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Chapter One: Scars
Straight from one hell to another.
Cobra scanned the room around him, his violet eyes shining against the dim light of the cell he was in. A pair of magic handcuffs were securely tightened against the flesh of his wrists in case he tried anything, not that he would anyway...
He had been betrayed yet again. The moment Brain struck him with his staff, he lost any and all allegiance to Oracions Seis and it's members or rather, whichever ones remained.
Hot-Eye claimed to have seen the light and was soon released for good behavior into a sort of rehabilitation program. Word is he even joined Lamia Scale to be with his new friend, Jura of the Ten Saint Wizards. Cobra felt something twist in his heart, recalling that man named Jura to be a part of the group that attacked Nirvana along with that Natsu character.
He was briefly reminded of the pain he felt when he lost his only friend Cubelios in the fight, he didn't talk about it though, choosing to bury such thoughts in some forgotten part of his mind.
In the end it seemed his father may have been correct in his belief that all humanity was trash that didn't deserve to exist. He had argued with him back then, saying Mom thought differently...but now he was unsure.
"Foolish boy! It was the humans who took your mother away, and for what!?"
A younger Cobra bit against his lower lip, his tiny fists balled at his sides as tears stung at the corners of his eyes while still refusing to back down. "Mom said to give them a chance! She said not all of them are bad... you were human when you met her!" He finally yelled.
And right away he could tell he made an error by uttering those words when a monstrous roar enveloped his ears, forcing him to cower against the ground, hands pressed over his eardrums in a feeble attempt to block out the painful vibrations resounding through the air.
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF SUCH THINGS COBRA!" His father roared.
Choking back a sob, he looked back towards his father. "I... I'm sorry... but it's true!", he rasped out. He quickly returned to his cowering position, fearing he had just further enraged his father and preparing for a harsh blow to do him in when instead, he felt something touch against his face, wiping away the falling tears.
"Cobra... I'm sorry for yelling. Please look at me. You know I don't like to talk about my past though." His father would always plead, but this time it was too much.
Cobra didn't turn. His posture had become rigid as he made a silent decision that enough was enough.
"Otousan...", he said softly for a moment, seeming to give in, slowly lifting his head from its inclined position before speaking again. "You're wrong..."
"Cobra...?"
"You're wrong! You're wrong! You're wrong!" Cobra yelled out repeatedly, pushing himself away and out of the others reach, running as fast as his small legs could carry him, not daring to look back when he heard that same monstrous growl and his name being howled into the nighttime sky.
That was the last time he ever saw his father, but he knew somewhere deep down that he was probably searching for him... somewhere.
Cobra was at least glad he never encountered him in all his travel. He wasn't entirely sure of what would've happened to him otherwise, considering his father had a temper that had come to make many tremble at the mere thought of it.
A sudden shiver ran through his body. His stupid cell was too cold.
"Prisoner number 100977, Cobra." A guard called out. Cobra made no move to answer since he could hear them coming from well over a mile away already knowing what they wanted, and it made his stomach churn when he saw the same, usual, lustful gleam in their eyes.
Yep, just another day in hell.
"Hmmm..."
"Well, hurry up and decide on a job will ya?"
"What was that, droopy-eyed bastard!?"
"I said get a move on, flame-brain!"
"Icicle breath!"
"Hot-headed freak!"
"Why, you...!" They both growled, rearing back their fists, preparing to start another brawl when two armored fists cratered into their skulls, sending them both into a K.O on the ground.
"That's enough!", the red-haired female of the group declared. She was none other than the great Erza 'Titania' Scarlett and her fierce gaze now lingered on the two fallen mages at her feet as they silently cursed her and her monster-like strength.
"Umm, Erza-san, maybe we shouldn't hurt them before we start the mission, yeah?" Lucy piped up from behind, feeling just as terrified by the other girl's show of power.
"Aye!" Happy added floating up beside the blonde-haired Lucy Heartfilia, or cowering was more like it, since there was always a chance Erza could simply turn around and punish her as well for speaking out against her.
"Whatever, let's just get going already. Is this one okay with everyone?", Natsu said after recovering from having herself done in along with the 'icicle breath bastard' on the floor, reaching out and grabbing a flyer that hung on the request board. "Ohoo! Look it says it's 400,000 jewels a person!" Natsu exclaimed happily, eying the reward listed at the bottom.
"Yosh, then what're we waiting for!?" Lucy said aloud. "Let's go-"
"Hold on a moment, Natsu!"
Natsu froze along with the others at the sound of the guild master calling her name, walking through the front doors of the guild. "Where are you going?"
"Welcome Master, did the meeting go well?" Mirajane greeted from her position behind the bar, receiving a nod of confirmation from the elderly man while he stood waiting for the pink-haired girl to answer.
"Where do you think?" Natsu jeered, holding up the flyer she grabbed, "We're going on a job, that okay jiji?"she asked giving a toothy grin while standing beside her team consisting of Erza, Lucy, Gray, Happy, Carla, and Wendy.
"No." He simply said and Natsu did a face fall.
"What!? WHY NOT!?", she screeched lifting her face back up off the ground and stomping over to the short man.
"Master, why can't we go on a job, did something happen?" Erza questioned, shoving Natsu aside and approaching Master Makorov with a serious expression on her face.
"I never said all of YOU can't go, only Natsu must stay." He clarified, and it just made Natsu feel worse. The poor girl's jaw hung open in shock, staring at the man in disbelief "That's not fair!", she yelled.
"Why can't Natsu go? Did she do something wrong?" Lucy asked.
Makorov shook his head.
"Then why?" Natsu yelled again.
"Natsu, I need you to come with me somewhere else instead!" Makorov explained, leaving no room for argument and proceeding to walk away.
"Well then, I guess we'll be seeing you Natsu." Lucy called out over her shoulder as she and the rest of the team continued on their way out of the guild, leaving behind a now severely depressed Natsu calling after them.
"What!? You're just gonna leave me here all alone!?" She demanded.
"Not our fault you're in trouble." Gray threw back with a grin. Nastu went to charge at him when she heard master's voice calling out for her again, beckoning her inside. She slumped, turning around and trudging back in to find him sitting on the bar as usual.
"Jiji, you're mean! Why the heck am I the one stuck here?" She grumbled dejectedly.
"Natsu, the reason I need you here is because I'm going somewhere and I think it would be greatly beneficial if you were to accompany me." Makarov explained. Natsu responded by tilting her head to the side and folding her arms against her chest.
"Where exactly are you going?", she asked curiously.
"The magic council has summoned us, well you specifically." Natsu blinked at this newfound information, mainly because she was never all that fond of the council seeing as how everything she did, they demanded a hand written apology for saying she was a loose cannon, and destroyed nearly half of an entire village etc., etc.
"Why do they want to see me? What the heck did I do to them now?" The pink-haired mage heaved a sigh while trying to think of recent events that she maybe could've gotten in trouble for and seeing nothing unusual really accounted for.
"Natsu, do you remember a person you once fought against by the name of Cobra?"
Natsu's eyes widened slightly. She did indeed remember her meeting with Cobra, the poisonous snake user who had almost ended her life until a surprise betrayal from the man's supposed leader saved her neck. She gulped at the memory of the man, feeling nervous beads of sweat on her forehead.
"H-hai, I remember." She stuttered nervously before clearing her throat and speaking in a more even tone of voice. "What about him? Did he break out or something?" She asked, nonchalantly folding her arms behind her head and putting on a bored expression to mirror her tone.
"Natsu..." Makorov said in a low, serious voice "...he was raped".
Nastu froze.
Slowly she lowered her arms giving Makorov a look of sheer disbelief, swallowing a lump in her throat.
"W..what?"
"They just found out this morning, I'm afraid. Apparently a few of the guards had been periodically coming to his cell and... well, they also found out it was more than likely multiple times. They tried asking Cobra for more information on the matter, though he seems to be unresponsive to pretty much anyone that tries to so much as approach him..." Natsu felt her fists clench, feeling her nails dig into the flesh of her palms and drawing a steady stream of blood that leaked out onto the floor.
"Apparently they even tried getting his former teammates to get him to open up, but he responded rather 'violently' towards them, then when they were looking up some possible relatives or friends, they came across your name from the time you fought him in Nirvana, and recalled how you were both dragon slayers so they hoped you would-"
"Where is he!?" Natsu growled out through clenched teeth grabbing the old man by the collar of his shirt and pulling him forward, forcing him to see the blazing fury that now gleamed in the young dragon slayer's eyes. "Take me there, right now!"
Cobra shuddered, now back in his cold cell. His hands were re-cuffed behind his back as he had been thrown inside, landing on his stomach after the guards rough treatment, or as they called it, 'having a good time'. He panted softly on the ground, feeling too weak to push himself onto his knees, thankful to at least be back in his clothes again. The cool stone floor felt nice, almost calming against his hot, sweat covered skin.
"Otousan...", he whispered in a broken down voice. It still hurt from crying, and from when those bastards made him scream out each of their names. He hated it each and every time. He hated being touched by them, it sickened him to the point where he had actually thrown up a couple of times after.
Every time, he tried his hardest not to cry, not to appear weak in front of others like his dad always told him and every time someone had to go and break him down all over again. It didn't matter if it was through torture or rape, betrayal, lies... it was all the same.
They all left him with scars.
