The Curse of Memory
The Beginnings of Things
Hargeon, July 2nd, x784
Natsu never had problems with transportation before he came to Fairy Tail. His guess is that since he hasn't used his Curse, to its fullest potential in a while, that the natural dragon slayer motion sickness was fighting off the ethernano cells. All the more reason he needed to leave that place. The only reason he was in the port town was because someone had told him a salamander would be here, and he needed that excuse to go back to friends.
As the train rounded the side of the mountain, he could see the small town he knew all those years ago was now a huge city. Natsu almost thought about visiting to his friend Mel, but then he remembered the poor bartender had perished many years ago. I wonder if his bar is still there after his death. He hoped so, during his traveling years Natsu had come back to this town for various reasons, but every time he came back to that bar.
The train whistle resonated throughout the train and he quickly got off. The smell of salt floated gently in the air. Although he knew that a salamander couldn't possibly be in a town, he still decided to check out the rumor since it was probably some guy using his moniker.
Humans had much evolved in architecture over the years. Natsu remember when they could barely make their wooden houses stand, now they had large stone cathedrals dedicated to their gods. Towns had much improved too, before they were cesspools of germs and contamination. Hargeon was very clean as he walked down the cobblestone streets, the only thing that littered the streets was the occasional piece of trash, a vast improvement.
As he walked through the residential district, trying to find his friend's bar The Boar's Hat, a large crowd of people had gathered in the streets all shouting about Salamander. Happy looked at him with a hopeful expression that he had to copy. The two barreled through the group, and just like he suspected it was a man using his moniker, and charm magic, to gain favor with the ladies. Though as soon as he showed up the charm was broke, yet once he insulted the mage it was reactivated, and he was beat-up by the females.
Once the fake Salamander decided to leave and the crowd dispersed, a blonde girl had appeared and offered to take them to lunch for helping her brake the charm. Natsu looked up at her and was taken aback.
"Anna?", he asked. The blonde looked just like the celestial mage from his childhood that was watching over the slayers now.
The girl seemed confused though, "No, my name is Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia."
That explained it, she was Anna's descendant. Judging by the keys on her waist she had the same magic too, out of respect for his teacher he decided take this girl up on her offer and learn more about her.
"About that lunch, do you know if The Boar's Hat is still around?"
"Boar's Hat?", Lucy reiterated, "I've been here a couple of days and I can't say I've ever heard of it."
"Oh, I see. Must have the wrong town.", while he said it with a foolish tone Natsu was actually quite depressed about it. Of course, it still wouldn't be here, stop trying to hold onto past connections.
"Well let's just go to the nearest place then."
Turns out, the nearest place was actually a square diner exactly where Mel's place used to be. The moment was bitter-sweet to Natsu.
Unfortunately for Lucy, she had offered to pay for their meal, the two ate like kings while everyone in the restaurant stared in disgust. As the cat and teen ate the girl did some explaining like it wasn't completely obvious what happened. Then she continued to condescend her prowess as she said she was a celestial spirit wizard, just like he had guessed, and that she really wanted to join the guild Fairy Tail. Well, this could be interesting.
"But you don't know anything about that anyway.", she waved her hand in the air as if brushing away bad thoughts, "Soo, thanks for saving me. I'll you guys finish up and I'll pay."
Natsu and Happy looked at each other then leapt onto the floor to start bowing, "Thank-you!"
The female mage then left the restaurant in a hurry, prompting the two to go back to their seats.
"She's kind a stupid don't you think?", Happy cheekily asked, "Didn't even know there were two Fairy Tail guild members right in front of her."
The cat giggled and continued to talk, the dragon slayer would occasionally nod but his mind had drifted to the past.
Hargeon x400 (roughly)
Recently Natsu decided that he wanted to take a break from finding the other etherious and elected to leave Mard Geer and Torafuzar, who were tracking down a lead in Bosco, he wanted to get more of the human experience. While it had been a few years, he decided that he wanted to visit Hargeon once again. And specifically, a bar, with a certain special someone he wanted to see.
As the demon walked down the mountain, he saw the tall spire of The Boar's Hat, now he began to race towards the building. Once he reached the doors of the tavern he halted, did he really want to go in here, it would be strange to see a man who hasn't aged a day since they last saw him.
Yet something in Natsu urged him to open those doors, which he did. The smell of beer and sweat was the same, as well as the stone and wood interior. This time though, there weren't as many people in the bar, only a few of the day drinkers, but the barkeep was still there.
Mel wore the same outfit he did a few years ago, however his hair was now short. It wasn't clean shaven but not quite his shoulder level, his hair looked much more suited to him. Meanwhile Natsu's hair was tied in a low pony tail, much shorter than what it used to be.
The moment the demon walked into the tavern the blonde lit up and called him over. Most of the town had forgotten about the two strangers that had saved them, but he didn't. How could one forget that smile?
"Natsu! It's been so long, and you've barely aged a day!", Mel exclaimed.
The pink-haired man brushed it off, "Three years isn't that long, and I could say the same to you.", that was true, and disturbing to him, the only real difference with the barkeep was his hair, "And I told you I wouldn't forget this place!"
A beaming grin grew on the face of the blonde, "Well, why don't you sit and chat. Old friends can catch up, right?", he tilted his head to the side, "Actually, where is that dark-haired friend of yours, Mard Geer, was it?"
Natsu sat down before him, "We split up for a little, he went with a friend to Bosco on a job. I don't really like the place, so I decided not to go."
Mel seemed satisfied. The rest of the day was spent sharing tales of their latest exploits. Jovial laughter filled the place as the two talked. It would have lasted longer but a large trading ship had docked, and the crew decided that they wanted to celebrate. Unfortunately for the barkeep his server had chose this night to skip, leaving Mel the only person to take care of over thirty sailors.
Seeing that the number of people entering was greater than those who were leaving, Natsu offered his services.
"Looks like you're busy.", he ventured, which earned him a glare, "How about I help fill that server role?"
Mel shoot him a grateful look and the mage went behind the bar to get an apron. After that his night was dealing with drunk men get even drunker. It wasn't until three a.m. that the last of the stragglers finally left or past out.
Now the waitstaff was cleaning up the mess of spilt beer and tipped over furniture.
"Damn, I am so paying my next waiter with a much bigger tip."
The blonde laughed, "Yeah, waiting really gives you an appreciation for those in the hospitality business,", he looked over to Natsu who was sprawled over a table, "but you did great, almost as if you've been doing it as long as I have."
The man sprawled gave a nervous chuckle, "Yeah, right."
Mel smiled and put away his cleaning supplies, "Come on, take off the apron and I'll show you the good thing about staying up this late."
The two left the bar and started to explore the town. Mel showed him all of the good shopping places that he didn't get to see last time, he also showed him the historical sights of the town. While they weren't that old, the two began to play a racing game throughout the vintage houses. This went on for about two hours but then Mel checked his watched, which read five. He silently cursed.
Natsu was then dragged by his friend up the mountain, and despite the protests his friend wouldn't tell him why they were going up. Now they sat on a cliff overlooking the sea, the sky was beginning to turn light blue.
"Now will you tell me why we are up here?", the demon groaned.
The corners of Mel's mouth twitched, "The sunrises here are the most beautiful. I've done lots of traveling in my days but, here, here are where the most beautiful sunrises are."
Natsu sat next to the barkeep, the sun was now peaking over the horizon. A wonderful array of colors too beautiful to describe began to form. Mel was right, this was the most beautiful sunrise he had ever seen. When he went to turn his head to tell him he was right, Natsu saw that the blonde had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Smiling, the demon then returned his attention to the horizon.
Noon was when Mel finally woke up, Natsu doesn't need sleep but sometimes he likes to, he uses it as a get away from the world. Mel's hair had fallen in front of his face and his eyes weren't completely focused quite yet, his grogginess was evident as he tried to catch up with his memories. Everything seemed to fall into place for he jumped off of the person he was sleeping on and flipped his hair back.
"So, it wasn't a dream.", he brushed himself off, "Well, I am sorry to have… fallen asleep on you."
Natsu tilted his head, Did I do something wrong? I don't think so, then why is he acting weird?
Seeing the blonde wanted an answer he obliged, "It's no trouble, and you were right. That wa the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen. Too bad we didn't get to see it together."
Mel turned bright red and Natsu was left confused once again. Eventually, after getting his bearings together, the tavern owner determined that they needed to get back, so he could get ready for tonight. Down the mountain once again.
Upon reaching the establishment Mel noticed a note left on his door. Ripping it off he then read what it had to say.
"Damn it.", he cursed softly.
Despite it being whispered Natsu heard his friend and asked, "What is it?"
The blonde jumped and turned to face him, "Oh, my waitress decided to quit on me. This is her 'formal' resignation.", he sighed, "Great now I'm going to have to get a new staff member by tonight or I'm going to be short-handed."
Natsu thought about it, Mard and Tora won't be back for a couple of weeks, a few months at worst, "I could help you, my friend won't be back for a while and I already know what to do."
Mel was stunned, but then he thought about it, and smiled, "Okay, then let us talk about wages."
"You don't have to pay me much, just room and board would be nice.", the dragon-slayer said.
"Then it's a deal."
They went inside and put on their aprons. After finishing sweeping and prepping the food, the two then went to pick up more supplies for the next week. Almost everyday was like this, talk in the morning, prep for the night, get supplies, deal with the customers, and go up to the mountain to watch the sunrise. For weeks they've done this, coming closer then ever thought possible. Although, Natsu still hasn't seen the sunset on the mountain since he has to work by then, he really wanted to watch it with Mel.
Today the pink-haired mage was walking throughout the town when he saw some of the other shop owners setting up stands in the streets. Curious, he asked what they were doing, to which they responded with, setting up for the festival.
Feeling still unformed he went back to his friend and the tavern. When he opened the green wooden door and saw Mel resting a crate of milk on the table. Upon seeing each other the two beamed special smiles that was only shared between them.
"Hey, I saw the shops setting up stands for a festival. Do you know what they are talking about?", Natsu asked.
The blonde seemed surprised, his jaw had dropped a little, "Well its Harbor Fest.", seeing his friend not getting it he tried again, "The festival of Hargeon?", he still wasn't understanding, "It's a celebration of when Hargeon was founded so we pretty much get the day off to party."
"Ohhh. Sounds fun, so if we don't have to work then what will we do?"
Mel brightened up, "I was thinking that we could visit around the town and the watch the fireworks."
Natsu thought about it and said, "Okay, I like being around you."
The barkeep blushed and turned away, showing that his hair had grown out and was tied once again in a low pony-tail with the red ribbon. The demon liked the way his hair only curled a little, in loose gentle waves. He once told him that and Mel did the same thing he did before.
During this time, Natsu had gotten better at understanding people, more specifically, relationships, and how to deal with them. He believes that he might be making his friend embarrassed, but he isn't sure how. All he really does is compliment Mel on the things he likes about him, like the ditzy thoughts he has only to reveal he actually is a genius, or the way his easy-going nature made everyone feel at peace. Natsu didn't know what this meant, for even though he was once human, he was still young when he died and never really got to understand what being human truly meant. Maybe that was why he was spending so much time with the bartender, or maybe there was another reason he quite wasn't sure of.
Unbeknownst to Natsu, Mel had been watching him for a couple of minutes now. Cleaning glasses as the pink-haired man was deep in thought, what he was thinking about, he had no clue but there was a certain pout he would put on his face. It was adorable, but you could never tell the dragon-slayer that or else he would go into a fit of why he wasn't cute, only making him more so.
Now the last glasses were clean and the rest of the chores for today were done. Mel proceeded to drag Natsu out of the bar, it was almost four now, so they still had time to eat at the different venders, do some shopping if they wanted, and maybe play some games if so desired. But by seven they had to go up the mountain, there was something special that the barkeep had planned for them.
The streets were covered in petals and the buildings had flower wreaths decorating them. People were wearing an arrangement of colors and loose clothes. The normally gray and pretentious atmosphere was forgotten as couples danced in the streets while musicians made their art loud for all to hear. The festival was in full swing, nothing could stop it now.
When Mel wasn't looking Natsu had wondered off, over to a food stand. As the blonde turned around the pinkette had returned with some meat on a stick and offered one to him. Which he gladly accepted, they spent a few hours shopping, not for much, playing games, which neither could win, and dancing in the street. They were having so much fun that Mel almost forgot to check the time. Six-fifty, oh no, if we don't leave now then we'll miss it.
"Come on Natsu. We have to get going.", the barkeep urged.
The dragon-slayer looked like he was going to say something, but he just shrugged and followed. Hiking up the mountain took about an hour plus, since there was no path and it was pretty much a vertical incline. But once they were up, it was all worth it.
The dying sun was just beyond the horizon of the town, but still in the air for those of a higher elevation. While the hazy gold of the sun was brilliant, the royal purple mixed with blue, pink, green, and orange luminated the town with a gentle glow that no words could describe.
Now the star had fallen behind the horizon, but the dull glow was still there, just like Mel's ebony eyes. Neither had realized they moved closer to each other until their shoulders touched. At first, they looked at each other but didn't move, they still didn't after they looked away. Now all light had disappeared, and the colored torches were being lit around the town. From the mountain Natsu could see the lights were moving in circles and he could hear music being played.
"What's going on down there?", he pointed down towards Hargeon.
Mel followed his finger then smiled, "That's the Dance of Lights. I wanted to show that to you, but then we wouldn't have gotten to have seen the sunset like I've known you've wanted to."
There was silence after that, the lack of noise was still there when the sky turned dark. That is, until large lights exploded into the air, making a noise so loud Natsu fell over in surprise. While he flailed around in terror, Mel was dying of laughter right next to him.
"What the hell was that?!", he shouted once he stopped flailing around.
With tears in his eyes, Mel answered, "Fireworks, you idiot, fireworks."
The pinkette was still confused so he explained, "Their explosives, and when you light them, they shoot up into the air, explode and release a display of colors."
"Oh."
Now that he was expecting them, the two enjoyed the fireworks. Side-by-side, the colors dancing on their faces.
"They're beautiful.", Natsu said.
Mel turned his head to face his friend, "Not as beautiful as you."
He turned so they were both facing each other, a blush spread across his face, not that you would notice with all the different colors, "What?", he said shakily.
"Natsu,", the blonde started, "I've been meaning to tell you this for a while,", he took a deep breath and moved so their faces were only centimeters apart, "I love you."
Mel put a gentle hand on the side of Natsu's face then kissed him with a deep passion.
At first the demon was surprised, the sudden action had made him stiff, but then he realized he loved the barkeep too, and relaxed into the kiss.
When they finally separate for air Natsu rested his head on Mel's shoulder and whispered, "And I you."
Present Day
Now it was dark, Natsu and Happy were walking along a path on the mountain. They stopped and looked over a balcony, this was his and Mel's spot all those years ago, someone decided this was too beautiful of a spot not to share and this area was developed as a result. Well, at least others can enjoy now.
After a while at the restaurant Natsu showed Happy around Hargeon, reminiscing the tours he used to go on, but when the cat asked him how he knew the town so well he said when he was younger, he came here once. Which technically wasn't a lie, for someone with over four centuries under his belt, the age of when he came here was young. Still, Natsu was silent for most of the day, being in this town was tough for him.
A group of girls were making their way behind the two as they looked over the horizon. Then they started to gossip about a boat leaving the harbor. More specifically, how 'Salamander of Fairy Tail' was on the boat hosting a party. This made Natsu suspicious, if they were having a party they would have stayed in the harbor, but they were leaving and by the direction of the boat he would say they were heading to Bosco. And the smell of the fire mage earlier was similar to that of a slaver, he had meet a few in his time. Connecting the dots, Natsu figured they were actually slave traders that were using his moniker to lure the girls in.
Well I can't just let them keep using my name, it would just spread awful rumors and I don't really care for that. And they used the guild's good name to do so, yes, I think a nice little chat with them.
"Happy, there is something I need you to do for me."
Lucy was really starting to regret her choices. First, she got charmed by a creep in the street, then she was charmed again when he offered to take her to the guild of her dreams, and now she was being held hostage on a boat going to Bosco, to be sold as a slave. Really, horrible choices, maybe she should consider taking a course on how to make better decisions in life. And her night only grew worse as the fire mage threw her gate keys off the side of the boat, the night could not possibly get any more grim.
"Maybe we should get a feel for the merchandise,", one of the crew members said, "You know, get and idea of how much we can sell her for."
It just got worse.
Crash! The roof suddenly came down as the pink-haired fellow, Natsu maybe, she had taken to lunch before landed in the room she was in. Her hopes only lasted for a moment before he collapsed of motion sickness. Lame.
"Happy, take her away.", he growled.
"Aye sir!", the flying blue cat took away the hysterical girl.
Once the two were far enough away Natsu stood up and laughed, "Now, let's have some fun."
He let go of his magical pressure, not all of it, just enough so that the crew would drop to their knees and quiver in fear. Most of the crew weren't wizards so any magical pressure they could feel would have made them drop, but wizards are different. Not many actually contain their pressure, most just let it fall free. It was a sort of way to boast their power in a none verbal way. As a result, many grew immune to feeling any ethernano or magic in the air, so if Natsu actually wanted to scare any mage he would need to release a sizeable portion of his magic. But he needed to be careful since Happy and Lucy were still close.
As he made a step forward the boat suddenly lurched forward, a wave was bringing them back into the harbor. When the boat crashed, it tipped over and spilled the people out onto the beach. Natsu could hear Lucy arguing with Happy so he decided to make a big entrance.
"You say you're a Fairy Tail wizard? Let me see you closer,", he ripped off the jacket he was wearing and pointed to his shoulder, "because I'm Natsu of Fairy Tail and I've never seen you before."
"Bora, that's the real deal.", a crew member said to the fire wizard, who quickly scalded him.
"Bora, I remember that name, you're Bora the Prominence. Got kicked out of the Titian Nose guild for bad behavior.", Happy said.
The pink haired teen laughed, "Well its one thing if you destroy your guild's reputation,", he became dead serious, "but don't even think about destroying mine's."
All, except Happy, were rightly terrified. Natsu stood before the slavers an put his hand up to his mouth, the corners of his mouth twitched then he took a deep breath. He released a gentle huff and a huge torrent of flames that blew over the whole harbor. Lucy began to scream, and the men were all on the ground past out with minor burns. When the flames subsided, and the town could be seen untouched, the girl stopped.
The sound of orders and soldiers could be heard, Natsu grabbed his cat and the celestial spirit mage then ran out of Hargeon. And to Fairy Tail they went.
The rowdiness of the guild always shocks the new members at first, but they eventually got used to it. Although Lucy still hasn't. Especially the guild brawls, they were what surprised her the most. By some miracle she still believed that at least some of the members had to be sane. She was wrong.
Natsu had become her protector. He came into her room offering the false idea that they could form a team, although he really just needed her for the maid part. After a talk with Anna, she had pleaded that he protect her, he decided to make the team thing permanent. While the girl had a fair amount of magical power and she amazing intelligence, but her fighting skills were less than par. Not to mention the mage was the biggest trouble magnet he had ever seen in all his years, seriously it was like trouble just gravitated towards her. Unfortunately, now he needed to create even better excuses if he wanted to go visit his friends.
That didn't exactly go in his favor since now the whole guild was convinced, he liked Lucy. But he just played dumb and acted like he didn't know what love was.
Today was the day that Erza was scheduled to come back, the whole guild was in a frenzy of cleaning and trying to hide evidence of their usual activities. Inevitably they wouldn't make it in time and she reprimanded them for their actions. But what was unusual was that she asked for Gray and Natsu's help, which was suspicious since Erza never asked for help, honestly, the girl would rather lose all her limbs before asking for help and even then, she wouldn't. Still, the demon wasn't exactly up for working with them, nor did he care for whatever problem they were dealing with.
But then the name of Eisenwald came up, and more specifically Lullaby. When one of his informants came in the middle of the night to tell him the information Natsu was full of aggression followed by exasperation. Stupid, stupid humans! Why can't they ever just leave things alone? He was lucky that Happy was asleep and that he was far away from the house. The demons almost lost it in the forest. Why Lullaby, of all the ones to find it had to be Lullaby. That bastard is always causing me trouble, damn it!
So, the next day he set out to join the mages on the quest to hunt down the guild and figure out their plans. Of course, Erza had thought that she knocked him out, but he was still awake as they discussed. Oh, how badly he wanted to correct them but, alas, he could not for a number of reasons. He somehow stifled a laugh as they left him on the train, but he needed to keep quiet for what was to come next.
As soon as the man walked onto the train, Natsu knew. But he needed to stay still, even as the dark mage stepped on his chest, and when he started to insult the guild, he continued to remain silent. Eventually his patience payed off, for this fool had finally brought out the object of his troubles.
Once the flute was dangling in front of his face, Natsu grabbed it and knocked out the mage, "Lullaby, you son of a bitch, we're going to have a talk."
He made a mental connection and continued to speak, "I don't know how they found you, or how they were able to find a way to remove the seal. But what I do know is that I was lenient last time, and now your going to come with me."
'You're an insolent child, I don't care if you are our master's greatest creation. I was his first. I am more special that you!', the wooden creature fumed before recollecting itself, 'But, like they say, let bygones be bygones. I propose a wager.'
"And what would that be?"
'A simple test.', Lullaby mused.
Natsu was not impressed.
'You believe that the humans can be better,', he began, 'then let us test that. If they decide to use me then I get to kill all the roaches I want and Tartaros can't stop me.'
"And if they don't use you?", the demon challenged. Interest evident in his voice.
'Then you get to take me without a fuss.'
He thought about it for a quite some time, so long he hadn't even noticed the train had stopped, "I accept, the wager of humanity now rests on their shoulders and we can do nothing to interfere. Are we understood?"
The link was cut, and the demon returned the flute to the coat of the dark mage then proceeded to wake the man up and continue the fight he started earlier. The fate of the world now rested on him.
Natsu will be the first to admit, this was not how he imagined things would play out. Yes, when the idiot dark mage gave away all his plans, he expected them to go that way. Not the dark guild threatening to use the flute on the town, or him having to fight that pathetic guild master, maybe not even the mage sneaking off with the flute, only not to play it for the masters. Though the demon wasn't surprised when Lullaby decided to break their deal and destroy the town himself. Oh, how he was going to pay for that.
But what he did predict, was that when he defeated the flute demon. He would be called a monster. Not just by Lullaby, but also the guild masters, granted it was his whole guild but that was because they destroyed Clover, and now they were being chased away.
Monster was a word that struck a chord with Natsu. Yes, he knew he was one, but the way people use it, like, he shouldn't exist or that he is some foul beast that is only good for killing. That hurt him deeply, somewhere in his mind he knew that was all he was capable of doing, but Tartaros, his family, were better. They were the way to lead humanity towards the light and pave a path for peace.
When the members of Fairy Tail feel asleep that night, Natsu snuck away deep into the woods. He teleported to the battlegrounds of the earlier fight. He walked around casually and then he spotted it. Lullaby, in his flute form, laid in a crater with scratches and burns all over his body. He would not be able to play again for a while.
"Now listen I know you're not dead.", the pink haired teen said as he leaned over the flute.
"Yeah no shit."
A sneer grew on his face, now he squatted above the broken demon, "You lost, and broke our deal. Now we must leave, this time I think I'll let Kyoka do what she wants.", he vanished once again.
After returning Lullaby and visiting his friends for a little while, Natsu eventually returned to the campsite to see all of the members were sound asleep. Well, all except one.
"Where were you Natsu?", Makarov asked with hostility in his voice.
"Oh, you know where young man.", Natsu sat on the other side of the fire and began to eat some food he had packed in his bag.
The guild master laughed, "I still can't believe you call me that, you, who has the body of a teen."
A grin formed on the eating teen's face, "Age can be deceiving, and besides, compared to me, you are still a very young man."
"A young man who is reaching the end of his life,", Makarov turned a bit somber, "I won't be around much longer to protect my children, and I fear what will happen once I'm gone."
Natsu stopped eating, "You know I offered to take care that, to make you young again."
"And I said no."
He put his meal down, "And that is the reason I respect you so much, not many people would give up that opportunity."
The mood of the guild master improved a little, "My children are going to have to learn to defend themselves once I'm gone, to learn of the dangers I protected them from. I wish I could protect them forever,", he looked up to the sky, "but what kind of a parent would I be if I didn't let them grow."
The dragon slayer looked up to the sky too, "This age certainly is full of surprising people, your generation and the next may actually be the ones I have been looking for."
They both made eye contact, "I hope so too, maybe then we will all see a fairy."
Silence resonated throughout the camp. Nothing was said for a while, but the lack of noise spoke volumes. Natsu continued to eat, listening to the occasional pop of the fire and the sounds of summer bugs in the night. The quiet lull created a calming atmosphere.
Upon finishing his meal, Natsu burnt the container in his hand then coughed to get the master's attention, "I'm going to need to take an S-class request. More specifically Galuna Island."
The old man looked baffled, "Why would you want that request? No one has been able to complete it."
"Because,", his tone became dangerous, "Deliora is there, and some idiots are trying to break it out."
Makarov froze, "You leave as soon as we come back, do not tell anyone what you are doing and do not bring Happy with you,", he tried to control himself, "I will cover for you and try my best not to let you get discovered.", the old man sighed and rubbed his face, "This would be so much easier if you would just let me promote you to S-class."
"Yes, but that would look a little suspicious,", Natsu became deadly serious, "Then it is decided, once we get back I will go on the quest to Galuna island and stop what ever fools have decided they want to revive Deliora.", Makarov nodded with the same level of seriousness, "And I get to deal with it however I see fit.", it was more of a statement than a question but the master still nodded, giving his consent.
What they didn't know was that Gray had awoken only to hear the dragon slayer talking about hunting down the torturer of his childhood.
Nothing was said the rest of the night, or the next day. Natsu went on the quest to deal with another rouge demon, this one had once been sealed by his Gates but then he broke free and was trapped again but by an ice mage who had used a forbidden spell to protect her disciple she sealed it. In exchange to secure the demon, her body was turned to ice and became the very seal that would prevent Deliora from harming another soul. Natsu was there that day when it happened, he would never forget her sacrifice.
X774 somewhere in the north
Currently two of the Nine Demon Gates were with their master on their way to hunt down one of the demons that escaped from containment. Flames burst into existence on top of a snowy mountain leaving behind three cloaked figures, a pink haired man, a green haired woman, and a dark-haired lady. All of their cloaks were emblazed with the Tartaros mark, not that they needed them, the cold never bothered them anyway, the cloaks were to protect their identities.
The avian woman stepped forward, "So, master, you tracked the escapee to a village near here?", she put a clawed hand to her brow and looked into the distance, "Doesn't look like Deliora is around."
"Yes Kyoka, I'm sure.", the leader sighed, "Seilah are we in the correct location, maybe I overshot a little?"
The female with golden horns was reading a book, but when she heard her name she looked up, "This is the correct mountain range, but it seems we aren't near a village."
Both of the demons face-palmed at their comrade, she was completely oblivious when she started to read. The world could be ending and Seilah wouldn't even blink until she finished her chapter.
Natsu caught the scent of smoke and blood drifting throughout the chain, just as he was about to say something a loud roar erupted throughout the land.
Kyoka looked at the male with a false humor, "I think you undershot.", she said sharply.
He huffed and grabbed the two women, "You know this isn't exactly a science.", he grumbled under his breath.
They disappeared then reformed on a cliff over looking a village. The town was currently being destroyed by a colossal humanoid monster that was dark blue with scaly protrusions on his arms and large horns. Deliora had slaughtered whatever this poor town used to be. If there were any survivors, it would be a miracle. Flames burned what the demon hadn't obliterated, now a child stood before the beast, failing to even make a mark on the thing.
Seilah took a step only to be stopped by her master, when she shot him a look of confusion he solemnly answered, "That kid, from what I can hear, has a hatred of demons and is trying to kill Deliora in revenge of his family.", he brought his hand down, "If we intervene he might mistake us as a threat, not to mention what I think is his master is coming close to the town now.", he sighed, "For now, Kyoka, I need you to increased the sensitivity and make him as weak as possible without being suspicious. Seilah, try to restrict the motions as best as you can to try and protect the kid."
The two nodded and got to work, meanwhile the leader started to listen in on the child:
"Deliora!", a dark-haired boy screamed as he shot off another round of ice, not that it was doing much, "You will pay for what you did to my family!"
The demon unleashed a roar, shaking the ground so that the ice mage fell, and then he raised a lazy arm to crush the boy. Yet, instead of being killed a shell of ice formed above him, shielding him from the danger as a woman held him tightly.
"Gray, you fool.", the woman chided the boy as she stifled tears, "He's too powerful, go hide while I deal with this."
Gray uttered, "Master Ur.", before complying to her demands. He hid behind a fallen brick wall as she sent spell after spell towards the beast. Deliora was reacting much more than prior, stumbling back, but it still wasn't enough to stop him. All of them knew it, but then, as Gray had originally planned, Ur began to perform the forbidden spell of Iced Shell. At the cost of her body, the demon would be sealed away and Gray's darkness along with it.
As her body turned to ice and the boy's tears fell, she whispered one last thing to her disciple, "Go to the west, learn what I could not teach you. Most importantly, learn to let go, your too bright a person to have all that darkness."
Gray released one last communal howl as his teacher faded away and ice slowly encased the demon, he collapsed onto the ground heaving and sobbing. The boy stayed like that for a while, mourning the loss of his teacher, after some time he quietly stood up and walked towards the west.
Seeing their escapee frozen over and the boy leave, the demons made their way down to the destroyed town and stood facing towards Deliora. The sun was beginning to rise, shining light through the ice, making the land gray. A crow landed atop the beast, as an earie breeze blew on their backs.
"So, where do we put the hunk of junk?", Kyoka grumbled as she kicked a rock which hit the ice.
The pink haired demon laughed, "I have a few ideas,", he rested against Seilah who was reading once again, "Remember Galuna Island, the place full of demons who change into humans. I think the holy grounds inside the volcano would be a safe spot."
"Well E.N.D I think that is a great idea,", the avian demon snickered, "for you anyway."
"Ha-ha, very funny.", E.N.D moved to touch the ice, "just for that you two can find your own way back home."
Before she could even open her mouth, the master had ignited himself and the ice then disappeared. Leaving behind a disbelieving bird-woman and an oblivious reader.
It was at this moment that Seilah finished her book and lifted her head, "Where is master and the demon?", she asked innocently. Kyoka grabbed the book and through it as far as she could.
Galuna Island (present day)
Natsu was so close to completing this mission without a hitch, but then Gray had showed up with Lucy and Happy, which prompted Erza to follow after in a fury. He seriously was going to have to talk with Makarov about his definition of 'cover for you' because from what he had seen, clarification was needed. Still for the most part he had everything under control, now, he must say, the Grimoire Heart council woman showing up was a surprise but not something he couldn't deal with. Centuries of life, and years at Fairy Tail, had taught him the worse that could happen, usually did and to be expectant of it.
Now, Deliora was breaking free of his seal as the ice melted into the ocean. Not that it would matter, Gray's master had been draining the demon for years and he would be dying very soon now.
Gray. That was another hitch, the idiot thought sacrificing himself was a smart idea on an island that could literally break any magic. Not to mention it is a waste of a life, if he wants to be a martyr then he can do it on his own time, or when he actually lives his life. A life is a very precious thing, and Natsu likes to think that in four hundred years he has learned the value of one.
In the end everything worked out, Deliora was gone, the idiots trying to break him free were dealt with, the demon's memories were restored, and Erza was ready to kill on sight. All in all, a successful mission.
It never really was a dull time with this guild.
HI, I'm not dead. Sorry for the delay, midterms and stuff. I'm going to skip a majority of the plot and create some more original content, I just felt that these arcs were necessary for the overall plot. There will be a time when we go back to the story line, but it will be short and a little different than to canon, more just to explain some stuff. I think that is all, write something if you think that I missed important info. The next chapter will be, The Peace Never Lasts Long.