midnightstar | (no subject)

"Oooh that makes sense. You'd definitely want to keep it a secret." Natsu agreed with an unearned nad sagely nod. Out of the corner of his eye he looked over to the two children and for some reason he....had a feeling to be wary seeing the two reach a consensus about some thing as big as a wish. What were they plotting...?

"Right Right? You're pretty bright, for a human."

Lucy stifled a slight snicker, raising her hands to thread her fingers through her now properly dried hair. That done, she pulled her hair over her shoulder and leaned back slightly, counting on her beloved partner to support her and not let her fall flat on her back so she could lean against him instead.

Regine eyed the pair with a bemused smile, and then glanced at the kids as Apricot hovered a little closer to the children. "Okay? And what's your wish? Speak up speak up~!"

Neveren and Justine grinned excitedly at each other, bouncing a little on their toes. "We wanna see Natsu and Lucy's home!" Smiles never vanishing.

Lucy blinks in surprise - though thinking about it, she probably shouldn't have been. "Guys.." That's.. they've been trying to go home for over a year and they've been unsuccessful. "You know -"

"Done~!"

A flash of light follows the words, blinding the contents of the room. When the light fades -- both children are gone.

Well it was a simple concept to grasp really. Though being around Lucy had certainly made him more prone to grasp such things. However nothing could have prepared him for the wish that came from the two children's lips. And before he could even say a word the Fairy went into action, the two little ones disappearing from the room leaving Natsu hocked with wide eyes.

"H-hey! You're going to bring them back right?" he said turning to the fairy.

Regina straightened like she had been hit by a bolt of lightning when the children vanished, "Where are they!?"

"Jeez, didn't you listen to the wish? They wanted to see those two's home." Seeing Regine was rightfully distraught, Lucy straightened and moved over to the other woman, who clamped a hand on Lucy's arm almost painfully tight. Apricot turned in Natsu's direction next, sounding perplexed. "Bring them back? Uh, that wasn't part of the wish."

Lucy stiffened, turning to stare at the fairy, "Wait a minute... you can't seriously be telling me you sent two children," granted they were only a little younger than Wendy, "And you have no intention of bringing them BACK?"

"Thaaaat's about the long and short of it?" Why is this such a difficult concept?

"Hey this isn't a joke. YOU KNOW THEY WOULDN'T WANT TO STAY THERE!" Natsu snapped, his temper starting to flare dangerously. He was already locked onto the fairy and any attempt to escape would end very very quickly at his hands.

Hearing the fairy outright say she had no intention of bringing those children back - well Natsu was plenty angry but Regine flew into a rage, almost lunging out of Lucy's grip. "BRING THEM BACK!"

"Heyheyhey, who's joking!? The kids made a wish, I granted it, THAT'S HOW THIS WORKS! You humans make stories about people making wishes and having them granted all the time, you KNOW how this works!" HUFF. She's feeling so darn unappreciated! "And I don't know anything about you little humans anyhow! They asked to go to your place, I granted the request. I didn't do anything wrong."

"Not my fault they didn't think their wish through more clearly." That fairy almost sounded like it was smirking. Amused even.

"Bring them BACK. NOW." Lucy added her voice to the protests, scowling.

"Hmph. You have a lot of nerve, I do a nice thing for some kids and everyone gets all pissy." Yeah that fairy was totally going to head for the nearest window. SO ungrateful and inhospitable these humans!

Edited 2017-11-20 01:56 (UTC)

Fire erupted all around the room blocking off any exit with flames meant to scorch even dragon scales. Yet nothing was truly burning. That applied to both Regina and Lucy of course. However if the Fairy so much as brushed against a single flame she would feel the heat quickly spread to show that yes she did not enjoy the same credentials.

"You. Bring. Them. Back."

Regina started in surprise when the flames erupted around them, glancing at Natsu in clear alarm. Lucy only gave Natsu a brief glance, but she had complete faith in his abilities - he's grown so much and come so far she wasn't the least bit worried.

The fairy on the other hand, was more than a little nervous about the fire, and tried to scoot past the flames -- failing utterly when its wings get a little singed. "EEEK! Hot! hothothothothot!" Apricot yelped, quickly flitting back. "What's the big idea you jerk~!" She scowled.

"BRING THEM BACK!" Regina snapped when she realized the building wasn't burning down around them.

Apricot dropped onto the table and would glare if she could. "Okay look I'll level with you, if I could bring the little humans back, I would! (maybe) but the fact it, there are rules, and the wish was phrased as a one way thing! I can't bring THEM back HERE even if I wanted to. I'm sorry you're out of luck, and burning me isn't going to change that." HMPH.

"I heard that!" Natsu snapped and a tongue of flame shaped like a sinuous dragon's head, snapped right at the fairy as Natsu's gaze turned so fierce it was as if the flames around him were starting to turn blue.

"If there is no way start thinking of one. Because of you don't I am going to give you the world's quickest tan. Only sunburn is going to look like a small blush after I am through with you. You're going to wish you were put in a jar before you thought about tricking us."

OSHIT. "EEK!" Apricot quickly flitted out of range of the fiery dragon head, genuinely wondering if this was the end of her adventurous ways!

"I didn't trick anyone! You humans are all the same, making your wishes then complaining when things don't go your way or turn out different from what you expect! I-"

..maybe she should NOT sass the guy who could literally burn her with a thought. "Okay okay okay! Lemme think here a minute!" UHHH. She's gonna hover as far from any fire she can, nervously. "I've got it! Okay! Uh - I meant what I said, I can't bring them back HERE, but how about I send you guys to where I sent them instead? That's fine right?"

There was a sudden flicker in his expression as the fairy managed to conjure up a solution. Send them to where the kids went. Back home. Away from the Hands... But this wasn't just about him and Lucy as such he didn't relent just yet.

"All three of us."

Lucy.. didn't even expect the fairy to make that suggestion. HOw long had it been since they've been home? How many years?

But she wouldn't want to leave Regine, especially with the kids missing now, and she was glad Natsu thought of her - no, she expected it. Silently, she nodded to Natsu's stipulation, reaching over to clutch Regine's hand.

The fairy bobbed in the air a moment, silent for a while, "Fine, all three of you. But you gotta get rid of all this magic stuff, or it'll interfere with my magic. Else I can't be certain I'll send you to the right place."

Edited (oops formating n.n) 2017-11-21 00:32 (UTC)

Natsu narrowed his eyes and receeded his flames. "Don't even think of lying or trying to trick us. I can hear everything about you. The way you breath, how quick your heart is beating. The moment I hear anything that gives me reason to think you're going to screw us over, you're ash."

Y-yeah the fairy was kind of nervous now. Her little heart was beating a mile a minute. "Y-yeah yeah." She hovered in a circle, "Move closer, you lot, I can't transport an entire room."

Lucy frowned, but she moved over towards Natsu, pulling Regine with her. "I don't have a good feeling about this," she murmured to Natsu. Though they didn't have a lot of options here.

"Just hold on to me." Natsu said, pulling Lucy close against his side and with Regina flanking Lucy's as well. All the while he did not take his focus off of the fairy for even a moment to the point that it would feel as if it was being stared down by a genuine dragon already waiting to pounce on her at the first reason she would give it to do so.

With a firm nod, Lucy wrapped her arm around him, and Regine holding tight to Lucy's hand, looking like she aged fourty years.

The fairy flitted back and forth, a little annoyed and a LOT terrified. She didn't like looking like she was about to be burned into nothingness. "Okay here we go..!"

The fairy quickly zipped around the trio in circles. Again the light in the room started to get bright - blindingly bright and there was a -pulling- sensation that made Lucy instinctively hold tighter onto Regine and Natsu both. It almost felt like something was trying to pull them apart- the sensation of movement followed, a dizzying vertigo that was rather disorienting. And then all sensation is suddenly gone - Lucy is FAIRLY certain she's still holding onto Natsu and Regine, but she can't FEEL them. Still she doesn't let go.

After what seemed like far too long, that sensation of movement suddenly stops and the ground can be felt beneath your feet once again.

It's still too bright to see, but Apricot sounds further away - probably distanced herself for her own safety. "We're heeeeere!"

Natsu's hold on Lucy is iron clad to the point that he doesn't need his senses to maintain it. He doesn't flinch or weaken his hold not even as it feels like the world around them falls away. This persists for what feel like a lifetime and then suddenly, his feet are on solid ground once again! Again he can feel Lucy's arm around his own. He knows its hers since he'd felt it plenty.

The fairy was wise to put some distance though it wouldn't save it if it had backstabbed them in the end.

So he slowly opened his eyes to see what and where they had been taken to.

You don't need your eyes to know. This isn't Magnolia.

At least... it's no Magnolia you'd be familiar with.

The skies are red, blood-blood red with dark black clouds like - not normal clouds, but the thick, thick clouds that blot out the sky from a fierce fire. There's so much of it is almost chokes the senses. The ground is uneven and broken, the streets are completely empty - and it feels like they've been empty for a long, long, LONG time. At one point there's even a deep chasm in the center of the street. The buildings, the homes and the businesses are empty, glass shattered, doors collapsed inwards - even in some cases it looks like the buildings themselves were -stepped- on. Glancing further downward towards the residential area shows even more homes crushed and collapsed, little more than heaps of wood, stone, glass and blood.

Or maybe Gildarts paid a surprise visit.

"Wow, What a dump." Apricot remarked. "Welp, I did what I said I'd do. See ya!" And she quickly starts to zip away.

Regine looked around, stunned, "This isn't.. how you described your home to me before..." Another glance around revealed.. nope, no children here. She turned towards the tiny ball of light, "Wait a second! Where are the kids!"

Apricot paused, turning back to Regine. "Eh, I dunno, around here somewhere. I'm not their babysitter. See ya!" And this time she did book it, trying to get as far away from the dragonslayer as possible.

Lucy, once she had her senses back, was struck speechless when she glanced around. This couldn't be Magnolia. Except there was so much that was -familiar- - though destroyed or abandoned, the buildings were in the same places they should have been. But it felt -WRONG- at the same time. "This.. this isnt' right, this isn't Magnolia... what happened...?"

Edited 2017-11-21 02:35 (UTC)

"What the hell happened....This can't be-" Natsu started before the dragon's ears picked up the traitor trying to make her escape.

"Not so fast!" Natsu roared after the fairy and shot his hand out immediately a fist of flame shooting out before opening into a energy hand made entirely of flames. If something didn't get in the way, it would cage the fleeing fairy once more.

Traitor? How rude! The fairy had also hoped she'd be able to get far enough from the dragonslayer to avoid those flames - ZOooo-ACK! The flame cage closes around her and she actually bumps into one of the fiery bars from flying so fast, singing herself again. "Ow owoww! Ohhh! What NOW? You better not blame me for your home looking like crap, because I had nothing to do with that! (probably) "

Regine on the other hand, was restless, stepping a short distance away and calling the names of both kids, to no avail. Lucy shook her head, "There's just no one around - this can't be our home.. What happen-" Oh god if Magnolia looked like THIS what about Fairy Tail?

Natsu effortlessly pulled the fairy back and trapped her in the flame cage bringing it to hover in front of his eyes. Moment when Natsu's lips parted to show a set of very sharp fangs and at that point the atmosphere around him was no less than that of a dragon having caught a thief in his cave of treasures.

"Probably? I thought I told you my senses are sharper than anyone you've ever met. So how about you stop muttering to yourself and start coming up with excuses!"

"(bunch of ungrateful humans, I do them a favor and they're not satisfied so its somehow my fault see if i do something nice for someone again s-----------)" Oh hi. RIGHT. Senses. Dumb ol dragonslayin' hear everything senses.

Lucy moved over to Natsu's side, keeping a close eye on Regina who was - at this point - nearly on the verge of tears. The fairy was agitated on the other hand, hovering in small tight circles, "Well.. well I SAID I'd send you to the same place as those little humans and I *DID*. Maybe your home was already a trashheap and you're just harassing an innocent fairy! Typical mortals."

"Magnolia was NOTHING like this..! This place looks like... like it's been destroyed by some natural disaster or something..!" Lucy protested. Jeez, the first time they meet an honest to god fairy and it turns out to be an ass. That figures.

"This is not our home. It doesn't even look like the same world. THe sky was not red the last time we were home for one and sure as hell wasn't blown up like this!" Natsu snarled, no longer feeling any hint of fondness for the creatures that had inspired his guild's name.

"If something's happened to those two kids, I am going to make it so you will never fly again. Lock you up in a jar and throw you down the deepest well."

Not being able to fly away is TERRIFYING, okay. Being trapped in a jar at the bottom of a well - dear GOD. The fairy goes dead silent at the threat - or maybe it's because of the thunderous roar from the sky, flames ripping across it from the south, followed by a large shadow passing over head. A dragon. It took no notice of anyone on the ground, but kept going, heading north. Depending on how well Natsu was focusing at this distraction, he would be able to smell humans -- a disturbingly small number of them though, also to the north. The fairy, obviously, was just going to biiiiiiiide its time to escape. SHE WANTS TO LIIIIIIVE. But not by cooperating.

Natsu's eyes shot up to the skies immeidately when he heard that roar. A familiar roar but not the same as the one of his final foe. But there was no denying it. This was truly a dragon. Natsu watched it fly by and head towards the few human scents trying to move away form it. It was too fast. Natsu gritted his teeth and turned to Lucy.

"Hey Lucy. Call capricorn out and have him bottle up this pest. Then have him take her to the celestial spirit realm. She's a fairy. She should handle it just fine. Maybe" Natsu was going to pay her back in full for bringing them here. However right now he had to get to those people