By the time they entered the forest, Natsu and his friends traced for the source of the scream. Through the bushes, they spotted a young girl running in the river by a waterfall. She was a 17-year old girl with long blonde hair tied in two ponytails, and she wore a blue and white bra, a blue sleeveless jacket, blue sleeves wrapped below her shoulders, a black skirt with a white belt around it, black long stockings, and brown boots.
The girl was having difficulty running due to her clothes smothered in wet, but what's even worse; she was being chased by centaurs, creatures with four legs shaped as hooves and the backside of a horse. The leader of the pack was a centaur with long and spiky blonde hair wearing a yellow and dark blue skirt-like armor and a tattoo on his right shoulder.
Laughing cruelly, the centaur leader grabbed the girl's body and pulled him in his arms, the others sharing his laughter. "Goin' somewhere?" he jeered. "C'mon, Lucy! Hang out with us! I know you want me and my boys, baby!"
"Put me down, Zancrow!" Lucy demanded, trying to break free from Zancrow's grip. "Put me down or I'll—"
"Whoo! I like 'em fiery!" Zancrow admired, with his fellow centaurs laughing in agreement. "That's what I like about girls; hot, fiery, and violent."
Natsu, Wendy, Romeo, Happy, Carla, and Yajima observed the scene from the bushes, with Natsu narrowing his eyes at the situation. Those jerks held that poor girl as a hostage, who was pretty cute in his opinion. This could set the stage for the real test of a true hero.
"Hey, Natsu?" Wendy whispered. "What are those centaurs doing to that girl?"
"I don't know, but by the looks of what they're doing, they're trying to hurt her," Natsu replied sternly. "That means trouble. And when there's trouble, a hero springs into action." He added with a smirk, cracking his knuckles, "Those punks know how to get me fired up. Leave the centaurs to me."
Romeo rooted, "Go get 'em, bro!"
"Now remember, kids," Yajima reminded. "First, analyze the situation. Don't just barrel in there without thinking— AH!" He yelped when he saw Natsu already entering the river, preparing to confront Zancrow and his crew. Yajima sighed, "What I expect from the young generation. Always acting before thinking."
"Let him go," Carla suggested. "This will be his first real test. He can handle it on his own."
Happy agreed, "Aye. Natsu can handle anything."
As the centaurs kept on harassing Lucy, Natsu interrupted them with a loud shout, "Hey, you!"
That caught Lucy and the centaurs' attention; it's almost as if there was a third wheel. Zancrow was the first to speak, towering over Natsu with a glare. He spoke, "Step aside, two legs. This is centaur turf."
One of the centaurs smirked, "Sorry, punk, but you came to the wrong part of the forest."
Another centaur agreed, "And you got here just when we're lookin' for somethin' to feed the sharks."
"Ha! You don't scare me. A bunch of four-legged losers shouldn't be here prancing around the forest like little ponies," Natsu jeered.
"Say what?" Zancrow growled. The centaurs took great offense of the salmon-haired boy's insult.
"Unless you wanna suffer a beating, I suggest you put down that sweet little girl," Natsu threatened.
"I'm not a little girl! I'm like, seventeen years old!" Lucy protested. She added with a smirk, "And there ain't no way a bunch of centaurs can hold me down."
"Well, color me impressed," Natsu admired, crossing his arms. "For a damsel in distress, you've got some spunk."
"You think just because I'm a damsel in distress, I can't get outta this mess?" Lucy scoffed. "I can handle them on my own. Have a nice day."
"Can't you realize the situation you're in?" Natsu stated. "There's all of them and only one of you—"
"Eat black flames, punk!" Zancrow yelled. Before Natsu could finish, the centaur punched him with a fist pulsing with black flames, sending him flying backwards and onto the water. Wendy, Romeo, Happy, Carla, and Yajima cringed at this.
"That's gotta hurt!" Romeo noted.
"He can use flames like Natsu!" Happy pointed out.
"What are you doing, you fool?!" Yajima exclaimed.
"Get up! Use your magic!" Carla called.
"Right, right, got it," Natsu recovered. "Rule #15: a hero's only as good as his magic—"
Too late! Zancrow and the centaurs pounced and ambushed Natsu, and proceeded to continuously beat him up to a bloody pulp. Natsu tried his best to escape, but due to his recklessness, he ended up being the centaurs' punching bag for less than a minute. At the end of the brawl, Zancrow punched Natsu with another black flaming fist, sending him crashing to a rock and breaking it on impact.
"Alright, that's it!" Romeo frowned. "Let's kick some centaur butt!"
"We're coming, Natsu!" Wendy cried.
"Help is on the way!" Happy added.
However, Carla stopped the three before they could enter the river, blocking them with her wings. She said, "Stand back. Don't interfere. This is his fight."
"Your cat friend is right, Wendy," Yajima said. "I know you're eager to help, but he has to do it on his own."
"It's not fair!" Wendy argued. ""We can't leave him behind!"
Romeo agreed, "He needs us!"
Happy turned to Natsu, who was bruised and dazed from the beating he endured from the centaurs. He shouted, "Come on, Natsu! Concentrate! Use your head!"
"My head…?" Natsu paused, and his eyebrows furrowed. After taking a lot of thought to what his Exceed partner told him, he beamed with an idea. With a loud scream, he ran towards Zancrow at breakneck speed, transforming his head into a living weapon of fire.
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" Natsu swiftly struck Zancrow's chest, sending him flying into the waterfall. Lucy was released from the centaur's grip and fell into the water rather ungracefully. The rest of the centaurs were shocked and alarmed of Natsu's incredible feat.
"Alright!" Romeo cheered. "You rock!"
"Way to go, Natsu!" Wendy smiled happily.
"Impressive," Carla nodded.
"Well, it's not exactly what I had in mind, like, use your head… but it's pretty cool," Happy confirmed.
Lucy sat up with her hair drenched and her clothes soaked, spitting water from her mouth. Realizing that hitting Zancrow unexpectedly caused Lucy to fall down, Natsu picked her up and chuckled sheepishly, "Oops. Sorry, miss. That… that was pretty dumb, I know." He then placed her on top of a rock.
"Ya think?" Lucy asked sarcastically, her face drooped with water.
"That fire brat's layin' a hurt on the boss!" one of the centaurs yelled.
"I'm fine, you fools!" Zancrow snapped, recovering from Natsu's attack. He pointed at the salmon-haired boy, "He'll pay for that! Get 'em, boys!"
With that, he and the other centaurs charged with a thunderous yell. Natsu quickly took notice.
"'Scuse me," he smiled widely at Lucy. Approaching three centaurs, his arms and legs pulsed with fire. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist! Fire Dragon's Claw! Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow!" With three spells executed at once, the three centaurs were knocked out. However, more of them just kept coming. Natsu turned to Wendy and Romeo, "Wendy! Romeo! You take out the horse freaks! I'll handle the boss!"
"Finally! Some action!" Romeo smirked, emerging from the bushes and entering the fray.
"Let's do it!" Wendy followed suit.
"GET 'EM!" Zancrow bellowed, and the rest of the centaurs followed his command.
"Spread out!" Natsu called out, and he, Wendy, and Romeo split up; Wendy to fight half of the centaur pack on the left, Romeo against the other half on the right, and Natsu fighting Zancrow at the middle.
"Sky Dragon's Roar! Sky Dragon's Wing Attack! Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!" Utilizing different Sky Dragon Slayer Magic spells, Wendy decimated the centaurs with large gusts of wind.
"Purple Fire: Whip! Yellow Fire: Fireball! Blue Fire: Refrigerator!" With various types of Rainbow Fire, Romeo devastated his enemies with multicolored fire shaped into objects.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist! Claw! Wing Attack! Sword Horn! Flame Elbow!" Meanwhile, Natsu and Zancrow were fighting each other. The Fire Dragon Slayer gained the upper hand when he smashed the centaur leader with multiple techniques. Next, Natsu jumped on Zancrow's back, pounded his head multiple times with burning punches, and flipped him over his shoulder.
"Nice work, kids!" Yajima admired. "Excellent!"
Carla smiled, "Your training has finally paid off."
Giving an amused look at Natsu, Lucy dried her clothes and blonde hair. She asked, "Is this guy here for real?"
Happy nodded, "That's Natsu for ya. He's the best hero Yajima's got."
Carla added, "And don't forget Wendy and Romeo. When they and Natsu work together as a team, it was merely a walk in the park."
"They're three of a kind," Yajima confirmed proudly. He then noticed Lucy and remarked at how beautiful she was. Licking his hand and smoothing back his bald hair, he sat on her lap with a seductive smile. "And by the way, sweet cheeks, I'm one of a kind, too." He attempted to make kissy faces.
"Ugh," Lucy groaned, pushing Yajima off her lap. He fell into the water, and when he surfaced, he spat a fish out of his mouth and caught it in his hand.
Meanwhile, Natsu rode on Zancrow's backside like riding a wild horse. At the end of the rodeo, Natsu grabbed a branch and dragged the centaur up and over the branch with his legs, before crashing him into the stump underneath.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, YOU—" Zancrow roared.
"Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon Fists!" Natsu ignited his fists and unleashed a 1,000-hit fire punch technique that inflicted multiple hits on Zancrow's body, the last blow smashing his chin and flinging him miles into the air. Wendy, Romeo, Happy, and Carla looked up in approval. Finally, Zancrow fell back down, followed by his horseshoes, which hit him on the head, forming a lump, the last horseshoe staying around it. He fell into the river, bruised, scorched, and unconscious.
Natsu pounded his chest proudly, "Serves you right for horsing around somebody's business!"
"Uh-oh! He's taken out the boss! We gotta get outta here!" Terrified of Natsu's power, the rest of the centaurs screamed and ran away from the river, leaving a defeated Zancrow behind.
Natsu climbed triumphantly out of the water with Wendy, Romeo, Happy, and Carla admiring their friend's progress. Yajima, on the other hand, was displeased following this turn of events, especially with Lucy turning him down harshly.
"How was that, guys?" Natsu asked Wendy and Romeo.
"We kicked a lot of serious butt!" Romeo raised his thumb.
"We sure showed those jerks what happens when you mess with the three of us!" Wendy nodded.
"Hold it, kids," Yajima interrupted. He turned to Natsu with a frown, "Natsu, you've become too reckless during a fight! You can get away with mistakes like that back when you were in the minor decathlons, but this is the big leagues."
"At least I beat him, didn't I?" Natsu shrugged.
Yajima scolded, "The next time you get into a fight, don't let your guard down because of a big pair of goo-goo eyes! You have to stay focused, and you…"
The old man noticed that Natsu wasn't paying attention to him. The Fire Dragon Slayer went over to Lucy, who was still drying her hair. Even Romeo was annoyed when Natsu ignored giving him a hi-five. Both Yajima and Romeo's faces turned red, and they crossed their arms with a grunt.
"Ah, look at that," Happy admired. "Natsu's attracted to the girl she just saved."
Wendy asked, "Is he gonna ask her name?"
Carla assumed, "Possibly. I can't say if this girl came here by choice or chance."
Yajima retorted, "Well, if you ask me, she was the reason why Natsu didn't focus."
Romeo agreed, "Yeah. And he ignored giving me a hi-five. Just when things started to look good…"
Natsu stood behind Lucy. He cleared his throat, "Are you, uh, alright, Miss, uh…"
"Lucy Heartfilia," the girl introduced herself, splashing her wet hair against Natsu's face. "My friends call me Lucy, or at least they would if I had any friends." She smiled, wringing out her clothes from the remaining wet, "So, did they give you a name that goes with all those burning hands?"
Natsu chuckled slyly, "Uh, I'm, uh, um…"
"Are you always this articulate?" Lucy giggled, amused by Natsu's gullible behavior.
Natsu blushed in embarrassment, "M-My name is Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. I'm a Dragon Slayer."
Lucy sat on a nearby tree root. She said, "Natsu, huh? I like that name. And you're a Dragon Slayer… You practice a different style of Lost Magic."
Natsu nodded, "That's right."
"Excuse me, Natsu? Can I talk to you, please?" Romeo waved a hand in front of Natsu's face to get his attention, but he pushed his arm down. "Hey!"
Natsu continued, "So, uh, how'd you get mixed up with those—"
"Bozos with hooves?" Lucy asked, giving a phony smile. "Well, you know how men are. They think 'no' means 'yes' and 'get lost' means 'take me, I'm yours.' Zancrow's the worst of them all." Natsu was confused by that statement. Wendy, Romeo, Happy, and Carla just shrugged, as if they don't know. "Oh, well. I bet Mr. Cranky Pants can explain it better than I can. Elders are full of wisdom and experience," Lucy gestured to Yajima.
"Who you callin' Mr. Cranky Pants, toots?" Yajima snapped.
"Well, thanks for everything, Natsu," Lucy smiled slyly, giving a salute. "It's been a real slice."
Natsu turned to Happy, "Say, Happy, any chance that you could lift four people at once with your paws of steel?"
"I can lift anyone in any weight," Happy smiled. "Well, except for at least six or seven people…"
Natsu turned to Lucy, "Hey, Lucy, can we give you a ride?"
"No, she can't come," Romeo refused. He was still upset at Natsu for paying less attention to his best friend.
"What?" Natsu turned to Romeo with an angry look.
"She can't come," Romeo repeated.
"Why not?!" Natsu demanded.
"She'll just get in the way," Romeo replied.
"Aw, come on! She's sounds nice!" Natsu objected.
"I don't care. She's just a damsel in distress," Romeo shook his head.
"Who are you to judge?!" Natsu argued.
"Damsels are just damsels, Natsu," Yajima stated. "Whenever a hero rescues a damsel, they just leave her behind after receiving a complement, and then walk away. When you fell for Blondie over there…" he pointed a thumb at Lucy, "…you lost your focus, and that's why you became a punching bag for those centaurs. It's kinda embarrassing."
"To have been tamed by a vixen like Lucy…" Romeo frowned. "She's gonna put a stake right through the heart of your self-esteem! Heroes need to stay focused on the fight. If you don't focus, it'll be a disgrace!"
Lucy noticed Yajima and Romeo's attitude towards her, "Uh, I don't think your little boy and your grandpa likes me very much."
"I'm not a little boy!" Romeo protested. "I'm a real wizard! You saw me use magic against those centaurs!"
Yajima added, "And I'm not just a grandpa, lady. I'm a trainer of heroes."
Lucy chuckled, "Sorry, you two. I didn't mean it. No offense."
Yajima said Romeo said sarcastically in unison, "None taken."
Natsu grinned, "Romeo and Yaj aren't so bad once you get used to them. They'll warm up to you somehow. And they'd be more than happy to…"
He was interrupted when an acorn hit his head. He turned to Romeo, who whistled innocently, while Yajima simply rolled his eyes.
"I'll be alright," Lucy assured. "I'm a big, tough girl. I can tie my own shoes and everything." Turning her back from Natsu, she waved, "Bye-bye, Dragon Slayer." She departed from the group in a way that sent Natsu into a trance, mesmerized by her charms and beauty.
"Bye," Natsu waved, brimming with infatuation.
"He loves her…" Happy spoke in a romantic tone, grinning to himself.
"Wow… She's something, isn't she?" Natsu asked his friends.
Wendy commented, "I think she's pretty nice. And she's cute, too."
Happy agreed charmingly, "Oh, yeah. Pretty cute. As cute as Wendy."
"I'll say," Carla smiled. "The road to being a true hero is paved with many obstacles and endless possibilities, especially new friends."
"Oh, yeah. She's really something," Romeo said sarcastically, before he yelled, "A real PAIN IN THE BUTT!" He attempted to wake Natsu out of his trance, even knocking on his head, "Hello! Earth to Nat! Come in, Nat! Come in, Nat!"
"Quiet dawdling around, Natsu!" Yajima scolded. "We've got work to do. Crocus is still waiting."
Natsu chuckled admittedly, "Yeah, yeah. I know. Why would I forget? Crocus, here we come!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy cried, and he and Carla scooped Natsu, Wendy, Romeo, and Yajima up into the air, heading for Crocus without any delays. With a smile, Lucy saw the young heroes disappear into the clouds, and they could no longer be seen against the white. But seconds later, her smile faded, and she was unable to shake the feeling that something was amiss.
There was another matter that needed her attention.
Lucy walked into the deepest area of the forest, which was dark and desolate. The black, crooked trees had not grown much over the years, and not a single piece of green had taken root from the ground. There were no towering plants, no looming grasses, and no shade of light. The only signs of life Lucy encountered were a bunny and a gopher; the creatures looked up at the blonde-haired girl with sparkling eyes.
"Awww, how cute," Lucy adored, before her face turned to a frown. "A couple of rodents looking for Ryuzetsu Land."
"Who you callin' a rodent, sister?!" the bunny snapped at Lucy in a familiar voice. "I'm a bunny!" He showed the fluffy tail attached to his backside to state his point.
"And I'm his gopher!" the gopher added, speaking in another familiar voice.
The two creatures' bodies inflated and popped like balloons, revealing their true selves: none other than Kain Hikaru and Rustyrose. "Ta-da!" they shouted joyfully in unison.
"Ugh. I thought I smelled a rat," Lucy shook her head in disgust.
"Hello, Lucy…"
A familiar deep voice resonated with the darkness, festering Lucy's frown. "Speak of the devil..."
Sure enough, the voice belonged to Mard Geer Tartaros, who emerged from a withered tree with an unimpressed look. He spoke, pulling Lucy over, "Lucy, my little yellow flower, my little canary, my little… Lucifer. What exactly happened here? I thought you were supposed to persuade Zancrow and his army of centaurs to join my team for the uprising." From a flick of black powder, he materialized a small chessboard packed with chess pieces representing a wide variety of monsters and demons. One of them was Zancrow, the centaur that, unknown to the Lord of the Dead, Natsu defeated. "And here I am, kind of centaur-less."
"I gave it my best shot, but he made me an offer I had to refuse," Lucy explained bitterly, knocking Zancrow's chess piece off the board with her fingers.
"Oh, a brave girl, are you?" Mard smirked. "I was going to subtract two years from your sentence, but because of your failure, I'm going to add four. Is that alright with you? Give that your best shot." With a clasp of his hand, the chessboard disappeared into thin air.
"Look, I tried my best, but it wasn't my fault!" Lucy snapped. "It was this Dragon Slayer, Natsu Dragneel."
Mard's body froze, and his mind spun to a standstill. His face contorted with shock and anger. No… it can't be… How could he be still alive?!
"Natsu Dragneel?" Kain scratched his head in confusion. "Why does that name ring a bell?"
"I don't know. Maybe we owe him something?" Rustyrose wondered.
"What was that name…" Mard asked, overhearing Lucy's situation. His voice turned dark, and his cool demeanor slowly began to break. "…again?"
"Natsu Dragneel," Lucy repeated. Upon hearing that name, the Lord of the Dead flared with his dark aura, boiling with rage, his breaths heaving with furious pants. "He comes on with this big innocent farm boy routine, but I could see through that in a minute."
"Wait a minute," Kain paused, and he and Rustyrose began to shake with fear and nervousness. "Wasn't Natsu the name of that kid we were supposed to..."
It was then that the two realized that Mard was staring at them with cold, dark, emotionless eyes.
"OH, MY GODS!" they exclaimed horrifyingly.
Screaming in terror, Kain and Rustyrose attempted to make a run for it. Unfortunately, Mard stretched his arms, which transformed into large thorns that grabbed the two cowardly minions by the necks and dragged them towards him.
"So you took care of him, huh?" Mard gritted his teeth, with Kain and Rustyrose futilely trying to escape their boss's wrath. Mard's arms transformed back to normal, but his hands were still wrapped around Kain and Rustyrose's necks. "'Dead as a doornail.' Weren't those your EXACT words?" On 'exact,' his dark aura nearly erupted.
"This might've been a different Natsu!" Kain trembled.
"Yes, I mean, Natsu is a…" Rustyrose's next words came out strangled when Mard tightened his hold. "...very popular name nowadays."
"Remember, like, a few years ago, every other boy was named Jason, and the girls were all named Brittany?" Kain shivered.
"I'm about…" Mard growled, increasing his pressure on Kain and Rustyrose's necks. "…to rearrange the cosmos…" He then furiously threw his minions down to the ground, "…and the one SCHMIEL WHO CAN LOUSE IT UP…" He added in a loud, murderous roar, "…IS WALTZING AROUND IN THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODS!"
Accompanied by his absolute rage, his dark aura expanded into a large explosion, destroying all of the trees and everything else around him. Lucy ducked to avoid the flames that destroyed a tree behind her. Kain and Rustyrose, on the other hand, were fried to bits. Mard just stood there, his body steaming with smoke, before he slowly calmed down with quick pants.
"Wait…" Kain coughed, slowly standing up after barely surviving Mard's rage. "Wait, big guy! We can still cut in on his waltzing."
"That's right!" Rustyrose agreed, as he followed suit. "At least we made him mortal. We can still kill him when the time is right."
"Yeah," Kain nodded. "That's a good thing. Isn't it?"
Mard paused to take time to his thoughts. For once, his idiotic minions were right. Natsu wasn't a god anymore, but considering he still had powers, he would someday pose a threat to his plans. The Lord of the Dead would have to ensure that his nephew was truly dead before the uprising could begin.
"Fortunately for the three of you, we still have enough time to correct this rather egregious oversight," Mard said, his arms transformed into thorns again as he dragged Kain, Rustyrose, and Lucy beside him, with blonde-haired girl giving a disgusted look. He added with a sinister grin, "And this time, no foul ups."
The group melded together into a dark cloud which disappeared. Time to finish off Natsu for good this time...