midnightstar | (no subject)

Natsu immediately bent down to catch herb in his arms only to suddenly tense up when he realized something very wrong had happened. His eyes widened and he turned around then the other way before feeling his blood run cold. He quickly started running back the way he came, chanting in his head over and over again Lucy's name, rushing closer to the place where the dragon him had dropped them off.

SO MANY PUPPY KISSES.

Until Natsu turns and starts running in the opposite direction, and Herb, not wanting to lose sight of family, is hot on his heels, letting out anxious little puppy barks now and then.

Back where Luna and the other Natsu are, everything, EVERYTHING is on fire. Thankfully it doesn't really seem to affect the statues, but Luna looks rather distressed between trying to figure out how to break the spell on the petrified/frozen people, and trying to figure out what got Natsu to lose his shit so badly.

On the one hand, that darkness was back and getting thicker, creeping up even faster over the trees and extending outwards. Wherever there was fire, however, it would not touch so there was a nice swath of flame in a circle around the area to keep it at bay.

Luna glanced over her shoulder when Natsu rushed in, glanced past him to the dog, then past the dog - then back to Natsu, "... where's Lucy?"

"What do you mean? I left her with you!" Natsu exclaimed his face losing a lot of its color. Natsu looked around fiercely for signs of Lucy. Immediately he started pushing all of his senses to the absolute limit, to the point that he could feel his body start to protest with how hard he was pushing his innate magical power. A dangerous process but one he started without a single moment of hesitation as both lightning and fire erupted around him in a dome of energy that radiated outwards, burning and zapping the darkness with impunity.

Herb wasn't sure about the source of agitation, though he gave the dragon a wide birth - Natsu-dragon's flames were burning white hot, his head swiveling back and forth and scanning the area. THe dragon lunged forward suddenly, heading down the same path Lucy had taken earlier - and at the same time, as you extend every single one of your senses, you can pick up Lucy's sent following in the same direction, back the way you came. Only oddly before you would come to that clearing you found Herb, the scent just _stops_. And goes... left. But towards the left there's a thich cavern wall covered, absoltuely COVERED by vegetation, bramble and - actually you can smell Justine and Nev too, much more faintly.

The instant he caught even the faintest scent, Natsu's magic retracted back inside of him only not to the point of being dispelled. Instead it was being contained for a maximum burst as he barked his command to Herb.

"Herb stay RIGHT here. The dragon me and Luna will keep you safe!" With that Natsu disappeared once again in a flash of fire and LIghtning materializing at the point where the scent seemed to divert into what he presumed had to be a cave of some sorts. But with the brambles and vegetation in the way he had no way of seeing what's inside.

However the scents he could pick up were enough for him to restrain his magic from hurting those people specifically. Everything else however was an obstacle and would soon face a full power fire lightning dragon roar as it blasted into the cave, TEARING through everything in its path and then exploding out the wall at the furthest back.

"Wha-- Hey wait a minute -!" Apparently she doesn't get a say in this! ... That's her mom too kind of. Except she and her dad have a little more to worry about with the shadowy vines getting more aggressive, some even trying to climb their way up the statues - one covers up a statue of a deer, and starts to tighten until the stone begins to crack and blood starts to seep out. "Oh god.. Dad keep that stuff away from the others..!" She would LIKE to run after Natsu but this is taking priority.

Herb started to follow after Natsu but the 'stay' superceded that. The roar was more than enough to tear into the thick rockface of the cave, ripping open an opening and utterly disintegrating the vegetation that was unfortunate enough to be close to the opening he made. Inside it was cold, though Natsu probably couldn't even feel since the opening was still burning and crackling, practically reducing the stone to a liquid mess. There are a few bats that scatter at the rude intrusion, and though the tunnels seemed to go down a long ways, the voices were still clear as day thanks to those senses.

"..ere... so cold.."

"...ed.. can't we sleep..?

"u sleep and you die. Stay awake."

"I want to go home."

Using those voices Natsu charged down the tunnel, breathing another blast of fire and lightning every now and again scorching the stone tunnel clean of any of the growth in the way. "Get the hell out of my way!" Natsu snapped eventually before another attack was launched from his mouth.

"We can't go home, Nev... not anymore. Now be quiet or that thing will come back."

"But he took her..."

"She said we'd be safe here, now Shh! Hide!"

Scampering footsteps as you draw nearer to the sound of the voices. The fire and lightning did a wonderful job at clearing the way when the shadow and even ice started creeping in. Growls follow, as the tunnel soon opens into a cavern in which there were several creatures patrolling the area, a mix of ice and shadow, clearly searching for something.

There was a thick thick armor around their bodies, some of which was already on fire - some of which had arrows sticking out of the bodies.

Oh good. Things that might actually try to fight back. Not that it will avail them any as the first creature to enter his vision gets immediately pounced on and has its head instantly obliterated by a demolition fist.

"Luuuucy! Nev!? JUSTINE!?" he roars, his voice booming through the entire cave.

"Natsu?"

"Natsu!?"

Both children pop up from where they had wedged themselves into a hiding spot - but they don't come out fully yet. Not till allt he beasties are dealt with, and there were still four left. .... ... not that they're going to last long as angry as he was. But yes, those mooks were more than eager to try to be an obstruction for Natsu - two of them snarl and lunge towards Natsu, while the remaining two turn towards where the children are hiding.

And even more faintly, there's a presence, a muffled voice that's ... not heard so much as felt.

..at..su..

The rush him and yet the instant they come within reach he grabs them both by the heads and outright detonates them with fire and lightning before launching them as makeshift firelightning balls at the remaining two.

But that's when he hears the faintest voice. So stifled. Immediately his blood runs cold.

"LUUUCYYYY!"

I'm... so tired...

There's a pair of shrieks from Nev and Justine, about to shrink back into hiding - then they definitely do so when that explosion of fire and lightning engulfs the creatures. Natsu you're being really scary right now. Awesome, but scary! The entire time that quiet voice continues, struggling the entire time, to continue speaking - to stay awake - to hold onto that sense that the person she wanted to see most was so close, so close she could see him if she just held on just a little longer. But she was so -tired-.

want to sleep...

The death screams from the creatures --w ell the first two don't even GET death screams considering they are -detonated-, shards of ice scattering everyone in bits - the things had little to no mass, but each time one is destroyed, the shadowy mist quickly retreats down a side path, leaving the constructs empty soulless husks once they've outlived their usefulness.

want to see you...

Nev and Justine peek out warily, though Nev is the one that emerges first, rushing out towards Natsu who proves time and time again that he is his idol and hero. Scary? No, not even a little. Justine on the other hand, is a TINY bit reluctant to come out of hiding, surprisingly.

"Stay close and keep up! Justine we're leaving!" Natsu barked sharply before starting off in the direction of the voice barely restraining himself from dahing off ahead and leaving the two kids behind.

Yes, please don't leave the kids behind. Justine jumps a bit, pulling out of her hiding spot and moving follow after her brother. She didn't want to be left behind either, scary as he was. He was obviously worried about Lucy, but she's never seen him like that before. And once Natsu follows those shadowy shapes down the tunnel, he'll hear the voice much more strongly.

"Natsu, where are you?"

Thump thump.

Thump Thump.

"Let me out! I can't breathe..!"

The next chamber is not empty either, but the ice is even thicker, shadowy shapes swirling around the snow and ice, and that sensation of giggling is even more present.

'Where aaaaaRRE yooou?'

'I can't breaathe..!'

Sssstupid.

Just die~! It's our turn in the light.

Just past THAT is the sound of voices arguing..well, no, that's not true. One voice is arguing, and rather angrily and passionately, while the other is responding - a deep timbre, apathetic enough that the arguing voice is infuriated. But both the voice pleading to be let out, and the one arguing just beyond this chamber are identical. And the thumping noise is loud - someone's in here, but the taunting shadowy shapes don't appear inclined to allow anyone past the area, if the barrier that springs up behind them is any indication.

So what if it's thicker? So what if there's more soldiers in teh way. Scorched earth, shattered steel. That is all that Natsu can see in his path as he blasts through with his breath and fists always marching forward only barely being slowed down a little from time to time and the more he hears from the voice fading away, the more ferocious his magic becomes to the point that every flame he now releases is in an overbearing shade of blue.

This could be exactly what was wanted - wear any do-gooder's down and out so they're too tired to do anything. In fact that does seem to be the plan, no matter how many of the mooks and creatures Natsu destroys, there are more to take it's place. Though progress is definitely being made - after a point, fewer creatures are available to replace the ones destroyed. Or maybe Natsu's starting to destroy them faster than they can replace the fallen.

By the time the last one has fallen, the voices have stopped - but the scents are still there. In fact there's one very clear scent - straight down about twelve feet, where he'll fine a heavy, thick coffin made of ice buried beneath the ground. And there was someone inside. That's where the thumping had been coming from. Before where the thumping had been constant, it's only once every few minutes now.

After destroying so many of hte creatures, Natsu had started to learn instinctively where they were the weakest, his kills growing startlingly more efficient despite the numbers. Which was why he had even stopped screaming and calling out at this point.

The moment he burst into the room where the voices had been, Natsu realized he was close. But since his target was actually below him now, he quickly summoned Lucy's gift, the gauntlet and proceeded to tear up the ground fighting the very earth and stone and ice itself as he tunneled downwards, reaching the coffin and not stopping until it was sitting in a dug out crater.

It's gleeeeeeeeeeeaming crystal ice! So pretty! So deadly! There's so much ice enchanted around it you can't even see who's inside. The scent is undeniable though - that's definitely a Lucy inside that coffin. No more thumping or voices from there though, it's just quiet. It also seems to be the kind of enchanted ice to be resistant to magic in general - whoever made it did not want the ice to be melted easily, if at all. Physically breaking it though - pff, surely no one's strong enough to do THAT. That's almost a foot of ice!

Given there's a Lucy in there and she's now incredibly quiet, that impossibility becomes very much possible and natsu trusts the gauntlets into the ice, chipping and ripping chunks of it away until he finally broke thought the lid part of the coffin and ripped it open to pieces since it became structurally unsound.

SHE'S DEAD!!

Might be running through your head right now, but no, her heart is still beating and she's still breathing, albeit slowly. It was a close call. There's a bit of a pale chill to her complexion and ... that is definitely not your Lucy. She's at least twenty years older This is definitely Luna's mother, and other Natsu's wife. It takes her a long moment to open her eyes, coughing harshly and gasping for air, "Nah... Na...natsu...?"

That faint flicker of hope is stiffled considerably when he sees that it is indeed Lucy. Just not his Lucy. Still it's the Lucy in front of him so he wastes no time in tearing her out of the coffin and setting her down for a moment.

"Yeah it's me. Well another me. Your me is outide since he's too big to get inside. Anyway can you stand? I need to find the you that came with me." This was sounding so incredibly awkward but he did hear another voice like hers further in so he didn't want to waste too much time since he was making a lot of noise down here.

She stares at Natsu for a second, partly to process what the hell he just said since it sounded like madness -- but then that's what Fairy Tail is all about. And he's not the only one a little disappointed - she had hoped to see HER Natsu; though part of her knew it was unlikely given his condition. She nods firmly, glancing at the children a little dubiously - she didn't sense any magic in them, did he really want to take them inside with him. "Give me a minute.. I just need to catch my breath." But she wanted to get out to see her daughter and husband as soon as possible. She's lost too much time already and she didn't want to keep him from his mission.

"Before you go,.. there's one more thing you need to know. There's a fairy in the cavern, imprisoned by G...by the demon. A real fairy- if you run into something small, red and flying, that's a pixie - you can't trust it." She had SO many questions, but she'd ask t hem later, after she found her family. "Free it, if you can. I'm certain it can undo the magic laid upon my husband."

"I've already destroyed a pixie so I'll be sure not to fall for it." Natsu nodded firmly. "A real fairy huh? Got it. I'll get it out before or after I find my Lucy."

"These are Neveren and Justine. They came from the same world as me and Lucy. You can trust them." he then turned to the two kids. "I left Herb with this Lucy's daughter and her dad. I'm heading deeper stay close to this world's Lucy you two. I'll be making a lot of noise so they'll probably just keep coming for me so you should not run into any more trouble. Though if you do maybe running into the Celestial spirit realm is an option." he said to Lucy in particular before turning around.

"Take care." With that he started running down the tunnel, deeper and deeper into the cave system, Blasting anything that would appear in his way, especially any red flying insect.

"Don't do anything to make your Lucy cry." the older Lucy called after him, almost in reprimand. She's seen that kind of rage before, many times. But as he rushes off, he'll hear her talking quietly to the children, "He's right. Have you met my spirits before? Let's see if they'll let us stay a moment." Only a second though.

He's like an avenging dragon - there were certainly a bunch of pixies lingering in the cavern, and they were caught off guard when he burst on the scene.

"Hey who's this G-agugh!!" *FOOM*

"EEK! HE JUST OBLITER-ARUGH!" *FOOM*

"FU--" *FOOM*

"OH MY GOD, HE KILLED K-" *FOOM*

"YOU BAS-" *FOOM*

"RUN! ER, F-" *FOOM* *FOOM* *FOOM*

Screaming pixies fled for the main chamber of the cavern, most of them going up in a scream and poof of fire and smoke, the black mist quickly retreating with each one's death. With each one's death the ice cracked a little more, enchantments on the ice weakening. Outside the statues - the petrified people and animals - were slowly starting to revert to normal as the pixies were being eradicated until Natsu burst into the final cavern.

What he sees might..just tick him off MORESO. There's a great deal of black ice on the floor - watch your step! - but more importantly there's a demon with a coat of ice-armor and a great deal of that black daemonic energy covering , pulsing as if it were alive. There are also several constructs standing guard, two of them standing around a small cage that has a bright white glow in it, which keeps rattling. The demon has taken no notice of anyone coming in, currently in "discussion" with Lucy. Natsu's Lucy of course, who is currently being penned in, backing up against a wall as he advanced on her. ... he also, like the other constructs, has a bunch of arrows poking out of his icey body.

"I don't think you understand your.. position.. Lu~cy." There's something OILY about the way he says her name. Way too familiar, with an undercurrent of a threat and amusement at the same time. "You can't beat me and I've seen to it that Natsu can't beat me either. And your Natsu.. well, he's younger than mine. He lacks experience. The Lucy of this time sadly ... is indisposed, but you.. you I can use yet." A daemonic, shadow/ice claw started to reach up, hooking a finger around a few strands of hair. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Which is about when a few pixies who've managed to escape (just barely) come screaming in, "FLY FOR YOUR LIVES!!!"

Demon Gray glowers, glancing over his shoulder, "I said I wasn't to be DISTURBE-" Oh hey Natsu, sup. Don't try anything funny, he's got your gurrrrl.

Unfortunately Gray is quite mistaken about the experience thing considering how much time he's spent in Genesia fighting powerful foes and growing in terms of tactics. Not that he's doing anything but moving on battle instinct alone obliterating everything in his path not even knowing that with each pixie destroyed the situation on the surface was getting better.

But then he finally reached the main chamber. His eyes take in the situation in an instant and before Gray can even say a single word to him, Natsu disappears in a flash of lightning. However his attack does not com from the front. Instead his fire lightning clad fist slams into Gray's skull brutally aiming to send him flying into at least one of the constructs guarding the fairy. "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!" He roared, his voice booming into the cavern rattling the very walls with his overbearing wrath.