Yo! So so so so so sorry for the long wait, I got a little writers block! Hopefully since its summer I can write more often though I doubt that knowing me. Again, sorry! Thanks for those who favorited, followed, and reviewed! It made my day! Please leave a review and favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!
-let there be midnight
ME NO OWN FAIRY TAIL
Vella
"Tell me now. Or die."
Kuro smiled, just a stretch of his lips across his face that showed his pearly white teeth and made him look more like a sexual predator out of anything.
"I'll be happy to tell you," he whispered. "Just let me down Nat-chan!" Natsu scowled, lips pressing together to help him not give the perverted man a tongue lashing of some of the insults he was thinking of. Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Gajeel watched in silence, not knowing if they should step in and pull the two apart or stay where they stood, most likely in the safe territory.
Grudgingly, Natsu lowered Kuro's feet to the ground, but didn't lessen his hold on him as gold began to flicker in the darkened eyes.
"Get on to it, you are in no position to order me around, understand, Kuro?" Natsu growled, both assassins keeping their voices low so the others could not hear and Gajeel could only get a few words from what they were saying.
"He knows what you're going to do Natsu, he's the King. He knows all and you're his servant, don't you think King would figure out a way to control his servant?" Kuro ask with a slight tilt of amusement. Natsu's pupils started to turn into slits and become a little more golden, a low growl emitting from deep in his throat, his grip tightening on Kuro.
"Yes, I know, that's why he has Happy." the pinkette growled. Kuro snorted a bit, raising his eyebrow as the rest of his goofy attitude left him.
"That's what you think." Kuro said. "But sometimes, even that won't work, just like now. He has prepared each and every member that is far too precious to leave for this exact moment, but of course, you wouldn't know." Natsu tilted his head just slightly, his eyes turning back to normal in his confusion.
"What do you mean?" His forehead creased slightly as his hold on Kuro lessened unconsciously.
"Exactly what I said." Kuro whispered, leaning forward so his lips brushed Natsu's ear. "I was lying about the message containing Happy, but it is true that these words come from the King himself." Before Natsu could react and push him away, most likely punching the living daylights out of him, Kuro whispered one word: "Unleash."
All hell broke loose.
Kuro separated himself from Natsu's grip and jumped away, a laugh escaping his lips as he watched Natsu's eyes darken considerably and his face go lax, something that never happened with the always so serious and emotionless teen.
He eyed the team before him for maybe a breath of a second before he was on them.
Gajeel barely had time to process what was going on before Natsu had aimed a flaming kick in his direction, only managing to turn his arms into iron and block it, planting his feet firmly in the ground to stop himself from flying backwards.
"What the hell is wrong with this kid?!" Gajeel yelled through gritted teeth as kick after kick was aimed at his transformed arms.
"Natsu!" Erza shouted as she summoned a sword. "What are you doing?!" The pinkette didn't seem to hear her as he managed to kick Gajeel back, knocking the wind out of the Iron Dragon Slayer. Kuro crackled from where he now sat on the ground cross legged, chin resting in the palm of his hand.
"He's attacking you, of course." he said, amused. Natsu stood there, eyeing Gajeel blankly for a few seconds as he let his flames slowly consume his body until he looked like a human torch. Gajeel barely had time to catch his stolen breath before Natsu was on him.
"What did you do to him?!" Lucy screeched turning to the other assassin, ready to call out Loke any minute.
"What did I do to him?" Kuro repeated, laughing madly. "Did you seriously think that King would have his members running around without assurance that they wouldn't turn on him? He had to make sure he kept his best assassins and that just included Nat-chan here." He gestured towards the teen. "You see, King saw the potential in Nat-chan like he did for a few others in the guild. He wanted to make sure they'll stay and fight at his command. He also knew that one day they would want to escape, so he placed a curse, you could say, on them. They each have a single code word, and if spoken with the direct orders of the King himself, their consciousness will be suppressed and they'll go into auto pilot, killing anyone who is not a part of the guild." he explained.
"Good job, Kuro, didn't think you'll be able to explain something like that with a dead brain mind like yours." said a voice as an image of a teen girl flickered to life behind Kuro, startling everyone but Gajeel and Natsu who were too busy fighting. Kuro's eyes widened, narrowing a second later in annoyance as he rested his chin back in the palm of his hand.
"Vella." Kuro hissed. The girl behind him finally became solid. She had shoulder length wavy caramel hair that swept over Hershey colored eyes with an olive skin tone. She wore a simple black tank top tucked into black skinny jeans with black buckled boots.
"Yes, so glad you remembered my name." Vella said without smiling. Lucy's, Gray's, and Erza's eyes switched between the two, all three now terribly confused at the situation at hand.
"You were exiled, so why did you bother to come so close to the King's castle?" Kuro asked in annoyance. Vella scowled at him, her left eye twitching just barely.
"Because, during my short stay at the guild I have built a liking towards Dragneel." she replied. "He reminds me of me. Hidden. Recluse. But yet he's different and he has a chance at a happier life than what I was ever granted. I want to make sure he gets it." This time she actually managed a small sarcastic smile. "I also know how to counteract the curse because King couldn't have Dragneel slaying everybody in sight." Kuro actually looked at her this time, slowly standing up.
"You lie." he hissed. Vella shrugged.
"I might and I might not. It depends. You don't know, they don't know, Dragneel doesn't know." Vella pointed out. Behind them Gajeel let out a loud shout of frustration as Natsu sent him flying to a tree yards away, breaking it in half. Fire started to catch on the grass and slowly spread, but no one cared at the moment, they were focused solely on Kuro and Vella.
"Help us then!" Lucy pleaded, hoping that Vella was telling the truth. If what Kuro said about Natsu killing everyone that wasn't a part of his guild, then once he was done with them, other people could be in danger. Innocent people that had nothing apart of this. Vella glanced in her direction and noted her briefly before she looked back at Kuro and continued her staring contest.
"Why do you think I'm going to help you?" she asked. Gray gave a tck in annoyance, scowling.
"If you weren't going to help us you wouldn't of come here and talk about crap that means nothing." he shouted as his patience started to wane. Vella turned her Hershey colored eyes onto him and stared, trying to figure him out.
"No, I didn't say I would help you." she said calmly, and before the three could shout in protest, she added. "I will help Dragneel, but not you." The three closed their mouths, not knowing what to say, but wanting to scream things at her at the same time.
Kuro clenched and unclenched his fist as he glared at Vella.
"Even if you know the counter phrase, I cannot let you leave when you're this close to guild grounds." Kuro declared. Vella looked back at him, seeming nonchalant in the way.
"So be it." She barely had time to jump out of the way as an inky black shadow shot at her, appearing from nowhere. Vella thrust a hand forward, thorn vines thicker than a grown man's hand growing instantly from the ground and slashing the shadow until it was no more, sinking back to the grown. "You seem to have forgotten one thing, Kuro." she said, jumping out of the way of slashing shadows and summoning up more thorn vines to counter them. "I can still speak while fighting." she smirked, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Sleep!" she shouted before Kuro could knock her down with a large shadow attack, shouting loud enough for Natsu to hear. The effect was instant. Natsu's fire slowly distinguished until he was no longer coated in it and he was left there standing in confusion, leg stopped in mid-air, about to kick Gajeel in the face.
Slowly, Natsu lowered his leg and looked towards Kuro and Vella who were still fighting. Kuro was shouting cursing to the teen who dodged each and every one of his attacks without making an attack of her own.
"Vella-san?" he muttered, eyes squinting just barely. Vella flashed him a quick smile and a piece sign, dodging three shadow spears that were aimed at her head.
"Natsu, how's it goin'? The last time I saw you, you were being all dark and mysterious." Vella laughed. "A little help will be advised though, because I'm not really in the position to attack at the moment." she added when Natsu didn't reply. Kuro was about to say something, most likely to Natsu before he was knocked to the ground by a flaming fist. Natsu knocked him unconscious before Kuro was going to stand with a hard kick to the head that sent him flying into a rock. Vella stopped her thorn defenses when the shadow attacks stopped coming, standing with one hand on her hip.
Natsu turned towards her.
"I thought you were still exiled."
"Still am. I thought you were still anti-social."
Natsu didn't answer her and instead he turned to Gajeel who seemed a little wary of him.
"I apologize for what happened. I was vaguely conscious during that little episode, but I'm sorry for attacking you." he said, surprising Gajeel.
"Uh, it's alright…" he stammered. He wasn't really expecting to get an apology, especially from the pink haired assassin, but he'll take it.
Natsu turned back to Vella.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her. Vella shrugged.
"I've been keeping tabs on you. Uncle Iumi has been helping me do so, and he contacted me saying you might need a little help." she explained. "I decided that, hey, why not just risk my life so poor little Natsu-kun can escape the guild? Got nothing better to do, and that's why I'm here." Lucy tilted her head a bit, stepping hesitantly closer towards Vella.
"But why were you exiled in the first place?" she asked. Vella shrugged, watching as she and Gray started to extinguish the fire that slowly started to spread.
"I was King's right hand man for around two months. I started getting annoyed with how he's been running things. Plus I started to connect a few dots here and there, started snooping around and finding things that King didn't want anyone to know about, and bam, exiled. I'm not even supposed to talk to current guild members much less come near the runes or King will be on my back ready to slice my throat." she said nonchalantly.
"So why help out?" Gray cut in. Vella looked at him.
"Why not? I've been travelling the world for a little and I got a little bored. Learned that Natsu was in a little twist so decided to help out just like I've said." This time Erza was the one to cut in.
"Why couldn't you attack earlier?" Vella laughed a little.
"Pissed off some guy so he put a curse on me where I can only defend myself, not attack others. I'm working on breaking it." she sighed. "That's enough twenty questions. We need to find a way to get past the runes King has without him knowing, and I know a guy who can help." With that, she turned around with a whip of her hair and walked off, leaving the group barely enough time to catch up with her.