because she could smell them too. Just then, there was a lot of muttering amongst the locals as they looked up and pointed towards the sky. Natsu, Luna, Happy and Elise looked up to see what the locals where fixated on. There was a giant airship flying over the town with the tower dangling below it, carried by strong cables.

"They're here." Luna said as Natsu glared at the airship carrying the magic nullifying tower.

"Those Hell Spawn bastards are gonna pay for what they did to you!" Natsu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He was about to take off after them and go guns blazing, but Luna sensed what he was going to do and grabbed his arm. Natsu paused and looked at her.

"Calm down, Natsu. Don't do anything rash. We don't want a repeat of that incident on Tenrou Island, or worse." Luna said as Natsu relaxed a little at Luna's words and touch.

"She's right, Natsu. As much as you want to give Hell Spawn what they deserve, we can't just rush in and attack them. Remember what Brisk said? That Frostus guy nearly eliminated an entire treasure hunting guild of 100 members single-handed. Not only that, but his ice powers are strong enough to freeze your normal flames and put Luna into a deadly coma. And she's an ice dragon slayer!" Happy said waving his arms frantically to emphasize the severity of the danger.

"Tch! Damn it, those guys!" Natsu said as he relaxed a little and Luna let go of his arm.

"Then what do you suppose we do?" Natsu asked as Luna cupped her chin in her hand, trying to think of a strategy.

"I think we should wait until they land. Then we'll try to take them out stealthily. You hear that, Natsu? Stealthily take them out." Luna said, wagging her finger at Natsu and emphasizing the word stealthily.

"Yeah, yeah I heard." Natsu said halfheartedly, putting his hands up behind his head as a frown formed on Luna's face.

"I mean it Pinky. We'll have a better chance of winning if we take them out with stealth." Luna said with a firm tone.

"Alright, I'll try but my fighting style isn't really meant for stealthy take outs. So don't get mad at me if I make a scene, 'kay Crystal?" Natsu said, his tone more playful as he smiled and winked at Luna which made her blush.

'Why am I getting all flustered? He didn't say anything flattering or encouraging. Actually, it was a bit concerning and not anything to blush over at all!' Luna thought to herself. As she was deep in thought, Natsu gently brushed a strand of light blue hair out of her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

"Are you okay, Crystal? Your face is red again." Natsu asked Luna, using her nickname. She stayed silent while leaning her head into Natsu's chest, placing her hand over his hand on her face. She closed her eyes and smiled softly.

"Luna..." Natsu said in a concerned tone, leaning in closer to her face with his. She let out a soft chuckle.

"I'm fine Natsu. I just don't understand why I get flustered over the silliest things when it comes to you." Luna said as Natsu chuckled. She frowned in confusion.

"Maybe it's because we're mates now. Dragon slayers mate for life. Once a dragon slayer chooses their mate and are accepted, the feelings between the two deepen from the bond that forms between them. A bond between two dragon slayers is stronger than a bond between a dragon slayer and a regular human because they both share dragon mating instincts. Humans have completely different 'mating instincts' than dragons. Anyways, that bond can make your romantic emotions flare up at the smallest things your mate says or does." Natsu said as Luna's eyes widened at his knowledge of dragon slayers mating bonds. Usually he's quite dimwitted compared to the average mage.

"Wow Natsu! I didn't know you knew so much about this stuff." Luna said as Natsu blushed and scratched his cheek with his index finger.

"Well... I uh asked Levy to help me understand it more. She's a bookworm and she's really smart so I figured she'd be able to help me out." Natsu admitted while grinning sheepishly. Luna tilted her head to the side in slight confusion.

"But why did you become interested in that? You don't seem like the type to take a particular interest in dragon mating bonds and stuff." Luna pointed out.

"Well, I wanted to learn more about it because of you and Lucy. I was hoping that if I better understood dragon slayer's mating bonds and mating instincts, it would help me make the right choice for my mate. And honestly, the information Levy found for me made me lean more towards choosing you. But I was still unsure. I didn't want to hurt either of your feelings by choosing one of you over the other. I knew I would have to do it eventually, but I wanted to be absolutely sure and not jump the gun." Natsu said, averting his gaze slightly to the side. Silence followed for a little while before Luna spoke up.

"I'm gonna be honest, I've liked you ever since I met you when we were little. When we were both 18, I was really hoping you would choose me as your mate. I was quite disappointed when you didn't. And I had a suspicion you didn't because of Lucy. I mean, I'm sure Lucy would be a really wonderful mate and all. She has a great personality and she's beautiful too. But I'm really, really glad you chose me instead. I hope I'm not sounding too selfish." Luna said as Natsu shook his head and pulled Luna closer to him by her waist.

"Not at all. It's only natural to feel that way when you have a love rival." Natsu said to reassure Luna. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands and closed her eyes, cherishing this moment with him before their battle with Hell Spawn. It felt like they were both sinking into an ocean of love.

"Sorry to interrupt your moment, but Hell Spawn's airship just landed. We should get going." Elise said as she flew towards Natsu and Luna with Happy. The two of them had been so busy talking, they didn't realize Happy and Elise had gone off on their own to follow the airship. Natsu and Luna looked at each other and nodded.

"Remember the plan: take them out stealthily." Luna said to Natsu who just chuckled and grinned mischievously in response.

"I mean it, Pinky." Luna said firmly while lightly punching Natsu on the shoulder. He rubbed the area Luna just hit. It didn't actually hurt, he just did it autonomously.

"Okay, okay! I'll try just for you, Crystal." Natsu responded as Luna blushed. He grinned widely as Happy and Elise grabbed their respective dragon slayers and flew them to where the airship just landed.