[Re-written 05-13-22]
Happy weekend!
I think I'm overdue for a big thank you to all my amazing readers, I appreciate all of you!
Onward!
16
-Tainted Light-
Erza shot upward, the winds produced by her speed whipped through her loose red hair and her passenger's pigtails. She kept her determination locked on the hole blown in the upper level of the tower as they drew closer. It quickly became apparent that the destruction was much more extensive than it had appeared from the ground far below. A large expanse of the wall had been blown away in what could hardly be described as a simple hole. Erza slowed, and hovered just a few feet from the polished crystal floor of the chamber beyond. Her eyes scanned the shadowed space, awed by the devastating power of Dragon Slayer magic once again.
Just as she went to glide forward to land them on the ledge, Natsu flew toward them, his foot squarely planted below the collar bones of a pink-haired woman. His foe's body crashed into the smooth floor and rolled a few additional feet before coming to a stop with a pained moan. Natsu himself skidded to a stop just short of where Erza still hovered, clinging to Wendy. The Fire Slayer's head whipped over in their direction, the sun catching on the red scales that covered the back of the arm he had extended forward in his sparring stance.
"Holy shit! Erza, Wendy! Am I glad to see you two—is the rest of Dragon Soul here as well?!" he said in a rush of words as he bounded over to them. He reached out and pulled them into the room and subsequently into a bear hug. Erza gaped at his carefree action, not that it was out of character for him. He'd always had a certain disregard as to whether a response was appropriate given the context of a situation. He was truly ruled by his emotions, and not much else. Though, to his credit, even when he seemed singularly focused on whatever caught his attention, he always proved to be completely aware of everything else happening around him, especially if that happened to be a fight.
Still, Erza couldn't help considering the woman he'd just knocked down with a level of apprehension. Her magic power was nothing to scoff at, and she was already back on her feet as though the fire mage hadn't just ground her into the floor. She was combing fingers through her hair and smoothing the fabric of her kimono, diligently removing the evidence of their fight as she watched the scene with a rather furious expression.
Erza's eyes snapped back to her comrade's bright, easy grin, unaffected by his enemy standing mere feet away. "Yeah idiot, we're all here, and YOU, are still in the middle of a battle, or did you forget?!"
Ikaruga had reined in her irritation, returning to her seemingly detached persona. She lifted her katana and slashed across the air in an invisible strike. Natsu had reacted instantly, grabbing both Erza and Wendy and distancing them all with one strong jump. Erza's armour shattered despite his lightning-quick reflexes, and she gasped in shock.
"What the hell—" she yelped as chunks of her cherished armour clattered to the ground around her.
Natsu hastily explained what he'd learned of the assassin's magic so far, warning them both to keep their guards up around her. If Erza's armour wasn't lying on the floor at her feet, she would have laughed at the irony of the fire mage's statement. He'd said it as though he hadn't been cheerfully ignoring the pinkette just a minute earlier. Natsu pointed to the arm he had immobilized in the remnants of his shirt. "Keep moving, don't let her pin you down," Natsu reiterated as Erza swapped into her flight armour to combat the woman's apparent speed.
Then she sped forward in zig-zagging blurs, attempting to throw the assassin off. At the same time, Erza summoned multiple swords under her telekinetic control and began to meet the woman strike for strike, determined to beat her back. The sound of metal on metal rang out through the room as the two parried one another's swordsmanship.
"Natsu! I've got this, take Wendy and get somewhere safe so she can heal your arm. Haru and the others will be making their way up—" The swords swirling around Erza's left shattered and the redhead's eye twitched, pausing her midsentance. She glared back at the other woman, "you'll pay for breaking my precious weapons," she vowed angrily. Dodging an invisible slash to her side, she ducked and slammed a kick into the side of the woman's head.
Addressing Natsu again after the brief interruption, she shouted, "Regroup with the others, we will need the whole team to take on Siegrain!"
"Jellal," Natsu corrected, "he called himself Jellal—and Erza, your friend Simon is here, he created a diversion for me to escape."
Erza's eyes blew wide when she heard Natsu call their enemy by Jellal's name. Added to the news that Simon was alive and in the Tower, and responsible for her comrade's freedom… The resulting thoughts collected in a storm in her head, becoming a jumbled mess that stole her concentration. Natsu still didn't know her story, so he couldn't be aware of the mental burden he'd just dropped on her. Distracted, Erza took the full brunt of an attack and she shouted in agony as her armour fell away again and pain burned through her body. The redhead dropped to a knee, and Ikaruga smirked as she gathered more magic around her blade. "Garuda flame," she stated tonelessly, unleashing a flurry of fire to burst off her blade and barrel down on Erza.
Natsu was in front of her in a split second, good arm spread wide as he inhaled the torrent of fire. He licked his lips and released a satisfied puff of flame, smirking back at the assassin who appeared momentarily stunned. "Now I've got a fire in my belly..." he said calmly, vengeful intent settling on their enemy. Arching back, Natsu inhaled deeply, the heat of his magic swelling around him. "Fire Dragon's ROAR!"
The Dragon Slayer's body snapped forward as he released the potential of her spell back at her, tenfold. Erza was shocked to see Ikaruga slice his breath attack in half, though Natsu didn't show even a hint of surprise. His flames diffused to cause destruction all around her, but left her unharmed at the centre. He clicked his tongue as he reached back to pull Erza to her feet.
"Don't get distracted, she's dangerous," he reprimanded. Erza felt the tinge of embarrassment colour her cheeks briefly, but just requipped to her Black Wing armour. She reiterated that she would catch up with them as soon as she put this woman down and then she pushed the Fire Slayer in Wendy's direction. Natsu agreed with her decision, always confident in her abilities. He turned away from her, jogging toward Wendy and the stairs without another objection, easily placing his full faith in her.
Haru
Haru's group maintained a decent pace without expending too much energy as they explored the maze of corridors that they found themselves in. After wearing down the durable crystal with a combination of ice and water strikes, Lucy had summoned Taurus to tear through the wall with a swing of his giant axe. Darting through their self-made entrance, they had found themselves in the middle of a wide passageway, glancing left and right trying to determine which way to go. With Haru's senses dulled they couldn't follow his nose to people, so they were forced to just pick a direction at random and see where it led.
The outside light refracted through the translucent crystal walls, bathing the hall in an odd kaleidoscope of muted blues, it gave the space an underwater feel and eased Haru's nerves in that familiarity. He knew Erza and Wendy were on it, but he still couldn't help but wonder if Natsu was okay, or what he and the girls were now facing on the upper levels.
The foursome followed the curve of the external wall until the inner wall ended abruptly, revealing a wide open space. The group slowed to a stop at the mouth of the large chamber, remaining close together as they scanned the space. It appeared to be completely vacant, and Haru still couldn't sense anything, smell, magic, sound or otherwise. His gaze flicked across the room again, drawn by the flash of blonde hair on his peripheral. Lucy was making her way to a long bank of prison cells formed out of the outer wall they had just been following.
"They're deserted," Lucy called to the rest of the team as she checked each cell, "the prisoners must be working on the higher floors."
"Lucy, get back to the group," Haru called, the distance she'd moved way from them made him anxious. Having his sensed dulled to such a level always made him anxious, it removed one of his biggest advantages as a wielder of Dragon Slaying magic. "This ethernano is fucking with my nose, I can't predict enemy approach."
The blonde shouted a noncommittal response and continued scanning the remaining cells to be sure there was no one in need of help. Haru rolled his eyes, and started in her direction, gesturing for the group to follow. Silence had reigned dominant until the steady click of heels announced the arrival of another and the Fairy Tail mages froze, whirling in the direction of the sound. They all instinctually found defensive postures, and Lucy quickly retreated back to the safety of their group, much to Haru's relief.
Ultear emerged from the shadows, striding to the centre of the room without a hint of hesitation. Placing her hand on a cocked hip, she shifted an appraising gaze over the four mages spread in a semi-circle around her. She didn't seem to be at all concerned that they had the advantage of numbers, and that made Haru uneasy. His fists clenched hard as his magic pressure increased steadily, reflexively.
"Haru, rein it in man," Gray muttered from nearby.
Haru snapped his gaze over to the ice mage who was watching him from the corner of his eye. Gritting his teeth, he turned back to raven-haired woman who still hadn't revealed even the slightest hint as to her intensions. Haru and the others remained close together, silently agreeing to wait tensely for her to speak or make a move. She was way too calm for a single mage facing off against four, so there had to be a play here that Haru just hadn't picked up on yet. He was sure of it. The Ultear he had come to know, was way too cunning to walk into a situation that she wasn't confident she was in complete control of.
Unfortunately, she made her move before Haru had even come close to figuring it out.
"Lucy, your presence is required upstairs," Ultear said, suddenly appearing behind Lucy. Water swelled around Haru instantly, his from dissolving into the magic, preparing to intercept. A dainty hand fell on the blonde's shoulder, and a split second too late, Haru's wave burst apart allowing him to materialize directly in front of the time mage. Blue eyes flashed in anger when he realized the stellar mage had already vanished, "DAMNIT!" he cried furiously. He caught the front of the Ultear's shirt in a fist, and dragged her within inches of his glare. He was vaguely aware of Gray and Juvia screaming Lucy's name as well, his own anger and worry replicated in their tones.
Twice. Twice, this woman had stolen one his friends just mere feet away from him. And she had the audacity to smile at him now, mockingly, not the slightest bit fazed by being caught in his grip. "Where did you send Lucy?!" he growled menacingly.
Ultear ignored the question, eyes continuing to examine her situation carefully, a truly focused tactician. Then she disappeared out of his grip, though she only retreated a couple meters back. Haru closed the gap again in an instant and launched into a blur of strikes with his water whipping violently around his entire form. Ultear's long hair fanned out around her as she danced around his onslaught effortlessly. Leaning back to dodge a punch, ducking the sweep of an elbow, twirling around the outside edge of a sharp kick. All the while, she continued to wear an infuriatingly cocky smile that only succeeded in incensing Haru further.
"Oh Haru, don't be jealous I chose Natsu over you," she taunted, catching the side of his face to skim her palm down his cheek after dodging another strike. That earned her a flash of indignation through deep blue eyes, she dared to mock him about the capture of his partner? Really? Haru stomped a foot into the ground hard, launching himself at her and sent a brutal kick toward her ribs. It would have connected, had she not vanished again.
A shout of frustration tore itself from Haru's throat. He'd prematurely assumed that she'd retreated before he could get his revenge, and he realized too late, that hadn't been the case. It was only Juvia's squeak of surprise that alerted him, and he got eyes back on the time mage just in time to see her catch his remaining companions' shoulders in each of her hands. Then with a victorious smirk directed at him, Juvia and Gray were gone too.
Haru didn't shout this time, in fact, he didn't give her the satisfaction of any reaction at all. Standing completely still, he let his head hang slightly, dark bangs fell across his face, hiding his expression in shadow. He released a long, slow breath and resolved to take her down, here and now, so he could go find his friends.
When Haru met her eyes again, cerulean scales were crawling across his skin and she finally dipped her weight into a defensive posture to meet his challenge seriously this time. "Ooo," she cooed at him in a sultry tone, "now there's that sexy dragon power." She extended an arm and a pearlescent sphere materialized to dance over her arm, stopped to balance perfectly on her wrist. "Show me what you've got, little dragon."
Lucy
A dimly lit space surrounded her, and without a single window, it was impossible to tell how high Ultear had sent her into the tower. Lucy blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, her senses on high alert as she scanned the space and listened intently for any evidence that she wasn't alone. Ultear's departing comment had her more than a little anxious and her nerves were wound tighter than a spring, just waiting to send her jumping at the slightest sound or movement. 'Your presence is required upstairs,' the time mage had said... The implication being that someone should be waiting for her? But Lucy didn't think there was anyone here, yet.
As Lucy's head stopped spinning with the sensations of the unexpected teleportation spell, she began cautiously venturing across the room, carefully exploring. She found the far wall parted by sections of stairs, one ascending and one descending set. She chewed on her lip, wondering if she should start up, or down. She didn't ponder the decision she faced for long. Moving to stand in front of the ascending staircase, she took a leap of faith that Natsu would still be above her. Releasing a shaky breath, Lucy glanced over her shoulder one last time. She simply couldn't escape the feeling that no matter what direction she chose, she was willingly entering a trap set out just for her. Nonetheless, she climbed, desperately hoping she wouldn't run into Siegrain alone.
Peaking around the corner at the top of the stairs, Lucy found herself in another seemingly deserted room. Letting the warmth of her star reform magic envelop her hands, she eased herself into the room on full guard once more. Ultear's words continued to ring in her head as her eyes darted back and forth. Even more so than the last room, something about the atmosphere enveloping her now, just didn't sit right with her now. It was too quiet. Sure, it had been quiet since she had been forcibly separated from her comrades, but this room was like finding herself in the absence of sound all together. It was so quiet that her steps sounded so loudly in her ears, that they threatened to deafen her.
Ironically, she immediately regretted fretting over the silence when a brutal screech pulsed through the room. Lucy slapped her hands over her ears, cringing with the pain that ripped through her eardrums. She begrudgingly considered that it might be lucky none of the Dragon Slayers were with her right now. Lucy couldn't pinpoint the origin of the noise, it sounded as though it came from everywhere at once as it reverberated off the walls in torturous loops.
Unable to locate the source, and likely, the enemy producing it, Lucy got herself to the centre to better monitor any movements around her. She pulled a single gold key from her belt, preparing for the inevitable fight. Thrusting the key forward, she unlocked a celestial gate, summoning Gemini. The small blue creatures appeared in a flourish of gold, chanting their excitement at her. "Alright Gemini, transform into me!"
Gemini repeated their chants as they seemingly burst in a puff of smoke, and then Lucy was looking back at herself. The two blondes spun around, leaning in back-to-back with star magic crackling around them. Another riff of screeching sound pierced through Lucy's head and she had to fight the urge to cover her ears again. A muscled man with excessively long blue hair emerged from a shadowed stairwell, swinging his hand down in wide arcs to strum another series of ear-splitting chords off the guitar in his hands. Shaking it off, Lucy charged up a set of Star Reform arrows, and Gemini mirrored her perfectly without instruction to do so. Simultaneously, the pair pulled back on the golden energy of their bows and released the arrows straight for the guitar.
In a bizarre move, the man flipped his hair around into a shield that effectively blocked their spells, pulling shocked sounds from both blondes. "What the hell kind of magic is that?!" Lucy yelled. Their enemy tilted his head to the side, letting his tongue lull out of his wide grin as he combed his fingers through his hair.
"That's nothing, let's have an encore!" the rocker announced, strumming his guitar multiple times again. Pulses of destructive sound magic hit the two blondes with physical force, and both screamed at the odd vibration that tore through their pain receptors. Lucy fell to her hands and knees, panting for air as her muscles shook from the onslaught. Glancing to her side, she found Gemini-Lucy sprawled on her back in a similar state as well, but at least the spirit was still with her. Lucy groaned as she sat up and observed the man whipping his hair around in circles, seemingly head-banging to his own music. If it could be called music...
Lucy would have to deal with their foe's hair if they were going to have a chance of wrecking his guitar. Thrusting another key into a proverbial gate, Lucy called for Cancer. The spirit materialized to stand tall beside her, focus already on the blue locks of her enemy. His excitement over all the styling options the long hair presented was apparent by the starry look in his eyes.
"Is it styling time, Ebi?" he asked, already impatiently scissoring at the air with his shears.
"You betcha!" Lucy shouted, watching as the resulting delight lit up his face. The crab spirit glided across the room agilely as Lucy struggled back to her feet. Cancer's scissors flashed in rapid motions and as expected, the rocker defended with his hair. Sheer horror immediately replaced the sadistic smirk he'd worn prior as the flowing blue strands were cut short. Their enemy fell into a furious rant about his precious locks, and not wasting the opportunity of his distraction, Lucy and Gemini rushed in to join the fray once more. They began throwing a variety of coordinated punches and kicks his way, ruthlessly pinning him between their assaults.
"HOW DARE YOU! You insignificant fairy-pests! I am Vidaldus of Trinity Raven, and I will see your deaths for this!" he vowed vehemently. He whipped his head around again, and another thick stream of hair snagged Cancer by the ankle and turned him into a living battering ram. Vidaldus swung Cancer across the room, smashing the blondes away from him and sending them both soaring into the wall behind them. Gemini reached for Lucy, managing to pull her in front of them to successfully buffer the stellar mage's impact a bit. Thanks to the sacrificial action, Lucy came out of strike largely unscathed, but the hit was enough to end the twin's transformation and force them back to the spirit realm.
"Damnit…" Lucy grit her teeth, pulling herself shakily back to her feet. "Cancer! I close your gate!" she commanded, eliminating her enemy's improvised weapon. She watched Vidaldus carefully as her mind whirled for a decent plan. The good news was the ethernano this whole tower was radiating seemed to be replenishing her magic container almost as fast as she was draining it. The bad news was she couldn't think of a strategy to break through this asshole's strong defences. The rocker strummed off another series of chords that pulsed outward, literally tearing up the crystal floor as the magic careened toward her. Lucy attempted to sprint around it, but he kept the attacks flying and she simply couldn't outrun the numerous strikes. Preparing for the next unavoidable pulse of magic that had her square in its path, Lucy raised her arms in a cross-handed block, shielding her head and chest.
"Fire Dragon's—"
"Sky Dragon's—"
"ROAR!" Lucy cringed away from the rush of dense magic power that blew through the room with little warning. A spectacular torrent of wind and fire tore through Vidaldus' sound magic, neutralizing the spell before it could hit her. The elemental cyclone continued barely diminished and crashed straight into the assassin, launching him clear across the chamber. Natsu and Wendy stood at different heights on the steps that led upstairs, both their bodies still slightly hinged forward from the momentum of their breath attacks.
"Great timing you two!" Lucy cheered, running over to join them. When she was just a meter away, she flung herself at the pink-haired dragon slayer, slamming into his chest and buried her face in the half of his shirt that remained. Natsu wobbled back a step before regaining his balance, and the blonde could feel the way his hands hesitantly grazed over her shoulders, seemingly surprised by her action and at a loss of how to respond for once. "I was so worried about you," she whispered into his shoulder. He offered an apologetic-sounding reassurance as he finally returned her hug.
Revelling in his familiar warmth, she glanced up to face him but found his eyes fully focused on the settling dust that the destructive attack had produced. Natsu hadn't let his guard slip for even a second, even as his arms tightened around her soothingly. The heat of his magic signature comforted her even in the midst of battle, and the gratitude she felt at finding him safe was immense.
"This guy is with the Death's Head Order..." he muttered for the girl's sakes, "the power they command is no joke, keep your guards up."
Lucy reluctantly released the fire mage and turned to face Vidaldus again, giving him a sharp nod. Of course she didn't need the warning, she'd been subject to the assassin's odd but undeniable power. "Where's Erza?" she asked.
"She's finishing off Trinity Raven's leader, Ikaruga. But, knowing her, I'd bet she'll head up to help Simon before she regroups with us."
Natsu didn't elaborate on who Simon was because Vidaldus burst out of the dust, strumming his guitar again. His sound magic gave tangible form to blades of energy that rained down on them. The Fairy Tail mages scattered outward, dodging the blades and responded with their own counterattacks reflexively. Wendy's cheeks puffed out as she skidded to a stop and a tornado erupted from her lips. As the wind whipped through their surroundings, Natsu charged in to intercept Vidaldus as the rocker attempted to dodge to the side. The attempted dodge put him right into the path of Natsu's Iron Fist and when the assassin went tumbling back, Lucy was there to round off their assault. Sprinting around behind him, she shot off a trio of golden arrows in conjunction with Sagittarius doing the same from the other side where she had summoned him.
The volley of arrows showered him in piercing rays of light, and Vidaldus cried out in pain as he was pelted into the ground. Groaning, he rolled from his back to his stomach and attempted to get his legs under him again, but Natsu materialized from his flames before he had any success. The Fire Slayer nailed him back to the ground with a boot between his shoulder blades and relieved the man of his guitar before mercilessly smashing it to pieces. Vidaldus cried out at the loss of his guitar and jabbed his elbow into Natsu's shin, forcing him to release his pin.
Unimpressed with the childish temper tantrum the downed assassin was now throwing, Lucy gathered a sphere of Star Reform magic between her palms, aiming to deal the final blow.
The golden sphere of Lucy's Star Shatter shot into the air, but before it could burst into its proceeding meteor shower, the core of the spell went black. Lucy's eyes widened in shock, "What the hell is happening?!" she shouted to the room indiscriminately. The black washed out all traces of gold until it had fully encompassed her spell, absorbing the magic potential, and when it did finally shatter, it expelled piercing shards in black instead of gold. At first, Lucy was too busy with her confusion over what had transpired, to be concerned. Besides, she knew her spells couldn't hurt her or her comrades. That confidence died when she heard the screams of pain that were torn from both Natsu and Wendy. Lucy whirled in their direction and realized spears of black light were raining down on them in addition to Vidaldus.
Lucy screamed their names in concern as she ran toward them. Natsu visibly shook off the pain, recovering quickly from the unexpected attack, though he remained on his knees for now. Onyx eyes met Lucy's before flicking somewhere behind her as she knelt in front them. "Are you both alright?!" she asked, feeling guilty that her corrupted spell had been used to harm them. Natsu nodded in reassurance but continued to watch something beyond her, and Lucy realized that Wendy too, seemed distracted by something unseen. She turned, following their eyes and instinctually recoiled when she found Jude Heartfilia standing a few feet away, observing them with a cold and menacing energy.
"Father," Lucy whispered in a shaky breath.
The snap of tension that flew through Natsu's body did not escape her attention. Though, given the revelation, he did not turn toward her or reach for her. She was actually grateful that he did not take his eyes off their enemy to coddle her, it made her feel more capable. There was an unspoken and unshakable confidence he had in her, and she took her own confidence from it. If he thought she could handle this, then she wouldn't prove him wrong. After all, it seemed to her, that all her friends had been taking on their personal demons one after another lately, so why should she alone, be immune?
She could do this. The Dragon Slayers both rose to their feet in a fluid motion and stood side by side, Lucy could feel the tension build as each side waited for the other to make a move. The stellar mage eyed the black magic coating her father's hand. 'Shocked' would be an massive understatement for the feelings bubbling up in her chest. Had he always been able to use magic? And such an evil-feeling magic at that? Pausing in the mental onslaught of her internal questioning, Lucy focused on the singular question that she wanted answers to, more than anything else.
'Just what the fuck did he do to MY magic?!'
Jude's corruption of her spell felt like a just another way he forced his control on her, literally, taking over her magic to turn it against her and her friends.
Lucy snapped. Breaking the frozen scene first, she shot at him in a full-on sprint, determined to put a stop to his attempts to control her, once and for all. Her star magic sparked off her fingers as she threw a punch into his jaw, his head buckled back and as he was rocked off balance. She followed, stepping forward as he fell back and spun a fast kick into his ribs. Jude flew to the side, landing at her feet, and she glared down at him. Every inch of her burned with a fury she had never felt so intensely in her life.
"LUCY!" Natsu's voice rang out, and in the next instant he had materialized before her in fire, snatching her body away from Jude's proximity as his dark magic reached out to absorb the gold light dancing between her fingers. She and Natsu were knocked back in a pulse of magic that exploded outward from her father when he stood up, relatively unscathed and definitely unfazed by her earlier attacks.
"Your magic is the embodiment of the light of the stars," Jude informed dryly, eyeing her form currently cradled against Natsu's chest. Lucy knew the derisive expression on his face all too well, his typical mask of condescension. She could just hear his voice echoing through the back of her mind, asking why she chose to shame him by associating with some unknown pink-haired idiot who could never live up to the Heartfilia prestige. Lucy would be damned if she ever let him try to tell her what to do or who she could have in her life again, without consequence. She returned his calculating gaze with a pointed glare as he continued his impromptu lesson. "My magic on the other hand, opposes yours directly. My magic is the absence of that light, the absolute darkness that comes with the implosion of a star. 'Black Hole.'" He punctuated the end of the sentence with a ball of black emptiness that he whipped at them, smirking wildly as her pink-haired idiot leapt out of harm's way again, and lowered her back to her feet.
Revenge blazed in Lucy's eyes and she snatched a key from the ring on her hip, swiping it across the space before her, "Open, gate of the maiden: Virgo!" The maiden appeared instantly, her chains clinking softly as she took up an offensive stance and awaited instruction, "and, open, gate of the scorpion: Scorpio!"
"Wicked!" Scorpio sang out as he appeared beside Virgo. Lucy called their attack and Virgo sprung into the air, spinning like a drill toward Jude as Scorpio whipped up a sandstorm around her. The attack looked like it would hit its mark until a sudden blast of black slammed into the spirits' coordinated assault forcing Virgo off course and halting the whipping sands.
When the sand died down an absolutely terrifying grin split Jude's face. "Two can play at that game, my dear daughter..." he declared, "open, gate of the lion: Leo!"
"No…" Lucy drew out the word in a breathless sound, feeling like she'd taken a physical blow. Sure enough, the familiar spirit appeared before them, fixing her with a completely emotionless expression. The stellar mage recalled Leo mentioning that her father had contracted him, but at the time, she'd assumed that meant Leo was working as a merc. She wouldn't have guessed that anyone held his key, considering his distrust for all humans and his obvious disgust in her father.
Leo whipped across the room in an instant, and spun a kick straight through Virgo's middle. The confusion and pain visible on the pink-haired spirit's face before she vanished, drew a cry from Lucy's throat as well. Without hesitation, the lion rounded on Scorpio as well, before his fellow Zodiac could even summon a layer of sand for protection. "Regulus impact!" he called, and purple-tainted darkness wafted off the Zodiac's leader where Lucy knew an orange light should be. Aiming his fist for Scorpio, the darkened power of Regulus exploded from his fist and punched straight through his target's chest.
Lucy screamed as both her friends' forms were winked out so quickly and their pain reverberated through her. The resulting drain on her magic also sent her staggering.
Stopping in his movements, Leo looked over his shoulder at Lucy again, his face still void of emotion. His eyes were dull and unfocused, as if it hadn't solely been the light of his magic that had been corrupted, but stolen all together. That, along with the fire Lucy had seen in him when he'd threatened her in the names of his fellow Zodiac. The shell before her now had her seething on that Leo's behalf.
"What the hell did you do to Leo?!" she cried angrily. The Leo she had met wouldn't harm his friends, the conviction he'd confronted her with merely a week earlier assured her of that.
"He had the gall to reveal himself to you, against my orders. He broke our contract. I stole his light," Jude informed her coldly.
"You are such a monster! I will release Leo from your contract!" the blonde promised furiously.
"How dare you speak to me like that. You have always been an insolent brat who doesn't appreciate everything I do for her!" he snapped back.
"What, WHAT exactly, have you done for me Father?! Ignored me? Used me like a business commodity? Abused me? You think the fancy gowns, the big house, the prestige you're always going on about—" she spat the word like poison, "—mean anything to me?! You're delusional! All I have ever wanted is to be FREE of you!"
"You will learn your place, Lucy!" Jude angrily spun up a black whirling magic that sucked the light from every corner of the room and forcibly dragged the blonde toward it. The spell grew larger and larger before it was imposing its suffocating pressure on her. In a moment of terror, Lucy found herself unable to fight back against it, frozen to the spot in its path.
. . .
"Dragon Slayer's secret arts: crimson lotus exploding flame blade!"
Golden flames shot into the centre of the black vacuum and Jude's spell collapsed like its name sake. Natsu's body shot straight through the imploding black magic and collided with the middle of Jude's body, buckling him in half and sending him flying at a breakneck speed. The fire mage took a couple quick breaths as he stared at the sizable crater in the tower's wall where the man's body had impacted the crystal structure.
That had been way too close... Natsu's gut twisted at the thought, if he'd been a second later... He didn't have time to take in the shit that was happening as Jude began prying himself out of the wall, and behind him, Leo was forcing Lucy into battle again. The pair were already exchanging a barrage of attacks. Wendy had begun methodically chanting her support magic spells, granting Lucy and himself the greater speed and power they would need for their respective battles.
Natsu growled low as Jude stopped a couple meters in front of him, his face was stony and would have been unreadable, had it not been for his gaze hardened in pure anger. Anger that Natsu returned tenfold. "I know you're a shitty father, but that spell could have killed Lucy, what were you thinking?!" he raged, voice escalating with each statement.
"That is simple really... The fact is, if she dies here, I can find another pretty 18-year-old blonde to pass as my daughter. One that would be grateful to have the privilege of bearing the Heartfilia name," he stated flatly. Fire exploded off Natsu in waves that encompassed a far-reaching radius around them. Jude was forced to take multiple steps back from the scalding heat as Natsu dissolved into an angry and passionate rant in Lucy's defence. He began stomping toward Jude menacingly as he continued to rant, faltering for a second, only when a something seemed to click in Jude's eyes.
"You love her."
Natsu stopped dead in his tracks and gaped openly, his rage died momentarily as his mind reeled at Jude's statement of certainty. Blinking dumbly at nothing, Natsu remained stock still, absorbing the thought and considering any potential truth laced within it. Was he right? No... Natsu had decided years ago that he would be happy so long as he had his Fairy Tail family around him... He had everything he needed, and love wasn't on that list, not in that way anyway.
Not after...
Still, he found himself pondering it.
In the middle of a fight no less, with half his comrades still unaccounted for, and the sure to be deranged (and still unknown) plans of Jellal and Ultear hanging over his head.
Did it really just take an enemy's tactless comment to make him consider something that seemed so simple?
"Interesting," Jude added cooly, and Natsu clenched his jaw hard, his previous rage flaring again. He didn't get a chance to act on any of that rage before a seamless dark enveloped him and he found himself trying to grasp at any light he could find. The void he found himself in, reminiscent of Midnight's magic had Natsu choking out his desperation as he found his consciousness muddled and fighting with itself.
. . .
Darkened flames ignited in a line across Lucy's path, splitting her from Leo and both mage and spirit skipped back from the sudden blaze. They felt cold? How could fire feel cold? Lucy wondered as she recoiled from the magic. Just as suddenly, Jude called a forced closure on Leo's gate and the lion was violently stripped from their world. Confused, the stellar mage whirled around, and her eyes landed on the same vacant look on Natsu's face that Leo had been wearing just a moment ago.
Lucy slapped a hand over her mouth, "No…" she whispered to herself, internally denying what her eyes were telling her. She watched him nervously, "Natsu, tell me you're in there, please," she begged as tears slipped down her cheeks. Wendy gasped as well, a notable shudder running down her spine as she watched her idol turn his power, the power he used to fight for his friends, on his friends.
It was devastating.
"Interesting point. Fire is also light," Jude pointed out with a victorious grin, "and if it is light, it is mine to control."
Natsu stalked toward her, no hints of recognition in his face, and blackened flames jumped back and forth in arches between his outstretched hands.
A/N. Natsuuuuu! I'm sorry! Alright, only a couple more major chapters in Heaven.
Next couple chapters are Dragon Slayer fight heavy. For those of you that love the fluffier chapters, there's lots of that coming up quick too!
Special shout outs to Valerioux and FireShifter for your recent comments and support, and Gmilena for helping me flesh out plot lines! You all make my day.
R&R.
~LokaMuse