Hey guys! Welcome to chapter 41! No housekeeping this chapter, but I have to say I was a little surprised by some of the genuine rage over Sting and co. leaving last chapter. I have a note about that at the end of the chapter. For now, just enjoy the new one! :)
THIS FIC UPDATES EVERY THREE DAYS: Post, Break, Break, Post!
CHAPTER 41
Hellhound
In European legends, seeing a hellhound or hearing it howl may be an omen or even a cause of death. They are said to be the protectors of the supernatural. (all kinds of supernatural creatures) Guarding the secrecy of supernatural creatures, or beings, from the world.
Sting didn't quite growl as they set off, without Yukino, but his dark expression was more than enough warning to let the others know not to mess with him right now even if they hadn't been trying to put as much distance between the hunters and themselves as they could.
However, that did not mean the expression went unnoticed.
Lucy shot Natsu a worried look, but he just shook his head back. Whatever had happened they didn't have time to deal with it now.
Unfortunately, it seemed that despite their efforts, the hunters had caught up more quickly than they'd imagined.
And they were cleverer now.
The first sign of trouble they had was when there was a loud thump and Wendy cried out in surprise as she was tackled to the ground
"Wendy!" Natsu exclaimed as they spun around to see a large demon sitting on top of her and yanking her hair back, "Looking for something?"
Natsu growled and stepped forward, but the demon promptly started charging something in his hand, "Ah, ah, ah!" He smirked, "We wouldn't want to find out just what kind of damage I might do to that pretty little face would we?"
Natsu stared at his little sister and held his hands up peacefully. An angry vein throbbed at his temple and in his neck, but he made no move to attack.
"Fine then, I won't do anything," Natsu grunted, but a smile slowly drifted over his face, "But I don't speak for her."
Before the demon could realize what Natsu was talking about, Wendy let loose a huge roar of wind magic, shooting both herself and her would-be assailant into the air.
The demon shrieked in anger as he slammed into a tree. Wendy scrambled for balance and managed to clumsily make her way back down to Lucy while the demon swore and struggled to dislodge himself from the tangle of branches.
A struggle that caused something shiny to fly through the air as it dislodged itself from wherever it had been hidden. It skittered into the tall grass, hidden before the two dragons. However, Sting had the sight of a treasure hunter, as all of their kind did, and he was easily able to pick up on the glimmer through the foliage.
He bent an arm down, scooping up a ring of keys that jingled merrily in the wind.
Celestial keys.
Sting recognized them immediately, his blood freezing cold in his veins. There was no mistaking Yukino's keys.
They were well cared for, polished and glittery like all the world's finest coins.
She would never willingly part from the keys her sister gave her.
"Are those...?" Lucy asked in shock.
"Yukino's keys." Sting snarled furiously, and before anyone could stop him he charged straight back in the direction they'd come from.
"Hey!" Lucy called, "Sting! Damn..." She sighed and summoned Loke's stardress, "I'm going after him. Roast this guy fast okay Natsu?"
"You got it." Natsu growled darkly, and smacked his fist into his palm, sparks leaping out as he advanced. He was not pleased with the idea that the hunters had potentially hurt, or worse, the sweet human that had saved Sting and reminded him so much of Lucy.
"What?" The demon mocked, "You think you can take me END? I was assigned specifically to hunt you down!"
"Buddy... my little sister can take you." Nastu growled back, "But we don't have time for her to play, so we'll have to do this the fast and dirty way."
Before the demon could respond Natsu lunged for him and slammed a fiery fist into his face that sent him flying, but there wasn't time for him to recover as Natsu immediately sucked in a breath.
"Fire dragon roar!" He shouted, unleashing a swath of destructive flame directly at the demon.
He hadn't had a lot of time to get some proper training with Igneel, but it was enough to augment the basics he'd instinctively known.
Or at least focus them in such a way he wasn't just spitting out drooling balls of fire at a moment's notice.
Natsu licked his lips as he watched the demon burn away, carrying out his mistresses' order in a flash.
He glanced at Wendy, "Alright let's go. We're behind the curve and Yukino may need you."
Wendy nodded and balled her small hands into fists, "Yeah! Let's go!" She crowed enthusiastically and rushed towards Natsu, who turned and headed into the woods, carving out a path for Wendy as he ran.
He hoped Sting got to Yukino in time.
-::-
For Sting's part, he wasn't paying attention to anything besides his fervent motivation to keep moving.
Yukino's life was in danger. Because of him. This was his fault, he lead the demons right to her door. Now the war had found her and was going to hurt her like it did thousands of others.
He skidded to a halt as her house came into view however. It was still intact, or what passed for intact for it anyway, but he could both hear and smell the signs of another demon still inside the terrifyingly quiet house.
He didn't know what that meant, and he urgently wanted to go bashing his way inside, but his instincts were screaming at him that there was a trap of some kind here.
And he'd been listening to his instincts since he was a small hatchling.
Whatever he did, he would have to be cautious.
"Sting!" Lucy gasped as she joined him and he turned to clap his hand over her mouth.
"Shhhhh..." He growled softly, "Something's not right. It's too quiet."
Lucy nodded, giving him a wordless signal she would follow his lead on whatever came next. Gratitude shot through him, and his nerves calmed to know he at least had Lucy by his side.
"You had your spirits make a distraction before, can they do it again?" Sting asked her quietly.
Lucy shook her head, "Gemini can't come back out so soon after being captured. It'll be unpleasant for them."
Her eyes flashed to the rickety old well nearby.
"But if it's a distraction you need, I think I've got just the idea," her lips quirked.
She snuck off a few steps, but quickly double backed and gripped Sting's arm.
"You may want to hang onto something."
Sting stared at her in confusion, but grabbed hold of something anyway. Whatever Lucy was planning it had to be big. She grinned back at him and crept over to the well where she carefully pulled out Aquarius' key and sank it into the well water.
"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer!" She whispered intently, "Aquarius!"
There was a doorbell sound and Sting's jaw dropped as Lucy's spirit appeared in a golden glow.
Lucy hadn't brought her spirits out much at the nest, and he knew he hadn't met all of them, but he was impressed by the blue mermaid. At least until she oriented herself and leveled a glare at Lucy that probably rivaled Igneel at his angriest.
"What are you doing summoning me without warning?" Aquarius demanded indignantly, getting into Lucy's face, "I was on a date you know!"
"Sorry!" Lucy replied apologetically, shocking Sting even more, "But Yukino is in trouble, and we need you to flood her house to flush out the demon. Please?"
"So I'm your cleaner now?" Aquarius lifted her urn above her bead. Sting felt a chill run down his spine.
"Tch," her lip curled and the mermaids eyes blazed with a fire that sprang from hell itself, "I'll flush everything out!"
At that moment, Sting was very glad he was holding onto something. Because not even that stopped him as Aquarius unleashed a tidal wave of magic that slammed into Yukino's home and carried him in through the window.
He managed to hold his breath in time, clear water blasting around them as he was swirled and tossed around.
In the water, he caught sight of a surprised demon and unconscious Yukino, who seemed to have a bubble around her head. Though the cloud of red that also hung around her head was more than a little alarming.
Aquarius' blast punched a hole into the other side of the house, and Sting floated gently out onto the grass from the other side, Yukino safe in his arms.
Lucy, however, wasn't given time to so much as glance at Yukino as her attention was taken by the enormous lizard-like demon stepping through the hole Aquarius had created.
"I was not expecting my quarry to come rushing back." He rumbled, "Clearly that fool failed in his mission. Though I should not have expected any less from low-class scum like that."
Lucy forced herself not to take an involuntary step back as the demon moved a little closer, his gaze intent on her in a way that kind of reminded her of Natsu but without any of Natsu's warmth. It made her skin crawl to see it.
"I am Torafuzar." The demon rumbled without any sign of anger or impatience, "One of the nine gates of Tartaros. You must be Lucy Heartfilia, the current mistress to END. My mission is to capture you and END. Something I had hoped to do without unnecessary violence, but that would appear to be out of the question."
He shifted into a battle ready stance as dark, disgusting, water began spouting up around him, "I will endeavor to make this as quick as possible."
Lucy barely had time to register what he was doing as a tidal wave of that filthy looking water headed straight for them.
Aquarius rushed forward as Lucy desperately equipped her stardress to try and stop or slow the assault.
However the attack pummeled straight through their magic, the dark carbon filled water a different kind than what could typically be controlled. Aquarius was blasted right out of the mortal plane in a shower of stars while Lucy was thrown back against the well.
She picked herself up, coughing around a mouthful of the poisonous water.
So this was one of the Nine Gates? They were powerful. Stronger than what Lucy thought was even possible.
She groaned and pushed herself up onto shaky arms. The demon advanced slowly, his shark like eyes never drawing away from her.
He lifted a clawed, meaty hand. "All I need to do is kill you. That will be enough to sever the link with END and revert him back to the empty shell he is."
"Then I can simply collect him at my leisure. Perhaps I'll even bond him to me, a better option than one of the other's getting their hands on him," He growled low, but raised his hand dangerously over her head.
Lucy reached for the water behind her, but it was useless, black and unresponsive. She had no defense.
One was not needed however, as moments before impact a blast of white hot light impacted Torafuzar squarely in the side and sent him flying.
She looked up to find an enraged looking Sting flying over the house with a limp Yukino still in his arms, "Lucy," He growled as he deposited Yukino gently at her feet, "Please look after Yukino."
Lucy nodded mutely and watched as Sting stalked after his prey.
"That was a mistake boy." Torafuzar said as he pulled himself out of the remains of the tree he'd impacted, "You were not part of my mission, and so didn't have to die."
Sting's expression darkened, "You'll find I'm no mere hatchling demon." He snarled and a white aura appeared around him, "And I will not die as easily as you might think."
"You are a dragon, however." Torafuzer replied, "Your kind have never cared about demon affairs. You're breaking your own laws doing this."
Sting didn't reply as he brought his hands together, and Lucy watched in awe as pure light appeared between them, spilling through the cracks until he pulled them apart and unleashed a barrage of light beams at Torafuzer.
The dragon didn't stop to see what the effect was before leaping into the air, "White dragon wing attack!"
Lucy's eyes widened at the sight. This was a pissed off Natsu level of pummeling he was unleashing. Were all dragons really that powerful?
Sting flew at the dragon, disappearing into the light he caused, but it gradually died down in flickers. Enough for Lucy to see what was happening.
The dragon's arms had lashed out in an arc, his feet splitting the earth and his fists crushing into the demon.
Unfortunately, Torafuzar was not the type to go down so easily. He was one of the Nine Gates after all.
"Lucy! Take Yukino and get out of here! Head back to my brother!" Sting shouted at her.
Realizing the dragon couldn't go all out with her and Yukino standing there, she quickly summoned her Taurus stardress so she could carry her friend.
"Be careful Sting!" Lucy called back.
Torafuzar let out a snarl, his temper finally beginning to show in sparks and flares, "You will not cause me to lose my quarry, snake!"
His form rippled, changing shape and size right before them.
Lucy took the opportunity to run.
Because she knew just as well as anyone connected to dragons, that he had more than one trick up his sleeve.
She didn't look back as she ran as fast as she could back towards where she'd last seen Natsu. She was pretty sure she would know it if anyone came after her at this point, and finding her demon was paramount.
"Natsu!" She called urgently, hoping his heightened hearing would pick up on it without attracting anyone else, but she couldn't see any sign of pink hair in the thick trees.
A trickle of panic slid down her spine as she looked around. Had she mis-remembered where Natsu was? Had he moved during his own fight? That other demon hadn't looked like anything Natsu couldn't easily handle, but maybe looks had been deceiving?
She wasn't so sure now, and she was starting to get worried she wouldn't be able to find him or Wendy.
Her spinning thoughts came to an abrupt halt though as she rounded one particularly large tree and bumped into a warm body that caught her easily around the waist in a familiar touch that instantly soothed her.
"I told ya I heard her this way." Natsu grinned at Wendy as he steadied Lucy, but frowned at what she was carrying, "What happened?"
"A lot." Lucy replied shortly as she set Yukino down, though she shot him a grateful look for the save, "One of the Nine Gates, Torafuzar I think he said his name was, ambushed her. Wendy, can you look at her please? I'm not sure how long she's been out, but it's been at least several minutes."
"Yes, of course," Wendy bent down, her hands reaching out on either side of Yukino's head. There was an ugly gash bleeding sluggishly, and had she not been a durable Mage she no doubt would have died from it.
"It's good you got her to me when you did," Her brow creased as she worked, "She's in pretty bad shape."
Natsu reached over to Lucy, his eyes dragging over her face and shoulders to look at her carefully. His brow furrowed in anger, clearly picking up on the signs of abuse she had taken.
"Torafuzer is all muscle and probably the closest thing to an enforcer Tartaros has got," Natsu hissed, pupils slanting into sharp lines.
He gently tilted Lucy's face in his warm hands, with far more care than he needed to show.
"I hope Sting leaves me a piece to incinerate before he's done," Natsu growled.
Lucy smiled faintly at the sentiment, "If he does you can turn him into ash for all I care." She replied, "But for right now I'm more worried about the townsfolk. Maybe they were awful to Yukino, but they don't deserve to die at demonic hands."
Natsu felt a surge of pride in him at Lucy's determination to check on the people. There were some things about his mistress that would never change.
He nodded and glanced at his sister, "Can you protect Yukino while we go?" He asked, already scooping Lucy up for a fire aided sprint.
He'd already caught the scent of smoke in the distance, and didn't want to waste time with Lucy's speed.
"I can handle it." Wendy replied firmly, "Go on. I'll roar or something if there's a problem."
Natsu nodded and took off at top speed towards the village.
Unfortunately... his top speed wasn't nearly fast enough.
In the distraction of dealing with Yukino and Torafuzar, his minions had been given free reign over the village. A village that had not been built to withstand this kind of demonic attack.
A village that was now burning as the demons within it cackled and danced in glee among the corpses piled in the center.
Natsu skidded to a halt, his heels digging into the ground at the sight that greeted him. Cold horror slid down his spine and bile bubbled up into his throat.
Shaking, he set Lucy down to try and steady suddenly shaky legs. Because suddenly he had all of his memories rushing back to him in a wave. Of every terrible deed he had committed, of piles of bodies stacked by his own hands just like what he saw on proud display now.
His stomach wanted to revolt at the sight, a sweat breaking out over his trembling arms.
He felt rooted in place. Like chains had wrapped around his wrists and were preventing him from moving. Stopping him from even budging an inch to react in any way. Muscle memory, conditioning, whatever it was, Natsu felt sick.
At least until Lucy stepped forward, tears running down her face.
"You monsters!" She screamed in disgust and charged forward, without pause or care to her own safety.
It was enough to snap his attention back to focus, his horrified thoughts fading into the back of his mind as he remembered where he was and what he needed to do.
This was not the past.
And he was ready now.
Natsu let out a roar of fury, vowing to deal out the punishment that was so deserving of these animals. He joined his mistress, fire lashing across his body as he moved.
There was no bringing back the humans, but that didn't mean he couldn't put a few demons in the ground next to them.
The demons outnumbered them by quite a few, but they were the same kind of low to medium level scum Lucy had fought against since she'd joined the magic knights. They were no match for her fury. Especially with Natsu watching her back.
It was ultimately little consolation though.
The people of this village were still dead, and even after Natsu sucked all the fire off the buildings it was clear that there was nothing salvageable in the wreckage.
It was a complete loss.
"Natsu..." Lucy choked as she looked around after the last demon fell, "If only we'd..."
She sighed and took a deep breath. This was not the first time she'd seen devastation and loss like this. This wasn't the first village to be burned to the ground and it's people executed horrifically. And as long as the war lasted it wouldn't be the last.
That didn't make it any less a sharp slap in the face though.
In all of her doings, all of her comings and goings and plotting, she'd somehow forgotten what the raging war looked like. And just who was caught in the middle of it.
There was no if only for this. She knew that. They'd left precisely to try and avert this very thing. Staying might not have done anything except bring in greater numbers of demons.
But despite knowing that, her heart still ached, and when Natsu slipped his arms around her with a soft, apologetic, whine she held onto him tightly as she quietly grieved.
Okay! I hope that cleared up any of the confusion from last chapter about the leaving scene. If not... I'll deal with that if it's a real issue. In the meantime...
Special thanks and love to our reviewers as always! You guys completely rock and we love you! Please enjoy your sneak peek. You more than earned it! :)
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"Sorano, her name is Sorano," Yukino croaked.
Jellal inhaled sharply at that, drawing everyone's eyes to him, but he didn't seem to notice as he stared at Yukino in shock.
"I had no idea..." He breathed, caught somewhere between horrified and stunned.
"Jellal?" Erza prompted, causing him to blink a little and look at her, "What do you know?"
Jellal shook his head and gave Yukino a soft smile, "Apologies. I was just surprised. I know your sister."
