All Rights to Hiro Mashima
This is a rewrite of my very first story called "Blank." I decided to rework it again and I must say...reading my first writing project was cringey to the extreme. But it is amazing the steps I've taken in a year.
ONE
Everything was dark.
No, not just dark, everything had a quiet emptiness to it.
He felt…strange.
Wrong and strange, like his skin was too tight or his bones were too big. His brain was fuzzing out and he was more than sure there was something that he was meant to remember, to know.
But he doesn't. Or does he? He can't remember.
It's all just…blank.
It was as if his mind was wiped clean, like someone mercilessly dug up a tree trunk and extricated it with no care for the entangled roots, leaving a gaping hole behind that was supposed to be filled with something.
Too bad he just couldn't remember what.
Images flashed through his mind. A swirl of liquid gold, a massive beast with shining white fangs, sky blue and inky darkness flashing with sparkling lights. Stars…those were stars.
But that was it, and even as those things flew through his mind, they were gone again without a trace.
He took a mental check of his faculties. Everything seemed to be in order, on the inside of his mind at least, more or less. Probably less if he was entirely honest. He could still feel his extremities, as he was lying on something rough and hard, the cold seeping into his back and legs. He could hear as well. Light scuffles and moans from all around him assaulted his eardrums. He cringed as a loud scrape and a muffled thump echoed from behind him.
So all in all, the situation wasn't all too horrible, he wasn't in pain, nothing was broken and he was mostly warm. He was also sure he had been in many worse situations, but he couldn't remember when or how. It was just a lingering…feeling that he had in the back of his mind.
He cracked his left eye open a fraction and deemed it the worst idea he'd ever had.
"Shit!" His moan of pain burst out of him. The light was too damn bright. Quickly he shut his burning eye and the relief made him sigh happily.
It was blissfully black again, but it wasn't as empty as before.
Something was nagging at him though, like a small wiggle in this conscious that told him that the status quo wasn't quite right.
So he opened his eyes again – slowly – and the blurry grey shape came into focus as his gaze wavered momentarily then cleared.
He realized that he was lying on the ground staring up at an unremarkable ceiling, crisscrossed with wooden beams and iron supports. It gave no clue about his location or any helpful hints about why he was spread out haphazardly on what can only be described at the most uncomfortable floor known to man, one leg still hooked around something in the air and more than one object poking him in his lower back.
At this thought, he slowly sat up and watched as yet another unremarkable object, this time a wooden bench – which was what his leg was still hooked around – and just behind it, a gleaming bar top covered in shining glass came into focus. He grunted and rubbed his eyes suddenly extremely tired. He pulled the things that were poking him in the ass out from underneath him, realizing that they were just…twigs. Lots of tiny blackened and burnt branches that smelled faintly of something delicious – that thought bewildered him – and lingering smoke.
Just as that mystifying thought rumbled through his mind, a slight shuffling noise startled him out of his twig inspection.
His head whipped around fast enough for his neck to give a painful crack, but his discomfort and annoyance and everything else in his mind was forgotten in the wake of something far more important.
A pair of eyes, filled with exasperation and something much happier, a soft fondness that stirred up his insides and he didn't have a clue as to why. All I could see was deep, rich amber, warm and inviting. They seemed to suck him in and he damn well didn't want to fight it.
Absolutely gorgeous.
"Damn it! I wish he would stop doing that to us every time he comes to talk to Master."
He jolted, belatedly realizing that the shimmering eyes he'd been staring into were in fact attached to a young woman. She was small in stature, golden blonde hair, cute nose, full lips. Overall her face was very beautiful. At the moment she was dusting off her tiny black skirt to rid it of the dust from the floor they had fallen on, but her voice was so full of familiarity, like a blanket that wrapped around him until he felt safe from the world.
"You okay, Natsu?" She glanced up at him, head tilted to the side in a gesture that could only be described as cute.
"Uhm?" Something about the situation seemed delicate, like one wrong step on a broken sheet of ice that would shatter it completely.
The woman's eyes darted around and she huffed lightly, stroking a small lump of bright blue curled on the floor beside her. As she took in the broken twigs on the ground around him, a smile bloomed on her face, a little crooked and mischievous, but no less blinding. "It looks like we wound up on the floor again. That guy has no goddamn manners when it comes to his sleep spells. He could at least write a 'sorry-for-putting-you-under-again-hope-you-all-come-out-of-your-magic-induced-traces-alright' note. Or pick up our bar tab or something. Sometimes I don't care that he's Erza's sort-of boyfriend. What if someone hit their head on the edge of the table and got hurt?"
He needed to say something; anything, but all the words that wanted to make the trek out of his mouth got stuck in his throat. Although, his heart was doing a wild jig in his chest.
At least it was still working.
None of the things she was saying made any sense to him, at all. The names and situations that she mentioned weren't ringing any bells in his empty head. Panic welled up in his chest and he tried valiantly to not flip the fuck out, but he was losing that particular battle pretty quickly.
The woman was quietly cursing someone named 'Mystogan' under her breath while she slowly rose off the ground, stretched cramped limbs and rolled her left ankle and neck while her curved into a pleased grin. "You're really quiet Natsu; you hit something on the way down? Was it your head? I fucking knew this would happen sooner or later, but will Master listen? No! Neither will Jel—uhh…Mystogan for that matter."
"I think—I don't really…I don't know? Maybe?"
His head didn't hurt like he hit it, it was just…a little fuzzy and throbbed with his heart slightly. Nothing too bad, but what did he know?
"Natsu, you look really pale. I don't think I've ever seen you this colour before, even when you're on the train curled up with motion sickness." She scrunched her nose up and squinted at him. "Hmmm…maybe you need a little something to eat, huh? Mystogan wasted your last meal apparently." She reached over and pulled a burnt twig out of his hair, holding it up as if that was an answer or something.
Finally, the block in his lungs and the lump in his throat dissolved and a veritable flood of questions poured out of his mouth, he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to, and he didn't. He wanted answers and he needed them now, he was too confused and a little bit scared to stay quiet.
"Who are you? Where am I? What is this place? Why am I so damn warm?" It took him one breath and he heaved air into his lungs after his outpouring of words while the woman stared down at him, frozen in place with her arm outstretched and lips parted.
The twig had crumbled to dust and ash on the floor.
Her eyes glinted strangely and then she was in his face faster than what he thought was possible, an ugly frown pulling at her features. "Is this another one of your pranks? You won't get me again like last week, and just so Happy knows I found all those damn fish bones in my couch." She poked a thin finger into his ribs and he flinched back in discomfort.
He waved his hands in front of his face, slightly afraid she was going to deck him in the jaw. "I'm gonna stop you right there. I have no idea what you're talking about. And what the hell is a Happy?"
"What do you mean no idea? Did you somehow forget your partners? Or the shit you and your blue cat pull every other day?" She sniggered slightly and rolled her eyes playfully, obviously not believing a word he said. "Come on Natsu, cut it out. Let's get you some more fire from Mira; she says she has been switching up the wood she uses so that tastes different."
Panic started to set in. "No! Seriously, who are you? Who am I? Why do you keep calling me Natsu!?" He all but pleaded with her, his voice increasing in volume with all the stress he was feeling.
"Why the fuck would anyone eat fire?" That seemed like a pressing question as well, who in their right mind would willingly burn their mouths?
But that seemed like the wrong things to say.
The woman turned around and set those dazzling eyes on him again, confused and scared and a little bit angry, freezing him in place. "Natsu…stop toying with me. It isn't fucking funny this time." Her arms folded under her generous bust and she glared down at him where he was still kneeling on the cold stone floor.
The noise around them was starting to pick up as people he hadn't seen before groaned and lamented over their shared Mystogan stories. A man with deep inky hair rolled his eyes at a woman drinking deeply from a flask at the bar and beside them a hulking man with a lightning-shaped scar scowled down into his mug.
Who the hell were all these people? Where was he? Who was this woman?
A couple of seconds passed before she dropped her arms limply at her sides and he can start to see something that looked like real honest to the Gods fear start to bleed through.
She silently fell to her knees so that she's eye level with him, eyes wide and disbelieving. "You're not screwing around, are you? You seriously don't remember me?" Her voice is barely above a whisper and he strained his ears hard just to hear the words.
He shook his head and cursed quietly as she gaped. Her hands lifted to grip both of his shoulders before she looked him dead in the eyes trying – and failing – to find something of her partner in him. "Natsu, it's me, Lucy." She smiled then, a little strained and entirely fake, her eyes didn't shine like he instinctually knew they would. It still knocked the breath out of him, though.
It fell only a moment later when he answered with silence.
He was stunned for all of a few seconds before he looked down a traced a crack in the stone under his knees, unwilling to unable to look her in the eyes again. "I'm sorry." He whispered back. He felt strangely sad to let this beautiful woman down.
Her hands left his shoulders so fast; it was like she had been burned. "What do you remember?"
People started to crowd around them, laughing and talking with each other until the noise pressed against them like a physical thing. It was uncomfortable and he wanted to run as fast as he could. But he couldn't even get his legs to move.
He wracked his brain, at least the part that has been left intact.
It hit him then, about how nothing felt right, nothing looked right. Why he was feeling out of sorts and wanted to cringe and shrug his skin off. There was a massive hole left in his memories. The first thing he could actually, physically remember was that nondescript grey ceiling and the woman's – Lucy's – bright amber eyes.
His life and what he remembered started not ten minutes prior.
It wasn't that he had forgotten anything.
It was that I had forgotten everything.
-ooo-
"Wendy! We need a little help over here!" He could hear that her voice was strained and slightly panicked, cracking in disbelief and worry.
It also has the added effect of being louder than normal and started to gather the attention from the groups of decidedly…odd people all around them. Seriously...just who were these people?
Why are there so many cats everywhere wearing clothes?
"Lucy!" A tiny, brilliantly blue haired girl skidded on her knees beside him, her hands fluttering over his arms. He leant away from her, uncomfortable from all the scrutiny. "What's wrong? Is it Natsu? Is he hurt? I can't find any cuts or scrapes." Her small hands ghosted over the back of her head and he physically flinched away. "No contusions, but he does seem strange and quiet and pale."
"Wendy, oh thank Mavis," Lucy breathed. "Can you please check Natsu out? Something isn't right. He says that he doesn't remember my name or his for that matter."
The small girl nodded at the blonde and stretched out her hands over his chest. "Of course, hold on a minute Natsu, just sit still."
What could can he do but nod, even if he still was a little suspicious?
His eyes blew wide when her hands glowed a muted green-blue before he all but melted at the warmth of whatever she was doing to him.
Magic. A small prick of something pinged in his more-or-less empty brain. This…Wendy…was using magic.
The tiny girl cocked her head to the side. "Well…physically he's fine, a slight bruise on his shoulder from when he fell off the chair from Mystogan's spell…I healed that easily." She then looked at him in the eyes. "But his brain chemistry and magic is…off. I can't explain it any better than that."
She looked down at the stones in the floor, flushed from embarrassment, "I'm sorry you guys, I just don't know what's causing this. Brains are just so complex; I think we need to call Porlyusica."
Lucy grimaced slightly. "It's alright Wendy. We need to talk to Master anyways. He might know of something like this happening before. Or Levy even."
At her spoken words, yet another petite blue-haired girl sat crossed legged on the floor with them, bright red glasses keeping her wavy locks at bay. "Levy! Please tell me you have heard of something like this before, maybe in a book you've read? Or in your research?" Even he could tell that she trying to pull an explanation from thin air.
Short blue hair swished around her face as she shook her head. "Sorry Lu, not that I've read before, but it isn't something that I'm an expert in. I've usually left the medical side of things to Wendy or Porly. I'll head to the guild's library to pick up some books and start some preliminary research." As quick as she came, she was gone, scampering away with another man that peeled off of a group of four, his acid green hair covering most of his face.
The double doors boomed quietly in the silent room.
Nothing moved.
"What in Earthland are you brats all starring at?" A male voice spoke up from beside them.
A very short, grey-haired, balding old man stepped into view from around the multiple pairs of legs. "Natsu? Why are you sitting on the floor?"
He spoke up again, annoyed that everyone was asking him questions that he had no answers for. "Okay, why do you people keep calling me Natsu? Better yet, who are you people?" The older man looked at him with a slightly stunned expression, then looked at the blonde woman next to him. "Lucy, what's going on?"
He huffed at being ignored and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Master, I don't know! We all woke up from the sleep spell just fine like all the other times, but…Natsu says he doesn't remember anything. Wendy says his brain chemistry and magic energy is off, and we need to call Porlyusica please!"
Everyone stared at Lucy like she was crazy, but he could hear the quiet desperation in her voice.
She was scared. Because of him, or for him, or for some other reason. It didn't matter to him. The fact that she was unsettled in any way made a part of him bristle with annoyance.
The woman with the bright amber eyes shouldn't be sad. He didn't know why he knew, he just did. Just like he knew that he was supposed to know her, but he didn't. She seemed…familiar. Like an after-image from a dream that faded away when woken.
The small man watched the kneeling woman for a moment longer. "Lucy… how can you be sure that this isn't just something that's temporary? He might remember something soon."
She shook her head vehemently. "No Master, this is something serious. Look at his eyes."
The small man didn't even need to bend down to look at his face, his eyes gaze searching for what Lucy was talking about. He seemed wise beyond his considerable years. "What do you mean? They're the same colour as before, right?"
She huffed in exasperation. "Doesn't anyone see it? His eyes, look, there's no fire in them. Master, please call Porlyusica!" She was almost yelling at the end of her speech.
He blinked languidly as the blonde huffed up at the short man. Damn. She was certainly feisty. It seemed that someone wanted answers almost as much as he did.
The old man raked a hand through what is left of his hair, mumbled a bit about 'old pink-haired witches' and 'damn brats making my life short,' closed his eyes and sighed lightly. "Alright you two, into my office and I want to hear the whole story. Wendy, please call Porlyusica and ask her to come to the infirmary. We will meet her there when we're finished."
Twin blue pigtails bounce as the girl jumped up off the floor. "Of course Master." She bowed slightly and disappeared behind the legs of the gawkers standing in a semi-circle around them; the small white cat sprouted wings and flew behind her.
He gawked as the cat vanished from sight, not really surprised, more…mystified that all of this was happening. It really did seem like everything was one long, overly complicated dream.
His head gave another dull throb as if to remind him of what he was missing.
"Alright, you brats! Back to work causing havoc or whatever you were doing before all this." The Master disappeared from his sight, the legs around them finally breaking up and everyone shuffling off after giving his furtive looks.
A pale hand was thrust into his sight. "Come on Natsu, let's go talk to Master and get this over with." He hesitated for a second then grasped the hand before it hauled him off the floor and to his feet.
"Thank you..." He trailed off at the end of the sentence, unsure of how to continue.
"Lucy. My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and don't thank me yet. I don't have any idea how long this will go on for, or if it's reversible." She tilted her head to the side and caught his gaze from the corner of her eyes.
"Still, thank you…Lucy. For trying, I mean."
Lucy's hand loosened its grasp, but he held on tighter. Her hand in his grounded him kept him from diving off the deep end of anxiety he could feel welling up behind his carefully calm façade.
"Thank you for believing me right away. I don't know what's happening. Or where I am or who you are, or even who I am. But I think…that I can trust you? Maybe? Gods this is so strange." He tried to convey his point, and Lucy seemed to understand him well enough.
They stop outside a large wooden door. "What are partners for? Natsu, I can see something's wrong. Believe me, I want to figure this out…probably just as much as you do." She smiled a little brighter at that. "We'll figure this crap out, we always do."
All he could think was that he had amazing taste in partners.
Unbidden, he smiled back at her. Something about Lucy made him…content? Warm? Happy?
All of those.
Probably.
However, the blonde gasped slightly in surprise and grabbed both sides of his face in her palms, forcing him to grimace while both her thumbs hooked into his upper lip and pulled. "Natsu! Your teeth…"
His tongue ran over them and took stock. Nothing damaged, nothing hurt. "What do you mean?"
Her eyes snapped up to his, her gaze burned him a little, in a good way. "Your fangs are gone. What in Earthland is going on? We really need to talk to Master and Porlyusica about all this!"
He poked a flat tooth with one finger after she had pulled hers from his mouth. "I had fangs? Really?"
She chuckled slightly and shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, no, not really. They were more like really sharp canines. All dragon slayers have them. Gajeel and Wendy both do at least. Sting and Rogue too. I think Cobra does as well."
This tidbit of information floored him. "Dragon slayers?" Did he slay Dragons?
Lucy waved her hand, batting away the question for the moment at least. "Don't worry about it for now. Let's just talk to Master, alright?"
She turned around and knocked on the large wooden door in front of them. His hand tightened on hers in apprehension.
Lucy squeezed back. "I'll be right here the whole way through this."
She pushed open the door and turned to look at me. "This is going to be a shock to your system. All this information is going to seem really strange to you. But I promise. We'll figure it all out."
He nodded as something new peaked in his subconscious. "And you never break your promises."
Lucy turned sharply towards him again, searching his gaze. Those deep amber eyes kept him rooted to the ground. "How did you know that?" She whispered, her voice tinged with the first threads of hope.
He shrugged and replied. "I don't know… I just do. Intuition, maybe? Sort of a gut feeling more than anything." Gesturing to his stomach in a roundabout fashion to convey his point. He grabbed her hand again before she could turn away.
She looked absolutely confused. "Yeah...let's just go with that, I guess." She turned towards the open door and walked through, her hand pulling him behind her.
The door thumped behind them with a quiet sound.
-ooo-
"Alright, Lucy, let's just start from the beginning shall we?" The Master's voice was strained.
Lucy watched Natsu as he sat down in the chair next to her, crossing his arms over his chest and eyes dancing around the room without a hint of recognition. He was very different, calmer, and less…enthusiastic. There was no fire behind those bright eyes, his drive and conviction seemingly just… cut-off? Removed? Suppressed? Lucy had so many questions floating through her head, but this wasn't the time for them.
She sighed and leant forward slightly, wanting to drag a hand down her face but she resisted.
But only barely.
"I'll start from this morning then, right before Mystogan came and knocked us out...again"
"I was standing at the request board, looking for a job to go on, you know…lots of fighting, the promise of lots of jewels, somewhere far enough from civilization so that Natsu wouldn't burn down half a city block again like last week." Master nodded, a grimace on his face, his eyes shifted slightly to the stack of forms on his desk.
She peeked at Natsu from the corner of her eye again. Usually, he seemed somewhat bashful when anyone accused him of going overboard with such things. He would scratch the back of his head and grin sheepishly at everyone while he stammered out excuses, then he would either pick a fight with Gray over something stupid and destroy a part of the guild or insist on a fishing trip with Happy to get out of there.
But nothing of the sort happened this time. He just stared straight ahead at the Master's desk and…waited for Lucy to continue with the story. She had never seen Natsu not yelling and throwing fire around because he was "bored as the day is long." It just wasn't right.
It made her feel so uncomfortable like someone had shifted everything in her life a little to the left and she was only just noticing.
She looked back at Master to see him frowning slightly giving the subdued Natsu a quick once-over. He nodded for her to go on before stuffing his still smoking pipe between his teeth.
"I found something good with a healthy reward, barring unnatural damage due to scorching, freezing, or slashing. Somewhere near Alcalypha. I was walking back to the table where Natsu was sitting and while I stood next to him I started to get really…sleepy. Obviously, it was Mystogan's spell. Next thing I knew I was waking up next to Natsu and the others on the floor. Natsu was acting weird so I called Wendy and Levy. And you know the rest."
Master looked at them both. "That's it?"
Lucy shrugged. "Well, yeah, I don't remember anything else. I was knocked out. I only saw just saw Mystogan's cape as he walked through the doors when he got here. I was facing the right way to catch a glimpse."
Makarov huffed and looked at Natsu. "Well my boy, what do you remember? Anything at all?"
Natsu just shook his head, eyes downcast. He spoke for the first time since they had come into the office. "I don't remember anything, no names or faces. It's all just…blank. The first thing I can remember is the ceiling when I woke up."
"Well, it looks like we will just have to reintroduce you to Fairy Tail again until Porlyusica gets here to check you out. I'll let Lucy do that. You were closest to her anyways." Makarov slapped his hands together once and jumped down to stand in front of them both.
Lucy cocked her head to the side. "Well, I don't know about that. What about Cana or even Mira? They've known him since they all were children, they grew up together here in the guild. We've only been together as partners for nine years…err two."
Master Makarov rolled his eyes at her. "Yes Lucy, you're going to help him. He's your partner and therefore you've made some seriously deep connections over these past couple of years." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
Lecherous old pervert.
Lucy knew that they were just friends. Best friends.
Just best friends.
But now they were strangers. Even less than when they met, at least she had heard of the famed Salamander then. But now there was no connection, not really.
She would never leave him behind though, and if Lucy was asked to do something like this…she would do it with no hesitation. Natsu would do whatever it took to find out what happened to her if the situation was reversed.
"Alright, I'll do whatever I can Master." She smiled back at Natsu trying to inject a little hope and happiness about this strange situation before Master nodded and shooed them out of the office.
"You brats can go and wait in the infirmary now." Lucy laced her hand back into her depressingly stoic partner's and pulled him through the door and back into the heart of the main hall.
She had never seen if so subdued in there. With Gray and Erza on a specially requested mission from an old client of theirs and Natsu being so…
…subdued. She didn't know if she could handle this situation with them here causing unnecessary fights and flinging their magic around, asking questions no one could answer.
Thank Mavis for that little piece of good luck. And the fact that Juvia had crept after Gray, there wasn't the possibility of any spontaneous indoor rainstorms was also something that she was grateful for. One of these days the ceilings support beams would rot completely through and come down around their ears.
She pushed through the double doors on the left side of the beer hall and dropped Natsu's hand in the process. The antiseptic smell was pungent and much worse than she remembered it being and knew immediately that it would be worse for Natsu's impressive nose.
"Sorry Natsu, I know the smell is bad, especially for you, just bear with me for a while. You can just there on one of these beds for a bit until Porlyusica comes." He nodded and climbed onto one, swinging his feet a little as he looked at her.
She kind of hated the fact that Natsu was so quiet and restful. It was unnerving.
"Why would the smell in here bother me? It just smells…very clean."
Lucy sighed and rubbed her temples, tired of all the surprises. Maybe if she went to bed and woke up again this would all be some sort of strange dream. She waved his questions away with her hand. "Never mind, it's really not a big deal right now. I bet you have a million questions for me."
He nodded.
"Okay then, what do you want to be answered first?"
He contemplated for a moment, mulling it over in his mind. "Who am I?"
She looked him in the eyes and prayed to see some spark of recognition as she told him a shortened biography of himself. "Your name is Natsu Dragneel, also known as the Salamander of Fairy Tail. You're a fire dragon slayer and have been my partner for about two years, technically nine if you include the time we were under a time lock. You met me in Hargeon, a port town, and brought me here to Fairy Tail, the wizard guild. You live with a blue Exceed named Happy."
"What's an Exceed?"
"An Exceed is a flying, talking, annoying, magical cat. They hail from the floating Island called Extalia which was once part of Edolas when their magic was banished from their world. Long story, really. There are three here in Fairy Tail, and two more at Sabertooth, they all live with dragon slayers."
His eyes were wide with wonder. Lucy could understand that sentiment, it reminded her of when her mother told her stories of the spirits. Of magic. "Talking, flying cats? Really?"
She smiled. "Yah, you hatched one when you were a boy with your friend Lisanna and named him Happy. You go everywhere together and prank literally everyone. Ever since you brought me here to Fairy Tail we've been a team together along with an ice-wizard named Gray Fullbuster and a Re-quip mage named Erza Scarlet."
Quietly, she heard a whispered "Ice-princess."
Lucy immediately got right into his personal space, leaping off the bed across from his in one bound. To his credit, Natsu didn't lean back or flinch away. "What did you say? Where did you hear that name?"
He shrugged again. Lucy almost groaned and slumped down onto the bed next to her partner.
"I don't know, it just seemed like something I would say when that name came up." His face twisted into one of mild disgust.
Lucy could finally feel herself smiling. Gray and Natsu were as thick as thieves when it came down to it, had each other's backs whenever something happened. She knew they were best friends even if they covered it with snipes and fighting. "Is it a good or bad feeling? When the name comes up, I mean."
"I can't tell really. That name makes me want to punch something." His smile was small when he looked back at Lucy.
"A good thing Natsu, I think. At least there's something left in that brain of yours. I don't believe that everything's entirely gone from your mind. Just like you knew that I always keep my promises." He looked thoughtfully at the white sheets of the bed across from him. "Gray's your 'rival' whatever that means. You both constantly fight and bicker like little kids until you've destroyed half the guild hall or Erza knocks you both out."
He looked a bit paler at that statement and cleared his throat. "Okay, so my next question is, who are you?"
"Well, that's easier to explain. I'm Lucy Heartfilia, a celestial mage of Fairy Tail. I've been your partner and best friend since you brought me here. I have contracts with 14 different celestial spirits, 10 of which are Zodiac."
Lucy gasped, her hands jolted towards her key pouch on her belt. "Of course! Why didn't I think of this sooner?" Natsu looked just as confused as ever but kept quiet.
Lucy plucked a single silver key off the ring and brandished it.
"Open gate of the Southern Cross, Crux!"
A doorbell rang, as always, followed by a puff of golden smoke which dissipated to show an elderly spirit Lucy relied on for research and most of her book recommendations. Crux was surprisingly good at figuring out just what Lucy wanted to read before she did.
He floated above the ground, taking a quick nap.
Apparently.
Lucy whirled around when a thump startled her. Natsu was on the floor gaping at Crux like he was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen. He probably was the craziest thing that had happened in his recent memory. "What the hell! He came out of nowhere!"
She chuckled as Natsu hopped back onto the bed and glanced warily at the slumbering Crux. "Sorry for not warning you Natsu, I did it without thinking how you would react."
"It's okay I guess, just took me by surprise." His face was a bit pinker than usual, embarrassed at his flailing.
Natsu was incredibly endearing when he blushed. Lucy had always thought so, it just didn't happen very often.
He was almost shameless.
"Natsu, meet Grampa Crux…err…again. He is the celestial spirit of the Southern Cross constellation. He helps me out with research sometimes, he's a lot faster than most of us when finding hidden or lost information. He even gives Levy a run for her money and that's saying something."
"Cool, so you call on these…spirits…to help you do things?" When Lucy nodded, he looked back at Crux who was still snoring gently. "Is he sleeping?"
Lucy followed his gaze. "Well, I'm not entirely sure, sometimes this happens when his mind is still in the Celestial Realm. Hey, Grampa Crux! Can you look something up for me?"
"Ah, Miss Lucy, nice to see you again. We haven't talked a lot after your seven-year slumber." Lucy smiled at the cross, happy that that distressing part of her life was behind her.
"I'm sorry Grampa Crux, you know what it's like here at Fairy Tail. Always something happening that requires a huge amount of attention and magic, always a chance for world destruction. Anyway, you know of the situation with Natsu correct?" Crux hummed in acknowledgment. He always seemed to know everything before it happened. "Alright, could you please look up if anything like this has ever happened before and get back to me? I know you'll need time since this situation is just so vague."
"Of course, Miss Lucy, consider it done." He proofed away in a flash of golden light and glittery sparkles.
Lucy shook her head slightly in bemusement at her ostentatious sprits. They were always a bit strange. Honestly, did Crux really need all those sparkles?
Natsu was staring wide-eyed at the spot that previously held Crux. "Huh. That was…weird."
Lucy smiled brightly at his word choice and swept her arms out beside her.
"There you go Natsu that was one of my celestial spirits. I have contracts with them that I try to uphold to the best of my abilities. It's why I don't take promises lightly. My magic power hinges on my ability to keep my word."
Natsu smiled back at her, just as wide as usual, but strangely different seeing as his fangs were gone. "Lucy… what magic do I have?"
She glanced up, hummed a bit before she answered truthfully. "Oh, you have fire dragon slayer magic."
"Yes, but what does that mean? Do I actually go around killing dragons?"
Lucy thought back to the first time she met Natsu and Happy. How did that flying cat put the description of Natsu's power again? "You possess an ancient magic that allows you to breathe, eat, and live in your element; fire. You can never be burned, and any fire you eat will boost your power, but you can't eat any fire that you produce yourself. It was handed down from dragons over the years."
"How did I learn it?"
"Well, your father taught it to you." She fiddled with the sheet under her legs waiting for the next questions she knew would be coming.
"Who's my father?" Lucy sighed lowly.
There it was.
"The fire dragon king, Igneel."
Natsu looks stunned for all of two seconds before he winced and held his head in pain. Lucy quickly leant over and supported his shoulders when he slumped forward.
"Natsu? What the hell was that?"
She watched as he blinked languidly and squinted in the bright lights of the infirmary. Natsu brought his hands up and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know…really. Pain? Sharp pain and bright lights. A red beast, then nothing."
"You okay?"
"Yea. I'll be fine."
The door swung open and brought in three people, one of which stared down at them both as they sat next to each other on the bed. Fury glowed in her red eyes.
"What in Earthland is going on?! Are you the reason I had to come back here again?"
Lucy rolled her eyes at the irate healer. Porlyusica always knew how to make an entrance.