904Again, not making excuses for not updating, but I promise I haven't forgotten about this story. I'm actually very excited for the next chapter, so I hope I still have some fans keeping up with this. Please feel free to leave a review. I hope I can get the next chapter out soon-ish. Please enjoy!
Neither of us anticipated sleeping halfway through the next day, but with both our exhaustion, it wasn't surprising. I roused a bit earlier than Natsu, but mostly due to the pain from my injuries. I knew Natsu hadn't slept since he first disappeared, so I figured giving him a little more time to rest wouldn't hurt. While he continued to sleep, I packed up what I could of our belongings, leaving out some more food for us to eat before heading out. I was actually pretty slow packing, my movements severely limited by my injuries. It worked out, though, giving Natsu ample extra time to snooze.
On the bright side, I had pretty much explored most of the cave already. We definitely had to be close to the next clue, though there were still two more tunnels to go. (I definitely did not look forward to limping my way back out of that crooked tunnel.) I was more than ready to get this particular leg of the trip over with, so after packing up, I felt it was time to wake the sleeping dragon.
"Natsu…" I whispered lightly, gently shaking his shoulder. "It's time to get up. We need to get moving."
I was leaning over him, trying my best to tactfully wake him. It took a few shoulder shakes, but he finally began to move at my prodding, a pitiful grumble coming from deep within his chest.
"Nooo…" he whined, trying to turn over and away from me. "Just a few more hours…"
"Hours? I think not," I snapped, tugging his shoulder to have him facing me again. "We don't have a few more hours, Natsu. We need to get out of this place."
With bleary eyes, Natsu finally peeked at me with onyx eyes. His lips split into a sleepy, warm grin. "Mornin', Luce. How ya feelin'?"
"Like I was run over by a Magic-Mobile," I replied, my expression not conveying any kind of amusement. "How 'bout you?"
"Better!" he said, the last vestiges of sleep melting away from his features. He actually startled me by sitting up quickly, his face coming close enough to mine that I had to back away a bit. With his close proximity, I could feel myself blush under the scrutinizing look he was giving me. Carefully, he lifted his hand to brush my cheek softly, his eyes scrunching the tiniest bit. "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should rest here while I - "
"No," I cut him off quickly, scooting my way backwards to exit the tent. I didn't want to. I wanted to get closer to him, to snuggle into his warmth and… And we really needed to get out of that cave. "I don't want us getting separated again. This place is insane."
Ducking through the tent flap, I crawled my way to the rubble pile nearby to sit with my injured leg extended, waiting for Natsu. It only took a minute for him to pop out of the tent himself, rolling his sleeping bag up.
After a quick breakfast, we finished packing and looked to the task before us.
"Okay, so, first thing. The next scavenger riddle doesn't happen to be lying around in these ruins anywhere, huh?" I asked hopefully, looking around.
"Not from what I've seen or smelled," Natsu admitted, also taking a closer look at our surroundings.
"Okay, so, I guess we should check out what's through this hole then," I replied, gesturing to the massive hole the exploding platforms had made behind the shattered pillars.
"Yeah, let's go," Natsu said with his usual can-do attitude. "I don't smell anything funny coming from it yet."
We both crept up to the opening, with Natsu lighting up a fist with flames to give us a better visual. Inside, there only seemed to be an empty space of ice walls, with a tunnel leading off somewhere. Natsu stepped inside first, standing alert and ready as he continuously looked around for any impending danger. Following behind, I hobbled through the hole and looked around as well.
"So far so goo- Ahh!" Natsu spoke too soon as his feet suddenly slipped from beneath him. Landing on his butt harshly, he instantly started sliding down the slope of the tunnel.
"Natsu-!" I called out, but I only made one step before I lost my footing as well with a screech, and then we were both sliding down the slippery ice.
We were picking up speed very quickly, despite the tunnel's incline not being very steep at all. I could definitely feel the pull of some type of magic propelling us along, making us go faster and faster. The tunnel began making twists and turns as the slide became more narrow. Natsu and I both did everything we could to claw around and slow our descent, but it was turning out to be pretty useless with the slippery surfaces. However, after several minutes of sliding, I finally recognized the sensation of slowing down. The slope of the tunnel was leveling out, and within moments the two of us were sliding out of the tunnel on our butts, right back into the circular Sleipnir room.
The two of us shot across the stone. Natsu managed to stop himself faster than me, resulting in me slamming into him from behind and bowling us both over.
"Ungh," I grunted, wincing as I held an arm over my ribs in pain. Natsu wheezed beside me on the cold stone floor, probably from having the wind knocked out of him as well. "I was… not expecting that."
"No kidding," Natsu coughed, looking around. "Where are we?"
Looking around, too, I replied, "This is the room we found all the Sleipnir in. They've been gone since yesterday though. Those tunnels over there -" I pointed to the tunnels lining the semi-circle of raised stone platform, "- are the ones Loke and I already checked out, except for that small one." Looking at the tunnel Natsu and I had been spit out of, I noted it was the last tunnel we meant to investigate before tackling the tiny one. "And since we already know what's through that tunnel right there, it's safe to assume that our next step is to crawl through the small one and see what we find."
That was something I was not looking forward to.
Hopping to his feet, Natsu said in his usual cheerful tone, "Well, let's get to it!" Instead of holding out a hand to help me up, he instead swooped down to scoop me up and place me on my feet. When I gave him a mildly startled look, he replied sheepishly with a shrug, "You're still really hurt. It wouldn't feel good to your ribs to be pulled up by your arms."
Fair enough.
Giving him a warm smile, I said, "Thank you, Natsu." Turning to face the small tunnel entrance, I cringed inwardly. Crawling through that was going to be unpleasant. Natsu stepped forward first, getting down to his hands and knees and scuttling through the low opening. Groaning, I got on all fours and followed behind, taking extra care to not put unnecessary pressure on my injured knee. Using my arms to hold myself up also didn't feel really great because of my ribs. Just a few yards in, I realized the tunnel was made from that glowing blue ice, so we could at least see where we were going.
"How long you reckon this tunnel is?" I heard Natsu ask up ahead.
Huffing at the effort of crawling on my hands and knees while swathed in thick layers of clothes, I made an uncertain sound. "There's no telling. Some of them were just a short trip, some of them were quite a hike. I hope this one ends soon though," I said with a wince, feeling my knee throb.
"Do you think there's some kind of treasure hidden around here?" I heard him ask excitedly, and could even picture his excited face. His hoarding instincts weren't obvious, but he was still just like a dragon. And dragons liked shiny things.
"I think so. There's an awful lot of enchantments and traps, and we haven't run into any bad guys. The question is if it's worth all this trouble."
"I see an opening up ahead!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed excitedly.
"Thank Mavis!"
I watched up ahead as Natsu reached the end and stood up after crawling out. I picked up the pace, eager to get out of the cramped space and stretch my legs. Emerging through the opening, Natsu reached down and gently helped me to my feet.
Once I was standing (well, more like leaning as I used Natsu as support), I took a look around and noticed the room we were in was quite small, about the size of my living room. There were four walls of glowing blue ice, and in the center of the room was something that resembled a stone podium. The podium glowed red with the magic circle pulsing beneath it. Perched atop the platform, however, was a pristine, platinum colored gate key. And the key was resting on a folded piece of parchment.
"A gate key?" I asked in a startled tone. "This must be one of the rare gate keys listed as part of the reward for this mission! And I think that's the next riddle!"
"That's definitely the next riddle," Natsu confirmed, sniffing at the air. "It smells exactly like the others."
I approached the platform, getting just close enough to look at the markings of the key. It was already unusual that the key was platinum in color, but even more intriguing was the metal part that had been twisted to resemble a caduceus. Instead of two snakes, however, there were two leopards twisting their way up, looking as if they were stalking prey. The hilt was stamped with the likeness of a man holding up a conquered beast. I felt my breath hitch as I realized whose key it was. "Orion the Hunter," I breathed. I reached out to grab it, but pulled back at the last moment.
"What's wrong?" I heard Natsu ask behind me.
Staring hard at the key, I said, "Everything else in this place has been booby trapped. That plus the glowing magic circle makes me almost certain something bad is going to happen the moment I touch either of those things."
"Oh," I heard him reply deflatedly. Turning so I could see him from the side, I noticed he had his brow drawn together in thought.
I, too, wondered how we were gonna be able to grab them without touching them. I absolutely refused to call a spirit out to help, not wanting them to knowingly get hit by some weird spell just for my sake. It was unfortunate, because my spirits were my biggest asset. However, other than them…
"I got it!" I said suddenly. Reaching beneath my cloak, I felt around at my hip until I felt my whip beneath my fingertips. Grasping it and pulling it out with a flourish, I cracked it one good time. "I'll just snatch them off the podium with my whip! Now no one has to actually go near the magic circle!"
"Good thinkin' Luce!" Natsu said brightly, his sharp teeth shining with his grin.
Readying my grip on the hilt, I slung the whip through the air in a small circle before striking it at the pedestal, wrapping the tip expertly around the piece of parchment and key. I pulled back on it, yanking the items towards me. As soon as they landed in my hand, the magic circle around the pedestal glowed brighter, almost blindingly so. I thought we were in the clear, so I was completely unprepared for the jagged red light that struck out from the platform, right towards me.
"Lucy!" I heard Natsu's voice but could barely register what was happening as I felt him slam into me, knocking me to the ground and out of the way. Pushing myself up quickly, I looked around just in time to see the light hit Natsu. The red spell engulfed his body, causing him to tense up and howl as pain seemed to overtake him. It only lasted a moment before it dissipated, however, and then Natsu crumpled to the ground.
"NATSU!"
Scrambling over quickly, I grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him over so he was facing up. His eyes were closed, and it was clear he was unconscious. "Oh no, Natsu, no," I panicked, trying my best to keep tears from forming in my eyes. Leaning my head down, I pressed my ear to his chest. To my relief and utter surprise, I could hear his heart beating strongly as I felt his chest rise and fall with steady breaths. "Oh thank Mavis."
Pulling his head onto my lap, I tucked Orion's key and the parchment away inside my cloak and then pulled out my keyring. Flipping through the keys, I did my best to think of who'd be of most help in my predicament. I had no idea what spell Natsu was hit with, but at least he was alive. So, my next step would be to get back to civilization to find a doctor. There was no way I'd be able to carry Natsu through that tiny tunnel, especially with my injuries.
Making a decision, I whipped out Virgo's key and swished it through the air. "Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"
With the usual golden glow and doorbell, Virgo manifested before me. With her usual blank state, she asked with a bow, "You called, Princess?"
"Virgo!" I said in a shaky voice, looking from her to Natsu as I did my best not to panic. "Can you drill through the ground here and get Natsu outside? He was hit with some weird spell and I think we need to get him to a doctor!"
"Certainly, Princess. However," Virgo held her hands out in a shrug, "If you are looking for a quick way back to civilization, I suggest you try summoning that fancy new spirit of yours."
I hesitated at her words. "You mean… Orion?"
"Yes," she replied instantly, tilting her head slightly. "I believe he could be extremely beneficial to your current situation, should you call him."
It was odd for a spirit to recommend another, as it wasn't something they did often, but I trusted Virgo's judgment. Dispersing Virgo with a wave of her key, I reached back inside my cloak and pulled the key from the breast pocket. As I looked at it, I felt it warm beneath my fingertips, indicating the spirit was eagerly waiting to be released from their gate. Slashing it through the air, I cried, "Open! Gate of the Hunter! Orion!"
The celestial doorbell rang again, and the area was bathed in golden light as a figure appeared. The first thing I noticed was how normal looking he was, except for the massive amount of muscles. The spirit stood roughly six and a half feet, and had the same build as Laxus. He was clad in traditional dark green colored hunter garb, accentuated with leather straps and boots. Messy green hair was tousled about his head, resembling Natsu's own unruly hair, and bright green eyes stared down at me in wonderment. After only a moment of staring, he got down to one knee in a kneel before me.
"My lady," he said, dipping his head in a bow as a clench fist was brought to his chest. Looking back up, he gave me a bright smile. "I have awaited the day that my key would be found again. And to have such a beautiful maiden be my keyholder is an absolute dream. Would you care to make a contract now?"
His vibes were a bit off-putting, but no more than any of my other spirits. "I'm sorry, I do want to make a contract but I don't have a lot of time right now. My friend needs to get to a doctor quickly. Virgo said you might can help me."
Getting to his feet once more and towering over me, he gave me a large smile. "It'd be my pleasure, my lady. Will the nearest town suffice? Or do you have a preference? The further away it is, the more magic it will take."
I kinda blanked for a moment as I tried to process what he was asking. "Um, what…?"
With a chuckle, he crossed his arms across his chest. "I can teleport us anywhere we need to go, as long as it's in this realm. It's not something I can do often, as it takes roughly a month Earthland time to regenerate the ability. I can go ahead and use it now, but I won't be able to again for a while. The shorter the distance, the less regeneration time."
A majority of my brain was still panicking over Natsu, but a small part was thoroughly impressed at the ability the spirit possessed. It wasn't something I had ever heard of before. "That's… incredible-but I don't have time for specifics! Please, if you can just get us to the nearest town, I'll make a contract with you later and properly introduce myself!"
"Your wish is my command, my lady," he said with his gruff voice. Swinging his arms out wide in front of him, a silver light suddenly seemed to filter through the area as I felt a strange sensation crawl over me. I could feel myself and Natsu moving, but at the same time our bodies didn't jostle as if being moved. After only a few seconds, the light died away, revealing an astonishing sight.
The three of us were in the middle of the main street of Frozen Altar. It was dark out, but there were a few lights still on in some of the buildings. It was actually pretty disorienting suddenly appearing there after being so far away, and I couldn't speak for several long moments as I regained my bearings. Realizing that an unconscious Natsu and I were both submerged in a couple feet of snow in the middle of the street, I knew I needed to move and find a doctor quickly.
Looking up at Orion, I cringed inwardly at having to ask for another favor. "Um, I hate to ask, but do you think you could help me carry him to the doctor? I think it's just a little ways down the street from what I remember."
"It'd be my pleasure, my lady," Orion responded in his gruff voice, flashing me a smile as he bent down to grab Natsu and haul him over his broad shoulder. I started to get to my feet but shrieked as the spirit suddenly picked me up and sat me on his other shoulder in an upright position.
"Whoa! I can - "
"You are also very injured, my lady. Please allow me to escort you both."
My protests died off as I suddenly remembered that I was in pretty rough shape too. I had been so worried about Natsu that adrenaline pushed my pain to the backburner. The pain didn't suddenly come rushing back, but I could certainly feel it escalating again as the adrenaline waned. I realized it was actually pretty tough to breathe without sharp pains, and my head was throbbing.
I managed to direct Orion to the doctor's office after several minutes of trudging through the thick white hell. To my relief, I could still see lights on inside. The bell of the door jingled as he pushed it open and stooped to get us all through the door.
Inside was a typical open space, with two beds against the back wall, a curtain across the space that could be opened and closed for patient privacy. There were a few chairs at the front lining the wall, as well as a couple of tables. Shelves lined every inch of the walls (except the space in front of the windows on either side of the door) and were filled to bursting with jars, herb drawers, and books. In the back left corner of the room was a staircase that led to a second floor, and standing in front of the staircase was an older gentleman, wearing a purple robe and black beret.
He looked up at us curiously for a moment before simply stating, "I see." Turning, he approached the beds and gestured to the one on the left. "My name is Doctor Whis. Set the boy here. She can go on the other."
Orion did as he said, setting Natsu down a little less gently than I was comfortable with. With much greater care, the spirit lowered me onto the other. Immediately, I was struggling to sit up so I could speak directly with the man.
"Please, sir - look at him first - " I grunted and wrapped an arm around my middle as a sharp stab of pain lanced through my ribs. "He was hit with some kind of spell and he hasn't woken up!"
"I understand," the man said calmly, pulling over a small table on wheels that had a few medical instruments on it. "But please, try to lay back and relax while I examine him. You look like you need a good bit of help yourself, you don't want to injure yourself further." Reaching over to a blue lacrima hanging on the wall between the two beds, he tapped it once before saying, "Edna, would you please come here and assist with our new patients?"
A lady's voice resounded from it. "Right away, sir."
The doctor picked up a gadget I didn't recognize and held it over Natsu for a moment. It looked a bit like a camera, but instead of a lens, there was a lacrima. The lacrima glowed a soft blue as the doctor swept it back and forth over Natsu's limp body. After a few moments, the lacrima flashed green.
Placing the instrument back on the table, he picked up another unfamiliar device that looked like a pocket watch as he said, "Well, there's some good news. He's physically okay, and I see no indication that he won't wake up eventually. So do you have any idea what kind of spell he was hit with?"
"No," I said through gritted teeth. At that moment, footsteps could be heard from the stairs as a woman who looked like she was in her early twenties made her appearance. She was dressed in a nurse's gown, with her dark hair in a bun and an apron tied around her waist. Returning my attention to the doctor, I continued, "We were in some… place. I don't know how to explain it. But there was a lot of random spells, there's no telling what he was hit with."
"That's unfortunate," he responded, taking the device and scanning it over Natsu's body as well. The lady, who I assumed was Edna, came to my side and immediately started trying to strip away my clothes, starting with my cloak. Only a moment after, she began grabbing at my top, trying to tug it off my body as well.
"H-hang on!" I said hurriedly, keeping my top in place as I looked up to Orion, who had just been vigilantly watching on the sidelines. "Um, thank you for your help. I'll call you later to make a contract, but would you mind giving us some privacy now?"
Bowing his head slightly, he said, "Certainly, my lady. Feel free to call upon me any time." With that, he dissipated into a golden mist.
Once he was gone, I allowed Edna to help me undress down to my underwear as I nervously looked sideways at Natsu. It would be my luck that he would wake up right at that moment. Much to my disappointment, and yet relief, he did not. The doctor was still scanning Natsu with the pocket watch thing, intently looking at the face of it as he did so.
"My Stars, what did you do to yourself?" Edna asked in surprise, unwrapping the shoddy bandaging my spirits and I had done.
"Just a booby trapped dungeon. You know, the usual," I said wryly, glancing over at the unresponsive dragon slayer. The nurse took the camera looking device from the table and hovered it over the length of my body, with it glowing green for several long moments before it flashed yellow. She looked down at the instrument and clicked her tongue in irritation.
"Guild wizards," she scoffed, using a hand to force me to lay back before walking to a table nearby that held a basin of water and some clean strips of cloth. "Always so reckless."
Right after she said that, the small device in the doctor's hand made a tinkling sound, causing me to look up. As Edna returned to my side and began cleaning my wounds, the doctor tutted softly.
"What? What is it?" I asked in a concerned voice, momentarily hissing as Edna made contact with a particularly tender injury.
Setting the device to the side, the doctor sighed before replying, "Whatever kind of spell hit him, it was designed to affect him mentally. There's no way to tell exactly how it affected him mentally, but there is a little good news. The spell should only last three or four weeks at most. So once we get you fixed up, we'll be able to send you on your way with him. He may take a day or so to wake up, but rest assured, he will be fine eventually."
Mixed emotions ran through me rampantly. On the one hand, it was a much-needed relief to know that he would be okay… eventually. On the other, the spell had supposedly affected his mind somehow, which could mean just about anything. When he woke up, would he be smarter? Dumber? Will he revert back to a childlike state of mind (though I sincerely doubted I would be able to tell much difference, since Natsu was already very child-like in most ways)? What if it turned him evil? The happiness at him being okay and terror that flooded through me as thoughts and possibilities raced through my mind made me break out in a cold sweat, and before I knew it, Edna had a hand on my shoulder again, preventing me from getting up.
"You need to stay still," she commanded before turning her head to give the doctor a narrowed look. "Doctor, you should not get the other patient so worked up. Her injuries are quite severe."
"My apologies, Edna."
…
An hour and a lot of pain later, the two medical professionals had efficiently assessed and treated my injuries to the best of their abilities. They offered for Natsu and I to stick around until I was healed enough to walk freely, but I insisted that we get out of their way and free up the beds for someone who might need them. They did voice their concerns that I may need the extra help on hand in case Natsu woke up and… went berserk. I waved off those concerns when I reminded them that I was a celestial wizard and had plenty of help on hand. They relented, but only if I could have my spirits help me and Natsu to the hotel.
The request was easy enough to oblige, so I summoned Aries to float the two of us on her wool to the hotel. We got some strange looks as I requested a room with two beds while floating on a fluffy pink cloud of wool next to an unconscious dragon slayer with a nervous spirit profusely apologizing nearby. Nevertheless, they saw no issue in handing over a room key, gaping as we floated away up the stairs.
Once we were in the room, I used Aries' help to make sure Natsu was settled on his bed before finally collapsing onto mine.
"Thank you so much, Aries," I said, relaxing back on the pillows. "You can go now. I'm gonna rest for a bit."
"Of course! I'm sorry! It was my pleasure!"
With a bow, Aries faded out of sight, and I faded out of consciousness.
I wish I would have known that in less than twenty-four hours, my life would become ten times more complicated than ever before.
Again, please review! I feel like it's the best motivation for me. And thank you so much for reading so far.