Disclaimer: Characters and setting belongs to Mashima. Square Enix, I give thee the credit for inspiring me.
This is by far, my favourite chapter. Hope you guys agree too, enjoy!
Ch. 7: Cold Hard Truth Revealed
Natsu and Happy continued to wander aimlessly around the desert, searching for their friends.
"Hey! Can anybody hear me!?" Natsu yelled at the top of his lungs.
Happy had gained enough energy to be able to fly again, and soared through the sky, in search of any living beings amongst the desert sand.
He flew down again to rest with Natsu, who was sitting down, sweating from the immense heat of the morning sun.
Natsu wiped his sweat away, "Man, I wonder where everyone else is. At this rate, we'll going to have to contine on without—oh my gosh! Lucy! I was supposed to her protector! And now we're all separated! Lucy!"
Happy shook Natsu out of it, "Natsu! Get a hold of yourself will you? Come on, I'll fly you up, we'll look for all of them together."
With that, Happy lifted Natsu up into the sky and they flew steadily around the desert, Natsu used his super sharp nose to smell for anyone familiar.
"Sniff sniff. Wait Happy! Drop us down here!" Natsu suddenly demanded.
Happy did as he was told, and flew down.
As they closed near the ground, they caught sight of a few figures stirring among the sand.
It was Sting, Wendy, and Rufus. Natsu and Happy runs up to them, overjoyed.
"Guys! I thought we'll never see you again!" cried Natsu hugging them.
Happy immediately went over to help Carla out of the sand beside Wendy. Sting rubbed his head, looking around him.
"Where are we?" He asked.
Rufus took off his hat and fanned himself with it.
"Wherever we are, we need to find some water and shelter. And fast," he said.
Natsu nodded and helped them up to their feet.
"The good thing is that we survived Acnologia's breath attack! I mean, how awesome is that?!" Natsu exclaimed.
Wendy looked unsure, but Carla looked extremely serious, "There is no time to be joking around! We need to find the rest of our friends before—"
Suddenly, the sand around them began to rumble and they all jumped back.
A large beige-coloured creature emerged from the sand, looking ready for a fight.
The four wizards and two exceeds prepared themselves in combat positions. Natsu laid in the first attack.
"Fire dragon's iron fist!" He yelled, hitting the creature on its side.
Sting pushed it back with his roar of the light dragon.
Wendy and Rufus worked together. They did this by using her sky dragon's wing attack to blow forward his memory-make: balls of heat.
The creature wasn't finished yet.
It opened its mouth to shoot out a fountain of sand straight towards the group. None of them reacted quickly enough to take cover.
"Ice-make: shield!"
A shield of ice appeared in front of them, protecting them from the sand.
Two more voices joined in.
"Requip: Sea Empress Armor!"
A jet of water hits the creature, damping its skin and sending it sprawling across the sand dunes.
"Open, gate of the fire bird: Phoenix!"
A great bird with fiery wings appeared in the sky, and shone its golden light directly on top of the creature, heating its damp skin. Thus causing parts of it to begin cracking.
Another voice joined the battle, "Shadow dragon's roar!"
The attack knocked away some parts of the creature's cracked armor-like skin.
"And holy black lightning strike!" The final person shouted.
From the sky, emerged a single large black lightning, striking the creature's entire body, knocking it off its feet.
Gray, Erza, Hisui, Rogue, and Orga turned around to face their comrades, smiling.
"Are we late for the party?" Erza asks.
Natsu shook his head, "Not at all. You're just in time."
Gray and Rogue looked around the area.
"It looks like it's just the few of us. Lets keep searching for the rest," Rogue suggested.
They were about to leave when the ground trembled again, this time more violently. Several more of the previous sand creatures appeared, and the wizards all got ready to fight again.
"Heavenly body magic: Grand chariot!" A voice cried.
Seven magic seals appeared in the sky. Each one corresponded to the sand creature below it.
A second later, the magic seals all exploded, effectively knocking the creatures down all at once.
Jellal appeared from behind the dust and sand, walking with Gajeel, Arcadios, Minerva, Lector, and Frosch.
Gray shrugged, looking relieved, "And that's everyone now."
Erza breathes a sigh of relief upon seeing that the rest of their comrades are also safe and sound. Sting and Rogue happily reunite with their exceeds again.
Arcadios rushed over to the princess's side, asking if she's alright. Minerva relaxes and stretches her arms out, while Jellal and Erza exchanged a few words.
During this time, Natsu counted the number of people he sees before him, until realizing that there were some people still missing.
"Wait a minute! Where's Lucy and Yukino?!" He cried.
Immediately following that, everyone's eyes went wide and panic began to spread among them.
"How could we forget about them? They're the most vital part to this whole mission!" Gray yelled.
Erza commanded for everyone to calm down, "I know we're all worried here. But we won't be able to find them if we just run around and panic."
"Well, what do you suggest?" Sting asksed
"First, we'll need to determine where exactly we are on the continent," Erza explained.
Hisui spoke up, "Actually, I believe I know where we are. We are on the Arsen Desert, it's near the western edge of Ishgar actually. I never thought Acnologia's roar would carry us this far out. I've been to this place many times in the past with my father. There's a coastal town not too far from where we are called Kizue. The people there are in good terms with all magic-users, if they do have Lucy and Yukino, they'll be kept safe there."
Natsu looked relieved, "Alright, now that we've got a good idea of where they might be, lets go find them!"
Before they could all begin walking, Hisui stops them. "Wait, there's one more thing. Kizue is a neutral town, but they are in peril of the spreading Alvarez Empire. There's a possibility we're going to meet some foes there, so be ready to fight."
Minerva looked determined, "We'll take anything they'll throw at us."
Gajeel grinned gleefully, "It'll be a piece of cake. I'm craving for another challenge since our last match with the Spriggans."
Hisui smiled.
"Alright, then follow me."
A few hours later, sometime in the afternoon.
Princess Hisui led the team across the last sand dune. They've been traveling across nothing but pure sand for the past couple of hours. But by now, they were nearing their destination. The town of Kizue would be visible soon.
However, once they climbed across the top, the princess cries out loud in horror.
"No...Kizue!"
Before all of their eyes, was the small coastal town of Kizue. Which was now under a heavy attack by the Alvarez army. Arcadios kept Hisui from running down the sand dune towards the town. Natsu however, immediately runs down without thinking.
"Come on guys! They still may be there!" He yelled.
Everyone followed close behind Natsu and into the town. Once they entered, they were greeted with several soldiers from the Alvarez army.
Fortunately, they were easy to defeat.
Gajeel laughed, "Is this the best they got? Come on, give me a real challenge!"
Erza knocked back a few more soldiers that were coming at her.
"We don't have time for a real challenge! We need to focus on our task at hand!" She yelled.
Natsu runs deeper into the town, "Yeah! And it's to save Lucy and Yukino!"
The team eventually reached the town square, where Princess Hisui rushed to an injured guard.
"Mister! Are you alright?" Hisui kneeled down to help the man, who can barely speak in a coherent voice.
"Princess...you've came...Kizue's time is now over, please, save the people from suffering..." The man's voice dies away, and he becomes lifeless.
Hisui's eyes filled with pain.
"No! Please!" She cried.
Jellal puts his hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to stand up, "Princess please, do you have any idea where Lucy and Yukino may be?"
Hisui nodded and slowly stood up.
"The town has a very large underground safety shelter. They should be there, hopefully."
She led the way through the buildings and streets towards a large building near the edge of the town. Walking up to the large sturdy looking door, Hisui enters the code to unlock it.
"Here we go," she said as the door opened, and they enter the large chambers.
Hisui led them down the metal stairs towards the bottom of the brightly lit shelter.
As they walk down the stairs, Hisui suddenly stopped to ask a few questions.
"When you were told of the story of Anna Heartfilia, what did you feel afterwards?" She asked.
"An obligation and duty to destroy Acnologia," the wizards would answer.
"The work to destroy the great Dragon King who is now merged with the Black Wizard is an extremely life-threatening one, and I speak the truth when I say, I don't believe all of you will make it out alive," Hisui explained to them.
Natsu puts his hands on hips, "Yeah, we already knew that from the beginning, but you're wrong Princess. We're all going to make it out alive, it may be risky, but if we say we're going to make it out, we will. Right guys?"
Everyone nodded in agreement and exchanged looks of determination. Hisui just gazed at the ground. Arcadios stepped forward.
"Come now everyone, we need to hurry up. Time is short," he said.
Arcadios led the rest of the way down, and everyone else followed behind him. The princess didn't follow them though.
Concerned, Natsu stayed behind until Hisui decided to continue on as well. Natsu was confused to the princess's expression and concern.
Does she not believe in us? He thought as he walked down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs was a large open space where several guards and civilians were. Princess Hisui made her way through to the head guard.
"Excuse me! Please!" She cried.
The head guard turned his head around in surprise, "Your Highness, what are you doing in a place like this? You need to get to safet—"
Hisui interrupted him, "I know, but what I need you to tell me right now, is if you guys found two young women recently. They are both celestial wizards, one has blonde hair tied in two pigtails, and the other has short white hair. Have you seen either one?"
The head guard nodded vigorously, "Yes, I believe my men said something about escorting a celestial wizard here to safety from the desert. I'll take you to her, she's in the other chamber."
The guard led the whole group through the crowd of civilians, and towards a hallway that led to another shelter for important people. The door opened and they all rushed inside. Natsu and the others all shout the names of their celestial wizards.
"Lucy! Yukino!" They all yelled.
Suddenly, a female figure comes running up to them.
It was Yukino.
"Guys! I'm so happy you're all safe!" She cried.
Sting and Rogue squeezed her into a hug.
"Yukino! You're alright!" Sting cried in a relieved tone.
Yukino nodded, letting go of two of her guildmates.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured.
Natsu looked around the room for the blonde haired celestial wizard. He saw a few other wizards, but not the one that he's looking for.
He turned to Yukino.
"Hey, do you know where Lucy is?" He asked.
Yukino quivered and shook her head.
"I don't know, I haven't seen her, but I did hear the guards who brought me here say something about her. They said that they found a blonde hair wizard who was under some trouble with a few members of the Spriggan 12. They couldn't resuce her. I think—I think that she's been taken to the Alvarez Empire!" Yukino said in a trembling voice.
Wendy looked determined, "Then we'll after her!"
Natsu punched the wall nearby, denting the metal.
"Damnit! Some protector I am! Always letting the enemy getting to her!" He yelled in annoyance.
Gajeel scolded him, "Calm down salamander! It's not only you! We've all swore to protect her, so we're all to blame. Don't worry, we're going to get her back."
Natsu nodded and puts on a serious expression.
"Alright, lets go save Lucy," he commanded.
Princess Hisui shook her head and looked to Arcadios.
"No, I can't let this happen. I'm ending this fool's mission, right here, right now," she quietly said to him.
Arcadios lets out a cry of concern.
"Princess, I can't let you do that. We still don't know if there's anything we could do at the end," he insisted, but Hisui just shook her head.
"I've already made up my mind."
The princess walked up to Yukino and breaths a deep breath before speaking.
"Yukino, please. Give me your keys. I beg of you to hand over your responsibility to me."
Everyone looked at Hisui incredulously and in confusion.
"What!?" They all exclaimed.
Yukino gasped and shook her head, "I cannot princess, I'm sorry, but this is my duty, my responsibility! I already said so from the beginning and I'm not backing out now!"
Hisui wouldn't give in, "Yukino! Don't you see? I'm doing this for yours and Lucy's sake!"
"I know that, but I won't approve of it! You're not getting a hold of my keys!" Yukino cried.
Before Hisui could argue back, Jellal came between her and Yukino. He gazed intently at the princess of Fiore.
"Princess, may I ask what's going on here?" He demanded.
Sting and Rogue stood close by Yukino, suspicious of Hisui's actions. Arcadios stood by Hisui. All of the wizards eyed her confusingly.
Erza asked her, "Why? Why would you ask for Yukino's keys Your Highness?"
Gray nodded, "Yeah, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Natsu stepped forward towards Hisui.
"I think I know," he answered.
Hisui looked up to Natsu, her eyes filled with pain and sadness.
"Please, I just—"
Natsu cuts her off, "You just don't have enough faith in us that we'll be able to succeed in vanquishing Acnologia! You're afraid we might lose our lives in the process that you've decided to put your own life on the margin to spare us! Right?"
Nobody said a word, they just looked from Natsu to Hisui. Natsu continued to speak as Hisui remained silent.
"I know you mean well princess, but we will make it through alive. That's why we're here, to protect Lucy and Yukino from all harm that awaits them. You have no right to snatch what they wish to do!" He cried.
Hisui snapped at the fire dragonslayer. She is no longer sad nor in pain, but rather, burning up with anger!
"I have to stop them from defeating Acnologia! Once Lucy gets the last key, she and Yukino may be able to defeat Acnologia, but...well there's no doubt about it! Acnologia will be defeated once all twelve Zodiacs are summoned along with thirteenth one in their eclipse forms. But...but...Lucy and Yukino will die! You know!?" Hisui exclaimed.
A deathly silence fell across the entire chamber. Nobody spoke a word. Natsu didn't even blink, he just stared at the princess, waiting for her to speak again.
Hisui continued in a shaky voice, her eyes welled up with tears.
"Don't you guys know? The whole story of Anna Heartfilia? Summoning all thirteen spirits in their eclipse forms will put a stop to Acnologia, but once they've all been summoned, the thirteenth spirit will put Acnologia in a stasis and then...and then...it will kill the celestial wizard too!
During the battle, Acnologia's dark influence will affect the spirits, which will cause them to lose control, and attack anything they see. But the thirteenth spirit will be affected the most, since it's not a true Zodiac! There! Now you know?!"
Hisui collapsed to her knees in agony as Arcadios supported her. Everyone else was trying to consume that piece of information the princess had just revealed.
Natsu especially. His serious expression left his face, replaced by a broken look.
"Did...Lucy already know about this?"
He remembered the day when Hisui asked for her and Yukino to go with her to her private chambers, because the princess wanted to speak to them privately. Was it matters relating to this?
Natsu knelt in front of Hisui, who was now crying over her confession and being comforted by Arcadios.
"Why? Why didn't you tell us earlier? Were you trying to hide it from us?" He asked.
Arcadios shook his head, defending Hisui, "We weren't trying hide it. But do you think it would've been easy for any of us to say? The princess was put in a very difficult position!"
One of the wizards in the room, a middle-aged man stood up and walked towards them.
"I can vouch for that. The princess is very close to us people of Kizue, and we already know of the story of Acnologia's first defeat. The princess isn't trying rob the celestial wizards of their responsibility, but rather to protect from an inevitable death," the man defended.
Everyone looked to each other, not knowing what to say. Natsu lets out a loud shout and started pounding against the ground, clearly upset.
Orga mumbled, "This can't be real..."
"All this time...we were so oblivious..." Minerva said in a tone of disbelief.
Arcadios sighed, "The princess told Yukino and Lucy the fact that they would end up sacrificing their lives in the end, they know that by now, and they still decide to continue on with it."
Hisui shook her head, holding it at the same time. A steady flow of tears streaming down her cheeks.
"But Arcadios, don't you see?! They shouldn't throw away their lives so easily! Just so the rest of us can be happy...if someone is to be sacrificed, it should be me! I'm the princess of Fiore, it's my duty to protect my people!" Hisui cried.
Gray held his head as he fell down to his knees.
"I still can't believe this!" He yelled.
Sting and Rogue were standing still, frozen in thought.
"So in a way...we were pushing them towards their demise..." Rogue said.
Jellal hits the metal wall of the chamber in frustration, "Argh! Why didn't I find out sooner? I was the one who told them the story in the first place! I shouldn't known about what happened in the end!"
Erza held Wendy close as the little girl wept.
"I didn't know that Lucy and Yukino would die!" She cried. Erza said nothing as she let her own tears fall.
Gajeel held his forehead, frustrated and angry. "
And we called ourselves their 'protectors,' when we were more like their executioners," he muttered.
"What were they thinking of us after knowing that fact?" Rufus asked.
Natsu shouted towards the ceiling before clutching his stomach and falling to his knees, wailing heavily.
Yukino stepped forward.
"But it was my and Lucy's choice. All of us, the people of Ishgar, even the people of the western continent, fear Acnologia. Just imagine a world without that evil entity, isn't it something worth sacrificing for? To me, it is, and I won't hesitate to do it!" She cried.
By now, Natsu had gotten up from the floor and ran past everyone towards the far wall of the room.
He repeatedly punched against the cold hard metal.
"But all this time...I've told Lucy that 'we're going to be alright!' That 'we're going to make it through all together!' And even after she found out about the truth...she still doesn't react to when I say those things...she'd just look at me with those same determined eyes..."
Natsu stopped punching the wall and leaned his arms against it, lost in thought.
Flashbacks...
Natsu and Happy sat down on the ground after being beaten by a few lovesick girls under the charm spell of the fake salamander. They came all the way to the port town of Hargeon in pursuit of Igneel and end up with a salamander wannabe.
"What is he?" He asked.
"He is really disgusting." A voice said from behind.
It was Lucy.
"Thanks for earlier." She said with a bright smile.
Natsu crashed in on the ship where the fake salamander took Lucy and a bunch of other girls to. After a fiery beatdown, he destroyed the whole ship, and the port with it.
The military suddenly showed up.
"Wh—what's all this ruckus!?" The captain cried.
Natsu suddenly pulled Lucy away and they began running.
"Crap! Let's run," he yelled.
"Why me!?" Lucy cried.
He looked at her, "You wan to join Fairy Tail, right?"
Lucy's eye's widened in astonishment.
"Then come with me!" He grinned at her.
Lucy smiled as she began running too, "Ok!"
Inside Lucy's apartment. Natsu stood up from talking with Plue.
"Ok! I've made up my mind! I agree with Plue's idea!"
He turned to Lucy, smiling brightly.
"Let's make a team!" He said as Lucy returned his smile, nodding in agreement.
As soon as Angel was defeated, Lucy went over to the raft.
She stretched out her hand to a motionsick Natsu, stuck on a raft. "
Stretch out your hand! Natsu!" She yelled.
He only responded the through moans and groans of a queasy stomach. As soon as she reached him, they both got swept away on the river's current.
Natsu, Wendy, Happy, and Carla looked up in fear. They are under disguises in fear of the people of Edolas.
"W...what's going on..." Natsu stuttered.
"Everyone's gone made?" Happy asked.
A female figure dressed in black knelt down before them.
"Hey. Who the heck are you guys?" She asked.
Taking a second look at the person, they realize she looked exactly like Lucy.
"What the hell are you doing hiding in here?" She demanded.
Lucy was knocked to the ground by Kain Hikaru. Natsu yelled for her to run.
"I won't..." She said, standing up only to be knocked down again by the large sumo wrestler man.
"I don't want...to run away by myself...because not matter what...I'd rather be together with everyone..."
She barely managed to say through her heavy injuries, but she still said it with a smile on her face.
Future Rogue talked about the future he came from where the dragons ruled the world.
"As as long as they're alive, the ones destined to close the gates will do so without fail..." he began.
Natsu looked bored, "You're losing me...who's this dude you're talking about anyways?"
Rogue's eyes flared murderously.
"It's you. Lucy Heartfilia!"
He threw a huge lethal looking shadow blade towards her. Her future self jumps in front to take the mortal hit. Natsu's eyes widen in shock and pain.
Natsu looked up to the sky. The redness of the moon begins to fade away. They did it, they vanquished the dragons and destroyed the eclispe gate. All of the chaos and havoc is finally over.
Lucy, not being to hold herself back, runs forward and hugs Natsu from behind.
"What's wrong Lucy?" He asked gently.
"Nothing. Just a feeling..." she replied.
After a brief moment, Lucy spoke again, "Thank you."
They were standing on the hill of the ruined palace. Natsu stared at Acnologia as the dragon flew towards them. Lucy desperately tugged Natsu to get him to run.
"Come on Natsu! Please! I can't lose you now!" She cried.
"I can't lose you now either," Natsu thought in his mind. He stood up from leaning against the metal wall and turned around, looking determined.
"I'm not letting her go. I'll find Lucy!"
Well there we have it: the cold hard truth revealed! Will our dear celestial mages continue on to fight? Or will they succumb to the convincing of their friends and quit their journey?
