. Not As It Seems .
Natsu's onyx eyes were sharp as he watched those around them mutter under their breaths, their eyes uncertain and their posture tensed. Rhith stood before them all without an inkle of fear - though that might have been because there was a protective - overprotective, in his opinion, though Natsu really didn't have much room to talk - dragon slayer standing at her shoulder.
He wasn't stupid.
He knew that this was dangerous, and he knew that it was possible that this would kill him. He knew that it was more than possible all of them would perish in the rescue attempt - but even if they did, Lucy would be brought back, so he didn't mind the danger.
And he knew Sting knew it, too. The white dragon slayer had thrown what was close to a temper tantrum in the middle of the guild hall the previous night, demanding that she let him come instead of Gajeel, but Rhith had remained firm in her decision, outright arguing and snapping back at him. The bickering and fighting had come to an end when Rhith had scrubbed a hand down her face and pleaded quietly, "Please, Sting, I can't take you. It has to be Redfox-san and Natsu."
He'd agreed after that, but with clear unhappy reluctance, and had decided that he'd be sticking close until she left.
Natsu watched them with owlish eyes now, Erza perched on a seat beside him. The scarlet-haired woman had been quiet through all of the uproar over the past few days, suspicious of the way the dragon slayers acted around this newcomer. She wasn't hateful of Rhith like Gajeel, but she didn't trust her fully either - particularly after Jellal's words.
The blue-haired mage sat beside her, and Meredy beside him, followed up by a flirty Lyon. Natsu decided that it was the strangest group he'd ever sat with. Gray was a few tables over with Juvia and Levy, who was arguing quietly with Gajeel and warning that if he didn't help try to keep everyone safe, she'd never make him iron again.
Natsu snickered at that.
Levy had the iron dragon slayer that had once nearly killed her eating out of the palm of her hand - literally.
"Natsu," a shaky voice said suddenly, and he looked over at his blue-furred cat friend. Happy was tearful, his entire body trembling. Natsu's eyes went wide and he immediately grabbed Happy, demanding, "Happy! What's wrong?"
The Exceed burst into tears, sobbing. "I don't want you to go without me," he wailed. "What if you don't come back?! I don't want to lose you and Lucy!"
Natsu was stunned; he'd been too focused on getting to his blonde companion to even think of the fact that he was leaving his oldest and other best friend behind. "Happy," he scolded, though he was gentle, "I've been through worse and come out alright. Remember Crocus and the dragons? We'll be okay. I trust Rhith. She'll get us back safely. All of us. Lucy will be with me when I come back, I swear."
Happy sniffled and hugged Natsu around the neck, and the rose-haired fire mage returned it tightly, soothingly patting his head. Erza watched all of this with a gentle eye. "Until the situation has been rectified, you can stay with me, Happy," she offered, and he nodded with another sniffle as Wendy came to join them, distressed.
"She shouldn't go, Natsu," she said with a small glare at no one in particular. "And neither should you nor Gajeel! It's dangerous for all of you! What if something goes wrong and you really do die?! Porlyusica-san and I can't resurrect the dead!"
"We'll be fine, Wendy," Natsu sighed. "The trick is to believe we're dead, but it's an illusion because we won't really be dead. And when we're ready to come back, we just have to remind ourselves that we aren't. The thing is…" He rubbed the back of his head. "We have to tell Lucy to believe in us rather than that illusion thing."
He didn't realize that people had stopped listening to Rhith and had turned their attention on him until Rhith spoke. "That's a good point, and that's why you're coming," she said firmly. "Because you'll be able to convince her to believe us rather than the illusion, Natsu."
Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "She doesn't believe anyone but herself half the time, I don't know why you think she'll listen after so long being there."
Erza gave him a firm look. "Because you are Natsu, her partner, and you'll mess up the second you try to be too serious with her, which will prove just who the real Natsu is."
Natsu didn't know whether he should be pleased or not about such a thing. But still, he gave a small nod and then turned back to Happy, soothing his blue-furred friend with a kind expression as he murmured to him.
Rogue watched everyone from the shadows, and it surprised him when he approached and spoke. "Natsu. Bring everyone back safely. Both you and Gajeel. Sting and I do not wish to lose two out of the five of us that were raised by dragons."
Natsu was strangely touched by Rogue's concern, but agreed with ease, a knowing glint in his eyes as he promised, "I'll make sure Rhith and Lucy come back, too."
The Twin Dragon Slayers were rather fond of Lucy, he knew, and with Sting's strange obsession, he thought the promise seemed to be a good idea. And it was, because he knew Sting had been listening in and the white dragon slayer looked a little bit less agitated for the next few moments as Rhith briefed the guilds on what to do if they didn't come back.
"With an illusion, it'll look like our bodies are simply unconscious. Even if we believe we're dead, they'll breathe, dream, the likes. You need to make sure that our bodies aren't messed with in the time that we're like this. One wrong touch and the illusion could shatter. Natsu," she turned to address him, "I will tire quickly, so we won't have much time. If I fall unconscious completely than the illusion on me will fail, and I won't be returning. We don't know if Lucy's body is there or here. I don't know where she'll reappear when we return, so your first step when we return will be to find her."
"Got it," he replied, climbing to his feet. He could sense that the time to move was coming, and so did Gajeel. Levy stood with him, hesitantly touching his arm with a nervous look in her hazel eyes, and he muttered something that only Natsu heard.
"I'll be okay, Levy," he promised in that gruff voice. "When we get back and after all of this shit is over, we can go get some dinner or something."
Levy looked pleased with such a suggestion, but told him, "When you get back, we'll have it at your place."
Natsu looked away, disgusted.
Way more information than I needed to hear…
Rhith turned to Makarov with a hopeful look. "May I use your infirmary? It will allow you to keep an eye on us and if anything goes wrong, you should know right away."
"Of course," Makarov agreed almost immediately. "You are more than welcome to use it. If it takes longer than a few hours, I'll call for Porlyusica to see to you and make sure that everything is going well."
"Thank you," she murmured.
A few of the mages around them suddenly scrambled over, and Natsu found himself standing there with Gray's arm swung over his shoulder, muttering, "You still owe me for the whole Deliora incident, ya hear me? You better not go off and keel over on us."
"I won't," Natsu said with a rather faint grin. He teasingly dug his knuckles into his friend's forehead before both yelped as they were yanked into a hard plate of armor as Erza hugged them. "Ouch, woman!"
Erza ignored that and only hugged him so that all three of their heads were pressed together. A gentle look was on her face as she said quietly, "Bring back our teammate, Natsu. I believe that you'll be able to find her and bring her home."
Natsu's onyx eyes sharpened with determination. "I'll try my damn hardest," he promised, and she hugged them tighter before pulling away. He and Gray made a face and exchanged a pained look. Ow.
Erza gave him a nod and then turned to Jellal, frowning as she said, "Let's see if we can set up some kind of distraction for everyone else tonight while they're busy…"
Eventually, Natsu and Gajeel made their way to the infirmary, followed by Rhith, Levy, and Makarov, who'd decided that he would remain with them. Sting and Rogue along with their Exceeds forced their way in, and Rhith gave them an exasperated look. "You're like a stray cat," she grumbled to Sting. "You don't know how to leave well enough alone, do you?"
Natsu watched as he only smirked and leaned close enough that he was only a breath away. "Thought ya would need a kiss goodbye," he teased in response.
Rogue groaned. "Sting, leave her alone-"
She shocked every single person in the room when she rolled her eyes, snapped her hands over his cheeks, and then pulled him down to smash her lips against his. Sting gave some kind of startled grunt as they all stared, and then grinned hugely when she pulled back and told him, "Be good, and maybe you can have more when we're back."
Sting's blue eyes sharpened and Natsu made a sound of disgust once more at the look that flitted across his face. What was it with everyone and freaking sex?!
Rogue was at a complete and total loss. "Rhith," he began slowly, "I thought-"
She shrugged, twirling on her heel. "Honestly? The dragon slayers make me feel safe. Even Redfox-san. It's what made me hate you a bit, to be honest. How am I supposed to trust someone I don't know to keep me safe when others have tried to kill me in the past?" She looked unconcerned as Lector grabbed Sting's face and stared him in the eyes, horrified.
"I've lost you," Lector whispered, "I've lost the real Sting. Holy hell. ROGUE! HELP!"
Natsu roared with laughter and even Gajeel cracked a grin at this as Rhith sidled over to he and Natsu, waving towards beds that rested in the room.. "Okay, you two, let's do this. Lay on a bed, I'll work over each of you. Redfox-san, I'd like to prepare you first, because I don't trust Natsu to not go running off without us, if that's alright."
"Whatever," he grunted, "Just don't try anything funny. They may like ya, but I wouldn't mind sending you to this place permanently."
That earned a rather nasty comment from Sting that had Natsu doubling over, clutching his stomach as he laughed and Levy glaring full out at the blond dragon slayer until he simply sniffed and looked the other way.
When Gajeel had reluctantly settled down to let the illusion mage do what needed to be done, she stepped forward and ignored the growl in his chest in favor of gently placing a hand on either side of his face, her palms centered over his temples. "Okay, Redfox-san. I'm going to create an illusion that you're dead and you have to believe it. If you don't believe it, it won't work."
"Got it. Do whatever." He closed his eyes and Rhith set to work on gently creating her spell, her eyes focused until suddenly, Gajeel's chest stopped moving for a second. Levy gave a cry of alarm, but Rhith waved her off.
"It's fine," she murmured as his breathing came back, faint and quick. "It just means my illusion is working. Trust me, Levy-chan. Your turn, Natsu."
Natsu couldn't bring himself to do much more than smile faintly as he dropped backwards onto one of the infirmary beds. "Remember what I said," she murmured to him as he closed his eyes. "Believe that my illusion is real. You are dead, and you are where Lucy-san is. If you cannot find Redfox-san, break the illusion. I know you can do it better than anyone else can."
Natsu was touched by her trust in him. Nevertheless, the fire mage did as she instructed. There was silence, and then suddenly, he couldn't breathe. Rather than telling himself that he was fine, that he could breathe, he accepted it, just as she'd told him to.
And just like that, it was easy.
There was peace for all of a few seconds before something hard suddenly slammed onto his chest, and he yelped, eyes snapping open to discover a grumpy Gajeel standing over him. A smirk crossed his face, sharp teeth gleaming in the brilliant sunlight around them. "Gihi. 'Bout time you got here, Salamander."
"Shut up," he muttered, shoving Gajeel's foot off and jumping to his feet. His gaze darted around, curiosity filling him.
They were in a field of beautiful gold. He'd never seen a place as peaceful as this, with beautiful blue skies and gentle clouds that cast rolling shadows. The wheat - or he thought it was that at least - rolled in the sweet breeze that made him want to curl up and purr like Happy.
"Shrimp would like it here," Gajeel uttered to his surprise, looking just as pleased by the place as he was.
"Don't get too comfortable."
Their heads snapped around as Rhith scrambled to her feet, staggering from exhaustion. "This is where the fairies are, more than likely. I'm glad this worked...now we have to find Lucy-san and get out. You two have noses. Do you smell anything?"
They exchanged a look. "There's a nice smelling breeze," Natsu admitted, taking a deep breath. he closed his eyes, sorting through scents until-
He turned and bolted. Heart pounding, he ignored the shouts behind him and simply ran as fast as he could, his entire body trembling with the eagerness to reach that familiar scent. He could barely hear them chasing after him, Gajeel's low voice snarling curses under his breath.
He ran for what seemed like forever, and then stopped as he reached the crest of a hill, Rhith and Gajeel panting softly behind him. He stared down into the valley that he'd come across, his lips curving into a massive grin when he saw her.
"Lucy," breathed the dragon slayer.
She was sleeping, he noted anxiously. Deeply. She was on her back, dressed in some kind of white dress that was pooled around her in a tantalizing way. Blonde hair was strewn around her face, but she didn't seem to be bothered by it, her fingers curled gently towards her palms on either side of her head.
"Lucy," he repeated, booking it down the hill. "Lucy!" He called her name louder this time, laughter in his voice when he saw her eyes flutter even from the distance he was at. She slowly sat up, rubbing at an eye, tired, and he didn't hesitate to launch himself at her when he was close enough. A sobbing laugh left him as they collided, his fingers digging into her as he wrapped his arms around her. "Lucy!" he gasped. "Luce!"
"Natsu?" she mumbled blearily, sounding bewildered. And then she snapped awake. "Natsu! Natsu!" She gave a cry, throwing her arms around his neck. He laughed as he tipped backwards, clutching the blonde to him, ignoring the relieved tears that spilled over his cheeks.
She was safe. More than safe. Unharmed.
And in his arms.
He whispered her name again, and she laughed softly against him. "You're here," she breathed, "I can't believe it! I knew you'd come! I couldn't get out, I don't know how I got here, but I...I knew you'd…"
"I'm here," he reassured as he sat up, still holding her.
"Oi! So are we, ya fuckin' bastard!"
Natsu yelped as Gajeel planted a booted foot on the back of his head, pushing roughly. The iron dragon slayer glared down at him, and Rhith laughed nervously behind him, peeking curiously at Lucy. He huffed, and then jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "That's Rhith, by the way. She's a crazy illusion mage who we think is half-fairy or somethin'. She's the one who helped me find you."
"Hi," Rhith said, waving a little. "It's nice to meet you at last, Lucy-san. But we need to leave. Before the fairies show up."
"Right," he muttered, shaking his head. He shot to his feet, pulling Lucy up with him and tucking her safely under his arm. "And you're not lookin' so good," he realized when she yawned.
Rhith laughed faintly. "I'm tired," she admitted. "I need to get out of here before I pass out completely. Redfox-san, you can wake up now, I guess." She glanced at him. He blinked, surprised. "Just remember that you're alive. You're not actually dead. If you need to, think of whoever you need to that's not here."
Levy, Natsu knew he'd think of, and Gajeel cracked a small grin, straightening.
"Gihi," he said, crossing his arms. "Guess I gotta let the shrimp know, eh?"
Natsu snorted. Knew it, he cheered silently, resting his chin on Lucy's head as Gajeel suddenly vanished. She leaned into him, taking comfort in his touch before Rhith turned to her.
The illusion mage was breathing harshly, he realized nervously, worried for her. "Lucy-san, this is an illusion. You are not truly dead. I need you to truly realize that you aren't dead. Believe that you aren't. Use Natsu's presence, your other friends, to help you get out of here. We don't know where you'll wake up. Your body isn't in your apartment according to Natsu, nor is it in the guildhall. So when you get out of this, we'll have to find you. Or you'll have to come to us. Okay?"
Lucy looked bewildered as she tightened a hand on Natsu's. "What?"
"This is an illusion." Rhith gave her a gentle look. "I need you to pretend that you're waking up...can you do that for me? Believe that you're alive and wherever you were placed."
"Oh." Lucy glanced to Natsu for confirmation, and he gave a nod, so she took a deep breath, squeezed his hand, and then closed her eyes.
A second later, she was gone.
His heart twisted with fear, but he forced himself to calm down and order, "You next, Rhith. Or you won't go at all. I know you won't have enough strength to get out of it if you don't get out now."
Rhith gave a twisted smile, and then sneezed. Blood splattered the air, and he was horrified by it. "It's taking a lot of strength," she admitted, "My body's probably pouring blood from the nose by now. "Make sure you don't take too long, okay?"
And then she was gone, and Natsu was alone.
He took a moment to look around him, taking in the peace of the world, and he felt a sense of deja vu for a moment, as if he'd turn around and see Happy and the rest of the guild, waiting on him without Lucy there to greet him because he'd shown up first and she still had work to do. He pushed the feeling aside, and closed his eyes, immediately breaking the illusion.
It felt almost as if he was falling for a few minutes before he hit the ground and his eyes sprung open. A gasp escaped him as he fought for air, and Wendy appeared over him, smiling nervously. "Natsu!"
"Hey," he groaned, hoarse. His heart was pounding in his chest, he noticed faintly. He didn't understand why. He immediately turned his head to see Gajeel shakily sitting up with Levy holding him up by an arm, and then growled at the scent of blood.
Rhith was awake, fighting to weakly push back a far too close Sting. The white dragon slayer was uttering curses, trying to help stop the blood that still dripped from her nose and even from her lips, and Frosch watched anxiously alongside Lector, shoving napkins into his hands.
"Lucy," he ordered, suddenly rocking up. "I have to find Lucy, she's-"
"Rogue took a few of Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale to hunt her down," Wendy reassured. "They're looking for her now, Natsu, Erza and Gray are with them." She patted his arm in hopes of soothing him, and he relaxed, groaning. His body ached like nothing he'd ever felt before, and he couldn't get in enough air-
Rhith suddenly gagged, and then vomited, shoving Sting out of the way with a guilty look. Blood struck the floor and she nearly pitched forward. Sting caught her with a swear, and Wendy darted over, anxious. "Rhith-san," she ordered, "Lay down. You need rest, this used up way too much magic! Your organs nearly shut down!"
"Was worth it," was all she said before passing out entirely.
It seemed like forever before everyone calmed down. The guild was insanely pushy and demanding on what had happened, and exhausted, Natsu could barely get in enough time to rest before someone would come in and demand to know what had happened and if his nakama was okay.
After the sixth person, Natsu told them to shut up and get out unless they were bringing Lucy in with them.
It took hours upon hours to recover for all of them. Gajeel was up and inhaling iron that Levy made for him first. He came in often to mock the other dragon slayer for still being tired while he was up and moving, but Natsu promptly slept through most of it.
When he finally managed to get himself up and moving, his stomach rumbling for food and his mind determined to find Lucy, he was greeted with a bit of news that smacked him in the face like a brick.
"What do you mean Rhith's disappeared?" he demanded as he glared at a grouchy looking Sting. The other dragon slayer had shadows beneath his eyes, similar to his partner. Rogue was in a rather pissy mood, too, to be perfectly honest, and was glaring at Natsu.
"She just…." Sting made a gesture with his hand, frustrated. "I don't know! I left for two seconds, and she was gone!"
Jellal, who'd been listening in, cleared his throat from where he sat and spoke with care, aware that saying the wrong thing would piss them all off. "She used up quite a bit of her magic, Sting, Rogue. Perhaps she will reappear shortly, as she did before?"
Sting's head snapped around and a dark sound left his lips. "What the hell, man?" he growled, "She didn't die or anything-"
A brief pause.
"That was a lot of blood," Rogue muttered, earning a frown from the anxious Frosch in his lap.
"More than a lot," Natsu admitted. He rocked back on his heels, looking at Jellal now. "Do you know what happened the last time?"
"She died, supposedly." Jellal watched them calmly, yet with a curious look in his eyes. Just as he usually did. "And then she showed up, confused and lost in the middle of one of Crocus' blizzards. She would have died again had it not been for someone who found her and pulled her inside."
Sting was silent for a few moments. "Does she remember anything?"
Jellal chuckled. "The only reason she didn't is because of Mest. She'll remember when she arrives." They stared at him, and he shrugged. "It does well to befriend those that are supposed to be your enemy. She shows up at random. No destined locations from what Meredy and I know."
He glanced at the said woman, who shook her head and said sweetly, "Rhith-chan shows up wherever. At least she wasn't hurt too badly. There was one time that we heard of, where she was hurt rather severely and died several times."
"I thought you'd only heard of one time!" Natsu demanded.
"Rhith didn't need to know," Jellal replied.
Sting watched them anxiously. "She'll come back though?"
"As far as I know, yes."
And then there was silence, broken only by the sudden strangled shout of Natsu's name by a familiar voice that had him tearing towards the guild doors at full speed.
Lucy's back at last! But where has Rhith gone, I wonder? ;)
To JcL107...I believe I kind of get what you're trying to question (please bear with me, I'm a very confused person). I don't like to use the term "mates" in regards to the dragon slayers, as I don't believe it's a good term to apply to humans. But basically, the bonds between the dragon slayers and their chosen relationships works like this IN MY EYES (making sure that's noted, 'cause it's just my opinion): throughout what I've learned of dragons through various myths, stories, etc. they stick with one mate for life. I like to think that the dragons passed this idea onto the dragon slayers, who make sure that they choose such things carefully. In other words, they don't play around with various partners usually. Because of this, I like to think that they're ridiculously protective of said partner, etc. But other than putting it as a very close relationship, I don't think I have many plans for linking as you put it. :)
Thanks to reviewers (Kauia, Aqua King, The 0bservanc3, PinkFireandGoldenStars, LePengwen, MaybeALittleBroken, CrystalVixen93, JcL107, NaLu and InuKag, and Otaku-neesan!) as well as those who favorited and followed!