Perspective kinda jumps around alot this chapter, but i honestly couldn't think of a better way to work it out. still not honestly happy with this chapter (Heck, this whole arc isn't turning out like i wanted) but at the very least we'll be done with this arc next chapter so there's that. plus i wanted to try to get out something before i disappear before Christmas. Enjoy!
Natsu glared from his corner of the room at the newest dragon slayer, the tension in the room so noticeable that even he was picking up on it. They had arrived at the town only a few minutes ago and Erza had almost instantly herded them into the Inn with a scowl to force the Fairy Tail members to obey, while Tiria followed on the promise of cake. Apparently, she had just as much of an appetite as Natsu and Gajeel, something that would've made the dragon slayer happy normally but with Luce still missing it was more kinda just…annoying.
With them all crowded around in a single room Erza had pulled out a weird orb thingy, the Ice jerk saying that apparently it was some kinda communication lacrima, and within a second the Master's angry face was on the other end, the old man demanding a report on what they had discovered. Erza went over the stuff about how they had shown up in town and gone to look for the missing blonde, how they got attacked, and how their attacker revealed themselves to know that Lucy had been taken by that Jude bastard she had mentioned after the whole Phantom thingy.
And that was why the little green haired dragon slayer and the old man were in a staring match, the water dragon slayer's look a strange mix between tense and tired while the old man looked mostly just annoyed with a little worried…or at least Natsu thought it might be worried, he was never really that good at telling feelings from someone's face.
"So…allow me to reiterate the situation…" Master Makarov ground out, like it was painful for him to force the words out of his mouth. "Not only is Jude Heartfilia, the man who betrayed the council, alive and well, but he is also the one who has captured Lucy? All in an attempt to recreate the program of the Heartfilia Institute?"
"Ya that's…pretty much it." Tiria confirmed with a shrug. "I mean, your kinda missing a whole bunch of details about how awful its going to be, and how he's probably already gotten around to trying to break her will but ya."
"…Are you aware that you are not the easiest person to talk to?"
"Yep, I've been told its part of my charm." The girl answered easily, Natsu, the other occupants of the room, and the Master all glaring at her with varying levels of anger.
But the Master eventually put aside his growing fury, drawing upon the patience that had developed after so many years of dealing with Natsu. "And the Magic Council? What of them?"
"Best guess is that one or maybe all of them knew about this and just turned a blind eye to try and get rid of evidence or they just didn't notice at all…and considering how stupid they are most of the time I'm kinda leaning towards the latter."
"…I see…Thank you for informing my children of this conspiracy Child, but I must ask. Why have you insisted that Erza and the others not go after her immediately? Surely if the situation is as dire as you say then we should assault their base of operations at the earliest opportunity."
"Because they'll lose." Tiria answered with a tone of voice like she was talking about the weather, Natsu's anger leaping to the front of his mind. But before he could even growl Gray shot forward and slammed his fist down on the table, the Lacrima bouncing up and down for a second in response.
"I've had enough of this! You attack us, tell us our friend is kidnapped, and then say we're too weak to do anything?! You've got a lot of nerve…" He half growled, half yelled, as he slipped a hand under his shirt, Natsu assuming that he did so just in case they needed to fight and he needed to lose clothing fast.
"Oh, cry me a river Ice boy." The water dragon slayer shot back, seemingly unbothered by his rage. "You all couldn't even handle a single sneak attack by someone who was just testing you. What the hell do you think is gonna happen when you go in there against people who will kill you just as easily as they breath? I'll tell you what; they'll slips a dagger though your back, between your ribs, and into your heart before you even notice someone's there."
Natsu gritted his teeth at that, wanting to yell back that they would be fine, but did kinda get what she was getting at. Even with all his dragon slayer senses, he hadn't picked up on her being nearby until it was almost too late. Meaning that the others wouldn't have a chance of noticing someone lurking around like she had been without him around.
But he was Natsu Dragneel, and he wasn't about to let a logical argument stop him. "Like hell they'll get us like that! We're Fairy Tail! We don't lose in fights!"
"Could've fooled me." She huffed back, Natsu preparing to shout back but was stopped when Erza slammed her hands down on the table as well.
"Enough! The Master is not done speaking!"
"…Thank you Erza. Now then, Ms. Irving, while I understand your reservations about our mages I can assure you that my children are more than prepared for the danger."
The two continued to stare at each other for a moment more, Tiria studying him though the orb while the Master watched back with the same look Natsu always saw on the old mans face. And apparently that was enough for the water dragon slayer, as Tiria sighed before raising her hands and shrugging.
"Alright fine, if you really want to just throw bodies at the problem until its solved then who am I to stop you…hell, if your all getting their attention then maybe ill find a chance to sneak around and find her."
"Fair enough. Now then, you claimed that you knew exactly where our Lucy has been taken. Would you be so kind as to release that information now?"
"…she's on an airship." The water dragon slayer revealed, both Natsu and Gajeel tensing slightly at the revelation.
"S-ship…she's on a ship? Y-your sure?" Natsu tentatively asked, now suddenly much more anxious about their chances.
"She should be, considering I got this info from a pirate that ran off when Jude seized control of their ship. Apparently, the old bastard snuck onto their ship, killed the captain, and took their ship for their own. Most of the crew stayed on 'cause apparently he doesn't care what they do or take so long as they don't stick their heads into his business. Though a few of them left when he took over, one of which I found and got this info from."
"But Juvia is confused, how can Ms. Irving be certain that the man was telling the truth, or that they have Ms. Lucy?"
"Because I can be very…persuasive, when I want to. It was one of the more useful things that the blonde bastard taught us after all." The green haired girl continued, the Fairy Tail mages around them shifting slightly in unease.
"An airship…that does complicate things. We will need to determine its exact heading, how high they are traveling, their expected course…" Erza began to mutter under her breath, her eyes narrowing in concentration as Tiria stared at her with a look Natsu didn't really get.
"…or you can just ask the eleven-year-old dragon slayer who's been preparing for this fight for the last few months. The same one who figured out where Lucy is and already knows where we can rent an airship to get there. You know, the simpler option? Or do you Fairy Tail mages just like making things more difficult." She threw out, Erza's cheeks turning red as she looked away and coughed.
"Yes well…I suppose we could consider other alternatives." The red head admitted before launching into a discussion on where exactly they would launch their own airship from, and how best to get inside the pirate one.
But Natsu had already tuned out whatever they were talking about in favor of staring out at the night sky. He really, REALLY, wanted to go after his partner right now, but Erza had threatened him with only low-ranking missions for the next few years if he went off by himself…plus knowing now that the weird blonde was flying through the sky did make it kinda harder to get to her by himself.
But this waiting…this sucks! Natsu thought with a low growl as he stomped out of the room and eventually out the front door of the inn. Luce's out there waitin' for us and here we are wastin' time talking about how to get her! She didn't wait to get us back in that Edolas place…damn it!
But Natsu's thoughts were interrupted when he felt a paw on his pant leg, the pink haired dragon slayer looking down to see a worried looking Happy at his side. "Natsu…I'm worried about Lucy..." The blue cat admitted as he stared down at the ground, his eyes watering as he continued to hold onto the fire dragon slayers leggings. "She might be really weird, but she's all alone right now and…"
"I get it little buddy. I get it." Natsu agreed as he glared up at the moon like the white orb was the one who had kidnapped their friend. "But as much as I hate to admit it, the water girl in there's kinda right. We never fight against people who wont fight with us…even those weirdoes in Eisenwald still fought us straight on." Natsu didn't even think for a second that he could beat the shit out of anyone who got between him and his partner. But if their dumb mages weren't going to fight head on…then the fire dragon slayer wasn't really sure what to do. "But don't worry Happy. I wont let anyone hurt her, she's our first teammate after all, she belongs with me- I mean us, she belongs with us." Natsu finished, kinda confused over the weird feeling in his chest that he got when he thought of not ever seeing Luce again and his weird slipup…Eh, I'll think about it later.
"Ya! She's our partner not some stupid assassin lady like Tiria was saying!" Happy agreed with a smile and a few rapid nods of his head, Natsu smiling down at one of his first friends before looking back up at the sky.
Hang on Luce, we're commin' for ya!
Pain, that was all she knew, all she understood, the totality of her existence, inky putrid magic scratching across her thoughts as it slowly creeped through her brain.
Her throat was horse from the constant screaming despite the fact that she could no longer feel it. Dragon Lucy had assumed control long ago, from the first moment that Jude forced one of the black needles into her head, the magical devices not actually penetrating the skin but rather attacking her in a way that the blonde could only describe as "attacking her very existence."
She could feel the Weave attempt to fight back, the black lines that indicated its activation likely covering her skull, but despite both its attempts and her own defenses the feeling continued to spread though her thoughts until all she could think of was the pain…
…and then it was gone. The agony, the pure unfiltered pain vanished like it had never existed, leaving the blonde elemental mage limp and panting.
"…I'm so sorry Subject One. While I cannot help but be fascinated by how a person is affected by these shadow spikes, I never wished to cause you such pain." Jude apologized as he placed the dark magic rods back on the table beside Lucy's chair, Lucy almost believing him for a moment…almost.
"You…should be careful…Jude, I was almost…convinced you cared…for a second." Lucy managed to get out in between breaths, trying her hardest to channel as much of what she thought Natsu would say.
"Is it so strange that I am concerned for you?" Jude returned, moving to kneel before Lucy with a strange look on his face. "You are my greatest success, my pride, and a gift from Solomon to the world. What reason would I have to not be concerned for your wellbeing?"
That got Lucy's attention away from the pain for a brief moment. "You…you mentioned Solomon earlier…how do you know about them?" Lucy questioned as she tried to gather her magic for another attempt to escape. Remembering her training that if she could get her captor talking she could delay them until the situation changed.
Unfortunately, the man responsible for teaching her such things was her current captor. The smile on his face causing Lucy's heart to drop. "A Subject One, trying to get me to monologue in order to gather magic energy? Though its misguided, I'm happy to see you take our training to heart." The blonde man chuckled as he stood back up and stared up at the celling on contemplation. "…Though now that I consider it, I have no real reason to not speak on the subject." He thought out loud before staring down at Lucy, his eyes serious. "…Solomon, a name that was once known, and feared, throughout the world. A king in a much grander sense of the word than anyone alive today could fully comprehend, myself included."
"Why? What made this king so special? And what do I have to do with them?" Lucy questioned, her voice wavering with barely suppressed emotion. A part of her knew that by directing his questions he might not speak for so long, that it did not benefit her current situation, but a much louder part of her mind was desperate to hear this, to find out what this otherworldly force that seemed to haunt her every action was. True, she had heard about some of this from her Edolas counterpart, how Solomon was believed to have created magic, but even then, she had been skeptical. Surely a single individual couldn't be responsible for all the worlds magic…right?
"Solomon was the worlds first true leader. They united the many warring people of our world, brought order and stability to magic, imposed a rule of law with an iron fist all over a thousand years ago." Jude listed off as he began to pace around the room. "They forged peace with the dragons, the demons, and created the first Machias…before vanishing from history, choosing the family of their respected advisor in command of their empire. A family that would one day become the rulers of Pergrande, though that advisor's descendants were eventually slaughtered by the Black Wizard Zeref."
Lucy's eyes widened slightly at that, the mention of the slowly failing nation not one she was expecting, nor the mention of the father of dark magic. "Then…if I have something to do with Solomon why did you have us…"
"Why did I have you constantly weakening their nation? It's simple, because your throne needed to be prepared." Jude answered, laughing at Lucy's even wider eyes. "That surprised, are you? I told you, you are a gift from Solomon themselves…their descendant, their child."
Lucy couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't even begin to understand the words that were now echoing though her skull. Child?...but…but that can't be…I'm not that old! She thought in a panic, Dragon Lucy not fully able to suppress her anxiety or unease. "I don't understand Jude, why bother lying at this point? You gain no advantage over me by trying to confuse me."
"Lie? I'd be insulted that you would assume I would stoup so low if it weren't for the fact that its understandable why you are confused. Not many beings emerge from pure ethernano in location closely related to the ancient king."
"E-emerged?"
"I see, I had assumed that Solomon would have contacted you with information on your origin before now. But I can no longer afford to wait for our former ruler to speak…you were a infant who was born from the very lifeblood of our planet deep within the ruins underneath the former Magic Council headquarters in Era, ruins built over one thousand years ago. A child that appeared in the very place that Solomon was believed to have disappeared at." Jude continued in the same, almost bored, tone as before. The man revealing life altering information with the same casualness as someone speaking of the weather.
"No…that's…" Lucy muttered as she began to shake in her bindings. She wanted to deny it, to cry out with all the anger and fear that Dragon Lucy was unable to eliminate, but she couldn't rationalize why Jude would continue to weave such a story.
"Of course, many were horrified to see a child so young emerge from the pure ethernano, some in fact calling for you to be imprisoned in Black Vox just to be safe. Naturally I could not allow such a disrespectful act against Solomon's direct descendant and as such had to eliminate or bribe anyone who knew of your existence and took it upon myself to help you reach your true potential."
"…by training me to assassinate people? By keeping me from feeling?" Lucy growled out, a furious glare on her face.
"Of course." Jude answered instantly with an annoyed expression. "A ruler does not need to feel to rule, they cannot afford to cry over every little thing. And it is only natural for those in power to face threats to their lives at any given time and as such, a ruler who understands assassinations will be better prepared when they must face their own." He continued, and while Lucy could see the logic of his argument it just felt…wrong. "And of course, I would be there every step of the way, advising you on the proper course that humanity must take."
Jude continued to talk, mentioning something about what exactly they would do once Lucy came to power, but Lucy couldn't hear him over the roar of her blood in her ears. She couldn't believe, refused to accept, what she was hearing. I…not human? Even ignoring my dragon side I was born from magic? Terror threatened to overwhelm Lucy, the knowledge that she was even less normal than she had believed almost too much to bear, but just when her sorrow grew to the breaking point she remembered something that had slipped her mind, that there were people who cared for her despite everything that she was, had accepted her for who she had been.
Without conscious effort, images of her guild mates flew though her mind, of Mira's smiling face from behind the bar, Gray's confident smirk, Erza's sharp but kind gaze, and Natsu. Every time that her partner refused to give up on her.
"…It doesn't matter what the world wants from me, or why I was born." Lucy muttered slowly, confidently, in a tone that all but forced Jude to pause in his plans and pay attention. "The only thing that matters is that I belong to Fairy Tail, that they welcomed me even after I brought destruction to their doorstep…and I refuse to betray that." Lucy looked up into the surprised black eyes of the man who forged her, her own brown orbs filled with determination. "And I will see you brought to ruin for your actions."
"…Well now, it appears that your time in the light wasn't for naught." Jude eventually declared as he placed a hand on his chin. "The old Subject One would've never have made a declaration like that…on second thought, perhaps I won't remove all your memories of your time with them, they clearly have had some positive effect on your personality." He decided, his words sending a sharp stab of ice though Lucy's veins.
"R-remove?! What do you mean? What have you done to me Jude Heartfilia!" Lucy all but roared, both her and Dragon Lucy's responses syncing in a way they almost never did.
"Surely you don't think that the time we've spent in here was simple torture?" Jude questioned with an incredulous glint in his eyes. "My dear, these devices you see before you serve a very specific purpose, the removal of a targets memories at the user's discretion."
"Y-you lie…I-I still remember Fairy Tail, I still remember my family." Lucy shot back, desperately searching her memories for any discrepancies, for anything that didn't make sense.
"Of course, you do. I haven't touched those yet." Jude answered as he moved for the door. "No, tonight's session was for the sole purpose of removing all memories between you leaving the institute along with that infuriating lizards mission."
"…M-mission?" Lucy parroted as she desperately thought back. She remembered the fire, her deal with the Magic council, and then…didn't she join Fairy Tail immediately after? No…NO! That's wrong! Mom wanted me to do something for her! To find something! W-what was it! Lucy all but screamed in her head as she frantically tried to remember.
But no matter how hard she searched she couldn't find it. There was nothing, no memory of her adoptive mother telling her to do something…but it just wasn't there anymore.
"Its quite the complicated process, rewriting someone's memories. Hence why we will stop until tomorrow." Jude's voice broke though the dull hum in her ears, her eyes watching him open the door to her cell with unshed tears. "Until tomorrow, Lucy of Fairy Tail, enjoy your memories while you can." And with that he shut and sealed her in, the darkness not nearly as comfortable as it used to be.
The tears that had remained stubbornly in the corners of her eyes finally began to fall, the sounds of the ships engines just loud enough to mask her sobs. Only a few hours ago Lucy would've done anything to keep her friends away from this place, to not risk letting them see even a hint of her past and what she would need to do to escape from it. But now…now she wanted noting more than for someone to help.
"Natsu…everyone…please hurry." Lucy whispered as she screwed her eyes shut, trying desperately to stem the tide of tears that were still flowing down her cheeks. "If you don't…I won't be me anymore."
"So, this is where we're gonna get a ship? 'Cause it smells weird here." Natsu confirmed, scrunching up his nose at a scent that he could only describe as a mixture of really old boots and really spicy spices, neither something he really enjoyed.
It had been a day and a half since their group had been attacked by the water dragon slayer and it was only now that they were finally going to do something to get Luce back. They had spent nearly all of the day before on an expensive non-stop train to get where they needed to be, Wendy casting Troia for Natsu and Gajeel since Tiria didn't need it for some reason, something about being able to control the motion of fluid in her body so she didn't feel it or somethin' like that. And at the end of their hellish journey they found themselves in some kinda sky port town. Natsu had to admit, even with the fact of Luce's capture hanging over his head, he couldn't help but stare slack jawed at all the crazy looking ships flying though the sky, some even having miniature dragon statues carved on their fronts.
And while any other day Natsu would be all over going to see all the dragon-ship thingy's, there was much more important things to worry about today.
"Yep, got a man in town how can be easily… "persuaded" to loan out his ship for the day." Tiria answered as she slipped in between the crowds of people in the market they were in, slipping though so easily that Natsu wasn't sure that anyone even noticed her.
"I understand that you do not operate on the same ethical plane as the rest of us…but if you attempt to steal a ship I will have to punish you." Erza warned, not needing to maneuver though the crowd as they parted before her due to her massive cart of luggage.
"I meant more bribing and intimidation but fine, I won't steal it…not like we could get it pretty far with Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dumb here." The girl snickered as she pointed over her shoulder at Natsu and Gajeel, both dragon slayers making noises of fury before cutting themselves off at Erza's glare.
"I can help! Plus, we got Wendy here so she can keep us up!" Natsu shouted while Gajeel mumbled about how he was still better than Salamander.
"Ya, because that's a great idea." Tiria scoffed as she actually turned around and planted her hands on her hips. "Let's get the only person here who can heal everyone to use her magic just to make you guys more comfortable. Because its not like we're going to be attacking someone any time soon."
Natsu couldn't help but growl at the younger slayer. Now that he really thought about it, ever since they had met the really annoying water dragon slayer she had been nothing but a jerk to Natsu. Not that she was much better with anyone else, Erza and Wendy pretty much the only two of their group that could talk with her normally, but with Natsu it was like she had a grudge against him or somethin'…maybe he destroyed a town she was in?
"I-I'd be fine! I have enough magic to help Natsu and Gajeel and heal everyone!" Wendy added in, her fists held out in front of her with a confident look on her face, despite the fact that Carla was shaking her head in denial from the blue haired girls shoulder.
"No, Ms. Irving is correct. We cannot afford to waste magic at such a critical juncture. Natsu and Gajeel will just have to suffer." Erza denied, Wendy nodding sullenly as Erza turned back to the green haired slayer. "Regardless, due to your previous actions, I do not trust you to act respectively in regardless to procuring our transport. As such I will accompany you."
"…Whatever, that works too." Tiria muttered under her breath as Erza turned to the others.
"Gray and Juvia, I want you to go and purchase supplies. Bandages, antidotes, and whatever other goods you believe we will require. Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel and the Exceeds, head to the local inn and rent us some rooms for the afternoon."
"Wha! What the hell are you talkin' about Erza! We don't have time for this shit, we need to go get Luce!" Natsu shouted, a good deal of the people around them pausing to stare at him with nervous expressions, not that the dragon slayer cared.
"Natsu! We will not blindly rush into an enemy encampment without proper preparations. We cannot rescue our family if we lose because we were unprepared!" Erza half-shouted back, a glare that would normally cause Natsu's blood to run cold on her face, a glare that Natsu only scowled deeper at. "You will listen to my orders or I will inform the Master of your refusal."
Natsu clenched his jaw so tight that he could've sworn he heard his teeth chip before finally turning and storming off into the crowd, the air around him shimmering lightly from the heat of his anger.
It wasn't long before the other two slayers caught up to him, Wendy staring up at him with a concerned, forced smile. "D-don't worry Natsu! I'm sure that Ms. Lucy will be fine! Sh-she was alright in Edolas after all, she can take care of herself."
"This isn't like that Wendy!" Natsu shot back, both pinked-haired and blue haired slayer blinking in surprise at the anger he was directing at the younger girl, Natsu gritting his teeth as he pushed on. "This isn't just some stupid soldier guys without magic, these guys were after here and I wasn't-." Natsu cut off, unwilling to finish that sentence.
"Calm the hell down Salamander. The Squirt's right, Bunny girl can take care of herself. Plus, isn't this just kinda what happens to you fairies? It happened to Erza and a ton of other guildmates too right? Hell, Bunny girl's been kidnapped like…three times? Four? I can't even remember." Gajeel scoffed before pausing as Natsu turned around and fixed him with a glare that was so full of venom and anger that even the iron dragon slayer had to pause, a realization dawning on him. "This possessiveness…Salamander…are you?" He muttered, Natsu's glare lessening as it gave away to confusion.
"What? What about me?"
"…Hah...if your dumbass dragon dad didn't talk to you about this then I'm sure as hell not." Gajeel shook his head as she shouldered past. Wendy, Natsu, and the Exceeds watching him leave for a second before following after.
"…Sorry 'bout that Wendy. Just annoyed that we're just gonna be sitting around while Luce's…" Natsu eventually muttered, his hands in his pockets and a pout on his lips.
"Its ok Natsu…I'm worried too." Wendy admitted, her eyes downcast and a miserable expression on her face. "Ms. Lucy has already gone through so much and now she's by herself…I wish we were with her when they attacked. Then we could've helped her."
Natsu frowned at that, the younger slayer brining up something that Natsu didn't really want to think about. So instead of trying to he just fumed silently as they followed after their metal companion, found the place that Erza wanted them to go, and waited. Wendy had tried to strike up conversation a few times, talking about what they would do when they brought Lucy back, but Natsu wasn't in the mood for talking and Gajeel was…well, he was Gajeel. So eventually the three slayers just decided to remain silent until their group met back up, Erza stepping up with her usual commanding presence.
"Good, now that we have all returned we may formulate our attack strategy." Erza declared, drawing Natsu out of his worries. "Captain Millias, the kind man who has agreed to take us up-."
"Wonder what exactly she threatened the guy with to get him to agree." Gray whispered, mostly to himself, as Erza continued.
"-will take us to the ship believed to be carrying our comrade. We will disembark and divide into two groups. One will attempt to seize the ships control room in order to force it to the ground, while the other will search for our companion. The Lucy search group will be comprised of our dragon slayers plus Tiria and the Exceeds. The rest of us will prioritize the nerve center…now then, Ms. Irving here has information to share on our potential opponents." Erza commanded as she waved her hand in the direction of the green haired slayer, said girl snorting and uncrossing her arms.
"Alright so, I don't really know much about the whole pirate gang other than there's only a few mages among them with no real impressive skills. One fire mage, two wind users, and apparently one guy who uses requip. The real threats are Subject's Two, Three, and Jude himself."
"First off is Priscilla Mantisen, otherwise known as Subject two. She practices a pretty unique style of magic known as Enfeeble magic, magic that weakens others, and necromancy." Wendy gasping in shock.
"W-weakens people? So, then its…"
"Yep, pretty much the opposite of your sky dragon magic." Tiria nodded. "So we might wanna make sure your around when she shows up to kill us…also the girls missing nearly all her screws, so don't I wouldn't bother with trying to talk her down." She continued, the others shifting nervously at her words. "The other one goes by Subject Three, given name Vincent…and he's far more dangerous than the Priscilla."
"Oh ya? 'Cause I can't think of anything worse than an insane girl can control dead things." Gray commented, Tiria snorting back.
"Well then your pretty unimaginative. Because Three uses blood magic." She announced, the room going quiet as the Fairy Tail mages stared at her like she had grown a second head.
"Blood magic…so he's a vampire?" Natsu eventually asked past the lump in his throat, the green haired girl turning to stare at him with a patronizing expression.
"…Really? Are you that stupid? No, he's not some garlic hating freak…I think anyway, never really seen him eat the stuff before." Tiria started before seemingly thinking about what she was saying. "But anyway, his magic allows him to manipulate, harden, and otherwise make whatever he wants out of blood. Whether or not its his or not doesn't matter, if there's blood around him he can use it."
"J-Juvia isn't so sure about our chances anymore…" Natsu's enhanced hearing picking up on the rain woman's mutterings, the fire dragon slayer scowling but otherwise saying nothing.
"He can't manipulate blood under the skin, apparently because of ethernano in the skin or something, but If he injures you, even if it's a little prick, then your as good as done."
"Hmm…troubling…though my armor and Gajeel's iron scales should be able to counter such an offense." Erza strategized out loud, the black-haired slayer grinning savagely at the thought of the fight to come.
"And finally, the big bastard himself, Jude Heartfilia." Tiria spat out, the scowl on her face so bad that Natsu was almost impressed. "As far as I know he's got no real offense magic, just some kind of resistance magic that he used to survive Lucy's flames that night. Other than that, he's got quite the collection of magic tools, so expect him to pull something out of his metaphorical hat."
"Ok…so two people with crazy magic, and an old bastard with stuff in a hat…we got this!" Natsu shouted out as he slammed his fists together and grinned savagely, only to blink in confusion at the strange looks the others were giving him.
"…So, was Igneel just a complete moron then?" Tiria eventually threw out, Natsu's gaze immediately turning deadly as he glared down at the younger girl.
"What?" He growled out, his voice low and deadly.
"I mean seriously, everything you say is just so stupid that I can't think of any way for someone to be that stupid if it didn't come from their parents. So, it just seems normal to think that the king of all fire dragons was kinda dumb as well." The girl continued as if she was oblivious to the fact that Natsu had stormed up to her and was glaring down at her with a gaze that promised no small amount of pain. His anger so great that the air around him was beginning to shimmer from the heat.
But before the enraged slayer could utter a single syllable Erza stepped between them and forced them apart in her usual way, by placing a hand on their chins and forcing them apart, an action that always left Natsu's neck cracking in a way that was just wrong.
"Enough you fools! I don't understand why you two are constantly antagonizing the other, but it needs to stop! We cannot allow your petty quarrel to endanger the mission. Both of you go outside, cool your heads, and meet us at the port…and when you do I expect you too to be on friendly terms. Am I clear?"
"What the hell Erza! You can't expect me to-."
"Am I clear Natsu?" Erza interrupted with a glare that instantly had the pink haired teen sweating.
"A-aye ma'am!" he shouted in a high pitch voice before turning and goose stepping out the door, the green haired slayer clicking her tongue and following after only a second later.
The two slayers didn't say anything at first, both glaring at anything but each other as they walked through the city. But both understood that they didn't have much time before the mission began.
So eventually Natsu turned to glare at the younger girl. "…So, what the hell did I do to you to get you all pissy with me? Or are you just always like this?"
"…Its both." The girl answered after a moment, turning to glare at Natsu. "I won't go into why I don't like you, we both don't care about each other after all, but you really wanna know why I'm pissed at you? It's because this whole thing is your fault!"
"Huh? What the hell does that mean?"
"the whole world knows that Lucy is your partner, that you two work together on missions. That she's always with you."
"Eh?...Ya, I'm Luce's partner. What does that have to do with anythin'?"
"Because if your supposed to be her partner then why the hell was she working by herself?" Tiria snarled back, her mouth already opening to continue shouting at Natsu. "Someone who claims to be so close to Lucy should know that she doesn't exactly have a bunch of common sense, that someone could easily trick her, but nooooo…you weren't there. You were probably off with your thumb up your you-know-what and now Lucy's been taken."
"That's…!" Natsu shouted right back, intending to defend himself but his words died in his throat. Despite wanting nothing more than to argue back, to tell the young slayer that he wasn't at fault, he knew she did kinda have a point. Lucy was always strange, always not payin' attention to what she should be, but it hadn't been a problem before because even if she missed somethin', he was there to take the hit for her…until now.
"Natsu?...can I talk to you?" Natsu's thoughts instantly went back to a few days ago when the blonde approached him during the party, the weird, almost desperate look on her face…and finally Natsu realized the gravity of his failure.
Luce had been looking for his help, help he had promised her when they had been flying back up into the sky, and he had thrown it back in her face just because he had wanted to have some fun with his friend who came back from the dead.
Natsu almost felt nauseous as he staggered backwards, Tiria's smirk filled with contempt as she watched him.
"Lucy's in trouble because you weren't there Natsu Dragneel. And with everything they're probably doing to try and break her I wouldn't be surprised if she never spoke to you again. Hell, I'm kinda thinking I should just tell her not to hang around your dumbasses anymore…but that doesn't matter now, we've gotta work together for today. So, if you try not to sound so dumb anymore then I'll…try to be less rude…deal?"
"…I don't think I say stupid things too often…but fine." Natsu pouted, pushing the pain and horror of his failure to the back of his mind, he could deal with his failures after they got Luce back.
"Fine." Tiria returned, the two slayers glaring at each other in the center of the road until Natsu blinked and looked around.
"So…what are we supposed to do now?" he questioned, Tiria also blinking slowly and looking around.
"Oh right, I guess we were supposed to take longer or something…maybe food?"
"Food? Food sounds good…food sounds really good actually." Natsu agreed, realizing that ya, he could use a good meal before the fight…and they were dragon slayers, they did kinda need a lot of food to fight well.
The pain was back, the pain of having her thoughts, her memories, her very existence, Altered. Lucy tried everything she could think of to resist the magic, reinforcing the weave, trying to call out to her elementals, but no matter what she tried she the shadowy magic continued its advance upon her thoughts. So, in the end she did the only thing that was left to her.
Natsu, Happy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Carla, Mira…Natsu-. Lucy repeated over and over in her head, hoping that her impromptu mantra would help keep the few positive memories she had intact. But there really wasn't any way to determine if there was anything effective about what she was doing.
"Your resilience is impressive Subject Zero, I honestly didn't expect you to last this long." Jude's voice called though the haze of pain. "But why put yourself though so much pain? Why torture yourself just to hold on to such flimsy memories?"
"B-…because…they accepted me." Lucy eventually managed to get out.
"Accepted you? Nonsense, you are someone who was born in the dark, grew in the dark, reached your pinnacle in the shadows. The light guilds could never understand you the way your comrades here could. Their paths lead into the sun, into the light and warmth of mediocrity. Your path however is the path of a ruler, a path shrouded in the night, alone, unassailable. Why would you lower yourself to their level? They could never understand you, could never walk alongside you."
"Your wrong!" Lucy shouted back with surprising force considering her recent torture. "I told them about me, about what you did to me, and they still accepted me! They pulled me out of the shadows and helped me find a path that I could walk on despite everything I am." The blonde forced out as she stared up at Jude, not with anger, not with sorrow, but with a quiet dignity that caused Jude to pause. "I don't know what you are talking about when you talk about me being a ruler, just as I don't know what Solomon wants with me, and I don't care. I am Lucy of Fairy Tail and you cannot take that away from me."
"Well aren't you just full of honorable speeches today, Subject One." Jude chuckled as he placed the needles back on the tray. "A useful talent for a ruler, but not quite desired in our current situation...How about we take a short break, One. While you may not need food as often, I'm afraid that I am still quite a normal human." The blonde man joked before knocking on the door, the metal divider swinging open to reveal a concerned looking Priscilla. "In the meantime, why don't you enjoy the company of Priscilla here?" And with that he left, the younger assassin tentatively walking into the room and shutting the door behind her.
For a time neither spoke, Lucy because she was still recovering while Priscilla was staring down at the ground in worry. But eventually the younger girl worked up her courage and looked up at Lucy. "Big sister? Why are you trying so hard to fight against Father? If you don't fight against his help it won't hurt so much, so…"
"…do you remember how we met Priscilla?" Lucy asked quietly, Priscilla blinking at her for a moment before smiling.
"Of course, I do! Father found me on the streets, alone and afraid, and offered me a place in his family. I agreed, he brought me to the institute, and I met you and the others! And together we were working to make a better world than what exists now…up until you lost control of your powers and accidently burned down our home."
"…and that answers the reason why I'm trying so hard. Because I don't want to lose what you lost." Lucy answered after shutting her eyes in sorrow for a moment, the terror of the situation fully settling in on her.
"…Sister? What are you talking about?" The blue-eyed assassin asked with what would have been a cute tilt of her head if it weren't for the fact that their situation was too awful for something to be considered cute.
Lucy didn't know much about Priscilla's life, and at this point she couldn't necessarily trust that what she did know was the truth, but what she did remember was that Priscilla had been taken from her parents. She remembered the younger girls tears that day she had joined Lucy in her cell, the fear in her wide blue eyes…and the warmth Lucy had felt when she offered her comfort. But the girl in front of her was only partly that innocent child from so long ago. Jude had taken even more from her than Lucy had thought possible.
And for once in her life Lucy wanted to be selfish, she desperately wanted to hold on to her brief moments of happiness.
Thankfully, Priscilla didn't continue along with her line of questioning for long, instead switching over to gossiping, though Lucy was fairy certain that the current trends in assassination techniques weren't not the normal form of gossip. And despite the morbid content, Lucy was grateful for the distraction from worrying over what was missing from her mind.
"And by using the Boscian stranglers technique it becomes so much easier to deal with these uppity pirates. Of course, they still step out of line, like you saw earlier, but they really fear us now! Its just so-." Priscilla half giggled as she spoke before being interrupted by the door opening to a narrowed eyed Jude.
"Two, report to your combat ready station. There's an unknown airship approaching from the south…be prepared for a fight." The blonde man warned, Priscilla's face darkening at first before she turned back to Lucy with a far too bright smile.
"Well, I guess we'll have to talk some more later Sister! Bye, bye!" the young assassin half-yelled as she all but skipped out the door, Jude watching her leave.
"…It appears that your friends found you faster than I anticipated…I wonder." Jude commented without facing Lucy, the patriarch of the Heartfilia family not turning to face her as he thought out loud but Lucy was no longer listening.
Natsu and everyone are coming for me! I need to hold out until they get here!
"hmmm…it appears that we will have to accelerate your rehabilitation." Jude thought out loud before turning to stare down at Lucy, the blonde paling at the look on his face. "I apologize One, but there will be much more pain in your immediate future." He commented as he picked up one of the needles and, with almost no hesitation, stabbed it into Lucy's skull. The pain was excruciating, overwhelming, complete, and with nothing left to her Lucy returned to her mantra.
Natsu, Happy, Gray, Erza, Wendy. Natsu-.
Natsu forced down the nausea as their ship lurched in order to dodge another cannon ball from the damn pirate ship. The captain guy they had hired hadn't stopped swearing since they took off and Carla wasn't exactly happy with Wendy hearing his choice of words. The young sky dragon slayer had cast Troia almost immediately after they took off, not that it really help when they were practically doing loops in order to avoid the attacks from the creepy looking pirate sky-ship. It hadn't taken them very long to wait for the ship holding Luce, as they had waited inside a cloud for them, - a cloud that wasn't nearly as tasty as they looked. This ship had showed up only a few hours later, slowly crossing the sky like some kinda stupid giant whale. They had launched upwards at them almost immediately after they showed up, and the pirate ship had started firing down at them.
"Ya damn Mages! Ya didn't tell me that you 'ere looking for the shadowed sky-dogs! I didn't sign up 'or this!" the man named Millias yelled from behind the wheel of the ship, turning the giant wheel left and right so fast that it pretty much never stopped spinning.
"Stop complaining! We payed you extra because of the danger so get us up there!" Tiria shouted from somewhere in the front of the ship where she was making as much water as she could for Gray.
"Ice make Cannon!" Said stripper shouted as he created yet another weird looking cannon thingy to shoot back at the giant ship in the sky.
"Water Slicer!" Juvia added as she threw her water blade to slice a cannonball in half. The two of them had been given the assignment of keeping their ship from being shot down by the hail of bullets with Tiria supplying the water for them so that they didn't run out of mana. Course Tiria might have issues, but apparently, she could just eat-or did it count as drinking? - water to get energy back so she was good to go.
The captain released another string of curses as their ship dipped down to avoid some kind of line the pirate ship shot out, though Natsu couldn't tell why they would shoot something so stupid at them, but before he could complain again Erza stepped forward and summoned a sword to her hand.
"We are about to make contact! All mages, prepare for combat! We will defeat these fools and take back our family member!" Erza shouted as she brandished her blade, Natsu and the others all shouting back. And of course, he was the loudest 'cause like Tiria said, this mess was all his fault so he needed to make it right again.
True to Erza's word, it wasn't long until they reached the underside of the ship. Millias managed to get them to the back of the ship, a place where a bunch of small dinghies were tied off, and slowed down enough for them to leap off onto the bigger ship.
"So long Mages, it's been nice knowin' ya!" The man shouted before he quickly pulled away and raced back downwards away from the ship, all the while dodging the angry shots directed at him.
For a brief moment no one spoke, each mage present reading themselves for the coming fight, but the moment passed when the hallway that led to their little landing area was filled up with scruffy looking pirates all yelling so many curses that even Natsu was impressed.
Not that it was going to stop him, as before they could even get their swords even close Natsu unleashed a torrent of flames from his fists, trying harder than normal not to burn down the ship they were currently flying on. "Get out of the way! Fairy Tail's here and were here to fight!"
The pain was too much, every thought she had was colored with it, every second that passed stretched into eternity.
"You need to endure, Subject One. Soon, we will be finished." A voice called out, a voice the girl couldn't identify though the agony.
Natsu please…wait…who is Natsu?
So next chapter will be the final chapter of the Jude arc, probably wont get it out until Jan but at the very least I finally managed to release my computer so i can try to get back onto a normal writing schedule again! until next time