The Journey of Two Flames

by RavenStrider

Natsu was raised by Igneel, the White Fire Dragon King, and Draco, who is Igneel's brother. Unfortunately, great power is often accompanied by great tragedy, and Natsu is no different. Will the tragedies of his past prevent him from moving forward, or will a special few pierce his heart to let him move on? Rated T for language, violence, and minor sexual references

10. The Tenth

Natsu's Journal - The Second Evening in Dahlia

S-Class missions are definitely no joke, though Kael insists that normally they are far more straightforward than this one is and that I just got unlucky. Regardless, it's taken two days, and we are just now beginning to formulate a plan. Kael told me about the history of this village, which is quite interesting I must say. I managed to set those wolves free and get some information out of the guy. Turns out, I was right. Guys' name was Tanner. Took quite some...uh...convincing, but I eventually got some real information out of him. He lives in a village called Nightshade, named after the Dark Guild that owns the place, and is here to try and get revenge on the town. Apparently, Nightshade is the very place that the founders of this town came from over one hundred years ago. I really don't understand why they'd hold a grudge so long, and why they'd attack now of all times, but I guess Tanner was just following orders. He's definitely twisted, no doubt about that, but he wasn't privy to too much information. Kael brought him to be taken into custody by the council and we'll reconvene tomorrow morning. The final mystery we need to solve is how Derrick is connected here. Somehow, he gained mayorship with ease and is somehow connected with Nightshade. I have no evidence yet, but my theory is some sort of memory altering magic. It would explain why no one but the librarian had any information regarding the town's history, and also why someone like Derrick was able to easily gain office. The previous mayor had been well-liked before Tanner came into the equation, so it's bizarre that they'd throw him out for no reason. I wonder where he is now? Regardless, the mission is on hold for the time being. We should only have a little time left before the mayor starts getting suspicious, but both Kael and I believe the town could be in serious danger.

"Hey, Happy?" Natsu asked, having finished his latest journal entry. "Are you sure we aren't overthinking this? I mean, maybe the two had good reason to meet in the forest, but I just can't shake this feeling…"

"Well, you've always been the cautious type, Natsu," Happy replied, thinking hard on what he'd been asked. "But considering all of us came to the same conclusion, I doubt that's a coincidence. Something's definitely wrong…"

"Thanks, buddy."
"Aye, sir!"

And with that, the two laid down to rest, content to sleep on their newfound information until the next morning.

Natsu rose with the sun, set to find out what was going on, and, if need be, save the town today. He woke Happy and the two had a quick breakfast, before smothering the fire and heading into town. They were meeting Kael at the train station to come up with a plan of action. They met within around an hour and decided to head to a more private location to chat.

"I take it the council took him?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, they said they'd try to get more information out of him first," Kael replied before chuckling. "The guy didn't seem to mind, he just begged to not be let near 'that monster' again, as he so kindly nicknamed you. I gotta hand it to you kid, I don't know what you did, but man was he scared."

"Simple intimidation and interrogation," Natsu informed him, emotionlessly. "I have quite a lot of...experience...in that regard…"

"Say no more kid, you've had a hell of a ride, and I don't want you to have to relive 'em for my sake. Anyway, you thought of anything else yet?"
"I've come up with two courses of action. We could attack Nightshade directly, which would most likely put both us and the citizens in danger," Natsu started. "Or we could tail the mayor for a while and hope he has more contacts."

"Hmm... What do you think the odds are that he does?"

"I'd say pretty good, his scent is just about everywhere in those woods..."
"I like you kid," Kael nodded, standing to get ready to depart. "Let's do it."
"Aye, sir!" Happy said, and the three left.

Happy was on sky duty, hanging around the rooftops waiting for the signal that he left his office. Natsu was on watch at the mayor's office, keeping an ear and his sniffer ready for when the mayor left. Kael was around town, staying mobile for any signs of suspicious activities. It was early afternoon when their patience paid off. He left, seemingly on a lunch break, and Natsu gave Happy a signal to inform Kael. Once the three of them knew, they repositioned, Happy maintaining vision from the sky, Natsu keeping his distance from behind, and Kael staying in front. Sure enough, Derrick made his way into the forest, not noticing the three Fairy Tail members that were definitely on to him. They met up outside of town and waited around five minutes before chasing after him. They needed to make sure there was enough distance so the mayor didn't notice them, and Natsu's tracking ability made that much easier.

They didn't have to walk too far before they caught up with him. In a clearing only 10 minutes out from the city, the mayor was in conversation with three much larger figures, each wearing dark blue robes. They got just close enough to where Natsu could make out their conversation.

"Where is Tanner! He was late for our meeting yesterday and the wolves were gone!" the mayor demanded.

"We have no idea, maybe it had something to do with your bright idea to get wizards involved," one of the robed men said.

"You know exactly why I had to get them involved," the mayor snapped. "That stupid machine of yours needs more magical power than I can get using any old lacrima. Imagine how expensive it would be to build a machine that would be big enough to hold it! Not to mention, buying that many lacrima would definitely attract some unwanted attention."

"Very well, Derrick," another mage replied. "But that does not fix our issue. The wolves are missing, and without Tanner, how're we gonna get the citizens out of the town? We just needed one more day of leading those Fairy Tail scumbags around before the main force arrives and we can spring the trap. Since it was your idea to involve them in this, it's your job to fix it."

"Dammit!" the mayor cursed. "Lousy mages! Always meddling in places they don't belong. How did he find Tanner anyway? Not even beasts can track him!"

"We have no idea. Now figure out a way to get those mages in the ring tomorrow...From what I've heard of those two, we can get so much power we might not even need to get them outside of the city. We'll roll over this rotten town so quick, they won't have time to escape again!" The third robed man cackled, and the four parted ways.

Natsu relayed all this to Kael, who seemed quite concerned, and the two took off back to their campsite. It didn't take long at full speed before they arrived, albeit out of breath and panting.

"A machine...that uses...mage's... magic power?" Natsu panted.

"That's...insane…" Kael responded. "I've never...heard of anything...like that…"

They caught their breath and each tried to figure out the next course of action. First, they both decided, they needed to go over everything they knew.

"Well for starters, the Festival of the Short Moon takes place tomorrow, which is the same time they want to launch their trap. I'm guessing the 'ring' is that runed area where the wolves supposedly were. I guess it's not an automatic trap, because when we first started the quest, that was our first stop," Kael said.

"Right, and without a doubt, Derrick is working with mages from Nightshade to get revenge on the town of Dahlia. My guess is they only recently found out the history, or there is some sort of time significance for them to attack now, which is why they waited so long. None of the townspeople except the librarian know of the founding of the town and the past with Nightshade, which is almost certainly due to some sort of memory altering magic," Natsu added. "The question is, what do we do about it?"

"Well, for starters," Kael began, scratching his chin. "I'd say we pretend that we don't know anything. Go along with whatever the mayor wants with us, but under no circumstances enter the ring. If anything, we should try to get him into it."

"Not a bad plan, but what else? I mean, we know they have a trap, some sort of machine, and a force of mages. That's not a lot of information. We don't have a clue if their machine works, if they have the ability to take hostages, if they are aware that we know about their plan, there're just too many unknowns here!"

"Should we call the magic council?" Happy asked.

"Not a good idea, furball," Kael replied. "They make a lot of noise. That could really put the people in danger. This is down to just us."

"I must agree," Natsu said, nodding. "The council is of no use here. Besides, I don't particularly love the idea of getting acquainted with them."

"You're a shady one, kid, I'll give ya that," Kael muttered. "Well, until then, I'd say we lay a trap of our own…"

So they set out. The plan was first to investigate the rune circle that had supposedly been set up to keep the sacred wolves in until the festival and try to get a sense of any potential danger there was around it. They couldn't find any obvious signs of a trap, but they could tell that it wasn't designed for holding wolves in either. Needless to say, Natsu was quite upset with himself for not fully noticing on their first time through. Had they been able to find anything, they planned to disable it, which would have made their jobs much easier. Seeing as they found nothing, the only way to ensure there wouldn't be a trap left would be to destroy the whole area, which, needless to say, was not an option. It would attract way too much attention and put the townspeople at risk.

Following the conclusion of that investigation, they planned to ask around for any signs of the previous mayor. Unfortunately, as it turns out, he had died due to 'natural causes' two years after Tanner first arrived in town. That raised even more suspicions. The only things they needed to know now were if there really was some sort of memory manipulation magic going on and why Nightshade waited so long to attack. Unfortunately for them, they didn't exactly know how to go about finding such information, so they returned to their campsite rather early. It was only early evening when they returned, the option for more investigating not really present. So they spent their evening getting to know each other a bit better. For some reason Natsu felt secure around Kael, perhaps it had to do with how much he reminded Natsu of Igneel. Kael told Natsu of how he got into magic after losing both of his parents in The Second Great Mage War. Natsu told Kael his story of how he lost everything and decided that his purpose in life was to avenge those losses and follow through with the dying words of his father. Kael felt bad for the kid but told him he was an idiot for throwing himself into bounty hunting and scolded him even worse for still not being able to kick the habit. It was tough love, and Natsu needed it.

Happy was extremely pleased as well. Natsu was always that figure for everyone that had been in Happy's life. He was the big brother at Rösch and he was almost like a father to Happy, seeing as he did raise him. Even to a lot of the members of Fairy Tail, many of them looked up to his astounding strength in battle, and his calm attitude at all times. It was nice to see someone finally filling that role for Natsu, the older mage's experience really paying off for the young dragon slayer. So the evening continued, talking and laughing and enjoying their time, trying to put out of their minds the possible danger they'd both face when they woke up the next morning.

Several Miles Away

"It's finally time! We've waited over one hundred years for this day!"

The group of mages cheered and shouted their support for their mighty leader.

"The fools are oblivious to our plans, oblivious to our existence, and will now face the consequences of betraying Nightshade!"

More cheers echoed from the magical army before him.

"Master Ecco, I have completed my assignment successfully...Not a soul in Dahlia can recall our existence…"

"Very good, Esprit...The time has finally come...May the sacrifices bear everlasting power and create a NEW WORLD!"

The Next Day - Dahlia

Natsu and Kael had returned to the city to 'eat breakfast'. In reality, they were simply allowing the mayor to attempt to trap them. As predicted a messenger informed the two men that the mayor requested their presence at once, so they followed him to his office. The two were escorted in, and the mayor, as giddy as ever, was once again eager to see the too mages.

"Ah! Mr. Kael! Mr. Salamander! Good to see you again!" the mayor greeted them, excitedly.

"Good to see you again too, Mr. Mayor," Kael replied shaking his hand. "I apologize, though my comrade here has excellent tracking skills, we were unable to locate either of the sacred wolves. Perhaps it has something to do with their ability to use magic?"
'Um...yes that is...possible. However, do not worry! I have arranged for Tanner's return and he claims to have the ability to summon them back here! Isn't that wonderful!"

"Ah, interesting! That is excellent, good work Mr. Mayor," Kael replied, eyeing Natsu.

"Indeed! I request that both of you come to see him as well! Seeing as the three of you are all clients working on the same job, I have a feeling you will be able to assist him."

"Alright, sure thing! I'm sure you'll want to accompany us as well, right?" Kael pressed.

"Oh...um...certainly!" the mayor stuttered.

"Great!" Kael replied standing and starting to leave. "Why don't we go ahead?"
The two mages, the mayor, and the flying blue cat took their leave, heading to the rune circle, or as Natsu and Kael knew it as, the trap. They arrived shortly, yet for some most peculiar reason, Tanner was nowhere to be found.

"Strange isn't it?" Kael asked Natsu. "I thought there was supposed to be a beast tamer here. Mr. Mayor, is he late, or are we early?"

"Oh...I'm sure he'll be here momentarily!" the mayor said. "Why don't the three of us wait over here for him?" he suggested, gesturing to the benches that were set up.

"That's strange, I don't remember there being benches here last time…" Kael mused, following Natsu towards the entrance, The order was Natsu, followed by Kael, followed by the mayor, with Happy flying next to Kael.
They worked in perfect sync. Natsu entered the ring, and just before Kael entered as well, they acted. Natsu dove outside while Kael whipped around throwing the mayor in before he could even react.

"What on ear-AGHHHHHH!" the mayor was cut off, as the runes lit up with magical energy electrocuting him. The entire area then became encircled by a cage, made from magical interference metal, that prevented anyone inside from being able to use magic.
The mayor was unconscious rather quickly, and Kael and Natsu prepped themselves for the upcoming fight.

"Oh, Derrick…" Natsu mused. "You really must learn to do things more...discreetly…"

"Well, well, well…" A tall man with a mustache and a purple robe began to approach them, followed by several dozen other robed men. "It appears we underestimated you, mages. How ever did you uncover our plan so easily? Very, very, impressive…"

"Save the small talk, you robed punk," Kael spat. "What do you want with Dahlia?"

"I see, right to the point, eh? You guild mages are never any fun. Well, luckily for you, we just so happen to have brought along a backup plan. It won't be nearly as effective without our power sources, but for an old man and a goth child, I think it should be more than enough. BRING OUT THE TORMENTA DAEMONIUM!"

Behind him, trees started to crash down, and the earth started to rumble. The robed men behind him split into two groups, leaving about 25 feet between them. Out from the forest, pulled by six men, came a massive cannon. The barrel of the cannon was pointed towards the sky and was the height of a mid-sized salamander, but the bore was wide enough to fit at least four people. The barrel had a jagged metal opening and was glowing red with power. Attached to the back was a glass cage that looked roughly large enough to place a human, though currently it was stuffed full of lacrima. The weapon was enormous, and could likely wipe out most of the town in one shot.

"WELL NOW, MAGES OF LIGHT! YOU MAY HAVE CAUGHT ON TO OUR LITTLE RUSE, BUT YOU WILL BECOME THE POWER SOURCE FOR OUR ULTIMATE WEAPON! THE TORMENTA DAEMONIUM: ZEREF'S CANNON OF DEMONS!" the tall man cried. "ON MY NAME AS MASTER ECCO OF NIGHTSHADE, WE SHALL DESTROY THOSE WHO TAINTED OUR NAME AND CONQUER ALL THOSE WHO STAND IN OUR PATH!"

"Man, this guy's delirious," Kael muttered, seemingly unphased by the massive cannon.

"That weapon couldn't force the tail off a rabbit," Natsu said, seemingly disappointed at the buildup.

"You may THINK you're strong, wizards, but you too will tremble before the might of Nightshade's ultimate weapon!"

"Hey, Natsu! Think you can handle the purple freaks? That cannon looks like it'll make a good punching bag for my Soul Arts."

"Not a chance, Kael," Natsu replied, much to his confusion. "You'll just bust it up. I want it."

"HUH?!" The dark mages all froze at the absurd suggestion and Kael just shook his head.

"You're nuts, kid. Alright, you take out that cannon, and I'll deal with Barney over here."

"That's more my style! Hey, Happy! Go have someone call the council! Tell 'em we're about to have some more pickups!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy got out between giggles.

"Prepare to enter the den of a TRUE DRAGON!" Natsu roared and took the stance of his blitz.

"Now that's what I like to hear!" Kael shouted, punching his fists together. His hands and feet started to glow blue with energy, while Natsu had a faint red glow.

"FIRE DRAGON'S-"

"SOUL ARTS:-"

"BLITZ!"
"INFALLIBLE!"

The two raced forward at near identical speeds, faster than most of the mages could keep up with.

"Quickly! Fire the cannon!" the tall man yelled, preparing to engage. The men that had been moving the cannon quickly got in position. All but one were set to defend the lacrima on the back, which did not go unnoticed by Natsu or Kael who were currently attempting to beat through the army of at least 50 mages to get to the cannon.

"FIRE!" the man at the cannon shouted, unleashing it. The ground began to rumble as the robed mages who were not unconscious already cast purple seals in front of them and smirked. A gigantic beam of red energy shot out of the cannon into the sky. After rising for a few moments it exploded and rained down massive amounts of magical energy upon the ground. Each landed leaving nothing but a crater in its wake. Somehow, the robed mages didn't seem to pay any attention, as they began to push back the S-Class duo.

"HEADS UP, NATSU! WE GOTTA TAKE OUT THAT CANNON BEFORE IT CAN FIRE AGAIN!" Kael yelled over the roar. The two were desperately trying to dodge, but even with their incredible speed it simply wasn't enough with the sheer area that the cannon had covered.

"THEY MUST HAVE CAST SOME SORT OF DEFENSIVE SPELL ON THEMSELVES!" Natsu yelled back, barely dodging before running directly into a blast.

It took a little over a minute before the shots stopped raining down. Natsu and Kael were both bleeding profusely from their arms and legs, Natsu's cloak was destroyed, and Kael's shirt could barely be called a shirt anymore. The entire area was destroyed, craters littering the ground, yet somehow their opponents were unphased.

"NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND, PUNY GUILD MAGES!" Ecco roared. "THE MIGHT OF THE TORMENTA DAEMONIUM IS UNMATCHED IN POWER! YOU WILL BECOME ITS NEW FUEL AND WE WILL TAKE OVER ALL OF ISHGAR!"

"This guy…" Natsu panted. "Is out of his mind! Hey, mustached asshole! You ruined my cloak!"

"Natsu, he ruined the whole area…You've got issues kid…" Kael mumbled.

"Back up Kael, it's about to get hot in here. That canon best be fireproof!" Natsu shouted.

"White fire dragon king's ROAR!" A massive torrent of white flames blasted from his mouth, further incinerating the ground beneath them. The robed mages in front of him howled in agony, their bodies thoroughly burned and their clothes all but ashes. Most of them were unconscious fairly quickly, but at least a dozen as well as all the men at the cannon and the man who called himself Ecco were still standing.

"I'd know that fire anywhere! YOU? THIS CHILD IS THE WHITE CROWN?" Ecco roared. "I DON'T CARE WHAT ELSE HAPPENS! KILL THAT BOY AT ANY COST!"

A cheer unleashed from the remaining mages, as all but one who was still working on firing the cannon again charged the two.

"Well, at least now I see first hand why you always wear that stupid cloak, kid," Kael said, seemingly amused by their sudden target switch. "Have fun with your new friends, and I'll go wrap your toy."

"Not one scratch, Kael!" Natsu replied, preparing for the army of mages.

Most of them were exceedingly weak and after only around two minutes it was down to just Ecco and Natsu. Ecco had already taken a flaming punch to the stomach and had most of his robe burned off from the heat of his roar, but he was far from done.

"You've amused me long enough, White Crown, but it's time I show you why they call me Ecco! SOUND CANNON!" Ecco shouted, blasting a wave of vibrations towards Natsu.

"AAAAGHHHHHH!" Natsu howled in agony, his ears bleeding almost immediately. That attack would hurt the ears of anyone, but to a dragon slayer, this was true agony.

"That's right, White Crown! Fall before me! The master of Nightshade and ruler of Ishgar!"

"RRRRARRRGHHHH," Natsu was still in agony but managed to stand. "Give me...a break...you skinny freak...That attack...won't work on anyone...other than me…"

"Well now, White Crown, I must admit I expected far more out of you. Seems you've fallen over the years, or have yet to experience anyone fighting back. This should be more than enough to finish you off! SCREECH BLADES!" Ecco swiped both of his hands in front of his body and shot two long thin blades of sound directly at Natsu, who managed to dodge them just in time but was still reeling from the sound. He wasn't caught off guard nearly as much, so the pain wasn't as bad, but he was still in agony.

'I better end this quick,' Natsu thought. 'Any more of those hit me and I'll either be on the ground sick or unconscious.'

"You dance with a dragon, hotshot, you're gonna get burned! Fire dragon's BRILLIANT FLAME!" Natsu launched a fireball towards Ecco, who managed to dodge in time. He didn't, however, notice that Natsu used that attack as cover in order to propel himself forward. "FIRE DRAGON'S SWORD HORN!" he shouted, as Natsu rocketed into him headfirst, covered in flames.

"OOOOF!" Ecco groaned, being shot backward into a tree. He tried to stand but was sick immediately. "Don't...think I'm done...yet! White Crown! (barf)"

"You look worse than Natsu on a train, you prick!" Kael called, strolling over to the now vomiting mage. "Sleep tight, and we'll get you to your new place when you wake up." He reared back and punched Ecco right in the temple, knocking him out instantly.

"I had that you know…" Natsu grumbled, kicking the dirt.

"I know kid, but you got to have all the fun! That guy at the cannon didn't even put up a fight, one punch to the gut and he was out."

"You didn't damage my trophy now, did you?"
"Chill out kid, it's fine. Just broke the cage on the back."

"That's fine, I just want the barrel anyway."

"You're something else, you know that kid?"

"Shut up, old man, I just like trophies! And now I have to get a new cloak!"

Kael just laughed and shook his head. It wasn't too tough of a battle in the long run, but it certainly was a painful one. Each had gotten their arms and legs beaten up pretty badly, and were worn out. That cannon was a powerhouse of magical energy, and each blast tore through the earth sending bits of rock, magic, and other bits of earth rocketing towards the two mages, slicing up their limbs.

They spent the next hour cleaning and bandaging their wounds and tying up the members of nightshade, throwing them in the cage with the mayor, who was just beginning to regain consciousness.

"Ugh...my- What happened? ECCO?"
"Oh, shut up, Derrick," Natsu, jeered. "The council should be here eventually. Since we're so nice, we decided you can hang around in the cage with your friends there until they arrive."
"Damn you, Salamander! Damn you!"

Within a few hours, Happy had come back, laughing at the sorry state of the dark guild now locked in a cage that they themselves had developed. Kael went into town to find someone to explain the situation to, find Natsu a new cloak at his absolute insistence, and wait for the council members to arrive. Happy followed him into town to bring back 'as many fishies as money can buy!' which left Natsu alone to deal with his disassembly of the cannon.

'Well, this is sure gonna be a challenge,' Natsu thought to himself, as he examined the cannon. It was extremely well made, a true master class of weaponsmithing, and looked to be extremely heavy. He started by burning away the few parts of it that were actually made of wood or other non-metals and then set about detaching the barrel. The barrel, it turns out, was made from a magic proof material, which is likely how it would have been able to fire such a volume of power without it in itself being totally destroyed. However, much to Natsu's good fortune, it looks like they got a bit cheap and it was attached to the base with steel, which was not magic resistant. It was an easy enough process to melt the steel enough to where he could break the barrel and it fell to the ground with a mighty thud.

"That kid really wasn't messing around…"

"He really is taking the barrel…"

"All our hard work down the drain!" the mages cried.

"Damn right I am!" Natsu shouted back. "It's a fine trophy for my first S-Class mission! And who knows what'll happen if anyone gets a hold of this thing again anyway. I'll keep it for myself! I have some questions for you lot, so you better be ready to answer 'em!" with that he jumped towards the cage, causing the few conscious members to jump back in terror.

Through his interrogation, which for once did not require any force, seeing as he already used it, he discovered pretty much everything else that had been missing from his information. They did indeed have a memory-altering mage who went through the town causing them to forget their history with Nightshade. Her name was Esprit, and apparently, ridding them of the knowledge of their past would cause their suffering to be even greater. They supposedly only discovered that Dahlia was the town formed from the escaped citizens of Nightshade, which they had presumed had died, recently, about 15 years ago. They spent the entire time constructing the cannon, gathering the lacrima, and building up their power. The previous mayor had been assassinated, and the memories of those that saw his body altered to show that he had died of natural causes. They then had Derrick elected to embezzle funds from the town to help pay for the construction. All in all, Esprit was their key, so she definitely wouldn't be getting any leniency from the council.

'These guys are both insane, and pathetic. In 15 years, that's the best they could do?' Natsu thought. 'You'd think in 15 years you could build something a little stronger than this.'

Regardless, that was the story they gave him, in between pleas for him not to kill them.

By that evening, just about everything had been sorted. The council had come and informed the town, who were shocked, to say the least, and the members of Nightshade were arrested. They thanked the mages, giving them a sum of around a million jewels for their help, and headed off. Unfortunately, over the past century-and-a-half, the town of Nightshade ceased to exist, the remaining citizens being killed or escaped, leaving just a carcass of a place housing a dark guild with a menacing reputation. The most shocking part was that the council didn't seem to care too much about all the details. They got the information that the dark guild Nightshade attacked the town of Dahlia, using memory manipulation to gain access to their government, to have a double attack from the inside and the outside. They never found out about the cannon, which was lucky for Natsu, since he had no intention of parting with his trophy.

That night, even after all they had been through, the festival was still in full swing. Natsu stayed near the outskirts, enjoying the view and the food, but Kael and Happy were in the thick of everything, dancing and partying with the grateful citizens of Dahlia. They profusely thanked the two mages, insisting that they stay for the festival, and gave them all sorts of honors. They were dubbed the heroes of Dahlia, and recorded into their history books; Kael the Mighty and Salamander the Mysterious, along with Happy the Gallant. Happy found the nicknames hysterical, and teased both Natsu and Kael relentlessly, until his turn came, in which the teasing flipped back to Happy. All in all, they had a great time.
Later that night, just as the two were about to head back to the forest to spend their last night, they heard it. The beautiful howls of the sacred wolves echoed throughout the town, their melody lulling the town into peaceful bliss.

"Wow," Natsu breathed, stopping in his tracks. "That's…"

"Yeah…" Kael finished.

It was the most beautiful thing either of them had ever heard, and they would not soon forget their time in Dahlia.

The next morning, the two ate and prepared to depart. Somehow, Natsu managed to get his trophy on the train, much to the workers' and the laws of physics' disdain. Regardless of the natural laws around the world preventing something so large from fitting in that space, it fit anyway, and the three started their six-hour journey back to Magnolia. Well, the six-hour journey was mostly for Happy and Kael, for Natsu, it was a six-hour torture session.

Eventually, the tortu- I mean, the train ride ended, and they arrived back in Magnolia. Kael said he'd go on ahead and report back to the master, while Happy and Natsu attempted to continue defying the gods by getting the cannon out of the train. Eventually, they did it, much to the train workers' relief, and the two set off for the guildhall. Everyone in Magnolia stopped in their tracks as a young man walked through town, a massive hellish looking cannon barrel held over his shoulder.

"What on earth…?"

"Where did he…"

"I read Salamander took trophies, but I think this is a little much…"

"Natshuuuu, I told you you shouldn't take it with you!" Happy whined.

"Quiet, Happy! This is the biggest trophy I've ever had! I'm sure we'll figure out something to do with it. Besides, who cares what anyone says."

"(sigh) I guess you're right, Natsu. But you owe me fish!"
"For what?"
"I don't know yet! But you'll do something stupid sooner or later, and I want to cash in my fish now!"

"Stupid cat…" Natsu muttered, finally arriving at the guildhall.

Previously

"I have returned!" Kael shouted, kicking the doors down.

The guild roared back their greetings, toasting to the successful return of their ace.

"How was the mission Kael?" Lisanna asked, greeting him.

"Ah, not too bad. Crazy dark guild, corrupt mayor, giant weapons. The usual."
"Oh, my!" Lisanna giggled.

"Kael, where's Natsu?" Mira asked, approaching the two.

"Why, you got the hots for him?" Kael joked.

"NO! It's-it's just his first quest! And I wanted to make sure he's ok! That's all!" Mira stuttered.

"Relax, Mira, I'm just messing with you," he said, laughing at his own joke and Mira's nervous rambling. "Natsu should be here eventually. I need to see the master."

"What do you mean he'll be here eventually? Is he alright?" Lisanna asked, eyeing her now visibly worried sister.

"Ah, he's fine. Still a bit sick from the train, but he brought home a whopper this time, and I imagine it'll take some time to get that thing across town...Assuming he makes it here with it…"

"Oh dear, what'd he take this time…" Lisanna sighed. The guild by now was well acquainted with Natsu's trophy hunting, especially Mira, Erza, and Lisanna, seeing as they were the only three who'd ever been on missions with the dragon slayer.

"Honestly? Just wait and see for yourself. You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Kael chuckled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I really do need to report on the mission."
He made his way over to the stairs with a wave, leaving the two Strauss siblings to themselves to wonder what it is he brought back. Erza had been listening in on the conversation and approached the two to aid in their theorizing.

"What do you think he brought?" Lisanna questioned.

"I'm not sure, but seeing as even Kael seemed rather exasperated, it must be rather large…" Erza sweated.

"You saw him dragging that salamander through the forest like it was nothing, if it's taking him a long time to move, it's gotta be," Mira guessed.

The three sat down, continuing to theorize, whether it was the skull of a monster, maybe a statue, or some sort of animal. The closest they got to the barrel of a cannon designed by Zeref, was 'a really big sword,' which suggested by Erza. Twenty minutes later, they all heard a loud bang outside, as well as two voices.

"How the heck am I gonna get it inside, Happy?"

"That's your problem, Natsu. I wouldn't have taken it in the first place, and if I did, I would have taken it home first. Why even bring it to the guild anyway?"

"It's too big for our house, even you can see that!"

"SO WHY DID YOU TAKE IT ANYWAY?" Happy wailed.

Happy entered the guildhall, leaving behind a perplexed Natsu. He was rapidly approached by a swarm of curious guild members.

"Kael said Natsu brought a really big one this time?"

"What is it?"

"Come on, cat! Tell us!"
"AHHH! If you wanna know just go look!" Happy cried, quickly escaping the swarm of guild members.

"I must concur with Happy," Natsu said, approaching the army of his guildmates. "I need to speak with Makarov regarding how to get it inside, feel free to take a look. Jane? Erza? I leave you two in charge of ensuring no harm comes to it and that no one attempts to take it from me while I am away."

"For the last time Natsu!" Happy shouted. "You are the only one besides Kael who could possibly lift that thing, and I seriously doubt anyone else wants it!"
"This," Natsu replied. "Is exactly why you have no trophies. You must always take excellent care of them, and protect them at all costs. That is what you do with trophies."
"I give up!" Happy cried, flying to the bar to try to win some fishies.

Erza and Mira concurred with their given instructions and led the pack outside. They were at the doors when they heard another voice outside.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE ISHGARIAN GODS IS THAT?" yelled the voice.

"That's Gray!" Erza said.

"Come on! Even Gray is shocked, let's go see it!" Mira added.

With that, they burst through the doors only to immediately stop with their jaws hitting the floor.

"WHAT ON EARTH-LAND-" Erza started.

"IS THAT?" Mira finished.

The entire guild was in awe at the massive barrel simply lying on the ground. It had lost the faint red glow it had had previously, but was still a beautiful masterpiece of weaponsmithing. No longer attached to its base, the details were fully visible, from the jagged metal front, the chains dangling from the back to the middle, and the etched-in designs of flames.

Even after Natsu had brought Makarov to ask his advice on how to get it inside, no one had moved an inch. Eventually, they managed to get words out, and started spearheading questions at the trophy-hunting Salamander. After much pleading, Makarov agreed that it could stay at the guild, though the three of them neglected, or rather intentionally left out, the detail that the canon was a design from Zeref. That was the main reason Natsu wanted to keep it there in the first place, but if Makarov knew that, he'd never have allowed it to be housed there.

In the end, they just had Kael break down enough of the walls for Natsu to carry in his prize, much to the guild's amazement, and they had Laki assist in rebuilding them. Natsu agreed to pay for the damage done, even offering his entire share of the reward to allow it to be housed there.

"That Natsu…" Lisanna giggled. "He's really something else… I can see why you like him so much, Mira."

"SHUT UP, LISANNA!"

---

A/N: I decided to have this a/n at the end, so as to not spoil anything. Apologies for the length of this arc if you didn't enjoy it, I didn't anticipate it being this long. Honestly, it took a long time to come up with something, but eventually, it came together and this is what turned out. I like it, even though there are a few things that aren't perfect, I think it was a good test drive for my ability to create wholly original arcs. The idea came partly from the Dorma Anim, as you may or may not have guessed. Tormenta Daemonium means 'Demon cannon' in Latin, or at least that's what showed up in my google translate search. If you want a better idea of what it looks like, look up 'Demon Cannon' and check google images, I based it as an alteration of the Magic the Gathering card. It's not the exact same thing, but the two are quite similar. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Kael's arc, and the next chapter will be a bit of a time skip and we can finally have Lucy enter the fray! Also, I put a poll up, however you find those, about how you'd like me to proceed with releasing content. I normally have one chapter a day, but the other option would be something similar to how this arc was, which was released as a full arc, rather than one per day. So, that's it from me!