Shattered Dreams ||Nalu||

Chapter Four

Nobody was smiling. Not a single person wore even a hint of happiness on their faces as they hung back from the fried body in the middle of the nearly destroyed guildhall. Both desperate and hysterical sobs filled the air as Lisanna and Mirajane tried to come to terms with what had happened - something Lucy doubted would happen anytime soon.

The celestial mage herself was lightly grasping Natsu's arm, leaning just barely against him, her eyes downcast. He let her, actually leaning back into her as well, his eyes hard with rage and grief for the dead man. Happy had migrated over to join them as well and stood beside them with nervous eyes.

In under twenty four hours, three members of Fairy Tail were dead, two of which killed by the third. Elfman, who'd attacked Laxus with a vicious intent, had forced the S-Class mage's hand in killing him when he'd suddenly lunged for Mira, aiming to slaughter her where she stood. All it had taken was for Laxus to just barely brush his fingers against Elfman's arm, and the giant of a man had gone down in an instant, the highest voltage of electricity possible frying him from the inside out.

Laxus was brooding in a corner now, looking anything but happy about the matter. He hadn't wanted to kill anyone despite the intentions he'd once had concerning the guild and the way it was run. He hadn't wanted to kill Elfman.

Nobody was angry with him, of course. Not a single person disagreed with the fact that it had been a necessity. Elfman had been out of his mind with something they weren't too certain about and had obviously intended to kill them. But that didn't mean they had to like it.

Lucy's grip on Natsu's arm tightened. "Poor Levy," she breathed. She'd thought the other members of Team Shadowgear would have been fine on a job with him. And now...

Natsu gently shook her off, then slid an arm around her shoulders, tucking her against him just as he had the day before she'd been attacked. "We'll explain to her what happened," he muttered.

Lucy winced at the small twinge of pain that suddenly sparked on her shoulder. "Okay, but can you stop burning me? Some of us aren't immune to those flames of yours, Natsu." It vanished immediately, and a tight smile flickered across her face before disappearing almost instantly.

"Lucy?" She glanced down at Happy, who'd turned his attention on her. "Are you okay now?"

She pursed her lips unhappily, aware of the closely listening Dragon Slayer beside her. "Yes," she reassured, "I feel fine now."

The second Elfman had gone down, the same feeling from the day before had struck her, and Lucy had fought furiously to remain standing when she'd suddenly found herself unable to breathe with a slashing pain snapping through her. She'd been unable to hold back a small cry of pain, but the noise of the commotion involving Laxus and Elfman had managed to hide it from everyone but the sharp-eared Natsu and Happy, who'd been watching her with widened eyes.

Pain still lingered, rippling across her every now and then, tiring the already exhausted mage out even further, but not badly enough to knock her off her feet again.

"Alright, alright, listen here, you brats." Lucy focused on Makarov when he spoke, feeling Natsu tense beside her. Others' eyes shifted to him, a mixture of emotions filling those among the present guild members. Makarov gave it a moment before speaking quietly. "I've given it some thought. Elfman will need to be removed - I apologize, Lisanna, Mira," he added, this time gently to the two distressed sisters, "But it must be done. I don't believe we have seen the end of this matter, but there's nothing about this situation that seems familiar to me. I will look into it. I suggest you keep an eye out and alert those who aren't aware of what's happened. Don't touch him unless you already have." And, with that said, Makarov disappeared into his office, his eyes serious.