Name: A Missing Minute
Genre; Angst
Background; I wrote this over Christmas/New Year (cheery topic for the season, I know!) as a massive binge writing session. When I read it back I realised it was something that would take a long time to edit and finish, and at the time I was already working on 4 other fanfictions so this one was just left. Sorry it has an incredibly abrupt ending because of this!
A Missing Minute
Crocus had been devastated. The buildings that had not been destroyed by the fierce fight of the Grand Magical Games had long since fallen under the might of seven terrifying dragons that had spiralled through time to spread their sadistic destruction. The day had officially been won by the present day unity of wizards, but it didn't feel like much of a victory.
The strongest wizards of every guild had already been caught in the midst of one of the most strenuous Grand Magical Games finales that they had seen since the games' revival seven years earlier, hours before they had even known that the sky would rain fire. They had been beaten and weakened, some of them to an inch of their lives, and then they had been asked to fight harder than they had ever dared against the most unbelievable and deadly of foes. The casualties had been mounting since the first dragon's roar, and now they were disappearing in a whisp of smoke the numbers continued to rise.
Lucy's heart pounded in her chest as she looked at the destroyed Eclipse Gate, feeling her heart racing through the ages with every Lucy that had suffered under the twists and turns of time travel. The princess was saying her less than fond farewells to the last fading Jade dragon, but her eyes were pinned on Natsu. The pink-haired Dragon Slayer didn't seem to even notice her as he stared down at his enemy, the man that he may have called nakama in a different time and circumstances, but this Rogue was a different man to the fellow dragon slayer they had only just beaten. Natsu's eyes showed no recognition or respect towards the fallen man, watching him disappear into the impossible time difference. He didn't look at Lucy for a long time but she eventually scrambled back to her feet, rushing up to the distracted man and throwing her arms around his waist, burying into his back.
As if in a trance, his hands rested against hers as she squeezed his torso tightly. He was distracted, not in his typical happy-go-lucky style but an entirely new type of distraction. He was lost in thought, staring at the spot that Rogue had just dissolved from, both physically and emotionally exhausted. Slowly he began to realise her forehead was rested against his back, the shaking breathing his keen hearing alerting him to the tears she was trying to hold back. "It's OK. We won," he said slowly, squeezing her hand tightly.
"I thought I was… I thought…" She trembled, losing the strength from her legs and beginning to fall.
He turned quickly, holding her arms and pulling her close to his chest. She blinked, surprised to so suddenly be wrapped in Natsu's arms despite having just wrapped him in hers, not only shocked to feel the kind gesture but by just how comforting it was. "I wouldn't have let anything happen to you. Not ever again," he said slowly, his voice deep and monotonous.
She slowly closed her eyes, feeling the tears she had felt herself holding back as she realised exactly what dark corner Natsu had pulled his pain from. It had only been hours since they had watched the Future Lucy killed, powerless to stop her from protecting the beautiful blond of the present day. Lucy knew how close Rogue had come to succeeding, if not by his own hands but by the dragons themselves, and knew that she needed to soak every bit of strength that Natsu now offered her. In the midst of the battle she had turned the corner and found herself face to face with a half dozen of the dragon-like minions, saved only by her predictable good luck as a form crashing down from the sky distracted them just long enough for her to turn and run to her nearest nakama. She couldn't help shake the idea that she should be dead, that she had already passed too many wounded on their way to the gate and too many fellow wizards that didn't seem to be moving at all. She buried deeper into his chest, not wanting to think of the horrors she had already seen and the ones that would be before them.
The grim reality was inescapable. As Natsu dutifully held her close, his eyes began to wander across the broken horizon and to the ashen wasteland that had remained. They had managed to evacuate most of the citizens before the battles begun, but these streets were still lined with the hundreds of wizards that he had been proud to call friends, even if it had only been for the last few short days. They had been assured that precautions had been taken to ensure that any damage done during the games could be repaired, but there was no way to know if that extended as far as dragon fire. The worst part was that he knew that he had failed. There were seven whisks of smoke disappearing into the future; not a single dragon had fallen that day, despite the might of seven dragon slayers.
"Natsu-San," Wendy walked up to her friend, barely able to keep her eyes open but still able to offer him the beaming smile he clearly needed. "You did it. You broke the gate."
He blinked, almost forgetting that he was supposed to be happy as the grin once again plastered his face. They had been victorious, despite everything, despite all of the carnage and darkness and pain and the wounds that would no doubt leave scars, they had won this day and now he held the key to preventing this path following their future.
"Leave it to Natsu to be good at destroying something," Laxus complimented slyly with a lazy grin, scratching the back of his head as he looked at the piles of rubble that the girls had been completely unable to even scratch.
Natsu had to laugh, finally letting go of the celestial wizard and looking to the others. These were the faces that he had saved and there was never a better feeling than knowing he had done a good job beating up bad guys. Even if those bad guys were dragons and future versions of good guys and all of the lines got more than a little blurred together. His friends all looked ready to collapse at a moment's notice, however, and he couldn't deny that he felt the same. He couldn't let himself fall until he had reunited himself with his guild, shaking away his tiredness and gripping his hands tightly as they began to walk forwards.
It was then that they saw the path that Lucy had walked, the blood on the streets and the screaming wounded. Wendy gasped at the first comrade that she saw, a weaker member of Mermaid Heel that had been standing and cheering from the first day. She was screaming and holding what was left of her arm, but when Wendy rushed to her side she shook her head and gestured down to another young woman. Wendy had almost missed her, her ashen skin blending with the rocks that buried her. The other dragon slayers quickly pulled the boulders from her, but even before they had freed her Wendy was trembling, tears racing down her eyes as she whispered that it was simply too late. The young wizard with the broken arm cried loudly, screaming objections and clutching onto her nakama in disbelief.
Almost in unison, the Fairy Tail wizards turned to the rest of the street, realising that this was the first of a long, long line of death and pain.
It took a long time for Wendy to leave the crying wizard's side, pulled up by Charlie as she continued to soothe her as best she could. The youngest dragon slayer could feel the pain as her own, and something deep inside knew to fear the next few steps. The team, despite their aches and wounds, resolved that they would spread out to try and save as many injured and return them to the same meeting point. Though none of them knew the city well, the fountain they had gathered around to achieve their outstanding victory in the Grand Magical Games was an easily reachable point in plain sight. Gently, Laxus picked Wendy up and placed her back onto her feet, putting a firm hand on her shoulder. "Your job isn't done yet, I'm afraid," he told her, his voice stern yet soft.
Wendy turned away, unable either to look at the first body or her comrade. "I know," she croaked. "I want to help."
He nodded, pride in his gaze towards her as he knew she needed more strength than the rest of them combined. In true dragon slayer style, they would lend each other their power as best they could. "We'll take you to the centre and bring the injured to you so you don't need to move."
"You mustn't push yourself, Wendy," Charlie reminded her sharply, knowing that she would say those words several times over. "We can't expect you to heal every one, and you'll have to prioritise. I'll be there to help you as much as I can."
Lucy nodded, knowing that she would not have the strength to continue to walk much further. "I'll help you too. And as soon as we find Sherria, we'll make sure that she can lend a hand too," she said confidently.
"Right!" Natsu said, determined now that they finally had a plan and some form of wading through the mass of hopelessness around them. "Let's go!"
Laxus nodded, carefully pulling the fallen wizard into his arms and carrying her, watching as Lucy slowly began to lift the injured lady as her last act of strength. He didn't show the same optimism as his fiery counterpart, but there was a somber determination rested in his eyes. "If you find blankets, medicine, anything that might be useful, gather what you can and bring it to the centre. Natsu, you might be needed to cauterise some wounds if Wendy can't heal them all."
Natsu nodded, his fists already flaming despite feeling the last of his magical energy trickling away. "Right."
They made their way through the broken city with a new sense of purpose, haunted by the cries and screams piercing through a new haunting silence. These streets should have been filled with people, especially those celebrating the victory of the games, even at the late hour of the night it still hung in the unnaturally quiet darkness. As well as the two that they had already found, before reaching the fountain they had found three more wizards trapped in the rubble, every one of them feeling a sense of relief as they were alive and one was stable enough to walk by themselves. Determined and somewhat traumatised, the stranger vowed that he would spread the news to other survivors and disappeared back into the chaos before they had reached their destination.
Fairy Tail had not been the only ones to come up with their decision. Wizards from all guilds were beginning to walk to the familiar meeting point, many helping each other when they struggled to walk while others did all they could to count their loved ones. The numbers were small now, but there were more arriving even as they did, eyes pinned towards the small sky wizard. Wendy's eyes went wide, realising that everyone in the clearing was staring at her for the support she specialised in, but she was no longer alone. "Sherria… Sherria-San!" she called loudly, running across the broken cobblestones and falling into her newest friend's arms tightly.
"Wendy-San!" Sherria gasped, her eyes already wide and wrapping around her sky sister as soon as she could be pulled close. She buried against her neck, but was quick to pull back. "I'm so glad that you're here too. My magic won't last much longer and there are so many wounded … How is yours?" she asked desperately.
Wendy's lips twisted awkwardly, glancing around them and realising that even with their brief moment of congratulations there were lives suffering around them. "I'm not sure… I tried to give it my all to the dragon."
Sherria nodded in understanding, but took no more time in her greeting, kneeling beside the nearest wizard and beginning her spell. "Anything will help right now, I think. They're trying to gather everyone here."
"That was our idea too," Laxus told them both, walking back over, looking tired and trying keep his voice stable. He didn't want to mention the pile of bodies that were already beginning to grow, only thankful that he hadn't seen a single face familiar enough to know by name. "We'll scout around as best we can. Have you seen anyone from Fairy Tail?"
Sherria shook her head. "This corner mostly had mages from Blue Pegasus and a couple of the guilds that didn't make the qualifier, I think. I've not even been able to find anyone from Lamia Scale except for Jura," she mentioned, nodding to the far side and the winding empty alleyways. "There are mostly collapsed buildings to the West, so he's gone in that direction to see if he can move any of the rubble. We've had a few teams going to the South, too, but not so many to the East yet, which is where Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail mostly were. I think everyone is just trying to find their own friends right now, and I can't blame them," she sighed heavily, looking down at her healing magic and for a moment wishing desperately that she could be rushing into the heart of the city to find her loved ones. "If you find them, please can you send them this way?"
Natsu heard the strain in her voice, suddenly realising that this wasn't just one of their missions where everyone could walk away and laugh about it later. The sky wizard was terrified, and he could feel the terror resonating from his friends too. "Don't worry about it, we'll get them all back here," he announced, though even he couldn't bring himself to grin through it. He allowed no doubt of hope in his words however, knowing that he would bring everyone home.
Though they would be powerless to choose which wizard they saved or found first, Natsu had a mental list of names. The list included every member of Fairy Tail, of course, and since the grand magical games it also included a fair amount of names that he had only known for the last few days. They weren't all equal, some names screaming in the front of his mind over and over while others whispered so quietly he felt a twist of guilt. The list was growing longer and longer, and the casualties continued to rise, but with every name he whispered to himself 'no, not you'.
Lisanna had been near the very top of his list, the only one who's whispered had turned into a 'not again'. Her brother and sister, standing either side of her as they propped up several other more wounded from the surrounding guilds. The grin fell back on his face as he waved, receiving a wave back from the Strauss siblings, and suddenly he didn't know what he had been worried about. Fairy Tail was stronger than any of this, Fairy Tail always came up winning and crying the challenge 'is that all you've got?!'.
As agreed, they decided to split up, but knowing that there had been very few mages that had travelled in the direction of Fairy Tail they each picked a similar path. The threats were now gone so they didn't need strength, but it became quickly obvious that travelling alone also didn't make sense. Natsu had Happy on his back which he learnt quickly had been a blessing as the first injured came before him. The wizard, almost indisguishable with the blood splattered across his chest and face, was too hopeless to leave behind, perched between life and death and barely making sense, but the twisted position of his body made it clear that this was someone who couldn't be moved. Happy gladly sped away while Natsu tried to calm the wounded Mage, realising he was injuring himself further as he tried to push away the heavy boulders. Within moments all those who could appeared to Natsu's side with a stretcher, and the dragon slayer and Happy helped to carry yet another comrade back to the sky sisters.
This repeated several times over. Sometimes Natsu was able to help them himself, other times Happy had to rush back to the main camp and ask for others. The more injured they found, the more stable they found, however, and the search and recover missions became wider and more spread. Not quickly enough, however. Natsu found himself gritting teeth every time he found yet another non-Fairy Tail member, increasingly impatient. It only became worse when Wendy and Sherria began to ask for his fire magic, desperate to go back into the field as yet more of the dead began to pile.
Only when sitting did he realise how exhausted he had become. He obediently cauterised wounds and bandaged where he could, but he hadn't realised just how much energy he had poured into what seemed a hopeless cause. Wendy had seen the tiredness in his eyes, the way he ran at the first opportunity and she had been keen to force him to recover his strength, not only for his body but for his mental stability. He wouldn't have been willing to stop completely, but in his haste he had missed so much that she had seen, the small glimmers of hope that had kept her working. Gently, she tapped his shoulder, gesturing behind him.
Cana staggered forwards, carrying one of the members of Quattro Cerberus on her arm as she rather indignintly dropped him in front of Bacchus's feet. "Oi, look after your nakama better next time," she murmured, though the way she tugged on her hair and struggled to even lift just herself showed that she held no ill feeling.
"Go easy on him," Max rolled his eyes, dropping down several new blankets and canteens of water to the Quatro Cerberes mages.
"Cana… Max…" Natsu breathed, barely able to believe his eyes. "When did they get here?!"
"Several hours ago," Wendy smiled, wiping the sweat from her brow. "There are a few from other guilds that are here too, doing exactly the same thing you were. You always disappeared so quickly we couldn't tell who you knew was here and who wasn't…" She whispered, looking around. "Right… Who's… Who's next?" She asked, swaying slightly on the spot.
"Careful, Wendy," Charlie said quickly, flying up and putting her hand on her shoulder to keep her stable. "You need to take a rest."
Wendy shook her head, instantly making herself dizzy as she did so and slipping onto her hands. "I can do more…" She gasped, running her hands through her hair as her heart pounded through her ears.
"Wendy…" Charlie began to protest once more.
"Someone help!"
The objections fell short as the new team stumbled into the clearing, a red headed leader sharply shouting the orders. "Wendy, help us!" Erza shouted, determinedly propping up the injured soul beside her even as she limped forwards. The sheer look of terror and pain was written across her face, though her own very obvious physical injuries didn't seem to be affecting her. She was not alone in her despair, however, with Jellal to one side cautiously standing close in case she collapsed and Milliana hesitantly behind her. On the other side, also carrying the fallen mage, was Wakaba, dragging forwards with all of his strength as a panic stricken Romeo rushed forwards.
"Dad… Dad hang in there please! Please!" He shouted.
Chaos erupted as Macao was passed from Erza to Lucy, who pretended that she had not seen the way Erza's legs buckled as soon as she was released of her precious delivery. The father was quickly laid with the rest of the severely injured, whispers of desperation drowned out by his son's pleading cries. Heartbroken, once Macao was on the ground, Lucy turned straight to Romeo and began to pull him back, letting the sky sisters tend to him as she pulled the terrified boy into her chest and let him cry.
It felt as if hours passed as the sky sisters desperately helped Macao cling to life. By the time that they both stopped, neither even knew if it had worked, but while their attention had been poured into the one wizard many more around them had crawled closer to death and permanent injury. It was a difficult decision for them both to stop, but an even harder one for Wendy to take a break.
Erza watched without complaint as the small girl disappeared to the furthest corner of the new camp. She curled herself into a ball, burying away as Lucy laid a blanket over her, kneeling by her side and gently whispering sweet nothings. It gave Erza a strange sense of comfort through the hell, even if she had not been the intended patient.
"Erza?"
She turned so suddenly her leg twisted painfully, unable to hide the reflex to grip it tightly and pull a face. She glared at herself, but stared up to her friend with a forgiving sigh. "I'm very glad to see you, Natsu," she whispered.
Natsu sat down beside her, an unfamiliar frown resting on his face as he saw the pain through her eyes. Instinctively he wanted to call for Wendy to take away her wounds, but glancing over to the two women in the corner he instantly knew better. "You too," he said, meaning the words more than any other he'd ever said. "What happened to Macao?"
Erza sighed heavily, her own gaze drifting to the unconscious father. "We found Wakaba and Romeo running from the offspring. It looks as if they cornered them all, but Macao was able to distract them long enough for the other two to leave," she looked back at Natsu, knowing that it was exactly the kind of explanation that he could accept and draw real pain from. "What about the others? I'm glad to see you, Lucy, Happy and Wendy are safe. There must be others?" She asked hopefully.
Natsu shrugged, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Yeah, there's a few. I saw Cana a bit ago, and Max? Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna… Laxus too. They're all OK. Probably more that I haven't seen yet…"
"Gray?" Erza dared to ask.
Natsu shook his head. "Not yet."
Erza nodded. It hadn't been the answer she was hoping for, but it was better than it could have been. "I'll continue to search," she said, trying to stand and instantly wincing.
Natsu grabbed onto her arm, pulling her back down surprisingly easily as she fell heavily back against the fountain. "You're more useful here," he said honestly, knowing that she would be too stubborn to accept an instruction to stay put, just like himself. "Wendy and Sherria both need rest and they need people to cover whatever they can't. They've already been getting me and Happy to help. Besides, this place is lit up like a beacon now, they can find their own way here."
Erza didn't want to say that it was the ones that couldn't find their own way there that she was worried about, but she nodded and accepted that she could be of use without putting more strain on her injured leg. It had been badly broken even before the fight had begun, but she had powered through it and could do so again if needed, but it was clear from the strained faces around her that there was a place for her here too. Including Natsu, she noticed with a kind and sympathising smile. "You look exhausted…" She commented gently.
He gave a sheepish grin, unable to deny it. "Yeah, the fighting was the easy part."
The words rang true to Erza more than she ever could have expressed. Tiredly, she put her hand on his shoulders, wishing that she could tell him that it would be over soon. Even with the trauma that she had seen and the broken childhood she had experienced, nothing could have prepared her for the devastation they were experiencing now. They had been pulled from a moment of glory and placed straight into the heart of a war zone, and no matter how many battles or losses they had experienced this one would hang with them for many years ahead.
They stayed in silence, neither able to move nor willing to speak. It was the closest that either knew they could get to a real break while they were so determined to save the remaining lives, but both told themselves that they were being each other's comfort and allowed themselves to stay close for just a few more moments before disappearing in different directions.
While Erza began as instructed, flooding her passionate nature into making sure that everyone was warm, cleanly bandaged and secure, she discovered that everyone had the same questions that she did. Leadership instincts kicking in, she grew new resolve to gather the names of those who were missing, alive and dead. The numbers were growing by the hour and eventually by the minute, wizards drawn like moths to the giant light of the camp and it was impossible to gather the names of the coming and going.
Good luck finally fell upon them when Hibiki appeared. Though exhausted and suffering from a painful wound of his own, hearing Erza's determination to categorise the names, he gladly agreed and offered his magic to improve the process. Within minutes he had transferred every name into his personal database, offering it to anyone who asked.
"Why don't you send it out to everyone?" Lucy asked curiously as she finally forced him to sit down as she washed the blood from his head.
Hibiki held out his hands as he glanced up at the growing black clouds. "The names of the living I have no problem with sharing, or those of the missing. I don't think it's a very good way to hear about someone passing, however."
Lucy nodded and blushed, feeling silly for asking such a simply question. "No… I suppose it wouldn't be…" she whispered, wondering what her reaction would be if she saw anyone that she recognised on that list. Then she realised that she actually had no idea what was on the list. "Um, please can you share it with me? I'll get a lot of people asking and…"
He raised an eyebrow, the first few droplets of rain falling upon them. "Are you sure…?"
She hesitated, but nodded. She didn't want him to be fully responsible for the difficult task of spreading bad news, even if she didn't want to be the angel of death herself. At least, in a way, she would be helping. Suddenly, she glanced up, realising that more droplets of heavy rain were falling, despite the clear skies while they had been fighting the dragons. It must have been longer than she'd realised, she thought as she rubbed her face and began to feel her weakened muscles once more. "We need to get everyone inside…" She said quickly, knowing that there was no time now to receive the list, looking around and seeing that there were several members that were completely unable to move, including Macao.
Hibiki nodded, and alongside the rest of the new nurses and returning travellers one by one they pulled the wounded inside the half-destroyed buildings and underneath the remaining overhanging shops. The priority quickly began to shift as everyone realised that warmth was the new essential. The numbers of suffering joining were beginning to thin, as there were only so many left to find that had not already been drawn to the light, but even those who were safe were feeling the negative effects from the growing chill and their overworked endurance. From his latest returning journey, Natsu was once more forced to remain and create heat, and everyone was ordered to come back with as many blankets and kindling as possible.
The shadow dragon slayer hesitantly stepped forward through the rain.
The eyes of wizards from throughout the land looked back at same eyes that had been responsible for the deaths of their comrades. They hid back, shining reflections from every hidden corner with Natsu's flames bouncing back to them.
Rogue swallowed hard, turning back to his brother dragon slayer and silently pleading for him to give him the courage to step forwards. As silently requested, Sting's hand was on Rogue's shoulder, squeezing tightly before turning back to the others. In the rain and the shadows it was impossible to see what was judgement or acceptance, a hand raised in anger or a welcoming wave. Sting had the more optimistic view, even if Rogue clearly had the opposite, the light dragon slayer waving and pulling forwards their recovered comrade.
Almost everyone from the camp felt their heart bound at the sight of the Fairy Tail Master.
Erza ran forwards, but was shocked to see that even before she could stumble before the master Laxus was standing tall in front of him, staring down his grandfather. The rain pounded through their ears, no words said for a long time as the two family members looked upon one another. The master rubbed his moustache, stepping forwards. "I see you have some numbers here," he grumbled eventually.
"Gramps!" Natsu cried out, unable to hold back his happiness for another second as he bounded forwards. "You're OK!"
The master turned away. He was not OK, that much was clearly written across his face.
The dragon slayers spoke for him where he could not, Sting speaking with broken words as Rogue could only stare at the pile of bodies. "There's another camp about a mile out, but nothing as big as this," he said, listening to the hopeful gasps and whispers through the darkness. "We've got more people from all guilds there, and I guess a lot of them have been trying to meet with you."
Hibiki stepped forwards, ignoring as the rain began to soak into his new bandages. "We have a list of the missing, dead and living," he said. "We should compare as quickly as possible," he said sternly.
Sting nodded confidently, but Rogue's dark glance showed he understood the implication to the Archive Mage. "You don't want to give anyone false hope…" he whispered under his breath.
Hibiki nodded, no kindness in his eyes as they fell back upon Rogue's, though there was no hatred either. Only pain.
"Gramps, is everyone there?" Natsu asked quickly, realising that the rest of his friends were hanging onto his words with baited breath. "Is everyone from Fairy Tail safe?"
The Master sighed, his words barely carrying over the heavy droplets that dashed the streets. "No, Natsu, I'm afraid they're not."
The news came crashing down upon them all. Droy was the first member of Fairy Tail to have died, and suddenly the crushing reality that his friends were truly in danger was thrust against Natsu. They had already found so many of their comrades but there were more than a few in critical condition. Before, Natsu had been afraid but there had always been the lingering disbelief that they were going to be ok, and somehow everything was going to be ok. The first casualty brought that trail of thought to a screeching halt and suddenly each of the names on his list screamed at him louder than ever.
Even the good news seemed to be tainted in darkness. They had found Gajeel but he had fallen from the back of the dragon he was fighting, the distraction that Lucy realised had saved her life, but the fall had left him completely unable to move. Sherria volunteered to go to the second camp and spread the sky magic there, promising Wendy that she would take care of the Fairy Tail companions but knowing that she couldn't stay where she was. Sherry had been found near the second camp also, and while she was not in a critical condition she was unable to walk and join her cousin, and Sherria could not bring herself to not rush to her side.
The smaller camp had mostly comprised of Sabretooth and Lamia Scale members, which heartened Sherria to the point of tears. There had been a few of the more famous names of the guilds there who, like the first camp, had been spending most of their time searching the surrounding areas for more supplies and warmth. Natsu gave up listening to the details, caring only of who was alive and who was dead and who was at risk. And there was nothing he could do about any of it except recount his list.
Gray. Unintentionally bumped to the top of his list. Stupid Ice Block. Warren, who should have been telepathically communicating if he was anywhere but danger. Mentally, he swapped them around. Warren, then Gray. Then Juvia, he realised as the pair would probably come as a two for one. Then the Lightning Squad, which Laxus had been pursuing for hours with no results, and his nervousness was beginning to show. Jellal was panicking about his own guild, so then he placed Meredy and Ultear just below, not knowing how he could cope with losing his entire guild of redemption. His thoughts got blurry, trying to remember who else was lost. The Sabretooth Dragon Slayers had mentioned Minerva, Kagura and Arana were no where to be found, Eve was not yet with a guild, Sherria and Hibiki were still trying to analyse which of the Lamia Scale members were missing but they were certain they had lost at least Lyon and Natsu found himself thinking back to Gray and mentally swapping him back to the top of the list.
"Natsu…?" Lucy's arm was against Natsu's, quietly reminding him that he had already created his latest flame and had been burning through the precious kindling at an alarming rate.
He pulled back suddenly, rubbing his eyes as he instantly realised the mistake. "Aha, sorry Luce."
Lucy offered him a sad small, refusing to take her hand from his arm even after he stopped his flame. "Are you OK?" She whispered gently, before biting her lip. It was a foolish question to ask anyone right now, so she turned away. "I mean… I don't mean that. I just-"
"Yeah, I know," he said slowly, rising back to his feet. He didn't look at her as he spoke, his voice filled with a false happiness he struggled to believe. "Fairy Tail has pulled out of this better than any other guild so far, and we should be pretty damn proud of that." He paused, looking back to the broken streets. "I'm going back out there. There might even be a third camp that we don't know anything about."
Lucy bit her lip, not certain she shared his optimism but she certainly liked the idea of it. There were still many guild members from all sides that had not yet been found, either alive or dead, and there could be hope of another gathering or at least some larger groups. The skies still looked daunting, however. "Maybe you should wait until the rain has passed," she suggested, knowing that the injured were still in desperate need of his warmth and he still had a vacant look that was not only caused by emotional strain. "We could really do with you here, Natsu. Don't you think that you'd get farther if you rested a little longer?"
Natsu didn't care how much his body could take, he was determined to push himself until he had brought at least one more of his nakama home safely. He gripped the doorframe, staring out at the huge clouds and hearing the pain in Lucy's voice. She wanted him there for herself, and he didn't blame her. He wanted to be there for her too, wanted to be the glorious shining beacon of hope for all of Fairy Tail to follow, but the best way he could achieve that was with real results, real people to come home.
"That weird rain ain't letting up any time soon," Laxus murmured as he looked up. He had been out in the harsh weather longer than anyone, determined that he would find at least one of his closest nakama, knowing that every one of them would do the same for him. He had been ran to exhaustion and dragged back to the camp against his will, only just able to keep his body upright long enough to stare to the cloud covered stars.
"Weird rain…?" Natsu questioned, a haunting realisation creeping in.
Laxus shrugged, instantly regretting it as he twinged his aching shoulders. "Don't tell me your nose didn't pick up on it?"
Natsu's eyes shifted back to the sky, only now beginning to soak in the smell of the rain. Predicting the weather with only the power of scent was difficult but it was usually possible just before a heavy storm, but the dragon slayer had been caught completely unaware by the growing showers. He had been too busy to stare at the sky absently, but now he remembered flying through the air on the back of his giant fiery 'uncle' without a trace of moisture lingering in the air. Then, all of a sudden, the heavens had opened.
"Juvia…" Lucy realised before Natsu could say the name out loud, looking back quickly between Laxus and Natsu. "That means she's alive, right?!"
Natsu disappeared into the rain quickly.
Lucy blinked, surprised by the sudden reaction. She had expected some kind of victory, a celebration that one of their nakama had shown the first sign of life since the ordeal began, but Natsu had simply dashed into the darkness, running at full speed and taking no time against the splashing puddles. Lucy frowned, looking back at Laxus blankly.
Laxus leaned forwards, rubbing his aching shoulder with a defeated look in his eyes as he translated his fellow dragon slayer's sudden behaviour. "You're right. The rain means that Juvia is probably alive, but it also means that she's suffering."
Lucy put her hand on her mouth suddenly, eyes growing wide. She could feel her heart pounding suddenly in her chest, reminding her that she was still capable of feeling yet more pain as Laxus's words rang with more truth than she dared believe.
"You knew…" The pain-filled whisper echoed through the small building, laced with a daunting realisation twisting into a hot anger as Erza drew upon one of her beautiful swords, unflinchingly placing it against Laxus's neck. "You knew that this must have been Juvia's rain and you didn't tell him. You didn't tell any of us. Why wouldn't you say that?!" She yelled.
Laxus lazily raised his eyes up to Erza, unable to feel the fear from her blade when there was already very little left to destroy. "He's been helping. You all are. Do you know what my spending hours trying to find Freed, Bixslow and Eva achieved? Nothing," he shrugged, turning back away from her and leaning back against the overturned table. "It almost got me killed for nothing. I walked away from people who needed help, walked away from supplies that probably could have needed me, because all I wanted was to find them. Now what do you think he's gonna do, huh?"
Erza gritted her teeth tightly, her sword disappearing from her hand. She knew exactly what Natsu was going to do because she felt the need to do it herself. Her wounded leg and the pounding fear held her back, staring into the darkness. Natsu had told her that she was needed here, but she didn't feel that she could help anyone staring at rain. Slowly she twisted her body into a new requip, stepping out and letting the ice cold droplets of rain consume her.
Natsu was running far too fast for the injured requip wizard to keep up. His head was down, feet splashing through puddles unnoticed, in a haze of desperation running blindly without direction, only purpose. Juvia was in the middle of the storm, he knew that without doubt, and everything else was thoughts that refused to shout loud enough above the list of names to be heard.
"Natsu!" Happy called out.
He heard the voice, a grin crossing his face as he barely slowed his run enough for Happy to throw himself at his back. He couldn't be without his closest companion, whether heading to danger, heartache or victory. He found his footsteps slowing as the calming reassurance began to force him into thinking. "Happy, can you fly up and see if you can see where Juvia's creating the rain from?"
Happy gladly pulled himself up, his eyes bright at the mention of one of his friends. He had been more than half asleep as the Fairy Tail wizards discussed the weather, but now he was understanding at least part of the haste he jumped up shouting "Aye!". Quickly he flew up into the sky, spiralling and pushing his aching wings as hard as he could.
Natsu was left on the ground, wishing that he could keep running but knowing that he could be bounding in the complete opposite direction if he didn't wait for his exceed. 'Find Juvia, find Gray' raced through his mind. 'Maybe find others too. They'll not be alone.'
Happy swiftly rushed down, placing himself straight onto Natsu's shoulder. Natsu knew that that meant he was exhausted, unable to even walk as his heavy breathing was clearly heard by the dragon slayer. "It's hard to tell, but there's torches up ahead," he told him.
"Torches?" Natsu asked, already walking in the direction as fast as he dared while keeping Happy secure. "You mean there's a third camp?"
Happy nodded. "Aye!" He said, his voice wobbling. "But I couldn't find an easy way in. The whole area is surrounded by broken buildings. I tried to fly a little closer but it was so cold…" He murmured, burying into Natsu's neck.
"Cold?" Natsu asked. "You mean like Gray's Ice?" He said, instinctively running faster.
"I'm not sure. We're still missing Lyon and Eve too, aren't we?"
Natsu frowned, cursing himself to jumping to conclusions. Of course Juvia's rain was damn cold as well, sending an unnatural shiver down the flame wizard's neck. He hated the rain at the best of times, but hated it more when it meant one of his nakama was in pain. "Right," he said, cursing the rain yet again as he slipped in the puddles, almost crashing into the huge mound of rocks. He stopped himself just before he was thrown against the stone remnants of the building, pushing back against them to steady himself. He stayed there for a few moments too long, gasping for breath as his head began to spin. Lucy was right, he was weak and exhausted and now he could see tiny sparks in front of his eyes. He was in no position to be running away into the wet and desolate wasteland. Looking up at the mountain in front of him, he knew he was also in no position for climbing.
Before he could try to plan further, Happy's wings once more materialised and he was being lifted. He wanted to object, but Happy was more than capable of finding his own limits to push, and the two were lifted over the barrier.
Happy's wings gave out just before the ground and they both fell into the soft mud heavily. Natsu groaned, quickly by the exceed's side and scooping him into his arms. "Happy, are you ok?"
"A-aye…" The small cat whispered, burying into Natsu's chest.
Natsu smiled proudly, still on his own knees and looking at the new area. One of the huge dragons had spiralled through the buildings, causing the almost impassable river of debris that Happy had just flown over, but beyond the initial destruction the attacks seemed to be far more of the offspring than their larger counterparts. Perfectly empty circles, some of which were still smouldering in the damp air, were blasted out of buildings. Natsu tried to remember which guilds would have been fighting here but his mental map blended together through the carnage and his blind start.
It didn't matter anymore. He stood shakily, Happy wrapped into his arms, slowly becoming accustomed to the sounds that were piercing through the haze. Every step forwards hurt, but he could hear voices. Familiar voices. He took more steps forward, knowing that he was close to collapsing but he was so close to someone, someone alive and well and willing to lift his spirits. Someone very familiar.
It wasn't just one person. The Lightning Team rushed forwards as they saw the staggering dragon slayer, beaming smiles of disbelief at another survivor through the waste. "Natsu!" Bixslow said, his minions floating around him and repeating "Natsu! Natsu!"
If Natsu didn't think he was seeing double before, looking at the spiralling totems made him sure. It took him a few seconds to realise that these were friends, friends that they had been worried about, more names to scratch from his list. "Bickslow, Ever, Freed, you're all OK…" He said slowly.
"Is Happy..?" Freed asked hesitantly.
Natsu looked down at the tiny exceed in his arms, realising the implication and half laughing. "Yeah, he's just exhausted. Laxus has been looking for you all."
The energy pouring from the team was instant. "Laxus?!" Evergreen gasped, clasping her hands together.
"Is he alright?" Freed asked, suddenly grabbing Natsu by the arms and shaking him.
Natsu's whole body stumbled too far, shaking his head to dispel the sudden dizziness it caused. "Uh, yeah, he's fine," he said finally. "There's a whole bunch of us. Happy said he saw you guys have a camp here? Is everyone alright?"
The three suddenly looked at each other, each reluctant to speak. Natsu swallowed hard, wondering what was left to say, what could possibly be worse than the pain in his head.
"We do," Freed said eventually. "There aren't many of us there, but we've been trying to get to the main city. Cana said that there was an even bigger one in the centre."
Natsu swallowed, finding his mouth surprisingly dry despite the damp air. "That's where we've come from. There's another one in the west too," he said, breathing a sigh of relief that Cana was safely with the new camp. Though the fears were different now, he couldn't shake the instinct of pulling all of his nakama close and refusing to let them leave his sight. It had slightly confused him that she hadn't been able to let the Lightning Squad know that Laxus was safe, but he remembered how easily he had missed others when he had been so determined to protect the people he loved. He couldn't even recall the last time that he'd seen Cana, even when forced to stay and put his fire magic to good use.
But the thought of actually having a third camp lifted his spirits as high as they dared. It was the ray of hope that he had needed desperately, and opened the opportunity even for a fourth or fifth. There was the feeling now that they may have been closer to the end than the beginning and even with just the three in front of him now the list was drastically shorter. "We should go there, right?" He said, wondering why the three were still standing absently, exchanging glances between each other he couldn't quite read. "There's other people at the camp. You've got Juvia there, right? Is she alright?" He said, looking up at the rain and starting to walk in the direction that Happy had pointed to earlier.
"Natsu, there's something you need to know before you go," Freed said eventually, his face stern and unreadable.
Something about the tone of his voice told him that he didn't want to hear it. It was the same voice that the master had used when explaining Droy's death. It was serious, somber, with eyes cold enough to hold no escape. Natsu didn't want to turn back around to him. "Yeah?" He asked, swallowing hard.
"Natsu, Gray is dead."
Nothing could have prepared him for that. He looked from Freed, the barer of bad news, to his two companions that were standing either side of him. The first few seconds were a blur, and he must have been standing for some time before reacting as Evergreen put her hands together and whispered "We're so sorry, Natsu."
He didn't quite understand that, didn't understand why anyone would say that he was sorry for him. He didn't feel like he was any kind of person that people would come up to and say that they were empathising with when everyone was a part of the guild, everyone was friends with everyone, and the stupid ice block had never even intentionally been at the top of his list. He was never supposed to be at the top because he was never supposed to be there at all and even now it almost sounded ridiculous. "Wendy," he started falsely, swallowing hard and starting again. "Wendy and Sherria, they have magic, maybe they can-"
Bickslow shook his head quickly, cutting off his words. "They got him good, Natsu."
Seeing that Natsu was about to interject once more, Freed spoke again "Polyusica is with our camp, too. If there was anything that could be done, she would have said something," he said, trying to keep his voice calm for the sake of his friend.
"But there could be something else!" Natsu said, stepping forwards. "Something she doesn't know about, some kind of sky magic or something!"
"Natsu!" Freed spoke once more, his voice surprisingly stern even as he looked at him sadly.
Natsu realised that he had been yelling. He bit back his words, the sudden silence alerting him to the tiny moans of the exceed in his arms. He couldn't work out if his skin had been so hot it was burning, if he had been gripping tightly enough to hurt, or if the small cat was more awake than he seemed and whimpering to himself. Natsu held his companion more protectively, glancing back up and seeing that the three were giving him the same look he was giving to his friend. It was sympathy to the pain that they were causing him, the inbuilt nature of every member of Fairy Tail to protect one another. He still shook his head, turning on his heels and storming with more intent towards where they were supposed to find the camp. "You're wrong," he murmured. "There's something more we can do. Wendy can fix it."
"Natsu they shot him in the head," Bickslow said. Freed and Evergreen shot him a horrified look, but the tall wizard just shrugged his shoulders and explained "He needed to know."
Natsu stopped in his tracks. The words poured into him painfully, only just resisting the urge to shout 'so what?'. He knew what it meant, even if he couldn't bring himself to believe it. Slowly he turned back around, glancing back at Bickslow. The other two were looking between the blunt man and Natsu, clearly torn by their emotions, but either way Natsu couldn't fight the sadness in their eyes. He wanted nothing more than to ignore them, to ignore the sudden pounding in his head and the overwhelming sense of dread. Soon he would be hurting, soon everything would sink in and he would be racked with painful emotions, and the people around him weren't helping. They looked at him like he was going to crack, like his entire world was suddenly going to fall apart and he couldn't even keep their gaze for long.
Happy murmured again, his tiny paws clawing against Natsu's shirt, but this time he knew that he had been holding onto him too tightly. Natsu gritted his teeth, adjusting his grip but refusing to loosen his hold. "Right," he said eventually, staring at the ground. "And there are other people at the camp though, right? Other people who are alright…?"
Evergreen stepped forwards, trying to catch his eyes as she tilted her head to the side. "There are a few, yes. As we said, Cana is there. And Juvia. She isn't taking it well, but she seems to have good company," she said, holding out her hand and gesturing to the rain. "We have Warren at the camp too, he's unconscious but Polyusica says he should be fine in time. A lot from the other guilds too."
Natsu nodded, glad that she didn't go into much more detail. He wasn't sure that he could cope with any more information right now, though the knowledge that two more of Fairy Tail's nakama were safe filled something that had become an instant empty hole inside his chest. He let out a breath, turning back to the direction of the camp and knowing that if he didn't start now he'd never react it. "Shall we go?" he asked.
There was a hesitation the dragon slayer pretended to ignore, but eventually they all quickened their steps and walked in line with him, occasionally steering the direction as they reacted cross-roads and unusual twists in the broken road. It didn't take long for Natsu to see the lights ahead, dancing flames that struggled against the beating rain. He knew this was the place even before he could see the signs of life, feeling the rain beating against his skin painfully and with an unflinching certainty that Juvia's magic centred around this building.
They had been lucky enough to find one of the few standing buildings, though the door was still shattered it offered them some respite from the downpours. There were a few mostly blocked rooms, however, with only small portions of the walls taken down by the impact, and even more perfectly circular holes in the walls from the offspring's blasts. A blast that had gone through his friend's head. He was told that they had nicknamed this 'the cold camp', as it had Lyon, Eve and Juvia's magic twisting through the air and sending an undeniable chill right through to their bones. They mentioned that many had come to them but not returned and they suspected that many of the weaker mages that had leaned on their support simply couldn't handle to depressing drop in temperature.