Fairy Tail: Falling Towards the Chaos

Chapter 36

Fairy Tail never tolerated the disrespect of one of their own, so, Lucy wasn't surprised when Master declared Tartaros as an enemy.

"We don't have enough intel to engage them in an all-out battle," Master admitted. Everyone gathered around a central table in the guild hall, leaving Porlyusica to her devices, treating their fallen comrades. The guild erupted in conversations regarding the anomaly known as Tartaros.

"They're going after former council members, that's for sure," Lucy advised, standing next to the table with her hand on her hip.

"Finding their locations will be tough," Macao added with a sigh, thumbing through a large book he'd grabbed from the guild's basement.

"I believe I can help with that," a suave voice expressed, a hand grasped Lucy's shoulder firmly, and she was surprised to look over her shoulder and see Loke materializing out of thin air, "well, I know some locations of former members, not all of them though." He winked at his wizard cheekily. Lucy rolled her eyes, concluding that the only way he knew was because he slept around. Typical.

Lucy felt herself fading away mentally as Master began to plan out their next moves with Loke's intel. She prayed internally for the safety of her guild; her family during this upcoming battle. Carla's words were weighing heavily on her soul, the cat almost never sharing her prophetic visions unless absolutely necessary, which meant whatever or whoever they were going up against would give their all to annihilate Fairy Tail for even daring to interfere.

Cana crying... for the guild? For what exactly? Gildarts? For their fated loss? And Natsu, standing face-to-face with some type of powerful evil entity... could she somehow prevent that? Somehow, Carla's vision of her surrounded by the stars left some much to be desired; Lucy could only hope she would be gaining some type of power to tip the battle in their favour, but at what cost?

Even trying to dissect the pieces of Carla's visions had Lucy's head hurting, and she shook her head lightly to try and regain focus on the ongoing conversation around her.

Everyone began to disperse with haste, with some people heading towards the infirmary while others stalked off reeking of determination and revenge. As Natsu moved to walk past her, Lucy grabbed his arm gently to draw his attention.

"I-I'm sorry, my head is all over the place right now, what's our move now?" Lucy asked, an apologetic smile on her face. She allowed her hand to fall, shifting her weight on her feet, as Natsu stared impassively at her for a few moments.

"We're splitting up into teams, hunting down the former members to protect them," Natsu frowned at her lack of focus, "Gramps hopes we can find clues about Tartaros along the way. What's wrong? Why are you daydreaming?" He pressed forward, chest bumping into her chest, as he leaned into her space. Their noses were dangerously close to touching before Lucy squeaked, backing up.

"I-It's n-nothing! Really, I just dazed off for a second," she smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head, "just... if anything happens, stay close to me, okay?"

"I would never leave you in the first place -- Lucy, what's going on? Are you okay?" Natsu squinted at her, sizing her up. In spite of his obvious scrutiny, Lucy smiled genuinely, grabbing his arm once more with more confidence.

"Okay! Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go kick some ass!"

-----

On their travels, Lucy felt the constant eyes boring holes into her head, and she knew Natsu wouldn't leave her alone. Standing in front of the former council member they were assigned, Lucy still felt the persistent gaze of Natsu's eyes on her.

"Therefore, we'll be loitering around here for a bit as your personal bodyguards, Tartaros will be coming for you," Lucy explained to their pseudo-client who looked generally unimpressed by her words. Next to her, Wendy and Natsu flanked her with their respective exceeds in front.

"I appreciate the thought but to be frank, it's a bother," Lucy winced slightly at his tone, "moreover, how did you even get this address?" The small man guffawed.

"To be quite clear," Carla huffed, placing her hands on her hips, "Tartaros will come regardless of our presence, and we're offering you free protection."

"Well now that I know I'm being targeted, I won't stay here!" The old man scoffed in disbelief, "I'm leaving, don't follow me!"

Lucy gazed towards the heavens above, how did they get stuck with the difficult one?

"Grandfather, don't be rude to our guests! They've come all this way to help you,"

Footsteps approached from the hallway and, Lucy assumed, the old man's granddaughter walked towards them balancing a tray of tea.

"Please sit down," the girl urged with a polite smile, "Grandfather, the Magic Council has been wiped out if they're offering you protection then take it. We'd be glad to assist you in any way we can." Finally, someone sensible.

"Do you have any idea why you're being targeted?" Lucy inquired.

"Too many reasons to count," Michello, kindly introduced by his granddaughter, grumbled, crossing his arms, "many harbour ill will towards the council." He spoke pensively. However, his eyes widened dramatically and sweat beaded at his hairline instantly.

"W-wait... w-what if... there's no way!" He exclaimed in a mixture of shock and horror.

"Everyone, get down! Now!" Natsu roared, tackling Lucy onto the floor. As they smacked down, Natsu pounced up quickly, moving around, and pushing everyone else in the room down. He looked frantic, sniffing the air with vigor.

"N-Natsu? W-what's going on -- " Lucy started to ask, sitting up slightly before the explosion went off. As the building erupted from the presumed bomb, Lucy threw herself over Wendy and the two exceeds with haste; bowing over them as the ceiling collapsed. Screams pierced her ears all around her before all she could hear was loud distinct ringing from the blast.

She laid there, unmoving, before Natsu helped her to her feet, Lucy staggered a little; her hearing still lost from the blast. Natsu wasn't entirely focused on her, however, staring pointedly at a figure who stood high above the rubble. A man with deformed black arms and weird ears on his head.

"Wow... are you the guy who countered my blast? Who are you?" The man jutted out his chin, scowling deeply at Natsu.

"I'm Fairy Tail's Natsu, who the fuck are you?"

To be continued...