Ch 1: Plans Gone Awry

June 7th X777 in the middle of a clearing in Worth Woodsea:

Worth Woodsea is a giant forest that stretches for miles in each direction, and due to the slightly eerie feeling that it gives off it is seldom visited. Because of that fact and how expansive it is, it is the ideal location to have a clandestine meeting. Which it just so happens to look like is about to go down in a clearing that also appears to have been made fairly recent. Currently standing in the clearing completely devoid of life is a dark skinned man with silver hair that stopped at his shoulders. His overall structure was that of a surprisingly fit individual for someone of his age, and his attire was that of a high ranking member in a branch of the Council that focused on research and the development of magic.

"You might as well show yourself." said the man as he looked to his right side with an unamused expression on his face.

"It would appear that coming here might actually not be a complete waste of my time like I initially thought it would be." replied a masculine voice from the direction that the first man was staring at. And seconds later a new figure emerged into the clearing, this one wasn't as big as the other man in the clearing but the aura currently coming off of him was one of someone with great power. He wore a gray cloak that completely covered the rest of his outfit at the moment, but what stood out the most about him was his horned helmet and long white beard that went down to his waist. Another thing that set him apart was the eyepatch covering his right eye, giving him a very intimidating overall appearance.

"And here I was starting to think that you might be the person that called me to this desolate forest." replied the first man as the two started to inspect each other.

"Interesting, so it would seem that neither of us are responsible for pulling the strings on this little meeting of ours. Something that I think might be a first for the both of us, but what I'm more interested in is why a member of the Council is here at all." he stated with a smug grin spread across his lips.

"Probably for the same reasons that one of the Council's most wanted dark mages is here as well, Hades." said the man as a smug grin of his own came over his face, while the one on Hades vanished after hearing that the man knew who he was.

"I truly doubt that, but then again, if that was true it would mean you really aren't the person that most people believe you to be." replied Hades as a smirk started to slowly come over his expression. "Which would mean you are like me and don't care if you're labeled as a dark mage so long as you get closer to the answers you're after." he finished as the other man started to chuckle.

"Nothing gets past you, Hades, does it? And your assessment of me was spot on; I'm only using the Council to meet my own ends. But now that you know of this, it turns our situation into what I initially thought it was." he responded while his magic started to rise.

"And that would be you trying to eliminate anyone that threatens to ruin what you've currently got going on." stated Hades as he continued to smirk at the other man while he too started to show off his magical prowess.

"Once again you hit the nail on the head, Hades, and seeing as you won't be making it out of here alive I might as well let you know who bested a man as notorious as yourself." he said as a crazed grin spread across his lips. "Most people refer to me as Brain, but judging by my estimation you will have the displeasure of meeting Zero." finished Brain as his magic level spiked even higher.

"We'll see about that." he replied as he also started to release more of his own power. But before either of them could make the first move a new oppressing aura washed over the two of them, causing the two men to turn towards this new player.

"Now don't stop the festivities just because of little old me." replied a lean man wearing a black coat with white cuffs and collar, that also had purple flame decals running along the edges and down the center of the sleeves.

"And who the hell are you?" asked Brain, who couldn't help but feel slightly inferior to this new individual with long black hair that was currently in a messy ponytail.

"You my lowly human are speaking to none other than Mard Geer, leader of Tartaros." he answered with a sly grin as the two men both unconsciously started to step away from him.

"What in the world is the Master of the strongest dark guild in Fiore doing here?" asked Hades, starting to wondering if it was really a good idea for him to only bring a few of guild his members with him.

"For the same reason that the two of you are here, I was asked to come." he replied, causing the other two mages to go wide eyed. Both of them not knowing a single person that should be able to get the Master of a guild rumored to be composed completely of demons to do as they were told.

"So you know the identity of person calling all of us here?" asked the Master of the up and coming dark guild, Grimoire Heart.

"Mard Geer does, but calling him a person isn't a hundred percent accurate." he answered as an explosion went off a few hundred yards away from their small group. And shortly after that the three of them could hear terrified screams that were accompanied by the usual sounds of mages getting into an altercation. "And it would seem that one or both of you were foolish and decided to not heed his warning about coming here alone." finished Mard Geer as another round of screams and explosions sounded off from a different location than before.

"Of course we weren't going to come to a secret meeting without a little extra security." argued Brain as he turned around from the two of them and looked like he was about to head back into the forest.

"Well then it's safe to say that all of them are dead, and if you head in there now you will only be joining them." stated Mard Geer as he took a seat on one of the stumps that still remained in the clearing.

"Those men out there were some of my best mages, they won't be done in by whoever organized this little gathering." refuted Hades as a confident smirk came over his face.

"The same can be said about my followers." said Brain as he sent a glare towards the other human in their little group.

"Considering that he is the one out there, not even my whole Guild and Mard Geer could do much to stop him." commented Mard Geer to the complete and utter shock of the other two.

"You've gotta be kidding me." stated Hades in sheer shock at hearing this.

"No human can be strong enough to take out your entire guild." pointed out Brain.

"Mard Geer already told you that he isn't human, and nor is he a demon like Mard Geer and the rest of Mard Geer's guild." he replied while turning towards his right side that now had the noises of someone approaching them. And out came a man with a mane of wild dark blue hair, wearing a black high collared cloak with a necklace made out of red claws hanging around his neck. As the new figure approached them they noticed his tan skin that also had weird blue markings on it, ones that gave him a very savage look. A look that was only more reinforced by the blood that was currently dripping off of his one exposed arm, that also had similar blue markings on it like the ones on his face and neck.

"If those were honestly the best that the two of you had, then I just did you both a huge favor by getting rid of them." stated the new addition to their small meeting. "I can tell that the two of you are thinking about attacking me right now, but all that will do is end up with both of you lying dead at my feet. Which is something I should do for neither of you listening to my order about coming here alone, but I'll let that slide since neither of you didn't know who I am." he finished with a sinister grin as he looked at the three specific beings that he wanted to meet with tonight.

"Honestly we still don't know who you are other than someone incredibly strong." replied Hades, who was upset about losing a group of mages he had high hopes for. But just looking at this new individual he could tell that he wouldn't last a second against him in combat, so he would listen to what the man called him here for.

"You haven't informed them yet Mard Geer?" asked the man while looking at the demon with an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Mard Geer didn't know if that is what you wanted, so rather than risk incurring your wrath Mard Geer thought it would be in his best interest to remain quiet." answered the demon in a bored tone that shocked the other two and caused the new person to chuckle a little.

"You truly don't care what happens with the rest of the world so long as it doesn't interrupt your precious revival of your Master." he said with a little chuckle, causing the two humans to go wide eyed at finding out that Mard Geer wasn't the guild Master of Tartaros like they thought.

"You'd be correct Acnologia, so what exactly have you summoned us here for?" asked the demon in the same bored tone that he was using before. Not caring that the two mages with him almost had heart attacks after hearing who was supposedly standing before them.

"Let's just say that I've learned of a certain group of time traveling individuals that will be appearing soon. And one specific member of this group will play a big role in the future." he answered with an amused grin.

"Interesting, whoever this individual is must be extremely important for the Dragon of the Apocalypse to take notice of them." pointed out Mard Geer as he studied the dragon for any hint of deception, which he at the moment couldn't find any.

"That he is." he replied as his grin only got bigger and started to look more sinister.

"There's no way you're that monster." stated Brain as he pointed at Acnologia with an accusing finger.

"Sorry but I have to agree with him on this one, the legends say that Acnologia was the bringer of doom and all he did was destroy everything in his path." said Hades as he looked at Acnologia, who only seemed amused at hearing this. "Not to mention the whole thing about you standing here as a human or that he died with the rest of the dragons years ago." he finished while gesturing to Acnologia's current form.

"I did build up quite the reputation back then didn't I? And to think that all it takes for humans to assume you're dead is being inactive for more than a century." said Acnologia as he started to release his magic, which brought the other three individuals gathered there to their knees. And it also caused scales to start forming on Acnologia's arms and under his eyes, eyes that now were vertical slits that the others could only assume were ones of a dragon. "I normally would've change into my other form and tear you to shreds, but that would more than likely ruin my plan for the future." he finished as his magic power receded back to where the others could function properly.

"And what plan is that? Because if I remember correctly, you are someone that usually works alone and would never even bother with lowly humans." stated Mard Geer, not caring about the glares he was now receiving from the two humans in their group.

"You're correct Mard Geer, and that would also usually include your kind as well. But in order for my plan to work I need the help of you three to make a certain individual come to the realization that I did so many years ago." he replied with a smirk once again coming over his face that had a very predatory feel to it.

"Who is this certain individual and what do you want him to realize?" asked Hades, now having a new face to attach to what true power and fear is.

"He's the dragon slayer of the once proud Fire King Igneel." he answered, only to get blank stares from the two humans and an inquisitive eyebrow raised from the demon upon hearing this. "The dragon that once ruled over all other fire dragons and was one of the few to actually give me a decent fight the last time I saw him. Which was over four hundred years ago if I recall correctly, making what I have planned for his son even better." he explained with a little chuckle.

"And what do you want him to realize exactly?" asked Brain, who realized just like Hades had, that if he wanted to survive this he would have to do whatever Acnologia wanted him to.

"That humans and even demons are beneath him." replied Acnologia with a stony gaze sent their way.

"That may be true in your case Acnologia, but I highly doubt that whoever this person is will achieve the same feat that you have." stated Mard Geer as he stared down the dragon in human form.

"I expected as much from you Mard Geer, always thinking so highly of your kind when you and your guild only exist thanks to a lowly human as you like to call them." he said with a smirk as the demon's glare only intensified. "Which is why I'm sure that all of you will be intrigued to learn that the boy I've been referring to is associated with Zeref in some very shocking ways." he finished with an even bigger smirk than before, thanks to the shocked expressions he was now getting from his three guests.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Hades and Mard Geer at the same time.

"That is something that you'll learn about at a later date, so are the three of you ready to fall in line and do as I say?" he asked, taking notice of the slight hesitation they all had while thinking it over. "Because if you're not that's completely fine, but that would mean you're against me if you're not with me. And Mard Geer knows what I do to those that oppose me." he stated with a wicked grin spreading over his face.

"I'm in." stated Hades with a determined look on his face.

"As am I." replied Brain, who didn't look as thrilled as Hades with how this was all going down.

"If this boy truly is affiliated with Zeref then that would mean he might know more about our Master." said Mard Geer, causing Acnologia to let out a deep chuckle.

"I'm going to take that as you and your guild are in as well, and you have no idea how happy you'll eventually be." commented Acnologia with his grin going back to his usual one that was more sinister than wicked. "Now what I've got planned is fairly simple and should be really easy for one of you to accomplish. And that is making the boy have no love for humans, something that I'm sure that, that infuriating Igneel put into him during their training together." he explained, glad to see the three nodding that they could easily accomplish such a task.

"I'm fairly certain that I could accomplish such a feat if I'm allowed to experiment on him." stated Brain with a now excited glint in his eyes. "But he might not be the same physically afterwards." he said in an amused tone.

"Sounds like torture to Mard Geer, and I've got a few members in my guild that excel in that sort of thing." replied the demon in a bored tone, clearly not as thrilled about this aspect as Brain seemed to be.

"You're both idiots, if you torture him like that all it will do is turn him against us. Which is something that I assume you don't care about so long as he has a distaste for our kinds or at least sees us as inferior beings." said Hades while looking at Acnologia towards the end, who gave a nod of agreement. "And I'm also assuming that you want us to do more than torture this boy, so it would be advantageous if we could possibly focus his potential hatred towards a different affiliation other than dark guilds." he finished with a smug look coming over his mug.

"You'd be correct Hades, so do you have a solution to this problem of yours? Because as you already pointed out earlier I could truly care less if the boy despises and wants to kill all of you." replied the dragon with little smirk.

"I do, and that is where our friend Brain here, uses his connections to the Council to take the blame." he answered while gesturing over to his fellow human who looked slightly shocked by this. "Where he'll still be able to do all the experiments to the boy to his heart's content. But with the added bonus of the boy developing a hatred to the Council, which will most likely get him to come willingly to our side afterwards." he explained now having a smirk of his own.

"That will get him to most likely not care about humans and possibly think of them as inferiors if he makes it through all of it. But how are we going to accomplish the same thing for the demons?" asked Brain as he gestured toward the only demon in their group.

"Honestly I don't care what he thinks about your two kinds so long as he understands that you're both beneath him." replied Acnologia, enjoying that these three proud individuals were now doing his bidding. Something that he was sure that none of them have really done much of before, but considering their alternative it was a pretty easy decision for them.

"The only way for something like that to occur is for him to actually surpass us like you've done." answered Mard Geer in a confident tone.

"Good enough of a solution for me, because after his training with us he'll have easily accomplished that." he stated once again causing the other three to have shocked expressions on their faces.

"He's going to train with us?" asked Hades, still having a surprised look on his face.

"Well not with all of you since I don't see the purpose of him training with two different humans, and seeing as how Brain will be handling the first part of our plan I think you'll be in charge of his training right after that. Or are you not up to such a task, Hades?" he asked in a threatening tone while glaring at the man.

"No Sir, I'll definitely be able to teach him everything that he needs to know." stuttered out the Master of Grimoire Heart.

"Good, and after that he'll be under your care Mard Geer." he stated while turning to look at the demon.

"Mard Geer honestly doesn't know what you expect him to teach a human, but I'll do as you say." replied the Demon, once again in a bored tone even though he was extremely intrigued by this human that Acnologia took notice of.

"You'll be pleasantly surprised when you meet him." said the dragon as he turned away from all of them and started to head back into the forest.

"Wait, when is all of this going down?" asked Brain, which was something that the other two were also wondering.

"You're part Brain will be coming up shortly, but just to be safe I'll contact all of you the same way I did to bring you here today." replied Acnologia before disappearing from their view in the thick fog that settled around them during their little meeting.

"I really…" Brain started to say only for Mard Geer to cover his mouth. Something that Brain would have usually attacked him for, but looking at the fear in the demon's eyes as he looked in the direction that Acnologia disappeared into caused him to remain quiet. So for the next few minutes the three of them stood there in complete silence, until Mard Geer finally let out a sigh of relief and removed his hands from Brain's mouth.

"I should fucking kill you for that." he growled out.

"Like you even could, and you should be thanking Mard Geer from stopping you from saying something that would've gotten yourself killed." replied the demon as he went back to the spot that he was sitting at for most of their meeting with Acnologia.

"How so?" asked Hades, wondering why the demon was so terrified even after Acnologia left.

"You two don't know how good of senses he and his kind have, even while in human form. He could easily hear us from a mile away while in this desolate forest." he explained.

"His kind, you're making it sound as if he isn't a dragon." stated Brain, who just like Hades was now interested and wanted to learn more about the being telling them what to do.

"That's because he actually isn't a true dragon, he is a dragon slayer turned dragon. Which it would appear is his intentions for the son of Igneel." he replied, wondering what else could be going on that Acnologia knows about. Because just another dragon slayer alone wouldn't be enough to pique his interest like it currently was, when Acnologia would usually just destroy them like he did so many years ago.

"Interesting, I was thrilled to have a new test subject with a Lost Magic. But now you're telling me that he has the potential to be like Acnologia, that just makes me even more excited." stated Brain as his face lit up as he started to think about all of the tests he'd have to try on the dragon slayer once he got him.

"I'm also extremely intrigued, but shouldn't we be concerned about another Acnologia being created?" asked Hades as he looked at the two of them.

"Not really." replied Mard Geer as he traced the letters on the front cover of the book he had been holding this whole time.

"And why the hell not? I don't know about you two but I would prefer to not be under the thumb of that Monster or possibly someone like him later on." he stated, getting a nod of agreement from his fellow human that wanted to know why the demon was so calm.

"Because first off, Acnologia will most likely completely forget about the two of you after you've served your purpose. And secondly, you don't need to be concerned about two Acnologias terrorizing the world because he is most likely training this new dragon slayer to become a worthy opponent for him. Meaning that once they have their inevitable fight, only one of them will be left standing afterwards." explained Mard Geer, but it seemed to not comfort the other two at all.

"I could definitely go for something more reassuring than most likely." said Brain as he tried to come up with a solution to their current predicament.

"I have to agree with him on that one." stated Hades with a prominent frown as he tried to come up with a solution as well.

"Then what would the two of you say to forming an Alliance?" he asked with a sly grin spread across his face.

"An Alliance to do what?" asked Brain with an eyebrow raised.

"To the rest of the world, and more specifically Acnologia, it would be nothing more than a non-aggression pact. I stay out of your business so long as you stay out of mine, something that I'm sure the two of you can see the benefits in. But the real purpose of this little Alliance of ours would be to dispose of Acnologia if he or this new dragon slayer decides to turn on us." he answered with a stern look sent both of their ways.

"That doesn't sound like too bad of an idea, but why don't we just attack him before he has the chance to come after us?" Brain asked back with a crazed grin making its way across his face.

"Because as we are now that would be nothing more than suicide for all of us." answered Hades with a thoughtful expression. "Just look at what he did to the mages that we both brought." he said while gesturing to the forest that they knew contained the dead bodies of everyone that they brought with them. "But if we rebuild our forces over the next few years we might be able to actually take down a monster like him. Especially if we can get this new dragon slayer to side with us." he finished with a grin spread across his lips.

"That is exactly what I was thinking, but we can't let anyone else know of our plans or we're as good as dead. And that especially goes for the son of Igneel, since he'll probably be back with Acnologia before our forces are strong enough to even fend him off." replied Mard Geer still having a stern expression on his face.

"True, but that doesn't mean we can't start laying the groundwork for him coming over to our side eventually." pointed out Hades with a small smile as he already had a certain individual in mind for such a task.

"Considering that most of my followers were just taken out I'll probably be working on my newer recruits and my other research. So I'll be leaving all of that to the two of you since I also won't be directly interacting with the boy until who knows when." stated Brain with a surprisingly thoughtful expression.

"That would probably be for the best since we don't want to raise Acnologia's suspicion of us more than it already will be after he finds out about our little Alliance." said the demon as he got off of the stump he was using as a chair.

"Indeed, but so long as we stick with the non-aggression pact that we talked about he shouldn't become too suspicious of us." replied Hades as he looked at his two new allies.

"So what are we going to call this little Alliance of ours?" asked Brain, causing the three of them to sit there in silence for a while as they tried to come up with one.

"I've got it, the Balam Alliance!" said Hades with a little smirk. "Because after today we're going to become the three heads of the underworld." he explained.

"That seems rather appropriate." stated the other human of their group.

"In more ways than you know." chuckled Mard Geer, since he was a demon just like the one that they are now using as their alliance's name.

"With that settled I think it's time for me to head out." declared Hades as he turned away from them and headed in the direction that he came from when they all first met up.

"To think that today ended with me having a freaking alliance between two dark guilds, one that is still rumored to be completely full of demons." said Brain with a little chuckle as he too started to leave the clearing.

"Seeing as how we're now all allies, I can tell you that they aren't just rumors." replied Mard Geer as he watched the two humans leave him all alone in the clearing. "Now the real question is what are the two of you going to try and do to get the upper hand in this alliance of ours?" he asked himself out loud as a smirk spread across his lips. "The easiest way would be getting this new dragon slayer to join up with one of our guilds, but I'm fairly certain that Acnologia will make that almost impossible." he thought to himself as he slowly headed into the fog just like the rest of them.

July 7th X777 in a cave in the middle of nowhere:

In said cave sprawled out on the floor was a young boy wearing only tattered pants and a white muffler wrapped around his neck. But the thing that stood out the most about him was his pink hair that stuck out like a sore thumb. This boy was Natsu Dragneel, the same dragon slayer that was the center of the discussion that took place a month ago in the middle of Worth Woodsea. And he was currently letting out a yawn, signaling that he was finally getting a start to his day.

"Igneel." he mumbled while rubbing his eyes. "What are we going to have for breakfast?" he asked while getting out one final big yawn. And for the next few seconds he continued on his slow process of waking up, but after getting absolutely no response from said dragon he was now wide awake.

"Igneel!" he shouted out in anger. "Where are you, you overgrown lizard!?" he shouted out, knowing that it usually got his dad angry at him. But once again there was absolutely no response, which would have caused Natsu to start panicking if something similar to this hadn't happened a few times before.

"He probably just went hunting." he said to himself with a confident smile spread across his adorable little face. "I better start training so he actually lets me have whatever he caught." he stated before going to the exit of the cave and started to go through his regular morning regimen.

A routine that first consisted of him going through all of his fighting stances slowly, which would have looked like someone doing a weird type of yoga if someone was watching him. After that he did them all over again but in a completely different order and a whole lot faster, making it look as if he was fighting an imaginary enemy. Once he finished up with both of those Natsu then took off down the mountain with everything he got, jumping over and under the terrain with such skill and agility that you never would have guessed that he was only just a young teen. This brought the pink haired boy to a pond where he would usually start swimming and finish up with catching some fish that he would eat without telling his father.

But before he started that Natsu couldn't ignore the odd feeling he got while coming down the mountain, a feeling that everything was ever so slightly off from the previous day. Such as all of the trees being bigger or completely gone from where they once stood, all of which he attributed to his lack of ever really concentrating on such boring things. Something he definitely couldn't say about what he was now looking at on the far side of pond, which was more of a lake now, given that the pond was now at least one hundred times bigger than it once was. On the other side of a lake was a cabin that didn't used to be there yesterday when he was last here.

"I wonder if they have any tasty food that I haven't tried yet?" he asked himself with a big grin. That he quickly lost when he remembered Igneel telling him that he wasn't supposed to interact with other humans until the time was right. And when he asked the dragon what he meant by that the only response that he would ever get was that he would know when that time was. So with a little shrug of his shoulders Natsu went back to his regular routine, making a note to ask Igneel about the new cabin that sprung up overnight.

After he finished eating the fish that he caught and cooked with a small fire that he created, it was now around noon since the sun was in the middle of the sky. Seeing that if he didn't hurry he would be late for his first lesson of the day with father, Natsu hurried back up the mountain. Once again showing off how skilled he was at traversing a treacherous terrain that most people wouldn't be able to climb if given a few hours to do so, something he was capable of doing in less than a single hour.

"Igneel, where in the world were you?" he asked while jumping up to the ledge that led to the cave that the two of them considered their home for the past few months. But once again the poor little boy was met with only the sound of his own voice echoing throughout the cave that went deep into the mountains. They went so far that even with all of his exploring of them he still hadn't found the ends of all the tunnels that went everywhere like a spider web.

"Igneel, this isn't funny anymore." he said with a pout coming to his face, now getting slightly worried since he can't remember the last time he went this long without seeing his father. "Fine Igneel, I'll go back to training!" he shouted out angrily as he tried to spot the large red dragon. "But when I finally see you you're going to get it!" he declared while shaking a fist in the air before heading out of the cave again.

Natsu couldn't help but feel a little worried that Igneel still hadn't shown himself to him at all today, but he decided to focus on the rest of his training that he could accomplish without the help of the dragon. That meant doing sit ups until he physically couldn't anymore, which was more than most in shape full grown adults could do. After that it was doing the same thing with pushups and finishing it off with running laps in a nearby meadow until he collapsed to the ground.

While lying in the meadow he was once again seeing something that he never recalled seeing during any of the other times training there. Which was a salmon flower that was the exact shade of his own hair; this caused the little boy to have a huge smile spread across his face as he picked one of them. Intent on showing his father that his hair wasn't that odd since a flower shared it with him, while on the way up Natsu realized that maybe showing Igneel this flower might not be his best idea ever. Because he had the strange feeling that the dragon would only start laughing at him and say how does a pink flower prove his hair is a manly color like he always claimed it to be. But by this time he was already at the cave entrance once again, so with a huge smile spread across his face he once again entered hoping to find his father waiting for him.

The first thing Natsu did after entering the cave for the second time that day was letting the flower fall unceremoniously to the ground, once again finding himself all alone. He started to have a slight panic attack after realizing this; which was the second time in his short life that he was abandoned with absolutely no explanation whatsoever. This in turn caused him to fall to his knees and start crying openly, not caring that someone might hear or see him. Something that he actually would've been okay with, since it would have meant that he wouldn't be alone anymore.

After crying for a few more minutes he did a complete one eighty and became extremely upset with his foster father. So much so that he started to use his magic and destroy anything that he set his eyes on, which wasn't anything more than large rocks and pillars that were scattered throughout the cave. He continued to do that until he completely exhausted himself out and curled up into a ball and fell asleep while sobbing to himself, hoping that Igneel would be there once he woke back up.

Unfortunately for Natsu that dream of his was dashed to bits as soon as his eyes opened the next morning. But he was determined to not let that keep him down, so he did what he did yesterday and went about his usual training routine. Although he went at it even harder than normal, mainly to keep his mind off of the thought that Igneel might have abandoned him. A thought that kept coming back to him, but only for a second since he still had faith that his father wouldn't do that to him. And Natsu held onto that faith longer than most kids his age would have, which just showed how stubborn the pink haired boy could be when he was determined.

July 14th X777 with Natsu Dragneel:

It has now been a full week without him seeing the slightest sign of his foster parent, and even Natsu had to start admitting that he probably wasn't coming back for him. But being the stubborn kid that he is, Natsu came to the decision that something must be preventing Igneel from coming back to him. And if that was indeed the case then the only logical thing for him to do is go out and find his father and get rid of whatever is stopping them from being together.

"I'm going to find you Igneel, and you better have a good reason for leaving me like you did." declared the young dragon slayer after finishing his morning regimen and eating enough fish to last for the rest of the day. And since he was currently at the lake, looking over at the cabin on the other side, he decided right then and there that this must have been what Igneel was talking about when he said that he would know when it was okay to go and talk with other humans.

As he casually strolled around the lake Natsu picked up on the sounds of kids around his age playing together. This of course got him excited since he never really interacted with anyone other than Igneel and the other wildlife that wasn't afraid of him or the giant red dragon. Which honestly wasn't too many creatures for obvious reasons, but the ones that did became friends of the pink haired dragon slayer as much as animals could. That was just another thing that bothered him over the past week since he didn't see any of them during that, but none of that mattered right now since he was going to finally get to interact with other kids.

This excitement of his caused Natsu to not notice the presence of an extremely strong individual that was coming up behind him. But as soon as he did it was too late for him and his vision faded to black, thanks to a swift strike to the back of his neck. And before he could even hit the ground his assailant picked him up, revealing it to be none other than Acnologia.

"To think that you would be the last one that I checked on of all the little dragon slayers sent to this time." said Acnologia as he threw the boy carelessly over his shoulder. "And did those old fools really think that a bunch of snot nosed brats could actually take me out? I honestly should have killed all of them until I found you, but who knows, maybe they will prove to be entertaining later on and actually put up a fight? If not for me than they should at least be fun for you to kill once you're older." he stated with a grin as he walked past the cabin Natsu was heading to. And the aura he naturally gave off caused all of the children playing outside to run back to their parents, too scared to do anything else. All of the kids hiding behind them as they watched Acnologia walk off into the distance with Natsu slung over his right shoulder.

July 16th at an unknown location in the early morning:

"What the hell happened?" asked Natsu as he opened his eyes and started to rub the back of his neck. If felt like he had been hit a few times by Igneel when he was upset with him and didn't want to deal with the hyperactive dragon slayer.

"You've been passed out for a while." replied an unknown voice. Causing Natsu to jump to his feet and get into a fighting position as his flames coated both of his small fists.

"Who are you?" he asked while looking at a young man wearing glasses calmly sitting on the ground with his back against a tree. The man was eating an apple while completely ignoring the fact that Natsu's fists were on fire and looked like he was ready to fight him.

"Just a fellow traveler who happened to come across a boy passed out in the woods and decided to stay with him until he woke up." answered the stranger as he tossed the core of his apple away and proceeded to start cutting slices out of a different one, eating them as he did.

"That's not a name." he declared while glaring at the man. Taking in the outfit that he was currently wearing, which was a garish one at that, composed of robes and shirts that made him look like some sort of priest. Especially because of the hat and weird symbol that was proudly displayed on the front of the outer layer.

"Indeed it isn't little boy, so why don't we have a proper introduction?" asked the stranger while offering Natsu a slice of his apple, which he refused while having a confused expression coming over his face.

"What's an introduction?" he finally asked as the man finished eating his apple.

"It's how people greet each other for the first time, it's where you learn each other's name." replied the man as he got up and started to dust himself off.

"Oh, I guess we could do that. Hi I'm Natsu!" he replied with a bright smile that was reciprocated by the stranger.

"Hi Natsu, it's a pleasure to meet you and you can call me Lahar." said the young man now identified as Lahar as he held out his hand for Natsu to shake. Which the young boy did cautiously, thinking that it still might be some sort of trap. But after seeing that it wasn't Lahar could see him lighten up and no longer look ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Can I ask you a few questions Lahar?" asked Natsu after they finished their handshake that he thought felt odd and didn't really know what he was doing.

"Go right ahead." replied Lahar as he started to walk on the path heading through the woods only a few feet away from where they used to be at.

"What's with that weird stuff you're wearing?" he asked while gesturing to Lahar's Rune Knight Uniform.

"Oh this it's just the outfit that I have to wear for my job. Have you honestly never seen a Rune Knight before?" Lahar asked Natsu back with a slightly stunned expression coming over his visage.

"Nope, I've only really spent time with my dad and some of the other animals that weren't afraid of him." replied Natsu with a bright smile as he started to walk with the Rune Knight.

"And where exactly is your father?" he asked with what some might call a concerned expression.

"I don't know." answered Natsu as his head dropped and a frown spread across his face. "But that's why I'm now out looking for him." he declared with a determined glint in the back of his eye.

"What's his name and what does he look like? Maybe I can help you find him." asked the Rune Knight, wondering how someone as young as Natsu could already be so determined to have a look like he just saw.

"His name is Igneel and he's a giant red dragon!" he replied once again having a huge toothy grin flashed Lahar's way. Who was slightly shocked to hear how certain Natsu was about all of this, but that was to be expected when considering the magic that he possesses.

"I actually saw a red dragon fly past not too long ago." stated Lahar, who now felt slightly conflicted upon seeing how excited the little pink haired boy became after hearing this.

"You did? Which way did he go? If I hurry I might be able to catch up to him." rambled off the young dragon slayer before taking off without even waiting for an answer.

"You're going the wrong way!" shouted Lahar before Natsu could disappear on him.

"Oops, so which way did you see him flying?" he asked now with a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

"This way, and if you want I can show you since I'm actually heading that way myself." answered Lahar, once again feeling a little queasy when Natsu started to thank him over and over again. "That's enough Natsu, I can't promise you that once we get there that you'll find him." he finally said, hoping that it might prepare the boy for there to be no signs of the dragon once they got to his designated meeting spot.

"That won't be a problem if he actually passed by recently." stated Natsu with a small as he stopped jumping around in joy.

"And why is that exactly?" he asked, honestly curious as to how Natsu was so sure of it not being a problem.

"Because of my nose, if Igneel did go past here than I should be able to pick up his scent." answered Natsu, not noticing the shocked look he was receiving from Lahar at the moment.

"Your nose is that good?" he asked skeptically.

"Yep, I never forget a scent and can usually track one down from a few miles away." replied Natsu proudly. "Well actually so long as it's not raining that is, if it's raining then I can only track a scent from just a mile away. Wait a minute, why haven't I been able to smell Igneel's scent at all since he left me?" he asked now coming to a stop and scratching his chin. This caused Lahar to stop as well, making him also slightly nervous since it seemed like the kid might be finally realizing that something was a little off.

"Maybe this is some sort of test." suggested Lahar with a nervous smile as Natsu turned to look at him with a thoughtful expression. Only for his thoughtful look to change into his big toothy grin, the little boy then turned away and started to walk in the direction that they were before.

"Why didn't I realize that sooner, of course this is one of his tests." he said with a little chuckle, feeling a slight sense of relief wash over him at finally figuring out what was going on. Not noticing the conflicted look Lahar was giving the back of his head at the moment.

At dusk:

"Are we there yet Lahar?" asked Natsu in a bored tone as they continued to walk up into a small mountain range. That they have been pretty much been walking on since Lahar told him that he saw a red dragon flying through the sky.

"We're almost there Natsu." replied Lahar from up front, no longer being able to look at the boy in the face. He was now finding it really hard to believe that this kid was a threat to the Kingdom and also the Magical World as well. Not knowing that his actions today were ones that were in fact the beginning of a certain string of events that turned Natsu into what he thought he was preventing.

"You've said that for the last two hours." whined Natsu, who didn't mind walking so long as he could preoccupy his mind with something to at least look at. But the current mountain range they were going through had nothing to offer him after the novelty of playing in the snow wore off on him.

"I think this is where he should have landed." he said while starting to look around for the other Rune Knights that were supposed to help him take in this boy for questioning.

"Are you sure, Lahar, because I don't smell him? All I smell is a few humans and other wildlife." stated Natsu with a confused expression, only for his ears to start twitching as he thought he heard something from behind him. But before he could even turn, something sharp hit his neck and he was out the next second, falling face first into the snow.

"Natsu, what's going on?" asked Lahar, thinking that the boy might be trying to trick him into another snowball fight like he tried earlier. Although after waiting a full minute without getting a response from him Lahar rushed over to him to make sure that he was okay. Once he got to him he was shocked to find a dart in the back of the young dragon slayer's neck.

"You did a splendid job Knight Lahar." said Brain as he emerged from a nearby tree, causing Lahar to jump back in surprise. "Or it will most likely be Captain Lahar after I talk to a few of your superiors about how well you performed today." he continued to say while walking towards the two of them.

"Who are you and what in the world are you talking about?" he asked while getting in between him and Natsu.

"It doesn't surprise me that you don't know who I am, especially when you consider that I'm usually in one of the Council's labs doing research. But to answer your first question my name is Brain, and I'm in charge of the Bureau of Magical Development a small branch of the Council as I'm sure you already know." explained Brain with a smirk that made Lahar feel as if he had insects crawling all over him.

"Do you have proof us such claims?" he asked while still protectively standing in between Natsu and Brain.

"The cautious one aren't we, something that I feel more people should strive to be in this crazy world of ours. Here you go and as for your second question, your mission has slightly changed since the Council believes that handing over the boy to me will yield better results for them." he said while handing over a few pieces of paper to the Rune Knight who was now intently reading them. "And I'm sure you realize that in order to move up the ranks in the Council you need to do missions like this one. Or possibly have someone in a higher position help you move up the ranks, and after today you'll have both." explained Brain as he watched the Rune Knight quickly comb through all of the documents he was just given.

"Everything seems to be in order, but if this boy is as big of a threat as they believe him to be I feel like I should help you escort him to wherever you're taking him." offered Lahar as he handed back the documents.

"He is definitely a threat to the Kingdom's security, but luckily for us even he can't resist the sedative that I injected him with. Which will last long enough for me to take him back to the Bureau, a place that's location unfortunately must remain a secret even from a trustworthy Knight as yourself." he replied while stepping around Lahar and picking Natsu up and tossing him over one of his shoulders.

"Fine, but can you tell me what you plan to do to him?" asked Lahar as he looked at the unconscious form of Natsu.

"Frankly speaking that is none of your business, but if you must know we're going to try and figure out his magic. Lost Magic is such a rare thing these days and there is so much we still don't know about them." he answered while heading further into the mountains, leaving behind a conflicted Lahar that remained in his spot for a few minutes not moving. Finally leaving once he decided to believe what his superiors told him, and that he just saved countless lives by preventing that boy from becoming the monster that they claimed he would be.

Unknown Location of The Bureau of Magical Development:

"Are you sure it's a wise decision to bring in another subject that might be even stronger than the last one?" asked a woman in a lab coat as she and Brain looked at a lacrima screen that showed a few doctors strapping Natsu into a table in a heavily fortified room.

"Absolutely my dear, we've learned a lot since she destroyed our last facility. And I would have to say that this boy fascinates me even more than the girl you were referring to." he replied while having a smug grin spread across his face as Natsu started to wake up before they had him completely strapped down. He enjoyed the look of panic that flashed across the boy's face, but what he enjoyed even more than that was the expression that came after. An expression of someone determined to fight until the bitter end, something that he was definitely going to enjoy trying to get him to.

He was given pretty loose rules in the letter that Acnologia gave to him a week ago. They stated that so long as the boy kept all of his five senses and was able to escape on his own at the designated time, everything else that he could do was free game. Which meant that the dragon slayer currently covered in flames trying to remove the restraints on his other arm and legs was going to be put through the ringer.

"Sir, don't you think we should do something before he breaks free of his restraints?" asked the woman in a nervous tone, only to flinch as one of the men in the room was swatted to the other side of the room and didn't get back up.

"No, I want to see what he does once he's free." stated Brain as he continued to grin at the footage they were watching.

With Natsu:

"Kid you need to calm down." said the only other person in the room that was still conscious besides Natsu.

"No way, just stay away from me otherwise you'll get what your friends got!" shouted back Natsu as he glared at the man, causing him to take a few steps back.

"We're only trying to help you." he replied, hoping that the kid would believe him.

"With what, because I was completely fine while I was with Lahar." stated Natsu while still glaring at the man.

"You don't know how to control your magic properly." he said, which was definitely not the correct thing to suggest to the young dragon slayer.

"You don't think I know how to control the magic Igneel gave me?" asked Natsu as the temperature in the room soared to unimaginable heights in a matter of seconds. Causing the still conscious man to start sweating profusely and really regret what he just said as he watched the supposedly fireproof straps holding back Natsu burn up to nothing. "Does this look like I don't know how to use my magic properly?" he asked while walking over to the man now trembling in fear before him.

"No." he whispered back.

"That's what I thought, now let me out of here so I can go look for Igneel." he demanded, but was shocked when the terrified man shook his head no. "Well if that's the case then I'll do it myself, FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" he shouted while punching the poor man with a flame covered fist into the door, which he was surprised to see still standing afterwards.

"Let's see how you handle the real deal, FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" he declared while charging at the only door in the room and throwing another flame covered fist at it. Once again shocked that it withstood his attack, but a mischievous grin spread across his lips after noticing the indent he made in the center of the door. And the small cracks that were forming around the hinges, something that he knew meant that if he hit it a few more times would result in it breaking.

Back with Brain:

"Simply marvelous, he's already exceeding all of my expectations." stated Brain as he watched Natsu continue to attack the door.

"Sir, if we don't do something quick he's going to break out of the one room that he's not supposed to be able to escape from." replied the woman in a scared tone.

"I know, which makes all of this even more interesting since I was assured by you and your team that he would be helpless in that room. And as we are both seeing right now, that is completely false which makes me want to find out what else in this facility doesn't work like it's supposed to." he said with an amused chuckle as the door flew out into the hallway seconds later and the alarms started to go off.

"I can understand why you want to find all of that out, but is letting that boy run amok really the best way to do it? Just think of all the faculty that he might hurt in the process." she stated only to watch in horror as a group of guards were blasted down a hallway by a huge stream of flames. Rendering all of them unconscious as the pink haired boy took off down the hallway in just his pants and muffler.

"Honestly he's the perfect test subject for all of our security measures, just look at him go through our guards as if they aren't even there. He truly is a specimen worthy of my time." he replied while not taking his eyes off of the screen that was following the dragon slayer through the facility.

"If you say so." she said in a meek voice as she turned away from the monitor that was now showing Natsu taking out more guards in hand to hand combat. He used his smaller frame and faster reflexes to his fullest, dispatching them with quick strikes to vulnerable spots such as their joints and vital areas.

"I do, and if he looks like he might make it out I'll step in and deal with him personally." he said with a look that made the woman think he was hoping for that situation to occur.

With Natsu a few minutes later:

"Geeze were in the world do you creeps keep coming from?" asked Natsu while panting and trying to catch his breath.

"Go back to your cell before you force us to hurt you." said one of the three guards blocking his way down a hallway that had fresh air coming from it. Which Natsu assumed was as good as any other way to figure out where the exit to this place might be located at.

"I thought you were claiming that you were only trying to help me?" he asked him back with a heated glare coming over his face.

"Fuck this bullshit; you're here because you're a danger to the rest of the world. Something that you've clearly proven since breaking out." shouted one of the other guards as he glared right back at him.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone, but you wouldn't let me leave like I wanted to." he argued back as his flames started to cover his whole body.

"Sure you didn't you little monster." spat out the last guard.

"I didn't, so step aside and you won't need to get hurt." declared Natsu with a little growl that caused the three guards to take a step back.

"If you go back to your cell we won't hold any of this against you." said the first guard, hoping to resolve this peacefully if he could.

"Hold what against me? All I'm doing is trying to break free from a group of strangers that took me to who knows where without asking." Natsu asked back as he started to walk towards them.

"You asked for it brat!" shouted a different guard as he swung his baton at him. Only for it to be caught just inches away from landing a blow on the little dragon slayer, but what shocked the guards more was when they watched the metal bend and melt away until all he was holding was just the handle.

"I really didn't want to do this, FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK!" shouted Natsu as he rushed between them, resulting with the three of them to be engulfed in flames that launched them in the direction that he took off in. And he looked to both sides of himself as the three guards fell to the ground knocked out.

He was about to start heading towards the door at the end of the hallway until he heard the sounds of clapping coming out of a speaker on the wall right beneath the ceiling. Seeing that it wasn't a person for him to fight he decided to ignore it and continue on his way.

"Very good Natsu." came a voice through the speaker that caused Natsu to stop in his tracks and twirl around so he was now facing the speaker.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" he asked while glaring at the source of the voice.

"Who I am isn't important my dear little dragon slayer, as for how I know your name. Let's just say that some very important people are interested in you and your magic, which is where I come in." replied the voice.

"How so?" asked the dragon slayer with a confused expression.

"Simple, while you're here I'm going to figure out everything I can about your magic and what you're capable of. So I'm only going to give you this offer once, you can either stay here willingly and be treated as an honored guest. Or you can try to leave and force me to do this the hard way." proposed the voice, causing Natsu to let out a growl.

"I'd like to see you try." he declared before taking off down the hallway.

"I was hoping you'd choose the hard way." came the voice in an amused tone. This caused Natsu to think that something might be off, which was exactly the case when he felt his foot push in a weight trigger on the floor. And the next second he was blasted with enough electricity to render him unconscious, making him unable to see Brain as he came in through the end of the hallway with a twisted grin spread across his face.

End of Chapter

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading this new story of mine that I was only able to do thanks to the contribution and input of Awareness Bringer. So there you have it, the beginning of a new story that I hope you'll all enjoy as much as my other work. Which I know I sure will since I'm a huge fan of a darker Natsu which this one will definitely be, and since I'm working on this story with Awareness Bringer I don't really have any other questions for all of you at this time like I usually do. But that doesn't mean I don't want to hear any input you might have for the two of us as we continue on with this story.

Oh and if you would like me to update faster or possibly start a new story I have information about my page that I set up on my profile page.

Until the next Chapter

Digem Out!