I have arrived with another chapter of Advent of the Stray, my readers! First off, I want to say thank you for supporting my fanfics despite how long it takes me to update. I'm sure many of you know that struggles of a writer when they want their latest chapters to be the best for all to read as well as the occasional writer's block.
Secondly, I'm proud to announce that I will be writing a new fanfic very soon. It was a request from a close friend of mine and she was quite relentless. She's a die-hard fan of what's going to be my newest project and practically begged me for a month until I finally relented. Initially, I wanted to wait until I finished my current fanfics before moving on to a new one. But it seems as though I'll be adding another project for you all to enjoy, I just hope I can meet the many expectation you all are probably already having.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, on with the chapter you have been waiting for!
Chapter Four: Painting of Mother
Once Han had left the art gallery, he made a beeline for the floor above where he was to the study. His ears twitched and quickly twisted his body to the side as the doors were blown off their hinges. The winged feline saw Natsu landing on the tongue of a giant golden Everlue statue.
"Natsu!" Han flew over to the fire dragon slayer as the dust cloud cleared to reveal two figures. 'The Vanish Brothers.'
"Fairy Tail may be a big time guild and all," The taller Vanish Brother, which Han knew was the younger brother, said, "But you pathetic wizards are no match against trained mercenaries like us."
"Hah, if that's your best, then you're dead wrong." Natsu said confidently, much to the younger Vanish Brother's irritation, before turning his attention to Han. "Han, go after Happy, he should be behind Lucy."
"Right." Han gave the dragon slayer a salute before flying as fast as he could past the Vanish Brother who didn't pay him any mind. 'Good thing they ignored me, I wouldn't stand a chance against them.'
Han quickly found the door he knew Lucy escaped through and opened it before entering. The flying feline felt drained from using his wings, but pressed on to find Lucy and Happy. The corridor that Han was flying through had many twists and turns which seemed to go on forever. With each passing second, Han can feel his magic energy being depleted due to only using magic three times since arriving in Earthland. Han finally reached the end of the corridor in time to see Everlue holding Lucy's arms behind her back and threatening to snap them. Just as he was about to intervene, Happy appeared and kicked Everlue in the face freeing Lucy's arms.
"Happy!" Lucy exclaimed happily upon seeing the blue feline who started to descend. "That was so cool." She immediately ate her words when Happy's wings vanished and fell into the sewer water below.
"That's disgusting." Han muttered as he felt his own wings vanish and landed beside Lucy.
"Han, you're here too?" Lucy asked, looking down at Han in surprise.
"What's this?" Everlue demanded as Happy's head emerged from the sewer water. "Flying cats?"
"The names Happy!" Happy gurgled out while Lucy and Han looked at him with mild looks of disgust.
"I wouldn't stay in there if I was you." Lucy said, wondering how long the blue feline was going to stay in the water.
"But the water feels so goooood." Happy said, letting the water's current slightly drag him along.
"That's sewer water, Happy." Lucy groaned out, face palming as Han stood at the edge of the sewer and pulled Happy out his ears.
"I'm having Kren give you a bath later, Happy." Han muttered, looking at his paws in disgust when the foul scent of the sewer water came off of them. "And wash my paws too."
"Looks like the tables have turned." Lucy said, holding the book Daybreak close to her chest as she held out a gold gate key. The blade of the key held the shape of a crab's body and Han knew right away which spirit it was for. "But if you let me keep the book, I'll think about going easy on you. Although I'm tempted to give you a good smack."
"Smack him anyway, Lucy." Han said, his eyes narrowed as his tail twitched in anticipation. 'If only Kren was here to bash his face in.'
"Oh, a celestial wizard." Everlue said in intrigue upon seeing the gate key in Lucy's hand. "But for a reader, you seem to be a bit deficient in your turns of phrase. The tables have turned implies that the weaker party has rallied to claim victory." He then smirked smugly as Han, Happy, and Lucy got on guard. "But there's no way you and those cats could ever defeat me and my Diver magic. Boyoyoyoyo!"
"I don't think so!" Han shouted, jumping forward with a paw clenched into a fist. As he reached to punch Everlue, the duke dove into the ground leaving behind a hole where he stood. 'Damn, I missed.'
"So he does that using magic?" Happy asked as the sound of drilling bounced off the sewer walls. "I had no idea Everlue was a wizard too!"
"Do you not smell yourself?" Lucy questioned before jumping away as Everlue continuously bursted out of the ground and walls behind Lucy in an attempt to get Daybreak from her. "Look, I know the whole story now. It's a horrible adventure novel about a trashy little character named Duke Everlue."
"Are you serious?" Happy asked as he and Han stood to the side to watch the battle proceed.
"Sounds very accurate if you ask me." Han added, sending a side glare at the duke who didn't pay him or Happy any mind.
"I don't know that I'd call the protagonist "trashy." but yes." Everlue said before diving into the ground once more and creating more holes throughout the ground, walls, and ceiling. "The story itself is crap. And to think it was written by the great Kemu Zaleon." He burst from the ground behind Lucy in another attempt to grab the book. "Inexcusable!"
"I can't believe your arrogance." Lucy said in anger as she carefully watched where Everlue dug. "You forced him to write it."
"Arrogant, moi?" Everlue's voice echoed making Lucy and the two felines look for the source. "The word doesn't begin to apply, to tell my story's an honor, no matter what the circumstance."
"Then why'd you have to blackmail him into it?" Lucy demanded, deciding to get to the root of the problem.
"Blackmail?" Happy asked, eyes wide in shock.
"Just when I thought he couldn't get any lower." Han said through gritted teeth and wished he could claw the duke's eyes out.
"What's the big deal?" Everlue questioned, popping out of the wall behind Lucy and the two felines, pinching his curled mustache. "He just needed some extra encouragement to take the job."
"Oh really?" Lucy said doubtfully, her eyes never leaving the duke as he began to swim along the ground as if it was water.
"Any fool would have jumped at the chance to have me as their muse. But he had the audacity to say no." He then dove into the ground again before his hand popped out behind Lucy again and wagged his index finger. "So I gave him the added inspiration in the form of an ultimatum. Write the novel, or his family will be stripped of their citizenship."
Only Happy was shocked in hearing this as both Han and Lucy already knew. "But then none of them would be able to join any of the guilds and make a living! Do you really have the power to do that?"
"I have the power to do anything." Everlue burst out of the ground beneath Lucy's feet and she jumped out of the way. "I got him to write it, didn't I? But I didn't like his attitude, so I decided he'd do best writing from a prison cell, boyoyo! He went on and on about being a brilliant novelist who would never give in to threats, but in the end I got what I wanted!"
He then began his barrage of attacks once again with Lucy, Happy, and Han trying their best to avoid his attacks. Han tried to kick Everlue when he got too close to Lucy only to be pushed back from the rotation of Everlue's body.
"I can't believe you'd go that far just to boost your own stupid ego." Lucy yelled, her disgust for the duke growing with each word that came out of his mouth. "He was in solitary confinement for three years. Don't you know how hard that must have been?"
"Three whole years?" Happy couldn't believe his ears as he continued to listen to Lucy talk about what happened to Kemu Zaleon.
Lucy jumped back when Everlue bursted out of the ground in front of her and Han stood protectively in front of the celestial wizard. "Perhaps it took him that long to appreciate me. Boyoyoyo."
"You're wrong." Lucy's grip on Daybreak tightened, her eyes hardening in a glare with Han hissing threateningly. "More like he couldn't bear to spread your lies. But he had to satisfy your vanity. He knew that if he didn't write your character as a heroic champion of justice, then his family would suffer!"
"Tell me, how exactly do you know all this?" Everlue asked, trying to understand how a commoner girl that had no relation to the deceased novelist knows what happened.
Lucy just held up Daybreak as if it held all the answers. "It's all right here in black and white."
"What?" Everlue looked at the book in confusion, failing to see how a few pages told Lucy everything she knows. "I've read that book from cover to cover, and Kemu Zaleon isn't in it."
'Kren, where are you?' Han thought worriedly, Keeping his eyes on Everlue as Lucy explained how she knew everything that the duke did. 'There's no way you would have lost.'
Meanwhile, Kren looked sadly at the damaged painting of the dragon in the lake. He brought a hand up and lightly trailed his fingers across the tear across the dragon's neck. He may not be an artist, but the dragon slayer could tell that the painting was old from how faded it was. He brought up the bottom half of the painting to show the full painting again only with a thin line showing where the tear was.
"Aquacia." Kren said softly, the sound of the name had him think back to the memory he regained. He could remember the gentleness of Aquacia's voice, her caring eyes, her ocean-like scent, and the smoothness of her scales. "It's not much, but I remember."
His eyes went to the tear in the painting before slowly removing his hand, allowing the bottom half of the tear to fall. Kren wished he could take this painting home with him, but knew he couldn't because it would technically be stealing. More importantly, if he did take it with him, the painting would likely be destroyed no matter how careful he was. Kren reached into his pocket and pulled out a small lacrima the size of his palm and held it in front of the painting. The lacrima in his hand was a surveillance lacrima he found in his and Han's apartment after purchasing it. Turns out the previous owner worked for Sorcerer's Weekly before moving and left a surveillance lacrima behind. It took the dragon slayer
'Maybe I can ask Reedus to recreate it.' Kren thought as he watched the lacrima record the painting in front of him. Once the recording was finished, the dragon slayer pocketed the lacrima and a slight glint caught Kren's eye. 'What's that?'
Kren reached for the painting and lifted the frame to see that something was attached to the bottom of it. The dragon slayer took notice that it looked like a hidden compartment from the small grooves making a rectangular shape. Curious, Kren slid the compartment open and an object fell out onto the floor. He knelt down to pick it up to see it was a beautiful necklace but it wasn't its beauty that garnered his attention. It was the three smooth blue glistening scales with two white claws between them strung along the leather cord.
'Is this…' Kren's nose twitched at the familiar scent of the ocean and his eyes were filled to the brim with unshed tears. He could never forget this scent, not after just regaining more of his memories. The scent that gave him a sense of comfort, made him feel safe and that nothing could hurt him. The same scent he would smell whenever he went to the beach with his adoptive parents. 'Aquacia.'
Tears trailed down the sides of his face as he held the necklace close to his chest. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that the scales and claws came from Aquacia, not one. He looked over the scales and claws before putting on the necklace. He looked down at the new accessory he was now wearing and looked up at the painting and gave it a small smile before turning away from it and making his way out of the gallery, destroying any statue of Everlue along the way.
'Natsu's probably done with the Vanish Brothers by now.' Kren thought as he left the gallery and noticed the gold statue he saw earlier was missing its tongue. He looked down to the bottom floor to see Natsu and a steaming pair of the Vanish Brothers. "Natsu!"
"Huh?" Natsu looked to see Kren and gave him a grin as he jumped over the railings. "Hey Kren, did you fight someone too?"
"Yeah, but I took care of him." Kren replied, walking over to the other dragon slayer. He rested a hand on his hip as he recalled his opponent. "He was a pain, stupid water sucking gord."
"You too, huh?" Natsu looked over to the unconscious Vanish Brothers and Kren followed his gaze. "That smaller guy's frying pan can absorb fire magic and redirect it."
"At least we beat them." Kren commented before his ears twitch upon hearing something behind them. "Did you hear that?"
Natsu and Kren turned around in time to see the pink haired maid from earlier, who Kren knew was Virgo, standing over them with her hands clenched together over her head. She brought her hands down in an attempt to crush the two dragon slayers only for them to jump out of the way. They each grabbed her by the shoulder and prepared to counterattack when they suddenly found themselves bursting out of the ground in a sewer.
"Did I hear my master summon me?" Virgo inquired, much to the shock of Happy and Lucy upon seeing her appearance.
"Virgo, fetch me that book." Everlue ordered, pointing to Daybreak in Lucy's hand.
"Hold up." Lucy said, recognizing the maid from earlier. "She's a celestial spirit?"
'No, she just answers a key's call for fun.' Han thought sarcastically as he looked up where he knew where Natsu was. His eyes widened in surprise, though, when he noticed that Kren was with the fire dragon slayer. 'Kren?!'
"Natsu, Kren!" Happy and Lucy exclaimed in shock when they saw the two dragon slayers with Virgo.
"What is the meaning of this?" Everlue demanded, trying to comprehend why there were two others with Virgo, who had question marks dancing around her head.
"What are you two doing up there?" Lucy asked, just as confused as Everlue upon seeing her two friends.
"Yeah, I think I'll just give you the short story." Kren explained, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to think of how to explain what happened. He took note of Cancer standing beside Lucy, but paid it no mind as he explained what happened. "Long story short, we saw her get up, we jumped her, and now we're here."
"So you guys grabbed a hold of her inside the house?" Lucy summarized when a sudden thought crossed her mind. "But that means…" Han can already see the gears going into motion in the celestial wizards head as she pieced together what that meant. "You both must have passed through the spirit gate with her." She then held her head with both hands at how ridiculous that conclusion was. "That's impossible!"
"Lucy, what the heck do we do now?" Natsu asked, both he and Kren moving out of the way when Virgo tried to grab them.
Snapping out of her shock, Lucy pointed at the two dragon slayers as if what they should do was obvious. "Finish what you guys started."
"Virgo, clean up this ruggish." Everlue ordered as Natsu and Kren jumped off of Virgo.
"As you wish, master." The maiden spirit raised a fist to strike at the dragon slayers.
"Natsu!" Kren called out, jumping over Virgo to stand beside the fire dragon slayer. "Repeat of Hargeon?"
"You got it." Natsu nodded, knowing exactly what Kren was talking about. The two pounded their fists together and their cheeks bulged from building up magic power.
"Fire/Water Dragon Roar!" The two dragon slayers formed a magic circle in front of them as they released their respective breath attacks. They collided with Virgo and sent her flying over an astonished Everlue.
"You dirty little mold man!" Lucy shouted as she unhooked her hip and cracked it towards Everlue. The duke was still in shock of Virgo's defeat, he was too slow to avoid being wrapped up by the whip. "Can't dig yourself out of this!" With a mighty tug, the celestial wizard tossed the duke over her head and into the air. "You make me sick!"
"Baby." Cancer jumped into the air in front of Everlue when he was released from Lucy's whip, and slashed at him with his scissors faster than the eye can see.
"You're just another greedy villain." Lucy said, hooking her whip back to its holster on her waist.
When they landed, Cancer was in his feet and Everlue on his back, completely bald and his mustache shaved off. "Okay, I'm done. Does this look fabulous or what, baby?"
"Nicely done." Kren gave the crab spirit a thumbs up as he walked over to Everlue and the duke by the collar of his suit before viciously shaking him. "Wake up you little dwarf, I have a question for you."
"What's gotten into him?" Lucy wondered, question marks dancing over her head as she watched the water dragon slayer repeatedly slap the defeated duke.
"Don't know." Han shrugged, asking himself the same question in his head. Normally, Kren is a levelheaded person, but has zero tolerance for despicable people who are greedy or have no respect for life. He then saw the necklace around his owner's neck and raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'When does Kren wear jewelry?'
"Wake up already!" Kren gave another hard slap, effectively waking the unconscious duke into spluttering incoherent words. "The painting in your art gallery, where did you get it?"
"What?" Shaking his head to gain his senses, Everlue stared at the dragon slayer currently manhandling him. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb." Kren's eyes slightly narrowed at the duke's response before roughly shaking him again. "I'm talking about the one with the dragon on it."
"Hey Han, you have any idea what he's going on about?" Natsu asked, looking down at the water dragon slayer's feline companion. "Cause I sure am lost."
"We found a painting of a water dragon in Everlue's art gallery." Han replied, recalling their encounter with the painting and what it meant for his owner. "Kren confirmed that the dragon was Aquacia."
"Answer me, mole man." Kren demanded, ignoring the looks of surprise his teammates were giving him, as he continued to shake the duke for answers. "Or you'll find out what it's like to have water in your lungs."
"It was a gift." Everlue finally answered, quivering slightly at the dragon slayer's threat as he knew he couldn't win a three on one fight. "It was given to me by an art collector during a party I held."
"What's their name, where can I find them?" Kren asked, his grip on the dukes collar tightening as he might be close to finding a clue.
"I don't know his name." Everlue replied, nearly choking when the water dragon slayer tightened his grip again. "It's true, I didn't ask what his name was and he didn't say where he was going!"
"I see." Kren said calmly, knowing that the duke was telling the truth as he loosened his grip on his collar. Everlue took a deep breath, letting oxygen into his lungs and Kren gave him a powerful punch to the face, effectively knocking the duke unconscious again. 'It was a deadend.'
"Kren." Han said softly, knowing that his owner was disappointed that the clue he found was a deadend.
The team of five then took notice of the entire building above began to shake as pieces of rubble broke off and fell from the ceiling. Knowing that the mansion was collapsing, they made their way out of the sewer and outside as the mansion continued to crumble and collapse. Natsu watched on with a grin as this was normal for him and Happy. Lucy, on the other hand, watched in disbelief while praying that they won't be arrested. Kren watched in mourning as the painting of the water dragon was still inside the crumbling mansion.
'Aquacia, I will find you.' Kren reached up to the necklace around his neck and gripped at the leather cord. 'Hopefully I'll have all my memories when I do.'
"I like your style." Natsu's voice brought Kren out of his thoughts as Han jumped onto his shoulder. "Out with a bang. You two are definitely gonna fit in with Fairy Tail."
"But aren't we supposed to not break stuff?" Happy asked as he continued to watch the mansion crumble until nothing but the roof remained.
"I hope I don't get blamed for this." Lucy whined, comical tears trailing down her face at the thought of being arrested on her first job.
"Relax, Lucy." Han said, using his tail to pat the celestial wizard on the back. "We won't get arrested because everyone knows how Fairy Tail works."
"That doesn't make me feel better!" Lucy yelled, turning away from the collapsed mansion and walked away holding up Daybreak. "Let's just go to the client and deliver this book."
"Hey, Lucy." Lucy looked at Natsu who looked at her in confusion. "How did you know that author guy did something to the book?"
"When I read Daybreak, I couldn't believe it was written by Kemu Zaleon." Lucy explained, thinking back to when she first opened the book in question. "There's no way he would have done something that bad."
"Yeah, so?" Natsu raised an eyebrow at Lucy's words, not really understanding her point.
"So that's how I knew there must be a spell on it." Lucy replied, not giving any further details as she walked ahead of the group.
"You'll understand once we give the client the book, Natsu." Kren said, a small smile gracing his face as he knew what was going to happen. "I'm looking forward to it."
Once they reached the client's house, Kaby Melon, Kren's nose quickly noticed that he and his wife both smelled different from the house. The water dragon slayer already knew the reason why, but stayed quiet as he watched Lucy hand the unharmed book to a confused Kaby.
"But I requested this book to be destroyed." Kaby said, not understanding why he was given the book unharmed in any way. "Why on earth are you handing it back to me completely unscathed?"
"If you really want to burn it, then I'd rather you do it yourself." Lucy explained with Kren nodding in agreement, both understanding the secrets of the book.
"I most certainly will burn this trash." Kaby said, his hands shaking and his grip tightening as he continued to stare at the cover of the book. "I never wanted to see it again."
"I completely understand why you feel the way you do about this book, Kaby." Lucy said with an understanding tone in her voice. She gave a slight pause before continuing on with what she has to say. "You want to protect your father's legacy, because you're actually Zaleon's son, aren't you?"
This revelation shocked both Natsu and Happy, having no idea that was the case. Kren and Han, however, just lowered their heads and silently gave Kaby their condolences. While Kren may not completely understand the loss Kaby feels for his father, he does understand to an extent. Having lost his memories of Aquacia, despite making new memories with his adoptive parents, Kren always had this feeling of loss and emptiness in his heart. Like he was mourning and regretting the loss of something and never being able to get it back.
"Yes, that's true." Kaby admitted, bringing the water dragon slayer out of his thoughts.
"Have you read it yourself?" Lucy asked, however, Kren could see it in her eyes that she already knows the answer.
"No, I-I could never bring myself to do it." Kaby replied, taking his eyes off the book to look Lucy in the eyes. "My father told me it was garbage."
"You were just going to burn it?" Natsu asked, not believing what he was hearing and Kren knew he would have to intervene soon. When Kaby replied that he was, Natsu snapped and grabbed the older man by the collar. "Without even bothering to see what was inside?"
"Natsu!" Kren shouted, quickly trying to get Natsu to let go of their client. "I understand what you're feeling, but try to calm down!"
"It's the last book that your dad wrote, right?" Natsu demanded, completely disregarding Kren's words. "Some of us would kill for that kind of memory!"
"That's enough, Natsu!" Lucy shouted, and with Kren's help, they got the fire dragon slayer to back away from Kaby. "Let Kaby explain himself."
Once Natsu had calmed down, Kaby told them everything that happened after his father's return from Everlue's mansion. He told them what happened thirty-one years ago, about how his father came back after three years. He told them that the first words out of his father's mouth were asking his son to forgive him. He then explained how he cut off his own arm much to Natsu and Lucy's horror. Kaby continued to say how he said awful things to his father who only smiled and said he was glad to have finished Daybreak despite calling it garbage. When he got to the part where his father passed away and was filled with regret, Kren gave Natsu a side glance and gripped the cord of the necklace he got. At the sight of the lit match, Kren and Han shared a knowing look.
"I'm sure that this is what he'd want."
"No, you're wrong." Lucy said, getting the attention of everyone in the room as the match suddenly went out. "Kaby, look."
Daybreak suddenly glows in a bright light as a magic circle formed. "What's happening?"
"The truth of Daybreak." Kren replied, as the magic circle faded and the words left Daybreak's cover and floated in the air. "What's written in that book is not your father's true work."
"It's true." Lucy nodded in agreement, taking over the explanation as she knew everything about the book's secret. "A spell has been cast on this book. It's the work of Kemu Zaleon, or should I say Zekua Melon?"
"A spell?" Kaby asked, watching as the words began to rearrange themselves until the true title and author of the book was revealed. "Dear Kaby."
"That's right." Lucy said, happy that the spell on the book was broken and the true words returned. "This book is his letter to you. Disguised behind a spell that rearranged all of the words so no one else could read it." The book opened and the pages began to flip one after another as the words left them. Everyone watched in awe as the words flew freely in the air creating a beautiful sight. "He didn't stop writing because he was ashamed. He stopped because he had finished his masterpiece, a novel containing everything he ever wanted to say to his beloved son. And if you read it the way he intended, it's easily his best work ever."
"Your father may be gone, Kaby." Kren added, seeing the tears building up in their client's eyes. "But he's still alive and by your side." He looked up as the words went back into the book in the correct way they were written. The book closed and lowered gently into Kaby's hands who then held it close to his chest as tears fell down his face. "Right here, in this book that he wrote thinking of you the whole time he was gone."
"And now that the spell's been broken, you can read it for yourself." Lucy added, watching with a smile on her face.
"Thank you, father." Kaby said to no one in particular, looking down at the book that now held its true name. "I swear that I will never let any harm come to this book."
"I love happy endings." Han said, wiping a tear away from his eyes at seeing the touching moment in person.
"Well, I guess we won't be collecting that reward." Natsu said, getting everyone's attention as he rested his hands behind his head. Happy, Han, and Kren all nodded in agreement while Lucy looked at them in confusion. "We were supposed to destroy it."
"And since we didn't, we failed to complete the job." Kren explained, shrugging his shoulders as he and Natsu made their way to the door.
"Even so, let me do something." Kaby offered, feeling bad that he couldn't repay the team before him for their kindness.
"Yeah, it's not our fault he decided not to burn the book after we got it back for him." Lucy said, her need for rent money speaking for her.
"Lucy, don't be so greedy." Happy said. "You're totally ruining what was a touching moment."
"And it technically is our fault." Han added, standing beside Happy with his paws behind his back. "After all, you're the one who discovered the secret of the book."
"I need the cash!"
"Thanks for offering, but we don't want it." Natsu said, ignoring Lucy's protest, and looked back with a smile on his face. "I think it's time we all go home."
"That includes you too, Mr. Melon." Kren chuckled at the surprised looks on Kaby and his wife's faces.
"Unbelievable." Lucy muttered sulkingly as the team walked along a path by a river at night. "Who in their right minds would turn down two million jewel?"
"If we had taken the money, it wouldn't have looked good." Natsu explained, not the least bit bothered about not accepting the reward. "You gotta think about Fairy Tail's reputation."
"Yeah, it would make us look like blood sucking parasites." Kren nodded in agreement with Natsu's words before looking to the side and softly saying. "Not that we already have a bad reputation with all the destruction."
"But we made him happy, right? We got the job done and now we're walking home." Lucy pointed out before letting a sigh as she recalled what happened afterwards. "And then to find out that they're not actually wealthy? They were just renting that house so everyone would think that they were rich."
"All the more we shouldn't have taken the money." Han said, walking beside Kren and looking back to Lucy. "If we did, then what would they be left with?"
"When you put it that way." Lucy said thoughtfully as she thought what would happen to the couple before sighing. "It's not like it matters. We would have taken the job either way."
"I don't know about you." Happy said, taking a jab of the celestial wizards earlier greed.
"Of course I would have!"
"Sure, greedy."
"Let's stop here for the night." Kren said, stopping by the river and dropping his backpack before diving into the water. The remaining team members looked on in confusion before the water dragon slayer surfaced holding five fish in each hand. "Natsu, can you start a fire?"
"So that's why he dived in." Lucy muttered, wondering how Kren caught so many so fast as Natsu gathered twigs for a fire. Once the fish were cooked and everyone began eating, a sudden thought crossed her. "By the way, the house, how'd you guys know that it wasn't really theirs."
"That's easy." Natsu replied, taking a big bite of his fish with Kren nodding in agreement as he ate his fish in smaller bites. "Cause they smelled like some other house. Seemed pretty obvious."
"Aye."
"Sure, to you animals, maybe." Lucy said, having slightly expected that response before resting her chin on her hand with a smile on her face. "Not me. I was still lost in the clouds from reading that book."
"I've got you figured out." Natsu said with a knowing grin on his face, getting Lucy's attention. "All those papers I found on the desk at your place. You're writing a novel, aren't you?"
"Oh, so that's why she's such a bookworm." Happy said in understanding.
"Promise you won't tell about that, okay?" Lucy pleaded, her face red in embarrassment and steam rising from her head.
"Why not?" Happy asked.
"Cause I'm a horrible writer." Lucy tried to hide her face in her hands as she rapidly shook her head at the thought of someone reading her work. "If anybody read my stuff, I'd die from embarrassment."
"Don't worry." Natsu said, unsure how to calm his friend. "Nobody's gonna read it."
"Yeah, that doesn't make me feel any better."
"Way to go, Natsu." Kren said softly as he finished his fish and got ready to go to sleep.
The next day finds the team traversing through a swamp with Han and Happy on Kren and Natsu's heads respectively. Trailing behind them was horologium with Lucy inside who she summoned.
""I don't know about this, guys. Are you sure we're going the right way," she asks." Horologium said, relaying Lucy's exact words to the dragon slayers in front of her.
"Happy says this is the way home, so this is the way we're going, is what I answer." Natsu replied, copying Horologium's way of speaking.
"Have some faith. I'm a cat." Happy said confidently with his nose in the air. "I have a great sense of smell. My nose will lead us home."
""It's dogs that have great noses. And what does smell have to do with direction," she asks quite haughtily." Horologium said, once again relaying Lucy's words and tone of voice.
"Why don't you do your own walking for a while?" Natsu asked while Kren occasionally sniffed the air for incoming threats.
""Because I'm tired," she groans exhaustedly."
"We really need to work on your stamina, Lucy." Han commented, his ears twitching when the sound of rustling bushes was heard. 'And there's Gray.'
"Who's there?" Natsu called out, tossing his bag to Kren before jumping over the bushes and began fighting whoever was behind it.
""Do you always have to fight," she inquires worriedly." Horologium said, relaying Lucy's words once again as he held Happy in his hands.
"You can take him Natsu." Happy cheered before Natsu and Grey in his underwear emerged from the bushes. "It's Gray!"
""Why is he doing in his underwear," the lady questions." Horologium said while Kren placed his hand on the glass where Lucy's eyes were.
"Trying to find a bathroom." Gray replied, his eyes focused on Natsu if the dragon slayer makes a move.
"Why would you strip down before you found one?" Natsu inquired, glaring at the ice wizard. "And who the heck ever heard of a bathroom in the middle of the forest?"
"Natsu makes a good point." Kren pointed out, setting down Natsu's bag and resting his now free hand on his hip. "It's kinda pointless to place a bathroom in a forest."
"I wanted some privacy." Gray said, ignoring Kren's words as he was too focused on Natsu. "I didn't expect an idiot to barge in."
"They're so childish." Lucy stated, now outside of Horologium, sweatdropping as she watched the two wizards butt heads with each other.
"She says to the cat." Happy said in a poor imitation of Horologium's voice.
"When did she send the clock back?" Han wondered, picking at the fur of his tail to undo any tangles he finds.
"Anime logic." Was all Kren whispered in response as he watched the two rivals preparing to fight.
After getting the fire and ice wizards to calm down, Kren suggested they take a break which Lucy was more than happy to agree with. While everyone set their things down, Happy and Han went to the edge of a cliff to do some fishing. Kren pulled out fours cups from his bag and handed three of them to Lucy, Natsu, and Gray respectively. He then pulled out the water storing lacrima he bought and poured its contents into the cups.
"So you're on your way back from a job?" Lucy asks Gray, taking a sip of her water to quench her thirst.
"Yeah, there's a shortcut through these woods that'll get you back in town in no time." Gray replied, now fully clothed in a white shirt, black pants, and black shoes.
"See?" Happy said, not taking his eyes off his fishing rod with Han rolling his eyes beside him. "I told you so."
"Yeah?" Lucy looked over to Happy, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the blue feline."Well if your nose is so great, how come you didn't know Gray was right in front of us, smart guy?"
"There are some things you don't want to smell." Happy said as Han felt a tug on his rod and pulled it up to see he caught a fish.
"What'd you say?" Gray grunts and Kren could practically see the tic mark on the ice wizard's head.
"I agree." Natsu said, smirking as he rested his hands behind his head. "So go on home and we'll smell you later."
"Natsu, at least try to get along with him." Kren said, shaking his head at his fellow dragon slayer's attitude before turning his attention to Gray. "Though he has a point, you might wanna hurry back before you lose any more daylight."
"I will." Gray nodded in agreement, drinking the rest of his water before setting it on the ground and getting to his feet. "And unless you want trouble, you should too."
"Why do you say that?" Lucy asked, confused as to why the ice wizard would say that to them.
"Cause Erza's due back any time now." Gray replied, a bead of sweat sliding down his face.
Natsu gasped in both shock and fear at Erza's name while Kren laughed nervously as he knew why the fire dragon slayer reacted like that. Lucy was just surprised while Happy hooked a fish and began to nibble at it. "The Erza? Whoa."
"Yup, she's the most powerful woman in all of Fairy Tail." Happy said, his newly caught fish still in his mouth.
"Hey, I think I've heard of her." Kren said, putting up an act of slight remembrance upon hearing the name. "I heard she was so strong, they call her the queen of the fairies, Titania Erza."
"I can't wait to meet her." Lucy held her face with her hands, clearly gushing at the thought of meeting a famous member of Fairy Tail. Then a sudden thought crossed her mind once she got a hold of herself. "But you know, I've never even seen a picture of her in Sorcerer Weekly or anything. What's she like?"
"Scary." Was Natsu, Happy, and Gray's response, much to the celestial wizard's confusion.
"Wild animal?" Gray guessed.
"A vile beast." Natsu replied.
"More like a full-on monster!" Happy exclaimed, a giant silhouette of Erza terrorizing a town and breathing fire popping in Lucy's head. "She's not that big, you guys."
"Well, she's big enough for me." Natsu said, resting his hands on his knees.
"One thing we can all agree on is that she is definitely that scary." Gray said, crossing his arms while Lucy was still trying to picture the female wizard in question. "Well, maybe a little scarier."
"What, can she kick down a mountain or something?" Han asked rhetorically, shrugging his shoulders in mild amusement.
'We both know you ripped that off the original anime, Han.' Kren thought, sweatdropping while he picked up the cups and placed them back in his bag.
"Yeah, she's about that scary." Natsu replied as everyone pictured the same silhouette doing what Han asked.
"What?" Gray raised an eyebrow at the fire dragon slayer. "I guarantee you Erza could take down at least three mountains with a single kick."
"You don't need to exaggerate like that, Gray." Happy said, putting in his two cents. "It's more like two."
"You know, guys," Lucy said nervously, "Even if she's able to kick down a single mountain, that's still scary."
"Especially if said mountain falls on top of a nearby town." Kren pointed out, further making the celestial wizard nervous.
"Like I said," Gray rested a hand on his hip while Lucy was still picturing the destruction Erza could cause. "We should get back."
"Crap, let's get moving!" Natsu said, getting to his feet and grabbing his bag.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them exploded, causing them to scream in surprise as a wave of sand began to bury them. Kren and Lucy coughed when some sand got into their mouths while Gray was buried up to his shoulders. Natsu's upper torso was buried in the sand while his legs were up in the air.
"Gross, I got sand in my mouth." Kren said, spitting a few times to get the sand out.
"What now?" Gray irritably asked, trying to piece together what just happened.
"You alright, Han?" Kren asked as he wiped his mouth with his arm. When he didn't get a response, the dragon slayer looked around to see that Han and Happy were missing. 'This is not good.'
"Happy!" Natsu pulled himself out of the sand, the sand in his mouth falling out like a waterfall.
"Help us." Happy pleaded weakly, both he and Han's paws and legs tied up and suspended over an unlit campfire.
"I know that there's cat food." Han said nervously as his eyes took in the details of their five captors. He then began to thrash around in hopes of loosening his bonds. "But I don't think it has actual cats in it!"
Two of the captors were clearly twins with slightly long orange hair and black eyes. They wear identical dark red and white collared coats under which are black and khaki colored V-neck shirts. The two also wore a pair of dark blue trousers and brown shoes for footwear.
The third captor was a small gremlin-like person with dark grayish skin and no hair. He has the mark of what Han knew was his guild on the left side of his head, in between his pointed ears. He has two slits for a nose and has a confident sneer. He wore a green shirt with a hood and a pair of red gloves. He also wore brown trousers under a dark white quilt and a pair of black shoes for footwear.
Han then turned his attention to his next captor who is a big humanoid with yellow skin and red hair and beard. He has beady eyes, a triangular mouth and no apparent nose and ears. He wears blue overalls with two lighter colored pockets in the rear and a pair of red shoes for footwear.
The last captor Han knew wasn't a threat due to him being a fortune teller. He is a tall, slim man with black eyes and black hair that hangs on either side of his head, bordering his face. He wears a white shirt under a collared purple jumpsuit with metal shoulder and thigh guards. He also dons a pair of black boots for footwear.
"We're finally gonna get some real protein." The twin on the left said, a trail of drool running from his mouth to his chin.
"No berries for us tonight." The twin on the right said in agreement, in the same state as his brother.
"Meat!" The chicken-man shouted and Han knew that's all the overall wearing chicken-man knew how to say.
"Our future holds a feast." The fortune teller declares, looking deeply into his crystal ball.
"I don't think so." Han said, shaking slightly at the thought of being cooked alive. "Just wait until our friends find us."
"Ooh, a tough guy." The left twin said in faux nervousness.
"Can't say the same for your friend." The right twin pointed to Happy who was shaking. "We haven't done anything yet, but look at him shaking."
"Relax." The gremlin-like captor said, crossing his arms as he watched Happy shake. "You're both gonna be in our bellies soon enough, so there's no need to be scared."
"Actually, I'm not shaking like this because I'm scared." Happy replied, much to the confusion of their captors while Han wished he could facepaw right now. "I gotta use the bathroom really bad." Han noticed that the fortune teller was slightly put off by that as Happy kept talking. "I can't hold it much longer. And I bet you it's gonna make me taste weird."
"Who cares?" The gremlin-like captor looked to the chicken-man and nodded to the two felines. "Now cook them."
"Meat." The chicken-man nodded, tightly gripping his staff as one end burst into flames.
"I will take mine medium, please." The fortune teller requested.
"Hey, I'm serious." Happy said weakly, his eyes on the flame as it inched closer to him and Han. "It's going to make me taste funny. I just know it will."
Han's ears twitched when he heard the sounds of rapid footsteps and smirked at his captors. "I warned you guys."
"Hold it right there!" Natsu shouted, getting the attention of the five captors as he, Kren, Gray, and Lucy looked down at them from their spot on a tall rock.
"Happy, Han!" Lucy called out.
"Thank goodness." Happy cried in relief upon seeing their friends. "Now I'm not going to taste weird."
"Pipe down." The gremlin captor said, having had enough of Happy's mouth.
"You were serious about that?" Han wondered, sweatdropping at the thought of the blue feline wetting himself.
"Those are our friends you're trying to roast, buddy." Natsu said, cracking his knuckles in preparation for a fight. "Sorry, but you guys are gonna have to make other plans for dinner."
"If you think I'm going to let you eat Han, think again." Kren added, pounding a fist in his palm as he glared at the five captors.
"You're all wizards, aren't you?" Gray questioned, noticing the magic items two of them were wielding. "What guild are you with?"
"I'm not telling." The gremlin-like captor sneered as his comrades prepared for battle. "Get them!"
"Gray, Kren, let's do it." Natsu said as he watched four of the captors jump into action.
"Alright, but don't go telling me what to do." Gray said, crossing his arms.
"I'll take the twins." Kren said, jumping off the rock first to engage the twins who each pulled out a sai. "Sais, huh?" He brought up his fists as the twins came at him from both the left and right. "A pincer attack, really?"
Just as the points of the sai were about to hit, Kren leaned back until his hands were touching the ground. Before the twins could follow up their attack, Kren quickly did a handstand, effectively kicking the twins in the chin and sending them flat on their backs. He then pushed himself into the air and landed on his feet as the twins got up rubbing their throbbing chins. Meanwhile, Gray was fighting the chicken-man and did nothing but dodge its swings with his hands in his pockets.
"Sand Bomb, go!" The gremlin-like captor pounded a fist into the ground before it erupted into sand and trapped Natsu in a spiraling sphere in the air.
"Natsu!" Lucy shouted in worry.
"He's fine." Gray said, knowing that Natsu would be alright. "Go help Happy and Han."
"Right." Lucy nodded as she ran over to free Happy and Han.
"You guys don't know when to quit." Kren muttered as the twins got up once again and charged at him. Kren blinked in surprise when Gray jumped over him to punch and kick the twins back. "Thanks for the assist, Gray."
"Help!" Happy cried out, tears running comically down his face as Lucy tried to untie him. 'Lucy's gonna eat us!"
"Shut up, cat!" Lucy yelled, having trouble undoing the knot as a silhouette loomed over her. She looked up and screamed when she saw the chicken-man raising his staff to strike and held her hands up. "Please don't kill me, Mr. Chicken!"
"Water Dragon Wing Attack!" Waving his arms like a dragon flapping its wings, Kren released whips of water that slammed into the twins, finally knocking them unconscious. "Alright, that's two down." He turned to see how Lucy was doing in freeing Han and Happy to see the chicken-man about to attack. "Oh no you don't, Water Dragon Roar!" Taking a deep breath, Kren unleashed his breath attack, slamming the chicken-man in the back propelling him into a tree. "You alright, Lucy?"
"Yeah, thanks for the save." Lucy replied, returning to her task in freeing Han and Happy.
"Who's next?" Gray looked around to see if there was anyone else to fight and saw the fortune teller who was looking into his crystal ball.
"You'll see someone special," The fortune teller said, causing Gray to sweatdrop and a tic mark forming on his head, "But the stars point to great trouble with water and women."
"You're telling my fortune?" Gray questioned before elbowing the fortune teller knocking him unconscious.
"He's not using magic. Wow." Lucy said softly to herself as she watched Gray fight. She then saw that he was suddenly in nothing but his underwear again. "Put some clothes on!"
"Crap!" Gray shouted, just now noticing he took his clothes off again.
"You really need to do something about that habit, Gray." Kren stated, using a hand to cover Lucy's eyes, a slight embarrassed blush on his cheeks. "It makes us guys look bad."
"Where'd these brats come from anyway?" The gremlin-like captor wondered before the sphere of sand he created exploded and saw Natsu standing in front of him. "Uh-oh."
"Jerk." Natsu muttered as his opponent looked around nervously for an escape route. "Now I've got a mouth full of sand and it's all 'cause of you." He spat the sand out of his mouth before the dragon slayer pounded his fists together. "Here goes." He then charged at the panicking captor, his right fist engulfed in flames. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
"Time to wrap things up." Kren said as he dragged the chicken-man and fortune teller towards a tree with Gray doing the same with the twins.
He reached into his bag to pull out some rope just in time to see Natsu slam his fist into the gremlin-like captor's face. The captor was sent flying towards the water dragon slayer and Kren stepped to the side. As the captor was about to fly past him, Kren quickly elbowed him in the back, slamming him into the ground. He then dragged the gremlin over to his comrades and began to tie them to the tree.
"Don't you think you might have gone overboard, Natsu?" Gray asked, a hand on his hip with his head turned away from the fire dragon slayer.
"So what if I did?" Natsu crossed his arms, looking away from the ice wizard as Kren tightened the knot on the captor. "I got the job done."
"Grow up, already." Gray finally turned to face Natsu. "You're an embarrassment to the guild."
Kren ignored what he knew was another squabble between the two Fairy Tail wizards and focused his senses on their surroundings. He knew that Kageyama was nearby, preparing to strike when they least expected it. His ear twitched at the sound of groaning and knew the gremlin was regaining consciousness.
"Lulla." The gremlin weakly said, catching Lucy and Kren's attention.
"Huh?" Lucy looked to Kren, silently asking if he heard correctly. When she saw the water dragon slayer nod his head, Lucy turned her attention back to the gremlin. "What's lulla?"
"Lullaby is…"
"Huh?" Natsu and Gray broke out of their quarrel and turned their attention to their defeated opponents.
"Lullaby?" Gray repeated, mentally wondering what a child's song has to do with anything.
Kren's nose twitched and looked in a certain direction before letting out a small gasp when he caught a new scent. "Look out!"
Everyone jumped at Kren shout in time to see a long shadow travel along the ground to the defeated captors. They watched as a hand formed before dragging the tree and the captors into the ground.
"What was that?" Lucy asked, trying to process what just happened in front of them.
"Who was that?" Natsu corrected, also trying to figure out what happened.
"Well, whoever it was, they're fast." Gray commented, looking around in case they get attacked again. "I can't even feel their presence anymore."
"Their scent's gone too." Kren added, sniffing the air for a moment with Natsu doing the same. "I only caught a whiff for a second."
"But what could this mean?" Natsu wondered.
"Lullaby." Lucy said softly to herself, having a feeling that she should keep what was told to them in mind.
"We better hurry back to the guild." Kren said, picking up Han and placing him on his shoulder. "We should let the Master know what happened."
"Good idea." Gray nodded in agreement, picking up his clothes and putting them on. "He might know what those guys were trying to tell us."
"I hope so." Lucy said nervously as the team began their trek back to Magnolia. "I have a really bad feeling about this, guys."
"As you should, Lucy." Han said ominously, eyes glinting as he slowly looked back to the nervously sweating celestial wizard. "The shadow may come for you next." He chuckled slowly making Lucy even more nervous before suddenly jumping off Kren's shoulder and sprouting his wings to float in front of Lucy. "Boo!"
Kren just sighed when he heard Lucy scream and ran ahead of them with Han flying after her. Happy sprouted his wings and flew after the two, joining in Han scaring Lucy by flying over them and casting his shadow over the celestial wizard. Seeing this, Lucy let out another scream as she ran faster, thinking it was the shadow from earlier. Natsu laughed at the flying felines' antics while Gray just watched on calmly shaking his head.
I surely hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter, now onto the reviews!
Karsap: Ah, that makes sense now. I don't know how I'm going to handle that yet, but I do plan on putting on my thinking hat.
Raidentensho: I hope that this chapter answered at least a few of your questions. I do plan on having Kren go on jobs outside of canon, so you have those to look forward to. As for who will have his heart, you'll just have to wait on see.
Zeromk7: Thank you, I'm happy to hear that you love this story as I poured my heart and soul in each chapter I wrote. Kal Clum is my original design, people getting his name wrong is something I got from Pokemon's Butch.
LightDusk16: Happy to hear you think it's interesting. Thank you, I thought so too which is why I'm trying to do my chapters like this. I'll do the best I can to meet your and all my readers' expectations.
With that being said, farewell until next time and stay safe!