Chapter Text
Natsu grumbled, burying his nose in his scaly white scarf. Nausea swept over him, making him sick to his stomach. He had heaved everything he had in him hours ago. However, the train had now stopped, and he needed to get on his feet so he could leave the blasted contraption.
“Excuse me, sir?” the train attendant said to the pink-haired boy lying collapsed, moaning pitifully on the train floor. He hovered to the side, uncertain. The boy’s cheeks bore a slight greenish tinge against his pale complexion.
“Natsu!” Happy, a little blue cat, exclaimed, pulling on the boy’s white-scaled scarf, but Natsu didn’t move. “Get up; we made it to Hargeon!”
However, Natsu knew that if he got to his feet, it would send a whole new level of nausea over him, coupled with dizziness. The floor, while uncomfortable, still helped with the nausea, and not moving helped too.
Natsu still needed to get out of that train door. The thought of moving caused his stomach to heave, and Natsu clamped a hand over his mouth. While his stomach was empty, bile burned his throat raw. Natsu could withstand fire, not acid, and his stomach was made of strong stuff to back it up.
“Is he alright?” The attendant asked worriedly, thinking he’d have to call someone, which was the last thing the man wanted to do. He didn’t want to clean up the boy’s vomit either if he did become sick on the train. However, a white-haired girl stepped in for the attendant.
“Don’t worry, this happens a lot,” she said. “He gets motion sick easily.”
The girl prodded the boy, speaking gently. “Natsu, we’re here. It’s time to go.”
Natsu groaned again, but he didn’t attempt to get off the floor. At least, the train wasn’t moving. If it were, Natsu would have been lying on the floor instead.
Speaking through a shaky breath, “I’m never… riding these stupid trains… again.”
Lisanna chuckled, smiling and patting his spiky pink locks. This wasn’t her first rodeo with Natsu’s motion sickness. The first time Lisanna had ridden a train with Natsu, she worried endlessly about Natsu. He threw up three times, and Mira scolded and teased him severely for it. Lisanna didn’t find it funny at all. Natsu was sick. You don’t mock people when they’re sick. It became a running joke that Natsu had a weak stomach, but that didn’t help him any.
As they got older, Lisanna found ways to help keep Natsu calm during the train ride, but never to ease his motion sickness. They tried potions, but Natsu threw them up. They tried spells, but it was like Natsu was immune to the spells. Erza had gotten into the habit of knocking Natsu out on train rides, but Lisanna didn’t find that very safe for Natsu. However, Lisanna managed to coax Natsu to nap on her lap, but it helped only a little. At least asleep time passed faster for the dragonslayer.
“That’s what you always say, but the train is still faster than walking,” she reminded him.
Slinging Natsu’s arm over her shoulder, she pulled him to his feet, and she walked him out of the train. Natsu wasn’t a tall guy, but what he lacked in height, he made up for it with muscle. However, Lisanna wasn’t tall either, only a little taller than Levy, and that wasn’t much of an accomplishment. She was glad Natsu wasn’t taller because she didn’t think she could move Natsu if he were her brother’s height.
Once they were on solid ground, Natsu’s color began to return to his cheeks. Natsu focused his attention on Lisanna. Her light scent and her rhythmic heartbeat eased him. He liked that about her. She was easy to be around. He didn’t get along with many of the other kids when he first joined the guild.
However, she reached out to him and took his stories about Igneel as fact. She never once doubted him when the rest of the guild told him he was lying. Natsu was raised by a dragon, Igneel. Dragons hadn’t existed for four hundred years. That sort of creature couldn’t have possibly raised him, yet he was. He didn’t know how to prove or explain it more than he had. Eventually, the guild accepted it as a quirk of his, but Natsu never forgot that Lisanna believed him first.
“If our information is correct, then this Salamander should be somewhere in this town,” Happy said, walking beside them. Natsu hated trains, but he was constantly outnumbered. Happy and Lisanna refused to walk several miles for a lead that may or may not be wrong. They may be wrong now. This salamander could be someone else, but he had to check. He would never forgive himself if it were Igneel, and he ended up missing him.
“Knowing our luck, he’s already gone,” Natsu muttered. “We had to take a train for nothing.”
“Come on, Natsu,” Lisanna said sympathetically. “Let’s find a shady tree to sit for a while. I’m sure he’s still here.”
Lisanna wasn’t all that hopeful either. Natsu had been searching for seven years without finding anything. This was a long leap as it was. She knew Natsu missed Igneel. Lisanna missed her parents, too, but hers were dead. Natsu didn’t know if Igneel was dead or alive, or what had happened in the first place. From what she heard from Natsu, Igneel didn’t seem like the kind of dragon that would abandon his son, but the uncertainty could never be eased within his heart. In Lisanna’s opinion, she’d rather know her dad died loving her than died abandoning her and her siblings.
Natsu quietly agreed as she led him to the nearest tree Lisanna found. This is why dragons fly, he thought sullenly. He had to hold his hand up to block the sun’s rays shining on his face before lying back against a tree trunk to rest in its cool shade. Lisanna found a good barbecue shop for Natsu and Happy, and a sweets shop for herself.
Natsu patted his stomach once he finished his food. With food in his belly and the nausea gone, he was fired up to get going. Lisanna thought the same as she moved to get up.
“Well, let’s get moving again,” Lisanna stretched her arms over her head, and Natsu did the same.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Natsu replied. Lisanna started for the main street, but Natsu stopped mid-stride.
Lisanna glanced back. “Natsu?”
Natsu could hear and smell things she could not. If anything were wrong, he would know first. However, this wasn’t the case here. Natsu was hesitant. She didn’t need to be a dragonslayer to see that he was scared. Even if Natsu did find Igneel, what was he supposed to say to the father who had been absent for seven years of his life? Natsu was eighteen, at least they thought he was. Natsu wasn’t a child for Igneel to care for anymore. They never talked about what would happen if Natsu did find Igneel. Would he leave Fairy Tail? Would he stay for her?
“This Salamander is Igneel, isn’t he?” he asked. Natsu watched her with his large onyx eyes.
“He has to be,” Happy cheerfully chimed. “What other fire dragon is out there?”
Lisanna opened her mouth to answer when they heard cheers down the street. “What’s that about?” Lisanna questioned. Natsu stood silent and listened closely. His eyes lit up.
“Someone just said Salamander!” Natsu said, and he sped down the street, leaving Lisanna and Happy behind.
“Natsu, wait!” They called, but Natsu didn’t hear them. The thought of finding Igneel pressed him forward. However, pushing through the crowd proved easier said than done, and worse, they were all girls. Natsu stumbled as he reached the center.
“Igneel, it’s me!” Natsu exclaimed, but instantly frowned when he saw the figure who stood before him. The being was not a dragon but a human, much to Natsu’s disappointment. He had blue hair and a blue cloak that went down to his knees, and he wore a white vest. He was the definition of a pretty boy, as Lisanna would say. However, something about his smell, though, didn’t sit right with him.
“Who are you?” Natsu questioned, causing the blue-haired wizard to sputter and step back with a gasp.
“I am the Great Salamander,” he said. “Does that ring a bell, country bumpkin?”
However, Natsu was already on his feet and walking away as he spoke. The hoard of girls who were cheering for the Salamander pounced on Natsu, screaming how he could be so rude to Salamander, leaving a crumbled Natsu on a pile of garbage.
Natsu groaned, the trash digging into his back. Sure, he could have taken the girls. They didn’t even know magic, but Natsu was still reeling with the fact that the man wasn’t Igneel. He knew better. Igneel wasn’t here, but Natsu kept looking despite that fact. He would keep looking for the rest of his life if he had to.
Lisanna’s shadow crossed over him. “Just can’t get a break today, huh,” she sighed.
“Nope,” he grumbled, wincing when he stood up. Dragonslayers were tough; he’d be fine, but it was still a pain.
Lisanna helped brush the dirt off his pants, which would need to be washed when they got home. They couldn’t go anywhere without getting messy. “Who was that guy, anyway?”
“He was a real creep if you ask me.” A new voice piped in.
They turned to the owner of the new voice, a blonde wearing skimpy clothes. Natsu never understood why girls did that. He liked loose clothes himself because they let him move around better in a fight. Lisanna never wore clothes like that. She wasn’t like Mira either. He still didn’t get it even after she tried to explain it to him. Humans were weird that way.
“Thanks for the help,” the blond said. “I’m Lucy, nice to meet you.”
“I’m Lisanna,” Lisanna said and pointed behind her. “That’s Natsu, and that’s Happy. What is it you’re thanking us for?”
“The Salamander guy was using a charm spell,” Lucy explained. “He basically made the women in town fall in love with him, even if it’s against their own will. Those kinds of spells are banned. He’d have to go through a lot of work to get his hands on one of those. Man, what a creep. I was totally under his spell, but your butting in broke it, thanks.”
“No problem, I guess,” Natsu shrugged. They really hadn’t done anything, though. They weren’t there to help anyone, and they wasted a trip coming here.
“I may not look like it, but I’m actually a wizard, too,” Lucy beamed proudly.
“Is that so?” Natsu replied, but his tone didn’t match his words. He could tell that by getting a whiff of her. It wasn’t news to him. However, she didn’t know that, nor did she know that he wasn’t having a good day and wasn’t in the mood to be friendly.
“Yeah, but I haven’t joined a guild or anything yet,” Lucy added, scratching her cheek. “Oh, sorry, I should have explained. Guilds are organizations that come together, share information, and find work. You can’t even be considered a full-fledged wizard unless you’re in a guild, but there are tons of guilds all around the world. It’s tough getting into the more popular ones; I want to join the most popular guild in Fiore. That guild is just so great, and they’re even in the Sorcerers’ Weekly. I so want to join it, but it can be really tough!”
“Okay?” Lisanna grimaced. Never before had anyone explained to her, a wizard, about wizards and guilds, which was her workplace. However, she didn’t want to embarrass the girl either.
Lucy took a breath after her long rant, and she gave them an apologetic smile. “Sorry, all this wizard talk must seem like nonsense to you, huh? I’m telling you, though, I will join that guild one day. It’s like my dream. So, look out for my name, okay?”
“You talk a lot,” Happy said, finally.
“Happy, that’s rude!” Lisanna shrieked, clamping a hand over the cat’s mouth. However, Natsu had to agree with Happy. She was worse than some of their clients. He knew even Lisanna was offended by this chick. She just straight-up assumed they were non-wizards and had no knowledge of how a guild worked.
“No, that’s okay, and you both probably have things to do, anyway.” Lucy waved Happy’s comment off.
“We were trying to find someone, but I guess the information was a dud,” Natsu said, folding his hands behind his head. He wasn’t looking forward to the trip back to Magnolia.
“Sorry to hear that,” Lucy replied. “Hope you find him.”
“Thanks.”
Within minutes, Lucy was out of their sight, and Natsu wondered again how to get home. They didn’t have much money on them, but they had enough to stay the night if they wanted. He didn’t think his stomach could handle two train trips in one day. He would lose everything he had just eaten.
“How about we go see more of the town?” Natsu suggested. “It would be a waste of a trip if we went home now.”
“Yeah, sure,” Lisanna replied, and slipped her hand into his. “We can stay the night, too. Your poor stomach went through enough today.”
Natsu’s heart melted, and he lunged to lift Lisanna in the air and spun her about, all the while the two laughed to their hearts’ content. “Thank you, you wonderful woman, kind and merciful goddess!”
“Natsu, stop it,” Lisanna laughed, her eyes sparkled like glitter to Natsu’s own amusement. She had the prettiest eyes when she was smiling, like a sapphire held up to the sunlight.
“Eww,” Happy whined behind them, his tail swaying in annoyance. “Stop being so gross with each other.”
Lisanna scooped the cat in her arms, petting his soft fur. “You be grateful that your mom and dad love each other.”
It was a joke between two or three of them. Natsu and Lisanna hatched Happy together; by technicality, they were both his parents. Happy lived at both of their homes. Their little kitten. It was only a matter of time before Happy wouldn’t need to go from home to home, but that was still a few years away.
They had walked quite a bit around the little port. It wasn’t much, as there weren’t any wizards except the actual ones like themselves passing through. Hargeon was a fishing town more than anything else. The only thing was a small magic shop run by an old man.
“They have color magic!” Lisanna gasped. “I’ve been dying to try this.”
She held out the small box for Natsu to see, and Natsu glanced over. He had heard of it from overhearing others talk of it, but he hadn’t thought much of it. However, this might have been one of those girl things. “Does it change with your mood or something?” He asked.
“No, those are mood rings,” Lisanna explained. “This will change my clothes to any color I want on a given day.”
Natsu smirked as ideas popped into his mind. “Can you change other people’s clothes?”
Lisanna nodded, confused. “Sure, you could, but why…oh, Natsu. Just don’t do it to Mira.”
“Some orange would do Gray some good, don’t you think?” Natsu chuckled and grabbed a box for himself. He could already think of multiple ways he could use the color magic for pranks. Gray was at the top of the list, but Reedus would freak at the ‘clashing of colors.’
“Red is a good color on you,” Lisanna said, inspecting her work. Natsu’s coat turned a deep shade of blood red before he knew what had happened.
“Not much matches my hair,” Natsu sighed. He didn’t know color schemes all that well, but he did understand what did and didn’t go with his hair, his bright bubblegum pink hair. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen another person with my color before.”
“Believe me, I’m surprised you got black to go with it,” Lisanna replied. “Though, you would look nice in blue.”
Natsu’s clothes changed once again with a dark blue theme, though the scarf remained white. His scarf was his most important possession. No one, not even Lisanna, could mess with his scarf without his permission. The scaly scarf, crafted from dragon scales, was given to Natsu by Igneel. Even though Igneel was gone, Natsu still had a piece of Igneel with him. That being said, he did like the blue color.
“I don’t care too much as long as it’s not too weird,” Natsu muttered.
“Say the guy who has to style his hair every morning,” Lisanna giggled.
“Hey!” Natsu ran a hand through his spikey pink hair. “These spikes don’t happen naturally, and no telling anyone, either. You promised.”
“I know.” She wore a shit eating grin, knowing that she won, but a glitter caught Natsu’s eye. “What up?”
“We’ll take these,” Natsu said to the clerk, “And this.”
He pointed to a silver ring in the box, a ring to help protect people from charms.
The clerk lit up with delight. “An anti-charm ring! Good choice, you never know what’s out there. This will look lovely on you, miss. You have a real keep there.”
“Thank you,” she replied, and she linked her arm with Natsu’s. “I think so too.”
It was a bit pricey, but it was worth it, as Natsu said. Lucy had said the Salamander guy had used charm rings to draw those girls close, which made her uneasy. Charm rings weren’t easy to get your hands on, and one wouldn’t get one just to attract women. There had to be another reason.
She didn’t think too much more about it when she realized the moon was out.
“Natsu, look how pretty the moon is,” Lisanna smiled happily, pointing to the night sky twinkling above them. Natsu merely nodded.
“Is something wrong?” she asked. “You’re rather quiet.”
She hadn’t noticed how quiet he had been due to her own thoughts, but now that she was aware, it was obvious.
Natsu leaned against the railing. “It’s just something off about that Salamander guy,” he said. “He smelled weird.”
“Did he smell like fish?” Happy asked.
“I think I’ve seen that guy before, I think,” Lisanna commented. “I don’t remember where, though.
“Oh my gosh, that’s Salamander’s boat!” A woman called out. Natsu glanced at the owner of the voice. Two girls were just a couple of yards away. “I wish I could have gone to the party.” One girl said. However, one was a bit confused.
“Salamander?” The second girl said. “Who’s Salamander?”
“He’s a famous wizard who’s in town currently. He’s even in Fairy Tail.” Natsu and Lisanna froze in place. They said Fairy Tail, hadn’t they?
“He’s from Fairy Tail,” Lisanna whispered. “I knew something was wrong with that guy.”
Natsu growled under his breath. “Happy!”
“Aye!” The little blue cat sprouted wings, grabbing the boy by the back of his coat and soaring over the water.
“Natsu, wait!” Lisanna shot an arm out uselessly where the boy had just stood, and sighed. “Not again.”
Lisanna said he tended to act before he thinks. It was times like this that she was right.
“Happy, drop me.” Happy let go, sending him plunging through the boat’s roof. It was at times like this that he forgot about his motion sickness. Just touching the floor, Natsu collapsed in a heap, clamping his mouth shut so as not to vomit as the world shifted with the waves.
“Maybe this was a bad idea,” Natsu wheezed.
The blond was back, though, but she was with Salamander of all people. However, from the way she smelled, she was close to tears and clearly didn’t want to be on the boat. At least she wasn’t an enemy, but either way, she was now a contingency in any plan he made.
“What are you doing here, Lucy?” Happy asked, hovering over the hole in the roof, echoing Natsu’s thoughts. Lucy gaped at the sight of a cat with wings. Natsu had been with the cat for six years. Happy having wings was old news. However, to Lucy’s credit, she got over it fairly quickly, gaging back into the situation they were in.
“Salamander tricked me,” Lucy explained. “He said he was going to get me into Fairy Tail, but he was just luring girls to make them slaves at Bosco.”
Happy curled his tail around her waist, lifting the girl in the air. “Hang on, Lucy.” Happy shot off with Lucy through the hole Natsu made.
“Shoot them down!” Salamander ordered, and his men scrambled to act.
“I can’t let them report this to the magic council,” Salamander added quietly, Natsu hearing every word.
Happy felt terrible leaving Natsu, but they had to get Lucy out first. The sooner she was out of the way, the sooner they could use their magic fully without worrying about hitting her. However, there were likely other women on the boat as well.
“Wait, what about Natsu!” Lucy screamed, trying not to look down. The ocean surged beneath them. In the darkness of night, the water appeared like a dark void.
“I can’t carry two,” Happy explained. Natsu would be fine, he hoped. Lisanna wasn’t with him, but Natsu was strong. It was the motion sickness that was the problem.
“Prominence whip!” Salamander shouted as purple ropes of fire sprang toward Happy and Lucy, causing her to cry out. Happy dove lower and higher, dipping and turning out of the fire’s way.
“Lucy, we’ve got a problem,” Happy said. He had hoped to have landed with Natsu on the boat, but he had to grab Lucy. His magic was reaching its limit, and he was growing tired.
Lucy didn’t like the sound of that. “What problem?” she asked worriedly.
“My transformations over.”
His wings disappeared, and they fell into the ocean below. Lucy could barely see beneath the water, where everything blurred and dark; she felt her hand brush against her side. Her keys! She felt so silly for not using them sooner. She froze. If she were a real wizard, she could have gotten someone killed. Natsu! He was still on the ship!
She swam back to the surface and pulled out a golden key. “Open, Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!”
Happy gleamed happily at the mermaid that appeared before them. “A fish!”
“No!” Lucy shrieked. “She is not for eating! I’m a celestial wizard. I can call on celestial spirits to help me when I’m in trouble.”
She turned to the mermaid, who in return gave her a dark gaze. Her blue hair draped over her shoulders, and she held an urn in her arms. “Aquarius, I need to use your water magic to push that ship back to port.”
“Hmph.” The mermaid responded, not even acknowledging the celestial wizard.
“Hey, you’re supposed to help me!” Lucy said.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to make her angry, Lucy.” Happy hid behind Lucy as the mermaid gave them an irritated glare. She raised the urn over her head, pointing at the ship, and a giant wave of water swept the ship and them with it.
Lisanna couldn’t help but worry. Natsu didn’t do well on boats as much as he couldn’t tolerate trains. Happy would have gotten her if Natsu needed help. What were they doing over there? Panic rose in her stomach as a giant wave overtook the boat, careening it back to shore. She dove behind a rock, but little did it do her any good as the wave slashed well into the port, soaking her to the bone.
“Hey, what were you thinking?” A familiar voice shouted. Lisanna peeked over the rock to see the blond girl from earlier that day and a blue mermaid. What an odd day. “You didn’t have to sweep me up with the ship, too!”
The mermaid smirked. “Oops, I guess I got the ship, too, by accident.”
“You were aiming for me!”
“Don’t call me for a while; I am going to be on a date with MY boyfriend.” The mermaid said as she disappeared in a display of sparkles.
“Lucy! Happy!” Lisanna ran up to both of them. They didn’t appear to be injured, though. “Happy stay with Lucy. I’m going to see if Natsu is in trouble.”
“I’ll come with you.” Lucy jumped up to her feet.
Natsu sighed a breath of relief as the boat stopped. He didn’t know what caused the wave, but he was grateful for it. Even if it meant the ship had destroyed half a port in the process. Salamander picked himself up out of the rubble.
“Hey,” Natsu growled, the sound reverberated low in his throat. “You’re a member of the Fairy Tail guild?”
“What’s that to you, boy?” Salamander retorted, and he motioned to his men. “Get him.”
The men warily crept closer to Natsu. The pink-haired boy merely shrugged off his coat, letting it slip to the ground, leaving only his short-sleeved vest. “Let me get a closer look at you.”
“We need to help him,” Lucy said, but Lisanna stopped her.
With a small laugh, she said, “We probably should have told you sooner, but we’re wizards too.”
“Wait, what?”
“And now that we’re back on land, he’ll be fine,” Lisanna said.
Natsu shoved the henchmen out of the way with his fist. “I’m Natsu of Fairy Tail, and I’ve never seen you before in my life!” he shouted. His Fairy Tail symbol shone proudly on his right arm.
Lucy looked over at Lisanna, who also showed her mark on her arm. “You’re both Fairy Tail wizards,” she whispered.
Lisanna nodded. “Yup, and we thought something was going on with this Salamander guy. That man is Bora the Prominence. He got kicked out of the Titian Nose guild a few years ago.”
“I don’t care who you are, good or bad,” Natsu stepped closer and closer to the Salamander. Steam rose from his feet with each step. “But whatever you do. You don’t get to tarnish Fairy Tail’s name!”
“What the hell are you going to do about it?” Salamander asked, getting ready to fight. “Prominence Typhoon!”
A purple fiery whip swirled around Natsu, engulfing him in the flames.
“Natsu!” Lucy screamed, but Lisanna still held her back.
“I guess that handles that problem.” Salamander sighed. “Now for that blond chick.”
“Man, this is terrible stuff.” A figure in the flames said, and Bora watched the fire in horror. “How can you call yourself a fire wizard when your flames taste this bad?”
“Did he just say taste?” The Salamander questioned.
The fire shrank and disappeared into Natsu’s mouth to the astonishment and horror of the people before him. “Thanks for the meal anyway.” Natsu wiped his mouth with a swipe of his hand.
“Who the hell is this guy!”
“Lisanna,” Lucy asked. “How is Natsu not burned?”
“Fire won’t hurt Natsu!” Happy said.
Lucy watched Natsu light his bare hands on fire to knock a henchman in his way. “I’ve never even seen anything like it before. How is that even possible?”
Lisanna smiled. “Because he’s a fire dragon slayer.” Natsu brought his hands to his mouth. “We’re going to want to step back.”
A fire stream shot out at the Salamander and his men. While it hit the henchmen, Bora escaped on a stream of purple fire and landed safely back on the ground.
“Boss,” One man said shakily. “That kid with the pink spiky hair and scaly scarf, that’s him! He’s Fairy Tail’s Salamander!”
Lucy looked back at Lisanna again, mouth hanging open. “He’s Salamander of Fairy Tail.”
“Yup.” Pride swelled in Lisanna’s chest. Natsu leaped over, coating his hands with orange flames with one hit, sending Bora flying. “He has dragon lungs to breathe fire. Dragon skin to dissolve fire, and dragon claws to attack with it. Dragon Slayers have an ancient spell that allows them to take on all the qualities of a dragon. It’s barely used anymore, though. Natsu is one of the few people who still use it. It was meant to fight dragons originally.”
“Whoa,” Lucy said. “But shouldn’t we stop them?”
She pointed to the destroyed port around them. Lisanna laughed. “Natsu! Finish up, will you! It isn’t going to be long before trouble shows up.”
“Yeah!” he shouted back. Coating his hands once more, he knocked Bora out and dragged him over to Lisanna. “Bet he won’t try this again.”
A soft sound of marching was coming towards them from a distance. “Crap, it’s the army!” Natsu grabbed Lisanna’s hand, and she grabbed Lucy’s. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Wait, why are you pulling me to?” Lucy said, trying to keep up.
“You said you wanted to join our guild, right?” Lisanna smiled. “Come with us!”
“Okay!”