I hate life…. Life hates me…
It is a peaceful coexistence…
Let's read!
)(-)(-)(-)(
The weather fit the occasion as well as his mood over the past few months…
Heavy, heavy rain.
In fact anything that could be described as dull, angry, shattered and…. Grey, would have been perfect for the way the weather's sick sense of pathetic fallacy symbolised every single iota of of his being, whether it be physical, emotional or mental. It fit like the final piece of a huge puzzle.
He didn't know why he continued to come back here, was it out of some sense of duty? An attempt at normalcy. As illogical as it was? He didn't know, nor did he care to know. Or did he have no idea of whether he wanted to or not in general?
A huge clap of Thunder attempted to startle him out of his destructive and meandering thoughts, but all the angry clap achieved was a quick flash and a loud noise before it was fizzled out by the more consistent noise.
His attention was utterly fixated on the headstone in front of him, craning his neck down due to his unusual height to desperately rake his wet and dead eyes over his little sisters grave… Those certain parts of the inscription carved into the stone was without a doubt also carved into his mind and soul forever more.
Lisanna Strauss
...
Beloved Sister and Mage
…
Rest In Piece
Elfman shivered, the intense cold was really packing its own punch but no matter how much he tried to leave and go home his eyes would roughly force him back to staring into the gravestone. Everything was happening too fast for him, he simply couldn't keep up…
Nor did he want to…
First his little sister was killed by his worthless hand, next his friend who had helped through the pain had died due to a group of maniacs over seas. And after months of watching his oldest and only sister suffer the wrath of certain guild members and not involving himself due to fear and depression he suffered the final blow that had broke him, completely and utterly.
Mirajane left the guild, Magnolia…
She wasn't found at all in Magnolia, no matter where everyone looked, it was as if she pulled an Erza and disappeared completely.
It was awful. This year had been one of the worst for Fairy tail in its entire history, the atmosphere had never felt so suffocating, so broken… empty.
Not only had the two most promising members up and leave, never to be found again, but everyone had lost two bright spirits within the guild. And their disappearance showed just how different the guild was without them.
And no matter how anyone tried to put it, one thing was clear. Fairy Tail would never be the same guild it had been ever again.
Even Natsu's energetic and optimistic attitude could bring up anyone's spirits. No one would fight him anymore, no one would indulge in his antics anymore either. In the end the Dragon Slayer just started taking more jobs and had actually started doing proper training.
It had done him good, but he was starting too become the odd one out in the guild. He was a mystery to his own friends now. No one understood him anymore, even his closest friends could not understand his behaviour anymore.
He always left a bit more earlier than he used to, always claiming he was tired an needed sleep. Now, even in his depression, Elfman knew this wasn't the case, everyone had an inkling but were too wrapped up in their negativity to really see what was going on with Natsu.
He was a prime example of that…
Here he was, wallowing in self-pity, staring at a headstone thinking about how much his life sucked… He was the only Strauss left after-all.
The cold slap of rain that hit him in the eye was the thing to bring him out of his revere. Making him blink and rub his eye. He looked around his surrounding area, seeing the same dreary forest to his left and the cold and upset city to his right.
He sneezed and quickly rubbed his nose on his sleeve. Too depressed to be clean about his situation. Looking up, he could see what little light that was there above the grey and angry clouds was starting to fade out.
"Time to get home..." He sighed, his voice monotone and broken. With one last glance to the headstone he begun making his way out of the graveyard. Past the rows of headstones, past the gates and was just about to make the first crossing when his ears were drawn to a peculiar sound…
Following the direction, he looked to his left and didn't see anything, to his surprise. But the quiet and subtle crackling was unorthodox, especially during the heavy rain the city was covered in, any form of fire or hot materials would have surely simmered down or at least transitioned from crackling to sizzling.
A sneeze broke through and he lurched downward to bend over and release all of the grouped up air. Elfman groaned from the sudden force and realised that a cold was coming over him...
But then a sudden burst of heat encapsulated him and the surrounding area and the sound reminiscent of thunder clapped through the rainy atmosphere, sounding like a detonated bomb as it ripped through the Take-Over Mages auditory senses.
It wasn't usual thunder, hell it wasn't even thunder. It was too forceful and had it didn't echo out like an omnipresent roar of anger. No, it sounded more like a huge object had collided with the ground in explosive fashion…
And he had certainly not seen any meteorite or ball of mass close by…
Despite his current emotional turmoil, his inner mage won out, he wasn't going to let this go by unchecked. No matter how much he had wanted too.
He stepped away from the town, to where his lonely home was, and towards the forest, to where the unknown anomaly's lye…
)(-)(-)(-)(
"Man, what is this?..."
Elfman stood in a total stand-still...
Around him, by his own feet, were the apparent sources of the noise and heat…
He looked around the clearing, seemingly man-made, charred and very very recent. He looked at the scorch-marks and deep black holes dotted around in a seemingly unhinged frenzy and gulped. The sorrow and anger was very apparent in the lack of order, the left-over wavering heat that blanketed the area in spades was still going down but still felt near blistering and everything was burnt black…
He knew Natsu's work when he saw it…
"Natsu?" Elfman scoured the area, desperately trying to locate the Dragon Slayer that left the area in his wake like this. He had a bad feeling in his gut, as if it was telling him to go further or something terrible may happen.
For once, the Take-Over Mage followed his gut feeling…
After rummaging through the thick forests he has finally came across another opening, almost the same but with a left over blazing inferno to the left. The rain unable to reach far enough down to effectively put the fire out.
He was close by…
"Natsu!" He ran past the opening, now able to follow clear footsteps that seemed to be spacing apart slightly further. Natsu had started running.
So Elfma started running too…
"Natsu, stop!"
This time he got a response…
"Leave me alone!" Was the pleading roar he'd received. But Elfman didn't let up in his pursuit one bit, barrelling past the thick shrubbery with ease to to his size. Everything that wasn't a thick tree quickly gave way to the huge teenager as he blazed through as fast as he could, the subtle outline of his friend was visible now, the small plumes of smoke from the bushes also becoming easier to see.
He was getting closer from the looks of it. It only became clear to him when the outline became clearer, the Dragon Slayer was much faster than he was, even before the heavy training he seemed to be taking up. If Natsu really wanted to outrun him he very well could with practised ease…
So if that was the case, then why was Elfman getting closer to him?…
He cried out one more time, hoping against hope the Pinkette would stop for him.
"Please, stop man!"
That was when Natsu seemed to have snapped. Because within the space of two seconds he had let out a rage induced war-cry before pivoting on his heel and pouncing towards the Take-Over mage. Elfman let out a shocked cry as Natsu's fist collided with his face, sending him through the woods and landing in the opening from a minute ago…
Natsu had gotten strong, if by the sudden explosive pain that flared up in his cheek was anything to go by. He didn't expect to land back in the opening. The quick gleam of of his friends eyes gave him the warning he needed to avoid the next fiery fist that was headed straight towards him.
"Natsu stop!" He cried, but his plea fell on deaf ears as he was battered into the tree trunk with a resounding crack. The cry of pain seemed to stop Natsu in his tracks though, the one good thing that came out of that, but the elation of his friends' sobering was quickly wiped out of his face when the weird sensation of wetness started to pool around his mid-section…
Looking down, he quickly saw what was causing the sensation… But he really wished that he hadn't looked at all…
He didn't know what caused it, but seconds later his eyes became monstrously heavy. His head begun lulling everywhere as his consciousness began to fade.
He looked up and in one more show of consciousness he looked directly into Natsu's now teary and frightened eyes…
"Nat-… ugh… Nat...su?..."
And as he heard his friend screaming at him in terror his head fell down and he finally blacked out…
Natsu had gotten strong indeed… Too strong for even himself to control…
)(-)(-)(-)(
(2 hours later)
"You still haven't found her yet?" He grunted… clearly bothered by the report given to him. Laxus sighed and glared at him…
"Obviously old man. We haven't found your precious S-Class. Now go and bother someone else..." The snappish reply to the question drove Makarov up the wall. His own anger directed at his grandson starting to make it's way onto his face.
"Laxus, be respectful! You damn brat, this is serious!" He bellowed causing some of the guild-members to jump in fear. However Laxus just tutted and stalked off.
"Whatever geezer, have fun on your little search..." He drawled, stalking out of the guild hall with his newly formed Thunder Legion in tow…
The Lighting Mage left the guild, leaving its members in a deep angry state. Makarov growled and shook his head at the disrespectful grandson that was his own…
"Almost like his father..." The words left his lips so quietly he had a hard time wondering if he had even said it at all instead of just thinking it. His fear of Laxus becoming that monster was starting to over take him. Had he been that bad of a Grandfather? Or was his son just that bad that even his son was destined to be as bad as him?
Ever since Gray had been killed he had seen a quick change in Laxus, his grandson had a love-hate companionship with the ice Mage. The two stuck around each other and did plenty of missions together, but they did have their fair share of verbal duels, those of which were normally where Laxus had his best and only losses. Gray had a quick and sharp wit to him that Laxus couldn't seem to beat and it gave him something to try and beat…
Cana normally sorted them both out in the end though… Her drunken remarks normally ending whatever squabble was going on…
it was a curious friendship, but it kept Laxus in the guild and somewhat content besides his three friends in Bixslow, Evergreen and Freed. And Laxus seemed to like the two mages anyhow…
So when Gray had died it was almost as if Laxus no longer had the strength to care about anyone else but the Thunder Legion. His contented smirks left and were replaced by uncaring versions, his aggressive nature was focussed on everyone around him, calling them weak, unworthy and all of those colourful phrases that hurt everyone he spewed them on…
Just another thing that made Gray's Loss feel much more painful…
"Asshole..." Came the drunken slur from Cana. Her pretty face contorted in a drunk scowl that she aimed at the door like a sniper, she almost seemed like she was trying to burn her anger into the Lightning Mages head…
"Leave it alone Cana." Loke sighed, the playboy leaned against the bar and looked down, his flirting nature subdued and hollow. "He is just as upset and angry as you are."
"Still don't give him any right to slag the master off like that!" She snapped, a violent hiccup interrupting her rant before it started. Her steaming face showed a deep sadness that no one had ever seen on her before. "He's trying his best to find Erza and Mira and he is trying as hard as he can to keep us together after..." And she broke…
"A-after Gray..." She whispered… Tears silently streaking down her beautiful face as Loke wrapped an arm around her and brought into his chest to let her quietly sob…
The memory of her best friend still kept her locked down in her mental prison… Forever locked in the past of happier memories.
Even though she whispered it, everyone knew what she meant… The cloud of despair coated the atmosphere like a foul viscous liquid. No one was safe from it.
Then out of nowhere, the door suddenly slammed open and soaring through the searing sorrow that the guild was becoming known for was Natsu…
And in his arms was the bloody and unconscious form of Elfman…
"Elfman!" Loke turned and gasped, his eyes widening in confusion and fear… What had happened…
Of course, his reaction not only sparked various shouts and screams of horror, but also brought Cana to look over to to the scene before them both…
She stilled… and soon after… fainted…
Today just wasn't the guilds day…
)(-)(-)(-)(
"Oh god!" The short squeak of Vejeeter poured through the medical bay, where he was cleaning the final bed. But seeing Elfman stopped him in his tracks and caused him to rush over to the boys.
"Lay him down!" He pulled the covers off of the nearest bed and practically forced the distraught Natsu to lay his friend on the bed, rapidly bleeding and twitching…
"Leave it to me! Get Makarov!" Natsu hurriedly obeyed, sprinting from the bay towards the guild masters office. He didn't even bother to knock or warn his master as he slammed through the door and into his office room.
He thought that he was going to get a massive dressing down, but Gramps must have seen the look on his face and instantly left to see the commotion and what caused it…
A few seconds later he heard his his bellow, a scary thing for everyone to be there for…
)(-)(-)(-)(
(2 hours later)
Things were evermore intense when Vejeeter and the master threw the members out of the bay. No one knew what to say or what to do… like their beings had been frozen and unable to do ANYTHING…
But after the first hour had passed people started remembering Natsu's presence… And of course, with that came the questions..
Loke had started, asking what had happened to Elfman. Why had he been returned so broken and injured and all. Soon after Cana had been able to piece together a hole in the hypothetical fabric and asked him how he had found Elfman in such a state or was he with him by then…
question after question after question after god-damned question… Natsu couldn't take it, his shell shocked features were able to give him time as people debated asking him right away..
But he knew that they were concerned, concerned without need. But he needed the time. He was scared, how could he tell them that he had been the one to do this to the final Strauss sibling? He remembered how Mirajane was treated by the guild, the scorn, the hatred, the isolation. He didn't know how she had put up with it for so long. He knew that if he was in her situation then he would have left or ended everything before the week was done…
He needed his family, he didn't want to lose them. But to keep them was to lie and tell them that he wasn't responsible for this, emotionally charged or not it didn't matter in this case. All he had ever known was Fairy Tail, the warm, loving and carefree guild that took him in and gave him the life he had today…
He wanted to keep that, even if it meant lying to them, thus giving Elfman's fate the cold shoulder of ignorance and wilful lying...
He hated himself, but he would have to live with it, no matter how much he didn't deserve it…
"I-I found him in the forest… he was impaled and stuff on a tree trunk, looked like he was thrown into it or something… He was bleeding and I was scared..." He choked on his own hiccup after a second… "I hope he's alright..." He sniffed… "He has to be..."
Luckily, he was saved from any further scrutiny as the two mages came bursting out of the medical bay…
They looked at everyone and tried to look calm as they saw everyone's expressions…
"Is he okay?"
Silence… before Makarov responded to that particular question.
The answer, sent shock-waves that not only were felt by the guild, but were felt through out the entire globe…
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I am a right cunt aren't I? :D
Do you want to know something else? I am not going to be doing another chapter of this until I get through a decent chunk of The Ripple effect. So if this cliffhanger really grates your balls then you are going to be red raw by the time I get to this again. Muahahahahaha!
Now… onto the bullshit that was the current few chapters before hand…
RANT TIME!
Now before I start I am going to say that I am probably going to get some shit for this bit…
I didn't mind Ichiya doing that to Achnologia… As long as it doesn't finish the twat off. Now I never really gave a shit about ichiya, I find Juvia to be much more horrid in all aspects than he is. But I find that Jellal surviving being crushed by the most powerful character in the series appalling at best… Mashima's devotion to a happy ending is going to fuck this series up. I am actually glad the series is ending, any-more of this sloppy bull-shit is just going to kill my will to watch this train wreck of an arc.
Lets not get started on Zeref Vs. Natsu… The most anticipated fight in all of fairy tail was so bland and boring, like Sasuke and Naruto but much more watered down and lazy… Poor logical outcomes and a one dimensional tension at best… Fucking shambles and a waste of my time and hype…
Now Mashima could make it better, just kill Juvia and Jellal… Like they should have died a long time ago. Then avoid making Natsu the guild master of Fairy Tail… That could make the arc just a little better...
Rant time over.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. If not then that's fine I am terrible. XD
Reviews are always appreciated, yet not required.
Stay fucking cool ma boi,
-Viperhat