Fairy Tail: The Luminous Star of Caballeen (A NaLu Fan Fiction)

Chapter 31: Zeke's Revealed Past

Hello, minna!  I have the next chapter for you; I hope you all enjoy it!  Finally, you all get to here Zeke's strange past and everything starts coming together! :')  I dedicate this chapter to j_viklimlovesanime, since she's an amazing person and such an incredible writer! :D  I hope you all enjoy; feedback is very much appreciated!♥ Until next time!

♡{я у - ¢ н α и}

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"Natsu?"

Natsu felt himself reach outwards with his mind, and realized he was waking up.  Grasping consciousness, he struggled to open his eyes.

"C'mon, Flame Brain.  When're you going to stop sleepin'?"

"Nat-zu.."

Opening his eyes, Natsu was flat on his back, staring up and the clouded sky.  Happy was on his chest, with Erza and Gray beside him.  Wendy was nearby, healing Zeke, who was still unconscious.

"Are you okay, Natsu?"  Erza asked, seeing if he was going to fully stir.

Natsu was about to reply, when pain as hot as fire raced up in throat.  He abruptly turned over, and blood pooled from his mouth.  He coughed over and over, pain raking at his shoulders.  Leaning on his hands and knees, Natsu's body shook as the last of the pain receeded away.

"It's alright, Natsu."  Happy mewed, putting a paw on Natsu's arm.  "Wendy fixed you; you're okay now."

Natsu looked over at Zeke, who was still unconscious as Wendy progessed her healing.  "What..happened?"

Everyone looked solemn.

"Poison."  Erza answered, shocking him.  "Somehow, you and Zeke were injected with it.  It was a very powerful type, too; Wendy barely saved you."

"It was Coven."

Natsu and the others turned their head, looking at Zeke.  His expression was strained; he seemed to still be going through some pain, since he had been hit with the poison's impact the most.

"I know..what that was..."  He clenched his teeth.  "Damn, if only I had remembered sooner..."

"It's not your fault."  Erza replied calmly.  "You're still getting most of your memories back, right?"

Zeke nodded, but still seemed to blame himself.  "That was Coven's ultimate attack; extremely deadly.  It's called Poison Extract.  When the beam of darkness hits you, it immediately seeps poison into your body - along with dark magic - through your skin.  The dark magic brings down your defenses and curses you with paralyzation, leaving you defenseless for the poison to attack and devour your insides like acid."

Natsu blinked, his eyes wide and stupid awe on his face.  "B-But...it didn't hurt towards the end before we blacked out-!"

Zeke sat up, the pain receeding from his body as well.  "That's because it's sneaky.  Ever heard the term "silent and deadly"?  Well, it applies here.  The poison stopped flashing pain through your body near the end, showing you that you were nearing the end of your life."  He dragged his fatigue-filled eyes over to Natsu, who flinched.  "When you moved then, it only made the poison spread twice as fast."

A bead of sweat fell down Natsu's forehead.

"Glad it wasn't me.."  Gray muttered, freaked out.

"In that case, we'd better look out for that attack the next time--wait.."  Erza replied realization dawning on her face.  "..What exactly happened here?  Where is Lucy?  Coven?"