Chapter-21
Hope
°•.°•The Plan For Survival•°.•°
~•~
The climax of Makarov's message left an uneasy silence. Not even the loudest members spoke a word. Everyone, each one of them, were expecting gramps to say something, something that would deny his previous statement. But gramps went silent as well.
"You gotta be joking gramps! If they come at us, we will give them a thrashing! We will fight them till the end, and win! That's the way of Fairytail!!!" Gray yells, annoyed by the silence of his guild mates. "Why disband?!"
"Fight? Who will? The only ones who stood a chance against those monstrous wizard saints are me, Gildarts and rest of you combined. But Gildarts is in no condition to fight. And if they are heading here, then isn't it obvious that they have a trick to beat me?"
Everyone whip their head towards Gildarts. Gildarts avoid the eye contact... was he really in that bad shape?
"Listen now... gramps... this isn't the time for jokes." Natsu says, walking towards Makarov.
"This is not a joke." Makarov replies slowly, with minimum emotions in his voice.
"But... No! How can you?!" Natsu says. "We will just run off!"
"They can use the same lacrima that I used to search Mest and Carla." Makarov state.
"Please consider it again, master!" Jet says.
"I have stated why I reached this conclusion." Makarov sighs. "Being disbanded is ten fold better than picking up a losing fight."
"Don't take it..." Natsu suddenly whispers.
"Huh-?"
"DON'T GO DISBANDING THE GUILD AFTER I FINALLY RETURNED BACK!... damn it..."
"..." Makarov didn't reply.
Natsu grits his teeth. Naturally, he was sad. But there was no time for 'him' be in sad.
"Don't take away her newfound home..." He slowly looks behind. He knew what was coming now. Of course, no one was happy! But what hit him most was Lucy's broken heart.
He could feel pain in his heart. He could sense that Lucy was sad. No... sad isn't the only thing. She was blaming herself. Yes. No doubt, this feeling, she must be blaming herself.
Natsu turns around and tries to sprint towards the crowd of mages, all stoned. He wanted to make his way till the last, where she was standing.
But he was late. The heart that was feeling really heavy right now became normal again... but now blurry vision and headache took over. Natsu pushed Jet and Droy aside, to finally reach Lucy behind them.
She was crying. Abandoned by her mind in solitude, once again.
It was already expected. Natsu, without thinking about anything hugs her. Tears drip down his cheeks too as he feels the same pain as Lucy. Lucy doesn't say a word. She hugs him back, tightly.
The others were heavily desolated. Their father was destroying the only place they could return to, right in front of them. And all they could do was watch.
They all used some support to stand or sat in the chairs made by Gray. Their legs weren't helping then out in this misery. But, unfortunately, the icy chairs were cracking too.
Gray was losing the concentration, the control, on his magic for the first time.
"It's my fault... if only I had never joined..." Lucy says with her face pressed against Natsu's scarf. Natsu puts one of his hand on her head and starts to stroke it gently. "Nah. I don't think so. No one does."
•••
Makarov lets his wizards be for some good minutes. Anyone would be like that, broken, sad, depressed and crying like them in a situation like this. Forsaken from themselves, their love, their status and their family.
The place where they grew up... they are never going to see it again...
The environment in the room was getting painfully gloomy. The sun was now pouring in with bright beams. It was morning. Maybe 9 o'clock or so.
Makarov sighs. Just giving the basic details took an awful amount of time. He didn't want to drag this on. The more it got dragged, the harder it got for him to narrate.
"Alright. Listen to your master while you still have one." Makarov says clapping his hands. He didn't got any direct attention like he did few minutes ago. Everyone was lost in their own worlds but were still listening to him.
"So... this disbanding plan is not permanent, o-okay?" he says hesitantly.
Why did he hesitate? Because he knew that this can result in a free for all Fairytail-style fight. I mean... why not?
But unexpectedly, it didn't. Though it had some obvious reactions, none of them were drastic.
Gray's hope shot up again. Gildarts and Mira looked at him with their sparkling eyes, although deep down they were still sad about Cana. Jet and Droy's faces lit up and Max smiled.
Happy and Carla already knew Makarov's plan, because he told them this on their way back to Fairytail. It is easier to explain things to lesser people...
The most sudden change was in Lucy. She went from embracing Natsu in grief to kicking him in excitement. Natsu was too happy to complain.
"Say that again!" Natsu screamed with joy.
Makarov smiled at the innocence of his children. They were depressingly sad just a moment ago but now they were blooming with joy. How can they be so carefree? Is it because of their arrogance? No! It is because Fairytail is everything. Everything that they have now is thanks to this guild, hope is what they have learnt in this guild.
Makarov, at that instant, really wished to become that carefree again, to become young again...
"Yes. Now listen brats. This is the complete plan I thought of." He says, sitting back in the chair. The chair wasn't cracked anymore. It regained it's original shape and durability. Gray is really something.
Everyone closed the distance between their master and themselves, hoarding around him. Makarov waited until everyone had a place to stand in the crowd.
"We will officially disband Fairytail on the night of 5 day from now. Chances are that the council will come to forcefully take Natsu on the 6th day. And since we will not be a guild by that time, we won't be obliged to them.
But just to be safe, will disperse all around Fiore in teams. At any costs, don't let your identity slip. No one should know that you are a Fairytail wizard. Laxus and Erza might face some problems because of their popularity... but as for Natsu and Lucy, you should be safe. That's all what matters in the end."
Lucy, kinda felt dejected. She was sad before too but that sadness turned into glum. She is really so unpopular...
But anyways, on the bright side they will not face any problems. She won't summon Natsu in front of others, plus she is not popular for anyone to... maybe... fangirl or fanboy her and ask about her spirits...?
Makarov continues. "We will stay undercover for a month, until this matter calms down.
I have tasked Warren to make as many communication lacrimas as he can for us to communicate between this period. After 1 month, and after insuring that everyone can come out of hiding, we will all meet at Porlyusica's plac-"
"Don't you dare old fool!" Porlyusica yells in between. Her disapproval was obvious. Makarov sighs and says "please" before repeating the same sentence as earlier. But this time the results were not the same.
"Ahh...just don't stay for long! I hate humans." Porlyusica sighs.
She accepted it in just one try...
Makarov grins. This kinda annoys Porlyusica but she doesn't get agitated.
Not planning to stay quiet for long, Makarov starts, "So-"
"Hold on, master." Lucy interrupts. Makarov slowly shook his head, gesturing her to continue her query. Natsu turned his neck almost 180° to see Lucy who was stand in behind him.
"About the lacrimas... is it possible for the council to interfere in the telepathy when while we are in the hiding period?"
"Huh? It ain't like they are gonna track all the telepathy in Fiore just to find one?" Droy argues, shrugging to the obvious question. Natsu didn't like his attitude. He wanted to fight back for Lucy, but was too confused to spit a word.
Luckily for him, master takes over. "No... maybe she is right. We can't take any chances. We can't let those council wizards catch any of us." Makarov says, scratching his chin.
Both Natsu and Lucy gave Droy a boastful smile, making Droy regret his words.
Makarov remains silent for some other seconds. He was thinking about this theory, and finally comes up with a conclusion.
"Alright brats, change of plans. We won't communicate at all during that 1 month, just for a safe practice. But we will surely meet at Porlyusica'a place on the date that lies exactly after 30 days from the day of disbanding. Don't think you will relax after that. As soon as all of us link together again, get prepared for some more work."
"Like?" Mira asks.
"We will storm the Alvarez empire." Makarov states flat.
This leaves everyone amazed. Not just because of the no-communication plan. The peace loving master is suggesting something like this? Well... not exactly peace loving but rational! Storming a "empire" alone with handful of wizards is suicide!!!
"I am all fired up!!" Natsu yells kicking a chair. Everyone else gives him a goofy stare. Natsu... really?
Makarov sighs. "No. We won't take the empire head on. Of course not. This is what an idiot will do."
"But... wait... is it for Cana?" Mira asks.
"Yes." Makarov replies. "We need to be prepared for the worse... Fiore and Alvarez though having no bad impression upon each other recently, still have tension between them. Discrimination against foreigners is common amongst it's streets."
"...so it will be difficult to stay for long..." Gildarts mumbles.
"Here's what we will do." Master continues. "We need to just collect information. The information on Seireyu and Cana. Most probably, the empire is cooking something fishy-"
"Fishy??!!!" Happy whispers and unconsciously starts drooling, but doesn't get any attention.
-if they are giving him shelter. We will find that cause. But make sure you don't stir things up. That might lead to a war... something that will drag Fiore along with it's innocent citizens in it. We cannot afford it... this is it.
But this ain't my final plan. I am still not sure about all this... so I will give my final decision once every Fairytail wizard had healed from their injuries... I need some time..."
Makarov completes. He looks at the faces of his children. They were all looking determined to execute this plan. No one raised any questions.
Makarov nods. He then looks at Natsu. "Now then, come with me, Natsu."
Natsu knew what was going to happen next. Gramps is going to ask about E.N.D and the events of the past. Natsu looks at Lucy. Lucy sighs and nods back.
"Hey... master? Can I tag along?" She asks.
"I was about to ask you too. Better that you asked yourself." Makarov replies and walks towards the exit. Natsu and Lucy follows him.
"You better tell me E.N.D stuff next time we meet!" Gray yells, waving a goodbye.
"You bet!" Natsu yells back. Lucy turns around, just before leaving and takes a final glance.
Happy, Mira, Jet and Droy were waving goodbyes. Gray had already went to Juvia's side and Carla was sitting on Wendy's bed. Gildarts was in a deep-thinking state yet again. She bids a goodbye to everyone who was waving at her.
After that, Max sees off these three, and went back to his gaurd duty of the infirmary, an infirmary without a door...
Well, at least he looked motivated for this plan.
•••
It didn't take long for them to reach Makarov's office. It was on the same corridor! But when they did reach it, they didn't enter it. Makarov didn't even slow his pace.
Obviously, he wasn't taking them to the office.
Natsu and Lucy followed Makarov. He walks down the stairs, to the main floor of the guild. But he doesn't stop there. He continued to walk towards the bar. Seems like he will talk about this stuff in the usual bar area, huh?
Well... No.
He didn't even stop there. There was a cupboard on the right side of the bar. Beside that cupboard, there was a door. Looking at the location of the door, it seemed like it led to basement.
Makarov opens the door and after insuring that Lucy and Natsu were following, continues to walk in the staircase. Lucy was right. It really was the basement!
Wait... this is a basement. The basemnet of the guild?! Lucy looks towards Natsu. His face was tense.
"Hey gramps... why this place?" Natsu asks slowly...
Maybe Makarov wants to examine the place where Natsu faced off Seireyu years ago?
WRONG!
Makarov neither answered Natsu nor stopped. They walked to the rear side of the basement, that once served as Lissana's death bed. It was clean right now. An ancient wall blocked them from walking further. It was dead end... or so Natsu and Lucy thought.
Makarov extends his hand and swipes away the dust from a particular point.
The place from which the dust was removed was different from the concrete wall. It was a strip of metal... or something that reflected light in that dim room? Makarov signals Lucy and Natsu to stay back. They do the same. Then he casts a spell. An enchantment. He was speaking something...
Lucy tried to understand what he was saying.
"Gama-Aak-e-dori-na-tu-we-ma"
What the heck? This doesn't make sense! But Lucy was wrong once again! As Makarov finished his chanting, the narrow strip of metal glowed with a golden shade and the wall spit in two.
Both Natsu and Lucy were amazed. There was a secret chamber in Fairytail...
Makarov looks at his shoulder and says, "It is the biggest secret of Fairytail. Only guild masters know about it. In my time as guild master, you are the first one who are going to witness it."
"Then... why are you showing me this...? I only joined 5 days ago..." Lucy says hesitantly, not wanting to disrespect master's decision.
Makarov sighs. "I don't know myself. But know this, you are an unbreakable part of Fairytail from the moment you wanted to join us. You will realize soon why it is you that stands here right now."
Natsu and Lucy takes a gulp and enters the newly formed entrance. There were more stairs. They walked down and down and that's it. They were in the abyss of Fairytail. The stairs ended in a really small hall but luckily, it wasn't the main room. There was a cold refreshing chill in the air.
The small room connected to a giant door. The main room was obviously behind this gate. Makarov gently pushed it, and the door opened just like that, effortlessly. Looking at each other with bafflement, Natsu and Lucy entered the room.
Now this was a grand sight to behold. The room was not as big as the guildhall but not as small as the infirmary either. However, this wasn't what made it look grand.
There were many shelves, each piled with countless books. In between, there was a huge crystal... a lacrima. It glowed with a faint yet soothing purple light. A small wooden table was there in front of the lacrima.
"The revival lacrima. Legacy of the second master, Hades." Makarov says spreading his arms.
"Hades?!" Lucy unconsciously says out loud.
"Yes... Hades. He created it for revival of the dead. Because of the fact that it disrespects the dead, it is forbidden magic and should only be used for the greater good. But ironically, it is has only been used once, and that too on our first master..."
"First master? Is she alive?!" Lucy asks, unable to contain her curiosity after seeing the giant lacrima.
Makarov slowly shook his head and used his hands to explain what he was trrying to say,
"She is not exactly alive. She became a soul... leaving her original body, like a fairy... at least that's what Master Hades told me."
He took a break to recover from the flash menories of Hades and continued, "Let's leave it aside. There is a book that contains a spell, a spell that acts just opposite to what happened to first master. In other words, it contains spells that are made specially for your case. Maybe it will work-"
"Really... REALLY??!!! Say no more! It's worth a shot!!!!" Lucy yells, hugging Natsu instinctively. She rubs her cheek against Natsu's. Her lips shutter from the excitement as she says this, "Finally... Natsu... you will be free..."
Natsu wasn't too excited for some reason. He didn't hug Lucy back. He just kept staring the lacrima. Maybe it was too much to take...
"Hey... master. Are you sure?" Natsu asks doubtfully, pushing Lucy away. Lucy's excitement doesn't get any less though.
"Can't be sure at this point. But who knows... miracles do happen." Makarov replies with a grin. Now it hits Natsu. Miracles do happening...
Natsu giggles and takes a wobbly step back from immense joy. He grabs Lucy's hands and then circle all around the room. He and Lucy barely managed to not damage the furniture. Makarov doesn't scold them this time. He was happy, but feel down he too felt that they can't be too sure.
"Natsu... it is too early to celebrate. I want to start your restructuring as soon as possible, but before that-" Makarov says. "Please tell me about what happened to you when you were killed and about E.N.D. I would have preferred you telling this to everyone, but many are in no condition to listen.
Also, there are members of other guilds too. Now that I think about it, I shouldn't have revealed the plan in the infirmary. Let's just hope that they were not conscious. For now, tell me about the past. It might just give us a clue about Cana."
Natsu looks at Lucy. He makes a innocently cute yet appealing face, almost like a dog. Lucy sighs. She did promised to make up a story for him.
"Umm... master can I tell you about it? Natsu might just miss some details." Lucy says. Her expressions were normal, not showing any signs of fear or hesitation. No one could have guessed that she would lie to master... Natsu gasps in amusement. Lucy is much more capable than he thought she is. He always knew Lucy was awesome but this acting skill is just...
"Alright. Go ahead." Makarov says, not realizing her intentions. Lucy keeps her hand behind her hip and crosses her fingers.
"Sorry... master..." She whispers before making up a story. A story that had facts but didn't reveal anything about dragons.
•••
The story lasted for 10 minutes. Lucy is a great story teller! For some reason, Natsu felt proud.
Lucy told Makarov about Seireyu, death of Lisanna and Natsu becoming a celestial spirit word by word. But she managed to cut off the dragon part from the E.N.D's backstory. On that note, she even didn't mention Natsu being brother of Zeref, since there was no clear evidence, moreover Natsu himself didn't believe it.
It was just what Natsu wanted. Gramps didn't question it too. Damn!!!! Lucy rocked it. She winks at Natsu after gramps was satisfied with the story. Natsu grins back with a little flushed face.
Makarov scratches his chin and mumbles. "This changes everything..."
"Everything? What do you mean gramps?" Natsu asks out of curiousity. His dragon hearing helped him to hear the almost inaudible mumbling Makarov did.
Lucy looks at Makarov, confused.
"Nothing. For now let's focus on the reincarnation." Makarov cuts off Natsu, and starts to look for a book in one of the shelves.
Natsu looks at Lucy. Lucy was really happy. "I can't believe... I will be able to touch you in flesh..." She whispers, not wanting to disturb Makarov. Tears of joy had already moistened her eyes.
"Nor can I." Natsu whispers back. They both held each other's hand and waited patiently for Makarov to find the book he was looking for.
After a wait of around 2 minutes, Makarov finds the book at last.
"Is that it?" Natsu asks of excitement.
"Yes. This is it." Gramps replies, dusting it cautiously. It was really old... maybe he planned for these turns of events in advance and bought this book long time ago or master Hades already tried that spell on Mavis. Anyways, it was really helpful!
"Revival Magic: Formula 18." Lucy says, reading the title of the book Makarov was holding. It wasn't much thick, but not a very thin either. It was slightly thinner than a usual book.
"This spell takes 10 days to complete. If the spell works, the crystal starts to glow with bright red beams of light under after 4 days. If it takes more time, then it indicates that the soul cannot be restructed. We have 4 days to confirm it... that is just one day before the day when Fairytail will be disbanded. Better not delay now!"
Natsu didn't understood much, but looked excited. "Got it gramps. What do I need to do? I am all fired u-"
"Remove your clothes." Gramps replies, before Natsu could complete. Lucy jolts at this statement. She was about to say something but couldn't.
As soon as Natsu heard, "Remove your clothes", he without thinking removed them. Not as fast as Gray, but fast enough to not let Lucy speak what she was about to.
Lucy unintentionally looks at Natsu. He wasn't facing her... he was facing gramps. That's a relief.
"Hey Natsu! A lady is here! And don't you dare turn here until I leave!!" is what Lucy wanted to say but Natsu turns before she could complete. Now she sees it...
"You said something Lucy?" Natsu asks. Lucy wasn't conscious to listen. She was lying on the ground, her nose was bleeding a bit.
"HEY LUCY?!! WHAT HAPPENED??!!!" Natsu yells and almost sprints to go to Lucy's side but Makarov uses his giant arm to grab him before he could do anything more perverted.
"You are as clueless as ever..." He sighs. Natsu, not knowing what was happening gives up struggling. He couldn't hope to escape from gramps.
"OK then. What's next?" He asks, still concerned for Lucy.
"Incubating. I will seal you inside the lacrima." Makarov says walking towards the lacrima. Natsu's eyes sparkle as he says this.
"Really? That's awesome! I am going inside that lacrimaa!!!" He yells.
Makarov sighs. He puts Natsu just beside the revival lacrima and holds the book with one of his hands. Then he chants a spell which makes his hand glow with a golden light.
Makarov gives another look to the book and keeps his hand on the lacrima, making it jelly-like from one side.
"Alright. Go inside." Makarov says pointing at the place where he just made the lacrima soft. Natsu nods and keeps his hand first on it. It sinks in it, as if he was touching flowing water.
"It really is awesome!" He yells and jumps as a whole inside. As soon as he got inside, he tried to swim in that cramped place.
"That's it. Now stand straight, facing me!" Makarov commands. Natsu nods and stands upright on the base of the lacrima. As he does so, the lacrima hardens. So does the facial expressions and body of Natsu. He wasn't moving an inch.
He wasn't breathing but was not dead either. It was as if his time was frozen...
"Now... these 8 spells." Makarov mutters after he ensures that Natsu was fully immobile and unconscious.
•••
"Huh... where am I..." Mest whispers to himself. His head was hurting like hell. Not just head... everything! Everything was hurting. He was too weak to show any movement or even open his eyes.
"Seriously! What in the world is master planning?!"
"This voice... everything is so faint..."
"Calm down Macao. It isn't like you. You know that master won't send us here without any reason."
"Macao? He is here? Then the other voice must be of Wakabe!" Mest thinks. Mustering some energy, he lifts his arm. He could feel that it was bandaged.
"Hey! He is moving!" Wakabe yells, making a puff from his cigar. Macao who was sitting in a chair next to Mest's bed gets up and leans towards him.
"HEY! MEST ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" He yells in excitement.
"Hey dad! Don't scare him!! He just woke up." A child says.
Wakabe galnces at that child and smirks. "Listen to your kid, Macao. He is more rational than you."
"As loud as ever... this is Fairytail, no doubt." Mest whispers with relief.
"Shut up Wakabe! I can't hear him. Hey! Mest!! Did you just say something?" Macao asks, helping Mest to get up.
Mest first gets up and sits on his bed. He then opens his eyes slowly. He was in a really bad shape. Both his forearms were bandaged. Maybe the right one was plastered too. His head was wrapped with a thick layer of bandages. He tries to feel his legs. Thank goodness... they were just fine.
"Where am I." Mest asks jerking his head around.
"In a hospital... duh." Romeo replies.
"Hospital? Cana... no... WAIT! Where is Carla?" Mest yells, almost jumping off the bed. Luckily Makao and Wakabe somehow managed to stop him.
"Lie down. Carla is alright. She is with master. Master sent a telepathy to Warren, asking us to come here until you get better. But you know... he could have just requested us in person..." Macao sighs.
"There you go again. You have grown not only old but really soft too." Wakabe sighs.
"No... I have got a bad feeling about this." Macao replies and then looks at Mest. "Do you know where is Cana?"
Mest now freezes at his spot for a moment. All his memories return back again. The shock was clear on his face. He then opens his mouth and asks, "Say... Macao... have you given hospital the bill?"
"YEAH! It went from my pocket. Jeez what's with this hospital, asking money in advance."
"That's good." Mest sighs with relief.
"Good? I had to pay a heavy sum for just half a day! I don't even know how much they will-"
"Hold my hand!" Before Macao could complete complaining, Mest yells, lending his right hand to Macao. Macao looks at him in confusion, but unconsciously does as he says. Mest oftenly didn't got this serious...
"Romeo and Wakabe... grab this hand." Mest says lending out his left hand. They both too grab his hand.
"Now what is it? Are you going to perform a magic trick?" Macao laughs.
"No...we are going back... back to master before the worse comes to worst."
No one understood what Mest meant at this moment. But one thing was clear, something is going on.
In other instant, the four disappeared from the hospital.
•••
"NO!" Lucy yells and shoots up. She fainted about half an hour ago. She jerks her head around. She was lying in the small hall connected to stairs, outside the main one. Makarov must have put her there when he was casting those 8 spells.
"Huh? It was a dream..." She says jerking her head around and realizing that she is alone. No one was there. She puts her hands on the ground to stand up. That's when she feels a texture of paper beneath her. She quickly turns and looks at the paper. Something was written on it. She picks it up.
It said,
"Dear Lucy,
I am afraid that I will have to leave you here because I cannot take you back in this condition. It is an emergency, so once you wake up, sneak out quietly without anyone noticing. I have casted a spell on the wall of the basement, allowing anyone to exit only once. It will close automatically after that. Please don't tell anyone about what you saw today. And lastly, don't leave any stuff behind, because you won't be able to return back after crossing the wall anytime soon.
-Makarov
"Natsu is kinda my property... though... leaving him behind huh..."
Lucy sighs. Makarov really did leave her behind in the top secret of Fairytail...
She stands up properly and was about to enter in the main room again when she remembered how she fainted.
"No way he is naked till now..." She mumbles, trying to convince herself. But finds herself just standing on the entrance, not knowing what to do.
"Ah just leave it! Think what you want Natsu, but I am coming in!!!" She yells before entering the quiet room. She was red already from the very thought of the embarrassing moments this could create.
To her surprise, Natsu wasn't in the room. She looks around... no. He wasn't there. But as she looks around more clearly, her eyes fall on the revival lacrima.
"At last found-" Lucy's calm voice turns into a scream. Natsu was in the lacrima, and naked for some reason. She tried really hard to not look 'there' but her eyes slipped down every time. She sighs, disappointed at herself.
"It's alright. No one is here and besides, I have seen him naked many times..." She mumbles and tries to look at Natsu. But instantly looks down, at the ground. "No! This is just... wrong! Ahhhh!!!!! Why are you a boy, Natsu!!!"
This confusion lasted for a little while. In the end Lucy decided to take a look around the room without seeing the lacrima. She was quite successful at this.
As she roams around, she sees all kinds of books. Some of them were thicker than the rest but some of them were merly 10 pages thick. Many potions and raw materials kept in jar were arranged in the shelves too.
She gasped in amusement at the sight. It didn't took long to take a look around the room. At last, she stumbled across the table kept in front of lacrima. Also, she didn't move her neck above by an inch.
A book was kept on the table. It was the same book from which gramps casted the spells for revival. She picks it up. It was old for sure. The book cover was brown and the pages were yellowish. Lucy opens it.
"Only 8 spells... huh? I expected more for resurrecting magic..." She mumbles to herself.
Lucy turns and turns the pages until she was at the very end. She closes the book and sighs. What did she even expect to find anyways?
Lucy was just about to return back when a thought came to her mind. She flipped the book and stared at the back cover.
No... it isn't here.
Then she flipped the book again and stared at the front cover...not here either....
"That's weird. There is no name of the author."
Lucy flips through all the pages once again. Still nothing. Why hasn't the author mentioned his name on such a great magic discovery?
•••
After some more minutes, Lucy finds herself sitting on the table. She is not leaving without finding the name of the wizard who wrote it. She read each page carefully... still no clue. Only the last page left...
Lucy almost gave up. But having spending so much time on the previous pages, she decided to read the last one too. It was the right call. 'Lucky' Lucy Heartfilia's luck charmed again after several days.
"HERE!" She yelled in excitement, almost falling off from the frail table. But somehow... managed to not break it or fall either. After gaining balance again, Lucy stares at those 5 lines written with a pencil in the corner of the last page.
I am not blind from birth.
No! I am not kind from heart.
I can't just see this world meeting it's end, on the day of calamity.
Oh, unlucky one, may your heart reach the earstern side, the side of the waste.
'Blind' Eisenberg
"Blind... Eisenberg?" Lucy repeats. She turns to the back side of that page. It was blank. She sighs and reads the lines written with raw ink once again.
"It doesn't make any sense!!" Lucy finally screams in disappointment and frustration. Why would anyone write such meaningless lines on this book. She pulls out the note that master left for her from her pocket and compares the writing. It wasn't his.
"Eisenberg... who is this?" She mumbles to herself, trying to think of something. But nothing came to her mind. She sighs once again and searches for a pen. It wasn't hard to find. It was kept in a shelf... but because of it, she got another unintentional peak of Natsu.
Pretending that she didn't saw anything, but still getting red, she sits down on the table once again and jolts down those lines on a piece of paper.
"Maybe I will ask Levy about this..." She whispers and heads towards the exit, not turning back. But on the way, she sees Natsu's clothes lying carelessly on the ground.
"As clumsy as ever..." She sighs and starts to collect them. She planned to neatly keep them in the corner, where they will be easy to find.
"A pair of sandals, A scarf, a knee length trouser, two black cloth pieces tying for his trouser, one sleeveless waistcoat..." Lucy stops mumbling. She looks at the floor closely. One thing was missing.
After jerking her head around to find something, a thought crosses her mind.
"No way!" Lucy says slowly in disbelief. She then turns around, not caring about decency anymore. There... there it was. The wrist band that she gifted him... he didn't took it off.
"He really didn't..." She says, adjusting her eyes for a clear view. Yes... it was still in his right hand. He really didn't took I off! Lucy felt really excited and ashamed at the same time. She turns back yet again, deciding not to look at Natsu again. Without wasting time she walked straight for the exit.
So much for helping Natsu.
"That idiot... he should have taken it off. What if the spell doesn't work because of it?!" She kept mumbling, but smiling at the same time.
The way back seemed really short because of it. Soon she crossed the wall of the basement. It closed as soon as she passed it. She checks her belongings for the last time. They all were there.
From this point on, Lucy walks carefully, not making any creaking sounds. She lurks slowly and steadily, sliding along the walls. Soon, she reached the main door for basement. She opens the door as carefully as she could. After poking her head out and ensuring no one was here, she slithers out.
"Phew..." Lucy whispers wiping sweat off her face.
She looks out through one of the windows of the guild hall. The sun pouring in brightly once again... as if nothing ever happened.
"It must be almost noon by now...what should I do next?" She whispers, not being able to decide what to do now. Go back to infirmary or to her apartment?
However, before she could decide, she heard a knock. A knock at the guild door.
"Really?..." Lucy sighs. Who is so polite to knock the gate of "Fairytail"? The guild was barren. Some were in infirmary and some were at their respective places. Lucy was alone and felt the need to open the door.
She walks towards the door. The knock kept getting louder by every passing second.
"Comin!" She yells as she starts sprinting. But before she could gain pace, she is stopped by gramp, walking down the stairs that led to second floor. He used his magic to elongate his hand and held Lucy's arm firmly.
Lucy tries to loosen the grip of master by jerking her hands but Makarov was not in a mood to let go. She stops trying as soon as she notices his seriousness. As he climbed down, Mira followed him.
Everything was supposed to be normal...?
NO! As soon as Mira's feet touched the floor of the hall, her magic takes over her body. The aura of Satan Soul gave shivers to Lucy. The knock at the door was now as loud as a fist banging against a door.
Makarov gestures Lucy to keep quiet. Mira nods, showing her agreement with Makarov. Lucy gulps and whispers "OK".
Makarov lets Lucy go and reaches the door. The knock had now amplified to a bang at the door. Maybe a kick too. The door was somehow still not broken.
"Stand back." Makarov whispers to Lucy as he keeps his hand on the foo handle. Lucy looks at Mira. She was in her fighting stance, ready for the worst outcome.
Lucy musters up courage and finally asks, "Hey... Mira... what's happening?"
Mira looks at Lucy with her cold eyes and replies slowly but sharply, "It can be the council's attempt to abduct Natsu."
Lucy was shocked. Too shocked to move. Makarov looks at her and sighs. The door was at it's breaking point. Without wasting time, Makarov opens the door cautiously. Rays of the bright sun enters the shady guild hall, lightening up the skin of Fairytail wizards, revealing the tense facial expressions of the visitors.
Moving her eyes away from the sudden intense light, Lucy glanced at Mira. Only at this time did she really realize how scary Mira could be...