The Flaming Dragon Slayer
A/N: The members of Fairy Tail return to their guild in complete defeat. The forces of Marek are far stronger than any of them thought. As they recover from their battles, can the mysterious Orion provide the edge the guild needs in order to beat Marek or has the monsters of darkness already won?
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Fairy Tail.
*SC* = Scene Change
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Chapter 14: A Time of Healing
"Whew, we've made it," said Orion as he enters Magnolia Town.
Orion turns behind him as he pulls as small wagon with Natsu and Lucy in the wagon. Neither mage has woken up during the journey to Magnolia Town. Orion managed to heal their wounds enough to keep them alive, but he will not risk an enemy attacking him during the healing process.
Soon, Orion hears a groan causing him to turn around. He notices Lucy opening her eyes as she places her hands on her forehead. Shortly after, Lucy opens her eyes and notices Orion staring at her. She jumps as a result, but this movement causes pain to shoot through her body.
"Lucy, calm down," said Orion. "Don't move your body too much."
"O-Okay," replied Lucy as her heart rate slows down.
Lucy turns around looking at her surroundings. Immediately, she realizes she is at Magnolia Town and releases a sigh of relief. Then, she wonders how she got here as she recalls her last memory. However, one look at Orion tells her that he took her here. A few seconds later, Lucy recalls Natsu's injuries and turns her head to look for him. She notices him to her left and sighs when she sees his chest moving up and down. During the battle, she had thought she lost him, especially when he nearly took the blade for her. The celestial mage touches Natsu's face as he groans from her touch. Soon, Natsu's eyes open causing Lucy to smile.
"You're awake," said Lucy.
"Aye," replied Natsu.
Natsu lies his head back down and hits his head on something hard. Immediately, he launches his head up and realizes he is on a wagon. One word runs through his head, transportation. Soon, the pink-haired mage begins to have a sick feeling in his stomach as he begins to move off the wagon.
"It is best you stay on there," suggested Orion. "I only healed your wounds to a certain extent. Too much movement and it will cause serious damage."
"But…," started Natsu only for Orion to stare him down. "Fine."
Soon, Orion begins using his magic to pull the wagon causing Natsu to slam back down onto the wagon with a green face and puffy cheeks. Lucy giggles a bit, but she stops the moment she feels pain in her abdomen.
*SC*
Back at the Fairy Tail guild, Gray prepares to head on his rescue mission. Alongside him are Wendy and Carla as they grab last minutes equipment. Soon, Gajeel and Pantherlily approach the two with their own set of equipment.
"I'm ready when you guys are," said Gajeel.
Gray nods his head as he looks at the rest of the guild. The situation has gotten so bad. There has not been any news on the attack on Oshibana Town expect that Laxus, Erza, and Mirajane have confronted the enemy. That was nearly a day ago. Furthermore, Natsu and Lucy are still missing, which does not bold well for the guild. This whole situation with the monsters has pushed the guild to its limit. However, nobody is ready to give up and Gray will make sure to bring some good news back.
"All right, let's go," said Gray as he and the rest of the team head towards the guild doors.
Before the team has the chance to reach the doors, it opens up revealing a man with white-gray hair and a large wagon behind him. What catch the team's attention are the two figures on the wagon. Immediately, Levy runs towards Lucy, who smiles at the blue-haired woman.
"Lu-chan!" shouted Levy with tears in her eyes.
The moment the wagon stops moving, Natsu almost recover instantly. He sits up as the rest of the guild surrounds the two mages.
"I knew they'll come back!" shouted Macao.
"As if," said Wakaba. "You were already planning their funerals."
"I never said that!" shouted Macao.
"Drinks all around!" shouted Cana.
"Not yet," said Freed. "We still have three more missing members."
This catches the attention of Natsu and Lucy. Lucy asks why there are three missing members. Levy answers Lucy's question by telling her the situation at Oshibana Town and the lack of communication with Erza, Laxus, and Mirajane.
Immediately, Natsu wants to head towards Oshibana Town, but Makarov forbids him to do anything until he recovers from his injuries. Natsu collapses to the ground, surprising everyone, as he groans in pain. Wendy rushes to his side and realizes the wounds on his body. Lucy turns around to ask Orion to help Wendy, but she realizes the man is gone.
'Where did he go?' pondered Lucy.
Elfman picks up Natsu and takes the fire dragon slayer to the infirmary as Wendy prepares to heal Natsu.
*SC*
A few days later, Wendy sits down next to Natsu in the infirmary room. Natsu opens his eyes and turns towards Wendy.
"Can I leave now?" asked Natsu.
"Sorry, but for some reason your wounds are hard to close," replied Wendy. "You need to stay here."
Lucy, who is in the next bed, listens to Wendy and Natsu's conversation. She too has been bedridden in the infirmary. However, her injuries are nowhere near Natsu's wounds. Unfortunately, Wendy and Porlyusica are only able to heal Natsu and Lucy at a slow pace.
"What kind of magic did that man hit you two with?" asked Porlyusica as the pink-haired woman walks into the room.
"I'm not sure," replied Lucy. "He mostly used brute force, but his attacks did feel weird. It was as if the blade itself was covered in some type of magic."
Porlyusica stays at the corner of the room as she thinks about the situation. Lucy sweats drops at Porlyusica's attempt to stay a distance from her and Natsu. She really hates humans.
"Well, Lucy you should be able to leave some time tomorrow. As for Natsu, he is here for another three days, at least," said Porlyusica.
Soon, Jet runs into the room surprising Lucy and Wendy. All four people stare at Jet waiting for the reason of his run.
"Porlyusica, we need you!" exclaimed Jet.
"What's wrong?" asked the pink-haired woman.
"Laxus, Erza, and Mirajane have returned somehow, but the injuries on their bodies are horrible!" exclaimed Jet.
Porlyusica nods her head as she heads towards the entrance of the guild. Meanwhile, Lucy clenches her hands at the news of three S-Class mages returning in bad shape. This raises the question of how they got here in such a condition. However, she will have to see their injuries to know if they came back on their own power. Soon, the door to the infirmary opens again, as numerous guild members rush inside the room with Erza, Laxus, and Mirajane alongside them. Unfortunately, none of the three mages is able to walk as their fellow guild mates carry them into the infirmary room.
Natsu clenches his hands and teeth. He can smell the blood on his fellow friends. He seriously wants to run out the guild and hunt down the people responsible for his friend's injuries. A few hours later, Porlyusica and Wendy are able to stabilize Erza, Laxus, and Mirajane. Makarov walks into the room watching the bodies of three of his children. At this point, Lucy asks if he knows how her guild mates reached the guild in their condition. Makarov states Gajeel located the three mages in the front of the guild along with a message. The message had the symbol of Crime Sorciere and stated that they brought Erza, Laxus, and Mirajane back to Magnolia Town.
The next day, the three mages wake up from their slumber as Wendy arrives to heal their injuries further. Soon, many guild members including Makarov enter the room asking questions about the situation back at Oshibana Town. Around thirty minutes later, Erza, Laxus, and Mirajane explain the events at Oshibana Town, which causes Makarov further concern. After the three mages explain the situation, Makarov turns his attention to Natsu and Lucy. He has not had the chance to ask any of the two about their disappearance, but he needs to know if anything major occurred. After Makarov asks Lucy about her and Natsu's disappearance, the celestial mage begins to tell the present guild members about her and Natsu's encounter with Midas and the aid of Orion. The room remains quite about the new enemy. Who is this Midas and what purpose does he have? What is he looking for?
Makarov sits on a nearby chair with his right hand on his chin. Two enemies, but which one should he deal with first. This answer is simple in his mind. Marek's followers have proven a threat to the country. Soon, the magic council will make their move against Marek. It is only a matter of time before Marek goes too far, if he has not already.
"Master, what are going to do?" asked Macao.
Makarov turns his attention to the guild members, who are looking at him. He sighs a bit before giving them an answer.
"Well," started Makarov. "Right now, our threat is Marek. This Midas person might simply be a person who Natsu and Lucy happen to come across. Marek and his followers already made an attack on towns. Our concentration should be Marek."
Wakaba walks into the room approaching Makarov immediately.
"Master, you have a message from the magic council," said Wakaba.
Makarov sighs again before standing up and walking towards the door. He turns around to his children gazing about the injured.
"For now everyone should rest," said Makarov. "Then we plan our next move."
After Makarov closes the door, many of the guild members begin to leave the infirmary except for Wendy, Levy, Gajeel, Happy, Carla, Lily, Porlyusica, and the injured.
"Porlyusica-sama," said Wendy. "What should I do now?"
"Continue healing those two," said Porlyusica pointing towards Natsu and Lucy. "And I'll handle our newcomers. The faster we get this done, the sooner I can leave back home and away from all these humans."
Two hours later, Porlyusica checks on Lucy and deems her well enough to go home. Lucy sighs in relief, but she notices Natsu's sad expression. She approaches him and decides to ask him about his recent mood.
"Why are you looking like that?" asked Lucy.
"What do you mean?" inquired Natsu.
"The moment Porlyusica-sama said I could go home, you got this sad look in your eyes," said Lucy.
"I don't want you to go," whined Natsu. "I want to sleep with you."
Immediately, Lucy becomes red in the face after Natsu's words. Numerous dirty thoughts run through her mind as she shakes her head side to side to eliminate those thoughts. She breathes a bit shakily trying to tell herself that he asked in an innocent way.
Suddenly, Lucy hears snickering from behind her. She turns around and notices Mirajane lying on her bed with a smirk on her face, but with some sort of dreamy expression as well. If Lucy looks close enough, she could swear she sees Mirajane's ears constantly moving. Lucy turns her attention to Erza whose face is red and her hands clenched. Lastly, Lucy turns her attention to Laxus, who happens to be staring straight at her with a smirk on his face. Lucy groans as her embarrassment continues to rise. This is all she needed, one mage making inappropriate comments and three others listening in the conversation.
"Wendy," said Porlyusica. "Give your blonde friend some protection."
Lucy falls to her knees as she remembers the other two occupants of the room. Could this day go any worse for her?
"They liiikkkeee each other," said Happy with his paws covering his mouth as he laughs.
"What did I say wrong?" asked Natsu in confusion.
Of course, it could get worse for Lucy. There are too many people in this room for the celestial mage. She really has to get out of the guild for a few days.
Lucy begins walking towards the door, as Lisanna walks into the room with a smile on her face.
"Is there something you need?" asked Porlyusica.
"I want to help heal Natsu," said Lisanna.
Lisanna's sentence causes Lucy to stop in her tracks. She turns her head towards Lisanna with a pang in her heart. Why does she feel like this? It feels like Lisanna is stepping into restricted territory.
"On second thought," said Lucy. "I'll stay here to help heal Natsu as well."
"Whatever, just don't get in my way," said Porlyusica.
Meanwhile, three other mages in the room watch as Lucy and Lisanna begin to help Wendy take care of Natsu. Erza, Laxus, and Mirajane stare at the situation in front of them before a single thought runs through their minds.
'What about us?' thought the three injured mages.
*SC*
A single man walks through the deep forest of Fiore. He does not seem to have a destination, yet he has a goal. The man stops in the middle of the forest as if he is waiting for something. The man yawns as he runs his fingers through his blue hair. The giant sword on his back reflects the sunlight as the man turns to the right. He continues to walk as he hears noises in the forest. Once he exits the shadows of the trees, Midas looks towards the sky watching as the clouds pass by while enjoying the breeze. Sure, wind is not his favorite element, but when it is calm, it brings him some relaxation. Soon, the sky starts to become a bit darker indicating that the sun is setting.
"I guess I should get going," said Midas. "I must find the person who is the strongest before it is too late."
Suddenly, loud footsteps occur creating a sound that rings throughout the area. Midas turns around and as a large dark figure walks through the forest. In fact, a few more dark figures nearly three-fourth the size of the trees. Yellow eyes emit from the three large figures while numerous smaller figures appear with blue and red eyes. These new hidden figure are the size of humans as their eyes emit from the shadowy areas of the forest.
"Well, this is unexpected," said Midas.
*SC*
Night arrives for Magnolia Town, as the members of Fairy Tail either head home or continue their temporary stay at the guild's small infirmary. Natsu sighs as boredom continues to ravish through him due to sitting in the same spot for days. He looks around noticing Erza, Laxus, and Mirajane asleep in their beds. Then, he turns his attention to Wendy, who fell asleep due to exhaustion with Carla and Happy sleeping next to the young dragon slayer. A moment later, Natsu turns his attention to Lucy and Lisanna. The two women sleep beside his bed with their heads on the mattress. However, Lucy also happens to have her hands on his right hand while Lisanna is closer to his feet.
The fire dragon slayer smiles as he decides to head to bed. However, before he manages to lie down, he hears a noise outside of the door to the infirmary. He turns towards the door waiting for anything to happen. A few seconds later, the door opens revealing a mysterious figure on the other side. Natsu prepares to fight against the mysterious man as his hands emit fire. However, the man steps out of the shadow revealing who he is.
"Orion," said Natsu.
"Calm down Natsu," said Orion. "There is no need for you to use your flames."
Natsu stops his flames as Orion approaches the left side of his bed. Orion grabs a nearby chair and puts it next to Natsu's bed. He sits down as looks at Natsu with a serious expression.
"There are times when you need to make a decision," said Orin catching Natsu's attention. "Sometimes this type of decision is not easy. A dark evil is coming and it will come to destroy. Unfortunately, there is a chance that you might have to make the ultimate sacrifice."
"Sacrifice?" inquired Natsu.
"Answer me this," said Orion. "This guild, your friends, and all the people you care about. Can you let them go?"
Natsu's face turns serious as he looks around to the infirmary. His gaze falls upon Erza, Mirajane, Laxus, Wendy, Happy, Carla, Lisanna, and then Lucy. Soon, his gaze turns towards Orion.
"You might never see them again," said Orion. "Is this a risk you are willing to take?"
"Will I be able to protect them?" asked Natsu.
Orion smiles a bit as he listens to Natsu's question. It seems like this is another person, who is willing to sacrifice himself for the people he considers friends and family.
"However, you don't have the power necessary to win a fight against your current enemies," said Orion. "But I can offer it. I have studied the rules of magic before coming here."
"Eh?" inquired Natsu.
"Oh, ignore that last comment," said Orion.
Natsu shrugs as Orion sighs in relief.
"I need your help because you have a special power inside of you," said Orion. "It is a power not seen in over a thousand years."
"Power?" inquired Natsu as he tilts his head.
"I want to make you an offer," said Orion. "I want to help you become stronger. In return, I will need your help in a future war. You see, Marek is only the tip of the iceberg. There are far stronger enemies out there that use the shadow monsters. I need your help. Yes, you will have to leave your friends, but at least you can protect them even if it is far away."
Natsu thinks about it for a moment. Sure, he wants to see his friends, but he will not put them in harm even if they can take care of themselves. However, twice has Erza returned beaten. If even Erza cannot handle the situation, then how would the rest of the guild?
"Okay, I'll help you," said Natsu.
The moment the words left his mouth, Natsu began to feel like he will not see anybody for a while. In fact, the moment he turns his gaze towards Lucy, he feels sadness run through his heart, but he pushes it to the side as he returns his attention to Orion.
"Once you are fully recovered, meet me near your home," said Orion. "I will start your training there."
Natsu nods his head as he heads to sleep. Meanwhile, Orion stands up and exits the room before anybody else wakes up. However, unknown to Natsu and Orion, Erza opens her eyes a bit, as she turns towards the now sleeping Natsu.
'What have you gotten yourself into?' thought Erza.
*SC*
A/N: It took me a bit longer to complete this chapter due to personal situations, but I have to thank myself for being ahead of schedule. I am so far ahead at this point, I could go without writing for two months and I can still release one chapter per week. However, I will not do that and I will continue writing at my current pace. Anyhow, I want to thank everyone for reading and to please review.