5: Unholy Lightning

An explosion rocked the foundations of the catacombs, nearly knocking Naruto off of his feet. "What the hell's going on here?" He shouted, placing his newest sword at his back, and ran out of the room. As he came out, bolts of electricity sparked along the walls and water running through the canals. "What the - ?!"

The walls exploded out as Natsu came hurtling through them, "GAH! Dammit, that hurt!" He roared with flames at his mouth, "Hey, Happy, where'd you go, little buddy?!"

Happy came flying through the rubble, and landed nearby, "Natsu, are you okay?!"

"Fine," the Dragon Slayer said, rubbing some blood from his face, "But man does Lucy pack a punch!"

Naruto looked at the pair in confusion, "Hey!" He shouted, gaining their attention, "What the hell happened to you guys?!"

Natsu and Happy looked at him in relief, "Oho, man, are we glad to see you, Naruto!" Natsu grinned, "Lucy found that spear you were lookin' for, but now she's tryin' to kill us!"

Naruto looked at them, "She found it?!" Naruto growled, drawing Durandal from its sheath, "I've got it! What did she find?!"

Happy fluttered over to him, "Duke Everlue called it a cursed spear," he said, and landed on his shoulder, "Gae Bolg I think is what he called it." Naruto stiffened upon hearing the name of the weapon.

"Are you kidding!?" Naruto yelled, and took off down the hall, throwing Happy from his shoulder, "You guys find that stupid book and wait for me outside! I'll take care of Lucy!"

Natsu watched him go for a moment, "Hey...how come he gets to go and fight?" Natsu asked of his companion, "Lucy sucker punched me, so I owe her one!" He roared, igniting his fists.

"No, don't do that, it wasn't Lucy!" Happy pleaded as Natsu started after Naruto. "Wait a minute!"

Natsu cackled, "No way! There's a fight goin' on, and there's no way I'm missin' out on it!"

Happy looked after the retreating Dragon Slayer. "Oh, boy," Happy sighed, pulling out the book from his little back pack, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Meanwhile, Naruto was pelting down the halls of the catacombs falling the sound of battle. As he rounded a corner, Duke Everlue came hurtling out of the darkness and slammed into the opposite wall. Naruto spared him a small glance, and noted that he was only knocked out. His eyes then gazed back down the hall when the sound of heels clicking the stone floors reached his ears.

"Such a shame," Lucy's voice drifted to his ears, frighteningly calm, and cold, "that little man did nothing but run the entire time I fought with him," glinting in the dim light cast by the lacrima on the walls, Lucy sauntered into view dressed in strange golden armor. Over her shoulder she carried the blood-red spear that Naruto hoped he wouldn't encounter. A smirk curved her lips as she locked eyes with him, "Well, Holy Swordsman, will you give me the fight I so desire?"

Naruto took Durandal in hand, leveling at her, "Listen to me, Gae Bolg," the blond said, causing the possessed girl to cock her head to the side, "I'm only going to ask you once, so let my friend go, before things get out of hand."

'Gae Bolg' laughed, "Out of hand you say?" She asked, taking the spear from her shoulder and pointing the tip at him, "I rather like the sound of that. Feel free to utterly destroy anything and everything around us." The spear sparked with electricity, "Because if you don't give me a truly magnificent battle, I'm going to tear you apart with the hands of your friend." The spear charged a ball of lightning at the tip, "Lightning Blast!"

Naruto had less than a second to flatten himself against the wall before a powerful surge of lightning rushed forth, exploding against the wall behind him, and shattering the stone. A cut opened up on his left cheek as one of the stones caught the side of his face. 'That's a strong attack.' He thought, his eyes widening as Lucy, no, Gae Bolg, came at him with the blade.

He parried the point, and sent the tip into the ground, kicking out at her stomach. Gae staggered back, uninjured, but Naruto knew Lucy was definitely feeling it.

She came at him again, lightning flying from the tip of her spear in wide arcs. Gae Bolg's spear and Durandal crashed together in a shower of sparks. Naruto glared at her, "Let Lucy go!"

"Oh?" Gae smiled, "Is she special to you, Swordsman?"

Naruto growled, and stomped his right foot on the ground, drawing a circle with his heel, "Sorry about this, Lucy! Angel's Halo!" He called out. A pale blue magic circle appeared under his feet, and spread across the walls, ceiling, and floor. From all sides, the magical array shot bolts of white energy fired. Gae laughed in glee as she dipped, dodged and almost danced through the field.

"I know that spell," Gae smiled as the spell petered out, "It's a Angel's spell. You're a lot more fun than you look, Swordsman. But you're not the only one that knows Holy spells." She pointed with her spear again, a circle coming to the tip, with white orbs around the edges. Energy gathered in front of the circle, "Seraphic Bolt!" A lightning bolt in a multitude of colors erupted from the spear.

"DAMN!" Naruto quickly pulled out Caliburn. He only made it half-way from the sheath before the bolt struck the flat of the blade. His feet skidded, and slid across the stone floor as the Holy Sword absorbed the energy of the spell. Unsheathing the blade completely, Naruto let loose a bolt of energy of his own in return as Caliburn released the energy it had absorbed.

Gae screeched as the bolt hit her dead center, and blasted her back. Naruto frowned at that. If the spirit was in pain, he could only imagine what Lucy was going through. He could only hope that he could heal her later, and maybe make it up to her, somehow.

'I've got to get that spear away from her!' Naruto thought, looking down at both swords in his hands, 'Durandal's my best bet, but Caliburn can send her energy right back at her...dammit, Caliburn could kill Lucy, though!' He sighed as he replaced Caliburn in its sheath, taking a stance with Durandal raised as Gae staggered back to her feet, smiling as a small amount of blood dripped from her lips.

"That's good...that's very good..." she said, her red eyes glowing, "You are very worthy of me. It's such a shame that I couldn't have taken control of your body instead of this pathetic little girl of yours." She said, and lunged forward, "Come at me, Swordsman!"

"Shut up!" Naruto roared, raising his sword high, "Cut through the curse! Durandal!" Naruto roared as Gae neared him, and brought it down with great force. Gae raised the spear in front of her to defend herself, but the black blade passed right through the shaft...and right through Lucy's body.

The red in her eyes dimmed back to the warm brown that he knew so well as her mouth opened in a silent scream. The armor shattered, leaving her bare as she fell to her knees. Naruto whipped off his cloak and wrapped it around her quickly. He tore a sleeve from the cloak, and went to wrap the cloth around the shaft of the spear.

Any contact with the skin of a human and the spear would try to take control of them. He planned to keep that from happening. "Hey, Naruto," Natsu's voice drifted to him, and he looked behind him to see the young Dragon Slayer running up behind him.

"I thought I told you to wait outside?" Naruto asked, "And where's the book?"

Natsu frowned at him, "Jeez, someone's bossy. Come on, man, I was worried about you and Lucy, is that so hard to believe?" He asked, looking at the destruction of the area, "Man, you guy's really tore it up in here. But you won, right?"

Naruto nodded, "More or less," he picked Lucy up in his arms, "Come on, let's go find Happy, and get the hell out of here." He said, tipping his head toward the spear that lay on the ground, "Can you grab that?" He asked, "Just don't touch the shaft. Or it'll take control of you, just like Lucy."

Natsu nodded, making sure to grip the cloth, "Is she gonna be alright?"

Naruto shook his head, "I don't know," he said, "Gae Bolg wasn't shy about taking damage, so Lucy took a lot of hits."

A rumble shook the catacombs, making the hair on the back of Naruto's neck to rise, "Uh, Natsu..."

"Yeah, Lucy kind'a destroyed a lot of walls when she was fightin' with me," Natsu grinned, "So...RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIFE!"

"Oh, ya gotta be kiddin' me!" Naruto roared, and high-tailed it right behind the Dragon Slayer. Unfortunately for the blond, he had to grab Everlue on the way out, none too gently either, and carrying two unconscious bodies was not an easy thing to do.

"Hey, guys!" Happy yelled as he flew toward them, "I got something I need to tell Lucy!"

"Not now little buddy!" Natsu yelled as he ran past him and grabbed his tail, "We gotta go!"

"WAAAAH! LE'GO MY TAIL!" Happy screeched.

Naruto nearly laughed, "Why couldn't this have been a simple job?"

Natsu just grinned at him as the ran out into the mansion, "Well, at least you got your sword, right?"

The mansion trembled and quaked as the made for the door, "Are you kidding me!" He roared a the mansion collapsed around them. He dropped Everlue on the front step, and the two wizards hit the gate. "I love this job!"

It was dark by the time they decided to take a breather, and lay Lucy down so she could heal. Naruto looked over her, careful not to reveal too much skin in front of the Dragon Slayer. All in all, Lucy had just been exhausted from being taken over by Gae Bolg, and so had Naruto for that matter. Channeling his magic through the Holy Sword, let alone both of them, had nearly cost him. Lucky for him, Lucy's injuries were minor.

"So what are you gonna do with this thing?" Natsu asked, holding up the bound spear that had caused them so much trouble. "You're not gonna keep it, are you?"

Naruto gave him a look, "Hell, no," Naruto said, "Cursed weapons like that are nothing but trouble. Unfortunately, they're almost impossible to destroy as well. Durandal could do it, but destroying it would also cause a lot of damage because of all the magic energy stored inside it."

"So, you're keeping it?" Natsu frowned.

"I'll figure something out," the blond said, frowning over Lucy, waving his hand over her body. The robe he had wrapped around her glowed and shifted into a dress of the same color. giving the girl some much needed clothing. "Did we get the book?"

Happy smiled, "Yeah, I've got it right here." He said, pulling the book from his pack, "Lucy was saying that it has a secret inside of it, and that Mr. Melon should see it."

Natsu shrugged, "We can always burn it right in front of him if he wants."

Naruto nodded, "We'll wait until Lucy wakes up, and then we'll had back to the client's home," he said, rising from his place beside the girl, "I'll collect some fire wood...hey, Happy, I think I saw a small creek nearby, you think you could fish up some grub?"

Happy beamed, "You got it, Naruto!" He said, flying off immediately.

Naruto sighed, feeling drained, "Be back in a minute, Natsu."

Natsu nodded, "I'll keep an eye on things here."

It didn't take long for Naruto to return with an arm load of fire wood, and soon, Natsu had a fire going, and was munching on a few torches until Happy came back with a large bundle of fish.

While they ate, Natsu cast a worried glance at the sleeping girl, "Hey, you sure she's gonna be alright?" He asked, pointing at the blonde, "She's been out for a few hours now."

"Being possessed probably drained all of her magic as well," Naruto said, "She doesn't have a large reserve of magic just yet, so she's pretty easily drained. After that was done, Gae Bolg used its own magic power to fight."

"Are there a lot of swords and stuff like that out there?" Happy asked, munching on a fish, "That spear was really scary."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, there were. Gae Bolg is one of two spears that I know of. Gungnir was the other one, and it was way more powerful than this thing. If I'd been fighting Gungnir instead, I'd probably have ended up killing Lucy, or doing way more damage to her than this."

"Jeez," Natsu frowned, "Damn. Naruto, just what kind of wizard are you?"

Naruto smiled and took a huge bite of fish, "I'm a Fairy Tail wizard, ya know?"

=x=

Lucy felt worn down to the bone when she finally opened her eyes. She sat up slowly, a pounding in her head, "What...in the world happened to me...?" She wondered as sh began to look around, finding Naruto sitting against the tree beside her, sound asleep. Across from them lay Natsu and Happy, also snoozing away.

Between them lay a spear...a spear as red as blood. Lucy's mouth fell open as she recognized it, "That's right! That spear!" She gasped, shivering as she remember how cold the presence in her mind had been. And the feeling of helplessness as she watched her body do battle with her friend.

For a moment, she was sure that Naruto had killed her, but the black blade had passed right through just like she was a ghost. Then she had felt the presence leave her, and she was herself again.

She looked at the sleeping Celestial wizard, and smiled, 'He saved me again,' she sighed, sitting up and leaning against the tree herself. A part of her was thankful to the blond wizard, but another part, a larger part, was furious with herself for being so weak that she'd let herself being taken over by Gae Bolg.

She rested her head against his shoulder, letting the natural warmth the blond seemed to radiate seeping into her.

"How're you feeling?" Naruto's gravely voice asked, startling her slightly as she looked up to see him with his eyes cracked open.

Lucy sighed and leaned back on his shoulder, smiling, "Fine, thanks to you guys again," she said truthfully. "I'm so sorry for attacking you like that."

Naruto looked at her, wide awake now, "You remember?"

Lucy nodded, "Yeah, all of it, from when I picked up the spear, and to the point you cut through the curse." She said, frowning, looking up at him, "Naruto, you said that I could learn the same type of magic you can use, right? Because I'm a Celestial Spirit Wizard, right?"

Naruto nodded, "A second tier Celestial wizard normally has to learn from a Celestial being," he said, making Lucy's spirits fall, "But since I already know most of the magic I need to know, I bet I could teach you." He said, gaining a huge crooked grin on his face. The blush that spread across Lucy's face could have lit up all of Magnolia.

She stretched up and pressed her lips against his cheek gently, letting them linger for a moment before settling back against the tree while the blond looked down at her, stunned. "Wh-what was that for?" He asked, touching his cheek with his fingers, the spot where she had kissed him tingling.

"For saving me," she said, turning her face away so he couldn't see how red she was, even though he sported a blush all of his own. She then looked back up at him with a bright smile on her face, "So, from today on, I'm your student, right?"

"R-right," Naruto stammered, giving her a thumbs-up, "I'll train ya into a Celestial Wizard in no time, ya know!"

Lucy giggled. "I look forward to learning from you."

=x=

Lucy gave a slight bow as she presented Kirby with DayBreak, the stunned man looking at her in disbelief. "What is the meaning of this?" He asked rather uneasily, "If I remember correctly, I asked you to destroy it."

Lucy nodded, "Yes, but, given how long you've tried to get this book, I figured its fate should be in your hands in the end," she said sadly as Kirby accepted the book. "The book itself is made of poor material meant for books, so it should be easy to destroy if you want."

Kirby looked down at the book, and a snarl came to his face, "You're right, burning this book would give me a great satisfaction in knowing that this...this filth is gone!" He said, striding over to the fireplace, "I'll incinerate it right now!"

"I understand why you'd want to burn it," Lucy said, making him stop in his tracks, "It's to protect your father's pride, isn't it?" She asked, making him turn to look at the girl, "You're real name is Kaby, and you're the son of Kemu Zaleon, aren't you?"

Naruto and Natsu were more than a little shocked, "Why would you want to destroy one of your father's books so badly," the blond wizard asked.

"How did you know?" Kaby asked of Lucy, ignoring the stunned looks on the faces of the others.

Lucy rubbed her arms over the sleeves of her new dress, "Have...have you ever read that book?"

Kaby shook his head, "No, never...I've only ever heard of it from my father." He said, looking down at the book in his hands, "But reading it...would be a waste of time. My father said that this book was nothing but a piece of trash."

Natsu stepped forward, looking angry, "Is that why you wanted to burn it?"

"Yes."

Natsu strode forward, ready to grab the man, but Naruto and Lucy were there to hold him back, "Burning it just because it's not a good book, what the hell are you thinking, huh?!"

"You need to chill out, Natsu!" Naruto shouted.

Happy looked up at him, "But his daddy wrote that book!"

"I told you all that it's a matter of protecting Kemu's pride!" Lucy shouted at the pair while Naruto tried to hold the irate Dragon Slayer back.

Kaby nodded, looking down at the book in his hands, "It's true...my father was ashamed to have written 'DayBreak'." He said, thinking back on it, "It was little over thirty-one years ago that my father returned from writing this horrible book. He said it had ruined him as a writer, and vowed that he would never write another again...he cut off his own arm." He said, much to the shock of the wizards, and his wife, "I was enraged by it all, and told him that he was nothing to me, not even a father...and so he took his own life...I hated him even after he passed away...and I hated him even more for not having the strength to not stand up for himself." He said, reaching into his pocket for a book of matches. "But as time passed, I came to regret all that I had said to him," he said with a sad smile, "If I hadn't said such horrible things to him that day, he wouldn't have taken his own life."

He took a match from the box and struck it, "That's why I wanted to eliminate this piece of trash from the world," He said, holding out the book, "This is the only thing that can help me atone for the things I've said and done, and the only way that he can regain his pride as a writer." He held the flaming match to the book, "Now my father can - "

"Hold on!" Lucy yelped, but before she could go on, the book began to glow, causing Kaby to drop both the match and the book. Natsu caught the match in a flash and had it eaten before it could hit the floor. But the book floated in place in front of Kaby and the so did the letters forming the title. Floating up from the book, the letters rearranged themselves.

"Dear...Kaby..." Naruto read, and smiled, "I get it...that book was disguised as Everlue's trash story, when it was a long letter to you, his son."

Lucy nodded with a smile on her face, "That's right, because Kemu Zaleon was just another alias for him, when he was actually Zekua Melon, a very powerful wizard," she said, "He cast a spell that shuffled the letters of the book, including the contents." The book opened and the letters on the pages floated away, filling the room in golden light.

"Wow, that's really pretty," Happy said, pawing at the letters.

"The reason he quit being a writer," Lucy went on, smiling at the display, "Wasn't because he was forced to write such a horrible book, but because he'd already written his greatest book ever."

"Amazing," Natsu said as the letters spiraled around the room.

"It's like the letters are dancing," Naruto said.

"Aye!"

"The best book he'd ever written," Lucy smiled, "contained letters to you, Kaby, and everything thing he ever wanted to tell you." The characters flowed back into the book and floated down into Kaby's hands. "That's what your father really wanted to leave behind."

Kaby started reading the book, his eyes tearing up, "Dad...I never really understood him."

"Of course," Lucy smiled, "If you understood how a writer thinks, then there won't be any pleasure in reading a book at all."

=x=

Naruto sighed as they made their way home, "Well, we didn't get the reward," he said, giving a small grin, looking over at Lucy, "But, at least you and me got a a little bonus, ya know?"

Lucy giggled, holding up a Golden Gate Key, "I can't believe I got Virgo's Gate Key," she beamed, looking at the senior Celestial Wizard, "And you got your sword, so even if we didn't take the money, we still walk away with something."

"Except me," Natsu grumbled, brightening up almost instantly, "But it was still a fun mission!"

"Come to think of it," Lucy said, looking at the Dragon Slayer, "How'd you know that it wasn't their house in the first place?"

Natsu looked at her as if it were obvious, "Because it smelled like someone else's house," he said, crossing his arms, "How come you didn't notice?"

"I am not an animal!" Lucy yelled.

Naruto laughed at the duo, "But you know...that writer was actually a really powerful wizard, ya know?" He said, smiling, "So powerful that even after thirty years of casting a spell, the magic is still strong."

Lucy nodded, smiling, "It seems like he was in a Guild when he was younger, and wrote about the adventures he'd experienced back then." She said, sighing, "I'd love to do something like that."

Natsu grinned at her, "I knew it!"

"Knew what?!" Lucy yelped.

"You're trying to write a novel, aren't ya?!" Natsu declared.

Happy looked at her with a grin, "No wonder you like books so much!"

"How'd you even know about that!" Lucy cried, noticing that Naruto was strangely quiet. "It was you, wasn't it!?"

Naruto gulped, "Ah, I've got no idea!" He said, backing away from the irate blonde, "Whoa, look at the time, we'd better get going!" He turned and tore down the road with Lucy right after him.

"No you don't!" The blonde roared, taking her whip from her hip, "I take back everything nice I ever said about you! And you'd better not tell anyone else! GET BACK HERE!"

"Oh, come on, this is no way to treat your teacher, ya know!" Naruto yelled.

"You haven't taught me squat!" Lucy yelled right back, and cracked her whip at his rear, "And don't think I forgot about waking up with no underwear on! You saw me naked again, didn't you!"

"It was involuntary!"

"Who cares!?"

Natsu and Happy were laughing up a storm. "Oh, man, Lucy's almost as scary as Erza!" Natsu roared, thumping the ground with his foot, "Naruto's totally whipped!"

"They're in love~!" Happy yelled.

"No we're not!" Naruto and Lucy yelled.

Gae Bolg has been stopped, and Naruto and Lucy both have something to take away from the mission. Even Natsu got something out of, even if it was just a few laughs. Everyone know's what's coming next!

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