9

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

"The human mind delights in grand conceptions of supernatural beings."
―Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Kageyama was just beginning to pick himself up, his cheeks still a little purple from Lucy's strike. But the confidence in his mean eyes told her that his restricting magic on her meant she would not get another chance.

"This time girlie," He hissed, a hand raising to call upon rising shadows, "This time you are going to be cut into pretty little pieces. Erigor won't mind."

"Wait!" Lucy gasped out, fear choking around her throat.

The train gave another sudden rock, pitching violently to the right and completely derailing. The carriage Lucy was in dropped onto its side, hurtling both her and Kageyama to the sides. The mage was left screaming as he fell off, unbalanced by being on two feet.

But Lucy, who had been laying on the floor, was able to slide and catch herself on seats with her legs. Taking his distraction, and the weakening spell as a sign, she made her wild escape to the door.

For once she was grateful for Natsu's lack of ability to dial his magic down and climbed out the door which had burst open from the crash.

She was instantly soaked the moment she stepped outside, but Lucy didn't care about that one bit. She was where the water was, and immediately she got another, almost vicious, sense of triumph. Though it was still tinged with impatience. She ignored the impatience as she scrambled away from the train.

Now that she was surrounded by water she began looking around frantically. She needed something more than rain. A pond, or puddle, or something. Thankfully, with all the rain, and all the fighting between Natsu and Erigor, there were a number of such puddles quickly forming.

She sprinted towards the nearest one, her heart nearly stopping when she heard Kageyama behind her and skidded to a halt just as the disgusting man came into view.

She stared at him, nearly frozen in fear and desperate for someone to come help her out, when the key in her hand glowed again and this time she was seized by the power from the object.

She held it out, despite not knowing why, and slashed it through the air, "Open! Gate of the water bearer!" She called in a confident voice she could hardly recognize as her own, and plunged it into the rapidly filling crater of water, "Aquarius!"

Where the words came from she had no idea, but suddenly before her eyes a blue mermaid holding an urn appeared.

"Tch." Aquarius huffed, "It's about time."

"What?" Lucy gawked in confusion, "I...what?"

But the blue mermaid, who she guessed must be Aquarius, wasn't listening as she fastened her gaze on Kageyama, "You." She growled fiercely enough that he actually stopped in his tracks.

Lucy didn't really blame him. Aquarius was scary.

"It's because of you this little brat got ahold of my key, and interrupted my date!" She snarled and began waving her urn, "Just die!"

Lucy screamed in shock as a veritable flood of water came from the urn, and slammed into Kageyama, his buddies behind him, the train, and everything else. Like a tsunami.

The only reason she was spared was because she just happened to be slightly uphill to everyone else.

"As for you!" Aquarius snarled, turning her glare on a suddenly nervous Lucy, "Don't you ever summon me without a proper contract again!" She grabbed her by the shirt, "And I'll drown you if you even consider doing it in a puddle again! Is that clear!"

"Yes ma'am!" Lucy squeaked, not wanting to piss of anyone who could do that to a train. Even if it was already half destroyed.

Aquarius glared at her for a moment longer, as if assessing whether or not she was telling the truth, and released her, "Good. Next time I show up here it had better be for a contract, and you'd better not interrupt another date. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am!" Lucy yelped again, and sighed a little in relief when the terrifying spirit passed back through her gate.

Clearly not all spirits were like Leo.

She wasn't able to give it much more thought when a very soggy Natsu stumbled out of the train. He coughed up a ball of smoke, bracing himself onto the edge of the train.

He kicked out a barefoot, water dripping from his pants legs as he jumped down into the muddy floor. He walked straight for Lucy, squelching every time he moved.

She gulped, somehow having a feeling where this conversation was about to go thanks to the absolutely murderous look on his face. Although considering his hair was plastered down on his head, natural spikes flat to his skull, the intimidating picture was a little sullied. He looked more like a drowned cat than a dragon.

"So, did you fight the leader - I think Erigor was his name?" Lucy asked, deciding to play dumb instead. Better to live up to her reputation as a blond for once, maybe he would go easy on her. Unlikely, but it was worth a shot.

"Oh yeah I did," Natsu complained. His dark eyes locked on her, even as he pushed his soaked bangs from his face, "So imagine my shock when after I get through putting the fear of myself into that tattooed freak, I suddenly get crushed by a tidal wave."

"Yeah, I noticed it." Lucy replied, trying not to laugh nervously, "Looks like a lot of people got clobbered by it." She gestured vaguely towards the even more wrecked train, and cringed a bit inwardly at Aquarius' destruction. She appreciated the save, but was it necessary to almost take out everyone else too?

Natsu's eyes narrowed a little more as he stepped into her space, "You wouldn't have happened to 'see' how it happened would ya?" He purred darkly.

He'd been in enough fights it wasn't hard for him to read the battlefield, and it was clear enough to him that that cursed wave of water that had tried to drown him had originated from Lucy's point.

His suspicion was confirmed when Lucy shifted nervously, a look of guilt in her eyes.

"Uhm, well..." Lucy tried, but couldn't think of a way to avoid the explanation without lying. And that was something she would not do.

She whined a little in resignation for the blowup that was sure to happen now, "Aquarius did it." She admitted, "I found her key while I was running from those creeps, and when I opened her gate she saved me by flooding the place."

She grinned nervously and held up her hands peaceably, "I know, I know. She got everyone else too, but she really did save my butt."

At least now she would have a weapon. If she could ever figure out how that whole contract thing was supposed to work. Hopefully Leo would be back soon to help her out with that.

But much to her surprise, the blow up never came. Instead he was leaning forward, the mention of Aquarius making him go very still. He tapped a finger against his jaw, fangs just visible under the curve of his lips.

His eyes fell down to the key, still grasped in her hand, bending down at the waist to inspect it closely.

"Aquarius, huh?" A certain, secretive gleam entered his dark gaze, but he didn't seem to have any comment on it, "And you were able to use her gate?"

A slow smirk dragged from cheek to cheek and he straightened, "Now isn't this a fun new discovery. Looks like you can open the lost gates as well as your own."

Lost gates?

"What're you talking about?" Lucy asked, frustrated once again by her lack of knowledge of this world. She was eager to get back to her book in the hopes it would shed a little more light on the situation again. Perhaps it would provide a clue.

Natsu just shrugged, as usual deciding to be his typically unhelpful self. He yawned, tucking his nose down into his dirty scarf and rolling his eyes.

"Who knows?" He laughed mischievously. Spinning on a heel, he marched back the way he came.

"Wait, Natsu!" Lucy protested. Her frustration over the lack of information was evident, but of course Natsu didn't seem to care. Instead he waved at her over a shoulder, not even turning around.

"Come on!" He shouted back to her, "Let's get the stuff and head out. This hunk of junk isn't going anywhere!"

And then he disappeared back inside the train, hopping in with nimble movements. Lucy instead had to trudge through ankle deep mud, the soft, squelching dragging at her feet and slowing her down. She had no idea how Natsu had moved so fast through the mud.

She clambered through the dirt, climbing back into the sideways train in a graceless heap. The only reason she was making sure to even follow Natsu, was to retrieve her book. The other things could be replaced, and Natsu would be sure to get them.

But her book was irreplaceable. She had to be certain it was safe from Aquarius' tides.

She also had to make sure Natsu didn't rob any of the passengers when she wasn't looking. Admittedly, that was a very real possibility and he already had a head start.

Thankfully, it appeared that most everyone had gotten away from the area while Natsu was fighting, so for the moment they were the only ones there. Though he did look like he was eyeing the other stuff when she caught up to him.

She narrowed her eyes a little, not sure if he'd actually had time to pocket anything or not, but there was no way of knowing or not with how scattered things had been. And while she could apparently keep him from outright murdering innocent people she was sure that demanding he turn out his pockets, for something she couldn't even prove he'd done, would result in a loud and protracted argument.

So she settled for making sure he didn't take anything else as she recovered her book, that had mercifully landed with their pack in one of the few legitimately protected areas in the otherwise soaked car.

She sighed with relief as she stowed the book again, ignoring his grumbling as she did, "Let's get out of here." She said, grabbing the map instead.

She wasn't sure how far they'd actually gotten, but knew they were somewhere between halfway and three quarters of the way to Magnolia. Logically if they followed the tracks they'd be led straight into town, but she was nervous about more bandits or guys like Kageyama. Had he even counted as a bandit? She wasn't sure, and really didn't want to meet any more like him today if possible.

It already sucked enough as it was.

"You don't need to tell me twice," Natsu seemed all too eager to be off the train for good. Lucy was just glad that he seemed to be in a better mood now. The last thing she wanted was to deal with his cranky behavior for the rest of their trip.

She groaned as she looked at the storm outside, wondering if it was possible to hitch a ride in weather like this.

It seemed unlikely.

The rest of their trip was bound to be a miserable adventure in hiking, made worse by Natsu. He seemed more than content to go out of his way to either ignore or aggravate her. The former of which was not at all a problem in Lucy's book, but she wasn't always calling the shots in this instance.

"Alright," She sighed, steeling herself for more mud and rotten hiking. Lucy had always wanted a little more out of life than what she was getting. She could handle this. No matter how aggravating it was.

Of course in her dreams Lucy had always imagined herself as a successful author with millions of adoring fans.

Not ankle deep in sludge with a cranky dragon as a traveling companion.

Cringing, Lucy headed back out to the outside, grateful that Natsu was at least shouldering the bag now. She guessed he wasn't a huge fan of how they almost got robbed. Territorial dragons were actually a thing, who would have guessed. It was at least doing Lucy some good.

She didn't know what she would have done if she had to carry the pack in the rain.

She swayed at the entrance, but let out a little scream when Natsu gave her a grumpy push out the door. She tumbled out, barely managing to catch herself and scramble out of the way as he jumped after her.

"Watch it!" She hissed at him.

"Complain, complain, complain," Natsu drawled back, looking unconcerned.

"Ugh, you are such a jerk!" Lucy grumbled as they threaded their way through the other traumatized passengers making their way back to their various cars. For a wonder, some were even still intact despite the damage. That was good. It would at least give them a place to get out of the rain.

That didn't make her want to do that until help arrived though.

She had no desire to get entangled with whatever passed for local law enforcement if she could help it. She was sure that somehow things would come out that she was starting to realize maybe shouldn't be talked about with the general public.

So, since she couldn't spot the road from where they were, she began walking along the

tracks. At least those had the benefit of being out of the mud and therefore easier to walk on in all the rain.

It was the little things in life. Really.

Another small blessing was Natsu was leaving her alone for the moment. She was under no illusion that would last forever, or even very long, but at least she had a few moments of peace now.

And it wasn't much longer before the rain started to slack off and go away. Apparently summer storms were the same no matter what world you were from. That was oddly comforting in a peculiar way.

Of course, because it was summer, it quickly gave way to a lot of humidity and uncomfortableness because she was soaked, but she hadn't expected anything else, so she just bowed her head and slogged through it. At least she would dry reasonably quickly.

That was when she noticed the shadows starting to lengthen, "We should probably start looking for a place to camp." She mused, more to herself than to Natsu. This might be the dragon's territory, but she didn't trust him not to pick a place to camp in the ickiest, swampiest, place he could manage by nightfall.

It was only then she realized that he'd been unusually quiet for quite some time, but when she glanced at him he didn't seem to be doing anything odd. Unless you counted apparently thinking as odd.

Curiouser and curiouser. What could have put him in such an introspective mood?

She jerked a little in surprise when his attention suddenly focused on her, reminding her for a moment of being a mouse caught under the gaze of a hawk, but then he smiled, wide and toothy, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"You're right!" He exclaimed, in a tone she didn't trust at all, "Let's find a place to camp Lucy!"

Her fears were confirmed when he began to drag her through to some truly horrendous locations, thick with sludge and muck. She had to make him move three times before they found a comfortably dry location where they would not be disturbed,

Natsu huffed as they set up camp, shoving a circle of stones together to create a fire pit. With a single snap of his fingers, a hearty flame was crackling to life, magically fueled as it fed on the logs he gathered.

Lucy rolled out the sleeping bag provided to her by Jura, relieved they could finally get a little bit of peace after the hectic day they had.

She wondered if every day in this strange world was like this It seemed odd she would run into not one but two dark guilds in less than 48 hours.

She fished out some of their packaged food and extended a portion to Natsu. " Here, go on and take some."

Natsu was sitting on the opposite side of the fire, his expression mostly unreadable even for someone who had been getting used to trying to understand him.

He gave her a strange look, his mouth dropping open to say something probably rude to her when his stomach gave a hungry snarl of protest. Lucy couldn't help her smug look.

It seemed like even though Natsu didn't know how to play nice, there was no arguing with his stomach when it had its mind set on something.

Reluctantly he held out a hand to accept the food, grumbling under his breath as his stomach gave him no other option than to take Lucy up on her offer.

Lucy handed it over with a small smile, and settled back to eat her own share. Bless Jura for packing all the essentials. She really would have to do something nice for him if she ever got the chance.

However, it seemed their day wasn't over quite yet, but this interruption she was only too happy to see as Leo stepped out of his gate.

"Oh you don't know how glad I am to see you!" Lucy exclaimed with relief as the lion spirit smiled in amusement.

"I'm sure." He chuckled, "Aquarius gave me quite an earful earlier."

Lucy cringed, "Uh, sorry about that?" She offered, "Did she tell you the whole story...?"

Natsu scowled and grumbled as the two began talking. Great. Just what he needed. He already had his mind on the last time he'd seen any of the spirits in the hands of a celestial wizard. He didn't want to hear that pervy lion flirt with Lucy and watch her lap it up.

Never mind that Leo had yet to produce even one of his usual over the top declarations. He was sure it was only a matter of time.

So he hunched over his food, turned his back and tried not to listen to Lucy asking eager question after eager question. Gods how annoying. She sounded like an enthusiastic hatchling that didn't know how much the world sucked.

It brought uncomfortable memories to mind. Memories of Igneel and learning dragon magic. Of the nest he'd once been a part of.

Things he neither wanted, nor needed, to dwell on. That was centuries ago, and he'd learned the hard way that there was no going back to it. Not even a little.

Mercifully, their talk quickly turned to the subject of contracts and other technical details on how celestial magic worked, so it was easier for him to ignore them.

He was grateful for the indepth, excruciatingly boring explanation on contracting a spirit and the details that fell in accordance to that. Most spirits remained free, but some had been chained to artifacts in order for a celestial mage to summon them to their side. Some, such as Aquarius, still remained sealed to their keys.

Natsu took a vicious bite out of a chicken leg, teeth crunching into the bone and chewing the thing whole. He stared into the fire, disturbed over how the bright-spirited Lucy could make him feel so unsettled.

She reminded him almost of himself. Centuries ago, before he realized there was no point in making nice with a group of people who were only too eager to screw one another over.

But he couldn't shake it.

He stared into the fire, feeling its warmth and remembering a happier time, when he laid asleep on his father's scales. How his belly would grow warm from sprawling on top of Igneel, or the sheltering cover of his wings when it rained.

Worst of all, he could hear Igneel's voice, whispering lessons to him. Teaching him about his letters, words, how to speak to the humans, and how to master control over his dragon form. All of those were things Igneel had taught him.

Understanding how he worked, how he mastered his new magic, it was all thanks to Igneel.

Natsu's heart clenched hard, sadness gripping him like a vice. His shoulders drew up into a hard line, trying to shake off the quiet, laughing voice of Igneel, rumbling in his head.

"Do not be afraid Natsu..."

He wasn't afraid.

He wasn't afraid of anything.

But he was angry. He would forever remain angry at Igneel, and the dragons, and most of all he would remain angry at the humans.

"Thanks Leo," Lucy smiled as Aquarius faded back through her gate with a satisfied smile on her face, and one solid contract secured with the merwoman. Who would have ever guessed that her endless lessons about contracts would have ever come in so handy? Or her stubbornness for that matter?

Her inclination wasn't to fetter Aquarius, or any other spirit that came under her care, but she hadn't been about to just give in to every one of Aquarius' whims either. The result was a solid contract that worked for them both, and a strangely satisfied Aquarius. Maybe she liked it when people showed a spine?

She didn't know, and at the moment she wasn't inclined to care. She was just happy she finally understood something beyond the little fragments of information she'd been working off of. And had a new ally to help her out. Assuming she didn't get drowned in the process. That part was kind of vague actually. Hm.

"It was my pleasure Lucy." Leo purred in reply, inadvertently breaking her thoughts, and gave her a smile that was actually sincere.

Lucy's reactions to his information on keys and how spirits worked had pleased him. There had been no power hunger there. No desire to gather all the most powerful keys and use them as weapons. Just an innocent question once about how many kinds of spirits there were and how many were bound to keys.

That might've made him nervous except her horror when he'd described how celestial wizards had abused their power in the past had been completely real. There was no way to fake that kind of reaction, and it firmed up his belief that if it truly fell out that she was destined to become a celestial wizard...she would make a fine mistress to serve.

Maybe she was a little young and clumsy magically, but that could be forgiven. She was doing very well with only bits of instruction over two days, and he thought maybe he would enjoy teaching her more if it came to it.

He'd been more disturbed to find out about the bond between Natsu and Lucy, and had warned her that he didn't know if Natsu would be pulled with her if she created a gate home. However, she'd simply nodded in a way that hinted she'd already thought of that for herself.

"I have to go now, but as I said, keep an eye out for other keys. They may be wary at first, but if you can befriend them they'll be very helpful to you."

"I will." Lucy replied, "Thanks again."

Leo nodded and stepped through his gate, leaving Lucy and the quietly growling Natsu to settle in for the evening.

Alright everyone! Here is your new chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! Enter Aquarius! Slowly you'll have some insight into Natsu's brain. This is going to be a slow burn guys, they have to find one another first.

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