Hello everyone! Here is the last and final chapter of Sovereign! We hope you all enjoyed this little adventure we've all gone on! Until our next story!

CHAPTER 3

Leader

"The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things."

― Ronald Reagan

It turned out for Natsu, meeting up with Igneel was easier said than done.

A whole hell of a lot of time had mysteriously passed, which cemented his concerns that something very, very wrong had happened.

The time periods were so alarmingly different, Natsu suspected Igneel may have attempted to tamper with his memories again if this jump into the future had been planned. But all in all, Natsu was completely flying blind.

At first he thought it was weird, all the strange clothes he saw people wearing, the vehicles that rumbled down the road in place if wagons, and the growth of towns and villages into entire cities.

It was only when someone bumped into him and began to speak, did Natsu understand fully that something wasn't right.

He couldn't understand the language.

It was only by luck he made it to a magical guild that took him in and began to teach him. Those were skills he readily had to know to find Igneel. So while the guild made a good rest stop, that was really all that it was.

At least, that's how he'd meant it to be.

But there was something weird about Fairy Tail. They kept pushing and invading his space and caring about him. Alright so Erza and Mirajane were terrifying, especially Erza since she didn't have the scent of a demoness about her, and Gray was annoying, but the others weren't so bad. Lisanna was kind of nice, though he really missed Lucy's bolder personality, and the others were fun to wrestle with or talk to.

Levy he especially liked. She'd taught him how to speak the modern language more than the adults ever did. And she was less terrifying than Erza.

And slowly, against his will, they kind of started to grow on him. They accepted him, weird accent, lack of language skills and all, and went out of their way to play with him when he wasn't working or learning. It was nice in a way he'd never experienced before, and as the adventures piled on he found himself thinking that maybe when he found his dad Igneel wouldn't mind sticking around Fairy Tail too.

As the years crept on, Natsu never stopped looking for his dad. Dragons lived impossibly long lives and he refused to believe Igneel was just gone.

That was how he found himself in Hargeon, chasing down another lead to where Igneel could have been. He didn't travel alone though, accompanied by his best friend, Happy.

He was kind of a scaredy cat sometimes, but he was really smart and helpful. Even if he was a brat that would let trains take Natsu away.

Happy didn't know Natsu's secret though. More and more, it seemed less important for him to tell people he was a demon. Most people didn't know who or what End even was. The demons of Zeref had fallen into obscurity. So much time had gone by Natsu wasn't even sure what happened anymore.

Tartaros was just a whisper.

Being a demon didn't seem to matter anymore.

But that didn't change the shreds of guilt he felt for all the crimes he committed in the past. There was no way he could ever fully redeem himself, but that just meant he had a lot of good work he had to do in the meantime.

He would confess everything to Igneel when he found him.

His attention perked at the sound of girls squealing nearby, the chanting of "Salamander!" Spurring him on.

Of course, 'Salamander' turned out to be some puffed up poser that probably couldn't properly light a match let alone produce the kind of fire worthy of the dragon king.

Being disappointed over that, however, turned out to be somewhat hazardous to his health if the way the poser's screaming females wanted to tear him apart for not being instantly enamored was any indication. By the time the creep left he was convinced that he would never understand girls.

"That guy was a real creep." A feminine voice said, interrupting his thoughts and prompting him to look up, "Thanks for your help!"

It was like looking into the past.

That was the only thought that beat through his head as he stared at that bright smile. Somehow, it was her. Down to the hair, and the way she smelled.

"Here, let me help you." She went on and held out a hand to help him up, "I really don't know what would've happened if you hadn't come along when you did. Is there anything I can do to thank you two?"

Natsu opened his mouth and tried to speak, but words would not form as he drank in the sight of his best friend standing before him in this strange era, and looking more beautiful than he'd ever dreamed she could be.

"Uh..." He tried, but just then his stomach gave a loud growl, and he flushed a little as she giggled.

"Alright. How about some lunch then?" She grinned, "I passed by a place earlier."

"Hrk?" Natsu managed to squeak out lamely in reply, not quite understanding what was happening.

The girl gave him a strange look, squinting at him from under a fringe of blond hair in such a familiar way.

He got up to his feet and followed her, dazed but very happy.

When she brought him into a restaurant, he took a moment to really get a good look at her. Something in him loosened.

There were some differences, now that he was paying attention. The shape of the eyes were a little different, as was the curve of her cheeks. But aside from that it was like sitting in the past.

Lucy

Homesickness ached in his chest, but he let out a loose huff as he smiled at her, "My name is Natsu Dragneel." He introduced himself.

"And I'm Happy!" Happy chirped from where he was perched on Natsu's shoulder.

"My name's Lucy!" The girl laughed, unaware of how Natsu's heart stuttered in his chest, "It's nice to meet you both!"

She opened the door to the restaurant, and cheerfully followed the waitress to a table where she ordered a sundae for herself, and gave Natsu and Happy free reign on whatever else they wanted. An action that proved to be something of a mistake as Natsu's appetite made itself forcefully known. Still, she didn't seem to mind too much, and Natsu was resolved to pay her back anyway.

It was the least he could do for someone who was clearly a reminder of his past.

Especially with the way she talked. He had to bite back the urge to laugh as she chattered about being a wizard and guilds and how much she wanted to join one particular one. A fact that had his chest puffing out a little with pride since there was only one guild that was regularly featured in Sorcerer Weekly.

"You're talking about Fairy Tail aren't you?" He grinned, enjoying the way that surprised her enough to stop her talking.

"I... well yes." Lucy stuttered, and smiled a little dreamily, "They're so cool. I just can't imagine a guild I'd rather be part of! Not even Phantom Lord is as much fun sounding!"

Natsu snorted a laugh, "That's 'cause those Phantom jerks don't know how to have a good time." He replied and cocked his head, "But if you really wanna join Fairy Tail that bad I can introduce you."

"What? You?!" Lucy exclaimed, "But..."

Natsu shrugged off his jacket to reveal his Fairy Tail symbol, "I'm already a member." He explained as he pulled his jacket back on, "What do you say?"

Natsu winced when a rush of air escaped Lucy and in her excitement babbled something he couldn't quite make out. It sounded similar to "ohmahgoshyesthatsoundsamazingwouldyoureallydothat?"

It took him a moment to decipher it, chewing around a mouthful of food crammed in his throat.

He looked at Happy, "weird."

"Aye" Happy confirmed.

Natsu could see a spark of anger in those brown eyes, but grinned and cut her off before that typical Heartfilia temper could overthrow the table.

"Yeah let me help you move! Fairy Tail is the best, and they'll love to have a Mage like you!" Natsu said enthusiastically, blowing right by her annoyance. Lucy looked a little confused but she seemed to adapt quickly.

"Thank you," She gushed happily, "Oh my God I can't believe I'm going to be in Fairy tail! It's like a dream come true!"

Natsu grinned broadly at her, thrilled that he'd made her so happy, and quickly polished off the rest of his food before getting up, "Well c'mon! Let's go!"

"Oh, but... don't you have a job here in town?" Lucy hesitated as the thought suddenly occurred to her, "I don't want to keep you from it."

"Nah, don't worry!" Natsu assured her, holding his hand out to her, "I'm not on a job right now. I was looking for Igneel."

"Who's Igneel?" Lucy asked in confusion, though she readily let him pull her to her feet.

"Igneel's a fire dragon!" Happy chirped as he stuffed his backpack with the leftover fish, "We thought maybe Salamander might be him, so we came to check!"

"Yeah, but that wasn't him." Natsu huffed, "Poser probably can't even eat fire..."

Lucy stared at them blankly for a long moment as she processed that, "You were expecting to find a fire dragon in the middle of town?!"

Natsu blinked and opened his mouth only to freeze as it suddenly dawned on him that Lucy was absolutely right. A dragon being anywhere near any town would've been front page news. Never mind a vague rumor for him to follow.

"Ahhhhhhh..." He replied a little stupidly as he scrambled to regain his mental footing.

"I guess you're right," Natsu sulked, looking a little put out with Lucy's logic. Still, it sucked to have to have her put a firm stop to his ploys.

He really wanted to be able to find Igneel.

But finding Lucy was almost as good! He wondered vaguely if it was a family name, and if they passed the name down the line every other generation.

They walked to the front door and pushed it open, heading back into the hot sun. A crisp sea breeze fluttered by them and Natsu sighed in welcome delight.

"Alright then," Lucy said hesitantly as she brought up the rear with happy. She was beginning to look a little worried over suddenly venturing off with a strange boy and his talking blue cat.

"Are you sure this is okay?" She asked hesitantly, her unimpressed eyes raking over him a few times as if doubting her good fortune. Natsu grinned at her, brushing off her skepticism.

He wasn't offended by her disbelief, after all Fairy Tail was notorious around the kingdom of Fiore.

They were practically celebrities.

Even if he wondered if he should be offended that he apparently didn't look the part of a powerful mage. Well, with pink hair, a frumpy jacket and a cat as a companion, he supposed he wasn't exactly screaming 'badass.'

"It'll be fine." He assured her, "Gramps isn't real big on formal. You could probably head to Magnolia on your own and just show up and ask to join you know." He grinned, "It'd be cool to have a celestial wizard in the guild. It's not real often you meet one."

Lucy's eyes widened a little comically, as if she'd never considered just showing up at Fairy Tail and asking to join. The look had Natsu biting back a small laugh. What did she think they did? Demand an initiation or something?

Although, he supposed he couldn't entirely fault her. Some guilds were weird about stuff like that.

Lucy must've caught some of his amusement because she smiled and then giggled a little, "I guess I never thought of it like that." She admitted, "No one ever really talks openly about how you join magic guilds, but I've heard all kinds of crazy rumors."

She came to a stop in front of a small hotel, "This is where I was staying the night. Give me a few minutes to go get my things alright?"

Natsu nodded, recognizing the boundary line for what it was, and went over to flop down on a bench, "We'll just hang out here until you're done." He promised, "There's not a rush though. The next train to Magnolia isn't for a few hours."

Lucy smiled, "Better to take care of it now than have to rush later right?"

Natsu couldn't argue with that so he grinned and stretched out on the bench, "See you in a few minutes then!"

Of course no sooner had she disappeared from sight did Natsu let his thoughts wander. It was an aimless kind of pattern, and Natsu tapped his foot impatiently.

Already he was quickly growing bored.

He wished Lucy would hurry up. Natsu never did good when he was just sitting around, and he sort of wanted to just look at Lucy some more.

It was astounding to see how she had grown up. Logically he knew this couldn't be his Lucy, but she looked so much like his friend from childhood...

He really couldn't help himself but stop and get a good look at her.

She really was nice to look at too if he was being perfectly honest. He would have to be completely blind not to notice.

His cheeks heated up a little at the direction his thoughts were straying. He'd been too young the last time he'd seen his Lucy to care about sex or sexuality, but he was very well educated in the particulars from his time as End, and well... he wasn't little anymore. Even if he hadn't actually done anything yet this time around.

However, lack of attention did not equal blindness, and this Lucy had grown up gorgeous. Exactly the way he expected his Lucy would've. She had ample curves in all the right places, and he didn't care if she didn't quite fit the ideal for modern women. He'd lived most of his life in a different era with very different definitions of beauty. Definitions Lucy filled exactly.

He felt his cheeks getting hotter and hastily wrenched his thoughts away from Lucy's physical assets before he embarrassed himself. Or Happy noticed.

Instead, he stretched out his senses in a sort of half meditation Anna had tried to teach him to see what he could pick up. The effect was immediately soothing and distracting as he listened to the birds and tried to eavesdrop on a conversation a little ways down.

Of course, no sooner had he gotten thoroughly into it than the hotel door opened and Lucy stepped back out looking very pleased with herself.

"They refunded me most of my money since I decided not to stay the night, and only had my bag here for a couple hours." She announced happily, "That means I can afford a place when we get to Magnolia!"

"Awesome!" Natsu replied excitedly as he jumped up, thrilled to no longer be bored and to be able to look at her again.

Even if she wasn't his Lucy, she was pretty close, and he was more than willing to make friends with a new generation of Heartfilia.

His grin spread in dangerous degrees and he stepped forward a couple of inches, "Now Lucy, you mind if we take a detour?"

She gave him a somewhat guarded look, not lured in by his easy smile. Smart girl, he thought with some approval. It was definitely wise not to trust Natsu when he was grinning.

But she didn't know that.

"Okay?" She hesitated.

"Good!" Natsu grabbed her hand between his palms and pumped her arm up and down in his excitement. She pulled it back a moment later, as if afraid he was going to rip it from its socket.

"Come on, there's something I need to take care of before we leave town," Natsu smiled at her brightly, got behind Lucy and began to guide her down the street.

Now Lucy wasn't an idiot. She didn't typically follow strange men she had just met to weird locations without being prepared. And when Natsu insisted on taking her to what appeared to be a shipyard, she was getting a little nervous.

He didn't seem to notice though as he leaned over the railing and squinted off into the distance.

She followed the line of his body along his spine with her eyes. He really was a kind of goofy looking guy, with none of the charm or glowing appeal she saw from sorcerer weekly magazines.

Not like Gray or Loke from Fairy Tail, both of whom were cool and charming.

He was kind of doofy, with his too big jacket and weird scarf. Was he really a member of Fairy Tail or was this some kind of hoax?

She didn't think it was a hoax. After all, what were the odds that Natsu would have a fake Fairy Tail guild mark on his shoulder for the express purpose of luring her away? It seemed pretty farfetched. However, she hadn't survived a year as a runaway without keeping her wits about her, and despite her trusting nature her natural suspicion kept her from trusting him completely until they walked into the Fairy Tail guild hall.

Still, for now she was game to go along with whatever it was he had in mind. It wasn't like she was helpless after all, and she was pretty sure she could handle anything he might want to dish out. And even if she couldn't Taurus would be more than happy to.

Besides, he hadn't really done anything uncomfortable or threatening, and she had to admit that he was kind of fun to be around even if he was kind of doofy.

"So what are we doing?" She asked curiously as he scanned the ships, "I thought we were going to take the train?"

"We are." Natsu replied somewhat absently, "But I overheard someone talking about Salamander's ship before you came out." His expression darkened a little, "Apparently he's claiming to be a member of Fairy Tail."

"Well... he is isn't he?" Lucy asked in confusion, "Everyone's heard of Salamander. He's famous for causing destruction on his jobs."

Natsu made a non-committal noise under his breath, his eyes narrowed onto the ships docked below, "I want a good look at his face."

"What's to question?" Lucy asked, frowning a bit, "the guy is definitely a creep though. He was using charm magic on all those girls to get them to like him."

"But he uses fire magic, and that's some pretty rare stuff. You can't even buy it in a magic shop!" Lucy turned towards Natsu, curious over why he was being so quiet.

Only to realize the little jerk was gone already.

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Happy asked with a cloying smirk. Lucy's cheeks burned red as she spotted Natsu further ahead, having hopped the railing.

"Natsu!" Lucy hissed. She groaned as he went on without hearing her. She scrambled up over the railing after him, making sure to keep her skirt covering her rear as much as possible.

She managed to make it down the slope into the sandy beach where Natsu was shaking out his sandals.

"What're you doing?" She hissed at him.

"Getting a closer look, duh Lucy." he gave her an annoyed look, "Weren't you paying attention? Jeez."

"You're the one that ran off without me!" Lucy hissed at him. Natsu's eyes vacantly lifted to the sky.

"Did I?"

Lucy gaped at him, but Natsu sat up attentively as he caught sight of Salamander ordering his men around. Lucy sneered a little in disgust, because that man was nothing if not a puffed shirt and showboat. To think Fairy Tail would have a slime ball like that in their guild. It was almost disappointing.

"Hurry up!" Salamander ordered imperiously, "I want everything perfect for when the girls arrive! And make sure the drinks are properly dosed this time!"

"Yes boss." One of the men grunted even as Lucy's eyes widened in horror.

"He's drugging the drinks?!" She hissed furiously, "What kind of scum does that?"

Was this really what Fairy Tail was really like? Pulling scams and drugging innocent people? The very thought horrified her, and suddenly she wasn't at all eager to join the guild she'd admired since she was little.

Natsu didn't reply. He'd vanished again, and he'd taken Happy with him this time.

She scowled a little as she looked around, trying to figure out where they'd gone and what she was supposed to do now, only to jump a mile as she suddenly felt a rough pair of hands grab her.

She squeaked in surprise as she struggled against them, putting all the self defense she knew to use, but it didn't do any good as she was tightly bound by another set of hands and thrown over a meaty shoulder.

"Dunno what you're doing skulking around here before the party." A man that had to be one of Salamander's goons grunted, "But you ain't leaving until you see the boss."

Lucy's heart sank as she renewed her struggles, but it was no use and in moments she was being hauled onto the ship like cargo and dumped in front of Salamander. Oh this could not be good. Tied up in front of a guy she knew was planning to drug women at his party, and no Natsu or Happy in sight?

Had this all been a trap? Fresh horror dawned onto Lucy at the very thought. Have Natsu lure in girls with promises of joining their guild with his bright smile and innocent appearance.

Seriously with a dopey looking guy like that, anyone could probably tie him into a pretzel. Lucy could have kicked him into the sun without much problem she bet.

But now she was on the floor by Salamander's feet, and this was all Fairy Tail's fault.

Salamander knelt down next to Lucy, his fingers catching under her chin to tilt her head up to him.

"Such a pretty face. You'll fetch an excellent price," Salamander chuckled.

Lucy growled and jerked her head forward, smashing her forehead into his nose. Salamander let out a shout of pain as he stumbled backwards.

"My face!" He cried out, "My beautiful face!"

Lucy hissed, feet kicking out as much as they could.

"Your face isn't the only thing that's going to hurt if you don't let me go!" Lucy shouted at him.

Natsu blinked from where he and Happy were flying nearby at the sound of that indignant shout, "I think we just found our ship!"

"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed and dove for the yacht.

As soon as they were overhead Happy dropped him to break through the cabin, and nearly on top of a surprised Salamander and Lucy. A Salamander that had what looked like a broken nose. Had Lucy done that? Hang on...

"What're you doing here Lucy?" Natsu asked in confusion, and was treated to a classic Heartfilia death glare. The kind only used when someone had screwed up beyond redemption.

"What does it look like I'm doing here?" She demanded furiously as she struggled against her bonds, "These jerks grabbed me, tied me up, and dragged me here!"

"Yes." Salamander purred, "And you'll fetch such a lovely price when we reach Bosco."

"Like hell I will!" Lucy spat, kicking out and managing to connect with Salamander's shin enough to make him stumble.

"My, my, you are a spirited one aren't you?"

Natsu found he couldn't agree more. He'd never seen his Lucy so angry before and it transformed this Lucy from beautiful to breathtaking. Not even the most attractive demoness had ever worn her rage so alluringly, and Natsu's heart thumped a little at the sight of it.

It made him wonder just what her other emotions looked like. Though he managed to keep that thought to himself as he didn't want those flashing eyes directed at him again.

"Happy!" He called, "Get Lucy out of here!"

"Aye sir!" Happy cried out, swooping under Lucy's arms and plucking her up through the air. Lucy let out a shriek of confusion when they flew through the air.

Having a talking cat around was alarming enough on its own, but having a talking, flying cat was almost terrifying.

Still, she didn't have time to think about that when she was picked up and brought back out through the hole Natsu had made in the roof.

"Wait! We can't just leave him in there, Salamander will rip Natsu apart!" Lucy fumbled for her keys at her belt. She had to go in there and help Natsu out! Clearly he was a wizard of some sort if he was even in Fairy Tail, but Salamander had a huge reputation of being like a freight train on his jobs.

Happy just hummed thoughtfully as he settled Lucy patiently down on the beach, squinting at her as if she were very slow.

"You keep saying that," he said in confusion, "Talking about Natsu like that? He's going to be fine y'know."

"How do you know?" Lucy protested in frustration, confused over how the cat could be so nonchalant about his friend being trapped on board a ship with a bunch of smugglers. Happy was already beginning to untie her hands.

"Natsu may be pretty dumb sometimes, but he's going to be fine," Happy grinned.

As if on cue, a tower of fire erupted from the ship, blasting out through the hole they had just come from. Lucy let out a gasp of horror as the entire ship seemed to collapse in on itself, and a streak of purple fire shot out from the bow into the beach. Salamander crash landed in the sand, looking a bit worse for wear and very pale. Lucy stood several yards away from where he was standing back up, staring up at the ship.

Just as Lucy began to grow worried, because Natsu had been in there, a shadowy figure pushed logs of heavy wood off their back.

For a moment, Lucy thought she saw the glitter of red eyes, gleaming out from the heavy smoke and flames, before it cleared and Natsu stood up straight.

His eyes were normal, but were slanted with such a furious, angry intent on them, it completely transformed his face from the happy idiot he had been acting like earlier in the day.

Salamander's men all swarmed around in a confusion, advancing towards the lone mage on the ship, who was squinting at beach.

"I don't recognize your face," Natsu growled. It was like a warning, flaring deep in Lucy's chest as she watched him shrug his jacket off.

"Using the name 'Fairy Tail' for your own purpose, you're not a member of my guild!" Natsu snarled. The angry vein snaking at his temple showed the flare of his rage that seemed normally tempered by his humor. There was no laughter on his face this time though.

And when he advanced, Lucy was able to see the broad set of his shoulders, the flex of his arms, and the vest that flapped open across a muscular chest. Suddenly, she wasn't so confident in her ability to kick him into the sun.

And when fire erupted around his fists, she realized that probably wouldn't have been an effective way of dealing with him anyway.

"It's the real Salamander Bora!"

Lucy's jaw dropped as Natsu hurtled himself at the imposter, suddenly realizing with startling clarity, that the real Salamander had been traveling with her this whole time.

She watched in numb shock as Natsu tore Bora's men apart as almost collateral damage as he went after Bora with all the single minded brute strength he was known for.

The damage was, unsurprisingly, extensive.

Houses and shops along the port were blown up, and the port itself was blasted as Natsu gave Bora a very thorough beatdown.

She only half listened to Happy's cheerful explanation about the kind of magic Natsu used and how it worked, but she believed every word of it. How could she not with the evidence right in front of her? Especially with Natsu doing unbelievable things like eating fire.

She didn't fully snap out of her daze until the fight was over and the army was converging on the sight, causing her to panic.

"Crap! We gotta go!" Natsu exclaimed as he grabbed her wrist and took off at a sprint.

"Where are we going?" She asked as she practically flew in his wake, more than a little alarmed at the stomping feet behind them.

"We're going to Fairy Tail of course!" Natsu laughed, turning a bright grin on her, "You still wanna join the guild right?"

Lucy's heart thumped at the sight of that grin and the way Natsu had turned out to be her rescuer and she couldn't help grinning back as she started to run with him, "Yeah! You bet I do!"

Fairy Tail really was as cool as she'd thought. There was no way it could be anything else. Not after what she'd just witnessed.

Natsu for his part couldn't but smile back at the laughing Lucy. Her cheeks were flushed as she ran alongside him, causing him to push back his anger to run side by side with her. He laughed, feeling for the first time like he was a normal man.

He had a new partner, and Natsu was happy to go on as many new adventures with her as he could. It was a new beginning for him, and a new beginning for her.

He took her hand, grateful for the chance Igneel had given him so long ago.

End.

For those curious, there were sixteen chapters pre-written for this fic before we began to write Reset. The two stories were too similar in concept, so we decided to continue with Reset and put this one aside despite how much we had written and liked the concept for this story. Reset is a large story and is currently over 40 chapters long.

We also had a resounding number of people who were interested in seeing more of our partially-finished fic ideas. Those will wait for now, we've got special gifts planned for Halloween (tomorrow) and a return to What's a Witch is just around the corner :D.

Stay tuned for more NALU goodness in our new projects! - Mslead