A Pirate Tail

Chapter 17

Everyone looked around frantically as Igneel looked at the water in disbelief. 

"I thought that he learned how to swim..." Erza shook her head, 

"He never could, his body would never work right when he went into the water." Igneel cursed under his breath. Lucy looked around, her brown eyes scanning the water, then she saw a flash of pink. She took a deep breath and dove under the water, ignoring the calls from her friends. She swam through the water deeper, deeper, deeper, deeper, and deeper. Lucy kept going until she grabbed Natsu's limp body, she swam up as hard as she could but it was harder since she had to support both Natsu's and her own weight. But her head eventually broke the surface as she pulled Natsu up, 

"Guys! Help me!" Igneel swam fast over to her and grabbed Natsu from her grasp to lay him on a large piece of the boat. Natsu's hair was plastered to his face and he had lost his headband. Igneel put his head to Natsu's chest and cursed. He smacked on his chest a few times before putting his head back down. Lucy's eyes were wide in horror. Were they too late? Igneel continued his process a few more times before Natsu turned on his side and gagged, water spilling out of his mouth. He coughed as he grasped his throat, 

"W-what-?" Natsu's voice was raspy and Lucy smiled at him, 

"I'm glad you're ok." Natsu looked at Lucy with confusion, 

"What happened to the boat?" Lucy looked at Igneel and Layla who was still standing on the shore.

"I don't know but I think we need to get out of the water as soon as we can." Everyone nodded. Wendy went towards Natsu, using a piece of the boat to keep herself above the water, 

"Natsu! Are you ok?!" Natsu smiled and nodded, 

"Yeah, I'm ok Wendy." The pirates started making their way to shore, but before they could get any closer, the bubbles returned. Lucy grabbed onto Natsu's slab of wood and looked at the bubbles in fear. They stopped approaching but started circling the pirates. Natsu looked around at them when they just disappeared. They all frowned in confusion, 

"W-" 13 girls appeared out of the water. Gray stopped what he was going to say and looked at the girls in confusion,

"Um, new question. Where did they come from?" Natsu's head was throbbing and he put a hand on it, groaning. Lucy looked at Natsu then at the women around them, 

"Who are you?" All of the girls smiled in sync, showing their shark like teeth. They went back under the water and went straight for Natsu, Lucy and Igneel who were all floating on the same piece of wood. Lucy gasped as one of the girls' hands shot through the water, claws grew out of their hands and grabbed Natsu's leg. He screamed in pain and grabbed the board tighter. Lucy quickly swam over to where the girl was grabbing him and knocked her hand off with the butt of her sword. 

"Why are they going after Natsu!?" Igneel looked at Lucy with confusion, 

"I have no idea. I don't even know what they are!" All 13 of the girls swam forward at once and all got a grip on Natsu, sinking their claws into his skin. Lucy looked back at him in horror as a cry of pain tore through the air, 

"No! Let go of him!" The board cracked and Natsu's eyes filled with fear, 

"Luce-" The board shattered and Natsu sunk into the ocean. 

"NO!" Lucy looked through the water, desperate to find Natsu. Igneel searched the water and shouted when he didn't find anything. Tears filled Lucy's eyes and she looked back at Layla who was sitting on the beach, her hands covering her face. She sniffed and looked at the rest of the pirates, 

"Let's get on land and see if mom knows what's going on." Wendy's eyes widened, 

"What about Natsu?!" The tears spilled from Lucy's eyes and she shook her head, 

"There's nothing we can do for him, Wendy. They took him away and I can't reach him..." Lucy tried wiping her tears away but failed. She swam forward towards the island before any of the pirates even moved. She swam without slowing down, not even turning to see if everyone was following her. Lucy made it to the beach and looked at her mother who was still sitting in the sand with her face in her hands. 

"Mom?" Layla looked up at Lucy with a tear streaked face, 

"L-Lucy?" Lucy smiled and opened her arms for a hug, 

"Hey, mom." Layla stumbled upwards and wrapped her arms around her daughter. 

"Lucy! I'm so happy you're safe!" She looked out to the ocean where Natsu had disappeared into the water, 

"Who did they get? Who went into the water?" Lucy buried her face in her mother's arm,

"It was Natsu." Layla gasped and put a hand across her mouth, 

"Oh no. We need to go now!" Lucy looked up at her mother, 

"Why? He's dr-" Lucy put a hand across her mouth before she could finish her sentence, 

"No, he isn't dead. The sirens capture their prey and suck out their blood." Lucy's eyes widened in horror, 

"What?" Layla looked down at Lucy with worry in her eyes,

"Sirens sing to men on ships and show them the person they love most. It causes them to jump into the water for them to catch them. But whoever hears their song is who they go after." Igneel got onto shore and wrapped his arms around Layla, 

"Layla. It's so good to see you." Layla smiled softly but pushed Igneel away a distance, 

"Igneel, I need to ask if Natsu was acting weird or something strange happened last night before you got off of the ship." Igneel nodded, 

"Yeah. I went to go check up on him and he had fallen off of the side of the ship." Layla's eyes widened, 

"No, no, no. He heard their song." Igneel's eyes widened, 

"Those were sirens?!" Layla nodded her head and looked at the rest of the pirates who had made it onto the shore. 

"I would say it's very nice to meet every one of you but there's no time. We need to go save Natsu immediately." Wendy's eyes widened, 

"You know where my brother is?!" Layla smiled softly and nodded her head, 

"Yes. I know where they take their victims. Just follow me. It will take a little walking to get there." Everyone nodded as Layla started running through the small island forest. Lucy was completely out of breath but she kept running, for Natsu's sake. Layla looked through the forest with sharp brown eyes and stopped when she saw a small cave, 

"It's in there. But we need to be as quiet as possible or they will take Natsu back in the water and drown him." Everyone's eyes filled with panic but they all nodded. Layla took a deep breath and they walked into the cave. Lucy breathed as quietly as possible as she walked into the cave behind her mother, she had no idea how quiet she needed to be. Something grabbed her hand and she had to put her free hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming. She turned her head and saw that Wendy had grabbed her hand. She soundlessly sighed and gripped Wendy's small hand. They walked forward for a little while before Layla stopped and pointed in front of her. Lucy had to squint because of the dark. She couldn't see anything at first but then she saw the same girls that pulled Natsu into the water. Lucy clenched her fists but looked around before she did anything. Then she saw a girl with platinum white hair sitting in the corner with an unconscious Natsu. Lucy put her mouth by Layla's ear, 

"What are we supposed to do now?" Layla whispered back, 

"We go. We blocked their only escape and now we just need someone here so that they aren't able to leave the cave." Lucy nodded and whispered for Romeo, Gajeel, and Gray to stay at the entrance so that the sirens wouldn't be able to escape. They nodded and braced themselves against the door as everyone else walked into the large room. Layla stepped forward and looked at the girl who was holding Natsu, 

"Hello, Lisanna."