Chapter 7
Jackal's description, Natsu noted, hit the bulls-eye: This place was a big shitty gym. The building looked like an abandoned play set, left to cover in dust and mold for at least thirty years.
Too bad that the demons inside were pretty shitty too.
When Natsu entered the large gymnasium, the marks on his arms exposed, he shoved past the swarm of demons—seriously, how many were there? Thirty? Forty?—and headed for the back-left corner. The corner, however, had been taken by another demon.
The demon reminded Natsu of a wannabe thug, with his slicked black hair and the numerous piercings covering his gaunt face. It didn't help that his arms were crossed to send a message of, "I'm not here for chit-chat." A message which suited Natsu perfectly fine.
Natsu gave the demon a half-nod after making sure to keep several yards between them. Turning back to the crowd, he played I-Spy for a certain ice princess.
They'd decided to enter separately, with Natsu entering first and Gray a little later. It was a precaution, Gray said, in case everything went to deeper shit. They didn't need to be associated together, not that Natsu minded. He'd been annoyed enough today, with that stupid Jackal and his know-it-all remarks.
Natsu almost wondered if Jackal had a better sense of smell than even he did, considering his weird comments about 'acting as a demon' and all that, though he shoved that thought to the side. Natsu's nose wasn't a pushover, that's for sure.
And speaking of noses...
Why the hell was that wannabe thug sniffing so loudly?
The demon caught his not-so-subtle glare. "You got a problem?"
"Yeah," Natsu said. "Can't you sniff any quieter?"
The demon leaned in, as did Natsu. Both of them sniffed.
"Draconis," they said simultaneously.
Natsu stepped back. "Didn't think I'd meet a Draconis here. Aren't you all peace-loving, coexisting-with-humans sunshine lovers?"
The demon scoffed. "That's funny, coming from someone who's also a Draconis."
"Sucks to be you, but your nose is off. I'm just some regular demon, not a Draconis." Natsu pointed to his scarf. "You're probably smelling this. This used to belong to one of you guys."
His scarf was the only tangible reminder of Igneel, and Natsu had no intentions of taking it off. Undercover or not, this scarf stayed on.
The demon hesitated when he noticed Natsu's arms, likely wondering how a Draconis—which he still assumed Natsu was—had strange marks instead of scales. The demon quickly shrugged off his doubt. "I can tell the difference between a body and a scarf, bastard."
Natsu didn't bother correcting him. If he was mistaken for a Draconis, that's not exactly a problem—he'd rather smell like a Draconis than a human. But considering the species' peace-loving reputation, Natsu had no clue why a Draconis was attending a meeting filled with human-hating demons. Not that it was his business.
"The name's Natsu," he said.
The demon nodded in response. "Gajeel."
Natsu turned to the room's podium when a demon in a purple dress with arm-length gloves stepped forward. Her long black hair matched her two curled black horns; a patch of black covered her eye and trailed down to her left leg in an ink-like spiral.
Natsu caught a few murmurs about the woman, whose name was apparently "Minerva." She belonged to some group called Tartaros, a word that sounded familiar enough, though it'd be useful if Natsu could remember where he'd heard it before.
Minerva closed her eyes, waiting for silence. She didn't wait long.
"My fellow demons." Her smooth yet venom-laced voice carried across the room. "I am glad that you have joined us, and will in turn assist in our bright—or shall I say dark—future."
She looked down at them as she spoke, and Natsu assumed she was used to doing that. This demon had experience with bossing others around, if her forceful tone revealed anything.
"We have gathered to discuss the future of demons, and of course, how those humans fit into the picture. And, as most of you are aware, we have established that the humans should not belong in the picture at all, but on the wretched floor below us."
Natsu swallowed some bile. Okay, this was definitely worse. Way worse than he'd thought. Gray made it sound like this was some demons coming to have a little picnic. Not some massive plan for enslaving humankind.
When the cheering from her fellow demons died down, Minerva continued. "We have been trampled long enough by an inferior species. We have been abandoned, experimented on, and burned at the stakes by their rotten lot. Even those of us who are mezclas—or 'mutts,' as the humans say—have been persecuted despite their shared human blood.
"We have always been stronger, and it was at our mercy that humans flourished and stomped on us like insects. It is finally time we remind them of what it means for demons to be merciless, to be known and feared by all, and to show the humans what it truly means to be the inferior species."
The cheering heightened to a raucous volume, with a few hollers and whoops now entering the mix. Natsu glanced over at Gajeel, who still remained in his moody silence. Looks like he wasn't the only one with doubts.
Then again, as reluctant as Natsu was to admit it, he could understand the demons' hatred of humans. Heck, as a child, he'd also hated his kind. In the entire village he'd grown up in, why had only two human women decided to make sure he was fed? Why hadn't the rest helped him when his parents died, and why—whenever he traveled with Igneel—did humans fear him for having black marks?
But he couldn't say he fully hated humans—not any longer. Fairy Tail had taught him that. There was Erza and Gramps and Levy and Cana and so many others. And then there was Lucy. When he'd seen her at Hargeon, he'd approached her on purpose. Her scent felt familiar, and when she'd mentioned the book of fairy tales, he'd figured out who she was. He still had the book—it was the only non-gold object in his treasure hoard—and he'd even memorized it.
But he never told Lucy that he remembered her, because to do that... it meant for Natsu to admit that he had been that scared little boy who feared humans. He didn't need her to think of him as some beaten boy; he was Natsu, the cheerful guild member, and that was that.
And if Minerva tried to ruin that image… if she tried to step onto Fairy Tail or even touch Lucy... he was damned sure that this Minerva would pay.
"Some of you may be asking why our kind has finally decided to come together," Minerva said. "After several centuries of failing to blend in with these insects, why do we come together now? What has brought upon our increasing desire for reform?
"Rumors have already begun to spread, and if you have heard them, you likely know the incentive for our movement. But for the rest, I shall tell you the news we've been waiting for: Our ruler, Lord Zeref, is soon to return from the grave."
Zeref. That name also felt familiar, though Natsu still couldn't remember why. But why the hell would he be coming back now? How does a guy even come back from the dead?
"Some of you lower-level demons may be wondering how such a feat is possible. Or, perhaps not. Perhaps you are aware that the highest-level of demons—as our lord is known to be—are capable of resurrecting. It has been four centuries since he has walked this Earth, and let it be known that he is soon to walk this Earth again."
She looked out at the crowd of silent demons, and she spoke once more. "Today, you have designated yourselves as recruits for this new cause, as all demons—pure or mezcla—rightfully should. We will now hand out communication devices, designed by a Tartaros demon herself, for when we'll next require your assistance. Until then… May we unite as our dark lord rises, and may we laugh as humanity falls."
Hollers, hisses, clapping, cackled laughs and roars filled the room as Minerva stepped off of the podium. When she pointed to nearby crates, several demons pried them open to pull out small spheres. As one of the demons explained, the inserted-lacrima sphere would glow when it was time for the new recruit to report. It would also reveal the location where the training would commence, to determine the recruit's ranking in the demon hierarchy.
Natsu grabbed one for himself—he hoped this "training" would let him punch several of these bastards—and looked around for the ice princess. When he'd found him, his fists clenched.
A demon with sharp claws and lion ears had singled Gray out, his cat-like tail whipping behind him. Natsu pushed through the murmuring crowd to find Gray shaking his head.
"I've got no idea what you're talking about," Gray said.
"Lies," the demon hissed. "I know you—I saw you. When you came to shut down our facility, I was there. You're here, plotting to take us down, aren't you?"
Shit. Some of the demons must've escaped when Gray and Erza took down that blood factory. Natsu looked back and forth, tempted to step in.
"Like I said, I don't know what you're talking about. There's a lot of black-haired demons, you know, and I'm sure that I've never seen you in my life."
The tension in Natsu's shoulders lessened. Gray could handle this. One witness wasn't enough to put him in danger.
If it had only stayed that way.
Another demon approached, reminding Natsu of Elfman—if Elfman were taller and had the tail of the bull.
"I was there too," the new demon added. "I saw you, with your ice magic, assisting that red-haired human. I have no doubt on this."
Natsu waited for Gray to say something, anything, of denial. But Gray remained silent.
The crowd scrambled apart as Minerva came to the front. She was smiling, dreadfully smiling, as she looked back and forth between Gray and the two other demons. "It seems we have a little dilemma. How are we supposed to take down humans if we are fighting amongst ourselves?"
She tapped a gloved finger against her chin, mockingly deep in thought. "I suppose there's a way to solve this. All we have to do is prove who's more valuable to our cause.
"And the best way to be valuable, of course, is to be stronger than the enemy."
Right then, Natsu knew there was no way that him and Gray were getting out of this together.
"Let the battle begin."
Lucy, Erza, and Happy—no longer on his fours—had reached their destination: a seemingly abandoned, concrete warehouse. When Natsu scouted the area upon their arrival in Malba, he'd said this building in particular reeked of demons. As far as Lucy was concerned, the building stunk from pigeon dung and the nearby sewers.
"So, what's the plan?" Lucy asked. "Should we sneak around, look for other entrances, or—"
Erza pushed open the two large wooden doors.
Well, that's one way of entering.
When they stepped into the large, unlit building, Lucy could barely see her own hands. A yelp escaped from Happy when she stepped on his tail.
"Are you trying to kill me, Lucy?" he whined.
She muttered an apology to the Exceed. Turning to Erza, or at least where she thought Erza was, Lucy said, "I've got this."
Having given the sphere back to Erza, Lucy was free to concentrate on lighting her hands. After several seconds, a ten-yard radius of light glowed around them, and it continued to spread from there.
Her magic definitely felt stronger from before, Lucy could tell that much. When she turned to the others, she found them staring at her.
Lucy chuckled nervously. "Is something the matter, guys?"
Erza, likely having realized she'd been caught gaping, shook her head. "My apologies, Lucy. I had seen you lighting the sphere earlier, yet I did not realize that you were using light magic."
"Have you seen light magic before, Erza?"
"Yes, actually." Lucy could've sworn that Erza blushed. "I'm rather close with a certain wizard who... never-mind. We should return to the matter at hand."
"I was only staring because I remembered that I'm a demon," Happy randomly added.
Lucy gave him a look. "And that didn't occur to you when I used my magic before?"
"Well, I mean, last time, I was about to get eaten and all that."
Erza swung an arm around Lucy's shoulders, much to her discomfort. "Whatever the case, we are glad to have you on our side, Lucy."
They had searched the walls for several moments, until Happy found a light switch. Lucy's magic receded; she followed after Erza, who now carried a large sword in her hands.
So far, no sign of demons. Or, better yet, there was no sign of anyone. But as they moved further across the cold floor, their footsteps echoing, Lucy thought she'd heard scuffling feet. The warehouse was filled with steel crates and their lengthened shadows. And, when she stared a little longer, she realized that some of the shadows weren't of crates at all.
In between two large crates, out stepped a demon. He looked to be the same sight as Makarov, which wasn't saying much, and—to Lucy's surprise—he had purple skin covered in black spots. Two triangular horns rested on his bald head; the only hair he had were the two long white side-burns ending at his hips.
He leaned against a wooden staff topped with a silver crescent, though he raised his spare hand in the gesture of surrender.
"You are humans," he said. "Are you not?"
"Yes, we are." Erza looked down at Happy. "Well, we also travel with an Exceed."
Several other demons poked their heads out from behind the boxes. Their expressions hinted at a mixture of fear and curiosity, with undeniable traces of uncertainty.
The demon who'd addressed them turned to Lucy. "And you use light magic?"
Lucy slowly nodded.
He fidgeted with his staff, seemingly deep in thought. "My name is Moka," he finally said. "And it seems we have much to discuss."
A/N: Once again, thank you for the kind reviews! And I'll have to apologize for the cliff-hangers, though next week's long chapter will hopefully make up for it. Until then :).