….so….. hi? I have returned, (juuuust after New Years!) and while I don't exactly recall where anyone was or what they were doing, I'm gonna do my best and get this done! Oh yeah guess who got a Tumblr? You can find me at shadeshadow234. (My current tagline is 'It was a trick, it was a trap, it was a lie all along!')
Otaku789(1), if you've managed to giggle for two months, colour me highly impressed. Haha
Phoenix(1), the two month cliff! Argh! Hmm, I'd say we're getting pretty close to the climax? (Spoilers, the climax is definitely when Natsu meets Jude again and it's 110 percent gonna be another cliffie) oh no, is you dead? Whoopsies. (Honestly I'm so frazzled right now I thought 'hey The Napoleon didn't pain the Mona Britain overnight' instead of 'Hey the Mona Lisa wasn't created overnight, yeah?' I need help)
Guest(1), Hot Cross Buns, I'm sure I'll write tons, hot cross buns, I'm sure no one I'll shun, one-a-penny, two-a-penny, of things left to do this stories got plenty, Hot Cross Buns! Finally, a December(kind of) update! Oh yes this is definitely once a week yep mhm 100%. Ugh I don't even want to think about school right now it's been crushing me. I haven't had the chance to see Dragon Cry yet but I'm looking forward to it! (This is definitely soon)
Guest(2), I'm only two months late, that's all!
Phoenix(2), ah, see there, it's made a slight misstep and fallen into a ditch. Oh dear, the ditch seems to have lit itself on fire. The Sunday Pattern, such a rare creature, yet so prone to Calamity. Ahem. Oh no, I'm so sorry I'm late with the insta-happy! (Oh no my secret magic skill has been uncovered calling in swat team '100-PANIC-PANIC)
Otaku789(2), indeed, the weekend! What a great time for updates! Oh, there it goes. And again. And again. And again. An-
Guest(3), indeed it has! Uh… twice over… ahem. This definitely counts as soon shhhhhhh. You need wait no longer!
Otaku789(3), November is indeed over! In fact, so is the year! Whoops. Anyway. On with the Lord of the Phantoms!
Phoenix(3), oh no, people are looking at their calendars, what to do, what to do uhhhhhhhhh. Well, the hiatus is over! I agree, I would just hate to leave this unfinished.
Otaku789(4), well, I feel like in the middle of an arc would be a bad place for a Christmas special, seeing as it would probably shatter the flow of the story. (Plus there's the fact Wendy, Sting, and Rogue were written into it and they would probably have some reaction to suddenly being in the Fairy Tail guild hall hahaha) mine wasn't out until Friday either, what a coincidence! Belated Holiday cheer for all!
Phoenix(4), Merry (belated) Christmas! :)
Phoenix(5), and a happy new year!
The smell of woodsmoke was unmistakable, the acrid scent rising and being blown over the town by an unusually strong breeze. Those in the town, mages and townsfolk alike, turned to the forest, seeing the billowing clouds that arouse from it.
They came in an odd formation, almost controlled and straight at first, but then as if control was lost, they spread out over a wider area. Some, like Lucy, had a sinking feeling for what that could mean.
Others, such as Freed, saw opportunity in their distracted opponents and used the time to strike.
A select few, namely, the mages of Phantom Lord, understood the message in the breeze. Aria had found their target.
Gajeel grinned, sharp as iron, before leaping to the nearest rooftop. The forest was only a couple streets away, the smoke making his eyes water. Not that he would admit it irritated him.
He cleared the remaining rooftops in a few leaps, landing at the edge of the forest and walking through the barrier that had been placed as if it were nothing more than air. He paused, considering going through the trees instead of leaping over them, but decided it would simply be too much of a bother to wade through burning bushes.
Even if his skin had the disposition of Iron, it still heated unpleasantly while in direct contact with flames.
Careful not to remain on any one tree for too long, in case it crumbled under his touch, Gajeel swept the forest, searching for his guildmate or target, uncaring of which he found first.
The smoke was damn effective, for all Aria was trying to do with it. It lingered in the air, hiding any scents he could have hoped to catch under its acrid blanket. It also made his eyes water, rather embarrassingly.
A flash of movement, of pink, caught the reddened eyes of the Iron Dragon Slayer, and he didn't bother trying to distribute his weight on the next branch in his path, opting to crash right through it.
In the moments before he hit the ground, a few things registered. One, he had misjudged how well the branch would hold up, which had delayed his fall time by a vital few seconds. Two, in those few seconds, the target had managed to both look the wrong direction and keep running.
Three, he wasn't going to hit the ground.
Natsu Dragneel was hit by a falling lump of iron when he turned to look behind him.
Gajeel stepped off his temporary perch, and grimaced. That was definitely a broken arm, and maybe (probably) some cracked (broken) ribs. Regardless, he slung the other DragonSlayers unmoving form over one should, not unlike a sack of potatoes, and set off to find Aria.
Might as well let him know their target had been caught.
Gajeel bit through a chunk of iron, and pulled a rather unimpressed face. It was slightly rusted, but the most the guild had to offer, all other materials had gone to making it so the guild could move.
The taste of rotten iron lingered on his tongue as he spat out his mouthful and left the chunk on the table, much to José's irritation. However, the Guild Master wasn't exactly in a position to complain, since it was Gajeel who had caught the boy, and Gajeel who had netted them a tidy sum.
1,000,000 Jewel would certainly cover the costs of this venture, and being granted permission to destroy Fairy Tail was the cherry on the top.
José sat behind his desk, nearly ignoring the DragonSlayer who had been restrained in the corner of the room for the DragonSlayer standing in front of him. "Now, Gajeel, as I am sure you are aware, I am a very busy man."
A very busy man who would kindly ignore the snort of laughter Gajeel just let out.
"I want you to deliver the boy to his father, and collect the reward, and I expect not a single Jewel will be missing."
Gajeel groaned. "Why am I always getting stuck with the lackey work? Yea, sure, whatever, I'll do it. You owe me some quality iron after this whole thing."
Not bothering with his Guild Masters response, Gajeel turned to the DragonSlayer in the corner of the room, who had yet to regain consciousness. It had been roughly half an hour since they brought him in, and in that time the guildhall had finally been set in motion, as due the last request of their employer.
A very sweet cherry it would be indeed.
Slinging the DragonSlayer over his shoulder, Gajeel straightened up and cracked his back. "I should be back in a week or something. I expect my fair share of the reward for this."
"Yes yes," José waved him off distractedly, already dreaming of all the things he could do with a million Jewel. "Not a single Jewel missing, you hear me?"
In the complete honest truth, Gajeel could make it to the manor in under a day, with the use of public transportation, and just over a day without. However, something just rubbed him as odd about the whole thing.
He couldn't put his finger on what, exactly, but there was something very… wrong about the situation.
He didn't have anything stupid planned, like untying the kid or running off with him, but watching for a bit and hopefully soothing the itch that had sprung up at the back of his mind couldn't hurt anyone.
(There was something inherently wrong in a parent who was willing to use Dark Guilds to retrieve his child.)
Natsu let out a grunt as Gajeel deposited him roughly on the ground, managing to right himself even as his ribs complained sharply. "I don't imagine you'd let me go, would you?"
"You're outta luck on that one. I've got a bounty to collect." Gajeel rotated his shoulder. "You're as heavy as a goddamn bag of rocks, you know that?"
Natsu didn't respond to that insult, in favour of shifting around to find a more comfortable position- and maybe a sharp rock.
They weren't at Heartfilia Manor, not yet, but they were close, and Natsu was willing to risk cutting himself to remove the ropes around his wrists and escaping.
Gajeel grunted as something in his shoulder cracked sharply, and let out a quiet sigh of relief, more of an exhale than anything. "Right, so I can either carry you the rest of the way, or you can walk. Choose."
"I'll walk, just don't push me. Also, if you could untie my hands that would be great."
"Ha, nice try." Gajeel pulled Natsu to his feet, ignoring the shorters half bitten off grunt of pain. It was nothing that would be bandaged in the next ten minutes, anyway.
The manors servants all let out small gasps upon seeing Natsu again, especially in such poor condition, but none of them dared come close. One elderly looking maid started towards them, but Natsu grinned widely at her and she stepped back.
As soon as the duo set foot in the manor, a herd of servants gathered, one of them undid the ropes, another offered Gajeel a drink, and not one bothered with his obvious injuries. They bustled Natsu off, and left Gajeel standing alone, cup of water in one hand.
Not long after, Natsu made his way back down alone, but in a fancy suit with his previously wild hair gelled down. Someone had the sight to get a cast for his arm, but it looked sloppily done.
Gajeel walked with him to a big pair of double oak doors, and then settled himself against the wall to wait. He would allow time for a family reunion, and then collect his due.
Jude Heartfilia was a terrifying man.
He was the founder of his company, and the driving force behind it.
And he was desperate.
His wife had died before he could have a child, leaving his pride and joy heirless. All he needed was a child, someone unconnected to the outside world, someone who didn't know much about the world so he could shape their world view to mirror his own, to recreate himself to continue his company.
But that would be impossible, right? There was no child so disconnected from the world, right?
Natsu Dragneel was his solution. Natsu Dragneel was unwilling.
Natsu Dragneel was his blessing. He wasn't going to let him slip away because of some… differences.
First order was his magic. The boy insisted on using it, even when under strict orders not to. Not to mention he called it DragonSlayer magic, like what his wife died for…
Nonsense. There were no such things as Dragons. The boy just refused to see sense.
So he ordered in magic restraining shackl- bracelets. He had the runes carved by an expert, and attached them to the boy in his sleep.
He had tried to have the unappealing canine teeth removed but the boy put up too much of a struggle. (He conveniently left how he had tried with pliers while drunk out of his memory)
He just needed someone to take over his company. Why couldn't the boy understand that?
Why couldn't the boy see the sense in his business deals? The Tower of Heaven had been a goldmine, all of the mined materials were cheap to purchase, and extremely malleable, so what if slaves were used in its making?
Jude was a terrifying man, and a desperate one. He wanted to keep his company alive, and to him, Natsu soon became both his blessing and his boon.
It had been three years since he had last seen Natsu.
Three years he spent sending Dark Guild after Dark Guild after the ungrateful boy. Finally, the guild called Phantom Lord was successful. They were a tacky bunch, not to mention the DragonSlayer they kept in their company, but they got the job done.
He had given the boy time to tidy himself up, get a nice outfit on, paid for a cast for his arm, and waited, ever so patiently, in his office.
This was the moment he had been waiting for for three years.
Taking a deep breath, Jude turned around.
As an explanation for Jude's actions, Lucy was his biological daughter and he loved her and was lost in grief in the canon universe. In this universe, he is well aware of why his wife died, bitter as all hell because of that, and then he's had Natsu delivered straight to him. Natsu and Gajeel centric chapter for the win! I can't guarantee the quality of this because still no Beta and I'm very tired and I found the sentence 'taking a deep breathe, Jude took a deep breath' in here multiple times and I have no clue where it came from. Anyway, I left you guys on a cliffie until the end of the year. LETS DO IT AGAIN! ~ShadeShadow