AUTHOR'S NOTE:
YamadaHikari: If you found my previous chapter short, I have been working hard on a longer chapter this time! Once again, thank you Ziaw for helping me with this chapter! Also, just so that you know, I do read your reviews and reply by PM, so do review!

DISCLAIMER:
Lucy: YamadaHikari does not own Fairy Tail!

Happy: Enjoy the story! Please review!


Chapter 7: The Encounter

Natsu looked at the gushing river below him. He was going to fall; there was no denying it. The bridge swayed even more as Natsu heard the snapping of ropes of the bridge. More pieces of wood fell into the river. The dragon slayer gulped. There was no way he could run back to the end he came from in time. He looked around, hoping he could think of a plan. There had to be a way for him to survive somehow, right?

Unfortunately, it was a race against time.

SNAP! Natsu had trouble balancing himself. He grabbed onto the ropes of the bridge but it was no use. The bridge was breaking. The wooden planks were dropping. Natsu slipped, falling. He grabbed onto the end of the bridge hoping for some sort of support. However, the bridge was already just hanging from the secure end that Natsu came from. It kept swinging back and forth, making the dragon slayer dizzy.

Things were definitely not going Natsu's way. A loud "SNAP!" concluded Natsu's fate. He really was falling now. Natsu shut his eyes, unsure of what to do.

"I'm falling," was all he could murmur before he crashed into the gushing river.

The river was deeper than Natsu thought. Something seemed to pull him in, deeper into the water, and Natsu struggled to keep afloat. Nevertheless, it was tiresome. He could not keep up any longer.

"Help!" he called, looking around frantically. "Anyone here?"

Someone appeared to have heard his call. "Natsu Dragneel," said a voice.

Natsu turned to see a young man with black hair and a black cloak standing on a mossy rock nearby. It wasn't Cloak Boy. It was a man Natsu hadn't seen before.

"How do you know my name?" Natsu asked. "Who are you? Wait, please help me first!" he swallowed water as he tried to speak and keeping himself afloat.

The black-haired man ignored the dragon slayer's questions and pleas for help. "Natsu Dragneel. I have been hoping to meet you, but now is not the time. You are not ready."

"What?" Natsu asked, puzzled.

The man turned away from him and jumped to another mossy rock. "You are not ready," he repeated softly, with an ominous hint in his tone.

"Wait!" Natsu cried out. "Please don't leave! Help me!"

Unfortunately, he was ignored of his plight. The black-haired man had left the river after jumping from rock to rock. Natsu struggled to keep afloat. He was exhausted, and the mysterious man was gone. He pondered about what the man was talking about. But there was no time to worry about that. He had to get out of the river first. Although Natsu could swim, the current was threatening to pull him away. "Think, Natsu, think!" he exclaimed. He was a dragon slayer, so how could he not be able to get out of here? He stared at the mossy rocks the mysterious man had used as a path. If he could reach the rocks, he should be able to get out of the river.

"Flaming Fists of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu shouted. He positioned his fists behind him, using his magic to propel himself towards the mossy rocks. To Natsu's delight, it worked. He grabbed hold of the nearest mossy rock, and was about to pull himself up when he noticed something was wrong. The rock had eyes. It was a pair of dark green eyes that looked hollow and empty, as if staring into space. Natsu shook his head, thinking that his eyes were just playing tricks on him.

"It's just a rock," he told himself. "Rocks don't have eyes." He blinked and looked at the rock again. There really were eyes. "Again?" Natsu groaned inwardly. It was the second time a rock in this world wasn't a rock. He was prepared to be thrown off the creature or something, but the creature didn't even move.

Strange, Natsu thought. He stared at the eyes again. With a jolt, he understood what the emptiness of the eyes meant. The creature was... dead. Natsu stared at the other rocks. They were probably dead creatures too. Did the mysterious man know that when he used them as a path? A chill went down his spine. He was holding onto a dead creature! Natsu hastily released his grip on the creature, splashing into the water. A strange force was trying to pull him deeper into the river again.

"Flaming Fists of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu shouted, this time positioning his fists below him. He shot out of the water, landing on the other side of the river bank. I should have done this from the start, Natsu thought.


In Fairy Tail, Levy was searching for a way to help Natsu. She scanned through the thick book quickly, looking for clues.

"Can you find anything, Levy-chan?" Lucy asked worriedly.

"Not yet," Levy replied sadly, not looking up from the page she was reading. Then she saw it. "Everyone!" she called. "I found it!"

All the Fairy Tail guild members that were present gathered around the petite blue-haired wizard excitedly.

"Levy, what did you find out?" Master Makarov asked.

"I'm not sure it will work, but this is the best I could find. The only way we can communicate with Natsu is by sending him a message. He may or may not receive it, but it's worth a try." Levy said.

"How do we send him a message?" Erza asked.

"By 'sending a message', the book actually means trying to talk to Natsu," Levy explained. "One person has to put his or her hand on the mirror and focus on wanting to talk to Natsu. Then he or she has 1 minute to talk to Natsu."

"Will we be able to hear Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not sure," Levy admitted. "Most likely Natsu can hear us, but we can't hear him. It might take a different method for him to talk to us."

"But what are we going to tell Natsu? We don't know how to help him." Cana pointed out.

Master Makarov looked grim. "No matter what, we should try it. It's the only way we can communicate with Natsu."

"We can tell Natsu about finding the village chief's son," Erza suggested. "Perhaps Natsu can complete that for me."

"Can Flamebrain really complete that? It's an extra S-Class request." Gray muttered to himself. Unfortunately for him, Erza heard that and shot him a deadly glare.

"We should all believe in Natsu," Erza told him firmly, and Gray nodded meekly.

"I think that's a good idea. Erza, would you like to send the message to Natsu?" Master said.

"Yes, Master," Erza replied, walking towards the mirror.


YamadaHikari: Hope you liked this chapter! Can anyone guess who's the mysterious man? Please review, they really motivate me! =)