Fairy Tail: Black Blood [Book 2/2]

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Changes

[A/N]: This chapter was originally supposed to be the kick-off of the Levy Vs. Malala fight but I decided "You know what? We've been focusing too much on that lately and we haven't been able to give E.N.D. the love he deserved." So what do I do? I base a shitty-ass chapter on him. The reason I say shitty-ass is because I have a bad case of writers block. Writing on my second account helped but the writers block is still there. So please enjoy and PLEASE comment your suggestions. I worship comments.

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     E.N.D.

     I stared at Zeref dumbly and he gazed back at me with his emotionless black eyes. Sure, this plan sounds like a winner, but... it's more based off surprise and not as much on kicking the ass of a dragon like I originally hoped. Eileen was sitting off to the sides with August and they were busy tracking down Acnologia's coordinates, Sayla and Larcade sat with me and Zeref as we made a "pact" about alliances, and my other demons were just sitting around. When I glanced over my shoulder to check on them I wasn't surprised to see Torafuzar playing with Tumashu's origami shell, snickering as he made the snake strike up hilarious poses.

     I turned back to Zeref. "Are you sure this will work?" I asked.

    "I don't see why it wouldn't," He said, gesturing to the diagram of his plan on the dirt. "We take Acnologia on with the element of surprise and he would fail to notice our secret weapon. After all, he is an ether dragon slayer, and since our magic is essentially ether he would just eat it. However, curses are almost entirely ether so I would just have to rewrite a portion of your book and you would be the key to the defeat of Acnologia."

    "I don't see why this guy has to help though," I said, pointing at Larcade, who has been giving me the stink eye for the past hour. "I mean sure, he's technically my nephew, but he doesn't seem all that strong."

    "Why you little--" Larcade hissed but Zeref held up a hand to silence him.

    "I am also skeptical, but not of his abilities. In fact I'm rather proud of his strength, and I do believe he can stand toe to toe with Acnologia. However, I am worried because he is my son, and also because of the fact that he is another target for Acnologia."

    "What do you mean by that? I thought he just wanted you and I dead."

    "Partially. Thanks to Eileen's eye magic we were able to spy on Acnologia and unveil some parts of his plans. He wants to kill us, yes, but he also wants the other dragon slayers as well. And the other remains of the Dragneels."

    "WHAT!?" I roared. "Are you telling me that my family is in danger?!" The image of Nashi, Taiyo, and Lucy popped into mind and I felt my rage soar beyond compare.

    "Yes, for you see, the Dragneels were long time rivals of Acnologia for generations. He used unknown sources to weaken the Dragneels for him so our family would be easier to kill. But it's because we escaped that he wasn't able to kill the last true Dragneels off. But alas, he knows we're alive, and if we're not careful, he may also be aware of our children. He will kill us off first and then them to ensure that no mage can stop him. Especially if it's the Dark Mage and E.N.D."

    "Wait, you said he used people to weaken the Dragneels?" I asked, realization dawning on my face.

    "Yes."

    "Mom came home that night and she was low on magic power, she said that thugs had attacked her and put some sorts of anti-magic into her! And she said they were a dragon worshipping guild-- that's it!" I jumped up and the three pairs of eyes followed me. "Acnologia has followers!"

    "Ah, I should have known," Zeref said solemnly. "I had followers for centuries, I wonder why it never occurred to me that Acnologia would have some, too."

    "Yeah, but all that doesn't matter now. We have to be on our guard. We never know if some sneaky bitches are out here right now, waiting for the perfect chance to strike. We never know if we are being spied on so we have to move fast, if we want to save your son and my children then we have to move out!"

    "You're right, we may be being spied on!" Zeref said, his eyes widened and he kicked dirt over his plan. "Alright, change of plans, we will attack him directly and spontaneously."

    "My emperor, not to burst this bubble but we found some very, very disturbing news," Eileen said. The symbols in her eyes vanished and she turned back to face us. "Acnologia has attacked a hospital in Magnolia. Thankfully nobody was seriously injured, however, one patient was kidnapped by him. Gajeel Redfox."

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     Gajeel

     I blinked my eyes slowly and the sleep left my system, my entire body ached and it felt as if someone was burning me up from the inside. It took my eyes a while to adjust, but when they did, I saw that I was in a mountain. A cave at the top of a very snowy mountain with a blizzard roaring outside. I grunted and attempted to move, but I found my limbs were tied together. A fluffy bear-fur blanket was draped over my body and a cool wet cloth was on my forehead, there was even a make-shift pillow beneath my head.

     What happened...?  I thought, and struggled to look around. Who helped me? Why did they tie me up?  Everything came back to me in waves and I found myself looking all over for my kidnapper. I found his form in the corner of the cave, staring blankly down at the fire. He was a human now, but those tattoos were indistinguishable.

    "You..." I growled. He smirked and looked over his shoulder at me.

    "So you're finally awake, eh, Gajeel?" He said, it just now occurred to me just how... familiar his voice was. Acnologia stood up and crossed his heavy arms over his chest, one of which was a shadow. "I was beginning to wonder if you were either dead or in a coma."

    "What do you want with me?!" I demanded. He approached me and grabbed my hair, yanking me up to face level with him. He examined my face and his eyes lingered on my prosthetic arm. He chuckled.

    "It's such a shame that we had to be reunited under these... awkward circumstances. I mean, with you being one of the Dragon Slayers I swore to kill and all," He said, his voice lacking any human emotions.

    "Reunited?" I echoed. "The hell're you talking about?"

    "So you really don't remember?" He said. "Well, that just isn't acceptable. I mean, how could you not remember your own flesh and blood? Gajeel-ototo?"