Top-a-the mornin' to ya! *Irish accent*
Once again, an update! I am very proud of myself.
I received a review telling me that there was a great picture called Angel and Demon by KaSaKu on DeviantArt. If you're a fan of Lalu like me, you need to check it out.
We're rolling!
Chapter 2
Lucy and Gajeel landed, closing their wings, and began to walk towards the enormous castle before them. Gajeel's powerful iron tail, spines lining all five feet of it, dragged along the stone path. The ear-shattering shriek closely resembled the sound of nails on a chalkboard, and surrounding demons of all kinds covered their ears. Lucy was sad to admit that after many years of friendship (if you could call it that) with Gajeel, she was practically half-deaf, and used to the sound.
"Really, Gajeel? Once in a while you could bother to lift your tail off of the ground." He grinned wickedly. She had an inkling that her day would only get worse from here on out.
"Eh, it's more fun to watch 'em suffer." She heaved a great sigh (one-hundred-and-fortieth.)
"I suppose there's a reason you live in the Fifth Circle," she muttered, rolling her eyes. Yep, certainly wasn't getting better.
They reached the Doors of Black Ice, which were said to have been created by Ur, the greatest ice demon known to Hell, may she rest in peace. She gave her life to keep one of Heaven's 'experiments', Deliora, from reaching the mortal plane. It would have razed half the human world to the ground, the angels would have been 'heroic' and stopped it, then they would have blamed the whole ordeal on Hell. Thankfully, Ur's legacy lived on through her apprentices.
Lucy recited the words that would allow the doors to open. "Kashua del'ano familash da familash del'ano kashua."
The great doors opened, revealing the Demon Hall of a Thousand Ways. It held every guild known to demon. Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus... almost every demon in Hell belonged to a guild. The strongest guild was, of course, Fairy Tail, which consisted of the strongest demons, and the Royal Family. Lucy was honored to say she was a member. They hadn't had a meeting in a while... maybe she should ask about that.
Every time a new guild formed or a new demon moved to the Hall, the fae demons used their creation magick to make a new room. They were payed handsomely for such a task. The inside of the Hall was actually bigger than the outside by now. 'Give it a few more decades,' Lucy mused to herself, 'and they'd have to start calling it the Demon Hall of a Million Ways.'
Lucy looked around. The Hall was packed fuller than she'd ever seen it, with demons of all shapes and sizes from every Circle, and every single single one was covering their ears. Again, due to the scraping of Gajeel's tail. Yet, all eyes were on her. "The last time this many demons were in the Hall, I Fell with my wings intact," she whispered to Gajeel. "And everyone's staring at me again, too."
"Tell me about it," he whispered back. His eyes were darting back and forth. "I've never felt more awkward."
"They're staring at me, not you."
"Same difference, Bunny Girl."
A shout broke the silence. "Lu-chan! Gajeel!" Every pair of eyes in the room shifted from Lucy to the one running towards the pair. A small scholar with blue hair and expressive brown eyes went to hug Lucy, and then did the same to Gajeel. The dragon-demon blushed for the second time within twenty-four hours, which made Lucy even more positive than she had been five minutes ago that the apocalypse had arrived. The now group of three continued walking towards the throne room at the end of the hall. Their was no flying inside the building, and the Hall, obviously, was very large, so they had a lot of walking and being stared at to do.
The door was so far away...
Levy's multi-coloured butterfly wings folded behind her, having previously being spread wide open even though she had not been flying, and somehow she managed to make her whole body droop, her breaths coming short and heavy. "I just got here. What's going on? Why is everyone staring? And why are you wearing that?" She motioned towards Lucy's clothing, which consisted of white six-inch stilettos, a lacy white miniskirt, and a white bikini top, the top and skirt being attached by a criss-crossing ribbon that tied in a bow on her lower back. The bunny tail and white wings didn't help matters.
Basically, she looked like an angelic stripper.
Lucy waved a hand in the air, uncaring. "I just got off work. You know how it is in the Second Circle- they want the guys dressing like gentlemen and the women dressing like prostitutes. I'm more concerned with what you're wearing."
Levy, who was normally dressed like a conservative bookworm in jeans, a long sleeved shirt and, for some reason, a trench coat (which appalled Lucy,) was barefoot, wearing nothing but a towel, and had bubbles in her hair. Now she knew why Gajeel blushed when he received his hug and was, she noticed, still blushing. Yep. Time to get ready for the upcoming armageddon.
"I was taking a bath when Pantherlily came to tell me that I had to come here immediately. Didn't have time to get dressed or even dry off. Thanks, by the way, Gajeel, for sending him over." Her cheeks were practically cherries. Lucy couldn't tell if it was from all the running and flying she presumed Levy had to do to get there, or the embarrassment of being almost naked in front of what looked to be every demon currently in existence.
Probably the latter.
"No problem, Shrimp."
She grimaced. "You know I don't like that nickname." She then flinched, due to her finally noticing the sound made by Gajeel's tail. "And Gajeel, could you lift up your tail? That sound is really aggravating." The appendage immediately left the ground.
"Sure thing, Shortie." Levy grimaced at the new nickname. Her tail, long, thin and sky blue with another set of wings on the end, twitched in agitation. Lucy raised one eyebrow at Gajeel, as if to say, 'Really? The moment she's the one that asks, you comply?'
He shrugged, then ever so slowly, he carefully put his arm around Levy's shoulders, as though he were scared she'd run away. On the contrary, she leaned closer, and Gajeel relaxed. Lucy smiled. Took him long enough. It wasn't a lot, but it would do.
For now.
They were standing at the door to the throne room. Lucy was itching to see what all the fuss was about. What was going on, and what did it have to do with her? Because obviously it had something to do with her, judging by the stares she was getting. Not one pair of eyes had looked away. It was kind of rude.
Apparently Levy had come to the same conclusion. Levy, with a combination of intelligence and intuition, had already gathered that not only did this have something to do with her companion, but that Lucy was practically scared out of her wits. "Are you ready?"
Lucy nodded slowly. She really just wanted to get this over with. "Yeah, I am," she said, and she reached for the lion's head knocker on the ornate black door in front of her.
"GAJEEL! FIGHT ME!"
Lucy hit her forehead with her hand. "Dear Satan," she moaned.
Running towards them at full speed, and drawing the shocked attention of their 'audience,' was Natsu Dragneel. Fire dragon-demon, Gajeel's cousin, and Lucy's former best friend.
Yes, former. After this spectacle, and forcing her to talk to Ichiya countless times, she was never going to associate with him again.
She meant it this time. Really.
"LUUUUUUSSHHHHHHYYYYY!" Following Natsu was his friend/pet/Carrier Feline. In other words, his Exceed, Happy. Who was flying straight towards her chest.
Prepare for impact!
Five seconds later, Happy's face was smooshed between her boobs.
Natsu was distracted from challenging Gajeel to their two-million-seven-hundred-thirty-six-thousand-eight-hundred-and-ninth duel.
She wasn't counting, he was. And he reminded her every day.
You would think it would be a rare occasion to see a dragon-demon on his knees, begging for forgiveness, especially when it was a dragon-demon as headstrong as Natsu Dragneel of the Seventh Circle.
On the contrary, Lucy saw it every other week.
"Lushy! Please forgive me!"
It was rather comical to watch a six-foot, highly muscled, highly powerful fire dragon-demon groveling. His spiky red tail was practically between his legs, and his slightly torn scarlet wings for folded as close to his body as possible. His salmon pink hair even looked as though it had lost some of its luster. His bottom lip was pouting, and his onyx eyes were watering for maximum puppy dog effect.
He was also covered in bandages.
His right eye was black, there was a bleeding cut just above his left eyebrow, his shirt was gone, and he looked like he had been flogged. Lucy vaguely wondered what Virgo could have done to inflict so much damage.
Gajeel almost looked worried. "Damn, Salamander, what happened to you?"
Levy snorted. "Virgo happened." She didn't even have to ask.
"Lushy, I didn't mean to destroy the Gardens of Venus!"
She rolled her eyes. "Natsu, you never mean to destroy anything!"
"But Luce-"
"No buts!" She began to pace. "That was one of the most important landmarks in the entire Second Circle! It had the most rare flowers in all of Hell! How come I never hear about you destroying your own Realm!"
Gajeel interrupted her rant. "Ah, Bunny Girl, it's the Circle of Violence. There is literally nothing left to destroy. Even the training centers are really just barren volcanoes."
She waved him off. "Oh, whatever! It doesn't mean he has to go bother the other Lords and Ladies, more specifically myself! He never," she began, gesturing wildly towards Levy, "destroys any of Levy's libraries or," she pointed at Gajeel, "any of Metalhead's iron hoards!"
"Oi-!"
"The point is," she continued, "why can't he go demolish another person's shit for once?!"
"Luce, I promise I won't ever do it again!"
"Yeah, Lushy," agreed Happy, who had kept on nuzzling into her boobs the entire time she had been pacing, "he promises!"
She wasn't forgiving him this time.
"Pleeeeaaaaase?" Nope, not gonna do it.
His eyes somehow became larger. "C'mon, Luce!"
Nothin' doin'.
He began to whimper.
"Alright, fine!" Damnit, she had been so close! "I forgive you."
"YAAAAAAAAAY!" He tackled her in a hug, shoving Happy even further into her chest. The Exceed began to cough, as he was most likely being suffocated.
She began to pet Natsu's head like an owner would a dog, and let out a sigh (one-hundred-and-forty-first.) He was basically a giant, oblivious toddler. At the end of the day, she couldn't shoulder a grudge.
"Now can we please get this over with?! I want to see what all the fuss is about, and why this meeting is so 'urgent,'" she said, fed up with all the interruptions. She wanted to know what the 'hell' was going on! She almost let out a giggle. Hehe, punny.
Natsu let go. "Sure, Luce." Then he appeared to suddenly remember why he was there in the first place. "Hey, Rust Bucket! When we're outta here, fight me!"
Gajeel smirked. "Gihi. So long as ya don't mind losin', Flamebrain."
"You're on!"
Lucy slapped a hand over each of their mouths. "Oh my Satan, just SHUT UP." She then reached for the knocker, and banged it on the door three times.
A deep, resonating voice was heard throughout the Hall. "ENTER."
And so, that's what they did.
Now, Master Makarov, sovereign of Hell, was a cheerful man.
(If he could be called a man. He was, after all, only two foot two.)
Today, however, he seemed especially happy. Yet, at the same time, somber.
It was a strange combination to see on a face.
The group of four knelt at the bottom of the marble steps that led to the golden throne. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Juvia standing at the right side of the room next to Gray, ice demon and former apprentice of Ur, a man whom she had met shortly after arrving in Hell. Juvia was in love with him, and though he was better at hiding his feelings than Gajeel was, it was still pretty obvious (to everyone but Juvia) that he reciprocated.
Juvia's liquid wings and tail were a dark blue, indicating that she was morose, Gray's icicle wings were drooping, and for some reason the ice-and-water pair looked as though they were apologizing with their eyes. What for? They hadn't wronged her in any way, not as far as she could remember. Unless they had helped Natsu destroy the Gardens, in which case she would deliver them an ass kicking shortly after this was over.
"My friends, today is a joyous day," Makarov announced. His small, white feathered wings were outstretched, and his similarly feathered tail was flicking, indications of his happiness. He was the only other demon in Hell who had escaped with his wings. Not surprising, as he had been, after all, the original Head Angel. Lucy distinctly recalled that his son had taken his place once the Master had fallen. His name was Ivan.
"Why, Master?" Levy asked, innately curious.
He grinned. "Today, my grandson escaped from Heaven." Lucy had never been more shocked in her life.
She gasped. "Master, that is fantastic news!"
Master sighed (how many times had he done that today, she wondered.) "Yes, it is. However, they caught him."
"Oh, no..." muttered Levy.
"Not only that, but my son, Ivan..." Master gulped. His tail began to whip furiously back and forth, creating gusts of wind. "He mutilated him."
Gajeel stood, outraged. "His own son?!"
Levy tugged on his arm. "Gajeel," she hissed.
"No, no, it's fine. You may stand." He waited for them to rise, and clenched his tiny fists. "They ran one of own daggers down the right side of his face. One of the few things that can harm an immortal. A message," he growled, "that none would be spared their wrath.
They tattooed him with the blood of Zeref to poison him, then let him Fall."
Lucy raised her right hand to her mouth. "Is he okay?" She couldn't imagine a punishment so torturous. It was practically unheard of, even for angels.
Makarov smiled with relief. "Yes. Elekdrok found him. He is now a thunder dragon-demon."
When Natsu spoke, his voice was filled with awe. "Wow... the most powerful of the dragons..." He fist-pumped. "I wanna fight him!"
Suddenly, Makarov's fist grew to one hundred times its normal size, and Natsu was squashed flat. Another angel-wing magick. "Brat."
Lucy, unfazed, (as Natsu often recieved such punishment,) asked, "But why have you called us here?"
"More specifically, I called you." He leaped to the bottom of the stairs, and looked directly up at Lucy. "Lucy, Laxus arriving from heaven will impact you the most."
She became nervous. She had never even seen the man. Though both the Heartfilia and Dreyar families had been well known in Heaven, Lucy had had a sheltered life. What could this possibly have to do with her? "Why?"
He looked down, and stroked his gray mustache. In that moment, he looked just as apologetic as Gray and Juvia, who were still watching their interaction from the other side of the room. "You see, Lucy... the Royal Family has a history of betrothals. Hell has existed and had a Royal Family thousands of years before I Fell, and generally, any offspring of the King or Queen would become betrothed to a Lord or Lady. I was the exception to this rule, as my predecessors had been incapable of having children for reasons unknown. Anyway, Laxus is now the Prince of Hell."
"I don't like where he's going with this.." whispered Levy. She was worried for her friend, and justifiably so.
"Lucy, the only female demons in Hell powerful enough to rule are Erza of the Third Circle, and Mirajane of the seventh. Erza is already married to Jellal of the Ninth, and Mira will either be too benevolent, or too vicious, depending on her day-to-day mood. Even if they were 'available', you still have your wings, are originally of royalty, and are therefore more suitable for what I need you to do."
Lucy was horrified. It couldn't be! And yet... it all made sense. The stares, and how Gray and Juvia had looked at her...
"I hope you realize that I wouldn't ask anyone to do this, much less you, if I had a choice."
Oh no.
"You, Lucy Heartfilia, Lady of the Second Circle, are officially betrothed to Laxus Dreyar of the Ninth Circle, my grandson and Prince of Hell."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"...Shit."
Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!
Kashua del'ano familash da familash del'ano kashua:Ancient Demontongue (gibberish.) "Friends are of family as family are of friends."
Fae-Demons:Demons with black-feathered wings and tails. All of them can create non-living building material and various objects from nothing.
Ice-Demon:Demons with power over ice.
Blood of Zeref:Poison derived from the Black Magick plant that can only be cured with dragon blood. Unless cured, victims die within the hour.
Elekdrok:Thunder dragon. Most powerful dragon in Hell. Laxus's 'sire', as you will.
Dragons:Dragons. Duh.
Fall/Fallen/Fell:When an angel becomes a demon.
Erza is in the Third Circle because of her obsession with strawberry cake.
Tune in next time to see what happens!
-Leprechaun
