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CHAPTER 11
Charybdis
Charybdis was a sea monster in Greek mythology, which dwelt in the Strait of Messina. It was later rationalised as a whirlpool. It was believed that Charybdis lived under a rock on one side of the strait. Opposite Charybdis, Ancient Greeks believed there was another sea monster, Scylla, which lived inside a rock.
The crew of the Fairy Tail was bustling in a craze. They were running around the deck, following Cana's barked orders she relayed from the double team of Gray and Levy.
Lucy kept her eye close on the needle of her compass. The closer they got to the cliff edges, the more treacherous the waters became, and the harder to navigate. Fortunately, soon they would be on their correct path and would only need minor tweaks if all went well.
Not that such would be cause for relaxation in the slightest. A single wrong move would still see their ship smashed against the rocks like an egg.
"Everyone get to lifelines!" Lucy barked, her hands on her hips when Levy motioned that they had found their correct course.
"Aye Captain!" Her crew shouted out, finishing their jobs to get their lines. Levy and Gray alone stayed where they were, their roles too critical to steer away.
Natsu stood next to Juvia, his attention towards the broad cliff face that overlooked the ocean.
Within it Natsu could have sworn he saw massive hikes and the gaping maw of razor sharp fangs within.
In the distance there was a narrow passage for the ship to fit through. All they would need was a ton of luck to save their crew but he knew they were a superstitious bunch. Not that he blamed them. Seeing as he was as mythological as a creature could get, Natsu could buy it.
"Hey I got a funny feeling about this," Natsu muttered to Juvia.
"I do as well," Juvia confessed, her eyes dark on the churning waters, "The sea feels strange."
Nearby Cana was walking by the crew, tugging on the lines to ensure their safety. She dropped her hands on her hips to plant a glare right on Natsu and Juvia. He was gathering a coil of rope, his eyes flashing to Juvia.
"Why aren't your lifelines on yet?" Cana demanded, her eyes narrowing on her two errant sailors.
"Sorry m'lady," Natsu snapped to attention, still continuing the tradition of referring to Cana as a lady.
"He's helping secure my line," Juvia spoke up quickly, apology on her face, "I haven't learned all my knotting yet and Natsu was making sure I was okay before securing his."
Cana glanced down at the rope in Natsu's hands and the way it was halfway looped around Juvia's waist. She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head, "Juvia you're still learning, it's okay to ask for help. This is something you need to learn."
"Natsu, grab your line and start securing yourself," Cana ordered, tying up Juvia with a speed and efficiency that Natsu found impressive.
She tugged on Juvia's line to make sure she was secure and nodded to Natsu as he began.
Natsu grinned back at Cana who gave him a squinty eyed glare to say his line better be secured by the time she made her rounds again. She went to check on the next person, Natsu's hands moving without thinking as he looped his line around the mast, tying it down tight. He grabbed the other end and spread the end to tie.
He stopped short when the ship gave a sudden lurch towards port. The crew let out cries of surprise. Natsu widened his stance and centered his weight instinctively, his eyes going wide when he saw what had gathered their attention.
Out in the distance, directly in the set course, a large whirlpool had opened up.
"Levy!" Lucy shouted in shock, "What the Jones Locker is that!"
Levy's eyes were saucer-like, her head shaking, "I don't know captain! The cartography didn't show anything like this! A whirlpool shouldn't exist here!"
She lunged for her tools as Gray jerked the wheel, steering them desperately in a way to try and avoid being sucked into the current.
Lucy gripped the railing, her jaw locking, "We need to sail along the current! If we nail the timing the force of the whirlpool can shoot us along the edge of the cliffs!"
"If the timing is off by even a second we will smash into the rocks cap'n!" Gray warned.
Lucy's grip only tightened and she moved to replace Gray at the helm, "I'm going to need some ice water to slow our course! Gray get to port and steady us!"
"Aye!" Gray jumped the railing and caught the rigging to hurry along his task.
"We won't miss!" Lucy growled, straining with the wheel, "Levy I need that path now!"
While the senior crew worked on that task, Natsu noticed something that they hadn't. He caught himself while Gray worked on evening out the ship, but watched as something made his blood run cold.
A cannon, with slackening ropes.
Instinctively he knew without a shadow of a doubt that a loose cannon in conditions like this could easily be fatal. Who had failed to secure it on a rocking ship?
"Wait!" Natsu roared, but it was too late.
Gray cast his magic, a frost stretching down the prow of the ship and into the water. It pushed the ship back on course.
But the pressure it applied made the ship pitch.
The ropes of the cannon snapped at once, Natsu's shout drawing the attention of Lucy and Gray.
Cana looked up from where she was walking the deck after securing the last line, her eyes widening as she spotted the cannon coming for her at break neck speed.
She let out a startled sound, throwing a half-cast shield of her magic to buffer the impact.
Her magic flared, but it was too late. The cannon slammed into her, throwing her bodily over the railing and into the howling ocean and sea. There was silence for a blinding second before chaos threatened to take over the ship.
"Cana!" Gray shouted and made his way to the edge.
"Fullbuster!" Lucy's voice was strained with pain, her eyes wide, "Batten down that cannon before it takes out anyone else! Levy take the wheel!"
Gray froze at the order, knowing there was very little chance they could get Cana back from a whirlpool after being struck by the cannon. Ice wouldn't get them far, and Juvia was too far away and struggling with her knots. They would need a powerful swimmer to even try to get to her.
He froze the cannon before it could wheel around, cursing their master gunner for not double checking their rigging before they got into this mess.
However, before he could do more than curse a multi-colored blur slid by him. He whipped around in surprise just in time to see Natsu fling his strange sash at Juvia just as he launched himself into the air. His jaw dropped as the merman's lower body blurred and shifted back into his original red tail!
"Natsu!" Juvia shouted in alarm, clinging tightly to the scarf, "What are you doing?!"
It was too late though as in a flash Natsu was gone over the side, and in an instant Gray understood. Cana was lost without a strong swimmer to save her. You didn't get any stronger than a merman!
"Gray!" Lucy shouted, jolting him out of his shock, and he sprinted to the prow of the ship and poured his ice magic down into the churning waters below. His heart pounded with mingled fear and hope. Hope that Natsu would save Cana. Fear that the whirlpool would swallow them. And a thousand things in between.
He had no time to think about that however. All that mattered was the job given him. Behind him he could hear the sound of Lucy and Levy shouting as they desperately steered their course, but it wasn't enough. The ocean was vast and powerful and even with the abundance of water he wasn't slowing them down enough. The water was too warm, and his ice was melting almost as quickly as he made it.
"Captain I can't hold it!" He shouted, desperately praying to the goddess for a little more strength.
"Just a little longer Gray!" Lucy cried as they began skirting the edge of the whirlpool, and that was when he saw something that had his heart stopping altogether.
Teeth.
What he'd first thought were jagged rocks were really rows upon rows of jagged teeth. Like a shark's maw only a thousand times larger and more deadly. They were skirting the edge of a great mouth.
What kind of creature could possibly be attached to such a mouth he had no idea, but he knew in an instant that he desperately did not want to find out. He just hoped and prayed with all his might that whatever it was didn't follow them if they made it out of this.
"Captain we aren't going to make it!" Levy cried out, her eyes wide with panic, "I can't hold the wheel!"
Lucy gripped at the wheel with Levy, both of them struggling to hold on and fight the current.
Juvia's eyes were on the whirlpool, hearing the prayers of the sailors on the ship around her but unable to do anything. While in her human form there was nothing she could do. Her form would only break when she returned to the ocean.
She clawed at the knots around her body, cut tight around her waist from Cana's expertise. Oh why hadn't she learned how to knot properly?! She reached for her boomerang along her back, snagging it in her hand and cutting herself free from the rigging with the bladed edge. Her legs wobbled under the rocking deck, not used to being on such a violently moving surface, but she staggered her way to Gray's side to assist him with keeping the ship level.
"Juvia what're you doing? Get back to your line!" Gray shouted at her, but she ignored him in favor of lifting her hands up over the side to keep the tides even around the ship as best she could in this form.
However when her eyes were on the whirlpool, her heart stuttering in her chest as she too saw what Gray did.
"Charybdis," She breathed, eyes rounded. She shifted her focus from the ship onto the beast itself, dividing her magic to prevent the current from growing stronger.
However as the crew attempted to freeze or slow their descent into the hungry mouth of the whirlpool monster, it seemed to have noticed it had prey close to it. Charybdis seemed to work harder to devour the crew. Juvia wondered if she was going to have to take things into her divine hands to get Fairy Tail out of this scrape.
"Hold on tight!" Lucy shouted, fear gripping her but keeping the ship on as tight a course as possible. Things looked grim, their attempts weren't working. Any spell cast towards the whirlpool did little good. If only she could loosen her grip on the helm long enough to summon Aquarius.
It was like fighting the ocean itself.
All seemed lost, until suddenly the ocean burst in a rush of steam.
From under the surface there was a surge of explosive magic, red light illuminating from a distance. Lucy could see the path it took from her vantage point, the ocean boiling in a cone shape.
Directly into the whirlpool. From below the surface.
There was an inhuman cry, a shriek of pain as abruptly the whirlpool cut off, leaving choppy waters and temporary safety.
Lucy looked wildly through the water, not sure where their rescue had come from, when her eyes landed on a pink blob in the water.
Natsu's head was surfaced over the water, his breathing heavy as smoke curled from his lips. In his arms he held Cana upright, a bloody gash on her forehead but violent coughs shaking her shoulders.
His eyes were narrowed and he met Lucy's eyes, "Throw us a line! That thing dove but it's going to be back! We need to be out of here before it does!"
"You heard the man!" She barked, "Get them a line up! NOW!"
A ragged chorus of "Aye Captain!" sounded and there was a rush for the rope for all except Sting and Rogue.
"We got this Cap'n!" Sting called with a grin as he and his brother hopped onto the railing. The nodded at each other and to her shock scales began to break out over their forms.
"What are you doing?!" Gray shouted in alarm, "You'll sink us if you transform!"
"Ye of little faith." Sting chuckled as a magnificent pair of wings sprouted from his back. The brothers grinned at each other as they stood and dove off the side of the ship.
The crew scrambled over to see and to their shock neither dragon had fully transformed. Rather, they'd somehow maintained their human size, for all that they looked a little inhuman at the moment. They flew with the ease and surety only one born for the sky could possess as they oriented themselves and dove for Natsu and Cana, and plucked them neatly from the still churning waters.
It was a little like watching two giant birds of prey only without the prey panicking. Instead, Natsu shoved Cana into Rogue's arms as the black dragon passed over, and grabbed hold of Sting's hands as the white dragon followed close behind. A neater rescue Lucy couldn't imagine. Or a faster one as in moments they'd returned to the ship with their precious cargo.
As one the crew surged towards them, but Gray got there first with a scowl, "Back to your stations!" He bellowed, "We're not out of this yet! Macao! Secure that canon properly before it takes anyone else out! Wakaba! Get up to the crow's nest! We need to know if there's any more of those things! Move it people!"
The crowd reluctantly broke up as Lucy rushed over to join them, "How is she?" She asked, kneeling beside her friend.
"Not good cap'n." Rogue replied grimly, "That gash is pretty bad and she could have other injuries."
"Damn!" Lucy swore, "We lost the ship's doctor on our last voyage." And she hadn't been able to replace him during their leave. None of the potential medics she'd talked to had been interested in working for a pirate ship, and since she was both ethical enough not to kidnap someone, and determined that the Fairy Tail have an actual doctor and not some idiot with a saw, it had left them short handed.
"Take her down to the infirmary." She ordered with a sigh, "We'll take it in shifts to tend her once we're through these crags." She turned her attention to Natsu and smiled, "Thank you for what you did back there. You saved all our lives."
However, the three dragons weren't paying attention. Rather, they seemed to be having some sort of intense silent conversation amongst themselves.
"Dad would never go for it!" Sting finally huffed in exasperation, "Never mind what the rest of the nest would say! She's barely a fledgling!"
"She's also our best shot!" Natsu argued, "Mom's too busy dealing with the nest to come, and she's the only other sky dragon we know!"
"She's not old enough to leave the nest yet," Rogue whispered at Natsu. The merman grunted from where he was flopped onto the wet deck, still utterly drenched. He quickly steamed himself dry and gestured for his scarf. Juvia swiftly ran over to him to drape it over his shoulders, and he cringed as the magic from the sea goddess curled around his tail and legs took the place of his tail. Unfortunately he had lost all his clothes to the sea so he was left sitting bare ass on the deck until Rogue dropped his abandoned coat on Natsu's waist.
Natsu shook his head, "It doesn't matter." He insisted, "We need her help now. She'll come."
"Sting, go get her and bring her to the island when we dock. Hurry, otherwise saving Cana was pointless," Natsu growled at him and stood up.
He groaned, his knees creaking and Natsu winced as he had to brace himself on the railing.
He glanced back at Lucy as he slid his arms into the long jacket and buttoned it at his waist to keep his crucial parts hidden. Not that he cared, but he imagined his Captain would give him hell if he didn't.
He cleared his throat and looked nervously at her.
"Is that okay cap'n? The nest has a healer, Sting is a fast flier and if he can bring her back here she can help Cana..." Natsu hesitated, realizing he had given Sting an order without asking their captain first.
"What're you waiting for?" Lucy instead turned towards Sting. She lifted her chin towards him, "Natsu is right. Get going, let your sister make the choice."
Sting sighed and pointed at Natsu, "Dad's going to nail your tail to the ground for this." He said cheerfully as he spread his wings, "I'll be back as fast as I can."
He moved over to the rail and hopped up before launching himself into the sky, but no sooner had he cleared the ship than his form rippled and grew until a majestic white dragon had taken Sting's place. The crew was allowed a single moment of awe before Sting proved Natsu right about his speed and vanished.
"That was good thinking Natsu." Lucy complimented once she managed to tear her eyes away from the sky, "And believe me, we appreciate it." She cocked her head curiously, "Just how old is this sister of yours anyway?"
"She's only 'bout two hundred." Natsu shrugged negligently, "But she's real talented." He grinned, "She takes after mom."
Rogue rolled his eyes as Lucy's blank expression, "Human Natsu." He huffed and looked at his captain, "In your terms Wendy's approximately thirteen or fourteen I believe. Still of an age to require a guardian, but old enough to venture out with supervision."
Lucy's expression cleared at that, "I see. That's a shame. I had hoped perhaps she would be interested in staying on if she's as talented as Natsu says. We lost our last healer to a poisonous snake, and I've had little luck attracting a new one."
"Wendy has an adventurous spirit. All dragons have it. We go out on our own when we're no longer fledglings," Natsu's body heated up, steam curling from his body in waves, "That's around sixteen in human years."
"She's not that much further from the age where she strikes out on her own, and she'll have three brothers. Igneel will kill me anyway though," Natsu snorted.
"I'm grateful for the quick thinking and your decisiveness regardless," Lucy said, her eyes dipping towards the open part of his jacket where she could see his exposed chest.
He had jumped into the raging ocean with the ease of cutting through butter with a warm knife, and the memory of him spread out on the deck with nothing but Rogue's jacket puddled over his taut stomach and muscular thighs. It had offered her very vivid imagery of him.
This was precisely what she had needed. Someone else to act as an extension of herself. As much as Lucy wanted to, she couldn't be in multiple places at once. And Natsu had acted as a senior crew member had. He knew what his job was going to be and had acted on it, the monster and Cana's treatment.
That cemented it for Lucy. There was no way Natsu couldn't have sailed before. That was something to dwell on later however. For now she had more important things to attend to.
"Go get some clothes on sailor." She told Natsu firmly, though with a smile, "And be back on deck in five minutes. We may be past this crisis, but there's no telling if anything else will crop up."
"Aye cap'n!" Natsu grinned happily and she watched as he made his way below decks. Nor was she the only one. It didn't escape her notice that there was more than one measuring look being cast his way. And more than a little respect.
That pleased her. If Natsu was as experienced as she suspected he was then he would prove an invaluable addition to the crew regardless of his actual official rank aboard, and if he was well respected all the better.
"Cap'n!" Levy called, "We need you up here!"
Pulled out of her musing Lucy gave herself a mental shake to pay attention to what she was doing. They had a treasure to claim after all.
She trotted back up to the helm, quickly taking over for Levy, and grinned, "Alright Levy let's finish this. And gods willing we won't see any more monsters!"
"We'd better not." Levy muttered mutinously and Lucy cast her a grin over her shoulder as the navigator straightened up and began calling out adjustments to their course.
-::-
"Whoa..."
"Aye." Lucy agreed with satisfaction as they stepped out onto the beach.
For a mercy, they'd managed to navigate the rest of the treacherous rocks without incident, and had landed on the shore of a pristine island. Though not possessing of dense jungle the way Galuna had, it was nevertheless quite beautiful. It was just a shame the place was so difficult to get to, and had played host to particularly unscrupulous pirates.
"So where's this treasure?" Gray asked curiously as they looked around, making a mental note to investigate some of the trees before they left. From a distance he thought he could see several fruit bearing trees. Perhaps the remains of a grove of some kind.
"I'm not really sure." Lucy admitted, "There wasn't exactly a map for this. However, by all accounts Captain Hoteye was obsessed with money and gold. More than most pirates. Anyone like that was bound to have his stash somewhere relatively nearby."
"Someplace accessible for him you mean," Gray noted. He raised an eyebrow at his surroundings and shook his head. "We have to try and find it. Maybe we need to give it some time and let the crew rest for a bit first."
"Yes, I'm worried about Cana too. Juvia is watching her now but she's not doing so great," Lucy murmured, her eyes drifting to where Natsu was swinging around the rigging to dart back and forth on the ship.
"Yeah," Gray muttered, looking at where Rogue was securing the cannons and keeping their barrels of gunpowder dry.
After the incident with the whirlpool, Lucy had given their Master Gunner the loudest and angriest dressing down Gray had ever bore witness to. For his lack of attention, Lucy was merciless.
Bora was a show off and a bit on the lazy side, but he had never done anything to endanger the crew before. Not until then. As such, Rogue, who had taken to the cannons and powder exceptionally well, had been promoted to his position.
Bora, for his part, had been demoted to the lowest scut, and was swabbing the decks when not in the brig until Lucy saw fit to release him at their next port. And Gray considered it a miracle the man wouldn't find himself marooned for his stupidity. He had been remarkably unrepentant in his role to play in the accident, instead loudly claiming that if Cana had her lifeline on she wouldn't have been in any danger.
While true, it was also Cana's duty to oversee the safety of the crew when Lucy was otherwise occupied. Lucy was hardly going to punish her for putting others above herself.
Especially since Cana wouldn't have been in danger had it not been for him to begin with.
Gray just hoped Cana could hold on until help arrived. At least, he hoped help was arriving. It was an awfully slender thread to pin their hopes on, but Natsu seemed confident. And though the dragon turned merman seemed determined to piss him off just by existing, he didn't think the man would lie. Not about this and not to their captain.
Especially not to their captain.
He hadn't been blind to the looks Natsu kept sneaking Lucy when he thought no one was looking. Nor was he ignorant to what would motivate a man to find a way to get his legs just so he could sign on to a pirate ship captained by the woman who had saved him. It was far more than gratitude that was for certain.
It wasn't even the first time such had happened. Though Natsu was undoubtedly an extreme. There were a number of men, both pirate and not, who had done similar things in an effort to be close to the golden haired celestial wizard.
Hell, even he had been appreciative of her beauty before their relationship had settled comfortably and unmoveably into friendship.
Though he doubted Lucy realized that. For all of her pirate ways she'd never actively participated in any serious liaisons. Cana and Levy had told him a few stories about hapless crushes and shy kisses in her youth, but as her reputation had grown so had her responsibilities and romance had seemingly fallen by the wayside.
Until now.
He was even less blind to Lucy than he was Natsu and it was clear enough to him, and probably every other veteran member of their crew, that for the first time ever their captain had been bitten by the love bug. He doubted she'd realized that yet either, and was content to leave it that way for now. As long as the dragon prince's efforts and attention remained honorable.
Which brought him right back to his worry and hope that Natsu would be able to save Cana's life twice.
"Alright, we'll let the crew get some rest." Lucy said, interrupting his thoughts, "Organize a rotated landing party to check out some of those trees and take a break. I want at least two on security at all times and no one is to wander out of shouting distance. This place isn't inhabited to my knowledge, but I'm not keen on taking any chances, and I have no idea what kind of wildlife might be here."
"Aye Captain," Gray nodded and jogged off to do as she asked. The last thing she needed was any distractions from what was going on.
She needed to stay on her task at all times, and he wasn't about to let the maintenance of the ship fall to her shoulders as well.
He just hoped they could squeak out another miracle.
You guys got yourself an actiony chapter this time around! You guys SQUEAKED through your sneak peek this time at exactly 30 reviews. Way to make it, very impressive. Well here is your sneak peek for making it! We will see you all on Wednesday! MSLEAD OUT!
"He worries far too much sometimes." Lucy huffed once he was out of reach, and grinned at Natsu, "C'mon! Let's go exploring!"
Natsu grinned happily back at her, "Aye!"
They set off down the beach to the base, waving to other groups working on other projects as they did, and Natsu smiled at the relaxed atmosphere. Those not relaxing were happily surveying the place or harvesting fruit and other supplies from the ancient orchard they'd discovered. The crew had faith in their captain's ability to deliver on the promised treasure, and it showed.
It made something warm curl in his belly, like a half forgotten feeling that this was familiar. He chased after it for a moment, thinking perhaps there was another memory there, but nothing came out of it so he let it be.
"So how'd you find out about this place?" He asked curiously as they walked, "If you don't mind me asking?"
