All Rights to Hiro Mashima
WELCOME! LET'S PLAY ANOTHER ROUND OF: GUESS WHO FORGOT TO UPLOAD THIS SHIT PROPERLY? I'll give you two guesses who.
So guess what? BIG OL FREAKING CHAPTER FOR ALL YOU PRECIOUS CUPCAKES WHO WAITED SO PATIENTLY FOR ME TO STOP BEING A DERP. I squished two chapters into one cause WHY THE FUCK NOT!?
ALSO SMUT! CAUSE LET'S ALL BE HONEST…SMUT MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND.
For Leomae…thank you for all your reviews trying to get the count up to 550, I hope your poor perverted heart will be happy soon! So I thought that a little interlude of smut here in this story would be right up your alley! Enjoy~
As a reward for all you amazing precious cupcakes out there…I am writing an omake chapter that is huge and smutty and there is roleplay and delicious smutty things. Total PWP (sort of) and fits nicely within this story or can go as a standalone. When Stolen reaches 550 reviews you guys are in for a nice cool drink of straight up lemonade. :3
Mind those purity marks! (XXX) This chapter is M rated! YAY!
BEWARE! SEX! SNEAKY SNAKES AND SOME RECAP TIME! ALSO SEX!
Chapter 32: Pyrite
Known as 'Fool's Gold' – for its superficial resemblance to gold – was used in days of old to protect one's self by drawing energy straight from the Earth; masculine in nature, this is the stone of action, vitality, and strong will; from the Greek 'Pyros' literally meaning 'Fire'
Happy awoke from a light slumber to see that his best friends had left him to his own devices. Which was fine by him since it gave him more time to gorge on the delicious fish that sat on a platter before him on the long wooden table.
He glanced around to see that most people in the room were either asleep, snoring away like bears in hibernation, or gone back to their own rooms. Which reminded him, where was he supposed to sleep? The pillow he was on was comfortable enough, but he wanted to find Natsu and Lucy. He had spent eleven years away from them…apparently – seeing as it only felt like a few days to him – and wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.
Especially Lucy. Before he had gone into that never ending sleep, or whatever that was (he couldn't quite remember what Gramps had said because he was more entranced by that Red Snapper Wendy had given him) he hadn't truly been held by her for almost six years. That purple wall of shifting runes prevented him from hugging his best friend and kept her from giving him the most amazing tummy rubs.
No offence to Natsu…but Lucy just had that magic touch that could soothe his aching stomach after too much cream and fish.
The little blue cat climbed up onto the table top, eyeing two platters with a discerning eye. The question at the moment was whether to eat the lightly steamed Rockfish in a garlic butter sauce…or the completely raw Rainbow Trout fresh and gleaming from the lake.
He licked his lips.
Obviously the trout.
But…he wanted to have more than what his stomach could take at the moment. He was greedy when it came to food, blame Natsu for that.
Making the executive decision to eat as much as he could, take the rest for later, and leave one to give as a gift to the pretty white Exceed Charles, Happy munched contentedly on his procured snack for a while.
With the table now littered with bones, Happy was satisfied with his stomach full and almost to the point of distention. He could sleep the night away now.
But not before he packed away the fish for tomorrow. One couldn't be too careful with Gray and the others around. Who knew if they had become fish stealers in the last eleven years? It was better not to take the chance.
Happy pulled off his little green sack – that had been a present from Lucy all those years ago – and opened it up to find there was something already in there preventing him from packaging up his yummy fishies.
"…what the? No wonder her looks so strange…"
He had been ready for rotting fish carcases or the vestiges of his last stolen fish eleven years prior, not Natsu's favourite possession, his last link to his Dragon father.
He unraveled it, the white gleaming and glowing just as it had for all those years. Happy was diligent, inspecting it for damage and the like, but ultimately found it to be pristine and intact, which was a relief to be quite honest. Next to that carving that hung around his neck from Lucy and a small Sandalwood box…this was all Natsu truly cared about. Material possession wise of course.
So Happy packed up the remaining fish and used a red ribbon he stole from Chelia's hair to wrap up one for Charles to give to her in the morning.
Seeing as he had absolutely no idea where Natsu and Lucy left to and he was entirely too tired to deal with this until morning when he could ask Gramps where they went, Happy curled up once again on the little pillow he had woken up on and buried his body underneath Natsu's scarf.
He purred, happy to be surrounded by his best friend's scent. It was comforting, like a gigantic hug.
Sleep came to him easily, and he dreamt of crackling flames and roasted fish until morning.
-ooo-
Lucy was barely through the door to her chambers before she was slammed against the wall with Natsu baring down on her neck, all sharp canines and hot breath whispering promises over her skin. He nipped and suckled at her marks, paying homage to the fact that she was his bonded, his other half.
"…Lucy…Gods, I need you. We both need you. Please..."
And she understood. Oh did she ever understand that need to be filled and to take and give, to join him in that ultimate dance of passion. Lucy was thrilled to hear Natsu speak of his other side, of END. For she had fallen for both of them – at the same time, mind you – if that was even possible.
But she didn't care for the semantics, for she needed both the Demon and the Dragon to love her tonight. She wanted the beast.
The fact that he was already begging her for something that she would willingly give him without hesitation shot a single little thrill down her spine.
An idea cropped up in the back of her mind, one that would bring pleasure and delicious ecstasy for all parties. She ginned wickedly, watching as those onyx eyes that she loved so much darken and deepen until they were pools of arousal, black as pitch.
Last night had been a night of firsts, of love and longing, of completion and coming together as two people do when their souls mesh. Last night she was Lucy and he was Natsu. Best friends turned lovers. But she didn't want that with Natsu this evening, what she wanted was raw and fiery and she wanted to control.
Normally, she hated using the name she was given in battle, but for some reason – be it the look in his eyes like he was devouring her very being, or perhaps the way he was grasping at her hips in just the right way – she wanted to be Nova tonight.
And she wanted her equal, the Demon she had met for the first time with his silver hair and sharp talons and massive wings. She wanted the animal. The beast. The Lord of Hell.
She wanted END.
And she wanted to dominate him.
XXX
Lucy pushed on her lover's chest until he had backed up with a confused look in his eyes, wary that he had misread the situation at hand. The last thing he would ever want was to push her passed her breaking point, to hurt her in any way.
But he was relieved to see lust and need and wickedly dark promises on his Lucy's face. She wasn't stopping their revelry but changing the game.
"I need you too…END."
She dragged his face down to hers, smashing her lips onto his for a passionate and truly fiery kiss that ignited his veins and set his blood pumping. Her tongue was fierce, the dominance won easily by her talented appendage before he knew what was happening.
Without willful thought, the horns and spiralling tattoos, the wings and claws came out.
If his love wanted the beast, the Demon, then he would give her what she craved.
Nimble fingers divested him of his clothing, his tunic and trousers flung haphazardly around her room to corners forgotten in an instant.
He felt slightly exposed standing there in all his naked glory while Lucy still had all her clothes on – her armour had been brought to her room and replaced neatly on its stand by servants after she had shed it on the training grounds – END wasn't used to this, well…he wasn't used to any of this yet as Lucy had been his first, his only and when the time came, his last. But he was willing to practice this carnal act with her as many times as she would allow.
"Aren't you a little overdressed my lady?" His hands reached to remove those pesky coverings so that he could get to the supple flesh underneath that he wanted, no…needed, to mark and caress and explore.
But her hand on his bare chest stopped him, as an interestingly new fire in her eyes froze him solid…ironically. Her small smirk turned dangerous, as she showed her white teeth in a feral grin. "Sit on the bed please END."
Lucy's voice was nought but a sultry purr and END wanted to know just what had possessed his Celestial beauty to even speak in those tones…but he wanted to know what she would do to him much more.
In the end, arousal and passion won out over curiosity and END complied with his love, sliding over her sheets until he was splayed out on her bed, one leg bent, hands behind him, cock at half-mast pointing towards the object of his affection.
She was ecstatic to see that END was so aroused from a single kiss alone, and with half-formed plans in her mind, she began what she hopped would be something sexy and not laughable. She was just as new to all of this as he was, but seeing as they were now two halves to a single coin, bonded and chosen as one, Lucy knew that there would be time in the future to perfect this little dance of theirs.
She sauntered over to him until she was almost in reaching distance of his arms. If he so chose, he could have leant forwards and caught her around her waist to haul her onto the bed. Which is exactly what he tried to do exactly once, but was stopped in his advances yet again by a swift slap of her hand.
"I didn't say that you could touch yet my Demon. Be good and wait, and I'll reward you. I promise…"
Half-hard became throbbing, as the promises of those sinful acts floated through the air. END was finally able to see what Lucy had in mind, as he had seen this time and time again between the Demons of Tartaros.
Domination.
However, this time…instead of squabbling Demons hell bent on gaining the upper hand with the fists and curses, he was in for the ride of his life – or death, still wasn't quite sure about where he stood on that point.
Electricity raced down his spine, tingling and spreading at the base towards his extremities. No one had ever sought to make him submit like this before as they were always too timid…too afraid of the rumours of who he was and what he had done. Kyouka and Seilah were different, they had once tried to occupy him with their bodies and sexual favours…but he had nipped that in the bud quickly. He hated those that tried to use him.
But not Lucy.
No, she would never dream of that. She might use him, his body, for her own pleasure, but she would also give at the same time.
They were equals in that sense.
And so, he felt comfortable and elated to hand the reins of his pleasure off to someone else. To Lucy, the only one who knew him just as much – if not more – than he knew himself. If the look in her eyes was anything to go by, then he was going to enjoy this night a whole hell of a lot more than anything that he could conjure up in his mind's eye.
Finally, while he had mused and lusted after the blonde before him, she had stripped down.
Now, she wore nothing by a sultry smirk and her whip, coiled around her like electrum wire, burnished and glowing like gold. "Back up please END, against the head board…" Her tone was even as if she was merely discussing the weather with a comrade. It made him want to push back, to see what he could get away with.
He snarled a bit, his lips pulling back in a sneer. Even if she was his chosen, he was an Alpha, the Drake of the nest. He wouldn't bow down to anyone that easily, even if she was the Queen.
Before the stupid remark that was on the tip of his tongue fell through his lips, Lucy's hand lashed out as quick as a snake striking its prey and twice as deadly.
The whip in her hand snapped and cracked against the floor by his left foot – which he wisely lifted back on the bed immediately – while the fire in her eyes burned into an inferno. But her voice never wavered past that infuriatingly subtle purr, but the tone was stony and cold. "Naughty Demon. Get back on the bed and lift your arms. You lost the privilege of touching me tonight, try me again…"
The threat hung in the air as END scrambled back – huffing like a petulant child the entire way of course – towards the head board. Something slithered over his hands, yanking them up against the top of the wooden bed and bound them together.
Ah. So this was what the new model did. It seemed to lengthen and shorten to her will alone like the River of Stars, but without the electricity and water. Intriguing.
END's attention was snapped when he felt the bed dip down by his knees to see his Lucy straddling his legs, leaning over his face to tie the end of her whip around a single bed post.
Her breasts swung in his face and he arched his back to get a taste of those succulent peaks that just seemed to beg him for attention.
She tugged harshly on the whip, making him whine in a curious sensation of arousing pain. "What did I say about touching END? You lost that right when you defied me…" Her eyes softened at his pout. He really did have the most ridiculous puppy dog eyes. "…but you may earn it back if you promise to be good."
Strangely enough to him, as Lucy was trying to dominate him, the way she talked and held herself as if she was the Drake here, the Alpha, was entirely arousing and completely insane. He loved it, he loved her. And he knew that this was going to be something he would never, ever forget. Even if he was remade into another Demon. This night would be burned into his mind.
So he nodded hesitantly, surprised with himself at the fact that he gave in so easily to her whims. But that was what he wanted to, he wanted the pleasure and the strange pain that wasn't truly pain and made him shudder in anticipation for more. "I promise."
Lucy stroked his cheek lovingly and smiled.
Ah.
That was why he could never really deny her. That smile wormed its way into his heart and had it in a vice grip so strong he wasn't sure if it would ever let go. He would be just fine if it stayed that way forever, he loved that beaming grin of hers.
"Thank you END. I think you've earned a little reward for being such a good Demon." While this sort of talk was slightly demeaning for one that considered himself the top of every food chain ever made, END couldn't deny how hard his length was and just how much he ached for any type of release she would give him.
He was also mortified to hear a whimper crawl out of his throat at the sight of her beautiful bare body sliding down his front until she sat poised in between his knees, her mouth a hairs breath away from his twitching, leaking, needy arousal.
Her breath ghosted the tip as she just…sat there. And waited.
He almost growled at her. What was she waiting for? An invitation to suck him dry?
She peeked up through her long dark eyelashes, the amber darkened to that of coffee. And he knew that she wanted him to ask.
Lucy wanted him, END, Lord of Hell, to fucking beg.
They were at a standstill. On one side, a stubborn Demon who's right thumb was starting to lose feeling and was this close to trying to rip off that accursed restraint and show her just who the one in charge was. On the other, an equally stubborn woman who wasn't above using petty underhanded ways to make her Demon beg her to suck his cock.
So Lucy decided to play dirty. She placed small chaste kisses on the side of his rigid length while lightly palming his balls. And then she moaned, low and deep.
As soon as Lucy's mouth touched him, END knew he was fighting a losing battle. He loved her tight little mouth in every way and was so ready for her to use it on him that he caved immediately.
"Please Luce. Please, use your tongue, your mouth…Gods, please."
And yet, even though he begged, even though he asked her to. His cock still remained unattended to and wanting.
"You're using the wrong name, my Demon. Ask nicely or you won't have your reward…"
It hit him then. The fire in her eyes made so much sense. The need to make him bend to her will. Damn, the use of her whip should have given it away almost immediately.
"…please Nova."
Lucy took as much of his scorching length into her mouth as she could. Her body remembered his taste, salty with something more like cloves or cinnamon. Some exotic spice that tingled her tongue. It was darker, richer than before. It could've been because he was laying her strung up with her whip panting in his END form, or it could have been her desire for him to submit to her will. For him to come apart at the seams due to her actions, and hers alone.
It was strangely empowering, and she liked what she saw.
She lingered at his tip for as long as she could before her own need drove her forward. Nova sucked on her Demon's length, hollowing her cheeks ripping a snarl from his chest. Grazing her teeth lightly up his cock she palmed his balls lightly, squeezing just so. And he melted into a puddle of whines and growls that pushed her arousal to new heights.
He was just so intoxicating like this.
His answer was to thrash at the bindings, trying to get his hands out so he could grab her head, and push his claws through that golden hair of hers. He needed more of her tight, hot, wet little mouth, more friction, more Lucy, but the damn vixen was deliberately holding out on him.
"Dammit! Nova…Please. I need more!"
"Mmmm…END, I don't believe you are in any position so demand things of me. And you were being such a good Demon before…" END pouted when she removed her mouth completely from his aching arousal and moaned at the feeling of her silky skin as she slithered up the length of his body. Her hard peaks grazed his chest before she came to sit over him, her own heat mere inches away from where he throbbed the most.
END grit his teeth, his length painful as it sat exposed beneath her. "Nova…"
She leant forward as he tried to arch his back and grind himself against her apex, seeking any type of friction, but Nova was too quick for him. She bit down on his collarbone harshly and he roared his approval, black flames swirling along his fingers as he gazed at her with half-lidded eyes.
Nova gave a single mischievous smirk, leant back until she was completely exposed to her hungry Demons eyes as she reached back to prop herself against his outstretched thighs. She glided along his twitching cock, drenching him in her excitement as they both sighed at the feeling. It wasn't enough, it would never be enough for either of them, but it would suffice for the moment.
"Shit-can you feel me END? Can you feel how wet I am for you?" Nova purred at her lover whose eyes bounced back and forth between her face, her swaying breasts and the place where they were almost intimately connected.
"Y-yes…you're so hot, so tight, so fucking wet for me."
Nova needed more stimulation, the liquid heat in her stomach swirling, but not building like it should have. She leaned forward gently – still rocking above him with long movements – and rolled her stiff nipples, plucking at the peaks until she was moaning unabashedly for her Demon, his name along with half-formed curses and pleas dripping from her mouth like honey.
"Shit. Nova, let me outa this. I wanna feel you, Gods, please let me fucking touch you."
She shook her head, this was her show for the night. "You lost that privilege END…but…I can give you a taste?"
He nodded so fast and whimpered that had she not been completely enthralled by his reaction, she would have found it mildly humorous. Lucy dragged a single hand down the valley of her breasts, over her flat stomach – circling her navel teasingly – straight towards her dripping core. She played with her clit for a moment before diving two fingers into her heat, fingering herself almost to completion.
END was mesmerised by the sight of his Luce playing with herself as he laid beneath her like captive prey. His arms jumped in their restraints, but he was unaware of this. As well as the fact that her name and deliciously lewd things were being whispered to Lucy in a deep and dangerous voice that set her nerves alight with renewed fire.
"Fuck! Gods you look so sexy like that. My dirty girl fucking herself with her own fingers. My dirty little Princess fingering her pussy so good…"
At the last moment she stopped herself, panting and sweating. She wanted END's cock inside her when she came tonight, it wouldn't be as fulfilling if it was just by her own devices.
She brought up her hand, glistening and covered in her arousal, and offered it to the Demon who sat watching her with sharp glittering eyes. He sucked her juices off her fingers, twirling his devilish tongue around them to lap up all that was given. END finally got a taste of her straight from the source and he wasn't about to waste it.
Lucy ripped her fingers out of his mouth and slammed her lips down on his for a bruising kiss that was full of passion and fire and devious tongues. The fact that she could taste herself in his mouth did funny things to her stomach, and she knew that it was time. She needed him inside of her.
Now.
Quickly poising herself above him, she gave END one last glance to find him snarling and bucking against her whip, pleading with her to just fuck him already. He was beyond aroused and hedging into the point where pleasure and pain intertwined.
Without another word, she slammed her hips down into his taking his entire length in a single stroke. His pleased hiss of her name had her hips rocking before she was truly ready, her inner muscles still adjusting to his size once again.
Nova dug her fingernails into the hard plains of his chest while she leant forward to dig her blunt teeth once more over his collar bone. His hips snapped up twice without thought, driving his cock deeper inside of her scraping against those places that shot liquid fire through her veins.
"Yes-fuck...shit No-nova…"
His garbled sentences were an aphrodisiac, his snarls and growled praises at her rough treatment the melody she had longed to hear tonight. She knew that END would never truly succumb to her so that she would truly be dominant over the Demon, but the fact that he was even trusting her this much made her heart swell. She placed a single loving kiss on his chest just below the red bite mark that she had left before straightening once again.
Lucy rode him viciously, her hips grinding and slamming down into his while he pushed up with his knees so that the only sound in the room was heavy breathing, the slap of skin on skin and lewd wet noises that did nothing but heighten their pleasure.
"F-fuck…Luc-Lucy I'm gonna fucking come. Shit. Dammit…you're too fucking tight."
Her own end was upon her and she knew that they would succumb to nirvana together. "Then come for me!…shit! Come! NOW!"
She slammed down once more forcing him the deepest he had gone all night and he obeyed her command, shooting shot after shot of his seed within her. The heat set her off on her own trip to the stars.
So Lucy tipped her head back and moaned as her world shattered like glass all around her.
XXX
-ooo-
"OI! Starshine! Get your ass outa bed, we have shit to talk about."
Lucy was startled awake by the crankiest bastard to grace the insides of Domus castle. And that was including Laxus and Porlyusica.
Damn that idiot snake.
His stupid voice was cutting into precious cuddling time with her Demon.
To say she wasn't pleased would be an understatement. "Go the fuck away you poison prick! I'm sleepy…" Yes, she was whining, but who wouldn't in this situation? Stupid Cobra. Stupid sun. Stupid morning.
She heard footsteps and thought she could go back to her rest, Erik was finally leaving her be. She was tired, dammit. Their activities from the night before made her sore. She didn't truly want to go anywhere.
But the sounds of those boots hitting the floor only got louder. Dammit, why won't he just let me sleep in?
"Just because END has a handful of ass and your tits are mashed up against him doesn't mean that you can just go back to sleep."
Ah. Well. That explained the breeze around her nether regions.
Gods, they were throbbing. END was a fucking beast, just as he should be. After their first go around, he had broken through the bonds she held him in through sheer force of will, practically threw her against the wall and proceeded to take her twice more without a moment to rest in between. Lucy was sure that she was bruised, her pelvic region a motley of different shades of black and blue.
But it had been worth it. Even if her throat was sore and her voice almost gone from the screaming.
"Please for the love of all that is holy…stop thinking about all the sex you had. Just…no. Please. Stop thinking about your whip!"
Lucy cracked open one eye to see that she was indeed still straddling Natsu, who was still miraculously in his END form. She rolled her eyes. Silly Demon.
And he was snoring. Dead to the world. But, Lucy had a feeling that he would kick Erik's ass from here to the Black Fortress if he was caught looking at her while she was naked. No matter the fact that she could tell that Cobra liked her women a little more lilac-haired then blonde.
Erik's subtle growl at that thought made Lucy smirk.
She had definitely seen his eyes drift over Kinana more than once at dinner the previous evening.
"Shut up Starshine. And get up. I don't want to see you naked more than I have to…and I'm sure as hell scarred from the amount of skin I'm seeing on END."
She huffed and hid her face in END's collar bone as she listened to her Demon snore away while she was subjected to Erik's annoying attitude this early in the morning. "Fine. Give us half an hour, we will meet everyone down for the morning meal then regroup from there."
"Tch. Fine." The door finally, mercifully slammed shut once again leaving the room in silence.
Except for the fact that the loud sound of that wooden door closing was enough to rouse END from his sleep, apparently. He nuzzled her shoulder happily and purred.
"Morning Luce."
All she could do was laugh and smile and kiss him until they were fully awake. "Morning END. Let's go for breakfast. I'm hungry after that work out last night."
His eyes gleamed crimson and proceeded to tackle her back onto the bed and kiss her until she thought her lungs would give out. She knew from the look in his eyes that she would be even sorer in a moment. And that was okay because she craved what he was offering and that bastard knew it.
He latched his sharp teeth onto her mating mark, spread her legs with his own and plunged into her heat in a single movement. "Shit. You're still so fucking tight…"
Lucy clawed her fingers down his back, desperately trying to find any sort of purchase before she lost her mind and soul to the pleasure that only he could bring her. "So…no breakfast?"
He chuckled and moved his hips in that long slow way that she liked so much and lit up her stomach like fire crackers. "Later…"
Breakfast could wait, she had a ravenous Demon in her bed and he was starving.
-ooo-
A fire crackled in the grate staving off the morning chill that seemed to creep into the stones of Makarov's castle no matter whether it was summer or the dead of winter. The feeling was oppressive and heavy, gliding over those who were gathered like smoke and many couldn't help the shivers of apprehension that wracked their bodies.
Something was coming for those who fought for freedom, they were sure of it. The stars seemed restless cradled in their constellations, and while Nova never truly thought that the stars could tell the future – because really…the personification of Leo was a huge flirt and didn't know much beyond woman and fighting so how could they know what the future held? – She did believe that they could feel when something was amiss. Her instincts screamed at her to listen, and she always listened to her gut and she always listened to her stars.
Lucy felt her bones turn to ice, they threatened to crack and splinter like spun sugar, but it had less to do with the temperature and more to do with the look in Erik's eyes. She saw something in them that she had long forgotten that she had once seen in her own.
Desolation. Regret.
She almost heard the 'what-ifs' pile up in his brain, but what's done was done, the past was over and all anyone could do now was move on.
Natsu shifted by her side, drew her closer to him and scooted her body onto his lap. He wrapped his strong, warm, muscled arms around her body giving her comfort and strength.
The cold didn't seem so bad anymore. Natsu was all she really needed to keep her from freezing. Whether it was END with his black flames, or Natsu and his Dragon fire…both sides seemed to delight in keeping her warm. Whether it was in their bedchambers – because yes, her room was now Natsu's…and in extension Happy's (if they could find that little blue cat, they hadn't seen him since last night), Lucy had even hung those two paintings of fire that Natsu had done in his youth on the wall in the early hours of the morning while END had watched her nude form from beneath their warm nest of blankets – or just with his presence beside her.
Natsu and END were her warmth.
The members of the disbanded Oracion Seis sat strewn about the room that Lucy had chosen for this…chat. It was a forgotten parlour on the third floor, in a wing that was never used. While the place was a bit dusty and she had to remove white sheets from the furniture, it would suffice for what they needed it for.
No one would disturb them here.
Behind her and Natsu, was Erza who stood as if carved from the marble that came from the southern regions of what used to be Nix. Her hands were white-knuckled as she grasped the back of the chaise she was using as support. Her ankle had completely healed, but she was still told – in a very bossy voice – by Wendy and Porlyusica that she needed to take it easy for at least another few days.
While head-strong and stubborn, Erza was never one to trifle with health related things and took their advisory words to heart.
Jellal in contrast to his love was hunched in a dark corner, his eyes flashing with self-hatred and memories of a time best forgotten. It looked as if he was trying to crumple in on himself. Usually, he would be beside his wife, but today…for this discussion at least; he needed to be away from her. She brought back too many things in his life he had thought he had buried; she smoothed over those rough edges and forgave his transgressions.
But that didn't erase what had happened. Sometimes…he could still hear her screams in his nightmares.
Erik licked his lips for the third time, finally getting the courage up to begin. He could have left it for someone else to start, and while he was a bastard, he was no coward.
And he was the one who was mostly responsible for what happened. While not entirely his fault, he took responsibility for his siblings. It had always been that way, and wouldn't stop anytime soon.
But, instead of his story, a question he wasn't even truly sure he wanted the answer to came from him. "Why did you bring END?"
If the question startled her, she didn't show it except for a little tilt to her head. Erik could hear those war drums again, much fainter than before paired with something deep and dark and hidden. The pairing was so natural that it sounded as if the sounds should always be together. Later, he would realise that this was her love for the Demon, but he wouldn't know just yet at least.
He watched in fascination as the pink-haired man who observed all those in the room with sharp eyes as he held Lucy a little closer, his arms wound around her torso in a fit of possessiveness. Lucy placated the pissy Demon-Dragon by smoothing her small pale hand over his forearm.
Nova had forgone her usual armour, leggings, and chain mail for a plain white dress with small straps that came down to her toes and swished across the floor. It was the first time that many of them had seen her look so…girly. For a lack of a proper term. But her shoulders were bare to the world and showed off her marks like badges of honour as they sat in and among her other scars. Anyone with eyes could see that she was proud of whom she was, and this…being mated to a Demon was another part of her, just like the Spirits that she called her friends. With her hair down and so golden in the morning light, she seemed almost ethereal.
Natsu couldn't keep his gaze off of her, and rightly so.
Her answer was stunning in its simplicity. "Because I love him."
Erik could hear that while that was the truth, it wasn't everything.
Because we are mated…because he is my best friend…because he was there in the beginning…
That last thought rocked him.
He had never seen END in his human form before today and didn't know what Lucy meant when she thought he was there in the beginning.
The beginning of what? Of the war? Of her life?
Those drums were getting louder again, cutting off the sound of her thoughts.
"What do you mean? What beginning are you referring to?"
Lucy just smiled sadly. "Of everything…Erik."
She spun a tale. Of sadness and loneliness. Of Dragon boys and trust. Of swords and carvings and Happy. Then she had lost her mother, Igneel had gone missing, Natsu had left her and she was imprisoned.
"…so that's why I couldn't find you." The runes had shielded her so well, and at the moment, he was so incredibly thankful that she had been locked up tight like a bird in a cage.
Lucy had laughed then and nodded. "Yes. But shut up and listen, I'm not finished yet." So Erik had closed his mouth and waited.
The purge of Astralis.
The killing of her best friend. Of Natsu Dragneel, the Crown Prince of Ignis, Fire Dragon Slayer, son of the King Igneel.
Finding her father dead in his office. Taking her keys back from him, escaping to Domus with only a single sword and a blank face.
She had become the youngest General in the history of the army and became the little sister to the Thunder God.
Then she had been sent off by Makarov to combat END, the most feared Demon because her magic was thought to negate his darkness. They had an instant connection, a spark if you will. And nothing was ever the same after that.
There was hope, a light on the horizon even if it was small.
END's willingness to help, his loss of memories that stemmed from his 'accident' but really was from his creation. Finding out that yes, he was Natsu, but also END. And yes, he had actually died by the hands of his older brother no less.
Emperor Spriggan became Zeref Dragneel in his mind.
She was no longer Lucy Heartfilia, Crown Princess of the Star Kingdom, Heir to the throne of Astralis and holder of the Zodiac keys.
She was now Nova, General and Rogue of the Domus Army.
She was Luce, bonded and chosen of the Demon Lord END and Fire Dragon Prince Natsu.
She was Star Shine, the woman who would beat all the odds and rain destruction down on the heads of the Black Army. The woman whom Erik now felt he was all but compelled to protect.
She was Blondie, and Cosplayer, LuLu, Lady Lucy, Bunny and Princess to her friends and family, a mother figure to some, a sister to others.
She was Queen of the most haphazard nest of Dragons that the world had ever seen.
She was…Lucy. The tiny golden girl that had lost everything, but gained a new family and made the best life she could with what little she was given.
When she had finished, the fire had died down to embers in the hearth, but Natsu was still holding on to her tightly, so she felt warm and safe. It was nice that her secrets were finally out and about. Keeping them in had caused her so much pain. The relief she felt was palpable and Lucy felt almost sleepy. Astralis would always be her land, the place where her mother and father and Kingdom rested.
But here, in Domus, was her home.
She felt a hand stroke her hair lightly, the fingers small and delicate and knew that it was Titania who was still standing behind her, giving her comfort if she wanted it. Lucy was suddenly so grateful for her friends and family. For her partner.
Erik nodded once and sat as still as a statue, either thinking or just absorbing her story. The others of the Seis hadn't said a single word, nor had they moved from their spots, either unwilling or unable to break the peace that had fallen over the room.
Lucy didn't mind, it gave her a chance to enjoy the quiet that she didn't get very much anymore. What with END, then all the confusion and recklessness in the Black Fortress, mating and everything that came with that, and now that Happy was awake, she knew she would have to embrace all the silences as they came.
But she suddenly realised that she didn't need the quiet anymore. She didn't miss it. Lucy would rather have her best friends and all the noise and fighting and laughter if it meant that Natsu would stay by her side.
Her Dragon, as if hearing the train of her thoughts derail off into dangerous territories, nuzzled the mark on her left shoulder. I'm here. I chose you. We won't be separated so easily. He rumbled a soft growl in her ear that made the fire that burned in her veins for him flow faster and just a bit hotter. She made a happy little noise in the back of her throat, somewhere between a sigh and a purr that seemed to placate him for that moment.
Natsu was a dangerously amazing man-Demon-Dragon and she loved that he always thought of her and what she was thinking. He had always been that way, even as that young impetuously crazy boy that offered his hand to a strange girl, and she was happy that he had never lost that trait.
"So…Was END truly Natsu all these years? How did no one make that connection?"
Natsu's voice rumbled through her chest as he spoke. "I didn't know my own name, and I believe that only Spriggan's Shield knew of my old identity…or maybe only Invel. I showed this form to the Emperor because he detested the Demon that I looked like, but I was more comfortable with wings and horns around everyone else. I was his greatest failure. The shell of a loved one filled with a great Demon Lord who still had a conscious, still had humanity. I was angry in the beginning, but that ebbed away after a few years, while the story he concocted about why I had no memories had holes in it. Because I still had my free will while the other Slayers did not, I was able to think for myself and learn. Those that had once known me as Natsu were either enslaved, killed, or they disappeared, except for those in this castle…Zeref is the only person who truly knows who I once was. After I had calmed somewhat, my power dimmed with my understanding that the life I was living was a false one, that the only one who was to blame for those things that had happened to me was the one that I had blindly followed. I could see it in his eyes every single time he opened his mouth…blatant lies or half-truths. He kept up the pretense of me being this all powerful being for as long as possible, able to wreak havoc on entire Kingdoms and slay all those in my path…so that the enemy still feared me. But there was only a single person that he thought that I could overcome."
Natsu laughed lightly. "And even then, I failed him, which I am so happy that I couldn't hurt her more than I did." He nipped at his mate's ear playfully. "Nova was a formidable foe, and my darkness drained her light, just as her magic sapped my strength. Although being END still has its perks and is still more powerful than most, the fact that I use the curses against what a Demon should act like diminishes my abilities. After that fact was revealed, the Black Wizard kept me inside the castle, training and honing my Hellfire for his use, including keeping those Slayers he had tucked away as slaves, he waited for the day that Nova revealed herself. When that day came, he was either hoping that I would pull something out of my ass that killed her without a problem, or that she would slay me and he could finally be rid of a defective experiment."
More puzzle pieces fell into place with Natsu's answer. Erik knew from experience that those who were possessed at one point in time where impossible to hear, soul wise. Whether is it was because of the entity that had once lived within them changed them somehow, or perhaps it was because their mind was damaged even though the flesh was preserved. It was why Jellal had been the perfect double agent and why Tartaros was completely blocked from his magic.
It was also why even though the man that sat wrapped around his lover on the couch opposite of him looked entirely human, he couldn't hear a single thought, a single sound from that soul that he had. He was Natsu, but the Demon still lurked behind his eyes, ever thoughtful, always watching.
Erik remembered the tales of END that had circulated the outlying camps in the early years, of a Demon so horrible that to look upon his face would bring you certain death, and it wouldn't be quick, or painless. He was the destroyer of Kingdoms, the Lord of Hell, he was the END.
But one day, those rumours had stopped altogether and END wasn't seen on the battlefield for years. To think that all those times that they speculated on what mission the great and terrible Demon was on, he was essentially under house arrest for having feelings that didn't include blood-lust and the need for absolute carnage.
Erik snorted.
No wonder END hadn't been able to best the Thunder God; his nature went against the grain of the Demon he housed.
Suddenly a stray whisper that didn't sound like anyone he had heard before slammed into his senses.
It wasn't much, but the voice was deep and sounded like crackling flames and heat.
…protect…serve…mate…
He squinted his eyes as he watched Natsu dip down and brush his lips once again over the mark on Nova's shoulder. There was something in that man; something feral that was held back, behind the barrier that the Demon created.
Erik's thoughts were derailed when Lucy gestured towards the Seis, towards him in particular. "I believe it's time for your story Erik."
Jellal perked up in the corner while Erza turned her stony eyes onto him while he nodded. "Of course."
"Erik…why did you ask for Jellal and Erza to come here with us?"
He almost laughed. Star Shine was an inquisitive little thing, wasn't she? "Because we came from the same place. They were there…in the beginning."
She waved imperiously as he threw her own words back at him. He could hear her delight that he liked word play as well as had an equally quick wit as someone named Abaddon.
His voice took on a monotone quality of one who was discussing a particularly bad medical disease to a dying patient. "We – I mean the Seis specifically, as well as Titania and her husband – were kidnapped as young children, barely older than eight, some of us even younger. They were mercenaries under the banner of Alvarez that stole us from our beds, from our families. Slavers who used us as labour to create one of the most despicable weapons I have ever heard of."
He looked at Erza, full of melancholic pain and anger at the fact that there was nothing that they could do now, it was all in the past. "I heard it in Erza's soul. That tiny box you keep locked up tight in the corner of your heart…the Tower. I remember Jellal from when we were taken a second time from that awful place. His tattoo was unmistakable."
Erik sighed and his eyes drifted back towards Lucy. "It was dubbed the Tower of Heaven by the slaves that built the place. We all still have scars from that place…some worse than others." He watched as Erza's hand drifted over to lightly touch one of her eyes. "The six of us were brought in when our villages were razed, burnt to the ground, our families killed in the fire or raped and beheaded by those murderers…We were only there for six months before we caught the eye of a man by the name of General Zero and were again sold off to him to become his personal guard, his entourage. His slaves. The difference being that he knew that every single one of us could use magic, before some of us knew it ourselves. Sorano was one such person. He trained us hard, beat us if we slipped up. Whipped us for speaking out of turn and shackled us to the walls at night. Almost three years went past before we heard anything about the Tower again, only to find out it had fallen at the hands of a crimson-haired Arc Angel who could control weapons."
Lucy's eyes flickered once to her partner whose hands were now shaking.
"…Yes. I was the one to bring the tower down. After it had been completed. The Slavers were going for a complete wipe of the cells after all the work inside of it was completed. It had only been used thirteen times, by the Black Wizard himself who had commissioned it. They killed one of my cell mates, Rob, and destroyed one of my eyes, but I had so much fury in me…so I lashed out, but not with my fists. I discovered my magic when my emotions overwhelmed me and slew them all where they stood. I lost so many of my dear friends that day. Sho, Walley…Simon. But some of us did manage to leave. Jellal was one of them…and so was Millianna." Erza shook back her hair as she grazed the underside of her cheek bone with her thumb unconsciously. The eye that she had Porlyusica replace upon her arrival to Domus.
"We escaped, but Jellal succumbed to a madness we had never seen before…but it turned out that was just Ultear Milkovich's doing. She possessed him to figure out what had happened to the Tower that was so valuable to her Master from a great distance away. Under this madness...Jellal was forced to do…despicable things. He fought it though and gave both Millianna and me time to escape. We ran straight for Domus, not really knowing what was going on in the world until we had run into Gray and Lyon bickering over something or other. Nix and just fallen and they were grieving. We both grew up here with the King. By happenstance, Simon's sister Kagura found us demanding to know of her brother. He had succumbed to the Tower of course, but it took her years to get over that fact."
Cobra nodded. "After the Tower fell, that bastard of a General started to experiment with the afterlife for the Black Wizard, but made increasingly poor choices…trying to create chaos and fear instead of using his magic to help the Emperor. So Spriggan chose to seal that personality away behind the mask called Brain and gave him Klodoa as a means to harness his power. The Seis were turned into a seal that kept Zero behind the bars of Brain's mind. We were chained to him, by the power of the curse that the Black Wizard had forced upon us. Where Brain went…we went without question. Physically we were fine, but mentally…we were essentially shackled to a man that was half crazy. It turned us a little crazy as well. We were the perfect team though, as we trained and grew up together. That was why we were sent to collect the keys from you Starshine, what we didn't anticipate was Tartaros. Jackal was especially ruthless when it came to destruction, and the other Demon's weren't much better. Astralis was dead the moment Spriggan sent those cursed creatures across your border."
He sighed and looked down at the cracks in the flooring. "The seal was meant to be a perfect system. All six of us are strong, and we knew that. We would have to be defeated almost all at once or the spell would continually replenish, keeping us conscious to defend Brain. It was crude but effective. Until Jellal and Mystogan came along and absolutely shredded us. I saw my chance at freedom, Brain was turning back into Zero and I could hear everything he wanted to do to us, all the pain and suffering he would cause if he was let back into the world. I have a duty to my family, and they were in danger, so I acted on impulse and ripped his heart out of his chest."
Finally finished, Erik let out a small breath. "That is our story Starshine. It wasn't our intention to decimate and cause chaos, but it was what we did best. I hope you can forgive me…forgive us all for your Kingdom."
Lucy sat back and digested all of the information for a while.
And then she nodded. Natsu smiled beside her, knowing what was coming.
"I have already forgiven you for what has happened, and now knowing that you have never truly held freedom in your fists, I ask you this…will you fight with all you have for that freedom?"
Six different versions of acquiescence came from the new Crime Sorciere and Lucy sighed. "Thank you all. I will never forget my Kingdom, but I believe that they can sleep peacefully now that I know the whole story, but I must ask something of you; who killed the King? Who killed my father?"
Richard shifted uneasily while Michelle turned away, glancing down at her feet. It was Macbeth who finally answered. "Mard Geer. Lord of the Underworld. Your father refused to give up the location of the keys and so Mard decided to have a little…fun before he left back to Alvarez. As…compensation for all his trouble."
Lucy nodded once again, her brows and lips pinching into a furrow, her gaze stony and cold. She looked so like her older brother that some were still stunned at the fact that she and Laxus held no common genetics.
"And what of the Tower? Why have I never truly heard about it before? I don't even know that name."
Jellal finally stood beside his wife again, his eyes never giving up that haunted look of one that had seen too much. "It was built off the coast of what was once Oceanus before that was decimated. And the name was only given to it by those who worked to complete it. It is truly called the R-system."
Natsu's eyes grew wide. How had their lives been so tangled? All these people in this room had almost met at one point in time, while most had built the tool that had turned him into a Demon. He was glad now, more than ever before, that this entire mess was coming to an end if only to give his family some well-deserved peace.
-ooo-
They convened once again in the Great Hall over a simple dinner of roasted wild boar with spring potatoes and seasoned vegetables.
After the heaviness of that afternoon, with all the revelations and stories, Natsu had opted to talk Lucy with him out of the castle, just the two of them so they could sit and talk or just stay silent in contemplation if they liked.
He had ended up changing sakura pink for ashy silver, spread those black wings of his and stole Nova away from her balcony like all those years ago. She had been just sitting there on a wicker chair trying to immerse herself in a light book, but he could tell that she was still anxious about something. It was obvious in the way her eyebrows were scrunched together.
She had shrieked a bit about 'stupid Demons' until she realised that she had longed for Natsu to take her away like this again, for that adventure that she had found when she was a little girl when everything was still bright and shiny and untainted by war.
They had wound up napping side by side in the early autumn sun in a clearing on a hill, while the wind had whipped around them bringing the smell of changing seasons on its back. Lucy hadn't felt so calm in a long time and END had given her the perfect opportunity to unwind, relax, and sort through all her thoughts about what had happened to her in the last month.
Everything had changed in a blink of an eye, but, she was deliriously happy that it had. She finally had answer, but with those answers…more questions cropped up just like she knew they would.
So here everyone was, just as they had last evening, and hopefully for all the evenings to come, sat her family. Even Crime Sorciere had opted to mingle and enjoy the meal with Fairy Tail. For which she was grateful.
Half way through a bite of spiced pork, a blue ball of fur collided with her chest (thank the Gods she hadn't been wearing her armour) and caused her to choke. While Natsu slapped her on her back heartily – truly doing more harm than good, but it was the thought that counted, right? – Then proceeded to pluck Happy out of her cleavage and let the little cat curl up on his pink spikes. "LUSHI! NATSU!"
"Happy! What's up little buddy? Haven't seen you for a whole day!"
"Oh! I was with Charles and Wendy today while she was learning the differences between all the healing herbs that Porlyusica uses here. But I wanted to find you because I found something! I can't believe you haven't been searching high and low for it."
Happy unravelled his green pack and handed the gleaming white bundle to Natsu who had outstretched his hands in anticipation of the gift.
Lucy had stopped breathing momentarily. How many times had she thought about Natsu or just his scarf? How many times had she wished she could have it to remember her best friend by? How long had it been since that particular garment been with Happy?
"-uce…Luce!"
"Uh. What? Sorry."
"I asked what this was. Was it mine before?"
"Oh. Yes, that was yours. Igneel gave it to you. He left it behind with Porlyusica before he went missing all those years ago. It was as if he knew that he knew he would disappear and that you would search for him."
Finally, after all these years, Natsu would be complete once again.
Natsu wound the white scaled scarf around his neck, his smile never leaving his face.
Until his eyes rolled back into his head without a single word and dropped to the ground in a dead faint.
IM A LITTLE IFFY ON THE DOMINATE AND SUBMISSIVE TYPE THINGS BECAUSE THAT WAS SUPER NEW TO ME. AHHH. :3