Ember ↠ Natsu Dragneel

Chapter Nine

"WHAT?!" Team Natsu yelled in sync.

The silence was poisonous in its nothingness, cruelly underscoring how vapid their conversation had become. 

 Master Makarov strolled onto the stage and originated to announce, "My children, you are all gathered here because Camryn requires our help. Richard has told me that Camryn has been taken hostage by Karmin Thornheart once again."

Whispers spread around the guild like wildfire.

                                                                        

"Who's there?" Richard shouted towards the wall of trees that bordered him.

Something slammed into my side and I fell over, quickly jumping up and landing lightly on my feet and summoning my blue katana in my right hand, this time blue lightning consuming it, ready for a fight.  

I was trying not to stare at her nose but I kept finding her eyes had diverted to it. One moment they were obediently on her brown-rimmed eyes and the next they were rested on the bloody mess that had been a perfectly ordinary nose only hours before; so ordinary in the fact that she could not recall what it had looked like.

"Cammy?" I questioned euphorically.

"Rich!" She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, gently rubbing my arm," I thought I would never see each other again."

"How did you escape?" I queried softly.

"Nothing can hold me back," she laughed.

A dark figure crawls, ominously advancing submerging from the shadows. It was Silent Shade A.K.A. Karmin Thornheart. Karmin has long, knee-length wavy-at-the-bottom straight dark black hair with a side part with burgundy and white streaks. 

She wears a purple crop top, black claw-marked leggings, feathery knee-high buckle boots with gold heels, a gold wolf necklace chained to a furry shoulder pad, a gold bracelet, and gold armour over her hair chained to two small hoop earrings. 

"Hello, darling. We are long overdue for a chat." In her arrogant triumph, she smirked - just a small pouting of the lips; a narrowing of the eyes and a tilting of the head. It was so subtle, it was even more infuriating for Richard who caught a glimpse of it after making the foolish mistake.

"What do you know about it?"

"More than you."

"Someone cherished. . ." Karmin said to herself again as she eyed Natsu and then Camryn. That's when it clicked. " Oh . . . cherished I see. Her lips soon turned upward into a diabolic grin. This is what she was looking for.

"In any case," Erza spoke up, "If you think you can defeat us, you're wrong. Not only do we have the numbers, but we understand your abilities as well. This iniquitous magic that you have lets you control someone's mind, but only one person at a time.

Karmin only shrugged, her face back to the carefree, smugness from before, That's the unfortunate truth. I can only control one person at a time. It's the drawback of having such an influential power.

Her malicious grin stretched from ear to ear as her hand glowed a blackish-purple light," Oh you simple-minded Fairy, I'm not in danger, I'm the danger."

Abruptly, Camryn's head started buzzing. Her mind screamed out as the pain drove through her brain. Every thought she just had became confused as the burning pain licked up her brain like a scorching fire. The only thought she had was 'like a knife through butter.' She wept at her own suffering. She could hear people around her screaming and shouting. Mentally anger swiped through at this chaos and pain, pain for those around her she wanted to protect them increasing her own agony in defence of others. But she couldn't. She rolled up in a ball of self-loathing and pain, wishing the world to end rather than this sea of endless currents some strong some weak but the waves always crashed over her, permanently. The tears that surfaced slid down her face through the corners of her closed eyes, everything hurting―everything burning. Oh god, why did it hurt so bad?

The only thing she could hear was Natsu's voice calling her name, over and over again. It sounded so worried and close to her. However, his cries soon become muffled until she couldn't hear him anymore. Her shoulders barely sunk below the level of the ground before the sun was blotted out and she felt herself being sucked into darkness so totally that she couldn't be sure she had eyes.