Hargeon

"Igneel! Igneel!"

It didn't make any difference; no matter how many times Natsu called for him, though, his father wouldn't answer. It was just Natsu, alone in the forest.

"Where did you go?" Natsu cried as he ran through the trees. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, just any sight that could be found of the Fire Dragon. Eventually, though, he ran out of energy, and fell to his knees, panting. Though he didn't immediately notice, tears started to sprinkle from his eyes.

"Why did you go?" He asked weakly, "Did I do something wrong?" For a time, Natsu just sat in solitude, as he continued to cry; as he did so, he expected the feel of Igneel's wings surrounding him, providing the comfort that would always be offered whenever Natsu felt the way he did. But not this time, now, he was truly alone; until…

"Igneel can't be with you anymore." Natsu looked up at the sound of the voice, as he saw a young man approaching him. He had black hair, and was wearing black robes, and had a kind look on his face.

"But that doesn't mean you have to be alone," the man said as he came ever closer. Natsu took an instinctive step back, though he felt no malice from this man.

"Who're you?" he asked slowly, trying (and failing) to blink away his tears.

"My name is Zeref," the man said, "Zeref Dragneel." For a moment, Natsu had no idea how to process that; this guy had the same name as him? How was that possible?

"But… but…," he said softly, "My name's…"

"It is no coincidence that I share your name," Zeref said, as he fell to one knee, leaning in close to Natsu, "I have waited so long to see you again."

"How do you know me?" Natsu asked, now getting confused.

"I know you better than you might think," Zeref answered, as he put his hands on Natsu's shoulder, "After all, I am your brother."

(|)

Natsu was still getting over the knowledge that he had an older brother. That he had a family beyond Igneel, that he wasn't alone in the world now that the dragon was gone, and the mere fact that he had a brother. Of course, the feeling was briefly mitigated when he arrived in what was described his new home.

"Wow!" Natsu said, as he looked up at the massive palace before him, "It's so big!"

"Do you like it?" Zeref asked, as he stood beside his recently found brother, flanked by a platoon of guards. Natsu had also changed clothes, now wearing a small, red suit, that he was constantly picking at. At least Zeref let him hold onto his scarf.

"I… I don't know," Natsu answered. He'd long been used to sleeping under the stars with Igneel, eating whatever they could catch and cook. Now he was being brought into what could only be described as a massive house, that he was now going to live in. It was almost too much for Natsu to take at once. And Zeref seemed to just be getting started…

As they were brought into the palace, they were greeted by numerous servants and ministers, though Zeref sent most of them away. That was, save for a blonde girl who skipped up to Zeref.

"You're back!" she said, as she embraced Zeref, who returned the embrace. She then looked down, and fell to her knees before Natsu.

"So, this is him?" she asked, with a warm smile.

"My… my name's Natsu," Natsu said steadily, as he took a step back.

"Well, my name's Mavis," she said, "I'm your brother's wife, which I guess makes me your big sister."

"Wait! So I've got a big brother, and a big sister?" Natsu asked, getting more confused by the minute.

"That you do," Mavis said, as he smile broadened, "And I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun together." Natsu was still unsure, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder, as he looked up at the smiling face of his brother. And for the first time since Igneel disappeared, Natsu didn't feel alone.

(|)

There was one Natsu didn't like about having a brother, was that Zeref seemed pretty intent on "educating" him. Natsu was now being made to read some random book that Zeref or Mavis thought important, and wasn't allowed to take a break until he had read a certain amount of pages. It was driving the boy crazy, and he would've tried bolting if not for the fact that Zeref often loomed over him waiting for Natsu to finish.

"You summoned me, Your Majesty?" the woman said, as she stepped in.

"Ah, Irene," Zeref greeted with a smile, "I'm glad you could make it." Irene then looked down at Natsu.

"So this is the brother I've heard of?" Irene inquired, as she stepped forward with a kind smile,

"This is my daughter, Erza," Irene said, gesturing down to the girl beside her, who was glaring at Natsu. Natsu just responded by sticking his tongue out at her.

"Be polite, Natsu," Zeref said sternly, "I expect the two of you to get along." Natsu frowned, but didn't say anything, as Zeref and Irene stepped away to do whatever business they had at the time.

"Hi, I'm Natsu," Natsu said, holding up his hand.

"My name is Erza," the girl answered, her glare not disappearing, "I am a soldier of the Alvarez Empire. I suppose being the brother of the Emperor makes you a prince."

"Yeah, I guess it does," Natsu answered as he grew thoughtful. He hadn't really given much thought to that, but figured that it was true.

"So… I guess that means you have to do what I say?" Natsu asked, as a smile worked its way onto his face. At that, Erza narrowed her eyes.

"If you are worthy of my allegiance," she answered, "If not…"

"But I'm the prince!" Natsu said.

"Only those who are worthy can earn such power. And as it stands, you are mostly certainly not worthy right now." From there, that quickly devolved into a bizarre shouting match between two kids. All the while, Zeref and Irene just watched, as Zeref suddenly found himself chuckling slightly.

"Sire?" Irene asked.

"Nothing, just thinking," Zeref answered. He looked back his brother and Erza, as the two continued to argue, an argument that ended with Erza conking Natsu on the head. Irene frowned, as she moved to scold her daughter for harming the prince, but Zeref stopped her.

"I can already tell, those two are going to do great things together," he said.

/|\

If anyone asked what the bane of Natsu's existence was, he'd always give the same answer: transportation. According to Irene, it was something to do with him being a Dragon Slayer, but she didn't go that much further into detail about it. To that end, anytime Natsu had to go anywhere that wasn't in walking distance, he had to go through this hell, and so far, this was one of the longest, and most hellish yet.

He was now aboard an Alvarez warship, making its way across the sea from Alvarez to the Kingdom of Fiore, one of the many countries that dotted Ishgar. When he was younger, and still learning geography, Natsu had been puzzled why Ishgar had so many countries when Alakatasia had only a few aside from the Empire itself. Aside from Lucy and Happy of course, the only one Natsu really thought to bring was Erza, who was now standing at the bow.

"Throw me over!" Natsu moaned, as Happy stood on the railing beside him, "I'll swim the rest of the way!"

"Yes, and I'm sure that will go over splendidly," Erza said, glancing back towards her prince, "Frankly, I'm not going to be the one to tell the Emperor that his brother was devoured by a sea monster." Natsu just groaned in response, as Erza rolled her eyes.

Erza hadn't really given much thought to ever going back to her old homeland; in fact, were she being completely honest, she didn't think of Ishgar as her homeland anymore. Alvarez were the ones who liberated the Tower of Heaven, and it was where her mother had raised her and sheltered her, so as far as the crimson-haired swordswoman was considered, it was her homeland. Aside from maybe a couple of her old friends from the Tower, Ishgar really had nothing for her; but Natsu needed her help, and Erza would never refuse a request like that.

The one who was really excited, though, was Lucy herself. She'd barely been outside the capital since she was brought to Alvarez, and seeing a new place was already exciting for her. Of course, persuading her father was completely different monster, since gods knew he wasn't thrilled by the prospect…

(|)

"Absolutely not." Lucy just stared at her father for a time, not so much surprised by his refusal, but how quickly he said it. She thought he'd at least think about it for a little while as he put his attention back on the paper's in front of him.

The Alvarez Empire's Minister of Finance, Jude Heartfilia was a fairly tall man, with neatly combed blonde hair, and a prominent mustache the same color. He was wearing a nice brown suit over a white shirt and a red tie. His office was large, but fairly plain (as most in the palace seemed to be), with a large desk, and several bookshelves, but that was about it.

"But Natsu wants me to come with him!" Lucy protested, spreading her arms.

"His Highness may have to find someone else, then," Jude answered, not looking up, "I imagine Ajeel, Jason, Wahl, or Bloodman are all available as well." Lucy clenched her fists, as she bit her lip, trying to think of something more to say.

"But he asked me!" was all she ended up saying.

"Mind your tone, young lady," Jude said, as he finally looked up, frowning at her. Lucy bit her lip, as she looked down at the ground.

"Please, Jude, try not to be so strict with her on this." Both father and daughter flinched as they looked up to see the sight of their Empress floating over them.

"Your Majesty," Jude said, as he rose to his feet and bowed, while Lucy curtseyed. It was a habit of the Empress to pop in on conversations like this through her thought projections. Lucy couldn't help but be bothered by this (the thought that Mavis sometimes listened in on otherwise private discussions), but in this particular context, she didn't mind, if the Empress could back her up.

"Natsu wants her to come with him," Mavis said as she sat on Jude's desk, "He asked for her specifically, and would you deny the desire of your prince?" Jude opened then closed his mouth as he averted his mouth.

"Besides, you know what she means to him," Mavis then added with a slight smile, "She'll never be in danger as long as he's around." At that, Lucy blushed, and averted her eyes, though it did give her father some something to think about, as folded his arms, frowning to himself.

"Come on, Dad," Lucy said, "I'll be fine. I mean, Natsu's also bringing Erza along, and I'm guessing Brandish will want to come too." Jude sighed, as he dragged his hand down his face.

"Promise me you'll be safe," he finally relented, looking at her daughter, who almost literally lit up.

"You know it!" Lucy said, as she gave her thumbs up, and left the office to go tell Natsu the good news. As she did, she overhead a brief exchange between the Minister and the Empress.

"She's a strong girl."

"Of course, she is a Heartfilia, after all."

(|)

Lucy took a deep breath, savoring where she was, all too thankful for Mavis' intervention. If not for her, she'd probably would've been resigned to the castle library for the foreseeable future; honestly, that wasn't the worst prospect, but still not one she was particularly fond of, when she considered what she could otherwise have been. She couldn't help but let her smile widen.

"You know, Lulu," a calm voice said, getting Lucy's attention, "That look can be misconstrued as rather dirty." This unfortunately, broke Lucy's mood, as she glanced over at a young woman about her age with short, green hair with two cross marks pinned in her hair, wearing a golden coat lined with purple fur on the fringes, and the Alvarez symbol on her thigh. She was sitting on a lounge chair, thumbing through a magazine.

"Yeah, I'm not going to be taken any advice from you on that kind of stuff, Brandish," Lucy said, as she turned to her friend. Brandish μ was the daughter of Grammi μ, a close friend of Lucy's own mother, Layla Heartfilia. The two of them met at a young age, not long after Lucy had arrived in Alvarez actually (apparently Layla had asked Grammi to go to Alvarez as well), and the two had become fast friends.

"By the way, I'm still not sure why you decided to come," Lucy said, "It wasn't like Natsu asked you." That much was true; not that Natsu was opposed to the idea of her coming along, but he didn't think she'd want to; Brandish wasn't one to do things that she thought required too much effort.

"My mother was from Ishgar," Brandish answered, as she turned another page, "I can't deny that the prospect didn't intrigue him. And at any rate…" She paused, as she noticed Happy floating by, and before he could even react, she seized, and started squeezing him

"I couldn't be separated from the fluff ball!" she said cutely.

"Gah!" Happy cried, "Help!" Lucy and Erza both laughed slightly at that. Lucy then turned her gaze back to the horizon, before something caught her.

"Look!" she said, pointing. Erza followed her gaze, as she smiled.

"We've arrived," she declared, as the ship neared the city of Hargeon.

(|)

Ultear smiled, letting the sea air was over her, as she hopped off the train. It hadn't been an especially long ride, but Ultear was still glad to have it done, as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder.

"Tell me why we're here again?" Ultear rolled her eyes, as she glanced over to see a young man with dark hair jumping off the train as well, rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't need to," Ultear answered with a frown, "You know exactly why we're here" That was completely true, and the young man, whose name was Gray, could only grunt slightly. The reason they were in Hargeon was relatively simple: they were on a job to clear out some bandits, and Hargeon was only a few miles from where they were supposed to be hiding out.

"I'm thinking we find a hotel, spend the night, then strike out tomorrow?" Ultear suggested.

"Whatever," Gray answered with a shrug, as he looked around, "The sooner we can get home, the better." Ultear rolled her eyes at his attitude, but knew that complaining about it wasn't going to accomplish anything; it was his job as her brother to annoy her.

"Oh, and one more thing," Ultear said, as she noticed something about him, "Maybe put on some clothes?"

"Ah crap!" Gray said, as he looked down, noticing he wasn't wearing his shirt anymore.

(|)

"So this is Fiore?" Lucy said, as she and the rest of her team disembarked from the ship. The warship was easily the largest in-dock, and was attracting no small amount of attention from the rest of the people there, though they still mostly left them alone.

"Can't say I'm impressed," Brandish said, as she took a bite out of a candy bar she had produced from somewhere.

"It's not as big as the cities in Alvarez," Happy said as he floated next to Natsu, who remained silent, but otherwise frowned.

"Well, come on," Erza said, gesturing, "We're not here to sightsee."

"I don't disagree," Brandish said, as they started to walk, "But I want to try out the local delicacies when I can."

"You'll have plenty of chances for that," Lucy said, as she walked beside her. Meanwhile, Natsu goose-stepped in the back, taking in everything around him.

"It's really different from Alvarez," Happy commented as he floated after him. Natsu remained silent, still unsure about this whole thing.

"I just want find the dragon," Natsu said, "It's gotta know where Igneel is." Lucy wanted to mention that Natsu maybe shouldn't get his hopes up, lest he leave Ishgar disappointed, but didn't really have the heart to tell him just yet.

"I really have no idea what to look for," Lucy muttered to herself, as she scratched her head in pondrance, "I mean, the Empress told us to find a specific group of people didn't she?"

"Yes, a guild, if memory serves," Erza answered.

"I recommend we split up, actually," Brandish suggested, "Maybe we can ask around."

"Not a bad idea," Erza agreed, before frowning at Brandish, "But I expect you to actually look around." Brandish didn't answer, before she turned to leave. Natsu and Happy went a different way, while Lucy and Erza went their own ways.

(|)

As she went on alone, Lucy noted that all things considered, this wasn't actually that different from Visatarion. The biggest difference may have been the lack of the giant palace always looming in the distance.

"At least this place doesn't seem as busy," Lucy mused as she made her way down one of the secondary roads. Were she being completely honest, she doubted her comrades were really searching; Natsu and Brandish were probably respectively hunting for food, and Erza was likely getting pressing her face to the window of the nearest fashion shop.

"I don't know why my dad didn't want me to come," she said out loud, "I may be the only one whose really responsible." That was when, in a blink of an eye, Lucy was minus her purse, as she watched a guy on a magic bike speed away.

"Thanks for the tip, girly!" he said, waving gate purse. Lucy however, didn't look that angry or surprised; rather, she just looked slightly annoyed.

"Seriously?" she muttered with a sigh, rubbing her forehead, "Wait to make a first impression Ishgar. I don't even think he can use Alvarez currency here." With that, she reached onto her belt to deal with him. However, before she could actually use her own magic, there was a sudden cold flash, as she looked up to see the thug frozen in a massive block of ice.

"What the…," she muttered, only to suddenly have her purse thrown back to her by a guy with dark hair, who for some reason wasn't wearing a shirt. Lucy was about to wonder about that, until a woman dropped down from the roof.

"Nice catch," she said as she came over to him, folding her arms.

"You think this was one of the bandits?" the man said, as he fell to one knee.

"See if he has the mark on him," the woman answered, as she did the same, as she waved her hand, instantly unfreezing the man. The thug remained unconscious, even as the other man started looking over the body, as the woman took note of Lucy.

"Oh, hello!" she greeted, as she rose to her feet with a smile.

"Uh… hi," Lucy answered, somewhat unsure.

"Lucy!" The blonde looked over her shoulder to see her friends running up to her. Well, Brandish wasn't really running; more she was just strolling behind, carrying what looked like an ice cream cone.

"Are you okay?" Natsu said, as he came up to Lucy

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine," Lucy answered, before glancing down at the wannabe thief, "Can't say the same for him, though." Natsu quickly checked her over for any injuries, only relaxing when he saw she was fine.

"I hope this isn't indicative of what Fiore is going to be," Erza said, as she came over, folding her arms, "This'll make our time here more unpleasant."

"Losers like that are more common than you may think," the woman said, as she came up to them with a friendly smile, holding up her hand, "How's it going?"

(|)

"So you're from a country across the sea?" Ultear asked as she took a sip of water.

"Indeed," Erza answered, "My name's Erza Belserion. With me are Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, and Brandish μ."

"Hey!" Erza laughed slightly.

"And of course, we can't forget about Happy," she then added.

"Aye!" Happy said with a firm nod. Gray and Ultear exchanged glances as they looked at Happy. Needless to say, they both had plenty of questions about a talking, blue cat, but they seemed to agree those were among the lesser questions they may have before the day was up. They were currently gathered at a local diner, which Erza offered to treat them to as thanks for helping Lucy. Granted, considering how much Natsu was wolfing down, it didn't seem like they were the ones really being treated.

"Well, my name's Ultear," Ultear eventually said, gesturing to herself, "And this is my brother, Gray."

"Yo," Gray answered.

"Please to meet you both," Erza said.

"So those symbols you have are from your country?" Gray asked, noting the one on Lucy's hand, "I mean, they don't look like any guild symbol."

"They are indeed the sigils of our country," Brandish said firmly, "We're here in Fiore on business from it."

"Well, if there's anything we can do to help you, just ask," Ultear said, "That's part of the purpose of a guild, after all."

"Thanks," Lucy said, "But we do actually have a specific destination in mind, we're looking for…" She was interrupted as she got hit in the cheek by a chicken bone.

"Natsu!" she snapped.

"What?" Natsu asked, looking up with food literally dripping from his mouth.

"How many times do I have to tell you to watch it!" Lucy snapped angrily.

"I'm not trying to hit you with food," Natsu said, "It's no good if I can't get it in my mouth." Lucy's response was to grab him by the collar.

"Is it really asking too much for you to act your age?" she said, shaking him slightly, "And maybe have a little dignity considering your position!" Ultear and Gray exchanged more looks, though they noticed neither Erza, Brandish, nor Happy really react.

"Gods, they sound like a married couple," Gray grumbled, rubbing the back of his head, to which his sister elbowed him, though none of the other wizards seemed bothered by it. At that, both Erza and Happy chuckled slightly.

"Well, I would certainly hope so," Erza said, "After all, the two of them are betrothed."

Note: Now I'll start by noting that it may not have been very bright of Natsu to take the word of a stranger that he's his brother, but this is a showmen fantasy, I think we can suspend our disbelief. On that note, we now have another major difference in canon: Gray and Ultear are together as brother and sister. I'll get into that a little later. And Lucy and Natsu are already betrothed in this; I'll also go into that later.

One thing I'm going to take an opportunity to bring up here, is that this won't be an OP Natsu fanfic. Now it's true he likely trained under Zeref and Mavis in this, and probably some of the Spriggan 12 at that, so he's got a different power level, and probably so does Erza, and maybe Lucy as well. I'll also get into that later, but Natsu won't STOMP every fight he gets in.

Please leave a comment.