Chapter 1 – The Storm

Light flashes in a dark abyss causing it to turn to a brilliant white, blinding all that would behold it for that signal moment before fading as fast as it came.

"Whoa! Urg…" A voice suddenly calls out in pain in the apparent darkness. "Are… You alright?!" Another voice tries to call out to its companion through the storm which plagued them.

"Wait, NO! Hold on! Just a little longer! We are almost there!" It continued to call out in alarm feeling the grip of its companion loosen on itself in the storm.

"No… I can't… hold on. I'm at my limit…" The weak reply came from the darkness. Suddenly the light intensified, lightning striking through the air giving flashes of light to the abyss which the two voices occupied. "WAAH!" The voice eventually called out in pain as the storm tore it from its companion into the rest of the blackness of the abyss, into nothingness…

Lightning crackled through the air as it lit the dark skies while it traced through the air, outlining the darkened clouds which grumbled in misery as they threw down torrents of rain to the world below. The ocean waves crashed and roared, each fighting for dominance amongst the rest. The lightning flashed again, shedding light inside a warmly lit room. The windows of the building rattled against the ongoing weather battle outside, doing its best to hold it back.

"Looks like we've got a real storm tonight…" Carla announced looking out the window towards the storm unfazed by the events while another person walked up to accompany her.

"I hope that there is no one out there caught up in it…" Wendy quietly mentioned as she too looked out at the storm, another flash of lightning filling the room through the water-covered window.

"Only a fool would be out there now, no-one would even try to risk walking in it and I doubt any ships would have left without noticing this to be a possibility either," Carla responded rather swiftly in a voice which seemed to lack any compassion, but Wendy knew that wasn't entirely the case.

"It does still feel rather sudden though, I definitely wouldn't have expected anything like this in the morning," Wendy commented and it was something Carla couldn't deny, the storm did come on rather fast. Even she wouldn't have suspected anything.

It was bad enough when they were rushing home but now that they were home and dried off, it had gotten far worse. Port towns would definitely be feeling it the most from the ocean they had at their doorstep. The beach near Fairy Hills was looking bad already, too.

"Do you feel anything Carla?" Wendy suddenly asked, grabbing the Exceed's attention.

"Feel what Wendy?" She asked in confusion, turning her gaze from the window to the girl.

"Just anything." Wendy bluntly replied, her gaze not leaving the window intently watching the storm.

"No, I don't. Why do you ask? Do you feel anything? Scared?" Carla quickly inquired after her answer, a smile forming whilst teasing the girl.

"I just feel… strange. I really can't describe it." Wendy answered, brushing off Carla's teasing as she continued to look on, deep in thought. Carla looked back to the storm at this taking on the situation with a bit more seriousness, if it wasn't fear or any describable emotion then she couldn't have a clue what it would be. Especially if it was related to the storm. "It's sort of like something is out there… waiting…" Wendy continued getting Carla into thought before the pair went disrupted.

"Wendy, Carla! We're having dinner now!" Levy's voice could be heard from the other side of the door pulling their attention away from the window.

"Coming!" Wendy quickly replied in a cheery voice before looking out the window to the storm one last final time.

"Try not to think of it too much, there are many more days ahead of you to find this 'something' you are talking about. For now, you can eat and then rest for tomorrow." Carla advised Wendy. She got a simple hum in response before Wendy turned around and picked Carla up and walked toward the door to head downstairs for her dinner with the rest of the girls.

Birds were heard chirping from and light seeped in through the gap in the windows as Wendy awoke from her sleep. She welcomed the world with a stretch of her arms and a yawn of tiredness.

"Good morning child…" Carla called out in a tired voice to her from her side in the bed as she too awoke sitting upright.

"Looks like the storm has already passed over…" Wendy mentioned as she looked outside her window only to see bright yet cloudy skies, clouds which were yet to pass on from the night before.

"It left as fast as it came." Carla was quick to summarize as she too looked out of the window before getting to her feet. "Come on, we need to get ready and head to the guild." She then ushered Wendy awake and out of her bed.

Slowly, reluctantly but eventually Wendy got out from the covers of her bed and headed to her drawers which contained the clothes which she would wear for the upcoming day before heading down to the dorms bathroom. It was only a quick soak, enough to clean off any sweat and the remaining fatigue that clung to her from her sleep. She heads back to her room when she's finished.

"What sort of job do you think we might do today?" Wendy asked her friend as she combed through her hair, sorting out the mess which had accumulated during the night.

"You think we'll be doing a job today?" Carla asked back, wondering why Wendy sounded so confident about it. She assumed that she didn't want to go on one for herself since they easily had the money to pay for their upcoming rent.

"Yes, it's coming up to when Lucy has to pay her rent, right?" Wendy answered, getting a small chuckle from Carla.

"Gotten used to the routine then?" She jokingly asked back. This was how it always went when the Celestial Mage had her rent upcoming: a last-minute dash for Jewels. Wendy giggled to herself as she thought back to their previous adventures fondly, which was more than an answer for the likes of Carla.

"Shall we have breakfast and go then?" Carla then switched topics, now done with her own daily routine waiting on Wendy to finish hers. The teenager only nodded, a friendly smile on her face as she yet again went to pick up her furry companion before heading downstairs yet again.

After grabbing a quick bite at the dorms laid out breakfast, the pair quickly made their way off to the guild by themselves. The rest of the girls had either already left or were still sorting themselves out with their own routines in the dorms, leaving them no other company for their trip.

Wendy didn't mind making the trip by herself as it was usually the only quiet time she ever got during the day, giving her a special appreciation for these moments. She even went out of her way to extend her walk by walking down alongside the beach, which wasn't too far from the dorms, before heading into town, enjoying the view of the sun rising from the water despite the damp environment. "Isn't it beautiful Carla?" Wendy asked her companion in her arms as she stopped to look at the rising sun over the beach, its rays reflecting the gentle waves, creating a sort of road made of light across them.

"Indeed it is, despite how close we live it's still a rare occurrence to walk across here while it's like this. Even if you were here waiting you would still be lucky for the weather to be like this, especially after last night." Carla answered, admiring the scene and marvelling the sudden change and contrast in the weather compared to how it was the night before.

Wendy's gaze just travelled along the beach, taking in each little bit of the sight before her until something caught her eye amongst the darkened, gold sand of the beach. "Carla, what do you think that is?" She asked with a perplexed glace, pointing to a dark grey object that lay in the sand.

"I haven't a clue, child. It seems too big to have just washed up here under normal circumstances and it doesn't seem like anything you would usually see washed up on the shore." Carla answered, looking hard at the object, unable to draw any definitive answer.

With their curiosities piqued, Wendy made her way down onto the beach, keeping Carla in her hands in order to get a better view of the object they had spotted. The sand was damp and gave way to Wendy's sandals, some of the damped sand creeping onto the tips of her toes and giving her a slightly uncomfortable, ticklish sensation. Despite this, she pressed on, driven by her curiosity of the object. As she got closer it made it easier and easier to make out.

The next moment she stopped in shock, her eyes wide open in disbelief not wanting to completely accept what her suspicions of the object were, but a small gasp from Carla only helped to prove that she was right. The object was, in fact, a large dampened coat, sitting just where the waves crashed upon the shore, but that didn't explain the general bulge of it. There was no need to get any closer to tell that it was a person who had washed up onshore.

Snapping out of her initial shock, Wendy began racing towards the person's side in desperation. It would be no shocker if this was thanks to the storm that happened the night before. In mere moments, she had closed the distance and she knelt by the stranger's side, the wet sand not bothering her in the slightest anymore, and started to inspect them for any wounds that she could heal.

The person was a boy, his face beaten and battered as well as seemingly around Wendy's own age. He was still absolutely soaked but he still appeared to be breathing: they were weak, shallow breaths but they proved his reluctance to let go of life.

Setting down Carla, Wendy got straight to work. Holding her hands out and above the boy, she worked her magic, causing all his bruises and cuts to slowly fade away as if they were never there. Despite this, his breathing didn't get much better but at least the hard, strained expression on his face eased up showing more relief than before.

"How is he child?" Carla asked worriedly, standing by Wendy's side and watching her do her best to help the poor boy out while not trying to break her concentration.

Wendy sighed in exhaustion, putting her hands on the ground to support her as she looked back at the boy who has yet to show any signs of waking. "He should be fine but he still needs a much better place to rest, as well as a warm shower or bath. He's soaked and freezing cold; we need to warm him up." She tiredly responded with a face of concern for the boy.

"Then we'll take him to the guild or the local doctor's. He'll be able to get everything he needs there." Carla said after she thought over Wendy's information.

Wendy shook her head in disagreement. "It would be better if we brought him to Fairy Hills first, at least until he wakes up. It's much closer than the town is." She firmly responded, making Carla look at her, the Exceed looking for any sign of indecisiveness. She found none, Wendy was serious about everything she had just said.

"But he's a boy! He won't be allowed in there!" Carla quickly protested.

"There can be exceptions! And besides, he needs help! Worse comes to worst, we can try and keep it secret in our room." Wendy argued back without faltering for a moment. She went on to try and lift the boy onto her back.

"We don't know him at all! How can you even think about trusting him?! Who knows what he will do when he wakes up? I know you want to help but do it at a safer place!" Carla desperately tried to dissuade Wendy. None of it was having any effect as Wendy was now walking down the beach to the dorms, albeit with great effort as she had the boy on her back.

Carla could only sigh in defeat at the sight of her struggling partner attempting to carry the soaked boy, which soaked her in the process. Notably, his clothes were dragging across the ground from being far too large for his body.

Wendy felt the burden on her back lighten until it was there no more; the only remaining evidence of the boy ever being there was her soaked back. Wendy didn't need to look back to see the cause, or even if the boy was still there. Carla flew past her in the direction of the dorms, carrying the boy's body for her with a look of defeat on her face. Wendy stood there and watched Carla carry him off. A smile grew on her face, happy that Carla more or less agreed to help her and the boy only. She was snapped out of her joyful reverie by the white Exceed.

"Well, what are you standing there for, child? You said you wanted him indoors." Carla asked, looking back at Wendy.

Wendy simply nodded with a wide smile on her face. "Yeah!" She finally spoke, hurrying up to walk by Carla's side as they made their way off the sandy shore and onto the path that led toward the dorms.

He stirred in his sleep, tossing and turning as the same black dream kept haunting him over and over, making him desperate for a way out of the black abyss.

"…Ok?" A soft, quiet voice suddenly echoed throughout the void, seemingly silencing the rest of the experiences and noises that kept him in turmoil. "Are… Ok?" The voice spoke again, clearer and more defined than before. He turned in its direction, desperate for the warmth and relief it gave and desperate to be freed from the empty world which currently plagued him…

"Are you ok?" Wendy asked, lightly holding onto the boy's hand as he moved about in her bed, shaking back and forth. His face was strained and distorted from whatever experiences he was going through in his head and Wendy was helpless to do anything about it.

The best she could do was hold his hand, lending him her warmth and comfort even though it was likely something to make little to no difference. Yet, as she did so, his pained expression did soften a bit, helping soothe her own troubles. And in the following moments, his eyes started to flutter open, trying to adjust to the world while shaking off the fatigue from his earlier rest.

"You're awake!" Wendy exclaimed in joy, catching the attention of Carla who was minding her own business in the room. She flew over to Wendy's side in curiosity. "How are you feeling?" Wendy asked as the boy looked over at her with a tired and troubled face.

He moved and sat upright in the bed. "I'm… fine." He slowly answered, looking around the room before looking back at Wendy with a perplexed glance, speaking volumes of how little he understood his current situation. "Do I know you?" He cautiously asked, still unsure of his situation.

Wendy just lightly shook her head, "No, we found you washed up on a beach near here. Were you thrown from a ship by the storm last night?" She asked, hoping to make some conversation as well as help him understand his situation.

The boy just looked down at the sheets, clearly in deep thought. "I don't know, possibly…" Came the answer in a progressively more steady voice, his demeanour catching Carla's attention as well.

"You've forgotten what you were doing to end up in that condition? Do you remember anything?" Carla now chimed in, curious at the boy's apparent lack of memory.

"I don't remember anything…" he responded in a voice that gave sound to the hopeless despair brewing inside him.

"Well, what about your name? Or just anything, no matter how small, it doesn't have to be anything big." Wendy asked, concerned for him. Memory loss was a big thing, and to have it now when there was no one else in his life who knew him to help was pretty bad.

"Just my name and my magic..." He answered more confidence in his voice. He moved his hand to his neck where a dark blue gem lay hung on a chain of the same colour, the gem possessing an indentation of an hourglass. "As well as a sense of importance, towards this." He finished, holding the pendant out to them. "It's important but I don't know why." He spoke as the girls looked at the necklace, mesmerised by the strange sense of beauty they felt towards it.

"It's certainly something special," Carla commented at the sight.

"Maybe someone important gave it to you and now it's your personal treasure?" Wendy guessed.

"Possibly…" The boy responded, dropping the pendant back to its dangling position against his chest.

"By the way, boy, when we were putting you in bed we took your clothes off and hung them out to dry. When we tried to take that, it just wouldn't come off." Carla spoke up again, making the boy realize that all he was wearing was a somewhat small shirt. He was unaware of what he was wearing underneath the blanket but something told him he didn't want to look, at least not now.

"You said you remember your name right? What is it?" Wendy quickly asked in the hopes of changing topics.

"Nathan Blueshook." He answered. Nathan looked back at the girls, "And you two are...?" He trailed off.

Wendy was quick to catch on to what he wanted. "My name's Wendy Marvell and this is my best friend Carla!" She introduced herself with a smile while Carla just had a blank expression on her face.

It left Nathan clueless about how she was feeling right now and about him. "Um, well thank you for helping me, Wendy, and I'm sorry for troubling you…" Nathan started to apologise but Wendy was quick to interrupt him, waving her hands in front of her.

"It's alright! I'm happy to help. What are you going to do now?" She passed off the thanks and apology and started to look at him with concern, hoping that he wasn't trying to do anything risky.

"Well, I don't know… For now, I guess I'll try to find someplace to work and get some money; and while doing that, try to find anyone who knows me." Nathan responded, rather unshaken for someone in his position.

It was this line which immediately gave Wendy an idea that Carla could clearly read off of her face and couldn't disagree with for the current situation. "You said you remember how to use magic right? Then why don't you join a guild? You'll be able to put it to good use, help people, which could lead you to running into someone who might know you and you'll have plenty of friends there willing to help you out as well!" Wendy burst out, her enthusiasm growing by the second, getting so caught up she didn't think of herself starting to possibly get a bit overbearing.

"That does aline with my needs right now… but do you know of any nearby guilds?" Nathan inquired, now already thankful yet again for being pointed in the right direction.

"Yup, I'm a part of the local guild here, Fairy Tail!" The response was instant.

"Ah, but, if I do that, then you'll feel obliged to be helping me all the time won't you?" Nathan responded slowly and carefully, not wanting to seem like he was taking advantage of the girl who had already done so much for him.

"Don't worry, everyone at that guild is like family and Wendy is always like this, she most likely won't take no for an answer at this point. There is nothing wrong with accepting a little help from others when you need it most." Carla spoke, trying to change Nathan's opinion and reduce the guilt which was building within him as well.

"Carla…" Wendy pouted at Carla's comment for a brief moment before turning back to Nathan for an answer. "So, do you want to join us then? We can be friends and you can meet everyone else at the guild!" she tried to persuade him one last time, trying to give Nathan that final push.

Nathan thought about it again and there was little to no reason for him to turn down the offer. In fact, it sounded rather stupid at this point to turn it down considering his position. Not only that but it would also give him the chance to pay Wendy back in some way or another, she'd already done so much for him. It was much better than just turning and running away. That would make him appear to be a leecher. Nathan nodded, "Ok then, I'll join." he said. He got another brilliant smile to appear on Wendy's face.

"Great! We can go after you've rested up a bit more!" She exclaimed happily.

"Hold on child! Remember what he was wearing? His clothes are torn and far too large for him. It would be best to quickly buy some quick clothing for him first." Carla pointed out.

"You don't -" Nathan started but he got interrupted by Carla.

"If you are worried about taking so much from us, don't worry. At this point, you can just pay us back later. By the time you are settled into the guild, it shouldn't be hard at all for you to quickly make the money to pay us back. We just can't have you going in like you are now; questions you might not want to be asked would be raised."

Yet again all Nathan could do was sigh in defeat to the girls, "You two really tend to get your way, don't you?" he quietly spoke to himself so the girls couldn't hear him. Wendy and Carla left the room to let him get changed into the clothes he had washed up in.

Despite everything, he felt glad and a sensation of moving forward that he couldn't quite explain. Maybe because of how quickly he was already moving on from his hard situation? Either way, there was something he did know for certain: he was going to enjoy his life from this point on.

Gripping his pendant which now lay over his heart, Nathan got up and began to change, getting ready for whatever was to come next.