Chapter 45: Fairy Tail's Ace!
"OI! PYRO OVER HERE!" Gray's loud voice bounced throughout the quiet capital city, causing Natsu to stop in his tracks and turn on his heels. As he turned he came face to face with the group of his friends walking towards him.
"Hey, there you guys are, I was looking all over for you!" Natsu sighed as the group came to a halt in front of him. Naturally his eyes glanced up to the imposing blonde man who was slowly walking behind the rest of the gang. Laxus met his gaze and gave him a slight nod, to which Natsu was a little puzzled by.
"We can say the same for us, we've been searching for you for a while. It's good to see you are alright." Erza smiled warmly at him while Natsu shrugged.
"Yeah I got mixed up with a few of Sabertooth's goonies, but it's safe to say they will think twice before going back to their old ways." Natsu grinned brightly. While the others softly chuckled.
"I hate to be a wet blanket, but I think it's time to return to our mission now that we are all regrouped." Gajeel spoke up, causing everyone to grow quiet.
"So what's next?" Evergreen vocalized the question they were all thinking. The gang kept quiet, lost in thought with the exception of Natsu, who's grin turned sadistic, as he lit his fist up and smacked it against his palm.
"I say it's time for good ol' fashioned Plan T!"
"Huh?" Erza glanced at her longtime friend with confusion.
"Okay, I'll bite what the Hell is Plan T?" Gray questioned, raising his eyebrow out of puzzlement. Natsu laughed darkly. Before suddenly sprinting past all of them leaving them all confused.
"TAKE EM' BY STORM!" Natsu yelled back at them leaving them all in the dust. Not caring that he accidentally bumped into Gajeel causing him to fall to the ground.
"HEY GET BACK HERE SALAMANDER!" Gajeel snapped.
"WHY DON'T YOU MAKE ME SLOWPOKE!"
"WHY YOU!" Gajeel yelled with irritation, and ran after him.
"So much for coming up with a plan…." Freed sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Or for subtlety….honestly it's a miracle those two haven't gotten themselves killed yet…." Evergreen added.
"Oh come on, you two! I for one like their style!" Bickslow laughed heartily. Erza and Gray only glanced at each other amused at their friend.
"Well…standing here isn't going to solve anything…I swear he never thinks anything through…" Erza sighed, but Gray chuckled and shrugged his shoulders as the two began to walk in the direction Natsu and Gajeel ran off in.
"True, but that's why we love him isn't it?"
"My, my Gray….did you just say something nice about Natsu?" Erza quipped, causing the Ice user to blush slightly.
"And you are never going to tell him about it…" Laxus stayed quiet throughout the whole thing but did smirk slightly. That boy really hadn't grown up one bit since the last time he had seen him, and that was a good thing.
"Don't ever change Dragneel…." He whispered to himself. Hoping that Natsu never lost sight of who he was, because to Laxus there was nobody as pure and as good as the hot-headed kid he had grown to look up to. The only person he had ever lost to.
A short while later Natsu had come to a screeching halt in front of the large imposing building that acted as the home base for Sabertooth. His childlike smirk faded into a look of pure determination.
"SALAMANDER!" Gajeel's angry yell made Natsu spin just in time to be tackled by the iron dragon.
"HEY WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Natsu angrily snapped.
"THAT WAS PAYBACK!" Gajeel retorted.
"OH YEAH! HOW'S THIS FOR PAYBACK?!" Natsu asked while igniting his fist. He was in the process of throwing his punch before he caught sight of familiar red hair that stopped him in his tracks.
"Okay, break it up, break it up…" Erza sighed, coming in just in time to prevent a full on brawl to break out.
"I swear flame brain, can't you go two seconds without picking a fight?" Gray asked while shaking his head.
"HEY! HE STARTED IT!" Natsu argued defensively while pointing at Gajeel who rolled his eyes.
"DID NOT!"
"DID TOO!"
"DID NOT!"
"DID TOO!"
"DID NOT!"
"DID…" Natsu had been caught off by a harsh slap to the back of his head by Erza.
"That's enough from you two, there'll be plenty of time to bicker after we take care of what needs to be done. Understood?"
"Owww, yes ma'am…" Natsu muttered, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah, yeah whatever.." Gajeel sighed. It didn't take long for Laxus, and the Thunder Legion to catch up with the other four. Once they were all together Gray cracked his knuckles and neck.
"So are we doing this or what?" He asked rhetorically.
"Hell yeah! I'm all fired up!" Natsu cheered as he rushed at the large double doors, the others following him, ready to finish this whole Sabertooth chapter of their lives so things could return to normal. Natsu kicked the large doors off their hinges with the might of Thor himself. Several members of Sabertooth stopped whatever they were doing to stare at the intrusion of the peace, once they realized what was happening though they wasted no time in charging at the intruders.
"FAIRY TAIL! ATTACK!" Erza commanded as she switched into her cheetah armor, and at lightning speed began slashing at anyone who attempted to attack her, and just like that chaos erupted.
"THIS IS FOR JUVIA!" Gray yelled and slapped the ground causing several ice spikes to shoot up out of the ground and take out anyone in their path.
"AND THIS IS FOR LEVY!" Gajeel cried out as he took out several oncoming attackers by turning his arm into a baseball bat and swinging at them.
"GET THEM BABIES! SHOW THEM WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH FAIRY TAIL!" Bickslow cackled as his dolls began to fly around the room and take out people with green beams. Laxus said nothing as he just headbutted some poor guy who tried picking a fight with the wrong guy. A loud scream came from the corner of the large room where three men were in the process of turning to stone.
"Sorry huns….but that's the price for hurting our friends…" Evergreen coyly spoke, and winked at them as they completed the process of turning to stone.
"Normally I am against fighting like such a brute, but I will make an exception for those who hurt my guildmates!" Freed gently spoke as he wrote something on the ground that caused a small explosion that sent several members of Sabertooth flying through the air. There was a large blast of fire that not only made a hole in the wall of the building but burnt everyone who was remotely close.
"A guild is a place where people should come together! They should bring us together and make us stronger! SO THIS IS FOR YUKINO!" Natsu yelled before sending another large fireball at the mass of Sabertooth goons.
"AND THIS IS FOR LUCY AND WENDY!" He yelled as he sent a poor guy flying through the air with a heavy kick. During all the chaos taking place in the guildhall a looming large shadow engulfed the room where all the fighting was. At the top of the stairwell stood the master of the Sabertooth guild Jiemma. His humongous arms were crossed across his chest as he glared down at the brawl going on in the main room of his guild. The longer he watched the members of his guild get beat down the more the vein popping
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" His booming voice bounced off the walls gathering everyone's attention. The Fairy Tail members stopped in their tracks to turn and look at him.
"It appears that the so-called strongest members of my guild have failed….how typical." Jiemma let a low growl escape his lips.
"Weaklings! The lot of them! Everyone in here should be ashamed to wear my emblem on their body…Sabertooth represents true power, true strength….clearly I have been too lenient with the people I let in, even my own daughter is nothing but a weakling!" Jiemma began to stomp down the stairs, as he was speaking the members of Fairy Tail could feel their skin start to crawl and their blood boil.
"How dare you…." Natsu growled darkly, causing Jiemma's eyes to land on him.
"I might not agree with how your guild does things, everyone who is a part of it still believes in your goal…..they follow you and proudly represent their guild….and you would cast them out, as if they were nothing!" Natsu felt his body start heating up again. Gray stalked over behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down Flame Brain…" He muttered knowing full well how hot tempered his friend was, and how short his fuse had become.
"Of course, these pathetic fools have no business being here…." Jiemma glared at the cluster of sabertooth members who were watching the scene unfold in horror at what they were hearing their master say about them.
"What I desire more than anything is true power! I have no place in my guild for people who can accept defeat, but you…." Jiemma pointed at Natsu who continued glaring at him.
"You gut guts on you….with my guiding hand we could be unstoppable, the same goes for the rest of you…..I am now offering you the chance to leave your pathetic guild behind and join mine! We will show this country, not this whole world, the true might of Sabertooth!" He grinned maliciously. Natsu's fist tightened, and he felt Gray curse from beside him. The rest of their friends were taken back, and offended. Nobody said anything, nobody moved. Animosity was boiling within each of them.
"So what do you say? Will you join me?" Before anyone knew what was happening, Natsu was speeding like a rocket at Jiemma.
"HELL NO!" He screamed and his fist erupted in flames, Jiemma sighed and before Natsu was even to throw his punch he was interrupted.
"NATSU! STAND DOWN!" A voice from the doorway caught his and everyone else's attention. Slowly walking into the main room a rugged, red-haired man who could easily be mistaken for a hobo came to a stop in front of Natsu, glaring up at Jiemma.
"G-Gildarts…..what are you doing here?" Erza stammered in surprise at seeing the older man.
"I heard that our guild was attacked….so naturally I came to settle the score, same as you I suspect…" He muttered quieter than what was natural for him, it dawned on all of them instantly. They had never seen Gildarts act so….serious. Sure they had seen him joking around and drinking at the guild hall while he was in between missions, but right now he had this darkness surrounding him.
"So…you're the master of this shithole huh? Then that means you're my opponent." Gildarts grumbled while facing Jiemma who was caught off guard by the sudden intrusion. Soon his shock morphed into anger.
"And, who the Hell are you?" He seethed. Gildarts grinned darkly.
"I'm Fairy Tail's Ace….the name is Gildarts…." The orange haired man spoke as he shed his raggy coat and got into a fighting stance. Jiemma likewise followed the motion and readied himself for a fight. Gray grabbed Natsu from the back of his collar, and tugged him backwards, joining their friends in a cluster in a corner of the room to watch the battle unfold.
"BEHOLD THE STRENGTH OF JIEMMA THE GREAT!" Jiemma yelled as he threw a punch at Gildarts to start their bout, if it could be called that, because it was over in a second. Gildarts quickly sidestepped Jiemma's punch and delivered one of his own with enough force that it sent Jiemma flying through the ceiling of the guildhall and shooting off into the night sky leaving rubble crashing down on them, everyone who had been watching the scene unfold just stood there mouth agape. Gildarts stood still staring up at the large man sized hole that had been created in the ceiling and chuckled while rubbing the back of his head.
"Whoops….guess I overdid it." He laughed nervously and turned to face the Fairy Tail group.
"Yeah, you think….." Gray muttered
"You're as bad as Natsu…." Erza agreed.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Natsu cried out starstruck.
"Well it looks like our work here is done, so what'd ya say we head back…I wanna see if Levy is awake." Gajeel admitted. The next day when all the dust settled and the members of Fairy Tail were long gone the beaten and battered members of Sabertooth were nursing their injuries in the destroyed building that used to be their guild hall.
"Look at this place…." Rufus sighed in disgust as he picked up a broken chair and threw it off to the side.
"I can't believe we lost…" Orga sighed resting on the demolished stairway. Minerva frowned as she looked around at all the defeated faces, she wanted to yell at them for moping around like they were, but in truth…she felt the same. Everything she had been raised to believe, everything her father had told her was wrong. Or maybe she was just weak. She didn't know. Looking at a flag that had been burnt and torn up with their guild's insignia on it she just frowned. How could they lose so handedly?
"I hate to admit it, but I think this is the end of our guild….My father is MIA, and how could we ever show our faces in this city again….nobody will fear us, they now think we are weak…." She sighed in a depressed tone.
"That's because we are…" Rogue moped from his spot in the corner of the room standing next to Sting who looked quite dejected, despite their reunion with their grandmother, it was clear they still felt lost, after Rogue spoke up everyone in the guild hall muttered something in agreement.
"Well, I guess this really is the end….it was truly nice being able to work with you lot….I have a lot of fond memories here that will be hard to forget…." Orga sighed heartbrokenly. Rufus quietly chuckled from behind the large man.
"I still remember the famous eating contest…poor Yukino didn't stand a chance…" He sighed. Orga began to crack up.
"To be fair, not many people could keep up with Lady Minerva…" When he said this the girl blushed slightly at the mention of her huge appetite.
"Yukino…" Sting whispered inaudibly from next to Rogue who glanced at him with sorrowful eyes, knowing how much her absence affected his cousin, whether or not he knew it himself.
"Well I guess I should be heading off…I should start looking for a new guild to join…hopefully one will let me in…." Rufus began to walk to the door followed by a few others, but before they exited the building someone spoke up.
"STOP IT RIGHT THERE!" Sting who had been silent this entire time finally spoke up, causing everyone to look at him. His body was shaking and even though nobody could see it his eyes were starting to water.
"Sabertooth is more than just a guild….it's a home, my home…a place where I have spent everyday for the past few years…..a place where I grew up….where we all did….We can't just leave it behind….we're a family…"
"Sting….what're you saying?" Rogue questioned. The others looked just as confused.
"Look…..yeah we lost…..and yes we're weak….but that doesn't mean we can just walk away from this place as if the past few years didn't happen…we don't need to leave….we can rebuild it, we can get stronger….I know we can." He looked up at the unconvinced faces of his guild members, some of which looked unaffected by his speech, so with a sigh he took a deep breath.
"If you want to leave, then go right ahead I won't stop ya….but I plan on rebuilding this place brick by brick….and creating a new Sabertooth. We were wrong before….but that just means we need to atone for what we have done, and I plan on making Sabertooth a place that will measure its strength not by individual power, but by the bonds we share with each other, and this city….We have done a lot of wrongs that I plan on righting…" The crowd was silent, and some just mumbled and walked out the doorway, which felt like a stab in the gut, but a few stayed behind. Including Minerva, Rogue, Orga, as well as Rufus.
"So where do we start….Master?" Minerva asked with a devious smirk towards the blonde who was caught off guard by his new title but smirked.
"First we need to right our wrongs, and ask for forgiveness…after that we will make Sabertooth better than ever!" He held his arm up in the air with a large grin plastered on his face. The others smirked at him. Rogue looked at his cousin in pride, the Sting he grew up with was coming back, the Sting who always wanted to do what was right. The two of them had lost their way thanks to Jiemma and his teachings, but their Grandma had taught them that their gifts were to be used to help people, not hurt them….and that was a lesson they would not make the mistake of ignoring again.
It had now been a week since the clash between the guilds, and since then things in Fairy Tail were somewhat returning to normal. It was slow going, but one by one the guild members were recovering. It had come as a bit of a shock to Makarov when he awoke to the sight of his grandchild, Laxus received an earful for coming back but once Gajeel explained what happened Makarov calmed down a little. Still not enough to welcome Laxus back into the guild, but he was mending the fences he broke. Juvia was a worried mess when she came back to her senses and was quite literally attached to Gray's hip with worry. Like Juvia, Gajeel wouldn't leave Levy's side….much to Jet and Droy's dismay, meanwhile Erza fretted over Wendy like a mother.
There was only one person still to wake up, and her pink haired companion had yet to leave the chair next to her bed. His eyes had bags under them, his normally spiky hair was even more disheveled due to him constantly running his hands through it out of stress and nerves. The sight of the beautiful blonde still unconscious in the bed next to him, hooked up to a heart monitor made him feel sick. There was a tight tugging sensation and an overwhelming sense of guilt as he looked at her injuries, the injuries Sabertooth gave her…out of retaliation for his actions. Simply put, without Lucy he wasn't Natsu, he couldn't sleep, eat, heck he had to have Gray or Erza go to the apartment to feed Happy, because Natsu couldn't bring himself to leave her bedside.
"Luce…." He whispered to himself as he stared down at his lap where his fists were clenched tightly to the point where they were cramped. The steady beeps of the heart monitor was the only noise in the large infirmary. The normal Fairy Tail ruckus was going on downstairs, the clattering of dishes from the regular humans who mistook the place for a restaurant, mixed with the constant hum of voices. Natsu just tuned it out though, he couldn't focus on anything….except for the fact that the girl he loved was in such a bad state, because of him. He looked down at his right arm where the ever present bandage wrapping was. Unconsciously he placed his left hand directly over the place where the dragon seal was, an action he had been doing a lot recently. He found it comforting. Almost like he was reaching out and holding his dad's hand. The only connection he had left of Igneel was the power flowing, waiting for him to let it out, but Natsu felt like he could never use it. In moments like this he needed his father, and as long as he had Igneel's power inside him, he felt stronger. Lord knows he needs that strength right now.
"Hey, mind if I come in?" A voice muttered from the doorway causing Natsu to snap his head to look over in it's direction. He saw the rugged face of Gildarts looking back at him with a caring look. Natsu just nodded his head giving the older male permission to fully walk into the infirmary, he walked over to the chair next to Natsu's and plopped into it.
"How is she holding up?" Gildarts asked sincerely, motioning his head over to Lucy's bed. He frowned as he saw the blonde teen and how she didn't look any much better than she did a week ago.
"Porlyusica said that she is going to be okay, her body just needs more time to recover than ours do…I guess one of the benefits of having ethernano in your bloodstream is it heals your body faster…at least that's what she said…I didn't understand most of what she was saying to be honest…it was a lot of big science-y words." Natsu rambled on, Gildarts just nodded.
"And what about you? How are you doing?" Gildarts gently questioned. The teenager just shrugged.
"To tell you the truth….I don't really know…I've been thinking a lot…"
"That's dangerous." Gildarts joked dryly which caused Natsu to smile softly.
"Tell me bout it." He dryly joked back, so devoid of his normal life and energy. Even still Gildarts chuckled quietly.
"What exactly have you been thinking about kiddo? If you don't mind me asking, that is…" Causing Natsu to let out a soft sigh. He looked at Lucy and then back down to his bandaged arm.
"I dunno….it's just all of this….it was my fault….in fact so much of the bad stuff happening recently has been my fault…"
"Natsu.." Gildarts muttered softly and hesitantly reached his arm to pat his head. This action caused Natsu's eyes to water slightly as he remembered everything that had happened within the last year.
"From Erigor, to the destruction of Kardia Cathedral which led to Mard Geer becoming Mayor, and that in turn led to the whole thing with Brain…..and Daphne…" Natsu's voice cracked as he mentioned the name of the woman who died to protect him.
"Natsu none of those were your fault, you can't blame yours-"
"YES IT WAS MY FAULT!" Natsu yelled, shooting to his feet, interrupting Gildarts, not trying to mask the pain in his voice.
"ALL I EVER WANTED TO HELP PEOPLE! ALL I EVER WANTED WAS TO DO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS RIGHT! THAT'S WHY I BECAME SALAMANDER! BUT EVER SINCE THEN ALL I HAVE DONE IS CAUSE PAIN!" Natsu, who was very close to his breaking point was scratching his scalp raw, while he was pacing all around the infirmary and breathing heavily. Gildarts watched him silently with a frown.
"I JUST WANT TO DO WHAT I FEEL IS RIGHT! BUT IT ALWAYS LEADS TO BAD THINGS HAPPENING! DAPHNE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE! LUCY WOULD BE OKAY! EVERYTHING WOULD BE BETTER OFF IF I DIDN'T TRY TO BE SOMETHING I'M NOT!..." Natsu finally snapped and fell to the ground pulling his hair and panting. Gildarts instantly rushed to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, bud…just take a deep breath, I'm right here." He whispered comfortingly. Natsu's breathing was harsh and unsteady, his body temperature fluctuating from warm to volcanic, but Gildarts didn't budge. His Godson needed him more than ever. Natsu attempted to gain control of his breathing.
"...H-How can I call myself a hero?...When I can't even protect those close to me….what kind of hero causes more harm than good?..." Natsu whispered almost inaudibly through harsh breaths.
"All that means is that you're human Natsu….yes you make mistakes…but so does everyone else…I know I have made my fair share of mistakes…just ask my very own daughter…" Gildarts replied warmly. Natsu's breathing began to steady as he let his Godfather's words sink in. Gildarts opened his mouth to continue speaking, but Lucy broke into a fit of coughs which caught their attention. The two looked at each other and rose to their feet, to see Lucy slowly trying to sit up, while rubbing her eyes to adjust to the bright infirmary lights.
"Luce!" Natsu exclaimed gleefully as he sprinted to her side, Gildarts watching him with a grin.
"N-Natsu?...W-where am I? What happened?" Lucy slurred her words in her sleep drunken state. Natsu let out a sigh of relief and beamed at her as her eyes fluttered open to look at him with the sparkling brown eyes he had always adored.
"You're in the infirmary, you've been out for about a week…" Gildarts walked up behind Natsu and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze.
"You sure gave us a scare kiddo…but I'm sure you'll be happy to know that the people who did this to you were taken care of…" Gildarts chuckled gleefully. Lucy looked at the two trying to soak in the information she had been given before she remembered what happened.
"It was Sabertooth…they blindsided us….oh God, where is Yukino?! And Wendy?! Are they okay?!" She asked in a panic.
"They're fine…I'm more concerned for you, how are ya feeling?!" Natsu grabbed her hand tightly and gave it a squeeze.
"Y-Yeah I'm okay….just sore is all…" Lucy exclaimed, rubbing her neck.
"Here…I gotcha…" Natsu smiled softly and began to massage the knots out of her neck. Causing her to let out a groan and relax her muscles. Gildarts smiled watching the scene unfold.
"I should probably leave you two alone….It's good to have you back Lucy…" He explained before heading to leave the room, but not before sneaking a look towards Natsu that told the pinkette that their conversation was far from over. When the door shut behind him Natsu wasted no time in bombarding his girlfriend.
"Seriously, are you okay? I was really worried…" He asked softly. Lucy let out a sigh before giving him a reassuring smile.
"Y-yeah….I'm okay I promise. What about you? You look terrible." Lucy frowned in worry as she studied her boyfriend's face. Taking note of the bags under his eyes, the redness in them from his outburst moments ago. The healing scrapes from his bout against the twin dragons.
"I'm fine…don't worry about me….do you need anything?" He asked as she broke into another fit of dry coughs.
"Just some water…" Lucy said as she rubbed her sore throat.
"Got it!" Natsu wasted no time in rushing over to a sink and filling a dixie cup full of cold water. He handed it to her, and she chugged it in one gulp. Obviously relieved in having something to ease the pain in her throat.
"Thanks…" She murmured.
"Don't worry about it." He replied, taking the cup from her hand and placing it on her bedside table. Before crouching down and tucking a loose strand of golden hair behind her ear. Lucy chuckled at this action.
"What's so funny?" He asked slightly confused. Lucy just shrugged.
"It's just weird…our positions have swapped…I thought I was supposed to be your bedside nurse." She smirked, but Natsu just frowned.
"Yeah…but it's my fault that you are here at all…" At this Lucy frowned. She opened her mouth to reply before looking at Natsu's face and saw he was close to crying.
"Natsu? What's wrong?"
"It's nothin…" Natsu lied. Lucy just gave him a look causing him to sigh.
"I'm just sorry…for everything…this whole Sabertooth mess…it was my fault. You're here, because of me…."
"Hun…no. It's not your fault. You didn't attack me…it was Sabertooth." Lucy squeezed his hand to comfort him.
"But I'm the reason why they attacked you…why they ambushed our guild…"
"I've been thinking…a-and a lot of bad stuff has happened because of me…" Natsu muttered darkly, taking Lucy aback. She moved her hand to his cheek and caressed it.
"That's not true…" She whispered warmly.
"Yes it is Lucy…and I'm tired of lying to myself…I'm a no good hero….Gildarts said that it was, just because I am human, and all human's make mistakes….but I don't know of any other human making as bad of mistakes as I have…" Natsu spoke darkly, catching Lucy off guard. Ever since Nirvana Lucy had been aware of this new darkness found in Natsu, but right now. It seemed to have taken him over, and she was not about to let that happen. Pulling him into her, uncaring of the soreness of her muscles or the uncomfortable position she was in, she just needed to let Natsu know she was there for him. Natsu was caught slightly off guard by her wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly, but was quickly overcome with emotion. He hugged her back, burying his face into her neck.
"It's okay Natsu….I'm right here for you….everything is okay, those bad things are behind us…all we can do is move forward together."
"Lucy?" Natsu mumbled into her neck.
"Yes?" She pulled away slightly to look him in the eyes. He looked down at the bedsheets.
"I think…..that I don't want to be Salamander anymore…" As the words left his mouth Lucy's eyes widened in shock, and the door to the infirmary flung open.
"LULU! Gildarts said you were up how are you feeling?!" Levy exclaimed excitedly, the rest of the gang following into the room, when Lucy didn't reply they just stared at Lucy's shocked face, and Natsu who was looking anywhere but here.
"Did we miss something?" Erza questioned to no reply.
Chapter 46: Identity Crisis.