CHAPTER 6

Gajeel tried not to sigh in aggravation as he listened to the chattering, clattering, humans around him. He hated crowded taverns. They were always an assault on the senses. But they were also some of the best sources of information. And at the very least, their alcohol kept his fangs from hurting until he could sink them into some blood.

Not that they were particularly achy at the moment. He'd fed well, and recently, so he was still sated and more inclined to simply enjoy the taste.

Unfortunately, that meant that the people around him were more irritating than anything.

Deciding he wasn't going to find out anything more tonight, he slammed back the rest of his whiskey and pushed away, absently dropping some jewel on the counter before wandering over to the desk guarding the way back into the quieter inn rooms.

He smiled at the child behind the counter, aware that to her he would look like a ruggedly handsome man rather than a predator, "Anything for me today missy?"

"Yes Mr. Redfox!" She exclaimed with a blush and turned to pull out a letter from the box she'd tucked it into earlier, "You got a letter today!"

Well that was a surprise. Letters had long fallen out of favor to phones and other forms of messaging. Perhaps it was from one of the covens? His had long since gotten itself killed, though he didn't miss any of them greatly, and some of the others often tried to recruit him or try to entice him into creating his own with the promise of a potential mate.

He snorted. As if he would look twice at one of their women. He liked being neutral thank you. Still, it was better not to antagonize the bloodsuckers more than he did normally.

He nodded at her and tucked the letter away, "Thanks. Let anyone looking for me know I don't wish to be disturbed right now."

"Of course sir!"

Gajeel stepped through the hallway, a hand pressing against his jacket to make sure the letter remained where it was supposed to as he squeezed past other tenants and to his rented quarters.

He threw open the door, slammed it shut with a heel and bolted it in one motion. Kicking off his boots, Gajeel sighed and made his way to his windows to ensure his curtains were shut tight. Unlike young vampires, the sun didn't ward him off or set him ablaze. However he didn't care to linger under it, and he was rarely caught outside during the day without shades on.

Gajeel liked sunrises just fine, but his sleep schedule was always a little later than the rest of the world. Aside from the other nocturnal creatures like himself.

He tossed off his jacket at the foot of his bed, stripping off his work gloves as he did so. Ruby eyes landed on the slip of paper that stuck out from the folds of his jacket, and he sighed.

No use in putting it off. He had to tell the covens a polite way for them to go fuck themselves. Again.

He fell back in bed, grabbing the corner of the envelope and pulling it free. The letter itself was completely unmarked save his own name written in a pretty script.

Definitely old money.

Or at the very least, fancy tastes.

Gajeel slit open the envelope, his mouth twisted down at the corners when he had to fish out the letter. It was written over a thick, fancy parchment that had a stylized embossing in the corner he recognized all too well.

H for Heartfilia.

"Oh no," Gajeel whispered, shooting straight up in bed, guts twisting with nerves.

The letter was from Jude, and Gajeel could tell the man's nerves by the waver in his words and the way his normally confident hand seemed to shake at times.

'Gajeel,

I hope this letter finds you well. I know you are off traveling and pursuing your own life. You have been indispensable in your assistance with helping form Lucy's education. Master Bob was an indispensable ally for Lucy, however the spirit mage he recommended was less kind to her magic. Or her little friend."

"That's neither here nor there though," Jude's words continued, plowing right through Gajeel's concerns for his goddaughter, "I fear the cult that was responsible for Layla has rebuilt after you decimated their numbers"

"I could use your help old friend, not over my life, but for Lucy's," Jude's hesitation was obvious, "her magic grows and I fear I cannot provide her a suitable outlet. Especially not while dark forces encroach on our manor.

I would not request such a thing from you if it were not dire, and I do not know who I can turn to.

Best regards, and looking forward to seeing you soon,

Jude.'

Gajeel growled as he nearly crushed the letter in his hand. Damnit! This was the last thing he wanted to hear. He'd worked for months tracking down each and every one of those black robed bastards. For them to be back now was just... galling.

For them to be after his goddaughter was infuriating.

He knew that realistically Acnologia would never give up going after the Heartfilia family. The bastard dragon wouldn't rest until they were all dead.

Well it wasn't going to happen on his watch. It was past time he got back to Magnolia anyway.

He rummaged around and scribbled out a note to Jude that he was on his way, and will he or nil he there would be some protections damnit. And he was determined to meet this brat Lucy had contracted herself to.

If it hadn't been for the business that had brought him out here in the first place he would've by now. Unfortunately, a coven of upstart fledglings thinking they could terrorize the locals wasn't something he or the other elders were willing to let slide.

It was a good thing the council would owe him a rather large favor for this. He had a sneaking suspicion he would be cashing it in sooner rather than later at this rate.

He shook the thought off as he crammed the note into an envelope and took it downstairs to be sent out with the morning mail. He estimated he would be at least a few more days on his current mission if things went well. After that he could be home in a matter of hours thanks to access to air travel. He was old enough that small bodies of water or streams weren't an obstacle, but he still had problems with anything larger than a pond. Never mind a whole ocean.

With luck, he could be at the Heartfilia estate in two weeks at the most.

He just hoped Jude could hold on that long.

He wrapped his hand around a pendant engraved with the symbol for the spirits and balance and prayed to whatever benevolent spirits were listening that hid goddaughter would still be in one piece when he got there.

He couldn't bear the thought of failing Anna now.

Gajeel huffed and ran to grab his jacket and boots, off to go straight into another round of searching for the errant coven keeping him from getting back to the Heartfilia manor.

He didn't have the luxury to wait and listen in for information. It just meant he had to take a bit of a harder stance. That would make the fallout a little messier, but seeing that he was now on a time crunch, he wasn't above breaking a few rules or bones to get what he wanted.

Patting his pocket to make sure his sunglasses were still there, Gajeel headed out to make more progress in his job.

He had a feeling he was going to be working well past sunrise.

—::—

Jude walked through the quiet manor, hands tucked behind his back and footsteps well measured. The halls were silent of children's laughter, Lucy having been finally wrangled back to bed.

It had taken Jude a great deal of time to win the trust of the little demon that Lucy had summoned. Natsu liked to misbehave and was often a terrible influence on his daughter, but she seemed much happier when she was allowed to act more like a child than a princess at finishing school.

She needed all the laughter in her life she could afford.

Jude creaked open the door to Lucy's room to check and make sure she was actually asleep. He smiled at the sight of Natsu curled on top of the covers next to her. He snored loudly and Lucy's hand flopped over to nail him in the chin. It caused the snore to choke off and Natsu rolled forward onto his side.

The snores quieted and one soft golden eye opened to inspect the door with a paranoia that seem well bred in the demon. Once Natsu spotted Jude standing there though, he relaxed and drifted back off into an almost instantaneous deep sleep. Jude closed the door behind him as silent as he could manage and backed away.

He had tried to offer Natsu a room of his own, but it never surprised him when Natsu would wander into Lucy's room.

Those two would need one another very soon. In the days before Layla's death, she often spoke of how she felt like the walls were beginning to close on her. Shadows whispered to her, echoing promises of the spirit world.

Jude felt the same way now.

It was strange, he didn't have a drop of that odd magical blood in his veins, but he could certainly feel the pull on his spirit, like there was a deep shadow he couldn't escape.

Perhaps it was paranoia, or perhaps it was something worse.

He wasn't sure which it was, and honestly that frightened him more than anything else. He glanced warily at the shadows and tried to tell himself he was being absurd. The house had a great many shadows. He would scare himself fully gray if he jumped at every bundle of cloth that looked like a bogeyman.

He slipped down to the kitchen and made himself some hot cocoa, but no matter how much he scolded himself he couldn't shake the feeling something was watching him.

However, no matter how often he checked, nothing was there. The kitchen was empty and peaceful and the starlight shone prettily in the background.

He shook his head and carried his cocoa up to his room, resolving to get ready for bed and think more about it in the morning. He'd gotten word back from Gajeel at last that his mission had been completed and he was going to catch the first available plane back. Knowing the airports out where the vampire was it would be sometime tomorrow afternoon before his friend arrived.

The thought of Gajeel's arrival helped calm the panic growing in him. Gajeel was a good man, and had faithfully helped as much as he could after Layla's death. It had been some time since he'd been by to visit, but he was sure Lucy would be delighted to see him. He just had to make it to Gajeel's arrival. After that everything would be fine.

Bolstered by the thought he quickly got ready for bed and moved to slide under the covers of his bed only to freeze inside when he spotted a shadow where there should be none.

His heart pounding with adrenaline and fear, he slowly, nonchalantly, set the mug he'd been about to drink from down and tried to casually open his bedside table drawer, aiming to pull out the special gun Layla had insisted he have before her death.

It was an aim that would never come to fruition.

No sooner had his fingers brushed the gun than the shadow seemed to realize it had been found out and swooped on him. It wrapped sound muffling tendrils around him and jerked him back from the table before he could so much as get a sound out, never mind grab the gun.

He struggled and fought against it as it wrapped further around him, but without magic of his own his blows meant nothing, and in moments it had engulfed him entirely.

"Lucy... Natsu... I'm sorry." He thought desperately as his struggles got weaker and weaker, the breath being slowly stolen from him, and let out a gurgle as a tendril plunged itself into his chest to wrap around his heart and stop it.

Several moments later, the shadow departed its mission completed. And arranged neatly on the bed was Jude Heartfilia, looking for all the world like he was sound asleep. And when the sun rose, the world would discover that the patriarch of the Heartfilia family had apparently had a heart attack in his sleep.

—::—

Rows and rows of cars lined the perfectly manicured lawn of the Heartfilia estate. Friends and associates of Jude and Layla Heartfilia were all filing into the large house, each one dressed in black.

One of the guests to arrive was none other than Master Bob, accompanied by a small elderly man with a kind face.

Lucy didn't know who all of these people were that kept coming into her home. It was a confusing and jumbled mess and she hadn't stopped crying since the men took her daddy away.

To top it all off, Natsu had been reluctantly forced to hide in the attic with as many people were around. With what happened with Karen at Blue Pegasus, Lucy didn't want to risk any of the adults trying to take her familiar away either. She wanted him desperately nearby, but was too afraid of losing the only family she had left.

So when Master Bob arrived with his funny looking friend, Lucy promptly burst into tears and rushed to him. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and cried into his waist.

"There there child," He soothed, rubbing hands over her head and back, "let it out. I won't let you suffer through this tragedy alone."

He guided the girl away to one of the more private roped off rooms and helped her sit down on one of her favorite chairs.

"I didn't know daddy was sick!" Lucy wailed and grabbed onto Bob like he was a lifeline. Her fingers clutched tight balls in Bob's black dress, "he never told me!"

"Why didn't he ever tell me?" Lucy hiccuped.

"Oh my girl, there is no telling why things happen the way they do," Bob sat next to her and hugged her back.

His smaller friend stepped up to Lucy and gave her a sad smile, "Sometimes adults keep secrets because they think it's protecting their children. It's a silly and perhaps a stubborn old trick to have, but adults can be a little set in their ways sometimes."

Lucy gave him a questioning look, and the man inclined his head.

"My name is Makarov, I'm a member of the council. I met your mother once or twice in the past," Makarov nodded to her, "We traveled in different circles so I didn't have the pleasure of knowing her well, but your father had reached out to the council in the past for some protections for the home."

"It's lovely to meet you Miss Lucy, although it saddens me it's under such proceedings," Makarov accepted the Little snot-soaked hand Lucy stuck out to him.

"Nice to meet you sir," Lucy spoke back dully, but still fought for politeness. Makarov smiled for her and released her hand, whispering to Bob that he would be back soon before he disappeared to give Lucy a moment alone to grieve with Bob.

Makarov slipped through the gathered mourners and hopped his way up the stairs. It was in poor taste what he was doing, but Makarov had to be quick.

The whole purpose of him coming to this was at Bob's behest. He wanted to investigate Jude's room for signs of foul play. He, like Bob, didn't agree with the coroners report of natural causes. How could an otherwise normal, healthy man succumb to a heart attack?

Makarov found Jude's room moments later, sensing immediately that there was something wrong.

The magical wards Layla had set were still secure at the door and over the walls, but at the window...

It seemed like the one on the latch had been weakened due to the weather pounding at it. Jude wouldn't have known what to look for.

For all intents and purposes, the seal looked in good order. Jude would have never recognized its weakening state.

And the room, there was something subtle and dark in it.

There was a touch of darkness that Makarov felt all throughout the house. That darkness did not feel malignant the way it felt in Jude's room.

No, the magic in Jude's room was demonic and spiritual of origin.

Makarov was certain of it. Jude had been killed.

The only remaining question was who had killed him. And why.

Well, the why was probably easier to ascertain. He was one of the few who had recognized Layla's brand of magic when she'd been alive. She'd never outright given herself away, doing her work subtly so as to avoid council and guild attention, but he'd recognized the cues and after observing her for several months had realized that she had, indeed, followed in her family's footsteps.

So he'd said nothing, content to leave her the way she was as he had her mother and grandmother.

Still, even if she had developed enemies strong enough to break her defenses, it didn't explain why they'd gone after Jude. And after Jude only. Lucy herself would've been vulnerable once the defenses were breeched.

He shook his head and slipped back out to rejoin Bob and the distraught little girl.

His heart broke a little at the sight of Lucy still sniffling into Bob's chest and his lips tightened into a grim line when his friend looked at him. A silent confirmation his old partner had no problem understanding by the way his own eyes narrowed.

Makarov spared a moment to hope that Bob got his shot at revenge. Even mostly retired, and inclined to indulge in his more eccentric tastes, his friend was dangerous and his reputation alone both feared and respected.

Bob said nothing however as he held Lucy close and murmured soothing words to her until finally the child cried herself to sleep on his shoulder.

"What happened?" Bob asked softly once he was certain Lucy was asleep.

"A weakened seal on the window." Makarov replied just as quietly, "There was no way anyone would've spotted it."

"I was afraid of that." Bob sighed, "That man loved his daughter more than anyone I've ever met. And his wife didn't keep secrets from him. He knew there was the chance this could happen."

"Did he tell you anything?" Makarov asked, and Bob carefully shook his head.

"Not directly no." He replied, "But I've had my suspicions since Gajeel approached me."

"Gajeel?" Makarov asked, "What's that old vampire got to do with this?"

"Everything." Bob replied, "He's been trying to protect Heartfilias for generations, and he was very close to Layla. When Jude asked him for help he asked me to help his goddaughter's training."

Makarov nearly choked at the revelation that young Lucy's godfather was one of the oldest, and most feared, vampires in history. It was only his stubborn refusal to get mixed up in the usual vampire politics, and his habit of not killing his prey, that kept him from having hordes of hotshots pounding at his door.

For that Makarov was grateful. He was high and tired of the politics of the magical realm which was why he left the council years prior. Still, Makarov liked to keep an ear out for those players who stirred up interest in whatever realm they were in.

Gajeel was one of those.

Makarov thought back to Gildarts and the children that he had brought in under his care for the short time before he brought them to Lamia Scale.

So many children being scattered from their families, and yet another one would be joining their ranks. Makarov was unsure if the vampire was qualified to care for Lucy, they could not be more different. He seemed like he did his own thing, but never had he heard of a vampire making dealings with a necromancer.

Save Gajeel of course, perhaps the only vampire to ever do so.

"Where is Gajeel now?" Makarov asked.

"That man is like a cat, he contacts you not the other way around," Bob sighed, "he will wander back eventually, but I'm afraid he'll find himself up to his ears when he arrives."

"Lucy comes from an old bloodline, the council will want to meddle and have her brought up by a light guild to stamp out her families legacy once and for all," Makarov sighed.

"I would like to see them try," Bob sniffed, "Little Lucy is stubborn enough that she won't care one bit about what they think of her mothers magic."

"Good," Makarov sighed.

"Come, let's put Lucy to bed and keep an eye on all of Jude's old business associates," Bob also looked very world weary, "they're already sniffing around like a bunch of vultures."

Together the two men brought Lucy up to her bed, neither of them noticing the anxious patter of small feet over head.

Gajeel knew as soon as he pulled up to the estate that he was too late. Even if he hadn't seen the large crowd of suits milling around he would've known as soon as he approached the gate.

The property's natural magic pushed aggressively at him as soon as he pulled up, and he knew immediately that the previous invitation no longer held sway.

Which could only mean that his goddaughter was the new owner of the property.

Fortunately it seemed he was being watched out for.

There was a squeal of surprise and a small blond figure broke away from the arguing lawyers and other businessmen to sprint for the gate, "Uncle Gajeel!"

He smiled tiredly as Lucy pulled open the gate and flung herself into his arms, caught somewhere between joy and sorrow.

"Hey Blondie." He growled softly, hugging her close.

"Daddy..." She sniffled into his chest and he closed his eyes at the all to familiar pain of one of Anna's family in mourning.

"I know." He murmured, "I'm real sorry." He pulled off his sunglasses and looked at her, "I tried real hard to get here in time. But it seems I wasn't fast enough."

Lucy's face scrunched up a little as it looked like she might cry again and she shook her head, "It wasn't your fault!" She practically wailed, "D-daddy was sick... an' he didn't tell anyone!"

Gajeel abandoned all pretense of dignity as he curled around her protectively and held her close, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He rumbled over and over until gradually the new burst of tears calmed. He offered her a tentative smile and a handkerchief, "Now, think you're up to inviting your old uncle inside?"

Lucy blew her nose loudly and nodded, "You're always welcome Uncle Gajeel."

Gajeel's smile widened as the unseen pressure immediately vanished into warm acceptance, "Atta girl." He carefully extracted himself from their tangle and stood up, "Now, what's going on with all these stuffy suits."

"I am Lord Duke Junelle." One of them said loftily, looking down his nose at Gajeel, "I am a longtime business partner of Jude Heartfilia's and I'm here to collect Miss Heartfilia."

"You can't have me!" Lucy shouted, gripping Gajeel's hand tightly, "Uncle Gajeel is here and he's gonna take care of me!" She looked up at her godfather, "His son's creepy and looks at me weird. I don't like him."

Gajeel couldn't quite bite back a chuckle at the look of sheer offense on the Lord's face as a different suit, this one carrying a briefcase, stepped forward.

"Pray allow me to introduce myself." The man greeted formally, "I'm..."

"Nobody I'm interested in talkin' to." Gajeel interrupted, "I don't know what stunt you brats think you're tryin' to pull here, but it don't matter. Blondie here is absolutely right. She's my responsibility now."

"And what proof do you have of that sir?" The man, who was probably a lawyer, demanded frostily.

Gajeel's grin sharpened as he pulled out a sheaf of papers, "How about legal papers signed by both Layla and Jude Heartfilia making me Lucy's godfather?" He replied, "And their first choice of guardian in the event of their deaths?"

He handed them over, "That's a copy of course." He smirked, "I have the originals safely tucked away, and several backups. Keep that one for your records if you like."

He decided Lucy was still small enough he could get away with carrying her around, and picked her up with ease as he strode over to the house itself where Bob was waiting, uncaring of the indignant huffing behind him.

"Bob." He greeted the human with a nod, "You've been holdin' down the fort?"

"Indeed." Bob replied with a tired smile, "And it's good to see you again Gajeel. I'm just sorry you couldn't get here sooner."

Gajeel sighed and nodded, "I would've come back right away, but I had a job I couldn't put off, and it was more stubborn than it should've been."

Bob nodded acceptingly, well aware of just what kind of job Gajeel had likely been on. The elder vampire may not play in vampiric politics, but he took a dim view on the youngsters getting out of control and terrorizing humans. Even with the emergency here there would've only been so much rushing that type of mission.

"I need to get back to the guild for a while." He smiled softly at Lucy, "I promise I'll come visit as soon as I can okay honey?"

Lucy nodded from where she had her head leaned against Gajeel's shoulder, "Thank you Master Bob."

"Your welcome," Bob smiled at her one last time before he made his departure. The man didn't waste any time shoving himself through the sea of black suits.

"Alright ya bastards! Clear on out of here! Leave a girl to grieve in peace you vultures!" Gajeel snarled the moment Bob was gone. He got a few protests and grumbles for his efforts, but eventually even the stragglers walked off and left them alone.

Gajeel sighed and carried Lucy further inside before setting her down on the kitchen counter.

"So it's you and me now kiddo," Gajeel sighed and glanced at the clock, "Bob get you something to eat?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't really that hungry," Lucy mumbled, shifting her weight from side to side.

Gajeel nodded back at her and sighed, "I don't blame you."

"Why don't you get your little demon friend and we can see about some ice cream. I'm sure you can put some of that down huh?" Gajeel asked.

At Lucy's surprised look, clearly not having expected him to know about her demon, Gajeel snorted and nudged her, "Come on. You can't hide that from me."

"Bob and your dad let me know about your little friend. Truth is I was already making plans to make my way back here to meet the little twerp," Gajeel set a hand on her head, "so go grab him and I'll scoop out the ice cream."

Lucy nodded. She knew there was so much more for her to talk over with Gajeel. They had so much more stuff to do. She didn't know if they were going to stay here or find a place to live somewhere else. Gajeel travelled a whole lot for work...

Lucy didn't want one of those other men to take her away though. She wanted to stay with her godfather.

She hoped he liked Natsu though, she couldn't bear the thought of those two not getting along.

It seemed everyone seemed to react strongly to Natsu every time they saw him, but Gajeel was a vampire and super old!

Lucy wanted to go with Gajeel, get away from this house for a while and start over new. And she wanted Natsu to be there too.

Hopeful that her godfather would accept Natsu as easily as her dad had, Lucy trotted up to the attic and pushed the door open, "Natsu?"

"Lucy are you okay?" The nearly frantic demon exclaimed as he popped out from behind some boxes and rushed over to her. He looked a little grubby after all his time in the dust and dirt that had accumulated despite the maid's efforts, but she didn't care about that in the slightest as he wrapped her into a tight hug.

She sighed softly as she hugged him back, something in her soothing at the feel of him near. She'd been aware of his worry all through the funeral and everything, and it was nice to be able to fix something in all this mess.

"I'm a little better." She replied, not really willing to say she was fine, and tugged his hand, "C'mon. Uncle Gajeel wants to meet you."

"Your godfather?" Natsu asked in surprise, "What's he doing here?"

Lucy blinked at him in surprise, "He's going to take care of us." She fidgeted a little, "Please give him a chance Natsu? He's a little scary looking, and he likes to growl, but I promise he's real nice! He was mama's friend when she was little, and..."

Natsu felt his heart break as the tears welled up in his mistress's eyes again, and without thinking he hugged her close, growling soothingly at her. He'd been feeling her fear and pain all day, and even if he hadn't been missing Jude himself he would've been willing to do anything to make her hurt go away. He wasn't real sure about this Gajeel guy, but he meant a lot to Lucy and for that Natsu would give him a single change the way he had Jude.

"Course I'll meet him Lucy." He murmured and pulled back with as wide a grin as he could muster under the circumstances, "C'mon. Let's go."

Lucy sniffled a bit, but managed a small smile back, and Natsu felt like he'd won the lottery. He followed complacently as she curled her hand in his and led him downstairs, his usual urge to stir things up absent, and instead thought about ways he could protect her if her godfather turned out to be anything like his bastard father.

The thoughts stuttered to a halt the moment Lucy led him around into the kitchen. The large man standing there scooping out ice cream into bowls reminded him disconcertingly of Acnologia, and for a wild moment the image of his father's human form superimposed itself. He clutched tightly to Lucy's hand, his heart pounding in terror, and frantically tried to think of a way for them to escape before they were noticed.

Then Gajeel turned around.

Natsu's brain stuttered to a halt again as he caught sight of glinting metal that Acnologia didn't sport, and it shifted into full on confusion at the sad smile that still somehow had a lot of warmth. At least it did until Gajeel got a good look at him and his expression morphed from warm welcome to utter shock.

"No friggin' way..." Gajeel breathed, further reassuring Natsu that this wasn't his father. The bowls clattered to the counter as the vampire gaped at the sight of his long dead friend in miniature. Igneel's son. Alive. Alive and whole and young... and contracted to his goddaughter.

Natsu shared a confused look with Lucy who had no answers for him. His hand squeezed reflexively around Lucy's hand, unsure why the man was looking at him like he was someone he recognized.

Any answer pertaining to that he didn't care for and he wasn't sure how this man could know him other than his father. The man seemed like he was unsure what to say, and he cleared his throat after a moment of awkward silence.

"You're an Apocalypse Dragon, aren't you?" Gajeel asked, able to identify the boy immediately. Natsu stiffened defensively, his shoulders hunching forward.

"So what?" He demanded, "got a problem with that?"

"Not at all" Gajeel said quickly, seeing the boy was suspicious and easily spooked. His reaction probably didn't make it any easier, "I was with Anna, Lucy's ancestor when she made a contract with Acnologia and your father."

"I'm well accustomed to Apocalypse Dragons and their undeserving reputation."

Natsu however wasn't listening to that particularly odd detail. He was too busy staring at the old vampire and trying to understand the strange phrasing of his words.

"Acnologia and my dad?" Natsu repeated.

"Yes," Gajeel replied, "although Anna wasn't really contracted with your father. You wouldn't have known that by how close of friends they were."

"Igneel helped me control my magic when I first turned into a vampire," Gajeel shook his head, looking somewhat awed, "I'm sorry if my reaction startled you. It's just— you look so much like your father. It's like I saw a ghost."

Natsu felt like the ground was caving in from under his feet.

"You're a liar," he whispered.