Chapter 30: Salamander's Scales
Jellal let out a groan as he was tossed back into a cell, Meredy and Ultear joining him inside of it making the already small space even tighter. He glared at the guard who had thrown them inside of it, the other prisoners had been thrown into the other cells. Cobra growled at the guard who had thrown Kinana's unconscious body onto the floor of a cell, and punched at the glass.
"If you know what's good for you, you best not lay a hand on her." He hissed at the guard who turned to face him taking off his mask with a grin.
"Shut up, traitor." Was all he said before walking away, Cobra continued pounding on the glass of his cell. Yukino and Sorano were thrown into the same cell, both of them holding each other tightly afraid of letting go of their sibling. Richard laid slouched against the wall while Sawyer threw himself at the glass. Ichiya sat in his cell with his chemistry kit, mindlessly mixing liquids, they hadn't bothered to remove any of their stuff this time, instead they had just snapped a collar around their neck and threw them in the cells.
"I am so ashamed of myself….without my powers I guess I'm useless." Kagura sighed, staring down at her katana with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
"Oh cool your jets...We'll get out of here, and trust me it'll be wild…"
"HOW?!" Kagura snapped at Bacchus who took a swig from his gourd. He shrugged and lowered his drink with a frown.
"I don't quite know, but I ain't gonna die in here."
"We were so close…." Kagura tightened her grip on her weapon, she was totally ashamed that she was bested by those guards who prevented their arrest.
"Don't ya worry, we'll get out of here." Lyon grinned, trying to crack his neck having just reawakened from his short spar with Midnight. Wendy and Sherria who were locked in the same cell looked up at him in puzzlement.
"How?" Wendy asked sorrowfully.
"Yeah Lyon, there are too many guards around the place…." Lyon grinned as Sherria asked her question. Lyon dug around in the pockets of the guard disguise he was still wearing and smiled when his hand wrapped around the object he was looking for. He held up the small silver key, which the other prisoners recognized from before.
"Meredy, do you still have yours?" He asked as he reached up and unlocked the collar around his neck. The pink haired girl smiled remembering that she too had a replica of the key. She reached into a pouch and pulled hers out.
"You betcha! We are getting out of here!" She exclaimed as she replicated Lyon's movements and then turned to free her two teammates from their collars as well. Lyon released Wendy and Sherria and turned to the glass, his fist slapping against his palm.
"Anyone ready for a round two?" He asked before forming an ice battering ram and running at the glass shattering it. Ultear copied her cousin's hand position, an ice pickaxe formed in her hands, she swung it and the glass cracked and collapsed.
"We need to hurry before the guards come." Ultear rushed forward and began smashing other cells open along with Wendy, Sherria, and Jellal. As they did that, Meredy and Lyon unlocked everyone's collars. Flashing red lights accompanied by a siren filled the halls alerting them that they didn't have much time. Bacchus walked over to Kagura and held towards her to help her up to her feet.
"I told ya, now let's get…"
"Wild?" Kagura smirked slightly as she took his hand allowing him to pull her up, she gripped her blade tightly as Bacchus chuckled at her. The two of them hadn't gotten along the entire time they were in the cells, but right now they were on the same team.
"Erik!" Kinana ran over to her boyfriend who smirked as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Let's get out of here…" He began leaning into her for a kiss, but then Sawyer cut them off.
"Okay lover boy, let's worry about getting out of here first, kiss later okay?" He joked, Cobra growled at the blonde boy.
"You sure know how to get on my nerves." He turned to get into Sawyer's face who grinned at him.
"Oh boys, break it up will ya!" Sorana pulled the two apart from each other, but suddenly they were all squished against each other as two large arms wrapped around the three of them.
"It is so good to be reunited with my friends again...OH YEAH!" Richard wept and squeezed them, Jellal brushed off his jacket.
"Alright everyone, we can't stand around any longer, it's time for us to get out of here." He stated looking around to see the silhouettes of several guards marching towards them. Wendy tugged on his jacket, he looked down at her.
"Mr. Jellal, what about Natsu, and Lucy? Where are they?" She asked, Jellal looked around and noticed as well that they were nowhere to be found. He sighed, Brain must have them just like he wanted.
"Don't worry, just get to the garage with the others. I'll get them!" He turned to face the oncoming guards, as the other prisoners ran the other direction with the exception of Ichiya and Wendy.
"I'm coming with you. They are my friends!" Wendy stated bravely. Sherria noticed this and called out to her best friend.
"Wendy, what are you doing? Come on we need to leave!" Wendy ignored her friend and awaited the guards running at them with Jellal who opened his mouth to speak, but one look at the young girl's face told him she wasn't going to back down. On his other side Ichiya reached into his suit coat and pulled something out of a pocket.
"If I were you...I'd plug my nose! This parfume has quite a powerful scent!" Ichiya yelled and held up a vile with a gross yellow liquid inside of it. As the guards entered the hall he threw it at them, and turned to run in the other direction along with the other prisoners making sure to pull Sherria along with him. Jellal and Wendy watched in confusion as the vile shattered on the ground and a yellow explosion engulfed the hall leaving a thick cloud of smoke that smelled, like a combo of rotten eggs and skunk spray. Jellal and Wendy held their breaths and gagged, while the guards were sprawled out on the ground coughing and struggling for fresh air, before eventually passing out. Jellal motioned his head telling Wendy that it was time for them to move, they ran straight into the smoke holding their noses so they didn't breathe in the knockout gas.
When they were out of the large cloud they let go of their noses and took deep breaths, letting out some coughs.
"He was right….that smelled awful…" Wendy whimpered, her eyes burning from the overpowering smell alone. Jellal coughed out a few times nodding his head.
"Agreed, but, we can't afford to stand around any longer." He began walking forward, Wendy shook her head to clear her senses and followed after him.
"Brain said to take them into his office right? So that's where they'll be…" Wendy recalled, Jellal stopped in his tracks and looked around.
"That's highly likely, unfortunately I have no idea where his office is…" He glanced around the halls as they reached the cafeteria, looking at the large sliding doors he remembered Brain had come out of a few days ago.
"Let's keep moving." Jellal motioned, and the two walked over to the doors that opened up as they were close to it, where Midnight sat cross legged on the other side of the doors. The red flashing lights, and sirens continued to blare as he looked up at the two.
"Unfortunately for you, this is as far as you go. You won't disturb my Father's work. " He rose to his feet, as Jellal stepped in front of Wendy blocking her from Midnight's line of sight.
"I'm not afraid of you." Jellal spoke lowly, Midnight let out a yawn before glaring at the blue haired teenager.
"You will be." He said disinterested, and instantly vanished. Jellal's eyes squinted in focus dancing around the room looking, and awaiting for Midnight to reappear. Wendy also stood on edge as she tightened her small hands into fists, suddenly she was thrown to the ground she landed with a thud. Jellal turned to look at her, as he turned around he was forced to bend over holding his stomach and cough, because Midnight delivered a strong punch to his gut. Jellal fell to his knees, Wendy saw this and shot to her feet running over to him.
"Are you okay?" She asked him, Jellal coughed and shrugged her off.
"I'm fine, keep your eyes sharp...He could come out of anywhere." He muttered unsure of how he could look for an invisible enemy. Wendy sniffed the air trying to find a whiff of Midnight's smell. Her nose was always really sensitive, that's why she had been so badly affected by Ichiya's gross bomb, so she was hoping that she wouldn't have to rely on her eyes like Jellal. They continued looking around the cafeteria for Midnight, to no avail. The two were soon thrown to the ground once more and Midnight appeared above them.
"You can't beat me….it's hopeless…." He whispered and once again turned invisible. Jellal struggled to his feet , but Midnight knocked him right back down with a flurry of quick strikes. Wendy watched as Jellal began falling over and inhaled a deep breath and let out a strong gust of wind from her wind that spiraled forming a twister in the air. It didn't come in contact with a single thing she blinked a few times trying to figure out where Midnight went. She let out a pained cry, her hands shooting to her head where Midnight had reappeared and was yanking her hair. He leaned in close to her ear she shivered as she felt his warm breath on the back of her neck.
"Tell me little girl...What are you afraid of most?" He whispered in her ear. She cringed and struggled to get him off her.
"Let go of me!" She tried to punch behind her, but couldn't reach the much taller man.
"Wendy!" Jellal stood to his feet and summoned electrical blades in the air and sent them flying at Midnight, who simply held up a hand to reflect them all. Jellal cursed and ran forward his fists glowing golden. Midnight simply turned invisible, releasing Wendy in the process. She stumbled around, her legs feeling like gelatin.
"Coward...show yourself!" Jellal called out, Midnight didn't respond instead there was an audible whistling in the air and something invincible, but super sharp slashed at them, followed by another one in the opposite direction. They both cried out, and fell down with fresh cuts on their arms, and legs. Midnight reappeared sitting cross legged in the middle of the cafeteria resting his head on his propped up arm. He looked at the two and let out a yawn, his lips curling into a frown.
"Here I am…" He replied to Jellal sarcastically. Jellal made a low rumbling noise as he looked at Midnight who looked ready to take a nap, but nonetheless stood back up. He looked at his nails noticing the black nail polish was starting to flake off.
"I'm getting bored of this game….Let's try something else…" He muttered and held out a hand he snapped his fingers and all the lights in the room shut off.
"What the Hell?" Jellal muttered. Wendy quivered a little as she returned to her feet.
"What's going on?" She asked Jellal making sure to stand close to him. Jellal stood protectively in front of her.
"I'm not sure, just stay close…"
"Welcome to my world…" Midnight's whispery voice echoed around them, they spun their heads trying to find where it came from, but it seemed to have come from every direction, like they were surrounded by it.
"Enough of this! Fight us face to face!" Jellal called out.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk….You don't understand...You have no control, in this world I am God...I control everything!" As his voice echoed around them the lights turned back on, Midnight was nowhere to be found instead a pack of lions had appeared around them, Wendy whimpered while Jellal looked around in disbelief.
"How is this possible?" He asked, but was soon preoccupied by the lions who had wasted no time in pouncing on them. He threw his arms up to block the oncoming overgrown cats, Wendy mirrored his actions, she cried out as the lions slashed at her with their claws covering her body in deep cuts, Jellal hissed as one of the lions leapt onto his bag and dug it's teeth into his shoulder. The pain was unimaginable, they both collapsed to the ground. Another audible snap filled the room and once more the lights flicked off. The two of them were on their hands and knees gasping out in pain. Blood trickled down their bodies, their clothes had been torn. Midnight's voice soon echoed around them once more.
"Don't you see...Resistance is futile...I control everything!" Wendy felt something move under her hands, and legs and squirmed. She let out a scream as the lights came back on revealing the floor was covered in thousands of poisonous snakes slithering under them. She jumped up to her feet while Jellal quickly stood looking at the ground confused. A large boa constrictor began wrapping around him without him noticing. Wendy shrieked as a diamondback sprung at her with it's mouth unhinged, it's teeth piercing her arm. She let out a scream, Jellal finally noticed the boa wrapping around him, but was helpless to do anything as it began squeezing it's hold on him, Jellal's face turned purple as he struggled to breathe. Wendy fell to the ground on her knees holding the arm that the diamondback had bitten, she soon came face to face with a rattlesnake who began shaking its tail at her. She backed up in fear and right before the snake was going to attack her the lights switched back off, the snakes vanishing with them. The two fell to the ground struggling for breath, while fresh blood streaked down their arms, legs, and torsos. Jellal went to cover one of his wounds that was bleeding really badly, but something was off, it didn't feel like it was wet or sticky, in fact it didn't actually hurt him when he poked at the wound, on top of all that there was no blood on his hand when he glanced at it.
"That's it…" He spoke in realization, Wendy however was still on the ground quivering in fear, her mind still making her think that she was in pain. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes trying to focus.
"How does it feel?...The pain?...The fear?...I'm having fun, aren't you?" Midnight's voice rang out, and Jellal tried to figure out where it was coming from, his eyes were shut so he was relying on his ears. Wendy let out a sniffle beside him she had become consumed by the fear that flooded her body as she awaited what horrors awaited her next. Jellal took another deep breath as he placed his two hands together with the hand on top of his open palm holding up the middle and index fingers. He continued listening closely, tuning out Wendy's sobs, and then he heard Midnight snap once more, his ears perked up allowing him to pinpoint his location. The lights turned on and Wendy screamed as spiders began crawling up her legs.
"You may think you are God...but in reality you are just like us, your tricks no longer affect me!" Jellal's eyes snapped open, he ignored the spiders crawling up his body and at once seven circles appeared in the air connected by a line, forming the constellation one more time. He glared in Midnight's direction, he was able to see straight through the illusion Midnight stared at him in disbelief.
"May the seven stars bring judgement upon you…...GRAND…..CHARIOT!" He yelled out, and immediately seven golden beams shot at Midnight who stood completely still out of fear. A large explosion followed, and all the spiders vanished along with their fake injuries. Wendy was sprawled out on the ground watching as the spiders disappeared and looked at her arms in awe as all her cuts faded. The smoke from Jellal's attack had dispersed, revealing Midnight sprawled out on his back, completely beat up and weeping.
"I'm...sorry….f-father….Please...forgive me….I'm sorry!" He sobbed on the ground and his clothes were completely shredded. Tears dripped down his face, he couldn't even stand up.
"Jellal? What happened?" Wendy asked looking at her clothes that were no longer bloody and ripped. Jellal began walking over to Midnight who was sobbing on the ground beaten.
"It was all just a trick...His power causes more psychological pain, than physical….Which is pretty impressive if I say so myself…" He stopped over Midnight, and held his hand out.
"It's a power some kid from the orphanage I grew up had...Your name is Macbeth isn't it?" Midnight continued crying on the ground, but nodded.
"Then that means Brain isn't your real father...so why would you work for someone like him?..." Midnight didn't respond instead he started crying harder.
"I-I….I hate him, but...h-he's my biological father…."
"If you hate him so much, then why do you stay?" Wendy asked, walking up to him as well. He sniffed and sat up.
"You don't know what he's capable of….Besides….I can't lose him again….he is still my father…." Jellal frowned, and reached down helping the injured Macbeth up to his feet.
"He's not a father worth having….you have a good group of friends….You should go to them, leave Brain behind you, and don't look back…."
"Friends?" Macbeth asked, confused, Wendy smiled at him brightly.
"Sure! The rest of the Seis! You all seem like good people deep down, there is no reason you need to stay here with Brain!" She beamed. He looked down at his feet, Jellal smiled softly and warmly.
"When this is all said and done, there might be a spot for all of you with me in Crime Sorcière." He offered, Macbeth looked at him confused as to why he was being nice to him, before he could reply the entire building began shaking, pieces of the metal roof fell down.
"We need to get out of here!" Jellal yelled as he pushed Wendy out of the way of a railing that had fallen from the floor above. He picked her up, and tugged her in the direction of the garage. Wendy however, didn't budge.
"We need to save Lucy, and Natsu!" She exclaimed, but the building kept shaking. Jellal frowned.
"We don't have time...We need to get out here Wendy!" He tried pulling on her arm again, but a large chunk of the ceiling came falling down right over them. Macbeth rushed in and held up his arms forming an invisible shield above them preventing the three of them from being crushed.
"He's right, we need to get out of here before this place collapses…" Macbeth muttered.
"But…" Wendy looked up at the two boys, but another rough shake caused her to lose balance.
"Come on Wendy!" Jellal picked her up bridal style and along with Midnight they took off running toward the garage. What was causing this place to fall apart? Wendy bit Jellal though causing him to drop her.
"We need to get Nastu, and Lucy. Please!" She begged once more. Jellal looked at the young girl, and then to Macbeth.
"Fine, but we have to be fast. Macbeth gets to the garage with the others!" Macbeth nodded and the two ran in the opposite direction as the injured teen.
10 Minutes Ago:
Lucy took in the strange room she had woken up in, she was being held over the ground by her wrists that were wrapped in ropes and dangled over a hook on the wall. She squirmed, struggling to break free. She looked around the strange room that looked like some kind of surgical room, she noticed Natsu's unconscious body lying motionless and clad only in his boxers on a table in the center of the room.
"NATSU!" She yelled trying to wake him up as she struggled against the ropes more.
"Ah….you are awake, good...My patience was wearing thin…" Brain's voice spoke as the large man walked into the room. He was holding a syringe with a pink liquid inside of it and walked over to natsu on the table.
"What do you want!" Lucy cried out as he injected the strange contents of the syringe into Natsu's arm, at once all the strange purple markings covering his entire body began to fade away. Brain smiled his trademark wicked smile and looked over at Lucy.
"Truth be told, I was content letting him die of the poison, however I noticed something in the garage when he was having his fight with Erigor, and it gave me an idea." He looked over to Lucy who felt a cold chill run through her body.
"Wakey, wakey Mr. Dragneel…" Brain muttered as he adjusted the table natsu was laying on so that he was now in a sitting position facing Lucy's direction. Lucy watched as Natsu's eyes flickered open he blinked a few times taking in his surroundings, when his eyes landed on Lucy they widened immediately.
"LUCE?! WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHERE ARE WE?!" He tried to move forward, but Brian had strapped his wrists, and ankles to the table preventing him from moving. Brain chuckled and walked towards Lucy who squirmed uncomfortably which alerted Natsu of his presence.
"Brain. Let her go now!" He growled and struggled against his binding. Brain grinned.
"Now, now. Is that anyway to talk to someone who saved you from your poisonous death?" Brain asked. Natsu ignored him and struggled more.
"Now, to get down to business….I have tried so hard to break you Mr. Dragneel….With minimal success to say the least, in fact I was ready to give up and just let you die in all honesty….But then this beautiful girl has changed my plans once more…" He caressed Lucy's cheek, who thrashed around and attempted to kick him, but she had failed to notice that her legs were also tied to the wall. Natsu growled and tried to pounce at Brain.
"Don't you dare touch her!" He yelled at him straining to break the bindings that held him, his fists becoming engulfed in flames as he struggled to break free. Brain grinned.
"Yes...Yes, that was the reaction I was hoping for…." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife. He rubbed the ice cold blade along Lucy's cheek, lightly pushing down, but still with enough pressure to draw blood. She hissed, and Natsu snarled darkly, the flames around his arms grew in size and heat.
"I promised that I was going to break you….And time and time again you bested my attempts, but now….Now I know your weakness….And she is such a pretty thing…" He lowered his knife to the top of the shirt Lucy was wearing, suddenly aware that the bulletproof vest she had on was removed leaving her in just the black long-sleeved top. Her eyes widened in horror as did Natsu's as Brain dragged his knife across the fabric slicing it. Lucy squirmed uncomfortably while Natsu once again struggled against his cuffs.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" He shouted as Brain tore off the remainder of her shirt leaving her in her sports bra, and Natsu's scarf that she had tied around her upper chest still. Lucy began shaking out of nervousness, this wasn't really happening was it? Natsu had been reduced to primal sounding grunts, as he thrashed about on the table. His flames continued to burn hotter and hotter the angrier he got.
"My, my...you really are quite gifted." Brain licked his lips creepily as his eyes wandered over Lucy's body.
"Get away from me creep!" Lucy snapped as she tried to break free of the ropes that kept her upright against the wall, her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears, she had never been more terrified in her life. Brain just chuckled lowly as he moved the knife to her bare midsection, the cold, sharp metal resting just above her belly button. He flicked his wrist creating a long cut across her belly that began to bleed. She let out a pain filled cry that made Natsu's blood boil, he stopped squirming and the flames around him vanished and he just sat there with a dark expression on his face.
"Don't. Touch. Her." He growled, speaking dangerously slowly. His eyes darkened and his fist tightened making his knuckles white. Brain turned to him with a grin on his face obviously satisfied with the reactions coming from Natsu. Lucy whimpered as the blood slid down her exposed belly. Her mind recalling the Phantom Lord incident that had her in a very similar position, she felt panic arise in her and tried to get free.
"Looks like I am finally getting through to you…" Brain commented and held the knife up to Lucy's throat.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Natsu screamed the anger boiling over, Brain turned to him with a grin.
"I don't think so." Was all he spoke before he gripped the white scarf with black lines that Lucy had tied around her chest and forcibly yanked if off her making her feel more exposed than before as now all that was covering the top portion of her body was the sports bra. She began to shake due to her nerves while Natsu refused to look at her, instead glared holes into the back of Brain's head. Brain once again licked his lips as he stared at the teenage girl's cleavage, he reached his hand holding the knife towards the middle section of her bra.
"Stop…" She begged, her voice was shaky and sounded pretty pathetic. Natsu meanwhile watched on horrified, his heart pounding at a million miles a second. He had to do something, but he felt so helpless.
"LET HER GO!" He yelled at Brain who instead reached out his large hand and touched Lucy's cheek, she flinched at how cold and rough it felt against her soft skin, his thumb began caressing it and she reacted by biting down with as much force as she could muster. Brain pulled back hissing, the knife fell to the ground with a clang, as Brain began nursing his hand. He glared at Lucy who knew almost immediately how grave a mistake that was. He raised his palm, and before Lucy could register the swinging motion a heavy slap connected to the side of her face, her vision blurred and a bruise began forming right away.
"NO!" Natsu screamed watching Brain slap Lucy in slow motion, Lucy was dazed and didn't even notice that Brain's hand was still raised and he was swinging a backhanded slap. Natsu watched everything in slow motion, his heart which had previously been beating dangerously fast had slowed down along with everything else. The loud, steady beats pounded in his ear as he watched Brain's hand slap Lucy across the face with enough might to make her temporary black out.
Bump, Bump. Natsu's heart pounded in his ears dangerously slowly, his pupils dilated as low growling noises escaped his throat.
Bump, Bump. It repeated as he watched Lucy's head fall limp, his hands tightening to the point where they were cracking.
Bump, Bump. He didn't even notice that flames were coming out of every part of his body, rising to temperatures that were higher than they had before.
Bump, Bump. As he looked at her hanging completely limp Natsu's head recalled a memory from when they were only six years old.
"Hey there Luigi, why are you crying?" A young boy with unkempt salmon colored hair and baggy clothes asked the young blonde girl whose hair was tied up in a side ponytail, she wore a cute pink dress she sat on a swing at the playground curled up and crying.
"How….many….times….do….I…..have…...to…..tell….you…..MY NAME ISN'T…..LUIGI!" The young girl sobbed, and yelled at the boy. The boy just proceeded to laugh at her, she puffed out her cheek clearly upset at being laughed at.
"But I like Luigi more! Lucy is just so weird…" The boy grinned cheekily as he crossed his arms behind his head. Lucy had forgotten what she was crying about, because of this pipsqueak who was getting on her nerves.
"MY NAME ISN'T WEIRD! YOU KNOW WHAT'S A WEIRD NAME? NATSU! WHO HAS EVER HEARD OF A NAME LIKE THAT!" She screamed and got right up in Natsu's face who looked up at her and continued grinning despite the taller girl being really mad with him.
"You got that right! Blame my Dad for that! Now why were you crying?" His grin suddenly turned to a look of seriousness. Lucy huffed, but rubbed the scrape on her elbow which Natsu noticed. She sighed.
"It's nothing….I just asked that jerk Loke if we could sit together on the bus...He just pushed me down and laughed at me…." Lucy mumbled sadly, but Natsu looked serious.
"That jerk...I'm gonna go beat him up!" Natsu turned on his heels with a huff, but Lucy gawked at him in disbelief.
"No, Natsu you don't need to do that!" She insisted chasing after him, she eventually grabbed his arm causing him to look at her,
"Sure I do...He hurt you….and nobody hurts my best friend!" He pronounced angrily. Lucy blinked at him stunned.
"I'm your….best friend?..." She asked confused, they hadn't even talked that much and everytime they had seen each other was, because their parents were hanging out, he honestly annoyed her.
"Of course!" He beamed, causing the young girl to sit there awestruck.
"And as long as we are friends, I won't let anybody hurt you!" He smiled brightly.
That promise echoed in his head, he felt a strange tugging sensation inside his gut.
Bump, Bump. He felt his muscles flex and bulge a little. The flames around him continued to dance growing hotter, by now Brain had noticed and turned to look at him. His head tilted.A twisted grin danced on his face.
"What's the matter? Did I strike a nerve?" He asked condescendingly, Natsu glared at the man looking at him. The man who had broken his leg, subjected him to daily beatings, locked him in a damn freezer, and so much more. Right now all he saw was the man who dared to lay a hand on his Lucy.
Bump, Bump. He let out a loud, ear throbbing scream that sounded more like the roar of a lion as the fire around him swelled and danced. His power seemed to pour out of his body at once as his vision turned red, the building began to shake, Brain watched stunned as Natsu's eyes seemed to change, the large green orbs shrunk and morphed into eyes that you would find on a reptile like a snake, he was taken above by this. Lucy had regained her consciousness and was also watching on in horror.
"Natsu?" She asked worriedly, but he didn't reply instead he continued screaming as his power continued to pour out. Natsu's screams that were causing the entire facility to shake soon turned into low growls and grunts while his arms, and legs flexed and eventually snapped the cuffs. As soon as they broke Natsu had moved faster than he had before, his heart still pounding in his ears, but now it was back to racing. His anger blinded him and all he saw was Brain, he clenched his fist tightly, the flames swelling around it burned so hot that the room they were in felt like they were on the surface of the sun. Brain had no time to register the flaming fist slamming into his face until he was sent backwards, slamming onto the cold ground, Natsu hand grabbed his face tightly forcing his head onto the ground. Natsu growled angrily as he tightened his grip on Brain's face allowing the flames to burn his face badly. Brain squirmed and screamed, but it was muffled by Natsu's flaming hand burning away at him.
"Natsu?" Lucy asked again in concern as her best friend knelt onto Brain, growling like some sort of predator that had pinned their prey. She was terrified, for the first time in her life Natsu's flames made her fear for her life, she had never been scared of them, not until now. That wasn't all that scared her, no far from it….What scared her most was the fact that his body was growing scales, dark red scales that covered the sides of his torso and legs, as well as the top his arm stopping just before his shoulder and hand, with the exception of a few scales on his fingers she couldn't tell if the arms were the same thanks to the bandage wrapping that covered his entire right arm. She caught a glimpse of his face and found out that it too had been covered by the mysterious reptile-like scales that covered his entire forehead, and parts of his cheek. She needed to help him, he clearly wasn't himself. She tugged as hard as she could and the ropes thankfully snapped, she bent down to free her legs, but was distracted when Natsu began talking.
"You can break every bone in my body….Beat me within an inch of my life…..lock me in a freezer for the rest of my life….But, don't you dare….TOUCH….HER!" Natsu growled and cried out as once again his flames swelled and danced around him, he clenched his fists and began punching Brain's face as hard as he could, with each punch a low primal grunt escaped his throat. He was relentless, Brain's face became burnt and beaten and broken, but Natsu didn't stop. He continued beating the man beneath him within an inch of his life as his mind remembered all of the horrible and traumatic things that he had been subjected to thanks to Brain, and that just made him want nothing more than to kill him, Brain was unconscious and horribly beaten by now, but that wasn't enough for Natsu, he needed him dead. He raised his fist preparing for said final blow and brought it down, but just before it made contact with Brain's face something stopped it. Or someone.
"Natsu…..Please stop…This isn't you, you're not a killer….." Lucy whimpered as she held onto him tightly, frowning behind her arms, and chest getting burnt in the process, but she didn't let go of him. Natsu let out low growls as he turned to glare at her, his eyes cold, and dark. They weren't her Natsu's eyes, she tightened her grip on him, ignoring the searing pain her body was in as it got badly burnt.
"L-Luce?..." He asked softly, his flames dying down, and the rough scales that covered his body began to shrink back into his skin.
"It's over…..I gotcha….I'm right here Natsu…" His eyes returned to normal, he looked like he had just woken from a bizarre dream. He looked down at his hands as the flames completely vanished, but his skin remained hot.
"What….did I do?" Natsu asked shakily. He looked down at Brain who he had pinned under him, he was still breathing, but he was also totally unrecognizable. Lucy's already tight grip on him tightened more.
"Don't worry about it….It's over Natsu...It's over, and I'm right here…." Her voice lulled him, Natsu's head began to spin and he soon fell limp into her arms. Completely exhausted from everything that has happened recently.
When he awoke he was laid down, his head rested on someone's lap. Judging by the bumpiness and the fact that they were moving, they were in some kind of vehicle. He blinked a few times and registered all the faces looking down at him worriedly. His eyes pinpointing the set of brown eyes right above him. Lucy's eyes, she had tied his scarf around her chest probably because of the fact that her bra had burnt off when she grabbed him from behind, thankfully it looked like all her burns had also been healed thanks to Wendy no doubt who was currently sitting right next to him. The two girls beamed down at him when his eyes opened.
"NATSU!" Wendy jumped at him engulfing him in a hug as he slowly sat up.
"Hey there Wendy…" He replied with a gravelly voice, he hugged her back and glanced at Lucy who smiled at him warmly. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, causing him to smile for the first time in awhile. He looked around the moving van and saw Jellal across from him, along with Ultear and Meredy. He knew at once what had happened, they were free. He looked out the road and saw the sun for the first time in forever, a smile grew on his face as Wendy sobbed into his neck. They were going home, the poison was out of his system, Brain was defeated, and Nirvana was far behind them. Slowly though his smile faded away as he looked at his bare hands that were covered in blood from punching Brain. He knew two things, he could now go into his own Dragon Force like Cobra, or Laxus, and that he definitely needed to learn how to control it. He had lost himself and almost taken a life, a life of a horrible and incredibly evil person...but a person nonetheless...and that was a line he promised never to cross…..
"Natsu?" Lucy asked, gaining his attention, he looked at her with his eyebrow quirked. She scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"We'll be okay…" She mumbled into his neck. He frowned, how could she be sure of that? How could she not look at him any differently, he was a monster now.
"Luce?"
"Yeah?"
"What do I look like?" He asked her, Lucy's brain remembering the first time he had asked this question when they first saw Mard Geer at Fountain Plaza so long ago.
"Like the same Natsu….I've always known…." She smiled warmly at him and repeated her answer that she had given him the first time. Natsu smiled warmly at her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders pulling her in closer. So as he sat there fighting the motion sickness that came with the bumpy ride of the van, with Wendy sitting on his lap sobbing into his neck, and Lucy resting on his arm, her own resting on his torso he knew then and there...Things were going to be okay.
Chapter 31: Return to Normal.
So that's that...The end of the Nirvana Arc...Wow….This is the first arc I leave feeling sad? I guess is the right word. 30 chapters, and this one was the longest for a reason...Let's take a moment to appreciate how far our boy has come.
Chapter 1: Couldn't even summon his flames on command.
Chapter 30: Entered Dragon Force, and became stronger than he had before.
But with that comes a whole bunch of problems….Is this the last we have seen of Brain? Will Natsu actually learn to control his transformation, and more importantly how will he be mentally after this? The charm of Natsu is that he always seems to bounce back quickly...but he went through a lot in this arc. So with that being said, I really like doing this now, and want to keep doing this, because I love your feedback and responses. SO the question of the chapter is….
What is your prediction for what comes next?