Porlyusica had a field day with the Fairy Tail mages.
When they arrived in Magnolia, Laxus, Freed, Mirajane, and Levy had all been waiting for them to return. Ichiya had talked with Laxus briefly over lacrima to give him a report about what had happened. To say that the master had been surprised to get a call from the Blue Pegasus members would be an understatement. He had told Ichiya to land the Christina just outside the Lavender Forest, where he would meet them and help bring them to the healer. Having delivered the Fairies to their kin, the Blue Pegasus guild departed so that they might tend to their own needs - including taking Marlow into custody.
When they had reached the tree house, Porlyusica was livid to have so many people on her doorstep, but even she knew when to suck it up and roll up her sleeves. All of the mages wheezed and huffed as they gathered into her home, with Erza and Juvia having the worst of it as they were carried into the house by Gray and Gajeel. They had been whisked away into another part of Porlyusica's house, Wendy running along to aid the old healer. Everyone else had to wait in her living room for her to finish her administrations. Although Alzac, who had been separate from the battle, was relatively unharmed. Laxus told the sharp shooter to return home, with Lucy practically begging him not to reveal the truth about Natsu to anybody. He had frowned at Lucy.
"I don't like keeping secrets from my family, Lucy," he had said, but then he sighed. "I won't tell anybody, because I still respect you and Natsu, but also because it's not my secret to share. But please Lucy, just promise me you'll fix this as soon as you can?"
She hadn't given him an answer as he turned away and headed home to his wife and daughter. She felt a deep seated worry as she gazed down at her fiancé where she and Happy had laid him on Porlyusica's bed. Natsu hadn't awoken or stirred once the entire flight to Magnolia, which both relieved and worried Lucy. Giving his hand a squeeze, Lucy really wished he would open his eyes and smile at her.
When Porlyusica, Gajeel, Wendy, and Gray had returned, she gave the announcement that Juvia and Erza were stable, and that they would both make a full recovery in a few days. Gray had told Lucy that he was worried that Juvia might have a serious concussion. But it turned out that her Water-Body magic protected her from things like that, and that the damage had mostly been on the surface. Erza was already semi-conscious, but Porlyusica had knocked her out so her body could heal. After that, she went about doing check-ups on all the others, listening to their breathing and checking their vitals as they all took turns telling her what had happened. As the healer came to her conclusions, she nodded to herself and told them all not to worry. She knew exactly what to do… but she didn't sound happy about it.
The black mist had, in fact, caused some damage to the Fairy Tail mages' respiratory systems. Luckily, it wasn't so much damage that Porlyusica didn't have a "quick fix" for all of them. She sighed and mumbled and grumped about a waste of a perfectly good plant as she gathered what she needed, then lead the group out of her tree house and around back where a large clay hut had been built in the garden. It had no windows, and only a single small chimney. Porlyusica set up the tincture she had made out of a Pneumeños herb – a plant said to have uncanny healing properties – and poured it into a vaporizing lacrima. Porlyusica disappeared inside the clay hut for a little while, then came back out with a thin sheen of sweat on her brow.
"Give it a few minutes," she said as she huffed. "I mostly use this thing to dry my herbs and smoke meat, but I'm sure it'll work nicely as a sweat lodge, too."
"Is that thing sanitary?" Gajeel croaked, Levy standing next to him with her hand tangled in his.
"More than you are," Porlyusica snapped. "Now listen, you're going to have to stay in there for a while till the impurities have been purged from your bodies. It's going to be rough at the start, but trust me when I say that you'll come out feeling like you've got a new set of lungs."
There were a few grumbles from the group of mages. They were tired, and they just wanted to go home.
"Don't moan at me! You brats should be grateful I've decided to let you utilize the Pneumeños instead of keeping it to myself! Do you know how rare those things are?"
"We are grateful," Mirajane piped up, she nudged Elfman with her elbow. "We know how hard this must be for you."
"Yeah," Elfman said, following his sister's lead. He was about to say something else, but a sudden burst of coughs cut him off.
"Oh, just get in already," Porlyusica sneered. "So I don't have to listen to your pitiful brown-nosing."
One by one, they all crawled into the smoke shack-turned-sweat lodge, which seemed just barely big enough for all of them. The exceeds were going to have to sit in peoples' laps. Levy gave Gajeel a quick peck on the cheek, then parted from him to go bid her time inside Porlyusica's house. Freed and Mirajane followed her example. Lucy and Happy were the last to enter, but they paused for a second, turning to the healer. She hadn't told Porlyusica the entire truth about what happened on the mission. With all the others around, Lucy had been afraid to go into detail about what she and Happy had stumbled upon in the woods - she didn't want her friends to get an even more sour opinion towards Natsu. Now that they were alone, it seemed like a good time to divulge that information.
"Miss Porlyusica, there's something you need to know." Her voice was low and raspy. She didn't mean to sound so desperate. The healer and Laxus both looked at her, neither of them liking the tone of her voice. "There's more to the story, and I'm afraid you're not going to like it."
Lucy recounted all the events from the last two days, starting with Natsu storming out of Laxus' office. She told them about what had happened to him by the lake, about what he had told her in regards to how he perceived his etherious, and finally, about the massacre in the woods. She ended her tale with Gray's added speculations toward E.N.D. and Natsu. Happy lingered by her side, piping in every now and then with little details. The two mages remained mostly calm, but even Lucy could hear how he hard Laxus was gritting his teeth. Porlyusica, on the other hand, only narrowed her eyes as thoughts worked on her face.
"I don't understand how Natsu's magic would have 'reset' itself, but I wouldn't place all my cards on it happening a second time." She put a hand to her chin. "But that does give me an idea. Perhaps I can use that for my remedies. However, I must tell you that if Natsu has already given in to the curse once already, it'll only be easier to do it again – and that's only if we assume that he wakes up feeling like himself. At some point, even he won't be able to tell which kind of magic he's using, and then it'll be too late."
"Dammit." Laxus growled, he crossed his arms as he sighed, working himself out of his frenzy. "I knew I should have locked him in a room when I had the chance. I take full responsibility for what happened to him and all of you. This never should have happened."
"None of us blame you, Laxus. We would have gone with or without your permission," Lucy said honestly. Laxus seemed touched by her words, if also a bit concerned. Turning back to Porlyusica, Lucy tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. "Is there anything we can do?"
Porlyusica seemed to look straight through Lucy for a moment, her face softening as she sighed. "I've been working on something for him since you last came to see me. I wasn't expecting to have it ready so soon, but I will have finished it by the time you get out of the sweat lodge. It's not a permanent solution, Lucy. Only a temporary fix until we can sort out this mess. Now go on and get inside, before the others hog up all the Pneumeños."
"We'll watch over him while you heal." Laxus nodded to Lucy. "Nothing's gonna happen to him."
Lucy smiled at the Master, giving him and Porlyusica a thankful nod. They watched her as she dropped to her knees and crawled into the hut with Happy close behind. She didn't see the worried look that they shared.
Inside the sweat lodge was dark, the only source of light being the lacrima as it vaporized Porlyusica's tincture into a fine mist that quickly filled the small space with more steam than seemed possible for the amount of liquid in it. A thick, herbal smell accompanied the steam, somewhere between mint and cloves. As Lucy settled in next to Gray and Elfman with Happy in her lap, the steam filled the space from top to bottom. It was starting to heat up in the hut, prompting the men to remove their shirts and the girls to tie up their hair. Small beads of sweat and moisture formed on their skin. As Lucy took a deep breath, a tingling sprang up in her chest. At first it felt pleasant, kind of like how skin feels when it's being exfoliated. Lucy closed her eyes and deepened her breathing.
But then the tingle turned into an itch, and then escalated into a burn in a matter of seconds. Lucy choked, heavy coughs racking her body as Happy sprang out of her lap. She felt like she wanted to throw up.
"Lucy, you okay?" Elfman patted her back. "Hang in th-"
He was interrupted as he jerked forward, his own coughs bursting from his mouth. The others joined them in their fits, choking in the air around them. Lucy started to panic, her throat constricting. She felt like she was going to drown.
"Don't fight it." Porlyusica's voice drifted to their ears from outside. "The black magic is being purged from your lungs. Let it happen, or you'll only end up hurting yourselves more."
Lucy clutched her stomach. Putting her weight forward, Lucy forced herself to take a deep breath. Huffing forcefully while tightening her chest, Lucy finally felt something hack up into her throat, something gooey but solid. Reflexively, she spit it out. In the dim light, all she could make out was that it was dark in color. A small feeling of relief followed. Through the next ten minutes, Lucy and the others purged themselves, coughing up the malicious magic that had scarred their lungs. It was a painful, scary, and obscure process. But the effects were immediate, and the herbal mist soothed the newly exposed flesh. The burning subsided, leaving behind a raw feeling in Lucy's chest and throat. Sitting back with a metallic taste in her mouth and sweat dripping down the side of her face, Lucy could already tell how much easier breathing had become.
"That was instense." Gray looked over at her, his lips stained. "Though I guess she did warn us that it was going to be rough."
Gray spit out something dark on the floor. As they all settled once more in the sweat lodge, Wendy looked over at Lucy through the steam.
"What's going to happen to Natsu?"
Lucy looked up, the question catching her off guard. Happy crawled back into her lap as she responded. "Porlyusica says she has a something to help him. It's not a cure, but it's better than nothing."
Wendy's dark eyes seemed to glow in the low light of the lacrima. "I'm not entirely sure there is a cure for something like this, Lucy. Isn't this... this demon part of who he is?"
Gray sat forward, folding his hands in front of him as he addressed Wendy, and everyone else indirectly. "If you guys want to know the truth, Lucy and I truly believed that E.N.D. was gone for good - and not just because Zeref was destroyed. Mavis gave us his book, and Lucy thought we could alter it, try to rewrite it somehow, so that Natsu's life wouldn't be tied to Zeref's... we thought we had succeeded, but at great cost."
Lucy shivered despite the heat, as the unpleasant memories were brought back by Gray's words. She could almost feel E.N.D.'s magic ravaging her once again. She was glad that Gray was there to help her explain things to the others. It would have been difficult for her to do it without getting emotional. The scar on her hip tingled slightly.
"You both told us that E.N.D.'s book had turned to ashes." Carla arched an eyebrow at them. "Was that not true?"
"No, it was," Lucy said as she and Gray shared a look. That still puzzled them, as well, that an etherious could exist without its book. "I had just barely finished writing when it burst into flames. We thought Natsu was gone..."
"I'm just thinking out loud here." Gajeel crossed his arms. "But if rewriting Salamander's book - which is essentially changing who he is - doesn't do jack, then how can you hope to help him now? After what I saw, even I'm scared of him... and you know I don't say that lightly."
"I don't know," Lucy said, sitting up straighter. "But you can bet that I'm not going to stop till I do. He's Natsu, not E.N.D. and I will always fight to protect him, because I know he will do the same for me. For any of you, for that matter."
Lucy looked up at her friends through the mist, the soreness in her chest beginning to soothe. At that moment, the lacrima used up all the tincture and turned off, leaving them all in darkness with the only light being what came in through the chimney. Their heavy breathing and the occasional coughs reassured them that they were all still there.
"Lucy," Panther Lily's voice broke through the dark. "I may just be speaking for myself when I say this, but I think what unsettles us the most about this situation is not that Natsu is a demon, but that he had such as strong relationship with Zeref – the man that almost destroyed everything we know and love."
"And if what you're saying about him is true," Carla picked up Lily's train of thought. "That E.N.D. doesn't care about who lives and dies… then who's to say he won't follow Zeref's path, and finish what he started?"
"Natsu would never do that." Happy responded quietly. "You know he wouldn't."
"That may be," Lily said. "But if he doesn't have any control over himself, then perhaps he won't really have a choice."
Lucy felt a shock of fear through her spine. Gray's words from earlier drifted through her mind, how since Zeref was gone, then all of his leftover demons didn't have a purpose. With that kind of destructive power, and in that state of mind, anybody would be capable of horrible things. As much as Lucy couldn't imagine Natsu ever becoming such a man… she couldn't deny that the danger was very real.
"We just have to have faith in Natsu," Gray spoke up. "I don't think that's asking for too much." Wendy and Gajeel were silent
Lucy turned her head slightly, even though she couldn't see anything. "Elfman? Do you have anything to say? You haven't said a word this whole time."
The Take-Over mage sighed heavily before he responded.
"With all due respect, I've known Natsu longer than anyone, except maybe Gray." The steam seemed to be thinning. "I've watched him work through life and get past every twist and turn that's been thrown at him with a smile on his face. Natsu has only ever cared about two things; protecting his friends, and living a full, happy life. He's not a demon. The very thought is ridiculous. I believe in Natsu, and what's more, I believe in his bonds with Lucy, Happy, Gray, and all of us. I always have."
Touched by his words, Lucy reached out through the mist. Laying her hand on his arm, Lucy gently squeezed it in a silent show of gratitude. Of course, Elfman hadn't seen what she and Gray had seen, but that didn't make his words any less true. The ache in Lucy's chest was completely gone, leaving behind a refreshing cool feeling. They all sat there in silence for the rest of the time in the sweat lodge. The darkness and the warmth lulled Lucy into a nap, fleeting dreams of Natsu's smile floating behind her eyes.
He saw a valley that he had never been to before - a shallow dip between two small mountains that bloomed with flowers and chimed with birds. He could hear a woman humming a slow, peaceful tune that sparked a note of familiarity somewhere in the deep recesses of his brain. He felt happy, like he didn't have a care in the world.
Natsu ran through the meadow as fast as his little legs would go, chasing after a man wrapped in a white toga. The tall man laughed, spinning around and scooping Natsu up into his large hands. Tossing him to the sky, Natsu squealed in pure glee as he raised his tiny hands above his head and kicked his feet. Grasping him under the arms as he came back down, the man hugged him to his chest. Natsu wrapped his arms around his thick neck, laughing as they both plopped softly into the grass. Looking up, Natsu beamed up at the man… the man who shared his face and eyes, who had the same wild pink hair that he did. The man who was looking back at him with love burning in his eyes.
The humming stopped for a second, and a voice called out. Both of them turned to look. On a spot not too far away, a woman sat on a blanket. She was beautiful, with flowing black hair and a round face. She waved at the two of them, smiling brightly. On the blanket next to her was a dark-haired boy. But Natsu couldn't quite make out his face.
A flash, and suddenly he was surrounded by fire. Fear clutched him in an iron grip, freezing him to the spot even though the floor burned his feet. He was home, but not the one he shared with Lucy and Happy. Everything was burning. Smoke filled his lungs as he cried out with tears in his eyes. There was a loud crack and the groan of wood. He looked up just as the ceiling came crashing down on him.
A sudden sharp pain in his chest jolted him. Natsu curled on himself in agony. His bones felt like they were being ground down by rough stones. His head was piercing with pain, as if someone had opened his skull and filled it with razors. Darkness blinded him. Flashes of red seared through his eyes to the beat of his heart. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't even draw the breath to do so. Every fiber of his being was alive with darts of electricity. He was being burned alive.
A sudden shift in the world around him, and a cool, soothing wave washed over his body. The pain ebbed away, numbing his nerves as it went. His mind felt loose within his skull, his limbs heavy and sluggish. When he opened his mouth, the strange taste of apples and wheat clung to his tongue. After a considerable amount of effort, Natsu managed to open his eyes.
He was lying down, looking up at a wooden ceiling with a creaky bed underneath him. Natsu recognized Porlyusica's house, his eyes slowly drifting from one object to the other as he wondered what he was doing there. Judging from the light, he would have guessed that it was fairly late in the afternoon. His arms were pulsing with a deep ache.
"Hey."
Natsu turned his head. Lucy and Happy sat next to him. She smiled at him, her eyes excited and relieved. Happy jumped onto bed, equally as excited. Natsu blinked at them as he took a deep breath. Strange, he mused, that he didn't get the usual warm emotions that usually came with seeing Lucy and Happy. His body felt dumb and clumsy, not quite obeying his commands to move.
"Hey," he said back, his voice weak. "What's going on?"
Lucy sat forward, still smiling as she teased his hair. "We're at Porlyusica's. How do you feel?"
Smacking his tongue around in his mouth, Natsu tried to sit up. He only managed to lift his head up a little. "I can't… I can't move."
"Yeah," Happy cocked his head. "You're going to be weak for a couple of days. Does anything hurt?"
Natsu wanted to raise his arms, try to figure out why they were aching so much. But his body simply wouldn't listen. But something did feel… off, though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Physically, he was too numb to feel anything. But mentally, something... something wasn't right.
"I feel kind of funny."
Lucy and Happy shared a look, their smiles faltering ever so slightly. "How do you mean?" Lucy asked.
Natsu shrugged, or at least he tried to. Lucy regarded him critically, examining his face for answers.
"Natsu," Lucy started. "What all do you remember?"
Natsu stared back up at the ceiling as he searched his mind, though the memories didn't come easy, like ink floating to the surface of water. He remembered going to Ruby Manticore. He remembered Gray getting hurt. But he also remembered what came after that.
"Everything," he said blandly. "I remember everything."
Lucy cocked an eyebrow, then asked in a hesitant voice "And by everything, do you mean…?"
Natsu turned his head to look at her, his eyebrows screwing together in confusion. "Yeah, I remember what E.N.D. did. What… what I did."
Lucy and Happy only stared at him. During the silence, Natsu realized what had been amiss.
"Lucy... how come I don't feel guilty?" Not just guilt - he was empty of all emotions, like a desert devoid of rain. "I killed all those people, but I don't feel bad about it. Is… there something wrong with me?"
Neither of them answered him. Porlyusica finally stepped into his vision, leaning over him and peering into his eyes like she was looking for his soul. The look on her face said that she didn't find it.
"Natsu, listen to me carefully," she started, "Do you remember Aria, from Phantom Lord?"
The man with the blindfold, who wouldn't stop crying. Natsu nodded, cocking his eyebrow at the strange question.
"I've given you a potion that acts much the same as one of his spells, though not quite as devastating," Porlyusica explained. "All the magic has been drained from your body – including the etherious. You're going to be very weak for a while, but I'm hoping that your magic will replenish itself faster than the curse does. But that also means that you're in the void between your two selves… a sort of middle ground of E.N.D. and Natsu, do you understand?"
That information should have terrified Natsu. It didn't.
"Okay," was all he said.
Porlyusica tilted her head at him, then turned to Lucy. "He should regain more of his personality as he gets stronger. I must say, I didn't think the change would be so drastic."
Lucy nodded as she and Happy stared at Natsu, not quite sure what to think. Lucy sat forward, her hand gripping his. Natsu gripped hers back, more out of reaction than passion.
"How are the others?" Natsu managed to croak out.
"They're fine. They all went home, except for Erza and Juvia. Porlyusica is keeping them overnight." Lucy looked down. "Natsu, they know about you. They know about you and E.N.D."
Natsu nodded his head as he considered this, wondering if he had hurt anybody. He really hoped he hadn't. That might make things awkward.
"I guess it was only a matter of time, huh?" He said. "Do they hate me?"
"No, of course not," Happy piped up. But then he considered his words. "They were a little scared, to be honest, but they'll come around."
Natsu sighed, then tried once again to sit up. This time he succeeded, and looked down at his arms. They were wrapped in a single layer of gauze, some kind of ointment dampening the bandages. He remembered the thick coating of ash that had been on his arms, how it slowly burned his skin away as he tore through his opponents. It had been painful at the time, but he had simply put it out of his mind. How troublesome.
"Can we go home?" He said the words without thinking about it. Looking up, Lucy and Happy were surprised. They all looked to Porlyusica, who regarded them with a sense of annoyance.
"If you can carry yourself there on your own legs, then be my guest." The healer turned away from them. "I would have kicked you out as it is. I'm tired."
With that, Natsu swung his legs over the bed and struggled to his feet. His knees gave away only once, to which Lucy rushed to support him. But he brushed her off as soon as he was standing tall and asked her where his scarf and jacket were. Lucy frowned, but retrieved them from the table beside the bed. Lucy had to help him put his jacket on, seeing as he was still weak and could barely lift his arms. He swayed where he stood and his eyelids drooped, but Natsu stayed silent as he trudged toward the door. Natsu didn't even say thank you to Porlyusica as he stepped outside.
"Keep an eye on him," Porlyusica said to Lucy and Happy. "It may not seem like it, but the weight of his actions will eventually come crashing down on him. He's going to need the both of you to get through it. This isn't permanent, I promise."
Lucy only nodded as she scooped up Happy and followed after her fiancé, mumbling a thank you and that she would keep in touch. It didn't take long to catch up with Natsu, his heavy legs only carrying him so fast. He didn't acknowledge her as she walked beside him. Lucy felt a tightness growing in her chest. Natsu hadn't even hugged her. Happy patted her arm empathetically, also dismayed by this cold person walking next to them.
Natsu glanced at Lucy out of the corner of his eye. A single tear glistened in the light of the setting sun as it slid along her nose. A small stirring behind his stomach, a tiny sense of sympathy through the apathy, enticed him to reach out and take her hand. She looked up at him. A ghost of a smile pulled at Natsu's lips. She smiled back at him, her golden hair shimmering in the light, her eyes cast to a deep amber glow. Normally, she would have taken his breath away. He should kiss her, he realized. That was what she wanted, and was supposed to be something he also wanted. But he didn't, and so he didn't do it. It was better that way, Natsu told himself. It would be cruel to try to fake something like that. But she seemed content with the touch, so they all stumbled home together in silence.
A/N: I'm so sorry for the later than usual update, but I do plan to pick up the pace and turn around on the dower tone soon! A lot of words in this chapter, but not a lot happens. Those are the worst. Be ready for some excitement next week! Can you believe that new chapter?!
EDIT: 8/21 This chapter has been rewritten for better grammar and style.
Thank you to everyone who's reviewed! I don't think it sent out the notification out for last chapter, so if you haven't read that, go ahead and give it a review, too! Remember, if we reach 100 reviews, there'll be another double chapter!
As always, read, review, and enjoy!