Firstly I just want to say thank you so much to all the people that downloaded the app just to read my story, it really warms my heart. Thankfully I take so long to update the glitch seems fixed and this chapter should post properly for everyone.
This statement will not age well if the same thing happens.
Secondly, I'm doing much better after getting sick with the big Covid (obviously a while ago because I update every 699836 years) and your reviews really cheered me up, so thanks again :) Hope you all are staying safe!
And last, I went through and re-read my previous chapters and my god, is my spacing and grammar just awful. My English has improved so much over the last year, and I really hope that reflects in my writing. Chapters that I thought were my favourite are pretty hard to look at now lol. Especially those prologue chapters. 0.0
Crazy to think I started writing this over a year ago. Sorry again for updating so pathetically!
Also thank you so much to everyone that's been here since the beginning. This story has been a great outlet for me and hearing back that other people enjoy it too just warms my little heart. Love you all, hope you enjoyed a somewhat good holiday in these wild times. :)
Hope you all like the next instalment!
I don't own Fairy Tail. All rights reserved to Hiro Mashima.
Raging Fires East of Magnolia
Magnolia's patrol enforcement has issued a public safety warning for all surrounding rural areas to the east of town. If you or a loved one reside in any of the publicly listed areas please evacuate immediately. Flames have taken over a majority of the forest and casualties are still being counted. Royal executives have deemed this another attack by the infamous Salamander. Officials have promised the public that they do not support these acts of terrorism and that they are dedicated to eradicating this evil.
If you require medical assistance, please refer to your nearest Officer Post.
Magnolia Safety report / 790
790
It was a lie. The gods were bored, playing games with her mind for pure enjoyment. It wasn't enough to simply rip away her home from beneath her feet; Pain was to be felt under all emotional levels, scraping away at her skin to leave her bones frail and exposed. She had finally strung together the mangled pieces of her blood pumping organ only to dump them across the stone floor. FairyTail looked nothing of her memories, a twirling chaos of screams and frantic movements. Her friends gathering their loved ones with urgency, fleeing in search of escape. Skirting around the centre of her inner demise, oblivious to the corps in their presence. It had to be a lie. Her own vision obstructed by her guilty conscience. Her friend's terrified faces melting away behind the burning man. And just like the first time she'd seen his face, she was transported back to the flame-filled forest. Fear warping her sense of clarity.
Natsu.
Standing frighteningly still in a sea of blaring commotion, a dragon gawked. Onyx eyes bouncing around their socket, boring into her soul. He looked somewhat how her dreams typically conjured him, but some details were off. His skin, tan as whipped caramel was smothered with ash tones. Pale, as if he'd been stricken by a passing ghost. His body, once so healthy, looked starved; Lean and amplifying his well-earned muscle tone. His ears pierced with several more golden fastenings, his hair cut a little shorter. Oxygen had left her, his name forming on her lips.
"Lucy."
It wasn't his voice, Natsu wasn't calling her despite being the only person around. The forest was calm, no hint of wind or storm; And yet her insides whirled feverishly, an uncontrolled tempest ravaging her. Natsu was gone, a truth she had come to understand as fact. It was easier to think of him as passed then believe he didn't want to come back to them, or more specifically, come back to her. A selfish thought, she knew, but a thought that had propelled her forward. If anyone asked her yesterday, she would reply that she was healed, the dragon slayer no longer occupied her every waking thought. But her mind was mocking her with this figment and she was at a loss.
"Lucy we need to move!" Gray. A man she knew to be truly alive was currently screaming in her face, shaking her with such wicked intensity she thought she might break. "What the hell is wrong with you? Get out of your head!" She wasn't in a burning forest, but fire was very apparent. And Natsu, he was still there, his expression serious, like he was ready to pounce.
Breath.
Was she having a panic attack? No, she was too mature for this. She felt like she was thirteen again, hiding in some farmer's shed for the night. Waiting to be caught by the lurking shepherd.
Breath.
Natsu was still there. No matter how many times she let her eyes wander to a panic-struck Gray, she'd look back and he'd be there.
Natsu.
Breath.
"Lucy?!"
She let out an audible gasp, the look on Gray's face making her feel slightly dramatic. She couldn't speak, her throat felt too tight, skin pulling uncomfortably. Her voice had abandoned her as she searched for a way to convey the pressure in her chest, her feeble arm rasing to point at the pit of her deception. She decided if Gray could see him, she wasn't crazy, and her withered mental state would be future Lucy's problem. And if he wasn't truly there? Well, that would also be future Lucy's problem. An absolutely solid plan, if she said so herself.
Her current partner looked confused for a moment before swinging his head over his left shoulder. His body tensed significantly, jaw falling open, expression morphing in perplexing thought; Like he had to decide for himself if he too, had collectively lost it. Lucy watched, surprisingly patient while she waited for, something? She wasn't really sure what she wanted to happen in this scenario, and she wasn't sure if she supported any of the foreseeable outcomes. Of course she wanted to see Natsu again, she'd been dreaming about it for months. But why now? What was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to act?
Gray finally seemed to process a sentence, relaxing slightly as he called out. "Is that really you, Natsu?"
"Ya?" He answered, confusion dancing with his tone. "Are you really Gray?" The ice mage snorted, tilting his head back towards the blonde, stating simply.
"What a weird day."
He was real. Natsu was there, striding towards her withered skeleton. He was breathing, and she was stunned.
"This is nice and all," Natsu purred awkwardly. "But we're about to be swarmed." His voice became urgent as he glanced to the door. "I can hear them." He added as if his words weren't believable without evidence. Lucy forcibly shook her head, trying to drain the fog from her skull. Everything was going too fast, she couldn't keep up. Natsu was home. Natsu was alive. And her home? The place she'd come to love was burning away. She could never escape the fire.
Gray was shaking her again, tugging her dead weight by her boney wrist. Had she stopped breathing again? Her brain was broken. She was panicking. Why couldn't she think straight?! She tried to move, placing one foot in front of the other with calculated movements. Judging by the faces of the men to her side, she wasn't making enough progress, not moving fast enough for their liking. The bang of a nearby explosion startled her, causing backwards momentum. She was lost in the sound of crumbling stone and her comrade's cries of grief. She wanted to lie down, make a bed within the fallen walls of her base. She wanted to stop, no warrant for running. She was sick of running.
Hot tears began streaming over her cheeks making her feel even more ridiculous about her current coping skills. Gray was clearly at witts end with her, face aghast as he continued heaving at her stationary body. They didn't have time for this she knew, but her muscles didn't seem to care, shuddering and stagnant without waver.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Gray yelled, temper clearly over the red line.
"I don't know!" She wailed pathetically, shrinking in on herself while smudging the tears over her skin. She expected Gray to yell again, as was the norm with their work-related banter but was thrown from tradition once more; Scalding hands resting over her frantic ones, soothing her to inhale a shaky breath.
Natsu's face was calm, too calm for how she was feeling. "I'm going to pick you up?" He spoke, phrasing his words like a question in search of her approval. She could only nod, letting him hoist her against his chest as he always had. He wasted no time in their departure, scurrying expertly across the disorganized field. And the smell, putrid gas coating the grounds. Burning flesh, if she were to guess; Bodies of comrades scattered at their feet. Faces of people she once called friends haunting her peripheral. Natsu nor Gray seemed to pay any mind, determination radiating off them as they narrowly avoided an onslaught of arrows. "Through the stables!" The fire mage called out over the commotion "We can try to lose them near the back of sector five. Tree's are thicker there, and the stream to the north can mask our sent."
Gray nodded in acknowledgment, though paused in his rush. "Go on ahead. I'm going to circle back around, make sure Juvia got out okay." He stated, turning to head back into the heart of destruction.
Nausea enveloped Lucy at the thought of her dear friend joining this trampled mass-grave. She tried to garner his attention, begging him to continue with them towards safety. "How will you find us again?" She pleaded, eyes bouncing between his iced out orbs and the never-ending barrage of officers. "How is anyone supposed to find anyone?!
"Natsu, get her out of here!" Gray hollered, completely ignoring her. Her jaw dropped with exasperation but her time for argument had run out, Natsu already on the move once again. "Promise I'll catch up with you, just keep her safe."
"On it!" The dragon slayer shouted in response, quickening his pace towards the wooden stable gate. "He'll be fine." He continued, now directing his attention at the blonde in his arms. She didn't approve but decided her opinions on the matter had already been deemed obsolete and remained silent.
Her head was still reeling in attempt to understand everything that had come to pass over the last few hours. The day had started so simply, returning home from a job that took way too long as per the norm these days. The weather had been fair and even Gray had been in a pretty upbeat mood despite being so worn out. It was only in the final moments of their home-stretch that the day had turned grim. They had been completely blindsided, Gray scarcely avoiding an arrow to his temple. There hadn't even been a minute to think before they were swarmed upon by loyal soldiers. That sickening shade of blue her father used to love paraded by men on horseback, billowing flags hoisted high. This was a planned assault, their base must have been outed considering Freed's protective enchantments hadn't deterred the mass visitation. And then Natsu, just to add the cherry on top of her mental breakdown. He was slowing his pace, nose pointed high as he inspected his surroundings.
"What's goin-" She began to mumble in confusion before he interrupted her.
"Don't talk yet." He hissed, waving his hand to silence her. "Somethings wrong." He halted his movements completely now, flexing his arms around her protectively. His eyes scanning alertly over the stable area while he deemed it safe or not. Obviously, something was not to his liking as his complexion fell sheet white. If anything, he looked downright terrified as he sputtered. "No way..." His steps becoming strained as he backed up slowly.
Lucy was beginning to feel just as terrified as he looked, eyes darting around in search of what had just set the dragon slayer off. She searched frantically, coming up with nothing while quite literally feeling Natsu get more scared beneath her. She tried to look up to him for answers but he looked so blank, irises stretched to his brows in disbelief. She wasn't stuck wondering for long, the wall to the left exploding outwards rather suddenly. Lucy was forced from Natsu's arms on impact, sailing her a good distance across the courtyard until her skull made impact with some jagged stone. Her sightline was instantly washed with red, blood seeping its way over her forehead. She heard Natsu curse from a few feet away, followed by a grown and some shuffling of rubble.
"Lucy, you okay?" His strangled voice managed over the settling dust.
Wincing she sat up, wiping the blood from her vision as best she could. "Ya, I think so. Heads kinda bleeding, but doesn't really hurt." A single glance at him had her instantly regretting the mention of what felt like a superficial injury. He must have shoved her away while taking most of the force, leaving him looking fairly ragged. The side of his jaw already had bruises blooming along the bone and a ghastly stain of red was encroaching over the front of his tunic. She crawled towards him as fast as her slightly shaken frame would allow, taking perch beside him to press against his gushing side wound.
He tried to shove her away stubbornly, "No stop, we need to get out of here now."
"Maybe I can go find Gray," She tried to distract. "He can help me get you into one of these wagons or something."
"No." Natsu shook his head again. "We need to leave now." He attempted to force himself to his feet, stumbling and wincing until Lucy stood to heave his arm forward. He looked completely out of it, like there wasn't a sane thought passing through his mind. "We can't be here. We need to go."
"Okay, I get it." She acknowledged, trying unsuccessfully to calm his demeanour as he had for her not twenty minutes prior. Lucy began to head towards the south gate, scanning the ground for any lost items from her pack. It would be a while, if ever, until they could return here. All her items locked securely behind a wall of men that would shoot her on sight and probably raid through all of her personal letters.
They had nearly made it to the gate when Natsu had instantly taken a protective stance around her, growling like some sort of feral animal and glaring daggers across the courtyard. A man had appeared, cloaked in the deepest of black and decorated with expensive fine gems; The kind her family used to wear during ornate gala's. His hair cut short, deep-toned like the fabric he wore, and his eyes matched just the same, cold and empty. He strode towards them unfazed by the surrounding damage, smirk plastered across his oddly familiar face.
"Dare I say, dear brother, I honestly never thought I would find you in a mess like this." The man's voice felt just as dead, the aura leaking off of him eluded of hatred and despair to a much higher extent than she had ever bared witness.
Natsu spat, baring his teeth with a snarl. "You're supposed to be dead."
"Huh," The man tsk'd with a wide and hollow grin. "Last I had checked, you are currently presumed to be dead as well, are you not?" He continued towards them confidently, no waver in his step. "And Natsu, don't act so full of yourself. Your fire isn't that hot." He spoke as if he'd known Natsu his whole life, whereas the fire mage looked like he was in the presence of a real ghost.
But maybe they were all dead? Lucy had finally decided that she had unequivocally lost her shit. None of this made sense. There was no way any of this was real. Natsu had a brother? Natsu was alive? Is Gray still alive? Did any of the others make It out? She thought her head might actually explode, maybe that was something that happened in this warped alternate reality. Somehow Natsu (dead or not) sprung towards the intruder, fists aflame like he hadn't just been slightly impaled. His white-hot rage engulfing her in a cast of warmth. But his attack didn't land, heated knuckles connecting with nothing but air. The man had vanished, or more specifically, moved out of harm's way faster than the blink of an eye. He presented a rather coy expression as he made his presence known once again, taking stance harshly a breath behind Lucy.
"Is this your woman? He asked, question pointed as he draped his arm over her quivering shoulders. "She looks absolutely divine." He drawled the last word slowly, and Lucy could practically feel the ice drip from his tongue. Natsu pounced towards her, urgency replacing his showcased fear but stopped short at the simple raise of the man's arm. She couldn't explain why, but the graze of the man's frosty skin left her feeling dirty and soiled like her entire persona had been unknowingly invaded. She tried to shrug away from him, but his grip was firm and his demeanour told of bloody horror dare she move again. After what felt like an eternity of tension he released her shoulder in favour of pacing slowly around her. Tired soulless eyes devouring her every feature and stringing her up like a gutted fish. He stopped pacing quite abruptly, lulling his head towards 'his brother' in a horrific manner. "Did you already find her for me?" He sang, crazed smile returning to his thin lips. Natsu's face twisted in utter disgust as the man stepped towards her again, raising his index finger to swipe it along her bloody temple. He paused only for a moment before bringing the soaked finger to his mouth, eyes scanning over the fire mage while giddily assessing his reaction. He sucked long and slow over the painted tip, releasing his finger with a disgusting pop and allowing his eyes to flutter shut. "I do hope you've tested the main course brother. She tastes heavenly."
Lucy was cold, bleeding, and in a downright foul mood. They had been walking for hours to god knows where, taking all kinds of winding side paths and trudging through rivers much to her complaint. Natsu looked like he was seconds away from falling the fuck over and all she wanted to do was rip all the hair from her head strand by strand. Anger had completely devoured all of her previous anxious emotions and she was an enraged mess.
Fuck today.
How else was she supposed to process anything that had taken place since arriving home? Were any of her friends still alive? Probably not. Where was Gray? Probably dead, or maybe if he's lucky, aimlessly wandering and sporting an annoying amount of injuries just the same as her. And Natsu? She honestly, and truly, just wanted to punch him in the face.
He hadn't spoken a single word to her since escaping the castle, completely ignoring all of her frantic questions. Fairytail had been swarmed. They had literally crawled over their comrade's dead bodies in search of safety. Natsu's apparent psychotic, murder feigning brother had made an appearance. The man had tasted her blood, looked as if he'd just orgasmed in his fancy cloak, and then had the audacity to walk right up and LICK her open wound?! To make matters worse in only a way Natsu can do, the fire mage had utterly combusted; Body cloaked in flames, oozing heat that blistered her already damaged skin from nearly twelve feet away. And her home? The Fairytail Guildhall and all of its glory lay in ash, sentenced by its very own child. He hadn't even hesitated, engulfing the whole courtyard apart from her. It had spread so quickly and all in vain, the man evaporating into thick smoke before the heat could reach him. And yet, he still said nothing, leaving Lucy to fester with her thoughts while the day melted into black night. So yes, she was mad, to say the very least.
Although there was a small part of her that felt bad for him. Natsu was seriously injured whether he admitted it or not. He was limping badly, stumbling over himself while he cradled his side. Majority of his tunic was stained an eerie shade of red and his chest heaved with every breath. She had started this venture trying to aid him the best she could but after hours of being blatantly ignored, she had chosen to follow him silently, stomping all the way like a child. After almost two years of running off to play dead, she believed answers were deserved tenfold.
Another hour or so had passed and Lucy was positive they had sauntered well into the morning of a new day. Natsu was shaking so ferociously she could see him radiating from a few feet behind. He managed forward a few minutes longer before his knee buckled underneath him, causing him to crash ungracefully to the ground.
"Jesus christ Natsu, enough of this. I'm going to be lugging around a carcass if we don't stop and tend to that wound." She huffed loudly as she rounded him only to scoff when his head began to shake.
His voice scratched unpleasantly as he sputtered out his first words since departure. "Practically here..."
Forcing himself up agonizingly slow he strode forward again, swaying with each step. She tried to ask where 'here' was, to no avail. Natsu simply pointed forward with a shaken hand, apparently referring to the cluster of pine-trees scarcely a field ahead. Crossing that singular mustard field felt longer than their whole journey. Lucy hated seeing Natsu in this much pain, even with all the radioactive anger bubbling beneath her skin. Each step he took felt like a mini victory and she was almost sure he felt the same. It wasn't long after until Levy came busting through the trees, sprinting towards them with pure relief painted across her face.
"You made it!" She almost cheered, wrapping her arms around Lucy without care. Natsu fell face-first into the mud, out cold.
Mustard fields are kinda pretty don't ya think? :3 :3 :3
Short and sweet chapter for this update but it's a whole lot to digest ya? Did ya think this was how Natsu and Lucy's reunion would go? I hope you liked it, I enjoyed writing this chapter and have already started the next. Back to Natsu's POV next time and hopefully a little nalu.
Please let me know what you think? I die for reviews.
Okay, love ya, bye.
Also hi catchastar101 you are so cute thank you for always reviewing 3 And samurai of sunflowers I'm so glad you felt this was binge-worthy ur also so cute.