"Yup," Natsu grumbled through clenched teeth, "worst pain I've ever felt." who knew a train full of people could be so damn heavy.
It felt like his arms were gonna be torn off from the stress of holding onto the train. He wouldn't be able to last much longer.
'That's a pretty mean drop.' Natsu gulped as he looked down into the depth of the canyon. He couldn't even see the bottom due to the depth and fog that filled it.
How was he gonna get out of this mess?
How was he supposed to get an entire train out of the canyon and on solid ground?
It wasn't like he could swing the damn thing.
Too heavy.
Maybe he could-
All thoughts, not like there was many he was Natsu after all, left his mind as the sound of metal cutting through the air found its way into Natsu's ears. Frantically looking around, Natsu saw eight boomerangs flying towards him from multiple directions.
"What the fuck!?"
They were spinning so fast that Natsu could hear a buzzing noise coming from them. His first instinct was to inhale and shoot a Dragon's Roar to blast them away but the strain from holding onto the train kept him from being able to gather enough air to launch a breath attack.
All that came from his mouth were strained moans.
'Here they come.' not being able to defend himself, all Natsu could do was hope his Dragon Slayer body was tough enough to not get cut into pieces.
Not once did he think of dropping the train to save himself.
Luckily for him though, Fairy Tail wizards had each others back's, and that was showed when the boomerangs were diverted away by a series of magic bullets fired from below.
"You ok, Natsu?!" looking down, Natsu saw Fairy Tail's gun-toting couple with their weapons drawn, Bisca a sniper rifle and Alzack his revolvers, while half their bodies stuck out of trains back door.
"Yeah, thanks!" they both cringed when they heard how strained Natsu's voice was. "So, what now?!"
"Not sure." Alzack's answer was not the one Natsu was looking for.
"What do you mean, not sure?! This train is heavy as hell and- The freaking killer boomerangs are coming back, help me!" taking aim, Bisca and Alzack once again hit their targets and diverted the path of the spinning boomerang.
'This must be the guy Red fought against.' Natsu thought as he continued his struggle. 'I guess Erza was right sending these two with me.' without the married couple, Natsu would've been shredded to pieces.
"So, does that mean that this whole thing was just to get to me?" his words came out as a whisper while guilt started to set in.
This was all his fault.
These people's lives were in danger because of him.
Suddenly a bolt of pain shot through his head causing his hold on the train to falter for a split second.
"Whoa! Hold it steady, Natsu!" Bisca ordered as the train swayed from Natsu's slip up.
"S-Sorry!" another wave of boomerangs came towards Natsu before Bisca and Alzack shot them away again.
"It's a real pain that we can't just shoot these things down." Alzack complained about the fact that the boomerangs would always readjust themselves after being shot instead of being knocked out of its spin and rendered useless.
"You got no right to complain!" Natsu shouted due to hearing Alzack's words. "You're not the one up here!"
"He's got you there." Bisca agreed before getting back to the matter at hand. "How long do you think you can last, Natsu?!"
"Not long if you don't lighten the weight soon!" biting her lip, Bisca quickly put a plan together.
"Alright, this is what we'll do. One of us will go to the front of the train and move the people to another car, after all the people are out of the front car we can separate it from the rest of the train before moving on to the next car. How's that sound?"
"Sounds good, but who'll stay behind and guard Natsu?" Alzack's question was answered in a flash.
"Bisca! I call Bisca! Bisca, protect me!" Alzack's jaw dropped completely at Natsu's demand that Bisca be the one to protect him instead of himself; Bisca on the other hand simply beamed with pride.
"What?! Her?! You don't trust me or something?! What happened to bros before hoes?!"
"What'd you just call me?!"
"No! I mean- That didn't come out right, baby!"
"Oh, now it's 'baby', huh?!"
'Dumbass.' not even Natsu was dumb enough to say that in front of his lover.
Although, there was a good chance that Erza wouldn't have minded, judging from that one time she woke him up in the middle of the night to get a little freaky and ordered him to call her a whore. He resisted at first, really he did, but it eventually ended with him not only having to call her a whore but a dirty whore at that.
He didn't know why she wanted him to call her that but she liked it.
A lot.
Natsu's musings along with Bisca and Alzack's argument were dropped instantly when the boomerangs made another go at Natsu only for eight magic bullets to strike them once again.
After that, no more words needed to be spoken.
Alzack immediately started making his way down the train while Bisca readied her sniper to protect Natsu.
"How you doing up there?" Bisca questioned as she shot two boomerangs.
"I'm holding a fucking train, what do you think?!"
"Right." Bisca muttered while mentally smacking herself in the head. "Dumb question."
Who would've thought they would find themselves in such a crazy situation.
Bisca certainly didn't.
What she did know was that she better make sure nothing happens to Natsu or Erza was going to kill her.
"Well, this isn't too surprising." Erza commented as she sat with her legs crossed on the edge of her hotel bed.
The reason for her comment was due to the newspaper she was reading. The front page was about the brawl that happened just hours ago and there was speculation that Fairy Tail was involved, seeing as it was a brawl and Fairy Tail and brawl practically went hand in hand. Apparently, according to the article, the battle between the two groups resulted with a Baron Clovis postponing his visit to Sapporo.
For security reasons no doubt.
The only reason Erza could bring herself to care about that fact was because a Baron was nobility, and nobility tended to be rather unhappy when one disrupted, well, anything really in their lives.
Erza always tried not to judge people before she knew them but nobility usually were so full of themselves that she wanted to punch them in the face.
Luckily, there was no solid proof of them being involved in last night's incident, but Erza was sure that Master was going to hear about it nonetheless, which of course meant she would hear about it from him.
Maybe she could place the blame on Knigh-
"How long is your friend going to take?" as if on cue, the person Erza was thinking about placing the blame on spoke up from her seat by the window.
"Her name's Kagura and she won't be long." Erza answered as she skimmed through the rest of the newspaper. "And we have to wait for Gajeel to see if he could sniff anything out from last night anyways."
"He's just wasting his time." was Knightwalker's reply. "They were obviously prepared for a Dragon Slayer's nose, I doubt they're even in the city."
"Well, yes, I know that." Scarlet quickly agreed. "I was just giving him something to do so we could talk."
"About?" Knightwalker's answer was a flash of light and a spear being held in Scarlet's hand.
It wasn't just any spear.
It was her Ten Commandments.
"No."
Knightwalker's response was immediate.
It earned a sigh from her counterpart.
"You have to get over it."
She knew Knightwalker had a fear of relapsing into the Fairy Hunter and the weapon she used was nothing more than a reminder of her past.
A past she needed to stop fearing.
"It's just a weapon. You're not going to turn into a killing machine by just grabbing it."
Obviously, Knightwalker knew what Scarlet was saying was true, but that didn't change the fact that, as her hand neared the spear, images of said spear cutting through flesh, ending lives, flashed through her mind.
"It's fine." Scarlet assured as if sensing her thoughts. "We won't let you go back to what you used to be. I'll even bring you down myself if you lose control." Scarlet's attempt at reassuring and teasing Knightwalker earned her a smirk.
"You talk as if you could." Knightwalker's hand reached out and tentatively took the spear in her hands.
"I did it once." Scarlet placed her hands on her hips with a smug smile on her face. "I could do it again."
"We'll have to put that to the test someday."
"We will." Scarlet agreed before looking at the clock. "Kagura should be here soon, I'll go to the train station and wait for her." with that said, Scarlet left Knightwalker alone.
Alone with her Ten Commandments.
A weapon she earned the title, Fairy Hunter, with.
Could she really use this weapon again?
Scarlet was right, it was just a weapon, a tool. It in it of itself was not dangerous, the actions she took with the weapon were. But, she knew if she had her spear earlier she would've beaten down the "dimwit" and "manly bitch".
She would spend the next fifteen minutes staring at the spear clenched in her hand before the door opened, drawing her attention away. Her eyes immediately landed on the girl following behind Scarlet. She noted everything from her appearance, weapon, and even how her muscles were tensed in a state that showed she was always on guard and ready for an attack.
The next thing Knightwalker observed was the look of admiration the girl had in her eyes when she glanced at Scarlet. But, as those eyes fell onto herself, admiration was quickly replaced with a death glare as killer intent filled the room.
Knightwalker being as calm and cool as she is, merely raised an eyebrow as she perked up to the potential threat.
"Is that her?" the girl questioned as the grip on her sword tightened.
Ah.
Knightwalker understood.
She knew.
She knew who she was.
She knew what Knightwalker tried to do.
She knew that she tried to kill Scarlet.
'Crap.' Erza mentally cursed. 'I've should've seen this coming.' current events kept Erza distracted, allowing a slip up.
As Knightwalker thought, Kagura did know of her and what she tried to do in the past.
The day after the trial to qualify for the Grand Magic Games, Erza and Natsu happened to bump into Kagura by accident. They didn't remember her at first (which was understandable since the last time they saw her she was eight years old) but Natsu's nose quickly recognized her scent.
In no time they found themselves catching up with the once little girl they knew. They learned that only a week after they finished guarding her along with the rest of the Mikazuchi Clan from assassination attempts, that Kagura ran away from her family to pursue her dream.
Kagura in turn, was told of all the adventures and struggles the two went through, Edolas being one of them. She also was told about the secret relationship Natsu and Erza were in, something that forced her to quell the urge to puff out her chest, which had grown a lot since they last saw her, in pride due to being the only one that knew about them dating.
It was strange for Erza.
To see the once lonely, little girl who was just struggling to find her path, her way of life, giving someone she considered a sister more and more as each day went by, a glare that held a good amount of killing intent.
"Kagura, calm down." Erza placed a hand on her shoulder as she shifted to put herself between Kagura and Knightwalker. "A lot has happen since Edolas. She's changed. She's family." Erza's softly spoken words caused Kagura to snap her head to stare at Erza, giving her an incredulous look.
Family?
Her?
After what she tried to do?
After she tried to use Natsu-sama as a magic fuel source?
After she tried to kill her own counterpart?
How could she call her family?
Kagura bit the inside of her cheek as she struggled with her emotions. A part of her couldn't believe Erza-sama would actually call her counterpart family, while a larger part scolded her for questioning her.
To Kagura, Erza-sama and Natsu-sama's word were law, she would listen and do anything for them. If they woke her up in the dead of night and told her they were going into a battle that they had no chance of surviving, Kagura would be right behind them, no questions asked.
There would be no hesitation in following them to their deaths.
So, she was having a hard time figuring out what she should do.
"Trust me." Erza spoke up, immediately drawing Kagura's attention. "You know I wouldn't let anything hurt my family." the images of a smiling Natsu-sama and Hisako drifted through her mind.
That was true.
If Erza-sama saw heras a threat than she would be the first one to bring her down. She may not trust her but she damn well trusted Erza-sama.
"Very well." Erza sighed in relief when Kagura let her hand fall from her blade and closed her eyes to calm herself. "I trust your judgment." although that didn't mean she understood Erza-sama's decision even if her counterpart wasn't a threat.
"Thank goodness." Erza did not need a battle breaking out between two sister figures; Knightwalker the older and Kagura the younger.
She couldn't be more grateful that Knightwalker didn't react to Kagura's killer intent. Erza was sure that if her counterpart was the same as before, she would've instantly been on the attack when Kagura's hostility made itself known.
A fight between those two was an interesting thought though.
She honestly didn't know who would win.
She fought Knightwalker to a draw and she doubted it would end any other way if they fought a hundred times. Kagura however, seemed to hold back during their spars. Erza was fairly certain that she was doing it subconsciously, but the fact remained that Erza couldn't gauge her strength properly. Sure she's seen her fight against Yukino but there was no comparing Yukino's strength against Erza's.
But, if she were to listen to her instincts, well, she was glad Kagura was an ally instead of an enemy.
"I assume you know about what happened yesterday?" Erza's question was directed to Kagura, who gave her utmost attention.
If one were to ignore the sharp glances she sent Knightwalker.
"Our master has informed us about the attack on Fairy Tail's, Team Shadow Gear, by most likely, Laughing Coffin." Kagura gave a curt nod to go with her words.
"Good, then I can just inform you about last night." Erza responded before turning towards her counterpart. "Would you mind finding Gajeel to see if he found a trail to follow?" standing up from her seat, Knightwalker strode passed the two, ignoring the glare Kagura gave her, and left the room.
With her Ten Commandments strapped to her back.
"I thought you said you trust my judgment?"
"Sorry."
"Now don't get all dejected." seeing her face, Erza placed a hand on Kagura's shoulder and gave her a small smile. "Just try to be civil, for me."
"Of course, Erza-sama."
"That feels a lot better." Natsu had to give Alzack credit, he was making quick work of the train. From what he could tell, three cars were already separated, cutting down the weight he had to hold.
Too bad that was equaled out by his arms tiring over time.
And fuck was that boomerang guy annoying as hell.
He just wouldn't stop trying to cut him to pieces with those stupid things.
What did he ever do to him?
Jackass.
Good thing he had Bisca watching his back.
Ah, Bisca, she was an angel.
Wait, he was getting pretty light-headed.
Everything was getting a little fuzzy.
Why was that?
Probably because he was holding his breath.
"Damn it." Natsu cursed as he took a deep gulp of air.
He didn't mean to do that, it was just a natural reaction people did when they exerted themselves physically. It was something Erza told him time after time to not do.
Something about the brain needing air or something.
Which was weird because wasn't it the lungs that needed air?
Ah, whatever.
"Bisca, you might wanna tell Alzack to hurry up!"
"Right!" Bisca answered while shooting her gun. "Alzack, hurry your ass up!" three minutes later, Natsu felt the weight lessen once again before Alzack popped up beside his wife.
"There's no more room in the rest of the cars!" drawing out his own guns, Alzack began to aid in the protection of Natsu alongside his wife. "Now what?!"
"Why are you asking me?! I'm supposed to be the dumb one!"
When did he become the guy who thought up the plans?
He was the "punch first ask questions later" type, not the planner.
Useless those two.
"Alright, uh . . . . . ok, I think I got it!" Natsu shouted in distressed, excitement. "Ok, Natsu, you got this." taking a deep breath, Natsu slowly tried to retract his flames that he was using to anchor himself to the train and canyon.
It was painfully slow.
Literally.
If he tried to retract his flames too quickly they could weaken and break apart due to the weight they were holding, and taking too long, well, that hurt like hell. But he would endure, he needed to. Too many lives were counting on him, including Bisca and Alzack.
He had to make sure that they would see their little girl again. That went for everyone else on the train too. They all had family, someone, waiting for them and he was damn sure gonna save everyone so they could see them again.
"You're doing a great job, Natsu!" Bisca shouted prompting her husband to follow.
"Keep it up, buddy! Just a little bit more!"
Ten minutes later, the length of Natsu's flames were only two feet long each. Now the only thing he needed to do was get the train on solid ground.
.
.
.
.
Yeah, he couldn't do that.
He was having a hard enough time just holding onto the train.
He needed to think of something else.
Fuck.
Thinking sucked.
So did that boomerang guy.
He still was trying to kill him.
"Hey! Can one of you jump up here and deal with this boomerang guy already?! He's annoying as hell!"
"I'm on it!" pulling himself all the way out of the train's back door, Alzack jumped from the train to solid ground. "Can you smell him anywhere?"
(Sniff)
(Sniff)
Natsu didn't really need to know what the "dimwit", as Red called him, smelled like. All he needed to do was find the smell of someone around the canyon and that would probably him.
Who else would be around the area?
There wasn't a town for miles.
Ha, look at him being all smart and shit.
"Over there." pointing his head in the direction he smelt someone, Natsu then turned his attention towards Bisca who was calling him. "What?"
"You think you could turn down the temperature of your flames enough so everyone could use them to climb out of this mess?" opening his mouth to answer, Natsu immediately cut off his reply.
Could he do that?
Was it even possible in the first place?
He'd never tried it before.
Increase the temperature, sure, that was no problem.
Decreasing he could probably do, but to decrease enough so people could climb along it . . . . he wasn't sure he could do that.
But . . . did he really have a choice?
From what he could see, there really wasn't any other way to get everyone to safety. The fact that his arms felt even worse than they did earlier didn't help.
"Alright," Natsu mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes to concentrate, "let's do this."
He would save these people.
He would.
"So, did you find anything?" stepping into the hotel room, Knightwalker and Gajeel were immediately questioned by Scarlet.
Ignoring the question for a moment, Knightwalker took a glance towards the now stoic Mikazuchi, a far cry from the death glares she was sending her earlier; Knightwalker couldn't help but be impressed with the girl's self-control. It wasn't easy to hide one's animosity in such a short amount of time.
Shifting her eyes back towards Scarlet, she responded to her earlier question.
"No, like I told you earlier it was a waste of time."
Pissed because he couldn't beat the hell out of the ones responsible for hurting his mate, Gajeel couldn't help but retort.
"What the hell should we do then, huh?! Sit and do fucking nothing!" Knightwalker's gaze shifted towards him but nothing more. She didn't flinch like most would when staring at an enraged Dragon Slayer. No, she simply stared at him as if he was a screaming child.
"No, what she," Knightwalker shifted her gaze to Kagura to indicate who "she" was, "should do is focus on the one lead we do have to Laughing Coffin."
"And what the hell is that?!" fighting off the urge to smack the hell out of Redfox for talking to her in such a way, Knightwalker continued to explain her plan.
"The wizards we fought last night. They're our closest and only link to Laughing Coffin, so Mikazuchi should press them for what they might know."
"What the hell about us?!"
"Fairy Tail's suspected of being involved in last night's scuffle, I doubt they'll let us talk to them. On top of that, except for us, no one else knows of their possible connection to Laughing Coffin."
"Meaning the Rune Knights will be more inclined to let me talk to them." as much as Kagura hated to admit it, that woman had a point along with a good plan.
If the Rune Knights believed that the dark wizards that attacked Natsu-sama and Erza-sama last night were associated in any way with Laughing Coffin they would definitely not let anyone near them unless the Magic Council said otherwise. Of course that went double for any Fairy Tail wizard seeing as it would be a conflict of interest. And if any member of Fairy Tail went themselves even without the known associating with Laughing Coffin they, would most likely be questioned for the brawl and not be allowed to talk to the previous night's attackers because of suspicion alone.
Fairy Tail's bad relationship with the Magic Council wouldn't help either.
So in short, she, not being a Fairy Tail wizard, along with the dark wizard's unknown involvement with Laughing Coffin, should allow Kagura a chance to gather some much-needed information.
It was a good plan.
Kagura really wished it wasn't that woman who came up with it.
"How 'bout now?!"
"Still too hot!"
"Damn it!"
More than ten minutes had passed since Natsu began trying to cool his fire down enough so the passengers on the train could use them to climb on and he still didn't have it low enough.
It was freaking hard.
The hotter his flames were the easier they were to keep solid.
That, of course, meant the colder they were the harder they were to keep solid.
A few times he tried to cool his flames down only to feel them weakening.
That forced him to stop.
He was too scared that if he continued, the flames wouldn't be strong enough to hold onto the train and break, and he was pretty sure if he had to catch the train from free falling again his arms would rip off.
Natsu needed to figure out how to cool off the temperature of his flames and keep it stable and strong enough to hold the train. He really wished Erza was there with him. She would probably know how he could manage to do all those things. But she wasn't there, he would have to make do on his own.
It was time to use that brain that usually only came through when he needed it, and boy did he need it.
He was really getting too old for this.
A man of his age, eighty-eight years, and caliber shouldn't be dealing with the annoying ass Magic Council. He should living on a beach, retired, with dozens upon dozens of babes who acknowledge his greatness.
But, alas-
"Master, over here!"
He was stick with his brats.
Turning towards the beckoning voice, Makarov was rewarded with the sight of Mira's rack bouncing up and down as she ran towards him.
He felt his fatigue drain from his body instantly.
Oh, and she was followed by Elfman and Max, or whatever their names were.
He was too preoccupied to remember.
Or care.
"Mira, what are doing all the way out here and so early at that?" much to Makarov's ire, the Magic Council kept him up all night questioning him for a possible motive for Laughing Coffin to attack Fairy Tail. Of course he knew nothing and it took him hours for him to convince them that. That was followed up by more hours of what was basically them telling him not to get Fairy Tail involved.
'Too late for that.' the fact that they honestly believed that there was a chance Fairy Tail wouldn't get involved was laughable. Although, he couldn't rule out the possibility that they secretly wanted Fairy Tail to deal with the problem.
It made sense when he thought about it.
They knew how close Fairy Tail was with the other guilds, so if they really wanted to keep them away from any information involving Laughing Coffin they wouldn't have called him to the guild master meeting where he could easily talk to the other masters. On top of that, it wouldn't be smart for the Magic Council to send Rune Knights after the dark guild. Not only would they waste the lives of their men and women (although Makarov was inclined to believe that they saw the waste of lives more of a waste of resources, human resources, than anything else) but they would ruin their reputation if they simply got slaughtered by Laughing Coffin. Makarov doubted the current Magic Council would want to make the same mistake of incompetence their predecessors had.
Politics.
Makarov hated politics.
Too much greed, not enough heart.
"Erza wanted me to catch you up on everything that we found out so far." Mira answered Master's earlier question.
"Let's do this in my hotel, I need a place to rest these tired old legs." Makarov sighed as he made his way towards his hotel room.
Mira, L-elf, and Max following after.
The moment Kagura entered the jail block of the Rune Knight's Sapporo Branch Headquarters, she knew something was amiss.
There was no real evidence to prove that.
It was simply a feeling, but she was on guard nonetheless.
Erza-sama had taught her to follow her instincts when they were telling her something.
As she followed two Rune Knights to the cell where the dark wizard she was looking for was being held, Kagura's couldn't keep her eyes from straying to the many cells she passed.
Or more accurately their occupants.
Not all of them were wizards, some were normal civilians aside from the fact that they were criminals. That was obvious since none of them had the handcuffs that held Magic Draining Lacrima in them like the other prisoners had.
She couldn't help but shake her head at the number of criminals being held.
There was truly too much evil in the world.
"Here's the prisoner you wanted to see." coming to a halt in her steps and thoughts, Kagura turned and saw why that woman dubbed the cell occupant as "manly bitch".
"Thank you." she responded with a curt nod as the cell door was slid open for her. "I'll only take a few moments."
"If you need anything just call." with that said, the two Rune Knights left the two alone, much to Kagura's relief.
She doubted the "manly bitch" would give any information freely and Kagura would more than likely need to . . . . ask a bit roughly for what she needed. She was sure the Rune Knights knew that as well but simply didn't care, holding no love for any dark wizard.
Unprofessional perhaps, but it worked in her favor.
"What the hell do yo-"
"Sit down." before the dark wizard could finish her words, Kagura's right hand lashed forward and pushed her with enough force to slam her into the wall behind her before slumping onto the floor.
"You fucking-" once again she didn't have a chance to finish as the pommel of Kagura's sword slammed into her stomach, earning a series of hacking coughs.
"You'll only talk when it's to answer my questions." the glare that Kagura leveled her with sent a chill down her spine. Unlike the one she received from the two Erza's, this one held true killing intent. "I am not here to play games. I am not here to beat around the bush. I am not here to leave empty-handed. I want answers and if you even want to walk again you'll give me them."
'S-She's serious!'
Kagura's eyes were sharp and had a dangerous gleam in them, almost like when a predator was eyeing its prey.
"B-But you can't do that! You're supposed to be-"
"Supposed to be what?" Kagura questioned as a magic circle appeared above the "manly bitch". A second later the dark wizard was slammed into the ground as the gravity above her increased. "The good guys? That went out the window when you and your ilk attacked Natsu-sama and Erza-sama. Now-"
A loud booming sound cut Kagura off, causing her to release her magic and stand up in surprise.
'That sounded like a wall being destroyed.' it was a sound she, and really any wizard, knew quite well from years of battles.
That led her to one conclusion.
A prison break.
But that conclusion led to questions.
Was it just a coincidence that a prison break was happening less than a day after dark wizards associated with Laughing Coffin were captured?
It was possible that the attempting break out had nothing to do with them and was meant for someone else.
Unlikely, but still a possibility.
A second later the two Rune Knights from earlier frantically confirmed what she already knew.
A second after that Kagura was sprinting down the prison block, leaving orders, despite not having no actual authority over them, for the Rune Knights to guard the "manly bitch".
Yet, as she continued towards the violence, she couldn't discard the feeling that something was still amiss.
The break out attempt didn't change that.
"Ha . . . . Ha . . . . Ha . . . . Ha." the sound of Natsu's exhausted pants escaped his mouth as he lay right by the edge of the cliff.
He did it.
He was able to hold on long enough so Bisca and Alzack could get the passengers off the train and onto solid ground.
After that he let that damn thing fall to its doom.
Due to his exhaustion Natsu didn't really get to appreciate the feeling of revenge he finally was able to get for all those years of torture.
"Hey, Natsu, you mind scooting away from that cliff? I'm worried you'll fall off."
"He'll be fine, Bisca. I mean what kind of idiot would-"
"Whoa!"
"Natsu, get over here!"
Not having enough energy to stand, Natsu simply rolled towards the married couple until he was at their feet.
"Hehehe. My bad." despite the pain he was in, Natsu couldn't help but chuckle.
Could anyone blame him?
He was able to save a train full of people.
Who wouldn't be glad?
Of course he had help, especially when he realized that he couldn't cool his fire down enough so the passengers could climb across it.
And honestly deep down, he knew that from the beginning.
He never did have that kind of control over his flames.
Maybe one day he could, but who knows.
So, with that plan out the window they went with something far more simpler.
Bisca threw the passengers up to Alzack, who had returned from his attempt to take out the boomerang bastard, one by one. Normally a human couldn't throw other people so high but she was a wizard and used magic to enhance her physical strength.
All in all, in was a very Fairy Tail-like plan and it worked.
All the passengers were terrified but safe and huddled up away from the canyon's edge.
The wizard that was trying to kill Natsu with those fucking annoying boomerangs was long gone when Alzack tried finding him.
Bastard.
"Hey." Natsu called the two as he struggled to sit up, prompting them to help him. "Can you pop these things back in? They kinda hurt." these things of course were his arms that were dislocated due to holding the train.
"Sure." Bisca agreed as she kneeled at his side while Alzack did the same on the other side. "I always wanted to do this."
"Yeah, me too."
"Wait! What?! You haven't done this before?!" he received two head shakes as his answer. "Get the hell away from me! I'll ask Wendy to do it!"
Well, that was disappointing.
They really wanted to do it at least once.
"Are you sure?"
"Screw you!"
"Alright, Natsu, we're here."
"Finally."
Stepping out of the Magic Four Wheel Vehicle that they used to return to Magnolia, obviously using a train was out of the question, the group of three made their way towards Fairy Tail. Natsu being supported by Alzack of course so he wouldn't aggravate his broken foot.
It went without saying that the passengers from the train were led to the nearest town before they left for Fairy Tail.
Their journey to the guild took longer than usual due to Natsu's hobbling but eventually they reached their destination. Opening the door, they were greeted with the sight of a near empty Fairy Tail.
It really wasn't that surprising.
Most members had formed teams and left to find any information on Laughing Coffin while a few others stayed behind to look after the guild just in case something happened. There would've been more members who stayed behind if not for the fact that Laxus stayed as well, not willing to let anyone attack their guild. That was a relief for the three seeing as their kids needed protection if something did happen.
And what better protection then the guild's third strongest member?
Speaking of their kids, they were off to the side at the bar where Lisanna was feeding them.
"Hey, Lisanna, where's Rin?" Natsu's question quickly caught Hisako's and Asuka's attention.
"Papa!"
"Mommy! Daddy!"
Jumping down from their stools, the two little girls bolted towards their parents. It wasn't until Hisako came within a few feet of her papa did she notice his state.
"Papa, what happened?!" Natsu couldn't help but freak out a little when he saw the beginnings of tears form in the corners of her eyes.
"Hey, don't start crying now! I'm fine!" he was quick to pat her on the head, his arms hurt to damn much to pick her up, and give out his usual grin. "See?" letting out a few hiccups, Hisako brought up her arm and wiped away the oncoming tears.
His smile worked wonders.
"Mhm."
"Natsu, what happened to you?" Lisanna questioned as she tried her best to mask her concern, not wanting Hisako to start crying.
"Well," Natsu shrugged, "the search didn't go so well. I'll tell you about later." he really didn't want her asking anymore questions in front of Hisako.
No point of upsetting her.
"Where's Rin?" the shoulder length orangette was supposed to be watching the two kids too so his question was a fair one.
"Hmm? She said she had to find something in the library. She hasn't been gone long."
"Alright."
"Lisanna." Bisca started. "Do you know where Wendy is? Natsu needs someone to look at his foot and arms."
"Wendy? She left with Gray and Juvia to look for any information on Laughing Coffin. She seemed really determined."
That wasn't that surprising when Natsu thought about it. Ever since that whole Halloween mess, Wendy had become a lot more focused on getting stronger and proving herself as a capable wizard.
"Darn it." Natsu sighed cleaning up his words in front of his daughter.
Bisca couldn't help but smile at that.
"What about Porlyusica? Is she still here?" Alzack questioned with Azuka in his arms.
"No, she had Levy moved to her place so she could look after her better."
"How is, Levy?"
"Well, she hasn't woken up yet, but her life isn't in danger so that's good." all four Fairy Tail wizards couldn't help the grim expressions that appeared on their face's.
Just thinking about sweet, little Levy being hurt like that . . . .
It was too much.
"Do you want me to bring Porlyusica here to have a look at you?" Lisanna was obviously still worried about him but it wasn't like he was dying or anything.
"Nah, she should focus on Levy, I'll be fine."
"If you say so." she conceded before glancing at his bandaged foot. "There should be some crutches in the storage, if you want I could-"
"Thanks, I'll get it."
"Do you need help?" Alzack offered quickly as Natsu limped his way towards the basement.
"I'm good. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."
"I'll call Wendy and tell her to come back!" Lisanna called out to him and earned a raised hand showing his thanks as Natsu continued. "That guy."
"Well, he is a Dragon Slayer, he has his pride." Alzack shrugged while Bisca scooped up Hisako before addressing the kids.
"Who wants ice cream?"
"Me!"
She wasn't offering for no reason, Bisca really wanted to get the girl's mind off of Natsu being so beaten up. While it affected Hisako the most, obviously, Asuka was also shaken from seeing her uncle Natsu in such a state.
Good thing it worked.
While the girls were being taken out for ice cream, Natsu was busy limping his way towards the storage. Man he hoped Wendy would come soon. Not being able to walk normally was a real pain in the ass.
"Well there's nothing we can do about it."
"That's true. What's done is done."
"Hmm?" stopping in his tracks right in front of the storage room, Natsu turned his head to the left.
To the left of the storage room was the waiting room, and from what his ears could pick up, it was being used.
By Laxus and Rin?
Hmm, he was curious.
Hobbling over to the waiting room, Natsu opened the door.
The waiting room was a simple room with four couches centered around a coffee table and with a bookcase, picture, and plant placed along the right wall. The only other thing notable about the room were the windows on the wall on the opposite side of the door.
It was there by the windows where Laxus and Rin were standing.
He was a little disappointed.
They were just talking.
He was kinda hoping for something more.
Maybe a fight.
Or they could've been making out.
Erza would've loved to hear that kind of gossip.
Oh well.
"Hey, guys, what's up?"
"What happened to your face?" Laxus questioned ignoring Natsu's.
"And your foot." Rin quickly followed up.
"Uh, well . . ." embarrassed, Natsu trailed off while scratching the back of his head. He really didn't want Laxus to see him so beat up since he was one of the people he wanted to prove himself to. " . . . Met a guy with a big ass hammer. He kinda knew how to swing it."
"So you got your ass kicked." they both deadpanned.
"Hey! . . . . Yeah." Natsu let out a sigh before flopping himself on one of the couches. "You should've heard the guy 'I have no reason to answer a question from such an inferior wizard'. Asshole!"
Laxus couldn't help but snort at Natsu's childishness.
Even after growing up, somewhat, when he found Hisako he was still the same.
"Don't ever change, kid." messing with his hair as he walked past him, Laxus made to leave the room.
"I'm not a kid." Natsu grumbled as he crossed his arms, causing a sharp pain to surge through them. "Wait can you two pop my shoulders back into place?!"
"Sure, but what happened?" Rin answered for the both them as she sat to his left.
"When we were riding back on the train some bastard destroyed the tracks over the canyon. It went over and I caught it and the canyon with my fire."
"That's insane!" despite her words, Rin sounded pretty excited. "No one died, right?"
"Of course not! I'm a Fairy Tail wizard, ain't I?!"
"Well, that's good." she sighed in relief before Laxus poised a question.
"How'd you get the passengers off the train?"
"Bisca threw the passengers to Alzack and he caught them." only a Fairy Tail wizard could say a thing like that in such a nonchalant tone. "Anyways, fix me!"
"Yeah yeah." sighing, Laxus positioned himself on Natsu's other side before gripping his arm, prompting Rin to do the same. "On three."
"This is gonna hurt, isn't it?"
"Yup." Natsu couldn't help but wonder if Rin was a sadist with how she smiled when she answered.
'It can't be that bad could it? I mean, I'm a freaking Dragon Slayer!'
"One."
'It'll be fine.'
"Tw-"
(Pop)
"Ahhhhhhhh! What the hell?! You said on three!"
"It's better when it's a surprise." Rin shrugged. "Quick like a bandage." with that said, Laxus left the room, leaving the two to themselves.
"So, what were you doing over at this part of the guild?" usually everyone stayed in the guild hall unless they needed something, hence her question.
"Looking for some crutches."
"Oh, right, duh, broken foot." her palm met her forehead before she stood up. "Be right back." less than a minute later Natsu was trying out his new crutches.
"Man, this sucks." he grumbled as they made their way towards the guild hall. "Wendy better get here soon. I wanna walk again."
"I'm sure she won't take long." Rin assured inwardly glad that Natsu was easy to distract.
A few seconds later they were in the guild hall, approaching Lisanna who was busy cleaning a glass, much like her sister. Even Natsu could see how worked up she was, trying her best to distract herself from the events recently.
"So, what'd she say?"
His question quickly caught her attention and received the answer he wasn't hoping for.
"Sorry, Natsu, but it's going to take a while for Wendy to get back."
"What?! Why?!"
"Apparently the trains aren't working for some reason."
"Damn, that boomerang guy!" he was gonna punch the crap out of him when he found him. "Oops!" a second later Natsu's hands slapped over his mouth as his eyes widened beyond belief.
"Don't worry, Natsu. Bisca and Alzack took the girls to get some ice cream." Lisanna giggled at his reaction to his cursing.
"Oh, good." he sighed before he sat himself down on a bar stool, followed by Rin. "I guess I'll have to wait until she gets here."
"You still want us to watch Hisako?" Rin questioned as she rested her cheek on her palm.
"Right now no, I can watch her, but could you do it after Wendy heals me up?"
"Sure."
"No problem."
Spending some time with his daughter sounded really freaking great after the last few days he had.
He needed to relax.
The second she turned the corner, Kagura was met with chaos.
Rune Knights were scattered everywhere as the prisoners, a mix of wizards and none wizards, were going wild. Some ran desperately for freedom while others seemed completely focused on killing their captors, revenge their main concern.
(Boom!)
The same sound that initiated the breakout could be heard from another section of the prison, no doubt freeing more prisoners.
She was conflicted.
Her first instinct was to go and stop the one causing all the chaos, but at the same time she couldn't just leave the prisoners to run wild. The Rune Knights were obviously caught off guard and trying their best to regroup and form a line of defense; their Rune Spell being stronger with numbers. If she left them not only was there a good chance of them dying but also the chance of the prisoners escaping and hurting innocent people.
The instigators would have to wait.
Placing a hand on her sword's hilt, Kagura burst forward into the fray.
Archenemy, still sheathed, met the back of the head of a prisoner that was choking a Rune Knight, before she pivoted and slammed it into the gut of another prisoner who tried to sneak up behind her. A second later she ducked under a strange ball of light before launching herself towards the attacker and swinging archenemy horizontally into the attacker's stomach.
Feeling the ground beneath her rumble, Kagura flipped backwards into the air as a hand made of the ground itself tried to grab her. As she fell another hand reached up to grab her from her projected landing spot. That is if she didn't swing archenemy down, cleaving right through it. After that, Kagura quickly scanned the area to find the caster of the attack.
Said caster's eyes widened when Kagura's met his.
Before the caster knew it, Kagura was bolting towards him and smacking him upside the head with archenemy. She had no time to rest as a spear made of ice jabbed towards the side of her head, no doubt intended to go through. It never did as she ducked low and swept the legs of the attacker before slamming the tip of her sheath into his face after he hit the floor.
Seeing her run through their fellow inmates so quickly, wizards at that, the prisoners ran for it, only to meet a wall of Runes.
It seemed the Rune Knights were able to regroup.
Without a word, she never really was the talkative type, Kagura continued onto a different section of the prison.
Entering a small hall that led to another prison block, Kagura didn't even glance at the two inmates that froze at the sight of her. She simply swung archenemy almost as if she was swinging a fly swatter at flies as she ran past them.
The sound of two unconscious bodies hitting the ground could be heard from behind her.
Opening the door to another prison block, Kagura was met with a sea of vegetation. Large stalks of green vines swung wildly, reaching for anything within its grasp. It took her a second to assess the situation and locked on to the Rune Knights that were within the grasp of the vines.
They wouldn't last long.
The vines were obviously trying to end their lives. The Rune Knights were either being swung into the wall; squeezed until they were crushed; or pulled apart.
She was too late to save at least three of them, but she would save the others.
Jumping onto a vine that shot towards her like a striking snake, Kagura ran along it before jumping high off to the side to dodge another vine. As she flew up towards the second level of the prison block, Kagura sliced through a vine strangling a Rune Knight before pushing off the wall towards another Rune Knight being swung through the air.
Saving him would be a little more difficult than the others. If she simply cut through the vine the momentum would still send him flying and crashing into either the wall or ground.
Reaching out with her left hand, Kagura swung archenemy with her right and sliced through the vine while her other hand grabbed the arm of its captive before he was sent soaring.
Landing on the walkway on the second floor, Kagura dropped the Rune Knight before jumping forward into the air and cutting through three more vines. She was quick to catch the three Rune Knights that fell from their grasp.
'Where's the one controlling these things?' it would be much quicker to take out the caster instead of the vines one by one.
Craning her head in all directions, Kagura stopped her search with her head facing the ceiling. What she saw was a number of vines stretched horizontally across the ceiling as they intertwined around each other.
A possible hiding place.
Hopping backwards to dodge a vine that tried squashing her with a great slam, Kagura jumped off the ground and high up towards the wall before pushing off of it.
Her plan was simple.
She continuously bounced from one wall towards the other as she cut into the vines that she was sure the wizard was hiding.
It didn't take long for her to cut enough pieces causing it to fall to the ground.
A second later the vines died down, no doubt due to the caster being knocked out from the fall, or possibly having the vines landing on top of themselves.
Again she didn't waste time to move on to the next prison block.
She never made it to the next prison block.
As she moved through the hall a body was sent flying through the wall to her left and continued through the right one.
Slowing her steps, Kagura peered through the wall that the Rune Knight, who was no doubt dead, entered from.
What she saw was a massacre.
Beaten and broken bodies of the Rune Knights were sprawled everywhere throughout the room that seemed to be a cafeteria of sorts. The one responsible for the corpses . . . was one of the wizards Erza-sama had described to her earlier that morning.
It was the "viking".
He was the one that hurt Natsu-sama.
She couldn't believe he was standing right in front of her.
This was her chance to pay him back for that.
It was almost too good to be true.
Stepping through the hole, Kagura's presence must have been known to the "viking" because he stopped swinging his massive hammer and turned his attention towards her.
No words were spoken between the two.
There was no reason for there to be any.
The "viking" had a job to do.
Kagura had revenge to exact.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Words were unnecessary.
Readying their weapons, the two wizards launched themselves forward.
'He's surprisingly fast.' Kagura noted as she tapped her foot on the ground, allowing her to flip over the "vikings" thrusted hammer. As she completed her flip, Kagura twisted in the air and lashed out archenemy.
Before the sword stuck the side of his head, the "viking" raised his right arm and actually blocked the attack with his bare arm. With his war hammer in his other hand, the "viking" swung it counterclockwise in a wide arc at Kagura's, who was still in the air, head. She barely dodged the attack by leaning back in the air, allowing the hammer to pass just inches from her face.
The "viking" allowed his momentum to continue into a spin as he dropped to a knee, intending to strike Kagura when she landed. The attack never hit as Kagura, who was now upside down due to leaning backwards, pushed off the ground with her left hand and flew up towards the ceiling, dodging the hammer.
The moment her feet hit the ceiling, Kagura pushed off and came rushing down with a downward slash. Archenemy met the "viking's" hammer, creating a small shock wave that reverberated throughout the room. Utilizing his free hand, the "viking" attacked with a massive straight punch that didn't hit as Kagura pushed off his large body with her feet.
Much to her surprise, Kagura didn't come out that scuffle unscathed.
As she flew backwards a sudden force impacted her face and added more speed to her retreat. Too much speed that didn't give her time to adjust before she slammed into the wall.
'What was that? I dodged and yet I was still hit. Is that his magic?' the force of the blow was so strong that the impact could be felt even from a distance. 'Impact magic?' she had never heard of the magic but that didn't mean it didn't exist.
It would not only coincide with what Erza-sama had told her about the "viking" and "manly bitch" but explain how he was so fast when they charged at each other to start the fight. He could've used his magic to increase the impact of the force he used to push off the ground.
And now that she thought about it, the "viking" and "manly bitch" looked similar.
Were they siblings?
It wasn't unheard of for siblings to have the same magic.
The Strauss siblings being a fair example.
Well, if they were siblings didn't matter at the moment.
She had bigger problems.
Seeing the "viking" launching himself forward just as before, Kagura quickly did the same. But, as they closed in, Kagura planted her foot on the ground and jumped to the side before bouncing off the wall and towards the "viking's" flank, her superior speed allowing her to catch him off guard.
Unfortunately for her, he was able to recover and smash his war hammer into the ground. While the attack didn't hit her directly, it did break the ground and send pieces of rock everywhere.
That included her eyes.
Instinctually using her arms to shield her eyes, Kagura was left open to the massive clothesline that smashed into her stomach.
"Gah!" coughing up blood, Kagura's form crumpled over the "viking's" arm before the momentum sent her flying into the wall behind her.
Kagura wasn't sure what hurt more, her back from slamming into the wall or her stomach from that clothesline.
Letting out a serious if pained coughs, Kagura's eyes widened when she saw the "viking" darting towards her, his hammer extended like a lance. Rolling to the side, the hammer created a giant hole in the wall where Kagura would've been. Not wasting anytime, the "viking" went to slam the hammer on top of the crouched sword wielder only for her to roll forward just in time to dodge.
Retaliating from her kneeled position, Kagura swung archenemy right into the back of the "viking's" left knee. The "viking" let out a pained gasp and fell to his knee as Kagura delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of his head, which sent him flying across the room, through a number of tables, and into a wall.
As dust filled half the cafeteria from the impact, luckily not her half, Kagura cringed as she stood up and placed her hand on her stomach.
That clothesline packed a lot of power.
She grimaced again at the thought of the "viking" taking supposed magic boosting pills that Erza-sama had warned her of.
Maybe she shouldn't have held back on her strike to the knee and taken the man's leg instead.
She could've if she wanted to.
All she had to do was pour more magic into her blade and focus it into a sharp form. She was tempted to do it seeing as she held a good amount of wrath towards that man but she didn't.
That fact was due to Erza-sama's words from long ago.
"It's easy to let your anger take control and seek revenge but you can't fall to their level."
"But why? After the people he killed why should I spare his life?"
"Because you, we, have to be better than them. We have to set an example for the younger generation looking for their own path."
". . . L-Like me?"
"Exactly."
Those words spared the "viking" his leg.
She wouldn't stoop to his level.
A rather ironic thought when not even an hour earlier she was threatening to paralyze the man's possible sister.
But, despite his love of fighting, Natsu-sama had a gentle soul and would no doubt feel guilty if she inflicted any horrendous injuries to the "viking" since it would be in his name.
There was a difference to beating someone severely and removing appendages from their body.
Still the thought was tempting; she didn't see the damage the "viking" dealt to Natsu-sama but Erza-sama painted a picture. But, she didn't want to burden Natsu-sama, and guilt was indeed a burden.
The dust began to clear, drawing Kagura from her thoughts.
Some would've been tempted to continue the assault if they were in her shoes but her opponent was no amateur; the possibility of her rushing into the dust and receiving a blow from the hammer was too real.
So, she waited and recovered from the blow she received.
Besides, she had the speed advantage.
No point of forcing the issue.
All she had to do was dodge and strike.
Holding archenemy to her side in a drawing position, Kagura shifted her feet and waited for her opponent's attack.
She didn't have to wait long.
Taking a step forward, the "viking" swung his hammer in a bowling manner causing a powerful force to tear through the ground and barrel towards Kagura. Even though she couldn't see the force itself she could see the destruction it caused, thus allowing her to "see" the attack. Her grip on archenemy tightened as she waited for the "viking's" attack to come into the perfect range of her counter.
When it did, she swung her sword as if drawing its blade from its sheath. Her own shock wave, due to her speed more than strength, slammed into the "viking's" attack. As they crashed into each other another shock wave occurred as the attacks canceled each other out.
Unfortunately for Kagura, the "viking" didn't stop at one shock wave attack. That was obvious when she "saw" three more heading right towards her, tearing the floor apart. Most people would panic in the face of such a powerful attack but Kagura simply reassessed her options.
Should she counter again then wait?
Counter then strike?
Dodge?
In which direction?
Left?
Right?
Up?
The only way to find the right answer was to figure out what the "viking" was planning with his assault. He without a doubt knew that his attack wouldn't land a hit on her. No, such an attack was merely a way to create an opening for him.
Training her eyes onto the "viking", Kagura let her peripheral vision track the shock waves as they closed in on her. When they were close enough, Kagura stepped to the side and turned her body, allowing two of the shock waves to pass by her front and back.
The moment they were passed her, Kagura stepped forward and swung archenemy in a wide arc, causing a crescent shock wave to fly forward. It was countered by a downward slam of the "viking's" war hammer, breaking the attack when it came within arms reach.
'As expected. I'll need to get in close to defeat him.' that was something she would rather avoid.
A blow from his hammer could mean death if she didn't guard it with magic, and using magic in such a way would tire her out over time.
The possibility of him taking magic boosting pills still lingered in her mind.
But, long-range was never her specialty.
While she was thinking this through the "viking" was speaking to her, but she had no interest in the arrogant words of an arrogant man.
It wasn't like he was going to willingly start giving out information she needed, so why waste her time listening to him?
There was no point, so she promptly blocked him out.
That was until . . .
"You're a far fitting opponent then that pathetic Salamander."
Pathetic?
Salamander?
Natsu-sama?
An ice-cold rage flowed through Kagura's veins when those words registered in her mind.
Her muscles tensed, and her mind locked on to one thought.
Making the bastard in front of her suffer.