Fairy Tail: Dragon Hunter
Chapter One
At the start of sunrise, the dense forest surrounding Wendy was still just dark enough to keep her on edge. The occasional moving bush or suspicious shadow made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, and the fact that she was completely alone, at least for the moment, wasn't doing her mental state any favors. However, this was far from the first time she'd been in a situation like this, and there was always one thing she could do that never failed to calm her down.
While keeping her breathing controlled, she closed her eyes and focused on blocking out everything around her. The forest and its several potentially scary aspects vanished from her mind in an instant. In time, all that remained was the feeling of a swift, warm breeze as it enveloped every inch of her motionless body. Her heartbeat slowed back to its regular pace and a genuine smile graced her lips. The air around her settled as the wind died down, causing any sense of place and weight she had to disappear entirely. For a few soothing seconds, she felt like nothing more than a weightless conscious, ready to be carried away into the horizon alongside the next inevitable breeze. Unfortunately, this sense was instantly lost when a familiar voice snapped her back into reality.
"Wendy! Keep your eyes open, child! You never know what vile creatures might be lurking in these woods!"
She opened her eyes to find the once dark forest now bathed in sunlight. Quickly realizing that she must have lost track of time during her self-induced trance, she shook herself awake and began to frantically collect the several traveling packs scattered around her feet.
S-Sorry, Carla!" she exclaimed, while attempting to strap on a rucksack nearly double her size. "I just got kinda nervous being by myself and—whoa!" Her explanation came to an abrupt end as an attempt to redistribute her weight resulted in the heavy pack on her back forcing her forward. In the time it took her to blink, the dirt path that led through the forest was within inches of her face.
"Honestly!"
Her cheek was about to touch the dirt when her fall was stopped by two soft paws. She glanced over her shoulder while being pulled back onto the feet, and shot Carla an apologetic grin. "Sorry," she repeated in a genuine tone. "Were you able to see the next town yet?"
Carla released her and flew in front of her while nodding her head. "Yes, but I'm afraid we're still farther away than we should be." A wave of Carla's paw told her to start walking forward. "At this pace, we'll be lucky to reach Margaret by nightfall."
An exhausted sigh escaped Wendy's lips before she could stop it. That, when combined with the bead of sweat currently trickling down her forehead, was more than enough to catch Carla's attention.
"Regretting your decision to not wait for the train?" Carla asked with a hint of concern in her voice.
"Nope." Wendy shook her head and tried unsuccessfully to straighten her back. In reality, she was on the verge of collapsing. They'd been doing nothing but walking ever since they'd left Magnolia, a fact her throbbing legs refused to let her forget. Yet, with every increasingly painful step, she couldn't help but smile just a little bit wider. "I promised myself I'd use this time away from Fairy Tail to get stronger," she proclaimed proudly. "If...When the guild reforms, I want to make sure I'm strong enough to help protect everybody."
Carla matched her smile while keeping a close eye on the path ahead. "A noble goal if ever there was one, child, but all pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion is gonna do is put your own life in danger."
A short silence followed as Wendy contemplated her friend's words. "I guess you have a point," she eventually said. "Maybe, in a few minutes, we could take a break and finish off that cake Miss—"
"What's wrong?" Carla asked when met with a sudden silence.
Wendy didn't ignore the question purposefully, but after a few curious sniffs of the air around her, she lost the ability to hear anything Carla was saying. Everything that happened next felt like something out of a dream.
Her right foot kicked off the ground and sent her into a mad sprint. The safety of the path was gone within seconds, replaced with a dense forest of tall trees and rocky terrain. Thick leaves and branches whipped against her skin with every rushed step, but not even the constant sting from several small cuts on her arms, legs and face were enough to slow her down. Her sight resembled that of a narrow tunnel, and every step only pushed her legs to work harder in propelling her forward. For a few particularly large bounds, her body even resorted to running on all four limbs, an act that, while feeling quite unnatural, still nearly doubled her already insane sprinting speed.
She had no idea how long this went on for. All she knew was that, with each step she took, the amazing, unmistakable scent gracing her nostrils grew ever stronger. The scent reached it's peak as she spotted an area clear of trees ahead of her. With one final magic enhanced push off the ground, she leapt forward and cleared the treeline in the blink of an eye.
The area beyond the trees was nothing more than a large circular clearing of low grass. Her feet hit the ground hard, and created two long trails of dirt as her heels dug down deep to kill her speed. It wasn't until she'd come to a complete stop, that the distant sound of Carla's voice hit her ears.
"Wendy!" Carla shouted at the top of her lungs. The exceed came rocketing out of the treeline an instant later. Her wide, panicked eyes scanned the area and quickly landed on Wendy. "Oh, thank goodness! What on Earthland was that about, child!?"
Wendy felt her stomach lurch while meeting her friend's eyes. "I'm really sorry, Carla," she said alongside a deep bow. "I just wanted to figure out where this scent is coming from."
"Scent?" Carla asked in a confused tone. "What scent? I don't smell anything unusual."
"Well..." Wendy started softly, her voice trailing off as Carla flew closer and landed by her feet. "I...I know how this is gonna sound, but...for a second or two, it kinda smelled like Grandeeney."
Carla's expression softened into a thin, sympathetic smile. "Wendy," she practically whispered.
Finding it impossible to keep meeting Carla's compassionate gaze, Wendy looked down at her own feet. "I know," she said softly. "She's gone, and I need to accept that." She turned on a dime to hide a light sniffle from Carla. "I wasn't expecting to find her, specifically, just...maybe something that smells like her."
Carla once again took flight as Wendy began to sniff around. The exceed flew upwards, just high enough to survey the area. "Well, I hate to say it, but I really don't think we're going to—"
"I found something!" Wendy exclaimed excitedly. She dropped to her knees and rifled through the tall grass in front of her. An overwhelmingly sweet scent rose to greet her as she pulled back her hands to find her fingertips stained with a warm, dark-red liquid. "What?" she asked, mushing the liquid around between her fingers.
"Wendy! Don't touch that!"
Wendy blinked to find Carla now hovering inches from her face. The exceed looked down at her stained fingers for a total of two seconds before they were met with a soft handkerchief. "Keep still!" Carla ordered. "I don't know how or why this is here, but it's definitely not something you should be touching with your bare hands!"
The shocked tone of Carla's voice took Wendy by surprise. It wasn't like her friend to lose her composure. Carla's ability to remain calm and think dire problems through was what Wendy admired about her most. Even in the worst of situations, at times when she would find herself on the verge of tears, she could always count on Carla to keep a level head. It was a skill that had saved both of their lives on countless occasions. So, seeing her now, with her wide eyes and her frantic, jittery movements was more than enough to trip an alarm inside Wendy's head.
"I'm okay, Carla," Wendy said defensively, pulling her hands back before they were fully cleaned. "You know, I wasn't going to say anything, but you've been acting strange ever since we left Magnolia. It's not like you to get this worked up over a little mess."
Carla looked up at her with pure disbelief written on her face. "A little mess," Carla repeated, as if she needed to confirm she'd heard correctly. "Child, what are you saying!? What's on your hands, that's not just a little mess, it's—"
"Dragon blood."
A deep, gravely voice caused Wendy to turn towards the treeline. Her heartbeat accelerated rapidly at the sight of a shadowy figure standing just within the darkness of the forest. She took a single step forward, hoping to get a better view of the figure. Instead, she was immediately stopped in her tracks by a massive wall of magical runes.
Her legs pushed her back instinctively. A quick look around revealed that the runes had already formed a large dome around the area. The runes disappeared as she continued to step back, but now that she was aware of them, their immensely powerful presence sent a violent chill down her spine.
"What's the meaning of this!?" Carla yelled harshly at the shadowy figure. "Release us this instant!"
The figure responded with a simple shake of it's head. "I'm afraid I can't do that. After everything my guild went through to track you down, releasing you now would be a rather superfluous move on my part."
Wendy closed her eyes as the mysterious voice spoke. Try as she might, she couldn't find any face or name in her memory that matched the voice. Other than the obvious fact that he was male, she reopened her eyes with far more questions about the figure than answers.
"Who are you?" Wendy asked.
In a move that caused her fists to clench, the figure finally stepped forward. "You're handling this situation well, young dragon slayer," the man said. Two piercing, dark-blue eyes were the first thing to be illuminated as the man slowly strode into the sunlight. Next was the face of a man looking to be in his thirties, with sharp features, a head of shoulder-length, black hair, and a sizable beard to match. His muscular body was clad head-to-toe in metallic, pitch black armor that became more threatening as Wendy spotted it's one signature feature: the stylized image of a dragon's skull etched into it's breastplate.
The man walked forward until his feet hit the very edge of the runes separating them. "Aren't you even the least bit concerned about what I used to lure you here?" the man asked.
Wendy looked up to meet the man's eyes. "Not really," she answered in earnest. "I mean, not to be rude, but you've clearly been stalking us for some time, since you knew enough to set up this trap close to the path we were taking through the forest. Not to mention the fact that you referred to me as a dragon slayer, which tells me that you probably know who I am despite me never having met you until just now."
The man remained stoic throughout her entire speech. "Your point?" he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.
Carla responded before she could even open her mouth. "Her point is that you've done nothing but act like a creep towards a young girl and her cat, yet somehow see nothing wrong with expecting both of us to take you at your word when you walk out of the shadows spouting nonsense."
A short silence passed as the man took a step back and cast a vacant look forward. "Fair enough," he said with a shrug. "I suppose I do owe you both an explanation, at the very least."
The hair on Wendy's arms stood on end as the man shot forward. Two massive hands plunged through the magical barrier, causing violent sparks of energy to fly off in every direction, a few singeing Wendy's face in the process. An ironclad grip wrapped around her throat before she could even think of jumping back. The barrier's rune filled wall materialized once more as both Wendy and Carla were slammed against it. Between the intense heat coming from the barrier, and the sudden inability to let even the tiniest breath of air reach her lungs, it was all Wendy could do to keep her eyes open. With each passing second, she felt the strength being drained from her limbs by the lack of oxygen. The threat of blacking out entirely became all too real as a foggy, black outline began to overtake her vision.
"I'll keep this simple," the man said in a seething voice. "Just to make sure you understand exactly what's about to happen, and why you should have fought back when you had the chance."
Wendy tried to respond, but managed only a series of desperate gasps for air.
The man was completely ignoring Carla's presence, and turned his head to directly meet Wendy's eyes before speaking again. "My name is Sahel Rostand. I'm the master of a dragon hunting guild, and I'm here to kill you."
A sharp pain spread throughout Wendy's chest. All that pierced through the darkness corroding her vision was the hateful glare of Sahel's eyes. On the very edge of consciousness, she racked her brain for something she could do to at least gain a breath of much needed air.
"U-Unhand her...this instant...you..." Carla's voice was weak, and the few words she did manage to squeak out were barely audible.
Wendy's heart sank as Sahel turned his attention toward Carla. Even after summoning every last ounce of strength she had, all she could do was raise a hand in protest as Sahel tightened his grip around Carla's neck. Watching her friend struggle and claw furiously to free herself from Sahel's grasp caused a split second surge of adrenaline. It wasn't much, but it was just enough for her to shoot a single blast of wind at Sahel's right hand.
"Shit!" Sahel exclaimed, releasing his grip on both Wendy and Carla in order to take several frantic steps backward.
The attack did next to nothing; Wendy wasn't even certain it had landed where she'd aimed. However, the second a mouthful of sweet forest air reached her lungs, any questions she had about Sahel's actions instantly vanished. For the moment, she was just happy to be able to breath freely.
"C-Carla!" she screamed through a coughing fit. She looked to her side while sitting up in the grass. Her heartbeat settled at the sight of Carla's chest rising and falling normally. Unfortunately, the moment was short lived. After a short respite, she attempted to stand up, quickly realizing that such a feat was well beyond her rubber arms and legs. She looked to Carla once more, this time in desperation, only to discover that the exceed's eyes had long since closed.
"I'm...honestly surprised you were able to cast any spells in your current state," Sahel said in a tone she couldn't quite place. "But it doesn't matter now. These runes have been draining your magic bit by bit ever since you entered their vicinity. At full strength, I'm sure you could've broken this barrier with little effort. Now, however, your only remaining options are either to sit there and wait for magical deficiency disease to claim your life, or to beg for me to grant you a quick and merciful death."
Wendy forced herself onto her hands and knees. All four of her limbs shook under the weight of her body. "Why?" she asked while constantly trying to stand. "Why are you doing this? You said you're a dragon hunter, but you must know that dragon slayers aren't actually—"
A sly grin crossed Sahel's lips as she stopped herself mid sentence. "Word spreads fast, young dragon slayer."
In an instant, every recent memory she'd been trying to keep buried deep in the recesses of her mind came rushing forward. Fairy Tails fight with Tartaros, the return of Acnologia, and even the return and consequential death of every one of the dragon slayer's dragons, she relived it all in the time span of a few seconds, every excruciating detail.
She had no idea how, but a mysterious burst of energy erupted from somewhere deep inside her. She suddenly had enough strength not only to stand, but also to summon forth a powerful gust of wind around her right fist. Sahel stumbled backward as she rushed forward, slamming her magic encased fist against the barrier.
"You tricked me into thinking Grandeeney might still be alive!" Her voice was coarse thanks to her bone dry throat. Every word that left her lips did so alongside an abrasive feeling that traveled up the back of her throat. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to watch someone you love die!? I spent years convincing myself that she was gonna come back for me, and when she finally did, I barely got five minutes with her before she was gone forever!"
Sahel's face turned dead white as she continued to smash her fist against the barrier. Sparks of magical energy flew off with each hit. Over time, the barrier itself began to flicker.
Wendy watched with watery eyes as Sahel motioned over his shoulder and let out a loud whistle. Suddenly, the leaves of a nearby tree shifted, but without the aid of any noticeable breeze. She looked back to Sahel no more than a second later, and was shocked to see someone else standing beside him. Everything about the new person was hidden under a hooded, dark green cloak, save for the fact that they were considerably shorter than Sahel.
"Reinforce the barrier," Sahel ordered quickly. "This girl is considerably more powerful than our intel suggested. We can't risk her breaking free without the entire guild here to back us up."
"At once," the cloaked figure replied. "However, Master, I'm afraid we have another problem."
Sahel nodded toward the barrier. "Talk and cast, huntress."
"There may not be enough time, Master." The huntress spoke in a hasty, yet respectful tone. "I don't know how they found us, but two guild mages started attacking my men stationed at the edge of the forest. I ordered my squadron to defend this position at all costs, but without my help they'll likely only serve in buying us some time."
Their conversation continued on, but Wendy chose then to stop listening. Her final punch on the barrier had no magical power behind it, and accomplished nothing other than singeing her own knuckles as she fell to her knees. Even with the knowledge that someone could possibly be coming to their rescue, she couldn't fight against the barrier's constant sapping of her magic any longer. With the last of her strength, she crawled to Carla's side and wrapped her arms around the lightly breathing exceed.
She could feel her own breathing getting less steady. A light tapping against her chest let her focus on Carla's infrequent heartbeat. Pulling the exceed in close, she closed her eyes and tried to block out the pain plaguing every inch of her body. Her magic felt nonexistent at this point, but if she could find even the tiniest spark of energy somewhere inside herself, she could make sure that at least Carla would survive for a few more minutes.
"What was that!?"
Sahel's booming voice forced her heavy eyelids to reopen. It wasn't long before she figured out what had caused the man's outburst. The ground around them was shaking. A series of fast, rhythmic quakes that seemed to be growing in intensity.
Outside the barrier, the huntress moved in front of Sahel, reaching one hand underneath the back of her cloak. "Stay behind me, Master, I'll—"
A focused swirl of black wind came rocketing out of the treeline, bypassing both the huntress and Sahel to crash against the magical barrier. The barrier shattered the instant the attack landed, it's various runes dissipating harmlessly.
A bow now in hand, the huntress aimed her weapon at the treeline. An arrow made of magical energy materialized out of thin air as she pulled back on the bow's string.
Wendy watched the scene unfold as best she could. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, both in anticipation and to see if she had regained any feeling in her body. Without her magic, all she could do was sit and pray that whatever happened next would play out in her favor.
Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long. A bright flash of light from within the treeline caused the huntress to shoot her arrow prematurely, seconds before the actual threat appeared in front of her. Two large bears, made entirely out of sparkling blue ice, crashed through the treeline and charged straight toward the two mages. The huntress readied her bow for another shot, but quickly lost her chance to fire.
A massive explosion of magical energy shook the area as both bears detonated within inches of the huntress, also catching Sahel within the blast. What remained a moment later was nothing more than a single, static block of ice with two wide eyed mages trapped inside it's casing.
"Wow. I think you overdid it, Lyon," Sherria said, walking out of the treeline while staring in amazement at the block of magical ice.
Lyon was no more than a single step behind. Unlike Sherria, the young man wore a rather serious look on his face as he stepped into the open area. "Quite the contrary. The amount of magic power coming off these two is on a completely different level than the mages we fought in the forest. My magic likely won't keep them trapped for very long. We need to figure out what they were doing here and leave while we still can."
"Well, I broke the runes to whatever spell they were casting, so..." Sherria's voice trailed off as she finally turned to face the center of the field. Lyon followed her movement.
"Wendy!?" Lyon and Sherria yelled simultaneously.
Wendy's body lacked the strength to burst into tears of happiness. At best, a thin smile spread on her lips as her exhaustion started to blur her vision. The last thing she saw before blacking out, was Sherria sprinting across the field toward her.