So this is like an alternate version of my "Prince of Fire" Story. I thought over it a lot and finally got down a good plot and storyline too. It's going to be NaLu like the other one along with other pairings. No hating okay!
(Magnolia Cemetery, Nighttime)
It was raining that night, fitting actually seeing how so many gathered to mourn the passing of one person, a hero, a guild mate and a friend. The entire guild of Fairy Tail had gathered, excluding Gildarts Clive, the guild's ace, since he was still on his mission. No one had the guts to contact him and tell him the news, worried that he would cause untold amounts of damage in rage and sadness.
Many if not all the members of Fairy Tail were crying, some more then others as they listened to the speech being given. They along with various others stood in attention as Makarov Dreyar, the Third Guild Master of Fairy Tail, said his speech about the deceased person they had gathered for. He stood on a small stage allowing him to overlook the gathered mass of people. Beside him, lying on top of silver table was a coffin. The coffin was red with golden trims on it. At the top of the coffin's lid was a golden color Fairy Tail guild symbol and underneath it was a picture of a dark crimson dragon. The dragon's head was facing towards the guild symbol, mouth open and breathing fire, which surrounded the Fairy Tail's symbol, looking as if it was protecting it. Also next to the coffin was a large empty basket.
However one person wasn't really paying attention to the elder man's speech, her thoughts on other things. It was a busty blonde dressed in black, like all the others, named Lucy Heartfillia. She was crying silently while being comforted by an equally busty redhead next to her, Erza Scarlet. Lucy was still staring at her hands, the image still fresh in her, and other people's minds of that faithful day.
Lucy kept looking at them, not forgetting what was once on them.
Her hands still covered in blood.
The blood of Natsu Dragneel
And how they held his lifeless body in them.
(A Week Ago, During Fairy Tail's Battle With Tartarus)
"Are you sure it's this way Happy!?" A tired, dirty Lucy from three weeks ago asked the blue Exceed.
She didn't really need to ask as she could see the explosions caused by Zeref's and Natsu's battle. The two had been fighting for some time, about an hour actually, and Happy had last reported that the two were actually tied in terms of power, with Natsu somehow went into Dragon Force.
The battle against Tartarus, one of the three Dark Guilds of the Balam Alliance, which consisted of Demons created by the Book of Zeref, had gone chaotic, with the battle going from the dark guild's mobile island fortress towards one of the vast forests of Fiore. The demon's plans to activate Face, a magic pulse bomb, had been thwarted thanks to the female Exceed Carla and Wendy Marvell, the young Sky Dragon Slayer. And now the battle was mess, most of the Fairy Tail mages including Makarov were fighting against the grunts of the Dark Guild while a select few like Mirajane Strauss, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster and Laxus Dreyar, the former having been cured from the magical particle barriers along with the rest of the Raijiinshu by Porlyusica, were fighting members of the Nin Demon Gates of Tartarus, the elite members of the Dark Guild. Said guild's master, E.N.D was defeated by Natsu before the Dragon Slayer took on Zeref. Currently Lucy was running towards the battlefield of said people to see if Natsu was all right.
"Of course I'm sure! And I bet an entire year's worth of fish that they're fighting over there!" Happy exclaimed loudly.
Suddenly another and familiar voice shouted from afar. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Hidden Fire Form: Crimson Lotus: Phoenix Blade!" And right after that was a huge explosion, with flames flying everywhere. While most people would runaway from such a thing, that made Lucy run towards it even faster, Happy right behind her, knowing that something big just happened if Natsu used that technique. What she didn't know was that the explosion caught the attention of the others, both Fairy Tail and Tartarus but right now what was on Lucy's mind was reaching Natsu.
When Lucy arrived she saw that the entire surrounding area had changed due to the battle between Natsu and Zeref. Trees, rocks and even large portions of the ground had been uprooted and thrown aside like rag dolls. There were many massive craters all around with even smaller ones in them. And in the largest crater, in the very center was a panting but standing Natsu looking over a down Zeref. As she looked down from the edge of the crater, Lucy could make outer Zeref's mouth slowly moving, as if saying something to Natsu, but she couldn't make out the words.
When Zeref finally stopped moving and his eyes closed, having a peaceful look on his face Lucy thought, she yelled out. "Natsu!" Lucy said as she began sliding down the sides of the crater towards the pink haired boy. She noticed Happy wasn't with her anymore, probably went to find the others, most likely Erza and Gray since they hadn't been far behind when Lucy went to find Natsu.
The Fire Dragon Slayer turned around, his faces a bit bruised and tired with blood running down his face, and when he saw Lucy he smiled a tired smile. Clearly the battle with Zeref took a toll on him as Natsu looked like he was going to fall any second. "Yo Lucy! You doing okay, you look kind of tired." He said cheekily as if he hadn't just finished a tremendous fight to the death.
Lucy just smiled; she couldn't help but let out a little laugh at Natsu's usual carefree attitude. But then the atmosphere seemed to have changed like the flick of a switch. For at the same time as a look of shock and fear appeared on Natsu's face, a shadow suddenly over fell Lucy. Natsu' seemed to have shouted something but his voice was mute while Lucy spun around just in time to see the Demon named Jackal lunge at her.
"How dare you lowly humans kill Zeref-sama!" Jackal cried in rage as he lunged his right hand forward towards Lucy. Time seemed to slow down as Lucy watched with wide eyes as the hand descended towards her, the demon's intentions of impaling her with it. But time seemed to have quickly sped up as blood was suddenly flying in the air and a few drops splashing her face. But it wasn't her blood and right now, seeing whom it belonged too, she wished it were hers. For standing in between Lucy and Jackal, arms raised and facing her with the latter's hand sticking out of his chest, was Natsu. His blood flew out of his chest with most of it on Jackal's hand.
"N-Natsu…" Lucy voice said, low and quiet, her eyes wide in disbelief and horror at what she was looking at. Before she could do anything else two blurs, one blue and the other red, suddenly passed by her and struck Jackal, causing the demon's hand to come out of Natsu's chest as he was sent flying backwards, crashing into the ground with dust arising from the impact. The two blurs were in fact Gray and Erza, the former with his Cold Excalibur in his hand while the latter wore her Black Wing Armor and held her dual axes. Both glared at the Demon who injured their friend with unrestrained rage. But none of that made any connection to Lucy, whom was only focused on the pink dragon slayer.
"Natsu!" She cried, her voice now loud as she rushed to grab Natsu. The sudden add of weight caused Lucy to fall to her knees as she held Natsu close to her, his head resting on her right shoulder with her hands touching his back. Lucy didn't even seem to notice that her clothes were being stained with his blood and if she did she clearly didn't care.
"Hey…Luce…you okay…" Natsu asked weakly as his breathing became weak with blood seeping from his mouth.
Lucy looked at the dragon slayer in horror as she held him. "Why…" She whispered.
"Heh…I was so…low on magic…and tired…" Natsu said. "Only…thing I-I could…think of…" He finished while coughing out some blood.
"Why…why did you do that!? Why?" Lucy cried as tears began to form. By then Happy had arrived and he along with Erza and Gray were showing signs of shock and grief, tears forming in their eyes too. But still Lucy's focus was on Natsu.
Natsu laughed weakly, as if Lucy said something funny. "That's a dumb question to ask you weirdo…we're friends…what other reason is there…?" He replied before taking a deep breath, trying to stay conscious. "Ugh…I'm getting sleepy…"
Lucy's eyes widened at that. "N-no Natsu stay awake, please! We'll save you! Wendy, she and Porlyusica can help you!" She cried desperately. But even she knew that not even those two could do anything to save Natsu. Jackal's attack had gone straight through Natsu's chest, destroying a small but sizeable portion of Natsu's organs and bones. It was a miracle he could still speak.
"Nah…it's no good." Natsu replied. "I can't feel…anything…"
"Natsu…" Happy whispered, whose tears were running down his face like two waterfalls. By then the majority of the guild, either defeating their opponents or losing them in the chaos, had arrived, with Makarov hovering above them. At the sight many of them gasped while a lot of them, such as Mirajane, Lisanna, Elfman, Romeo, Cana, Macao, Wakaba and Levy had already begun crying while the more stoic individuals, mainly Laxus and Gajeel couldn't help but be shocked or on the brink of tears. Makarov himself had a pained look form on his face as he saw Natsu's fatal wound.
Natsu, not noticing the arrival of the guild, began speaking again. "You know…I really wanted to become S-Class…guess that won't be…happening now…" He chuckled to himself before coughing again. "Heh, I suppose the guild is going to be…less rowdy from now on." He didn't even notice Wendy, whom had just arrived, already beside him trying, and failing, to heal him with her eyes brimming with tears.
"Now…that I think about it…I was always causing trouble for everyone…especially gramps…" Natsu said, once more oblivious to the onlookers. "You too Lucy…I shouldn't have always been barging into your…apartment like I did." He added, not even feeling Lucy's tears as they ran down his back due to her clutching him so close to her. At the same time his guild symbol on his right shoulder slowly began to fade. "Picking fights with Gray, Erza, Gajeel and…Laxus. I must've been…really annoying to them. Gildarts too…even though I liked spending time with him…"
"Natsu…" Erza said her tears falling down like waterfalls and eyes closed. She couldn't even bear to look at one of her friends slowly dying. Gray was also crying profusely as he listened to his rival. To them it was like déjà vu, both of them losing another precious person.
"I think…the reason I did it…was because…" Natsu paused to take a deep breath as his guild symbol continued to fade. "Was because I was so…angry with Igneel for leaving me…I hated the entire world…because he left me." He the clutched the back of Lucy's shirt, desperately trying to finish what he wanted to say. "But…in some way…I'm happy he did…because I got to meet all of you…" He said with a small smile.
By then the entire guild was crying. However Natsu wasn't paying attention as he too had tears pouring out and snot coming from his nose. "Everyone…" He said causing everyone to be silent, besides the sniffles now and then, to hear what he had to say. "Thank you all so much…for being such a wonderful family!"
And with that Natsu's guild symbol faded entirely and he was silent. His hand that was clutching Lucy's shirt let go and the arm fell limp. Natsu's eyes closed with his face stained with tears and blood but a peaceful smile gracing his lips while his scarf hovered in the air due to the breeze blowing it. Lucy was the first to come out of her shock. "N-Natsu?" She asked softly as she moved the boy's body before her so she was now using her left hand to hold the back of Natsu's head. As if a switch went on by staring at his motionless body, Lucy let out a tearful scream. "NATSU!"
Soon everyone was crying profusely, even Laxus and Gajeel though to a lesser degree, as they mourned grievously over the pink dragon slayer's death shouting out his name now and then. Gray had lost the strength to stand and had fallen to his knees, gripping the dirt with his hands while crying and cursing. Erza was now crying loudly as she stared at Natsu's motionless body in Lucy's hands. Wendy covered her face with her hands, sobbing into them and Happy was bawling like crazy, hugging Natsu's arm while Lucy cradled his body close to her, unconsciously touching Natsu's head with hers, crying just as loud. Makarov however was silent, his eyes shadowed and his hands turned into fists and clenched them tightly.
The tearful moment was ruined however when someone shouted amongst the crowd, "Tartarus!"
True enough the remaining forces of the Dark Guild, led by the remaining Nine Demon Gate members, Kyouka, Tempesta, Torafusa, Sayla and Franmalth, were appearing towards the crater, opposite of where the Fairy Tail members had gathered. They stopped when Kyouka slowed down and looked down at the crater, staring at the motionless form of Zeref, something that Fairy Tail had forgotten about due to Natsu's death. The female demon grit her teeth in anger as she looked at her creator's corpse but then paused when she spotted Natsu's form. An idea quickly forming in her head Kyouka shouted to her forces. "Retrieve the dragon slayer's body! With it we may have a chance of resurrecting Zeref-sama!"
The Fairy Tail mages had heard her words and while many were enraged at what she said, they were still grieving over Natsu's death and their bodies weren't moving properly. But they were once again snapped out of their thoughts when an explosion appeared, right next to Gray and Erza, sending the two flying to the sides.
"Erza!" Mirajane shouted as the scarlet hair girl was sent flying.
"Gray-sama!" Juvia shouted, watching the Ice Mage crashed into the ground.
At the center of the explosion was a very angry Jackal, dirt covering his body as he glared at his surroundings. His right hand was still covered in Natsu' s blood something Makarov took note of.
"Damn those two, now I'm really pissed off!" Jackal said before setting his sights on Lucy, Wendy and Happy before looking at Natsu's body. "Kyouka-san said to recover the bastard's body…but I'll take my time in killing you three!" Jackal sneered as he charged towards the two girls and one cat.
"Wendy!" Carla cried as she quickly flew towards the Sky Dragon Slayer. But the distance was too great and Jackal would reach them in time before anyone could save them. Well almost everyone…
"Jackal-sama!" A Tartarus soldier shouted towards the demon.
A shadow fell over Jackal, Lucy, Wendy and Happy as the former came to a complete stop when the sound of a foot smashing into the ground behind him could be heard. Jackal slowly turned his head around and he along with everyone else looked up to see a Titan-sized Makarov, standing about thirty-times his size, looming over the demon. Jackal couldn't help but sweat a bit at the magical power radiating from Makarov. And Makarov's eyes still being shadowed only increased the intimidation he was giving off.
Suddenly the giant master stared down at Jackal before raising his fist high before sending it downwards. As he brought his fist down various images of Natsu began to appear within Makarov's mind from the moment he met the Dragon Slayer and the years afterwards, all of that were fueling his magic with each image. And as he near the end of the flashes of images, the Fairy Tail Guild Master's fist made contact with Jackal's body, eyes now visible with nothing but rage with tears brimming too. Due to Makarov's size and the fact he added some of his magical aura to the fist, the impact caused a powerful shockwave that sent anyone near it flying backwards, such as Gray, Erza, Wendy, Happy and Lucy, plus Natsu's body. The magic being released by Makarov was like a hurricane and lightning, sending everything near it flying everywhere. Both demons and humans were struggling to stay where they were, less they be blown away like sticks. "The Master is pissed!" The Sand Mage Max cried as he shielded his face. Other Fairy Tail members were thinking the same thing as they began creating some distance from the Master. They knew that in his current mind, Makarov might accidentally harm one of them.
However none of that reached Makarov as he lifted his fist. Surprisingly Jackal was still alive, though seriously wounded from Makarov's single attack. But that just made the Guild Master even angrier as he raised his right foot and brought it down on the demon. Jackal just barely rolled out of the way before being flattened by Makarov's boot. Makarov didn't stop there and began to pursue him, ignoring the explosions Jackal was firing at him as they hit his body. None of that mattered to Makarov right now; all that mattered right now was getting his hands on the bastard that killed one of his children and crushing him to death.
With Lucy, Happy and Carla fortunately managed grabbed her and Wendy respectively as they flew. The Exceeds used all their might to fly the two female mages to a safe distance during Makarov's tantrum with Lucy still clinging onto Natsu. Unfortunately the wind being released from the Guild Master was to strong and caused the Exceeds to perform a crash landing where Lucy took the brunt of her fall, not wanting anymore damage done to Natsu. Her vision starting to get blurry, Lucy tried to get up but was stopped halfway when the demon called Tempesta stood over them, his right arm surrounded with wind due to his Tempest Curse. "Have no fear." Tempesta said as he posed to strike. "You shall be sent to hell quickly." He finished as he lunged his hand forward towards a stun Lucy's chest…
…Only for it to be stopped by a flash of lightning appearing between the two. Standing before Tempesta was Laxus, his body covered in lightning as he held Tempesta's hand back with his own.
"I won't let you kill anyone else." Laxus growled as he pushed Tempesta back.
"Listen up you guys!" The lightning mage's voice roared loudly, catching the attention of all the Fairy Tail Mages, minus Makarov who was now not fighting only Jackal but several Tartarus grunts. "This fight is far from over! So quit crying like babies and focus finishing off these bastards once and for all!"
"Laxus…" Freed murmured before he and the rest of the Raijingshu wiped their faces. Other Fairy Tail mages did the same thing and some had hardened gazes on their faces now.
"As of right now the fate of the world nor anything else matters!" Laxus continued as he continued to overpower Tempesta. "If we allow these assholes to get away with this it will not only be the greatest shame of Fairy Tail! But the ultimate insult to Natsu's final efforts!" By then Laxus finally managed to throw back Tempesta, sending the demon crashing into trees. The lightning mage turned to look at the rest of the guild. "DON'T THINK YOU CAN WALK AWAY FROM HERE WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING AND SLEEP WELL AT NIGHT! DO YOU HEAR ME FAIRY TAIL!?"
The response were deafening roars from the other mages, their fighting spirit ignited once more. The last thing Lucy saw before she blacked out, still clutching Natsu, was all the mages of Fairy Tail charging Tartarus's forces
(Flashback End, Present Time, Natsu's Funeral)
Lucy had awoken two hours or so later and by then the battle was over. She learned from Mirajane that thanks to Laxus's words the guild struck Tartarus with renewed vigor ten times stronger. The battle had gone pretty quickly after that with the dark guild being overwhelmed by the vengeful mages of Fairy Tail. Makarov had done the most damage, especially when he had finally pounded Jackal to death.
Lucy also remembered that Natsu was dead. She recalled how loud she screamed in grieving agony as she recalled Natsu's blood covering her hands and cradling Natsu's lifeless body. The memory was so shocking that it took Erza and Mirajane to calm her down. It took them fifteen minutes before Lucy finally settled down though she was still crying albeit softly. At the time no one could really blame her; the death of Natsu, someone who was so strong willed, brave, and caring for their friends, a person that was the physical embodiment of Fairy Tail like Natsu, it was a blow they might, no would, never fully recover from.
The rest of the week went by rather quickly. The guild building was destroyed and there were some mages that were wounded and needed a place to stay and recover. The part wasn't difficult, as those that had homes had no problems with making accommodations for their wounded nakama. In regards with Lucy, who was still in shock of what happened, the blonde celestial spirit mage stayed with the Strauss siblings since many members of the guild were concerned of her grief regarding Natsu's death.
Concerning the pink haired young man, the Fairy Tail mages had hoped to have a private funeral but apparently that was not meant to be. Somehow word of Natsu's death had spread to other parts of Fiore, resulting in many, mostly mages from other guilds traveling to Magnolia wanting to confirm it, not really believing it was true. But those were proven wrong the moment they saw Natsu's lifeless form.
And so now gathered at the cemetery were not just members of Fairy Tail but thousands of citizens of Fiore, mages of other guilds and even Princess Hisui, along with Arcadios and several soldiers of Fiore, acting as her escorts. Because everyone was wearing black, it would look like a pond of dark water from above. For not a single person was wearing a different color except for small assortments of attires.
With Lucy of the present she managed to calm herself so she could hear the ending of Makarov's speech. "…And so, in honor of Natsu's deeds and acts of valor and heroism I, as Guild Master of Fairy Tail, have decided that Natsu Dragneel's remains will be buried on Tenrou Island, the guild's holy ground where only one other person has been put to rest there, Mavis Vermilion, the founder and first Guild Master of Fairy Tail. I believe that it is a fitting place for one such as Natsu to sleep eternally, anywhere else would be insult to his memory." There were some looks of surprise from the audience but no one objected as Makarov continued. The small guild master turned around to face the coffin holding the Dragon Slayer's body. Makarov put a hand on the coffin. "Natsu know that you will never be forgotten and that even in death the flames of courage you wielded will last for all to the end of time…goodbye my child." Makarov said tears falling down his face at the end before he walked off the stage to join the rest of the crowd.
Soon people began to walk up to the stage, sometimes by themselves or in small groups. Most people put down flowers into the basket, slowly filling it up and a few, mostly those who were close to Natsu, stopped to say a few words, such as thank you or other kind parting words, before walking off. Some were more emotional then others, such as Sting Eucliff, the White Dragon Slayer deeply devastated over the death of his idol. Though he did swear to the pink head's grave that he would find Igneel in Natsu's place. Hisui had even placed a small banner with the royal emblem of Fiore on the bottom of the coffin, one of the greatest honors for anyone in the nation of Fiore to receive.
After several more people went by the last bunch was Team Natsu minus Happy who had said his goodbyes earlier with the Strauss siblings. Wendy was still crying and was being held by Erza who also had tears running down her face. Gray had his hands in his pockets and was trying to keep his tears in check and surprisingly was doing a good job minus the few strays that escaped.
Once they were done giving their goodbyes, only Lucy remained behind the rest of Team Natsu standing several distances away with Makarov to give the blonde some space as she said her farewells. As she placed a bouquet of roses in the basket before staring at the coffin, fresh tears still on her face as she looked at it. "Natsu" Lucy began, choking on the words before continuing. "I-I'm so, so sorry. If I were stronger…if I was stronger then you wouldn't have d-died." She clenched her hands into fists. "I swear I'll get stronger…for you so that…so that I'll never lose anyone else! Just you watch Natsu! I swear I'll get as strong as you were just you watch…"
Standing up Lucy gave the coffin once last look. "Goodbye Natsu I, I…" Fresh tears began to pour out again as her sentence was muffled. Turning away Lucy walked off to join the rest of the team and they all walked from the graveyard, leaving only Makarov as the sole person behind. The small master gave the coffin one last solemn look before he raised his hands, already glowing with magic. "May you rest in peace within the island of fairies and watch over future generations to come…Natsu. Farewell." Makarov said as he finally engulfed the coffin in a bright light before teleporting it to Tenrou Island. Once that was done Makarov eventually walked back home, ignoring the rain just as everyone else had.
(Northern Region of Fiore)
The deep parts of the northern region of Fiore were a wasteland, mixed with mountains covered in fire and lava. Rivers of lava move through the many cracks in the earth and smoke rose towards the sky, covering it in a thick grey blanket of it. The land was barren and there was no life in this wasteland either and even if there were, it wouldn't last long, quickly withering away and dying.
However standing on top of the highest cliff edge, where you could see the entire wasteland, was a person or a dragon to be exact. It was a large red dragon with a yellow underbelly, its wings folded currently. It had golden eyes and numerous scars on its face too, scars from battles from long ago. The dragon stared out towards the wasteland for a while before what sounded like a sigh escaped its lips. "It has been a while…hasn't it Mavis?" The dragon said, its voice distinctly male.
Floating behind the dragon was the spirit of the child-looking Mavis Vermilion, the founder and first guild master of Fairy Tail. "It has Igneel. Have you heard the news? You're son has died." Mavis asked curiously, watching for the Flame Dragon King's reaction.
Igneel didn't look at her but looked back at the wasteland. "I know" He replied simply, a lone tear escaping his eye. "But with Zeref dead that only leaves Acnologia…and them." Igneel said the last part with distaste.
Mavis nodded as she floated beside the red dragon a serious look on her adorable face. "A storm is approaching and I'm afraid that no one will be able to escape it. Not even the dragons." Mavis commented.
"Hmph I suppose so…but what side they take is of their own choice." Igneel replied with a snort, smoke coming out of his nostrils. "And I wouldn't call it a storm Mavis" Said person looked at the dragon. "I would call the coming war…an inferno."
"The flames of war eh?" Mavis commented. "I guess that's a fitting name…for something his brother will cause."
Well here is the first chapter! I hope you like it and don't worry I'm still doing my "Prince of Fire" story so no need to fret. Anyway give me your reviews on what you think.
P.S. In case you're wondering or noticed a similarity, I got the idea for Natsu's death from Ace's death in One Piece.
Wacko12
