A/n: Hey people! I know I'm updating this story a lot. It's just that I want to get all my ideas on paper before I forget it!
Anyway, Natsu may a little OOC in the last chapter, but just remember, though he is very kind to his nakama, he is harsh with anyone he hates. I'm writing this while using that same hatred towards Lucy and you will understand why when you read ahead.
Before you start reading, please look at this fairy tail mv on youtube. Whoever made this is a genius!
[youtube].com/watch?v=AnEBpVk7z54&feature=watch_response
Chapter 2
...
"Protect Natsu's baby after I die."
Gray stood silently as he processed the information. Natsu had a child? He then noticed Lucy's hands cradling her stomach. The loose shirt she wore covered what had, before then, not been visible. Lucy appeared to be heavily pregnant with a child. Gray was unwilling to believe whatever he was seeing.
"What baby?" His statement came out harsher than he had intended. He knew of delicate situations but he had not anticipated that Lucy would resolve to more tears from his attitude.
"I knew it! You don't believe me, do you? This wasn't my fault; I didn't try to kill Natsu! I promise!" she cried hysterically while tightening her arms around her belly. The sight before him took on a new meaning as he refocused on the bruises and cuts all over her body. Unable to stand her tears and scared over her situation, he knelt beside her and gently shook her shoulder.
"I'm sorry Lucy; I didn't mean to be so harsh. Just tell me what's going on. Are you carrying Natsu's child?" he received a nod in reply as Lucy struggled to catch enough breath to carry on.
"... d...dat..ting." Gray knew this but remained patient. "ss..six.. m..months p..regnant..." He nodded while filing away this piece of information. Seeing her struggle to catch breath, he crushed a few pieces of ice which he fed slowly as a way of quenching her thirst. After a few moments, Lucy calmed down enough to talk coherently.
"They know it's his baby, they tried to take it away for the magic. They tried to kill it Gray! They tried to kill my baby!" Understanding enough, Gray wrapped his arms around her to stop her talking. His anger prevented any words of comfort he patted her back instead. As she fell asleep, he noticed her set of keys glowing. Reaching for them, Gray felt a large amount of magic leave his fingertips as Loki appeared.
"How's Lucy?" Loki's frantic figure spoke volumes, as did his lack of appearance before this moment. On seeing his resting master, he relaxed enough to look Gray in the eye and judge his intentions. Satisfied with Gray's sincerity, Loki took Lucy into his arms as he kicked down the ice wall. "I'll tell you the full story, but first, we need to get Lucy home."
...
After seeing to Lucy's health, Loki closed the bedroom door and stood to watch his old partner.
"How did Natsu react?" He immediately regretted the question when he saw Gray's reaction, trying to tamp down on his anger as he asked "How bad?"
"..." Gray could not answer his friend's questions, knowing what danger Natsu would be in if he did and, as much as he did mess up with Lucy, Gray still considered him a friend. Instead, he tried to focus on the truth behind it all. "What exactly happened Loki? And how did everything get so out of hand?"
"I take it that you know of Lucy's pregnancy?" When Loki received a firm nod, he continued. "A dark guild had targeted her when they came to know of this. No, I don't know how they found out or who they are, but what I do know is that they are aiming to gain dragon slayer magic whatever the method. From what we spirits could feel in the celestial realm, they had staged the mission and, at some point, separated Lucy from Natsu and Happy. I cannot tell how they did it but they had blocked our entrance to this world; what I could make out was that whatever they did had left Lucy with minimum magic in her body. In fact, it is a surprise that she could walk and respond with the energy left. "
"If what you said is true, how did you appear before us now?" Before Loki could continue, a flash appeared from the set of keys still in Gray's hand. He slowly handed them to Loki who in turn waved them in the air and summoned the rest of Lucy's spirits to the human world. Gray felt another surge of magic disappear from his body, leaving him gasping for breath.
"We apologise for using your magic Gray-sama, but it is the only way to access this world." Virgo stepped forward as she answered the man's question. "However, we are also in dire need of the guild master's assistance. He may be the only one who can save the princess and her child. As brother has told you, Lucy is left with next to no magic. In normal circumstances, this is not fatal and will only lead to a person living without magic for several weeks. The problem comes from the babe in her womb."
Unable to comprehend what the servant was saying, Gray waited for further information. "As this is Master Natsu's child, there are special circumstances that have to be present before the babe can be ensured a safe delivery. The first is that, as a child born of dragon slayer magic, it will take 2 months longer than a normal babe to develop hence making it an 11 month pregnancy instead of 9. The second is that it is born of a magician mother, wherein which the babe will feed itself on the mother's magic together with its nutrients. Dragon slayer children are born physically stronger than most babies because of the strength of the magic inside them. Should a child not develop as well inside the womb, it can lead to the magic overtaking the body and killing the babe during labour. Premature birthing will result in the death of both the mother and child as the babe has not controlled the magic enough to remain in its own body"
Finally gathering what was being said, Gray looked up in horror at the spirits. "But Lucy doesn't have any magic right now!"
"She herself knows that and is worrying of the consequence. The baby is in the sixth month of development and is at a very crucial stage right now. What we are asking from you is to ask for Makarov's immediate presence. We beg of you. He may know of a method to protect Lucy's magic source and allow the baby to take in another source of magic as it develops."
"There is no need to call me." The group turned back to see Makarov entering the room looking seriously at the spirits. "I suspected foul play and had encouraged Natsu to refuse the mission 3 months before, which he did not heed to. I did not hear of this evening's incident until ten minutes ago when I returned from the Guild Master's meeting." He stood quietly for a moment before opening the door to Lucy's room, asking for privacy.
...
Ninety minutes later, he emerged looking grave and weary.
"Well?" Everyone looked to the Master who had bloodshot eyes.
"You must all swear secrecy. Under no circumstance will you reveal this to anybody, do you understand?"
Gray paused at this, asking "What about Natsu?"
"Especially not Natsu" Makarov looked to his guild member "I understand that you may feel guilty for keeping this a secret from him, but you have to remember, Natsu chose the mission but does not choose to trust Lucy and blames her for the attack. In return, Lucy does not wish to reveal her secret to him. Whether it be one day, or ten years you cannot tell anyone of her situation unless they stumble upon it. Do. You. Understand?" The group nodded their agreement as he resumed his explanation.
"I have decided to send Lucy to a small magic country that I know of. There I have a mage doctor who I have gotten in touch with and has agreed to help."
"Can Porlyusica not heal Lucy?" Aquarius had volunteered the question.
"No she cannot. Though Porlyusica can help heal mages through potions, she is originally an Edolas citizen hence cannot produce her own magic. She also does not have the skill required to perform this operation." The Master took a deep breath and continued on "From what Sapphire could tell, the only way for both mother and child to survive is for Lucy to be sealed in magic for the remaining period of her pregnancy. This draws magic stored for her future to use immediately. Caesarean section and the baby will hopefully be born strong and healthy." Smiles and relief was present all around as they received the good news.
"However, there is a drawback." The talks stopped as they listened to what Makarov had to say "there will be no immediate effect, but the use up of future magic will take its toll on Lucy. It is predicted that her body's way of fighting will be to shut down. She will fall into a coma to restore her energy. No one knows when this will happen and no one knows for how long. She may take years to heal or she may only sleep for a day. Because of this, she and the child will remain with Sapphire for the first ten years to be watched over; the child will be hidden from the magic world and cannot be discovered. Should she fall into a long coma, Sapphire only has the provisions to keep her for the first 3 years. I have made plans to bring her home after this period.
All I am asking is for you to support my decision in going forward with this choice. You cannot accompany her to the destination but I would like you all to be ready for the time when the child may have to return alone. Gray" Makarov turned to the man in question "I would like to place you as the guardian, making sure that the dark guild do not gain access to this child. I would also ask that the spirits enter into a new contract with you in Lucy's absence. Should she remain in a coma for a long period of time, it will be your duty to train with the child and teach him spiritual magic."
"Is there no other solution to this problem, Master?" Loki asked into the following silence " I understand that this may be a life or death situation but can we not rely on another person's magic? I'm willing to give my magic!"
"There is no other solution. Even I am willing to give away my magic but it is not compatible with the embryo. The only thing to do now is agree with this and pray." He looked for any more objections. On seeing nothing else he concluded the meeting. "I will personally travel with Lucy and remain with her until the birth. Mirajane has been informed that I will be absent for this period but not the reason. If there are no more questions, then I will leave to pack. We will depart at midnight. Prepare Lucy's bags by this time"
...
As Virgo went to prepare Lucy's travel bag, Loki looked towards Gray with question in his eyes.
"Gray, how did Natsu relate the story of Lucy's disappearance anyway?" the rest of the spirits glanced at him awaiting an answer.
"Natsu was being tortured to near death in one part of the woods. He heard one person say 'your sexy girlfriend was kind enough to present us with fresh dragon slayer magic, isn't she nice? The lucky bitch's enjoying herself with the boss right now'. Lisanna was also told the same thing when she went in to save Natsu. This alone didn't trigger any suspicion, but as they escaped, they ran into the room where Lucy was held captive. They said they saw her sleeping comfortably naked underneath satin bedsheets, hugging another man. However, from hearing both sides of the story, I don't know if what they saw was a hallucination or they may have staged it"
"From what I could hear in the spirit realm, I believe it was staged, moshi moshi" Sagittarius spoke out "I remember at one point, Lucy had released enough magic energy to escape; at the same time, I heard several people in the background. They had mentioned that the guild won't accept her anymore, there was no place to escape, moshi moshi."
"Who are these people, is what I'd like to know!" Capricorn stood up suddenly, unable to take the tension. Remembering something, he turned again towards the ice mage. " But before we can hunt them down, we will require a new master. When would you like to sign a contract with us?"
Also appearing to have just remembered the condition, Gray shook his head. "I am willing to sign anytime; however, I don't believe I can afford to continue losing magic by constantly summoning you."
"The only solution then is to allow us to remain here." Loki stared ahead at the clock as he said this. "It will drain you of your magic, but you are a maker mage not a holder mage. This means that keeping a spirit by your side will not lose as much magic as keeping them in the form of keys. Everyday, for one spirit, you lose magic that amounts to a small ice block. As there are fifteen of us, your energy level will be considerably less but can be improved by constant training. At the moment, you won't be able to use ice magic without losing your breath, so you will have to keep with very easy missions until you improve. In return to this, we will agree to teach you spirit magic and train with you. Do you agree to these terms?"
Gray thought carefully about the terms and came up with a serious problem. "You will have to enter the guild often when you're with me. To prevent recognition, I believe it's also best to step out of this building under disguise." The spirits mutually agreed to this "If that's so, then I agree to sign the contract."
A loud knock on the door alerted them of someone else's presence. Virgo hurried into the room displaying panic.
"Happy and Natsu tried to enter through the window!" At this, everybody stood to attention. "Luckily all the lights were off but we have to change our plans; Lucy has to leave right now!"
"Hurry! Plue, since you're small, try to get a message across to Master to tell him that we're moving Lucy to another location. Also tell him that we can no longer wait until midnight, Lucy has to leave immediately" As Plue escaped, Loki turned to Gray "Gray, you take Lucy out of here; if possible, get her as far as the town entrance. Virgo, accompany him and cover his tracks. Gemini transform and return to bed. The rest of you hide. I'll handle the guild members."
"I will help you" Capricorn stepped forward. "to prevent any further problems, we have to stand together."
The shouts on the other side was getting louder, informing the spirits of the vast number of members who had turned up to attack the sleeping key master. The other spirit members stood up, not willing to hide in the face of danger abd feeling anger for their master.
"We will not transform" Gemini stood together in their original form. "Lucy can escape with Gray and Virgo, but we will not lie or dress up the truth by allowing it to appear any different from the outside. If the guild wants to get at Lucy, then they will have to go through all of us."
At their united front, Loki nodded and gave Gray the signal to escape. Breathing in deeply, he prepared himself before opening the door.
"Let's bring on the war, baby."
...
To Be Continued
A/N: RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! Lol, but seriously, your getting another update so soon. My brain is just exploding with the ideas and I have the itch to type.
Before I start the next chapter, you guys have to know one thing. I, er, have... exams next week. Lol, it seems as though writing is an escape route to revising. Because of that, you may expect A LOT of updates this week alone! Be happy!
Again, please r&r