Okay, here's the seventh chapter, it's been about three days, I was going to post one yesterday, but I decided I didn't like it. It's kind of like, Lucy isn't too important at the moment, her time to shine comes later (I'll have the same problem with the Twins, where I'm like, you're useless at the moment), so other than building up character relationship with Lucy, and setting the scene, I don't have much to do with Lucy :(
And the reviews :3
Myth Magyk Fae: Haha, got a whole back story planned for them, I don't do happy backgrounds apparently. But Rouge is a pervert :'( Haha, I think it would be a fun pairing, and your last Pairing, well no spoilers :p
Animeluva1: Hehe, but opposites attract ;)
XxShyxX: Like you suggested, I kind of had him knowing the twins weren't all that power, so he wasn't going to beat them to pulp. It's like they're just raw power, as destructive as that might be, it has so many flaws.
And to AMMis PM (which I did respond to): Yeah, I think I might make Ebony go, because it's food, nice, not guild food. I don't think it makes any difference if Sting is there or not.
"You're going to wrong way." Lucy said, looking at the map. They were stood on a dusty path, in the middle of a field of dry brown dirt, in the middle of Mavis knows where. It didn't help the sun was beaming down on them, or the fact the wind refused to blow.
"I'm going to right way Blondie." Laxus said, glancing behind him to look at the Blonde who was carefully studying the map as he shrugged off his jacket, the heat too much for even him.
"You're going Southeast; we're supposed to be going Southwest." Lucy said with a sigh. "You know, I have a map, I should be the one leading, you should be the one following."
Laxus paused, before looking at Lucy with a lecherous smirk. "I would love to follow you."
Biting her lip before she could Lucy kick him to their destination, she turned 180 degrees and started walking across the cracked fields.
He watched her walk a little, before he followed her, watching the way her hips swung from side to side as she walked.
Suddenly, a black plume of smoke appeared next to her, revealing Nick, in his human form, looking around. He immediately turned to Laxus, with a slight frown before going back to glaring at the landscape.
"... Another black key is close." He said, his brow furrowed in thought. "I can't tell who it is, and I wasn't aware of any keys in this region… I'm too busy to find out who it is."
Lucy jumped, feeling Laxus's hands come down on her shoulders. "Who's this?"
"One of my spirits, Phoenix." She said dismissively. "Should I be worried Nick?" Lucy asked and Nick just shrugged.
"Just because we're in eternal damnation doesn't mean we're all blood thirsty killers." Nick said, fiddling with his hands as he attempted to look sorry for himself. "You're so mean Lucy." He sniffed
Lucy just sighed.
"... Did I leave the oven on?" Phoenix murmured. "I bet I did…" Then vanished in black smoke.
"I wonder what he's cooking." Lucy said before she continued to walk.
It wasn't long before they reached a small cottage amongst a dark forest with tall trees, spruce from the colour of their dark, and dark green leaves, it was like out of a fairy tail, a wolf ready to pounce at any moment. Lucy found herself sticking close to Laxus as he strode up to the door, knocked on it, hiding a sigh.
The door creaked as it opened, the hinges rusted, and the door old and rotten. A small old woman, peaked around the edge, noticing Lucy's guild mark she quickly invited them into the musty, dingy and dark room.
"My family crypt has been overrun with bandits." The old woman said, looking down at the ground, fidgeting, her white hair pulled into a messy bun, her clothes old and grey, she looked very uncomfortable, like she wasn't used to what she was wearing. "I need you to clear it out, at the end there is a key… I'm sorry I couldn't offer more."
Laxus remained silent, his eyes drifting around, looking at the dust that hung in the air, the place looked like it hadn't been touched in years, it smelt of must and disuse. Lucy only smiled, accepted the job and began to head out.
Once they left the forest Laxus looked back. "She doesn't live there."
"You noticed?" Lucy asked, feigning surprise, only to receive a glare. "Maybe they didn't want us to know where they actually live, or who they actually are. They went by an anonymous name."
The crypt's entrance was like a small stone box, jutting out of a large brown hill. The door heavy and old, groaning as they opened it. It was engraved with Dragon's and Gods, coloured a dark spruce wood, and lead the way to what seemed to be the underworld.
Even with the many torches lighting their way, it still seemed so dark, so empty, so lifeless.
The smell of rotting flesh hit them like a brick wall, the pungent smell was almost enough to make them sick. A feeling of dread crept over them, Lucy shivering and grabbing onto Laxus's arm, as she trudged forward.
Nothing could have prepared her for the sight before them, bodies were littered around a large room, blood seemed to paint the walls, and created a red sea. As Lucy's walked forward, wide eyes, the blood sticky on the bottom of her boots. It was old, a dark red. Every time she heard the crack of dried blood she cringed, and Looked at Laxus who knelt by a body, trying to figure out what had happened.
There were bites out of them, dog or wolf bites, but then there were stab wounds, but if you looked around the room hard enough you could see where the dismembered flesh had been spat out. It was unlikely wolves and humans would work together, unless they were being controlled.
Laxus sniffed the air, he couldn't tell anything between blood, death and the smell of any possible animals. His eyes drifted to Lucy as she examined the room around her. He had half expected her to run out and throw up, but she looked somewhat concerned, somewhat curious, but mostly sick and disgusted.
Then she jumped, and shrieked, throwing herself into Laxus's arms as she trembled.
"Something touched my leg." She whispered. "Something grabbed my leg."
Laxus nodded, stroking her hair as she finally calmed before leading her towards where she'd been grabbed, her hand tightly in his. He knelt; finding a man, close to death, bleeding out everywhere, one of his eyes had been clawed out, his face disfigured.
"Wolves… appeared of out nowhere... when boss tried to get something from the top shelf." The man coughed out. "Kept becoming human… before going back to wolves... as they watched us." Blood dribbled from his mouth. "Ripped us apart… when they saw… the boss… kill a traitor." Then he passed, leaving Lucy white with her hand over her mouth. Laxus turned to Lucy.
"We should go." He said. "This is a case for the magic council."
"No…" Lucy managed to say. "... There's a key."
"Lucy." She looked at him, shocked he used her name. "If they come back, I don't know if we can take them. There are at least twenty dead men."
"No…" She shook her head. "It was a key, Canes Venatici… twin wolves, they can shift between human and wolf form. From what I've read they hate needless murder, and kill those who would do it." She rubbed her eyes. "That's why they are black keys."
Laxus looked unconvinced but sighed, and relented. "I'll look as well."
Lucy walked to the back of the large room, walking and dodging the bodies that lay around them as she continued to look around.
She reached up to the top of a shelf, and ran her hands along it. Her hand's brushed over something cold, she grasped it and brought it down. In her hands lay a black key, the tip of it was two wolf tails and the end was that of a wolfs head.
"I summon thee Canes Venatici!"
Before her, out of black light, came to wolves that reared their heads to look at her. One was white with black ears, the other black with white ear, both having fathomless blue eyes as they studied her.
The white one began to shift, turning into a young man, white hair, but his black wolf ears still on his head. He wore a red collar around his neck with silver studs, his clothes were torn, a white shirt and white trousers, ripped and covered in blood.
Before the white wolf could speak, Nick appeared in front of Lucy, arms crossed.
"Guess who got shoved into the care of the celestial mage behind me because they can't keep their sense of justice in check?" Nick said, glaring at them. "He's disappointed in you, as well as the Spirit King. Seriously, I'm stood in my kitchen, making you guys those biscuits you love to eat, then he fucking pops by, telling me to go shout and you lot, he's never going to drop it that he found me cooking. It's not my problem he has some spirit to do his cooking for him. I'm happy doing my own."
Nick then vanished, the white wolf sighed.
"I am Canes, and my brother is Venatici." Canes said, as Venatici nudged Lucy's leg, wanting to be petted. "You may call me Kane and my brother Ven."
"Why did you kill them?" Lucy whispered.
"... We watched them kill a child." Kane said. "Even Ven couldn't hold back his rage." His voice was cold, so monotone. He didn't care about how many lives he'd taken, all for the revenge of someone taking a life.
"I don't stand for killing." Lucy said, her voice stronger, her gaze hardened. "Dismissed."
Kane only nodded, and they both vanished in black smoke.
It was then when Lucy finally faltered, breathing hard, and sweat began to form. "Laxus… I'm going to be sick." She whispered.
"Not far behind you Blondie." Laxus said, as they walked out.
As soon as they were out, Lucy leant over and spilled out the contents of her stomach, as Laxus held her hair back, sighing.
"That was… something else." He said as Lucy straightened, wiping her mouth as she tried to regain her dignity. "Let's go back to the guild."
"I'm taking a week off." Lucy murmured as they set off on their journey.
Lucy sat in her house, sighing.
Ven appeared on the floor beside her, he began to shift. A human, pale skin, black hair with white wolf ears, a red collar with silver studs and black ripped clothes. He moved, and sat on the chair opposite Lucy.
"I apologise for my brother's behavior. If he's not enraged, he's emotionless." Ven said, as he looked around Lucy's home. "We've been… adgitated as of late. The Old Gods are attempting to take back the world, but not just earthland, but the Spirit world as well. Everyone's on edge."
"Aren't there two gods slayers killing the old gods?" Lucy asked, and Ven just scratched his ear with an expression boardering on a grimace.
"I don't know much about Old Gods, but God Slayers may be the best weapon against them, but they're pretty ineffective. It's like Fire is weak to water, you throw only a little bit of water over the fire, it'll just be pure luck if the fire gets put out." Ven said with a shrug. "It's the twins who are fighting, right? Fair enough they make each other stronger but they're only taking out the weak ones. What happens when they hit the stronger ones? I hate to say it, but they're screwed."
"What about God Keys?"
Ven's face suddenly froze, his eyes widened a little bit. "Figured they'd tell you." He said with a sigh. "God Keys can channel their power into the God Slayers, making the God Slayers extremely powerful. Since the Gods made the deal, they can only come to this earth when they have an owner. Me and Kane only came out because you were a potential owner."
"I don't like the term owner." Lucy said with a sigh. "I'm your friend, not your owner. We're a team… just don't kill anyone."
Ven chuckled and smiled before rubbing his arm. He was muscled, but in the same way, he wasn't, it was a little weird. "Being part of the Hound family, we still revere you as our master but a dog is man's best friend. I assume that's mankind."
"What time are you available to be summoned?" Lucy asked, getting down to business.
"Same as Nick, we did some shit, so we're basically at your beck and call, but if it's alright with you, could we have Sunday's off, we like to take long runs every so often, like really long runs. But if you need us, call us." Ven said and Lucy nodded.
"That's more than reasonable." She said.
"And I'm going to go torture that cat, never got along with him. He is going to be so pissed we get to hang together and everything! I am going to piss him off so bad." Ven just laughed and vanished in black smoke.
"Weird…" Lucy said before climbing into bed, content with sleeping for the next few weeks.
When she walked into the guild, she was met by Laxus.
"I think it was a setup." He said.
"I didn't take you for the conspiracy sort of guy." Lucy said. "Even if it was, I'd rather not dig into it to find out. I've seen more dead bodies than I care to remember in a space of a few minutes."
"Don't-"
"No."
"Bl-"
"No."
So hope you enjoyed guys, I'm still taking votes for if Ebony agrees to go to dinner with Sting, I'm all for yes, because Ebony probably is a glutton, and it's food. And you know, Dragon Slayers have big appetites, what's to say God Slayers don't? Yeah... Ebony just loves food too much.
