Author's Note:
Hello everyone! Sorry it's so late, I've been super busy all day and didn't get to post till midnight. Sheesh!
Anyways, as always I am super-deluxe-unquantifiably-combusto-thankful to all my wonderful fantastic reviewers out there! Thank you all so, so, so, so much! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: ThatOneAnimeGirl08, TheJSmooth, Lucinda, Kowareta1468, WisdomDragon27, valerioux, stranger1999, KitsuneLover05, Leomae2.0, Lady La-sara, ravenqueen162, loopymama, thetrywriter, Firefly9917, SunnieDayss, Wolves silver wind, Daisy73, and Elphaba818. Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: Cassi I1 and The Age of Awesomeness.
Alrighty, on with the show! Be sure to stay till the end for a sneak peek of next chapter. ;D
A couple of weeks after having Mystogen randomly drop in, the unthinkable happened.
It was a solemn rainy day, positively pouring cats and dogs, and the guild was relatively quiet. There were plenty of people there, but all of them were made quiet and sleepy by the weather.
It might have been quieter than usual simply because Mira was gone from the bar, and therefore nobody could get drinks or food for the time being. Everyone was always rowdier with the presence of booze. Or it could have just been the influence of the rain. Lucy always found that rain tended to make her sleepy, and she ended up lazily staring out the rain-soaked window with glassy eyes. The peaceful moment was interrupted though by Natsu snorting awake and going on a rampage. Apparently someone had decided to draw on his slumbering face, which Lucy had to admit was pretty funny.
Of course the person that had drawn on Natsu's face was Gray, and soon the guildhall was no longer quiet in the least as a battle broke out between the two hotheads. The racket those two made as they tore into each other was probably why they didn't hear the shrill screams of warning from just outside the guildhall doors.
Without that warning, it was a complete shock when the world suddenly began to twist and warp in a truly horrific and stomach turning way. Everyone screamed, and then those screams cut off into an echoing void as the world went black and ripped out from under their feet.
Lucy screamed right along with everyone else. It felt like she was being sucked up into a cosmic vacuum of some sort, and it was far from pleasant. Distantly, through the echoing space, she heard a dragon's roar and then a flood of heat as Natsu latched onto her with his magic and yanked her back to him. The last thing she felt before she blacked out was the sensation of her left shoulder lighting on fire.
When she came to, it was to a mouthful of powdery dirt, which she promptly spat out disgustedly. Sitting up, she stared in shock at the unreal surroundings she found herself thrust into.
She was in a completely blank white plain that was smudged at the edges, like she was surrounded by mist. If she stared hard enough, she could see what appeared to be the edges of Magnolia through the obscuring mist, but the entire center had been erased. Wherever she was seemed to still be in the middle of some sort of transition, almost like the eye of a tornado. The only thing that she could clearly see was the space around her, which was a field of eerie white sand…. And of course above that was a disturbingly black sky. Looking directly up, she could see a vicious looking spiral of dark clouds, and at the very center was an inky black hole.
Even more mystifying perhaps, were the small bubbles of sand that continued to drift upwards from the ground to the sky, creating a truly alien landscape. And strangely enough, all the currently available light seemed to come from the ground, not the sky.
Given the nothingness surrounding her, it took mere seconds to notice the other figures there with her.
"Lucy!" Wendy sobbed, immediately running over and throwing herself into the celestial wizard's arms.
"Wendy?! What happened? Where is everyone? Where's the guildhall…where's…" She stalled out as she observed the solemn blue eyes of a man she didn't recognize.
For a second she'd thought it was Jellal, simply because of his blue hair and eyes, but quickly realized that it wasn't. They looked very similar, but this new man had a different face. It was only when she took in his familiar clothing and the mess of magic staffs on his back that she recognized him as Mystogen.
His presence suggested a sobering reality…one that she didn't really want to consider.
"It was the anima! It came and took most of Magnolia… and Fairy Tail with it!" Wendy cried into Lucy's lap.
Happy and Carla flew over. "It's true! We saw it happen!"
"What I'm curious about is how you managed to stay behind Lucy." Mystogen finally said timidly, walking over to them but keeping some distance.
"I…I think Natsu somehow yanked me back." She instantly started looked around, knowing he had to be here. "He's here too somewhere…"
"We haven't seen him yet. Perhaps he's still-" Carla was interrupted by a blast of flame and a monstrous sounding sneeze.
"Ack! What the hell was that?!"
"Natsu!"
Wendy took a step back so Lucy could rush over to her boyfriend/mate and nearly choke him to death with a vigorously frantic hug. "I'm so glad you're here too…"
Mystogen was just staring, looking contemplative. "Perhaps dragon magic is immune to the anima somehow…"
This theory was strengthened when – a few seconds later – coughing, cussing, and a bushy black mane spewed out from the sand nearby. "Holy hell…that was a trip."
Almost before anyone could say anything, another body exploded from the sand in a burst of sparks and almost as much cussing as Gajeel. Laxus shook himself off disgustedly and looked around while keeping a stony expression firmly on his face. Lucy could see concern zip through his eyes and tighten them significantly though as he took in their new surroundings.
"What's going on here?"
It didn't take them long to all get on the same page. All that needed to be said was that a massive anima had taken Magnolia, and though he'd tried, Mystogen hadn't been able to diffuse it.
The only problem now was how to get their town back, and everyone turned to Mystogan for answers.
"The anima is still here, as you can see." He nodded up, and they all glanced at the sky, where that terrifying spiral of clouds was still slowly turning. "We are currently in the eye, and we have a very brief window of opportunity to get to Edolas. As Exceeds, Carla and Happy can get there easily. But as for the rest of us…."
"Wait…Exceeds?" Carla questioned.
"Yes…you both come from Edolas. There, we call your kind 'Exceeds.'" At everyone's shocked stare, he sighed and glanced up, as if to judge whether they had time for more explanations. "It's complicated, but suffice it to say that I was part of a plan to transport multiple Exceed eggs to Earthland…for preservation reasons. We really don't have time for me to explain further. The anima will close soon, and then Fairy Tail will be lost to you….forever."
"Alright then! I've got a fire in my belly! All we've gotta do is fly up into the eye of that thing right?" Natsu asked, seeming to get impatient. When Mystogen nodded, he grinned and shot a glance at Laxus and Gajeel. "You two are gonna have to find your own rides. We're going on ahead."
Without another word, his wings popped out, he had scooped up Lucy, and they were already soaring up into the sky.
"Wait! Natsu! Lucy! I'm coming too!" Wendy called out after them and turned to Carla, "Hurry Carla! We have to go too! I'm too scared to fly through on my own!"
Carla would have protested, but with her mage's tearful eyes pleading with her and her blue almost-boyfriend urging her on with a paw grabbing onto hers, she sighed and scooped Wendy up, flying after the other two. Happy flew alongside his white kitty paramour, while the three left behind started shouting after them.
Carla sent a glance back, looking concerned, "Are you sure we have all the information we need…?"
"Sure!" Happy chirped.
…
Back on the ground, Mystogan groaned and shook his head while pinching his nose in exasperation. "…dragons are apparently impossible to work with…"
"What'd you just say?" Gajeel spat, taking offense.
The mysterious Edolian flinched back and quietly said, "They took off before I could give them these." He produced a jar that held little red pills. "Here, you two take them at least, and then take some for your friends. It will allow you to use magic in Edolas."
The two dragon slayers each took one of the little round pills and swallowed them, before each accepting a small jar with more pills for the others to take.
"So how are we gonna get there?" Laxus asked, eyeballing Mystogen.
"I'll just have to send you. However, portal magic is very unstable and can be extremely uncomfortable and dangerous, so it's your decision. I can only do it while the anima is open though, so you will have to make your choice soon."
Neither slayer had to think about it, they both volunteered to get hurled through space and the walls between worlds with one of Mystogen's spells.
…
Meanwhile, Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Carla, and Happy ended up popping into Edolas in a completely different place from the other two Fairy Tail members.
After flying at top speed and nearly getting blinded by flashing lights, plus enduring a sensation like being squeezed through a tiny magical hole, they were flying above the forests of an alien world. Floating islands and even rivers drifted through the sky around them in a truly fantastic and magical display. Everything was colored differently, the trees were blue and purple and even the sky was sort of a pinkish color. Sparkling blue lacrima crystals stuck out of everything – especially the floating islands – and weird creatures surrounded them. They passed a feathered jewel-toned fish that was swimming through one of the floating rivers, a flock of winged lizard-things flew by, and a giant fat bird waddled to the edge of one passing island and squawked at them.
"Woah…this place is crazy beautiful!" Natsu gasped, his wide black eyes taking it all in like the rest of them.
Unfortunately, their awe was short lived – Natsu's in particular – as he felt his ability to access magic draining away. Scrambling desperately, he yelped and started losing altitude as his wings warped, like they were having trouble staying out.
"Shit…Happy, grab Lucy!"
He tossed her to the blue cat, much to her distress, and she shrieked in displeasure. But of course Happy easily snatched her out of midair, while Natsu continued a death spiral towards the ground.
Carla, Wendy, Lucy, and Happy followed close behind – staying out of the way of thrashing limbs though to avoid being knocked out of the sky as he went down in a very violent manner. Thankfully he landed on some sort of giant soft mushroom, which very nearly swallowed him whole when he made a huge indent in the cushy cap.
There was enough room on the giant fungal-looking vegetation, and they all landed as Natsu clawed his way out of the sunken center.
His wings had dispersed with a shower of sparks, and he lay on the soft surface beneath him, wheezing and wincing like he was fighting the drain of his magic. When his whole form flickered, Lucy grew even more alarmed.
"Natsu! What's going on?!"
"I dunno, I'm losing control of my magic somehow! It's like I can't tap into it anymore!" he yelped, looking pretty frantic.
Thinking fast, she realized what was about to happen, and some of the tension eased from her body. "Don't worry, you won't be dragged back to the celestial plain. Not unless you want to go. Remember?"
For a long moment, he just stared at her with wide panicky uncomprehending eyes, but then a lightbulb flicked on and he gasped a sigh of relief, then groaned. "Oh…right. Can't believe I forgot about that…"
No sooner had Lucy pointed it out than the mark on their shoulders flared to show it had kicked in, and she felt the tension of the spell locking him to her. Thankfully this sort of magic still seemed to work in this world, which really didn't surprise her since it was so ancient and primal. It linked their souls together after all. Something that powerful couldn't just be turned off by a seemingly magicless world.
After a long moment where Natsu caught his breath from the fall and his short-lived panic attack, he groaned. "Well shit. I still can't access my fire at all though."
"But at least you aren't being dragged back to the celestial realm."
He pouted but conceded. "True." Then he almost instantly perked back up, in that mercurial way of his. "Well anyway, no use sitting around. Let's go find the others."
And with that, he was jumping off the mushroom and landing down on the ground below. Lucy and Wendy followed more gracefully with the help of their Exceeds, who still apparently had full access to their magic. It made sense though, if they were actually born here as Mystogen had said.
Natsu led the way through the strange forest, and they all stared in awe at the unnatural trees and plants and shrubs and flowers and … well, everything. It was a truly alien place and left them all amazed and just a little freaked out as the fact that they were really in another world began to sink in.
Soon Natsu's stomach let out an almighty growl and he grimaced. "Wonder if any of these plants are edible…"
"I wouldn't risk it." Lucy interjected and highjacked his hand as it made towards a strange-looking fruit.
He pouted but left it behind.
Eventually they ran across a path, much to their relief, but that was only after wandering around for most of the day and getting chased by some very large and strange looking monsters – which they couldn't really fight without anyone having access to their magic. So as soon as they ran across the path, they eagerly hopped on and set off at a brisk pace, hoping to run into a town where they could find food, a place to rest, and some information to help them figure out where their guild went.
"Alright! A road! Maybe we can get some food!" Natsu exclaimed, his stomach echoing the sentiment almost louder than his words.
Wendy added, "And a place to rest for the night. It's getting dark…"
"Personally, I'm hoping we can get some info on what happened to our guild. Someone must have noticed a bunch of buildings and people suddenly showing up…right? It should make the news."
"I certainly hope so." Carla said in her snooty way. But despite her stuck up nose, her ears were droopy, exposing how concerned she really was about it all.
Happy must have noticed too, because he started walking closer to her and twined their tails together. Lucy was pleasantly surprised when Carla seemed to welcome the contact and figured that Happy must have almost won her over. Finally.
"We'll get them back! No worries." Natsu overrode all their concerns in his violently cheerful way.
And so, they continued down the road, serenaded by Natsu's stomach and pathetic groans, which prompted choruses of scolding from Carla who apparently took offense to a growling stomach. They had been walking for several hours – and were in the middle of one of these arguments – when they came across other people on the road.
"Can you PLEASE stop making such obscenely loud noises?!" Carla protested for the hundredth time at a particularly loud snarl that emitted from the starving dragon's belly.
Her protest was somewhat underwritten when her own sort-of-boyfriend's stomach growled next to her, and she shot him a shocked and offended expression. He gave her puppy-dog eyes. "Sorry Carla…but I'm really hungry too…"
And then they all paused when a soft grumble sounded from her stomach as well.
"HAH! See! We're not the only ones!" Natsu laughed loudly, pointing at her, and she flushed a little.
Meanwhile, Lucy had glanced up the road, and started when she saw other travelers approaching. "Oh! Excuse me!" she immediately called and trotted ahead of her companions to try and get some information about their location. "Excuse me! Could you tell us if there's a town up ahead? We've gotten sort of lost."
She gave them her best 'lost puppy' eyes that generally got her directions without fail. It involved big eyes and a hint of wobbly chin with slightly puckered lips … and if they were guys, sometimes a little subtle cleavage. These three traveling merchants were no different. They took one look at her and nearly melted.
"Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that." The older grandfatherly gentleman said, while his two sons ogled her somewhat shamelessly.
"Yeah…that's a shame…" one son said while cocking his head and looking her up and down.
At the extra attention she was getting from the two sons, she straightened up and felt absolutely no need to try and appear more attractive … she'd rather not get the wrong sort of attention here.
Still, she gave a slight eyelash flutter to help prompt them along as she asked again, "It's been rough. We're all very tired…. So, I was hoping the next town would be coming up soon."
"Yes actually it's just -" Suddenly the other son cut off as his eyes widened and looked past her. With a gasp, he staggered back a little. "E-Exceed!"
The other two instantly looked towards where he was pointing at Happy and Carla, and then similarly panicked expressions took over their faces. With sharp cries, they stumbled off the path and ran into the woods helter-skelter…looking for all the world like they were running from Lucy's flying feline companions.
She stared after them with shock, wondering just what the hell was going on here.
"Yo Luce…didja scare away the locals with your boobs again?"
She shot a nasty look towards a laughing Natsu, who was familiar with her mild seduction tactics to get information.
"Thank you for that. And accusing me of scaring the locals is awfully funny coming from a giant fire-breathing lizard." She sniffed and felt a little justified when Happy and Wendy giggled at her comeback. Which reminded her… "Actually, they freaked out as soon as they saw Happy and Carla. One shouted, 'Exceeds,' and they all ran off like they'd seen a ghost."
"Isn't that what Mystogen called us?" Carla asked with a contemplative and concerned expression on her furry face.
"Yeah, I think so…" her semi-boyfriend answered, looking more worried than her.
"Well…they also said a town was coming up. So maybe you two should stay out here until we find accommodations, and then we can smuggle you in through the window or something. Since you apparently get a lot of attention, you're probably gonna have to lay low. We can't risk drawing that much attention right off the bat."
Happy whined, but Carla seemed to understand. "Oh hush, Tomcat. Do you want to fail in our mission to bring back our friends? No? Then you'll just have to stay with me while our comrades procure accommodations for the night."
He instantly cheered up. "Aye Sir! I don't mind waiting as long as I'm with you Carla…"
The white cat surprisingly flushed ever so slightly and fidgeted under his doting attention.
And so, when they finally came upon a town – which was larger than Lucy had expected, much to her delight – the two cats took shelter in the woods, in a spot that they could easily find. The sun was just started to set, so Lucy, Natsu, and Wendy set off quickly to find a hotel where they could plan their next step. Thankfully it didn't take too long to find, and with the help of a few coins from a purse that one of those merchants had dropped in their haste to get away, they were able to procure a room. After that, Natsu left to go and grab their cat friends and returned via the window only a few minutes later.
Once they were all assembled, their next job was to get some food for Natsu so he wouldn't wake any occupants in the adjoining rooms with his roaring stomach, which sounded more like an angry dragon than a hungry one at this point. So, Wendy and the newly dubbed Exceeds stayed in the room while Lucy and Natsu set out to find sustenance – and possibly some information while they were at it.
And so, they soon found themselves walking through the alien streets, looking at all the vendors selling strange things. Everyone seemed to be excited, more-so than they should be so late in the evening, and Lucy could just smell information on the breeze. So, when they came across a restaurant with a bar, her sleuthing instincts tingled and she grinned.
"There, let's eat at the bar. Whenever something big has happened, people will be talking about it freely where alcohol is involved."
Natsu quirked an eyebrow at her and flashed a grin. "Smart thinking Luce. I'm all fired up! Let's get some grub!"
She rolled her eyes but tried to keep up as he made a beeline for the place she had pointed out. He still got there first, and she ended up joining him at the bar a few moments later, breathing a tad heavier from the short jog she'd just had to make. He had already ordered of course, and Lucy just hoped what they had left of that merchant's coin would cover it.
As she'd predicted, there were plenty of excited patrons all talking in loud voices, but none of the disjointed conversations she caught made much sense. Something about a giant lacrima and the king and the capitol…
So, when the barkeep dropped some plates of food in front of Natsu and her, she grinned and flagged him down with 'come-hither' eyes. He answered the call, like most men, and she hurried to ask in a sweet tone, "Everyone sure is excited! Has something happened?"
His eyes widened a little. "You haven't heard?"
She shook her head 'no.' "I've been out in the backwoods doing an archeological dig for the past few years, so I'm afraid I'm out of the loop." She hoped that excuse would work here as well as it worked back in Earthland.
Thankfully he seemed to buy it. "Oh wow, sounds interesting!" he complimented and then continued with the answer to her question. "Yeah, you're way out of the loop. I guess you don't know that the king's head scientist developed the lacri-maker, and that they've been creating lacrima, huh?"
"Creating lacrima? You mean magic crystals?"
"Yep. About a year ago, Dr. Byro developed a machine that makes lacrima."
At the slight pause, Lucy inserted the appropriate eager, "oooooh," sound and fluttered her eyelashes to encourage him to continue.
He did so enthusiastically. "Yeah! Cool right? The first was just fist-sized, but then they got bigger and bigger with each one! But, a couple months ago, the lacri-maker suddenly stopped working, and everyone freaked out."
"Oh no!" she gasped with fake horror.
"Don't worry, Dr. Byro fixed it! That's what everyone's so happy about – the lacri-maker is back in business and just produced the most massive lacrima it's ever made! It's absolutely huge! Bigger than a house! They have it in the palace courtyard on display, and there's gonna be a big celebration tomorrow! Maybe magic will become legal again! That would be so cool!"
Dread settled in Lucy's stomach, but she forced a fake smile on her lips. She was glad though when he had to rush off to help some other customers, so she could drop the act. The coincidence was just too strong…. but if she was right, it meant their friends had somehow been transformed into a giant crystal.
How were they supposed to save their friends if they were just magical rocks?
…
Meanwhile, unlike Lucy, Wendy, Natsu, Happy, and Carla, the other two dragon slayers and Mystogen were sent right to the capitol. They knew that their guild was there, since the magic Mystogen had used would put them within a certain radius of where the original animus had connected the two worlds…. unlike the others who had been spat out who-knows-where. Both Laxus and Gajeel felt that it served the others right for heading off without them and didn't feel sorry for them at all. If anything, they both gloated at the fact that they were closer to the original site and would probably solve this whole thing by the time the others caught up.
That initial gloating and ego boosted optimism soon drained away though when they found out that nobody had heard about a huge guildhall suddenly being plunked down somewhere random – which was what they had been hoping to hear. Instead, they found out that there was gonna be a big celebration about the creation of some sort of huge lacrima crystal.
After hunting down more information, everything they found out about it suggested that their friends had not been transported to this realm as humans…. instead, they had somehow been transformed into a big-ass lacrima.
"Well, now what the fuck are we supposed to do?" Gajeel cussed as they all lingered in the shadows across from the front of the royal palace, where they could clearly see the courtyard that housed an enormous blue lacrima.
"Beats me." Laxus responded, his voice tense. "Are they even still alive?"
This question was directed at Mystogen, but Gajeel snorted. "How? D'you really think they could survive being turned into a giant lacrima?!"
Laxus grabbed his collar and snarled into his face, not wanting to hear that particular brand of sarcastic dark humor at the moment.
They were about to get into a spat, when Mystogen quietly interrupted. "Actually…I believe they are still alive in there. For the moment. However, if we wait too long, I suspect they will begin to truly transition into this new form, and if that happens…. they're lost to us."
Instantly the two spitting dragon slayers dropped each other and turned to the third wheel. "You think so? Then how to we get them back to normal?"
After a long pause, Mystogen hesitantly suggested, "I'm not entirely sure. We need more information. If I could just get close enough to analyze the crystal, I might be able to come up with a solution."
Blue and red eyes met in agreement. "Right." Gajeel grunted. "Let's get you closer then. The two of us will cause a disturbance long enough for the guards to give you an opening."
"Whatever you do, don't get caught." Mystogan warned, making them wonder just what was going on in this country.
With a plan agreed upon, they split up. Each dragon slayer took a different side, and then once they were far enough apart, they started making two separate scenes.
Gajeel took a direct approach and simply walked up to a drunkard in front of a booth that was selling alcohol and punched him. He quickly ducked out of the way and grabbed another drunk to take the guy's punch. That started a bar fight, which he simply added to by tossing more and more people into it. Soon it had turned into pandemonium, and he exited the scene with a grin, knowing his job was done as soon as the guards started showing up to try and get everyone back under control.
Meanwhile, Laxus took a slightly different approach. He stood way off to the side and simply sent an electric charge through the ground to blast a fireworks stand. That set off all the sparklers and fireworks in a spastic display of sparks and fire that had everyone screaming and running around in every conceivable direction.
With the two thorough distractions taking place, Mystogan found it very easy to sneak into the unprotected courtyard and get up close to the huge lacrima…which he quickly scanned with every method he knew. It was with relief that he was able to verify that their guildmates were indeed alive in there and was also able to predict how long they had before being unrecoverable. The bad news was that he didn't sense a lot of bodies in this particular piece…which meant there were more lacrimas around somewhere – or possibly one massive one that this was chipped off from.
So their work was far from done. First though, he had to tell his comrades what he had found, and they had to come up with a plan to get these guildmates out of this particular crystal. Since it was already past sunset, it would probably be smarter to strike tomorrow…
…
Likewise, the other group of Fairy Tail members were also talking about what they had found out and what they should do about it.
"So that means tomorrow, we have to book it to the capitol."
"The fastest way would be to fly, but that might bring too much attention to us."
"Yeah, and who's gonna carry Natsu?" Happy pointed out.
"I'll just fly myself!"
It took all of them staring at him for a solid minute for him to realize the error in that statement, and he immediately slumped. "Oh…right. Can't use magic."
After a minute he perked back up. "I can still run though! And I can run faster and farther than either of you."
Lucy almost took offense, but he was absolutely right on this account, so she shoved her disgruntled feelings back down. He was a dragon after all, and tired much slower.
"Alright…so then the two of us will fly – high enough that it won't be likely for us to get noticed – and we'll follow you as you run on foot."
"Sounds good!"
Unlike most people, Natsu wasn't at all perturbed by the idea of them being carried and him having to run the whole way. If anything, heat seemed to radiate from his body as he got excited. "I'm all fired up!"
Dropping her open palm onto the top of his head, Lucy affectionally pulled him in for a hug. "That's great Natsu, but it's bedtime for us mere mortals."
"I'm so happy that we have a plan…" Wendy yawned, smiling tiredly at them and seeming to fall asleep on the spot.
Lucy caught the yawn and succumbed to her own. "Yep…it's gonna be a big day tomorrow."
Stretching, she stood, feeling a bit grimy from the day and needing a shower. Wendy was now out cold on her bed, otherwise Lucy would have offered to let her use the shower first. But she certainly wasn't going to complain about getting first dibs.
"Well…I'm going to take a shower before bed. So I'll see you in a bit." she said, quietly so as to not wake up the sleeping occupants of the room – which also included Carla now. Happy was still awake and normally would have joined her, but he waved her on this time… probably because he was currently snuggled up with his sleeping almost-girlfriend.
So, she shrugged and headed into the bathroom by herself… or at least that's what she thought. However, as soon as she turned around, she spied a dragon who had somehow managed to sneak into the bathroom first.
"Natsu! What are you doing in here?" she whisper-shouted, though she already had a pretty good idea of his intentions.
He shrugged and grinned, the slight pink tinge to his cheeks probably more from excitement than embarrassment. "Come on Luce, let's take a shower together."
Flushing, she hissed at him a little. "Hey, keep it down would you? I'd rather not wake up Wendy. Especially if you're up to the sort of mischief I think you are."
That got her a slightly toothier smirk, which she took as confirmation, and she wasn't the slightest bit surprised when he stepped closer and dipped his head into the crook of her neck and shoulder. A familiar slinky appendage snuck around her leg and gave her a gentle squeeze. When a lick of flame tickled across her skin, she sighed, sorely tempted to take him up on the suggestion. It had been a number of days since their last night alone – in fact, they'd been planning to do stuff tonight. Of course that was before everything went to hell in a handbasket.
Still, it didn't seem really appropriate to get busy in here with the others just a door away, so she attempted to reign in her own hormones and pushed him back a little. He whined, which was infuriatingly endearing, but she held firm and gave him a stern look.
"You can join me for a shower. But JUST a shower. And then we're going to bed. Okay?"
He pouted, which only deepened as she stepped away from him and disentangled herself from his tail. Turning her back to him, she fiddled with the controls of the shower and then quickly pulled the curtain closed so the water wouldn't spray her. With her back still firmly to Natsu, she stripped out of her clothing and then stuck her hand into the shower to check the temperature.
Nodding to herself in satisfaction at the warmth, she turned back to her boyfriend but pulled up short at his expression. The pout had melted away to be replaced with sparkling eyes, and she just knew he was going to try something. Narrowing her eyes at him and pressing her lips together, she held up a cautioning finger as she slid into the shower.
"I see that look in your eyes Dragneel…don't even think about it."
He failed at wiping the grin off his face, and the innocent expression he pasted on was absolutely unconvincing. With a huff, she snapped the shower curtain closed and stepped under the water, before hurrying to soap up a washcloth…hoping that maybe she could finish before he joined her. Of course Natsu could shed his clothes almost as fast as Gray – perhaps even faster, since he generally went commando – so she'd barely started lathering up her body by the time he also stepped into the shower.
A hand appeared in front of her as he reached around her body, and she stared at the open palm for a bewildered moment.
His fingers wiggled impatiently and he huffed, "Give me the washcloth already! I'll scrub your back."
Pursing her lips, she hesitantly handed it over, feeling like this was somehow a bad idea. He snatched it, and then her long hair was being pushed over her shoulder to dangle down her front so he could get to her back. By this point she was used to the extra length, but it still never ceased to surprise her how heavy it got when wet.
As she felt the slightly rough texture of the washcloth touch her back, she sighed and relaxed into the feeling. It was familiar by this point, they'd taken a number of showers and baths together by now. In fact, it was almost inevitable that Natsu joined her in some fashion, even when Happy was also there. That had taken some getting used to, but somehow it never seemed awkward… probably because Natsu stayed infantile and goofy whenever the blue cat was there. It was only when they were alone together that he seemed to sport a perpetual hard-on.
Like now for instance.
After washing her backside – a little more thoroughly than necessary – the washcloth and his hand traveled around to her front and he stepped into the curve of her body. That thoroughly outed his half-mast erection as it ground into the curve of her ass. He also seemed intent on trying to get her 'fired up' as well… considering that he spent way too much time "washing" her breasts. When the washcloth started traveling south and eventually lodged between her legs, she huffed and grabbed his wrist.
"What did I say about just showering?"
"Dunno…but I'm just washing you. That's okay right?" His voice was a hitch lower than usual and a little playful, which told her that he knew he was breaking the rules…and was absolutely unapologetic about it.
Lucy rolled her eyes, and muttered, "…yeah right. You're a big fat liar."
He snorted a laugh into her shoulder, but his fingers still wiggled unrepentantly where they were currently entrenched in her privates. That caused a shiver to go through her, and she started to reconsider her previous decision once again. She didn't outright protest when he proceeded to work the soapy washcloth and his fingers into her folds; however when the soap started to burn, she had to stop him.
"Okay…okay, okay, I give. But you're gonna have to stop doing that with soap, because it stings."
"Oh, my bad." he grunted, and immediately withdrew his hands.
As the water washed away the sting of the soap, she sighed and then turned in his hold to face him. "Alright, we can do stuff. But you're gonna have to stay quiet, and I want to actually finish my shower first."
A brilliant grin and vigorous nod was her answer, and she chuckled and gave him a gentle peck on the lips – pulling back before he could deepen it and make her forget to wash her hair. Thankfully, he actually waited and watched as she poured some shampoo onto her hair and hurriedly washed it out, but as soon as she'd finished, he pounced.
His kisses certainly tasted and felt different without his fire, but she didn't enjoy them any less. As his lips collided with hers, she met him with just as much passion… if a little less intensity and vigor as him. She was pretty tired after all.
When her back met the wall, she realized he probably intended to try having sex standing up… and like heck was that happening. She just didn't have the energy required for that. An alternative idea flashed through her mind though, and she smirked into their kiss, instantly on board with her new plan. Nipping his lip, she pulled her mouth from his and then pushed him back just enough to give her room for what she wanted to do.
When confused black eyes met hers, she just smiled and grabbed his hand, clamping it over his own mouth. That confusion in his eyes only increased as he stared at her over his hand.
"I want you to keep your hand there. It'll remind you to stay quiet." she purred, enjoying the way his eyes widened as he blinked at her in bewilderment.
When she went to her knees though, his eyes cranked open a smidge wider and then narrowed in understanding and lust.
"Is this okay?" she asked, hoping that he would accept her proposition and be satisfied, because it would solve the problem of her being too tired to do much, and him being all wound up.
The other benefit to this particular activity was that she could be in charge of her own pleasure – which would make things a lot simpler. Since his fire always worked so well on her, he'd never bothered to try making her orgasm without it. She had no doubts that he could, but it would probably take some time and effort, and right now she just didn't have the energy for that.
Thankfully – if his vigorous nod was anything to go by – he was very much okay with this plan, and she couldn't resist grinning up at him. Then, she turned her attention to the erection currently bobbing in front of her face. One hand happily reached out and grabbed him at the base, securing him in place.
In all honesty, she'd only done this a few times before, so this was still pretty new and exciting to her. It was also surprisingly easy to do, which she'd been worried about the first time, but never since then. Much to her delight, it didn't take much to get him off with her mouth. Apparently, Natsu was pretty damn sensitive…. or else she just had a previously unknown talent for giving head. Either way, she certainly wasn't going to complain – because being able to give him so much pleasure so easily was great as far as she was concerned.
She started as she generally did, with a few strokes of her hand to warm him up, and felt him twitch hard in her palm – which was always a good sign. At that point, she dipped forwards and decided to tease him just a tiny bit by licking his shaft up and down and then lapping at the tip a little. This sort of stimulation wasn't enough, and she knew it, but she also knew that it drove him up the wall with pleasure all the same…. Especially when she worked her tongue around his head.
After a couple minutes of that, she got a very deep soft growl from him. When she glanced up, she noted how his eyes were burning and almost looked pissed – although she knew he wasn't truly angry. His impatience simply also translated into bed most of the time. She shot him what she knew must have been an impish smile and got narrowed eyes in response as he growled at her again, this time a little louder and more aggressively.
"Tsk tsk…keep it down Natsu. Or I'll stop." she warned, cocking an eyebrow in a taunting way.
His next growl was definitely softer and had a hint of a whine to it, so she finally took pity on him and popped him in her mouth. His whine choked off, and then he just choked on himself. She worried for a second that he might actually end up in a coughing fit, but thankfully he managed to clear his throat.
It was a good thing that she'd always been able to open her jaw pretty wide, so fitting him in wasn't a problem, although she knew that if it went on for too long she might start to develop an ache. Scooting a little closer to him, she used her free hand to grab his behind, digging her fingers in and kneading one cheek. He jerked and she gagged as he accidentally thrust into her throat. Something that was probably a mumbled apology tumbled from behind his hand, but she couldn't understand a word he said.
Coming back off him with a slight pop, she said, "Don't worry about it. But shhhh."
He clammed up again, and she got the distinct feeling that this wasn't the last time she'd have to remind him. She was right too. As soon as she went back down on him, she heard very soft murmurs coming from upstairs as his mouth started running, but he kept it very quiet so she let it slide for now. His hand muffled most of the sound and even she had no idea what he was saying.
Still, she kept her ear tuned to him, ready to scold him again if needed.
In the meantime, she went back to bobbing her head, sucking and licking to the best of her ability as she used her hand to rub what she couldn't reach. Her other hand on his butt kept kneading him like a cat, digging her nails in every now and then because she knew he liked it. Of course, he knew as well as she did where her hand was going, but he still jumped when she slid to the side and grasped the base of his tail. A louder groan escaped him, and once again she had to pop off him.
"Natsu…seriously, keep it down or we're gonna have to stop."
He nodded, and she snorted at his wide-eyed worried expression…. Or what she could see of it above his hand, which he clamped even harder over his mouth. She was pretty sure he also bit down on his palm, judging by the movement of his jaw and hand.
Nodding in approval, she returned to her task. For a moment she just watched, licking her lips as she stroked him with one hand and proceeded to massage his tail with the other. She cupped her palm over the red appendage where it sprouted from his butt and squeezed with the heel of her palm and fingertips because it was too thick for her to wrap her hand around it.
His tail squirmed, twining around his legs and her…which was better than smacking repeatedly into the shower curtain as she had been worried it might do. Glancing up, she was treated to a sight of him with his eyes clenched shut and his body tensing up and shivering a little. At that, she almost had to suppress a groan of her own and figured that it was time to fill her mouth again before she was the one to give them away. A very tiny sound escaped him as she took him back in, and she felt an answering clench in her pelvis.
As she bobbed her head, she set up a rhythm with her hand on his tail, squeezing the top where it connected to his spine and then sliding her hand down and around to give the sensitive underside right against his butt a similar squeeze, and then back up again.
After her jaw had loosened up, she gradually started dipping lower and lower on him. Once she felt she was taking enough with her mouth, she moved that hand to her own privates instead. She felt him twitch extra hard in her mouth and heard a moan – which he kept really soft – come from above, and knew he was probably turned on even more from watching her touching herself. It was mutually beneficial, because she certainly enjoyed it too. By this point, she was so turned on that she knew it wouldn't take much to get herself off. There was something insanely arousing about giving Natsu head, and it never failed to make her flood downstairs.
To be honest though, it wasn't a piece of cake to continue what she'd been doing and also focus on her own pleasure. Her rhythm got a little disjointed and lazy as more of her attention was taken up by the feel of her fingers against her clit. Thankfully Natsu had a solution for that, and his free hand latched onto her hair to hold her steady as he started to thrust into her mouth instead.
After the first thrust though, he stuttered to a halt and temporarily removed his hand from his mouth so he could ask, "Is this okay?"
She hummed – unable to respond around a mouthful of penis – and he stuttered and pulled out so she could actually talk. Smacking a little and licking up some escaping saliva, she breathlessly replied with, "Yeah, it's okay. Just don't go too deep okay?"
"Right…okay." he panted, sounding just as out of breath as her, and then he gulped thickly.
Without any prompting from her, his hand went back over his mouth – which she was very proud of him for – and then he somewhat awkwardly nudged the tip of his erection against her lips. It was almost amusing really, like a polite knock at a door, and her lips were curled upwards in a grin as they parted.
It took a few moments for him to get back into it, and his first few thrusts were almost hesitant in comparison to what she was used to from him. But as soon as he figured out how deep he could go without making her gag – through a process of trial and error that left her eyes watering a little – his rhythm smoothed out some. As he took complete control of the motions, it let her sit back and relax, though she still sucked and licked as he moved back and forth. Her hand on his tail lost its rhythm somewhat, but she made up for that by squeezing harder, which he seemed to appreciate.
All of that let her focus on her own masturbation more, and she very quickly started edging close, the tension winding tight in her stomach. In all honesty, this new kind of blow job was just as arousing as the kind she was used to…perhaps even more-so since it was new and unfamiliar. On the downside, she couldn't really detach her mouth to scold him for any noise he might make, so whenever he got a little too loud she had to resort to pinching him on the backside and giving him a stern glare, which seemed to get the message across just fine.
It didn't last too much longer anyways. Very quickly, she felt him tensing with a violent shiver and his erection swelled up a bit more and pulsed. Then, a few twitches later, he was releasing in her mouth with a smothered yelp – which was probably a much louder sound that he'd managed to choke off. This time there were no flames of course, but his cum was just as hot as it hit her throat, and she sputtered and nearly choked. He happened to be the proud owner of boiling ejaculate – literally boiling – and even for her it was a bit much.
Having to swallow it was always a bit difficult, although it seemed to be getting easier the more she did it. The very first time she took him like this, it had shocked her so much that she had actually aspirated it – and a shit-ton of fire – and went into a coughing fit. It definitely hadn't been the sexiest conclusion, but she hadn't been able to help it.
Since then, she'd never quite managed to swallow, but this time she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. His grip in her hair didn't let up, probably unthinkingly on his part as he locked into orgasm-land. So she either had the option to let it sit in her mouth or swallow it, and she chose the latter. It burned as it went down and was a little sticky so it took some doing to swallow – like the slowest alcoholic shot in the world – but she just imagined that it was his fire and was eventually able to get it down.
Still, when he finally relaxed his grip on her, she didn't hesitate to take a mouthful of the water still falling over them and gargled a little. After several swallows of that, she finally felt like it was all gone.
"Oops…sorry Luce." he panted, apparently just realizing that he'd locked her in place while he came.
She cleared her throat a couple times and then finally answered with a shrug. "Eh…it was okay."
In all honesty, she always liked feeling him cum – whether it was in her hand, mouth, or vagina. There was something extremely sexy about the way his dick pulsed and twitched as he did it, as was the knowledge that he was experiencing extreme pleasure. So it was worth it as far as she was concerned.
He squatted down and gently thumbed what she had to assume was escaped ejaculate off her chin, and she flushed just a little before chuckling. He grinned back at her and then brought his lips to hers in an exploratory kiss, his tongue licking hers and undoubtedly getting a taste of himself as he was at it.
He pulled back a moment later with what almost looked like a smug grin. "I'll never get over tasting myself when kissing you."
"In a bad way or a good way?" she inquired, pretty sure of the answer, but curious nonetheless.
"A good way. A very good way." he rumbled back and proceeded to kiss her breathless.
When he pulled away again, it was to lean his forehead against hers, and then a moment later he breathlessly asked, "So did you cum?"
That drew attention to the fact that her fingers were still buried between her thighs, and she cleared her throat, suddenly feeling a tiny bit awkward.
"Um…no, not yet."
"Well, get to it then." he crooned – actually crooned…Lucy hadn't even thought Natsu was capable of producing such a sound.
She almost couldn't take him seriously, but the part of her that did take him seriously was definitely turned on. Her fingers apparently had a mind of their own, because they immediately resumed what they'd been doing before he distracted her with his own orgasm, and she hissed at the renewed stimulation. Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to kiss and pet her. His lips started out on hers, but quickly migrated to her neck and shoulders and chest, and his hands did much the same – tangling in her wet hair, stroking her arms, squeezing her hips…basically touching her wherever he could. His tail also tangled around her, basically giving her a full body massage.
Eventually he tipped her over backwards so she was lying flat on her back in the tub, her legs spread, and both her hands busy in her v-zone. One spread her open while she worked at her clit with the fingers of the other. Even after everything they'd done, it was a tiny bit disconcerting to do this with him watching, but he managed to put her completely at ease – or rather, he just distracted her so thoroughly that she didn't care. His lips continued to kiss whatever skin he could reach – which was her stomach and thighs by this point – and his hands landed on her breasts, where they stuck around and played.
He had started murmuring soft words – staying super quiet thankfully – and she couldn't pick out more than a handful over the sound of the shower. Mostly they were compliments and encouragements. His tail continued to twine around her and rubbed wherever his hands or mouth couldn't reach. By the time his lips left her skin and he sat back to just watch, she didn't even care. Watching his face as he watched her was pretty hot actually. He rested his cheek against one raised knee and piercing eyes latched onto her hands and v-zone.
It didn't take her long at all to orgasm with all the overstimulation, and soon she was convulsing with pleasure and nearly accidentally kneed Natsu in the face. Thankfully he managed to jerk back in time to avoid a black eye. It took a little while, but eventually her spasms stopped and she went limp again as the pleasure evened out and then faded, leaving her senses a tiny bit dulled in the aftermath. So when a spray of boiling hot liquid spattered over her stomach and thighs, she flinched in surprise.
Unknown to her, Natsu had been jerking off while watching her. So, when she glanced up, it was to the sight of him just shuddering to a halt…which explained the hot liquid now cooling on her skin. With a sigh, she just chuckled and shook her head.
After a few moments of recovery for both of them, Lucy rinsed off the evidence and then they staggered out of the shower. The rest of their bedtime routine was done almost half-asleep as the day caught up with them, and when they finally stumbled into bed, they were both out within minutes of their heads hitting the pillow.
Sneak Peek
"So we're going to have to sneak into the castle?" Wendy asked, sounding very worried… and rightly so. It was not a quest to be taken lightly in their current magicless predicament.
Lucy grimaced at her. "I can't see any other way."
"But how are we even going to sneak in?" the blue-haired girl continued, looking more and more frightened and averse to this plan by the second. "It's a stone castle! And it's huge! We can't just go through the front door, and I didn't see any sort of entrance other than the one in the courtyard."