Chapter Seventeen

Natsu

A sharp slap to the face jolted me out of unconsciousness.

Looking up, I couldn't see a single thing in front of me; the room I was in seemed pitch black due to the blindfold hindering my sight. I instinctively reached for my face, only to find my hands were tied behind me.

I started to struggle, feeling the constricting ropes cut away at my skin. The chair I was tied to shifted, scraping loudly against the cement flooring and echoing across the spacious room. Were we in the lab? I wondered. No, I'd be in a cage. An abandoned warehouse, perhaps?

"Ow," I heard Gray hiss.

"Gray?" I whispered. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," He responded in a strained voice. "Are you the one squirming around so much? The ropes are cutting into me, and it hurts like hell."

"Don't worry, I'll figure out a way for us to get out of here."

Someone scoffed, the noise alerting me that someone was closer in my personal space then I would've liked. After a moment I sensed the presence move, kneeling down to my level. I tried to kick the unknown figure in the groin, only finding that my ankles were tied too. Shit. Guess I'll have to burn my way out.

"Don't even think about it," A low voice commanded, One's, I thought, like he was reading my mind.

"I'm not quite sure what you're talking about," I sneered, playing dumb.

"Any tool or weapon Two has used is virtually indestructible," One laughed, his breath hot on my face. "So don't even bother trying with that little uncontrollable power of yours."

I felt myself blush with anger and was silently grateful for the blindfold that covered most of my face. My hands twitched with contempt, aching to regain movement, but the painful rubbing from the rope reminded me I was completely immobilized. The only way I thought to fight back was in a very gross way, but it gained me the satisfaction of the upper hand for the moment.

I listened gleefully as One wiped the spit off his face in disgust before I felt a sharp slap of pain on my cheek yet again.

"You bastard," He growled angrily. "You're lucky you're still breathing," He added on as a threat.

"You wouldn't even kill us if you wanted to," I countered back with just as much intensity, feeling his eyes narrow on me even with my vision blocked. "Because I know what Asano wants us back at the Lab for. Our blood, for new experiments. And the special ingredient is only active while I'm alive."

"Stop acting like you know everything," One demanded, though I could tell by the tone of his voice and his hesitation that I was in fact right, and he wouldn't kill me even if I was on the brink of ending his life.

"I'm just trying to warn you, but you won't listen," Frustration was laced in my tone. "Asano won't give you freedom. He won't release you; he's just using you for his own selfish desires. But if you let me explain, I can get you real freedom."

"Alright, pinky," One chuckled, and after a snap, I heard the scraping of a chair and him settling down into a seat. "We'll hear you out. But first, prove to us you're serious about helping us."

"Remove the rope from my left hand and I can show you," I said seriously.

"No," One answered quickly, firmly.

"Fine then, I'll do it myself." My hand lit up in flames, successfully burning off the ropes within a matter of seconds before I felt a blast of water - most likely a direct attack from Five - hit the fire, extinguishing it. However, she was too late, because my hand was already free.

I lifted my arm in the air, pointing my forefinger and thumb, showcasing the bright red XIII brand that I've been forced to stare at my entire life. "I know it may not seem like it, but I have been in your position before. I know what it's like to feel like you have no other choice. To barely get a quarter of a meal a day, if you're lucky. To not know what it's like to sleep on anything but cold concrete all your life. To feel completely hopeless, like you may not live another day because you're afraid you'll die from malnourishment or inhumane torture. But I want to be the first to tell you that there's more to life than just those things. There's wonderful things in the world: warmth, safety, food, love, happiness-" My voice hitched mid sentence, "And you deserve to experience them just as much as anyone else does."

I ripped off the blindfold with my other hand, looking around me. I was in an unknown abandoned place. At first glance, it looked like an old diner or a soup kitchen. However, I was more focused on the flock, who were perched in various places around us. Crouching, watching curiously. Their hands were in the air, thumb and forefinger pointed, joining mine in unison.

My glance shifted to One, who was angrily watching the scene unfold. He reminded me of a child, immaturely crossing his arms before throwing a wild tantrum.

"You're talking so much about promising us freedom, but I think that's all just a bunch of bullshit," He snarled. "There's nothing you can do about it. If we don't bring you back by midnight tonight, we're all going to die. There's no other choice for us. Why can't you get that through your thick head?" His last sentence ended with a flying punch in my direction, which I narrowly avoided. One continued throwing attacks at me, and I kept dodging until I had the common sense to burn off the rest of the ropes and jump to my feet.

I chucked the cheap fold-out chair at his head, which he easily ducked and avoided with his quick reflexes. Before I could process what I was doing next, my fist was slamming into his face while his plowed into my stomach. But that was the thing about fighting. You couldn't think. You just had to move.

Blood pooled in his mouth as I lurched forward in pain, my ribs feeling like they were on fire and my guts feeling mashed together. We stumbled apart for a moment, regaining our composure and breathing heavily, our eyes not leaving each other once.

I dodged his fist and returned the gesture with my own at twice the speed. For the briefest of moments, his electric blue eyes widened as I took the opportunity to headbutt him. Seeing stars, I dizzily avoided a side kick to my skin, only barely jumping out of the way.

"Is that all you got?" I laughed, wiping blood off my lip, staining my fingers with crimson. Eyes narrowing, he came for me again. I took him off guard by going in the opposite direction from where he anticipated him, surprising him by elbowing him in a pressure point between the wings as he brushed by me, followed by a kick to the back of the knee. Crying out in pain, he collapsed to his knees, leaving himself vulnerable for me to give him one final blow that left him unconscious.

Now crumpled to the ground, I was able to notice eleven pairs of eyes watching me, their expressions mixed with admiration and fear.

"As I was trying to tell you all, the way we can save you before," I searched carefully for the right words, "The end tonight. You are all aware of the telepathic communication among you, correct? It counts down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds?"

Murmurs of affirmative answers echoed amongst the flock.

"How do you know about that?" The red-haired swordswoman asked accusingly, her eyebrows drawn up in curiosity.

"Call it a hunch," Gray cut in, sending a not-so-subtle look towards Rogue, who kept his eyes averted and his head down. "Anyway. There is a physical tracker implanted in each and every one of your arms, and it's a fairly simple process to remove it. It's a simple surgery, something we could get done for each of you within the hour. The local hospital is really close by."

"How are you sure it would work?" The gravity-controlling girl, who couldn't be more than fifteen, asked in a timid voice.

Gray glanced towards Rogue again, who had looked up this time. The eye that wasn't covered with his fringe widened slightly, and he gave him a small nod of encouragement.

"I've already removed mine," Rogue answered, pushing up his sleeve to reveal the fresh bandage still covering his wound. "And I can't hear the countdown anymore."

Two was looking rather suspicious, her eyes traveling between me, Gray, and the shy angel. "And just how did you know to remove-"

"Eight is telling the truth," Seven interrupted Two, seemingly convinced in her comrade. "And I trust Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster's words."

"Me too," Twelve added. "I think Natsu and Gray are right. We deserve more than this."

"Asano has been nothing but terrible to us all these years."

"We deserve freedom just as much as anyone!"

"Why do we have to listen to him?"

"The Black Angels will rise against the Hakai Laboratory!"

"Yeah!" The flock cheered hysterically in unison.

A smile broke out on my face as I knelt down by Gray to untie his ropes. When free, he wriggled his fingers and shook out his wings, thanking me for releasing him. We began to move towards the exit, the angels cheering happily and talking amicably amongst themselves of freedom and happiness.

My hands immediately intertwined with Gray's as we followed the rest of the group. I let my guard down, which was my biggest mistake. Because I was too distracted that we were successful, that something was finally going right for once, that I forgot in that moment that I was Natsu Dragneel, and nothing in my life ever went right in the end.

Even with my quick reflexes, I barely had time to react when I heard the ear-piercing shout of "No!", followed by a slicing sound and a bloodcurdling scream of pain.

I noticed One first. Blood dripped from his razor-sharp talons, staining the floor. He looked surprised to find the scream didn't come from his expected target, but from someone else entirely.

Rogue's face was paling, his eyes trailing down his chest where he'd just been slashed by One's talons. He glanced up at me slowly, a small smile curling on his lips.

"You really thought I'd betray you that quickly?" Rogue laughed, blood staining his lips as his laugh was interrupted by a forceful cough. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and Gray dove to catch him just as he lost consciousness.

You idiot, I thought, my mind a blur and my heart a ticking time bomb. Of course I knew you'd never abandon us.

As much as I hated to admit it, even through my paranoia and doubt, I subconsciously knew it all along.

But it wasn't supposed to be like this. 

- - - - 

A/N: Damn, Han! Stop with the cliffhangers with people going unconscious! -me, writing this

So I've recently gotten a ton of motivation to finish this up even though we're 17 chapters in are nowhere near the end *sweats nervously* 

In the comments, leave a really random/strange fact about yourself. Nothing generic! :D