Act 4
9
53
Treasure Island
"Sometimes the isle was thick with savages, with whom we fought, but in all my fancies nothing occurred to me so strange as our actual adventures."
― Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
"We'll look through the archives here," Gray wandered up as Gajeel and Levy disappeared from sight. He huffed a little his expression sour, but Lucy could tell he was actually worried about Natsu too. Even if he would hide it.
"There may not be a lot to find, since someone set the whole place on fire-"
Natsu grumbled under his breath.
"-but maybe something will come up."
Lucy gave their guild a happy look, turning to Natsu and elbowing him in the side, "A show of gratitude would be nice."
Natsu gave her a long stare, before much to her surprise, he bobbed his chin down to his chest.
"Thank you," his words were spoken soft, but for the sheer magnitude of Natsu actually thanking someone, he might as well have been shouting.
Gray and Erza exchanged worried looks, the red head pressing her hand against Natsu's forehead, "Is he okay?" She hissed, "Zeref hasn't taken hold of his mind has he?"
"Zeref can't mind control me!" Natsu snapped, cheeks flushed red. He swatted at her wrists, "he just talks in my dreams! It doesn't work like that!"
"Not that there is much to mind control to begin with anyway," Gray's voice came flat.
And just like that, every shred of gratitude Natsu showed up until that point evaporated. He lunged at the ice mage, nearly choking when Lucy yanked at his scarf like it was a leash.
"Down boy," she said, the very picture of patience.
"It's time to go to your hoard, remember?" She turned him bodily, small hands fitting between his broad shoulders.
"But Lucy!" Natsu whined indignantly, "You heard what he said!"
"I heard." Lucy replied quietly, her face pressing into his back as well, "And you can get into one of your usual fights later. But for now, let's please find a way to cut off Zeref. It's bad enough we have to fight him. I don't want him to manipulate us anymore."
Natsu stared tensely over his shoulder at her, but sighed at her words, and flashed her a grin, "Let's go then!"
He reached around, ignoring both her surprised squeak and Gray's muttering as he scooped her up and scales rippled over his body as horns sprouted from his head, and wings erupted from his back, "C'mon Happy!" He called, "Let's go flying!"
"Aye sir!" The little cat exclaimed excitedly and flew over to perch on Natsu's shoulder.
He hoped he would still be able to carry Natsu like Carla did Wendy when he was bigger, but at the same time he thought it was extremely cool Natsu had wings of his own.
He couldn't wait to find out what dragon flight was like.
Natsu flashed Lucy a pointier grin than usual and curled her protectively close before sprinting out of the guild and flapping into the air.
He would deal with Gray once Lucy was happy.
Thankfully, his hoard wasn't all that far away from the guild, so he wouldn't need to transform all the way for something minor like this. Still, Lucy was going to need practice balancing on his back while he was fully transformed. As it was, she definitely didn't have the grace for it.
"Natsu! I can walk!" Lucy protested him carrying her all over the place.
"Too slow with your stubby legs," Natsu teased, yelping when Lucy wrapped a hand around one of his horns and pulled, "Ow! Hey!"
"Who's stubby now?" Lucy smirked in victory as her hand on his horn made Natsu flap around in useless circles, "Wow, it's like I can steer you like this!"
"Lucy stop it!" Natsu wailed, whimpering until she let him go.
He gave her a mean pout, his eyes squinting at her dangerously, but Lucy only laughed bravely in the face of his mild irritation.
She had seen the height of Natsu's wrath before. And she doubted his pouting would ever scare her.
Still... that glint in his eyes promised revenge. And that did concern her.
A little.
Not really.
They arrived at Natsu's hoard a few moments later, Lucy finding herself back on solid ground while Happy landed on Natsu's shoulder.
"That was so much fun!" The cat said with excitement, "I mean it could have been better if you were flying with me but I guess your wings are pretty cool too"
Natsu grinned at the cat and he patted his head, "Oh yeah? Well maybe we'll just have to race sometime to see who has the cooler wings!"
Lucy headed into his hoard, favoring him a dry look over her shoulder.
"What are you, five?" She snorted at him and stepped through.
"Add a couple of zeros to the end of that and you ain't too far off," Natsu smirked, ducking in after her.
They picked their way through the dragon's hoard, this time both Happy and Natsu taking to the air, with Lucy being carried by the blue feline.
"My arms are going to rip off," Happy sobbed at the dragonslayer.
"I know buddy, be brave," Natsu said with a grim look, one that couldn't quite hide his smirk.
"I hate you both." Lucy growled at her two boys, but looking around as Natsu directed them to go higher into his caves. Moving up along a rock wall, they flapped up higher and higher.
Happy kept making noises of struggle as he fought to keep Lucy afloat, and eventually Natsu grabbed Lucy by the back of her shirt to help Happy steady her. But he didn't take her from the small cat completely, knowing their little exceed needed to build his strength.
"Natsu why are we going up so high?" Happy whined.
"Just a little bit further buddy. My library is up higher. I mean I don't really read a lot, so I just carved out some bookshelves and stuck 'em where they wouldn't get in the way," Natsu explained, dragging them both towards a narrow ledge.
He touched down, booted heels dropping down on firm rock. Natsu's hands shot out to steady Lucy, not wanting her to accidentally take a tumble when they were so far up.
"Maybe you should invest in some stairs?" Lucy groaned.
Natsu's expression was mystified as he pulled her from the edge, "Why? I've got wings."
He jolted a bit as Lucy's hands wrapped around his arm, her body shuffling towards his, "I know that Natsu!" She huffed, "But I don't!"
Surprised at the statement, Natsu couldn't help a silly smile overtake his face at her declaration.
Just the quiet reminders he wasn't alone anymore filled him with warmth. And building something as trivial as a staircase suddenly seemed much more important if it meant she would stay with him.
Lucy cocked her head slightly at the goofy smile on Natsu's face, mildly confused about what had put it there. Surely not just because she'd complained about a lack of stairs?
However, apparently he liked whatever was going on in his head as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close with a soft growl that reminded her of...purring! Her eyes went wide as she realized he was actually purring at her! She'd never heard him do that before.
It was... really incredibly sweet.
Even if she still didn't know what had brought it on.
"Natsu?" She asked, trying to understand, but he just grinned as he pulled back and kissed her softly.
"Nothing Lucy."
She shook her head a little, a bemused smile curling over her own lips after that, "Well, let me summon Leo then."
He nodded and pulled back enough to give her room as she slashed her key through the air, "Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"
"You called Miss Lu-ack!" Leo yelped as he appeared a little too close to the edge of the ledge, and his arms pinwheeled comically before Natsu reached out and grabbed him by the shirt to pull him back up.
"Losin' your touch there?" He smirked in amusement, "You're usually a lot better about picking where you come out."
"Well if someone would bother to widen the ledge it wouldn't be an issue." Leo huffed, and then blinked as he realized just where he was and in what company, "You brought Lucy to your hoard?"
He'd done his best to keep an eye on things since Zeref's return, something felt by the entire celestial realm, but as vigilant as he was he couldn't keep his eyes everywhere at once.
And the last time he'd checked on Lucy, only a day ago, she'd been nursing a badly broken heart. Obviously something had radically changed since then.
Something that had involved a lot of make up sex if their scents were any indication.
A surprising, but pleasing, change to be sure.
"Don't look so surprised, it ain't the first time she's been here," Natsu grumbled, turning around to walk off across the ledge towards a wider section of his aerial library.
The footing was still precarious, but it was a bit more steady than it had been before.
Trying not to feel a little offended by the slack-jawed expression on Leo's face, Natsu stuck his tongue out at him in a childish display.
"Alright boys, that's enough," Lucy said, dropping a hand on her hip, "This is serious."
That caught Leo's attention and he directed the rest of his focus solely on her. For him to be summoned outside of a battle and for advice, Leo could only imagine whatever knowledge they needed would be specific in nature.
"What can I do?" He asked.
Grateful Leo seemed to be on board, Lucy launched into her explanation over Natsu's predicament, and their hope that the Celestial Spirits might know a way of severing his connection with Zeref.
Leo listened to it all with an even countenance. He raked fingers through orange hair, golden rings disappearing through the silky locks.
"Separating a demon from Zeref?" Leo's gaze was long and steady, "That's never been done before. This connection is something we've never even had to deal with before. No one had known about it."
"Yeah, it's not exactly dinner-topic material," Natsu waved a dismissive hand, " 'How are you? - oh just fine! Only I hear the thoughts of my not-dead brother in my dreams sometimes!'"
"Yes, very smooth," Leo rolled his eyes.
"Do you have any suggestions? Celestial Magic seems somewhat compatible with Zeref's since he can open gates too," Happy mumbled, settling in Leo's mane of hair.
"Not many I'm afraid," Leo sighed, his eyes lingering over Natsu, "Although..."
He pointed at Natsu's neck. More specifically, the fabric wrapped around his throat.
"A talisman of great emotional value such as Natsu's scarf can serve as a conduit to celestial magic," Leo explained. His eyes met Natsu's, a wry grin flashing over his feline face, "I'm sure you've noticed by now, there is something unusual about your scarf."
"Aside from the fact it seems to serve as a weird mood ring?" Lucy side-eyed Natsu.
"Oy," he grumbled.
"Sorta," Leo crossed his arms, "The scarf is imbued with Igneel's will. When Natsu strays from his father's teachings, the scales blacken, making him more susceptible to his demonic nature and a loss of control over his magic."
"Huh?" Natsu stared, holding up the tail of the scarf in shock, "Why didn't you ever tell me!"
"Wasn't my secret to tell," Leo shrugged, but crossed over enough space to jab a finger into Natsu's chest, "But maybe if you had listened to me over the years, maybe it wouldn't have looked better!"
Natsu fell silent, looking at his treasured scarf as if for the first time.
"How do you know all this Leo?" Happy asked, his worried eyes glancing at Natsu's still form.
Leo also gave Natsu a concerned look but turned to the blue exceed. One hand rested on Happy's head.
"Because the Celestial Spirit King made the scarf for Igneel," Leo explained, "As a gift of friendship, the scarf was imbued with magic through Igneel's scales to serve as a protective talisman - he chose to give it to Natsu."
"The scarf can never fully recover to what it was, it's been damaged too far for it to ever be whole again... It reflects not only Igneel, but Natsu now," Leo saw the dragonslayer's shoulders stiffen, tan fingers curling into the worn, white fabric between his hands.
"Well that's good," Lucy's voice broke in, pulling Natsu's attention up, "I rather like the scarf how it is now."
She closed in next to Natsu, pulling the tail of his scarf from his hands. Toying with it between her fingers, she slid her fingers through the soft scales, "It's nice. Weathered and beaten, but like a warm pillow you can sink into."
"Lucy..." Natsu stared at her, a hard lump forming in his throat. He'd caused so much damage to his scarf. The scarf that represented Igneel's teachings. His desire to protect him.
Lucy smiled at him and gently rubbed her fingers through the warmth of the scarf, but didn't take her eyes off his, "Things are at their best when they've been used." She murmured, "Lived in. Seen good times and bad and weathered through them."
"That's what makes them really special."
Natsu felt something in him burst with emotion and he wrapped his arms tightly around her, burying his face into the crook of her neck, "Thanks Lucy." He whispered, his voice trembling a little.
She accepted him. As she always had. Faults and all.
She didn't mind that his scarf was a little worn around the edges, and maybe a little gray in the creases. It just gave it character as she would say. And that meant the absolute world to him.
He smiled and kissed her, not caring about Happy's disgusted protests or even that the pervy lion was watching.
Unfortunately, the moment ended nearly the same moment it began as a sharp pain lanced through his head and he nearly doubled over with a hiss.
"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed in alarm holding him steady, "Are you alright?"
Natsu twisted to look at her, and tried to open his mouth to reply when his world tilted even more and his vision went black.
The throbbing in his head was piercing, almost like a hundred voices at once shrieked in agony. Everything tunneled down into a single point. Fingers bunched into coral hair, he stumbled backwards and straight off the ledge.
-::-
Miles away in the small port Hargeon, Lyon Vastia stood out by the docks. His frosty eyes remained out on the horizon, watching the gentle waves that rolled into town.
The water swirled around the dock, lapping against the wood in gentle patterns, foam forming and sliding away as quickly as it came.
The ocean was mostly still, even despite these occasional interruptions, and Lyon stared at it in deep concern. Because out near Galuna Island, he could see a thick canopy of dark clouds crackling towards them.
Lyon nearly jolted as the dock creaked behind him until he caught sight of Jura's large frame. The bald man approached him until they stood side by side, both watching the looming sky.
"It's a troubling omen," Jura said, his voice quiet at the sight of the approaching clouds.
Lyon turned, looking surprised at the older man, "Don't tell me you believe in the foolishness of good and bad luck sir?"
"I take it you do not believe in such things," Jura questioned.
"It's not in my nature," Lyon replied with honesty. Jura nodded, but his sharp eyes remained focused even despite the soft, paternal smile on his face.
"I suppose not, but I do," Jura's arms slid in his sleeves, "Perhaps it is old fashioned, but I find it troubling there is a cloud hanging over Galuna Island. Especially with what has happened recently."
Lyon nodded, unable to deny the other's point.
"You're referring to their sudden aggression?" Lyon frowned, the lack of understanding clear on his face, "I don't get it. We did nothing to antagonize them, and the demons on that island are usually so gentle."
"Yes, it does seem strange that a peaceful race of low-ranking demons would suddenly stop speaking with us," Jura sighed.
"It is strange." Lyon agreed, and frowned thoughtfully, "I wonder if there's something affecting them?" He shrugged slightly at Jura's curious look, "There's always the possibility. The moondrip made them think they were cursed humans. If that affected them then perhaps something else has now."
Jura's expression darkened with concern, "I had not thought of that." He admitted, "If that is, indeed, the case then we'll need to find out what could do such a thing to them and reverse it."
Lyon's attention was pulled by the sound of the bells frantically ringing in the harbor, and his eyes widened in horror, "I think we're about to get our chance!"
On the horizon, flying in front of the rapidly approaching storm, almost as if they were part of it, were the Galuna Island demons themselves.
And they did not look the least bit friendly.
Jura inhaled in alarm, "Alert the guild!" He ordered, "Tell them to evacuate the people as quickly as possible."
"What about you?"
Jura fixed Lyon with a grim look, "Even as low level as they are, no ordinary human can withstand a demonic attack. So I will be buying you time to act. Now go!"
Lyon watched as Jura sprinted for the harbor, shouting warnings as he went, and took a step to follow him before hesitating. Jura was counting on him to alert the guild. As much as he wanted to disobey, knowing they could deal with the demons, he knew the two of them could not hold off the entire village without killing them and evacuate people at the same time.
And he was long since past the stage he was willing to coldly kill people who had been friends and allies until now.
So he turned and ran for the guild as fast as he could move, icing the street along the way so he could skate faster.
Lyon wasn't able to make it far though, because no sooner had he thrown open the door to Lamia Scale, the sky darkened.
The wings of the demons blotted out the sun as they swarmed down. Too many for even Jura to contain. Lyon threw up a hasty magic wall of living ice birds to dissuade them, but it wasn't enough.
The demons came from the sky in droves, and for whatever reason they were far more powerful than Lyon's previous encounters with them.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm running late on my updates again o.o Unfortunately no Sneak Peek this time! But thank you to everyone who DID review! :* I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
-::-
NEXT UPDATE: THURSDAY/FRIDAY