Shadows Of Embers

by xosasha05

Captured, tortured, and enslaved, Natsu Dragneel is rescued a year later by his comrades who mistakingly let him be captured in the first place. Trying to find out what happened and what's going on with the new improved but dangerous Natsu, Lucy begins to wonder if the old Natsu is dead. (UPDATED VERSION - You can find the other version on my page)

1. Chapter 1

The atmosphere was charged with a wild intensity. The energy radiated from the crowd, a menacing sea of faces eager to witness brutality. Finally, they reach the arena where Natsu is fighting. The battle stops, and the crowd goes silent as Natsu looks up, recognizing Lucy. The transformation from captive to fierce warrior freezes the moment into taut silence. At the heart stood Natsu, locked in his place as he stared at his old team.

"Look!" Gray shouted, pointing. "There he is!"

Time seemed to freeze as Lucy's gaze latched onto Natsu, noticing the fierceness in his movements and the coldness in his eyes. He was a predator now, a warrior sculpted by fire and shadows. Yet, when Natsu's eyes met hers for the first time, the flicker of recognition sparked a connection deep within her.

"Natsu! It's me, Lucy! We're here to bring you home!" Her voice rang clear over the roar of the crowd, her heart pounding in her chest. She took a step forwards but stopped and frowned when he snapped his teeth as a warning.

The moment hung suspended in the air as Natsu faltered, the fire in his eyes momentarily fading as confused shadows swirled around him. She could see him grappling with the remnants of the boy she once knew.

"Lucy..." His voice was raw, strained, as if the name itself was both a beacon of memory and a chain binding him to his torment. "You shouldn't have come to bring me back."

As the captors come into view, the atmosphere thickens with tension. One of the Syndicate's leaders—a tall, cloaked figure with an unsettling grin—steps forward, clutching dark artifacts of power. He smirks at Natsu's suffering, aware of the Dragon Slayer's strength and potential. "Did you know," the captor hummed, drawing closer, "that every time we cut you, we learn a little more about the magic flowing within you? That dragon seed, our ticket to unparalleled power."

They ran the blade across his chest, lightly this time, teasing the edge just against his skin. "You'll have to learn to embrace the pain, Natsu. It's what will mold you into the weapon we need."

"Fuck off." Natsu spat spat.

"Tell us, Dragon Slayer," he taunts, voices dripping with mockery, "how does it feel to be nothing more than a pawn in our game? Your friends are far too weak to save you. They have no idea what kind of monster you will become!"

Natsu clenches his fists, fire flickering in his eyes, but he doesn't respond. Instead, he fights against his chains, a futile show of rebellion. The leader laughs cruelly.

Yet even as he spoke, his gaze hardened, filled with a savage intensity. The moment of vulnerability slipped away as he turned back to the opponent in front of him. With fierce determination, he turned away from the celestial mage and struck down the warrior, blood spraying across his face like anointing oil, the cheers of the crowd echoing like a funeral dirge for the boy Natsu used to be.

As the crowd roared for blood, a voice cut through the noise—a combination of despair and anger, echoing deeply in the space. "Enough!" shouted one of the Syndicate's overseers, raising a hand, commanding silence. "Let him finish his opponent!"

The air shifted, reeking of oppression and madness. Lucy's resolve hardened, each breath throbbing with hope, dread, and desperation. "We're here to bring you home, Natsu!" she called again, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm, ignoring the overseers.

But the Natsu they found was not the one she remembered. He hesitated, caught between fierce loyalty and the torment seeping from the depths of his being. He looked at her, his features strained, and the ferocity of his stance softened for just a moment. "Lucy," he murmured, voice choked yet filled with disbelief, "I—I don't know if I can come back."

As the cheers grew deafening, Lucy felt a shiver down her spine, torn between relief and despair. "We'll help you, I promise!" she shouted, fighting against her own fear that the darkness might have consumed him completely.

The mage stood, the blood of the fallen soaking the ground beneath his feet. In the shadowed corners of the arena, a familiar presence loomed—one that sent ripples of unease through him. Natsu, his eyes blazing with a fierce intensity, defiantly declared to Gray, his voice tinged with anger and determination, "Go away, I'm not going back."

The figures of Fairy Tail emerged as the smoke cleared away, led by none other than Lucy Heartfilia. Hopeful yet hardened, she scanned the scene, a horror darkening her features as she saw Natsu—monstrous and fierce, a twisted version of the friend she once knew.

"Stop!" Gray's voice echoed underneath the terrifying, awful laughs and cheers that came from the stadium. "This isn't you Natsu!" Chills went down his spine as the figures from Fairy Tail stopped to a halt as they stared at the scene before them.

Natsu's body was lithe yet powerful, honed by grueling battles and endless torment, but what remained of his lost innocence was hidden beneath the hard shell of a warrior forged in darkness. The arena itself was a hellish expanse, surrounded by seething throngs of shadow-cloaked spectators, hungry for violence and destruction. He could hear the maniacal laughter of his captors resonating through the air as they cheered for the suffering of the enslaved warriors who fought against him.

These were not mere gladiators; they were the remnants of what had once been fierce fighters, now stripped of their dignity, their sanity devoured by the insidious magic saturating the arena.

The capture pulled Natsu's head back by his hair, forcing him to look into their eyes, watching the flicker of humanity wane. "See? Feel the weight of your failure. We'll make you remember this pain until it becomes part of you."

With that, the captor raised the blade high, plunging it into Natsu's side with a sickening squelch. The pain escalated into pure, white-hot agony as they twisted the blade, a macabre dance of flesh and metal. The crimson elixir flowed from the wound, pooling beneath him, staining the ground where his spirit once stood tall.

"I won't break," Natsu gasped, his spirit whispering against the scream of agony. "You'll never have me..."

The captor's laughter echoed in response, a twisted symphony with Natsu's cries of pain. "Oh, dear dragon. You already are ours."

His scarlet hair, once so vibrant, now draped over his face, hiding the wild look of conflict that flickered in his emerald eyes. Though he stood at the center of the storm, a malevolent power coursed within him—an unnatural blending of dragon and dark sorcery that festered under his skin, igniting a thirst for destruction that clawed at the edges of his consciousness. As the crowd roared, a fresh challenger staggered into the arena—a broken shell of a man whose spirit had long been extinguished.

It was clear he had endured horrors more ghastly than most could fathom, a wild look of terror in his eyes. "I-I don't want to die!" Screaming, he charged, desperation spurring him on, but the moment he closed the distance, Natsu snapped into cold, ruthless action.

The heavy iron door screeched open, a chorus of despair echoing the length of the cold, damp basement. As it swung wide, the air thickened with the stench of sweat and blood, mingling with a metallic tang that lingered in the shadows. Natsu, chained to the wall with rusted shackles that bit into his skin, flinched as a tray of food was dropped carelessly at his feet. It clinked and skidded across the stone floor, an insult more than a meal. The cloaked figure slid into view, the dim light casting elongated shadows that danced mockingly on the walls.

"Do you remember the warmth of a fire, Dragon Slayer?" the Cloaked Leader taunted, leaning in close. His voice was low and conspiratorial, laced with a sadistic glee that sent shivers down Natsu's spine. The leader's eyes glittered with a cruel delight, a predator reveling in its prey's suffering. "This is a taste of what you'll never feel again."

With a flicker of need for defiance, Natsu turned his gaze away, fighting against the rising tide of despair. But behind the mask of bravado, he felt the flickering ember of fear threatening to extinguish. His muscles were strained and trembling from the cold, yet within him, there burned the tiny flame of rebellion, refusing to be snuffed out.

But the flame was getting smaller.

"You think you're strong?" the Cloaked Leader sneered, lowering himself to Natsu's eye level, his breath hot and fetid. "This could all end, you know. Just yield to us, embrace the darkness. We can give you power beyond your wildest dreams."

Natsu's voice emerged hoarse but resolute, echoing slightly in the cavernous space, "I'll never give in to you... You're wrong... I'll always fight!"

But he was lost count.

The cloaked figure laughed, a sound that twisted and warped the air around them, mocking and cruel. "Oh, how cute! But let's see how long that spirit holds out." With a careless gesture, his hand cut through the air, summoning a shadow that slithered from the corner of the room. It revealed an array of horrific apparatuses designed for torment—carnal devices stained with the remnants of unspeakable agony.

The first device was a rack, its wooden frame adorned with iron spikes, hunger glistening in their jagged tips. "Let's start with a little stretching, shall we?" the leader crooned, flicking a switch. The ancient contraption groaned ominously as it began to turn, pulling Natsu's body in agonizing resistance to the force. Pain radiated through his limbs like shattering glass, each thread of sinew pulled taut, threatening to tear. Natsu clenched his teeth, each scream of pain echoing through the emptiness while he fought against the darkness whispering for release in the depths of his mind.

"Such persistence!" the leader sneered, stepping back to witness the spectacle with sadistic satisfaction. He took joy in the agony painted across Natsu's face, his twisted smile growing wider. "Your spirit may be strong, but your body? It responds beautifully to despair."

The next device was a whip, its leather cracked and stained, imbued with the remnants of past victims. The leader gripped it with an eager hand, swinging it through the air with a cruel flourish. "Let's paint some vibrancy back into your cheeks!" he exclaimed, a manic glint in his eye as the whip whistled through the air before making contact with Natsu's back. The sound was sickening—the crack of skin, the splatter of blood as it lanced across his flesh, tearing through layers of skin like paper. Natsu's body arched, a guttural scream bursting from his lips, his resolve wavering as the fiery pain seared through him.

Each lash was deliberate, methodical, an exercise in torment as the cloaked figure taunted him. "Do you see, Dragon Slayer? Each scar I carve into you is a reminder of how futile your resistance is. This is who you'll become—a vessel of torment, a harbinger of death."

Natsu dropped his head, sweat mingling with blood trailing down his spine, panting. "You...c-can't...bre-" he rasped, words heavy with pain, as he gasped in large amounts of air.

With a sudden flick of his wrist, the leader silenced him with a brutal kick to his gut, sending Natsu crashing against the cold stone wall. "Oh, but how I intend to try! Consider it a game—every cry, a victory for me. Every moment of your suffering only nourishes the monster within you."

In a heartbeat, he drew upon the dark magic that flowed like molten lava through his veins. His fists ignited with a blackened fire that twisted into jagged shapes resembling dragon scales. The spell cut through the air with a hiss, incandescent instability threatening to erupt into chaos.

With swift precision, Natsu lunged forward, driving his flame-coated fist into the man's gut. The impact was sickening; the sound of ribs cracking echoed across the arena, followed by a strangled gasp that silenced the jeering crowd for a brief moment. A surge of energy exploded from the wounded fighter, radiating outward in a shockwave that sent spectators stumbling backward. Before the man could collapse to the ground, Natsu's eyes darkened, his mind a conflict of rage and wrongness.

He seized the man's face, lifting him effortlessly. The look in Natsu's eyes sent instinctual fear crashing through the opposing warrior's fading resolve, and in a terrifying flash, Natsu unleashed the primal scream of a dragon—a sound that resonated with the very essence of despair.

"Burn!" The very word echoed like a death knell as he ignited a man in dark flames.

Screams of agony rippled from the warrior's throat, his limbs flaring left and right, Natsu continued to burn him. Tendrils of fire danced across his body, consuming him in a seething inferno as his screams mingled with the ecstatic cries of the mob. Natsu's heart raced with adrenaline, yet deep within, something wept—a whisper of remorse buried beneath layers of madness being stoked by the darkness of the Syndicate.

Erza's heart raced as she scanned Natsu's figure, drenched in blood and emanating a menacing aura. "Natsu, you must stop this at once!" She yelled over the crowd, her eyes spilling solvent tears. She watched the horrying scene before them, astonished at the amount of dark power taken over him.

Lucy, Gray, and Mukarov stood nearby, their expressions grim.

Erza's chest tightened as she reached for his hand, instinctively reaching out to touch his trembling form. The cold sensation of others blood against her skin caused a shiver to run down her spine, but she pushed through the discomfort. "Natsu, please listen to me," she pleaded, her voice cracking with emotion. "This isn't who you are. You are a member of Fairy Tail, a family that loves and supports you. Don't let this darkness consume you."

"Arghha!" Suddenly, a powerful explosion of the dark flames erupted, hitting Erza with such force that she flew through the air and crashed into the arena wall. Her friends cried out in shock and horror as she soared past them, their voices echoing in the chaos of the battle. Natsu clenched his fists, torn between the darkness calling to him and the loyalty he felt towards his friends. "You don't know what your getting yourselves into!"

"Natsu!" a voice burst through the trees, loud and desperate. It was Natsu's closest friend, Gray Fullbuster, his tone laced with urgency. "Stop! We're here to help you!"

"Help?" Natsu echoed mockingly, the hunger within him flaring as he turned to face them. The darkness and the dragon magic roiled within him, a tempest of conflicting powers. "You think you can help me?"

"Damn it, Natsu!" Gray shouted, anguish evident in his voice. "This isn't you! You're stronger than this! Fight it!"

But the demon growled within, eager to emerge. "They're weak, Natsu. They don't understand true power."

Beneath this tempest of shadow and fire, the gates of the arena suddenly burst open, a cacophony of sounds cascading into the night air. He whipped around, his menacing aura back as his eyes narrowed as he searched for the next opponent, but it was then the winds of change arrived.

Stirred from their lurking shadows, four figures emerged, breaking through the dense cloud of despair and violence. Gajeel, Happy, Wendy, and Laxus raced into view, urgency propelling them forward like a tide crashing against a cliff. Their presence was a beacon in the dark, but it was Lucy's voice, sharp and clear, that sliced through the tempest of rage that consumed Natsu.

"Guys, hold back!" Lucy commanded, her heart pounding like a war drum in her chest. Clarity emerged in the chaos, her voice a stark contrast to the bloodshed that surrounded them. "He's not himself! We can't make this a fight!"

But the fight was already spilling into the arena, shadows clashing against embers, and the moment Natsu's gaze met Lucy's, he lunged at her, a demon chasing the light, his body now a lethal weapon forged in blood and agony.

"Get back!" Lucy cried, desperation flooding her voice. As Natsu surged forward, his fiery presence washed over Lucy like a wave of heat, his eyes ablaze with a fearsome intensity. The hungry roar of the crowd faded into a distant murmur, a chaotic symphony of violence drowned out by the frantic beating of her heart.

"Get back! Natsu, please!" Lucy's voice trembled, weaving through the chaos, reaching out as if she could grasp him back from the edge of darkness.

He halted inches from her, his breath heavy and labored, fiery shadows dancing along his arms like living entities. "Lucy..." he growled, the name barely a whisper as if he recognized her, but beneath the surface roared a tempest barely contained. His eyes were looking at every detail of her, as if he was looking straight through her. "Get out of my way!"

"Please! You're not a monster!" she begged, stepping forward despite every instinct urging her to flee. "We're your friends! You can fight this; we can help you!"

Natsu's entire form shook with turmoil; the darkness swirled within him, battling against the flicker of familiarity her words ignited. He lowered his fists, visibly wrestling with himself, but the primal scream of the dragon within fought back.

"Don't you understand?" he shouted, voice rasping and thick with anger. "This power is mine! Even if i wanted to get rid of it, I can't!"

In a cry that echoed with desperation, Gajeel charged in, swinging his iron fist. "Natsu! Snap out of it! This isn't you!" With a powerful swing, he collided against Natsu's fist—dark flames flared briefly, a shower of sparks exploding into the air as they locked in a fierce struggle. Tensions crackled like static electricity, resonating through the arena as both combatants pushed against each other's strength.

"Gajeel, no!" Wendy shouted, fear clutching at her heart as she rushed forward but paused as Laxus stepped in front, sending her a stern look.

"Stand back! We have to knock some sense into him!" Laxus barked, his brows furrowing in determination, electricity crackling ominously at his fingertips as he walked past the younger demon slayer. "And if the brat still won't listen, I don't mind knocking him out, heh."

"Laxus, don't hurt him!" Lucy cried out as she watched the clash about to unfold, her breath catching as Natsu's power flared brighter, the dark flames clashing against Gajeel's iron.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Laxus retorted, "but we can't let this continue!" With that, he unleashed a bolt of lightning, crackling towards Natsu with the speed of a viper.

The world around him blurred as he surged forward, intent on striking them down, the power of the dragon and demon intertwining, amplifying his strength tenfold. He was a tempest of rage and despair, a force that could not be stopped—at least, that's what the demon wished for him to believe.

"We're bringing you home!" Gajeel yelled. Natsu twisted just as the bolt hit his side, the electric shock sizzling against the dark flames that encased him. He let out a roar of fury that echoed across the arena, momentarily breaking through the throes of madness.

Natsu landed on his feet just barely and stumbled back, eyes wide, the torrent of dragon magic flickering dangerously between sanity and wrath. Just as the dust settled from the impact, Lucy stepped forward again, eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"Natsu!" she cried, desperation leaking into every syllable. "We believe in you!" This isn't who you are; remember your friends... remember us!"

Caught between fire and sorrow, Natsu's wild gaze met hers, flickers of recognition momentarily breaking through. "Lucy..." he breathed, and the moment froze in time—a beat where darkness and light collided in a tempest of memories and emotions.

But just as quickly, the darkness rushed back, deeper and more irate, clawing at him. Natsu's instincts kicked in; he lunged at Lucy with an anguished roar, filled with rage and fury, as Gajeel and Laxus surged in to intercept him.

It was as if every time he managed to retort back to his old self, it was stripped away, prisoning him. "Hold him down!" Laxus shouted, electricity arching around him, his expression tense as he grabbed Natsu's arms hard.

With gritted teeth, Gajeel wrapped his arms around Natsu's waist, wrestling him to the ground as Natsu writhed and kicked, the dark flames sadly flickering around him. "No! Let me—" he shouted, and for a heartbeat, it seemed as if the malevolent power would overpower them. But Laxus wouldn't give in.

"Natsu, I need you to remember!" Lucy implored once more, her voice steady and calm in the swirl of chaos. "We're not your enemies!" We love you!"

Love. The word struck against the darkness like a beacon. Natsu's body convulsed under Gajeel's grip, but for just a heartbeat, he stilled. Darkness ebbed and flickered like a candle's flame.

Suddenly, Laxus gathered the electric energy around him, directing it precisely, no longer to harm but to stun. "Hold on, buddy! Don't fight it!" he shouted, releasing a chain of controlled lightning that coursed into Natsu, not to burn but to disarm the chaotic power strangling him.

With a final scream that echoed with the despair of a lost dragon, Natsu's body exploded with dark flames, radiating outward as his form jolted violently. The power flared, consumed by the detoxifying charge of Laxus' ability. For a brief moment, the shadows dimmed, battling against the concentrated light.

Natsu inhaled deeply as the weight of the dark magic fell away, and exhaustion overwhelmed him. His vibrant scarlet hair dimmed, falling limp as he collapsed against the ground, the arena falling silent in shock.

Lucy rushed forward, kneeling beside him, cradling his head against her lap, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Natsu... please come back to us..."

The remaining members of Fairy Tail surrounded them, standing watch while Lucy wept, hope rekindling amidst the ashes.

The dimly lit basement held a stench of despair, mingling with the metallic scent of blood that clung to the walls like a shroud. Natsu lay on the cold, unforgiving bed of steel, restrained by chains that seemed to shimmer with malice, imbued with dark curses. Each link bit into his skin, biting deeper with every movement, each pull sending jolts of pain that overshadowed the fading echoes of his former self.

A flickering light cast moving shadows on the walls, distorting the figures that hovered around him. Cloaked in dark robes, they spoke in hushed tones, weaving spells designed to mire his mind in agony. The air thickened, crackling with dark magic that slithered around him like a sentient serpent, wrapping tightly around his consciousness, whispering insidious lies.

Cloaked Figure 2 stepped forward, their voice a deceptively soothing caress. "Just listen, Natsu. Your brother Zeref—he abandoned you. You're nothing to him, a mere tool meant to unleash destruction."

Natsu's breaths came in ragged gasps, eyes wide with pain as unsought memories crashed into the front of his mind like a raging tide. His laughter with Lucy beneath the stars, the warmth of camaraderie with his team, all washed away under the weight of despair. But he fought against the darkness, shaking his head violently.

"Shut up!" he snarled, straining against the icy chains that tethered him to this hell. "Zeref... he wouldn't abandon me! I have... my family... my friends..."

The figure leaned in closer, their smirk growing as malicious glee filled their eyes. The air shimmered with a foreboding aura as they murmured an incantation that sent a shiver of dread through Natsu's very being. "Family? Friends? They'll only bring you pain. Let us show you how to let that go. How to become the predator instead of the prey."

With a flick of their wrist, tendrils of black energy lashed out at Natsu, wrapping around his throat with a vice-like grip. He gasped, struggling against the oppressive force, the world narrowing to the tunnel of his panicked breaths. The vines constricted, cutting off his air supply, squeezing harder and harder until his vision swam, tinged with darkness.

The demon residing within him awakened, filling the silence with a low, sinister chuckle. "Stop trying to have hope for people who will never come. You're pathetic." The demon's influence thrummed within his veins, urging him to relinquish his humanity in exchange for raw power.

Natsu's will wavered, the memories of friendship dissolving into a kaleidoscope of dark visions. The distant sounds of a crowd surged from above, eager for his downfall, eager for the bloodlust he was being trained to unleash.

Cloaked Figure 2 relished in this moment, their grin wide and sadistic. The announcers' voices boomed like a death knell, calling Natsu's name, celebrating the monster they crafted. "My sweet little demon, we've trained you for this." They held open a book, its pages filled with forbidden spells and gruesome illustrations of carnage. "Now fight."

Someone snapped their fingers.

In that instant, something within Natsu shattered. With a roar that echoed through the chamber, his mind exploded, E.N.D consuming him as darkness devoured his spirit. The ground shook violently, beams of the building rattling under the strain of unleashed power.