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Wheels of Fire	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 22718 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
- 34
- 35
Chapter 35
We're All Fairy Tail
It was a hot Edolas summer, and people inside the Fairy Tail tree were fanning themselves from the heat.
"Levy," Lucy Ashley grumbled, her black blouse spread open so wide, it left little to the imagination. "Can't you fix the air conditioning?"
Levy rose up with a wrench in her hand and a scowl on her face, holding her sweat-drenched blue hair back with a bandana. "Do you want me to work on reconnecting to the Webnet so we can transport the hell out of here if Knightwalker shows up, or do you want some nice cold air? Pick one, bitch."
Lucy would have hit her for that, but she felt too drained. She collapsed backward and stared at the ceiling, high up in the tree guild. There was a fly in the room, and she followed it with her eyes, buzzing around, then up to the wooden rafters, where it got caught in a web. She could not see where the spider had gone, though.
That made her think of Wendy Aranya. That web-weaving Spider better have found Earth-Natsu and kept him safe. Lucy hated this hollow feeling in her heart, not knowing if they were okay.
Suddenly, the guild shook, the spiderweb crumbled, and the fly zoomed away. The air swirled violently, sucking in papers into a small tornado, and space itself seemed to rend with bolts of blue lightning.
Levy slowly stood up in awe. "Is that … wait, do you mean it worked?"
Lucy bolted up and shouted, "Levy, what the hell did you do?"
"That's not me." The blue-haired technician looked on in awe. "It's Wendy. It works!"
There was a blinding flash, and then all calmed down. Right where space had ripped, there were two people, one lying on the ground, the other clutching him protectively.
"Wendy!" shouted Lucy.
Gray Surge rushed forward. "Natsu!"
Wendy raised her head and looked around. She looked relieved but also disappointed. "Damn. I was hoping it would take us to Earthland."
"Huuuuuh?" Lucy shouted, putting her hands on her hips. "Was your plan to ditch us completely and elope with him?"
Wendy ignored her and looked down to Natsu. "How are you feeling?"
"Not so bad." He took her hand and helped himself up to his feet, although he leaned heavily on her. Then Natsu also looked around. "Well, at least you're back home. That's good."
Wendy did her best to support his weight. "Yeah, but you're still—"
Lucy Ashley was sick of being ignored. She marched up to them both and punched Natsu across the face, not hard, but it still sent him stumbling backward.
"Lucy!" Wendy screamed in horror.
"How dare you," she growled. "How dare you run off. How dare you put Wendy's life in danger. How dare you just waltz back in here like nothing happened." She yanked him into a headlock.
"No!" Wendy yelled, trying to grab her arms, but Lucy Ashley was solid muscle.
She kept the headlock on Natsu. "Do you even understand what you've cost this guild? Cana was shot because of you, and you left like it didn't even matter."
"Left … to protect … you," he gagged out.
Lucy tightened her hold until his face went purple. "You don't get to decide how to protect this guild. That's my job."
"Lucy, stop," Wendy begged. "Levy, help me. She's going to kill him."
"This much won't kill him. If I wanted that, I'd torture the bastard first. But why aren't you fighting back, huh?" She let him go and stepped away. Wendy rushed and caught Natsu before he collapsed. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you yet another multi-dimensional Natsu? Natsu Dragoon, now?" Despite her angry tone, Lucy looked a bit worried at Natsu's blank, tired face. "Why don't you fight, or cringe, or anything?"
With Wendy supporting him, Natsu managed to stand up and looked at her with cold eyes. "Because I hardly know any of you people," he answered in a heavy tone. That gave the whole guild a shock. "You have the same names, generally the same faces, but you're totally different. Everyone here is different. All the bad guys are good, and all the people I loved back home … here, they're destructive, they're cruel, they hurt and kill others and just laugh about it. I hate that sort more than anything." He sneered grimly, thinking about meeting Igneel Dragion and watching this dimension's version of his father kill people and laugh. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to lie down." With unsteady steps, he walked away to the men's dorm, leaving Lucy and the others flabbergasted.
Gray Surge looked at the group in stunned sadness. "He thinks we're the bad guys?"
"Well, we are a dark guild," Juvia said with a shrug.
The overdressed man had hearts in his eyes. "Juvia-sama replied to Gray's comment!"
Romeo also looked heartbroken. "But we've been treating him good."
Droy muttered, "Well, besides Lucy beating him up just now."
"You idiot," Wendy screamed at Lucy. "Natsu … he … he's been sick. Before today, he could barely even sit up in bed."
"Well, it better not be contagious," she said dismissively.
Wendy slapped Lucy across the face with an echoing crack, and the whole guild froze in shock.
Lucy's eyes flashed in rage. "You fucking bitch—"
"He's dying," screamed Wendy. She suddenly collapsed to her knees and covered her face as thick tears tumbled down her cheeks. "He … he's dying. He's run out of magic, and magic is like air to wizards of Earthland. His whole body, it's shutting down. I can't heal him. No one can. He has to leave Edolas or he'll die."
The blonde went pale. Others around the guild gasped, exclaiming disbelief and sadness, but Lucy just stared with wide, cautious eyes.
"It's his magic," Wendy told all of them. "It's been draining out little by little. If he never, ever used his magic at all, then maybe he could have lived here for a few years, like Lisanna did. But he didn't know. None of us knew. A world with no eterano at all, no lacrima, no magic, nothing to feed his spirit…"
"It's true," Mira said, and her huge, blue eyes were sad with old memories. "When Lisanna came back to us, after just a month, she got really sick. Elfman and I caught her stealing some of the guild's lacrima crystals, and we saw her absorb them. That's when we knew for certain, there was no way she could be our Lisanna. A few months later, she got sick again, so we took our ration of lacrima and left it out for her, so she wouldn't have to steal and possibly get kicked out of the guild. Natsu doesn't even have that option, and he's been using magic, whereas Lisanna did no magic at all for two years and still got sick."
Lucy's face went severe. "How long does he have?"
Wendy shook her head. "I have no way to know. This is far beyond me, probably beyond anyone in all of Edolas. I thought that maybe we could stabilize him, so long as he never used magic again in his entire life, but if Mira is right, if even Lisanna had problems without ever using magic at all, then I'm not sure there's really anything we can do for him."
"Who … who knows how to help him?" Lucy screamed. "Who can cure him, or fix him, or just stop him from … from…" Her throat choked up, unable to say it. "Who can the fuck can save him?" She hated the burning sting in her eyes and the tightness in her chest.
Wendy dropped her head and shook it. "King Jellal. He had a pill. Earth-Lucy mentioned it, remember? A pill that allowed an Earthland wizard to use magic, even in Edolas."
Macao shouted out, "We can't go to the king. We'll get arrested."
"He'll die!" shouted Wendy. Then she stood up with a stubborn grimace and pounded her thumb into her chest. "I'll take him. I don't care if they arrest me, so long as he lives, so long as … as he doesn't hurt anymore, and he can go back home one day, back to the friends he grew up with, back to his Fairy Tail." Her throat choked up at the end. "I'll take him to the king," she whispered in determination mixed with deep fear.
Lucy shook her head. "You may never leave that palace. You might end up spending the rest of your life in a jail cell."
Wendy gulped hard but stiffened her shoulders. "I know."
Lucy Ashley gazed at her disconcertingly. This woman, who spun entangling webs to capture her prey, feared being captured more than any of them. For her to risk imprisonment was beyond logical.
"Wendy," she whispered, seeing the intense emotions in her eyes. "What happened to you while you were gone?"
"Heh! Who knows?" Wendy mused. "Maybe the Spider got stuck in a web this time." She shook her head in obstinacy. "I won't let him die. If we can't cure him, if we can't send him home, then I'll deliver him to the king myself. Whether in this dimension or another, we are all Fairy Tail. I will not sit by and watch him suffer. I…" Her chest jolted as tears tumbled over her cheeks. "I will not let him die!" She stormed out of the room to hide away her overflowing emotions.
Lucy watched her go, then rubbed her face. Natsu, dying? Her brain could not wrap around that. It refused to.
Levy looked over at her in worry. "Lucy?"
Her mouth drew into a determined scowl. "We're not going to the king. No one is."
Mira walked forward. "But if Wendy wants to—"
"She'll get herself killed!" Lucy shouted. "That bitch isn't thinking straight."
Mira calmed replied, "King Jellal was a member of Natsu's guild back in Earthland, and he's known for his mercy. He would never hurt one of Natsu's friends."
"They fuckin' shot Cana," Lucy screamed. She stubbornly shook her head. "I swore to the old guild master that I would protect everyone in Fairy Tail. I swore! That includes Wendy."
"That also includes Natsu."
"He's not—" Her scream cut off, and she gagged on the words. "He's … not our Natsu." She dropped her head and sneered, despising this harsh clenching in her chest. "I can't risk the entire guild for him. No one in Fairy Tail should have to die for some lost wizard from another dimension."
"Lucy," Mira whispered in disappointment. "Natsu Dragneel is our friend."
"Didn't you hear him?"
"Obviously, he's trying to distance himself from us, especially if he thinks he's dying."
"No one is dying!" she bellowed. "No one. Not Wendy, not Earth-Natsu, no one. Levy, fix your damn machine already. If he has to go back to Earthland, we'll fuckin' blast him back by force." Then she bolted out of the guild building as if chased by a nightmare.
Outside, Lucy marched to the stables where the tanchimos were kept. The stall where Natsu Dragion's steed Yusō had slept was empty. She realized, when Wendy and Natsu transported back, they must have left the tanchimo behind.
"Already, we've lost one." Her hand clenched the animal pen, and her nails dug into the wood. "Fuck! Dying? No. No." With tears in her eyes, she looked up and prayed. "Why can't I save everyone? I promised you, and yet … I can't … even Natsu. I lost him, and now this guy…"
She dropped to her knees and hugged herself as she burst into wailing sobs. Out here, away from the people who depended on her, Lucy Ashley could release the guilt and fear that had plagued her since they lost Natsu Dragion. Only the tanchimos saw her crying in grief.
Wendy Aranya stepped into the infirmary and saw Cana sipping tea whilst reading a book. She glanced up and gave a prim nod.
"Salutations. Good to see you're back. How's Earth-Natsu?"
"He's here," Wendy said in a hollow tone. "He's resting."
"I heard you screaming that he's dying."
Wendy bit her lip. She really had just screamed at Lucy. "Would it be okay if he stayed in here? It would be easier for me to attend to him in here than in the boys' dorm."
Cana took another sip of tea. "So long as he's quiet. One good thing about getting shot: this gives me an excellent excuse to sit around and read."
Wendy had to chuckle that Cana always found a silver lining. "I'm glad you're doing better. When we left … I had no idea if you were even alive. I've been … really, really worried about you, and I'm so sorry for leaving you like that."
Cana set down her book. "Rarely do you show such emotion, Sky Maiden. What happened to you out there?"
"Too much," she sighed, sinking into a chair next to Cana. "Should I change your bandages?"
"Much oblige."
Cana moved her hair aside to allow Wendy to lower the zipper on her high-neck dress in order to reach the bandage on her back. The bullet from one of Knightwalker's snipers just barely missed her heart, but it had collapsed one of her lungs. Wendy had scarcely finished removing the bullet and bandaging the wound when Natsu had taken off, and she recklessly followed him.
"Was he worth it?"
Wendy leaped at the question. "What?"
"Dragneel. You left us to follow him." She glanced around her shoulder with sympathy in her eyes. "I know how much that must have scared you, of all people." Wendy said nothing, so Cana looked back forward. "He's an interesting man, isn't he? Both Natsus have something in common. Have you guessed what it is?"
Wendy tried to keep her hands from shaking as she applied ointment on the scab. "They're easy to love."
"In different ways," Cana agreed. "Also, both have a personality that doesn't easily fall in love."
Wendy laughed and let out some tension in her shoulders. "That is so true. You know, he kissed me earlier today."
Cana turned almost completely around. "Really? Of his own accord?"
"Yeah, but his heart wasn't into it." Her smile was bittersweet as she confessed that disappointing truth. "He said he thought he could grow to love me, but I know it was only because he feared being alone. That guy is so dense," she said with a tense laugh as she finished with the bandage and zipped Cana's dress back up. "He doesn't realize that this whole guild now thinks of him as a friend."
"Or more than that, for at least three of us," Cana pointed out.
Wendy's eyes narrowed. "Who's the third rival?"
"Oh? Did I hint at something like that?" Cana picked up her teacup and took a sip.
Wendy laughed and shook her head. "You as well, huh?"
Cana sniffed disdainfully. "I said nothing of the sort."
"Well, as you pointed out: he doesn't easily fall in love. I doubt you'll have better luck that I did."
Wendy left the infirmary and went to the men's dorm. There, she saw Natsu lying on one of the beds. He had a scowl on his feverish face. As she walked in, he rolled away from her. She paused, but she kept walking forward, taking a seat on his tiny bed.
"If you don't mind, I can care for you in the infirmary easier. The beds aren't too bad in there."
He said nothing, but his shoulders stiffened.
"Cana is in there, so you'll have someone to talk to. Watch out, though, or she'll start reading some dry novel from two hundred years ago." When he still said nothing, she reached forward and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Natsu—"
"You didn't have to tell them I'm dying," he grumbled.
Wendy flinched and looked away. "You heard that, huh?"
"I told you, a Dragon Slayer's hearing is really good. I also heard everything you said to Cana."
She blushed at that.
"It doesn't matter. If you like me, or Lucy Ashley, or that teetotaler Cana, none of it matters. I'll be dead soon."
"Don't say that!" she cried out.
"Even if you go to King Jellal, what can he do? There's not a drop of eterano left in this world." He sank a little deeper. "I'm just glad I'm with Fairy Tail again. I really, really didn't want to die alone."
"Natsu, stop!"
He suddenly spun around on the bed and grabbed around her. Wendy looked down in shock as Natsu held around her waist and began to cry.
"I never wanna be alone again. Not after Igneel left me. I don't … don't wanna die alone."
"Stop!" she sobbed, grabbing him and consoling him. "You're not going to die. We'll find a way."
"I miss Happy, and Lucy, and Erza, and Lisanna, and Mira, and Levy, and Gajeel, and Juvia, and even that damn stripper Gray. I miss my Wendy. I'll never get to see her grow up."
"Stop, please," Edo-Wendy cried, hugging him as if she could squeeze out the sadness.
Feverish and getting delirious, Natsu wailed out, "I wanna go home!"
Wendy held him, stroking his hair as Natsu finally broke down, and all the anger and sadness that he had hidden behind a goofy smile finally burst out.
"It's okay," she whispered, caressing his head. "We'll find a way to send you back home. One way or another, we'll get you back. Just keep fighting, Natsu. Stay with me, and we'll fight together. All of us. All of Fairy Tail has your back in this. This Fairy Tail, your Fairy Tail: you now have two families, you got it? We're your family, and you're one of ours now. Fairy Tail never abandons their friends, and there's no way in hell we're abandoning you."
A tiny, happy smile struggled out of the sobs, and Natsu managed a jolting chuckle as he sniffled his nose. "Earth-Wendy always made me feel better too, but in a different way. She used magic to heal. With you … everything about you makes me feel better."
Wendy blushed. "Everything, huh?"
"Uh-huh. Your voice, your fingers, your smell. It makes me sleepy." He yawned as he rested heavier against her.
"Here." She settled her back against the bed and patted her lap. "Sleep would do you good."
Natsu smiled in thanks as he placed his head down on her lap. Wendy combed her fingers through the fluffy pink hair. Suddenly, Natsu twitched in pain and coughed.
"Natsu?"
"Nothing … just … feel weird." He coughed more and grabbed his stomach. His body began to curl up in pain, but he kept his head on her lap. "Stay … Stay with me."
"Of course," she whispered, looking close to tears as she watched him suffering.
She tried to soothe Natsu as he began to twitch and moan in a million little pains all across his body, like each cell was squeezing out what little eterano was left in order to keep him alive.
A few minutes later, Lucy Ashley came up to the doorway. She began to knock but froze as she saw Wendy biting back tears while Natsu cringed and held back whimpers of agony. She pulled back, realizing how mean she had been earlier. He was this sick, and she had punched him!
Lucy turned away and walked back to the main hall. She glanced all around. She had sworn to protect the members of Fairy Tail, not just the people who were present when the old guild master died, but ALL of Fairy Tail, including future members.
Including other dimensional members. They were all Fairy Tail.
She walked up to where Levy was hard at work. Although the small bluenette looked ready for a fight, Lucy kept her voice low.
"Get that transporter working."
"It's not the transporter itself. It's our Webnet connection. The transporter's coordinates are based on global scans from the Webnet, and without precise current scans, I'd be landing blind."
"Whatever you need, whatever it'll cost, just get it up. Make sure we can pick a good location for the next jump." She glanced back at the dorm. "Make it close to Royal City."
Levy sneered at the prospect of being anywhere close to that city, but she understood the reasons. "Got it. I'm gonna try something. The power may go out. Warn everyone."
"Yeah," Lucy muttered, and she drifted away.
Levy watched her go. How many perfectly civil conversations had she and Lucy Ashley had, in all the time they knew one another? So when Lucy walked away with the dulled expression in her eyes, Levy knew this was not the time to pick a fight with her rival.
"Jet! Let's pick up the pace."
- 34
- 35
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Wheels of Fire