A/N: OMG that chapter of FT! How could Zeref just drop a bomb like that so casually and then for Mashima-Sensei to leave us hanging like that! Anyway I'm so happy that the Fairies were reunited and that everyone's back but I can't wait to see what FT has in for us for the next arc.
He continued walking through the tunnels, ignoring the sounds of his sisters quiet sobs was more difficult than he had first thought. Yet she wouldn't have been sobbing if he hadn't left her. Natsu just couldn't bear the thought of not being strong enough to protect those that he cared about, for what was the point of having power when you couldn't protect those that you loved most.
He had made a vow to protect Rissy, Lucy and everyone one else in the guild, but first thing first he needed to find out where Elijah had gone to for the dragon slayer wasn't going to let him get away with hurting his sister.
It was then that he caught wind of a familiar scent, and turning a corner smiled at the sight of the blonde haired celestial mage who he was glad to call a best friend. Though he did feel that she was more than that, for even in the darkest of tunnels where dust and earth covered everything it touched she was still the most beautiful person.
All thoughts about failure were pushed from his mind once his celestial mage smiled at him, causing her chocolate-brown orbs to brighten and his heart to stutter. They both started to clear the space between them and before any of them knew it, they had their arms wrapped around each other and he was once again swamped in the scent that he had come to love.
He was vaguely aware of her sobbing so he slowly and regretfully released her, starting on wiping away her tears with the pads of his thumbs. She giggled slightly at the content before closing her eyes once more, the sound like music to his ears.
"You're such an idiot for running off like that…." She softly stated, though he only let a breathy laugh in response.
That was the thing about Lucy, for she was a calm to douse his flames; the yin to his yang and it scared him to know how much of an effect she truly had on him.
"...But you're my idiot" She added though it was low enough for only him to hear. He glanced up to see her gnawing at her bottom lip nervously as if waiting for his response and her eyes searching him for an answer.
He knew that his next action would surprise her, yet that was just how he was; spontaneous. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist, using the new position to pull her closely against his chest and thus causing her to release a squeak of alarm.
Though once they were both settled she relaxed against him and he rested his chin atop her head, their height difference going to his advantage once more.
"I'll always be your idiot" he all but growled, he almost grinned as Lucy stared up at him wide-eyed and heart racing, though the moment was short lived.
"Natsu, you should receive punishment for your earlier reckless actions…." Erza calmly stated as she appeared, though the dark aura surrounded her contradicted her demeanor.
The sudden appearance of the redhead instantly caused Natsu to release Lucy - though a little too roughly since the blonde was sent to the floor on her rear.
Natsu could have sworn that Erza was smiling as he offered Lucy a hand to help her up but he could have mistaken it for a scowl.
"You did have me worried, Natsu….but I knew that you'd be alright!" Happy declared once himself and Lavender joined the group. Natsu smiled before patting his partner between the ears, he was glad to have the team back together even Gray.
He noticed Juvia looking around in her spot next to Gray, a small frown on her features and her arms crossed over her chest.
"Rissy-Chan's not with you?" she asked. Though the water mage's close friendship with his sister had surprised him and everyone else in the guild of that matter, he was glad that Juvia had found someone to relate to since both women had an understanding of the other.
Natsu shook his head before turning to the rest of the group, once again they were joined by Sting and both his and Rogue's exceeds, along with the rest of Team Natsu.
"But she's with Rogue…" He answered silently hoping that the shadow dragon slayer would keep his word to look after his sister.
Erza nodded before turning to address the group, the redhead once again asserting herself as the leader of the group.
"Since we have Natsu back, it means we can start to look for the others…" She stated before turning to face the two dragon slayers of the group.
"Natsu, Sting, you two lead the way…" She stated before gesturing for them to lead. Natsu allowed Sting to go first as he hung back to not so discreetly stay by a certain celestial mages side.
Wendy grit her teeth as she was once again sent hurtling towards the ground, she ignored the intense pain originating from her arm for when dodging the emotion manipulator's last spell it managed to hit her at the last second. She staggered upright just in time as Levy had sent WIND at the mage and thus caused him too to fall to the ground.
Glancing around Wendy knew that they couldn't keep the same routine up any longer than needed, Levy was exerting more magic energy to keep the GUARD up around her friends so very so often they were failing and Wendy too was running low on magic energy. They needed to finish the fight and soon.
The mage seemed to have caught wind of their situation and smirked, and that was when Wendy vowed to do whatever she could to get the grin off his face.
"Little one's, give up now and reduce the amount of pain" He hissed.
Levy frowned in her position next to her, Wendy knew that the script mage hated being described as 'little' by anyone, though she hated it much less when she was being called by it by her iron dragon slayer.
"I don't see what you gain from this, other than a trip back to jail" Levy responded with an added scowl, which only caused the mage to raise a brow.
"You have fight, but it doesn't mean you'll win" He said with an addic grin.
Wendy once again reverted to her fighting stance, noticing Levy doing the same. The mage was half right they were both 'little' in size but that didn't mean that either of them were weak it just meant that they had bigger shoes to fill.
She turned to Levy with a nod, the script mage offering her a small smile of encouragement before she would attack. Wendy inhaled a large amount of air for her attack before releasing it with all the power she could muster.
"Sky dragons roar!" She shouted, watching as the gust of wind was sent for the magenta haired mage.
There was no surprise that he dodged her attack for both Wendy and Levy were counting on it. With a combination of strategy and sheer determination they were able to form a plan and prove that underestimating those of a shorter stature was a big mistake.
Levy took this as her opportunity to attack, using her magic to create HOLE beneath the mage's feet and causing him to fall. She quickly manipulated the HOLE making it close at her will so only his feet were trapped? The mage started to conjure another spell, but Levy was prepared for this.
"Despair" The mages magenta magic circle appeared in front of his outstretched hands, and Wendy was slightly worried that the older mages wasn't going to counter it in time. However as the beam of dark purple light made its way towards the script mage, she raised her hands once more to release another spell.
"Solid script: NULLIFY!" She exclaimed, and Levy watched in amazement as the the NULLIFY countered the mage's spell and thus rendered his magic useless.
"Wendy now!" Levy shouted, and the young dragon slayer needed no other encouragement, using the last of her magic energy to deliver the final blow to the emotions manipulator.
"Sky dragon's wing attack!" She shouted as the whirlwind of air was released from her arms and sent towards the magenta haired mage. The force of the attack sent him flying through the walls of the tunnel and rendered him motionless.
Wendy blushed slightly at the destruction caused; it looked as if Natsu were starting to influence her with destructive tendencies.
"Maybe I used a little too much force…" Wendy muttered as she glanced at the crumbled walls.
She shrieked as Levy had her hands clasped around her waist and began to whirl her around, the petite script mage was stronger than she looked.
After setting her down she offered the younger mage a smile, a smile that Wendy couldn't help but return.
"Are you kidding, Wendy, you were great!" Levy exclaimed with a wide smile as she once again hugged the younger mage.
Wendy blushed slightly before shaking her head, the action seemed to confuse the script mage. With a combination of Levy's own planning and ability to nullify his magic with her own and of course Wendy' own abilities they were able to defeat the mage
"We did it" Wendy stated, which caused Levy to smile once more.
It was then that a loud explosion was heard you their left thus signifying that both Gajeel and Lily had ended their respective battles, with both Fairy Tail mages coming out a little worse for the ware yet still victorious.
The iron dragon slayer offered the young mage a crooked grin, before crossing the space between them and with an action that surprised both women, he had his arm draped over the script mage in what would be described as a protective embrace.
Levy blushed slightly at the contact; however seemed to relax in his hold while Wendy smiled from the side lines, the young mage taking this opportunity to tend to her partner.
She smiled once more once Carla had woken up, though the white exceed seemed confused at the GUARD that surrounded her.
However her confusion subsided at the sight of a slightly worn out Wendy.
"Carla, do you need me to heal you?" She asked her partner.
Carla smiled softly at the young mages kindness before turning to inspect her. Her clothes were torn and the exposed skin sported multiple bruises from the battle.
"Wendy, you need to save your energy" Carla firmly stater as she folded her arms in a dissapointed manner.
The action only caused Wendy to smile, after all she knew how much the exceed cared for her.
"Don't worry I will" She softly replied as she embraced her friend.
Once she released Carla she glanced up to find, Lily, Levy and Gajeel standing next to them.
"We still have to find Natsu..." Levy pointed out.
Carla nodded before turning, a small smile was on her face before she turned back to the others.
"Guess now we stop looking" She stated before folding her arms.
Wendy turned with a wide grin at the sight of the older mages, all of them sporting large smiles once they noticed them.
The reunion was short; Lucy embracing Levy, Gajeel not so lightly greeting Natsu and Lily greeting Happy.
"Lu-Chan you look terrible!" Levy exclaimed once she had released the blonde from her embrace.
Lucy smiled before playfully shoving the shorter mage.
"You don't look too great yourself, Levy-Chan" Lucy remarked with a grin which only caused the women to burst into giggles.
"A little mage like you did all of this?" Sting asked in a joke manner once he had greeted the sky mage.
Wendy blushed slightly at the destruction caused before turning back to the sabretooth guild master.
"Levy, Gajeel and Lily helped, Sting-San" She answered with a smile.
Erza glanced over the motionless bodies of the dark mages before turning to Wendy's group.
"The only thing now is to get Rissy out of here" she said with a sigh.
Wendy noticed Natsu shake his head before turning to the redhead.
"You guys go, I have a score to settle with, Elijah" Natsu said with an added growl.
"Don't be an idiot and run off on your own" Gajeel retorted though it was clear that he was somewhat worried about his nakama.
Wendy nodded in agreement with the older dragon slayer before walking over to Natsu.
"Gajeel-San's right, we only just got back together" She said sadly.
Natsu smiled at Wendy before turning to the rest of the group.
"And I want to make sure it stays that way" he stated before walking off and leaving the mages. Both Erza and Lucy attempted to stop him from leaving, Erza a little more forceful whereas the blonde tried her best to reason with her friend.
"Natsu, you can't leave us again" Lucy pleaded, her brown orbs wide and pleading, Lavender was stood next to her sharing an identical look but it seemed to have no effect on the dragon slayer.
Erza watched from her spot beside Lucy, she seemed almost in deep thought before she turned back their comrade.
"Whatever you do just think" Erza stated before placing a hand on the dragon slayer's shoulder in an almost understanding sort of gesture.
There was a short silence as Wendy continued to stare at the place where Natsu had been. She had always known that Natsu was the kind to want to do things to protect his friends, but she still wanted the group to stick together.
Deep down she knew that Natsu would be okay, he always was and as long as they had faith in their nakama everything would be alright. Well almost everything.
The silence was starting to deafen him, even though she knew that her dark haired companion wasn't much of a talker she found herself yearning for some sort of noise, something to distract her of what was happening. Her palm was pressed firmly against the wound, she had managed to stop the blood flow however the pain still remained and her hand was stained a dark red.
As she slowed in her movements once she caught sight of the slightly dried liquid, how many people were hurt because of her past, how many lives had she inadvertently ruined?
As if sensing where her thoughts had taken her Rogue placed a hand on her arm, the skin contact instantly pulled her out from her thoughts and she turned to face the garnet eyed mage. He offered her a small smile, however this time she was unable to return it.
"How many people are here because of me?" She asked, her voice on the verge of breaking due to the tears threatening to fall.
She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears from falling, though when Rogue placed his forefinger and thumb under her chin forcing her to look him in the eye, she held back the tears no longer. The small smile on his face only caused more tears to fall, though his gaze remained unjudging and caring.
"Clarissa….we're here because we chose to be" He countered, his smile never fading. She smiled at the name, no one had been allowed to call her 'Clarissa' for it had never sounded right coming from anyone, until now.
Mirroring her earlier action he placed his free hand on the back of her head, entwining his fingers with her wild salmon locks he used his hold to place their foreheads together. Their new position caused his bangs to cover both his garnet eyes, and with her non stained hand she gently pushed the hair aside.
"But why?" She asked her brow starting to furrow in confusion, her brother and their friends she understood for they were part of the same guild, they were nakama. But the shadow dragon slayer she didn't understand, he had fought beside her multiple times and always seemed to be there whenever she needed him, but she never understood why.
He seemed to be trying his best to not smile at her confusion; however it seemed to not be working.
"Why what?" He asked, his eyes searching hers for an answer and his hold tightening in her hair.
"Why you're always here whenever I need you. Why my stomach gets all weird when I'm near you and my heart…" She paused once she noticed him smiling at her, and everything seemed to make sense. Her stomach growled whenever it needed food, but fluttered whenever he was near, her heart beated to keep her alive but faster whenever she saw him and her mind wasn't the sharpest, with barely had many thoughts in them to begin with, however he always seemed to plague them.
"I l-l...like you a lot" She whispered, before a grin made its way across her face, the hand in his hair moved to cup his cheek.
He just stared at her as if she had grown another head, his eyes widened at her revelation.
"You what?"
She smiled at his reaction, her usual grin returning and judging from the blush that crossed his cheeks, she assumed that he felt the same way. She had always been spontaneous, she was of more of a 'do first, think later' sort of woman, which often lead her into trouble and awkward situations. Though it only allowed life to take unexpected turns and to be more exciting.
So never thought about her next action, she just went for it and placed her lips over his, her own lips moving against his own, however when his lips didn't move back she pulled away with a frown.
"You know, this usually requires two people" She said a little breathlessly as she leaned towards him once more. He seemed to get the message and Rissy once again found their lips locked together, both moving against the other in a battle for dominance. She released a low growl once she felt Rogue's canines press gently against her bottom lip, the sound causing him to pull their bodies together even closer and allow him to taste her tongue.
Once the need for oxygen became evident, both dragon slayers reluctantly parted from the kiss panting for breath, flushed and lips slightly swollen. A large grin was plastered across her face as she stared at the shadow dragon slayer.
"That was…." She gasped, though she trailed off due to being unable to find the right word to describe their lip lock.
He let out a sound that Rissy could have sworn was a laugh, a sound that was music to her ears if anything.
"...Something?" He offered with a lopsided grin. She nodded in agreement before releasing a breathy laugh and pressing their foreheads together once more, she silently wished that they could stay in the same position. Just the two of them with no worries about anything, yet she knew that nothing was ever that easy.
"Will things change once it is over...I mean will we be different?" She asked as she gently gnawed at her bottom lip. It was unlike her to be nervous, for Clarissa Dragneel was always sure about what she was to do, always confident in her actions and not knowing meant she vulnerable and that was what scared her.
He smiled before shaking his head, the action causing relief to wash over her.
"We can be an 'us'" He suggested, a large grin forming on her face in response.
"I would like that...I would like it a lot" She responded with a smile before wrapping her arms around his torso.
It was then that Rissy felt the ground beneath her give way, it opened up just as it had in Magnolia splitting directly in between the dragon slayers. She reached out in an attempt to hold onto him, however the third party had other ideas as the ground crumbled beneath her feet and sent her falling once more.
She opened her eyes, half unaware that she had closed them and was surprised to find herself enveloped in the familiar black mass which she knew as Rogue's shadow form and once again he had saved her.
Moving into a kneeling position she checked him over to make sure that he was okay, gingerly pressing her fingers against his bruised skin. Once her fingers made their way to his arms , he placed a hand over her own. A smile made its way across her face once he started to sit up, however once he made a wincing noise she rushed to help him sit up.
"That's the second time you've saved me" She pointed out with a small smile before standing up, she offered him a hand which he took and pulled him up to stand beside her. Glancing around their new surroundings, she sighed once she realised they were in another tunnel.
"I never knew you were keeping count" Rogue stated with a raised brow once he stepped closer towards her. She nodded in her space beside him though her attention was kept on their surroundings as if expecting something or someone to attack at any given moment. The tunnel was too quiet, which was starting to worry both mages since they both had a rough idea of who had brought them in the first place.
Without warning Rissy was thrown into the other side of the tunnel as a large boulder crashed into her, the force sent her crashing into the wall and her body was left in pain. Rogue instantly ran to her side to check for any serious injuries, his hands gently ghosting over her bruised form.
"I think I'm okay" She said through gritted teeth, however her eyes widened when she saw a flash of movement behind the dragon slayer however it was gone as quick as it came.
"Rogue-" She shouted however he was quickly knocked aside by a stone fist that sent him too into the opposite wall.
Before she could attempt to get up she was encased in a stone like pyramid, her instant reaction was to punch at the walls however as it seemed to have little effect other than reducing her knuckles to bloody bruised mess.
Hissing in pain she quickly removed her hands from the stone and it was at that point that one of the stone walls lowered itself, revealing a smirking Elijah. She growled at him whilst baring her fangs an action that did nothing but amuse him. She tried once again to escape her prison, but it seemed that Elijah had planned for this and manipulated the stone to encase her limbs.
Growling once more at his smirk she sat defeated once he started on advancing towards her.
"Always predictable…" He muttered as he stood inches away from her. She appeared displeased as she stared at him.
"However I didn't expect that" He stated with a newfound hatred as he gestured to Rogue's motionless body.
She growled once more before narrowing her eyes at the earth mage.
"Don't you dare hurt him" She growled, her anger at Elijah along with her protective instinct towards Rogue releasing a feral side of her that didn't even know existed.
He seemed to take her response as a challenge and his smirk only seemed to widen at her feelings towards the other mage.
"Or what?" He asked with a sneer as his magic started to encase his arms in layers of stone.
Her eyes widened at what he was planning to do, she glanced over to Rogue's body for in his motionless state he was vulnerable and unable to protect himself and Elijah knew it.
"You wouldn't…" She responded half hoping that he was bluffing however judging from the dark look he sported, he definitely wasn't.
She struggled against her imprisonment as Elijah raised his heavy stone fist, the amount of stone that covered it was sure to seriously injure anyone however as Rogue lay unable to fight, there was no telling what the outcome would be. She released a loud scream as he swung his fist trying to kick herself free, but all her efforts were in vain.
Tears clouded her vision as she continued to fight her way free, the stone starting to crumble beneath her efforts. She knew that she wouldn't make in time, it was literally impossible, however a miracle arrived in the form of her brother as he stood in front of Rogue with his arms crossed deflecting Elijah's stone fist.
She didn't even ask how he had found them, or how he had appeared she was just glad that he was there and couldn't have been happier.
"Rissy...why are you still here?" Her brother growled out before using his position to force Elijah back.
She mentally slapped herself before nodding and ran over to shake the shadow dragon slayer awake. He looked a little confused at his surroundings, causing Rissy to worry if Elijah had hit him too hard.
"We've got to go" She said before gently pulling him up. He nodded before looping an arm around her waist in support and she glanced back at her brother one last time before leaving the tunnel, making a silent prayer that he would be okay.
Sorry I did another cliff hanger and I made them kiss!
So what did you think of that?
Due to not updating I gave an extra long chapter, so don't expect too much from the next one.
So next chapter Rissy is reunited with her partner, Natsu's fight continues and the Fairies make it out of the tunnel.
JustAnotherFairy :)