Lucy had been tending to Salutem, finishing up for the night and ensuring the mounts were cared for with Happy and Jellal when Natsu's emotions caught her attention, stilling her hands. Jellal took notice and turned his face towards her, the tightness of his mouth the only sign that he was exhausted. "Lucy?" he murmured, but she ignored him.
First came the creeping horror and ice. Normally, Natsu did his best to keep things from her now, although he'd softened in the last few weeks regarding that. She hoped to hell and back that he'd begun to get over that grudge of his, although she fully expected him to continue to be resentful about it. She could handle disregard, so long as he wasn't actively hurting her. And then quite suddenly, he was viciously angry. The brush fell from her hands as he stole her vision from her, replacing it with the sight of a terrified looking Asuka, a fierce Bisca, and the guildhall. She caught glimpses of Juvia, bolting for something, Mirajane's mortified face, and felt him shove everything he could at her after pulling back.
Lucy swore under her breath as blood steadily dripped from her nose, pressing her hands there to staunch it. Jellal, despite his reluctance on an everyday level to show his eyes, didn't hesitate to remove the cloth and shove it into her hands. "Thanks," she choked out, confused as she pressed it to her nose, spitting blood to the ground.
"Is everything alright?" he tried again.
"I don't know, something's weird." She frowned at him as Natsu continued to simply shovel things at her, desperate. "Something's wrong, I think-" She grunted when he suddenly crashed into her soul like a tidal wave, viciously ripping at any of the walls she'd tried putting up over the last few weeks. She flinched back but felt him pin her soul in place, could practically imagine him bellowing something in her ear.
Danger, danger, danger, sang a voice in the back of her head.
She was in danger.
Lucy sputtered in alarm, her heart skipping a beat as he withdrew upon sensing her understanding. She let herself dig in a little to investigate, but other than a sense of danger, came up empty handed. "Is Gray inside? Is Erza back yet?" she demanded rapidly, pressing that cloth firmer to her nose and gesturing Happy and the goblin over from where they'd been playfully scuffling.
And just for a moment, Lucy offered Natsu a hint of that searing warmth they'd once shared. She shoved her gratitude at him, fought back tears when she felt him faintly offer it back, because maybe, after all that time of trying to rip his soul separate from hers...he was ready and willing to try and piece whatever relationship they'd had back together.
But she shoved that back, focusing. Not now. She had other things to worry about.
"Yes," said Jellal, eyes roving and shifting and rolling as they watched what she couldn't see. She patted herself, seeking something when discomfort flickered over his face, but came up empty handed, and he waved her off, turning on his heel. The goblin snagged his hem, ready to go, and Lucy let Happy hop onto her shoulder as they strode swiftly from the small stable and towards the main doors to the inn. "Danger?"
"Yes. Natsu knows something and did his best to warn me. I'm not sure what it is though," admitted Lucy. She ignored a few stares cast their way as they barreled inside and headed straight for their room. "Can you get Erza here?"
He threw her a warm smile. "I wish that I could, but unlike you and Natsu, the average bond between Keeper and Guardian is not so complex," he said simply.
Lucy practically kicked in the door to their room, and Gray, having been checking their supplies and such, bolted to his feet with a startled look. "Pack up, supplies or not," she barked, ignoring yet another amused look from Jellal. "We need to leave."
Gray didn't stop to ask questions, merely began shoving everything into their bags. "What's going on?" he demanded as he did so, figuring he could do both. "Does this have to do with your visions, Jellal?"
After finishing their too long conversation with Algieba, which had been surprisingly unhelpful outside of a single new piece of information regarding Anna and the fact that she fell from the stars because she'd been kicked out by the Spirit King, Jellal had filled them in on the visions he'd endured. Scarce on the details as they were, he'd warned them of an unknown danger.
Between Natsu and Jellal both warning them, Lucy decided it was a good idea to keep a good eye on whatever was happening.
"Yes," confirmed Jellal, finding another cloth to hide his eyes. He tied it swiftly and then went to help Gray alongside Lucy. The goblin skittered around, finding things, too. Happy merely grumbled on Lucy's shoulder, ears perked and alert. Lucy was startled to feel him drawing on her strength, using it to fill his own small body until he was ready to manipulate her magic if need be.
Within minutes, they had everything packed up. Gray did a final check, and then they began hauling everything downstairs. Lucy felt a twist of nervousness in her gut as she turned to Gray. "I'll Portal us out. At least to the outskirts of the dangerous area."
"Good idea." Gray threw her a firm look. "Don't hurl us too far. If there's danger, the last thing we need is-"
A shout of warning was all they had before the creature struck, purple scales gleaming vividly in the dim lighting of the hall. Erza, having been on her way up when she'd seen them coming down, shoved herself hastily between the creature's strike and her Keeper, snarling in pain when it retreated. The only sign that it had struck as it coiled up, tensed and ready at the base of the stairs beneath their feet, was the pinpricks in her arm. Blood dripped lightly from them and Lucy whimpered in fear when she saw the clear liquid that shone around the injury.
"Erza," choked out Jellal in horror as she stumbled, shocked. She yanked away when he tried to help, however, gritting her teeth against the pain and brandishing her knives with a snarl on her face.
The snake was massive, Lucy realized. Bigger than the serpent that had struck her when she'd first come to the past. Much bigger, and much deadlier looking. Its vibrant scales were enough to tell her it was venomous, let alone the way Erza was already faltering, her breathing labored.
"Go," Gray hissed in her ear quite suddenly, ice exploding in giant shards at the snake. It struck at him, but met an unbreakable shield that Gray had formed around them. When Lucy glanced at him, he scowled. "Now."
Jellal and Lucy slid Erza's arms over their shoulders. Happy leaped down so that she could freely move. He kept close to Lucy's ankles, nearly tripping her down the rest of the stairs. Once they were in a more stable place, Lucy took a moment to look around and realized with horror that silence reigned freely. There was no one else entering or leaving the inn. Only the snake, slithering lazily after them with furious green eyes, remained.
Gray shifted the shield into another form, slamming it down over the snake, caging it in one place as Jellal and Lucy ushered the sweating Erza outside.
They faltered at the sight before them.
People rushed around, screaming in a panic. Some were helping others that were injured, much like they were helping Erza, while others simply shoved and carried children along. Smoke piled into the air, shoving its way down their throats in an unpleasant manner that was entirely unlike Natsu's.
Lucy whirled on Jellal. "Stay here," she ordered as Gray bolted out to join them. "Gray, come on, we're going to go get the mounts. Happy," she added firmly, glancing at the wide-eyed feline. "Stay with them." He flicked his tail in agreement, settling into a defensive crouch.
"Come on," Gray muttered, ushering her on.
Lucy bolted for the stables with him, forcing back Natsu's sudden vicious rage as it coiled in her gut. She just briefly sank back to check on what he was doing and could see a rush of the world as he raced this way and that, seeking. Freed, she guessed when she felt his relief upon spotting green hair. He was seeking Freed, who could Portal him and a few others to them.
Lucy felt a flicker of excitement, even as she rushed to saddle the mounts, struggling when Thanatos, in his excitement, snapped at her. She merely whacked his nose warningly and went back to work, ready to elbow him if necessary. Not now!
Natsu was coming. She'd see him for the first time in months, likely on good terms, albeit a little bit awkward in their meeting. But she didn't care about that, not when things had been near brutal between them for so long.
Lucy had just finished tightening the bridle properly on Salutem's head when the stag suddenly bellowed and thrashed, brandishing his horns and nearly knocking Lucy in the face with them. As it was, she yelped, slapping a hand over a cut on her forehead. But Gray's shout of warning had her quickly recoiling from the bubbling, sizzling substance that suddenly lodged in the wood behind her head. She stared in horror as it made the wood melt.
A grin encompassed the face of their attacker. "Quick," he mused. "Not quick enough though."
Salutem bellowed in agony when their attacker struck at them again, spitting some kind of venom. Lucy decided then and there that the man was likely the one who owned the massive purple snake. He grinned at her from the doorway, eyes nearly luminous in the dim lighting.
Gray's snarl of fury caught her attention and Lucy summoned Gemini with a flick of her wrist, looking over her shoulder as he took on Natsu's form. The man recoiled, faltering as her whip coiled around them and Gemini puffed smoke from its nose in a move of intimidation. Gray was under attack from what Lucy believed to be a silver-haired woman, who was lashing out at lightning speeds, uttering spells under her breath.
The distraction was enough; the man lunged for her, snarling, and Lucy let her whip leap to life. It snapped this way and that, protecting her from his advance. She could feel Natsu gathering his magic, preparing himself and sinking back into it. He tried to see as she did, but Lucy blocked him. Not now. She yelped when Salutem panicked and lurched forward, bellowing in pain as a glob of acidic liquid struck his shoulder, bubbling up painfully. He lunged forward, and the man trying to snag her was forced to jolt aside, right into the path of Lucy's whip.
His roar shook the world around her and even the other two, fighting as Thanatos and Hypnos snapped from behind, bunching forward eagerly to try and "help," stopped to stare in alarm. He clasped his hand over his eye, blood pouring from between his fingers, and snarled between heavy breaths, "You bitch."
Lucy was rather unnerved by the way the other eye seemed to nearly glow. Distantly, she remembered a time oh, so long ago, when she'd looked up at the person perched on a brick wall, and found herself musing about odd contacts. Her face paled in realization at the same time that he bared very sharp teeth in a wild grin and let his magic swell, body morphing before her very eyes.
"Cobra, you idiot!" screamed the silver-haired woman, bolting for the nearest exit and leaving Gray standing there with a shocked look on his face. "Not in here-"
The world exploded around them and all that Lucy saw was wood and debris as the stable exploded apart before her very eyes.
Lucy couldn't have been out for more than a handful of minutes, for when she blearily pried her eyes open, she realized she was being carried, thrown over the shoulder of a man in a heavy fur-lined coat. The man from the stable, she thought distantly. Natsu's rage simmered in her chest, and she lazily did her best to soothe him, urging him to calm down and think. What was taking him so long? Surely Freed would agree when he heard of the danger.
"Something's weird," muttered the man carrying her, and Lucy shook her head slowly to try and clear it, making a mental note. Her keys were still there. Her knife and whip were gone though, which was an issue. The man stopped, shifting his grip with a hiss. "Her back - it's burning my hand."
Natsu did have quite the temper, Lucy would have told him, though she remained quiet and instead anxiously looked back. Gray. She couldn't see him in the wreckage, though she could see Salutem stumbling around the inn with a low moan. Where was Jellal? And Erza, who'd gotten so ill so quickly?
"So?" snapped the woman.
"So," the man - Cobra, he'd been called - retorted, "wasn't Brain being all weird and cagey about this? I'm not looking to be killed, and do you know what Cubellios told me? This chic," he jostled Lucy, and she groaned. He glowered over his shoulder at her, clearly having noticed she was awake somehow. "Has some connection to the son of the Fire Dragon King."
The woman stopped walking to stare blankly at him. "And your point is? We knew that from the intel you grabbed. She's partnered with Natsu Dragneel. They're close friends. That's it."
Cobra stopped, too, except his purpose was to quite suddenly drop her. Lucy yelped as she hit the ground, thrashing her limbs to right herself as she wheezed for air. She stared wide-eyed up at them - especially when Cobra bared sharp teeth at her.
Dragon, she realized blearily, letting Natsu steal her sight for a moment. She shoved him back just a moment later, needing to focus. She could feel that ugly, wicked emotion that came with his demonic magic surfacing, creeping through her veins as it did his. Cobra was a dragon, one the others had apparently not known about.
"You," he snapped, and Lucy flinched when a hiss came from behind her. The snake, who she guessed to be Cubellios, had appeared, slithering right up his body to coil confidently there with a narrow-eyed look. Lucy hoped Happy was okay, wherever he might be. "Talk."
Lucy clamped her mouth shut, eyes blazing with defiance. Maybe she should have taken those lessons Jellal had offered regarding being a star. If only for situations like this. She could feel Loke's key burning at her hip, pleading to be summoned, but she silenced him with a single thought. The last thing she needed was her spirits being taken.
Cobra gave a wicked grin, tipping his head to the side. "Eh? Spirits? Like the celestial spirits? No wonder Brain wanted to keep you instead of giving you up, lady. And would you look at that," he added to his companion as Lucy's face paled. "She's a fallen star, like that friend of hers, Angel."
"That friend," hissed the woman called Angel with a huff, "is the Keeper of Visions. I know we're not exactly model citizens, but you could show a little respect, Cobra."
Cobra clicked his tongue in disagreement and Lucy reached back for that bond with Natsu, felt him coil around her confusion with his own. She felt those talons gauging her again, this time trying desperately to understand instead of to simply hurt her. It was comforting, although not exactly helpful as Cobra hissed, cat-like pupils turning to slits.
"That bastard," he snarled.
Lucy cringed, and the sliver of fear in her body had Natsu retaliating with tenfold. She could practically imagine him exploding with the rage that crashed through her. It was accompanied by hints of worry and concern and other softer aspects that made her want to curl up in what he offered all the more.
But it only had Cobra hissing and spitting at her like she was something from one of his worst nightmares, his hands thrown up. Angel, frustrated, shrieked a sharply demanding "what," and he rounded on her, jabbing a finger at Lucy. "She's not just a friend of that guy, she's his goddamn Marked One. Brain was telling us to grab the Marked One of Igneel's son!"
Angel blanched. "What?!" she repeated, face white. She snapped her head around and hissed over her shoulder at the village before throwing up her hands, too, in a symbol of surrender. "I'm out!" she declared. "I'm not doing this anymore. I signed up for the money that would come with selling her off to that Councilman, not...not this. That guy's notorious for the grudges he holds. Look what he did to that false king in the Pergrande Kingdom."
Cobra scowled. "Likewise." He shoved his hands into his pockets.
Lucy merely stared at the pair. What the hell is happening? She reached warily for her keys, and was surprised when neither tried to stop her. Cobra merely scowled at her, so she slowly dropped her fingers away and said faintly, "Err, are you letting me go then?"
Angel snorted loudly. "Hell no, we'll deliver you to Natsu Dragneel ourselves. I'm going to make damn sure he knows I had nothing to do with this," she made a wild gesture to the rather ruined village, "mess."
Lucy buried her face in her hand for just a moment. "Okay then, but first we need to stop the damage to the village-"
"Oh, no, we didn't say we'd help with that," Angel snapped. "What do we care about a village? We're just going to deliver you safely to that dragon of yours, and we're going to make damn sure he doesn't kill us or hold any ill will towards us, you hear me?" said Angel rather threateningly.
Lucy gawked at her, then shook her head. "Loke," she summoned, ignoring them and lunging for the ruined stables. Cobra growled, storming after her with the intention of dragging her back, but Loke stopped him with a cold look before diving for the stables alongside her. Together they began shifting through the debris, desperate to find Gray.
Lucy called his name as she searched, ignoring the glowering of the pair behind them. Screw them. She'd focus on them later. They were no longer a danger, not like others that had come with them. She shoved her temporary security at Natsu, who brushed against her in turn with a flicker of warmth, pleased.
Things were going well, Lucy thought, when she found Gray. He was conscious and frantically shoving to free himself, using his ice. Blood trickled from a variety of scratches, but he gave a hoarse laugh of relief when he saw Lucy and Loke, smiling faintly back at him. Together, they went to work on freeing him, and Lucy silently mourned the loss of Shiria, Thanatos, and Hypnos when she saw their bodies. They'd been killed in Cobra's small tantrum.
She flinched at the reminder of what had caused it, earning a snarl from Cobra. She'd done that, and he was still bleeding from the injury. Maybe, if he held up on his side of whatever this was and helped her find Natsu, she'd have Wendy tend to it.
Cubellios showed her fangs, a warning as if she could read Lucy's mind, too, and Lucy hoped that wherever Erza was, there was a cure for the venom that raced through her veins. She didn't know why she was surprised when Cobra said sharply, "It's not a lethal dose. The Guardian'll survive."
Gray made a face as he stared at Lucy from where he was trapped beneath a heavy wooden beam. "Are they helping us now?" He grimaced in pain when the beam shifted at Loke's attempt. Loke quickly backed off, not wanting to cause more damage.
"Not sure. Sort of, I think," she told him. "At least, they're saying they'll get me back to Natsu so he doesn't try and go after them, so I think we can trust them on that at the very least…" She trailed off, something in her heart sparking with excitement. She stilled, sinking back. "Natsu's coming," she reported breathlessly, unable to help the delighted grin that shoved itself onto her face.
For he'd temporarily vanished from her mind, disappearing as he crossed through the Portal. And only seconds later, she felt him re-emerge - somewhere nearby. Lucy shot to her feet, waving for Loke to keep working, spinning in a slow circle. "Natsu," she murmured, "c'mon…"
There, she thought as a chilling scream-like cry filled the air, coming from something that was most certainly not human - and a warning, to those who had dared to come after what the son of the Fire Dragon King cared for so deeply. Lucy grinned wickedly when Cobra and Angel exchanged wary looks. She silently coaxed him, trying to get him to understand. She needed a sign. Where? Where? she wailed silently as heat roiled to odd levels around them.
She could feel him. His delight, his relief, his anger, his desperation. He was looking for her, just as she was looking for him. Natsu was here.
Something else caught her attention, answering his cry. She and Gray froze, recognizing the nightmarish sound. A roar filled the air, distant but growing closer with each passing second. It spilled free again. Natsu noticed it, too, and she felt his panic flare in her chest, hot and dangerous. Flames spilled high in the sky, not more than two minutes away. She could feel his breathlessness; he was running, trying to find her.
"Lucy." Gray caught her wrists, and she realized she was shaking violently. Lucy blankly looked at him, her heart aching when she saw the look on his face. "You have to go. Now."
"Natsu-" she said desperately.
"Go," he snarled, and Lucy searched his gaze for a moment before whirling away. Acnologia was here, and she needed to keep herself safe now, to protect everyone else. "Loke," she shouted, and he read the silent order in her mind. He vanished into a Portal and stepped right out of another that appeared behind Angel, scaring her. She jolted away, but he grabbed her arm.
"You know where to go?" he demanded. She nodded curtly.
Cobra and Angel, she decided as she began gathering her power, shoving it into the shape of a Portal behind them, were not bad people. Sure, they were here to kidnap her and sell her for money to a Councilman that she had no doubt would be hunted down the second Natsu heard. But they weren't bad enough to kill her themselves.
Which meant they'd help keep her safe until she could be among friends again.
Her lips trembled as she pushed herself toward the Portal at a run. Natsu was so close. So very close, and-
Acnologia hit the earth so hard it nearly threw her to her face. His massive body rose above them all and blocked out the sun. His jaws parted as he screamed in triumph. Lucy bristled. She needed to take away what Acnologia wanted, so he'd leave before he hurt anyone else.
Lucy ripped Loke's key from the ring as she reached them, ignoring Cobra's vicious look as he glared at her, knowing precisely what was happening - and that he'd go along with it if he knew what was good for him. Loke dropped Angel's arm as Lucy pushed his key into his fingers with care. "Keep safe," she murmured. "Take it to Natsu. He's not a Guardian yet, but he will protect it. You know he will. Take Gemini's, too, and Aries," she added, removing each. Her mind raced. "Take Aries to Yukino. That's where I'll head. And Gemini to Levy and Gajeel."
Loke nodded curtly and pressed a fond kiss to her head. "Be careful." And then he was gone, Portaling himself away. Lucy flinched, feeling the world buckle at the sheer number of Portals that had popped in and out over the last few minutes. "Go," she said sharply, and Cobra swore loudly as he shoved Angel through, ducking into it after her.
Lucy gave herself a moment, just a moment. Nothing. So, she, too, stepped into the Portal, fighting the urge to sob aloud. She'd been so close, she thought miserably, to seeing Natsu again, to soothing the ache of longing that had built so rapidly despite months of fighting and rage on his part.
She glanced back as she made it through and caught sight of a familiar pink-haired person just before the Portal slammed shut behind them.
I fully intended to have a peaceful reunion when I initially got to this point. And then I decided otherwise and created chaos in every direction. It was fun; it still is. ;)
I'm so excited about what Part V is shaping up to look like! I've got to add some things to tie up loose strings, but I expect to finish writing soon! ;)
Thanks to reviewers (PersephoneQOTU, TigerArrowgirl, madaraswife, Guest#1, AthomeinFairytail, nerdalertwarning, Guest #1, Sydneste, valerioux, Uchida Akira, Liz, zizi08, Lissuin, XxCelestialAssassinxX, itsxoi, Alera33, Kisa7221, stranger1999, Sele de la Luna, Saya, Guest #2, Guest #3, Skibblez, Kaisha, rao huga 18, moonluver92, and Maikoa!) as well as those who favorited and followed!
