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Beastly Possession	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 26740 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
- 9
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Disclaimer: No more Missus Nice Rhov! I shall wrest control of Fairy Tail away from Kodansha and revamp it into Rhovy Tail! Now, please hold your applause toward my brilliant plan while I flee from Hiro Mashima. *sprints away faster than Jet can run with a peeved mangaka chasing her*

Chapter 10

The Gift at the Door

Lucy woke up with heat at her chest and a light sound of someone sleeping. She had a momentary flareup of anger, thinking it was Natsu in her bed again, followed by sinking sadness as she realized it would not be him, he was gone. Then anger blazed again when it dawned on her this must be Gray, and after she threatened him not to grope her in the night. So by the time she finally opened her eyes, she was ready to lash out at him. Her prepared yells were silenced when she saw he still had his back to her. It was she who had turned toward him and wrapped an arm around his naked torso. Anger, sadness, and all other emotions were overrun by shock and slight disgust. She thought of Gray as a teammate and a brother, so why was she hugging him?

She carefully moved away before he woke up and misunderstood. Luckily, he did not stir, and she hoped that meant he was still asleep, not just faking it. She quietly hurried out of the room to get ready before he woke up.

When she came out of the bathroom, Gray was already up and dressed. Well, half dressed. Close enough for Gray. The aroma of coffee filled the house. He had breakfast already on the table and stood at her sink cleaning dishes.

"I already ate. Help yourself," the Ice-Make mage called over. "I'm off to get a shower."

"You still need to pack," Lucy realized.

"We'll stop by my place on the way to the guild. It'll only take a couple minutes to grab some clothes."

She smirked as she poured herself some juice. "Don't tell me you pack as fast as you strip."

"Har-har," he said sarcastically before shutting the bathroom door.

Twenty minutes later, they were ready to go. Lucy felt at ease as she stood by Gray's side and walked down the hall to the house's main exit, teasing him that at least they would not have to deal with Natsu's motion sickness, and trying to egg him on about whether or not he would miss Juvia. She liked how he totally denied it yet blushed at the same time.

She opened the door leading to the street and was about to step out when some instinct stopped her. Maybe it was a smell, or a peripheral view of the crowd gathered around. In any case, she stopped and looked to her feet.

There, sitting at her doorstep, was a severed head.

It was a blonde-haired woman, someone under thirty, blue eyes still open and filmy gray as they dried out in the early morning sun. A gnarled slash to the victim's cheek had ripped out the skin and muscle until it exposed clenched teeth like some grinning half-skull. Blood had drained out of the ragged edge of the neck, mixed with her long golden hair, and dripped down the steps from her house, dried now and blackened like a waterfall from Hell. People on the street paused, some in horror before rushing off, some wondering if this was some twisted prank.

Lucy let out a shriek and buried her face into Gray's chest. He immediately grabbed hold of her and felt her whole body shaking in horror. He grimaced in revulsion as he stared at the dead blue eyes. It was not anyone he knew, yet with the cascading blonde hair, he could imagine this poor victim as Lucy. His stomach twisted, and he swallowed hard as breakfast threatened to come right back up.

"Get inside!" he ordered. He glared at the crowd. "One of you, call the authorities."

"You mean it's not a prank?" someone in the crowd gasped. "That head...it's real?"

Gray slammed the door shut, locked it, and rushed Lucy back to her room. She collapsed onto the couch in tears while Gray locked all the windows. He realized she was still sobbing and looked worried, yet unsure what to do.

"Was it someone you knew?"

She shook her head. "You don't think it was Natsu who did that, do you?" she sobbed. "It couldn't have been him. He wouldn't!"

Gray did not want to answer. He simply could not imagine Natsu being that barbaric, yet a head waiting there like that, especially a blonde woman's head, had the twisted feeling of a cat leaving behind a bird at the doorstep of its owner.

Cat? Owner? That gave him an idea on how to handle this.

"Call out Loke," he ordered.

Not thinking, she obeyed, pulled out her keyring, and grabbed one. "Open the Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

In a flash and a poof, the orange-haired playboy arrived. "Yes, my prin-...Lucy!" he cried, seeing how pale she was and the tears on her face. Then he saw Gray there. "Bastard! What did you do to upset my Lucy?"

"Shut up!" snapped Gray. "Loke, you protected her that first night. I'm counting on you now. Guard her with your life!"

"I do anyway. What happened?" Loke demanded with narrow eyes.

"Take a look out the door," Gray muttered. Loke raced off to see while Gray sat beside Lucy. He felt her trembling and hugged an arm around her. "Stay here. Don't leave. I'll run to the guild and get some help. If the army comes, you can let them in, but don't agree to leave until you get an escort. We're getting you the hell out of this town."

Loke returned looking sick with fury. "I know her. Marlena. We went on a few dates. Dammit, this is going too far," he gnashed.

"Stay with her," Gray ordered. Instead of the front door, he leaped out the bedroom window like he and Natsu had often done.

Half an hour later, Gray returned with Erza, Mira, Freed, Wendy, Charle, and Happy. Gajeel had come along with them to sniff out the macabre scene out front, now cordoned off by the army. Inside, Lucy was curled up in a fetal position on Loke's lap while the Lion Spirit gently stroked her hair to keep her calm.

"We have permission from Master to leave," Erza reported. "Do you think you can make it?"

"I want out of here," Lucy said with a shiver. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, straightened out her disheveled hair, and blushed at Loke. "Thanks for watching over me. You can return now."

"Not a chance!" His noble face looked grim behind his blue-tinted glasses. "I'm not leaving your side until you're far away from here."

She sighed, feigning annoyance. "You and Gray are so much alike."

"Because we both care for you," Gray said with a smile.

Loke jealously glared over at the Ice-Make mage. "Of course, I like you more!" he insisted.

"I've known her longer," Gray argued.

"We met her on the same day."

"She's my teammate."

"She's my owner!"

"Boys," Erza said in a thudding voice.

Both Loke and Gray tensed up fast. "Aye, sir!"

Footsteps thumped, and Gajeel marched in. "It wasn't Natsu," he assured. "I smelled that other smell, the one that's been all over Magnolia lately."

Lucy shivered. "The beast? It knows where I live?"

"And that you're blonde," Gray realized, not liking the implications. "I don't think the hair color and length were purely coincidental. We should probably tell the army to put out a warning that the killer might be targeting young, blonde women."

Lucy's hand went over her stomach to one of the areas where she had been gouged during the first attack. "Was that what tried to kill me back then?"

"Impossible to know," Gajeel admitted. "Maybe it was and this is a threat, or maybe even its way of apologizing. Or maybe it sees Natsu as a rival and this is a claim of territory. Or who knows, maybe this is its way of flirting to win you over."

"What the hell!" she shouted.

Gajeel just shrugged. "Feral dragon slayers have an animal's instincts. It's too hard to guess their motives. I suggest you guys leave immediately. With all the chaotic mix of smells around here right now, maybe it won't be able to latch on and realize you've left."

Their group decided that was the best plan. Although Lucy hated the idea of leaving her home open to army investigators, her landlady promised to keep them from doing any damage. Lucy and the rest left to the train station.

"We'll return to the manor where Natsu was last seen," Erza explained. "From there, Wendy will begin sniffing him out."

Happy looked worried, and Charle patted his back reassuringly. Loke bid farewell so he would not have to buy a train ticket as well, but he promised to return at the slightest hint of danger. They boarded the train and sat silently as it chugged out of the station. They watched Magnolia go by fast, and soon they were in rolling hills and gentle farmlands. They sat quietly looking out the windows.

"You know," Gray muttered peevishly, "I can't believe I'm saying this but...I almost miss Natsu's moaning and vomiting."

Wendy snickered, Erza chuckled softly, Lucy smiled as she realized she was thinking the same thing, and Happy cheered up a little.

"Aye!" the Exceed cried out. "When we head back home, Natsu is probably gonna be sicker than ever."

Although they knew it would annoy them, for right now that thought comforted them.

"He can rest on my lap," Lucy decided.

"I'll knock him out," Erza offered.

"Please let me be the one to do that," Gray begged.

"Or I could use Troia," Wendy said cheerfully.

Mira and Freed watched them in amusement.

"What an odd team," the green-haired man muttered to himself.

"It's what makes them so strong," Mira sighed in envy.

Somewhere Far North

The town was deserted.

No, not deserted. That implied that people fled. Here, no one had a chance to escape.

An utter massacre! That's what it was.

Sting Eucliffe carefully stepped between the bodies that littered what was once a thriving central avenue lined with stores still displaying their goods. Looking around, it must have happened many weeks ago. The corpses were already decomposing. The smell of death was everywhere, a miasma that swirled with the wind, carried on the wings of numerous insects buzzing around in festive excitement as they feasted on the rotting bodies. Along with the stench was the smell of emptiness, a dusty smell that told of a city abandoned to its macabre fate.

Yet there was something more, a smell underneath the death and dust. It was doubtful anyone else could smell it. Even a trained dog would be confused. However, to a dragon slayer, this was a smell stronger than any other, something unforgettable, an aroma that was both repulsive and attractive. With narrow eyes, the blond dragon slayer looked from side to side, inspecting clothing stores, grocery stores, a tea house, a saloon, all empty. The silence was not too bad, but the smell sickened him.

Rogue walked out from an alley looking more melancholy than usual. Sting paused and watched him, trying to read some clues from that shadowy face.

"The smell is all over this town," Rogue told him.

"I saw wanted posters and public warnings taped to some lampposts," Sting told him." They knew there was a murderer around. They had a little warning, but I'd say not much."

"Just like the last town," Rogue realized, and he looked around again. "They probably had two weeks of disappearances, odd and brutal murders, thought it was an animal, and then...it hit. Likely all in one night."

Sting frowned deeper. "These corpses all have nightgowns on. Most of the residents were still in bed. They likely never knew what hit them."

"That's how ferals work," Rogue said with a disinterested shrug. "They'll play for a while, but when they get bored they'll wipe out the whole population."

"Are you certain that's what this smell is?"

Rogue's eyes narrowed. "You've never smelled it before, have you? I helped you through the ritual the instant I saw the warning signs. Then I taught you how to help me, and we caught it within a day. Trust me, Sting, once you smell a feral, it's something you'll never forget."

Sting looked at Rogue for a silent moment. He was a little too serious about this, taking this assignment far too personal. "Could it be," he finally asked, "you've dealt with a feral dragon slayer before?"

Rogue did not answer. He watched Frosch and Lector having some cute argument up ahead. After a minute, Sting walked up right next to his fellow dragon slayer and leaned into the raven-haired man's ear.

"You told me it was Gajeel Redfox who taught you. Was it something he did?"

Rogue's eyes darkened as a memory passed through his mind. "He wasn't fully feral, but the people in Phantom Lord let him go too long. He massacred a village. Master Jose covered it up, said the villagers were all part of a dark guild, but...I was brought in right as Gajeel was in the middle of doing it. I saw what the beast within looked like, its raw destruction, its utter lack of humanity. That was my first impression of Gajeel Redfox: this raging beast out to kill anyone in his way. He's a frightening man to begin with, but seeing such brutality...I was just a little kid. To see him do all that...he terrified me...and left me in awe. It was scary, and it was exhilarating to behold. And the smell...it wasn't strong, but it's something you latch on to. It drove up instincts I didn't know I had. I almost wanted to join him in rampaging and slaughtering. I found out later, the smell of a feral is most dangerous to those too young. They can't control their powers. It's like how an adult snake releases only a little venom into its victim, while a baby snake will bite and force all of its venom out all at once. So although they're smaller, they're more dangerous. Because of that, Phantom Lord had to suppress me, and I had to work fast on Gajeel before I was affected too much."

"So he wasn't feral yet?"

"Not yet, but he was getting close. When it was over and both of us were back to our senses, I suddenly didn't want to grow up. I realized how frightening those instincts were, and I didn't want to turn into that. That's why, when I met you, I refused to go away from you. I knew that when my time came, I'd need you, Sting. I didn't want to go berserk like that. Seeing this town, it's like what I witnessed then. Raw destruction! And the smell, that feeling..." He looked over to the blond. "Do you sense it, too?"

"Yeah," Sting muttered. "It's like something deep inside of me wants to crawl out. This smell, I hate it. I despise it more than anything, because..." He fell quieter as he confessed a dark secret. "...because...it reminds me of the dragon who raised me."

With swift steps, he pulled away from Rogue and marched down the grim avenue of death. He called to Lector, who swiftly returned to his side.

"Where are you going?" Rogue asked, watching impassively as he left.

"Dragon hunting," Sting called back. "I'm gonna find this feral dragon slayer and destroy it. Slowly! I'll make it feel all the suffering it put its victims through. I'm gonna slay it before it tarnishes the reputation of all dragon slayers."

"Won't you try to help him?" Rogue asked in concern.

"Fuck no! You've told me before, there's no helping a feral. They must be put down."

"That's what Gajeel told me, but we don't know that for certain. Dragon slayers are rare enough. You shouldn't kill one so thoughtlessly."

"Whatever," Sting said dismissively. "From what I've seen here and in the last city, that's what we have to do, and quickly, before another city faces the same fate." He paused and looked back over his shoulder. "Ya with me?"

Rogue folded his arms and looked aside. "Killing someone who has lost their way? Not interested. I think I'll sit this one out."

A dramatic shrug, then Sting continued onward. "Suit yourself. You're missing all the fun."

"Killing is never fun." Rogue gave a soft sigh of frustration as he watched the White Dragon Slayer march away. "Try not to go overboard," he whispered, then turned in the opposite direction. "Come, Frosch. We need to report this."

The little Exceed in a frog suit scampered along beside him. "Fro doesn't like this. Fro is worried for Sting."

"He'll be fine," Rogue said with a gentle smile he only showed to his best friend.

Frosch grinned with renewed assurance. "Of course Sting will! Sting is strong! The strongest...except for Rogue, of course. What will Rogue tell the others?"

"Dunno," he hummed. "I guess we can't mention the feral dragon slayer. Sting is right: if the public found out we can do things like this, it'd be bad for all dragon slayers, us and the ones in Fairy Tail."

"Fro thinks so, too. Fro won't say a word," the Exceed swore with a massive grin.

"I know. You're a good friend," Rogue praised, which made the cat-in-a-frog-suit smile wider. "Now let's go. We'll leave the dirty work to Sting."

Frosch followed for a few moments, then looked troubled. "Rogue, Fro is wondering...could this be the stupid dragon slayers from Fairy Tail?"

Rogue hummed to himself in thought. "I helped Gajeel through the coming-of-age ritual. Natsu is too old, and Wendy is too young. I doubt it's them...and I hope it's not. I don't want Sting to meet up with Natsu again."

"Fro thinks so, too," the tiny Exceed chirped.

End of Chapter 10

A/N: Have you ever wanted to write about someone who pissed you off purely so you can kill them in a horrific way? I just killed off Marlena, someone who used to be my best friend, then stabbed me in the back. Bye-bye, Marlena. And helloooooooo Sting-kun! So many people wanted to know about the other dragon slayers, so here they are. Now I guess I need to figure out what to do with them.
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Beastly Possession