All around him was blue.
No variation in hue, no depth nor dimension, just an endless sea of gods-awful blue.
If this was the afterlife , Natsu thought, then I'm in hell .
It was a hell designed just for him. A punishment for every wrong turn, every mistake, every selfish action he dared to make in his pitifully short life. It was designed to make him suffer, in the cruelest way.
He was alone.
Natsu was floating, stuck in an infinite void of nothingness. Here, there was no down nor up, no direction nor end. In this personal hell of his, he could hear nothing, feel nothing. No scents nor sights, just blue. The pain from before was gone, and he wished it would return, if only to prove he still existed. Yet, all that existed here were his thoughts, small bouts of lucidity between even longer periods of nothing.
Every moment, though the word moment had long lost its meaning in a place like this, rather, every point of conscious thought, he wondered what had become of him.
Had Erza made it out? Did he manage to save them? How long had he been here? How much longer remained?
Sometimes, Natsu could feel it, the barest of sensations, merely a whisper amongst a storm. Something that told him it would all be over if he just let go. If he allowed it, then his body and mind would become one with the sea around him. All he had to do was give up.
It sounded so easy.
He had died after all, so why was he still holding on? What was he holding onto?
This sort of philosophical stuff wasn't his strong suit, yet out of stubbornness, he remained. He was willfully defiant till the very end, huh.
Erza, Lucy, Gray…Happy…I wish I could be there too.
Despite their resolve, despite Erza in his arms, despite every logical thought telling him there was nothing to be done, Gray couldn't step off the platform.
Erza needed a healer, desperately, yet every time he tried to spur his body into action, it froze. Not in the literal sense, however his feet may as well have been iced to the crystal floor.
No one had dared to make a move after he had spoken, everyone all but holding their breath, almost as if the slightest movement would damage the structure around them. They all looked at him, lost and expectant, and it was suffocating. His breath came in short pants, having nothing to do with the cold unmoving weight of Erza in his arms. His pulse thumped in his ears. Gray felt cold and numb, yet unbearably hot. He could barely contain the tremors that wracked his body, the only thing keeping him conscious was the fear of hurting Erza further if he collapsed here. He was dizzy and light,- nothing felt real, this wasn't real. This isn't happening, this can't be happening. Not again-
It wasn't until a gentle hand touched his bare shoulder did he realise he was on the ground. Gray was hunched on the balls of his feet, squatting with Erza still in his arms. He was practically folded in half over her, his face buried in her mid-section, as if trying to cover his eyes.
Erza, please…please wake up. Tell me what I'm supposed to do.
He slowly lifted his head, daring to glance at Erza. She had not stirred.
Trying, and failing to mask his disappointment, Gray turned to Lucy, whose hand still rested on his shoulder. She looked as bad as he felt. Her usually pristine hair had been pulled and matted with various bits of debris pulling it in almost comical directions. Only a third of her hair was still in a ponytail and her clothes looked like they'd been tumble dried with rocks. A fine layer of dirt seemed to cover every portion of her, except for a few trails of porcelain skin on her face, evidently where the tears had trailed down her cheeks. They had carved such a clean path that Gray found himself transfixed, if only for a moment, marvelling at the almost perfect tracks they made down her face.
If Natsu were here, he and Happy would have laughed at how ridiculous Lucy looked, before ruffling her hair and making it even worse. She would have yelled at him, probably chased him and Happy around with a lightness in her eyes that told him she wasn't really annoyed. Gray would have stifled a laugh too, never wanting Natsu to know that he found his antics funny too.
How did it all go so wrong?
…Jellal…if that bastard managed to survive, Gray would kill him. It wasn't the first time the thought had crossed his mind.
Daring to turn back only once (Gray didn't know if he was strong enough to do it twice), he stepped off the platform into their makeshift boat. The ice was comforting against his skin, hard and unforgiving, grounding in a sense.
He was never the optimist in the group, but this time, just this once until Natsu was back, Gray let himself hope that it would all be okay. He sent a silent prayer to any god who would listen.
"...let's go…"
Receiving a call from one of his brats was never pleasant.
Not that he did not love all his children, quite the opposite, it was that in his tenure as master, Makarov had never received good news via a lacrima call.
His brats were unruly and reckless, traits he did little to discourage, but also proud. A call to him usually meant the worst and was not something his children did lightly. So when the lacrima was brought to his office this time by the ever-dutiful Mirajane, Master Makarov steeled himself for a journey to god knows what jail cell his idiotic brats had landed themselves in this time.
It was funny. For how much he complained, these types of calls, issues with the law, property damage, bail; he would take them all in a heartbeat over the alternative.
Gray had been light on the details, his face unusually blank and his tone unnaturally even. It had disturbed the Master more than he cared to admit. Gray had never been one to mince words or be overly cautious of someone's feelings, it was for this reason he often came off as cold and uncaring to others. Makarov knew him better though, and whatever had happened had rattled him. As much as it pained him, Makarov did not push further.
Erza had been hurt. Bad. Bad enough that they needed Porlyusica to come to Akane Island immediately. Within 15 hours…it was that oddly specific deadline that terrified him.
Makarov could feel that there was far more, something terrible awaiting him at that island…yet he hoped it was just paranoia getting the better of him.
The guild was tense, everyone keeping up light conversation but it was obvious they were distracted. Makarov did not blame them, one of the last times he had been called with Porlyusica…Lisanna had not returned. They waited anxiously as the Master had packed a small suitcase, sent Jet to prepare Porlyusica and left Mirajane with a set of keys and a note explaining his temporary leave of absence, should he be summoned whilst he was away.
They had watched his small frame leave, pretending that they couldn't notice the subtle shake of his hands as he waved goodbye. The guild had fallen silent after that.
They would be blind not to notice the tense way Mira would eye the door waiting as she anxiously wiped the same glass over and over. Or the way Cana had drunk less than usual, her hands resting over her cards as if awaiting a call to action. It was as if they were in the calm, waiting for the worst storm of their lives to hit, and they were woefully unprepared.
Makarov had been even more sparing with the details than Gray. Until he had assessed the situation himself, he had simply told them that the group, consisting of; Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy and Happy had run into trouble. At first they had joked, sarcastically asking what was broken or who he had to go bail out (Natsu being the popular answer). Instead of answering, he went straight into action.
It was when he called for Porlyusica that their mood began to turn.
She was a strict, mean old hag as they (affectionately) called her, but this time she did not scold the Master for calling her. Her lips were set in their usual disappointed scowl, clearly unhappy about travelling into the city, yet she held her tongue. Perhaps it was something in Makarovs eyes that told her, but she had an inkling that the situation they were about to walk into would not be pleasant. As a sort of comfort, for a friend as old as him, she held her biting words for another occasion.
Porlyusica was not a woman of niceties, nor comfort, seldom caring of others opinions and having no regard for bedside manor and it was something he'd come to depend on her for. He was far too soft for his own good, especially when it came to handling his brats. If a firm hand was what he needed from her today, then Porlyusica would play her part, but there was no point in rubbing salt in the wound. She was not a cruel person, merely indifferent to the emotions that often got in the way of logic. Sighing, she picked up her bags and followed after Makarov. Just because she held her tongue now, didn't mean she wouldn't give him hell for this later, especially if she was travelling all this way just to bandage up some scraped knee or concussion.
The train to Akane Island ferry had been uneventful, and quite frankly, boring. Porlyusica's annoyance at the crowds had only grown since departing Magnolia and she wasn't looking forward to the remaining 3 hour boat ride to the resort. Being surrounded by exuberant vacation goers and nosey attendants- most of whom would ask which anniversary they were celebrating, had made her more irritable…if that was even possible.
Pah. Me and that old fool? Humans are as stupid as they are annoying.
Porlyusica was most certainly not marriage material, and even if she was, her and Makarov ? Seriously, where did they get these idiotic ideas? The man in question certainly did not help things by remaining silent or giving a terse smile. Thousands of scenarios were running through his head, each leaving him more devastated than the last.
Her harsh gaze softened marginally as she looked at him. Porlyusica was not the praying type, that sort of thinking, waiting for something to magically fix your problems by just wishing did not sit right with her…however…it was a silent thought, something that ran unbidden through her mind…an appeal to the universe, or to anyone listening.
Please don't make him bury another child.
She closed her eyes and settled in for a long ride.
This world can be so cruel…
It was a subtle knocking at the door that woke Lucy up. She hadn't meant to doze off, but the exhaustion of the previous fights, as well as the emotional blows had finally caught up to her. She sat on a shitty resort chair they'd dragged inside and next to Erza's bedside. Neither her nor Gray wanted to split again so soon, not even to go to their separate rooms, so they agreed to share. They'd given Sho and the others the room that Natsu and Gray shared, and moved all their things into the corner of Erza's and Lucy's room.
Happy had dragged Natsu's bag and scarf into the far corner of the room, refusing to let go of it. He had curled up quietly on top of it and cried himself to sleep, refusing all of their attempts to bandage and clean his wounds. Happy had been devastated to wake up, halfway back from the tower, to find they'd left Natsu behind. Lucy was pretty sure that he hadn't yet forgiven them for leaving while he was unconscious. He had tried to fly back, of course, but his magic had failed less than a meter from take off. She had scooped him out, despite how he clawed at her to let him go.
Happy hadn't spoken much after…he hadn't eaten either.
Not even the fresh sashimi had tempted him, not that Lucy had much of an appetite either. Gray had refused to eat as well, picking up the raw salmon only once, before slamming it down. He'd barely left Erza's side since finding her, only leaving to bring a healer to their room and to make a call on the resort's lacrima. Since the resort lacked any kind of hospital, as well as medical facilities, the healer agreed to let Erza remain with them. He had set up all kinds of monitoring devices after cleaning and dressing her wounds. It was made clear to them that whilst he did everything he could, it was only temporarily till someone far more qualified could arrive.
"I'll be frank with you," he had said, not even looking up from the wound he was stitching, "My magic is able to stabilise people, to keep their body in a suspended state till we can transport them to the mainland. The worse the condition, the shorter the duration of the spell. I can hold her for roughly 16 hours before her condition begins to deteriorate…" The healer gently tied off the end of the suture, before placing the needle in a sterile dish. "However, due to how fragile her state is, transport to the main facility at the port is not an option."
"I thought you said she was stable.' It was Gray who spoke, eyeing the healer intently.
"No, I said that I can stabilise people. That means, for a limited period, I can prevent her condition from getting any worse." The man continued to pack his case, leaving some essential items in a tray neatly for them. "Her injuries are severe enough that it's a miracle she's still alive, let alone you didn't kill her when you brought her back. I'll try to get in contact with any available medics, however even with an emergency like this, it's likely they would take over a day to get here with all the necessary equipment." The medic sighed, closing his eyes and running a hand through his mostly grey hair, "Time is not a luxury your friend has. Unless you know a healer who can drop everything and come immediately, you'd be wise to prepare for the worst."
He eyed them seriously before continuing, "Look, I'm not saying to give up on her yet, but…there's only so much we can do. I've set up devices that will keep me updated on her condition. Should anything happen, good or bad, the lacrima on the bedside will let me know."
The healer had left shortly after, promising to let them know if he heard back from anyone. It had been 12 hours since.
The knocking continued, breaking the two out of their reprieve.
Gray had been the one to go and answer the door. Cautiously, he looked through the peephole before swinging the door open frantically.
"Gramps! Porlyusica you-"
The old healer held up her hand, silencing Gray. "Patient. Now."
Gray clammed up, skin a shade paler than his usual snowy complexion. He pointed silently to the bed where Erza lay, her hair splayed out in a halo around her head, standing out against the stark white bedding. Without another acknowledgement to them, Porlyusica began her work, meticulously setting a seemingly infinite amount of medical supplies and machines around Erza's bedside.
Makarov slowly wandered over to the bed, not daring to take his eyes off Erza, as if his gaze was the only thing tethering her to this earth. Even covered in bandages, which concealed the worst of her injuries, she looked terrible. Her skin had taken on a sickly hue, with under eyes so dark Makarov wondered if they were bruised. Majority of her body was wound in bandages, some clean and others stained with what could only be her blood. There wasn't a single portion of her body that escaped punishment. As his eyes roamed, threatening to water under the visage before him, Makarov took in the worst of it. Her hands, though covered in gauze, appeared to have almost every finger set in a cradle or splint. Each digit seemed to be swollen and disjointed, some far worse than others, not a single one spared.
Wordlessly, the master took the seat by Erza's side that Lucy vacated. Though he desperately wanted to grasp her hand in comfort, he settled for running his hand over her forehead, smoothing the red hair that surrounded her.
Seeing the Master at a loss for words, his small frame made even smaller by the sight, as if an invisible weight was set upon him, Porlyusica broke the silence.
"You!" she pointed at Lucy, whose head sprung up at her words. "Bring the other healer here now. I need a full report on her current condition before I can start." At their incredulous stares she only huffed, "Well, hurry up then girl, or do you want your friend to die?"
At that Lucy sprung into action, bolting out the doors at top speed. Makarov had sunk down even lower in his chair after that, making Porlyusica almost regret her blunt words.
Almost.
"You. The boy. Tell me quickly, what happened."
Somewhat used to her manner, Gray wasted no time launching into his explanation. Continuing whilst the older woman began muttering spells and wards, he told the two of them about Erza's kidnapping, their trek to the tower and the ensuing battles. The master's gaze darkened as he once again took in Erza's condition, subtly connecting the dots on various injuries. He made no motion to interrupt until-
"-Where's Natsu?"
It was odd that the exuberant fire mage had not been in the room to greet him when they arrived. He'd considered that the boy had gone to cool off, too overwhelmed by Erza's state to sit quietly, or perhaps was sleeping, recovering from his own injuries. Yet during Gray's recollection of events, he had yet to mention where the fire mage was.
Like a switch was flipped, the mood darkened. Happy, who the master hadn't even noticed when he entered, began wailing in the corner. Tears streaked down his fur as he clutched the scarf closer to his chest. Gray seemed to fold in upon himself, eyes downcast and watering.
"Gramps…" Gray swallowed thickly, searching for the words to continue. How was he supposed to explain this? He didn't even understand himself! "He's…still at the tower. Natsu is- He's…stuck."
The Master's eyes narrowed, his stomach sinking with every new word. The pit of dread that had begun in magnolia continued to expand, threatening to consume him.
"Gray. I need you to tell me everything you know, now."
The Master had left their room shortly after. The resort's healer and Lucy had returned, and Porlyusica had begun her work on Erza. There was little else he could do to help by remaining. Erza was in the most capable hands Makarov knew, though that did little to diminish his worry. Still, he had another child to see.
With a heavy heart, and a rising terror of what lay before him, the Master left to find Natsu. As soon as he announced his destination, all three of the room's occupants rose to join him. They were quickly shot down, with the aid of Porlyusica. His poor children, who had fought so hard, done so much…Makarov did not wish for them to suffer again the vision which clearly haunted them. They were ushered to a new room, all but forced into beds by the master. It would do them no good to come, they were exhausted and fragile enough.
The only unruly child who refused his order was Happy. It was times like these that he would be reminded who raised the cat. Natsu's defiant gaze and stubbornness had been inherited by Happy, even if they shared no blood. The tenacious cat could not be talked down, not once shrinking under Porlyusica's verbal assault, nor Makarovs gentle persuasion. Sensing he was fighting a losing battle, and his anxiousness to depart getting the better of him, the Master quickly agreed to let Happy accompany.
They had arrived by boat, almost a full two hours from when they departed. Silently, Makarov was thankful for Happy's company, the usually absent minded feline had been able to give better directions than the map provided.
The sea around them had turned an almost luminous blue, the water all but glowing under the faint moonlight. Scooping a careful hand into the sea, Makarov examined the water pooled in his palm. The magic within it practically vibrated under his touch, causing his skin to tingle wherever it made contact.
The Etherion cannon. What a reckless weapon.
His thoughts turned darkly to the Magic council. To Seigrain…Jellal…Rage did not even begin to quantify the fury that coursed through him upon finding out the Council's involvement.
No matter how unwittingly, the Council had rained down destruction on his children. Their idiocy had put Erza into that state and put his children through hell. Makarov took a shaky breath as they continued forward. In their eagerness to cover their own complacency and ignorance, they had fired a weapon of unbelievable power upon the innocent. All for one man.
And look how that turned out.
Debris and animal carcasses littered the surface of the surrounding ocean. A line where the contamination was at its densest could be spotted by the changing colour of the sea. Birds who had attempted to feast on the dead sea life which had risen to the surface suffered the same fate. Ingesting something with such a high ethernano composition guaranteed death, particularly in beings of low, or no, magical ability.
Despite entering its border, it took another half hour before they arrived at their final destination. The magic here was thick and unstable. It gathered in a fine mist that obscured their vision and in a thick sea foam that clung to the sides of their boat. A crystalline platform, with a single large crystal stood before them. The ocean ebbed and flowed around the structure, yet no waves overtook the floor, the water coming in only a few centimeters before retreating sharply. The boat slowly pulled aside the crystal, each moment stretching out to an eternity as they approached.
Even with Gray's warning of what was to come, Makarov was woefully unprepared.
As he was told, there it stood. A single large crystal protruded upwards from the unnaturally even floor. Contained within, a solitary figure loomed over the pair.
Makarov reached out, pressing a palm to the smooth surface of the crystal. It was surprisingly warm to the touch, the magic within sending intermittent jolts through his arm which did little more than tingle unpleasantly.
The Master took no notice of Happy, who was wordlessly gazing at the crystal, instead he was overcome by his own thoughts.
H-how could this be? Its like..Lumine Histoire…no…T-Thats impossible…yet this feeling…
Makarov looked up, towards the figure contained within. Natsu had not stirred during their arrival. He was seated inside the crystal, almost serenely, his hands clasped together in front of him, almost as if in prayer. The inside of the crystal seemed to flow around him like water, despite the solid surface Makarovs hand lay on. The only moment made was the subtle ruffling of hair and cloth as the liquid etherion shifted inside.
Makarov wondered if this was a punishment for the thing he kept hidden in the basement. Was it this the fate that lay before every Fairy Tail Mage?
Oh Natsu…forgive this old fool…Why must my children suffer in my place?
Makarov allowed a single tear free before becoming resolute. Readying his magic, he mentally shifted though his arsenal of spells before settling on one. He would not allow another child to be taken from him, not whilst he still had breath in his body.
The master reached down and gave Happy a soft pat, "You may want to back up for this." The exceeds eyes shone with a glimmer of hope as the master began his chant.
Natsu…we're bringing you home. So please, hold on…just a little longer.
A white light over took the platform.
A lone figure wandered through the fog, unperturbed by the decay left in his wake. Animals and plants withered as he continued forward, their very lives stolen by his presence. The figure, a man, stopped briefly as a brilliant flash of light overtook the sky.
Magic rained down from the heavens, pure and wild as it descended somewhere in the sea.
"The Etherion cannon…what interesting tools humans have made." The man spoke aloud, seemingly unaware that his audience was already dead. "You know, the cannon was based off of the prototype for one of my spells. Though, it lacks the versatility of Law, as one can usually choose what gets destroyed, however…" The man looked out to the ocean, towards where the initial beam had hit. "It seems that by discarding that rule entirely, they can increase its destructive power. The caveat of course, is complete eradication of all targets, but that's how magic has always been…there's always a cost."
The man had barely finished his sentence before another beam, one greater than its predecessor, rose from the ocean to the sky. The blinding light continued its ascent towards the clouds for almost 30 seconds before slowly dying out.
That was…unusual. The ethernano should have expanded outwards, not upwards…unless…
Curiosity was a fatal flaw of his, one that had cost him greatly, yet to deny it was to deny himself.
The man, the black mage Zeref, began to walk once more, in the direction of the great explosion.