Tell It to The Scorching Stars

by Zathuria

Summary:

Promises don't keep themselves.

Each diluted phrase spoken has an underlying meaning. If Natsu Dragneel swore it to Lucy, the channeled answer will surely find her.

A job request tacked to the billboard— Asking for the defeat of a Scourge that slickens misfortune through the holy continent of Minstrel. If the lands are poisoned with calamity, who's to say those entering won't also taste its flavor?

Chapter 1: Scourge of Prosperous Land

It wasn't everyday the Guildhall carried an absence of its usual rambunctious pandemonium.

To say it was lackluster in comparison to the sight you'd expect to see pushing open the two heavy-set paneled doors of the entrance was hardly a stretch, not even in the slightest.

On your average day, there'd be a neverending slew of conversation quilted into the atmosphere—Maybe a metal rimmed tankard or two flying overhead from a nearby quarrel as well. After all, if there wasn't some type of friendly fire happening right under your nose, you've probably gone and walked yourself smack into the wrong FairyTail.

Moreover, to your right it was already a given Nab would be nose-deep in the requests that lined the job board. If he wasn't there stressing himself out about which one tickled his interest, you'd definitely want to consider letting that suppressed suspicion bubble up in your gut.

Which was, entirely and exactly, what Lucy Heartfilia was experiencing right now.

Not a peep could be pinpointed from any of the uncommon number of individuals that occupied their time here.

The only thing that kept her from turning heel and running around town like a chicken with its head cut off looking for everyone was the sight of Mirajane in her usual spot.

Behind the counter, Lucy could see the outline of her claret red dress that, when the light from the window hit it, turned a recognizable hue you'd see only when baskets of picked cherries would come inside after a springtime harvest.

So naturally she approached her with the intent to address the elephant in the room.

Or lack, thereof.

"Hey, Mira!" Lucy stationed her palms flat on the waxed counter. "What's with this place? Is everyone out on jobs or something?"

Though she asked, she didn't believe that. Everyone knew there was a recent decline in the amount of requests submitted this month, for whatever reason.

There'd be no way everyone in the Guild magically found a mission to busy themselves with; even in a world of magic coincidences.

The sound of dishes being washed paused as Mira looked over her shoulder. "Oh, good morning Lucy!"

Mira had turned to wipe the back of her hands on a frilled apron tied around her. "The answer to your question is no, not everyone is on a job. Of course a few are, but it seems the rest are out enjoying the lovely weather today."

Well, if Lucy hadn't heard it all before, she definitely had now.

Not even Cana was here drinking away their entire storage of alcohol. What kind of world had she been transported to, if everyone who had a penchant for lounging around here suddenly got bored and wanted to go for a stroll by the river?

Frankly, it was unbelievable.

"Ha, right..." Lucy squinted. "... You're not serious, are you?"

In response to her disbelief, Mira offered an honest smile.

Lucy could feel all the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Either she was hallucinating, or something was happening that she hadn't picked up on.

"Right. What about Gray?" She watched Mira keep that smile as she replied, "out with Juvia."

In all honesty, Lucy couldn't be too mad at that. It was nice that he'd finally started to reciprocate the feelings Juvia had extended to him for so long.

If he were here, Lucy might've even given him a thumbs up.

So, instead, she thought about the next option. "And Erza?"

"She took an inside job in leagues with the disbanded Crime Sorcière," is all she said.

At this point Lucy was starting to feel a headache finding a home in the back of her head. "So she brought Jellal with her?"

"I would imagine so. The details and specifics of the job are heavily classified even to me," Mirajane started while going back to scrubbing a glass. "But I do know that investigating Dark Guilds takes some time, so I guess she'll be out for quite awhile."

Great, so Erza was M.I.A too.

Knowing she'd regret asking about the rest, she just dropped the subject. Anyone with a working brain could tell where the others probably were.

Levy and Gajeel? Taking care of their newborn twins. Jet and Droy? Off crying about not getting to spend enough time as Team Shadow-Gear.

Wendy and Carla? Visiting Sherria back at Lamia Scale.

Elfman and Evergreen? Geez, don't even ask, those two are sufficiently terrible at admitting they flirt.

Lisanna? Running errands somewhere, probably.

Cana? Well, the first assumption would be a bar.

Now getting to those two empty-headed dummies—

Natsu and Happy.

"I don't even want to think about what trouble they're getting into." Lucy applied pressure her temples.

Then, a presence materialized at her side. "Whatcha whispering about, Lucy?"

Ice cold water may as well have been poured over her. Goosebumps emerged in unison with the realization of who had just startled her out of her boots.

"Natsu! Don't just sneak up on me like that!" Her scolding tone echoed through the hall, something almost fictitious after becoming so accustomed to the loudness that'd usually fill the space. "And you're too close!"

Their noses were almost touching, but he didn't seem to have an inkling of the personal space he was invading.

Happy was by his side, the two of them putting on their best grins— Thick as thieves with the job request the blue-furred feline showcased.

"Hurry up and pack your things, we've got a train to catch!" Natsu said, uncharacteristically.

Lucy instinctively rose a thin brow at the words that'd exited from behind his fanged teeth.

"Woah, slow down." Both of her hands located his chest and pushed back slightly to seperate them. "And since when do you get so jolly at the idea of taking a train somewhere?"

The weakened white light from outside the doors pilgrimaged across the planes of his profile. When he spoke, the shape of the shadow under his lip altered appearance.

"Since now, 'cause this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Natsu's fingers hounded through the air in untraceable motion, taking the request out of Happy's paws.

His grin went crooked, a special quirk she'd noticed after years of being around him. Whenever he reached the pinnacle of excitement, that one corner of his mouth would go up further than the other.

In result, he'd only have one singular dimple.

Lucy would've allowed herself to find it distinctively charming, if it wasn't for the fact he typically showed it when getting up to no good.

"Let me see that." Lucy took the paper and examined it.

 

RESTORE THE HEART OF MINSTREL
The Land of Dance
DEFEAT SIGELAC, SCOURGE OF PROSPEROUS LAND

REWARD—1,000,000 JEWEL

The reward money immediately serenaded her into silence. Perhaps angels truly were singing, but she was too enticed to care.

"Sounds like a blast, doesn't it?" The two of them snickered in glee. Proud would be describing their expressions lightly.

Lucy looked at them. "Sure it does, but it's all the way out in Minstrel. That's a whole other country."

Happy beamed, perching on her shoulder. "Duh! That's the point, it makes it exciting. I bet they have all sorts of species of fish there!"

Ignoring his antics and fish driven thought process, she put a hand on her hip. "That's not my point. My point is, we won't have Wendy with us. Even if we did, she can't prevent your motion sickness anymore since it affects her too."

When the point was made, Natsu made a face.

"Are you positive you want to go through hours of transportation? There's no way we're walking."

"It wouldn't be the first time I've had to deal with it." He looked away in distaste.

"Alright, I won't say no," Lucy settled her sights back on the request. "Though, I am curious about this Sigelac."

Happy nodded and chimed in. "The name is intimidating."

"Right, I think so too. I've heard Minstrel is a decently secluded country, so information from inside is hard to come by," she coasted her thumb over the ink blotted words. "Whoever sent this request in must've been desperate, seeing as they'd have to bypass regulations."

"So what? Who cares about all that?" Natsu's upbeat attitude broke through her interior worry. "All we gotta worry about is taking that thing down!"

She was also curious, to tell the truth, about what kind of beast this... Scourge of Prosperous Land was.

To have the entirety of a country as large as Minstrel subdued in enough fear to send for the help of mages across continents. It was unachievable, unheard of.

It exhibited an element that trademarked and familiarized itself in one particular set of beings.

Dragons.

But as far as Lucy knew, they should've all been defeated by now. The hundred year quest had long since been completed, and Elefseria explained no existence of any straying abnormalities.

Unless, he purposefully put that knowledge on the back burner.

If so, for what reason?

Lucy shook her head. No, she was thinking too deeply into theoretical possibilities based on what little she knew.

"I suppose I have been itching to stretch my legs a bit. I could do with a job." Lucy equaled their energy now, letting herself enjoy the idea of big reward money.

If her pockets were stuffed enough to the point she tipped over, she wouldn't reject it.

So, they took the job lickety split.

•☆—☆•

Home sweet home.

This apartment occupied a considerable portion of her adoring heart.

Daily life earned a new worth, even on the most mundane of days, while living here. It meant everything to her, even if the size was nothing to brag about.

Just simply sitting in bed, watching the day go by from the square window, was enough to terminate any negativity adhering to her.

That's why packing for missions was always a little bittersweet. It was difficult to leave behind what comfort it provided. She always missed it.

Tying her lengthy blonde hair up in a ponytail, Lucy knelt to open up the bottom drawer of her rustic hickory dresser.

Inside, she removed a set of folded clothes and stuffed them into a suitcase. She didn't want to overpack, but she was noticing now just how many cute things she owned that she rarely wore.

In the next drawer, she even had a pair of lacy pink lingerie she'd impulsively purchased after seeing it modeled in a storefront.

When her fingers pinched at it, she immediately withdrew her hand.

"Am I crazy? Why would I bring this on a solo mission with Natsu and Happy?"

Lucy bit down on her index, as if punishing herself for entertaining the thought.

To make matters worse, Natsu introduced himself by pushing open her window unannounced, and she slammed her drawer shut with a squeal.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop barging in here like you own the place!" Lucy grabbed the nearest object without looking and hurled it straight at him.

As it sailed through the air, she instantly felt her stomach knot. Seriously, of all the things that could've been laying around, it just had to be a leopard print bra gifted to her by Erza a week prior.

Lucy made a mental note to send it back in the gift box. With a note. An angry note.

"Pervert, watch where you're throwing things!" Natsu dodged it without more than a simple tilt of his head.

"I'm not a pervert! And I meant to throw it at you!" Lucy argued back. Only then did she realize how wrong that sounded.

Natsu shut the window behind him. When her words registered, he slowly turned to give her a, obviously joking, grossed out look.

"Yup. You're a total pervert, Lucy."

"I'm not a— Oh whatever. There's no point in arguing," she sighed. "What're you doing here?"

"Dunno. Happy said he had something to do so I thought I'd stop by." As lame of an excuse as ever.

Lucy inhaled sharply through her nose before sitting down next to him. The comforter under them mimicked the color that painted the rounded surface of her cheeks.

A light, blushy pink.

Lucy didn't know when it happened. Genuinely, she hadn't wanted to so readily admit to it.

But lately, whenever Natsu would come visit her she'd start hoping he'd stick around. Crossing her fingers for it, even.

Maybe it was the inundation of attention he started spoiling her with.

Around the time her future self sacrificed her life, things went up a notch. Or, a couple notches.

The slightest threat to her wellbeing and he'd reconstruct the world for her, just say the word. Lucy could tell it in the way he'd put his arm in front of her if danger demonstrated it's potential to harm her.

Since the beginning he would always protect her. That truth had only amplified tenfold.

"Hey, you've got a weird look on your face." Natsu pointed out while simultaneously bringing her back to reality. "Got something you wanna talk about?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Yeah? I'm all ears."

That's when it clicked. Before they went on yet another mission, she wanted to know what he was going to say that day.

Right before they took on the hundred year quest, he said he had something important to tell her.

"Natsu, are you ready to tell me?" It seemed that was enough to bring his mind back to the topic.

Visibly, he went rigid. Not in a shy or upset way.

He just seemed... Contemplative.

"Lucy."

Hearing him say her name so seriously? It scared her a little.

"What is it?"

Natsu's nose was touching hers, habitually.

It was basically a routine now whenever their conversations got meaningful.

"Don't go gettin' your hopes up."

"What?" It stung her heart in a strange, new way. It disappointed her a little, knowing he wasn't giving her an answer.

Natsu pulled back. "I'll tell ya another time."

"Huh? That's so unfair, you told me we could talk about it!" The anticipation was crushing her.

Once again he flashed her a bright smile. If it was to distract her from being overcome with annoyance, then it was working miraculously.

"Make sure you're there tomorrow, got it? Happy and I will leave without ya if you take too long!" A joke, but she still told herself to remember.

"Okay, okay. Am I ever late?" Lucy brushed him off, watching, almost studying him as he prepared to leave.

The clasp of the window was undone with a flat click as he opened it to jump out. Lucy peeked out at him, returning his wave as he navigated the cobbled street below.

Another time, then.

He'd tell her another time.

Chapter 2: Onward, to Minstrel!

Birds chirped pacifyingly in the branches of every tree, the rubberized wheels of Lucy's well-used suitcase lagging behind her.

There was a cheerful bounce in her step today— a telltale sign she was feeling animatedly refreshed.

Going on jobs always managed to recharge the pieces of her that became fatigued from boredom. It was nice to finally be promised another adventure, to be out and about again.

Just up ahead was the Magnolia train station, a crowd of several dozen actively entering and exiting the cars.

Lucy took herself up a ramp that connected the city street to the elevated platform, lifting a hand up to barricade her eyes from the intensity of summer light.

"Lucy, over here!" Happy's high-pitched voice carried over the assemblage of people.

Her head followed the direction it came from, and soon her feet took her directly over to where Natsu and Happy waited.

"Right on time!" Natsu beamed.

Lucy doubled her arms across her chest, examining him from head to toe. In an out of the blue choice, his fashion sense had reversed it's routine.

Here was the rundown—

At his waistline, his scarf layered two sets of muslin fabrics; one a dusted red and the other a shade of blue you couldn't put a finger on. Both were fastened at his left hip, leaving the excess length to hang down.

Since his dragonscale scarf had vacated to another location, that muted scar on his neck was exposed to the naked eye.

Additionally, he wore a greyish suede arm cuff that was festooned with a thin strip of light colored ribbon.

The rest of his clothing remained the same, from the open jacket down to the sandels he sported.

Still, it was a surprise to see him try out his options.

"Am I looking at the right Natsu?" Lucy pestered him playfully, circling him to enhance the tease.

Happy joined in. "Tell me about it, Natsu got so excited about seeing a whole new country he totally wrecked our place trying to find something to wear."

That gave her even more room to joke around.

Lucy positioned her open palm on Natsu's forehead.

"Is that so? Maybe he's gone and caught himself a fever."

Natsu grabbed at her wrist, but not roughly, and took her hand off. "I ain't got a cold."

His fingers let go. "What's wrong with wanting to try out something different?"

Lucy shrugged. "Nothing's wrong with it, I actually think it suits you."

The conductor of the train pulled the horn, alerting them that they needed to board.

"We better hurry." Happy adjusted his kelly green back-pouch and started for the entrance.

Natsu and Lucy shadowed behind him, stepping into the train car. Once they found an open seat they shoved their luggage into the overhead compartments before sitting.

"I hope we can get at least halfway before Natsu starts hurling," Happy sneered from Natsu's right. "But that might be wishful thinking."

"Hey! That was one time!" Natsu went on the defensive, sending a sharp look down at his sassy lipped companion.

Happy had a dark expression overcome him as he reminisced the last time it happened. "You used my bag and got your digested breakfast all over my perfectly tasty fishies."

Their banter continued, Natsu huffing out a comeback. "It was the closest thing nearby! I coulda barfed all over you instead if that's what you'd rather I did but I had enough brains to know not to!"

Their glares collided and Lucy could've sworn she saw a zap of tension.

Goodness, what did she expect? A calm, relaxing ride there? She should've known better.

"Will you two be quiet? Natsu will be fine," Lucy said before meeting his eyes.

She pat her lap. "Come over here and lay down."

His lips flattened in temporary defiance, but he eventually complied.

Soon enough the train had kicked into movement and sent that spiral right into Natsu's stomach. Being so susceptible to nausea must've been a real pain, but luckily he had Lucy.

Absentmindedly, each one over her fingers would swoop back his spiked hair as a tune wound its way into her vocals.

It was a light, gentle hum that had a cadence of sweetened comfortability.

To say he didn't find ease in it would be the biggest lie he ever told. Either way, it was hard to enjoy it fully when the need to spit up every meal he's ever eaten plagued his senses.

It was almost torture.

"So how long will it take to get there?" Happy asked from the other cushioned seat across from them.

"A couple hours till the next station. After that we'll have to switch to a boat." Lucy let herself stare at the passing landscape outside the circular window.

"There's an island we'll have to stop at and cross, it's still technically Fiore's territory," she said. "But it's the only way into Minstrel. If we were to go around for a faster route, we'd be trespassing over the borders."

Lucy's finger tapped at her chin in thought. "So my best guess is... Two days."

Natsu retched at the news.

"I don't think Natsu will make it." Happy stated, half sympathetic and half unamused.

"It was his idea to take this job so its only fitting he faces the journey."

Lucy puffed her cheeks out as she spoke. After all, they dragged her into this. It wasn't like she was the one who forced the traveling aspect on him.

Needless to say, she did feel bad.

"A quick rest in the next town might be okay. Only for a little bit."

•☆—☆•

The assortment of jewel she had to depart in the hands of the receptionist at the inn was unthinkable. This town was a total ripoff.

Part of Lucy was annoyed the person at the desk was a woman and not a man. If it was, she definitely would have attempted to seduce him into offering a discount.

Actually maybe not. She had more shame than that, probably.

Inside the room were two twin sized beds pushed up against the walls adjacent to eachother. It was plain and had a straightforward design.

The bedding was beige with white sheets, and the wallpaper that surrounded them had no notable impact on the way the space made you feel.

"What a scam." Lucy's hands clasped tighter around the handle of her suitcase. Honestly, she couldn't stop her eyebrow from twitching.

Natsu, on the other hand, looked totally rejuvenated and carefree. "I like it. Much nicer than that cramped seat on the train."

Without warning he launched himself onto one of the beds, expecting the mattress to be soft and welcoming.

But it wasn't and he made a sound of discomfort when he landed. A stone slab might've been more accommodating.

"... I take it back, this place stinks." The wind had been knocked out of him.

Lucy dropped her head in disbelief. "There's not much we can do now but get some sleep, I guess."

Her heart hurt for their funds.

Natsu gave a mischievous flick of his eyes while frowning. "I'm thinkin' I should burn this place down before we go. Give 'em a reason to step up their game."

"Absolutely not!" Lucy shut the idea down before it even had time to sound convincing.

Because it did sound convincing. She wanted a refund.

With a disgruntled sigh, she sat on her respective bed.

Happy was out finding them some food to bring back, so Ignoring the pit of hunger in her stomach was a little easier knowing she'd be able to eat soon.

"... The closer we get to Minstrel, the more curious I get about that beast." Lucy mentioned.

Natsu kept his focus on the floor. "Probably just some overgrown pig or something. No big deal."

"Be serious, Natsu. There's no way they'd make such a fuss about something so simple," her face contorted into worry. "Don't you think we should... Consider what else it could be?"

The word dragon kept popping up in her head.

For some reason, she didn't want to say it.

"If it's a dragon, we'll be finding out soon." It was like she was an open book to him.

Even if he wasn't the most disciplined in the category of reading, he sure did know how to pick up on every syllable of her thoughts.

So when Natsu said that, her shoulders loosened up a bit.

He was looking at her now, not the floor, and he had an artless determination written in the lines that formed on his face.

"Listen, you don't gotta worry about a thing, Lucy," Natsu spoke strongly. "The two of us are more than capable of handling anything that comes our way."

Then he grinned. That same grin that lifted her spirits so effortlessly.

And she smiled back.

"Mhm, you're right."

"Of course I am! We make a great team."

Team. Lucy wondered what that truly entailed.

"We do, don't we?"

Seconds later, the cracked door was swung open. In came Happy with two paper bags full of marketplace goods, his white tuft wings outstretched behind him.

"All I could find was some bread and berries, this town is really a dump—" Happy heaved the bags onto Natsu's bed.

"Talk about a letdown." Natsu commented.

Lucy's stomach growled, but she was positive it was fully in deterrence of having to eat those stale loaves of bread.

"I'll, uh, take some berries then."

Natsu was already chowing down on one entire loaf, mumbling something unintelligible and incoherent.

Taking a few blackberries into her hand, she tossed them down the hatch.

"We'll head for the docks in the morning, but first I want to check something," she wandered over to her suitcase and rummaged through it. "Ah—! Here it is."

Happy curiously came over. "What's that?"

"A book I borrowed from Levy, it contains the entire documented history of Minstrel," her thumb pushed open the cover. "I was going to read it on the train, but it slipped my mind."

Alongside the book, she pulled out her trusty pair of red-rimmed magic reading glasses.

They were always handy when time was pinched.

"History of Minstrel? How's that going to help us defeat a big ugly monster?" Happy climbed up her back to peer down at the book too.

Lucy kept her eyes glued to the fluttering pages. "I'm trying to see how long that things been around, tormenting people."

Natsu came over too, both of them occupying her left and right side like magnets.

"If I can find out anything about this thing, maybe I can get an idea on how to defeat it. Like a weakness or something."

"Oh! Smart thinking Lucy!" Natsu cheered her on.

Happy was also catching on, moving his tail around in confidence that they'd be able to complete the job faster.

"Now shh! I need to stay focused."

But, after rereading the book of information three seperate times, she set it down defeatedly.

"It's no use, I didn't catch any leads," she flopped back flat onto her bed. "Just when I thought we'd have the upper hand for once."

Natsu rose a brow. "We got this in the bag, stop stressing yourself out about it."

"He's right Lucy, we've never backed down from a challenge before." Happy sat next to her.

"And we aren't starting now," Natsu's smile got even wider as he finished off Happy's sentence.

"So cheer up, we'll be there and back home before you know it."

Lucy rolled over to her side, propping her elbow up and positioning her chin in her hand.

"I can't lie and say I'm not also excited to see what Minstrel is like," she said. "A land of music and dance sounds really promising."

The bed creaked as Natsu sat down at the foot of it, all three of them piled on her side of the room. Her personal space was becoming theirs too.

"I wonder what the food there'll be like," Natsu was all the more interested now. It was like thought bubbles of dinner plates and festive dishes were popping above above his head one by one.

"Happy, let's make sure we eat our fill!"

"Aye sir!" They shared a smile.

Lucy hummed as she thought about what boutiques and magic shops they'd see. "It'd be a waste to not go sightseeing. Shopping too!"

Now, their moods were already ten times more upbeat than they had been.

Lucy could only cross her fingers and hope with all her might that nothing tore down their joy.

Chapter 3: Discovering Secrets

One thing was for sure, being out of that cheerless inn definitely appeased Lucy.

Nothing was worse than being holed up in a disagreeable environment where the inside air was a combination of moist and sticky.

Lucy figured it was because they were right by the ocean that the oxygen became thicker inside areas with little to no ventilation. In the nicest words possible, the facilitation of that place was a disaster.

That bed, too, was the equivalent of sleeping on a rocky mountain peak.

"I think there's a kink in my neck..." Happy openly complained, shoulders sagging as he walked in the middle of Natsu and Lucy.

Lucy nodded. "Yeesh, mine too. And my hair's all greasy from that pillowcase..."

On the other hand, Natsu happened to be pretty chipper about the whole situation.

"Just one more stop to go!" He shouted, pumping his fists into the air in a celebratory motion.

Lucy eyed him. Wrong.

"Two more, Natsu. One boat to the Island, and another the rest of the way to Minstrel once we cut through." She explained.

Well, there went his sprightly orientation.

Before any one of them could add to the conversation, a cry knelled grievously into the townsquare. It came from the docks.

After exchanging looks that briefed eachother in, they all unanimously took off running to the cries. There was no hesitation in their commitment to find out if a rescue was in the schedule.

If someone was in current danger, or hurt, or in need of help— Natsu and Lucy wouldn't turn a blind eye.

The choice was precipitated immediately.

"Are you alright?!" Lucy hurried over to where a notably ailed pair of sailors sat.

One of them was clearly in worse shape than the other— their conditions nearly incomparable. His bone structure was angular, his spindly arms extending out like he wanted to take hold of something.

Without thinking she had crouched and taken his hand into hers to hold it.

"We're here to help," she assured before looking at the other one. "Can you tell us what happened?"

Only a few stutters left the man before he succeeded in speaking. "... A few weeks ago, we got our hands on a treasure map—"

The man closed his eyes tightly, as if remembering was too much to stomach.

"We had no idea what we were walking into when we sailed to where it was marked..." His voice trailed off, the lapping ocean waves hitting the stone paved sidings of the dock. "That thing did this..."

Happy stepped closer, saddened by the sight. "Are you saying something did that to him? He looks terrible..."

There was no concealment of emotions in the men's faces.

The symptoms the incapacitated sailor showed were beginning to show a familiar pattern. To her, it looked like ethernano poisoning.

"This is..." Lucy felt her heart drop.

"I think... It purposefully let us make it out alive," those words were ominous. "To toy with us like it was playing with its food."

Lucy's blood chilled to a degree that made her want to convulse in fright. But she didn't allow it and opted for looking up at Natsu.

But he didn't meet her searching eyes.

"Where are you coming from?" Natsu asked steadily, but she could tell he was unordinarily pensive.

With shaky hands, the man pulled a cloth-tied map out of his inner shirt pocket.

"Take this..." The man placed it in his hands. "Both as a warning and as proof—"

A pause, then another uneasy breath escaped.

"We came from Minstrel."

•☆—☆•

Getting on their own personal boat after that was a task poorly assigned and matched for her noodled legs. The only source of distraction she had was keeping Happy in her arms.

Carrying him around helped her unwind her concerns even the slimmest amount.

"You're squeezing me to death, Lucy." Happy wheezed out.

She only squeezed harder. "Get used to it, I don't like the idea of facing off against an opponent that uses poison to its advantage."

Happy squirmed out of her locked arms and landed on his hind-legs. "Do you think those guys will be okay?"

"At the very least they'll be in good hands... We sent them the address to Porlyusica," her arms went back to her sides. "But without a cancelation factor, if it is ethernano poisoning, their states will only worsen."

"You don't mean..." Happy stiffened.

"Exactly, I'm pretty sure it's the same thing Tartaros used against us. Bane particles, or some sort of altercation of it."

Lucy's heeled boots pushed down on the wooden flooring of the deck as she paced.

"But from what I'm hearing, it wasn't an organization or a mage that did this," she looked up at the sky. "It was a beast. Which... Has me wondering..."

In the background, Natsu was folded over the shipside hurling into the seawater.

"If it has something to do with Sigelac."

Her and Happy both showed their dislike for the possibility on their faces.

"Sure, but don't you think it's too much of a coincidence for us to already be hearing about it from way over here in Fiore?" He made a good point. "We haven't even made it to the island yet!"

Lucy exhaled out her frustrations. "That's what's bothering me. Still, we don't have a choice but to go check it out."

Happy agreed with silence.

"I so wish Erza, or Gray, or Wendy were here..." Lucy whined, elbows finding purchase behind her on the ship railing.

"Someone to help figure this all out."

Happy took offense to that. "I know Natsu is pretty pea brained but I'd say I'm more than enough help."

"You know what I meant, it isn't personal," she retorted back. "Plus, it'd be nice to have a girl tagging along."

Then, she shook her head to reverse her statement. "On second thought, it is really nice being with you two. Just like old times."

Moving over to Natsu, she pat his back to relieve him. "Only when Natsu isn't green and puking, that is."

His reaction was a downcast noise of disapproval.

Sighing at his apparent sickness, she unclipped the leather case at her side and revealed her celestial keys.

Picking the perfect one out, she thrust it outward and flicked her wrist in a half-clockwise motion.

"Open! Gate of the Ram, Aries!"

Light expanded through a fixed segment of the area— and out came the spirit she summoned.

"I-I promise to do my best, Miss Lucy!" Aries sheepishly announced.

"Thanks, Aries! Think you can make a nice cushion for this guy?" Lucy pulled Natsu closer and pat his shoulder.

Aries nodded repeatedly and unfurled her hands, directing them downward and unleashing her spell. Pink bundles of wool poofed right into place.

"It won't last long once I return, b-but I hope this helps!" She shyed away.

"No worries, thanks again," Lucy gave Aries a thumbs up before closing the gate.

"Sit down, Natsu."

After situating him into the wool, she proudly cupped her hands on the curves of her hips.

"That should do it. I've never tried this method before, but I think it could be useful in the future," she affirmed to herself. "How does it feel?"

"I can't decide if I want to barf or drift off to sleep..." Natsu's voice was strained and shaky. Even the strongest Dragon Slayer alive couldn't handle a little rocking of a ship.

"So dramatic." A lighthearted chuckle slipped.

Lucy bent down and hugged her knees to her chest, not taking her sights off of him. It was obvious he was a little lethargic from the addition of the relaxing wool to the nausea he was experiencing.

As his eyes shut, Lucy didn't let herself worry about repercussions. With one hand, she reached out to trace the back of her finger over the bridge of his nose.

Yet another chuckle slipped from her upturned lips.

Next was his cheek. It was softer than how his roughened hands felt. A different part of his skin.

Lucy planned to captain her thumb to his parted lips. Questions piled in at the rarity of seeing him so at peace in a time like this.

"Seriously, Natsu... You're a handful." The gentleness of her voice was, well, unmatched.

It was an idiosyncrasy of his, getting all queasy the second transportation was even mentioned.

Seeing him so calm like this was a peculiarly invited phenomenon...

POOF!

The bed of wool evaporated into nothingness, dropping Natsu a few inches down with a splat.

Lucy was beyond startled, withdrawing her hand and straightening up lightning quick.

"Ow!" Natsu's voice was muffled into the ships floorboards.

Not sparing him a glance, she took off the other way in embarrassment.

"Lucy..."

Even his pleads for her to help him up went unheard. She was too trapped in her own head to care, blushing fiercely.

What could it possibly be, making her feel so much more elevated and nervous around him? The fact he'd almost seen her messing around with his face was enough to make her dizzy.

Was she crazy? Insane?

Escaping was her best bet, running and hiding and—

"I saw that." At her side, Happy peeked at her over a crate stored with them on the ship.

Amusement and satisfaction was all over the cat's face.

Lucy balled her fist. "Say another word and you're fishfood."

There was no logical explanation to this predicament.

Unless—

No.

Not in a million years.

Notes:

Short chapter, sorry! The other ones will be longer and more detailed.

Chapter 4: Mòros Spire? What a Joke!

Clouds linked together overhead, propelled into position by salted winds. The setting sun and the horizon convened at its shared central, letting the bright colors of daylight finally retire.

Each wave that splashed against the stern would deposit cold pearls of ocean water onto the ships main body, which was progressively closing in on the port.

Soon enough, the ship docked.

"Hurray! We reached the island!" Happy was the first to realize where they were and step out onto the wharf.

It was Lucy's job, apparently, to haul Natsu upright and off the ship.

"Go on, leave without me," Lucy said sarcastically under her breath. "Not like I need any help packing around a grown man."

His feet were dragging as she adjusted his arms around her neck to carry him effectively like a sack of potatoes.

It put a strain on her back.

"Geez, did you gain weight?" She groaned out expressively. "What have you and Happy been eating when I'm not around?"

"Lucy, look!" Happy called from ahead, one fluffed finger pointing outward. "I see the town already!"

Lucy concentrated on the outlines that shaped themselves into buildings and houses up ahead. The small town was built right on the hillside.

At the same time, her grip on Natsu's cuffed arm was disturbed as he balanced himself.

"I'm never getting on a boat again." He declared. If she had a penny for everytime she heard that line, she'd be rolling in the dough.

Lucy crossed her arms. "Say that after we get to Minstrel. I'll have no problem leaving you there, so long as we get this job finished."

"Yeah right, you'd miss me the second you took your eyes off of me." Natsu claimed in full faith that she would.

Truth be told, he wasn't wrong.

"The only thing I miss is the peace and quiet I got before I met the two of you." She stated, though it wasn't said in a hateful manner. Moreso a simple line of banter meant to rile him up.

"Like you're fooling anyone with that lie." Putting his hands behind his head, Natsu strolled forward.

She blushed. "Oh you think so, huh? Get back here!"

Lucy gave chase, pretending to be angrier with him than she was. Natsu evaded her, running as fast as he possibly could.

"And here I was thinkin' you wanted to get rid of me!" He yelled over the line of his shoulder, grinning like a madman.

"I so do! Come here so I can do it myself!" She reached for him.

They passed by Happy, taking off down the bowed dirt trail that resembled the essence of a coil.

Without giving her time to react, Natsu spun on the soles of his black sandals and caught her by the forearms.

Lucy yelped, faceplanting right into the foundation of his chest.

"Gotcha," he boasted. "Not so tough now, are ya?"

There was a pout that pulled at her expression. "I was supposed to be the one chasing you, not the other way around."

"Too bad." Natsu looked even more triumphant.

Her pout intensified. "Natsu..."

"Try all you want, those sad eyes don't work on me," he denied all possible reasoning. "I won fair and square."

"Won? What are you even winning?" She asked, exasperated with his childish tendencies to make everything into a game.

"Lots of things, like—"

Natsu stopped, immediately on edge. Lucy suddenly felt apprehensive in his arms.

"Lucy, stay put."

"Are you kidding me? No way, where are you going?"

Natsu sniffed at the air, cautiously stepping away and heading eastward where the dirt cut into the overgrowth of reeds that hemmed the primary pathway.

It didn't seem like a good idea to follow the wrong end of the fork in the road.

"What're you up to?" She shouted in a whisper.

Had he caught wind of a sinister scent? Something that could jeopardize their safety?

"Something's up ahead..." Natsu used the back of his hand to clear a few tendrils that blocked the diverged path.

The hair on her arms stood up. "What are you talking about?"

Like he was mechanically engineered to do so, Natsu put his other arm out to guard her behind him.

It was in these moments that she felt the most secured and looked out for.

And like a reflex, Lucy moved closer so she could clutch the back of his jacket and sneak a look around him.

"Are you positive something's in there? Can't we turn around and ignore it?" She hesitated to even speak, afraid of being too loud and alerting an enemy.

"No, I gotta figure it out. It smells familiar."

Lucy bit the inside of her cheek. "If you say so..."

Together, they walked right into the overhang of greenery and ended up in a clearing.

In the middle of the area, there were ruins of some sort of old church—

And also...

Nothing?

"Wow, some nose you have." Lucy griped, unimpressed with his pathetic find. Feeling her concern mitigate itself, she released the fabric of his jacket she had balled in her hands.

Natsu's brows pulled together. "I'm tellin' ya, something reeks of home in here."

"Why would you be catching scent of home way out here?" This province did belong to Fiore, but it was so far off from the mainland.

It didn't make any logical sense.

Behind them, Happy had caught up. "Real nice of you two to wait for me. Are you that desperate for time alone you resorted to setting up a date in the trees?"

"Put a sock in it!" Lucy shot back at him.

Natsu pitched a watchful look over to the ruins. The domed roof was caved in, the wreckage dispersed around its perimeter.

Not a word left him as he prowled closer.

Happy blinked, confused. "Natsu?"

After a second of waiting for him to say something, he perked up, like he'd realized what it was. Before they could solve his behavior and come to a conclusion, he was already dashing inside the rubbled structure.

"Wait up!" Lucy went in after him.

On top of it all, her nerves were totally shot. They had no time for a detour, seriously.

Was Minstrel just a joke now or something? If so, it better have a good punchline.

"I smell her!" Natsu told them, but failed to explain who he was referring to. "And the others too!"

"Okay, sure— But who!?" Lucy grumbled out as she ran through the arched internal architecture. Happy kept up at her side.

Soon enough they cleared a corner and were introduced to the answer.

Lucy gasped.

"No way, what're they doing here?"

A group of three were reclined back on the stone flooring, unconscious, their skin pasty in color— like they'd been left there for days.

Other than that, thankfully, they seemed to be unharmed.

"Erza!" It was Natsu who got to her first, kneeling down to prop her up and shake her awake.

Like a spell was undone, her eyes opened.

Lucy recognized the other two as Jellal and Meredy. Rushing to one's side, Happy got to the other.

"... Natsu?" Erza's voice was decorated in delirium. She grounded her palm on the floor.

"The hell happened here? Are you guys alright?" Natsu was quick to put the question on her, just as shocked as the rest of them were.

Several heartbeats of Erza's tacturnity passed until she eventually got her color back.

Now, she looked livid.

"Those spineless imbeciles! Springing a surprise attack on us while we were unguarded," she pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the protest of her exhausted body. "A cowards game to play. How becoming of them."

She was glaring out at the exit.

Jellal was stirring awake in Lucy's hold now as well, same as Meredy. Though, those two took a little longer to regain their senses.

"Erza, calm down," Jellal spoke, a hand massaging his forehead. "First things first, we need to regroup..."

Erza inhaled sharply through her nostrils, then obeyed his directions and sat back down.

By this point, the level of perplexity was skyrocketing.

"Is anyone going to explain what's happening here or are we supposed to start guessing?" Lucy asked, already overwhelmed. They seemed healthy enough to provide an explanation, so she didn't feel bad for pressing the matter.

Still, that didn't mean she wasn't worried about them and who had done this.

Meredy coughed before sitting up. "This place was marked down as a rendezvous point for a Dark Guild, but... When we got here..."

Lucy stiffened up. Back at the Guild, Mirajane had told her that Erza's team was off on an investigation involving Dark Guilds, but she hadn't thought much of it at the time.

She assumed it wasn't any real threat, since FairyTail itself had cleaned up the majority of Guilds that tampered in that field. Also because she hadn't heard about anything out of the ordinary.

Jellal finished for Meredy. "We weren't careful enough, apparently," he said. "It figures they'd set a trap, but we walked right in without taking precautions."

Natsu crossed his legs and glowered at the news. "So some bastards got the upper hand on ya?"

"So it seems," Erza's pride was clearly hurt. "It happened too quick for me to catch the features of the foe who came before us, but I did manage to see the symbol marked on the back of his cloak."

Both Jellal and Erza went silent.

"Symbol?" Lucy repeated. Jellal placed his hands on his knees before nodding.

"The Guild we're after is called Mòros Spire, an ancient guild said to be ostracized from society," he lifted his index finger and drew out a symbol in the air with his magic.

"They originated from Fiore, but from what we've gathered so far, it's likely they've migrated to Minstrel."

The symbol radiated with royal blue incandescence, hovering dormantly. The design alone looked like something you'd encounter in the pages of a book relating to forbidden magic. Like a rune of sorts.

Lucy didn't like it, not at all.

"They've avoided the radar of Fiore's magic council for decades, so it hasn't been an easy task tracking them down," Erza added. "Until they decided to make an enemy of us."

Jellal agreed with a dip of his head. "I don't like that they found us first."

"Did you say they've gone to Minstrel? That's where we're headed." Lucy told them, her eyes going back and forth between speakers.

"You and Natsu are going to Minstrel? For what reason?" Erza asked, looking frazzled.

In Happy's pouch was the job request, so he fished it out and handed it over. "We were asked to defeat a monster to help out the townsfolk and such."

Erza took the paper and assessed the situation, reading the thickly bolded words out loud.

"Sigelac?" She tried the name out on her tongue.

"It sounds like a complete savage to me. I mean, it has a whole country at its mercy!" Lucy motioned her hands. "Honestly, I'm a little nervous to face it."

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Oh come on! We've slugged numbers of dragons and enemies in the past, nothin' can hold a candle to us!"

"No, Lucy's right to be worried," Erza interjected. "Minstrel continues to prove itself more of a dangerous place than what's told."

Being corrected was never Natsu's forte, so he ended up turning his head away.

"Say, why don't we all group up for the time being?" Jellal suggested. "If we're heading in the same direction, keeping power in numbers is never a bad idea."

"Good thinking. Natsu, Lucy, any objections?" Erza turned the option over to them.

Nobody protested, so that was that.

•☆—☆•

The walk into town was as boisterous as you'd probably guess.

"Never woulda imagined finding Erza and Jella flat on their asses in the middle of nowhere!" Natsu snickered after firing the jab.

In a forthright movement, Lucy swat him right where his neck joined his head. "Watch it! Now's not the time to be making jokes!"

In the back, Meredy brooded over being left out. "I'm here too, you know..."

Natsu rubbed at the spot she'd aimed all her force upon.

"If I gotta watch what I say then you watch where you're throwing your hands!"

"Stop complaining, you big baby."

While Lucy and Natsu were immersed in arguments, the rectangular sign that welcomed them into town with whittled letters popped into view.

A few people were visible from where they walked, but not enough to crowd the marketplace. The shops were pretty humdrum if you visualized them next to the overly embellished ones in Magnolia, and the apartment complexes didn't look frequented.

It wasn't the worst for a small town with scarcity in resources, but it felt like there must've been more to it than what the eye could see.

"Excuse me, have you seen any cloaked personnel pass through?" The jointed armor that encrusted Erza's left hand bent with her fingers as she placed them on an elderly woman's shoulder.

Oddly, the woman was scared straight out of her wrinkled skin, jowls transfiguring into a lour of enmity.

"Don't touch me with those hands of sin!" The woman squawked, looking at the group like they were each a personification of pernicious evil.

Now, the rest of the townspeople turned their cowed glances onto them. They were all affrighted by the outburst, distressed by the arrival of outsiders.

"If you know what's good for you, take your defiled selves far from this town!"

With that, she ran off, basket of bakery breads tucked close.

All of them were stupefied by the woman and the reactions that swelled through the streets.

Erza's hand was still poised where the woman's shoulder had been, her face falling into something like humiliation.

Jellal was quick to comfort her.

"What the?" Natsu couldn't believe it. None of them could.

It was like they caused some kind of upheaval with that simple question. Mothers were hearding their children inside while others closed up shop.

They all stood there, silent.

Lucy almost heard crickets.

"Are we sure... This place is still Fiore?" She asked.

"So much for that welcome sign at the town entrance." Happy reflected distastefully.

"Their reactions were all too concordant," Meredy observed. "Like something that's been practiced."

"Or taught." Jellal added.

Erza was still shaken up, rambling silently to herself. "... Hands of sin."

Lucy pat her back. "Don't take it personally... These people are weird."

"Weird doesn't even begin to describe that meltdown," Natsu said. "They're downright looney!"

"There's nothing we can do about it now. Let's focus on getting ourselves a boat out to Minstrel," Jellal planned out. "While I do want to find out what all this was about, we shouldn't stay long."

Happy scoffed. "Yeah or they'll chase us out with pitchforks or something. They clearly don't want us here."

Natsu huffed and puffed about having to leave without getting to pick a fight. "These jerks... Getting away with talking all that smack."

His frown directed at the cobbled floor now, getting himself trapped in thought. "It doesn't feel right, not any of it."

"Do you always think with your fists, Natsu?" Lucy sighed out. "Incase you didn't know, there's a brain in there."

She put her pointer finger on his browline.

He looked at her, the gravity of his words bona fide on his face.

"It ain't just that," Natsu browsed his surroundings, moving away. "This place leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"I think we can all vouch for that." Jellal confirmed his own suspicions.

"Me as well," Meredy fixed her hotpink hair by running her fingers through it. "Which only makes me want to leave all the more."

Lucy picked up Happy so he wouldn't have to expend his magic by flying.

"I'm just as curious about this place, too," she told Natsu. "But Jellal and Meredy are right. Minstrel is our top priority right now, okay?"

"... 'Kay." He begrudgingly gave in.

Relieved, they all started for where they guessed the towns port was.

Whatever this places issue with them was, did they really want to know?

Notes:

By the way guys, if you look up a map of Ishgar you can see where each location is based. Minstrel is a real place in the series, and so is the island!

Chapter 5: Keep Them Where They Belong

Since the misdirected animosity of the people uphill didn't accompany them down by the shore, the group agreed on an interval of rest.

Mainly because Natsu complained so adamantly about being put on another boat, but also because they themselves were in need of a breather.

So, Lucy let herself take in all the peace she could get.

Putting her bare feet in the sun warmed sand helped remove the anxiousness she was feeling. Everything kept piling up lately.

From the two sailors back in Fiore's main region to the promise of facing off against not just a beast, but maybe Mòros Spire in its own turn.

She was used to facing hardships and overcoming them, but was it so wrong to say she was feeling swamped by it all?

"Hey Lucy! Check it out!" Natsu and Happy came out from the tropical shrubs, arms crammed full of coconuts.

"There's a whole forest of these back there! Want one?"

Well, she was thirsty, and they'd drank the last of their water back before they got to the island.

"Sure, I'll take one."

Natsu dropped all but one, cracking it open without difficulty. The way the muscles of his forearms rippled when he did that—

Lucy was a sucker.

"T-Thanks," tripping over her own words, how ridiculous. "I'll open it the rest of the way."

"Sure thing." Natsu didn't think Lucy was weak enough to struggle with a coconut, so he passed it along.

Using the crack he'd made, she wedged her fingertips in and pried it open with a snap. Inside, the whitened water shimmered in the setting afternoon light.

It sloshed around as she tipped it to sip from nature's cup.

"That's refreshing...!" She exclaimed, not expecting it to be so cold. It didn't have the most striking flavor in her opinion, but right now she'd take anything.

"Wanna know what it tastes like heated up?" Natsu smirked, already broiling one in his open hand.

Lucy gave her signature blasé look when he did stuff like that. "Not really."

Happy jumped up and kicked it out of his palm. "You're always cooking stuff that doesn't need to be cooked! It ruins it!"

Natsu flashed him a piercing look. "Hey! There you go wastin' stuff again, it spilt all over the place!"

"It's not my problem you light everything up in flames," Happy countered. "So quit doing it!"

"Now you're starting to sound like Gray..." Natsu glared at the mention.

Lucy frowned at their remarks. "Is it just me or are you two more snappy with eachother recently? Is something going on?"

Happy's words zipped up to her. "It all started because he can't admit his feelings! I told him to conf—"

Natsu's hand cupped firmly around the cats moving mouth faster than lightning ever could. "What are you doing, telling her all that?!"

Lucy almost choked on her heartbeat, but she decided not to draw conclusions that fast. It must've just been a slip of words, surely.

Or that she wasn't hearing the whole story. Right, that must be it.

Silly her, getting her hopes up again.

After all, Natsu... Wasn't into that type of thing. Not at all.

"Natsu, Happy, Lucy! We've got a boat ready, are you coming or what?" Erza hollered from the docks.

The earlier agitated pair went quiet. Natsu especially.

"Leave me, I'm not goin'." He crossed his arms and plopped down in the sand.

"Yes you are! Get up—" Lucy grabbed at his bicep, pulling with all her might.

It didn't have any effect. Natsu didn't budge.

"I'd rather stay here with that town of freaks!" Natsu got his arms around a palm tree, anchoring to it.

"Natsu!" Lucy used a scolding tone, pulling backward until she was on her heels. When sheer force proved a failure, she collapsed back into the bedded sand.

"Happy... You get him..." She panted.

"Aye."

Picking Natsu up was easier than pulling him, so Happy got him by the jacket and heaved him into the sky.

Natsu flailed. "Put me down! Hey!"

When his shouts faded, Lucy put her shoes back on and prepared herself to follow, but—

"... Miss?" The withdrawn, delicately pitched voice of a little girl seized her attention. To her left, a child no older than eight years of age shrank partially behind the same tree Natsu had been holding onto moments before.

Lucy's energy revived at the sight.

"Can you help me?" The girl queried with beaded tears in the corner of her sharp tilted eyes.

There was no delay in her answer. "Of course I can! What's the matter?"

Lucy shifted closer, knees in the sand so she could remain eye level with the saddened girl.

"My mother..." The girl hiccuped, erupting into a fit of streaming tears. "She's going to get eaten!"

Lucy didn't know what to say or do. Eaten?

"Huh? Eaten by what exactly?" She took the girls shaking hands into hers, squeezing them assuringly.

A silent declaration.

"I'll save her, I promise," Lucy said. "But you have to tell me where she is, and what's going to eat her."

The urgency in her reply seemed to work, because the girl wailed out.

"That monster on the mainland! They're going to take her to it!"

That monster on the mainland...

Sigelac.

•☆—☆•

Natsu was getting restless. Now Lucy wanted to play at being truant to their expedition like she was the one who got motion sickness, not him.

But more than that, her being unpunctual for once didn't sit right in his gut.

It felt like the boat was already rocking from side to side, messing with his digestion.

Happy didn't fly that fast, and even if he could, Natsu would never intentionally leave her behind for long if he had any say about it.

So what was keeping her from getting here?

"Happy, do you see her from up there?" Natsu squinted upward at the blue figured cat. A few seconds ago, he told him to keep an eye out for her from that vantage point.

"Nope, not a thing," Happy reported. "Maybe her constipation finally kicked in and she had to go find a bush to do business in."

"Not likely," Natsu said quickly. "She never goes outdoors. She hates it."

"Really? But we're always outside, how does she manage?" Happy looked surprised.

"That doesn't matter right now. If she's gone missing, I'm goin' looking for her." Natsu got a foot up on the boats edge, ready to jump starboard.

"Natsu, hold it for a second," Erza walked up. "I want to ask you something."

"Not now, I don't got the time to sit around and chat—" he tried to leap but Erza pulled him back, causing him to land on his back.

"I'm not looking for a chat, Natsu," she frowned down at him. "I need to know. Where'd you get that job request?"

Natsu raised a brow, his impatience inflating. "That's what you're tossing me around for? I got it from the job board!"

"The truth, Natsu," Erza stringently demanded. "Tell me where you found that request this instant. No more lies."

Natsu's eye twitched. He'd been caught.

Slowly, he answered. "... That old chest the geezer keeps locked up below the guild."

Erza's face recast into something you'd spot on a phantom— ghostlike and dismayed.

Reaching down, she hauled him up by the shirt.

"Do you realize the mistake you've made? The danger you've put not only your life in, but Lucy's as well?" Erza castigated him severely, unbraiding her rage in the rawest form.

Natsu took it like a champ, though, his one and only care in the world being the current state of Lucy's safety.

"Those job requests are meant to be in there for a reason!" She emphasized just what he'd done. "Natsu, the requests in that chest go beyond the average S class mission... It's something none of us have experience in."

Erza looked him in the eye. "Not even Guildarts— No, not even any of the previous guild masters have touched what jobs fill that chest to the brim."

Natsu knew it, he'd screwed up. Majorly.

The reason he'd dug around in there searching for a nice dandy job to partake in was because nothing complemented the skill level of the guild anymore. Sure, he was realizing now the magnitude of naivete he had relied on while making the choice to pick out that request. It was stupid, the branded definition of his entire being.

But more than that, more than his regret and need to stew in repentance... Was his unadulterated need to find Lucy.

Now.

"If Lucy were to get hurt—"

"I'm not letting that happen!" Natsu rivaled the volume of Erza's voice.

Even in his emotion, however, he didn't want to hurt Erza.

As carefully as he could, he forced her plated hand off of him.

But when Natsu turned around to head out, the sight that lined the mountainside in rows arrested everyone's surveillance.

Torches of brilliant fire were carried by a handful of the townsfolk they had ran into previously, some of them pulling wagons of caged prisoners with them. There were dozens of them organized in pairs, all chanting strange and novel phrases that were unrecognizable to the foreign ear.

Magic columns of light were carried at the front, the ethernano diffusing a sickening glare.

They all headed down to the opposite end of the island where another dock they hadn't seen was located. Waiting at the bay was a massive ship with dark colored sails blended against the horizon— And on them...

The guild mark of Mòros Spire.

"Lucy—"

Natsu's morale plummeted, panic feeding off his state of mind.

If this mission truly was as dangerous as Erza expressed, then Natsu had been a fool.

He knew that, and he wanted Lucy back before anything bad happened to her.

"Lucy!"

Maybe it'd be faster to have Happy take him over there, but right now his thoughts were too much of a mess to think accurately.

Instantly he was off the boat, running until his lungs burned in hopes of finding her before they did. Natsu had no clue what they were after, but if they touched one singular strand of hair on her head—

They were all piles of ashes.

Chapter 6: Devils May be Angels

The whole place was outright mind-numbing without salamander screaming his puny little head off about something comically stupid.

Gajeel thought becoming a parent would lessen his need to poke fun at the guy to an amount he could handle in moderation, but... Yeah, he wanted to start something already.

Who cared about maturity, it was entertaining as all hell.

"Yo, Juvia," Gajeel called from his seat. In his arms was his infant daughter, who slept soundly. "Where's your boyfriends buddy at?"

Juvia's face flared into a hot, flustered blush. "B-Boyfriend?! Well, not that Juvia opposes..."

She cleared her throat, tucking a few stalks of deep blue hair behind her ears.

"I heard from Ms. Mira that he's out on a mission with Lucy."

Gajeel tsked. "Go figure. That's too bad."

Beside him, Levy pinched his side, their son in her arms. "Quit looking for fights already, I thought I told you to grow up!"

"Can't help it, it's the highlight of my day seeing the salamander get all worked up."

"The highlight of your day should be spending time with you family, Gajeel."

"That's a close second, gehee." Gajeel smirked, teasing her.

It was fun, seeing the shrimp fill her cheeks with air in frustration. Cute, too.

Gajeel guessed he could settle for that.

"Did someone mention that Natsu's on a job? About time," Makarov wheeled himself out. "He's been stuck around doing chores for so long I was getting tired of hearing him."

He laughed at his own words, then turned to Mirajane. "Tell me, what'd he choose to do this time around?"

Mira smiled. "Oh, it was an S ranked job, from what I remember. They said they were headed for Minstrel."

The shout Makarov gave quieted the whole quild faster than the moon falling could.

Even Gajeel felt like he should keep his lips sealed.

"Minstrel?!" Makarov reiterated in bewilderment, a slow rage turning him redder than a ripened tomato.

"If that boy doesn't die out there, I'll kill him myself!" He shook his fist in the air.

Gray was careful around his wording. "Master, what's the problem? Natsu and Lucy have cleared plenty of S ranked jobs before, it shouldn't be a problem for them."

Makarov looped his wheelchair around. "Didn't you hear me? Those whippersnappers stuck their noses where they don't belong!"

This definitely brought the old man's heart rate up. "The only job request from Minstrel we've ever had is one I keep locked up! That Natsu..."

Gajeel cradled his daughter closer as he rose a metaled brow. "Got himself into trouble, did he? Sounds like him."

Next, Gray put his hands on his hips. "So what's the plan? Should we go and rescue the idiots?"

"No." Makarov was firm in his stance. "I'd like to limit the number of casualties I'll see, if possible..."

The mood of the Guildhall descended into something wistfully dull.

"... I hate to give up hope, but the only thing we can do is pray they come home alive."

Everyone was on edge now, waiting.

"Otherwise..."

The old man looked dreadfully helpless.

Gray, Juvia, and Gajeel all locked eyes.

If hope was gone and chances were less than slim, they'd be the ones to restore the preserverance of what was lost.

If the salamander was in a pickle, Gajeel had to be there to point and laugh. No exceptions.

That stolen glance all three shared was an agreement.

Operation rescue flame brain and blondie? It was a go.

•☆—☆•

The more of the Island Lucy got to see firsthand, the more the questions racked up in her brain.

The ruins they'd discovered wasn't the only one— various other destroyed monuments and structures mantling the island.

Each of Lucy's steps were prudent and mindful, because after following the little girl to where she claimed her mother was being transported...

She realized just how hazardous this was becoming. This was no small task with an easy solution, and Lucy would probably have to put in some elbow grease to manage a successful rescue.

From where her and the young child concealed themselves behind an edged boulder, she could see the marching of countless townspeople heading right for the ocean's eddying waters.

"What are they up too?" She whispered through her teeth. The little girl looked up at her.

"They do this every time the moon's at its crescent..." She imparted the fact like it was second nature by now. "They select the ones who've volunteered, then take them away."

Lucy felt mind boggled. "I'm sorry, volunteered?" She asked. "Your mother volunteered to be dragged away in a cage?"

Her eye flicked down the slope to the carts of jailed people.

Timidly, the child shrunk into her oversized dress. "... Yes, but she isn't her usual self right now."

"Her usual self?" Lucy echoed. "... Is she being controlled somehow?"

"I don't know," she shook her head back and forth. "I don't know how they do it, but... Sometimes, when my mother comes home, she doesn't act the same."

Lucy could feel the gears in her head jam to a halt. She didn't understand any of this.

"I see... Where is she coming home from?" Lucy was unbending in her promise to help, feeling terrible for the girl.

"The adults in town go to meetings in the schoolyard at the end of every month..."

Aha. That must be the source of all these strange events.

Lucy didn't know, of course, what was going on— But she was beginning to piece things together.

"Hey, what's your name?" Gently, Lucy put her hands on the girls shoulders

"... Saanvi."

Lucy gave her the most convincing smile she could conjure up. "Saanvi, I promise to save your mother. But it's too dangerous for you to stick around here."

The girl opened her mouth to object at the notion of running away, but Lucy interrupted.

"I promise you."

Saanvi went quiet, then bowed her head in low spirits before agreeing. "Okay..."

After watching her retreat back in the direction of the town, Lucy let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in.

Should she run back and get help from the others? No, there wasn't any time. The collection of enemies were making quick progress to the sandy bank. If she wasted even a second, she could lose sight of them.

Biting down on her thumb, Lucy thought for a good long while.

If she could help it, she didn't want to get anywhere near those pillars of what looked to be solidified ethernano. They were being lugged around by two taller members at the front of the line, leading the assembly straight down to another port.

From where she stood, she couldn't really get a good look at the ship that was waiting down there, but what she could see were the massive cannons that were built into the shipside.

Everything about this screamed dangerous. She wished Natsu and Erza had come with.

"Looks like it's just me myself and I right now."

Popping open her leather key-case, she snatched out just one of them.

"Open, Gate of the Twins, Gemini!" Her finger moved up the neck of the slim, golden object.

A twinkle cut through space, sanctioning a gateway between two worlds, giving the two small zodiac a way through. "Piri, Piri!"

Lucy aimed her finger down at the prisoners.

"Gemini, transform into one of those prisoners and get their attention," she instructed. "Then run like your life depends on it, got it? I need them to chase you."

It was a plan with holes all over in it. She was relying on luck to keep it from sinking.

They'd definitely notice there was a duplicate of one of the prisoners, but Lucy was betting they wouldn't leave any loose ends.

Gemini observed the target before transforming, then disappeared down the slope.

Staying hidden for now was the route Lucy chose. It wasn't until she heard the chaos unfold that she stared out and measured her openings.

Three of the guards had took the bait, in hot pursuit of Gemini's copied form. Only a single guard stayed put with his silvered spear at the ready.

So, Lucy acted quick and stardressed using Loke's borrowed power— black frilled dress veering around her shapely physique. Dropping in from the upper part of the hill, she exercised the element of surprise to attack without resistance.

Using her heightened strength to her advantage as well, Lucy concentrated the regulas power of the lion into her leg that she swung up, landing a full kick.

The guards cheekbone was met with a swift hit from her shin, the resplendent glow of regulas exploding and sending him flying into the rest of the enemies a few feet ahead.

Numbers of them crashed down, giving her a sense of victory and accomplishment.

"Hah, take that!" After tilting her nose up flippantly in pride, she turned a gleaming fist on the lock of the first cage.

It bust open in one hit, but it also startled the man inside.

"Hurry, get yourself out of here!" Lucy pulled him to his feet, but he tugged his hands backward.

"Devil! Don't touch me, I'll be tainted!" The reaction was almost a mirror of how that old woman had reacted to Erza.

It really did sting to be treated so harshly. Erza wasn't overdramatic at all.

The wagon that the cage was in bounced as the man sat back down, back pushing against the cold steel bars.

There wasn't any time for this. Lucy looked at the woman in the second cage.

"Are you Saanvi's mother?" No response.

Lucy glanced back, the other enemies now alerted of her interference.

"Please!" Lucy begged, breaking open the other cage. "Your daughter needs you, go back to her!"

By this point, the silent woman looked heavily ashamed but still wouldn't listen to the pleas of Lucy. Even if she gave them an ultimatum, they'd just brush it off like it was nothing.

"This isn't the time to be worried about being tainted, or whatever—!" Lucy got them both up. "Just listen to me and go!"

"It's our honor to give up our lives for a greater cause," the woman finally addressed her. "Please respect that."

Greater cause her butt.

Lucy was about to go nuts. "How could you leave behind your daughter who's relying on you? She's just a kid!"

That seemed to get some sense back in the woman.

"Forget about this whole thing already!" She drew in a sharp breath.

"Go!"

It was like finally cracking open a stubborn egg onto a skillet. Both of them conceded, getting down from the wagon and heading back for home.

Lucy wished she could've let out a sigh of relief, but...

"Halt!" The blade of a spear was pointed at her spine and the man at the end of it didn't look forgiving.

"Get down from there. Let's talk for a bit, shall we?"

Slowly, Lucy showed the party of enemies her hands to signify surrender and got down. It wouldn't be wise to pick anymore of a fight than she already had, but she couldn't help the next words from leaving her mouth.

"Sure, should I fix us a nice cup of tea, too?" Lucy derisively ridiculed the man's invitation. "Or is that too cordial for your sick tastes?"

The man handed off his spear to a lackey before circling her. "My, wherever did you get the idea that my tastes are anything but cordial?"

He feigned offense, mocking her.

"Locking innocent people up with the intent to sacrifice them doesn't exactly send a positive message," Lucy's eyes followed him as he vultured around her. "For first impressions, I wouldn't bet on you taking the cake."

A laugh resounded down the hills incline, his voice bounding off the skies.

"Humorous, and yet... So unfortunately unlucky," a hooked finger of his went under her jaw, canting her head up for her. "To run into us, what a pity."

There was a rapid jump in his magic pressure, like a seal had been eliminated from what was disguising it. Lucy's inward bravery had been conquered.

It felt like she was being pulverized by the weight of it. Not even the Spriggan twelve had this quantity of brutal power combined.

It had the men behind him on their knees, submitting to the superior power.

The three guards that had been chasing Gemini returned, only to collapse when in range of its potency.

"Do you see now, girl?" His navy blue eyes tapered in on her. "The misfortune one small error in judgement can make..."

When he rose his hand in a clawlike technique, Lucy saw it.

The guild mark of Mòros Spire tattooed onto his left palm.

"Shall I demonstrate it for you?"

Chapter 7: More Promises Than There are Stars in the Sky

That intent to kill was so succinct and stringently worded that breathing was starting to take effort.

Lucy's fright condensed into an act of stiffness of her body. She couldn't move or speak. It was pitiable.

But she couldn't give up, her trembling hand rising to clasp around the man's jutting wrist. Sweat dripped down from her chin.

It was ineffective in deterring him, though, from reeling back the talon that was his left hand.

"Pretty things never last long."

With blistering speed and precision, those sharpened claws were aimed and jabbed at her heart.

Lucy shut her eyes, the acceleration of the attack causing her to grit her teeth. In a split second, she'd be killed.

...

There was an unexpected emergence of sweltering heat, the oppressive burn of fire setting the air ablaze.

The men groveling at the ground were forced to defy the pressure of their higher-ranked senior, otherwise their bodies would be ignited by the inferno that had become the ground.

Lucy found it difficult to stand, her body besieged by two very different factors.

When she peeked and eye open, the sight she took in was a consolation she wasn't prepared for.

"Natsu...!"

Pink hair thrashing in the angered winds created by the opposing forces, he kept himself facing their opponent.

Lucy realized then that he had caught the hand of the enemy that intended to gouge out her heart just in the nick time.

"Sorry I'm late, Lucy." While he spoke, he glared nastily at the man before him.

It was obvious by the firepower he was unleashing that he was outraged, incensed by the man's attempt to slaughter Lucy.

The showdown between them was already unbelievably suffocating.

No words were spared as Natsu threw a testing punch, but the man dodged it without complication.

Natsu stood his ground, safeguarding Lucy with his body as his eyes narrowed over to where the man had practically teleported.

"How uncivilized," the man clicked his tongue. "Swinging your fists without any introduction."

"I don't gotta play nice with you," Natsu wittily snapped back. "You tried hurtin' Lucy."

The man only smiled.

A spark of fire had started on Lucy's shirt and she panicked, patting it out. She really didn't want to lose her clothes again.

"Hey... is there any chance you can tone down your flames a little?" She tapped Natsu's shoulder, embarrassed. "I think I'm about to start melting soon, too..."

Natsu kept his eyes on the enemy. "No can do. If I take it easy, we'll both get killed here and that'll be that."

If Natsu was smart enough to determine this mans strength, it meant he was formidable.

The man manipulated the winds, floating up into the burning air.

"Since the two of you have managed to make it this far, I'll let you know my name first," he bowed.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, I am Atlair Aiolos, the honored shipman of Mòros Spire."

This guy... Was a simple shipman?

"A real pleasure." Natsu sarcastically replied.

Lucy nudged Natsu with her elbow. "Quit trying to make him mad! I don't know about you, but I want all my limbs intact by the end of the day!"

Natsu covered his fists in wild flames. "He'll be the one missin' an arm and a leg after this."

He drove his weight onto his achilles heel, launching himself to the same height as Atlair.

In blinding swipes, Natsu demonstrated his efficiency in combat in mere seconds— but not a single hit landed.

Atlair was faster, more nimble and flexible.

Lucy knew Natsu was at a disadvantage like this, so she quickly put together two of her keys and summoned a conjoined stardress.

Capricorn and Cancer.

The outfit swapped itself out, twin blades depositing into her hands from the crab zodiacs specialty— and twin braids weaving her blonde hair behind her back In addition to the improved combat received from the goat.

The celestial magic needed to maintain this form exhausted her, but they had to go all out, or they'd lose. Point blank.

"I'll back you up, Natsu!" Lucy vaulted up, lifting her arms diagonally to bring both swords down heavily, trying to hit the bullseye in one strike.

Atlair dodged, ducking under or around each and every attack sequence they delivered. Lucy and Natsu matched eachothers tempo, their battle chemistry unmatched.

In this form, Lucy felt unstoppable.

But she knew the clock was ticking. They needed to wrap this up, fast.

Natsu, after jumping, landed onto his hand and balanced his weight with a spin— catapulting his foot right into Atlair's ribcage.

It sent him back a few yards, but it didn't damage him.

Natsu sat crouched, elbows propped on his knees as he watched Atlair dust himself off.

"Slimy bastard," he grumbled, annoyed. "It's like he's eating my kicks for lunch."

Lucy reinforced Natsu at his side, getting her stance ready to continue the perilous battle.

"I believe it's time I wrapped this game up now," Atlair said as he focused on cleaning himself up. "I do thank you, it has been fun."

With his clawed hand, he picked up his spear that'd been lying on the ground for several minutes, untouched.

Lucy gulped.

In a flash, he was already bringing the spearhead down on Natsu, who barely even had the time to blink properly.

After readjusting her hand on the hilt of her sword, Lucy managed to block it and send him backward. Natsu rose up immediately, landing a firey punch straight to his jaw.

Teamwork was the best method to use right now. They'd be toast in any other scenario.

"We won't lose to the likes of you," Lucy told him. She talked big, but she was already at her limit. "Not even in your wildest dreams."

Atlair Aiolos chuckled. "I admire your confidence."

With that left hand again, he lifted it and sprawled out all five fingers. At the center of his palm, a ball of ethernano formed, tempestuous winds orbiting it.

The sight made her heart drop to her stomach. The magical energy that rose from the core of his hand was enough to smother her determination.

Natsu's eyes widened and he got to work on pushing Lucy away, inhaling deeply.

"Fire dragons roar!"

A tunnel of flames slammed around a torrential spiral of wind energy, the immensely powerful sides inventing a hurricane of destructive capabilities.

Raging fire and irrepressible winds swept through the body of the Island, destroying a chunk of its natural shape instantaneously. Lucy put her arms up to block her face, virtually being blown back by the collision happening so close to her.

She had to kneel down and stab her swords into the ground, holding on for dear life.

When the visuals died out, an enormous crater was left in the hillside.

Natsu bit down on the dispersing flames left in his mouth. "... He just doesn't back down, does he?"

In the distance, across the massive hole in the island— Atlair stood tall, uninjured.

"Impressive!" He yelled across the emptiness.

Before they could realize, he'd already made it back passed the crater, standing before them.

"I like the two of you. Perhaps I shall spare your lives for the time being," he devilishly grinned. "It'll make it all the more gratifying, killing you after you think you've won this time."

Natsu scowled at him. "Try that and you'll be wishing you backed down when you had the chance."

Atlair Aiolos pretended to be surprised, placing a hand over his mouth and shaping it into an 'O'.

"Really?" In the blink of an eye he was holding his spear against Lucy's throat. "Should I kill you both now, then?"

Natsu went rigid, every bone and cell in his body screaming at him.

"Let go of her!" Natsu commanded, trying not to do anything rash that would harm her in the long run.

"I can't decide if I should or not," he pretended to be conflicted. "What a predicament this is."

Lucy was spent, her magic already down the drain entirely. It took everything, quite literally, to muster enough strength to escape.

Biting his arm in a classic tactic, she wiggled free and ran to Natsu, who covered her in his arms protectively.

"Well, since you're so eager to live, I'll be nice today," Atlair shrugged. "Till next time."

The man rounded up his wounded guards and brought them away out to the ship harbored at that port.

Lucy was still so curious to discover all the secrets about this Island, about Minstrel and Sigelac...

But Mòros Spire was more of an impediment than she would've ever guessed. If Atlair Aiolos was just the shipman, she didn't want to know what the strongest guild members were like.

But thoughts aside, she was so tired...

Lucy slumped into Natsu's arms, going limp. Natsu dropped with her, securing her in his lap.

"Lucy!" Worry clouded his expression.

"I'm okay, just tired..." She reassured him. "I can't keep that form up for long..."

His tensed muscles relaxed at her words, a brief sigh falling from his mouth. "I could've handled it by myself."

Lucy closed her eyes and smiled. "I know. I just wanted to fight with you."

A smirk found his face, one of his olive eyes squinting down at her. "So ridiculous."

There was a nice moment of respite, the allowance of a breather replenishing their energy.

But old notions came back, flooding Natsu with chagrin. The scolding he got from Erza back on that boat told him all he needed to know.

The last thing he wanted was to endanger Lucy like that again.

"Hey, how 'bout we go home?" Natsu had his hand pushing back her bangs now.

Ignoring the sweetness of his actions, she sat up. "What?"

He frowned and averted her gaze. "It ain't like we can't find another job just as fun."

"We've already taken on this job and gotten so far," her brows knitted together. "Wasn't it you who said we weren't about to give up now just because things got a little scary?"

"It's a whole lot different now," Natsu said. "And we aren't giving up, we're just handing it off."

"I refuse," she took the material of the white scarf tied around his waist and lifted it until it slipped from her hand. "And what happened to the Natsu who was so excited to visited Minstrel he went for a wardrobe change?"

"I'm still me, Lucy," Natsu told her. "Just using my brain, like you're always tellin' me to do."

Lucy cringed, staring at him. "So you're not you. Got it."

Her satirical joke made him roll his eyes.

"Can you walk?" He asked.

"Yeah, I—" Lucy's words died out with a squeak as he lifted her bridal style. "... Why ask if you're just going to carry me anyway?"

"Just cause."

"I'm starting to think you do it because you like hearing yourself talk."

•☆—☆•

Erza had trouble accepting the summary of the fight Lucy and Natsu had recently gotten back from.

About seventeen minutes earlier, Erza had been out looking for them when she witnessed the detonation of Natsu's fire. A shockwave had shot out multiple miles in every direction and she was lucky enough to notice in time before she was caught up in it.

It left a sizeable pit in the island. To say the least, the illustration of it on the map would probably have to be updated.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Erza," Jellal came to stand beside her. "Even if we saw the ship, there was no way of knowing they'd send an elite fighter to a defenseless island."

"I could've helped them." She rested her forearms on the ship's gunwale, looking out at the sea.

"Nobody got hurt," Jellal rubbed her back with one hand. "And you were out there searching, too. I'd say you did more than enough."

Dropping his hand, he placed it on the wooden railing. "... We're all members of FairyTail, isn't our moto to keep looking forward?"

Erza clenched her jaw, but she made herself let go of all the upsetting what-ifs that she was imagining.

"To think we let them get away," Erza sent her gaze out to where the ship that paraded the Mòros Spire guild mark sailed out. It was almost a dot on the horizon by now.

"They were right under our noses."

The differing blues of Jellal's hair and the backdrop of the sky complimented eachother as he faced her again.

"Meredy went to talk with the prisoners Lucy set free," he took her hand. "So relax a little. We have more of a clue now than we did before on where to find them, and if she finds anything else out we'll have nothing to worry ourselves over."

Erza clasped both of his hands tighter.

"You're right, but only if Natsu can convince Lucy to drop this whole thing," she stated. "It'll be a liability bringing them with us."

"Is that what he's doing now?" Jellal asked, eyes going over to the cabin entrance that led down to the bottom of the boat.

Erza nodded.

Natsu had brought back Lucy in his arms, taking her straight to the lodgings of the boat. She was fatigued from overtaxxing her magical energy, using one of her strongest forms for longer than she could withstand.

If not even Lucy and Natsu at full power together couldn't dent the enemy, then it was time for them to go home.

Erza didn't think she stood much of a chance either, but she'd rather be the one facing peril in place of her dear friends.

Alongside her team, she'd been able to defeat the legendary pentadrakes associated with the hunder year quest, giving her the experience she needed to step up against even uglier foes.

But that's exactly what was missing.

Her team.

Jellal was a strong, kindhearted man that she cared earnestly for. But him and Meredy alone weren't enough.

Erza feared even the entire guild put together might not be enough with the way things were unfolding.

That didn't mean, however, that she would ever cower and back down.

If she could protect those she loved, then Erza would face off against anything.

And that was precisely why she needed to do it by herself this time, no matter how hard of a pill that was to swallow.

Notes:

Hello everyone! A little disclaimer here just to satisfy my own worries as a writer, but in order to actually try and finish a fanficition for once— I'm trying to tone down my use of metaphors and additional writing skills, lol. So, if you think this is underwhelming compared to my other works, I apologize.

Needless to say, I still plan to put my very best effort into this story. My love for Nalu is ages old, so I have to bring them justice.

Without further ado, hope you enjoy!