Light
Chapter 8
Natsu sat in the cabin of his ship, waiting the few minutes it took in sub space travel that it took to get from Mercury to Earth. He took in the silence with peace as he watched the bright blue light of sub space travel illuminate everything in his cabin. He hoped his arrival back at the Vanguard would end quickly, the energy he had taken earlier from his trials finally dying down. He was tired, and wanted nothing more than to shower and sleep for several weeks. He thought of what all he would have to do in the Tower before that came about though, and the headache began to form behind his eyes at the awkward conversation he was doomed to have.
He didn't want to face Zavala.
He wasn't as angry at him as he had been previously, time and thought led him to a level of understanding, but he was still angered. He had listened to Zavala preach about the importance of the Vanguard and how every guardian in it was important, and then he turned around and treated him like some kind of bargaining chip. It infuriated him to think about it. That wasn't how comrades treated eachother. He had thought that all of the time he had spent with the Tian Master would have granted him some form of friendship, but it seems he was mistaken. He leaned back in his seat, sighing as he forced the thoughts from his mind lest his headache worsen. He felt as if he was about to nod off, but his ship suddenly lurching and several alarms blaring pulled him from the realm of bliss. He sat up quickly, typing several commands in to his console and forcing his ship out of sub space to see what the cause of distress was. His ship jumped out and Natsu noticed where he was approaching.
The Moon.
He looked to his console, seeing a broad message from the Vanguard. He typed in the answer command, and watched the message display itself on his console's screen.
'To any nearby members of the Vanguard! This is %*#$^!,' Natsu could only guess that there was some corruption to the message. 'And I am requesting emergency aid on the Moon, near the Cauldron. Coordinates are listed below!'
Natsu looked to the time stamp on the message, noting it was several hours old. He grunted as he punched in the new coordinates and began to steer his ship towards the new destination, figuring the Vanguard could wait a few more hours to recieve his report. 'Not like they knew I was coming anyway.' He thought to himself. He hadn't bothered to send advanced notice of his arrival, and could almost guarantee that the Sol Order had said nothing as well. He sighed as he began to approach the location of the distress call and slowed his ship. He held his breath as his ship quickly felw over the spot where the signal came from. Light began to encompass his vision, before everything became a blur. When his sense returned to him a second later as his feet landed on the surface of the Moon. He released his breath and drew his weapong before cautiously going towards the entrance to the cave system that held the Cauldron. He slowly walked down several narrow tunnels before the cave began to open, gray rock giving way to dense black mineral walls, seemingly all rounded with jagged adges sticking out at random points. He took notice of the large structure that was made of the strange material associated with the Hive. He looked at the towering cathedral of the Hive, noticing that as he stared up he could see starlight through the jagged opening in the ceiling of the cave. He began to approach the entrance of the building, only to suddenly jump away as a loud bang roared in to his senses and a large spike buried itself in to his shoulder. He landed behind an outcropping of rocks as several more shots rang out. He peeked over the outcropping, noticing a warlock standing, arm outstretched, with a jagged handcannon in his hand still smoking. He lie with his back against the stone as he heard a man's voice call out.
"You still alive, guardian?"
Natsu pondered for a moment on this person. He was just answering a distress call, and he'd been shot by the man he assumed had sent the blasted message. Leaning up a little, he brought his weapon to his chest and answered back.
"Depends."
"On?" The man's voice sounded amused.
"On if you're going to be a dick and shoot me again! This'll teach me to answer a distress call. I should've just left you here!"
Natsu heard a loud chuckle before the man spoke again.
"Alright alright! I'm standing down. Surprised you lived through that though, most enemies die after even getting grazed by the Thorn. So, you answered the call, huh?"
Natsu peeked over the corner, noticing that the man was standing with his arms crossed, his hand cannon nowhere in sight. Natsu stood up and slowly walked towards the man, stopping several feet away from him. The man walked forward the last few feet before grabbing the spike still sticking out of Natsu's shoulder, and yanked it out. Natsu began to curse loudly as he paced around before the wound began to sizzle, smoke coming up from it as he cauterized it. The man stared at Natsu as he stopped pacing and placed his hands on his knees and took several deep breaths. His head snapped up as he stared at the warlock.
"Hey how about a little warning before you do something like that, dick!"
The man began to chuckle as he held a hand out to Natsu.
"My apologies. It's been some time since I was around people, and even longer since it was on friendly terms."
Natsu stared at the hand for a moment before reaching his own hand out and grasping the man's, only to feel his eyes nearly roll in to the back of his head in pain as he felt the Darkness that the man seemed to be made of. He quickly tore his hand from the man's grasp and jumped back from him. He stood on guard as he began to circle around the warlock with his rifle drawn on the man's head, noticing that he raised both of his hands up and didn't even bother to face Natsu.
"Who are you? On another note, why the fuck are you so permeated with Darkness?" Natsu could only growl as the man laughed and faced him, lowering his arms in the process.
"I could ask you the same thing," His tone was amused, but Natsu felt something sinister behind it, like this man would snap at any second. "I felt quite a lot of Darkness in you as well, guardian. Not something I've ever seen in another guardian, the whole 'Wielder of Light' thing makes it almost impossible. So let's just calm down and talk like adults, why don't we?"
"Fine, but you still never answered my first question," Natsu answered as he lowered his weapon slightly. "What's your name?"
The man pondered for a moment before answering. "There was a name that I once went by, but I lost it in my rebirth. You know how it goes, being a guardian and all. I now go by Dredgen Yor, now who might you be?" The man met Natsu's gaze though Natsu couldn't see anything passed the man's darkly tinted visor on his helmet.
"My name is Natsu Dragneel, and I can't even tell you where I should begin to explain my relation to the Darkness. Why did you send the distress signal anyway? Everything seems fine here." Natsu had just now taken the time to look around, noticing that there was no present threat, aside from the man himself, that seemed to be anywhere nearby. Dredgen stared at him for several moments before answering.
"Ah yes. The signal... I... posted that because I require aid in scouting out a Hive temple nearby, and feel it urgent to the fight against the Hive to document it..." His answer seemed strange, but Natsu had to remember that this man had been isolated for quite some time and probably didn't have the best social etiquette. He nodded and motioned Dredgen to lead the way, which the warlock did, turning and walking deeper in to the complex structure. Natsu fell in line next to him.
Natsu never noticed the dead hunter against the far wall, several large spikes like what Natsu was hit with sticking out of his chest, nor did he notice the destroyed Ghost lying in the hunter's lap.
"So why are you so thick with Darkness that it hurt to touch you?" He winced at how blunt it sounded, but couldn't think of a better way to word it. Dredgen laughed, much to Natsu's relief, and answered his question.
"I have been out here for many years, studying the Hive for any ways to defeat the Darkness, and this is just a side effect of it. They aren't affected by Darkness, you see, and that leads me to believe that they also have a way to combat it. They show strange religious ceremonies, and pray to their god or king. I'm not sure who it is, as no clear name comes through. I can only translate small words. What of you?"
"Ah," Natsu began as they walked deeper in to the cave. "Well it all began with a fight..."
Several hours had passed, or at least that's what Natsu felt. The caves had no source of light, or several Hive lamps generated a weak yellow glow to illuminate areas. Dredgen assured him that he knew where they were going, but Natsu had seen him stop several times and mutter to himself, so his faith in the warlock was shaky at best. After having told the man of what had happened to him, Dredgen had spoken of how warlock training could help to fully delve in to his mind, and unlock his true mental potential. He said he would give Natsu some tips, and help to train him while they were down there. He assured Natsu that they wouldn't be too long, much to Natsu's relief. He wanted to go back to Tower, though the prospect of speaking to Zavala made him eager to follow Dredgen deeper in to the caves. He couldn't bring himself to hate the man, he understood why he did what he did, but it didn't mean he couldn't feel anger at the man.
Several mor hours passed before Dredgen suddnely lowered himself to a crawl, causing Natsu to drop down next to him and do the same. They both crawled on their hands and knees for several minutes, before Dredgen suddenly forced Natsu to lie down, quickly joing him as he peeked over a ledge. Natsu looked over as well, taking in the sight of several Acolytes kneeling around a spire made of the same black material that everything else from the Hive was made of. It pulsed with the green energy.
'Almost like a heartbeat' Natsu noted idly.
As they watched for several minutes, they both noticed a large door open up and a Wizard come floating in to the chamber. Natsu watched the decrepit figure as it floated around the kneeling Acolytes. He watched it begin to bellow out several prayers to a god king. Natsu felt a haze overtake him as the wizard continued to chant. He felt as if his head was surrounded by fog and the echoes rang through his entire body. He didn't feel himself stand, nor did he feel himself release his power. He didn't feel the power that came from the spire and connected to him. He didn't feel his now direct link to the Darkness.
Dredgen could only watch on in fascination at this guardian who could establish a direct connection with the spire. Natsu's power had incinerated the kneeling Acolytes and Wizard several minutes ago, and now Dredgen could only stand next to Natsu as he raised his hands up in to the air and bellowed out a single word.
"Oryx!"
With that word spoken, Natsu collapsed and began to convulse on the ground. Dredgen quickly picked up the guardian and retreated to the Cauldron, he would need the man isolated for what he had planned. He felt elation as he ran through the caverns, Natsu slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, this man had spoken to the Darkness and recieved a response. Dredgen had been trying for years to do that, even going as far as to taint himself and his weapon and consume the Light of other guardians, but every attempt at connecting to the spire resulted in silence. He felt as if his years of frustrations were coming to an end with this man, and Dredgen was practically vibrating with excitement at the prospect. He would take this man and he would teach him how to embrace his darkness. He would teach the man to bathe in the corruption and evil that the Darkness held, and the undeniable power that came with it. Dredgen realized an issue though.
Natsu believed him to be an innocent guardian, and Dredgen had to make him keep that belief.
He had felt how pure the Light was in Natsu when they had shaken hands, and Dredgen had little to no doubt about how Natsu would react to him if he found out just how corrupted he truly was. He couldn't have that, he absolutely needed Natsu, for he held possible answers that Dredgen had, and even more answers to questions he hadn't even thought to ask. The potential was so infinite, and Dredgen had to explore as many of those possibilities as he could.
Natsu awoke with a groan, his head pounding and his throat dry. He sat up, noticing his helmet was off, and took stock of the room that he was in. It was very plain, with a cot and blanket that he was occupying, and an empty desk and chair next to that. He stood and noticed a glass of water on a tray just by the door. He quickly ran over and downed it, the dryness of his throat disappearing. Specter appeared in a shimmer of light, and with it was one of Natsu's stocked rations. Natsu quickly snatched it and tore it open. He began to munch at the dry bar, noticing it tasted like apples and cinammon. His heart clenched as he thought of Amanda. He had hoped that she was alright, and still thought of him. He idly wondered if she would make him a cake for his birthday. He was brought out of his musings as Specter made itself known.
"It is good to see you awake Natsu. I can not tell you how long we've been down in the Cauldron, something is interfering with my systems. There must be something to these hive structures that affects my data." The Ghost was floating around as Natsu tried to remember what had happened. He remembered watching the ritual with Dredgen, but then his head tingled and everything went blank. He exited the room, his helmet appearing back on his head as he walked through the living space towards the exit. It was a simple room, a bed on one side where he assumed Dredgen slept, and a desk covered in papers in the other. He noticed a crate of supplies and figured that was his food and water supplies from the Vanguard. He looked around the room for the man, noticing hius immediate absence. Noting that he was alone, he walked over to the desk and began to leaf through some of the papers on the desk. He noticed that there were many runes in the Hive language on many of the pages, with possible translations next to them. He chuckled as the runes clarified themselves before his eyes, and that Dredgen's translations were nowhere close. He heard the door behind him open, and heavy footsteps echoed all the way over to where Natsu was. Natsu looked up, coming face to face with Dredgen Yor, who looked at him and then down to the papers.
"Looking at my translations? I'm sorry to say that they won't be of much use. I think I'm close, but I can't crack the code."
"Well I don't need translations."
"Why not? They help us decipher enemy codes, and give us a leg up." Dredgen sounded genuinly confused. Natsu laughed as he remembered the cryptarch, and how crazy he was to find out about Natsu's stolen knowledge.
"It's because I can read these clearly. Look," He grabbed a sheet of paper and Dredgen leant in close. "This word here, is Oryx. He is their god or king. He's both I think. All I know is that he's what they're praying to, or rather communicating to. Those rituals aren't them praying, but them opening a link of some kind..." Natsu trailed off as Dredgen quickly wrote the word 'Oryx' next to the symbol and circled it. He looked eagerly to Natsu.
"Show me more!"
Natsu felt a little unsure of himself suddenly. His previous unease about Dredgen came back to the surface as the Warlock began holding out other papers to him. Natsu shook his head and pushed the papers out of his face.
"I don't know Dredgen. I still need to give my report to the Vanguard, not to mention that I was just coming to answer your distress beacon. It's all done now, and I want to go back to Tower..."
Dredgen felt the panic in his chest at Natsu's words. He couldn't let him go. His mind snapped in to focus as he remembered Natsu's story and how he came to be in their universe.
"I can help you get home. Your real home, I mean!" He didn't have a chance to speak again before he felt himself lifted off of the ground. Natsu pinned him against the wall, the temperature in the room rising substantially.
"Speak."
"Your home. I can help you get there. When you came here, you said you took something from the Dark Mind, right? You took knowledge from it, and you could have the knowledge to get home in that head of yours, but you can't get to it. With my help, I can help you navigate your mind, and steal it from the Darkness inside of you. All you have to do in return, is translate these runes for me. I can decode and decypher everything after that, but I need these to get started. Will you help me?"
Natsu noted the desperation in his tone, but had to admit that there could have been some truth in those words. He had stolen from the Dark Mind, and he had already come to understand that that was the reason that he could understand all of these dead languages. He figured he had stolen a pretty decent chunk of knowledge from the being, if it was angered enough to keep him alive and torture him, and Dredgen was already bathed in the Darkness, so Natsu knew he would at least be able to help him understand himself better. He looked to the warlock and lowered him to the ground.
"Ok."
Natsu sat on the ground with his knees crossed in a medatative pose. He focused on his breathing as Dredgen slowly paced around him, his boots echoing softly in the room. Dredgen had made Natsu remove all of the furniture from the room beforehand, stating that the confrontation of one's Darkness could be in his own words 'messy'. Natsu felt the echoes of Dredgen's boots fade away as he focused on his breathing. He felt his mind begin to clear as the sound of breathing begin to fall away as well, leaving the constant thumping of his heartbeat. He listened to it for what felt like hours, just basking in the silent and rhythmic beating, before he heard a voice that he didn't recognize.
"Well, it seems my mask has finally deemed himself worthy of seeing me..."
He spun around in the darkness, realizing that he wasn't in the room anymore. He looked around, only noting an empty void of thick darkness all around him. He tried to look for the source of the voice through the darkness.
"Who's there? Come out!" Natsu felt a shiver pass through him as laughter rang out around him, the voice deep and raspy.
"And who are you to make demands? Last time I checked, the puppet wasn't allowed to make demands of it's master."
Natsu felt his blood boil at the voice's insult and decided to call it on it's bluff. "Then come out, and let's settle this. I don't know who you are, but I'll kick your ass all the same!" The voice rang out with chilling laughter again and Natsu felt a presence behind him. He turned around to deliver a swift punch to the presence, only to stop mid-swing in shock at what he saw.
It was him.
Well, it was him but with some very key changes. Two large horns emerged from his temples, facing upwards. His skin was covered in scales, resembling the dragon that had raised Natsu. Black tattoos ran up from his fists to cover his shoulders. The word 'END' was the tattoo that sat in the center of his chest, bold and proud. The last thing that Natsu noticed was the eyes. Solid black, with glowing red irises stared back at him, malice and hatred dripping from them as the figure reared it's arm back and struck Natsu, sending him flying back several meters. Natsu was quick to recover, and began to slowly pace around the demonic clone of himself, the copy mimicking his actions with a cruel smirk.
"What's the matter, puppet? You see something you don't like?" The demon taunted at him.
"Who are you?" The question was simple, but Natsu felt the answer would be complex. His suspicions were confirmed when the demon spoke simply.
"You. Or rather, you're me."
"What do you mean? Are you a part of the Dark Mind?!" The demon lost it's smirk at that question.
"No. I'm evil, undeniably so, but that... thing... is a league all of it's own. Even Zeref wouldn't stand a chance against that thing..." The demon was quiet at the last part, it's eyes lowered to the ground. Even if Natsu couldn't see it clearly, he could easily identify the emotion in those eyes.
Fear.
It seemed that this thing wasn't the stolen Darkness, but something in him since before then. The only question that Natsu could think of was when though. He decided to voice his concern to the unfocused demon.
"If you aren't from the Dark Mind, then where are you from?" That seemed to get the demon to focus on him again, though the smirk didn't return.
"I'm a darkness that existed long before you. I was you before you were even considered to be you. I, we, were created with a single purpose, and that's to kill Zeref. I am END, and you are me..."
Natsu felt his head spin at the declaration as memories flooded his mind. He saw Zeref, his brother, as he traveled with the dark mage. He felt the memories from his travels with Zeref flood his brain, all the way up to meeting Igneel and leaving Zeref behind. The memories after that were all familiar. Natsu shook his head as he looked at the demon, noting his relaxed posture. He decided to speak up.
"So, we were made to kill our brother?"
"Well, I was made to kill Zeref. You're just a mask that was put over me when Zeref grew sentimental for us. He sent us with Igneel to train, but also because he felt that Igneel was a better role model for a young and impressionable mind. I don't know why he wiped yours or our," He seemed annoyed at having to correct himself. "Memories, but all I know is that when that Dark Mind thing took us, I got them all back. You saw them briefly, but I think it all drowned in the overflow."
"Ok," Natsu nodded while looking at the demon. "What now then? Do we fight for dominance over my body or something? Isn't this how this normally goes?" The demon shook it's head before looking in to Natsu's surprised eyes.
"There's no point. While your magic grew stronger with the Light, my power hasn't increased at all. I use a form of Darkness known as curses. I can't access the power of magic or Light at all. I can take from the Darkness, thoug there isn't enough in you to do much for that battle of dominance. I can't kill you and you can't kill me, or we both die. You'd be right about the battle of dominance, but I just don't feel like getting my ass stomped on today, so I'm just going to be a tour guide of sorts for you. I'll take you where you need to go."
Natsu grinned at his demon, glad that he wouldn't have to battle. His grin turned in to confusion as the demon smiled back at him.
"I've been in your head since before you could remember your name. Never forget that just because I can't fight you now that I won't be trying at every chance I get. If you slip up, and I sense your weakness, expect a visit from me. After today though, the Darkness in you will be stronger than ever, and so will I. I'll tear you out of control and make you watch as I kill until my thirst is quenched, then I may just decide to stay in control forever. Who knows how long I'll stay in control after I've tasted some chaos. Maybe I'll get stronger, or maybe I'll just go to sleep. Either way, be ready, because I don't need rest in here and I watch everything." And with those dark words, the demon turned and began to venture out in to the darkness with Natsu trailing behind.
The two of them walked for hours before Natsu began to feel as if something was slithering all over him. His demon stopped in front of him before waving him forward. Natsu stepped up next to his demon, staring in to the void as a small light seemed to appear in the far distance. The demon spoke.
"This is as far as I can go. If I go any further, I risk that thing consuming me, and we both know what happens if I die..."
Natsu nodded before turning to his demon.
"Thank you. I know what you want, but I can't do much for you once we get back to Earthland, but I've got no love for anything here but the Vanguard. Maybe we can find a good abandoned place full of Hive or Fallen, and I can just let you loose for a while?"
The demon stared at him for a moment before grinning at Natsu in feral delight.
"That sounds like it might be a good plan, partner."
Natsu watched the demon fade back in to the void around him before turning back towards the light on the horizon. He began to jog towards it, eager and nervous at the same time.
It was time to confront true Darkness.
This chapter is a little bit on the short side, but I've been kinda busy with life stuff, and I'm also drawing up the board for a couple new stories. As always though, leave a review or PM me with any questions or ideas you may have. I love hearing ideas and recommendations.
Overworked and sleep deprived,
Temper
