05| SEVEN SINS
Mira wanted to reason with the blonde, but feeling Laxus gripping her wrist in warning told her that it wasn't an option. Seeing Lucy's eyes holding no recognition, no warmth they always held back at the guild struck a new sense of fear into Mira's heart. What if this was Lucy now? What if these people turned Lucy into something they couldn't save her from?
"Lucy." Her name slipped from Mira's lips before the takeover mage could stop it. Her blue eyes widened in surprise at her slip, breath hitching as Lucy's eyes narrowed.
"Lucy?" She repeated back, tilting her head as she kneeled down to be on eye level with Mirajane.
Laxus growled at Lucy in warning, who spared him nothing but a side way glance. She seemed to have decided something when she looked at one of the other six people surrounding them, and Laxus took it as Lucy not being appreciated being growled at as Sting pulled him to stand in a tight grip with another man. Snarling at the two, Sting's purple eyes and the other man with orange only tightened their grips.
"Don't pay them any mind beautiful." Lucy whispered, her hand brushing against Mira's cheeks softly, effectively gaining the attention of white haired mage. "Now tell me who this Lucy is and why you're here."
There was something alluring and perilous about her voice that had Mira's mind blanking out. It was like a cloud in her head, and had Mira not realized what was going on then she would have answered any question Lucy had asked her. Why? Mira wasn't sure, hell she wasn't sure what the hell was going on.
With a huff of annoyance, Lucy's hand slowly trailed down Mira's cheeks, thumb tracing her lip softly that caused Mira to blush softly. Yet the blonde's hand didn't stop there as her fingers left a ghost trail on her neck. Stopping right at the middle of her neck, Lucy's glowing blue eyes pulled Mira's attention in.
Laxus felt the tension shift in the room as her was pulled back with the other six mages, away from Lucy and Mira. The tension of fear and confusion had changed the moment Lucy opened her mouth, causing the atmosphere to be thick with a sexual tension. Laxus's mind was reeling, trying to think of the reasons Lucy was practically trying to seduce Mira with her voice, or why these mages were abnormally strong. He understood Sting, he was a dragon slayer, but the other man?
"You took to long." Lucy hissed, gripping Mira around the neck tightly and lifting her up with ease. Mira gasped, trying to claw at Lucy's strong grip as her feet lifted off the ground. That feeing in her head was gone, shattered no doubtingly by the blonde before her.
"Let's try this one more time before we kill you and your friend here." Lucy spat, grip tightening again. "I sense the demon inside you. A beautiful face with a demon soul. You're here for the hellfire."
Mira choked for air, wanting nothing more than to kick and punch her way free. Yet how could she harm Lucy? Her nakama that was out of her fucking mind right now. She could here Laxus's struggling- muttering promises of pain if she were to be hurt. Yet her mind wanted to comfort Lucy, to take her home where it was safe, to shake Lucy to snap out of it.
"No." Mira whispered out, taking in air when she could. "You Lu- we are here for you."
Lucy watched the woman for a moment, clicking her tongue in distaste as she dropped Mira to the floor unceremoniously as if she were nothing. Watching as the woman below her held a hand to her throat and gasped for air fully now, like a fish out of water. For Laxus, he watched as Lucy watched as if it was the most pathetic thing in the word she had ever seen.
Whatever was going on with Lucy, and the others proved that they were not themselves and would hurt them. Laxus had no reason not to believe they wouldn't kill them, because every single moral Lucy and Sting had was out the door. The other five Laxus couldn't even be sure of. None of them were themselves.
"My name is not Lucy." Lucy's voice was flat, emotionless as she stared Mira down. "I am the fifth sin of the seven deadly sins, Lust. We will not let you leave here with the hellfire."
Laxus's eyes widened, as did Mira's as they began understand the situation now. It was like realization hitting them in the face as tangible as Natsu and Gray's fights that ended with broken tables and chairs to the face, hard. The seven of these mages had represented the virtues, just like Mavis had said. Then they had been encased in the crystals full of dark magic, not doubt apart as a ritual to awaken the souls of the seven deadly sins.
"It's said that the seven sacrifices woke with abilities and their humanity barely in tack, their human lives turned into a dark ageless one. The legend has it that it took them three hundred years to regain the mindset of their former selves, to make it the mission to kill any seeking the power of Hellfire by the means of making sure it's never obtained."
Mavis's words rang through Laxus's head suddenly, recalling what she had said had happened the first time the sins were awoken. Laxus wasn't sure if the former mind of Lucy and the others were in their bodies, or if they were gone and lost forever. He wasn't sure if a sacrifice had taken place, if the seven were killed for the cause of this hellfire.
He knew they had a mission to kill anyone who wanted the hellfire, and at the current moment Lucy was under the impression that him and Mira wanted the hellfire for themselves. Well shit. It was clear Lucy didn't recognize her spirits, but if Lucy had been killed wouldn't her contracts be terminated? Loke and Libra had reassured that the celestial spirit mage was alive, but her magic was unbalanced.
Glancing off to the side, Laxus looked at the woman who called herself Inori- the Puppeteer. Her magic was to control people, a lost magic really that was illegal. Well at least Laxus thought it should be, but he was sure that was part of the reason Lucy and the others were aggressive. It was the doing of the woman just watching a far.
"We don't want the hellfire." Laxus hissed feeling Sting pull his hair up, yanking hard enough that Laxus felt some hair pul out. "We want our friend back!"
Lucy's eyes narrowed at Laxus, taking a step forward but another woman stepped in front of Laxus and gripped his chin. He could feel her nails biting into his skin, but he withheld his hiss of pain so he wouldn't come off as weak. After all, he could handle being manhandled and pinched by a woman.
Yellow eyes bore into his own blue, the woman had long red hair as well that went past her shoulders and down her back. Her facial expression was calculating as her yellow eyes narrowed and her nose scrunched up as if he were the foulest thing in the room. Yellow, the color of envy if he could recall. This woman was named Nadia, the kind mage who was taken from her home. Yet now she was anything but kind.
"Then who are you here for?" Nadia inquired, a peril tone underlying her words. "If not for the hell fire."
Laxus could see now how this mission to keep the hellfire was implanted into their heads, it was all the really cared about. Yet Laxus couldn't help but et his eyes flicker to Lucy, who's lips were turned into a frown as she looked at him.
"Lust?" Nadia questioned, seeing Laxus's eyes travel to her. "Does this man know you from a night shared in bed?"
Both Mira and Laxus nearly choked at the accusation in the form of a question. The sin lust was associated with sex, good to know. Yet Lucy rolled her blue eyes and shook her head.
"No you idiot." Lucy says, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Why would I sleep with that man anyways? I can tell we were asleep for centuries, these people wear clothing styles I don't recall."
Laxus ignored the slight offense he seemed to take to Lucy's words, reminding himself that this wasn't their Lucy. This was Lucy being possessed and controlled, and hell would freeze over if Laxus stood around any longer to watch. Gritting his teeth, Laxus's body sparked with electricity as he shocked Sting and the other man away with twin lighting strikes. Yet he felt a strain on his magic, fully aware how that damn seal drained him.
At this five pair of eyes narrowed and Mira knew that shit was about to hit the fan as she glanced up at Inori, where the woman leaned on a railing watching with amusement. Mira knew this woman was exerting more magic, taking control but did she really need too? It was as if all of the emotions in Lucy's and Nadia's eyes vanished, and that void was there again.
There was no more speaking as the magic pressure around the room continued to grow intense. Mira looked over to Laxus, nodding her head slightly that they would have to fight for their lives with the way the seven mages now circled them. As Mira looked closer to the seven of them, she noticed something she hadn't before.
On the side of their necks was a small metal oval, and by the indentions of the skin she could tell it was biting into the skin. Mira frowned, again glancing up at Inori but this time she wasn't alone. Royce was there holding a device. It clicked then.
"You're controlling them physically!?" Mira yelled, nearly shaking in anger.
Royce chuckled, "It was never fully known how they would be if they woke up. Either completely mad and rabid, or possibly awaken the way they were when sealed away. A contingency plan was put into place, so at this moment they cannot hear you. Just my orders."
Mira took a step forward, only to be pulled back by Laxus. "Why tell us your plans? People like you give that up if you're planning to kill us."
"You're a smart one." Royce praised mockingly, "We only needed you and your guild mates for your magic properties. Draining you in a sense to fuel the seven deadly sins magic, after that you lot are deemed useless."
Laxus's gritted his teeth, feeling the seal reactivate once again. At this point their magic would be drained and useless, yet he had to ask. He had to know, "Lucy and the others, are they dead because you sacrificed them for these demon sins?!"
Inori was the one to laugh at him, as if it was the most amusing thing in the world. "You fool, do you not see? They are the seven deadly sins, cursed to be reborn life after life until the seals are broken. Finding them was tricky, but we did it. We won."
Laxus snarled, falling with Mira as the Earth around them came up to cuff around their wrists and ankles, pinning them to the ground as the earth opened slightly to swallow their bodies in just enough to make escape difficult.
"We won't kill you yet." Inori mused, standing there on her high horse. "Your magic levels will do well to keep this place going until they are ready to open the gates, and if blood is needed to get those gates open then yours will do."
"Lucy." Mira whispered to the blonde, who was again emotionless and unspeaking, trying to see those warm brown eyes again that brought Mira comfort every morning at the bar. They were no where in sight.
"Now." Royce pressed a button, and in response seven heads turned towards him. "Find their comrades and make due of them."
"You can't!" Mira yelled, crying out when the rock around her wrists were squeezed tight.
"Mira!" Laxus yelled, watching as her eyes rolling to the back of her head before everything went dark for him as well.
Everything was dark again, but it didn't change the fact that Gajeel was on high alert. He could smell Levy and Yukino, hear the fluttering of their heart beats along with the three exceeds and Rouge's mutterings. How they hell they fell was beyond Gajeel, but it was no doubt the doings of an Earth mage.
Which meant they were utterly fucked because they were in an environment where that mages had the advantage. Wonderful. Gajeel thought to himself bitterly, knowing damn well that they were screwed if they didn't think fast.
Levy coughed, ignoring the aches her body was feeling because of the impact her body sustained. She wasn't too sure how high that fall was, but she knew that it was enough to sprain something. Then again she landed on Gajeel, so he took more of the fall than her but physically he was stronger.
Yukino groaned softly, squeaking out when she felt something move from under her. Looking down, her brown eyes could make out the soft glow of Loke's regulus's light and quickly got up. In her haste to get up, Loke grunted when her foot came into contact down south that caused his light to go out as he laid there for the pain to pass.
"Sorry Loke!" Yukino yelped, earning another grunt in response as Loke regained his composure.
"Accidents...happen." Loke muttered, his eyes looking around them. He had a feeling that something was going to happen, which was why he stayed close to Yukino. He'd be damned if he lost another celestial spirit mage, and Lucy's friend.
Rouge looked back over at Loke and Yukino, making sure both Frosh and Lector were okay from the fall. He could feel something in the shadows, as if they were being watch and he didn't doubt that for a moment. The possibility of someone watching them was there, because someone named Elijah had been there before the ground opened and they fell through.
"I have no doubt Bunny Girl is here now." Gajeel muttered, which was given since the man admitted Lucy was here. The only issue was that they had an Earth mage, which would make this a game of finding a way through the maze. How annoying.
"Bunny Girl?" Rouge and Yukino questioned.
Levy smiled, "Gajeel's nickname for Lucy after he had her dance on stage with him while he performed." Levy had tried to offer an explanation, yet the look in the two Sabertooth's eyes only made it clear she caused more questions.
Levy didn't offer any further explanation, only looking at Loke which increased her worry for Lucy. Yes, they had her here but that anticipated that Loke would bring them here. Which raised the question as to why they needed them here. What purpose could the possibly served? Was Lucy and they others not enough? That thought lead to the fear that Lucy was dead, but yet if she was dead Loke would know. At least that's what Levy rationalized for herself.
"Any guesses on why they would want us here Loke?" Lily asks the lion spirit in his battle form, ready for anything that could come their way.
Loke didn't even know why they took Lucy, so why the hell would he know why they wanted him to bring Fairy Tail here? The only thing he understood was that Lucy had been watched, for a while now if they anticipated his actions and the guild's. It slipped past him this whole time, but he was so focused on Lucy's wellbeing that her safety was jeopardized. It was his fault.
"None." Loke muttered, refraining to sigh.
"Theoretically speaking, what if you master Mavis had been right?" Rouge theorized, looking at Gajeel and Levy. "Let's say that they used Sting, Lucy and the others to wake the seven deadly sins. What happens to them? What else are we facing if this was to happen? If these people got their hands on the hellfire, here and now then there is no doubt in my mind that they brought strong members of your guild here to eradicate everyone."
"Why would they want to do that?" Levy frowned, not liking how realistic this could be.
Gajeel answered for Rouge, seeing his point to vividly, "Because we stopped Tartaros. Given Lucy helped free us so we could finish the job, but we still defeated the nine demon gates and Mad Geer. We would be the first threat to their plan now."
Levy's eyes widen but she said nothing as the sound of clapping echoed around them. She yelped feeling Gajeel pull her close to him with Lily flanking them. Glancing at Loke and Rogue, Levy saw the two standing protectively around Yukino was the two smaller exceeds on their shoulders.
"I must say that your group is so much brighter than the other two groups." This time it was not Elijah, but a young girl around Wendy's age. Her hair was in a long blonde braid, green eyes bright with mischief.
"Who the hell are you?" Gajeel barked, not in the mood for any of little girl's mind games she no doubtingly had planned for them.
She remained unfazed, "Terra. Though we have no time for conversation." She gave a lazy smile. "This might hurt a little bit."
Gajeel and Rouge were ready for the ground to move, having a hunch she was an earth mage. They waited in that single second for the earth to bend at Terra's will, to try to get them but in never came. What came was a blue seal appearing on the floor, then an intense burning feeling swallowing their bodies and their minds to vibrate with pain.
The seven of them fell, even Gajeel and Rouge who fought against it but they could feel both their magic and strength draining from them. The hell was it possible for the girl to know such a powerful spell to make them weak? On the other hand, Levy was feeling sick and Yukino's magic was running out quickly, which caused Loke's gate to close.
"Making us weak to kill us with a drainage spell?" Gajeel snarled at the girl, red eyes narrowed into a glare as he looked up at her from where she stood just outside the magic seal.
She had the nerve to giggle, and it only pissed Gajeel off further. "Me? Kill you?" She only smiled at him. "Heavens no."
Terra squatted, eyes level with Gajeel as her arms rested on her knees. In her green eyes, Gajeel could see the amusement. The girl was messed up in the head, that was the only explanation Gajeel could give for her.
"These seals won't kill you. They aren't strong enough to cause magic depletion like the Eclipse Gate, in certain cases." Terra gave a knowing grin, humming lightly. "No, they will keep you weak enough to not cause a fight back and drain you more on a regulated time. Though we don't need all of you and we have the dragon slayer and take over mage."
Gajeel's and Levy's eyes widen, but it was Gajeel who thrashed around and yelled out when the seal glowed brighter and pulled his magic more. Terra clicked her tongue and shook her head.
"Struggling makes it drain you more." Terra stood, looking over the seven as if they were the most pathetic thing she'd seen. "I would give you mercy, but it's not my call."
"You're going to kill us, then do it already you cheat." Levy bit out, her anger manifesting now seeing Gajeel struggle with Lily. "We are Fairy Tail! We will fight until our last breaths!"
Terra glanced over her shoulder as the seal slowly disappeared, then back at them. "Not me, them. They will end you quickly, hopefully. I don't know what Inori will have them do to you lot." Terra sighed, shaking her head as she walked away opening a door through the rocks.
Gajeel struggled to see what the crazy bitch meant, ignoring the weak feeling his body was feeling from losing a significant amount of magic. He heard it before he saw it, the set of three footsteps. Slowly three people emerged, one male and two females.
"Sting." Yukino whispered, seeing the white dragon slayer approaching them with a demeanor that promised danger. It made her shiver seeing his normally blue eyes now glow an unnatural purple.
Pride.
Levy took in the two females that flanked Sting, instantly recognizing them from their profile photos in their files. The red head, who should have hazel eyes instead of yellow, was Nadia Silva. Greed. The other female was no doubtingly Sabrina Moore, a short brunette who had originally had onyx colored eyes. Now they glowed green and her lips were curled into a malicious smirk. Levy knew that she was the sin of Envy.
Rouge could feel the dark magic in the hair, and he huffed out a small chuckle. Sure they could drain magic, but as dragon slayers- him and Gajeel could easily replenish that magic. With that thought, Rogue welcomed the dark magic into his pores, pulling it from the three mages in front of them.
"Gajeel." Rouge called, standing slowly with narrowed eyes at Sting. This was not his partner, and it was true what he thought.
"Levy." Gajeel said, looking at the small blue haired female.
She understood and without a word she called for her script magic and softly called for iron. She watched as it fell in front of Gajeel, how the iron dragon slayer wasted no time in scarf it down. She felt useless watching as Gajeel stood, standing next to Rouge.
"Sting." Rouge tried to call, knowing he had to try once at least. "Snap out of it."
"Sting-kun, please!" Lector cried out for his dragon slayer, and for a second his eyes flickered.
It was enough for Rouge, "They're in there somewhere, Gajeel."
Watching the three slowly split off to circle them, and feeling the magic pressure from them spike up only caused Gajeel to crack his knuckles and neck, "I've always wanted to kick Sting's ass."
"I'll handle Sting." Rouge says, eyeing the two women. "You got the women."
Gajeel refrained a groan.
"Now, don't underestimate us dragon." Nadia and Sabrina spoke in perfect sync, and it caused a shiver to go down Levy's spine. "This is where you die."
They three moved quick, but Rouge and Gajeel were just a little quicker.
Erza had a nagging feeling the moment their group had split into smaller groups to cover more ground. It was one of her gut feelings that kept her alive on all her solo missions, an intuition she never ignored until now. There was too much at stake, especially if it was Lucy's life on the line or in question. Her blonde friend had been through enough, more than enough. The red head always knew there was more to Lucy's childhood, more to her story than she let on. Yet they never pried, that wasn't Fairy Tail.
It was that reason Erza was unsure she ever understood Lucy fully. Erza had always been skilled in the ability to spot weakness and lies. That meant she was able to see through people, but Lucy was never a person she figured out. Realization was hard for Erza, that a girl she thought she knew was possibly someone she never knew at all. All the smiles on missions, even after the loss of her father and they never even asked how she was assuming she was okay.
They never asked, and that's what was killing Erza. Lucy had hidden pain, she knew how to do it so much even Natsu had never been able to see through it. Yes, he had held her when she cried and they've all seen it and they all seen her bounce back. Yet Erza had worked solo missions around high status clients, had seen other heiresses and how they acted, how they lived due to how they were raised.
Never once had Erza believed Lucy could be like them, able to hide her feelings while being so emotional and sensitive at the same time. Only now Erza took noticed how she cried, laughed, and was mad when they were. As a team and as a guild, Lucy had reflected those emotions and never talked about the things she lost.
Her childhood, her mother, Eclair, her father, the GMG, Aquarius, Tartaros, the Eclipse Gate, or even seeing her future self die, which Erza heard from Natsu, was never spoken about by the blonde. All the important key factors that would put anyone's heart through turmoil, and yet Lucy never lost that smile nor warmth in her eyes.
Erza felt horrible, for not even realizing all this earlier. They continued to move forward on missions Lucy had brought forward after each event, and it distracted them. Clever.
"Juvia has a bad feeling." Juvia says, breaking the silence as they wandered the tunneled cave they were in.
"Stay alert." Gray says, walking behind Natsu and for once putting up with the heat that radiated from the dragon slayer's body.
The thing about Natsu, for Gray at least, was that he couldn't stand the heat Natsu put out. Naturally him and Gray collided, and that was because Gray himself was fond of the cold and thrived in low temperature climates. The only reason he really couldn't stand Natsu was because the pink haired man was a total idiot. Gray never had thought Natsu would willingly leave Lucy behind with the way they had always been glued to the hip. Yet Gray understood his reasoning, because for once Natsu had made sense.
Gray never tried to pretend he understood Lucy, because she came from a background every kid wished they could be born into. Yet learning from Lucy's little tidbits, that life was not all it was shaped up to be. He understood like everyone that Lucy liked to keep things to herself only for her to know. He could respect that, but he couldn't see past the Aquarius part. She should have told them. Yet Gray could understand Lucy's selfless reason to spare them guild, but as friends it felt like she didn't trust him with that knowledge or to be able to handle the news.
Wendy hugged Carla to her chest, finding comfort in the small white exceed. She felt nervous, like something was going to happen. There was a change in the air she sensed, a small shift that had caught her attention, and maybe Juvia's. It was the same feeling that washed over her every time when something was going to change their lives. It was the feeling that something out of their control would inevitably happen.
Natsu was another story than his other comrades, and Happy could see it the most. He knew that he should have taken her, just like Happy had suggested but Natsu was too stubborn. He had needed to get stronger to protect Lucy, and ironically she was taken when he had left her out of his sights. He had jeopardized her future, and now he wasn't sure if he could keep his promise of protecting Lucy's future.
He wasn't sure if he'd lost her this time for good. Lucy had been missing for weeks, and no one had even known. Natsu wished he could beat himself for that, for not knowing something was off sooner but he trusted her. He trusted Lucy was okay and she was handling her own, so when she was ready to return home they would all be there waiting to greet her. Natsu never believed that they would be wandering a mountain, looking for Lucy or Sting, or five other mages. He didn't want to believe Lucy could get caught up again in something so soon.
"The famous Team Natsu in the flesh." A voice called out, causing the whole team to tense and turn around.
Wendy and Natsu frowned, both not smelling or sensing someone else so close to them. In front of them now stood a man with long dark hair, his eyes showing he was up to no good. The feeling in Wendy's chest tightened as she let go of Carla, preparing to spring to action if needed soon.
"Though not very impressive." He hummed, clicking his tongue.
Gray's eyes narrowed, "Who the hell are you?"
The man in front of them said nothing, taking a single step forward and watching in amusement as the group of famous mages took a defensive stance. Team Natsu, a group well known for their destructive behavior and patterns on their jobs. To him personally they were not all that impressive, more like over bearing or overrated in a sense.
"I am Kyle of The Order." He says, doing a mocking bow yet only lifts his head with a smirk. "This may sting for a moment."
There was no time to speak for Team Natsu and no time for Kyle to waste, because these mages were fast in action before thinking. They had to be taken out as efficiently as could be, since it was seven versus one. That and Kyle was a teleportation mage, not a combat mage. He was the brains of this plan, not the brute force so he didn't know why the hell he was here instead of Royce.
Right as Natsu ignited his fist into a ball of flames and as Erza held her sword ready to strike with Gray's ice make magic, the rocky terrain beneath them glowed a blue with a seal.
"The hell?" Natsu muttered, feeling like gravity shifted as he fell to a knee with the others. Only Happy and Carla were on the floor groaning along with Juvia and Gray. Natsu could hear the soft pants of Wendy trying her best to fight through whatever was going on, and hear Erza take a deep breath as her body trembled holding herself in place. All Natsu felt like doing was dropping down, feeling his body slowly getting weaker.
"A draining spell?" Wendy whispered, being the first one to realize what was going on. Her head snapped up to look at Kyle, eyes narrowing as she sized the slightly older man up. "Why drain our magics?"
Kyle shrugged, "Makes it easier to make sure you lot can't stop us. Besides it's too late for you to save them."
Natsu growled, "Where the hell is Lucy you bastard!?"
"Lucy." Kyle tested her name out, grinned as he watched them struggle. He let them wait for his answer, let them struggle with the not knowing and becoming powerless. "Lucy is gone, and she isn't coming back." His grin turned into a dark smirk, taunting them that he knew something they didn't. "She's dead, along with the others. You were too late."
She's dead.
You were too late.
She's dead.
You were too late.
She's dead.
You were too late.
There was a piece inside Natsu that snapped suddenly, and the magic seal meant nothing to him, his body, or his magic. All he heard was that they hurt Lucy, his Lucy and it was enough to send him over the edge. It took no effort to mind, just blinded rage to propel Natsu forward with a flaming fist.
Kyle barely had time to react before heat collide with his face and pain burned his whole face. He screamed out and used his teleportation magic to move away on the other side of the magic seal that kept the others contained. Kyle dared to look at the pissed off dragon slayer, who's chest was heaving up and down with heavy pants as he shook with his anger. For a moment Kyle swore he say scales on the dragon slayer.
Erza couldn't pick her head up much now, but she felt like Natsu was about to commit a murder and kill this man. She couldn't blame him, but she knew that killing someone changed a person. It would change Natsu, everything he worked for up until this point and he would never forgive himself.
Fairy Tail didn't kill.
"Natsu." Gray called out, wheezing really.
The draining seal disappeared then, leaving those on the floor feeling weak and tired. Their bodies felt strained, as if training so hard they used their magic up. It was a shitty situation now that only seemed to get worse and worse.
Natsu let out another huff, getting ready to launch before he froze as did Wendy. The scent of strawberry and vanilla, mixed with something he couldn't place. There was three other scents as well, three scents neither Wendy nor Natsu could place.
"What's wrong?" Erza asked, sensing the two dragon slayers tense up in her group as she shuffled her body up, her eyes never leaving Kyle. Sure her magic was lower, but she could fight if needed. She had to, there was no time to think about resting.
"I should say good luck." Kyle chuckled, earning a glance from the group but a glare from Natsu, who was looking his direction already. "You'll need it." Before Natsu could even burn him to a crisp, Kyle had disappeared in the air and something else had his complete attention.
Natsu and Wendy had gone back to staring intensely at the darkened opening of the cave, trying to see something that Erza, Gray, Juvia and the exceeds couldn't see yet. Yet they could hear the echoing footsteps headed their way, causing them to tense up as well now.
Not even a minute later did four figures emerge. Three males flanking an all too familiar blonde, who looked at them with emotionless blue glowing eyes while the other two had red, orange and light blue glowing eyes. At the entrance of the tunnel is where the three stopped, watching and seemingly waiting.
"Luce?" Natsu called, about to step forward but Erza was quick to pull him back. Hissing feeling the strain it caused for her.
"I don't have a good feeling about this Natsu." Erza muttered lowly as she listened to her intuition, slowly letting Natsu's scruff go while she swallowed the bitter feeling threatening to grow in the pit of her stomach.
The way she walked was like a doll, alive but lifeless at the same time. Yet as the four of them watched the seven of them, the more the seven grew unsettled. Their celestial mage wasn't smiling at them, or running to them in greeting. There was no recognition at all in her eyes, not as she looked them up and down unimpressed.
The men with Lucy were the men in the files Erza had read over, and looking at them now she could identify them. The tallest one with greenish hair and brown eyes was Killian Kiryu, the slightly shorter man next to him with red hair was Adrian Vandom. Then the last one, the more well built one with blonde hair was Rafael Armington.
The Lucy they knew was not there, because their Lucy would not be this unwelcoming or seemingly against them. Mavis had been right, unfortunately. The seals were broken, and these demons were possessing their friend and other mages. How the hell did they save Lucy from this? Possession was a forbidden practice, and not even Erza knew how the hell to separate a spirit away from a body.
It didn't help that they weren't at full power to defend themselves if needed, which put them at a disadvantage. Erza could recognize the look that fleeted across all four of their expressions, how their unnatural glowing eyes narrowed at the seven of them with a conviction that was against them. A look Erza had seen multiple times in rivals and fights.
"Oi, what the hell Gray!?" Natsu growled, holding a hand up to his face as he held his cheek.
Erza looked to see the ice mage standing there with his fist in the air where Natsu's face had been mere seconds ago. Yet the ice mage looked as surprised as Natsu, "It wasn't me who did that."
"They had a mage that was able to control people." Carla reminded, looking around to find another mage around but came up with no one but Lucy and her new friends.
Juvia was the one who saw the change in Lucy's eyes, how they went from no emotionless to mocking. At the same time they were glazed over, a smirk twisting unnaturally on her pink lips. At the same time the three males had a similar expression, causing shivers to go down her smile.
"This will be fun won't it?" Hearing Lucy's voice sounding sickeningly sweet caused the group to look over with worry. The small giggle that left her lips brought no warmth to Team Natsu, only chills.
"Only if you share them." A deeper tone agreed, coming from Killian.
"Lushie?" Happy called out, just wanting the blonde to wrap him up in her arms and make him feel safe like always when she did that.
Yet there was no answer from the blonde, only a cynical smile that didn't belong on Lucy's lips. Her whole demeanor was wrong, and her tone of voice was haunting.
"Lucy isn't here anymore." It came from Adrien, who smirked at the group. "We are four of the seven deadly sins."
Natsu didn't see anyone move, his eyes picked up nothing but now in a blink of an eye they were surrounded by the four. In front of him was a blonde haired man, Rafael. The man's red eyes promised a world of pain, yet Natsu became determined.
Erza's eyes looked over quickly around, focused on Killian who stood there ready to strike her down. "We mean no harm to you."
"Lies." Killan spat out, eyes narrowed.
"You all want the hellfire." Adrian accused, glaring at Wendy and Carla who were watching him with wary eyes.
Gray had already noticed the device on Lucy's neck, and on the others. "The Order wants to use you."
"No." Lucy says, voice laced with malice. "The Order is trying to help us. You are the threat, you have to die."
There was no room to reason with the four, not when they lunged at Fairy Tail.
Okay here we are, new update. I had such a hard time ending the chapter so if it's cringe I'm sorry haha. Maybe one of these days soon I'll rethink the ending for the chapter but for now that's where it will be left at.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know your thoughts on it!
Also if it's a little confusing I'm sorry. Hopefully I'll clear that up next chapter!
Please review and let me know how you liked it :)