Hey guys! Sorry this one is so late. It took me literally all day to think of a title that even vaguely fit this chapter lol. Here's hoping next chapter is a little less problematic.

A quick note of housekeeping... I have been alerted that we have some folks, including myself, who have been spoiling both the plot for Golem and the current Manga in their reviews or other comments. It's honestly not something I really thought about since I'm up to date on both, but now that it's been brought to my attention I need to ask that everyone who has done such please don't do it in the future. Some people haven't read the latest chapter of the manga, or might be perusing the comments to see if they want to read the story, and they get spoilers for both. So out of respect for those people, please keep your reviews spoiler free. Thanks! ~~Kytrin

THIS FIC UPDATES EVERY THREE DAYS: Post, Break, Break, Post!


CHAPTER 28

Nereid

The Nereids were sea nymphs in Greek mythology, fifty in total, daughters of Nereus and Doris. They helped sailors on their voyages when they faced fierce storms. They lived with their father in the depths of the Aegean Sea.


Natsu groaned softly early the next morning as the sun crept over the water and onto the beach he hadn't left yet. He cracked open his eyes from where he was still sprawled out on the blanket completely naked, and stretched languidly.

The night before had been insane. To say the least.

The moment he'd gotten up to join Lucy the fresh memory of her half naked and under his hands had bubbled to the surface. He'd been helpless before the wave of heat and lust it had brought up again, and his knees had buckled at the first touch of his hand.

After two more attempts he'd finally given up and spread the blanket back out so he could at least get comfortable while he worked through the raging heat the merest thought of Lucy seemed to spark in him.

He sat up and stretched again, his body feeling pleasantly achy from the workout he'd given it. He ignored it though as he got up and splashed some of the seawater on himself to clean up before getting dressed. Lucy would no doubt be worried that he hadn't returned yet. As much as he regretted he hadn't gone back to her, there hadn't been any way to avoid it. He simply hadn't been able to trust himself around his mistress not to do something she might regret.

Because even he knew that though his Lucy desired him, that didn't mean she wanted him beyond the physical. And while he would be willing to give her whatever she wanted normally, there was a part of him that was starting to resist the idea. It had taken root the night before as he'd worked through his own feelings, and he knew that as much as he wanted her he wanted her to feel more than lust and friendship for him in return.

Anything else just seemed... distasteful.

He felt a bit uncomfortably raw and tender in some places he couldn't exactly bring up as he started the trek back to the village, but he was glad that tight simmer in his belly had completely vanished. It seemed like working through four hundred years of pent up... everything was bound to make him suffer for it.

He was just glad he was a demon, because he felt like he had to drink three gallons of water now.

Now that he had a clearer head, he realized that at some point in the night, Lucy must have felt the same way as him. He had no way of knowing when she began to desire him or why, he only knew and felt things she wanted. But he was certainly not averse to the idea. As last night had proved.

He had the potential for everything, so Natsu wasn't sure where one began and ended. All of this might have been caused by Lucy's subconscious desires. And he certainly didn't want to bring that up, especially if she hadn't brought it to his attention herself.

He touched his hand to his chest, feeling over where his heart beat strong. Where did the line form between the love a friend had for someone, and romantic love?

Or was there a line at all?

He barely knew what he felt, so he wasn't even going to try to figure out what his mistress wanted. He was rarely right anyway.

Still, he adjusted the loops in his belt and ran off with the blanket and platter tucked under his arm. They would be heading out today, and Natsu was a little embarrassed to realize his day had started the slowest out of everyone's.

He supposed it was about time he got more in touch with his demonic side anyway. Natsu shrugged and loped off to find Lucy.

He was grateful he didn't get any comments or even sideways looks as he headed to the hut they'd been assigned. Fortunately, it seemed like the demons had all had sex on their minds the night before as many were disheveled and some were limping the same way he was. That suited him just fine.

He was also pleased as he ducked into their hut to find Lucy wasn't much ahead of him in terms of starting the day. She was dressed and everything, but was only just packing their stuff back up.

He couldn't resist pausing for a moment as she looked up at him to run his eyes over her. Now that he understood things in a way he hadn't before things were popping out at him that he hadn't paid attention to previously.

Like the enticing curve of her butt that made him want to grab hold of it and not let go, or sink his fangs into it and mark it as his. Or the even more distracting curve of her chest. He'd never paid attention to his mistress' breasts before last night except in the abstract, but suddenly he wanted to explore every inch of them until she was moaning and gasping underneath him.

"Hey Natsu!" She greeted cheerfully, snapping his attention guiltily away from her assets, "What happened to you last night? I woke up and you weren't here."

He flashed her a grin and shrugged, "I fell asleep on the beach after we parted ways."

As usual, it wasn't a lie if he was bending the truth. Even if he omitted many of the details of what he had been doing. Gods, it was like puberty had hit him like a brick and just kept smacking him.

Still, her smile made him relax and he moved to the bag to help her finish up, "Sorry if I worried you."

"It's okay," Lucy smiled at him, her eyes pulling over his somewhat disheveled appearance. He was walking a bit strangely, like there was a sway to his shoulders and hips that hadn't been there before. She wondered if he had slept on a rock on accident with just a blanket to protect him from the ground.

In fact she was a little grateful he had taken the time to sleep for himself on the beach. Lucy had needed a bit of time to herself in private.

Shaking off the guilty trend her thoughts were taking, she hopped up to set a hand on his arm.

"Well I hope you're up to a bit of travel, Metallicana is going to drop us off at Hargeon, but then he's going to leave," Lucy explained. Going over their plans Gajeel had relayed to her earlier when she woke up.

It was an excellent distraction from her confused feelings of Natsu.

Natsu frowned a little, "Won't the sight of a dragon bearing down on Hargeon cause a panic?" He asked in concern as they stepped back outside, "I mean, it can't be that often they're seen right?"

"It would be a problem if I intended to drop you off directly on Harjeon." Metallicana answered easily as he walked up to them, "Fortunately, there's quite a bit of beach relatively nearby that will keep you out of the town's sight. You'll have to walk back from there, but it will beat being in a boat."

Natsu felt his stomach churn at just the thought of being in one of those horrifying things again, and he nodded, "Sounds good."

Metallicana smirked a little at the reaction, "Come on. I'm afraid we have to leave as quickly as possible. The early morning fisherman are no doubt already out, but we should try to avoid arriving when there's more traffic."

"Right." Lucy replied as they joined the others and smiled as the tribe gathered around to see them off.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done for us." She told Bobo sincerely, "You didn't have to do any of it, and we're really grateful."

Bobo chuckled, "It was our pleasure Lucy. It's not often we get to strike back at Tartaros even a little, and it's heartening to know that there are some who want this perpetual war to end. I hope you'll come back to visit for a while once everything is settled." He grinned, "We'll even build you a permanent hut!"

"Oh, you don't have to do that!" Lucy laughed, "But I would love to come back one of these days and relax for a while."

"Yeah!" Levy agreed enthusiastically, "We could explore that temple you talked about!"

"Uh... maybe you and Gajeel can do that!" Lucy replied nervously, "The last time we explored a temple together I wound up bonded with Natsu. Not that I mind that now or anything, but it would be just our luck if you found a demon frozen in ice underneath the temple or something!"

Levy laughed, "Aw, c'mon Lu! What are the odds of that? We're on a tropical island!"

"Quit yer dreamin' girlies," Gajeel grunted as he headed over to Metallicana. His father was already in the midst of shifting forms, bulking up in size until he towered over them once again.

"Lets just get goin,' we're already burning daylight talkin' about imaginary demons." Gajeel grunted.

Natsu blinked as he hopped up onto Metallicana's claw and extended his arms to help Lucy and Levy clamber up. He reclined back on the claw, his eyes flickering over to Gajeel.

"You think there really might be another demon like me out there somewhere? Sealed away in a temple like Galuna?" Natsu asked, his eyes wide.

He knew it was impossible. He had been created, all the history books said as much...

But he couldn't help the sudden and wild hope that gripped him. The hope that there could be another demon sealed away like he had been.

"Sorry Salamander, ain't nobody quite like you," Gajeel grunted.

Natsu crossed his arms in disappointment, even as Metallicana flapped up into the air. He stuck his head out between the cracks of his talons and waved farewell to their demon friends.

"Bye!" He shouted, Lucy and Levy doing the same, "We'll see you soon! Thanks a bunch!"

-::-

The flight back was, mercifully, smooth and uneventful. There didn't appear to be any problems with motion sickness this time either, and for a creature the size of a large building Metallicana proved surprisingly adept at staying out of human sight. He dropped gently to the ground a little ways from Hargeon and let them off.

"Good luck with my brother." He told them, "I expect you'll need it."

"The hell kind of encouraging words are those?" Gajeel demanded crossly, but Metallicana just laughed.

"Take care of my son little blue." He told Levy with a smirk, "And see if you can do something about that vile look in his eyes."

"Oi! You shouldn't ignore people!" Gajeel snarled, "And there's nothin' wrong with my damn eyes old man!"

Metallicana smirked and bumped his nose into Gajeel's chest before backing away and flapping into the air.

"I like him," Levy laughed, nudging Gajeel's side with her elbow, "He knows just what to do to push your buttons, doesn't he?"

"He's my old man," Gajeel admitted, "I expect he would."

"Still, it's a shame he couldn't drop us right off at Igneel's place," Lucy sighed, "Old Fort is so far away, it could be months before we get there."

Chelia set her hands on her hips as they approached the town, "It can't be helped though, can it?"

"I mean, there isn't another way to Old Fort, and not many people take carriages that way, for obvious reasons," She shuddered. Natsu quirked his head towards her.

"What reasons are those?" He questioned, and Lucy had to remember that some information was not known to him. Natsu still didn't fully understand the world.

"Because of the railroad." She explained grimly, "Or, rather, a very specific railroad track. It was built before the start of the war, back when human technology was much more advanced than it is now. It was called a bullet train, and at one time provided very fast travel across Fiore."

She shivered, "After the demons bombed the stations to keep it from acting as a supply line it was abandoned by humans completely, and since there are parts of it that travel underground through mountains and similar places it's been taken over by low level demons and other monsters."

"Travel anywhere near it is a death wish for most." Chelia continued, "Wizards are the only ones who can risk going anywhere near it, and not even they always make it back out."

"Why would anyone go near a place like that?" Natsu asked in confusion, "If it's so dangerous..."

Lucy shrugged, "There's a wealth of artifacts and materials left at the few stations that remain intact, and the metal that makes up the tracks themselves is valuable. Treasure hunters have been after it for centuries, but most don't make it back alive let alone with any treasure."

"An' that's exactly where we need to go." Gajeel rumbled grimly, "That track leads straight to Old Fort from Hargeon. It's the fastest way to reach the nest."

"Are you crazy?!" Lucy protested, "We'll have to be on our guard twenty-four seven just to survive out there!"

"It's better that than the alternative!" Gajeel growled, "Besides bein' the fastest way to the nest it's the one place Tartaros won't look for us. They're still on the lookout for us but they won't look for us to head straight into the monster's teeth like that."

There was silence as the group considered Gajeel's points. Natsu however clapped his hand over a fist. A bloom of fire puffed out from the contact, but he smiled somewhat viciously.

"A fight from here to Old Fort? Sounds like a party," He growled, "I'll make those monsters ever regret trying to come after us!"

Lucy had to disagree on that front, but Natsu looked so confident it was hard not to think he had a point. Even if she wondered what made him so confident.

"That's an awful lot of talk from you," Gajeel didn't seem convinced by Natsu's bravado.

It was Levy however, that seemed to put more pieces together than the others. She dropped her bag with a gasp, and began to rifle through it.

"What're you doin' shrimp?" Gajeel asked, crouching down beside her. She was so distracted, she didn't notice how close he was to her until she whipped out a book from her bag and nearly clocked him right across the face with it.

Still not noticing, she cracked it open, revealing her field journal notes and several pictures from the temple she had visited with Levy. It seemed to have been years ago since she had last seen them.

"Do you remember when we found Natsu?" She asked, practically vibrating with excitement, "Monsters tried to attack us coming out of the temple, but Natsu was able to stop them in their tracks."

"Was this before or after he ripped them apart?" Lucy asked, somewhat dryly.

Natsu peeked over Levy's shoulder, "I did what now?"

His question went ignored when they looked at one another. Levy smiled fiercely, "Monsters are subservant to Demons! There's a chance Natsu can get them to hold off on attacking us!"

Lucy's expression lit up, "That's right! I'd forgotten about that!"

"What're you talking about?" Natsu asked in frustration.

"It was the day we found you." Levy replied, "Some monsters were attracted to the site. They probably sensed the magic being used when the bond was formed. You were able to stop them from attacking us." She grimaced, "At least until one headed for Lucy. Then you tore them to pieces."

"The point is," Lucy interrupted, "If you could assert your dominance over them then it's likely they'll leave us alone. We would still have to be careful, but that might take our trip down from completely insane to dangerous but doable."

Natsu grinned fiercely, "I can definitely do that!" He purred eagerly, "Those monsters won't know what hit them!"

In truth, he was itching for a fight. It seemed his libido wasn't the only thing he'd awoken the night before. He was coursing with all kinds of primal urges that made him want to prove he was the most fearsome demon for a reason.

"That settles it then." Gajeel replied with a hint of satisfaction, and turned to Chelia, "You don't have to join us for this. We'd be real grateful for your help, but this ain't your mission."

Chelia shook her head regretfully, "I'm sorry, but I have to stay. I'm one of the more powerful wizards in Lamia Scale, and they'll need me here. Especially now that Tartaros is hunting for Natsu."

"It's alright Chelia." Lucy replied warmly, "We understand perfectly."

Chelia smiled back, "Lucy, you really are full of love. I'm sure you'll make it through, and when you come back stop by Lamia Scale before you head back to Magnolia. We'll throw a party for your success!"

Natsu grinned and leaned forward to sweep Chelia into a hug. After all, she had been serving as his little demon sister during their stay on Galuna and he had grown to like the girl.

"Ack!" Chelia squeaked as Natsu had her hoisted in the air with one hand. He passed her over to Gajeel, who blinked with some confusion over why he was being handed an entire person.

Natsu just patted the top of her head.

"Stay safe okay? Hargeon is bound to get some heat for harboring us," He crooked her a smile.

"Which makes us leaving a high priority," Levy sighed and walked over to Chelia to hug her goodbye with Lucy.

"We'll see you soon, and thank the others in Lamia Scale again for lending you to us for the time being. We appreciate it," Lucy squeezed her firmly.

Chelia looked a little torn up about leaving them too, but she hugged them all back.

"You all better hurry as soon as you can," She sighed, "I don't know how the town would react to having you guys here if Tartaros did pay us a visit."

"Not something I want to contemplate." Lucy shivered.

"Probably best if we didn't get near town at all." Gajeel grunted in agreement, "We'll circle around the long way and hit the tracks further north."

Lucy nodded and gave Chelia one last hug, "Thanks again for all your help. We'll see you when we get back."

They pulled reluctantly away and headed off, pausing to wave every few steps until they rounded a bend and Chelia vanished from sight.

"I'm going to miss her." Lucy murmured, and Nastu dropped a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry Luce. We'll see her again." He grinned broadly at her, "Now let's go show some monsters who's boss and get this dragon king to fight!"

Lucy smiled back at him, feeling strangely optimistic about their chances in the face of his smile, "Yeah! We can do this!"


Special thanks and love to all of our lovely reviewers! It's late in the day, and I'm tired, so I'm gonna forego the name copy/paste thing again (surprise, surprise), but you all rock! Enjoy your sneak peek!


As a reminder... 30 REVIEWS OR MORE EARNS A SNEAK PEEK!

"It's an Exceed!" Lucy gasped in shock as Natsu knelt down in front of the terrified feline.

"What's an Exceed?" Natsu asked in confusion.

"One of the sentient magical races." Gajeel rumbled, "I'd heard Igneel invited them to live on his lands after demons tore theirs apart, but I've never met one."

"D-don't eat me!" The blue cat cried, "I'm stringy and I don't taste good! Honest!"

"Natsu, his wing!" Lucy gasped, and Natsu nodded as he reached out and picked up the shivering ball of fur and feathers.

"Relax." He told the cat, "We're not gonna eat you."

"I mean, not right away at least, we've still got some food rations left," Natsu grinned at the cat, whose eyes darted from person to person.

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded him, and Natsu hunched his shoulders.

"I'm just kidding," He soothed the cat and curled his hands underneath the Exceed's small arms, "This is a pretty rough place for a little guy like you to be wandering around."

"I got separated from my friends and when I fell, I hurt my wing," the Exceed said hesitantly, his eyes wide as he expected the monsters to spring and attack them at any moment.