Hello Everyone!
Finally finished this chapter and I'm working on the next one now. I'll try to update more than I am now but with work and other things going on now it's hard to find time to sit down and work on my works here. But fear not they are not abandoned by an means! Now enough of me rambling and enjoy the chapter!
~wolvesfinalden
Fairy Tail: By Your Side
Chapter 19: Intruders on the Island
Natsu and Happy made their way through the end of their path. Natsu had faced against Guildarts as much fun as it sounded to him, it was not. He had never been so scared in his life. He showed him his intense power and it was too much for the fire dragon slayer to handle. When he surrendered, the S-class mage had nodded in approval and told him he passed his test.
He still didn't quite understand it but listened to the elder mage. He told him there are times to fight and times to retreat. Natsu never backed down from a fight before so when he had done so it impressed the elder wizard showing that Natsu had grown a lot. He was no longer as reckless as he had used to be.
"Are you okay Natsu?" Happy asked him.
Natsu smiled the blue cat was afraid for him ever since he surrendered to Guildarts. The cat had never seen him do that before so of course it would cause some concern in the blue exceed.
"Yeah buddy I'm fine. I guess I've just grown a lot in the past couple years. Guildarts seemed impressed that's for sure." Natsu told him.
"I think so too! You should probably thank Duke for that one! He always thinks like that especially when he has Lucy to protect." Happy said cheerfully.
That was it, Natsu stopped thinking about it. Of course that was the reason he started thinking more about his situations and battles ahead. Normally he wouldn't care and fight till he was out cold. Seeing how Duke responded and thought out every situation made him start to adapt that thinking. What good would it do to him and his team if he fought and got knocked out cold? Sure they could fight but they would have to worry about him in the meantime. Indeed this was one lesson he would never forget and have to thank Duke later for that.
"Come on Happy! We still have to reach the end and see what round two holds for us!" Natsu yelled.
He then raced towards the end with Happy not to far behind him.
Duke laid at Lucy's feet as the two waited for the others to arrive. The wolf was still deep in thought about what the black wolf had said not too long before. How could he have known them? Why was he here in the first place? Wasn't this Fairy Tail's sacred ground? Nothing made sense at the moment. He would have brought it up to the matter but for all he knew the wolf could have been there and gone by now. Though the biggest concern Duke had was still prying at his mind. How did he even get here?
He looked around and remembered the surrounding area. Surely the wolf could not have swam here, wolves weren't exactly great in the water. Not to mention it was in the middle of the ocean with no surround lands nearby. Duke was then forced to think of some other way. He could have developed wings like Duke had but then again as far as Duke knew that could just be something he acquired from Edolas or something to do with his father. Then another thought hit him. What if he didn't come here alone? Someone could have brought him here, meaning that someone else could be on the island now, as they take these exams. No there was too much theory to go on to tell the master yet. He would only think he was lying (which Duke highly doubted), or sit back and wait to keep an eye on things. Which is exactly what he had planned to do.
"Are you okay boy? You've been quiet this whole time." Lucy asked him finally breaking him out of his thoughts.
"Yes Lucy, I'm sorry. I've just been caught up thinking about what we had saw. I know for a fact it wasn't anything to do with the exams. Too many questions are being asked in my mind and not enough facts or answers. Which is why I don't believe it is wise to bring the master into this." Duke told her in a low whisper not allowing the others to hear.
"You're right. I've been thinking about it as well. We might be better off keeping this to ourselves and figuring this out on our own. Everyone else has enough to worry about now and for all we know he's gone by now." Lucy said.
Duke nodded agreeing with every word she said. The two of them had always had the same mind set upon most things in life and strategy. Which is why they had worked so well together in the first place.
"The one thing that bothers me is why he knew who I was enough to know that she was my mother and knew your father. That tells me that he was here for us and no other reason. Though they're both gone now so what could we possibly have or know whatever he might want? It's not like we knew much about them in the first place." Lucy explained.
"You're right. Though from his body language and his voice told me that he knew a little more than he let on so that might not be what he's after. It might be he knows something we don't and needs us for some unknown reason. We don't know much about our past Lucy so right now it could be literally anything under the sun. For now we will just have to be careful and watch our backs. Nothing else can be done at this point until we know more. If he doesn't show up we will have to do a lot of research when we get back to the guild." Duke told her.
"Right. For now we'll just have to focus on the exam. Hopefully everything turns out alright and that's all we will have to do."
Duke nodded and looked forward. He could hear someone approaching them and knew the scents. He slowly got up and saw a little blue blur fly at him.
"Duke!" it called.
The wolf then felt an impact and looked down to see none other than Happy clinging to his chest. He shook his head, not even a few hours and the cat had missed him this much. Well he couldn't deny that he didn't miss the little guy as well.
"Hey you two." Another voice called after them.
Lucy smiled as she saw Natsu walking towards them. He took a seat next to Lucy as he asked how everything went with them. Lucy didn't tell him much of anything and in turn Natsu didn't say much either. After all they were still taking the exams whether they liked to or not. They couldn't give out too much information to one another.
Natsu saw a look of concern on Lucy and in turn saw a different look on Duke. Looking back and forth between the two, he knew something was wrong. He didn't know if he should pry into it or let it be for now. When he decided to ask about it, he was quickly interrupted by the master's words. Calling everyone forward to hear what their next task would be.
Natsu cringed a little bit wanting to know more about what was bothering the two but he'd have to wait until he saw them again. He just hoped it might resolve itself in the time being and it wasn't anything too serious.
"Alright for those who have passed and I see who I believed would are all here. Impressive job you all but I believe luck may be proven to be on Lucy and Duke's side for now. Seeing as those two found the safe route and had a nice stroll to get here." He announced.
Natsu looked over only to see a wince on Lucy's face as well as Duke's ears slowly going back only to fix themselves as fast as they were about to go down. Something happened and he knew that the safe route was probably the reason. They wouldn't have that look if they didn't see anyone on that path, meaning that someone was there or something. He would have to figure that out later. If they didn't bring it up then they must be unsure about it as well. Trusting them both he turned back to hear what the master had to say.
"The next task should be easy. As most of you know that this is Fairy Tail's sacred ground, where those who wear the guild mark is blessed with a boost of magical power and strength. This brings out the best in every mage in the Fairy Tail guild and is why I have the exams here every year. Now on this island is something very important to our guild. The first master, Master Mavis is buried here on the island. Her grave is located in a special place on the island. Your next task will be to locate this grave. It's as simple as that." The master explained to them.
Everyone turned towards one another and looked for more information from the master hoping he would give them some kind of hint or clue to go on from here. Sadly they got none of the above.
"Well what are you all waiting for? The clock is ticking you know?" the master said with a grin.
"Wait not even a hint or clue to go on?! How can we find something like that without some kind of hint?" a voice demanded.
Lucy heard the voice and recognized it as Cana. She looked over and saw how distressed she looked. Thinking about it she looked that way ever since the master had announced the exams a week prior.
"Fine you all want a hint then? Do you? Your hint will be time and you are on a time limit to find her grave. You have exactly 8 hours to find her grave." He said.
Everyone stared as if they were waiting for more information but others took the hint and ran with it. Lucy and Duke decided not to stick around for much longer and ran off ahead. Duke managed to look back and saw Natsu and Happy had done the same. Though before the two got far enough away that he couldn't see them anymore, Duke noticed that he was looking this way and mouthed something to him. Lucky for the wolf he made out exactly what the boy was saying.
'Protect her.'
Duke smirked as he ran ahead with Lucy. As if he already didn't have that at the top of his priority list every day.
Natsu and Happy ran ahead only to stop when Happy kept yelling at Natsu.
"Do you even know where we are going?!" the cat yelled.
"Well we only have 8 hours to find her grave, so why not cover as much ground as we can? Seems like a good idea to me." Natsu said smiling at his partner.
"Natsu he gave us a hint for a reason. Besides this island is huge! There's no way we can cover all of it in only 8 hours that would take days!"
"Alright then what do you suggest we do then?" Natsu asked looking at the cat.
Happy paused and thought for a moment. He didn't have much of an idea either but anything had to be better than running all over the Tenrou Island looking for a grave.
"Alright I don't know but anything but that Natsu. I don't think it's going to work anyway. Can't you use your nose or something?"
"I would if I knew what exactly it smelled like. I can't go look for it without knowing the scent. I'm sure Duke would have to agree with me on that one at least." Natsu said.
"Yeah but he'd agree with me on running all over the island is a bad idea and I bet so would Lucy!"
Natsu stopped and looked at his partner. Yeah he was right that Lucy would in fact agree with Happy on the whole running until he found it. She would know exactly what to do now and that's why he was in such a hurry to find it. Yeah sure he wouldn't mind her winning but he didn't want to lose so early in the exams either. What fun would that be? Besides he knew she would be counting on him to be in it until the end.
"You're right buddy, let's stop and think for a moment. What else could we do to find this place? Gramps said about time but we don't exactly know what to do with that and we're not the best when it comes to brain teasers." Natsu said.
"Yeah you're definitely right about that one buddy!" Happy said laughing.
Natsu looked around and tried to think about where a grave would be located on an island big as this. He thought about it the way he believed Lucy would as well. If she were to put a grave on here it would have to be in a safe and secure location that nobody could find easily.
"Hmm if I were to hide my fish somewhere on this island I'd probably hide it somewhere in the middle of the island!" Happy said daydreaming about his fish again.
Natsu then stopped and turned to his partner smiling. How sometimes he loved it when Happy dreamed about his fish.
"That's it buddy. It's probably in the middle of the island." Natsu said about to run off until an unfamiliar scent hit his nose.
"What's wrong Natsu?"
He looked around and didn't know what the scent was but knew it was nothing good by the way it smelled and made him feel.
"Someone is here on the island and their not by any means friendly." Natsu said.
"Why do you say that?"
Happy looked around and started to shake he felt uneasy and scared now.
"This scent smells almost like death and decay."
Duke and Lucy were well on their way to Master Mavis' grave after Lucy cleverly figured it out. Duke was leading the way when something was blocking their path. He stopped only to lower his head and flatten his ears.
Lucy, who was close behind him managed to stop in time and her eyes widened at what they saw in front of them. There standing was the same black wolf they saw not to long before. Same jet black fur, same crimson red eyes that looked all too much like blood.
"What are you doing here?! What do you want!?" Duke growled at the wolf.
This only caused the wolf to smirk at him. He looked back towards Lucy for a brief moment but then turned back to Duke, who still held his ground.
"My, my, what a temper we have. Didn't Fang teach you any manners?" He asked almost mockingly.
Duke only growled again, he knew something and he wanted to know what it was.
"What do you want from us? How do you know who we are?" Lucy asked him.
The black wolf looked up to her and smiled.
"There that's a better tone of voice. Only to be expected from someone raised by the lovely Layla." He said walking over to them.
Duke remained in front of Lucy blocking the black wolf's path to her by any means. He was ready for whatever trick he might try on him.
"You see Layla and Fang have become a rather popular subject around the land of Fiore." The wolf began.
He turned his head and saw the confused look on Lucy and Duke's faces. He smirked and continued on, ignoring the questioning stares.
"After all they were two very powerful beings. Wouldn't you agree?" he asked them.
Duke growled at him once again.
"Of course not. I don't know who you are or what you want but you won't find it here. We know nothing about Layla or Fang. They were brief glimpses in our lives and they are now gone. So I suggest you take yourself off our territory now." Duke commanded.
Lucy looked in shock. Duke never spoked in that tone before. He sounded almost as if he was commanding an enemy that had entered his pack's territory and was threating to take over. Which in all fairness was pretty close to the current situation.
She looked over and didn't see a sign of fear in the other wolf. He only seemed more interested in them.
"Oh really? Well then wouldn't you like to know then? Why they left so early in your lives. Why you two were brought together? Why you are here at this very moment now?" The wolf asked them.
"It's all fate. Every last bit of it has been foretold by fate itself. Everything breath you take, every choice you encounter, the people you meet, even myself here talking to you now. This has all been spoken by fate."
Lucy stared at him in shock. He seemed so wise but so intimidating at the same time. He still gave off a horrible vibe that sent shivers down her spine. Though she admitted she was curious about the words he spoke.
"You honestly want me to believe you for one second? I know what you are about. From the second we met you on that path, you have been manipulating our thoughts and emotions. Even now you are trying to get us to listen to your words." Duke spoke.
That's when Lucy finally saw fear in the wolf's eyes, only for a second but it was there.
"Now do as I command and get off this island. Before I change my mind and hunt you down myself." Duke threatened.
Duke turned to walk towards Lucy until she saw the wolf snapped and leaped at Duke. Without a moment's notice Lucy called forth Virgo, who appeared in record time, pinning the wolf to the ground. Duke was enraged and went to attack the enemy, being held down by the celestial spirit that is until Virgo told him otherwise.
"Stop. You must go and take the princess with you. It is not safe here now." Virgo told him.
"Virgo, I'm not leaving you here by yourself if that's what you're trying to say." Duke told her.
"Punish me later for it but you must trust me and leave. I'll be fine." Virgo assured him.
The white wolf growled and turned making Lucy follow after him. He could feel her trying to make her way back to her spirit but he knew better. If Virgo told them to run, then they would run. He wasn't going to challenge Lucy's safety not after their encounter with that wolf twice now.
"Duke what about the others? They should know what's going on, regardless of the exams or not."
Duke looked back she was right, the others may run into him and with how bad he ticked him off surely anything in his way would face serious consequences.
"You're right, get on my back we'll fly up to higher ground." Duke told her.
Lucy did as she was told and hurried and got on her partner's back. With that Duke summoned his pure white wings and flew up to the highest ledge he could find on the island. Looking out he used his keen eyes and smell to see where the others may be. He got a trace of Natsu and Happy, following that trace though brought more fear in the wolf as he caught the faint scent that was mingled with theirs. It smelled like death and decay, which also gave off the same feeling the black wolf had gave off.
Duke shifted his gaze towards the opposite side and saw others still attempting to finish the second task of the exams, while others were being stalled. Though the one that worried him was the familiar scent of Erza in the distance. If she was stopped something was surely wrong.
"Duke, I think we need to get out of here and hide again. I hear that wolf coming." Lucy said as she noticed the familiar growls of the same wolf.
She then got out her whip ready for if or when he would attack them. She knew Duke had a reason for being up here and was seeing where everyone else was and what to do next. If he needed to do this then she would stall him enough time to do so in the meantime.
Duke saw this and quickly made a decision, remembering the warning sign the master said to send if any of them were in danger or saw approaching trouble. Keeping that in mind he puffed up his chest and gave a mighty howl as magical energy erupted from his body and followed motion to the direction he pointed at. It gathered and shot a red flare into the sky but his howl echoed over the loud crackle in the sky, alerting the other wizards that their island was no longer safe.
He went to turn to grab Lucy to get her out but saw he was seconds late. The black wolf had already begun attacking her, though she proved to be a problem for the wolf as she fought him off with her whip. The white wolf smirked knowing that the other had not expected the blonde to put up a fight at all, oh how wrong that assumption was.
Duke then lunged and attacked the wolf knocking him away from Lucy. The two then began to go at it. Teeth and claws flew in the air as fur and blood splattered the ground below. Lucy called forth other spirits to aid Duke, which in turn gave him enough time to get away and run to Lucy. The black wolf saw this and quickly made her spirit vanish, attacking him relentlessly as if he was nothing but a mere toy. He then made his way for the other wolf and his mage.
Lucy saw him coming and cracked her whip on him causing him to back off slightly, though this didn't stop the angry canine. He gave out a deathly howl, which made Duke and Lucy cringe at the sound. Lucy managed to peek out and noticed how his fur began to puff up making him look rather larger and his claws, they shot out of his paws like they were swords attached to them. Duke knew they were in danger and saw the black wolf's motive. Attack Lucy. Duke watched as the enemy launched forward with his eyes locked on Lucy as his claws were about to swipe down on her open neck. The white wolf took no time to put himself between them and attacked the other as well.
Those awful long, sharp claws dug deep into Duke's body as they slashed through his fur and skin but Duke didn't give up. He locked his teeth just a few inches down from the other wolf's neck. He then used this moment to try and lift his front leg, unsheathing his claws, then finally let it land the hit on the wolf's eye. This then caused the enemy to retract back as he was almost blinded, unable to see clearly in front of him.
Lucy screamed as Duke was then tossed to the ground, almost lying motionless as blood seeped out of his body. She ran to him trying to find a sign her beloved partner was still hanging on. She pressed her head to his chest, listening for any sign of his heartbeat. Her heart nearly dropped when she didn't hear anything but silence. She was about to pull away when she heard it. The little sound of his heart, still beating within his chest, comforting her that he was still alive and fighting.
The blonde then looked up to see that the other wolf was beginning to get his vision back, which meant she had to find a way out now. Before any more damage could be done to either of them. Looking around she only found one way out. Over the ledge Duke had looked out on moments before. It was reckless and way too risky but she had too. There was no time.
Gathering her partner in her arms, she quickly raced ahead. She could faintly here the pants and thuds on the ground behind her, telling her that the wolf was charging at them. Running faster she then leaped off the edge, just barely escaping the black wolf. She could hear him growling and before she was out of ear shot she heard him yell down.
"This isn't over Heartfilia's! I'll find you! Just you wait!" He shouted with pure anger.
Lucy gave a brief sigh as she called for Aries, who luckily came out in time to make a padding for them to fall onto, of course apologizing to her for no reason, as she had done everything she asked of her. The blonde then laid Duke down carefully and looked him over. He was hurt badly. Cuts littered his body some minor, some deep. There was no middle ground. He was still bleeding and she did her best with what she had to try and stop the bleeding the best she could.
'Duke please. Not like this, you can't leave me yet. We still have more to do together. More jobs, more people to meet. You're my strong boy, I know you can do this. Please come back to me, my sweet guardian angel.'
Natsu and Happy had the pleasure of running into Elfman and Evergreen on their way to the strange scent. They had just been walking to try and find the grave when they ran into each other. At first they wanted to fight but Natsu convinced them not to when he told them of the strange scent. Evergreen of course thought he was trying to trick them but Elfman knew better. They actually didn't have much time to question it as the owner of the scent revealed himself.
He didn't introduce himself at all, the only thing he spoke to them was about how easy life could be gone. Natsu didn't understand it nor did anyone else in the group as they stared at the strange man. The man then shed a tear, which took Natsu by surprised as he yelled at him.
"What on earth are you crying for? Nothing you said makes any sense and as far as I see there's no reason to cry." Natsu yelled at him.
The man simply just looked up with a sad look on his face. He then looked to the sky, still confusing everyone there. Natsu was about to interrogate him more that is until he heard a familiar sound echo through the island.
"Hey that's Duke's howl!" Happy called out.
He was right that was his howl, though Duke wouldn't howl unless they were in trouble or he was warning everyone. He then shot his head up to the sky when he heard Evergreen gasp and Elfman yell out in surprise.
There in the sky was a red flare signal. It didn't look ordinary though, almost as if someone used their own magic to eject it into the sky. Natsu's eyes widened then, realizing that the only one capable of doing an act like that or had reason to would have been Duke.
"A red flare. That means…" Evergreen trailed off.
"What does a read flare mean?" Happy asked them.
Though it surprised Happy himself, who was the only one not in a complete state of shock, to find that it was Natsu that answered him. He however never took his eyes off that spot in the sky as he responded.
"Enemy is near. Someone is either coming to the island and was spotted or it means the threat is already here."
He then spun around to the strange man with black hair. He grabbed him by the collar as he demanded answers to his questions.
"Is it you!? Are you the one he smelled out?! Or are there more?!"
The man just sighed and looked at him with sad eyes once again. Though this time a tear managed to escape his right eye as he answered Natsu.
"I myself am not alone. I have a companion here. He spoke about meeting old friends and so I let him go on his way. I fear he is now angry, which only means that life will be sapped away ever so quickly yet again." He said.
"Who are you talking about?" Natsu asked him with slight anger.
"I only know that it had to do with a wolf like him and some girl that was his master."
Natsu then froze and dropped the man to the ground. He only knew one pair that matched that description and if what he said was the truth they were in huge trouble.
"Happy come on!" Natsu yelled as he raced off.
Happy was hurrying behind him but kept asking what was going on and why they had to hurry.
"The only pair that matched the description he made would be Lucy and Duke. If that's the case then they are in big trouble and we need to get to them now. I don't know what this guy is or what he wants but he said there was another wolf on the island. This one doesn't sound too friendly though."
'Hang in there guys we're coming!'
Well there you have it guys! Again I am working on the next chapter it just takes a little bit of time with other stuff I have been working on. Which includes projects for CMVs, writing scripts for those, editing those videos, work in general, and of course PokemonGo hehehe. I will be working on them just be patient and I'll try to work on them best I can so you guys don't have to keep rereading the chapters over again but don't worry you don't suffer alone as I have to do the same thing to remember where I left off the last chapter. Anyway I hope you guys liked this chapter and again follow or fav this story if you haven't yet it helps a lot! Now excuse me I have another chapter to write and maybe some pokemon to catch :D
~wolvesfinalden
