Chaos & Salamander

Chapter 18 - Not Lucy

Natsu's POV

Seki has taken over Lucy's body and I need to figure out a way to get him out. I grabbed Seki by Lucy's scarf and pulled him forward so we were face-to-face. "Get out of her body" I growled and raised my fist, ready to punch him. "Ah ah, if you hurt me then you'll also hurt the girl" Seki said with a sly smirk.

I growled because he was right. "But that doesn't mean I can't hurt you" he added and I had to jump back a few steps to dodge his flaming fist. Looks like Seki has access to Lucy's magic. "Natsu, how are we going to get Lucy back?" Happy asked. "I'm not sure Happy but stay back" I said and then Happy flew back far enough so he wouldn't get in the way.

"I'm excited to try out Dragon Slayer magic" Seki said with a sinister smile while admiring the fire dancing around his fingers. He extinguished the flames on his fingers and then breathed in. "Fire Dragon Roar!" he chanted and blew a roar of fire out his mouth. Since there wasn't enough time for me to dodge, I immediately put my arms up in front of my face and then covered myself in my dark flames for protection. Even though I managed to block the attack, the extreme heat from Lucy's flames was starting to burn my skin a little bit. "Natsu!" I heard Happy exclaimed in worry as I was engulfed in flames. If I had used my breath attack in close range, I could risk harming Lucy.

When the flames died down, Seki ran at me and tried to punch me with a Fire Dragon Iron Fist but I blocked it with my arm. He pulled his knee up and kicked me in the stomach. The force of the kick, knocked me onto my back. It didn't take him long to run up to me and try to stomp my stomach. I kicked his ankles and knocked him off his feet before jumping to my feet.

He leapt to his feet and continued to relentlessly throw flaming punches and kicks at me at a fast pace while I dodged or blocked without using my magic. As I was on the defence, I began to brainstorm possible weaknesses in Seki's magic. 'Maybe there is a time limit? But who knows how long that will take if there is one...What if I knock him out? That won't work either. Tch, this idiot must have some sort of weakness' I thought but kept running out of ideas.

'I need to somehow force Seki to willingly leave Lucy's body' I thought while dodging a kick. Suddenly an idea popped into my head but unfortunately it means I'll have to hurt Lucy a bit. As Seki threw a punch at my face, I grabbed him by the wrist and raised my fist which I lit with my Chaos magic. "Remember, you can't hurt me without hurting the girl" Seki said, still smirking like he won. "Sorry Lucy" I muttered and Seki's eyes widened. "Wait what?" he questioned before being punched in the face by me and falling flat onto his back.

I stomped my dark flaming foot down but he rolled away before my foot could hit him. He jumped to his feet and threw a punch but I grabbed his fist. I then headbutted him and he stumbled backwards a few steps. Before he could regain his footing, I kicked his side and he fell to the ground.

He quickly got back onto his feet and tried to kick me with his Fire Dragon Talon but I grabbed his ankle. As I tightened my grip, enough to hurt but not enough to break Lucy's ankle, he screamed in pain. "Natsu stop! You're hurting Lucy too!" Happy shouted out in worry, oblivious to my plan. "I know" I growled and then swung Seki away from me. He fell and rolled across the ground then rolled onto his back. "Isn't this girl your friend? Don't you care about her?" Seki asked as he crawled backwards away from me.

"I'm sure Lucy will forgive me" I said as I stalked closer and closer. 'One more push' I thought and then raised my flaming fist. A look of terror crossed Seki's face, well technically Lucy's. He closed his eyes and then collapsed. A body of golden light slowly faded into existence beside Lucy's body and when the light disappeared, Seki's body was in its place. Looks like my plan worked. He looked at me in fear, knowing he was exposed, and then raised a hand towards Lucy. I stomped his hand into the ground with my foot before he could take control of Lucy again.

Before he could turn his controlling eyes onto me, I slapped my hand over his eyes then I put my lips close to his ear. "You may be using her magic and her body, but you will never be as strong as her" I growled and then slammed his head into the ground, making him unconscious. After making sure he was unconscious, I stood up and turned to Lucy's body. I picked her up gently and then laid her against a tree. Happy flew over to Lucy and landed beside her while I walked over to another tree. I leaned my back against it and crossed my arms as I waited for Lucy to open her eyes.

"Lucy, wake up" Happy said as he shook Lucy's arm. A groan escaped Lucy's lips and then her chocolate brown eyes slowly opened. "You awake Blondie?" I asked and she looked up at me in confusion. "W-What happened?" she asked and then she grimace in pain. "And why am I in pain?" she added. "You were controlled by Seki twice and Natsu had to fight you to get him out of your head" Happy explained. "Oh, thank you Natsu for getting Seki out of my head and I'm sorry for fighting you" Lucy said as she looked straight into my eyes. I shrugged, "you're welcome and I'm sorry for hurting you. It was the only way to get Seki out" I replied and strangely she smiled. "I understand" she replied. Inwardly, I was slightly shocked. She believed me and wasn't angry that I hurt her. This was definitely a first. She's different from everyone else.

"So, what do we do now?" Happy asked. "I think we should try to find Raserath before Hydra Heads get their hands on it and hopefully we will find the others along the way" Lucy suggested. "Sounds like a plan. What do you think Natsu?" Happy asked and I nodded in agreement. "Ok it's settled" Lucy said as she stood up and slightly hissed in pain. I hoped I didn't hurt her too much. "Are you going to be ok Lucy?" Happy asked in worry. "Yeah this is nothing. Lets go" she replied with a smile and then walked away. I gave Happy a quick look that said 'come on' before pushing myself off the tree and followed behind her with Happy flying beside me. Leaving the puppeteer behind.