章 10: Chapter 10: Erza's Shock, Link's Disappointment
Chapter Nine
Link's ears twitched a couple of times as he shifted slightly in his sleep.
A second later his eyes cracked open slightly before he closed them again and groaned as the light seemed to pierce straight through his skull and explode. A sudden movement at his side had him quickly jumping up and off the bed before he overbalanced and crashed into a curtain, making him trip to the ground.
In desperation Link grabbed onto the curtain but the rings snapped under his weight, and each ring snapping sounded like a miniature explosion.
Link grabbed his ears as he curled up on the ground to try and block out the sound.
"Link?" He heard a familiar voice asked and his face tightened, the question sounding more like a loud yell than the normal volume it was.
A few seconds later he heard some drawers being opened carefully and though he tried he could not bring himself to open his eyes to try and see what was going on. What happened? Link wondered as he tried to focus past the headache, but all that accomplished was making the headache even worse.
Link started when he felt a cup placed at his lips and started moving back from the smell before pausing when a hand touched his back. "It's okay Link, it's something for the hangover." He heard someone whisper and he cracked one eye slightly to see a blurry image of a face with red around it.
Erza? Link wondered weakly before sipping at the concoction in the drink and nearly spit out the terrible tasting liquid but fought against the reflex and swallowed. Almost immediately he felt the headache ease slightly and steeled himself before drinking more.
Once he was finished with the entire cup Link put one hand on the ground and slowly went up to all fours, his headache now almost completely gone.
"Are you feeling better?" Erza asked and Link rubbed his eyes with his right hand as he stood up before weakly opening them and looked around. After a few seconds he was able to focus on her and nodded his head before his look became questioning.
Erza's expression became a little severe and Link blinked. "In order to celebrate you coming back, one of the newer waitresses mixed some alcohol in your milk." She said and Link's eyes went wide before his expression became panicked. "You punched Natsu through the roof after he woke you up then fought with Laxus, who was able to knock you out after a fight that almost tore apart the Guild." Erza said and Link groaned as he sat down on a bed.
"I think the wounds you inflicted on Laxus will help curb his ego however, and no one was seriously hurt." Erza said and Link offered a small grin at that before he stood up and went to go grab his hat. Once he put his hat on his head, Link looked at Erza and she nodded her head before going to the door and placing er hand against it as she closed her eyes.
After several seconds she released the seal on the door and they walked out. "Shall we see if there are any good jobs on the second floor?" Erza asked and after a few seconds Link nodded his head.
"ERZA!" Makarov yelled as they came walking out and Link winced as his ears twitched, Makarov's yell aggravating what remained of his headache. "I need you to go help Gray get Natsu!" Makarov continued and Erza looked at him in surprise as Link tilted his head curiously. "Natsu, Lucy, and Happy stole an S-Class mission!" He yelled and Erza's eyes narrowed dangerously as Link put his right hand over his eyes. "Gray went after them but..." Makarov trailed off and Link nodded his head as the image of Gray and Natsu continuously knocking the other out at the same time came to him.
"Which job?" Erza asked as Mirajane walked up.
"Happy grabbed the job for Galuna Island." Mirajane said and Erza nodded her head before walking to the door.
"I'll bring them back quickly, Master." Erza said before looking over as Link walked beside her.
"... I almost feel bad for those three." Macao commented as Link and Erza walked out. "But that's what they get for breaking the rules I guess." He said before taking a drink of his beer.
"Can you run?" Erza asked as Link closed the door and he glanced at her.
"Can you keep up?" Link asked with a small grin before he disappeared in a green flash and Erza immediately took off in a blur of movement.
One Day Later (Coast Town Harujion)
Link and Erza looked down at the town before Link looked over at Erza, who's eyes were still narrowed in anger. "We need to secure passage to Galuna Island." Erza said and Link put a hand on her shoulder, making her look at him, then pointed up at the full moon high in the sky. "There's bound to be someone still sailing at this hour." She said and Link opened his mouth before pausing at the look in her eyes then offered a sigh and nodded his head.
Natsu, Happy... and Lucy... pray you're lucky enough to be punished by Master Makarov. Link thought before following Erza into the town.
"Are you crazy!" A large, rotund man wearing a red, unbuttoned jacket, dark slacks, and a pirate hat jeered in amusement as he and his crew looked at Erza and Link. "There's no way me or me crew are going anywhere near that cursed island!" He declared before turning around with a laugh.
Link's ears drooped slightly at the man's dismissal; for the second the pirate turned around and laughed with his crew, Erza walked forward. "We need him in one piece." Link reminded her quietly and she nodded her head once.
"You wanna try somethin' girl?" The pirate asked and his crew took on menacing postures as Erza walked up to him. "You should know we don't go easy on no one." He said before his crew charged forward.
Link closed his eyes as he enjoyed the feel of the wind on his face as the sound of waves lapping against the hull of the pirate ship filled his ears, a small smile on his face.
"W...why exactly do you want to go to that cursed island?" The cowed pirate captain asked and Link opened his eyes to look down from the top of the mast at the deck, where Erza stood staring out toward the still distant island, the rest of the pirate's crew lay passed out on the deck.
"All you need to do is steer." Erza told him and he winced before steeling himself as his crew finally started stirring.
"G...give us a break... ma'am." He said imploringly and she looked at him with steely eyes. "They say humans turn into demons on that island so-"
"I don't care." Erza said sharply and he winced again while Link jumped down from the top of the mast to land lightly beside her, his impassive gaze on the crew members as they began to stand up. "We're going to punish some unruly children, that's all there is to it."
"So cool!" All the crew members yelled out and the captain sweat dropped as Erza and Link continued to look at them impassively.
"You're so amazing!" The largest crew member gushed.
"We'll follow you anywhere, Ane-san, Anigo-san!" Another one yelled out.
"Hurry it up." Erza said simply and they all saluted.
"Aye aye, sir!" They yelled and the captain gave a helpless shake of his head before looking forward again.
"Link," Erza said and Link glanced at her. "Do you think Gray decided to join them on the S-Class quest instead of bringing them back?" She asked and Link hesitated for a few seconds before nodding his head once and her eyes steeled even more.
The sun was just starting to come over the horizon when the pirate crew dropped anchor when a large explosion was heard from further in the island.
Just as they both started to jump from the ship to the beach, Link suddenly paused at the railing of the ship as his ears twitched and he looked in another direction.
"Link?" Erza called out and Link looked down at her before jumping from the ship to land lightly beside her.
"Lucy." Link said in explanation and she nodded her head.
"You go after Lucy, I'll head toward the explosion." Erza said and Link nodded before taking off at a full sprint. "You all keep the ship here until we return!" Erza said to the pirates before taking off toward the direction of the explosion.
"Aye aye, Ane-san!" They all, including the captain, yelled as they snapped a salute.
At another beach, Lucy and a young woman with purple hair were busy slapping at each other as they stumbled around in a daze.
"I can't believe you'd be satisfied with a draw!" The young woman, Sherry, yelled and Lucy's eyes narrowed.
"Draw?" Lucy asked as she forced herself to focus before planting one foot solidly on the sand. "This fight is mine!" She declared before launching forward to clothes line Sherry.
Sherry spun in the air before slamming heavily on the sand. "Angelica... avenge... me..." She said weakly before passing out and Lucy's eyes went wide before exhaustion sent her to her knees.
"W-what?" Lucy said in surprise before Angelica, a blue rat close to forty feet in height, launched out from nowhere towards Lucy.
"Hi... HIEEEEKK!" Lucy screamed in terror as she was about to be crushed.
"HYAA!" Link yelled out as he launched from the top of a cliff at top speed to send Angelica flying with a single punch to its face, his Silver Gauntlets gleaming in the morning sunlight.
"CHUU!" Angelica screamed as she flew the air before landed in the ocean with a large splash while Link landed lightly on the beach ten feet away from Lucy.
Lucy's eyes brightened as she smiled happily. "Link-sa-!" She started to say before freezing as Link looked back at her impassively. Th...that's right... Lucy thought as she gulped nervously. We stole an S-Class job. She remembered as Link walked up to her, Ex-Equipping his Silver Gauntlets.
"Lucy?" Happy called out as he came up to her before freezing when he saw Link.
"Link, I was forced to come!" Happy cried out as he flew in at Link to latch on to his arm and look up at him with tear-filled eyes while Lucy looked at Happy in shock.
That little traitor! Lucy thought as Link looked down at Happy before putting one gloved hand on his head then looked at Lucy before offering her his hand. Lucy looked up at Link before taking his hand and slowly standing up.
"Link, since you're here does that mean Erza isn't-" Happy started to say hopefully but Link shook his head and pointed off in the direction he remembered the explosion being in.
"AHHH!" Happy yelled before starting to fly off.
Link extended his right hand towards Happy, who suddenly found himself encased in a small blue crystal, unable to move anywhere. Happy looked back with tears once more in his eyes only to see Link looking back with an uncompromising expression.
"But Link... Erza's really mad I bet." Happy said as the crystal came down to float over Link's outstretched hand and Link nodded his head once before his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Follow me." Link said as he glanced at Lucy and she immediately nodded her head before following after him. "While we walk, explain." He added and Lucy gulped nervously as Happy put his arms around his legs, not even bothering to try to escape from Nayru's Embrace.
By the time they reached the destroyed remains of the village, Link found that despite the fact they broke an important rule of Fairy Tail, he could no longer be fully upset at any of them. The reason at first was purely selfish but... Link thought before giving a small sigh and releasing Happy, catching him by surprise as he fell into Link's hand.
"Go get everyone and bring them back." Link said and Happy looked at him with wide eyes before gulping.
"But what if-" Happy started to say before cutting himself off as Link looked down at him. "Aye, sir!" Happy yelled as he took off at high speed.
"Link-san?" Lucy said a little nervously after Happy flew off and Link glanced at her before walking towards the edge of the ruined village and went to one knee to feel the scarred earth.
After a few seconds Link stood up and reached into his pouch to pull out the Ocarina of Time. "What are you going to do?" Lucy asked but Link didn't answer as he brought the Ocarina to his lips and closed his eyes before he played a slow, haunting song.
Lucy's confusion didn't lessen until she remembered what Happy and Erza had said about Link's magic.
But what does Link-san plan on doing? Lucy wondered as Link kept playing the song before she looked at the ground when she saw something. A second later her eyes went wide as the ground began to return to its original color before the large village gate started to reform. Im... impossible! Lucy thought in shock as she stared with wide eyes.
Several minutes later Link stopped playing and slowly took his Ocarina from his mouth before opening his eyes to look at the completed gate. "A... amazing..." Lucy said as she looked up at the completed gate while Link put away the Ocarina then walked up to the gate.
"W... w... what did you do?" A voice from behind had Lucy turn around in surprise to see the villagers standing there before paling to see Erza standing there as well, already looking at her with narrowed eyes.
Before Lucy could say anything Erza looked back at everyone. "Link has restored your homes." Erza said before she walked forward and everyone looked at her in surprise. "Bring Gray." She said and Link's eyes went wide as his ears rose slightly when he saw Gray carried forward on a stretcher.
Link immediately disappeared in a green flash before reappearing at the top of the gate, perfectly balanced on the tip of one of the cut logs, then looked around before disappearing from view. A few seconds later the gate opened up to allow everyone in and tears came to some of their eyes to see that everyone had been restored back to its original state.
"Bobo's grave..." Chief Moka said when he saw the grave stone and wiped his eyes with his human arm, his sideburns dangling with the movement.
"We'll take Gray to a tent and finish tending his wounds." A young woman with short blue hair said before motioning to the four men carrying the stretcher to follow her.
Lucy started after him, concern in her eyes, before freezing when a gauntlet encased hand latched on to her shoulder.
"Where's Natsu?" Erza asked and Lucy shivered in fear before she started getting dragged away. "Link, make sure Gray doesn't escape." She said and Link hesitated in confusion as he watched Erza take Lucy before shaking his head a couple of times.
She'll calm down by the time it takes Gray to wake up. Link thought as he walked after the ones carrying Gray.
It was almost evening by the time before Gray's eyes opened weakly. After a couple of seconds he suddenly sat up quickly, his eyes alert, before wincing as he put his hand to his stomach. Damn that Natsu... Gray thought, recalling how Natsu had punched him in the stomach to keep him from fighting.
A second later his eyes went wide when he noticed Link sitting three feet to his right, his legs crossed and his eyes closed. "Link?" Gray said in surprise and Link's ears twitched a couple of times before his eyes opened to look at Gray impassively. "What are you doing here?" Gray asked but Link just stood up before walking up to Gray then offering him his hand.
"Of course..." Gray said with a small sigh as he took Link's hand before standing up. "Link, I have no intention of going back now." Gray said with steely eyes as he looked into Link's impassive gaze when Link suddenly gave a small grin and nodded his head.
"Lucy explained what happened." Link said before walking to the door flap, motioning Gray to follow him.
Gray followed silently for several seconds before giving a sigh. "At least it wasn't Erza that came to get us." He remarked and Link glanced back before opening a door flap to reveal Erza sitting down with her legs crossed. Gray's eyes shot open when he saw Erza and Link motioned for him to walk in.
Gray steeled himself before walking in to face Erza and Link walked in behind him before going to the side.
"Gray, weren't you supposed to bring everyone back?" Erza asked and Gray nodded his head.
"Do you know where Natsu is?" Gray asked and Erza shook her head.
"Link, Gray, we're going to find Natsu." Erza said as she walked forward. "Afterwards, we're going back." She said and Gray looked at Erza in surprise as Link's eyes widened slightly.
"Erza, don't you know what's going on!" Gray asked and Erza paused to look at him, her face away from Link.
"What of it?" She asked and Link's eyes shot open in surprise. "Link and I came to bring rule breakers back to the Guild, that's all there is to say." Erza said and Link's expression fell slightly, his ears drooping as he looked to the side.
"But surely you saw what the people of this island look like!" Gray said and Erza nodded her head. "And you're okay with just leaving them like this!" He demanded and Erza shifted her body to face him directly.
"The job was posted at every Guild." Erza said as she looked him in the eyes. "Wouldn't it be better to let someone who can actually handle the job take care of it?" She asked before pausing a little uncertainly.
"Don't you have any honor!" Gray demanded and Erza's eyes hardened again as Lucy and Happy looked at him in shock.
"What was that?" Erza demanded coldly before holding her hand up. "Do you intend to break the rules as well?" She asked before she Equipped a blade to her hand and placed it before Gray's neck.
Gray's eyes went wide in shock before his eyes hardened.
A second later the sound of metal hitting metal rang throughout the small hut and everyone, mainly Erza, looked at Link in surprise as the Gilded Sword held Erza's sword against the ground before his right foot lashed out to kick the sword from Erza's hand, his ears drooping limply.
For several long seconds no sound was made before Link Equipped his Hylian Shield and sheathed the Gilded Sword in one smooth action.
"Link?" Erza said in surprise but he was already walking to the hut exit before pausing.
"Gray." Link said and after a second Gray nodded his head before walking out in front of Link.
"Follow me to the ruins." Gray said and Link nodded his head, his ears still down low, before glancing back at Erza once then walked out after Gray without another word.
Erza's eyes were now wide, the look of disappointment in Link's eyes filling her with shock. Link? She wondered as she crouched down to retrieve her sword before freezing as realization filled her.
"Heh heh heh..." Natsu said with an evil smile as he stared at a large stone pillar. "This should be fun." He said before fire surrounded both his fists.
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.
Till next time.
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