I'm back with the first chapter of the year. This fic managed to reach 100 followers, thank you so much for your support and care. I hope that I can keep with this story until the end. Remember to read until the end to read about some news about this story.
Chapter 9: Dreaming about knights and dragons.
Natsu returned to his home after the Eisenwald mission, thankfully nothing bad happen to them during their trip back home. But the mood was bad for not saying that is not exiting. For their whole trip no one say nothing, Gray was giving an eternal glare during the entire trip while Erza was giving him the silent treatment. When they arrived to Magnolia everyone when took their respective ways home.
No one was waiting for him at home and he shouldn't be surprise. Happy was currently with Mirajane and her brother. So, he didn't bother to say 'I'm home' and went straight to bed.
…
…
…When and how did he get home?
He opened his eyes and what he saw wasn't the wooden walls of his house. Whenever it was, it was really small and dirty. Natsu touched the ground, it was dirt and unknown material. The dragon knight tried to stand but find himself restricted by chains.
"What?" He grabbed the chain and pull them off but they were too strong for him. Thankfully he was able to stand. Now that he was able to take a better look, the place was really small. And he realized that it was a cell when he saw the bars.
How in the hell did he end up here? Did someone kidnapped on his sleep? Wait, when exactly did he went to sleep?
"HEY!" He screamed but no one seem to hear him. He couldn't see no one in the hallway nor in the other cells. Natsu grabbed the bars and try to break them but he just couldn't do it. "AAARRRGGGGHHH!" Anger was taking possession of his mind. He needed to calm down and think.
First, he needed to find any clues to where he was.
Well, it was certainly a prison but it looked abandoned. The walls were full of mold and dirt, the entire facility was on decay. Shit, it remind him of…
…no
No, it couldn't be.
He was in Fiore, in Magnolia. There's no way that he could be in….
Then he look at the ceiling, there was a giant hole that allow the moonlight to illuminate the cell. It was the same hole that he stared for months.
"No…nonononononono" The cool that he was showing during the past days was gone, replaced by fear and despair. "No, it can't be. It can't be!" He tried to move but the chain restrict his movement. "No! Fuck, fuckfuckfuck!" He punched, kicked and even head-butted the walls that had the chains. "FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"
He lost it. Not even a minute and he lost his mind. The cell, that goddamn cell that impersonated him for so long came back with a vengeance. It didn't matter how strong he hit or scream, nothing could free him from this chains. Not even the dragon's fire.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He shacked his body erratically, his mind already shattered into pieces. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Once again he screamed to no one.
*Klink*
Or maybe there was someone.
"Hey….Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Get me out of this place or I'll fucking kill you!" The sounds of boots echoed across the cells, someone was coming to him. "ARE YOU LISTENING?!"
"Hahaha…" The person laughed in a sinister and mocking way. "Hihihihi…" Suddenly, Natsu calm down like something inside of him just snapped and bring back his sanity. "Hohohoho…" Now that he was able to think straight, he could tell that the laughing individual was a man. Who's voice sounded familiar to him but not in a good way.
"No, no…please no…"
"No, please no. Oh, Natsu…" The man was now before him. He was wearing a full set golden armor that covered his entire body. He looked like an old fashioned knight, his helmet and shoulders had a couples of golden bars that went beyond their respective limbs. A metal skirt that covered his crotch and had the length of his knees. What stood out the most were the arms that wrapped around his torso as if they were hugging him. "You hurt my feelings."
Natsu knew this man very well. Of all the beasts, demons and divine beings he faced, what was the worst he fight was nothing else but a man. They are plenty of words that could perfectly describe him: A traitor. A coward. A murderer. An enemy. A monster. There was no day that he didn't forgot that frivolous armor and that macabre voice. It all belong to his worst enemy.
"Lautrec!"
"Aahhh, I miss you too. How are you?"
"I'll fucking kill you!"
"First you must get out of that cell, my good friend." That mocking, that voice. "Quite nostalgic, don't you think? Five years ago we find ourselves on the same situation but the roles were the opposite. Oh, how cruel is the irony."
"Oh yeah? Then open this shit so we can talk face to face."
"You know? I always wondered if Oscar wasn't with you that day, would you had let me out?"
"No, we should kill you on that cell and let you rot."
"Ah! Thank you! You have no idea how long that has being bothering me! Thank you, Natsu!" He said with exaggerated enthusiasm. "I have another question: Where are your friends? It's too odd that I don't see you with the righteous Oscar and the little big Pris-"
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE TO SAY THEIR NAMES!"
"Quite the reaction. Did something happen between you? I can lend you my shoulder."
"If you dare to get close to them-"
"What? What you're gonna do to me? I haven't done anything, you in the meanwhile are behind bars." Lautrec rebutted. "Now that I'm saying it at loud, why are you here? Did you….did something bad?" The pink haired man freeze were he stood and went completely silent. "Hohoho, didn't expect that. It should have something enormous if you are here all alone."
"Shut up…"
"Don't be mean, Natsu. You know you can tell me everything, we are friends."
"No! SHUT UP! GO AWAY!"
*Thud*
Out of nowhere, a door appeared on the middle of the hallway. Natsu's eyes were about to leave his face from the shock. The recently arrived door was white with rose on the upper area.
"Huh, another unexpected factor. Do you know what that is?" He pointed at the door but the face of the dragon slayer show nothing but fear. "What's behind the door, Natsu?"
"No, don't go there…please."
"Are…Are you hiding something for me? No, that expression say something else. Are you perhaps hiding something from everyone?"
"Please, please don't go…"
"No wonder you are alone, you have a secret you're not telling no one! No wonder that you returned home by your own. You mess up big, my boy."
"W-What are you doing?!"
"You know me well, I'm a curious person…" His right hand was now holding a bloody shotel. "Let's see what's behind that door."
"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!" Lautrec turned his back and walked towards the door. "WAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAIT!" Natsu was crying of fear, despair already took control of his heart. "Kill me! Torture me! Eat my soul! BUT DON'T GO THERE! PLEASE!"
"Too late again, my friend. But don't worry, I leave a present inside that will keep you company."
His hands feel heavy of all the sudden, like he was holding something big with them. He slowly lowered his gaze and paralyzed. On his hands was a decapitated head, the head had long blue hair and yellow eyes that were gazing at him.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
It was a lonely night, the local bar at the center of Magnolia had very few people. Most of them were workers coming after a hard day. On the bar, was a shirtless young man having a beer. His name was Gray Fullbuster, one of the few people who know Ice make magic.
"Place for one more?" He was surprise when his childhood friends decided to join him.
"Suit yourself." She sit beside him and ask for a beer as well. "Can't sleep either?"
"Yea." Erza drink the beer. "How are you felling?"
"Like a million jewels, you?"
"Same." They both went silent for a minute. "Gray….what-?"
"Do I think about that bastard?"
"Don't say that."
"What you want me to call him? You see what he did to all those people!"
"You think I don't?!" Erza punched the table. "What I saw…I couldn't believe that Natsu was capable of such a thing."
"The day he come back, he wanted to tell us about what happen to him but the gramps stop him for doing so. Accordingly to him, Natsu had seen the horrors of a battlefield."
"He fought in a war?!"
"Maybe, he didn't confirm it. Although, he say that he helped the prisoners to rebel against the guards."
"What?"
"You didn't know that either?"
"I just read what the newspaper knew about…I…I didn't know that he…how did he end up in a prison?"
"For what he told us, is where he end after his ship wrecked. He spend like two months in there until the riot. He didn't say it but most of us intuited that he kill some people during the riot but…"
"Those were two months, who knows what happen to him during that time."
"Well, the bastard doesn't tell us shit. Every time we try to talk about it, he changes the subject or he goes for a mission. I'm starting to wonder if he told us was actually true."
"He did disappeared for 2 years."
"And he never tried to contact us or try to come back. The motherfucker doesn't care about us."
"You don't know that!"
"Oh yeah? He has a good way to show it. Do you know that he doesn't bring happy to missions anymore?"
"I don't believe you."
"Erza, you literally didn't see him with us. He doesn't bring him to missions anymore, shit I never seen them passing time together since he came back. He still living with Mira and Elfman."
"And now?"
"I don't know, maybe he went to see him or he abandoned like always. Honestly, I don't care. For all I care, he can die on a sink and rot there."
"I'm going to pretend that I don't hear that."
"Are you going to pretend that what happen didn't happen?" Erza went silent. "That's what I thought." Gray took a slip of his beer. "Are you going to tell Master?"
"He should already know at this point, and something tells me that he won't be surprise."
"Wait….does gramps know about this?!"
"Master is wise, nothing slips out from his sight. Trust me, the master knows the secrets of all of us."
"Then what you want to do?"
"Tomorrow morning, I'm going to speak with Master about Natsu. But I need something from you."
"What?"
"Go to see Natsu and challenge into a duel."
"I'm always in the mood to beat the shit out of that asshole but why you of all people want me to fight him."
"You will never admit it but you are by far the closest person to him before he went missing. No one can you can make him open his heart to us. He is pain, he needs to heal."
"By beating the crap out of him?"
"Think of it as though love." Gray looked at her smile and did the same.
"Just for the record; I'm doing this for you, not for him."
How long has it been? He couldn't tell, for some reason time didn't work properly during these last…weeks? Months? God, he couldn't remember when he get here. He wondered if this was because the day lasted longer or for the lack of food and wanted.
It could be both.
"What's for the menu today?" He asked to something at his side, it was an old and muddy doll with no face. "Don't be like that. You know that we can't get enough food from here." He only received silence. "What the fuck you want me to then?! You know that I tried to get out of this fucking cell ever since I got into this shithole!"
….
"At least I'm trying, dammit! You been here before I arrive and I don't see you trying to get out or helping with the cell's chores!"
….
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Fire emerged from his body and punch the wall. "You are a fucking doll! You don't even talk!" He threw a fire ball to the wall were the doll was resting, the impact made the toy fall to the ground. "…I'm sorry…." The man walked to the doll and grabbed. "Forgive me I didn't mean to yell…"
"…."
"Please…Please just talk….even if is just in my head….just….god!" Etherius hugged the doll with all his strength, soaking it with his tears. "I just wanna go home. I wanna go home."
This conversation, this breakdown, has being happening every single day from the last month. He just couldn't remember it because of the lack of sleep and food. His meals consisted on any bug and rat that pass by and because of the scream and the weird time, his sleep schedule was torn into pieces.
In jails, they are special cell designated as a punishment for those who breaks the rules or misbehave, they are put into solitary confinement. It consist on a cell with no windows and bars, it a stretch place with no light, only a bed and a toilet. The prisoner has no contact with the other inmates or the guards, in other words, he is completely isolated from the world.
Normal people mostly think that is just a stupid thing but solitary confinement is considerate one of the few legal ways of torture. While it doesn't bring any kind of physical damage, the psychologic effects on a person could last forever.
Anxiety and stress.
Depression and hopelessness.
Anger, irritability and hostility.
Hallucinations.
Psychosis.
For say a few.
All these symptoms are often appeared.
During the first week.
Imagine what months of isolation could do to the human psyche.
Insanity is putting it short.
*DROP*
His eyes turned back to see something that fell down from the ceiling. Whatever it was, it reflect the sunlight with intensity. He walked toward them and saw that it was a key.
"Over here." At the hole where the sunlight came out, a figure illuminated by the sun. It was a fully dressed knight. "There the key of you salvation." With that, the knight went as he came.
He looked at the key with wonder, it feel like a dream. The chance of get out. He grabbed it. HE GRABBED IT! IT WAS REAL!
Etherius grabbed the doll that keep him company and for the first time he was free.
"I'm always surprise of how dark the story is." Lucy said, on her hands were the first volume of "The rebellion of Fire and thunder" by Lucius Cipher, her favorite series. It was one of the most popular books on Fiore, although, she was surprise that how famous it was for how dark it was. Like no kidding, murder, rape and all that dark stuff. How the hell it had so much merchandise? "Well, is really good that why…"
And the reason why she wanted to pursue writing, but her imagination wasn't enough so she decided to join a magic guild so that she could get inspire by their quests. So far….she has nothing, mostly because all of the men she talked were lying about their deeds in order to flirt with her (something that she completely dislike) and her adventures…..let's say that she was playing safe for now.
But if she wanted to write about dark fantasy she has a least some stories to use because she had a lot to horrible stuff to write off. All of them, revolve around the knight she met at Haregeon.
Natsu was more terrifying that she ever thought, she knew that he kill some people back when he rescued her but….never in that way. The state of that man's corpse, is like someone drink the life out from him.
Natsu…the day she met him he wasn't using his real name but the name of her favorite character. Well, she now knows that he was trying to take down a man who was impersonate him but…why that name? Was he a fan of Etherius too? He plays the part of a shining knight very well. Even how brutal he was on battle.
He even had the red armor and a heat blade! And he use fire magic for god's sake! It was like having Etherius in real life, and it wasn't just by cosplay.
Everyone in the Kingdom knew the story of the disappearing of the Fairy tail mage. Apparently, he learned that one of his friends died but they couldn't find her corpse, so in he clinged to the idea that she could be somehow alive and stole a ship to travel where she did her last mission. But a storm strike the ship and he went missing for two years.
Holy shit, he WAS like Etherius. Accordingly to his background, he went into journey to find his beloved Lisa who disappeared from his arms but his boat was destroyed and landed on the undead asylum in Londran, a place cursed with an endless cycle of dead and resurrection.
She couldn't believe it. A real Etherius was her friend! That thought took away all the memories of the train.
Now she wanted to meet him again. Maybe he could tell her about what happen during those two years and allow her to write a biograby of his life. It could be like 'The rebellion fire and thunder' but with real life facts! That last thing was really popular for movies!
"Being part of Fairy tail is the best thing that ever happen…."
Lucy closed her eyes and dream about knights and dragons.
Ever since he had the capacity of remember, he wanted to be a knight. His parents always read him and his sisters stories about knights who slayed dragons and rescue princesses. His dream was to become a glorious knight and serve the King. Her sister liked the idea of being a princess, so she played to be a princess locked inside a tower and he went to rescue her. It was their favorite game.
But the time of games ended quickly. The church choose her sister to be a maiden and by law, their family couldn't deny such request. She wasn't even ten years old and they took her away from her family. Ever since, he has never saw her again.
When he come to age, he enlisted into the army and worked harder. Perhaps if he became a high ranked knight he could see her again. His effort pay by turning into an Elite Knight, he was the pride of his family.
But then the curse happen.
His land succumbed by the curse and the constant attack of beasts. The world turn into a hellish nightmare. He tried to fight off but the curse got him eventually, he almost fell into madness when the dark sing appeared on his body. The fate of all the branded was to be send into the asylum until the ends of time, to become hollow and mindless.
Then he remember the stories of his family, about a prophecy. About a chosen undead who will save the land from the curse and reclaim Gwyn's throne.
So he went to his own to the asylum and started to free as many undead as he could. With the hope that one of them was the chosen undead of the prophecy. He spend months inside that mad house. The decay and despair from the prisoners was disturbing. It was looking at a reflection of his future self if he allow himself to give up to the dark.
Days passed and his hope was slowly fading away, he wondered if what he was doing actually matters. His mind and self being was being consumed by the asylum, becoming another monster.
Years ago he was an elite knight of Astora.
Today he was laying defeated by single hit of a demon.
"OI! Are you alright?!" Someone call out for him, he wonder who he was. "Hold up, dude!"
"Do not worry about me, young man…..you….you're not hollow…."
"What? What you're talking about?!"
"Hold….young man, you're not undead….."
"I don't have any idea what you talking about! Forget it, I take you out of here!"
"You are pretty kind to a stranger. But there's no use. I'm going to die soon and then lose my sanity…"
"Stop talking!"
"Please…just hear me out…" The young man stopped and start listing to him. "Regrettably, I failed in my mission but perhaps you can keep the torch it….there's a saying in my family: 'Thou who art Undead, art chosen... In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords... When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know..' I came to this cursed placed in order to find that undead…unfortunately I couldn't find him….I don't know how a human like you ended here but if you want to leave this prison you must defeat the demon inside the chapel."
"IS that the reason why you are beaten up?"
"As a matter of fact, yes….Boy, if you managed to escape, please, flee from this land. Men do not longer live here, only the death and the monsters….My mission….My mission was to find the chosen one, perhaps assist an hero on their quest will be purpose to my life….jejeje….I always dream about saving some damsel in distress but I guess that you are enough, boy….here, take this…." The knight handed with the last of his strength a key and a flask. "Go…I would hate to harm you after death, so go….please…."
The knight closed his eyes and decided to dream about knights and princesses. He wondered if his sister was able to survive this horror. If they still gods out there, he pray that his sister would live a happy life outside this hell.
"W-A-"
He heard a voice called for him, perhaps this was the afterlife that he hear so much about it.
*Slap!*
"¡!" The knight open his eyes like he was waking up from a nightmare. Before his eyes was a young man- no, a teenage boy that couldn't be older than fifteen. The boy had bag on his eyes and neglected looks but what stand out the most of the boy was his unnatural pink hair. "What?!"
"About you wake up. You got me really worry here, buddy!" He smiled at him with a smile that had an innocence and honesty that he forgot that existed. "Sorry for the slap but I have to make sure you were still kicking."
The man looked around, he wasn't on that broken room anymore but inside the asylum. The room was dirty and closed, there was a door locked with a giant barrel. On the middle of the room was a fire that was cooking two rats.
"How…How I'm a alive?"
"That medicine you gave me was very useful, I use this thing on you. I don't know what it is, but fire refills it and it tastes great."
"Y-You save me? Why?"
"I couldn't let you there to die. You give the key of my cell and free me, I own you one. Although, I would have help you even if you haven't help me before."
"Why?! Why did you help me?!"
"Why not?" The knight was taken back by the boy's earnest words. "Honestly, I'm really grateful. You're the first person that I can talk in….I don't know how long. I was actually going crazy in there until you bail me out."
"…..jajajajaja…." The man grabbed his hair and laugh. "Being rescue by a child….how low I have fall…"
"You're welcome, by the way."
"Forgive me, I didn't mean to offend you. I'm deeply grateful by your assistance, young man."
"Don't sweat it. Is the least I could do."
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Oscar of Astora, may I know your name?"
"It's Natsu. Natsu Dragneel, nice to meet ya!"
"Oscar, wake up." A female voice awake him from his slumber. The woman was standing before him. "We arrive."
"I see. Thank you for wake me, Maria." The man stand up from his seat and exit the wagon. "How long did I sleep?"
"An hour." She answered. "You seem very deep into it. What were you dreaming about?"
"About Dragons and knights."
Ok, I have an announcement to make: I'm working on a fanfic that will tell the two year gap that Natsu went missing and what he did during those two years. I warn you, is dark fantasy. But not worry, is not necessary to read it unless you want more background about Natsu. This story will still focus on the present and the Fairy tail world, while the prequel will be about…
The dark souls world.
Yep, it will be a Fairy tail x Dark Souls story something that I don't see so much about. Dark souls 1 is one of my favorite videogames of all time and I want to work with something like Fairy tail because one is the extreme opposite of the other. I hope that you people give him a chance.
Leave your comments and thank you for reading.