Chapter 59: The Cat and the Canary
The corridor twisted deeper into the tower's bowels, the obsidian walls giving way to something stranger. Painted paw prints lined the floor. Whisker patterns decorated the doors. The distant sound of giggling echoed off the stone, high and unhinged.
'Millianna's room,' Natsu thought, his nose twitching at the overwhelming scent of catnip and something else he couldn't quite place. 'This is going to be weird.'
Gray walked beside him, still shirtless, still radiating that competitive energy that had been burning in his eyes since the canoe. Lucy followed close behind, her new combat gear allowing her to move silently. Juvia brought up the rear, her water form rippling with nervous anticipation.
Erza had gone ahead with Simon and Sho to confront Jellal directly. The plan was simple: split up, create chaos, rescue Happy, and regroup at the top. Simple plans were Natsu's favorite kind.
"There," Lucy whispered, pointing at a large door covered in stuffed animal decorations and scratching posts. "That has to be it."
Natsu didn't wait. He strode forward and shoved the door open.
The room beyond was a nightmare of cat-themed excess. Giant scratching posts towered in corners. Balls of yarn the size of boulders littered the floor. And hanging on a rack against the far wall, displayed like trophies, were dozens of cat costumes. Ears. Tails. Whiskered masks. Full-body suits that looked disturbingly realistic.
In the center of the room, suspended from the ceiling in a net made of Millianna's glowing tubes, Happy hung upside down. His tiny face was a mask of despair.
"Aye..." he moaned weakly. "She made me wear a little bow... a PINK bow... my dignity is gone forever..."
"HAPPY!" Lucy rushed forward, but before she could reach him, a figure dropped from the ceiling.
Millianna landed between them, her cat ears twitching, her wide smile stretching across her face. She was wearing a flowing outfit that seemed designed to emphasize her feline grace, all curves and ribbons and danger. Her green hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her eyes, golden and slit like a real cat's, fixed on Lucy with predatory delight.
"No touching the kitty," Millianna purred. "He is MINE now."
Natsu stepped forward, flames flickering at his knuckles. "Let him go, cat-girl."
Millianna's eyes darted to him, and for a moment, something strange flickered in her expression. Interest. Curiosity. Then her gaze landed on the rack of costumes behind her, and her smile widened.
"You know," she said thoughtfully, "you would look so much better with a little something on your head. Something... CAT-like."
Before Natsu could react, her Nekosoku tubes shot out. They wrapped around his arms, his legs, his waist, lifting him off his feet and dragging him across the room. He struggled, flame sputtering, but the tubes held fast.
"LET ME GO, YOU CRAZY..."
Millianna giggled and released one tube just long enough to snatch a large cat-head costume from the rack. It was absurdly detailed, complete with realistic fur, whiskers, and massive green eyes that seemed to stare blankly into space. Before Natsu could summon a proper roar, she shoved it over his head.
"NO, DON'T..."
THUMP.
The world went dark. And tight. And very, very warm.
Natsu's head was completely encased in the costume. The eye holes were misaligned. The fur was pressed against his nose. He couldn't see anything except a sliver of light from a gap near his chin. He thrashed, but the tubes held him fast.
"I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T BREATHE! LUCY! GRAY! HELP!"
Lucy stared at the sight before her: Natsu Dragneel, Dragon Slayer, defeater of Gajeel and Phantom Lord, hanging upside down with a giant cat head stuck on his face, his muffled screams echoing from inside the costume.
Gray doubled over, laughter exploding from him like a physical force. "OH MY GOD! LOOK AT HIM! HE'S A CAT! A STUPID, FLUFFY, HELPLESS CAT!"
Juvia clapped her hands over her mouth, her body shaking with suppressed giggles. "Natsu-san... looks so... so..."
"CUTE!" Millianna squealed, clapping her hands. "HE IS THE CUTEST KITTY I HAVE EVER SEEN! I AM KEEPING HIM FOREVER TOO! I WILL HAVE TWO KITTIES!"
Happy, still hanging in his net, stared at his partner's predicament with wide eyes. "Aye... Natsu... you look ridiculous..."
"I WILL BURN THIS ENTIRE TOWER TO THE GROUND WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS THING!" Natsu's muffled roar was undercut by the absurdity of its delivery. "I WILL PERSONALLY INCINERATE EVERY CAT THEMED OBJECT IN EXISTENCE! I WILL..."
A gunshot rang out.
A bullet ricocheted off the stone floor inches from Natsu's hanging form.
Wally Buchanan stepped through a side door, his dead eyes fixed on the struggling dragon slayer. His gun smoked in his hand, and that same disturbing half-smile played on his lips.
"Well, well," Wally said, raising the gun again. "The universe delivers. A cat in a can."
Millianna's demeanor shifted instantly. The playful predator became something else entirely. She positioned herself between Wally and Natsu, her Nekosoku tubes extending defensively.
"No," she said, her voice dropping to a low growl. "No hurting my kitty."
Wally's smile didn't waver. "Millianna, that's not a real cat. That's the enemy. The fire guy. You know this."
Millianna's eyes darted between Wally and Natsu's cat-headed form. Confusion flickered across her face. "But... he has fur. And ears. And a tail? Does he have a tail? I can't see the tail from here."
"He doesn't HAVE a tail, Millianna. It's a COSTUME."
Millianna's lower lip trembled. She looked at Natsu, then at the cat head, then back at Wally. Her golden eyes welled with genuine distress.
"But... but he LOOKS like a kitty. He FEELS like a kitty should feel. Why would someone wear a kitty if they weren't a kitty inside?"
Wally sighed, the sound tired and annoyed. He walked toward Natsu and, before anyone could react, reached out and knocked on the cat head with his gun barrel. THUNK. THUNK.
"See? Hollow. Empty. Just a shell."
Millianna stared. Her expression shifted from confusion to disappointment to something darker.
"Oh," she whispered. "So he's... he's not a real kitty?"
"He's not a real kitty."
Millianna's face hardened. Her Nekosoku tubes retracted from Natsu, and in the same fluid motion, they shot out again toward Lucy and Gray. The two mages dodged, but the tubes pursued them relentlessly, forcing them back toward the walls.
"You tricked me," Millianna said, her voice carrying a wounded edge. "You wore a kitty face and tricked me. That was MEAN."
"I DIDN'T TRICK YOU! YOU PUT THIS THING ON MY HEAD!"
Natsu's muffled protest was cut short as Wally leveled his gun at the cat head. Point blank. The barrel pressed against the fake fur.
"Time to die, cat."
Wally pulled the trigger.
CLICK.
Empty.
Wally's eyes widened. He pulled the trigger again. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.
"I counted your shots, you bastard!"
A tiny blue blur shot across the room. Happy, somehow freed from his net, slammed into Wally's face with the full force of his tiny body. The gun flew from Wally's grip as he stumbled backward, hands clawing at the Exceed attached to his head.
"GET OFF ME YOU FURRY LITTLE..."
"AYE! I AM A PROUD WIZARD AND I WILL NOT BE CALLED FURRY BY SOMEONE WHO WEARS A DEAD BODY AS A COAT!"
Natsu, still blind, still encased, still absolutely furious, felt the tubes release him. He dropped to the floor in a heap, the cat head THUMPING against the stone. He scrambled to his feet, hands tearing at the costume.
"GET THIS THING OFF ME! GET IT OFF!"
But the head was stuck. Really stuck. His fingers couldn't find a seam, a clasp, anything. It was like the costume had fused to his skin.
Lucy, dodging Millianna's tubes, caught a glimpse of him spinning in circles, clawing at his own face, and despite the danger, despite everything, a laugh escaped her.
"Natsu, stop moving! Let me help!"
"I DON'T NEED HELP! I NEED THIS THING TO BURN!"
He opened his mouth and tried to roar.
The fire backfired.
A puff of smoke erupted from the eye holes. The cat head's ears caught fire briefly before the flames died. Natsu screamed, the sound muffled and pathetic.
Gray, also dodging tubes, saw the whole thing and nearly got hit because he was laughing too hard to move. "HE SET THE CAT HEAD ON FIRE! HE SET HIMSELF ON FIRE INSIDE A COSTUME! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"
Juvia, who had been trying to help Lucy, paused to stare at the flaming cat head. "Is... is Natsu-san okay?"
"He's FINE!" Natsu roared. "I'M PERFECTLY FINE! I'M GOING TO KILL EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM AND THEN I'M GOING TO FIND WHOEVER MADE THIS COSTUME AND KILL THEM TOO!"
Wally, having finally dislodged Happy, grabbed his gun from the floor. He checked the chamber. Empty. He threw it aside and reached into his coat, producing another weapon. A knife this time, long and gleaming.
"Enough games," he snarled. "You're dead, cat-boy."
He lunged.
And Natsu, blind, encased, and absolutely at the end of his rope, did the only thing he could do.
He stopped fighting.
He stopped struggling.
He closed his eyes inside the darkness of the cat head and reached deep. Deeper than he had since Gajeel. Deeper than he had since the resort. He reached past the man, past the mage, past everything, and grabbed hold of the furnace at his core.
'You want fire?' he thought. 'I'll give you fire.'
The temperature in the room spiked.
Lucy felt it first. The air suddenly felt thick, heavy, like standing too close to a volcano. She stopped dodging, staring at Natsu's still form.
"Natsu?"
Gray felt it next. The ice on his skin began to melt, not from heat, but from sheer ambient temperature shift. "What is he doing?"
Wally felt it last, because his knife was an inch from Natsu's throat when the world turned orange.
"FIRE DRAGON'S... ROAR!"
The sound that emerged from the cat head was not muffled. It was not contained. It was a detonation. A column of pure, concentrated flame erupted from every opening in the costume, from the eye holes, from the mouth slit, from the seams, and it hit Wally full in the chest.
The gunman flew backward, his knife clattering away, his body slamming into the far wall with enough force to crack the stone. He slid down, smoke rising from his charred clothes, unconscious before he hit the floor.
Millianna froze.
Her tubes hung limp. Her golden eyes went wide. She stared at the burning cat head, at the flames that should not exist inside a costume, at the figure standing at its center radiating heat like a newborn sun.
"That's... that's not a kitty," she whispered.
"No," Natsu's voice came from inside the inferno, low and terrible. "It's not."
The flames died. The cat head, somehow still intact but now glowing faintly orange, turned toward her.
Millianna's courage shattered. She stumbled backward, her hands raised, her eyes filling with genuine fear.
"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY FOR PUTTING THE KITTY HEAD ON YOU! I'M SORRY FOR TRYING TO KEEP HAPPY! I'LL LET HIM GO! I'LL LET BOTH OF THEM GO! JUST PLEASE DON'T BURN ME!"
Her tubes retracted fully. Happy dropped from where he had been hovering near the ceiling, his little wings barely catching him before he hit the ground. He flew straight to Lucy, burying his face in her hair.
"Aye... that was scary... Natsu is scary..."
Natsu stood in the center of the room, the cat head still firmly attached, steam rising from its fur. He was breathing heavily, the exertion of the blast leaving him shaky, but the rage still burned.
"I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING! SOMEONE GET THIS THING OFF ME!"
The tension shattered.
Gray collapsed against the wall, wheezing. Lucy doubled over, tears streaming down her face. Even Juvia, usually so composed, was covering her mouth with both hands, her shoulders shaking.
"I CAN HEAR YOU LAUGHING! ALL OF YOU! I WILL REMEMBER THIS!"
"YOU LOOK LIKE A BURNED CAT!" Gray howled. "A BURNED, ANGRY, HELPLESS CAT!"
"I WILL KILL YOU, GRAY! I WILL FREEZE YOU AND THEN BURN YOU AND THEN FREEZE YOU AGAIN!"
"YOU CAN'T EVEN FIND ME! YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!"
This was, unfortunately, true. Natsu spun in circles, arms outstretched, the cat head's blank green eyes staring in random directions as he tried to locate his tormentors by sound alone.
"LUCY! WHERE ARE YOU? HELP ME!"
Lucy, still laughing, walked over to him. She reached up and examined the cat head, searching for a release mechanism. "Hold still. Let me look."
"I CAN'T HOLD STILL! I'M TOO ANGRY!"
"Hold. Still."
He froze.
Lucy found a small clasp at the back of the neck, cleverly hidden in the fur. She pressed it, and with a soft HISS of released pressure, the cat head loosened. Natsu grabbed it and yanked it off, throwing it across the room with enough force to crack the wall it hit.
He stood there, panting, his pink hair matted flat, his face red with a combination of heat and humiliation. The singed edges of his scarf smoked faintly.
"I hate this tower," he announced.
---
At the top of the tower, in the throne room overlooking the endless sea, Jellal Fernandes sat before a chess board. Not a normal chess board. This one was massive, ornate, and each piece was carved in the likeness of a person. He recognized them all. Erza. Simon. Sho. Millianna. Wally. The pink-haired one. The blonde. The ice mage. The water woman.
His fingers moved across the board, touching each piece in turn.
"Millianna," he murmured. "Wally."
He picked up their pieces. Examined them. Then, with a soft, regretful sigh, he knocked them over. They clattered against the board, lying flat and still.
"Defeated."
From the shadows behind him, Vidaldus Taka stepped forward. His long hair swayed as he moved, and his eyes burned with impatience.
"My lord, the ceremony must proceed. The celestial alignment approaches its peak. If we delay..."
"I am aware of the timing, Vidaldus." Jellal's voice was calm, almost amused. "But the game is not over simply because two pieces have fallen."
He gestured at the board. Two other pieces still stood. Simon. Sho.
"My informants tell me that Simon and Sho have betrayed us. They fight alongside Erza now."
Vidaldus's eyes widened. "Betrayed? Those ungrateful... I will crush them myself!"
"No." Jellal raised a hand. "You will not."
Vidaldus stared at him. "My lord?"
Jellal smiled, that same terrifying, gentle smile that held madness in its curve. "I told you, Vidaldus. Everything is a game. The betrayal of Simon and Sho was simply another move. Another piece repositioned on the board. It changes nothing."
He stood, his robes flowing around him like shadows given form. He walked to the massive window overlooking the sea, his back to his servant.
"The ceremony will proceed. Erza will be sacrificed. Zeref will return. That is the endgame, and nothing will change it."
He turned, his eyes fixed on Vidaldus with an intensity that made even the hardened warrior take a step back.
"However, since my underlings have proven... insufficient... I require a new piece to move."
Vidaldus straightened, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "You wish me to fight, my lord? I am honored. I will tear through those Fairy Tail insects like paper."
Jellal shook his head slowly. "Not alone. You are strong, Vidaldus, but even strength requires support."
He raised his hand, and from the shadows behind him, two figures emerged.
The first was massive. A giant of a man, easily eight feet tall, with skin the color of ash and eyes that gleamed yellow in the dim light. His arms were longer than his legs, dragging slightly, and his face was a horror of twisted features and jagged teeth. A bird-like crest of hair rose from his head, adding to his monstrous appearance. Fukuro.
The second was a woman. She moved with the fluid grace of a blade through water, her每一步 silent and precise. Long dark hair fell past her waist, and her eyes, narrow and cold, held the promise of death. She wore traditional samurai armor, modified for mobility, and at her hip rested a katana so sharp it seemed to drink the light around it. Ikaruga.
Fukuro grinned, revealing rows of uneven teeth. "Prey?" His voice was a rumble, deep and hungry. "I smell prey."
Ikaruga said nothing. She simply stood, her hand resting on her sword, her eyes fixed on Jellal with an expression of absolute loyalty.
Jellal gestured toward the board, toward the pieces representing Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Juvia.
"These are your targets. The pink-haired one, the blonde, the ice mage, and the water woman. Kill them. Delay them. Do whatever is necessary to ensure they do not interfere with the ceremony."
Vidaldus bowed low. "It will be done, my lord."
As the three turned to leave, Jellal spoke one last time.
"Remember, Vidaldus. This is still a game. Play it well."
Vidaldus paused at the door, looking back at his master. A grin spread across his face, wide and savage.
"I intend to."
The door closed behind them, leaving Jellal alone with his board and the sound of the sea crashing far below. He looked down at the fallen pieces of Millianna and Wally, then at the advancing pieces of his new players.
"It is their turn to move," he whispered to the empty room. "Let us see how they dance."