A/N: This is an alternate canon story and is rated M for a reason. Though there are none in this first chapter, there will be some very dark themes in this story along with moments of strong language and more than mild sexual content (although I will NOT be writing lemons, sorry if that disappoints anyone.) Anyway, this first chapter is set pre-anime and sets up the premises for the main story. Enjoy!
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Date: December 15th, X783
Location:Tenrou Island
It was time for the Fairy Tail S-Class promotion trials and Makarov had selected six participants this year; Natsu Dragneel, Cana Alberona, Freed Justine, Alzack Connel, Levy McGarden, and Max Alors. The six wizards respectively picked Happy, Loki, Bickslow, Bisca Mulan, Jet, and Warren as their partners. Of the six teams, only Natsu remained.
The first task was a tournament between teams to see which three would remain to face the second task. Natsu was victorious against Max, Cana had won her fight against Alzack, and Freed had defeated Levy.
The three remaining teams were tasked with being the first ones to slay the giant boar that was roaming the woods on the island. With Happy as his partner and Natsu's sense of smell, it made finding the beast a breeze. Taking it down wasn't a huge challenge for the duo either, as the monster's limited mobility allowed for Natsu and Happy to stay in the air and launch an aerial assault of fire magic.
With the beast taken down, Natsu reported back to the Master to find his final task. There were three paths that Makarov had chosen. One led to the beach, another through the jungle, and the last through the mountains. Each path led to an S-Class wizard who would examine the participant. Natsu chose the mountain path, which leads him to where we are now.
It was dark and a storm appeared to be brewing as Natsu faced off with his opponet within the confides of a steep canyon. Natsu was on his hands and knees, sweat pouring off of his body. He was covered in bruises and cuts along his entire torso, his vest being ripped apart due to the intense battle. A magic circle appeared underneath him as a beam of light shot upward through four more magic circles in the sky.
"Five Layer Magic Circle: Sacred Song!"
Natsu screamed out in agony as the spell hit him. His partner and best friend, a flying blue cat by the name of Happy, had long since been knocked out and was slouched against a wall of rock. Natsu stood up, feeling the rocky ground underneath his hands and feet dig in to his scarred flesh.
"You can always admit defeat you know" the man across from him said. His head and face were covered in a a cap and cloth that hid all his features save for his eyes and what appeared to be part of an intricate tattoo on the man's right cheek. The rest of his body was covered in a black cloak and bandages, so that none of his features showed. Natsu knew the man as Mystogan, an S-Class mage of Fairy Tail.
Natsu grit his teeth. "I don't know the meaning of the word defeat" he said as his body became enveloped in golden flames. His skin began to turn scaly and his eyes were pure white, losing signs that he ever had pupils. "I've made it this far, and I won't quit until I've become an S-Class wizard!"
This year's S-Class candidates and the S-Class wizards, along with Master Makarov, stood atop of the cliff, overseeing the battle. "Master, what's happening to him?" Erza asked as they all noticed the changes in Natsu.
"I've never seen him like that before" Cana gaped at the pink haired dragon slayer.
"Dragonforce" Makarov muttered in a barely audible whisper. 'He can activate it on his own? What sort of power is this?'
The ground began to shake from the sheer force of Natsu's flames as he charged at Mystogan. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu shouted as he began to unleash an onslaught of punches on the cloaked man. Mystogan expertly dodged most of them as Natsu continued to pick up speed in his blind fury. His fist finally connected with Mystogan's face as he sent the cloaked man reeling back. Mystogan stood up as he began to prepare his counter assault, but Natsu had backed off. "Fire Dragon Roar!" A laser of fire shot out at the man, leaving him no time to dodge.
"Three Layer Magic Circle: Mirror Water!" Mystogan tried to reflect the attack back at Natsu seeing as he had no time to dodge. However, Natsu's roar was so powerful that it broke through the reflection spell, hitting the wizard head on. Mystogan's outfit was charred but still intact as he was sent flying through the air and landed on his back, not getting back up.
Natsu took in sharp breaths of air as he tried to regain his stamina from the intense fight. He looked at his handiwork, the opposing mage flat on his back and he smiled to himself. "I did it" he whispered while taking in another breath of sharp air. He then proceeded to collapse on the ground face first.
...
When Natsu woke up again, he realized that he was in a makeshift bed on the ground as sunlight poured into his eyes. He sat up slowly to face all of his comrades staring at him. Makarov was the first to speak. "Natsu, you have shown tremendous strength and potential over the past couple of years, and those skills were put on display finely during the trials yesterday."
Mystogan then spoke, a rare feat for the man. "During our battle, you showed bravery, tenacity, and an undying will to succeed. You pass my test."
Natsu was so excited to hear those words that he almost couldn't control the fire pouring out of him. 'Is this really happening right now?'
Makarov spoke again. "Mystogan says you pass, so it is my pleasure to officially name you an S-Class wizard of Fairy Tail." The old man had a genuine smile on his face as he watched his child jump up and down like a little kid on Christmas.
"Alright! You hear that Happy? We're S-Class now! Wait till Ice Pick hears this!"
Most of the group mustered genuine smiles for their comrade. He was the heart and soul of the guild after all, and he deserved the title more than anyone. There were only a few who didn't flock to Natsu in this moment.
Mystogan simply began to walk back to the ship as he wasn't one for big gatherings such as this. Laxus frankly just didn't care. He gave a small nod to Natsu as a sign of respect and walked off.
Then there was Cana, who looked like she was about to bust out in tears. She was able to muster a fake smile for Natsu's sake, but she couldn't hold herself together for long. 'It looks like another year that just goes to show that I really don't deserve to be his daughter. Even Natsu made S-Class before me. It's probably for the best. He always liked Natsu better than me anyway.'
Then there was Erza. Unlike the other three, she was genuinely happy. She did feel like Natsu deserved the title of S-Class, and to see her childhood friend achieve the ranking made her smile. But she was very preoccupied. When Mystogan spoke, she realized that it was the first time that she ever heard his voice, and it sounded so damn familiar. She knew it from somewhere in her past, and she had to figure out who's voice it was. But now wasn't the time for that. Now was Natsu's time.
The guild members headed back to the ship one by one to return home to Magnolia.
...
Date: May 2nd, X784
Location: Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia
"Wow, you're already handling your third S-Class request Natsu. You're growing up so much" Mirajane beamed at him.
It was true though. Since Natsu had reached S-Class ranking, he had been working a lot less than what he used to. The pay for those missions were a lot better so he didn't have to work as much. Plus, he didn't have rent to pay like most of the members and he didn't run up a heavy bar tab like a lot of them either.
Natsu smiled at her and handed her the flyer so she could mark it in her book and fill out the paperwork. "Well I was gonna take a little break, but this one has to do with rumors of a dragon sighting. There's no way I could turn that down."
"Well good luck!"
Natsu waved and was out the door. Gray walked up to the bar. "Where's he off to?"
"Something about a dragon. I'm surprised, he didn't even take Happy with him" Mira said as she motioned to the blue exceed that was now sitting at a table listening to one of Elfman's rants about being a real man.
"That's unusual. You think it's Igneel?"
Mira sighed. "I'd like to think so, but I doubt it. After all, it's been almost seven years since Natsu's seen him. It's very unlikely that a job request about Igneel would just turn up."
Gray nodded. "Anyway, I have to get back to training so I can be promoted to S-Class this year. Flame freak is getting way too far ahead of me." And with that, he was off like a shot.
Mira shook her head to herself. 'Natsu becoming S-Class had really changed a lot around here. Him and Gray are still rivals but it's like they only used to compete with each other. Now they compete to make themselves better too.'
Cana then approached the bar with a flyer in her hand. "Off on another job Cana?"
"Yup, just stamp it and I'm off" she smiled at the barmaid. Mirajane did as she was told and Cana was off. Cana was another one who had changed ever since Natsu earned S-Class ranking. Cana had stopped drinking entirely; in fact, she was rarely at the guild period. Mira knew about her obsession with becoming S-Class, even though she wasn't exactly sure of her reasoning for it.
Mira went back to wiping her bar down. 'I wonder how much Natsu becoming an S-Class wizard is really going to change things around here?'
...
Date: May 6th, X784
Location: Unknown
Natsu had been hiking through the wilderness for three days after the train he was riding on took him to Clover Town. He thought that maybe with becoming S-Class he would finally be strong enough to overcome his motion sickness. Oh what a simple thought that was. If anything, the unlocking of dragonforce made it worse. Natsu was more than content with walking the rest of the way to the mountain after that train ride. Perhaps he should have taken Happy with him. Then he could've just flown up there.
Natsu looked up to the mountaintop. Supposedly this is where the dragon had been attacking villagers. It was very strange though, it seemed as though none of the villagers he talked to knew anything about what was going on. It was very suspicious indeed, and he hoped that this wasn't another situation of sucker bait.
'Igneel, where the hell are you? Don't tell me this is going to be another dead end.'
He was sick of chasing. It had been almost seven years since he'd last seen Igneel, and he had followed almost all his leads to the ends of Earthland. But each one turned up a dead end.
Natsu shook his head as he was close to the top. He had never even met the person that had requested this job be looked into, so he still had his suspicions. However, given the nature of the request, he had to look into it. Reaching the peak of the mountain, he was greeted with a familiar smell, followed by a familiar sight.
"Hello Salamander."
'Well shit' Natsu thought.
...
Date: July 5th, X784
Location: Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia
Gray walked into the guild hall during the afternoon hours after a long morning of training with Happy following close. He would never admit it, but he had grown quite fond of Natsu's cat. The two sat down at the bar in hopes to order some food before they went back to training. There really wasn't much else to do, seeing as most of his close friends in the guild, such as Erza, Cana, and Loki were all gone on jobs today.
Of course, Natsu was also gone; he had been missing for almost two months so Gray had no one to fight with. That was one more reason that he had been training so hard lately. He needed to kick Natsu's ass when he made it back to the guild. And for making him take care of that damn cat in his absence. Gray didn't really mind too much anymore, though hell would have to freeze over before he would admit that.
Mira made him a couple of subs and some grilled chicken and laid out a plate of raw fish for Happy to eat. Gray muttered a thanks and proceeded to devour his food. After about ten minutes, the two were about done when a voice from a conversation over reached his ears.
"You know, I heard a rumor that Salamander was running around in Hargeon" a man with big teeth and brown hair spoke.
"Yeah right. He left on that job dealing with that dragon a couple months ago. What the hell would he be doing there?"
"I have no clue. Like I said though, it's just a rumor I heard."
Gray was now sitting deep in thought, twirling the ice that remained in his glass of water. Happy gazed up at him with a sad expression. "Do you think it's him?" he asked.
Gray shook his head. "No clue cat."
Mira then approached him. "You know, you should go check it out. Maybe it is him. You never know."
Gray scoffed. "Yeah right. I don't care what that flaming idiot does."
"Gray!" Happy whined.
Mira smirked. "Well, you should go check it out anyway. And if it is him, then that means you can show him how much stronger you've gotten."
This got Gray going. The idea of beating the shit out of Natsu was enough to convince him to listen to Mira and head out to Hargeon and investigate. Thanks for the food Mira" he said as he stood up. "You coming cat?"
"Aye sir!"
And with that, the ice make wizard and flying cat set out for Hargeon, not knowing what awaited them there.
...
A/N: Well there you have the introduction to the story. Hope everyone enjoyed it. Oh, and leave a review because they help keep me inspired!
Disclaimer: Put Fairy Tail right underneath Ferrari on the list of things that I don't own.
