All Rights to Hiro Mashima
PEOPLE! I have broken down and have a Tumblr. I HAVE NOTHING ON IT YET I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW IT WORKS! AH! Ah well…loadedeel blah blah blah Tumblr thing. Hopefully, I'll know what to do soon with enough messing around.
This chapter is for the ever wonderful Leomae, who loves smut almost as much as I do. :3
BEWARE! FUCKING RABBIT DEMONS! That is all…ugh…fucking Lamy. Blech. (also fluff and some filler and answers and stuff)
Chapter 23: Abalone
Abalone is a marine gastropod that is relatively common, named by the Greek for its shape (literally Sea Ear) the shells are now known as "ear shells"; the inside of the shell is prized for jewellery as it is shiny, smooth and iridescent known as 'Mother of Pearl'; Abalone do produce pearls, but are extremely rare and were traded for thousands of years by many Native American tribes; In Japan, there is a dying breed of women called "ama" who dive for Abalone, but these "woman of the sea" are disappearing.
Lucy's mind drifted between two things that morning as she followed behind END as he wandered the corridors to kill time until the afternoon.
The first, which was far too distracting, was the kiss that END had left her with before he had returned to the bathroom to wash. They hadn't spoken more on that subject, or on the fact they had crossed some sort of line in the dead of night, as a page from the Etherious Army had informed them from behind the closed door that END was summoned to see the Black Wizard after the midday meal.
Also…what in the blazes did that kiss mean? It had a…finality to it. END said he figured something out, but what exactly was it? It had been hot and demanding but also held so many feelings that she couldn't untangle. Lucy was a straightforward person, so she would just ask him when they were alone tonight.
In his room. Alone.
Just the two of them…
The second was the many insurmountable tasks they had before them. Find Mavis and destroy the lacrima she was caught in. Look for the research notes, and other written documents on END, his previous life, or the other experiments Spriggan had in mind. Find Wendy and bring her back to Domus to revive the Exceeds. Break the spell over the Dragon Slayers and petition them to help their Army against the Black Wizard (Really, this one would be the easiest to do after they found out how to lift the Emperor's hold on them.) Find and destroy Hell's core once and for all, hopefully taking Jackal down in the process. Figure out who the hell Lamy is and why she disgusts END so much.
And the biggest one of the almost impossible things on her to-do list: find out just where in Earthland Natsu's scarf went. END had found the necklace, and Happy was safe and sound with the Domus Army, so where was Natsu's most prized possession? The last time she had seen it was the day that he had given her Plue, secured in its place around his neck hiding that enormous scar in Natsu's neck. Which also brings up so many questions for her.
Why didn't END have that same scar? If it was truly Natsu's body, shouldn't the scars stay as well?
Maybe the scientific notes on END would hold the answers to her multitude of confusing questions.
Lucy was so distracted that she didn't notice that END had stopped outside a gigantic ebony door. She looked around and noticed that she had never seen this part of the Black Fortress before and wondered belatedly where they were and how she would get back to END's quarters. Lucy halted just in time – before she smashed her nose into END's very muscular back – and rose a questioning brow at the Demon.
He sent her a smirk, obviously noticing her distracted nature – but didn't comment further. For that she was thankful. She didn't have the strength to banter with the lively Demon today. Fighting off the memories of END grinding into her core was taking everything she had.
It wasn't working.
That kiss had awoken a side of her that Lucy didn't even realise that she had. Wanton and needy, it was confusing, to say the least, but she chose not to dwell on the fact that the only person to pull that feeling out of her was a Demon. As far as she was concerned…END had every right to be considered a person as anyone else, a messenger from Hell or not. Just because he was created by the Black Wizard doesn't mean he doesn't feel or have his own hopes and dreams, weren't they all made in one way or another? END was just brought into this world in a different way, but that didn't make his 'birth' so to speak any less significant than hers.
It was the same with her spirits. Just because their true bodies were held among the stars doesn't mean that they were any less of a sentient being. She despised people who thought of them as tools, as a mere means to an end. They had nerve endings for the God's sakes! They could feel every attack were in constant pain when brought to this world. Also, they could feel when her emotions tipped from neutral to one end of the spectrum or another.
Shit, they could probably feel her now.
How embarrassing.
She had been in a state of perpetual arousal all morning, and it was just getting worse as END set his glimmering eyes on her, the bloody depths promising sinfully delightful things that made her shudder and quake right down to her toes.
END gestured to the now open door and waved her in. As she passed him, a low, very deep growl that was so scorching it should be outlawed met her ears.
"I can smell you…"
While the sentence was innocuous at best, the connotation was decidedly lewd.
Lucy knew that Demon's had heightened senses, like their eyesight and hearing, but the extent was unknown as they were a relatively new species to Earthland only popping up when the Black Wizard had created them for his own nefarious purposes.
She knew, right at that moment, that what END meant was that he could smell her arousal. Truly, it couldn't be anything else, seeing as she was soaking at just the single sentence he uttered. She huffed and rolled her eyes, opting not to comment.
It seemed that after last night, END would still be an insufferable Demon. But now he was an insufferable Demon that set her loins aflame with only a glance.
It wasn't fucking fair. It was also immensely distracting, and they couldn't afford it. Their one-week deadline was creeping up on them and they had so many things to do.
Lucy flounced passed him into the room beyond the heavy door. After he had followed her inside, the entrance to this mysterious place closed by itself with a muted thud sending them into inky darkness that seemed to cling to them like tendrils of smoke.
Lucy shivered and stepped closer to END, his natural warmth staving off the blackness that seemed to swallow up all the light around them.
She realised that she could still see END's face, the way it had scrunched in displeasure. Was he grinding his teeth?
Yes, he was. Either END was nervous or trying to hold back a scathing remark. Lucy thought it must be the latter, but as a sound filtered up through the shadows around them and she actually watched the Demon Lord in front of her cringe, she realised that END was scared.
She would have thought him a bit cowardly then for having such a reaction to a laugh of all things if the noise of it hadn't sent shivers down her own spine and reaching for the broadsword on her back.
Whatever had made that sound needed to be exterminated immediately and sent back to Hell because it was obviously one of the worst beings ever to grace the land…END and the Black Wizard included of course.
This new source of ire was priority one in her books, and she needed to kill it. Quickly.
"What…What the fuck is that noise?" Lucy unsheathed her sword and held it up in front of her torso, ready for the attack that she was certain that was coming for them. Honestly, what sort of demon…monster…creature could produce that laugh? It sounded like a deformed child hiccupping on pure, unfettered evil.
Yes, it was time for it to die.
END narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze around until it fell on a shadow that was just a bit denser than the others. "…Lamy…stand before us. Stop skulking in the dark." His demand was straightforward, his voice unwavering, but Lucy could almost see his courage wavering as his hands trembled slightly.
Was the creature really so terrible that END lost faith in himself? In his strength? In hers?
That thought was sobering and dried up her arousal like a well in the middle of the desert of the lower continent.
In the dim light, a small person, really no larger than an imp or a young teenager, stepped forward and giggled into her hand. The sound raised every hair on Lucy's body, and she felt, rather than saw – as she was standing directly in between this Lamy and her charge – END move closer to her back.
Was he shielding himself with her?
The answer was yes, but she didn't need to know that right now.
Lucy gawked at the Demon – for that is what she was – as she jumped forward and latched herself to END's forearm giggling that insane little choking sound, her rabbit ears swaying and moving in unnatural ways. "Oh END! You look as muscular as ever. I've missed you so much."
Lucy immediately knew why both Jackal and END had hated this place if this was the company that they had while they were here. Honestly, she thinks that she would rather meet Spriggan in battle completely naked with nothing by a rusty fork to defend herself with than stay down here with Lamy a moment longer.
To contrast, Lamy's amorous and frankly terrifying expression, END's face had twisted into something someone would most likely show when they had stepped into a large pile of dung, or perhaps bitten into a piece of fruit only to find their mouth filled with half a worm.
In a word, disgusted.
If Lucy hadn't been feeling the same things, then she would have laughed, but the situation was far from humorous. She watched as END tried and failed to scrape the little Demon off his arm. He was unsuccessful a second time, and Lamy decided to utter her giggle again and start to jump up and down in apparent excitement.
Bewildered at the sight before her, Lucy wondered if what she was seeing was a hallucination, or possibly a dream? But, as the rabbit started to fucking hump his leg and croon at END about his 'tasty abs' the Celestial Mage lost it.
Before anyone could blink, Lucy had slammed a single armoured foot into Lamy's creepy face, knocking the bunny Demon into the floor. She quickly laid the tip of the broadsword to the middle of Lamy's very flat chest – Lucy was suddenly very proud of her own ample bosom – and snarled. "Get off of him you fucking leech. No one is permitted to touch Lord END."
On the outside Lucy was stoic, eyes blazing with barely restrained fury. How dare this little rabbit clutch herself to END like that? Couldn't she see that END was uncomfortable, rubbing like that on his leg? Subjecting Lucy to that sight alone was grounds for execution, even if she despised killing.
Lamy had essential signed her death warrant and was now number two on her list to destroy right after Jackal. Maybe they were tied for the top spot, being equally infuriating as it were.
On the inside, however, she was flipping out at herself. She hadn't lost control of her emotions for so long, and now here she was doing it twice in two days. Had all her self-restraint just suddenly flown out the proverbial window? What in the Nine Demon Gates was going on here?
A twinge in her heart drew her attention, and she identified the traitorous emotion as jealousy. Inwardly she scoffed. General Nova didn't get jealous, she was something to be envious of that was for sure. But she didn't feel such things that would get her nowhere in life.
But, a little voice whispered in the back of her mind, you are just Lucy to END. Not Nova. Not Princess Lucy Heartfilia. Just…Lucy.
Lucy got jealous it seemed.
She shook her head slightly to rid herself of that train of thought for the time being as END slid out from behind her only to slightly caress the hand holding her sword. She held steady after he gave her an approving look and swept the little whimpering Demon up by the scruff of her neck to bring them eye to eye.
"See Lamy. This is what you get for touching me again. I told you that I wouldn't tolerate it anymore." They watched as a bruise started to form on the Demon's forehead, looking black in the dim light of the room.
The bunny's ears twitched as she pouted, giving only a half-hearted giggle before she started to whine like a child. "But END! You're just so sexy! Why won't you let me resurrect you again and make you even hotter? I promise not to touch you when you're naked…much."
END snarled in her face and snapped his teeth together. "Never! You creepy little fucker. I'm only down here as it is my job to inspect Hell's Core just as the Emperor has directed." He shook Lamy slightly. "So show me. I heard Jackal was back here again."
Lamy gave Lucy a scathing look as she was dropped unceremoniously on the ground. "Who's the human whore? Why is she here? You fucking her?"
Lucy bristled with fury but kept her temper in check this time around, it wouldn't do for her to let down END once more.
However, END didn't have that problem. He slammed his fist into Lamy's torso, knocking her clear across the room. "Watch what you say to me, if you step out of line again…not even Kyouka will be able to save you. This is Layla my personal guard, not that it's any of your business." END growled and grumbled under his breath – something that sounded suspiciously like 'fucking cunt ass rabbit' – as said Demon limped her way back to their little group and silently lead them down a corridor that opened up into a cavern carved entirely from volcanic rock.
Lucy smirked it seemed that they had found Hell's Core earlier than she thought, but quickly schooled her features into one more suited for someone who was pretending to be uninterested in the proceedings. Trying to remember how bored she was at the Princess lessons even though seeing Hell's Core for the first time was actually very interesting. She decided to put her brain to good use and try to figure out how to destroy all of this…
END strolled up and down the row of resurrection chambers that were empty at the moment.
Until he reached the very last one in the third row. This one was filled with a light blue liquid and had a very naked and very unconscious Demon inside of it.
Jackal.
But he didn't quite look like the Jackal that they had known. He had been…altered. END chuckled and rounded on the tiny mad scientist. "Jackal's going to rip your head off and shit in your esophagus for what you did to him."
Unashamedly, Lamy pressed her body to the pod that held Jackal. She wiggled in a perverse sense of delight that was not matched by neither END nor Lucy. "What do you mean? He's even more delicious now! Look at that perfection." Her laugh bounced off the walls and assaulted their eardrums.
It took all of Lucy's waning strength not to chop off Lamy's tongue. From the way END's hands were twitching, she thought that she shared that sentiment with him. "Be that as it may…the inspection is completed. Why is Jackal here again?" END tried to sound bored while fishing for information and Lucy silently complimented him on his acting skills.
Lamy pouted and twirled a single ear around a finger in an attempt to look coy. "Dunno. He just showed up yesterday with a hole through his eye. Gonna be a bitch to reconstruct his brain…he might lose some IQ points cause of it."
Ah, their luck had struck again. A less intelligent enemy gives them more of a chance to defeat them in battle.
"How long until he is fit for duty again?"
"A week at the least…I wanted to try some variations out on his feet and hands…"
END shuddered unconsciously closer to Lucy who was still scrutinising the ceiling with a strange look on her face. "Go crazy Lamy. Why not try and give him pointed teeth?"
The little rabbit lit up and immediately scrambled around ready to try out that idea on the suspended and very unfortunate Jackal.
END grabbed Lucy's elbow and guided her to the exit, afraid that if they didn't leave now, they would become the victims of Lamy's next despicable experiment.
They left the shadows of Hell's Core and both let out a gigantic sigh as they strode out into the hallway lit with natural light flooding through the many windows.
END grumbled and stalked off towards his chambers again with Lucy trialling after him. He knew that she had questions, he could almost hear them knocking around in her brain, but she held them in until a more opportune moment presented itself. For this, he was grateful.
He groaned and shivered, feeling the ghost of Lamy's little body against his leg once again. "Shit I need another fucking shower…"
Lucy agreed with him wholeheartedly. They probably should burn those pants he had on as well…just to be safe.
-ooo-
END left Lucy standing guard outside of the Black Wizard's throne room.
A flash of pain swept through him as he saw the Emperor sitting stoically on his stupid black uncomfortable chair like he owned the place. Glimpses of a previous life shifted over his vision, and he almost stumbled on his way up to meet his leader.
The room was awash in beautiful red and orange light from huge candelabras filled with delicious looking fire. A man with flaming red hair, crooked smile and many scars sat smiling and gesturing from the top of the dais, a young teenager at his side holding a large book, his black eyes crinkled with a kind smile. Multitudes of laughing, talking, feasting people filled the halls with merriment and joy.
Before he knew it, the memories were gone once again leaving only a glimmer behind, but a sense of peace was instilled in his heart and swept out the trepidation in his bones. That memory was one that he would treasure, somehow he knew that if this dim, empty hall was once filled with such excitement and love…then everything would be alright again.
END desperately wanted that vision to become a reality once again, and be in the thick of it all once again.
He wondered who the man with the red hair was…he seemed familiar, but sadness and melancholy also welled inside him. He needed to talk to Lucy about this immediately.
"Thank you for coming END."
The Demon scowled. Well, he would need to chit chat with the Black Wizard first. Then talk with Lucy. "You summoned me, why are you thanking me for being here?"
Spriggan dropped all pretences of a normal conversation. "I heard you found a little…pet."
END swore lowly. Fucking Kyouka was such a goddamn suck up, it was unbelievable. While he wanted to defend Lucy and scream at the top of his lungs that she wasn't a fucking toy he was just shoving his dick into, he couldn't. One, because he hadn't actually coupled with her yet, and two…keeping the Emperor unknowing his true feelings was paramount for their ruse to work.
So he schooled his features into a smirk that disgusted him. He would much rather drink a glass of Cobra's poison and have it eat him from the inside out than do what he was about to.
"What? Is that a problem? I know that you like it when we find something to…pass the time with. Like a hobby."
The Black Wizard leant forward, and END thought that he could detect a hint of incredulousness in his gaze. "Truly? I thought Kyouka was lying through her teeth about this. Who ever thought that END would finally figure out what pleasure was…"
The Demon rolled his eyes, but again let a lecherous grin plaster itself against his face. "She was truthful."
"Did you kill her?"
END almost fell to the floor in shock but caught himself in time. "Ugh…no. Why would I do that when I've found something to sate my needs? It makes no goddamn sense."
The Emperor nodded, his cloak hiding his face moving slightly. "I see."
Silence followed that statement until END couldn't stand it any longer. "Was there another reason you summoned me? Or was it just to figure out if Kyouka was lying to you?"
Spriggan took his time answering. "It was a little of both. It is nice to see that Kyouka is still as loyal as ever, but I would watch out for that one and Seilah. They were both furious that you chose a human over them."
END decided not to say anything. He would never choose those Harpies over Lucy any day. They were depraved and scared him more than he wanted to admit. Lucy was…everything good in his life, and he desperately wanted her to stay with him.
"I also wanted to ask where the hell you had been these past days. None of my lookouts saw you leave, nor return. Tell me the tale of your excursion END." This was not a question, but a demand. So END told him a modified version of what happened to him when he had left the Black Fortress including the story he and Lucy had agreed on before coming here.
"I want to meet her. This Layla Aurus."
END wanted to protest, to hide her away from the piercing gaze of Spriggan, but he couldn't fight it lest they were figured out and Lucy slaughtered. "Fine."
Lucy was summoned through the doors, the silver and black colours of her armour complimenting her lilac hair and icy blue eyes well. He missed the warmth of the gold, though, of both her locks and magical armour. He desperately wanted to see her amber eyes watch him with happiness or even irritation, but they remained cold and distant.
He knew she was acting, but he hated it. With a passion.
The woman he loved shouldn't ever look like that.
He had realised it in the bathroom that morning. That feeling that he had since he had met her, that little ball of warmth in the middle of his chest.
It was something that Demons weren't supposed to feel. Love.
The emotion wasn't complicated, or hard to grasp. But Demon's had been forcefully pulled from Hell by the Black Wizard and stuffed into another entity, the husk of a human, after he ripped out their humanity.
Feelings like love, forgiveness, joy, delight and even things like envy or anxiety weren't supposed to be able to be felt. They were complicated things, and that more than anything set them apart from the mortals of this world.
It was another thing that showed that END wasn't a 'true' Demon. He felt all emotions, but learned at an early age to hide them as much as possible and only show things like rage, need, and a psychotic joy at destruction. Bloodlust.
There was one other thing, when he was born so to speak, he wasn't as he was now. He was shorter, his muscles less defined, with not a scar on his body. Unlike Franmalth or Torafuzar who only changed when Lamy experimented on them, END literally grew into being the leader of the Etherious Army.
Just like a mortal being, like something that had its humanity still intact.
Still had a soul.
He sometimes hoped that he still had a soul, even if it was bound for Hell when he finally died, but that was better than the endless nothing that the other Demons would be in for. Purgatory for eternity scared him shitless.
END watched Lucy bow low in a graceful arc that she probably learned while she was a Princess. He could see it in the twitch of her fingers that she desperately wanted to pull a weapon closer to her for protection, but was holding herself back.
There was no blame in his gaze, knowing that if he had a choice or a possible chance, he would have killed the Emperor years ago. But his curse, this black Hellfire, was too close to black magic. Too close to the Black Wizard's own unconscious ability known to them all as the 'death wave.'
He couldn't even put a scratch on the Emperor, even if he tried. But…Lucy used the exact opposite of black magic. Hers was light personified and was blessed by the starry heavens.
If anyone could destroy the man that sat on the throne before them, it was Lucy.
"You summoned me?" Her voice was dull, her face carefully blank.
Rising from his seat, Emperor Spriggan slowly observed the woman in front of him before walking a complete circle around her. "I have one question."
Like an obedient dog, Lucy waited for the man before her to speak first. After all, it was the polite thing to do when faced with a superior. Even if that superior wasn't truly yours and it was taking everything she had to stop herself from running her sword through his heart.
If he even had a heart at this point.
"Why do you fight in this army?"
Taken aback, Lucy floundered for an answer to the strange question. "Because it is my duty."
After a moment filled with tension, Spriggan sniffed and glided back to his chair. "I see. Well,…you may leave these chambers now."
More confused than ever, Lucy left and took up her original post without another word.
"I see why you chose that one END, even if she is human. She is quite…beautiful wouldn't you say?" The Emperor paused for a moment, then his tone changed to one filled with warning. "Don't get too attached to her. It is more than likely she will be killed soon, either in battle defending you or by Kyouka. Keep that in mind while you are buried deep between her legs…"
Bile rose thick and acidic in END's throat as he swallowed thickly at the thought of her dying, completely disregarding the last bit of the warning. "I guess…"
END was dismissed from the room, but before he left, he wanted to ask one question of his leader. "My Lord, I need to know something."
When he wasn't immediately thrown out or stopped, he continued. "What does END stand for? Everyone else had true names, and I never thought of it before, but what is my actual name?"
The Black Wizard's hands twitched minutely. "That is your name. While you lead the Army into battle, you were made to be the end of this world that stands against me, you are to be the end of my enemies. Do you understand now?"
"Yes."
As he left, walking straight back to his quarters with a slightly confused Lucy on his heels, END knew that The Emperor was lying to him again. His gait picked up, and he could hear Lucy start to jog to keep up. He needed to be alone with her, there were so many questions swirling through his mind that he couldn't think straight.
In the forefront, was wondering who he truly was. Also wondering if these feelings that he held for the Celestial Mage were his own, or Natsu's bleeding through along with the memories.
He had a real name, one that he suspected was Natsu, but he also wanted undeniable proof.
They walked passed a heavily guarded door that END knew was an off limit's place that he had snuck in once before and found that dusty necklace at the bottom of a drawer. The Emperor's study.
Suddenly, a little light bulb went off in his head and a plan formed. He knew just where the information he wanted would be held.
By the end of this week, come Hell or high water, he would have those answers in his grasp.
-ooo-
As soon as they had burst through the door to END's chambers, the Demon had been in a frenzy. He stripped Lucy of her armour and weapons immediately, leaving her in her chainmail shirt and plated leggings.
She was too confused and dumbfounded at his actions to protest.
END dragged her over to the fourth wall that was open to the elements, and before she could utter a single question, he threw them over the side into the open air wrenching a shriek from her throat.
His black wings snapped out and brought them up short from becoming one with the ground below.
The Demon cradled her to his chest, crushing him to his torso as if he was trying to meld their bodies together. She hadn't seen him this distressed since he had found out she had jumped out a window to come to his aid, so she kept her questions to herself, opting to enjoy the feeling of flying again, of being in his warm arms again.
-ooo-
"END…" She whispered against his throat. "…what the hell is going on?"
They had been sitting in silence for the better part of an hour in a deserted clearing, just watching the sun make its slow trek across the sky. She estimated they had around four hours until the sundown as the shadows grew longer and the air grew slightly colder.
Not that she really felt the chill. END had held her in his lap in an almost bruising grip and not let go.
Lucy didn't really mind that, truth be told. It made her feel safe, surrounded by all that muscle and strength. But this was a new experience, and she wondered what brought this on. Had the Emperor said something to END? Had they been found out?
No, if she had been revealed as a spy, she wouldn't be here with END now. Lucy knew she would be somewhere back in the Black Fortress being tortured for information. Punished for having the gall to even attempt to infiltrate the home base of her enemy.
So she had waited patiently until she couldn't stand it any longer.
END answered her after another minute of quiet contemplation. When she looked up at him from her spot in between his legs, she didn't like what she saw at all.
Desolation. Confusion. Self-hatred.
Suddenly, silver became pink, claws to fingers, wings and horns disappeared as ash shifted away and was carried off in the light breeze. "…who am I?" His whisper was desperate, the sound sending shockwaves of sadness and – against her better judgement – pity, skating across her nerves.
Lucy reached up and brushed her fingertips against, trying to soothe his worried features even though she didn't have the answers he was looking for. "Truthfully?"
When he nodded, she breathed deeply and looked down in shame. "I don't…know."
"I know. Don't worry Luce. I had to ask."
Her smile was sad and small. "Even though you look so much like Natsu, and you're regaining his memories, you need proof of that fact. Don't you?"
"Yes. I couldn't do that to you."
"Do what?" Lucy didn't understand. Why would she have anything to do with his identity?
"I couldn't assume that I was Natsu without any tangible proof. Because if I weren't…calling me Natsu…would degrade his name."
She sucked in a breath of still late afternoon air. "…what?"
He looked so tired, so small, like a child who just wanted to go to bed after a long day and sleep for an eternity. The sight was heartbreaking as he looked at her with Natsu's onyx eyes. "I'm a Demon Lucy. I am between life and death, neither living nor dying. I haven't got…" He closed his eyes and swallowed slowly. "I don't have a soul."
A gasp left Lucy's lips. "What do you mean?" Her voice was frantic, tinged with hysteria. Every living thing had a soul, even her spirits who didn't reside on this plane of existence had souls.
END had to be joking, right? Because if he didn't have a soul…then that means that if he was truly Natsu, that he best friend's joyful, loving, caring, beautiful soul had been lost. "No…that can't be true. You're alive! You breathe and laugh and smile like the rest of us. It doesn't matter if you're a Demon! I DON'T CARE!"
She was shouting now, holding his face between her palms, nails digging into his cheeks but neither of them noticed the fact she had broken the skin. He looked on with awe while her icy blue eyes lit up with that inner fire that he desperately loved. "I don't give a fuck if you're a Demon living inside Natsu's body, or whatever the hell it is. You are you. You are END if you are also Natsu then so be it. If you aren't, then you aren't."
He nodded slowly, but she wasn't finished with her tirade.
"…and if your soul is truly lost…then…then I will fucking follow you into Hell and find it again so help me. If it is the last thing I do, I will search the Underworld for it forever then shove the damn thing up your ass when I do find it."
END tried to speak, to get a word in edgewise, but she brought a hand up and squished his lips together forcefully. Her next words were laced with a growl that sent warmth and electricity shooting down his nerves to collect in his stomach. "I will make you whole once more."
Instead of saying a single word, END lowered his forehead to hers and knocked them together gently. The action was filled with nostalgia and suppressed memories, but he didn't care. END watched her eyes carefully as they closed and she just breathed in and out slowly.
His questions could wait until later, his worries and distress could wait until tomorrow. For now, he just wanted to sit in quiet contemplation with Lucy in his lap watching the blood red sky dim into deep blue.
-ooo-
Three days pass by without incident.
END had shown Lucy were the underground crypt was where he had found Happy and Mavis, unfortunately, every night the Black Wizard was there speaking in hushed tones. He had told Lucy that they were words of compassion, love and devotion. As well as things that made no sense, mere ramblings and what sounded like scientific equations. They disregarded that room for the time being as it was unlikely they would be able to do anything about Mavis' body until Spriggan left the Fortress or called another meeting with his Shield.
A plan had formulated in both their minds – for different things mind you – and they had shared their respective ideas with each other during their nightly escapes to that hidden clearing in that forest.
Hell's Core was a priority for Lucy as its destruction could turn the tides of the war. The Demons would die a true death without hope of resurrection. The way to destroy Hell's Core was simple in its brilliance as they had all they needed with Lucy there.
The answer was in her magic, the blessed light of her sword she manifests would cleave quite nicely through the black magic that gave the tubes their ability to raise dead Demons. This would have to be done at the last moment as it would most likely alert the Black Wizard to an intruder in the castle.
END's plan had to do with the information contained in Spriggan's office. As the Black Wizard always spent his nights speaking to Mavis under the Fortress, END would meld them into the shadows and slip into the room through the servant's corridor. It wasn't well known, but as it had been a study for a King before the Emperor, it stood to reason that it would contain a seldom used door, or so Lucy told him.
They were going to gather all the facts and answers they could tonight, copy them with the strange little lacrima that Lieutenant Freed had given them, then leave without a trace. It was a perfect plan.
But it didn't account for them being interrupted by the one person they had been looking for, but unable to find for three full days.
The azure headed Dragon Slayer, The Sky Maiden herself.
Wendy.