Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail.

A/N (Ch16 original A/N): I'd like to know if people want a more Naruto-ish Naruto, if so, I will attempt to slowly change his character and bring a more joyful Naruto to the scene (not to the extreme, rather a perfect balance between happy and serious sort of personality - kinda like his Shippuden version but not clueless and more serious when needed)

A/N: "Rewriting" this chapter (as in adding the new scene) made me happier than it should have. I've realized yesterday that I was holding back a lot and stagnating with my Naruto to the point where it got annoying. As such I decided to revisit this chapter and add the extra scene and restart his character progression in terms of power. By the time we reach Tenrou Arc he will be S-class strong. By the time we finish Tenrou Arc he will be at the power level I envisioned him after the prologue arc was complete. But no, he won't be godlike, he will be strong, really strong in fact, but not godlike so that no one can defeat him. He will still have weaknesses...and do slap me if I ever do some sort of out of the ass power boost.

Demon's Curse – Chapter 16

A skeleton walked through the forest, its hollowed eyes scanned the area as if trying to find something. It looked at the remains of the tower and walked towards it, stopping at the entrance and looking around, trying to see if someone was spying on it. As it turned around to face the entrance once more it came face to face with another one of its kind. The two stared at each other; with no facial expressions to show it would have been a though job for anyone to decipher what they were talking, what they were doing or why they just stood there.

It looked as if they were having a conversation of sorts, as if one was reporting for the other. They then broke contact and looked towards the sky as the clouds moved away from the sun, the light bathing the small clearing they were in. The sounds of birds singing soon followed by numerous bells that rang around town soon engulfed the area around them.

A small yawn echoed from inside the tower, the skeletons looks inside to the sleeping figure as it winced from the sunlight that fell on his face. With a groan the young man turned to the side, trying his best to block the rays of sun from disturbing him. It worked as it seemed like the young man fell asleep once more, his light snores barely audible through the constant singing of the birds.

They looked away from him and turned around facing the stairs where a green cat stood. It stood watching them, as if judging them. Its eyes pierced through their skulls, through their imaginary eyes and into their remains. As if communicating with them the skeletons turned around, the one that previously resided in the tower turned back and merged with the shadows while the patrolling skeleton turned around and walked back into the clearing, moving left and right in front of the entrance, guarding it.

No one ventured into these parts of the woods; a strong spell had been cast months ago, any civilian and any mages up to S-rank would be succumbed in a sense of dread with each step they took closer to the old abandoned tower. There were a few that could enter, a few that were trustworthy, those that were part of the family. By now they all knew what resided in this part of the forest, they all knew this was where the young knight rested in the evenings.

If he was not on missions he would train here, he would rest here and only return to the guild when he was done. In the mornings he would leave home and head towards the guild, check the board for missions, if none interested him he would go and train only to return in the evening to spend time with his family before returning back home. It was the daily routine for the past few weeks.

"Ugh…what's with all those bells?" the young man questioned as he stood up, the never ending rings of the bells were getting on his nerves. The small feline sensing that her master had woken up stood up and ran towards him, jumping in his lap. It meowed drawing his attention and the usual pat on the head.

"How is a man supposed to take his afternoon nap with all those bells ringing like there's no tomorrow?" he questioned while standing and allowed the feline to assume its usual position on his shoulder.

As he walked out of the tower the patrolling guard stopped and turned to face its summoner; his annoyed look made the skeleton question itself what had riled him up. Unlike the living, they could not hear anything more than a few sounds and even those only up to a certain distance.

The young blond stretched as he walked to the edge of the clearing, overlooking the town. It was too far away for him to see what was happening, it didn't look like there was any sort of danger coming from the town however. With a shrug he turned around, wanting to return to his the tower.

"Naruto-san!" he heard a high pitched voice and turned to face the skeleton, with a nod of his head the skeleton sunk into the ground, vanishing from the clearing. Looking towards the tower he knew that the second one had also vanished, it was nice to have some sort of precaution.

Finally, the ex-knight turned around to face the person calling him. A little girl with long dark blue hair ran up the hill towards him, a smile on her face as she waved towards him.

The blond dismissed his helmet as he smiled towards the little girl, over the past few weeks he had been assigned to work with Wendy, help her get accustomed to the guild, the town and the missions they would receive. He had done more missions with her in the past weeks than he had done with anyone else in Fairy Tail.

They ended up working together mostly because Wendy seemed to feel more secure around him, despite the events that had transpired during the Nirvana mission and the frightening form of his that she had seen, the girl wanted to know the blond more and wanted to work with him.

Despite all that, there had been some things the blond hadn't revealed to her. The majority of his power was still a mystery to the little girl, he thought that it was for the best she did not know the full extent of his powers, she was still too young in his eyes and even though she showed signs of maturity on different occasions she was still just a child.

One thing perplexed him however, it seemed like the barrier placed around the tower was not affecting her in any shape or form. The first time she ventured up here she took the blond by surprise; he had not expected her to find this place or to find him. She was sent by Makarov to find him and have him return to the guild to receive a special mission, the first one he and Wendy went on. It was mostly for him to assist Wendy on her first low ranking mission, to make sure nothing happened.

Usually they were placed in teams, but Naruto and Wendy had no definite teams. Naruto had helped several teams and worked with them, but he was mostly a solo player.

"What brings you here Wendy?" he questioned as the little girl finally reached him, she was out of breath and panting heavily.

"I came to tell you…that an old member of Fairy Tail is returning." She said between breaths as she looked up at the blond "Mirajane-san wanted you to come and meet him, I think his name was Gildarts."

The blond's eyes widened, he had heard of this mage, even before joining the guild, while he was still serving with the Royal Guards and as he looked towards the town, he wondered if the bells we're a sign that the man had returned.

He had to admit, he felt a bit jealous, the man was getting a town wide welcome back.

With a smile he looked towards the girl and thanked her, but said he would not go to the guild as he wanted to resume his training.

This peaked the dragonslayer's interest, the blond was still a mystery to her; there was a lot she had yet to learn about him. Even though she was fairly new to the guild she had managed to learn a great deal of the mages that are part of Fairy Tail, she had even learned of the fact that Mirajane and Naruto were closer than most people. That and the look in their eyes as they talked with each other or just stared at each other, it was something else.

She didn't know what it was, she had asked around but the replies varied. Some joked, some we're cryptic and some made her more confused. Asking either of them why they looked at each other like that gave her different replies as well. Naruto stammered most of the time, blushed and looked away while scratching the back of his head and tripped over his own words; and Mirajane…she only smiled and told her that to her Naruto was someone special and that when you have someone special you look at them differently and act differently with them.

Again something that didn't quite answer her question and left her more confused.

But she didn't try to figure it out anymore as something else had captured her attention. During one of the missions she had done with team Natsu she had realized that her powers could be of greater use to the team, to her new family and yet she didn't know how to train and how to become stronger.

Her first option had been to question her fellow dragonslayer, but each of their training methods didn't seem to help her as much as she hoped. Both of them we're focused on head on attacks, or pure combat and not support while her spells were mostly support based. She had tried to look elsewhere then, but back then she didn't know many members of the guild. Mirajane however told her that if she wanted to train she could ask Naruto for help and when she did the blond had looked at her like she was crazy.

He tried to explain that he himself didn't know how to fully control his powers and that he wouldn't be the best option for a teacher to her. As she returned with the news to Mirajane, the girl, instead of telling her to ask someone else or to offer herself as her teacher merely marched to the blond and somehow convinced him to teach her.

And thus he started training her, everything that he learned from the master of the guild and the girl he loved he passed it on to the little girl. He tried his best to explain to her everything she needed to know and how to control her powers and in a matter of days it looked like the girl was improving more and more.

This took the blond by surprise as he was not expecting to actually be able to help her, to teach her something of value. This gave him confidence on two things; he knew now that everything he had learned was right and that he could pass on his knowledge to others and help them grow stronger.

During his time with the Royal Guards he had assisted in training several rookies, but never with any great success. They didn't perform as he had hoped, in fact they performed below average. Because of that he had never thought that he would be able to train someone.

"Ne, Naruto-san, can I train with you as well?" she questioned sweetly, placing her hands behind her back.

With a smile the blond nodded as he motioned for the girl to come to him. She did as she was told and walked next to the blond as he sat down in a meditative position. Wendy followed suit and sat down next to him.

"Alright Wendy, we will resume our meditation training today." He stated as he closed his eyes and allowed the flow of magic to surface. "This time I want you to slowly release more and more magic and control it as it moves around you." Naruto said as he demonstrated by unleashing a larger wave of magic and making it move around him, finally forming the head of a dragon which stared at the amazed girl before vanishing and returning to the blond.

He looked towards her as the girl closed her eyes and did what the blond did. She slowly allowed her magic to emerge, creating a thin line around her. As she allowed more and more to escape the line intensified until it started moving in different directions.

"Good, now grasp on to that power and guide it in a path." He commanded as the girl concentrated even more, the magic around her suddenly stopping and then moving around the girl's body in one direction, at a slow pace.

"Good, now maintain this control as you slowly release more." He said as he remembered the old master's teachings. "This will help you in controlling your magic so you do not use more than necessary for your spells. If you have better control over your magic you can cast more powerful spells whenever you desire." He explained as he too closed his eyes and relaxed.

This was their daily routine. While Naruto could not help Wendy to unlock more attacks and moves he could help her perfect her control and unlock more reserves for her to use. It was the first thing he had learned in both life's, the past one and the current one. It was something he could easily teach and perfect once he understood the basics for them.

Today was a bit different however; it was one of those days when Charle didn't accompany Wendy. He had nothing against the cat, but he felt like the feline was too overprotective of the girl and didn't trust him too much. It might have been because she saw more of his power than Wendy had and the fact that he kept it a secret from them with the rest of the guild didn't seem to bode well with the feline.

But it was all for a good reason, Wendy had to learn in time, she needed to get accustomed to her new environment, to the people around her and to him. But the latter didn't seem to be a problem, for a reason he did not know she looked up to him.

There were a lot of strong mages in Fairy Tail, a few of them were stronger than him. Usually the S-class mages outmatched him in power and experience and he saw them as better teachers for this job, but the girl looked up to him. It gave him a sense of pride and it also made him protective of the little girl, he felt like he needed to watch over her.

Thus he had never been bothered by the fact that he had done so many missions in the past weeks with her. He was happy to work with her. It felt like he had a little sister and that made him happy.

xXx

If there was one thing Naruto wasn't good at it was holding his composure when around Mirajane. After his return from the Nirvana mission he had started dating the girl, it was no big secret that it was bound to happen, everyone seemed to know it was going to happen…everyone apart from him at least. And it wasn't so much of a secret in fact since the next day the tabloids were all over the subject and each time he walked through towns the different glares or stares got to him.

The male population that had a crush or fantasies with Mirajane hated his guts, while the female population that had a crush or fantasies with him stared in a love-struck daze at him. His life did a complete one-eighty that he had never expected.

But what Naruto considered the hardest thing was to present his girlfriend to his mother. While Aleandra had figured out from day one that the white haired mage had feelings for her son she wasn't too surprised when he walked hand in hand with her in the house. It was like she had expecting them as food had already been prepared for at least three people.

Even though Mirajane was a mage and went on missions from time to time, she and his mother got along really well. The two talked freely about subjects that the blond didn't really pay attention, only joining in their conversations when asked about how they first met, about the missions they had been in and how Naruto treated the girl.

He was the subject of constant tease when the two were together, Aleandra enjoyed to finally tease her son once more after all these years, she also enjoyed seeing the cheerful look in his eyes when he was with the white haired mage.

"How about this Naruto?" Mirajane questioned as she stepped out of the dressing room in a rather fancy white dress.

He tilted his head to the side as he thought for a few moments. "I admit, it looks really good on you and matches your hair perfectly." He answered as the girl smiled sweetly and turned around walking back in the dressing room.

Today he had went out shopping with his mother when he had met Mirajane doing her own shopping. All three of them ended up going together to different stores until Mirajane dragged the blond into a clothing store stating the she had been looking for a new dress and wanted the blond's opinion.

"You know son, Mira-chan seems happier with each passing day." His mother stated as she walked next to the blond, several bags in her hands, all filled with different groceries and some with clothes.

"You think?" he questioned with a confused look on his face as the mother stared at him. "I haven't noticed…" he admitted as he thought back to the times he saw Mirajane smile and interact with him.

The mother merely shook her head with a sigh. "I swear, at times you can be really dense." She said drawing another confused look from the blond. "If I hadn't told you to ask her about that problem a few days ago you would have never noticed."

He grinned sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "It can't be helped, some things just fly past me."

"For your sake I hope that important events don't fly past you…" she deadpanned as the mage walked out of the dressing room in her usual attire and headed towards the counter to pay for her new dress.

"I'm not one to forget important events, you know that mother." He said while staring at his girlfriend.

"Oh? Should I remind you of the time you forgot your first anniversary? Or the time you forgot about your father's birthday? Or the time when you forgot to lock the castle stable doors which resulted in all the hoses running through the castle's courtyard and…"

"Ok, ok, I get it." The blond stopped her with an embarrassed look. "I forgot some…"

"A lot…" his mother corrected as the blond gave a small glare.

"A lot of stuff…but you can't blame me! I was still inexperienced!" he argued, yet the woman only gave a triumphant smirk.

"Ok, I'm done here!" Mirajane said in a cheerful tone as she approached the two, the smile on her face never fading.

Naruto nodded as he offered her his hand. With a giggle she took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled closer to the blond as they walked out of the store.

"So tell me Mira-chan, how are things in the guild?" Aleandra questioned "Naruto here doesn't really talk about such things."

"Things are going great, Naruto even has an apprentice now." She said as the mother looked towards the blond in amazement.

He merely shrugged as he explained the situation with Wendy and how he was helping her control her magic, to use as much as she wanted during a fight.

"Why haven't you told me about Wendy-chan up until now?" the mother pouted. "She sounds like a sweet little girl."

"She is." Mirajane said as she embraced the blond's arm. "Can you imagine having a daughter like her?" she questioned the blond in a sweet tone making him flush at what she was implying.

"Oh? I wouldn't be bothered having a lovely grandchild…" the mother said as she looked towards the blond a large grin on her face.

His mind raced, processing the information and giving him different views of what had been said, the majority of them being rather colorful.

"I didn't know you could blush like that Naruto." His girlfriend said in an amazed tone as the blond turned and gave her a weak glare.

All that he received in return however was laughter from bother her and the mother. He hated when they played with him like that, while it was all fun and games he didn't like the embarrassment that came with them.

Nonetheless, he enjoyed spending time with them and watching them interact. He knew that his mother was rather lonely at times, having no friends in this town and no one to talk to at times other than him and Mirajane.

She would often spend her time in the living room sewing or in the small garden he had made for her on top their balcony. He had promised himself that he would raise enough money to buy a house with a garden as his mother had always enjoyed growing flowers and tending to them, he wanted to give her something that she enjoyed doing.

The atmosphere in the house at times was rather solemn, in was quiet with few words spoken between them. He came home tired and late at night when she was already asleep, they could only talk in the mornings before he left and he would get a glimpse at her, at her weary figure. She looked lifeless at times, a far away look in her eyes.

But whenever he was with Mirajane that look vanished from her eyes, the smile that he had seen since the day he met her would appear and it looked like all her worries vanished.

At times he noticed that Mirajane suspected something. It was mostly because he never talked about stuff that happened at home with her and he too had a faraway look in his eyes when thinking about home. Thankfully she never pressed on the matter and always changed the subject.

As they reached Naruto's home his mother bid farewell to the girl and her son, he was going to accompany his girlfriend to her house and then return. It was a slow day at the guild and they had taken a day off from activities.

"Have you met Gildarts?" she questioned as they walked through the street.

He gave a small nod; the man was a sight to behold, a firm grip when they shook hands. In fact, he felt like his bones had shattered from that handshake, the man possessed incredible strength.

"Tell me Naruto, what would you say if I were to live with you?" she suddenly asked making the blond stop walking.

Mirajane looked at him strangely as the blond gapped at her question with a large blush on his face. "What's with this all of a sudden?" he questioned as the girl giggled.

"We've only been dating for like…a month…" the blond stated as Mirajane's smile grew bigger.

"So?" she questioned once more grabbing his hands. "Does that have to be a barrier?" she asked curiously as Naruto blinked, not knowing how to reply to that.

Her smile then vanished as she looked down at the ground. "I'm also asking because I could feel the mood each time I stepped into your house." Naruto said nothing as he watched her. "There's this sad feeling lingering around, both of you are affected by it and it hurts each time I think about it." She looked up towards the blond as he said nothing, merely looked back at her.

The knight closed his eyes as he replied. "It's true, I can't really place it but she seems really sad most of the times, always having a far away look in her eyes and I can't do anything…" he opened his eyes and looked at the girl before him.

She knew what he wanted to say and gave a small smile as she placed her hand on his cheek. "Think about it…" she said as she let go of his hands and took a step back. "Besides, think of what we could do if we were together…at night…" she gave a wink making the blond flush once more.

With a laugh the girl turned around and walked inside her house, not before blowing a kiss towards the blond who still stood rooted in the same place, processing what she had told him.

A smile creped on his face as he shook his head. She really enjoyed teasing him.

xXx

It looked up towards the sky as the heavy rain drops fell on its helmet. its thoughts wandered back to the past, remembering all the battles it had been part of, some of the more dreaded ones being during rainy days such as these.

Then it looked back down towards its opponent, the man that had no honor whatsoever when fighting with someone. The light blue colored spirit shook its head as it stood back up on its feet and looked towards the blond mage that had summoned him.

The knight stood still, looking towards the dark mage with calculating eyes. "It seems as though many mages here have no honor in battle. Attacking one when bowing towards your opponent." The spirit shook its head as his summoner merely scoffed at what it had said.

"There is no such thing as honor among the wicked." He replied back as their enemy merely raised an eyebrow at that and then turned to face the spirit.

"Honor means nothing on the battlefield, honor is given to the dead only." He replied in a calm voice as he moved his hands to the side. "However I do apologize for that, I had been taken by surprise by your sudden appearance." He finished as he bowed down slightly as the spirit had did towards him.

The spirit shook slightly as if laughing before narrowing its eyes and charging forward at great speed. His opponent stepped to the side as the spirit neared him and then delivered a powerful strike in its back, making it collapse on the ground.

He then turned around and ducked under the knight's attack as he moved his hands forward towards the chest, a great mass of energy forming in his palm. Yet before he could unleash it the blond knight grabbed his hands and kneed him in the face.

Shock was written all over his face as he saw the blond's sword falling to the ground. He had read the reports on this mage, how he fought from a distance with magic and only with his sword in close quarters, never abandoning it. To see him drop his sword and fight barehanded, he was not prepared for that attack.

As he fell to the ground his attention was drawn towards the spirit which attempted to slam its foot down on his face. "Bleve" he said extending his hand towards the oncoming attack. The area engulfed in an explosion, sending the spirit flying away.

His attention was then drawn back towards the Fairy Tail mage only to see a chain connect with his feet. With a grin, Naruto pulled the chains and the man with them, he spun around several times before releasing the man which flew towards a massive rock formation. However, instead of hitting the rocks, the man spun in midair and landed with his feet on the rock; he used his newfound advantage to propel himself forward, towards his opponent.

Noticing the attack, his opponent drew his sword forward and turned in upside down, slamming it in the ground. Several ghostly hands shot from the ground and moved to grab him. After passing a few of them he felt one of the hands managing to grab his leg; loosing his speed he crashed on the ground face first. A scowl appeared on his usual stoic face as he looked back towards the hand.

He then felt an immense power build up and turning to look back at his opponent his eyes widened as the knight before him held his hands up above his head, a large green fireball forming above him. In mere seconds the fireball grew twice as big as its creator and was unleashed forward.

A maniacal grin formed on his face as the fireball hit its target, exploding and burning the entire area around it.

As the fire slowly died down Naruto assessed the situation, he looked towards the small crater that his attack had created and a frown appeared on his face. His opponent was not there, the attack was strong enough to incapacitate the majority of mages, maybe drain the power out of S-class mages and rendering them unable to fight, forcing them to either surrender or retreat.

His opponent had vanished however.

"It's not yet over, he is still here." He heard the spirit say as it walked next to the blond. It touched the ground lightly with its sword and hummed a strange melody. "Below us." It said as it jumped backwards, soon followed by the blond.

As he did that several roots burst from the ground flailing in all directions as if searching for him, as if they had tried to grab him and hold him in place.

Then the roots stopped flailing and a face formed at their tip; slowly a body pushed itself out of them. The dark mage opened his eyes and looked towards the blond and his spirit partner. A grin present on his face.

"You are a worthy opponent boy." He said as he snapped his fingers.

With narrowed eyes both Naruto and the spirit looked down as roots shot from the ground. As they prepared to defend themselves the roots bulged and exploded all around them.

If that wasn't enough one of the roots shot forward in front of the blond, striking him and exploding at the same time. He was thrown away in another set of roots which began to bulge. Once more the roots exploded covering the entire area in smoke.

As the smoke died down the mage noticed his opponent had not been damaged by the second attack. He had hid himself inside a green dome of some kind and as it slowly vanished the blond stood up, moving his sword to the side.

With narrowed eyes Naruto channeled magic into his sword which caught fire, his ally shot forward from the first plum of smoke and as it got closer to the dark mage he swiped the air in front of him with the sword unleashing a green lighting towards the mage.

With swift movement the mage moved his hand forward as a thin shockwave shot out in a straight line towards the spirit which dodged it by jumping to the side. As the lighting attack passed the spirit, above the shattered ground, an explosion encompassed the area nullifying the blond's attack.

However, the spirit persisted as it shot forward from the smoke in front of the mage. It raised its katana to strike only to have the mange raise his hands up and parrying the attack with them; he then kicked the spirit in the side making it loose focus, then attempted to roundhouse kick it.

The spirit was expecting it however, it turned to the side grabbing his leg and at that moment the blond knight shot forward from the smoke, his left fist encased in a deadly green aura.

The spirit released his leg mere seconds before the attack connected thinking the enemy would not have enough time to react. He did however as he moved to the side, grabbed the knight's hand and slammed his elbow down on the mage's arm, making him shout in pain. He then turned around and raised the blond in the air, preparing to slam him on the ground.

Everything happened in just a second, the spirit had not been prepared for that, the blond however was expecting something to happen and while in midair he spun around and used his body weight to fall behind the dark mage.

He ensnared the man with his feet and spun around once more together with the man, falling down from the strange tree like podium that the dark mage had created.

They feel from several feet in the ground, their impact forming a small crater.

Then two figure shot out of the smoke in different directions. The spirit jumped down towards his opponent while the blond mage summoned his sword back and charged forward as well.

The dark mage looked towards both sides as his enemies approached. His grin reappeared on his face and he began to tremble in delight. It had been such a long time since he had faced such a powerful enemy, he would have to thank the master for finding the information on the blond mage and telling him where to be if he wanted to intercept him.

As the two got closer he moved his hands to the side, a maniacal grin on his face as he shouted out. "Tower burst!"

Naruto's eyes widened as a massive pillar of fire shot forward catching both him and the spirit.

The dark mage laughed as he looked towards the location his opponents should be. "Come on, I know this wouldn't harm –" his words were cut off as he felt a sharp pain on his face. He dropped his hands and brought one up to his cheek. He felt liquid in his hand and as he brought it in front of him he saw the blood.

Looking to the side he saw the blond knight, his armor half burned and his sword dripping with blood. He then felt another sharp pain in his side and grit his teeth as he stumbled backwards, noticing the spirit in front of him, its blade also dripping slightly with blood.

One of them had cut his cheek while the other had cut his side. The pain began to subdue as adrenaline began to pump in his system, the grin reappearing on his face.

He jumped backwards as he raised his hands in the air and looked up. The ground began to shake as numerous trees shot up all around the blond and his ally. The clearing they fought in was now filled with trees.

"Come on boy, is that all you can do? A few scratches and bruises?" he heard the dark mage shout as he felt a presence closing in fast from the side.

Turning around he brought his sword up parrying massive fist formed out of a tree's bark from what it seemed. He was pushed back a lot, not being able to hold his ground against such brute force.

Glancing towards the spirit he noticed that it was busy cutting down numerous fists that shot from different trees in all directions. The dark mage was trying to distract the spirit so he could fight the blond one on one.

His eyes widened as he felt another power surge from behind him. Glancing behind his eyes widened further as he saw numerous small explosions moving towards him at great speed.

He dropped to the ground allowing the fist to move forward and rolled to the side. Jumping back on his feet he turned his sword upside down and slammed it on the ground, he quickly assumed a kneeling position as the sword pulsed once and a green dome formed around him.

As the explosions encompassed his dome he felt yet another power surge, he was unable to maintain the dome further than that. It died as the last explosion passed him. With quick movement he jumped to the side avoiding a branch that had appeared out of nowhere.

He turned around as another branch shot forward almost piercing his back. Once more he turned around and swiped the area in front of him cutting down three branches. With a growl he ducked under another attack and jumped backwards as another one almost hit him.

It was at this moment that he attempted to run away from the attacks, to try and find the mage and the source of them. However, as he ran through the forest and looked back he saw the branches gaining up on him and numerous more appearing from the trees, he couldn't outrun them and couldn't outmaneuver them like this.

Thinking fast he dismissed his armor and sheathed his sword, unsheathing his nodachi. He stopped and ducked under several attacks and shot back, running back to his previous location.

The mage jumped over attacks, ducked under them and side stepped them at great speed. He cut his way through them as he tried to spot the dark mage. Yet with each step he took it seemed like the branches were never ending, appearing over and over again.

"Enough!" he howled as he came to a stop and dropped his sword, slapping his palms together and closing his eyes.

An immense power surge shot forward, encompassing the blond. In mere seconds a light green explosion, almost transparent, shot forward catching every tree, every branch, every living thing in its radius and decaying it.

The trees, the branches and even the grass underneath died at rapid pace. They crumbled to the ground, shattering and turning to dust.

As the attack died down Naruto opened his eyes and fell on his knees, panting. The attack took a lot out of him, his body was weary after such a powerful attack. A clap resonated around him as he looked up and saw the dark mage standing a few feet away from him.

"Such power, amazing what you can do. Its no wonder master wants you out of the picture." He said with the grin ever present on his face. "I'm afraid its time to end this." He said as he shot forward.

As he was about to reach the blond the spirit jumped in between them, grabbing the man's fist and delivering a punch in his chest. It then jumped up and delivered a roundhouse kick making the mage take a step back.

"You forgot about me." It stated as it assumed a defensive position, readying its fists.

As the blond looked towards the spirit he noticed that it was badly injured. While it could not die if it sustained too much damage it would vanish from this world for some time, he would be unable to summon it back for a certain amount of time. He also took note of the fact that it was no longer holding its katana in its hands, most likely it had broken during its previous battle.

"I see you are still standing as well…" the mage said looking towards the spirit in a stoic manner. Then the grin reappeared on his face. "But not for long."

He shot forward at great speed, his fist connecting with the spirit's defense. It spun around grabbing the mage's arm and twisting it, only a growl escaped his lips as he spun around as well kicking the spirit in the head with his foot. He then turned around and moved his palm above it.

As he was about to unleash his attack he turned around and stepped to the side as a sword passed by him. He jumped away as the blond attempted to slash him one more time.

Once more the man moved his hands to the side and then clasped them together. From the dead ground leaf's suddenly shot up, moving around the man at amazing speed. He grinned as he beckoned the blond to attack.

He wasn't a fool, he knew that spell was not just for show. The confident grin on the man's face said it all.

"If you aren't going to come to me, then I will to you." The dark mage suddenly said as he dashed forward making the blond's eyes widen.

He jumped backwards mere seconds before the mean reached him, he felt the leaf's cut him and as he looked at his hands he saw the numerous cuts they did to him in that fraction of a second.

The man grinned wider as he dashed forward once more. Knowing that he could not fight the man like this Naruto summoned his armor back and took the attack head on. He parried the man's fist with his own. He heard numerous leaf's attempting to cut his armor, they merely bounced against it.

This made the blond smirk as he unleashed a flurry of punches on the dark mage, finishing with a kick to the shin. The kick however was blocked by the man's leg as he swiped the blond's own attack leg, making him fall on the ground.

Once more roots shot from the ground, ensnaring the blond.

The spirit shot forward as well; expecting this, the dark mage extended his hand towards the spirit and the leaf's surrounding him shot forward. The spirit attempted to dodge the attack but it was impossible. It got caught up in it and damaged by the attack.

After several seconds of sustaining constant hits from the leaf's the spirit dropped on its knees. It looked towards the sky as the light blue circle appeared underneath it. It raised one of its arms towards the sky as the ground seemed to eat it.

The spirit vanished in mere seconds, the circle vanishing as the last signs of the spirit vanished from the world.

The mage turned towards his remaining opponent and grinned. "Just you…and me…" he said in a quiet voice as he moved his hands to the side and then slapped them together. "You should feel honored I use this on you after such a long battle, I've never fought someone like you before, it's a shame I need to end you." He said as he called out his attack "Terra Clamare!"

The roots began to glow and catch fire, it intensified with each second until the blond was completely engulfed in the red light. Finally, an explosion rocked the area throwing the blond away, crashing on the ground several feet away.

The mage looked towards his downed opponent and breathed heavily as he waited, looking for any life signs.

To his surprise the blond began to move, he slowly stood up and shook himself.

Looking up, Naruto coughed several times, spitting out blood. A grin appeared on his face, underneath his helmet.

"It will take more than that to finish me off…" he laughed wearily as the dark mage could not believe what he was seeing.

The blond moved forward, dragging his sword next to him, skipping several steps. Then, as he was half way through he dashed forward at amazing speed, something that the dark mage was not expecting to happen.

He jumped away at the last second, the knight slammed his sword in the ground using all his force. A crater was left in its wake, then the ground began to shatter in a straight line towards the dark mage, stopping several steps away from his location.

The blond looked up with a grin as he charged forward again. His opponent mirrored the grin as he too charged forward towards the blond.

They connected midway, the mage ducking under the knight's sword, the knight jumping over the mage's magical attack and over him. He spun in mid air and slashed the air behind him as he landed on the ground, a set of roots shot up protecting the mage's back, sinking back into the ground in mere seconds.

As they vanished another series of explosions shot forward towards the blond who dashed right through them, emerging on the other side with his armor completely burned and jumping in the air.

He channeled all his magic into the sword as it caught fire; the fire extending so much that it grew several feet. With wide eyes the dark mage prepared his defenses; several tree roots shot from the ground around the mage forming a dome, mere seconds before the attack collided with them.

A massive explosion encompassed the area, its effects could be heard from miles away.

Smoke covered the entire area making it impossible to see anything.

But as the smoke slowly cleared two figures could be seen standing in a devastated clearing. Both of them panting and looking weary.

The dark mage looked at the blond and the blond looked back at the dark mage, they knew they were both at their limits.

As he brought his hand up to his face the dark mage noticed the effects of his magic starting to appear. He took a few steps back and gave a small bow towards the blond, like the spirit had did towards him when it appeared.

Then, he sunk in the ground, vanishing from the blond's view.

The knight however stood his ground for several minutes, analyzing the area around him, trying to figure out where the mage had vanished. After minutes of waiting and nothing happening he came to the conclusion that the man had retreated.

A sigh escaped his lips, he didn't think he could push himself further than that.

Crashing to the ground on his knees he looked up at the sky as the rain poured down on him. How he was able to fight off such an opponent he will never know.

He laughed however, while he realized that he had been using way too much magic in his attacks, something he had been berating Wendy not to do during their training, it had helped him overcome this foe.

Shaking his head he stood back up and looked towards Magnolia's direction. He began to slowly limp away, thinking which the nearest town was so he could sleep a little.

xXx

Heavy steps echoed in the rain, the metal boots echoed in the empty streets. The knight sighed as he walked through the empty streets, going back to his guild. He really started hating the rain, he used to enjoy it, it was peaceful, relaxing, but now as he was, soaking wet, he just hated it and just wanted to get home, wash and sleep.

His mission had been a success, the first A-rank mission that went without any problem even though minor complications had appeared. Actually, they weren't that minor. If anyone were to look at him they would wonder through what burning cauldron he had passed. His armor was battered, while the burn had vanished – as it seemed like the armor repaired itself by using his magic – the signs of the long battle he had with the dark mage were still present.

At least he managed to rest a bit before returning, he was surprised how fast his magic returned to him after a nights rest. It was like back when he had his tenant, his wounds healed at a fast pace, not as fast as in the past however, and his magic reserves refilled faster than he would have thought.

Looking up at the sky he paused for a second as he noticed the clouds moving in a rather strange formation. He shrugged it off however; these kinds of phenomenons happened rather often in different parts of the world, why wouldn't it happen here too?

As he approached the guild he took notice of a series of splashes coming towards him. Looking back he noticed Wendy running towards the guild with a distressed look on her face. Behind her Charle flew, but something was off, the look on the felines cat said something else.

"Naruto!" the girl called as he turned to face her. "Problem!" she shouted desperately.

As he was about to answer he felt something pierce him, he felt no pain, he felt as if his power was being forced out of his body through a series of needle. Then, he noticed that all around him buildings started to vanish. He vaguely heard Wendy cry out his name.

Then he looked down at his hands and saw them vanish. His eyes widened in shock as he felt his power surge in great quantities. The knight fell to his knees as he shouted to the heavens, his magic exploding from his body and creating a frightening whirlwind.

It didn't last long, like the building around him and the guild, it vanished. And so did he.

Wendy crashed to her knees as everything around her turned into a wasteland, an uninhabited wasteland. Everything she knew had vanished, the man that she considered family, an elder brother, had vanished before her with the entire town and guild.

Tears started dropping from her eyes until she heard something rustling behind her. With a yelp she turned around and frightfully watched as a mound of ground grew bigger and bigger until a person popped out of it.

Natsu blinked as he started at the young girl. "Wendy?" He questioned. Looking around he could not recognize the place. "Where are we?" he questioned once more pulling his body out of the ground and trying to figure out what this place was.

As Wendy tried to explain to the boy what happened it only looked like Natsu did not believe a single word of what she was saying. He had been sleeping while the events occurred around him and hearing about a hole in the sky sucking up everything; that was not something you could easily believe.

"Help?" a weary voice resonated around them as another hand shot up from the ground, a gauntlet to be more precise.

Her heart skipped a beat as she jumped towards the hand and started digging the ground, Natsu followed suit as he recognized the gauntlet. In a matter of seconds the knight's head was visible and with great effort they managed to pull him out of the ground.

The knight gasped for air and coughed several times. "That hurt like hell!" he shouted as Wendy looked back relieved and happy at the same time. Then she thought a bit about what happened.

"Naruto …" she said drawing the blond's attention "…are you perhaps…a dragonslayer?" she questioned as Naruto looked towards her quizzically. She already knew the answer to that, why would she ask it again?

He shook his head. "No Wendy, I'm not, why do you ask?"

"Everything around us vanished! The town was sucked into the sky but only we are left here, me and Natsu are dragonslayers and I thought that if you are too then that would explain why you are still here…" her voice died out slowly as she looked towards the ground.

As he was about to reply Charle made her presence known. "It is true that you as dragonslayers remained, I do not know why he remained however and was not sucked as well with everyone else." She stated looking towards the blond knight who raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Do explain…" the blond said as he stood up and dusted his armor.

As Charle began to explain what happened, that the town and everyone had been sucked by the anima into Edolas and only the dragonslayers remained, or should have remained, due to their special magical powers, the group grew different emotions. While Naruto was managing to hold his composure, wanting to hear everything, Natsu could not.

He demanded to know where everyone had disappeared to. Wendy tried to stop him from harming the feline, she tried to ask the feline what she meant by everything she had said. It was then that Happy had appeared, frantically calling that the town had vanished. It was then that Charle revealed that she was from Edolas, that Happy was from the same place as her.

At that reveal they heard a sword being unsheathed and as they looked towards the blond they saw him pointing it towards the feline as a dark look could be seen through his helmet.

"If that is so…then you know where everyone is." He growled out as Wendy moved in front of him trying to calm him down, to reason with him. "You must know…why the town has disappeared too." He stated with narrowed eyes as the cat nodded with a sad look on its face.

"It vanished because of us…" she stated looking down "…because of me and the male cat."

The grip on his sword strengthened as he heard that, were it not for Wendy holding him back by standing in front of him, pushing her small body against him, he would have lashed out on the cat with his sword. He chose to growl dangerously however, the feline knew that the only reasons she still stood was because Wendy was keeping the knight at bay.

"Please calm down Naruto!" Wendy shouted as she looked up at the blond.

He continued to growl before he closed his eyes and lowered his sword. Taking a deep breath he looked down at the girl and placed his free hand on her head, giving her a small nod. Naruto never opened his eyes however as the girl turned towards Charle, asking for more information.

Charle began to explain as much as she could about their mission and about Edolas, she explained that their friends are there.

"Then let's go there!" Natsu shouted with a grin as Wendy and the cats looked at him shocked.

"What? Are you crazy?" Charle questioned as Naruto intervened.

"I agree with Natsu, if our friends are there then we are going there to save them." He said seriously as he looked towards the sky.

"If we are going back we will need disguises, not only that but I don't know how we can carry you." She said turning towards the blond. "We need to fly through to reach the other side." The cat said while looking towards the sky, where the clouds still formed a hole.

Naruto hummed a tune as he took a step back and his magic erupted around him. In mere seconds his reaper form emerged from the whirlwind, it stared down towards the cat sending a shiver down its spine. "I think I can manage." He said in a ghostly voice as a pair of skeletal wings sprung from his back making everyone take a step back in surprise. "Its not called 'Reaper' for nothing." He stated.

"Right…" Charle shook herself out of her stupor as she flew towards Wendy and grabbed her by the clothes and flew off, closely followed by Natsu with Happy and Naruto.

They flew with great speed towards the sky, never noticing the blond lagging behind. As they pushed through the barrier and vanished from his sight he used all his strength to move faster, finally managing to push through as well.

He felt different sensations as he entered the new world, he was amazed at what he was seeing, at how different the landscape was and then he was surprised that he could no longer feel his powers. With a loud curse he noticed that his reaper form had vanished and that he was falling towards the ground.

The knight fell through several tree branches, ripping them, until he finally landed on the ground with a loud thud. He groaned, his back hurt now; he had always known that the armor was not the best when it came to falling down, it didn't lessen the damage from the impact and it sure as hell didn't make it easier for him to get up after falling from such height.

A sigh escaped his lips as he rolled to the side, pushing himself up.

He looked around; he was at the edge of a forest and at the edge of the world from what it seemed. As he looked down into the ravine all he could see was the sky. A shiver went down his spine as he took a step back and turned around.

The knight wondered where the dragonslayers and the two cats had landed. He had lagged behind for quite some time it seemed, maybe he didn't even fall in the same place.

"Great…lost in a parallel world…" he mumbled to himself as he kept looking around, trying to spot anything that might give him a clue as to where he was or where he could go.

There was nothing in sight however.

With no other choice he began walking away, into the forest, in hopes of finding a town or someone.

As he walked he began to ponder on what he felt. As soon as he entered this world it felt as if his powers were slowly vanishing from him, he felt as if he was loosing all that magic that constantly moved inside of him, like the flame was dying.

He wanted to try and use his reaper form again, but as he tried to gather enough magic to create the spell it felt as if his magic would instantly vanish. That scared him. He might hate his magic, he might hate everything it had done to him, but he had gotten used to it and the thought of loosing it now scared him.

The mage walked for what seemed like hours, he had long since left the forest and had been wandering aimlessly through a field, climbing cliffs and dodging different types of animals; each one of them stranger than the other. Who would have thought that a small frog could morph into a giant one when provoked?

It wouldn't have been that bad if he didn't feel like he was going to collapse from dehydration. Trying to send his armor into the pocket dimension had some unexpected results. While he could not send his entire armor, his helmet could no longer be recalled. It was like he had lost connection with the small dimension and that the pathway towards it was closed.

He hoped that it wasn't a permanent thing.

Despite the fact that he had lost his helmet he was glad that he could breathe easily now. It seemed like even the magic contained in his armor was slowly vanishing, it felt like he was walking in the same armor he used to patrol the roads of his old home during his Guardsman days.

He really hated patrolling those roads during the summertime.

His train of thoughts came to a halt as he noticed a small lake in the distance. Relief filled him as he moved faster towards the lake, he could use a drink.

It didn't take long for him to reach it and as soon as he was next to it he dropped on his knees and prepared to take a sip from the lake.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He heard someone call out and instantly tensed. "This lake is not only filled with man eating animals but it's contaminated with their poison. One sip and you won't be able to move for the next five weeks….if you're lucky."

The blond's eyes widened as he jumped back and not a moment to soon. A few seconds later a large open maw sprung from the water where he used to be, slapping itself shut as if it had tried to catch its prey. It then submerged, vanishing to the depths of the lake once more.

"See?" the voice questioned as he heard footsteps approaching.

The knight nodded, turning his gaze towards the approaching person, wanting to thank him. As he opened his mouth no words came out, he stood rooted in shock, looking at who the newcomer was.

The man before him looked at him in shock as well, they stared at each other not knowing what to say until the newcomer shook his head and spoke up, breaking the silence.

"I see the mad king succeeded in the end." He said as he took out a flask and threw it towards the blond who caught it with ease. "Judging by the fact that you wanted to drink water from that lake you must be really thirsty…so drink." He said.

Naruto did as he was told, he opened up the flask and drank while studying the man before him. Or more like, studying himself.

The newcomer was none other than him. Or at least he had his face and the majority of his features. His counterpart wore ragged old clothes that made him look like a sort of hermit, or recluse. His blond hair stood up as his younger self used to keep it, two locks covered the sides of his head, his hair kept in place by a red bandana. On his cheeks three whisker marks could be seen, this made the knight almost choke on his drink. He hadn't seen those in years.

Looking at his counterpart he also noticed the tired look in his eyes, the little emotions they gave out. It looked like he was staring at the husk of a man, one that had given up on trying anything years ago. One that did not care anymore what happened to him.

As he finished drinking he closed the flask and threw it back to the newcomer. "Thanks." He said as the man before him gave a small nod and turned around, leaving.

This surprised the blond, he had expected the man to do something; ask questions, laugh that he had been given poison to drink, attack him…anything. He had grown so used with being attacked by something that this had taken him by surprise.

"Wait!" he called out as the man stopped and turned to look at him with a questionable look in his eyes.

Naruto tried to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. He wanted to ask where his friends were but at the same time he wanted to ask his counterpart different questions, what had happened to him, what was going on in this world, why he could feel his magic vanishing.

The man waited for the blond to say something, he saw the conflicted look in his eyes, he saw how he was trying to find something to say. But he didn't bother. He grew tire of waiting and turned around once more, leaving.

"Hey wait!" the blond shouted as he remembered something that the one before him had said. "What did you mean by the mad king succeeded?" he questioned as once more Edo-Naruto stopped.

He looked back towards his earthland counterpart and replied. "He succeeded in bringing large amounts of magic to Edolas…in crystallizing mages from Earthland."

Naruto looked at him not understanding what he said, or at least not completely.

Seeing the confused look the man elaborated. "It means he turned a lot of mages…" he shook his head as he corrected himself "…people into one or more lacrima's and brought them here." He replied taking the blond by surprised.

"But, why?" he questioned as his counterpart raised an eyebrow as if the answer to the question was so simple.

"To extract their magic and give more to Edolas…or in other words, kill them and make sure their magic becomes part of this world." The blond replied making Naruto's eyes widen in horror.

The knight stood rooted in place, his friends, his family was in danger. "Where is this king?" he shouted, he needed to find his friends and free them.

"So you can save your people?" his counterpart questioned as the blond nodded with determination. The sage looked at him, as if studying him and then turned around leaving. "Forget it, you can't save them." He replied making the blond freeze.

By the time he managed to regain his senses he realized that his counterpart nearly vanished in the horizon. The knight grit his teeth as he ran forward, towards his Edolas version, shouting towards him.

"What do you mean I can't save them?" he cried out, yet the blond in front of him said nothing as he continued walking away, ignoring him completely.

This infuriated the mage as he moved straight up to his counterpart, walking side by side and glaring at him. "Answer me!" he demanded, time was of the essence here. Who knows how long he had been wasting his time in the forest, in the fields, trying to find someone or some sort of civilization.

But once more the man said nothing and just continued walking away. With narrowed eyes the mange moved in front of the man and stopped, looking towards him. "Why won't you answer me?" he questioned through his teeth.

Now the man stopped, he looked at the mage before him with a raised eyebrow. "Why should I bother? They are not my concern." He answered as he placed his hand on the mage's shoulder and pushed him away.

Naruto was speechless, he watched as the man moved by him once more. He clenched his fists as he shouted once more. "They are my family, I can't just leave them there! You have to help me!" he shouted.

The man stopped once more, he looked back with a tired look and replied. "It's not my problem." And turned around, walking away for the third time.

He stood rooted in place, unable to comprehend what he had just heard. His own counterpart was unwilling to help him, was so uninterested in his cry for help, for even sharing a little bit of information.

The knight felt like the world was going to come crashing down on him. He was stuck in a world with no way of knowing where to go, who he could trust or what he could do to save his friends and get out of here and the only person that could help him, the only one that would be so obvious in helping him, was unwilling to do so.

"Why?" he questioned yet the man didn't seem to hear, with each step he took his form would slowly vanish in the distance. "Why would you turn a blind eye like that?" he shouted as the man continued walking. "Why would you not help a person in need? What is wrong with you?" he shouted.

The tired sage stopped for a second as he thought about the questions. He then shook his head and continued walking, leaving the blond with a short reply. "Because each time I help someone I end up killing them."

Now Naruto had no idea how to reply to that, the answer left him confused. What did he mean by that? To him it didn't matter that much, he just wanted to know the location of the lacrima in which his friends were encased. And yet, he found himself walking in the man's shadow, not asking anymore questions.

Did he want to learn more of the man? Or did he hope that the man would somehow lead him to the place where his friends were kept?

He wasn't sure of the answer, he wasn't sure why he stayed silent as they kept on walking. Sparing a glance towards the sky he could see the sun was right on top of them now.

"Why are you following me?" he heard the man question as his attention was brought back towards him.

As if returning the favor he did not reply, merely opting to stay quiet and watch his counterpart. It looked as if the sage sighed as he turned around and continued walking, not even bothered by the fact that his counterpart was following his every move, sticking to his shadow.

It didn't take long until they reached a cave, the mage watched in wonder as his counterpart entered the cave and vanished inside. He did not wait any longer and ran forward, entering the cave as well.

As soon as he entered light from the depths of the cave illuminated his path. He saw the sage sitting next to a fire, at the very end, looking towards it in silence. As he studied the place he came to realize that this was where the man lived. This shocked him as he hadn't expected his counterpart to live in such conditions.

Yet, as he stared at the man's robes he knew that this was the reality.

Naruto walked inside, stopping next to the fireplace, opposite of the man. Once more the blond looked around, studying the place. Books littered all around, a makeshift bed behind the man, some broken weapons which reminded him of the old world, pictures and frames scattered around the place. And then an armor grabbed his attention, a samurai armor that he was all too familiar with.

He glanced towards his counterpart and thought about it, but dismissed it. There was no way they were related, the spirit had more life in it than his counterpart.

Then, as he looked back at the armor he noticed one more standing next to it. He studied it with great interest; it looked like a knight's armor, decorated with various patterns of grey and red and a sigil adorning the chest plate.

"I see you're studying that old relic." The man suddenly said, not looking up from the fireplace. "I used to wear it once."

Naruto looked back and forth between the sage and the armor until he finally replied. "Once?" he questioned as the man motioned for the knight to sit down in front of him.

He did as he was told and sat down next to the fire, opposite of the man. He watched as he grabbed a stick and tampered a little with the fire, making sure that it wouldn't die out anytime soon.

Then he placed the stick on the ground next to him and spared a glance towards the blond. "I used to be part of the army, a great commander." He started "But even before that, I used to be a mage."

This drew the blond's attention as he leaned in slightly. "You see, when I was young I was part of a guild called Fairy Tail." His eyes widened, it seemed like in Edolas there was a counterpart to his guild as well.

The knight said nothing however as he allowed the man to continue. "Back then magic still existed in Edolas, even if it was a little bit. It was dying fast that's for sure and the King tried his best to save the little that was left."

A far away look appeared in the sage's eyes as he looked towards the fire in silence for several minutes. "He banned guilds and mages, saying that they were draining the little supply of magic we still had. Those that did not want to close doors were labeled as dark guilds and chased to the ends of the world. When caught…they were dealt with." He whispered the last part making Naruto's eyes widen in shock.

The thought that mages had been labeled as dark mages even if they worked in the name of good, even if they had done nothing wrong other than being able to use magic. That was frightening, he couldn't imagine living peacefully in a world like this and as this thought passed his mind he began to wonder if this was the reason his counterpart looked so tired, looked like he had given up on everything.

Once more he didn't question, opting to listen to the man as he continued his story. "Fairy Tail never closed down, it suffered because of that. We lost members, we lost our guild master…" he shook his head as he took a deep breath. "…and then I couldn't take it anymore when I thought I would loose the thing most dear to me…so I left, made a deal with the King and joined the army."

The knight's eyes widened as he continued to listen. "The deal was simple, I'd help clear out all the remaining dark guilds but he wouldn't touch Fairy Tail."

"It worked…for a few years…then magic completely vanished from the land." A small dry chuckle escaped his lips as he shook his head once more. "And then, somewhere along the road, the deal fell and I … I was the idiot that accepted it."

He shook his head as he stared at the fire for minutes, not saying anything more. Then the blond grew tired of waiting for him. "And then what happened?" he questioned as the man continued to stare at the fire.

Finally, after several long minutes of waiting, he looked up at him and asked. "Would you like to see where your friends are?"

Naruto blinked at the question. "What do you mean?" he asked back as the one before him repeated his question.

"Would you like to see where your friends are?" he asked once more, the tone in his voice clearly saying that he wouldn't ask a third time.

He wanted to see where his friends were, he wanted to save them, but at the same time the man's story was something he wished to hear to the end. The knight nodded as he stood up and looked towards his counterpart, he would eventually hear the end of the story, he was sure of that. If he could see where his friends were right now he'd be able to devise a plan to rescue them.

With a nod of his own the sage stood up and began walking towards the cave's exit with his Earthland counterpart behind him.

xXx

The knight crouched down as he stared at the massive lacrima in the middle of the town square. He and his counterpart stood on top of a house overlooking the town square below them, they were hidden from view and the archers on nearby towers had been dealt with.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing however. As they got closer to the city he could see the lacrima in the distance but he wasn't sure that what he was seeing was the real deal nor did he believe that it was that big.

Seeing it up close like this, it was something else.

The commotion from the street suddenly drew his attention as he looked down. He watched people cheering in the streets as they gazed upon the massive crystal. Then he saw the King make an appearance, raise his hands up as the people cheered even louder and then, finally, spoke up to the people.

"Children of Edolas!" he called out as the place quieted down, everyone listening to their King. "My Holy country Edolas has created ten years worth of magical power by anima." The man called out as Naruto listened carefully to his every words.

He could feel the man behind him tensing, his anger spiking up for unknown reasons. Whispers of hatred and death came from the sage as he too stared down in the square.

"Let us all sing and smile together…and share in this happiness!" the old King cried out as people began to cheer, to sing and praise their king and country.

"Edola's people have a right to share this magical power!" he shouted, a look of complete insanity in his eyes. The blond knight tuned him out as he looked around, as people began to cheer more and more, then his eyes widened as he saw his friends. He could easily distinguish Natsu and Wendy in the crowd.

His eyes narrowed as he saw Natsu ready to charge in only to have Lucy stop him. Looking back towards the King he could see why. His heart stopped for a second as he saw the man hit the lacrima, making a small piece crack and drop from it.

"Stay your hand." The sage commanded as he firmly grabbed the blond's arm, his hand was already on his sword which was almost unsheathed.

"How can I do that when he killed someone? That could be one of my friends he killed!" the blond shouted in fury, the chants and cheers of the people in the streets made it almost impossible for him to hear himself shout.

"There is a time for everything, but now is not the time to do what you'd wish." His words echoed around him, danced in his mind, somewhat calming him and making his push the sword back into its hilt.

He watched as his friends moved away from the crowd, vanishing in a nearby alleyway. Standing up he turned around to follow them only to have his counterpart step in front of him and stop him from doing so.

The blond narrowed his eyes at that. "Move." He ordered, yet the sage merely shook his head as he pointed back towards the square.

Once more his eyes widened as he saw Erza approaching the King and whispering something into his ear. Yet this Erza was different, she didn't have the same hair style as the girl he had known for the past months

"Erza Knightwalker, member of the army, one of its leaders and a … hunter …" Edolas Naruto said, his counterpart took notice of the long pause at the end and wondered why he had done that. "They most likely know of your friends and will go to capture them."

Naruto's eyes widened at that and watched as Edolas Erza ordered soldiers to move out and followed them behind with great haste, going towards the same direction his friends had went.

"Don't try going…you will only get captured yourself and you wouldn't be able to help anyone after that." The sage said drawing the blond's attention.

"Besides, you have no idea where to go…" he whispered as he turned around and began leaving.

By now Naruto knew that his counterpart would not tell him the location, he knew that begging or asking wouldn't do him much good and just running down in the street trying to find Erza was out of the question. From what his counterpart had told him and from the way they snuck into the city and dealt with any guard before they could spot them, it was clear that he didn't have the best of reputations anymore.

Posing as his counterpart would not make things smoother; it would only make them worse.

He had no choice this time; he followed his counterpart and prayed that his friends wouldn't get captured so easily, that they would be able to avoid this world's Erza.

"Before you go in that place you need to know a few more things…so that you won't make the same mistake I made." Edolas Naruto stated drawing the knight's attention.

"What do you mean?" he questioned curiously.

His counterpart jumped down from the building; a few seconds later the knight joined him down on the street. Sparing a glance towards the blond he replied.

"The King has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, if he has no chance in using them then that will be a good thing…" he paused as he turned around and began walking away.

"…but if he uses them…you'd best be prepared for the worst." He whispered, the blond barely hearing what he had said.