''Human speaking''
'Human thinking'
''Demon/Dragon/Human over microphone speaking''
'Demon/Dragon thinking'
Chapter 14:
Erza sighed as she looked around the basement of the guild as she entered it. Obviously, the news of what happened to master reached the few that stayed behind while she and Macao took him to Porlyusica. If it was even possible, the mood was worse than before they went to attack Phantom lord.
The redhead moved toward the table where her team sat and by coming closer she realized something else happened while they were gone.
''They said that target escaped'' Wendy explained, already at the end of the story ''I didn't realize what they were talking about at first, not until we came to the guild and I started telling Mira what happened''
Erza frowned. ''What are you talking about?''
Gray sighed as he looked at the redhead ''While we were out of Magnolia two Phantom lord wizards attacked Lucy and Wendy''
Erza's eyes widened as she turned to look at Wendy and Lucy who immediately spoke up ''We're alright. And it is more accurate to say two Phantom lord mages attacked me and then Wendy came to save me''
Wendy's lips stretched into a thin line as she looked away ''They were really strong but they seemed relucent to attack me when I said I was a dragon slayer''
''That must be because of their experience with them'' Erza concluded as she tried to grasp the story.
''Experience with dragon slayer? What are you talking about?'' Lucy asked as she looked at Erza.
''Phantom lord has their own dragon slayer- iron dragon slayer to be exact''
Lucy looked at Erza wide-eyed ''What? I thought Wendy and Natsu were the only ones!''
Happy looked at her, giving her the same look he did earlier that day right before he insulted her.
''Don't even try!'' Lucy hissed at him.
Happy chuckled ''Weirdo''
Wendy giggled despite the gloomy atmosphere ''We are not the only one, Lucy. I'm not really sure how much of us there are currently but dragon slayers used to be quite common back in the days we were at war with dragons... Natsu would be able to give you more detailed explanation''
Lucy nodded while Erza turned towards Wendy, returning to the more pressing matters "What do you mean by target?"
"That's what they said" Wendy explained ''But by the looks of it they were talking about Lucy''
"I... think... I know what they meant" Lucy said, her eyes traveling to the floor.
"What?" Gray asked as all eyes turned on the blonde.
"My full name is Lucy Heartfilia. I am the daughter of a rich businessman Jude Heartfilia. I think he sent those men to bring me back but to be honest, I'm surprised he even noticed I was gone. I mean, why search now if not for three years?"
Tears started running down her cheeks as she looked up with tear-filled eyes at her team. ''I don't want to go back there. Never again! After my mom died... that wasn't home anymore. That was a prison!''
She looked away again, hiding the tear-streaked cheeks in shame. ''I want to stay in Fairy Tail. My family is here. My home is here. But I don't want anyone else getting hurt. I don't want anyone else to end up like Levy''
''I guess...'' Lucy said as a sob escaped her, she clenched her fist, still not looking up. She had to say it. ''I guess I should just go back there. It would be for the-''
SLAP
Everyone looked in shock at Lucy, who held her cheek, small red print of a hand on it. Lucy, shocked out of her tears stared at Wendy, who was standing in front of her.
Wendy just slapped her! Wendy!
''Don't even think about finishing that sentence'' Wendy hissed ''How can you even say that?! You never ever have to go back there!" She sounded pissed.
"But I don't-" Lucy started again.
"We are family and we stick together!" They were shocked beyond belief. They never heard Wendy sound so... she sounded really furious.
The blue-haired girl sighed after a second as her eyes traveled to the ground before she looked back up.
''We are family here, Lucy. Don't think that we will just turn our back on you because it's easy. You could've realized by now that Fairy tail doesn't want to do anything the easy way''
Lucy stayed silent as the smaller girl hugged her.
Mira's growl attracted the attention of team Erza who sat nearest to the white-haired beauty.
''You idiot!'' Mira yelled at the blond-haired mage who was laughing on the other side of communication lacrima.
''How can you laugh at this?! Master is down! Your guild needs you!''
Laxus smirked ''You need me? Now that's new''
Mira growled again ''We don't have time for this''
''I don't see Souleater anywhere around here'' Laxus noted with a smirk. ''What? He's too good to come to the guild when you need someone?'' he mocked imitating Mira's tone.
''Drop dead, will ya?'' Mira growled as she took the lacrima and crashed it into the wall, Laxus' laughter carried all the way to the wall before the lacrima exploded in pile of glass.
''The nerve of that man!'' Mira growled as she turned toward Cana who was throwing playing cards at a map of Fiore.
"Any luck finding Natsu or Gildarts?" Mira asked as she rubbed her temples, already feeling the headache coming.
Cana sighed as a small magic circle appeared in front of her and she threw the card again but the cards simply circled around and returned to her hands.
''No'' Cana turned to look at the oldest Strauss sibling. ''I don't get it. They are either not in Fiore or cowered by some strong cloaking spell''
Mira sighed as she walked to the map. 'Where the heck are you guys?!'
Their conversation was interrupted by small earthquakes, earthquakes that became louder and stronger with each passing moment.
"What now?'' Gray cried out as he rushed out, closely followed by Erza and then the rest of them ''This doesn't sound good''
Gray, being the first to reach the doors, threw them open and stopped dead in his tracks, Erza almost running into him because of the sudden stop.
''Why did you... stop?'' Erza quieted down as her eyes traveled to the point where Gray was staring, her jaw falling slightly open. Towards them on four metal, spider-like legs moved Phantom Lord guild hall through the sea that stretched far behind Fairy Tail's guild hall.
The silence warped around the members who slowly moved out to stare at the unusual and quite frightening sight.
The moving castle stopped almost 50 meters away from the shore as the voice of Phantom Lord's master rang through the silence.
''Give us Lucy Heartfilia and we'll forget this ever happened'' a male, despicable voice of master Jose roared through Magnolia.
''And you think we'll forget it?'' Erza screamed outraged. ''I swear to whatever God is above I will turn your thin neck and gauge your eyes out, you horrible hick!''
Following her example, the Fairy Tail mages yelled and shouted.
''NEVER!'' ''SHE'S ONE OF US!''
Jose laughed before he said ''How pathetic. But since I'm in good mood today I'll count to ten and then Boom! I'll blow up your itsy-bitsy, tiny, puny little guild hall with Jupiter cannon here''
As he said that the front of the castle opened, the huge cannon coming into view.
''Ten... Nine'' the front of the cannon started glowing.
"Over our dead bodies!" Erza yelled, the rest of her guildmates yelling in agreement.
Jose just laughed again. ''Eight... Seven''
"Damn it!'' Gray cursed ''It won't destroy just the guild hall! It'll kill us all! Are they mad?!''
''They won't do any of that!'' Erza exclaimed as she moved in front of the cannon, standing between the cannon and her guildmates.
"Erza... What.. What are you doing?" asked Wendy in a shaky voice.
"Requip! Adamantine Armor!" Erza cried as golden light warped around her, her armor changing into one where instead of swords a two-piece shield appeared in both hands.
''Have you lost your mind?'' Elfman asked incredulously.
''There's no way you can stop a freaking Jupiter cannon!'' Gray added as he eyed the cannon carefully.
''I have to at least try!'' Erza said as she dropped to one knee, bringing her hands together to form one shield.
''ONE!''
The cannon fired and everyone closed their eyes as the pure beam of energy because they could not watch.
Erza kept her eyes on the back of her armor, waiting for the beam of energy which never came. Her eyes caught the shadow as it jumped over her and the all too familiar voice shouted "Chaos dragon's ROAR!"
All eyes shoot open focusing on the pinkhead who had his back turned to them, his roar fighting the Jupiter cannon and quickly overpowering it, the black and blue light moving toward the Phantom Lord guild hall with the speed greater than the cannon fired the beam that was now nowhere in sight.
The roar soon collided with the cannon as the explosion rocked the place, raising the dust in the air.
As the dust cleared it revealed a large hole in the front of the castle, the Jupiter cannon completely obliterated.
''What the...?'' Was all Jose was able to say. He was speechless just like everyone else.
The silence was broken by Wendy who upon seeing Natsu ran toward him with a grin splitting her face ''NATSU!''
She warped her hands around his waist, hugging him. Natsu stared at her for a second, feeling above awkward at the sudden contact before patting her head awkwardly, obviously not used to it, his back staying tensed and relaxing only when Wendy pulled back.
''How did you know we were in trouble?'' the girl asked.
He looked up from Wendy, his eyes immediately falling on Cana as he glared at her "I felt the drunkard here trying to pinpoint my location even though I told her to not do that'' Cana gulped as she pursed her lips, looking away ''I wouldn't think much of it but since no one really ever searched for me, rather tried to get rid of me, I knew something was wrong." A small smirk stretched his lips as the sinister aura spiked behind him.
"Wait a minute..." Gray started looking at Natsu "You came here because you were worried about us?" At that everybody looked at Natsu in disbelief.
"No, don't be ridiculous. I came here because I was sure you won't be able to protect Wendy and Mira." he deadpanned. Others sweatdropped.
"Of course. Why do I even ask?" Gray said. Their conversation was interrupted when Jose spoke again through the speakers. ''While it was an interesting display of your power I would advise you to pray to whatever God you believe in. There is no power on Earth that can stop this!'' He sounded angry but then again who wouldn't? That cannon must've cost a fortune. There was a loud screech as one of the towers shifted followed by the rest of the castle.
''What the...?'' Erza questioned in shock as she watched the once castle turning into a giant robot that towered over them. With another screech that made Wendy's and Natsu's teeth chatter the robot raised its hand, the tip of its metallic fingers lighting up in golden magic as it started drawing the circle on thin air.
Wendy looked at her brother whose eyes widened for a fraction. A fraction that was nonetheless noticed by others, no matter how small it was.
''Is there something wrong?'' Gray asked before shaking his head, realizing the question was stupid ''No, scratch that. What's wrong? You know what spell is that?''
Natsu clenched his hands into tight balls as he glared at the robot ''Are they insane?!''
Wendy's eyes widened in shock mirrored by the rest of the guildmembers that surrounded them. Natsu rarely shouted outside of a combat. His magic sparked as those closest to him took a step back, the shock of the sudden spike in pressure around them making them sweat.
''Brother?'' Wendy asked worriedly, her quiet voice heard by dragon prince without any difficulty because of his sensitive hearing.
Natsu bit the inside of his cheek before he spoke ''If that spell fires it won't just destroy Magnolia. It will demolish her''
"We have to stop them!" Erza yelled.
snif "This is all my fault'' the sentence was spoken barely above a whisper but in the panicked silence that had stretched over the small space, it was easily heard. Lucy sobbed, pressing the back of her hand against her eyes trying to stop the flood of tears. sob "I'm so weak. I.. I just bring trouble. You would be better off without me... I...'' snif. Erza bit her lower lip, saddened and quite a bit angry at Jose for upsetting her guild member to this extent. Lucy was not weak. She was about to walk to her but a strong arm gripped her shoulder, the coldness of the arm strangely seeping through her armor almost sending a chill down her spine. She glanced at the owner of the hand, gasping silently when black obsidian eyes looked her way before Natsu continued walking towards Lucy. She could clearly see his face, years of watching it allowing her to see the trickle of emotion showing on it. To anyone who saw the pink-haired dragon slayer he looked barely annoyed but Erza knew better. Annoyed Natsu didn't have a facial expression for an emotion as simple as an annoyance. No, this was fury. The blood-freezing fury that usually ended in a bloodbath.
Titania knew quite well who the fury was directed at but that did little to calm her. She never really talked much to the dragon slayer before her but she talked to Mira and she saw him around the guild in those rare times he was actually there. Mira had told her on numerous occasions of the bloodbaths that occurred on the missions they took together and that was when he wasn't angry. The closest thing she could compare this type of fury was all those years ago when Lisanna died though this didn't get quite to that level... yet.
Lucy was by now crying so hard that she didn't even notice that Natsu was approaching her. She certainly noticed when a finger tapped her shoulder and due to her sleeveless shirt, she felt the freezing coldness of the owner rather easily, twitching slightly from it. She looked up, expecting to see Gray since he was more or less the only logical person in her mind that could be this cold but when she saw Natsu her breath caught in her throat. He looked her straight into the eyes and Lucy froze. Black eyes, for the first time, didn't seem as empty as she remembered them, barely visible and masterfully hidden emotions were clear to her for the first time and she knew quite well it was because the pinkhead wanted it to be so. Lonely and compassionate eyes stared at her for a brief second before Natsu blinked and like magic, the emotions disappeared. She was a little shocked when she saw the loneliness and compassion as if he knew what it was like when those closest to you don't notice and neglect you, however, when she took into consideration who raised him she felt even slightly guilty because it must have been a lot worse.
"You have your family here and you don't have... you won't leave. Your father is rather an idiotic man if he thinks he can take Fairy tail member against their will and get away with it," he whispered quietly to her through others heard him due to the silence his actions brought.
"Thank you," she said. For the rest of her life, she would swear that at the moment she saw a truly shocked expression cross his face but it lasted for less than a second and his face fell to the same disturbingly emotionless and distant expression as it was most of the time.
"Don't thank me. Thank them'' He said pointing at the other members. ''All that I do for this guild is for Mira and Wendy. I have no particular attachments to anyone else whose here at the moment'' The vague implication he considered someone else worth his attention confused Lucy for a moment before she noticed the slight twitch of his lips. Black eyes looked around and the dragon slayer quickly grabbed Reedus' forearm, making the large man yelp in shock and before he could truly question dragon slayer's actions, Natsu spoke ''Keep an eye on her, will ya"
Reedus also noticed the twitch in Natsu's lips and the two found themselves squirming uncomfortably under Natsu's gaze when they recognized the twitch that for a brief second even truly resembled a smile – as sinister as it was.
"Dragon slayer lost art: chaotic void," Natsu said with a smirk and Lucy's face drained of all color, an expression of horror striking her features closely followed by those who were on Lullaby task. They all remembered the terrible feeling of their insides turning around like their stomach took a trip to rollercoaster and forgot to take them. It was a feeling that you couldn't forget even if you wanted to and the green faces of Gray and Wendy spoke it wasn't for the lack of trying.
A black hole opened beneath the small group of three and both Lucy and Reedus gave a startled cry for help before the hole closed. A few seconds later Natsu emerged from a new one, amusement flickering across his obsidian eyes, no doubt witnessing Lucy and Reedus emptying their stomachs.
"That will do for the moment." Any sign of amusement already disappeared from his face.
"Where did you take them?" Cana wondered, sounding somewhat angry.
"Somewhere'' Natsu deadpanned. "Right now we have more important problem at our hand''
"He's right! We have to stop Phantom lord before this get's out of our hands!" Erza agreed, urging others to move but as if on cue a black cloud rose from the castle. Upon closer inspection – by closer, Erza meant the cloud moved closer, at an alarming rate at that – she realized the cloud was not the cloud at all but a mass of black shadows.
The fight between the shadows that followed quickly showed two things – one; there was a considerable amount of shadows more than gathered Fairy tail mages and two; you don't want to touch them. The second point was even more pronounced as Wakaba collapsed to the floor, his magic completely drained.
"Don't let shadows touch you! They will empty your magic container in a second!" Bisca yelled.
"You three, Wendy and cats, with me'' Natsu barked suddenly pointing at Erza, Gray, and Elfman before turning to the castle and quickly walking toward the small cliff that separated the beach from the water.
"Are we going in their guild hall?" asked Wendy as she fell into step beside him, forced to a half-jog to keep up with his quick pace.
The dragon prince nodded, stopping just at the edge of the cliff. ''We need to stop Jose and the robot.
Elfman grinned. ''We're gonna fight like MEN!''
''I'm a girl'' Wendy reminded the white-haired male Strauss sibling.
''To the castle!'' Elfman exclaimed pointing at the robot before jumping off of the cliff.
''Aye sir!'' A wide grin spread over Happy's face who spread his wings and the exceed dived after Strauss and warping his tail around one hand of the giant mage, grunting in an effort to lift him up for a second before the cat got a better grip on him and carried him over the water. Their manly yells drew a blank face from the four still standing at the cliff and Natsu wandered whatever asking those two to join them was a smart move.
Carla sighed before she took a hold of Wendy's dress and lifted them in the air, Erza not far behind in Black Wing Armor.
Natsu waited until they were halfway over the water before he spoke the incantation, black hole opening beneath him.
**with Lucy and Reedus**
"Here, this should be far enough," Natsu said as the two Fairy tail mages besides him crumbled to the floor, emptying their stomachs as soon as they opened their eyes. The violent spinning of the room almost bearable to the pain in their head and twisting of their stomach. As the two continued to wriggle on the floor the dragon prince's eyes showed slight amusement, a memory of the past coming front to his mind before he disappeared from the warehouse he left them in.
''I hate him'' Lucy said once she managed to point where the ceiling and where the floor was. Forget the point where she thought he might be a nice guy underneath all that black clothing. What he did was just mean.
Reedus nodded in agreement. ''Should I even ask what that was?''
"Natsu's teleportation spell" Lucy answered, pushing herself to her knees. God, she hoped she'll never experience that again.
Reedus nodded in agreement and the two settled on the floor. As minutes of silence ticked by Reedus pulled out a scratchpad and a piece of coal out of his pants.
Scratch – Scratch filled the room when coal met the paper. ''Do you have any idea why he took us here?'' Reedus asked absently.
''I guess he took me here to keep Phantom Lord away from me''
"Too bad he hadn't thought of the fact Phantom Lord has a Dragon slayer as well... and your scent is quite easily distinguished''
"Who's there?" Reedus jumped to his feet, scratchpad and coal discarded on the floor and the pikto mage pulled the brush out of the back pocket of his pants.
A chuckle echoed through the room as red eyes blinked at the two from the shadows in the corner.
**with Natsu and the others in Phantom Lord guild hall**
They were walking quietly through the long hallways, not out of necessity to stay unnoticed since they didn't delude themselves that Jose was unaware of their arrival but out of pure instinct. Natsu stopped midstep and without a warning which resulted in Gray almost slamming into his back.
Ice user managed to stop himself just in time and glared at dragon slayer. "Why did you stop?" he hissed in annoyance. He had every right to be annoyed considering the thought of bumping into pink-haired teen scared the living daylights out of him and it wouldn't even be his fault.
Natsu looked at him before he turned his head back to the front and pointed at five doors that were lined on the wall. ''We have to separate. Going through each of those doors together would take too much time''
''He's got a point'' Erza mused before she looked at Natsu. ''Who goes where?''
Natsu blinked at her question. It was rare for anyone to ask him for instructions. As uncommon as that was he didn't delay with his answer.
''The strongest presence is coming from the middle so I'll take those. Wendy and cats – first, Gray – second, Erza – fourth, Elfman – '' where Elman needed to go was obvious even though it was unsaid but the reason for Natsu's sudden silence had nothing to do with that fact as a shrill scream ripped the air. Natsu and Wendy grimaced when the sound assaulted their eardrums.
"It's Lucy!" Erza realized with wide eyes.
Elfman looked at Natsu. ''I thought you took her somewhere safe?!''
Natsu nodded. ''So did I. It appears I underestimated their ability to track people. Not a problem, though, we'll get her out''
''Not a problem'' Gray scoffed angrily. ''Do you hear yourself?''
"It came from there'' Wendy pointed at the middle door, her eyes moving to Natsu.
"I am well aware of that'' Natsu shrugged. ''Pointing out the obvious has no purpose whatsoever. Either way, we stick to the original plan. I'll save her when I find her''
They didn't wait for any more instructions, rushing to their designated doors.
Wendy looked at her strange opponent cautiously but her curiosity was also clearly visible. Happy hovered above her, glaring at the black-and-white wizard who stood in their path while Carla positioned herself beside Wendy, her wings folded but still there.
''What is your name?'' Wendy questioned moving her balance to her toes in order to attack or dodge if necessary.
The man raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk on his lips. ''And why would I tell you that?''
"It is a show of good manners in a fight'' Wendy said. ''My brother believes that to be quite important and I was trained by him''
"Your brother sure sounds like an idiot'' man commented ''But I'll amuse you, cute little thing. My name is Totomaru''
Wendy bristled at the mage in front of her. Angry both for calling her little and more importantly calling her brother an idiot.
''Like you're the one to talk'' Carla shot back, referring to the two-toned long hair that was tied in a knot. ''Your hairstyle sure doesn't point to you being overly smart. Black and white, really? Your sense of fashion is truly horrendous''
Wendy giggled at the face Carla made to emphasize her point. The blue-haired teen knew quite well the white cat was doing this just to mess with Phantom lord mage and by the furious face of their opponents, it was working.
''Don't you dare mock my hair!'' Totomaru exclaimed pointing an angry finger at the small cat who shrugged. ''It's not mocking if it's true''
Totomaru's eye twitched in annoyance and yellow flames wrapped around his hand. ''You little brats!'' he moved to squash the white feline but Wendy intercepted his path, her own hand warped in wind. ''Sky dragon's crushing fang!''
She flexed her fingers and as if claws moved towards Totomaru who discarded his attack in favor of dodging, quickly jumping back but Wendy's fingers still managed to graze his hand. Totomaru hissed and pressed his other hand against the bleeding wound. The mismatched-haired man frowned at the superficial wound and his ruined sleeve.
''You are one annoying little gaki, aren't ya?'' Totomaru wondered out loud before his hands lit in yellow flames again.
''What in Mavis' name is that?'' Wendy asked as she pinched her nose, the previous encounter with the flame to short to realize it was the source of the horrible smell.
Carla and Happy shared her disliking of the suspicious fire in Totomaru's hands.
"It stinks!" Carla agreed with Wendy wholeheartedly.
"Aye, sir!" Happy added
Totomaru laughed, unbothered by the stench, moved towards Wendy who stepped to the side but Totomaru twisted his body and moved to hit her in the chest. Wendy, still in the middle of her last step stumbled when she tried to took another without regaining balance from the first. Totomaru missed as the blue-haired girl found herself on the floor with an ''Umpf''
Wendy's eyes widened and she rolled to the side when a hand, this time warped in purple slammed in the ground beside her.
''Stay still!'' Totomaru grounded out through gritted teeth as the game of tag continued.
''I don't think I'll do that'' Wendy muttered, planting her petit hands in the wooden floor bellow and flipping up, her toes catching Totomaru in the chin, sending the man stumbling back and ultimately falling on the floor when Happy and Carla took hold of his legs.
Wendy looked at her opponent, small sadistic glint in her eyes as she grinned at the mage. ''Seems like roles have been reversed''
''Sky dragon's ROAR!''
Totomaru watched in morbid fascination as tornado stormed towards him, sending him flying through the wall behind him.
Wendy quickly jumped after him, Carla and Happy following somewhat cautiously behind.
''She's been spending to much time with Natsu'' Carla palmed her face.
''Duh'' Happy replied
Totomaru by now regained his footing but the roar seemed to do quite a bit of damage along with its newly creation of a hole in the wall if the bloody chin was any indication.
Wendy circled around him for a moment before they rushed at each other, yellow flames once again in Totomaru's hands and wind spiraling in Wendy's.
''Sky dragon's crushing fang!'' Wendy chanted once again as she moved towards Totomaru who dodged the attack. ''You think you can use the same trick on me twice? I'm not-''
As Wendy ran past him she propelled herself in the air, her feet already coated with magic. ''Sky dragon's claw!''
Her feet connected with Totomaru's head sending the man to the ground and as Wendy moved to land and Totomaru to stand up she crashed her other foot in his back, sending him to the floor with even more force then her previous blow provided.
''Don't get up'' Wendy said when Totomaru blinked barely around, obviously dizzy from two blows and more than a bit disoriented.
The blue-haired dragon slayer once again cocked her hand back but didn't bother warping magic around before she slammed her fist into Totomaru's head, sending the man to the blissful unconscious.
Wendy sighed, panting slightly before she wiped her cheek where small cut stood she received during the fight.
''Sorry, Totomaru but you gave me no choice'' Wendy replied to the mage, perfectly aware he couldn't hear her.
''I don't think apologizing to the enemy is really necessary, Wendy'' Happy told the bluehead.
''I know'' Wendy smiled. ''But it's a nice thing to do''
Carla shook her head. ''Are you okay?''
''Why wouldn't I be?'' Wendy asked her friend, a small grin on her lips.
Carla smiled back along with Happy.
End of chapter 14.
Rewritten
Please review and thanks for reading. :)