Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.

I do own the idea for the fic though.

A change of scene.

(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)

Prologue

Blackened.

Destiny holds no clear pattern for someone whose path branches off into many directions. As cue to this, nothing in someone's destiny is certain. All can be possible. For the many branches can and will take you to the brightest of ways, or to the deepest and darkest corners of life itself.

Meet the Gods, meet the Devils.

Face the wicked, oppose the righteous.

Your path is settled, you walk it.

Be grateful, not for this, but for being alive.

Because no matter what is the path destiny lies before you, you always have the option to choose what you want for you.

The greatest glory or the most humiliating end.

And the world continues to spin.

But it all begins…

…with a single step forward.

Though, our story does not begin with this small preach about the workings of the universe and its mysteries, no.

It begins in the wild sea of the east, in an island remembered by few, avoided by many, and left to be watched by the omnipresent God, who also left it out of its' sight. In this place, without nature, dominated by rocks and dirt, stands a mighty structure leading to the clouds and sky. Defying every deity and natural elevation with its presence planned by the wicked of humans that subdued their own to build it.

A place made for a single purpose.

A place of madness and suffering.

In the top floor, the peak of the structure, where only a few are allowed to remain, stands a young boy witnessing something amusing in his opinion.

How could it be?

This brat arrived just today and was adamant in destroying the unnatural tower because he heard it was evil.

"Oh?" Gerard asked darkly, watching amusedly at the brat crawling on the floor to grab his leg by the ankle and try to squish it into oblivion. He felt like laughing. A year passed since he got rid of the bigger threat to the plan he has been personally charged to fulfill and now this pink-haired brat appears out of nowhere to defy him, sprouting flames from his body like no one has ever done and claiming to be the one to clear that place from darkness.

He knew who was the one to tell him those filthy lies, it was Simon, who else? But, he couldn't blame the guy… nor this kid, not everyone was ready to witness a world exclusively for mages when they have been accustomed to see normal people for centuries. He couldn't blame the kid, that's why he would forgive him.

And make sure to use his strange abilities for the cause.

But… for starters.

"What's your name kid?" The blue haired boy asked with a small smile, the smile widening when the boy's eyes widened in surprised and the hold on his ankle dropped to a minimum. Wasn't the guy supposed to be a bad person? "I want to know your name."

"M-my name's… Natsu…" The boy muttered weakly, dropping his face to the ground, too tired to do anything else. Gerard smirked, signaling his cloaked-guards to take the boy away, but not before giving special instructions to them.

"Take care of his wounds, feed him and send him to a good bed… this one is special to me." He said, receiving a nod from the jailers as they walked away with the boy on their shoulders. Consciously taking care of the kid while the azure-haired boy sat on his throne with a wide smirk; everything was just working too great for him, it was almost impossible.

"Zeref, you really want me to succeed, don't you?"

A year later…

"Come on, Natsu, we really need to work on this…" The azure-haired boy tried to convince his new friend, earning a pout and a shake of head as an answer. He liked the boy, enough to not pummel him to the ground for saying 'no' to him, and he was eager to know the extents of the boy's magic, even if only the oldest and wisest of sages could be the ones to tell. "If we finish early, we'll go to eat something after the training is over!"

"Uh? Really?!" Gerard nodded and that was all Natsu needed to jump back on his feet, drool escaping from his mouth at the prospect of eating something after the hard training session. "Can we eat flamed meat?"

"Of course! Why not?" The blue-haired boy said with a smile. This kid was just so easy to manipulate.

"Then let's go! Let's end this and go to eat already!"

Gerard chuckled at the eagerness of the pink-haired, readying his stance before letting Natsu know that he was ready to fight him. It was good to have him here, some smiles and unpredictability to his surroundings, just what he needed after a hard day of convincing the workers to keep on with the construction of the tower.

"Yeah! I'm all fired-up!"

Dodging some fists that came from predictable directions, Gerard mused about what they were going to do next, jumping back to avoid a kick to his midsection. He lunged and grinned when his fist connected with the boy's cheek, maybe Natsu was ready to start learning something more than fighting, like some other kinds of magic or general knowledge.

Who knows when he might need them to get out of a difficult situation; Gerard needed him to be able to counter anything and everything, so more training was required in order to make the Dragon Slayer an even better agent than what Ultear is or have him close to her capabilities.

"Hey!" Natsu got up from the ground and jumped up high, spinning in the air to land two kicks on the azure-hair's arms that were raised to block the strike. The pink-haired groaned at the new block, having received the same result in his previous fights against his friend. "It's not fair! I can't win like this!"

"Use your head, Natsu," Gerard recommended, grabbing the leg of the second kick to swing his friend hard against the ground. "You know how to fight and defeat opponents too strong for you; call for that knowledge."

"A-alright…" The Dragon Slayer weakly got up from the ground with the help of his hands, twisting to rest on his butt and analyze the situation. He knew the azure-haired was better than him, more focused, stronger and faster… so that led to only one solution. Natsu smirked when an idea came to his mind. "…you'll regret this!"

"Big words," Gerard could feel the small change in the pink-hair's aura; there was something giving him the determination needed to face him and win, or have a small victory at least. He motioned the boy to attack him, smiling confidently to mock the boy. "Show me what gives you that courage!"

"Here I come!" Natsu lunged again, this time igniting his arms and legs with the flames he was so proud of having, swinging a left hook that was blocked easily before fueling his right leg with more fire. Gerard was mildly surprised when he had to use his own magic to move away from the fire kick that would have sent him straight through the roof. The boy was starting to grasp his advice and use his magic better, smarter and with purpose.

No more mindless kicks and punches.

No more one-sided fights or spars.

He was rising to Gerard's expectations.

They stood facing each other, confident smiles on their faces, knowing the fight was going to be harder and far more challenging from now on.

"Seems you do listen to what I say." Gerard taunted him, chuckling lightly at seeing his friend flinch for being reminded of his late learning. Waving the situation away, he met eyes with the boy again, smirking with his amusement still present. "Do you still want to go and eat?"

"Of course I want to!" Natsu clashed his fist on his open palm, shrugging away his embarrassment to replace it with complete confidence in his victory. He now knew how to beat his teacher. "But I'll kick your ass first!"

Not needing more than that; they both dashed and struck each other, red and gold overlapping one another as they continue to test their limits and overcome them.

Another fight ensued and it almost broke the foundations of the tower.

3 years later…

Time passed as the occupants of the tower continued with their usual schedules. The twisted building was now looking slightly better than what it was the day the Dragon Slayer arrived, and that was something Gerard was proud of, the pink-haired was a true asset in keeping the laborers doing the heavy work.

Keeping watch over them, discovering escape intents before they ever happen, and cheering them up when they were slacking.

The last was something it always gave a laugh to the leader of the place and his guards.

If only the boy knew the truth lying behind the halls, tunnels and corners of that tower.

He was glad Natsu never questioned why people wanted to escape.

Otherwise, Gerard would have disposed of him a long time ago.

"What happened?" The azure-haired man asked with a small understanding smile, looking at his most loyal servant and friend kneeling before him with clenched fists, his clothes tattered and dirty with mud. He could imagine the pink-haired clenching his teeth too at what happened and he failed to avoid. "Come on, Natsu, you can tell me…"

"Some workers escaped, Gerard… they escaped and I couldn't do shit about it!" The pink-haired engulfed his fists in flames and pounded them hardly against the floor repeatedly, disappointed of himself, scaring the cloaked-guards behind him and making Gerard's smile widen. The azure-haired boy stood up from his throne, walking calmly towards Natsu, ignoring the small shaking on the floor to gently lay a hand on the boy's shoulder to stop him completely.

"Natsu, don't worry, they won't get far… and besides, we have many more to continue with the construction…" The Dragon Slayer looked up in surprise, not believing the matter to be dropped so lightly, but seeing his friend's reassuring smile and words eased any felling of disappointment in him. "We can always get more people to work here, right?"

He never asked how those people came to work there.

"R-right! You're right, Gerard!" Natsu yelled enthusiastically while standing up in less than a second, his eyes shining again and his smile coming back to him, much to his friend's relief. The boy wouldn't be of any use if he fell down at every twist against him. He would have to teach him to be more ruthless and mind focused. "We can always get more people to work here!"

He never wondered how they were brought to that place…

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can let them escape, right?" Gerard reminded him, his hand still on the pink-haired boy's shoulder; Natsu nodded repeatedly with a small mischievous grin.

..what happens to those trying to escape…

"Of course we can't!" Patting the boy on the back, Gerard dismissed him and watched him leave the room, waiting a few minutes until he was sure Natsu was out of ears reach before moving his anger-filled eyes to glare at his guards.

…or those failing to do their duties.

"You fools! This happened because of you and your weak wills!" The azure-haired yelled to the guards in the room, pressuring them to the ground with his magic before softening it up. "I don't blame Natsu for what happened; I blame you and your poor skills to even prevent a few prisoners from escaping!" His eyes narrowed, but his rage was still brimming from them. "Now, go to your posts and watch closely! I won't be as forgiving as today next time!"

"H-hai! Gerard-sama!" And as they were retreating, a female figure appeared from the dark, making the blue-haired boy smile before turning his head to see a girl standing next to his throne.

"Ultear, where were you?" The girl chuckled, playing with a small orb in her hand before addressing her supposed boss.

"I was taking care of a small guild that was defying our way to the definite magic world, nothing else." Gerard nodded with a bigger smile and went to sit on his throne.

"That's perfect! Less threats against our great end!" He said with a wicked grin.

"Oh, but the biggest threat lingers close, never heard of that?" Ultear looked at him through the corner of her eyes, seeing the boy frown at her words and their meaning.

"Natsu is not a threat! He is my friend! My first real friend after Zeref told me of my destiny!" He bellowed with strong words. Those inside the Tower, the ones following him since he took over, were not his friends at all. He can see it, he can feel it, they were wary of him and his new goal. None treated him like before, none, except the Dragon Slayer he met a year after his rising as the head of that building. "I won't doubt him, not even one second!"

"I'm just telling you to keep an eye on him," Ultear pushed the matter, still not convinced about Natsu's loyalty to their cause. He was too unpredictable and innocent to be trusted. If he happens to learn about their real plans for the tower, she was sure he was going to be the first to try and stop them. "You don't know what the future might bring to stop our great goal."

"Hmmm." Gerard grunted in reply, thinking over her words but quickly disregarding them. Natsu never showed a hint of being against his idea of a pure magical world, at least, not after he told him about how that will bring Igneel back. He smirked to Ultear, the girl catching his line of thinking. "Don't worry; he's under control anyway…"

"If you say so…" The girl said with a small shrug, not fully believing his words, starting to walk away before stopping on her feet to look up in thinking. Gerard knew she had something more important to say; she always loved to build some expectation and curiosity for whatever she 'forgot' to say.

He sighed at her antics.

"Why are you here, Ultear?" That seemed to light a bulb over her head, as always, she turned around quickly with a big smirk and made her orb float in front of Gerard, the crystal showing images of a great white building on top of a slope, surrounded by a small town. On the insides of such a place were seven figures discussing matters of great importance to the magic community.

"How do you feel about wearing the council's uniform?" Gerard quirked an eyebrow at that, thinking about what she was implying before smirking.

"White is not my color…" Both of them laughed darkly at the joke, the sound echoing through the whole tower.

3 years later…

In a big white building of ancient structure, with blue rooftops and an ample courtyard, a small orb rustled from here and there before cracking… and going back to normal to continue with its rustling around the large room where nine sages were gathered and some of them were sitting comfortably on their chairs with a big round table in the middle separating them.

"Ultear, stop playing, can't you see we're in a meeting?" A man of young age asked to the woman now coming to rest on an empty seat; the woman being of pale skin, dark-purple eyes and dark-purple hair, dressing with a long white sleeveless dress that was tied on the waist to accentuate her developed and voluptuous body.

"But I'm bored, aren't you two? Siegrain-sama? Luminer-sama?" The woman asked, sitting on her chair with a small apologetic smile, looking at the other two in the room that were close to her age range.

Siegrain smirked, nodding to her words. "Yeah, you're right, I hope someone causes a mess soon…"

"Watch your words!" Some of the older members of that council said, frowning at the younglings' words. "Why cannot you be like Luminer-san? He doesn't act or talk as recklessly as you two!"

"That's because I would like to get my boredom out by fighting someone, not by wishing to the stars… you old fart…" The other youngster in the room mumbled, earning growls from the older members and laughs from his young companions.

A stern voice cut them short.

"Silence, you three!" Everyone quieted down, hearing the leader of that council hitting his cane on the floor. "The magic world has enough problems already, especially with those fools from Fairy Tail! We don't need that in this place!"

Several nodded to the head's words, hearing the wisdom in them. Earthland had many problems to deal with, to be watching over a specific guild was not something they could add to their daily schedules, even if, unofficially, it was already an everyday matter for the sages.

But then again, the youngsters had other plans.

"Still… why cannot I go and pummel some sense into those idiots? I bet it will work better than a note telling them not to act so rashly…" Luminer proposed; his pink-hair obscuring his eyes as he moved his right arm to light a small flame around his fist, a small grin showing itself to everyone as he chuckled with Ultear and Siegrain following his lead and nodding to his words.

"He's right, you know?" The purple-haired woman pointed out after a few moments of uncomfortable silence passed, winking in the other youngsters' direction. "Why don't we go and show them why they must respect us?"

"Why?" One of the members repeated in disbelief, glaring at the grinning teenagers. "I'll tell you why! They destroyed half a port!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if a whole city comes next!" Another member was terrified of the Fairies' strength too.

"Don't jinx it, I've got the feeling they can do just that…" Siegrain said with faked fear, snickering together with his two friends. The others glared at them, but then, Luminer sighed and tried to calm himself to address the rest of the council and the matter that gathered them all there.

"Anyway, I told the government that they did it for the sake of capturing the criminal Bora." The others lowered their glares for a moment, listening to the news and shaking their heads at the lack of punishment to Fairy Tail from them.

The head of the council sighed. "Oh, great… that'll give those idiots more way to do as they please…"

"Well, I like those idiots, you know?" The azure-haired man said nonchalantly with his arms supporting his head and his face sporting a wide smile that tempted Ultear and Luminer to laugh.

"Shut up, you…!" Another member yelled.

"It is true that they are idiots, but they know very strong magic…" Another member, with a cane and noticeable moustache, muttered.

"That's why we're at a disadvantage…" Two others said in unison.

"Exactly, and that makes it a delicate problem…" An old woman said.

"Just let them be," Luminer said to the shocked faces of everyone, his hand rising again with flames around it. "If they break any serious rules, I'll go and scorch their guild to the ground…"

Siegrain and Ultear nodded with smiles on their faces, on the contrary to the frowning faces of the other council members.

"Just so you know…" The young woman started, her smile growing. "If we didn't have idiots like them, the world wouldn't be as fun…"

"In that, you're right, Ultear-san." The pink-haired youngster remarked, dropping his hand to his chair's armrest, smirking ever so lightly. "It could be a good excuse to test my strength against some of their members… like Gildartz, Mystogan, Laxus, Ryota! Hell! I would be willing to fight that 'Titania' they are so proud of!"

"Oh? You should watch your words, Luminer. Titania is a strong mage, you know?" Siegrain said with a small chuckle, watching amusedly how Luminer's smirk dropped to the ground. "I heard rumors saying she might take your seat one of these days…"

"Yeah, I heard that too…" Ultear added to the conversation. "But I heard it from some people in this room…"

Several looked away at that statement with troubled faces, to what Luminer growled in anger and disbelief.

"What?!" He yelled while standing up from his seat roughly, startling everyone but his two friends, who were containing their laughs. "She? My seat? Like hell! I'll go and show her why I'm in this position!"

And he moved to leave the room, to everyone's shock.

"Luminer! Come and sit now! No one doubts your skills!" The head of the council yelled while standing up too, his cane hitting the ground strongly to cause a small shaking. The pink-haired stopped just in front of the doors, his eyes shadowed before he turned to glare at the head of the council. His onyx eyes burning deep into the souls of those around and watching him.

"Sorry, old man, but I can't let a challenge go like nothing…" And after that, he opened the door and left… much to everyone's surprise and relief. God knows they don't want Luminer's magic breaking free inside that room. But then, Siegrain and Ultear couldn't contain themselves any longer and they let their laughs out, making the others look at them with angry and surprised faces.

"What's wrong with you two?"

Ultear waved a hand in front of her, dismissing the topic as nothing before falling to the floor in laughter, Siegrain moving in to answer for her, hardly containing his own laugh.

"Nothing, we just thought how much you complain about collateral damage, and how you let the most destructive mage in the world get out to do as he pleases!" And he dropped to the ground to join the woman in laughter, winking at her for a mere second before continuing with his laughter. The council members exchanged gazes with troubled faces… until the head of them sighed and ordered for a unit of Rune Knights to follow Luminer and watch his moves closely.

"Youngsters…" He sighed out together with the other old council members, rubbing his temple tiredly before coming to think of how to explain to Fairy Tail the injuries done to one of its mages and the people about the damage caused.

Why did he have to be the head of the council just now?

Two days later…

Destiny is a funny issue to discuss.

You think you have it understood.

You believe to know its workings.

But you see yourself wrong at every turn it makes.

As I said, destiny does not hold a clear pattern for someone's path.

It has many branches.

One only needs to make a decision, take a step…

…and see what is to become of its future.

In a faraway town…

"Are you the one from Fairy Tail? Erza Scarlet, right?" One of the townsfolk asked nervously, the others around him shaking in fear as him, making the scarlet haired sorcerer quirk an eyebrow in confusion before replying.

"Yes, I am, is this the town having troubles with a pack of wild wolves?" One of the shaking townsfolk was going to answer her but another voice cut him short.

"Yes, they were having troubles… but I got here first!" Realizing that the sun wasn't hitting her face any longer, Erza looked up and saw a square shaped object falling in her direction. She jumped back and covered her face in case it was an attack. But then, nothing happened, and looking closely and carefully, what fell in her previous position wasn't an attack nor a person… it was a well-tied pack of furs… a dozen furs to be exact.

"What's the meaning of this?" She asked the still shaking people, seeing the nervous and troubled looks shot in between them before one of them gave a step forward, bowing in front of the Titania to later move aside with an apologetic face. The scarlet-haired knight was going to lose the last of her patience. No one was answering her questions and the voice that she heard before didn't let itself be known… until a great fire erupted from the back of the group of townsfolk gathered on the middle of the street, making them move to the sides to let the tower of fire advance towards the Titania.

"Looking for something?" She heard a voice inside the fire that seemed like a male's one, and squinting her eyes, she could discern the form of a tall man in between the red-orange flames.

The temperature's rise was starting to make her feel uncomfortable in her armor, the magic pressure made her stood still on her feet, and the flames –strong as the sun's light- made her eyes narrow to take a better look on the one walking close to her… the figure, even if closer by the second, still wasn't discernible enough for her to tell who it was because of those damn flames surrounding it!

Something clicked in her mind.

There was only one mage in Fiore… in the magic world that was able to walk through fire without being harmed…!

And that one was…!

"You…!" She yelled in obvious surprise, not believing she would meet him there and him out of everyone.

The figure stopped a few meters in front of her, the flames disappearing to let the Titania see the one she wasn't expecting to face that day.

A grinning man of spiky and short pink hair and elegant yet simple robes, consisting of a black, long tunic, with gold stripes across the edges and on the upper part of the arms, a decorated collar and large straps connected to decorated buckles that were untied to let the inside white shirt with the black ankh be seen, and matching pants and shoes. A long scaly scarf encircling his neck and adding a sophisticated look to his image.

She swallowed the lump in her throat with what saliva survived the high temperatures, saying the name of the guy standing in front of her while taking a few steps back in astonishment.

He, who was one of the youngest of mages to ever be in the Magic Council,

He, who was said to be able to defeat five guilds by himself,

He, who was able to command the flames as he wills,

The pink-haired council member that was feared all-over Fiore and no one dared to challenge. Erza widened her eyes when her thoughts were confirmed, looking up and down at the man standing in front of her and his face, still finding it hard to believe that he was actually standing right there and then. "L-luminer Dragneel!"

"That's right!" He said with his grin still in place, his arms crossed before he changed to a fighting position. He was prepared to fight with all his strength, a serious look overtaking him to make a point and force Titania to be ready herself too by summoning a sword out of reflexes alone.

"Luminer Dragneel! At your service, Erza Scarlet!"

In the Magic Council at Era.

"Ultear." Siegrain called while entering his partner's room, watching around the empty place to find the one that could show him the battle between his friend and the traitor, eyeing in between the desk near the window and the libraries at the side before shaking his head in embarrassment.

"There you are." He walked closer to the desk and by crossing through an invisible wall of runes he found what he was looking for. "You should sit like a lady, you know?"

"I know that, killjoy…" Ultear muttered playfully before strengthening her revealing position on the chair to lay her orb on top of the table, using her magic to make the sphere grow larger and allow her blue-haired co-conspirator and herself to watch the upcoming fight without any more interruptions. "Any bets?"

Siegrain quirked an eyebrow at the question; was there a point to this? "Oh? I'll bet for…"

"No obvious bets allowed, sorry." Ultear said shaking her head, a grin showing itself when she saw Siegrain frowning at her comment. He should have foreseen she was looking to make fun of him, again. "Oh please; you know Natsu's going to win, so why bother with bets?"

"Who said I was betting for Natsu?" He revealed with a smile, knowing how to exact revenge for the early prank.

The purple-haired beauty quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

"I thought you were looking forward to see the fruits of the training you gave him," Ultear questioned with some curiosity. Most of the time, she didn't know what was going on through the man's head. "Wanting his victory is only natural, you know? You don't need to cover your expectations from me."

"As a friend, I want him to win, yes, but I also want him to grow stronger…" He began to explain, closing his eyes to run again the process of thoughts that led him to that conclusion. "And believe me, Scarlet will be a good challenge for him."

"So you want to test his current strength and see if he's still of use to our plan," She groaned when Siegrain shook his head with a smile. "Then?"

He opened his eyes, mirth shining in expectation. "This fight will show us if his training is over or if he needs to work even more."

"Isn't that the same?" Her lips twitched in annoyance when he gave an uncaring shrug. Oh, he was enjoying this little runaround he was giving her. "Who will win in the end?"

"I don't know. The odds are sixty-forty in Titania's favor in my mind, but with Natsu, anything can happen…" Ultear frowned; this game he was playing was starting to get to her nerves.

"Ugh! I wonder if I did wrong in betting for 'Luminer-sama'…" She muttered with faked regret, earning a small chuckle from the man in front of her. "Especially when you know he doesn't stand a chance and want him to lose."

"I told you; I want him to grow stronger," he pointed a finger to the form of the knight showing itself in the orb. "And in this fight against Titania, that will happen, no matter the outcome."

"You're a really good friend, you know that?" She concluded with sarcasm dripping in every word, tired of the puzzling game he created.

The azure-haired man just shrugged and grinned widely.

"I'm a friend that cares, mind you."

To be continued.

(A/N: There's not much I can say except for being sorry about cutting short the original story. It just didn't make sense to me anymore.

So, here, now, with the help of a great writer from our little archive, I bring you this remake. *nods* Which I hope it is better than the original story and doesn't stray too much of the path as the original one. *nods*

Thank you Shedauwz for your help; be sure I will ask for it again if I find myself botched again.

Oh. I almost forgot. Life is getting even more hectic for me now so, don't expect an update shortly. There's much to do in this part of the year and I cannot do clones of myself to do everything at the same time.

With that said.

Saludos.)