"Natsu!" shouted Lucy in happiness Erza, Gray, and Happy smiled.
"I'll repeat the question for you, bastard. What do you want with this city?" asked Natsu in a deep and threatening voice.
"I don't think I need to tell you jack-shit" said Devin as he released himself from Natsu's grip and jumped back to his comrades. Natsu turned around and patted the child on his head.
"You should get out of here. Find your parents and get somewhere safe" said Natsu with a smile that soon disappeared as he glared at the four in front of him.
"We'll handle this" said Natsu as the child ran away. Right after the child fled, flames ignited from his fists.
"Who are you and what do you want?" asked Erza, her sword drawn and ready to attack.
"We are like an Independent Guild, We are Infernal Anarchy" said Ken as he revealed his guild mark, placed on his right hand.
"So they're like Crime Sorciere? Does that mean they may have some kind of connection to Jellal?" thought Erza.
"It's one thing to target your opponent, but when you target an innocent kid, that's when I get pissed" said Gray as he placed his fist on the palm of his hand, ready to cast an Ice-Make spell. Lucy summoned Loke, the golden celestial spirit. Suddenly, her outfit changed once again into an elegant dress.
"A celestial mage, eh? A hot one too" laughed Devin.
"Great, the last thing I wanted was my enemy to flirt with me" groaned Lucy as she face-palmed.
"Pfft, I'm better" gloated Audrey with a slight tinge of annoyance and jealousy.
"Compared to her, you have no type of rack" said Devin as he rolled his eyes.
"You douche!" shouted Audrey as the two began to bicker.
"Um, Lucy? What did you summon me for again? I mean, I love keeping you company but I was kind of expecting some kind of dire situation" said Loke as he scratched his head.
"I honestly don't know anymore" said Lucy, who was just as confused as Loke. Suddenly, they watched as Natsu ran towards the four, fist ablaze. With powerful force, he was able to land a crushing blow on Ken, right on the cheek. The impact was able to shoot him backwards, surprising everyone.
"Whoa, this kid has one hell of a punch" said Skye in shock. Devin looked back at Natsu, and then stared in shock as Natsu began to cheer.
"ALRIGHT! ONE DOWN, THREE TO GO! YOU GUYS BETTER GET TO WORK OR ELSE I'LL TAKE OUT EVERYONE BEFORE YOU GUYS GET A CHANCE" shouted Natsu to his friends.
"Don't mock us you little shit!" shouted Devin as he raced towards Natsu. Suddenly, Devin's fist began to be cloaked in crimson red lightning. Natsu swiftly turned around and countered the attack with his own flaming fist. They both jumped back from the impact and stared at each other. Natsu shook the hand he struck Devin with and smiled.
"Damn, even Laxus' lightning isn't this strong. About time I got a really strong opponent" laughed Natsu.
"Heh, let's see how you face up against my Lightning Devil Slayer magic" said Devin. They all stared in shock as the guild mark on his neck began to release some kind of magic, allowing black markings to spread throughout his body. The markings covered the entirety of his left arm and nearly half of his face.
"He knows how to use Devil Slayer magic?!" shouted Gray in shock.
"We all know how to use Devil Slayer magic" said Ken as he cracked his neck and just like Devin, black markings began to spread from his guild mark. The same began to happen to the other two.
"I-incredible…their magic is formidable indeed…" said Erza. A bright light cloaked her as she equipped her Black Wing Armor. Gray forged an enormous great sword made out of ice and positioned himself for battle.
"Heh, this seems interesting, don't you think?" asked Devin. "We got Fire magic, Celestial magic, Requip, and Ice-Make. Seems a lot like-"
"They're the famous team from the Fairy Tail guild, Fiore's apparent strongest guild" said Ken as he pointed towards the red mark on Natsu's right arm.
"Everyone, ready?" asked Erza as she prepared to lunge towards the enemy. The rest of them nodded as Erza took in a deep breath.
"Attack!" shouted Erza. In a blink of an eye, Team Natsu was rushing towards the four.
"Let's go" said Ken as he and his teammates charged towards them. Erza swung her sword diagonally downwards at Ken, which he was able to dodge with ease. In response Erza spun her sword around, the blade now facing the opposite direction, and swung back up, barely grazing Ken's chest. With undying stamina, she started her vicious barrage of attacks.
"Wind Devil's Senbon!" shouted Skye as summoned tiny needles of wind and shot them towards Gray, leaving many deep cut marks on his body, while also destroying his sword.
"What the hell? With just that, he destroyed my Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur?" shouted Gray in shock.
"Wind is nature's element of destruction. It has the power to erode and destroy anything in its way, even ice" said Skye.
"Hmph, I guess I'll have to go all out then" smiled Gray as he took in a deep breath.
"Ice Devil's Rage!" shouted Gray as he shot a beam of cold air and ice from his mouth, shooting towards Skye.
"He can use Devil Slayer magic too?!" thought Skye in shock as he evaded the move, barely grazing his arm. As he recovered, he looked at his right arm; the sleeve had been partially ripped due to the attack.
"And he's pretty proficient at it too. This may be more interesting than I thought" laughed Skye as black markings began to appear and spread throughout Gray's arm.
Lucy and Audrey just stared at each other, anticipating each other's attacks.
"I knew there was something funny about you, but I never thought I'd run into you again in this kind of situation" said Lucy in shock.
"I was just hoping I wouldn't have to run into you at all, little miss Princess" snickered Audrey, as she placed her hands on the ground, bringing forth rising blocks of earth beneath Lucy, who dodged the attack. Suddenly, the chunks of earth floated into the air.
"Earth Devil's Pound!" shouted Audrey as she brought the chunks of earth down onto Lucy.
"Loke!" shouted Lucy.
"Yes my lady! Regulus Impact!" shouted Loke as he destroyed both of the pieces of earth with ease.
"Hey! It isn't easy washing these dresses you know!" shouted Lucy as she and Loke rushed Audrey. Soon, the three engaged into hand-to-hand combat.
"I get it, that dress gives you power in correlation to the Celestial Spirit you're using, doesn't it?" said Audrey with a smile till Lucy delivered a crushing blow to her abdomen.
"Pretty cool, don't you think?" said Lucy with a smile. Audrey growled at Lucy until she noticed two figured slowly making their way towards them. "My lady!" Watch out!" shouted Loke as Lucy turned around and watched as Devin shoot towards the ground, barely sticking the landing as his feet dragged though the ground. Then, he jumped once again as he saw Natsu, lunging towards him.
"Oh my god!" shouted Lucy as she ran and jumped out of Natsu way. Natsu's attack struck the ground, creating a massive explosion, followed by a powerful shockwave. Audrey coughed as she opened her eyes, finding herself in an enormous crater. She looked forward and stared at the glowing red eyes that beamed through the smoke. As the smoke cleared, Natsu removed his fist from the ground and searched for Devin.
"H-he just did that…and without a single drop of sweat? W-what the hell is this guy?! Some kind of monster?!" thought Audrey as she stared at the pink-haired man standing in front of him.
"HEY! STOP RUNNING AWAY AND FIGHT ME DAMN IT!" shouted Natsu.
"No problem! Lightning Devil's Hammer!' Natsu looked above him to see Devin dropping downwards, hands together and cloaked in lightning, ready to smash into him.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" shouted Natsu as he countered the attack, causing another shockwave.
"Dragon Slayer magic?! Magic that was meant to be used to deal with dragons?" asked Audrey as she saw the two attacks clash in front of her. Natsu suddenly lifted his leg and ignited his feet in flames.
"Fire Dragon's Talons!" shouted Natsu as he landed a kick on Devin, pushing him away from Natsu. Natsu then lunged towards Devin and engaged into melee combat. Devin attempted a right hook, barely missing Natsu's chin as he flipped backwards, kicking Devin in the process. Natsu landed and lunged himself forward, igniting his fists in flames. Devin cloaked his fists deep red lightning and battled Natsu, fists clashing, occasionally landing a blow. Natsu and Devin took a step back and watched each other.
"Heh, you're not that bad" said Natsu with a smile.
"Same for yourself, dragon breath. Though we all know how this is gonna end" laughed Devin.
"Of course we do" said Natsu as blazing flames engulfed him. Devin stared in confusion as everyone else turned, feeling the sheer pressure of Natsu's magic.
"This power…Natsu never displayed this kind of strength during our fight...how much was he actually holding back?!" thought Erza as he felt the magic power crush her. Suddenly, Natsu began sucking the flames into his mouth. When the flames completely disappeared, he opened his eyes, revealing dragon-like slits replacing his normal pupil.
"Fire Dragon King's War Cry!" shouted Natsu as he roared, flames surrounding him and spreading, creating a giant sphere of flames, engulfing everyone in his flames.
"W-what the hell is that?! What's going on back there?!" shouted one of the evacuating citizens, who noticed the sky turning into a bright orange color. Several of the citizens turned around, followed by the rest and stared in shock, able to see the enormous ball of the flames even though they had left the area for a while now. They all stared in awe as the ball of flames soon began to disappear.
Erza slowly opened her eyes and looked around in shock as the area had been completely scorched. She ran over to Lucy, Gray, and Happy, who were just lying on the ground.
"Hey, are you guys alright?!" shouted Erza as she helped Lucy and Happy up.
"Yeah, we're fine. That idiot over there just had to go overboard with it, didn't he?" sighed Gray as he dusted off his clothes.
"I know Natsu got stronger but this is just insane…" stated Lucy as she stared at the pink-haired mage who was standing firmly ahead of her.
"This isn't even the extent of his magic, don't even sweat it!" shouted Happy, as the three looked from him to Natsu in shock. Soon, the last of the dust had cleared away, revealing…no one?
"That was a close one" groaned Skye as he and his guild members jumped from rooftop to rooftop.
"No kidding, that dragon slayer is no joke" said Ken as he lead his team.
"Pfft, I could have taken him" muttered Devin.
"You weren't doing a very good job at it! That guy was beyond human…" said Audrey as she thought back to when he was barely a feet away from her.
"For the first time in a long time…I actually felt scared…" thought Audrey as she thought about his crimson red eyes glowing and glaring at her through the smoke. She shivered as a chill ran down her spine from the mere thought.
"Well, we're gonna have to rethink our plans. And it seems they don't know what we're after yet, so that's a good thing" said Ken as a smirk spread across his face. "This just got a whole lot more interesting"
"HOW COULD I JUST LET THEM GET AWAY LIKE THAT?! GOD DAM IT, WHAT WAS ALL THE TRAINING I WENT THROUGH FOR THEN?!" shouted Natsu as he pouted and rolled around the hotel room floor in anger and disappointment.
"Would you cut that out?! You're getting real annoying, Natsu!" shouted Gray, who was leaning against the wall. Natsu shot right up and set his fist ablaze as he glared at Gray.
"You wanna go, popsicle?! I'll burn your straight into the ground!" shouted Natsu.
"You really wanna start this now, flame-for-brains?! Fine, let's go!" shouted Gray.
"ENOUGH." Shouted Erza, who was staring out the window. In an instant, both Natsu and Gray stopped and bowed before Erza, head down on the ground. Lucy let out a long sigh as she searched through articles, newsletters, and websites on the computer.
"Guys, the mission description…well, wasn't very good" said Lucy as she skimmed the page while scrolling down.
"What do you mean?" asked Happy, who was gnawing on a piece of fish.
"These Infernal Anarchy guys aren't just doing random robberies at jewelry stores or whatever. They've been raiding ancient temples and even graveyards all over Fiore" responded Lucy as she leaned back on her chair.
"So we're dealing with some dirty grave robbers? As if I didn't have a reason to dislike them already, this just takes the cake" said Gray as she crossed his arms.
"I guess you can say that, but they've only really hit places that have been rumored to hold these treasures known as 'Mark of the E.N.D'" stated Lucy, which made everyone turn their heads toward her. Gray tightened his fist as the name E.N.D filled the air.
"You mean the E.N.D? Zeref's strongest etherious?" asked Erza.
"Yeah...it seems to have some kind of correlation with E.N.D but it doesn't really tell us much since only a handful of people actually know what E.N.D is…" said Lucy. Suddenly, Natsu got up and walked out the room. They all looked towards him, confused.
"I need some fresh air…I'll go scout around and see if those Anarchy guys are around" said Natsu as he slammed the door shut. They stared at the door, completely thrown off by his sudden mood change.
"I'll go with him, you three keep looking up information on these marks. Whatever they are, I doubt they'll be in good hands if Infernal Anarchy gets them" said Lucy as she put on a sweater and walked out.
The wind had picked up, but it wasn't so intense that it would have been impossible to go outside. Lucy was walking around, hoping to catch up with Natsu. Lucy had come across a decently sized grassy plain with a pier. She noticed a figure sitting on the edge of the pier, scarf being blown and tossed around the air. She walked towards him, and was soon standing right behind him.
"Finally caught up with. You really don't like to waste time" laughed Lucy as she gently combed her hair away from her face.
"What are you doing here, Lucy? You should be helping the others do some research or something" said Natsu, hands in his lap. Lucy walked closer and sat right next to him, hanging her legs off the edge.
"Erza's pretty smart and Gray is reliable, most of the time. They can do just fine on their own" said Lucy.
"What about Happy?"
"He's too busy stuffing his face with fish to even care about what's going on" laughed Lucy. She was hoping to get a smile out of Natsu, but he hadn't even twitched.
"Hey, what's wrong? You just randomly stormed out…if something's wrong, you know you can talk to us about it, right? That's what friends are for" Natsu stared down at the water, observing his reflection.
"…Hearing E.N.D…it just brought back memories I didn't want to remember. I wanted to let go of the past but…I just can't. I had found Igneel after looking for him for so long…and then right then….he was taken from me. It felt like everything around me had been blown to bits…I didn't know what to do for so long. Then I went to train and I honestly thought I could deal with any challenge…Seems like that's not really the case" said Natsu. Then, he was surprised when he felt Lucy rest her head on his arm. She was leaning against him, her eyes closed.
"Natsu…I know how it feels to lose close ones. I really do…first losing my mom…then my dad…then Aquarius…it hurts. But it's something we have to deal with and overcome. If we don't, we'll never grow. How would they feel if we just sobbed all day and didn't try to protect the one's right next to us?" asked Lucy, with a smile on her face. Then, she looked up at Natsu, feeling him shake. Her eyes widened as she saw crystals drop from his face.
"I…I-I just wanted to show him how much I had grown…I-I wanted to make more memories with Igneel…I wanted to make him proud" cried Natsu, his voice trembling in sadness. In an instant, Lucy brought Natsu into an embrace, resting her hand on the back of his head.
"I-I know, Natsu. And he is proud. He always was and always will be proud of you, Natsu. You heard him, you were the reason he started loving humans and his days with you…w-were the happiest days of his life…" said Lucy. Having Natsu in her arms, crying and showing a side of him that she had never seen, overjoyed Lucy but also made her sad. Small tears began to slide down her cheeks as she held onto Natsu tightly. They had stayed like that for several minutes, and throughout the entire time, only one thought ran through Natsu's mind.
"Lucy…she's so warm…"
A\N: Almost a year since I updated last. Jfc, LOL. Sorry for the long wait, not sure how many people are still going to read this but whoever still is, thanks for waiting for so long! I hope to keep on giving more chapters! Enjoy!