And so, the seven days of updates has begun! Also, given the timing, we can consider this the 2nd Generation birthday surprise! Kinda. Story turned 2 on the 26th of November.
Also, some of these chapters will be shorter than they have been as of late. No complaining though. You guys get seven in a week!
Also, this is the last authors note for seven chapters! Enjoy it! A little new addition awaits at the bottom ;)
Enjoy!
"A what?" Neptu asked. "What did you say?" Natsu made sure his face stayed calm.
"An Etherious." He replied. "Never heard of it?"
"Not in my life, no."
"I'm not surprised." He replied, but knowing this didn't really make him feel better. "There isn't exactly a lot of them left. Regardless, I was just curious."
"Oh were you now?" Neptu asked, standing from his seat. "Well is it my turn to ask a question now?" Natsu tensed a bit at this.
"Sure, go ahead." Neptu watched him carefully for a moment, and Natsu waited for him to speak up.
"Why is it that you show up to my tent in the middle of the night?" He asked. "Is there something going on that I should know about? Or were you actually just curious about these Etherious?" Natsu wasn't sure how he was supposed to reply to this. It sounded as though Neptu knew that something was up, but what was he supposed to say?
"Do I need to answer that?" Natsu asked, shifting around. "I think you figured it out the moment I walked in here, didn't you?"
"I did, yeah." Neptu replied. "That kid, right?" Natsu didn't reply. "I figured as much. Guess I'd better do something about that, huh?"
"Think you can get past me?" Natsu threatened. He didn't want to fight Neptu, but now it felt like he might have too.
"Eh, I don't know." Neptu replied. "You backed down before, but was that for your safety or mine?"
"Want to find out?" Neptu didn't say anything back to this, and slowly sat back down.
"No, not really." He replied. "Want to sit? Have a drink?" Natsu stared at him, unsure of what to do as the younger man pulled out a bottle of liquor. "No? Not a drinker?" Natsu remained silent as he sat down in the seat opposite the desk and stared at the glass of liquor being offered to him, unsure of what to think. "Ease up man, nothing's going on."
Natsu doubted that very much.
Elizabeth walked through the camp quietly, making sure nothing was amiss before she finally headed off to bed. Hopefully nothing was going wrong, but she didn't know.
"Elizabeth."
Elizabeth perked up at this. Neptu didn't very often initiate telepathic connections out of the blue like this.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"Something's wrong. A member of Fairy Tail just waltzed into my tent." At this, Elizabeth felt worried. Was he in trouble? "I don't need help, but I was right. They're going after Gin. With our luck, he's already getting out of the camp. Raise the alarm and lock the campsite down. Got it?"
"Got it. Anything else, sir?"
"...Yeah. Cast a silence enchant over my tent. Don't want this bastard in here getting riled up. He's calm now, but I can feel my stomach turning from the magic rolling off him. That's all. Find that bastard." With this the connection was severed, Elizabeth sighed. She raised a hand to her head and started another connection.
"Tristan, Abigail, Quinn. Fairy Tail's in the camp, going for Gin. Raise the alarm, lock the camp down. Find them." She didn't stay connected long enough to hear what the others said, and concentrated. Muttering the incantation to herself, she watched as the enchantment made it's way around her before soaring off to Neptu's camp. Sighing and cracking her knuckles, she made her way for Gin's tent as Hunters became alerted to the situation.
Here we go.
"So, I never got your name." Neptu said, sipping his drink. Natsu watched him carefully, but played with the glass in his hand.
"Natsu." He replied. "Natsu Dragneel."
"Nice to meet you. I'm, as you know I'm sure, Neptu Skylancer." Neptu laughed. "Skylancer. Oftentimes I forget it's my name, not just the name of this group. All the same though. You got a family Natsu?"
"...I do." Natsu replied.
"That pink haired girl your daughter?"
"She is."
"She looks like a nice girl." Neptu said, sipping his drink. "Bet she turns lots of heads, eh?"
"I wouldn't know."
"Eh, I wouldn't expect her dad to." He took another sip of his drink. "Wish I had a nice little family life like you."
"It's not exactly a cake walk." Natsu said. "What? You have no family?" At this, Neptu's gaze darkened.
"...Well, no." He said. "I have a sister, but I haven't seen her in years."
"Why's that?"
"Conflict of interest, you could call it." He said, taking another sip of his drink. "We don't speak much anymore."
"That's too bad." Natsu said, still remaining calm. "Sounds as though you miss her."
"Perhaps I do." Neptu replied, staring blankly at the rough. Natsu was still unsettled by the mans actions. What was he doing? "I'm guessing that blonde woman was your wife? She and the girl look plenty alike."
"Lucy?" Natsu asked. "Yes, she's my wife." Neptu laughed.
"You're a lucky man." He said. "Which is why I don't understand you lot much."
"Care to explain?" Natsu asked. Neptu made a face.
"Well, it's like this." He said. He leaned back over his desk and looked at Natsu warily. "Despite everything you claim to know, you defend the boy, Gin. I tell you he's dangerous,you don't seem to give a shit. He could kill your wife, or your daughter, if things went badly. How would you react then?"
"He wouldn't kill them." Natsu replied.
"And what if he did?"
"He wouldn't."
"But what if-"
"I'm not saying he wouldn't because he isn't that kind of person," Natsu said, cutting Neptu off. "I say that because if he did attack either of then, I'd kill him before any of their blood had a chance to hit the ground." At this, Neptu smirked.
"Than you recognize the risk he proposes." He said. "Why protect him, then?"
"Saying we should've handed him off because he's a risk is like saying I shouldn't keep breathing because there's a risk I could cough." Natsu replied. "Taking risks is a part of life, kid."
"But one that could kill those closest to you?"
"My daughter spent her entire childhood being close friends with a Demon Lord." Natsu fired back. "And he never intentionally laid a hand on her. Why should Gin be any different?" Neptu stayed quiet for a moment before he leaned back in his seat.
"Fair enough." he said. "Everyone sees things differently. Just so happens this one is really polarizing." The two were quiet for a moment, before Neptu sighed. "Well, I need another drink. Want a refill?" Natsu watched as Neptu refilled his drink and offered the bottle towards him. He sighed.
"I'm fine."
"Suit yourself."
"Simon I hate to break it to you, but that is not the look of calm." Simon rolled his eyes as Steph said this.
"No, really." He said. "I'm not dumb. But Drake was supposed to shoot up a blast of poison if he was in danger, and I haven't seen anything."
"Besides, Cyanide Breath makes a huge scene when he fights." Elise said from her perch overlooking the camp. "We'd have seen him by now if he's actually been caught."
"Agreed." Simon said. "Just wait and see if they need help. I trust Drake and Ul. They'll get Gin out."
"Did we get seen?"
"No, that isn't possible."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes Ul, I'm fucking sure!" Drake hissed, lowering the tent flap to glare at the woman standing behind him in the tent with Gin. "I'd have heard it!"
"Well what happened then?" Gin demanded. "Something happened!"
"Maybe they found out Gin was missing." She said. "We didn't exactly make it extremely convincing."
"That's possible." He agreed, looking out of the tent again. Hunters ran all over, but he couldn't discern anything serious from all the noise and chatter. "Alright, we need a plan to get out of here. Any ideas guys?"
"No." Gin said immediately.
"Wish I did." Ultear replied. "But right now I'm coming up with nothing." Drake clicked his tongue and looked around them. The tent wasn't really that helpful seeing as it didn't have much in it save for what looked like a couple of bedrolls and a locked box. Drake paused as he stared at the box.
"Ul, come here." He said, moving towards the box and shaking it a bit with his hands. From the sounds of it, he detected what looked to be clothes inside of it. "Open this up, would you?"
"Move." She said simply. Drake did so and Ultear moved in front of the box, and put her hand up to the lock. After a second of her hand glowing, the box clicked and unlocked. Removing her icy makeshift lock, Ultear opened the box and lifted to top of it to reveal the contents.
All that appeared to be inside was the uniform of the Hunters. At first Drake wasn't sure this would help, but soon he smiled.
"How many coats are in there?" He asked Ul. He watched as she pulled out two. She made eye contact with him at this.
"Is this our plan?" She asked.
"You have a better one?" Drake asked, grabbing one of the coats from her and starting to put it on. "We need a way out, and if we can get out this way I say we go for it." Ultear nodded at this and together, they both started to put the uniform on.
"So, what exactly is the plan?" Gin asked.
"It's simple." Drake said, throwing on the coat. "Ul and I are going to wear these things and masquerade as Hunters. We'll say that we caught you and are bringing you back to your tent. But instead, we'll try to escape the camp and get the hell out of here."
"And you expect this to work?" Gin asked.
"Do you have a better idea?" Drake asked. Gin didn't say anything back ,and Drake rolled his eyes. "That's what I thought. Now, put on your best guilty face and keep it on, it's showtime." Now that he and Ultear were dressed like the Hunters outside the tent, Drake grabbed Gin's left arm and Ultear his right, and they walked outside the tent and into the open.
it didn't take lone before they were spotted by other Hunters.
"Woah, you guys found him!" The redheaded man said as they ran up to them. "That's awesome, Lady Elizabeth was right!"
"Damn right she was." Drake agreed. "Bastard almost got away too. Lucky we found him."
"Really is." The black haired woman said. "What were your orders?"
"Bring him back to his tent and wait for...Elizabeth." Ultear said, thinking quickly. "We should get on that, don't want to keep her waiting." With this, the trio forced their way past the Hunters and continued on their way.
"Hey!" Drake froze, but slowly turned his head back to the Hunters who'd spoken with them. The redheaded man looked like he was smiling. "The tent is the other way."
"Oh, right!" Drake said as they turned around. "I'm so tired I must be confused."
"You and me both, brother." Now that they could part ways, Drake let out a sigh of relief.
"So far so good." He whispered.
"Yeah, so far." Gin muttered.
"Just one question." Ultear said. "How the hell do we get out of here?" At this, Drake paused. They'd probably need to go back the way they came in, which was back up the cliff side. Problem being that it was in the opposite direction of the way they had been told to go beforehand. For them to go towards the cliff, they'd need a different story as to where they were supposed to bring Gin. Drake had no idea what to say.
"We just need to get back to the cliff." Drake said. "Then we'll be good. Now, let's go." Turning around once more, Drake kept his eyes out for any Hunters that might question them, and did his best to avoid the bigger groups that might cause them a problem. A few people here and there spotted them, but all it took was a confident look from Drake and they gave them a thumbs up before moving on.
"You two, stop." Drake paused. They weren't anywhere near the cliff, but he could tell that voice was directed at them. Turning, he noticed a woman watching them. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and Drake instantly recognized her as one of the women that Neptu had with him when he visited the guild hall. And that made her a problem. "You found him?"
"Ah yes ma'am, we did." Ultear replied. "Is that a problem?" The woman did not respond, she simply stared.
"What member do you answer to?" She asked. Drake drew a total blank at this. What was she asking?
"Elizabeth." Ultear supplied. "We were told to bring him this way."
"That right?" she asked. She remained silent for a moment, and Drake decided to start listening to her to see if she knew they didn't belong.
It didn't take Drake long to realize he wasn't hearing anything.
He hid his confusion as best he could and concentrated, doing his best. Nothing. The woman's thought nor her movements became apparent to him. What was happening?
"I'll have to verify that with her." The woman said.
"Alright, go on ahead." Ultear said. The woman shifted around and sighed.
"Did I know someone had found Gin?" She asked aloud. "No, I didn't. Nor did I order anyone to bring him near the edge of the camp. Nor was I aware two members of Fairy Tail had joined our ranks." Drake felt his stomach turn violently at this.
"So you're Elizabeth." He reasoned. "Figures."
"That I am." She said. "Now, put the boy down and leave the camp. That's being gracious."
"And if we say no?" At this, the woman's body began to glow.
"Than we have a problem." She said. She raised her hands and put them together as if she praying, and kept er eyes on the three of them. "Last chance, Fairy Tail. Put him down." Drake rolled his eyes and stretched his arms.
"Not happening." He replied. "You wanna start a fight? Let's go right ahead and start one." Elizabeth closed her eyes, and Drake felt himself tense up as he waited for an attack. He watched as Elizabeth started mumbling to herself, and the glow intensified.
"Drake, what's she doing?" Ultear asked. Drake sharpened his hearing, but sadly he still could not hear her.
"I...I, uh..." he tried, still straining.
"Drake, what's going on?!" Ultear asked. "What's she chanting?!"
"I-I don't..." Drake didn't understand. He wasn't doing anything wrong or different, yet he couldn't hear Elizabeth whatsoever.
"Drake, what is it?" Gin asked. Drake gulped and turned to them feebly.
"I can't hear her." He replied weakly.
BOOM!
Drake looked forward to see a huge blast of Holy Magic headed right for them. Ultear appeared in front of him and right before the blast struck them, an icy wall appeared to shield him. The blast hit the ice hard and cracked it rather well, but Ultear managed to block it well enough.
"What do you mean...You can't hear her?" Ultear hissed, panting.
"I don't know." Drake replied, irritation with the situation rising within him. "I can't hear her thoughts or movements!"
"Last chance." Elizabeth said. "Hand him over." Drake watched the woman weakly before he took a deep breath.
"Ultear, take Gin and make a run for the cliff side." He said. "I'll hold her off."
"And you serious?" She demanded. "You're biggest advantage doesn't work. I can't leave you here!"
"And we can't afford to let Gin get caught up in the crossfire with a Member of the Cross." Drake replied. "Take him away from the camp if you can, I'll be okay." Ultear didn't seem ready to go, but Drake wasn't backing down. After a little more staring, Ultear sighed.
"Fine." She said. "I'll go. Stay outta trouble."
"I try." With this, Ultear ran back to Gin, and the two took off away from what had become the battlefield. Drake looked back to see another blast rearing towards them as they ran so she shot out a blast of poison that caught it and they both exploded.
"You really want to fight me?" Elizabeth asked. "I have an entire army here to help me." Drake smirked.
"I'll be okay." He said. He knew he'd need help at some point, so he as ready to fire a blast up to signal for assistance if needed. "I just need to make sure Gin can get out of here."
"And I need to make sure he doesn't." Elizabeth replied. "I don't like fighting, but I will if I have too." Drake knew this would be a big fight. Not only was this woman incredibly powerful, but she was somehow handicapping him.
Essentially, this was the first fight in Drake's life he was going into deaf.
"That was strange." Neptu said, referring to the shaking the desk had done a moment ago. Natsu stared down at the table, waiting to see if it would move again. "What were we talking about before?"
"No idea." Natsu replied. "Does it really matter?"
"I suppose not." Neptu replied. "So, what do you plan to do now, Natsu?" Natsu wasn't planning on responding to that. "To waltz right out of here? Hm?" Natsu didn't say anything, he simply stood up and made his way for the exit of the tent. "Do you really think you can fight your way through all of my men?"
Natsu paused at this. Turning slowly towards Neptu again, he noted that he had also stood up.
"What was that?" Natsu asked.
"My entire army knows you're here." Neptu said. "I'd advise you stay in here. I'd ordered them to blast you should you leave."
"That right..." Natsu slowly turned back towards the tent flap, and stared at it.
Neptu watched as Natsu seemed to be contemplating what he was to do. After a moment or two, the older man shuffled a little bit.
"So?" Neptu asked. "What're you going to do? Stay here, or-!" Neptu realized far to ate the growing magical power in the room.
Natsu whirled on him and unleashed a massive gout of fire from his mouth. Being unprepared for the blow, the fire blew Neptu back and right out the back of the tent and causing him to fly through many other tents before he came to a stop. he coughed and struggled to his feet, thanking his lucky stars the fire handed burned him.
"One thing to learn about me, Neptu." Neptu heard Natsu say, looking up,he saw that the man was approaching him through the tents that had been lit up. Natsu finally reached him, and glowered at Neptu.
"I don't like it when people act smarter than me."
Chapter 248: Natsu vs. Neptu