So last chapter, Natsu decides to pull some shit. Let's find out what!
Enjoy!
Nashi felt like her soul was being ripped apart by this fire, it was too hot. Something about it made her feel weird, a feeling she'd never felt before. A strange combination of restlessness and and unease. Her father had, at this point, been engulfed by the column of fire in the center of the chamber, no longer visible to her eyes.
"This is insane." Nashi hissed, only knowing she was speaking because she felt her mouth move. Other than that, the pure power in the room made her voice near inaudible. "Just what the hell is this?" Nashi tried to lit a fire in her hand, and what happened shocked her to her core.
The fire in her hand sputtered and died as soon as it gained any substance.
Nashi stared at her empty palm, trying again to lit the fire. The same thing happened, but this time the fire flickered in her father direction before it died. Was this his doing? Was his fire using all the oxygen?
"Dad?!" she shouted as loud as she could, voice still inaudible. "I get it! You can sto..!" Nashi yelped and dodged rocks that flew from the wall behind her and into the flames, melting them instantly.
This power...
Why does it feel so familiar?
Nashi didn't like how she felt while this was happening. She felt compelled to do something, but what? Just as she though it, the vacuum wave coming from her fathers fire knocked her feet out from under her, causing her to lose her balance and slide slowly towards him in the center of the fiery crater where he stood. Nashi began to panic as her skin prickled in irritation. Was he not thinking straight? This wasn't just going to be a little painful, it might kill her.
"Dad!" She tried again. "Please, stop it!"
Still no response, and now Nashi was terrified. No, no she wasn't! This was nothing compared to Kronos or the Dorma Anim!
Her thoughts were whisked away as the vacuum wave brought her closer and closer, and she gulped.
"DAD!"
Then, her vision went dark.
Drake ducked another blast of light from Simon and rolled his eyes at the inaccuracy of it in the first place.
"Losing your touch there, Simon?" he asked innocently, and the redhead shook his head.
"No, just keeping you busy." he replied. "Seeing as I could end this anytime I really wanted to."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Go ahead." Drake knew perfectly well that requip was coming, then Simon would notice the problem. Once the sequence for said action had begun, Drake only smiled wider, unable to contain it.
"Requip! Lightning Emperor...What the he...!" Simon noticed as Drake did, which was a huge spot of poison eating away at the armor. There was already a sizable hole, and Simon looked up bewildered. "How did you...?"
"When you slashed my poison earlier, it was on your blades when you put them away." He grinned. "Poison went with it." Simon growled in frustration and requipped in several different armors, presumably checking them all. All, however, had holes eaten into them. Simon's eyes were wide.
"I'm honestly impressed, if you did it on purpose anyway." Drake was willing to pretend it hadn't been an accident. Simon smiled. "See? This is why you deserve it, you're a cunning individual."
"I know I deserve it, I don't need you to tell me." Drake replied, earning an eye roll. "But, I still haven't used my secret weapon."
"Which is?" Drake grinned as he felt the paralyzing poison he'd eaten in Edolas flow through his system. He never really said anything about it doing anything more, but as it stated, it paralyzed people. Instead of his normal black and red poison, it was dark green and black. "What's up with your...?..!" Drake had thrown a ball of it at Simon, who had been unprepared and tried too late to dodge. The ball hit him in the forearm, and he stared at it in confusion.
"Paralyzed." Drake answered before Simon could ask. "Don't ask where I learned to do that, because it really doesn't matter."
"Ugh, you're full of surprises, aren't you?" Simon said, shaking his arm to little effect. "Fine, looks lie this just got a little more difficult, huh?"
"Alright, but I'm going to end this now." Both of them rushed at each other, and Drake noticed how careful Simon was to dodge his paralyzing fists. However, the more hits Drake landed, the less and less Simon was able to actually dodge. Eventually, Simon fell over on his ass, Drake standing over him. "Done?" Drake asked innocently, and Simon chuckled.
"You sure are cocky." he replied. "Yeah, I'm done, go on. A word of warning though." Drake nodded for him to continue. "Don't stay so cocky. You're good, but you aren't the best contestant. Stay on your toes."
"Who's better then?" Drake demanded.
"I don't really think I need to answer that, do I?" Drake partially agreed to that, he really shouldn't have. They both knew the pinkette has far more sheer force to her than Drake by contrast. "Besides, cockiness won't get you anywhere, anyway."
"Even if I don't make it, I gotta leave an impression on the people from other guild branches." he replied, beginning to walk away from Simon. "The poison will wear off in about twenty minutes, so don't sweat it. And try not to do anything stupid."
"What in the hell could I possibly do?" Simon called as Drake walked away, making him laugh.
"And Drake takes down Simon, of all people! Very impressive showing by the Poison Dragon!" Lucy clapped along with everyone else, Drake deserved it.
"He got lucky." Gray pointed out. "Without that paralysis, he couldn't have won."
"I think he's aware, Gray." Lucy replied. "Simon would've gotten him otherwise. Getting something numb and unmoving every time it's hit kind of slows you down, don't you think?"
"He still did it." Levy said happily. "Mavis, it seems like yesterday he was just a kid." Lucy knew the feel, not just for Nashi. She could remember like it was yesterday what they'd all been like as kids, and now they were all grown up. Lucy watched Damien swear a few times, smacking the remote angrily.
"We still can't make contact with Natsu's chamber, as expected." he told the crowd with a laugh. "Natsu did destroy the transmitting lacrima, after all. So, I'll just boot up one of the replacements, give me a minute." No one complained, it was quite apparent even the replacement wouldn't last very long.
"You think it's possible Natsu would let her win?" Levy asked somewhat hopefully. Gajeel shrugged.
"Don't know, depends if she can make him feel bad enough too."
"I hope he does." Lucy said honestly. "It wasn't fair that she had to go up against someone like him, anyway. Why did Laxus let him be a fighter, anyway?"
"Probably because he's a legend." Gray said, leaning back in his chair. "There isn't a soul here who'd not want to be sent forward by the Natsu Dragneel."
"Still, he doesn't know the meaning of holding back." Lucy suddenly became very worried. Natsu really didn't know how to hold back, so he wouldn't, not even against this own daughter.
"She'll be fine." Levy reassured. "It is Nashi we're talking about.
When Nashi came to, she was face down in the dirt, which confused her. After her vision became less blurred, she looked around and saw what had happened.
The chamber had expanded quite a bit since her father had completely destroyed it, only the roof completely gone. Looking around, she spotted said father standing farther away from her than she remembered, back to her. He was staring at his hand almost angrily, before making a fist with it.
"Dad?" She managed to croak out, making him turn to look at her. "Wha-wha..."
"Sorry." He murmured. "Didn't think that through whatsoever."
"What did you just..."
"Never mind, it isn't important." His expression softened a little. "I don't think I need to explain your situation though."
She'd lost.
It occurred to her after a moment, which made her feel sad. She'd lost to him. Then again, who hadn't seen that coming? Her winning was a grasp into the darkness.
"I was terrified." She told him finally, sitting on her knees. "I didn't know what you were doing, and you wouldn't talk to me..." Nashi recalled the strange sensation in he chest, neglecting to mention it. He chuckled weakly.
"Terrified?" He asked. "You were?"
"Yes." Silence fell upon them, punctuated by the rocks falling down every so often.
"You know," he finally said. "I think it was this very chamber where I fought Gildarts." Nashi remained silent, wallowing in her loss, and her fear. "Come to think of it, our situations were quite similiar."
"How so?"
"I was afraid to admit I was afraid." He chuckled. "Roundabout thinking, really."
"But I haven't been scared like that before!" Nashi said, still not looking up. "I..I've been in a few close calls, but I've never been so scared for my life!" He didn't reply right away, but Nashi remained silent. She couldn't find the words to explain the angry feeling in her chest, the feeling she got while he did whatever he'd been doing, and her anger at herself for losing, even if it was to her father.
"I believe Gildarts said something along the lines of, 'fear is not evil, it tells us what are weaknesses are. And knowing your weakness helps you become stronger as well as kinder', or something like that."
"What's your point?" Nashi demanded, playing with the debris below her.
"I'm saying that you don't have to be embarrassed to look things like certain death, pain, or being a big sister in the face and saying you're afraid." Nashi looked up angrily ready to refute his final point, but he waved her off. "Don't even start, you know you're scared of it."
"I..." Nashi thought about it for a moment, and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She didn't know how to act around a small child, much less one she was related too. Was she even capable of being the responsible, mature, older sister her new brother or sister could look to and say proudly, 'Yeah, that's my big sister!' "I guess I am afraid of that..." Nashi growled, angrily, feeling small and stupid. How could she face dragon mechs and crazy strong old wizards, but be afraid of sisterhood?
"Everyone has a trivial fear,Nashi, don't be upset by it." She knew that, but still. "Sometimes, fear isn't rational, it isn't supposed to be. If fear was rational, then we'd have no reason to fear death."
"Why?"
"We don't know what happens, why be afraid of it? Maybe nothing happens and we go swiftly, or maybe there is an afterlife, but fearing something you cannot see is stupid." Nashi found it hard to believe these words were leaving her fathers mouth.
"I...I suppose." More silence, then,
"Go on, get out of here." Nashi looked up in confusion, seeing him lying down.
"What do you mean" She asked. He laughed as his back hit the dirt.
"You beat me, remember?" Her eyes widened in shock at his statement.
"But I..."
"Sweetheart, I'd feel bad failing anyone stuck with me, not just you." he then smiled at her. "Besides, you held your own against me, I can guarantee people will see that as enough proof you're ready." He positioned himself in the dirt. "Now, stand above me and look all menacing."
"Why?"
"You don't hear that?" Nashi listened for a moment before she heard a strange high pitched sound. "That's the replacement transmitting lacrima, to see what happened to us. Want to shock the shit out of them?" Nashi had seen the devilish smirk on his face somewhere before.
Oh right, when she looked in the mirror.
"Is it not there yet?" Lucy asked impatiently. She really wanted to see what had happened with Nashi and Natsu, she was sort of worried.
"It's almost there, look." Levy replied, the lacrima vision showing the camera flawlessly navigating through the tunnels. "Look, we made it...!"
Lucy wished she could breath, but she couldn't.
"Holy fuck!" Damien shouted, the glee all to apparent in his tone. "Nashi...Nashi has..."
"Impossible..." Gajeel hissed.
"...huh?" Gray asked.
"How..." Levy whispered, Lucy was beyond words. There, in the middle of a huge crater, were Nashi and Natsu. Only one seemed conscious, only one still stood, and only one looked up at the lacrima as it appeared.
Nashi smiled at the lacrima.
"You missed it!" She shouted, almost sounding upset. "I won though!"
She had, she certainly had.
Lucy felt something between pride and confusion well up in her chest as Nashi got out of the crater, and exited the chamber.
Good guy Natsu, huh? Okay, so I have some news for you guys. After starting another new story, I've decided to post an upload schedule on my profile, so go and check it out! If you only read this story, not to worry, nothing will change. It's just my side projects have to be organized or I'll end up abandoning them, which I don't want.
I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!