"So where's this simple job at?" asked Lucy. " Just up in this next town. Something simple. A guy needs help getting rid of some pests. Reward wasn't big but then again this job only called I think for like one to two people so it's pretty damn simple as far as jobs we've taken go" he explained.
"Damn Natsu, you think you would've picked a job with a little more money" teased Lucy. "Ahh, come off it Luce. We needed something simple and not to draw attention to ourselves. I was trying to be strategic" " I know Natsu..I promise I was just joking" she said placing a hand on his shoulder for confirmation. "Thanks Luce." He said appreciative then looked at Happy and Nashi. "Come on guys" he encouraged.
"Get rid of those sad faces" Knowing he was trying, they shook away the sadness on their faces and quickened their pace as they approached the front door. Knocking on the door, a man opened it up. "Are you answering my ad?" he asked. "Yes sir. We're here to solve your pest problem. Come show us where the problem is" said Natsu. "Right this way" he said waving his hand for them to follow.
He led them all the way down a dark hallway until they reached the last room. " Is this room your basement?" Happy asked. "Yes, and bugs have taken over it completely" the man said sadly. "When you say take over.. do you mmean by that?" Lucy asked nervously.
"Exactly how it sounds" the man said. Opening the door, they saw a sight making their hairs stand on edge. Everywhere in the basement was covered by large bugs. They could barely see the window on the other side of it. "Natsu!" Lucy yelled as the bugs saw the light and swarmed to the door as the man shut it and leaned against it with his back. "What the hell was that!" Lucy exclaimed grossed out. Her arms shivered with a creepy crawly feeling. "That was my problem. I told you I have a problem. It was a month that they came in. I thought I had gotten rid of them once but as you can see, it didn't work" "With bugs that big, it's hard to miss them!"
"They didn't start out that big, that's a recent development. Please can you help me? I'm barely keeping them contained in that room. I know it's only a matter of time before they eventually dig their way through the rest of the house and take over. Please, I'm begging you" he got down to the floor on his knees putting his hands together.
"Don't worry mister. We're from Fairy Tail. We will help you" Happy looked to Natsu and Lucy who nodded in agreement. "Happy's right. We can't let our name be disgraced. We'll help you old man" "Thank you, thank you!" "What do you want me to do daddy?" she asked jumping in place.
"I want you to stay back with your mom Iggy. She doesn't have the magic right now to help and you aren't ready for this yet" Lucy flinched at hearing she couldn't use magic "my magic relied on keys..he's right. I can't help right now..Not that my spirits would be able to help with that right now anyway" "Let's go Happy" "Aye sir!" Natsu flamed up his hands as he said " Sir, open that door"
"Be careful, those bugs are nasty and have a vapor they can give off in defending themselves" he warned as he quickly opened the door long enough for them to run in. "Be careful!" Lucy and Nashi yelled at them as the door slammed shut. "Watch it Happy" "Aye..Natsu! watch out!" they moved their heads to see the bugs running at them as a swarm. "Heh" Natsu smirked and blasted a ball of fire at them. "Take that nasty bugs..huh?" he questioned when the hole of bugs he blasted was covered right back up. "Damn it. So not as easy as blowing them up" "Natsu"
Hearing the alarm, he jumped and kicked the bugs that were all over Happy. "What are we going to do?" "What I always do…make a giant mess" Sucking in air, he shouted "FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN" at the bugs making a large split between them. "Ha, that should work" he cheered. "Yay!" "Now just to finish off the rest" Natsu boasted when the bugs started to swarm together.
"Natsu..what are they doing?" "I ..I don't know Happy" he answered as the bugs swarmed forming a one giant one. It flipped its wings out making Natsu's and Happy's eyes widen. "That's not good!" "Happy!, Hold your breath now" he ordered dropping to the floor. Releasing poison vapor, it spread all around the basement.
Standing next to the door, Lucy and Nashi were waiting anxiously when the man yelled "get away from the door!" shoving them away. Before she could say anything, she saw why he had pushed them. Mist was coming out from under the door. "There's never been that much before for it to come out from under the door. Your friend must have made them really mad" "He's not my friend, he's my husband" she corrected with worry.
"Don't worry mommy, you know daddy and Happy got this" she said full of confidence and hope making her fear go away. "Yes they do" she said looking at the house with full belief in them. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" they heard then saw a blast of fire out the window of the other side. "Oh yeah!" cheered the girls raising their hands up. Opening the door, Natsu and Happy walked out. "Piece of cake" he said simply then gave a toothy grin with a thumbs up.
"Thank you so much Fairy Tail. It will be so nice having my house cleaned of bugs" "No problem man" "Here's your reward..I'm sorry it's not much" the man said once he had gone inside and come back outside holding a small bag. "Fifty jewels. It's not bad, thank you sir" Lucy said graciously then gave a nice wave to him. "Take care of yourselves" he called out to them when they walked down the road.
"Now what?" Now…we find a place to lay low for a little bit and get something to eat…my stomach is crying at me!" he groaned holding his hand on his stomach. Rolling their eyes, Lucy and Nashi looked at him in mild disbelief. "Come on Nashi, let's get your father something to eat." "Hmph, like mother like daughter" he sniped walking by them. "What was that?" "Nothing my love" "Uh huh, sure" Lucy said sharply with a wink. Happy chuckled flying beside them.
They wandered around for a bit until Lucy recognized some of the buildings. "I think we're in Kunugi" "Sweet! That means we'll come across food any minute which is great because I think my stomach is about to rip me apart with how hungry it is" Lucy laughed and pointed "there, come on fire monster. Let's go fill your belly. Yours and this little one's" Jumping in excitement, Nashi grabbed Natsu's hand, and they both took off running to the restaurant leaving Lucy and Happy coughing in their wake. "We should have seen this coming Lucy. You know how they get when it comes to food, especially Natsu"
Waving the last of the dust and dirt away from her clothes, she said "I know Happy. Come on, let's go before they decide to eat the whole restaurant. We don't have the money to do that" "Good point" he said making them laugh and feel good. Stepping into the restaurant, they saw the two dragons already eating something. "Why am I not surprised" she said as her and Happy sat down.
"We got you guys something too Luucy" he said through a mouthful of food. Ripping through meat, Natsu sucked it down and ordered another when Lucy's and Happy's food arrived. Lucy's eyes lit up looking at her plate full with some chicken, fruit, and salad on the side. Happy turned his nose up at the grilled fish in front of him. "Sorry Happy. I didn't see any raw fish" "I'll eat it anyway. Fish is fish"
Settling in, Lucy and Happy dug into their food enjoying every bit of it. After a bit, Lucy stacked the plates then waited for the bill. "What now Natsu?" "Ahh..now I've got a fire in my belly" he expressed at ease patting his belly closing his eyes, he leaned his head back. "Natsu"
Hearing her tone, he opened his eyes and brought his head forward to see a no nonsense serious look on her face. "What Lucy?" "Natsu, come on! I literally just asked" "Shush" "What did you" Lucy I said be " he snapped at her. Shutting her mouth, none of them said a word. His eyes darted around the restaurant lifting his nose into the air. "This scent."
"What are you talking about..?" Lucy asked cautiously. "The scent from the package, that same scent is here, in this place" he answered narrowing his eyes when a figure jumped up. "There you are" He moved to attack when flames came out of nowhere. "LUCY, GET NASHI AND HAPPY OUT!" he shouted running towards the figure. Grabbing Nashi and Happy, she ran out the door.
"NATSU!" "Lucy!" Distracted, he turned his head just as flames impacted him full on. "AHH" he grimaced in pain grabbing his arm. "Fire! Fire did this..Lucy!" he panicked grabbing his arm running out the door. They were surrounded by cloaked figures. Jumping in front of them, Natsu threw his arms out defending the others flaming up his hands. "Natsu, your arm!" "I know, don't worry about it. These guys got off a lucky shot, that's all" "Fire can't hurt me, I missed something, that's all" he thought. "I need to finish this off fast" he muttered to himself seeing how scared his family looked. "Who the hell are you and why are you after us!. We left just like you wanted" he yelled angrily "We do not have to explain ourselves to you" said a deep voice. "
We are the fire that always burns" said another. "We left!. You don't have to hurt anyone else" he said reasonably. Forming a giant flame ring around them, Natsu backed up fearful. "We don't want anyone else" they said in a single almost demonic voice. "We want YOUUUUUUU. TO ELIMINATE EVERY TRACE OF YOU DRAGNEEL. WE ARE GOING TO OBLIERATE YOUR LINE OUT OF EXISTENCE!"
A dragon head formed blasting fire at them. "Oh my god.." Throwing his arms in front of his family, he took the full blast, screaming in agony. "We ..we need go. Luuuucyy" he slurred dropping to the ground. Smelling his burnt flesh, her eyes grew in fear. "DADDY!" "HAPPY!" she screamed throwing him at Natsu.
"TAKE HIM AND NASHI AND GET OUT OF HERE" "Lucy" "GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" she ordered as he snapped out of his panic and took to the sky! "MOOOOMMMY!" she shrieked getting further from Lucy. "I'm coming back for you Lucy. Hang in there" Happy vowed in his head flying as fast as his wings could carry him. "I'll be fine baby. I promise" she said. Taking a fighting stance, the ring continued to spin around her.
"Alright you bastards! you want me, come at me!" the dragon reared its head and fired at her. Actively, she flipped back narrowly missing the hit. Raged the cult turned their head determined. "Hmph" she said with a smirk as she turned and ran into the panicked crowd. "They won't be able to find me in the crowd..right" she hoped. Continuing to run, her fear was unspoken. Turning her head, her eyes reflected the fire that was coming at her and was going to hit her straight on. " LUUUUUUCYYYY! Closing her eyes, she felt herself lifted and blasted forward.
Flashing her eyes open, she looked up full of gratitude. "Happy" "Lucy! Are you crazy!. A second later and you would have…" his lip trembled breaking her heart. "I'm sorry Happy" " "Don't scare me like that" "I wont. I promise. Is Natsu alright?" "He's hurt pretty bad. Come on" he said as they landed a few minutes later. Soon as her feet touched the ground, she ran to Natsu completely unconscious. Picking up his head, she laid it down in her lap just as Nashi cried out "mommy!"
"Shhhhh, I'm here, I'm here" she said comfortingly putting an arm around her. Slowly, she carefully lifted his vest up but put it back down before the smell went completely up her nose. "Hi..His fire didn't work on them Lucy..what are we going to do?" Looking down at Natsu and then back at them, she contemplated in her head. "I don't know what to do. We don't have any magic other than fire and we just found out his magic is useless. Shit" "Lu..cy"
Pulling her out of her thoughts, they all watched as Natsu's eyes groggily started to open. "Lucy" "Natsu..don't try to move. Please honey" "How bbad is ..I cant.I cant move" Nobody said a word not wanting to tell him the truth.
"Guysss, come on, tell me how bad" he looked back and fourth between Lucy and Happy. "Guys! Your freaking me. We've been through worse. See?" he said instantly sitting up before they could stop him. In agony, he went back down clenching his teeth. "Natsu..your back it's been burnt with second degree burns, if you hadn't gotten to the ground when you did, your whole back would've been burnt the whole through killing you" " .I'll bbe..okay baby" he said grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "Thhey..aren't after anyone elsss" he coughed explaining.
"Yeah we heard" "That means..you two..you and Nnashi..are targets. I'm not letting anyone hhurt you two' "What does that mmean?" " We need to keep moving. If we stay here, we are sitting ducks" he said straining to talk and move. "Natsu, you can barely move. We can't move you" "Lucy, look at me right now" Looking into his eyes, she saw the resolve he had and would not be deterred from it.
"Your going to have to lean on me" she said flatly putting her head down as her hair covered her face. "Lucy!" "You heard him Happy" she replied helping Natsu carefully to his feet throwing his right arm over her shoulders as she braced him. "Come on baby girl" "Natsu." "Let's just go straight, avoid what roads we can" "We need supplies Natsu, medical supplies. Something to bandage those up. We aren't going to get very far at all if we don't at least bandage those up" "I'll be by tomorrow" "That doesn't help us now bonehead!"
"Lucy, do you want me to take him? Might be easier" "No Happy, thanks but I got it" Adjusting him, she began to walk forward. "Come on Nashi, stay right with us baby girl" "Yes mommy" "Do you think the guild notices that we're gone yet?" Happy asked trying to keep her mind distracted from how heavy Natsu was. "No Happy. Chances are they probably won't notice until tomorrow at latest. We've been gone for a job longer than a day before"
"Yeah but since the job was so simple" "Happy" the look she gave him cut him off. "Sorry" "We can't think about them Happy. My only concern right now is us and getting us somewhere Natsu can rest" she said blunt looking at Natsu who had passed back out. "Right" he agreed. Silently they walked on, taking small breaks giving Lucy's back a rest. "Mommy..I'm hungry" she whined.
"I'm sorry baby. Here let me see if I have anything in my bag" Searching through her pack, she pulled out an apple and tossed it to Nashi. "Sorry honey, that's all I have for now" "I wasn't thinking about food when I was packing my clothes, stupid me" she cursed herself. Looking at Happy and Nashi, she could tell they were exhausted. "Happy, do you still have some energy left?" "Yess.." he said lazily.
" Just fly down that way a little bit and see if there's a hotel. You guys ..and Natsu need to get some sleep" "Aye" he said gathering himself up and flew down the road. Taking a moment, she flipped Natsu carefully onto his side and lifted his vest partially up. "No Improvement...damn it. We need to really get some bandages on you" she said seeing his back was still badly burnt and sensitive as she touched a spot making him flinch.
"Sorry baby" "Mommy, Happy's coming" "Thank goodness" she murmured. "I found one Lucy. Here let me take him. I can show you guys" he advised scooping Natsu up off the ground. "Thanks, Happy. Come here Nashi" she said picking Nashi up after she ran over hearing her mom.
"Lead the way" she commanded. Obeying he took off with Lucy at his heels. Reaching the hotel, she went to knock when the door opened, and a young brunette girl was at the door. " " Lucy stuttered her words not expecting someone at the door. "Hello, how may I help you?" "Please, can we check in, we've been on the road for a while and my daughter needs a meal" " Yes of course, come in and we can get some medical attention for you. It looks as though your husband could use it and I'm sorry if I offended" she graciously stepped aside letting them through.
"No ma'am , you didn't. He's my husband" her voice strained with exhaustion suddenly. "My body feels heavy.. looks like my adrenaline rush is done..great timing. Hmph" she scoffed at herself.
"Here, we have a room back here for you" the girl said leading them down a hallway where she opened a door revealing a two bedroom with warm colored walls and two doors leading to a back patio. "Thank you so much ma'am" "You are welcome. I'll call the doctor and get him to come look at your husband. Can I please get a name?" "Oh my name is Dragneel. Thank you so much again" With a compassionate smile, the girl nodded her head and left shutting the door on her way out. "Happy, here come lay Natsu down. Give your wings a break" Carefully Happy and Lucy laid Natsu down laying him on his stomach.
"Good, now let's see if I can find a menu. Get .ahh here it is" she said eyeing one and picking it up. Looking it over, she almost yelled in surprise at the prices. "Jeeze, charging that much for a meal..but she needs to get fed" "You need too too Lucy, don't forget about yourself" Giving a tired smirk, she said " don't worry Happy. I'll be fine." "Your exhausted. Take time to rest. I can watch Nashi. I think we're safe here, I flew a good distance away from where we were earlier" " I appreciate it Happy. Thank you" she croaked.
Picking out a few meals, she called up the room service ordering. Finishing up, she heard a soft knock at the door. "Come in" she said as the door opened revealing the girl from before. "Hi, I just wanted to let you know I called the doctor. He said he should be here in an hour" "Thank you" said Lucy and Happy. Silently the girl left again. Taking a moment, Lucy laid her head down on the pillow turning her head towards Natsu.
Lightly, she moved his hair out of his face. "We're safe for now Natsu..take your time to ressst" she slurred feeling her eyelids get heavy. "Happy." Was the last thing she managed to say before sleep overtook her. Knowing she needed it, Happy smiled looking at the pair. "I got this Lucy. You rest" he assured glancing over at Nashi who was sitting on the couch looking at the paintings hung around the walls.
"Ma'am..Ma'am" Lucy's eyes flashed open springing up off the bed to see a man with a very pleasing and caring smile on his face dressed in white. "Was it you I just heard right now?" "Yes ma'am. I am Doctor Stuart. I just finished wrapping your husbands wounds up. Be careful over the next few days. If there's any sign of pain, put some water on it but not ice water." "Thank you so much doctor." Politely he nodded and walked out the door. Looking over, she saw Nashi was sound asleep. "Did she eat at all Happy?' she asked. "Yep. The trays are over in the corner and there's still some left over for you if you want" "Thanks bud, I'll pack it and then we can save it for later. Did Natsu wake up at all. He looks like he didn't move a bit" Happy's face dropped making her nervous.
"Happy, what's wrong?" "Yes..he woke up. He yelled as soon the doctor touched his back." "What!" "Yeah..you must have been tired enough cause you didn't stir at all" "Oh Happy. What that must have been like for you. I'm so sorry" Picking him right up, she held him in her arms swinging him from side to side. "It's alright Lucy. I'm just glad we're safe."
"Me too Happy. Me too" she said softly putting him down on the bed next to Natsu and laid beside him. "He's asleep again..but with how much pain Happy said he was in. "Probably a good thing I just hope he's alright with this in the morning. Pretty sure he would have preferred staying out of the public..but can't think about that now. We need to rest while we can." She thought letting herself go back to sleep. The next morning she woke to see Natsu scrambling but was clenching his teeth fighting back the pain. "Natsu, what are you" "We need to get out of here! Now!" he yelled urgent.
"What's wrong?" she asked immediately alert. "Lucy, we need to go!. The enemy could be anywhere..ahhhh. damn it!" he yelled angrily dropping to a knee as a surge of pain went through his back. "Natsu" she called out going over to help him when he held a handout stopping her. " Don't baby, please" she could see from the look in his eyes it was taking all he had not to yell out from pain.
Understanding, she took a step back letting him stand back up on his own. Carefully he slid his pack on his back. "Natsu, let me take that. Your back doesn't need any more pain then necessary" Knowing he wouldn't win the argument; he surrendered and took the pack off handing it to Lucy who slipped it on then put hers on top of it. Happy nudged Nashi awake who up instantly turning her head back and fourth.
"Mommy. What's. Daddy, your awake!" she said happily jumping off the bed and ran over to her. "Hey baby girl" he cooed softly putting a hand on her head. "Sorry Iggy, I can't bend down right now. My back is in pain" he said showing the bandages around his back. With a deep sad look in her eyes, her head dropped. "Hey" he said lifting her chin up. "I'll be alright, just need some time to heal. That's all." Smiling she said "my daddy is a dragon! I know he'll be alright" "That's right" he said with a confident smile then looked at Lucy and Happy. "Come on, we need to get out of here" "Right" they replied. Grabbing Nashi's hand, they all walked out to the front desk where the young woman smiled and said "leaving us already?" "
Yes ma'am. Thank you again for letting us stay here. How much do I need to pay? "That will be 500 jewel" Lucy's heart sank hearing the price as Natsu and Happy both had the same look on their faces. "Well so much for saving a lot of our money" she thought regretfully as she pulled the money out and handed it to the girl. "You all take care of yourselves you hear?"
"Yes ma'am" Lucy said mildly irritated going outside without so much as a glance back. Getting through a crowd of people, they stopped when they saw a fountain where few people were. "Natsu, what's our next move?" "How should I know? This is something new to me too Lucy. I'm not the one making all the decisions here" "I know that Natsu, I was just asking to see if you had an idea" "My back is half burnt Lucy! Not exactly great at making rational decisions right now" "Guys!" Happy yelled seeing things started to get heated between them.
"We need to stop arguing and think of a plan. Sitting out in the open like this is just asking to be caught. Let's just get moving and then we can think of where to go once we're on the road. Sound good?" he asked them sharply. They both looked at him impressed he would stand up to them like that. "Heh..well can't say Happy's wrong right Luce?" he said with some amusement.
"Yeah haha .damn Happy. If I didn't know better , I'd swear you were wise beyond your years" "Tch, when it comes to you two, someone has to keep you in line and from killing each other right Nashi?" he asked as the eight-year-old jumped in agreement. "Yup , yup" she replied. "Come on, we need to keep moving" he said. His words moving them forward. "I got some food for us Natsu" "Good, cause once we run out of money, that will be useful" "I can't say how long this food will be good so we should eat it soon" "We will Luce, once we can get some good distance between us and here, we can stop for food" he told her but noticed people looking at them. Some surprised, others had happy expressions on their faces.
"Naaatsuu.." she said wary tightening her grip on Nashi's hand. "Come on" he said quietly to them as they kept their heads down. They only get a few feet when they heard "hey, aren't they from Fairy Tail!" "Yeah, that's the Dragneels. They stayed at the hotel last night, I saw them come in" "One of em looks injured" "Yeah, someone came looking for them last night" "GO!, go! Go!" Natsu yelled at them when he saw shadows behind them.
Quickly, Lucy picked Nashi off the ground and threw her to Happy who caught her. "Mommy!" "Stay with Happy. Now let's go!" she said running with Natsu as they looked behind each other to see the shadows getting faster.
"Damn it!" she yelled stopping at a dead stop. "Lucy! What are you doing?" Natsu questioned. "I got this Natsu!" she said feeling confident before Natsu grabbed her wrist and pulled them forward. " Are you crazy! You don't have your keys Lucy remember?" " It doesn't mean I can't fight" "Not right now Lucy, you aren't ready. Neither of us are" Knowing he was right; she didn't respond as the shadows stopped in front of them surprising them when they turned into people. "How many of you damn freaks are there?" he snapped. "We have many connections and many members spread out. There's nowhere for you to hide. Might as well submit right now" Letting go of Lucy's hand, they both gave Happy a look signaling to get Nashi out of here before she could protest. Understanding immediately, he flew past as fire was blasted at them, but Natsu blew it the other direction making it miss them.
"Thanks, Natsuuuuu!" Happy yelled back to them. "You fool, haven't you realized your fire doesn't work on us yet. Your injury should have proven that" "Hmph, one lousy injury isn't going to stop me" "Confidence, we'll see how long that lasts. " Lucy, you ready?" Grabbing her, he went to jump with her when a fire shield surrounded them. "Natsu!" Lucy cried panicked holding onto him.
"There's only one way we're going to get out of this" he thought knowingly. Putting Lucy down, before she could say anything, he ran to one of them and started hand to hand combat. "NATSU!" Lucy screamed scared he wouldn't last in his condition. "Hmph fighting to keep your pitiful existence. Disgusting" "Shut the hell up, You know nothing about my life or what I've been through" Natsu snapped landing an uppercut punch to the man's face. Pulling at Natsu, Natsu flipped onto the guys back and wrapped his hands around the man's neck choking him.
Slipping Lucy a look, she saw the coldness in his eyes and realized what he was about to do. "Natsuuuu!" she yelled desperate as he turned his hands in a swift motion snapping the man's neck and jumped off before the body hit the ground. "I'm not letting you hurt my family" he growled at the remaining members. In shock, Lucy froze in place as the memories of stabbing Lilyanna's disciples came flooding back to her mind.
"No..No!" she thought terrified. Seeing her in such a state, he yelled furious going to attack another and snapping their neck when Lucy caught a glint of something out of the corner of her eye. "A gun?!" Reacting, she jumped screaming "NATSUU" Catching it in her leg, she landed hard. "LUCY!" he shouted jumping off the one he had just killed. Picking her up, she shrieked clutching her leg. "We're out of here!" he said gathering air and magic power, he jumped clear into the sky and blasted like a shooting star away from them.