I do not own Fairy Tail
Chapter 22
Lady Levy McGarden sat in the library, a large book on Dragon lore in her lap. On her face she wore a pair of red winged glasses, that were magically enhanced to help her speed read. At the request of Makarov, he had asked her to get as much research as she could on the dragon heritage as well as the slayers. It made her think back to the last 24 hours…
Levy and Juvia were packing and preparing to leave the next day to make their way to Rogue and Minerva's wedding festivities when heard the sound of horses whinnying and carriages approaching. It was getting dark and no one was expecting visitors. The girls looked out the window to see Laxus and Loke leading the carriages out front and then the king, the prince and Makarov step out of the vehicles. They all looked ragged and were covered in dirt. Natsu was missing the sleeves to his shirt, it was tattered and charred as if he had caught fire.
"Where's Lucy?" Juvia asked, her voice laced with worry and concern.
Levy felt a lump in her throat as she ran out of the room. Something was not right. Gajeel happened to see her speeding by, heading towards the stairs. "Shrimp?! What's wrong?"
"They're back!" She yelled.
"What do you mean their back?" He asked briskly following her.
Gray and Juvia weren't far behind him as they followed the petite girl to the bottom of the stairs. The doors slammed open, an angry Natsu stepping into the foyer.
"Natsu?!" Levy called, "Where's Lucy?!" The men looked solemn, the refused to look at her. Natsu shouted unintelligible words in anger, his normally dark eyes going black.
"We were ambushed," Loke said. "The princess was the target, she was kidnapped."
The girls gasped, "What happened to you all?"
Laxus' face was turning purple and black, his nose was askew, meaning it was broken and probably needed to be reset. Loke was sporting a few bruises himself but there was a large knot on the side of his head where he had been struck. Makarov and Igneel both were covered in dirt, sticks and limbs all in their hair. Their bodies look battered. Natsu had what looked like angry red lines across his neck and the sleeves of his shirt were gone, burned away.
"We got our asses kicked! That's what happened! DAMMIT!" Shouted Natsu, as he kicked over a small decorative table with a vase. The shards of shattered glass and splintered wood scattered across the floor.
"Natsu, calm down! You'll activate it again and we're not prepared to hand that damage in the castle right now!" Makarov scolded.
Natsu glared, he threw his hands up in aggravation. "I'll be at the training grounds." He stormed off, the heat leaving with him.
Levy rubbed her arms at the notice of the significant temperature change. "Activate what?"
"Can someone please explain what's going on?" Demanded an irritated Gray.
Loke pulled at his orange locks in frustration, "As I said earlier, we were ambushed, we-"
"Sir Loke, if I may, can we speak of this in my study where there aren't listening ears around every corner? Sir Laxus, please go to the infirmary and have Porlyusica get you healed up and then check on Natsu. Make sure he hasn't blown up the other half of the castle." Igneel gestured down a hallway and lead them to his office.
The seven of them came into Igneel's study, the ladies and their male counterparts took seats on the couches, the other men chose to stand considering they were covered in the dirt and grime from their earlier escapade.
"So as I was saying, we were ambushed. Sir Laxus was at the front leading us with King Igneel and Makarov behind him in their carriage and Natsu and Lucy were in the carriage behind them and I followed at the back. All of a sudden, we stopped and I heard voices. I got off my horse and went to the front and I found Capricorn! He looked worn and so tired but I was so relieved to see him. When I went to take his hands, something felt off and then I heard a bunch of rustling and a vine and tree limb barrier had come up and separated us from the second carriage," Loke explained, he stopped to make sure the four on the couch were following him.
"And then I saw Natsu, he was strung upside down, wrapped in vines and he had said 'ambush' and when I went to turn around to see what was going on, Capricorn had hit me on the head and everything went black." Loke rubbed the huge lump on the back of his head. It was still very tender to the touch.
"I guess I'll take over from here," Makarov said filling a glass with brandy and swishing the amber liquid around before taking a sip. "Igneel and I were inside the carriage when we heard a commotion. It sounded like Laxus had gotten into an altercation, there was a lot of shouting and fuss. We both stepped up ready to fight and a man by the name of Bluenote, he crushed us with a magic I hadn't seen in my all years on earthland. He had used the gravity around us to knock Laxus out and then crushed us into the ground with it until we both went unconscious," Taking another sip, Makarov continued. "I can only assume from what Natsu told me that Lucy tried to get away but was kidnapped in the process. This is where I need your expertise Lady Levy."
"Anything, just ask. If it helps get Lu back, I'm willing to do anything." The petite girl said with fiery determination.
"If you haven't come across it in your findings while reading about the Dragon Kingdom, you'll know that the King and his family come from a line of Dragons and Dragon Slayers and within each royal family member, there lies a dormant dragon,"
"Yes! I read about this! Their dragon only comes out of dormancy when someone or something they really care for is in imminent danger. You know, I also read if one dragon comes out, other dormant ones could too."
"You are precisely correct, Miss McGarden. That is what happened to Natsu, when Lucy was taken, it awakened the dragon within him. He was not shy in showing his ability, which unsurprisingly is very destructive. He now can wield fire. Levy, what I need you to do is to read up on the lore and compile a list of how to wield this type of magic. If it is even possible. In the mean time, we are going to try to get to figure out who could have taken the princess and why."
"I'm on it!" Levy said jumping up and running to the library, Juvia followed to see how she could be of assistance.
"I guess I'll go check on the salamander." Gajeel said getting up to head to the training yard. Gray followed him.
"I say for now, let's go check on Sir Laxus, let Miss Mira know to come check on him and then get cleaned up. I have a feeling we've got a lot of work ahead of us." Igneel commented heading towards the infirmary.
Gajeel and Gray got to the training grounds to find Natsu sitting in the middle of it. Burn marks were left all over the grounds, targets, and wood posts. "What the hell happened here?" Gray remarked making his way over to his best friend. He sat down next to the pinkette and found him holding something in his hands.
"What's that?"
"It's the locket that I presented to Lucy when she was a baby and we met for the first time," he thumbed the star design. "She always wore it, even when we were kids and she hated me."
"I think I remember that," Gray admitted thinking back to when they were kids, running away from the blonde haired girl. The chain swaying on her neck as she tried to keep up with them and their shenanigans.
"I found it broken and in the dirt after she was taken," he clenched it in his hand, Natsu's eyes went dark.
Gray quickly pulled the locket out of his hand, "How about I hold onto this for safe keeping? You know…so you don't melt it in your weird dragon rage."
"Oh, so you heard about that, huh?"
"Yeah, it makes sense. Now you're literally Ash For Brains, Hot Head or Flame Brain. Since Gajeel is your cousin, I wonder if he has a dragon lying dormant within him. What kind of powers do you think he'd wield?"
"He's a lug nut, so probably metal." Natsu shrugged.
"Gihi, I could still kick your ass though." Gajeel grunted. "Shrimp is working on finding more information about your powers. Hopefully we can get to training and save Bunny Girl soon. But until then, how about you go get cleaned up…I hope you take offense to this because you really stink. And you also probably need some rest."
Natsu nodded and stood up, Gray handed him back the locket. The three friends went inside and went their separate ways. Natsu got cleaned up and laid in his bed. For several hours, he tossed and turned until he finally gave up and went to Lucy's room. Everything was how she had left it. Walking over to her bed, he grabbed her pillow and took it back to his room. Getting back into his bed he pulled her pillow close, inhaling her scent. He finally fell asleep to the smell of strawberries and vanilla.
The next morning, Levy shut the book and pulled the magic glasses off and raced down to the training grounds with the parchment she had taken notes on. She had found some of the spells that Natsu could use and practice with. The faster he got his training started, the faster he would get Lucy back.
She found Natsu, Gray and Gajeel at the training grounds practicing their sword fighting and their sparring with Laxus. His face was healing up well, Porlyusica had done a great job heaing him and his nose had been reset too.
"Natsu!" She ran towards them, not paying attention and almost getting hit with a sword in the process. She yelped and went to cover her face, not like that would do much good, but it was better than nothing. But the blow never came, there was a lond "PANG!" and when she opened her eyes, she saw Gajeel was protecting her…with his arm…that had somehow turned into iron.
"Hey look! I was right! He really is Lug Nuts now!" Natsu yelled.
"Imminent danger, Shrimp." Gajeel said, looking at his arm.
Levy felt her face grow hot, she knew that Gajeel liked her. They were courting and she would admit she wouldn't mind marrying him if he asked. Seeing him openly protect her and then for his Dragon Slayer powers to activate kind of made his feelings obvious for her. She couldn't help the blush that came across her face and her love for him made her swell with pride.
"Well this works out perfectly then! Natsu now has someone to train with! I compiled a list of different combat styles and moves for you both to try. Let's go try them out!" She started to place the parchment on the ground but then looked around at the enclosed space. "You know what, on second thought let's go and find an open field. I don't think the king would appreciate you two destroying his home."
"Good idea." Gray grunted.
Gajeel, Levy, Natsu, Laxus, Juvia and Gray walked a good ways into a nearby open field.
"Okay, so Dragon Slayer magic is considered a lost magic that was designed to slay dragons…in your case you are dragon descendents but it pretty much works the same. You both can do specific element attacks. For Natsu, he could shoot fire from his mouth, ignite his fists and feet to boost the strength of his hits and kicks. For Gajeel, I'm assuming he can turn his appendages to iron and do the same thing. So let's see how you guys do, trying doing the attacks separate before you try sparring." Levy suggested, taking a step back to hide behind Laxus and Gray.
"I'm all fired up!" Natsu crowed.
"Ladies first!" Gajeel jibed.
"Fine by me," Natsu walked forward and took a deep breath before shouting "Fire Dragon…Roar!" A big torrent flame came out of his mouth and pierced the air.
"Impressive Salamander, now it's my turn, Iron Dragon ROAR!" Gajeel yelled and a big blast of exploding metal came out of his mouth.
"Next try Dragon Fist!" Levy called.
Natsu tried it and big flames burst out of his arms. "This is awesome!" He yelled.
Gajeel did the same, the iron coming out of his arms and sending a punch at Natsu.
"Hey! Not Fair! You wanna go Metal Head?"
"Bring it."
The two fought it out for what seemed like forever. Neither could get a hit on the other. Finally, both panting the fell back at the same time. "It's a tie!" Gray called, thanking God it was finally over. Laxus had fallen asleep in the grass, he was drooling. Levy was braiding flowers into a crown and placing them on snoring Laxus' head. Gray had his head in Juvia's lap, she was gently running her fingers through his hair.
"You both have probably depleted your magic reserves. I suggest we call it a day." Levy said standing up. Laxus' sat up, not noticing the flowers that graced his golden locks.
"Let's head back, we can have dinner and find out if anyone has figured out where Lucy might have gone." Laxus suggested stretching.
The group headed back and met in the dining room. Laxus took a seat and Loke came in and took his seat across from him. He snickered, "Oh look, it's Laxus the Flower Knight."
Laxus quirked an eyebrow but ignored the comment as the servants came in to serve the meal. Loke then dramatically dropped his fork, "Whoops-a-daisy!" he stooped down to get his utensil and the rest of those at the table started to chuckle.
Makarov came in and looked at his nephew, "Laxus, it's nice to see you rose to the occasion," there was more snickering, "but it's time to be serious. Take the flower crown off your head."
Laxus confused reached up, feeling the silky petals in his hair and pulled it down. Seeing the flower crown, his eyes immediately found Levy's and she avoided eye contact. He sighed and looked at his grandfather, "Alright gramps, now that I've renounced my title as the Flower Knight, what did you all find out? Training went well for the two dragons. Yes, I said two. Gajeel's power activated when Levy almost got hit by a sword this morning."
"I'm glad to know that Natsu will have someone to spar with. We do have some new information, Loke explain." Igneel said, pointing his utensil at Loke.
"As you know, before Kind Jude's death, we were at war with the Alvarez Kingdom. We knew that their kingdom had some strong mages. For example, Zancrow. He has some heavy fire magic, he is a Fire God Slayer. The day I left the Celestial Kingdom, to get to you all we heard an explosion. I saw not only Zancrow but a very large pale man with dark hair and then I saw Hades. When the queen had passed away and the princess was an infant, Hades had attempted to overthrow the king and take over. When we went to exile him, he had threatened Jude that he would be back. Of course, we didn't think he would. We had destroyed his lab and gotten rid of all the magical items he could have used. We figured we were safe and eventually quit worrying about him...but seeing him that day before our kingdom fell, he looked determined. He has a plan and I think it's finally coming to a fruition. If my instincts serve me right, I think he's the one that was behind the ambush and the princess' kidnapping. Rogue and Minerva's wedding wasn't exactly going to be a quiet event. I'm sure they knew of the Dragon Kingdom's tie to Rogue, since he is family. He knew how we'd get there, I am positive he planned to do this."
"So where do you think Lucy could be?" Natsu asked.
"I think she might be in the Celestial Kingdom, or what's left of it."
"So let's go get her!" Natsu jumped up to head out the door. Gray quickly grabbed the back of his tunic and yanked him back into his seat.
"Hold up Hot Head, we can't just go busting in somewhere without a plan. You don't even know the layout of that country much less how to get around the castle grounds without causing any attention."
"Gray is right," Loke agreed. "I suggest we go and scout it out. Get an idea of what we're looking at here."
"I'm in. Let's go." Natsu said getting up again just to be yanked back down by Gray.
"We'll leave tomorrow morning at sunrise. Natsu, Gray and I will head that way by horseback and check it out."
The men all grunted in agreement, Natsu muttered to himself, "I'm coming to get ya Luce, just hold on."