Jay Bird (aBoE)

Chapter 5: Take Me to Hell

Natsu slummed onto his teams table with a groan. He rested his head in his hands, a mental battle raging in his skull trying to fight off the exhaustion he was feeling.

Two days had passed since the incident with the Leviathan and there wasn't too much to say. Mainly because Natsu had been left in the dark, forced to sit on the sidelines and do absolutely nothing.

After his impromptu history lesson Gabriel had swept into a sudden leadership role, something that seemed very out of the ordinary for the usual carefree archangel. His first order of business was to hold a meeting of the seven archangels in the garden of Eden, something he nor any other low ranking angel was allowed to attend. Only six of the seven had showed up, Micheal the oldest, wisest and strongest of them all was to busy tending to the duties their father had assigned to him.

That fact had ruffled Natsu's feathers a bit. Judging by the way his siblings spoke of their eldest brother it seemed as though Micheal could solve this whole situation before it had even begun.

And yet the archangel refused to even show his face.

Still though the meeting went on without him, Gabriel truly slipping into the role of leader now although according to rumours he'd heard Raphael had briefly challenged him before quickly being put in his place. They had apparently come up with a plan on how to deal with things, what that plan was though he didn't know.

Only the archangels and angels of high rank like Gavreel or Wormwood were given jobs and tasks to assist while the lower ranks were sent back to their everyday duties, forced to pretend like nothing had even happened.

Natsu had argued with vigour, demanding that even a simply task be given to him. He refused to nothing, to sit down a die like some old wounded mutt.

His sibling were having none of it, dismissing him like he were a toddler having a tantrum.

He finally stopped after Gabriel had snapped harshly at him, telling him that he'd only be in the way.

The harsh tone the older angel had taken and the sharp words that followed were enough to get Natsu to shut his mouth. He couldn't help but cower and submit to the archangels wishes, unable to hide the sting of hurt in his eyes.

He was still pissed though. Being forced to the sidelines as the lives of literally everyone you loved hung in the balance wasn't exactly pleasant and Natsu had found stress and anxiety waiting for him at every corner he turned.

He could do nothing and that fact was eating him alive.

When he came home that night he carried bitter memories in his back pocket and couldn't even bother lying to Happy when the cat asked where he had been.

At least not entirely.

"Where were you?" The cat had asked

"With Gabriel," Natsu muttered as he huddled himself in his room.

"Doing what?" Happy asked with curiosity, in the week it had been since Happy met Gabriel, Natsu had never mentioned him again.

"Being reminded why I'm nothing to my family," Natsu had crudely snapped back, making Happy look at him in surprise.

In the two days it had been since then Natsu could feel himself falling apart.

When he went to sleep at night nightmares plagued his mind like a black fog. Images of Leviathan's twisted form with the stench of Hell in the air, the creatures eerie roar as the scene would change to his friends dropping dead, skin turned black and rotting in the putrid way Puriel had described.