A/N: So another longer chapter, for this story, this time. I touch briefly on a lot of this so get ready for that. For those familiar with the other stories featuring the Pradesh family you will already know most of this and will get a nice idea of the timeline of things for this story.
Vander was far from happy. He'd made plans to seduce two very beautiful people into staying by his side forever but he couldn't do that with thousands of miles between them and it was all the fucking Steel Council's fault. What was worse was not once had he ever wanted become a Bloodhunter, Bosco's organization of covert spies and assassins. The Steel Council, the board of people who ruled over all the Bloodhunters, literally threatened to harm his family if he didn't play along and he knew they would. A month ago now he'd discovered that a fellow bloodhunter's parents had been murdered by the council and now his cousin was squirreled away somewhere for continued leverage.
He and Presca had gone out on any number of jobs together before and not once had he suspected. Before he'd overheard that damning conversation he'd thought the other man was just another mindless dupe the Steel Council had trained into a deadly weapon for them to wield as they liked, had enjoyed fucking with him to try and get some sort of sign of independence of thought out of him. He'd never been so happy each member of his family was so well known and positions of power. There was no way for them to "go missing" without a huge investigation being instigated by the King himself, an old family friend of his father's.
The same could not really be said about Freed and Lucy and that was why he had to go back to Bosco now, get himself clear and hopefully any of the other Bloodhunters that were being forced into service so they all could start a real future.
Staring out over the deck of the military ship Vander felt the presence of another person walk up next to him.
"What's wrong?" a deep almost gravelly voice questioned. The shadowquip debated internally of whether or not he could open up to at least this brother. He'd lived for years in much worse circumstances and would be able to understand Vander's tenuous position but respect his decision for what it was.
"Zen, you cannot share this with anyone and I mean especially Dad or Farron. They'd both try charging in to fix things and that will put all of you in danger, more danger I think than even I realize." A silent nod from his most stoic of siblings was all the answer he neede.
"The Steel Council is fucked up. I knew that going in since they threatened to harm Dad and the others if I didn't, but this is worse. I overheard two members of the council discussing some seriously messed up shit." Looking up and meeting the bright gold flecked amethyst eyes of his older brother he continued.
"Zen, they have Boscan citizens, family members of the most senior and skilled Bloodhunters, imprisoned somewhere in Bellum so these people are forced to continue serving not our home but these men. They are enslaving us and it is only a matter of time before I'm one of them."
Vander watched carefully seeing only the tightness of Zen's jaw and the rigidity of his stance and knew he'd made the right decision. This brother had been kidnapped and taken as a Pergrandian slave when he was only 4 years old. He'd spent years as a lab rat until he was big enough to become a Gladiator forced to kill man and beast alike to stay alive, to survive that hell until he could make it home. It wasn't until last year when shit hit the fan with Kurino, Bosco's used to be Crown Princess, Kressa, the now deceased Queen of Seven, joining forces with the War Queens of Joya to take down Karadin, King of Pergrande.
The war had been brutal leaving many people dead but out of the ashes Kaleb had found Zen barely alive crushed underneath a pillar he'd been supporting so the female slaves had a chance to get away before an explosion had the whole area coming down.
Fortunately their brother Cristoff, a Lunar Dragon Slayer and powerful healer, had been close. They gotten Zen free, healed and Vander himself had taken the 5 magical restraints off of him before cleaning him up and taking their once thought dead family member home. It was Kurino's actions in trying to use Zen like she did Kaleb and Cristoff to force their oldest brother Farron into giving himself to her to save them from the tortures of her bed that finally became her downfall - losing her position in line to the crown and being exiled from Bosco.
Zen's life until now made him patient and calculating, he would not act without a sound plan in place and would be cautious with the threat of enslavement hanging over his family's head.
"I had already planned on taking them all down but I know realise I might not have the time I thought I had...My magic, it's getting more painful and harder to control." He finally dropped the bomb. Everyone in his family knew the dangers inherent in his magic. The void creatures were constantly trying to exert their will over him, turn him into a free gateway into the living world so they could glut themselves on the lives of every living thing, and it was only his soul that prevented their success.
"What happened?" Zen succinctly questioned.
"I met two incredible people in Magnolia. At first I couldn't understand why I was so drawn to them, why I had to be near them, had to have myself wrapped around them but then I realized… It didn't hurt anymore and how much it had been hurting. I finally slept peacefully when we shared a bed. I'd...forgotten what that was like. I only left them because I didn't want Grendance and his fellow council members to find out about them and now… Fuck! Zen, the pain is back and I can feel how close to losing it I really am. I need them but I need them safe even more."
The silence stretched out as the brothers thought quietly over what could be done. Their options were limited not knowing who could be trusted or having irrefutable evidence to bring forward so damning that the King could take immediate action to limit the damage those men could cause. What both men realized was that they first needed to secure everyone the Steel Council had in their secret prison so the Bloodhunters under their control were finally free. Without that power behind them the corrupted council members could be dealt with much more cleanly.
Shit Lucy's Gemini power could come in really handy in finding that location, Vander thought as a particularly strong need to hold the woman close gripped his chest.
A portal of golden light appeared right over their heads and both men were instantly armed and alert. The ship continued its fast pace clearing the oddity in less than a second only after that second Vander recognized the person who dropped out of said portal now free-falling erratically in the buffeting wind unprotected like he and Zen were from their wake turbulence and jet streams.
High pitched screams tore through the air and there was nothing Vander could do about it. The sky was clear leaving no potential shadows for him to slip into other than his own when he got closer to the ground. Decision made the shadowquip mage prepared to jump of the airship but saw Zen on wing diving straight for Lucy before he could clear the railing.
Zen stiffened further when he saw the beautiful woman helplessly falling through the air. He knew, just like he always did, that this woman was pure of heart. His blood even sang in his veins resonating with her magic. She, just like he was, was from the heavens and it was his duty to protect her.
That feeling by now was familiar to Zen, he'd encountered many celestial mages in his time to not recognize the effect they had on him before he lost his will completely to them, only this blonde was different. He didn't feel his mind fogging or any sort of loss of control, he was safe from her. It was a good thing to because his wings had already popped out and he was flying right for her.
The day was bright and clear, cool with a gentle breeze flitting through the trees. All in all perfect fishing weather for the boys which meant they were sitting quietly by the large lake while Lucy sat against a tree enjoying its shade. Archive out the celestial mage once again set to work looking up all known samples of writing documented looking for at least what type of language decorated Vander and her bodies.
She started with the oldest first since the intricate painted lines were more similar to the ancient Midi she'd seen before. That had been more symbols like birds and suns but as opposed to the crossing lines of what she was looking for but she figured their meanings were constructed similarly as opposed to the letters equating sounds associated with common. Some symbols were intricate with a handful of lines of varying lengths but others were incredibly simplistic and looked almost like an upside down V.
Sorting and scanning Lucy completely missed the magical disruption around her until she her Natsu's panicked voice.
"Lucy!" he yelled lunging for her as the busty blonde stared falling, their fingertips brushing before she was completely out of reach. He was about to dive in after he but the golden circle that had opened up under her out of nowhere was gone just as quickly. "Lucy," cried in anger slamming his fist at the ground.
Why was it everything weird that happened was always around his friend? He'd gotten complacent after only a couple years of quiet; he should have known better and now one of his best friends had been taken right in front of him. Treacherous tears rolled down his face. Lucy was so much more than a friend. She was like Happy...Family. He needed to get her back.
Standing slowly Natsu let the flames that had overtaken his body die down. "Common Happy. We've got to go find Lucy," he said determination fierce in his eyes.
So I haven't made Natsu a complete jerk in this story because to be honest he really isn't. He's just an adolescent boy who's been emotionally messed with since his original death hundreds of years ago before being raised from the dead by his crazy AF brother and turned into a demon. Good thing rewrote END and Gray killed off that demon magic from consuming her huh? He's got those precious moments I'm being reminded of as I re-read the manga. If only he realized Lucy is a girl and that meant more than her having huge breasts. The women he grew up around were hardly normal so it's probably why he sees her as so weird... Oh well, let me know what you think.
Love, Blas