Part 1: Shadows of Magic (Rogue Cheney Love Story)

Chapter 51

Third Person's P. O. V:

Natsu runs through the woods, carrying Wendy, Charlele and Happy in his arms. He asks the blue furred cat, when he started to wake up, "You okay, little buddy?"

"... Natsu... where are we...?" He murmurs questioningly.

"No talking. You gotta try to rest up, alright."

"But, Jellal is out there, somewhere..."

"Yeah, I know," Natsu growls softly back as he glares ahead, "but don't you worry. I'm going to make sure he doesn't stick around long."

"Natsu!"

"Ah! What the heck?!" The Dragneel screeches to a halt when he hears a male voice in his head and whirls around.

"What's wrong?" Happy asks. "Why'd you stop?"

"Can you hear me?" The same voice came to Natsu again.

He gazes up at a tree in front of him, looking utterly puzzled. "This tree is talking to me," He murmurs.

"Can you hear me, Natsu?"

"Yes, Great Tree," Natsu replies, sounding so serious. A red anime question mark appears above both Happy's head as he stares at the pinkette in confusion.

"Great... what? This is Hibiki, from Blue Pegasus," Says Hibiki's voice. "Anyway, I'm glad I could reach you—no one else has responded so far."

"You're a ventriloquist...?" Natsu questions curiously.

"Will you knock it off, and keep your voice down," Hibiki says in an irritated tone. "The enemy has scouts throughout the WoodSea. There's no telling who might be listening in on us. That's why I'm speaking directly into your head. Pretty neat, huh?"

Natsu moans softly.

"What's your status? Have you found Wendy and the cat?"

"They're all right here," Natsu replies, glancing at Wendy. "Wendy's unconscious. But, Happy's already woken up." Natsu flicks his gaze to Happy.

"That's wonderful," Hibiki sounds relieved. "Now, hang tight. I'm gonna upload a map into yours and Momo's minds. It'll lead you straight to the temporary camp we'd set up. I was going to send it to the other cat, too, but I can't seem to make a connection. He must be running low on magic power."

"Hold on," Says Natsu in an uncertain tone. "What is this upload stuff? Stay out of my head!" He looks up when a blue bar appears above his head, and gasps with wonder, his eyes dilating, once the bar turns yellow. "Ooh?!"

Happy says as Natsu resumes running, "Natsu, I think it's time you saw professional help."

Natsu responds, "Not now. I have to follow this map inside my brains! Wow, I can even see exactly where Erza is. This upload stuff is cool. Thanks, Great Tree—I mean, Hibiki!"

Happy says, "Oh, man. He's even more far gone than I thought..."

                      💥💥💥

"I'm impressed, Fairy Tail, nobody's ever stopped me twice," Racer tells Gray and Hope. "To save face, I'll give yours a thrashing."

"Oh? Is that so?" Gray questions.

"Once I leave you in the dust," Racer appears right behind Gray, "I can catch up with that fire breathing brat in a blink of an eye."

Hope and Gray whip their heads around to see the Speed Magic user standing with his arms crossed.

"But first," Racer says, appearing on Hope's left, making them jerk their heads around again, before he disappears, "I gotta run you over." Racer appears right behind them, making Gray and Hope gasp. "I have a feeling it won't take me very long!" He skids forward.