*Bows, apologizes and waits for Punishment* I took a long time to update, I'm sorry. I was planning my Gmom's bday party and also ended in an impromptu getaway weekend that involved large amounts of Tequila XD
In all honesty, I was also figuring out where I wanted to go with this story, since I could probably finish in a few more chapters and continue developing the new fanfic I'm working on, but I decided against it…
Also not sure if you noticed but CH3 was also rewritten and it now contains more details in case anyone was to go check it out
-A-
There may be a great fire in our hearts, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.
- Vincent Van Gogh -
Natsu turned his back at everyone, and while leaving, he raised his right hand with his index and thumb up, making a signal they knew well - remember Luce… no matter where you are or if our paths are different… I'll always be looking at your side… so don't be failing -
Lucy looked at Natsu walking away from her again, a mix of anger, sadness, and loneliness that she had never experienced before invaded her. This was somehow worse than when her father treated her as property, worse than before joining the guild.
She turned back to stare at Gajeel, he couldn't look her in the eye; Lucy balled her hands and looked down, she was panting and her face was red from anger; she pulled her hand back to gain speed and slapped Gajeel across the face with such strength that she was sure some of her own bones broke.
"GIVE ME BACK MY KEYS!"
He rubbed his face amazed on how strong the blonde girl had become over the years, but he didn't budge "No"
"Gajeel… . ...Now…" Gajeel took a deep breath and shook his head "No can do bunny girl"
"You said this was our choice! You fucking hypocrite! If this was Levy, tell me Gajeel! What would you do?"
"Tsk… I know what I would do… But that's not the same, if it was me in there and Levy out here, I would have asked him to do the same, and I would expect for him to do it"
Lucy was beyond mad, but the adrenaline was fading, and she could finally feel the pain in her hand from slapping Gajeel. Levy stood beside her and hugged her tightly giving Gajeel an angry look, which let him know he would pay for this several times over.
Master Makarov walked to his children and stared at their baffled faced; this hadn't gone bad, but it wasn't as they expected it to go "Wendy, could you please take a look at Lucy's hand?"
The young dragon slayer nodded and walked to a sobbing, and devastated Lucy to fix her hand while Makarov continued "The council will need time to review this new information, Ms. Marlone has offered to stay and answer their questions in private while they inspect the evidence she brought along. So, for now, we will retreat to the Inn and await for answers"
The guild members started walking away while whispering about the situation, and the sudden angry display from their guild members; everyone left except for Wendy, Lucy, Levy, and Gajeel. He extended his hand to where the girls were, hoping to help, but he was met with Lucy's evil stare before she slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch me… "She sighed, "One thing was for him to run away from you, I get that… It wasn't something you could control… but this? "
"Look... I owe him, and big time"
"Oh I see… so you owe him and that's why you are willing to watch him go kamikaze? Mavis! You are such a hypocrite! If it was me in there you would be encouraging him to blast the fucking building up!"
"Because it's not the same!"
"Wow Gajeel… so, it's perfectly fine to let him risk his life for all of us, but not for us to do the same? I thought Igneel and Metalicana had shown you loyalty, apparently Dragons are not as loyal as I thought…"
"You don't know what you are talking about!"
"Right… I'm the one who doesn't know…" Lucy walked passed him and stormed out of the building. Gajeel was balling his fists when he noticed both Levy and Wendy giving him the dirty eye.
"What!?"
"Gajeel… seriously… you can be such a dick sometimes…"
"Woa, so, I'm the asshole here?!" he turned to Wendy hoping for a little back up, of course the young Dragon Slayer would know better, after all she had been raised by a Dragon herself, however, he found the young, innocent, and sweet teenager looking at him with anger "Yeah! You are… what she said!"
"I… what… wait.. WHAT THE HELL?!"
Levy and Wendy walked away leaving him even more confused than before, he turned on his heels, hands in his pockets, and hunching his back, mumbling about how he would never understand the crazy women from his guild along with something that sounded "You should come with a fucking manual"
He walked back to the inn still mumbling and kicking every single pebble on the way, and directed himself to the restaurant where he knew most of them would be; he noticed two bluenettes and a blonde missing from the table.
He grabbed a chair and turned it backwards to rest his arms and chin on the back of it, not caring much about the conversation until Cana sat next to him.
"Why the long face metal head?"
"None of your damn business drunkard…"
"Would it have to do with a tiny pretty looking genius not joining us for lunch?"
He huffed and turned his face sideways to avoid Cana's question "Well that answers my question. SO! What did you do?" by this point, people had started paying attention to their conversation since Cana was a bit loud.
"What did I DO? She's the one being unreasonable! I did nothing wrong…"
"Sure… ok then what happened?"
"She is fucking mad because I backed Natsu up, and Blondie called me a hypocrite" This last comment caught Mira's attention "Why would she call you that?"
"Because if it was her, I would tell Salamander to burn that place to the ground! Can you believe her?"
The girls looked at each other and Gajeel caught a glimpse of something dangerous, which he decided to ignore; Mira cleared her throat "So… what did you tell her?"
"What do you mean? If it were Levy in there, I would leave nothing but dust! It's not the same" The girls were shocked by this statement, but before they had finished processing the information, the boys added their two cents.
"Of course it's not the same, they are being ridiculous" Gray simply crossed his arms above his chest, and huffed in annoyance.
"Yeah! He's being a man! So is Natsu!" Elfman missed to notice Evergreen's eye twitch.
Laxus listened carefully, he was probably the only one aware of how things were about to explode so he simply nodded and stayed silent, "What are you nodding about Laxus?!" Mira's dark aura made everyone go silent.
"Ahem… I agree in general"
"With…?"
He knew this was an unavoidable train wreck, and he was not about to let Mira make him look weak "With them, obviously we would all do the same that Natsu and Gajeel did, and you should understand that we are responsible for protecting you. Levy and Lucy ARE being ridiculous and there's no argument about that"
Mira gave him a serious look and turned to Gajeel "You did take her keys, and I assume you haven't given them back, have you?"
"It's for her own damn good! Salamander asked me to"
"Juvia thinks you should give them back, Lucy has all the right to make her own choices"
"Come on Rain-woman! Not you too… She wants her keys back to go on some crazy suicide mission"
"Maybe, but Juvia thinks that's exactly what Natsu did; the difference is Lucy is not doing it alone, and she WAS trusting us to help"
Evergreen's eye was still twitching, she crossed her legs and gave Elfman a cold stare "SO… the manly thing to do is to take a girl's possessions to force her to do as you expect?" Elfman open and closed his mouth a bit, but wasn't able to answer.
Bickslow started laughing maniacally "Guys you seriously fucked up! These girls don't need protection, and Natsu is completely capable of fending for himself"
"Oh, so I guess that's why you almost attacked the damn inquisitor; after all Lisanna and Natsu don't need protection, right?" Laxus was smirking at his friend, he didn't find pleasure on affecting his team members but he wasn't gonna let him out of trouble so easily, nor was he planning on going down by himself.
"What!?" Lisanna slammed her hand on the table and changed into her cat form, scratching the table in the process.
"YO! You are getting this all wrong; we are all doing what's best to protect Lucy, as we should. After all what kind of men would we be if…" Juvia stood up and turned to Gray; she poked his chest with strength, right above his heart where she would usually draw a cross with her fingers to let him know he was making a mistake "So, Gray-Sama thinks that Juvia isn't capable of protecting him?"
He rubbed his chest and widen his eyes "Wait, what! No I didn't say that!" (Much too late Gray… ). At this point Erza was now up and drawing her sword "You have all accepted that the responsibility of carrying our weak selves to safety, lands on you? Is that correct?" Gray lifted his hands and gulped "Erza, of course I didn't mean you! You could probably rescue half of us!"
"OH! So Erza could but I can't?"
This didn't end well for the guys; comments went from "Get off your fucking high horse" to "Is that because you don't consider me as much a Lady as them?". By the end of the argument, the boys had their feet so deep in their mouths that there was no way to untangle the mess, leaving them with a few scratches, bruises, and with no female company.
Gray was holding some ice to his head with his right hand, and a whiskey on his left "What the hell just happened?"
Happy was still snickering on the support beams above their heads, Carla sitting next to him with her nose up, and Lily crossing his arms above "Well there was no way to help them out of that one"
"Oi Cat! You've got something to say?"
Carla flew down and landed on the table gracefully "As a matter of fact I do. I'm impressed even that tomcat was able to recognize your mistake…"
"Aye!" Happy and Lily had joined Carla on the table "You guys are so dumb! You practically told them that this was something you could do but they can't; you never ever tell a girl that!"
"Happy is right, although I can't believe I'm agreeing with him" Gajeel gave Lily an evil stare and crossed his arms.
"If I may add, you also took away their choice, gentlemen… This is a life threatening risk you would take for them, but wouldn't "allow" them to take for you; how would you feel if they did the same?"
The guys stayed silent for a moment before it hit them, some of the girls had done this before. Juvia had jumped to what it seemed certain death to save Gray from Fukuro; when the tower of heaven happened, Erza was willing to become one with the lacrima to save her friends; Levy swam in a poison pool to save Gajeel; Lisanna risked her life to save Elfman from himself, and Lucy had surrendered her life not too long ago to spare Natsu from dying.
"Why was I even involved in this? I didn't say a word" Freed was calmly sitting on a chair with a cut on his forehead, and was holding a cold drink to his head.
"Well! Looks like a bunch of you are gonna get cold tonight guys" Happy covered his mouth with his paw before flying away to avoid being skinned by the guys.
They agreed to call it a night and went back to their rooms, still thinking about what the exceeds had mentioned. Gajeel grabbed the doorknob but stopped when a familiar smell hit him; he expected Levy to not be in the room, and was surprised by it "Gihi, maybe she is not that angry anymore".
He opened the door, and the sight made him dizzy; Levy was lying on her stomach reading a book in bed; she was wearing nothing but a pair of lacy dark blue panties, along with one of his shirts; her knees were bent, and she moved her feet playfully while reading and playing with a strand of her hair.
His eyes went straight to her bottom; he considered Levy to be perfect from every strand of hair to the tip of her toes, but Levy's perfectly shaped ass, had always been one of his favorite things to watch, even before they were together; of course, this was no secret to Levy.
Gajeel gulped and cleared his throat before closing the door with his foot "Hey Shrimp…" Levy turned her face slightly and lowered her glasses "Hey", that's all she said, that's all she had to say; Gajeel thought again, she couldn't be THAT mad, at least she was talking to him, right?
He walked slowly towards the bed and sat next to her; he waited a few minutes expecting for her to say something, but she had gone back to reading. Gajeel huffed a bit before slowly raising his hand and directing it to her ass; the man was gambling, she could get angry and lash at him, but at least then she would talk to him, or she could do what Levy did best, giggle and look cute. However the third option that he didn't play in his head was about to unfold.
Levy smacked his hand away, and giggled, but not in a cute way; she gave him teasing smirk "Oh Gajeel, did you really think it was going to be that easy?" He was confused, excited, and annoyed at the same time.
"Yeah, for a bit there I did shrimp"
"Stupid Dragon… There will need to be some retribution in order for you to gain my forgiveness"
Gajeel had no idea where this was going, but decided Levy's look was interesting enough for him to investigate, he gulped "Ok… I'll bite" Levy covered her mouth and giggled "Maybe…" Gajeel widen his eyes, this woman was going to be the death of him, and he loved it.
"What do I need to do to gain your forgiveness?" Despite his attempts to keep his voice cool, he was purring. He raised one finger and tried to trace her waist only to be smacked away again.
Levy sat up and commanded "Get off the bed" Gajeel gave her a confused look, until he noticed the look in her eyes "Now, Gajeel"
"Yes Ma'am" He jumped off the bed, he straightened himself up and observed her expectantly.
Levy couldn't help but giggle again at the sight of the powerful man melting in front of her "Gajeel… Shirt, off" He complied quickly and removed his shirt throwing it at the other end of the room.
"Good… Pants, off" No one had ever moved as quickly as he did, his pants had landed over a small table knocking down a lamp. Levy got off the bed, and started walking around him while tapping her chin with her index finger "Ok, kneel Gajeel"
"Wait, why?" Levy puffed her cheeks "Are you really going to argue with me now?" he chuckled a bit and kneeled "No ma'am" she seemed pleased at his answer.
"Smart boy, hands above your head Gajeel" He was certainly growing a bit suspicious, this was indeed not a normal behavior for Levy, however against his better judgment he decided to play along; after all, this was Levy, what could she ever do to him?
Levy walked towards his pants, grabbed his belt and wrapped it around his wrists; although a bit confused, he was also rather excited about how things were turning out to be. Gajeel knew at some point his need for dominance would take over, however this could wait for a few minutes, while Levy got whatever this was, out of her system and he was, of course, more than happy to comply with whatever made her happy.
The one thing Gajeel had failed to notice while being so distracted by Levy's actions, was that she was actually holding a very special pen in her hand; with a couple of swift moves she dribbled something above the belt, and walked again to where his pants were. Gajeel heard a metallic sound and turned immediately to watch Levy shaking Lucy's keys on her index finger.
"OI! What the hell Levy!"
She stuck her tongue out and turned on her heels to run out the door, closely followed by a very angry, Dragon Slayer. As soon as Gajeel took two steps out of the door he slammed into an invisible wall, he shook his head and landed his eyes on Levy who was giving him a cocky smile.
"And that's what happens when you act like an ass!"
Gajeel was about to shout at her when he saw the letters appearing on the wall
"Gajeel Redfox will not be allowed to go through this wall until Levy McGarden decides so, or until he HEARTLY apologizes to "Princess Lucy" and "Mistress Levy" admitting he acted like a complete idiot"
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"
"Aw, that's not a good start Gajeel"
"That ain't happening Shrimp!"
"Well, then I guess you are going to stay right there"
Gajeel huffed in annoyance and turned to walk back in the room only to slam into another wall "You gotta be kidding me…"
"This wall will activate as soon as both Levy McGarden and Gajeel Redfox leave the room. The wall will not be removed until Levy McGarden decides so, or until he HEARTLY apologizes to "Princess Lucy" and "Mistress Levy" admitting he acted like a complete idiot"
"Levy! Remove this shit, right now!"
"Oh I'm sorry, did I hear please remove this Mistress Levy?"
"I ain't joking Shrimp"
"Me neither. Enjoy your new accommodations Gajeel! Good night!"
Levy turned on her heel and opened the door where the rest of the girls were "Here ya go Lu!" She threw the keychain right at Lucy who held it to her chest.
"By Mavis! What did you do? And why are you walking around in your underwear?"
They suddenly heard a loud roar coming from the aisle followed by a "FUCK!" Levy put both hands on her hips and winked "That's what he gets for acting like an idiot"
Levy proceeded to tell the girls in detail what she had done to Gajeel causing Cana to laugh so hard she fell to the floor "Well this is the biggest case of Dragon sized "Blue Balls" in the history of Earthland! Go Levy!"
Lucy gave them a half smile; she loved her guild, but without Natsu it just wasn't the same "Hey girls, can we call it a night? I'm a bit tired" They smiled at her; they had all been there trying to cheer her up but knew well that nothing will do the trick until they received final news of Natsu.
Cana opened the door and the first thing she saw was Gajeel sulking wearing nothing but his boxers, he couldn't hold her laugh, which only caused the girls to rush to the door to watch. Cana whistled loudly "Gajeel! Looking good!"
He sat on the floor still struggling with the restraints on his wrists, and mumbled something without removing his angry look from them until each got to their own rooms.
A couple of hours had passed since Fairy Tail had crashed the council; Natsu had been sitting in his cell sulking silently when he heard footsteps in the distance until the tall figure was standing outside of his cell. They observed each other for a bit before Natsu got desperate.
"What do you want old man?"
The man standing in front of him was non other than the council leader, a wizard with reputation within the wizard saints although he had refused the position.
"Such irreverent demeanor… Do you know who I am?"
"Look, I don't care who you are; you are either a judge or an executioner, so which is it?"
"How about a man willing to provide a way out for you?" he rested his hand above the door and removed the magic seal to open it "Follow me Mr. Dragneel"
Natsu stood up and walked behind the man leaving some distance, there was something odd about him; the man knew what he could do and was still willing to turn his back on him, Natsu didn't smell an ounce of fear on him, which made him wary.
They finally got to an office, black and white square floors, tall bookcases and a big desk in front of a stained glass window that seemed to be telling a story.
Natsu paid attention to the images; he could see a wizard with black hair and clothing attacking on one end, the colors around him were darker somehow, and they got clearer little by little. His eyes traced the window side to side, he saw in the middle of it all there were villages and mages defending the land, and just before reaching the other end he saw them… a group of Dragons of different colors.
"Please take a sit"
Natsu crossed his arms and cocked his head "I rather stand old man"
"My name is Shiro Mahotsu Mr. Dragneel, I'd rather you refer to me as such. I recognize this was never meant to be a fair audience and it pains me to see the corruption that has gotten within the council" he entangled his fingers and rested his hands on the desk "That being said, Fairy Tail caused severe damage to our building, forces, and confidence towards them"
"Confidence? That's a big word coming from the council. Don't matter… we made a deal"
"Which was made void by your own guild if I remember correctly" Natsu felt ice going through his veins and he realized what this was about, after all his efforts this was not close to being over "Mr. Dragneel, the rest of the council strongly feels the one that should be held responsible is Master Makarov since he supported this incident"
"No, no, no! You can't!" Shiro raised his hand to silence him "We can, the council wishes to remove Makarov from the guild and lock him up for reckless endangerment and damage to property; they also think you should be executed along with some of your teammates"
"My teammates?"
"Gajeel Redfox and Lucy Heartfilia… The rest would receive a lesser punishment"
The temperature of the room began to rise, and Natsu could feel his scales creeping up his arm "If you or anyone dares to lay a finger on them…" a growl started to form in the back of his throat before the council member continued "As the leader of the council they will follow my lead, I told them I wanted to give you an option… I know this will only lead to more destruction on your behalf and we wouldn't want that, would we?"
"You can't even imagine… destruction is a term you know nothing about"
"If you take that path, there's nothing we can do about it. Please keep in mind that even if you get rid of the council the name Fairy Tail would be tainted in blood, there wouldn't be a place for anyone to go back to"
Natsu felt a sharp pain in his chest; Fairy Tail was not only a home for him, but for all of them "What do you want?"
"I want to cut a deal with you… but before we proceed I need your promise that this information won't leave the premises; what's it going to be Mr. Dragneel?"
Natsu walked to the chair and sat down before nodding to Shiro "I'm listening"
It was early… too early for Lucy; Happy was curled on her belly purring, which she was happy about; she missed her friends breaking into her apartment and jumping on her bed. She had struggled to fall asleep and was only able to manage to get a few hours of rest before waking up to a loud thud outside of her room. She tossed the blankets throwing Happy off the bed, and stomped to the door slamming it open.
"What the hell!"
She blinked a couple of times, Gray had laughed so hard he had let his weight fall onto one of the doors, causing more than one person to wake up and watch a red faced Gajeel still held inside the rune walls in nothing but his boxers.
"SHUT IT ICE PRICK!"
"Morning Gajeel…"
Happy landed on Lucy's head and snickered at the sight "I warned you that you would get in trouble!"
"Shut it cat! Unless you want to become a small carpet!"
"Lucy Help! Gajeel wants to kill me!" She hugged him to her chest and rubbed his ears to calm him down.
"Blondie… Tell Levy to get this shit down! I ain't joking"
"Oh Gajeel, I'm sorry but you are going to have to convince her of that yourself! And what better time than the present… here she comes"
The hall was crowded with mages wearing pajamas, some woke up due to the thud on the door, and some came out after hearing the laughter from their comrades.
"Gajeel…"
"Shrimp! I ain't doing this so you may as well let me out!"
"No"
"No?!"
"No… We are getting ready for council and having breakfast; so, IF you want to starve and let us go by ourselves to hear about Natsu then that's up to you. I mean… what could possibly go wrong if we don't get good news and you are not there… right?" Levy was smirking, she knew how to push his buttons and leaving them to fester by themselves if things didn't work out, it was sure to bother him.
Gajeel stood up and pointed at Levy, he opened his mouth to say something only to close it ; his eye was twitching and he balled his hands before huffing in annoyance. He mumbled something unintelligible "I'm sorry Gajeel, I didn't get that…"
"Tsk...Mhm… Evil shrimp…" He took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm sorry I took her fucking keys alright!" He took a step towards the room but the runes were still there "Hey! I apologized!"
"Oh but I don't think you did it the right way"
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Levy smiled and held her hands to her back "Nope"
Gajeel slammed his fists on the rune wall before rubbing his temples "FINE! I want to apologize to… Princess Lucy… and Mistress Levy… for being a complete idiot…"
The whole aisle erupted in laughter at Gajeel's expense earning a growl from the Dragon Slayer "Well that wasn't so hard, was it?"
"I'm going to get you back for that Shrimp…"
Once the rune wall disappeared in took Gajeel two steps to cross the distance between him and Levy; they were about to get into a heated argument when Lucy approached them "Gajeel… can...can I talk to you?"
It threw him off, but he nodded and followed Lucy to her room; he gulped as soon as the door closed and turned to Lucy without saying a word.
"I can't blame you… for helping him… I know I was angry with you, I still am… But I would probably have done something similar if it meant protecting him…"
Gajeel took a deep breath and finally made his way to one of the couches "Look, It's not like I wanted to piss you off ya know? But, the idiot saved Levy so, I kind of owe him big time"
"I know you do; I also know that for some weird bizarre reason despite everything you are good friends"
"Like I could ever be friends with that idiotic fire lizard…"
Lucy giggled a bit "You can say all you want, but at the end of the day, you worry about him and you know it" Lucy sighed "Is being dense and private with your feelings a Dragon Slayer thing? Really… you guys are so complicated"
"Don't compare me with that idiot… I'm not complicated" Lucy stared at him deeply "Oh… so then it didn't take Levy facing her fears to get you two together then, I'm sorry I must have misunderstood"
"Err… no, I mean… Shut up Bunny girl…" Lucy smiled at him but her smile didn't reach her eyes "I just wish he would talk about how he feels, about everything… he is all loyalty, and fights"
"Mhm… We… I dunno…" He took a deep breath before giving her an understanding look "There was no reason to have these conversations before you know? We didn't grow up like you guys did"
"I know… but you guys should have learned already. He didn't talk about Igneel dying, he just went away… He didn't talk about his nightmares, he just went away… AGAIN, nor he talks about his fears, so what am I supposed to do?"
"Dragons shouldn't be afraid of anything. It may not seem like it, talking about him… the idiot runs to danger as if he didn't think about it, but we don't take choices without certainty; he jumps into stuff because he KNOWS he will win… and that's how he approaches everything"
"So, what you are saying is that he didn't talk about his feelings before because he wasn't sure I would respond to them as he wanted?"
"Basically"
"Well that's just infuriating… We've known each other for years now, he knows me better than anyone… he is my best friend. He should know he can trust me"
"You are both infuriating…" Lucy stared at him in annoyance puffing her cheeks, and not understanding where he was getting at "The one person who could defeat him without touching him is you Bunny Girl, a single word could send him crashing down, and if you can't see that, I'm not sure what else to tell you"
Gajeel stood up and walked to the door, but before opening it, he sighed, "There's a reason why you could hear each other back there, the same reason why your dream seemed so real… think about it" He turned enough just to give her half a smile before clearing his throat "Just to clarify I'll deny this conversation ever happened, and claim you've lost your mind…"
Things ran smoothly after that, they all had breakfast making a bit of conversation, however Lucy couldn't help but to keep thinking on what Gajeel had said last. She got lost in her thoughts and ignored the noises around her for a bit.
After so many years as teammates, it was no surprise Happy was the first to notice Lucy was not quite there "Levy, I don't think she is listening to you, she is being all weird again"
"What? Seriously! Lu?...Earth to Lucy" She snapped out at the sight of Levy's hand waving in front of her face.
"I'm sorry Lev, what were you saying?"
"I was just thinking about how Gajeel would get me back from the little stunt I pulled yesterday. What's on your mind Lu? You seem… off"
"Hmm… Ok … so, it's going to sound impossible, but yesterday I heard what Natsu was thinking sometimes and I saw… something…"
"Something like?"
"Ahem… it seemed like a memory, of some sort of a conversation he had with that crazy redhead; it was bad"
Levy decided not to ask about it since it seemed the thought of it had bothered Lucy "I don't think you are going crazy… ahm… Gajeel had mentioned something before, but I didn't consider a good idea telling you at the moment"
"Levy!"
She raised her hands in an apologetic gesture "I'm sorry Lu! But you were so worried!"
"Just tell me, please Levy"
"So… ahm… he said something about how when dragons choose a partner, their magic energy kind of tangles with the person they've chosen" Lucy stared at her in shock "That's not all… it can only happen if the chosen partner loves the dragon back" Levy could see her friends face getting four shades redder than Erza's hair.
"Ahem, wh-what are you saying Levy?"
"She's saying you liiiiiike each other!"
"Shut it! I'll turn you into violin strings!"
"Carla Help! Lucy wants to torture me!" Happy flew away to the ceiling beams to hide behind Carla and Lily, leaving the girls by themselves.
"Lu he also said that bond could be dangerous… he said if the bond was already settled then you could be at risk if something happened to him"
Lucy laid her head on the table "Levy you are being cryptic again…"
"Aw I'm sorry Lu; Gajeel didn't say much about it. I started asking what that meant for us and he said he wouldn't let it happen without my knowledge, and then he started fighting Gray"
"Well, ask him! Please Levy" Lucy stole a page from Natsu's book, and gave her friend the biggest puppy eyes she'd ever seen "Oh Lu… don't do that! I can't ask him now, he's probably still angry at me!" Lucy pouted a little and grabbed her hand "Pleeeeease, you are my best friend Levy" Levy puffed her cheeks and released her hands "FINE! But if he tortures me somehow, I'll get you back some way!"
Lucy was impressed she managed to convince Levy, but she was even more amazed on how the things Natsu used to do all the time worked on someone other than her -Maybe he does it on purpose, and he's actually an evil genius playing dumb… Oh, I am going mad- she laughed at herself for considering such a ridiculous idea.
Once everyone had finished breakfast they made their way to the council; immediately after they entered their land, it was obvious there were more than a few people that disapproved of their presence, starting with the knights and guard.
They walked silently trying to disregard the hateful looks and whispers that were only distinguishable by the Dragon Slayers "Tsk… I'll gladly take them down right now…" Wendy shook her head "Don't make it worse…"
They entered a room that was similar to the one they've almost destroyed the day before, from the semi-circle of seating arrangements, the windows and the witness stand; this one however had no runes, no grid, or protection.
"Erza...Is it just me or is this a bit… suspicious?" Gray was tensing up little by little; after all, they all expected to be greeted by the full force of the council.
"Indeed… It is" Erza crossed her arms and huffed "Gray… could you PLEASE leave your clothes on while in the council"
"God Dammit!"
"Juvia got Gray's shirt off the floor… not that you need any help anyways…"
"Come on! How many times do I need to say I'm sorry?" Gray stretched his hand towards Juvia, she hesitated for a bit but finally she took it "Just a couple more times…" He smiled at her "As many as you need me to"
Soon all noise died down when the doors from the back opened up revealing the council members following their current leader "Please take a sit"
Despite being wary about the situation they all complied and waited for the council's decision. The tension in the room was so dense it could've been cut with a knife; everyone was ready for the best and the worst. Lucy had a hand on her keys, Gray's hands were held together discreetly, Levy had her pen ready, and Erza had a loose grip on her sword.
"Jailor… Please allow Mr. Dragneel to join us" Natsu walked in looking almost the same as the day before, but Lucy could tell there was something in his eyes; it was a mix between acceptance, relief, and sadness.
"Master Makarov, you should know that I've previously discussed this arrangement with Mr. Dragneel and he's come to accept the terms that will be discussed today"
The guild was less than happy to hear this, they were sure Natsu was not in his right mind and was in no condition to accept their terms. His friends stared at him hoping he'll face them and smile in a relaxed way to let them know everything would be ok, but his eyes remained glued to the council.
"As you know, before your… intrusion… Mr. Dragneel had declared himself guilty of kidnap, murder, and arson; however, in light of the new findings, we understand that he was not only almost led to insanity, but also that the plan of some council members was for him to not get a fair treatment; that's something I can't condone"
Shiro immediately noticed some faces in the audience relaxing "However, we can't be sure of the fact that Mr. Dragneel is not a danger to himself or others… which is why we've come to the following conclusion; He will be allowed to go back to Magnolia with the condition of not using his magic at all for the next six months"
A few gasps were heard from the back, of course not being able to use your magic for a bit in exchange for freedom was not as bad as being executed, but they had never seen him without using his magic, even for a little.
"What do you include as using his magic? He is after all a Dragon Slayer" Erza was firmly staring at the council hoping the answer was not as bad as she thought it was.
"Well Ms. Scarlett, we consider everything; this goes from lighting one single finger, to transforming into his demon form, or eating any kind of fire since his body uses his magic to metabolize it"
Sting balled his fists in anger "Wait now! You are going to starve him! Do you know what could happen to a Dragon Slayer without eating his element even for a month?!" Rogue quickly got next to him and held him down "He's right, it's inhumane"
"Be that as it may, Dragon Slayers become stronger when feeding on their element, and at this point this is something we can't allow. Mr. Dragneel will survive on food, so calling it starvation is a bit harsh"
"You don't know what is like!"
Natsu stood up and turned to Sting giving him an angry look "I've already agreed to it; the decision has been made, so, put a cork on it" He shook his head and sat down, but the anxiety remained deep inside his chest.
"If he fails to comply… the details of the case will be released to the public, and he will surrender to the council or be hunted by them. Along with that he will be receiving periodic visits by a telepath chosen by the council to review his advances and state of mind"
Natsu stood up and walked giving his back to the council before kneeling "I'm ready old man, let's get this over with"
"Very well… Jailor, please proceed"
A tall round man walked towards Natsu holding a contraption of some sort; it looked like two semi circles joined by one end and open at the other. He stood behind Natsu and placed it on his neck before closing the other end. The clicking sound of it closing made Natsu's brows twitch "Just do it" that's the only thing he said before his face contorted in pain with the final touch.
"What are you doing to him?!" Lucy almost ran towards him but was stopped my Makarov "There's nothing we can do now"
Once it was over, Natsu was panting but otherwise well; he stood up and rubbed the back of his neck hissing when his hand touched a sore spot.
"Nothing has been done to him that he didn't agree to Ms. Heartfilia. The item around his neck is imbedded with different sorts of magic along with a Lacrima that will inform us of his whereabouts and will set off an alarm if he uses magic. This is connected directly between his sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae which will ultimately allow us to incapacitate him if he tries to evade the council"
"Incapacitate him? That could kill him! Are you mad!?"
"It could, but most likely wouldn't although even if he is a Dragon slayer I doubt he could move a finger after the shock to his nervous system. This could, of course, end badly for him if he ever chooses to go rogue again, paralysis, loss of nerve control or even speech, just to name a few. Now with this we considered this session closed, I'll have a word with Mr. Dragneel in my chamber before his departure; please wait patiently outside of the premises"
Natsu followed Shiro to one of the doors, once it closed the council member turned to Natsu; before he could say anything Natsu held his finger on his mouth signaling him to stay in silence until he was told otherwise.
Outside people were growing impatient, different groups of mages were scattered discussing the events and providing their opinion to the council's ruling. Lucy was pacing from one side to the next rapidly holding a sobbing Happy to her chest; her eyes were lost and her thoughts were scattered.
"Lucy you are going to make a ditch" Gray held Lucy's shoulders and rubbed them with his thumbs "It's going to be ok"
"How is it going to be ok? It's Natsu we are talking about! He can't go six months without his magic! Hell, he can't even go through breakfast without burning something up!"
"Indeed he can't, in all honesty I'm worried about that myself" Erza had joined them as soon as he saw Gray holding her "But we'll have to make sure he does, the consequences are too great"
"But guys! Natsu uses his magic for everything! How is he going to work, or eat, or be Natsu?" The blue cat was extremely worried about his friend; he hadn't been with him for months now and was afraid of this changing him too much.
"Don't worry about it" Gray rubbed Happy's ear "We'll help out, anyways you usually don't keep your reward, you guys always end up paying damage or giving it to Lucy with rent! So, how about you come to a few missions and take your reward in full?"
"Aye! I could help Natsu just as much as he has helped me!"
"That's the attitude Happy!"
They noticed Wendy and Gajeel getting closer to them along with Sting and Rogue "He's coming!" Wendy was excited about her friend coming home despite the circumstances.
Slowly they noticed him walking towards them, but he wasn't alone. Lucy pursed her hips when she noticed the tall, redheaded woman walking closely next to Natsu "I thought she was gone…"
"I think we all did…" Erza's held her sword tightly.
Natsu's pace slowed down even more as if he wasn't looking forward to meeting his friends; he stopped in his tracks before Meryl held his hand to her chest and said something to him, he gave her a half smile and nodded before continuing his way; the sight made Lucy's blood boil.
"Hey…Guys… I… Thanks for everything, but can we not talk about this for now? I…" Merryl grabbed his arm "He just needs time, ok?"
"So is he not able to speak for himself? Or is that your new mission now?" the poison in Lucy's voice was so strong that even Cobra would have been thrown to the ground.
"I can speak perfectly fine Luce, I do need time and she is just trying to help, ok?"
"Oh I think she's helped quite enough" Lucy turned on her heel and walked away. Natsu rubbed the back of his neck, hissing again at the sharp pain on it "I think I'm not the only one that will need time"
*In Shiro's office*
Natsu followed Shiro to one of the doors, once it closed the council member turn to Natsu; before he could say anything Natsu held his finger on his mouth signaling him to stay in silence until he was told otherwise.
"Ok, it should be safe now"
"What was that about?"
"Old man! You have 5 other Dragon Slayers in the room and believe me their hearing is not to be taken lightly"
"Do you think they will pose a problem?"
"Nah, I'll handle them…"
"You need to be certain; you won't succeed if they find out about what you are doing"
"It'll be fine… can I… at least talk to Lucy about this? I've hurt her enough already… If I do this and it works out I'm not sure she'll forgive me"
"You can't tell her, getting her involved will just endanger her. I highly doubt after all you did to protect her you would take that risk now"
"This is going to suck…"
"It certainly will, but if you manage to complete your end… in six months you'll have your life back and Earthland will be a better place"
"You don't really think I'll have my life back once everyone knows the things I've done… do you?"
"I'll do the best I can to make sure you do, but…"
"But there are no guarantees… I know. How long do I have before shit hits the fan?"
"No more than two months"
Natsu nodded with new determination, this would be the way to end things with the least possible damage. He was worried about Lucy but hoped she'll eventually forgive him for everything; he wasn't aware of the bond he shared with her, and thought listening to her voice had been a moment of mental weakness and nothing else. Little did he know that she was aware now of the bond and he would have a hard time keeping any secrets from her.