Hey everyone, sorry it has been a really, really long time since I last posted. I would like to give an update. One, I had this chapter written and then my computer died and none of it saved. That admittedly got me upset enough to not rewrite the scene. I then tried to rewrite it some time later and then life got in the way. However, after a long time and a break, I have returned to continue this story and this series. I will admit I have been in a rough spot for a while and it taking a break on my current projects and writing something else and new with one of my friends to clear my head and reinvigorate my love for writing again. So I am so thrilled to be back to this story, these characters, and this universe as I love Fairy Tail. So I thank you all for being so patient with me and my time away. I promise I will be more regular with my updates now that I am approaching a nice break in my schedule. And there will be more adventures to come for Team Natsu, Krysta, and the rest of the guild! For now, enjoy!
Last time: Krysta attended her master's funeral with her friends at her side and learned some shocking news.
Now: Lucy, Natsu, and Happy are on a job.
Chapter 1- The Salamander
How hard would it be to catch a damn kid? Apparently, very difficult. That's all this job was. Catch a kid with magic who is bothering the townsfolk. The Mayor had made it very clear that many had tried to catch him before, but the kids' antics were getting on their nerves enough to the point that they all had enough of it. So they placed a job request out to the nearby guilds to come deal with the kid and, hopefully, put him in his place. Lucy thought it would be an easy enough job for them to take after the past couple days and the jewel was fairly reasonable at 30,000. But for the last two hours, they had been running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to catch a kid who had the ability to turn invincible and even move around like a ghost. The flier and the Mayor had failed to mention that which irked Lucy to no end, but she wasn't going to argue if it meant she would get paid. She would just like to get paid though.
After returning from Kyrsta's master's funeral, Natsu was anxious to go out and take a job. Lucy couldn't blame him though. He was surprisingly mature and somber throughout the whole event that Lucy was worried that the ceremony was getting to the dragon slayer. She guessed that he might have been thinking about Igneel during the funeral, but didn't bother to ask him. However, she did find herself having flashbacks to her own mother's funeral and it was hard to keep her own tears back as she dearly missed her mother and her father. So she was grateful for the distraction of a job even if it was irritating her to no end.
She had invited Erza to join them, but Erza passed and said that she would join them next time. And they had extended the invite to Wendy and Carla as they had returned from their job with Happy, Lisanna, and Elfman shortly after they came back from the funeral. They were tired from their job, but Happy was excited to rejoin his best friends, so he came with them.
Speaking of Happy and Natsu, they were in the middle of trying to lure the kid out while Lucy stood in the park of the town waiting for them to get there. Capricorn stood beside her, reading from his small poem book. He glanced down at her as she tapped her foot, impatiently on the grass as they stood under a large tree.
"A jewel for your thoughts, Miss. Lucy?" Capricorn asked, politely.
Lucy glanced up at him. She sighed. "I am just curious how long it takes to trick a kid. It's been almost forty minutes since they left to get him," she said, folding her arms across her chest. She was dressed in a blue crop top with a navy skirt, black knee high boots and her hair in a half up half down style.
"I am sure they will be here soon. Patience is a virtue," Capricorn said, returning his attention to his book.
Lucy smirked at that and looked back towards the marketplace where she could vaguely see Natsu's salmon colored hair in the middle of the crowd.
Natsu and Happy looked around the crowd, annoyed that they couldn't find the kid. They had set up a tempting trap to lure the kid out into the marketplace by offering free food, but the kid had yet to show.
"Where is this damn kid? Who doesn't want free food?" Natsu grumbled to Happy who sat on his shoulder, looking through the crowd.
"Maybe we should have mentioned that there would be free fishies too," Happy said, shrugging. "That would convince me to come."
"I don't know if that would work for everyone, buddy," Natsu said, continuing to scan the crowd.
Suddenly a startled scream came from a woman nearby. Natsu and Happy whipped their heads around to see the kid messing with a woman who was trying to buy veggies at a nearby stand. She was looking around frantically for who was messing with her, but the kid vanished before she turned around. However, Natsu could still smell him. He pushed through the crowd and walked right up to where he could smell the kid as the punk started to pelt the woman and other passers by with olives that he had grabbed from a small barrel. Natsu reached out while the kid was distracted and grabbed the back of the kid's shirt. He roughly pulled him up and he could feel the kid kicking and flailing around in his ironclad grasp even though he was still invincible to everyone else.
"Drop the act kid, we've got you," Natsu said, annoyed as he continued to feel the kid squirm.
The spell disappeared and the kid appeared causing a gasp from the crowd.
"Thank goodness you caught him," one man said from a nearby booth.
"Good finally," the woman he had been originally messing with grumbled before storming away.
Natsu looked at the boy no older than ten in his grasp and nudged his head towards the park. "Come on, let's go have a chat," he said as he started walking away, tossing the boy over his shoulder.
"Let me go!" The kid demanded as he flailied on his shoulders. He kicked and slapped him causing Natsu to wince as a few had power behind them. "This is kidnapping! Help! I'm being kidnapped!" He cried out pleadingly to the townsfolks.
No one seemed to budge as they walked towards the park.
"You're not being kidnapped," Natsu said, over his shoulder. "We were hired to catch you."
"Hired to catch me? By who that stupid Mayor? By my foster family? Who?" The kid demanded, angered.
"The Mayor. You've been a menace to the town and he wanted you caught," Natsu informed him as they continued. "Sorry kid, but your days of pranking and messing with people are over."
"No! You can't stop me!" The kid continued to call out as he continued to squirm.
"Just shut up!" Natsu barked as they exited the market and started walking down the path to the large tree where he could see Lucy and Capricorn waiting for them.
Their original plan was to trick the kid into a game to win free food, lure him to the park, and then catch him when he wasn't paying attention. But this works too. Natsu came to a stop when they reached the tree and dropped the kid onto the ground at his feet. The kid landed with a yelp before glaring up at Natsu. Then Lucy's whip wrapped around him right as he turned invincible, trying to flee again.
"The hell? Let me go!' The boy demanded.
"We don't want to hurt you," Lucy said, kneeling down before him. "We just want to talk."
"Why do you care? I thought you were just catching me for jewel," the boy said, upset.
"We are," Natsu answered.
"Natsu." Lucy shot a stern look at him before looking back at the invincible boy as he tried to escape the whip. "Look, can we talk? I promise we won't hurt you or turn you into the Mayor right now. I just want to talk."
The boy didn't answer.
"What's your name? I'm Lucy," she introduced. "And this Natsu, Happy, and Capricorn."
The boy was silent for a moment. "Manny."
"How old are you, Manny?' Lucy asked as she sat down on the grass before him, tucking her legs under her.
"Ten," Manny answered, begrudgingly.
"You've got some cool powers. Where did you learn them?" Lucy asked, gesturing to the fact he was still invincible.
"I don't know. I just did," Manny said with what sounded like a shrug in his voice.
"Does anyone in your family use magic?" Lucy asked, curiously.
He was silent for a long moment. He then dropped his spell and appeared before them again. Manny was looking dejectedly off into the distance.
"No, it's just me," Manny finally answered. "They all hate that I have magic and they make fun of me for it."
"Is that why you mess with people in town?"
"I guess," Manny shrugged. "Everyone is mean to me about it."
Lucy exchanged a sorrowful glance with Natsu at that, then looked back at Manny.
"I get it," Natsu said. "I've been made fun of by people before for being raised by a dragon."
Lucy and Capricorn looked back at Natsu, surprised he had answered. Manny looked up at him, incredulously.
"You're kidding right?" Manny asked.
"Nope, completely serious," Natsu said, smiling at him. "See, look." He lit his fists ablaze. The kid stared with his jaw on the floor at the fire. Natsu then tilted his head to the sky. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" He called out, sending a gout of flame up into the heavens. However, he caught the tree on fire in the process. "Oh crap!"
Zen stifled a yawn as he walked down the street with an armful of bags from the market. He had finished gathering groceries to make meals for the next week and was starting to feel lethargic after a long day of shopping. As he walked away from the market towards the path that leads out of town and towards his home, he spotted a couple of teens in the park with a young boy tied up in a whip. He was concerned and curious as to why a child was tied up like a hardened criminal in the middle of the park. He slowed his pace as he looked at them. Then the boy with the pink hair set his hand on fire before breathing fire into the sky.
"Oh crap!" The pink haired boy cried out in a panic as the tree caught fire.
"Natsu! You idiot!" The blonde girl with him cried as she scrambled to her feet. She then ran to a nearby fountain.
The boy they had tied up had burst into laughter at the scene. The large goat man that was there, grabbed the boy and then quickly moved away from the burning tree. The pink haired boy tried to put out the fire by eating it which caught Zen off guard. He had never seen anyone try and eat fire except for a very few circus performers when he was a child. Zen continued to watch as the girl summoned a spirit out of nowhere by the fountain. The spirit looked pissed as she unleashed a tidal wave of water, not only aiding the boy put out the fire, but quickly turning the park into a pond. Anyone in the immediate area of the large tree were soaked by the spirit including the girl, the pink haired boy, the young kid, and the goat man alone with a few townsfolk just trying to enjoy their day.
He took a step back and managed to avoid the sudden wave, but watched in curious amusement as the spirit disappeared and the pink haired boy started yelling at the blonde girl. The two continued to argue for a moment as Zen stared at the pink haired boy for a moment. He then decided to keep moving as a crowd started to gather around as the boy and girl kept yelling.
That boy's magic was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He made a mental note to look into that kind of fire magic when he got home.
"Way to over do it," Natsu grumbled as he rang his scarf out.
"I didn't. Aquarius did," Lucy chided as she emptied her water logged boot onto the sidewalk. "But it's your fault. If you didn't set the tree on fire, we wouldn't be soaking wet right now."
Natsu didn't answer, he just finished ringing out his scarf before wrapping it back around his neck.
They had cleared the park after Aquarius had flooded it to put out the fire and moved off to the side to dry off. Thankfully, Capricorn had kept an eye on Manny and even grabbed the boy some ice cream to keep him preoccupied while Natsu and Lucy cleaned up their mess. Happy had gone off to join the spirit in acquiring the frozen treats.
"But at least we caught the kid," Natsu said with a sigh as he gestured to Capricorn and Manny.
"Yeah, but we are probably going to lose money for flooding their park," Lucy groaned as she dropped her soaked boot onto the ground.
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Natsu said, nonchalantly.
"We'll see." She paused for a moment. "What should we do about Manny?" Lucy asked after a moment as she dumped water out of her other boot.
"We turn him in and get paid," Natsu said, looking at her as he lowered his hands. "That's what we got hired to do."
"I know, but he seems like he comes from such a hard life and place," Lucy admitted solemnly. "I only wish we could help him more."
"Well maybe we can talk to the Mayor about it?" Natsu suggested after a moment. "Maybe he'll know what to do."
"I guess. It's better than nothing right now," Lucy said, sighing.
At that moment, Happy, Capricorn and Manny returned with ice cream. The celestial spirit held one out for both Natsu and Lucy.
"Here Miss. Lucy, Natsu, we thought you might like some too," Capricorn said, kindly.
"Thanks Capricorn," Lucy said, smiling up at the spirit. She then looked down at Manny. "How are you doing?" She asked him.
"Better. Thanks," Manny said, smiling at them genuinely. "This was the most fun I've had in a while." He then licked his ice cream.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it," Lucy said before having some of hers. "But we should probably get you to the Mayor."
Manny immediately looked downcast. "Please don't do that. I don't want to go talk to him."
"Why?" Natsu asked, curiously as he ate his ice cream.
"He's such a jerk. He is always mean to me," Manny said, pouting. "Just like my foster parents."
"Manny, have you ever talked to anyone about how you feel with all of this? Or have you just lashed out with these pranks and such?" Lucy asked.
"No, I've never told them. Like any of them would believe me," Manny said, grumply.
"Manny," Lucy reached out and grabbed the boy's hand. "I know adults can be scary and mean sometimes, but if they love you and care for you then they will listen. Look we can talk to the Mayor and tell him what's going on. I'm sure he'll understand. And if not, if things seem bad then maybe we can talk with your foster family and see about bringing you with us to Fairy Tail. You would be around people who are also magic and would look after you," she said so heartfeltly. "Natsu and Happy are the reason I joined, and the guild has been my home ever since."
Manny looked between the two of them on the bench then nodded. "We can talk to the Mayor."
"Okay, let's finish this ice cream and then we can go, but you have to promise to be good and stay with us," Lucy said in a slightly stern tone.
"Fine, but only because you guys are cool," Manny said as a smirk came to his face.
"Oh thank goodness you found him," the Mayor said as Natsu and Lucy escorted Manny into the Mayor's office. The young boy stayed by Natsu's side with Happy in his arms. The blue cat was content with being held and petted by the ten year old. "How did you manage to catch him?"
"Easy," Natsu said, folding his arms across his chest. "Free food."
"I see," the Mayor said, nodding. "Now I heard that the park flooded near where you caught him, was that his doing?" He asked, glancing at Manny.
Manny stepped behind Natsu at the glance, uneasy wafting off the boy. Natsu glanced down at the boy and then at the Mayor.
"Actually that was our fault," Lucy said, bashfully. "Natsu was demonstrating his magic for Manny and he accidentally lit the tree on fire. I summoned one of my spirits who uses water magic to put it out. But she likes to go overboard and she flooded the park which caused all of us to get soaked." She gestured to their still damp clothing. "So we are sorry about that."
"Oh it's alright," the Mayor said, forgivingly. "It's only water. It'll drain away eventually. But I am glad your mission was a success."
"Thanks," Lucy said.
"Excuse me, but may I ask what you would have said if Manny caused the flooding?" Natsu asked a little protectively of the young boy.
Lucy glanced at Natsu at that, surprised by the protectiveness in his tone.
"Oh, well, I might have assumed it would be one of his pranks," the Mayor answered evasively.
"And if it wasn't? If it was an accident?" Natsu continued.
The Mayor hesitated with his answer allowing Lucy to sweep in and add onto what Natsu was trying to do.
"The reason why we are asking this is because Manny is only a child with an incredible gift, but it seems like everyone in town, especially yourself and his foster family seem to give him a hard time for being different," Lucy clarified for the Mayor. "All Manny wants to do is be loved, have fun, and not be ashamed to have magic. That's the reason he is misbehaving, because people are being bullies to him at home."
The Mayor blinked at that. He looked at Manny with a furrowed brow. "Manny, son, is that true?"
"Yeah. You're always upset and angry with me. Same with everyone else at home every time I do anything. But all I'm doing is trying to live my life and be happy with you and Cicely," Manny said, upset. "But you guys blame me and my magic for everything because the others say I'm doing things wrong. You always believe them, but never me." He said as tears started to fall.
Happy turned in the boy's arms, giving him a hug. Natsu reached behind him and gently patted Manny's head, reassuringly. The Mayor knelt down before Natsu, trying to look around at Manny.
"Son, I… I never knew. Why did you never say anything before? Why did you let the others at home bully you so much and take the heat for what they did?" the Mayor asked, gently.
"I tried, but they would always say I was lying. They're the liars," Manny hissed.
The Mayor's shoulders slumped at that as he rested back on his heels. Lucy looked at the exchange and suddenly understood what was happening.
"You're Manny's foster father?" Lucy asked, putting two and two together.
The Mayor looked up to her and nodded. "Yes. My wife and I have two children of our own, but we have fostered many over the years. Manny is one of the five we have at home right now and he is also the youngest of the bunch." He sighed and looked back at the boy. "I'm so sorry, son. Had I known… had either of us known, we would have done something. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
Manny looked at him then away as he thought deeply about that answer for a moment. The Mayor continued. "I understand you're upset with us. I also understand if you'd rather find a new place to call home or even join a wizards guild. It's just… we've never fostered a child before with magic. So this is a learning experience for all of us. But we should have never let your stay with us come to something like this where you have to misbehave just to get our attention that something is wrong. And I'm so very, deeply sorry about that, son. We do love you and having you around the house with us. Just tell me what I need to do. We don't want to lose you, Manny."
That caught Manny's attention. He looked at the man before him and slowly stepped out from behind Natsu. "I just want you guys to hear me. To listen to me when I tell you what's wrong. To be there for me when I'm upset and cry because the others are being jerks. And to know when I am being a pest and when I'm just trying to make you happy."
The Mayor's face softened as a small smile came to his lips. "I can do that, son. I promise I'll do that. And if I ever break that promise, then you have my permission to call these fine folks here to come and straighten me out," he said, gesturing to Natsu and Lucy. "If that is alright with the two of you? He has taken quite a liking to you guys."
Natsu beamed. "Of course. It'd be fun to hang out with you again, kid."
Lucy nodded. "Just call us anytime."
"Then we have a deal," Manny said, smiling at them all.
The Mayor opened his arms wide for his foster son. Manny set Happy down and ran into the Mayor's arms for a hug. They held it for a moment before they pulled away. The Mayor stood up and addressed the wizards.
"Thank you for all you have done," he said, wholeheartedly. "You have done more than I could ever ask." He walked over to a safe and opened it. He then pulled out two bags of jewel. "Here, the payment I promised and I added a little extra for what you've done for me and Manny." He held it out to them.
Lucy's eyes brightened as she took the jewel from his hands. She had truly expected them to take a pay cut for flooding the park, so this was quite a welcome surprise. "It's no problem at all," she said genuinely.
"We should get going. See ya around, Manny," Natsu said as he started for the door. Lucy and Happy on his heels as they waved off.
"Bye Natsu! Bye Happy! Bye Lucy! Tell bye to Capricorn for me!" Manny called after them.
"I will!' Lucy called back with a grin as they left from a surprisingly heartfelt job.
Zen arrived home a few hours later. He set his bags of groceries onto the counter in the small kitchen before quickly putting them away. He then made his way over to the basement door and descended down into a large lab that was buried deep underground.
"Mason? You down here?" He called out as he finished descending the staircase.
"Yeah, in here," a young male voice answered from inside the lab.
Zen rounded the corner into the lab and found his son sitting at a desk with archive magic up before him from their lackrama. He was busily typing away at some equation that he had been working at for a while.
"How was shopping?" Mason asked, not pulling his attention away from the holo-screens before him.
"Interesting," Zen said, eyeing the calculations.
"Oh?"
"Let's just say I might have found another potential subject for our test," Zen said.
"Did you get their name?" Mason asked.
"I didn't recall catching it, but the young man had pink hair and had the ability to breathe fire," Zen recalled.
Mason stopped typing and slowly turned to look up at his father. "I'm sorry, what?"
Zen met his gaze. "I'm telling you the truth."
"I figured you were, but I'm just making sure I heard you right. Did this guy also wear a dragon scale looking scarf?" He asked almost rhetorically.
"Yes."
Mason turned back to the screens before and started typing again. "Dad, I know exactly who you saw and ran into." He said. A moment later, an image of the boy in question appeared before them. "This guy."
"Yes, that's him!" Zen said almost excitedly.
"Dad, that's Natsu Dragneel. The fire dragon slayer of Fairy Tail. They call him the salamander," Mason educated his father. "Remember, we saw him during the Grand Magic Games. He beat Sabertooth's Sting and Rogue single handedly."
"Oh that's right. I do recall seeing him now," Zen said, wistfully. "But do you think he would make a good test subject for us?"
"He would be the best subject. Hell, we wouldn't need any of the others," Mason exasperated. "Do you know how powerful Dragon Slayer Magic is? That element alone would be enough to fuel our experiment ten times over."
"Then we should invite him to the experiment," Zen said simply.
"It's not going to be that easy. It's one thing to convince a few lower level mages to participate in an experiment like this because it's harmless when there is more than one power source," Mason explained. "But convincing a single guy to do it where we most likely have to drain him entirely of his magic to get what we need isn't going to end well for us."
Zen thought on that for a moment before a devious smile came to his face. "Then what if we don't ask?"
Mason looked at his father with a raised brow.
"Get me everything you can on Natsu Dragneel. Spy on him if you have too," Zen ordered. "If we want our device to work, then I want his power no matter the cost."
Mason smirked, maliciously. "Yes sir."
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