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MUST REREAD STORY! I edited it! Some of this won't make much sense if you don't go back!
Remember when I last updated? Pepperidge Farm does.
So... I kinda couldn't write for a while for various reasons.
1. I have been in Germany visiting my dad for the past three weeks.
2. I got sick in Germany so I couldn't write anything while I was there.
It didn't help that I had writers block for this chapter alone. I know where I want to go for this story, but I kinda got lost. WARNING! Don't let Plue have your road map for any story. At all. He kept shaking it so I couldn't read the directions. Plus I had a hungry Happy, a grumpy Lucy, a Gray who kept stripping at every stop sign, an angry Erza, plus a motion sickness free, annoying Natsu who kept asking if we were there yet.
Natsu: Geez, I was just wondering.
Me: I liked you better when you were motion sick.
Natsu: Harsh.
Me: Just do the disclaimer. These people have waited long enough!
Natsu: *looks inside author's sketch book* Yep, defiantly not Hiro Mashima. Not even close.
ENJOY!
Drake laughed under Natsu's feet. His dark eyes gleamed dangerously while he looked at Natsu's onyx ones. Natsu growled when his eyes would flicker back at a cowering Lucy and a pissed dragon slayer.
"I think you know what I want. Now get off of me. It's looks mighty threatening and suspicious to the people around us," Drake hissed quietly. With an intense glare, Natsu slowly got off of his chest. Drake held up his hand so someone could help him up, but Natsu ignored him. With a huff, Drake nimbly hopped to his feet.
The fire dragon slayer walked back to Lucy so he could pull her behind him rather possessively. "I will repeat myself. What do you want?"
Drake picked up a piece of stone that fell of the walls when Natsu launched him into the ground. "I just came to say hi," he said sarcastically.
Natsu growled.
"I highly doubt that," Lucy mumbled.
Catching the slight mumble from Lucy, Drake walked over to her. Before Natsu could stop him, he kicked him to the side only leaving the blonde beauty in his line of vision.
In the corner of the bar, Gajeel was concealed by the darkness. The only reason that he was there, he swore to himself, is because he knew that if Natsu got into another near death fight, it wasn't going to be good. The iron dragon slayer wasn't affected by the magic Wendy placed on the rest of the guild. Because he was conscious, the sleep thriving magic had no affect on him. He remembered everything.
Gajeel watched as the burley man grabbed Lucy's hair harshly. She cried in pain. Natsu was practically spewing lava out of his mouth as he tried to let a dragon's roar out. Gray and Erza were holding him back, in fear that Lucy could get caught up in the attack.
Seeing Natsu's state, Drake chuckled. "Well, you obviously don't like that now do you? How about this?" Drake cupped the girls chin and tilted it upwards. Natsu almost broke Gray's arm when he lunged forward.
Gajeel noticed the situation was getting out of hand. If they held him back any longer, some major burns and broken bones would be in the near future for his guild mates.
"Let's Salamander go! You are just going to get yourselves hurt in the end," Gajeel growled. Natsu spared him a confused look for a second.
"If we let him go, Lucy could get hurt!" Erza said. She wasn't too happy about the situation either, but she couldn't put Lucy at risk.
"Bunny-Girl will be fine! She is fire proof!" Gajeel yelled in retort. Lucy quickly turned her head to meet him with wide eyes. How did he know?
Drake glared at the iron dragon slayer. He jerked Lucy's face back to his, moving it closer. Lucy squirmed against his grip. Natsu lashed out again, this time breaking free of the grip his comrades had on him.
Before Natsu could come even close to them, Drake picked the blonde up and moved her to the back booth. There, he sat at the table with a strong hand around Lucy's wrist and a foot wrapped around her ankle. The fire dragon snarled at him. Smirking, Drake leaned closer to Lucy's face. Thinking he was going to kiss her, she leaned her face away from him. Instead, he dipped his head toward her neck and licked her from collarbone to ear. Behind her ear, he nipped at the skin a bit. Lucy shook her head fiercely, trying to get him off of her. He laughed lightly at her reaction.
Gajeel looked at them in horror. Something uncontrollable is about to happen. Not even the Memory Replace spell could get rid of the event about to occur. His eyes darted over to Natsu. The veins in his eyes looked like they could burst at any moment. The muscles on his arms were strained.
"Oh, someone didn't like that at all," Drake remarked. Lucy was horrified. She felt like crying, running, fighting, and screaming at the same time.
Lucy gave Natsu a gut wrenching look.
Lighting up his fist, Natsu launched himself forward at a stunning speed. When Drake finally let go of Lucy to move, it was too late. He was sent into the back wall. His back made a sickening cracking noise that echoed around the room. Drake's eyes flared to life as Natsu took a step closer.
"You idiot! You'll pay for that! EARTH DRAGON ROAR!"
Chunks of dirt, rock and other shards of minerals were sent toward Natsu. He put up his hands in a failed attempt to block himself from the flying objects. Small cuts and scraped stung his biceps as he lowered his guard.
Natsu POV
"Dragon slayer huh? That makes this even worse," I cursed to myself. I knew if Drake was working for who I thought he was, we were screwed. The best I could do right now was scare him off.
I could tell by the look in his amused eyes when he was holding Lucy, he was going for gold. You know those stories about a dragon guarding its gold? Well in this case, he was guarding his promise of gold. I am almost positive he is working for the low life, son of a bitch Jude. Jude has gold as a reward for bringing Lucy back; something that scaredy cat for a knight Takao couldn't do.
Guarding gold is like a dragon's sixth sense. Sadly, dragon slayers have this sense. Some more than others. Obviously, Drake has a stronger sixth sense in me.
For now.
I have noticed for about a year that my possessiveness over what I thought was mine has been more prominent. Just the little things like food, space, jobs, Happy, Lucy, my scarf...
Wait, did I just say Lucy?
I shook my head. Now is not the time to be thinking about stuff like that.
Drake took a guarded stance, bracing himself for my attack. I spared a glance to Lucy, who was now standing with my team and Gajeel. She seemed fine. Now reassured that she was ok, I focused my attack on Drake.
"Come on Lizard," the opposing dragon slayer said. "Give me your worst."
I clenched my teeth, thinking about what attack I could use to push him back. Now thinking before I attack isn't something I'm known for. That's more Lucy's thing, not mine. As this thought went in my head, something in the back of my mind popped to life. Instantly, strategies rushed through my skull.
I smirked when I finally got a move that would surely leave him running.
"With a flame on the right hand...
and a flame on the left hand...
When you combine the flames together...
Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"
A ball of fire was sent straight toward him. Before the flame reached him, I added another move to finish him off.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
The two bands of fire, mixed with the fire ball, slammed him in all directions. As the smoke cleared, I walked forward to the slowly rising lump on the floor.
"T-this isn't the last you will see of me," he adjusted his weird collar. "Remember this: I always get my gold. Always." Drake limped out of the bar.
...
I walked out of the bathroom shirtless with a towel slung around my neck and my scarf tied around my head. It has been little over an hour since Drake's little appearance. Still, all of us are on guard, me especially. Drake almost got a hold of Lucy. The mere thought of that possibility made my head spin. I just wanted to throw up.
Anyway, as I stepped into the living space/ Gray and Erza's room, I saw the old man sitting on one of the beds. Lucy was sitting right next to him. Her expression was blank from what I could see, that is until she noticed my presence. Her big brown eyes looked at me with so much emotion I almost choked.
She hasn't said much of anything since I carried her out of the bar. It's starting to worry me probably more than it should.
"Natsu?" The familiar voice of Lucy snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah Luce?"
"I-"
She was about to say something until somebody slammed the door open.
"Natsu! Lu-chan! Thank goodness you are alright. We came as soon as we could! Gajeel told me about it," Levy panted. The worried, tired, and concerned look on her face was funny. I almost laughed, except metal head was glaring at me.
"Levy-chan! You didn't have to come at this time of night!" Lucy seemed thankful despite of what she said.
"It's no problem Lu-chan. Plus Gajeel said he wanted to talk to Natsu about something, so when I found him in the hallway, he told me about you," Levy faintly blushed. I tilted my head at Gajeel who was still glaring at me.
"Take a picture it'll last longer, metal head."
"Whadya' say Salamander?!" Gajeel stepped out from behind Levy, shaking his fist at me.
"Get the grease out of your ears piercing's! You heard me!"
"You wanna go, flaming bag of shit?"
"Bri-" before we knew it, our bodies were implanted into the floorboards.
"Brats! No fighting! We still have to pay for the damages to the bar that was destroyed. I don't want to have to pay for more repairs unless its really," he looked at me. "Important. Like life or death," I flinched.
"Tch. Come on Salamander. We need to have a talk." Gajeel growled so only I could hear. He pushed me into my shared room with Lucy. After he shut the door, I faced him with a confused expression.
"What the hell?"
"Calm down. I need to talk to you. It's about Bunny-Girl. I know who she really is," his red eyes glared into mine.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I lied.
"Save the shit for someone else who will fall for it. I know Lucy is the Lost Princess. I know that you and her go way back. I also know that you, Bunny-Girl, Wendy, that old healing hag, along with the Master placed a spell on the guild so they wouldn't know her secret."
"B-but how?" I whispered.
"I was awake. It takes a lot more than come cut rate sleeping magic to make Dragon Slayers go under,"
I sighed. "Now you're in on it. Great. Just don't tell anyone else about this. I want to protect her as long as I can. It's not that I like going behind my nakama's backs, but it had to be done."
Gajeel stared at me with a blank look on his face. "If you didn't almost kill a knight then we wouldn't have this problem now would we?" He sneered.
I just stared at him. Didn't he understand? I couldn't control myself. Even if I didn't want to kill him I still couldn't stop the rage that welled up inside of me at that moment.
"You wouldn't understand."
"I think I might be able to. You just couldn't control your emotions." Gajeel crossed his arms.
"Shut up! I can control them!" Flames licked their merry way up my arms and legs. My breathing was more labored than before. I could slowly feel my patience wear thin for some odd reason. Quickly getting out of my faze, I stopped the flames from spreading farther. My muscles acted automatically, moving hands in front of my face while I inspect them.
"Hmm. Just what I thought," That bastard had the utter nerve to smirk at me.
"Bastard," I mumbled. "You have no idea what's going on with me. Not even I do." Ok, so between you and me, I was sort of worried. I know Gramps had told me once I have the flames of emotion. As my feelings of anger or happiness or what other feeling I was having, rises, my flames get more powerful. It can be both good and bad if you think about it.
Good: Some pretty kick ass moves can come out of it.
Bad: Can burn everything in sight if not careful.
"Tch, whatever Salamander. Just remember: you can't have another outburst like that unless you want them to know. Bunny-Girl can't afford another moment like that before she has to come clean, putting her life at risk. And yours,"
"What do mean 'and yours'?" I asked.
"Well, obviously if Lucy was captured you would go after her. If you go against Drake one more time without controlling your power, you can kill him, everyone in sight, and yourself from magical exhaustion."
I sat down on the bed and put my head in my hands. My fingertips heated up, causing my hair to crimp slightly.
"Come on. I can hear the girls talking about us." Gajeel started his way to the door.
"What am I going to do?" I whispered to no one specifically.
"Hell if I know. Maybe you can train. Some of the guild members do that at the park specifically for wizards in the middle of town when the games aren't going on."
"Yeah, whatever. Lets just go."
...
Lucy sat next to me with a soothing hand rubbing my back. Gajeel and Levy had made their way out after my oh so pleasant conversation with that metal eater.
"What are we going to do now?" Lucy asked Gramps.
He closed his eyes in concentration. Suddenly, he opened his eyes with an excited look on his face.
"I don't know!"
My sweat dropped.
"R-really?" Lucy stuttered.
"Oh come on! There has to be something we can do to keep Luce safe!" I practically shouted.
"Calm down Natsu. I am surprised Gray and Erza haven't come back yet," he mused.
"How does that help?" I grumbled.
"Wait, that necklace. Does it have magical properties?" Gramps asked. Lucy removed her hand from my back to fiddle with her seventh birthday present from me.
"Yeah. It can heal me. I used the flames in the opening ceremonies." Lucy smiled softly at the flickering flame. My scarf glowed red for a moment. A sense of happiness flowed through me. I smiled at her necklace and my scarf.
"Hmm. I wonder if we can modify the flame some more," the master rubbed his temples.
"Why would we want to do that?" Lucy asked.
"Maybe if we can add more power and abilities to the flame, we can place more protection for you. But, that depends on who made the necklace,"
"Why?" I asked. I think I could see where he was going with this but I really didn't want to budge. That flame was the one I made when I was young. The flame that Igneel taught me how to make. He helped me make it.
"If the flame was made by Igneel, then we can't replace it with another one exactly like it. Only the flames of the creator of that necklace can be placed in there. Nothing else." Gramps explained. Lucy nodded.
"Natsu made the necklace. He cut the stone, molded the gold, did the flame and everything. Igneel just stood and watched." Lucy smiled at the slightly glowing jewel.
"So, Natsu. Are you willing to put more spells on the necklace to keep Lucy safe?" Master looked straight into my eyes. It was as if he was searching for something. Something that I couldn't see, and didn't think I wanted to.
"If it will keep Lucy safe, I will do anything," I made sure my voice sounded strong. "I will work on it tonight."
"No, you need to rest Natsu," Lucy stated. "You have to be tired! The necklace can wait until tomorrow," she said.
I was about to argue, but Master silenced me with a raised hand.
"Go rest Natsu. In the morning you may work on it if you want to. It's getting late, and the Games are really going to start tomorrow. You wouldn't want to be slacking compared to the rest of your team," Gramps quietly dismissed himself after he muttered a quiet "good night" to Lucy.
Shortly after the door closed, Lucy and I headed toward our bed. Erza and Gray stopped by when they got back from meeting with the other guild members. Gramps apparently made an agreement with everyone to never speak of what they saw or heard. For that, I was thankful.
...
NO POV
Lucy smiled at a very tired dragon slayer sleeping in the middle of the bed. Any other night, she would tell at him to move over or leave if he was getting too clingy. Tonight she didn't mind though. This afternoon had been hard on them both. From a surprise visit from an Earth Dragon Slayer, to being held hostage by the same person, not even twelve hours later. Lucy shivered at the very thought of him. Not the good shivers she got from Natsu, no, the disgusted ones you get when someone licks you in a very intimate way, without your permission. The spirit mage could still feel the way he dragged his rough tounge behind her ear. She still felt whispers of his sickening breath on the back of her neck to boot.
"Lucy..." Natsu mumbled tiredly. "Come 'ere,"
Lucy eased onto the bed and into his warm arms. She rolled around to where her back was tucked neatly into his stomach. Finding this slightly uncomfortable, she rolled over to meet his black eyes staring intently at her. Natsu's arms wrapped all of the way around her, pulling her close. So close in fact, that Lucy felt his chin on her head.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" Lucy asked him.
"For not being able to protect you better. I let him touch you in a way you didn't want to be touched. I am so sorry," his voice quivered a bit.
"Natsu... Don't beat yourself up over it. Nobody in that whole room could stop him from trapping me in that back booth."
"I know, that's why I am sorry. I should've been able to beat his sorry ass easily. But, I couldn't. I just..." Lucy gasped when hot tears dropped on her blonde locks.
"D-don't cry!" She whispered. "Look its fine! You did everything in your present power to protect me and for that I am thankful," Lucy met his eyes once more. Tears brimmed around the edges of both their eyes.
Neither knew how long they just stared at each other. Both were content in each others arms and gazes. Slowly, they drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
...
Ok! I have the first sentence of the next chapter so far. Making progress.