The Legend of Fairies.
Chapter Three: Natsu meets Link, The Heroine of Time.
Previously in the last chapter.
"Thanks for helping me." The man said, taking a couple of breaths before he turned to look at Link, only to widen his eyes. "Wait, who are you?! You're not Lucy!" It was then he looked around in the large chamber he was in. "Speaking of which, where the hell am I?!"
Link was confused by the man's behavior, including the name he gave her. Her name was not Lucy, it was Link. It was then she realized that she didn't introduce herself, and she couldn't help but face-palmed herself. She felt like an idiot.
Nevertheless, she said, "My name is Link, and you are in the Kingdom of Hyrule."
(In the Present; Natsu's Prove)
Natsu had no clue what was going on at all. He was confused, scared, anxious, and most of all, worried. He was worried about something, but his head hurt that he couldn't remember anything. From what he could try to remember, he can see a black shape that was huge and scary. But that's it, that's all he could remember.
Panicking from not remembering anything, Natsu began looking around to figure out where he was, hoping that his memory can come back to him, while trying to figure out what that huge black shape was.
From what Natsu could see, he was in a large chamber that was made of stone, and there were three, slightly raised platforms in the middle, with one platform after another. Connecting to the platforms was a small staircase leading up to a pedestal.
'What is this place?' Natsu thought, looking around the large chamber with a confused expression on his face, before turning to the left, only to widen his eyes from what he saw.
Natsu was met with the most beautiful woman in the world, so beautiful that he couldn't help but stared at her, forgetting about his memory problem. The woman had to be the same age as him or a year older. She had short blonde hair with two short bangs framing her face, pale skin and pointed ears, which Natsu found a bit strange but amazing at the same time. The most noticeable features to the woman was her heart-shape face and bright blue eyes. She looked like an angel.
The woman's outfit was showing off her amazing figure, making a small blush to spread across Natsu's face. The outfit was a green tunic that was short sleeved with a white long shirt underneath, white trousers to match the white shirt and leather brown boots. Around her waist was a leather brown belt that was holding two pouches, which were on the left side of her body. She also wore fingerless leather brown gauntlets that went up to her forearms and ending the outfit was a long green cap that was on her head.
'She looks like Lucy.' Natsu thought, staring at the blonde-hair woman for a few moments, before he remembered what he thought. 'Wait, she doesn't look like Lucy! Lucy's hair is longer and has brown eyes! This woman has blue eyes and short hair instead!'
"Who are you?" Natsu asked, narrowing his eyes a bit, as he slowly stood up and got into his fighting stance, while ignoring the pain in his body.
"You shouldn't be standing up at all." The woman scolded, and Natsu felt his heart beating rapidly when he heard the woman's voice. Her voice was light as a feather.
'Her voice is like an angel.' Natsu thought, as he stared at the blonde-hair woman, not even aware that the said woman was walking closer to him.
"Did you hear me?" The woman asked, now standing right in front of Natsu, making the small blush on his face turned brighter from how close they were. "You shouldn't be moving at all." She suddenly grabbed both Natsu's arms and pushed him back onto the stone platform, forcing him into a sitting position.
"Hey!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Don't speak." The woman said in a hard tone, leaving no room for arguments. "You are going to sit there while I wrapped some bandages around your body." Her face turned a bit red when she looked at Natsu's body, something that he noticed. "And don't even think about arguing with me. You're too hurt to move, and these injuries need to be taken care of." She sent a sharp look at Natsu, daring to argue with her.
Natsu was tempting to argue with the blonde-hair woman, not liking the fact he was being told what to do. It reminded him of Erza, who always gets her way by threaten him. It pissed him off greatly a couple times and he wanted to teach her a lesson by fighting her, but because of Erza's magical power and reputation as the Queen of Fairies, he knew that he wouldn't stand a chance, and he really didn't want to get beat up.
And so, with a deep sigh of frustration, Natsu sat down and took off his shirt, showing his lean and muscular body, which was filled with bruises and dirt. The blonde-woman blushed brightly from seeing his bare body, and without even knowing it, she reached a hand out and touched his body, earning a hiss of pain from the pink-hair man.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" The woman exclaimed, pulling her hand back very quickly as if it has been burnt. 'His body is so hard.' Her face became very red when she thought about that.
"Its fine." Natsu said, waving a hand dismissively, though there was a tinge of pink on his face. 'Her hand is so soft.'
"U-u-um…I-I'll g-get started w-w-wrapping the b-b-bandages around your b-b-b-b-body…" The woman said, making Natsu nod his head. She reached into her pouched and pulled out a couple of white bandages. And after she found the spot where the bandages are supposed to be peeled off, she got started on wrapping it around Natsu's body, though her face was extremely red that put a certain crimson-hair woman to shame when she felt the pink-hair man's body again.
There was a long awkward silence in the room, with the blonde-hair woman wrapping the bandages around Natsu's body, and the pink-hair man looking anywhere but her. Though, he would let small hisses of pain and the woman would mutter out apologizes.
However, before the awkward silence can get anymore awkward and uncomfortable, the blonde-hair woman ended it.
"So, what's your name?" She asked.
"Natsu." Natsu replied, turning to look at the woman, who was wrapping bandages around his body. "Natsu Dragneel. What's your name?"
"My name is Link."
"Nice to meet you, Link." Natsu said with a smile on his face.
"Nice to meet you too, Natsu." Link said, smiling back at Natsu, whose heart began beating a bit faster.
"What is this place?" Natsu asked, looking around in the stone chamber, while trying to calm his beating heart.
"This is the Temple of Time." Link replied, putting the last bandage on Natsu's body before standing up to wipe a bit of sweat off her face. "It's an ancient temple that was built many years ago in the land of Hyrule."
"Hyrule?" Natsu repeated, turning to face Link with a confused look on his face. "What's Hyrule?"
Link looked at the handsome pink-hair man with a look of disbelief on her face, like she couldn't believe what she just heard. "What do you mean, 'What's Hyrule?' This is the Kingdom you are in. This land is Hyrule."
"Look, I don't know any Hyrule." Natsu said, annoyed from what Link was saying, but he had a sinking feeling inside him. "But there is a Kingdom I come from, and that Kingdom is called Fiore."
"Kingdom of Fiore?" Link repeated, a confused frown on her face, which made Natsu frowned inwardly. He don't know why, but he didn't like the frown on her face. "I never heard of that Kingdom before and I'm pretty sure that it doesn't exist."
Natsu felt like his whole world turned upside down, as the sinking feeling inside him became stronger than ever, making him a bit nauseous and light-headed. He couldn't believe what he just heard, and the words Link said were repeating into his head.
"I never heard of the Kingdom of Fiore before and I'm pretty sure that it doesn't exist."
"I never heard of the Kingdom of Fiore before."
"I never heard of Fiore before."
Natsu didn't want to believe it, he did not want to believe it. He so wanted to say in Link's face that the Kingdom of Fiore does exist…but he didn't. He didn't say anything. He couldn't bring himself to say anything or do anything.
But the only thing Natsu did was turning his head forward and stared blankly at the stone wall.
Was it bad enough that Natsu has to go through this again? To travel into a strange world that he doesn't know, a world that was a great Kingdom like his, but has a different name? And to find his friends?
Memories of going to a different world (Or Kingdom) came rushing back into Natsu's head, causing him to become depressed. He wanted to say something, to say it was a dream, but his mouth was dry and if he did talk, it would not assure him that it was dream.
It was then Natsu remember what the black shape was, and cold sweat appeared on his face. There was only one black shape that can cause fear and despair inside a person's body.
'No...it can't be. There's no way the roar Acnologia did to the Fairy Sphere sent me to another world.' Natsu thought, not noticing that he was shaking. 'It has to be a dream.'
"Are you alright, Natsu?" Link's angelic voice broke Natsu's thoughts, and he turned to look at Link, who had a concerned look on her face. "You're starting to shake a bit. Are you alright?"
"No!" Natsu didn't mean to shout at Link, but he was panicking once again, and it has increased tenfold. "This Kingdom isn't my home! I'm not from this land!" He then stood up and began to pace back and forth. "This has to be dream. It has to be."
"You mean to tell me Hyrule is not your home?" Link asked in a skeptical voice, as she watched Natsu pace back and forth.
"No, Hyrule isn't my home, Fiore is." Natsu said, stopping his pacing to give Link a harsh glare, who flinched a bit from the glare. He quickly lost the harsh glare and looked apologetic. "Sorry, Link."
"It's fine, Natsu." Link reassured Natsu. "But back to the matter at hand. Are you sure that the Kingdom of Fiore exists?" She doesn't want to make Natsu mad again, but the blonde-hair woman was still skeptical about what the pink-hair man said about Hyrule not being his home.
"Yes, I'm sure. Fiore does exist." Natsu said, his voice was firm and complete honest, causing Link to lose all the skeptical and doubt she had inside her. "And I'm not lying. The Kingdom I live in does exist, but if you still don't believe me, that's fine. I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince you that I'm from another-"
"I believe you."
Natsu stopped talking when Link spoke and turned to look at the said woman with wide eyes. "Y-you do?" He stammered.
"Yes." Link said, nodding her head. "I can tell you're being honest with your words and the look on your face tells me that you are serious. Even though I never heard the Kingdom of Fiore before, I'm sure it's out there, waiting for you to return home. And so, I believe you and your words."
Natsu didn't know what to say at all. He was expecting a scoff response from Link, like she doesn't believe the words he just said and would mock him with arrogant and hurtful words, not that Natsu cared about. This response…wasn't what he was expecting.
In fact, Natsu was caught off guard when Link said those words, and he couldn't help but appreciate them, even though he should check if Link was lying. "Link, thank you."
"You're welcome." Link said with a smile, causing a pink tinge to spread across Natsu's face.
'There it is again.' Natsu thought, turning to hide his pink face. 'What is this weird feeling inside me?'
There was once again silence in the large chamber, which was becoming a bit awkward again, before Link broke it again.
"Is this the first time you been to a different world?" Link asked, feeling that she should talk more to the handsome pink-hair man, instead of staying quiet.
"Second time." Natsu corrected, walking over towards the stone pedestal and sat down next to Link, who blushed a bit. "I've been to a different world before. It was kind of like my world, but a different point of view."
"What is the Kingdom of Fiore?" Link asked with an adorable curious look on her face. She was curious about Natsu's Kingdom and wondered if it was the same as Hyrule.
'Cute!' Natsu thought, staring at Link's face before remembering that she asked him a question. "The Kingdom of Fiore is one of the best Kingdoms in the world." Natsu's voice was filled with pride and honor, like he was announcing an important ceremony. He even puffed his chest out, causing Link to giggle a bit.
"It seems that your Kingdom must be a wonderful place to explore." Link said, as memories of going into Hyrule for the first time flashed into her mind, making a soft smile spread across her face. "Just like my Kingdom."
"Yeah, and exploring the land is great." Natsu said with a huge grin, showing off his white, canine teeth. "But what really makes Fiore the best Kingdom in the world is it's amazing power."
"And what is Fiore's amazing power?"
Natsu didn't lose the huge grin on his face as he said, "Magic."
"Magic? You can use magic?" Link asked, staring at Natsu with a shock look on her face. Her voice was also shock, but one can detect the amazement and awe in it.
Natsu couldn't help but smirk at the shock look on Link's face and nodded. "Yep, I can use magic. In fact, every people I met also uses magic, but their magic is different."
"Really?" Link asked, making Natsu nod his head in confirmation. "What kind of magic do you use?"
Whatever Natsu was about to say about his magic, he was cut off when he and Link heard a moan of pain. They turned their heads to see a small figure on the ground. The small figure was a cat, but it seemed different than most cats. It had blue fur with a white belly and four whiskers, which two of them were on each side of its face. It had no clothes, but there was a green backpack that was on the cat's back. Link would've squealed at the cat, if it wasn't covered in scratches and dirt.
Link was staring at the injured cat with a shock expression on her face, not even sure if what she was seeing was true. She closed her eyes and rubbed them furiously with her hands a bit before opening them again. Her eyes were not deceiving her, she was looking at a cat that was laying on its back, on its back! like a human instead of a normal cat!
'What in Din's fire is that small thing?!' Link thought, still staring at the small, blue cat with a shock expression. 'Is that a cat?! Or something else?!'
Natsu's reaction to the blue cat however…
"Happy!" Natsu shouted, standing up from the pedestal and rushing over to the small cat, known as Happy. He kneeled on the ground and gently picked up Happy, who let out another pain moan. "Happy! Are you alright?!"
Happy slowly opened his eyes, revealing black eyes that were big and filled with pain. "N-Natsu?" He stuttered out. "Is that you?"
"It's me, Happy." Natsu said, gently placing a hand on Happy's head and rubbed it, earning a purr from the blue cat. "It's Natsu."
A weak smile appeared on Happy's face, glad that he was reunited with Natsu, only to widen his eyes to the size of dinner plates when he remembered something, something that caused fear inside his tiny body.
"Natsu, where's Acnologia?!" Happy exclaimed, trying to sit up, only to let out a yelp when he felt pain in his body. "Ouch!"
"Don't speak, Happy." Natsu said, trying his absolute best not to shake in fear from that name. "You're injured and you need to rest."
"But Acnologia! Is he here?!" Happy's breathing was starting to get faster and faster.
"He's not here, Happy! We're safe!" Natsu exclaimed, now starting to shake a bit from that name again, but he managed to stop it. "He's not here! Calm down and take a deep breath!"
However, Natsu's words were on deaf ears, as Happy started to hyperventilate because memoires of the Black Dragon were flashing in his mind, and tears of fear were running down his face. He was so scared and terrified of the Black Dragon that he fainted into Natsu's arms, causing the Dragon Slayer to sigh heavily.
"I probably should've healed Happy before I said something." Natsu muttered to himself, placing the small cat on the ground before getting his shirt and bandages. Once he had the shirt and bandages in his hands, he folded it into a square shape pillow, set it on the ground, gently picked up Happy and placed him on it carefully.
Natsu then wrapped the bandages around Happy's tiny body, making sure to wipe the dirt off. He didn't want Happy's injuries to get an infection. Once he finished putting the last bandage on, he took off his white scarf, revealing a scar on the right side of his neck, and laid it on Happy, like a blanket.
For a while, Natsu watched Happy's chest rise and fall gently with a fond smile on his face, but it was wiped out when he heard Happy muttered out, "No…Acnologia…no…please don't kill us…"
'This is bad.' Natsu thought, now staring at Happy with a worried look. 'It might take days, maybe weeks before Happy can forget Acnologia.'
"Who's Acnologia?"
Hearing Link's voice, Natsu turned his head around to look at Link, who was walking up to him and Happy with a frown on her face. "What did you say, Link?" He asked.
"I said, 'Who's Acnologia'?" Link repeated.
Natsu didn't say anything for a moment before his face became very serious. "Do not ever mention that name again." Natsu said with the most serious voice he had ever used in his whole life, which surprised him inwardly. He had never been this serious before.
Link blinked a couple times in surprised, not expecting Natsu to be serious at all. "Natsu, I was only asking a question." She muttered quietly.
A regret expression appeared on Natsu's face. "Sorry, Link. I didn't mean to say that harshly, it's just…I don't want to hear that name again." He stood up and walked away from Happy, with Link following him. "Hearing that name again makes me scared and angry at the same time."
"But can you at least tell me what that name is?" Link asked, as she and Natsu kept walking to the other side of the stone chamber. "Is Acnologia a person?"
A deep sigh escaped Natsu's lips as he came to a stop. Link also stopped too, and she was wondering if Natsu was going to explain who Acnologia is. She was quite curious about the name.
However, there was a long silence in the chamber, making Link a bit nervous. She was going to say something to break the silence, but Natsu broke it.
"Acnologia isn't just a person." Natsu finally said, turning to look at Link with a hard look in his eyes. "He's a dragon."
"What?!"
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Next Chapter: Meeting Sheik and The Adventure Begins.