WOW! So many comments and questions! Unfortunately a lot of them I can't answer because the answers will soon be revealed. Patience, Patience, Patience! Still though, some of you guys have some really fascinating theories! Some are off mark, but some are... interesting. Apologies for the late update, I had work early in the morning so I missed out on posting! Enjoy!

THIS FIC UPDATES ONCE EVERY TWO DAYS - Post, break, break, Post, etc.


CHAPTER 4

Griffin

As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. It used to denote strength, military courage and leadership.


"Thank you Natsu." Lucy said in pleased surprise as he reached over her and pulled down the book she'd been reaching for and handed it to her.

He'd been doing that more and more since their trip to the beach, and she could only assume that it was the consumption of fire that had sparked the change. So to speak.

He still stared at everyone without comprehension, but it seemed the extra energy had allowed him to behave as he would've normally. Which made a lot of sense to her. After all, Zeref hadn't appeared to be in the habit of creating completely brain dead weapons.

Of course, his normal behavior also seemed to include an increased curiosity.

Much to her continued frustration and dismay.

However, there were times like this where it actually helped her out, and she appreciated it a little more.

But the moment, as always, was fleeting as she caught the scent of smoke and leapt up to find Natsu had apparently been investigating her drapes and set one on fire.

"Natsu!" She yelped, "No! Don't do that!"

She dove for the fire extinguisher, ignoring his growls at the hated device, and quickly sprayed her curtains.

"That's another pair ruined." She moaned and turned to Natsu, "No lighting your own fires in the house! Period!"

There was pause before he nodded fractionally in acknowledgment of the order.

Lucy let out an annoyed huff of frustration, giving Natsu a sour glare. It was like living with a robot. A destructive, blank faced robot that made the property value of her home plummet into the freaking earth's core.

He seemed to be able to retain her old commands, so some things he did automatically. But more often than not he accidentally blew a hole in her drywall in the process.

She sighed in frustration as she toed on her fuzzy slippers and ripped down the charred remnants of her curtains.

It was a shame, she had really liked these.

And now that left the windows bare and unprotected from the chill that came from outside. Lucy shivered and gave the blank faced Natsu an annoyed look.

"You know now it's going to be freezing tonight," Lucy grumbled at him, heading into her room.

Natsu of course shared it, as he seemed rather insistent on being near her.

Their first night she had tried to put him up in a room next to hers, but she just found him sitting outside her door in the hallway. Lucy wasn't even sure he slept...

Although she supposed he had to at some point.

She sighed as she quickly got ready for bed in her winter pajamas. It was early spring, so the days were nice, but the nights still tended to be frigid. And now it was going to be even colder thanks to Natsu.

She largely ignored him as she settled into bed, too irritated to deal with him at the moment, and confident that he would get ready for bed on his own.

He'd been doing that since he'd started retaining more than a couple of her commands at a time.

She cracked open the book to read, shoving aside her gratitude that he'd picked it up for her in the wake of her irritation, and tried to get lost in the pages.

It was a tactic that worked for about an hour before she started losing her battle against sleep, and reluctantly put the book aside as a jaw cracking yawn split her face. Natsu was already sitting on his cot, staring blankly at the wall as she flicked off the light.

However, no sooner had the room darkened than Natsu got up and walked over to her bed. She started a little at the completely unexpected action, but before she could move he pulled the covers aside and got into bed with her.

"What are you-!" She started only to be cut off as he wrapped his arms around her and lay down.

What. The. Heck?!

She lay stiffly for several moments, but he made no other move, and she slowly found herself relaxing as the natural warmth from his body permeated the covers.

Lucy's eyes went a little wide in surprise as he held her. It was totally unexpected and she wasn't sure what to do or how to handle it.

All she managed to do was mindlessly trace the curling patterns of tattoos she could see peeking under the collar of his shirt and from the tips of his sleeves, as the rest of her brain had shut down from shock.

After a moment, he released her, and Lucy found herself even more confused when he did so.

It was only when she realized she wasn't trembling from the chill, and her blankets were sufficiently toasty, did he get up and return to his cot.

He sat back down on it, just as blankfaced as he was before, and Lucy gaped at him, unable to register or process what she had witnessed.

Had he somehow figured out she was cold, and was instinctively performing a task as if it were an order?

Lucy wasn't sure what to think about it, but decided she would report it to Levy in the morning.

She was due to meet Levy by the cathedral anyway for the ceremony to induct new recruits out of the Magic Knights and into the Rune Knights.

There was bound to be a lot of attention on the event. There were all sorts of people who blindly protested the Magic Council and everything they did for the people of Fiore. Protesters of all sorts could come out, perhaps even a guild member or two.

Regardless, they would be there as additional security, even if Lucy didn't think the protestors would be bold enough to do anything. Regardless, she would have time to ask Levy about this development in Natsu tomorrow, before or after the event.

In the meantime, she pushed it to the back of her mind. She had plenty of things to worry about, and she couldn't afford to be exhausted tomorrow.

For a mercy, the cold did not bother Lucy once as she slept that night. Her bed remained warm and comfortable until the bright, cheerful, sun shone through her window in the morning.

She blinked blearily as she slowly came back to wakefulness and sat up. There was no sign of Natsu in her bed, and she was treated to the mildly surprising sight of Natsu sleeping on his cot.

Well... if it could be called sleeping.

His eyes were closed, and his breathing even, but he didn't move a muscle otherwise. There was no sign of snoring or even that he'd rolled over in the night.

Still, it at least answered her question about if he slept or not.

She studied his features at rest for a moment, trying to find signs of the demon within, but except for his pointed ears and markings there weren't any. Not that she should be surprised about that. The only time he'd even hinted at the demon within was when he'd attacked the monsters at the ruins.

She shook her head and got up to get a shower. She had a lot to do, and no time to laze around this morning.

She didn't notice the way his eyes opened as she left. Or the way he sat up to look after her for a moment before yawning and stretching as he got up.

-::-

They were making good time to the recruits induction ceremony, despite Lucy running late and having to drag out her uniform and stuff herself clumsily in it.

The white robes were nice the first couple of days she was on the job, but the novelty of it had worn off really quick when she had to wear it for almost every major event and big jobs.

That was nothing compared to the task of dragging Natsu into a set. While not a Knight, he couldn't leave her side and would stand out too vividly in his normal plain clothes.

He made a sound of what she could only imagine was discontentment as they headed out, but otherwise remained as blank faced as ever. Personally, she completely sympathized. It was way too early in the morning to be conscious, let alone going places.

She was relieved to see Levy already waiting for them by the gates when they arrived though. Her face was a little pinched around the lips with worry, and Lucy figured her bookish friend was probably worried about a guild attack. She didn't blame her. They'd happened in the past. Which was the reason they'd been dragged into this in the first place.

It was a frightening thought, but with so many mages here Levy had nothing to worry about, and Lucy greeted her friend with a bright smile she hoped would disarm her.

"Hey Levy," she smiled, dragging her demon behind her so he wouldn't wander off in the crowd and get lost. Sometimes this job was not worth the hassle.

"Hey Lu." Levy replied, her expression relaxing fractionally at the sight of her friend and Natsu, "I was starting to get worried."

"Sorry about that!" Lucy apologized sheepishly, "I overslept a little. Natsu's the only one who's eaten so far."

"Well, maybe we can hit the mess hall for food after this." Levy suggested, but Lucy didn't miss the way her eyes kept darting around looking for signs of trouble.

"That would be great." She replied, "I wanted to talk about something new Natsu did anyway." She shook her head at Levy's curious look, "I'll tell you later." She promised, "We've got work to do right now."

"Aw Lucy!" Levy whined, "You know that's going to bug me now!"

Lucy grinned at both her friend's pout and the way she was no longer so tense. Levy's magic was powerful, but being mostly support type it left her in a bit of a pinch in a fight. She couldn't blame her for being a little tense all things considered. She just wished it wasn't necessary.

"I'm sure you'll survive." She drawled as they neared the stage that had been set up.

She hid a wince as the crowed alternated between hissing at them and cheering for them. Some people truly did not understand that if it wasn't for the Magic Knights and Rune Knights the demons would've overrun them all centuries ago and none of them would be here.

But she couldn't entirely hate them for their ignorance either.

The divide between the poor and the wealthy was a sharp one and despite the best efforts of herself and a few others it seemed to get sharper each year. No doubt to the common person on the street it looked like the Rune Knights were the willing lapdogs of the Council that fed off them.

A loud chime rang clear through the sanctioned off area. Lucy and the rest of the Knights all took the stage as a member of the council took center stage to award the recruits their new status.

"Get ready," Lucy breathed to Levy, her eyes on the crowd of angry protesters cut off from the audience.

It was a larger crowd than she had expected, and many of them held signs that made Lucy feel various degrees of disgust. Among those was a sign toting large print that read 'LEGALIZE GUILDS', and prompting Lucy to frown and shake her head over it, but push it to the back of her mind just as quickly. She had more important things to do right now.

Unfortunately the problem was made more severe when it became clear there were protesters hidden in the crowd of supporters. Lucy's eyebrows climbed up to her hairline and she tensed.

Just as the first recruit was about to take the stage a fight broke out between the two groups, and Lucy didn't hesitate as she pounced into the fray on instinct.

"Lucy!" Levy shouted, and she whipped her head around to see what had disturbed her friend. She was relieved to see she was fine, but in her haste to get to the people fighting - she had forgotten all about Natsu.

Oh no. Lucy's eyes went wide as she remembered the last time he had fought. Her eyes flashed over to where Levy was pointing off the stage, and sure enough what she saw made her heart drop to her feet.

A column of fire was carving its way through the crowd, heedless of who or what was in front of it. Luckily, most people had the sense to jump out of the way, and Natsu quickly found his way to her.

A snarling roar escaped him and he crouched down, bending forward on the balls of his feet as he glared out at the crowd in displeasure.

Whatever he was thinking, he looked every inch the demon he was supposed to be right at the moment.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted over the crowd to make herself heard. "Don't-!"

But her order was cut off when the ground exploded under her feet, and a legion of Twilight Ogre mages filed out of a tunnel.

They rushed forward all at once, and Lucy had just enough sense to back away with Natsu as the guild members began to overtake the square.

"What do they think they're doing here?!" Lucy snapped angrily.

The only way this could get worse was if Fairy Tail decided to butt in and escalate things.

As if her thought had summoned them there was a sudden war cry from the other side of the square and the members of Fairy Tail charged in, heading straight for the Twilight Ogre thugs.

"ARE THEY KIDDING ME?!" Lucy shouted in as much surprise as indignation.

Fights between the guilds weren't uncommon. Particularly in the slums. But a brawl between guilds on this scale at a Rune Knight ceremony no less was beyond ridiculous.

"Damnit!" Gray growled as he caught up to her, "Those idiots are going to trash the place if they're not careful."

"I don't think they care about that." Lucy replied grimly and looked around, "Can you back Levy up?" She asked, "I need to get Natsu before he goes berserk or something."

"Levy's fine." Gray replied tensely, "The others have her covered. I'll help you deal with Natsu and the fight."

Lucy nodded, "Then can you clear a path for us?"

"Consider it done." Gray smirked, and slapped his hands together, "Ice make floor!"

In an instant the area between them and Natsu iced over causing everyone standing on top of it to start slipping and falling. Which, conveniently, meant they weren't fighting.

"Thanks Gray!" Lucy called as she darted forward. She'd long since learned how to walk on his ice, a necessity of being partners, and it served her in good stead now.

Unfortunately, she was still too late to reach Natsu.

Before she could get close enough to give him an order to stand down a large hulking figure dropped down in front of the angry looking demon. He had wild hair and the studs piercing his flesh everywhere making him instantly recognizable.

"Black Steel Gajeel." She breathed.

"And you're the dog of the council," the fierce looking mage barked out a laugh at her. Red eyes flashed down at the demon snarling in front of him and looked only a little interested, "Why don't you step back girlie before you get hurt?"

Gajeel was tall and imposing. As far as Fairy Tail mages went he was one of their elites, and just as dangerous too.

He was an S-class wizard, and well known for all kinds of physical attacks with his metal magic. Furthermore, he was a practitioner of a form of metal make magic no one had ever heard of, but everyone speculated wildly on. It made him extremely dangerous under any circumstances.

She had a feeling she was going to need Taurus for this fight.

But before she could even reach for her key, Natsu's head twitched at Lucy's tone and the implied threat in Gajeel's voice.

Fire erupted from Natsu and he let out a deafening roar, one that seemed to shake everything around them and even cause some fights to fall to a standstill.

Natsu knew nothing about Gajeel, and it seemed he didn't care either as he lunged for the taller man, murder on his face and a promise of pain in his eyes.

Gajeel's eyes widened in a shock Lucy could read all too easily. It was the same shock she was sure was on her own face. Natsu had positively come alive at the threat to her, and it was both terrifying and vaguely touching. Especially since he was charging Black Steel on her behalf.

She had only an instant to wonder if she should order him to stop before, despite his shock, Gajeel transformed his arm into a metal log and whipped it up as a shield just before Natsu crashed headlong into him.

"That was quite a roar you got there." Gajeel purred mockingly at Natsu, "You wanna tell me where you learned how to do it?"

Natsu didn't answer. He just snarled and snapped at Gajeel's face, a tell-tale red flicker starting to glow at the back of his throat.

Gajeel's eyes widened in surprise, not having expected that at all, and he hastily kicked the demon away from him again.

"That ain't real nice." He rumbled while Natsu hissed and picked himself back up, switching tactics to focus more firmly on the greater threat, "You sure you don't wanna talk? I'm curious now." He paused for barely a moment, "No? Well then, maybe I just need to make you talk!"

He launched an attack at Natsu, but the demon dodged it with ease, proving that he was more than capable of learning from his fights, and in seconds the two were engaged in one of the roughest fights Lucy had ever seen.

Lucy knew END was capable of cleaving a whole paths through both allies and enemies alike when he fought indiscriminately. But at the moment, it looked like he had no interest in going all out.

He snarled, jumping back from a spray of metal spikes to land on the balls of his feet. When he took a moment to glance over his shoulder at her, Lucy realized why he wasn't attacking Black Steel with all his demonic fury.

Whatever hardwiring was in his head, it prevented him from using his full strength while he believed she would be in the blast radius. And END no doubt had never had to worry about that before.

It explained to her why Gajeel was able to sneak around Natsu's guard and land some hard blows to the demon's ribs or back.

It was a straight up drag out fight. Both men snarling as they dealt out shaking physical blows that splintered the ground and made the earth shake. But despite Gajeel's skill and proficiency in battle, Natsu was quickly regaining the upper hand.

It took Lucy several moments to realize he was learning.

One fight with monsters on the outskirts hadn't been enough for END to remember close quarters combat. It was like he was trying to get back into the swing of how it was done four hundred years ago. And he was doing so with unbelievable speed.

Gajeel seemed to realize the danger he was in too slowly as he swung a scaled-armored claw towards Natsu's head. Unable to react in time, he could only watch as Zeref's demon caught his wrist.

Natsu's eyes flashed a glowing red, lips pulling back to reveal snarling fangs. He had finally gotten his hands on his slippery opponent, and instinctively Lucy already knew that would be the end of the fight.

She struggled through the crowd, shoving fighters out of the way as she tried to get closer to Natsu. Gajeel was a high ranking member of Fairy Tail! If they could taken anyone alive, it had to be him!

Natsu roared in Gajeel's face and yanked forward hard, flames erupting over the fist enclosed over Gajeel's wrist.

There was a loud snap that Lucy felt rather than heard and Gajeel roared in pain. A tinkle of metal scales dropped to the ground.

But Natsu wasn't finished as he yanked on the arm he had broken, his forehead crashing headlong into Gajeel's.

Dazed, the metal wizard fell backwards, and Natsu crawled forward to grind his knee on Gajeel's sternum. He yanked the broken arm over Gajeel's head, prompting a howl of pain from the wizard, and Lucy could see blood from where the broken armor drip down the man's arm.

A flicker of fire glowed hot in the back of Natsu's throat as he prepared to unleash the full force of hellfire directly in Gajeel's face. Gajeel's eyes widened as he stared death in the face, and Lucy tried to scream out an order for Natsu to stop.

Her voice was snatched away in the tide of the crowd, a stray elbow finding its way into her gut and choking off her command before she got past 'Natsu do-'

However, before death could descend Natsu paused as he caught Gajeel's scent. He blinked a little in surprise, showing more animation outside of battle than he ever had before, and cocked his head at Gajeel.

His brow furrowed in obvious confusion and he made a soft keening whine in the back of his throat in almost inquiry.

That alone was enough to confuse Gajeel as the sound tickled at his memory as something familiar, and his confusion only grew as Natsu leaned over and began sniffing curiously at him.

What was going on?

Not that he was complaining, but shouldn't he have been turned into ash by now?

That was when he caught a scent that shocked him numb as Natsu moved closer. He hadn't paid attention to it during the fight, ignoring it in favor of focusing on not getting killed, but now that he had a chance to think about it...

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed, having finally managed to shove her way back to their side in the wake of their fight, "Don't kill him. I want to take him prisoner."

Natsu's gaze shifted to her and he cocked his head with an uncertainty that had Lucy sighing. No doubt he'd never been told to spare someone, and didn't quite understand the order.

"Stand down Natsu." She reinforced, "I want him alive."

Gajeel found himself staring back up at the disturbingly blank, if still slightly confused, expression before Natsu got up, shook himself off, and trotted over to join his mistress.

A mistress who proceeded to slap magic suppression cuffs on him with only enough sympathy for his broken arm that she didn't yank it behind his back, and an angry look on her face.

"Because of you and your guildmates we have dozens of wounded and possibly more than one dead." She hissed, "And I'm going to make sure you and the others we've captured pay for every single one of those lost or disrupted lives."

"You're making a mistake blondie," Gajeel grunted as Lucy dragged him to his feet. He towered over her, but to the woman's credit, she didn't flinch at his imposing stature.

It seemed like she was made out of tougher stuff than she looked. It was a shame she was on the wrong side.

"I ain't gonna tell you what you want to know," Gajeel's lips curled at the corners. Red eyes bore into Lucy's, "Fairy Tail was helpin' stop Twilight Ogre. Maybe if you Knights tried to do your jobs for a change, you wouldn't have this mess on your conscience."

His lips curled to reveal sharp fangs similar to Natsu's, his dark red eyes glinting eerily. For a moment Lucy thought he was demon instead of man.

"Because it sure as hell ain't on mine," Gajeel growled.

Lucy hissed again, this time yanking hard on his arms, feeling a little bit of savage satisfaction at his pained grunt as she shoved him towards the center where they were holding their captives. Natsu followed her obediently, his head on the swivel to guard her back.

It was unnecessary for the most part. Aside from a few blasts with magic, the uprising seemed to be crushed for the moment. The stragglers that tried to get to Lucy were dealt with quickly by her own magic.

She took them down so fast Natsu didn't even blink past his vacant expression as Lucy shoved Gajeel into a makeshift metal ring, courtesy of Levy, for their prisoners.

"You guild members never take responsibility for your actions." Lucy spat at him, anger boiling up in her. She barely noticed as Natsu's warm presence stood behind her, safeguarding her from anyone, "The world is going to hell outside the city gates but your precious guild, and those like you, are tearing apart what's left of humanity inside the walls."

A frustrating smile flashed over the dark man's face. His wild hair was loose around his face and a smear of blood decorated his cheek. But despite his situation, Lucy had a feeling he was precisely where he wanted to be.

"The view from the top must be pretty white and black, huh blondie?" Gajeel said, his voice knowing but somewhat evasive.

Before an acidic response could boil out from Lucy at his superior tone, she felt a warm brush against her shoulder.

She blinked, glancing to the side to where Natsu had stepped closer. His shoulder had bumped lightly into hers, even as his vacant expression was locked on Gajeel.

It had the effect of calming her down and she took a deep breath to center herself.

"You're right," Lucy lifted her chin with all the regal air she could muster, "From here. The view looks pretty good."

She turned, catching sight of a somewhat dirty-faced Levy nearby.

"Levy," she called and beckoned her friend forward, "Keep an eye on the prisoner for now. We'll be getting him ready for transport soon."

She hid a smile.

They finally had a high ranking member of Fairy Tail in their custody. It wouldn't be long before the whole guild was made to answer for its crimes.


Thank you to everyone who reviewed!

13 - Guest - lazzerface23 - Searching - SpeedyMomentum - akamagerain - animequeen100 - Eve - NatsuXLucyForever - okmeamithinknow - DancesWithSeatbelts - NinjaKittinz - Xidan - BloodRedRubies - Aya Rose - heyitsmogan - Crash8573 - Fairytail-FMA-fan - Yuyui Hime - panicatthediscofreak7 - Phiafairy - Saints-Fan-12 - MickDunD - Vivian - RunningWithTheRiptide - ClosetFangirl-chan - sthokatrina - FlameDragonHime - Twishadowhunter - Emma - MehKitty - Guest - FireShifter - December Faeries - RockingCass12 - fanficlove2014 - silera35 - thewritersheart - Animeweaboo - kirby42280 - Anon - FireDragonPhia - Snavej - Guest - Thoreen - NightLocker - guest account - notjustanyfangirl - SilverHeat - NaLuFTfanatic - SolidScriptJess - Ksqu4rd - Guest


30 REVIEWS EQUAL A SNEAK PEEK

The redhead's eyebrow twitched, "Gajeel…" She said in a strained voice, "Don't tell me you actually got into a fight with END?"

"I'm afraid he did more than that." Another voice sighed as a blue haired man stepped out of a side room, "I just spoke with one of our agents and found out that Gajeel threatened Lucy Heartfilia and END, sorry Natsu as he's called now, attacked in defense of his mistress. It was she who captured him."

"Gajeel! How could you be so reckless? You know that Lucy Heartfilia is a no touch target! However warped her perceptions of guilds might be, she is one of the few Knights that takes her role seriously and strives to protect this city!"