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CHAPTER 15
Phantom
It is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Ghosts are generally described as solitary essences that haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life, though stories of phantom armies, ghost trains, ghost ships, and even ghost animals have also been recounted.
The battle took place in the middle of the city plaza. It was center stage to all of Magnolia.
Lucy was a little surprised the council had taken Phantom Lords request to heart and weren't interfering. It seemed they had a grudge against traitors.
In a way that hurt a little. Sure, she'd seen the proof of their betrayal against her and the way some of the Knights had treated the lower class citizens was deplorable, but for them to deliberately hold back in a case like this? It ran counter to everything she'd ever believed about them.
She knew for a fact she wouldn't have stood for it had she still been a Knight, and chances are would've gotten herself into a lot of trouble for charging into battle on her own if necessary.
Perhaps it was just as well she was no longer a Rune Knight.
She shook the thought off as she slashed her key through the air, calling for Taurus, and the spirit appeared at her side as his dress wrapped around her.
Now was not the time for introspection. Now was the time for doing what she'd always fought to do. Destroy the enemy and protect the people as much as possible.
"Let's show these idiots why it's a bad idea to mess with us a second time Taurus!" She growled to her spirit, not noticing the sharp glances she got from some of the others in hearing range.
"You got it Mmmmiss Luuuucy!" Taurus mooed as they leapt into battle together.
She had already lost sight of Natsu in the crowd of bodies. He was busy eating the flames of a fire Mage that was trying to thin out the spread of Fairy Tail's mages.
He was trying to do his best to provide defensive aid even if his skill laid in the offensive side. Still it kept everyone capable of moving in sync and in one direction.
Of course that just meant there was more of a spray for him to hit. Which was good considering how far he was from her. Lucy knew he would have preferred to fight by her, but she was capable of handling herself.
In light of their opposition though, Lucy couldn't say she was totally at ease. Unfortunately that just meant she would have to shore up what little defenses she had already. Erza had already been forced to deflect a blast from a Jupiter cannon, which was apparently Phantom's idea of an opening shot. Something that didn't surprise her one bit.
She knew no matter the council's stance on inter guild fighting, they couldn't ignore a weapon like that. Not for long anyway.
It was likely they figured that once Phantom wore themselves out in the fight with Fairy Tail they would be able to swoop in to dismantle it in a very permanent way.
She grunted as she was knocked back and forth between the bodies of mages fighting for cover or to take a shot at her. Lucy was heading straight for the center.
As Taurus was so strong, she was able to cut a path easily through the mages.
Lucy never stopped to think about how easy it was.
Something she would, in retrospect, kick herself for.
She knew how tricky Phantom Lord was. Even if some of the faces had changed the underlying issue of them being tricky wouldn't.
But she'd instinctively reverted to fighting as if this was an ordinary fight between guilds. A true mistake she was instantly aware of, and regretted, the moment crystalline mirrors popped up all around her.
"NO!" She exclaimed as she pounded at the glass, but it was of course much tougher than it looked.
"Don't think you're gonna escape that easily!" A female voice laughed derisively, "My mirrors are a lot stronger than they look."
No. Not this. Not again. Dark panic clawed its way up Lucy's throat like bile, and it was suddenly harder to breathe. She couldn't be here. Not trapped. Not again. She wasn't fifteen anymore! She knew how to fight! And she would. She would not give any of them the satisfaction of taking her down this easily.
Her dress changed to Loke's as she poured everything she had into a regulus kick. It rocked her prison, and she grinned wickedly.
"You won't take me down that easily!" She cried and poured herself into destroying the cage they wanted her in.
Outside her captor started to sweat and she glanced at her teammates, "I thought you said this chick was weak! I'm barely holding her!"
"It's so sad!" One of them bawled in response, "Such a promising mage! So tragic!"
"Aria, what are you bawling about now?"
"You must… you must drop the mirrors!" Aria sobbed, "I will take care of her. So sad!"
Lucy tensed at the sudden silence outside, anticipating another attack of some kind, but the last thing she'd expected was for the mirrors to vanish, and her moment of disorientation was all the opening that was needed.
She got a brief glimpse of a large shadowed shape flying at her before there was a clap that vibrated her very being and suddenly it was like all the energy and fight were drained out of her. She blinked in confusion as her stardress vanished and she toppled to the ground.
What had happened?
She couldn't tell. It was too hard to think. All she could do was stare uncomprehendingly at the two people in front of her before her eyes closed of their own volition and she sank into darkness.
Natsu sensed the disturbance with Lucy from across the battlefield. He stopped in the middle of his fight, earning himself a punch square to the jaw.
Before he had thrown himself in the fight, enjoying the chance to spread his limbs and deliver a good helping of pain on the men responsible for Levy.
Earlier he had seen Gajeel eat the hook that she had been hanging from and could only assume the strange metal bender was taking good care of her.
But he could tell Phantom Lord had just escalated their problem.
Confirmation roared in his blood and his magic unleashed in a violent wave.
Both enemies and allies alike toppled over from the force of his sudden power. He roared in fury, blind in his anger.
He didn't know how he knew. He just did. Lucy was not near him, and she was in danger. Probably afraid.
What was worse was that he promised her he wouldn't let them ever get their hands on her again.
"Natsu!" Gray shouted at the suddenly furious demon, "What's your damage!"
"They've got Lucy!" Natsu roared back, his eyes bleeding demonic red from the force of his rage, "They did something to her!" He lashed his fire angrily at the fire poser that dared to try something while he was talking, "WHERE IS SHE?!" He roared, "WHERE IS MY MISTRESS?!"
Totomaru stared in shocked fear as the fire he'd previously been controlling sent him flying across the room, "What kind of monster are you?"
"The kind that's going to burn you to ash if you don't give me Lucy back!" Natsu snarled, his fangs bared menacingly.
"Natsu wait!" Gray exclaimed as he pushed his way over to the demon, and held up his hands at the boiling look he was given at his interruption, "This jerk's not gonna know where they took Lucy." He said reasonably, "You were kicking his ass the whole time."
He was interrupted from saying more by another screen with Jose's face on it appearing, "Hello Fairy Tail." The man oozed, "I see you've managed to make a mess of the place." He sneered, "Typical fairy scum behavior. However, you might be interested to see the lovely little prize I picked up."
The screen shifted, and a limp, green complexioned, Lucy appeared.
She'd been bound and thrown carelessly on the floor unconscious. A sight that had fire erupting all over Natsu's body.
"Yes, that's right. We picked up Miss Heartfilia a few minutes ago." Jose smiled, "Imagine my surprise when I found out she was the one who had bound the mighty END to herself. Such delicious irony given our acquaintance six years ago."
His expression hardened, "This, however, is nothing compared to what we'll do if END doesn't give himself up to our custody. You have one hour to decide."
The screen went black, leaving more than one person blinking in bewilderment.
"Those dirty, rotten, bastards!" Gray raged, the temperature around him plunging except where Natsu was, "They have the gall to lay a single finger on her again after what they did?!"
"They're not going to get the chance to try again," Natsu grit his fangs. The red in his eyes seemed to bloom. His stomach twisted as Phantom Lord's bigger plan came into focus.
They must have known Levy was Lucy's friend. Must have known she would come to fight.
By extension Natsu would come.
It was about him.
His hands balled into angry fists. Veins throbbed up his arms to the pulse point in his throat. Fire felt like it was erupting from every inch of him from within.
"Natsu, what the hell are you about to do?" Gray demanded, whipping around to see where he was already cutting an angry path through the mages.
Natsu glared over his shoulder at Gray. There was something glittering in his eyes that the ice mage stop.
"They want END?" Natsu growled thickly, "That is precisely what they will get!"
Gray hesitated for a moment and nodded, "Alright. You go melt his face off pyro. Just try not to demolish the place before Jellal can re-gather her magic energy okay? She'll need that to help her recover from that attack." He met Natsu's eyes seriously, "And get her out of there as fast as you can. We've seen this before. It nearly killed gramps once."
He backed up a step, "We'll keep the rest of these jerks off your back."
Natsu blinked a little at the unexpected information and cooperation, but nodded. He knew how much Gray valued Lucy as a friend, and how protective he was of her. It said a lot that he was willing to back down now and let him deal with it.
He turned and plowed straight through the nearest wall, melting it instantly as it barely even slowed him down.
Gray shook his head as the demon left, "You better not die or get captured pyro." He muttered before turning his attention back to the fight at hand. He had to find Jellal. No one else knew how to collect magic energy like he could.
Natsu, meanwhile, barely paid attention as he tore through walls all over the weird compound. He ignored the various fights and people he tore past, though part of him was mindful enough not to roast his allies, until he reached the top layer where that bastard had to be holding Lucy.
He kicked the door off its hinges and stormed inside, wreathed in flame, "You asked for END?" He snarled dangerously as he stalked forward, "Where is Lucy?"
He didn't even know where he was. All Natsu was aware of was the pull from Lucy taking him to where he needed to go.
He just stared at the man who had called him there. He sat on a throne, a large hat sitting on his head.
Everything about him made something in Natsu boil. Especially the slimy way he smiled.
"Ah END, I am so happy you got my message," The Master smirked in amusement, seemingly pleased by his appearance.
"I won't ask you again, where is Lucy," Natsu, snarled vicious in his questioning.
He advanced towards the Master of Phantom Lord, Jose, his mind supplied. He was certain he had heard the other members of Fairy Tail speak about him.
He knew his trickery and lust for violence. Natsu practically felt it dragging through the magic in the air. Evil always had a stink about it. There was always darkness that lingered.
Natsu knew without words what Jose wanted. His power. His magic.
"Lucy is quite safe I assure you." Jose purred, "We've put her up in her old room for the moment. It's quite comfortable as befits a lady of her station. Though, of course, how long she remains comfortable and unharmed depends entirely on how cooperative you are."
Natsu's eyes narrowed. He could sense it now. Lucy was being held somewhere in a room behind Jose. Good. That meant he could go all out without risking accidentally roasting her.
"I'm not going to cooperate with you human." He snarled darkly, "You've got two choices here. Either get out of my way so I can retrieve my mistress or find out what it's like to be turned into a cinder."
His flames flexed as he stalked closer, spotting the door that likely led to Lucy, "Better decide soon. I'm not in a waiting mood."
Jose's expression darkened, "It's a shame you're going to be difficult about this." He snapped, his own powers flaring, "But if that's the way you want it far be it from me to stop you!"
He raised his hand and unleashed a horde of his shade soldiers at the demon, but Natsu didn't even twitch as his fire burned them away on contact.
Disconcerted, he raised his arm and several spirals of darkness appeared around his arm forming a ball that he quickly launched at Natsu in a dead wave. However, that was just as ineffective as Natsu was no longer at the point of impact.
"My turn!" The demon called as he descended on Phantom Lord's master with a flaming fist.
He smashed into the man with the force of a speeding train. Heat crushed into Jose ruthlessly, and Natsu towered over him.
He didn't give Jose the moment to recover, every ounce of his demonic fury he was known for pouring down to crush the human who had hurt his mistress.
One hand reached out, coated in flames as Natsu's clamped over his face. His grip was crushingly tight.
He lifted the man up with one hand, black burning in the white of his eyes. His hair shifted as black horns began to sprout, peeking up through the locks of hair.
"You wanted a demon?" Natsu purred as he peered in closer to him, "You're going to regret touching my mistress again."
"Because the funny thing is, Lucy is the only person in this world that could stop me," A smile broadened his face, "You're the idiot who took her out of the picture."
And though he knew Lucy wouldn't approve of this on an intellectual level he was reasonably sure she would appreciate this on a deeper, more primal, level that wanted revenge so badly.
It was a revenge he was only too happy to give her as his grip tightened on Jose's face, muffling the man's pleas and screams as his flames ignited hotly all around him.
He watched impassively as Jose burned as he'd promised he would, though there was a part of him that took pleasure in permanently ending the pain Lucy and Levy suffered by his hands. It wouldn't take away their nightmares, but it would at least guarantee the source could never torment them again.
Once it was over he dropped the remains uncaringly to the floor and headed straight for the door beside Jose's stupid throne. He picked out Lucy's room by scent alone and melted his way in.
Almost immediately both his demonic features and his flames receded, and a gentler look crossed his face as he headed over to her.
"It's gonna be okay Lucy." He purred softly to her as he snatched up her keys from a table and gently scooped her up into his arms, "I promise. You'll be fine."
He nuzzled her softly, his fury relaxing the moment they were in contact despite how sick she obviously was, and carried her out to where the rest of Fairy Tail was waiting.
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"You can do it if you want Natsu," Lucy said patiently.
There was that word again. Want. He wasn't sure what it was supposed to even mean.
But maybe... it would be okay? He was also learning a lot about what made his mistress happy thanks to his feelings. And Fairy Tail would always help wherever he stumbled.
Catering to his mistress's' desires as opposed to her protection.
He could do both, couldn't he?
And Lucy was happy when he was...
Before he realized it, Natsu was showing his right shoulder where the marks of his tattoo split wide enough apart it left room to squeeze in a guild mark.
"Red," he said immediately.
He didn't know where the color sprang into his head, but it was like a distant memory was bringing it to his mind.
