As we left our heroes, they had just bravely barged into the scene of Lucifer's plot to rescue the captured princess!
Lisanna: Ano...
Kyugan: Work with me sweety, this is Natsu we're talking about.
Chapter 10: Sleeping Princess.
"Ite-!" Natsu grit out, the berry-head sitting up and rubbing his head tenderly with one hand, the other holding a passed out Wendy against his chest "What's this tent made out of?" he demanded, tears leaking out of his eyes from the pain "Almost busted my head open!"
"Mn…" Wendy moaned, the younger Dragonslayer blinking dazedly up at her adoptive elder sibling as she came back around "Natsu-nii?" she called out, blinking up at him in confusion "What happened?"
"Wendy!" Natsu cheered, the berry-head's pain instantly forgotten as he hugged his adoptive little sister tightly to himself "Aw man, don't scare me like that!"
"G-Gomen…" Wendy offered, the younger Dragonslayer blushing slightly from the concern in the elder's tone, before eyeing the bump on his head in alarm "You're hurt!"
"Aw it's nothing!" Natsu insisted, knowing she'd simply exhaust herself using her Sky magic to heal it "Just bumped my head on something when I punched through the tent."
"N-Natsu…" Happy called out, the little cat's voice trembling in awe from the other side of the Tent as the Dragonslayer siblings turned to look for him, only to gape as their eyes landed on the source of his distress.
"HOLY!" Natsu exclaimed, the berry-head's eyes wide and glittering as he gaped at the massive, flawless diamond resting on a clawed pedestal before them "Look at the size of that thing!"
"Pretty!" Wendy exclaimed, gaping at the gem in awe, reaching out hesitantly to touch it, even as Natsu and Happy made faces at one a another on either side of it, laughing at the distorted images they saw "I wonder how much it costs?"
"A LOT I bet!" Natsu grinned, high-fiving Happy as the partners in crime cackled in glee, only to blink as his sharp hearing detected motion outside, peering through a gap in the curtains to see what the commotion was "Uh oh…"
"YOU IN THE TENT!" an angry, charismatic voice called out, the speaker a well dressed man with spiky hair and glowing crimson eyes "COME OUT OF THE PRINCESS' TENT WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"
"The Princess?" Natsu blinked, the little pyromaniac pulling back to look around the otherwise abandoned tent in confusion "Where is she? Hey Happy, do you see her anywhere?"
"Maybe she's invisible!" Happy exclaimed the little cat's eyes widening with alarm as another thought occurred to him "AH! Natsu! What if we landed on her when we fell in?"
"Aw man!" Natsu exclaimed, slapping his hands over his head in horror as he realized the reason for the bump on his noggin "PRINCESS!" he called out "I DUNNO IF YOU CAN HEAR ME CAUSE YOUR ASLEEP, BUT SORRY!"
"N-Natsu-nii…" Wendy called out, the younger Dragonslayer drawing the elder's attention to her as she stood in front of the diamond "I…I think this diamond IS the Princess…"
"EH?" Natsu and Happy exclaimed, looking between the younger Dragonslayer and the doubtless priceless gem in confusion "You mean…he turned her into a diamond?"
"THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!" the ruby-eyed nobleman called out, his anger growing increasingly more evident by the second "YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS BEFORE WE KILL THE HOSTAGE!"
"Hostage?" Natsu blinked, looking through the gap in the tent folds to see what was going on, only to gape in horror at the sight below "EH? LISANNA? What's SHE doing HERE?
"Oh no!" Wendy exclaimed, clapping a hand over her mouth "She must have followed you here from the guild, like I did!" she looked up at Natsu in concern "What do we do, Natsu-nii?"
"Well we aren't letting that freak get his hands on THIS, that's for sure!" Natsu growled, grabbing the Princess diamond and thrusting it into Wendy's hands "Happy!" he ordered, "Get Wendy outta here!" he punched his flaming fists together "I'm gonna break Lisanna out, and then we'll catch up with you on the way out!"
"Aye!" Happy saluted, his wings popping back into existence as he grabbed the startled Wendy by the back of her dress, flying her out the hole in the tent's roof.
"NATSU-NII!" Wendy called out, looking on helplessly as Natsu leapt out to face the demons head on, unable to do anything but watch as Happy carried her off.
Outside the Tent...
"Dammit!" Lucifer snarled, the Count's ruby-eyes glaring up at the retreating forms as Happy hauled furry ass out of dodge, dragging a protesting Wendy after him through the air "Don't just stand there you idiots! Get after them!"
"NOT SO FAST!" Natsu roared, the elder Dragonslayer leaping out from the tent with his fists ablaze, landing a stunning right cross to the face of one of the closer demons, standing over it's fallen form whilst roaring defiance "YOU GOTTA DEAL WITH ME…First?" he stammered, blinking down at the demon he'd just clobbered in confusion "Waitaminute…" he muttered, bending down to sniff it's swirly-eyed face "I know this smell…"
"Get that little punk!" Lucifer snapped, the ruby-eyed Count aiming his Lacrima-topped staff at the berry-head commandingly, before waving an arm in the air to direct the rest of his demonic minions "The rest of you, to me!"
"HEY!" Natsu yelled, the elder Dragonslayer glaring after the spiky-haired nobleman as he led a small horde of demons towards the tunnel Happy had flown into "YOU STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM!"
"NATSU!" Lisanna called out, the Silver haired takover sibling straining in her seat as she tried to break free, cursing her self for landing in this predicament "Wait for me!"
"Just sit tight Lisanna!" Natsu called out, the elder Dragonslayer yelling at the girl over his shoulder as he raced off after Lucifer and his goons with a snarl "Help's on the way!"
"Natsu!" Lisanna called out, looking after the retreating Dragonslayer in confusion, only to start kicking wildly as he ran off "OOH THAT BOY!" she muttered "Sit tight! Like I have a choice!"
"Calm down Lisanna…" a familiar voice whispered, the silver haired wizard turning in confusion to find a person, shorter than the others, but taller than Igor, standing at her side, wearing an iron helmet over it's features "It's me, Gray!"
"Gray…?" a raspy voice repeated, the pair stiffening, looking over the wizard's shoulder to see Igor peering up at them suspiciously "That's a strange name…"
"Uh…Yessir!" the disguised Icemaker muttered, waving his arms defensively as he tried, and failed, to look natural, aka, like a demon "I'm uh…one of the new recruits!"
"Is that right?" Igor wondered, his vacant stare suddenly focusing to hawk like proportions, as he peered at the suddenly nervous 'demon' "I've never seen you before…and where's your armor?"
"Huh?" Gray wondered, peering down at himself, only for his eyes to bulge out of his helmet as he realized, other than the aforementioned helmet and his boxers, he was completely naked "AW CRAP I DID IT AGAIN!"
"I can vouch for him sir." Another voice spoke up, Gray's body relaxing as Elfman walked up, only to freak out again as he saw the Takeover mage rubbing his jaw where Natsu had punched him, apparently unaware that his transformation had worn off from the blow "Despite the fact he likes to take his clothes off, and run around naked, he's as tough as they come!"
"Elf-nii…Your shape…" Lisanna sighed, slumping in exasperation as the two were surrounded on all sides by gun-toting demons "Some rescue this turned out to be…"
"Take them to the torture chambers!" Igor ordered, a look of vacant glee forming on the malformed manservant's face as he watched the humans stare down the barrels of the minion's guns, only to let out a yelp of surprise as one of those very guards grabbed him by the back of the head, before drop kicking him, sending him flying at the horde surrounding the prisoners, bowling them over before crashing into the wall of the cavern, leaving a sizeable crater.
As the dust settles...
"Good grief…" the offending demon muttered, shaking it's massive, horned scaly head in disbelief as it turned it's golden eyes to the stunned captives and equally stunned minions, who hadn't been expecting a traitor in the ranks, never mind one so BIG "Not only do you three break Guild rules to go after that hothead, you can't even do it right?"
"Hothead?" Lisanna repeated, the silver haired girl blinking up at the demon in dawning comprehension "Don't tell me…" she wondered, eyes widening "Mira-nee? Is that you?"
"You were expecting Morgan La Fey?" the demon demanded, it's form developing a patchwork pattern before fading away to reveal the eldest Takeover sibling, her long silver hair held back with a ponytail and her arms crossed as she glared at the suddenly nervous Elfman and Gray "And you two, can't you even pull off a rescue right?"
"G-Gomen! Nee-chan!" Elfman stammered, waving his hands defensively, only to blink, looking at his provocatively dressed eldest sibling in confusion "But Neechan…what're you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Mirajane demanded, a hand on her hip and a frown on her face "I finished my job early and came back, only for the Master to tell me what that hothead pulled." She thumbed at herself with a smirk "So he sent me to drag the idiot back, I just wasn't expecting to have to deal with you three as well."
"GET THAT GIRL!" Igor croaked, the diminutive manservant lying upside down in his crater in the wall, apparently capable of taking a beating, his words causing the remaining demons to gang up on them once more "FIRE AT WILL!"
"Ice Make: SHIELD!" Gray declared, creating a large, flowery wall between them and the onslaught of bullets, even as Mirajane and Elfman activated their Takeovers, Mirajane transforming into a large, Devil-woman shape, while Elfman's right arm morphed into a massive, scaly limb with claws, which he used to free Lisanna.
"Stick close to Gray until your magic recovers," Mirajane ordered over her shoulder, before leveling a glare at the half-naked Icemaker "And heaven help you if anything ELSE happens to my little sister, Fullbuster!"
So saying, the eldest Takeover wizard threw herself into the air, coming down on the demon hordes with a snarl on her face, sending them flying in all directions.
"She's scarier than the demons…" Gray muttered, the Icemaker looking on with a kind of terrified awe as he watched several of the demons actually call out for their mothers, despite having eaten them long ago "Could've been worse I suppose…the Master could've sent Erza…"
With Wendy and Happy...
"Happy stop!" Wendy called out, the Sky Dragonslayer struggling in the avian feline's clutches as he carried her through the winding tunnels of Devil's Castle "We can't leave Natsu behind!"
"Natsu said he could take care of himself!" Happy countered, his features lined with emotion as he pushed himself onwards "He said to get you out of here! He'll catch up to us! I know it!"
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" a demon roared, rounding the corner just a few meters behind them, opening fire with a salvo of bullets that Happy narrowly avoided by rounding another corner.
"GO faster Happy!" Wendy exclaimed, hugging the Princess to her chest as she took huge gulps of air with each breath. Like all Dragonslayers, Wendy was able to consume her element in order to replenish her magical stores. Natsu, as the Fire Dragonslayer, needed to consume fire, and the better quality of the fire, the better he recovered. Wendy, as the Sky Dragonslayer, could literally consume the air around her to restock, but considering the heavy, musty flavor of the air in the tunnels of Devil's Castle, it would take a while for her to recover enough so she could fly without having to tax Happy.
"This is Happy's Max Speed!" the little blue feline insisted, his lips drawn back and teeth bared as he flapped his little wings in a vain attempt to go faster, weaving around the occasional bullet sent their way by their pursuers.
A light appeared at the front of the tunnel, growing steadily closer, Happy's eyes widening in alarm as a blood-red sphere of energy raced towards them, the little cat swerving in mid-air to avoid a direct hit, only to let out a wail as it exploded, tossing them out of the air.
"HAPPY!" Wendy yelped, hugging the princess tight to her chest as she curled into a ball, rolling down the steps before coming to a halt at the base of a statue, staring up at the little blue cat in concern, only to sigh in relief as he lay there, dizzy but otherwise unharmed "Thank God…"
"Not just yet…" a dark, charismatic voice mocked, the Sky Dragonslayer flinching as she looked up to find Lucifer standing over her, a horde of demons at his back, all carrying guns and clubs. She flinched as the count's ruby-red eyes stared down at her mockingly. Looking on as he held out his hand "The Princess, if you would?"
With Natsu...
"HAPPY! WENDY!" Natsu's voice rang out, the Fire Dragonslayer rounding a corner, several demon's hot on his heels, as he tore through the darkened hallways, looking for his feline friend and adoptive sibling "WHERE ARE YOU? I'M COMING SO HANG ON!"
"Looking for someone?" a deep, charismatic voice called out, Natsu's eyes widening as he recognized it as Lucifer's, the count's voice echoing around the darkened walls of the tunnel "Such a noisy little brat."
"WHO YOU CALLING A BRAT YOU FREAK?" Natsu yelled, turning in the direction of the voice, his eyes aflame "JUST WASH YOUR HAIR AND WAIT FOR ME! I'LL GIVE YOU A HOTFOOT YOU'LL NEVER FORGET!"
"Can't even make a proper threat…" Lucifer mocked, his baritone chuckles echoing darkly through the halls of the castle "Never mind Breaking and Entering, Assault and Battery and Stealing. Good grief, what are they teaching children these days?"
"Hold still and I'll show ya!" Natsu insisted, glaring as he saw a light at the end of the tunnel, racing towards it, only to pull up short, eyes widening in alarm as he entered the dimly lit room "WENDY! HAPPY!"
"N-Natsu-nii…" Wendy managed to get out, the younger Dragonslayer pulling at Lucifer's hand around her neck, the count apparently holding her up without any visible strain, the Princess held in his other hand, and Happy under his foot.
"You son of a-!" Natsu swore, the elder Dragonslayer gritting his teeth as he charged forwards, fists ignited with fiery wrath as he bore down on the smirking count "LET THEM GO!"
"I think NOT." Lucifer countered, stepping harder on Happy, earning a yowl of pain from the little cat that froze Natsu in his tracks "I have had a LONG, very trying day, so to speak, what with you and those other meddlers running amuck, and would appreciate it, GREATLY, if you'd just give yourself up…" he tightened his grip on Wendy's Neck "Before I do something…untoward."
Natsu growled, glaring at the count with enough heat that it was a wonder Lucifer didn't burst into flame, only for another set of pained cries from the captives to make him start, his shoulders slumping as he allowed his fire to die out.
"Smart boy." Lucifer chuckled, even as his demonic servants dog-piled on the elder Dragonslayer, pummeling him en masse as the count looked on with twisted amusement, Wendy's eyes filled with tears as Natsu's hand twitched beneath the onslaught, before going still.
"Natsu-nii…" she whimpered, her eyes closing as tears fell from her eyes to the dusty floor below "NATSU-NII-!"
Hundreds of miles away...
Amidst the sound of falling water and the ruslting of leaves, a pair of eyes snapped open, turning to scowl in the direction of the wind, the moon shining bright overhead.
"Wendy…"
Back in the amphitheatre...
"Is this the best you've got?" Mirajane demanded, the elder Takeover sibling living up to her moniker as the 'Devil Lady' as she thrashed the oncoming hordes with her overpowering strength "You think you can get away with bullying my siblings when you're this WEAK?"
"It's not that they're weak, Nee-chan…" Elfman muttered, the younger Takeover mage sweatdropping as he used his arm to punch a giant demon into the wall "It's that you're too strong…"
"Ice Make: HAMMER!" Gray declared, creating a massive hammer that flattened several of the demons trying to sneak up on him and Lisanna, the Icemaker panting for breath.
"Gray, you okay?" Lisanna asked, the youngest takeover sibling looking out from behind the pillar she'd been hiding behind as Gray covered for her, as she still couldn't use her magic.
"Little winded…is all…" Gray assured her, gasping for breath as he glared out at the demons still coming at them "So many…big spells in a row…takes it out of me…"
"And you call yourself a man?" Elfman muttered, the middle takeover sibling using one of the demons as a bowling ball to send another ten flying in all directions "STRIKE!"
"Well you all seem to be having fun…" a charismatic voice noted, the group looking up to find Lucifer looking down on them from the upper levels, his cane held behind his back and a small smile on his face "Really, so many uninvited guests…"
"So you're the big cheese around here?" Mirajane noted, putting her hands on her hips as she ground Igor's face into the ground with one spiked heel "I was wondering who to thank for taking such GOOD care of my little sister."
"Ah, so you're her sister…"Lucifer noted with a smile "I quite failed to see the family resemblance." He snorted "Nevertheless, I must insist that you surrender yourselves, before anything more…unpleasant, occurs."
"Unpleasant?" Mirajane repeated, smirking up at the Count, her shoulders shaking as she shook her head in bemusement "Buddy, you don't know the meaning of the word!" she snarled, leaping into the air, claws extended for Lucifer's face, only to pull up short as the Count stepped to the side to reveal his aces.
"NATSU!" Lisanna called out, the youngest Takeover sibling looking up in horror at the elder Dragonslayer's pummeled body, held up by his collar by a large demon "HAPPY! WENDY-CHAN!"
"That Idiot!" Gray cursed, the semi-naked icemaker looking up at his rival in exasperation, his teeth clenched as the demons gathered around them once again "This is bad-!"
"Your answer, milady?" Lucifer asked, smiling confidently at Mirajane as the Devil Lady was frozen in her tracks, the demons holding the kids hostage tightening their grip around their captive's bodies "Or shall I dispose of these…pests?"
"You little…" Mirajane muttered, her features lined with unholy anger as she bared her fangs, only to slump, dropping down to the floor as her form reverted back, the eldest Takeover sibling raising her hands in the air, Elfman Gray and Lisanna following suit as the demons gathered round them, cackling mockingly and aiming their weapons at their faces.
"A wise choice." Lucifer applauded mockingly "And now that you've dropped your little spell, I can see the family resemblance between you two." His smile was laced with dark approval "Yes, in fact, I can see where she gets her good looks from…Igor!"
"Yes, Milord?" the malformed manservant croaked, shuffling forwards, his body wrapped heavily in bandages and the occasional plaster, having been pulled out of the wall by a pair of demons.
"I believe we have found a better 'host' for tonight's festivities." Lucifer instructed, his tone laced with dark humor "Give her, and our other guests, a little something to DRINK, and then escort the others to The Wall."
"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Gray muttered, grimacing as he was held in place by several large, beefy demons, who cackled as they dragged him, Elfman and Lisanna off, leaving Mirajane with the Count.
Moments later...
"The moment has finally arrived my Gruesome friends!" Lucifer declared, the Count spreading his arms wide as the demons roared their pleasure, Mirajane scowling up at him from the chair that had held Lisanna not moments before, her magic sealed by the potion she'd been forced to drink "Rejoice! For the season of Fear and Chaos will soon be upon us!"
A countdown replaced the mural on the wall behind the Count, even as the overhead skylight retracted, revealing the starry sky above.
"Soon, the creatures of Darkness will be the Regents of the Planet!" Lucifer continued, spreading his arms wide as the moon slowly came into view overhead "There will be nowhere on the planet that we cannot tread!" he smirked as the countdown reached Zero "Let the Princess Awaken!" he declared, staring at the gem in question as it stood on it's clawed pedestal in the moonlight "So that her brilliant Light, can lead us into unending DARKNESS!"
'This guy sure likes to hear himself talk…' Mirajane muttered, scowling up at the Ruby-Eyed count in distaste, only to flinch as the Moon seemed to glow, a beam of light shining down into the chamber, bathing the Sleeping Princess in it's brilliance, the demons looking on in wonderment as the light refracted off the gem, into the mouths of eight nearby gargoyles, which glowed red, before launching the now crimson rays back at the crystal, which shone with the brilliance of a rainbow.
"The Princess…" Lucifer declared, his voice filled with triumphant emotion aas he spread his arms wide in victory "IS AWAKE!"
Things are really looking bad for our heroes huh?
What is the Count's plan for the Princess Diamond?
What has befallen our heroes?
Will the cavalry arrive on time?
You bet your turban it will, but review to find out anyways!