Act 3
TODAY IS KYTRIN'S BIRTHDAY!
WISH HER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERE AND ON TUMBLR! GO DO IT. SPAM HER WITH LOVE. PRETTY PLEASE.
41
Dune
"Fear is the mind-killer."
― Frank Herbert, Dune
Erza scowled thunderously at the various bodies strewn before her, not at all pleased to have found them there even if beating them up had been somewhat satisfying.
"Is that all of them?" She asked without turning her glare away.
"As near as I can tell yes." Jellal replied as he stepped out of the shadows to join her with a dark frown of his own, "Though if it isn't we'll have an easy time spotting them." He nudged a fallen body with a foot, "The Black Unicorn are neither particularly subtle nor bright."
He looked at his fiancé, "I know we've been trying to avoid worrying Lucy about this, but we can't ignore it anymore. Gray wasn't exaggerating how close they're getting."
Erza sighed, "I know you're right. I just wanted to give Lucy a chance to relax and not think about it. She and Natsu have both been so happy lately..."
Jellal dropped his hand on her shoulder and shifted so he was in her line of sight, "And while it was just an isolated incident with Naked Mummy that was fine. But this is twice in the past week. We can't keep this under wraps anymore."
Erza nodded, and straightened, "Very well." She replied briskly, "I'll inform the master."
Jellal nodded and gave her a quick kiss, "I'll deal with these and catch up." He promised.
Erza hesitated for a moment, aware of what he was likely about to do, but nodded again and took off towards Magnolia and the guild.
She trusted Jellal not to take it too far. He was a good man, and had come a long way from the crazed man he had once been. It was too eerie for both The Black Unicorn and Naked Monkey to arrive as close to their guild as they had. One under Grimoire Heart, the other under the Oracian Seis.
Tartarus, in general, had been absolute in its silence over the matter concerning Lucy. A fact which was both a relief and a fear of Erza's. The third guild in the Baram Alliance was full of demons, but its goal was as elusive as the demonic members which plagued its halls.
Why did they remain silent?
It could only mean they had another goal in mind.
The time for holding their tongues was over. She was afraid they were standing on the precipice of a war, and Erza knew they had to be prepared lest they get caught off guard.
With Lucy's life staked in the middle, it left Erza no other option than to inform her of the guilds coming after her with more urgency.
Erza could only hope whatever Jellal found out from the men would not spell disaster for their home and their guildmate. Lucy had finally begun to blossom into her magic and now wielded it with enough accuracy to do a solid amount of damage in battle. But a war?
No one could prepare for that kind of fight.
She ran back to the guild, scarlet hair whipping around her like flames, stopping just outside the heavy door. From where she stood outside it, she could hear the loud laughter within, the jovial merry making and music shaking the walls.
A ghost of a sad smile trailed over her face, and Erza swallowed thickly.
They were so happy. Natsu's bellowing laughter, changed to challenging snarls in a second, and she could only guess - with exasperation, he had begun to pick a fight with Gray.
An incredible burden was about to be placed upon their shoulders. Erza could only hope they bore the responsibility well.
Stiffening her spine, she shoved open the doors with enough force to slam them against the guild walls.
The guild went silent at once, gaping at Erza's abrupt and admittedly dramatic entrance.
Natsu was squatting on the table in front of Gray, a hand buried in the ice wizard's hair while Gray dragged his fingers in Natsu's mouth to pull apart his cheeks. They gave one another twin expressions of terror when they caught sight of Erza.
She purposefully ignored their relieved sighs when she strode past them, her eyes glinting with steel to rival even that of Gajeel's scales.
"I have news concerning the Dark Guilds, Grimoire Heart and Oracian Seis!" She announced, "We believe they are gathering forces for an attack."
The silence that had preceded her announcement morphed into gasps and mutterings immediately after.
Lucy felt her blood go cold, aware that she was the reason for the dark guilds attacking, "Are you sure?" She asked faintly, not wanting to believe it, but not daring to disbelieve it either.
Erza nodded firmly, "Jellal and I caught a small contingent from Dark Unicorn attempting to infiltrate Magnolia and ultimately the guild. Jellal is questioning them now, but there's little doubt their goal was you Lucy."
"Well they're not gonna get her!" Sting snarled furiously and stepped forward a little, "Whatever they want her for they'll have to go through us to get to her!" He glanced at her and then Natsu, "She's part of the nest, and even if she wasn't we owe her."
"Indeed." Erza agreed, while Levy wrapped a supportive arm around Lucy's shoulders, "They will have to fight through all of us, but we must begin preparations now." She frowned, "We were lulled into complacency when nothing happened at first. We can't afford to ignore this now."
Lucy's heart twisted at Erza's words and the deafening roar that greeted them. She hated that she was putting everyone in danger like this, but at the same time it touched her deeply that she had so many willing to take on such powerful and frightening people for her sake.
However, despite her conflicted feelings, she wasn't about to back down now. This was her home. Her new world. It was everything her birth world wasn't and never could be. She would fight to stay here.
She jumped a little when she felt a warm hand land on her shoulder and looked up to see Natsu, his eyes locked fiercely on Erza, "We're not gonna ignore anything!" He snarled, "Those dark guild jerks want to fight then we'll give them a fight they won't forget!" He bared his fangs, "They're gonna regret ever messing with Lucy or Fairy Tail!"
Lucy couldn't help it. She really couldn't. A warm smile floated to her face at the sight of his ferocity. Even despite the direness of the situation and the threat to her life, his words made something in her heart float.
Not because of his declaration for her, although that was certainly part of it.
But because of his declaration to Fairy Tail.
The answering roar to his next shout of 'Lets kick their asses!' was enough to blow the roof off the guild, and Lucy felt her breath hitch.
Somehow, without even realizing it, this had become her family.
It had become Natsu's family as well.
They had found a home in this place. A guild which was just supposed to be a temporary stopping point in their lives.
It was the first time Lucy had heard Natsu roar so passionately about the guild, and she didn't think for even a moment it would be the last either.
She balled a hand into a fist, despite the tears building in her eyes. They were stinging against her cheeks, but held happiness, fear, and determination.
And it gave her the strength to fight in this battle too. She would stay in her home. She would stay with her family. She would stay with Natsu.
"Yeah!" She shouted next to him, a little choked, "Lets kick their asses!"
Natsu snorted at her half-hearted swearing and teary face. His attention swung back to her fully, a smile on his face and determination in his eyes.
"Hey, no more crying," He said encouragingly, "Unless they're tears of victory. Because we're Fairy Tail right?"
Lucy felt his ever-burning hand slip into hers, their fingers threading together.
"...Right!"
Erza smiled proudly at the pair while Makarov nodded, "Very well then." He said standing up, a fierce glint in his eyes, "If it's a war they want then it's a war they'll get." He frowned thoughtfully, "Levy, take Gajeel and alert the mayor. We can't predict when they'll attack, but the more alert the townspeople are the better."
"Right." Levy agreed as she stood up and she and Gajeel headed out.
"Natsu, I want you and the other dragonslayers to work with Erza and Jellal to try and cover patrol routes. I realize only three of you can transform right now, but that's three more in the sky than we have right now."
Natsu grinned fiercely, already winding up for the fight, but Makarov was moving on already, "Lucy, I'd like you to contact Leo. Let him know what we've found out and to have his people be alert for anything unusual." He frowned stonily, "If the worst happens then it will be up to them to stop things in the celestial realm before it goes too far."
He eyed the rest of his children pensively, disliking the idea of them essentially preparing for war, but aware not one of them would stand to be left behind under the circumstances.
"We've got a lot of work to do if we're going to come through this battle." He told them sternly, "Let's get to work!"
There was a determined roar of agreement from the guild as they all broke up and started getting ready.
All of them were veterans of battles with Natsu and other various bad guys over the centuries. This was nothing new to them, and they were determined that Fairy Tail would survive intact. Just as it always had.
Natsu stayed next to Lucy. While it was true their bond seemed to allow them a ridiculous amount of space from one another, Natsu wasn't intending on pushing that limit when they were about to go into a fight.
"C'mon Lucy, we're going to hit the ground while Gajeel and the others take to the air," His cheeks puffed out in displeasure, his hand closing around Lucy's.
He felt Happy's soft weight drop down onto his shoulder, glancing up at the cat, who was both worried looking, and a little confused.
"But why?" Happy asked, his large eyes pleading as they shifted between Lucy and Natsu, "Why can't you fly with them Natsu? Aren't you going to transform?"
Lucy winced at the curious look Happy was giving Natsu. She couldn't quite see her partner's face, but knew his thoughts must have been flying a mile a minute.
"Eh, who needs to fly when I got you buddy?" Natsu dropped a tan hand into Happy's fur, "You're starting to get pretty big now, I bet you could pick up a hundred Lucy's!"
"Oh I could never do that," Happy said with solemn eyes but a mischievous smile.
"Just a single Lucy would rip my arms off," He said plaintively, causing Natsu to bark out a laugh before Lucy smacked them both.
"I am not that heavy you stupid cat!" Lucy huffed, her cheeks flaming red as Happy fluttered off, laughing.
Natsu grinned as he watched their blue companion go, who was announcing to the guild one day he would be strong enough to be Natsu's wings. Such a declaration warmed his heart, even if it was ridiculous coming from the fuzzy kitten.
A small tug on his scarf pulled his attention backwards, to where Lucy was giving him a pensive look.
"I know you don't talk about it a lot," Lucy said in a hesitant voice. It trembled with concern, rising up from her flushed irritation over Happy's words, "But your dragon form- you've only been able to tap into it once since you've been bound to me."
"Yeah." Natsu sighed, unusually somber for the moment, "And I'm not sure if I can replicate it."
He glanced over at Lucy's guilty face and cracked a grin at her, "Don't worry about it! It'll be fine! We'll tear those dark guild jerks up so badly it wouldn't matter if I did transform!"
"I just wish I could control the bond." Lucy said worriedly, "So you at least had the option."
Natsu felt his heart skip a beat that she would grant him that kind of freedom if she could. It was a sign of how much she'd grown to trust him. Something that even six months ago he would've been internally cackling about and trying to take advantage of.
But he wasn't that dragon anymore.
He was better because of her. And happier than he'd been since before Igneel died.
He eyed her for a moment and burst into laughter, "Aw, c'mon Lucy!" He grinned broadly at her, "You say that like you think it's your fault or something!" He shrugged at her surprised look, "Well it's not like you would've known what that jerk Hades was going to cast right? And I know you don't know enough about magic to figure it out. So don't worry about it."
The looked he gave her was so fiercely warm and determined that Lucy felt her hesitation melt away. He was right. The bond was something neither of them could control, so there was no point in worrying about it.
Though that didn't stop her from wishing she could control it.
"Hey, I might miss flying a little, but I figure I spent way more time as a dragon than I have in this form, it won't kill me to spend a few centuries in this body while you figure it out," Natsu said with an oblivious smile.
"Besides, Happy will be big enough to carry me soon. And until then, well... We always got Lily," Natsu dropped his thick arm around Lucy's shoulders, dragging her to his side.
"We got other things to worry about now anyway aside from my horns and scales," Natsu gave her a cheery look, his fingers tightening on her arm in a gentle squeeze. She felt his warmth in the pit of her stomach, causing her to smile.
The guild was all milling around, doing everything they needed to complete. Tasks were handed out to everyone, no matter how small, but Natsu and Lucy stood side by side with one another.
Hesitantly, his eyes flashed to hers. A tongue swiped out to wet his lips, and Lucy caught his hesitant gaze.
Before she could ask what was wrong, he bent down and set a hand on her cheek. His kiss was brushing and gentle against her mouth. There was something comforting in the caress of his skin against hers, filling her with a fuzzy sort of surprise and affection.
He had kissed her before, but never before in the middle of the guild. And certainly not like that.
Whenever he initiated a kiss, it was usually a sloppy, cheerful thing. Wet and mostly gross, but filled with boyish affection and overflowing joy.
This was the same, but it missed his usual silliness. Natsu's ever-present smile was still in his eyes and the curve of his cheeks, but the touch was grazing and made her heart feel very full.
"You ready to kick some ass?" He asked her.
Lucy smiled at him, still slightly dazed from that kiss, and nodded, "Yeah!" She breathed, resisting the urge to drag him somewhere private so they could continue what they were doing. They had work to do now, and there wasn't time for any kind of making out.
However much she might really want to.
She stared at him for a long moment, a slightly goofy grin on her face, before she shook herself a little and took a half a step back, "Right. I should summon Leo then." She said, a faint blush staining her cheeks.
He just gave her a toothy grin, and before she quite realized what she was thinking she pulled him into another kiss. This one was just as sweet, if a touch hungrier, and she only ended it when Cana wolf whistled at them, drawing everyone else's attention too.
"C'mon you lovebirds!" The brazen brunette grinned shamelessly, "You can grope each other later! We got work to do!"
Lucy and Natsu both blushed brightly, and shot grins at each other before they separated. Natsu going to Erza, and Lucy retreating to a quiet corner where she would have enough room to summon Leo.
She silently cursed Cana as she noticed what seemed like every eye in the guild on her, but firmly straightened up as she pulled out Leo's key, "Open! Gate of the Lion!"
It only took a moment for Leo to appear, looking as immaculate as always in the suit he'd worn since contracting to her.
"You called princess?" He purred with a flirtatious smirk, pleased when she couldn't entirely hide a smile as she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah." Lucy replied, sobering in an instant when she remembered why she'd called him, "Master Makarov asked me to let you know that the Oracion Seis are gearing up to attack the guild for me."
Leo's expression morphed into one of disgruntlement. His eyes narrowed and the glasses he donned shadowed his face.
"Alright then," Leo cracked his knuckles, squaring up his jaw to get ready for a fight, "What do you need from me?"
Lucy nodded, pleased he was taking the threat seriously, even despite some of his more flirtatious behaviors. Honestly, Leo could be ridiculous sometimes. Once he had bailed out on her summoning so he could go on a date. A date.
"The Oracian Seis have a celestial wizard in their ranks. She uses spirits sometimes too, and even though many of her keys made contracts with me, I don't know if any stayed."
"You want me to keep an eye out on the celestial realm," Leo frowned, "And if any unusual activity starts to stir, to alert you?"
Lucy nodded, "It may be our only chance of early detection if Angel is still using her spirits."
He looked concerned, uncertainty flickering across his face, "The celestial realm is very large Lucy - and there are a whole lot of spirits to keep an eye on."
"I know," She apologized, "But it might be our only chance."
She took his hand and squeezed it thankfully, "Besides, if something happens to me, you all have to be prepared for the worst, right?"
Leo's lips flattened into a line, the feline ears on the top of his head twitching with remorse.
"Lucy..."
She was saved from responding when something hard rammed into her from behind. Lucy's world tilted in an instant as she slammed into Leo's chest, his arms flinging out to catch her.
Vaguely, she was aware of Natsu shouting behind her ear, "Get down!"
His solid weight crushed into Lucy's back, and belatedly she realized he was the one who essentially clotheslined her and Leo.
His hand was on the back of her head, cramming Lucy's face into Leo's suited chest and nearly smothering her. She managed to crane her head to the side just enough to see Natsu's eyes searching out for his nest, "Sting! Rogue get Wendy!"
His shout came too late, and suddenly the roof of the guild came crashing down around their heads.
-::-
Jellal stared at the members of Dark Unicorn, his eyes widening with horror at the words he managed to drag out from their leader.
"What... did you just say?" He breathed through stiff lips.
The leader of Dark Unicorn smirked past his bloodied nose and split lip. It stretched out into a pained grimace, but the malicious glee he held in his eyes was evidence enough to the truth behind his words.
"I said we were just the distraction," he coughed wetly. The sound was unpleasant, but Jellal paid no attention to that. He grabbed the man by the front of his shirt, his eyes wild and anger clenching his jaw.
"You-!"
"Better hurry back to Fairy Tail," The man laughed, "Didn't you send your fiance back that way?"
His eyes lidded, "The party is about to start."
ALRIGHT GUYS! IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, TODAY IS KYTRIN'S BIRTHDAY! GO SHOWER HER IN LOVE AND AFFECTION! I WON'T GET TO SEE HER FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS NOW (hopefully) SO WE GOTTA MAKE TODAY GREAT FOR HER! OK? ALRIGHT!
Also, since we've been ASKED more than once.
NO. NATSU AND LUCY DID NOT GO ALL THE WAY. People can do intimate things together. Natsu is inexperienced right now and realistically would not have lasted more than three seconds if they tried.
Special thanks to everyone who reviewed! I send out your review responses! Here are guest reviews!
Amy - (I know, Natsu has come a long way hasn't he?) , Guest - (I'm glad you like the book! It's very important!) , AnimeNeko - (OH WOW YOUR FAVORITE? THANKS SO MUCH!) , Guest - (Thanks!) , Animallover - (I'm glad you agree! Natsu's definitely in deep shit with Lucy. He can't help it. Natsu just needs baby steps for him to get there. You would be right. This is where everything starts happening. 8D There aren't that many chapters left in Act 3.) , Avengerika - (I know they are such a cute couple! WE LOVE THEM SO MUCH. GRAAAH. Motherglare is just a sideshow for what we've got next. Hahaha. I'm glad you liked the pace!)
No sneak peek this time, we didn't get enough reviews, but stay tuned for a special chapter for Kytrin's birthday on tumblr! It will be belated since I haven't gotten a chance to draw with my Graduation and Finals, but it'll be on its way soon!
Thanks again!