A/N ::Hello Hello Everyone: ) How's everything going? (I may be little bit drunk) But fuck…fuck that! Thanks so mut Fo ur support and love, we've come a long way… already 35 chapters! Isn't that nice? Yeah? And also, Welcome to the next BIG ARC, Tartarus! Yes, You can expect a lot from this chapter! To think about it, the precious Arc was a stepping stone for this arc to happen!
Just to give you a sneak peak of what to expect: New Enemies!
Natsu trains Erza and more!
Dimaria's new power up, and result of the test!
Irene becomes one of the ten wizard saints!
Ultear's new magic!
Romance with Mirajane (finally)
Sayla!
Zancrow's fate… meh
Now I will take my time to reply to some of the reviews that caught my attention.
Kazuka746
Thank you that you like my work! Danke!
So sorry about my mistakes. I should have known… aside from I'm not a native speaker (Nerd Voices EAARGHGHGH!) There's isn't much excuse I can lay out… I'll make sure to look out for them in the future. But it would be awesome if you can point out which chapter you see the most mistakes. Hopefully, I can start making changes from there J
Also, as for the demons… well, I agree. They didn't deserve it, and I did feel bad about writing them… but he is still uncaring for most of the people, as he only focuses on certain people he likes. He have mentioned he wouldn't mind slaughtering the people in the station, and still the same person. Though, that's going to change in this Arc. He will start caring and show appreciation for the lives.
As for Ur, haha, well. I guess I do love robots (Scratches my head sheepishly). But yeah. Truth to be told, on my first drafting sheet, I actually had for both Dimaria and Natsu to help Ultear to recover Ur's limb… but I realized that I couldn't do that because: Dimaria does not look very kindly to an another time mage… and having them both so closely like now in my story is already dangerous… although Natsu can force Dimaria, I figured that wouldn't be right. So that's pretty much no go until they find a proper resolve. Secondly… I kinda debated myself whether ice shelled Ur is should be considered as an animate or inanimate object, and I came to a conclusion that she is still alive… which meant Ultear' magic would have no effect on it. But above all, I kinda envisioned new Ur as Adam Jenson from Deus Ex Series….
Guest
Thank you as well! I will do my best to bring in good stories!
Trewill91
Hmm. Okay. Well, I'm not sure whether you are paying attention or have forgotten, but although Prometheus Irene is weaker than her cannon counterpart, she is still powerful enough to go against August… Besides remember the original tattoo was a shape of an egg, only to be changed when Irene controlled it? It means it's still in its premature state. As for Erza's dragon slayer magic, I think the answer is pretty obvious.
Dark S.A.M.A.E.L
Thank you, my friend! I'll try to go back and change as much as I can!
Without a further a due, Here's the new Tartarus Arc! If you see errors, please point them out and I will fix them!
I... I don't know what I'm doing...
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She wasn't sure what she perceived, the odd sensation that crept in under her skin. Perhaps it was because she hadn't perceived anything for ages. Then, she didn't know whether it had been a long time or it had ever passed since her inevitable. After a moment she realized that it was warmth that enveloped her, filling in the emptiness that wavered in its deepest form. The warmth made her heart beat… not it made her hear her own heartbeat. The sound of mortal flesh that she didn't know she had yearned.
After her hearing, the comfort kicked in, layering over the warmth, caressing her skin like a velvety blanket. She embraced it a little bit further, trying to feel it washing down on her skin. She rolled her head, finding her way to dig into the soft padding that rested underneath her head. The scent of a sweet bouquet of flower entered her nostril, floating inside, finding the niche in her zone emptiness.
It felt like she had been melted away.
Slowly she lifted her heavy eyelids, opening her eyes like she used to in every morning pass. Light flooded to her vision, blinding her eyesight. However, it slowly became clearer, eventually making out everything around. The wooden furniture that rested next to her bed, and the window with a curtain that was left ajar, letting the sunlight to pass clearly. Then how the scenery moved passed as fast as the train.
She hadn't realized anything out of place until now. Her eyes locked to the window, staring at the world moving past her. Touching the pillow and the blanket, she rubbed her finger through its soft textures before bringing up to her face. She realized that it wasn't hers, nor the entire room. Nothing inside the place was remotely similar to her room.
She raised her eyelids even further, the droopy mind gathering its pieces, focusing itself on the place that she was in. She whispered,
"Where…am I?"
The voice answered, the soft voice that of a girl which felt so familiar.
"We are in Magnolia of Fiore. Welcome back… mother."
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Prometheus
Tartarus Arc
Chapter 35: Ab Ovo, Demonium
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She blinked several times, doubting whether she had heard her correctly. "Mother?"
The girl with red eyes and her long violet hair cascading from her back responded with a nod. She placed her hand on her chest, tilting her head ever so slightly. She could see water congregating on the bottom of her red eyes.
She spoke once again, this time, raising her voice a little. Yet it came out harsh and cracked like a piece of wood burning in a fire.
"…U…Urtear?"
She wasn't sure, but this girl… her violet hair and her look, although she was an adult, her looks were reminiscent of her daughter that she had lost ages ago. She had spoken, but she had thought she was hallucinating things. Yet she wanted to believe that this girl was real… if not, then at least she wasn't seeing things. It may as well be that this girl looks similar to her daughter. However, she had hoped for the otherwise.
The girl nodded once again, this time quicker. Her pair of snowy skin grabbed her hand before resting it to the side of her cheeks. Then it struck her like a tsunami.
Her heart skipped several beats, and her lung squeezed, yet she stared at the girl with shock and recognition. Her words quivered.
" U…U, Urtear…? My baby…?"
The girl nodded even more, quicker by the second. Her soft fingers curled into her hand, and her face started become contorted. Her brows raised up as her lips stretched to side, opening to show clenching teeth. Tears moistened her eyes even more, rendering them glistening under the sunlight.
Then Ultear lunged at her, hugging her tightly by her torso, digging her head into her embrace. Her mother was the same, wrapping her hands around her daughter, her eyes watering just like hers before she broke out to wail. Their tears soaked the clothes and fabric in between like a flood. They choked on their own tears, their body trembling in the countless lightening of emotion.
Ur raised her hand to stroke her daughter's hair, trying to feel its texture, yet they quivered like an earthquake. It still felt so surreal, the overwhelming reality that struck her had felt more like a dream. Dream that she always dreamt of, the day that to meet her daughter.
Her hand then lowered down to her face again, then to her back. She whispered, still finding hard to believe. She had to convince that this was still a dream. Otherwise, it would hardly make sense to her. "Is…is it really you, baby?"
Urtear, her daughter, was a small girl. How long did it pass to see her as a full-grown woman? How many years did she never met, and how many histories of her daughter did she had lost?
The girl whispered back, coughing in between.
"It's really me, mother… It's me… it's been so long."
Ur muttered back, her eyes opening to face her, to greet her glistening red eyes.
"How… how long?"
"Fifteen years, mother. Fifteen years."
Ur repeated, trying to digest the information. "fifteen years?"
A smile broke out as her lips spread, her healthy white teeth flashing underneath, yet her brows kept upward, and somewhere in her eyes, the edge of sadness still lingered. Her lips quivered a little to think of a word. Then she exclaimed quietly, rubbing the cheek of her daughter.
"You've grown!"
Ultear nodded back, beaming up her own smile. Her lips stretched apart to let her teeth briefly shine before they closed. Then they opened again, albeit weaker, never forming that full smile. She replied,
"I guess I have…"
Then she was reminded of him. The how he saved her, and how he saved her mother from the misery that seemed eternal. She could not be more grateful to him, as he was her ultimate salvation from the horrifying life that she lived under Hade's surveillance. Did she wanted or asked to be that way? No, she had no choice but to succumb to his rule for her sake. For her mother's sake. He had promised that Zeref can bring the Grand Magic World, allowing her to master her Lost Ages, and that was the only reason she had followed him. The people she had to kill with the mask on, the sins that she had committed, it was like they have been washed away by that man overnight. Of course, there was a powerful sensation that she has been doing nothing for the past years. Had she met him earlier in her life, then perhaps she never had to go through them…
Despite that, she was grateful. To feel and touch, and talk to her mother like this again, and in spite of the losses of her biological limbs, the fact that he was doing so much for her wanted to rush at the man and bow deeply once more.
The admiration and the respect that she felt towards him didn't even match anything that she had felt. She assumed it would feel similar if she had met Zeref… It was hard for her to hide the blush that was starting to sit over her cheeks.
To be honest, she was willing to do anything for him. Like she was devoted to saving her mother, she wanted to devote her everything there she was to his. Such thing that he had given to her could not be traded by simple lives. Even her own life, perhaps.
She remembered how Irene mentioned him as a god. If anyone asked her if God existed before, she would have said no. Not like any god, the one with everything. The one who processed All-Seeing-Eye. If it didn't exist before, then it sure did now.
That man was the sign of that, the man with devilish pink hair, Natsu Dragneel.
Boom Boom Boom Boom!
The rumbling sound approached closer, and the both women's cry ceased and turned their head, disturbed and confused by the sudden noise. The wooden door struck open in such brute force like it was being shattered, yet unexpectedly, a girl stood in her pink locks stood unapologetically. She had a certain distressed look in her eyes. Then she was followed by a man behind, his hair also pinks like hers. He had that similar shocked expression coated on his face.
The girl shouted first,
"Mom!"
Which was immediately followed by the man, "Wha…what?!" He looked even more distressed than the girl.
The child ignored him and dashed to the pair of women with her hands gathered on center. She hastened her speech, her brows furrowing deeply.
"Mamma! What happened!"
The man screamed from behind, "Hey don't say such thing to get her the wrong ideas!"
The child turned her head around and tilted sideways. Yet as the moment she turned, her look shifted like she-devil, grinning like a psycho maniac with billions of shadowed layer looming over her eyes. The most frightening factor of this smile was that she somehow still retained that innocent voice. She questioned the man,
"What's wrong, daddy?"
Ultear watched the scene unfold, not realizing what the girl was implying, but as soon as she caught the wind of it, her face started to brighten up in rose red. Snapping off from her bittersweet greeting with her mother, she shout-whispered to her adopted daughter.
"Meredy! What are you doing?!"
The girl only gave her glaring starlit eyes with a thumb's up. Unfortunately for Ur, she was already getting the wrong impression of them. Her eyes widened, and tear sprouted out even more like the heaven has been broken. Her pearl-like skin became red with all the crying, and the rims around her eyes became sickly dark. From her mouth, she was no longer able to contain her saliva, and it started to drool by the sides. She let out a hiccup before starting to choke on her tears. She spoke, her voice starting to crack.
"M…my…my baby has been married…?!"
Then her eyes fell on the little kid, and to the man, then back to her daughter. Both had pink hairs, and the child's look was somewhat similar to Urtear when she was so little. Ur muttered out,
"Already have a kid too?"
She bawled out, hugging her daughter once again.
"How could you marry without me?!"
Ultear's face heated up like an oven, and her eyes started to go swirling without a focus. She screamed out the top of her lung, yet her brain failed to make any coherent sentences. Eventually, she found herself spewing out gibberish, though she didn't even know.
Natsu grabbed the side of his head as his eyes bulged out in panic. For one, Ur, supposedly the councilman's mother should not be under such immense pressure as soon as she woke up. Second, he did not married to councilman! Their relationship was strictly professional! Unfortunately for him, the door slammed once again, more people rushing to the scene.
"ONII~CHAN!"
"NATSU-SAMA!"
Natsu slowly rotated his head to his back, meeting a pair of scarlet nightmares glaring like starved lionesses that have met their prey. Then in addition to that, one blonde girl was sticking out from the back. He could say the same about her.
"WE HEARD EVERYTHING, SENPAI?!"
They stormed in like a tsunami before staring bark like a hoard of pit bulls at him.
"What's this marriage I hear, NII-CHAN!" "EXPLAIN to me, NATSU-SAMA!" "You are going to marry me first, senpai!"
Natsu cried out to the heaven.
"Why the things must go this way?!"
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2 hour prior.
Natsu stared at the monitor. [Searching for Error: 97%...Run time: 1 hour and 37 minutes… Time remaining 1minutes.]
Then his eyes raised to the text above.
[Diagnostic Ran: 8 times. No Error Found…]
A small electronic beep alerted his deep eyes. [No Error Found. Total Runtime 1 hour and 38 minutes… Run again?]
[Y/N]
His finger fell like an elephant on a bold-boring letter Y.
He felt nothing. Nothing at all. He supposed a man who lived 460years would have adjusted to waiting 12 hours without regarding any form of stimulus might have endured nicely as he stared at the screen with mild surprise.
"Good morning Onii-chan…" Erza's crystalline yet soft voice called out from the door that left ajar behind. Natsu turned his eyes to meet the girl of his life, his lips automatically moving up by meeting her gleaming pair of ambers. He greeted,
"Good morning, Erza. How's the sleep?"
He watched the girl rubbing her eyes dozily, cleaning her lips in the process. Her hair was unorganized and terribly in disarray, something that he didn't expect from her. She didn't seem to notice it either. She smiled back in reply. "Yeah, the bed was really good… I never realized this train had first class rows."
"Me neither."
Natsu turned to the sides, distancing away from the tedious task that he had at the moment. The girl suggested, her eyelids starting to close a little. "Onii-chan… do you want me to get something for you…?"
He breathed out with a flash of a sweet smile.
"Not at the moment… but thanks for asking."
He rolled his jaw briefly, yet his eyes starting become mischievous. He raised his fingers,
"But looks like someone needs to go back to sleep!"
Then he lunged at her, grabbing her by her waist before carrying her off like a bride, and touching his forehead to hers lovingly. Erza squealed in delight. "Onii-chan!"
She squealed again, "Onii-chan, but it's already 9!"
He briefly kissed her forehead before brushing aside her hair and stared directly into her glistening candy-like eyes. Then his dark orbs fell to her dark metallic collar, and removed his gaze it, feeling the sudden rigidity of his heart. He spoke quietly before slowly laying Erza down to her feet.
"It is, already?"
Natsu looked around the room, reminding himself that he wasn't in his old house that he used live under master's guidance. It was a cabin inside a train. Yet unlike the wooden walls with a rather small area, one that he was in was rather big. Gigantic in fact, compared to what he had seen, and the size was adequate enough for one to start a living. The walls and the ceilings were decorated with fine craftsmanship, luxurious, shining with gold painting and such. Then there was a small couch, occupied a dark yet pale woman, resting her head on the bed in front. It was a bed that was big enough for two people, yet she didn't sleep in it, Instead, in it, there she lay her recovering mother that he had been monitoring ever so exhaustively.
Watching the councilman's quiet sleep, he supposed that she fell into her slumber some time ago, yet the 12 hours didn't felt long. The girl then shifted her body, sliding out her arms that firmly tugged beneath her head, she moaned. She inhaled air tiredly as she raised her torso, her bundled hair following behind like a lump of dark cotton.
Natsu acknowledged her presence. Although he had been with her in same room overnight, it seemed appropriate to at least recognize her existence. His and her relationships were strictly professional. For him, there was no room for meaningless empathy for the deal he had struck. Though, he did had some personal feelings towards her. He had thought the councilman wasn't a bad woman if he could trust her little bit more.
"Good sleep councilman?"
The violet girl turned her half-opened eyes to him, staring at him dumbly before finally replying,
"Who?"
Erza pulled Natsu's shirt several times, staring at semi-conscious councilman with a miserable look, "Onii-chan, Onii-chan, she is dumb."
The time mage, snapped herself out of her sleep as she stomped her foot to the ground. She stood up and growled, a fire sparkling in her eyes.
"Erza Scarlet, if my memories serve me correctly, it was I who assigned for the 1st Class cabin!"
Knightress responded, fire igniting in her eyes as well, glaring at her murderously, ripping the calm morning sunlight with her zig-zagging billion bolts of spark.
"Ho? Then who's the one responsible for the mess aside from Gray?"
Ultear shout-whispered, not taking chances to make things too noisy all the sudden with her mother around.
"That does not mean you can insult me with such derogatory term! I am still the member of the council, and I can use my power whenever-"
She was cut short as Erza raised her hand, her voice falling back to her past self, dropping few octaves lower as a deathly thunderstorm loomed behind her. She only spoke one name.
"Irene Belserion!"
The darker mage's voice froze as fast as an ice cube shattering on the floor. She gasped for air as her lung started to choke itself. Her wine of eyes turned into a pair of an empty white button, and her entire body shivered out of control like she had just gotten out of a pool.
"Ha? Ha?!"
She breathed out, her brain crumbling up like a piece of paper, perfectly burping out inhuman language makings. Natsu mused out a thought, cracking out a smile at their banter, often finding interest in such trivial moments. However, upon hearing Irene's name, Natsu asked, stopping their growling immediately.
"Speaking of which, How's everyone, Erza?"
Her battle borne eyes turned sweet as soon as he asked.
"Everyone's having breakfast, nii-chan. I actually came here to check on you hoping that you might join us…"
Her voice trailed, finishing with a small blush. Natsu ruffled her hair like touching an incredibly fluffy doll. "Maybe. I join you when I finish here... Why don't you go and get yourself a meal?"
She plush her lips as she let out a cutesy smile, and nodded happily before trotting away. Ultear yet stopped her as she walked away, and received with a threatening gaze from the scarlet girl once again.
"Wait, Erza Scarlet!"
Erza responded,
"What is it?"
That fire in her eyes was just as damaging to her mentality to prior, yet she didn't back down, gulping down saliva once again, she questioned,
"How's Meredy doing?"
Ginger girl's expression softened up a bit. "She's doing fine. In fact, she's getting along with one of our group quite nicely."
Ultear raised her brows at the news,
"Oh, is she?"
Erza nodded before continuing her way to the door. Natsu quickly flashed her a smile with his pearl-like teeth. She took it with berries in her eyes, with a fresh scent of a broad cheerful smile coming after, leaving the room with coloring his lips with delicious after taste. Ultear commented from behind.
"She's completely different around you, Dragneel-dono."
Natsu turned and situated himself back to the monitor, staring it back, but without much of attention. Ultear continued, "the public seems to call her as Titania… the queen of Fairytail. I'd imagine she'd be more like a pushy type."
"She is." Natsu replied. "But not the way you know of."
Natsu shut the monitor with a swipe of his hand, and a miniature version of its screen appeared around his wrist in a holographical form.
"There's a lot that you don't know about her, then there are kinds of stuff that she doesn't even aware of herself. That sometimes scares me."
Ultear questioned, tilting her head slightly as she ran her fingers through interlocked hair.
"Why so? You are... the closest one out there to a god."
The pinkette didn't respond, she wondered if she had chosen a wrong word. Yet moment after, he replied, standing up from the seat once again and walking towards her.
"I didn't train to become a god… and being powerful doesn't make you one."
His holographic screen carried over to her wrist while he was talking, and it took her to notice that when he finished his sentence. She asked, raising her wrist, momentarily staring at the similarity between archive magic and the holographic figure.
"What is this?"
"That's a monitor to show conditions of your mother." He added, "I figured you should know, too."
Ultear blinked before giving him a grateful look but froze when she stared at the numbers she couldn't read, yet she merely chuckled meekly, suddenly feeling the urge to move back to original topic.
She had a feeling that he will flood her brain with his outlandish terms that she didn't even hear of, and she wanted to avoid that if possible. She stared back at him, remembering how he looked at the scarlet haired girl. She knew that gaze upon just a simple look, the eye of the lover it was, and she wasn't foreign when she came across that expression. She had many contacts with different people, and tricked many. It wasn't uncommon. She stated.
"You love her."
Natsu turned his eyes back to the woman, looking mildly surprised by her claim. "I do."
She questioned, hoping to dig in little further in their relationship.
"How so?"
He didn't even hesitate a second. "I know a bird from this world. Quite common from what I hear. You know a raven, right?"
She nodded, though furrowing her lips not following where he's getting to.
"I suppose It's like seeing a raven."
Ultear furrowed even further. What did he mean by Raven? The bird represented nothing but the foreboding darkness of misfortune, and apparently, the relationship between Erza and him was anything but a raven. One would describe as a pair of swan ogling each other. Why raven then? Was there something that she was missing?
"I suppose she is averted by most people... Those who knows Titania usually does not wish to associate with her. I take that you are no different?"
Natsu flashed a hint of anger that Ultear failed to catch. He questioned. "How do the people see her?"
"Her reputation is one thing that she lacks among of her attributes. She is quite infamous for her authoritative manner. Reported several times that she's far more controlling and punishing even for a mundane task."
He let out a vexing laugh. "I suppose I was right. She is indeed a raven."
Ultear crossed her arms. Natsu continued.
"But know that even the darkest raven has the whitest skin."
Ultear didn't need anymore to hear to confirm everything. His words came like a tidal wave, washing up her confusion in less than a second. Yet it started to bother her. The plan that she had associating Erza Scarlet, and Jellal… Ultimately the part that using Erza as a sacrifice was never the part of her plan, but she could imagine the rage off from him when that happened.
"You do love her, then… how much, though?"
Natsu growled slightly, making Ultear uneasy about the whole topic.
"Are you testing me, Councilman?"
He hurled his way to her and grabbed her by her arm before smashing her against the wall. "I may have helped you return your mother, but that does not mean I trust you."
She asked, her voice slightly breaking up by the crawling fear from her stomach.
"What will you do if wasn't for my mother?"
"Do you really want to know?"
She shook her head quickly, which he released her from his bruising grip. She didn't know what to say upon reminding the monstrosity of what he is. She apologized.
"I… I'm sorry. Perhaps I went little too far. It was unfit for me to do such thing to who saved my mother and I."
She brushed her arm as she bowed deeply. "Please, forgive me."
She added, "You may not realize it, but you've completely changed my fate…"
Natsu huffed, narrowing his eyes at her. She glanced his unforgiving look and stuttered out.
"I…if you are willing there's something I wanted to tell you…"
He narrowed his eyes even further, her whole torso heating up like she is being microwaved by his dark pair of eyes. She half-screamed from the shame.
"I know you don't trust me, but it's important… the reason why I asked you about Erza is because this concerns her deeply!"
That caught his immediate attention, and he opened the door and tilted his head to outside, motioning her to carry the conversation to a different place. She followed his command without question, and Natsu followed after, closing the door. His dark pink brows as dangerous as she first saw him. He walked past her to the end of the long and small hall, to the outside railing that hung on the side of the train. He unlocked the door, and the wind rushed in, and once again, he motioned her. He spoke.
"Let's talk about this outside."
Ultear made a puzzled expression, she understood his intention to hear her out somewhere more discreet, but didn't know why it had to be outside.
"Why?"
A shit-eating grin spread on his lips that sent shiver down to her spine.
"So I can throw you out whenever I catch you lying."
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"NO~~~~~~! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'll never do it again!"
A screamed echoed in the cabin, though no one heard the little pinkette's desperate scream. A pair of dangerous lights lit up behind her from the shadow with a cruel hands that reached to restrain her. The loli flailed out her arms desperately, yet to the darkness that was reaching towards her, it seemed that they did nothing to her forlorn situation. She turned and slammed the fog condensing glass door. The glass oscillated upon each strike, but they refused to break let alone let her out from her damnation. She turned back and cried again, tears sprouting out from her eyes.
"NO~~~~~~!"
Yet no help came, and at the moment she felt everything was lost, miraculously, the door opened, letting her much needed escape. She grabbed the nearest towel nearby and started to dash towards an exit to this whole place… if there was one.
Unfortunately for her, the luck dried out as she slipped on a wet floor, falling down on her limbs, and towel falling apart to expose her private areas to the predator. She teared up again, helplessly watching the evil getting nearer and nearer. She stuttered out, trying to crawl back, but she found herself on a wall.
Then the hands soared to the girl's body and started to grope every inch of her body. A voice exclaimed perversely, its hands reaching down to her thighs, making the little kid cringe.
"KAWAII! I LOVE YOU MY SQUISHY!"
Then she was pushed into the assailant's chest, her little face being smothered by the giant, voluptuous pair of breasts. The loli screamed for her life, yet it only turned into a muffled gibberish by the bottomless ravine that her breasts created. Even worse, it never reached anywhere as the place was filled with the attacker's exclaim.
"AHHHHHH~~~~!"
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Meredy sniffled on her chair, trying desperately to dry out her tears as the chef and the attendants dressed as maids placed out the First-class, on board cooked plate on her table. Before even they placed it, she could smell the mouth-watering scent of the light tanginess of the lemon and the strong smell of perfectly cooked bacon, and alas, she was right. Yet they never came to her as the most striking thing as most of her thoughts were still haunted by the event that just happened.
On her table, there lay two identical buttered and firm English muffins layered with crisp and brown bacon that waved like graciously, and above it, perfectly poached eggs that retained stunning bright healthy white color. On top, it was drizzled with vibrant, uplifting yellow hollandaise sauce that had a pleasant scent of citrus. Perhaps with a raining sunlight through the curtains, she supposed it looked better with all the glistening fresh moistures on top. On next to the plate, they placed a cup of creamy looking white gold yogurt with blueberries, which she didn't even look.
However, as everybody was patiently waiting and talking to each other like it was a mundane, everyday morning breakfast, Meredy only stared at it like it was a dog food. On regular circumstances, she was sworn she had dug right in before they even placed everything, but not today. Not when she was terrorized with…. That blonde woman. That blonde woman with hairs of a dirty old mob that never cleaned, and her fingers like a slimly earthworm with the color of deceased and pig's skin… she remembered how the pig's skin looked before dissection during back in the day when she still went to the school. She even remembered that pungent chemical odor that came from it. Lucky she didn't go to that freakish school anymore…and even luckier when Ultear and her friends burned it down to ashes.
Then this woman had to torture her. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the attendant placing a plate of pale colored pancakes, explaining they are the poppy seeds- whatever. With empty eyes, she lifted the fork and stabbed her food without much emotions.
She didn't like how her food was staring back at her. It whispered, 'Let's see if you can eat me or not when you have that harpy next to you…'
"Yes!"
Meredy snapped off from the food and shot her shocked eyes where the sound came from. It felt like her heart stopped when that sudden chirping struck her ear. Then, not surprisingly, there she was… the woman that beat her on that temple… the accursed witch who claims to control time just like her Ultear…
The woman's eyes shun brightly at the little pinkette.
"I get to sit right next to you, my little squishy! This is just perfect!"
Meredy closed her eyes briefly, trying to hold down her erupting fear- before opening them. She stood up a halfway before picking up her chair by the armrest, and she walked all the way to the end of the table. She whispered terrifyingly, even her thoughts becoming jittery by her presence.
'No! I…I need to get away from her!'
Then a woman across the table, whom she first thought as Erza Scarlet, or who had striking resemblance intervened.
"Dimaria, please. Look at that girl quivering. You need to leave her alone for a while. Cats don't even bother a dog when it's eating… at least give her that much of respect on the dining table."
Meredy's eye shortly traveled to the scarlet haired woman. She screamed internally while giving that thankful look. 'I.I love you, red haired oppai!'
Dimaria sulked her shoulders a little bit before letting out that unsightly grin again, and she blew a grotesque kiss to the loli, which she cringed terribly. She exclaimed, giving the pinkette a wink.
"Okay then, We'll have more fun time after breakfast, okay Squishy?"
The child muttered while attempting to avert her eyes as far as she could.
"It's Meredy, not Squishy…" Yet, catching what she had just said, the blonde priestess exclaimed while throwing her index finger.
"I shall call you squishy! Now, you shall be my squishy!"
Meredy wasn't sure if that struck her nerves or what, but she knew that she couldn't just stand there and become her plaything.
She knew she was being held as a hostage. It had to be, or it wouldn't make sense at all. She was beaten, and next thing she saw when she woke up, was people that she did not recognize other than man… That pink haired man.
Her brain froze momentarily.
That man was here on this train! She definitely remembered seeing him somewhere in last night, and she was certain that he was still hanging around. These people might be her enemies, but she was certain that he would understand and let her go, or at least, relieve her from this excruciating torment given by that blonde witch.
Suddenly, she stood up, knocking the chair back and slammed the table with all her might. Dishes flew out of place, and the beverages, the decorations that filled up the table launched from the table like rockets. Brandish, who was drinking coffee by the side of Irene had her elbow struck by the sudden movement threw the cup to her own face, which the content splashed without any mercy.
Irene was no better as she accidently pushed her spoon little too far. Her cheeks got swollen, and tears formed on the bottom of her eyes. She had to move her head away to cough like she never been.
Dimaira was only the one wasn't fazed nor affected. She didn't seem to realize the chaos as she happily munched on her own breakfast.
Meredy disregarded them and screamed out,
"The pink haired man! I need to see him!"
With that, she dashed away to the door, leaving two spprigans very angry.
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"Yaaahhhh! I'M SORRY DRAGNEEL-DONO! I'M SORRY! I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!"
Ultear screamed top of her lung, and her lips flapped around like bird's wing as she hung dangerously to the rushing rail track beneath. However, that creepy eyes of Natsu Dragneel continued to shoot. He pushed her slightly further away, and the only thing that was keeping her alive being his single hand grabbing her collar, it only added more suspense to Ultear's mind.
How the wind shrieked onto her ear, blowing her hair like it's about to rip her roots apart, and almost feeling how close the ground was nearly made her wanted to crawl back to Hades. She watched as he brought his face closer to hers, and she could literally feel the heat coming off from his skin.
"Is it really the truth?!"
He screamed in her face, which she retracted her neck like a turtle. She screamed once again, begging for her life.
"It's really the truth!"
She watched him narrow his piercing eyes carefully, then all the sudden, she was ruthlessly lifted in the air. She threw her eyes open in shock and flapped her arms around. Before she could do anything further, she was thrown outside like a ragdoll.
Ultear saw how the track run pass right in front of her eyes, and the roaring sound of the metallic wheel sprinting over on the rail was like a guffaw of a ghastly beast. Her lung squeezed her air out as much as she could, staring at her damnation helplessly…
She expected the pain to strike her, collide her with that noxious agony. Yet, nothing happened. Her eyes fell to the ground with stupefied expression, unable to make sense what just happened. She was touching the passing steel rail. She could see the details of it, the rust that it had, and the gravels that littered in between then. Ultear could even sense the hurricane of air that made her hair waved like a flag.
Why was it like that?
The dark time mage expected herself to feel the sharpness of the rock tearing her skin on her palm, yet it didn't happen.
It was like she was standing above some sort of illusion, and the passing of the outside scenery was nothing more than a projected image, the wind that blew around her just trick of her mind…
She turned around, looking back at the man whom she feared to.
"What… what just happened?"
He closed his eyes and gathered his pink brows, seemingly plunging himself into a deep thought. Natsu responded by putting a hand to his chin.
"Hmm… just as expected, I can layer over other reality on different reality without causing their collusion…"
Then instructed.
"Councilman, can you pick up that gravel please?"
She blinked her teared up ruby-like eyes several times, but she obliged nonetheless, easily picking it up from the floor, despite that fact that it was moving at jaw-dropping speed. Natsu muttered,
"However, it still allows the interaction to a certain extent… hmm, I'll have to think about this further…"
Ultear questioned angrily, puckering her lips,
"D, Dragneel-dono! What's the meaning of this?!"
He responded, completely neglecting Ultear's frustration,
"Oh, well… hmm. When I was with you in that cave…I was actually needed somewhere else…and since I can't really be at two places at once, I just thought it will be a good idea to bring the places to me."
Ultear barked angrily, her face heating up in red, enough to match the color of her eyes.
"Then, please don't use me as your guinea pig Dragneel-dono!"
Natsu suddenly reminded himself, changing the topic.
"By the way, the thing that you said… are they really the truth? About this… Jellal and Siegrain?"
She recomposed herself quickly. "Yes… they are the truth…and I am the person to blame…"
"Why is that?"
She looked away. "Because I am the one who made him to lose his mind over Zeref… and it is too late for me to back out either. If I stop now, then those who I closely associated with will not stand idly. They will come my head for sure… I'll be honest, I have already put myself into big trouble by not returning to them."
"Them? I assume you mean the Seven Queens of the Lavatory?"
Ultear corrected, "Seven Kins of the Purgatory…and Hades." "He goes by Hades, but his real name is Precht Gaeblog…"
Natsu questioned, folding his arm around,
"So they are the root of Erza's danger?"
She shook her head, "No… Using Titania as the sacrifice was never part of the plan… that was purely from Jellal's head."
"And you let him?"
"I didn't know back then…"
Natsu hummed as he brought his index finger to his lips, curling it up on its surface, his furrowed brows to match the seriousness.
"Why are you suddenly telling me this then?"
Ultear's eye rested on the swiftly moving tracks, and feeling the rumbling of the plated steel floor vibrating to her core, she quickly looked away as she began to shiver. She scooped herself little further in as she replied,
"I… it felt like I had to do it. After all the thing you've done, and when I learned your relationship with her, I felt like it was necessary."
Then she added, "And frankly, I wanted to gain your trust… I didn't want to be looked like a liar from a man like you."
He questioned.
"Why my trust?"
She quickly replied as she had thought it over million times in her head, "To stay away from Hades!"
He closed his eyes once again as he breathed in the air further, mildly disturbed by the possible web he had possibly gotten himself into. Then, this woman… Slowly, he lowered himself to her eye level, bringing his face close to her, making her frightened all over again.
"My trust?" He repeated, which she nodded meekly in reply. Natsu continued,
"Then there's something you can do for me." He placed one of his hand on her shoulder.
"Back in the Galuna Island, I ordered you to kill the demons. Yet you and I do know that they are the actual residents of that island…"
She caught the wind of his words immediately.
"You want me to do something about that?"
He nodded in reply, continuing. "I assume that the explosion that Irene caused… and the demon shenanigans will not go unnoticed by your people. Which means, they will know that we were the one responsible for it. And I can't afford to have any of your people's dogs following us."
Ultear suddenly broke out a laugh, confusing Natsu greatly.
"Dragneel-dono! You are asking for something of a child's play!"
He raised his brows as he let Ultear speak. "Dragneel-dono, allow me to explain! First off, although the public considers council as one government organization, if you dig in just deep enough, you'll see that no member of the council trusts one another, only to be weaved as a whole by a single thread called King. The each council members are always planning something under the shadows on their own… those secrets are hidden so dark, not even amongst ourselves know them to the fullest."
Then she added, raising her index finger informatively,
"However, for most of them, the goals are the same. They only desire for more greed and gold… They may seem very considerate of magical guilds and the general public, but they are not. You see, we humans use magic not because it is just there, but it benefits us. It eased us with the mundane tasks to such things that are beyond our comprehension. However, to the council, they wish to exploit it. The council was built upon the foundation of greed. Whenever the magic brings them, they all must have to go through a gate called, profit."
"Thus they wish to monitor each and everyone who wields magic. And those what they find most valuable are hidden away by the people or labeled as Forbidden Magic or Dark Magic in the name of protection. You'll be surprised how many different and bizarre magic user that they are secretly training… and you'll be most surprised to see that there more dragon slayers that you might think, some of them you've never even heard of."
Natsu whispered to himself, his eyes slightly shimmering hope to meet more dragon slayers. He just hoped that they are the real deal, not those half-assed dragon slayer like Laxus. Then he questioned,
"So… you are implying that all I need to convince them is just money."
She nodded, "And it's one of the reasons why Irene Belserion will be selected as the new Wizard Saint… and with her power, there's no doubt she'll become one of the Four Gods of Ishgar."
Ultear let out a frustrated sigh. "I suppose they all have their agenda with the woman from the west."
"Wizard Saint? Four Gods of Ishgar?" He asked, and she gave him an exasperated look.
"Dragneel-dono… The Ten Wizard Saints are ten of the strongest mages in the continent… and the Four Gods implies to the top ranked fours of those saints group."
Natsu's eyes shook wide as he held down her shoulders tightly, his fingers almost digging into her skin.
"What?! Why is Irene selected, not me?! Wait… what do I get?"
Ultear watched him sympathetically, "I'm sorry Dragneel-dono…you actually got a prison block."
Natsu half shouted, his draconic/demonic fang growing more visible,
"P,p,p,prison? Wait a minute, wha-why-huh?! This isn't fair!"
Ultear quickly tried to cheer him up by throwing a thumb's up. "But I vouched for you, Dragneel-dono!"
The dragon slapped his face in disbelief, finding the councilman more useless than helpful. He stuttered a bit, trying to derail fomr such a depressing topic.
"Okay. Okay, fine. Let's…let's talk about that later. Let's talk about you. Let's talk about…Hades."
"If that's what you wish… of course." Ultear responded comfortably, happy to provide him with more information about the man she'll serve. Hopefully, more trust she'll receive, further she'll become from that accursed airship. That didn't mean she was ready to hear him. He asked bluntly,
"Then what business did this man have with my brother?"
At first, she didn't realize what she was hearing, and she was about to pass onto answering his question. However, that particular word trucked her over.
"Wa..wait a minute! Your Brother!"
Natsu nodded if it wasn't anything special.
"Hmm. Yeah. Zeref is my brother."
Her heart refused to beat, but then, how could she explain this heat that started to build up on her body?
"Z, Z,Zeref… is your… brother?"
"I suppose it can be little weird… He is an emperor too. Hey, I haven't seen him for a while. I wonder what he's up to?"
If she didn't admire him enough for the power and the goodness that he had granted to her, this certainly did it to her now. If admiration wasn't enough, then it might as well be love or undiluted obsession.
She called it being passionate. She started to blush madly, and the heart that beat her inside kick started itself, making it beat faster than the light could carry her. To be with such a great being like himself…
At this moment she knew. She knew whom she was going to live for the rest of her life.
"O,o,o,of course… It is no surprise such a great one like yourself is related to Zeref…"
To her, it was like she was literally inside of a sun. Perhaps burning center of oven, or perhaps the center of the earth. That heat came from her, the massive throbbing and intense temperature that thumped on her chest that raised to her face was starting to become unbearable. She breathed out arduously, exhaling the sizzling air that burned her, but that didn't seem to do her any good. She even let her tongue out to dissipate some of that heat. Her eyes started to stare at him like she was hit by a powerful aphrodisiac.
That was why she stuttered like a fool with sparkles in her eyes, which Natsu had to take a step away from. He spoke nervously, holding out his hands,
"O…oi, Don't give me that look!"
Then she jumped on him, pushing her chest as close she can to his own. With ease, she found herself squeezing herself tightly into his embrace, looking up at the man into his eye from her lower position.
"L…Lord Dragneel~!"
She closed her eyes and gathered her lips forward, hoping that maybe, just maybe get a taste of this god of the man. Her eyes fogged by the sudden rush of lust, she only brought herself closer to the man. She could see him, despite how he cringed back like if he was staring a lowly peasant, she could see his cheeks starting to coat itself with pinks. Then she could feel his perspiring skin, how they cling to his skin a moment before their befalling.
Ultear was enjoying the moment, as herself was known to be a very domineering woman, and despite the position, she stood from him, no matter how low it was, she very much liked being higher than her fumble their minds. Thus, more Natsu struggled at the sudden shift of their position, more assertive she became.
Ultear moaned.
She just had to get a little closer. She could feel his breath blowing onto her lips. 'Just a little bit more! Just a little bit more!' She screamed inside.
But then, a ring of alarm just had to put a stop to her action. A tick mark emerged from of her forehead, which she growled out in frustration. Ultear eyed Natsu inhaling, exhaling air deeply before bringing up his holographic monitor. The width of it, and how it obscured the great one's (Natsu) face was like putting a wall between them, and Ultear did not take it very pleasantly.
Suddenly he gasped loudly enough for her to flinch. He closed the monitor to his wrist and looked back at Ultear, this time, with none of that insulting eyes. The dark time mage could read the floating emotions behind the pool of his eyes. Some sense of joy, relief perhaps.
She questioned quizzically, dropping her lascivious manner. "What's wrong Lord Dragneel…?"
His dark eyes continued to reach her. He replied.
"Ultear, I have a new to tell you."
She widened her eyes in confusion, her thin brows rising up at the same moment. He reached for her wrist and held it in front of her, letting the information sink into her brain. She read the readings on it carefully.
Like a big bang, or like an explosion, or perhaps like an expansion of everything, the news struck her soul. Then it dragged her soul out of her body as sudden emotions riled up inside like an untamed beast. Her body felt like a cage, and the animal that resided inside her needed to be free.
The news did her just that.
Ultear gasped loudly as she covered her mouth with two hands, yet they did not fool the moisturizing eyes that were being swollen. She choked out carefully, wondering if she wasn't hearing things out of desperation.
"Is… is she…?"
He nodded. "Yes, Ultear. She's coming back. She's waking up."
Ultear whispered. "She's waking up…In spite of all the things that happened, she's finally waking up…" Then she enthusiastically shouted, "Wh…what should I do? What am I supposed to say to her when he opens her eyes?!"
It was the truth. Despite her long, gruesome pain of planning to get her mother back, she hasn't thought that deep. She never really thought the day will come so soon, but when the fate came knocking on her door, only she realized she wasn't prepared. Then she added,
"Would she… recognize me? After all these years?"
Nor Natsu knew the answer to that question. However, he did know what had to be done.
"She'll recognize you, I'm sure of it. But, You told me that you wanted to be by her side." He added, "So go. And when she wakes up, say hello to your mother."
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When Meredy reached the end of the hallway, she had thought Ultear was running away from something mildly frightening. Though, she gasped at finally seeing her. She shouted, calling out to her mother,
"Ultear!"
The woman turned her face to her and beamed up a wide smile. "Meredy!" Before Ultear could say anything, Meredy cut in, her child mind still captivated by the pink haired man.
"Ultear! Where is that pink haired man!"
"Eh…? He's over there…?" The dark time mage pointed her finger to the door, leading the way out to outside. Meredy didn't even give her a reply as she dashed outside, leaving her bewildered.
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"Pink haired man! Pink man! Pinky! Pinky!"
Little girl slammed the door open with every might, the steel frame literally vibrating by her force. And alas, just like her mother explained, he was there, standing, staring at her with a dazed expression.
Meredy screamed, her eyes locking onto his pink hair.
"KUOOOOOO! I…I can feel the synergy between he and I! The power of pink!"
Meredy's expression turned immediately sour, before becoming dark. Then an evil grin smeared on her little face before she brought her hands to cover it as slowly and dramatic as he could. Once she found herself in a certain position, she glared her radioactive-green eye between her fingers.
It was her syndrome acting up again, hence, the chuunibyou loli.
"So we have finally met, Pink Man! Kukukuku… I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time… Last we've met, it was a thousand years ago over the bridge of darkness, I hope you haven't forgotten our promise…"
Natsu stared at her dumbly, having zero ideas what she was talking about. He pointed out, "Oi, kid… I may be old but calling me I'm over thousands of years old is just insulting."
The girl seemed to flinch, and her hand fumbled to find a door knob that she kicked open. Then slowly, she walked backward closing the door in the process.
"Ku ku ku…seems like you cannot take my verbal insult, so you've resorted to retreating back. Pathetic…Ku ku ku…"
A tick mark appeared on his head. He growled out,
"Kid, Just who the heck are you?"
The little pinkette froze during her retreat, and seem to tremble slightly before she stood back up. She let out an choking, sickly chuckle, which only brought even more confusion to Natsu. Without warning, Meredy forcefully kicked the door open all the way and slammed into the wall. She stood resolutely with her two feet planted firmly on the ground, and she shouted out with much dominance she could muster.
"WAGANA WA MEREDY! My calling is that of an archwizard, one who controls explosion magic, the strongest type of magic!"
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Time had passed since Ur learned the truth behind the relationship of Ultear and Natsu. Seeing the sun now directly above the train, she figured it would be around lunch, and from the window, she could see the town and the lake closing in.
She wasn't sure if she was supposed to be disappointed or happy that her daughter hasn't married yet, but it did seem that she did take an interest to him. After hearing what he had done, she wouldn't mind letting marry her daughter.
Then again, he seemed to have many girls who sought the same thing.
Ur sighed on her bed, tucking her head under the pillow. She already felt so old… while her physical body was still in her twenties. She wasn't sure, not when she realized her body had changed.
She slid her left hand to her face, her eyes scanning the white composite that she supposed as her new skin. She still felt lucky. After all, she still had her body… it would not be herself when that happened… to imagine her entire parts to be replaced with these… machines.
Then the depressing side pooled inside her mind. The thought that her flesh made arms and legs were lost forever, and the reality that she had to live with this attached to her.
Yet it was odd. She didn't even realize that these were machines. It had a look of a machine, that was for sure, but the sense of touch, the textures, and the temperatures were still there. It was just like she still had her arm. Had she lost her vision, she would never know.
She opened her hand and closed again, watching the dark muscles moving underneath the white plating. It flexed like flesh. Then she brought her other hand and glided her fingertips slowly over it. The tingling sensation flowing on her arm were just as real as this world.
She was glad that this machine was silent.
Ur lifted the pillow and gazed at the sides. Some faces, she knew, some she didn't. Actually, there was only one face she recognized. That was her daughter, and she assumed, the other girls were all her friends. The girl, supposedly her 'granddaughter' seemed to have her fun time with a certain golden mage.
'What great friends my baby made…I can see that they are all powerful mages too… to know that you aren't sick, I'm so proud.'
Her minds drifted to her pupils, reminded by the friends that Urtear had. 'I wonder if they had all grown up too… I wonder what they are doing.'
Then her daughter approached, followed by the man named Natsu. He spoke something, but it never really caught on to pace of her thoughts, as she was carried away in her own mind.
'Natsu Dragneel… He seems like a nice man…'
"Mrs. Millovich?"
Ur's eye returned their focus. She questioned, letting out a smile. "I'm sorry, would you mind repeating that again? I feel still slightly dizzy."
Natsu returned his smile as well. However, it was her daughter who spoke in his place.
"Mother, Lord Dragneel simply wanted to say that we have almost arrived at the destination."
Natsu looked at her with a mild surprise, and then spoke,
"That, and I wanted to address some of the things about your new limbs."
He added, "Can you stand up?"
"I'll give it a try…"
Ur slowly moved her legs to the side, before pivoting her body around and letting her new legs touching the ground. Immediately, the padded sensation on her foot tingled her brain. It was the first time she touched the ground since she woke up.
It had felt she was born anew, and in some sense, she was. Slowly, she shifted her weight to the ground, and her body slipped forward, which Natsu rushed and grabbed her from collapsing down. He spoke, "Easy, easy… take it slow. Your limbs might not act as you want them because they are still learning your neural languages."
Ur joked slightly, her head concentrating on standing with two feet. "Mr. Dragneel, are you always this technical?"
He didn't reply, only intently staring at her movements. Ultear spoke instead, grabbing her mother by her hands, supporting her.
"Mother."
Then a voice spoke from the front, Ur didn't seem to catch as she was too focused on balancing herself. "Onii-chan? Councilman?"
Natsu replied, taking his eye off from the Ultear's mother momentarily. He made a smile at her that he always gave. The sweet, and caring. "What is it, Erza?"
Ultear didn't seem too bothered. Erza responded nonetheless.
"She's probably need new clothes… some of us should go ahead and buy something for her. She can't walk around like a patient all the time."
That seemed to reach Ur's ear, and she still being her twenties, perhaps it was one of the first things she found relatable to these younger generations.
"Clothes? Oh… there's no need for that. I'm sure I can manage…"
Ultear cut in, glaring defensively at the knightress. "Mother, I can buy the clothes for you. I'm sure I have better taste picking a right one!"
Of which, Erza took offense to. "Councilman! Are you ignoring my hospitality?!" Ultear bore her teeth. "What if I am Titania?!"
Her sister, Irene only took an amusing at their banter, and Brandish only focused on the pink haired girl as Dimaria began her daily dose of torture.
Ur also let out a smile. She commented, "Looks like they are a good friend."
"I wouldn't go as far as friends…" Natsu quietly added before he lay his back to the female ice mage. He exclaimed,
"Good! You are now standing!"
Ultear quickly turned her head around to see it. Her eyes fell down to her mother's leg, scanning before she made an eye contact with her mother. She held her arms out to her mother, and Ur did the same, hugging each other once more. Ur tucked her chin on her daughter's shoulder, and from her standpoint, Natsu was standing directly in front her with a pleased look. The girls in the background seemed to stop their fun for a moment, and two scarlet sisters were gaze at her like how Mr. Dragneel would.
Her dark eyes moved on to meet his. Then the corner of her lips lifted on their own. Her perfect teeth underneath were presented like showcasing beautiful ice sculptures. Then her smile, it was a contagious one. How it glowed brightly under the sunbeam that leaked through the cabin, bright as the sun itself, it spread the whole room like a subtle-sweat aroma of a blue rose.
Her eyes shined like her eyes did as she rested them on a man who brought her back.
She silently moved her lips, but never quite speaking any words. Just moved her lips. That was enough for Natsu to understand her. His smile broadened and replied.
"You're welcome."