Chapter 5: The Five Sons of Imperium
Natsu was stuck and getting more frustrated by the minute. He could tell Lucy had been here, but two steps in any direction and her scent disappeared. Had the vortex taken the remnants of her scent with her?
"Maybe this is the wrong approach," Gray suggested. Natsu glanced at him with narrowed eyes.
"You don't think we should find Lucy, ice for brains" he demanded.
Gray rolled his eyes and sighed. "That's not what I meant, idiot. They took Lucy away wrapped in those magic ropes and into some vortex. Maybe it covered her scent. But, they weren't covered and they had to be nearby to attack so early in the morning."
"We should track their scents," Wendy agreed. Gray gave Natsu a triumphant look, which Natsu ignored, clenching his fists. He closed his eyes sifting through his memory to try and pinpoint the scents of Arawn or Abaddon. You need to calm down, Natsu coached himself, you're not going to be able to find Lucy at all if you don't concentrate now.
"I think I found it," Wendy said shyly. Natsu's eyes snapped open gratefully. Calming down was not one of his strength.
"Lead the way, Wendy," Erza encouraged.
They moved through the forest carefully, pausing for every snap of a branch or rustle of a wind until they came to an abandoned campsite, two larger blue tents set up with a pit of ash where a fire once had been. They spread out to investigate, Wendy making her way to the first tent and confirming it belonged to the two story-tellers or whatever they were.
"These are nice tents," Erza said touching the fabric. "A fine silk. Certainly much nicer than travelling storytellers should be able to afford."
"I think we can rule out storytellers and maybe consider treasure hunters," Gray agreed, poking his head out from the other tent. "Look what I've found."
He emerged completely bringing with him parcels of paper and laying them on the ground for everyone to see.
"Maps of the forest, messy travel notes, and some kind of order with instructions," Carla observed. "Why would they leave these all behind to be found."
"They probably meant to come back," Erza said taking the map and noting the many crosses on it. One one circle outlined a clearing in the trees. "Whatever it is they were seeking, they expected to find it in the middle of the forest, perhaps get it, then break down camp and return home."
"But instead they took Lucy," Natsu grumbled, kicking a stone. He didn't care about these notes, they were wasting time.
"They were looking for the unicorn from the story," Carla said. Everyone turned to her. She had laid out the notes before her and was scanning through them quickly. "You see, here they say the story is true and they found evidence of it. Here they outline changes in the forest's natural atmosphere, which they say proves their close to the unicorn. But here, they say its gone."
"So they're crazy," Natsu said. "This doesn't explain why they took Lucy or where they are."
"It seems to be by order of the King," Erza replied. "This letter says the king himself wants the unicorns horn and that its power should be brought to him by any means necessary."
"Indeed, by any means necessary!"
The group jumped in surprise at the new voice behind them. Turning and readying themselves for battle they found a tall well built man with an over the top blond mustache and piercing sky blue eyes standing beside a slender woman. He was attired in clothes to match the grandeur of his mustache, a dark blue military uniform, silver buttons shining in the light and hands covered in white gloves. Not a spec of dirt showed from his clothes. The woman was also dressed in a dark blue military uniform, but the coat seemed a size too big and her blonde hair was braided down her back, nearly to the floor.
"It's so very rude to arrive unannounced in a place you don't belong," the man observed, running his sky blue eyes across them all. Natsu felt a shudder run over him, just as the rest of the team did. Something was off about this man and his eyes.
"We are from Fairy Tail. We are looking for our friend who was kidnapped by the owners of this camp," Erza stated, pointing at the two. "Identify yourselves."
"I am Firmitas and this is my brother, Compassio," replied the woman, slowly unbuttoning her over-sized jacket. In a fluid movement she pulled it off to reveal a tight white tank top tucked into her properly sized military pants. "By the order of the King and in the honor of the Five Sons of Imperium, we will destroy you."
"Five Sons of-" Natsu began, but before he could finish, the two were lunging towards them, swords suddenly drawn from areas Natsu couldn't fathom.
Erza's swords rained down creating a wall between them and forcing the two enemies to leap back, quickly dodging the swords and returning to their starting places.
"Mage of swords," observed the woman, "That wasn't mentioned, but it does make it more interesting."
"Natsu, Gray, Wendy," Erza commanded, eyes never leaving the new opponents. "Take Happy & Carla and go to find Lucy."
"Carla and I will stay to assist," Wendy said, jumping next to Erza. Carla nodded, transforming into her human shape and taking a battle position.
"Alright," Natsu agreed. "Be safe."
Wendy, Erza, and Carla nodded in response.
"Let's go," Gray said and they rushed off through the opposite side of the woods.
"Not so fast," Compassio began, leaping towards their retreating backs, but this time he was met with a blast of wind from Wendy's Dragon Roar and he fell through the air, doing a slight tumble before landing again on his feet in his first place.
"We are your opponents," Wendy informed them.
The woman licked her lips, eyeing Erza's swords that still stuck in the ground. "Good," she replied. "Then let's have some fun."
...
"Do you have a scent," Gray asked as they slowed their pace. Natsu paused, sniffing the air.
"It's faint, a few days old, but it's them alright. This way," he motioned ahead. We're coming, Lucy, don't worry and stay safe.
"She'll be fine," Gray assured as they ducked under low branches. "I'm sure of it."
Natsu sent him a toothy grin. "I know it," he assured Gray. "She's Lucy!" But I'd still like to make sure, with my own eyes, nothing happens to her, Natsu added to himself.
After about thirty minutes of following the faint scent, the forest began to thin and a castle began to rise in the distance. By the time the mages exited the forest entirely, they were close enough to see the four large turrets, each with a dark blue flag waving above, the same color as the tents from the campsite.
"The scent is headed towards the castle," Natsu said, then he paused. "Watch out!" He punched Gray's arm, pushing him out of the way just as Happy grabbed Natsu's shoulders to heave him into the air. The sudden movements were met with a string of cussing, as two sets of rope were pulled back to their owner.
"I thought I could manage if I was downwind, but I suppose that nose of yours is just a bit too keen," Arawn said with a shrug. Gray jumped up, ice already tingling on his fingers ready to go.
"Arawn," Natsu called from above. "Where's Lucy?"
"I can't believe you told us such a good story only to ruin it by taking our friend," huffed Happy indignantly. "We could have been friends!"
Arawn rolled his eyes. "Friends with commoners? That's beneath me. No one from the Sons of Imperium would ever dirty themselves in that way. Now come closer and I'll show you your proper place."
"I was hoping we'd run into our friend again," Gray told Natsu, "I'll take care of him. You head towards the castle and find Lucy."
"Not so fast," Arawn demanded, sending a rope towards Happy's wing, but it landed on the ground- the top frozen by an icicle shaped like an anchor. Happy used the extra moment to fly away as quickly as he could, leaving Gray to watch as Arawn pulled back the rope, the ice disappearing as it returned.
"You've forgotten my gift," Arawn smirked. He held up another rope, spinning the top portion like a lasso as ice appeared at the top, molding itself into an icicle so sharp that it was almost a harpoon.
"I haven't forgotten," Gray assured him. "But a copy-cat like you can't possibly beat the real thing."
...
They entered the castle through the first available turret window, landing silently and glancing around. The scent of Abaddon and Arawn was everywhere, mingled with other scents that Natsu now recognized as the two opponents they'd met at the campsite.
"I don't smell Lucy anywhere here," Natsu admitted sniffing about.
"If it's a castle," Happy said thoughtfully, "I bet there is a dungeon and a dungeon is where you keep prisoners."
"Good point," Natsu agreed. He wrapped his scarf around his head so only his eyes could be seen. "Lets go, like ninjas."
They hurried down the tower as silently as ninjas, though they didn't run into anyone to hide from. When they reached the main floor of the castle they looked around.
"Natsu," Happy whispered, landing on his shoulder. "For such a big castle, this place is really empty."
"We haven't even seen any guards," Natsu agreed, unwrapping his scarf. "Ninja mode not needed."
"Naaaattssssuuuuu," Happy whined. "Do you smell that?"
Natsu licked his lips and his stomach growled. There might not have been any guards, but there was definitely some delicious food near by. Natsu glanced around and saw a door ajar.
"I think it's from there," Natsu said eagerly. "But we have to find Lucy first."
"What if Lucy IS there," Happy suggested. "Maybe they're feeding her until she explodes."
"Good point, buddy," Natsu agreed. "Better investigate to make sure."
They moved inside and saw a long table, stacked with food of all kinds: desserts at one end and meats at another, some greenery of vegetables in the middle. At the very head of the table sat a huge round man with ruby cheeks and a gleeful expression.
"Hoy," he called waving to them. "Come and eat. I can't possibly finish this on my own."
"Wow," Happy said excitedly moving forward, but Natsu grabbed him by the tail, looking at the man suspiciously.
"Is this your castle," Natsu asked moving forward slowly, trying his best not to be distracted by the food.
"It's my father," said the round man. "I'm Ventri, firstborn and first in line for the throne. As my guest here, I insist you eat."
"Well," Natsu reasoned, sitting down next to a particularly juicy looking chicken leg. "It'd be rude not to."
"What brings you to visit my friend," Ventri called from across the table. Even with Natsu sitting the table was so long and food stacked so high that it made it difficult to hear one another at a normal tone.
"Omph wouking poormph um fwumph," Natsu replied, mouth full. He swallowed, ready to repeat himself without food, but Ventri was apparently fluent in Natsu's stuffed-face language.
"Ah, friendship," Ventri sighed dreamily. "As delectable as a warm cookie with milk. My friends are also out today taking care of business and my father is following his ambitions. Leaving me and this feast, until you arrived."
"She's not gone by choice," Happy said, munching on a fish.
"Maybe you've seen her," Natsu asked in between bites of the kabob. "Shes about this tall, blonde, has keys, dressed in pajamas, a little revealing. Goes by Lucy."
Ventri paused in his eating and stared at Natsu, who didn't think it was that odd. Some people stared when they thought. Ventri sighed and pushed his chair back from his table.
"And here I thought we could be friends," Ventri said sadly. "But you are an enemy of my friends."
"What do you- HEY!"
Before Natsu could respond, Ventri grabbed hold of the table they were sitting at and ran it into Natsu's stomach, tossing him across the room and making him spit out the kabob he had been working on. Happy hovered over head.
"Are you okay, Natsu?"
"Yeah I'm fine," Natsu replied, rubbing his stomach where the table had hit. "What's the big idea? You invited us to eat!"
"That was before I knew you were after the girl," Ventri said, bringing the table down to smash on top of Natsu's head. Instead, it hit Natsu's defensive arm, creating a crack in the table itself. Ventri lifted it again to repeat the action, but this time Natsu caught it with his hands, flames beginning to appear and singe the strong wood.
"You know where Lucy is," he growled. "Where is she?"
"In the name of the Five Sons of Imperium," Ventri called "I'll kill you before I reveal anything!"
"I'll make you eat those words," Natsu growled, increasing his flames so the table lit on fire, the piece in his hands turning to ash almost instantly.
Thanks for reading & don't forget to review! The next few chapters will be focused on the fights and then what's happening with Lucy. Hope you enjoy!