Everyone wore black that day, rain falling around them, soaking them to the bone. All of them, silent as they stood, not even a single sniffle. They stood before the grave of a precious nakama, but they weren't silent to respect the death of this certain girl. No, they were silent because of something drastically different. No one could have expected this outcome, no one.

None of them could have expected that, Natsu Dragneel, Lisanna's long time best friend, to show up to her funeral, a bright smile on his face and laughter written in his eyes, sketched into his plump cheeks. The silence of the group didn't make his smile falter, nor his laughter.

It was as though he was happy she was gone.

Happy that the one person who paid any heed to him, one that wasn't of annoyance or anger, was gone.

"Why the hell are you smiling?" Grey's voice pierced the silence, making those near him flinch away from him, his harsh and cold tone mending well with his facial expression.

Natsu laughed cheerfully, like he was laughing at them, "Because you guys are moping around like your cat just died!" Grey clenched his teeth, his fist shaking beside him, anger blazing in his cold, dark eyes. Mirajane lashed out first.

"She was your best friend! How could you be so heartless?!" She quickly stepped forward towards Natsu, hand pulled back, ready to slap him. Her tear stained face conveyed all that she felt.

Outrage, anger, sorrow, hurt.

She couldn't hide from Natsu's watchful gaze, the smile never falling from his face. He merely stood there, the rain falling around him like a curtain.

The ringing sound of hand against cheek was loud in the intense silence. Natsu's head was pushed to show his side profile, the smile finally falling from his face.

Mirajane stood before him, her hand still floating in the air in the position which it stopped. The anger was long gone, only empty eyes stared out at Natsu. Her anger, was meaningless.

Laughter rung out in the silence, the smile painted onto his face once more. his face still turned away, he stared eerily at the guild members, his nakama.

They could all see the crazed glint in his eyes, even through the heavy curtain of rain that just seemed to get heavier and heavier.

They all stood at a still, all their breaths were held in their lungs, bursting at the seams from the oxygen that they all survived on. Natsu continued to laugh uncontrollably, though less intensely.

Abruptly, the horrific laughter of the Fire Dragon Slayer ceased.

Mirajane glared at Natsu in disgust, her nose wrinkled like he smelled like a dairy cow farm. "You're not Natsu. You're just a heartless monster!" Her voice slowly rised in anger, tears blurring her vision as she screamed at Natsu.

"No. I'm not Natsu." No one expected this response from him, and they all perked up in confusion. "I'm not the Natsu that would play with Lisanna everyday, nor am I the Natsu that quarreled with Grey every goddamn day."

Natsu's voice was muttled and... staticky. It sounded like a glitching radio, and that was horrifying enough. His eyes were also glitching, like he was just a hologram. His very being was glitching.

"I am... a different Natsu. I am a new Natsu. I am... Kritanta." Suddenly, the salmon coloured hair faded into a snowy white, bleeding into black at the tips. His eyes turned from their black onyx to an intense, poisonous green. His tan skin paled until he looked sickly, like he was dying of a disease no one could cure. His muscled figure wilted into frail arms and legs, a thin waist and barely there shoulders. a Mark formed around Natsu's... Kritanta's neck, a mechanical wheel that had ingrains like it was a maze. Piercings appeared, a lip ring, piercings through the cartilage of his ear and the soft skin.

His lips dipped down in a attractive cupid's bow, his lower lip more plush than the upper lip. His outfit melded into a baggy wool sweater, ripped and bloodied. The scarf that the real Natsu would always wear decayed into a necklace, a mini flail hung from the silver chain, a crossbow hung from his hip.

His form still faltered and glitched like he was a hologram, though less often.

"W-what the hell are you? What did you do to Natsu?" Grey stepped forward, a foot behind Mirajane, his fist held threateningly.

"I didn't do anything to Natsu. I am Natsu... just in the real form, real name."

"You're lying!"

Mirajane held her arm out, effectively stopping Grey from jumping Kritanta. "What are you?"

Kritanta smiled, a ominous smile, "I am... I guess you could say a machine. Well, not a machine, but similar to one," Kritanta held his hand up, stopping anyone from interrupting him. "I, however, do have emotions, though very scarce and basic. I am not that basic machines that you see every day, but much, much, more advanced than that. My creator sent me out to... discover what being 'human' is."

Another ominous smile was flashed in the guild's direction. "I'm permanent, by the way. As in, I'm sticking around until this generation's master, Makarov, is dead."

Kritanta seemed to just remember something, as a glint seemed to light in his eyes. "Oh, and I'm meant to kill every human on earth!"