A/N: Hello guys. wiErD here. Came back with another chapter... Christmas is just around the corner so I'll be going back to my usual updates schedules in a few more days so hang tight.
Here's chapter two of the story.
Have Fun and Happy Reading :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and its characters. Hiro Mashima owns them. :P
- Tragic News -
It was a sunny day in Magnolia. People still flock the streets of the busy town even at the course of the afternoon. Everyone was assuming that the day was suppose to be just any normal day they would have though little they know that the news of the Tenrou Island will surely come to spread like wildfire all over Fiore.
The guild was still in its full glory, having its usual brawls though not bigger than what the most prominent figures created back in the day. It's been three days since the S-Class trials has started. Everyone was waiting for the candidates to return since the amount of days in the trials usually takes for about two days only. News about the Tenrou group hadn't been revealed to the public nor to them so they have yet to learn the truth of it.
Situated from one of the bar stools near the bar counter was Macao and Wakaba who were on about their usual argument about who's better than the other. They too have started to wonder about the trials since they haven't heard anything from the group for awhile now. Usually, Master Makarov kept a lacrima ball as a means of communications in case something happened during the trials. It was quite weird that they haven't been contacted by now.
"Hey, what do you think about the Master and the others? Aren't they late?" Macao could not help but ask since arguing with his long-time rival actually got him bored for the first time.
"Why do you ask me? I'm not a messenger or anything! Plus, Mira-chan has the lacrima communications so she'll be contacting their arrival soon." Wakaba scoffed with an uncaring tone much to the flame-user's irritation.
He soon ignored his comment and simply looked around the dull atmosphere, his guild was having. Everyone was really out of it since the spark between them seems missing among them. The group who went to the sacred ground of Fairy Tail were actually the ones that kept this place alive. They all just watched in the corner in amusement everytime they take the spotlight in the middle of the guild.
With them out for S-Class trials, the guild that once sported a lively mood turned into a dead atmosphere.
"This is actually my first time seeing the whole guild so bored." Macao soon started.
"I guess, the others were simply the ones who always tried make the guild whole as it has been with our lives."
"I hope to see them soon."
"Yeah... I kinda miss Mira-chan's servings."
"So that's what your after..."
"What?!" He looked accusingly towards Macao but the latter simply glanced away, ignoring his intimidation as his boredom overwhelmed his enthusiasm. He sighed heavily as he let his head fell on the table with a loud thud.
"When are they gonna come back?" He groaned.
"Tou-chan... Tou-chan... Are they coming back?" A familiar voice got Macao raising his head in attention as he looked over to the toddler right next to him who was wearing expectant eyes towards him.
"I guess so... They'll be back soon."
"Yay! I can't wait to tell Natsu-nii that I found a unique fire in the books yesterday." He beamed in joy.
"Alright... Just behave and wait at the doors in case he comes in destroying everything again." Macao smiled.
"Now that you mentioned it, how would things turn out if Natsu actually passed the test?" Wakaba questioned.
"More destruction... No doubt about it."
"Why did I even ask?" He shook his head in pain.
"What are you guys talking about?" Another voice joined in as both men turned over to a purple-haired girl who was holding a tray filled with beer mugs.
"Oh, Kinana... Hand me one, please." Macao exclaimed as he called out for a cup from the waitress.
"Here you go... So what's the talk about Natsu?" She asked curiously as she placed her tray down and stood beside them to listen.
"Well, we're just wondering about how things would be if one of them actually passed the test... It never occurred to us that everyone is taking up a notch in terms of their powers."
"If I had to guess, I'd vote for Cana or Lucy." Kinana spoke eagerly with her head pondering in thought.
"I'm one for Gray... That guy is also powerful, you know." Macao butted in.
"That also same for Natsu... That guy doesn't want to get his rival past by him. I imagine that they would be fighting like children at the final exams." Wakaba joked to which the others simply joined in and laughed as they tried to picture it in their mind about those two battling it out like children.
Stretching out his arms wide to shook him awake, Macao simply smiled widely as he looked expectantly towards his guild members.
"Well, we're about to find out about it..." Everyone seemed to nod in response as they believed that the others are probably finished as well. They could only hope to wait for their return and hear all the results.
It was then a loud slam on the door was heard in the ears of the guild to which prompted them to look towards the entrance. Everyone was startled at the sound as some stood up from their seats while others sit around and waited till the figures came inside as the orange light of the setting sun stretched their shadows that made it seemed harder for them to recognize the figures. Moments later, two figures soon emerged from the light as all eyes darted towards them in curiosity.
One was a pink-haired girl in battered clothes with a gold wing-like headgear situated on her head and other was simply a dark purple-haired voluptuous woman who was also in the same state as the former.
Everyone stared in confounded surprise as the two figures slowly began their way inside. It was only then their eyes moved into another pair who was carried respectively by them.
"Natsu?! Wendy?!" Some of the guildmembers exclaimed in surprise upon recognizing the unconscious figures.
"They need some medical attention quickly..." The black-haired woman advised as she laid Natsu softly on the hands of his fellow guild members.
Eveyone stopped their ventures and immediately took both Natsu and Wendy towards the medical room. They seemed to have sustained some injuries and wounds. Macao looked over to the two figures who were standing as they watched the two unconscious mages been taken to the medical room and disappeared from sight.
"What the hell happened?! Why are Natsu and Wendy here?!" He soon asked a barrage of questions towards the two, wanting to know what really happened. The rest of the group who weren't with the two in the medical room turned their attention towards the two battered females who simply shook their head.
"I-I'm sorry but you'll have to answer that to them... It is not our position to say it." The black-haired woman spoke in a low voice but everyone can notice the sorrow present on the tone of her voice.
"It IS our business whenever one of our guildmembers were involved! Tell us right now!" Macao could not help but shout in anger. He couldn't help it since everything immediately turned sour for them after seeing the state of their two guildmembers who were supposed to be in the S-Class trials.
"We've only come to return them...And we're deeply sorry for what we've done.." As soon as she said that, the two simply disappeared into space that shocked the entire guild.
"Wha-" They all felt extremely confused right now as they found no answers concerning the rest of the group.
"What's wrong with those two?" Wakaba joined in.
Another voice soon resounded from the outside, calling out the attention of the two elder males from the group which prompted them to look over to the entrance.
"Macao! We have visitors! It's the Rune Knights!" A member called out from the outside as he was confronted by two people dressed the same as the Rune Knights behind them. One was wearing a pair of glasses with his hair tied at the back while the other is simply a humanoid frog with a scroll on his hand, presumably waiting to hand it out to the guild.
Macao and Wakaba walked outside the crowd and eventually faced the two officials with firm looks, hoping that this is not one of their complaints once again. However, their expression changed after seeing the grim faces of the some of the Rune Knights. Something must be going on.
"Are you the representative of Fairy Tail?" The frog spoke.
"Y-Yes." Macao answered briefly. It was then he handed the sealed scroll from him with a sympathetic look and began to speak.
"This is a letter from the Magic Council... The news about Tenrou Island." Hearing the place of their holy ground, Macao and Wakaba widen their eyes in surprise.
"W-Wait! News from Tenrou Island?! How did you know? What happened?!"
The frog could only exchange glances to his companion beside him who only shook his head disapprovingly while still keeping the same dull expressions on their faces.
"It's better for you all to read it in that letter... I'm very sorry." He bowed sincerely before turning around and finally marched away together with the Rune Knight behind them which left them only a scroll that contains the information of what happened at Tenrou Island.
Slowly unsealing the knot placed on top of it, Macao hesitantly opened the rest of the letter before finally opening them wide with some of the members peering from behind their backs. They read the first parts which only contained from formalities from Gran Doma himself. It was not long before they finally realized the real situation of their sacred place.
Shaking heavily on his feet, Macao couldn't believe of what he just read.
"T-Tenrou Island... ... was destroyed?!"
Natsu felt like he was resting himself over some soft surface which slightly made him irritated as his eyes soon twitched from his sleep and mumbled silently before finally opening his eyelids to meet the wooden ceiling. The world seemed to have rebounded back to his vision as he stared weakly from above and felt lightheaded.
The last thing he saw was just a plain white field that covered him. His memories were still jumbled and have difficulty in recollecting them all since he somehow went into some sort of a tiresome work. Slowly looking at the sides, he somehow found himself in a room with multiple beds lined across him. It was then he realized that he was resting on on of those.
He felt some bandages strapped on his sore body which only made him to cringe in pain for trying to move to quickly. Gritting his teeth in frustration he made a low groan that soon caught the attention of the people surrounding him.
"Natsu! He's awake... Thank goodness he's alright..." A voice went through his painful head as he realized that he wasn't alone. Having someone beside him is probably the best solution for him to rest easy.
"Is he going to be alright?"
"Well, he's awake now so let's just give him some time to recover... Anyway, what was the fuss about those Rune Knight outside the guild?"
Silently eavesdropping from the people around him, he caught wind of the word of his guild. He must be in Fairy Tail now.
'I'm inside the guild... That's weird... I was sure I was on a S-Class trial.' He thought inwardly, trying to understand the conversation inside his thoughts.
"I dunno... I should check it out... Macao and the others seemed to have read it by now." The person stood up and went outside to know the fuss outside, leaving the other person beside him as he tried to continued to place some bandages over to the dragonslayer's body.
'Macao? I'm in Fairy Tail, alright...A letter? For whom?'
Knowing that thinking inside will not help him know anything, Natsu tried to open his eyes widely as he finally got some of his strength to move his head around. The person left beside him noticed this and could not help but exclaim in joy before sobbing between her eyes as she finally saw him awake.
"Natsu! You're finally awake." Came the expressed joy in her voice.
"Laki..." He muttered weakly as he recognized the light purple-haired girl wearing a pair of glasses which she put down to shed her tears of finally seeing her comrade alive and okay.
"Don't move around, Natsu... You're still injured."
"W-Wha... Where am I?" He finally spoke clearly as he finally regained some of his vision and looked at the ever familiar medical room of his guild.
"You're in the medical room of our guild... You just came back with the help of two people outside." She explained as much as she can with her current knowledge of the situation.
"W-What are you talking about? I was in Tenrou Island..." He weakly replied, not knowing the real situation yet as his head was still bringing up the headache that made him harder to think straight and recompose himself. Laki had to hold him down back towards his bed as he tried to sit up straight on his back.
"Easy there... ... You still haven't gotten enough strength yet." She advised before looking at the patches around his body that somehow would make him some sort of a wrapped up mummy.
"Where's everyone?" He pressed on to ask but the moment he asked about the others made Laki tilt her head in confusion.
"T-That's what we all want to ask you about if you're able to recover yourself... What happened between you and Wendy? You all looked hurt pretty bad." Laki replied worriedly.
"No no... I was with everyone... We were all together when that dra-" It didn't take him a few seconds to realize the real situation he previously had back at the island as his memories of the terrifying onslaught of the black dragon came back to him in a flash.
Widening his eyes in alarm and realization, Natsu immediately sprung awake despite his injuries and looked in fear of his surroundings that also startled the purple-haired mage beside him from his outburst. Seeing the lack of the horrifying dragon around him, Natsu somehow calmed down before looking wearily to scan his surroundings more carefully. He was currently resting on one of the beds of Fairy Tail's medical room which means he is already home. However, the thought about him being on the island before caused him to wonder about how he got here.
"W-What's wrong?!" Laki asked worriedly.
"Acnologia..." He muttered.
"Wha...What?"
"We were fighting... but we can't win..." He continued to mumble as he tried to project his jumbled memories with words in his mouth that sounded monotonic.
"N-Natsu?" Somehow, her calling snapped him out from his trance as he looked solemnly towards the purple mage.
"That's right... we were fighting a dragon.."
"A dragon? Are you serious?" The weak dragonslayer could only nod in response before continuing. "We were fighti-no, rather we were running away from this thing at the island. It was too powerful and terrifying for us to handle." His hands soon shivered in complete fright after remembering the hopelessness they have been during that time and Laki could only widen her eyes in shock and worry after seeing their proud dragonslayer scared.
Never in her life she ever witnessed Natsu being afraid and all. He was always putting up a strong face towards others even in various situation, no matter how grave it would be.
"What happened?"
"Gramps tried to fight it back in order to save us but we came back to help him and tried to fight off the creature..." He paused as parts of his memories were still in the middle of a recollection.
"And?"
"Me, Gajeel and Wendy fought it but we didn't even land a single scratch from it. Then he flew up and fired a roar towards us..." His head was instantly flooded with pain as he cringed from it and touched his head gingerly before trying to keep himself composed as possible. He gritted his teeth as the pain circled around his head for quite some time that caused Laki to stand up from her seat and went over to him.
"Natsu! Are you alright?!"
"M-My head..."
It was then another person opened the door behind them, prompting the wood mage to glanced back and saw Max partially revealing himself at the door with a very shocked look on his face.
"Laki... I think you need to hear this..." He spoke without any feeling as he simply waited for her to come outside.
"What is it? Is it about the letter? What does it say?" She asked.
"J-Just come... I think you have to see this for yourself." His statement made it seemed like he was going to cry but kept his composure as Laki stood up and went outside, only leaving Natsu caressing his head to ease the pain.
His head somehow got hit by something hard and he can't quite point out what it is or how did he got himself to have a headache in the first place. Being alone in the medical room, he looked around his surroundings as he stared blankly at the light penetrating through the glass window across the room. It was probably sunny outside but he could see some gray and dark clouds emanating from the horizon which made him think that it's gonna get pretty bad outside.
With a few seconds of scanning around, his eyes finally found an unconscious figure beside him who was also resting easy just like him. It didn't take him a few seconds to realize the person as his eyes caught her silky blue hair.
"W-Wendy..."
Somehow, uttering her name made her to slightly move from her position before finally resting peacefully as he was left to stare at the young girl beside him. Looking at the bandage over her head, it would seemed like she also went through some painful experience that she probably don't know same as him. A wave of relief washed over him as he was glad to see another member of the Tenrou Group beside him. He was starting to wonder about the others' whereabouts.
Upon mentioning that, he slowly placed his blanket aside as he sat up straight from the side of the bed before taking up a wooden cane beside his bed for support and tried to walk towards the door. From what he remembered, Laki must've been called out from the guild to hear something. It must be related to them and the rest of the Tenrou Group. He took small steps with the cane in his hands as he slowly trudged his way towards the door in a few seconds.
Reaching over to the knob of the door, Natsu finally gotten some of his strength back to help him at least to walk. He turned the knob and pushed the door open as he began to look at his guild for the first time since coming back from Tenrou Island.
His expression soon changed as he saw the gloomy faces of the rest of his guildmembers who were simply shocked like they were unable to move at all from the revelation from the paper. Hearing the sound of his footsteps, all of the members turned sympathetically at the dragonslayer which caused even to be more confused than he already were.
"Natsu..." One of the members uttered his name in sorrow and pity.
"W-What's wrong everyone?"
His question couldn't be answered by anyone as they looked down in tears while some gritted in frustration about hearing the things that he and Wendy had went through.
It was then Macao walked outside the crowd surrounding the dragonslayer and wore a very blank look on his face as if there was no emotion from it. He stopped before the staggering pinkette while trying to hold his own tears towards him as he looked at Natsu with a sad look.
"N-Natsu... They're... ... ... gone." He muttered crudely which confused the dragonslayer.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, not really knowing of what's going on. He couldn't really understand behind the guild's saddened faces.
Macao simply handed an unsealed scroll from his hand and passed it slowly towards him, hoping for him to finally understand of what's really happened. Natsu took it and slowly opened the scrolls and tried to read it. Despite his poor experience towards understanding words, he could somehow understand some parts in it. It was not long before his eyes soon followed over to the grave news that described the aftermath of the horrifying event that transpired on Tenrou Island a day ago.
"Tenrou Island was wiped out... ... ...by Acnologia?" As soon as he said that, a couple of members couldn't hold in their tears as they broke down and cried heavily on the shocking news laid unto them. Macao can't help but kneel before the dragonslayer and lost his all his strength to keep himself composed and eventually, led him to tears like the others.
Natsu couldn't believe of what he just read.
Acnologia destroyed Tenrou Island? Since when? Did the others got involved too? Why was he and Wendy spared from it? What the hell is going on? His head was bombarded with questions of fear and hope for his comrades back at the island. There are so many things to sink inside his thoughts. How did they get here in the first place? Aren't they supposed to be the island same as them? So why are they spared unlike the others?
His body was shaken to core as he was left to tremble at the news of his friends back at the island. It was destroyed and wiped off the map of Fiore.
Realizing the lack of his other friends who were supposed to be with them, Natsu began to stomp outside the guild, not wanting to accept the reality of it. Everyone looked at the dragonslayer as he tried to walk outside to the guild with anger and grief in his face which only made them even more to sympathize him.
"You're kidding, right? There's no way that would happen... ... They must be around so don't give me a shit about them being gone!" He shouted furiously as he threw the scroll to the ground in complete anger before rushing towards the place where he and his comrades once were.
"Where are you going, Natsu?!"
"To Tenrou Island! WE still have the others back there! I don't believe in that goddamn letter?!" Saying that only made some of the members to cry even more.
"Please stop it, Natsu..."
"No! I won't accept it! They're ALIVE and are out there!"
It was then, Macao had enough and began to shout furiously back at the dragonslayer with the same expression as him.
"DO YOU THINK THAT IT WAS ALSO EASY FOR US TO ACCEPT JUST LIKE THAT?! OF COURSE, WE DON'T WANT TO ACCEPT IT! But what else can we do?! It was all true... ... ... They're already... ...gone." His tantrum somehow got the dragonslayer to listen to him as Macao couldn't take his stubborn behavior towards the situation and can only resume his sobbing together with the others which only made the pinkette to grit his teeth in frustration and sadness.
Forcefully turning around, Natsu ran off outside the guild with his tears flowing out from his eyes.
"DAMN IT!" Shouting in frustration, he continued to run as far away as possible.
He just wanted to run. It was his first choice in escaping this reality. He doesn't want to accept it. There's no way his friends are dead. After all, they all promised that they're all going back to Fairy Tail no matter what as a family. So why are they have to be left alone and be spared while his friends simply died at the hands of the cursed dragon of the apocalypse.
Without looking, he tripped his foot on a small rock that caused him to stumble in which the terrain in front of him was a sloped grass hill that inevitably got him tumbling down near the river bank. Landing roughly face up, Natsu didn't care about standing up in his knees as he was left to stare at the twilight sky before finally tearing up completely as he began to cry.
He let his tears drench his scarf as he continued like that for a few seconds and slowly began to sit up with his head still lowered towards the ground which was soon covered wet from the falling tears in his eyes.
"E-Everyone... Why...? Why did it have to turn like this?"
"Happy, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Gramps, Gildarts, Laxus..." He muttered the names of his friends who weren't here with him during his breakdown. He couldn't help it. It was just too overwhelming for him to accept that they all died in vain from that dragon.
"W-We're all going home... ... Why aren't you guys here with us? We promised, right? We're not letting it all end here... but why did it have to be you guys?" He stuttered in tears as he couldn't find himself lost in thought as if he simply became an empty shell.
The smiles and joy in his friends' faces reverted back to his mind that even caused him to sob even more.
"JUST WHY?!" He slammed his fist furiously towards the dirt ground, asking the world about the fate of his family. Is this what fate had really wanted? Are they so unfortunate enough to stumble unto that dragon? Are they destined to hopelessly run from that thing without fighting back?
He was taught to slay dragons yet he wasn't powerful enough to save them all. It's just so frustrating to accept.
It was then he stopped as his face soon reflected back from the river which showed his true self at the moment. He could see himself crying like a lost child. It was like that time with Igneel when he disappeared. He cried without knowing where he went and was simply left alone to fend for himself. It was also that time where he was found by Makarov that taught him the most important thing for having to care for someone.
Eventually, his tears stopped as he stared blankly at the reflection of himself. He had to be strong. Just like what Master used to say back then.
"Someday, you will learn the meaning behind your tears..."
"Of why one must give up one's life for the sake of the other."
"That's the very sole reason for them to keep pushing forward..."
"Moving on to the future."
That's right. He should not feel hopeless in the face of a loss. There is always a reason behind their sacrifice, it was never in vain. It was for the sake of them to keep pushing forward, trying to find the meaning behind their tears. A purpose of live on and see the future together. Bonds that connect them to each other, Memories that keep them tied together and Care that always protect each other.
This is the belief of Fairy Tail.
No matter what happens or where they are, the bonds of family will always be never severed from their hearts. That's because this is what being a member of a Fairy Tail mage should be.
Wiping off the rest of his tears, Natsu slowly stood up from the ground, finally found his new resolve to move on.
"Everyone..." He whispered and not long before he clenched his fist in determination.
"Natsu!" Kinana's voice cut through Natsu's train of thought as he turned over to the panting waitress, seemingly distressed.
"Kinana..."
"Please, you have to come with me... Return back to the guild."
"Why?"
"I-It's Wendy... She's finally awake!"
A line of people were seen amongst the table with their heads stooped low from the shock about the situation on Tenrou Island as Natsu and Kinana returned back to the guild. Other members were simply left speechless and uncertain what to do in this type of this situation since it was their first time witnessing a massive loss of loved ones in their lives. Fairy Tail is always a family and the amount of people who were somehow close to the ones who didn't make it back were shocked to the core.
Natsu grimaced as he saw the lifeless expression of Jet and Droy who learned the tragic fate of their member, Levy. It quite known to everyone that the three were always inseparable since they formed their team together.
He passed each people who were still trying to cope with the loss until he finally made his way before a door leading to the medical room where Wendy is. Macao, Wakaba and Laki were also by the door, waiting patiently for Natsu to arrive. They only wore briefly wave signs of relief as the dragonslayer returned to the guild.
They all shook their heads as Natsu walked past by them.
"Is she awake?" He suddenly asked in a low tone towards Laki who simply made a meekly nod.
"Yes."
"Does she know everything?"
"No... We don't have the heart to tell her... So we simply asked you."
Natsu became silent as she replied to his last question. The other three waited in anticipation towards the dragonslayer, hoping to understand the situation at hand. The sky dragonslayer has just recently joined in with a new family. Everyone knew of her history on her previous guild and everyone simply forget everything about it in respect for her. And right now, she has yet to learn the news of the tragic fate of their family to whom she was just starting to befriend with. Saying it directly to the bluenette will just break her heart even more.
The pink-haired mage simply shook his head in content before slightly smiling in response.
"I'll go to her... ..." Everyone seemed to nod before dispersing to cope with the others about their loss.
Hesitant to open the door before him, Natsu sighed deeply as he readied himself to deal this quickly. He turned the knob and made a slight peek at the room. The scarlet light of the sun on the horizon simply dyed the room in the same color with tall shadows looming over to the corners where the windows aren't placed. It didn't take him to find the bluenette as he saw her lying on the bed with her silky dark blue hair placed neatly behind her back. She gave a slow turn from her head as she recognized the person behind the door to be him and could only sport a faint smile towards him.
"Natsu-san..." She whispered. The dragonslayer simply made his way inside and closed the door behind him and walked towards the aisle of the room and into the side of her bed to sit.
"Hey there... Are you feeling alright?" He tried to spoke in reassurance to keep her like that. He hated seeing her crying but he knew that he was bound to see it anytime soon if he tried to reveal the truth to her.
"I'm fine... Thanks to Laki-san and the others who took care of me." She spoke faintly and weakly which clearly shows that she still have yet to recover from her injuries.
"I see... I might have give them some fish for taking care of you..." He joked, which by means somehow caused her to stifle a giggle.
They were silent for a moment as they have nothing to talk about and Wendy's memories have yet to recover about the events at Tenrou Island. Natsu wished that it didn't have to surface just right now.
"Where are the others?" She asked curiously which only made Natsu to cringe on the inside.
"Well, Laki and the others were simply outside the room, waiting for you to recover."
"Not that... I was talking about Happy. He's not here with you... Usually, he always together with you, right Natsu-san?"
"Well... ... ... He's not here, you know."
"Is he back at the house?"
"Well that's-"
"I'm sure Carla would be happy to see him right now since she talked about apologizing to him the other day." She continued with her faint smile to which made even hard for him to tell it all.
"Wendy... I have something to tell you."
"What is it, Natsu-san?"
"I'm very sure that this will hurt you Wendy but I don't want see you cry because of it..." Unknowingly, tears formed up from his eyes as he felt himself going to cry once more. Wendy could only look at him with an extremely worried look despite her current condition. She tried to reach up one of her fingers to wipe away his tears to which he let her do it.
"D-Don't cry, Natsu-san... I always knew that you were the strong person who would never show any signs of weakness."
"R-Really? Do you mean it?" He confirmed as he held on to her hand for support.
"Yes... ..."
Okay... then will you promise me something, Wendy?" He soon asked despite his tears.
"What is it?"
"Promise me that you won't cry, alright? I know it's hard for me to say this but you'll have to understand, okay?"
"Okay..." She smiled towards him who only glanced away for a few seconds before finally looking back at her, hoping that this statement would not give her so much grief.
"Wendy... ... ... ...They're... ... ...gone." He spoke faintly but she heard it with her heightened ears. It was the most saddest thing that Natsu ever saw in his life. There he saw the shocked look that he wanted to keep from her ever since this started back awhile ago. She just laid there frozen in shock as if she was turned into stone.
The once innocent smile on her face was simply replaced with a saddened grief and sorrow in her eyes. It was not long before tears soon forming up from the corner of her eyes which she tried to hold it in for the sake of their promise to each other.
"W-What do you mean gone?" She couldn't help but ask.
"Everyone's gone, Wendy... We are the... ... ...survivors." He tried to keep it as subtle as possible for her to understand.
"Lucy...Happy...Charle...Erza...Gray... Everyone, they didn't make it." He tightened his hold to her hand before lowering his head in sorrow.
"...Carla... Lucy-san... Erza-san." She finally realized before finally tearing up in the process just like him.
Natsu heard her sniffs which caused him to jolt in attention. He could see it. The pain and sorrow in his eyes. He couldn't stand it. She was so devastated and helpless.
Why? Why did have to be her to suffer like this?
"H-Hey, Wendy... Remember what you told me, right? You promised me, right? We are going all through this, okay? I need your strength, Wendy... Be strong for me." Despite his words, Wendy kept on crying which made him so helpless to help her out of her sadness and grief. If he hadn't tell her the truth then it would break his heart more than her for lying about it.
"Please, Wendy... ... I always known you to be a strong mage... You always helped out in many ways together with us, right? Grandine didn't want you to be that way. I mean, we're dragonslayers, right? We're suppose to be stronger than this, right?"
"R-Really?" She sobbed in between.
"Yes, yes... I'm sure Gajeel would be proud of you if you kept strong... Heck, Igneel would be jealous of you and would prefer you to teach his magic other than me, right?" He joked which somehow got her a slight giggle despite her sobs.
"O-Okay... I believe you, Natsu-san."
"Thank you, Wendy..."
He reached out her other hand and placed it together with his and spoke deeply.
"We'll make it through this, Wendy... I'll always be right here for you, alright?" He vowed.
"Mmm..." She nodded meekly before holding her tears and simply smiled at her fellow dragonslayer beside her and rested peacefully on her bed as Natsu continued to watch over her, praying for their future.
A/N: And that's a wrap. Here's a very sad chapter for you guys... As you can see, Natsu and Wendy have yet to face hardships on the starting 7 - year gap. Problems about leadership and keeping the guild altogether without most of their friends.
There's also a matter of power scale at their 7 - year gap from the rest of the Tenrou Group... Yes, it will be changed accordingly but not as godly as it would be like a one-shot fodder character like Superman.. Be reminded.
That's all for now for the chapter. Thank you guys for supporting this story in its early days.
As always, keep an open mind and also express your opinions on the review. It motivates me especially criticisms. :))
See ya guys on the next chapter!
- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out... ... ...
