Guys I'm back! My arm feels weird, but it's healed. Here's an extra long chapter for waiting so long.
"Follow me ladies, kids and..." Rufus trailed off, looking towards Bixlow. He sized him up, then finished, "and thing."
Bixlow's fist clenched at the smirk that made its way across Rufus's face. Lisanna gripped the top of his arm and looked at him knowingly. A gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Laxus. He smirked, knowing he was going to have fun with this sudden development.
Rufus took a left and they entered a large space full of people. Nobody seemed to pay attention to the new comers, making Wendy a bit sad. The first person to notice were the dragon slayer. They rushed over to the small group and welcomed them back from the dead. People seemed to notice the two and looked to see where they were going.
"LISANNA!" People yelled once they saw her. She smiled and let herself get jumped.
"This is the main hall," Rufus said. "This is where everyone, when not sleeping or eating, comes. Let's continue shall we?"
Rufus continued walking, followed by Wendy, Romeo, Erza and Rouge. Bixlow and Lisanna decide to stay and get caught up with everyone.
Erza looked towards Rouge. "Why are you coming with us?" She asked.
"You guys are heading in the direction I'm going." He replied.
Erza decided that was a good enough answer and followed Rufus down more hallways. They stopped in front of a solid metal door, making Wendy nervous. Rufus pulled out a set of keys And inserted a large one into the slot. He twisted and the door opened. Erza was right behind the two kids as they entered the dark area.
The entire area was full of metal bars and rock walls. In the first cell was a blue haired man. He sat against the back wall and looked at the ground. He had a green complexion, but acted sane. Further down there was sounds of someone sobbing and banging.
Erza looked at the man, hoping he would show his face if she got closer. She was right in front of the bars and the man still didn't even acknowledge her presence.
"Um, hi?" She said to the man. "By any chance can you-" Before she could finish her question, the man jumped up and grabbed Erza by the hand.
She saw the red tattoo on the right side of his face, and recognized the face immediately.
He pulled her arm inside the cell and brought it towards his mouth. But her stopped. His eyes widened in realization and he dropped her arm. He backed towards the wall and stayed there.
"We don't quite understand why he's able to control himself now," Rufus said, "but he's still a monster." He went further into the room.
"Here we have two dragon slayers." Rufus gestured towards the two cells closest to the end of the room.
Across from the last cell was Levy sobbing. Rouge sat down and comforted her. Red eyes pierced through the dark making Wendy jump in fear. The dragon slayer started to growl and approach the bars. His gloved, metal studded hand shot through. He reached for Rouge, but failed miserably.
Rouge wrapped his arms around Levy's torso, smirking at Gajeel the entire time. Gajeel growled at Rouge and attacked the bars. They didn't budge. Gajeel faced the wall separating him and Natsu.
"Iron dragon's Roar!" Gajeel yelled. The attack destroyed the wall and part of it hit Natsu.
Natsu pushed the stone off and attacked Gajeel. "You did that on purpose." Natsu hissed at him.
"How was I suppose to know where you were!?" Gajeel argued.
Erza looked towards Rufus. "How come we understand them?" She asked.
"I remembered Jellal being able to talk so I simply used my memory-make to make a medication allowing them to talk." Rufus explained.
Before anyone could realize what was happening, Gajeel and Natsu had attacked the bars using their roar's. The bar's withstood the first attack, but when they released it again, they flew off.
The six of them stared at the bars in shock. Natsu immediately ran out of the room while Gajeel stood in the smoke, glaring at Rouge. In a flash, Rouge was in the wall and Gajeel had Levy in his arms. He bolted out the door.
Erza was the first one to react. "We have to go capture them!" She ordered, then went after Natsu.
Rouge pulled himself out of the wall. "I'll go with her." He said, then ran out the door.
Wendy and Romeo went after them, but Rufus stopped them. "I can't let you go, you're just children."
"But they're our nakama!" Wendy protested.
Rufus shook his head. "There's a chance that you will get infected," he looked towards Wendy, "and we can't lose another healer."
Wendy looked at the ground, knowing that he was right. She would just have to leave it to Erza and Rouge.
Natsu crept into the lounge area acting like a ninja. He had his scarf around his mouth and was silent. He made his way through the crowd of people, making sure not to touch a single one of them. He didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention.
He passed a rather large man whose clothes were in tatters. He people surrounded him, frantically asking questions. He made his way silently around the crowd and finally saw his target.
Lucy held Happy close to her chest as she stroked his head. She was talking to Gray, Cana and Juvia, but she was still sad. They noticed and tried to help cheer her up, but it wasn't working. Happy was upset, too, probably more than she was. He had lost Carla then Natsu. The only thing she could do was be there for him.
Of course that didn't mean she wasn't upset while doing so.
"Come on Lucy, cheer up." Gray pleaded.
"Juvia doesn't like seeing Lucy-san upset." Juvia told here.
"Just take a drink Lucy," Cana said and handed her a bottle. "They always make me feel better."
Lucy looked up at all of them and forced a smile. "Thanks for the help guys."
Everyone could tell that she was forcing it.
"I'm going to go to my room..." She paused. "Okay?"
"Yeah" Everyone else replied.
Lucy turned around and started walking to the long corridor that held some of the rooms. Happy had been silent the entire time.
"Hey Lucy?" Happy said.
"Yeah Happy?" Lucy replied.
"I miss Natsu."
"I miss him, too, but there was nothing we could do."
"Please," said a different voice.
Lucy stopped in her tracks. She looked over her shoulder and saw the pink haired boy.
"You could've helped me." He hissed. "You could've been there helping me like I asked! You could've helped me put Jellal in that cell! But you're weakl! Even after it happened, you could've visited me! But did little miss high and mighty do any of that? No!"
Lucy turned to face him so Happy could see. Tears stared to stream down her checks. "I know." She whispered.
"Then why didn't you!"
"Because it hurt too much."
Happy look up at Lucy. "Don't cry Lucy."
Natsu took three long strides to her. He gave her a hard look, then threw her into a wall.
"Natsu!" Happy yelled.
"Juvia feels bad for Lucy."
"I wish we could do something." Cana took a sip from her bottle.
"It's my fault," Gray said, staring at the ground.
"Gray-sama."
"No. I was there when it happened. I could've stopped Gajeel, but didn't. It's my fault she feels like that."
"Don't be so hard on yourself Gray," Cana told him.
"Natsu!" They heard Happy yell.
They all exchanged a worried look, then ran towards the source.
Erza back track so she was in the lobby. She saw Gray, Juvia, and Cana run towards a corridor, so she followed them.
They weren't far down the hallway when they saw Natsu holding Lucy up by the neck. She was struggling, trying to make his harsh grip around her throat loosen. Tears poured down her checks. Happy was pulling at Natsu's hair.
"I thought you cared." Natsu hissed.
His grip tightened.
"Natsu!" Gray yelled as he slammed into him.
Lucy, free from his grip, crumbled to the floor. Juvia and Cana were by her side in an instant.
"Are you okay Lucy?" Cana asked.
Lucy didn't answer, but the hand at her neck combined with the tears gave them the answer they needed.
"Juvia will make Natsu pay." Juvia said, flames in her eyes.
"Ice-make: Canon!" Gray yelled. His attacked launched towards Natsu.
Natsu stepped to the side as the attack launched toward him. He glared at his opponent, then launched himself at him.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He yelled as his flaming fist came in contact with Gray's face.
Juvia became even more en-ranged as Gray flew through the ceiling. "Water Lock!" She yelled.
A giant sphere of water formed and surrounded Natsu. He clutched at his neck. He released and started to punch at the sphere. There was no way out for him, so he faced Juvia. He inhaled some of the water, then breathed.
Fire spewed from his mouth towards her at a rapid rate. Juvia stood frozen.
"Juvia!" Cana yelled as she dove towards Juvia.
Cana pushed Juvia away from the attack. The water lock dispersed freeing Natsu from its clutch. He glared at the two women on the floor. His foot lit up in flames.
"Fire Dragon's Claw." He hissed.
He shot forward towards Cana. She gripped onto Juvia tighter, knowing that it was going to hurt like hell. He was right in front of Cana when a sword sliced his check.
"Erza!" Cana said happily.
Cana stood up to help Erza conquer the beast in front of them. Juvia got up and ran to help Lucy. She was covering her face with her hands as she sobbed when Juvia arrived. Juvia helped the poor girl to her feet.
"Lucy," Happy said as he flew by. The blue cat had a bruise on his arm. "Lucy," Happy pleaded.
She looked up at him through tear streaked eyes. "Don't be sad Lucy." Happy said to try to cheer her up.
Lucy reached out towards Happy. She wrapped one arm around him, then pulled him into her chest. Happy hugged her back (as much as a cat could hug a person). She sobbed into the blue cat's fur, while Juvia watched, saddened.
Gray jumped through the hole in the ceiling. It was three against one, though it was a mutated Natsu. But they had Cana, so they still had an advantage.
Natsu glared at Erza, marking her as his first target. But, he wasn't an unreasonable person. "Just leave me and Lucy alone for a minute. I just wanna talk." Natsu said, still glaring at Erza.
"Yeah right flame-brain," Gray said. "Like we'd trust you after you choked her."
Natsu looked towards Gray, his new target. "Fine then stripper, have it your way."
Natsu shot forward his entire body igniting. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" He yelled.
Cana pulled out a card and placed it on the ground. "The Prayer's Fountain!" She yelled.
Multiple beams of water shot out from the card, blocking Natsu from attacking Gray.
"Flame Empress Armor!" Erza yelled.
Her body glowed white, then dispersed, revealing her in red armor with a sword. "Flame slash!" She yelled as fire surrounded her sword.
She charged Natsu.
Natsu saw her at the last second. He grabbed her sword and swung it. Erza flew with it and landed in his flame covered fist. Her armor cracked because of the punch. He let go, making Erza fly behind him. He faced towards Gray and Cana, deciding that Erza was for later.
Erza slid to a halt. She looked down at her armor, making sure it was still fine. Her eyes widened as she looked at the damage.
The entire area he punched shattered. Everything else, scorched. She never knew that Natsu had that much power. She knew he would surpass her one day, but that wasn't Natsu. In a way it was still Natsu, yes, but the infection was doing things to his brain. Apparently, some of those things were a strength and a speed boost.
Erza grit her teeth. She finally realized the situation they were in. Even with Cana, they didn't have an advantage. If anything, Natsu did. Cana was simply one more person that stood in his way of Lucy.
...Lucy was still here, which meant she was still in danger. They needed to get Lucy away from Natsu, especially with her breakdown. She wasn't safe here, or anywhere in this building.
"Juvia!" Erza yelled towards her.
"Yes," She replied.
"Get Lucy out of here! She's not safe!"
"But..." Juvia was hesitant.
"If Natsu ends up beating us, he'll go after Lucy!"
"Alright! Good luck Gray-sama~!"
Juvia wrapped her arm around Lucy's waist. Lucy draped her arm over Juvia's shoulder, knowing that she needed to follow Erza's orders. Happy placed himself on top of Lucy's head to keep her company.
Rouge ran after the infected dragon slayer. He had to follow his scent because when he thought he was close, he'd turn the corner and discover that Gajeel was almost at the end of it. No matter how hard he tried to follow the guy, he could never catch him.
He slowed his pace to a walk.
There was no point in running after someone who he couldn't catch.
He smirked. His plan was working. Gajeel was becoming jealous of him, and now he was going to make his move on Levy. He stopped. Gajeel had Levy. The mutated, rough Gajeel had innocent, defenseless Levy. He sprinted through down the hallway, trying to catch up.
Why hadn't he noticed earlier! Gajeel's infected! He could bite Levy any minute now! He took a sharp turn and continued to chase after Gajeel. Even if his plan was working, Gajeel couldn't be infected while he was working on getting them together. Jellal usually kept his cool, but while infected, he was wild and didn't give a crap about anyone or anything. As long as he got his prize, he would do anything.
Gajeel was the same way.
Well... he was probably worse, way worse. Especially since Rouge knew past Gajeel. He had to hurry, Levy was in trouble.
Gray gritted his teeth as he propped himself on one elbow. He looked up and saw Erza in her Armadura Fairy armor. It had multiple dents and burns covering it. Even her twin swords had some inflicted damage. She try desperately to land an attack on Natsu, especially since he started to toy with her.
He never knew how strong Natsu really was. How could an infection make a person that strong? How in the world were they ever going to take down all of them? It seemed like Armageddon considering their numbers. Plus that weird spit attack that would destroy your flesh.
Gray knew they were going to have to pull through one way or another. He needed to take down Natsu, no matter how hurt he was. He slowly got on his knees, then his feet. He was doing this for his nakama. He had to stop Natsu somehow.
The temperature in the room dropped dramatically. He placed his fist on his open palm and got into attack position. "Ice make Unlimited: One Sided Chaotic Dance," He said.
Swords of ice started forming everywhere. Eventually, they formed enough to create a spiral of ice swords, all jutting out. Gray looked towards Natsu, his eyes hard and uncaring. The spiral moved and it's ice swords hit Natsu.
Natsu, surprised by the sudden attack, used his arms to block it. The swords carved into his skin, making him growl. "Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang!" He hissed.
His hand lit up in flames. Using cat-like reflexes he clawed the ice swords attacking him.
The spiral of swords stopped. A large crack appeared where Natsu attacked it. It spread quickly, cracking the entire spiral. It shattered into millions of ice shards.
In a flash, Natsu was right in front of Gray. Gray took a step back in surprise. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu yelled.
Natsu's flame encased fist connected with the side of Gray's face, sending Gray flying out of the corridor and into the lobby. He landed in the wall across from the entrance.
Natsu shot out, his entire body ignited. "I'll make sure that you can't stand up ever again! Even all of Wendy's healing won't help you!" Natsu yelled as he propelled towards the already hurt Gray.
Everyone stared as flames charged at Gray at an almost unnoticeable speed. "Lightning Punch!"
An electric fist connected with Natsu's face before Natsu hit Gray. Laxus stood in front of Gray as Natsu flew towards the back wall.
Natsu hit the floor and flew back into the air. As he was about to hit the floor again, he got his feet underneath him and slid to a stop. He growled as he watched Laxus help Gray out of the wall.
When were the enemies ever going to stop coming?
Rouge had never run this fast in his life.
He sped down the hallway having no idea where Gajeel was taking Levy. He took another sharp turn and saw Gajeel with a blunette over his shoulder. She was sobbing, scared for her life.
Rouge stopped running. He couldn't be caught yet and running would give him away. So he cautiously approached him.
Levy trembled, scared. Not only about what was going to happen to her, but also about what was going to happen to Gajeel. Who knew what kind of side effects he may get. That wasn't really the most concerning thing on her mind at the moment though. No, it was mostly what was going to happen to her. Who knew what an infect dragon slayer would do?
More tears came as she thought of the many horrible possibilities he could do.
"Oi shrimp." Gajeel said, oddly calm.
"Stop fucking crying before I give you a reason to cry." He hissed.
Levy covered her mouth to muffle the sobbing, but Gajeel's intense hearing would make him hear it anyways. She buried her face in his back to try to stop it, but it wasn't working.
"Shrimp." Gajeel growled.
"I-I'm t-trying," She sobbed.
"Then try harder."
Levy closed her eyes and only thought of good things. She pictured Lily, her, and Gajeel all sitting on his couch. Her being pressed against Gajeel's side, with her head leaning on his chest; his arm wrapped around her, making sure she couldn't leave his side -not that she would; and Lily wrapped up in Levy's arms as they watched a movie on the lacrima projector.
The thought only made her sadder. That fantasy wasn't possible anymore. Gajeel was gone and nobody's seen Lily since the incident. She was lonely. She was numb on the inside. She didn't really care about what Gajeel would do to her anymore. It couldn't be worse than losing your brother figures, then you crush and his smart cat.
Tears started to stream down her checks again, but she didn't make any noise.
Lucy was outside, in the dark, at night...alone. Juvia had taken Happy from her. Happy had some catnip earlier -because Lucy thought it might cheer him up- and even Juvia could smell it. There was no way a dragon slayer wouldn't pick up on this trail.
Lucy was on the ground, sobbing her eyes out. Her life at the moment sucked. Her nakama were getting hurt trying to protect her, and all she was doing was sitting out here crying. It Phantom Lord all over again. She felt useless during both battles, but at the end she helped Natsu win. Right now though, Natsu was Gajeel and there was no Natsu that would come and rescue her.
She heard a low growl to her left. She did not want to become some hungry animals snack, not now, not ever. She picked herself off the dirt and dried her tears. She had to believe in her nakama no matter what. She looked at her hand, then smiled. She stuck up her index finger and thumb and smiled, then hid in the bushes.
Everything grew quiet. She was calm and collected. But, that didn't matter apparently. A hand slipped around her waist and yanked her from the bush. Their other hand clasped over her mouth to prevent her from screaming.
"Lucy." They breathed.
Her eyes widened in fear. She recognized the voice of the person that held her captive.
His tongue slipped out of his mouth and went up her neck, making her feel disgusted and scared. He laughed, then said something incoherent. He licked his lips and gave her a predatory smile; his wolf eyes staring at her hungrily. She started to tremble as his mouth approached her neck.
Laxus glared at Natsu as he removed himself from the wall. He dusted himself off, then took up a fighting stance. Natsu didn't move.
"You know, I'm only fighting because you're preventing me from getting my goal." Natsu said.
"Oh yeah," Laxus questioned. "Well I'm fighting because one; you need to get back to your cell, and two; you hurt my nakama."
"Then it seems like were going to have to fight each other after all," Natsu said, finally taking up a fighting stance.
"Thunder Palace!" Laxus yelled.
Lightning radiated off his body in a full circle. He tossed small lacrima orbs in the air and watched as the lightning struck them, trapping it's power inside."If you don't defeat me in thirty minutes," Laxus said, "then your going to get electrocuted."
Natsu glared. It was only him and Laxus trapped inside the area, so it was a fair fight.
"Oi," Laxus yelled over his shoulder. "Nobody touch the lacrima's! This is a fair fight!"
"How is it fair when I'm already injured," Natsu questioned.
"You and I both know that doesn't matter."
Natsu grinned. He bent down, then shot towards Laxus, his body lighting in flames. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"
"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!"
Natsu ran into Laxus's lightning fist, getting electrocuted. His attack vanished and he hit the floor. He slowly lifted himself up and looked at Laxus. He smirked. "Looks like I need to finish this quickly," He said.
Laxus raised a questioning eyebrow when Natsu said that. Laxus knew most of Natsu attacks. He'd seen them with his own eyes, so what trick could he possibly have up his sleeve?
"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!" Natsu smirked when he looked at Laxus's shocked face.
"Lightning Flame Dragon's Firing Hammer!" Natsu punch Laxus right in the gut. Laxus flew backwards, hitting a lacrima in the process. "And Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!"
Natsu smirked as Laxus hit the ground.
"Laxus!" Freed and Bixlow yelled. They charged towards the thunder palace.
"Stop," Laxus said. Freed and Bixlow stopped in their tracks.
"Bixlow!" Lisanna yelled. He looked towards her. She nodded.
"Sorry Laxus, but I'm going to have to go against your wishes. Don't worry, it'll only be this once." He gave a tongue lolling grin.
Lisanna ran towards the thunder palace, Bixlow by her side. He grinned as he ran towards Laxus, enjoying the thrill. She smiled. The nostalgic feeling that came with this overwhelmed her. Her smile turned into a grin.
Bixlow jumped into the palace and tackled Natsu. Natsu squirmed underneath him, but Bixlow pressed all his weight against him. He grabbed Natsu's arms and pulled them back. Natsu flipped him onto his back. Bixlow only grinned at the attempt. He locked Natsu's legs, rendering him immobile.
Lisanna reached into her pocket and pulled out the flower they found. She knelt next to Natsu. She pressed the flower against his nose, but he fought.
Natsu bit down into Lisanna's hand. Making her drop the flower and stare as blood trickled down her arm.
Rouge silently crept towards Gajeel. He made sure to keep his eyes anywhere but his feet. If he looked at his feet he would run into something, giving his cover away.
"SHUT UP LEVY!" Gajeel yelled at the sobbing blunette for the umpteenth time. He didn't know why she continued to sob even after he told her to stop. He took her right arm and punched it.
A loud crack rang through the air and Rouge stood there, breathless. This wasn't what he thought would happen. He didn't expect Gajeel to do something that cruel, especially to Levy. He thought Gajeel liked Levy, but this...
Rouge shook his head and took a makeshift deep breath. Gajeel and Levy weren't going to be together for much longer anyways. He was going to save her from her despair. No matter what.
I thought this was going to be 5,000 words. Ended up being 4,285 instead. Close enough. IfanyoftheinformationiswrongIgotitallfromthewikiFa iryTailpagesoyouknowwhy. The end of the drama and the action will be next chapter (maybe), so stick with me please.