edited chapter 5
Natsu and Ultear were just outside the Guildhall door, ready to embark on their quest. However, when Natsu is suddenly tackled the wall by a blue blur, he looked down and saw a younger Happy curled up in his chest.
"Happy, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be helping Wendy train while Ultear and I go on high A level Quest.. wait, why aren't you with Wendy, Carla, and Sebastian," Natsu said
"Natsu, we need your help, Wendy and the others are in trouble. You have to help, please," Happy said frantically.
"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down, Happy what going on," he said sternly
Natsu couldn't get an answer from Happy since he was interrupted by the sound of running and flapping of wings. He looks to where the sound is coming from, and what he sees is Wendy, Carla, and Sebastian coming just around the corner.
Carla is carrying Wendy when she was in some danger and needed to make tracks fast. Next to them, flying alongside them is Sebastian, a purple-haired exceed that joined around the same time as Happy and Carla.
Probably wondering who Sebastian is, well. When Natsu found happy's egg Pantherlily went to retrieve Carla's egg. He saw another exceed egg on his way back, but instead of it being White with a blue marking like Happy or white marking like Carla's egg, it had purple markings on it.
Not far behind Wendy, Carla, and Sebastion is an angry man chasing after them. Closer inspection He's Magnolia fish Merchant. It dawned on him, Happy stole a fish to eat….again. Wendy, Carla, and Sebastian got dragged into it ...again.
"Happy did you steal a fish from the man currently hunting down Wendy and the others," Natsu said with a slight chuckle.
"I didn't steal it. An excellent fish was laying out in the open, there was nobody around, and I didn't want it to go to waste," Happy said, unable to look Natsu in the eye.
"Hahaha, Ultear mind holding onto Happy while to take care of his mess."
"With pleasure," Ultear said as Happy jump right onto her shoulder, wanting to see how Natsu is going to deal with the evil in his eyes, fish merchant.
It didn't take long for Wendy, and the two exceed to get behind him. The man chasing after them finally caught up with them and now was staring Natsu down.
"Hello sir, what brings you to the guild," Natsu said with a cheeky grin. The man only huffed at this.
"That blue cat stole from me, and I intend to get the jewel he owes me for that fish he stole!"
"Ok, and how much was the fish he stole," Natsu said to the man.
"If it were a regular fish, I wouldn't make a fuss over this, but the one he stole and I can only assume he ate it, it's worth 10,000 jewels,"
Natsu immediately glared at Happy at this. He pulls out a wad jewel from his requip space, counts out the right amount, and hands it to the merchant. The merchant double-checked the amount and went on his way.
"Happy, how many times have I told you just because nobody around that doesn't mean you can take whatever you want," Natsu said with a sigh.
"Sorry, I was hungry after helping Wendy with her training," Happy's unable to look him in the eyes.
"Well, with that out of the way, how was your training Wendy," Natsu said to the blue-haired girl he sees as a sister.
"It was good, thanks to Carla, Happy, and Sebastian. My reflexes and ability to dodge have gotten better," she said with a smile.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that I was on my way to see if Happy wanted to go on a quest with us."
"Well, Happy, what do you think mind going on a quest with us," Ultear said to the blue-haired exceed on her shoulder.
"Do you have to ask?"
"In that case, let's get going."
"Is it ok if I come along?" Sebastian asked
With a nod from Natsu, they went on their dark guild elimination quest. This wasn't the first time Sebastian did this. Natsu can't blame him. After all, he's an exceed, and the only magic they know is the Aera magic so they can fly.
Happy would sit on Natsu's shoulder whenever they went on a job, and Sebastian would do the same with Ultear's shoulder. One benefit of him tagging along is it allowed Ultear to keep pace with Natsu and Happy when they fly.
That being said, Both mage's attire changed in the last year. Natsu kept his shorts and shoes but changed his red jacket to a black undershirt and red vest. Ultear got rid of the skirt and wore jeans to fly with an exceed for obvious reasons.
After a few hours of flying, the small team arrived at the village that sent the request. However, since it was nearing sundown, they decided to stay the night at the local inn.
The Next day
After a night of rest, the small group headed to the town hall to meet with the Mayor who sent the request.
"Ah, I take it you two are the ones who accepted our request," the Mayor of the town said.
"Yep, so where is the dark guild anyway? I'm itching to fight some powerful Wizards," Natsu said in an excited tone.
"Yes, well about that, there's been a change in the request."
"How so," Ultear said, glaring at the man.
"Well, you see, that request was sent out to stop the guild before it could finish why they came to this area in the first place for."
"What are you getting at, " Ultear said
"The guild responsible is gone. All of the dark mages are dead."
"How?" Natsu said
"They died by the very thing they came here to create."
"If you don't mind me asking, but why did the dark guild come here in the first place?" Ultear said
"Not far from here, there is a well the best way to describe is a spring of ethernano," The Mayor said, resulting in the shocked expression on Ultear's face.
"What are you getting at," Natsu said with a severe expression, not liking the look of shock on his mate's face.
"the dark guild used that spring as fuel to create something terrifying that, as you guessed, killed them all. We have no idea how powerful it is."
"Just out of curiosity did the Quest rating change," Ultear said, finally getting out of her stupor.
"Yes, I just got confirmation that it was raised to S class, and if I'm not mistaken, neither of you are S class wizards yet," The Mayor said sad tone, knowing they can't do the job.
"Technically," Natsu shouted with his trademark grin.
"What do you mean?"
"Technically, we aren't S-class wizards, but that doesn't mean we aren't equal to an S Class Wizard," Natsu said as his grin only grew.
"So you'll take the job," The Mayor said with hope in his voice.
"Since the Quest rating went up does that mean the reward did as well," Ultear said
"Yes, the reward was raised from 200,000 Jewel to 800,000 Jewel," the Mayor said
"Just out of curiosity was about damages to the surrounding area," Natsu said, butting in.
"That's right, you're from fairy tail, and they have a reputation for not getting the full reward," The Mayor said with a chuckle.
"To be honest, do whatever it takes to get rid of it. That monster is causing us to lose money every day as fewer people are traveling to and from here. It won't be long before there is nothing left of this place. It will be a ghost town just don't get too carried away."
"How far away is this monster that we are supposed to get rid of," Ultear said
"From what some of our experience hunter in the area, the monster is 2 kilometers away from here. You better leave now before it gets dark."
With that said, the two wizards plus exceeds were on their way to slay the monster. Thanks to the exceed, it only took ten minutes to make it to the area. Immediately, Natsu could feel the magical energy coming off the creature despite not seeing it.
"Ultear, I'll handle this one," Natsu grins like no tomorrow.
"Fine since you haven't been able to go all out since we came back here."
"One more thing, mind recording this with your lacrima," Natsu said, still maintaining his grin.
"You just wanna rub this in Erza and Mira's faces when we get back, don't you."
"You know it, so can you?"
"Fine, but you have to take me out on a date when we get back," Ultear said with an evil glint in her eyes.
"Fine," Natsu said, looking away.
Naturally, this resulted in a grin from Ultear why just because their mate isn't an excuse to not go out on dates like a typical couple would do.
With that said, Ultear and the exceeds flow to higher ground, and as he wanted, Ultear used her lacrima to record Natsu's battle.
As Natsu march onward his made sure to have his guard up. He may be on par with an S class wizard. But that isn't an excuse to be careless, after all. He has a lot to take care of after this job.
With each passing step, Natsu could feel the tension in the air. He took full advantage of his heightened sense, checking every corner, paying attention to every sound.
This went on for several minutes as he made his way closer to the scent of the monster.
Based on the strength of the scent, Natsu wasn't much farther. Then, suddenly, the beast let out a deep but graveling growl letting Natsu know he just entered Lion's den.
The creature was just barely visible, just enough to get a good indication of its size. It was about the same size as Igneel. Then, seconds later, it came out of the darkness.
What was revealed is a humanoid creature in shape but has traits like that of a wolf. Specifically, its head. Everything else was a mixture of the two. It was the kind of creature you find in nightmares.
But one thing that shook Natsu to his core, in its chest, is what can only be described as a giant Lacrima ball with a hue of blue to it.
Natsu was too in shock to realize the beast made a move on him, bringing down its right hand on top of him. However, luck was on his side as he dodges at the last second. Bringing him back his senses.
Natsu's survival angered the beast further and proceeded to slash at him endlessly, trying to end him. Natsu, for his part, was grinning like a madman, effortlessly dodging Attack after Attack as they got more and more sloppy.
As time went on, the beast's rage got stronger before jumping far back, preparing for his first Attack.
Over the past year, Natsu has been training practically non-stop how well in any way he can, from heavy lifting from building his house to high-class jobs. As a result, the hellfire flames are now twice as intense as his regular flames.
"HELLFIRE DRAGON ROAR!" Natsu shouts as a torrent of bright yellow-orange flame shot out of his mouth. It collided with the beast, resulting in a cloud of dust and flames blocking his view.
When the dust settled, the beast was far from amused and began to charge an attack of his own, indicated by the lacrima in its chest changing its color.
As his Attack was charging, the lacrima was ocean blue before releasing a devastating breath attack of what could only be described as pure ethernano.
Natsu manages to dodge the attack, but it tore up the ground, rocks, and trees that followed, needles to say it was a mess.
Course, this made Natsu even more excited at the fight, realizing he can finally go all out with a crazed look in his eyes and grinning like no tomorrow.
"I'm fired up," Natsu shouts as a fiery aura enveloped the dragon slayer. The ground began to crack from the strain, red scales appeared all over his body, Natsu has entered DragonForce, and he was determined to have the time of his life.
"HELLFIRE DRAGON INCINERATION" Natsu shouts as his fist collided with the beast's own fist attack.
Both attacks stopped each other dead in their tracks, causing the ground to shatter from shock before both backs off from each other.
And for several minutes, they traded blows back and forth. Getting tired of this game, the beast hatch a plan.
The beast jumped back before releasing another breath attack; this one was a lot more chaotic with a broader spread causing more destruction to the area around them.
Natsu again dodges this Attack, unaware this is what the beast wanted. He brought his hands together in one big Fist brought it down hard on him, shattering to the ground beneath his hands. The creature let out a battle cry in victory as he made his way back to his den.
He didn't make it very far as the creator he left erupted in a geyser of flames. The aura he had before came back and stronger than ever, so much in fact that the beast backed away out of fear.
But that's not the scariest thing inside the geyser of flames. All you could see was a pair of eyes, a stark black compared to the flames shooting out of the creator. This would haunt most people for the rest of their lives.
Not liking his odds, the beast remembered something that could give him the advantage and bolted straight to its last hope of survival, leaving Natsu and Ultear behind.
Seeing this Ultear with the exceed Landed next to Natsu, he pulled himself out of the creator, still in dragon force but let off on the magical aura.
"What was that about Natsu," Ultear said
"Which part" Natsu said
"How about the beast running off," Ultear said
"Well, I don't," Natsu said before sprint off following the beast trail Ultear, with the help of the exceed, was able to keep pace with the dragon slayer.
"Natsu, what's going on?"
"Remember what the mayor said about a spring of magic energy being nearby," Natsu said as a look of worry came over his face.
"What are you getting at," Ultear said with a similar expression.
"If My hunch is correct, the beast going to power up from the spring, and the worst-case scenario, it goes from an S-rated monster to an SS or higher. Make sure you're still recording. There may be more to this quest than we thought," Natsu said as he increased his speed.
After about five minutes of running Or flying for Ultear, they caught up to the beast. Their fear is confirmed. The creature was powering up off the naturally high ethernano in the area.
As a result, Not only is the beast stronger, it's also much Larger. If Natsu had to guess, it is easily 25% bigger and about twice as strong compare to their first round.
"Natsu, please tell me you have a Plan. I don't think you can do this one by yourself," Ultear said, worried for her mates safely.
"Relax, I'll be fine. Besides, Mastering hellfire flames wasn't the only thing I've been training for over the last year," Natsu said with a confident grin.
"What do you mean by that" Ultear said in a cold tone, letting Natsu he's not getting out of this one
"Remember when I ate all that ethernano in the old timeline," Natsu said
"Vaguely, you were able to attain dragon force with it as you have now," Ultear said before a look of shock came over her face.
"I can power up off other elements besides fire. However, only lighting so far for obvious reasons. And the high ethernano concentration in this area, meaning the beast won't have the advantage he's hoping for," Natsu said before leaving her in the dust to face the beast.
With that said, Ultear and the exceeds went to a safe location, and as Natsu wanted, she recorded the fight.
Probably wondering what Natsu training was about, well as he said he could power up off Lightning, and that is only through Lightning Fire dragon mode, for now, that is.
As for the ethernano simple, he opened his magic container so the magical energy could flow freely through him. Thus, he doesn't have to conserve his magic as much, only in places with enough ethernano like the spring.
Natsu was preparing his first Attack, and like before. The beasts Met his Attack as well.
"HELLFIRE DRAGON INCINERATION FIST" Natsu shouts. His hand becomes engulfed in flames before his Fist collides with the beast's Fist resulting in another ground-shattering shock wave.
Natsu quickly jumps back, preparing for the second Attack, when a new idea came to mind that might tip the scale in his favor. He activates Fire Dragon Claw rocketing high into the sky before free-falling Preparing his Next Attack.
"HELLFIRE DRAGON ROAR" Natsu shouts. A torrent of hellfire flames rain down on the beast, only for him to counter with a roar of his own
That is precisely what Natsu wanted as the two Attack fought for dominance for a solid minute before Natsu's Attack slowly overpowered The beast attack.
Natsu landed on the ground seeing the beast struggled to get up after expending so much magic energy in one Attack.
Natsu went into lightning Dragon made, causing fire and Lightning to dance around him in a distinct aura. With the power of dragon force, the beast was in for a rude awakening.
"LIGHTNING FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" Natsu shouts. His hand becomes engulfed in fire and Lightning and nail to beast straight on its head.
Not long, Natsu sent another Lightning fire dragon iron fist in an uppercut fashion, forcing the beast to land flat on its back.
"LIGHTNING FIRE DRAGON FIRING HAMMER!" Natsu shouts as his Fist and forearm become engulfed in Lightning and fire magic. He brings it down hard on the Lacrima on the beast's chest, succeeding in shattering it beyond repair.
With the beast gone, Natsu undid lightning fire dragon mode and dragon force before collapsing to his knees from the strain of maintaining not one but two powerful modes at once. Ultear and the exceeds flew straight to Natsu.
"Natsu, are you alright" Happy yells frantically, trying to help his best friend in any way.
"I'm fine. Happy I just expended a lot of magic energy in this fight," Natsu said with a slight chuckle.
"That was impressive, Natsu, and I don't know if anyone from the guild could have pulled that off," Sebastian said
"I could think of a few, Sebastian," Natsu said as his mind thought of Gildarts, Laxus, and Gramps.
"Natsu Remember our deal for recording your Battle," Ultear said in a cold tone as she held her lacrima in hand, showing her recording of the fight.
"You'd think I'd honestly forget something like That," Natsu said as he picks Ultear up bridal style resulting in blush from the time mage.
"M-maybe" Ultear stutter but was brought out of it when Natsu lightly peck her head, resulting in a more deep blush.
"So where do you want to go for our Date" Natsu emphasized the word date
"Put me down first," Natsu did as he was asked and let her down.
"Where do you want to go, jewel is not a problem after dealing with that beast," Natsu with his usually confident voice
"Well, I'll have to think about that, but more importantly, I noticed you had a look of shock when the beast first revealed itself. Why was that about?"
Natsu made his way toward the carcass of the beast. He pulled out a shard of the Lacrima about the size of Erza's swords that he can only assume was its power source to keep it alive.
"In the last year, we have been training. As a result, I've heard rumors of new types of magic in development on our travels. But, unfortunately, one of them was a variation of Zeref living Magic, and I can only assume this is the result," Natsu said in a disgusted tone.
Ultear can blame him for disgust ever since she found out about E.N.D. She wanted to know everything about Natsu and help however she can.
Why was Natsu disgusted? He can't help but feel responsible for all of the death and destruction Zeref's demon has cause all to bring him back.
In the days that followed, learning about E.N.D, Natsu vowed to clean up the mess his brother caused to bring him back. This means eliminating every demon Zeref created and made sure no one tried to recreate his work.
"Taking in what you just said about this beast and the original purpose of this job, I'd say the dark guild members magic was the catalyst for bringing this beast to life," Ultear said
"Yes, but I want to know where did they got the know-how to create this beast," Natsu said as the Lacrima in his hand snapped into from gripping too hard.
"We'll find out in time, Natsu. We have a reward for collecting from the Mayor," Ultear said. So bring Natsu back to his go-happy self, and with that, the group headed back to collect their reward.
On a faraway cliff, a man with yellow hair finished watching the battle before him and had a sadistic grin on his face.
"Hmm, the master will want to know of this right away. At least I Jackal don't have to risk revealing myself to that pathetic human," the now-named Jackal thought to himself.
However, for some reason, he didn't know why but there was something about that fire-breathing mage that made him want to follow him instead of on Mard Geer for when they return to Zeref.
Back at the town hall
Natsu, Ultear, and the exceeds just Entered the town hall to meet the Mayor that sent the request to collect their reward.
"Ah, your back. I assume the job went well?"
"Yep, we sure did, and it earned the ranking of S class," Natsu said with a grin.
"I know you said the destruction wasn't a problem, but we made sure not to destroy too much. We only left a few craters, and even then that was from Natsu blocking his attacks," Ultear said
"No problem. I knew there was going to be a lot of damage since the request difficulty went up, and I've run into a few S class wizards over the years, so I know how holding back isn't an option sometimes,"
"Finally, someone understands. Oh, what about the reward," Natsu said with tears in his eyes before pulling himself together.
"On my, I almost forgot about that, one more thing a lot of the town folk pitched in the new reward price is 1,200,000 jewel here you go," the Mayor said, handing them a sack with the right amount. Natsu took the bag and threw it in his requip space.
"So glad I learned that," Natsu added
"makes traveling easier with all the high-level quest we do," Ultear said
"We better get going then By Mr. I'm sorry I never got your name,"
"The names Erik Yester just call me Mr. Yester" The now name Mr. yester said
"Thank we'll be on our way the Mr yester," Natsu said
"By having a safe journey," Mr. yester said as the two wizards Headed back to their guild.
With goodbyes out of the way, Natsu Ultear and the exceeds made their way back to magnolia, unknown to them that two new members will join them on the way back.
One hour later
It's been an hour of flying at breakneck speed before a familiar scent caught Natsu's attention before a grin took its place on his face.
"Happy stop" Natsu shouted, forcing Happy to stop, and shortly after that, Ultear and Sebastian stopped alongside them.
"What is it Natsu," Ultear said curiously.
"I just caught the scent of someone who could use our help. Happy that away," Natsu said, pointing off to a random direction before they all bolted off at insane speeds.
After half an hour of flying, Natsu, Ultear, and the exceeds landed. Ultear and Sebastian were curious about what Natsu is getting at since he was talking to Happy.
"Happy remember Cobra," Natsu said, hoping Happy remembers.
Happy got his memory of the original timeline since they're on the job all the time. It was getting hard to keep a secret that he and Ultear are from the future.
He's not the only one Sebastian got his back since he goes on jobs with them all the time.
Speaking on Sebastion in the old timeline, he worked as a courier delivering mail across fiore.
"Yeah, why" Happy said back.
"Simple, I want to help him. I would help the other like Richard, but I haven't found their scent yet."
"Oh, I get it your right. It would be a good idea to help out as many people as possible," Happy said
"Well, if it wasn't obvious, you, Ultear, and Sebastian need to stay back because of his poison since Wendy is too far away from ok."
"Ok, sounds like a plan,"
"So what going on, Natsu?" Ultear said
"Simple, I caught Cobras scent, and you and I know his involvement in the old timeline, and it would help our efforts for the games," Natsu said
"Ok, then which way is he, so we know what area to avoid," Ultear said, not knowing the full extent of his position.
"He's that way, and from what I can tell, he's by himself if you include that snake that's with him," Natsu said, pointing where Cobras scent is coming from
"Ok, then we will head to a safe spot. Just be careful since he uses poison after all."
"I know," Natsu said
Ultear and the exceeds headed to a safe location. At the same time, Natsu went to recruit another dragon slayer to the guild.
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