Don't own Fairytail.
The truth can bring two things. It can bring happiness, pride and joy to one. To know that the truth is right, and glorious. That one can always look back, and find hope and pride.
Hope can also bring hate and fear. Some may go too far with what they believe, only to be proven wrong. They then begin to tear their own life away, go into denial and refuse the truth. One way to measure a person is what that person does when faced with these truth. The truth hurts sometimes. But it needs to be said to improve one's self. You can run from the truth. Or you can embrace the truth. But there's one major fact you cannot do no matter how hard you try...
The truth cannot be ignored. And Natsu is about to understand that.
The sound seagulls and waves crashing on the beach is what greets his senses. Being an island boy, it's the sound Natsu knows all too well. Which brings hope to the teen. Thinking the events was all some kind of a dream. That his sister didn't get kidnapped. That he didn't get launched to Forsaken Fortress by ways of a catapult. That he didn't get tossed by that black dragon into the open sea. None of that. He hopes that when he opens his tired eyes, that he's in his bedroom, in his three rooms house with his grandma and Wendy.
The smell of the fresh sea air is next to his senses. Again, it's a smell Natsu recognizes instantly. Feeding that hope once more that he is back on his home island of outset. Maybe Wendy came in and opened his window this morning again. Stretching out his senses more to guess what his grandma made him was an old game to him. But sadly, he's playing himself. Natsu starts to doubt. Especially when his third sense, hearing, picks up a voice he has never even heard of.
"Well? Have you come to your senses yet?" How metta. This voice just completely crushed his hopes. Opening his eyes, Natsu comes face to face with a old man. Natsu freaks out.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah! The hell?" With the quickness, Natsu is five yards away from this geezer that violated his personal space.
"Hahahahahahahaha! You are surprisingly dull-witted. Did I startle you? I suppose that it's only natural. Not everyday you wake up with a person as old as me in your face. Do not fear... I am not your enemy."
"You think?! You almost gave me a heartattack! Can't you think of a better way to greet someone without sticking your face in front of others?" Trying to slow down his heart, Natsu looks at this old short man with gray hair on both sides of his head that defies gravity, with a white and red robe, funny shaped shoes, and a gold crown on his head. Wait, Crown, where the hell was he?
"Where's the fun in that! You wouldn't deny an old man of a good laugh would you?" Answered the old man in between laughter.
"Just... who are you and what do you want?"
"Call me Makarov. King of Earthland"
"King of Earthland? You must be going senile old man. There is no earthland, there is no kingdom, there is no king. Now if you excuse me, I have to..." Natsu was cut of by a shocking answer.
"Save your sister. I'm I correct brat? Or should I say... Natsu."
"How do you..." Once again Makarov cut him off.
"Natsu, I have been watching you since you went to the forsaken fortress to rescue your sister. I understand how your desire to protect your sister could give you the courage to fearlessly stand up to anything. But such a bold attempt was foolhardy! And I suppose you saw him. The shadow that commands Acnologia and those beast. His name is Zeref. He who obtained some of the power of the gods, attempted to cover the land in darkness, and was ultimately sealed away by the very power he hoped to command. He is the very same Zeref. The emperor of the dark realm the ancient legends speak of. I do not know why the seal of the gods has failed, but now that Zeref has returned, the world is once again being threatened by his evil magic. And with the way you are now, you have no hope in saving your sister from Zeref."
Those words were the truth. And it stings. What he did was foolish. Rushing in into a situation he knows nothing about. He was lucky that dragon just tossed him away instead of just killing him from the start. And if he manage to beat Acnologia, he would had to go up against Zeref. But something was off about old man Makarov."
"How do you know all this old man."
"Because I'm the one who asked the gods to sealed Zeref. He was very close in accomplishing his goals. He made it inside the castle walls, with no hero in site, and the sages lay dead, I had no other choice. Everything you see around you is my doing. You stand on the mountains of Earthland. The gods flooded my kingdom. But I had to pay the price. For you see, I'm neither living nor dead. Forced stay inside my kingdom under water till Zeref is dead. Forever watching over Zeref since he was sealed inside my castle. Once Zeref broke free of his seal and is now above water, My next job was to find a hero to stop him. And I found you." Seeing Natsu speechless, Makarov keeps going.
"Zeref wants to kill the gods and obtain their power. If he does this, The world is doom. In order to kill a god, he will need a key that can open a door to the stars. A key that the messenger of the gods have. A Celestial mage. And there is only one family that the gods trust with this key. And Zeref is looking for her. He is looking for a Heartfilia...
On the Fairytail
Lucy sits in the cabin with her holding a key that is around her neck, waiting for word if they found Natsu yet. Since they saw Natsu get tossed out into sea, they sailed off in the directions that he was heading. This key was passed down from generations. And he mother has passed it down to her. It was a gift on her sixth birthday. Since then, she has never gone a day with the key on her.
"Tell me Natsu. With all that I just told you, do you still wish to save your sister from him." Lost for words, Natsu can only nod.
"And will you do anything to save her?" Another nod from the pink haired teen.
"I see. The path you are about to take is a hard and long one. But, you will have help in this quest. Isn't that right Erza." Coming from out the shadows, Erza walks up to the two along with Mavis who was listening and watching the discussion.
"ERZA?! The mail lady? Dumbfounded, Natsu can not believe the mail lady was here. And how can she help.
"She is one of the sages. Her ancestor was one of my sages. The sages job is to protect the people from any harm. They are contrived of the most powerful wizards on Earthland. And the last line of defense. And Erza here is just like Emily Scarlet, her ancestor. From personality and all! Hahahaha. The sages called themselves Fairytail.
"Fairytail? That's the ship I was on! The captain is a girl by the name of Lucy! I even got a stamp making me apart of their crew!" Rolling up his sleeves to show Makarov and Erza his Fairytail stamp to prove his point.
"Yes, that is their logo. Erza, is the descendants of the sages on that ship?"
"Some of them. Most of them left since Lady Layla died, refusing to listen to her daughter, someone that is younger than them. I do know their current locations."
"Good. I want you to gather the sages and bring them to that ship. They must protect the key by any means! Go quickly. No doubt Zeref is making moves and double his efforts into finding it. We must make moves on our own to match."
"Of course. Good luck Natsu. Don't fail us." And with that, Erza sets out to start and bring back this generation of Fairytail back. Watching her go with pride in his eyes, Makarov turns his attention back to Natsu.
"I have very little time, I must go back to my kingdom and recuperate my magic. I wasted a lot to get you out of the sea and bring you here. So I will leave you with this, Zeref cannot be defeated by just human hands, let alone by what little strength you possess. They key to defeating Zeref is locked away in a great power that you can wield only after much toil and hardships. Do you understand?"
"I do but there's one problem, I haven't unlocked my magic yet." A defeated sounding Natsu responded back.
"Then you must learn quickly. And the best way to learn is my doing. But I have no doubt that you will in this quest. If you don't, you will die." Makarov words are harsh, yet true. No time for false motivation. Natsu needs to understand what is at stake here and what he must and needs to do. The fire in Natsu eyes told Makarov that his words has hit home. Learning the truth about himself and his weakness, Natsu is ready to turn weakness into strength.
"The first step to defeating Zeref lays on this island that I brought you to. This is Molida island. There is a dangerous old temple set up by the gods to test your tolerance to pain. Make it through and you shall receive the power bracelet, which your double your strength and will open up the next temple you must traverse through to get you next gift from the gods. There are only three temples you must conqueror. Once all three temples are completed, I will show you the weapon that is the bane of evil. But take heed. Once you finished with this temple, Zeref will know and will send people to kill you." Walking back to his boat Makarov tells Natsu one last advice.
"Good luck brat. Remember what you're fighting for." Instead of sailing away, Makarov with his boat fades away. But before he can, Natsu brings up a very important situation.
"Hey! I don't have a boat! How am I supposed to go to these places without a boat old man?"
"Figure it out. I told you what needs to be done. The rest is up to you." Makarov fades away. Back to his lost kingdom beneath the seas.
"We can figure out how to get off this island later Natsu. We need to head to that temple now. That's the first step. Let's get going." Mavis says while flying in the direction of the temple.
"So you're sticking with me from here on out.?"
"Or course! Like I told you, you're interesting. And you will need my brains. Cause you have none!" And Mavis takes off laughing leaded the pace."
"What was that?!" And Natsu gives chase, thankful he has someone with him through these rough times ahead.
The Molida island is a very vibrant place when it comes to wildlife. Different kind of species roaming around, trees as far as the eyes can see, blocking out the sun. It's safe to say that this land has not been touch by man since the flood. The only thing Natsu can tell that was touched by man was the temple that looms over the forest. With his goal set, Natsu makes his trek to the temple to begin quest, with Mavis flying by his side.
The temple has seen better days. With one good storm, it seems that this temple will collapse in on itself. Gray in color that's hard to see with Nature taking over with all the moss and weeds all around it. Three stories tall, and the enough to fit three small islands in width. A very foreboding place.
"Makarov said that this temple will test your tolerance to pain. I wonder what that means? We need to come up with some kind of-" Cutting Mavis of, Natsu does what he's known for.
"Alright! Times up! Let's do this." And off he goes.
"Oh my god he just ran in..." Mavis hovers in place for a few seconds before following after him. Flying inside the temple, it's big on inside as well. With skeleton bones littering the place with their weapon of choice right next to them. It seems that the people that rest here were after the god's treasure. Greed got the best of them. Statues lines up the side wall of the temple. Time was not kind these statues. Pieces lay all around the base of the statues. A sign that these statues are eroding. Bats and insects all along the ceiling and walls. Mavis reallys wants to get out of here. She catches up to Natsu as he push opens a door that lead further inside the temple. Once inside, Natsu steps on a multi colored floor of purple, pink, lime and green in a diamond shaped floor that is giving of magic.
"Hey" Mavis and Natsu looks each other. That wasn't their voices that just called out.
"Did you hear something Natsu?"
"Yeah. I did. You think it's a ghost? Hearing the word ghost, Mavis flies behind Natsu hiding.
"HEY!"
"OK, I definitely heard something! Hey, there's a guy over there Natsu!"
"You! Kid! Over here kid!" Natsu see the guy. This guy is trapped with spikes all around him standing on the same type of floor Natsu is on. The guy is wearing a navy blue overcoat, light blue vest, gray pants, and brown boots. Black hair, and a small black mustache. The room the guy is in is like a maze. With big gray walls breaking off without any pattern to them. What is strange about this room though, is that some places of the floor has the floor patterns as the one Natsu and that guy is on. And some places do not.
Waving his arms up and down, The guy calls out to Natsu once more.
"I'm talking to you! You came at the right time! You're lucky you found me! Lucky for me, but luckier for you. Now help me!" Standing in bewilderment, Natsu wonders how the hell did this guy get stuck there.
"Hey! Are you LISTENING? I said, HELP!" Still waving his arm but now he's jumping up and down trying to make sure he's seen and heard.
"What is he screaming about?" Flying over to him, Mavis continues. "For someone pleading to be saved, he sure is rude!
"What'd you say?!" The man replies with his hands on his hips. Offended by the fairy's words. Taking one arm behind his head and the other arm to wave Mavis off, he turns to Natsu. "Listen, can you help me out? Just pay attention to what I have to say. I know you're a teen but your still a kid in my eyes! But try to listen up! I'm trapped in here, and I don't know what to do. Normally, I'd free myself without any problem, but I sprained my ankle and I can't move. Will you help?"
"Wasn't you just jumping up and down?" Questioned Mavis.
"Sure I'll help you."
"I knew you'd come through for me kid. Well then, do something about these pointy spikes!" Hollered the guy. "There's got to be a way to disarm the trap somewhere around here!"
"Fine. Just wait there."
"As Natsu makes his way to find a way to deactivate the spikes, the man calls out to him yet again.
"Oh hey! Wait a second! There's something I forgot to tell you. One thing you should know about this temple. It'll suck the life out of you. Once you step off the magic floor your on, you will feel intense pain!"
"Why didn't you tell us that sooner? That's pretty important you know!" This guy was getting on Natsu's nerves.
"Around this maze is floors just like the one you're standing on now. These floors will not hurt you. It's getting to those floors is the problem! Keep your strength up and GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"Alright! Relax."
As soon as Natsu stepped off the floors, crippling pain was felt. A purple smog of smoke surrounded Natsu. It seems to sap away his energy while causing him pain as well. I guess he knows why this temple is a test of pain. Bearing through the pain, Natsu makes a left around the corner, he spots one of the those magic floors. Running to get there, but with every step, Natsu feels the pain growing. Like a million needles hitting you at once. Struggling to breathe, Natsu labors, about give in to the pain. But picturing his sister crying in that cage gave him the motivation he needs to endure. Picking up his pace, Natsu makes it the safe zone. The purple smoke leaving as he enters. Breathing heavily. He needs to do this. For his sister.
"Mavis, can you see where the switch is?" While Mavis does just that, He takes a breather, waiting for the fairy to come back. She does in thirteen seconds. Not giving Natsu any breaks.
"I saw a switch. Follow me and I'll lead you right to it." And off she goes. Mavis revenge to Natsu for earlier. Natsu follows with the purple smoke surrounding him once again. Fighting through the pain and spotting the switch. Natsu pulls on the lever, causing the spikes to recede.
"Are you kidding me?! That guy did it! Ok, I'm taking that as my cue to get out of here! Freeeeeeeeedom!" And with that, he takes off!
Checking to see, if Lineback was freed, Natsu finds nobody there! But he does see the guy running for the door. Walking back to the doors, he spots man hunched over breathing really, really hard.
"Phew! I think we can take a quick breather."
"Hey! You said you sprained your ankle! You were running just fine to me! You said you needed our help!" Mavis was mad! This man just lied in her face!
Turning around with an aloof look, "Bah. It's not like you're the one who did the saving! Hey Natsu was it? You're pretty brave for someone with pink hair. I mean, not a brave as me... but not too shabby. The name's Linebeck! I'm a real man of the sea! Impressive, huh? It was smooth sailing for me in the beginning. But then I got myself stuck in that trap. Anyway, What are you doing here? And since you help me, I'll help you. What do you need from me."
"I'm here to get something from this temple to save my sister. And If you have a ship, I will need you take me to another island." Answered Natsu.
"Save your sister? Anyway, if that's what this is about, I'm on board! I'm here looking for treasure. I was just a step away but I sprained my ankle. Otherwise, I would have explored this cursed place."
"Liar! I just saw you running like a rabbit!" Mavis was not going to let this Linebeck boost his ego on her!
"No. No you didn't. That was just an illusion." Natsu and Mavis just looks at the guy with blank faces.
"My ankle's still throbbing! The pain is unbearable! Ooooooh... the pain." Hopping on one leg as he say this to prove his point. "Anyway, go on without me kid! If you find any treasures, bring them back to me! Got that?"
"You're faking it. I think you're just scared!" Mavis is not letting up on him.
Turning his back to Natsu and Mavis, "Not a chance! Normally, I'd be leading the charge down there! But I know how much it means to you Natsu. I'm letting him have the glory. Now, you know what you've got to do, so get to it! I will just wait here for you! Good luck!"
"Yeah Yeah. You just wait here. I'll be back." And with that being said, Natsu and Mavis makes their way back into the temple.
