Alo lovelies! Mslead here for your Sunday update! To those who asked, we update every Wednesday and Sunday. I think Kytrin and I may make a FAQ if anyone is interested in that, because we get lots of the same questions and we LOVE to hear from you guys. Here's your chapter!
CHAPTER 4
Bounty
Reward or payment, usually from a government, for the capture of a criminal, specifically a pirate.
Three full moons later had Zeref and Mavis having a quiet discussion in the middle of the low tide. Mavis had her fingertips lightly pressed against a small bump on her stomach that had become a recent development. However as joyous as it was, that wasn't the topic they were currently discussing.
Natsu was the current subject.
The prince always had a certain amount of wanderlust, but now it seemed to have skyrocketed. Most days saw Natsu shooting straight up to the surface if he wasn't preparing the castle's defenses or training with their guard.
"How long did he stay up there this time?" Mavis asked Zeref, worry creasing her face.
"Almost all day," Zeref responded, his voice hushed as he curled around his beloved. They were already in bed, collected for the evening.
"I'm afraid he's going to get caught in a fisherman's net. He's already had a couple of close calls but he's just shrugging them off," Zeref grumbled in frustration and dipped his nose into Mavis' shoulder.
"I think he might have been reminded of his old life without realizing, Igneel mentioned he used to be a pirate captain himself, right?" Mavis asked, "although Natsu kept that rebellious side of himself far away from Igneel the longer he stayed out to see."
"More than likely because he didn't want his dad to crashland on his deck," Zeref laughed quietly, "I wish we could tell Natsu more about himself, but the dragons are very close lipped about his past."
He sighed, a stream of bubbles rushing out, "I'm taking him to the temple tomorrow morning. He's been looking for that crew since they left months ago."
"Lady Juvia hasn't responded to any attempt he's made before to contact her, what makes you believe she will now?" Mavis questioned although she clearly thought it was a good idea as well.
Zeref frowned slightly, "She may not." He admitted, "But something feels different."
Mavis looked at him curiously, "What do you think's changed?"
Zeref smiled affectionately at her immediate belief in him. She questioned and challenged him on a great many things where it was warranted, but his beautiful genius had never doubted him when it came to his connection to the goddess.
They all had it of course, but the royal family's was stronger. It had to be if they hoped to maintain their control over the Abyss.
"I'm not really sure." He admitted somewhat sheepishly, "There's just something about Natsu that's different besides the wanderlust. Before he was adrift without his memories, and now he's driven. With a purpose. I can't shake the feeling it may be enough to stir the lady."
Mavis thought about that for a moment and nodded with a smile, "Then we'll make sure he gets there first thing tomorrow before he can swim off. If nothing else, maybe giving voice to his desire will help settle him a little."
Zeref nodded and pulled her closer, his hand rubbing over her slightly swollen stomach and up to her chest, "That's for tomorrow though."
She giggled as he nibbled at her neck and curled her tail around his, "You know you can't make another heir while one's in there right?"
"Maybe not." Zeref smirked, "But I would hate for us to get out of practice while we wait!"
Mavis broke out into quiet giggles that Zeref echoed. They tumbled back through their sheets, happy to shelve their thoughts for the time being.
—::—
The next morning, Natsu was being dragged behind Zeref and Mavis just as they planned. He moaned and complained the entire time, having planned on darting up to the surface so he could search the waves and find a human ship.
They had intercepted him before he could make his daily escape, and unfortunately he had no choice but to follow along. Especially when Mavis gave him her puppy eyes.
They made their way to the center of the city where Lady Juvia's temple stood tall like a beacon. It was one of the oldest buildings in the entire ocean, one of the first temples built.
It had withstood the test of time and the battering of the sea. It was said that the Lady had placed the first stone herself to bless the ground.
Natsu didn't know how much he believed it. Had the Lady not decided to save him 400 years ago, he almost would have believed she didn't exist.
The old, familiar guilt gnawed in his chest. He rubbed an arm and slunk into her temple, feeling a little awkward in there even despite not knowing why.
Zeref and Mavis stayed just by the entrance, waiting with held breath as Natsu approached the Lady's altar. He bowed in front of it, place a pearl on its base as an offering. He pricked his thumb with his sharp teeth, letting a dribble float into the pearl.
He sighed, feeling silly and keeping his head bowed.
"Lady Juvia, please hear my prayer—" he started and glanced back at Zeref, "—this is stupid!"
At his brothers sour glare, Natsu grumbled an apology and bowed his head back down.
"Lady Juvia, I don't get it. My brother tells me you saved my life but I don't know anything about myself. I'll be straight forward since that's what Zeref dragged me here," Natsu closed his eyes, "I want my legs back. There's a woman I need to find. I can't explain it but I have to find her..."
"It's stupid, I don't even know her, but it feels like I have to follow her out of the sea," Natsu sighed.
There was a long moment of silence, almost enough for Natsu to give it up as a bad idea, when suddenly a powerful whirlpool spun up around him. He yelped and tried to break free, but quickly found he was quite thoroughly immobilized. His arms pinned right to his sides, swirling magic and power keeping him from moving a muscle in the current whipping around him.
"Zeref!" He called, "Help!"
Before Zeref could even reach forward, Natsu froze completely as a ghostly pair of hands seized either side of his head none too gently, and a rapid replay of his memories from the last few months flew before his eyes in reverse.
It stopped abruptly when things rewound back to the raid on the ship and just as suddenly as he'd been grabbed he was let go.
He gasped a little for breath and hastily swam a few paces backwards when the currents slowed. He was not interested in getting caught in a riptide like that again. However, it proved unnecessary as an exquisitely beautiful mermaid shimmered into existence. She had long hair the color of the deep ocean when the sun filtered through the water, and a tail that shone with every color of blue imaginable.
"Lady Juvia." Zeref breathed reverently and sank into a respectful bow.
"I did not think it possible." The goddess breathed, her entire attention focused on Natsu, "I never dreamed such a situation could truly come to pass. And to think you were the one to set these events into motion once again." She tilted her head slightly and smiled, a soul deep pain and grief falling away as she did, "You truly are remarkable son of Igneel."
"Uh, what?" Natsu asked intelligently. He stared at the goddess, lifting his chin a little, "Events? What're you talking about Lady? Do you know something I should after rooting around in my head?"
He knew he should have been more respectful to his goddess, but his head was spinning and he was still feeling dizzy from being in a whirlpool.
Still, that sad smile stopped him from throwing a tantrum over his crazy treatment, so he settled in his questions alone.
Even though he could hear his brother having an aneurysm behind him.
"You don't remember, and to your credit that's in part my fault," the sea goddess floated around him, inspecting him as she did her sweep.
"We were once good friends, you and I. You helped me meet a very special person, one whom I thought was lost forever," Juvia watched him with fathomless eyes. She reached out with her fingertips and tilted Natsu's head from side to side, as if ensuring he was in good condition.
She seemed to catch herself and withdrew her hand, "I've heard your prayer Son of Igneel. But I'm afraid it is impossible to grant your wish."
"The spell I placed on you was to counteract a curse. If it were to be removed, you would die as you should have 400 years ago," Juvia watched him, "However there is a work around, but there would be a cost."
"Should you really wish to find this woman on land, I can help you locate her. If you desire legs, you can only use them under a few conditions." Juvia held up three fingers.
"The first is that you will have to wear an talisman I give you at all times. Without it, you will lose your legs and revert back to your current form," Juvia lowered one finger. Natsu took a moment to stare at her eyes and wonder if she ever blinked.
"The second is that the amulet will only work if I am present with you. It will reflect the form I take. I will have to give up my divinity for the duration of my visit, however if I come in contact with the ocean, I will regain my divinity."
"And I'll lose my legs," Natsu filled in the blanks.
"Same applies if you go into the ocean," Juvia gave him an amused look.
"Third rule, no one we travel with must know who and what I am," her eyes narrowed, "especially no one of Captain Heartfilia's crew."
Natsu nodded. He didn't really get why she was so particular about Lucy and her crew knowing, but figured it was probably a god thing. He didn't remember telling her the captain's name either, although he supposed she might have just gotten the information from his head. Although he couldn't remember if the Captain had told him her surname.
The goddess was strange and secretive, or maybe she wanted to avoid the drama of being outed to a bunch of sailors. They would probably react the same as if she'd appeared in the middle of the palace during a feast. Either way it didn't matter to him. If she wanted to be incognito he was happy to let her be for as long as she wanted.
And anyway, it was worth the price if it meant getting his legs back at last.
Juvia smiled happily at him, "Wonderful!"
She picked up the pearl he'd offered her and considered it for a moment before tossing it lightly up. Before it could drop back down a visible bubble of water formed around it and it began to shine.
"An offering given in faith and need." She half chanted, "A prayer to find where his heart does lead."
Natsu watched in awe as the pearl began to glow and ripple, as if it had suddenly become fluid but couldn't decide on a shape.
"An offering I return with a gift of my own. Reform into a link for the one I bestow. Whilst his goddess walks out of water legs shall he know. If to sea either return then to his true form return. Ever shall be his fate until the stalker of land does burn."
Natsu blinked at the rhyme, unsure what the goddesses motivation was. After being alone for centuries she had suddenly taken an interest in his request.
He wasn't going to question it though as he watched Juvia create a long shape from the pearl. It flowed through the air, with Juvia considering with with her dark eyes.
"I need something from land and sky, where you come from naturally. A tie for you before your time as one of my creatures." Juvia watched him, "do you have such a thing?"
Natsu searched his thoughts for a possibility, his breath catching as he thought about what he could possibly use.
An idea sprang to his head and he jolted through the water. He knew exactly what to get, he had his precious item tucked away in a box for a long time. A gift from his father.
"You have such a thing?" Juvia asked, reading his expression.
He nodded, "yes but it's in my roo—"
He blinked as suddenly all of them appeared in his bedroom, and Mavis let out a small shriek over how much of a disarray it was in front of the sea goddess.
"I can appear anywhere in the ocean I desire," Juvia explained, ignoring how Natsu looked torn between blind excitement and like he was about to puke from the sudden transporting.
"Good to know." He wheezed, looking a little green around the gills, and swam clumsily over to his bed. He reached under it and pulled out a small box. He stared at it contemplatively for a moment before setting it down and opening it.
"I remember that." Juvia breathed as Natsu pulled out the length of scale shaped cloth.
Natsu ran the scarlet scarf through his hands, "A gift from my father." He murmured, "Given to me when I hatched."
A gentle hand landed in his shoulder and he looked up to see Juvia staring at him compassionately, "That's quite a sacrifice Natsu. If I use this I won't be able to undo it. Your gift will be forever changed. Are you sure?"
Natsu took a deep breath and nodded, "Yeah. This is the only way right? And I just... I have to find her again." He stared down at the material, "For so long I've lived without most of my memory. And it's been hard, really hard, not knowing anything but little glimpses and what people tell me. But Lucy... for the first time I felt like I'd found a real piece of myself."
He looked up at her, "I can't let that go! I just can't!"
Juvia's expression softened and she gently closed her hand over the material, "I'm sorry for what you've been through Natsu. I truly am. What happened to you is my fault. The spell I cast was a kind of rebirth, and I didn't have time to protect your memories before it happened."
She reached up and touched his cheek, "I should have been there for you afterwards too. You were my friend, and I abandoned you." Tears welled in her eyes, "I just... couldn't bear it. Not after what happened. I'm sorry."
Natsu felt his heart twist at the sight of her grief and he reached out to drop a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, it's alright." He smiled at her, "You're here now right? And maybe there's a way for me to get my memories back anyway!"
He supposed it would be to easy to just ask her what happened. He suspected there might have been some magic at play to bind the goddess from revealing too much.
Natsu held his hand out to Juvia and shook his head, "don't worry about that past Juvia. We're going to be looking to the future now, right?"
His smile widened as the goddess took his hand and he dragged his arm over her shoulders and laughed loud. His brother looked scandalized.
"You have stayed very much the same in nearly four hundred years Natsu," she smiled back, still soft and sad but lightening at its edges.
She raised her hand to the ruby scarf woven with his fathers scales. They shone as they shimmered through the water and became joined with the liquid pearl.
Her magic coated over the material and Natsu watched as his father's scales turned a pearly white. The magic settled over the scarf, transforming it in a way that thankfully didn't make it unrecognizable.
Juvia held her hands out for the scarf, collecting it in her hands and turning towards Natsu to loop around his neck.
"I always liked you better with this on," Juvia admitted, "it very much suits you, Dragon prince."
Natsu grinned as Igneel's familiar warmth seeped into him, the magic imbued in the scarf seemingly not changed at all. Just added to.
"Thank you Lady Juvia." He purred as he curled the scarf a little more firmly around his neck. Living underwater it had been impractical in the extreme to wear it regularly as it could've easily gotten unwound and lost. But if he was going to be on land again he could have it again, and something in him purred happily at the thought.
Juvia smiled back at him, "I should go now. I have some preparations to make before we start our journey. And so do you." She looked over at Mavis and Zeref, "Please do what you can to get him some proper clothes. Something suitable for a pirate ship. And provisions."
She looked back at Natsu, "I'll return in three days so we can begin."
Natsu nodded. He hated the wait, but if a goddess wanted three days to get ready he couldn't really argue with her. And if he was going to be away for a while he supposed she was right about him needing some supplies.
The thought excited him as his brother and sister-in-law quickly agreed, and he couldn't help beaming at Juvia as she vanished. He was going to get to see Lucy again! His heart thumped happily and he had the wild urge to roar out his joy. Only the knowledge that his brother would probably kill him for it kept it in.
—::—
Natsu took in a deep breath, his eyes trailing over the room which had been his home for over 400 years. He couldn't help but get the impression this might be the last night he slept in his bed.
No matter where he travelled, the ocean was his home. Even without the memories from his life before, he knew that he had always been connected to it through his love of adventure and travel.
He could almost imagine it.
It was almost sad to say goodbye to Zeref and Mavis even though he knew this would always be a place he came back to. At this point he had spent easily double the time under sea than he had on land. He felt more at ease with this place than any other.
But the promise of more brought him out of bed and collecting his bag to sling over his shoulder.
He was a little early, but Natsu decided he couldn't wait any longer. Besides, he didn't want to leave in the morning when Zeref and Mavis would throw a huge feast and say long goodbyes.
It was hard enough leaving them as it was. Natsu nodded to himself and made his way to the palace courtyard where he could swim through the reef and visit their private altar to Juvia.
He slid out a shark tooth from his belt satchels and used it to cut into his thumb and let a drop land on her altar.
"I'm ready Juvia, let's get this party started," he grinned.
"You were never very patient," Juvia's voice swirled around him, bringing her forward in a warm current. Natsu just grinned and rested the bloodied shark tooth in a golden basin on the altar.
The goddess took shape next to Natsu, pulling it out and cradling it in her hands. Her fingers closed around the tooth, but when they opened a glittering stream of bubbles burst out where it had been.
It created a sort of funnel all the way from her palm to the surface. Natsu recognized it as their one way ticket to the human's odd world.
He swam forward an inch but was stopped by the goddess holding up her hand.
"Did you really think you could sneak off without saying bye to your big brother?" Zeref's familiar voice came from the reefs entrance. Next to him floated Mavis, her cheeks rounded in annoyance he tried to sneak off in the middle of night.
Natsu flushed a little in embarrassment at being caught and he ducked his head a little, "I just... I didn't want..."
"You didn't want a big goodbye." Zeref finished for him as he fumbled a little for the right words.
"Yeah." He sighed, "I know you were planning a big goodbye thing in the morning but..."
Zeref closed the distance between them with a couple flicks of his tail and pulled Natsu into a tight hug, "I'll miss you too brother." He murmured roughly, and pulled back, "But you know you're welcome back any time? Or you can visit at Galuna?"
Natsu smiled back as the knot in his chest eased a little. He knew that. He'd always known that. But somehow hearing his brother say it out loud made him feel a lot better about the whole thing.
"None of this can business!" Mavis interrupted firmly, though tears reflected in her eyes despite her stern look, and she swam over to tightly hug her brother-in-law, "I expect you back regularly to visit! Is that clear!"
She glared fiercely up at him and smoothed her hand over the gentle swell in her belly, "You have a niece or nephew on the way you know! And I insist their Uncle Natsu be part of their life!"
Natsu gaped at her in shock and looked at Zeref, who looked torn between amusement and pride, "It's true." His brother confirmed, "The healers confirmed it a few days ago. We were going to announce it, but this came up first."
"My blessings on you and the little one." Juvia smiled happily, "It's always a treasure to see new life coming into this world."
Natsu barely heard her as the information sank into his brain and he let out an excited whoop, twirling around a little in his exuberance, "That's fantastic news!" He exclaimed, "I'm so happy for you! Of course I'll come visit as often as I can! The nest is growing, and I'm not gonna let the hatchling down!"
Zeref chuckled a little and ruffled his brother's hair, "I know you won't." He agreed fondly, "Now go on and find your lady love. You have your lacrima so I expect you to call us every few days and tell us how things are going alright?"
Natsu grinned back and nodded, "I will. I promise!" He hesitated for a moment and pulled them both into one more hug. He knew it was just prolonging things, but he couldn't resist. There was no telling when he would get to do this again after all.
He pulled away after a moment looked at Juvia, "Ready?"
She smiled and nodded and this time when Natsu swam for the tunnel nothing stopped him.
-::-
Far away, a shadow stirred as goddess and Natsu left the ocean for the first time in centuries. The dark clad figure rose up, standing tall and imposing despite missing an arm. Acnologia smiled from his throne, pleased by the strange and shifting tides.
He knew not what drew the Tempest away from the Abyss she guarded,nor did he care. Her absence would make his plans all the easier and he intended on taking full advantage.
Soon the Celestial Princess would be his once more.
Alright everyone, this concludes your chapter for this Sunday! We'll see everyone on Wednesday. You guys made your sneak peek, so I hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, Mslead is out!
Levy had flung her arms around his middle, catching the big man off guard as he was just locking up.
Gajeel grunted a little in surprise at the sudden tackle, but his expression quickly morphed into something softer as he realized who it was.
"Hey Shrimp." He chuckled in his distinctive laugh and wrapped his arms around her before stooping down to give her a lingering kiss, "Been way too long. When'd you get in?"
"Just now." Levy practically purred, and Lucy couldn't quite suppress her smile.
Gajeel might be prickly and as difficult as the metal he worked with to everyone else, but around Levy he turned into a pile of mush, and the sight never failed to amuse her.
Gajeel glanced up and tried to scowl at her, but the effect was rather ruined by Levy practically wrapped around him, "You do somethin' to my ship Blondie?"
Lucy rolled her eyes a little, but didn't dispute Gajeel's possessive claim to Fairy Tail. He had built the ship after all.
