Note: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima is and always be the amazing man who created Fairy Tail.
A/N: Wow, just wow. I'm pretty sure you guys will enjoy this chapter. Went into a lot of detail. Remember the next chapter will be uploaded next Sunday at 3PM eastern standard time.
He was forgetting something. These types of things always happened after turning back from his Etherious form. Loss of direction, headaches and short term memory loss were the ones that happened most often. He looked around, trying to remember what he'd forgotten. There was nothing. Just a large rock, with a hole. Hole. That word was significant. Why? What was on the other side of the hole? He started walking towards it. Why was he just in Etherious form? He closed his eyes but kept walking, trying to think. Blue kept coming to him. Then blasts? Black and blue lizard? No, it was a dragon. Acnologia.
Then all of it clicked back into his head. He had just taken him down, without too much effort. It was way different than the last time they fought. He washed the thought away. In the hole there was a person, most likely injured. He couldn't remember who to save his life, he started to run to the hole.
Inside the hole he could see the entire town. The only thing between him and the town was a giant ice shield. Gray, he had tried to create a big enough shield, but failed only covering about half. The light from the hole filtered down onto a small part of the ice. Laying there was a boy, no older than eighteen.
"Conner," he heard a scream from his shirt? Kari popped out, concern in her eyes. Then it really hit him. "Natsu hurry he doesn't look in good shape. Take him to the guild. I will fly ahead and let them know about the situation." With that he nodded, his head hurting now. He watched the little puffball fly away.
He jumped down quickly and pain shot through his legs as he landed. "Damn, far drop but that doesn't matter." He turned to look at Conner, his son. He was pretty beaten up with a big gash across his face.
Then the overpowering smell hit him. Blood, a ton of it. He looked around seeing blood all over the ice. He crouched down with one hand over his mouth and nose. He touched Conner's neck, waiting. He felt a thump. That was good, still living. How much longer? He picked the boy up and was startled. A deep long wound covered his back, blood still coming out. He had to go now.
Gently moving the boy he positioned him on his back. He could instantly feel the blood soaking into his shirt. How long had he been bleeding. Since he showed up? That had been at least ten minutes ago. How much blood does a person have? He didn't want to think right now. He had to get back to the guild. That's what Kari said so he was going to do it.
There was just one problem. How was he going to get down? The distance between the Rock and ice had hurt him that much. How was he going to jump now, this being at least twice the distance to the highest building. He couldn't think about it. With a running start he jumped, hoping velocity would do the rest. He closed his eyes, not wanting to know when it would happen.
His legs crumpled and the two started tumbling. He caught himself, looking up. Conner was still rolling nearing the edge. He lunged at him, catching him by the arm. He hadn't rolled off but wasn't more than an inch or he would've. They landed on top of a building. Fairy Tail wasn't too far, but with his legs it would be difficult now. "No time to complain, I'm not the one dying here." He picked him up running for the guild.
Shaking. Some more shaking. A lot more shaking. Nothing. Then a huge shake that made them fall out of their chairs. Then several minutes had passed and there was nothing. The battle must be over. She got up glancing at her mother, then looked at Gray. He was better than he was, looking better after making the shield. Her mother was impatient, waiting for some news. They had sent a couple people to look for the two guys.
Then some news came around. A little cat flew through the window, onto Gray's lap. "Master, it's bad. Conner is really beaten up." She saw her mother tense, worry spread across her face. "He's going to need medical attention when Natsu gets here." With that the cat flew out the window, probably searching for the two herself.
Gray stood up, walking over to the door. "Listen, whatever you do, whatever you see don't bring up anything about the past." Gray opened the door, turning to close it. He poked his head in, "No events, no objects and definitely no people. So much has changed and bringing it up would make things worse. If not for us for yourself." With that he closed the door, hearing the click.
Now her mother was crying. Why had Gray said that? At this moment in time they should be worried about Conner, her brother. He was in a bad shape. "Mom what was that about? Why would he say something like that right now?"
She heard her mom sniffle, trying to regain herself. Lucy looked up and cleared her throat. "If I bring something up by accident, it could shock people. He specifically meant people. I could hear it in his voice."
What was that supposed to mean. People specifically, not bringing up the past. Someone must've died but why would that matter. Her mother wouldn't know who was gone, so she was to stay quiet. That still doesn't explain... Her thoughts were interrupted by a commotion outside.
"They're back, hurry get him to the infirmary."
"Natsu are you okay? You don't look so great yourself."
"Shut the hell up and get out the way. He needs someone to help him." That was Natsu's voice. "It's gonna be close..." With that there was a thump outside the door.
By this time her mom was at the door. She hadn't heard Conner say anything. He must be unconscious. What was the thump?
"Dammit flame brain. You can't collapse with him on your back. Romeo help the kid to the infirmary. Natsu get your ass in my office, now."
"I need to make sure..."
"Now don't make me repeat myself."
She could hear them making their way to them. Her mom turned around looking at her. "Layla go check on your brother. Make sure everything goes as it needs to. I'm going to stay here."
She stood up, making her way to the door. Swinging the door open she looked back at her mom. She looked back and gave her a nod and she closed the door. Walking towards her were the two men, Natsu glaring at Gray. He was obviously pissed. Then he noticed her.
Everything was obscured for a second. It took her a moment to realize what just happened. He was hugging her. She returned the gesture, pulling him close. "You look just like your mother, so stay safe." He whispered it, and made his way after Gray.
That was her father. He knew nothing about her, but he instantly cared for her, just like Conner. With that thought in her mind she made her way to the infirmary.
The door opened and the two men walked in. She saw Natsu walk in, looking pissed. He wanted to make sure Conner was fine. She wanted to also, but knew something like this was going to happen. She locked eyes with the pink haired man, and she stared intently. He hadn't changed much, looking exactly the same. He walked over to her and fell on his knees. "I'm sorry. I didn't make it in time." His voice was so coarse, it hurt her ears. "By the time I got there he was already in bad shape, but I couldn't let Acnologia kill everyone."
"You did the best you could. Kari would've been killed if you sent her for him." Gray let them know. Did he have to use the word kill? It was just so relentless. "Now Natsu, Lucy we need to talk. I know you want to check on Conner but this has to come first." He looked at them and she nodded.
"Acnologia stated that he was here to collect a bounty." She saw Natsu react about to pounce on him. "He was after you Lucy. Seems he didn't care if you were dead or alive. That's not what's bothering me though." His eyes turned very serious now. "You were here for a single day and he knew you were here already. The only people in the guild that knew you were here were Levy and I."
He was right, but how did that mean anything. "Okay, but I passed a lot of people in town. They could have recognized me."
"He would have attacked yesterday then. Natsu was still away so he would have been able to kill us all. So what was different between yesterday and today? Why don't you tell us Lucy."
What was he trying to say. Natsu had showed back up but that's Natsu, he wouldn't do anything to hurt them. Gray was implying something. He was trying to say someone in the guild was giving information to someone. The guild. Layla. "Layla went to the guild last night."
"Exactly and she looks like you so much. Someone could mistake her for you, and could have passed information to someone." Gray looked around. He seemed uncomfortable. "We need to find him and get some information ourselves, or this will become a daily occurrence." His hand motioned towards the door. A shadow was poking out beneath the door.
Natsu got up moving slowly towards the door. Footsteps could be heard from outside the door, running down the hall. "Natsu go! They can't get away." He didn't even need to say that. As soon as they ran Natsu was out the door.
Who the hell was it? Running like a coward, turn around and face him like a man. They were in the main guild room now and people were staring. He tuned them all out, focusing on him. Then something startled him, hearing it from the crowd.
"Is that Gajeel?"
What the hell. Something was completely wrong now. The cloaked man he was chasing stopped at the door. He turned around, looking at him. He couldn't see his face but could see his smiling face. The cloak dropped and there he stood. Gajeel was here, impossible.
Black dust started from his feet, quickly rising. He was disappearing. What in the world is going on? He could see something taking his place. He stood there frozen. Why, why did it have to be one of them?
A creature of darkness stood in Gajeel's place. It looked like a tiger, all black with golden markings covering its body. It was just like five years ago, basically the same only with a different form. Back then there were hundreds, so one would be a piece of cake.
The black ball made for him, killing intent in its red eyes. He stood there, bathing in hatred. Why was it here? All of this was connected somehow, he was sure of it. Letting out a flaming fist, it connected with the tiger, watching it sizzle into dust.
He showed back up a few minutes later, looking even more pissed. People had followed him. Did he let the man get away? If he did then they had no information. Lucy also looked worried. "All of you go away. Natsu close the door behind you." He watched as the Dragon Slayer slammed the door and he heard 'oh' from multiple people. "Sit down and let us know what happened."
"Gray this is going to sound weird, but Gajeel was here." He felt his face tighten. Had he heard him right. "Then he turned to dust and one of the monsters from five years ago appeared. What the hell does this mean?"
"What's going on?" Lucy was shouting now. "Gray you told me not to talk about the past. So what if Gajeel was here, that just means he was the spy, right?"
"Lucy I guess I should let you know what happened. Get comfortable, it's quite a long and terrible story." She shuffled into a chair and Natsu sat down next to her, looking away so she couldn't see Natsu's face.
"Five years ago, Natsu and I had been sent out on a mission together. It was a request made by the employer. Both of us thought it was weird, requesting us two wasn't really the best idea." Lucy nodded her head in agreement. "We were heading back from the mission. It was quite an easy one, to take out a newly formed dark guild. We took them out no problem, and we stopped to eat. Everyone was eyeing us up, feeling uncomfortable we left. A few hours later we were crossing over a barren grassland. Then it all started." He watched Lucy squirm. He really was telling it like a story.
"Out of nowhere hundreds of beasts had showed up out of nowhere, materializing from thin air. Around them black smoke emitted. No matter how many we defeated there was always replacements. Several hours had passed and no progress was being made. We were low on magical power and injured in multiple places. I saw Natsu pass out after blowing them all up in Etherious form but it didn't matter. They just showed up again, closing in on me and Natsu. Just as they were about to pounce on him all I saw was a bright light, and then I had passed out to. When we came to we were in Crocus, at the main hospital and a week had passed."
"Okay so what does all that have to do with anything from before?" Lucy really was impatient.
"I wasn't done yet." With that he continued. "Afterwards we healed up and made our way back to Fairy Tail. It took us almost twice as long as usual, us being injured and all, and when we arrived back there was terrible news." With that Natsu looked up, teary eyed.
He said it with the most croaked voice he ever heard. "While we were away, another team had gone out on a mission and encountered the same beasts. Everyone but one died."
"Erza, Gajeel, Wendy, Happy and Charle were the ones who had left. The only one to come back was Charle. Ever since then she has lived in the forest with the rest of the exceeds, refusing to talk to any of us."
He watched as Lucy processed the information. It was a lot to take in. "I thought that Natsu said that had just seen Gajeel. Wouldn't that mean that they're alive?"
"It wasn't him." Natsu spoke up. "I coulda told you it was him if he was the one standing behind the door. He has an odor I'll never forget."
"And this isn't some random encounter either. All of this is connected somehow. The beasts, our fallen friends and the bounty. I guess this is enough for now." He let out a sigh. "We can talk some more tomorrow, right now I need to take care of some other business. Feel free to stay and talk as much as you want." He got to his feet and left the room, not wanting to hear there conversation.
His head hurt a lot. Most of his senses weren't working, especially his hearing and seeing. Pain scattered across his body. What the hell was wrong with him? Had he angered his mom again and she beat him to a pulp. No, she wouldn't hurt him this bad, even in training.
Oh yea, he was in Magnolia now. He had just met his father and everything went to shit. The blue lizard had messed everything up, especially his body. He must look like crap.
Where was he? Dead maybe. No he still felt pain so that wasn't an option. His back was on a soft mattress, someone had moved him. To the hospital? It's a good possibility.
"Ho- a- - f-i-?" He was startled. He couldn't hear shit. He tried to look around with no luck. His vision was worse than his hearing. It was so annoying. But then he smelled the most delightful thing. Unlike his other senses his smell seemed to be better than usual. It was a mixture of sweat, tears and strawberries.
"I can't hear you." He was sure he had yelled it. The person had backed away, then disappeared. Great he scared her away. Then he felt her hand again. This time her hands were behind his ears. Something cold touch him and he winced. Then the same happened for the other ear.
"Okay." He could here again. Her voice was mesmerizing. "Let's try again. How are you feeling?"
"Like crap. There's pain everywhere and I can't see anything. How did I end up here anyway, wherever this place is?"
"Natsu carried you here, to Fairy Tail. This is the infirmary." That explained where he was but what was wrong with him. "You had been severely beaten by Acnologia. Multiple broken ribs, a broken wrist and arm, several gashes across your body, most serious ones being on your face and back." He was shocked. Had he been that beaten up. He lifted a hand to his face. A long scratch reached from his forehead across his eye. "I believe that one will become a scar." He heard her chuckle.
What was so funny about this. He was basically dead. It would take forever to recover. He couldn't take it, trying to sit up. "Too bad I have places to be."
"Lay down or you'll reopen your wounds. If that happens you will die." He refused, not wanting to take orders from some random stranger. Even if she was a member of Fairy Tail.
"I don't care. If it happens it's meant to be. I'm not going to be restricted to a bed. A random person wouldn't understand what I'm feeling right now."
"Conner," That voice, oh god. Why was she here? "You listen to her, because I do care about you. If you die then we won't be a family anymore." Layla was always right, even if he didn't like to admit it. Slowly he laid back down wincing in pain. "And she isn't some random person. Her name is Abbey. Treat her with respect, she will take care of you until you can be moved. I need to talk with our parents. Take care of him." He heard a light chuckle and a door close.
Then it really hit him. It was really cold. Him being cold? That wasn't even possible, having a reservoir of Magma Dragon Slayer energy swirling inside him. He tried warming himself making him colder. He felt a hand on his head, warm and he liked it.
"You're fever is coming back. Do you need anything?" Why was her voice so enticing?
"Really..." He let out a half pant half sigh." Cold." Finishing his sentence he felt powerless. He couldn't even speak two words without catching his breath. His mind went in and out, slowly losing consciousness.
The last words he could remember hearing made him happy. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I will make sure you feel comfortable."
A/N: Alright. Most of the plot was explained but as you read the first part of the first of the adventure still needs to be revealed. What could it be? Let me know! I'm interested in what you guys think.