Chapter 7

Non Compos Mentis

~Fiore~~~

Before he sent the future dragon of apocalypse back to his own time period, Natsu saw a giant flame of hatred light up in Acnologia's eyes. Before, it was just a spark of amusement and intent to kill. Natsu let out a brief sigh among his many short breaths. He might have just given Acnologia the incentive to become even more stronger. No doubt will the Acnologia of present day be stronger, but possibly weakened due to its new battle scars.

Natsu collapsed on the field soaked with his blood. Another fight between him and Acnologia was inevitable, and Natsu would surely lose that fight.

'The first day I escape Alvarez, this happens.'

The fire dragonslayer felt his consciousness fading away. He could do with a five second nap, he just had to believe no one would come by and roll up his sleeve to find out he's the prince of Alvarez. He mentally chuckled to himself as he thought of August suddenly coming out of nowhere and finding his bloody body dying on the ground. All hell would probably break loose and August would probably obliterate this whole kingdom in a second. That wouldn't be good.

Natsu's eyelids grew heavier, the last thing he saw was his arm still covered in dragon scales from the dragon force he used.

"Igneel? Igneeeeel! Are we playing hide and seek?"

There was no response, other than a cool breeze that swept through the forest the boy was standing in.

"Where are you? Igneel?" the boy tightly wrapped his scarf around his neck. He noticed the scent of the dragon he was looking for had completely vanished. "I'm sorry for eating part of your dinner last night!"

The boy called for his dragon for a whole day now. The sun was starting to set, and the boy's stomach was growling uncontrollably. "Where did you go..?"

Suddenly, a nice scent of roasted meat tickled his nose. The boy's mouth drooled as he noticed the scent of meat was growing stronger, even though he wasn't moving. He thought that the meat must be moving to him! He pictured a piece of meat floating in the air toward his mouth. The boy drooled more.

The sound of a bush rustling was heard. The young boy turned his head to the sound and found a peculiar boy. The newcomer looked at least a decade older than the boy.

The boy looking for his dragon didn't really care about the strange black-haired boy who had appeared out of nowhere. His mind was set on the meat. The meat…

The black-haired boy kindly offered the meat to the innocent child. The meat was gobbled up at almost an instant.

The boy who was looking for his dragon then looked up at the black-haired boy curiously.

"Thanks mister!" the young boy grinned. "By the way, have you happened to see a big, red dragon?"

The older boy smiled. "Yes. In fact, I know where Igneel is at this very moment."

The young boy's eyes lit up with energy. "You know who Igneel is? Are you friends or something?" He didn't mention how the black-haired boy's scent was familiar.

"Yes, we are really good friends," The older boy replied. "As for where he is at the moment…"

He pointed at the young boy's stomach.

"Igneel is inside you."

The young boy's face suddenly paled and sweat suddenly started to form all over his face.

"I ATE HIM?!"

"—ALL MEMBERS OF FAIRY TAIL!"

"DETAIN THEM ALL!"

Natsu jumped up from his slumber, the threatening screech from the princess of Fiore woke him. She had the look of a maniac, completely out of control. He suddenly felt two pairs of arms wrap around each of his shoulders. "What's happening?" Natsu rasped.

"As just declared by the princess, all Fairy Tail members are to be detained," one of the knights who picked him up said.

"But I'm not a member of Fairy Tail."

"Show us proof."

To show them proof would be to show them his Alvarez mark. There was no chance in hell he was going to do that. He prefered to be imprisoned (again), escape from the so-called Capital of Death, and roam free as an escaped 'convict'. That would be an interesting temporary life to live. Although, if any of the Shields found out, then there would be immediate war. He sweatdropped, completely clueless as what to do.

"He's not a member of Fairy Tail," the princess said as she walked closer to the knights. "Let him go."

"As you wish," the knights complied. Natsu stumbled as he tried to stand on his own feet without all the blood he had lost.

"I apologize," the princess' voice was monotone and her eyes were dead. "I would like to invite you to a Celebration Party as thanks for helping my kingdom fight the dragons. The Celebration was postponed to tomorrow night."

The princess just walked away after saying her message, leaving no hint of any emotion or determination she had the first time they had met.

Natsu flinched at the awful pain from the wounds he got from his exchanges from Acnologia. In the corner of his vision, he saw Laxus, Mira, and Lucy. They were being led by the knights.

He shook his head. This wasn't his country, he didn't have to deal with its affairs.

What he needed to do was to clean up his injuries and find Happy—

"NATSUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Speaking of the devil.

"Thank goodness you're sa—" Natsu was cut off by Happy who seemed to have more important things to say.

"YOU NEED TO SAVE HER!" Tears were streaming down Happy's face, and so was snot.

"Uh- Wha- Why— Save who?" Natsu stared dumbfoundedly at his companion.

"CARLA! SHE'S BEING TAKEN AWAY!"

"Calm down!" Natsu grabbed his feline friend and hugged him. "Now who is Carla and why is she being taken away?"

"Carla is *sniff* the love of my life!"

Natsu couldn't help but sweatdrop and chuckle silently. Happy had to be joking… right?

"She's being taken away because—- because— of something *sniff* about being a member of Fairy Tail!"

Natsu mentally facepalmed. "Seriously."

"I'm completely serious! We need to save her!"

The fire dragonslayer sighed. He was planning to sail off to a different country immediately, not get tied into another affair with this country.

Natsu sighed. Happy was staring at him with the kitten cat eyes.

After another long sigh, Natsu said, "Anything for you, buddy."

"Thank you so much!" he cried.

He scratched his pink hair as he tried to form a plan. "I guess I'll try to talk to the princess about it during the celebration…"

"You know the princess of this kingdom? That's Prince Natsu for you!"

"Shh! Not so loud," Natsu hissed.

"Aye sir!"

~Fiore | Inn ~~~

"Crap, I don't have any money on me," Natsu groaned as he was about to approach the woman at the desktop to ask for a room to stay in.

"You don't have anything in your pockets?" Happy whispered.

"No, I've only been wearing my pajamas since I got here. I couldn't bring anything much either since the trip here was so unexpected. Although I guess being a royal and everything, I didn't really need to have money on me at all times."

"Are we going to sleep outside?"

Or he could trade something. The only non-ruined possession he had on him was a pendant he got from Zeref and his signature scarf. But… No… They were too precious to just sell off. He approached the woman at the desktop to try to see what he can do to earn a free stay, but the woman shook her head.

"Sorry, this whole inn is reserved for Lamia Scale."

"Lamia what? As in the half-snake half-human thing?"

"Lamia Scale," a white haired man spoke up. He just entered the inn. He gave off an icy atmosphere, similar to that of the stripper he met earlier today. "Surely you've heard of it."

"Sorry, I'm kind of a tourist here, so I don't know much of this country's guilds." He did read something about Lamia Scare in the newspaper, but he forgot what it was.

"WE'RE THE BEST OF THE BEST!" a dog-human thing yelled as he entered the inn with a short man with big eyebrows.

"Didn't we get third place in the Grand Magic Games?" said the short man with big eyebrows.

"Erf…"

"Okay, I guess I'll be on my way," Natsu said as he wobbled his way out of the inn.

The members of Lamia Scale were too distracted by their upcoming discussion to notice the injuries Natsu hid.

~Fiore | Crocus ~~~

"That should do it," Natsu said as he wrapped his injuries with the cloth of Happy's bag. He looked at the night sky, realizing it was about 24-hours until the celebration party. He decided it might be best for him to rest now. "Goodnight Happy," Natsu yawned.

Happy was too busy crying over the dismantlement of his bag to care about what Natsu said. He was forced to wear Natsu's scarf to cover his Alvarez royalty status.

A few hours passed, and Natsu couldn't sleep a wink. He thought it'd be easy to sleep, since he was exhausted and heavily wounded, but he just couldn't. It was because he hadn't slept anywhere outside Alvarez for years and he couldn't trust to sleep in this kingdom, especially since he didn't know if this kingdom would throw another danger at him in his sleep. He yelled internally to himself. How could he take a few minute nap after his battle with Acnologia, but just suddenly have insomnia here and now?

He turned his bloodshot eyes toward Happy, who was sleeping peacefully.

"Lucky cat," he said as he stood up. His injuries were still killing him, and he felt incredibly weak. He still didn't know how his fatigue wasn't able to knock him into his dreams.

He gently picked up Happy and cradled him in his arms.

"So this is life outside Alvarez…" Natsu muttered to himself.

More hours passed until it was morning and Happy woke up. The duo waited more hours, eating the last fish that Happy brought in his bag. During the hours of waiting, Natsu observed how the citizens of this kingdom lived. Work, eat, gamble, sleep… it was similar to the daily life of one who resided in Alvarez. It was kind of odd, how this city could revert back to normal, like nothing happened, even though they had a dragon attack last night.

Finally, the moon rose above their heads. Sadly, at this time, Natsu felt an overwhelming desire to crawl under a bench and sleep. Only his starving stomach was his driving force.

It was time to go to that celebration party and inevitably get slapped by the princess. He was going to ask the princess to release her prisoners, there was no doubt he wasn't going to get punished for this. But he couldn't not try, since Happy wouldn't stop bothering him about getting Carla out of jail. As he walked toward his destination, he could feel someone follow him, but he just ignored the feeling, thinking it was no big deal.

Natsu walked to the Palace in horribly damaged clothing with Happy. He was surprised to see Hisui standing at the entrance of the Palace, next to a guard.

"Come with me," Hisui said, in a very gloomy voice.

Natsu and Happy complied, as they were led to a room on the second floor. Natsu heard loud music coming from a different room on the first floor, he guessed that the celebration was being held in that different room. Hisui opened the double doors to reveal a long dining table, plates of many varieties of gourmet food were lined across the table.

"This is thanks for protecting my kingdom, a private dinner specially for you," the princess' voice was very monotone.

Natsu awkwardly took a seat at the nearest chair, while Hisui sat in the chair directly across from him. "Can I really eat all of this?" he said, reluctantly. However, Happy had already started digging into the fish pile of food.

Hisui nodded, devoid of any life. Natsu wondered why the princess was so depressed. He was too busy being unconscious in the aftermath of his fight with Acnologia, so he thought he might have missed something important.

He took a small chunk of meat and placed it on his plate. He thought he would be disrespectful if he ate everything, even though his stomach was encouraging him to fill it up.

"So… What are you going to do about Fairy Tail?" Natsu asked. Hisui immediately dropped her utensils, making Natsu feel like he accidentally already hit a nerve.

"Execute their third guild master and disband the entire guild, of course," she said, in a frighteningly nonchalant tone.

Natsu shoved a whole fish in Happy's mouth, sensing that the blue exceed would protest. He stiffly sat straight up, knowing that he was walking on a very tight rope here.

"Shouldn't you at least hear him out, or at least give him a trial?" Natsu breathed in carefully.

"That's the Magic Council's job. But last time I checked, they were too busy panicking about the betrayal of their former Wizard Saint."

Natsu sweat-dropped. She was probably talking about God Serena, who had coincidentally left the said Wizard Saints to become a Shield.

He took in another deep breath. "Don't you think execution is a bit too harsh?" Who was he to say, he allowed the Shields to kill anyone they deemed a threat to the kingdom. As unfortunate as it was, he was sure that among those killed were innocent people.

"He brought Acnologia to this time period and got my father killed!" she yelled as she slammed her her fist on the table, showing her first emotion today.

Natsu was speechless. That was what he missed when he was unconscious. That news would no doubt shake the entire kingdom and maybe even the whole continent. The fact that the people of the city was still acting their daily routine was that this information had not been announced yet. He found it strange how the princess was willing to hold a celebration party at this moment though.

"More people could have died!" she yelled. "It's all his fault!"

Natsu tried to recollect his thoughts after that shock. "Wait, if I recall correctly, you were also planning to open the Eclipse gate. The same thing could have happened and you would be standing in that man's shoes now."

It was Hisui's turn to be speechless. Natsu noticed she couldn't see straight, or think straight. Her pupils were shaking, her mind floundering between logic and emotion.

Natsu whispered to Happy, "Get out of here. I don't think I can reason with her anymore."

Happy stared back at him for a second, before eating his last bite and leaving through the door.

The prince of Alvarez then focused back on Hisui. He finished eating the piece of meat he put on his plate. He then placed his utensils on the plate, and pushed the plate away from him.

"It isn't wise for a ruler to act purely on emotion," Natsu recited the words Invel had told him a few years ago.

"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT RULING THE KINGDOM?" Hisui screeched as she slammed her hand on the table once again. A couple of guards rushed in to see what caused the princess to yell, but they left after seeing it was just some arguing.

"Actually…" Natsu debated on whether to tell her the truth. He decided not to. Giving her more shock would only make this situation and her mental health worse. This was just her grieving over her deceased father. This is normal.

After sitting in silence for a while, Natsu gave up trying to convince her to release Fairy Tail.

"I think I should take my leave now," Natsu announced.

"WAI—!" Hisui's voice cut off suddenly. Natsu glanced at her to notice the light in her raging eyes had disappeared. The princess then sat down in her chair and stared into a void.

"Miss Princess?" Natsu said, concerned about this sudden turn of events. However, his voice didn't seem to reach her as she kept just staring into the air.

"I have finally found you," a voice behind him spoke.

Natsu widened his eyes. He remembered that voice. He quickly turned around to find the man responsible for bringing him to this foreign country.

"Mest?" he was genuinely surprised. How could this man get past the guards to get here? Did he have some kind of authority or something? However, Mest wasn't exactly a character of intimidation, so Natsu didn't feel afraid.

"By tomorrow, she won't have any memories of you or any events that include you."

The dragon slayer noticed how quiet the whole palace was. Even the loud music booming from wherever the Celebration room was had disappeared.

Natsu looked at the mage, perplexed. "Are you sure you should be tampering with the memories of your royalty?"

Mest completely ignored Natsu's question.

"War must be avoided… Yes..." Mest crept closer, with a maniacal look.

Natsu would've punched Mest in the gut again because of the creepy way Mest was acting, however, Natsu's injuries weakened him. His mind was also blanking out. He internally yelled at himself, now of all times, he was starting to get sleepy?

"So you can't be allowed to remember being here either."

Natsu fought with the darkness that was trying to pull his mind toward it.

"Memory… Manipulation Magic..?" Natsu realized as he found his mind and body completely shutting down.

"It's time to go back to your home, prince."

~Fiore | Crocus~~~

"I believe this is it," August said as he looked at the Ishgar map. "This is where I last felt Acnologia's presence."

"I don't sense anything now, though..." Dimaria glanced at the Palace, thinking the castle back at Alvarez was better.

"I do faintly sense the prince," Brandish commented.

And so, their objective of bringing their beloved prince back to Alvarez was coming to a close.

Mini Chapter 5

The Dragon Lacrima

"What do you think of this, Bradman?" Irene inquired as she tweaked some final adjustments to smooth, sphere lacrima. Clearly, there was a black flame kindled inside the lacrima.

"It certainly reminds me of the prince," Bradman said, while curiously inspecting the lacrima. "A fire dragon slayer lacrima, imbued with some demonic powers of my touch."

"Indeed. I think this will make a nice welcome back gift, after I clobber him," the Scarlet Despair smiled menacingly.

"You're not actually going to install it in him, right?"

"The emperor forbade me from doing so in the past. No… This is more like an antique."

A certain holder of eight dragon-slayer lacrimas suddenly intruded into the room. "Irene, I am ready for more godly—" God Serena's stopped mid-sentence to stare at the lacrima in awe. "Is that a… Dragon slayer lacrima?"

"It's something more like a demonic dragon slayer lacrima," Irene sighed while narrowing her eyes at the dragon slayer. "Don't you dare touch it!" she hissed.

"Such a thing exists? Where did you get this?" God Serena breathed in would be ecstatic if there was some sort of God Dragon slayer lacrima.

"What do mean? I didn't get it from anywhere. I merely made it myself," Irene glared at God Serena. "Don't underestimate my abilities."

Dots in God Serena's head connected. The prince had once told him that Irene was the founder of dragon slayer magic. He supposed it wouldn't be out of her ability to create lacrimas imbued with dragon slayer magic.

God Serena stood straight up while the room suddenly darkened and a spotlight suddenly shined on him. "Don't you think it would be godly to make a God Dragon slayer lacrima just for me?"

Irene stared at him directly, and clearly said, "No."

"But even I would praise you! Me, a God, praising you!"

"Get out, and continue training. Unless you want me to destroy you," she growled in a menacing tone.

"Ah… right!" God Serena quickly left the room, while trying to think of ways to persuade Irene to make a dragon slayer lacrima for him.

Mini Chapter 6

The Cold

"Brr…" Neinhart shivered as he hugged himself. It's pretty chilly today, for the summer.

"Are you sure it's not because you're standing next to me?" Invel said, as he stared into the summer night.

"I do not think so… Brr…" he cracked a smile. "Although this kind of does remind me that time when the the prince got a cold."

Invel adjusted his glasses in disbelief, "His highness can't get colds. That's impossible."

"Oh? But do you not remember that time when the prince was stuck in his bed for three days because he was sick?" Neinhart questioned. "I remember, it was a cold winter, and it was the day you froze him top to bottom, because he skipped his private educational lesson. I was the one that had to take care of him…"

"Neinhart… Am I going to die?" a pale, young Natsu muttered, as the entirety of his body was covered and stacked with blankets. "I mean, I've never gotten sick before, so…"

"Do not worry, even if you die, I can conjure you back as a historia."

"I don't think I feel better after hearing that…"

"I remember scrambling around for all sorts of medicine," Neinhart said, while laughing about how much an idiot the prince was, thinking he could die from a cold.

Invel shook his head. "And if I remember correctly, Natsu was just pretending to be sick so he could skip training, and so he could get an excuse to have more hot chocolate," he sighed.

Neinhart sweat-dropped, as he just remembered the torture Irene gave to the prince for faking his sickness. "Oh, right…"

"I don't understand how this cool night reminded you of that," Invel gave him a slightly puzzled look.

"Hmm… I do not know..." Neinhart stared at the sky. "I was just worried for the prince, that is all."

Oh well Mest... I think you're too late :D

That's chapter seven. *Takes deep breath* Thank you all for your support, I honestly don't know how I could have made it past chapter 2 without you all. So... as a reward... I gave this chapter a Latin title! Woo! XD (Hope you're not disappointed by that)

As usual, beware of my grammar errors and thanks for reading. :P