Natsu was in full-on panic mode, "It's been an hour!" he yelled, kicking at some bushes, "Where the hell is she? I say we blast away from the rock - maybe over there!" He pointed further up on the mountain, "Maybe we can't get through this rock, but maybe we can go around it and get it a different route!"
"Shut UP!" Gray moaned, leaning back on a rock and covering his eyes with his arm. He was sick of the dragon slayer's constant whining. He was worried about Lucy too, but they'd done everything they could think of to gain access to the tunnel Lucy had disappeared in and nothing they had done even budged the rock slightly. It was obviously a magically protected rock and only Celestial wizards could pass. They weren't going to get into the cave through any side of the mountain.
Beside Gray's perch on the uncomfortable rock, Erza stood, sharpening her sword, "Gray is right, Natsu. Sit down and shut up. We need to be patient. Lucy will back."
"How can you SAY that?" Natsu yelled, "She's been gone for an hour! We have no way to tell if she's in danger or if she's knocked out or if some vicious thing is attacking her! What if she doesn't come back? What if she's just gone and we're just sitting here doing nothing?!"
Gray gave Natsu a glaring shake of his head, "Do you have no faith in her? Lucy is a completely capable, strong wizardress. She wouldn't have gone in there if she couldn't handle it. Look what she did during Tartaros and tell me she won't handle whatever is in there."
Defeated, Natsu sat back against the rock with his comrades.
"I'm sorry," he said after several moments, "I have every faith in her. I know she's okay. She's Lucy. But I can't help it. I feel the same way you would if it were Juvia or Jellal."
Erza snickered. She would actually not be worried about Jellal at all. But she knew where Natsu was coming from. Natsu had changed a bit after almost losing Lucy during Tartaros. Actually, it went back further than that...maybe when the future Lucy had died? She didn't know when, but she did know that Natsu had changed. Lucy brought out the best in Natsu. She gave him a reason to be cautious instead of reckless. She was often the reason that Natsu left the guild at night instead of causing more fights. She was one of the few in the guild unafraid of him enough to talk him down when he was being ridiculous. And no matter what...NO MATTER WHAT...she stuck to him loyally. Even when END was trying to take over, she remained unafraid. She addressed Natsu instead of END and ultimately, it was she who drove him from Natsu's body. Erza, Gray, and the other guild members were not blind, no matter how oblivious Natsu was...Natsu Dragneel was hopelessly in love with Lucy.
Gray flashed a knowing grin at Erza. He felt the same way about his own woman. Juvia was capable and smart and witty. He would worry about her to a point, but there was nothing she couldn't handle. After Tartaros, Gray had finally admitted how much he needed Juvia. During the year that the guild had disbanded, they had done some serious soul searching together. Gray finally made the move and made Juvia his girlfriend.
"Something's happening..." Erza said suddenly, standing up and glancing around her.
She was right. The air had suddenly changed. It was a deep, dark, and ominous feeling.
As if on cue, dark clouds began to brew directly above them. All 3 wizards were on their feet down, glancing around nervously. Shadows began flitting along the landscape.
"Demons," Gray whispered, his arm lighting up in the black tattoo, "They're everywhere! Get ready!"
They stood back to back in a small circle, ready to attack if the demons were to start something. The demons were materializing now to be visibly seen.
"We don't want you," one demon hissed at Natsu.
"You are one of us, yes?" another called out, "You must help us get the artifact for the master."
"No chance in hell!" Natsu shot back, fist inflamed, "And I'm NOT a demon."
"You are END, yes?" the demon taunted.
"I'm NOT END!" Natsu growled, "END is gone now. What do you want?"
Several demons approached now. Behind them, the rock face glowed.
"Just the girl," the first demon cackled, "Only the girl and her egg."
Gray's arm was fully charged and he sprang into action, slaying every demon he came across with little effort, "They're low level demons!" He yelled, "The rock is glowing, so I think Lucy is probably almost here! Let's get rid of these losers and go home!"
"Right!" Erza yelled, "Natsu - go by the rock. When Lucy appears, protect her at all costs!"
Natsu didn't need to be told twice. He backed up by the rock, firing off balls of fireballs at the demons who came toward him. Demons were everywhere - and even as low level demons, they were vicious. One sank its' teeth into Erza's shoulder, just before Gray iced it solid. She didn't even scream before resuming her attacks. Natsu could feel his anger growing as he swung furiously at the attacking demons.
Behind him, he saw the glow of the rock diminish. Whirling around, his eyes met a panicked Lucy, who instantly reached for her whip as she noticed the battle that ensued around her. Natsu stopped what he was doing, enveloping her in a quick hug before resuming his attacks.
"I missed you!'' he yelled, vaporizing a demon she had just whipped and chucked his way, "Where the hell have you been?"
"Oh, you know...lying on a beach, getting a tan!" she hollered back, grabbing a demon by the ankle, then chucking into the rock face, "NATSU! Head in the game, please! We need to kick some ass! Worry about where I was later!"
He nodded, firing his palms up.
They were getting the upper hand. The demon crowd became more sparse. Erza sliced one in half, then realized she'd run out of opponents.
"They're on the run!" Gray yelled triumphantly.
"Nooooo," Lucy said slowly, panic in her voice, "They're leaving willingly...for something bigger."
Natsu backed up until he was flush against her back, ready.
Erza and Gray regrouped as well. The four stood silently and motionlessly, awaiting whatever was coming next.
They didn't have to wait long. A gigantic, dragon-like creature rose from the cliff-side. Its' scales were blue/gray...its' eyes a haunting dark red. It screeched, causing air to blow through the group's hair like a sudden gale of wind would.
"A dragon?" Gray asked incredulously, having to yell over the beating of the wings.
"Nope," Natsu shouted back, "That ain't no dragon. No self-respecting dragon would help demons with anything! That's a wyvern!"
"Shit!" Lucy whispered under her breath. Her eyes were wide. She didn't have her spirits to help her. All she had was her whip. She didn't even know if she could star-dress since her keys were tarred. Two other wyverns rose to the first wyvern's side.
The first wyvern screeched again, almost breaking their eardrums, before firing a blue fire at them. Natsu grabbed Lucy and dodged the flame. The rock face - the unbreakable rock face that Natsu, Gray and Erza had been unable to touch - exploded, sending rocks flying into their back. Erza cried out in pain as one of the flying rocks smashed into her shoulder. Both of the other wyverns attacked, sharp claws and jaws snapping. They were strong, angry, and determined that someone was going to die.
Erza backed up against Lucy and Natsu, bracing her shoulders, "Gray and I will keep these guys busy." Her voice was doing little to disguise the alarm in her voice, "Natsu, get Lucy out of here. I'm assuming you have the egg, right?"
Lucy nodded, unable to speak.
"But you're injured!" Natsu protested.
One of the wyverns started sucking in breath again, indicating another blue fire attack.
"GO!" Gray yelled, firing an ice demon attack at the wyvern to try to prevent the attack, "Get out of here!"
Natsu didn't think twice. He grabbed Lucy's arm and swung her onto his back, running for the cliff underneath the wyverns. He dove off the cliff, sending them on a downward plunge.
"WHIP!" He yelled as they neared the bottom of the cliff.
Lucy whipped a tree nearby and they swung to the branches, landing safely near the top of the tree with little more than minor cuts and bruises.
"Gray and Erza!" Lucy cried out.
"They're fine!" Natsu yelled back, already scaling down the tree with her on his back, "We've got to get out of here."
In an attempt to stop the escaping wizards, the black-ish wyvern swooped down, scratching Lucy's back underneath her backpack. Lucy let out a horrified screech as Natsu whirled around, shooting fire at the wyvern. It attacked again, claws out to get Natsu. He carefully took the time to put Lucy against a tree, then jumped up as the attacking wyvern approached, landing on its' back. Without hesitation, Natsu lit both hands and smashed them into the wyvern's back...effectively killing it. It smashed into several trees before coming to a halt about 100 yards away from where Lucy sat in pain against the tree.
He ran to her, checking her back out quickly, before rehoisting her into the piggy-back position and taking off at a full run.
Above them, they could hear Gray and Erza yelling out attacks as they took on the wyverns.
It was hours later when Lucy opened her eyes, realizing they were stopped. She hadn't fallen asleep, but she couldn't be sure if she'd just all out passed out. She was lying on her stomach. Her back stung.
"Hey," a soft voice called out, "Are you okay?"
"It hurts," Lucy took a sharp breath in, "Where are we?"
Natsu sat beside her, gently dabbing at her back, "I have no idea," he said solemnly, "But we ran until I couldn't run anymore and was pretty sure nothing was following us."
"How bad is my back?" she asked.
Natsu was quiet for a moment, "I found some water to get the wounds clean," he said, "And we had a first aid kit in your backpack."
"How bad is it?" she repeated.
Natsu sighed, "He ripped through to the shoulder bone. It's going to hurt like a bitch and you seriously need a doctor. Shouldn't be too bad right now because I found some pain medication, but we need to find a town."
She nodded, noticing she couldn't move.
"I can't touch the egg," he said softly, "I get almost like an electric shock every time I get anywhere near it."
"Now we know why they needed a Celestial mage so badly," Lucy groaned, "I hope Erza and Gray are okay."
Natsu's face didn't change from the solemn appearance, "They're Erza and Gray. Of course they'll be okay. Right now, OUR top priority is getting you somewhere we can get some help, then finding out what that egg is and where it will be safe."
"And finding out why my keys are still charred," Lucy added.
"And we need to contact the guild," Natsu said, "We're going to need help."
That startled and alarmed her. Natsu did not call for back up. And even when things looked glum, he always smiled to protect her from the gravity of the situation. He did not offer that security now.
"Do we have a lacrima?" she asked.
"No," Natsu shook his head, "Erza had it, remember?"
"And we don't know where we are?" she asked, panic started to rise in her voice.
Leaning against the tree, he reached for her, helping her climb into his lap without hurting her back. He held her loosely, pressing his cheek to her forehead, "Luce," he said softly, "We are Fairy Tail. We don't panic. We'll be fine. More than that, you should know by now that I'll do anything to protect you. I will not let anything happen to you."
She leaned into his broad chest and sighed, "I know that, Natsu...but I'd be lying if I said I'm not worried about Gray and Erza...and what about the egg? We don't know anything about it other than it houses a celestial being and the demons want it. We're not done being chased, are we?"
He shook his head, "No," he admitted, "We're in a lot of trouble and we need help from our family to see this through. I'd be lying if I said I'm not worried either. Nothing adds up. Why would a demon pay us to go get this egg, then attack us? Why do they want it so bad all of a sudden? How did no one where it was until now?"
"Natsu..." she dug her fingers into his jacket, "I can't protect anything without my keys."
He kissed her forehead, "Twit," he chided, "You were kicking ass up there with those demons. You are completely capable of doing anything you want to, Luce. You're smart - which is good because I'll need you to be the brains in our running operation. You're determined too. Nothing stands in your way when you know something needs to be done. You do need your Celestial keys, but you're more than capable without them too."
She smiled into his chest. He always knew just what to say, especially for someone who apparently wasn't good with words.
"Thanks Natsu," she whispered.
"Can you sleep a little more?" he asked quietly, "I don't want to stay here long."
"I'm good," she said softly, reaching up to run her fingers through his pink locks, which apparently was not a great idea considering the sudden twang of pain in her shoulder, "You sleep," she offered, "I'll wake you up if anything happens."
"Okay," he whispered, already halfway there.
She moved to get off his lap, but his hands gently coaxed her back into place. He placed an arm protectively around her lower back so as not to hurt her and clasped his other hand around hers against his lap. Smiling gently, she mused to herself.
Even Dragon Slayers need to be comforted sometimes.