Mest's scent, sterile and cloyingly sweet like most Rune Knights, blew from the south, in the direction of the cliffs overlooking the beach. Natsu could see both him and Wendy carefully picking their way across the uneven rocks.
He wasted no time swooping in and removing Wendy from the imposter's reach. With the blue haired girl safe behind him, Natsu confronted the man going by the name Mest.
"Who are you?"
Mest looked confused. "Natsu, what are you talking about? It's me, Mest."
"I don't know who you are, but you're not Mest. There is no Mest in Fairy Tail." The pink haired male growled, animalistic.
"I'm Mystogan's disciple."
"Mystogan didn't have a disciple. He was as antisocial as they come. He didn't even have close relations with anyone in the guild. He put everyone to sleep every time he came."
Mest deflated. Apparently he hadn't been aware of that crucial bit of information and had simply chosen to use Mystogan as a shield because the mage was hardly ever present. It was slightly surprising that the Magic Council was not yet aware of the truth regarding Mystogan and Edolas. It would be rather hard to learn from a man who was in an unreachable world.
"Last chance. Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Mest's persona washed away like water running down a mountain, replaced with a more serious man with a longer shaggy hairstyle. "My name is Doranbolt. The Magic Council ordered I infiltrate Fairy Tail because your guild is dangerous. I was to gather information that proved your guild needs to be disbanded. Passing unnoticed is something I'm good at. I can add my existence to other people's memories."
The dragon slayer didn't say anything as Doranbolt explained his purpose. It was rather interesting that he could create false memories, but that couldn't be all he could do. Mind magic required constant attention. If he couldn't focus on maintaining the false memories, they would fade away or the person would realize there was something wrong with their memories. So there had to be another type of magic, an offensive one, he could use.
Doranbolt disappeared in the blink of an eye, reappearing directly behind Natsu between the dragon slayer and Wendy. His face was covered with shadows.
"Get away from her!" Natsu growled.
The dark haired man lifted Wendy under one arm. "If you want her back you'll have to fight me. But first you'll have to catch me."
Doranbolt was gone again.
Natsu roared. He may have been able to teleport but he couldn't run fast enough to escape a dragon. No matter where he went on the island Natsu would hunt him down.
And if he hurt one hair on Wendy's head Natsu would beat him so bad that the Magic Council wouldn't recognize him without the help of his memory magic.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Erza paused in her chopping of carrots for the stew Mirajane was making.
She had just felt an unexplainable rage and the desire to rip somebody to shreds. They weren't her own feelings. 'It must have come from Natsu.'
Ever since Natsu had accepted the dragon within as a part of him and not just the source of his magic Erza had noticed changes in him. Nothing as drastic as when he stupidly ate Etherion, but changes nonetheless.
It was mostly his enhanced senses. He could pick out a specific scent, magical or otherwise, in a ten mile radius. He could hear somebody approaching long before he could see them. With his stronger sense of smell it would take him no time at all to find the First Master's grave; he only needed to sniff out Makarov who would be waiting there. The fact that he hadn't yet worried Erza for it meant he was doing something other than the second phase ordered.
And then there was just the sense of always knowing where he was and vice versa and knowing what he was feeling at any given moment. Natsu never had any trouble finding her or telling what mood she was in. Erza supposed that ability went to actually being able to feel what he was feeling and not just knowing he was angry, happy, or sad.
The red head woman could imagine that scouring an island for a grave could be frustrating, but couldn't understand the killing intent she was getting from him. The last time Natsu was this angry was when Jellal was knocking her about the R-System and promising to kill her to revive Zeref.
'Please don't do anything too reckless.'
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Doranbolt waited for Natsu.
He had thought infiltrating Fairy Tail and finding dirt on them on their exclusive island to bring back to the Magic Council would be easy.
The Council never hid its dislike of Makarov's guild. Fairy Tail attracted many strong wizards. Wizards that couldn't control their powers and wreaked havoc on the kingdom. Half the day's paperwork stemmed from Fairy Tail's destructive nature.
And since Makarov did nothing to reign them in, the Council took it into their own hands to see the guild disbanded by any means necessary.
Doranbolt had all but begged for the job. He desperately wanted a promotion. His memory control magic made him the perfect person for it. He had done these sorts of missions before but he had never had as much trouble as he did with this one. Doranbolt never had an issue remaining indifferent.
Maybe it was the role he was playing. In order to fit in with Fairy Tail 'Mest' needed to have at least one quirk. 'Mest' did something for the sake of see what it felt like, like tasting snow or jumping in a winter river.
Maybe a bit of 'Mest' stayed with him. When he was 'Mest' there were people that cared about him. Not because of his skills or what he could do for them but because 'Mest' was one of them, their nakama. They laughed with him and went out of their way to include him.
Doranbolt may have been able to create memories, but he couldn't generate feelings. His magic couldn't force them to like him. All it did was make them believe he had been part of the guild. Their minds made up the details of their interactions on their own.
So for all of Fairy Tail's members, except Natsu, to create a relationship with 'Mest' and to continue to act upon those feelings. . .
It shook Doranbolt's beliefs. Fairy Tail might have been a nuisance, but it wasn't the inherently evil and dangerous guild that the Magic Council told him to expect. They didn't deserve to be compared to the likes of Oracion Seis and Eisenwald.
Yes, they were the largest, with one hundred members, and the strongest guild, but Fairy Tail was evil. Just eccentric.
Doranbolt, in the short time he spent pretending to be a part of their guild, had come to care for Fairy Tail. Without his wanting to he had made friends with Wendy Marvel. He found himself admiring the strength of its members and the friendships they shared.
He didn't intend to fight Natsu. He simply wanted to test the man, see how far he would go to save Wendy.
But watching as a draconic wizard flew at him at breakneck speeds; Doranbolt wished he had better thought his plan through.
Fairy Tail's act first, think later attitude must have affected him.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
"Let her go." Natsu demanded again. Poor Wendy was shaken and confused. Tears already slid down her cheeks.
Doranbolt shook his head. "You're going to have to beat me."
"I always enjoy a good fight." The fire dragon slayer grinned savagely. Natsu would teach him what happened to those that messed with Fairy Tail.
The fight was rather one sided. Wendy had been rendered unconscious; her small form lay on the ground behind Doranbolt, so Natsu didn't need to worry about Doranbolt using her as a shield. He unleashed the full force of his magic.
To Doranbolt, it was like he was punching a brick wall. Natsu's skin was as tough as diamonds, and punching the boy hurt Doranbolt more than it hurt the Fairy Tail wizard. In the end, his combination of teleportation magic and hand to hand combat was as effective as trying to catch smoke.
A fiery fist knocked him on his back. "Leave. Go back to the Council and tell them that Fairy Tail will never bow to their tyranny. Fairy Tail does what is right."
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Doranbolt teleported to the Enforcement Squad's battleship that followed him to Tenrou Island.
"Well?" Lahar asked expectantly.
"Fairy Tail isn't hiding anything. They're simply here to hold their S-class promotion trials."
Lahar's brow furrowed. The Magic Council would not have them act if they did not suspect something. "The Magic Council believes Fairy Tail to be a threat. You must keep looking."
"I can't." Doranbolt told his friend. My cover has been blown. Their dragon slayer, Natsu Dragneel, my Memory Control didn't work. He knew from day one that I wasn't a part of Fairy Tail."
Lahar stared at him in shock. Doranbolt's memory magic was not easy to overcome and he had never heard of it not working. It was strong enough to convince Makarov Dreyar, one of the Ten Wizard Saints and Fairy Tail's guildmaster that 'Mest' was a member of his guild.
Just what was Natsu Dragneel?
"Lahar, I think we should just leave. The Council won't care who Makarov names an S-class mage. That's all internal affairs amongst the guilds. It had nothing to do with the Council." Doranbolt persuaded.
"That is not for us to decide." Lahar said firmly. "The Magic Council wants us to observe Fairy Tail, so we shall."
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
With Lucy's help, Cana had deduced that the First Master's grave was hidden somewhere on Route E from the first test.
Then the brunette had regretfully knocked her out. She was thankful for the celestial wizard's help, but Cana had to do this on her own. If she ever wanted to tell Gildarts the truth she needed to be an S-class mage.
The barriers that prevented two participants from taking the same path were gone. Cana only briefly hesitated before entering the darkness of tunnel E.
She absentmindedly took in its black appearance. 'This must have been the path Natsu took. How come he didn't find the grave then?'
Cana gazed in wonder at the stone grave of Mavis Vermillion. Her fingers reached out to graze the intricate headstone, only for the grave to illuminate.
At the same time the pouch on her hip glowed, warning Cana that Lucy and the rest of Fairy Tail was in danger.
"I should have never left her alone." Cana cried. "What am I doing here? I need to go find Lucy and the others."
"If that's the case, then you have nothing to be afraid of. Mistakes are not shackles that stops a person's progress. They are the fuel that raises the heart. Now... go forth, I lend thee the Fairy Glitter."
Her right forearm burned as a red tattoo etched itself on her skin.
Cana's mouth dropped. Fairy Glitter. One of the three Great Magics of the Fairy Tail Guild.
She was torn from her wonder by a roar that shook the entire island. She needed to go help Lucy.
xxxNatsuErzaxxx
Natsu gazed calmly at the approaching gargantuan black dragon.
The time had come for him to fulfill his promise to Igneel.
Acnologia had finally arrived. A four hundred year old war would end today.