Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima
ACT II: Celestial Guidance – New Beginnings
Approximately X775
Chapter 5: Horrible markings
Nothing major happened the next few years. The dragons did their task and raised their humans as best as they could, while training them in becoming Dragon Slayers.
Layla was still fatigued from opening the gate, but she was slowly getting better. For her, time seemed to fly by rather quickly,as she spent all of her waking hours taking care of her family and their huge mansion. In all modesty things was going quite well for them. They had a big home which Layla gladly took responsibility for, while Jude was working. In the last few years his company had grown rapidly and had become a huge influence on the market. Not that she cared about that, but it meant she could be at home all day and take care of things there. Which was great, because that meant she also got the role as host, whenever Jude invited important business partners over. All in all it was perfect for her, because she was still fatigued from opening the gate.
Jude sometimes went on business trips and he was away on one, when a mage came by their mansion one evening to visit Layla. The reason the mage was there, was because he had certain request...
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
"No!" Layla said in a firm voice and span around on her heels to empathise her statement.
Zeref had just told her everything about the history that surrounded Natsu, but also the things that regarded the demon END.
Of course Layla was furious that Zeref had neglected to tell her this crucial detail, about the poor kid. Well not that it changed anything, she still thought the pink haired kid was adorable. Demon or not he was just a kid after all.
The main reason the celestial mage was angry though, was because of the thing he wanted her to do.
Compared to that, the demon thing was water under the bridge.
"I do not wish to beg" the dark mage narrowed his eyes "but if that is what it takes, before you perform the seal on him..."
"Then the answer would still be no" she crossed her arms defiantly.
"But..." Zered appealed in a low tone "... it's for the best in the end"
"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean I would willingly harm a poor child"
"We will put him under a sleeping spell"
"I said no!" she turned her head and glared at the other mage, with anger sparkling in her eyes.
"Come on, now you're just being selfish!" Zeref spat impatiently "You know how much he means for me too! Do you think I want this more than you do?"
"I know..." Layla groaned and started massaging her temple, as if she was suffering from a sudden headache.
"Then please... you have to do this not only for me but also for him. Without the seal he might lose control or submit to the demon before he's ready. And who knows how much harm he could inflict on the world and himself, if that happens?"
"You're right..." she sighed heavily "... that doesn't make me feel good about it though"
"I promise it'll be fine" Zeref said in a comforting tone "He'll be fast asleep when it happens and once he wakes up, I'll make sure to have some medicine to heal him. Besides..."
"Mama..." both of them jumped in surprise as they watched the tiny figure of a blonde girl suddenly standing in the doorway, rubbing her eye with one hand and in the other hand she was dragging a lion plushie.
"What are you doing up so late young lady?" Layla smiled brightly at her daughter.
"... I couldn't sleep..." the girl answered and sheepishly eyed the unknown mage, before she strolled over to her mother.
"You couldn't?" the woman kneeled down in front of the girl "Well I promise I'll come in just few minutes okay? Then I'll read you a story"
"... thank you..." Lucy whispered and started fidgeting with her nightdress nervously "... mama?"
"What is it dear?"
"... who is he?" she looked at Zeref briefly, before turning her head to stare at her own bare feet.
"He's an old friend" Layla smiled and patted her child's head.
"What is he doing here?"
"He's here to ask me a favour"
"What favour?" Lucy asked in a curious voice.
"He wants me to help his younger brother with a small problem he has"
"Problem?"
"Yes, there is something he's scared of, that I need to seal away"
"... okay... well... maybe I can help too?" Lucy's eyes lit up momentarily in eagerness.
Layla chuckled "That's very sweet of you to say, but it's fine I can do this on my own"
"Ohh..." the girl's eyes widened before she stormed out of the room, only to return a second later with something in her hand.
"Lucy?" Layla asked as she watched the tiny blonde going over to Zeref.
"He... here... mister..." there was a blush of embarrassment plastered on Lucy's cheeks "... this... this will help your brother..."
"Thank you" Zeref accepted the thing and eyed it curiously. It was a tiny bag filled with what looked like pink candy, that was shaped like cats.
"Lucy" Layla looked at the bag feeling rather astonished "You're giving him the last of your peppermint candy cats?"
"Ye.. yeah..." the small girl blushed "... I'm a big girl now, so I don't need it any more, to make me feel better. I'm not scared of anything!"
"Indeed you are a big girl" Layla smiled proudly towards her child before hugging her "Now will you be a good girl too and go to bed, then I promise I'll come join you in a few minutes, okay?"
"Okay!" Lucy smiled a toothy grin and without effort snaked out of her mother's arms, before storming out of the room.
"Cute..." Zeref muttered to no one in particular, before making a fake cough into his hand "... so... to cut things short, you're willing to help me?"
"... yes..." Layla sighed in defeat "... I'll do it"
"Good" the dark mage smiled.
With that they had come to an agreement, that would soon be fulfilled. But before they could do that, they needed to figure out which procedure would work. And so they used a few minutes exchanging information, before they finally reached a decision about what they had to do, when performing the seal. With that settled it didn't take long, before they were ready to take the next step in their plan.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Zeref and Layla made their way to a huge clearing, where they quickly spotted the red dragon and the tiny kid. Both of them was busy chatting with each other, but they couldn't hear what they were talking about.
Layla didn't know how Zeref managed to find the two of them, neither did she question it, because in all honesty it didn't really matter.
"Igneel, king of fire dragons" the dark mage said as a form of greeting, when they were close enough.
The dragon turned his head and nodded towards them "Zeref... and Layla! It is good to see you again. You're doing well I hope?"
"Thank you I am" the woman bowed her head "I hope you're doing well too"
"I am... I..." the dragon was interrupted by a childish scream and there was a flash of pink, before Layla found herself knocked down on the ground by an unknown force.
"Huh?" Layla blinked in surprise before staring at the tiny kid that was hugging her legs.
"HEY!" Natsu grinned widely, revealing all of his teeth.
"My, my..." the woman laughed wholeheartedly "... that's the first time someone knocked me off my feet, when greeting me..."
"... I'm sorry my kid is an idiot..." Igneel rolled with his eyes.
Natsu didn't say anything but chuckled, as if he was having the best time.
"It's okay..." Layla gently patted the kid's head "... just took me off guard that's all"
"Here..." Zeref said as he walked over to the two, with the bag of candy dangling from his hand "... Natsu this is for you"
"For me?" the kid blinked in response before grabbing the bag "What is it? Looks like... cats?"
"It's candy" Layla said in a gentle voice.
"Candy?"
"Yes, you haven't had candy before?" Layla asked in curiosity.
"No?" Natsu stared at the bag with eager eyes "Don't think so? What is candy?"
"Igneel..." the woman looked at the dragon, clearly judging him "... why doesn't he know what candy is?"
"Well it ain't like I can just stroll into town and buy him something now is it?" Igneel snorted in defiance at the accusation.
"... yeah guess you're right..." Layla sighed and watched as Natsu stopped hugging her legs and sat down besides her. He was smiling brightly as he took one of the cat shaped candies and popped it into his mouth.
"Mmm" the pink haired kid hummed, clearly enjoying the candy "Is awesome! Thank you!"
"You're welcome, but make sure you don't eat all of them at once, okay?" Layla smiled somehow knowing that he would ignore that "Hey you know what?"
"Mm-mm" Natsu shook his head and ate another piece of candy.
"That candy" she said while getting into a sitting position "Is a gift from my daughter to you"
"I thought is was from you?" Natsu tilted his head to the side. Evidently he had already forgotten, that it was Zeref who gave it to him.
"My daughter told me to give it to you, to make you strong and brave" Layla gently patted his head, trying to suppress the melancholia she was feeling "Because... there is something we need you to do"
"Ohhh uhm, kay?" the pink haired kid nodded "Can... can I ask you something?"
"Yes of course"
"Your uhm... daughter..." he rubbed his neck sheepishly ".. is she as pretty as you are?"
A laugh escaped Layla's lips as she quickly scooped the kid into her arms and hugged him like there was no tomorrow "No, she's much prettier than I am. She's much cuter too"
"Really?" Natsu blushed from head to toe "I don't believe that"
"Well you'll just have to see for yourself some day, now wont you?" she ruffled his hair making his hair even more spiky than it already was. When Layla saw this she couldn't help but squeal before kissing his head "Ohh my gosh, how can you be so cute?"
Igneel coughed loudly clearly trying to gain the couple's attention. Both him and Zeref had stood in silence just watching them, clearly unsure of how to stop the two from bonding.
"Layla..." the dragon started "... all though it is nice seeing you again, let's get down to business. I know you're not here just for a social visit, so do mind telling me why you're here?"
"We have to put a seal on him" Zeref motioned with his head in Natsu's direction "to prevent you know who from spawning"
"I thought you already did, in that book of yours" Igneel said with a hint of scepticism.
"In some aspects yes, however that doesn't mean he can't evoke the raw power of the demon that is still a vital part of his being. I mean being a demon is what he is in his blood, so it's still a latent part of him, until the time he summons it. That essentially means he could turn, if he pass the limited boundaries in his body that is now keeping it under control"
"I see" Igneel narrowed his eyes "Is this seal dangerous?"
"He will not feel anything as we cast it, I can assure you of that"
"Is what he say true?" the dragon asked Layla, seeking her confirmation.
"Yes..." her voice lowered considerably "... we have taken... certain precautions to make sure of that. But we shouldn't talk about it now"
"Shouldn't talk about what?" Natsu asked eagerly as he looked at them in turn.
"Nothing dear" Layla smiled warmly towards him.
"If this doesn't harm him I don't see why we shouldn't take this precaution" Igneel said.
"Good" Zeref nodded "Then we shouldn't delay any longer. Let us proceed right away"
"Yes..." Layla sighed heavily, clearly not looking forward to the next part.
"What?" Natsu whined because he felt excluded from the conversation.
"Remember I told you to be strong and brave right?" she gently placed her hand on his cheek.
"Uhm... yeah?"
"Well we need you to go to sleep for a little while, because we need to... put a small spell on you, to prevent you from being sick"
"Ohh..." Natsu blinked momentarily "... I don't feel sick, but okay"
"You're okay with it?" Layla asked and watched the kid as he nodded eagerly.
"Yeah!" he smiled brightly, clearly trusting the woman.
"You..." Layla sniffled with tears threatening to fall, as she caught him in a tight hug "... you're an amazing kid"
"Thanks!" Natsu smiled as he returned the hug, nuzzling his head against her shoulder.
They both enjoyed the hug not noticing that Zeref was suddenly standing beside them, until he placed his hand on the kid, making the kid squeak before he fell unconscious against Layla's body.
"Ohh!" the woman gasped and clutched the child more firmly against her own body, to prevent him from falling to the ground.
"What did you do?!" Igneel roared in outrage.
"I put a simple sleeping spell on him. He's fine" the dark mage answered.
"Igneel, trust me we need him to be in this state for what is about to happen" Layla said in a sad tone and gently placed Natsu on the ground.
"King of fire dragons" Zeref said in a stoic voice "You might not want to watch this"
"Why not?" the dragon snorted in defiance.
"Remember when I sealed END away?" the mage furrowed his eyebrows.
"Ahh..." Igneel's eyes widened in horror "... well yes, but that just confirms the fact that I'll have to watch the procedure"
"Do as you wish, as long as you don't interrupt us"
"Mmm... I'll try..." the dragon started but was interrupted by Layla.
"No, you mustn't interrupt us! We need to finish this before he wakes up"
"Alright, I'll do my best to refrain myself" Igneel said clearly not satisfied by the situation.
"Good..." Layla let out a shaking breath "... okay let's do this"
"Yes" Zeref nodded as he brought forth his book, that started to glow and pulsate in a weird way, clearly responding to the kid on the ground "We need to do this quickly" he said and motioned with his hands while chanting something in a weird language. While he did that, the book seemed to vibrate before a glistening ball suddenly spawned from it. The ball was a weird mixture of black and gold, but there was also a tiny bit of red in it, that looked a lot like blood.
Zeref was still chanting as the ball suddenly started hovering above Natsu's right arm, where it hang for a second. As it did Zeref carefully trailed his finger in a specific pattern on the kid's arm, where black markings started appearing where the dark mage touched his skin. Simultaneously as the marking's started appearing the ball became smaller, evidently because it was somehow transferred over to the kid's skin.
When the glistening ball was gone Zeref nodded towards Layla, who instantly placed her hands above Natsu's arm. Her fingers started glowing, making the markings vibrate and radiate as well.
Zeref and Layla quickly exchanged a look with each other, both knowing now would be the hard part.
"Let's do this" the woman said in a shaking voice and pushed more of her magic into the markings, making it glow in a golden light.
"Yes" Zeref answered as he placed his hands above the markings too, forcing another type of magic into the kid. When he did the markings slowly seemed to pulsate again, before they started forcing themselves into Natsu's arm, slowly ripping the skin apart where it entered his body. As they did they started to vanish, without leaving a single proof of their existence.
Sucking in a deep breath, Layla continued in spite of the fact, that blood was now starting to flow down the kid's arm.
Fortunately he couldn't feel anything...
After a while all of the markings were gone, the only thing left was the torn skin on Natsu's arm, that was bleeding rapidly.
"I..." Layla sat down heavily and stared at her shaking hands, clearly distraught by the situation.
"I've got this" Zeref managed to smirk towards the woman, before he fetched a bottle from inside his clothes, that contain a clear but sparkling liquid. With one hand he quickly opened the bottle and poured the liquid on Natsu's arm and once it hit his skin, steam started forming.
"What is that?" Igneel asked his voice shaking slightly from the scene he had just endured.
"Does it matter?" the dark mage answered and all of them watched as the steam vanished. They all had a moment of happiness, when they saw that the liquid had worked and removed the wounds on the kids.
"Guess not" The dragon shrugged "I'm gonna go fetch some water. We need to remove all of that blood before he wakes up"
It didn't take long before Igneel returned with a bucket and a piece of cloth, he quickly heated up with a tiny amount of fire.
"I'll... I'll do that" Layla said and took the piece of cloth from the bucket, she then used to carefully remove the blood. While she did that she kept biting her lips, to try and prevent herself from crying.
It didn't prevent her body from shaking uncontrollably though, making her hands shake even more as she finished her task. Once it was done the water was stained pink, from all the blood she had removed.
"We should move him" Igneel said as he pointed towards the blood on the ground "he'll smell that the second he wakes up"
"Good idea" Layla said and gently took the kid into her arms, hugging him close to her chest. A second later she started walking. The celestial mage didn't know where she was going, neither did it matter. For her it felt good leaving the place behind. Also it was slightly liberating to move. Like it was somehow soothing her raging heart.
Layla didn't know for how long she waked, but suddenly she was stopped when Igneel blocked her way.
"This is far enough" he said and eyed the sleeping kid "Besides I have a few questions I need answered before he wakes up"
Layla turned her head "Of course... but where is Zeref?"
"Don't know, he vanished when you did" the dragon sighed heavily "That kid is a mystery to me"
"Yeah..." the blonde took a deep breath "... he is to me too sometimes"
Igneel narrowed his eyes as he watched the melancholic aura that was suddenly surrounding the woman.
"Layla... what's wrong?"
"He... he told me everything"
"Everything?"
"About the demon... about END"
"Ohh..." the dragon's eyes widened "... I see"
"Yeah..." Layla smiled sadly towards him ".. that's why I agreed to help him make the seal"
"About that... how does it work?"
"Well it's rather simple really" she sighed and gently started stroking Natsu's back "Since I'm a celestial mage I use summoning magic, to call forth a spirit with the use of a key. The marking you saw we embed inside his body is functioning as a key, that will allow him to summon his demonic part when he's ready. Of course most of END is inside Zeref's book, but the key or the marking will function as a key, that will allow him to summon his other part"
"But what is stopping him from summoning him now?"
"We made a barrier that will ensure, that the markings won't spawn until he reaches a certain level of magical capacity. Hopefully that won't happen until he's old enough, so that it won't cause him to go mental or lose his human personality"
"I see, then when the time is right, maybe he'll have enough self control that he won't be consumed by the demon"
"Exactly" the blond nodded and turned her head to glare at the pink haired kid "It's just hard to understand why faith has to be so cruel to such an innocent child"
"I know..." Igneel agreed and took a deep breath.
"Mmm..." Natsu whimpered as he started stirring in Layla's arms.
"Hey there" she answered and gently patted his head "How are you feeling?"
"... dizzy... thirsty..."
"Come on there's a lake not that far away..." Igneel stated.
"It..." the child staggered "... smells... like..." his breathing was starting to become more irregular indicating he was starting to have a panic attack.
"Oh no you don't!" Igneel quickly snatched Natsu's shirt and threw him into the distance.
"Ahhhhhh..." Natsu screamed in shock from being airborne all of a sudden, before he eventually collided with something that caused a huge splashing like sound to be heard.
"What..." Layla stood perplexed for a second "What did you do that for?!" her eyes bulged visibly for a second as she started running in the kid's direction. Once she got close enough she quickly saw a huge lake, and it didn't take long before she spotted pink hair, since it was easily recognisable from a distance.
"Natsu!" she yelled and ran directly into the lake, until she was right next to the kid, who was staring back at her in confusion.
"Igneel I swear, when I get to you I'll turn you into a pair of fashionable shoes, so I can walk on you all day..." her eyebrow twitched in anger.
"I did it for his own good ya know" Igneel snickered "Besides I'm way too big to only turn into one pair of shoes"
"Hmpf!" Layla raised her chin stoically, trying to ignore the dragon's taunt "Now come on let's get you out of this water. Crab onto my back, then I'll carry you back to shore"
"Mm... kay" Natsu wrapped his arms around her shoulders and soon they found themselves back on shore, where Igneel conveniently had built a bonfire, to dry them both up.
"There you go" Layla smiled as she placed the kid next to the fire "Are you feeling better?"
"... Mmm..." he wrinkled his mouth for a second "... still dizzy"
"Do you still have the candy?"
"Uh-huh..." he fetched the bag from his pocket. Fortunately the water hadn't spoiled them.
"Take one of them, they'll help you feel stronger"
Natsu didn't say anything as he took a piece of candy and ate it. Once it was gone he took one more.
"Feeling better?" Layla enquired in a mild tone.
"YES!" he lid up with a big smile "A lot better! Thanks!"
"Natsu" Igneel's voice said from somewhere beside them "If you want to feel even better, then you could show Layla the trick I taught you"
"Trick?" he blinked in confusion.
"Yeah" the dragon nodded with his head towards the fire.
"Ahhh!" Natsu jumped up eagerly "Hey, hey, hey you have to see this!" he grabbed Layla's hand and dragged her closer to the fire.
"Ohh okay"
"Are you watching? You HAVE to be watching! This is awesome!"
"I'm watching" she gave his hand a squeeze.
"Okay, okay, okay" he took a few deep breaths, before he started sucking in the fire. His tiny stomach couldn't contain all of it, but once it was filled he stopped eating and let out a sigh in delight "thanks for the meal!"
"That was amazing" Layla smiled brightly "Did Igneel teach you to do that?"
"Yup!" Natsu clenched his right hand and held it up into the air, but flinched as he did so "Ugh!"
"What's wrong?" she asked in concern.
"Nothing... my arm just feels weird, is all" he stared at his arm and stuck out his tongue, which he wiggled with mockingly "Bleeh! Stupid arm"
The blonde couldn't help giggling when she saw his reaction and gave his hand another squeeze.
They stood like that staring at the fire for a while, when Layla noticed how late it was getting. She didn't want to go, but then again it wouldn't do any good for her if she staid. After all she had her own daughter she had to go home to.
"I should get going" turning her head she exchanged a glare with the dragon.
"What? No!" Natsu immediately hugged her legs, trying to prevent her from going.
"I'm sorry, but I have to" Layla patted his head "My daughter is waiting for me"
"Naaaw aw!" he shook his head refusing to accept her excuse
"Natsu!" Igneel's voice boomed "You can't become a mighty mage with that attitude"
"I don't care!" his lip started quivering.
"You know what? If you let me go I promise I'll bring you more candy, that I'm sure you'll like" Layla smiled and tilted her head to the side "Okay?"
"Mmm..." he narrowed his eyes suspiciously but a second later his facial expression changed into a cocky grin "... okay!"
"Good" she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug "Be a good boy until I see you again, okay?"
"Aye!" he cheered and removed his arms, giving the woman back her ability to move.
"I bid you both farewell!" Layla bowed her head "I hope your path will be filled with brightness until we meet again"
"Yeah likewise" Igneel nodded with his head "See ya around kid"
".. I'm not a kid..." she pouted with a hint of annoyance.
"Bye-bye!" Natsu waved with hand eagerly "Come back soon!"
"I will" and with that Layla found herself leaving the place. She didn't now when she would see them again, especially because it was essential that she didn't go there without a purpose. After all it was important, that she didn't accidentally draw attention to the duo.
It would take two years before she saw them, but she didn't know that at the moment...
A/N: Natsu is freakishly adorable as a kid, so I really struggled with myself typing this chapter. That is all I have to say :3
