So! Natsu is evil, no one knows (but they're pretty suspicious), Zeref causes mayhem, and Natsu might destroy his allies once and for all
lAll packed in a good chapter, don't ya think?
This chapter: Natsu is continuing the charade that he is still good, Erza and Gray are suspicious, they find the monster, Lucy keeps her trust in Natsu (#NALU forever! 3) and…
Yep, we're screwed for this chapter. Ah, well. Happy reading!
Credits: Purrfectly Me :3, Joan Park :D
Disclaimer: We don't own any of Fairy Tail.
Erza still watched Natsu suspiciously. "Are you sure that you're good, Natsu?" said Happy concernedly. Natsu managed a grin. "Yep, I'm good." Erza cleared her throat. "Maybe you should get some rest, Natsu, I mean, all we found was you screaming in a empty alley, and this weird black mark on your guild mark! She pointed to Natsu's once-red Fairy Tail mark, now pitch-black.
"I'm fine, now c'mon, we got a monster to kill!" Natsu exclaimed. "Aye sir!" Happy said happily. "By the way, where's Gray? Did he go off to kill that thing? Shame. I wanted to fight him." Lucy and Erza stared at him. "Are you sure you're fine?" Natsu grinned. "Sure i'm sure! Come on, we need to fry that monster to pieces!"
Natsu knew that he was fooling everyone into thinking he was actually on their side. Was he? He thought. Of course you are! They're you're friends! The friends that you risked your butt for! He thought. What did they ever do for you? Negative thoughts clouded his mind. They were there for you when you needed them the most! He thought positively. You kill, not help. The last thought took him over. "I kill," he repeated. "What was that?" Carla turned around. "Nothing!" Natsu put on an innocent smile. "Alright then… Hurry up!"
Soon enough, they tracked down the monster. Erza pointed to a small, half-naked figure that was unmistakably Gray. "Yo!" he called down. "Come over here!"
Natsu's blood raged at the sight of Gray. He left you when he needed you the most. He made fun of you behind your back. He laughed at you, accused you, deserted you in the worst possible times!
Natsu managed to keep his thoughts in control. "Hey, Gray!" he called back, though somewhat forcibly. "You made it! Finally, I was thinking you were slacking off again."
Natsu's eye twitched.
Erza, keeping a keen eye on Natsu, eyes narrowed as she saw the momentary tick in Natsu's innocent face. "Hm."
Lucy laughed and ran up to Gray, hugging him. "Good! I was getting so worried, I thought that you, well, got caught by the monster!" Gray laughed and tousled Lucy's hair.
Inside, Natsu raged. My best friend… taken by that half-naked Gray! He crossed the line this time… she's mine!
Side note: Clearly Natsu isn't himself. :0
That did it. He charged at Gray, hands aflame.
Lucy backed up quick. "Natsu! What's wrong-" She was cut off by the sound of Natsu punching the life out of Gray.
Erza drew her sword as Gray fell to the ground, limp. Natsu's face was etched with rage, hands not even fazed by the powerful attack. Gray groaned and got up. "What the hell, man?" Gray made a fist with his right hand and laid it on top of his left. "Ice make...LANCE!" Glittering shards of ice appeared out of thin air, piercing Natsu and his flames.
They didn't even make a scratch.
"What the-" Gray had no time to even watch what Natsu did to him. "Fire dragon talons!" Natsu roared as he came advancing to Gray. He didn't even have a chance to yell out. The impact of Natsu's flaming talons flew Gray into the sky. In mid-air, he shouted, "ICE MAKE EAGLES!" Flying birds of prey made of pure ice cut the sky, and shot down on Natsu's furious flames. "GET OUTTA MY WAY!" He blasted the birds into thin air, then charged the limp Gray on the mountaintop. "Natsu, stop!" cried out Lucy. Natsu didn't.
"DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART: EXPLODING FLAME!" A force powerful enough to blast apart a mountain landed on Gray.
"NO!" Before Lucy could act, Gray was snatched up by Erza, who was in her Flight Armor. Gray didn't look like he was in good shape.
Lucy ran up to Natsu. "NATSU, STOP!" She found herself sobbing. "Please stop!" The fire in Natsu's eyes eventually died out. "Yeah… sorry," he found himself saying. Lucy threw herself in his arms. "What happened to you, Natsu… why are you attacking your friends?"
Natsu's usual warm gaze hardened into something colder and sharper than ice. "Because Gray was never my friend. And he almost took you away from me." Lucy pushed herself out of Natsu's usual warm arms. "W-what are you talking about? Gray's family! We all are! Natsu, you're my favorite brother I never had!"
If this was supposed to cheer Natsu up, it only made him angrier. Favorite brother. Not more.
Natsu is now in the friend zone… :)
He bared his teeth in a snarl without realizing it. Lucy stumbled back. "S-stop," she begged. "I can't… please stop," she said, before passing out.
Wordlessly, Natsu carried Lucy to Wendy, who was pale-faced and was with Gray, Erza, Happy, and Carla. "Here's Lucy."
He gently put her down before getting a tiny sob from Happy. "Why, Natsu? Gray was like… a brother to you," wavered Happy. Natsu forced himself to apologize. "I'm sorry, it's just… that spell caused me to go berserk over… something stupid," he forced himself to say. "Zeref caused me to go insane if anything made me, er, aggravated…"
Erza glared at him. "Well, you should step away from the fight if you get so aggressive," she said. Natsu felt a surge of anger at Erza. What does she think she is- a hotshot? The queen of the fairies means nothing. She makes me mad, I destroy her. "Destroy…" he mumbled. "What was that?" said Erza sharply. He snapped back up. "Er, nothing." "Wait, you mentioned Zeref!" Wendy exclaimed. She thought for a second, "What happened in that alleyway Natsu?" She asked him. Natsu hesitated. "Nothing important," he replied. "Now let's go find that monster and destroy it!" He added in hope of innocence. Natsu desperately wanted to use his new powers. Happy saluted him, though a bit reluctant. "A-aye, sir…"
They approached the monster.
No doubt about it- it was the monster from the Books of Zeref. Three grotesque heads, all facing different directions, one eye in each forehead, the mouth slimy, bloody, and filled with remains from its last meal, and- was that its nose?
The bottom half was filled with poisonous snakes for legs and was only covered by a loincloth.
Ew.
Lucy gaped in shock. "Do we need to… do we need to fight that?" Natsu grinned at the monster, completely unafraid. "Yo! Do you mind if we destroy you? 'Cause Lucy's too chicken to even talk…"
Lucy glanced at him for a wavering moment. Natsu cracked his knuckles. "Alright, I'm gonna tear you to pieces!" Happy tapped his shoulder. "Uh, Natsu? I'm pretty sure it's 'I'm fired up now'..." Natsu glanced at him, surprised. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fired up now!" Lucy looked worried. "Are you sure you're okay…"
Natsu growled, startling Lucy and Erza. "I told you, I'm FINE! So now let's go roast that monster!"
Erza leapt into the air. "Requip!" She appeared in dazzling light, and was complete in beautiful silver armor. "Heaven's Wheel Armor!" She shouted. "Trinity Sword!" She yelled, and a long blade with swirls on its sides appeared, and Erza got in a ready stance. I need to find its weakness and use it to my advantage. Surely heaven's wheel armor was the right one to choose… She thought, judging by the monster's appearance.
Lucy, rummaged through her key pack, thinking about what key to use. Oh! How about… She pulled out a beautiful key. "Open, gate of the goat! Capricorn!" She made a cross with the key. "Hello, my lady," Capricorn greeted her.
Natsu ignited his new flames, and upon seeing the monster, the flames were black. "Hah, now I'm all fired up!" He shouted. Or is it ' I'm all fired up now'? Either way… time to test these powers!
Gray got his hands in the regular stance, right fist on top of left outstretched palm. Gray, my beloved! Gray kept thinking about Juvia. He sensed that she was close. But what the group didn't know was that Juvia was tagging along… The whole time.
Juvia, was behind a tree that was behind Gray. "Oh Gray…" She whispered. Gray whipped around, and caught a glimpse of blue hair. "Juvia?! What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I'm here for you, my love!" She replied fondly. Gray sighed. "Well, if you are here, at least help us. We might be able to do a unison raid," Gray said casually. Is my beloved asking for love? Juvia thought. "Anything for you!" She replied with a gushing grin."Ice-make… HAMMER!" Gray shouted, a huge hammer appearing above one of the monster's heads. It melted as the monster spewed black flames at it. "Crap!"
Erza charged and tried to slice off one of its heads. "AAAAAAAAAARGH!" she yelled as she hefted the Sword of Trinity on top of its head.
Meanwhile, Lucy was trying desperately to tie off another head with her enhanced whip. "Come on… come on, you stupid whip!" she yelled as she repeatedly tried and failed to rope it around the head. Capricorn punched at it, but one of the snake heads butted him down. "I sincerely apologize, my lady. I must be going now."
Wendy wasn't doing very well, either. "Sky dragon… ROOOAAAR!" She blasted the monster with everything she had, but the force of the usual powerful attack only made the demon stumble. Both Happy and Carla struggled to hold her. "Give it a rest, child!" said Carla desperately.
In all of that, Natsu merely gazed at the monster as it beat up the friends that he once cared so much about, the friends' lives he tried so hard to preserve, the friends that were his family.
But he just stood and stared at the majestic monster that he was supposed to destroy. "Destroy…" he murmured.
Lucy fell next to him, bruised and out of magic energy. "Natsu, please help!" she begged. "Why are you standing like this… why aren't you helping Gray and Erza!" she sobbed. Natsu glanced at her, and she reeled away.
The red eyes were back, coating the familiar and warm black that they always were. And for a moment, Lucy spotted the true horror that Zeref had installed in Natsu in that dark alleyway. She saw black magic in him.
"Natsu…"
And for a fleeting moment, Natsu felt the familiar urge to protect his dear friends from the horrifying monster. His eyes returned to black, and they flickered between coal and scarlet. The sight of Lucy crying was enough to shove the old Natsu in him.
But then he felt nothing once more.
The monster hit first. It swiped its snakey arm away from Erza's sword, knocking her to the ground. Gray kept on trying to attack it, but his ice spells were nowhere near the match of the fire-breathing demon.
Lucy lay sobbing on the floor, Erza, Gray, and Wendy crumpled on the ground, trembling with fear. "This is… the monster Khepri from the Books of Zeref! It installs fear and the only thing that can have a chance to defeat it is a-"
"Fire dragon slayer!" yelled Happy. Natsu tried to look brave. "Here I go."
He charged at Khepri, hands inflamed with black fire, all while thinking: I'm sorry.
He hit it with force enough to kill ten men. "DRAGON FORCE: IRON FIST!"
But as Natsu hit it, his head split. W-what's happening to me… my head's about to explode… I hit it, right? I did my part, right? So why am I dissolving…
From his friends point of view, Natsu was dissolving before their very eyes. "NATSU!" Lucy screamed. Only the combined force of Gray and Erza held her back. "NATSU! STOP! YOU'LL GET KILLED!" She relentlessly fought against Gray and Erza, both faces streaming with tears. "STOP!"
Natsu felt excruciating pain as he merged with Khepri. It's a takeover, he realized, before he was consumed and everything went black.
Lucy stared in shock as Khepri's bruises, cuts and injuries all healed. "But how…"
"No. No, it can't be." Erza stared at the immense power. "Khepri merged with Natsu! Wendy, Carla, Happy, Lucy, everyone, protect yourselves! Carla, Happy, inform the guild; one of our most powerful wizards have been overcome with a takeover!" Erza shouted.
"Aye, sir- ma'am!" Happy replied.
Khepri roared with such immense force that shook the ground. Deep inside Khepri's mind, was Natsu. And the other Natsu.
So Good Natsu, and Bad Natsu. Simple.
Black crystals surrounded the two.
"What the hell?!" Good Natsu scream/thought.
"Cool! We merged with Khepri!" Bad Natsu said.
"AWESOME!"
"Wait, why?" Good Natsu asked.
"Welp, we're both related with Zeref, right?" Bad Natsu replied. "Or it's because we touched him, causing a takeover," Bad Natsu added.
"Huh," Good Natsu said. "So now what?"
"I dunno."
"Wait."
"What?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm… You?"
"What?"
"I'm you."
"That makes no sense whatsoever!"
"Maybe your puny mind just can't understand it."
"Hey!"
Good Natsu looked around. "So." "So." Bad Natsu replied. "Is it just me or is it getting stuffy in here," Good Natsu said. "Huh, I dunno," bad Natsu said, pointing at the walls closing in on them. "I totally don't know," he said sarcastically. "Not like the walls are closing in or anything!" Natsu replied, "Oh. Well you sir, are very bad at being sarcastic!" He shouted in defense. "Can we just get out of here?" Bad Natsu rolled his eyes. "How, is the question," Good Natsu said. "Don't try to act smart," Bad Natsu put on a smug look. Good Natsu grumbled. "Wait! I got an idea!" He said, brightening. "Cool. What is it?" Bad Natsu asked. "Since body takeovers are usually used to merge us, and use our power, then what if we RUN OUT of power!" Good Natsu smiled. "Stupid," Bad Natsu said. We need to find a way out of here. Master Zeref made me to fight E.N.D. I mean, Natsu. The sooner to get out of here, the sooner to kill him. Bad Natsu thought.
Meanwhile, Good Natsu thought. How would we get our power out … We'd kill ourselves! But I've risked my life plenty of times for my friends. I can do this! Agh, I wish Erza was here. She's good at this stuff.
Is it just me, or is Good Natsu stupider than Bad Natsu? :L Maybe Good Natsu is just being funny…?
"AHH!"
Both Natsus looked up. All of their friends, they were screaming, dying, or protecting. There was the usual crew, Juvia, Gajeel, Levi, Fried, Bixlow, Elfman, and everyone else.
"IRON DRAGON ROOOOOAR!"
"SKY DRAGON ROOOOOOAR!"
"SOLID SCRIPT: WATER!"
"ATTACK RUNES!"
"WATER JET!"
"HEAVEN'S SWORD WHEEL!"
"ICE MAKE-EAGLE!"
Everyone, at the same time, attacked Khepri. But Khepri roared something that sounded like, "FIRE DRAGON, DEMOLISHED FLAME ROAR!"
"HEY! That's my attack!" Natsu cried. Bad Natsu drifted away from good Natsu, leaning against a closing wall. "Grr… Now I've got a fire in my belly!" Good Natsu shouted. "FIRE DRAGON, ROAR!" A large spout of fire blew out of his mouth, but then he coughed. "Don't use too much power. You'll hurt yourself and give Khepri all your power. " Bad Natsu said.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Good Natsu raged. "I'll this roast thing to crisps if I have to! Those are my friends outside. The friends that I need to keep alive! I'll do whatever it takes to protect them, and no weirdo will stop me!" Good Natsu took a chunk of the weird crystals surrounding them. He ate it. Silver, Black, Red, Gold, Blue, all different flames- swirled around Natsu.
Bad Natsu was taken aback. "Wait!" He shouted.
"FIRE DRAGON… ROAR!"
Yeeeeee! Cliffhanger! Unfortunately, it's gonna take probably a week to finish the next chapter. :/. Sorry guys! And, please comment if you liked the side notes; :3
Meow!
~HowAboutTeam {H.A.T}