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Chapter 1 - A Mother's Love
It was nighttime in the East Forest near the town of Magnolia, where many creatures of all shapes, sizes and dangers resided. The full moon and starry sky shined over the forest without a hint of clouds to block anyone's view of the beautiful night sky.
However, there was one person who was not paying attention to such details.
This figure was running through the forest wearing a cloak that covered their figure completely. They were moving at high speeds while doing their best to maneuver through all of the trees, and yet they were clearly doing their best to keep their body steady. In the figure's arms was a small bundle of something wrapped up in rose-colored blanket that looked incredibly soft. After running for a few more minutes, the person found themselves coming to a stop at the sound of a baby crying. Looking around the area, the figure quickly took notice to a nearby river that had several large boulders resting beside it before moving closer to the rocks.
Sitting themselves down on top of one of the boulders, the figure looked at the bundle in their arms where a small tuff of hair could be seen sticking out before the blanket pulled back to reveal the hair was coming off the head of a crying baby. Rocking their arms in an attempt to relax the baby and hopefully sooth it back to sleep, it didn't take the figure long to realize that the baby was more than likely hungry.
Reaching up one hand up to their hood while securely holding the baby in the other, the hood of their cloak fell to reveal the face of a beautiful young woman in her mid-twenties. While it wasn't noticeable due to the woman having her hair tucked underneath her cloak, her wavy pastel yellow-blonde hair that actually reached all the way down to her feet and two wing-like adornments around her ears along with small hoop earrings. Her eyes were large and green with no pupils in them, displaying a depth to them that could draw anyone in. The woman opened her cloak to reveal she possess a very curvy and voluptuous body, with large breasts that pushed against a frilly, pink layered robe dress she was wearing and strained the red ribbon tied in a bow around her neck to hold the robe's collar in place.
This woman was the first Guild Master of Fairy Tail and one of its founder that gave it it's name, Mavis Vermilion. Mavis had been known by many as the Fairy Tactician due to her thanks to her exceptional skill in making strategies during battles that led her team to more victories than many her age would never experience. Another title that people had come to call her was the Fairy Mother, due to her unique form of magic that she had created for herself and how she was the very woman who created Fairy Tail.
Although, most of the world had no idea how accurate that last title truly was.
For the truth of the matter was that Mavis actually is a mother, a baby boy she had given birth to a near year ago.
… And right now, she had to keep her child safe.
Upon his birth, it was clear that the boy had gotten his hair from his deceased father along with his eyes, and yet Mavis could see that many of his features came from her. Her precious baby boy was the best thing to ever happen to her, blessing her with such happiness that it made the suffering she experienced earlier in her life all the more worth it. Oh, how she wished to be able to raise him to become a great man like his father and an amazing wizard like her… But that won't be possible now because of those damn Zeref worshipers.
As bother a blessing and a curse, her son was born with an amazing amount of magical power that was coupled by the fact that he was still just an infant. Anyone who had experience with magic could imagine how powerful her son would become when he was older. But along with the people who would praise such a future, there were the ones with malicious intent who would want to take advantage such power for themselves. Two groups of Zeref worshipers had become aware of her son's magical power and tried to kidnap him in an attempt to see if they could use his magic to either bring back Zeref, the strongest, most evil wizard of all time, or mold him into a new Zeref by acquiring his soul and putting it in the boy's body.
Both Mavis and the boy's father had figured out what they were after and acted accordingly. His father had given his life to put an end to the first group of the Zeref worshippers, but with her strategic mind, Mavis knew that even if she had asked the people in her guild for assistance to stopping the second group, it might not be true for the next possible threat or the one after that. Everyone would be worn down by exhaustion or worse.
It broke her heart, but there was only one solution that would guarantee her son's safety from the monsters that would target him and keep her guild safe at the same time. It was truly the hardest decision she would ever make. But even at the sacrifice of her own happiness, she would keep her son safe without hesitation!
The woman's attention was quickly drawn to her son, who was having his fill from his meal… this would be the last time she would share this special, heartwarming connection while breastfeeding him.
Hot tears fell down her face in droves as she continued to stare down at her son, who briefly glanced at her with his shining black eyes before closing them in contentment. After a few minutes of the two letting the baby finish his meal, the infant focused his attention fully on the crying woman and raised his tiny hands to her face and gave her cheeks a little pat. Mavis tearfully laughed at her son's innocent actions, he was so adorable. She couldn't be happier at this precious moment she was sharing with her son. But the moment was ruined by the loud sound of a massive group forcing their way through the trees, their actions echoing throughout the forest causing Mavis jerked her head up at the noise. Using a sensory spell with her magic to try and locate the dark wizards that were coming after her and her child, Mavis could detect a small collection of them that were coming from the North.
They were about thirty minutes away at the most.
Plenty of time to execute her plan.
Leaping off of the boulder, Mavis used her agile legs to make her way up the trunk of a nearby tree and sat on one of its secure branches. If these were truly going to be the last moments she would spend with her son, then she would savor them. She could feel her tears coming back in full force as her entire body trembled, unable to handle the emotional toll of what she was about to do. Not wanting the silence to overwhelm her, the woman took a deep breath and looked down at her son, who was staring back at her with wide curious eyes. There was still something left to do.
After all, there are some things that only a mother could say.
"Honey… There are many things that I wanted to do with you." Mavis knew that there was no way he could even understand a word she was about to say, but they were still things that she imagined saying to him as she watched him grow up. Maybe it was for her own benefit, but still. "…I wanted to be there for your first words, to get excited on if it was going to be mama or some silly word you said wrong. I wanted to help you take your first steps, and give you kisses every time you fell down. I wanted to be there for all your achievements and birthdays, bragging about how amazing you are to the point it annoyed everyone else." Mavis' eyes closed so tightly that it actually hurt, but it felt like nothing to her as she cried, "I wanted to do so much with you…I get the feeling that you have been a bit of a trouble-maker for everyone, just like your me and your daddy. Probably give me a headache from all the complaints I would get…"
Mavis brought him closer to her chest to hugged him with as much love as she was able to give, kissing the top of his forehead as she did.
"I am not going to be there as you are growing up, and that hurts so much. The only thing that I can do right now is give you these final words and make sure you are found by someone who will love and take care of you. Protect you in my place."
Mavis halted her words, trying to think of what to say. This would be the last time she could ever say anything to her son, but there were so many things to say that she had a hard time trying to pick the ones that would be the most perfect. So instead, she decided to say as much as she could before it was time to say goodbye.
"I don't want you to be a picky eater since I struggled with my meals when I was younger…but you have to make sure to eat healthy too! That way you can become big and strong! Also, be sure to take a bath every day and maintain proper hygiene since getting sick is not fun at all. In fact, it stinks down right and takes time away from all the things you can enjoy in this world. Make sure you get plenty of sleep, not too much though since it can be bad for your health. And don't stay up late! I know that sometimes things can seem very exciting and you feel like an activity seems important, but those things can be done the next day."
Taking a deep breath, Mavis thought about what she wanted to say next. Luckily, it wasn't too hard as four faces flashed through her mind. "Be sure to make friends. Being alone is too sad and leaves a hole in your heart. They don't have to be many, but make sure they are true friends that you can trust. I'm not sure what kind of wizard you are going to become or what magic you take an interest in, but I know it with be great and I will be proud. But never use it for selfish purposes that gets innocent people hurt."
…
…
…
There wasn't much time left.
"I know this might not sound great coming from your mommy… but when you get older, you will find yourself interested in women. And that is okay!" Mavis tried to smile as she remembered her time with her son's father, but a sharp pain struck her heart at the memory of losing him. "Just do me a favor and stay away from the strange or crazy ones. Fall in love with a woman like your mommy! Someone who will cherish you, but also make sure you don't get a big head."
Mavis held the infant close as she started to rock him, even casting a soft spell that would slowly put him to sleep so he wouldn't make any noticeable noises. Thankfully, her son didn't seem to put up any fuss as his eyelids started to close and his breathing pattern changed.
"You will face painful times and some of those times will seem too hard to handle…but just be yourself! And if you have dreams, make sure you hold onto that confidence and drive needed to make those dreams come true!" The woman's eyes shut once again as even more tears and sobs overwhelmed her body at the knowledge of not being able to watch her son grow up or be there when he needed her. "I really, really, really, really wish I could be there to teach you so many more things, I really wish I could be with you longer. I love you!"
Once she determined that he had fallen completely asleep, Mavis left down onto the grassy floor and placed her son on a nearby bush as softly as she could so she wouldn't wake him. Hesitantly taking several steps back as she heard the Dark Wizards getting closer, the blonde channeled her magic and even converted the love she held for her son into even more magical power to make sure the spell she was about to use remained strong even without her channeling it.
This was one of the Three Great Spells she made for the Fairy Tail guild and one that she knew would protect her son from any darkness that went after him.
"Fairy Sphere!"
A golden orb of her magical power surrounded her son with the light from the spell being so bright that it carried throughout the sky, and it gave off a warm feeling that carried on to the town. Everyone went outside and saw the light tearing through the night sky. A trio of men exited out of the Fairy Tail Guildhall with alarmed looks on their faces, worry building up inside them as they could feel Mavis' feeling etched into the light that reached out from the forest.
Mavis concentrated the spell to surround her son, making a small seal around the sleeping baby that locked into place with the solidification of Fairy Tail's symbol on the glowing sphere. All of the light created from the spell had condensed and dimmed immensely. Now that the spell was complete, all that was left for her to do was to send the sphere away and that whoever finds it will take care of her son and give him all the love he needs. It might take years, possibly several decades even, but the spell would make sure her wish would be fulfilled.
With tears in her eyes, she sent the Fairy Sphere away, giving her son her last thoughts before he disappeared from her sight. "You have to live on! I want you to have a long and happy life!"
Even as the light from the sphere vanished into the distance and knew that her plan had succeeded, granted with the unpredictability of where her son would end up, Mavis knew one thing that was guaranteed as she turned around and started to walk away.
Right at that moment, her heart broke into thousands of pieces upon being separated from her son. Once she returned home, the woman would lock herself away and cry. And cry. And cry. Maybe she would finally emerge from her room and live some sort of life with her guild. Maybe she could set up some preparations for the very slim case her son ever did cross paths with Fairy Tail.
But even then, it wouldn't reverse the damage.
Her heart would never truly recover.
Mavis continued through the forest until she was stopped at a small clearing, nearing the border between the forest and the town where she came across the reason for her unhappiness. The Zeref wizards started to surround her, each readying their magic for a fight.
"We finally caught you Mavis Vermilion. Now where is the child?" One of the men questioned, appearing to be the leader of the group based on where he was standing with his followers positioned around him.
"… You are already too late…I sent him far away and there is no way that you can ever use him for your twisted use." Mavis said glaring at the wizards in front of her, her magic building up.
"You bitch! Do you know whom you are dealing with?" The leader shouted as he gave the signal for his men to unleash their magic.
"… No… No, I don't, and frankly I don't care… You threaten my son, you thought about kidnapping him and wanted to do horrible things to him. The reason I sent him away was fucking because of you… All I see right now is future blood stains ready to get washed away by the rain."
At that declaration, a few men started to tremble from the combination of her incredibly high magical power and her killer intent. There was a reason why they say Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn, especially when that woman was also a mother. The leader even shook from the threat a little before trying to compose himself a little.
"Big talk woman, but there are over fifty of us and only one of you. This won't even be considered a fight with how one-sided this will be. Not to mention what will happen to you if you don't tell us what we want to know about your son." As he said this, Mavis could see many of the men there were giving her lustful stares, as if she needed even more reason to despite these men. They just had to gross her out on top of everything else.
"I'd like to see you try. Also, you want to work on your math. You obviously such at counting." Pointing her hand, palm open, at the men behind her, the blonde didn't give them any time to react. "Fairy Cannon!"
A spell seal appeared before shooting out a gigantic blast of light, hitting fifteen of the Dark Wizards, causing them to be sent flying into several trees in almost guaranteed fatal manners. The other wizards were shocked at the power behind the attack. They could see why she was feared. She did that without even trying or looking in their direction, as if the ones behind her were annoying insects she was swatting away. The remaining men snapped out of their stupor once Mavis continued to speak.
"You are right about being outmatched, but you were screwed up on the numbers you're going to need." Taking hold of her cloak, Mavis pulled it off with a flourish so hard that it tore the fabric to shreds. Letting go of the cloak's remains as she finished her declaration made a few men flinch in fear. "You are going to need a hundred times the amount of men here before you could even scratch me."
Three of the Zeref Worshippers charged forward, angered by her words. One using Take Over Magic to turn into a metal demonic Vulcan, while the second was focusing his Darkness Magic into his hands to create demonic claws and the last had kept some distance as he built up his Fire Magic.
"Fire Bullet!" It was the fire wizard's attack that reached her first with a bullet-like fire stream heading towards Mavis. Holding out her hand and focusing her magic on the flame, the Guildmaster manipulated the element to spin around her, not touching her once, before sending it back at the wizard with her own magic mixed in. The man was incinerated instantly.
This enraged the other two as they rushed at her with their claws ready to tear her a part. As their claws drew closer, she dodged both of the claws and gripped the arms attached tightly before she twisted her arms a little and slammed their bodies into each other. As they were dazed from the impact, Mavis tossed them away and sent another Fairy Cannon at them, finishing that annoying skirmish.
As their bodies crashed to the ground she turned to the leader.
"Like I said before…You won't even put a scratch on me. Now then, I had created a system for my guild to help deliver justice and I will now use it on you. I will give you the count of three to kneel and submit. You can even try begging for your live and maybe I will spare your lives." Mavis emotionlessly pointed down at the ground before her with her index finger. "However, if you do not… I will destroy you."
"…1"
"S-Shut up bitch!" the leader roared "Attack her all at once!"
"…2"
All the dark wizards released different spells all in complete sync at the stationary Guild Master, who remained motionless even as each magical attack that ranged from harnessing the elements to projectile weapon magic all rushed at incredible speed. They all were about to make contact with Mavis, while she stayed in the same place, looking at the attack without any emotion on her face.
"…3"
"It's over, Radiant Fairy Counter." The tone Mavis used was so soft and could barely be considered a whisper, which was in contrast to the giant manifestation of the Fairy Tail symbol that her magic formed in front of her just as the attacks made contact.
The blast slammed into the shield and the shield seemed to halt the attack before it started to absorb it into the symbol. As the attack was completely drained, the dark wizards eyes widened in shock. All of their attacks were stopped as if they were nothing. None of them were prepared as the shield started to glow brightly, and before any of the wizards could react, it released multiple beams of light at each and every one of them. At the end of the battle Mavis was left standing in the clearing, surrounded by the bodies of her enemies.
"I am going to file a report with the Magic Knights to let them know where every single one of you are… Never come near me, my son or my guild again. If you do, I promise I will show no mercy and wipe you from existence." Mavis warned as she continued to walk to the town.
The rustling coming from her left of bushes caused the woman to come to a stop, turning her head a little she saw a young man with black hair staring at her. His outfit was mostly black and tan robes with gold trimmings and an open collar, along with a large, flowing white toga draped around his main body and across his chest. His hair was pitch black that was sticking upwards at the top, while he had dark eyes and abnormally sharp canines. Around his neck was a circle-shaped necklace that looked oddly familiar.
In fact, something about the man created a spark of familiarity in Mavis even though she had no memory of him. But then again, with the current state of her mind, it was impossible for her find the desire to try and figure out this mystery. She could see that he had a sad look on his face as he stared at her before looking at the men scattered across the field.
His sad look turned to slight anger upon acknowledging them.
"Who are you?" Mavis questioned as she stared at the man, ready for any sign of him about to attack.
He seemed to ignore the question and instead asked one of his own. "Did you do this to these men?"
Mavis was unsure how to answer that. From an initial standpoint, this man could possibly be a threat… but from how he was looking at the worshippers, they were clearly not allies.
"…. Yes, they were threatening me and my son's life. So, I fought them to protect him." Mavis answered coolly, still not trusting the man in front of her despite a small part of her feeling as though he wasn't a threat.
"Why were they after your son? Did he do something?" The man continued to ask his questions, something that seemed to replace whatever she was feeling with anger.
"No, he did! He is not even a year old yet, but they want to take him because of his high magical power." The woman could feel fresh tears start to build up in her eyes as she remembered what she had done to protect her son. "These bastards are Zeref worshippers, they believe that they could have used my son to bring him back or worse. I didn't want that to happen to him."
"I see… So where is he? From the looks of it, he's not with you." The sad look from before was present on his face.
By this point, Mavis started to cry again and brought her shaking hands to her face. "I sent him away, and so he will be safe. I already know he will be a strong wizard when he is older and I wanted him to have a good life before he learns magic, and I-I…I can't do that for him if h-he is here being targeted all the time!"
'I'm sorry that you both had to go through this... Mavis.' The man thought to himself before he started to walk away, not wanting to harm the heart-broken mother any more than he already had. 'It will be dangerous for me to be around anyone in any normal scenario, but with my curses unpredictability and the chance that…Wait…'
Pausing mid-step, the man turned his focus on the dead men surrounding them. Ones that were killed just now because of his curse.
With how distraught she was at that moment, Mavis hadn't been aware that the man she had been talking too was non-other than Zeref the Dark Wizard. He had been having trouble with his powers due to certain issues and had accidentally released a small wave of his Ankhseram Black Magic, which had killed everyone except for Mavis, whose self-created magic known as Fairy Light Magic, was able to protect her from his curse. It was a known fact that even if children used other magic besides their parents, and if they were strong enough, the abilities and powers would transfer over. So, Mavis's son, even if he learned another style of magic, would still have his mother's magic to protect him from Zeref's Ankhseram Black Magic as it did her.
Zeref had finally found someone other than his demons to kill him... and if Mavis had really married and had a child with thatman, then his death was almost assured.
"What is your son's name if I might ask?"
"Huh? Why do you want to know?" Mavis questioned as she looked at the man with a few tears in her eyes.
Zeref looked at Mavis for a second before staring at the starry sky above. He couldn't tell her the whole truth but that didn't mean he couldn't bend it a little. "... So, if I ever see him, I will know who he is... I could also point him in this direction so he could home to you."
Mavis was surprised at what he said before she started to laugh. This man before her was confused on why she was laughing. She calmed down after a few seconds and answered the man.
"Sorry about that, it is just kind of funny about what you said. While there is no possibility that you will meet him, if you do I am grateful if you pointed him toward Fairy Tail." Mavis said with a smile as tears fell down her cheeks.
"Heh, I see... So, what is his name?"
"My son's name is…"
( Several Decades into the Future)
In a forest, hundreds of miles away from human civilization, resided a dragon. He was a powerful dragon, one of the strongest that existed in Earthland and held the title of one of the Dragon Kings to prove it. This gigantic dragon is covered with dark red scales that can be easily seen. His lower body, specifically his belly, inner tail and legs, is beige in color. He also has noticeable scars on his belly and neck, with the largest one being in a form of an "X" in the center of his body. His back has numerous black spikes, reaching down from the back to the end of his tail. His head was a triangular shape with horns, a pair of round eyes with yellow corneas and round dark pupils, and a sharp horn pointing upwards just above his nose. He also sports very sharp canine teeth and has claws with long red sharp nails. His large bony wings looks similarly alike as that of a bat's, with rippled tips. He was the Fire Dragon King, Igneel.
Now Igneel usually lived in volcanic areas, it was where he was the most comfortable. For some reason though, he felt something strange resonating with him deep within this forest. The dragon didn't know what it was, but Igneel knew he should go out and search for whatever was calling out to him. it. He wondered around for a bit, starting to get annoyed with seeing nothing but trees and animal life. He was the one and only Igneel, he didn't need to go through this goose chase.
But just as he was about to leave and return to the area he was residing for the moment, a golden glow caught his attention.
It was coming from a cave a few yards away, and whatever it was, it was spherical and seemed to have a symbol on it. This strange find only made the curiosity that Igneel initial had grown, getting the better of him and he traveled the short distance towards the cave. Getting a closer look at the sphere he noticed it had the symbol of that guild he had seen once when he was flying over the town called Magnolia. While he hated to say it, but he was glad Grandeeney had shown him how to use a compressed form for traveling, it definitely helped with staying out of human's visual.
Sure, he could use Transformation Magic to properly blend in with the human if needed, but more often than not his pride prevented the dragon from using that option unless absolutely necessary.
Inspecting the sphere more closely allowed Igneel to get a better look inside of it and was greeted by the sight of a sleeping human child, an infant from the looks of it.
Reaching out a claw toward the sphere to try and see what exactly that was covering the infant, Igneel's eyes narrowed slightly at the comforting aura that was coming off of it. Whoever did this truly wanted to protect the baby and turned their actual emotions into magical power for the spell to do… whatever it did. As soon as his claw made contact with the sphere, however, the symbol on the sphere glowed a little before disappearing and the orb soon followed. Igneel brought his claw back a little to get a better look at the sleeping child and saw it was a boy that look barely a year old. He had short rose-colored hair that seemed to start to spiky out a little.
The boy began to stir before he opened his scrunched eyes and was greeted by the gigantic red dragon in front of him. But instead of starting to cry or the like when coming across such an intimidating creature, Igneel was surprised to see the infant actually giggle and reached his hands out towards the dragon. This action caused Igneel to respond with a chuckle of his own, he didn't expect the child to giggle at him.
"Aren't you an interesting little human." Igneel commented as he brought his snout closer for the boy to touch, "Instead of being scared or making that annoying crying sound, you seem happy."
Igneel brought his face away from the boy, much to his disappointment, and began to ponder what to do. If the child's parents weren't around then that meant that something must have happened to separate them from the child. It was actually making more sense now that he had a proper idea on what the barrier was after seeing what was inside, it had to have been something that the parents had made to protect their son. It was certainly different from how dragons would handle their offsprings.
But now he was faced with a conundrum. What he should do with the boy? He couldn't exactly leave him here to die and also there was the possibility that whatever was after him might come back… He also couldn't help but let his mind drift a little as he took in the infant's appearance. There were obviously differences here and there, but the boy's appearance greatly resembled…
Suddenly a thought came to Igneel's mind.
Why not raise the boy himself?
Yes. Igneel could teach the boy how to survive on his own and many other things that he would need to survive this world, including his own brand of magic, Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. It wouldn't be the first time a human learned Dragon Slayer Magic from a Dragon, and there were the other Dragons that had been teaching their human children the art so they would be prepared for Acnologia... Just the thought of that monster made Igneel's blood boil even more than usual, especially after what happened when they crossed paths centuries ago.
Looking at the fussy boy in front of him, he could see a lot of potential and as the great Igneel, he could see no one better to have as a son. Coming to a decision, he decided to raise the boy as his own. He reached out to the boy, picking him up as gently as he could; he noticed the blanket the boy had wrapped around him had a name on it. The name was in bold letters.
*NATSU*
"So, your name is Natsu, is it?" Igneel got a squeal of delight as a reply, "Hmm... if I recall correctly you Humans use last names as well... You remind me of someone I met a long time ago… Very well! I will call you Natsu Dragneel! It's the last name to the only person that I respect. From this moment on you will be known as the son of Igneel and the Fire Dragon Slayer."
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