Left and Forgotten Chapter 1: Message in a Bottle, a fairy tail fanfic

Life is one big road with lots of signs. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake up and live!

—Bob Marley

TIMELINE: Right before the S-class trials on Tenroujima where the island - SPOILERS - is destroyed by Acnologia.

CHANGES: Sting and Rogue are older. Laxus, Wendy, Lucy, Gajeel, Pantherlily and Charle aren't caught on the island. Mavis has already been established in the guild. Everything else you will find out about.

CHAPTER ONE: Fights and Islands

My eyes slowly opened. The bed was warm, and I was tempted to go to sleep. Much too warm to just have me to be here. I looked in front of me, and sighed mentally. A pink mop of hair greeted me, complete with a scale-patterned scarf and black and gold clothes.

"Natsu, you can't sleep in my bed anymore, not that you should've anyway. Lisanna's your girlfriend now and you get to sleep in her bed." Contrary to popular belief, I never felt sentimentally towards Natsu, and I was definitely happy when Lisanna, who is now one of my best friends, got in a relationship.

"But your bed is so comfy," he murmured.

"Natsu…" I groaned, and shook him. Nothing happened. "Lucy KICK!" He flew onto the floor, groaning and rubbing his head.

"What was that for?" he complained, burying his face in my pillow, which he had pulled down with him. I had learned that it was pretty much useless to try to reason with him, so I just kicked him out. I headed into the kitchen, just to see Happy eating my fish and candy. Of course. He soon joined Natsu outside, and I started to get dressed.

Afterwards, I headed to the guild. I was greeted by the majority of the guild, and quickly ordered a strawberry banana milkshake from Mira. Soon, Lisanna approached me, before cheerily grabbing my shoulders and tugging me off my seat. I smiled at her never-ending energy, just like Natsu. Well, after he actually got up, anyway.

"Hey, Lucy!" Lisanna said, guiding me over to our typical table. "We picked out a mission." Everyone in Team Natsu was at the table; Erza, Gray, Natsu, Wendy, Happy, Charle, and the newly-joined Lisanna. Erza passed me the job description.

~ DARK GUILD

500,000 J

Task: defeat the dark guild Warp Bee, and report to Clover Town's mayor for details.

I laughed."Warp Bee, huh? Um, interesting name…"

"Yeah," Lisanna agreed, looking over my shoulder. "Well," she said, "shall we go, mademoiselle?"

"Yes, we shall," I said, looping my elbow through Lisanna's. Gray and Natsu quickly sprinted ahead, racing towards the station. Immediately, Erza, sensing a challenge, followed, leaving me, Lisanna, Wendy, Charle and Happy to hurry and follow.

When we got to the station, we earned a lot of looks, which was nothing new. Most of it was Natsu's fault.

"I don't wanna die!" Natsu shrieked, earning us some curious onlookers. "Don't make me go on that death trap!" Lisanna sighed, and, with our combined efforts, we dragged him on the train. Minutes later, Erza appeared with her "normal-sized" amount of luggage—which made no sense as she was ahead of us before, though this was Erza we're talking about, so I shouldn't've been surprised. Ezra swiftly knocked both Natsu and Gray out—why Gray I wasn't sure—and we all headed onto the train.

•••

When we started battling, we got separated. Wendy and Charle were attacking the grunts outside. Erza and Natsu were against the guild master. Gray was with the rest of the people inside, while Lisanna and I dealt with the runaways. I was almost done with mine, when another appeared in front of Lisanna and I. He had dark brown hair, almost black, with yellow eyes. He wore a blood-red cape, a black shirt, and loose brown pants. A scar was right above his lip, in an "X."

He was completely annoying, and kept sending dark pulses toward us. We weren't able to fight against it; we could only block it with other objects, making it hard to fight. If it touched us—which was inevitable unless we were completely on defense—then our skin started being scratched, and we bled. Any spirits I summoned would just defend me, and I didn't want to have them cover me or hurt, so I just used my whip.

The only way we could fight was to go completely on offense and ignore the pain. I looked at Lisanna and we nodded, exchanging words silently. I headed from beside, latching on him with my whip. I winced but kept a strong hold as a particularly large cut appeared on my stomach. Meanwhile, Lisanna stomped on him in penguin form. We thought we had gotten him, but he put his hand up to block Lisanna's foot. He pushed up, and Lisanna fell backwards, turning into her human form on the ground. Her foot had a huge gash, and I tried to call for Wendy, but the man immediately got my attention.

He was in his customary position to start using the blasts of darkness. I quickly shielded her, and wailed in pain as I received the whole force of the attack. I coughed up blood as I flew back, and I could hear something crack. The dark mage sneered as he ran towards me.

"Who are you?" I croaked.

"I supposed you want to know the name of your defeater, correct?" he asked, smirking. "I'm Dai. It means big or great, which is apt, correct?" He sighed dramatically. "But you won't remember it." He sneered once more at me and left, cloak swishing behind him. The arrogant prick. My vision started to fade as blood poured out of my stomach, forming a pool around me. I tried to stand up, but I was too far away from the battleground to do any good. I swayed and passed out, feeling the lack of blood get to me.

The pain, the pain. Those voices, tortured screaming. I held my head, but they persisted. I couldn't take this anymore. My brain overloaded, and I couldn't remember… couldn't remember… what? Something about Dai…

•••

We had found Lisanna, who had been passed out. The dark mage had left, but we naturally prioritized Lisanna. We searched for Lucy, and finally we headed back to the guild. I was exhausted from healing, and headed to bed. We headed back the next day to try again, this time fresh and with the other dragonslayers—Natsu and I had been exhausted from fighting, and with all the blood on everyone, it was difficult to locate her—but when we found where she undoubtedly had been, she was gone. The only scent there was the dark mage, Lucy, and the signature smell of her spirits.

We claimed her to be missing as of then, and that's how it went for the next few days. Days soon turned into weeks, and then months. Lucy had been gone for a while now, and I was getting worried. Eventually, I interrogated Master. Backtracking… I asked him about her, and he smelled nervous. He exchanged looks with Master Mavis, and I knew he was lying when he said, "We have no idea. Do you have any leads?" I kept asking, and he seemed to register something, and told me she was on Tenroujima.

I rented a magic ship that automatically went back to the dock as soon as I reached the island with Charle. We crept through the woods, following Lucy's scent. We soon could hear worried voices.

"Is she going to be okay?" one asked.

"I don't know! I don't know, okay? I'm not a healer," another yelled, annoyed.

"If only Wendy were here…" another said wistfully. So they know me, I thought. And we seem to be on good terms, based on their phrasing. Charle and I soon reached a clearing, and there laid Lucy, bandaged all over and her hair stained red, wheezing, with her spirits—even Aquarius—surrounding her sadly. I quickly rushed over, pushing through them and they looked at me gratefully. I put my hands around her head, and they glowed.

After a while, Lucy opened her eyes. "W-Wendy? Why am I here?" After a conversation, it became apparent she couldn't remember anything after grabbing the mission that led her to this state. "Do you guys know who a man…" she hesitated, "…Dai is? It's connected, I'm sure. Everything is. Maybe he helped me or something? He's… important. I need to find him." We all exchanged looks.

"Not sure," Loke said hesitantly, "but first we need you to heal. And you've been so out of joint that I'm afraid you might not be ready to move soon, much less fight. And your wounds…"

"I'll be fine," Lucy proclaimed, "as soon as I get some rest. My instincts say I need to train, and I need to do that as soon as possible."

•••

Gramps and Mavis were coming out of Gramps' office, having a serious discussion, apparently including much waving of arms and shouts. As they did so (because, honestly, it was hard not to hear from my place on the S-class floor,) something about Tenrou Island, Wendy, and… Lucy? That means she's alive! Why the heck did they not talk about this sooner? Not that they know I'm listening of course… heh heh… I could see Gajeel's ears prick up, showing he heard about it too, and we strode out of the building, Pantherlily at Gajeel's shoulder, in silent agreement to find her. I glanced at Natsu as I did so, but he was fighting with Gray (again; seriously, can't they give it a rest?) and obviously didn't hear. Serves him right. The doors slammed behind me, and Gajeel and I headed for the dock. Headed for Tenrou Island.

•••

No one saw Mavis and Master Makarov smirking as they saw the two leave.

"And it starts," said Mavis, smiling brightly.

•••

Meanwhile, a woman sat on a chair. The room was almost dark, and the figures were faint.

She had long black hair and searching eyes that shifted between black, various shades of gray, and pure white.

"Where is she now?" she screeched. "Where is Lucy Heartfilia. Search for her, Katsu.(1) I need her. Now!" She turned as Katsu fled the room to another of her so-called "subjects." "Dai, prepare the machine. We head out tomorrow."

"Yes, Lady Masa," (2) he said, bowing, and left the room.

•••

We raced towards the dock, grabbing a boat and jumping in. We soon pushed off, and then I remembered

To Tenroujima = Water

Water = Boat

Boat = Transportation

Transportation = a very pathetic Gajeel.

GET ME OUT OF THIS DEATH TRAP! (3)

I hurled myself onto the side of the boat, making it tip. Lily soon pushed me back to center, so I was miserable there instead of on the side. Laxus obviously had it too (he was pale and gripped the side of the de—the boat,) but he cranked up his sound-pod to distract himself. I could hear it blasting from here.

Just a castaway

An island lost at sea

Another lonely day

With no one here but me

More loneliness

Than any man could bear

Rescue me before I fall into despair

I'll send an SOS to the world

I hope that someone gets my

Message in a bottle

(Message in a bottle)

A year has passed since I wrote my note

But I should have known this right from the start

Only hope can keep me together

Love can mend your life

But love can break your heart

I'll send an SOS to the world

I hope that someone gets my

Message in a bottle

(Message in a bottle

Oh, message in a bottle

Message in a bottle)

Walked out this morning

Don't believe what I saw

A hundred billion bottles

Washed up on the shore

Seems I'm not alone at being alone

A hundred billion casatways

Looking for a home

I'll send an SOS to the world

I hope that someone gets my

Message in a bottle

(Message in a bottle

Message in a bottle

Message in a bottle)

Sending out an SOS...

As we neared the island, I noticed that a torrent of waves crashed in a circle around it. A sphere of winds blocked us from seeing the actual island yet, except for a few glances using our dragonslayer-enhanced eyesight. A black cloud floating above it, lightning flashing. The waves soon hit the boat, and it exploded. I tried to swim, but I was still disoriented from the boat. I was becoming too weak. I could feel the strength leaving me, but I could feel the waves soon sucking me in, pushing me—and with me, Laxus and Pantherlily (who was attempting to fly but kept being pushed downwards—towards the island, where I briefly sensed someone coming near us, before blacking out.

•••

I panted, racing. I hadn't done this in a while, after I had had the first one-on-one fight with Lucy in a while. We accidentally created a hurricane in the process. Oops. (Yes, Uncle Capricorn. I swear it was accidental. No, really.) Anyway, back on track. My wind speed was nothing for Lucy's "Celestial Boost: Legs Point!" however, it was hard to see in the jungle, which gave me an edge. The only problem? I had no idea where I was. I soon heard sounds, and followed them. When I saw who it was, I gasped. Two men were sprawled on the beach, and I could faintly recognize them.

Using the appearance of the beach, I gathered my bearings, and headed off towards Lucy. I had a message to tell her.

•••

When Gajeel woke up, he noticed two girls and a cat facing a fire. The scents… Lucy and Wendy! Wendy's hair was in a high ponytail, tied with a bow. Lucy's was a side braid, woven with a feather of some kind. They each wore midnight-blue skinny jeans and black flats, along with a white shirt and a jacket. They turned to face Gajeel, smiling as they saw him. He looked around.

He was in a clearing of sorts. Pantherlily was next to him, still sleeping. "Where's Laxus?" he questioned.

"He's already awake. Loke's giving him the tour. Come on!" Wendy grabbed his hand and dragged him around the island, showing him their cabin, the garden, and the kitchen, and all sorts of places. When they made it to their final destination, a cave with makeshift wooden walls to block out the entrance from letting in cold air, Lucy had started to make soup.

"Ne, Luce…" Wendy asked, resting her head on a wooden table as she spoke.

"Yeah, Wen?"

"When are we going back?" Wendy whined. "I wanna see Mavis again. She was funny!"

"Probably in a few months… though maybe a bit sooner."

"Ahem!" Gajeel interrupted, just as Laxus walked in with Loke, the former of which sat down while the latter flirted with Lucy and helped her with prepping dinner.

"Well," Wendy said slowly, relishing in the impatient looks on the males' faces. Her eyes glittered as she continued, "Lucy and I have become Third-Generation Dragonslayers." She smirked slightly at their astonished expressions.

"Really?" Laxus said with surprising interest. He sat down at the table, the chair screeching slightly in protest as he scooted closer. "Wait…" he paused. "What's a Third-Generation slayer? Also, what type of dragonslayer are you?"

"It's where someone has a dragon lacrima implanted in them, along with being trained by dragons," Lucy answered before Wendy could as she closed Loke's gate with a swish of her hand. "And I'm a Celestial Dragonslayer. Also, Wendy's second element is poison while mine is light. You know, how Natsu was able to use Fire Lightning attacks…?"

"That's right," Laxus grumbled, resting his hands on the table as he leaned back, the front two supports on the chair lifting off of the ground.

"Oh," Gajeel said intelligently. "Are there any other Third Generations?"

"I heard of two other ones," Wendy said thoughtfully. "You guys could probably become ones…"

"That's right," Lucy agreed. She turned to the fellow dragonslayers. "Whether you want to is the question. Do you?"

Laxus and Gajeel looked at each other. "Sure," they replied, mentally shrugging. "Why not?"

—

Edited: August 24, 2015

(1)—Meaning: victory.

(2)—Meaning: correct, just, elegant, flourishing, prosperous, genuine, true, governing, political, or military.

(3)—A quote from 'A Moment With You,' by trinity531 on (Just some harmless advertising.)

Length: 10 pages, 2820 words.

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