XXX
March 21st, X778
This was, quite possibly, the stupidest thing Lucy had ever decided to do – followed almost immediately by agreeing to letting Natsu finalize the details of their plan. She waited, her back pressed to the old wooden paneling on the side of the house, fingers tightly clenched around Wendy's. It was also Natsu's fault she'd decided to do this. Once upon a time, she'd have left this stranger behind, knowing better than to try and enter a Vhalis-infested house. She'd have felt horribly guilty about it, but she wouldn't have dared to do it. She blamed Natsu entirely for ruining her self-saving attitude.
She flinched when Natsu suddenly began yelling at the top of his lungs from where he stood in the front yard. "HEY! " He began waving his arms, narrowing his eyes at the house. "Come on! Out here!"
There was a scream from within the house. Lucy felt sick at the crash that exploded through a floor over their heads. She flinched when a Vhalis burst out through the front door, tumbling in its excitement and knocking the door right off its hinges. Wendy was pale as a ghost beside her, keeping entirely silent when the second followed suit, bursting through a second story window. Glass showered around them, and the pair ducked their heads to protect their faces. Wendy winced when she heard the Vhalis thump to the ground before it hauled itself to its feet and bolted.
The plan was simple: Natsu would lure the Vhalis away while Lucy and Wendy got the person inside out. They'd reconvene at the beach, where Lucy and her two (mostly) human companions would wait until Natsu found them again, following the weak trace of the diale he'd wrapped around Lucy's throat.
Lucy gripped that fabric for comfort, inhaling deeply. Natsu would be fine, she told herself as she peered around the corner. She pressed Wendy into her side as she watched the Vhalis tear after Natsu. He sprinted away from the house, throwing a swift look in their direction over his shoulder before vanishing over the crest of a rocky hill. Lucy counted to ten, waiting until she was sure they were far enough away.
"Now," whispered Lucy, shoving Wendy towards the door. They rushed inside, and Lucy began the lookout for more Vhalis that might have been hiding as Wendy began rushing up the stairs, feet thundering on cracked, broken wood. Neither said a word, communicating in small gestures as Wendy began looking for a way up to the tiny attic and Lucy watched their backs.
It took them longer than Lucy would have liked, and she understood why the person in the attic couldn't come and help them when they found the attic entrance. It was smack in the middle of the house, with no safe way to get out once the person came through the entrance. Lucy wondered how long that person had been trapped there by the Vhalis.
Lucy scrounged up a chair so she could reach the handle on the door. She hefted herself onto it and hopped a little, nervous as the chair creaked. The attic door fell open with a loud thump that made both of them freeze. A ladder dropped down. After a moment, Lucy climbed up it.
For some reason, Lucy had forgotten one of the most important rules of surviving the apocalypse: humans are at their most dangerous when faced with death.
Lucy froze up when she popped her head through and found a gun aimed at her head. Her eyes widened as the smallest stream of weakened sunlight filtered into, showing the floating dust particles and the side of the man's face. His harsh gaze didn't move from Lucy, even when Wendy anxiously called, "Lucy? Why'd you stop?"
Lucy searched the man's wary gaze. She caught glimmers of crimson in the faint light. "She's a kid," Lucy said quietly, surprised when her voice didn't quiver. She cursed herself for not just retreating and leaving the man with the gun to her head to die. "She's a kid, and we put our lives on the line to get you out when we could have just as easily left you to rot up here. So put it away."
The man eyed her suspiciously for a few moments, considering, and then lowered it. A soft, shaken sound of relief escaped Lucy when the gun was shoved away into a homemade holster at his hip. "We need to go before they come back. They knew people were frequenting this house, so they started frequenting it, too."
It was a little unnerving how calm he was after pointing his gun at her. Lucy nodded curtly regardless and called, "Watch out, Wendy!" She clambered back down and nudged Wendy back so the man they'd found could do the same. He didn't stop to so much as breathe, instead racing down the hall. Lucy instinctively pushed her young friend after him. As he ran down the stairs, he called, "Do you have something to hold supplies in? We're not going to be able to come back here after this, and we have too much to just leave."
"I'll get the bags!" Wendy raced for the door before Lucy could stop her. Lucy's heart jumped into her throat when she heard the front door creak open. At least Wendy was cautious, taking a moment before sprinting into the front yard.
"Start with those cupboards over there," ordered the man, pointing to the side of the kitchen they'd entered. Lucy scowled, but did as she was told. She was floored by the amount of food and bottled water she found stashed there. She didn't question it. She scooped it into her arms and when she couldn't hold anymore, she started a pile, which Wendy immediately began shoving into their bags upon returning with the three packs.
The man was swift and sure. He knew precisely where things were, pointing Lucy to where the important supplies were. Lucy found herself amazed by how much was hidden here. In the days before Natsu had come into her life, she'd have been raiding this place for days. Eventually, when their bags could hold no more, they began shoving their pockets full of smaller things like lighters, tools, and even a few clothes pins.
When they were confident there was nothing more they could carry, the man shouldered Natsu's pack and led the way to the door. Lucy grabbed Wendy's hand as she followed him, determined not to lose track of her. She hoped Natsu was okay and touched his scarf gently, wondering if he could sense her concern through it. She paused to check for Vhalis. Confident there was nothing waiting to eat them, Lucy took the lead.
"This way," she called, taking off at a sprint and dragging Wendy with her. "We promised to meet our friend at the beach." She headed south, in the direction of the beaches. She hoped Natsu would be waiting there when they got there.
They'd scarcely set foot on a beach when Lucy hit the ground hard, her hand ripped from Wendy's. Wendy stumbled and nearly tumbled over herself as Lucy was thrown aside, bones singing beneath the weight of what had slammed into her. It took Lucy a moment to register what had happened as her breath was squeezed from her lungs. The scream deafening her ears told her everything she needed to know.
Lucy screamed, too. She tried to roll and shove her way free, but the heavy creature couldn't be kicked back. She could hear Wendy shrieking something, and their newfound acquaintance began shouting, but it was impossible to hear over herself and the Vhalis.
Lucy threw her hands up to protect her face when it gnashed its teeth at her. It was relatively young for a Vhalis, with pale skin and stubby yellow teeth. Its sharp claws were just formed enough to shred at her coat, tearing at whatever they could, but Lucy scarcely paid them any attention as it drew back and suddenly lunged.
Hot pain burst through her when its teeth lodged in her arm, tearing with ease through her coat sleeve. Lucy screamed again as hot crimson splattered across her face and stained the Vhalis's teeth. She heaved sobbing breaths, trying desperately to free herself, but coming up empty-handed.
All that time, thought Lucy as she fought for her life, trying to dislodge the Vhalis's jaws. All that time she'd fought to survive, and she was going to be killed because she'd forgotten to look left before running into an open space.
A crack exploded through the air, and the Vhalis snapped its head around with a hiss. It lurched off of her, lunging in the direction of the sound. Lucy was dazed. She blinked at the lightening sky, numbed by shock and confused as to where the Vhalis had gone. Vhalis didn't just leave their prey behind, after all. She could scarcely feel pain in her arm now.
Wendy's face appeared above hers, streaked with tears. "Lucy," she sobbed, touching Lucy's cheek.
A gunshot shook her from her daze. Lucy snapped upright, arm cradled safely to her chest. The man they'd saved was firing his gun again and again at the Vhalis as it advanced on him. It prowled closer, baring its teeth. He fired a bullet straight into the Vhalis's head, and it spat the bullet back out as if it were no more than inconvenience. It screamed. Their new acquaintance's face paled with fear. If the gun didn't do something soon, they were as good as dead.
The Vhalis stopped. It twisted its head from side to side, listening. The man's gun clicked, signaling it was empty, and it was only then that Lucy heard what the Vhalis did in the silence broken by ragged gasps: the methodical hum of a massive engine. The Vhalis whipped its head around, turning as it sought what they couldn't see.
Lucy let Wendy haul her to her feet, and Wendy drew Lucy's good arm over her shoulders as if she thought it might help keep her on her feet. Admittedly, Lucy was grateful for her comforting press into Lucy's side, which helped to ease some of the violent shaking in Lucy's hands as the adrenaline began to wear off a little.
Wendy suddenly turned her face into a breeze that whisked strands of hair about. "Lucy," she whispered, breath puffing from her lips in a cold cloud. "It's getting colder."
Lucy almost collapsed against Wendy with a moan of relief when a shadow fell over the beach they stood on. She had to blink back a flurry of tears when the Vhalis turned and fled without warning. The man they'd rescued looked as confused as Lucy might have been in his shoes. His expression turned into one of alarmed confusion when he spun around to look at the cause of the shadow that had covered them.
It was a large steel ship painted in red and white, bearing the name the Borealis along its side. It didn't seem to be entirely present though, bits of it seeming to fade before their very eyes. A ghost ship, Lucy thought faintly. It had appeared out of nowhere, and could likely disappear just as quickly. It had somehow pulled up right alongside the shore, too.
"I knew I shouldn't have trusted that idiot to get you safely to Juvia's town."
Lucy craned her head back to smile faintly at Gray, who'd perched on the bow of his ship, looking down at them with an arm braced on one knee. His dark hair looked nearly white with the frost that laced it, and he appeared particularly frostbitten at the moment. His gaze drifted towards the direction the Vhalis had gone. Guilt flickered in his eyes. It vanished when Wendy pumped her fist in the air and cheered, "Gray!"
"Good timing," added Lucy hoarsely, feeling exhausted.
The man they'd helped tightened his hand around his gun, even as he said faintly, "A friend of yours?"
Wendy nodded enthusiastically, and Lucy quietly wondered if Gray thought of them in the same way as he eyed the man suspiciously and called down, "Who's he? And where's Natsu?"
Lucy's heart skipped a beat and she whipped her head around to start scanning the beach for him. He should have been there by now, so where was Natsu?
Just as she was bracing herself to trudge back out and search for him, she caught a familiar flash of pink hair further down the beach. Natsu was running in their direction. Her relieved smile brightened – and then vanished when he didn't bother to greet them, instead hurtling past them at full speed. Lucy swallowed a cry of pain when he grabbed her arm as he ran by, hauling her towards Gray's ship. "Go, go, go!"
Lucy's eyes widened as she dared to look back and saw what chased him. Rather than it being the initial two Vhalis she'd watched chase him, Natsu was now being followed by six at the very least, perhaps more. Wendy gawked like a fish at the sight until their new friend shoved her towards the ship, figuring that the strangers with the weird ghost ship were better than getting ripped apart.
"Up!" Even Gray seemed worried as he slammed a fist against the side of the Borealis. Ice shot down towards the beach, crafting a small, jagged set of steps that would take them to the deck. Natsu forced Lucy up first, and she slipped and slid up the icy stairs. It was amazing, she couldn't help but notice despite the danger, what Gray could create with his abilities.
Honestly, she was a little jealous.
Gray waited at the top, hauling her onto the safety of the deck. Lucy staggered out of the way so the others would have room, letting herself sink to the deck as she gulped down air. Her arm throbbed viciously now, blood dripping steadily from the bite, and she kept her gaze firmly away from it, refusing to look.
Natsu scrambled up behind her and whipped around to drag Wendy the rest of the way up by the back of her coat. When the man they'd saved had crested the top step, Gray's stairs shattered with a single touch and the ship peeled away from the shore entirely on its own. The Vhalis splashed into the ocean's waves with piercing shrieks of fury. Lucy dared to crawl over to the side of the deck and peer down, shuddering at the sight of them swimming after the Borealis.
One flailing Vhalis sank beneath the waves. At first, Lucy thought it just couldn't swim. Then she saw the massive dorsal fin that breached the waves, and she knew who lurked beneath the water, dragging first one, then two, then eventually all of the Vhalis down to the ocean's depths.
Flopping back down, Lucy ran her good hand down her face, letting out a ragged breath. She glanced up when she heard a jagged, horrified sound. She looked over and blinked. Natsu was standing on the deck, staring at the sticky red that clung to his skin. His gaze snapped up to hers, filled with sheer terror, and Lucy couldn't say she was too surprised when Natsu promptly threw himself down beside her. "You're hurt," he choked out, and Lucy smiled ruefully, showing him her arm.
As he peered at it, gripping her upper arm with ginger fingers, she said quietly, "Just a little. It won't kill me." She didn't think it would at least. She hoped the apocalypse tales from before the Fall had gotten that part of the whole thing wrong. She was sure that while she was at risk for some infection, it wouldn't turn her into one of the Vhalis. Mostly. "Thanks, Gray," she added. "For coming to help."
"Sure." Gray watched the pair of them closely, expression unreadable. "Should have come a little sooner though, I'm thinking. Who're you?" he added, repeating his earlier question as he looked at the gun-wielding man staring at him warily in turn. "Natsu, did you find another tagalong?"
"No," retorted Natsu, scowling briefly at Gray before returning his attention to Lucy's arm. She gently tried to pull it away, but he held fast, peeling the ripped pieces of coat away to get a better look. "He was stuck. We helped him."
"He," drawled the subject of their conversation, "is right here." Gray narrowed his eyes at him briefly, but the man ignored the glare and spoke again. "Thank you for getting me out of there. Like I said, the undead realized we were using the place and started checking around to see when we were there. I just happened to be the one there when they actually came in, and the attic was the only place I could hide in." He looked ragged, thought Lucy now that she had the time to actually look at him. Hungry and exhausted. She wondered how long he'd been up there.
"My name is Rogue Cheney," he added. Rogue looked among them again. "It's not often that so many survivors make it this long in a group like this. The undead usually notice and track people down when there's too many around."
Wendy was the first to respond, friendly. It truly showed how confident and comfortable she was when she had people she knew around her. She'd certainly not been so friendly when they'd met her. "I'm Wendy. This is Gray, Lucy, and Natsu." She pointed to each in turn. Lucy managed a weak smile. Gray grunted in acknowledgement. Natsu didn't respond at all, distressed over what he ought to do to help with Lucy's arm.
It was then that Lucy made the mistake of looking at her arm in its entirety. The wound went deep, and Lucy's face went white when she saw bone. Not good. Not good. She reeled away from Natsu, hurling herself for the side of the ship. Natsu snagged the back of her ruined coat so she couldn't tip over the concerningly low railing she leaned over, vomiting into the waves below. She almost apologized to Juvia. Almost.
Politely, Wendy asked, "Rogue, do you have any first aid supplies? Mine are all gone."
There was some amusement warming Rogue's voice when he answered, "I should. One moment."
Gray frowned at them. "Don't get it on my ship. It doesn't clean itself."
Despite the roiling nausea in her stomach, Lucy threw the nastiest look she could summon at Gray. "Bite me."
Natsu snorted softly. "Doesn't have to, Luce," he muttered, drawing an irritated hiss from Lucy. He grew serious when she finally pulled back from the railing, his brow furrowed with worry as she heaved for air, flustered despite the chilly air. "Come on, let's see if Wendy can wrap it up," he said. "Grandeeney's the one who taught me the shoulder thing, remember? I bet she'll have passed loads of information onto Wendy. She'll be better than me." He smiled brightly at her, but it was clearly forced, and Lucy found it didn't help her feel better in the slightest.
Still, she smiled tentatively in return, and she didn't protest when he tugged her towards Wendy, who was spreading out the supplies Rogue gave her. She would talk to him later, Lucy decided. After she wasn't losing blood anymore.
Had Natsu held his full power in his hands, he would have likely made the sea boil with the anger burning through his veins. He tried to tell himself it was Gray he was angry with. Gray knew fully well Natsu didn't want him there, watching to make sure Lucy and Wendy were delivered safely to their new home. He could keep Lucy safe and sound, all on his own. Wendy, too. The lie wasn't even one he said aloud and it still burned his tongue.
His gaze slid over his sleeping friends and Rogue, who'd curled up on his own a distance away to rest. Gray had disappeared off to some other part of the Borealis, leaving Natsu to keep watch on his own. Neither of them were concerned about the Vhalis coming aboard. The ship was a part of Gray, and they would likely try to avoid it. Hopefully.
Lucy had snuggled up with Wendy beneath Wendy's coat. Natsu had added his own to it, refusing to keep the reminders attached to Lucy's ruined coat. It wasn't much, but it was all he could offer without starting a fire. It ticked him off even more, and Natsu scowled. Even in the dark with only the slim light of a crescent moon to light the sea, he could tell Lucy didn't feel well after what had happened. Her face was clammy and her breaths were short and unsteady on occasion.
His stomach churned at the thought of that wound. It was a vicious one, though no one had said so aloud. Wendy had done her best to patch it up, but she was young, and Grandeeney wouldn't have thought to teach her how to deal with injuries like this one when she, herself, healed so quickly. Natsu couldn't remember a lot about being human like Gray or some of the other younger gods did, but he knew it was a bad injury. Infection could set in, or it might heal poorly. That didn't include the fact that it was caused by a Vhalis's teeth. Who knew what that would do.
He'd promised to keep Lucy safe, and he was doing a very poor job of that.
Which only made him angrier, and not with Gray either.
Clenching his jaw, Natsu propped his chin in his hand and let his attention shift to the open sea around them. The Borealis moved further from land, giving them more safety from the Vhalis as it headed in the direction they'd been told to go. The ship would see them safely to the safe zone, which was apparently a bit further than they'd expected. Natsu scowled. Juvia ought to have told them the truth about how far the place was. Perhaps she'd been trying to make a point.
It was his fault. Natsu knew it was his fault Lucy had been hurt. Had he been capable of his normal abilities, he could have prevented her from getting hurt. He could have helped Rogue Cheney on his own and been untouched while Lucy and Wendy hung back, safe and sound. Instead, he'd thought Lucy would be safe if he simply lured the Vhalis away. He should have known they'd be smarter than they looked. He should have guessed one would double back.
Except…Natsu had known. Vhalis were not mindless creatures. They were lost souls that had once belonged to a person, who thought and planned and lived. A person like Lucy, who had likely feared their final moments, knowing what they would turn into.
The thought of Lucy becoming like one of the Vhalis sent a twist of terror and panic through Natsu. The Vhalis weren't to blame. It was their nature to act as they did. But he didn't want Lucy to become one of them. Lucy was a lot of things, but she cared a lot about life, and it would destroy her if she became one of the Vhalis and began hurting others. Natsu wanted Lucy to live a long, happy life, like she should have been allowed to. A life he'd potentially ruined for her when he'd barreled through the roof of her home upon falling from Valhalla again.
Burying his face in his hands, Natsu knew he wasn't angry with Gray, or with Juvia, or even with Mavis, who had caused all of this by kicking them out of Valhalla.
No, Lucy getting hurt was no one else's fault, not even the Vhalis'.
It was his fault, and Natsu thought he might hate himself for it.
Some sad Natsu and a Vhalis bite! Things are getting absolutely delightful.
On another note, some news (which will be added to my profile, too)! I've had some developments with work (I switched from part-time to full-time at one job and vice versa for the other, thank the stars above), AND I was accepted into a program to get me certified for something important to me! SO! Back to school I go! I may fall behind. I don't think I will, but it's a possibility just so everyone knows. I still have a bit before it starts. I'm going to write a lot in the mean time. :D
Thanks to reviewers (Sele de la Luna, TheAngelicPyro, and NatsuHeartfilia0628!) as well as those who favorited and followed! You're greatly appreciated!