Chaos & Salamander

Chapter 50 - Secret Informant

Lucy's POV

The hotel bed was so comfortable, I didn't want to leave the comfort of the blankets. Out of nowhere, I heard a growl disturbing my slumber. I ignored the growl and hugged the fluffy thing I was cuddling but then I heard another growl. Now I couldn't ignore it, I sleepily opened my eyes and looked up to see a grumpy Natsu standing by my bed. His eyes were glaring down at the thing I was cuddling. My eyes followed to where he was looking and found Happy sleeping peacefully in my arms. Aw, he's so cute when he is sleeping.

Natsu picked the sleeping Happy up by his head, out of my arms, and started walking towards the balcony. I immediately knew what Natsu was thinking and quickly jumped out of my bed to stop him. Before he could throw Happy all the way into the ocean, I quickly pulled Happy out of his hand and cuddled him to my chest which woke him up. "Don't you dare throw him" I scolded. Happy realised what Natsu was about to do and then turned his head to glare at him while hugging my chest. Natsu growled in disapproval.

Ignoring Natsu's grumpiness, I turned my head to look at the clock and saw it a little past 7:30am. We promised to meet everyone for breakfast at 8 o'clock. Since we only have half an hour to get ready, I put Happy down sitting on my bed before walking over to the bathroom. "Natsu, no throwing Happy out the window. Happy, no scratching Natsu. You two better behave while I'm in the bath" I warned while pointing my finger at each of them. They both glanced at each other before huffing while turning away from each other and crossing their arms.

After I finished my morning routine, the boys and I left our room and headed for the restaurant where we'll meet the others. We easily found everyone sitting at one of the big tables. "Good morning everyone" I greeted them. "Good morning Lucy" the girls replied. "Morning, but I don't think it's good for those two" Gray said, his eyes motioning Natsu and Happy who were still sulking about earlier. "Don't mind them" I replied while taking a seat next to Gray. Natsu immediately took the seat next to me and turned to look out the window while Happy took the seat across from Carla and tried to strike up a conversation with her.

As soon as we ordered, Erza explained the plan for today. The first thing we have to do is search for the Dark Sirens guild's location. "Instead of searching the town for any information about the dark guild's whereabouts. I have gotten in contact with my informant and he has some useful information for us" she said. "He?" I lightly teased and she immediately blushed almost as red as her hair. I was only joking but I'm guessing she really likes this guy.

"Ahem, I have arranged a meeting with him this morning. So I suggest after we finish breakfast, we all head over to meet him" she said. "That sounds like a good idea" Wendy said. "I agree" Carla added. "Where are we going to meet him?" I asked. "In the forest West from here" Erza replied. Natsu turned to pay attention to Erza, suddenly interested in the conversation. In the forest? Why can't we meet him somewhere in town? "Why the forest?" Gray asked with an eyebrow raised.

"My informant can't be seen by the public eye, so we have to meet him in a secluded area" Erza replied. "Can we trust him?" Gray asked and I looked at Natsu's reaction to the conversation. He narrowed his eyes at Gray's question and waited for Erza's answer. "Yes, I've known him for years" she replied and the conversation ended since the waiter brought our food over. Guess we'll find out who Erza's secret informant is soon.

After we finished breakfast, we followed Erza to meet with her secret informant. When Erza stopped, the rest of us looked around at the empty clearing. "Where is your informant, Erza?" I asked because it seemed like we were alone. "I'm right here" I heard a male voice ahead of us and then a man with deep sapphire blue hair stepped out from behind a tree. One noticeable feature was the red tattoo running above and below his right eye. Because of Erza's earlier reaction, I totally ship him with her.

Natsu growled as soon as he saw him and then immediately stood in front of me protectively while glaring at Erza's informant. Happy flew over to me and sat on my shoulder, also with a glare. I looked over and saw Gray giving the same expression towards him while Wendy looked surprised. Does everyone know this guy? "Jellal" Gray growled through gritted teeth. 'So that's his name...Jerza is a good ship name' I thought.

"Long time no see, Gray, Chaos. Good to see you again Erza" Jellal greeted. "Mystogan?" Wendy muttered and Jellal looked over at her with kind eyes. "Sorry, I'm not Mystogan but I can understand why you might mistake me for him" he replied. Seems like everyone knows him except for me. "How do you all know him?" I asked and then Gray spoke up.

"A couple of years ago, Erza was captured by her childhood friends and taken to the Tower of Heaven" he started explaining. I remember reading a bit about it in the news. "Since I was there at the time Erza was captured, I chased after them to rescue her. Somehow Chaos and Happy showed up" he continued and I looked at Happy for an answer. "We happen to get a job from the Council to destroy the tower" he answered. I nodded and then continued listening to Gray's story. "As far as I knew, we thought Jellal died when we destroyed the Tower of Heaven" he finished. Jellal's was sad as he patiently listened to Gray explain.

"I know what I did was unforgivable, but I've changed. Back then I was being controlled but I know is no excuse for all the pain I've caused Erza" he said, guilt dripping from his voice. "Stop it Jellal. I already told you I've forgiven you. Also, you're repenting for your sins through Crime Sorcière so you don't have to be so hard on yourself" Erza said. A soft smile crossed Jellal's face. "Speaking of which, how are Melody and Ultear?" Erza added. "They are doing quite well" Jellal replied.

I put my hand on Natsu's tense shoulder, which I felt relax under my touch. "It's ok Natsu. I don't think he's going to hurt us" I said and then walked around to his side. He changed his stance to standing but kept his body tense. Gray still looked ready to fight though. "Stand down Gray. He's not here to fight us, just to give us information" Erza said. "That is correct" Jellal confirmed. "How can we trust the information you give us?" Gray asked and then Erza stepped in front of him. "Then trust me" she said, sternly. Conflict flashed through Gray's eyes like he was fighting internally with himself. After a moment, he changed his stance into standing, like Natsu, and crossed his arms. He may not like Jellal but he has a lot of trust in his friends.

Erza turned around to face Jellal. "Alright let us continue. What information do you have on the Dark Sirens guild?" Erza asked.