~THE EIGHT GAVES~
CHAPTER 1
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He could see their bodies trembling. Their chests just barely heaving as they stood before him, and their eyes narrowed into slits with a fierce determination that settled uncomfortably in their stomachs. They were scared, but refused to cower away.
Two men stood before another, and the pit of nerves that swam in their guts only kicked up to speed as they saw him crouch low, fisting his knuckles till they turned white and a fire bursting in his deep jade eyes.
"Begin."
At the sound of the simple word, he launched forward in a flash of an eye towards the two men, lifting off the ground to inhuman heights. The two men separated and braced themselves, just barely able to dodge the attack unscathed.
The man with jade eyes landed with a loud crack, his fist embedded in the dusty stone that made up the square of the area surrounding him. He knelt in a crater and whirled around to the two men, his eyes growing fierce. The men started the Pavilion Offense and bolted towards him with their hands raised. The man with jade eyes easily dodged, tumbling into the dirt to swipe the feet out from one, and suckerpunch the other.
The one lost his footing. He gasped deeply and toppled over, smashing his head into the stone and yelping of pain. The other gasped as well, he could feel the crude knuckles buried into his gut like a knife into butter. He couldn't breathe.
A wave a heat caught their attention. They could feel it growing hotter and hotter until it came to a blistering temperature. The man with jade eyes had set himself to fire.
A feral growl flew up from his throat. He could feel his lungs burning. He sucked in a breath and opened his jaw wide, letting out a sea of flames to wash away the men. Fire spilt from his lips like a never ending explosion. He heard the men screaming, and for a second his heart had jumped up into his throat.
He decided to rest. He closed his mouth, the flames lifting up into the sky and disappearing into the hot air as he licked his lips, settling the burning sensation in his chest. The men groaned on the ground, clutching their stomachs and rolling around.
The man with jade eyes sighed. He turned, his eyes wandering around the gates that surrounded him in the arena, until he stopped at the piercing eyes of two men.
One was small. An elder among the people with thick, gray hair and a bushy mustache that sat on his lip snugly. He was no more than 5'0. His eyes, once as blue as the sky had now dimmed with age, into a foggy glass color. The man next to him was anything but. He was large, 6'2 and shoulders as broad and wide as the ocean. He was muscular and buff, and generally frightening to glance at. His hair was bright blonde and wild, and his blue eyes were dull, showing no character except for the scar crossing his right one, ironically shaped similarly to a lightning bolt.
They sat in the box seats, high up in a watchtower that looked over the entire training facility with ease. The old man gazed down to the man with jade eyes with a conflicted look, but not necessarily a happy one. The burly man always made it a chore to try and read his expression, so no one ever tried.
No one said anything, only the sounds of groaning and dirt scraping against the boots of the injured men made their way across their ears. The old man stared deeply at the young winner, and he was bold enough to hold it. The old man finally snorted out of his nose and fell back into his chair.
"Again."
The man with jade eyes nearly blew up. "What?"
The burly man narrowed his eyes at the winner, his lips twisting into an offended scowl, "He said again."
"I know what he said!" He snapped, approaching the two as far as he could, "Gramps-"
"This time with more heart." The old man cut him off.
The winner shut his mouth into a tight line and clenched his fists by his side with a look of wearing patience, "I've already done this set five times, I'm ready for the next lesson."
"No." The burly man said, his voice deep and gruff, "You aren't ready. Do it again."
"I am ready! Did you not just see me? Those two couldn't even land a hit, what else am I doing wrong!" The winner blurted angrily, glaring up to the men.
"Don't raise your voice at me boy." The old man threatened.
"I've been over this already, there is nothing I'm doing wrong here, you're just wasting all of our time!"
"Natsu!" The old man boomed, silencing the young man in his place. "You will do as I say, boy. And if we say that you are not ready, then you are not. We are not doing this because we like too Natsu, we need to get this right."
Natsu stared at the men desperately. He had nothing to say, so he kept his mouth shut with tight lips, but his eyes spoke that he would not rest.
"Now again. This time differently. Bring your fire from deep within yourself, not just from your lungs. Connect with your power, don't just use it."
"That's what I've been doing." Natsu seethed, narrowing his eyes at the two, "This is such bullshit."
"You need to learn Natsu." The burly man commented, glowering down to him, "You are strong. You know that, I know that. But you're still growing. As you progress Natsu you need to balance yourself and your power between rage and calamity. Or else the result is fatal."
Natsu only rolled his eyes at the man. He turned on his heel, waving a hand at the two and declared he was taking a break, which everyone knew meant he wasn't coming back. The men sitting atop the tower watched as he left quietly and disappeared into the routes in the forest.
The old man looked over to his grandson, sharing a similar look, along with similar thoughts. "Ah Laxus, why must we always get the stubborn ones?"
The burly man sighed heavily and growled, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Because, the stubborn ones always know the way to the path. Even without a light."
The old man agreed reluctantly, wanting to slouch in his seat but resisted. "He's an ignorant one."
Laxus hummed, "But he wants this the most." He felt his grandfathers foggy eyes wander over to him and shook his head, "He can do this. But if that stupid idiot would just slow down and think for once, maybe he would understand."
The old man gazed back out to the rows of arenas, covered in slabs of sandstone and dirt, "Unless he can grasp that brute strength isn't everything, I don't think he'll ever be able to use Dragon Force."
Laxus looked over to him quickly, almost startled by his remark, but covered himself. His grandfather stared back at him and read his eyes, then looked away. Laxus kept his gaze though, certain thoughts rummaging through his head.
~THE EIGHT GAVES~
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"Natsu. Sir Makarov would like to see you. Now."
Natsu sighed, glancing from the plate he had just set down and up to a man he didn't know, or care about. He leaned back in his seat and bore his eyes into his.
"Gramps? Why?" He asked, still feeling a little pissed from earlier that day.
"I don't know. He just asked for you, he said it was urgent." The guard explained.
Natsu rolled his eyes and slumped in his seat before lazily getting to his feet.
"He's in the lower wing-"
"Yeah yeah, Council office I know. Thanks." Natsu waved him off, starting off.
Makarov Dreyer was the Special Forces general. He was amongst one of the highest ranks of the kingdom, and ultimately owned one of the most powerful magics Natsu has ever seen. He was small, but anyone knew he was never a man to trifle with.
Only a select few are nominated into the Special Forces from the original armies. Natsu was one of them. His prestige of strength and power caught Makarov's eye from the first moment he saw the boy. He's known him since he was a little rugrat, running around half naked with fire spewing from his lips like a fountain. The two, although constantly bickering like earlier that day showed, cared for each other like family. They had great mutual fondness for each other.
Natsu entered the lower wing of the kingdoms grand palace. He arrived to Makarov's study and knocked loudly on the wooden door, entering once hearing a low grunt from behind it. The old man sat behind a desk, nearly up to the scraggly hairs on his head in old scrolls and books.
"Natsu," He greeted, motioning him in further the room.
"What's going on?" Natsu was quick to the point, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
"You know of Earth, yes?" He questioned, not even glancing up to the boy.
Natsu was quiet a moment, his eyes wandering as he thought deeply, "The human planet?"
He had heard of it, not much though. There wasn't much to hear of. It was in the Milky Way Galaxy, and the inhabitants there were as dumb as dirt. They were careless and weak, and the astrologists here declared that they would destroy themselves and their planet within a few centuries, maybe even less.
Unneeded to say, Natsu wasn't all that impressed by them.
"Yes."
Natsu shrugged, "I guess. Not really one to spark us any troubles," He nearly laughed at the thought, "Why?"
"Because." Makarov finally looked up, staring at the young man with a seriousness Natsu never liked to see, "They're going to help you."
Natsu seemed confused, then offended, "Help me? What are you talking about?"
He walked over to the wooden desk and kept his eyes on the old man with a dangerous aura, but Makarov paid no mind.
"I've found someone. From Earth." He spoke slowly, glancing up to the man with a challenging gleam, "To help you better understand your dilemma with your training."
Natsu cracked a big smile, his lips opening up to show his sharp canines and gave a short laugh, "You're joking right?"
Makarov grunted.
His smile gradually fell, but he still kept on his facade, "Gramps, you can't be serious." His wrinkled face returned to the scrolls beneath him, "You...are you stupid?"
Makarov looked up with a snarling gaze, and Natsu immediately raised his hands, "Okay, I'm sorry, but really? You think some human from Earth is going to help me? How did you even think of this plan, I mean-"
"Natsu," Makarov said.
"No I'm serious Gramps. Earthlings are the most useless forms of humans I have ever seen, and you think that some guy from there is going to help me with my magic?"
"Woman, and yes." Makarov stated calmly.
Natsu laughed even bitterly, "Okay, and tell me this. What would she possibly know about magic? She can't help me." He stepped away suddenly, crossing his arms, "I don't even need help."
"Listen to me boy, " Makarov left no room for arguments, "Anything and everything you're asking now, I've already thought of. I know what I'm doing Natsu, don't doubt my actions."
"I'm not doubting your help Gramps, I'm doubting where it's coming from." Natsu said, "Out of all the other planets, you're going to choose this one?" He stalked over and planted his hands firmly on the desk, pushing his face in Makarov's, "You wanna know what Earths greatest achievement is?"
Makarov didn't answer, only glowered up to the young man. Natsu gave a dirty smile, "Going to their moon." He raised his eyebrows, "The moon."
The old man sighed and resisted rolling his eyes. "Do not base your impression of this girl on the advances of her peoples technology."
Natsu merely scoffed, pushing himself off the desk with his fingerprints scorched on the wood. He backed away and stared at the man with deep eyes, "Is this a joke or am I really that pathetic?"
Makarov narrowed his gaze at him, "You're not pathetic Natsu. Learning to use the Dragon Force is a task only a handful of our people have learned to do. It takes patience and discipline, but the secret to unlocking this level of magic is different for everyone. We don't have time to be scurrying around pondering on what other things we could do to help you, I had to take measures. And this girl, I really do believe she can help you Natsu."
"How?" He asked desperately, but Makarov could hear the anger seep through his tone, "She doesn't know anything. She doesn't know where this place is, how this works, I bet she didn't even know this place existed before you came to her right?"
"Quiet!" Makarov roared and glared at him. Natsu fell silent.
"We've searched throughout the entire galaxy for someone compatible enough to help you and she is the only one we came up with. I don't know why, but she is. You will treat her with respect."
Natsu dragged a hand through his hair and shook his head, sighing at it all. He forced down the building anger inside of him and breathed it out in a puff of smoke.
"Alright." He looked back over, softening his gaze, "But even if she's the only one you found, you can't just up and kidnap her from her planet and expect her to be my teacher a day later."
"I didn't kidnap her," Makarov said casually, glancing up with a smug gleam in his eye.
"She came willingly."
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Ahaha...new story?
Im kind of freaking out because I realize that Fairy Tail is getting pretty close to ending, and i still have over like 14 stories running through my head and I know once the show ends most everyone will move on and then Ill have no idea what to do with all my stories...so...
Yeah i guess ill get them all out now before its officially over?
Leave a review and tell me what you think! Can you guess who the mystery girl is? What is this planet that's not Earth? And why is dragon force so important?
Stay tuned!
~M