Guess who's back... :P

(Don't worry, I have great plans for this story, and I don't intend on abandoning it)

It was the next morning when Erza and Gray got the news. Erza had immediately felt something wrong as they walked into the guild, and if the desolate faces and thick tension in the grand room didn't say enough, then Mirajane's soft crying was what had dug into her heart. Gray gave Erza a worried look, before making his way towards the bar. "Mirajane! What happened? Why is everyone so sad?"

"They're gone…"

Erza didn't want to push Mira any further, but she needed more information. "Who? Who is gone?"

"It's Wendy and Lucy… Natsu came and took them last night!" Mirajane threw her hands to her face, and a sob wracked her body. "That monster… he even injured Laxus too…"

Why would Natsu do this? What were his intentions? "I must see Laxus right now. Where is he?" Erza demanded, gripping the counter with knuckle-white fingers.

Mira wiped her eyes and stepped out of the bar. "Follow me."

The three mages made it to the infirmary, noticing Bickslow standing at the door. "Here to see the chief? Freed and Evergreen are in their guarding him by his bed."

"Yes, Erza and Gray want to talk to him. Can we go inside?" Mira asked, hesitant on Laxus's current condition.

"Sure. He is doing better now." Bickslow opened the door for the mages, allowing them to go in. Gray had doubted that they would have been allowed to enter if it were just him and Erza.

When they stepped into the infirmary, they saw Laxus lying still in one of the beds, with the other two Thunder God Tribes standing on guard next to him. Only one bed over, the charred remains of one of the infirmary beds was left in a heap. Gray looked from the burnt bed to the resting guild master. Did Natsu come and attack them in the infirmary? It would explain why he has his bodyguard now. Who knows when they could have another attack. Freed was the first to greet the newcomers, although his attention was held towards Mira. "Any chance of contacting Porlyusica?"

Mira nodded. "Yes, Jet had left early this morning to speak to her, so she should be coming soon."

"So Wendy is really gone? And Lucy? What exactly had happened?" Gray asked, wanting to know more answers. This new Natsu was already too much to handle, and now he is going around hurting and kidnapping their friends.

It was Evergreen who spoke, her hand stroking through her hair as she looked off to the side. "Apparently the Salamander snuck through Master's window last night and attacked him. That fool… sneaking up on a king like Laxus and inflicting danger onto him… That makes me sick."

Freed picked up on the explanation. "He left after attacking him, but came back soon after to kidnapped Lucy and Wendy while they were healing Laxus. On top of that, the Salamander had caused further damage on Laxus during his second visit."

Erza and Gray cringed as they followed Freed's gaze to the burnt infirmary bed.

"He is a monster…" Evergreen shook with anger, her eyes squeezed shut, on the bridge of tears, and her fist clenching tightly.

"Of course it had to be Natsu to come and attack our guild like this." Mira shook her head, leaning over to her lover's side as she held his hand. "Nobody has ever been able to overpower him. Not even Laxus."

"I'm right here… you know."

Everyone looked at Laxus, and the sight of seeing the battered guild master awake sent relief flooding the air.

Evergreen launched towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Master! I'm so glad to see you're alive!"

Laxus slowly sat up, wincing with every movement. "I told… I told that brat that I wasn't kicking the bucket anytime soon… So there is no way in hell that I'm gonna doing that now."

Freed's tears fell loosely from his eyes, and he bit his lip to prevent himself from sobbing in joy. "You're so strong, Captain… It's good to see that you're doing well." His voice was calm, but his whole facade was betraying him.

Once Laxus settled into a sitting position, his blanket fell, revealing his bare chest. Everyone was able to see the symbol of the Dark Sparrows encrypted underneath the blood and grim on his skin.

"Did… Natsu do that?" Erza asked cautiously, unsure of how he'd answer.

"Yes. He also barged into our guild, humiliated me, and kidnapped two of our comrades. From the looks of it, this is definitely not coming from personal matters."

"No, in fact, this could be the whole guild sending a message," Mira said, rubbing her chin in extensive thought.

Ezra's eyes widened. "You're not saying—"

"You know exactly what I'm saying." Laxus interrupted. "We've been at this tension for far too long. Fairy tail has been living with our tail between our legs, to the point where we have lost our identity. We are not going to live in fear against the Dark Sparrows anymore, nor against the Salamander." Laxus grabbed the end of his blanket and flung it off him. He planted his feet on the floor, his eyes gleaming with conviction.

"Where Fairy Tail can live peacefully, in a world without fear of the dark sparrows." Lucy's words echoed throughout his mind. What has he been doing these past two years? After being defeated by the Dark Sparrows, his guild had done nothing but hide under its shadows. It's time for that to change. "They may have humiliated me, but harming our guildmates is crossing the line."

Erza could not help but notice how much Laxus has taken after his grandfather. When Laxus was first trying to take over the guild in her time dimension, she had feared that he would become a brute dictator over Fairy tail. But instead, she could see the strong passion he had for his guild, and the care of keeping everyone safe. Erza smirked. He really would make a great leader.

Laxus looked at each and every one of the mages within that room. His eyes held a fierce boldness within them, like he had made a decision that no one was backing him out of. "That is why I am declaring war on the Dark Sparrows."

: : :

*The night before*

Lucy woke up to the feeling of cold water on her face.

She gasped, coughing and panting as she struggled for air. Besides her, she could see a drenched Wendy coughing too. The young girl looked around frantically, taking in her surroundings.

They were in a house. A small coffee table was in front of them, and a fireplace was at the wall. Behind them, there was a small kitchen and a staircase going up. "Where are we…?"

They were sitting on a 3-seated couch, with Wendy curled up on one side of the furniture and Lucy's sitting with her knees to her chest on the other. In front of them, Natsu was crouching down, holding a bucket in his hands.

"Good, you're awake," He grumbled, before standing up and walking out of the room.

Lucy's breathing became more panicked. She whipped around to watch her capturer leaving.

"Natsu! Wait, don't go!" She had to understand what his motives were, and why he had brought them here. Getting up and leaving was certainly not an answer.

"Lucy! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Wendy asked, her small voice trembling. "Did the Salamander really kidnap us?"

Lucy looked back at Wendy, realizing how selfish she was for not checking if Wendy was okay. And obviously, she wasn't. She was a shaking wreck curled up in the corner of the couch.

"I'm fine, don't worry. How about you? You have a bandage on your shoulder… did you get hurt?"

Wendy shook her head. "No, I'm fine actually. But what about you? You have a bandage on your hand."

Lucy looked down, noticing a white clean bandage wrapped directly over her guild mark. Why did she have it? It wasn't like she was injured… "I don't know why it's there, actually."

"Lucy… I'm scared. What is he going to do to us?"

Lucy saw that their wrists were tied together, but that didn't make any sense. Natsu must have not expected much from them if he had only restrained their hands. She knows that staying here would allow them to understand Natsu's motives, but she had realized how much of a threat he truly is in this time dimension. The best action here would be to take advantage and escape.

"Okay Wendy, we have a good chance now if we want to get out of here. If I could just get my Celestial Spirits, then—"

Lucy's eyes widened, as she felt through her empty side pouch. Oh no…

"Sorry, but escaping is not an option." Natsu coldly stated, coming down his staircase. He dangled Lucy's keys from one hand, before slipping them back into his pocket.

Wendy pushed herself up on the couch, struggling with her tied hands. "You better let us free, you jerk! Or Laxus will—"

Wendy's threatening words lost momentum, as she looked at Natsu's arms. Within them, the wind mage could see a small, wounded cat that he gently cradled. Both girls were grief-stricken by this sight, and it wasn't until Natsu came back to the front of the couch when they were able to get a closer look at him. The blue cat was painted red with bloodied stains and matted fur, and unskilled bandaging was wrapped around his body. "He's just like Carla…" Wendy softly spoke.

Lucy's eyes teared up as she looked at her close friend in disbelief. "Happy…" She choked a sob, mentally stopping herself from the urge to reach out her fingers to stroke his fur.

"Please… Would you heal him?" Natsu begged, gently lying Happy on the coffee table in front of Wendy.

"Of course," Wendy scurried onto her knees and immediately held her tied hands over him. Happy laid there, motionless, as Wendy focused her magic into healing him.

"What happened to him?" Lucy whispered, her eyes frozen on the cat. Memories of Happy showing up on her windowsill and tugging playfully at her hair flashed before Lucy's eyes. He was always the energetic furball, so seeing him like this was becoming too much to handle.

"He got… caught up in one of my attacks towards your guild master." Natsu solemnly stated. He sat onto the chair next to the couch, his elbows on his knees and his hands covering his face. "It's all my fault…"

Before Lucy could respond, Wendy shot a glance at Natsu, her eyes sparking with contempt. "Of course it's your fault! If you hadn't attacked our guild, then this would've never happened! You wouldn't have hurt our Guild Master, and you wouldn't have hurt your cat!" Wendy shouted. She was huffing and puffing, but she never stopped healing Happy. "Is this how you treat your friends?" She had whispered the last part, yet the conviction was still there.

Natsu looked at Wendy with shock, and Lucy was dumbfounded. She had never seen Wendy have this much resentment towards someone. Wendy was always the shy and timid girl back in her time dimension, so did the Dark Sparrows truly bring out this much hatred in her?

Natsu paused, his eyes closed shut as he took a wary breath. "You're right. I've been reckless, and that had made me become a bad friend."

Lucy looked at Natsu with her eyebrows raised. Why was he agreeing with her? That was very out of character for Natsu; in both this time dimension and with her original Natsu.

"Sorry for the conditions. You girls are free to go as soon as Happy is healed." He seemed tired, his gaze connected with the floor as he spoke with slow, defeated words.

Wendy and Lucy were surprised by what he said, both looking at him with disbelief.

"But let's make a deal," He continued. "You can't leave until Happy is healed." At this instant, his cold stare was back, and he looked from Wendy to Lucy. "Can you both agree to that?"

Lucy completely agreed. She could see the desperation and seriousness that he held in his eyes, and she knew exactly how much Happy meant to him, no matter what time dimension she was in. But when Lucy exchanged a glance with Wendy, she could still see distrust written across her face. What would it take for Natsu to gain Wendy's trust?

"Please. This is for Happy's sake." There it was. He was begging again. Has Natsu really discarded all pride to get through to Wendy?

"…Fine." Wendy resigned, looking back down to Happy. She had just stopped her magic healing towards Happy, and his breaths were already stabled. Even most of the burnt marks on his fur were gone. "That's as much healing that I could do for now. He should rest for tomorrow, but I should at least redress his wounds."

Lucy released a breath of relief. She was glad that Wendy had decided to stay, even if was just to help Happy.

Even Natsu physically slumped in his chair at the sound of Wendy's decision. "Good. You too could stay out here in the living room for the night, and I could bring some blankets for one of you to sleep on the floor. Oh, and don't mind the hand restraints, they are just to make sure you don't try to escape." Natsu left to the kitchen grabbing some fresh gauze and ointments from his cabinet. Lucy could see how his mood had incredibly lightened.

He came back to the living room, placing the medication down on the coffee table next to Happy. "And I've locked all the windows and doors, so please don't try to escape." Wendy didn't expect this change of attitude either, and her eyes followed Natsu as he left to go upstairs and came back down with a pile of blankets. "There isn't much food in the fridge —I don't do groceries for this house— but whatever you find in there you could have. Just don't eat Happy's fish…"

Wait… is Natsu rambling? Lucy's eyes widened at the sight of this. Well, after the tension is gone, and Happy is looking safe, he probably doesn't know how to act with two girls in his house. Lucy almost laughed at the thought. From the looks of it, the Natsu from this time dimension is not as dense as the original one, so that should explain why he is so nervous around ladies.

He dropped the blankets onto the floor, but held onto to a small pillow. "Should… I leave Happy with you tonight?" Taken back by the question directed to her, Wendy nodded her head. "Yeah sure. In that way, I could watch over him."

Natsu nodded, placing the small pillow on the chair he was sitting on and carefully settling his best friend onto it.

"And thank you, girls… For helping me."

That was what threw them off guard. Lucy had never expected for this Natsu to thank her, especially from all that she has seen and heard from him. He just didn't seem like the guy to be grateful towards his enemies. And yet, with his unkempt hair and black clothes blood-stained and wrinkled, he had resorted to two fairy tail girls during his times of need. And it was all the more surprising when Lucy saw the corner of Wendy's lips curl upward, and she said you're welcome.

Natsu smiled back, and it was not the creepy bloodlust one that she has seen him do when they first met. It was a warm smile, much like the ones he did back when he was an optimistic pyro, although it had lasted no more than a second before it dropped, and he ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, it's getting late, so I should be going now. But just let me know if you need anything. My room is upstairs."

The two girls watched him as he headed to his room. After he was gone, Wendy turned to Lucy with an unreadable expression on her face. "You saw that too, right?"

Lucy laughed. "What? The wave of emotions? Or that smile he gave at the end?"

Wendy looked up the stairs, before looking back at her friend. "Lucy! I'm being serious here!" She hissed.

Lucy still couldn't help from giggling. "But did you see how much he rambled? It was adorable!"

"I've never seen this side of him, Lucy. He is known to be the brutal, ruthless, bloodthirsty Salamander! We've seen it during our war with the Dark Sparrows, and not to mention just hours ago when he scorched our Guild Master from his bed! I don't understand, Lucy, how is this a joke to you?"

Lucy grew serious. It's obvious that Wendy doesn't fully have his trust. And at the same time, she was making sense. Where did this soft side of Natsu come from? And what happened to that destructive side? And most importantly: which one is the real Natsu of this time dimension? "Wendy, all I could tell you is that we know nothing about the Salamander. He may be our enemy, but he is also just a person. And right now, we can see that he struggling with losing his closest friend. When a person is vulnerable, you are able to see their true nature. Natsu is vulnerable right now, and he came to us for help. Honestly, I believe that his nature is truly a kind-hearted person. Maybe… Maybe it is other people who forced this ruthless personality over him…"

That's right… Natsu has a kind-hearted nature… no matter what time dimension he's in. He will always have a care for others… Is that what's happening to Natsu right now? The great, notorious Salamander is actually a sweetheart who rambles in front of girls and cares deeply for his cat? Could it be true that it's the Dark Sparrows that are inflicting pain onto him? Lucy started to understand the severity of Natsu's situation, how he could be trying to be himself under the forces of his guild.

"Yeah, you know, you may be right Lucy." Wendy looked down, fiddling with her dress. "He did seem very sincere when he thanked us, and when he gave us that kind smile. You really think that he is not faking it?"

"I know it."

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