Chapter 21: Casus Belli

Natsu had a weird dream. In itself, that wasn't new, but he had a feeling at least part of the dream was influenced by the real world. He dreamed a figure had visited his cell in the dead of the night, too tall and bulky to be Mystogun, and his heart was pounding in a painful way, almost like it was resonating with something…

He woke when there was a commotion so loud even the runes couldn't muffle it. He struggled and strained but couldn't make out any words, just a cacophony of voices. "Hey, you know what's going on?" he asked his unfortunate neighbor.

"Hey, we're both locked in here. I'm as clueless as you."

Natsu pouted and focused more. The most he could make out was something about a gee-yo-teen, not that he knew what that was. Maybe it was time to learn a bit of Fiorian. Well, if he lived long enough to make use of it. The uproar raised in pitch for the next few minutes until suddenly everything was quiet. "That's…odd."

"You're telling me." Then Sting let out a sharp hiss. "Do you feel that?"

He did. There was a sudden surge of magic so thick it reached even their sealed spaces. It had the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end and made the runes shudder. It felt raw, certainly not like a wizard's magic, and that made it unpredictable.

Then the dungeon was sliced neatly down the center.

A massive sword cleaved through the stone and metal of the Council building, shredding the runic barriers and freeing Natsu and the other dragons. His excitement was short lived as the building, now heavily unbalanced, began breaking into huge chunks of shrapnel. He used the falling supports to launch himself into the air and onto a higher floor, where he saw the building's occupants rushing to the doors. The foundation was rumbling ominously; they didn't have much time to get out. Natsu groaned and rubbed his face. "Hope I don't regret this…"

He used his wings to usher the people out much quicker than their feet could. They were, to say the least, very surprised by the assistance, but he took their fallen jaws in stride, attempting to move as many as he could. Once that floor was clear, he flew through a hole to the next level, where a female knight was slashing at falling debris as she steered a group of attendants towards the stairs. The floor beneath them suddenly collapsed and Natsu leapt into action, grabbing the whole lot of them with his arms and tail and hauling them through a broken window and to the stable ground outside. Upon hitting the ground, the knight pointed her sword at his throat.

"You're free!" she exclaimed.

"You're welcome!" he responded sharply. A red blush to rival her hair crossed her face and she sheathed the sword quickly. Then her eyes widened.

"The Council and the king were on the top level, alongside the prin—err, Lucy."

"Lucy?" he repeated. "But why?" He shook it off before she could answer and gave her a quick bow. "Thanks for telling me." He spread his wings and went up the side of the building. He had to jerk to the side when a large section of the wall suddenly fell away, turning into a rockslide along the cliff to the crowds below. Gritting his teeth, Natsu sent a fireball that diverted the path enough for the people to move.

"Ice Make: Slide!"

A giant slide of ice appeared inches from him and several Knights and attendants began sliding out of the ruined building. Gray was the last to appear and he made eye contact with Natsu. No words were exchanged but they nodded at each other. Then Natsu heard her.

"Natsu!"

Though their connection had faded after that freaky dude's spell, Lucy's voice resonated in his heart like a bell. He knew exactly where to place himself, arms out, and felt her solid weight crash into him. It threw him off balance for a moment and he sputtered in midair, but he quickly caught himself and lowered them safely to the hill. Her wrists were shackled behind her back but she was aggressively burying her face into his chest. She spoke several quiet sentences and he couldn't tell if she was speaking to him or praying.

"Lucy," he began, resting a hand on her head, "what…" And then he looked up. And then he realized what had destroyed the Magic Council building.

That was a truly massive figure, one to rival even Igneel's side, with a mustache to end all mustaches and a big golden star on his forehead. He wore silver and gold armor and bore a huge sword in one hand, and his milky eyes were locked right on Lucy and Natsu. "Etherious Natsu Dragneel," he said, "it has been some time. You were a whelp the last I saw."

"Wait, what did you just call me?"

"Etherious?"

Natsu and Lucy turned at the same time to see Jude amidst the crowd rushing towards the stairs. He was like a tree among their flood, completely immobile, and his eyes were set on Natsu. "Don't tell me you were the key this whole time?" His voice was so soft among the chaos only Natsu could hear it. He went and started pulling something from his cloak and Lucy pressed closer to Natsu.

"Oh no," she whispered, catching Natsu's attention.

"What, what's he gonna do? I'll protect you."

"I'm not worried about myself," she insisted. He looked to Jude to see he had pulled out a thick book. Natsu's heart gave an unhealthy beat at the sight of it and his knees buckled, pulling Lucy down with him.

"Who could have known? The secret to ultimate power was under my nose all this time… Igneel was one clever bastard." Jude flipped the book open and read a seemingly random page. Natsu's head went fuzzy and he would've smashed into the ground if Lucy didn't catch his shoulder. A ghastly roar echoed in his ears and the ground shook as a massive foot slammed down. He struggled to raise his head against the lethargy filling him and saw a huge black form grappling with Mr. Mustache.

"Whahapp'n?" he mumbled. Lucy gave a very unladylike swear and forced him to his feet, bearing most of his weight.

"My father," she said tonelessly, "just summoned a demon."

He was having trouble processing this as Lucy hustled him towards the stairs. One more stomp and they went tumbling past the stairs and to the cliff. Natsu's wings spread, automatically slowing their fall, but they still hit the streets rough. Finally the crowds had dissipated, probably because the building was collapsing into massive deadly debris. Lucy struggled to get up with her hands still bound and Natsu was slowly regaining his sense.

Boom!

They fell in a heap when a body hit the ground with huge force. Natsu raised his eyes and saw Mr. Mustache struggling to regain his footing. "No…the King…" Lucy was so pale she was nearly translucent. She turned to Natsu looking like she'd seen a ghost. "How did things end up this way…? You, Father, the Spirits?"

"Dunno," he grunted, getting to his knees. "But we have to get out of here pronto."

The larger monster was roaring again and Jude was unmoved as he stared down at his frantic people. Lucy's jaw set and she rose to her feet. "Jude!" she called, startling Natsu. "What have you done?"

He shouldn't have been able to hear Lucy from that distance, but he did. "I have found the answer!" he retorted, and pointed at Natsu. "And he's the last bit I need!"

A white form tackled the creature—demon?—off the mountain and to the ground. That was Sting in his draconic glory, pinning it and digging his claws into its form. "Well now," he said bitterly, "guess there's no point in staying our hand, Rogue."

Rogue swept in and brought Natsu and Lucy into a bear hug before changing form. The two of them fit neatly in his hand and looked into his crimson eyes. "We believed that, in fear of us, the king would never utilize that power. We were wrong, and now I apologize on behalf of both of us. Maybe if we had acted sooner…but the past can't be changed. For now, Natsu, Princess, both of you have to get as far away from Jude as possible. If he unlocks the full power of E.N.D., the results would be unspeakable."

"E.N.D.? Seriously, is someone gonna explain anything to me?" Natsu said. "What is that? Why am I the key?"

"The Celestial Spirit King, he called Natsu 'Etherious,'" Lucy said carefully. "I thought that name was reserved for…"

"Demons?" Rogue finished. "We don't believe Natsu is a demon, but he certainly has strong ties with the book. The Book of E.N.D.," and now he was speaking to Natsu, "was created by Zeref to create and manage his hordes of Etherious, his manufactured demons. Your father's intention was to destroy the book, but when that failed, he chose the next best thing: sealing its power into you. He thought you were strong enough to protect it. That's why I'm assuming the stars gave the book their own name: Etherious Natsu Dragneel."

"Ether…what…I don't…" He rubbed his head. "My father, my father started this?"

Sting roared in pain and Rogue grimaced. "There's no time. Go, get far away from here." He pulled his arm back and threw them high into the air. Natsu hugged Lucy close to him and transformed, letting his wings catch the wind and coast them above the cloud cover. The rising sun hurt his eyes but Lucy was undeterred.

"My father, using curses…the Book of E.N.D. in his hands…I can't believe it…"

"I can't believe Igneel put that thing in me!" Natsu fumed. "Regardless how safe he thought it would be! Etherious Natsu Dragneel… Is that my legacy now?"

They kept talking over and around each other until the sun's rays turned warm and Lucy sighed. "We have to figure something out."

"Well first, I want to know what happened to you, Lucy. Why are you wearing that getup? Why were you on the roof?" Lucy flushed a shameful scarlet.

"My father came to pass judgement, as the Council dictated. His judgement was execution. My Spirits interrupted the proceedings, and when that happened, he went to finish the job himself."

"Augh! That slimy bastard! How could he—to his own daughter, his flesh and blood?" Natsu was spewing flames on every word but couldn't be assed to care. "I always thought Jude was coldhearted, but this—"

"Don't!" Lucy snapped, silencing him. The energy left her in the next moment and she slumped in his grip. "I'm…still processing how I feel. But just…don't talk bad about him. Anyway…Virgo had given me one of my Keys. I remembered something my mother had told me long ago, a way to summon the Spirit King. So…I broke Aquarius's Key." Natsu was still seething about holding his tongue for Jude, but the despair in Lucy's eyes fizzled his anger.

"Oh, Lucy, I'm so sorry."

"It had to be done," she insisted as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She brought a hand up to her face. "I keep saying that to myself, yet…"

They were silent for a while as Natsu soared through the sky. After maybe thirty minutes he thought there was enough space between them and Era. He shrunk as he descended, bringing them down to a sparse mountain range amidst a sandy plain. He barely set foot on the sand before Lucy's prone form was snatched away from him.

"Oh, thank the gods," Loki whispered, hugging her tight to his body. He was shaky and his complexion was sickly, but his grip was strong. "I thought she was…I thought…" Natsu was instantly uncomfortable when he realized the lion was crying. He hesitated before reaching out and patting his suited shoulder.

"Um, yeah, 's alright, she's alive."

"And you." He looked at Natsu through his glasses, mouth skewed. "Your magic is tainted. The Book of E.N.D.?"

"You knew?" He scowled. "Did everybody except me know?" He might've punched Loki if Lucy wasn't between them.

"I'm sorry, but I was sworn against telling you. And now…and now." He heaved a long, exhausted, miserable breath. "If I had, I wonder if things could've turned out differently." He looked at Lucy's face and frowned. "Perhaps… Natsu, I believe I may know where your sister is."

"Were you holding that from me too?" he growled, moving within punching distance. Loki shook his head.

"I didn't know it was anything important at the time, but…I recall Jude having a secret meeting once, I could only hear behind closed doors. If that person is the one who told him how to unlock E.N.D., then he would have taken your sister. Dark Magic wreaks havoc on the body and a dragon's healing ability would serve to keep Jude from falling apart."

"Did he give a location?"

"It was…some country town, I believe. Three hours out from Magnolia."

"Then that's where we'll go. Ah," he mumbled when he looked at Lucy and remembered her situation. "That is…"

"You might as well bring Lucy along. Her Keys are still at the castle, and above all, she'll be a national criminal. It's enough of a struggle for me to maintain my form so far from the Key, and I'm the king of the Zodiac. Right now, Natsu, you're her only protection."

The situation felt nostalgic and despite the impropriety, Natsu smiled at the thought. "What, did you think I'd throw her to the wolves? I've got Lucy's back no question."

Loki smiled too, looking like a burden had slid off his shoulders. "You've changed, Dragneel. For the better."

"Dragons, we don't change much. Maybe it was just, a part of me that was locked away for a long time has been revived." Loki's image flickered and he swore to himself. "Go off, rest. I'll protect her."

Loki nodded and passed Lucy into Natsu's arms before disappearing. Natsu settled against a smooth rock and ran his fingers through Lucy's hair. She was whispering, though he wasn't sure if it was sleep talk or not. "My father…my kingdom…gone, gone…"

"We'll get it back, Luce," he said, swiping at her errant tear. "Everything. Even your old man."

"Nothing will be the same…"

"That's true, but that doesn't mean we can't make it better. And we will. You'll be Crowned Princess again, and I'll have my family, and we'll…" He paused. What was his endgame? Even if the country miraculously became friendly towards dragons, he wasn't sure he wanted to stay here, bad memories and all. But the thought of separating from Lucy was… She had become part of his vision of family as well. A sick feeling developed in the pit of his stomach. Would he have to choose at the end of this? Gajeel and Wendy, or Lucy?

Never mind that. His priority was Lucy. It was silly how quickly he went from indifference towards her, to hating her fierce defiance, to loving that unbreakable spirit of hers. If a human could have the dragon's spirit, Lucy Heartfilia definitely possessed it and then some. What happened at Era…left it weakened, a flame brought back embers, but it would blaze again.

"We will survive," he whispered into her ear. "We'll get your Keys, kick some sense into Jude's thick skull, turn Mystogun into roadkill, rescue Wendy, find that flake Gajeel, and bring the people back to our side. I wouldn't live in a country run by anyone else. Everything, we'll piece your world back together, Lucy. That, I swear."