Chapter 7: The Hunt is On
The next day at Fairy Tail:
"So how did it go with Gildarts Cana?" asked Master Makarov with a frown.
"As it was expected Master, he found a bar and drank until he passed out." replied Cana with a frown as well.
"At least he didn't do anything stupid." stated Makarov.
"There is still time for that Master." replied Cana with a small grin.
"So where is he?" asked Makarov.
"Up in the infirmary, I got the help of two nice gentlemen last night and they carried him here for me." said Cana still having that small grin.
"But how did you get in Cana, I locked the doors?" asked Makarov.
"Master are you actually forgetting about that?" asked Cana as she pointed to the nonexistent wall.
"HEHEHEHE I did indeed forget about that Cana." replied Master Makarov with a sheepish grin on his face.
"So what did I miss after I left yesterday?" asked Cana.
"Nothing too exciting, some are going to try and find the identity of Subject 8 by calling the other guilds, while others are going to go out there and try to track Natsu down with the help of the dragon slayers. Most of the groups have already left and seemed really determined to bring Natsu back." answered Master Makarov with a proud smile that was smaller than normal. Makarov had actually never smiled like he used to since he figured out what actually happened to Natsu and only a few people had noticed this little fact.
"So pretty much back to what everyone was doing before, well I might as well give tracking him another try." said Cana as she went to a table to get to work.
"Master I just finished talking with Sting and they haven't had a member gone from their guild for more than a month." said Mira with a smile, glad that one of their members wasn't Subject 8.
"That's good news Mira." replied Master Makarov.
"Mira's forgetting to tell you that we've already called every guild except for Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale, and Blue Pegasus." stated Lucy with a slight smile since that they've eliminated quite a few guilds so far.
"Well we didn't actually think it was going to be any of those since Natsu never really got to know them like he did with the guilds that we have left and Sabretooth. But you also forgot about Crime Sorciere Lucy." said Levy with a small smile because she was also happy that they haven't had to tell anyone the bad news yet, but she knew that it was only a matter of time.
"I still don't think it was them Levy, because they would have come to us for help if Angel or Meredy went missing." explained Lucy.
"Very good point Lucy." stated Erza as she walked up to their small group.
"You're still here Erza, I thought that you would have been one of the first ones to head out on the hunt for Natsu?" asked Lucy.
"Oh I will be Lucy, my group decided that we were going to wait for the next news about Natsu and then go from there." answered Erza with a slight frown.
"Well I guess that would mean that you are waiting for us then." stated a man completely covered by a cloak who had six people behind him covered the same way.
"Jellal is that you?" asked Erza who was completely surprised that he just randomly showed up.
"Yes it is and I really wish that I could be visiting here for happier reasons, but unfortunately for us I am not. Yesterday we had a run in with Natsu and it wasn't that pretty, but we do have a very good idea where he might be heading." replied Jellal with a frown.
"Jellal it was not that bad, Natsu didn't kill or take away any of our magic." said Meredy in an angry tone.
"You two are forgetting that we aren't supposed to call him by that anymore, he's the Salamander now." said Racer as he rubbed his still hurting neck.
"Mira could you please call back all of the search parties?" asked Master Makarov.
"Already done Master and they all should be here in less than an hour." answered Mira with a small smile since they now seemed to have a lead on Natsu.
"Wait why are you saying that Natsu doesn't want to be called by his name anymore?" asked Lucy.
"Because Salamander almost killed Jellal when he kept calling him Natsu." answered Midnight with a terrified expression on his face.
"Oh my god it worked!" shouted Cana from her table.
"What worked?" asked Jellal but was completely ignored by all of Fairy Tail.
"Cana you've actually got his current location?" asked Master Makarov.
"Yep and he is definitely heading for either Crocus or the Council's headquarters, it's too hard to tell right now with how far away from them he is. But Natsu is moving extremely fast for someone who isn't using transportation." replied Cana.
"Well Salamander doesn't need to sleep or eat and who knows if he can even get physically tired anymore." grumbled Gildarts as he came out of the infirmary looking like he had a really long night.
"Wait, are you saying that Natsu no longer needs to eat and sleep?" asked Jellal with pure shock.
"That I am blue haired guy, but like I was saying we don't know what his physical strength is after those bastards gave him all of those weird potions." growled Gildarts as he opened a bottle and started to drink from it while none of them even dared to try and stop him.
"That means that Salamander is even stronger than we thought and we already thought that he was a powerhouse." said Angel as she shook her head.
"So what happened when you met with Natsu and how do you know where he's probably heading?" asked Erza but before Jellal could answer he was cut off by Makarov.
"Jellal if you could wait until everyone else got here that would be very appreciated since I know that they would like to hear all of this as well?" asked Master Makarov.
"I can definitely do that Master Makarov." replied Jellal with a smile.
"Well that means we can go back and figure out who Subject 8 is." stated Levy as she was getting ready to call one of the remaining guilds. But she was stopped by Cobra, who all of a sudden started letting out a scream while clutching his head.
"What the hell just happened to him?" asked Cana who knew that this was not normal for Cobra.
"Well you see when we ran into Salamander Cobra decided to try and read his thoughts when he didn't have his guard up. And let's just say that Cobra got way more than he ever wanted and now is suffering from that right now and we just have to give him a few minutes to tell us what's going on." explained Midnight with a concerned look on his face that Fairy Tail was surprised to see.
"Why are most of you guys referring to Natsu as Salamander?" asked Erza as they waited for Cobra to tell them what's going on.
"You would too Erza if you saw what he's capable of doing now." said Angel as she shivered just at the memory.
"Salamander made it perfectly clear that he doesn't want to be called by Natsu anymore because that form of him died at Rising Tide. And we weren't joking when we said that Salamander almost killed Jellal over it." stated Hoteye with a big frown.
"Natsu would never do that to one of his friends." refuted Erza.
"Well he did Erza, granted I had been getting on his nerves and wasn't giving him what he wanted but he wasn't messing around Erza." said Jellal as he looked away from Erza.
"You both are forgetting the bigger thing that happened; Natsu didn't kill any of us when we are still considered dark mages. Meaning that he easily could have killed us without anyone but Fairy Tail getting upset with him, so I know that the old Natsu is still in there even if he won't admit to it himself." shouted Meredy so that everyone would hear her.
"Very good point Meredy." said Master Makarov with a small grin.
"Just because Salamander didn't kill you all doesn't mean that Natsu is still in there." said Gildarts with a big grin.
"Dad can you please just keep quite?" asked Cana with a glare.
"Sorry honey but I can't do that. I just want make sure that no one here gets their hopes higher than they should when we have no right to since we all left him there at Rising Tide." said Gildarts while taking another swig from his bottle.
"That wasn't our fault Gildarts, we were still looking for him." said Erza while glaring at the man.
"Wasn't our fault Erza, how is it not our fault when we only looked for him half assed? We all know that Natsu would have literally looked for any of us until he either found us or died trying, but we didn't even do a tenth of what he would have done by himself." replied Gildarts taking a big drink from his bottle, while the rest of Fairy Tail hung their heads in shame.
"I was actually thinking of something else last night while I was trying to drink myself to death. I can almost guarantee you that Natsu actually hates all of us right now and in my opinion he should because just as I said before. We did jack shit for him when he needed us to save him like he's done countless times for this guild, but no we were all happily going about our own business as if everything was normal. And because of that he had to watch subject 8 die right in front of him, which as you guys like to say, is the reason that he's the Salamander. But I think that you are all wrong about that, Natsu is now the Salamander because he now knows that he is completely on his own because he sure as hell can't count for us to ever save him." ranted Gildarts wanting to get everything that he thought about off his chest from last night. All of Fairy Tail that was present felt like shit after hearing what Gildarts said and couldn't help but think that he was actually right and it was their fault that Natsu was now the Salamander.
"Gildarts, you know that Natsu would be the very first person to tell us that it wasn't our fault." stated Makarov.
"Yes I do Master, Natsu was the best of us here at Fairy Tail in every way and look at what that got him. Four years of torture while we did what we always do, oh and if you haven't heard Natsu is gone and all we have now is the Salamander." said Gildarts as he polished off his bottle only to grab another one.
"Dad you've had enough and that is coming from me." said Cana with a big frown.
"Didn't you hear me Cana; I am trying to kill myself by drinking myself stupid. But somehow all it's doing is making me see things clearly and how terrible of a guild we actually are when we just gave up on trying to find one of our members who just randomly disappeared." said Gildarts as he took the cork out of the bottle and started to drink, leaving everyone else speechless after hearing everything that he said and remained that way until Cobra recovered.
"Leave subject 8 alone if you know what's good for you." said Cobra with a glare directed at all of Fairy Tail.
"Why would we do that when we are so close to figuring out who she was?" asked Lucy with a glare directed right back at Cobra.
"Because I know who she is and how much Salamander cared about her, Salamander might have seemed fine to the members of Rising Tide but that was all a lie. He was extremely close to breaking but luckily for him they brought her in and it was what allowed him to keep going for the next year. Salamander's sole purpose was to get her out of that hell hole alive, but he failed at that." said Cobra with a huge frown.
"All the more reason as to why we should figure out who she is." stated Lucy still glaring at the dragon slayer.
"Fine, if you want to face the Salamander's wrath for poking your nose where it doesn't belong go right ahead, but remember that I warned you." replied Cobra as he shook his head.
"Did you learn anything else Cobra?" asked Jellal not wanting there to be any tension between the groups.
"A bit more of what he went through while there but this time it was centered on subject 8 and there conversations between each other. And also when they were torturing her just to get at Salamander which is why he has a true hatred for all dark mages, we are all lucky to still be alive." replied Cobra with a frown.
"What did they say to each other?" asked Meredy.
"A lot of things, but the one that was in Salamander's mind the most important was his promise to her and their last moments together before he actually became the Salamander that we have right now." said Cobra.
"What was his promise?" asked Lucy who had a good idea of what it was since Natsu was the one to make it.
"One that Natsu has made countless of times and has always succeeded with doing and that was simply getting her out of there alive. But as you already know he failed and that is when he activated dragon force, and broke out and went on a rampage." said Cobra as he took a seat since he was tired of standing.
"Natsu can activate dragon force now?" asked Erza and a few people from the search parties that just returned.
"Yes he can and since it looks like everyone is now here I will tell you all, everything that happened yesterday." said Jellal. After an hour he finished telling them everything that happened with the help of his fellow members.
"Shit I was really hoping that it wasn't an actual death dragon's lacrima." mumbled Gajeel with an angry expression.
"It looks like Rising Tide was correct on him being able to use all forms of slayer magic that he absorbs." said Levy with a frown.
"So how in the world do you guys know so much about what happened to him?" asked Jellal.
"That would be because we have copies of all the evidence that the Council has on Rising Tide, if you want you can look through it." said Master Makarov.
"I think I will take up your offer on that Master Makarov but after we deal with the biggest issue here. And that is all the info that I gave Salamander and what he's going to do with it." said Jellal.
"What issue Mr. Jellal who should count his blessings that he's still alive after meeting the Salamander when he's a dark mage. Natsu is going to hunt down every dark mage you have info on and then kill them, not really a problem if you ask me." said Gildarts with a huge grin on his drunk face.
"How are you fine with that? There are better ways of dealing with dark mages and Natsu was the one that taught my whole guild that." asked Jellal in disbelief that Gildarts seemed completely fine with people dying.
"Because look where that got him Jellal, four fucking years of torture that absolutely no one should be put through. Maybe if he would have started this sooner those goddam Rising Tide mages wouldn't have messed with him and made him into the perfect killing machine who god only knows how many types of slaying magic he has under his belt now." replied Gildarts still having a drunken grin spread across his face.
"Dad you don't believe that." stated Cana with a big frown.
"Sorry Cana but I definitely do now after hearing all that Natsu had to go through. Those fuckers at Rising Tide didn't even have the decency to kill him, they just kept on torturing him until he completely gave up on what used to make him Natsu." said Gildarts losing his smile that turned into a frown, as all there were shocked to hear that Gildarts said that it would have been better if Natsu had died.
"You don't mean that Gildarts." stated Mira who was about to cry.
"Yes I do Mira, just look at what's happened to Fairy Tail because of what happened to Natsu. I am confident that Natsu would have probably have preferred to die if he knew how much it would hurt for us to see what he's become. The Salamander is nothing like Natsu because he's completely driven by revenge while Natsu would have never done that he was far too forgiving and kind. I also just thought of something, how in the world did Natsu of all people ever get captured?" asked Gildarts as he looked at everyone else in the guild who all had no idea how it happened.
"AHAHAHAH oh that is so rich we still don't even know how one of our strongest members was captured. Well I can tell you exactly why it happened with one hundred percent certainty." said Gildarts who was clearly not handling any of this well.
"And how would you know that Gildarts?" asked Master Makarov with a frown.
"Because of who Natsu was Master, so it is actually pretty obvious how someone would go about capturing one of our best fighters. All they needed to do was threaten the life of a few innocent civilians, maybe have one there with them to show that they were serious and Natsu would willingly surrender himself to them as long as the civilians were let go. Natsu also probably thought that he wouldn't have to wait long for us to come to his rescue but boy was he wrong on that one, so once again he got completely screwed because of caring too much." explained Gildarts who started to chuckle at the end sounding now completely broken as Cana hugged him trying to get him to calm down.
"Shit that is definitely the only way Salamander would have disappeared without making a huge scene." stated Gajeel who felt like a complete idiot for not seeing it sooner.
"How could none of us think of that?" asked Levy thinking along the same lines of Gajeel.
"Because we were all thinking about the future and what we could do to help Natsu." said Master Makarov.
"Well if that is the case then we need to hurry up and figure out something soon because I have a feeling that Salamander is going to be attacking the Council next." stated Jellal with a frown.
"Why would he do a thing like that?" asked Grey.
"Because I have suspected that one of them is a dark mage, like I was when I was a part of the Council. But I haven't been able to prove anything yet; I did notice Salamander's grin grew bigger when I started to write that stuff down. So I was thinking that he already had his suspicions about them and I only helped confirm something for him." explained Jellal.
"But if you don't have any proof then Natsu won't do anything to the dark mage, since that is what he's been doing for all of the Council employees so far." stated Lucy.
"That's true but we really don't know if that is ever going to change. If it does stay the same I am going to assume that we have less than three days to figure out what he's going to do and stop him." replied Jellal.
"I say we let him do it." said Laxus with a completely serious face.
"You can't be serious Laxus, we just learned that Natsu is going to kill a member of the actual Council and you're fine with it?" asked Erza.
"That I am Erza, because most of the things Gildarts said were true and besides he's only going to be killing a dark mage that has been probably helping so many other dark mages get away with their crimes." answered Laxus with a slight grin.
"There is no way that the Council will allow something like that to happen and not punish Natsu." said Erza.
"They actually won't be able to do anything since they are completely supporting Natsu and his crusade to rid Fiore of all dark mages. This would include him getting rid of dark mages that have gotten all the way to the top of their organization, and from what I have seen so far. Natsu has been using his brain a lot more than he used to which is really sad since it is completely focused on killing, but hey at least he's only killing dark mages." explained Laxus still grinning.
"Well I for one am not going to let him do that." stated Erza as a few others nodded at her statement.
"You're free to try and stop him but I really don't think you'll like what happens when you do that. I for one am just going to let Natsu keep doing what he's doing, but I will try to talk with him and bring him back to Fairy Tail." replied Laxus as a few others agreed with him while most decided that they would just stay out of this.
"Nothing bad is going to happen Laxus if we stop Natsu, it's probably what he's waiting for us to do." stated Erza.
"I really doubt that Titania and I would advise you to never get in between a dragon and its prey. It never goes well for whatever got in the way, and like Gildarts said earlier we still don't know how many different types of slayer magic Salamander has now so he's going to be hard to stop." stated Gajeel who agreed with Laxus on just letting Natsu do what he wants while just trying to bring him back and nothing more.
"Natsu did say that he had loads of secrets that he's yet to show the world." said Meredy.
"Not to mention that he might have four more dragon lacrimas that he's done who knows what with." said Levy as she recalled seeing a photo of a stand that held five of them but they were all missing.
"Shit I completely forgot about those." said Grey who you could tell was not happy with this situation at all.
"Enough everybody since it looks like we are not completely of one mind on this; I will decide what we're going to do. And for this I think that it is our duty to prevent him from killing a Council member so let's start coming up with a plan on how to stop Natsu and bring him back to us." declared Master Makarov.
"Gramps I think that you are making a big mistake here, what if he kills one of us because we got in his way?" asked Laxus.
"Natsu would never do that, and I can't believe that you would think that he would do such thing." said Erza with a glare.
"You all keep forgetting that we are not dealing with Natsu here, we're dealing with the Salamander and he doesn't mess around." stated Laxus.
"But he wouldn't go that far Laxus, I mean he didn't kill any of Crime Sorciere and they are still dark mages." pointed out Grey.
"True Stripper but what's to stop Salamander from taking away your magic so you can never get in his way again." pointed out Gajeel with a frown.
"I believe that there is still enough of Natsu in there that he wouldn't do that to any of his family and friends." said Master Makarov.
"You're all idiots for trying to stop him and this will be your second biggest mistake as Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov, and I will have absolutely nothing to do with this." said Gildarts as he got up and walked straight through a wall that crumbled from his magic and continued on.
"I have to agree with Gildarts on this one." said Laxus with a frown.
"If that is how you feel then you are free to leave Laxus and so is anyone else who's uncomfortable with doing this." said Master Makarov and watched as a lot of members leave. But surprisingly most of the people that were completely against it were still there.
"Don't get our intentions wrong here Gramps, we're only here so that once you guys mess up we can make sure that we don't lose more members to Rising Tide then we already have. So we'll be your support but we are not going to help at all with whatever you come up with to try and stop the Salamander." stated Laxus as his group of members nodded their heads in agreement, which consisted of Wendy, Mira, Gajeel, Levy, Lucy, the Exceeds, and the Thunder God Tribe of course.
"I am fine with that but hopefully we won't need you then." stated Master Makarov with a frown.
"I hope that you are right Gramps for everyone's sake." said Laxus as they then started to work on their plan on preventing Natsu from killing a Council member with the help of Crime Sorciere.
Two days later at the Council's Headquarters:
"You would think that after what I did last time that they would be prepared for something like this again." said a figure in the shadows with a devious smirk.
"But I guess I shouldn't complain since it's going to be just as much fun for me this time." said the figure as he made his way towards the main building going unseen by all of the people there.
Inside of the Council Chamber:
"Well it looks like we've discussed everything that we had planned to cover for today without Councilman Fujimoto demanding the death of the Salamander." stated the Chairman with a grin.
"That is because I realized that I was wrong on that Chairman." replied Fujimoto with a grin.
"Oh I am really surprised to hear that from you Councilman Fujimoto, you usually stick to your opinions no matter what anyone else says." stated the Chairman with a suspicious look.
"I have decided that I should be a little more open." said Fujimoto still grinning when they heard loud explosions going off all throughout the building.
"What in the world is going on?" asked a Councilwoman with slight fear in her eyes.
"I have no idea, but don't fear, this room is protected with the best wards that we have." stated the Chairman as he looked at the only doors into the room. They all saw seals start forming on the walls and doors and instantly felt relief that all of the wards were activated, but it quickly turned to dread as they all shattered meaning that the room was just like any other room.
The explosions were still going off all throughout the building causing the whole thing to shake and feel like it could come down any second. And just as they were about to leave the door exploded leaving nothing but a hole in the wall where it once stood.
"Man does this bring back fond memories of the last time I came here." said a figure standing in the smoke caused by the explosion.
"Who's there?" asked the Chairman but rather than the figure answering a huge explosion went off in between all of the Council members, sending them all across the room in every direction.
"Can't you idiots tell by my attacks, I mean they were the ones that destroyed the previous Council." said Jackal as he emerged from the smoke.
"How are you here, I thought Fairy Tail wiped all of Tartaros out?" asked the Chairman who was the only one not scared shitless right now.
"Oh they did but that guild didn't kill all of us and thanks to that we are a newer and better than the old Tartaros." said Jackal with a huge grin as he caused another round of explosions to go off and hit each of the Council members.
"Why are you doing this Jackal?" asked Fujimoto as he tried to get up.
"Because it's fun to watch you humans, always think that you know what's going on. And always trying to get the upper hand by betraying your own kind, it's better than any movie that I've ever seen." replied Jackal still grinning at all of them.
"No Jackal, I am asking why you're doing this to me?" asked Fujimoto in between coughs.
"Like I said before it's fun and I always was going to do this to you." replied Jackal as a face of realization came over Fujimoto that then turned to one of anger.
"What are you talking about Councilman Fujimoto?" asked the Chairman who didn't actually look like he was in too bad of shape compared to Fujimoto and a few of the other Council members.
"Come on Chairman I am pretty sure that you can figure it out and if you can't I'll give you five minutes to come up with an answer while I deal with this scum once and for all." said a man in a black clock that appeared in between Jackal and the Council members.
"You actually think that you can actually defeat me?" asked Jackal with a bigger grin before.
"Why couldn't I Jackal, I have already done that before when I was way weaker." said the man who then appeared in front of Jackal and started to punch at him for a good minute and then pulled back.
"You are just as stupid as every other human that I have come across, now prepare to die!" shouted Jackal as his curse came into effect and there was an explosion but it was nowhere as big as Jackal expected. When the smoke cleared the cloaked figure was standing there as if nothing happened to him and continued to stare at Jackal with his now red eyes.
"How is that possible, you shouldn't be alive right now, the only person who ever survived that was…" said Jackal as his expression turned to one of complete horror.
"Looks like you remembered me Jackal, and as you just saw I don't even have to eat your explosions anymore. And after letting that attack hit me you are never going to have a single curse take effect on me ever again, if you don't believe me I'll let you hit me as much as you want." said the figure with a big grin.
"You're so going to regret that Natsu!" shouted Jackal as he launched himself at Natsu and started to punch him over and over again.
"Did he just call that stranger Natsu?" asked a Councilman.
"He definitely did, but the only Natsu that I know is the Salamander." stated a different Councilman who was dusting himself off and then started to work on protective wards for himself and a few of the other members that he liked.
"The Salamander is here, but why on earth would he be here now?" asked a Councilwoman who was also getting ready to fight if needed.
"Isn't it obvious, he's working with Tartaros now." answered Councilman Fujimoto.
"Which is why they are battling each other, sorry but that is one of the dumbest things you have ever said Fujimoto." said a different Councilman than the previous two, just as Jackal stopped his assault and jumped back waiting for an explosion that never came.
"How is that even possible Natsu, you should have been affected by my curse?" shouted Jackal.
"Simple Jackal I am now stronger than you'll ever be, since your existence will be wiped for the face of the world shortly. But I think I am going to have to hear about this new Tartaros that you were talking to the Council about as I arrived." said Salamander with a big grin.
"You mean you didn't even know that I was going to be here?" asked Jackal in complete disbelief.
"Nope, it was just a coincidence that saved all the lives of the Council except for one that is." replied Salamander with a bigger grin than before.
"Well it looks like I shouldn't screw around since you seem to be serious Natsu." said Jackal as he entered his Etherious Form.
"I was hoping that you had a new trick Jackal this is going to be really boring." said the Salamander as he let out a long sigh.
"We'll see about that Natsu!" shouted Jackal as he appeared next to Salamander and threw a punch at him, but was stopped by one hand from the Salamander whose grin turned into one of a crazy man.
"Haven't you heard the news Jackal, Natsu Dragneel died thanks to a dark guild and all that remains is the Salamander. And now you are going to see why you are nothing compared to the might of a dragon." said Salamander as he unleashed his magic causing everyone in his general vicinity to fall to their knees.
"But how do you have so much power?" asked Jackal while on his knees trying to overcome the raw power right before him.
"I would tell you Jackal but that would be pointless since you are never going to hurt another soul." replied Salamander as Jackal's right arm started to shrivel up as Salamander let go of it.
"What's happening to my arm?" asked Jackal as he looked at it as it kept getting smaller and smaller.
"Oh that is just one of my new magic types, so how does it feel Jackal to know that you are going to die soon?" asked Salamander as he slowly walked towards Jackal.
"That's not going to happen Natsu!" shouted Jackal as he took off and ran, but before he was even ten meters away his face came into contact with a fist covered in black and red flames that were enhanced by something else making them stronger. While at the same time being shocked by black lightning that was going all over Salamander as he punched Jackal back down to the ground.
"Tsk tsk, Jackal did you really think that I would let you get away that easy? Oh and look your arm is now completely gone, so let's get started with another one but this time I think I want to burn it off. That is unless you want to give me all of the information that you have on your guild, if you do that then I will give you a peaceful death which is way more than you deserve." said Salamander as he landed in front of Jackal who was freaking out that his right arm was completely gone.
"How did he do that?" asked a Councilwoman.
"Which part?" asked back a Councilman.
"Any of it." said the Councilwoman.
"No idea at all." replied the Councilman
"Come on Jackal I don't have all day here." stated Salamander as he coated himself in fire and lightning with wind circling around him that was slightly black like the lightning and some of the flames. But there was also a hint of maroon gas whipping around with it.
"Like I would ever be afraid of someone like you Natsu!" shouted Jackal as he got up but was instantly brought back down as he let out a scream of pain. Standing with his foot smashing Jackal's face into the floor was the Salamander with a smirk on his face.
"I was really hoping that you would fight me since I really have been finding it really boring when I take someone's arm and they instantly give up hope. I mean where the hell is their will to survive, you could totally live a happy life with just one arm, actually you won't be able to Jackal because your time is done." said Natsu as he then sent a stream of red and black fire straight at Jackal's left leg and started to burn it. This caused Jackal to scream out in pain with his face still smashed into floor as his leg was getting reduced to nothing but ash.
"So Jackal are you going to be a good little dog and tell your new Master what he wants or is he going to have to punish you again?" asked Salamander with a huge disturbing smile spread across his lips.
"Go to hell." replied Jackal who once again started to scream because of the immense pain that Natsu was causing him. But this time it was black lightning with the addition of the maroon mist going all over Jackal's body that was still underneath Salamander.
"I have already been there Jackal, which is why I am giving you a one way ticket there. So tell me about your guild Jackal, oh and you now have poison going all throughout your body. I am still not that good with that one since it's fairly new to me, which is why I decided to fry all of your nerves throughout the rest of your body so you can't move for a while." said Salamander with a proud smile on his face.
"HAHAHAHAHA you really are stupid Natsu now get ready to watch everyone in a two mile radius die because this time you don't have that cat to save you." replied Jackal as he started to glow while laughing like a madman.
"Oh you are going to do that self-destruct thing again. Dammit I was hoping that you would actually talk to me Jackal but whatever, just knowing that you guys exist is enough for me to hunt the rest of your members down and finish them off for good." said Salamander as he picked up Jackal by his neck and held him in the air.
"HAHAHAHA they are just going to put me back together like they did last time Natsu, and then we'll be ready for our next meeting." laughed Jackal as he got brighter.
"It seems like you don't understand Jackal, when I kill something that thing doesn't ever come back since there is nothing left of them." said Salamander as he released some of his magic causing Jackal to slowly stop glowing.
"What the hell are you doing?" asked Jackal as he started to freak out.
"Like I told you earlier Jackal, I am killing you in a way that you will never come back to this world. So if hell really exists I will be sending all of your friends to stay with you." said Salamander as Jackal started to look like he was shriveling up.
"You don't mean that you're actually…" said Jackal who was really scared now.
"Oh yes I do Jackal and it is all thanks to your friend over there, the one that you were obviously going to kill after he took down the wards guarding their meeting." said Salamander with a devious grin.
"You fucking idiot Fujimoto, I thought that we had a deal!" shouted Jackal causing all of the Council members to stare at Fujimoto.
"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Fujimoto as he started to look nervous.
"Why the fuck would you ask Tartaros to kill the council if you had a monster like this in your back pocket?" shouted Jackal as he was back to his normal form.
"Oh Jackal I am not actually in his back pocket, Fujimoto has been trying to get the Council to kill me after I escaped from Rising Tide since he knew all about what they've been doing for the last few years. He was actually once a member of that guild and because of that he was afraid that I would figure out what he truly is." said Salamander with a huge grin.
"What, that he's a dark mage?" asked Jackal who felt like his insides were burning but still couldn't move since Salamander paralyzed him.
"Bingo Jackal, but like I said before it's all thanks to Fujimoto that you are going to die so is there anything else that I should know about Fujimoto? That might be evidence of him being a dark mage, I already have enough to prove it but it never hurts to have extra." said Salamander with a big grin.
"Check my right pocket and in there is the contract that he signed to have Tartaros kill the whole Council except for him." said Jackal with a big grin as he watched Fujimoto's eyes widen in horror at hearing what the two of them were talking about.
"Thanks Jackal, I think that was probably the only good thing that you have ever done in your life." said Salamander as he pulled the contract out of Jackal's pocket and then throwing him into the middle of the Council members.
"Does that mean you aren't going to kill me Natsu?" asked Jackal with a little bit of hope.
"AHAHAHAH oh my god Jackal, did you really think that I wasn't going to kill you if you only gave me something that I didn't even need since I already have enough proof of Fujimoto being a dark mage? Don't answer that Jackal, oh and you forgot that I am not Natsu anymore." said the Salamander as he snapped his fingers and all of the Council watched as Jackal let out another scream and then watched as he looked like he might have been burnt from the inside out and then turned into ash.
"Natsu!" shouted a group of people that showed up just in time to see him turn Jackal to nothing but ashes.
"Why hello Fairy Tail, did you come here to watch me kill Fujimoto?" asked Salamander as he looked over his shoulder at them. All of the Fairy Tail mages were caught off guard by his red eyes and the evil grin that was spread across Natsu's face that was still hidden by his hood.
"You hear that Chairman, he's going to try and kill me!" shouted Fujimoto.
"Yes I did Fujimoto, and if what Jackal and Salamander were saying earlier is true I am actually going to enjoy watching this." replied the Chairman shocking all of Fairy Tail and most of the Council.
"I think that I might actually like you Chairman as long as you stay out of my way." said Salamander as he tossed the contract and a few other things like notes and pictures that he pulled out of one of his pouches on his belt. The Chairman instantly started to read them and once he was done reading them he passed them onto the next Council member. While this was happening Fairy Tail was having a few words with the Salamander.
"Natsu you don't need to do this." stated Erza.
"Oh but I do, it was all because of Fujimoto that I went through all of that for four years!" shouted Salamander as his magic flared up.
"Natsu you need to calm down we're your family and are here to help you." said Makarov.
"I don't need anyone's help and my name isn't Natsu, it's Salamander!" shouted the Salamander as his magic spiked higher just from being around Fairy Tail mages.
"You're always going to be Natsu to all of us and you know that what you're doing is wrong Natsu." stated Makarov with a gentle smile.
"Shut up you have no idea what I went through because of that man, but I did learn a lesson. And it was what Igneel taught me when I was really young and never really wanted to believe was true, and that was this world is a kill or be killed world. So what I have been doing recently is the law of this world so I am not wrong." said Salamander no longer yelling but still really loud while still letting his magic out.
"Come on Flame Brain we're concerned about you and want you to come back with us. So quit being a psycho killer and come back with us to Fairy Tail." shouted Grey thinking that tough love was maybe the way to deal with Natsu right now.
"HAHAHAHA concerned about me you say, then where the hell were you when I needed you the most. More importantly where were you when she needed you to come and save her because I wasn't strong enough. I'll tell you where you all were and that was at Fairy Tail doing absolutely nothing that could have helped me or her and Fujimoto if you take one more step I will kill you even if it makes me a dark mage like you. Because I know that you are guilty of terrible acts and it will soon be made public so I really don't give a shit!" shouted Salamander ready to burn the man alive.
"Natsu we won't let you do that!" declared Erza as she switched into her purgatory armor.
"HAHAHA you won't let me that is just rich, not even with everyone here could you hope to stop me before I snap that man's neck." laughed the Salamander in a creepy manner.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that Natsu." replied Erza with a smirk.
"Oh so I see that he and his merry band of misfits decided to stop by Fairy Tail after I said hello to them. I can only assume that they are nearby not wanting to be seen with you guys since that would look bad. Even if they are here you still won't be able to stop me, especially since so many of your strong mages seem like they are only here as support." said the Salamander as he smirked at Fairy Tail. This caused a few of them to start wondering how he knew that since they were all there together and haven't told another soul about their plan.
"Even if that was true Natsu, you know that Fairy Tail always accomplishes its goal." replied Erza who was surprisingly calm.
"Unless that goal is find Natsu before he dies which you all failed at and I am starting to think that I was the only reason that Fairy Tail actually finished anything. But none of that matters since I have a feeling that the Chairman is going to actually allow me to kill that thing that isn't even worth calling a human." replied Salamander with a big grin.
"Even if he does Natsu that doesn't mean we're going to let you!" stated Makarov.
"The names Salamander and I am thinking that I might have to do something so that you will all understand that Natsu is dead. He died with her at Rising Tide when all of you were living your lives as if everything was fine while we were being tortured each day for their pleasure and nothing else!" shouted Salamander as his magic once again shot up.
"Natsu we know what you went through and want to help you, which is why we're all here." said Erza with a serious face.
"That is the last time I want to hear that name come from anyone's mouth otherwise there will be consequences. And if you fucking know what I went through then way the hell are you getting in my way, did you all become idiots while I was gone along with no longer caring about your members like family?" shouted Salamander as all of his elements that he showed earlier started to swirl around his body.
"Salamander we know that we messed up and should have looked for you harder and we are always going to regret that be sorry about it. But we are here now and just want to help you, and I know that the old you is still in there somewhere waiting for us to bring him back out. And the first step for that is to get you to stop killing people even if they are dark mages. And we still treat each other like family and will do the same to you when you come back to us." explained Master Makarov.
"Why the hell would I go back to that guild, which couldn't help me when I needed it the most. You can keep believing that the old me is still in here but that is wrong, like I have said before he died when he learned that there was no one else in the world that he could depend on after she died before him. As for not killing people, I don't think that I am right now, I am only killing other monsters out there that the only solution for them is death." said the Salamander as he glared at Fairy Tail still having all of his elements going around him.
"What kind of sick logic is that Natsu?" asked Grey who was then hit in the face by the Salamander's fist sending him through a few walls and then out of sight.
"I fucking warned you guys to not use that name around me!" shouted Salamander as his magic spiked even higher and the members of Fairy Tail had to back away from him, even Erza who was trying to attack him for what he just did but couldn't because of the magic that he was giving off.
"Oh and if you try to attack me again I will be forced to defend myself which could result in some injuries that won't heal." said Salamander as he grinned at them and then walked back towards Fujimoto who looked like he had a mental break down.
"Salamander stop, we already said that we won't let you kill that man!" shouted Erza.
"If you get in my way then I will be forced to kill you." replied Salamander with a grin.
"So you are willing to become what you despise just to kill Fujimoto? Because if you do kill any of us that is what you'll become Salamander." stated Master Makarov with a frown.
"You guys seem pretty determined to stop me, I only wished that you put this much effort into trying to find me all of those years ago. If you had then she would have still been alive, but I guess you do make a good point there. So rather than killing whoever gets in my way I'll just take away their magic, and I am sure that you've all heard about me being able to do that. Oh and if any of your friends do show up I will kill them on sight like I apparently should have done last time." replied Salamander with a big grin.
"How could you do something like that to your family Salamander?" asked Erza who couldn't believe that Natsu just threatened to kill them if they got in his way but decided to just take away their magic permanently.
"Because I am not the old me, and none of you are my family because a family would have continued to look for one of its lost members. But that isn't what you guys did, no you for some reason you all thought that I just went on a training trip without telling anyone about it!" shouted Salamander.
"We didn't stop looking for you." replied Erza with a frown.
"Oh my bad, looking around for me once a month is so helpful. I mean I really appreciated that when I was getting attacked by magical weapons so that they could learn how effective they were!" shouted Salamander.
"Salamander, you have brought us enough proof to show that Fujimoto is indeed a dark mage. Meaning that you are free to apprehend him if you should chose so, but Master Makarov is correct that you can't kill any of his mages even if they get in your way." interrupted the Chairman with a big grin.
"What about taking away their magic Chairman, will that get me labeled as a dark mage?" asked Salamander with a grin as he stared at Fujimoto like he was a nice piece of steak.
"Since the Council still doesn't know if you can even do that, we will not label you as a dark mage if you do so. And if you do indeed have that ability then we still won't classify you as a dark mage if you only do it to dark mages after today." answered the Chairman with a big grin.
"Yep, its official Chairman I think I like you. We both seem to understand that these dark mages need to be gotten rid of permanently." said Salamander with a big grin.
"Chairman you can't be serious, we both know that Salamander can actually take away the magic from a mage. You even have video proof of that with the first person that he did it to, so why are you willing to let him do that to my members?" asked an angry Master Makarov.
"Because we still don't know how he does it Master Makarov and besides he was your member at one point. And if you really don't want any of your members no longer being mages than just sit back and let the Salamander do what he does best." replied the Chairman with a very happy smile on his face.
"Chairman you can't let that monster get to me, I have valuable information on dark guilds which I will give you if you save me from that thing." begged Fujimoto.
"Sorry Fujimoto, but from what I just read and heard you are actually responsible for that thing. Also Salamander just saved all of the lives of the Council from your attempt at getting rid of us, so as a thank you we're going to let him have fun with you Fujimoto. And I believe that he will be able to get all of that information from you while also making quite the show of it." replied the Chairman who was a little upset that Fujimoto tried to get him killed.
"Oh I will Chairman because I picked up a few things while I was at Rising Tide. Oh and Fujimoto the things that they did there are going to look like child's play with what I am going to do with you." said Salamander with a huge smile on his face.
"Salamander we already told you that we aren't going to let you kill him!" shouted Erza with a glare directed at the Salamander.
"I am thinking that I might have to tell the Chairman here about who's hiding in the shadows around this place if you don't stop trying to get in my way of killing that thing." said Salamander with a growl.
"And they will be ready for something like that." replied Erza.
"But will they be ready for when I hunt them down and before I finish each of them off I will tell them that it's because of you guys not letting me kill Fujimoto. When it is what he deserves, actually I am wrong he deserves to be tortured for a few years but I simply don't have the time for that when there are so many dark guilds to still destroy." said Salamander.
"We are still going to stop you Salamander." replied Erza with a grin.
"Well it looks like I might have fallen into one of your traps if I had to judge from your facial expression. So this is my last warning Fairy Tail, get out of my way otherwise feel my wrath and that goes for the whole guild." said Natsu with a big grin.
"Even the people that are only here to support us?" asked Makarov.
"If they are at all helping you guys stopping me from getting to Fujimoto then they will be seen as my enemy." said Natsu as he walked forward and ran into a barrier.
"Looks like Freed or Levy are going to be losing their magic soon if I am not let out of here." stated Natsu with a grin.
"Why them, and there is no way that you can get out of there Natsu?" asked Erza whose mouth dropped open as Natsu shattered the barrier and glared at her.
"Because they are the only ones that could even come close to making a barrier that might hold me, so if they want to keep their magic they are going to deactivate all of the other barriers around me. And since I am really excited to kill Fujimoto, I am going to let you get away with calling me that name for the absolute last time." said Salamander as he glared at all of Fairy Tail.
End of Chapter
Author's Notes:
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am always glad to hear what you thought about it so feel free to leave me a review.
Until the next Chapter
Digem Out!
