"Good morning, Archbishop." Erza greeted the priestess with a respectful bow of her head as she crossed the store.
Natsu turned away from the ghost, doing his best to maintain composure. She didn't know him, he never existed here.
I'm sorry, Natsu… It's ok to show it now…
He bit down on his tongue, driving the shakes away for now as he leaned down on the counter and read the order again, blocking out all unnecessary noise. He glanced up at the blacksmith and cleared his throat. "Could I see that materials list, I might be able to help perfect the alloy."
"Alright." Saiko slid the sheet of paper over, oblivious to the man's inner turmoil. She grabbed the sword she had shown the pinkette and placed it on the counter. "Here you go, Titania."
We've lost so many people… and now, so, so many more.
Natsu felt the familiar pair of eyes land on his back as he focused his attention on the paper. He noticed a mass of white lean against the bench to his left as the glinting of shining metal came up to his right side. He knew nether could hear his out-of-control heart, his vision started to sway but he grit his teeth and forced his body to comply. 'Get a hold of your damn self!'
Wendy. Save your strength, don't worry about me.'
Erza picked up the sword and inspected it closely. "I haven't seen your face around before. Are you new to Magnolia?" She glanced down at the stoic pinkette, his harsh red eyes glowed faintly as they flicked up at her then back to the page as he calmly altered the recipe.
"Yes." Natsu grunted through his tensed jaw. His breath came out in slow, even puffs from his nose. He glanced at his right hand, it still held its tanned colour, thankfully he hadn't paled even by the slightest amount. "I've only recently purchased a house here after coming from my homeland, it was destroyed, there was nothing left for me there so I had to move on."
I'm going to die either way. There is no point prolonging the inevitable.
"I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds like it was hard on you." Erza slid the sword back into the sheath and attached it to her left hip, giving the blacksmith a quick nod. "You seem tense, are you ok?"
"I will be. You just remind me of a woman I knew. Like you, she was a warrior. Died by my side." Natsu straightened up and slid the page back to Saiko. "That mix will provide greater stability in the alloy, and it will make the end product even stronger." He placed the fountain pen on the counter and slipped his hands into his pockets as he turned to the knight. "Call me Báleygr."
Her face was replaced with a slightly older one. One with closed eyes and a peaceful, sad smile which was illuminated by a crackling fire. The sound of sobbing echoed in his ears.
"Titania." Erza replied, nodding her head respectfully. "You're a Jaeger too, aren't you?"
"Yes." Natsu glanced to Saiko once more, struggling to keep a lid on everything boiling up within him. "I've placed my contact details on the order form, if you need anything, let me know."
"No problem! I'll start working out how to do it right away!"
"Thank you, have a good day, both of you." Natsu murmured. Howling wind filled his mind, flashes of five freshly dug graves, the smell of death permeating the air, burning… everything was burning.
He turned with a swish of his coat and began to leave the weapon-smith's store. He faintly heard a rustling of clothes as Lelyanna bid farewell with a bow and followed him, quickly catching up to him. Once he was outside, all the noise in the city rushed into his ears, causing his head to spin. "I think I'm going to head home…"
"Here, let me help." The priestess lightly grasped his right arm and gasped softly. Each time she had placed a hand on him before he was hot to the touch, but right now he seemed freezing in comparison. She quickly led him through the streets and grew even more worried as he began to shake like a leaf in the wind.
Ten-billion, one-hundred-and-sixty-five-million, four-hundred-and-thirty-nine-thousand, eight-hundred and fifty-one people perished in what amounts to as an instant.
Natsu's sharp vision was blurred, everything was dancing about as his pulse thundered in his ears. He pulled away from the woman and staggered down an alleyway, falling to his hands and knees after almost a dozen metres and emptying his stomach. "Fuck…"
He was cold and clammy, memories flashed through his mind like a video on fast-forward, voices cutting in and out. He continued to retch until nothing came out and he unsteadily rose to his feet again, staggering to the side and being caught by the delicate frame of the priestess.
"I had a bad feeling this would happen when I saw her walk in." Lelyanna mumbled softly. She took a handkerchief from a pouch and cleaned the man's lips. She pulled her hood back after she had made the man lean against the brick wall. "Was she someone close to you?"
…wither away and die here among the dust and echoes…
"Someone I grew up with. I wasn't lying to her when I said she reminded me of someone…" Natsu panted roughly. He requipped his canteen and poured some water into his mouth before spitting it off to the side in an effort to wash the acrid taste out. "Erza Scarlet died in my arms, just like Wendy Marvel, and Lucy Dragneel, my wife…" His vision was starting to come back into focus, and the blurred bluish-silver-haired woman went from six copies to just one entity. He gazed into her light-turquoise eyes that glistened with worry, he could see his red eyes in the reflection. "I did my best to hold everything together, but it shattered the moment I stepped outside…"
"I thought something was wrong when your eyes changed. The Goddess said it happens when you're aggravated or under emotional stress."
I'll go, she'd want me to keep living if I had the option to. But… I want to at least have the chance to say good-bye to them.
"I'll be right, I just need a little bit of time to get myself under control again…" Natsu murmured softly. He blinked when the young priestess reached up with the piece of cloth once more and dabbed at his cheeks and around his eyes. It was only then did he noticed he had begun to cry silent tears. He took another mouthful of water and swished it around his mouth, spitting it off to the side once again and sending the canteen back to his magical dimension. "I thought… I thought I would have been at least somewhat ok, with seeing their faces… Hearing their voices…"
Lelyanna's eyes began to leak water from the corners as her heart twinged sympathetically. She placed the handkerchief back into a pouch and pulled her hood back over her head then took hold of the man's right arm and brought it across her shoulders. "I may not be of much help, but lean on me and we'll go back to your home. I'll have the servants run a hot bath for you to warm you back up."
"Thank you… But do my left arm… I'd rather be able to reach my pistol if I need to." Natsu slowly switched sides and leaned a little bit of his weight on the dainty Archbishop. He felt her arm slip behind his back and he began to walk, following his memory to get them back home.
You see it now… don't you? …in your inaction… You caused the death of all those you had just blamed me for.
His head continued to spin in circles, causing him to sway slightly and make the lightweight woman stagger slightly. "Fuck… This dizziness won't go away."
"Here, I might know a spell that could help ease it…" Lelyanna murmured as the hand resting on the man's back glowed with a blue-green aura.
"You're a mage?" Natsu asked softly. The spinning slowly stopped but the snippets of memories, of people, places, and voices, kept flashing through his mind, filling it with noise.
"I was never able to use magic growing up." The woman turned her veiled eyes up to the man, a small smile gracing her lips. "When I became a priestess, I asked the Goddess for the power to help the sick and injured. I prayed every morning and every night. She came into my dreams after a little over three months and asked me if I would commit my life to serving her, being her apostle. I told her I would gladly do it, so she gave me her blessing. Gave me the ability to use magic to soothe and heal. After that, I quickly rose up the ranks in the sisterhood. Becoming the Archbishop and serving as her intermediate."
"She must have seen something in you. Something worth her time."
"Like she did with you, when she guided you here." Lelyanna smiled kindly but it dropped quickly as the man became stiff against her side, his softening red eyes instantly hardening once more. "What's wrong?"
"We're surrounded."
"Huh?" The Priestess quickly glanced around, and from the shadows of the alleyway they had been walking down emerged a gang of twelve scruffy looking men. Their rough white shirts were stained with sweat, dirt, and dried blood and some were missing buttons. Their pants were in no better condition, with patched holes here and there, stained with piss and more sweat and dirt.
"Welly, welly, welly. Lookie wat we got here boys. Some drunk bastard and a Priestess!"
"I'm not in the mood for this shit." Natsu grumbled under his breath. He leaned down and hooked his right arm under Lelyanna's knees while moving his left arm under her arms. Ignoring the shocked woman, he crouched down before leaping four-stories into the air and landing on the roof. He stumbled and fell to his knees but made sure not to drop the archbishop. "Hold on."
The world around the woman became a blur right after she locked her arms around the pinkette's neck. He had begun to run along the rooftops and leap the gaps between buildings, sometimes across wide streets. She focused on the man's face, his red eyes gradually faded back to their natural deep dark-green but they looked drained, hollow.
"Tuck your head in." He warned softly. They had reached the buildings on the perimeter of his estate and he landed into a crouch, his eyes focused on the two brass knights standing guard at his front door. He felt the woman curl into a foetal position in his arms and he released the strength in his legs carefully, propelling them through the air without damaging the roof. As they soared over the hedges, he brought his legs forward and shot flames from his soles to slow them down and stabilise their descent until his boots landed on the wide stone doorstep. He let Lelyanna unfurl herself and placed her on her feet before heading through the opened door. "I'm going to head up to my room."
The archbishop watched the man drag himself up the stairs but turned away as one of the doll-like servants approached her. "Please run a hot bath for Mr Báleygr. He isn't feeling so well and his temperature is below its natural level."
"Of course."
0=0=0=0=0=0
I love you, Natsu.
The man slowly pushed himself up out of the water, his dog-tags clinking together as he climbed out of the large bath. He didn't know how long he had been there, staring into the abyss; half an hour, an hour, two? He dragged himself over to the sink, placing his hands down on the rim as he gazed into the mirror. On the edge of the reflection stood a black-haired servant, standing by awaiting its next set of orders. "Do you have a name you would like to be called?"
"We do not require names, Master."
"I feel… like I should call you something, I can't just call you 'Servant' all the time." That was only part of the reason. He needed something, anything, to occupy his mind. He straightened up and turned to the human-looking automaton as it stepped forward and offered him a rolled-up towel. "Thank you."
…how about Henrietta?
Natsu gazed into the lifeless eyes of his servant, letting out a soft sigh through his nose. "You'll be called Henrietta."
"This unit or as a whole?"
"All. I won't treat you as individual beings, but naming you makes it easier for me."
"Understood, Master." The automaton pinched the hem of her maid's outfit and fanned it out while she curtsied. "Allow us to introduce ourselves formally. We are your servant, Henrietta."
Once he had dried himself and wrapped the towel around his waist, he turned back to the mirror. He reached out with his left hand and placed it upon the cold surface, his ring clicked lightly against the glass and drew his attention. A phantom weight pressed against his back as a pale arm reached out along his, resting against the back of his hand so their rings sat side-by-side.
Hehe, we match! It's so cute! Don't you think so, Darling?
He looked into the transparent chocolate brown eyes that were reflecting in the mirror, not daring to look away or blink in fear that the beautiful blond would vanish the second he did. A small, sad smile drifted across her lips and he felt her right arm slowly snake around his midriff and the familiar body conform to his back. He brought his hand to his stomach, knowing she wasn't there, but he wanted to feel her kind, loving warmth, just one more time. He slowly let out a sigh as he finally allowed his eyes to drift shut, the phantom presence faded, leaving him alone in the room save for the ticking of Henrietta's clockwork heart. His fingers squeaked against the glass as they slid down, his hands falling limply to his sides.
He walked to the door and reached for the handle, pausing for a moment as he gazed over his shoulder at the mirror. A spectre flickered before his eyes, a beautiful blonde applying some lipstick. But it vanished as quickly as it appeared, and the man dropped his gaze, dragging it along the floor. He opened the door and heard the rustle of hair as a head jerked up, he met the gaze of the priestess who sat on the edge of his bed for a moment before he crossed the room and entered his wardrobe.
"Are you ok…?"
Natsu remained silent as he dressed himself, it wasn't until he came out of the wardrobe and fastened his knife to his left thigh and his pistol to his lower back that he replied to woman, keeping his voice soft but level. "Yes. At least, better than I was." He ran his hand through his damp hair then heated both hands up and ran them through to dry his hair fully. "Have you had lunch?"
"No, not yet." Lelyanna slowly rose from the soft bed and approached the man. She reached up and placed the back of her hand on his forehead, pausing for a second before she remembered his higher body temperature. "You feel less clammy than you did before. Do you think you'll be able to stomach food?"
"I suppose we'll see." Natsu murmured as he turned his gaze to the doll-like servant standing not far from them. "Henrietta, could you have some food made for the Archbishop and I?"
"Right away, Master."
"Please just call me Lelyanna." The archbishop smiled kindly, drawing the man's attention. She tilted her head slightly, causing her short silvery-blue hair to fan out to one side. "I know we haven't known each other long, but I don't like being called by my title by people I'm familiar with. And since my Goddess has asked that I look after you, I think it's only fair that you can call me by name."
"Ok, then just call me Natsu, too. Unless it's a situation that you believe it would be better to call me by my professional name."
"Yeah, I had the same thought." Lelyanna's expression softened and she slowly turned her pale-turquoise eyes to the side as her mind wandered back to earlier that morning. "That's why I introduced you the way I did to Saiko." She placed her hands on her folded hood and fiddled with it, pulling it around her neck; she had left it down ever since it blew back when Natsu leapt into the air. "You called your servant automatons Henrietta?"
"It popped into my mind when I asked if they wanted a name, they said they didn't require a name but I don't just want to be calling 'servant' out constantly, I prefer to at least give them a name."
"Well, since you seem to be feeling better, I want to take you to the Royal Magnolia Library to educate you on the monsters you'll be facing." A soft rumble came from the woman's stomach, causing her pale skin to gain a light-pink tint. "After lunch, that is."
"Yeah, I need to learn how to effectively combat the monsters of this world. Without using my firearms." Natsu ran his hands through his hair one more time, sweeping his long spikes back and making sure they stayed put. He left his bedroom and started heading to the dining room, sensing Lelyanna right on his heels. "This may seem like a strange question; will you be willing to come out into the field with me? Having a medic on hand would be very handy."
"I don't have any combat experience though, and I don't know how to handle weapons…"
"Lelyanna, how many people have you been able to help while at the cathedral?" Natsu asked as he turned to face the priestess, standing halfway down the stairs and two steps below the woman, putting them roughly at eye-level with each other. "You told me that you wanted to help the sick and injured, but how often could you do that while in that building?"
"Not as much as I'd have liked…" Lelyanna admitted softly, bringing an arm across her body and hugging herself. "I could only help those who came to our cathedral, some couldn't make it there, and some were in dangerous parts of the city."
"Then I suggest we work together. I kill the monsters while you tend to any injured at the scene." Natsu reached behind his back and drew his M12 pistol, holding it up for her to see. "I'll even train you in using one of these for self-defence. I have three more, from my fallen squad members, each one exactly like this. I don't have any medical magic but I can teach you what I know of medicine and medical practices from my world too."
The more Natsu offered, the more Lelyanna's eyes lit up. She did love learning new things, and the option to learn things from his world was too good to pass up. Plus, he offered to teach her about greater ways to help people, which she could use outside of when they are hunting monsters. "Let me think it over while we have lunch. It's a big leap for me, following you into dangerous territories."
"You can have a week to think it over, or at least when I get my weapons from Saiko because then I want to go and see what the world outside this city is like." Natsu turned and started heading back down the stairs. He tilted his head up in thought then glanced over his shoulder. "If you can get me some blank tomes, I'll fill them with everything medical related from the knowledge crystal I was given by Ceres."
"I'll get some sent here."
"Master. A package has arrived for you."
"Have it brought to the study." Natsu murmured, not lifting his eyes nor stopping his hand as it scrolled across the page, writing in one of the blank tomes provided by Lelyanna. A stack of full tomes sat stacked up beside the desk, full of medical information.
"Yes, Master."
It had been four days since he had come face-to-face with the Erza Scarlet of this world. Four days since he had a mental breakdown. He had thought he was stronger, that a month of wandering that harsh radioactive wasteland alone had tempered his mind. But his resolve crumpled when he saw the face of one of his closest friends again, he was able to hold it together for a little bit but it quickly crumbled and blew away like the ashes that remained in his wasteland of a home.
Lelyanna had been in and out of the manor, going between the cathedral for her duties, the living quarters for her sisterhood, and collecting tomes for him. In fact, Natsu pealed his blank stare from the tome as he made a mental bookmark and glanced up at the clock ticking away on his wall, she would normally arrive soon since her afternoons were usually free.
"Coffee, Master?"
Natsu turned his head to the doll-like servant who dutifully stood just a little behind his right shoulder. "Yes. Thank you, Henrietta."
"I'll have it brought up with the package." The black-haired android bowed her head. "What would you like done with those tomes?"
"Leave them for now. Once I'm done filling this one out then you take them to our library and they can be ordered by subject matter, as I previously ordered." Natsu leaned back in his leather office chair and closed his eyes, sinking into the soft padded chair. Through trial and error, he had learnt how to enter a trance-like meditative state and he had been using that state for the last three days to fill out the tomes he had been given. There was so much knowledge to make physical copies of that he had barely enough time for much else. Each day he was running on only four hours of sleep, and putting aside the time for personal care, he spent most of the rest of the day writing and accurate diagrams.
"Natsu." Grunted a woman as her presence appeared out of thin air. "I found those things you told me to dig up. Had them cleaned too."
The man opened his eyes, on the other side of the desk stood the Goddess Ceres who was carrying two full sized steel silhouette targets hugged to her chest. "Henrietta, take the silhouettes from Ceres and set them out down in the grounds. I want the first target to be twenty-five metres from the firing line and the second set at fifty. And make sure they are set at a slight downward angle to deflect debris down to the ground."
"Should they be mounted on wooden posts, Master?" The android asked as it stepped out from behind the man and took the steel plates from the goddess, easily holding them by her side.
"Yes, I want them to simulate the average height of a male. If you could also have the firing line in an undercover location, that would be good, but if you can't make that work then it's fine."
"There will be enough room by the gazebo, shall I set it up there?"
Natsu rose from the desk and walked to the window, pushing aside the sheer blind so he could see down to the octagonal gazebo. "Yes, that would be a great area for it."
"Yes, Master." Henrietta gave the pinkette a small bow and left the room just before two more identical units entered, one with a parcel and the other with a silver tray that had a cup of coffee, some milk, and some sugar sat on top. The androids placed their respective deliveries on the desk, being mindful of the clutter of tomes before the unit with the silver platter took the previous unit's spot and the second left the room.
Natsu sighed as he took a seat back in his chair. He grabbed the cup of black coffee and began to mix it to his taste. "Thanks for getting that for me, Ceres. If I'm going to keep my skills sharp, I'm going to need proper targets to shoot. Granted, it won't stop the SPSR but it should handle up to the DMR. If I want to practice with those, I'd have to head outside the city."
Ceres carefully moved some unfilled tomes from the right side of the desk and sat against the edge, looking down at the man who was sipping his coffee. "Lelyanna told me what happened." She said, softly.
"That doesn't really surprise me. I figured either she'd tell you or you'd be watching over me while I was out and about." Natsu sighed and moved the package to the top of a cabinet that sat against the wall behind him, placing it next to some pistol magazines and an M12 that he had removed the maker marks from and replaced them with a flaming eye mark with his professional name next to it; a change he had made to all of his weapons. "Can you check in on Lelyanna, see if she is on her way and if she isn't, please ask her to make her way here."
The goddess closed her eyes for a moment as she connected her consciousness with her follower. "She says that she's ten minutes away. It's taking her some time as she and a few members of her sisterhood and bringing an armful of blank tomes each."
"Alright." Natsu glanced over his right shoulder to the automaton. "Henrietta, see that our guests are treated nicely, offer them some tea or coffee and a place to relax." The clockwork android bowed at the hip and Natsu groaned softly as he stretched his arms out and rolled his wrists, he picked up his fountain pen and turned his attention back to the tome. "I better get this tome finished."
"Do you want me to find some equipment and supplies for you to create more ammunition?"
"Fiore had nuclear power plants and factories, both automated. We'll have to take a trip back there at some point to investigate those and see if they are still functional, if any remain." The pinkette sat back once again and turned his attention to the inhumanly beautiful woman sat on the edge of his desk. "I don't want to use the gunpowder from this world, I have no doubt that it can't even come close to the power of my own world's smokeless powder. But it isn't needed just yet. I've got a decent stock of munitions stored away in my magical dimension."
"So, you want to see if you can bring those machines over here or have a steady supply of ammo sent over?" Ceres asked. She kicked her legs out as she leant back, stretching her body out languidly. "I suggest setting something up in your basement, cleansing entire shipments is more time-consuming than bringing over the machines you need and doing all the manufacturing here."
"There was a company, called Nightshade, who made the ammo for the Fiorian military and the civilian sector. They have a factory about thirty minutes south of Malba where the made a lot of small arms ammunition." Natsu informed the goddess as he reached under her outstretched legs and pulled open a draw, withdrawing a notepad from it. He quickly wrote down the company name, the factory location, and the ammo types he needed. "Scout it out for me and we'll go and see what we can dig up, provided it's still there."
"Just us? Lelyanna mentioned that you asked her to travel with you while you work as a Jaeger."
"She's only human." Natsu murmured softly as he tore the leaf of paper from the pad and handed it to the goddess. "Enough people have died to that world; I'd rather not have to add one more to that. Who better to send to hell itself than a demon with a goddess to watch over him."
"I'm sure she'd jump at the chance to check out the ruins of a world similar to her own."
"Unless you have some kind of magical fully sealed hazmat suit that completely blocks radiation and has no chance of failing? No, I'd rather not pointlessly waste a life when you and I could survive just fine in those ruins."
"Point taken." Ceres pushed herself up off the desk and slipped the paper down her cleavage for safe keeping. "I'll take a little break but after that, I'll head to where you've instructed and see if anything is left standing or is at least in a recoverable state. I'm off."
"Keep me updated." Natsu gave the pure-white woman a quick nod before she vanished in a flash of light. He refocused on the tome in front of him and fell back into his trance, his pen scrolling along the page and leaving lines of neat writing as he transcribed the knowledge from the crystal inside him. The ticking of the clock on the wall became muted, as did the mechanical heart of the android behind him. Page after page after page, he diligently filled out the tome with information and diagrams until he reached the end of the specific source material he was quoting. He signed it off and titled the remaining pages as Notes.
"Master. The guests have arrived."
"Just in time…" Natsu groaned as he stretched out his upper body. He rose from the seat and pushed it in as he stepped around to the cabinet. "Have these tomes taken to the library." He grabbed the M12 and mags and sent them away for now before grabbing the package and leaving the room. The light clatter of ceramic on silver followed him out of the room as the Henrietta unit collected up the coffee set and followed him down the stairs. It turned and headed down a separate path as another unit came out from a nearby room, attaching itself as Natsu's direct assistant. While he was dressed in his usual noble outfit, he had decided to forgo wearing the coat around the house, leaving his holstered pistol and magazines visible on his lower back. He unfastened his gold cuff-links and neatly folded his sleeves up to the elbow, revealing his tattoo-like demonic markings.
"Sorry for the wait." Natsu announced his arrive as he entered the drawing room where he was met with five priestesses, including Lelyanna herself. The archbishop was the only one with gold ornaments, denoting her rank in the sisterhood following Ceres, the rest had polished brass buckles and ornaments but aside from that they all wore the same style of attire, it seemed to be their style of religious habit. "I hope it wasn't long."
"Not at all." Lelyanna smiled kindly, her bluish-silver locks swaying slightly as she tilted her head to her sisters. "Everyone, this is Natsu. He goes by the name Báleygr. Natsu, these are Sisters Lyrica, Erika, Noel, and Michelle." She listed of each woman in a clockwise circle with a wave of her hand indicating who is who. She was sat at one end of the coffee table in a plush chair while her sisters sat in couches lining the sides of the low table. "They happened to be free today and saw that I had a fair bit of tomes to carry here, so they volunteered to help."
"Well, then." Natsu smiled and bowed his head humbly to the hooded women. It was hard to tell them apart by sight alone; their eyes were hidden by their veils but their hair could be seen, the first had a deep-purple curtain coming down the left side of their face, the second a pale blonde with hair so long it came down and out the back of the hooded cloak, the third's ashen bangs framed her face and curved slightly in around her chin, the last had vibrant orange hair that seemed to shimmer like dancing fire, her licks of flames tamed by the white fabric. "Thank you for your assistance. You're helping ensure that the knowledge of my homeland isn't lost to the ravages of time." He turned to the android stood just a little behind him and waved his hand to the stack of tomes, it seemed that each woman was carrying five of the large hard-cover books. "Henrietta, please have them taken to the study."
"Yes, Master." Henrietta chirped in its artificial songbird-like voice. Four units came in from an adjacent room and took an equal cut of the pile, ferrying them from the room with nothing but the sound of their gentle footsteps, and the clockwork heart only audible to Natsu, to draw attention to them.
"You look tired, Mr Báleygr, have you not been sleeping well?" Erika asked. Her hood turned slowly as she watched the man sit in the remaining chair opposite the archbishop.
"I've been funnelling all my time into filling these tomes out. Once I'm done with the section of medical science that I am transcribing, I'll take a break." Natsu dropped the kind smile and allowed his tiredness to extend from the shadow of his eyes to across his face as he slumped back into a more relaxed and comfortable position. "Admittedly, I'm probably am overworking myself."
"Master has only been allowing himself an average of four point five hours of sleep over the last four nights. Against our attempts to have him maintain a standard sleep cycle of eight hours, he has repeatably only permitted himself half of that and has frequently spent his time cooped up in the study seeing to the task of filling out the tomes with the knowledge he has brought with him from his homeland."
"Thank you… Henrietta…" Natsu grumbled tiredly as he ran his right hand down his face, sending a half-hearted glare at the black-haired servant. "I'm sure they needed to know about my current sleeping habits…"
"You should really be allowing yourself more time to sleep." Lelyanna reprimanded the man, lightly. She let out a soft huff which sent a ripple along her veil. "I've seen you working, you're like Henrietta in that state. Sitting stock still with your hand scrolling across page after page, your eyes practically devoid of life."
Natsu glanced at the archbishop then turned his gaze to the servant at his shoulder, watching as the lifeless eyes turned to him. "Yes, Master? Hmm, your eyes do look rather empty, Master. Perhaps you've been replaced with an automaton?"
"Who snuck in and toyed with your emotions…?" Natsu asked, his eyes blinking slowly with mild shock at the automaton's attempt at dry humour. He held up a hand and turned his attention back to the women in front him. "No, don't tell me… I have a damn good idea just who came down here and fiddled with your control systems." His eyes focused on the gold adorned priestess. "Lelyanna, if you want to read any of the filled-out tomes, they are in my library. Just ask Henrietta to show you to them. There are some medical ones there waiting for you when you're ready to read them."
"In that case…" Lelyanna smiled at the women between them. "You all can head out without me when you're ready. I want to learn as much as I can from these tomes as it'll help us tend to the sick and injured."
""""Yes, Archbishop."""" The four priestesses responded, in unison, bowing their heads slightly. When the blonde, Erika, started to rise from her seat, she was stopped by Natsu raising his hand.
"Please. Stay a little longer. You're all welcome to have a few cups of tea and stay out of the weather for a bit." Natsu waved the woman back to her spot on the couch with a kind smile before rising from his own, keeping the package held firmly in his left hand. "I do, however, have some things to discuss with your archbishop. So, if you'd excuse us."
"Don't wait around for me." Lelyanna told her sisters as she rose from her chair and walked around the back of the couch to stand beside the weary pinkette. "I'll likely end up borrowing a spare bedroom and reading well into the night."
"If it helps you tend to more people." Natsu smiled and led the way out of the room, but as he reached the stairs his warm but tired smile slid off his face as he let out a small sigh; he could finally get down to business. Keeping his voice low, he looked back over his shoulder at the head priestess, noticing she had pulled back her hood. "Have you given my offer any further thought?"
"Yeah, I've been dwelling on it each night and have even asked the Goddess about it."
"Have you come to a decision, then, or do you need a few more days to think it over some more?"
"You made a good point; I'll help more people coming with you to the sites of the attacks than I could if I stayed in the Cathedral." Lelyanna ceded with a small bow of her head. "So, I'll be tagging along. Though, I won't be much help in a fight."
"I'm providing you with a means of self-defence, along with training you how to use it safely." Natsu held up the brown package, he reached behind him and handed it to the holy woman before turning to fully face the front. "Don't open that until we're in the library."
"Okay."
"Henrietta, how's that project I gave you outside doing?"
"Almost done, Master. We're handling the fifty-metre post right now."
"Notify me when it is done." Natsu pushed open the large arched doors that led to the library, letting Henrietta and Lelyanna pass before he shut it behind them. He stepped between them and crossed past the rows of bookshelves until he came to a section where two more servants were stacking books. "Pass me the book on First Aid and Paramedical Procedures."
The black-haired servant closest to him sidestepped and took out one of the books near the start of the line and made its way to Natsu. "Here you go, Master."
Natsu gave a thankful nod as he took the hard-cover book from the android and held it out to the woman. "I suggest starting with this one. It details how to handle admitting first aid from a professional standpoint as a first responder. Some of it may not translate well to this world, so if you need clarification then feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to explain it."
"Thanks. Even if things are more advanced than what we have here, I'll see if I can adapt any of it." Lelyanna smiled and took the book to a plush chair beside an enclosed fireplace, placing it down on the small circular table. She turned back to Natsu and slowly turned the package over in her hands. "So, what's this?"
"A means of carrying what I'm providing you." As Lelyanna unwrapped the package, Natsu placed down the M12 pistol he had prepared for her onto the circular table. The woman held up a white leather underarm holster with gold studs and fasteners. "It's a special order, I provided the Leather-worker with wooden mock-ups so they could work to exact measurements. And I had it designed in such a way that it would fit your archbishop garb."
The woman ran her pale-turquoise eyes across the holster, then to the weapon on the table and up to the tired but steely-eyed pinkette. "How do I put it on?"
"You'll have to remove that half-cloak for now, it'll be easier to show you that way."
"So, it'll be hidden from view under this?" Lelyanna asked curiously as she placed the holster onto the table then began to fiddle with the golden clasp between her collarbones. She quickly unfastened the cloak and draped it over the back of the chair. At Natsu's affirmative nod, she gave him a small smile and picked up the holster once again.
"Since you're right-handed, I had the holster placed under your left arm while your magazines will be housed under your right."
"How did you know I was right-handed? You haven't seen me write; I don't think…"
"You do most your gestures with your right hand, and it's the hand you use when you are holding a drink." Natsu helped the woman put the holster on and adjusted it carefully to fit her slender frame. "Does it feel like it obstructs your movement or presses on your left breast?"
"No." Lelyanna shook her head gently as she adjusted the way the leather straps rested over her shoulders. She hugged her arms to her body to press the holster firmly into her body and found that the soft leather had padding placed between the layers to make it even more comfortable. "Could you hand me the pistol, I want to see how that affects it."
The man grabbed the M12 from the table and dropped the mag into his awaiting hand before pulling the slid back to eject the chambered round. He released the slide and flipped the gun around in his hand and held it out for the priestess. But when she grabbed the handle, he didn't relinquish his grip. "Three things before I hand this to you. Treat every gun as if it is loaded. Do not point it at or towards anything you don't plan on shooting. And keep your finger alongside the trigger housing until you are planning on firing, then you can place it onto the trigger. Understood?"
"Yes." Lelyanna nodded quickly and adjusted her grip, placing her index finger in line with the barrel. "Always treat it as if it's loaded, don't point it at anything I won't be shooting, and only put the finger into the trigger housing when I'm ready to shoot; right?"
"Correct. Now, since this is to the left of me. I want you to either raise the muzzle up or point it down, making sure you don't sweep it across me because if you get an accidental discharge, you could put me in the grave."
As Natsu released the weapon, Lelyanna smoothly raised the muzzle to the roof then moved it across her body and slid it into the holster. "This hoop at the top of the holster, do I flick that down over the back of the gun?"
"Yeah. It's there so it won't fall out. It has some wiggle room, but that's so it can still be moved up and down if you have the firing hammer locked back and the gun in safe. It's my preferred way of carrying as I can flick off the safety as I draw and be ready to fire quickly."
Lelyanna secured the pistol and checked how it pressed against her body. "I was wondering whether or not it would push too much on my breasts, but it seems to be fine. Thankfully, they aren't overly big, I can imagine they'd get in the way if they were any larger than my C's…"
"Huh, they looked like D's to me. Well, usually they would either get a holster that sat lower or adjusted the one they had." Natsu quickly withdrew her pistol with practiced ease and opened the slide. He grabbed the ejected round and placed it back into the chamber then loaded the mag back into the gun. "These magazines are fourteen-round capacity mags. So, plus the one in the chamber, you have fifteen in the gun right now."
"I'm actually right on the edge." The woman admitted with only a shade of embarrassment that dusted her light cheeks with a faint pink. "Sometimes they swell into the D range, other times they sit just below it. It seems to depend on the weather or how I'm feeling." Lelyanna took the now-loaded pistol carefully and slotted it back into the holster. She reached down to grab the three remaining mags from the table and glanced at the fitted pouches on the right side. "Is there a special way these go in?"
"You'll want the tips of the bullets pointed up, this makes reloading quicker as you just need to drop the mag and slot the next one in without having to worry about rotating it." Natsu held up his hand with his fingers and thumb fully extended. "As a general rule, the bullets should point the same direction as your fingers when you grab them. This means when you pull the mag out, you can just pop it right in." He drew his own pistol and dropped the mag into his hand to demonstrate it, holding it for her to see with his thumb pointed up inline with the mag. He quickly slotted it back into the gun and brought his hands together into a stable firing position. "Quick and easy."
Once Lelyanna had placed the mags in their pouches, she moved her arms in circles, then back and forth, then hugged herself once more. "Yeah, it fits just fine, I think. It's not rubbing, and it doesn't really feel uncomfortable, it's different but I can get used to it."
"I decided to swap the rounds in all my mags for subsonic ammo, both of us are carrying them. Basically, when coupled with a suppressor it will make the sound signature much less noticeable, and vastly quieter than any other firearm in this world." Natsu placed his weapon back behind his back and grabbed her cloak from the chair, swinging it around her and fastening it around her thin pale neck. "Good, you can't tell that you're armed. Once those members of your sisterhood leave, I'll take you outside for some practice. Until then, just get comfortable with your new gear."
"Well…" Lelyanna put her hands on Natsu's chest and lightly guided him backwards before pushing him down onto a couch. "You need to get some sleep in that case. We're working together now, so we need be mindful of each other's well-being, and you are in dire need of sleep."
"Fine, fine." Natsu grumbled half-heartedly as he turned on the spot and laid down, putting a cushion under his head and closing his eyes. He heard Lelyanna sit down on the chair she had draped the cloak over earlier and pick up the book. "If you have questions, wake me."
"Nope. I'm making you rest, and if you don't actually fall asleep soon, then I'll make you fall asleep." Lelyanna sighed and levelled her pale-turquoise eyes upon the former Shock Trooper. "I think I have an idea of the reason you're trying to avoid sleeping as much as you can without it being too detrimental to your health… You've been seeing them in your dreams, haven't you?"
The salmon-haired man was silent for near-on a minute before he decided to answer her. "Yeah." He murmured softly. "Yeah… Over the month since I had lost them, when I was wandering that wasteland alone, I dreamt of how we lived, and how they died… Seeing her has only reopened those wounds. Every night I've been reliving the final moments, watching Gray be vaporised by the blast, feeling Lucy go limp as her heartbeat slows to a stop, Erza trying to comfort Wendy and telling her to be strong, and Wendy crying… each and every one took a bit of me with them. That's why I haven't been sleeping well, why I've been forcing myself to work."
"I won't pretend to know how that feels, to lose absolutely everything." Lelyanna murmured in her soft, feathery voice. "Having my entire life, my entire world ripped from me over the course of an hour or so, because of some group of madmen decided to… how is it said again?"
"The term you're after is 'nuke', nuking a planet for instance."
"Thank you. Because they decided to nuke everything since they didn't get their way." The priestess finished, the corners of her lips dropping from the sorrow she felt for him. "You know, fate is going to draw you all together again."
"I know." Natsu faintly whispered. He rolled onto his side and looked at the young woman. "I know I'll have to face them when the time comes… I just don't know how I'll do when it happens… Will I crumble like I did before? Could I even tell them who I am and where I came from? Will they even accept that?"
"I'd like to believe that they'd welcome you with open arms."
"I wish I had your optimism, but I could just as well be an imposter in their eyes. And anyway, it isn't something that could happen right away, I can't shoehorn myself into their lives. To them, I am a stranger, just another resident of Magnolia. All I can do is work hard and see what happens when we inevitably cross paths once more."
"Well, you could just hide the truth from them in the beginning. And then once you've gained their trust and confidence then you could tell them or leave hints and let them find it out for themselves. A little bit of intrigue and mystery never hurt anyone. Or you could just as easily keep saying half-truths like you have been doing until you finally reach the whole truth."
Natsu sighed and closed his eyes once more, feeling the fog begin to settle in his mind and become thicker. "We'll see what happens when I run into them again, and which one I meet next." He murmured, trailing off towards the end as sleep finally took a hold of him and the constant rhythmic ticking faded away. But it was soon replaced by the heavy drone of a large frigate cruising through the upper atmosphere.
"Sir, it's time to get up."
Well, that was a heavy chapter. Hopefully it's sufficient in how it displays just how traumatised Natsu is from losing everything, having everything ripped from him in front of his very eyes. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, please follow and favourite, and leave a review telling me what you thought of this chapter. I'll see you all next time.
