A new story! A different main pairing! A return to my writing roots! A complex (but hopefully not complicated) plot! A lot of excitement ahead! This is my first chapter and I hope you'll enjoy it immensely. When I think about my stories, I always try to think of one word in mind to describe it. TO CATCH A KILLER was "vengeance". TO FIND A KILLER is "sacrifice". MUSICAL CHAIRS was "maturity". This story is "family" so I hope you'll see that as I write this tale.
Author: Epicocity
Rating: T for language, innuendos, and violence
Pairings: Nalu, Gale, Gruvia, Jerza and others
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail. Those rights belong specifically to Hiro Mashima and Kodansha.
WARRIOR WATCHERS
A Fairy Tail Fanfiction
PART 1
PAINFUL PRELUDE
Chapter 1
I saw a dragon.
Okay…maybe that isn't the best start to a story, but just introducing myself would be so boring. Well, I guess every story needs a beginning and an end. I suppose it could at least begin with my name.
My name is Natsu Dragneel and I saw a dragon. At least, that's what I remember my eyes seeing, so I wrote it down. I wrote down everything that happened to me after that, actually. What I saw, heard, felt…all of it. People may think my head is full of rocks, but it's not. I've got a decent memory and my eyes sure as hell work.
Oh, you're probably confused by now, huh? Well, let's backtrack here to long before all this crap happened. Before I'd ever heard of demons or the Balam Alliance, or even Fairy Tail. Let's go back to the day I saw that dragon, because that's where this story begins. My story, at least. I'll fill in the blanks with info I obtained after the fact, but for now, this is my story and it all began on July 7th when I was ten years old.
At this time I was living in the very awesome town of Magnolia and even then, I had a great reputation for being the town's resident pyromaniac. I loved that job. Not that I ever got to set anything on fire, thanks to my best friends from back in that day.
"For the millionth time, dude, you can't go setting fire to stray dogs you find in the park," said my best friend, Gray Fullbuster. Now, when I say "best friend", I use the term very loosely. He's a best friend to me like a cat is to a mouse. He was an annoying, black-haired, necklace wearing, droopy-eyed kid. He still is. He also strips…constantly. I can't stand that fact about him.
"It's not like anyone's gonna go looking for it," I protested, throwing my hands behind my head.
"Mira would. And if she found out, you know what she'd do!" Gray snapped back to me. He took a lick of his ice cream cone (I had already finished mine) and stared at me with wide eyes. I folded my arms with a huff, but inside I was shivering. That's because I knew what the stripper was implying before he even mentioned my other best friend's name. "She'd tell Erza and then she'd kick both our asses because I didn't stop you."
"Sh-shut up!" I argued back, my face flush with embarrassment. And fear. Yes, I'm man enough to admit that just hearing Erza Scarlet's name, even at ten years old, was enough to scare me. Trust me, by the time I'm done telling this story, you'll be scared, too. However, back then I was still foolish enough to not be afraid, so I turned to look at Gray and tell him off when, lo and behold, he was missing his shirt. "Where'd your clothes go?"
"Huh?" he questioned, looking down at his chest. "When did that happen? My mom bought me that shirt!"
"Don't cry about it, stripper!" I couldn't help but taunt. Gray was about to shoot back with what would likely be some lame remark when the bell from the cathedral in town began ringing. To this day, I'll always remember the sound of those four chimes, because it was the last time I ever really heard them for what they were. To me, those bells became a symbol of freedom. To Gray, they were just a symbol that he was late.
"Ah, it's already four! I gotta get home," he complained as he scratched the back of his head.
"What for? I thought we were going to The Fort?"
"Yeah, but my cousins are coming over, and even though I can't stand Lyon, my mom and dad still expect me to be there," Gray said with a grimace. "Hey, maybe tomorrow! The Strauss family will be back in town so we can bring Elfman back in."
"Sounds awesome," I said as Gray began walking away. We gave each other a parting wave and in seconds he had left me alone on the street with nothing to do. That sucked. For all my talk, I did actually enjoy spending time with the stripper. Mostly because I hated being alone, especially during the summer. Honestly, the only reason I actually enjoyed going to school was because I was always surrounded by people. I couldn't imagine my life without them. Well, them and my dad.
My dad, Igneel Dragneel, is the best dad in the world, and not because he let me stay up playing video games or allowed me to eat all the spicy food I could ask for. He's great simply because he was always there for me. I don't remember my mother. I mean, obviously I had one, but I don't remember her name or her face and my dad doesn't ever talk about it. As a ten year old, I didn't care because all that mattered was that my dad was there for me. During the summer, however, he had to work during the day and didn't get home until five, which left me with an hour of finding stuff to do. Realizing that, I decided to change direction and head to The Fort.
The Fort was a wooden tree house that Gray and I found on the outskirts of Magnolia when we were in kindergarten. Our parents didn't mind because they knew where it was, so we'd usually head there every day after school. While at first it was a place for Gray and I to battle it out in peace, we eventually added some other guys to the little band we'd formed, like Elfman or a neighbor down the street named Max. You know, it was basically one of those "No Girls Allowed" clubs. Except for Erza. But she's too scary to be a girl. In any case, The Fort was our place of solace and solitude, especially on a day like that when it was just me, the tree house, and the forest. I'm sorry to say that it has since fallen into disrepair, but that day it had been the most comforting I had ever seen it.
It took me only a few minutes running down the road (of course, I ignored the townspeople yelling at me) to reach the woods where The Fort sat, and even less time to reach the tree and climb up the ladder embedded into its side. When I finally reached the top, I took in a breath of the fresh air resonating around the tree house. I've always had a good nose, which meant I could smell the threadbare rug that our parents had insisted we lay down, the smell of the lamp we'd sometimes bring when we stayed over night, even the smell of the trees whistling in the wind. It was that sound and smell that drew me to the window of The Fort.
The tree that The Fort was situated on was taller than most trees in the forest (or maybe it was just on higher ground, but I've been told that topography wasn't my specialty). Thanks to this elevated height, I was able to look out the window and survey the entire forest. I remember it smelling nice for just a moment until something changed in the air. I could feel it, like an unearthly tension coming to rest in my bones. At the time, I thought maybe Gray had been a dumbass and left the lamp on, causing a fire to start. I turned around to check and that's when I heard it pierce through the air.
A great roar filled my ears that was so deafening that, in hindsight, I'm surprised no one else heard it. That sound made me stumble and I hit the floor, getting a face full of rug. My body was shaking as the roar continued to rattle my body and I tried to stand, but could only pull myself to my knees. The roar ceased and I willed my body to move. I still couldn't stand, so I shuffled my knees along the ground and back to the window. Was there some kind of wild animal lurking right outside, waiting to devour me? Was this one of Gray's pranks? Or was my mind playing tricks on me? I had to know the answer so that I could evaluate the situation from there.
Well, you know what they say about curiosity.
The first thing I smelled was smoke, and not like someone was standing below the tree with a cigarette. It was like the forest was burning, an acrid smell that hung in the nose and made me cringe. I thought that either someone was starting a forest fire, or at worse some kind of missile struck the forest and set it ablaze. Maybe that was why I didn't believe what my eyes were seeing at first, but when they finally adjusted to the inferno, my jaw dropped.
Floating in the air was a dragon. Now, I only knew about dragons from all those fairy tale stories about being those evil creatures that guard vast hordes of treasure and princesses. This one didn't look quite so evil, but it looked scary and powerful and very, very real. Its scales were a flaming red and its wings were expansive. It even looked like it was on fire. The thing that made it truly frightening, however, wasn't the dragon itself, but the thing it was fighting.
It looked like a gargantuan and grotesque tree, twisted into a form with far too many eyes that were glowing purple. Even worse, I felt like its eyes (however many there were) were locked right on me. Finally my brain moved in synch with my body and told me to run. I finally sprang to my feet and ran for the exit. Curiosity once again caught the better of me and I glanced back in time to see the dragon rear back and send a blast of fire that incinerated the other creature that could only be described as a demon. This was a bad move, because as I heard the demon's screech, my foot slipped and I slowly tumbled through the branches and hit the forest floor.
The impact dazed me as I lay there on the ground and all I could replay was that dragon attacking that demon over and over. I closed my eyes, hoping it was all just a nightmare, but the pain and soreness I felt all over my body told me it wasn't. I'm not even sure how long I laid there; face down in the dirt, waiting for it all to go away. All I remember was the intense heat, like the fire from the dragon was surrounding me and burning me from the inside out. Eventually it stopped, but I refused to move until the sounds of chirping birds and various wood wildlife returned. I knew then that I couldn't stay here.
I scrambled to my feet, gulping in the fresh air and made a dash towards town. The Magnolia evening life was starting to spring up as I dashed into town and overhead I heard six chimes from the cathedral bell. It had already been two hours. I couldn't believe it! Still, a sense of hope grew in my chest. If it was after six that meant that my dad would be home. I could talk to him, tell him everything and it would all be okay. With this one thought consuming me, I pushed myself to run harder. Some people called to me, but I only had the one goal in mind.
It was only a few minutes before our small one-story house appeared and I barreled forward. I intended to just barge into the house, like I always did to greet dad, but instead I found myself bouncing off the door. That was strange. Dad never locked the door when I was out and he was in. I quickly checked the door handle and it was, indeed, locked. I fumbled for one of those hide-a-keys we kept on the porch and used it to quickly unlock the door, thinking my dad may not have realized I wasn't home.
I only wish I had been right, because when I slammed my way inside, desperately yelling "Dad!" all I was met with was a chilled silence. That's not entirely true. I could hear my breathing; heavy and panicked in the otherwise silent house. I padded forward into the living room and kitchen. There was no sign of his flaming locks of hair or his jovial laughter. I called again, skidding through the house. Again, I received no answer. Panicking at this point, I dashed to his room, but he wasn't there either. Instead, it looked like a whirlwind had hit the room, like he had been home and had taken off, or maybe he had been abducted. Maybe it was that dragon.
I couldn't stay there anymore. There were too many worst-case scenarios rolling around in my brain and I needed to tell someone. With my dad missing, I could only think of one option: the police. Thanks to all my pyromaniac activities and the community officer, I knew exactly where they were, too. So, I turned right around and ran from the house, not even bothering to lock the door. Not much time had passed since I'd last run through the town, but already the sun was starting to set, casting a strange glow over the area. Like it was on fire.
Only seconds later, I found the white (almost alabaster, I'm told) building that was the police station in front of me. I didn't stop to think and ran right in, only to bump into someone. I fell onto my butt and looked upward to see the officer I had crashed into. He was a younger officer, with short-cut black hair who looked down at me with concern.
"Are you all right, kid?" he asked before kneeling down to my level. "What's wrong?"
"M-my dad…" I gasped out, slightly winded from the run over. "I can't find him. He's usually home but he's gone a-and I…I saw something in the forest."
"Something?" the officer asked kindly, offering me a hand to help stand up. I took it, getting my panicked breaths under control.
"A dragon…it set the forest on fire and-"
"Officer Doranbolt! Is there a reason you're standing around talking to a child instead of out on patrol?" I peered around this Officer Doranbolt I was speaking to in order to see a rather fat man approaching in a horribly fitted suit. He also had this impossibly bushy beard and beady eyes. I would have mistrusted him, but he was the police.
"Chief Seam, this child came in and said his father was missing and that he saw…something set the Magnolia forest on fire," the officer named Doranbolt responded. "I was hoping to help him."
"Hmm…" the chief mused before he began stroking his beard. "Well, I'm loathe to believe a child, but I suppose we have to indulge these kinds of delusions once in a while. Young boy, what exactly did you see set fire to the forest? An arsonist? A punk kid?"
"N-neither…" I stuttered out. I didn't like this man, but at the moment, the police were the only people I could trust. "It looked like a big dragon."
"A dragon?" the chief chortled out. I wasn't sure if it were amusement or ridicule at the time. Although, judging by the events that followed, I'm pretty sure it was the latter. "There's no such thing as dragons. Still, if someone set fire to the forest, it would be best to see for ourselves and contact the fire department if necessary. Doranbolt, why don't you and Lahar go examine the forest. I'll put Head Detective Doma on finding that boy's father."
"You'll help me?" I blurted out, surprised that they were actually taking my words seriously. The chief turned to me with a smile and nodded.
"We're the police," he answered. "It's what we're supposed to do. Now, how about you come and wait inside my office? This ordeal must be terribly exhausting for you."
I was so relieved by this Chief Seam's words that I obeyed and followed without question. In hindsight (like I realize this whole situation is), I should have realized the strangeness about the case. Like the fact that even after the chief brought me into his office, sat me down, and gave me some blankets, he never once asked me my name or my father's. My ten-year old mind didn't comprehend this, though. Actually, the whole ordeal was so exhausting, I actually fell asleep in the chair. By the time I woke up, it was deep night outside the window.
Yawning widely, I stood and glanced through the blinds that concealed the interior of the chief's office. There weren't many people or officers in the station by this point, which made it very easy to recognize the form of the Officer Doranbolt I had spoken to. He, himself, was speaking with the chief animatedly while standing next to another officer who was wearing glasses. Now, I'm not an expert on body language, and I wasn't then either, but it certainly seemed as though they were all arguing, but I couldn't figure out why. The chief had his arms folded and was shaking his head while Doranbolt gesticulated wildly with his hands. Eventually, the chief turned around and walked away.
Considering the conversation finished, I snuck away and sat back down in the chair I had been sleeping in. I honestly didn't expect Officer Doranbolt to open the door moments later wearing a guilty look on his face. I immediately sprang to my feet again.
"Did you find him? Did you find my dad?" I asked. The officer seemed to take a breath before answering, like he was choosing his words carefully.
"No…" he answered solemnly. "Wherever he is, he left no clue as to where he had gone. We'll keep an eye out, but there's only so much we can do."
"What about the dragon?" I didn't notice then, but when I asked that question, Doranbolt's body tensed.
"We went to the forest, but…there were no signs of a fire."
"What? ! But I saw it! I felt it!" I must have moved my body unconsciously, because I felt Doranbolt lightly push me back into the chair.
"I believe you, okay?" he said softly. "Just, no matter what happens, I believe you." He then gave me a slight pat on the head and turned to the exit from the office, but stopped short.
"Next time, Doranbolt, when I say not to speak, you don't speak," the chief said from the front of the office, his smile completely gone.
"My apologies, sir" Doranbolt responded with his head hung low. He then shuffled from the room without even another glance spared towards me. The chief, now radiating an aura of coldness, stepped further into the room followed by two other men who certainly didn't look like police officers.
The one in the lead had almost impossibly tanned skin and stringy white hair. In his eyes and the way he carried his body was an air of intelligence, or maybe it was arrogance, that dwarfed everyone else in the room. The man behind him made the two look like a pair of night and day. Whereas the first man was immensely tanned, this man was pale, though his hair was just as stringy as the other man's, just done differently. The only change in the way they carried themselves was that he had a suitcase clasped in his hands. He placed this same suitcase on the desk and opened it, but I couldn't see its contents. The chief seemed unsure of what to say when I looked at him in question, so he just grunted and left the room.
"So, I hear you saw a dragon," the tanned man said, his face devoid of all emotion. "Is this true?"
"Y-yes…Who are you?"
"My apologies. My name is Doctor Brain, and this is my associate, Doctor Erigor," the man answered. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. What would a doctor be doing speaking to me? "Now, this dragon sighting. What was this dragon doing?"
"It was fighting something that looked like a demon," I answered impatiently. "I don't care about that right now. I want to know where my dad is!" Doctor Brain turned to his associate, completely ignoring me.
"Well, what do you think?" he asked. Doctor Erigor frowned slightly before giving a nod.
"Certainly seems vivid," he answered. Obviously deeming that response satisfactory, Brain turned back to me with a grave look on his face.
"Son, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."
"Why? Where?" I asked, already distrusting this man.
"Somewhere special for people who have imagined these things like you have." I froze. This man didn't want to help me at all! His words finally jerked me into reality and I stood in defiance.
"I didn't imagine it!" I snapped. "I know what I saw! I know what I felt! Now, where's my dad? I want to tell him!"
"I figured this would happen," Doctor Brain breathed. "Doctor Erigor, the sedative please." The pale skinned doctor reached into the case and pulled out a nasty looking syringe. My eyes widened at the sight of it and I attempted to run away. I didn't get very far because Doctor Brain caught me around my midsection and held me tight.
"Let me go! Let go of me! I want to see my dad! Let me see him! Dad, where are you…?" I said that last word as I felt the needle jab into my neck. My limbs became heavy and my senses began to fade away. My eyes drooped and I quickly lost consciousness.
How could I possibly know that I lost consciousness, you ask? Well, being unconscious isn't exactly like going to sleep. When you go to sleep, you tend to dream about all kinds of things. When you wake up, you feel refreshed and like you went on a wild adventure within your dreams. Being unconscious is the opposite. You don't dream. You're just stuck in this infinite black space and when you wake up, you feel as exhausted, if not more, than when you got knocked out. Trust me, I would know…mostly because this was the first of many times that I've been knocked out. This time, in particular, when I woke up, it hit me hard.
The first thing I felt when I woke up was soreness, particularly on my neck where the needle had been driven in. I sluggishly moved my arms to feel for it, and as I did so, my eyes opened and took in my surrounding area. It was a white room, entirely devoid of personality. I could feel that I was lying on a bed that was surprisingly comfortable, but the only other distinguishing features were a small nightstand next to the bed and a desk with a chair in the opposite corner. If you're wondering why I can describe this room so well, let's just say I spent a lot of time in it. At least it had a window. Big enough to let good air in but not for me to climb through.
"Where am I?" I asked groggily, not really expecting an answer.
"You're in the Magnolia Psychiatric Facility," said a familiar voice. The words alone caused me to sit up hastily in my new bed, adrenaline forcing my blood to pump faster.
"Psychiatric Facility? I'm not crazy!"
"Of course," said the voice and I finally looked to see whose it was. I instantly recognized the pale face of Doctor Erigor sitting there. In his hands was a clipboard and next to him on the desk were a notebook and a bottle with two pills inside it, orange in color.
"I know what I saw."
"And I'm certain you believe it, too, but that kind of behavior cannot be tolerated here. We will heal you, starting with you taking these pills," Doctor Erigor explained, pointing to the two pills on the desk. I shifted away from them and shook my head vigorously. No way was I taking some strange pill when I didn't know where it came from.
"No. I don't need some pill. I'm not crazy," I refused defiantly. Doctor Erigor sighed before looking at me with the scariest eyes I had ever seen.
"You will take them. Now!" His words compelled me to actually stand. I was conflicted with two separate emotions as I reached forward to grab the bottle. On the one hand, I felt fear. This guy was scary, like he'd rip me to shreds if I didn't take the pills. The other emotion was anger and the need to punch this guy in the face. Unfortunately, fear was winning out.
"What will it do to me?" I asked tentatively.
"Nothing harmful, I assure you. We like to keep our patients alive." I swallowed thickly, as though there were a lump in my throat while I stared at the pills. They looked harmless, but I was still scared to take them. On top of that, Doctor Erigor was still sending me that death glare and I knew that I had no choice. I opened the bottle and quickly downed the two pills. Then I waited a moment, but nothing happened. I looked to the doctor, as if to ask if this was normal. He didn't answer.
"You'll feel the effects soon enough," was the best explanation he could provide. "Now, here's how things are going to work here at the Magnolia Psychiatric Facility. Judging by your current reactions, you'll spend the first week in this room while we watch the medicine take effect. Every day you'll be provided with said medicine and you will take it every day. You'll also be provided with this journal to write down all thoughts. After the week is up, you'll be joining others around your age in something that we like to describe as an extended recess. You'll also have sessions with various doctors three times a week. We have also provided a change of clothes."
These were the last words he spoke as he strode toward the door. I tried to chase after him. "What about my dad? Has he come to see me?" Doctor Erigor paused a moment at the door and turned back.
"No one has come to see you." There was a moment of silence between us, in which I clenched my fists.
"I'm not lying or imagining things. I did see a dragon." Doctor Erigor's eyes narrowed.
"Well, very soon, you won't." Then he shut the door. My first instinct was to run after him, but I simply rebounded off the door. Many times, actually. It was only when my shoulders started to hurt that I turned to the journal he had provided. My anger at being locked in here never subsided though, and my writings appeared more like chicken scratch than usual. I'm actually surprised I'm still able to read it.
That whole week I was angry. I was alone and abandoned for the first time in my life. No one would tell me anything and the people who provided the medicine (I took it to avoid Doctor Erigor's wrath) were like faceless dolls. I tried to escape through the window once but I got stuck. I even tried breaking the furniture to get out, but it never succeeded. When the staff would ask me why I did it, I simply shut my mouth and glared at them. They always went away. The worst part was that even when my anger subsided, I still felt this burning sensation bubbling up inside of me. It was one long week, and I counted down every day.
The morning of that day, I woke to a strange and acerbic smell and noticed that my sheets were strangely smoking. I quickly kicked them off. I love fire, but I didn't really want to be on fire. Thankfully, my clothes were okay, so I tossed the sheets to the side and sat on the edge of my bed to wait. It didn't take long for the door to open and Doctor Erigor to stride in. I figured they must have been monitoring me. He briefly sniffed the air but made no comment. He simply nodded to me and I got to my feet to follow him. We went only a short distance until we reached a large white room.
True to the doctor's word, there were a bunch of kids ranging from five year olds to kids slightly older than me. One kid was sleeping in a corner, while another was running around the room. A mauve-haired kid was against the wall with his eyes closed and his hands over his ears. Yet another was standing against the wall, talking to it about shadows. I only saw two people that weren't solitary. Two boys, one black haired and the other blonde, were in a corner talking to each other. I was so busy observing them that I hadn't even heard the door shut.
"Wow, that's a retarded hair color," came a voice from one of the three tables in the room. I looked to the owner and saw another black-haired kid sitting there. He didn't look much older than myself, but he already had multiple piercings all over his face. He instantly annoyed me, especially since he said something about my hair color. Honestly, just because I have pink hair doesn't mean you have to point it out.
"Like you have room to talk, rivet-face," I shot back. The kid stood from the table to approach me. It drew some gazes, but most of the room's occupants ignored us.
"I didn't ask you to comment on my face," he growled at me, grabbing the front of my shirt. I didn't do anything at first, since he seemed to just be examining me. "What're you in for?"
"What's it to you? And who the hell are you, anyway?"
"Gajeel Redfox, pinky. I run this room." I looked around at our fellow patients.
"Doesn't look like much to run," I commented. Gajeel frowned momentarily before glaring at me again. "All right, I tell you and you tell me why you're here."
Gajeel appeared to struggle with this deal for a moment before nodding his head. "Fine."
"I saw a dragon, but they think I'm hallucinating it." Gajeel froze and his lips turned into a snarl before he more violently grabbed me.
"Where? Was it gray with metal scales?"
"No, it was red and breathed fire. Why the hell do you care?" Gajeel refused to answer, his eyes wide and wild. He also didn't look like he was going to let go of me. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I grabbed his wrists and attempted to pry them off of me. The more I struggled, the more resistance I met. "Let go already."
A slight spark appeared where my hands had grabbed his wrists and he stumbled back. When he lifted his arms, I saw they were a little burned and he was looking at me in surprise. "You, too?"
"Me too? What do you mean?" I demanded. Gajeel sighed, but grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to an unoccupied corner.
"I saw a dragon too, but no one quite believed me," Gajeel told me in a hushed tone. It was my turned to look at him in surprise. Maybe this guy was proof that I wasn't crazy. "I got shipped here and I learned how to shut my mouth about it, but a few days ago I discovered that I could do this." Then he held up his arm and I saw that it was gleaming, like it was covered in metal scales.
"Freaky…" I breathed.
"No more freaky than you almost setting my arm on fire like a frickin' salamander," he growled. I would have given him a witty retort, but the two of us heard laughter first. This seemed unusual, so we turned to see the mauve-haired boy, now with his hears uncovered, looking at us with amusement. "What're you laughing at, Erik?"
"Nothing. You never mentioned that you had seen a dragon, Gajeel," the boy named Erik said. Gajeel folded his arms as he led the both of us over to the boy.
"What's it to you?"
"I just find it interesting that four people in the same room claim to have seen dragons."
"You, too?" I asked. Erik, however, shook his head.
"Nah, I just hear things. For example," Erik answered, jerking his head to where the only duo in the room was sitting, "those two have been talking about dragons, too. And they've been staring at you guys since you started talking about it. Must be true, huh?"
"You think we're crazy?" I asked. Gajeel didn't care for the answer because he was already walking over to the corner boys.
"Personally, I don't think any of us are crazy." I gave Erik one last look at his response before walking over to join Gajeel, who was glowering at the two boys, both of them looking slightly younger than us. It also seemed as though they had already had a short discussion.
"So, all four of us saw dragons, huh? That's gotta be some kind of record," he said distastefully. Neither of the other two answered, so I chose to be the surprisingly more courteous one.
"What're your names?"
"I'm Sting Eucliffe. The quiet one is Rogue Cheney," the blonde answered. "Funny that we're all here for the same reason, huh? Though I don't think any of us saw the same dragon." I thought about that a moment before an idea suddenly hit me.
"Hey, what day did you guys-" Before I could finish asking, the door to the room opened and a new occupant was tossed into the room. Of course, we heard her before we saw her since she was crying and the assistants were yelling "Let them deal with her!" She didn't stop when the door to the room closed and she didn't move either, her tears drenching the tips of her deep blue hair. Most people in the room ignored her, but the four of us continued to stare at her. She didn't look a day over five and her face was red and blotchy.
"Damn, she's loud," Gajeel complained. He was right, of course, but I felt she looked far too upset to be left alone, so I slowly approached her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked. Almost instantly, the little girl stopped crying, but the tears didn't stop and she refused to say anything. I smiled at her before saying, "I'm Natsu Dragneel. Who are you?"
"W-Wendy M-Marvell," she squeaked out. I kept smiling when I heard the other three approaching.
"So, what's wrong, Wendy? You can tell me." Wendy looked torn between telling me and crying again. She, thankfully, decided on the former.
"I…I saw a silver dragon in the skies over my home. I wanted to tell mama, but I couldn't find her and then they brought me here. I just wanted to see my mama!" I stood back a bit and looked at Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue. Judging from the looks on their faces, they had all experienced the same thing.
"Are your parents gone, too? Same day as the dragons?" Gajeel asked. All of us nodded and Gajeel scowled. Then he asked the question I had wanted to before Wendy's arrival. "Did you guys see your dragons on July 7th, too?" Once again, we all nodded, even Wendy.
"This can't just be coincidence…" Sting said. Rogue nodded in agreement. "Though it's not like we'll get any answers in here."
"Do you think the dragon knows where mama is?" Wendy asked timidly. I shrugged my answer and Wendy looked down. "I miss my mama…"
"Yeah…I know how you feel. I miss my dad, too," I said, kneeling down to talk to her. "But how about, until we see them again, I'll be your family. I can be your big brother." Somehow, this seemed to have a placating effect on Wendy, because she looked up at me with bright, shining eyes.
"Really? And will you help me find mama?" Wendy asked gleefully.
"Of course!" I answered confidently. "All of us will be your big brothers and together we'll find our family and prove to the world that the dragons we saw are real."
"Yay!" In an unexpected motion, Wendy suddenly hugged me. Despite knowing her for only five minutes, I did the same.
I truly believed what I told her, too. Even if I had just met those people that would become my family. Even as we were forced to wait for the next seven years. I knew right then that we'd find our parents and show everyone the truth that dragons existed.
If only I knew then how right I was.
Author's Note: A new story and my first foray into first person. I usually write third person so I'm doing this to really further my writing skills. Anyway, obviously, this is a darker story than my last Fairy Tail fic and draws a lot from the series but I've crafted my own story around that and I hope you'll enjoy it. I've got lots of great stuff planned (and I mean fully planned). A note on my update schedule, though. Musical Chairs was updated once a week but this story is too complex for that so expect every other week. If I'm fast, great, but don't count on it. Also, next week I'll be posting a oneshot for an undisclosed pairing. I hope you'll all read it. Anyway, a new story is always nerve-wracking when you want followers and I hope I can count on all of you to Review and Dare to Be Silly.
