SURPRISE, SURPRISE!

Don't be hopeful. I wrote this out for the sole reason that it was a short chapter. So, yeah. Back to hiatus till December end, until muse strikes again. On the plus point, my official exams start from Monday. Did I say plus? Maybe it was the double negative speaking. *ba dum tsss*

ANYWAY. Enjoy.

Warning: Angst. Gore. Flashback to the scene. Un-beta-ed.

Disclaimer: I no own.

Chapter 4

Unleashing Powers

"I am Jackal."

Natsu's ears rang. The malevolent man in front of him aroused nothing but a scalding feeling in him. This feeling… it was inexplicable. It consumed his heart. It clawed at his mind. This rage burned down his very soul.

"Natsu," Natsu heard a voice echo faintly, "Calm down." He looked at Lucy, slightly jarred, realizing she hadn't even moved a muscle. Then he realized the voice was in his head. But when he looked closer, he could notice her tense muscles.

Hearing her worried tone, Natsu concentrated on himself. He felt his core cultivating power. He felt the enraging heat surrounding him. He was unconsciously radiating his magic.

"Don't react to his taunts." Lucy voiced out her worry, "He would try to rile you up and you aren't experienced enough to fight."

"She's right." Natsu heard Lyon's voice join in. "His power attributes to fire. We would be the best opponents against him for now. Just stand back and let us handle this."

"Natsu Dragneel," Jackal said, his hollow eyes fixed on the pink-haired man, "The newest recruitment to the Light." At the direct address, Lucy and Lyon covered him up even further, trying to distance him away from the stranger as much as possible.

"Stay away from him, Jackal," Lucy threatened, "We are your enemies today."

Lyon tensed further into an attacking stance, pointing his ice weapon at their opponent. "We won't let you harm one of us again."

Natsu watched as his two friends launched themselves at the cloaked man. Lyon jumped upwards, angling his sword towards the blond-haired man. Jackal smirked and sidestepped the slice easily. Lyon kept attacking him, distracting him from Lucy who had fallen back.

"Star Dress: Aquarius," Lucy muttered. She suddenly glowed gold, the blinding light covering her entire body. The bright light faded away, leaving Lucy clad in a wave patterned bikini top and a dark blue skirt paired with it. Natsu watched as huge, menacing waves surrounded her body. The moment Jackal parried another one of Lyon's attacks and kicked him away swiftly, he was overwhelmed by the large body of water.

"Enough," Jackal muttered. Natsu watched as a hand, with talons, appeared out of Jackal's cloak, clutching at something. Jackal stood up, discarding his soaking cloak and threw the objects at Lucy and Lyon. Both the mages backed away from the little black beads spilled on the ground. Then, to Natsu's horror, those little beads sparked and exploded.

"Lucy!" Natsu screamed in alarm, "Lyon!"

When the smoke cleared, Natsu saw a faint silhouette of a muscular man with spiked hair. Two bodies lay on either side of him, groaning slightly. Natsu quickly glanced at his fallen comrades. They looked at the brink of consciousness, bruised by the collisions due to the force of the explosion.

His comrades were down. He had to do something.

Jackal smirked at the display. Ignoring the fallen mages, he fixated onto Natsu. His eyes remained hollow when he said, "They said you added a new member to your little family. How could I not have the pleasure to meet him?"

Natsu felt his rage flare again. Jackal's voice resonated with the darkest corners of his mind. Before Lucy and Lyon could stop him, he had already launched himself at his opponent. He concentrated his brewing power into his fist, increasing its momentum as he attacked Jackal. But the moment Natsu's glowing fist smashed against Jackal's face; he felt a tingling sensation on his knuckles.

In front of him, Jackal stumbled back with the force but looked vaguely unaffected by it. The blond-haired man smirked in contempt. "You call that a punch, newbie?"

Jackal's smirking face turned into a scowl and he uttered in a low voice, "Boom."

Suddenly, the tingling sensation on Natsu's hand turned into a hot, burning uproar. And before he could blink, his arm was covered in exploding flames.

Jackal laughed, looking at the pink-haired boy covered in flames. He couldn't control his amusement, especially after seeing the horrified faces of his friends.

Gray's friends.

An unsolicited shudder went down his spine. No, he was a member of Tartaros. And that sorry excuse of a Dragonling had to die. There was no other way around it. Gray deserved it. And Jackal's wretched reaction to the scene was nothing but disguised excitement. He told it to himself, he tried to convince himself.

Gray had deserved to die. And he had enjoyed every minute of it.

"You all really are pathetic." He said with a palpable mock in his voice, "Whatever I touch explodes on the spot. You let your weaklings run free, despite your knowledge of my powers. No wonder your precious Nakama are dropping dead like flies, just because of your–"

Jackal frowned, his gaze fixed at the peculiar haired boy. The flames covering him seemed to decrease in intensity. Suddenly, to his utter shock, the flames disappeared completely, leaving an unscathed arm and a flabbergasted boy.

Natsu stared at his arm in shock. He remembered feeling the intense heat. He remembered that moment of utter panic, the shock of realization. And he remembered feeling the heat ebb away. The flames had disappeared, leaving him with a half-burnt shirt dangling uselessly from his other shoulder, but his skin (and thankfully his fabulous hair) remaining unmarred. He looked over his hand in scrutiny, the hand that had just absorbed the flames.

"H-How did you do that?" Natsu looked up to see his opponent fumble. Jackal pointed at him, his gaze filled with shock and raw anger, "How did you counter my magic so easily?!" Natsu remained still in shock at discovering a magic he never knew he possessed and a mild awe at what he was unknowingly capable of.

Had he always been resistant to fire? He remembered accidentally spilling hot butter on his arm, feeling the burn, a burn that never lasted. He remembered goofing around with firecrackers, until blowing a bomb right near his leg. Even Igneel was shocked how he could escape from that unscathed.

But now, he didn't even feel the residual burn anymore. The heat seemed to be a part of him, a product of him. He had truly been a mage all this time. And he had finally unlocked his powers. But the awe didn't last long.

"You… you will all die," Jackal declared, "One by one, you all would be eradicated, just like your Dragonling leader –"

Jackal's rant was cut short with a flaming fist colliding with his gut. His gaze fixed onto the blazing olive eyes. He was thrown back, colliding with the wall hard enough to leave a dent.

"You…" Natsu growled, "You dare mock Gray after making him suffer that way?" Flames surrounded him for the first time in his life, flaring around him like a sphere, snapping angrily at his surroundings.

"I will," Jackal, stood up shakily, glaring full force at the fire mage, "I will because it was fun to watch him suffer. I will because his screams were music to my ears."

Natsu screamed in rage. The flames around him exploded out, engulfing the alleyway completely.

"Look at the camera, Dragonling. The world wants to see you."

His flames blazed higher with his emotions. Reluctantly, Natsu's mind succumbed into the memoirs of the day.

"Every living soul should know that Gray Fullbuster is dead." Gray heard the low, taunting voice from behind him. He sensed Lyon stirring on the road on his right. He watched Natsu run towards Lucy, away from the danger, away from him.

Gray's gut felt heavy with dread. His palms remained fisted by his side. A traitorous tear slipped out of his eye. But he could never let his fear show.

"You promised," he said, surprising himself with his unwavering voice, "You promised you would not hurt my friends. How would I know you would keep your side of the arrangement?"

"Oh, don't you worry, son," Silver Fullbuster smirked. Gray turned to look at the devil behind him, "This explosion was just a warning attack so that you don't back away." Silver walked down the pile of rubble of a nearby building.

"I won't," Gray said, looking at his father standing in front of him. "I will keep my part of the promise, and you better keep yours." Gray closed his eyes, letting the welled-up tears escape. He felt Lyon's confused gaze on him. He felt Lucy's eyes blinking open. He opened his eyes and looked at Silver right in the eye.

"I surrender."

Silver Fullbuster towered over his estranged son, his face devoid of emotion. Gray stared up defiantly, his gaze unwavering. Silver smirked. He drawled out in his low voice, "You are way too confident for a mage without powers."

"You can't let them hurt my comrades." Gray continued, "The pact between us clearly states –" Gray voice was cut off by a choke. He coughed, pushing away his father with one arm, clutching at his abdomen with the other. The ice shard in his father's hand glinted wickedly in the sun, covered in Gray's blood.

Was it your mother?" Silver taunted, "Was she responsible for you being so foolishly confident at the face of death? Heh, don't tell me it was I who made you this way."

"D-Dad?" Gray whispered in a shaky voice. "W-What –"

"You surrendered, my boy," Gray's ears rang at his father's voice, "You are now agreeably ours to toy around with."

"Look at the camera, Dragonling." Gray's eyes widened at the familiar voice. Jackal stood far away, having a camcorder pointed at him. "The world wants to see you." Jackal beamed.

"You cowards…" Gray muttered in raw loathe.

"Call us whatever you want," Jackal spat, "But at the end of the day, you lost, Dragonling."

Gray's mind whirled. The realization sunk into him like a heavy rock. They… they were going to kill him. They exploited his weak point only to kill him in cold blood. What had he gotten himself into? He should never have agreed to this. And moreover… the man trying to toy around with him was none other than his father.

His father… his father!

"Why are you doing this?" he voiced out, shaking with emotions.

"You dared to oppose the Darkness, son. It's just your turn to get succumbed into that very darkness."

He heard Lyon call his name in horror at a distance. It won't be long before he would be here, not long before he might be in danger because of him. These hounds would hurt Lyon too, just like they would hurt Gray.

Gray had surrendered to protect the Light, not at the cost of his nakama.

Before he could change his mind, he ran.

He ran away before Lucy could see him, before Lyon could cross the block, before Natsu could realize…

Suddenly, Gray screamed. He stumbled and fell to the ground. He gasped and panted heavily, looking towards his leg. An ice arrow was lodged in his thigh. Gray reached out and grabbed the arrow by its hilt. Biting his lip hard, he pulled it out. Blood gushed out as soon as the weapon was removed. Gray blinked back the tears of pain. His head felt light due to the blood he was losing.

"Where do you think you are going?" Silver's narrowed eyes rested on his widened ones. "Away from your precious friends? At least let them appreciate your final moments."

Silver looked at the right, where Lyon struggled to stand. He scoffed in amusement at Lyon's apparent struggle. "Your surrogate brother would be here in a matter of minutes. You don't want him involved, do you? And look! Your other friend is waking up too."

Gray looked towards Lucy in horror. She indeed was stirring, looking right towards him. No… No! They can't see this. They can't know of this! To his dismay, he realized his scream might have alerted Natsu. But he wasn't looking. His back was turned. He mustn't have known, Gray told to himself, he mustn't have heard. The pact was working.

Gray was alerted with the crunching sounds of the boots. Silver made his way towards Gray, another ice weapon materializing in his hand. The younger raven scrambled away futilely. He had no way of escaping. He was going to make his friends suffer without wanting to. And before he could distance himself from his father, an mini explosion resounded behind him, enough to make him fly forward.

He looked up, only to see Jackal, having his camcorder trained on his face. The blond-haired male smirked down at him, his eyes glinting gold.

"Your eyes indeed look pretty when you're riddled with holes."

Natsu blinked back tears.

"After all that Gray sacrificed because of the likes of you… after everything he did in hopes of protecting his comrades… You dare to declare it all worthless?"

"I will end you," the pink-haired male growled out.

The brutality Gray went through… No. He couldn't mourn Gray yet. He had to avenge Gray. He had to make them pay for this. He had to make Jackal pay for this.

The brutality Gray went through… Jackal seemed to recall the exact scene Natsu had playing in his head, only further: after it became too atrocious, too vicious for even him to stomach.

To let this affect his mind so easily… he really was pathetic.

No… He couldn't think that way. He couldn't afford this. If he ever voiced it out, he would be disbarred from his guild. After all his efforts to prove himself, to reach a rank high enough to showcase his powers; he couldn't afford to show weakness. He couldn't afford to let this to reign his mind.

He had sanctioned it.

"You liked seeing it, didn't you?" Natsu growled.

Yes, he did.

"You enjoyed every minute of it."

"No, I didn't."

Jackal froze, shocked at his unwarranted confession. He gasped and grabbed at the nearest object he could find and hurled it at Natsu. Moments before it could touch the pink-haired male, it exploded in flames.

Hoping for his momentary distraction to work, Jackal made a run for it.

Natsu was stunned. His mind reeled as his body absorbed the flames. A member of Tartaros, moreover the one actually present at the scene, found the ruthless cold-blooded murder of his comrade revolting. How was he supposed to react to that?

Wasn't Jackal a mage of Darkness? Wasn't he inherently evil? Then why did he relay a morality Natsu supposed was only limited to the mages of Light?

Had he misunderstood the Darkness? Was there even the tiniest part of them that matched with the Light? And more importantly, did such mages exist in the Light that merited the Dark? Natsu shook his head.

His gaze then transfixed onto the scene in front of him. Jackal had fallen to the ground. The ground was frozen solid and slippery. Lyon was standing, radiating the cold. Lucy summoned her waves again, enclosing the blond-haired man in a sphere of water.

"Don't get faltered by his words, Natsu." Lyon spat in mirth, "A mage of Darkness can never be a messenger of Light."

Natsu looked at him in shock. For a second, Lyon's words faltered his thoughts, the questions that ran through his mind. But he had seen the look on his face when Jackal had confessed. And he couldn't believe that was unreal.

"He's contacting the headquarters!" Lucy alerted them.

Lyon gazed at Natsu's wavering expressions for a second more before turning towards Jackal. Natsu watched as the ice mage summoned his powers. He froze through Lucy's water lock expertly. Jackal's eyes widened as the ice pierced him right through his heart.

The ball of water dissipated and Jackal fell to the ground. Natsu rushed towards the fallen Dark mage. "Y-You…" Jackal uttered. Then he let out a tired laugh. His expression molded from puzzlement to realization and he declared: "It's all an illusion."

"Get down!" Natsu warned, pushing his two comrades away. Understanding, Lyon quickly formed an ice shield, as he had done before, to shield Lucy and himself from the onslaught. As he had suspected, Jackal detonated himself. The explosion contained a potential to wipe away half the city, but, thanks to Natsu, the flames were slowly but surely absorbed by him.

As he absorbed the last of the flames, he looked at the spot where Jackal once laid. The floor around him was scorched. The walls of the alley were covered in soot, clearly distorted in shape. And, Natsu had to admit, not all of it had been Jackal's fault.

He had no control over his Flames of Emotion.

Moreover, instead of satisfaction, all Natsu felt was certain hollowness. Jackal was dead. One of the many conspirators was gone. And yet, the fissure in his heart only seemed to increase. But he couldn't give up. He had to fight.

For Gray.

And so, Natsu swallowed down his pain, turned around and walked towards his comrades.

TBC

okokok ya ik I am brutal to Gray bby sometimes but tbh

It hasn't even begun. :-)

#KoriNoKoibitoisCreepyAF #AngstisLove #AngstisLife

As always, feedback is appreciated :)

Kori