Look who's back! Yes, everyone. I changed my name. Previously AsDarknessSpreads changed to Kōri no Koibito! This is the second-last chapter before the real plot begins. And of course, angst is in tow.

Enjoy!

Warning: Minor fluff, Angst

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or accidental Sword Art Online.


Chapter 6

Crocus

"Dragons!" Natsu exclaimed in joy. Since his childhood, he had been very fond of dragons. Those mythical creatures in fairy tales had been fascinating him for a very long time. He even used to have an old, unusable username called SoaringDragon before he forgot the password for that account and had to switch to Salamander, the closest dragon-like creature living in the real world, to him, at least.

To find his childhood fascination in the NeuroWorld where he practically lived… he was ecstatic!

Natsu gasped as one of the dragons soared into the sky, flapping its huge wings to stay afloat. Its red scales glistened in the sunlight, making Natsu's eyes sparkle.

"Watch out!" Gray warned, quickly pulling him backwards as the dragon landed in front of them. It bowed its head and looked at the two players skeptically. "Careful, Natsu," he said through telepathy, "Do not move. Think of a repetitive action to keep it engage till I think of a way to-"

"How do I control it?" Natsu said, walking up to the dragon.

"What? That's very difficult, Natsu. You have to make him feel that you are harmless and- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Gray stood frozen in shock as his flame-for-brains of a partner literally patted the observing dragon harshly on its head. He had to act fast before the dragon could harm-

"Hey, buddy! How's it going?" Natsu grinned at the dragon. Both the dragon and Gray blinked at Natsu. Gray was panicking. What was this guy thinking? There was no way he could control a dragon, especially not this way!

The scene that took place next stunned Gray to no extent. The dragon roared and tossed Natsu in the air, and before Gray knew what had happened, it caught Natsu on its backside and soared back into the sky. "Whoop!" Natsu laughed in glee. Gray stood, dumbfounded. He had never, ever, been able to control the dragon this quickly in his entire gaming life.

"What happened, Gray?" Natsu screamed from above, "Are you so afraid that you have let virtual flies reside in your mouth?" Gray jolted. He indeed was gaping like a fish. He fumbled in embarrassment and retorted quickly, "I wasn't afraid, you dumbass! I was just… worried," he whispered.

"What? I can't hear you with all this wind!" Natsu screamed again. Gray sighed in annoyance, "I was surprised that you tamed a dragon so easily," Gray yelled, "These creatures hate me!"

"I wonder why!" Natsu grinned down at him and Gray growled back. Suddenly, the dragon landed right in front of Gray, making him yelp and fall down. Natsu smiled at him. The dragon, in turn, nuzzled his neck, making him freeze. "Oh, look," Natsu said cheerfully, "Igneel likes you!"

"Igneel," Gray said slowly, still wary of the dragon, now staring at him, "You named the dragon Igneel?"

"Yup," he patted the dragon, "Let's give him a ride too, Igneel!" Igneel roared and tossed Gray's into the air with his mighty strength. Gray gave an unmanly yelp again, before landing face-first onto something rough. He started slipping away and panicked, unable to grip onto something stable, when he was suddenly steadied by a warm hand. Natsu pulled him towards himself and hugged him tightly from behind, so as to not let him fall. Gray steadied himself, blushing slightly.

Maybe dragons weren't so bad after all.


Natsu patted Igneel's head and the dragon groaned in delight. Gray fiddled with his archive, navigating the map and marking the dragon's territory in it. From the corner of his eyes, he looked at the boisterous pinkette grinning like an idiot, as he talked to Igneel.

"Isn't Igneel your dad's name?" Gray asked, shutting the archive and concentrating on Natsu instead. "Yup," Natsu grinned easily, "He reminds me of my dad's fiery nature, so I decided to call him that."

Gray smiled. Suddenly, Natsu's eyes widened in surprise, "I… I got a NeuroPet request!" he exclaimed, grinning in joy. Gray gaped in surprise. "That… That's awesome, Natsu! You successfully ta- befriended Igneel," Gray smirked at Natsu, "Looks like the rookie is finally learning."

"Oh please," Natsu accepted the request and the dragon pixilated and compacted into their inventory. The fire dragon tamer grinned in joy. Gray couldn't help but smile back.


"Gray! Look, a mountain!" Natsu exclaimed in joy, pointing at a twisted form of a mountain with a helical ring suspended mid-air, surrounding the tip of it. Gray sighed for the nth time as Natsu pointed at yet another architectural wonder in the game. The moment they had exited the forest and entered the eastern Ishgar, Natsu had been ecstatic with the game's architectural beauty and wildlife.

Natsu yelled out loud, pointing at another extremely breathtaking creature, looking like a fish but having wings, flying in the sky. The silver-armored player wondered if this was what was responsible to make people so enamored, so obsessed with the game. Even when he was in the real world, he could not think of anything else but the game, of returning to this NeuroWorld, of never leaving this place. It was like some kind of pleasurable force attracted him, pulled him towards the game. Thinking of leaving the game… Natsu shuddered. It was like forcefully rejecting something habitual, being pulled away from his precious.

He could understand why the people would not uninstall the game. It was because they couldn't, because they were so attached to it, so enamored with it. It was unsettling. He was obsessed with the game, and he was painfully aware how much he was.

Natsu wondered if Gray felt this kind attachment with the game too.

"Hey!" Gray exclaimed, snapping Natsu out of his reverie, "Were you even listening to me? We are in Crocus." When he looked at Gray, he saw that Gray was staring at him weirdly. "What were you thinking about so deeply?" Gray finally asked. Natsu blushed. Was he that obvious? Gray then tilted his head and smirked at him, "One moment you were jumping around because you saw a mountain and the next, you didn't even blink when a flying whale passed by you."

"WHAT?" Natsu screamed, frantically looking around to take a glimpse of the said creature. Suddenly, Gray laughed behind him, wiping a mock tear away (from a helmet), "Gods, you are so easy to mess with!" Natsu huffed and tackled him to the ground. Gray struggled but Natsu gripped his hands, pinning them down.

"If I am not the only one easy to mess with," he smirked at the raven haired player and whispered huskily, "You're also way too easy to tease." Natsu winked at Gray, making his eyes widen with embarrassment. Suddenly, Natsu was roughly removed from the top of Gray. He started to protest when suddenly, he was punched down to the ground and held down by a black-armored player.

"What the hell-" Gray started to get up from the position Natsu had captured him in, but was also shoved down by a white armored player. "You are under arrest," declared one of their captors, "All fairies are prohibited from this area."

"What do you mean prohibited?" Natsu barked out. One of the attackers scoffed, "Looks like someone is new to the guild," he said, "Fairy Tail is not allowed in Sabertooth guild's territory. Any member of the rival guild spotted otherwise, would be arrested and thrown into the prison." Natsu's eyes widened. His guild actually had enemies? He did not even know about any existing rivalry!

… Well, coming to think of it, Lucy might have mentioned that some guys in Crocus were assholes.

"If you are done bullying my partner," Gray said nonchalantly, with a sarcastic undertone in his voice, "Can you please get off me, Sting?"

Gray's attacker chuckled and slowly released him, as Natsu watched in surprise. Gray stood up and brushed the virtual dirt off his armor. "What are you doing here anyway?" This Sting guy asked Gray, and suddenly, they began chatting about missions and discoveries and whatnot.

Natsu was confused. One moment they were at each other throats and the second, they were exchanging pleasantries? Why did Sabertooth's member behave with such familiarity around Gray? "Um," he started to say, but his face was shoved into the ground again. A tick mark appeared on his forehead. All he had to do was activate his fire power and burn the guy to-

"Let him go, Rogue," Sting said to the black armored player. This Rogue guy hesitated but complied. He stood up straight and said with authority, "You are lucky, Fairy. If you hadn't been Black Ice-san's partner, you would have been dead meat."

Natsu glared at him, but was distracted by Gray's voice. "Salamander," he said, "Meet Sabertooth's master, Sting Eucliffe. And this is his partner, Rogue Cheney. They are known as the Twin Slayers." Suddenly, their armor disappeared and Natsu stared in shock. Gray, in turn, chuckled at Natsu's bewildered expression and smirked, "Behold, the extremely rare creatures of this game."

"Black Ice-kun…" Sting said, "We are not livestock-"

"Majestic indeed," Natsu joined in.

"Shut up, fairy," Rogue glared at Natsu, with him glaring back.

Gray chuckled, "They are two of the very few players who don't mind sharing their identity without friendship. Preferences, really. I don't understand them either."

The master, Sting, stood proudly, smirking at him. He had blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. He had a scar on top of his eye. Rogue, on the other hand, had dark hair. He stood with a scowl on his face, as his red eyes glared at him. "Don't scare him, Rogue-kun," Sting said, smirking. He then turned to Gray and said, "Let's go to the guild hall, Black Ice-san. Our guild mates will be glad to meet you."

The twin slayers walked away, expecting Natsu and Gray to follow. Gray nodded at him and followed them and Natsu trudged behind, lost in his thoughts.


"How do you know them?" Natsu asked. Gray recoiled in surprise and Natsu realized that he had literally crept behind him. Natsu snickered. Gray composed himself and said, "Well, I had stumbled across their territory once, while being on a mission. The twins captured me. But when they were in the process of moving me to the dungeons, the town was attacked by wild Centaurs."

"Centaurs," Natsu stared at him blankly. "Yup, they had a hard time battling them," Gray continued ordinarily, as if he hadn't just coined in a random creature's name, "So I saved Sting from getting killed and he was forever indebted to me and hence, we are getting free services today," he grinned at Natsu, who stared at him weirdly. "That's why you helped him?" he said jokingly, "For special treatment?"

Gray smiled sadly at him and walked away, with Natsu looking at him, puzzled. He shook his head. The tinted glass must have been playing tricks on him.

"We're here!" Sting exclaimed, snapping Natsu out and making him gasp. He finally took notice of the surroundings and needless to say, he was blown away. In front of him was a very elaborate building, as huge as a mansion, with windows rimmed with gold and a huge wooden door with gold and silver carvings. Two tiger statues guarded the entrance, one of silver and one of gold.

Rogue walked ahead and opened the door, revealing the well-furnished interior of the guild hall. "Welcome back, Sting and Rogue," a girl, clad in gold, greeted them, ushering them inside. "Oh, Black Ice-kun! You are here too! Come, have a seat," she guided Gray towards the bar. Natsu tried to follow, but was stopped by the same girl. "And who might you be?" She asked with suspicion. "He's my partner," Gray said, who was suddenly surrounded by the guild members. Gray really seemed to be popular here.

"I'll show you around then," she said, smiling through the translucent glass. "I am Stella."

"I am Salamander," Natsu said. Then suddenly, something occurred to him. The golden armor and the name: he had seen this before, "Are you a stellar-powered player?" Stella nodded at him and led him towards the corridors. "You must be a new player. No Fairy Tail member has been to this area and remained so calm and collected as you seem to be." Natsu snorted. He was anything but calm and collected.

She opened the huge door, revealing the guild's swimming pool. Natsu's eyes sparkled, drinking in the scenery before him. The apparent swimming pool was nothing less than an allure, with rocks and trees surrounding it, giving it the view of a Japanese sauna. "Tell me, Salamander-kun," she suddenly whispered. "How is Black Ice-kun doing in the guild these days?"

"Uh," he started dumbly, mentally berating himself, "I don't know. I hadn't been there long enough."

"No, what I'm asking is," Stella said, pausing in the hallway, "Is he still treated… badly?" Natsu considered her words. Was Gray treated badly by Fairy Tail? He remembered the first time he went to the guild and how everyone reacted to his name. "I don't even trust him," someone had said. He remembered how everyone had quieted down the moment Black Ice entered the hall.

Then he remembered what Lucy had said to him, "Rumor has it he was responsible for the death of someone he knew."

"Of course he isn't," Natsu replied, putting a fake smile onto his face. He hated to lie but he had to, for information. "Why would he be?"

Stella looked at him weirdly and for a second, Natsu thought that she had seen right through his lie. He instantly felt guilty. "If you guys are done chatting, I need to borrow my partner," Gray said, startling Stella and making Natsu jolt. He looked away. "Oh, Black Ice-kun, you scared me," Stella giggled, "Go ahead. He is your partner, after all!"

Gray grabbed Natsu's arm and guided him towards the guild hall. He talked about the rare items Sabertooth had and how he needed Natsu's opinion in trading goods from the joint directory. Natsu simply nodded and faked opinions, his mind constantly wandering off to why Stella could have asked that.


They ended up staying (Dwelling? Crowding? The glares told him otherwise) in the Sabertooth dormitories for the night. When Natsu logged in the next day, Gray was already fiddling with his archive. "Had a nice sleep?" he asked, smiling at him. Natsu scoffed and stepped out, "I'm going out for a walk." Gray shrugged as Natsu exited their room.

Why did Stella ask him how Gray was treated at the guild? What did Gray do to make them mistreat him in the first place? And most of all, how did she, a member of the rival guild, was aware about it?

Someone bumped into Natsu and he turned to tell the person off, when he realized who it was. "Oh, Salamander-kun," Stella said, "I was just going towards the dormitories. Has Black Ice-kun logged in yet?"

"Yeah, he has," Natsu replied. "Um, Stella," Stella turned halted her walk towards the dormitory and turned around to look at him. "About yesterday," he said hesitantly, "Why would Black Ice be treated badly at the guild?"

Stella looked at him in confusion, "He didn't tell you about it?" Natsu felt a pang in his heart. There it was again: another hint of impending secrecy. "No," he gritted out, "he didn't."

"Oh," Stella muttered, "That's normal. He isn't exactly the outgoing type," she chuckled lightly. "The mistreatment started because of the day when he saved us. We were a bunch of rogues, back at that time, and had a very profound rivalry with Fairy Tail."

She turned to look at her guild hall, "Our guild had gone through very dark times and Black Ice-kun has helped us out of it, since the day he saved us from the wild centaurs. He is responsible for what our guild stands for and we will forever be indebted." She sighed and turned to him, "Unfortunately, his alliance with us wasn't taken in a positive manner by his guild. Instead of improving inter-guild communications, they shunned him out, disrespected him and never saw him for what he was."

Natsu was stunned, "He helped out a guild," he whispered, "and was labeled a traitor?"

Stella nodded slowly, "I thought they were better than this. But rumor has it he was considered untrustworthy for a long time. And this was just a trigger for them to finally react to the rumors. But I don't believe any of them, and I don't plan to."

"But then, why-" why didn't he leave? Natsu started, when he suddenly froze due to a voice. "Story-telling time is up, Stella," Gray strode towards the two. "We have to go, Natsu," Natsu noticed the distorted pitch at his name, "We have a mission to complete." He turned to Stella and smiled, "Sorry, Stella, but we cannot stay for long. We have a mission to complete."

"That's alright, Black Ice-kun," she said, "But do visit us after the mission! Did you inform…" Natsu tuned out of the conversation, looking at Gray. He seemed different around Sabertooth, as if more liberated. He remembered Gray's entry into the guild hall. The same guild that Lucy loved so much, shunned Gray out just because Gray helped a rival guild.

"-the guild, Natsu?" He blinked at Stella dumbly. Gray glanced at him and quickly told her, "Nah, he would probably end up punching them than saying goodbye."

Stella laughed, "That's true. They aren't exactly very fond of fairies after all." Natsu deduced they were talking about him saying goodbye Sabertooth before leaving. Natsu would like to make it clear that Gray was just bluffing about the punches. It would be an all-out barbeque war.

Stella then turned back to Gray, "I hope you consider my offer."

Gray shook his head, "I'll think about it."


"What offer?" Natsu finally asked. "I'll tell you when you tell me why you spaced out back there," Gray retorted, walking ahead of him through the Crocus forest. They were headed east towards the Galuna Caves, where Gray suspected their treasure could be.

Natsu sighed, "I was just thinking about what Stella told me."

Gray looked at him questioningly, "What were you talking about?"

"She… she was telling me about how you helped Sabertooth and how they mistreated you." Gray nodded, "And there goes my opportunity to tell you about that to. Dammit, what's with these girls…" he sighed.

"It... doesn't matter. That wasn't something I would have liked to make you forcefully confess."

"You wouldn't have forced me," Gray said, and then turned away quickly, realizing what he said. Natsu smiled and slung an arm around Gray's shoulder. "But really, you don't have to confide anything to me if it pains you to." Gray remained silent, "But I surely would like to know you more." Natsu grinned and Gray nodded.

"Stella offered me to join Sabertooth," Gray said. Natsu's smile fell and he removed his hand from Gray's shoulder. Gray noticed this and looked at Natsu. "And… do you want to join them?" a sense of dread materialized in Natsu's gut in the anticipation. Gray thought for a while, "I would surely want to, but I cannot leave Fairy Tail, can I?"

"Why can't you?" Natsu felt distressed, thinking of Gray leaving, and he didn't know why. But at the same time, he couldn't understand why Gray would stay in a guild like that. Gray's answer jarred him. "If I leave," Gray said, "I would prove Fairy Tail right. I would be labeled a traitor. Besides, Erza and gramps are there. And," he smirked at Natsu, "It would be weird having a partner from the rival guild."

Natsu scoffed, "I can come with you, you know," Gray's eyes widened, "Wha- I can't let you do that! What about Lucy and… and so many people who-?"

Natsu shook his head and smiled. He was about to reply when suddenly Gray froze. Gray quickly turned to his right in a defensive position, making Natsu tense up as well. "What's it?" Natsu asked, as Gray scanned the area.

"Nothing… I think I heard shuffling. That's a-" suddenly Gray gasped and ran ahead, making Natsu recoil and follow him. He kept looking around, as if expecting players to jump at them. He suddenly realized that Gray had stopped and he bumped into him, making them both fall down.

"Baka! What do you think you're doing?"

"Argh! It's your fault to stop midway, Ice Princess!"

"The fuck? You were the one who bumped into me, you blind pyromaniac!"

"What the… first of all, you ran off and then you suddenly stop and I don't even know why-" suddenly, Gray grabbed him and turned him around, pointing at the scenery in front of him. Natsu turned to look at a huge grassy plane below the hill and just in the middle of it was a huge pillar. On the top of the pillar was a floating holographic lamina that pointed at the red button.

END GAME

How cliché, Natsu thought. A red button to end the game…

Why would someone even end the game?

"The end game button… I found it," Gray muttered, activating the archive. Natsu stared in shock. Didn't Gray realize that the very existence of this area was surreal? Why would someone ever use the thing? How could someone even end the game! Gray seemed to do what looked like scanning the perimeter with the app. A set of binary codes appeared on his screen and it said,

Code Scan Successful

Gray closed his archive and sighed. He then said, "Can't believe I actually found it," his voice sounded faraway.

"What's so special about it?" Gray turned towards him and blinked, as if realizing Natsu's presence. "It… It is my backup plan, in case this mission is unsuccessful."

"I backup plan? You…" Natsu trailed off. Was this feeling of separation exclusive to him? Did Gray feel no attachment to the game at all?

"Are… are you serious? Are you crazy? You plan to end the game?" "Natsu," "I can't believe it! How could you even think of something so-"

"Natsu!"

"What?!"

Natsu noticed Gray was looking him straight in the eye, his eyes wide with a strange emotion. Natsu was transfixed. "Natsu, this game harms people. This game has destroyed lives. Do you understand this?" Natsu couldn't speak under the intensity of those eyes. Even the tinted glass could not deteriorate the gaze.

Gray sighed and gazed away, staring at the button again. "Don't you," Natsu gulped, "Don't you feel that strange attraction, the craze towards the game?"

"I do," he looked back him sadly, "but I have come to realize the cost of life. The lust for the game does not control me anymore. I would… I would like you to understand that as well, but I cannot have you go through the pai- what I went through." After a while, he added, "Don't tell Erza, okay?"

The feeling of dread returned to Natsu's gut, "Why not?"

Gray nonchalantly turned to him and smiled, "I want to surprise her."


"Stop it right here," Natsu said to the driver. He handed a few jewels to the driver and got out of the taxi.

Margaret Town

2 KM

Natsu sighed and walked towards the edge of the road. He could see the tyre marks on the road. They ended at the edge of the road where the forest began and in front of him was a charred ground, lacking vegetation. Natsu gulped. The accident location gave him the chills down his spine. He quickly retreated and started towards the village.

His ringtone started blaring, and his Mind Connector alerted him of a call, making him discard his uneasiness.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

"Did you find them?"

"I hope you understand that this can put me in a tough spot, leaking information like that."

"Oh, c'mon dad! You can make something up. Forward me the address."

He heard his father sigh, "I don't know what this sudden Fullbuster obsession is about, but I hope it is important enough."

"Trust me, dad. It is."

He heard a hum on the other side, "Stay safe, Natsu."

"I will, dad."

The call disconnected and a message was received. He opened it to reveal an address. Natsu initiated his GPS and walked ahead towards his destination.

Natsu stood in front of the house. It was a two-storey house. It was located on the outskirts of the town, on the hills. Local scan told him that the house belonged to Milkovich Corporation. He sighed and trudged ahead, hoping to get some answers from the occupants.

"It's empty," a low male voice said from behind him. He turned around to look at the speaker. "It has been empty for a very long time." The stranger walked ahead and removed the vines from the board.

Silver Fullbuster

207B, Margaret Town

"It's rare to have visitors in this part of the town," the stranger turned towards Natsu, "What, if I may ask, are you doing near this empty house?"

Judging from the guy's words, he seemed to be someone from the neighborhood. "I was… umm," Natsu started, "I was here for my assignment on Journalism," he lied. "Oh, how rude of me," the stranger said, "I'm Lyon."

"I-I'm Natsu."

Lyon smiled at him, "You can ask me anything about the house. I used to be very familiar with the previous occupants."

"Oh, okay," Natsu debated whether or not to ask the questions, considering the fact that the guy was a stranger. "So, what happened to the previous occupants?"

Lyon's expression turned sad, "They got into a car accident. They were great people, the Fullbusters. I was a just a kid when it happened." Natsu's interest sparked. This guy surely knew something about them. "My step-mother and the Fullbusters used to be very good friends," he sighed sadly, "It was so unfortunate."

"How many occupants were there?" Suddenly, the glint in Lyon's eyes changed, making Natsu reconsider his question, "Three," he said, staring unblinkingly at Natsu.

Natsu nearly cheered out loud, but refrained himself. "Three?" he asked to confirm. "Yes, Silver-san, Mika-san and Happy, their cat," "Oh, Natsu tried to mask his disappointment. Natsu then opened a dialog box and pretended to write down information. He couldn't have been more disappointed. "Is that all you want to ask?" Lyon said.

"Yes, thank you very much," Natsu closed the dialog box and turned towards Lyon, only to recoil. Lyon had a weird glint in his eyes, as if he had just stumbled upon a goldmine. "What was your name again?"

"Natsu Dragion," Natsu replied.


"Journalism, my ass," he muttered to himself. As the pink-haired boy walked away, he activated his mind connector. The image of the boy taken by him flashed in front of him.

He scanned the link, "Natsu Dragneel," he said, scrolling through the information received about the boy. "I actually got something fruitful for once from this shitty house of yours, brother dear. But then again, how else would people know the name Fullbuster?"

"Ah," he smirked and downloaded the bio-data of Natsu Dragneel, "I finally got a link to reach you, Gray." Lyon laughed and activated the purple icon in his virtual display, "Link In."

TBC


Introducing, the villain of NeuroLink: Lyon Bastardia! Nvm me I always wanted to use that phrase lol.

Note: Using the characters as antagonists does not imply that I hate the character. Keep that in mind.

Brownie points to people who guess Stella's identity! ;)

Love to hear feedback!

Kōri