Here we go!
Don't lose your head! / Eight heads, for the eight of us.
A couple of days later, early in the morning…
Lucy was an early bird. To her, there was nothing better than getting up right after dawn, having a consistent breakfast, and then starting her day doing some cores, tidying up the house, or do some reading, before going to the guild.
And as the Celestial mage was a huge fan of baths too, the best mornings fro her were the ones when she could take a long, relaxing bath before breakfast.
So, after a couple of days after be back from Hargeon, even if she was still mad at Natsu and Gray for having caused a problem that had costed them half of their reward, she was soaking in the hot water, surrounded by golden vanilla-scented bubbles, and was ready to call herself happy.
Happy, even if I still have no money to pay the rent next month… She thought, stretching her legs in the bathtub. But at least, this month is covered.
She raised from the water, grabbed the towel resting on the sink, wrapping herself in it. And I don't really feel mad anymore… Not after Cobra had poisoned the both of them, forbidding Wendy to help… Natsu has been forced to stay home even yesterday!
That was true. Happy - that had somehow managed to escape the older slayer revenge - had come the day before telling her that Natsu was not able to get up from his bed yet. "Otherwise he would have come and say to you, Lucy!" He had winked, flying away before Lucy could get hold of him.
Maybe today I could drop by and say hi… To Gray, too…
She was not to not see them for days. Especially Natsu, that had taken this habit of his of sneak in her bed at night, keeping her warm and…
And I should stop thinking about it! Scolded herself the Celestial mage, grabbing another towel from the shelf and starting to rinse her hair. It's not like… Ah, I should really have some breakfast, first of all! I am clearly not thinking straight!
And so she exited the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, surrounded by steam and the smell of vanilla, the other towel on her head like a turban.
Lucy was still mentally organising her breakfast, and considering that maybe she could have taken some to Natsu as well - who knew if he had had time to go to the market? - when the voice of the fire dragon slayer reached her from her bedroom. "Oi Lucy! Nice body wash! Is that new?"
And Lucy, still thinking abutter breakfast, mindlessly answered. "Oh, hi Natsu! Yes it's new!"
"Nice scent!"
"Thanks!"
Humming softly, Lucy slipped in the kitchen, opened the fridge and examined the content. "Natsu, would you like some breakfast?"
"You mind if I have taken some milk, Lucy-san?"
"Oh no, Wendy, suit yourself." Lucy smiled as Wendy and Charle trotted by, waving at her and entering the living room.
Lucy narrowed her eyes at the fridge. Something is off here… her head told her, but she couldn't place what.
"If you are looking for the whipped cream, Erza and I have taken it in the living room!" Gray appeared on the kitchen door. "We have bought some strawberries coming here!"
"Ah, ok!" Lucy nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks, Gray!" Yeah, it must be that the whipped cream wasn't at his place… Yes, that was the thing that was bothering me… Lucy closed the fridge, examined the kitchen, and then exclaimed. "Oh right! Coffee!"
"Already done! A whole pitcher, actually!" Lucy turned, and saw Dalila's head peering in the kitchen. The wind dragon slayer grinned. "There is still some if you come to the living room!"
"Ah, thanks Dali-chan!" Lucy smiled and nodded, then blinked once. She turned sharply. Dali-chan? In my house?
Slowly the wheels started to turn in Lucy's mind. And… I heard… Natsu? And… There was Wendy, and Gray? And…
A deep voice shouted at her from the living room, making her widen her eyes in horror. "Good-fucking-morning, Tinkerbell!"
"Cobra! Language!"
Lucy's face paled for a second… And then it started to get redder and redder with rage.
Dalila threw an apologetic look at the steaming Celestial mage. "Ehm…"
Half an hour later…
After Lucy had calmed down and dressed - and everyone had seriously risked to get Lucy-kicked there and then - she sat in her living room, drinking a cup of her coffee and munching a strawberry covered with her whipped cream, eyeing with hostility the other six members of her team.
"Come on, Lushy!" Happy wiggled his paws. "Don't be mad! Do you want a fish?"
"I knew we should have taken strawberry cake… Strawberries alone are not enough!" Murmured Erza, munching thoughtfully a strawberry drained in whipped cream.
Lucy groaned, and buried herself in her own cup of coffee. It was pointless discussing. They always, with no fail, break in here! She thought exasperated. "What is so interesting in my house that you are always here!"
"It smells nice!" Murmured in unison Dalila and Wendy.
"It's cozy!" Smiled Gray, putting his feet on the table.
"You always have a fish for me!" Cried Happy jumping on the couch.
"It's the nearest one to the guild!" Said Erza, even if she knew it wasn't true - the closest place was Fairy Hills, only ten minutes walking from the guild.
"It's where you live!" Natsu was sitting next to her, and flashed her a huge, warm grin. "Of course it's nice!"
Lucy pressed her lips together, fighting back a smile. She liked to have her team all reunited there… But she would not admit it even under torture. She glanced int he direction of the only one who hadn't say a word yet, and found he smirking back at her.
"I am here just because this bunch of crazy idiots do love to reunite in your quarters." Cobra raised an eyebrow. "There is no other reason."
Lucy sighed, defeated. The morning hasn't gone as planned but… "Alright… What's the plan for today?"
A few hours later…
Of course the plan for the day was to go to the guild and get another job.
"Yes! A real job!" Cried Natsu, jumping up and down as they walked on the road.
"Also the other one was real!" Huffed Lucy. "Even if we got only half of the reward!" Hopefully we will get the full payment this time… So I will be able to pay next month rent… And maybe also the next one…
Dalila snorted. "So Natsu, there jobs that are not real jobs, and others that are…"
"There are the boring jobs, and the funny ones!" Happy chanted, flying above then. "We like the fun jobs more!"
The wind slayer shook her head. "I see… And I guess fighting monsters falls into the 'fun jobs' category."
"Only if they are hard to fight!" Natsu grinned, and showed Dalila a fist covered in flames. "Otherwise, where is the fun part?"
Dalila shook her head with a smile. "Right."
The 'real' job Natsu was talking about had taken the team in Lemel, a city only a couple of hours by train from Magnolia.
On the map, Lemel was a small dot lost among hills and fields of corn, but in truth, it was one of the best places in all Fiore to drink corn ale. The pubs of the city were legendary, and people from all the country travelled to that lost place to have a pint.
Maybe more than a pint. Chuckled the wind slayer, seeing a man stumbling out of a bar, a happy smile on his face and two other sustaining him at his sides.
"Hey, pretty lady!" He shouted, pointing his fingers at Erza. "Do you want to join us? We co-ouch!" "Excuse us, madame." One his friends had elbowed him hard, and bowed to the Requip mage. "He has had too much beer for today!"
"Too much beer?" Whispered Charle as the drunk man and his friends disappeared in another street. "It's only eleven in the morning."
"In Lemel time doesn't count." Said Lucy, reading a prospect she had taken with her about the attractions of the small city. "Only the number of pints you can drink before you are not able to stay on your feet is considered as a measure of time. Here it says that Lemelians do have breakfast with ale!"
"We should have brought Cana." Gray bursted out laughing. "But I am afraid we would have lost her in the first pub!"
"Then maybe we shouldn't have brought her!" Shirked Lucy, not wanting to imagine the amount of beer the Card mage would have swallow. Or maybe I can imagine… No, I can't!
"Sure Cana would have been happy to join." Sighed Dalila. "She doesn't have motion sickness. The two hours ride among hills wouldn't have bothered her."
Wendy put her hand to her mouth. "Do not mention it!"
Right, the train ride had been terrible. The first hour was just bearable, going the train on a straight line from Magnolia in the direction of Lemel. But as soon as they neared the city, the train had started to curve and circle the hills, or even worse, moving up and down over their profiles.
Enough for Wendy to vomit - despite Charle had been caressing her hair since when they left. Natsu had been so bad he had asked Erza to hit him, and even Cobra had showed clear signs of uneasiness.
Dalila had seen his frowning, and even putting a hand on his mouth at a certain point.
Next time, I am flying. Was saying to herself the wind dragon slayer, moving past a group of drunk girls that were giggling and snorting among themselves. I refuse to go through such torture one more time!
Luckily it had been enough to walk out of the train for her to feel instantly better, and Dalila had felt relieved. We have to fight a monster, after all! I need all my energies!
Well, 'monster' wasn't exactly the right word. In the advertisement of the job, it was well explained which monster they were going to fight.
It was an hydra.
Things had gone in the following way: Natsu and Happy had stolen a job request from he second floor, where only S-class mages could go. When the Requip mage had caught the dragon slayer and his Exceed, they had already choose one of the fliers pinned to the board.
"Let's go and fight the hydra!" Had cried Natsu, beaming with joy despite Erza's stern look. You didn't just go and 'find' a hydra.
But Natsu had pleaded and insisted with the Requip mage so much to take that job. "It's an S-class mission, that's true," had admitted the dragon slayer, for once being reasonable. "But we are seven, and you and Cobra are S-class! Come on, Erza!"
The Requip mage had taken a few moments to think about it. It was an S-class mission, and technically, she was the only S-class of the team… But it was true that Cobra was just as strong as her - if not more! - and Natsu and Gray would have certainly be S-class now, hadn't occurred that series of incident in Tenrou during the S-class trials… and Lucy and Wendy were not less powerful. They have greatly improved in the last year!
Only the presence of Dalila had worried the Requip mage, but the wind dragon slayer had shrugged. "I already had had to deal with an hydra, Erza… It won't be a big deal!"
Dalila hadn't pointed out that it was a baby hydra she had fought, but thought it was not the case of mentioning it.
In the end, Erza had decided to take the mission. "Alright, team Natsu!" Had bellowed the Requip mage. "Let's go and… find this hydra!"
And so, there they were in Lemel, walking in its street flanked by pubs and inns, all advertising beer and liquors of all kinds, heading to the Mayor's office to get the details of the mission.
This mission would have been perfect for the Thunder Legion. Was thinking Erza. But they had already left when we came back from Hargeon… I guess Bickslow had finally managed to convince Laxus to pick up a job…
But Master had said the Thunder Legion was going to be back in a few days, right?
"Stop thinking about those cocky asses and focus on our fucking mission, would you?"
Erza rolled her eyes. "Language, Cobra!"
"Your language can suck my-" "Cobra!" Charle cried in disbelief. "There is Wendy here!"
"I am ok, Charle." The sky dragon slayer sighed. "I am used to it."
Gray chuckled. "Master should have put you in another team?"
Cobra sighed loudly. "Maybe because that fucking fur ball has managed to steal you pants again?"
"Oh damn!" Gray looked back at his lower body. "Happy!"
While Happy flew away with Gray's pants, the Ice mage trying his best to cover his nudity, Charle protesting loudly and Erza and Wendy sighing defeated - would it ever going to chance? The chances were just as if Cobra started speaking in endecasyllabes - Lucy muttered a protest about 'decency', and the wind dragon slayer couldn't stop laughing, filling the air with her silvery laugh.
"Repeat to me again what they have done."
"Dalila…"
"I need to hear one more time, Lucy, please."
Lucy sighed. "The citizens of Lemel had tried to kill the hydra by cutting its head."
"Argh! So stupid!"
"They cut its head, and since more heads were growing, they kept cutting and cutting…" Lucy suck in the air. "… Seven times."
"Seven times!" Dalila pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "How could they be that stupid!"
"Yes yes. I know." Lucy sighed again. But it couldn't be said that the wind dragon slayer was wrong.
Everyone knew beheading an hydra wasn't going to kill it, oh no. It was going to make the situation even worse, if having such a monster in front of you wouldn't be enough. Cut the head of a hydra, and you would see two heads springing out from the stump of the neck, quickly taking the place of the one you had just cut.
"Well, I can't be said they haven't tried hard." Next to them, Loke chuckled. "Don't worry! You will defeat the monster in no time, as always."
Lucy glance gratefully at the Lion. At least there was him to lift the mood. Even if he has already asked me to marry him a couple of times already…
"Do you think it has been a good idea to split up?" Asked Dalila. "It's not like the hydra it's not aware of our presence. We are in its territory."
"Well, it can find us, but it is the other way round as well." Loke adjusted his glasses on his nose, looking warily around him. "As soon as it will come to us, we will be ready to strike."
And yet, Dalila felt her senses sharpening, studying attentively their surrounding. Hydras are not animals you jest on. She thought, scanning the horizon and sniffing the air. We mustn't let out guard down.
Lucy nodded thoughtfully. "Loke is right. Divided into groups, we will be able to locate it more easily."
After having visited the office of the Mayor, where the Mayor had given them the location of the area where the hydra had last been seen - and the news that the Lemelians had already tried to kill it by cutting its head off, before resolving in calling a guild.
After visit the mayor office, team Natsu had dropped their bags at a small hotel where they were lodged, and then they had immediately gone in search for the monster. Erza would have liked to study the map a little bit more, and draw a plan of some sort, but a certain fire dragon slayer had been so insistent that in the end she had withdrawn, and consented to move straight in the area indicated by the Mayor.
'Area' was a vague word. It was a whole acre, with small hills and marshy ponds, and muddy paths that made difficult and slow to advance. The whole land had been previously be fallow land, but since the hydra had made its appearance, the ground had quickly deteriorated. And the marsh was speeding fast, eating up and ruining the nearby crops, not to mention the danger to the citizens that the hydra was.
Finding the monster moving all together would have taken days, so Erza had split the team into groups.
Gray, Wendy and Charle were with her, then she put together Cobra, Natsu and Happy. Lucy and Dalila had been selected to be a third group, to the condition they brought Loke with them.
"Lucy, I know you have your spirits ready." Erza had said. "But I would prefer if you kept Loke with you for the rest of the mission."
Lucy had agreed immediately. She knew Dalila had very sharp senses, and she herself was all but weak, but… But Loke was Loke. The lion had appeared immediately at her side and without any further delay, each group had taken a direction, looking for the hydra.
Loke, Lucy and Dalila had been now walking for an hour on a desolate plane of sand and rocks. A few, even more desolate trees were growing here and there, milky mist surrounding them.
The townspeople had said here once there was a field of hops… It's incredible to see how much the negative influence of the hydra has changed the landscape… Dalila looked around. No wonder they cut its head seven times! They must be desperate indeed. Hydras were famous for modifying drastically the place were they lived. Take a fertile soil, with trees and grass and flowers, put a hydra living nearby, and everything will be dead before one month has passed. Such is the power of those hellish creatures!
And the smell! Dalila could smell the presence of the monster practically everywhere.
… putrescent caresses of animals… dried blood on scaled skin… dead leaves, rotting into pools of shallow waters…
This was why hydras were so feared and hunted all over Fiore.
This, and the ability of growing two heads when one is cut. Thought the wind slayer, trying to mentally count how many heads would have the hydra have.
I can't imagine… You think you have finally defeat it, and then you get not only one head, which is bad enough already, but two!
"Dalila?"
Dalila interrupted her train of thoughts. "Yes?"
"Are you smelling something?"
The wind slayer took a deep breath.
… the heavy smell of the marshes… Tracks of claws left in the mud… hunger… voracious hunger…
Dalila swallowed. "Nothing, but marsh and mud" She listed. "It's its territory, its smell is everywhere." And it can smell us as well. Thought the wind slayer. It does know that we are here. I can feel it.
Lucy nodded and said nothing. She was smart enough to get that the hydra must be already well aware of their presence by that moment.
They kept walking on the muddy path, slowly paling one feet after the other.
Dalila sniffed the air one more. The hydra sure knows we are close. She thought again. But the question bothering the wind dragon slayer was another one. Why hasn't it attacked us yet? Why is it hiding - if it is hiding, and not waiting for the right moment to ambush us?
But Dalila kept those questions to herself. There is no point in worring the others… Not yet, at least…
"We would be able to know if the hydra attacks any of the other groups, right?" Asked Lucy. Or better, will the others be able to hear if the hydra attacks us? Really, Lucy trusted herself, Dalila and Loke, but had one of the more expert mages be with her, she would have felt more secure. Natsu always gets too overprotective over me… Sometimes it makes me forget I am perfectly able to fight by myself…
Lucy was rightfully scolding herself for thinking such foolishness - her not being able to fight? Oh, please! - when Dalila came to a halt. The dragon slayer tilted her head, listening carefully.
"I can hear Erza talking." She said. "The mist is muffling sounds, but I am sure it's her." And she could hear also Gray and Wendy.
"Talking?" Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Not screaming, pronouncing an enchantment?"
"Yes. They mustn't have met the hydra yet." Said Dalila, accelerating her steps in the direction of the voices. "Let's go."
Dalila hadn't been wrong. After fifteen minutes, Lucy, Loke and her reached the other four mages.
"Oi!" Gray - naked - waved at them among the growing mist. "Good to see you! Found anything?"
Lucy shook her head. "No. Not even a peep of the monster."
Erza frowned. "Neither us. Not even a trace, a sound, or anything. We have walked all around… Where is it?" Hydras are territorial creatures. I was expecting it would have been on us the moment we stepped into its land… Where is it hiding, and why?
"Maybe it has gone away?" Said Charle tentatively. The sole idea to meet an hydra with eight heads was scaring her to death. Eight heads! Eight pair of terrible eyes staring at us!
"I would be more worried about the teeth, cat."
"Cobra! Happy!" Lucy turned, and saw the last group emerging from the mist. "You are here as well!"
"And so are you." Cobra spat. "Lovely place, I wonder why all the fucking townspeople are picnicking around!"
Luc frowned, and was about to bite back - that harsh tone wasn't really needed! - when Happy interjected. "Cobra is mad at Natsu." Giggled the cat.
"Mad?" Erza frowned, looking around. "Why? Where is Natsu?" She asked, turning right and left. Indeed, the fire dragon slayer was nowhere to be seen.
"Since we weren't finding the hydra, Natsu has said he was going to find it himself!" Said Happy. He seemed not to realise the horrified looks that passed over the faces of the rest of the team. "He told me to stay with Cobra and to call him if it attacked us!"
"He did what?" Erza cried in disbelief, a hand on her sword. "He went alone?"
"Stupid flame brain!" Gray grunted, even if he wished he had had the same idea. Natsu is always getting all the fun by himself!
Lucy had paled. "Happy, are you joking, right? The hydra…" She didn't finished the sentence. Natsu was strong indeed, but an hydra was too much even for him. And he is alone! Oh for all the stars! It can be dangerous!
"Do not sweat it, Tinkerbell." Cobra groaned. "I can head the shit head from here. He is perfectly fine, trust me."
"How did you let him go?" Hissed Erza, still beyond the fact that the group had split. "We had said we were going to stay in groups!"
"Do not hiss at me, Titania."
Oh, Cobra tone was more than annoyed. His face was showing little of it, but for Dalila it was quite clear that he was furious. If it was because Natsu had dumped him, or if because he had dumped him with Happy, the wind slayer couldn't tell.
But the fire slayer was gone, anyway. There was little they could do, but go and find him, before the hydra found him alone. "We better move and find him." Said Dalila. "Feeling angry at him it's not going to help."
Erza gritted her teeth. "Yes. Just wait when I get my hands on him… He will wish the hydra had caught him first."
Guided by Cobra magic, they found the fire dragon slayer only half an hour later.
The mist was growing thicker, but they could clearly see Natsu walking in circles around a certain point, with his feet in a small pool of water. He was sniffing the air, sniffing the water, sniffing himself, walking a few steps on the left, coming back, checking on the right, and starting sniffing again.
"Hey, you idiot!" Called Gray as they reached him. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Apart from being ill-considered and thoughtless as always." Muttered Lucy.
Erza stepped into the water. "Natsu, if you think-" "Ssh!" Natsu hissed, looking warily around. "There is something here!"
They all shivered, looking around warily. Wendy started sniffing the air, hugging Charle tight in her arms.
"Something what?" Lucy tentative to keep her voice low failed, and the question came out in an acute, strangled voice.
"Something like what we are been fucking looking for for the past two hours. And do not fucking scream."
Cobra low voice was already not-so-reassuring itself. The meaning of his words make his soft murmur a promise of death that made a shiver run over thew whole team. Everyone held their breath, cautiously looking around.
Erza draw out her sword. "Let's stay close."
Dalila was on guard. This pond seems inhabited, and not much different from the ones we have seen here… And yet, my senses tell me that… Something, is hiding here. And that something could only be the hydra.
The wind slayer raised her nose, sniffing carefully the air, doing her best to discern the smell of the mud from the one of the rotten leaf, the smell of putrescent wood from the one of her own team mates.
I smell hunger, of a beast that hasn't eaten for too long… I smell the hunger of many, many mouths to feed…
But there was something behind the hunger. Dalila closed her eyes, allowing herself to isolate form the world. Only her nose existed, speaking to her in a language her instinct read as an open book.
I smell adrenaline… satisfaction… being ready to attack, and eat, finally… a plan that has worked…
"So flame brain, is that here that the hydra is hiding?" Was asking Gray. "The hydra must be big, right? How come that we can't see it yet?"
"But where is it?" Cried Wendy, looking around. "I can smell… something as well, but I don't see it!"
"Maybe the hydra is tricking your enhanced senses?" There was a note of exasperation in Gray's voice. But having to rely only on human nose and eyes was sometimes frustrating, especially if the one in front of you was sniffing the air like a crazed dog.
"Listen here, you ice cube-" Natsu's fists was already covered on fire, fighting Gray becoming more important than fighting the hydra, when a tanned hand blocked him. "What?" Grunted the dragon slayer, turning to look at Cobra. "He said-" "Shut the hell up."
Cobra wasn't looking at Natsu. No, his attention was all for the wind slayer, sniffing the air with her eyes closed. And he looked too much intent in listening to her soul to pay attention to Natsu's muttered protests.
There is no chance I am wrong… Dalila bit her lips. It's right… It is like that, and there is no doubt…
Shit. Cobra frowned deeply. He couldn't hear the monster - the hydra's soul was somehow slipping through the net of his Soul Hearing magic. But dragon slayer magic was stronger, and so Dalila's nose had piqued what his ears hadn't been able to catch. From which corner of hell have you pulled out that fucking nose, Tinùviel?
The whole team turned to look at Dalila. The wind slayer raised her head, eyes big with fear. "It's a trap."
Wendy, that had been quiet and alert until then, started shaking. "A… trap, Dalila-san?"
"What does it mean?" Echoed Charle.
But Dalila had no time to answer.
"Look… Look over there!" Cried Happy, pointing over the pool.
Several steps in front of them, the water started to bubble, and a form was slowly starting to emerge from the muddy water.
"Oh…" Gray felt his whole whole body froze instantly in fear, as the emerging form grew big in front of their eyes.
"Oh my…" Erza tightened the grip around her sword.
The form grew more, slowly revealing its shape under the mud.
"Oh my-my…" Charle shivered, and Wendy swallowed, muted by terror.
"Oh my-my… my…" Lucy eyes grew bigger with horror, as she looked at the enormous beast slowly shaking down muddy water from its heads.
"Oh my fucking shit!" Whispered Cobra, who in his long life as a dark mage had rarely seen something so…
Dreadful, and ugly, and lethal! Dalila felt the urge to just stomp her foot on the ground and rise in the sky, as far as possible from that hellish creature.
The hydra was huge, tall thirty feet at least, covered in bluish scales. From that close, Dalila could see the black claws of its paws, and behind it a long tail was wiggling nervously, sloshing in the water of the pond.
But the worst thing of all were the eight heads. Eight mouths with teeth sharp as knives, eight red tongues darting hungrily over eight mischievous grins, and eight pair of bright red, evil eyes, looking over the mages.
Dalila felt her breath stalling in her lungs. Ok, all right… Everything is under control… We just have a furious, hungry hydra to deal with!
"Well, a lovely little thing, isn't it, my dear fellows?" Loke adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Eight heads, for the eight of us!"
The mages glanced with bating breath at the eight heads hovering above them, ready to strike. One of the heads titled cockily, studying them closely.
The tense stillness that always precede a battle was broken by a single cry. "Fire dragon's roar!
"Loke had said well. Eight heads for eight mages.
I know it sounds like the perfect plan! Dalila flew a little higher to avoid the sharped teeth of her head. But I am starting to grow tired!
"Fire dragon's roar!"
"Eek! Don't burn me as well, Natsu!" Dalila splashed the sleeve of her shirt that had been caught by Natsu enchantment.
"Sorry, Dalila!" Happy cried from the sky where he was flying, too scared to come down. "Natsu always does that!"
Dalila grunted, and would have probably made an answer, if she wasn't busy fighting with her head.
My head… She thought. Sounds weird…
But it was exactly what was going on. After the hydra had appeared, its eight heads rating from the muddy water, the monster had attacked the group of mages. And the simplest hing to do - and the wisest, in Dalila's opinion - was to follow Loke's idea to the letter. Each one of the members of team Natsu had concentrated all his energy on a single head, and was now busy trying to destroy it without cutting it. Otherwise we will have a head more to deal with, and we don't need that, no no!
The wind dragon slayer jumped aside, the mouth of the hydra closing where a second before there was her leg.
"Wind dragon's roar!"
The enchantment hit the hydra full force, but the monster shrugged it away, like it had been some fresh breeze.
"Damn…" I haven't even scratched it! It's the third time I hit it with a roar, and it doesn't seem to work… Dalila gritted her teeth, dodged by an inch the hydra again, and gritted her teeth. I must think about something else!
"Fire dragon's claw!"
"Aye sir! You got it!" Happy cheered from above them.
Dalila turned, and saw the hydra being surrounded by flame, eating its flesh. The monster screamed and huffed, but Natsu didn't lose time gloating. "Fire dragon's roar!"
The head of the hydra was invested by a torrent of flames. Dalila was invested by a wave of burning air, and her lungs frizzled when she breathed. She closed her eyes and backed, and when she opened it an instant later, the head of the hydra Natsu's was fighting against was lying on the ground, motionless and black.
Wow! Thought the wind slayer, coughing. That's truly impressive!
Happy voice reached her form the sky just in time. "Dalila! Move out there!"
"What-ah!"
Busy watching the fight of Natsu, Dalila had forgotten for a moment that she too had a head to fight with. The hydra had taken advantage of her momentary distraction to draw back and charge her.
Dalila screamed, and she would have certainly be hit if Natsu hadn't caught her last second, pulling her back and out of the hydra's sharp teeth.
"Hei, I have seen you roaring!" He laughed, helping her on her feet. "You are not that bad!"
"Yeah, thanks… But it didn't seem to work much." Dalila groaned, eyeing the head that was lying nearby, carbonised, and the too-alive one in front of them. "I haven't even scratched it!"
Natsu bursted out laughing. "That's because you must blow all the air in your lungs when you roar!"
"What?" Dalila stared at Natsu. "What do you-" "All the air."
With burning hands, Natsu grabbed Dalila's ribcage, and without any warning, squeezed it as tight as possible, cutting off her breath. "All the air." He repeated seriously. "Igneel told me that. You must feel you have no more air in your lungs." "Na-tsu-I-am-coff!" "Understood? Come on, try again!"
Dalila believed she had at least one cracked rib. "But-"
"Dalila." Natsu eyes fixed on hers. "I am serious. You will never learn if you never try."
Dalila blinked. She was ready to retort something like he had just crushed her lungs, but a voice inside her stopped her. He is right. The voice said. You have to try, or you will never be a real dragon slayer.
"Natsu! Dalila!" Cried again Happy. "It's charging again!"
Dalila saw everything happening really, really slowly. Natsu withdrew from her, leaving her alone in front of the huge head moving. Gleaming, cruel red eyes fixed on her, before the hydra attacked again.
The dragon slayer saw the head snapping towards her. From behind her back, she heard Natsu murmuring 'all the air' one more time.
All the air. Got it.
She saw the red eyes of the hydra searching her, fixing on her, ready to strike. In its mouth, teeth as lung as swords, and twice as sharp, flashed in the dim light of the afternoon.
But Dalila didn't flinch, or move, or tremble this time.
All the air, right?
Air? She smiled to herself. I do have better.
Adrenaline shock her from head to toe, flooding her with new energy.
I do have wind. Swirling threads of silver enveloped her, and she felt the magic within her body, surging from every fibre and corner of her. Dalila inhaled deeply, filling her chest with wind.
Wind that she was going to blow out, until her lungs would be empty.
All the air… All the wind…
"Wind…"
She felt the wind around her, howling and whispering. The wind that was her magic. I am the wind dragon slayer.
"…dragon's…"
The head of the hydra was moving swiftly towards her. Dalila stared deeply in those red eyes. The monster roared viciously, thinking it had the upper hand on the mage.
All. The. Wind.
"… ROAR!"
The volume of her own roar deafened her, but she didn't close her eyes as she blew out all the wind in her lungs, like Natsu had said.
Dalila blew with all her strength the wind out of her, filling her mouth with magic. And then, as if it was real magic, she saw her roar spiralling out of her mouth, collecting the wind on its way, enlarging and growing until finally it collided with the hydra.
The enchainment enveloped the head of the beast. The hydra felt it too late. The wind grasped its scales, cutting through them, and the monster howled in pain.
And then, under Dalila's amazed eyes, the wind pulled at the hydra's neck and, with a loud crack, snapped it, breaking the bones of the dorsal spine.
"Yes!" Dalila heard Natsu and Happy cry from next to her. "Good job, Dalila! Now two heads are out!"
Dalila gaped incredulous at the dead head of the hydra in front of her. Two heads… were out? It was… It was me?
"Three!"
Right next to them, Gray had pinned a third head to the muddy ground with ice spears. The mouth of the hydra, open and drooling, was revealing on impressive series of teeth, but those teeth were not going to hurt anyone now.
"Four!"
The hydra was immune to his poison, and thus, this time Cobra had to dirt his own hands. But he had fun anyway by cutting its throat - well, if you like to cut an hydra's throat, of course.
Dalila saw the poison slayer coming towards them, eye shining with malice and a victory, evil smirk, and coat smashed with mud and black blood of the hydra. "Your admiration flatters me, Tinùviel." He lifted a scaled, blood-dripping arm. "I am ready to sign you an autograph."
Dalila quickly averted her gaze. His dark humour was not what she wanted at the moment. The head of the hydra on front of her, crooked in an unnatural angle, with its ugly face twisted in a grimace of anger and pain, was enough to make her want to puke.
"Shattering Light: Sky Drill!"
"I have always liked that enchantment, Wendy!" Gray cheered, waving to another part fo the pond. "This makes five!"
Dalila followed the Ice mage gaze, and gasped. The young dragon slayer had opened her arms, and even from where she was, Dalila could feel the magic power of the enchantment. That's… Wow! Thought the wind slayer, seeing a pinkish tornado of feathers coming from he sky and falling right on the hydra and crashing it on the ground.
"Yes Wendy!" Charle flew right next to the girl. "This was better than the last time, I think!"
"Yeah…" Wendy looked uncertain at the remains of the hydra, turned to mush in the pool. It looks like that mosquito I have killed in my room last night… Bleah!
"Not bad, isn't it?" Natsu grinned at the stupid of the wind slayer. "We are the strongest team in Fairy Tail, after all!"
Yeah… They are strong indeed! Dalila was still wrapping her head around the fact that she had just killed the head of an hydra. Last time I merely sent it away!
"And the best part has yet to come!" Natsu pointed to the two heads left. "Erza and Lucy are still fighting!"
Dalila followed his finger with her eyes. Right, yes! She thought. The best has yet to come!
Erza was in her Crocodile Battle armour - one of her latest purchases - and looked wildly savage and murderous, so covered in the green scales of the armour as she was. Her head was fully hidden by an helmet that resembled the head of a cobra with bare teeth.
"It's her best poison-proof armour!" Chuckled Wendy, who had left the smashed head and had come to stand next to Dalila. "Cobra tested it personally!"
"Hell right." The poison slayer smirked. "Titania just has to avoid those fucking damn teeth."
And indeed, Erza was 'avoiding those fucking damn teeth' with an elegance and a swiftness Dalila believed she would have never possessed. No wonder she is one of the strongest mage in Fairy Tail… Thought the wind dragons layer, looking admired as Erza dodged for the tenth time the hydra, and mounted over its head.
"Now you will disturb these poor citizens no more!" Cried the Requip mage. In her hands two golden swords glinted for an instant in the fog on the pond, before Erza buried them into the nape of the hydra.
The beast let out a terrible cry. It shredded in pain, trying to unsaddle the mage from its neck, but Erza was already on the ground at safe distance. On the head of the hydra, the handles of the swords were still visible. With a shiver and a last hiss, the animal let the head fall in the water. Its gleaming red eyes closed a moment later, and then, the head laid still.
"That was not bad." Gray complimented Erza, who was sweating the bloody swords at her sides.
"Thanks." She nodded. "This makes…"
"Six heads!" Charle chirped. "Now only two, and we will win!"
"Right." Erza looked around. She had been so busy fighting with her own head that she had paid little attention to what was happening around her.
One head was burnt, another one was pinned on the ground with half-melted ice spears, one had the next twisted at a very weird angle, one was completely smashed to the ground and one had a deep cut on its throat. "Well, we have done quite a good job." Declared Titania, searching with her eyes the two remaining mages. Here they are!
"Regulus! Impact!"
"Chain it, Virgo! Taurus, use your club, not your axe!" "Done, princess!" "Yes Lu-uuu-cy!"
Loke had been hitting the hydra with golden pillars of light since the beginning of the battle. The lion was growing tired, and he could feel Lucy wasn't going to be able to keep his gate open for much longer. But this beast is more tired than me! Losing six heads has wearied it. It's time for my final attack!
Loke closed his eyes for a moment, collecting his energies. The hydra, believing him for a moment with lowered guard, rushed over him.
"Too late." Murmured the Lion with a smirk, before opening his eyes and chanting. "Lion Brilliance!"
The great light of Loke's enchantment blinded the hydra. It howled in surprise and pain, and it closed its dreadful eyes for a moment.
One too many.
"Regulus Gatling Impact!"
Loke's fists descended on the monster so quickly that it had no chance of avoiding them. The first hit crushed part of its teeth, the second ended up right in one of its eyes, the third borked its jaw, and then more and more came.
A fist collided with the hydra's nose, knocking the breath out of her. The hydra coughed, chocked, looked for air, but a Regulus Kick signed its death.
The head collapsed on the ground, with a great splash of water and mud.
"Yes!" Loke jumped exultant. "You have been a great enemy my dear, but I am stronger!"
"Loke! You are good!" Lucy cried of joy. Next to her lied the eighth - and last - head of the hydra, covered in chains and with a huge bump on its head - Taurus and its club had done an excellent job.
"I am perfectly fine." Loke bowed and winked. "Ready to adore you as you deserve, my queen!"
"Ehm, yes, yes! Now, I am almost out of energy, I must close you gate!" Lucy blushed heavily, waving quickly her hand to dismiss her spirits. "Thank you guys!"
"Goodbye princess!" "See yo-uuuu!" Virgo and Taurus went back to the Spirit Realm, and then also Loke disappeared a cloud of golden light, but not before having blown a kiss in the direction of his Master, making her face grown more hot and red than ever.
That evening…
"Yuu-huu!" Lucy raised her glass full of beer. "I love this town!" She declared, taking a large gulp from her mug.
Dalila was grimacing. "Beer that tastes of… strawberry?" She shook her head at Lucy's pouting face. "How…"
"Don't listen to her, Lucy!" Erza circled with her arm the waist of the Celestial mage. "This strawberry beer is simply awesome! Besides-"
"Make wayyyy!" "Aye siiiir!"
The last part of Erza's sentence was covered by a crash and several howls of protest and pain.
The three girls turned to see Natsu and Happy getting up from spinners of a broken table, with huge grins on their face. "Come Lucy!" Cried the fire slayer. "It's fun!"
"Rolling onto beer barrels?" Lucy finished in a single gulp her mug. "I am coming!"
She jumped right in the middle of the pub, laughing excitedly, avoiding for an inch Gray and Wendy, coming right away on the next barrel.
Like Natsu and Happy had just done, they crashed at the far end of the room with a loud noise.
After they had defeated the hydra, they had dragged its body to Lemel - not before Cobra had cut its eight mouths, found the gland containing the poison, and drank every ounce of it - and the townspeople had been so happy, that in addition to the reward they had offered them an all-paid night in the most famous pub in town.
Dalila suspected they were feeling guilty because they had tried to kill the hydra themselves at the beginning, causing the monster to grow eight heads, but it didn't mattered much. That night team Natsu was definitively taking a break, before the long train ride back to Magnolia.
Well, maybe someone might have need a trip to the infirmary, before… Thought the wind slayer, seeing Wendy helped by Gray saying steady on her feet.
Dalila shook her head again, and took a small sip of her drink. Bleah. I haven't been lucky as Lucy. This cherry-flavoured beer is simply disgusting. How was it possible that it was advertised as one of the most requested drinks int he bar? Must be a lie of the owner to get rid of it…
"Believe it or not Tinùviel, these morons like that shit."
Erza and Dalila turned towards the poison dragon slayer, sitting next to them with a glass full of orangish liquid. "Spirit." He explained, lifting the glass and studying the color in the dim light of the lamps. "Almost one humoured percent of alcohol." He took a large sip. "Not bad."
"It is yours also flavoured of something?" Asked Erza, observing the orange color. "Spirits should be colourless, right?"
Cobra shrugged. "It's something distilled from orange peel. Something you would call 'secret ingredient'." He smirked. "It's freaky trivial, but makes this shit taste even better. And no, Tinùviel, before you ask me, I don't want your pissy-pussy cherry beer."
Dalila sighed, rolling the glass. She wasn't being lucky that night. I should have taken something else… But there were no non-alcoholic drinks in the menu…
"You can take something else!" Erza pointed the bar counter, noticing her resigned expression. "We have everything paid, after all!"
"Right." Dalila got up from her sit, examining the menu affixed all around the walls of the room. There was some light beer with vanilla that might be slightly better… "I'll be right back!" She said, disappearing in the crowd.
Erza and Cobra looked at the think wind dragon slayer making her way to the bar counter.
"How come that she has so little resistance to alcohol?" Asked Erza looking at Cobra. "Alcohol is poison, in some way… Dragon slayer should be more resistant."
The poison slayer shrugged. He didn't really are about Snow White. "Maybe she would withstand even less if she wasn't a damn slayer."
"Uh." Erza tilted her head, considering the hypothesis. "Might be."
They stayed in silence for a while, Cobra relaxing and trying not to be deafened too much from the noise of all those drunk townspeople chatting loudly around them, and Erza looking lazily around, for once more allowing herself to relax.
But the Requip mage was about to observe how nice it was to spend a quiet evening like that - even if with all that racket Cobra would have disagree - when her eyes opened wide, and she stiffened on her seat.
"What?" Asked the poison slayer with a small frown.
"What is he doing here?" Erza whisper with a small shiver. He is a little far from the town where his guild is located, I think… Maybe he is here for a job?
Cobra didn't need to ask who Erza had just seen. But his frown deepened. Yeah, it was possible that Bacchus Groh was in town because of a job, but being said town Lemel, the greatest bunch of drunk in all Fiore, it was highly probable that he and his pals were here to have a good time.
He didn't need to interprete Erza expression turn to stone to know what was happening. He had already heard it.
"Shit." He hissed, finishing with a gulp his glass and standing up. If I need to kick some puppy-ass tonight, better have a little booster. He thought, as he and Erza walked vastly towards the bar, where Bacchus had almost reached Dalila.
Dalila was unsure on what to order. If the cherry beer hand't pleased her, she doubted she might like the blueberry one. On the other hand, the vanilla spiced light beer she had seen before was tempting her more and more.
She was about to call the barman, when a male, husky voice sounded form behind her. "Uncertain on what to try, blondie?"
Oh no. She froze for a moment, and the slowly turned, and found herself a few centimetres from a man that looked all but sober. A drunk!
She had been dreading all evening that some men in a poor state might talk to her. She would have never admit it, but Cobra's words were still counting in her head, and even if she knew she could have just walked away - she should have simply done so, as no man had the right to bother had woman for any reason! - she felt herself incapable to move.
She swallowed. The man in front other was tall and shirtless, exposing muscles covered in a think layer sweat in the low light of the lamps. His hair were combed on the back of his head, and that was making his features appear even more sharp, like the ones of a hawk.
Dalila studied him a few seconds, smelling a mix of drinks that almost made her sneeze, before she managed to stutter. "No… I am just… I have just decided…"
Unfortunately, the man took the time Dalila had needed to regain her voice as a sign the girl was hooked. He grinned at his friends that were a few steps behind him - that Dalila noticed only in that moment - and signalled them to leave him alone with the blonde beauty he was talking to, before turning again to the poor dragon slayer. "I am sure I can give you something more wild… To drink."
Dalila mind took a second to realise what she had just heard. She blinked, frowned, exclaimed 'yuk!' and then moved a step back with a disgusted expression.
Only to bump into someone that had sneaked behind her, unnoticed.
"Uh, I am sor-" it was for an automatic reflex that she turned, with an apologise ready to exit to her lips, but the glare a single purple eye staring down at her froze her apologise in her throat.
"Stupid Snow White."
"Cobra?" Dalila stuttered, gained her balance, and was about to ask for some explanation, when a red head appeared on her side.
"Bacchus!" Erza said. "What brings you here?"
Oh Erza! Dalila breathed relieved, but the wary tone in Erza's voice, and her frown weren't reassuring. What is going on? Dalila looked in between the two mages. Does Erza know this guy?
"Erza Scarlet!" The man that was named Bacchus grinned mischievously, eyeing Erza from head to toe. "Am I drunk, or you are really the great Titania?"
"It's me." Erza made a small, cautious smile, and nodded. "What brings you here?"
"Ah, then I am a lucky man tonight." Bacchus didn't bother to answer, and clicked this tongue. His gaze fell again on Dalila. "I have just met another beauty here… Two in a row!"
"Right." Erza grunted, as Dalila took a small step back - hitting again Cobra's chest, but the poison slayer was only at the second place that night in the list 'men I don't want to bump into'. The first one was definitively the sneering, stinking, half naked one in front of her.
"I see, Bacchus," Erza ignored the meaningful looks the mage was giving her. "That you have just met another member of my team." Erza gestured towards Dalila. "We were right about to-"
"A mage?" Bacchus tilted his head in the direction of Dalila. "Oh heaven… Such a beautiful doll is also a mage?" He leaned over Dalila, taking hold of her chin and lifting her face, examine her closely. "But this is so… Wild! Let me guess, beautiful… With such a pretty eyes, you must make man subject to your will by a sole look… Is this your power, right?"
The smell of ale and sweat tickled her nose, and she almost sneezed. She wished she had, in all honesty. She only grimaced, moving away his hands from her chin. "Ehm, excuse me…"
"Oh, excuse me!" Bacchus's eyes glinted maliciously, and he let go of her chin, seizing her hand instead, and pressing it to his lips. "I have not introduced myself. My name is Bacchus Groh. Erza has never talked to you about me, I guess."
"No…" Dalila wrinkled her nose, trying to get her hand back. "Erza never-"
"Oh, we can remedy to this quite quickly." And by saying so, whit a strength and a swiftness she hand't foreseen, Bacchus pulled her to him, and Dalila found herself an inch from his face, with her whole body pressed against his bare torso. "I am sure we can spend some very pleasant, wild, hours together, you and I…"
Now, Dalila wasn't compliant, nor tolerant, of males misbehaving around her. But the point was, that in her time males didn't even dare to speak to a woman if they hadn't been properly introduced before. And when they did or say something improper, Dalila had always a good answer at hand, or simply ignored them.
But she wasn't used to the boldness Bacchus was displaying. It was too much to her. She had been raised to be polite and firm, and she felt so out of her element on that moment, that she really didn't know how to react. Was she authorised to kick this guys as hard as she could?
Of course you fucking are! Stupid Snow White! Cobra mentally groaned. Dalila's soul was too preoccupied on how get rid of the guy without making a fuss, than just hit him as hard as she could. Like this dick simply deserves…
If Dalila wasn't going to do so, it meant it was time for his little show.
He moved a step forward, and cleared his throat. This fucker does stink for real. "We would just love to stay." He said with a soothing voice, that was doing little to hide his sarcasm. "But you heard Titania. Snow White can be all yours next time."
Bacchus lips twitched in an amused smile, and the mage lifted his head, slowly.
"Am I dreaming, or am I really that lucky tonight?" He whispered, and Dalila felt with a shiver that his smell had changed. Now the man was smelling of alcohol no more, like his drunkness had vanished.
Bacchus tilted his head, staring at Cobra with loving eyes. "Aren't you… No, my night can't be possibly that wild…"
The soul of the man was a chaos of whispers and laughs that was making Cobra head throbbing. But he was hearing him well enough to know that Bacchus had recognised it.
Cobra smirked. "Guess who is a lucky boy…"
Cobra! I forbid you to start… anything! Brawls and magic are forbidden in Lemel's pubs, and are severely sanctioned! Erza glowered at the two, but didn't dare to step in. The situation was already delicate as it was. I am not going to give Bacchus any excuse to start a fight!
In the meantime, Dalila was trying to wiggling out of Bacchus grasp, but the hand of the mage held so much force, that is was an impossible task. Seriously? She tried harder, but to no avail. I want to go! He stinks!
I know, Tinùviel… Just give me a few seconds more…
"Guys guys! It's him! How wild!" Was crying Bacchus in mock excitement to the mages behind him. They had neared him again as they saw Erza approaching, but they had stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Cobra. There was the whole team that had been at the magic games. Rocker, Jäger, Warcry, Nobarly, and Semmes, all of them had come to Lemel with Bacchus, to have a wild night out, but of all, only Bacchus had the guts to face the poison slayer.
Cobra savoured for a moment their fear, reminding him of past times. This was a part I used to like… A pity I can't go… wild once more, but Lahar would have me locked up in the deepest hole of Era, if I did what I have in mind… The image of all those chickenshit hanging by their big toe, with him slowly passing in between them, tearing a bit of a skin here, passing a claw and cutting a few tendons there… What can I do, I am a sentimental man.
But back to present, where Dalila was huffing and agitating, in the vain attempt to free herself.
"So wild!" Was saying Bacchus. "There is also the missing eye! Or I shall say, there is not the missing eye… But then the eye wouldn't be 'missing' anymore!" He bursted out laughing. "You got it? You got it, eh?"
Cobra grimaced. "You know how to have fun, don't you? But now…" Cobra hand moved behind the counter, and Erza saw with panic that blood red scaled had replaced the skin. "… Now Snow White must come with me. Anything wild for her tonight."
The scaled hand closed over the first that was blocking Dalila's back, and the wind dragon slayer felt, with immense surprise, the drunk grass slowly faltering. He is… He is…
Bacchus was immensely strong, and his magic was residing mainly in his hands. But Cobra was stronger. Under the crashing force of the poison slayer sole hand, Bacchus was forced to open his hold, and let Dalila free.
Cobra smirked. Bacchus face had froze, and anger was starting to surge under his mocking, diverted expression. "Wild. Isn't it?" Whispered the poison slayer, releasing the drunk, and pulling Dalila firmly against him.
He didn't like it one bit, she didn't like it one bit either, but none of them dared to protest.
"Good." Muttered Erza, sighing in relief. "Now, if you don't mind, Bacchus, we take our leave…"
But Erza had rejoiced too soon. Apparently, Bacchus was minding. "Leaving right when things are about to wild?" He whispered, looking at Cobra with a smirk the Requip mage didn't like at all. "I don't think so…"
Cobra! Careful! Erza cried in her mind. But the poison slayer of course didn't need the warning.
A moment before Bacchus had his hand placed on the bar counter, and an instant later - less than an instant later, Dalila thought with a gasp - that very same hand was closed in a fist, right above her head, pressed hard against the forearm of the poison dragon slayer.
I… I haven't seen them moving! Dalila thought with a shiver. What kind of monsters are these two?
Oh no… Thought Erza. I must separate them immediately! Before things get out of hand…
The poison slayer cocked his head to one side. A wicked grin danced on his lips. "Oh, you want things to get wild?" He murmured with a low voice that sent a shiver down Dalila's spine. "With pleasure…"
You know what? I can't wait to finish the next chapters and post them... You will love them! Let me know what you think so far, Morgana is curious to know if you are liking it so far :)
XOXO
