I do not own Fairy Tail Hiro Mashima does.
Mavis Vermillion The Fairy
/Magnolia Natsu's POV/
After the fight with Gildarts Natsu was asked to meet with the Master of the Fairy Tail Guild Makarov in private, feeling like he could trust the old man Natsu agreed and followed him to his office within the guild hall.
Once the two were inside Natsu closed the door and took a seat opposite the old man. "So how'd I do then?"
"Tell me boy that magic you were using which created duplicates of yourself do you know what magic that was?"
"No idea I've just always been able to do it for as long as I can remember, Igneel said it came as natural to me as breathing fire did to him."
"Breathing fire, who is this Igneel?"
"Oh my bad yeah Wendy and I were raised by Dragons and that's how we can use our Dragon Slayer abilities. See earlier they disappeared so Wendy and I began looking for the woman who brought us to them her names Anna and we ended up in that town called Saiten and that's how we met that Gildarts guy."
"Hmm walking blindly into an infamous town like that only confirms your story; I don't take you for a fool Natsu so if you say you were raised by Dragons then knowledge of such things obviously wasn't important to you. And to fill you in on your magic it is known as Illusion magic however yours is very unique, in fact there has only been one other mage in the last few hundred years capable of using it as easily as you."
"Illusion magic huh well that makes sense, so who's this other person who could use it and why's it so special?"
"Well Natsu regular Illusion magic is capable of creating something just like what you did with the duplicates however your magic is unique as you are able to give the Illusions physical form. In all my years there has only been one other mage I've known who has been able to conjure Illusions on such a scale and that is the First Master of our guild."
"Your First Master, they must have been really strong," Natsu said as Makarov nodded.
"First Master Mavis Vermillion was one of the four founders of our guild and was not only a gifted mage but a master tactician gaining her the nickname the fairy tactician. Now the First Master was also extremely wise Natsu, before her untimely death she had left a sealed letter with a note for whoever was the current master of the guild, have a read Natsu."
"Are you sure I should read this you just said that this was for the master only right?"
"Once you read it you'll understand," Makarov said with a small grin as Natsu began to read the letter.
To the current serving Guild Master
Please ensure that the instructions for this sealed letter are followed or else a certain evil may one day return due to a specific person not gaining the knowledge meant solely for them reaching their eyes.
Within this letter lies vital information for a boy who will arrive sometime around the year X780 or so. This boy will have hair of both black and blonde and most likely know nothing about the current world or its customs. He will possess incredible power and power that is strikingly similar to my own.
In order for you to confirm it is the boy I speak of he will bear a golden Guild Mark and a permanent version of Fairy Glitter one of the three ancient spells of Fairy Tail.
If the boy possesses all said qualities the next step is to test his combat abilities against whoever is currently the strongest mage at the guild, if they are away on a quest they must be recalled immediately.
Once that is all done and he is deemed to be the boy I speak of you must hand him the sealed letter which he may open and read. Once he has read the letter he may speak of the biggest secret of Fairy Tail and if he does you may inform him of it however do not take him there.
It is my hope that this letter reaches that boy before it is too late and I thank however many masters who come after me for adhering to these strict guidelines.
M.V
"M.V surely that's a coincidence," Natsu said as he finished the letter.
"I'm sure you will find some answers within this," Makarov said as he pulled an ancient looking letter from his top draw and handed it to Natsu. "See even if someone wanted to open the letter it would be pretty hard for them to do so, it's sealed with a powerful spell that can only be bypassed by its intended recipient."
"Well then let's see what we've got," Natsu said as he opened the letter and began to read.
Dearest Natsu
You must have many questions, questions which I cannot answer at this time. However there is one that I'm sure you have wondered for as long as you have been able to think for yourself.
The locket you have had in your possession since you were left with Igneel and Grandina was given to you by me, at this point you must have already begun to suspect who I am.
Yes Natsu I am your mother Mavis Vermillion, the initials on the locket stand for Natsu Vermillion. You are my precious child Natsu one that I was forced to send to the Dragons in order to protect you from something horrific.
When you were young I gave you to Anna so that she would bring you to Igneel for your own safety, what I saved you from is something that is considered one of the greatest evils the world had seen at the time of writing this letter.
There is so much I want to tell you Natsu and we will one day meet but you must be patient, as we speak my physical body is currently dormant and in a safe location. The Fairy Tail Guild has given me the codename Lumen Histoire and ensured its knowledge is kept only to the master of the guild.
However using my magic I am able to manifest myself as a sort of ghost however I must remain far away from anywhere the current guild members might find me in order to prevent the knowledge of my existence hidden.
So now it comes to my request, I want you to come find me Natsu. The journey will be a long one but I'm sure that the current master would be more than willing to send someone with you in order to assist you.
My spirit currently resides in a land to the North which is covered in every element you can think of from snow to desert. Please don't rush to get here I would be heartbroken if something happened along the way.
The name of the country to the North at the time of this letter is Raaesh, once you reach this land if you buy a map and put in these coordinates you will find me.
Now you are probably wondering why I am so far away, why I didn't just hide on the top of a mountain in Fiore somewhere and there are two reasons for that. The first reason is that the great evil I spoke of earlier will undoubtedly still be active and immediately begin hunting for my body. The second reason is a Dragon by the name of Achnologia, I'm sure you learnt of him from Igneel.
I apologize for not being there for you as a mother should have been, circumstances have forced things to pan out the way they have. It is my hope that I will one day see you and explain everything to you but it is after all your decision.
I look forward to one day meeting you my darling son and seeing how much you've grown.
M.V
Natsu slowly handed the letter to the old man, tears streaming down his face as he struggled to compose himself.
"So it is as I thought the First is indeed your mother, still this is indeed quite the task she has set you. Now before we get into the details did you want to ask about the-."
"No I … I understand all about that," Natsu sighed.
"I see then that leaves your journey, it sais here that I am to assign someone to go with you are you ok with that?"
Natsu nodded in agreement as Makarov began to think to himself. "I will send Gildarts with you, Raaesh is a harsh land full of dangers and I'm sure Gildarts would love it there anyway. You do realise though that if you took the other one with you-."
"Yeah I know she wouldn't survive, if it's as harsh there as you say then she definitely wouldn't be able to last long. Wendy isn't weak by any means but she lacks confidence in herself and her abilities sometimes which could cost her life."
"So what do you think you should do then, she is your sister am I correct?"
"I'll have to leave without telling her, could I ask that-."
"Of course we'll look after her Natsu she'll be treated like family here," Makarov replied as Natsu nodded.
"She will probably cry a lot but please do take care of her. This sounds like I'll be gone for awhile."
"Natsu I wanted to ask you, since this is your mothers guild would you like to become an official Fairy Tail mage?"
"If it was my mother's guild then of course, but could you also let Wendy join?"
"Of course I assumed that's what you wanted anyway, so any idea when you plan on leaving?"
"As soon as I can, well as soon as that Gildarts guy is ready."
"He'll be ready right now the man is hardly here anyway no one would be surprised if he just up and left at a moment's notice. See that house over there on the outskirts of town wait there for him. Feel free to leave through the window and I'll cover for you," Makarov sighed knowing all the younger ones would surely ask a staggering amount of questions.
"Thank you for all this," Natsu said as he bowed slightly.
"By the way since you are a Fairy Tail mage now it makes it easier for me to explain both yours and Gildarts' absences. I'm going to log this as a S+ Quest, normally a regular mage wouldn't be allowed within miles of a regular S Class Quest but this won't just be a normal quest for you."
Natsu looked at the old man confused as he sighed.
"I'll be telling this to Gildarts too so he can explain it as you go but this will also be an S Class Promotion Trial for you, I'm confident that over the course of your time away you will become S Class mage material though it will be up to Gildarts to determine that."
"Why are you giving me special treatment, I doubt just anyone would get a task like this and you only met me a few hours ago?"
"Well you won't exactly be here to take part in the normal S Class Promotion Trials so I figured this would make up for it. You might question my reasoning but I've been the master of this Guild since I was 47 years old I think I can spot talent in someone."
"If you say so but thanks again for the help," Natsu said as he jumped out the window and beeline for the house on the edge of town.
/Magnolia Brandish's POV/
When Brandish had first arrived in Fiore she was attacked within minutes by a group of Dark Mages who had been scoping out the town. Quickly disposing of them she quickly gained her bearings and realised Zeref had brought her exactly where she needed to be.
"His methods may be unusual but they are certainly effective this is the place Lord Zeref engrained into my mind. In fact this has to be more than a coincidence that he placed me here."
As she looked out over the town she could see the figure she was charged to observe and protect bolting towards her location at high speed. Quickly relocating she managed to get to a safe observing distance before sitting on a log.
"So that's him the son of Zeref, he's certainly got the Emperor's looks but why does his hair look like that? Wait I just realised what am I supposed to do while nothing's going on, this is going to be soooo lame!"
Brandish sighed as she continued to watch Natsu as he appeared to be just sitting around doing nothing like she was. Slowly but surely as the minutes ticked by she began to get frustrated, surely he wasn't just sitting around for no reason, could she endure this for what could potentially be years?"
"Zeref could have picked anyone and I get stuck with this job, I'm a teenager I should be out there fighting in his name and going for the glory not sitting around doing nothing! Leave the sitting around to someone like August that guy could outlast the land itself."
After sitting around for another few minutes finally someone else appeared and she began to pay attention again.
/Natsu's POV/
After sitting around for what seemed like forever Gildarts finally turned up as he tossed a bag to Natsu.
"What's all this stuff," Natsu asked confused.
"Supplies, we're gonna need em right?"
"I've never needed these things before I'd usually just find and grill my dinner."
"Don't worry there'll be plenty of that too kid this stuff is the backup in case there isn't anything. Also there's other stuff in there that may be useful like some basic first aid stuff."
"Well as long as it's useful I don't mind carrying it all around, so was getting out of the guild tough?"
"Nah barely anyone noticed I left though by the time everyone realises we've gone off on a S+ Quest to find the First Master they'll be rioting for weeks, poor old man," Gildarts sighed.
"Ok so which way do we go," Natsu asked as Gildarts scratched his head.
"Well basically we're on foot all the way to the border, no lacrima trains run up that way. Before we go there we have to go back to Saiten on guild business."
"Guild business but what would you guys be doing getting involved with those guys?"
"Settle down kid we've gotta finish my job before we head off on a new one, that's what this lacrima here is for. See using this I can send a message back to the master and let him know I'm done so he can confirm it with the Council."
"Council," Natsu asked as he cocked his head.
Gildarts sighed, "I'll teach you about all this crap as we go ok kid oh and we'll probably be doing a lot of fighting in Saiten so just be prepared," Gildarts said as the two began walking.
"So what was your job anyway you only gave me a glance at that piece of paper?"
"Hmm oh well it's an S Class job, basically it's a request to clear out at least six Dark Guilds from the town. Now normally if a Dark Guild popped up regular mages with an S Class mage would turn up and deal with it or the Magic Council would send in the Rune Knights. With Saiten however there is an unknown amount of Dark Guilds that are operating within the city so no one really wants to get involved."
"So I'm guessing you picked it because you want a challenge right?"
"Well yes and no, gotta do your part to make Fiore a little safer you know but I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for a challenge. By the way we don't have to stop at six Dark Guilds we get paid for every Guild individually I'm just setting six as the minimum."
"Then why not wipe out the whole town then," Natsu asked as the man laughed.
"I like your style kid but if that was an option the Council would have done it ages ago. Problem is that there are certain guilds there that seem to disappear when trouble starts so they usually miss attacks like that and just spring back up in a week or two."
"What's up with all these Dark Guilds anyway, what are they after?"
"Well it really depends some worship the Black Wizard Zeref, some support the use of forbidden magic like necromancy and others just use the title of Dark Wizard to justify mass killings, slavery and other atrocities. To put it simply most Dark Wizards are the scum of human society."
"You said some what about the others?"
"Well there are some who are made Dark Wizards because they got on the Council's bad side, because they have nothing and see no alternative or are taken from their families as children and turned into one. You can usually tell the ones who don't want to be there from the ones that do but you can't show them any mercy or they could use it against you."
"Wow these Dark Guilds really sound like a problem, I'm surprised they can get by being so disorganized."
"Yeah you see up until recently that was the case but a few years back the three biggest Dark Guilds got together and created this thing called the Bharam Alliance. Basically the three top guilds control all these lesser guilds and use them to meet their own ends."
"Do you think one of the big three guilds could be in Saiten?"
"That's highly unlikely for two of them and impossible for the third. The Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart have other places they usually operate out of and only send one representative to Saiten if it's necessary. The third group though Tartaros are a guild of Demons, that lot hate humans and live in a floating cube only emerging to kill or kidnap in the name of their creator Zeref."
"Wow this country sounds like it's in a lot of trouble, if this alliance wanted to it sounds like they could just rampage across the land and be largely unopposed."
"Well they would get away with it for a time but then the Wizard Saints would step in and I doubt many of them would stand a chance if they all joined forces."
Natsu groaned as Gildarts continued to throw more and more information on him until he asked the inevitable question.
"Are we there yet?"
/Saiten/
After spending most of the day walking the sun had finally set as the two waited patiently on the outskirts of town.
"Night is the best time to attack, they may be Dark Mages but even they let their guard down at night. So kid, are you ready?"
"So once the fighting starts am I free to take out anyone that even looks like they're gonna try and fight?"
"Yeah also because this is a chaotic job if you don't have a problem with killing then your free to do so, as it stands the Council would have executed them anyway so they don't really care what happens to them as long as we essentially cause a lot of damage."
"Alright then, so what are you gonna do?"
"Hmm well someone has to kick things off," Gildarts said as he raised his arm and opened his hand.
"Wait hold up a sec what are you-."
Within moments a large burst of magic began to tear up everything in its path turning it into little cubes, the attack began to quickly travel into the city and began slicing through buildings.
"Told you to be ready kid," Gildarts said with a mischievous grin as he began sprinting towards the town.
Natsu looked at the man in shock before a small grin appeared on his face. "Man that guy's pretty cool," he said as he began to sprint into the town.
When the two arrived there were mages everywhere and as soon as they spotted the two began to attack.
"Hey it's those bastards from yesterday!"
"You'll pay for messin up our town!"
Natsu and Gildarts split up and began to engage the mages.
"You'll regret coming back here you little brat!"
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Surrounding his arms in flame Natsu hit both the mage that threatened him and all the others surrounding him.
"Listen pal you've got no idea what you've gotten yourselves into," Natsu said as he made several copies of himself using Illusion magic.
As more Dark Mages arrived Natsu decided to fall back and made his way onto a main street as the Dark Mages began to charge up the road towards him.
"Fools, Fire Dragon King's Roar!" Releasing and enormous breath attack that was larger than the street the many mages that hadn't been able to dodge the attack in time began to cry out as Natsu dashed past them.
"You think your something special huh kid?"
"A few impressive attacks and he's got the sheep running scared, how pathetic!"
"You two sit back I'll have this brat broken in no time."
Many of the mages who didn't run quickly got out of the way as three Dark Mages made their way up the street.
"It's the Arden Squad," one of the mages cried out as he began to run only to be zapped by a bolt of blue lightning.
"Now now boys no one said you could all just leave, stay and enjoy the show," a woman with long green hair said.
"Rixley's right kids you all stay put so we can show you how a real Dark Mage does things," a large bulky man who had literally no hair whatsoever.
"That was quite an impressive attack you might be slightly better than these morons so I suppose we should introduce ourselves. I'm Yano leader of the Arden Squad, the hot little number over there is Rixley and that guy's Dorn."
"Yano I thought we talked about you referring to me that way," Rixley said with a frown.
"Sorry sometimes I forget things I'm sure you can forgive me."
"Buy me a drink after and I'll think about it."
"Can you two stop foolin around the brat will start laughing at us," Dorn shouted as he cracked his knuckles.
"Of course Dorn my mistake, so kid who are you?"
"Natsu Vermillion and if you wanna throw down you'd better make it quick I don't have all night."
"Cocky little kid isn't he," Rixley said as Dorn began to laugh.
"Let's crack him open," the large man shouted as he took off from where he was standing tearing up the ground beneath him.
"Such a shame you won't get the first strike Dorn after all lightning can suddenly strike unexpectedly!"
As Dorn came closer and Natsu sensed the lightning bolt edging closer from the sky he dodged at the last moment as both attacks missed.
As Natsu dodged the attack Yano was behind him, "Bio Barrage!"
The man's fists were covered in a green and purple substance and Natsu knew instinctively to avoid being hit by them at all costs.
Quickly gaining some distance Rixley began to attack Natsu with a barrage of lightning bolts.
'Well these guys aren't playing around,' Natsu thought as he began to engage Dorn again.
"Think you can handle my Enhancement magic kid!"
"Dunno you haven't really done anything impressive yet," Natsu said as Dorn scowled.
"My magic doesn't have any outward effects kid but I can enhance my own abilities, for example!" Dorn threw a punch at the ground which caused the ground to begin shaking violently, tearing up the ground all around the impact.
'That could be dangerous if I get hit by it, still he shouldn't be too much of a problem by himself. Though I should really get rid of the poison guy first though argh too many decisions!'
As Yano quickly took over from where Dorn left off Natsu began to get annoyed.
"What's the matter things getting a little too tense for you," Yano teased.
"That's it, Fire Dragon King's Iron Fist!" Punching Yano in the face and sending him flying through several buildings Natsu began to go on the counter offensive.
"The little bastard has some fight in him after all eh, looks like I don't have to hold back," Dorn said as he put his full power behind his punches.
Natsu who was beginning to get tired of the fight opted to settle things quickly. "Fire Dragon's Talon!"
Smacking Dorn across the face and sending him hurling into a nearby building he quickly followed up with another Iron Fist to the head rendering the man unconscious."
Dorn," Yano shouted as he emerged from the rubble.
"Oh you're still kicking huh, Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Swiftly blasting Yano with a breath attack the man laid on the ground burning as Rixley stared at him in shock.
"What not gonna keep talking crap, not gonna avenge your little buddies?"
"I-I'm sorry please don't hu-."
Before Rixley managed to finish the sentence Natsu had punched her in the gut and sent her flying into the third story of a nearby building causing the roof to cave in on top of her.
"You Dark Mages aren't much," Natsu said as he dusted himself off. "You wouldn't have done the same for anyone else."
Taking off towards nearby explosions which he assumed were caused by Gildarts Natsu could only sigh. Fighting Dark Mages wasn't a fun task at all.
/Saiten Brandish's POV/
Brandish stood at the end of a street full of bodies, her hands covered in blood and a small smile on her face.
'This job isn't going to be so bad after all; Natsu sure knows how to party! Still I shouldn't lose track of him so I'd better get moving.'
As she made her way through the chaotic city she caught a glimpse of the man Natsu was with and she was to say the very least impressed with his display of power.
Gildarts was fighting countless mages and easily overwhelming them as he send waves of Crash magic out shattering their weapons and attacks then easily dispatching them with regular attacks.
"Even with a guy like that around keeping the Dark Mages away from Natsu will only be a difficult task, then again I'm just grateful for some action," Brandish sighed as several Dark Mages began to surround her. "Well looks like I have more work to do."
/Natsu's POV/
After fighting his way back to the Crash mage Natsu could only sigh. "Do you think we've done enough damage yet?"
Gildarts threw a mage at Natsu who punched him in the back sending him flying into another group of enemies as he began to speak. "Heard you took out a few of the tougher ones nice job but yeah we can leave anytime you're ready!"
"Yeah this is starting to get old real quick," Natsu sighed as Gildarts nodded.
"Well then let's get going!"
After an hour of fighting the two finally managed to lose the rest of their pursuers as they left Saiten behind.
"Gotta say Natsu you didn't do half bad back there, you kept your head and did more than just hold your own."
"Well you tore things up pretty good yourself, so where to now?"
"Well first I need to let the master know we completed the job then we keep heading North, hopefully we can make it to the border within a few days."
Natsu sighed as he began to stretch, "well let's get this over with then."
Gildarts nodded as he pulled out the lacrima crystal from his pocket; tossing it into the air he put some magic in it. "Now it should make its way to the old man within the day, so you ready to head out?"
Natsu nodded as the two began to make their way towards the border.
/Several Days Later/
"It's been raining nonstop are you kidding me," Natsu sighed.
"It's only gonna get worse from here kid, the higher we go the crazier the weather gets. By the way we managed to get across Fiore rather quickly but Raaesh is almost 10x the size of Fiore, the only reason it's like that is because no one in their right mind would want to live in the region so no other countries really want anything to do with the area."
"Well the old man said we'd be gone for a long time so I guess that makes sense still I hope it doesn't just rain all the time."
"You think this is bad the last time I was here it went from thunderstorms to blizzards, was sick for over a week after that."
"Well that sounds like fun though I've never been sick so it'd be interesting either way. How long until we're across the border?"
"Can't you see we're already halfway across, see the gap in the rain up ahead?"
Natsu looked ahead and noticed that there was a gap of 10 metres that was completely dry.
"Care to explain how that works," Natsu asked as Gildarts began to laugh.
"As if I have any idea what the hell's going on up there in the clouds, my guess is this is the result of magic that either backfired or all this strange weather is the result of some ancient battle that caused damage to the balance of nature around here. I mean really your guess could be as good as mine."
"Well if you can't explain that then explain this to me, when we enter Raaesh and the weather starts going as crazy as you say what are we supposed to do to prevent us dying? I mean snow and rain isn't so bad but when it intensifies into blizzards and thunderstorms what then?"
"Well if you don't know what to do under the circumstances then I'll just have to show ya. For now though we stop here in the gap and rest since it's probably the only reprieve we'll get for a while, make us a fire kid."
"Well you got anything like wood on you to sustain it or are you just expecting me to stand there and sustain the thing?"
"Of course I don't have anything why would I you're the fire expert here!"
The two began to butt heads before bursting out laughing. "You know you're pretty cool, for an old geezer."
"Yeah and you aren't that bad for a little brat, and just so you know I'm not that old yet."
The two laughed as Natsu generated a small fire near the two. "It won't last long so you'd better make the most of it," Natsu said as he began to sniff the air.
"What's up kid," Gildarts asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"I can smell someone, its faint but I can smell them, is it usual for people to cross the Raaesh border?"
"Definitely not, you've got a pretty good nose there Natsu. You got any idea where they are?"
"Hmm I'd say they are over that way, should we check it out?"
Gildarts nodded as the two began to make their way in the direction Natsu pointed.
/Brandish's POV/
"This is absolutely ridiculous, it's been days how the hell can these two stand this weather its god damn freezing," Brandish said as she shivered.
After following Natsu for days Brandish had come to the conclusion that he was utterly mad, surviving such a harsh climate would be a task no one would willingly undertake.
As she went to look over at the pair her vision began to grow hazy and she stumbled back slightly.
"Wha- I don't understand why I feel-." Brandish collapsed in the dirt as her vision faded to black.
"Well it seems to be this girl's lucky day huh Natsu," Gildarts said as the two arrived to find her unconscious body several minutes later.
"I wonder how long she's been here for, she's still breathing but she looks really pale."
"Come on let's get her to that dry zone over there," Gildarts said as he picked her up and the two made their way back to the fireball Natsu had made earlier.
"What do we do now," Natsu asked as they set her down next to the fire.
"Well she looks sick so the best thing we can do is look after her until she wakes up I guess."
"Yeah it's not like we can just leave her she looks as young as me there's no way she'd survive on her own."
"Well we won't know anything until she wakes up so for now let's just try to get some rest, we'll take it in turns to keep watch and look after the girl."
Natsu nodded as he laid back and closed his eyes, "wake me when it's time to switch."
Unbeknownst to the two Brandish had somewhat regained consciousness when Gildarts picked her up earlier and was feigning her supposed unconsciousness.
'Well this is bad I wasn't supposed to come into contact with Natsu, not even a week into the assignment and I've already screwed up this bad! Then again Lord Zeref never specified what to do if a situation like this occurred so maybe I could use this to my advantage, tomorrow I could speak to them and try to join whatever little adventure they are on so that it makes my job much easier. Being closer or even friends with Natsu could make things much easier for me in the long run.'
Eventually Brandish slowly drifted off to sleep as she thought of excuses to tell the two as to why she was there.
/Natsu's POV/
'Such a gloomy place,' Natsu thought as he gazed out into the distance. The storm surrounding the area not ceasing in the slightest, the occasional strike of lightning being the only form of entertainment.
Looking down at the mystery woman Natsu slightly raised the temperature of the flame he'd placed next to her as she began to sigh.
"So you were cold huh, not a very smart thing running around in this mess on your own now was it?"
Noticing the slight change in her breathing he smiled slightly as she sighed again.
"How long did you know I was awake?"
"Hmm well when I first placed the flame near you your breathing changed so I had my suspicions. So care to tell me how you ended up face down in the mud?"
The woman sighed as she opened her eyes and sat up to face Natsu. "Argh my head's killing me."
"Yeah you're pretty sick so we've been looking after you," Natsu replied as she nodded slowly.
"Well to answer your question it was more out of desperation see I'm a mage and a pretty good one at that. I was there in Saiten when you and your friend over there charged in and tore the place up."
"Why were you there, you aren't one of those Dark Mages are you?"
"No actually it's quite the opposite, see I was travelling and as I slept I was jumped by one of the Dark Guilds and taken prisoner. To be honest if they hadn't kept me secured behind magic seals I would have broken my way out."
"Sounds like you had it pretty rough back there but why'd you follow us?"
"Well to tell you the truth I don't really know myself, did I follow because I wanted to thank you or because I wanted to join you I'm not too sure."
"Join us," Natsu said as he raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to join us you don't know where we're going or even who we are?"
"You've got a point but my gut tells me that you two are good people and my guts never usually wrong on these things."
"Heh that makes two of us I've learnt to rely on my gut instincts and they haven't served me wrong yet."
"So can I come with the two of you wherever that may be?"
Natsu looked at the woman closely before sighing. "Well I don't see why not but you should run it by him, by the way what's your name?"
"Oh sorry I forgot its Brandish," she said as Natsu nodded.
"I'm Natsu and he's," Natsu said as he threw a nearby rock at the man opposite him.
"Ow what the hell was that for!"
"Gildarts," Natsu said as the Crash mage looked over at Brandish.
"Oh you're awake now I get it, how are you doing?"
"I'm ok thanks," Brandish said as Natsu spoke up.
"Oi Gildarts she wants to come with us what do you think?"
"Really why's that," he asked with an amused look.
"Her gut sais we're good people, I'm fine with it if you are?"
Gildarts looked at Brandish as she shifted slightly, "what's your name kid?"
"My name is Brandish nice to meet you," she said as Gildarts nodded.
"You can come if you want but let me ask you this, can you fight? Well I guess the better question is, are you a mage?"
"I can show you, pass me that rock," she said as Gildarts tossed her the small rock. Placing the rock on the ground in front of her she placed her hand in front of it, Command T: Expansion!"
The rock began to grow in size until it was as big as a boulder leaving both Natsu and Gildarts impressed.
"So I'm guessing that you can reduce the size of objects too," Gildarts said as Brandish smiled.
"Not just objects I can manipulate the size of any and all matter in the world, well at least everything I've come across so far. I can even manipulate the size of myself or even the two of you though I'm still working on other people so don't ask me to do it anytime soon."
"Wait so if I did a ranged attack you could expand the size of it," Natsu asked as she nodded.
"If it physically exists then I should be able to expand or contract it."
"Wow that's quite the ability you could become a powerful mage someday," Gildarts said.
'If only they knew what I was capable of,' she thought. "It's not the most impressive thing around I'm sure there are plenty of better mages around."
"Well regardless if you want to join our little expedition then that's fine by me so welcome aboard, now who's keen for more travelling?"
Brandish and Natsu looked at Gildarts who had a smug grin on his face, "wait are you sure that's a good idea Gildarts," Natsu said as he nodded.
"Yeah I'm all rested and you two had your sleep so we should be right to move out, what you two weren't hoping for the rain to stop were you?"
The two teens looked at each other and sighed, it was going to be a long day.
And that is Chapter 2 hopefully you all enjoyed it and I'll see you in the next one!