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Lucy has been at the guild for three weeks and it already feels like home to her. Everyone was so kind and accepting, they made her feel like she belonged there. They even celebrated her birthday, when the time came.
Currently, the celestial Mage and her pink haired dragon friend were residing in the guilds library. Lucy was reading to Natsu out of a book about dragon myths and legends. He would listen while she read. Well, more like he would give his opinion about what the book was saying or whether it was wrong or right.
"-the fearsome dragon roared at the onlookers in the arena. The knights continued throwing trash at his face, and all he could do was sit there and take it." Lucy read.
"False! The dragon would've broken out of those chains and killed the humans throwing stuff at him. Duh," Natsu rolled his eyes like it was the obvious thing in the world. Lucy giggled.
"I guess you're right. Though, the one dragon I met seemed like he wouldn't do that. " Lucy said.
He shook his head. "Nope! Igneel would've eaten them like it was nothing more than eating a breadstick. They would be his appetizer," Natsu said. Lucy rolled her eyes and switched books.
"How about we read the book about how the dragon saves the princess? This is the only book like it in this whole library. Plus I think you would find this very accurate, ne?" She giggled.
As she read, Natsu didn't say one word. He seemed almost as absorbed in the story as she was. The tragic story of a princess' quest for love and acceptance from her father hit her straight at her heart. By the end when the dragon saved the princess, Lucy's eyes started to water.
"H-hey Luce? Are you ok? It's just a story don't cry! Oh crap, crap, crap, crap. What do I do?!" He panicked. She wiped her eyes and smiled.
"I'm fine. I can just relate to this story. Can't you?"
"Yeah, I kinda can," he admitted. "But, we aren't in that story anymore now are we? Nope. We are in the story where the princess is happy a s safe because the dragon is with her. Geez, get with the program. I thought we were on the same page here," Lucy laughed.
"They lllliiiikkkee each other!" Happy purred.
"We do not!" They both yelled.
"What are you two lovebirds yapping about?" Gray, currently in the buff, asked when he walked through the library door.
"We aren't lovebirds!" Lucy screeched.
"What's a lovebird?"
"Well Natsu, it's not really a thing. It means-"
"Shut up!" Lucy screeched again when Gray tried to explain. "And put some clothes on!"
"Anyway," Gray said. "I came to remind you two that you need to find jobs before Master announces the people who will be representing Fairy Tail in the Grand Magic Games this year."
Natsu jumped up from his seat and ran towards the door.
"Luce! Stay here and don't leave until I get back I want to surprise you with the mission I am going to pick. Sergeant Happy, stay and make sure Private Lucy follows orders," Natsu said.
"Aye Captain Natsu!"
"Why am I Private Lucy?" She wondered aloud. Gray shrugged his shoulders and followed Natsu out the door.
...
"Hmm..." Natsu stood at the request board in thought. He really wanted to take her on a fun mission, but it couldn't be too hard or too long. It wasn't that she wasn't capable of going on a hard mission, no she was more than capable in his opinion, it was just that Lucy felt like she can't handle missions like that. Why she thought that was a mystery to him. Couldn't see that she is strong? Stronger than him in some respects? Sometimes, Lucy felt like a mystery to Natsu.
He shook his head and tried to find a mission. All of the good ones had already been taken. All that was left was missions for defeating a Vulcan, capturing non-Mage bandits, capturing Mage bandits, guarding a member of the royal family and looking for lost treasure. Natsu sighed. Why must he get stuck with all of the crappy missions?
'No use in complaining about it. Man the hell up and pick one.' Natsu thought to himself. After some major mental debating, he grabbed the mission for defeating a Vulcan and took it to Mira.
"This one Mira!" Natsu called. Mira looked up from the spot on the bar she was cleaning and smiled.
"Going on another one before the teams are picked?" She asked. He nodded while she got the mission authorized. "Ok! You can leave now, but no later than tomorrow morning, remember."
Natsu smiled ad started toward the library. He stopped when he heard the doors bust open.
"Where is your guild master?" A loud voice called. Natsu turned to the front of the guild where all of the members were crowding around each other. "Come on, I said where?!" The voice said again.
"I am here. Now why might I have the pleasure of the presence of the royal army?" Makarov asked.
Natsu felt a sense of unease overcome him. Why did they come here? Did they find Lucy? No, it was impossible. The whole time they called her Lucy Heart. Not Lucy Heartifillia.
A different voice spoke this time. "We are looking in each guild for a possible lead to the Lost Princess," the guild laughed. Natsu felt his neck hairs rise at the familiarity of the voice.
"If I may, the Lost Princess had been missing for more than ten years now. Why would you continue to look?" Makarov asked.
"The fate of the kingdom rests on finding her. Well, the heir to the throne at least. Now, if you don't mind, I need all female members to stand in front," the voice asked rather rudely.
One by one, each girl member present, besides Lucy, walked slowly towards the front. Once the crowd thinned a bit, Natsu could see what the person attached to the voice.
He was a man about a good half a foot shorter than Natsu. He had longish, wavy, black hair that looked greasy. The man wore a suit of armor with red and gold fabric acting as a shirt. Natsu actually realized why the man sounded familiar when he saw his face. On the left side of his face was normal with no marks or blemishes. The right side of his face was a huge scar that looked like it was cause from a burn. It started from the top of where is eyebrow used to be, and down to his chin. A giant scar ran over his eye. His gold eyes seemed to pierce every soul it touched.
Natsu unconsciously let out a loud growl.
This was the man who murdered Queen Layla.
The man who took away part of his happiness.
Gray looked over toward the growling man a raised his eyebrow. "What's wrong pyro? Scared of a little knight?"
Natsu glared at him. "No, boxer princess! I just don't like this man. The way he looks, smells, and acts. It brings up memories that make me angry," Gray shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't think I want to know."
"No you don't. Now, make sure nobody sees me climb the rafters," Natsu ordered and started climbing.
"Why should I do that?"
"Because I will roast you alive if you don't," there was not a hint of bluffing in his voice. Gray nodded unwillingly.
Natsu silently thanked Gray and scaled up the wall and hopped on one of the rafters. Up here, he figured he could get a better view of this guy and what his intentions were. He prayed that Lucy wouldn't come out of the library like he asked.
The fire breather watched the knight carefully. Every step he took was documented, as was every blink or breath. Half way down the line, Natsu noticed a drunk Cana talking.
"What's your name anyway? And do we look like a guild that could house a princess?" She slurred.
"You're right about that. Your pathetic guild couldn't even begin to house this princess because of her refinement. And my name is Lord Takao, the knight." He replied. As he got closer to Cana, she continued to ask him questions. Most of them Natsu wanted to know the answers to.
"Why are you a knight anyway? You are really short. Wouldn't people just step on you?"
He snorted. "The king obviously saw something in me and made me a knight. I have protected his family on numerous occasions, protected him from assassins, and I have even watched over the princess with a watchful eye when she was little."
Cana laughed. "R-really? She said between drunken giggles. "Protected the princess? If you did such a good job, then how come you lost her? And what's with that scar anyways?"
Natsu chuckled at Cana's reasoning of the whole situation. He really didn't do a good job of protecting the princess because she is now "Lost". Yeah, that's a good knight right there.
Natsu could see the fear in Takao's eyes. But it disappeared when he blinked.
"I got this scar on the night Princess Lucy ran away and Queen Layla died. It was tragic. I was trying to protect them both from a horrible dragon and his child," Takao said. There were gasps from all corners of the guild. Natsu hissed.
"Me and my men at the time were chasing the princess because she ran off. In the forest, we came face to face with a fire dragon and a small boy with pink hair." The guild was shocked. Who else has pink hair and is the child of a dragon?
"At first, the boy didn't look at all harmful, so we decided to go and remove him first. It was easy containing him in the beginning. Only when we saw he was trying to "protect" the princess is when things went down hill. Him and his dragon killed half of my men with one single blow. My upper guard and me lasted longer with him, until Queen Layla got hit and died. I don't think I have ever seen a child so mad and hurt looking in my life. Fire erupted around his feet as he ordered the princess to run. My men were going after her, but it was too late. Scales grew on his body and he made the rest of my guards drop and scream they were so terrified. The last thing I remember is him coming right at me. Then, I woke up in the castle infirmary and realized, the princess was gone." He hung his head in shame.
Cana stood slack jawed and wide eyed.
"But next time I see this boy, I will kill him. That's a promise."
Makarov was the only one who didn't look fazed. But inside, he was freaking out. Was the Lucy in the library the princess? Was Natsu a bad person?
The master realized parts of Takao's story didn't add up. Why was Queen Layla there?
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see two figures with red eyes in the shadow. One was next to him and the other was in the rafters. The figure closest to him walked into the light.
"Gi-hee. So, Salamander can trigger Dragon Force on his own? And at that young too," Gajeel said.
"Hmmm. Takao's story doesn't make any sense. Why was the queen thee anyway?" Makarov asked. Gajeel shrugged.
"I know. The whole story of him being the 'Knight in Shining Armor', no pun intended, doesn't fit his profile. Not in the least bit. Now, we just need Salamander's opinion on this," Gajeel looked up and met a pair of glowing eyes.
...
Natsu was royally pissed. Not a word of that man's story was right, nor made sense. Lucy and her mom were running away from the king and kingdom. It wasn't just Lucy. And a random hit from someone didn't kill Layla, no, that asshole down there killed her. Natsu saw it with his own two eyes! Igneel saw it too!
Just from this man walking through the door, Natsu's day was ruined. It started off good, with a Magnolia wide hide-n-seek with Lucy and Happy, then story time in the library, and they were going to go on a mission before the Grand Magic Games. But nooo, he had to show up and bring back bad memories.
Natsu could feel his frustration and anger levels rising at an alarming rate. Every time that man said a word, he felt like screaming. So, that's what he did.
"No! You are WRONG about everything!" He screeched. Everyone looked around trying to find the voice.
"Show yourself!" Takao demanded.
Natsu jumped down, did a flip, and landed on his feet. "My pleasure," he replied.
Takao paled when he stood face to face with his own personal demon. Natsu Dragneel.
"Weren't expecting me to show up huh, you low life son of a bitch?" Natsu spat. "Everything you said was wrong. You weren't the saving grace, you didn't even feel anything when you killed Layla. I could see it in your eyes!"
The room around him got hotter so people had to take a step back.
After a moment, Takao replied, "I-I didn't see you here. So you joined a Mage guild huh? Figured as much. I saw your dragon leave after you turned back," he said in a hateful voice. Natsu growled.
"You have no idea what you did to me, Igneel, Layla, or Lu- the Princess." Natsu saved the last part.
"Do you know where the Princess is, Dragneel?" Takao spat.
Natsu shook his head. "No fucking idea," he glared at him. They had a glaring contest until Takao drew out his sword and pointed it toward his neck.
"I am sure you do know where she is. But, I made a vow to myself I would kill you. Any last words?" The blade now pricked his neck.
"Yeah, I do. FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" A flaming fist slammed into the dazed knights face.
"That's it!" Takao called. "Mummy sword! Bond," the sword fanned out into different pieces, all aiming for Natsu. He smirked and dodged the ribbons of steel. Natsu landed nimbly on one of the tables.
"I'm all fired up!"
...
Lucy looked up from her book and looked at the clock on the wall.
"Wonder what's taking him so long Happy. Maybe I should go see," Lucy wondered.
Natsu had been gone for a good half hour. Nobody had come into the library since he had left, so she started to worry.
"No!" Happy blocked the doorway with his wings. "Captain Natsu said stay in here until he got the mission. So we should stay in here. Plus, I am in charge and because of that, you will stay. That is an order Private Lucy!" He did a solute.
Lucy rolled her eyes and did a mock solute. "Yes Sergeant Happy," she turned away from the door and sat back in her place. There was an uncertain feeling in the back of her mind that something was wrong and that everything would change soon.
...
"Mummy sword! Shape: monster!" The sword changed shape and became a steel Frankenstein.
"Fire dragon wing attack!" The metal melted under the heat. Takao hissed in frustration. That was the third time parts of his sword had melted. Once more, and the sword would be a puddle on the floor. So, Takao did the next best thing to, what he thought, weaken him; bring back old memories.
"Remember the feeling you had when we took you away from your precious dragon? Remember the pain you had when we kicked you?" Takao was spouting this out while he was dodging fire balls.
Natsu flinched. The feeling of heavy boots kicking you in the gut wasn't pleasant at all. "Yeah I do. I also remember the feeling when YOU snapped Layla's head. I saw it roll on her neck. I remember the sick smile on your face," he trembled. "I also remember the scared look on your face when I beat your sorry ass into next week. Now, I will do it again!" He ran forward and grabbed the man by his shoulders and flung him into the wall.
"Natsu! You need to stop!" Erza yelled. Natsu just ignored her.
Again, again, and again Natsu threw Takao into the wall. When the knight continued to get up, Natsu felt like pulling out his hair.
"Why won't you die already?!" He cried in frustration.
"He-he's trying to kill him?" Gajeel said in shock. "Old man! Stop him! If he really has the intent to kill, Natsu's dragon side will take over and the guy will be as good as dead."
"What do you mean, dragon side?" Makarov asked.
"Salamander's power will increase, so will his speed and stamina. He is already in a murderous rage as it is, so if he goes off the deep end, so will his mind. That is when he will awaken Dragon Force. All dragon slayers can do it, including Wendy. We only need someone to hit a soft spot in his mind and we snap."
"Can you tell his soft spot?" Makarov asked urgently. "Maybe we can get him reassured that his soft part isn't in danger then he will stop."
"It's memories of Igneel, Queen Layla, and the Princess. But his underlying cause of this fighting is revenge and protection," Gajeel explained. "And he is protecting someone, well he thinks he is, that could kill him if he doesn't have them in his life. If that makes sense."
A blank look took over the mans face.
"The pyro has a mate. It's like what you humans call soul mates, except once we find our mates we can't live without them. We die inside without them. That's why Salamander over here has been depressed these past months. If he went on any longer, he would've gotten delirious and antisocial. So basically, the man in the armor has taken away his "family" and wants to take his mate. Not a good combo." Gajeel let out an exasperated sigh when he was done.
"Get Erza. Natsu's power is increasing at an unbelievable rate. Or better yet, get Gray to distract them. I want the kingdoms army the hell out of my guild before I crush everyone of them." Makarov's tone of voice shocked Gajeel, but he let it go and got Erza and Gray.
"This has already gotten out of control as it is. I was going to intervene anyway." Erza replied as she changed into her Flame Empress armor. She charged into the mayhem head on.
"Erza!" Gray yelled. "I have an idea!"
"Speak," she said. Gray explained his plan to her and she nodded in agreement.
"Ok. Oi Flame Brain! Don't you have to go on a mission with your team?" Gray called. Natsu quit punching Takao but kept his hold on his shirt.
"Oh crap! Let me finish this." Natsu dropped the almost unconscious man.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!"
Bands of fire enveloped the room. When they dissipated, Takao was on the ground and barely breathing. Erza sighed and walked over to Natsu.
"Erza, what are you doi- offf!" Natsu fell to the floor under the pressure of her blow to the stomach. Makarov let out a sigh of relief.
When all of the royal army was gone, the guild went quiet.
...
"Come on Happy, let me out. It got quiet I want to see what's going on!" Lucy stomped her foot which made Happy frown.
"But Natsu said-"
"I don't care! Let me out!" Lucy pushed him out of the way and opened the door.
She was met by a trashed guild hall.
"What in the hell happened in here? And why is Natsu unconscious? Is he ok?!" Lucy panicked and ran over to the one table that want toppled over.
"We're fine thanks for asking," Gray said sarcastically. Erza hit his head for the comment. "Owww! But Natsu went apeshit on the royal army that came to look for the Lost Princess. Crazy right?" Another slap in the head.
"The royal army?" Lucy whispered in fear. She diverted her eyes from the curious guild members.
"You have a lot of explaining to do child," Makarov said. Lucy nodded sadly. She knew this day would come. Just not this soon.
Ok so no chapter this weekend only next. And as promised to some, I posted this on Wednesday. Be happy!
Happy: Aye!