Consider these the Fairy Tail version of my Dragon Ball Alternate Paths which are meant to depict the beginning of a different upbringing for the main character whether it's Natsu Dragneel/E.N.D. in the former or Goku/Kakarot in the latter. These different upbringings are also up for grabs, if you must know. While I had thought of writing a lot by own my hand, I'm more than happy with seeing others take their own shots at them. Just give me a response when you feel like working.
Before I start, allow me to say that for a lot of these to work, I will be using the concept featured in Fairy's Shelter on FFN which reasoned that if something went wrong with Layla Heartfilia's Eclipse Gate opening, one to all five of the First Generation Dragon Slayers could've ended up before or after that time from Fairy Tail Zerø to X784, or anywhere in between. If anyone is worried about Natsu and company aging with the times on the chance they came before Fairy Tail was founded, I'd recommend that they all stop aging once their young adulthood kicks in due to spacetime reasons and by the time July 7, X777 rolls around, the five are regressed into children to turn into teens again by X784. At least, that's what I'm thinking. Just let me know what you all think.
Here are the guidelines and disclaimer.
No unnecessary bashing: seeing characters grow up and show hidden strengths is all good until it looks like the writer is purposefully making the character in question look like an unlikable nuisance at best and a complete villain at worst. Trust me, it's best to show both the positives and negatives of those in a story. I know it might not be easy for those that pulled off some bad acts in canon (Jellal among others), but giving them the benefit of the doubt would be a fair sign.
No slash: I try not to judge people who have different "bonding" preferences compared to mine, but I really don't think that characters that weren't listed as canonically yaoi in nature should be depicted as such. Not that I like gender bending much either.
Keep the content at a controlled level: meaning that it's probably best to be mindful of which direction the story/stories will go. I like straight lemons as much as the next fellow, but given how things all are iffy on certain websites like FFN, it would probably be wise to just walk first before jumping.
Don't shy away from asking me for advice or beta reading: however, I won't dictate your execution as it should ultimately be your decision. I'm doing fine with it so far with digemsmack over his Fairy Tail story which I gave my patronage for, Ascension of the Second Apocalypse, even though I haven't heard from him in quite a long time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, or any of its associated characters and lore. That right belongs to Hiro Mashima.
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Fairy Tail Alternate Paths
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Lord of the Draconic Phantasms
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Magnolia Town, Fiore, Ishgar, Earth Land, April of X686
Observing the opening of the Fairy Tail Guild Building from afar, Geoffrey, final Guild Master of the now defunct Blue Skull Dark Mages, watched with a scowl as Mavis Vermillion and her friends celebrated their founding. By his side, was a young man with pink hair in equally dark clothing who regarded the Legal Mages more neutrally. The teenager in question was the only other Mage of Blue Skull to escape with him and had continued to stay under Geoffrey's watch. Not out of genuine loyalty, but because Geoffrey's Magic forced the young Dragon Slayer into obeying his every order as he had been for almost seven years.
"Fairy Tail?" Geoffrey asked himself rhetorically before scoffing as he directed his teenaged protégé away from Magnolia. "What a load of idealistic hogwash. That Mavis brat is an embarrassment to the very title of "Guild Masters" and to all Guild Masters everywhere." Hearing an amused chuckle from the pink haired lad, Geoffrey glared viciously at him. "What? Is something funny, Dragneel?"
The young man answered back with a mocking tone. "Oh, nothing, Master Geoffrey. I just find the thought that four inexperienced Mages were able to beat an accomplished Master as yourself very funny, even now."
Having no desire for the orphaned brat to continue mocking him, Geoffrey used his magic to induce pain in the person in question to the point that he collapsed on the ground. Placing his leg on the kid's torso, Geoffrey arrogantly asked. "You were saying, Natsu?"
Grunting through the pain, Natsu eventually said. "What's the plan now, Master?"
Smirking at his downcast subject, Geoffrey replied. "We shall lay the groundwork for a new guild, one I will call Phantom Lord, and which will one day upstage Fairy Tail once and for all."
Getting back on his feet, Natsu thought about Geoffrey's words before asking. "I take it you have a good purpose behind separating the new guild from the old one?"
"Correct, Natsu. Fiore's political climate is tense right now. All we need do is wait for an inevitable war and seize the opportunity to present ourselves favorably to the Magic Council in order to become Legal Mages and legally compete with Fairy Tail without being branded as criminals."
Natsu couldn't help but scoff at that. "And if the Council outlaws inter-Guild fights from that point on?"
Geoffrey merely shrugged. "Then Phantom Lord will bide it's time. I will gladly train and indoctrinate my descendants to continue the fight, even when I am gone." He then turned to Natsu with a sneer. "And you, my Dragon Slayer, will ensure that one day, Phantom Lord is victorious when my descendants aren't able to get the job done right."
Natsu glared at Geoffrey before nodding in obedience and saying. "Understood." Internally, he thought, however. 'But I will find a way to free myself, even if it takes a hundred years.'
It wasn't like he chose to be Blue Skull's pawn, after all. When he woke up in X679 without Igneel one morning, Natsu went off to find any word about Dragons which was when he learned of a guild that possessed a Dragon skeleton and had been in a recent conflict with another guild that seemed to have been inspired by Dragons, given its name of Red Lizard. Unfortunately, he didn't expect that Geoffrey would magically bind him to his will, and that for some reason, it was predicted that he'll stop aging after nineteen. Nonetheless, Natsu hadn't given up in freeing himself from the wills of others, no matter what it took, or how long.
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Took some time, but it was worth it. Originally, I planned to make something like this as one of my own stories, but I think I'm busy enough as is with just three stories for both Natsu Dragneel and Natsu Dragion each. Yes, I typed in three for each because I've decided to remove the one that would've had Natsu become a member of Crime Sorcière as well as it's Edo version, considering I'll be busy enough with one Neutral Natsu story, one Dark Natsu story, and one Light Natsu story for both Earth Land and Edolas. However, I'll let you know if an associate of mine on FFN writes down that particular idea I was thinking of.
See you soon.