With Great Power Comes Great Responsibilty

Chapter 16

Natsu searched the water frantically but found no sign of Gildarts anywhere.

"Any luck?" Gray asked as Natsu surfaced to catch his breath.

"Nope. And for the record, if you tell anyone about this, I swear I'll kill you."

Gray smirked. "Relax, bro. I wouldn't spill the beans. That'd blow our cover. If we didn't have secret identities, though? I'd be shouting it from the rooftops."

"Very funny."

Suddenly, Natsu's eyes caught sight of strange footprints leading downward. He and Gray exchanged a glance before following the trail. It led them to a massive, terrifying lizard-like creature wearing the tattered remains of Gildarts Clive's clothes. The beast stood motionless, seemingly focused on something else entirely.

"Good God," Gray whispered, horror thick in his voice. "Is that really Professor Clive?"

"Know anyone else who could turn into a giant reptilian monster?" Natsu shot back.

Gray looked at him, hesitation flickering across his face. "Actually..."

"On second thought, don't answer that."

"Alright. So, what's the plan?"

"We need to get this tranquilizer into him. He seems distracted, so I'll quietly approach and administer the medicine."

Natsu crept toward the lizard-like creature as quietly and slowly as he could. But the monster sensed him coming and, with a powerful swipe of its tail, sent Natsu flying across the hard concrete floor of the sewer. Before he could recover, the creature pinned him down, its weight crushing him against the cold, unforgiving ground.

"Professor, stop!" Natsu shouted, desperation breaking through his breath. "This isn't you! You have to let us take you back to Erza—she can cure you!"

But it was no use. Gildarts's mind had been overtaken by the beast within. The creature screeched, baring razor-sharp teeth as it lunged to slash at Natsu's throat.

"Oh, no you don't!" Gray dropped down with a crash, startling the monster enough to force it off Natsu. "You alright, bro?"

"I'm fine," Natsu gasped, wiping blood from his lip.

"Good. Now help me hold this thing down!"

Gray grabbed the lizard by the neck, gripping tight as it thrashed violently, trying desperately to throw him off. Natsu seized its legs, using all his strength to trip the creature. The two heroes grappled fiercely, fighting to keep the professor still long enough for the tranquilizer to work.

They both felt a heavy weight in their hearts—fighting their mentor was painful, but necessary. For Gildarts's sake.

"I don't know how much longer we can hold him!" Gray shouted, struggling against the monster's strength.

"We can't let go! Not until he's sedated!" Natsu yelled back.

Time blurred into a grueling struggle. Their muscles burned and bones ached, but finally, Natsu managed to plunge the tranquilizer into Gildarts's thick hide. Slowly, the thrashing ceased. Within five minutes, the creature's massive body went limp and unconscious.

Dragging him back to the lab, they found Erza waiting with a gene cleanser ready. She pried open the monstrous jaw and poured the cleanser down his throat. The battle wasn't over, but the first step toward saving their friend had been taken.

"Will he be alright now?" Natsu asked, voice tight with worry.

"He should be back to normal in a few minutes, but he won't wake until morning," Erza replied. "You two should go home. I'll stay here with the professor and explain everything once he wakes."

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay?" Gray asked, concern flickering in his eyes.

"Trust me, nothing will happen," Erza said firmly. "By the way, no one saw you two, right?"

"No. We made sure we weren't spotted," Natsu assured her.

"What a relief," Erza sighed. "The last thing we need is the media sniffing around. And you two can't tell anyone about this—not a word. If the authorities get involved, who knows what they'd do to Professor Clive."

"Don't worry. We won't tell a soul," Gray said firmly.

"Good. Now, change back into your clothes and get out of here before someone spots you. Sniff sniff—ugh, what's that smell? Raw sewage?"

"Don't ask," Natsu groaned.

They peeled off their costumes, changed into regular clothes, and headed home, where Ur immediately insisted they both take baths. Natsu ended up needing three to fully wash away the stench of the sewer. Ur held off on asking questions, sensing how exhausted they were.

They collapsed into bed the moment they got home, and the next morning quickly scrambled to come up with a believable story for Ur.

"So, let me get this straight," Ur said, raising an eyebrow. "You two went into the sewer because...?"

"Because I thought I saw something interesting down there," Gray lied smoothly. "Something that would make a great story for the press. Figured I'd get a photo or two."

"And I went with him because, well... you never know what's lurking in a sewer," Natsu added with a shrug.

"I see... Did you find anything?" Ur asked, folding her arms.

"Nope. Nothing at all," Gray said with mock disappointment.

"Well thank goodness I was able to get that awful sewer smell off you before Juvia showed up," Ur said with a relieved sigh.

"Oh man, I totally forgot about her," Gray thought to himself.

"She should be here any minute. I'll get the tea ready," Ur said, heading into the kitchen.

"Bro, I can't wait to see what hideous troll your aunt set you up with," Natsu snickered. "Bet she's even uglier than her brother."

"Thanks to that cover story, I can totally tell everyone on campus how you ended up covered in raw sewage without blowing our secret," Gray said with a grin.

"Okay, I'll be quiet now,"

At exactly ten o'clock, a polite knock echoed through the house.

"Oh, that must be her! Gray, get the door!" Ur called out.

"Don't I get a last meal or something?" Gray grumbled, dragging himself up.

He made his way to the front door, eager to get this over with. But nothing could have prepared him for what awaited on the other side.

When he opened the door, standing there was a beautiful young woman with striking blue hair.

"Hi," she greeted warmly, a bright smile lighting up her face. "You must be Ur's nephew, Gray. I've been so anxious to meet you."

"You mean... you're Juvia?" Gray blinked, barely able to believe his eyes. "Gajeel's sister?"

"Face it, tiger—you just hit the jackpot," she said with a playful giggle and a wink.

Gray was momentarily speechless, but managed a smile and stepped aside to politely usher her inside.