Sorry it took me a while to update.
I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. Sadly...
~Remedy~
Chapter 7
"If our love is a tragedy, why are you my remedy?"
"I...am never...going on that...stupid train...again," Natsu wheezed. He was on all fours, shakily crawling off the train. His face was slightly green and he was sweating in discomfort and effort to not see all of his breakfast contents he just ate recently. He slowly dragged himself across the ground to a bench a few feet away but gave up collapsing to the ground with a groan. People cringed away from Natsu as couldn't hold his lurching stomach any longer.
Lucy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation. Why was she always stuck with this guy? She couldn't believe she tolerated him and his stupid motion sickness. "Natsu, you say that every time," she stated monotonously, no compassion whatsoever. She skimmed her eyes around her new surroundings, surprised to find it packed with so many civilians.
Gray laughed. This was priceless! "He seriously can't stand moving vehicles? That's pathetic."
"Well, that's Natsu for you," Lucy grinned, crouching down and patting the pink-haired boy sympathetically on the head like a child. "You're hopeless." Natsu glared at her with all his effort and she just snickered at his weak state.
Erza was displeased to say the least. With a huff, she grabbed poor Natsu by his scarf and dragged him away towards the exit of the train station. Natsu struggled and choked as the scarlet-haired woman pulled him away. His eyes rolled in the back of his head, mouthing 'help me'. The scene was humorous to Lucy and Gray's eyes as they trailed after Erza with a sense of briskness not to make the famous Titania flash her rage on them. They ignored Natsu's plea with amused grins at the comical sight before them.
Once they were out of the train station and entering Oshibana Town, Erza unceremoniously tossed Natsu in front of her. She stepped on his back with one foot causing Natsu to cough and moan. She blocked the sun's rays with her hand looking around the town with vigilant eyes.
Oshibana was a small, friendly town with the main point of the city being it's enormous train station, which constitutes its central point. What was out of place though was that there was not a single soul nearby. "It's deserted," Erza remarked with a deep frown.
"I think they were frightened that Eisenwald is residing on the outskirts of the town," Gray said.
"That explains why so many people were at the train station," Lucy thought out loud. "It was overly crowded with civilians."
"It doesn't seem that they attacked or raided," Natsu said, getting up with trembling arms. He held his stomach with a sigh and was slightly slouched. He wasn't completely recovered from his sickly state, but he was close enough that he could at least stand.
"It's possible that they could've just settled near the town to scare off the residents to have the whole town to themselves," Erza said.
"That makes sense," Lucy murmured. "They could expand their headquarters and in the future they would most likely take control over the train station and send rogues to other cities they haven't invaded, making the transportation much easier. Plus, it's the only way to get to Clover Town that still remains untouched."
Gray scrunched his nose in disgust as a breeze blew, drifting a foul odor to his noise. "That all makes sense and everything, but that's not the case. The town may seem deserted, but we're definitely not alone."
"What do you mean?" Erza asked, eyes narrowing. Her body tensed and she reflexively reached for the hilt of her sword strapped at her waisted when she caught slight movement in the shadows in her peripheral vision. Gray was right. They weren't alone. But what exactly was in the town now?
"The scent I'm picking up," he said with distaste. "Werewolves."
"Werewolves?" Natsu echoed with a grim face. "I've never encountered one before." He reached for his flamethrower but hesitated. Would it really work against werewolves? A whole different species? Natsu reached for the pair of kamas strapped on his back.
"They hate silver, right?" Lucy questioned, pulling out her gun filled with silver bullets.
Cold air formed in Gray's hands, creating twin swords made of sold ice. "Right," he said. "Be on your guard."
Their footsteps seemed to echo in the empty town. The aura of the place was quite eerie. The shadows seemed to stretch longer than usual and made alleys ominous.
"Why would werewolves be here?" Natsu wondered out loud, breaking the tense silence.
"They usually are scattered among abandoned places to find shelter and food," Erza replied. She scrutinized the sinister shadows and spotted a flicker of movement. Her hand that was resting on the hilt of her sword, firmly grasped it and pulled it out of its sheath with a hiss.
A ferocious growl erupted joined by several others. Slowly, with caution, werewolves appeared out of the darkness with a predatory gait. Saliva dripped down their bared teeth onto the ground. The pack leader was a big black male wolf that was Gray's height. His black fur blended him into the shadows, giving him an advantage over the humans. The only thing the hunters could see clearly were the piercing yellow eyes that glared menacingly back at them. With one last growl, it lunged.
There was a blur of black, gray, and white as they charged with brute force, colliding with the hunters. Gray came head-to-head with a pure white she-wolf.
Gray dodged the powerful swipes walking backwards. He cursed as he was backed up against an apartment building wall. He then swiftly parried the swipes and dove under the wolf's legs appearing behind it. He stabbed the she-wolf in the left hind leg. Red now stained her white fur. The she-wolf howled in pain and barked at him. Gray stared at the angry she-wolf with a grim face, patiently waited for her next move.
"Gray! Watch out!" Lucy shouted. He sharply turned where her voice was coming from and was painfully tackled by a black wolf. Gray flew back several meters, crashing into Natsu.
"What's the big idea, Ice Queen?!" Natsu exclaimed angrily, glaring at the person laying over his back. "I was busy!"
"Stop your whining, you flaming idiot," Gray bit back, dusting himself off. Natsu stood up immediately, raising a fist at him.
"What did you just say?!" Natsu bellowed. A vein throbbed on his forehead.
"You heard me!"
"I KNOW, STUPID! I JUST DARE YOU TO SAY IT AGAIN!"
"SHUT UP! YOUR HURTING MY EARS!"
"YOU'RE SUCH A PAIN IN THE ASS!"
"ME?! LOOK WHO'S TALKING!"
"BOYS!" Erza raised her voice. She appeared in a flash and knocked their heads together. "Now is not the time you dimwits!"
"Guys..." Lucy called. All three looked back at her. She was surrounded by four wolves. "I could use some help," she said with a strained smile. Natsu and Erza disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving Gray behind.
Seeing it's chance, the black wolf jumped at Gray, claws extended. Gray caught a flash of movement from his peripheral vision and abruptly faced at the charging werewolf. His eyes widened. Everything right then felt slow to him. Gray felt a sharp prick on his forehead above his left brow. He lunged backwards to the left, feeling the sole claw slice through his skin before barely evading the attack.
Gray felt a thick, sticky liquid drip down the side of his face. The black wolf snarled at him. "Damn mutt," Gray hissed, bringing a hand to the deep cut. He glared at the black wolf before smriking. So he upset the she-wolf's mate. This was going to be fun.
He looked behind the black wolf to see the white she-wolf fighting for her life against Erza. Judging by her sole barks and growls, she was the only werewolf left besides the black one in front of him.
With lightning speed, Gray jumped over the alpha wolf, so it would get distracted of his precious mate being killed. Gray's idea worked. The black wolf's eyes wandered from Gray to the white she-wolf. Gray took that chance to thrust one of his swords in the wolf's throat. It gave a gurgled sound, blood spilling from its mouth. Gray pulled his sword back out, more blood spurting from the wound.
"Finally," Gray sighed, abandoning his bloodied weapon. He watched as the black wolf pitifully whimpered, trying to crawl to his dead mate. He saw Erza stare at the she-wolf for a second before pushing the dead animal next to the barely alive alpha male. She was flashed a look of gratitude from the male wolf, but ignored it without sparing a glance.
"Is everyone alright?" she asked, sheathing her sword. Gray analyzed that everyone had some cuts and bruises, but they seemed fine to his eyes.
"I'm fine," Natsu confirmed. "But I'm starving..."
"You just ate a couple hours ago," Gray said disbelievingly.
"I'm still hungry," he pouted.
"That's what you get for puking it all out at the train station," Lucy sighed.
"Oh, grow up Natsu," Erza admonished with a small smile. "Let's head out to Eisenwald."
"You have any idea where it is? Or who's the leader?" Lucy asked, following the red-head hesitantly. Erza froze mid-stride and craned her head over her shoulder with a thoughtful expression.
"Just as I thought," Lucy face-palmed.
"I don't know where it is, but I know the man in charge of the cult," Erza admitted.
"What's the guy's name?" Natsu asked.
"Erigor the Reaper."
"Che, sounds cheezy," Natsu chortled.
"Gray, do you have any idea where it is?" Lucy asked hopefully.
"Hold on," he said. Gray closed his eyes and strained his sensitive ears to listen. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He was like that for several seconds, hearing nothing out of the ordinary. He waited for a few more seconds about to give up when he heard a distant chilling sound.
It sounded like someone screaming.
He tilted his in the direction it was coming from. There it was again.
Gray grimaced. It was a tortured scream. It was filled with pure horror and pain.
"That way," he said, pointing north. "I don't think you guys are going to like what you find."
"Whether we like it or not, we have to take down Eisenwald," Erza proclaimed, walking off in the right direction. The rest of her team followed her with determined faces.
The scenery instantly changed heading outside of the town limits into Eisenwald's territory. The summer green trees turned into dead, gnarled ones and the friendly atmosphere changed to one of warning and danger. Shortly, the group came upon a moderately sized stone building. It looked empty, but the screams that Gray heard earlier said otherwise.
"I don't even want to know what's going on inside," Natsu contorted his face.
"Let's go," Erza said.
Before they continued, the doors of Eisenwald creaked open, inviting them in.
"They know we're here," Gray stated.
Weapons in hand, they stalked in cautiously. They were greeted by a long, dark corridor. They followed it, turning at the slightest noises and movements. Reaching the end of the corridor, they pushed open to giant double doors. They walked into an empty chamber that had two different halls on opposite sides.
"We're going to have to split up," Lucy said.
"Gray, Natsu, you guys take the left," Erza commanded. "Lucy and I will take the right."
"Why do I have to go with this guy?" Natsu complained, pointing his thumb back at Gray.
"I'm not happy about it either," he said bitterly.
They both glared at each other. Erza whirled around, scowling at them. "Were you listening? I said TAKE THE LEFT!" Natsu shrieked and grabbed Gray's arm, sprinting down the hall with certain profanities spilling out of Gray's mouth.
"Well that certainly was amusing," an eerie voice said. Lucy and Erza spun around to see. A man floating in the air with a giant scythe. Tattoos covered his chest and his eyes were cold and merciless. A wicked grin appeared on his face. "I didn't expect any visitors today."
"You must be Erigor," Erza stated, pointing her sword at him.
"And if I am?" A loud thunk clapped into the room. Erigor glanced up, seeing a throwing knife just above his head. "I see. You're hear to kill me then." He chuckled darkly. "Good luck with that." He then vanished.
"What the hell was that?" Lucy asked, bewildered.
"He has wind powers," Erza observed. She then frowned at why he disappeared. "It seems he challenged us to kill him. He's probably going to send rogues after us. We got to get a move on." She looked at Lucy. They both nodded at each other and ran down the hallway opposite to where Natsu ran off with Gray.
As they ran farther and farther down the hallway, the screams they heard from outside escalated.
Lucy and Erza stopped as they came across a metal door where the agonized screams seemed to come from. The screams suddenly stopped, creating a heavy silence in the air. Without hesitation, Erza slammed the heavy door open, almost breaking it off its hinges. The door collided to the brick wall, a loud bang erupting the now silent room.
Lucy and Erza's eyes widened in horror at the monstrosity before them.
Gray was right... They definitely didn't like what they found.
Gray and Natsu sprinted down the hallway Erza ordered them to go to. The two ran side by side. Natsu easily kept up with Gray's speed, silently glowering at the raven-haired boy.
Gray laughed wryly, "Work together?! You got to be kidding me!"
"You can't put fire and ice together! It's impossible!" Natsu agreed. "I swear she can be selfish sometimes."
"Tch, she always decided everything on her own for as long as I've known her."
They halted as they came across another hallway going different directions.
"Which way?" Natsu asked.
"We can just split up," Gray said. "I'll take left and you take right."
"Don't tell me what to do," Natsu said defiantly, crossing his arms. "You take right, I'll take left."
Gray sweat-dropped. "What's the difference?"
"It's the opposite of what you told me," Natsu shrugged.
"Whatever, just don't do anything stupid," Gray rolled his eyes.
"HEY?! WHAT WAS THAT DROOPY EYES?!"
"Nothing! Just go already!" Gray shouted, already running down his path.
"Damn," he cursed, eyeing the long hallway ahead of him. Was it just him or was every hallway so freakishly long here? A minute later, he came upon another fork in the road.
"You have to be fucking kidding me..." Gray muttered, oblivious to the Eisenwald member hanging on the ceiling above him. The rogue grinned as he shot several black bands from his fingers to Gray's back. Just before they connected to its target, Gray leapt to one side and spun around to face his attacker.
"You have good instincts," the rogue praised, lowering himself to the floor. "That will prove to be a nuisance to our future existence."
Gray smirked. "Scared, are we?"
Lucy and Erza stood petrified. There was so much blood. It was everywhere. On the walls, on the ground, old and fresh...
"So many..." was all Erza managed to say.
There were several human bodies stacked on one another connected with tubes. Lucy wrapped her arm around her stomach. They were still alive! She could see the rapid, minuscule breaths they were taking. What made Lucy feel nauseated the most was that they couldn't save them even if they tried. They were on the brink of death.
Lucy spotted a group of rogues feasting on a teenage girl. That's were the screams came from, Lucy thought. She felt disgusted. The girl was already dead, but the rogues continued to molest her and touch her while drinking her blood till she ran dry.
"Erza..." her voice came out, barely above a whisper. The red-head only nodded with raged filled eyes. They knew what to do. It was their job.
"Hey look boys, fresh meat," a rogue cackled, his hungry eyes scanning them. His friends left the tossed the girl like she was nothing and had their full attention focused on the two huntresses.
"You depraved scum!" Erza leveled her sword at them.
"Big deal!" One of them scoffed scoffed. "We're pure bloods!"
"Hehehe, you're lucky that you chicks have slamming good bodies!" another said, licking his lips. "Pleasure before death. How does that sound?"
Erza frowned and lunged forward, swinging her sword and killed several rogues all at once. The rest gaped in surprise. She took this opportunity to transform her sword into an ax. She sliced those close by, ridding them of their existence. Lucy quickly took out her knives and got rid of the left over rogues with graceful ease.
"Nice one Lucy," Erza commented, changing her regular sword.
"You too," Lucy grinned.
"You bitch!" a hidden rouge shouted, leaping at her. Erza didn't even blink as she sent the guy flying headfirst into a wall. Suddenly, another group of rogues appeared.
Erza morphed her current weapon into twin swords. "Lucy, see if you can find Erigor! I'll take care of these guys!"
"You sure?" Lucy asked. She wanted to stay with Erza to make sure she'd be fine. The red-head smiled at her.
"I'll be fine. I'm not S-class for nothing."
Lucy nodded and ran out of the room into the hall. She sprinted down the corridor. Where would she find Erigor? Maybe instead of trying to look for him she should search for the main chamber where they kept all their plans. Lucy groaned in frustration as she saw several doors ahead of her. This was going to be a run of luck for her if she found it on the first try.
"Stupid Gray," Natsu grumbled to himself clearly annoyed. He blindly dashed down the hallway, being quietly trailed by a moving shadow.
"AAAGHH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Natsu screamed, holding his head in his hands. "WHERE THE HELL IS THAT ERIGOR GUY?!
In his shadow, the rogue sweat-dropped as he watched Natsu kick down wall after wall. "Doesn't this idiot know what doors are for?" he asked himself, incredulous. He swung out of his shadow and kicked Natsu hard in the back of his head.
"Ow! That fucking hurt!" Natsu groaned, before turning around to face the rogue. "So you're the guy who was following me?"
The rogue blinked in shock. "You knew?"
"Uh-huh," Natsu nodded, unimpressed. "I was just waiting for you to attack me so I would know what type of powers you had. Shadows, huh?"
"Not bad..." the rogue smirked.
"Look, I really want to beat you up, but I don't have much time to waste!" Natsu shouted. "Tell me where Erigor is!"
"You make it sound like a privilege to be beaten by you," the rogue said with scornful eyes.
"Because I'm the notorious Salamander!"
There was a slight pause as the rogue registered this. He burst out laughing.
"You?! Salamander?! Hahahaha, that's hilarious man!" He held his stomach as he was bent over from laughing so hard. Natsu only frowned at him. What was so funny about that? Much to the rogue's surprise, he was kicked on the back and his face collided into the ground below him, breaking his teeth. He was then lifted into the air by his collar and was met with a merciless gaze.
"I wasn't kidding, asshole! Now tell me where Erigor is!" Natsu roared.
"That's an interesting question," the rogue observed. He still couldn't believe this guy was the Salamander. His shadow slithered behind Natsu and formed a fist. Natsu instinctively ducked causing the shadowy fist to hit the rogue. The impact rocked the rogue out of Natsu's grip and sent him crashing through an already broken wall.
For good measure, Natsu chucked a throwing knife, impaling the rogue in the head. He knew the rogue wouldn't tell him. So why bother? He wasn't very patient anyway. That was Lucy's thing... Kind of... When she wasn't pissed off...
He walked up to the rogue and pulled out his knife, twirling it in his hand. He gazed at the vanishing rogue that basically knocked himself out.
Natsu arched a brow and frowned in disappointment. That certainly wasn't how he expected to win...
The building shook with small pieces of debris sprinkling from the ceiling.
"Oh shit!" Natsu paled.
He raced down the hall back to where he came from. He definitely over did it this time. Breaking the walls instead of opening the doors... Why the hell didn't he use the doors?
"Scared?" The rogue laughed. "More apprehensive. You are related to dear Ultear after all!" The rogue carefully watched Gray's reaction. He knew about everything. He was there after all. He was trying to get into the Prince's head.
"Don't..." Gray bit out tersely, his bangs shadowing his eyes. He knew what the rogue was trying to do.
"What?" the rogue asked expectantly. He was sure he hit a nerve.
"Don't talk about her like you know her." Gray's voice held no fierce anger or emotion like the rogue expected. Gray was deathly calm, which freaked him out a bit. Gray's eyes were bearing warning though, daring him to get under his skin.
His enemy responded by slamming the black bands to Gray. He ducked and the attack collided into wall behind him. The wall crumbled causing clouds of dirt to erupt into the air. The rogue was surprised to find that Gray disappeared.
"Tch, he ran away," the rogue scoffed. He blinked and then Gray appeared in front of him, grabbing him by the neck and smashing him to the wall.
"Wrong," Gray corrected. "You're just too stupid to know that the consequences of your actions can kill you. You gave me a golden opportunity with the dirt cloud after breaking that wall." He tossed the rogue on the ground, stepping on his head. "Now tell me where Erigor is or I'll crush your head with my foot!" Gray threatened.
The rogue was silent before chuckling. "Heh, I don't even know. He may have fled the place already."
Gray clucked his tongue in disappointment. "I thought you'd be more helpful than that." He intensified the pressure on his foot when the rogue shrieked.
"Wait! Wait! I'll tell you! He's probably in the main chamber burning some important documents and letters!"
"And where exactly may that be?"
The rogue sniffed, catching a strong scent. "Where your blonde friend is heading."
"Lucy?" Gray murmured, taking pressure off his foot. He walked away a few steps, getting a good distance from the rogue, and sniffed the air for himself. He definitely smelled Lucy's fruity scent that was moving farther and farther away and then there were two others that were stationary waiting for her. But...only one stationary scent smelt familiar and the other unfamiliar. He's never encountered Erigor before, so he concluded he was the unfamiliar scent.
Who was the other one though?
"Haha, you left yourself wide open!" the rogue shouted, lunging towards Gray. Without so much as a glance, Gray quickly made a blade of ice and thrust it into the chest of the rogue.
"Man...you really are stupid," Gray said again, shaking his head. "Why would you even shout to let me know you were attacking me?" He pulled the blade out and dissolved it. He sniffed the air one more time.
That other scent... It was bugging Gray as to why it was so familiar. His eyes suddenly widened.
It couldn't be...
"Finally!" Lucy chirped in relief. She found the main chamber.
She walked in, looking around. The room was dimly lit and had papers scattered all over a large desk in the center of the room. She picked up a random piece of parchment. She felt herself grin. It was a map.
It had the different cults' hideouts spotted across the kingdom of Fiore. She neatly folded it and shoved it in her pocket. She then quietly skimmed through the papers with absolute concentration, not noticing a figure watching her in amusement.
"Lucy, it's nice seeing you again," a cold, chilling voice said.
Lucy froze, her heart stopping. She felt her head and stomach burn. She gripped the edge of the desk so hard that it snapped easily.
What was that monster doing here?! It was still too early! It wasn't time for him to take her away. Not yet.
Her hands trembled at her side as she turned around meeting a pair of red eyes that she hated and feared.
"Midnight..."
BWAHAHAHA!
Please review! I hope you guys liked it xD
There's no GrayLu in this chapter, but there will be more in chapters to come. Sorry everyone!