Hello all of you Pomeranian huskies, my name is Agrithnum-aut here with another story! As many of you might not know, I am revamping five of my stories. I don't feel like having such cruddy writing up in place of something that could be great. So, I've come up with another storyline for this story, A Choice to Remember, so it coincides with what I wanted to do in the first place. I guess I let too much excitement drag me away, so I'll think that I'm going to rewrite it into something amazing. Hopefully any fans of the last, if there were even any to begin with, don't hate me too much.

Now that's out of the way, let me give my reasoning. That story wasn't my best writing, not at all by any means. I think that I made it to kind of test some waters, but now that I've read some more and have brushed up the pen, I think I'm ready to give it another go… with a twist. On with the story!

In a white forest there laid a pink haired boy, soundly dozing off in a pile of soft hay. On his small, yet surprisingly muscular frame from years of training he wore ragged, tight clothing that seemingly clung to his body. He had several small scars that littered his hands and feet from constant use of hand to hand combat, mostly against the boulders and trees that littered the surrounding area for miles. A soft breeze trickled in carrying an undistinguishable scent, one that gave the boy a startling jolt to the waking world. Early in the morning was it, where he awoke at a rather bloody smell, filled with other smaller scents of ash and burning wood.

Small rivets of smoke trailed into the cave he had been living, carrying the same scent that had shocked him already. He looked around seeing a scarf and a rather crudely drawn note adjacent to it. He grabbed the scarf first, feeling more secure with the scent of his father, the Fire Dragon King Igneel, the one that had taken care of him for the better part of seven years, since he was a baby.

He sighed in content as he grabbed the note, not knowing of the contents inside. Much to his shock, he wished he hadn't been awakened from his slumber. He started to quake as the first words of the letter had come to his attention.

Dear Natsu,

It's been awhile since I found you in the middle of winter, huddled in a golden glow of magic that protected you. Even still, it pains me to write this letter to you after all of the time we had spent together living, training, and having fun. As I dreadfully woe at this decision, I feel that it was for the best that I had left, so that you can see the world that you live in for your own eyes, with me watching from whatever heavens are above.

You might be asking why? Why did I leave so suddenly, without a trace of warning beforehand? It was because you are special, Natsu. You have a shocking potential to grasp magical concept, to even discover new depths of your own power at such a young age, and the magic you hold is pure. So pure that even the darkest of magic wouldn't expel your flames. Do not lose hope, my son. I need you to focus on living on, for the both of us. I would have stayed, believe me I would have, but something of great importance has drawn me away from what we have done together. I fear that I may not be around to see you grow, but I will always be with you, in your heart. Never forget that.

Your father, Igneel.

By the time he'd finished the letter, tears had sprung fresh from his eyes, creating a small stain against his clothing from sadness. Even then, he still couldn't believe what had just happened, as if his entire world. Soon enough, his grief had quickly turned to anger, whereas he had unconsciously let loose a large portion of magic. An explosion quickly followed, a roaring fire quickly streamed in spectacular fashion from the mouth of the cave.

Little did Natsu know, many dark mages were converging on his position, having caught wind of his eruption. And before he knew it, he was caught within a particularly powerful sleeping incantation he was unable to resist, and he fell to the ground as soon as he reached the cave's exit. The mages wore masks, bearing some strange circular emblem on its front along with hooded black robes. Along with this, they each carried a staff and had hold of a chain, which had several children attached to the cuffs hanging from it.

Just as easily as they had tranquilized him, they placed a pair of magic suppression handcuffs, a small beam of white light attaching the two cuffs together as the closed around his wrists. Unfortunately for Natsu, he was in for a long ride, as he would soon enough be arriving at a place that made any of his previous nightmares seem tame. The eight-year-old boy was soon enough carried off with the rest of the children to a series of large rowboats, enough to carry the forty five people boarding them.

In a small struggle against his now aching body, Natsu slowly rose to the waking world with a hammering headache, present as he held his head, biting back against the pain. To his surprise, he was met with another pair of eyes, just as anguished as his own staring directly back at him. He sighed as he stared at the handcuffs that he wore, which he visibly saw were different than the others. They were three small pairs attached to him, all made of a dark steel, and he could physically feel it sapping his energy as soon as it was replenished, leaving him unable to access his magic at all. Surprisingly, though, he still felt the natural strength of his body, and many stared at him as if he was a foreign object.

But what caught his eye was a small red haired girl, about four inches shorter than him approaching; helping tend to his wounds with what he saw as the old clothing he was wearing. It was only then that he remembered fighting back on the boat, and shortly after being cut down with a deep gash to his right arm as he tried to block it from hitting what he recognized as the girl in front of him.

"Why are you helping me? I didn't do anything to deserve it." With a small sigh, she tightened the cloth around his arm, making him wince in pain at the gesture, and felt a hand caress his cheek for only a moment before dropping away. He looked on and stared at her brown orbs, slightly shocked by her grateful expression, no matter how tear stained her face appeared to be.

"It's because you saved me. My name is Erza." He looked on in impatience, but soon realized something about the girl who had just tended to him. Why didn't she have a last name, like him?

"Erza… what? Don't you have a last name?" She slowly shook her head, clearly embarrassed by his notion towards her, and slightly backed off of him, sitting down with her legs covering her torso, and her arms wrapped securely around them.

"I d-don't have one. I never knew my parents by anything other than mom or dad." Natsu frowned at the answer she'd given, and she considered backing away as an angered look came across his face, but she didn't know what it was particularly aimed at.

"What kind of a parent doesn't give their kid a last name? How about this; I'll call you Erza…. Red… no… Scarlet! You're Erza Scarlet, because of your beautiful hair!" She blushed a deep shade of rose, similar to her hair, and almost took the presence of a tomato, albeit a very cute tomato. Even then, with someone who she didn't even know, she still felt comfortable showing her embarrassment around him.

"N-Nice to m-meet you D-Dragneel-san." He slammed his fist on the ground, clearly irate as the pain traveled straight to the even smaller gash on his arm. With a comical cry of pain, he removed his hand from the now cracked concrete, leaving some, especially the old man sitting in the back of the dark cell they resided in, shocked by his strength.

"No formalities Erza. Just call me Natsu. I won't accept anything else. Ya hear?" She nodded slightly, smiling to herself as he sat next to her, and blushed as she saw the muscled torso of his. He didn't' have a shirt on, so it wasn't hard for her to face away with a face so red, that it could've been mistaken for paint.

"Now how the hell do we get out of here?" Almost as if answering his question, a burly guard had come to wake them, because, if he was right, it had already reached early morning the next day. With a smirk, he released the large club from his belt, and reached for Natsu, grabbing him by the injured arm with an iron-like vice. Much to Erza's horror, she knew what was about to happen to him if someone didn't stop the guard.

"Time to receive one of your many beatings, kid. A little revenge for that stunt you pulled on the boat." He slowly dragged him off as his kicked and screamed from the pain. The iron gates shut as soon as they opened, leaving Erza to crash into them with no way of getting to her friend. Screaming to let him go, heavy laughter echoed across the halls of the tower, leaving those still inside the cell terrified.

Several hours later – R-System Tower – Coast of Caelum

Erza cried again as the faint echoes of his screams stopped once more, afraid again for her friend that was in the midst of torture. Soon enough, she heard what was what she guessed as a dragging body, softly echoing of bare skin against the concrete floors.

Coming into her view was a very bloodied, bruised, and broken Natsu being dragged by the guard who'd taken him. With a mad cackle, the man held him by the neck and slammed him against the bars of the cell as he used a key to open the gate. She couldn't believe the state he was in as he was then again thrown to the back of the cell, hitting it with a dull thud of the impact of skin against stone. Falling slowly, his breath was ragged and his voice hoarse and even worse were the several wounds inflicted on his person. Thirteen slashes of a whip on his back and several more to his chest, accompanied by numerous gashes and missing parts of skin where blood had previously poured from. A slick layer of sweat covered his form and dirt had clogged and infected most of the gashes, along with one above his left eyebrow, giving off a greenish-red hue.

Erza had long rushed to her friend in need, and wrapped her small arms around his frame, staring on in a prolonged stare as she assessed his wounds. Tears had already come to life, springing from her closed eyelids as she stared at his broken form.

"Don't worry about it. I'm… fine… Erza…" The voice coming from between his lips was weak, giving off a faint echo across the room. Not only was it weak, but throaty and sore to listen to, as anything else that came out was a series of small pants and squeaks.

"You're not okay! What kind of jerk does this someone they don't even know! It isn't fair!" Unknowingly, she had already cradled him into her arms, holding the injured boy close to her bosom. His groans of pain had long since stopped when she had begun to hold him, and he smiled slightly when he had fallen asleep in her arms. No longer did she care about the blood that had stained her ragged clothing. It was long past the time to worry about something as small as appearance anymore- they were fighting to survive.

Time Unknown – R-System – Coast of Caelum

Natsu had finally recovered from the first beatings within two days, long enough for him to recover and let the old man now known as Rob, who had worked tirelessly to cover for his day work, get enough rest for the rest of their time in the tower. He couldn't help but feel guilty for making Erza and the other friends they made, namely Jellal, Sho, Simon, Millianna, and Richard. Since the time he spent in the torture rig, he and Erza had grown a lot closer, enough to where they'd constantly be teased about some sort of relationship they never really established.

Besides the point, as far as Natsu had counted, it had been ninety-eight days since they arrived at the tower, four weeks of surviving through the hell they were being put through. And now, it was four days since they'd come up with a plan of escape. The editors of the plan were mainly him and Jellal, with their plan of action including Richard, Simon and Sho.

It had taken them at least two weeks to study the guard patterns and namely, keep Natsu from going out of control from boredom. But still, it wasn't as if they had anything better to do in their sleeping time besides conversing quietly with the children and adults within the cells next to them. Everything was going just as well as it could go- a living hell.

Between the constant whippings and occasional beating, Erza had lost an eye, and in the process, Natsu had proceeded to kill the guard that'd done it, then later be beaten again, in much worse fashion and left to be in recovery again. So far, nothing was exactly going according to plan, as their raid was to happen a week prior to the present. But, there was time now, now that the guard would be passing by as they switched shifts.

So, Natsu lied in wait, having gotten his cuffs off with a makeshift lockpick they'd fashioned out of a badly broken Estoc they'd managed to acquire. So, he lied in wait in the part of the wall that was shadowed and hidden from view, shivering in excitement at a fight with the bastards that'd trapped them. Along from the dripping water that echoed along the mildew covered walls, a set of heavy footsteps had made itself known to those within the cells. It crept closer and closer, all the way until Natsu was able to peek and see the guard walking.

With a grunt of effort, he grabbed the tailcoat just in time to bring the guard close to the bars. Close enough for him to wrap an arm around his neck and slowly choke him. Almost instantly the struggle became quite apparent as the guard flailed his arms and legs about, tugging against Natsu's brute strength. Unfortunately, it was too late, for he had not enough oxygen, and then slumped to the ground with a sickening crunch. As brutal as those watching might've thought it was, Natsu chose to ignore the stares and managed to tug off the key ring attached to the man's belt. As soon as he'd gotten them, he rushed to the door and began rifling through the keys, making a considerable amount of noise as he opened the door way to his cage.

Looking back, both he and the rest of the people inside of their cage knew- the rebellion against their captors had finally begun.

Rushing through the hallways, they opened thirty, maybe forty cells full of people, and had successfully plunged the place into chaos. No longer would they cower in fear of their lives… no… they finally had enough numbers to fight back.

"Have you found Jellal yet? Natsu?!" Erza was worried for her friend, of course, and nothing would have stopped her from finding by the point they were at. But, they had yet to find the cage that their blue haired friend resided in. Where they were at the moment, they wouldn't be able to make it out and get their friend in time.

"No. I'll go ahead and keep looking, you go ahead and help the others with the fight against the guards in the bottom chamber, okay?" With a small hit to Natsu's head, Erza glared at him, making him wonder what he'd done to deserve her anger.

"No! We're finding him together! I won't let you go out and get yourself killed because of me." With a slight face palm, he signaled her along, and they continued opening the locked gates, desperately searching for their kidnapped comrade.

They raced through the halls, bolting past guards and the like as they elevated the tower. Through many flights of stairs, magic elevators, and many of the other ways to reach the top, where they'd heard he'd been taken. It was a long run, but they had finally made it to the doors leading to the top chamber of the tower, which, was finally constructed.

They both smiled at each other, taking a moment for them to catch their breath, but, they were all so suddenly grabbed from behind and forced through the doors by two rather burly guards. Both struggled quite a bit, but, neither could exactly move as they were lifted off the ground. Before them was their friend Jellal, but something was not right about him.

He was wearing the same robes as the guards they'd passed, along with a decorative smirk gracing his face as he stared at the two. Not only that, but Grandpa Rob, the one that they'd been taken care of by, was in chains with a blade pressed tightly against his throat. Erza resisted screaming for him, resisting the temptation that would make her do anything that would get him killed.

"Now, now. Settle down you two. We wouldn't our guest here to be removed from the picture, would we?" Natsu let out a deep, guttural growl as he stared at the blue haired bastard who'd betrayed them sitting so casually on the plush chair before them. He sat up, all the while condescendingly looking at the two he'd falsely befriended.

"Now, your friends will stay in the tower, but you two may leave as long as you turn back and never look here again. You will not tell anyone, you will not cry, you will not so much as scream for help. However, it will be at the cost of this man's life." Another growl escaped Natsu's throat as he struggled against the tight grip he'd been locked into that he was unable to escape from.

"Jellal. How could you do this to us?!" Clapping as he approached Natsu, he grabbed him with a hand around his throat, using strength he hadn't had before, and lifted him high into the air, magic charging in the palm of his hand.

"Make yourself the only one getting out now, Erza. I think we have ten seconds to decide before I kill him, no? Choose wisely." Erza's eyes widened, and she swallowed the spit that in her mouth as it went dry. She started to quake as tears sprung to her eyes, her shivering becoming violent as she helplessly stared into Natsu's eyes. She pleaded him, and he smirked as a few choked words came out.

"L-Leave me…. E… Erza…"

"I can't leave you. So please don't leave me!" Her tears had begun to stream wildly, becoming small pools as they hit the ground.

"Three." She sprung up and struggled to get out of the man's grip, unable to do so as the countdown had already begun. It can't end like this!
"Two." Why does this have to happen to us now? Why?! Natsu!

"One." The motion came from both Jellal and the guard across from her, he pushed his arm slightly to the right, and pressed it against the man's throat, preparing to take his final moments. Jellal had already begun releasing his spell, thrusting his hand forward and pointing it towards Natsu's chin. With a mad cackle, the twelfth hour had chimed on the clock, and it all became silent. Silence enveloped her mind as she made one last struggle to save them, having escaped from the guard's grasp. But even still, she was too late.

"Zero."

Did you like it so far? Read, Review, Comment, PM, or anything! I spent about six or seven hours writing this one piece. It may not be the best, but I'm hoping it'll give a great start to what I have planned. I also have a poll going on for any of the people who have been following me through these rough six months, and have been reading some of the worse for wear, about to be revamped work I am soon to be posting.

What story comes first in the series after this one? You decide!

One and the Same (Moka x Tsukune Exclusively)

Rebuilding the Guild (Natsu x Erza, again…)

Black and Orange (Ichigo x Yoruichi one-shot)