CHAPTER 18
"Are you sure you know where you're going demon?"
Natsu growled and glared at his, entirely unwanted, companion, "Would you rather be the one to do this frostbite?" He snapped, waving his flaming fist at the ice mage, "C'mon, let's see you light up the corridor!"
"Get that thing out of my face before I put it out permanently." Gray snarled, irritated beyond words that he'd gotten stuck with the demon of all things.
His palms itched to bring out the family magic. A fire demon like this was probably the most susceptible, if the most dangerous, of all the types. A good blast would freeze him solid long enough for Gray to finish him off. It would only serve the bastard right.
The temptation of the thought so consumed him that he almost didn't notice when the demon flashed his fangs at him and pulled away until he was halfway down the corridor.
"I ain't got time to roast your sorry ass!" He shouted, "I gotta find Lucy!"
"Oh yeah your necromancer friend." Gray snorted, "So just what are you getting out of her for this little contract? Her soul? She sleep in your bed or something?"
He blinked when the demon seemed to blur and a moment later he was being slammed painfully against the nearest wall.
"Now let's get one thing straight right now asshole." Natsu snarled darkly, "I don't give a damn if you take pot shots at me, but you leave Lucy out of this!" He glared furiously up at the ice mage, "She's the best thing to have ever happened to me, and I swore I would always be her friend and protect her. Always. Do you understand me?"
His eyes glowed gold, "The only reason I'm not turning you into ash right now for what you said is because she wanted us to work together to get Gajeel." He dropped Gray, "But you ever make another comment like that about her again and I'll risk Lucy being mad at me again. You got that?"
Gray's eyes narrowed at Natsu, and to his credit he didn't look the least bit intimidated despite the fact that Natsu had him pinned a foot off the ground.
"Fine then, I'll leave your mistress out of this," Gray replied, earning himself the favor of being put back down by the angry demon.
"It's funny, you almost have me believing you actually care about her," Gray growled at Natsu, smacking the demons hands away from himself.
"She's my best friend, of course I care about her," Natsu shot back, heated at the accusation in Grays tone. His fangs bared furiously, hating the self-righteousness of the slayer.
"Oh don't pull that shit," Gray snorted and gave Natsu an irritated glare, "we both know that demons can't really feel. Once you're done with her you'll move on. That's what every demon does and don't think you're the exception."
"Friends." Gray rolled his eyes, "Don't be ridiculous."
"What the hell is your problem," Natsu snarled, grabbing Gray's arm and yanking him up short. The temperature plunged around them for his efforts and Natsu felt frost collect at his fingertips.
"My problem is that I'm wandering the halls of this hell hole with a demon," came the frosty response, "And I'm just waiting for the moment when you leap up and try to devour my soul. I think you'll find it difficult to take my soul, just in case you're getting any ideas"
"I don't want your crusty soul," Natsu sneered, "let me guess."
"You have some traumatic past with demons and so all demons must be exterminated, right?" Natsu taunted, eyes glittering with a harsh light as he saw Gray go still. He pressed the point, knowing when he had gotten the advantage.
"You're so transparent Slayer, you wouldn't know what to do with yourself if you actually came across the real demon who wronged you," Natsu smirked, "because you're just a coward that will gladly take on any demon you think you can push around."
Gray's expression darkened, "And just what would you know abut that huh demon?" He growled darkly, "What would you know about loss? Not a damn thing that's what." He glowered at Natsu, the temperature around them dropping further and further, "Don't you dare try to talk like you know a damn thing about me."
Natsu narrowed his own eyes back, "I know enough to know a coward too blind to see in the shades of his own name when I see one." He growled back, his own power flaring in response to Gray's, "And as for loss... buddy you got no idea what I've lost."
He snorted a little and crossed his arms, "Not that you would care even if you did. You so wrapped up in your own self-righteousness you don't know a godsdamned thing about me or my kind."
"How about I show you what I know?" Gray growled lowly, his magic flaring sharply.
Natsu smirked darkly as his fire ignited in response, "Try it if you think you can." He invited, "I won't go back on Lucy's word, but if you wanna fight that much I got no problem proving to you how dumb you are."
The two were so intent on each other they didn't even notice they had company until Natsu's danger sense prickled from the side and he lunged forward to pull Gray out of the way just as a spray of bullets decorated the area where the ice mage had been standing.
"Damnit!" A male figure cursed as it stepped out of the shadows with a girl at his side, "I missed."
"Wally that was so mean!" The girl scolded, "They were going to fight each other anyway! We didn't have to get involved!"
"It's called tactics you broad!" Wally scolded, "Jeez Milliana how many times to I have to tell ya!"
Natsu skidded down, his feet planting squarely on the floor as he dropped his hands from Gray and growled at the company. Gray himself was none-to-pleased about the interruption and slammed his palms flat against the floor.
It created a slick surface in the flash of an eye, causing their attackers to slip and land right on their asses.
"I think you need a lesson on tactics genius," Gray snapped while he climbed to his feet looking unimpressed. His hands balled up into fists and his expression darkened, "why don't I give you one or two?"
Natsu sprang to his feet, the heat from his body melting away the ice around his ankles. Flames flickered bright and brilliant around his fists and a fierce smirk lit his face.
"Don't think that we're done after we kick in these jerks teeth," Natsu growled at Gray who just smirked.
"Don't be in such a hurry to get your ass kicked demon, there's plenty of time for that later," Gray lunged at the one who had shot at them while Natsu sprang for the female.
"That bump on your head must have made you confused about whose ass is getting kicked!" Natsu roared out gleefully, avoiding the woman's odd, malleable magic bonds.
"How is it they're still fighting each other and us?" Milliana shouted at Wally as she avoided the sweep of the demons flames by the narrowest of margins.
Only to slip and land directly on her rear.
"Owwww…" She whined and cringed as Natsu loomed over her, the ice melting under his feet with every step he took, "Ahhhh! Please don't eat me Mr. Demon!" She wailed, "I wanna keep my soul!"
"Jeez..." Natsu sighed, "This is lame. I can't fight her like this. I hope not all of Jellal's minions are this weak. I want a good fight."
"You're... not going to eat my soul?" Milliana asked in genuine surprise, and Natsu shot her a disgusted look.
"Don't be stupid." He snapped, "I just got off Lucy's bad side for doing it once on accident! I've spent the last two months in hell because she wouldn't even talk to me because of it! You think I wanna go back to that?"
"Is that so?" Milliana purred, "That's so cute!" She flashed her hands out and her kitten tubes lunged for Natsu's feet, aiming to pull him off them, only to miss because he wasn't there anymore.
"That was a pretty dirty trick." Natsu purred into her ear from where he appeared behind her, causing her to stiffen in fear, "Making me drop my guard like that. You almost got me."
"I..." She croaked, but got no further than that as Natsu seized her and clamped his jaws around her neck. She sighed in mingled pleasure and alarm as he sucked carefully at her soul, but was powerless to move until her eyes drooped and she slumped in his grip.
Natsu pulled away, licking his lips slightly as he settled her against a wall, "Heh, your soul was sweeter than I thought it'd be. You must not be all that bad."
He looked up just in time to see an infuriated Gray knock the trigger happy guy out with a hard slam from an ice hammer. In seconds the ice mage was stalking towards him with murder in his eyes.
"What the hell?" He growled, "You just said you weren't going to eat her and you devour her soul?"
Natsu rolled his eyes, "Check her vitals Frostbite." He grunted, "I only drained her enough to knock her out for a while. I didn't eat her. I promised Lucy I wasn't gonna do that again."
Gray gave him a doubtful glare before he knelt by the girl and checked her pulse. It beat strong underneath his hand and he frowned a little, somewhat mollified by the explanation.
"I've never seen a demon stop in the middle of feeding before. Usually the soul calls to demons so strongly that they can't help but finish it off," he leveled an even glare on Natsu to have him explain himself.
"Well it's possible, and it's how I feed," Natsu replied petulantly to Gray, "so long as I don't eat too much the soul will replenish itself back to full health rather quickly. She'll probably just wake up feeling a little groggy."
He patted his stomach, having liked the odd taste of this girls soul. It really had been surprisingly nice, which lent the suspicion that perhaps there were more frustrating layers to this puzzle than he normally anticipated.
"Lucy is a necromancer," he reminded Gray, "she hates it when souls are destroyed and thinks they should have a chance to find proper rest. So yeah, I'd rather not bark up that tree thanks."
Her anger was still fresh in his mind despite the forgiveness she had already given him.
"Well I'll be damned. A demon that doesn't devour souls whole and a necromancer that values life after death," Gray snorted in amusement, "will wonders never cease?"
"Yeah, it sounds like you almost pried your foot out of your own ass, that's miracle enough all by itself," Natsu smirked at Gray.
The Slayer was saved from coming up with anything else in response when suddenly a large form rocketed out of nowhere and caught Natsu, lifting the demon into the air.
Gray watched in fascination as the demon swore loudly before abruptly going limp and turning green.
Was he...
Was he motion sick?
Of all the useless...
Gray sighed and slammed his fists together as the giant owl flew overhead, hooting out declarations of his heroism.
"I can't believe I'm about to save a demon," Gray said blandly.
-::-
"I never want to hear another heavy metal song again." Lucy declared tiredly as Cancer vanished back to the celestial realm, and pondered the merit of prodding baldy to see if he was still alive or not.
"Agreed." Erza grimaced as she climbed back to her feet, "That was not pleasant at all."
She eyed the exhausted looking necromancer and grimaced, "I feel I should apologize for the state you're in..."
Lucy waved her off as she walked over to the demon and peered at him. Yep, definitely alive. Though still dazed. Good.
"Don't worry about it." She sighed as she fished out a paper seal and plastered it to Vidaldus' chest, "You fought the possession enough to keep from killing me, and that's more than enough for me to be grateful."
She frowned slightly and focused her remaining energy on activating the seal, which wrapped the demon in black ink chains as a circle flared underneath him. The motion was enough to break Vidaldus out of his daze and he stared up at Lucy in panic.
"What are you doing?!" He screamed, only to quail as Lucy glared at him remorselessly.
"Banishing you back to hell where you belong." She growled frostily, "Good luck coming back to the mortal realm before the next hundred years. Assuming you even live that long."
His eyes widened in horror as the seal flared gold and he vanished. Lucy immediately groaned at the effort and sank to her knees.
"Are you alright?" Erza called in alarm, scrambling over to join the blond.
"I'm fine." Lucy assured her, fumbling tiredly into her bag for a protein bar and a bottle of water, "I'm going to be pretty useless for a little while though. That fight took it out of me."
"Not to worry." Erza assured her, "Take a few moments to rest. I'll guard your back and handle the next fight."
Lucy smiled wanly at that and fumbled into her bag again, "Here, better take one of these then." She pressed a talisman, along with another bar and water, into Erza's hands, "It's not the greatest talisman ever, I'm still learning how to make them, but if the next guy can do what this one did..."
Erza nodded solemnly, touched by the gesture, "A moment of confusion is all I need." She replied, "Thank you."
She settled down next to Lucy, "You came far better prepared than I thought about."
Lucy smiled and shrugged, "Gajeel and Levy are big on being as prepared for the unknown as possible. I yield to their greater experience in that." She laughed a little, "It's actually coming handy now. I can't wait to tell them."
Erza smiled as she tore into the proffered food and chewed thoughtfully, "Your family mean a very great deal to you don't they?"
Lucy nodded, "Mom and dad both died when I was young. Mom when I was ten and dad only a couple years later. I can't stand the thought of losing any more."
Erza nodded at that, "I understand what you mean." She said finally, "I feel much the same about Jellal."
"If we can free him, we will." Lucy replied, "Though it may not be easy. I'm worried about who that demon is." She rubbed her chest, "There's only one I know of that could make Natsu react like that."
Erza waited a moment, but when Lucy didn't seem inclined to elaborate further she finished off the impromptu meal, privately amazed by how much better she felt after it, and stood, "Well, whoever it is, the sooner we rid Jellal of him the better."
Together they walked off back deeper into the tower, their steps measured. Lucy had to walk a big faster to keep up with Erza's but they were hurrying deeper inside.
They both wanted to catch up to their partners, and Erza was fairly convinced that Gray and Natsu were not level headed enough to react well to working together.
With what was at stake for both parties, they better not be misbehaving.
Erza hastened their approach withthat fear in the back of her mind. She would kill Gray if he died on her, as she was certain he felt the same. She just didn't want to be caught unawares.
Proved to be correct when she heard the quiet twang if strings breaking the air around them.
A woman with long, flowing hair walked towards them, everything about her screaming the sort of calm danger that they had experienced with their previous rocker friend. Only this was on an entirely different level.
She was powerful, and with Lucy's depleted stores there was only a couple of ways this battle could fall out. Erza's sword flashed into being and her eyes narrowed.
"Leave this one to me Lucy, go on ahead to find the others. I will catch up to you in due time," Erza said simply.
"Erza are you sure?" Lucy asked, hesitating to leave her companion behind to fight a possibly dangerous opponent all by herself.
Erza only nodded and gave Lucy a reassuring smile she found herself believing.
"Trust me, I will be able to take care of her. Hurry!" Erza barked and met the new woman head on.
Lucy spared a brief prayer for Erza's safety before taking the advantage she'd been presented and rushed on ahead.
Her heart thundered as she sprinted through the convoluted tower, aiming for the top. She didn't dare try calling Natsu. Even assuming his phone still worked, there was no guarantee he could pick up. Or that Acnologia wasn't listening if he did.
Which meant there was only one direction she could go. Up.
It was where she knew Natsu would be heading. Back up to the top to find Gajeel and beat Jellal into the ground. If he could.
The very thought of Natsu facing his 'father' like that after all this time frightened her. Neither he nor Gajeel had been detailed on the dragon's crimes, but they hadn't needed to be. Natsu's own signs of abuse had been all she'd needed to convince her that Acnologia was as insane as he was powerful.
She just hoped Natsu would have the strength to fight the dragon who'd tried to be his father.
She hoped even more that they all survived the attempt.
Her eyes widened as the warmth in her chest that was her bond to Natsu warmed at the thought, and she couldn't help the fierce smile that split her lips at the sensation. Natsu was okay, and he was close.
That was more than enough to spur her own steps on.
She sprinted up a staircase and rounded a corner, colliding neatly into her demon's arms in the process.
"Whoa there Luce!" Natsu grinned and Lucy decided that smile was the best thing she'd seen all day.
"You're alright!" She breathed and hugged him tightly before pulling back to look him up and down, "What happened to you?"
"An owl ate him." Gray drawled in vague amusement, "What about you? Where's Erza?"
Lucy grimaced, "She's below us fighting some chick with a katana. I'm low on energy thanks to our first fight, so she insisted I come ahead and she would follow."
Natsu frowned a bit at the news, "Was it those guys from Triple Raven or whatever?"
"Trinity Raven." Gray corrected acidly, but without any real malice, and Lucy snorted a slight giggle.
"Yeah." She replied, "But we don't have time to go into the blow by blow. If we're going to free Jellal from Acnologia we're running out of time to do it."
"Acnol-what?" Gray demanded, but staggered a bit against the wall. Natsu whipped around to look at him in concern, catching the Slayer before his knees could buckle and legs give out.
"Hey frosty, you ain't lookin' too good," Natsu scowled at him, "you took more of a beating from that owl guy than you let on?"
"I'm fine," Gray insisted, "Lucy just said it herself. We don't have time for the blow by blow. I need to get up there so we can help Jellal, Ultear and this Gajeel guy."
"Nice change in mood, but it's not happening," Lucy frowned, "you're beat and so am I, but you look worse than I do."
"Thanks, always nice to know when I look like shit," Gray grumbled But flopped down against the wall, giving up the fight against gravity.
"Seems Like Natsu's the only one who didn't take a beating," Lucy told him.
"Yeah only because he got eaten by a giant bird and flown around until he puked," Gray said dryly.
"Well at least I'm still fresh," Natsu cracked his knuckles, his eyes settling into a glare, "I'm going to get this Jellal guy to eat dirt until we get Gajeel back."
Fire crackled up his arms and he curled them at his sides, "I'm ready."
"I certainly hope so," Lucy rubbed her keys, knowing her magic was so severely depleted she may not even have the remaining strength to summon a spirit.
Still she would do her best to help Natsu in anyway she could.
"Keep an eye out for Erza, she'll be up here soon" Lucy insisted to Gray who nodded tiredly.
She followed after Natsu as quickly as she could only to stop in surprise as she rounded the final corner to where Jellal was waiting with a blank eyed Gajeel crouched next to the throne the self-important prick had installed.
"So you made it at last fledgling." Acnologia purred, "It's about time. I was getting worried you wouldn't make it here for my finale."
"Acnologia…" Natsu growled through gritted fangs, "What did you do bastard?"
"Now is that any way to talk to your father?" Acnologia chided, which just looked weird through Jellal's lips, but rather than flying into a frothing rage he looked smug. Which just set all of Natsu's instincts on edge.
"As for what I did..." The apocalypse dragon chuckled, "I told this fool what he wanted to hear and gave him the means to unleash my power on the world. It's hardly my fault he chose to believe I would use that power to bring about a fairy tale."
He turned his gaze to Lucy, "Now... I should like a proper meeting of your precious mistress."
He flicked his hand, and Lucy squeaked as she felt an invisible force seem to grab her and drag her forward.
"Well now..." Acnologia rumbled, "It seems my son isn't bereft of taste after all. Though he should've known better." His expression darkened, "The Heartfilia line belongs to me and no other."
"I don't belong to anyone but myself you creep." Lucy growled, and Acnologia burst into delighted laughter.
"Oh yes! There's the Heartfilia spirit!" He cackled, "How I've missed it! Your similarity to Anna is remarkable young Lucy. Perhaps I will consent to a contract with you once I've dealt with my son's disobedience."
Natsu felt a chill go down his spine as Lucy's expression darkened, and panic mingled with anger roared through him, "In case you forgot jerk, you gotta go through me to get her!"
His fire flared to life, "And you're not my dad!" He roared, "I'm the son of Igneel and Grandine!"
He missed the crystal in the center of the room pulsing at that declaration, and the ghostly image of a dragon appearing on the inside of it. Lucy, however, did not.
She was saved from having to do anything but catch herself as Acnologia wearing Jellal's skin simply threw her to the side like trash. Natsu flung himself at the man, his eyes burning with the gold of their bond as he roared his fury.
His face seemed to twist and flicker before her eyes, growing far more demonic than she ever saw it. Black was lining the sclera around his golden eyes and his shape fangs were elongating beyond what she could remember them being. However any transformation didn't venture further than that as he attacked the human being puppeted by the demon.
There was so much fury and rage fueling Natsu's movements that it almost took Acnologia by surprise and his full attention drew onto Natsu.
Long enough for Lucy to run around him and investigate the glowing crystal that had sung out to her.
She touched it, feeling the throb and steady pulse of souls streaming from within it. They were captured spirits, both large and small, straining against one another in a tight container.
In a lacrima, meant to fuel... something.
Lucy's eyes narrowed as she watched Jellal bodyslam Natsu into the ground, the force causing the dragon to cough in shock as the ground crumpled around his body from the impact.
She barely prevented herself from crying out as she saw her demons head come in contact with the cracked floor, skull bouncing up against the hard surface before he spat out a spiral of flames at Jellal.
The lacrima, for all its innocent appearances, was important for Acnologia's plans. Which meant Lucy couldn't allow him to have it.
She swiped it off its pedestal and crept behind one of the pillars, chanting her magic over the powerful object to begin to try and unravel the threads of magic tying the spirits in place.
This magic was beyond her, it was advanced and complicated and she was unsure she possessed the level of knowledge to quickly accomplish her task.
That being said, she had to try.
The spirits within the lacrima were suffering and she couldn't abide such a thing.
She was concerned about Natsu though, for despite his initial strike against Jellal was now rapidly losing ground in the fight.
Lucy stared nervously between the hot little lacrima in her hands, burning with the spirits aching to rest, and her own need to rush to Natsu's side and help.
She caught sight of the immobile Gajeel, his red eyes glued on the fight and his shaking fingers curled into fists. Unable to do a thing, trapped in his own body.
She would save them!
"Just hang in a little longer Natsu!" She whispered and continued to pour over the lacrima.
Natsu panted as he climbed to his feet, Jellal disappearing right before his eyes to nail him in the gut, in the back, the jaw and the side before he ever even registered it.
If he hadn't been a demon, he would have certainly been shattered into a hundred pieces. He was moving faster than a star, and with the precision and strength five times more devastating.
"Jellal!" A now welcome voice shouted from the entrance they had taken, causing Natsu to drowsily look up from his ass kicking to see Erza standing there. She was looking battered and exhausted, but even he had to admit she cut one hell of a picture standing before them like she was leading an army. She wielded nothing but a single sword, long pants and her chest was bound by tight bandages.
Her hair was collected in a high ponytail, all of her armor fully divested in favor of the single sword in her hand.
"Erza," Jellal spoke softly, his voice momentarily returning to what it had been before. His grip on Natsu remained vicelike and he stared at Erza in horror.
"Erza, those injuries... how-?"
"Courtesy of your minions," Erza said sternly, stepping towards Jellal. Her voice lowered as she saw the stricken look on his face, "We can help you Jellal, we can call an exorcist to heal your mind and drive this demon from your soul."
Natsu managed to slip out from under Jellal's hold, watching the man cautiously as he wrestled for control with the creature within who attempted to speak in his voice.
"Not with this demon," Natsu spat, "of you call an exorcist to cast him out, it will only open the door to him in this world and kill the host."
"You know of the demon that is in Jellal?" Erza's eyes whipped towards Natsu, "then what kind is it? There must be a way to cast it out and destroy it!"
"There is not, Acnologia is too powerful," Jellal wheezed, "But there is an alternative solution to ensure he doesn't escape. Erza, I am sorry. I am too weak to fight him, or the darkness..."
"Natsu, you must devour my soul whole. It's the only way to ensure he cannot use it as a foothold into your world," Jellal spoke brokenly, desperate to save Erza no matter the cost from a vengeful demon who cared nothing if she lived or died.
