Chapter 9: As leaves fall
((Note: Well, upon seeing that I do in fact have an audience, The fic will continue. Fairy Tail confusion, ho! This is an action chapter, so it's gonna be a wee bit longer. I can't very well cut a chapter off mid-fight. This isn't the first Arc of Naruto, you know :P))
Juvia could not really understand what Gajeel was up to. While the rest of the team was almost out of sight, ahead in the forest, Gajeel was leaning against a tree, his eyes closed, listening to the situation. She looked around, seeing no real movement.
"Gajeel, Juvia thinks we should go… she can barely see the others ahead of her. Natsu is tracking the Primordial's scent, so what are we doing here? Should we not be…" Her concerned speech was interrupted when, completely out of the blue, he lept forward, grabbing her collar, and pulling her to his side as he continued to leap-run around a few trees. Within moments, the very earth they had been standing on began to shift, and massive spikes made of stone emerged, the closest one nearly slicing right into him, barely nicking the edge of his coat. Juvia's face flushed red as she realized how close she was to her love, but again this was not the time. Bracing herself, she freed her coat from his grip and leapt behind a nearby tree, glancing around to see the source of the attack. Thanks to her time among the Primordials, she knew exactly what was causing this. The third and least populous of the "New human tribes", the stone people.
"Juvia, watch out! Behind you!" Gajeel shouted, sounding strained. When Juvia glanced his way for an instant, she saw him swinging on a high branch of a tree, trying to right himself. Rather than look behind, Juvia wasted no time in staring downward. With a bit of concentration, her legs melted back to water, and formed a geyser-like form, propelling her into the air as she followed his initiative. They re-formed as her legs just in time to impact against a branch. Where she had been standing, a massive spike once again emerged, this time so large it sliced the tree Juvia had leapt to, causing it to shake. After jumping to a nearby tree, Juvia once again scanned the area for the one causing these attacks.
Fire dragon Iron fist! The cry broke the midday air like the roar of a true dragon, and all Juvia saw was a flash of light and flame as a brown lump was propelled at intense speed at the large rock formation, smashing into it with a Thud Juvia could feel from even her lofty position, raising a dust cloud. From whence it had come, Natsu emerged. His breaths were short and angry, his face contorted with rage. Though his approach was almost calm in it's precision and silence, it could not be called serene, for his gait gave off a feeling of seething hatred. As the cloud of sand lowered, the brown lump was shown to be another large stone. Natsu wheeled around, but too late, as from behind him a series of stones came hurling, these ones thin and sharp, clearly aiming to riddle him with holes. His eyes opened in surprise, and he began to try and defend himself, but no spell he could cast would manifest in time…
Iron dragon sword! The spell was this time cast by a deeper, more brutal voice, and a massive steel blade coated in rotating teeth slammed into the ground just in front of the Pink-haired dragon slayer, the stones breaking apart harmlessly against it's shimmering form. Natsu followed the blade upwards with his eyes and nodded in thanks to the other dragon slayer, and leapt over the blade.
"Where are you, Primolo jerk? I've got a FairyTail gift with your name on it!" He shouted, his fists igniting as if his whole body was just as eager to fight as he was. Juvia was stunned, almost unable to move, witnessing the raw power the Dragon Slayers possesed. And the ones we need to fight can surpass even them? How strong is Drenic? Her thoughts fell back to the arrogant rain man, whispering sweet words in her ears, resting his hands upon her waist, telling her she could do great things for her tribe… She shuddered and shook her head furiously. He just wanted to make Juvia his wife! But Gajeel saved her from that whole thing. She then took a moment to consider Natsu. The boy seemed to have no real interest in talking to Juvia, but she remembered how strongly he seemed to feel about his guild. She rested a hand upon her left thigh, Remembering how his eyes went there. This must be where Juvia once displayed her Guild Mark. She thought to herself. The others had the same symbol on their bodies. Juvia shivered again, wondering if she would ever get that back…
"Juvia, let's get you back. It's a little too dangerous here." A man's voice stirred her from her thoughts, and the sound of it made her expression turn sour. She turned and saw Grey there, on the branch, offering her his hand. The mystery of why she felt so cold was instantly solved as there was ice forming all around the tree. His very presence causes the warmth of life to grow cold. She thought to herself. Ice is just like water, with all the soul frozen out of it… it's just hollow. She turned away and leaped to a tree close to Gajeel's. She joined him as he leapt to the floor, and the three of them made their way to a clearing in the trees. There, the Brown-dapered man from when Juvia was first taken was hoisted in the air by a massive…. cow?
"You creep. I'm gonna Mooooooooove you like my Lucy Mooooooooves me! Hyaaaaaa~" It shouted. With a single mighty toss with it's thick, muscular arms, the creature threw the man onto the ground, the impact raising another cloud. Juvia blinked in surprise. Before she could ask what it was, she noticed Lucy standing by, cheering it on. She seemed to be holding a small golden tool of some kind.
"You go, Tarus! Take that guy out before he does anything to hurt our friends!" She shouted. The creature turned back to look at her, and he his stare made even Juvia blush with it's lecherous feel.
"Lady lucy, the sight of you jumping up and down like that is all the Mooooodivation I need!" It turned back to the patch of ground, no doubt to wail on him more, but to his shock, the man was gone. Before he could react, the Earth beneath it rose up in the form of a giant fist, tossing it into the air. The man emerged from the fist.
"Damn magic monster. You wizards and your familiars won't take me down! I'm one of Makato's Seven Spirit Shamans. Now that you've got me mad, I won't rest 'till you're all just corpses beneath the ground!" Juvia glanced over just in time to see both of the Dragon Slayers intake a large breath, their fists clenched together in perfect unison. Do dragon slayers have magic they both share? he wondered, and he was not left waiting. She could not make out what spell they were casting, but two magic circles formed in front of them as they exales in an almost comical manner… until Juvia saw what happened beyond the circles. A grey cloud emerged from Gajeel, and a roaring flame from Natsu, and as they expanded and sailed towards the man, they began to shift and roll into one another.
The words "Unison Raid" flew unexpectedly into Juvia's head, and she suddenly recalled a peculiar scene. Lucy was holding hands with a girl with blue hair. The blue haired woman was dressed in a curious, and almost shameful way, but something about her was also familiar. There was what appeared to be… a mermaid nearby? But what caught Juvia's attention next was a sudden whirling of water, a powerful typhoon exploding upon a faceless man. As it raged on, Juvia realized it was a memory of herself, in another time. She stirred from her vivid memory just in time to see the result of the Dragon Slayer's powerful magic; The man was on his back, moaning, steel reeling from the force while pinned. All around little orange dots were scattered, and Juvia realized they were heated chunks of iron. The man started to try to crawl away, trying to form his hands into stone, but the process was slow and he gave up. "I'll… stop attacking… I'll…" He said, struggling to keep his eyes open, but they fluttered shut. Lucy covered her mouth.
"Guys, I think… I think you killed him…" she said, unsure weather to feel victorious or horrified. Natsu looked aghast, and stared at his hands.
"Did I…?" He muttered. Gajeel, on the other hand, seemed stoic and unmoving. Then Both slayers stiffened up, Irritation clearly encompassing their faces. Juvia was about to ask why, then she heard it too. The gentle sound of deep snoring.
"Did he just… fall asleep on us?"
