"Do you know when the next train to Floralia is?" Natsu asked the vendor as he pulled out his map and pointed to the location where he wanted to go.
"Floralia? Apologies, but all the tracks that lead to that area have mysteriously been destroyed, and the Queen has told us not to repair the damages until she says so." The vendor replied as he pulled out a ticket to Crocus, "The best we can offer is the train to Crocus. Who knows, maybe you can find someone there who can take you to your desired location."
"I knew it wouldn't be so easy, but that sounds better than walking there on foot." Natsu sighed as he paid for the ticket and entered the train to Crocus. He wouldn't arrive there until early in the morning, so he would go to his cabin and place his stuff down before going to sleep.
In his dream, Natsu found himself in the guild, hanging out with family, when he heard a familiar roar coming from the outskirts of the town. "I-Igneel…" Natsu choked up as the roar only got louder and bolted out to see his dad flying up to him. He couldn't help but cry tears of joy. He rushed to hug him but was met with a claw that sent him crashing into one of the buildings.
"You overgrown gecko! Don't you know what a hug is?" Natsu shouted with faux anger as he pulled himself out of the building and lit his hands up in flames. He was about to return the earlier attack when he noticed that someone was standing on Igneel's head and froze when he realized who it was.
"Burn it all down…" The voice commanded as Igneel shot up into the sky and charged up a breath attack. Natsu could do nothing but stare as Igneel fired his attack directly at the guild. He could hear their cries for help but could only watch as Igneel destroyed the town he called home for the majority of his life until it was nothing more than a smoldering mess.
"Beautiful… wasn't it?" Natsu looked back to see the twisted version of himself sitting on top of the remains of the Cathedral, "Those cries for help… you could have helped them, Natsu. You could have slain the dragon just like you were trained for, but instead, you froze up and let all of your loved ones perish."
"YOU BASTARD!" Natsu roared as he charged at the demonic version of himself and tried to kill him for what he did to his family.
"Yes… give in to that anger… let it consume you…" The Demon laughed as he avoided every attack Natsu threw at him with ease.
"Stop moving! I'm going to kill you, Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu charged all his magic into his fist, letting the fire in his hand grow so bright that he had to close his eyes so he wouldn't go blind. He rushed to the last time he saw the Demon and felt his fist collide against their skin before he pierced through their chest. He opened his eyes, expecting to see the deceased corpse of the Demon, but almost vomited when he saw the chocolate brown eyes of Wendy looking at him in fear.
"N-Natsu…" Wendy muttered as she coughed up blood, staining Natsu's coat as her eyes turned from fear to hatred, "You did this…"
"I didn't mean to, Wendy! I'm sorry!" Natsu cried out as he tried to pull his hand out of Wendy's chest, but when he noticed the demonic version of himself standing right behind her and charging up an attack, Natsu wrapped his free arm around Wendy and tried to protect her from the oncoming attack. Natsu closed his eyes as the demonic version fired his version of Natsu's roar at the pair.
Natsu could feel the heat get closer until it struck both him and Wendy, sending them flying into the ruined Cathedral. Natsu could feel his entire body burning up but somehow fought through the unbearable pain and saw Wendy's limp body standing on the other side. He tried to crawl his way toward her when he saw the Demon fly into the Cathedral and placed his foot on top of Wendy's head.
"Don't… please… I'm begging you…" Natsu was crying as the Demon ignored him and looked down at Wendy's body before he crushed her skull with his foot.
"Another person you failed to save… how pathetic…" The Demon said as he burnt Wendy's body before slowly approaching Natsu, "This is what is going to happen once I take full control of MY body!"
"Y-Your body?" Natsu groaned out in pain as the Demon placed his foot on his head.
"Yes… my body. You already had your fun… running around… destroying everything in front of you without a care in the world… I will use your power to rid the world of humans and bring in a new age for Demonkind!" That was the last thing Natsu heard as the Demon applied pressure on his head and crushed his skull, causing Natsu to wake up from the nightmare and look around the now messy room. He saw the blanket sprawled all over the floor, felt a small puddle of sweat coat the bedsheets underneath him, and even saw some burn marks on the wall.
"I can't go back to sleep… not after that…" Natsu muttered as he did his best to clean his room before he left his cabin and walked through the empty train until he met a train attendant who was picking up any trash on the seats, "How long until we reach Crocus?"
The train attendant slightly jumped at Natsu's words before he looked at the Dragon Slayer, "I'd say four hours. You could catch some rest in the meantime."
"I'm fine… I don't need any sleep." Natsu said as he sat down on the bench and spent the entire time fighting the urge to sleep. Once the train arrived, Natsu tiredly got off and spent the next couple of hours walking through the streets, asking anyone who walked past him if they knew of an easy way to reach Floralia. Unfortunately, no one could give him a better suggestion than walking there, so Natsu decided to try and visit the root of the problem.
"Excuse me, is it alright if I visit Hisui? I have something to ask her," Natsu asked the guard standing in front of her palace.
"The Queen does meddle with problems from the common folk. Now scram before I arrest you for trespassing!" The royal guard shouted in response, making Natsu grow more irate.
"Oh, come on, me and the Queen are basically friends! I just need to ask about a way I can get to Floralia as fast as possible." Natsu said as the guard stiffened at the mention of Floralia.
"I-I apologize… but the Queen is not meeting anyone at this moment." The guard stated, and just as Natsu was about to break into the palace, he and the guard heard an explosion happen a couple of blocks away, "The explosion looks like it came from the bank!"
"You stay here. I'm going to look at what happened!" Natsu told the guard as he tossed his bag at the guard's foot and ran towards the smoke that billowed into the air.
"Marco! Kalen!" the leader shouted as two guys stopped rummaging through the cash registers and ran up to their boss. Marco was extremely short and pudgy and held an overgrown flail made out of fire. Kalen contrasted Marco, being tall and lanky and with a cloud of smoke seeping out of his hands.
"What is it, Gauche?" Marco asked as they saw Goche standing in front of the large vault where all the money was most likely being held, "Do you need me to destroy the vault?"
"No, I need you two to go out and stall the guards or any wannabe hero that tries to stop us!" Gauche answered as he placed his hands on the vault and began absorbing the material into his body, turning his body from flesh to metal before using his new metallic body to break into the vault.
"This is a robbery! No one moves an inch, or else you'll be in a world of hurt!" Marco shouted as he swung his flail around before slamming it into the ground, creating a small crater.
"Yeah, you don't want to face the wrath of our boss or us!" Kalen boasted as he saw a couple of guards running at them and used his smoke to fill their lungs with poisonous gas, laughing as they all either went unconscious or cried out for air.
"Oh please, none of you guys scare me." Marco and Kalen looked over at where the voice came from and saw a large crowd standing there.
"Which one of you said that? Come out of that crowd and say it to our face!" Marco shouted as he swung the flail over his head as the crowd started to back away, "If you're not going to show your face then you might as well face the consequences!"
As Marco tossed the flail at the crowd, Natsu jumped over the crowd and kicked the flail back at Marco, the ball of fire hitting him in the face, "You're going to need an ice pack for that. Luckily for you, I know an Ice Prick who can provide one."
"Who the hell do you think you are? Don't you know who we are?" Kalen shouted as he helped Marco up, who was clutching his nose in pain, blood dripping out of his nose from the hit.
"The name's Natsu Dragneel and I don't care who you guys are." Natsu said.
"Well, you should be. Us and our boss are part of a notorious guild and if they heard what you're doing, then you would be in a world of hurt." Kalen threatened as he slowly released some smoke from his hand and covered Natsu, obscuring his vision.
"This is for earlier, you jackass!" Marco shouted as he tossed his flail at Natsu and heard a loud thud, "That's him dead!"
"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Natsu calmly said as Kalen quickly removed the smoke from Natsu, and they were both shocked to see Natsu easily holding the flail in his hands, "You know, I haven't had anything to eat since I got here, so thanks for the gift."
"What are you talking about?" Marco said as he and Kalen watched Natsu take a bite out of his flail before swallowing the rest of his weapon, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO?!"
"What, I just ate some fire, you never saw something like that before?" Natsu smugly replied as he felt a surge of energy coursing through his body and used this burst of energy to charge toward Marco, kicking him in the gut and making him roll into a pile of trash. Before Kalen could even react to what he saw, Natsu elbowed him in the stomach and blew him away with a weak Fire Dragon's Roar.
"I'm gone for only a couple of minutes, and you clowns can't handle a single mage." Gauche boomed out at his two unconscious partners as he slowly made his way out of the bank. He dropped the bags onto the floor and slammed his arms into the ground beneath, causing the thick fog to disperse and allowing him to see the man who knocked out his men, "Damn, Kalen and his stupid fog."
"If I were to guess, you're the leader of these guys?" Natsu asked as he pointed at the unconscious bodies of Kalen and Marco.
"And if I were to guess, you're the pesky mage who knocked them out." The leader growled and was given his answer when he saw the smug grin on Natsu's face, "You arrogant bastard! These two couldn't even beat up a bug, but I'm completely different!" He said as he started beating his hands on his chest like an ape before rushing at Natsu.
Natsu stood there and waited for an opening, but he didn't have to, as the ground underneath Gauche sprouted up with thick vines that wrapped around his body. "Sorry, but I couldn't allow him to touch your beautiful face."
Natsu turned around and saw a pink-haired swordsman with a small grin on her face. Her outfit included a white and green coat-like dress with a lime green inner layer held up by a purple sash tied around her waist. "You're the executioner girl I met during the games. What are you doing here? I thought you would still be in that prison place."
"It's beautiful to reunite at a place like this, Natsu. My name is Cosmos and just to let you know, me and Kamika were promoted to be the royal guard for the Queen herself." Cosmos replied as she tied her vines around Marco and Kalen, ensuring that none of them would flee.
"Wait a minute, if you're Hisui's royal guard, does that mean you can take me to her?" Natsu excitedly asked Cosmos as he got extremely close to her face, making Cosmos blush as he invaded her intimate space.
"U-usually, I wouldn't do something like that… but, m-maybe I can make an exception for you… the Queen has taken a keen interest in you ever since the Grand Magic Games." Cosmos stuttered as her small platoon of soldiers helped the downed guards and carried the fugitives to prison while she and Natsu walked back to the palace.
"M-Miss Cosmos! What are you doing with him!" The guard slightly jumped as he pointed at Natsu, who had a small grin as he collected his dropped stuff.
"He's here to visit our beautiful Queen. Now open the gate and allow us in." Cosmos ordered as the guard signaled for the gate to be opened and allowed the two to enter Hisui's palace.
"What business do you have with the Queen, Natsu?" Cosmos asked.
"You see, I'm trying to go to Floralia Town, but all of the trains aren't able to go there, and the guy back at Magnolia Town told me it was because of Hisui." Natsu answered as he pulled out the mission Makarov gave him and showed Cosmos.
"I see…" Cosmos said as she gave back the paper to Natsu and used the fastest route to Hisui's throne room.
"Queen Hisui, I understand that you want to save your citizens, but we must face the fact that Floralia has been lost to the Demon." Darton solemnly told Hisui, and everyone else, aside from Kamika, nodded to Darton's claim.
"No, I can't let that happen! Not when I have the power to do so!" Hisui shouted as she shot out of her throne and paced around, trying to figure out a solution before Darton spoke up.
"Hisui! We have tried everything! We sent our military only for them to die by the Demon. We tried diplomacy, which resulted in our messenger being left on the brink of death. We even sent out a request to all the guilds, and none of us answered our call for help for the past two weeks!" Darton shouted at Hisui before quieting down as she looked at Darton, "Hisui, I apologize for the outburst, but you must understand where we are coming from."
"I understand, Darton. Let me just think about the… ramifications." Hisui said as Darton and everyone else in the room left, "What do I do, Kamika?"
"I don't know, Queen. Maybe Sir Darton is right. Maybe the town is a lost cause." Kamika solemnly answered.
"Don't give up hope now, Queen Hisui, for I have come up with a solution!" The two girls turned around to see Cosmos standing there with a confident grin as she introduced Natsu to them.
"Luckily for you guys, Gramps just gave me a mission to go to Floralia Town and take down that demon!" Natsu shouted as Hisui almost fell to her knees and cried tears of joy as her savior just arrived in the nick of time.
"Oh, Natsu, I don't know how I could repay you! You have already done so much for my kingdom, and this is just the cherry on top!" Hisui said as she wiped the tears out of her eyes and hugged Natsu, pushing her bountiful chest into him, "How about this? Alongside the cash reward, I will take you to a private resort where we could spend the entire time together~."
Cosmos and Kamika blushed at the implications Hisui was insinuating, but Natsu didn't comprehend the underlying meaning and accepted her offer, making the Queen squeal like a small toddler.
"I promise that won't be an experience you will ever forget! Let me get Darton so that we can fill him in." Hisui said as she gave Natsu a quick peck on the cheek and walked away, swaying her lips just a tiny amount to entice Natsu. And if the small blush on his face was anything to go by, it was working.
"S-so… how have you two been since you got promoted to be Hisui's personal guard? Natsu asked as he faced the two swordsmen, who had a more noticeable blush at the impromptu show Hisui gave them.
"It's been going good. We haven't had any major issues since our promotion until now." Kamika answered as the blush began dying down.
"It's certainly better than being cooped up in the Abyss Palace all day. I am finally allowed to appreciate the beauty of the kingdom that the former King and current Queen has built." Cosmos added as Hisui returned with Darton and his advocates.
"Here he is, Darton! The one who will defeat the Demon!" Hisui said as she presented Natsu to Darton and his group. Before anyone could comment, a laugh erupted from the back of the crew.
"Are you serious, Queen? How can we rely on a single mage to handle a problem like this? If our royal guards couldn't do anything to damage the Demon, then what would a single mage do?" the snarky response from one of Darton's advocates before he was met with a slap by Hisui.
"Don't you dare speak ill of Natsu. He's done so much for the kingdom, far more than you ever have done!" Hisui almost shouted as she was about to slap him again but was stopped as Natsu and Darton held her back.
"My Queen, you mustn't let your emotions control your actions. I will punish him later." Darton appealed to Hisui, who calmed down and apologized to Darton for acting too recklessly.
"How about this, since you claim I'm no match for this Demon, then we fight. If I win, I see what the Demon is made of, and if I lose, I guess that means this mission is canceled." Natsu suggested as the heckler touched his stinging cheek before looking at Natsu with hatred.
"Fine! I'll have you know I don't hold back when facing some filthy commoner!" he said as he stormed down to the courtyard where their duel would commence, "Before we begin, introductions are a requirement! My name is Otto Mori, and I am the successor to Darton as Minister of Defence. My magic is Barrier, nullifying any sort of harm to come my way!"
"The name's Natsu Dragneel. My father was the Fire Dragon King, Igneel, and I am a proud member of Fairy Tail. And my magic is Fire Dragon Slaying." Natsu introduced himself as he and Otto exuded their magical power, Natsu noticing the large gap between himself and Otto.
"How will you be able to defeat me if you can't harm me?" Otto confidently shouted as he covered himself in a protective dome. "Do whatever you want, but no magical or physical attack can phase through my barrier!"
"Are you sure?" Natsu confidently asked as he walked up to the Barrier and placed his hands on it. Just like Otto promoted, he couldn't push his hands through no matter how hard he tried.
"Might as well give up when you have the chance, commoner. You will tire yourself out before my Barrier can fall." Otto laughed before he could feel the temperature of his dome rise and rise fast. "W-what are you doing?!"
"I'm just heating up your dome. I thought you might catch a cold if you stay in there for too long." Natsu replied as he applied more heat to the dome, and before Otto could escape from his self-imposed prison, he passed out, the dome disappearing the moment he passed out.
"Congratulations, Natsu. Now that you won, you have the full support of the royal family behind you. How may we be of assistance?" Darton asked Natsu as Otto was quickly taken to his room to recover.
"A train that can take me the closest to Floralia is all I need." Natsu answered as Darton thought about it for a moment and agreed to Natsu's request.
"I see; our closest train station to Floralia is Firridge Village if that is fine with you." Darton said as Natsu pulled out his map and gave it to Darton, who marked where the village was located and handed it back to Natsu, who saw that it was nestled near the center of the mountains that was right above Floralia, "If I recall the journey on foot between the two is around a day or two. I hope that won't be an issue for you, Natsu."
"This is perfect! How long do I have to wait until you guys are ready?" Natsu excitedly asked as he placed the map back in his bag and looked at Darton.
"Since you're going alone, the preparations will be completed at night. How about you spend the rest of the day with the Queen? She has been eyeing you up ever since your fight with Otto concluded." Darton suggested as he pointed Natsu to Hisui, who gave him a small wave.
"Sure, see you later." Natsu said as he walked up to Hisui, "Do you want to explore the city with me? I promise to protect you in case someone tries to go after you."
"Sure thing! I can't wait to show you the capital of Fiore, my future King~" Hisui said, whispering the last part to herself.
"What about you two? Aren't you going to join us? As they say, the more, the better." Natsu asked Cosmos and Kamika, who were a bit surprised at the invitation.
"I'm pretty sure the saying is the more, the merrier, but sure, our main duty is to protect the Queen, and we're technically doing that if we go with you." Kamika answered as Cosmos nodded with her and they left the courtyard and explored the city with Hisui glued to Natsu's arm while Kamika and Cosmos were close behind them. The moment they stepped out of their palace, the civilians swarmed them but knew to back away from them when Cosmos and Kamika displayed a fraction of their power. That didn't stop the civilians from talking amongst each other, with a majority of conversations revolving around how the ladies were jealous that the most eligible bachelor was with the Queen and how the men were jealous that such beautiful ladies surrounded Natsu.
"Hey, why don't we go inside there? Maybe we can lose these guys?" Natsu suggested as he pointed at a jewelry store and entered the store, marveling at the assortment of accessories they had on display.
"This is such a beautiful necklace." Cosmos was awed as she looked at the silver necklace that had a ruby implanted in the center.
"I can buy it for you if you like," Natsu said, slightly surprising Cosmos.
"You don't need to do something like that, Natsu. I wouldn't know when I could wear something so delicate." Cosmos replied.
"Maybe you can think of it as a way to remember our time together," Natsu said as he pulled enough jewels for the necklace and gave the newly bought necklace to Cosmos, who held it in her hands and didn't know what to do with it.
"N-Natsu… I don't know what to say but thank you. I promise to cherish this item." Cosmos declared as she put on the necklace and looked at the nearby mirror and found herself enjoying how the necklace suited her.
"I'm glad you like it." Natsu cheerfully said as he felt someone hug from behind and turned his head slightly to see green hair, "What's up, Hisui?"
"I noticed that you purchased some jewelry for Cosmos, and while I'm glad that you tried to make her feel happy, you forgot about me. I, too, would like jewelry, specifically of the ring variety." Hisui said as she lightly pushed to the section where all the rings were held and thoroughly inspected each one, "Which one suits me the most, Natsu?"
"Hmm, what about this one?" Natsu answered as he picked up a gold ring with an emerald shaped like a heart.
"It looks perfect! Now, as the man, you must help me place the ring around my finger." Hisui said as she outstretched her hand and watched slowly place the ring on her ring finger in glee and made a promise never to remove the ring.
"Hisui, why don't you meet up with Cosmos and Kamika? I'm going to look around for a bit." Natsu said as the two parted ways for the time being, Hisui seeing Cosmos showing Kamika the necklace bought for her.
"Queen Hisui, I see that Natsu has also purchased a piece of jewelry for you too." Kamika said as she noticed the golden ring and was a bit sad that she was the only one who didn't have a piece of jewelry.
"Mhm, Natsu is such a thoughtful person. He should be back in a couple of minutes, though. He said he was going to walk around the store." Hisui said, and after waiting for Natsu to return, they saw him walking up to them with a small box in his hand, "What's inside the box, Natsu?"
"It's for Kamika. She was the only one I didn't buy anything for, and I didn't want to feel left out." Natsu answered as he handed the box over to Kamika, who tried her best not to act excited as she opened the box and pulled out two golden earrings with amethyst in the shape of a teardrop.
"Thank you so much, Natsu!" Kamika said as she quickly put on the earrings and looked at them. "How do they look on me?"
"They look beautiful on you." Cosmos answered, with Hisui and Natsu nodding in agreement. Kamika smiled at their answer as they all walked out of the store and spent the remainder of the day strolling through the capital until the sun began setting and made their way to the train station, where they met up with Darton and a small group of guards that would accompany Natsu on his voyage to Firridge Village.
"I hope you all enjoyed your time in the city, but now it is time for Natsu to complete his side of the deal." Darton said with a serious expression.
"What's with the serious expression? When you're a part of Fairy Tail, anything is possible no matter how many times someone says the opposite." Natsu smugly responded as he was about to enter the train when Hisui grabbed his arm and made him look at her.
"Don't forget about our deal, too. And as a preview…" Hisui said as she got on her toes and gave Natsu a passionate kiss, shocking everyone who saw before she pushed him onto the train that careened its way to Firridge Village.
"So cool!" Someone whispered as no one noticed a blonde man wearing a pink shirt taking multiple pictures of Hisui and Natsu kissing and quickly ran away before they were spotted.
"Are you feeling okay?" A guard asked Natsu as he was letting out a pained groan.
"Yeah, it just feels like my life is going to get too complicated by a misunderstanding," Natsu answered as he saw the bright lights of Crocus slowly dim as they traveled further away from the capital, "That or either I haven't had anything good to eat all day."
"Such an oddly specific pain, but I came here to tell you that your food is ready." The guard said as Natsu shot out of his seat and into the dining room, where a feast was prepared solely for him. He spent the rest of the night eating everything in sight before he went to his room and was about to rest when he felt a stinging headache, 'Fuck… was it something I ate?"
"Weak…" Natsu's eyes shot open as he looked around his room and tried to look for the Demon that had been haunting his dreams for the past couple of days.
"Where the hell are you?" Natsu said as he frantically looked through every crevice in his room, trying to find him before he got the jump on him.
"I am in your mind… and only in your mind." The Demon answered.
"H-How.. I thought you were only there in my dreams." Natsu questioned as he sat on the bed and tried his best to ignore the voice in his head.
"I was… but as I said earlier, you are getting weaker… weak enough for me to speak to you while you are awake… only if it's for a couple of minutes in the entire day…" The Demon once again answered.
"Answer me this: who are you, and why are you in my head?" Natsu went straight to the point as he shut his eyes and saw the Demon standing across from him in an empty void.
"My name? I thought I made it obvious I am END. And for your second question, I am only here because you have taken my body hostage for so long that I crave to be free and destroy mankind." The Demon, now named END, said with a sadistic smile as Natsu opened his eyes and looked around the room, waiting for END to talk, but no words came, and he just sat on his bed, contemplating what to do next.