Chapter 32: Igneel's Secret
Dan stretched from his seat on the couch next to Lucy, which caused Happy to stir and hop down. The group was still watching the same movie they were when Natsu decided to leave which made Lucy feel uneasy. She hadn't paid attention to the movie at all and instead was thinking about her best friend. He had seemed distant ever since they had returned home, he hadn't said too much and barely ate the dinner they ordered which was uncharacteristic of him. He had been the one to pitch the idea of a movie night to her, and then he just went and locked himself in his bedroom minutes after they actually started the movie. Suddenly Dan stood up and poked her on the shoulder.
"Hey Lu-Lu, I have a game tomorrow. So I'm going to head out...Can you walk me out?" He asked giving her a sad puppy dog look. Lucy sighed and stood up as well.
"Yeah no problem…" She smiled at her new friend, Dan was a transfer student who came to Magnolia about two months ago, they met in their science class and were quick friends. He was a nice guy for the most part and his friends were certainly fun to be around, but at the same time he was really clingy. She got the feeling that he wanted to be more than friends, which was something she just wasn't interested in with him. After all, her and Natsu had been through way too much together for her to find a guy who could even compare to him in her eyes. Nonetheless she walked out of the apartment with Dan, the two walking side by side in awkward silence. Once they reached the door that led to the outdoors, Dan turned to face her looking at her seriously.
"Hey Lu-Lu…" He took a step closer to her.
"Yeah Dan?" She asked, backing up a little uncomfortable with how close he was getting to her.
"I just….wanted to ask you...If you had a date to Prom yet?" Lucy was caught off guard by this, she had just assumed her and Natsu were going together, but he hadn't asked her yet so technically she didn't have a date...did she?
"Oh….um….it's complicated…." She scratched her cheek in thought, Dan sighed.
"Well then….What about a boyfriend?" Lucy's face turned bright red.
"T-That's also….complicated…." She blushed, her eyes wide open. Dan took a step closer to her and raised his hand to her cheek.
"I get it….But Lu-Lu….I can't help how I feel about you….You are the funniest, prettiest, and smartest girl I know….I want to be with you…" Lucy's face darkened once again and her heart began pounding in her chest as he got so close that there was nowhere for her to go.
"Dan...that's sweet...but-" She didn't get to finish telling him that she wasn't interested, because he had leaned forward and roughly pressed his mouth against her lips. Her eyes bulged, and all color that was in her face had vanished leaving her pale as a ghost. Dan wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer and pushed their lips together harder. She squirmed in his arms, but couldn't get out of his grip, that was until he pushed her back against the door and licked her lips trying to gain entry into her mouth. She raised her hand and slapped him as hard as she could, he backed up rubbing the bright red handprint that was imprinted on his cheek.
"Ow...Lu-Lu….."
"GET. OUT!" She snapped at him pointing at the door. She was seething. He looked at her stunned.
"B-but Lu-Lu….I love you…"
"I SAID LEAVE!" She pushed him towards the door.
"Woah, woah, woah...Talk to me...What's wrong?" Dan turned around to look at her face, only to see her glaring back at him.
"You just kissed me without my consent and you have the audacity to ask me what's wrong?!" She snapped at him causing him to back away slightly.
"I-I'm sorry...I-I just thought that, because we were so close….That you know we could maybe become more than just friends!"
"I told you things with me and Natsu were complicated! What part of that invited you to pull that stunt!" Dan's face darkened.
"So I was right about you and him! Well what does he have that I don't! He's a little punk, while I am one of the most popular people in school and the star of the football team! Tell me Lu-Lu why would you want to be with someone like him who could never make you happy! He's just a loser who you only hang out with, because his dad died!" One look at Lucy's face told Dan that he had crossed a line, he gulped as Lucy sent him a look that would make anyone want to tuck their tail between their legs and run away.
"What. Did. You. Just. Say." She hissed out dangerously.
"I-I...was just asking...Why you'd want some chump like Nazoo…"
"Natsu." Lucy corrected him the instant he had misspoken his name.
"R-Right...Natsu….Why would you want to date someone like him...instead of someone like me…"
"I don't need to validate my emotions to you of all people...Now let me repeat myself apparently you didn't understand me the first time….Get out!" Lucy pushed Dan out the door and shoved him onto the sidewalk outside.
"Please Lu-Lu...Just give me a chance…" Lucy looked at him with as much lividness as she could muster.
"I did Dan….And you blew it….I'm not the kind of girl you can just come in a sweep off her feet without barely making an effort to know me as a person, we were barely friends I am a person not just a piece of meat….Natsu and I have been through so much together, he understands how I work, what I like, he knows things about me I'm sure I don't even know….There is no way someone like you holds a candle to someone like him!" She turned to walk back inside, but turned to give him one last glare.
"Goodbye Dan, I mean this as seriously as possible...I absolutely never want to see your face again…I was willing to still be friends, but you crossed a line when you talked about Natsu like that…At the end of the day...He is a thousand times the person you could ever be!" And with that she stormed back into the apartment building leaving Dan alone in the streets calling after her.
Natsu's eyes fluttered open, he was laying in an uncomfortable position on a cold metal ground, his arms bound behind his back with zip ties. He looked around trying to figure out where he was, and his heart immediately stopped beating when he began recognizing it. It was way more beat up than it was three months ago.
"No….Not here….Anywhere but here!" He shot up to his feet and looked around the familiar tiny square shaped room, it was dirtier, and full of cobwebs, but he knew exactly what it was. He glanced down at the ground noticing the filthy yoga matt and itchy blanket. His eyes wandered to the glass door that he had spent a week stuck behind. He saw Daphne sitting on a stool on the other side of the cell's door, she was watching him intently while holding his scarf. He ran at it and through his entire weight at the glass. Bouncing right off it with a loud thud that echoed through the cell, his hood falling down in the process.
"What am I doing here!" He snapped at Daphne who stared at him with teary eyes. Natsu stayed stone faced wondering why out of all the places on Earth he had been brought to Nirvana.
"I already told you, my boss wanted to see you." She glared at him while sniffling. Natsu glared at her.
"Then where is he? And who is he for that matter?!" He snapped, struggling to break free of the bindings his hands were in.
"All in due time Salamander, I wanted to have a few words with you before then…" Natsu shot her a dirty look.
"I'm not sure I want to hear anything you have to say….that was a dirty trick you pulled back there!" He got as close to the glass as he possibly could.
"Why did you kill him?" Daphne deadpanned while she stood up as well and got up in Natsu's face, looking down at the younger boy, with nothing but the glass door between them.
"I haven't killed a single person." Natsu retorted with a growl, not backing down with their close proximity.
"Then where did you get this!" She held up Natsu's scarf that used to belong to his father. Natsu looked at it in confusion.
"It was a gift from my father...Give it back!" Natsu snapped, angry that this random creep was holding on to one of the only possessions he had to remember Igneel by.
"Liar! I know you stole it from him when you killed him!" Daphne yelled at him through the glass.
"I told you! I haven't killed anyone! You psychopath!" Natsu shot back at Daphne who looked ready to cry.
"I know you killed him….You are the only suspect they have had in his case….It had to be you...How else did you steal his scarf…." She looked down at it with watery eyes.
"I didn't steal that! It was a gift from my father Igneel before he was killed!" Natsu was getting tired of this whole thing. Daphne looked up at him immediately, her eyes wide with shock.
"What did you say?..." She asked with a shaky voice. Natsu raised an eyebrow at her curiously.
"I said that I got that scarf from my father Igneel before he passed away...If you look on the inside his name is stitched in…"
"...Gold…" Daphne finished without bothering to look at the scarf. The two looked at each other in shock.
"...I made this for him...When we were dating…" She held up the scarf with shaky hands as her fingers traced the fabric. Natsu's eyes bulged out of his sockets.
"D-Dating? You...dated my dad?" Natsu knew his father had dated someone before, but he never talked about it. Sometimes he would catch him in the living room looking through old photographs that he was never allowed to look at, Igneel claimed it was because they weren't important, but Natsu knew even at a young age that they were important to him thanks to the sad, distant look that filled his eyes.
"Y-Yes...We were together...for...many years…..How old are you exactly?" She met Natsu's eyes.
"I'm eighteen, about to be nineteen in a few months...why?"
"I-I see….You're the same age...as our son….Who is your mother!" She snapped angrily at Natsu who had to take a second out of his shock. Igneel…..had a son? Like an actual son. Like a not found abandoned in the woods and adopted as his own son….But an actual son, that he had with a real human woman….a human woman who was standing in front of him now seething.
"My….mother? I ummm don't know….I never met my birth parents….Igneel found me in the woods unconscious while being stalked by a fox when I was three…" Natsu explained, and he watched the anger fade away from Daphne's face.
"So he adopted you sixteen, almost seventeen years ago?" She asked quietly, Natsu blinked a few times still trying to wrap his head around everything.
"Yeah...That seems about right…" Daphne looked down hiding her face, but Natsu was able to see the tears that dripped down her face.
"I see….He left me and Ignia eighteen years ago to fight some battle….He never came back….I guess that has to do with him finding you…." She spat bitterly at Natsu. Natsu looked at her offended, and stunned.
"What are you implying?"
"That I was right….You stole my Igneel away from me…." Natsu backed away from the glass shell shocked. This whole thing couldn't be possible...could it? His father abandoned his real family...His actual son….for him?
"It's your fault he's gone….You...You took him away from me...took him away from Ignia….My poor son….Had to grow up without a father, because of YOU!" Daphne yelled at Natsu whose legs had turned to jelly at the bombshell that was dropped on him. His father….had a son, a son he ditched….left to grow up knowing his real father, just like Natsu who grew up not knowing his real parents. He could sympathize for sure, but right now he felt something twisting inside his chest. Everything he thought he knew about his adoptive father was being flipped on its head. How could Igneel have been capable of something like this? Let alone keep this from him? Did he ever reach out to Daphne or his actual son, Ignia? Or did he just leave them behind like they were just some random strangers he met along the way, did he even care about them?
"I-I'm….Sorry….I-I….I never knew…." Natsu whispered, unable to stand any longer he fell to his knees, a single tear rolled down his cheek while his chin quivered. Daphne looked down at him with something that could only be described as pity, mixed with resentment. She probably hated Natsu's guts, probably hated the fact that he was alive and not in the stomach of some wild animal….And who could blame her. The love of her life had ditched her, along with their son to go raise some random child he found in the woods and had no relation to. If the roles were reversed Natsu was sure she would hate himself too. Daphne soon fell to her knees as well, she held the scarf close to her body as tight as she could, she felt betrayed and hurt beyond comprehension right now.
"...It's not your fault….I'm sorry….it's just a lot to take in….This whole time I was led to believe that you had killed Igneel….taken him away from me….but now I see….It was Igneel's fault…." She sniffled into the scarf. Natsu looked at her sadly, and apologetically at a loss for words himself he decided it would be best for him to keep his mouth shut and allow Daphne to grief. After a few seconds of silence except for Daphne's sobs Natsu decided he needed to do something to try to help her. He once more remembered the pictures that Igneel kept around. He obviously cared about them, and it hurt for him to talk about.
"If it makes you feel any better...He never forgot about you two….At least I don't think so, he had a whole bunch of photos that I wasn't able to look at….I think it's cause they were pictures of you and Ignia….." Daphne sniffled a few times before looking at him.
"R-really?" She choked out, Natsu used what courage he could muster he looked her in the eyes and nodded.
"I….I don't know why he never reached out to you….but I do know that he was killed by someone named Acnologia….That's the reason I became Salamander, I want to find this person and bring him to justice…" Daphne stared at him as if she was trying to find cracks in his story, her mouth left agape.
"T-That's….impossible….they were friends….He would never have killed Igneel…." She stated in disbelief, but Natsu frowned.
"I'm telling you the truth….It was a week before Christmas, and he decided to stay at home instead of coming with me to a friend's Christmas party. I felt uneasy and turned around on my way to the party and found him dead in the kitchen…." Natsu proceeded to tell her the story of how the police came and arrested him after he had broken down in tears and caused the house to catch on fire, how Jude came to pick him up. Her ears twitched at that.
"Jude knew this whole time? And he never told me?" She asked, stunned Natsu sighed remembering Jude's complicated history.
"There are a lot of things Jude hid from everybody….Including his own family…" He spoke with a hint of sadness as he recalled all the things Lucy had been subjected to in Jose's quest for revenge against Jude.
"...I can't believe this….it's all so much to take in…."
"I'm sorry Daphne...I really am….I love my dad….But even I can't excuse his actions….I'm so...so sorry…." Natsu felt his throat constrict as he spoke, suddenly the glass door slid open and Daphne jumped at him enveloping him in another awkward hug.
"I-It's okay….it's not your fault...I'm sorry I brought you here….It's not too late we can still get out, before the boss shows up!" She reached behind Natsu and undid the zip cuffs freeing his wrists. Natsu rubbed the sore spots and looked at her unsure of what to do. That was until she wrapped the scarf back around his neck.
"I gave this to Igneel...Igneel gave it to you….The least I can do is honor that…"
"T-Thank...you…" Natsu whispered as he reached up and clutched the scarf wrapped around his neck relishing in the familiar warmth and comfort it brought.
"We need to hurry!" Daphne muttered, grabbing his hand she pulled him out of the cell, and turned the corner running through the familiar halls of the prison that had become completely decrepit and run down. There were holes in the walls, and ceilings, railings had come out of the floor and walls. Lights were flickering on and off some were just shattered and others were burnt out. The floors were flooded and cracking with holes also forming in them. It was like someone had set off a nuclear bomb in the once pristine prison that Natsu was trapped in three months ago. The sounds of their footsteps splashing through various puddles echoed through the halls. It was quiet though, the kind of quiet that put you on edge as you prepared for something to go wrong, and they didn't have to wait for that, because soon it became harder, and harder to run. It felt like they were gaining pounds by the second and soon it was impossible to even lift up their feet. They fell to the ground splashing in a large puddle unable to stand up almost like they were magnetized to the ground.
"Damn...it….I….can't…..move…." Natsu groaned as he attempted to stand back up, but he couldn't budge, it was as if an elephant was sitting down on him, crushing him with all its weight. Daphne let out a cry as she too tried to move, but to no avail.
"It's….him….he….can…..alter…..gravity…." She struggled to speak, as the ever growing pressure pushing down on her was too much to bear. Natsu let out a cry in a failed attempt to stand back up, he barely made it back to his knees before the pressure pushing down on him was too much and he was pulled back down onto the ground face first. Daphne let out a scream as she was being pushed harder and harder into the floor as if it was quicksand. Natsu related to that and let out various grunts and groans as he kept fighting against the invisible force pushing down on him in a vain attempt at returning back to his feet.
"Salamander…..I…..can't…..breathe…." Daphne choked out while attempting to stretch her arm out to take Natsu's hand who had started crying out in pain after he was once again slammed into the ground after trying to stand back up. He laid flat on his stomach with his limbs outstretched. He imagined he probably looked like a starfish right about now, but he couldn't focus on that he needed to figure out how to save them.
"It's…..gonna….be…..okay….take…..my…..hand…." Natsu's words slid through his clenched teeth as he mirrored Daphne's motion in stretching out his hand in an attempt to grip hers. They both strained themselves to reach the other both letting out pain filled cries as the pressure that was sandwiching them with the floor. Their fingertips barely grazed each other before even more pressure began pushing down onto them.
"AHHHHH!" Daphne screamed out her hand forming into a fist, Natsu cringed and let out a similar cry as he felt his spine ready to break under the immense pressure. He once again winced as he stretched his arm trying to reach Daphne once more, Daphne's vision was starting to go black, but nonetheless she copied Natsu. Their faces contorting into cringes reflecting how much pain they were in. Once again their fingers barely stroked the other's before they finally were able to grasp each other's hands. They squeezed them tightly trying to help themselves get through the pain like a child holding his parents hand before he got a shot at the doctor's, but this was a million times worse. The two let out screams in unison, as one more last time the pressure pushing down on them increased. Natsu's back began to crack and pop, while Daphne felt like her spinal cord was entering her ribcage. Their visions were darkening, and their ears felt like they had started bleeding. It was impossible to focus on anything but the weight that was squishing them to death. It seemed like it would continue forever, but after a few more seconds the gravity returned to normal. No longer were they the equivalent of a bug being stepped on by a large boot, however they definitely felt like it. Their bodies were sore and most of their bones cracked or popped when the shakily got to their knees. They let out heavy breaths as they got back onto their feet suddenly feeling like they were on the moon with how light they felt.
"Are….you...okay?" Natsu asked Daphne in between deep breaths, that had been excruciating for him so he could hardly imagine how she felt considering she probably didn't have as high of a pain tolerance.
"Y-yeah...y-you?" Daphne panted, Natsu gave a slight nod and stretched out his limbs while looking around the halls that surrounded them.
"What...was that?" He asked looking back at the older woman who was looking around horrified.
"That, was the boss….He has...terrifying powers, and that was merely one of them…" She explained, Natsu's eyes darkened, whoever this boss guy was, he sounded strong. Which meant they either needed to get out of there as fast as they could, or Natsu would have to get ready for both of their lives. He decided the best thing to do was to get Daphne out of there as fast as he could, so deciding not to remain sitting ducks he gripped her arm and pulled her behind him as he ran through the halls. He was so caught up in trying to find an exit that he failed to notice the large spiraling green beam of dark energy that was heading right at him. Fortunately Daphne had been on the look out for the boss while she was being led through the halls of Nirvana by Natsu.
"Look out!" Daphne yelled and pushed him to the ground, making the beam miss him. Daphne however had been unable to move out of the way of the blast before it engulfed her. She screamed as Natsu's eyes widened in horror watching on, forgetting to breathe in the process as Daphne's body fell to the ground limp.
"DAPHNE!" He yelled out and jumped with his arms outstretched, he was able to catch her before she hit the ground. She looked terrible, her arms and face were all bruised and bloody, the upper portion of her outfit was torn and burnt. Her hair had also seemed to have been burnt at the bottom, Natsu's eyes widened at the state of her leaning down he held his ear close to her mouth to check if she was still breathing. She wasn't.
"No! No! Nonononono! NO!" He placed her on the ground softly and began giving her chest compressions in an attempt to revive her. It wasn't right, nor was it fair, she didn't deserve this. She had a son, a real son not some random kid she found in the woods. A son she loved, the son she gave birth to with the man she loved, the man who ran away from them to raise someone else. Someone else she gave her life to save….How could this happen?
"Please….Please! Wake up! Just please wake up! Come on! Wake UP!" Natsu increased the speed of his compressions, tears burning in his eyes. A dark laughter filled the dim halls, a laugh that sounded familiar, but Natsu didn't stop to think about it. He was too preoccupied in trying to save the woman who laid lifeless in front of him.
"Well...well...well, that was awfully foolish, after all I was aiming for you…" The familiar voice spoke. Natsu finally took his eyes off of Daphne to look down the hall. The lights were flickering so it was hard to focus on the large figure standing still, with his arms crossed behind his back.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" Natsu yelled at the man, his blood boiling as he watched the person who had just killed an innocent woman come closer and closer to him. Natsu was able to make out the clothes he was wearing a green military officer's uniform. His hair was white and wavy and went down to his shoulders. As he came closer Natsu could see that his entire face was wrapped in bandages, with the exception of his eyes which Natsu could now tell were entirely blood red.
"I'm disappointed in you Salamander...letting an innocent person take a bullet for you, that sure is spineless…" He taunted, Natsu's fists tightened as his body heat began to rise.
"ANSWER ME YOU BASTARD, WHO ARE YOU!" Natsu screamed as the man came to a stop in front of him.
"Don't tell me, you've already forgotten who I am….You don't remember the memories we made in this very building?" Natsu stayed silent as the man reached up to his head and began unraveling the bandages.
"No….You probably won't recognize me...after what you did to me I had to undergo facial reconstruction surgery." He dropped the bandages revealing the face of a pale man who grinned down wickedly at him. Something about the grin itself was familiar to Natsu, but once again he opted to remain silent, instead he was just glaring at the man.
"I have waited three long months for this moment….You left in such a hurry that I never got a chance to show you my powers Mr. Dragneel…." As the sentence left his mouth Natsu knew at once who he was staring at. The person he had hoped he would never cross paths with again, the reason why he had lost so many hours of sleep.
"...Brain?" He asked, stunned, the man's grin grew.
"Maybe that was my name once upon a time….But these days I prefer….Zero…." Natsu's breath increased its pace as he stood protectively over Daphne's body unsure of what else to do he surged at the man with a flaming fist. Zero caught it and threw him down the hall, Natsu flipped in the air to avoid landing on his back. Instead he slid backwards on his feet with his flames raging around him. Anger filled him as he stared at the man who had caused him and his friends so much pain, the man who forced him to watch as he tormented Lucy in an attempt to break his spirit. The man who locked him in a freezer, subjected him to Cobra's poison, and forced him to live out his worst nightmares. The man who just killed a mother, a woman who had every right to hate Natsu's guts, but chose to save his life, giving her own in the process. Natsu felt as his anger fueled his flames making them burn hotter, and grow wilder. His fists tightened while he let out primal growls instead of breaths. His eyes danced between Daphne lying lifeless on the ground and Zero who stood across from him with his arms crossed behind his back and a grin on his face. Absolutely no remorse for the life he had just taken, something inside Natsu snapped and he let out a cry as his body covered itself in scales, just like it had the last time he and Brain had faced off. Zero beamed as he watched the dark red scales form on Natsu's face.
"I was wondering if I would get to see that trick again...welcome home….Prisoner Eight…"
"SHUT UP! YOU BASTARD!" Natsu roared as he shot forward at Zero once more, his flames giving him a speed boost as he flung himself at Zero, his fist clenched tight with fire circling around it. Out of all the fights he had been in, all of the baddies he had come across, this one was the most personal and he was ready to inflict as much pain as he could on the man in front of him. Brain and Natsu threw punches at each other at the same time causing a large shockwave to blast them in opposite directions. Natsu landed on the ground, growling as he glared down his enemy who simply stood still with his arms still crossed behind his back.
Chapter 33: Salamander vs Zero!
Q: Why do you think Igneel hid his past from Natsu?