Fairy Tail - A Promise Unforgotten

The girl that left the Magic Shop was not happy. She was a teenager with a bombshell body, platinum blonde hair tied back into a ponytail, large brown eyes that could make a man melt, a white and blue sleeveless shirt, complete with a brown belt with a blue skirt and leather knee-high boots. "Unbelievable!" the girl complained grumpily, trudging through the town with a scowl. "I tried working my magic on him, and he only lowers it to 10,000 Jewels! Seriously, there are other magic shops in town!"

The reason she was angry was because of the newly acquired item that dangled from her belt, along with a pair of several other keys, all of which colored gold, silver, and blue. Anyone that was versed in summoning magic could recognize them as Celestial Spirit Keys, items that allowed a person to make a pact with a Celestial Spirit mage, thus making them a Celestial Mage.

The girl, Lucy, sighed after her anger faded, and her steps became light. "Honestly, what is up with this town?" she muttered to herself as she stopped her stride and looked over the port town on the bridge, leaning forward a bit. "There are a couple of Magic Shops here, but how come they're all so high-priced?" Once again, she sighed. "I know I couldn't help it, but thanks to buying that new key, I have to be careful with how much I'm spending now. I only got 50,000 Jewels right now. Hm, maybe I could find a cheap hotel before moving on?"

As she thought about her situation, she heard a passing group of girls laughing and giggling like a giddy high schooler, heading straight for the plaza. "Huh?" Lucy blinked, seeing a rather familiar look on their faces. It was the face of someone who was either in love or was seriously head over heels for someone. "What's going on?"

"Come on, hurry up!" one of the girls shouted to her friend who had been lagging behind them. "The Salamander's in the central plaza right now!"

That caught Lucy's attention, her eyes widening in disbelief. "You're kidding!" she cried in shock. "The Salamander's here?! What's he doing in a backwater place like this?!"

The Salamander, a powerful mage with unparalleled skills versed with Fire Magic. They say he was among the strongest of the fire mages, but even more than that, he was a member of the Guild known as Fairy Tail. Ever since she was young, Lucy had always wanted to join the Guild, admiring them for as long as she could remember. They were a crazy bunch, causing untold amounts of property damage. It had been her dream since she left her home to join the Guild, or at least get to meet someone from it.

"I definitely can't miss this!" Lucy decided to see for herself whether or not it really was the infamous Salamander character of Fairy Tail, and ran over towards the plaza, joining the group of girls.

It was this action that would lead her down a series of events that would let her meet more than just a fire-slinging mage. In fact, one could say the meeting she would have with two mages might even be... destiny.

The train conductor was completely baffled and confused. He double-checked everything, making sure he was seeing things and wondered briefly if he was on any sort of weird medication, but sure enough, the sight in front of him was real. There was a young man with wild pink hair lying on the ground, his face buried in the floor, a scaled scarf wrapped around his neck, complete with a red coat and white slacks that were rolled up to below the knees, and a pair of loose-fitting shoes.

However, the strangest sight was the blue cat that was standing beside the boy, standing on it's hind legs with a green knapsack wrapped on it's back.

"Burgh..." the boy groaned as the train slowly came to a halt at the station platform. "P-please tell me we're finally there..."

"Um, sir?" the conductor asked, slightly worried for the boy. "Are you alright? Do you need help?"

"Nah, he's fine."

"Eh?" Blinking, the conductor looked down to see the walking cat walking over to the boy, a strange smile on it's face. "He's just motion-sick is all." The conductor rubbed his eyes again, making sure he wasn't seeing things or hallucinating. "C'mon Natsu, the train's stopped moving."

The pink-haired boy, Natsu, groaned, lifting his face to reveal a pair of large, softly smoldering eyes. "F-finally..." he muttered as he groggily stood up, still looking a bit green in the face. "Man, I hate trains... Why couldn't we just walk?!"

"Because by the time we would have gotten to Hargeon," the cat explained to him. "The salamander we're after would have already left!"

"Then couldn't we have just flown?!" Natsu complained, glaring slightly at the cat. "You've got wings, Happy!"

"And I can fly for only a few minutes." Happy rebuked as it walked out of the train. "But, wow, the town's a bit smaller than I'd thought it be!"

Natsu said nothing as he followed after the cat, slinging his back over his shoulder after taking it from the luggage rack. Once again, the conductor rubbed his eyes, wanting to make sure he wasn't seeing things, and watched in complete bafflement as the cat and pink-haired boy walked into the town.

"I need to lay off the booze..." he muttered, shaking his head before going back to work.

Back with Natsu, he and Happy were walking along the town and asking anyone they came across if they had seen a red salamander. Of course, they thought he was talking about the mage that was in town.

No one had any idea that the Salamander that they thought was in town as actually standing in front of them. Natsu Dragneel was a Fairy Tail mage, the mark of the Guild he represented branded on his shoulder. As the rumors stated, he was a practitioner of fire magic, but his was vastly different than the standard branch. What he used was a Lost Magic, a rare brand that only a few have been noted to use.

The name of Natsu's magic was Fire Dragon Slayer, lost magic that was taught to humans to defeat and slay dragons, as the name suggests. Any that used Dragon Slayer had unique characteristics that attributed to their status as Dragon Slayers, possessing the ability to literally consume the magic of the element their Slayer Magic corresponds to. All Natsu had to do was devour fire, and his magic would be stronger.

"Wait, for real?!" Natsu shouted excitedly, causing the woman in front of him to jump. "The salamander's here?!"

The woman, sweat dropping, nodded. He must have been a fan like those girls that passed by not too long ago. "Y-yes, he's over at the central plaza."

"Finally!" Natsu cheered as he and Happy thanked the woman and quickly ran straight for the town square. Neither had any idea that they would encounter both a new friend, and a face from the past.

Perhaps this was also another thing that could be called destiny.

"It's very quiet here..."

Several girls of all ages, whether they be young or even housewives and middle-aged single women, squealed in delight with heavy blushes on their cheeks as a young man passed by. He had midnight black hair that was slightly messy, reaching down to the collar of his black robes that bore a high collar and gold trim, another robe colored white encompassing the first one and draped over the shoulder. His eyes were dark, almost the same shade as his hair, and wore a round necklace around his neck.

Dangling next to it was a silver rosary. Some thought the boy to be a nomad of some kind, perhaps a drifter from the desert or some mage and a pilgrimage, but the cross he wore betrayed their beliefs. If he was a religious believer, then it was strange as to why he chose those articles of clothing.

"There are very few magic shops here as well..." the young man noted as he emerged from the street path and walked into the central plaza. "And too many mages here, either."

"Kyaaa!"

"Omigosh, he looks so handsome!"

"I've never seen a boy like him at our town!"

"Ooh, do you think he's single?!"

"I really hope so!"

"Do you think he's a mage?!"

The young man was oblivious to the looks he received from the female population, however he did notice the large crowd near the fountain at the plaza. Strangely, there were more women than there were men, and even those men looked slightly disappointed or were either unimpressed with what they were seeing. "Is there some sort of event?" the boy wondered before he walked up to one of the people in the crowd. "Um, excuse me?"

"What?" the girl replied grumpily, turning around to face the person that was intruding on her time. She, like many of the women, were captivated by the mage they had met, but once she turned fully to look at the boy, about to tell him off, she suddenly stopped and her eyes went wide, her cheeks becoming singed with pink. "O-o-oh! W-what can I d-do for you?!" she stuttered, having never seen such a handsome boy before.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Is there some sort of event going on right now?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that!" the girl said, turning back the crowd. "Right now, the Salamander's signing autographs!"

Suddenly, the boy's eyes widened, surprise lightening his face. "Salamander...?" he said aloud before thanking the woman, bowing politely and squeezing through the crowd. "Excuse me, sorry, pardon me, coming through..." he apologized to anyone he bumped into before finally seeing the Salamander.

Instantly, his excitement from seeing an old friend faded into disappointment. In the center of a crowd was a man with dark blue hair styled neatly, wearing a buttoned shirt with black slacks, and a cap draped over his shoulders. "Well, I suppose that's what I get for getting my hopes up..." the young man sighed before he noticed a pair of rings on the man's finger. "Wait, aren't those...?"

"K-Kawaii..." The boy blinked and looked in front of him to see a young woman with blonde hair tied back with a pair of differently colored keys staring at the man with hearts in her eyes. Instantly, the young man scowled, recognizing this sorcery anywhere, and gently gripped the girl's shoulder.

The Charm spell had faded over her instantly, her eyes widening as she turned to him. Just like the girl from before, her face became scarlet, and her mouth gaping open. "O-oh, um... H-hello?"

Lucy had never seen a more beautiful specimen of a man than what was in front of her. At first, she had been completely head over heels when she met the Salamander's gaze, her heart pounding against her chest, feeling as if it would leap out of her at any second. However, when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder, her love sickness vanished almost immediately. That was when she had seen the familiar ring on the man's index finger, and her eyes narrowed.

Charm magic, a branch of spell that could induce feelings of love within a target. It was rather easy to do, however about a year ago, it was labelled as illegal, and anyone carrying it would be taken in by the guards and hauled off to prison, where their magic would be bound, and the item itself confiscated.

She turned with the intention of thanking whoever broke the Salamander's Charm spell's hold over her when she suddenly felt her entire world zero in. Truly, it felt as if she were charmed again, only a thousand times stronger.

'Holy crap he's gorgeous!' Lucy shouted in her head, a chibi version of her carrying hearts in her eyes as she waved her arms around her, already daydreaming about the young man in front of her. He was dressed in black robes with a gold trim, yet was barefoot, strangely, and had a round necklace dangling in front of her, resting on his chest. It was also accompanied by a silver rosary, betraying whatever image of a nomad he had. His hair was as black as night, and his eyes dark.

"O-oh, um..." Lucy choked out, unable to tear her eyes away from him. "H-hello?" 'Y-you idiot!' the chibi-Lucy screamed at her, a tick mark pulsing on her forehead. 'Hello?! Really?! That's all you can say?! Hurry up and nab this guy before the other girls can get their claws in him! You wanna be single for the rest of your life?!'

"Are you alright?" the young man asked her, slightly worried. Lucy immediately nodded, smiling nervously. Crap, what was she supposed to say? Perhaps strike up a conversation? How? His looks were distracting her! Maybe take him out to dinner? No, that just sounded straight forward. Maybe...

"Hey, Igneel!"

Lucy's train of thought became interrupted by a loud, obnoxious shout from within the crowd. Both she and the young man's head whipped around to the portion of the group of people behind the Salamander, a mass of pink hair pushing it's way through the crowd. "Igneel, it's me!" Finally, the mass of pink emerged from the crowd. It was a boy her age, wearing a scaled scarf with a red knee-length coat, accompanied by... a blue cat standing on it's hind legs?

The Salamander and the boy stared at each other before the pink haired arrival frowned as he asked at point blank, "...Who the heck are you?"

'Typical Natsu...' the young man thought, a large smile appearing on his face.

Natsu, being the kind of person he was, asked the mage who he was, and almost instantly, everyone with the exception of the blonde-haired girl was glaring daggers at him, malice and animosity aimed at him. It greatly confused him until he remembered that they were all under the influence of the Charm spell, and sighed a moment later. 'I'll have to break the spell later.'

"Now, now! Girls." the false Salamander mage said smoothly, waving his arm about. "Don't worry about it. It's not his fault." Natsu looked only more confused by what was going on. The mage offered him what looked like a portrait with 'Salamander' written on it, an autograph most likely. "Here, take an autograph, show it off to your friends!"

As the young man expected, Natsu shook his head. "No thanks." he said, earning more anger from the women. "But, do you mind if I ask where I can find a red salamander around here? His name is-"

He got no further than that when the women began to trample and beat on him. "Uh..." the blonde girl looked worried about Natsu, sweat-dropping as she saw him thrashing around in a dust cloud, arms and legs flying about. "Should we... help him...?"

"There's no need for that." the young man told her. "Natsu is perfectly capable of taking care of himself."

"Yep, that he is!"

The girl blinked, looking around for the new, high-pitched voice before she looked down to see the cat from earlier, the one that could apparently walk... wait, it can talk too?! "You can talk?!" she gawked, her eyes wide in shock. "What kind of cat are you?!"

"A special one!" Happy replied with a grin before he noticed the young man. "Oh, Zen! Long time no see!"

The young man, Zen smiled back at the cat. "Indeed it has, Happy. So, what are you doing here? Out on a job?"

"Nope." Happy shook his head. "We're actually looking for Igneel. We heard there was a Salamander here in this town, but..."

"Ah, I see..." he nodded in understanding, looking back at the brawl between the women and the Fire Dragon Slayer. Once the girls were done beating Natsu, the mage seemed to ignore it all and flaunt his pride as he told them they were invited to his yacht party before he flew away aboard a trail of purple flames. That instantly caught Zen's attention, his eyes narrowing on the sight. 'Purple Flare, a brand of fire magic aligned with darkness...' he thought, a hand coming to his chin. 'I can understand why he'd be confused with Natsu. Purple Flare is rare, but not exceedingly so.'

"Yeowch..." Natsu groaned as he stood up, completely covered in fist and foot marks. "Man, what's their deal?"

"They are under the control of a Charm spell." Zen said, crossing his arms. "It seems like he's using the Salamander alias to try and lure women in so the spell can catch them. It's a perfect plan, really... unless of course, the spell is broken, then the plan is useless. Natsu, are there any mages you can think of that use Purple Flare?"

"Purple Flare?" Natsu frowned, crossing his arms. "Hold on... let me think... that's uh... fire magic, right?" Zen nodded. "Er... hm... No, sorry. I don't really pay all that much attention to stuff like that. Plus, I've never seen him before, so..."

Happy sighed, shaking his head. "I guess it was a bit much, thinking Natsu could actually be helpful this time."

"Hey!"

Exactly after his outburst, a familiar growl grumbled around them. The girl looked surprised, but Zen recognized it immediately, and chuckled. "Hungry, are we?" he teased. Natsu's response was to sheepishly scratch the back of his head with one hand and a stomach at the other. "Heh, guilty..." Happy admitted, rubbing his stomach too.

The girl giggled. "Well, seeing as you guys helped me out, let me treat you to some food." she said, smiling. This naturally earned grateful and ecstatic looks from Natsu and Happy while Zen looked slightly put-off. "A-are you sure? I mean, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but..."

"It's fine, really." the girl insisted. "Oh, I should introduce myself. My name's Lucy. You're Zen, right?"

For a moment, Zen was startled, taken aback before it settled over, and a pleasant smile took over. "...Very well."

This would be the start of something that the three could never have anticipated, a meeting that would begin a journey unlike any other.

In a land far, far away likes the Kingdom of Fiore. It's a small nation, with a population filled with seventeen million. It's a place filled with magic.

Bought and sold at stores, used in every home, magic is for the most part, a mundane part of everyday life. However, there are those that devote themselves to it's practice.

These individuals are known as mages, who hone their abilities and seek fame, fortune, and glory. Many mages have even formed magical guilds, which dot the landscape of Fiore.

However, in a certain town, there is a guild that stands above all the others, and has continued forge legends to come. It's name... is Fairy Tail.

-Chapter END-

The Wandering Mage! Encounter!

Next Time:

Natsu: Aw, come on! What gives?! Why is that, almost every time I'm introduced in these damned fanfictions, I keep getting the crap kicked outta me because of some damn fake?!

Happy: Maybe it's karma!

Lucy: I wouldn't be surprised, especially if those theories about you and E.N.D are true!

Natsu: Wait, who?

Zen: Next time, on Fairy Tail – A Promise Unforgotten!

Happy: The Wandering Mage Part II! Reaper and Dragon!

Lucy: You know, I don't think we've seen too many fanfictions about 'you-know-who' joining Fairy Tail.

Natsu: You know who? Don't you mean Ze-

Happy: Ack! NO! DON'T SPOIL THE SURPRISE FOR EVERYONE, NATSU!

Lucy: I think, at this point in time, and just from the description, everyone knows who Zen is.

Zen: Wait, what about me?

Natsu, Happy, and Lucy: STAY TUNED FOR MORE FAIRY TAIL!

Zen: *sigh* I am so lost here...