Chapter 10 Start
The sun was rising and Shen had been walking all night, wanting to reach the fountain quickly, but he was also keeping a slow pace so Natsu and Wendy would still be able to track his scent. He checked the air every now and then to see if he could catch their scent catching up from behind him, but was unable to.
"They knew where this place was...but they were not able to enter it, which means I will be safe once I enter it. Yet the fountain is close to drying up, which is limiting the time I have to train." He was talking to himself as he walked through the trees "the others will know I came this way when they find the man with his throat melted, and they well follow into this forest at some point." He kept changing the subject of what he was talking about to himself and only then realized the lack of wild life in the forest "No wildlife, fireproof trees and a fountain dedicated to dragons in the middle. What a strange forest this is." Shen continued walking for another half hour before he heard something. He stopped and stayed completely silent. Water. Rushing water.
"Could this be it?" He muttered breaking into a run. There was suddenly a opening through the trees and he ran through it, not realizing it was a cliff... he fell quickly and landed in a deep, surprisingly warm, pool of water, that a waterfall was feeding into. In the middle of the pool was a stone platform, with a dragon statue atop it, shooting water form it's mouth. Shen climbed into the platform and looked around.
"This doesn't look anything like the image that was etched into my mind. Not to mention this place doesn't seem even remotely close to drying up. It has a waterfall feeding into it. Something is not right here." Shen sighed as he laid back and closed his eyes, searching his mind for any clues for what he may have done wrong. After going through his mind a number of times he stood up and walked over to the stone dragon and tried to find a switch or something to activate an entrance, but once again couldn't find a thing.
"What am I supposed to do...Igneel...did he not give me information that was needed?" He heard a very slight noise from above and looked up, just in time to see someone fall from the exact cliff as he did about an hour ago. Water splashed as whoever had fallen and Shen walked to the edge of the platform as Natsu surfaced.
"Why the hell do they have a cliff right there?!" Natsu shouted not noticing Shen.
"Maybe because they think people will notice before running right off of it." Natsu turned to see Shen "Although I'm not one to talk. I did the exact same thing."
"How long have you been here for?" Natsu asked climbing onto the platform.
"An hour, give or take." Shen looked up to see the other Fairy Tail mages, and Erica looking down the cliff and he raised a hand in a small wave. Happy flew down to join Natsu and to give a message.
"The others are going to find a different way down." He told both Shen and Natsu.
"May be wasted." Shen responded sitting, facing the waterfall.
"Why? We have arrived here haven't we?" Natsu asked.
"I thought so. We are in the middle of this forest, but this is not the image I have in my head."
"So you think we came to the wrong place?"
"No. This is the right spot, but maybe not the right place."
"What do you mean?" Natsu asked getting annoyed.
"I mean this may not be the real fountain. This may be a fake and I have to figure out something to reveal the real one. I could be wrong though."
The others had found a way down and were standing at the edge of the fountain. Natsu was examining the stone dragon and Shen was sitting, facing the waterfall, eyes closed and in deep thought. Natsu noticed the others and jumped off the platform and to the edge where they were standing.
"Is this the fountain?" Erza asked him.
"Shen doesn't think so. He says that this is not the right area that he sees in his mind."
"Did we go the wrong way then?" Lucy asked.
"What I Shen doing right now?" Erica asked Natsu, noticing Shen.
"He's thinking of what the problem may be." Natsu responded as Shen suddenly stood up.
"That may be it." He said turning, now noticing the others "How long have you all been here?" He asked walking to the edge of the platform.
"We have only been here a couple of minutes." Gray told him and Shen nodded turning back to the waterfall "Did you kill the D.E.C members or did you just run them off?"
"They ran them off." Erica said happily.
"Then they may return." he turned to them "Proof that this is not the real fountain. You are able to enter easily. The D.E.C member I killed told me they knew the location, but they could not enter."
"Maybe it has a barrier that stops anyone with evil intentions from entering." Wendy said, giving an idea.
"Wishful thinking." Shen said as he walked into the water close to the waterfall, stopping a few feet from the waterfall.
"Be careful Shen!" Erica called out.
Shen cleared his throat "I am Shen, son of a dragon and a human. I am a Dracian, and I have been told by my father, Igneel to come here to train and master my skills as a Dracian before the fountain dries up. Reveal the true Fountain Of Dragons to me!" A moment passed without anything happening when suddenly the whole area started to shake. Shen jumped back onto the platform as the waterfall suddenly stopped flowing and the stone underneath started to morph into an arched doorway and stones arose from the water to the platform Shen stood on and then from the platform to where the others stood "I knew it!" Shen said happily and he turned to the others "Come on!" He shouted as he ran across the stones and into the doorway the stone formed. As he walked in he saw that the walls, floor and ceiling were all made of a smooth marble type stone. He looked around as he entered and saw there were a few doors at the far side of the room and as the others came in the stone reformed the wall behind them and the sound of rushing water from the waterfall could be faintly heard.
"Welcome, Shen, The Dracian...and company." A voice emitted from somewhere. All out Shen tensed up.
"Who are you?" Shen asked calmly.
"Shen. I am Hanta. The Guardian of the Fountain Of Dracians."
"Fountain Of Dracians? I was told this was the Fountain Of Dragons and why would there be a fountain for Dracians when I am the only one?"
"Shen, all will become clear soon. You came here to train and fully master your Dracian abilities, correct?"
"Yes. That is why I am here."
"Then you have a choice. Begin your training right away, or you can learn the history of this fountain and of Dracians."
"History of Dracians? What in the hell are you talking..." It suddenly dawned on Shen, who had paused at the realization.
"Yes Shen. You are not the only, or the first Dracian." Hanta said "There have been many more Dracians then just you."
"There's been more then just myself. I've never heard of any doing anything throughout history or anything!"
"There is a reason, which I will tell you in a while, but for now I will tell you the history behind this fountain. When the first Dracian was born the father, a dragon wanted to make a safe heaven for him, and got help from other dragons to make this fountain to raise the child in along with the mother. It was known that a half breed would not be accepted so they were going to teach the the child how to blend in with human and then he could go to the outside world. Sadly that dream never came true as one dragon that disagreed with the offspring of a dragon and human killed mother, father and child, along with any other dragons that had helped create the fountain so it's location would never be figured out. Many years later another Dracian was born, and this one was killed as well before it was a teen and this one was killed by humans. Throughout history Dracians have accidentally revealed their powers once, and that one slip up killed them. Once when the Dracians reached their peak of living in this world a group was formed."
"The D.E.C" Shen spoke up "The Dracian Extermination Clan."
"Yes. They have been around for about quite some time now and recently have been hunting you. Now Shen, you have different then the other Dracians that have been. Your powers awoke late, and when your mother was killed your rage unleashed the power you had and survived to be here now. You are the only Dracian that has managed to live past your tenth year. All others were killed before they reached that age. I reached out to Igneel and he agreed to contact you so you could master everything that comes with being born as a Dracian."
"How long do I have to do that?"
"The doors at the far side of the room are your tests and all three must be completed in a month time."
"A month...that's all I have."
"Yes, but Shen you need to know something. You are the chosen Dracian. Living past your tenth year, that's a first in Dracian history and therefore you are the only one capable of ridding the world of the D.E.C and making the world safe for Dracians."
"I can't make this world safe for Dracians."
"Do you know what a child born from a human and a Dracian is called?"
"Should I?"
"It is still called a Dracian. So the next Dracian that would be in this world would most likely be your child Shen."
"My child?" Shen asked surprised.
"You don't think you will ever have one? What are your goals after you master your abilities and defeat the D.E.C?"
"I...don't know. I never thought that far ahead..."
"Anyway we are wasting time. I will explain the first test. Go in the first door from the right."
Shen walked towards the doors, the others following, still silent. Shen got to the door and opened it, to reveal a room with one side being a dry platform and one being an open area with a stream of water along a floor covered in holes for the water to drain through. Shen and the others walked in.
"This is a part of my training?" Shen asked the unseen being.
"Yes." Hanta responded "Go over and feel the water coming down." Shen walked over to the water and put his hand under it, pulling back almost instantly
"Ouch! That's hot!" He said as he looked at his hand, which was now red from the water.
"Water burned you?" Natsu asked "Heh, it can't be that hot." Natsu said walking over.
"Natsu Dragneel." Hanta said "Unless you want to suffer third degree burns I would not do that. This water is enchanted with huge amounts of heat, which is how Shen was burned. Now Shen, your test is to sit under that stream and endure it for 12 hours straight."
"What? 12 hours? This water is insanely hot and you expect me to sit under it for 12 hours?"
"That is the test you must complete. Good luck." The presence of Hanta faded.
Natsu walked back to the dry platform with the others.
"Shen...are you going to be able to finish this training?" Erica asked worried.
Shen looked down at his hurt hand "If I had to guess I would say no." He turned to them and smiled slightly "But I can't call myself a Dracian if I didn't try!" He said as a determined looked replaced his smile "All of you may want to settle down, this will take a while." He said as he his hand under the water and didn't pull back despite the pain. He took a deep breath and forced his whole body under the stream.
Chapter 10 End