Greetings everyone! Here's the latest chapter, not much to add for now, work has been crazy and I'm trying to keep up with the writing of this one and 3 other AU stories that are turning very interesting but are yet to be published until I accumulate a couple more chapters. Today I am leaving two quotes since I couldn't decide which suited this chapter more.
-A-
"For weeks Tyrone thought he was going to die any minute, and there were also times when he was afraid he wasn't going to die."
― Hubert Selby Jr., Requiem for a dream
"I did the only thing I knew how to do: I built my own walls of silence to disguise my desperation and what later came to be recognized and diagnosed as depression."
― Sharon E. Rainey, Making a pearl from the gift of life
(AN: To keep everyone on track with the constant switching: The end of the previous chapter)
He was still sweating but felt incredibly cold, so much that his lip started trembling and his skin felt like being burnt by ice. He slowly opened his eyes to the same image from before, but everything was so blurry and he couldn't focus, the shape of the pale man with dark hair was still staring at him.
"Z…Zeref, w-what…"
"Dammit, he is fucking hallucinating"
"Well if you hadn't taken so long to compose yourself after I brought you here…"
"Asshole, I was sleeping when you took me and brought me through a fucking celestial portal thing and dropped me on my ass! I felt as if my brain was going to come out from my nose!" Natsu's eyes tried to focus on one image and landed on the black marks covering the man's right side all the way from his hand to his face. The voice was one he knew, he tried to move and found himself restrained, no, locked in a frozen bathtub. "Gray?"
"Welcome to the land of the living ashbreath"
(AN: Again, to keep track, this is the scene leading to the opening of this chapter, in case you need a reminder)
"Very well, are you done with him for now?" Natsu nodded "I may ask for a play date soon… but you can take him back if you want, unless you want us to put him in the dungeons"
"No, that's fine… Chrysomallos, please follow me" the knight turned to Natsu for approval and once he was cleared, he followed Aporia while dragging Radoub all the way to the library "You can leave us here, I'll take care of the rest"
"Don't you want to take me in case you need help?" she smirked "Wouldn't you love that… no, like I said, I am perfectly capable of handling this, now please leave and don't let the door hit you on your way out"
He bowed and stepped away from the room and as soon as the door clicked, he felt the magic release behind the door, he allowed for a couple of seconds to pass before opening it again. The library still had shelves above shelves, the couches and desk… but there were no books left behind, not a single paper laying on the floor, not even a hint of what occupied its space before.
Mal turned away and left while keeping his face as expressionless as he could, which was an ability he had mastered during his time with Aporia. Of course, he could only wish his plan worked as expected, hoping she wouldn't simply kill Raboud to avoid the trouble; he was counting on the fact that Natsu had expressed his desire of taking him out again would stop her from following through with whatever plan she had.
The door clicked leaving Aporia standing in the middle of her library; she looked at Radoub's unconscious form, clicked her tongue and huffed; it was annoying for her to have to submit to yet someone else's tantrums. She placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes before taking a deep breath, it had to be done.
The man was no more than a rabid dog, a loyal servant to a nasty man she could consider her equal in many ways, but still an adversary; If it was up to her, she would make her purple clouds filter through his lackey's lungs claiming every bit of oxygen left and crushing everything inside him… poisoning his body until he withered, but she knew it was not the time; she was already walking on thin ice with her grandson and killing his new entertainment wouldn't help, she needed this to work.
She extended her hands with her palms facing up and closed her eyes; the air around her moved making her long dark hair fall out of place and flow while she allowed her magic to swirl out of her thin, delicate fingers; Aporia felt a strange tingling feeling as her magic seeped from her and expanded and she flinched… this hadn't happened before.
Trying to disregard the uncomfortable sensation, she pushed through; her purple clouds wrapped themselves around Remy lifting him delicately but causing her to flinch again, she could almost feel his weight under her fingers and her concern started growing but she couldn't stop, not now…
The clouds grew past the limp man until they filled the dark stone floors swirling in shapes all the way to the book shelves then slowly reaching the stairs on her right side covering the wooden boards little by little until her reading nook on the upper level was completely covered.
Once she felt she had covered every corner, her magic contracted and she felt it syncing with her, this was different than before… the magic pulsed like a heartbeat and kept contracting which each 'boom' of her own heart in an almost painful way, pulling everything until she had disappeared, leaving behind nothing but fading smoke.
the dark haired woman reappeared again in her dimensional space, all her books landing in a mess on the floor and Radoub next to her. Aporia's hair swirled around along with her magic, her long dark blue skirt moving as if the wind was against her until her magic settled and disappeared, leaving her panting, shaking, and shocked, something was not right.
Her hands immediately tried to settle her disheveled hair back in place, it seemed untamed now which was weird for her, so many years of ethereal perfection have gotten her used to not putting much effort into things. 'Why?' Her eyes looked everywhere and nowhere trying to think of a reason why her magic would betray her in such an important time of her life, she had kept all her rituals, all her conditions… everything in order to keep feeding the energy.
A sad and tired laughter that would have made an echo if such thing was possible in the vast nothingness of her personal vault made her look up with disdain at the majestic creature, she'd held prisoner for centuries.
Aporia hated the thing, it had been a amazing thing to behold back in the old days, but now it was nothing but a ghost from her past life. No matter how much she hurt it, it wouldn't bow… centuries of torture, cutting, pulling, breaking hadn't changed that fact.
"Sorceress…" The huge creature whispered through broken and bloodied teeth; his scales were a dark brown, almost black colored; many of them had been ripped and healed leaving scars as if he'd been burnt by something stronger than fire; there were dried bloodied gashes on his skin, covering most of his belly, even some of his claws which dragons were proud of had been cracked centuries ago and looked dry and pathetic; his wings were spread and anchored to nonexistent walls and had holes that would never seal and would prevent it from flying even if he ever found a way to get out of the retched place.
Aporia straightened herself up and grabbed the unconscious man, struggling to drag him all the way to his shackles "Oh, manual work for a change… tired, are we?" he laughed again, but she ignored him. The black-haired woman restrained Radoub and proceeded to pick some of her books to make several stashes.
"It seems your infinite magic is not infinite anymore sorceress… have your powers forsaken you?"
She turned and stomp her foot on the nonexistent ground while tightening her fists in a sad childish display of anger "Shut up beast! Before I take away something that you'll miss!" that made him laugh again "Bitch! What else can you take away from me? The only thing I have left is a heartbeat and I am sure you're not willing to take that away just yet"
Aporia hated the sight of his smiling broken mouth; as he laughed the gaps from his missing teeth made a whistling sound she had learnt to hate. It was rare for him to laugh anymore and she was more used to his painful screams.
She was not going to let him get under her skin… she walked away towards darkness, so far that she couldn't see the majestic beast anymore, but she knew… this path would only take care where she wanted to go if her master wanted to see her; so, she walked for what felt like hours although she knew time wasn't relevant in a place like that.
Every step she took made her heart clench and her body shiver; could it be that her master had abandoned her? No, he couldn't… he needed her, and she needed him, and that tiny thought made her heart warm up a bit.
A picture of his face came to her mind, she had always admired his handsome features, the soft lines of his face, his sharp chin and his porcelain skin and most of all his desire for power.
Ria figured her internal cries for help were heard when she saw the scenery change; the floor she stepped on changed to the darkest stone that ever existed; as she kept walking, the floor became wider and wider, not only showing the step she had taken but an aisle that became broader bit by bit until she reached a pit filled with dark swirling fire.
The room was lighted by torches made with huge old bones, she'd been there before and knew those came from old creatures whose blood lines had been eliminated too long ago after rising against the master of the realm she had dared to step into.
"I hope you have a good excuse to call for me, my dear" the fire casted shadows on the man's pale face, his sharp chin was tilted up as if looking at the ceiling while his arms were crossed above his chest "I'm a very busy individual, you know?"
"My lord…" she knelt and bowed respectfully; he waved his hand and signaled her to sit on the chair across the table, leaving his red and black chess board in the middle. The dark haired woman placed her hand on her chest and bowed "My magic is acting strangely, and I find myself in need of your wisdom"
"Trying to appeal to my ego, my precious Ria?" he smiled at her and licked his lips "It's not acting strangely, just running out, my dear" She felt a hole in the pit of her stomach and placed her hands on it instinctively "Please, I've come to ask for your help once more, my lord"
"I'm disappointed…" she looked nervously at her hands "Did I not give you the power to defeat your enemies centuries ago?"
"You did…"
"Did I not keep feeding you with my own energy to help you take revenge?"
"You did…"
"Did I not ask for only one… single… thing… in exchange?" she flinched, of course she knew what he was talking about, but in her heart everything she'd done had a purpose and she could only hope he knew that "One that you carelessly threw away when blinded by your stupid human ego?"
"My lord! She would have been useless for your purpose! She refused her destiny and I punished her for it… but I brought you something better!"
The somber man stared at her for a second "You brought me an empty shell! Something I could not use to gain terrain against my siblings, something equally blinded by its own hunger!… and then I gave you another chance, did… I… not?" she nodded "And what did you do with it?"
"I…" Hades slammed his hand on the table, causing the chess pieces to fall "You allowed him to grow power hungry and lead himself to death!"
"I d-didn't know Zeref would be killed!" he stood up and walked behind her before placing his cold sharp fingers on her shoulders "But he was… and that leaves us in our current predicament. The only one who can increase my armies of destruction now is the younger sibling" he pressed his fingers against her skin in a bruising way "The one who inherited my nephews bloodline and righteousness… they were two sides of the same coin, one with the power of death, one with the power to set everything ablaze… one with no destiny foreseen, which we could have easily molded… and one with a prophesied destiny tying him to the one energy that could put a bump in our plans"
"I'm truly sorry for my failures… but if you would just listen" the cold, dark laughter that came from him made her shiver "I have no wish to listen to your stupidity anymore… Ria. You should be thankful that at least the fake bloodline of the puppet you created served the purpose of tainting him enough to allow the dark fire to filter during Chrysomallos' stupid act of honor and chivalry… bloodlines are a tricky thing, aren't they?"
"I… can fix this, I'll be the vessel of your wish once more and together we can…"
"I've always enjoyed the use of the word 'we'" Hades walked and sat back down, crossing one leg above the other before snapping his fingers; a crystal-clear glass appeared on his hand; he took a sip of the dark, thick liquid before placing his glass down on the table.
Aporia took a calming breath, she felt relieved knowing the plans were not broken but when she looked up and saw Hades' mocking face, her blood ran cold.
"It gives an imaginary sense of purpose to useless people…" her smile faltered "I'm afraid this changes nothing, you failed and now feel you are worthy enough to come and ask for my help?"
"My lord… I beg of you!" he leaned on the table and wrapped his hand around her neck, his stare reminding her of the one Natsu had given her "You think begging will persuade me? After taking my graces and wasting them? You lied to me… a God, and thought I would never figure it out"
"How did you... I didn't mean to lie to you, I thought my actions would serve better to our plans"
"Stupid mortal... I can reach whatever place you can, I own every bit of your energy. One thing you should remember, my dear… is that we may not see everything all the time, but living for eons allows us too eventually catch up with what we've missed, and we do not forget. The magic I gave you will run its course and you shall receive nothing more from me unless you bound yourself to his power by the next full moon" he pushed her away, his eyes glowing between black and golden "Leave…" Aporia's nails were digging to the skin on her palms but she nodded and stood up before walking away the same way she'd come.
The dark fire in the pit flickered, he smiled at it before getting closer and brushing his fingers over it "It's alright" the fire swirled around his hand, almost holding it "Once he finishes my bidding he'll be right next to you" the fire became darker and flickered with sudden strength, it couldn't really burn him but he still retrieved his hand "Settle down… you hissing at me will not change my plans, it will be done"
He sensed a presence he knew well and rolled his dark eyes "I need to set some barriers to keep your kind from entering here whenever you feel like it, you are becoming annoying"
"Who were you talking to now, uncle?" The red headed man stepped closer to inspect the fire but stayed back as soon as he saw the ruler of the underworld tense; he crossed his muscled arms above his perfectly sculpted chest which was covered by a red and gold armor, similar to the one Mal wore.
"Oh… I thought I'd never hear you refer to me as that ever again… you must need something from me" Ares' lip curled upwards, he walked closer and saw the chess pieces laying on the floor and arched his brow "Did you lose a game and got mad?"
"I, dear nephew… never lose a game…" the red headed man smirked "Well, there's always a first time…" he clapped his hands "Anyway, there's business to attend, places to see, people to talk to, so, if you wouldn't mind…" he signaled the throne like chair on the other end, signaling Hades to sit.
The God of death walked and patted his dark tunic as if trying to get rid of nonexistent dirt before taking a sit and looking at his nephew "I need you to back down, the boy is hurting too much, and this war has been taken too far… the Gods know and will definitely summon all of us to take sides and mark the beginning of the end for another era when this war reaches all realms"
Hades gave him a quizzical look "The God of war, wanting to avoid one… this would be funny if it wasn't too pathetic"
"Oh Hades…" the read headed man rested his back on the chair before entwining his fingers and placing his hands on the bone colored table "Have you ever known me from backing down from a war?" it hit him then… his nephew knew something he didn't, something that was making him feel as confident as to walk in the underworld to shove it in his face "I just thought you'd like another opportunity to avoid the inevitable end of this game"
"And why would I do that… Ares?" the man smiled at him and shrugged, unwilling to provide any information relevant for the keeper of the abyss "I don't know… I see mortals trying to bargain their way out of death's grip all the time… I thought maybe you would do the same"
"I cannot die, boy"
"Is that what you think?" Hades threw the rest of the chess board along with his glass on the floor "That's what I know!"
"Very well… then I shall take my leave and bid you farewell uncle, one never knows when the last time we'll see each other be…" Darkness engulfed the place making the torches lose their brightness, the only one remaining being the fire pit in the middle of the room and in a second, he disappeared in black smoke and appeared in front of the God of War "Do not taunt me, I AM death"
"And I am war… and you can't win a war against war itself" Hades laughed manically and moved passed his nephew "Silly child… It's going to be a joyful moment to bring you to your knees when you figure out you're wrong"
Ares sighed and shook his head "And it will be a sad moment for me to witness the fall of the powerful Gods…"
"Stubborn all the way until the end I see… you will think you are right until your final moment"
"I don't think I'm right, I know I am" Ares' power swirled around him and became a powerful flame that covered him entirely, flickering with strength; he nodded towards Hades in respect before the flame disappeared, and him with it.
Lucy laid alone in her tent, trying to hold her breath; every time the wave of pain overcame her, a small whimper would try to escape her lips but she would keep them down if it prevented her friends from growing even more concerned.
The pain on her side was increasing rapidly and moving up to her chest almost constricting her lungs; it was a weird feeling… not exactly as freezing cold but as if loosing her own body temperature, as if life itself tried to abandon her body leaving nothing but heartache and unhappiness, as if all the good things in the world would escape if she let that little bit of warmth leave her skin.
She knew something was very wrong, but until recently, she hadn't realized how wrong it was, and now she felt very stupid for not knowing.
The celestial mage had been powering through everything she'd been feeling because their goal was too important for her… you don't get a sick day when you are trying to piece your life together and save the love of your life from himself… but once Mal's energy had connected with hers while he tried to figure what was wrong with her, the truth was not only revealed to him… but to her as well, and it made sense for her now.
When his energy linked to her, reality had struck her as a bucket of cold water… She hadn't said anything, her friends would only freak out if they knew she was at risk and she couldn't take that at the moment; them being concerned about her well being would only remove their focus from the goal, but in that very moment… fear for the amount of things that could go wrong made her feel as if she was sinking in quicksand and she knew if she lost this battle she would lose herself and no amount of support would ever allow her to recover her broken soul.
The celestial mage wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to bring some comfort just like he did when she had a bad day, but knowing her life force was linked to everything she wanted, everything she loved with all her soul made the anxiety in the pit of her stomach accumulate more and more, making her pain almost unbearable; she feared Loke would be called because of her stress but the celestial spirit never made an appearance, she didn't know if to be sad and relieved.
She fisted her hands and bit her lip trying to hold the tears that were sure to come, her mind wishing he was next to her and hold her to take the pain away, to make her feel safe as he always used to do because she knew wherever she was… if she took a leap, no matter where she was falling from he would always catch her… at least that's what it used to be.
Awareness was a hard thing to fight, knowing right now he was so far away that is she jumped from a cliff he wouldn't be near to safe her, knowing that maybe the darkness that tried to rip him away would dull his love, his senses… it was almost too much to bear.
"Natsu… I jumped… why are you not here to catch me?" it was only a second later when she felt her pain subside and a calming warmth filled her body, for others it may have been too hot but for her it was just soothing… spending so many years partnering up with someone whose temperature was always above average made her feel comfortable and allowed her to cuddle in her sleeping mat and bask in the calmness this provided her with. She smiled, she wanted to think this was his warmth, whatever was left of his soul reaching out to her; Lucy desperately tried to believe this meant he hadn't abandoned her completely, and she would until proven otherwise, because in her mind, there was no greater love than this.
Lucy tried to reach out to him, to fill him with the same intense love she felt for him; every time she tried, she felt a wall stopping her advances; a painful, fearful wall pushing her back with strange tenderness… she tried harder and felt the warmth receding a bit, which she didn't want; so, instead of pushing back she simply focused her energy on filling every corner of her mind.
A gold, sparkly energy flow covered her porcelain skin from the tip of her toes to the last golden hair on the top of her head, she sensed her energy was different now and for some reason it made her smile. Once her whole body was covered by the bright energy, she saw a couple red strikes swirling around, dancing with her golden light as if it was a choreographed motion and she felt herself unable to remove her eyes from it.
Her concentration was broken by a sudden thud followed by Gray's groggy voice "The fuck do you think you are doing?" then silence…
Lucy sat up and got out of her tent feeling rejuvenated, until the fearful voice of one of her friends made her realize something had happened.
"Gray!" she stepped out of her tent so quickly than she almost tripped a couple of times, the sound of her feet hitting the ground and making the lose pebbles crack under her speed; she ran to the other tend and pulled the fabric at the entrance away, only to see Juvia tossing the sleeping mats away and patting the floor, as if for some reason he was still there, but she was not able to see it.
"What happened?!" Juvia was frantic, her eyes wouldn't set in one single spot, her hands were shaking and the sky above them was becoming darker and darker by the minute. It didn't take long for the rest of the party to join "H-he is gone, he's gone… he was here one moment and then gone the other!"
"Juvia, calm down! You are going to flood camp!" she started rocking back and forward, her panicked cries stinging everyone's ears and Lucy did the only thing she could think of. She knelt in front of her friend, hugged her and allowed her to rest her forehead on her shoulder while she cried.
"L-Lucy… he's gone… why, why is he gone?" The blond woman brushed her fingers through her friend's hair, pushing her energy just as she'd done before but with less strength. The golden glow seeping on Juvia's skin, making her sigh and relax little by little; she was still sobbing, but the imminent rain had been contained. Her friends looked at her with baffled expressions, but she just shrugged signaling them it was nothing.
"Where's Gajeel?" The celestial mage was trying to keep herself calm in an attempt to keep her friend at ease; Levy shook her head "He and Lily left an hour ago" Erza rubbed her forehead and huffed in exasperation "Why would they leave given our current situation?"
"He's got a couple of old contacts from back in the day that he's been trying to track to get some info from, he said their meeting places changed every so often and he thought he knew where to find them tonight… they should be back by morning"
"Well they should have said something! It would have been helpful to have him use his heighten senses here" Erza rubbed her chin, trying to consider all possibilities "Maybe it was Mest?" Jellal placed his hand on her shoulder "Don't you think he would have said something?"
"Not if it was an emergency, maybe the master needed Gray, if they were attacked…"
"If they were attacked, he would have taken you as well" Lucy sighed "We can't be sure… Happy, can you try finding them and check? Try not to raise any alarms just tell them we are ok and wanted to check up on them, see if Gray is around"
"Aye!" Happy pushed his fist up on the air "I'll come back in no time!" Carla hissed at him and crossed her arms above her chest "Silly tomcat… I'll go with him, he'll probably arrive screaming that Gray has been eaten by bears!"
"Carla… be safe, ok?" Wendy hugged her friend and rubber her cheek against her fury face "Of course I will child, you have nothing to worry about"
The exceeds flew away into the night, knowing that they would have to take some breaks from flying since their friends had moved probably further away than what they expected. Of course this meant Lucy and the rest would not be able to move until the exceeds came back with answers, which also presented a problem, but they could only hope the flight wasn't too long.
"We need to be on guard in case someone attacks" Erza nodded, she knew Jellal had a valid concern, after all they were being hunted by the council and have had several encounters with their minions attempting to take Lucy away "I shall be on guard for the first four hours"
"Sure" Levy took Wendy's hand and pulled her to her tent while Erza went to her own and Jellal walked the perimeter.
Juvia kept sobbing on Lucy's shoulder until the blond woman pull her down to the sleeping math "It's ok, I'm here" she kept rubbing soothing circles on her back and whispering comforting words to her ear.
After a long moment of silence, the water mage was able to put her words in order "H-how did you do this?", the question had startled Lucy which made her stop the circling motion of her hand "What?"
"Stay strong…" Juvia pushed her face to Lucy's chest and sighed "I… didn't, I broke over and over but you guys were always there for me" this caused the blue haired mage to push away a little bit "But still! He's been gone for less than 10 minutes and I can't… I…"
Lucy felt a stab in her heart, she knew the concern and fear that came with not knowing what was happening with the people you loved the most "What if the council got him Lucy? How are we going to get him back?!"
"I…" she panicked, how in Mavis' name were they going to manage to sneak him out of the council? Of course they had him, whom else would have been able to remove him without anyone noticing? But if that was true then why was she not taken? And then it stroke her… they'd tried to take her several times without success and they knew Fairy Tail was all about family and friendship… the best way to pull a Fairy out of hiding was to take something precious away from them and wait for them to retrieve it "We'll get him back Juvia, I promise you that…"
Their friends had already risked too much for Natsu and her and they had paid them back with pain over and over; they were risking their lives, they were removed from the official guild list because of the decisions she and her mate had made and she knew it was up to them to bring this to an end and to make sure no one else got hurt.
The celestial mage was scared, probably more scared now than ever because now she knew what she was risking on all ends; not finding Natsu would mean the end for her, which in all honesty she had been ok with not too long ago, not being with him was the hardest thing she ever had to do, and she wasn't willing to do it again, but now things were different… now she had other things to worry about which gave her a damn good reason to find him… on the other hand, her friends were suffering and it was their fault, she couldn't deny the responsibility she had to save them and bring them together.
She closed her eyes for a bit, still comforting Juvia and she knew what she had to do…
Natsu was blinking rapidly trying to get his eyes to focus, he was sure he was hallucinating now because there was no way the hand on his forehead was Gray's. His body was in pain, and he closed his eyes telling himself he was still somewhere in his mind and once he woke up it would all go back to normal.
"Time to wake up asshole" the dragon slayer frowned before opening his eyes, he looked to his side, Helle was still holding him but she was shivering, her lips were a bit blue from the temperature drop, he then focused his eyes on Mal and felt anger rising through his body causing his temperature to rise again making a bit of the ice melt around him.
"You…" Mal stiffened "Natsu, look… let me…"
"You, fucking traitor…"
"Was I supposed to let you die?!"
"YES! If the question is between letting me die and bringing outsiders here, then yes!"
"Outsiders?" Gray looked at Mal and shook his head "Maybe then everything would simply get fixed by itself! Ria's plans would be crushed, the guild would stop being in danger!"
Gray flicked his forehead "You're an idiot… We are never going to stop being in danger until we fix this, and you dying will fix nothing" Natsu turned to Gray and the look in his eyes made the ice mage shiver, his dark eyes seemed more menacing with the golden halo around them.
Natsu's breathing became ragged, his temperature kept rising but now at his own accord and as the ice kept melting he was able to push himself up from the tub, he pretended it didn't hurt, and that he was fine and stretched his muscles before cranking his neck.
"Please, just listen…"
He walked out of the bathtub and without warning he punched Mal hard enough that he was slammed against the bathroom wall before he grabbed Gray by the neck and threw him outside of the bathroom causing him to land on the floor.
The Ice make mage was taken back surprise and took him a good 5 seconds just from the shock to actually compose himself and look up at his best friend, they had grown up fighting but this was different than that… he felt the imminent thread as if he was being surrounded by enemies while Natsu walked towards him with a dark angry aura surrounding him.
"You should have stayed away Gray" Mal stood up and dashed as fast as he could but was stopped by a flare of fire "This ain't your business anymore, none of what I do is"
"Natsu…"
"I told you to not make any stupid decisions before consulting me! And what do you do? You bring Gray?"
"We were worried about your safety!" Mal's plead was interrupted as Natsu roared fiercely and released his magic causing for his wings and scales to come out shimmering in dark red, soon his horns followed while his roar keep making the walls shake under his power. Gray felt fear while looking at his friend, and his only reaction was to pull himself closer to the wall while observing the bloodied looking shimmer swirl around Natsu and take over him completely.
His eyes drifted all over the pinkette, taking in the change, his eyes were now almost completely gold with black strikes here and there, he seemed taller and almost threatening like a predator and now he felt smaller… defenseless… he hated the feeling but was unable to do anything. Gray's back was now against the wall.
"Natsu! Calm down!" Mal tried to get closer but as soon as he was at arms reach Natsu grabbed him by the neck and slammed him on the floor without releasing him "YOU…" his claws were digging into Mal's skin causing blood to trickle down to his chest "Wait! Natsu just listen!"
"LISTEN?! YOU BROUGHT HIM HERE AND YOU WANT ME TO LISTEN?!" Helle rushed towards them but was pushed back in a second and she winced before pulling herself up to get closer and knelt in front of Natsu "We thought you were in danger! You need to understand"
Natsu was still growling, his sharp white fangs showing in a display of anger that they had not seen before, not even when he had threatened Aporia and in that moment Gray was able to find his voice again "Be grateful there's still people willing to save your life, by the way you are treating them I wouldn't have been surprised if they had let you die" Helle shook his head "No, no, he is not usually like this! He's just mad"
"Don't justify him… he needs to see what he's doing" Natsu snarled before releasing Mal; he stood up and looked down at his former guild mate.
"I should kill you for coming here, I warned you people to stay away" the ice mage gulped, warn them he had… and they hadn't listened but the words he had spoken to Loke resonated in his head.
"Man, we're family"
"You couldn't possibly know the bond a celestial mage has with her spirits!"
Gray slammed his fist on Loke's face in a matter of seconds "You, selfish prick! We've known Natsu since we were kids and he still didn't feel he could trust us enough to tell us he was hurting… possibly for years! The idiot went and put his neck on the line because he thought he would keep us out of trouble"
"Gray…"
"No! you are going to listen now, we didn't make it in time to save Lucy either and he had to risk his life AGAIN, she wanted our help to go after him right away and we turned our backs on her, why? Because we were a bit shaken after Flame for brains showed us a side of him we didn't know? She still had faith and we didn't, and you feel entitled to tell us WE don't understand what guilt feels like?!"
He knew now what he had to do, he had taken a step back then, but was unwilling to do it again; his friend was hurting… he knew, deep inside that anger and hate, there was nothing but pain and sorrow… so, he took a deep breath and looked Natsu in the eye knowing this was a huge leap of faith, he knew that there had always been one constant in their relationship… they bonded better over arguments, fists and brawls "Ok then, do it" Natsu's eye twitched "I will!"
"Ok then! Get to it, we don't have all day" Natsu gritted his teeth before Gray stood up on shaky legs and stood right in front of his face "Come on, kill me… you warned us, and I'm here and I'm betting you won't have the balls to do it" Mal knelt on the floor "Do you idiot have a death wish!?"
"Nah… I just seriously doubt he can actually pull something like that off, he's been such a failure"
"Shut the fuck up, Gray!"
"Am I lying?" Natsu scrunched his nose showing his white fangs "You only know how to win by putting your neck on the line, it's almost as if you want someone to just… off you"
"You dare to mock me?!" Natsu took a step towards him, flames still swirling around his feet and increasing the room temperature until the stone seemed as if it'd melt "The man you knew is dead, there's nothing of him here… you are nothing to me"
"Sure I am, I'm the prick who kept saving your ass every time you went and did something stupid, you failed and you know it" Natsu was snarling at him, his temperature now so high that Gray could feel it blistering his skin "You failed Igneel, and Lucy, and Gramps and the guild, I'm sure even your death threats will be a disappointment"
"AND WHERE WERE YOU?" Gray's eyes widen "WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE WHEN S… FUCK…." The ice mage saw it… the recognition, the pain, the resentment… all of it flowing on those amber eyes.
"When? When she almost died because you were to weak to save her? Your idiot decisions are what took you there"
He pushed Gray harshly against the wall "That's right… it was my decision just as finishing you off is…"
"Then prove it, 'Oh almighty demon God'… you still talk too much you know?"
"You will burst into flames by my mere touch! There's going to be nothing more than ashes when I'm done with you" Gray nodded "I understand, it'll hurt like a motherfucker" Natsu grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall and the black haired man felt as his throat constricted and the air escaped his lungs but he didn't remove his eyes from Natsu's.
He really hoped he was right, deep inside he wished for his friend to snap out of it and realize what he was doing, but Natsu's eyes didn't hesitate and he started feeling this may have been a bad plan, he tried to use the oxygen he had left in his lungs "W-when you're done… ugh… don't send me back to Juvia…"
Natsu scrunched his nose "Oh, shall we spare her from the pain of losing what she loves most?" Gray shook his head "Let her know… but don't let her see what you did, don't let any of them see it"
"And why should I do that?" in the midst of all the fear and pain, Gray managed to curl his lip up and stretch his hand enough to brush over the place where Natsu's guild mark was "They shouldn't hate you… one day they'll get you back"
The pinkette's fist rose, Gray saw it getting close to his face as in slow motion and closed his eyes to brace himself for the impact, but instead he felt his hair move and a crash on the wall that hurt his ear. He opened his eyes and turned… Natsu's fist had broken the stone wall and he was looking down while still holding Gray, but not with as much strength as before.
He heard him sniffle before he turned on his heel suddenly avoiding his eyes "Take him back…" Gray could still feel his heart pounding, but deep inside he was relieved… Natsu was still somewhere there; Mal sighed, he placed his hand on his neck and hissed at the pain his injury caused "Natsu… please"
"No… he needs to go back to them, we don't need him here, and I don't want him here" Gray walked and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and noticed his temperature was still off "You can lie to yourself all you want, but if you didn't want me here you would have killed me"
"I don't want you here, you need to go back to your family" The dark haired male shook his head and tightened his grip on Natsu's shoulder "Our family… man, you didn't fail, ok? I… we failed you, all of us"
"Shut up" Natsu tried to pull himself away but Gray wouldn't budge "No, this is not your fault… not entirely, you did what you always do, which is stupid by the way… but if you always have to put yourself on the line to make sure everyone is safe then the rest of us are doing something wrong"
"Let go frostbite…"
"Asshole…"
"Icedick…"
"Flamefart…"
"Frosty Stripper…" they suddenly stopped for a couple of seconds and Gray started laughing "Are you done behaving all dark and weird now? Are you going to tell me what's happening?" Natsu closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he felt a sharp pain on his chest.
His hand instinctively went to his heart and clenched to what was left of his shirt before his knees buckled; Gray caught him mid fall "Woah, watch it…" he started walking Natsu to his bed to help him sit and at this point, Natsu was to tired to fight him.
"Well this reminds me of that time where you took Cana's drinking challenge and I had to carry your ass home" Natsu snorted "Shut your piehole" once he was sitting on his bed he sighed "Well Mal I hope you are happy, you've doomed us all…"
"Stop being dramatic, we'll be fine…" he shook his head "Nope… I've seen Juvia find Gray in a fucking different continent, and believe me that woman does NOT give up easily"
"Oh, come on…" Gray stared at the golden knight "No, no… he is right, Juvia will be here, wherever here is… in a matter of days, I don't know how she does it"
"You need to take him back, now" The dark-haired man flicked Natsu's forehead "You're burning up, idiot… can't leave just yet" Natsu sighed and bumped the back of his head against the wall before turning to see Helle, she was still shivering, rubbing her arms to keep warm, and he felt a bit of remorse for pushing her away.
He signaled with his head "Come here dumb ass…" he lifted the covers and she smiled and cuddled next to him while he placed his arm around her. She felt at home here next to him, and his warmth reminded her to her brother much more than before, whatever had happened had helped him regained a bit of what he had missed, and she was excited.
Gray wasn't sure if to be surprised or upset… "This is what you've been doing while your mate is almost making herself sick out of worry?!" Natsu blinked a couple of times "What the hell are you talking about?"
"She barely eats and sleeps and here you are in your fucking palace with fucking servants and a hottie in your bed? Are you kidding me?" Mal frowned at hearing him referred to Helle in that way "Watch it…"
"No, no, please explain to me what the hell is going on in that empty head of yours?!" Natsu frowned, "What's wrong with Lucy?" Gray pointed at him and then Helle "What's wrong with you?!" he looked at his current position and then back at Gray and a light bulb when on in his head "EWW! You perverted popsicle!"
"I am perverted!? At least I'm only with one woman!" Helle couldn't help but laugh at the face both of them were making and cuddled closer to Natsu just to see them scrunch their face even more and Natsu immediately pushed her away "Fuck Gray! She is my aunt! Why would I ever… EWW DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"
"WELL BECAUSE… wait, what?..." Helle giggled "Nice to make your acquaintance, I'm Helle, the water spirit of Hellespond and also the twin sister of Phrixus… Natsu's father"
"Oi… this just went from weird to weirder" Natsu rubbed his face and sighed "You have no clue, my definition of weird has dramatically changed" he then turned to Mal and gave him a knowing look "You said she was fine" Mal crossed his arms above his chest and looked at the ceiling "I said she was a bit under the weather…" Gray snorted "Under the weather?"
Mal turned to slightly shake his head to ask Gray to keep things quiet but by the time he did, the black haired mage was not looking at him anymore "Her weird connection with you has caused her to be directly haunted by the council and they would have taken her if Pyro number 2 hadn't gotten there in time" Natsu's eyes widen "Yeah and she gave us a good scare but this guy showed up again and helped a bit… she hasn't been well"
"What's wrong with her?" Gray shook his head "We don't know man, but it's disturbing her magic… Loke left for the Spirit realm to ask Crux about it" Mal cursed himself; Crux wouldn't know everything, but he would have enough information to make assumptions, but at this point… the damage was done.
He didn't need to turn to know Natsu was burning a hole through his head; he sighed and cleared his throat "She's not well… and she won't be unless we bring her here…" The last thing the pinkette wanted to do was bring her further into this mess, and he grunted his refusal to make his point clear "She'll be fine, you said so yourself"
"I… didn't exactly say that... I said, "for now" and that was not really an accurate time frame… she needs to be here, the sooner the better"
"Why?"
"It's complicated" Natsu snarled at him and both Gray and Helle winced "Then uncomplicated!"
"There were… things that I couldn't have known when we saved her, and now your magic is embedded in her but it is not enough to sustain her… and maybe it wouldn't have mattered if" he hesitated for a moment "If you had actually lost your soul because she would have absorbed more magic or you wouldn't have cared if she died"
"So, I was right… I didn't lose it… this is my fault" Mal flinched, got closer to the bed and sat down "That… is also complicated, you both did and didn't…."
"How can things get even more complicated Mal?"
"Would you have rather she died?" Natsu grunted and slammed his head against the wall again "We need to bring her here… she will need to absorb more of you magic for some time before she is out of the woods"
"If she's here, she's doomed, and you know it" Gray punched his arm slightly "Well… it sounds like she is doomed either way Flamebrain…"
Helle huffed and stood up before she started pacing the room "Aporia will know she is here the moment that… girl… comes through the doors" Gray glared at her angrily "That girl's name is Lucy and queen bitch doesn't know I'm here, otherwise she would have burst through the doors already"
"The only reason she hasn't is because she is not back yet… she hasn't noticed"
The golden knight had a bad feeling about this whole thing, but at this point his chances were slim, there was no way around the situation as it was.
"We'll find a way to deal with Ria and Elle… it's our only choice if we want to keep both Lucy and Natsu alive" he noticed them staring at him and he clenched his fists "This is draining both of you, you are too far away and your mate bond didn't break completely because your soul wasn't fully severed from your body, when she is about to lose the battle she reaches out and even if you don't know… your soul responds to it and the same will happen with you"
"If she's draining him, wouldn't it be better to keep her away?" Mal shook his head and gave Helle a concerned look, he could feel she didn't want her around and he'll have to make sure to clear some things for her in order to change that "Mate bonds are destine bound and undeniable… when one dies the other follows, and it's the same the other way around, think about it… if you tie two bricks together and throw one in the ocean… what happens?"
"The other one goes down too, so what?" he smiled and nodded "What if you hang on to the first one and pull it up?" she blinked a couple of times until realization hit her "You think once they are together they would feed of each other so much that they'll heal"
"I do, but we need to make sure Natsu's is a bit steadier before going back there"
Natsu bit his lip and closed his eyes tightly, he couldn't believe this was happening… he wasn't ready to see her, and he didn't know if he ever would… sure, his soul was still calling her, still craving for her light and warmth… but what if he didn't feel the same as before? What would that do to Lucy? What would happen if he had become so rotten, if darkness had embedded so deep inside that he was just not capable of loving her anymore?
His mind was too fast for him to grasp anything anymore and then he looked at Helle and Gray's words slammed into his brain like a train.
"Be grateful there's still people willing to save your life, by the way you are treating them I wouldn't have been surprised if they had let you die" Helle shook his head "No, no, he is not usually like this! He's just mad"
"Don't justify him… he needs to see what he's doing"
What was worse? he knew Lucy better than anyone and if she thought there was a small chance that he felt something for her even if it wasn't as big as before, she wouldn't let him go, she would stay with him despite of him loosing his temper, and becoming cold at times and she would justify him, just like Helle had done; she would stand by him and suck it up because it wasn't bad all the time and that would be enough for her, she would stay with him until his inevitable end… but if he felt nothing she would be devastated… but free to move on as long as it provided some sense of happiness to him, she would still justify him saying that his soul had been taken and he was not to blame but she wouldn't be stuck with him and his problems.
"Gray… I… need you to promise something" Gray arched his eyebrow "What?"
"We will get her here… but she can't know my soul isn't gone, she can't know that it's still trying to reach her… for all purposes I need you to forget everything you heard here today"
"Are you an idiot?!" he looked at him then, and what Gray saw in his eyes was just Natsu… not a demon, not a crazy person that had surrender to power, not a cold-hearted person… just a man who was experiencing pain and confusion and it got to him…
He had thought him dense, ignorant and impulsive and for many years he had been wrong, his best friend, his almost brother was suffering and had been for too long and had never felt like he could trust him… but today he was, and he was asking something of him.
"She deserves something else, and I ain't it… There's much to explain and it'll come in due time but this will not have a happy ending for me, and I can't let her sink with me" Mal sighed "Natsu… but the bond will do the same, we need to…"
"We need to figure out how to break it before the blood bond ceremony, once it's done she will be safe and I'll proceed with our original plan"
"We don't know if it'll be enough time for her to survive, she needs to absorb your energy and if she doesn't…"
"Then figure that part too… she needs to live, and needs to be away from me as soon as possible"
Teiga slowly opened his eyes, he felt as if his head had been split in half… his body was still shivering and he was sobbing uncontrollably while Neri brushed his brown hair with her fingers just as he had done for her before "I was so worried about you" her green eyes were filled with tears and he felt some of them fall on his face.
"I'm sorry Nene, are you ok?" she smiled a bit "We should be asking you that" he was able to sit up with a bit of help and noticed the rest of his friends surrounding him "How long was I out?"
Miko was facing the gates and didn't turn to them before replying "Hard to tell time… but enough for us to think you weren't coming back… maybe half a day?" Teiga sensed the gloom atmosphere "Well… I guess now we know that we're coming back from it…"
"We need to find a way out of here…"
"Miko… this place looks solid" The place had no windows at all and it smelled like humidity, they had no way of telling where they were, nor the time of the day and their chains were not as long as to inspect the whole room.
"I know… but we need to try… how long do you think they'll keep us alive for? We need to warn him… we need to look for him and tell him what's happening" his train of thought was interrupted by a faraway noise; they didn't recognize it at first but as it got closer, they could tell it was the slight stomping sound of footsteps.
Every step made them flinch and crouch back and before they knew it Arlo was leaning on the gate, he was wearing black pants and shirt along with some military boots making him get lost in the darkness of the room but his smug face, disheveled dark hair and closed eye were all they needed to recognize him; "Oi, the tall one is awake now…" Miko stood protectively in front of his friends causing the man to laugh "That's cute… you think that you can actually protect them?" he opened the gate and walked inside.
"Leave them alone!"
"Such a fearless leader, sad that you are too weak, uh kid? You fell like a tiny piece of paper back at your daddy's place" the ten-year-old snarled and pulled his chains "Shut up!"
"I think… you can't be broken by pain… just like him… and I won't make the same mistake twice" he grabbed Adi by her broken wrist and pulled on her chain until it broke before pulling her to the other side of the room.
"LET HER GO!" they couldn't see a thing anymore, it was too dark and too far. They heard a click a couple of times and then flinched at the sudden light and they saw it.
Adi was laying on a stone table, her remaining chain was bound to the bottom of the floor and there were two torches, one on the wall by her head and one on the opposite side; there were tears falling from her eyes but she was biting her lip to avoid making sounds before closing her eyes and thinking about her makeshift family.
"Look kiddo… being brave is not about not being afraid but about dealing with that fear, there are many different types of fear and some are easier to handle than others. Whenever you feel scared you need to remember you are not alone, your unit is there, and they are your family, right?" she nodded and smiled at him, not really understanding the words but accepting them since it came from him "Yes papa"
"They will give you strength, because doing something to make sure your family is safe is the best motivation, you hear?"
She opened her eyes and looked at them, she couldn't hear them anymore and although she didn't know why, it didn't matter. Adi saw them moving their mouths and pulling themselves as if they were screaming and the only thing she could do was smile at them "It's ok… we're all ok" they froze and kept opening their mouths but it was useless.
Arlo had taken away her hearing temporarily and was annoyed when it didn't immediately freaked her out; he grabbed the chain that held her broken wrist and pulled down harshly noticing how she winced but still no sound came from her mouth, her eyes were still fixated on her friends.
"Adi! Look at me, Adi!" Miko was pulling so hard on his restraints that his wrists were bruised and bleeding "Leave her alone!" Arlo pulled a small knife from his pocket and opened the blade "We better start small, she is so tiny she'll probably bleed out if I use the regular ones" he smiled at the kids before placing the tip of the knife against her upper arm.
"STOP"
"Where is Dragneel?" Neri sobbed "We don't know! Please, please let her go!" Arlo shook his head and poked Adi's arm, not too much, just enough to break the skin and sink the tip a bit but it still caused her to wince again.
"When will he strike?" the kids shook their heads while tears trickled down their sad faces; Arlo huffed in annoyance "You are going to bring more pain for you, but that's all right by me" he focused his magic on the girl before him and almost saw it swirl and cover her skin.
Adi noticed the moment things changed, before she could feel the cold stone on her back but now it was almost so cold that she felt it burning, every time she winced of shuffled, pain would quickly cross through her body as if a sheet of sandpaper was being rubbed against her, removing her skin little by little. Arlo started poking her skin just like the first time, except this was an almost mechanical move making a straight line of dots on her arm and once he was finished we would go down and start a new one.
She couldn't take it anymore and she screamed so hard that she felt her lungs were about to explode, she kicked her legs up and pulled her arms which due to her broken wrist caused even more pain to course through her, almost as if her hand was being ripped away.
"Where is he?!" he kept looking at the kids, their screams were starting to annoy them and he directed his magic at them and increased their hearing 'let's see how they like that' to his surprise, they did look in pain but wouldn't stop calling her name, telling her that she would be ok, yelling at him to let her go.
Arlo kept stabbing her arm growing frustrated at their lack of cooperation "Look! No amount of pleading will get you out of this! Shit… I hate dealing with fucking children!" he rubbed his face "Either you tell me now or the next one to come will be Shiro and you will fucking regret it!"
"WE DON'T KNOW!" Cai screamed so hard that his throat felt like burning, even with his feet off the ground he had tried to push them towards the wall to pull himself from it, he was sure his hands were bruised by now, but he didn't feel his arms anymore "We were taken there and then taken back! HOW would we know?!"
Arlo slammed his fist on Adi's stomach pushing all the air out of her lungs "That ain't good enough" he pulled the chain from her injured arm from below the table and held her wrist before getting a bigger knife from his belt.
It was a 7.5" silver tactical hunting knife with a shiny edge and onix tangle, its blade was curved and sharp and the light of the fire bounced off it, sending its reflection towards the opposite wall. He placed the edge below the nine dotted lines he had made on the child's arm, about an inch or two above her elbow.
"How do we find him?" the kids sobbed and shook their heads, knowing there was nothing they could do. Arlo started drawing a perfect straight line around her arm and circled the whole thing while she screamed her lungs out; once he was done, he cleaned the knife on his pants and placed it back on his belt.
They saw the monster in front of them pull the chains and drag the girl back to their side and when Miko tried to punch him he was kicked in the stomach and thrown on his back before he attached the chains back where they belonged.
"This ain't the end of this… you will speak or die in silence" he let himself out and left them there, consoling each other and trying to sooth the tiny four-year-old while cleaning her scarred arm with their own clothes.
Lucy made sure Juvia was asleep before making her way to her own tent, she opened her back and removed her current clothes to change and after trying a couple of things that she was now surprisingly not as comfortable in, she settled for halter top, the lower potion was white and lose since it descended from below her chest while the upper portion was red with a gold trim that wrapped around her neck, a white skirt with a red belt around her hips and her black knee length boots.
She took a deep breath, her hands were shaking and for once she wondered if it was worth it, not because of him, she knew he was… but because of all that she would be risking not only herself but his sanity too… if that was something that was still there at least.
It had to be done… they could die either way, together or apart, hell… he could be the cause of her death or she could be the cause of his, but she would still rather for them to be together, no matter what.
What she saw inside her mind when Chrysomallos had connected their energies was frightening; her body would become selfish and seek to draw life from his energy and no matter how Natsu was now, either he felt something or not… deep inside he was the most selfless person she knew, even if his mind didn't know it… his body would.
Natsu would, even unknowingly or unwillingly give the energy for what her body needed to thrive and the distance between them would make it more straining for him… she would have chosen his life over hers in a heartbeat but things were different now. It was sad… he was broken in so many ways and it could all be tracked to her. Lucy's mind drifted while arranging her bag and hey keys to the beginning of it all.
The day he had been angry at her for wanting to visit Fukuro she had known something was off with him, she had known for weeks something was bothering him and had seen the darkness in his eyes increasing little by little but she had disregarded it… she had played it as nothing more than a tantrum instead of pushing him to talk to her.
Would things had turn out different if she had sat him down and force him to tell her about his nightmares? Maybe… maybe if she had pushed enough, they would have gotten a solution before facing the problem and things wouldn't have gone as bad as they were now, but now there was no sense in dwelling on it…
They were in the middle of this mess, one that only they could fix and it needed to happen before things were at the point of no return, so, she readied herself and left her tent quietly, looking everywhere to avoid being spotted by whomever was keeping guard.
Lucy walked in the stealthiest way possible for some time, leaving the dry soil from the harsh mountains behind until she approached the tree line and then walked even further.
She stopped at a clearance surrounded by tall trees and flowers which were now, due to the season regaining their green colored leaves. The celestial mage sat on one of the trees and rested her back waiting… she knew it would happen eventually, it always did. If the council was trying to separate them with a bargaining chip in the shape of her friend, then she would act as such with one single wish in mind… that if she fell, he would be there to catch her… and if he wasn't then she would surrender them to their destiny.
It wasn't a weak choice as many may have thought, now more than ever she wanted to protect her life but she knew if things weren't fixed, her life would be lost either way, and she would not let her friends go through the same thing she and Natsu did, they would lose no one, she would make sure of it, and when the time came she wished he would show up as he always did.
Lucy smiled at her thoughts… she was the planner, the one that needed schedules and strategy while Natsu was more of a "Let's burst the doors and see what happens" and now she was doing exactly as he would do… well, at least what he would have done before.
She didn't realize how much time she had spent there, but there was a certain chill that made her bring her legs closer to her chest to keep warm until she heard a twig break on her right.
"Took you long enough…" there were a few minutes of silence before the steps became clearer and she saw the tips of the swords shinning with the moonlight "Well here I was expecting to find a surprised young woman… but it seems I'm the surprised one, finding a resigned woman"
"Psh… you guys are not too smart, are you?" the guy grunted at her response "It's hardly a surprise when you are nonstop harassing my friends"
The council knight stepped closer, followed by other five knights and two mages who quickly settled barriers around them much like the ones she had seen during their first encounters, one that prevented her from calling her magic spirits.
"Take your time, I'll not fight but I have a couple conditions"
"What makes you think you are in any position to negotiate Miss Heartfilia?" she smirked and stood up patting her skirt which caused the rest to point their swords at her.
"You've attacked us more than a couple of times in the past… how did that work? Sure, you have your runes… I'm wondering how much they'll hold, I mean… that worked fine for you the last couple of times, right?" he hissed at her and placed the edge of the sword on her neck "Don't play me for a fool, wench"
She rolled her eyes "Jeez… take a moment here; we can do this the hard way or the easy way and believe me at this point I'd rather you guys took the second choice"
The knight holding the sword didn't hesitate but narrowed his eyes in suspicion "And what is it that you want?"
"I'll leave with you, but you'll promise to leave my friends alone from now on… you have me, so you don't need them… I'll also require for the council to return Gray in one piece"
"Gray?" the men looked at each other "Fullbuster… you know? Ice mage, yay high, dark hair, droopy eyes, a stripping complex and a mean look in his face?" the soldiers from the back stared at each other whispering but the one at the front nodded and smirked "We will release whichever member of Fairy Tail is currently in our possession, shall we go?"
Lucy removed her red gem necklace and the ring Natsu had left for her, she slipped the ring in the chain to keep them together before pulling off the ribbon which held her half ponytail up and wrapped it around both objects making a tiny bow.
"What do you think you are doing?" she turned and hung the necklace in a low branch from the tree that she'd been resting prior to the knights' arrival.
"They'll know I left willingly… they'll find it" The knight grabbed her arm and pulled it behind her back "You are too far from camp, they won't… what are you trying to pull here?"
"Ou… stop that" she pulled her arm without much luck "They'll find it! They have a dragon slayer with them, you… ass!"
He pulled her other hand and restrained both of them with magic cancelling cuffs "Well… he won't be able to follow your scent while we are inside this magic cube, whatever your escape plan was it won't do much for you now"
The celestial mage didn't respond, she didn't need to; in her head she had gotten what she wanted and even if they didn't release Gray she hoped with every bit of her soul that if she was in real danger he would know. Lucy was sure of many things, and one of them was the fact that the warm soothing her pain was him and that was an idea she was not willing to get rid of.
There would be many mentions of Lucy's actions that night… some people will come to call her impulsive, some will claim her plans had been stupid and rash, some will call her brave but what all those people would fail to notice is that this… was the act of a desperate woman trying to cling to hope, and there is NOTHING more dangerous than a desperate woman.
No one was trained to see how this had broken her, just as they had disregarded Natsu's attitude, just like they had never stopped to question him for never sharing his pain, and never had asked questions or pushed him out of his comfort zone… it wasn't their fault, they were all fighters that thrived in the midst of battle, they were emotionally awkward and patched together by other people who were equally patched and they loved each other more than anything… but sometimes love is not enough.
They had failed to notice Lucy was at the end of her sanity, her mate bond so stretched… someone had explained way before that the bonds were as definitive as life and death, if one of them died the other would follow; Gajeel had said way before, that if she died Natsu would probably tear the town apart before succumbing to his own death… so why would anyone expect for her to keep her sanity when she knew he could be lost forever?
She walked, not dragging her feet but with her eyes looking at the stars sending a quiet apology to her spirits who will undoubtedly hear about what she'd done and wouldn't be able to reach her…
It took Ria some time to gather her energy and come back to the castle, it was straining her and she wondered how long she could keep the charade of her strength before things kept crumbling down….
She arrived to the same spot she left, her library looked empty and cold and he had to sit down for a bit to recover from the drain of her magic; while taking in the ethernano in the air she tasted something different and hissed through her teeth "We seem to have an uninvited guest"