I do not own Fairy Tail Hiro Mashima does.
Return To Scarlione
/Natsu's POV/
After several months of traveling the group had finally made it to the Scarlione border, at the request of Gildarts the group stopped for lunch and to discuss Scarlione in more detail.
"So now that you kids made it here what did you think of the trip here and be honest," Gildarts asked with a small grin.
"Longest trek of my life but I'll live," Elise sighed as Erza shook her head.
"I should have requiped into something lighter we had to climb six mountains in one day, why didn't the two of you mention that!"
"You really want to know why Erza," Gildarts asked as she nodded.
"Because the journey here was just the tip of the iceberg, Scarlione isn't just the beautiful fields of green and stuff I told you it's also got some of the most dangerous creatures running around in it," Natsu said as Gildarts nodded.
"The environment is also suited to their advantage making it easy for them to pick off unsuspecting mages who think they can handle a bit of heat or a bit of snow, try saying you can handle it when an Ice Drake comes and tries to freeze you to the bone. The point is if either of us thought one of you were struggling on the way here we were gonna send you back, where we're going you can't screw around like you do with Fiore's dangers."
Natsu looked over at Wendy who seemed to be sad and gave her a reassuring pat on the head. "You know that means you did well too," he said with his signature smile.
"Really you think so Natsu?"
"I know so if anything you reminded me of my first time getting here you've gotten pretty strong."
Wendy smiled at the compliment as the group began to eat their lunch before packing up and walking once more.
"All right we're about a few hundred meters from the border to Scarlione now remember what we said about the dangers because as soon as we cross that line Natsu and I won't be playing around, we see something we don't like you all need to pay attention or it could cost you your lives," Gildarts warned as the girls nodded quickly.
"By the way if we come across any Drakes leave em to me not even Gildarts can crack one of their hides with his magic. Now I know you three are gonna say something about what about our Slayer magic well let me put it to you this way, you have never seen or fought a Drake before nor do you understand how vicious the bastards can be. Erza and Elise I'm not sure if your magic would work on a Drake though we'll test it out once we're better set up here in Scarlione since we don't know exactly how potent it'd be."
"What about me Natsu I'm like you when it comes to my Dragon Slayer magic?"
"You fall under the inexperienced category Wendy though that's not a bad thing, if I do end up fighting a Drake then I expect you to be paying close attention in case I do need your help one day ok?"
Wendy nodded with a look of determination as the group crossed the border and almost immediately Natsu and Gildarts sensed something was wrong.
"The forest up ahead … Natsu do you sense it?"
"Yeah something dark … and I smell decay all around though it's faint which is odd, do we go through still?"
"You know as well as I do it's either that or a 10 day trek around the mountains," Gildarts sighed as Natsu nodded.
"What's wrong," Elise asked as Natsu motioned to the forest ahead.
"See that forest up ahead the last time we were here it was a symbol of nature but now … all I can sense is foul darkness all around it for miles. Unfortunately we don't have any other choice we've got to go through since the mountains would be too time consuming and dangerous."
"So what exactly is … was the forest before," Erza asked.
"Pilgrim's Woods, a place where even the most crestfallen wanderer could receive hope. Though you look at it now and I'd say it has the opposite effect, but enough about that let's get going but stick close and make sure someone can see you at all times," Gildarts said as the group slowly made their way to the entrance of the forest.
"This place is too quiet its creeping me out," Elise muttered as Natsu nodded.
"There used to be animals everywhere in here and now there's no sign of life at all, something's up."
Within a split second Natsu had caught a squirrel that was about to bite the back of Erza's neck, snapping its neck in the process as the three had shocked expressions.
"What the hell is that thing!"
"A squirrel but something's happened to it, it's almost like it's been tainted or something just look at these teeth no squirrel has teeth like this."
As the group took a closer look they realized the squirrel had two rows of razor sharp teeth in addition to two large front teeth that could easily tear through flesh and bone.
"If that thing had gotten a hold of you Erza you'd be dead," Natsu said as he tossed the squirrel aside. "This is what we meant about Scarlione, even the small things can kill you."
"While that is true Natsu this forest wasn't always like this I'd say there are some dark forces at play."
"Great just what we need Dark Mages," Natsu sighed. "I suppose we can't leave them to their own devices if they are in this forest somewhere right?"
"No I'm gonna need you to track em, first order of business is to find a means of tracking them."
"Easier said than done I'd rather just burn the place and be done with it but Illy wouldn't appreciate that so I guess tracking it is. Keep an eye out for anything that even looks like it slightly moved if a squirrel looks like that I'd hate to see what a real predator looks like."
Natsu took the lead as the group spent the next 20 minutes wandering through the forest looking for any sign of Dark Mage activity.
"Damn this wind is pretty cold," Elise said as the entire group found themselves moving closer and closer to Natsu for warmth.
"A chill is in the air huh," Natsu said as he sniffed. "And so is something else too."
"Dark Mages," Gildarts asked as Natsu shook his head.
"No its not but if this chill isn't being caused by a mage then it must be … ah."
Natsu suddenly found himself frozen in place as a strange silver like being appeared before them, it looked similar to a woman but had no legs instead it just hovered around with its silver dress flowing as it went.
"Wispmother," Gildarts sighed as the three girls looked at him confused. "Not a creature you'd find in Fiore so I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it before, basically you're looking at the soul of a mother who died here in this forest and each little wisp around her represents the amount of children she bore in her life."
"Does that mean three kids died here too," Elise asked as Gildarts shook his head.
"No the wisps only represent the amount of children she's had not the children that were with her, the strange thing is Wispmothers are born from cruel fates so this isn't something I would've expected here. Still we need to get moving," Gildarts said as Natsu nodded.
Suddenly cracks appeared in the air around Natsu as the Wispmother was pushed back and Natsu began to walk forward and placed a hand out in front of him.
"Crash Repulse!" The Wispmother was suddenly covered in cracks before it shattered into pieces and faded away.
"If you three are wondering why he did that it's because it's a better alternative than it being alive, Wispmothers suffer on an endless search for their children never knowing happiness and they kill anyone who get's in their way if they even suspect you know something."
"In other words they're insane," Elise said as Gildarts nodded.
"Still this is a dark forest but the fact that Wispmothers haunt the area isn't a good sign I already wasn't happy with that squirrel thing but that only confirms something is up," Natsu sighed as the group pressed forward.
"It seems after Natsu took out the Wispmother the creatures of the forest are re-evaluating us in terms of how tough we are," Gildarts said as he shook his head. "The power of creatures can only go so far though."
"Tell that to the squirrel that we saw earlier," Natsu snorted as the mage nodded. "Hey what's up with this lake?"
The group made their way over to the lake and realized the water was purple.
"This is poison … but natural … how is that possible?"
"Do you smell anything else Natsu?"
"Nothing else Gildarts other than the few dead things that have tried to drink this stuff, let's get away from this."
"This is one messed up forest," Erza said as Natsu sighed.
"I remember how it used to be back when it was all lush and green instead of purple and full of killer herbivores. The thing is this place screams Dark Mage activity but everything here seems natural."
"Well we can rule out natural evolution since it's only been just shy of eight years since we came through here last time which only leaves some kind of freak accident. Still what kind of crazy stuff do you have to pull to do something like this to a whole forest," Gildarts said as he shook his head.
"Well thankfully we're halfway through though something tells me the creatures won't want us leaving alive," Natsu said with a sigh as he eyed the many creatures just waiting for a slip up in the trees and bushes.
"Uh I don't think it's just creatures Natsu," Wendy said with a shaky voice as Natsu noticed a strange looking man shuffling towards the group.
"This looks familiar to Necromancy but it's clearly something else … this guy is definitely dead but the color of his skin matches this place. Now that I think about it the squirrel and the lake were purple too."
"The Wispmother wasn't," Elise pointed out as Natsu shook his head.
"They can only be silver because they are spirits there isn't any other color for them to be aside from the one representing the cold void. I think I'm slowly getting an idea of what's going on here."
"Been waiting to hear your thoughts on this," Gildarts said as Natsu nodded.
"This entire forest looks like it's gone through some rampant mutations; from creatures to the plant life everything is out of whack. Everything here is hostile and the color scheme should have been a dead giveaway."
"Of course a Dark Elemental Flan," Gildarts said as he shook his head. "Damn I knew I was on the right track!"
"What's a Dark Elemental Flan," Wendy asked as Natsu thought of a good way to explain it.
"Basically you know how there are elements of magic right well there are these creatures that I suppose you could say are the element themselves. The Dark Elemental Flan spreads darkness wherever it resides and as a result it corrupts its environment with its element."
"So it's responsible for the animals too?"
"Yeah see the Dark Flan's darkness is something that corrupts anything it touches and reverts it to its most base and primal form, only difference is it leaves purple everywhere which is usually a sign of its influence."
"Let's hope it hasn't been here for long or it does gonna be a pain in the ass to kill, Natsu start tracking for Flan scent," Gildarts sighed. "Damn pain in the ass this is gonna be."
The trio of girls made no comment as Natsu led them through the forest for what seemed like hours as he tracked the Dark Flan, unfortunately for the flan Natsu had tracked one of its kind before and knew exactly how they operated.
"It's up ahead," Natsu said as Gildarts motioned for the group to stop.
"Alright now before we go any further it's time to go over a flan's combat abilities, melee of any kind is completely useless if you touch it with a sword or your body it will simply absorb you. Now Natsu and I will two man this one so we can show you how to successfully combat one alright."
"So what do we do," Erza asked seemingly annoyed that she wasn't getting to fight.
"The Dark Flan will have a connection to this place and summon creatures to defend itself if it feels threatened by us which it absolutely will, you three will fight off any creatures that try to stop us ok?"
"You can count on us," Elise said with a mock salute as the group slowly entered the clearing.
"Damn this one has a strong connection just look at the size of it, how many years do you think it's been here Gildarts?"
"Minimum of five no doubt about it the thing is bigger than a house, you remember the plan we had for these?"
"Joint Crash Barrier to seal it in place followed up with controlled Crash Magic bursts so the thing doesn't detonate so if you say around five years that's what mid tier Crash Magic?"
"Apply low high tier just to be sure we don't want this thing reforming while our backs are turned, alright you three spread out to a tri formation around the clearing and ensure that your third doesn't fall until we've taken the flan out."
"I can see why you said melee is useless against it the thing is like jelly," Elise said as the flan bobbed up and down seemingly amusing itself.
The group split and got into position as Gildarts counted the two of them in.
"2 … 1 … GO!" The two were on opposing sides of the flan as it immediately began firing orbs of darkness everywhere in a panicked state.
"Crash Barrier," both Natsu and Gildarts shouted as the flan was sealed in a large cube created from Crash Magic.
"Get ready you three he's gonna start calling any minute now," Natsu shouted as they began to release bursts of their Crash Magic into the cage blowing off bits of the flan then firing another blast to destroy the part that was blown off.
Flans are annoying for the simple fact that they will regenerate their lost body parts as long as part of it survived to reattach, if the part was unavailable then the flan would have to wait until it could draw upon the place it had latched onto for more power to regen.
Natsu noticed that the three girls were currently engaged with all sorts of strange and twisted versions of ordinary animals; he couldn't help but smile inwardly at Wendy's progress as she snapped a morphed tiger's neck with ease.
Confident that the three could handle what they were currently up against Natsu and Gildarts continued to apply Crash Magic and the flan had been crippled in size already now no bigger than a magic car.
"Alright he's small enough take full control of the barrier I'll finish him," Gildarts said as Natsu felt a bigger strain on his Crash Magic as Gildarts destroyed the flan with a pillar of bright light full of Crash Magic.
Immediately Natsu dropped the barrier and the two mages joined the fight against the wildlife which went on for several minutes before the creatures fled.
"Anyone hurt," Natsu asked as the group shook their heads. "Good now that the Dark Flan is dead the darkness here should recede over time though we'll have to let Illy know this place is too dangerous for the random traveler to pass through."
"Alright everyone let's move out the exit to the forest shouldn't be too far, try not to antagonize the wildlife since we've already shown how strong we are there's no need to engage them further," Gildarts said as he took the lead and the group made their way to the forests exit.
It took the group well over an hour to reach the exit to the forest and luckily for them not a single creature dared to attack them the entire rest of the way, as the group left the forest Gildarts and Natsu could only sigh and shake their heads.
"What's wrong you two," Erza asked as the group looked out over the land.
"This place it used to look beautiful from here but now look at it," Natsu sighed as he motioned to what appeared to be endless miles of barren wasteland and trenches. "It seems the war finally made it to Scarlione I wonder if there's even anyone at the castle to greet us?"
"Scarlione was winning when we left how did things end up like this, perhaps we should get to the capital as quickly as we can. I highly doubt Illyandra is dead she's too strong but things are looking pretty grim, let's head over to that town over there and see if there is anyone who can fill us in."
The group nodded as they made their way to the town by the main road, after several hours of uneventful walking the group was suddenly stopped by Natsu and pushed into the tree line.
"Gildarts look," Natsu hissed as Gildarts frowned.
"Those aren't Scarlione soldiers don't tell me they managed to actually take land here?"
"What's this war you guy's keep mentioning and who were the Scarlione Empire at war with," Elise asked as Natsu shook his head.
"Listen kid this is a war that's been going on for at least the last century a country across the ocean known as the Alvarez Empire led by the mysterious Emperor Spriggan invaded Scarlione in order to gain a foothold on our continent, why that is no one knows," Gildarts said as the group nodded.
"When we were last here the war wasn't even close to being this bad for Scarlione in fact aside from border patrol you really couldn't call it a war unless one of the Spriggan 12 were dispatched which never really happened and even then Gildarts and I were never involved."
"If Alvarez are here then that means something big happened while we were gone the last 7 years, it seems Illyandra's recall was warranted after all. Now Natsu and I have a duty to kill every last Alvarez soldier here so while we do that Erza and Wendy go scout the surrounding area and get us a lay of the land."
"What about me," Elise asked as Natsu grinned.
"You are a War God Slayer right where else would you be but the battlefield?"
Elise grinned as the group split with Natsu, Gildarts and Elise walking out from their cover.
"Remember Elise unless ordered to by the Queen Scarlione doesn't take prisoners," Natsu said as she closed her eyes and opened one which was now red.
"Let the battle begin," Elise replied as she summoned two Ebony swords while Natsu and Gildarts just walked beside her.
"Oi you two halt by order of Emperor Spriggan!"
"Sorry we don't recognize outsiders," Natsu said as the man felt the space around him shift. "Gravity Dragon's Crushing Gaze."
The man was lifted into the air as Natsu's eyes glowed purple before being crushed into a ball and tossed into his friends who looked at him with a mixture of shock and anger.
"Alert the garrison it's the rebe-!" Before the man had finished his sentence Elise had already slit his throat and the two men beside him lost both their arms.
"Garrison huh this could get interesting, Gildarts I'm gonna take Elise and distract the garrison and draw out the leader get ready for him," Natsu said as the two disappeared leaving Gildarts holding one lone soldier who was scared out of his wits.
"Please spare me!"
"Looks like I got left with the shitty job, listen I think you'd better tell me exactly what Alvarez has done here in the last 7 years." Gildarts suddenly began to power up as the ground shook. "Because if you thought those two were frightening then I'm gonna show you my favorite way to get information out of someone and then you'll be wishing you'd gone the way your buddies did."
Meanwhile Natsu and Elise had snuck into the town and watched as several Alvarez soldiers beat some of the civilians for simply being on the same side of the road as them.
"As much as I want to strike Natsu we need to find and enter the garrison without alerting the soldiers of our presence, we'll save the civilians but we can't do that if they manage to hole up somewhere," Elise said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Even in that form you can still sound nice, fine let's get going," Natsu sighed as they slipped past the guards and went further into the city.
The two reached the center of the city and noticed an execution platform, Natsu was about to push on when he recognized someone who was about to be beheaded.
"Alyssa," Natsu said as he was on the platform with his fist through the body of the executioner that was close to beheading her. "Alyssa it's me Natsu!"
"N-Natsu … but you … you were killed by Achnologia how-."
"We don't have time can you still fight?"
"Get these magic restrainers off me and I'll kill every last one of the sick bastards," Alyssa said as Natsu used his Crash Magic to shatter her binds as Elise appeared next to Natsu.
"It seems we've drawn the attention of the garrison, whoever this girl is they don't want her escaping."
"Oh sorry ah Elise this is Alyssa she's one of the people who were a part of this team I was on during my time here Alyssa this is Elise one of my best friends."
"I can just feel the magic power rolling off you, come on we can lose the soldiers if we get out of town," Alyssa said as Natsu shook his head.
"Nope I'm following the primary order kill all hostiles on sight, same with Gildarts."
"Sir Gildarts is here," Alyssa said shocked as a large pillar of light erupted nearby and Natsu grinned.
"Yeah that's him now do you know who the leader of the garrison here is?"
"Piece of shit by the name of Dral the Unopposed what a trash name now that you're here eh?"
"Hate to break up the reunion but we've got about 250 soldiers closing in fast," Elise said as she entered her combat stance.
"Heh no problem for us," Natsu said as he stepped up next to her.
"You've gotten confident over the last few years haven't you, when you left you were strong but something tells me you're on a whole other level."
Natsu could only grin as the soldiers stopped dead in their tracks and dropped to the ground as the buildings around them began to crack.
"Hold them down Natsu I'll make it quick," Elise said as she disappeared.
"Th-that's you doing that," Alyssa asked shocked as Natsu nodded and showed her his left hand.
"I've been pretty busy since I left Scarlione this is my Gravity Dragon Slayer Magic, using one hand I can affect a pretty big radius while still maintaining my ability to fight effectively if need be. It works well since Elise is almost as fast as I am that she can take out the guys I suppress using Gravity Magic, in another 10 seconds everyone in that street will be dead."
True to his word Natsu lifted his magic and every soldier in the street dropped to the ground with their throats slit as Elise appeared next to them.
"There are more on the way at least another few hundred."
"Alright so now we find Gildarts follow me you two," Natsu said as the three began to run through the streets at a swift pace.
Arriving at what appeared to be a fort Natsu noticed Gildarts at the top easily dispatching the soldiers running towards him.
"Oi Gildarts look who I found hanging around!"
Gildarts looked down and a smile appeared on his face. "Well look at that, listen Natsu I already took out the commander of this place but these guys want to go to the last man!"
"Understood," Natsu said as the three of them began to tear through the soldiers around them with ease until the last one fell.
The four met up at the entrance to the fort and Gildarts sighed. "Well that was pretty annoying these guys don't like to give up information no matter what you do."
"There's a reason for that Gildarts they fear the Spriggan 12 and the Emperor far more than even death," Alyssa said as Gildarts nodded.
"Yeah one of the soldiers outside the town said as much, you don't look so good Alyssa you feeling ok?"
"Well Natsu and Elise here saved me from the headsman's axe actually another few seconds and I'd be dead."
"You were being executed how'd they capture you?"
"It's a long story but to sum it up we've all but lost the war here in Scarlione well at least until you guys showed up. Illy brought us all back a few years ago in a last ditch effort to hold off Alvarez but without the whole team we're not faring too well, each of us are strong but together we could crush Alvarez and drive them back across the ocean."
"We figured as much so what exactly happened that caused the war to go this far south for Scarlione?"
"The Spriggan 12 that's what, supposedly their Emperor is back and within months of his return we were already losing ground, the worst part was two of their biggest powerhouses were dropped right into all of this and they managed to pick us apart."
"Surely you don't mean-!"
"Irene Belserion and August yes, those two never once placed a hand into this war but as soon as Emperor Spriggan returned they were sent here straight away. Supposedly they have gone back to Alvarez but while they were here no one could stand against them and our forces were utterly crushed."
"Unbelievable how is Illyandra is she ok?"
"Well she's alive but her daughter … she didn't make it."
There was a pause as the wind blew in the background as Natsu spoke up.
"How'd it happen?"
"Alvarez overran the capital despite all our best efforts, we were evacuating the civilians as best we could but she … she took an attack that was meant for a child and despite Solomon's strongest healing spells she couldn't be saved."
"What the fuck," Natsu said as he ran his hands through his hair.
"As soon as the Princess was down Illy lost it and she massacred the Alvarez forces for five days straight without rest, she almost had Irene but August stepped in and crushed her. We managed to get her out of there but now she's lost hope, she fights but you can see that her heart isn't in it anymore."
"Where is she," Natsu asked with a serious expression.
"We've got a base over in the Kaarth Mountains; I'll lead you there since I have to report back anyway."
"Thanks Alyssa there are two more of us though so I'll go grab them before we head out," Natsu said as he disappeared.
"He's not gonna take this well is he?"
"You'd be surprised how much progress he made once he returned to Fairy Tail Alyssa he's even dating Erza now."
"Erza Scarlett huh is she one of the ones that came with you?"
"Yeah her and another Dragon Slayer named Wendy, Alyssa I need to ask since you were being executed where are the others?"
"Well Solomon is alive and back at base since he's the best healer we've got, Shrikke hasn't been seen since he began to lead the desert campaign, Felix is … well that's kind of complicated and Frollo he died to get the Queen away from August."
"I see … that can't have helped Illyandra's mood," Gildarts sighed.
"No it definitely didn't though seeing you two might she always looked at Natsu like a son she never stopped saying that even after Shrikke said that you were missing after Achnologia attacked your guild's island. She always said that the two of you were like a breath of fresh air that brought the winds of change with it, in the beginning we didn't really understand what she meant but after seeing that I understand now."
Gildarts nodded as Natsu returned with Wendy and Erza in tow. "Erza, Wendy this is Alyssa she is a part of that group I tell you about on occasion. Alyssa this is Erza Scarlett my girlfriend and Wendy Marvell er …"
"Adoptive daughter," Erza said as she gave her a pat on the head, nice to meet you Natsu mentioned you and your group a fair few times."
"Likewise Erza he mentioned you nearly every day," Alyssa teased as Natsu blushed slightly.
"Is that true Natsu?"
Natsu just looked away as Alyssa shook her head. "Still an idiot I see, yeah he always talked about you and how you were the most important person in the world to him among other things."
"Aww Natsu that's so sweet," Erza said as she kissed him on the cheek.
"Yeah alright fine I said it but listen we don't really have time for this Alyssa take us to the base."
"Ah of course follow me everyone and make sure not to fall behind since the creatures like stragglers for breakfast."
"We've already told them all that Pilgrim's Woods were bad enough since a Dark Flan had been set up there for years," Gildarts sighed.
"We'd heard though we didn't have enough manpower to get rid of it, anyway let's get going."
The group quickly left the town and were making their way across the plains when they heard a deafening roar.
"Oh great these bastards have been left unchecked," Gildarts sighed as two Drakes flew overhead.
Natsu took off his cloak and handed it to Erza as his body began to surround itself with his power.
"Natsu are you-."
"All of you stand back," Gildarts said as he blocked Erza from going near him.
"He's gotten angry again not that I could blame him," Elise sighed.
"That's way more intense than when he used to get mad what type of training has he been doing," Alyssa asked shocked.
"We can discuss that later let's clear the area," Gildarts said as the group began to run away leaving Natsu to fight the two Drakes. "This should help him blow off some steam, he may not admit it but he cared about Princess Serenity almost as much as he cares about Erza."
"What happened to this Princess," Erza asked as Gildarts looked at the ground. "Oh …"
"Foolish human you believe that you can take on two Drakes by yourself you should take a hint from your little friends and start running at least then you may have stood a chance."
Natsu just started to scream as he rushed the Drakes and with his bare hands he just began to lay into one of them shocking the other as he tore off the Drakes wing with ease.
Natsu looked at the other one with his eyes full of anger and sorrow as he ignited his fists and rushed it.
"Fire Lightning Dragon's Destabilizing Piercing Talon!" Natsu became surrounded in scales and vanished as the Drake suddenly felt a slash across its neck and all went to black.
The other Drake looked horrified as Natsu slit its friend's throat with ease as it tried to run however it didn't get far due to it's torn off wing.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!" Natsu grabbed the Drake by the tail as it fired a breath attack at him which Natsu blocked using its own tail.
"Fire Lightning Dragon's Destabilizing Razor Maw!" Natsu bit the Drakes side as it roared out in pain trying to slash at Natsu who easily dodged its attacks.
"I havent seen Natsu this angry in a long time," Alyssa said with a sad look. "We all knew Princess Serenity loved him and although he'd turn her down all the time he did care for her, he told me once that she was kind of like a sister to him since Queen Illyandra was like the mother he never had."
'It seems that Natsu was really close to Illyandra and her daughter more than I thought, to consider her the mother he never had she must have been someone who left a massive impact on him,' Erza thought to herself.
Natsu just finished killing the second Drake as he stood over it panting; eventually he calmed down and just sat between the two downed Drakes not moving an inch.
"We'll set up camp here for the night I think," Alyssa said as Gildarts nodded in agreement.
To Erza the way Natsu had been from the moment they'd entered Scarlione had been a shock to her, he seemed much more vicious and angry but you could see there was good reason behind his eyes.
'The fact that Natsu took myself, Elise and Wendy means he trusts us enough to find out about things that happened here, I'm sure he'll tell us in time. I'll no doubt get more answers when we meet this Queen he keeps talking about all the time.'
The night was relatively peaceful as the group sat around the fire in silence, Natsu had finally rejoined the others and flashed his usual grin but everyone could tell it was forced. Eventually they all went to bed as Erza cuddled up to Natsu who held her firmer than usual not that she minded he no doubt was in pain.
Eventually they all drifted off to sleep with Gildarts keeping watch as Elise began to speak.
"You know what's really up with him don't you."
"Yes," was Gildarts' only reply as she looked at him curiously.
"How bad did this place screw him up really, you always mention he had a hard time but how bad was it mother knows but she said it's up to one of you guys to tell me?"
"Since your mother is the God of War she'd know exactly what happened, I don't know if Natsu ever told you about our groups' first encounter with Achnologia but it messed him up pretty bad. See Felix went to try and look into Achnologia's mind but Natsu was speaking to him at the time and as a consequence he also suffered from the same thing Felix did. The thing is though Natsu said that he saw things in there that shouldn't be possible, Achnologia slaughtering all the Dragons back in the old days and him fighting Zeref and the two being locked in a stalemate of sorts."
"So he suffers from what he saw then?"
"Yes he does but that isn't the part that shook him, when we first spoke to Natsu after all of this he did nothing but babble on about the Ravine of Time plan failing and Achnologia being a Dragon that would consume all things, that the depths of the Dragon's mind have neither a beginning or an end only Achnologia."
"Couldn't those be considered just the ravings of a madman though?"
"That's what we thought but then he started talking about Alvarez and how they failed, about a war that shakes this continent and brings Fiore to its knees only for a deadlier war to emerge from the ashes. Now this is only a theory but I think when Natsu saw into the mind of Achnologia he saw a glimpse of a potential doomsday future without hope, luckily we were able to bring Natsu back to the world of the sane but Felix wasn't so lucky and he remained locked down until he escaped 7 years ago."
"A potential doomsday future, so you think Achnologia has the power of foresight or something?"
"I'm not going to dismiss it; the idea that Achnologia could eat any element seems well founded if the Dragon's were wiped out by him alone so anything Natsu said is theoretically possible. Don't discuss this with anyone Natsu doesn't want people to know but you seem like a person who cares about him a great deal, I would tell Wendy but she's not old enough to know these things yet."
"Of course I won't tell anyone Gildarts Natsu and Erza are some of my best friends, to be honest before Fairy Tail I didn't have any friends because they all thought I was crazy because I could speak to mother who they thought was just my insanity."
"Yep people like you fit in at Fairy Tail that's how it always has been; from the guilds founding everyone has made sure no matter who you are or what problems you might have that you are always treated like family."
"You know when Natsu and Erza told me that I didn't believe it but after being in the guild for as long as I have I believe it."
"Just remember it won't ever change either Fairy Tail for better or worse will always be the same," Now you should get some sleep we've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow."
"Shouldn't you be the one getting some sleep you are old after all?"
Gildarts sighed and shook his head. "You're like a female version of Natsu sometimes you know that," he said as the two shared a laugh.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you in the next one.