CHAPTER 17
Gajeel finished washing up with a feeling of satisfaction. Natsu and Lucy were tangled up together on the couch, their need to rebuild their bond after their fight far more important than the usual teenager squeamishness about being touched by someone not a significant other.
It was a sight for his sore eyes.
He'd been very worried that Lucy's somewhat traumatic introduction to Natsu's other appetites would put a permanent strain on the previously tight bond. The kind of strain that had torn Anna and Acnologia apart.
It seemed that wasn't something in their cards, for which he was eternally grateful.
He watched out of the corner of his eye as Natsu played idly with a lock of her hair, and finally built the courage to ask her what had likely been on his mind since their make up.
"Are you really alright with me feeding on souls now?" He asked softly, prompting Lucy to look up at him.
She thought about it for a moment before shifting into a slightly more comfortable position, "Feeding on them, yes." She replied, "I understand now how that works. But eating them?" She shuddered, "Natsu I can't abide that. I just can't. The soul is sacred, and to devour it whole..."
She met his eyes, "I don't think I could stand it if I ever saw you do that again."
"Then I won't." Natsu replied, catching her hand and pressing it against his heart, "I promise. Unless doing so is the only way to protect you. I can't break our contract promise, you know that." He flashed her slightly worried expression a smile, "But hey, it won't come to that either. People get tired when I feed on them. I don't ever have to devour a soul again. Just eat enough off to knock them out."
Gajeel smiled as Lucy giggled a little at that nodded, relief washing over them. Everything would be fine with those two. He hung up the towel and went to grab his jacket, "I'm goin' huntin'."
He waved off Natsu's move to get up, "Nah, you stay put Salamander. You've fed more'n enough to hold for a couple days. Won't be long anyway. Just pickin' up some blood packs."
"Truly ferocious hunting." Lucy drawled and he cackled a little at the return of her humor.
"The best kind Blondie." He replied as he opened the door, "I'll be back before midnight."
Lucy flopped her head back down where it was pillowed on Natsu's chest. Together they fell into silence, Natsu absently playing with Lucy's hair as they reaffirmed the strength of their bond just by holding one another.
Eventually of course as was the case with everyone, they fell asleep in the silent room, Star Wars playing on low volume.
The time passed, hours ticking by until the clock chimed at midnight and Natsu jerked up, snorting awake at the loud bell. Lucy squeaked and groaned as she flopped off him and rolled off the couch and onto the floor.
Natsu gave an unpleasant glare at the clock, a gift from Droy to Levy and the bane of Natsu's existence with its chimes in the middle of the night. He and his sensitive ears were going to hurl it from the roof one of these days.
"Ow," Lucy complained from the floor and sat up, "what's going on? Is Gajeel back?"
Natsu glanced at his sleepy mistress and then back at the clock. Midnight. Gajeel said he would be back by now.
"Gajeel?" He called out, swinging his legs off the couch and standing up with a long stretch.
It was possible the vampire had come back home, noticed them sleeping and had just left them alone.
Natsu frowned trough when he got no response, padding down the hall to the room Gajeel and Levy shared to find their made bed.
"Huh, he's not back yet," Natsu frowned and jogged back to Lucy.
"That's weird, he's never later," Lucy looked worried, saying the thoughts Natsu was thinking aloud.
"You think something happened?" Lucy asked Natsu, fear coloring her eyes. With as much loss as she had in her life, Natsu felt his heart clench. He jumped back over the back of the sofa and shook his head.
"C'mon, he's an elder. What could possibly hurt hi—"
He was cut off when the flickering tv screen abruptly went dark.
His eyes locked on it, Lucy's attention also drawing to it.
It flicked back on, showing nothing but an empty chair in the middle of a room. Footsteps echoed from the screen and Natsu shared a confused look with Lucy.
Slowly, Jellal filled the frame, his smile neutral and a glitter of red in his eyes. He sat down on the chair and crossed his legs.
"Ms. Heartfilia, I thought a demonstration might be in order," Jellal spoke up, the smile turning cold at the edges, "you were so confident that you were safe where you were, but that really isn't true now is it?"
He curled his fingers to beckon someone to come to him, and Lucy gasped when the camera panned over and a slightly-glazed eyed Gajeel came walking stiffly into the frame.
"And it was because of this gentleman correct? A vampire elder, yes? He is quite difficult to control I will admit, but still. He's one of the undead, and not beyond my reach," Jellal said in amusement, "my benefactor... does not much care for this vampire."
His hand curled up into a tight fist and a pressure tightened around Gajeel's throat, forcing the vampire to his knees. He didn't resist though, seeming as if his soul had been severed from his body.
"Gajeel!" Lucy exclaimed in alarm and scowled furiously at Jellal, "Let him go you jerk! He's done nothing to you! And neither have I!"
"I will of course let him go." Jellal replied serenely, "Despite my benefactor's dislike, I have no quarrel with this vampire, or with you." He met Lucy's eyes, "However, the price for doing so is pledging yourself to me and my cause. I quite like my new minion as he is. Despite his considerable willpower, he is powerful and valuable."
"You arrogant jackass!" Lucy snarled, "You think I'm going to let you get away with this?!"
"I could crush his soul now." Jellal replied with an edge of warning, "Join me Miss Heartfilia. With your power the grand magic world is within our grasp!"
"That's a load of bull!" Natsu snapped as Lucy hesitated, uncertain what to do with the ultimatum before her, "You think we're dumb hatchlings that believe in that stupid fairy tale?" He stalked closer to the television, fire erupting around him, "I'll tell ya what's real pal. What's real is that we're gonna get Gajeel back and make you wake up and shake hands with reality instead of whatever that asshole possessing you is saying!"
"Possession?" Lucy asked in surprise.
"Oh yeah." Natsu growled, "Blueberry here has red eyes. Those only happen in mortals during a possession. For all his talk he was dumb enough to let a demon in."
"You are quite mistaken." Jellal replied, seemingly unperturbed by Natsu's accusation, "Nor is the grand magic world a fairy tale. It is quite possible under the right circumstances. However, I do not expect you to simply take my word for it. So, by all means, come visit and see for yourselves."
The screen shifted to show them a map with a location marked, "That is your destination." Jellal's voice sounded, "Come and see for yourselves what we've built, and what we can achieve. I'm certain that once you do you'll understand the grand vision that awaits us!"
"Natsu..." Lucy said tensely and he nodded.
"Yeah." He replied as the screen went black and silent once more.
For a moment the two teenagers stood there staring at it before glancing at each other and immediately sprinting to their respective rooms. Five minutes later they emerged again, dressed for combat, and carrying packs. Lucy shot Natsu a grim look before moving into the kitchen.
"Holy water, healing salve, bandages..." She muttered, silently thanking Gajeel for insisting they have a set of full combat gear on hand at all times, "Talisman of protection for me."
"Add your protection against possession to it." Natsu growled, "I know it ain't perfected yet, but it's better than nothing against whoever is possessing that asshole."
Lucy's lips thinned and she nodded, sliding the charm onto her necklace with Levy's general protection, "Anything else?"
Natsu looked over the supplies and shook his head, "Nothing we've got time for." He replied grimly.
"Right." Lucy replied, and closed her bag tightly, "I'll just have to work harder on my experiments when we get back."
Natsu managed a half smile, "Right. Let's go catch a train."
Lucy nodded and tossed him the anti-nausea medicine, "Better take some of that stuff now then."
Natsu nodded and tossed a couple back before stowing the rest away. He'd probably chew through the whole bottle before this trip was over, but at least he wouldn't be entirely puke faced by the time they got to Akane Beach.
Two minutes later, the apartment was completely empty for the first time in four years.
—::—
Erza and Gray were on edge. Never in all their years of fruitless searching had they ever thought they would get this close. Never.
They had been selective about which leads to follow, which paths to walk and who to trust. For as long as they had been kids, they relied on one another.
Now though, as they finally made it to the island where Jellal and Ultear were said to be hidden, it was as if their goal was finally in sight.
"Take care," Erza hissed, grabbing hold of Gray and keeping him locked to her side, "We are not alone on this island."
And it was true they weren't. They hadn't met any resistance yet, but that didn't mean it wasn't coming.
In fact, by the tracks on the beach, she judged that they weren't the only ones here fresh on the island. She put up the hood of her battle outfit to mask the brilliance of her hair. It was recognizable and would stand out. If Jellal was truly here then he would have mentioned her scarlet hair. It would be a dead give away and she had no desire to give away their position immediately if there was surveillance.
The tracks lead around the island and into a side entrance built into the cliff face of the rocky base. The door was yanked open, the hinges melted off and the door thrown off into the sand as if it weighed nothing. The two sets of footprints moved inside and Erza narrowed her eyes.
"What do you make of this?" Gray asked soft, crouching next to the damaged door with dark eyes.
"That we aren't the only uninvited visitors," Erza supplied. Which could mean any number of things, all of which she didn't like.
It was risky, but she beckoned for Gray to follow her inside.
They crept inside to a large room that suddenly opened up. It looked like a lavish dining room with beautiful tapestries hanging from ceiling to floor.
Erza's breath caught at the sight of the banners, recognizing them as a blend of her Amazonian heritage and designs that reminded her of the symbols Gray supported when he wielded his Devil Slayer magic.
"This is it. This is them," Gray whispered in awe, his hand touching one of the banners.
Only for the banner to suddenly snap free of its hold on the wall and a heavy figure throw it over Erza and Gray's head. A low snarl and flash of heat rented the air, Erza becoming distantly aware of the sound of a table splintering as that heavy person landed on it.
She slashed upright, a sword appearing in her hand as she made ribbons out of the tapestry and she took a stance against their attacker.
A rosy haired teenager by the looks of things, with slitted, angry pupils and sharp fangs snarled at her.
"A demon!" She spat, shifting her stance accordingly while Gray positioned himself forward to call upon his ice.
The demon sprang to the side and rolled out of the way as Erza donned her knights armor to call upon her heaven's wheel, "Do not think to trifle with what remains of the Amazons!"
"Amazons Huh? Like that Jellal guy?" The demon hissed as he ducked behind the broken table. He planted his foot hard on it and kicked out, sending the whole thing flying towards her and Gray.
"You know Jellal?" Gray demanded of the demon, summoning a bow to his hands and firing a devil slaying arrow directly at the demon.
The demon hissed in pain as it nicked across his hip, but he lifted his arms like wings of fire burst forth and flung them forward. Erza requipped into her flame emperess armor, deflecting the demonic flames.
She and Gray jumped back, and the demon looked stunned by the ability she had to safely resist his magic.
At least until his eyes flashed down to her feet. Her eyes went down to where a magic circle was painted across the ground. An act that someone had drawn out without them noticing in all of the distraction of the demon.
"What?" Her eyes widened as the circle flared to life and suddenly she found herself quite unable to move save for turning her head. A brief glance at Gray told her he was in the same bind.
"I hope you'll forgive me the lack of refinement." A new voice spoke up and a young blond stepped around a pillar giving them a dark look that was somehow both burning and frosty, "Normally I like to give anyone I capture the freedom to move within the circle, but there wasn't time for that right now."
"Who are you?" Erza demanded as the blond prowled closer, the promise of violence in her eyes, "What do you know of Jellal?"
The blond's eyes narrowed dangerously, "I'm Lucy Heartfilia." She growled, "And what I know of Jellal is that he's a slimy bastard who has taken my godfather hostage." She stalked forward to glare at them both, "And I want to know where he is."
Erza's eyes widened at the information, "Jellal has taken your godfather?"
"You expect us to believe that?" Gray scoffed, "You're working with a demon!"
Lucy raised an eyebrow at him before rolling her eyes, "Great... just what we needed. A couple of gods-be-damned pure-as-rain white mages."
"You sure about that?" The demon asked doubtfully, "They could be working for Jellal."
Lucy shook her head, "No. The dark haired jerk over there has the same fanatical hatred in his eyes Karen did. I'd lay money on them being self-righteous white mages on some job to wipe out Jellal's fortress or some such." She sighed, "Unfortunately, that means they probably have no idea where Gajeel is either."
"So what do we do with them?" The demon asked and Erza narrowed her eyes as she prepared to summon her swords. The necromancer had locked them down pretty tightly, but she hadn't sealed their power as well. It would prove to be a fatal mistake. Though it was curious that a necromancer would be working at odds with Jellal.
Or even have family that mattered enough for the girl to come here.
From what she knew of necromancers, family had a bad habit of ending up as their first experiments with undead.
And why was the name Gajeel familiar?
"That kind of depends on them." Lucy shrugged and eyed the pair speculatively, "If I let you out now will you attack like a couple of rabid dogs? Or are you capable of thinking beyond your own prejudice enough to let us get on with rescuing my godfather?"
Erza's lips curled into an amused smile and her eyes followed the blond. The imperious little necromancer was interesting if nothing else. But an Amazon vowed to no one.
"You are skilled to be certain, but are lacking in several tactical insights that don't give you as much of an advantage as you believe to have," Erza observed, causing Lucy to frown in alarm.
"Look up," Erza said politely.
Lucy looked up to where rows of swords, spears and magical axes remained hovered overhead as if suspended by delicate strings. There was a distinct feeling of stalemate in the air.
At least until the weapons dropped, plunging with startling accuracy right into the painted circle Lucy had cast.
Natsu sprang into action and yanked Lucy away from the falling blades, even though they fell with such precision and accuracy that she was in no danger.
The circle was shattered by the blades smashing into the ground itself and Erza stepped out of the broken circle, her weapons disappearing back into the void where they came. Gray followed a step behind, his eyes narrowed on the pair.
"To answer your question, Jellal is my fiancé. I wish to stop this foolishness and bring him home," Erza told Lucy boldly, "I don't care for the crimes of a necromancer. The Amazons care Little for such things as modern day necromancy springs from our island."
"I'm here for my sister" Gray spat at them, "But if you want to fight, I'm not opposed to ridding the world of another necromancer and demon."
"That's enough Gray. Put aside your personal issues and see what's happening," Erza said cuttingly to her comrade, who seemed a little cowed by her sharp temper.
"We all have had someone taken from us by the dark guilds, whether that is by Jellal's hand or not," Erza took a step towards Lucy, her armor flashing away, "I believe we can help each other."
"Help?!" Natsu and Gray both squawked in stereo before shooting one another murderous glares.
"Yes, help." Erza said calmly, but the look she leveled on Natsu was icy, "Unless you know personally how to handle Jellal. His reputation is powerful and he has garnered the skills and powers of a Wizard saint."
"Not to mention my sister," Gray spoke up bitterly, hating to admit the logic in Erza's words, "she's a talented shape shifter and rumor says she can manipulate time itself as well as my families ice."
"So they both use taboo Magic's," Natsu frowned at them, "we want to save Gajeel, not the people who captured him."
"I wonder if perhaps we can do both." Lucy mused thoughtfully.
"Are you serious?!" Natsu yelped, "These are the people who hurt Gajeel and took him!"
Lucy nodded soberly, "Yes, but the redhead is right. We don't know the extent of Jellal's power, and he's powerful enough to be able to control Gajeel that's nothing to sneeze at." She looked at him, "As long as he has Gajeel hostage we have to be careful. It would be easy for this guy to kill him, and that's not a risk we can take."
"What do you mean control?" Erza asked in mild confusion, "Jellal's abilities never extended to controlling people before."
Lucy and Natsu glanced at each other for a moment, "Gajeel isn't a person." She replied slowly, "Not by some standards anyway. He's an elder vampire. And for the purposes of necromancy an undead."
She met Erza's eyes boldly, "Your fiancé captured him and has him in thrall."
"I see." Erza replied, trying to wrap her head around the idea of a necromancer having a vampire godfather, "Are you willing to team up then?"
Lucy nodded, "Our priority is Gajeel, but to get him home safe I'll help you two deal with that possessed idiot you call a fiancé."
Gray's eyes narrowed at that, "What do you mean possessed?" He demanded harshly, "Are you saying he's got a demon in his head?"
Lucy arched an eyebrow at him, "Well, yeah. What else would I mean? Natsu spotted it when he contacted us with Gajeel's ransom demand."
"And I'm so very glad I did!" Jellal's voice called out in delight, "Welcome Miss Heartfilia to the Tower of Heaven!" The man himself stepped out of seemingly nowhere with a genial smile only to freeze in shock at the sight of the redhead before him.
"Erza..." He croaked in disbelief, pain and hope warring across his face, "You... you survived the massacre?"
For a moment Lucy watched in surprise as the normally unflappable Jellal seemed uncertain for a moment. His brown eyes looked soft and gentle, the step he took towards her unbidden.
"Jellal!" Erza cried out back to him, throwing her hood down and taking several heartfelt steps towards him, "Yes, of course I survived! Many of us lived."
"Whatever you were told was a lie, free the vampire you have under your thrall and turn back to the light! You can come home to us, with Ultear and—"
She was cut off by him abruptly lifting his hand, stopping her silent. His other hand rose to grasp his face just over his tattoo, his eyes squeezing shut.
"How—how did you know about her?"
The sudden chill in his voice seemed to take Erza by surprise, but the teenager was undoubtedly shaken by her appearance.
"Me you pompous freak," Gray advanced towards him, "Your Master Brain and Hades were the ones who attacked your tribe! They were the ones to slaughter your people! And your necromancers were the one to slaughter my home!"
"Where's my sister? And where's the body of my father!" Gray demanded, causing Jellal's flashing red eyes to turn on him.
"I see, clever lies," Jellal gave Erza a mournful look.
"Lucy," Natsu felt a chill as the magic of Jellal's aura began to descend on them. Crushing, all encompassing.
Familiar.
"Erza, join with me," Jellal beseeched her, "I will purge the world so no one will hunt us. No one will be in danger again."
Erza gave him a heartbroken look, glancing back at her new allies and adopted brother. In a flash she requipped her armor, sword appearing in her palm.
"I see the sickness has taken you deeply Jellal. Reason falls away, and you're seeing nothing but your own truth," Erza said quietly, "I will ensure it is purged away. You will be freed from that demon!"
She let out a sound of rage and moved so fast that it was almost imperceivable to the naked eye. Except for Lucy's demon, who lunged forward and tackled Erza straight into the ground.
"Don't!" Natsu roared in a panic, even as those red eyes turned down on him with such chilling familiarity that his heart seized in fear.
The slow smile that drifted over Jellal's face at the sight of Natsu was one he saw in his childhood nightmares, of the demon who had called himself father.
"Unhand me!" Erza shouted her rage, but stilled at that look on Jellal's face. It was unlike anything she had tactically prepared for.
"Such a shame. This body will miss you Scarlet witch." Jellal purred with a voice that did not belong to him.
And then the ground shattered underneath them all.
Lucy screamed in alarm as she felt herself suddenly go into freefall. She instinctively scrambled for purchase but there was nothing to hold on to.
"Lucy!" Natsu cried out in alarm and she looked up to see him reaching for her. Terrified, she reached back, brushing her fingers against his, only to get knocked aside as Erza tumbled into her.
"Natsu no!" She cried just as a strong arm wound around her waist and pulled her back from what would've been a very painful impact.
"Wait!" She protested, "What about Natsu?"
"Worry about yourself!" Erza growled in her ear, pulling her closer, and Lucy grimaced as her panic wore off enough for her to realize that there was a great deal of debris still falling with them. She looked up at where Natsu and Gray had vanished in the confusion and prayed silently that they were alright.
She pressed herself against the armored amazon, ignoring the uncomfortable armor, and fumbled for her keys, "Open! Gate of the ram!" She called frantically, "Aries!"
The spirit popped into existence next to them and promptly screamed in terror.
"Wool Aries!" Lucy yelled, "Quick!"
"Y-yes ma'am!" Aries replied and thrust her hands out, "Wool bomb!"
Lucy nearly fainted with relief as the soft substance enveloped them only a few moments before impact. The hit was still jarring, and she cracked her head on Erza's breastplate, but at least it didn't lead to any broken or sprained bones.
"Ow." She sighed after a moment and moved to untangle herself from Erza's grip, "That was not fun." She cracked a smile for her nervous spirit, "Thanks Aries."
"You're welcome ma'am!" Aries replied, smiling at the praise, "Call again if you need me ma'am!"
She popped out and Lucy shook her head, "One of these days I'll get her to call me by name." She sighed and sat up slowly, "Thanks for that back there." She told Erza, "Are you alright?"
Erza's hood had fallen loose, her hair spilling down over her shoulders and back in a scarlet stream. She blinked at Lucy and gaped a bit wordlessly.
"Was that— was that an ascended spirit?" Erza blinked at the necromancer who was peeling herself from Erza's breastplate and onto the remains of Aries fluff.
"Aries to be exact, and with excellent timing," Lucy winced, grateful she was suffering from only a few bruises.
"I should say so," Erza climbed to her feet, "What a marvelous thing to witness. I never thought I would have the privilege of seeing an ascended spirit. We don't have such thing on our island, only an admiration for the stars."
"Well these are the stars," Lucy smiled, gesturing to the keys at her waist, "the stars of the zodiac to be exact. I'm sure your fiancé would be interested to get his hands on these contracts."
Erza gave her a grave nod and stared at them in wonder, "then we must ensure he does not. He would never forgive himself once he comes to his right mind."
Lucy cringed and rubbed her behind, peering up into the darkness where they had just fallen, trying to see if she could spot a flicker of her demon, "you're awfully convinced of the good in Jellal considering he and his demonic buddy just dropped us into a pit."
The amazon stilled and glanced at Lucy, her hand stilling at her side and regret coloring her face.
"It's my doing that Jellal is even like this and so it's my responsibility to make it right," she sighed, "I had not foreseen it would drag innocents into the mix."
Lucy looked at the warrior in surprise, feeling an odd sense of warmth fill her.
"I can't say anyone had ever called me an innocent before," Lucy said slowly. Erza smirked back at her.
"With the tricks you played in the parlor, I'm hesitant to call you such, but if you are referring to your status as a necromancer and your demonic companion..." Erza gave her a soft look, "I do not abide playing with the dead. It is a foul practice. But a true necromancer would know that."
"And something tells me you might be such a necromancer if your godfather has never once been made to fear you," Erza looked ahead.
Lucy smiled at that, "Uncle Gajeel has been a friend of my family since the day he was turned four hundred years ago." She replied softly, "My ancestress, Anna, refused to condemn him for something not his fault." She moved a round a little as she checked for an exit of some kind, "It sort of set the hallmark for our family. We don't condemn anyone who seeks peace. Not even the undead."
She looked over at Erza knowingly, "When Gajeel's ready to move on he'll tell us. Whether it's me or a descendant. And we'll send his spirit to the other side." Her lips twitched wryly, "I don't think that will be for a while yet. He's still looking after Natsu and I, and is about to get married."
"Your ancestress sounds like a wise woman." Erza noted as she joined Lucy in her search, "Ah, here's a way out."
The two women fell into step as they moved out of the chamber they'd landed in, "So tell me, why did Jellal take your godfather hostage?"
Lucy frowned, "He wants me to join him. To help bring about the grand magic world." She rubbed her arms a little, "He'll let Gajeel go if I agree. He knows I'm bound by my word."
"So you came seeking rescue instead." Erza nodded sagely, "Understandable. What is this grand magic world?"
Lucy snorted, "A bedtime story." She replied, "Supposedly it's a utopia of magic. Everyone would be free to practice whatever magic they want. No one would suffer. That kind of thing." She shook her head, "I guess he never got the memo that utopias don't exist."
