The dice have spoken and I messaged our winner yesterday! For those who weren't chosen, I still appreciate your love, and for anyone who'd still like to share their ideas, feel free to PM them to me! I can't guarantee I'll add them, but if I do, the credit is all yours and I will be sure to give you a shoutout in the A/N!
As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading!
Everything around Lucy slowed down as that orb came towards her. She looked behind it where Zalanoon stood, smiling. She could feel the evil intent coming from him as the black magic flew at her. He didn't want to kill her, but he obviously wasn't opposed to causing her pain.
This was going to hurt.
She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the magic collide with her. After a beat, when nothing had happened, Zalanoon spoke again.
"That was foolish, demon."
Lucy opened her eyes and looked up to find a fully red dragon form of Natsu standing between her and Zalanoon. His tail wrapped around her tightly and then pulled her close. With his wings up, she was completely obscured from view.
"Strange." Zalanoon moved a few steps to the side, his focus removed from the people behind him, although his spell continued to keep them down. "You've managed to shake off the effects of the potion. I can still sense it in your system, but it appears to have lost its hold on you. How strange. Miss Heartfilia," he called. "How exactly have you managed to cause such an effect on Mr. Dragneel?"
Natsu pulled Lucy even closer as he roared at Zalanoon in response to his question. Zalanoon sighed. "Well, this is unexpected. I was rather hoping to not have to deal with the angels on my own."
"Was this… any more expected," Mao's strangled voice asked, and then he cried out as a cacophony of sounds echoed off the walls around them. After a bright flash, a guttural roar sounded from the open colosseum in front of him. Somehow, the Leezar had managed to continue casting his spell through both Natsu and Zalanoon's own, and as he fell to his knees panting, his efforts were revealed to the others. A large being, made of molten lava and at least half the size of the colosseum towered over them, with large limbs that slowly slithered around its body.
Mao called out to the beast, in a strange language the others could not understand.
"Great G'hia'aniovial," Mao yelled. "I have asked you here to help me seek revenge on those who have wronged me and my beloved. An ally, against his will, was forced to hurt my mate and the one who orchestrated the attack seeks to bring harm to the other realms as well. Will you accept my request and aid us in ridding this world of the demon who seeks to harm us all?"
Another roar was the monster's answer as the tentacle like limbs began to dig through the walls. Mao smiled as he allowed himself to finish collapsing and a long thin tentacle from the monster slithered into the room and headed straight for Zalanoon.
The demon frowned. "I don't know what you think you've done, but that thing can't even scratch me." He waved his hand in front of himself, creating an opaque barrier. When the tentacle reached the barrier, it slammed right through with little effort before continuing its chase. Zalanoon frowned and then disappeared with another wave of his hand. The lava limb stopped and then quickly retracted.
"So what… just happened?" Sting panted as the pressure holding them down disappeared with Zalanoon's retreat.
"We can leave Zalanoon to the G'hia'aniovial," Mao said as he slowly sat up. "Let's leave so that it can finish destroying this place without worrying about accidentally getting us."
Sting's eyes widened. "But what about-"
"What is the hell is that thing?!" Rogue appeared in the middle of the room, his cloak smoking. He pulled off the garment and beat it against the floor, making sure it wasn't still on fire. "There is lava all over in the hallways, how in the realms is that happening?!"
Sting pointed at the sitting Leezar and Virgo finally sat up and pulled Lucy up with her. "My question is how you're in two places at once," Virgo asked the blonde.
Natsu blinked and then turned to look behind him at the Lucy he had wrapped in his tail. When he turned towards the other, he growled and lowered his wings as he tried to threaten the imposter. The real Lucy's eyes widened as she looked at her copy, sitting serenely at Virgo's side.
"Piri." The Lucy on the floor disappeared with a pop to reveal the smaller forms of Gemini.
"Gemi, Mini, you're supposed to be guarding Lucy's place," Taurus said.
"PIri," they answered.
"We knew we'd be more help here," Gemi said.
"So we followed you," Mini finished.
"That was foolish," Virgo said. "You're lucky no one caught you."
"Natsu did, but then he was taken," Gemi said.
"Sucked right into the floor," Mini added.
"It seems like he's stuck right now though," they said.
The dragon had completely forgotten about the others as he released Lucy and wrapped himself around her once more with his body. He was whining a little as he bumped her with his nose to check her over.
"I'm fine, big guy," Lucy said as she chuckled. "Just calm down."
"I don't understand, Gemini. Was it you that found Natsu?"
"No, that was Lucy," Gemi said. "We traded with her after Natsu started his spell. We knew he didn't want to hurt her, but he didn't see her under you, so we switched places."
"We knew she could stop Natsu if we did," Mini said. "And we finally figured out how to switch places with someone once we've copied their body, so we did it!"
"Well, it saved our asses," Sting said, "but now that we're reasonably safe, the lava monster aside, can we get Natsu fixed up and leave?"
"Let's do it," Rogue said as he moved to join the blond.
"But didn't Zalanoon say that the stuff in Natsu's system wasn't affecting him anymore?" Taurus asked as he finally regained his feet.
"It's only the mental hold that has been released," Mini corrected.
"Yep. We still have to remove the potion from his body so he can return to his humanoid form," Gemi finished.
Sting clapped his hands together. "Well then, let's do it and get the hell out of here." He and Rogue moved towards the dragon, where he had curled up around Lucy. "Lucy, you think you can keep him still for a little bit?"
Natsu looked up at their voices and his lips raised to expose his teeth as he growled in response. Lucy pulled his face towards her. "Hey now, you have nothing to whine about. You know as well as I do that you need their help. You and I will still see each other, even if you're not in this form. You just focus on me and let them work, okay?"
Natsu's whine was deafening for a while, but then he let himself flop on the ground. He grumbled as he wrapped one of his arms around Lucy and pulled her down in a sitting position so he could rest his head in her lap.
Lucy smiled as she began to run her hands over his hide. "Go ahead," she told the pair of hybrids.
Rogue and Sting moved forward and held their hands over Natsu's body. Their hands began to glow as they started to quietly chant.
Behind them, Virgo had returned to Ova's side, where Mao sat holding one of his mate's hands. "Can you really save him?" Mao asked quietly.
"We're going to do our best," Virgo promised.
"Guys, what's happening?" Lucy's voice drew their attention towards Natsu, who had begun to glow a faint red. Natsu turned to look down at his body in confusion. Suddenly, he yanked away from the pair and started to roar.
Lucy frantically grabbed at his face. "Hey hey hey, big guy calm down. You're okay."
"What's going on?" Taurus asked.
Rogue and Sting were sweating as they continued to channel their spell. "It's resisting somehow," Sting said between clenched teeth.
"How can a potion resist?" Virgo asked.
"No idea," Rogue grunted, "but it's not helping that he isn't holding still."
Lucy was trying to get Natsu's attention but the pain he was in was making him writhe too much for her to get close. He was clawing at his scales, groaning and roaring as he made himself bleed. "Natsu, stop hurting yourself!"
He whipped around and his tail nearly knocked Lucy off her feet. She looked around at the others. "What can I do?"
Taurus set down his axe and then moved forward. He dodged the swinging tail and wings as he tried to get closer, waiting for a good moment to strike. When Natsu paused with his head turned their way, the angel dashed forward and grabbed him around his neck to try and pin him down.
This angered Natsu so much he thrashed around even more. He swung his neck hard and flung the angel through the wall. He stepped back even farther from Sting and Rogue and roared.
Since he was finally still, Lucy ran forward, around his tail and under his wings, to throw her arms around his nose. He reared back and lifted his head, leaving Lucy dangling in the air.
"Easy big guy, it's just me," she said as she tightened her hold. She couldn't reach all the way around to interlock her hands, so she had to trust that he wouldn't throw her off or wiggle too much. His eyes were on her, though, so she kept talking. "Hey, I know it hurts, but they're trying to help okay? You just have to stay calm and give them time. Let me help you."
Natsu whined and groaned, but his struggling had stopped. He closed his eyes as he laid down again. Lucy didn't have time to stand before he was worming his head under her body, his distressed noises continuing to increase in volume.
Taurus pulled himself out of the wall and shook off the dust from his fur. Once he was done, he moved forward and put a hand on Sting and Rogue's shoulders. His hands began to glow, which caused the hybrids' hands to glow even brighter. "I'll help you guys get this done sooner."
Natsu's roars became louder as the spells they were casting increased in power. Lucy continued to rub his hide and talk to him, trying to help distract him as much as she could. When he suddenly yanked away from her and wailed, she was forced to cover her ears.
There was a blast of hot air and then Lucy, along with Sting, Rogue, and Taurus, were all flung away from him. Lucy smacked into a wall hard, but she worked on standing up again almost as soon as she stopped moving, trying to get to Natsu. He had shrunk down a lot, but he was still in his red dragon form. When she managed to reach him again, she put her hand just over his nose, only relaxing once she could feel his hot breath on her palm.
"Here." Lucy looked up to find Rogue, covered in dust, standing next to her with Natsu's scarf in his hand. "You should put this back on him. It will help."
"Thank you," she said. She grabbed the garment and wrapped it around Natsu's neck as the others retreated.
"Are we ready to leave, then?" Virgo had pulled off her apron and added it to the bloody rag over Ova's wounds.
Taurus nodded. "I think so. Do you need Natsu closer?"
"No, I can do it from here." Virgo took a couple deep breaths, and then circles began to appear on the floor, under each pair of feet. Two larger ones formed under Ova and Natsu, and once they were done, Virgo raised a hand and they began to fly through that familiar black space.
Their landing this time was much softer, since they weren't being forced through. Once they had landed, Virgo rose and spoke to Gemini. "Taurus and I can watch everything here for now. I need Horologium here immediately. Can you go find him?"
"Piri!" In a flash, the twins vanished.
"Taurus, can you go put Natsu on his bed? We'll need to wake him and speak to him before we leave, but for now he should rest."
"Yooou got it," the angel responded before moving to collect the passed out hybrid.
"Do you guys still need us?" Sting asked.
Virgo glanced at the Leezars and Lucy. "No, I think we can handle the rest of this on our own. Do you need anything from us before you go back?"
Rogue shook his head as Sting grinned. "Natsu knows what we want. We'll collect later." With that, Rogue put a hand on his shoulder and the pair melted into the shadows.
There was another pop and Gemini returned. "Here he is!" they said.
"I'm sorry I did not sense that you needed my assistance," the angel said as he bowed. He had the body of a tall grandfather clock, with thin arms and legs, and a face mixed in with his clock face.
"It's okay," Virgo said. "I expect it was because we were in the Dark. That place has always messed with our powers."
"I assume you'd like me to tend to the injured one?"
"Yes," Virgo answered. "Just until we can figure something else out. There aren't any angels that are particularly good at healing wounds like this one, so in the meantime I'd like you to maintain his current state."
"Will do." With a small poof, Ova disappeared and then reappeared curled up within the empty confines of Horologium's body.
"What is he doing?" Mao asked.
The clock answered. "I am preserving this gentleman until he can be properly cared for. While he is inside of me, his time will remain frozen, so he will not perish while he is in my care."
"He can't stay in there forever, though, and he won't heal without some help." Virgo folded her hands in her lap as she looked Mao's way. "Do you know anyone that could help?"
"There was a scientist in Zalanoon's employ that was gifted with some healing, but even if we could get to him, he wouldn't help now that we've gone rogue, and he didn't have the ability to fix something like that."
"We could ask Happy," Lucy said.
Virgo turned towards her charge. Lucy hadn't moved from where she'd reappeared, even though Natsu was no longer holding her down. "Who is Happy?"
"Happy is the Exceed that came with Natsu. He's back in the demon realm right now, but I can summon him back here and we could ask him if there are any demons that are any good with that sort of thing. I don't know all the magics that demons can have, but Natsu once used healing magic on my arm when I burned it on the stove. I'm guessing there's probably someone over there that is strong enough for this kind of thing."
"That's an excellent idea," Virgo said. "Can you summon him now?"
"Sure." Lucy stood and moved towards her desk to grab the things she would need.
Virgo watched her, wondering if all of the weird would hit Lucy before she could finish getting things sorted out, and hoped that it wouldn't. A little longer, and she could take all of this from her memories and protect Leo's secret.
"There." Lucy sat back, and a moment later, Happy appeared.
"Hey Lucy, is it already-" Happy looked around the room. "Lucy? What's going on?"
"That's kind of a long story, but I have to ask something first. Do you know of any demons or anything from your world that are really good at healing magic that might be willing to come here and help us? I'll make some sort of contract if I have to again, but we could really use a helping hand."
"I do actually," Happy said. "Who needs help?"
"My mate," Mao spoke up. He was sitting right next to Horologium, his hand pressed against the glass to be close to the sleeping Leezar. "He was attacked and he's in really bad shape. Could you please bring them here so they can save him?"
Happy slowly nodded as he looked around the room. "I'm sure she'd be willing to help. Lucy?" he added in a whisper.
"Yeah?"
"This doesn't look like a Christmas party."
"It's not." Lucy sighed. "Is it okay if we talk about what happened later?"
"Yeah, sure, no problem. Do you have clean paper? I'll draw her symbol so you can summon her. And don't worry about a contract," Happy said as he started to draw. "She'll help for free, since you're Natsu's friend. Where is he, by the way?"
"Sleeping," Taurus answered as he entered the room. He'd folded his wings back into his body, but the rest of him hadn't reverted back to his humanoid form yet. "Who are you?"
"I'm Happy, Natsu's friend."
Lucy briefly explained to Taurus about the Exceed while Happy finished drawing. Once Lucy had copied the picture, Wendy appeared with a smile. "Hello Lucy!"
Lucy blinked and then blinked again. "Wait a minute. Wendy?"
"I'm glad you remembered! What can I do for you?"
The blonde did nothing more than open and close her mouth as she stared at the small hybrid. "We need your help," Virgo answered, drawing Wendy's attention. "We need your healing magic to help a friend."
When Wendy finally noticed Ova inside Horologium, there was some explanation required about how one became caught in the other, but once it was fully explained, she helped to remove him and lay him on the floor. "Don't worry, I can fix this right up. Just leave it to me."
Virgo looked up at Mao. "So, care to tell me what you did back there?"
"What do you mean?"
"That thing you summoned. What was it? I've never seen it before or even heard about such a creature existing."
Mao sighed. "The G'hia'aniovial isn't a creature. It's a manifestation of angry thoughts and capable of enacting revenge on a level equal to whatever wrong has been committed. I used to think that he was a work of fiction, just something made up to scare kids at night. I read through a book once with chants that could summon the old beings, but we always thought they were fake.
"I have perfect recall on random things I've read, which isn't very helpful since I never know if I'm going to remember what I read word for word, or completely forget everything, but I remembered that."
"How did you know it was going to show up?"
Mao looked away. "Because… I've summoned it before."
Virgo sat quietly as she waited for him to continue.
"I… I summoned it after Ova and I were banished to the Dark. I sent it back to our realm to get revenge on the people who banished us for…" Tears began to fall from his eyes as he looked at his mate once more. "For banishing us for loving each other."
As Virgo and Mao spoke, Wendy continued to heal Ova. Happy, still somewhat confused returned his attention to Lucy, who was still staring. "Lucy? You okay?"
"I… I don't know." The corners of her mouth twitched a little, and then she began to smile. "This is just… this is all so crazy. I think it's finally hitting me how weird today has been. I was kidnapped, I think, by someone who wanted my blood I guess? And then there was that thing with Natsu beforehand, and then seeing Natsu as a demon type thing, and then his dragon form, not to mention that lava monster, and now there's this little powwow of magic people in my living room." She began to chuckle. "It's all kind of crazy, right?"
The longer she laughed, the louder she got. Happy tried talking to her, but she just kept laughing harder and harder. When the sounds started to become hysterical, Taurus glanced Virgo's way. "We should do it now," he said.
"I know." Virgo made her way to Lucy and turned her chair.
Lucy opened her eyes, but then laughed even harder. "And then you! Manda… you're magic, too!"
Virgo sighed. "I'm sorry about this, Lucy."
"Sorry… about… what?" Lucy asked between laughs. She opened her eyes in time to see Virgo place her hand on her forehead.
And then everything went black.
