So, some people were upset there was no "commentary" yesterday... ;3 Guess who's here with commentary today?
Mira: We are! ^.^
Gray: ...
Erza: CAKE!
Oi, where'd you come from?
Erza: Cakeland, of course... *munches cake*
Gray: *swats Erza's cake away* This is an author's note, not a cafeteria!
Yeah! You're getting my shiny floor all dirty... *realizes what Gray just did and starts sweating* Uh... Gray...
Gray: *freezes* Ah, crap.
Erza: SACRILEGE! MY CAAAAKE! *requips into Heaven's Wheel Armor and drags Gray away*
Mira: ...aaaaaannnd that's the last we see of him...
Um... I think I'd better write that chapter now...
Day Thirty-Eight
Save Me
"Natsu!"
The twenty-six-year-old man's head snapped up at the sound of his mate's voice. "Luce?"
The blond celestial mage stumbled over to him, tears in her eyes, blood dripping down the front of her shirt, and collapsed into Natsu's embrace. "Natsu, they... they've got her, I couldn't..." She broke off, sobbing into him. Natsu stiffened, realizing something.
"Lucy," he said quietly. "Where is Nashi?"
Lucy shook her head, continuing to sob, and Natsu's blood ran cold. "Oh, no. No. Luce, tell me she's not - "
"N-not dead," Lucy cut him off. "But they captured her! The dark guild - they've got her right now, in their headquarters - "
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Natsu went rigid. He pulled away from her, looking his wife right in the eye, and said quietly, "if I'm not back in three days, come after me. But don't come alone."
Lucy's eyes watered. "You can't go alone, Natsu! I'll come with you right now, we'll rescue her together - "
"No." Natsu shook his head. "I'll be fine. Wait for me, Luce - I'll be back. Remember. Three days. And you'd better get that wound take care of," he added, eyes softening as he gazed at the deep gash in Lucy's stomach: not fatal, but certainly painful.
She nodded, wiping her eyes. "R-right."
And off he went, in pursuit of the dark guild that had attacked Fairy Tail, destroyed the guild hall and most of Magnolia, and eventually been driven off - with Natsu and Lucy's four-year-old daughter.
... ... ...
Natsu stormed the dark guild, knocking them out as quickly as they showed up. His fists were blazing, and his eyes were dark and unforgiving.
The two unspoken, but widely known, rules of Natsu Dragneel: 1) don't mess with his mate. 2) don't mess with his daughter.
Considering Lucy had been badly injured in the battle and they had captured Nashi, this dark guild had broken both and they were gonna pay.
With a loud roar, Natsu busted open the doors to another large room, and there she was - his tiny, pink-haired little girl, shackled to the wall and hanging by her wrists. "D-daddy..." she choked out, seeing Natsu. "Help me..."
"Nashi," Natsu whispered, eyes wide. He rushed over to his child, gently wrapping his arms around her. She sobbed into him, and he wasted no time in setting her free, carefully melting the shackles that bound her.
The moment her wrists were free, Nashi lunged for her father, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him like a lifeline. Natsu gently soothed her, though fury bubbled up inside him when he saw the several cuts and bruises on his baby girl's arms and legs. They had been hurting her.
They were not going to get away with that.
"Ah, such a touching reunion..."
Natsu growled, whirling around to face whoever it was, still clutching Nashi tightly to him. It was none other than the dark guild master himself, Giovanni.
Giovanni cackled as Natsu let out a Fire Dragon's Roar, simply pulling out a whip and cracking it. To Natsu's shock, it stopped his flames in their tracks.
"What..." he started, and Giovanni laughed.
"Magic nullification, my dear Natsu. I'm sorry, but any hope you had of rescuing your daughter is gone now." With that, Giovanni lashed out again, and the whip wrapped itself around Natsu's waist.
"Good luck using your magic now," Giovanni cackled.
"You aren't getting Nashi," Natsu growled.
"Oh, I'm afraid we are indeed getting Nashi. The daughter of two of the most powerful mages in the world, both of whom use some of the most rare magic in existence? Yes, she has quite a bit of potential."
Natsu gritted his teeth. Nashi clutched him tighter.
"It's okay, baby," he murmured to her. "Daddy won't let them touch you."
Nashi gave a short nod.
As long as she was in her daddy's arms, she knew she'd be safe.
... ... ...
It had been two days.
Two days of being locked up in a cage, bound by magic nullification ropes, his wrists chained to the wall. He was hardly able to move around at all, but he wasn't letting go of Nashi if his life depended on it. And he hadn't, all of those two days.
The thing was, his life actually did depend on it.
They dragged him out of the cage again, though he didn't let go of Nashi - he was going to hold onto her forever. And he wasn't leaving her in that cage alone.
"Time for your daily torture session, my dear Natsu," Giovanni cackled gleefully as his grunts dropped Natsu on the ground before him.
"It's alright, Nashi," Natsu mumbled into his daughter's ear. "Daddy promises everything will be okay."
"Okay," the little girl whispered, eyes wide.
That was when the whip connected sharply with Natsu's back.
He let out a somewhat stifled groan. The whip came down again, and he let out a cry, unable to hold it in. Nashi started to cry.
The whip came down, again and again. Natsu tried not to show his pain. He couldn't scream. For Nashi's sake.
"Anytime now, you can just give up your little girl..." Giovanni said, bemused.
"Never - AH!"
Giovanni only chuckled at Natsu's pain.
And that was when Lucy broke in.
She, along with Levy and Gajeel, busted through the doors and had Giovanni across the room in a second. Lucy cracked her whip, eyes narrow and furious.
"Don't touch my husband again," she hissed furiously. "Or my daughter."
She summoned Cancer, and while he, Levy, and Gajeel dealt with Giovanni and the grunts that came pouring in, Lucy rushed to her family.
"Luce," Natsu breathed. "I told ya" - he winced - "three days. Only been - two."
She laughed without humor. "Like I was going to listen to that. Two days is way too long for you, Natsu. And you're lucky I did show up."
He grinned weakly. "Guess I am..."
She finally undid the chains binding Natsu and Nashi, and the tiny pink-haired girl flung herself into her mother's arms.
"M-Mama," she choked. "You saved me... and Daddy..."
"Yeah," Lucy said, eyes soft and tone gentle as she stroked her baby's hair. "I sure did."
"Mama, are you and Daddy gonna fight?"
Natsu grinned wickedly, and Lucy returned the look.
"We sure are."
And that was how Giovanni and his dark guild, Team Rocket, learned why you should never mess with the Dragneel family.
Ever.
... ... ...
So, yup, a little family thing, with plenty of NaLu and adorable wittle Nashi!
Mira: I wanna pinch her tiny cheeks now...
Erza: *eyes widen* That kid... so... adorable... *backs away* I'm discovering a new weakness. MUST... PINCH ADORABLE CHEEKS... AND PET ADORABLE HAIR... ADORABLLLLLLE...
*sweats* Uh... E-Erza... um...
Mira: Hey, where did Gray go?
Erza: ...
Erza: ...
Erza: ...
Erza: ...oh, look, some strawberry cake!
Me and Mira: *sweats*
Uh, anyway... see you guys tomorrow, hope you liked all the family-ness! 'Cause I know I love it! :3
(Also, anyone notice the Pokémon stuff?)