Chapter V
Hello and greetings to all! Welcome to the fifth chapter of Embodiment of Flame! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the previous chapter. A good portion of you seemed to like it. I also hope you enjoy this one, post a review if you do or if you are confused or unsure on anything. Moving on, I would like to thank my coauthor, Bakuto Masaki, as usual, for all his hard work with me on this story. At any rate, it is time to move on to the reviewer responses, one of my favorite parts, as I thoroughly enjoy interacting with my audience. It... is appropriate to refer to you all as an audience... right? Whatever, moving on.
FanFictionHunter: Yes. In the early chapters of the manga and the first few episodes in which she appeared, Levy was actually rather busty. I like that version better so I chose it. I can't tell you the whole list for the harem, seeing as it would spoil some aspects of the story. But sharing his current mates shouldn't be too bad. Erza, Mira, Lisanna, Flare, Juvia, Cana, and the three Youkai.
That is a rather... interesting idea.
Yes, it is that sword, though I call it Dekaforce to differentiate it from Knightwalker's spear, Ten Commandments. No, I can't say exactly when Rave Master will get involved, but it will most definitely be on Earth Land, not Edolas.
Jalis: Yeah, I like Laki quite a lot as well, and I don't think she got enough exposure in the anime. And yes, three monsters, Mamono, Youkai, whatever you want to call them. Yes, a hint. Yeah, you're one of the more... respectful people with a "dissenting opinion" as it were, so I feel inclined to be respectful back. Yeah, he'll only use them when needed since they suck up so much mana, I only had him use Flame God Slayer at that point to make it known he has it.
Mexican ninja1996: Calm down man, you need to stop huffing the nitrous oxide.
JMK2: I thought that would be a rather amusing moment.
dragneel harem: It has been hinted throughout the entire story that Natsu is "active" with the girls. So it is not out of nowhere.
TheWhiteTitan: Thank you. And yes, they are.
treeofsakuras: Oh I'm fairly sure you'll like it.
I've answered this question earlier in this response.
Yes, Mira is in.
correnhimself316: Thanks. Who knows, maybe he can. Yes, he certainly would. No, the Lightning Dragon Slayer and Flame God Slayer Magics aren't really compatible. He'd have to combine it with another Flame Slayer Magic or another God Slayer Magic. But yes, something like Lightning Flame God Slayer Mode would be incredibly powerful.
Well, that is all there is for reviews, so onto the actual chapter, hm?
The group began their investigation, looking through section of forest after section of forest, finding nothing but traps, all of which Natsu activated, usually getting Gray hurt, or finding a whole lot of nothing.
"Man this is boring," Natsu grumbled as he walked down one of the paths, an annoyed Gray pulling needles from his skin behind him.
After a moment, Laki grinned mischievously. "Hey, how about we split into two-man teams and look? I'll go with Natsu and Lucy and Flare can be a team."
"What about me?" Gray asked, hissing as he pulled a piece of wood from his side.
"That looks like a nice cliff there," Laki said simply.
"Screw you! I'm not jumping off that!" Gray retorted right before Laki kicked him, sending him flying off the ledge. "YYYOOOUUU BBBIIITTTCCCHHH!"
Laki turned to Natsu with a smile. "Now let's go, Natsu."
"Hey! Get back here!" Flare demanded as they walked away.
Lucy sighed. "Come on, let's go. They can't hear us."
Flare pouted but followed behind her.
As Natsu and Laki walked down the path through the forest, Laki had her arms wrapped around one of Natsu's with a wide smile.
Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Uuhh, you ok?"
Laki pumped a fist into the air happily. "Yup! Just fine!"
"Okay…?" Natsu answered with mild confusion.
"Right! Now, let's go find the source of that curse!"
Natsu shrugged, grinned, and then pumped a fist into the air as well. "Right!"
After a few moments of walking, Laki looked around the area and noted, "Man, this island is huge."
"Yep," Happy answered as he walked behind the two.
Laki twitched an eyebrow and turned to the small blue cat. "What are you doing here? I said two-man teams."
Happy pointed to himself. "I'm a cat."
Laki grumbled in annoyance. "Just get lost."
Happy pouted. "Aaww… Natsu, she's bein' mean!"
"How about you go search from the air?" Laki immediately responded.
Natsu nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's a good idea."
"Okay!" Happy cheered before his wings sprouted from his back and he soared into the air.
After the cat left, Laki resumed her grip on Natsu's arm and sighed in relief. "Aahh, there. Finally alone."
Natsu raised an eyebrow curiously. "What for?"
Laki flinched slightly and then laughed weakly. "H – huh? O – oh, uh, no reason…"
"Okay…?"
The two continued walking through the forest in silence before Laki's shoulders slumped slightly. "… Hey, Natsu…"
"Yeah?"
However, before Laki could continue, an explosion shook the air nearby.
"Oh what now?!" Laki shouted in annoyance.
At that moment, Lucy and Flare came running towards the two with a giant mouse in a makeshift maid uniform chasing them.
"What the hell!?"
"Hheellpp uuss!" Lucy begged loudly.
"My flames won't hurt that thing!" Flare added.
After a moment of pause Laki immediately rushed past the two.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Lucy shouted in disbelief.
Laki stood as the giant mouse approached and took in a deep breath. "Wood Dragon Roar!" she bellowed before a sudden storm of wooden spears shot forth, flying at the giant mouse, slamming into it hard, and sending it flying away.
Lucy gaped in disbelief. "… YOU'RE A DRAGON SLAYER!?"
Laki nodded with a mild blush. "Y – yeah… a Wood Dragon Slayer."
"W – wow…"
Flare twitched an eyebrow in annoyance and then smirked. "So what do you eat? Tree bark?"
"Vegetables," Laki answered plainly as she pulled a carrot out of her pocket.
Flare frowned in annoyance.
Natsu grinned as he ran up to Laki. "That was so cool!"
Laki stepped back surprised, her face turning deep red. "U – uh… th – thanks…"
"Hey, you guys!" Happy called as he flew down towards the group. "I found something!"
Lucy sighed before turning to see Gray, exhausted and covered in dirt and leaves, ran weakly towards the group, panting. "… About… time… I… found… you…"
"Huh. You survived," Laki remarked plainly.
"You expected me not to!?" Gray growled.
"There's this really weird temple over there," Happy explained. "We should check it out."
"Good idea!" Natsu agreed cheerily.
Eventually, following Happy's poor direction, the group made their way to a large, ancient temple.
"Hey! That's mean!"
Shut it.
"Okay…"
"Whoa… that thing's huge…" Natsu commented as he looked up towards the top of the temple.
"I wonder where the entrance is…" Lucy wondered.
Natsu clenched his fists as he walked up to the aged building. "If we can't find the entrance we'll just make our own! Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" he shouted before slamming a flaming fist into the side of the structure, blowing a hole in it.
The others merely gaped in disbelief.
"Idiot…" Gray grumbled.
Natsu grinned proudly. "See? Door."
Lucy sighed. "Come on, let's go ahead and go in."
The group made their way through the temple, though finding a path leading to any location that seemed significant was a fruitless task.
Lucy was herself particularly tense. "You know…this temple has to be thousands of years old. You sure it's safe?"
Natsu grinned and answered as he stamped a foot, "'Course it is! It can handle me stamping can't it?!"
A lumbering cracking and creaking sound then emanated through the area.
Lucy twitched an eyebrow. "… Idiot."
At that moment the ground they were standing on cracked and crumbled, causing the whole group to plummet straight down a deep hole into an abyss of darkness.
After a few moments the group reawakened and looked around.
Lucy groaned as she sat up. "Great… now where are we?"
"No clue…" Laki answered as she sat up.
"This is nice…" Natsu muttered with a muffled voice.
"Huh?" Lucy mumbled in thought. "What's ni –?" she suddenly stopped as she looked down and realized she had landed, yet again, on Natsu's face. "Kya!" she screamed as she sat up suddenly.
Laki, whom had landed behind Lucy, turned in curiousity, before feeling something strange and turned to see that, she too, had landed on Natsu.
Natsu merely looked at her curiously.
Flare grumbled in annoyance before she formed a giant fist made of hair to grab Laki and throw her off.
Laki growled in annoyance.
Lucy sighed as she sat up. "Geez, my hair's getting totally messed up with all this tumbling and falling."
As Gray adjusted his shoulder he rebutted, "I think your hair isn't as important as my arm. Doesn't feel broken at least. Where are we exactly?"
"Some kind of cave it seems," Flare answered.
Gray flexed his neck and mentioned, "Well since dumbass got is stuck down here, might as well look around."
Natsu huffed as he stood up. "This coming from the man that doesn't realize what private bedrooms are for."
"Seriously?" Laki and Flare asked in unified disbelief.
"Yup."
"Geez… so we went from a forest, to a temple, to a giant cave. What's next, a giant ice cube?" Lucy muttered in annoyance.
The team paled as they perused the caves before finding a massive block of ice inside a cavern.
"Uhh… are you psychic?" Laki asked.
Lucy gaped. "You gotta be kidding me… this is ridiculous…"
Happy snickered and then belted out, "No. This. Is. FAIRY TAIL!"
"Cram it!" Lucy snarled as she kicked him down a nearby pit.
After a moment of gawking, Laki narrowed her eyes as she stared at the ice chunk. "Hang on… I think there's actually something inside the ice."
They then noticed a massive, humanoid, monstrous creature inside the block of ice.
"This… can't be…" Gray remarked in awe and fear.
The others turned and noticed him trembling.
"Gray…?" Lucy asked worriedly. "What's wrong…?"
"That… thing. That's a demon… called Deliora…"
Lucy then began trembling as she turned back to the creature in the ice. "W – wait… by demon… do you mean the monsters created by the Dark Wizard Zeref…? The same guy who made Lullaby…? But… I didn't think they were all this big…"
"This one's an exception," Gray interrupted.
"Whaddya mean?" Natsu asked frustrated.
"Deliora's an extremely powerful demon that ravaged my homeland and destroyed the entire countryside ten years ago. Ur, the woman who taught me how to use Ice Make Magic in the first place, gave her life to seal this thing away for good. So why the hell is it here!?"
"Someone dragged it here?"
"But why?"
Laki turned as she heard sounds approaching the group. "Oh no. Someone's coming! Everyone hide!" she shouted in a whisper.
As they all ducked behind a rock, a group of people approached the frozen Deliora.
The first of the group was a slim young man with extremely bushy, squared, black eyebrows, black eyes, and bright blue hair spiking upwards with one prominent spike at the top who wore a green coat reaching down to his knees with dark green sections on the outer arms and the side's lower sections, a plain belt with a rectangular buckle over the coat, two vertical hems that helped keep the coat closed, dark blue pants that were baggy and loose fitting and light grey shoes.
The second member of the group was a lean-built, muscular young man with shoulder-length, straight brown hair, large round eyes with dark irises and pupils, slim, dark brown eyebrows, lightly tanned skin, a dark tattoo on his right upper arm that had the symbols for "sashimi" printed on it, and distinctive animal features, ears and a doglike muzzle on his face, who wore extremely loose-fitting jeans that were lightly tattered, a black belt to hold them up, and a pair of simple, dark-brown shoes.
The third and final member of the group was a young woman with long pink hair tied into pigtails, blue eyes, fair skin, and an ample bosom in addition to wearing a choker tied into a ribbon, a purple and pink, short, spaghetti-strap dress with light pink trimmings, two long, thin wings on the back, as well as black leggings, and high-heeled sandals.
The young woman of the group entered the area perturbed, unlike the rest, and muttered angrily, "Oohh… we MUST find and punish the mean people who hurt Angelica!"
"Calm down Sherry," the blue-haired man warned, "getting unduly angry now won't solve anything. We'll need to find out who did it first."
"Don't tell me to calm down, Yuka! Those people, whoever they are, hurt my wonderful pet rat Angelica. And their interference is slowly down the ritual, meaning it'll be that much longer before I find my love!" the woman, Sherry grumbled.
"Oon," the dog man began in an odd fashion, "who in their right mind would love you?"
"HE would!" Sherry exclaimed excitedly. "My incredible cherry blossom-topped hero! I was on the verge of starvation when he emerged from the wilderness and gave me food and water so I could live! But then, as soon as he appeared, he vanished." In an exaggerated wipe, she bemoaned, "I didn't even learn his name."
Laki, Flare, and Lucy immediately shot Natsu deadpanned expressions.
Natsu blinked in confusion and tilted his head.
"Oon…" the dog man muttered again, "we should probably find those guys though…"
Yuka then interjected. "We must, whether we should isn't the problem, Toby. They can't be allowed to interfere with Deliora's release. We'll collect enough moonlight soon."
"They're going to get the ice drunk?" Natsu wondered curiously.
"Come on," Yuka ordered, "let's go."
The three then turned and left the area.
After assessing that they were gone the team stepped out and turned their gaze back to Deliora.
"Weird," Natsu muttered.
"You met that crazy chick?!" Lucy suddenly clamored.
Natsu folded his arms in thought. "Did I…?"
Happy scratched his head curiously. "No clue."
Gray clenched his fists angrily. "I don't know who these clowns think they are, but they've got to be stopped. They plan on releasing Deliora, and tarnishing Ur's sacrifice. I won't let that happen."
Natsu, his arms still folded, tapped his fingers in thought as he looked up at the frozen demon.
"What?" Gray asked.
"Just thinkin' how they plan to melt the ice."
Lucy looked at the frozen demon for several minutes. "… Hey, do you think Deliora has something to do with that dome of energy around the island?"
Gray then added, "There's no way they're not connected. Despite being frozen in that ice, Deliora is in fact alive."
Natsu slammed his fists together and suggested excitedly, "Then let's just destroy it!"
Gray scowled at Natsu before punching him hard.
"Wow!" Happy exclaimed. "He hit him hard!"
Lucy muttered in deadpan, "It's not all that rare."
"Stay away from Deliora Natsu! If this thing gets free no one would be able to stop it!" Gray shouted at Natsu. Gray sighed and then turned back to Deliora before adding, "My teacher, Ur, froze Deliora in that ice using Iced Shell. It's a kind of never-melting ice that is resistant to all types of magic. But why would those bastards bring it here?"
Lucy then opined, "Why don't we follow those weirdos and get information from them?"
Gray shook his head. "No, we should stay here and wait until the moon is high in the sky."
"What's the moon got to do with anything?" Flare asked.
Gray narrowed his eyes and answered, "I'm not certain, but I overheard one of those nonnatives say, 'We'll collect enough moonlight soon.' I don't know what he meant exactly, but the moon and Deliora are obviously connected somehow."
Natsu, immediately recovered from Gray's punch, tapped the side of his head in deep thought before grumbling. "Moon… moon… what did Auntie Tsuki say 'bout the moon again?"
"Auntie Tsuki?" Lucy asked.
Natsu, not truly paying attention, answered plainly, "My aunt, Tsukuyomi. Man… what was it…?" His eyes then suddenly widened in realization. "Oh! That's right!"
"What?" Laki asked, surprised at his sudden outburst.
"Auntie Tsuki always told me that the moon has really powerful, uuhh… matchstick properties that can nullify really powerful spells."
Lucy flattened her brow in annoyance. "I think the word you're looking for is mystic," she deadpanned.
"Then we should definitely wait around to see how exactly they're harnessing this moonlight then," Gray mentioned.
"Tch, fine," Natsu grumbled in annoyance.
As they waited, Gray reminisced on some of his time with Ur.
A young Gray stood in the middle of a snowy tundra, in front of a slim young woman with a curvaceous figure and short, dark purple hair, black eyes, and fair skin who wore a tan jacket with a dark brown collar, a red tank top, and jeans. The woman smirked at Gray and inquired in amusement, "So, think you'll be able to survive my training?"
Gray answered confidently, "I will do whatever it takes, Ur!"
As he thought, he heard Lucy moan with boredom.
"I'm so bored…" she mumbled with a groan.
"Yeah…" Flare added as she stared up at the ceiling.
Lucy then perked up as she got an idea. "I know how we can pass the time!"
"Sex?" Flare and Natsu asked in unison.
"Hell no!"
Lucy then summoned a new Celestial Spirit, a girl with waist-length, curly blonde hair, black eyes, and round, ever-present blush marks on her cheeks that wore a pink bonnet on top of her head, a long blue dress with pink fringe and heart shaped patterns on the waist, leather shoes, small white wings on the back, and a large harp slung over her back. "Hhheeeyyy, Lucy!"
"Hey Lyra," Lucy responded.
Lyra then frowned and asked, "You know, why don't you summon me more often Lucy? It gets boring in the Spirit Realm."
Lucy twitched an eyebrow and answered, "You're the one who said you can only be summoned three times a month."
Lyra stiffened as she chuckled weakly, "Oh… right… oopsie…"
"Why?" Natsu asked.
Lucy shrugged. "Don't ask me, she's the one who set it up that way."
Lyra nodded. "Oh yeah. Maxy asks me to entertain the younger spirits most times."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Maxy?"
"Lady Maxwell," Lyra answered simply. "So, what can I do for you, Lucy?"
Lucy nodded. "We're all sitting here bored. Think you could play a song for us?"
Lyra smiled happily and gave an excited thumbs up. "You bet! Any requests?"
Lucy put a hand on her cheek in thought and then shook her head. "Not really, just something nice."
Lyra nodded in understanding and pulled out her harp and began strumming on it before singing a slow, emotional song.
As the group listened, Natsu, Flare, Lucy, Laki, and Happy were pleased with the music as Lyra played.
As Lyra played her music, more memories of Ur filled Gray's mind.
Gray stood in the same tundra with Ur, his hands in the Ice-Make pose as he shouted, "Ice-Make: Shield!" A small, pointed shield of ice rose out of the snow in front of him.
Gray turned to Ur expectantly as she smiled with a nod in acknowledgement.
The memory caused tears to roll down Gray's face as he remembered his time with Ur.
Seeing Gray's reaction, Lucy turned to Lyra. "Uh, hey, Lyra, how about we give it a rest for a bit?"
Lyra turned to her mildly confused. "Hm?"
Lucy pointed to the mildly tear-stained Gray.
Lyra nodded. "Ah… okay."
Moments later, the team all ended up falling asleep.
The group was awakened by a light tremor shaking the area.
"Wha…?" Natsu mumbled groggily.
Lucy looked around in confusion before looking up, her eyes widening in surprise. "H – hey… you guys…"
"Yeah, Lucy?" Flare asked in drowsy confusion.
"L – look at the ceiling…"
The others immediately looked at the roof of the cave.
Violet colored light was pouring down from a magical circle above Deliora.
They watched in shock as drips of water started to roll down the block of ice.
"Whoa…" Natsu mumbled.
"But where's it coming from?" Laki asked in timid confusion.
Gray narrowed his eyes. "I think it's coming from the temple above."
"Come on! We gotta find out what's causing this!" Natsu shouted as the group ran out of the cavern.
The team then ran up the temple to the roof, where they found an encirclement of mages around a magic circle chanting an incantation, which absorbed light from the moon, sending it down to Deliora.
As they saw it, Lyra explained, "That spell…it's the Moon-Drip. It's an ancient, powerful spell used to harness moonlight and nullify any magical effect, even the unbreakable Iced Shell."
"Called it," Natsu said plainly.
Natsu and the others attempted to think of a solution as four figures walked up to the chanting wizards.
Three of them were Yuka, Sherry, and Toby.
Among them was also a slim young man of average height whose facial features were hidden by an ornamental, horned helmet with a long purple mane, a large white cape with a wide collar, golden edges, and fur trimmings on the shoulders held closed by a belt adorned by a stylized snake with rectangular coils, underneath which was a blue, high-collared tunic that reach his knees, with a simple belt at his waist holding it closed, over a simple dark shirt, black baggy pants tucked inside armored greaves.
As the group approached the mages, Yuka asked, "What do we do about the intruders, Reitei?"
The masked man, Reitei, answered, "There is not much we can do with them for now. However, it is obvious the villagers have called for reinforcements. That is a problem. Yuka, Sherry, Toby. Destroy the village."
Lucy and the others widened their eyes in disbelief.
"You bastards!" Natsu shouted as he ran towards the group with his fist inflamed.
"Oh great…" Lucy muttered.
"What the…?!" Yuka shouted in surprise.
Sherry gaped as her eyes widened.
"Oon, intruder!" Toby shouted!
"Fire Dra –!" Natsu began to shout before Sherry suddenly charged at him and tackled him with a hug.
"It's you!" she shouted ecstatically.
'Can't… breathe…' Natsu thought with a constrained voice as his face was buried between the pink-haired woman's cleavage.
However, all of the others, including Reitei's group, gaped in sheer disbelief at the event.
"H – huh…?" Reitei mumbled in confusion.
"The hell!?" Lucy exclaimed.
"Called it," Flare muttered.
Natsu put his hands on Sherry's shoulders and pulled his head out with a gasp.
"It's you!" Sherry shouted. "It really is!"
Natsu blinked in confusion. "I – it… is…?"
Sherry pouted but then pulled the bands out of her hair, allowing it to fall and flow down her back, down to her waist.
Natsu raised an eyebrow but then widened his eyes.
A young Natsu walked through a forest in confusion. "Crap… now I'm lost." Grumbling, he mumbled, "Great… Erza's gonna kill me…" He stopped when he heard soft sobbing nearby.
He walked to a tree and saw a young girl with dark pink hair slouched against a tree, crying softly.
He blinked in thought. "Hey, you alright?"
The girl flinched in surprise and turned to him in surprise. "I – I… I'm lost…"
Natsu then heard growling.
The girl slumped her shoulders as her face turned red. "And… I'm hungry…"
Natsu grinned and pulled his backpack off before rooting through it.
The girl tilted her head to the side curiously.
Natsu then pulled out a large bottle of water along with several pieces of bread and small fruits and handed them to the girl.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "A – are you… giving these to me…?"
Natsu nodded. "Yeah, here. I've got plenty."
The girl took the food and water and began to eat voraciously.
Natsu was about to speak when a voice shouted, "Natsu! Where are you!?"
Natsu flinched. "Crap! Uh, sorry, but I gotta go!" He then ran off into the forest.
The girl turned to him sadly as he ran off.
Back in the present, Natsu looked at Sherry in thought. "Y – you are…?"
A small smile crept onto Sherry's features. "You remember…?"
He then pointed at her and exclaimed, "You're the weird girl that wanted food!"
Sherry stiffened and chuckled lightly. "W – well… yes, I guess that's accurate…"
Natsu grinned. "How've you been?"
Sherry hugged him tightly once more. "I've spent so long searching for you, my love!"
Yuka snarled in annoyance. "Sherry you nincompoop! He's the enemy! Hit him, don't hug him!"
Sherry turned to Yuka, still hanging off Natsu, and scowled at the blue-haired man. "Did you just tell me to attack my love?!"
"He's here to stop the Moon Drip! He's the enemy!"
Sherry merely frowned angrily.
Reitei raised a hand towards Yuka. "No matter. If she turns enemy I'll simply kill her too."
Natsu narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of Sherry before cracking his knuckles.
Flare sighed in resignation. "Here we go."
Natsu prepared to attack but at that moment Gray also burst from hiding, outpacing Natsu to Reitei, shouting, "Lyon!" before taking his Ice-Make pose and shouting, "Ice-Make: Lance!" A magic circle appeared in front of him and shot multiple spears of ice at Reitei.
Reitei flinched momentarily but then raised a hand and blocked Gray's attack with a wall of ice. He then huffed in annoyance and turned to Toby and Yuka. "You two, go and destroy that village. I will handle the intruders and the traitor."
"Like hell!" Laki argued as she too jumped from hiding and prepared to fight.
Gray then shouted, "Lyon, you bastard! Why are you doing this?!"
"Lyon" sneered in derision. "You could never understand, murderer!" He then launched an attack that sent Gray flying back.
"I'll go stop those two jokers!" Natsu shouted as he turned to chase Toby and Yuka.
"Lyon" snarled before turning to Natsu. "Ice-Make: Diamond Cage!" Natsu's body is then encased in ice, leaving only his forearms, lower legs, and head exposed.
Flare, Laki, and Sherry frowned in irritation.
Gray turned to Lucy and the others and shouted, "Don't just stand there! Go and stop those two from destroying the village!"
Flare turned to Laki and the others and said, "You go. I'm helping Natsu."
Gray responded by turning and kicking the frozen Natsu down the hill, causing him to roll like a ball. "Now go!"
Laki and Flare ran down the mountain after Natsu while Happy jumped on Lucy's back and flew her towards the village.
"Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray shouted as he launched the attack again.
Lyon raised his hand again and blocked the attack. "Are you honestly going to try the same trick twice?"
Gray narrowed his eyes angrily. "You bastard. Do you even realize what you're doing? You're tarnishing Ur's legacy!"
Lyon sneered and then removed his helmet, revealing blue-silver, spiked hair that jutted upwards on most of head save for bangs on the right side of his forehead, narrow, slanted eyes with black irises. "You have no right to talk about Ur's legacy. You are the one who killed her."
Gray winced in pain as Lyon's words bit at him.
Natsu growled as he sat on one of the mountain's paths, trying to melt the ice around him with his flames. "You gotta be kiddin' me! When I get out I'm beating that guy senseless!"
At the edge of the island, a pirate ship began approaching from the waters. However, almost all of the sailors onboard were beaten and bruised, including the captain.
The culprit of said beatings was none other than Erza, who stood at the front of the ship as it docked to the island. How she came in to possession of said ship was rather strange.
Earlier in the day, as the ship was docked at the pier, Erza approached the ship with a determined expression.
The captain noticed her and asked, "Well hello there milady. What can I do for you?"
Erza nodded and answered, "I want you to take me to Galuna Island."
The captain and all of the sailors paled.
"That won't be happening, dear, sorry," the captain apologized.
Erza narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm not asking." She then made her way onto the boat and proceeded to brutalize her way through the sailors and too the captain, whom she stood over. "Now, I want you to take me to Galuna Island. There is someone there who I need to punish."
The sailors, presumably having received brain damage, shouted with adoration, "We'll follow you anywhere!"
As the ship docked, Erza disembarked and the sailors agreed to wait for her as she began storming her way to her destination.
Gray and Lyon stared each other down before their battle truly began.
"Ice-Make: Freeze Lancer!" Gray shouted as larger spears shot out at Lyon.
Lyon smirked and raised a single hand and shouted, "Ice-Make: Eagle!" Multiple eagles made from blue-green ice shot from the magic circle on Lyon's hand, some crashing into Gray's spears and stopping them while others charged at Gray himself.
"Crap!" Gray snarled before he shouted, "Ice-Make: Block!" A massive block of ice appeared to block the eagles. However they circumvented the block and charged at Gray again. "What the –?!" He dodged to the side and growled as he launched another attack. "Ice-Make: Hammer!" A large hammer of ice appeared above Lyon and descended upon him.
Lyon sneered Gray's attack off and launched his own to block it. "Ice-Make: Ape!" A large gorilla made of ice appeared behind Lyon and blocked the Ice-Make: Hammer, then shattered afterwards. "I'm done playing games, Gray!" Thrusting a hand forward, he called out one more attack. "Ice-Make: Snow Dragon!" From his magic circle a massive, eastern dragon made of ice launched out at Gray, who had no time to dodge as the dragon enveloped him before slamming him against the ground, defeated.
Lyon walked over to the fallen Gray and sneered once more. "Look at you. Just like in that training session with Ur, where you laid in the same, pitiful, defeated condition."
"Hey! Don't feel insecure just because you lost!"
Gray sat up and then looked down to see Natsu nearby. "Natsu you moron! What are you doing here?!"
"I don't know where the village is and I didn't find anyone at the top but you!" Natsu ran over past Lyon and threw Gray over his shoulder and ran down the other side of the mountain.
"Hey!" Lyon shouted. "Get back here!"
As the two ran, Gray remembered when he had tried to fight Deliora.
"You idiot!" Ur scolded. "You can't fight that thing, it's too strong for you!"
Gray angrily snapped back, "I have to try! Deliora destroyed my home, I've gotta get payback!"
Gray then realized that same attitude is the one he had given to Natsu when the S-Class Quest had just been started. He suddenly understood where Ur's words had come from. As he realized and remembered this, he began to cry and apologized to Natsu. "I'm sorry Natsu…I had no right to say those things…"
Natsu snarled back, "Ahh, shaddup. We're from Fairy Tail, remember? We don't know the meaning of give up. All we know is how to keep going forward. So don't cry ya damn stripper!"
Gray laughed weakly. "Right…"
As they ran, Natsu frowned slightly. "Now… how do I stop?"
Gray twitched an eyebrow.
At that same moment, Lucy, Laki, Flare, and Happy arrived at the village.
"Everyone! Come quick!" Lucy shouted loudly.
Eventually the old man heard their cries and he, along with the rest ran over to the two. "What is it young lady?" he asked.
"You're about to be attacked!" Flare said frantically.
Lucy answered hurriedly, "There's a team of wizards at the old temple in the forest who are casting a spell that we think's making you demons. We might be able to take them on, we have more numbers, even though we have less wizards."
The villagers looked between themselves unsurely, feeling uncertain of the validity of Lucy's plan.
Lucy began thinking up a new plan when the old man interrupted. "I don't care about those enemies, the only way to fix this is to destroy the moon, you must! You have to destroy it! Now!"
As the old man continued ranting and raving several other villagers dragged him away to calm down.
Lucy growled in annoyance. "Ooohhh, if only I had Virgo's key!"
"What do you need that for?" Laki asked.
"To dig a pitfall."
Laki raised a hand, causing wood to extend out of her arm in the shape of a giant shovel which she used to dig a large, deep hole.
"Whoa! Cool! Now just to cover it with sticks and leaves."
Happy turned to the blonde and chided, "Lucy, you're an idiot if you think anyone will fall for that."
"Hey! Watch it cat! Just you wait and see, it'll work!" Lucy argued, despite the disapproval written on Happy's face along with villagers'.
One of the villagers then shouted, "Hey! Someone's coming!"
That someone turned out to be Natsu, with an unconscious Gray slung on his back. He ran straight into the village and fell straight into Lucy's pit.
Lucy and all the others gathered gaped in disbelief.
"Hey!" Natsu shouted from the bottom of the pit, causing Laki and the others to look down. "The ice broke!" Natsu cheered, the ball of ice around him having shattered. He then looked around before grabbing Gray and throwing him up and out the hole before jumping out on his own.
As he did, Sherry came running out of the forest and towards the village, panting. "Y – you need to get the villagers out of here…"
"We know," Lucy answered.
Sherry shook her head emphatically. "N – no… you don't understand… they… they've got…"
Sherry's words were interrupted as something hit the ground nearby, sizzling as it melted the dirt away.
Everyone looked up and saw Yuka and Toby riding atop a gigantic eagle made of ice, carrying a giant bucket filled with a purple liquid.
Yuka snickered. "Hmph, let's see how these fools like our Double Poison Jelly."
The villagers began to run in panic as they realized the giant bucket was full of the acidic jelly.
"Ah crap," Laki muttered.
Natsu hissed and then shouted, "Everyone! Get in the center of the village!"
As everyone collected in the center, Natsu through his hands out to the side as black flames surged outward before swirling out and surrounding the group in a dome of flames before the acid poured onto the village below.
One of the villagers looked at the dome in thought, putting a hand on it curiously. "These flames… they're not even hot."
Natsu sighed as the dome lowered, revealing a large crater where the village had once been, a single plateau in the middle.
Sherry gasped in shock. "N – no…"
"You monsters!" Natsu howled as the eagle shattered and Yuka and Toby jumped down.
Yuka sneered at the group before turning to Sherry. "You're going to pay, Sherry, for betraying us."
"I didn't betray you!" she argued before grabbing Natsu's arm, smashing it between her bosom. "I followed my love!"
Laki twitched an eyebrow in annoyance.
Gray attempted to get up but Natsu knocked him out. "You're not ready to fight yet. So just stay down."
Sherry nodded to herself. "I'll fight as well!" She then raised an arm into the sky before her eyes lit up with a bright pink light. "Doll Attack: Rock Doll!" A giant golem made of stone then rose up from the ground.
Yuka narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Tch, you really plan to fight us?"
Sherry was about to answer when Natsu interjected, "You get the villagers to safety with the others. I can handle these clowns."
"H – huh?" Sherry mumbled in surprise and confusion.
"I can take these guys on my own." He turned to her with a wide grin. "No need for you to put yourself in danger."
Flare twitched an eyebrow.
Sherry pumped her fists. "Right!"
"Aren't we overconfident?" Yuka chided before waving his arm, sending out a blast of blue energy.
Natsu took in a breath and then sent a surge of orange flames to counter the blast.
Yuka smirked as, to Natsu's shock, the blast completely nullified Natsu's attack and slammed into Sherry, sending her flying back.
Natsu's eyes widened before he scowled. "You're gonna pay for that!"
Lucy ran over to Sherry and helped her up. "Come on, let's get out of here."
Sherry nodded weakly. "R – right…"
Encasing his fists in flame, Natsu charged at and threw a punch at Yuka, shouting, "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" However, instead of connecting and slamming into his stationary opponent, a wall of magical energy appeared and stopped Natsu's attack, sending him sliding back in confusion. "Wh – what the heck was that?!"
Yuka merely chuckled proudly. "Impressed? It's a magic called Wave. It nullifies all forms of magic. Making wizards helpless."
Natsu narrowed his eyes and then smirked. "Nullifies magic, eh?" He then grabbed Dekaforce from his back and swung it around before resting it on his shoulder. "Then I'll just cut you down."
"You idiot, in case you didn't notice, it also repels physical attacks."
Toby smirked as he raised his hands before his nails extended sharply and turned bright green. "Oon… I'll fight too! Face my Paralysis Claw: Mega Jellyfish!"
Natsu turned to Toby in thought. "Hey, what's that on your head?"
Toby blinked. "Huh? Where?" He then poked his head in thought.
…
…
…
"Ooowww!" Toby howled in pain before he fell down, paralyzed from his own claws.
"Idiot," Yuka chided before turning to Natsu. "I think you'll find I'm not as easy to beat."
Natsu lowered Dekaforce to his side and rushed at Yuka.
Yuka raised a hand and sent blasts of blue energy at Natsu.
As Natsu ran he swung Dekaforce, sending the blasts flying away.
"What the…?!" Yuka exclaimed in surprise. "Wait… a wizard that can breathe fire and carries a sword as long as his body… don't tell me you're the Salamander from Fairy Tail I've heard so much about."
Natsu narrowed his eyes.
"Well don't count me out, I myself was with a powerful guild once as well. Iron Rock Jura is from the same guild. Surely you've heard of him."
Natsu simply rushed forward, swinging at Yuka.
"H – hey! Listen when I'm talking to you!"
Natsu swung down at Yuka, the blue-haired man blocking it with his magic. "Why?" Natsu asked angrily. "I don't care what guild you're from. You're here to hurt the villagers and I'm here to protect them. That makes you Fairy Tail's enemy. Plus," he snarled before glaring at Yuka, "you hurt a friend of mine."
"A frie – are you serious!?" Yuka objected before Natsu slammed his foot into his abdomen, sending him flying back.
Natsu charged once more, but then smirked as he did. "I just got a great idea."
Yuka hissed and sent more blasts at Natsu.
Flames encased Natsu's feet before exploding behind him, sending him surging forward.
"Wh – what the hell!?" Yuka shouted in disbelief. He turned and realized he was against a wall and could not move further. "Dammit." He raised another barrier which Natsu's blade stopped against. Yuka snickered and then taunted, "You'll never break through my Wave."
Natsu smirked before more flames burst from his feet, causing his sword to smash through Yuka's Wave.
Yuka stood, trembling, as Natsu had the tip of Dekaforce pressed right against his throat.
Natsu then raised the sword high up, turned it to the broadside, and then swung it down hard, hitting Yuka right atop the head with the flat side of the sword.
Yuka sputtered and stumbled before hitting the ground, unconscious.
Natsu sighed and sheathed his blade. "Well, that takes care of those two jokers."
Lucy and the others continued running, trying to get as far away from where Natsu and the others were fighting as possible.
Flare sighed in exhaustion and asked, "When can we stop running?"
"Right now," a cold, angered voice remarked.
Lucy, Flare, and Laki immediately froze in fear and paled.
"Please let that not be who I think it is…" Laki pleaded before the three turned and saw Erza, who was very displeased, standing nearby. Laki then immediately pointed at Happy. "He took it."
"Huh!?" the cat exclaimed in confusion. "Took what!?"
Erza narrowed her eyes and explained, "You are all in trouble."
"Wh – why?" Flare asked.
"You blatantly disobeyed the rules. And you will all be punished for it."
Inside the cave, Lyon stood, staring up at the frozen Deliora.
"Excuse me, Cold Emperor, but I was wondering why you chose to spare the life of that wizard, Gray," a short, hunched over man wearing an ornate mask with green fur covering his head except his mouth, a red shirt, dark blue pants, a green cape, and brown shoes asked.
"No reason, Zalty," Lyon began, "other than I don't feel the need to shed anymore blood."
Zalty snickered and then rebutted, "You say that, but ordering your minions to kill those villagers tells a different story. It would appear you have a soft spot for your former rival."
Lyon huffed in derision. "Nonsense. I simply have no desire to get any more blood on my hands. But if he happens to get in my way again, I won't hesitate to kill him."
Zalty smirked. "That's good. I'm glad."
Natsu sniffed the air as he walked, following the scents of Lucy and the others.
He eventually tracked the scent to a makeshift settlement the villagers had made.
"Hey, have you seen my friends?" Natsu asked to one of the villagers.
The man nodded and pointed to the large central tent.
There, he found Erza with Lucy, Laki, Flare, and Sherry bound. Realizing the inherent danger of the situation, Natsu started to back away slowly.
However, Erza grabbed his muffler before he could leave and pulled him back. "You are not going anywhere."
"Why?" Natsu asked.
"You have all betrayed Master Makarov. So I am here to end this job and bring you all back to the guild for punishment."
"What!?" Natsu shouted before growling angrily.
"I did not stutter. As soon as Gray recovers from his injuries we will depart."
"You can't be serious! These people are being cursed by a bunch of wizards who are trying to revive a gigantic demon!"
Lucy sighed. "Give it up Natsu, I already told her about all this."
Natsu narrowed his eyes. "You know all this already!? They're in danger! Their home has been destroyed!?"
Erza replied bluntly, "What of it?"
Natsu stood in silent shock before clenching his fists. "What of it…? WHAT OF IT!? These people are going to be killed and you don't care!? When did you become such a heartless bitch!?"
Erza winced slightly but maintained her stoicism. "This is an illegally taken mission. One that none of you were authorized to partake in. If you wanted to go on the mission, you were required to do it alongside an S-Class Mage."
"Then help us!" Natsu retorted.
"Tell me why I should."
"These people are in danger! I can't just leave them to die! What kind of man would I be if I just stood by and did nothing!? And if staying and helping these people means I get kicked out of Fairy Tail, so be it! I won't be part of a guild that abandons people because of stupid words!"
Erza sat silently, studying Natsu's face. After a moment a smirk found its way onto her lips.
Lucy flinched slightly. "Wh – why is she smiling…?"
"Very well," Erza began. "I will help you. However, you will still be punished once the mission is finished."
Lucy gaped in shock and then sighed. "Wow… she really is scary…"
Later, Natsu sat in the tent the villagers had given him when Erza walked in and sat next to him.
Natsu narrowed his eyes slightly.
Erza sighed. "I should probably apologize for my earlier coldness. I wanted to see how determined you were to see this mission through and for what purpose."
"You sure picked a crappy way to ask," Natsu retorted.
Erza sighed once more. "Yes, but I had to be certain. Hopefully you can forgive me for that much."
"Fine."
Erza nodded with a slight smile. "Good to hear. Although…" she narrowed her eyes, "that heartless bitch comment was entirely unneeded."
"Well, you were acting like one."
Erza pinched his ear and pulled on it. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Ow, ow, ow! Sorry, sorry, sorry!"
Erza released his ear and nodded before asking, "Now, perhaps you can tell me how you even got this job."
Natsu, rubbing his ear in discomfort, explained, "Laki showed up holding it. She said she found it just lying on the floor and said it'd be real good if we went on it. And then I saw the reward and figured a Zodiac Key would be a good apology to Lucy for the whole Everlue thing."
"I see. I will be certain to take that into account. However, like I said, I will help you complete this mission, but you will all be punished after it is over. I will leave Master to punish the others, but I will punish you myself."
Natsu flinched and began to sweat. "H – how…?"
"We will leave that for after the job is complete."
Natsu gulped in fear.
"O – oh…" Laki mumbled as she walked into the tent, seeing the two speaking, "am I interrupting something…?"
Erza stood up and shook her head. "No, I was just leaving."
After Erza left, Laki walked over to Natsu and looked at him uncomfortably.
Natsu raised an eyebrow as the awkward silence continued. "L –"
However, before he speak a word, Laki deeply in front of him. "I'm sorry!"
Natsu blinked in thought. "For… what…?"
"It's my fault that you and the others got involved with all this…" Laki continued as tears began collecting in her eyes.
Natsu sighed and then shook his head. "No, it's not."
"But it is!" she argued vehemently before looking up at him. "I…" she trailed off before tightening her fists, "I just wanted an excuse to go on a mission with you… so I could try and get close to you. But instead I got all of you in really big trouble." The tears in her eyes began falling heavily as she spoke. "I should have just left that job on the floor…"
Natsu shocked her as he reached forward and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"H – huh…?" Her face turned red as she thought, 'H – he's… so warm…'
"You're being stupid," Natsu chided.
"B – but I –!"
"Stop," Natsu commanded. "You didn't force us to go on this job, we chose to. Well, everyone except Gray, but who cares about him?"
Laki's eyes widened in disbelief. "Y – you mean… you're… not mad…?"
Natsu pulled away and grinned brightly. "How could I be mad at you, Laki?"
Laki's eyes widened further as her face turned fluorescent red. She glanced up at him, trying to hide her reddened face and asked, "H – hey… Natsu…?"
Natsu tilted his head. "Yeah?"
"D – did you… know?"
"'Bout what?" he asked.
"That I… that I'm a Dragon Slayer?"
Natsu nodded. "Yeah. I could smell that you are one."
Her lips curled into a small smile. "So you… actually noticed…"
Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, my magic's a bit unusual for a Dragon Slayer, and most people don't believe me when I tell them that I am one. They think it's just some weird Make Magic. I got so tired of people laughing at me that I just started saying that's what it was, Wood-Make."
"Tch, well then they're just stupid."
"Huh?"
"There are as many kinds of dragons as there are people, so why wouldn't there be as many types of Dragon Slayer Magic?" He smiled and added, "Dragon Slayer Magic is Dragon Slayer Magic, no matter what kind it is."
Laki smiled happily before she realized how close Natsu was still sitting, causing her face to practically glow red.
Natsu raised an eyebrow as he saw her face. "You alright?" He then leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers.
Laki trembled as her blush increased, feeling her heart beating faster as her entire body began to heat up. She gulped and then slowly leaned her head up, causing their lips to touch lightly.
Aaannnddd finished! That puts a close chapter five of Embodiment of Flame. I know it was a bit of a tease to end it this way, but do not worry, the next chapter will begin with the main event. That aside, hopefully everyone enjoyed it. If you did, be sure to post a review letting me know, I always appreciate it. If you were confused or unsure about anything, post a review with your queries and I will do my best to address them if possible. If you did not, I suppose you could post a review, but unless you have something constructive to say it would be best for everyone if you simply spent your time on something you enjoy. Well, until next time, buh-bye!