Freed, or rather the Gorian that took over Freed stepped forward. Even with a human form, its' English was very blotchy.
"Who you?" It asked in an awkward tone, most likely Freed being the first human it took over.
Jet and Warren didn't say anything; they just stared at the beast who got frustrated by their silence.
It spoke yet again, "I no ask again. Who you?" It said more forcibly, a frown setting on the faux Freed's face.
Jet was the first to speak. "It doesn't matter who we are. You have something we want." He said with a smirk as the Gorian tilted its head in confusion.
"You took over our friend." Warren clarified. "We want him back."
"Oh?" It asked, a devious look spread across its face. "Make me." It egged on, more likely than not, eager to try out Freed's magic.
Jet didn't sweat the fight too much though. Using Freed's magic required a bit more brains than this Gorian had.
He used his Falcon Heavenward to rush up to the Gorian's face and send it flying into a tree, uprooting it. Jet furrowed his brows in confusion. Why didn't it at least try to block his attack?
He narrowed his eyes and with Warren making a mental connection between them to communicate telepathically, he warned Warren about the Gorian's behavior.
"I agree." Warren responded back. "I'm trying to read its mind, but I can't seem to get anything yet."
The Gorian got up, and grabbed for Freed's sword. "Durk ekriture." It butchered the words. "Pain." It spouted, sending a rather weak spell flying towards Jet. He quickly dogged it but it still managed to knick his arm, indeed sending pain throughout him. However, it was more than bearable.
"Pain." It yelled again, sending the same spell out over and over, happily waving the sword around like a toddler waving around a rattle. It amused the duo. If they weren't battling the Gorian they would be laughing their heads off; Freed, with a dumbfounded, borderline idiotic expression on his face, waving his sword through the air like a madman, all the while, his eloquent affinity for English reduced to that of a mere baby. It was too priceless.
Due to Jet's brief moment of inattentiveness, one of the runes hit him again; this time, he grit his teeth as he bent over, grabbing onto his leg. The attacks were getting more powerful.
"Jet!" Warren gasped. "It's waiting on reinforcements!" He managed to get a quick glimpse into the Gorian's mind. "That's why it hasn't been fighting us seriously."
Suddenly, the earth started to shake, making standing difficult for Jet and Warren.
"I knew something was up!" Jet yelled in frustration. He should have trusted his gut feeling.
"What is that?" Warren cried out, finding a fallen tree to grasp onto.
Suddenly, the trees began to sway back and forth as something pushed against them. But this time, it was a large mass of what they were guessing were more Gorian's, rapidly zipping through the forest. Within seconds, the group emerged from the forest into the clearing. They towered above Freed who stopped his tyraid and sneered at them, knowing very well that the odds were teetering in its favor.
"Now I definitely know those are Mountain Vulcans." Jet stated without a doubt, analyzing the group. The white and black combination of their fur contrasted the bright green of the Gorian's.
"It doesn't make sense..." Warren mumbled to himself. "Vulcans and Gorian's never mingle with each other." He said more loudly so Jet could hear.
"I know." Jet responded, more than a little concerned. So there is something fishy going on in the mountains.
"Well, Warren. It's time to show them what Fairy Tail is all about!" Jet yelled enthusiastically, running head on towards the group; he had nothing to lose.
Warren nodded his head, eager to join the battle. They would find out where the Gorian hid Freed's body. And they would break the spell that let it basically leech off of Freed.
Lucy walked around the house absent-mindely, Porlyusica's nic-nacs and ingredients for healing spells fascinated her.
"Stop wandering around." Porlyusica grumbled as she flipped through a book that looked to be hundreds of years old.
"But I'm bored." Lucy whined, walking back to the couch and landing on it with a plop.
Porlyusica grimaced. "I hate humans." She declared for probably the third time today.
Lucy sighed and gave out a half-hearted, "I know."
A few minutes passed and the only sound that could be heard was the careful flipping of fragile pages. Eventually Lucy couldn't help it anymore. "Will I ever get my memory back?"
Porlyusica paused before saying, "I do not know."
Lucy nodded, letting Porlyusica continue her reading. A few more minutes pass by and Lucy interrupts Porlyusica again. "Am I really a part of Fairy Tail?"
"Yes."
"And I was friends with Salamander?" She asked enthusiastically, clasping her hands together hopefully.
"More or less."
Lucy frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
Lucy didn't appreciate the answer, but she knew that that was all she was going to get from her.
Eventually, Porlyusica sighed and closed her book in frustration. "Call that Celestial Spirit of yours and take me to Makarov." She commanded.
Lucy immediately got up to obey Porlyusica's orders. "Open! Gate of The Lion! Leo!"
Within seconds, Loke appeared in front of her, doing a small bow as he said, "Yes, my love?"
"L-love?" Lucy stammered, embarrassed by his choice of words.
"Yes! We were absolutely, madly in love with each other!" He said passionately, grabbing onto her hand.
Suddenly, Loke cried out in pain. "Oooowwww..." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. "That seriously hurt."
"We have business to attend to." Was Porlyusica's curt response, unfolding the paper she used to smack Loke; not even a hint of regret.
Loke grimaced as he opened the gate, Porlyusica and Lucy following after him.
"Bring it on Salamander!" Gajeel yelled, ready to finish his fight with Natsu. He got into his fighting stance and a big, devious smirk spread across his face.
"Alright! I've been itching for a fight." Natsu cried happily, cracking his knuckles. He just finished eating the biggest and most delicious meal of his life and he was ready to go.
However, just as Gajeel was about to land a punch, he was hoisted into the air by the back of his shirt.
"What's the meaning of this, old man!" Gajeel huffed in frustration as he dangled around helplessly in the air, swinging around in hopes of falling out of Makarov's grip.
"Yeah Gramps!" Natsu protested as well, staring up at Makarov's immense, giant form that towered above him.
Makarov narrowed his eyes and picked him up by his shirt as well. "Listen." He began in a deep, serious voice. "Now is not the time for you two nincompoops to fight!" Aggravation was clearly defined on his face and in his voice. "And most certainly not the time to redecorate." He muttered the last part, still bitter about the door.
"What are you going on about?" Gajeel asked, just barely catching the last part.
"What am I talking about!?" Makarov yelled angrily. "That door you destroyed earlier!" His face got beet red and he grit his teeth.
Gajeel looked down and didn't say anything.
"Well, that door had nothing to do with me!" Natsu grinned as if he had found the biggest loop hole ever.
Makarov's aura became an unbearable darkness as he growled through clenched teeth, "Natsu," He began, taking every fiber of his being to control himself. "Do you want to experience that punishment again." He threatened.
Natsu's face immediately paled and he froze; he just hung in the air, held up only by Makarov's grip and looking as if his soul had left his body.
"That's what I thought." He spoke in a tone of finality, as if Natsu could hear him. Natsu was reliving the horrors of his punishment that made him break out into a cold sweat.
"Hey!" Gajeel yelled. "What punishment?" He wanted to know what got Salamander all up in a bunch.
But just as Makarov was about to answer him, there was a loud thud that got their attention. Gray was lying in a heap on the ground, curled up in a ball and shaking. "Th-the pu-punishment..." He stuttured.
"Oh come on!" Gajeel yelled out in frustration. "You too?!"
Makarov took this as a chance to teach Gajeel a lesson. "You see? Keep this up and you'll end up like them."
Gajeel was taken aback and he became a bit nervous. "Wh-what? I ain't no babies like them." He tried toughing it out.
"Do you want to try it out?" Makarov loomed over him, his eyes shining bright red with mischief.
"No need to waste your time, old man." He played off, hoping his heart couldn't be heard thudding.
Makarov just let it go, knowing well that Gajeel learned his lesson, and put him down rather roughly. "Now behave yourselves." He warned, putting down Natsu's soulless body.
"And speaking of behavior." A voice called out angrily behind him. "Yours has been insufferable."
Makarov jumped as he recognized the voice. He gulped as he slowly turned around to face Porlyusica. She was not a force to be reckoned with.
"H-how so?" Makarov asked nervously with an awkward smile on his face, pretending like he didn't know anything, all the while sweating bullets.
Porlyusica rolled her eyes. "You haven't changed one bit." She mumbled disappointedly.
Makarov bit his tongue; he knew very well how deep in hot water he was.
Porlyusica waited a second longer to see if Makarov dared to say anything. When he didn't, she began to say, "Makarov, I need to talk to you in private about L-" She immediately stopped short as the spot where Lucy just was, was now empty.
Suddenly, Lucy's loud yelling was heard above Natsu's evil cackling; the noise getting farther and farther away.
"Help meeeeee!" Lucy yelled desperately, her voice fading as Natsu pulled her farther away from the guild.
Porlyusica shook her head in frustration. Oh whatever, what did she care what he did to her? Who knows, maybe he'd be able to help her get her memory back.
"I assume this is a private matter?" Makarov immediately changed his tone. Porlyusica nodded her head and they went into a private room.
"How is she doing?" Makarov asked. "Will she ever get her memory back?"
"It is too early to decide that. I gathered whatever memories she had left in a lacrima. The same as with Natsu."
Makarov let out a sigh of frustration. "Do you honestly think sending Natsu's memories to the Council is a good idea? Would any of the information even prove helpful?"
"When we look at the Lacrima. We can decide then."
"But for the time being, this is the best course of action." A different voice interrupted their conversation. "The probability of this plan working has a relatively fair chance; that is if the factors calculated don't change."
"First Master!" Makarov exclaimed, surprised by Mavis's appearance.
"Hello...7th Master?" She asked uncertainly.
Makarov groaned. "I'm actually the 8th now." He mumbled in distraught as he remembered his title. "I'll never be able to retire." He hung his head sadly.
Mavis laughed. "I'm lucky to have a master like you succeed Fairy Tail." She said happily as she leaned back and forth on the balls of her feet.
Makarov blushed, more than happy at Mavis's words.
"And hello to you too, Mrs. Porlyusica." She greeted, a big smile spreading on her face.
"Good evening, Master Mavis." Porlyusica greeted back happily, slightly bowing.
"Let me go!" Lucy demanded, pulling against Natsu's hand as he pulled her through the streets of Magnolia.
"Come on, Lucy! It'll be fun." Natsu coaxed as he grinned back at her with his signature, Dragneel smile.
Lucy's heart fluttered and she stuttered, "O-okay."
"There yah go! That's the Lucy I know. Always up for an adventure and always by my side." He chattered on happily. Even though he didn't let her see it, he actually blushed while saying that last part.
Lucy was at a loss for words, so she just looked up at the setting sun, admiring the brilliant scarlet colors, with dashes of orange, pink, and dark purple. After walking a few more feet, she eventually asked, "Where are we going?"
He stopped and turned around to face Lucy. "It's a surprise." He responded with a devious look on his face. "And we're almost at our destination." He smirked as he pulled off his scarf and dangled it in front of her.
Lucy got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. But the odd thing was that she trusted him, and felt... safe. She closed her eyes and let him tie the scarf over them.
"Alright! Here we go!" He yelled happily as he swung her up in his arms princess style, making her yelp in surprise.
"Geez Lucy, did you gain some weight? You're heavier than before." He joked, wanting to get a rise out of her.
"What?!" She exclaimed, embarrassed. "I did not!" She defended, a scarlet hue coloring her cheeks.
Natsu laughed. "I'm jus' kidding."
"You bonehead!" She yelled at him, crossing her arms in frustration. Her cheeks puffed out as she sulked. He couldn't help but chuckle as a warm feeling spread across his chest. He shook his head at the feeling and just blamed it on heartburn.
The streets started to become more crowded. The air filled with the wonderful smells of street food, the various beats of different musical instruments, and the happy chatter of Magnolia's citizens, as well as those from other regions that traveled long distances to experience this festival.
"Is... is this a festival?" Lucy asked as she turned her head this way and that, trying to catch the different sounds of the festival. Her nose twitched and her stomach growled loudly. She immediately covered it and laughed nervously.
"Are you hungry, Lucy?" Natsu asked. "We can stop by a stall. The main event doesn't start for another hour."
Lucy nodded her head slowly and Natsu put her down, untying his scarf.
Lucy gasped as she took in the decorations. Paper lamps lined the streets in various, absolutely brilliant shades of colors. Street performers dotted the area, pulling off amazing shows. Stall owners calling out into the crowd in hopes of selling their merchandise; A particular, small shop stationed nearby caught her eyes. It was selling hand-made Yukatas. She stared down at her rumpled, dirty outfit and grimaced.
"Well... there goes my rent money." She sighed sadly as she headed towards the shop.
Natsu on the other hand was scouring the booths in search of food for Lucy and himself.
Suddenly he stopped short and his eyes widened and a happy grin spread across his face, drool sliding down the corner of his mouth.
Lucy looked around the beautifully crafted yukatas. It was hard to pick just one, but the yukata that stuck out to her the most was a pale pink one with yellow, white, and purple flowers dotting it in a lovely pattern. The obi was a rich blue color with a simple brown string tied around it in a bow at the front to give it some more depth.
"Would you like to try that one?" The shop owner asked, slowly walking up to her. She was a little old grandma with a kind face. "I think it would suit you very nicely." She added on, her hands clasped behind her back patiently.
Lucy looked down at her and for some reason, the smile on her face made her heart fill with happiness. "Yes, please." She responded, moving aside so the grandma could take down the yukata.
"Come now, child." She said, waving her into a dressing room. Suddenly, Lucy gasped as she realized who this grandma reminded her of. She had the same expressions as Spetto, her maid that practically raised her after her mother had died. She had the same warm smile and kind eyes. Her heart acked, wanting to see Spetto so badly.
"Is everything okay, little miss?" The grandma asked worriedly.
"Yeah..." Lucy mumbled, shaking her head to stop the memories of her old life from coming back. However, she had a feeling that letting those memories flow to her may be useful in getting her memory back. Before she could dwell on it too much, the grandma got her attention again.
"Here," she began, holding up a flower-like decoration to her hair. "This would look very nice with the yukata."
Lucy nodded her head, a small smile spreading across her face as she bent her knees a little so the grandma could put the clip in her hair.
"Thank you," She said as she grabbed the yukata and went to put it on.
When she came out and looked in the mirror, she was even more impressed by the beauty of the yukata and how well it suited her. She went to pay for it, and the little grandma gave it to her at a discount. Even throwing in the hair clip for free. She was more than thankful to the grandma, bowing to show her appreciation for her kindness.
With a smile still on her face, she walked out of the store. A crowd cheered loudly and she looked over towards the noise to find a very large group of people surrounding what she guessed was some street performer. Curiosity getting the best of her, she squeezed through the people and her face fell.
"Oh hey, Lucy!" Natsu yelled at her, as he spun around the fire torches. He noticed her change of clothes. "You look nice in that yukata." He complimented with a cheeky grin.
Before she could respond, he returned his attention back to his performance and took in a huge breath. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" He yelled, adding his own fire to the torches to create big blasts of fire that made the crowd yell in excitement. He smirked at Lucy and specifically sent one out towards her that was a little too close for her comfort. "Watch where you're blowing that thing!" She cried out as she backed away quickly, almost tripping in the process. Natsu tried holding in his laugh, but couldn't help it anymore and let out a bellowing laugh.
"This is great, Lucy!" He yelled happily, doing tricks with the torches. "They said that if I do this, I can eat all the fire I want!" He added cheerfully, promptly eating the fire, and making the crowd go wild. They clapped for minutes at Natsu's performance, tipping him generously. As promised, he was allowed to go eat all the fire he wanted. He went and grabbed a few torches.
"I don' know whas in dis fire, but is good." He said with a mouthful of fire.
He offered her one.
"Uhhm... I'm okay, thank you." She refused, holding her hands up in front of her.
Natsu shrugged and opened his mouth wide as he inhaled all the torches at once. "Ah," He sighed with contempt, throwing the torches over his shoulder. "I have a fire in my belly now."
Lucy groaned, bringing a hand up to cover her face in exasperation.
"Come on, Lucy!" Natsu grabbed her hand and pulled her towards a vendor who sold her favorite food.
"How did you know it was my favorite food?" She asked, blushing a little.
"Come on Lucy, have more faith in me than that!" Natsu joked, slightly offended.
After getting her fill of food, Natsu took off his scarf and dangled it in front of her.
"Not this again!" Lucy whined.
"Come on, the main event is about to start and I want it to be a surprise. You couldn't go last time and uh..." He didn't want to finish the sentence, unknowing if this Lucy would go tell Gramps what he did in order for her to somewhat experience the event. "Nevermind that, it's not important." He said quickly, an awkward smile on his face.
Lucy squinted her eyes at him but let it go and accepted her fate. He led her through the crowd and found a suitable place to get the best view. The last of the sun set and he started to untie the scarf. "Alright, here we go!" He yelled, as he let the scarf fall from her eyes.
Lucy gasped in shock, putting her hands over her mouth in surprise. She had always wanted to go to the Rainbow Sakura festival. Natsu stood beside her, admiring the look on her face, the glowing, rainbow blossoms casting beautiful shadows on her.
"Wow... thank you, Natsu." She turned to face him, tears welling up as she gave him a whole hearted hug.
Natsu chuckled. "No probs, Lucy." He was more than happy to bring her here. As he was about to return the hug, a horrifying memory flashed through his mind. It was of Lucy lying before him, saying she loved him and forgave him before he let loose one of his most powerful attacks; Dragon King's Roar.
Lucy felt him tense up and pulled back, looking up at him in concern. "Hey... are you okay?" She asked softly.
He nodded and gently placed his forehead against hers, his hand on the back of her head. He rubbed his forehead against hers. "I was so scared." His voice cracked. "I thought I killed you." He relived the horrors again. Seeing the fire burn everything in its path, him screaming out Lucy's name as he desperately hoped it was all a bad dream. "I was so helpless." His voice was starting to get scratchy.
The anguish in his voice made her heart squeeze. "I don't remember what you did. But I know you would never hurt me on purpose." She said gently squeezing his hand reassuringly.
He pulled her into a tight hug, resting his head against hers. "I was so worried." He whispered, his voice cracking again.
Lucy didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified of remembering what he did. The image of the strong, crazy, and recklessSalamander she knew from Sorcerer's Weekly crumpled just as Natsu did in her arms.
Jet was thrown back and he landed with a thud on the ground, Warren following shortly after. "Man, we're getting our assess handed to us." Jet complained angrily, getting up. He had about had it with those Vulcans. Just as he was about to attack again, he felt the hair on his body stand up.
"Watch out!" Warren yelled, tackling Jet to the ground just as a massive amount of lightning zoomed past them, destroying the trees with a massive explosion.
A figure walked casually towards them. "Come on guys, quit fooling around. I know you can do better than that." A deep voice said, hovering above the two.
"Laxus!" Jet and Warren cried out in unison, more than thrilled to see Laxus. They glanced over at a body slung over his shoulder.
"Freed!" They yelled even more happily. Their luck was dramatically changing.
Laxus gently laid down Freed, and then faced the two again. "Get up." He said gruffly. "We have a fight to finish." He cracked his knuckles and neck, getting into a fighting stance.
Jet and Warren put on their biggest smiles. They could now go full out without having to worry about finding Freed.
They all charged at the beasts, each picking one. Laxus picked the one that took over Freed. If anyone was going to take that oversized gorilla down, it was going to be him. No one messed with The Thunder Legion and got away with it. He began to build up electricity in his right hand as he pulled his arm back, ready to hit the flea bag with a strong right hook. The Gorian closed its eyes and broke the take over spell in despair as it jumped back into the tree canopy.
Laxus smiled, it did exactly what he wanted it to. "Come down and fight me!" He yelled up, his eyes darting through the tree branches to locate the Gorian. It didn't take long, and he used his lightening to boost him up into the trees, taking the Gorian by surprise, he used the same attack he did earlier and smashed it down through the foliage and into the dirt. Residue electricity appeared in random places on the Gorian's body before it diffused into the ground. It didn't get up and Laxus smirked.
Laxus turned around and headed back to where the other two were fighting their own Vulcans. He was pleasantly surprised to see that one of them was already taken down and they were finishing up the last one.
"Now, Warren!" Jet commanded, sending Warren flying through the air as a distraction. As soon as the Vulcan took its eyes off of Jet, he took the chance to use his Falcon Heavenward to end the beast. One kick was all it took to knock the creature out.
Warren popped up from where he landed and cheered; walking up to Jet and highfiving him. "We did it!"
They noticed Laxus calmly strolling out of the forest. "Thanks to you too, Laxus! Without you here, we would have been done for!"
"Nah." Was all Laxus said. He wasn't one for mushy crap, so that's as close to a compliment as he was willing to give those two.
He picked up Freed and started to walk back through the clearing. "You guys ready to head back?" He called over his shoulder.
Jet and Warren shook their heads and ran after Laxus to catch up with him.
Hello everyone! Sorry for the absence, but I'm back and as an apology, I made this chapter long. Thank you again for those who vote and comment and I will see you guys soon!