Hey guys! Kytrin here with your Wednesday update! Not much to announce tonight, so I'll let you get on with the reading. Notes at the bottom as usual. Enjoy! :)


CHAPTER 3

Shiver Me Timbers!

Something like, "Holy Cow!" a surprised or shocked expression


Lucy let out a shout of surprise, but as they fell through the water it wasn't like dropping from a great height.

It was more like being sucked into a funnel and sliding down a slide. She was plunged into the water, Natsu's hand steadying her as they became submerged.

She struggled instinctively as the water closed over her, desperately trying to hold her breath until a hand slapped her back sharply causing her to gasp in surprise. She felt a moment of terror before realizing that she wasn't actually drowning. In fact, the water was as easy and normal to breathe as regular air, and slowly her heartbeat calmed as her crew was treated to the same process by Zeref's men.

"Apologies Captain." Zeref hold her, his voice sounding different, richer, underwater, "It was not my intent to frighten you that badly." He smiled a little sheepishly, "I sometimes forget that no matter how at ease in the water a human appears, they will instinctively react as any other land dweller faced with drowning. I assure you, the magic is quite powerful and will hold for far longer than our trip will take. You need not fear the depths here."

Lucy nodded, not quite sure what to say to that, and far too amazed by what she was seeing anyway.

It was hard to see underwater, but the magic cast by Zeref allowed her eyes to adjust enough to make out Natsu's shape just beside her. Gradually her depth of field increased as she looked around, seeing Zeref's warriors all around them along with the large shape of the Kraken guarding her ship.

"Whoa," She breathed, her voice coming out distorted.

Natsu laughed loud, the sound almost melodic over the way it caught in the water and rang in her ears. Her eyes drifted to him and he clicked his tongue, beckoning a dolphin nearby.

Many had begun to gather, drawn by the volume of the merfolk and Zeref's magic.

Natsu swam down to pluck a long trail of bushy seaweed from the watery ground, twisting it between his palms and forming a sort of reign. The dolphin clicked happily at Natsu and he laughed, smoothing his hand against the dolphins back.

"Hold this part," Natsu directed while the dolphin bit down on the loose ends, "your legs are weak little things, you won't get far trying to swim with those things."

"What about you?" Lucy asked him. Natsu stretched out and rubbed his aching tail.

"I've been cooped up in a tank or flat on the deck of a ship, I want to swim," Natsu smirked at her.

"And you will still have a dolphin on standby." Zeref said firmly as the rest of the crew were settled, "You're still injured brother, and I will not have Mavis or Igneel stripping my scales because you strained yourself."

Natsu had the grace to look embarrassed by Zeref's sharp reprimand, seeming to know better than to argue with him in the face of suffering the wrath of his sister-in-law. It was clear that despite his words, he did seem to be moving slower than the rest of his kin in the water. Perhaps better than Lucy and her other crewmates, but probably not by as wide a margin as would be normal.

The dolphin Lucy was holding onto chittered and clicked, and Zeref's expression softened, "Thank you my friend, but that won't be necessary. You're a strong swimmer, but there's no need for you to carry double when there are members of your pod free if my brother tires."

Lucy bit back a giggle at the sulky look Natsu gave his brother, but he didn't actually protest the arrangement. Which, she supposed, kind of proved the point altogether.

The sea king shot him a triumphant look and whistled out something that Lucy was positive no human voice could replicate. As one the group surged into motion and for a while she was far too busy clinging to her strange mount to think about anything else.

However, as she began to get used to the motion she started to look around curiously. They were in deep water of course. Even a day out from an island was more than enough to put them solidly in water that could hide all manner of things in its depths.

Strangely enough though, it was far emptier than she'd expected. At best she spotted clouds of krill or other small things here and there, and the odd flash of scales from a school of fish, but for the most part it was nothing but blue water as far as the eye could see. Certainly it didn't seem to contain the wealth of monsters all sailors, no matter how seasoned, were halfway convinced lurked just below the surface.

"Is it always this empty?" She asked in mild surprise, "Or are we keeping things at bay with Zeref's magic?"

Natsu burst into laughter next to her, "What? You didn't seriously think the sea was packed with monsters did you?"

"Maybe?" Lucy grumbled, blushing at his laughter. It only made the merman laugh harder and he clutched at his sides, rolling a bit through the water

"Are there humans crammed over every inch of land?" Natsu smirked at her, "there are places of empty spaces on land and the world is made mostly of water so the same can be expected here. The Tempest is one of the oldest goddesses because there is so much ocean, all life comes from water."

Lucy noted the respectful tone his voice took when he spoke of the mysterious goddess.

"I guess you're right, that makes sense," Lucy acknowledged the logic in his words. It was strange to expect so much bustle when most people were only gathered in cities and towns.

"Most sea serpents lurk near underwater volcanoes because they like the heat," Natsu grinned at her, "you'll find all sorts of creatures hiding in the seaweed and closer to the ground."

"The scary monsters like to be down even further though, further down than anyone save the goddess herself or one of the sea kings can travel. The abyss is too much for anyone to handle," Natsu shivered.

"Why is that?" Lucy asked him, surprised by his reaction. She hadn't expected him to shy away from anything at all.

"The abyss will crack a normal human into pieces," Zeref explained, "I have power over it as I'm the king of this sea. The goddess decreed it so. It's where we believe she rests, in the darkness where no one can bother her."

"That sounds lonely," Gray spoke up, his eyes drifting down towards the caverns they passed over. There was darkness beyond his sight and it was clear he wondered what laid in the dark.

"It must be," Levy agreed with Gray, a sad smile on her face.

The topic trailed off after that, and Lucy couldn't help but observe her surroundings as they got closer to their destination.

Colorful coral and fish began to show up with more abundance. The water began to glitter and the seaweed grew lush and light.

The dolphins chirruped and broke the surface as they did so often for air, however this time they didn't submerge.

"We've arrived," Zeref smiled at them.

Lucy gasped a little at the sight that greeted her eyes.

They were floating in the middle of one of the largest, and most pristine, lagoons she'd ever seen. Sand so white and fine it looked like powdered sugar curved around in a crescent shape around the bend of the island. It looked at least a couple of miles long, and was lined with lush jungle at the back and rocks that turned into cliffs on the right.

It was incredible. Almost something straight out of a storybook.

Though, what was coming out of those cliffs was even more astonishing.

At first she hadn't realized what she was looking at. The distant shapes moving around on the cliffs had been large, but she'd mistaken them for some kind of large lizard that was relatively common in the more tropical regions of the world. However, the closer they got the more she realized those weren't lizards. They were...

"Dragons!"

Lucy gaped at the sight of the enormous creatures swarming out of what she now realized were cave mouths. First merfolk and now a dragon's nest of all things? This day was getting weirder and weirder.

"Indeed." Zeref replied calmly as they rode closer to shore, "This is the home of the fire dragon king Igneel and his nest. They're close friends and allies of ours."

"But... why bring us here?" Lucy asked, her nerves starting to climb a little, "And where is here anyway? I don't remember this island on the maps."

Zeref smiled at her serenely, "That's because the island can't be found except by those who already know where it is. An ancient bit of magic done by Igneel himself several centuries ago to protect the nest."

"I see," Lucy hesitated, aware Zeref had done nothing to answer her first question.

At least until Natsu broke away, surging to the shore with strong strikes of his tail, "Dad!"

'Dad,' was apparently a massive dragon.

Lucy's jaw dropped at the sight of the large dragon approaching the excited merman, his large head dipping down to press his snout into Natsu's chest.

He let out a rough laugh, his arms wrapping right around his father's head while the dragon made a loud growl to show its pleasure.

"I see you've made yourself some friends on your latest adventure. You worried this old lizard sick you brat," Igneel rumbled, flopping Natsu backwards into the water. The merman let out a shriek of laughter and splashed clumsily.

"Sorry dad, let me introduce you!" Natsu turned towards the shocked humans, his smile sunny, "This is my father, the fire dragon king Igneel."

He gestured to Lucy, "This is Captain Lucy of the pirate ship Fairy Tail. They rescued me from the ship that captured me."

"Lucy, huh?" Igneel fixated lucy with a hard look as if weighing her honesty. His eyes held a deepness in them, as if he were seeing something in the captain he would not bring to the surface. Lucy was unnerved by the way Igneel looked at her, something almost like sadness reflected in his eyes.

His face quickly relaxed though and he bowed his great head, "Thank you for protecting my son. He is hard headed, but has always had a reputation for getting himself into trouble."

At Lucy's blank stare, Zeref snorted and swam closer, "Natsu was adopted from my family. He wasn't born a merman, but as part of the dragon kin. He had two legs, just like you."

"What? Really?" Cana asked him, her curiosity lighting her eyes. Natsu noticed that Levy nearby wasn't looking in his direction, despite how curious everyone else seemed to be "And do you know how you became a merman?"

Natsu shook his head at the directed question. His arms crossed and he sighed, "All I know for sure is that the goddess Juvia chose to save me one day. I don't know why or how, but I only remember bits and pieces of my old life as dragonkin."

Gray frowned deeply at that, "Something like that would need a serious sacrifice to the goddess."

"It certainly did." A new, female, voice sounded and they all looked over to where a light haired woman was wading out into the water where she promptly developed a tail and swam over to wrap her arms around Natsu in a tight hug.

Next to the pink haired merman she looked positively tiny, but there was no mistaking her power as she released him and swam over to Zeref. The sea king gave her a look that could only be described as besotted, and curled an arm around her waist.

"Captain Heartfilia, allow me to introduce my beloved wife Queen Mavis."

"The pleasure's mine your highness." Lucy replied, bobbing as best she could in an approximation of a curtsey.

"Please just call me Mavis!" The queen laughed, and elbowed her husband, "And you're being rude Zeref! Humans aren't meant to float around indefinitely! Isn't that why you brought them here?"

"Yes dear." Zeref grunted and signaled the dolphins.

Once they were safely on shore Mavis rejoined them and waved a hand at their clothes cleaning and drying them instantly, "That should be better now!" She exclaimed as a white dragoness transformed down into a regal looking woman, who promptly waded out into the shallows to inspect Natsu.

Lucy watched in amusement as less than thirty seconds later she smacked the merman over the head.

"Ow! Mom!" Natsu whined as he clutched his head, "That hurt!"

"That's the least of what you deserve for cavorting like a hatchling when you're injured!" The dragoness huffed indignantly, and shot a glare at Igneel, "And I'll not soon forgive you if you added to his injuries!"

Igneel immediately ducked his head and hastily scooped Natsu into his palm while the dragoness moved up beside him and began casting magic on him.

"The sky dragoness Grandine." Mavis giggled, "She's Igneel's wife and the dominant queen of the nest."

"What's she doing to him?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Healing him." Mavis replied simply, "Sky dragons are extraordinary healers. It goes with their element. If anyone can have Natsu put back together properly it will be her." She smiled assuringly at Lucy and looked up at Gray, "And as I was saying before, you're quite right. Whatever happened to Natsu would've required tremendous power. A power that could only be achieved through an equally powerful sacrifice."

She eyed him thoughtfully, "I'm impressed you know so much of the Lady Juvia."

Gray blushed a little and shrugged, "I love the sea." He admitted honestly, "I feel at home on it. It only makes sense to learn about its goddess."

Lucy, meanwhile, was eyeing the beach warily and halfway wondering if maybe she could slip back into the water with Natsu. She wasn't precisely superstitious about being on land, but there was no denying that something always seemed to happen once she set foot on it. Her family curse, was a force to be reckoned with, and it always got worse on land.

"Whats with the face?" Natsu asked her from where he was draped in Igneel's massive foreclaw, picking up on her conflicted expression.

Lucy made her way to the edge of the beach, removing her boots and dipping her feet into the water. At once she felt better by its close proximity.

"I'm not making a face," Lucy denied.

"Yes you are, weirdo," Natsu drawled, shaking the salt water from his hair. He pushed it out of his eyes, causing his bangs and hair to flare in spiked disarray.

"I'm not, and be careful you stubborn goldfish, you're hurt and you just started to recover," Lucy watched his healing tail curl and flex through the water.

He deep red scales looked much nicer now that they weren't dried out and had been in his natural habitat. There were still spots that looked raw and unhealthy, but it was clear the water was healing him far swifter than it had in the tank.

"He'll be fine in time." Grandine laughed softly as her magic ended, "Though he'll be remaining here under my care for a while." She turned to Lucy, a mix of joy and sadness in her eyes, "It's a delight to meet you Captain Heartfilia. I've heard very good things about you on the wind."

She turned to her wayward son, "As for you, I expect you to remain in the shallows and no roughhousing with your brothers until that tail heals. I've closed the wounds for now, but you're still missing most of your scales so they're still very delicate and tender. Understood?"

Natsu let out a soft whine Lucy assumed was agreement, and Grandine nodded. She smiled at Lucy, "Pray excuse me Captain. I have other duties I have to attend to, but I look forward to speaking again at tonight's feast."

"The pleasure would be all mine." Lucy replied sincerely and watched as the dragoness left back to the nest.

"Man, why do I have to be confined to the shallows?" Natsu whined, "It's not like anything would hurt me here!"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Keep that up and you might find yourself back in a fishtank. Then you really will be a goldfish!"

"Who are you calling a goldfish? Why you're just a guppy!" Natsu pouted at her.

"At least I don't act like one lobster tail," Lucy smirked back at him.

Natsu let out a dramatic sounding gasp and flung his arms around his tail protectively.

"She didn't mean it," He whispered to it, pulling a booming laugh from his father.

Lucy glanced up and laughed as well; Natsu swiftly joining her. They were soon joined by the rest of her rambunctious crew, and it wasn't long after that platters of food and drink began emerging from the next and the merfolk and dragons joined the humans en mass to begin their feast. A feast Lucy was certain would remain branded in all their memories for years to come.

Natsu, for his part, couldn't remember a birthday feast where he'd had so much fun either.

His eyes kept drifting to the odd pirate queen. She was interesting, and even though it was the first time he met her... he couldn't shake the sense of wholeness he felt in his chest whenever she was nearby.

The feast passed by in a blur of laughter and games. And it was with a sudden jolt of reality did Natsu notice the setting sun. Time flashed by in a second, and with a heavy heart did Natsu realize he would have to say goodbye to these humans.

Possibly forever.

Lucy's crew began to file back into the water, escorted by both Mavis and Zeref this time. Natsu himself was to stay with his parents for more healing from the sky dragoness. He watched Lucy and her crew go into the water, his lips pulling down at the corners. It was a miracle he even ran into them. With as vast as the ocean was, the chances of them meeting again by accident was slim. Refusing to say goodbye, he grinned at Lucy, drifting through the water and enjoying the way the rosy sun left dabbled spots of light in her eyes and cheeks.

"Smooth sailing Captain," Natsu grinned at her

"Where's the fun in that?" Lucy replied with a saucy wink, grasping at his extended hand. She watched his smile spread again, drawing her in to him. She turned, forcing herself back to Zeref to have the magic cast over her. If she didn't, she feared she might have never returned to the Fairy Tail.

The legends were right about the merfolk.

Natsu had been delightfully fun and charming the entire feast. He'd laughed with her and teased her in a way she couldn't remember anyone ever having done before. Not even with Levy and Gray.

And now... now that she was faced with goodbye, for the first time in her life she felt reluctant.

Which was ridiculous. It wasn't like she knew Natsu all that well really. They'd spent less than a day together all told.

But for some reason her heart would not listen. It ached to go back. Back to that beautiful little island. Back to the hilariously fun dragons and merfolk. And back to Natsu and his bright smile and quick laugh that made her want to laugh with him and just bask in his endlessly cheerful presence.

She pressed her lips together and sternly told herself to stop being silly. She was already on her way back to the ship, and that was her home. She forced herself to think about Crocus and Levy's trip to the Scholisticate and the shore leave they would have.

It was enough to distract her for the rest of the trip back, but it wasn't quite enough to make her forget that bright toothy smile.


And that's the end of the chapter! Real quick I wanna give a major shout out to our reviewers for last chapter. You guys absolutely rocked it, and definitely earned your preview! I also want to mention how delighted I've been to see you guys having so much fun with our mashups and role-reversals and such. We definitely enjoyed changing things up this story, and I'm pleased you like it as well! I can't wait to see what you think of the other curve balls we've got waiting for you! Peace and we'll see you Sunday! :)

"Zeref!" He called, "Help!"

Before Zeref could even reach forward, Natsu froze completely as a ghostly pair of hands seized either side of his head none too gently, and a rapid replay of his memories from the last few months flew before his eyes in reverse.

It stopped abruptly when things rewound back to the raid on the ship and just as suddenly as he'd been grabbed he was let go.

He gasped a little for breath and hastily swam a few paces backwards. He was not interested in getting caught like that again. However, it proved unnecessary as an exquisitely beautiful mermaid shimmered into existence. She had long hair the color of the deep ocean when the sun filtered through the water, and a tail that shone with every color of blue imaginable.

"Lady Juvia." Zeref breathed reverently and sank into a respectful bow.

"I did not think it possible." The goddess breathed, her entire attention focused on Natsu, "I never dreamed such a situation could truly come to pass. And to think you were the one to set these events into motion once again." She tilted her head slightly and smiled, a soul deep pain and grief falling away as she did, "You truly are remarkable son of Igneel."