Hey guys! Kytrin here with your update! Apologies for being a bit late with this one. I was a little too brain dead after work yesterday to do proper justice to the chapter editing. I hope you all enjoy now! :)
CHAPTER 32
Old Salt
Experienced pirate or sailor
"You're still angry." Juvia observed quietly as she and Natsu swam through the temple. Sting's light had quickly been lost to sight by the turns within, but balls of bioluminescent plankton lining the corridor took care of that.
Natsu's tail lashed more harshly than was necessary, "Yeah. I am."
"Natsu..." She began, and he shook his head.
"No." He replied and met her gaze firmly, "I meant what I said last night, I'm sorry I yelled at you. And I get you didn't have a choice. But that won't stop me from being pissed about all this." He dropped a hand on her shoulder, "We're still friends Juvia, and you saved me. But all these secrets..."
She smiled sadly and nodded, "I understand." She replied, "I just hope one day you can forgive me."
Natsu cracked a wry half grin at her, "Just help me make sure Lucy gets out of this mess alive and regains her divinity. That'll go a real long way."
"I'll do everything I can." Juvia promised, and Natsu felt something in him relax a little, easing the tension between them.
"Good enough." He replied and looked around, "So, where's this staff bit anyway? All I see are tunnels."
"That way." Juvia pointed confidently, "That's the direction towards what would be my inner sanctum. If it's going to be stored anywhere it would be near there."
Natsu nodded, "Let's go then!" He grinned, "I'm all fired up!"
He swam eagerly down the tunnel, grinning at how bright the tunnel became the closer they got, and felt the knot of tension in his chest loosen a little more. They were nearly there. It would mark the halfway point, and though that brought them, Lucy, closer to danger it also meant they were halfway done too.
He glanced back at Juvia who remained close behind, making his way to the threshold into her inner sanctum. It didn't take long for Natsu to charge on ahead of her though, his impatience to get a move on overwhelming any sense of safety. She gave him a somewhat fearful look as he swam through the entrance, but he surged on without even pausing. It seemed champions were welcome in all sanctums.
The room was large, with spiraling sapphire pillars that held up a sea foam ceiling, and Natsu grinned up at it, his eyes trailing around the beautiful sanctum. He had to admit, the ancients could really design a place.
In the center, he saw a floating piece of the key. A curved handle that connected to the shaft they already had. Natsu grinned and swam towards it, hesitating only for a second to wait for Juvia.
She nodded once to him, encouraging him to take that step.
"You are a Champion Natsu, you can take it now that you remember yourself," Juvia nodded to him.
Natsu gave her a crooked grin, supposing if he could talk the game then he had to back it up. He reached out and grasped the handle, feeling a strange hum of energy from the magical key, but it did nothing to harm him.
Drawing it to his chest, he swam back to Juvia and held it out.
"Success." She breathed as she grasped the piece and tucked it securely away, "We should hurry back. I don't think we want to linger here very long all things considered."
Natsu nodded grimly, "Aye."
As one they turned to swim back, but as they traversed the corridors back to the entrance Natsu couldn't shake the feeling something was already very wrong. A feeling that confirmed itself a few moments later when their way was blocked by a blob of black seawater.
"Torafuzar." Juvia breathed in horror and reached out to grab him before he could swim any closer, "Stay away from the black water!" She hissed, "Torafuzar is capable of creating toxic water anywhere and fighting flawlessly within it. Swimming in there will kill you in a few minutes!"
"The same few minutes Sting and Happy probably don't have?" Natsu demanded, "We've gotta get them out!"
"How?" Juvia asked, "If either of us goes in there we'll be immediately poisoned! And I'll remind you that I'm composed of water! Metallicana was the one to beat Torafuzar in the war because of my weakness to him!"
"Then we'll burn it out instead." Natsu growled as he grabbed the artifact and summoned his magic, throwing a flame around his body to cut through the sludgy waters.
"Then allow me to provide a distraction at least!" Juvia growled grimly, water currents forming visibly around her hands.
He nodded and wished briefly that Gajeel was here. As his father's son he would have been perfect in a fight like this, his iron scales an easy deflection to the poison. There was no time for wishes now though. He would just have to make do.
With that thought in mind, he plunged headlong into the dark waters.
The effects to his body were immediate as Juvia warned. Still he swam through it, his teeth gritting as he tried not to breath in the noxious currents around him. He found Sting and Happy, dragging his arms around them and shooting up to the surface as fast as he could manage.
He almost sagged with relief as he realized the demon had a limit to the scope of his poison water. They hovered above the dark mass, Sting blearily coming back to his senses with his head over water.
Natsu panted tiredly as the scraps of poison that had gotten through burned away, keeping Happy above the surface and his arm hoisting Sting up enough to keep him afloat until he could gather his wits and swim himself.
"Natsu!" Sting coughed up a lungful of black water, his body quickly recovering.
"Scales! Now!" Natsu barked, "We're under attack and you need to get Happy back to Lucy!"
He shoved the part of the key they recovered into Stings confused chest, "You've gotta get this to the ship before that bastard down there gets hold of it!" Sting stared at him and growled.
"I'm not going to leave you to fight a demon by yourself!" Sting snapped back at his older brother, who bared his fangs back at his stubborn nestmate.
"Yes you are, because if this gets into their hands, then Lucy is as good as dead and so is everyone on the ship!" Natsu snarled back at Sting, "Juvia is a goddess in her element and I've spent the last four hundred years training to fight underwater! You aren't going to be much help in this fight, but you can help the crew in the air because you must realize that if we are being attacked here, then they're mounting an assault on the ship!"
"Please Sting, keep her safe," Natsu growled at his brother, softer this time. Imploring.
"If we aren't back in an hour, leave to the next temple. We will catch up if we have to," Natsu met Stings reluctant eyes.
Sting spat out an oath as he gripped the staff piece tightly, "You had better not die." He snarled as white scales rippled over his skin and the white dragon took his place, "I won't forgive you if you die brother."
Natsu swam back a bit and grinned up at Sting, "Don't worry. Dyin's the last thing on my mind."
Sting bobbed his head and flapped his way out of the water, his foreclaw cradling Happy and their relic protectively. Natsu dove back down as the spray from the take off hit and scowled at the black blob. No doubt Torafuzar had already tracked down Juvia while he was gone. He had to get back to her, the question was how? Even with his flames he'd felt the sting from that poison.
He balled his fists and coated himself in fire as he dove back into it with a growl. He would just have to beat this jerk's ass before it took effect!
He gritted his fangs, braced for the sting he knew was coming, and frowned a little in confusion when it didn't appear as quickly. What was going on? On the way out he'd felt the poison until he'd burst out of the cloud of black water altogether. Now, he was already over halfway back and it was only just now starting to go from irritating itch to painful.
The though shoved itself from his mind as he caught sight of the demon bastard himself and Juvia trading blows. Without a second thought he dove for the demon, his fists blazing, and landed a solid blow on the shark-like back.
It knocked the demon flying, though it didn't do nearly as much damage as he'd hoped it would. His flames were reluctant to respond in this goop.
"Interesting." The demon said as he straightened up, "I thought my curse would smother your magic entirely merdragon. It seems I was mistaken."
Natsu smirked, careful not to draw a breath from the water, and pounded his still flaming fists together to create a massive fireball around Torafuzar's floating form. The attack was, again, weaker than it should've been, but it still singed more than a couple of the demon's scales in the process.
"Very well then." Torafuzar replied, "I shall end this quickly for you."
Natsu swung into attack after attack, his body rapidly flagging in areas. Juvia assisted where she could, trying to draw Torafuzer's away from his enemy.
However her attention was divided, her eyes began to glow in the middle of the fight, something Natsu could remember seeing many times in his first lifetime, but only a handful of times in the present life.
Levy had been the most recent example.
Juvia was being invoked.
"Yukino's city!" Juvia cried out, "They're being attacked!" She flared at Torafuzer, "Call off your assault on them, we are the enemies you wish to find!"
"You are just the tip of the iceberg," Torafuzer growled, "My goal is the key. Provide me that and you won't have the blood of your innocent followers on your hands, don't and the Abyssal monsters I have befriended will surge up like the tide and crush the whole capital!"
Had he been allowed to settle himself on that line, it might have come across as very dramatic and impactful. However in this case it didn't work.
Natsu's fist slammed square into the demons face, teeth bared down into a snarl, "Shut up!"
He glared over his shoulder at Juvia, "Answer your prayers! I'll take care of this freak." He panted.
"I think his cloud is starting to lose its effectiveness, despite his appearance I don't think he's used to fighting in the ocean," Natsu smirked at Torafuzer and rubbed his chin with the back of his hand, "You're a freshwater fish, ain'tcha?"
Torafuzar scowled at him, "I assure you, my black water is more than enough to deal with you."
"Yeah?" Natsu smirked, "Then how come it's getting clearer in here?"
Both demon and goddess glanced around, and sure enough the cloud around them was slowly dissipating, streaks of ocean blue could be seen through the murk.
"Salt water against carbon..." Juvia breathed in sudden enlightenment, before straightening up, "I should have known." She shook her head, "I'll leave him to you Natsu!"
She vanished in a bright flash of light, but Natsu paid little attention to it as his gaze never left Torafuzar, "So that's the trick huh?" He asked, "Salt water cancels out your water. You know that ain't real bright when you're fighting in the ocean."
"Perhaps." Torafuzar replied calmly, "But my curse has not dissipated yet. And the concentration is still high enough to kill you by exposure alone!"
Well Natsu didn't doubt that for a moment. He could still feel the sting of the poisonous water against his skin and scales. If he didn't beat this jerk into the ground soon he would have to retreat to recover. And that was simply not an option.
"We'll see about that buddy!" He snarled, his fists igniting again, much easier this time, and lunging for the demon.
-::-
Above the surface, Gray swore violently as the ship pitched terribly onto one side. Gajeel and Rogue were off getting supplies for the ships repairs, and a few smaller jewelry sized lacrima to stave off motion sickness for the dragon slayers.
As it turned out, they had gained a bit too much trouble in the light of day, and they could really use their help. Unfortunately even with Warren they weren't able to get a message out to the dragons. Although Levy seemed convinced Gajeel knew and was on his way back.
He had an interesting connection with the Navigator after all. Still, even with that Gray wasn't sure they would make it in time.
Gray formed a lance of pure ice, using the force of his magic to jettison it into the ocean where a sea serpent looked like it was trying to drag him down.
"Loose those cannons! Get this thing off us!" Cana barked nearby to a pair of frightened looking sailors, "Let's show 'rn why you don't mess with Fairy Tail!"
Despite her bravado though, Gray could tell she was worried. He was doing his best to lead, but with Lucy laid up in bed and Natsu a thousand league under the sea, they were outgunned.
A sea serpent was terrifying for the crew to deal with. They were absurdly powerful, unrivaled in sheer strength save for the dragons and perhaps the might Kraken.
Out of all the dragons on their ship, he monster decided to strike when they were all gone!
Of all the rotten luck.
And their luck wasn't ending there.
"Sails!" Romeo shouted from the crow's nest, "Coming in off the port bow!"
"Damnit!" Cana swore, "How many d'you see?"
"Two... no three!" Romeo looked down, looking distinctly pale, "Three sets of sails!"
"Son of a bitch!" Gray snarled, "Those bastards spared no expense this time!"
"How did they even find us?" Macao demanded from where he was using his fire magic to manipulate several ropes at once, "I thought Juvia said we were safe at water?"
"Well something must've happened!" Gray shouted back, "Now where the hell are those cannons? We need to turn this fish into sushi before those ships arrive!"
"Cannons ready!" Jet cried.
"Fire!" Gray shouted, and all at once the cannons erupted. The creature roared, but when the spray cleared all that could be seen were a few bloody scratches in the great beast's hide.
"Damnit!" Gray swore, "Load up for another round!"
Jet and Droy moved to comply, but they'd barely gotten started when a line of white hot breath impacted the serpent.
The crew looked up to find a pissed off looking white dragon bearing down on them.
"Sting!" Gray called as Sting flapped over to one side and carefully took hold, "What happened? Why aren't you with Flamebrain and Juvia?"
"A demon attacked them underwater." Sting rumbled as he opened his foreclaw to reveal Happy holding the relic, "Happy, get to Lucy's side and stay there." He looked at Gray, "I'll deal with the serpent. You focus on those ships. I'll help you out there when I can."
"You got it." Gray replied, not having time, or inclination, to argue when at least one of his desperate prayers had been answered.
Happy hopped obediently out of Stings claw, a little wide eyed over being carried by a dragon and immediately dropped to the deck and rushed to the captains quarters. No doubt where their Captain was beginning to stir from her rest if she hadn't already. Unfortunately for her, the quarters were barricaded from the outside for her safety, and that didn't make escape easy if she didn't want to scuttle her own ship.
Happy wiggled through a manhole sized window, not disturbing the magical barricade in the slightest. Gray winced a bit as he could make out the faint sounds of his captain swearing up a storm.
"Hard to port!" Gray shouted back at Macao, "Let's give those sailors somethin' to think about while Sting takes care of our pest control problem!"
He glanced over to see the great white dragon taking off back to the roiling waves where an angry sea serpent coiled its body beneath the waves. Sting let out another blast of magic, roaring out a laser straight into the water. It kicked up a rush of water that sprayed the deck while simultaneously pushed them away from the violent beast.
The Fairy Tail crew let out a whoop and holler, grabbing ropes and unfurling sails, hoisting others up. Gray watched with pride as the sea turned to their favor, sending a quick prayer of thanks to Juvia as the currents bent to their whim and they angled themselves towards their enemies.
"Fire!" Gray bellowed once they got into range, "Long distance mages, follow the volley!"
-::-
Beneath the waves, Natsu chuckled as they heard the echoing scream of a sea creature in severe pain, "That one of yours?" He asked Torafuzar between pants, "Sounds like he's not havin' a good day."
Torafuzar scowled, "I'm certain my pet can handle anything your puny ship throws at him. He was created to guard against us after all."
"Heh, I think you're underestimating my little brother." Natsu smirked, "He may not be a drake, but that won't mean anything against your pet." Fire erupted all over him, "Now how about we finish this so I can go show my brother how to properly barbecue a sea monster?"
"You still intend to fight?" Torafuzar asked mildly, "Diluted or not, my black water has been coursing through your blood all this time. You can barely keep yourself upright and will surely die shortly. If you attack now I'll only kill you before the water does."
"You done talking fish face?" Natsu smirked, "'Cause I'm ready to start punching."
"As you wish." Torafuzar sighed, bringing up his arms, "I will endeavor to make your death swift."
Natsu grit his fangs as he gathered the last of his power together. As much as he hated to admit it, fish face was right. He was scraping the bottom of the barrel. If he was going to win this he would have to do it in one shot.
He growled softly at the thought, "Metallicana, Jellal... give me strength."
Warmth seemed to surge through him in response, and his eyes nearly glowed as he sucked in a breath, "Fire Dragon King's Roar!"
Torafuzer was caught off guard, not having expected Natsu to take a sudden lungful of noxious water into himself just to cast his last spell. He was caught off guard and the blast caught him square in the chest, and in moments he was consumed by the flames that burned like the earth's core, burning hot even under water by the sheer force of Natsu's will.
Natsu gagged at the last second, his hands rushing up to close around his throat even as Torafuzer fell through the water, utterly defeated and destroyed. He wobbled, vision growing murky even while Torafuzer dissolved into bubbles that floated away. Natsu struggled to keep his eyes open, staggering upright before he too slowly sank.
His body slumped forward as the dark water receded. The sheer amount of power it took from him to summon fire underwater was staggering on a normal day, but he had fallen at absolute zero as far as magical energy went. If he were a normal merman, he would have surely perished within the first five minutes.
Luckily he was part dragon and that did wonders to help him last as long as he did...
But he had reached the end of his rope.
Natsu's head hit the ocean floor, dazed and not knowing how he had gotten there.
-::-
Back on the Fairy Tail Lucy gasped mid swear as a sharp pain clutched at her heart.
"What?" She breathed, confused by the sudden pain, and vaguely alarmed that she might've hurt something.
"Is something wrong Lucy?" Happy asked in concern, "You look really pale."
"I... I don't know." Lucy panted, dropping to her knees, "I feel... weird."
Happy yelped in alarm as she suddenly glowed a bright pale gold and a powerful surge of magic shot out of her, rocking the ship as it vanished seamlessly through the window. He rushed to her side and carefully caught her as she collapsed to the deck after that.
"Lucy?" He called, "Lucy!"
She didn't respond as he urgently checked her pulse, which was reedy and thin, "Lucy what's wrong?"
He glanced towards the door, and carefully laid her down, "Don't worry Lucy, I'm going to get help! Just hang on!"
He hastily summoned his wings and made for the porthole he'd come in through, unaware that in the exact moment the magic had appeared every god in every corner of the heavens and earth had stopped in shock.
Jellal, and every celestial spirit, straightened in shock as the surge of achingly familiar magic filled their senses, tears coming to many of their eyes.
Makarov nearly tumbled off his throne as he felt the same, joy and grief warring within him.
Erza staggered where she was supervising a battle plan, and she rubbed her hand over her heart as her gaze was drawn west, a prayer to the Creator that this would not spell the end of their hopes forming on her lips.
Acnologia grinned fiercely from the battlefield itself, his gaze unmovably planted west, and reveled in the knowledge that the light would soon be his.
Below the waves, Natsu also gasped as that achingly familiar, and yet impossible, tingle enveloped him, "L'shy?"
"I'm here my Champion." Lucy smiled at him, somehow looking exactly as she had the last time he'd seen her, "Though only for a moment."
She brushed her fingers through his hair, "You seem to have gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble haven't you my love? Though I don't know why I expect anything less from you."
"L'shy, wha-?" Natsu tried only for her to cluck her tongue at him.
"None of that now." She scolded, and bent down to kiss him. At least, that was what his feverish mind thought it was at first, but then he felt a burn spread through him as she sucked sharply. He coughed and gagged against her hold, but she held him tightly as she continued the suction, until finally she lifted her head and spat out the poison that had been invading his system.
"There." She grinned in satisfaction, "That should take care of the worst of it. Your sister can finish the job once you get back to the ship." She reached out and helped him sit up, "How are you feeling?"
"Really confused." Natsu admitted, "How are you here? Did you get your memories back?"
Lucy's expression dimmed and she shook her head, "No. This is, for lack of a better word, an echo. The Lucy back on the ship isn't ready to become a goddess yet, and though we're similar we're not the same anymore." She caressed his cheek, "I'm sorry for all the pain you've been through Natsu. And for the pain that might yet come. That was never my intent for you."
Now that he wasn't on the verge of dying any longer, Natsu could feel her hand just a ghostly caress. Almost as if it weren't really there, "We're in this together Luce."
"Besides, I ain't the same anymore either, got too many memories for me to have come out the same way again," Natsu settled his hand over hers and leaned his head around to press his lips against her palm. His heart clenched, yearning for the real thing.
He met her eyes and gave her an exhausted smile, "I love you. In every lifetime Luce, what's a little more adventure along the way?"
"Your spirit has always stayed the same Natsu," Lucy grinned at him, "Your awakened memories are the reason I'm here, your call to my brother pulled on my echo. Just a shade of my magic."
"Be patient Natsu," she touched his chin and smiled at him, "I'll remember who I am soon."
She leaned forward, this time to draw him into a kiss but before they could come together, she dissolved back into pure light and magic. A trail of starry magic shot away like a comet, rocketing back to the surface.
Natsu watched, his hand reaching out for the stream where she had been.
"Lucy," He mumbled, "thanks for saving my tail. Again."
"Gotta make it up to that girl," Natsu laughed quietly. He dragged his aching body up to the surface. He moaned, drawing himself up to the surface to find his way back to the ship.
He really owed Lucy one hell of a massage.
After a bit of fumbling and crooked swimming, he arrived at the skeletons of ships floating in the water like bloated corpses. He swam through the thrashing bodies of pirates that attacked his crew, cutting a path towards it.
In the distance he saw a gutted sea serpent, long and huge hung on the craggy bluffs that frequented and marked this part of the ocean. Too small to be proper islands, they nevertheless made good spears it seemed. Sting's work no doubt.
He had to admire his brother's thoroughness, and idly wondered if sea serpent tasted any good. Probably not.
Relief flooded him as he spotted the Fairy Tail in the distance. She looked a little worse for the wear, but there wasn't any smoke or tilt or any other sign that perhaps she'd taken damage serious enough for her to take on water. No doubt Gajeel would be pissed though.
Well, the Metalhead could just be pissed. Natsu was just glad to see her in one piece.
He hastily swam up to the side, "Oi!" He called up, waving his arms as he tried to get someone's attention, "A little help down here?"
A few moments later and Sting's head poked over the railing, followed closely by Gray's and Cana's.
"Bout time you showed back up Flamebrain." Gray smirked, "You missed all the excitement."
"The hell I did!" Natsu scoffed, "I was busy fighting a demon gate!"
"Yeah you do look a little uglier than usual." Gray smirked as Sting pulled out his wings and flapped down to get him, "Though it's kinda hard to tell."
"You wanna start something Frostbite?" Natsu snarled as Sting carried him back aboard, "C'mon!"
"What? Against you?" Gray grinned, "That'd be too easy. You're a fish out of water."
Natsu opened his mouth to respond when Cana slapped them both over the head, "Cut it out you two! We have other things to worry about."
Natsu snapped his mouth shut and frowned, "Yeah, how's Lucy?"
Cana raised an eyebrow that he even knew meant something had happened to her, and though he knew it probably had to do with the echo of his goddess saving him, he couldn't stop a frission of fear at her words, "Wendy's in with her now."
And that's the chapter! I hope you guys all enjoyed the various fights! Alas, you guys were one shy of your preview (which I suspect is due to the last chapter being a tad late thanks to the holiday), but I want to give everyone who reviewed a huge shout out and thank you for your reviews. They were a lot of fun to read, and some of the theories you guys had put me in stitches lol! I can't wait to see how you react when you find out what happens! We'll see you guys Sunday!
