Chapter Sixteen
A New Light
The day was young. Light filtered through the windows of the infirmary built into the Fairy Tail Guildhall.
There were several new additions to the building, due to the small fortune presented to Master Makarov by the Salamander, the same man who had been blissfully unconscious for over a week now.
People had stopped by to check in on him, most of them too fearful to do anything more than pop their heads through the door.
It seemed that aside from Happy, who could most often be found napping on the Dragon's chest, the only ones who regularly came to see him were Lucy, Mira, and of course Erza who didn't fear him.
It was Lucy who found herself being drawn to the infirmary this time. She'd expected to see Happy there, as was the norm by this point, what she hadn't been expecting though was to see Laxus sat across from him, just watching in silence.
"What brings you here?" She asked, alerting him to her presence.
He didn't turn to look at her but answered nonetheless, "I could feel something irregular around here. It didn't take much to guess that it was him, and I was right. I think he's starting to wake." He explained.
"I'm surprised that you'd care, no offence." She said quietly.
"I don't, not particularly." He said truthfully, "But Gramps is worried. You remember the end of the battle last week, that huge light we saw over their guild?" He asked, finally turning to look at her from the corner of his eye.
"What about it?" She asked in confusion.
"That was one of Gramps spells, a kind of magic passed from Master to Master, one of the few from the founders. It's called Fairy Law, and it is utterly devastating to anyone unfortunate enough to get caught up in it." Laxus explained.
"The spell was meant for Porla, and it did its job, but Gramps said that despite the fire function of the spell only attacking someone that the wielder perceives as an enemy, it struck him down as well, and we can't see why," Laxus admitted with a solemn shrug.
"It's strange isn't it?" Lucy asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence that had fallen over them.
Laxus looked up with a raised brow.
"He goes from this instant threat, playing around in a fight, with Erza of all people, to this gentle soul that wouldn't harm a fly. It's like two sides of the same coin that couldn't be further apart from one another." She explained, looking down at him, absently stroking Happy.
"Yeah," Natsu said with a croak, his voice struggling to breach the tightness in his throat where he'd been solitary and silent for over a week. "That's closer to the truth than I'd like." He added.
Slowly, bit by bit he opened his eyes, offended by the brightness of the sun that shone through the windows.
Feeling the weight on his chest, he absent-mindedly went to stroke Happy, laying his hand over Lucy's who had been doing the same.
She could feel the heat from his hand, immense even though he'd just regained consciousness.
There it was, that feeling. It was like a blanket, weighing down on her with no way out. It was the briefest glimpse at the depths of power that welled within him, and then, as if he'd sensed her discomfort. He gave her hand the slightest squeeze and it all washed away, replaced by reassurance.
It was a feeling that assured her that no matter what, he'd be behind her, watching the path ahead. At that exact moment, she'd never felt safer.
"I'll go tell Gramps that you're alive, and give you some privacy," Laxus said, moving to leave the room.
"Privacy?" Lucy asked, bewildered by what he meant.
"I knew the geezer would be powerful, they don't make anyone a Wizard Saint, but damn, he hits harder than I expected," Natsu said, forcing his muscles to comply as he sat up.
Happy tried his best to stay situated on Natsu's chest but eventually relented when he was almost vertical. Happy and Natsu both proceeded to give a long stretch, arms pressed forward and up respectively.
"So, Lily, how long was I out for?" He asked, looking at her with those draconic eyes of his.
She glared at him for a moment before answering, "Little over a week. A lot of people have been waiting to hear what you did in there. You totally went rogue on us and we couldn't track you, not to mention the explosions." Lucy huffed slightly.
"I got waylaid and exploded twice, now you know." He told her as casually as ever.
"You caused the explosions?" She worked an eyebrow almost as if she didn't believe him.
"I did. I thought I was showing some incredible restraint by only doing it twice." He smiled at her, showing a glimpse of those sharp canines.
"I felt the explosions you allegedly caused when you took out the guild that hired you to kill us, that explosion was four or five times bigger than the ones inside Phantom Lord, what's that about?" She asked.
So her surprise had come from the size of the explosions, not the number.
"Great restraint." He laughed, pulling the bedsheets away and swinging his legs to the floor, testing his strength.
Still weak, but seven days of comatose would do that.
With a groan, his feeling of weakness had a very real affirmation as he stumbled forward slightly.
She reached out to catch him, keeping him steady for a moment.
They shared a look in silence where she just held him in place, "Careful."
He nodded solemnly.
"I think she likes you, she's never this nice to anyone else." Happy chimed in from his new perch near the door.
"Can't say I blame her, buddy. All the ladies are curious at some point." He said, grabbing his waistcoat from the stand and making his way to the door, not bothering to don it just yet.
"Some of the guys too," he added, opening the door to see Gray standing there, "Case in point," he grinned.
Heads would have turned if there had been anyone around who wasn't already avidly waiting to see Natsu's emergence after hearing from Laxus that he'd awoken.
"You!" Gray shouted, his anger almost corporeal, "You are the reason I have a stalker!" He bellowed small patches of ice and cold began to form within a few meters of where they stood.
"Oh?" Natsu asked, intrigued at what he'd missed out on.
"Some crazy blue-haired chick has been following me everywhere man, I can even hear her cooking at me from what I suspect is the rain itself! She's making me go mad, there's no way I'm being stranded by the weather!" Gray clutched at his head, starting to lose his grip on reality.
"Oh, yeah, that's right, she was getting in my way with Gajeel so I told her that you were in love with her. That's hilarious." Natsu continued to grin, enjoying the destruction his actions had brought.
"What!" Gray yelled in a higher pitch than Natsu had been expecting him to be capable of.
"Ah, you'll live. She seems more like the type who would tie you up in her basement rather than kill you. Like Titania I expect." Natsu quipped stepping past the utterly stunned ice mage, ignoring the cries of protest from Erza as he strolled through the guild still bare-chested.
"Oh, and you aren't going crazy. She's made of water or some shit, so she's definitely been singing to you from the rain, now stop being a baby and talk to the psycho stalker!" He shouted over his shoulder before trying to leave the guild.
"Young man," Makarov's voice called out to him, causing him to stop just shy of the open doors.
"Even younger man?" the Salamander turned just enough to look at Makarov from the corner of his eye.
"Just what are you, hmm?" Makarov asked, trying to analyse the alleged dark mage through a cynical gaze.
Try as he might, his focus began to falter, his vision becoming difficult.
"Oh, what might this be?" Natsu could feel a heavy pressure slowly roll over him. Not just him, it was affecting the entire guild, one by one they all dropped, stooping low on the floor and tables, sprawled where they'd once stood. Even Erza and Mira could barely keep their eyes open.
"Don't like," Natsu said, almost growling at the source, a man covered from head to toe in elaborate garments, striding in with a staff that jingled with each step.
"Mystogan," Makarov growled, looking at the newest arrival through heavily lidded eyes.
Natsu and Makarov were the only ones who could keep their gaze.
Mystogan stopped, staring in mild fascination at the oddity among them. Someone that he hadn't expected to be able to withstand the sleeping spell.
"Interesting." The mage stated nonchalantly, "Aside from the Master, and Laxus, I didn't think there would be anyone else in here that could resist my magic." He added with a soft hum.
"I just finished my nap so I don't feel like sleeping again so soon." Natsu shit back, glaring as he did.
He hated to admit it, but he was in no fit shape to resist such a potent mage, not after having been absent from his body for a week.
Had he not been subjugated to Makarov's spell, he wouldn't have batted an eyelid at this one.
"Which makes you the Salamander that I've been hearing about lately. Interesting indeed."
"I know you," Natsu said, staring him dead in the eyes, "I know your eyes, but you smell different, you smell like a place that I was caged in many years ago."
"You aren't him, at least not from here." He said at last. Makarov could feel the rising tension despite the effects of Mystogan's spell.
"You've been listening to the stories that Porlyusica weaves. She's very talented, but that's all they are, stories." Mystogan assured him.
"Porlyusica is many things, but not a teller of stories, a weaver of worlds, or a liar. You might be able to bluff that to anyone else but don't forget a second think that you fool me, I can smell that place on you." Natsu sneered, almost bringing out the flames.
"You are free to believe whatever it is that you wish to believe." And with that, he continued on past, going straight to the job board and picking out the first contract he could find that had a big red 'S' on the front.
"I would like this contract please." He said politely, showing Makarov what he had taken.
"Mystogan," Makarov growled, "The spell."
"Understood." Mystogan nodded, turning to leave. He issued a countdown from five, with each step closer to one. As he walked out the door, his countdown finished and everyone immediately regained consciousness.
Natsu himself almost sprang off his feet completely from where he'd been trying so physically hard to resist the spell.
"Fuck this building, that's twice in the last hour of my consciousness that two of your mages have surprised me. Now where's that Liar? I need to kill something." Natsu huffed before marching out.
"What just happened?" Lucy asked, cradling her head.
"Mystogan was here. He doesn't like to be seen so he casts a very powerful sleep spell over the building. Only the Master and Laxus have ever seen his face." Mirajane explained, helping Lucy up from where she'd slumped to the ground.
"Our new friend resisted falling under the spell as well," Makarov added, shaking off the last of the drowsiness.
"He just came out of a coma, how could he have resisted something like that?" Lucy asked in bewildered astonishment.
"On top of that," Laxus' voice called out as he leaned over the railing of the first floor that was strictly reserved for the S-class mages among them, "He knows who Mystogan really is. They've got some kind of history or beef." Laxus laughed mildly, interested in anything that involved the stronger members of the guild.
"Man, I hate it when he does that, it's almost as bad as the Gildarts shift." Gray groaned, rubbing the back of his exposed neck.
"Should I go and stop him from murdering Loke?" Lucy asked, the spell having worn off completely.
"That's probably a good idea." Erza nodded in agreement.
"Gray, go and stop Natsu from murdering Lucy," Erza ordered, sending the celestial mage a bodyguard.
"Yeah, and who is going to stop him from murdering me?" Gray asked sarcastically.
"Aw, don't worry Gray, he wouldn't do that to Lucy, she loves him." Happy cooed.
"Well, if you don't think you're up to the task, Gray…" Erza let the insinuation hang in the air. They heard some cursing being mumbled by the ice mage as he reluctantly trudged after Lucy who was in hot pursuit of the dragon.
There was a moment of silence before Erza sighed in defeat, "I'll go and make sure Gray isn't murdered."
"Thank you," Makarov said pointedly, as though his silence had been hinting at that very thing.
"I think she loves him too," Happy added smugly. For such a small creature, Happy was incredibly fast, and nimble as any cat usually was, but he wasn't fast enough to escape from Erza's incoming grasp.
"And I think I need a new cat-skin scarf, let's go." She said, pulling Happy by the scruff of his neck, filling the guild with wails of protest.
"Before you go, Erza" Makarov interjected, pulling a contract out from behind the bar, "this came through this morning, specifically requesting the 'Fairy Queen'. The details are inside." He said, handing her the contract.
"I'll get right on it." She said, taking a moment to scan the request.
"Akane resort?" She muttered. What kind of contract would ask for her specifically to go to a resort?
"Alright Happy, let's go find the others, and maybe that Dragon," Erza told the blue cat, following as they walked out of the guild and onto the streets of Magnolia, having no idea what was waiting for them on the path ahead.
AN: When people review, authors can see that you're enjoying it. I'd stopped writing this because it felt so dead, so, you know, input is likely going to help the process.