Chapter 11
Caged
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, Magic I create, and my own original Ideas
.:+:.
'You almost lost it just then... You let your anger get the better of you. That's very dangerous, and reckless... especially around these people.'
Damn it know, quit patronizing me, asshole.
'... Watch yourself. Anger at me will do nothing but make it worse.'
I'm more pissed off at these assholes... First a trap and now they try this bullshit?
'... Channel that anger. Focus. It will take some time, but you can unbind yourself.'
...Tch... Yeah, from these people... But even then I'm not free.
'... Its a waiting game. Be patient.'
I hate waiting games.
'I am so painfully aware... '
.:+:.
Natsu grumbled slightly, his eyes fluttering open to dim, blue-grey light and a stone roof overhead. The floor was cold underneath him and the scent of must and stone and moisture hit his nose immediately- along with something sharper, something like... Sour blood. And death.
He jumped up in an instant, his heart racing and mind whirling as he tried to come to terms with where they were- remembering instantly they had been caught in some Magic Trap before he fell asleep against his will.
"Lucy?! Happy?!" He snapped, his eyes darting about the space and landing instantly on Lucy's blonde hair from where she was laying, sprawled slightly across the stone floor and fast asleep. Happy was laid out not far from her, mumbling in his sleep about food and fish as Natsu jumped up, eyes glinting in slight panic and on his feet in seconds.
He nearly tripped, the clink of metal sounding slightly, his eyes darting downward to see the thick, metal cuffs around his wrists, the surface etched in by runes of which he hadn't any clue how to read.
His eyes snapped forward again though, moving quickly up beside Lucy as his hand fell lightly on her shoulder.
"Oi! Lucy!" He snapped quickly, shaking her slightly as she let out a low grumble, her gaze blinking open drowsily as she glanced up at him slowly
"...huh.. ? Natsu...?" She mumbled,
"Hey, you OK?" He asked quickly, she seemed a bit unsure of the question for a few seconds, before nodding slightly.
"...yeah, I think so." She replied softly, Natsu nodded once before turning his head to look at Happy.
"Oi! Happy! Wake up!" The pinkette snapped, Happy grumbled, rolling over and looking dazed.
"...huh...? What's going on...?" Happy asked slowly, trying to focus on their surrounding's as best he could. "... Didn't we... Get sucked into some... Kinda Magic...?"
"... That's right.." Lucy murmured, her focus and her thoughts clearing up from sleeping quickly. She sat up, looking around the stone walls and floors uncertainly, her eyes immediately landing on the metal bars ahead of them, keeping them locked in a cage. She sweatdropped, her eyes falling to those metal cuffs with the strange markings that were clamped tightly around her wrists- just as they were for Happy and Natsu alike.
"These look like Magic Nullification Chains." She muttered, looking all the more uneasy as her hand instinctively fell to her belt- only to find her Keys were missing. "My Spirits!" she breathed, a sinking feeling in her stomach and panic rising quickly.
Natsu looked her way in surprise, frowning when he realized her Keys had been taken away- before his eyes snapped around,
"Where the hell is Hora..?!" He hissed, his words causing both Lucy and Happy to stiffen, eyes wide and looking even more panicked. He saw no sign of the Saber woman in the cell they occupied, and her missing had his pulse racing a bit higher.
"Oh no!" Happy exclaimed,
"She's missing?!" Lucy stammered,
"I swear I'm gonna tear these bastards apart!" Natsu snapped, his fists snapping around the iron bars keeping them trapped, "OI! Show yourselves!" His voice rose and bounced off the stone and metal harshly, the space outside their cell gave way to a long, dim and dark corridor that stretched away too far to see the end. "Where the hell are we?! Where's Hora?!"
"Salamander, shut up."
Natsu's angry yelling ceased in an instant, the heads of the Fairy Tail Wizards snapping around to their right at the sudden low, slightly flinty voice.
Their gazes focused on the faint flicker of light that bounced from Hora's deep blue gaze, the Saber woman leaning against the stone wall with her shoulder and her arms hooked around her knees slightly. She was in a separate cell entirely, the bars shared between her cell and theirs and Hora backed up against the farthest wall from them. She cast them a small, low look, the clink of metal sounding on the air again from where the same cuffs the Fairy Tailers wore could be seen on Hora's own wrists- but unlike the Fairy Tailers', those cuffs were attached by a short length of chain between them, and mirrored with cuffs on her ankles (to which her boots had been taken from her and left her in the fishnet stockings she wore underneath them), with a similarly short chain connecting the ankle cuffs to a welded bolt and ring in the stone floor. She was pinned by that chain, she couldn't shift more than a foot or two let alone even attempt to move around the cell- and she hated that.
There was a small flash of relief that passed over the Fairy Tailer's faces at the sight of her, happy she wasn't in any more harms way than they were and glad they hadn't been split apart. They had climbed to their feet in their panic and now all three of them quickly moved toward the bars that kept them at bay from Hora's cell, their relief replaced almost instantly by surprise and worry.
Hora had been wearing long sleeves the entire time she had been in the company of the Fairy Tailers- but now they could see that her right sleeve had been torn away, leaving the skin bare and the scar that stretched down the length of her arm in full view- well, near full view, if her skin all up that arm hadn't been stained and stretched across by those peculiar pitch dark markings that seemed to appear whenever her Magic came into play. And now markings that seemed persistent to stay even when it would have been impossible for Hora to be using Magic with the Magic Nullification Chains they all wore.
The Fairy Tailers found their eyes drawn to the scar and the markings in slight, rigid awe- before their eyes snapped away and they frowned, Natsu's jaw clenching slightly as the tang of blood hit his nose- fresh blood.
"...h...Hora!" Lucy stammered quickly, her eyes flashing. "You're bleeding!"
"You Ok?!" Natsu demanded in the same instant Lucy let the words make it past her lips. Both their eyes locked to the shimmer of blood trickling down Hora's skin and from two small slices running through she side of her leg, leaving a few small crimson droplets on the stone where she was sitting ever so still.
Hora shifted, her hands drawing up to her face as she pressed a finger to her lips in sign of silence, her expression serious as she let out a small hiss, shushing them quickly.
"Keep it down!" She snapped quietly, her ears ringing almost painfully at how abrasive their voices seemed in the dead silence all around them. "Seriously, try not to be so loud, last thing we need is for those bastards to come charging in right now." They blinked at the words, looking a little stunned and unsure of what she was talking about, and a little taken aback by the sudden order.
Hora's hands fell away from her face again, hooking around her knees once more as the black markings along her arm stretched down toward her hand a bit more, leaving less of her skin visible to the point her entire hand was nearly black.
"... Are you okay?" Both Lucy and Natsu asked the question simultaneously, their voices dropping to a more manageable level as Hora blinked.
"... Yeah, its just a few scratches, nothing bad." She assured lightly, tilting her head with a small shrug.
"What happened? Where are we?" Lucy asked quietly,
"And why are you locked up all the way over there?" Natsu murmured, his eyes flashing slightly.
"There was a Transportation Spell set up over that fake town, and when it activated we got sent to sleep and dropped here." Hora explained lightly, "From what I can tell there's a Group of North Wind Mages holed up here, they've set the town up as a trap to catch people unaware and keep them as Slaves to sell to one of the smaller countries outside of our own."
"Slaves?!" Happy and Lucy exclaimed, looking mortified while Natsu looked all the more agitated.
"How long have we been asleep?" Lucy asked after a moment,
"A few hours." Hora murmured, earning shocked looks and faces at the news. "I was only asleep for a few minutes after the Spell activated, though it was long enough they'd already managed to put these damn cuffs on me." Hora grimaced slightly, looking considerably agitated at the thought.
Her fists clenched into balls, her eyes flashing slightly in the dim.
Patience, Hora...
She let out a low, hot breath, shaking her head at herself.
"... As for why I'm all the way over here," she grumbled, turning her attention toward Natsu's question. "... Apparently punching a few guys in the face didn't sit well. They chained me to the floor to keep me from being too much of a fuss."
Punching a few people was downplaying it slightly, to be honest she had gotten so worked up and so angry so fast she didn't even notice she'd been cut. The cuffs kept her from using Magic (lucky for them, otherwise this whole place would be on fire), but even without Magic her sudden rage had been substantial, and the ensuing conflict quite... Violent.
Her eyes flicked downward toward her hands, seeing the bruising along her knuckles already starting to form, and sweatdropping upon seeing the markings on her right hand consume her skin just a little bit more.
"You punched some guys?" Natsu smirked slightly, looking amused for half a second as Lucy let out a breath. "Hehe, good goin'!"
"Not so great when you get chained up, though." Hora replied quietly, smiling ruefully for a small moment.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Lucy asked quietly, Hora blinked, looking surprised a moment- like there seemed to be something... Searching, behind that look Lucy gave her just then.
Hora shook the thought away, nodding slightly.
"Yeah, I'm alright." Hora replied quietly, "... A little miffed at these North Wind assholes... But fine."
'...'miffed' isn't quite the word I would use.'
Shut up
"... Alright, but what are we gonna do know?" Lucy questioned softly, her eyes trailing toward the hallway and around the area slowly. "... If we can't use Magic, it's going to be very hard to get out of these cells." The blonde grimaced a little, her eyes narrowing as she glanced up the corridor. "... Did you... See them take my Keys, Hora?" Lucy asked, looking uneasy at the very idea as Hora seemed to grimace a little too.
"... Yeah, sorry." Hora replied softly, "... The guy who's in charge has them, they threw me in here before I could manage to get them back for you." Lucy blinked in slight surprise at the words, before nodding slightly.
"Thank you for trying." Lucy smiled faintly, Hora swallowed slightly.
A lot of good trying did... Damn it.
"... Maybe Loke will check in." Lucy mumbled, almost half to herself. "... Though knowing him, the minute he comes through his Gate we'll hear a huge fuss... I almost hope he doesn't." Hora's head tilted slightly, eyebrow quirked at the words and quite lost- more so when Happy and Natsu nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I don't want him gettin' all the fun of fighting these guys before I do." Natsu smirked,
"Aye sir!" Happy smirked, Lucy shook her head in slight exasperation at both.
"..that's really not why I don't want him coming through his Gate right now..." Lucy sighed half to herself. But for now she seemed to leave it alone, all three of the Fairy Tailers, and too quickly for Hora to even question what they were talking about.
...o...OK...
Hora shook her head slightly, smiling, just that little bit, her lips twitching at the corners despite that agitation and simmering rage.
... These guys are weird...
"Come on, these bars can't be that strong." Natsu mumbled, his hands tightening around the metal poles as he attempted to try and pull them, his face turning bright red with the effort of it.
"The spaces in between aren't big enough for me to squeeze through." Happy mumbled, gauging the space and sweatdropping.
"We can't stay here though. Or we'll end up as... Slaves.." Lucy mumbled, her eyes narrowed in thought and glancing about warily, quickly, trying to piece together some plan and some way out of the jam they were in. "... If Jeihel was a trap, was there ever a real city?"
"... I think so." Hora murmured, earning Lucy's eyes after a moment. "... But I think maybe, they put up some enchantment to lead us on the wrong path toward the fake version- bypassing the real city entirely."
That was at least the explanation she had put together from listening to the North Wind Mages chat and what she remembered when they had been crossing the meadows... When she thought she had heard voices and yet couldn't see where they came from.
It almost sounded like electricity, but it was muffled and muddied... And even then electricity didn't seem right to describe it. It was like a buzzing, subdued and muted unnaturally- and yet she knew she had heard it, the distant sound of voices, that sounded trapped behind something heavy... At a guess?
Somewhere in their travel on the road to Jeihel they had come across a section that had been diverted- a wall of Magic sprung up around the city with the intent of keeping the real Jeihel from all outside view, so that only the distant view of that fake city could be seen, and travelers would be drawn toward it. It must have been that wall of Magic that had muffled and distorted whatever noise was coming from the actual city, and accounted for the unnatural humm she had heard when passing it by.
Why she didn't notice a wall of Magic off in the distance was beyond her, she should have noticed it right away and hadn't. Even looking out across the meadow, she should have eventually seen something amiss, seen through whatever illusion... And yet she never had, though she had been looking, and that thought pissed her off.
"...that's a pretty elaborate plan." Lucy mumbled, "...I wonder how many people they've captured...?"
"They ain't gonna trap anybody else." Natsu grumbled, "Cause we're gonna break out and stop them."
"Aye sir!" Happy cheered brightly, looking determined.
"Shh!" Lucy and Hora shushed him simultaneously, their eyes glinting in the dim as Happy flinched, smiling nervously.
"...sorry..." He mumbled,
"Oi?! Shut up in there!"
The four of them stiffened, eyes flicking down the corridor toward the sudden shout that sounded from the dim, angry and agitated, and echoing off the stone walls oddly. Hora swallowed, her eyes narrowing to slits as her fists clenched together, her right hand now completely engulfed in the black markings that continued to grow.
"Eh? Those other Mages awake?" A second voice sounded after the first,
"Ooooh, let's have some fun with them, eh?"
"Hehe..."
Natsu's face pulled into a frown, his eyes flashing in the dim as he tensed up, his hands turning to fists at his side as Lucy drew her hands in toward her, just as tense as all eyes turned to the corridor and that shadow of figures moving toward then slowly.
Hora growled under her breath, her eyes following their movement closely, biting the inside of her cheek as she shifted slightly, the black markings crawling up her skin and stretching up her neck, the markings igniting a cold, raging sensation of burning where they were that slowly seeped into her blood and began to flow out to the rest of her body.
...damn...it... Keep it under control...
Her eyes snapped closed a moment, missing the fleeting glance that Natsu shot her way for but a split second.
Three lanky men and a grim looking woman stalked into view of their cells, all cold, glinting eyes and crooked smiles on two of the men. They sauntered on up toward the cell that held the Fairy Tailers, peering in like spectators at a museum and smiling wickedly at the glares they received from the Fairy Tailers in return.
"Looky, looky!" The man at the forefront smiled, leaning in toward the bars and hands in his pockets. "Finally awake eh? You three were out real good!"
"It's been a real long time since we snatched up Wizards too, most normal folk never wake up before we ship them out." A second man smiled, tapping his knuckle against one of the cell bars.
"You're gonna regret trapping us real soon, bastards." Natsu growled lowly, his onyx gaze flashing in anger.
"Hehe, what are ya gonna do?" The third Man smiled, "You ain't got no Magic to use, and no way out."
"I don't need Magic to pound your faces in." Natsu snapped back lowly,
"Ooooh, how ballsy!" The Second Man laughed.
"Real ballsy. Ain't ya from that shitty little Guild?" The First man smiled, "Fairy Tail right? You guys are the weakest of the weak, what are you gonna do? Heh?"
"Oi! Don't talk about the Guild like that!" Natsu snapped, his fists slamming against the bars as the North Wind Mages simply seemed all the more amused by that.
"Or what? You guys can't hardly keep your own doors open, what are a couple of half-rate Wizards gonna do to us?" The woman murmured coldly, her eyes flashing in the dark around them. "Fairy Tail's just a group of losers, you think you can stand against the likes of North Wind?"
"Shut the hell up!" Natsu snapped,
"Don't talk about Fairy Tail like that!" Happy hissed,
"The Guild isn't as weak as you're making it out to be!" Lucy snapped in clear agitation at the words. "The Guild's ten times as strong as you idiots!"
"Oh yeah, Blondie?" The third man smiled, "Why don't you go ahead and show me how 'great' Fairy Tail is?" Lucy stiffened, a shiver running up her spine at that sultry grin, swallowing as he drew his tongue across his lips. "Pretty little thing like you, I bet you do have some tricks, heh?"
"Y-you... disgusting..!" Lucy stammered, looking very uneasy and unnerved. The man simply laughed, his fingers snapping in front of him as his Magic flared, a set of Chains appearing in mid-air and springing through the air toward Lucy,
Natsu had placed himself in between the attack and Lucy before the blonde had any time to react, the Chains making contact with him and snaking around every inch of his body, snapping tight and restricting any and all movement, sending Natsu crashing to the floor with a grunt.
"Natsu!" Lucy and Happy exclaimed in surprise, their eyes snapping toward him instantly and diverting their attention just long enough to leave them unable to react as the man snapped his fingers again, more lengths of chain appearing and striking through the air toward both of them.
Some chains wrapped around Happy, snapping tightly around his body and throwing him against the back wall, earning a small yelp from the Exceed.
The rest of the chains produced from the man's Magic snapped around Lucy, pressing tightly against her body and her arms, some of the links connecting themselves to the Nullification Cuffs and attaching themselves to the stone roof overhead, holding her tightly in place and dangling uncomfortably off the floor by barely an inch.
The North Wind woman waved a hand nonchalantly, looking bored as the cell bars before them suddenly vanished, letting the North Wind Mages step through and inside the cell easily now that the Fairy Tailers had been rendered immobile.
"Don't touch her!" Natsu snapped from the floor, his feet and arms bound tightly to his body and entirely unable to move let alone stand up.
"Your fault, dumbass!" The first man growled, hands still in his pockets as he stepped up toward Natsu. "You're in here talking shit and can't back it up, how stupid can you be?!"
Happy and Lucy alike flinched as that man's foot swung back, rushing forward to connect with Natsu's body with a sickeningly loud THUMP, the breath driven from him as a yell of pain made it passed his lips, the force enough to make him slide back into the back wall and crack the stone- the kick amplified tenfold by a powerful burst of Magic at the last minute.
"Natsu!"
"Four puny, weak little Wizards from Fairy Tail have the gall to talk to us like that?" The First Man hissed,
"We're North Wind, we own this part of the Country. You think Fairy Tail can hold a candle to us?" The Second Man shrilled lowly, "Not a chance! You gotta know right? We have a Demon of Zeref under our beck and call, how can you even think you can contend with us?" The words earned shocked and slightly uneasy looks from the Fairy Tailers, the words news to their ears and frozen for a minute.
"D-demon...?" Lucy stammered,
"That's right Blondie~!" The Third Man smiled, he had drawn up in front of her with ever a hungry smile and now reached his hand up to curl his finger around a tendril of her hair, Lucy shuddered, squirming slightly to try and pull away even though she couldn't move. "You think Fairy Tail Wizards have a chance against us and a Demon of Zeref, huh?"
Lucy shivered, her eyes wide and looking mortified as his hand fell and moved toward her stomach, and toward the edge of her shirt.
"QUIT IT!" Natsu's voice was absolutely seething, only to get cut off as the man to kick him before brought his boot down on his back, hard. The ground cracked underneath the Fire Dragon Slayer,
"I told you to shut it!"
"Natsu!" Happy stammered, eyes wide and glittering.
"Hehe, see?" The Second Man smirked, "Fairy Tail rejects don't stand a chance against us."
"And this Fairy's too scared to even say anything, hmm?" The woman murmured, her expression bored as ever as she spared a glance toward the adjacent cell, her arms crossed over her chest and hip cocked. "Where did all that anger from before go, huh-?"
Her jaw dropped slightly, sweatdropping as her hands unhooked from about her chest, the words shaking in her throat, frozen as the cold and chill of the room was suddenly destroyed in a wave of sheer, choking heat that bounced off the stone.
The dim was split apart in a brilliant, violent wave of deep crimson fire that suddenly swept out across the stone floor and from their right, the brilliance sweeping forward in front of Lucy, directly between her and the Man, who's trailing hand was suddenly snatched away.
Lucy blinked, her jaw falling and her heart leaping in her chest, her eyes riveted and reeling just like everyone else in the room at the sudden unexpected development. Lucy was so transfixed she hardly even felt that wash of heat roll against her body, or flinched at the flames licking so close to her own body, but never touching her.
Hora's hand snapped down onto the Third Man's wrist with an iron grip, her hand and her arm stained black, the markings trailing up her neck and creeping across her right cheek, pricking just under her eye, her body dancing with fire and her hand burning the man's wrist immediately upon grabbing hold of him- he yelped, trying to pull free though Hora didn't let go.
The bars that had previously separated the Cells were a heap of melted metal, the chains that had been holding her down a mess where she had been but seconds before, trails of liquid gray seeping into the stone and even melting the rock itself.
The other North Wind Mage's eyes snapped around in utter shock, anger and hints of fear making it's way into their features at seeing Hora suddenly free and completely caught off guard by her sheer power.
"H-How did she get free...?!"
"S-Shit!"
"Hora..!" Lucy breathed, Hora didn't seem to hear anything though, she moved, swiftly, deftly, her eyes cold and face twisted in hardly contained fury...,
Fire erupted around the man, swallowing him whole as the scent of burning skin and hair filled the air, coupled closely with his screams of sheer, unbridled agony and terror, his voice echoing off the stone and the walls as Hora remained motionless, her gaze cold and steely and uncaring of the torture an the pain she was inflicting. Those pitch black markings moved, shifting over her eye and consuming half her face in seconds, the man falling away and turning to ash of blackened bone as Hora dropped her hand, motionless and rigid and unaware of what terror and shock had spread across the face of the Fairy Tailers and the other North Wind Mages around her.
"Horatia!" Natsu snapped loudly, his voice lost to the the drone and the rage of the fire rushing through her blood and her body...,
Hora's grip on the offending man's wrist tightened, her body snapping around as she twisted, throwing him and his unwanted attention on Lucy, clear through the opening that had appeared in the bars, flame dancing off her person and off the floor around her as he yelled, smashing into the ground down the corridor in front of them. The North Wind Mages recoiled, faces paling slightly and stunned, unable to move in their shock as their eyes landed on Hora, shaking as their gazes snapped from the black covering her skin and toward that icy blue Guild Symbol that remained clear under the pitch black consuming her person, visible with her sleeve having been destroyed enough with the sudden rise in power to let her shoulder-blade remain bare.
"W-wait?!"
"She's SaberTooth?!"
"S-SHIT!"
Hora hadn't paused for hardly a second, her seething dark blue gaze snapping immediately toward that man that stood beside the still downed Natsu, his hands swiping upward in reaction as he readied himself to throw his Magic toward her.
Hora's Magic swept out over the ground in two directions, a wall of crimson, angry fire tearing up the floor and headed straight toward that man, and the other two North Wind Mages left standing behind her now, her arms swinging up around her body as she spun halfway.
The look on her face was icy rage, dark... murderous.
The black markings spread further up her cheek, crossing over her eye as the heat rolling from her Magic seemed to triple.
"Crimson Flame."
Her voice sent a shiver down Lucy and Happy's spines, their hearts skipping a beat in tune with Natsu's, a trickle of blood falling from his temple and his face tense as he watched Hora in rigid silence.
The shouts of pain from the North Wind mages rung on the air with the hissing and the booming of Hora's Magic as it made contact with them, sending them flying and knocking them senseless instantly, even as their own Magic flared to try and defend against that fast moving wall of fire- they were absolutely no match for her, and the sheer extent her Magic had reached in such a small amount of seconds had them all reeling and breathless.
"H-holy cow...!" Happy stammered breathlessly, Natsu sweatdropped, his eyes snapping from Hora for the first time toward the four North Wind Mages she had just disposed of so easily, his ears straining and still, blinking a few times.
"... she knocked them all out..." The pinkette mumbled under his breath, his eyes trailing back toward Hora, who had halted for a moment, the flame dancing around her dying, slowly, her eyes closed and stiff.
"That was amazing, Hora!" Happy grinned,
"... thank you for the save...!" Lucy sighed, looking breathless and utterly relieved at the turn in events. "... I'm so glad you stopped that guy... such a creep!" She shuddered at the thought, blinking for a moment when she realized Hora hadn't said anything, or moved for a few moments, her Magic faded now, though the air still felt hot despite it being gone.
Hora swallowed, hard, the Fairy Tailer's voices lost on her ears almost entirely as she forced herself into a complete standstill, fighting with herself to quell what rage and fury had risen up and what violent a way her Magic had manifested because of. Though she didn't show it outwardly, it had taken every inch of concentration she had to just... not, let herself get so out of hand and her Magic with it. Had she not been actively focusing on keeping herself under control, she might not have been able to wrestle her Magic in enough to keep from accidentally burning Lucy with how close the blonde had been, and more so...
... every inch of her wanted, screamed at her- to kill those North Wind Mages. Every inch of her person screamed at her to burn that asshole who had put his unwanted, filthy hands on Lucy- to burn him alive, turn him to ash. Her Magic festered at it, rose up, threatened to take control and send her mind spiraling into that numb, unaware haze of fury that would have let her do that... she couldn't, she had to not... and damn it, it was so hard. Her skin was on fire to the point it was cold, an that sensation encased her arm, crawled up her neck, stretched over her face and fought to try and spread more even as she willed it to recede.
Calm down, calm down... control yourself... you... have to...
That fire was wild and so utterly cold, and pushing against it made a sharp, jolting flash of pain run through her core where she had been spared that feeling for weeks now, and she outwardly cringed at it. Her hand snapping up to press her fist against her chin, willing herself not to hiss and not to end up-
Natsu, Happy and Lucy recoiled, eyes flashing in surprise and concern as Hora's body suddenly started to shake, her breathing hitching as she started coughing out of near nowhere, her eyes still closed and shoulders tight as she fought to still the rather harsh coughing for a few moments that seemed much too long, lumps falling into the Fairy Tailers stomachs at the sound and entirely unsure why she was coughing or why she seemed to be in pain so suddenly because of it.
"W-woah, Hora..?!" Lucy stammered,
"Oi, you okay?!" Natsu demanded, his eyes flashing as he shifted, though the chains trapping him had not disappeared, nor had the ones wrapped around Lucy and Happy.
Hora swallowed, huffing slightly as the coughing drew to a shaky halt, grimacing as her hand closed into a fist from having been covering her mouth, the back of it drawing along the edge of her chin quickly, wiping away what thin trail of crimson she was sure was there from the metallic taste having hit her tongue, and the flecks of it in her hand.
... damn it... using my Magic like that... after hours... breaking those Nullification Chains... Over-Drive... is... and... with my anger... t..too...
She sighed, smiling faintly as she heard the worry in the Fairy Tailer's voices then- focusing on them as best she could, nodding at them as her eyes glinted in the dim, quickly hiding her pain and her agitation though she wasn't sure her expression was all that convincing.
"... yeah, I'm alright, sorry." She murmured quietly, earning those glittering and worried glances that were rather surprising to her. "... it's nothing, promise."
Lucy looked none too convinced, and neither did Natsu really- but neither they nor Happy questioned it, they still looked tense though.
"... ah, you're welcome." Hora murmured, her head tilting toward Lucy with a soft smile. Her hand fell on the back of her neck, looking uneasy for a moment, the marking stretching over her eye receded back down her cheek, and Lucy blinked at it. "... I couldn't just let that asshole touch you."
"... but... how did you manage to break the Nullification Chains?" Lucy asked, Hora blinked.
"... ah... it's... complicated." Hora smiled nervously, sweatdropping as she took a few steps toward Natsu, bending down on one knee by the pinkette though she still glanced toward the blonde. "... in simplicity... My Magic has a natural way of unraveling Charms and Illusions the longer I focus on something, and since Nullification Magic is a sort of Charm, I've just been willing my Magic to work through it and break down the Charm since we got here." Lucy blinked in surprise and awe, "... I just finally broke the Charm down enough to render it null and melt the chains."
"... that... that's amazing..!" Lucy breathed, though honestly she looked like she wanted to ask a hundred different questions- thankfully she refrained. Hora nodded slightly, sighing a little as she spared a glance toward Natsu, stiffening slightly to see his eyes locked to her so intensely.
She sweatdropped slightly, the look he had on her when their eyes met was... piercing. And to be honest, it unnerved her.
"... I'm gonna let you free first, Salamander." Hora murmured, her hand moving up as flame danced off her fingertip, she swallowed a little. "... do me a favor and let free Happy and Lucy once I do, alright?" She added quietly, her voice dropping low enough only he could have heard her. Natsu stared, his eyes narrowed and frowning slightly, searching for a moment as his mind worked to come up with a reason for the request.
She needed him to though, with how hard it was to control herself enough not to burn Lucy, she was a little wary of using her Magic to remove the chains on either her or Happy. With Natsu she wasn't too worried if she slipped up though, because even her Fire wouldn't burn him- he was the Fire Dragon Slayer after all.
Whether he pieced together why she asked, or not- she hadn't a clue, but he nodded at her in agreement.
Hora tapped a finger lightly to those chains, a spark of red and gold rushing from her hands and over them as they suddenly turned to ash, falling off of him softly and allowing him to be able to move. The heat from the wisps of grey was just nearly as hot as the actual flames, though Natsu didn't seem to notice- as he shouldn't. And the Chains were easy enough to break apart on someone else, as the Charm was meant to only Nullify the Magic of the person being bound.
Hora's eyes fell closed a moment as her hand retracted, her fist clenching as she stood up again, taking in a small breath as her other hand hand extended to offer to help him up. Their hands met, Hora stepping backward as she pulled him up, her eyes opening for a moment as her gaze met that dribble of blood running down his jaw, swallowing slightly.
"... you ok, Salamander?" She asked quietly, he blinked, his face unusually serious and unreadable.
"Yeah, I'm good." He mumbled, she blinked, biting the inside of her cheek as their hands fell apart and he stepped away toward Happy, dispatching the chains around the Exceed before releasing Lucy as well,
"You guys ok?" Natsu asked lowly, earning a nod from both his compatriots as Hora hooked her hands behind her back.
"Yes." Lucy murmured, rubbing her wrists a little as Happy nodded too.
"Aye sir!" Happy murmured lowly,
"Alright, now lets show these assholes what's comin' to them." Natsu grumbled, slamming a fist into his palm in near agitation. "Let's get the necklace and your Keys back too, Luce."
"Where are we gonna start?" Lucy murmured,
"Anywhere there's people to beat up." Natsu replied flatly, Lucy sighed.
"You like conflict too much sometimes." Lucy grumbled, Happy grinned.
"But this is Natsu! No one's better at destroying things than him!" Happy chuckled, Hora blinked slowly, sweatdropping slightly at the words.
"Well... that much noise is bound to have gained some attention from the other Mages here." Hora murmured, earning their eyes. "We should probably hurry... and be careful about it. From the sound of it, this place is pretty big." That earned a few blinks of question, though she failed to elaborate on the subject.
"Yeah, you got it." Natsu murmured, nodding toward her along with Happy and Lucy.
"You're right, the faster we start looking, the faster we can get out of here." Lucy nodded,
"And the faster we can stop these guys from all the bad stuff they've been doing!" Happy grinned, Hora nodded slightly,
... and maybe along the way we'll find out where their Guild Hall is... so I can finally...
She stiffened, her eyes casting downward for a moment.
... that North Wind Idiot mentioned Neveleous... they aren't about to let that go either, not now they've heard about it... damn it.
She took in a small, silent breath to attempt to still what uneasiness rose up in the pit of her stomach- the more worked up she got, the more her Magic would get out of hand... and the more Over-Drive was gonna act up again.
"Alright, let's go!" Natsu smirked, his smile appearing now after having disappeared for awhile. Lucy and Happy smiled too, just slightly with small, determined nods of their own.
"You ready to go, Hora?" Lucy asked brightly, her eyes glinting and looking so damned determined and calm Hora blinked, her mind tumbling to a halt as she saw that same determination and so bright steadiness in Natsu and Happy alike.
She stiffened slightly, blinking once or twice as she felt the heat and cold burn racing up her neck suddenly fade back a little, her hand moving up instinctively to press against the back of her neck, the other trailing toward her arm to see the black recede just a bit further.
... how... do they...?
Hora swallowed, sighing silently as she smiled, her eyes glinting as she nodded toward them and her hand fell away from her neck,
There was a sudden commotion of shouts and words that rumbled from down the hallway and all around from above and below, shaking the stone slightly as they all blinked at it.
Hora nodded their way, catching Natsu's small smile from the corner of her eye as she nodded to Lucy.
"Yeah, let's go."
.:+:.
There was blood everywhere.
That crimson was splashed about carelessly, like a child had taken a full brush and waved it all around. It splattered across walls, the floor, the stone... Everything was a wreck. Everything was torn up, cracked and crushed and crumbling in the dim and the close confines of the area. It was cold, unnervingly cold, a chill unlike any other seeping into everything, biting and sharp.
Tables and chairs lay in ruin, strewn about in every which direction. The stone floor was blackened and crushed, caved in where her body had been thrown into the stone hard enough to break more than rock.
He was frozen, the tears pricking at his eyes and stinging as he remained rooted to the spot, the breath in his throat having ceased entirely and his heart felt as if it had stopped beating altogether. He was fixed, unable to move, unable to breath and completely still. He couldn't take his eyes away, he was too terrified to try, even with the looming, dark a murderous figure of that man and his cold, dead eyes fixed to him- burning with so much wrath and hatred a look could kill...k...kill...
"n...no..." He stammered, his voice hardly above a whisper.
She... she wasn't moving... wasn't breathing...
"... please... you can't... be..."
Her body was broken and bloody, sprawled out among the rubble and the pools of blood at his feet,
... he... he k...killed her...
"...H...Ho..."
"HORA!"
.:+:.
Rogue lunged upward, his breath coming in sharp gasps and heart racing like a drum in his chest, beating against his rib cage painfully.
His red eyes darted about every which way, mind whirling and terror still running on all time high as he tried to make sense of where he was and what was going on. The Nightmare still fresh and vivid, despite the relative calm of the surroundings.
His eyes snapped down, landing on Frosch who was curled up asleep not far from where he had previously been laying in the grass, completely unaware of his sudden awakening as Sting and Lector were- the former two fast asleep not far to his left.
Rogue ran a hand through his hair, pulling his bangs from his face as he tried his best to settle his breathing and heart rate again.
That... That nightmare...
He let out a slightly shuddering breath, his eyes narrowing you slits.
... Master... He...
Rogue shivered slightly as the image flashed in his mind's eye.
He got to his feet slowly, moving away from the small shelter and out over the grass- the sky overhead dark and the stars glittering dimly.
He doubted he'd be getting back to sleep tonight.
Not after... That.
Rogue picked his way across the clearing they'd been using for hand to hand training, crossing it toward a small hill not far off before tapering to a sudden, steep drop farther off. The edge of the hill overlooked the expanse of the forest on all sides of them, too far out in the wilderness to see anything but hills and trees, too far to glimpse even the smallest of towns or cities. It was quiet, very... Quiet.
He bit the inside of his cheek, sinking down into the grass to sit cross legged, his hands falling open in his lap as he glanced down at them.
There had been a lump in his stomach that had refused to go away for a long while now. It had formed that day that Hora had been... When Master did that, to her. That knot worked its way tighter and more complicated as he sat with her, watching her get sicker and worse, to the point she'd almost-
His hands pulled into fists as he swallowed against the memory, his chest aching at the thought of it.
... He'd been worried, this whole time. He had to work at it to not let his thoughts wander to where she was and what trouble she was getting into, and just what that job was she'd been sent on. He couldn't get it out of his head how sad she'd looked, how afraid even, and guilty- like she thought she wasn't coming back.
She was all alone and it had been so little time after Master had hurt her so, so badly. She was still hurt, still healing... She was still hurting, hurting and broken like she had been for so long and hidden it from him and everyone else.
What if... What if something did go wrong? What if, out there all alone and on her own, with no one in the world to help her, or even know where she was- something happened? Something bad?
What if she got hurt, and needed help?
He hissed under his breath.
He should have never just let her go off on her own, damn what Master or the Lady would have said about it.
"... Are you alright?"
Rogue jumped in slight surprise, his head snapping around and red eyes flashing in the dim at the sudden voice. His gaze landed on that of Rufus, who had approached without Rogue hearing him, and now stood just slightly behind him, his arms hooked behind his back. Rufus tilted his head slightly in question, Rogue blinking a few times in shock at the sudden arrival.
Rogue's eyes fell away after a moment, sweatdropping as he bit the inside of his cheek.
"... Yeah." He replied quietly,
"You seem troubled." Rufus replied lightly, Rogue stiffened a little. "... Were you having trouble sleeping?"
"... I just had a nightmare, is all." Rogue replied slowly, "It's fine." his eyes were turned away so he missed the look of surprise and question that passed over Rufus's features.
"... Would this nightmare happen to be stemmed from your worry over Horatia?" Rufus asked easily, Rogue's eyes widened a little at the question and how on the mark it was.
He was frozen, helpless... All he could do was watch.
That monster of a man was beating her, breaking her, throwing her around... He kept on. Constant. Never ceasing... Not until...
... He killed her. She was gone, and he...
... he'd just watched it happen.
He must have visibly tensed up, because Rufus's hand fell lightly stop his shoulder in a small sign of calm and broke the memory of the nightmare apart with the simple gesture.
"I understand your concern." Rufus murmured quietly. "We are all worried, it isn't simply you."
"... we shouldn't have let her go on her own." Rogue grumbled,
"... Perhaps not. Especially given she was still on the mend." Rufus agreed softly, letting out a small sigh. "... It isn't what any of us wanted. None of like the situation as it is, but there is nothing to be done... Hora knew that well enough."
"That doesn't mean it was right." Rogue growled, "... None of it is. What Master did was wrong... And it was wrong of him to order Hora out on a dangerous mission all by herself."
Nothing was right... It was all so twisted and wrong, and honestly?
It all started with one person.
"... He went too far." Rogue growled lowly, Rufus blinked.
"... Indeed." Rufus murmured. There were a few, long minutes of silence that fell then, before he Rufus went on.
"... However... These things... Have a way of sorting themselves out, I have found." Rogue blinked, head tilting as Rufus glanced away toward the sky overhead.
"... In time... I do think things with Master, and with Hora... All of it. They will turn around and improve... And hopefully sometime soon."
.:+:.
"What the hell?!"
"How did they get out?!"
"Fire Dragon Wing Slash!"
Flame lit up along the walls as Natsu jumped forward, arms outstretched on either side of him and moving along the corridor at a speed too fast for the North Wind Mages to keep up with, their bodies smacking against the stone walls and the floor with painful thumps.
"Lucy Kick!"
Lucy's leg swung around swiftly, catching a man in the stomach and sending him flying backward to smash into the wall behind him with surprising strength. Hora blinked, a little taken aback by the sudden ferocity in the blonde, her own movements down the hallway after the Fairy Tail Wizards halting in her surprise.
... Damn, she's stronger than she looks...
"Still no sign of the creep who took Lucy's Keys, Hora?" Natsu called from further up, Hora's blue gaze snapping from Lucy to the pinkette instantly at the sound of his voice. Hora shook her head,
"No, haven't seen him yet." She called back easily, her eyes snapped from him toward the North Wind Mage rushing her way, in his hand a nasty looking hammer. Hora's eyes narrowed, spinning lightly out of the way of the swing, her hand swiping out to catch the back of his shirt tightly, before spinning around and sending him crashing face first into the wall not two feet from where Hora stood. The stone cracked on impact, knocking him senseless instantly, his weapon clamoring on the ground as she let him hit the floor, turning back Natsu's way to see him nod at her.
She was constantly looking for said creep though, and not just for Lucy's Keys Sake, but she wanted her stolen boots back, since she had been left to run around barefoot now.
"I'll let you know the minute I do see him." Hora called evenly, earning nods from Happy, Lucy and Natsu alike.
"Sounds good!" Lucy replied,
"Let's keep pushing through these bastards in the meantime!" Natsu grinned, his fangs flashing as his fist made contact with another Mage.
"Aye Sir!"
They continued forward quickly, blowing through droves and crowds of North Wind Mages that seemed to pop out of the walls- there was no end to them. But even for the Fairy Tailers and their Seven Year absence, the North Wind Mages were proving no real challenge- even by Hora's standards everyone she had seen (now with her Magic not being blocked off by chains as it had been before), these North Wind guys were very sub par.
But maybe that was not so surprising, as this wasn't their main headquarters and simply a splinter operation. But for a Guild with a Master who had control over a Demon of Zeref?
These guys were really... Almost disappointing.
Of course thinking that now would likely give the universe reason and cause to say 'screw you'- and likely throw something ridiculously dangerous their way soon enough.
'That is indeed how things tend to usually go.'
Their brawling through narrow halls and close corridors came to an abrupt halt as they burst through a set of heavy metal doors, the walls widening into a large, round room filled with utterly nothing, the roof overhead dotted by candles and lanterns all around.
Hora sweatdropped slightly, feeling her skin crawling and senses on high alert out of sheer instinct- in the droves upon droves of North Wind Mages that had risen to combat them, this new room was unnervingly empty. She could see her uneasiness matched instantly in Lucy and Natsu alike.
"What the hell is this?" Natsu growled, taking a few more paces inside, his nose tilted up and twitching as he breathed in the scent of the room. He grimaced,
"It's super empty." Happy intoned, Hora's eyes trailed up the smooth walls until her eyes found a line of... Balconies (?) about a hundred feet up, and spanning the space they stood in below on all sides. Her eyes cast down to the floor, her gaze tracing along the tears and cuts dug into the stone, where some of the rock was stained... Dark, faded, grimy red.
"... It almost... It looks like some sort of arena." Lucy stammered, Hora agreed instantly- though silently.
"Arena?" Happy gasped,
"I can smell a bunch of blood here." Natsu growled, "Tch... These bastards must force some of the people they trap to fight each other."
"Seems that way." Hora grumbled lowly, "The only way out of here is back the way we came, or through those balconies." she flicked her head up toward said area,
"There were a few hallways that lead in different directions back the way we came through." Lucy murmured quickly, "But this place is so big, it's like a maze. It'll take forever to figure out way out."
"I don't hear anything comin' from up there." Natsu murmured, gesturing toward the balconies. "They might not lead anywhere that'll help us, we should probably turn around." He nodded toward Lucy a moment, "And don't worry Luce, well figure a way out of here." He assured calmly, Lucy nodded a little.
"... Yeah... I just hope we find my Keys soon." She mumbled, "... I hate losing them, I should have kept a better eye on them and not let them get stolen away in the first place..." Hora blinked, her eyes flashing as she saw the worry and fear work its way into the blonde's person.
It was a look she'd seen before... In Yukino...
... It seems... Lucy cares about her Spirits just as much as Yukino does...
Hora bit the inside of her cheek, her chest flashing in pain suddenly, swallowing against the urge to cough. Her eyes snapped shut for a few seconds, her breath catching in her throat and refusing to breathe for fear it would send her into a fit.
Natsu blinked, sweatdropping slightly and eyes narrowed, seeing Hora's shoulders tighten up from the corner of his eye and her eyes snap closed. He stiffened, eyes flashing to see Hora's hand move to clench about her shirt over her chest almost instinctively.
"It's ok Lucy, your Spirits will be alright!" Happy assured, floating in front of Lucy and smiling reassuringly. "They're super tough." Lucy smiled faintly in appreciation for the attempt to ease her worry, nodding brightly.
"I guess I should have more faith in them." She smiled slightly. "Besides, well get them back soon, yeah?"
"Aye!" Happy smiled,
Hora took in a small, silent breath as the sudden throbbing in her chest and lungs died down again, her eyes glinting as she glanced to the floor a few moments.
Fucking... Over-Drive... Can't it just... Quit already...?
Of course not.
She took in a few more breaths to test it had passed, before her hand fell away from her chest and she took a small, little step toward the pair of Happy and Lucy.
"... Let's get going then, we'll find them faster if we keep going." Hora murmured, earning their eyes and their immediate nods of approval. They turned back toward the door, only to halt.
The doors slammed shut with an abrasive metal clang that echoed found the arena, everyone jumping and growing stiff in uneasiness, Lucy and Happy took a few steps back in shock.
"We got locked in?!" Happy yelped,
"Not good!" Lucy stammered,
"Shit.." Hora hissed under her breath, her hands clenched into fists at her sides as her eyes snapped from the door to scan the balconies overhead for anything new.
"So you're the ones tearing up my Prison." The sudden voice echoed oddly off the stone walls around them. The owner of the voice however, remained entirely unseen though Hora was looking around quickly for some sign of them.
'And this is where the world says "Screw You", yes?'
Natsu's jaw dropped slightly, his heart jumping in his chest and panic racing through him in an instant- a flash of some sort of glint of light catching the corner of his eye, his head snapping round to find the source and dread settling in. He knew something had been thrown out, Magic or no Magic, he could tell there was danger in an instant, his instincts and reflexes flaring too life as his eyes found one person.
"Hora!"
Horatia's head turned in complete shock at the sound of Natsu's voice yelling her name, and the sheer panic in it- the warning. She saw the worry and the seriousness in his face, the way he seemed to be trying to move toward her.
S... Salamander...?
She didn't notice it, not what he had. She hadn't felt anything, not the slightest sense of anything racing toward her nor the immediate danger. For all her perception and her rather incredible reflexes and instincts- she didn't see it coming. Where she had been on par with Natsu when it came to sensing danger seconds before, this time she didn't sense it.
But he did, and not fast enough.
Pain flared through her body like flame, her eyes snapping away from him and toward that glitter of scarlet that suddenly painted the air in front of her.
The scent of blood hit her nose, and it was hers.
"Hora!"
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! The next ones sure to be more exciting (and with more action too!)
On another note; has anyone figured out what (or even noticed them? XD ) the bits inside these; ...,
mean? ^w^
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