Welcome! This is the penultimate (second to last) chapter of FtF! It's a bit long (over 7k words without A/N and line breaks), and might ramble at times. I wasn't sure how to deal with a trial, but I gave it a shot. I also purposely altered some parts, so yeah.
I hope you guys enjoy!
While all the others organized everything, Lucy was still becoming accustomed to the stinging pain left behind when the master of Demon Card had attacked her. She wasn't going to let this stop her when she was so close to setting Natsu free, and she'd be damned if the Council got away with breaching protocol to move his trial up. She would slam them, hard, with all that they could muster up. She knew how courts worked—she had grown up in a privileged family, where it was necessary to know about recent events in order to have mindless conversations at social gatherings. She had made it her business to know things about laws, and only since joining Fairy Tail had she started to look into magical laws little by little.
And then there was the demand for a magic demonstration. If one was asked for, refusal by the council would show absolute ignorance and further disregard for their own laws and refusal by the accused would indicate guilt. Her own body would serve as adequate proof after his demonstration, but what then? The Council was always harder on Fairy Tail than they had any right to be, in her opinion, so much so that they ignored their own bylaws to prosecute a member of the guild faster.
Now that this knowledge was going to be useful, for once, Lucy wasn't going to let anything go. She would make sure that Natsu was acquitted, and she would also go out on a limb and humiliate the council for forgoing their own laws. It didn't matter if she put herself at stake to do so. They would realize the error of their ways.
Just because Fairy Tail ignored all the damage invoices and warnings they were sent, the Council undoubtedly believed them ignorant of their laws. It was time to prove them wrong, and she didn't care how much it would place her under fire. If it was for the guild—if it was for Natsu—Lucy would gladly do anything.
With that in mind, how could she think about pain?
Nearby, Levy was nursing her injuries as Wendy tended to her. The little dragonslayer was focused, and Lucy watched as the solid script mage's wounds began to slowly heal, then disappear altogether. The skill of the girl's healing magic never failed to impress the blonde, and her heart warmed considerably as the pain faded from Levy's expression. The tension in her shoulders began to relax, and so, too, did the tension in the intimidating iron dragonslayer's stance as he hovered almost protectively nearby.
Laki had fashioned a pair of wooden cuffs to hold the fire mage, which normally wouldn't have worked. Fried, however, had added a runic engraving that prevented the use of magic that even Levy admitted was ingenious.
It wasn't only Wendy who never failed to impress her, Lucy realized. It was everyone, constantly. She could blink and someone would have done something that took her breath away. The extent of their abilities seemed positively limitless, and each time Fairy Tail was in dire straits, someone would pull some unsuspected trick seemingly out of the air and all would be solved. And Lucy couldn't help but wonder if this might be the reason why Fairy Tail was a never-ending mystery—not only the conundrum of the question do fairies have tails? but also the endless power and ingenuity that her guild mates possessed.
"Is that all of the case notes?" Mirajane's bell-like tone called over the guild in a no-nonsense sort of way. "We need to make sure we have everything before we leave!"
"One more!" a voice that Lucy couldn't quite decipher hollered, and she saw the crowd parting to let someone through. She didn't pay attention to who it was as her eyes wandered over to the frustrated captive. She could see him twisting his wrists to try and break free of the cuffs, but Laki had fused the wood together on every side. There wasn't even a clasp.
"Gray," Lucy finally spoke, a cut on her jaw flaring with pain, "have you found out his name?"
"Cid," Gray responded nearly instantly, glancing up at the celestial mage for the first time since they'd returned. He had been very focused on making sure that Cid hadn't been up to any funny business.
"Cid Murphy," Mest added, eying the man warily. He hadn't let the culprit out of his sight, much like the ice mage. His tone was cold and his expression dark.
Lucy hummed in response, to show that she had heard them, and shifted her attention to Master Makarov. He caught her eye and she saw his mouth moving, no doubt telling Elfman to bring him closer. And as she had suspected, the big man with the tiny master on his shoulders began to head in her direction. Shortly, the master was seated on the counter beside her and examining her carefully.
"You should have Wendy look at you," he stated, looking over her injuries.
"I can't," the celestial mage answered promptly, doing her best to ignore the stinging of some of her wounds. "I plan to use my injuries as further evidence that Cid is the one to blame, not Natsu."
She spat out his name as though it left a sour taste in her mouth.
Makarov remained silent for a while, then asked, "What made you go through all of this? We were researching and gathering evidence the entire time. We could have put together a case, especially since they moved up his trial without following their own laws. You didn't have to put yourself at risk to find out the truth, Lucy."
"You're wrong," the blonde said, but although her voice was soft her words were sure. "I had to do it, Master, because they threatened my family."
Lucy didn't say anything else, but the earnest look and fire in her eyes satisfied the guild master.
"I just don't like seeing my children hurt," he sighed and looked out across the many heads that filled the room. It was bustling for just past three in the morning, and no one showed any signs of fatigue despite the hour. "Any of them."
"That's why I had to do it," Lucy followed his gaze as he shifted his back to her. "By framing Natsu, Demon Card was hurting all of Fairy Tail. By putting Natsu in front of the Council for their crime, Demon Card was placing his very life on the line. If the Council were to declare execution, there would be no healing those scars."
Her brown eyes turned to find his, and Makarov was startled to find a roiling, undiscernible mass of emotions in their depths.
"If they executed Natsu—if they still choose to—then they'll have to execute me, too."
One of those many emotions was suddenly clear, and the old master didn't understand how he'd never realized it before. He always loved to see how the relationships among his children blossomed, and had even toyed with the thought of those two for years, ever since Natsu pulled the unsuspecting blonde into their chaotic family on that fateful day. But now…now he knew that their family bonds went even deeper than most.
"So that's why," his soft words were more to himself than to her, although she had to have heard him. "Love can make people very unreasonable."
Lucy's pained grin proved that she had heard him.
"If this is being unreasonable, then I don't think I ever want to think rationally again."
The old man grinned back at her wistfully as he stood atop the bar, his joints throwing a fit. It was moments like these that made him feel his age more acutely than ever, but as he watched how his children were organizing and preparing to head to the train station, he felt his vitality returning.
Makarov then sucked in a breath and released it in a booming shout of, "Let's get ready! Grab the evidence, help the injured, and let's begin to make our way to the train station! It's twenty-five minutes before the train to Era leaves and we will be on it!"
An uproarious shout raised, and he was sure that they would wake the entire neighborhood. They would deal with that when they returned, with Natsu safe and sound and comforting the girl who had risked her own life to attain the evidence she would shortly use in his trial. And that flame-brained child of the guild would be an utter fool if he ignored how brave, how selfless, and how utterly like him that the blonde had acted throughout this entire situation.
But there was no time to dwell on that—Master Makarov motioned for Elfman to bend over a little, and he leapt onto the much larger man's shoulders so that his tiny frame towered above everyone else's. Juvia and Cana were at Lucy's side, gingerly assisting the injured celestial mage as she stood and shooting glares at anyone that nearly bumped into her as they began walking towards the doors. About halfway across the guild floor, she shook their arms off gently to walk on her own and he felt a surge of pride.
These children—they may not all be his, but he would always claim them. And watching as they grew up and changed before his very eyes was always the most satisfying feeling of his long life. This transformation that was happening in front of him, however, won the prize. But, whereas the other children of the guild were surprised by these changes, those who knew the blonde best didn't even seem to notice.
This brave, determined, unstoppable young woman had been there the whole time, hidden within a much more timid shell, and now she had emerged for the world to see.
"I'm fine," Lucy stated for what felt like the hundredth time since they'd boarded the train. She was the first one in the compartment, Levy and Mira fretting over her to get her a seat that wouldn't jostle her too much. At first, the blonde was flattered, but now she was done with it. They had a lot to deal with, and having these two worrying about her wouldn't help them accomplish it.
"We just don't want it to hurt you anymore, Lu-chan," Levy said softly, looking at her best friend's wounds. "It makes me feel bad, you know, that Wendy looked after me and you won't let her help you."
"These injuries are just more evidence," the celestial mage offered a smile at the blue-haired woman. "If it helps Natsu, then I won't feel a thing."
Levy was speechless, but Mira just smiled gently at the blonde, placing a hand on the solid script mage's shoulder. When Levy turned to her, Mira shook her head. The smaller woman sighed, cast another worried glance at Lucy, and then took the seat next to her. The blonde inwardly breathed a sigh of relief—it would save her trying to haggle with Levy about her injuries and the logic behind whether she felt the pain or not.
"Let's just focus on the case," Mira sat across from the two, placing a box of notes she'd been carrying on the table. "When Fried and Mest get here, we'll have the rest of the information and we can really get to work. I grabbed the information on the laws of the Magic Council, so we can start with that while we wait."
"Perfect," Lucy felt herself smiling. Laws were the perfect place for them to start, because she knew that the Council was breaking several. Anything and everything pertaining to laws and the consequences for breaching the code would be extremely helpful in their case, especially when she finished presenting and topped it off with the demand for Cid to show his magic. With her wounds, and the demonstration of his magic, Lucy had confidence in the strength of their claims. Now she just had to have the perfect defense.
As she sat, waiting for the others to arrive, she accepted a stack of official-looking documents from Levy and began to read the lacrima-made copies of actual laws and tucked her nose into the white scarf that Happy had returned to her. She had left it in his care while she was infiltrating Demon Card, just as Natsu had left it in her care when the Council had dragged him away. It had now come back to her, and in just a few hours the cycle would be complete when she was finally able to return the scaled scarf to Natsu himself.
The familiar smoky scent that filled her nostrils filled her with both excitement and determination.
A law caught her eye then, as Elfman dropped Master Makarov off at the door. The guild master sat down beside Mirajane as Lucy skimmed the law with her Gale Force reading glasses. She found all the important points and, with a magic pen she borrowed from Levy, she put stars next to all the important information. When she was done, she closed the packet and she slapped the particularly long law on the table. It was relating to the trials for magical crimes and spanned at least twenty pages.
"We start here," the blonde declared, and Levy pulled the document over, sliding on her own pair of Gale Force glasses. She read momentarily through the law, spending more time on the parts that the blonde had starred. Recognition dawned, and then an elated smile crossed her features.
"This is perfect!" Levy looked at the other three people in the room as Makarov took the seat next to her. "I know you had already told us what breaches in conduct the Council had made, Lu-chan, but I didn't expect it to be so spot-on! Knowing the laws so well is phenomenal, but nothing can beat out solid proof!"
To emphasize her excitement, she tapped the paper insistently with the back of her hand.
"Already started?" Lucy glanced towards the voice as Fried stepped in, placing the second box on the table. Mest was right behind him, the last of the three boxes in his possession. He mimicked Fried, and when Fried took the seat by the guild master, Mest slid next to Levy after closing the door behind him.
"Lucy has already pulled out one of the most important laws. Levy, you should probably pass it to Mest—Doranbolt—and I was just thinking that we could pass more of the laws on to him, as a member of the council. I think you could be a big help with deciding which parts of the laws are more important."
"Whatever I can do to help," he responded simply, then grinned a little. "And Mest is fine. I actually kind of prefer it."
Master Makarov chuckled, and looked around at the brightest minds among his children. After all, 'Doranbolt' may as well have been one of them, with all the help he offered them. "Well, what are we waiting for? Anything pertaining to laws that you think will help the case, pass to either myself or Mest, whoever has less to do. Information about dark guild incidences that can be tied to Demon Card will go to Mirajane, Fried, and Levy. Anything you find particularly important, pass to Lucy. Lucy, you'll spend the ride putting together the case, since you will be the one presenting it, correct?"
"Yes," the blonde nodded, and he saw no hesitation. "I promised him that I would get him out, Master, and that's exactly what I intend to do."
"Let's get to work, then," Mest finished flipping through the law that he had been passed, and handed it back to Lucy. "I don't even need to review this one. We all know that this is the perfect foundation for our case."
They didn't even notice when the train started to move.
When they came to get him, Natsu knew that his time was pretty much up. Whatever happened, his life would be decided in moments. They would either acquit him, or condemn him to execution. And with Lucy as a captive of Demon Card, Natsu knew his chances of acquittal were growing slimmer and slimmer. In fact, he was pretty sure his chances of surviving this were practically at rock bottom.
And then, before he realized it, the doors to his fate were opening. The courtroom was in view, and he could see the defendant's stand, where a magic cuff or two awaited him…along with who knew what else. Execution?
What he wouldn't give to see Lucy one more time, smiling that same, huge smile she always did.
But the defendant's chair beckoned—or rather, the Rune Knight next to it did—and he was pushed up into the seat and then cuffed to it. A Rune Knight was placed on either side of him, as if they expected him to break out and kill them all. Which, he amended as he stared briefly at his cuffs, they probably did think that way of him. And he could honestly break out, but why? It would just guarantee the end when and if they caught him again.
"Today, we are here to try the infamous Salamander, of Fairy Tail, for the attempted murder of a Rune Knight general. Natsu Dragneel, to open the trial, how do you plead?"
Wait, they wanted him to talk? They wanted him to open the trial with a plead? Well, if they expected him to claim guilty, those assholes had another thing coming.
"Not guilty," he said, his voice slightly hoarse from disuse. Saying anything else would have been a lie, after all.
"The opening plead is 'not guilty'!" the judge or justice or whatever the hell he was supposed to call him announced at large to the room. "The plaintiff will now take his seat, and his presenters will stand."
Two really stuffy looking middle-aged men stood, wearing suits and Council badges. Of course. The general himself, obviously still alive and kicking, limped his way to his own seat.
"Introduce yourselves, ending with the Plaintiff."
"Gregory Thine," one of stuffy men said. He was taller and thinner than the other, with a pinched face and a sallow skin tone. Natsu didn't much care for the look of him.
"Matteus Montez," the second stuffy man's tone was gruff, but businesslike. He had a beard, was a bit muscular, and had dark skin but bright eyes. Natsu was just really confused about this man.
"Plaintiff, Rune Knight General Yorick Newman."
Natsu barely cared enough to catch the man's name. If they would just let him show his magic they would understand that the raging blue inferno wasn't his—but then again, if they did that, would they turn their attentions to Romeo or Macao instead, just to find a Fairy Tail member to blame?
And then the judge turned back to Natsu.
"Presenters for the side of the defendant, stand. Introduce yourselves, ending with the defendant."
The smug tone of his voice really pissed Natsu off as he started to stand, to introduce himself.
Bang!
The doors slammed open, and Natsu flinched at the sound. It had been so much louder than Natsu had expected, so he missed the entrance of whoever it was. He blinked a few times, then raised his head to look almost at the same time as the newcomer started to speak.
"Lucy Heartfilia, on behalf of the defendant," the busty blonde announced, and the dragonslayer's eyes widened at the sight. Gasps resounded when she pushed a bound, beaten man into the center of the courtroom ahead of her, "and with another suspect."
And then she turned to him, her eyes flashing, and offered a grin that differed slightly from her usual grin—this one was more toothy, and if he didn't know better he'd say that it was a lot like his own. And the relief he felt had just washed over him, soothing him, calming him. She was here, she was alive, and that's all that really mattered.
"And the defendant, Natsu Dragneel, has already been introduced," the celestial mage turned her attention back to the old guy judging him, all business. "Therefore, the trial can proceed, correct?"
"Y-y-yes, I suppose it can," the old bastard was totally caught off guard! That made Natsu far more gleeful than it should have. The fire dragonslayer watched the casual way that Lucy stepped forward to the necessary table, down on the floor, and pushed the cuffed man with her into a chair. She took the other one, and it was only then that the pink-haired man realized that Fairy Tail members were still streaming in through the doors and the courtroom had become standing room only.
"The plaintiff's case will now be presented," the judge announced, having regained himself. Natsu, for his part, was more focused on the general he'd been accused of attacking. He was staring at the table where Lucy and the beat up guy sat.
In fact, Natsu realized as a lawyer or something stood up to speak, the general was scrutinizing Lucy's injuries with a slightly bemused expression. Natsu felt a tingle go up his spine and tried not to grin as widely as he wanted to.
His chances were looking up.
"The plaintiff charges the accused with attempted murder," the skinny man began—Natsu didn't remember his name nor did he particularly care, despite the fact that he'd only introduced himself moments ago. "The fire mage in question, Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail, is accused of not only leading Fairy Tail into a charge against another guild, which is against the laws of the magic council, but also with using his flames to attack an authority figure."
"The first piece of evidence to support our client's case," the shorter, stocker man stepped up, light glinting from his council badge, "is the general's coat. As you can see, it was very nearly destroyed beyond recognition by Mr. Dragneel's attack. There isn't an inch that hasn't been scorched or singed, and there are numerous lacerations near where General Newman's skin was broken."
Natsu looked at the coat, which was hovering around for everyone to see. It was pretty badly singed, he'd give it that, but if had been him there wouldn't be anything left of that damn coat.
"Mr. Dragneel," the thin man asked, "are you, in fact, a member of Fairy Tail?"
Oh, so they were questioning him. He remembered something in a weird lachrima film he'd watched with Lucy and Happy once, and his eyes sought hers. She gently inclined her head as permission for him to answer.
"Yeah," he said, turning slightly to show the red marking on his shoulder. It was his pride.
"And you are, in fact, the headlining fire mage from Fairy Tail?"
Headlining? Sure, he had been in a lot of news articles for blowing up some building or other. Lucy's nod was only proof that he was still in the right.
"That's me."
"You were, I believe, at the scene of the crime against General Newman, correct?"
Oh, no. Now he saw the direction these questions were taking, and he bristled a little. Lucy's brown eyes were dark, but she mouthed, "Answer him"—well, actually, it was a whisper that he just barely heard, and so he decided that he'd tell the truth anyway.
"I was there," he said slowly.
"And you were the closest of Fairy Tail's mages?" the shorter man asked, the coat left on their evidence table. "Or, allow me to rephrase that, you were the Fairy Tail mage that was closest to General Newman at the time of the attack?"
Lucy's lips were drawn together, her eyebrows gently sloping downwards in thought as she nodded quickly to him.
"I was."
"Thank you, Mr. Dragneel, that will be all for now. We would like to call a Rune Knight who was present at the scene forward."
Natsu stopped paying attention, choosing to watch as Lucy bit her lip, taking notes on some of the papers she'd brought with her. He saw her flip through a huge packet of papers, underline something three times, then look up to watch as the two Council lawyers questioned the Rune Knight.
"And," Natsu tuned in for the fourth or fifth question, "you saw Mr. Dragneel make some sort of move to attack when your commander suddenly went up in flames?"
"He made a move to attack, but it wasn't quite in General Newman's direction so I wasn't sure where it was going. And then, suddenly, there was a burst of blue flame and the general was shrieking. The captain ordered us to capture the Salamander, so we did."
"Thank you, Mr. Harris," the slender man motioned for the Rune Knight to step down, but Lucy stood up.
"I have one question, if I may," Lucy directed to the judge, and with a look to the Rune Knight, who nodded, the judge gave her permission to ask. "Mr. Harris, what color did you say the flames that engulfed General Newman were?"
"They were blue, miss," he answered, and she nodded, taking note of the answer on her papers.
"Thank you, Mr. Harris. That will be all."
With a slightly confused expression, he stepped down and made his way back to his former seat. Lucy sat down as well, ignoring the man beside her that kept sneering at her and mimicking her. Natsu, however, just wanted to punch that asshole in the face—how dare he look at her like that! And, from the way Lucy looked and the faint scent of blood that came from her, she had discovered that this guy was the real suspect by getting attacked herself.
Damn it, Lucy, he growled inwardly, why would you do that?!
"And finally, we will call Captain Crawford forward."
Lucy's pen scratched at her paper, and Natsu assumed that she was taking down the name. He didn't know how relevant it was, but if Lucy thought it would help them out then he wasn't going to complain.
The questions they started asking him were the same questions they had asked the other Rune Knight, and he gave almost carbon copies of the answers. The fire dragonslayer was growing increasingly bored of this whole trial thing and decided that they just needed to let Lucy speak so that he could be set free and everything would be fine.
"And again, Captain, you saw Mr. Dragneel make a move to attack before your General was hit with the flames?"
"Yes," the Captain nodded. "The Salamander made to attack, and then General Newman was screaming. The flames were everywhere and it was hard to get close to them, but when I ordered for the Salamander to be arrested, they disappeared."
"Thank you, Captain. That will be all."
Lucy stood again, and spoke up, "I would like to ask the Captain a question, if I may?" and after waiting a few moments for confirmation and the green light, Lucy turned to the Rune Knight and asked again, "Captain Crawford, did you also see blue flames when General Newman was attacked?"
With a nod, the man answered, "Yes, the flames were blue."
"Thank you, sir," Lucy nodded to him, "That is all."
Natsu watched as Lucy wrote something and did some more underlining while the captain-guy went and sat back down. He couldn't help admiring how her golden hair fell over one shoulder—never mind the fact that her shoulder was a bit red and raw from whatever she had been through before getting to the court room. There was a squeezing sensation in the region of his chest, as he once more took stock of what wounds he could see.
Whatever she had done, he had the sneaking suspicion that it was for him and the promise she had made him.
After all, a celestial mage never breaks her promises.
Following the questioning, the council's side offered some evidence that wasn't very good, in the pink-haired man's biased opinion, and then the jury was given a brief break to discuss something or another. Natsu watched as Lucy stayed in her seat, furrowed her brows, and flipped through that huge pack of papers again, underlining more things as she went. She looked so deep in concentration that his eyes were just drawn to her, but he couldn't help noticing that her captive was still glaring daggers at her. It made the dragonslayer extremely uncomfortable, to have that man sitting where he should have been—at her side.
"And now, we will hear the defendant's side of the case. Miss Heartfilia, if you would take the floor."
"Gladly," the blonde said, standing up and stepping forward. He saw her eyes flash as she looked around at the gathered crowd, and then she continued, "My name is Lucy Heartfilia, of Fairy Tail. Natsu Dragneel is a fellow member of my guild, a friend to all, and pretty much family to most. You may think that makes us biased, but the truth is that only family can see the true flaws and accept them. So I will tell you all now: Natsu is reckless, destructive, easily upset, and violent, but he is not a murderer."
She paused to let that sink in, and looked pointedly at the whispering council lawyers when she was ready to speak again. After a few moments, she cleared her throat, causing them to glare at her when a few people in the audience chuckled—including Natsu, although he probably shouldn't have.
"But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?" Lucy's voice was dark as she turned to face the judge directly. "I am, because there's something even more important that I haven't yet covered. Do you happen to have a copy of the book containing the Magic Council's laws on hand, by chance?"
Furrowing his brows, the judge acknowledged her question slowly. "It is protocol, Miss Heartfilia, to keep the book at a trial. Please get back on track."
"I am on track," Lucy stated simply, shuffling through her papers. "Please take your books in hand, whoever has one, and find Article 77, which deals with trials conducted by the Magic Council. When you have found it, please find section G."
The blonde paused, and a few council members from around the room started to flip through the book as one of the judge's assistants did so for him. She glanced around, Natsu following her gaze, to make sure that people were doing as she had asked.
"Article 77, Section G pertains to trials conducted by the magic council in direct relation to magical assaults with murderous intent," she stated boldly, clearly, to the entire room, "and as you can see, there are many parts to such trials. However, if you find subheading 4, you will find the first problem where this trial is concerned. It states that, under no circumstances, can a trial be moved forward by more than three days without notice or reasonable suspicion. This is in accordance with Article 34, Section C, where every defendant is promised a fighting chance to prove his or her innocence."
A low murmur was building up, and Lucy fell silent to allow her words to seep in.
"Reasonable suspicion for this case has not been publicly confirmed, and even had it been so, this trial was moved forward by five days. As an official council, protocol must be followed, and this is a vital breach of your own bylaws."
"Miss Heartfilia, I assure you that reasonable suspicion was found, and your guild was notified when the decision was made."
"Yes, the council did notify Fairy Tail after the decision had been made. The Article, however, states, word for word, 'If enough Evidence should surface to provide Reasonable Suspicion of Guilt, all Parties that are Associated with the Defendant shall be Notified and the Evidence made Public. Associated Parties may then be warned that the Trial may be Expedited due to time Constraints, and a Meeting shall be held among Members of the Magic Council, where a Vote will be held. This Vote will Decide whether to Expedite the Trial in Question or to leave it be.'
"Therefore," Lucy continued, scarcely pausing after quoting the law, "as Fairy Tail was notified only of the trial's new date but not of the evidence or of the vote that would decide the new date, there was still a breach of code. And, if we continue through Section G, under Subheading 9, it is stated that an arrested individual has the right to a letter or a lachrima call. It also clearly states that the Magic Council guards are required to offer these to the prisoners. Natsu, were you ever informed of this?"
"Wait, what?" the flabbergasted dragonslayer asked incredulously. "Nobody ever told me I could do that!"
"Miss Heartfilia, please return to the case," the judge sounded upset, and Natsu's attention was pulled briefly away from the blonde woman to see that the man's face was starting to turn red.
"Continue? Of course. The lack of evidence pertaining to the case was brought to our attention by Councilman Doranbolt. If needed, we can question him later. Proceeding through Article 77, Section G, you should eventually find Subheading 19, which discusses the right of a magic demonstration. In the event of a magical crime, either side can ask for the accused to show their magic within the confines of a rune barrier. Each side can ask for multiple demonstrations, and it is presented as an unalienable right. Therefore, I would first like for Natsu to be allowed to show his magic. In the course of the trial, I will also demand that Cid Murphy, the suspect beside me, have the opportunity to show his magic. Also in accordance with Subheading 19, I have the choice to stay within the rune barrier or to stay without. I will remain within."
The pink-haired man was astonished at the no-nonsense way that Lucy was dealing with these Magic Council bastards. Not only had she basically told them they were doing this whole trial thing wrong, she was also quoting their own laws back at them!
"Miss Heartfilia, I must ask that you show evidence to support your accusations of this man before you submit him to showing his magic," the judge spoke through clenched teeth now.
"Evidence?" Lucy asked sharply. "Your honor, if you need evidence, then look at me!" she held her arms open wide, and Natsu saw the extent of some of her injuries for the first time. "Shortly before coming here, I myself was attacked by this man when I asked him why he had framed Fairy Tail."
"We cannot just take your word."
"General Newman, if you would," the blonde seemed to ignore the judge as she strode over to the general, "please look closely at my wounds. Would you say that they are similar to, or the same as, your own wounds?"
Taken aback, the general still did as she asked, and silently nodded. Lucy remained standing in front of him until he found his voice and managed to announce, "Yes, I find them eerily similar to my own."
"In addition," Lucy spoke quickly, before the judge could interrupt again, "Fairy Tail is also being charged with attacking another legitimate guild, but we have evidence that Demon Card was not always a declared guild. The guild registry says that Demon Card became an official guild within the last two years. However, reports from newspaper articles in Acalypha, Magnolia, and Hargeon in the last eight years all mention suspicious activity in the area of their headquarters. And, according to a Blue Pegasus report from five years ago, a small caravan that they were hired to escort was attacked by a group of bandits that left a card on the scene."
The celestial mage returned to the table to shuffle through a few papers, pulling out a card.
"The description of the card in the Blue Pegasus official report, is identical to this one that was found at the scene when Demon Card first kidnapped Fairy Tail's Levy McGarden. On the blank side is also a note that shows less than benevolent intentions towards our guild. Demon Card, then, was the first guild to show hostility towards Fairy Tail and break the peace code among guilds," her brown eyes narrowed, and she said very deliberately, "And, although I was not required to offer you evidence in order to request a magic demonstration, as defined by the law, I have done so. I now ask that we begin with a demonstration of Natsu Dragneel's magic, if you would be so kind as to have the council's rune mages prepare the barrier."
Natsu heard the judge start to speak and looked that way, only to find that another council member had his hand on the man's arm and was shaking his head no. The dragonslayer felt a surge of pride—this was all because of Lucy. She was running this courtroom, with a confidence and edge that made him want to reach out to her.
"Very well," the man, still extremely red in the face, conceded. "We will handle the preparations."
"Thank you for understanding," Lucy smiled at him, but Natsu could tell that it was cold. She didn't give a shit about what this man thought of her just as long as she could get him to do exactly what she wanted him to. Natsu got the chills just by looking at her like this, but he wouldn't change a thing about it. Seeing Lucy go this far for him was thrilling, just a little, although he probably wouldn't tell her that.
About ten or fifteen minutes passed, and then Natsu was led to the middle of the courtroom and his cuffs temporarily removed. Lucy stepped inside the barrier and stood at the edge, telling him to use whatever abilities he wanted to and as many as he could, just to better illustrate the range of his abilities. The fire dragonslayer assumed it was also to prove that none of his magic had ever been blue, but he didn't say that aloud. He just did what he had to do, submitted to the cuffs, and returned to his chair.
And then he was forced to watch as Lucy was inside the barrier, alone, with that other guy—Cindy? Is that what she had called him?—as she nodded for Laki to break the wood cuffs from the outside of the barrier. She did so, and nothing happened.
"Mr. Cid Murphy," Lucy said very deliberately, "please show everyone your magic."
"And if I refuse?" he snapped back, and Lucy turned back to the red-faced man that was judging the proceedings.
"Your honor, I would like to point out that refusal to submit to requests is often indicative of guilt," she stated, then returned her attention to the man within the barrier with her. "I will ask you again, Mr. Murphy, to show us your magic."
"You don't have anything on me," he said, soft enough that Natsu was sure only dragonslayers would hear it. Louder, the man continued, "You're the ones who came into my guild and attacked us, so why should I submit to a false trial?"
"Refusal is indicative of guild, Mr. Murphy," Lucy reiterated. "If you are, indeed, innocent, you have nothing to lose by demonstrating your magic to us. If, however, you continue to hide your skills, I will have to declare it as refusal to incriminate yourself. But perhaps it isn't as fulfilling to attack someone if you aren't framing another person for it. Perhaps you prefer violent actions and are trying to refrain because you know that, even if you are innocent, you will be charged with something for attacking me. Or perhaps, Mr. Murphy, is it just that it isn't any fun for you when you don't get to hear someone screaming?"
A slow, annoyed smirk started to spread.
"It's just not as much fun without the screaming."
He emphasized the last word just as a swirling vortex of blue burst into existence around the blonde mage and she let out a startled shriek, stumbling backwards away from him.
"Lucy!" Natsu roared, surging to his feet but pushed back down by the Rune Knight guarding him. But water was falling on Lucy, dampening the flames as she stumbled back against her former table, and General Newman was demanding that the other mage be arrested immediately as the wooden cuffs on the floor sprang to life and stopped the second attack that was about to fly at the blonde.
"Y-your honor," the blonde gasped, clutching her side as she staggered back to the center of the floor, "please note the key differences between Natsu Dragneel's magic and Cid Murphy's magic. Natsu's flames are primarily orange and yellow and white, with occasional lightning. Cid's flames are blue, with a cutting edge that creates lacerations such as these."
And then she crumpled to her knees as Wendy leapt over any Rune Knights in her way to tend to the older woman's wounds. General Newman himself prevented anyone from stopping the dragonslayer once she had begun to heal the blonde, and turned to the judge.
"I, General Yorick Newman, officially rescind any and all charges against Natsu Dragneel. Those charges I now assign to Cid Murphy, with the addition of attempted murder against Miss Lucy Heartfilia, of Fairy Tail, with this entire courtroom as witnesses."
"I—what—you can't—"
"It is done, sir," the assistant, more capable than the judge himself, spoke over the blubbering, red-faced man. He turned to the Rune Knight guarding Natsu and nodded, and almost before the cuffs around his wrists were gone, the dragonslayer was bolting to the celestial mage's side.
"Lucy! Lucy!" he slid to the floor next to her, pulling her into an insistent yet gentle hug, mindful of the injuries that Wendy hadn't yet tended. "What the hell were you thinking?!" he demanded, looking her in the brown eyes that he, just a few hours earlier, believed he would never see again.
"I was getting the evidence I needed," the blonde said softly, placing her hand on top of his on the floor. "I made you a promise."
Natsu touched his forehead to hers with an exasperated but relieved sigh.
"Don't ever do that again, Lucy. I don't think I could stand it."
"Then don't let yourself get framed for murder again," she quipped back defiantly, smiling gently at him.
He really would have kissed her, were it not for Romeo coming up to claim his attention by tackling him backwards, away from Lucy, as the rest of Fairy Tail filed as close as they could to the fire dragonslayer and the wounded blonde.
And here it is!
It is currently 3AM and since I work until 5AM at a desk in a creepy, empty building on my college campus, I decided to work on this. If there are any major mistakes, please let me know in a review or message and I will address them when I am more awake and coherent!
I will do my best to have the final chapter of Fueling the Fire out by sometime next week. Here's to hoping!
Thank you all for reading, and I sincerely apologize for any mistakes in this chapter!