Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. Neither do I intend to steal it. If it was mine, I'd forbid Gray to wear clothes at all! XD I just own my OC and please don't use or steal them in your story. I'm their mommy, I love my children and won't hand them to strangers.
Author's note: Nothing new here, I just changed a bit of the chapter.
~o~o~o~
Chapter 2
by Misty Mina
Let's turn back time for a few hours.
Two Fairy Tail mages were lost in a forest between Magnolia and Hargeon. Gray and Lucy had finished the Master's assignment with success and were on their way back. But somehow, they got themselves lost due to Gray's (not so great) sense of direction.
" 'I told you we should have taken a ship and sailed back home. That would have been the fastest and safest way', she says" Horologium repeated everything Lucy said while carrying his summoner around.
Gray had taken his shirt off already and as long as it was only the shirt, Lucy wouldn't say anything.
"Says the one who is not even walking by herself." The ice mage wasn't really mad at Lucy. Just frustrated since there was some truth in her words.
" 'Well, I'm sorry for being tired. But we were walking for hours without a break', she says."
He sighed heavily, knowing he'd been walking for hours as well, but he wasn't complaining.
"Just a bit more, I'm sure this is the right way." Gray assured her.
" 'You said that the last three times', she says."
A beeping sound came from nowhere and Horologium poofed away. The blonde yelped when she landed on her butt. Gray chuckled a bit at her antics. Lucy was fun to be around, unlike Natsu and Erza. Oh he liked them since they were his friends and comrades. Despite that, it was always nerve wrecking to be around them. He always fought with Natsu, and it was just too hard to watch his mouth constantly around Erza. She would hurt him! Bad. It didn't matter if it was something he said, or just a nudge. She didn't know her own strength.
Lucy was different. Sure she whined a lot and wasn't as strong as the other two, but she was kind, accepting, easy to talk to and the single most important thing ...it didn't hurt so much when she would hit him.
The Stellar Mage stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes.
"I think you should take a break Gray. We have all the time in the world to go home."
Gray gave her a sideways glance. 'You mean YOU want to take a break...' He thought, not really wanting to say it out loud.
Suddenly there was a muffled voice.
"What ..." Lucy began, but was silent when he lifted his hand.
"Over here boss." Someone said.
The steps he'd heard were moving away. The strangers went deeper into the forest. Lucy didn't know she'd held her breath until she let it out in a sigh.
"Phew. I thought we were in trouble."
Something was off. Gray knew he'd heard that voice before, though he couldn't remember when or where.
"Let's follow them!"
Lucy gave him the 'Are-you-mad,-suicidal-or-Natsu?' look.
"You're kidding, right? Why should we follow them? We are done here. Mission accomplished. Done, finished, completed, finito, ende, ok?" The Stellar Mage felt like she was talking to a stubborn child. And until now she'd thought she was the only one with a reputation for blonde moments.
For a second, Gray wondered how many languages Lucy knew, but he pushed that question aside for later.
"They aren't up to any good. We'd taint the guild's name if we just let them go."
The blonde frowned. Was that the usual excuse for 'let's get ourselves in trouble, danger and possibly killed'?
She didn't know if she would be any help. Lucy had called a spirit and walked through the forest for hours. Tired wasn't the right word to describe was more like dead.
The ice alchemist would be a fool not to notice his comrade's condition. Endangering a friend is bad. ...Leaving them behind on their own is even worse.
"We'll just follow them for now. If they attack us, I'll handle it."
Lucy wanted to protest, but when she opened her mouth, he gave her a look that dared her to say anything. She reluctantly nodded and followed him as he led the way deeper into the forest. It was easier to sneak after their targets since Natsu wasn't there. Sure, Natsu was great, strong and the best friend one could wish for. But to be honest, silence, sneaking and stealth were words he didn't even know and couldn't care less about.
Gray carefully peeked from behind a tree and saw four men who followed another at a normal pace. He motioned for Lucy to stay where she was before going after the group. Watching his step, he snuck to the next tree. When he was certain it was safe enough, he beckoned his partner to come over. It wasn't the quickest method, but as long as they could find out what was going on, it didn't really matter.
The ice alchemist mentally stomped down the urge to strip. It was a bad habit and got even worse when he was nervous and tense. Lucy caught a glimpse of the men and knew right away who they were.
"Aren't those the mercenaries that the baron hired?" She whispered, trying hard not to draw any attention to herself.
Now that she mentioned it, Gray remembered them. They were hired by the baron to protect not only him, but also his home. The Master gave them the mission to infiltrate the house and find out what the baron was doing for a living. On the outside, he was the honest and kind landlord, who was aiming to be the new mayor of the town Hargeon. And beneath the almost comical act, he was a slave trader who abused, bought and sold his employees. The two had collected enough evidence and, as the Master had instructed, handed it over to the current mayor. Makarov knew the mayor of Hargeon personally. The man was worried about his people, which was why he had requested the help of Fairy Tail.
In the end, the baron's career ended before it began. He'd been imprisoned and was awaiting his trial. That, of course, left the mercenaries without an employer. Since they were only hired for protection, there was no reason and no evidence to put them in jail for the moment, but that could change. Apparently, things got too hot for them now and they were traveling to the next town.
Gray nodded once before continuing to follow them. It wouldn't surprise him if they were heading for Magnolia. He bet they knew exactly who brought their source of capital down.
The group reached a clearing where he couldn't follow them anymore without being seen. Luck was on his side however when they stopped in the middle of the clearing. They stood in a circle around something. Gray couldn't make out what it was that caught their attention until he looked between the legs. There was a body on the ground, probably a corpse. Were they so immoral or desperate to steal a dead person's possessions?
"Pretty thing, huh boss?" The one who lead them there asked.
A plump man with a bald, tattooed head and who didn't look like he'd had a bath in weeks, looked down on the person. The only thing that would identify this man as a leader would be the huge and heavy looking morning star attached to his belt.
"Are you sure she's not dead?" He asked.
"Alive and healthy, sleeping like a baby...or babe. He he. " Gray could practically see the leer on the man's face.
"A bit thin for my taste, but she'll do!" Another said.
Lucy had caught up and also had heard the last sentence. Gasping softly she looked at Gray with horror in her soft brown eyes.
It was not like he would let them rape the poor girl. He turned to Lucy.
"Stay here, this could get ugly." He ordered, keeping his voice low.
"No, we're a team!" Lucy protested.
He really didn't want to put Lucy in danger if it wasn't necessary. Five mercenaries weren't so hard to take on for a good mage and despite what Natsu said, he knew he was damn good. On the other hand, he could also understand her. It wasn't the pride of a fighter which Lucy tried to maintain. More like the usefulness of a comrade. She wanted to be of use, not to be a burden. Gray respected that. How could anyone expect her to get better if nobody gave her the chance to improve?
Thinking quickly of another strategy was not easy. They were already deciding their turns. The best strategy would be to lead them away.
"Ok, listen! I'll distract them and get those idiots to follow me. You go and check up on the girl when the coast is clear. If by chance one stays behind, you can handle him." It wasn't the brightest idea, but their opponents were stupid enough for it to work.
"Ok!"
Without looking back Gray took off. Not even using his magic, he punched the first man in sight. No use in showing them his full potential when he was only trying to distract them. He stood a few feet away, staring at them and not at the place where Lucy was hiding.
"Taking advantage of an unconscious girl is something cowards would do. But looking at scumbags like you... I shouldn't be surprised." He taunted.
The bald man took the bait right away.
"KILL HIM! I WANT HIS HEAD ON A STAKE!" His face almost turned purple from all the yelling.
Gray ran away with four of them running after him. Their boss stayed behind, neither really in the mood nor the condition to run. That was fine with Lucy. She left her hiding place just when the man turned back to his prey.
"Oh no, you won't!" Lucy yelled, holding a golden key. She was worried about that girl now. Perhaps she was hurt, sick or unconscious. The noise they were making should be enough to raise the dead, yet she hadn't even twitched.
The leader turned around and spotted the Stellar Mage.
"Another sweet doll? Today is my lucky day!" He leered, too stupid and perverted to know what Lucy was up to. She held the key out in front of her, summoning her spirit.
"Open! A door to the bull, Taurus!"
Not wasting a second the Stellar Spirit appeared, dutifully heeding his summoner's call.
"Moooooohhhh, Lucy-san has the hottest body!" Was his battle cry.
Lucy slapped her forehead in aggravation. She forgot that Taurus was also a pervert. Some day she will have to forbid him to make such entrances.
"Great, now those two pervs can shake hands..." She muttered.
A brilliant idea struck her. Maybe she could actually use Taurus weakness in her favor.
"Taurus! That man wants to molest me!"
As Lucy expected, that got his attention. As much as Taurus was a pervert, he was also possessive. One can look, but heaven help them if they touch!
"Whaaat?" Eyes blazing, he raised his axe while the leader was frightened and fumbled for his morning star.
The spirit ran towards the man, swinging his axe with uncontrolled fury.
"I wanted to do that first!" Taurus admitted with an angry snarl, not even ashamed of saying it.
Lucy was afraid that she'd made a mistake by telling the spirit this. The bull was full of rage and she feared for the girl's safety. However, it seemed that, even when he was furious, Taurus was unconsciously aware of his surroundings. He swung his axe to the right, aiming for the midsection of his target and missed. The man jumped to the side and ran away from the sleeping girl with Taurus hot on his heels. Lucy ran over to make sure she was alright. Kneeling down, she saw her even breathing. So she wasn't sick with a fever or had a heat stroke, she was just a really heavy sleeper. She lay on her right side with bent legs, her right arm under her head as a pillow and the other resting on her waist.
That girl looked kind of strange. She was dressed in black clothes, like she'd been on a funeral. The style of her clothes wasn't so hip or girly either. She wore black leather boots, (at least Lucy guessed it were boots her pants covered them right down to the ankle) tight, black pants and a black and white tunic like top with long wide sleeves. Her hair was a raven black and bound into a low ponytail that reached a bit past her shoulder. Her bangs, long and messy, lay over one eye. The girl's features were not really what one would call cute, but still beautiful in their own way. They reminded her a bit of Erza. Strong, a bit masculine and still feminine.
The strangest part however was her chest. A-cup would be a compliment.
She was totally flat!
Lucy shook her head. 'This is not the time to measure breasts!'
She wanted to shake the dark-haired beauty, but before she could actually touch her arm, a great wave of fatigue hit her. Wobbling to the side she caught herself on her forearms. The day caught up with her and the strain she'd been put through had drained her energy to the point where she couldn't hold Taurus in this realm anymore.
'I hope he took care of that guy'. She thought, getting up into a sitting position again.
Gray hadn't returned yet and Lucy hoped he didn't get hurt. If Taurus couldn't knock that guy out, the ice mage would be her only hope. The blonde turned back to the girl, who was still asleep and tried to wake her up. She lifted her hand, which trembled with exhaustion and touched the girl's shoulder. Suddenly rustling could be heard from nearby bushes. Lucy turned her head around.
"Gray? Is that you?" She asked meekly. Hoping, almost praying, that she was right.
To her absolute horror it was the mercenary.
"That was a nice trick, Missy, but foreplay is over!" He growled
Swinging his morning star, he approached the two girls slowly. Lucy was too weak to run, let alone fight, and Gray was probably far away. Her only option was to wake the girl and hope she could use magic or help in any kind of way. If not, well the stellar mage would at least die an honorable death. She was not keen to meet her end so soon, yet dying for saving someone sounded better than dying for nothing.
"Wake up, please, wake up! Please, please, please!" She shook her hard with despair clearly written on her face, but the girl slept very deeply indeed or was really unconscious.
When he stood in front of her, he raised his arm to strike out. Even though it would be in vain, Lucy raised her arms to shield her head. Before the man could swing down his weapon, a voice rang through the woods.
"LUCY!"
Gray had no time to lose. with quick motions he used his ice magic to help his comrade.
"Ice Make Rampart !"
A wall of ice raced over the green grass, trying to separate the mercenary and Lucy. It was the only technique he could think of, any other would've hurt Lucy as well. The man swung his weapon and it was about to hit the stellar mage.
No use.
Gray saw his magic wouldn't reach them in time, he was just too far away.
Lucy was sure she was going to die. Gray tried his best, she knew that. All of a sudden she was grabbed by her waist and thrown to the side, out of the path of the deadly weapon. She closed her eyes and held her breath. For a short moment, she felt how her body rolled around in the grass, shielded by another.
When nothing happened for a few seconds, she dared to open her eyes, just to see black. When Lucy realized she was staring at clothes, she looked up right into the indigo, almost black, eyes of the girl they were trying to save. It seemed the girl had grabbed Lucy and hauled her out of the way.
Gray walked over to them, not really believing what just happened. He glanced at the bald man who was caught in the ice rampart. Gray's magic had hit the man directly and killed him. However, that was never his intention. In the last two seconds before the morning star could hit Lucy, his wall increased in speed. Not only that, it changed its course slightly, so it would kill, instead of separating the enemy from the girls. Not like he would mourn his death, yet killing would always be his last option. Thinking back, it wouldn't be the first time that Gray's emotions would influence his magic. It made him wonder. He was close to losing a comrade before, but it was never like this.
When he reached the girls, he saw that Lucy was still in the other girl's arms with her head resting on the others shoulder and one hand at her chest. He felt a twinge when he saw them like this, but thought nothing of it. The last thing he wanted to admit was that he may be disgusted by two girls being together like that.
"Are you two alright?" He asked.
Lucy regained her senses and tried to answer Gray when her gaze fell on her left hand that still rested on the other girl's chest. There was something wrong here. When she knew what it was, the stellar mage straightened her back and pushed herself out of the others embrace with the same hand that still rested on the other's chest.
"You aren't a girl!" Lucy blurted it out before she could think about it.
The other person was surprised at first when Lucy had pushed her, no ...HIM away. Letting Lucy's words sink in the look turned into a miffed frown before 'he' answered in a clearly male voice.
"I never claimed to be one. What happened anyway?" 'He' said, looking to the side where the frozen mercenary stood.
That got Gray's attention and the twinge only got worse. They were fooled by a guy with pretty looks? He wanted to yank Lucy away and walk the other direction. They had risked their lives for nothing? Even those idiotic mercenaries would have noticed the difference sooner or later. The only reason why he didn't do it was that the 'guy' was right. They had all jumped to conclusions. Mercenaries and mages alike. The ice alchemist counted to ten and when he was sure he was calm enough to think clearly he turned to the other man.
"It seemed like your features fooled a group of mercenaries. They were about to rape a 'pretty girl like you'. " The spite in Gray's voice was hard to miss. Either the other didn't hear it or politely ignored it. The stranger stood up with a sigh.
"I see. Well, it would not be the first time that others mistake me for a woman. But it is the first time they went so far as to almost rape me. I guess I let my guard down." He replied with a slight smirk.
The ice mage couldn't imagine what could be so funny about that. If he'd be in the guys place, he would certainly freak out and not smirk. Lucy stood up, her legs trembled a bit with exhaustion. She was a bit mad that they went through so much danger to save a girl, who was in fact a guy, but maybe they still did a good thing.
"You should be more careful, you'll never know who you come across. I'm Lucy and this is Gray." She introduced them.
"Where are my manners? My apologies. The name ...is Yuga." He said while bowing slightly to the blonde.
Gray started to seethe. The nerve of that slick bastard. He couldn't really explain his dislike, it was just there.
"What were you doing out here anyway?" Gray asked with suspicion.
Yuga straightened his back and raised a delicate eyebrow.
"I am on a journey. I got lost and was too tired to go on, so I took a nap. The next thing I know is the feeling of someone shaking me and when I look, there is a bald man with a morning star trying to kill Miss Lucy." Yuga replied truthfully.
"Aww, no need to call me 'Miss'. Just call me Lucy." The stellar mage blushed, a bit embarrassed, and held her cheek with her right hand. It wasn't like men as good looking as Yuga were ever so polite to her…especially in her guild. Most of the time they wouldn't look her way, probably thinking they were too good for her. Yuga's eyes widened in surprise when he noticed Lucy's Fairy Tail symbol on her hand.
"I assume you are mages of Fairy Tail?"
Gray was still suspicious, but Lucy answered him since she saw no harm in the question. Besides that, he still saved her, or so she thinks.
"Yeah, why do you ask?" She replied, proud to be a member of a guild that everyone recognized.
"You do not happen to be on your way back to Magnolia, do you? I wanted to travel there, but like I said, I got lost. Maybe you could tell me which way to go." Yuga scratched the side of his head, looking embarrassed.
Lucy clapped her hands together, totally oblivious to Gray's frown.
"Why don't you come with us? We're going the same way and you won't get lost again."
Gray's eyes widened, there was no way he would allow that.
"Lucy, could I speak to you for a second, in private?" He dragged her a few steps away from this stranger.
The stellar mage didn't understand her comrade. What in the world got him so disgruntled that he would even stray from his aloof nature? Yuga was most definitely not Natsu.
"Ow! Gray, let go. What's gotten into you?"
"That's what I wanted to ask you! He's a stranger! Who knows? Maybe he is a member of a Dark Guild and you want to lead him to our hometown? To our guild?"
The ice alchemist tried to keep his voice down, but he wasn't sure if he could keep it that way. Lucy knew Gray had a point and so did she.
"If he was, he wouldn't have bothered to save me. Yuga would have attacked us, maybe not right away, but at latest when he saw my crest. Besides that, it makes no sense. There is nothing in Magnolia! Only our guild and they're all capable mages. We can take him on if he plans anything!"
Gray struggled to find a convincing argument, but couldn't think of one. Game, set and match for Lucy Heartfilia.
The blonde turned around and went back to Yuga. The dark-haired mage suppressed the urge to drag her back. This was just childish. He wanted to keep her away from that stranger at all cost. Said person sat on a stump and had waited for them to reconcile their differences. He looked up when Lucy returned.
"Your offer to join you is really generous, but I really do not wish to impose." Yuga started.
The stellar mage asked herself if Yuga always spoke in such an eloquent way. She waved his concern off.
"Nonsense! It's fine, really. You saved me, the least I can do is to help you out."
"Thank you. But may I ask something?"
"Shoot!"
It seemed like Yuga didn't know what the term meant, since he looked a bit puzzled.
"I mean, yes." She corrected.
"Why is your comrade in his underwear?" He asked, pointing in Gray's direction.
Turning around, Lucy yelled: "GRAY! PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON, NOW!"
Yuga chuckled and muttered under his breath.
"Some journey, this will be."
Hearing Yuga say something, Lucy turned back to face him while said comrade still struggled to get his clothes back on.
"What was that?" She asked.
Yuga stood up and looked at Lucy with his dark eyes. She noticed his slim built and that he was slightly taller than Gray by two or three inches.
"Nothing. Can you walk? You do look exhausted, perhaps it is better to take a break first." He suggested.
Now that he mentioned it, she still felt tired but hadn't given it much thought.
"Thank you, I'm fine, really." Lucy tried to be strong.
"That's not what you said earlier" Gray returned fully dressed and had also put his shirt back on.
"Oh, shut up, I'm all better now!" Lucy tried hard. She wanted to be as strong as any other Fairy Tail mage. It was just so difficult.
Yuga seemed to have a solution for the problem.
"If you want I could carry you, that way, you do not have to walk." Yuga offered, perhaps not really thinking what the gesture might imply.
Lucy blushed heavily. Being carried by a guy was one thing. Natsu did it all the time and she didn't think anything of it. Being carried around by a man like Yuga was a different matter. Not that she disliked him or anything. Quite the opposite, he was too beautiful for his own good. For God's sake, people mistook him for a woman!
Gray watched that display with an annoyed look. Not one to use words, he let his actions speak. The ice mage lifted Lucy up and carried her bridalstyle in the direction he thought was right. The blonde struggled, yelled and even hit Gray a few times. Yuga followed them with an amused smirk.
"Gray, for the last time! Put. Me. Down! I can walk! Or at least don't carry me like this, it's so embarrassing." Since he wouldn't listen to orders, she tried to negotiate.
"Then how?" He asked in a gruff voice.
"Piggyback, ok?
"...Fine." He was not really pleased, but at least he got his way. There was no way he'd let that pervert carry Lucy. No way! Gray let her down and she didn't waste a minute to let her fist do the talking when she hit him over the head.
"Hey, what was that for?" He asked, confused by Lucy's behavior. It didn't really hurt. He was used to the almost daily brawl in their guild, so a single punch from her was nothing.
"For just scooping me up like that and for walking in the wrong direction again! Now we'll do this my way! We go north until we reach the sea. From there we'll walk west and arrive in Magnolia with one day delay. No more of your short cuts, you hear me?" She'd let him lead the way once and regretted it the moment they got lost. She would have no more of that!
Following her wish, he carried her piggyback to the direction she pointed to with their new comrade trailing besides them.
It didn't take long for Lucy to fall asleep on Gray's back with her head resting on his shoulder. The ice mage felt unusually hot and if it wasn't for the fact that he was carrying his partner around, he would have dropped his shirt already. He didn't feel like talking to their new addition and it seemed like Yuga didn't mind. The guy was a strange fellow anyway. Who was so careless to take a nap in the middle of a forest alone and with all kinds of monsters around, animal and human alike? Taking a closer look, he didn't even have a visible weapon or a backpack. Perhaps he'd lost that already, who knew?
~o~o~o~
They reached the sea about two hours later.
Gray was strong, but carrying someone for so long was exhausting.
"Hey Lucy. C'mon wake up. We reached the sea, what now?" Ok, more like he wasn't sure which direction to take.
Lucy's eyes opened slowly. She didn't want to wake up yet. The stellar mage was still tired and too comfortable to walk again. Oh well, all things had to come to an end. Nudging her friend to let her down, Lucy wobbled a bit before she stood straight. Gray felt disappointment welling up. He wouldn't have minded carrying her around all day.
The sea sparkled like a thousand stars on a moonless night. Lucy took a deep breath and smelled the salt in the air. It was purifying and calming at the same time. Looking around she spotted the forest behind them, like she expected. Then she pointed to the left.
"That way! As long as the sea is in sight we can't get lost." She was amazed how easy navigation could be.
After a few steps, Lucy noticed that Yuga stayed behind. His eyes were on the sea, mirroring memories from long ago instead of the sparkle of the ocean. Lucy couldn't help but interpret the sight as bittersweet.
"Yuga? Everything alright?" Nothing was alright, she knew that. But she also knew it wasn't her place to try and fix something she didn't understand.
He stayed there for a second longer before he turned to Lucy.
"It is nothing. I thought of ...better times." He admitted.
Understandable. The sea could sway people to lose track of time and remember things they had forgotten in their daily life. The stellar mage was no exception. Maybe Yuga was a wandering poet or an artist.
They walked along the shore for awhile before something caught their eyes.
"Hey ...is that a ship?" Lucy asked.
As much as Gray wanted to deny that, it certainly had the shape of a ship.
"Why should it anchor in the middle of nowhere?"
Yuga stayed silent, either he didn't want to state the obvious or he wasn't sure if the thing was a ship. They walked a bit closer until the shape became clear. It really was a huge ship, a three-master to be precise. Suddenly Lucy turned around with a bright and happy face.
"I've got a great idea! If we ask, maybe the crew will take us to Magnolia. That way, we'd be home in one or two hours."
"And if it's a pirate ship? Or broken?" Gray didn't like to burst her bubble, but reality was a good teacher.
"I am not very knowledgeable concerning ships and their flags, but I doubt that pirates use a red and white flag, even if it is in bad shape." Yuga pointed out.
Looking at the top of the main mast, the Fairy Tail mages spotted a red and white dot which represented the ship flag. They walked closer, still wary of the crew or traps.
Only silence greeted them when they were close enough. Since it was so big it should only anchor in deep water. You would need a boat or swim to the ship to go on board. Strange enough it wasn't too far away from the shore. Perhaps Gray was right and the ship couldn't sail anymore. It really worried the blonde now, she didn't want to spend the night in the woods with all the wild animals and the creepy bugs.
"What now? I can't hear anyone, much less see them."
That wasn't good. Gray wanted to avoid a fight if possible. There was only one way to find out what was going on. Gray was about to use his ice magic to create a bridge when a voice could be heard out of nowhere.
"Ahoy strangers. Are you looking for something?" A person was leaning against the rail talking to them. He looked like a normal sailor, not a pirate. Was the guy there the whole time? Lucy had been startled at first, but she answered the sailor quickly.
"Ahoy, we were wondering if you're heading to Magnolia and maybe give us a ride." She yelled back. If they wanted money they could pay, no problem. The reward for the mission was big enough.
"Well it isn't exactly our course, but we're heading in the direction. If you want I'll go ask the Capt'n."
"That would be great, thank you."
Gray took a glance at Yuga, who examined the ship with a confused look. Like he didn't understand the situation or what the sailor just said. Or maybe he'd never seen such a huge ship. For all he knew, Yuga could have grown up on the moon. He didn't have the time to ask the other man when the sailor returned and a long ramp went down to them. A really long ramp! Lucy had never seen something like that. Normally they would use a boat to bring the passengers to an anchoring ship.
"The capt'n welcomes you. He said a few more passengers for an hour wouldn't be trouble."
Lucy practically ran up the ramp and Gray followed her in a much slower pace. When one set of footsteps was missing, he turned around to take a look. Yuga stood frozen in place with a scrutinizing expression on his face. His eyes darted from bow to stern and back. The ice alchemist wondered if the other was afraid or if he'd never been on a ship before.
"Something the matter?" Gray asked.
Yuga looked up with the same expression.
"You really want to take a ride on that floating coffin?"
The ice mage didn't know what he was talking about. The ship looked seaworthy and the captain let them on board. This confirmed his suspicion of Yuga being afraid of ships and water.
"You can also try and walk to Magnolia." That sounded spiteful even in his ears.
The other didn't seem to be listening when he cautiously took the first step onto the makeshift bridge. Gray walked the remaining distance and jumped on board followed by Yuga.
The sailor they'd talked to was not in sight, neither were any of the passengers or the captain. Something strange was going on, but the Fairy Tail mages didn't really think too much of it. Yuga stretched his limbs like he was tired all of a sudden.
"Since we are here, I guess, I will take a look at the cabins. I need a nap."
Lucy's eyes widened.
"Again? Weren't you sleeping when we first met?"
The handsome man shrugged, not really surprised with her reaction.
"There is nothing to do here. Besides that, I take a nap whenever I feel like it. Those who are asleep ...do not sin." Yuga added a wink for good measure.
Now Gray knew why he preferred for that bastard to stay behind. He was just so annoying! Winking like that and thinking it would work on Lucy? Not a chance in hell!
Unfortunately for him it was working on her. The blondes face turned beet red and she couldn't utter a word. The dark haired beauty took it as his cue to leave the stage to the two mages. When he was gone, Gray finally exploded.
"Is it just me, or are you really into him? He winks at you and you almost faint." His voice had a tone that spoke of accusation and jealousy. Lucy may have been oblivious to his tone, but it certainly shook her out of her dreamy state.
"I don't know why you're so mad. It's not like he asked me out or anything." She defended herself. Gray was a good comrade, but sometimes he was just so overprotective.
With that she walked away to look for the captain to thank him for his generosity. Left with only himself as company, Gray leaned back against the rail with a heavy sigh. He didn't understand himself lately. It was as if he was a different person. One he didn't like. A person who was angry and jealous for reasons he couldn't grasp and who took it out on Lucy instead of the culprits. A sudden movement brought him out of his brooding.
The ship started to move. On it's own! A look towards the still tied sails and the moving helm told him that much. He started to run, taking the same direction Lucy had. However, the run was cut short because Lucy met him halfway with a panic-stricken look on her face.
"Lucy, you ok?" He asked with concern clearly to be heard in his voice.
"There is nobody here, Gray. The captain's cabin is empty and there is no one below deck."
They were fooled and now they were stuck. There was no way they could swim back and there were no lifeboats in sight.
"Have you checked the passenger cabins? Maybe they're held hostage?" Gray tried to reason.
"They're the other way, but Yuga would have said something. Don't you think?"
"No, maybe they've caught him as well. Or he is one of them! Oh I bet he was just leading us into this trap and you blindly trusted him." There he goes again.
Lucy threw her arms in the air in exasperation.
"Stop it Gray, this is not the time to fight. We have to get to the passenger cabins, now!" She took Gray's wrist and pulled him towards the passenger area. Her hand was almost at the door when the bow started to sink, making them fall towards the front of the ship. Something pulled the ship down. Thinking only to protect his comrade, Gray pulled her towards him to shield her. But just as sudden, the pulling stopped and the ship bounced back. The ice mage lay on his back with Lucy on top of him. He got up and looked for injuries. Lucy had just a few bruises, nothing serious. The blonde looked up at him with a concerned look.
"Gray, you're bleeding." She stated and pointed towards his forehead.
There was a small cut beside his scar and like every head wound, it looked worse than it really was. Lucy still felt bad. She couldn't even protect herself, not to mention protecting others. The only thing she could do was to try and do her best and yet it wasn't enough.
"Doesn't matter. We have to get off this ship!" He pulled Lucy to her feet when he stood up.
Lucy reached for her keys.
"Maybe Aquarius could ...MY KEYS?" Lucy had lost her keys when they tumbled to the bow. Looking frantically, she spotted them next to the main mast.
Aquarius was so going to kill her for dropping the keys again. She sprinted towards them when another movement pulled the ship to the side. The stellar mage fell towards the right and hit the rail with her back. The impact was hard enough to knock her out. Since Gray was heavier, he just stumbled to the ground. When Lucy didn't get up again, dread pierced him like barbed wire. He scrambled to his feet, but stopped in his tracks when the sun disappeared. It took only a second for him to realize that he was standing in someone's or rather something's shadow. Something that was quite huge ...and smelled of ...fish?
He turned around and saw blue scales. Following the body up to the head, he identified the thing as a blue lizard-like monster with huge fangs and black claws. It's beady, red eyes were focused on the blonde. Whatever the thing had in mind, it couldn't be good. When it slowly started to reach for Lucy with it's claws, Gray formed a huge icicle and stabbed the things slimy paw but it had little effect.
"Only over my dead body!" He muttered, feeling that he had almost no energy left to fight. But he'd rather die than letting this thing harm his comrade. He expected everything, just not that the monster would answer.
"If that's what you want..."
The Ice mage was caught off guard, so the next thing he felt was a hit to the side. The monster used the moment of surprise to slap him away like a fly. Gray hit the other side of the ship, now he was too far away to help Lucy who was still unconscious. He tried to get up, but before he could fully stand something slimy wrapped around him making it impossible for him to bring his hands together to use his magic. It was the monster's tail and it tried to squeeze the life out of him.
This was bad.
Lucy was knocked out, he himself was about to get crushed and their new comrade was missing. The tail lifted him into the air and then send him crashing into the deck. The monster repeated that a few times, swinging him around like a ragdoll until Gray couldn't tell up from down.
"You are boring." The lizard squeezed tighter and Gray was about to suffocate. He was gasping by now. The precious air became less and less and soon spots were dancing before his eyes. Lying on a ship and being squeezed to death like an orange was really not the way he wanted to die. The last thing he saw were black boots, then everything became dark.
~o~o~o~
Everything had gone as the sea monster had planned. The ship was in truth a total wreck. It used illusions to draw travelers on board and when they were far away from the shore the monster would attack and devour their souls. And if it was really hungry it would even eat their flesh. It let go of the male human before he could die. Souls were like butterflies in a glass container. If the body took too much damage, the soul would be gone and how could anyone devour a soul from a dead body? Impossible! The body had to be alive for the procedure.
Something wasn't right. The monster was not the brightest among it's own kind, but weren't there three humans?
Then, the missing human stood in front of the beast. The monster didn't know what gender this human had. It looked genderless. That should be fun to find out, today the beast was really hungry!
~o~o~o~
Yuga stood in front of the monster seemingly not afraid or worried at all. His look spoke more of irritation than of fear. Gray was next to him, unconscious on the ground but luckily still breathing, even if it was faint. He came to the conclusions that the mage would be fine before slowly walking towards the bow, where the beast stood.
The monster was amused. This human actually had guts. There hadn't been a good opponent in a while to fight against. Most were merely a joke, like the male.
"It will be fun to eat you, human. I wonder what you taste like. Tough or maybe tender?" The beast licked its fangs with its split tongue.
Said human didn't make the impression to listen to its trash talk, but he certainly was about to give the thing a piece of his mind.
"Trying to interrupt my journey ...is foolish!" He raised his arm and closed his palm, not stopping his pace once.
Suddenly the sea water started rising when Yuga lifted his arm and froze around the beast when he closed his palm. Those red eyes became wide with disbelief when the ice enclosed the scaly body. This human was different. Trying to provoke the other into making a mistake, it relied on insults.
"You don't really think a weakling of a mage like you could ever beat me, do you?" If lizards could sweat, it certainly would have been doing so by now since its attempts to break the ice were in vain.
The dark eyed man moved forward, step by step.
"Insulting me ...is a crime!" Then he pointed with the same hand, which had been a fist seconds ago, to the ground.
The ice around the monster started to shift and forced its body to move. The blue head crashed into the wood of the deck, the same way as Gray's body had. If one looked from the outside, the monster had a submissive posture. With its head on the ground, it looked like a slave who groveled before his owner to beg for forgiveness. Yuga took the last few steps towards the head. The monster tried to snatch him with it's fangs, but it's opponent was faster and placed his leather boot right on the snout. It's red eyes crossed to actually see that the look on the human's face had changed into an angry one.
"But disturbing my nap ...is a death wish!" Grinding his boot into the snout to emphasize his point.
The words and the small demonstration of power was enough for the beast to recognize the person in front of it.
"Ma - Master Yuga! Hehe ...Uhm you su - sure have ch - changed." The voice was a bit muffled since Yuga wouldn't release him anytime soon. It really wished it was somewhere else right now.
Yuga still had his foot on the top of the snout and leaned slightly on his leg, making the pain even worse.
"Long time no see, Ankudma. If anyone has changed, it would be you. But your visage becomes you. ...It is an appropriate reflection of your soul." He answered in a voice as cold as the ice surrounding the beast. Ankudma's existence was hanging on a spider's thread so maybe Yuga would be interested in some news and let him go.
"I - I know a few ...things. Let me go an - and I'll tell you."
That didn't seem to please him.
"First the information, then I will 'consider' releasing you."
It's not like Ankudma had much of a choice here. Yuga was known for having severe mood swings when somebody disturbed his sleep.
"Ok, ok. He - he'll come back, you know? Master - Master Zeref. He - he'll use h - h - his shadow t - to return."
That didn't seem to do the trick. Yuga's expression hadn't changed at all.
"So? I know that already. Or why should I be running around like this?" Yuga pointed to himself.
"Oh, um, ...I - I know how to stop him..." That would surely get Yuga to listen.
Or not. He just put more pressure on the snout.
"Ankudma, ...I'm losing my patience!"
The lizard whined softly and tried hard to think of information to placate him.
"...ow ow, ...uh, ...Dumah!"
That got his attention. He let lifted his boot from Ankudma's snout, ready to listen to every single word the beast had to say. Yuga's body was tense and he clenched his fist. Ankudma could use the opportunity to try and bite him in half, but doubted that Yuga would stay still and watch, so he didn't even try.
"Well?"
"Ah, yes, ...uhm he - he is still ...alive!"
Those dark indigo eyes widened for a second before they narrowed in cold fury. He turned on his heel and walked stiffly back towards the stern. Ankudma wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad sign. It didn't know much about those two, just that they had a score to settle. Yuga stopped suddenly, but didn't turn around.
"Ankudma!" He called out
"Ye - yes?" The sharp tone in Yuga's voice didn't sound too promising.
"Do you think that I am stronger than Dumah?" He asked, still with his back to his enemy.
The monster couldn't imagine why he'd want to know that, but to disagree would be stupid.
"Of - of course, Master Yuga!" A short silence followed to let the words sink in before Yuga continued.
"And do you believe ...I could kill him with my own hands?" His voice was much calmer than before.
"Why certainly!" The hope was evident in Ankudma's voice.
Yuga's unclenched his fists and lifted his right arm slowly to the side. The lizard yelped when the ice pulled on its body, lifted it up and dragged it a bit away from the ship. The ship was still close enough when the ice jerked to a stop.
"Then you can die, knowing the truth!" With that, Yuga snapped the fingers of his right hand.
Ankudma didn't even have the time to protest when the ice around it shattered and destroyed the scaly body. Only the head, the neck and a bit of the shoulder were left. The red eyes lost their life quickly; all that remained was a carcass and bits of red tinted ice melting in the water. Yuga walked back to the bow, feeling better now that the reason for his irritation was gone. There was only one thing left to do. Reach Magnolia, ...somehow. He doubted the ship's rudder was working and the sails were nothing more than rags. He let his gaze wander and spotted the shore. Ankudma had a simple mind. All it had done was to move the ship northward.
"What was it again? To the left? ...hmmm, I can still say we drifted away." Satisfied with the solution, Yuga lifted his hand and made a circling motion with his index finger.
The ship started turning on the spot to the left and when he stopped the movement; the vessel did as well. Then he pointed forward and a current appeared out of nowhere, dragging it slowly to the chosen direction. Seeing this, he sighed heavily.
"...That way, we will never reach Magnolia before dawn." He muttered.
Yuga considered his options quickly and came to the conclusion that he had to take risks to achieve anything at all. So he waved his hand towards the bow once and the current became stronger, pulling the wreck forward. The wood creaked in protest and the front started to rise a bit. He hoped this sorry excuse for a vessel would hold until they reached the harbor.
~o~o~o~
Someone was knocking on the door, or so Gray thought when he woke up. On second thought, it wasn't a door, more like his skull. The headache would kill him, if the rest of his body didn't do it first. Actually, there was no place that didn't hurt. He opened his eyes just to shut them again. Why was it so bright? It took some time to get used to the sunlight. A memory flashed through his mind. A lizard, him suffocating, ...Lucy! The ice mage tried to get up, ignoring the pain which spread through him like wildfire.
"Calm down, everything is alright." Someone said.
Trying to focus, he was met with black before he could blink the blurry sight away. Yuga knelt beside him and checked his injuries.
"The monster? Where? And - and Lucy?" Gray couldn't form a coherent sentence, he was still too agitated.
"She is over there." He pointed to Lucy, who lay on her back with her head resting on a makeshift pillow.
Gray wanted to check up on her, but the other pushed him back down.
"Sit! It is no use to get up now, you will fall down again! You might have a slight concussion. Lucy is fine, just unconscious."
As much as he hated to follow orders from a stranger, Yuga was probably right. He settled down and tried to breathe deeply. His ribs and lungs hurt from the monster's abuse. Thinking about it now, he still didn't know what happened.
"What about that monster?" Gray asked again.
"Well, that was strange. I heard some noise and when I left the cabin and came on deck, you and Lucy were unconscious. The monster let you go and then..." Yuga paused dramatically.
"Then?"
"...well, it spotted me and I sang him a lullaby. Then it disappeared." Gray blinked and couldn't quite grasp the words. Surely he had a concussion. He had to have one! There was only one intelligent answer to this.
"Huh?"
Yuga smirked slightly.
"What? You did not know that some monsters like music?"
That was too unbelievable, not like he had any other explanation.
"You're kidding me. Tell me the truth!" Gray demanded.
The dark clothed man stood up and stretched himself.
"It is the truth! I am a musician, did I not tell you about that? I sang a lullaby and it disappeared ...forever." With that Yuga walked towards Lucy.
The ice alchemist couldn't quite shake the feeling that Yuga was lying. He was so sure he'd seen him when he was about to pass out. Angry at himself, he punched the ground only for his fist to go right through the wood. When he looked down, he couldn't believe his eyes. The wood was rotten and he'd left a large hole. Taking in his surroundings, Gray noticed that the ship was indeed a wreck, like Yuga had said when they went on board. Was he the only one not affected by the illusion? In the end, he only went on board because they said so.
It didn't matter. For the moment, the only thing that mattered to him was Lucy's well-being. He wondered when she had become so important to him.
There was movement to the side and he saw the blonde get up slowly with Yuga's help. Gray gritted his teeth and tried to keep down his unreasonable anger. He was just helping her, that was all. The ice mage stood up with pain written in his face and spotted something close to the vessel which looked like …a bridge?
"Where are we?" He asked.
Lucy stumbled over to him to see for herself. Yuga scratched his nose and made an embarrassed impression.
"I have no idea. The current dragged us here. We could be anywhere." He answered.
Lucy did a double take.
"I think ...no I'm sure! We're in Magnolia!"
~o~o~o~
tbc.