Author's Notes: Goddamn, it seems to be an instinct to just forget to write the A/N.
Anyways. Here is my Fairy Tail AU, Eternal Chronicles. Like the description said, you can expect stuff along the lines of new arcs, characters, hell, even brand new storylines...
If this isn't your first time reading this (as in, you had already read this before I put in the A/N), and you feel like a new chapter is taking long to show up... exams and other school stuff tend to make a problematic schedule.
Regardless, know no fear, for I am finishing the second chapter, preparing the chapters for the Daybreak and Lullaby arcs, and establishing the number of chapters for the first two new arcs in this AU: Jaxim Reyes (dealing with a member of one of the two criminal mafia-ish families mentioned in the opening part) and Messenger (which sets up the stage for another "big dog" storyline that is intimately linked to the current Zeref storyline, which actually only serves to expand the main plot: the three-way secret war between three organizations also mentioned in this opening piece.)
It's going to involve much more stuff from other nations (although, like the real and canon FT, it takes place mostly in Fiore and outskirts.)
If this IS your first time reading this... well, leave a review, good or bad, as long as it's valid.
Oh, and one last thing: the pairings. The only goddamned way I'm going to make a relationship between a canon character and an OC is if the character doesn't explicitly end up paired up with someone else by the time canon FT ends. Regarding the pairings between the canon characters, they're going to be whatever Mashima-san puts in FT. I am, personally, a NaLu shipper, but if FT ends with Natsu paired up with Lisanna, I'm not going to rage around and ragequit on this fic.
Era, Fiore, Earthland
"ULTEAR!"
The Second Seat's scream reverberated through the reunion room, where the thirteen members of the Council lay.
Said room was more akin to a massive, open-air space, with a clear line of sight to the mountains that concealed Era, their headquarters. A large table dominated the center of the spot, with thirteen seats, one for each member of the Magic Council, the organization in charge of conducting the laws and politics of Earthland.
Ever since the ending of the Armageddon Wars, thirteen people were the ones given the power to mold society as they saw fit. In times of war, they were the ones expected to end it, and in times of peace, the ones expected to make it last for generations. For every year, the Chairman and the Twelve Seats were the ones meant to guide the people of Earthland to prosperity.
The Magic Council.
The Council's current Chairman, Crawford Seam, had kept the seat of Chairman for over 40 years. A political genius unlike any other, Seam had the ability to sway even the most die-hard dissidents to his side, and had managed to reinforce peace between the Pergrande Kingdom and the Umbreos Union, two superpowers which everyone knew disliked each other, to the point of risking full-scale war just so that one could show the other who was the boss. It is said that when he resigns, it would be 500 years until a politician of his caliber would become Chairman again.
Org Avalon, the Second Seat, was a monk of the Syon Kai order, an elusive group of scholars who spent their time isolated in the northern reaches of Iceberg. He is notable for being the first monk to join the Council, with the ambition of using his knowledge acquired with the Syon Kai to maintain order throughout the lands, and is also the most likely candidate to take the seat of Chairman after Seam resigned.
The position of Third Seat was occupied by Michello Felix, replacing Torch Endeavor, whose old age was catching up to him, and was now living his years of retirement on his home on Minstrel, with his wife, children and grandchildren. Sadly, popular opinion is that the level-headed Torch was a far better Councillor than the grumpy Michello, who opted for the fastest way to solve things, usually through less than diplomatic means.
Lejii Theobalt held the Fourth Seat. While he was not the constantly complaining pessimist Michello was, he was little better than him as a politician, and was the number one subject of scandals, which amused the Tenth Seat to no end. Rumor had it that he only got the Seat because his uncle, Uman Theobalt, wished for it to happen. In reality, he was there because he was the one who could most easily counter Michello's arguments.
The Fifth Seat, Belno Radion, was a calm and collected woman. The only Councillor to hold unanimous approval from all other seats, she was a patient mediator, excellent at reading people and knowing how to calm them and/or persuade them.
Yajima Sentomatsu was the current holder of the Sixth Seat, and the only Councillor to hail from a Magic Guild (more specifically, Fairy Tail), and was a good friend of the guild Master, Makarov Dreyar. Normally silent, he usually spoke whenever he felt was necessary, and his silence annoyed the other Councillors. Either the silence, or the fact that he was a member of Fairy Tail.
The only exception was the Seventh Seat, Yuri Sideroff. A greatly ancient figure, the frail man was over a hundred years old. While Belno might be a mediator, everyone would immediately pay attention if Yuri wished to speak. His wisdom usually gained support to whichever opinion he defended
Old Hogg Orton, the tough, no-nonsense Eighth Seat, was a stoic figure, and a decorated general of the Umbreos Union. In the rare cases where Crawford Seam's diplomatic talents could not defuse a situation, Hogg would send a 'warning message' in the form of a battalion. He was the man responsible for reinforcing the military might of the Council, wisely declaring that "words alone will never solve all the problems in this fuckin' shitty world".
But where Hogg preferred armies, the Ninth Seat, Hessar Yussef, favored subterfuge and spycraft. Such preference came from his Desiertian upbringing, where there were no cities, but rather huge nomadic tribes which were more like mobile cities, and where mistrust among different tribes was common, exactly due to the large amount of spies. Unusually, he and Hogg employed their resources to complement each other.
Balthazar Kron was the Tenth Seat. A link between the wisdom of age and the recklessness of youth, he was a traveler from the West who wanted to make money with a business idea. Now, he is a wealthy entrepreneur with links to several institutions dedicated to the research of magic, and a tremendously powerful mage himself. He had twice the Chairman's foresight, but half his governing skills, and yet, he held the approval and esteem of only half the other members of the Council.
The Eleventh Seat was Syndros. A distinct figure due to the iron mask concealing his features (or rather, the burned and disfigured remains of them), nothing was known of his past. He only emerged from nothing thirty years ago near Port Hargeon, after a strange phenomenon occurred in the exact same area. He was a far more silent figure than Yajima, to the point of only acting whenever the Council needed to vote on an urgent matter.
Siegrain Fernandes was one of the two most recent Councillors, the Twelvth Seat. Brash and arrogant, he was usually disinterested in the most morose aspects of governing a world, and loved to either see trouble, or to brew it himself. The most vocal opposition he had came from Org, Michello, and Kron.
The other one was the Thirteenth Seat, Ultear Milkovich. She was, essentially, a female version of Siegrain. The only things that made her different from him was a shorter temper and a tendency to play around with crystal balls.
It was the latter that attracted Org's ire. She had been employing her magic to make her ball crack into pieces, then reforming it, multiple times.
"Stop toying around during the meeting!"
"And why?" Ultear replied before mockingly yawning. "I'm feeling really bored, with this never-ending talk." She turned to the man on her right. "Aren't you bored as well, Siegrain-sama?"
Siegrain pulled aside a bit of blue hair that was covering his right eye, exposing the intricate marking that surrounded it. It was the most noteworthy trait he had.
"Yeah… I'm feeling bored over here as well." He answered, smiling. "I mean, I'm actually hoping someone could hop in and cause some trouble. It surely would make things exciting around here."
The Tenth Seat, Balthazar Kron, shifted around.
"Tell me, Siegs," he asked. "what is your definition of 'fun', exactly? Given the kind of troublemakers we have lying around, you'd have to be careful what you wish for."
"Oh?" Siegrain smiled arrogantly. "How so?"
Now it was Kron's turn to smile. Instead of arrogance, the huge shit-eating grin he displayed was openly mocking the Twelvth Seat. "Well. Let me just explain to you. First off, the Balam Alliance. Oración Seis, Grimoire Heart and Tartarus, the three big bad Dark Guilds of the world, allied through a pact of non-agression, meaning we can't just manipulate them into fighting one another."
"Hmm. Indeed." Old Hogg replied in agreement. "The only good course of action would be to mobilize the Rune Corps and the Morbius Legion, and we cannot afford to sustain the heavy losses that would inevitably arise. Maybe not if we pit them against Zeref cultists or the Reyes and Accron families, but still…"
Yussef laughed it off. "You mean only the Reyes and the Accrons. Zeref cultists operate in a very disorganized manner. The only ones that could pose a significant threat would be the Mad Priest Arlock, the Demon's Voice, or even Yrael the Voidtouched."
"And yet, several of these 'disorganized cultists' can go and rape, pillage and burn isolated villages by the countryside or smaller towns, all 'for the glory of the Father-of-Death Zeref'." The ancient Yuri intervened. "We should focus on the small worms eating the leaves from our trees just as much as we do on the raging inferno that can burn away the whole prairie."
"You talk about groups like Rapture, Zenith, Aurora and the like when you mention the inferno, am I right, Yuri-roshi?" Kron asked the Seventh Seat, who calmly nodded in reply. "Yes, I can see why. King-General Ezekhiall wastes no time recruiting as many people as he can to Aurora, and Zenith is all preachy-preachy about the betterment of mankind. Honestly, I can't see how that justifies all the sick experiments they perform on people, but, then again, people just get crazy like that." He concluded before taking a sip of his wine.
"And you forget the bigger threat; Rapture." Belno stepped in. "For all the possible threats that we talk about, we forget the ones that prefer to hide in the shadows and operate through others, even though they have an army of their own."
"Honestly, I think Rapture is not hiding in the shadows; they themselves are the shadows." Leiji intervened. "We should play a more active role instead of remaining passive about it all."
Siegrain slowly clapped. "Wow, Theobalt, that was the wisest decision I've ever seen coming from you."
Ultear didn't try to hide her mirth. Before Siegrain could continue, he was interrupted by Michello, who was whispering loud enough for him to hear. "Why did these idiots have to join the Council…?"
"Because we got tons of magic power. Because we are strong like that." Siegrain replied before whispering as well, "you old fart…"
The reactions were varied. Yajima, Syndros, Yuri and Org kept their silence. Belno looked at Siegrain with a disapproving expression on her face. Old Hogg merely sighed. Kron, Leiji and Hessar, however, were snickering at the whispered insult, while Ultear was laughing more openly.
Michello, as anyone would expect, was incensed, his face taking on an angry red tone. "You miserable little—"
"Silence." Crawford Seam's deep voice rumbled. Both Michello and Siegrain stood down immediately.
The Chairman looked once at each of his fellow Councillors before proceeding. "Indeed, as Balthazar mentioned, we are currently facing many problems. However, there is another that he failed to mention."
Kron looked at the Chairman with a pensative expression. "Then I beg of you to explain, Chairman Seam."
The Chairman continued. "While there are many problems arising and persisting in the world, we forget that sometimes, our legal organs are just as destructive, while not exactly as evil."
Hessar straightened up. "You're talking about—"
"Indeed. I am talking about one particular Magic Guild whose members are known for their tendency to destroy everything around them, or to do other less than admirable things, to get the job done."
"I am talking about the mages of Fairy Tail."
xoO—FT—Oox
Hargeon Town, Fiore, Earthland
Hargeon Town was a modest commercial and touristic nexus on Fiore. It was a city renowned for fishing, unlike most other cities like it, which focused on magic artifacts and objects. Such was due to being a port town, and many people there earned a living selling fish near the marina. Farther away from the seas, several shops dedicated themselves to jewelry, or clothing.
However, despite being a port town, most people tended to travel there by land or air. In fact, that day, Hargeon's train station was on one of its busiest days. Trains from all over Fiore were arriving, people coming and going for whatever reasons in their daily lives justified it.
One of these trains, which had left from Magnolia Town, was facing a rather peculiar situation.
"Excuse me, sir…" The train's conductor began to ask. "Are you OK?"
A pink-haired boy wearing a red coat and a white scarf was lying on the floor with a sickened expression on his face, looking like he was about to vomit. Accompanying him was a strange sort of cat, with blue fur. As if that wasn't strange enough for the train's crew, the cat could also stand on two legs and speak like people do.
"Aye. There's no need to worry." The blue cat explained to them. "It happens all the time—oh," he said as he saw the boy get back up with effort. "See, he's fine."
The conductor nodded, dumbfounded at the talking cat, and promptly left.
"Uuuughhh, this is impossible…" the boy spoke. "After this, I'm never, ever, riding a train ever again." Immediately after speaking, he covered his mouth so that he wouldn't vomit on the train floor.
"Oh well," the blue cat replied, unperturbed by the happenings. "If the information we got is correct, then that means Salamander must be hanging around." He turned to the boy. "Come on, Natsu, let's go."
The blue cat had already exited the train when the boy, Natsu, held up a hand. "Happy, wait. Just… let me rest for a while…"
Happy, the blue cat, turned around to face him. "Okay—oh…"
He noticed the train was about to start moving, much to Natsu's horror.
"It's already departing…"
As the train began to speed away, Natsu only screamed, "HEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEE!"
xoO—FT—Oox
In another spot of Hargeon Town, overlooking the port, another boy, wearing a black and dark green longcoat with a hood pulled over his head, watched the people of the city walking about in their daily lives. His name was Matthiah.
He had heard rumors that a renegade mage was spotted around Hargeon and its surrounding area, and was looking to know why. That, and put him down, in the event that he had hidden intentions.
For the last four years, this was Matthiah's occupation: acting as an unseen vigilante and discreetly collaborating with official and independent Guilds to apprehend and put down mages who were tip-toeing with the rules.
Honestly, it's getting tiring. Thank goodness this is the one last job.
Finishing his observation, he started walking towards a restaurant that was one of his old favorites. This was Matthiah's last escapade as a vigilante. After that, he would have to find another way to live his life.
Who knows? Maybe I can join a Guild, one of these days… given time.
Upon entering the restaurant, he was greeted by the smell of various foods that were served there. He sat down, and a waiter immediately moved to greet him with the menu.
"I'll just have a plate of grilled salmon. Not so hungry." Matthiah said after taking a look through the menu. A few minutes later, his meal was placed on the table, and he immediately started eating.
However, upon finished, he discovered he had a small problem on his hands.
xoO—FT—Oox
"What do ya mean, ya can't pay?" The restaurant's owner asked angrily.
Matthiah was at a loss for words. He didn't know how he forgot he had no money on him. It's official. Most embarrassing moment of my life, right here.
"Uh, mister, look…" Matthiah replied as carefully as he could, so that the owner wouldn't get even angrier at him. "I kind of forgot I had no money, alright? Please, maybe we can work out a deal." He finished, rubbing his hands nervously.
"Hmm." The owner scratched his chin. "Come to think of it…" he turned to the kitchens. "Hey, Marle! Didn't Jay and Hakko take the day off?"
"Yep!" the man named Marle replied. "Never even bothered to tell why!"
The owner turned back to Matthiah. "Well, kid, there ya go."
"Uhh… I'm not a particularly good cook, but… okay." Matthiah acknowledged.
"What? Cook? HA!" The owner laughed. "No, you're gonna wash the dishes until Marle over there thinks it's enough! What made ya think ya were gonna cook? HA!"
So much for my last job…
xoO—FT—Oox
"Whaaa-?" Lucy Heartfilia was almost at a loss for words. "There's only one magic store in this town?"
"Yes, well, Hargeon was always more prosperous in fishing than properly in magic, you see?" The shopkeeper patiently explained. "Only about ten percent of this town's population can use magic, so this store targets travelling mages.
Lucy let out a disappointed sigh. "Then I think I've wasted my time here…"
"What?" The shopkeeper asked in disbelief. "Please, young lady, don't say that. At least, have a look around before you leave. After all, I got several new items earlier today, too."
To demonstrate, the shopkeeper got up and headed to a shelf dedicated to "aesthetic products" and picked up a small pink block, with the word "ColorS" written on it, and below it, a sort of mirror.
"For example, this ColorS magic. It's really popular among girls your age. Because, depending on your mood for the day…" the shopkeeper brushed the mirror against his white shirt, which immediately turned a dark blue. "…you can change the colour of your clothes!"
Lucy just stared at the shopkeeper with a disinterested expression. "I already have it." She started walking around the store to check for other products. "I'm more interested in Celestial Spirit Keys. Of the strong kind."
"Ah, Spirit Keys, eh?" The shopkeeper asked. "That's an uncommon request. Now, I think I might have—"
"Canis Minor, the White Dog?" Lucy interrupted the shopkeeper. She was staring at a silver key with a blue head drawn around the grip.
"Ah, well, that particular spirit is not exactly strong…" The shopkeeper began to say.
"No worries. I've been looking around for it, actually." Lucy said. Excited, she turned to the shopkeeper. "How much is it?"
"Twenty-thousand Jewels." The shopkeeper replied.
In response, Lucy puffed her chest up. "I wonder how much it is…"
"Twenty-thousand Jewels." The shopkeeper repeated.
However, if there was one thing the shopkeeper didn't know, it was that Lucy Heartfilia was a girl much aware of her own good looks, and she was most certainly not above using her sex appeal to get what she wanted. As such, that's why he was surprised when she adopted a more seductive pose, allowing him a clear view over her cleavage.
"I wonder how much it really is, good sir…" she asked again.
xoO—FT—Oox
"Pffft," Lucy angrily muttered as she strolled down Hargeon's streets. "Why did I only get a thousand-Jewel discount…?"
There were days where Lucy's sex appeal didn't work as well as she intended.
Considering she was willing to kick down anything in a fit of rage at this moment, this was most certainly one of these days.
"IS THAT ALL MY SEX APPEAL'S WORTH?" She suddenly began screaming, kicking a nearby sign not long after. "JUST A THOUSAND MISERABLE JEWELS?"
While normally, such outbursts might have caught the citizens' attention, it didn't happen this time, because a massive group of women ran through the street screaming in joy. Even Lucy stopped raging to better understand what was going on.
The answer came soon enough.
"It's Salamander-sama!"
"A famous mage is in town!"
"Salamander…?" Lucy questioned herself before realization dawned in on her. The mage who controls Fire Magic? The kind which you can't buy?
She hurried after the crowd of women. Shortly after, she found Salamander – or rather, the mass of women surrounding him.
Oh my, he's that popular. Wonder if he looks cute…
xoO—FT—Oox
"I hate this." Natsu complained. "I had to ride that train twice…"
"That's because you don't get along with transports." Happy replied.
"I'm sooo hungry…" Natsu continued speaking.
"And we don't have money." Happy explained.
Natsu merely grumbled in reply. After a few minutes, he asked, "Hey, Happy, they did mean Igneel when they were talking about Salamander… right?"
"Aye." Happy responded. "Igneel's the only thing that comes at the top of my head whenever I hear 'Salamander'."
Just then, they passed by a crowd of girls screaming and swooning over someone. "Salamander-sama!" "He's so handsome…"
Natsu instantly cheered up and started running towards the crowd. "Speak of the devil…"
"Aye!" Happy agreed, following after his friend.
xoO—FT—Oox
Why is my heart beating so fast…?
Lucy had pushed her way through all the swooning women to get a better look at Salamander. The man's features were certainly handsome, but she couldn't quite place her finger on why exactly she was having such a reaction to the man before her.
"Ha, I'm flattered!" Salamander playfully said to a brunette who had just praised his looks. "You'll have to tell me the rest of that story later!" he continued before turning to Lucy, shooting her a particularly intense look.
The reaction was near instantaneous. Her heart started beating at twice the normal speed and her thoughts were starting to get increasingly incoherent. Is it because he's a famous mage? Is this why my heart's beating this fast? she thought, as her mind was losing coherence with each passing second. Maybe…
She started to approach Salamander, and was just within a few feet of him…
…until another figure started to rudely push away some of the women in the crowd, screaming, "Igneel!" A strange blue cat followed with him, also screaming "Igneel!"
"…who is this brat?" One of the women asked.
"What is Igneel?"
"Is he a weirdo?"
Independently of the answers to these questions, the pink-haired boy's interruption was enough to shake Lucy out of her stupor. Now, she was paying attention to the boy's face, changing from an expression of joy to one of pure confusion.
And from the looks of things, Salamander was just as confused.
"Uhhh…" The boy started to speak. "Who are you?"
Everyone was taken by surprise by the unexpected question. Is he talking seriously? Lucy thought to herself.
If the look on Salamander's face was any indication, he too was shocked.
And yet, the fire mage shook it off with a laugh. "Well, you might have heard of me around these parts by the name of 'Salamander'…" He turned around, only to see the boy was already walking away dejectedly. Besides him, Lucy was the only other person who noticed it; all the other women were too fixated on Salamander's visage.
"Gone already?..." The famous mage asked disbelievingly.
Much to Lucy's surprise, these two words had an immediate effect on the crowd of women, who immediately converged on the boy and started pulling him aggressively back to Salamander.
"You are so rude!" – "You should show some respect for Salamander-sama!" – "He's an amazing mage!" – "YOU WILL APOLOGIZE!"
"What the heck…?" The boy asked in disbelief. In fact, he looked too surprised to try releasing himself from the extremely angry women.
The blue cat merely stood there, as if it was watching a vaguely amusing scene from afar.
Fortunately, Salamander intervened. "Girls, girls, that's enough, frankly. I don't think he really meant it, either."
For the second time, Lucy was surprised by the sudden 180 on the women's attitude: "Aaaahhh…" – "You're so kind-hearted…"
Makes you wonder if there's something more behind this mass infatuation… She thought as she watched Salamander pick up a sheet of paper and a pen and started writing on it.
"Here, you can have my signature as compensation." The fire mage friendly offered. "Later on, you can show it to your friends, as well!"
"I don't want it." The boy replied.
This time, Lucy wasn't surprised at all when the crowd of fangirls collectively threw him a few feet down the street, followed by the signed sheet. "Get lost!" – "Ungrateful moron!"
She heard the blue cat say, "It wasn't him." Her curiosity was piqued.
"Well, I most appreciate your enthusiastic welcome, ladies…" Salamender started to speak. "… but I have some urgent errands to run at the port. So… please excuse me…"
He snapped his fingers, a massive shroud of fiery red mist conjuring beneath his feet in reply.
"…and farewell."
The mist began to rise up, transporting Salamender with it to the general direction of the port. Before he vanished from sight, he took his time to state, "I will be having a party on my ship tonight. You are all invited."
The fangirls' reaction (collective screams of joy) was as expected.
Lucy walked up to the boy, who was asking to himself, "Who is that guy?..."
"A really disgusting person, I'm sure." She replied as they saw Salamander fly away.
"Oh, and… thanks for back there." She continued.
Both the boy and the blue cat looked at her with questioning looks on their faces for a brief moment until the sound of a rumbling stomach caught everyone's attention.
"Happy, I need to eat, now…" The boy commented with a pained expression painted over his face.
Happy merely sighed. "And I told you, Natsu. We have no money. And our information was wrong." The blue cat looked slightly dismayed.
"Umm, actually, I can buy you a meal if you really need one." Lucy offered.
Natsu, the pink-haired boy, rose up almost instantaneously. "Really?", he asked in reply. "Really really really REALLY?"
"Yeah," Lucy replied, slightly caught by Natsu's enthusiastic reaction. "There's a restaurant nearby which I really enjoy. I can show you there."
xoO—FT—Oox
Didn't take as long as I expected…
Matthiah sat enjoying his second meal of the day. Given the personality of the restaurant's owner, he expected that he had to wash an unholy amount of plates just to pay for a single grilled salmon.
Much to his surprise (and delight), he found out that the unholy amount of plates that he washed was enough to afford not only for the salmon, but a whole other few meals as well.
Given that the constant washing left him ever more hungry, he had seized the opportunity and ordered some of those meals to satisfy himself.
As he finished the steak and moved on to the sushi, he pondered on the curious twist of luck. It was not unusual for him to find himself short on money and having to do other tasks to help pay. But it was a rare occurrence to see him actually benefit from it later on.
In fact, the only 'con' he had to note was the person sitting behind him, if the sounds of ravenous chowing down on food were any indication.
"Yurrrahnaizperrshun."
Matthiah assumed that the person – a pink-haired boy about his age – was saying 'you're a nice person'. He assumed the boy was, like him, out of money.
Only, he had found some luck. Accompanying him was a cute blonde girl who he assumed had paid for the meal. Currently, she was awkwardly holding up her hands to protect herself from the bits of food that splashed in her general direction.
"So, Natsu and Happy, right?" she asked.
"Aye!" a second voice came from what Matthiah identified as a blue cat who was just as voracious as the boy. He thought it was a muffled meow until the cat added, "By the way, Natsu here meant 'you're a nice person'".
"I can understand what the two of you are saying," the girl explained. "but please, try to eat slowly." She added in a whisper, "or else food will just keep splashing all over the place. And the discount I got with my sex appeal wasn't even that much…"
Matthiah presumed they slightly complied, given that the sounds lowered a little bit.
"Oh, by the way," Natsu began to say. "why did you thank us earlier?"
"Because that man, Salamander, was using a magic called Charm." The girl explained.
The moment she said the words 'Salamander' and 'Charm', Matthiah immediately paid more attention to the conversation behind her, as the girl explained the details of said magic.
Matthiah had already heard of Charm: a peculiar form of magic that made other people attracted to its casters, and was the leading cause of some nasty cases during the past few years after the Magic Council banned it in the year X760.
And, of course, the mage he was targeting was going by the nickname 'Salamander', and he had spent a few nights with some women. When Matthiah had tried to gain some extra information, the women spoke so whole-heartedly of him that Matthiah suspected either a few love potions, or Charm.
That is, the ones he could find. Most were missing, and next to no one knew where they were.
"However, when you guys jumped in, the magic wore off on me. Well, at least I'm not one of the girls that's going to his ship." The girl continued explaining.
"I see." Natsu simply replied, his mouth filled with chunks of the chicken leg he had targeted then.
The girl kept talking. "You know, despite looking fairly… ordinary, I am a mage."
Natsu rose his head to look at the girl. "Really?"
As the girl continued talking, Matthiah turned his attention back to the meal and the information he got. Now, he knew for sure that Salamander was somewhere within Hargeon.
After he finished eating the meal, he was about to leave the restaurant when he heard the blonde girl scream.
"WHAT MADE YOU THINK YOU COULD FIND A DRAGON HERE?!"
Matthiah turned back to the ensuing conversation. The girl looked shocked beyond her life, and both Natsu and Happy were dumbfounded.
"And you only noticed that now?" the former asked.
The girl looked just as dumbfounded after the question. Shaking off her stupor, she reached for her bag and took out some money.
"Well, I better get going." She hurried off. "Good luck finding your 'Igneel'."
Natsu and Happy remained dumbfounded for a while, until they started to tear up. What happened next was in equal parts hilarious and shocking, at least in Matthiah's perspective: the duo bowed down to the girl, screaming, "THANK YOU FOR THE MEAL!" – "THANK YOU!"
As expected, the girl shrieked in surprise and horror. "DON'T! You're embarrassing me…"
Matthiah contained his mirth as the girl continued. "Look, you two helped me as well. That makes us even now, right?"
"B-b-b-but I don't feel like I helped you at all…" Natsu replied.
"Aye, I don't feel right either…" Happy continued. Both of them were still bowing until Natsu got up quickly.
"Wait! I got an idea!" Natsu reached for his bag and searched frantically for something. As he handed it over to Lucy, it became known that the thing was a sheet of paper signed "Salamander".
"Here, you can have this!" The boy stated with a huge grin on his face. Surprisingly, he sounded dead serious, in contrast to the girl's raging reaction, if her swatting down of the paper was any indication.
"I DON'T WANT THAT!" The girl screamed before rushing out of the restaurant, pushing aside Matthiah on her way, hurrying off somewhere else in the city.
As he watched her walk away, it occurred to Matthiah that perhaps Salamander might attempt to seduce her again. However, he quickly shook the thought off. If he's using Charm magic, it's probably because he's bad at conventional seduction. Figures.
Instead, he opted to walk to the port. He remembered hearing that Salamander had a ship docked up in Hargeon's port. It was time to pay the ever-busy Hargeon Port a visit.
xoO—FT—Oox
Had Matthiah decided to act on his suspicions, his most likely course of action would have been to stalk Lucy and watch her every move, in case Salamander decided to show up a second time. He would have followed her all the way to the solitary Hargeon Park, where she sat and took out the latest issue of the Weekly Sorcerer magazine.
The magazine was the most prominent piece of press that focused on magic, be it news on the deeds of Magic Guilds around the world, articles on groundbreaking discoveries regarding magical artifacts or powers, or even, for some reason, photos of attractive mages in suggestive poses and revealing outfits.
Right now, Lucy was more focused on the news. Guy Aleus, one of the Iron Equinox guild's most talented mages, had left the guild to join Quatro Cerberus, being the last member of his old mage team to do so. A Dark Guild called Bleeding Crow was taken down by a collaborative effort between Lamia Scale, Black Lotus, Asa Ultimo and Hound Holy. And then, there was the Magic Council with another project: to annex the Ireugan Isles to the south into their watch, meaning, among other things, that the peculiar forms of magic employed by its inhabitants are now considered legal.
And then, there were the news of the guild Fairy Tail. A renowned guild among Fiore for having strong and capable mages among their ranks, that same guild was frequently under a lot of flak for their destructive antics.
The article in question talked about the Devons, a crime family that dedicated itself to the business of smuggling lacrima-powered weapons. It said that a lone mage from the guild took out the entire family, and their security, but also destroyed nine houses belonging to the townspeople. Still, the article made a point of noticing that the fall of the Devons will affect other smuggling parties negatively.
Of course, it didn't stop Lucy from laughing like a madwoman at the scenario.
She turned the page, being greeted by the image of a beautiful woman with white hair and blue eyes in a bikini lying in a lake in the middle of a tropical island. A small text box in a corner of the page read 'Mirajane Strauss, Fairy Tail'.
Mirajane. I wonder if someone like her would be as reckless… Lucy asked herself. Actually, I wonder how does one exactly join Fairy Tail… Learning some strong magics? Going through interviews? Or do I just have to tell them I want to join and then it's all done?
"Fairy Tail," she said out loud. "It's the best guild."
"Oh, now I see." A voice from behind her started speaking. "You want to join Fairy Tail."
Startled, she turned around to see a very familiar figure erupting from a bush. One man she didn't want to see again.
"Salamander!" Lucy screamed in surprise.
Salamander himself looked slightly tired. "Wow, I've spent nearly all day looking for you." He said, ignoring Lucy's remark. "I've been hoping I could invite such a beautiful lady like you into my party tonight."
"What?" Lucy asked in total disbelief. It was certainly an awful shocker when a man who employs magic to win over people's hearts had his sight set on you, as she found out.
However, she wasn't going to fall for it again. "Before you even think about trying anything, just know that the weakness of your Charm is nothing other than 'understanding'." She started up. "I know that you're using that magic, so don't even think about using it anymore."
Salamander, surprisingly enough, didn't seem disappointed, or angry. Instead, his smile widened even more. "Ha, I knew it! Ever since our eyes met, I had figured out you were an actual mage. Well, don't worry. I'll be simply satisfied if you would just be present at the party."
Lucy still stood defiant. "Don't start thinking, for even one moment, that I would go to such a horrible person's party."
Salamander looked confused. "How am I a horrible person, exactly?"
"I'm talking about your Charm magic." Lucy replied. "Are you willing to go so low in order to become that popular?"
"Oh, so that's what you're talking about!" Salamander laughed it off. "Ah, no. That's only a sort of trial. I'm planning on becoming really popular with the party itself, you see."
Lucy merely sighed and turned her back on the pitiful representation of a man she was talking to. "You're just an idiot. And you're not even close to becoming a popular mage, with the way you're headed." She walked away.
Salamander started running. "H-hey, now wait a second! You said you wanted to join a guild, right? Fairy Tail?"
Those words has the intended effect. Lucy stopped immediately and turned to the fire mage. "Uhhh…"
"Well, then I must ask: have you ever heard of the fabled Salamander… from Fairy Tail?" He asked.
"I… I have!" Lucy blurted out. Only then did Salamander's words hit her with the strength of an axe chopping open a log.
"YOU'RE A FAIRY TAIL MAGE?"
"Why, yes!" Salamander calmly replied. "If you ever want to join, I'll be sure to talk to the master. I'm sure he'll agree to have you among us."
During the past few hours since meeting Salamander for the first time, Lucy had thoroughly convinced herself that the man before her was a thoroughly despicable man, and his use of Charm was more than enough proof for her.
Right now, all that hard work went down the metaphorical drain as she ran straight into the mage, as smitten as she was a few hours back. "The party is going to be wonderful, isn't it?" she asked excitedly.
Salamander sighed good-naturedly. "Wow, you are a really easy person to understand…"
"Am I going to really join Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked.
"Of course you will." Salamander stated. "Just be sure not to tell anyone about Charm, okay?"
"Sure I won't!" Lucy raised her hand happily.
"Well then, we're all set!" Salamander walked away. "Just don't be late for the party!"
"Okay!" Lucy agreed.
She stood there giggling for a few good minutes until she realized what had happened.
"WHAT THE —DID I JUST FALL FOR A PSEUDO-CHARM?" Lucy aptly worded it out. However, the fact that she was set on her way to join Fairy Tail compensated it all in her opinion, and she jumped in joy, relishing in the thought.
She giggled. And all I have to do is act friendly around that idiot…
xoO—FT—Oox
A good few hours later, way after the sun had set, Matthiah paced through Hargeon, his eyes set on the luxurious ship dominated by the lights and sound of music. Pianoes, most likely.
He had identified the ship as Salamander's a few hours earlier, when he noticed the enormous amount of women crowding around the ship screaming about 'Salamander-sama'. When he took a good look at the ship, he asked himself how did the rogue mage actually get a ship like that.
I mean, I could perfectly live like a king in that huge-ass ship.
He leaned over the lookout to look at the night sky when he heard someone say, "Aaah, now that was a good meal."
Recognizing the voice, he turned to his right to see the pink-haired boy, Natsu, walking in his direction, followed by the talking blue cat, Happy, who simply replied "Aye."
The cat was walking on the stone support like it was a walkway. Suddenly, he turned in the ship's direction. "Oh yeah, didn't Salamander say he was hosting a party on a ship? I wonder if that's the one."
Natsu immediately leaned over, trying not to vomit. "Makes me sick, just looking at it…"
"Aw, don't start getting sick just by imagining." Happy chided.
"You know, I never liked the guy anyway." Matthiah decided to jump in. "Salamander, that is."
"Oh?" Natsu and Happy turned to look at him. "Why?"
"He just… rubs me off the wrong way." Matthiah replied. "I heard rumors that there was a mage who seduced lots of women around the country. I've been doing some research. Turns out, it's the same damn guy."
"Huh. Yeah." Natsu said. "Me and my friend Happy were talking with a girl who said he used some kinda magic to get people's hearts… Charm?"
"Yeah. That's the one." Matthiah agreed. "By the way, I believe we haven't met before. Matthiah Hawkes, traveler and nomadic crime-fighting mage." He jokingly introduced himself.
"Oh! I'm Natsu." The boy introduced himself in return. "This here is my friend, Happy. We're both mages, too. Guild mages."
Matthiah's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? I've been considering joining a guild as of lately."
It wasn't a lie; taking Salamander out was the final lone job Matthiah decided to take. He usually took jobs with good pay, as his nomadic lifestyle tended to make him amass money for basic necessities, like food, clothing, hygiene… sometimes, he rented a house for a couple of weeks, and offered to contribute in any housekeeping activities during these periods.
But, as of lately, Matthiah was tired of moving around. He was looking for a place to call home. He deduced that a Magic Guild could do the trick.
"So, what's your guild?" Matthiah proceeded to ask.
"Fairy Tail." Happy replied. Matthiah instantly remembered the gulid's reputation as one of the most destructive guilds. While not evil, its mages were known to end up causing a lot of collateral damage while fulfilling requests.
Oh well, maybe I can vary things up a little.
"Ha! Maybe I'll join within the next few days." Matthiah stated. "For now, I got an urgent matter to attend to. It's in Magnolia, right?"
Before Natsu could reply, a girl's voice made itself heard. "Oh my God, look! It's Salamander-sama's ship!"
All three turned around to see a girl pointing at the ship, talking excitedly to her friend. "I wanted to go to the party too."
Her friend, however, looked confused. "Who's Salamander?"
The first girl looked at her incredulously. "Are you kidding me? He's that famous mage who's now in town! I even heard he's a mage from Fairy Tail!"
Matthiah looked back at Natsu. "Is she fucking serious?" When Natsu and Happy looked at him, he asked, "Natsu, do you know any Salamander in Fairy Tail?"
"I do…" Natsu replied. "But… that's me."
Matthiah was now the one taken aback. "But… you don't have blue hair. Or funny markings around your eye, either."
"Of course I don't!" Natsu screamed in reply. "I've never even seen him in Fairy Tail!" He was, Matthiah noted, furious enough to start stomping the ground in anger. It reminded him of a child throwing a temper tantrum.
In other circumstances, he might have considered it funny. But now, he was more focused on knowing why would Salamander take the name of a guild he wasn't affiliated with.
And mainly, whoever he was.
xoO—FT—Oox
Aboard the ship, the general feel in the atmosphere was not what one would expect when most of the host's fans composed a crowd of insane cheering fangirls.
Serene music dominated the party, with the guests themselves (mostly women) chatting amicably in groups of twos, threes and fours. The things that were being discussed varied from politics to mundane issues like the weather.
In a private room, Lucy, wearing a dark violet dress, and Salamander sat, talking with each other.
"So, Lucy?" The latter asked. "That's a beautiful name."
"Thank you." The girl replied, smiling.
Salamander picked a bottle of wine. "Before we continue, let's toast with a glass of wine." He said as he poured the liquid in two glasses.
Lucy shifted uneasily in her couch. "You have other girls to attend to as well."
"I know." Salamander replied. "But right now, I simply feel like drinking only with you."
He snapped his fingers, and at his command, the wine in Lucy's glass rose and split into several dark globes.
"Now, if you would, try opening your mouth." Salamander beckoned. "These pearls of wine will slowly come in."
Lucy's jaw dropped in dismay. This is ANNOYING!
Regaining her composure, she waited for the wine globes to approach. Come on, Lucy, you need to be patient. Remember, be patient…
However, as the first globe was about to enter her mouth, she immediately realized something was amiss.
Slapping away the globes of wine, she quickly rose up and confronted Salamander with an accusing glare.
"What are you doing?" She asked vindictively.
At the fire mage's confused expression, she continued. "That was a sleeping drug… wasn't it?"
Salamander rose his hands. "And how did you realize?"
Ignoring the question, Lucy spoke up. "Now, don't get me wrong. I want to join Fairy Tail. But I'm not willing to become your plaything until the day comes."
In reply, Salamander grinned. It was not like his previous smiles, filled with heat and confidence. No, this was an expression of pure malice.
"Tsk tsk tsk… you are a very bad girl…" He whispered. "If only you deigned to sleep peacefully, you would have never gotten hurt."
As if on cue, Lucy felt her arms being forcefully grabbed by a pair of strong hands. She realized there were people behind her.
She turned her head to see exactly four huge men entering the room through the curtain behind her, which she previously thought concealed a simple wall.
The balding man to her right smelled strongly of sweat and alcohol, and had a massive beer gut protruding from his chest. The man to her left had spiky black hair and a freakishly long face, a huge, gashing scar crossing both his cheeks and nose.
Behind her, the last two men appeared to be twins, but where one had a basic black eyepatch covering his right eye, the other had an unclean beard and a mohawk.
"What is this?" She asked, struggling to break free to no avail. "Who are you?"
Salamander stepped forward and grabbed her face by the chin. "And you're welcome to our slave ship. I ask you to remain quiet until we head to Bosco."
"Wha… Bosco?" Lucy asked, horrified. "But… what about Fairy Tail?"
Salamander merely laughed. "I told you this is a slave ship. Not a guild ship." He replied. "From the very beginning, I brought you here to be a slave, so please… shut up."
"Heh. You really thought this out well, Salamander-san." The scarred man said. "Every single time these girls end up affected by Charm, they just want to become our merchandise."
"Yesss." The man with the eyepatch stepped up. "It's just a shame it didn't work on this fine lady here. It seems we'll have to educate her to be that way…"
What?... Lucy thought in despair. What is he? How could someone do something like this…?
Salamander stepped forward, putting a hand under her dress. For one terrible moment, she thought he was going to grope her, but what he actually ended up doing wasn't any better: he took her Celestial Spirit Keys from her.
"Hmm… I see you are a Celestial Spirit mage." The fire mage stated, spinning the keys around his index finger.
"Celestial… what?" The balding man asked in confusion.
"Don't worry." Salamander replied. "This magic only works with contracted mages. Which, obviously, means it's plain damn useless to me." He concluded, throwing the keys out the window, where they landed on the sea with a faint sound.
Lucy lost all hope by this point and was now crying uncontrollably. This is a mage of Fairy Tail…? No… it's not true. It can't be…
Salamander picked up a branding iron from under the table and used his fire magic to heat it up. When he was satisfied, he said, "Now, I'm going to brand you as a slave first. It may be a little hot…"
None of them heard the faint sounds of fighting above them.
"…but please try to bear with it. We don't like incessant screaming."
In what Lucy perceived as her final moments as a free person, she said, "Abusing magic… tricking people… dealing in slavery? I don't care what kind of opinion you have of yourself."
The sounds of fighting were stronger, but this time, only Lucy and Salamander couldn't hear it.
"You should be ashamed of calling yourself a mage. No… you should be ashamed of calling yourself a person."
Immediately after she stopped speaking, the floor above them exploded.
It went too fast for anyone to fully understand. All that they knew was that two new people had hopped in.
With a gasp, Lucy recognized Natsu, but she had no idea who the second person was. Another boy, wearing a black and dark green coat. She noticed that he was a mage, as his fists were glowing, shrouded in some sort of green energy.
"I-it's that brat from earlier!" Salamander screamed. "He's got a friend!"
"Natsu?" Lucy asked incredulously. "Who's that?"
Both Natsu and the newcomer didn't reply. Instead, they stepped towards Salamander and his goons—
-only for Natsu to slump over, overtaken by dizziness. "No, please… I can't take it…"
"EEHHHH?" Lucy shrieked. "Why did you just fall over?"
The newcomer was just as incredulous. "Why does fate play a screwjob on me every time I get help…?" However, he turned back to Salamander, defiant.
"Hey, Lucy!"
The girl looked up to see another familiar face.
"Happy!" She shouted. "He fooled me! He said he'd let me join Fairy Tail and I…"
She noticed that the blue cat now had wings, as he flew down. "Wait. When did you get wings?"
"Long story," Happy replied as he grabbed Lucy's shoulders. "I'll tell you all about it later." He concluded as he flew away.
"W-wait!" What are you going to do with Natsu and the other guy?" She asked.
"I can't carry two people at once, much less three." Happy quickly explained. "Don't worry; I'm sure Matthiah can handle them."
"I'M NOT LETTING YOU GET AWAY!" Lucy heard Salamander scream. As she looked down, she saw a bright red flame headed in their direction.
xoO—FT—Oox
In an impulsive gesture, Matthiah raised his arm at the speeding flame and fired a green bolt to halt its progress. As it connected, Salamander and his goons watched in awe as the flame slowly crystallized, falling into the sea shortly after.
The surprise was short-lived, as Salamander turned to the scarred man at his right. "Make sure those two don't get away. As for the rest of you, ice this brat!"
"Right!" – "Yessir!"
The three remaining men rushed at Matthiah, ready to beat the living daylight out of his head.
However, it didn't mean he was going to let them.
As the first man – a fat, balding man – approached, Matthiah coated his left fist in the so-familiar Havok magic that he employed, and swung it towards the man's face.
He grinned as he heard the sound of cracking bones as the augmented strike connected with the man's head and pushed him aside, readying a pulse for the second man. He projected his right arm forward, and the ball of energy hit the bearded man dead in the chest, sending him flying out of the ship.
However, the third man was prepared, as he pulled out a fighting staff. "Don't think you can take me out as easily as you did on these dumbasses. I ain't goin' nowhere near ya."
"Good." Matthiah replied. "I like leaving the smarter ones for last."
His left arm flared, and suddenly, a whip – or was it a tendril? – slowly produced itself out of his palm. Matthiah swung it towards the staff, and pulled on it.
However, the man pulled back.
"So be it." Matthiah concluded as he recalled the whip, dragging the staff and the man with it.
As soon as he was within range, Matthiah thrust his fist right into the poor man's face.
xoO—FT—Oox
"Uh, Lucy?" Happy asked.
"What?" Lucy replied, barely believing Happy could think anything he had to say was more important that dodging the bullets fired upon them.
"You know my transformation magic, the wings?" Happy explained. "It's wearing off."
It definitely was more important.
"SHITTY CAAAAATT!" She screamed as they both fell into the waters. Fortunately, she could swim, and that's what she did.
Wait. The Celestial Spirit Keys—they're here somewhere!
She focused all her efforts to search for her Celestial Keys. Fortuitously, they were stuck on a rock close to the surface.
xoO—FT—Oox
"Boss, I think we managed to—"
The scarred man halted when he saw his two of his colleagues down on the floor, clutching their faces and whimpering in pain. And now, Salamander and the boy with the black coat were staring at each other. He couldn't quite discern who was the most angry.
Suddenly, a groan caught all three men's attention.
The pink-haired boy was slowly rising up. He was sick beyond his mind, but he was getting up.
And the glare he shot at Salamander was filled with a primal fury that made all three recoil in fear.
"Fairy… Tail… you… dare…" he said, punctuating every word with a step towards Salamander.
xoO—FT—Oox
Lucy emerged from the sea, with Happy hanging on to her neck.
"Here I come." She said, revealing the golden key she held in her right hand. She plunged it into the water, rotating it as one would do to unlock a door.
"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer…"
The tip of the key started shining brightly. A pure white light shone forth, and a mermaid-like figure arose, holding an urn on her hands.
"AQUARIUS!"
The mermaid arose, revealing the full extent of her figure. Turquoise hair surrounded a beautiful, if aggressive, face. Her whole body down to the waist line was just akin to a human's, but below, the also turquoise scales let up that the woman before Lucy and Happy was, indeed, a mermaid.
Happy was too amazed to notice his jaw had dropped right on Lucy's head.
"I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage." Lucy explained. "These keys allow me to open gates to the Celestial World and summon its spirits to fight alongside me." She turned back to the mermaid spirit. "Aquarius, use your power! Send that ship back to the coast!"
Aquarius merely looked at her with a disinterested expression. "Tch."
"WHAT?" Lucy stood flabbergasted. "WHY DID YOU SAY 'TCH'? DON'T START GETTING PICKY ABOUT THIS!"
Aquarius remained with the uninterested face. "You're quite the noisy kid." She closed her eyes as a dome of water surrounded her. "Listen carefully. If you ever, ever, drop the keys again… I'll kill you. Remember that."
"I'm sorry…" Lucy recoiled at Aquarius' words. However, she wasn't prepared for the Celestial Spirit's next move.
As she had commanded, Aquarius forced the ship back to the coast… by summoning a wave big enough to wreck it apart, which also dragged Lucy along, much to her infinite chagrin.
xoO—FT—Oox
"What just happened?" Salamander asked as he picked himself back up.
"Dunno, sir. Sea was calm, then a giant wave hits our ship out of nowhere!" The scarred man replied, already up.
"It stopped…"
Everyone in the ruins of the room – Salamander, Matthiah and the scarred man – turned to Natsu, who was rising as well. The feeling of sickness seemed to have abandoned him.
"The rumbling. It's stopped."
xoO—FT—Oox
"Are you crazy?" Lucy asked. "Why did you flush me along as well?"
"My mistake." Aquarius shook her head in mock shame. "I also dragged the ship along as well."
"The ship—you were aiming at me?"
Aquarius' form started to vanish. "Well, that's it. Don't call me for a while, I'm headed to a trip with my boyfriend." A few seconds passed until Aquarius repeated herself. "With my boyfriend." She vanished.
"Don't bother repeating!" She screamed at empty air. "She's such a selfish bitch…"
"Wow." Happy said. "Guess the two of you don't get along much, am I right?"
"No…" Lucy replied before looking at the town. "But we did it! Once the military learns what happened, all the other girls will be safe and sound!" She held her hands, her eyes twinkling. "God, I'm such a nice person!"
"Yeah—Wait!" Happy hurried into the ship. "We've forgot Natsu!"
Lucy quickly followed Happy into the ship. In no time, they had already reached the room.
"Natsu!" Lucy called. "Are you OK?"
Natsu was facing Salamander and the scarred man, not paying attention to her question. However, the black-clad boy – Matthiah – looked at them, raising his thumb up.
"You brats…" Salamander scratched his chin. "You shouldn't go board other people's ships without permission, hmm?"
Natsu's glare intensified.
"Hey, Rekkon," Salamander said to the scarred man. "Throw them out. Quickly."
"Yes, sir." Rekkon replied, cracking his knuckles.
"Oh, no." Lucy stepped in. "I'm going to take care of this—"
"No need." Happy interrupted. "I kinda forgot to tell you, but Natsu is a mage as well."
Lucy just stared at Happy, completely taken by surprise.
Meanwhile, Natsu just walked calmly, uncaring in regards to Rekkon. "Are you a mage of Fairy Tail?"
"So?" Salamander smugly asked back. "What about it?"
"Let me take a good look at you." Natsu replied as another goon rushed in, ready to attack Natsu.
Unfortunately, he was quickly swept aside by the boy.
"I'm Natsu from Fairy Tail!" He announced. "And I've never seen you before!"
"Whaat?..." Lucy was completely taken aback, and so was Salamander. Matthiah, however, simply grinned, crossing his arms.
To prove his point, Natsu took off his coat, revealing a black sleeveless undershirt. The guild mark of Fairy Tail, bright red, was there, on his left shoulder.
"That symbol…" Rekkon noticed. Panicking, he turned to Salamander. "B-bora-san! He's not lying!"
"You IDIOT!" Salamander, or rather, Bora, screamed. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!"
"Bora?" Matthiah asked, uncrossing his arms. "Bora of Prominence?" His grin faded. "You were banished from the Magic Guild Titan Nose several years ago."
"I've heard of him!" Lucy remembered. "He got caught committing several crimes with magic, that's why he got banished!"
Bora was absolutely livid.
"I don't care if you're bad or a good person…" Natsu stated. "… but I can't forgive you for using our name."
"Whatever." Bora muttered before setting Natsu in flames. "You're just a stupid brat, anyway."
"NATSU!" Lucy hurried to try and help, but was blocked by Happy's wings. Matthiah looked at Lucy, and shook his head.
Bora started to laugh, until Natsu's voice came out of the flames. "Awful."
Suddenly, the inferno surrounding Natsu began to shrink in size, much to Lucy and Bora's surprise.
"You call yourself a fire mage?" The boy asked. "I doubt it. I've never tasted a fire this bad."
The flames began to vanish, revealing that Natsu was actually eating the fire. Lucy, Bora, Rekkon and Matthiah had their jaws drop at the startling scenario before them.
As soon as Natsu finished eating the flames, he said, "Anyway, thank you for the food."
"What…?" Salamander struggled to find words. "What are YOU?"
"Did he just eat the fire?" Rekkon asked in total disbelief.
"Fire doesn't exactly work on Natsu." Happy explained.
"I've never seen this kind of magic before!" Lucy freaked out.
"You've never told me you could actually eat fire!" Matthiah freaked out as well.
Natsu flared up and reared his head, opening his mouth. A fireball began to form inside. "Here I come."
"I've heard of something like this before." Rekkon stated mostly to himself. "No… it can't be…" He turned to Bora. "Bora-san, I've seen him before!"
"WHAT?" Bora screamed.
"Yeah!" The scarred man replied. "Pink hair, scale-ish scarf, fire magic… there's no doubt… He's the real Salamander!"
To punctuate, Natsu did what everyone thought unthinkable. He started roaring out a massive amount of fire, like a flamethrower of the gods, spraying both Bora and Rekkon without mercy, to Lucy and Matthiah's (understandably) shocked expressions.
Natsu quickly stopped the stream of fire, and lit his fist. "Damn right. So remember it well."
Before anyone could register these words, he rushed towards Bora. "This is the power of a Fairy Tail Mage!"
The fiery fist's impact reverberated across the room, in conjunction with Bora's scream of pain. He was projected against the wooden wall, which he broke upon impact.
"Eating fire… punching with fire…" Lucy said, face painted with shock.
"Is he actually using magic?" Matthiah asked. "Or is it something else?"
"A fire dragon's lungs are able to bring out fire." Happy explained. "Its scales brush off even the hottest infernos, and its claws are imbued with the very essence of fire. It's a magic that changes the caster's constitution to something akin to a dragon... Dragon Slayer magic."
"Right." Matthiah looked on in amazement. "So that's what it is."
"Aye. Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons, taught Natsu this magic personally."
"It's still a little weird that a dragon would teach a human Dragon Slayer magic, isn't it?" Lucy asked in confusion.
The question caught Happy completely off-guard. "Wha-? But that's what happened!"
"Eh, there must have been plenty of reasons." Matthiah said. "Don't know about them, but… there must be. Right?"
"Maybe." Lucy agreed.
A loud 'boom' caught everyone's attention. Lucy, Happy and Matthiah looked to see Natsu was using Bora as a club, smashing him around the port and destroying everything, allowing chaos to set in.
"Hey, what the—"
"YOU'RE OVERDOING IT!" Lucy screamed out. "The port's a complete mess now!"
"Aye." Happy calmly replied.
"DON'T GIVE ME AN 'AYE'!" Lucy turned on Happy.
Natsu released Bora, who merely whimpered, "Everything hurts…"
Before anyone could recompose themselves from the hectic turn of events, they heard a new voice: "What is all this ruckus?"
Everyone turned to see a burly man in armor, followed by a contingent of soldiers armed with crystal-tipped spears.
"It's the milita—HEY!"
Natsu grabbed Lucy and ran away from the guards, followed along by Matthiah.
"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?" She screamed out loud.
"You wanted to join Fairy Tail, right?" Natsu simply asked in return. "The two of you?"
Lucy and Matthiah's reactions were different: While hers held a mix of disbelief and a bit of hope, Matthiah's grin was basically saying 'hell yes'.
"Then come with me."
Together, Natsu, Lucy, Happy and Matthiah fled from the guards and Hargeon Town, towards Magnolia.
The town where Fairy Tail awaited.
xoO—FT—Oox
The next day…
"Fairy Tail did it again." The Second Seat, Org, announced as he laid down a newspaper on the table. The dominant article spoke about the destruction of Hargeon Town's port by a group of mages. "Half the port was destroyed. Who can believe that?"
"We should send the Rune Corps pressing down on them." Michello groaned. "If we don't, who can bet the next thing they do is make a town disappear?"
"Don't jinx it." Leiji replied. "They might just do that, you know?"
"Even then, they did it to arrest the slaver, Bora." Yussef intervened. "And from what I hear, he was using Fairy Tail's name. So, maybe it was deserved."
"Yeah…" Siegrain stepped in. "I'm taking a liking to them."
"You!" Michello replied. "Shut up!"
"Why?" Kron asked. "Yes, they are a destructive bunch. But, it's also true that they have some of the best mages around."
"Yes." Old Hogg agreed. "It's quite the complicated issue we have on our hands."
"So?" Siegrain calmly smiled. "Just let them be."
"WHAT?" Michello stood flabbergasted.
"Yeah. If we never had those idiots around, can you image how boring this world would be?"