Shadows
Chapter 15: Stand Against The Enemy
"Jaedou." Lucy gasped, staggering forward.
"Ya ain't lookin' so good, flower. Have you been eatin' enough while I've been gone?" His mocking tone wasn't angering Natsu alone, the dragon slayer noticed the twitch in Lucy's lip.
However, Natsu had to admit, Lucy really didn't look good. Her clutching fist squeezed so tightly her knuckles turned white. Just the way she had to focus to stand, told him something was definitely up.
"Shut the hell up." Lucy snapped. It had been a while since Natsu had seen Lucy so fierce. It was hard to decided whether he was proud or not. Jaedou gave a slightly surprised reaction, raising an eyebrow at her curiously.
"You've grown up." He said, as if it never occurred to him that it would happen.
"You saw me the other night, right? When you broke into my home." Lucy growled. Her voice sounded weak and exhausted.
It appeared to him that she could be experiencing the same feelings as Natsu. Except, the hand on her chest kept nagging at him.
"Sure. That's right." Jaedou said thoughtfully. "We had quite the interruption." He took a quick glance back over his shoulder. The same narrow, unclouded eyes peered straight into him. It made him nervous to fake unconsciousness but he did it anyway. Relief spread through him as they moved away. A different kind of anxiety coursed through his veins as they set back on Lucy.
He wished he could just get between them, but there was still that unconscious pressure on his back and Silver's voice resounding in his mind. 'Stay down, Kid.'.
"Why did ya' come 'ere?" Jaedou asked with curiosity.
"It was only a matter of time. I took the initiative to come here on my own." Lucy answered, her eyes ablaze with determination. "I am not little Lucy Heartfilia anymore. I am Lucy of Fairy Tail. I will not hide from you any longer."
Jaedou's eyes examined her curiously with a tinge of happiness. After a moment, he shut his eyes, stood up straight and sighed. "It's true; You've really grown up. Ma little rose bud grew thorns, don't ya' agree?"
Lucy flinched, looking a little taken aback. She shook it off, spacing her feet further apart, her eyes narrowing.
No more words came from her as a hand swiped past her belt. A golden key was already twisting in the air by the time Natsu realized what she was doing. Lucy was going to fight him. Would it even be possible for her to beat him? Wait! Who was he kidding? It was Lucy he was talking about. Despite what everyone thought, Lucy was far more stronger than they imagined. Natsu could always sense that hidden strength buried deep inside her.
"GATE OF THE BULL: I OPEN THEE!" Lucy yelled. A bright golden glow lit up the room. Coils of golden rings bloomed from the edge of her key, revealing a celestial gateway. "TAURUS!" When it dimmed, a black and white cow stood tall, wielding a black, shining axe. That wasn't all.
Another hand grazed her belt, turning another gold key in the air. "GATE OF THE SCORPION: I OPEN THEE!" She called. Gold light revealed the red and black scorpion pointing his fearsome sharp tail at their opponent. "SCORPIO!"
"TAURUS! SCORPIO! COMBINATION ATTACK:" Lucy pointed a finger in Jaedou's direction. "AXE SANDSTORM!"
Scorpio summoned the sand immediately, tearing rocks apart beside him, leaving a big cavity in the floor. Taurus swung his axe, lining up with the sand attack.
Two celestial spirits? Lucy was going all out. She needed to. But something was bothering Natsu. Jaedou stood calm and relaxed, even as the attack was sent hurdling towards him. It approached with blundering speed, closing the distance rapidly.
A whisper cut into Natsu's thoughts. It was so quiet only he'd been able to hear it. "Gate of the bull: I force thee closed." Surprise wiped Natsu's mind. Why was she closing Taurus' gate. What was she up to? Had Taurus really gone back?
Just as the arrow of sand was about to graze his face, Jeadou flickered, moving just enough inches out the way of the attack. It passed him, rustling his long black hair strewn over his shoulders. But Lucy didn't look surprised. When Natsu turned back, he saw the sharp sand explode and disperse. A cloud of sound clotted the air around him. Jaedou just looked about it speculatively, showing no real concern.
To Natsu's surprise, Taurus leapt out of the sand from nowhere, his axe sent hurting towards Jaedou.
For a second, it looked like it might hit him. But Jaedou rounded on him in an instant, catching the heavy celestial blade with just two fingers.
"My, my, Lucy, your attacks are too predictable." Jaedou commented, half-heartedly.
Natsu's eyes leapt to Lucy. A small smile curled the edges of her lips. It was that deceptive smile that Natsu was always excited to see. The one that he always imagined was saying 'Gotcha'.
Suddenly, Jaedou was sent hurdling out of the sand cloud. He collided into the wall with immense force, a cannon of water exploding over his chest.
Natsu blinked in disbelief as the cloud began to clear. With a long blue tail, and azure hair, was Aquarius. Natsu hadn't seen or heard Lucy summon her. There was no way he had seen it coming.
Next to her stood Taurus, his axe still held in his grip. But, Scorpio still stood by Lucy's side. That meant she was summoning three spirits all at once. When had she been able to do that?
Just before Natsu could start over-thinking it, Taurus' body began to ripple and distort until it finally collapsed into a puddle in the floor.
"Mirages." Aquarius spoke, her voice sounding complimentary for once. "A good idea."
Mirages? Lucy out smarted Jaedou. Maybe that's what Silver was lacking. An overwhelming rush of pride swept over the dragon slayer.
"Thanks, Aquarius." Lucy panted. She still looked exhausted. Scorpio and Aquarius both noticed it. Their eyes narrowed on her.
"I wasn't talking to you." Aquarius grumbled, turning away from the mage. Lucy just gave her a weak smile.
"DON'T GET DISTRACTED!" Jaedou's voice thundered as a surging object swept past Natsu. Onyx eyes bounded to the man hole in the wall; It was empty.
Jaedou was whipping through the air at unimaginable speed. He was heading straight for the spirits.
A deadly fist raised, gaining momentum, heading straight for Aquarius.
Scorpio leapt in front of her, ready to protect her from the attack, but he wasn't given the chance.
"GATE OF THE CELESTIAL SPIRITS: I FORCE THEE CLOSED!" Lucy screamed, skimming two keys through the air.
Jaedou's fist split through disintegrating gold dust, hitting nothing. Lucy managed to close the gate instants before contact.
Jaedou's body twisted in the air, coming to a short stop as he landed. "Still can't bare to see others hurt for your sake?" Jaedou scoffed, his hat now gone, no doubt buried in the wall, revealing the pale white roots of his hair.
"I will always protect my friends!" Lucy growled. It wasn't exactly an answer to the question, but it was enough for him to get the point. "Gate of the-"
A hand thundered against her ribs. Jaedou's fist buried into her chest with incredible force. Lucy's body felt the force as a line of blood trickled down her chin, her eyes bulging open in shock. As Jaedou pulled his hand away, Lucy's body collapsed into a pile on the ground. It was over.
Natsu's eyes glared open in shock. Ice skated over his skin making everything feel numb. Lucy was down? Jeadou had beaten her as well? He'd hurt her again. Rage pushed up to the surface, making every single on of his muscles twist with strength. The red film cast over his eyes in blind rage.
Natsu's body propelled from the ground in a millisecond, hurdling himself at the man.
Jaedou had already sensed him coming. Shiny black boots twisted, his hand leaping out simultaneously. The flaming ball of fire crashed against his palm, disintegrating into the air. Dark boots were pushed back by the surprising force. It almost overwhelmed him, and Natsu wasn't waiting around for him to recover.
A swift foot leapt up, crashing against the man's cheek, sending Jaedou's body launching across the room. Jeadou quickly turned in the air, forcing himself to land in a sliding crouch. His boots dug into the ground, spitting up concrete and stone as he slowed to a stop.
Abyss dark eyes stared at Natsu with a deadly stare, quickly assessing his opponent.
Roaring red flames lit burst up and around the dragon slayer's body, making his pink hair flutter violently. Scales covered his bare skin. Talons sharpened his finger nails. Canine teeth protruded like buried knives. Dark eyes burned with anger.
"Dragon slayer." Jaedou hissed with so much open hostility.
"DON'T YOU DARE LAY YOUR HANDS ON LUCY!"Natsu roared, his hands tightening into fists by his side.
"So you are his kid. I should 'ave known." Jaedou growled. Malicious energy began to pour out of him in buckets. "In that case, I'll take ya' head and give it to him as a present. Can't wait to see the look on his face."
Jaedou disappeared, flicking away with incredible speed. That didn't matter to Natsu. Speed was never silent. "IRON FIST OF THE FIRE DRAGON!" Natsu bellowed, his body moving with ferocious speed.
His flaming fist crashed down in the air ten feet away from him. Jaedou's body appeared underneath it, blocking Natsu's attack with his forearm. The force pushed his body down a few feet into the ground.
"Light on your feet, ain't ya?" Jaedou remarked, disappearing again from under his arm. Natsu's fist crashed down into the ground, biting into the hole under him. "But not quick enough!" Jaedou bellowed from above. His fist collided against Natsu's upraised arms, trying his best to block the punch.
The ground couldn't withstand the force on the dragon slayer's body and cracked through the center. As soon as Jaedou leapt back, Natsu sprung from the crater, thrusting a fist though the air.
The fist grazed Jaedou's pale chin, as he leapt back quickly to avoid it, creating a large space between them.
Natsu, carried through the attack, landing against the stone floor. Cracks broke into the ground as soon as his feet touched the floor, crushed by the overwhelming heat blazing from Natsu's body. "I won't let you touch Lucy!" Natsu declared again.
Jaedou sniggered, leaping back up into the air. Rock spat into the air as Natsu sprung from the ground, burning a deep whole into the stone, faltering from the pressure.
They collided mid-air, throwing fists and kicks so fast at each other it was impossible to see. Each managed to block and counter each other's speed.
Before the reached the ground, both scattered back away from each other, landing on all fours.
"As expected of his son, I can't go easy on ya'." Jaedou sneered. A slim smile bloomed eagerly on his lips. "Be ready, pink-hair. You'll be witnessing my full power now!"
Natsu didn't have the willpower to hold back any longer. Whatever Jaedou was rambling on about didn't matter anymore. The dragon slayer burst from the floor, biting an even bigger whole into the ground as he sent himself hurting through the air.
Sound boomed through the air as Jaedou exploded from the ground. A hole ten-times the width and depth of Natsu's was left in his place, sizzling around the edges. Jaedou's speed increased wildly, moving too fast for Natsu to catch up.
"Gravity repel!" Jaedou's fist slammed against Natsu's face. The dragon slayer's body was sent shooting into the ground.
Foot after foot of concrete buried his body, crashing further and further down. Blood choked out his lungs in protest. Big black eyes just stared upwards in shock. Teeth gritted together so hard they could have shattered as he pounded through layer after layer.
What the hell was that? How could he suddenly be so strong? Where did his power come from? Natsu's mind was screamed. If he was only beginning to use his magic now then he was never going all out before. All that speed and strength that Natsu was barely able to keep up with was just his physical strength! It was crazy. Impossible. How could a normal human be so strong?
Then again, he'd managed to take out everyone; Erza and Gray, Silver and Lucy, and him? Was he going to be defeated too? He had been going all out from the start, but Jaedou was always one step ahead. Then, it's the end? He can't protect his friends, allies, not even Lucy from just one man.
His body came to a grinding stop, stuck so deep that not even light reached him. Stone, debris and rock littered over his fallen body. He was buried in his own tomb. All his strength was gone from him now. Every inch of his body was numb. There was no way he could defeat anyone. It was all over.
"NATSU!" Lucy's voice roared. Salty, rushing tears poured down her face, trickling from her chin. "NATSU GET UP!" She cried, her hands balled into bloody, buried fists.
"My, my, ya' cry out for him, even when he can't lift a finger? How mean." Jaedou tutted, casually rolling up the edges of his torn sleeves. Sparkling black boots strolled over the silent, dark pit where Natsu laid at the bottom. Jaedou's flawless pale skin was covered in bleeding cuts and swelling bruises. Dark hair was strewn across his face, singed at some ends. His eyes held a pure serious gaze as they flickered to the dark hole, and back. Jaedou wasn't even serious when he fought Silver, but when it came to Natsu, it seemed he had to go all out.
"DAMMIT!" Lucy screamed, her body weakly dropping against the floor. "Why? Why is it you always go his far to protect me? Why do you put yourself through so much pain? NATSU!" Lucy shrieked, pounding her weak fists into the broken stone. "Natsu, I'm so sorry for being so weak. I am so, so sorry." All her pain, guilt and frustration overwhelmed her as she collapsed into a fragile pile on the floor.
Sleek boots slowly paced over, padding like a prowling cat stalking its pray. Those footsteps resounded through the halls, cells, walls and even deep down into the pit of a dark whole.
"Lucy..." A weak voice mumbled. Tears glinted and rolled down soiled skin into the ground stone. Muscles struggled and tightened with all the strength they could muster. Teeth gritted against each other, ignoring the pain covering his entire body.
The boots came closer. "Lucy, ma little Lucy." Jaedou's voice regarded her tenderly. Soft whimpering mumbles choked back her tears. Jaedou approached further, letting her words become clearer with each step.
"I am... the stars..." She mumbled. Jaedou's eye brows knitted together. His ears became sharper, concentrating on her words. "Complete. Open thy malevolent gate..." Lucy growled, her body began weakly lifting itself off the ground. Golden light crept up around her body, wrapping around her skin. Jaedou recognized it instantly. Black boots sprung from the floor, sprinting hard towards her. "O 88 stars of the heaven..." Lucy roared. The golden light burst up around her feet, revealing a golden magical circle encompassing the ground beneath her. She was almost there. The power reaching its limits, drawing the last of her strength. "Sta-"
Lucy's voice cut off with a sudden choke. The light vanished, her magic disappearing along with it. The spell fell apart.
A hand clamped around her fragile neck. "Lucy, Lucy," Jaedou tutted, dark eyes reaching her face, burning with such intense anger. Jaedou lifted her up with ease, shoving her up into the air. It was so hard to breath. Her hands clawed at his arms, but she could already sense the growing slack of her body from oxygen deprivation.
"DID YA REALLY THINK I WOULD LET YA DO THAT!" Jaedou's voice snapped, splintering through the air. His hand squeezed tighter, threatening to break her neck. A small whimper squealed out of Lucy's mouth. Jaedou blinked, staring curiously at his hand. His anger dissolved back into the black of his irises, as his emotions fell under control. They fell onto the pair of burning brown eyes, alive with pure rage and resentment. "Your eyes hold so much hatred." Jaedou chuckled, slackening the grip of his hand just enough for her to breath a little. Lucy gasped, sucking in the air with small sharp breaths.
"You...don't understand...anything." Lucy choked out.
"Don't I? Go 'on, explain it to me then." Jaedou's eye brows arched up curiously.
"Even if you...get me here...my friends will...never stop coming for me...no matter how many times...they're beaten. Even if you kill me...they'll hunt you down...They won't...give up." Lucy whispered. A small smug smile pulled her lips, her brown eyes lighting with so much hope and certainty.
"And what if I kill them?" Jaedou asked, the playfulness on his face setting into his harsh, sharp features.
"You can't." Lucy wheezed back.
"Why not?" Jaedou countered, his dark gaze piercing into her eyes. Lucy returned the glare, unflinching.
"Because they're strong." Lucy replied. Her voice was as strong as steel. There was so much certainty and pure faith in every word from her lips. Even though her friends had fallen, she still believed that they would come for her.
"Foolishness." Jaedou sighed. A sinister glint cast over his face as he took a long stride forwards.
Lucy's lungs burst out her small accumulation of air as she was thrust against something cold and hard. The ringing metal resounded throughout the halls. Horror dawned on her face, feeling its frozen touch skate her body. Her finger slipped loose from Jaedou's arm, dangling from the grip of his hand as the buckles and locks strapped her tight. The antique.
A smile lit Jaedou's lips. His body leaned closer, his finger tips grazing her ear. She was acutely aware of his hands running softly down her arm. She faintly felt the tight clasp squeezing around her wrist. The rest of her attention, was stuck sharply on his sickening, cold words. "Don't worry; It ain't gonna hurt." A hand slipped behind her ear, tucking something behind it. A red rose.
"Beautiful." Jaedou whispered, his hand covering her stricken face. "My little-"
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" A voice growled behind him. Jaedou's hand slipped from her cheek, an irritated snarl settling on his lips.
Lucy felt his voice pierce her thickening wall of fear, shattering her panicked shell. "NATSU!"
Next Monday; Chapter 16; Possession of the Heart
Natsu fights off the persistent Jeadou but will Lucy be able to hang on much longer?
If you liked Shadows try checking out some of my other stories.
Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.
If you want more Shadows don't forget to follow!
-A-ccentric