Gorwing Pains -Chapter 11

When Natsu opened his eyes, he found the sky above him. A particularly fluffy cloud in the shape of a cinnamon bun floated by ostentatiously as he blinked up at the wide-open blue, confused.

When the hell did I lie down? He wondered.

Lucy's face came to hover above him. It was pinched with worry and she was shouting something. Her words were drowned out by the humming buzz in his ears, but he could see her lips moving. Like a volume turn-dial, the sound slowly came back to him. First the wind whistling through the trees, then the stomp of feet on grass, and then Lucy's voice.

He blinked again and the world came into sharp focus.

"Natsu!" She was yelling quite loudly, actually, and shaking his shoulders at the same time.

"Lucy," He croaked, hoping she'd stop manhandling him. It did the trick. She froze in shock and bent in close with doe-eyes. Her face was flushed with concern, lips pursed, and red. The sun haloed her golden hair in a way that made her glow.

She's beautiful, He thought dazedly. He watched her bite her lower lip, entrancing him. He suddenly sympathized with every villain they had ever lured with Lucy's looks. It was plain cruel to dangle something so perfect in front of a person like that.

What the hell's wrong with me? Why am I thinking about Lucy like this? Natsu wondered vaguely. Lucy's shirt sleeve had slipped off her shoulder revealing the soft line of her collar bone. Natsu blushed as he found his eyes drawn to her cleavage. Her breasts were mere inches from his face. How come he'd never noticed those before either?

He was snapped back to the present as Happy's whiskered face swooped in to block his view. The little cat came nose to nose with him and clapped a paw to the side of his face. "Natsu wake up!"

"Agh- I'm awake!" Natsu groaned angrily, waving Happy away like a mosquito.

"Are you alright?" Lucy's hands fretted about him as he eased into a sitting position. Wendy was also kneeling by his side, her hands glowing green with healing magic.

"Yeah, I'm good, but what the hell happened?" He rubbed at the sore spot on the side of his head. He must have whacked it off something because a fleshy egg was already rising up to meet his fingers.

"You just went white as a sheet and collapsed!" Happy waved his paws about dramatically as he described the plight.

Erza crouched down to join them, rubbing her chin as she examined him closely. "What do you think Wendy? Heatstroke or maybe dehydration?"

"It's hard to say, but I think my magic helped," Wendy said with a sigh, letting her hands drop away.

"It certainly did but he's still rather pale. Do you think we should have Makarov summon Porlyusica to take a look?"

"I'm okay now. I feel fine!" Natsu waved Erza off and pulled himself up to show them. His heartbeat and breathing were both back to normal, to his relief. "I guess I just needed a quick power nap!"

Lucy frowned at him and crossed her arms. "Fainting does not qualify as a power nap, Natsu. There's got to be a reason you passed out. We shouldn't just ignore what happened,"

Natsu shrugged and brushed some dirt off his sleeve. "I dunno. Seems alight to me,"

Lucy scowled and shook her head. Her lips were in that cute little pucker that only came when she didn't get her way. Her tank strap was still hanging off her arm so Natsu reached forward and set it back in place. Lucy's demeanor instantly melted. She blushed and rubbed her arm where Natsu's fingers had brushed.

"Nothing to worry about Luce! The only problem here is that I got last place!" Natsu turned to point at Mira. "As soon as I figure out how to turn, you're going down!"

"Whatever you say," Mira said sweetly.

Despite Natsu's repeated protests, Makarov indeed summoned Porlyusica. The old healer had grudgingly accepted the call and now stood next to the exam table where Natsu was perched, her stethoscope pressed to his chest.

"Take a breath," She ordered sternly.

Natsu frowned and inflated his lungs to near bursting before letting the air out through his nose for probably the twentieth time since the assessment began.

She moved her stethoscope minutely to the right, "And here,"

"But Granny, you already listened there-"

"I said inhale!"

Happy stifled a laugh while Lucy let her shaking head fall into her palm. Natsu was not a very cooperative patient. Lucy suspected Porlyusica had had an easier time with the Dragon slayer when he'd been unconscious in her cabin. In any case, it seemed Porlyusica was nearly finished. She took out her earbuds and gave Natsu a piercing stare.

"You've got a small heart murmur," She said as she tucked the listening device into her bag.

"Hmm," Natsu nodded and pursed his lips, "No clue what you're saying,"

Lucy perked up and worried her lip, waiting for Porlyusica's explanation. Makarov was also in the room. He had his arms folded behind his back and stood aside the window, watching on silently.

"It's essentially turbulent blood flow through your heart valves. Murmurs are usually harmless but I'm unable to say if yours has anything to do with your fainting spell. There's nothing to be done for it in the immediate present but it is something to keep an eye on,"

"Oh. Okay...so am I healthy?" Natsu asked. Porlyusica gave him a brief nod.

"Hell yeah! Fit as a fiddle!" Natsu leaped from the exam table and punched the air triumphantly. "Now I'm starving. Let's go get some food! What do you say, Happy?"

"Aye sir!" The little cat chimed.

"Natsu!" Porlyusica barked after the fire mage as he barreled towards the infirmary exit. "Don't go overexerting yourself again! I don't want to hear about another spell like this one, you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am," Natsu said with a salute before dragging Happy off. He popped his head back through the door as an apparent afterthought, "You coming Luce?"

"Yeah, right behind you," She said, slowly following after them.

"You still owe me dinner for losing the race!" Lucy heard Happy announce, to which Natsu responded, "I don't remember agreeing to that!"

Their squabble faded as they disappeared down the corridor.

Lucy paused as she exited the infirmary, frowning. She knew it wasn't polite to eves drop, but there had been something in Porlyusica's tone that had her worried. Maybe Natsu didn't care about the details of his health, but Lucy certainly did. Instead of following Happy and Natsu down to the guildhall, she pressed herself flat against the wall next to the open door. She stood there discretely, breaths quiet and shallow. She could hear the low camber of Makarov's voice as he spoke.

"So a heart murmur, huh?" He said gruffly, "Is this something I should be worried about?"

Porlyusica gave a sniff. "It's certainly not something to ignore. The fact that it's new is troubling to me. I listened to that boy's heart less than two weeks ago and I'm certain it wasn't there before,"

Lucy could hear the shuffle of things as Porlyusica gathered up her belongings.

"So what does it mean? Do you think it could have something to do with his wings?"

"That's exactly what I'm concerned about," Porlyusica said. "There's no way to tell at the present, but it's possible the potion that transformed him had an unknown effect on his heart. Either that or the wings themselves are putting strain on his system. I'm more suspicious of the latter,"

"Should I keep him guild bound for a time?" Makarov asked.

Lucy grimaced as she awaited the healer's response.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary. I can't definitely associate his fainting with the murmur, so its significance is not yet clear. Besides, you can't contain that child forever. I had a hell of a time keeping him still for less than a week. I'll simply plan to check in on him again before the month's over. However, if he has any more fainting spells, we may need to reconsider,"

Makarov sighed loudly, "Something else to keep me up at night. Running a guild is harder than one would assume, and not for the expected reasons. You get attached after watching these youngsters grow up. I worry about these kids as if each one were my own,"

"You always have had a softness for them,"

"And that's putting it lightly," Makarov said heavily. "Now while I've got you here, there was something else I wanted to make you aware of. Did you hear about the breakout in Magnolia Prison?"

"In passing, yes, but I hadn't learned the details,"

"I'm not surprised. The city is trying to keep the specifics hushed up. It was the worst infiltration Magnolia Prison has seen since its opening. I don't think anyone expected it possible,"

Porlyusica grunted disapprovingly, "I suppose they're trying to keep their reputation with the townsfolk? Bureaucrats and their agenda. So what is it they're not telling us?"

"The gory details, mainly. According to my inside connection, four guards were killed and fourteen more injured. The security force field was completely obliterated by the intruders. They've had to call in reinforcements until it can be rebuilt. The spell casters are still baffled that someone managed to shatter it. As far as they can tell there were only three criminals responsible for the entry,"

"Members of a dark guild, I imagine?"

"Indeed," Makarov said, leaving a pregnant pause in its wake.

"And what came of it? What were they after?"

Lucy held her breath as she waited for Makarov to continue. She had read a small blurb in the paper regarding the Prison Breakout two days prior, but the article had indeed downplayed it. The author had made it sound as if the incident had been no big deal and everything was back under control. There had been no mention of any casualties.

"They were after one of the prisoners, and unfortunately, they were successful," Makarov said darkly. "The person who they helped escape was Monson. The scientist who turned Natsu,"

Lucy's breath hitched in her throat.

"You're not serious? Surely they're working to recapture him," Porlyusica sounded alarmed at the news.

"Of course they are, but it isn't so simple. The perpetrators who broke him out vanished like mist and they've studied the video lacrima footage to no avail. The suspects were masked and not wearing a distinguishable guild emblem, so they've got no leads. The matter has in fact been brought to the attention of The Magic Counsel. You see, Monson had just been deemed guilty of first-degree murder and charged with a life sentence. Remains of his victims were found beneath his residence just a few days before the happening. They found at least four bodies,"

"Absolutely despicable," Porlyusica spat, "And even more chilling to know a group would go to such lengths to break out that murderous scientist. What could they want with him? It's hard not to imagine it having something to do with the serum he gave Natsu,"

"It can't be ruled out. In any case, I'm not to be speaking of this to the public. It's a high-security matter that I shouldn't even be privy to,"

"I'll keep my eyes and ears open for any information on the matter but will not mention it to a sole,"

"Thank you, Porlyusica. And thank you for coming by on such short notice. I can't imagine entrusting my children's live's in any other hands but yours-"

Lucy had to scurry away as she realized their footsteps were approaching. She made it around the end of the hall and out of sight just as the pair emerged from the infirmary, talking of much smaller things and saying their goodbyes.

She took a steadying breath and made her way down to the mess hall, trying to tamp the swirl of unease in her gut.

"Lucy!" Natsu bolted up from the booth as he spotted her descending the steps. She felt shell shocked from what she'd just learned but was grounded as Natsu took her hands in his. He was wingless as he gave her a squeeze but his taller stature and hyper-defined muscles revealed the serum-induced changes he'd undergone. Natsu was lucky to be alive, unlike the four victims Monson had brutally slaughtered with his heedless experimentation. The thought made Lucy nauseous.

"Lucy, big news! We're going on a mission! Isn't that awesome?!" Natsu could hardly contain himself, but his excitement faltered at her lackluster reaction. He frowned. "What's the matter? I thought you'd be excited to get on the road again,"

She forced her mouth into a smile. "I am Natsu, it's just...there's something I need to tell you first,"

"So after all the work we did to catch that loser, he's been set free again?" Grey said.

Lucy nodded and slid her elbows onto her kitchen table with a moan. The cup of tea before her was already losing steam. She'd invited the entirety of 'Team Natsu' to her apartment in order to break the news in private. Erza, Gray, Wendy, Carla and Lucy were all huddled at her table, while Natsu, and Happy were perched on the couch. All their tea sat similarly untouched, everyone evidently too busy drinking the enormous information Lucy had just delivered.

"And what's worse is that the town wants to keep the whole prison break from the public, so no one except the few of us realizes this man is back on the loose," Lucy said.

"And teamed up with a dark guild by the sounds of it," Erza added gravely. "If he was able to produce such a serum on his own, I can only imagine what he will do with the backing of an organization. He'll undoubtedly become even more dangerous than he already is,"

"He's a murderer and it's unacceptable to let him walk free," Carla said firmly from Wendy's lap.

The sky Dragon slayer was staring dejectedly at her tea. She nodded in agreement. "I feel so sad for the people he killed. And their families...and he nearly killed Natsu, too. We can't let him do that to anyone else,"

"So what does this mean for our upcoming mission? Do we call it off and go hunt this madman?" Gray asked in a low tone.

Lucy pursed her lips and straightened her spine. "I think we should leave it up to Natsu. He's the one most affected by all of this,"

Each one of them turned to Natsu. His brow was furrowed and his arms were folded across his chest. He had his wings out in their full glory. He dwarfed the little blue cat aside him hugely. He looked too mythical and completely out of place sitting on the plush pink couch. Lucy marveled at his impressive form unconsciously.

"You already had Gramps approve the mission before this, didn't you Erza?" He said.

She nodded curtly.

"Then that means the requesting town is expecting us. We can't back out now after giving our word, but Wendy and Carla are right. We also can't let that madman walk free after everything he's done. I say we get out on the road as planned and keep our eyes and ears open for any leads on this creepy scientist. We'll just have to multitask. Besides, going on a mission is a good excuse to leave Magnolia, especially if this hunt needs to be a secret,"

"It's a good point," Gray admitted with a shrug.

"Well said, Natsu," Erza held her cup of tea aloft. "It's settled then,"

TBC