CHAPTER 20
Gajeel broke free at once of the control and sprinted towards Lucy, dropping to his knees around the teary eyed blond. She clutched her unconscious red headed friend to her chest, but sobbed in relief at the sight of her godfather.
At least until Natsu let out another distressed roar.
The red glow had faded from his eyes, but he was curling in on himself, steam flowing free from his body. He was sweating profusely and tearing off the remains of his shirt in desperation.
"Hot... too hot..." he whimpered, his pants heavy and forcing clouds of steam and smoke to rise from his very lungs.
He could hear the distressed voices of his parents babbling in his head, their alarm over his state sending fear coursing through him. He couldn't make sense of their voices through his feverish mind. Only too young... power surge was triggered…
"Natsu!" Lucy cried, alarmed at the way he was writhing and panting as if he couldn't breathe. She pushed Erza into Gajeel's hands and staggered to her feet at the same time Gray appeared in the crumbling doorway.
"What the hell happened here?" He asked in bewilderment as he took in the destruction, and the tower rumbled ominously in response, it's structural integrity badly damaged after Natsu's last attack.
Lucy grit her teeth against the rumble and accompanying sway that was probably a warning. She ignored it however. Natsu was far more important.
"Gray!" She cried as she reached Natsu's side, "Help me!"
She reached out to gingerly touch Natsu's skin and hissed as she immediately pulled her hand back, "Damn." She breathed, "Not now... We can't afford this Natsu."
"What's going on?" Gray asked as he staggered over to her side, having given up on deciphering what the hell had happened in the face of helping with the mop up.
"He's power surging." Lucy replied tensely, "But it's way worse than any before. He's overheating from it. Can you cool him down?"
Gray raised an eyebrow, "You're going to have to explain power surging to me sometime." He drawled even as he reached out and dropped his hands on Natsu's chest. Instantly cold spread out from the point of contact and spread over Natsu's whole body, making the dragon relax with a sigh of relief.
"That's the lowest dose of demon slaying ice I can manage." Gray replied, "It doesn't melt as easily as my regular ice so it should keep him nice and cold for an hour or two." He looked around, "So what's going on?"
Lucy grimaced as she looked around, "Long story." She replied, wincing as the tower creaked and swayed ominously again, "It probably needs to wait until after we get out of here."
"There's an emergency exit." A voice croaked and they both looked up to find Jellal pulling himself painfully out of the pit Natsu and his dad had bashed them into, his eyes blessedly brown and sane, if pained, again, "It's one of those tube exits for skyscrapers. Behind the throne."
"I'll find it." Gajeel grunted as he walked over with Erza and set her down, giving Jellal a gimlet glare, and dropping a momentary hand on Lucy's head in silent support.
He poked around the rubble and managed to quickly clear a path out to what had been the balcony. Sure enough, the square portal was sitting there ready for deployment. He unlatched it and watched with approval as the tough fabric unfurled down to the soft beach below. It seemed that for all his faults, Jellal had been a meticulous planner and wary of safety issues.
He headed back in, internally grimacing a bit at how beat up his goddaughter and ward looked, "It's still good." He reported, "I got it ready to go. You just drop down and it'll carry ya down. Like a weird slide."
Which was probably better than stairs or anything else considering the state of the building and the injuries he could see.
He considered the setup for a moment, "Alright, you take Salamander." He pointed at Gray, "Since you're what's keepin' him cool right now you're the best to carry him. Blondie, you help your redhead friend while I take blue boy."
He gave no one time to argue as he strode over and pulled the still weak Jellal to his feet and slung his arm around his shoulders, "C'mon fledgling."
"You're helping me?" Jellal asked in confusion, "But... why?"
"Because I know the difference between actin' under your own will an' not." Gajeel grunted, "You ain't been doing that for a very long time." He shot Jellal a sideways look, "You try any of them necromany powers on me again though and I'll drain you dry."
"I don't think I have much necromancy left in me," Jellal said weakly as Gajeel carried him over to the chute like he weighed like a handful of grapes.
"I got your friends all evacuated when this place stared rumbling," Gray commented, "Ultear was never here was she?"
"No," Jellal said tiredly, "the tower was my operation... or, his."
"Talk later, jump now," Gajeel grunted, letting Gray go first. Lucy balanced with Erza next, his smile soft on his goddaughter.
"You're grounded. Now get goin'," Gajeel grunted. Lucy made a noise of protest before she slid down with Erza.
Gajeel was the last to depart the tower with Jellal.
Somehow, andhe didn't know how he was going to explain this to Levy, he managed to collect three more unruly kids. He sighed, hoping she came back soon. Things clearly went to shit when she wasn't around.
—::—
Natsu was floating in darkness, his eyes adjusting to the velvety black all around him. He saw a man and woman, only those from Gajeel's memories sitting before him. Igneel and Grandine. His father's long red hair was braided down his back, intricate tattoos curling over his sides and over the curves of his shoulders.
He wore a belted midsection and baggy pants that were secured and tied down around the ankles. He had bracers on to guard his forearms and shins. He had scars decorating across his face and chest, but he was a handsome man and held a smile precisely like Natsu's on his face.
And Grandine was all soft beauty. She was graceful, with pure snowy hair that fell in loose, elegant locks to frame her beautiful face. Her eyes were a forestry green like his own, like the breeze that passed through the summers leaves.
"Mom, dad..." he breathed, hardly able to believe this was happening. There were some things he was reacting to instinctively, things about both of them he didn't understand or couldn't explain. Gajeel had tried to explain the holes that Acnologia had left in his education, but there was very little knowledge available of Apocolypse dragons.
Tears filled his eyes, his mouth falling open as Grandine held out her arms to him with a wordless smile.
"Come here hatchling, will you let your mother hold you?" She asked hopefully. Natsu hardly needed to be told twice as he crawled into her arms.
He felt Igneel's warmth join at his back. In the first time in his life he found himself wedged between his parents in an embrace so filled with love he hardly knew what to expect from it.
"Am I dead?" He asked quietly, "Lucy is going to kill me."
Igneel burst into laughter as he held his son tighter, "No." He rumbled and ruffled Natsu's hair fondly, "You're not dead. Merely unconscious and currently quite sick."
Natsu frowned at that. Sick? Since when did he get sick? And if he wasn't dead how was he here with his parents? Was he... hallucinating or something?
"You may blame your father for your current state." Grandine replied to his unspoken questions, "He surged his power through you to give you the boost you needed to deal with Acnologia. And in so doing he triggered the power surge that has been building in you early."
Natsu winced a little at that. He remembered his last power surges. They hadn't been particularly pleasant, and from the way his mother spoke, early surges were worse.
"They are indeed." Grandine replied seriously, "Our power comes at set stages precisely because it's at those moments, and not before, that the body is capable of handling the greater strength. Too much at once would kill us, and too early means your body must scramble to catch up."
She smiled and touched his cheek, "As for how we're here... I assure you we're not a hallucination or a dream dear heart. Your lovely mistress and Leo shattered the lacrima Acnologia had trapped us in. We took the opportunity to come to you."
Natsu felt tears sting his eyes, "You're... really here?" He asked, "The real deal?"
"We are son." Igneel assured him soothingly, "And though we can't stay forever, we will remain for as long as we can. And we'll teach you as much as we can." He smiled mischievously, "But first... tell us more about your Lucy! I rather liked what I saw of her on the outside..."
Natsu laughed wetly and began describing how Lucy had summoned him as a familiar when they were ten.
—::—
Natsu had been asleep for three days and for some reason their apartment was filled to the brink with Lucy's new... friends? She didn't know if that was the proper term to call them. Frenemies?
Jellal tried to make himself as small as possible, not wanting to cause them any more trouble than he already had. However he opened up beautifully whenever Erza showed him even the barest of attentions.
As for Gray, he attempted to employ every one of Jellal's contacts to try and find Ultear. To no avail. No doubt his sister had heard of the towers fall and had taken it upon herself to disappear.
Gajeel was glaring at the mess on the TV, the news of their involvement making it across the stations. He groaned, rubbing his palms over his eyes as he looked at the damage that attracted nationwide attention.
"You couldn't have built a smaller tower?" He demanded to Jellal.
"It wouldn't be much of a tower then would it?" Came Jellal's rather dry response.
Lucy sighed as she watched them arguing back and forth. She knew Gajeel was worried, things like this always put him on edge, but it was hardly as if they had been caught in camera, right?
Right?
She sighed and picked up the compress on Natsu's forehead. It steamed under his touch, but he was no longer boiling like he had before.
She changed it out, smoothing out the new one over his damp bangs. At least until his eyes snapped open like something out of a horror movie and he sat straight up.
"What's going on?" He barked alertly, taking a quick sweep of his surroundings before he seemed to realize he was st home.
"Oh."
"Natsu you're awake!" Lucy exclaimed and surged forward to hug him, "Thank the gods!"
Natsu blinked and patted her shoulder, "Uh, how long was I out?"
"'Bout three days." Gajeel grunted as he walked over to join them, "I take it you're on the downward slide of your surge?"
Natsu nodded with a small smile, "Yeah. Mom says that I'll still be tired for a couple days, but I'll have to hunt after that."
"Grandine says huh?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow, "So those two are still rattlin' around in there huh?" He nodded, a nostalgic look crossing his face, "Alright then. Grandine's the best damn healer I've ever met. She says you're restin' for a couple days then you're restin'."
He patted Lucy's shoulder, "I'll get him some regular food an' some fire. You fill him in on everything."
Lucy smiled weakly at that, "Right."
Gajeel nodded and turned to make his way to the kitchen. Lucy studied her demon and sighed, "What's the last thing you remember?"
"Dad explained what he did to Jellal." Natsu replied, "But we've been talking since then so we weren't really keeping track."
Lucy smiled a little at that, "I'm happy you've had the chance to talk to them." She replied earnestly, "After you beat Jellal he was able to cast Acnologia out, but you destroyed most of the tower support in the process. Gajeel came back to his senses and got us out of there before the tower collapsed in on itself."
She fiddled a bit with a lock of hair, "We crashed at the resort for a day after that and Gajeel brought us all home." She gestured vaguely to where Jellal, Erza, and Gray were studiously not eavesdropping, but could still probably hear them fine, "We've been trying to work out what we were going to do since then."
Natsu nodded, not entirely sure how much he liked the idea of the others staying here but resigned to it for the moment anyway. If Gajeel wanted to keep an eye on them all, well he couldn't blame him.
"What else?" He asked as Gajeel returned with the promised food and settled down with the newspaper, knowing that couldn't be all of it. Lucy never played with her hair like that unless she was really nervous about something.
That didn't stop him from inhaling everything in front of him ravenously as he waited though.
"We're grounded for the next month." She replied with a pout, "Except for your hunting trips, which are going to be supervised anyway." She sighed, "And you know... your mom and dad can't stay with you for long? It's not good for any of you if they do."
Natsu grimaced but nodded. His parents had been very clear that Lucy probably wouldn't let them linger for longer than it would take her to put together a ritual to send them on. He rubbed his chest sadly, "Can you give us at least a week?" He asked softy, "They... they want to teach me some things and..."
Lucy's heart clenched and she nodded with a smile, "A week is fine." She promised, "It'll take me that long to figure out what ritual to use and prepare anyway." She hesitated for a long moment, "Um... Natsu you know I won't ever break our contract right?"
Natsu froze at the whispered words and stared at her in shock, his heart somehow both pounding and frozen in his chest, "Uh, how did you-?"
Lucy sighed, "You've been in a near constant fever for three days." She replied, "Even with Gray cooling you down you've been pretty incoherent. And you've been talking." She looked down, "Do you really think I'd break our contract and send you back just over a fight?"
Natsu felt guilt surge through him and he shook his head as he reached out to pull her into a hug, "I know it's stupid." He muttered, "I'm sorry. I just..."
"I threatened you with it before. When we were kids." Lucy murmured, "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry. I've never, ever, intended to do it. Not then and certainly not now. I'm sorry you ever thought I would."
"I like her." Igneel murmured softly in the back of his head, "She reminds me of Anna. A fine queen, and an even finer mistress."
Natsu smiled a little and curled her closer, a knot of unease unraveling in him, "It's alright." He growled softly, "I know you won't. You're my best friend."
He became acutely aware that their new companions were trying very very hard not to pay attention to their soft words or the way they curled up with one another.
"What're ya not-lookin' at?" He asked dryly, causing Gray to shoot him an irate look over the shoulder.
"You flame brain, there's not exactly a lot of space for us to go anywhere," He seemed rather annoyed by the call out, "Next time I'll let your butt burn a hole in the sofa."
"What?" Natsu asked in confusion, not seeming to understand the meaning in Gray's words.
"Gray kept cooling you off with his magic while your fever burned," Erza commented, "perhaps a show of gratitude would be in order?"
Natsu gave Gray a deadpanned look, seeming to want to chew his own tongue off at the root before he thanked Gray.
"Pass," Natsu drawled.
"Runt, where are your fucking manners?" Gajeel growled at his ward, who stuck his tongue back out at him.
"Maybe I fucking learned my manners from you," Natsu replied sweetly.
He felt a roar of laughter from Igneel before it was abruptly cut off with a choked feeling of contrition, followed swiftly by motherly disappointment from Grandine.
"Alright, alright," Natsu mumbled, feeling a shudder of shame and guilt gnaw at him at her disapproval despite his dad's amusement.
"Thank you Gray," The words ground from his throat, sounding like glass ripping across gravel, "I appreciate the help."
Gray gave him a long, steady look before his nose crinkled and his lip curled in exaggerated disgust/
"Ew don't be nice to me, that's too damn weird you pyro," Gray gave him a freaked out look, "holy hell are you dying?"
Baffled, Grandine fell silent as Igneel roared with even harder shakes of laughter.
Natsu snarled and lunged for Gray, who let out a laugh and elbowed the demon in the side of the head, "now that's more like it!"
"Boys," Lucy said in exasperation as they wrestled, both of them not at full strength so it wasn't destructive. Although she eyed the coffee table with concern that they were rolling on. Gajeel was no help, returning peacefully to his newspaper to invest more into the articles pertaining to Akane Island.
It turned out she didn't need to worry, because from one moment to the next, Erza rose up and grabbed both males by their bangs and slammed their foreheads together. A devastating crunch echoed in the room and Lucy stared in shock as the two teenagers crumpled at her feet.
"Behave," Erza spoke with a calmness that bordered right on the edge of murderous.
"What the hell!" Natsu shouted as he scrambled back to hide behind Lucy, "I thought you hated demons, you never said you were traveling with one!" The accusing shout was directed at Gray who was still picking himself up from the table.
"Sorry Erza!" Gray squeaked and moved to hide behind Jellal of all people, who was staring at Erza as if he were more besotted then ever.
"Man I gotta learn that trick," Lucy grinned at Natsu, who shot her a betrayed glare.
Gajeel, who seemed to finally have enough rampant violence in his living room, folded his newspaper, "Alright. That's enough runts. Time for bed. Pick a square of carpet, grab your shit and get to sleep."
A thick finger jabbed in a protesting Natsu's direction, "I don't care if you just woke up. You're on bed rest. So get to napping back on that couch before I use shackles."
Growling mutinously about sleeping in his own bed thank you very much, Natsu let Lucy help him get settled into his bedroom. As much as he hated to admit it, even that little bit of excitement had sent his body temperature up to an uncomfortable degree. His body aches and trembled with weakness, still feeling the power surging through him, on the decline but still wrecking havoc if he moved too much.
The cast of frost over him was enough to make him blink, his eyes lifting up as he saw Gray's hand extended towards him and his magic receding.
Natsu opened his mouth, unsure how to react. Gray looked uncomfortable with words that could express any amount of gratitude, so he just snorted and dropped his hand.
"Don't make regret this by being all sappy," Gray muttered and dropped his hand.
"Bitch," Natsu said happily back at him and leaned into Lucy, who snorted on a giggle.
She shook her head at him and gently brushed her hand over his forehead as the other three settled into the various sleeping bags that had been spread out, "Goodnight Natsu."
"Night Luce." He replied around a yawn and settled down to sleep with a smile. He was back in his bed, in his territory, his parents were with him, and all was right with his mistress.
Fever or not, this was the best power surge ever.
-::-
Jellal sighed softly as he stared out at the sky that was slowly turning from dark to lavender and pink.
Dawn.
Why did it feel like the dawn of something new?
He stared down at his hands, regret flickering across his face. They were bloody. And by his own will.
Perhaps Acnologia had been egging him on, but that didn't change the fact that he'd destroyed many lives for the sake of something he now understood was nothing more than a castle in the sky.
What a fool he was.
He looked up at the sunset and felt a smile tug at his lips. And yet, perhaps there was hope for redemption.
So many had fought so hard to give him a chance to reclaim his freedom, and the feeling was intoxicating. But... what of his pride as an Amazon?
He frowned at that. There was no question he'd lost his way. Both as an Amazon and as a member of the clergy. By rights he should be Outcasted for what he'd done. Though he didn't think his beloved would do so after fighting so hard to save him.
Which meant he had to find another way to redeem himself.
And that was not something he could do here.
The thought hurt. He didn't want to go anywhere without Erza. She'd flowered into the breathtaking woman her girlhood had promised, and he was eager to get to know his bride-to-be better. Likely if she had her way, she would whisk him away to Galuna and marry him today if he asked.
And he wanted to. He wanted to so very badly. But how could he look her, and their ancestors, in the eye if he were to stand before her as he was. A broken wretch steeped in blood and misery with the demon who had broken him barely a hairsbreadth away?
He couldn't. He couldn't even impose on the eclectic family here. They were kind and good and far stronger than he'd ever believed possible, but they had their own worries and should not be burdened with him and his.
No. He wouldn't do that to them. He would find his own answers in his own time and way. He needed to grow beyond the grief stricken boy and into the man he was supposed to be.
"You still watch the sunrise." A soft voice said behind him and he smiled.
"Of course." He replied just as softly and turned to stare into the blue eyes and red hair that had lodged themselves so firmly in his heart, "For all my sins, I was, am, still a member of the clergy. The least I can do is honor the Mother for blessing us with a new day."
Erza smiled at that and stepped out to join him on the balcony, "I know what you mean." She agreed, smiling at the sunrise as it crept into a thing of bright gold and vibrant reds, oranges, and purples, "There's something on your mind." She said at last, "I can tell it's been weighing heavily on you."
Jellal smiled wistfully, "I never could hide anything from you could I?" He asked and took a breath, "I'm leaving. Today." He stared down at his hands again, "I've... done terrible things Erza. It doesn't matter that I was under Acnologia's influence. My pride as an Amazon demands I do everything I can to right those wrongs."
There was a moment of silence and then a soft hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up to see her smiling proudly and understandingly, if a little sadly, at him.
"I'm certain you will restore your honor." She told him, "As your queen, you have my blessings on your journey and I look forward to seeing the man you will be when you return." Her expression softened, "As your betrothed... I ask that you keep in touch as much as you can?"
He smiled back at her and couldn't resist pulling her into his arms, "You have my word." He breathed, "I'll send letters here if Lord Gajeel is willing." He caressed her cheek, "I wish... so much... that we could have more time together."
"But a journey of manhood must be undertaken alone." Erza smiled and leaned into his touch, "I know. Just promise me that one day..."
"As soon as I've found peace and repaired as much damage as I can." He promised, "I will come back to Magnolia, and I will court you properly. As you deserve. And on the summer solstice..."
Erza smiled broadly at that and curled a hand around his neck, "I look forward to it." She replied, and shifted her weight up as he leaned forward, quite unable to resist the gentle tug until there was no room between them and their lips met in a soft and velvety kiss.
He gave her another lingering kiss, one that was filled with just as many goodbyes as anything else. Erza's heart broke a little, hating how they had only just come back together to part once more.
But this time it was a temporary separation.
They both knew it. Time and death weren't obstacles they had to overcome. Not until Jellal found it within himself to forgive his past sins and make amends for his many crimes.
"Will you make sure Lucy gets this?" Jellal asked, fishing in his pocket for a small scroll that was tied with a thick cord. Erza's surveyed it, recognizing the emblem dangling off the tiny bead to tie it up.
Erza took it from him. The paper was gray and frayed at the edges, clearly well loved and a part of him. Amazonian spells from priesthood.
"But Jellal, this is—?" Erza stopped short, knowing full well what the secrets of that scroll held.
"I promised Lucy magic," He said after a long moment of considering Erza's stunned silence, "she is smarter than me to have never touched the darker side of necromancy. However this magic in this scroll. This is light. This is the magic of our people. I'm sure she can make good use of it."
"She may not be able to use it in its natural form, but she's a creative and inventive mage," Jellal smiled at Erza, "I'm certain she'll make a good choice regarding its use."
Erza curled it tight to her chest and Jellal slipped a necklace over her head, dipped with the sparkling of a lacrima.
"For you to reach me when you need me," He finished soft and quiet.
"You're not going to say goodbye to the others?" Erza asked him, somewhat hopeful to draw out the goodbye a little while longer.
Jellal gave her a sad look and a smile which accompanied it.
"I think if I don't leave now, I won't have the strength for it later," his voice spoke of resolve, but his eyes held regret.
Regret that he had fallen so far from light that he had to even do this in the first place.
"Then may the gods guide you on your journey my love." Erza replied, her voice quavering only a little, "I know you will find your way."
Jellal smiled and pressed one last passionate kiss to her lips before pulling away and leaping lightly over the balcony railing and vanishing.
She sighed as she looked for him anyway, her lips still tingling with the promise of passion that had been in that kiss. It was futile of course. Even without his cleric training Jellal had always been a master of stealth when he wanted to be. With it, he could just about vanish in plain sight.
She shook her head and looked down at the scroll for Lucy a soft smile touching her lips. She'd been surprised, but she would be pleased to pass it along to the blond who had done so much to help despite their somewhat rocky start. It was a spirit worthy of an Amazon.
She moved to head back inside and blinked as the girl herself stumbled out of her room, looking more asleep than anything.
"Morning." Lucy yawned as she stumbled into the kitchen and fumbled with making a cup of tea, "Want some?"
Erza's smile widened and a sense of calm, if not quite peace, settled in her chest at the casual friendliness. Perhaps Jellal was gone, but she'd gained two new friends. And these she was confident would be good and true ones.
"I'll take care of it." She replied, "Sit down. You look half asleep still."
