Hey all! I'm back with another chapter! :D
I hope you all enjoyed the story so far. This chapter kinda came out strange to me, but I think it serves it's purpose. Drop a comment on how YOU think it turned out pls! :D
I hope some are catching on to how this story might play out. If not, don't worry, it'll soon become COMPLETELY obvious. Also, for a reference in future chapters, think about superman in the sense. Don't get it either? Soon you will. Hopefully. ANYWAY, the plot regarding the middle section is weird so forgive me, but go with it. Things happen all the time, and any situation can occur. Natsu just happens to be lucky, and just happens to accept something because, why not? Any questions? Leave 'em in a pm or review like the info at the end of my chapters say.
With that out of the way, lets get a move on, shall we? :D
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY REAL WORLD REFERENCES IN THIS STORY!
Key for story(More will be added IF needed):
BOLD - anger
Italic - thoughts, dreams, other end(s) of a phone call, singing and song titles
Lucy stared in horror as her friend burst into flames on the table he was strapped too, screaming in pain. She could no longer see his figure, as tears poured from her eyes like waterfalls.
"Natsu!" she cried, helpless to save him.
"No. NO. NO!" yelled the black haired man. "He can't die!"
"Zeref, sir!" cried one of the workers, who was examining a computer monitor. "H-He isn't dying! The subject is stabilizing!"
"Then explain why he's on fire, and screaming in pain!" Zeref growled.
Lucy too was wondering how her friend could be alive still. Until, the flames went out. At first, it seemed like he was a partially charred corpse, and she didn't have time to register what actually lay before her, until a wave a heat blasted around the men in the room, knocking them down. He sat up, silently, breaking the restraints like they were nothing. He got off the table, grabbing the man named Zeref by the collar. He lifted him up, and from what Lucy could see from the now charred window, was him throw the man across the room.
"Back away if you can hear me." his voice said. She complied without hesitation, as something busted through the window. She shielded herself from the glass, turning away for a moment as heat filled the room. She slowly turned to Natsu, her eyes widening to find him different. His faded jade eyes had turned to a more faded ruby red. Along with this, his pupils were slits, like that of a reptile. His skin around his eyes and around his ears, had turned to what she could make out as dark red, reptilian scales, while the rest of his face like the majority of his nose, as well as his whole mouth and jaw area were his normal skin.
Most of his clothes were burned away, leaving him in his boxers thankfully. Eyeing him up. The entirety of his arms, his sides from below his armpits down to his hips, the entire sides of his thighs, the entirety of his calves and feet were covered in the same abs and chest, as well as his back were left uncovered. And his pink hair contrasted slightly with it all. She stared in bewilderment.
"N-Natsu?" she asked, not really sure if it was him or not. Suddenly, he picked her up bridal style surprising her, turned to the door and kicked it down. "W-What are you doing?"
"Were getting the others and getting the hell out of here." he said. His face was contorted to one of anger. She nodded and held onto him as he ran through the halls. She looked at his face once more, noticing his nose twitch. He was smelling something, but what and why? Soon, they found the room where everyone else was held, evident by him once more kicking down the door. Gray was about to say something rude until an utterly confused, shocked, and look of other emotions mixed into one came over his, Gajeel's, Erza's, and the others faces.
"What the fuck!?" they all yelled. Natsu flinched.
"Look, let's discuss my looks later! I have questions too you know!" They all nodded, even Gray, and followed the scaly boy until he set Lucy down, and punched at the wall, making a hole in it. This utterly shocked every one of them as they passed through, being careful of the burnt metal. When they noticed Natsu hadn't come out, they looked at him through the wall.
"Come on, Natsu!" cried Lucy. "We have to get out of here!"
"Not before I destroy this place! Now, all of you, get away from here!" he yelled.
"Wait! Won't you die!?"
He looked at her and gave a small smile. "I don't know exactly what they did to me, or why I look like this. But I have a feeling I'll be fine. Now go!" he said as he rushed back the way he came. Erza, with the help of the others dragged Lucy, who kept calling for him to come back, farther and farther away from the building. When they got a good ways away, the building suddenly exploded. A cloud of flames and smoke rose in a mushroom cloud fashion.
"Natsu!" cried Lucy, tears streaking her face. Erza hugged the blonde, some coming over hers as well. Even Gray, looked astonished at the boys sacrifice. That was until he came running toward them, quite quickly too.
"You idiot! What were you thinking!?" cried Lucy as she hugged him. He was surprised, but smiled and hugged her back.
"I told you I had a feeling that I'd be fine." he said, looking at her in the eyes, with his now ruby, reptilian ones. Suddenly, he felt something happening to him. The others noticed as he looked at himself, still in his boxers, turning back into his normal self.
"Oh shit!" he said, covering himself. Erza and Lucy looked away while Laxus and Gajeel burst out laughing. Gray smirked while Jellal took off his coat to give to Natsu.
"It's not funny!" exclaimed Natsu, flushed in the face.
"Whatever you idiot." commented Gray at the boys misfortune. In the distance, they heard ambulance, police, and fire truck sirens. They suddenly had a problem on their hands. Did they go to the police and tell them what happened or not and go home. They realized the time was about 7:45 pm, meaning they had been there for about forty minutes. They decided to go home, but found the bus on their way through the woods. Looking through it, all of their bags were still there. It must have been left to be forgotten. They found their way to the back of their school and crossed the football stadium by climbing the fence. They got to their homes no problems what-so-ever.
After a quick stop by Natsu's shack, which was indeed small, Natsu and Lucy headed to her house. Her parents questioned what took them so long, but surprisingly took the excuse that the bus driver was new, considering Natsu had been in the city longer than they had. They all sat down after Wendy came downstairs with Carla, and they ate. Natsu explained the entirety of his situation when Lucy's father questioned further. But blushed when her mother began talking about them like they were some kind of couple, while Lucy matched the color of his skin and mentally smashed her head through a wall. Meanwhile, Wendy was new to this conversation and seemed to care for Natsu's situation.
Suddenly out of nowhere, Claire, spoke up. "How would you like to live with us, Natsu?"
Everyone at the table practically spit out what they had in their mouths. "Mom?" said both girls simultaneously. Natsu was in shock at the question while Ryan looked at his wife.
"Claire, do you know what you're asking him?" he asked. The brunette stood, practically dragging him with her into a room and shut the door, telling the three they'd be right back. Lucy guessed that Natsu hadn't moved in with anyone because of the rumors about him and how he'd be basically all alone. She wondered what it'd be like to have him around, and before her mind could throw anything her way to make her blush in embarrassment, her parents came out and sat back down. The three kids looked at them, wondering what was going to happen.
"We've agreed." said her mother finally. "If you are willing, we'd be happy to take you in." she smiled.
The three's eyes widened, the girls looked at Natsu, noticing a tear streak down his cheek. He wiped it away, flashing a toothy grin.
"T-Thank you!" he replied.
Lucy smiled. She loved seeing his grin, no matter how much she might deny it. It was too infectious, having them all grinning back. Though, she didn't notice it at first, but his canines seemed longer than before. She shook it off, thinking she didn't focus on them before so they must have been that length. After a couple calls, and explanations, they were given permission to house the pinkette, until everything was finalized. The time estimated to finalize the process was given to be about three months. He was given the room across the hall from Lucy's meaning that they had no guest room, but they figured they'd sort that out eventually. Natsu and her father went into the woods before it go too dark and collected his things in one trip. He didn't seem to have much, but due to her father's comments and what she remembered, he promised to be cleaner and more organized.
Things are certainly changing. Lucy thought, as she watched Natsu rubbing Happy on the belly, the blue feline purring quite loudly.
That night as she lay in bed, she kept remembering Natsu bursting into flames, and the change he experienced. She couldn't get it out of her head. She heard a meow as she saw a small blue figure hop on her bed. She smiled and rubbed his head.
"Hey there, Happy." she said. "What are you doing up?" She wondered. The feline meowed once more and pawed her nose lightly, then walked to the edge of her bed, looking back at her. He meowed again. Was something wrong? The sudden image came into her head once more as she quietly got out of bed, and went across the hall following the cat. She walked into the pinkette's room, noticing him sitting at the edge of his bed, his head hanging. She noticed even in the dark, those red scales from earlier that night. The digital clock read 10:34 pm, as she stepped closer to him.
"What's happening to me?" he asked quietly, the worry evident in his voice. She felt terrible. Whatever it was that Zeref and his men did, was truly inhumane. Just how could they do such a thing. She sat down beside him, as he looked at his hands. She realized the nails on his fingers had turned into claws. She put a hand on his thigh, making him look at her, showing the terror in his eyes. She pulled the boy into a hug.
"Don't worry." she said. "We'll figure this out."
As they hugged, she felt the warmth of his skin returning, rather than the chill the scales gave her. When they released each other, they're suspicions were confirmed. He had reverted back to normal. Natsu breathed a sigh of relief. Before she left his room, she looked back at him and he at her, knowing they had to tell their friends the next day.
Watching her leave, he somehow managed to hear her lay down, and frowned at this addition. He felt his ears, which were normal. He could even hear his own heartbeat clearly. He closed his eyes and focused on his senses. He didn't know why, but he felt as though he could control it.
In all honesty, having this ability that he was given, made him feel even more alone than usual. No one else had come out of that facility with a similar condition. At least not that he knew of. Just thinking about Lucy and his new friends being cursed with the same fate made his stomach churn. He didn't want them to experience what he was at this moment.
I have to protect them. He thought. Both my friends, and new family.
Making up his mind, he locked the door to his room and opened the window. He got some dark clothes to wear, said goodnight to the little blue ball of fur on his bed and jumped out of the window. He'd expected his legs to break, but when he landed, he felt completely fine. He looked at his legs to find they were scaly once more. Whatever Zeref had done to him, made him feel different, but in a good way. He hoped no one would recognize him as he dashed off into the night.
He ran as fast as he could, to the remains of the building he had destroyed earlier. He caught onto a scent, seemingly that of the man in question, and he began to follow it,
"You're gonna pay you bastard!" He growled to himself.
Meanwhile, Zeref was in his office, gazing over the city again. He was smiling, even though the events of the day troubled him. A knock came to his door.
"Come in."
A tall, muscular man came in, along with another man and a woman, both a foot shorter than him.
"Sir, aren't you going to collect the subjects?" said the tall man's deep voice. Zeref waved him off.
"There's no need. They will come to me, in due time."
"What makes you so sure?"
Zeref turned, a smirk on his face. "Igneel raised the boy in my steed." he said. "If I'm right, then the boy will come for me, seeking to protect those he sees as precious. That feeling is amplified by the specific formula given to him."
The man narrowed his eyes at his superior. "And that would be?"
"AX-331-Draco."
The three visitors' eyes widened. "You can't be serious!" gasped the woman. "You gave that boy the⦠did you do that on purpose?"
"Why would you think that?" asked Zeref, amused.
"The boy's 'Father'," said the shorter man, "Had the first version of it, born already being able to use it
"You're point? The man probably never showed him that power. Igneel never wanted to use his power, except when he wanted to protect those he cared for."
"But the boy. He's not normal, isn't he?"
Zeref froze. "What did you say?" his voice carrying malicious intent, and sending them a death glare.
They backed away. "O-One of the scientists you had working on his information found an abnormality within his DNA, so-"
"You tell him if he doesn't want to be killed, he'll send me that data right this instant! If I so much as find a copy or hear a single word about it, someone is surely going to die." He growled, smashing his fist on the table. "Do you understand, Lucas?"
The tall man nodded, gulping, and the three exited the room, leaving Zeref to himself. He picked up his phone and called another subordinate.
"What can I do for you tonight, sir?" said the voice on the other end.
"I want you to release subject 238-SCD." Zeref responded.
"I assume you're trying to test out a new toy you lost?" chuckled the man.
Zeref smiled. "You could say that." he said. "And I want the public to see him."
"What do I tell him?"
"I leave that up to you, Ajeel. You know the general assignment already as I've just said."
"Perfect." laughed the man before hanging up.
Zeref turned back to the window, watching the city from the mountaintop lab, wondering how things would turn out.
"I wonder, little bother," he said, "can you handle the oncoming storm?"
As he ran through the woods, he felt a strong wind pick up. He stopped as he felt a strange presence. He looked around, now noticing he could see perfectly in the dark.
I hate that I'm starting to like this shit. He thought annoyed. But when he saw an unusually visible gust of air above him, he frowned.
His expression changed when he realized it was coming right for him. He managed to dodge in time, jumping onto a nearby tree, his claws helping him to hold on. A cloud of dust where he once stood cleared to reveal a tall, lean-built and mildly muscular man with silver hair. It which was held pointing upwards in spiky strands on top of his head, but hangs down to the left of his face in a distinctive tuft, partially covering it, and reaching down to his shoulders His upper body was exposed mainly, except for a black scarf around his neck, showing multiple deep blue tattoos.
Around his waist was covered by a dark grey cloth, similar to a large skirt, making Natsu question the man's dressing style. Sure he didn't have the luxury of having the best clothes, but at least he didn't look like this guy, and could sense an evil intent. The man smirked, his dark eyes narrowing at him.
"So you're the one that burnt the lab down, eh?" he smirked.
"So what if I am?" Natsu growled. "Who are you anyway, and what do you want!?"
He chuckled. "My subject number is 238-SCD, but they call me Reaper. As for what I want, well, I just want to thank you." he said. "Because you're giving Zeref so much trouble, he let me out to break you."
The pinkette growled. "I'd love to see you try, but unfortunately for you, that ain't going to happen!" Pushing hard off the tree, he lunged at the man. As soon as he got close, however, he threw his arms up to block and object slamming into him. Thankfully, the scales took the brunt of the attack, but the shock sent through his body sent him flying. Natsu grit his teeth as he flew through the air, looking for a good spot to break his fall. Reaper pursued him, smacking him once more before he could recover, flying into the city.
The pinkette soon found himself embedded in asphalt, with multiple people staring at him. Cars honked, and people snapped pictures, probably to post on social media or something. He even saw some kids from his school, staring directly at him.
Fuck. He thought. So much for staying out of sight.
He got up slowly, and noticed the wisp of white air swirling toward him. He growled, wondering how he could fight with innocents in the way. As Reaper landed in front of him, revealing what appeared to be a rather large scythe. He smiled and twirled it around, causing people to back away from the scene. Natsu growled, ready to defend himself, but the man raise his hand to the side, smirking.
"I see it in your eyes." he remarked as he surrounded som onlookers in a wall of wind. Natsu rushed at them, trying to break through the wind. Reaper just laughed. "You're not going to break through that with such puny strength!"
"Fuck you!" Natsu growled, as he concentrated, allowing flames to consume his fist, then thrusting it at the wind, shattering it completely.
Reaper starred in bewilderment, at the pinkette, as people began running away from their fight. Natsu smirked. "Didn't think I could do it, eh? Well next time try harder!" he yelled jumping toward his opponent.
In the morning, Lucy woke up, feeling a little drowsy. She quickly got dressed for the day, and headed downstairs to find her family, minus Natsu who was sleeping upstairs, in the living room, staring at the TV. She looked at them confused as Wendy quickly waved her over. WHen she saw what was on the TV, her heart stopped.
"Good morning everyone, I'm Marie Serge with some breaking news." said the lady on the TV. "At about 11:30 pm last night, two human-like beings were seen fighting in the streets. One of them, claimed and eyewitness, could control wind and surrounded some random people with it, intending to do harm to them, while the other, welding flames and covered in dark red scales, broke the barrier, allowing them to escape unharmed."
Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing. Suddenly, Natsu came up from behind, dressed for school. She seemed to be the only one who noticed the slightly guilty face he had on. A picture appeared on the screen that someone had taken. Lucy recalled how the boy next to her looked, and matched the picture to it. The same scales, red eyes, and of course, pink hair. It was Natsu.
"This photo is of the so-called fire wielder, who saved the hostages." she continued. "Authorities say they are handling the situation, but some sceptics say that there might be more wishing to do harm to countless innocents. Whatever these creatures are, what can we expect. Authorities-" she continued but her father muted the TV. He looked at the two standing.
"Can you believe this crap?" he said. "Human like creatures that control wind and fire!? Sounds like a prank to me!"
"I agree dear, but sometimes things happen."
"Don't tell me you believe it?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"I never said that. I only said that sometimes things happen." she said.
While her parents continued to discuss it, Lucy pulled Natsu upstairs, causing her sister to wonder what was going on.
"Natsu! What the hell were you doing!?" she whisper yelled.
He scratched his head. "I didn't mean for that to happen! I was just trying to find Zeref and-"
"You idiot! You almost got yourself killed!"
He was surprised. She seemed angry, but she also had traces of worry in her voice. "Promise me you won't do that again!" she said.
"Luce-"
"Promise!" she said, pouting.
He sighed, deciding he would lose anyway if he tried to argue his side. "Fine." he said. "But if they come after you or the others, I'm not hesitating to kick their ass." he said.
"Fine." she said. "Now, let's get going, we're going to be late."
IMPORTANT NOTE!: some topics in this story from here on out are NOT to joke about. I will only be using them in this story to develop the plot.
Song(s) in this chapter:
- None this Chapter! :P
New character's ages in this chapter:
- Lucas: 54
- Reaper - 34
- Zeref: 25
- Ajeel: 24
As I said up top, this chapter was kind of weird for me. Sorry about that. I think all us FT fans know who Reaper is. If not, you'll see later on lol. But wow, Natsu unlocked the power within him, at least for a while it seems. I wonder how their other friends will react when they turn on the TV. And why exactly is Zeref acting strange in regards to Natsu's DNA? Is he hiding something, or is it not what it seems? We'll see next time.
Sorry if it seemed like a while(2 days -_- ) to upload this. I kept thinking about the plot and where I wanted it to go, but things kept changing. Please tell me how I did ;-;
Well, that's all until next time! Byeeee! :3
FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A REVIEW OR A QUESTION IN EITHER THE REVIEW SECTION OR IN A PM, AND THANKS FOR READING! :D
