WOW! What a huge turn out for our intro chapter! We're so glad you guys have decided to stick around to see our new fic! We got 50 reviews for our first show! Way to impress us! You could knock me over with a feather, won't lie! Alright guys, I'm sure you're impatient, so here is your new chapter!
CHAPTER 2
Paladin
Through a select, worthy, few shines the power of the divine. Called paladins, these noble souls dedicate their swords and lives to the battle against evil. Knights, crusaders, and law-bringers, paladins seek not just to spread divine justice but to embody the teachings of the virtuous deities they serve.
When they got back to headquarters, they had to radio ahead to inform the rest of the Magic Knights of what they had uncovered. Levy seemed to hesitate over alerting the council right away on END's presence, but Lucy had determined it was for the best. After all, as stable as END seemed to be, she was confident nothing would happen if he was brought before them.
She could understand Levy's concerns though. Their leaders were nothing short of invaluable, and their influence was powerful. But they were the first ones that needed to know about the possible weapon they had at their disposal.
If they could figure out how to make END work for them.
Despite her earlier bravado, however, Lucy felt like her nerves were burning a hole in her esophagus now that she was finally faced with the opportunity to present him to the council.
Of course escorting a filthy, slightly bloodstained demon to stand before the elders was unthinkable, so Levy and Lucy had dragged the unresisting demon into the Knights showers to have him scrubbed up and washed.
A task which seemed almost impossible, until Lucy crammed a soapy rag in his hands and ordered him to wash himself.
When he mechanically began to obey, Levy and Lucy gratefully ducked out, pleased they wouldn't have to wash... certain parts of him.
"Thank goodness for small mercies." Lucy groaned as they listened to the shower running. The sound of all that clean water made her twitch with awareness of all of the grime on herself as well.
She looked down at herself and grimaced, "Honestly we don't look much better." She sighed, and eyed Levy hopefully, "Can you keep watch while I go get cleaned up?" She asked, "I promise I'll be quick, so you can go too. We probably shouldn't appear before the council ourselves like this."
Levy winced a bit at the idea, not sure if the idea of being alone with END or being dirty in front of the council was worse, but smiled for her friend anyway, "Sure! I'll see if Gray can come help keep an eye on things or something okay?"
"Good idea." Lucy replied, "We may need him to help put some clothes back on END anyway."
There were some things she just did not want to see or contemplate.
Levy shrugged, "Assuming you can't order him to dry off and get dressed, yeah. Though he seems to have the basics down anyway."
Lucy nodded and slipped away. Despite her efforts on the way back, END would be busy scrubbing for a while with four hundred odd years worth of dust and dirt to get out. She should be safe as long as she was quick.
The last thing she heard as she went into the women's side of the baths was Levy calling her partner for help.
She was more relieved than words could say when she discovered she had an extra set of council robes left in her locker. That was one less worry at least, and Lucy sighed as she ran the hottest shower she was able to stand before climbing under the spray.
Melting under the beat of the water, Lucy sighed and pressed her forehead against the wall of the shower. She let it loosen her muscles as she contemplated what was happening in her life.
Granted, it wasn't always the most glamorous of jobs, but it was one she liked. Lucy enjoyed helping people, and being a Knight afforded her the ability to do that.
It was better than the alternative for mages like her.
She had discovered from a very young age, that not all monsters were the kind that roamed the wastelands. No, many of them were much closer to home than most wanted to see.
Their city of Magnolia, their beautiful, thriving town, was rife with an underworld of crime.
The guilds.
They may have fancied themselves as good Samaritans, but Lucy knew better than most not to trust them.
The guild Phantom Lord was one of the worst of the lot, rivaled only by their rival gang - Fairy Tail. They tore up the streets with their skirmishes, and Phantom went as far as kidnapping children from wealthy homes for high ransom demands to fuel their feud and sate their lusts.
She knew, because when she was fifteen she had been one of their victims.
She opened her eyes under the stream, hoping the water would wash away those dark memories. Each time it flickered in her heart, it caused a darkness to dig in her heart.
It felt oppressive and bleak, and Lucy hated feeling that way. So full of anger and hatred. But the guilds had to be stopped.
She was determined it would happen. It had been her lifelong ambition since she'd escaped Phantom Lord. She wanted no other child to go through what she had at their filthy hands.
Rinsing the lather she had begun to work up over her body, Lucy almost let her mind drift off again when she heard the door suddenly burst open and heavy footfalls on the slick tile.
She froze in horror.
A figure moved outside the curtain, casting a shadow as it paused directly in front of her.
Slowly, she reached for her keys hanging on the hook on the shower wall. Her heart beat rapidly, filling up the tense air with the sound of her shallow breathing.
She grabbed her keys and lashed open the shower curtain, yanking it down as she threw her hand out in front of her, "Open! Gate of the Water bearer! Aqu-"
The incantation died off her lips at what was greeting her on the other side of the curtain.
END was standing there dripping wet. Somehow he had slipped past Levy and was now standing directly in front of her.
He stared at her, expression blank, but now unmistakably clean.
And naked.
Very, very naked.
There was a moment of complete silence as Lucy stared blankly back at him, Aquarius' name still on her lips, and processed what she was seeing.
In the next heartbeat she did the only thing she could do.
She screamed.
She dove for the shower curtain, pulling it up to hide herself while the sounds of frantic footsteps told her Levy and at least one other person had heard her.
"What are you doing?!" She screeched at END, restraining the impulse to kick him in the face for peeping only by sheer force of will.
Her scream had no effect on the demon, but at her question he calmly held out the rag he'd been using for her to take back. She stared at it dumbly while Gray, Levy, and two others burst in expecting the worst.
"You're kidding me." Lucy gaped in shock, "You came all the way over here just to give that back, and get another order?"
There was no response from END, which she should've expected by now, so she sighed as she took the rag, trying not to think about where it had recently been. Or the fact that those parts were on full and unhindered display.
She wrenched her mind away from that path with a mental growl, and sighed, "Okay, your new orders are to dry off using a towel he will give you." She pointed at Gray, "And to get dressed in clothes he will also give you. After that, you are to wait quietly until I re-join you. Is that clear?"
END cocked his head slightly as he processed her orders and then obediently turned and looked at Gray with the same vacant expression.
Lucy, meanwhile, was lightly thumping her head against the tiles and whining softly at the very weird direction her life had taken.
"Sorry Lucy," Levy apologized while a growling Gray dragged END off to a separate part of the bathroom for him to dry off and get dressed.
"I don't know how he got around me, but he was so quiet, we didn't even know he was in here until you screamed," Levy glanced worriedly back in the direction the men had gone.
"I don't understand though," Levy frowned, "That was a lot of trouble to go through just to give you back a wash cloth."
"Who knows why he did it," Lucy peeled her forehead off the wall and decided it was high time to end her shower.
Which was a crying shame, because as dark as her thoughts had turned, she had at least been enjoying the hot water.
"Alright, the shower is all yours Levy," Lucy dragged herself out and began to towel the water off.
"I have to go make sure Gray isn't destroying END, or vice versa," Lucy crammed herself in her spare clothes and tried to fluff out her wet hair a little.
She missed Levy's response as she headed back to the curtained off section where Gray appeared to be guarding END. The demon was standing opposite of Lucy's partner, not blinking as he stared the other man down.
"Gray? Everything okay here?" Lucy asked, somewhat hesitantly.
The dark haired mage looked stiff, and just a little bit angry.
Stiff Lucy was used to. Gray was sometimes known to be inflexible once he set his mind to something.
But angry? That was not like him at all. He was usually very frosty and calculating. Cold.
But never really angry.
"I don't like the way he keeps looking at me," Gray said through gritted teeth.
Lucy peered around, but couldn't see any change in END's expression from before. Though she couldn't argue that it was kind of creepy to have that unblinking stare on you all the time.
She sighed and shook her head, "Sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it." She replied, "Except for when he attacked some monsters at the ruins that's been the same expression he's worn since we found him. It's like it's his default setting."
Gray huffed, but didn't take his eyes off END.
Lucy rolled her eyes a little at the very male response. Gray tended to be icy yes, but he'd been her partner since shortly after she'd been promoted to the Rune Knights, and she knew he wasn't a complete block of ice.
She also knew the was just as prey to his male ego as the next man. Even if he didn't like to admit it.
"C'mon." She huffed, shoving him slightly out of the way, "You can have your oh so manly staring contest with him later." She smirked as he winced slightly.
There was something about the word manly that just made Gray twitch. Every. Single. Time. He'd never told her what bugged him about that word, but it never ceased to amuse her.
Her smirk widened a bit into a full on grin as he shot her a sulky glare, "Now, c'mon and help me get him ready to meet the council. Even if he won't notice, or care, that he's there they will."
She ignored his quiet grumbling, pleased that END was at least covered in the important places, and started rummaging through a pile of clothes for something that might fit him at least reasonably well.
Once ready, they had just enough time to run down to the hall where they had their pre-scheduled meeting with the council. Levy was already there at the doors when they approached, END in tow.
"Are you sure about this?" Levy asked Lucy one last time. Her gaze flickered over towards Gray, who merely hung back behind their passive demon.
"Of course I am," Lucy frowned at her friend's hesitance, "They deserve to know about him, and the practical uses END can help us with."
She slid her gaze over towards him, lips thinning in hints of irritation. END shifted his weight, but stayed otherwise still.
"He helped turn our world into what it is today. Filled with guilds and crime, monsters and demons," She took END's hand and pushed open the doors with the other.
"The least he can do is help us fix it."
Levy and Gray glanced at each other, but neither said a word further as Lucy headed inside to make her report. Levy opened her mouth a little, but Gray shook his head slightly. He knew Lucy's opinions and knew there was nothing that could be said to sway them. Her own experience with Phantom Lord had seen to that.
Levy sighed slightly and followed her friend inside. She would be needed for this report as well. Gray, on the other hand, settled down to wait once the doors slammed shut. Whatever the outcome of this meeting was he needed to know it as quickly as possible.
After all, no matter what else, Lucy was his partner.
The wait seemed to last an eternity, but Gray was used to waiting patiently by now. It was a skill he'd acquired the hard way as a teenager, and it served him well now. Though that didn't stop him from glaring at the innocent clock on the wall hard enough it started to frost over.
According to that they'd only been in there for half an hour.
He wondered what was being said in there. It seemed almost certain they would use END as a weapon. How could they not? Most of the council shared Lucy's attitude, and even he had to reluctantly admit they had a couple of valid points.
The Tartaros demons were by far the greatest threat, and since most of the Rune Knights couldn't hope to stand against even the weakest of those demons END would be a welcome addition to the fight.
It still made him uneasy though. After all, what did they know about this connection Lucy had with the demon? Or how far the orders would go?
Not a damned thing that was what.
Unfortunately, it was completely out of his hands at this point. But that didn't stop him from looking up with acute interest an hour after the doors had closed as they opened again.
Lucy stumbled out, looking a bit on the cross side as END followed her. Levy brought up the rear, her gale force reading glasses on as she reviewed her notes.
"So what's the verdict?" Gray perked up at the sight of them, "What are they going to do with him?"
Lucy gave her permanent shadow an exasperated look.
"I'm stuck with him. At least for right now," Lucy grumbled. She set a hand on END's shoulder, the demon blinking slowly at the action.
"Until the Council finds a way to remove the binding he has to me without making him go crazy, then he will have to be tested," Lucy looked a little unsure about that.
Alarm flared in Gray and he stared at the demon, who was now looking at Lucy's hand. He didn't seem even a little bit aware of his surroundings. The only thing he ever seemed to watch with any focus was Lucy.
Which was a shame, because if he knew what was potentially about to happen to him, Gray figured he would be a lot less happy.
"Experimentation?" Gray asked, feeling like he was swallowing around his own tongue, "They want to experiment on the strongest demon to ever live? What if they shake something loose in that empty head of his?"
Lucy nibbled at her bottom lip, glancing over at END.
His dull gaze slowly lifted to meet hers, and he cocked his head at her.
The last thing they wanted was for him to snap, remember what a monster he was and go crazy heedless of orders. But Lucy really had no say in the matter.
The council had made their decision.
"They won't happen right away," Lucy lifted a hand to tug at the demon's errant hair. The rosy locks of hair were soft under her fingertips and made good to keep her hands occupied while she spoke.
"He has to adjust to real life, and we have to see if he's going to stay a vegetable forever first," Lucy said with a touch of impatience, "Besides, when the magical experimentation start, they will have switched over ownership by then. He'll belong to someone who actually wants him."
Gray breathed a silent sigh of relief. They had a window to work with then. It was unlikely they could change the Council's mind, but at least they weren't going to stick END in a lab immediately. That gave them space. And time to plan in case everything went pear shaped and they needed to do something drastic.
Which... was extremely likely.
"So what are our immediate orders?" Gray asked curiously, eager to change the subject away from experimenting on ultimate demons.
Lucy shrugged slightly, "We're both being re-assigned for the duration." She replied, "They want to put you in charge of some of the new recruits for this cycle while I work with Levy on researching everything we can about END and integrate him into real life again."
She scowled slightly, "I expect the second part of that to be the more annoying assignment."
Gray shot her a slightly sympathetic look, "Well if you need to blow off steam, I'm sure I can find a couple of snot nosed brats needing their teeth kicked in."
Lucy smirked at him gratefully, "I might take you up on that."
"So what do we do first?" Levy asked, "Even if I get started right away it's going to take me a while to decode the information we found."
Lucy thought for a moment, and felt her head start to throb a little, "Ugh, we need to go shopping at some point. I don't have any clothes that will work in the long run..."
And she really did not want to go out and jump through that tangled mess of hoops on top of everything else today. Right now she was much more interested in heading back to her quarters, curling up on the couch with something to drink, and watching something on her lacrimatron.
Gray could detect the signs of his partner starting to melt down, and dropped a hand on her shoulder, "I'll take care of it." He promised, "We're about the same size, so I can pick up a few things. You worry about getting him settled."
"Are you sure?" Lucy asked, trying not to sound too hopeful, and he shrugged.
"Don't worry about it. I was planning to go out today anyway."
"Besides," Levy shuffled through her notes, frowning deeply as she read the pictures and images taken from the door the demon was sealed in, "You can't just take him around the place and call him END for citizens to hear. Can you imagine the panic?"
"That's a good point," Gray crossed his arms, "But we can't just call him 'hey you' either."
"Not that he would respond," Lucy rubbed her temples and walked around Levy to peer over her shoulder at her notes. She was looking for something out of the translated words Levy had already deciphered to call the demon.
She scanned the page near where END was shown, which really just appeared to be an anagram for the formula in the demon's design. The power of etherion, the heat of nature, and the ferocity of a dragon.
Lucy gasped as she looked at the broken down parts, snapping her fingers in excitement.
"We'll call him Natsu! Natsu Dragneel," Lucy knew she looked just as smug as she felt.
She looped back around before Levy could splutter a protest over Lucy's haphazard butchering of the ancient text, and set her hands on END's shoulders.
"From now on, your name is no longer END," she ordered. Lucy watched as his blank eyes followed her, the only sign he was actually listening.
"Your name is now Natsu," she announced, squeezing his shoulders just a little, "Natsu Dragneel."
For a moment, she thought his gaze sharpened, and Lucy almost caught her breath at the sight.
But then she blinked, and whatever she saw - or whatever she thought she saw, was gone.
SNEAK PEAK
"Well you know," Lucy began the eager start of her gossip with Juvia, "I think you and Gray should do something really special! After all, you two have been together for ages. I'm almost jealous of your relationship."
Juvia gave Lucy an amused, if slightly pouty look, "Juvia thought the days of competing with love rivals was past!"
Another one of Juvia's more terrifying traits, but one she had almost thankfully completely had shaken off.
"I meant how you have someone special in your life," Lucy smiled at her, "Between work and life, I don't have time for anyone."
She turned towards their demonic companion, "All I've got is-"
But Natsu wasn't there.
He was gone.
