Formy challenge #4, hope you like it! The song it is based off of (Sorta) is 'Angel with a Shotgun' by The Cab. :)
The peaks of daylight woke the blonde from her rest. Stretching, she crawled out of her warm bed.
She was one of the lucky ones.
Pulling on her military boots, she pulled her messy hair into a pony tail before taking a look at herself in the cracked glass mirror.
Her once chocolate brown eyes, have now dulled to a dusty brown. She was constantly tired.
"Mommy, what time is it?"
She turned to see the 3 year old, pink haired daughter, "Very early. Go on back to bed. Auntie Lisanna should be over soon, 'k?"
The girl nodded as she rubbed her tired eyes. Yawning, she walked back into their shared room and fell back asleep.
Hearing a light tap on the door, Lucy opened it to see Lisanna.
"Hey Lucy, how's Nashi?" she asked stepping inside, pretending to not hear the constant booms and blares from the distance.
"Hey Lisanna, yeah, she's just tired. Wake her up by 10, I'll be back sometime tonight. Thanks again, for helping me." Lucy said grabbing her supply bag.
"No problem. I know how much this means to you." Lisanna said with a smile.
Lucy smiled back before leaving the house looking out on the dead terrain of what used to be Magnolia.
Ever since that happened, the council resorted to bombing Magnolia, even if it would cost millions of lives. It ended up not helping at all and people began to rebel against the council for their poor decision. Lucy did believe they made a mistake, but also knew their great power and most of the protesters were put into jail.
Even so, the council had been destroyed and now Fiore had no more government. It was both good, and bad. Crime had gone up incredibly high but at least Lucy could nose her way into secret files without being arrested.
Lucy felt the shot gun on her thigh. She refused to use it on him, but Erza told her she'd have to do what she had to do. So she was to carry it every time she went out on these missions.
Still, it was her last resort.
But they were at war. The last surviving wizards able to fight joined together against each other. Over 3 years ago was when this started, when…
Lucy felt the tears prick her eyes, she had gone out to try and find him, even if she knew it was a lost cause.
But it started once that fire dragonslayer of her's left her behind to protect the guild from the fire scales creeping up his arms and chest. He knew it was taking him over, he just kept it a secret to keep Lucy safe. Sadly, he kept it a secret for too long, and now he was part human, part dragon…and part demon.
Not too soon after they found out he was the great demon, END, did Gray go missing with Juvia and Erza finding a fetter at the guild bar saying only he'd be gone for a few years, and had things to do.
Juvia then confessed that Gray had told her how he had wanted to kill END and wanted to be stronger to defeat the demon.
With the master still missing, no one was to stop them, and so even after they got Fairy Tail back together, this tor everyone further apart.
Lucy wasn't really looking for Gray, even though it was her side mission, her real focus was finding that hotheaded, fire breathing, jackass…that she married.
Disappearing, soon after that Lucy discovered she was pregnant and later had Nashi. Lucy then devoted herself to finding him and taking him home, she didn't care of her didn't remember her, because she remembered him.
It was barely 8 in the morning when Lucy was already miles from Magnolia's remains. She had her maps to find where she was, and where she had looked recently.
"Hargeon was a dud," Lucy mumbled to herself looking at the map, "Maybe I should check near Sabretooth next, haven't tried there in a while."
Folding up her map, she started for the Sabretooth guild. Maybe Yukino was there to help.
…
"Lucy! It's been so long, how is the search going?" Yukino asked as Lucy walked over to the other celestial mage was.
"Still no sign of him. Thought I'd check here again." Lucy said seeing Rogue and Sting further into the guild.
She knew Sting had a weird grudge he on her ever since she got married to him, but she wasn't sure why.
"I could help you, if you'd like." Yukino added.
Lucy smiled, "You don't have to."
"It's fine. I can check the west side of town, and you can get the east." Yukino said following the blonde outside.
"Alright then, meet back here by 9." Lucy said and the two girls split up.
Lucy was happy that Sabretooth was an ally. Lamia Scale too were with them, and also Mermaid Heel. Then there was Quatro Cerberus and Blue Pegasus sadly against them feeling that they should not protect a demon.
Lucy wandered about the edges of what was left of the town before going closer to the forest area. She knew it was most likely a lost cause, but she could give it a shot.
Finding no sign of him, she began to head back to the guild.
"Find anything?" Lucy asked.
Yukino sadly shook her head, "Sorry Lucy, nothing."
"It's ok, I thought this would be the case. Well, I have to get a move on. See you around." Lucy said hugging her best friend before she parted.
…
"Still no sign of him." Lucy said defeated from the day as she neared home around 11 as the sun was already gone.
Just as she was to open the door, there were screams from the other side of town. Bursts of flames licked the heavens reaching her sight.
"Could it…be?" Lucy didn't think twice. Dropping her bags right on the doorstep along with her keys, she raced down to where the flames came from.
Even more screams.
Finding herself in a crowd, she had to push and squirm around other bystanders to get through.
There, in her wake, was a massive burning building. The light of the fire was so bright it lit up her face as if it were the middle of the day, and the heat it radiated, it could be hotter than the sun.
"Help! My sister is in there!" a boy, 13 years old at the most, cried to the fireman.
"We'll get her. We are calling for back-up. Please stay behind the barriers." He said in a stern voice holding people back.
Lucy came over the barrier and showed them her wizard badge.
"S-class huh, go on in if you wish. We need all the back-up we can get." He said as Lucy rushed right into the burning building.
Covering her mouth and nose with her arm, Lucy crawled under the thick smoke as she dodged falling wooden pieces and other furnishings.
"Danny! Help!" cried a small voice.
"Hello? Where are you?" Lucy called out ignoring the tickle in her throat from the smoke.
"Help! Danny!" she screamed again.
Lucy followed the voice where she found a small girl stuck under a kitchen cabinet.
"Hold on kid!" Lucy shouted coming to the girl's side, trying to lift heavy wood.
"Come on, lift!" Lucy wheezed out, barely able to see straight.
The girl quickly came from under the cabinet as Lucy dropped the cabinet to pick her up.
"Let's get you out of here. Your brother was looking for you." Lucy said quickly escaping the building.
"Danny!" she cried as she raced into his arms.
"Cindy, oh thank goodness you are safe!" he said with happiness; he turned to Lucy, "I don't know who you are but, thank you so much for saving her."
Lucy smiled, "No problem."
Suddenly there was a loud crash as the top level of the building exploded sending glass and splinters of wood out to the people.
"One of the plumbing pipes has exploded sir! What should we do or our next move?" one foreman said.
"Send for more water sources. We barely have much left." He said catching his breath.
Lucy rushing back into the building, started her search.
"Hey! Anyone here?!" she shouted coughing.
Falling to her knees, she needed to find him.
What if he wasn't even in the building? What if this was just another fire accident and not him? What if-
But then a piercing scream shocked the blonde. Strong arms wrapped around her as she was pushed far out of the building.
Landing onto a nearby roof, she looked up to see her savior, and almost screamed. And in fact, she did scream.
But no words came.
Standing in front of her was the scale covered, warm bodied, demon with pink hair who she married. She found him…she found him…
"N-Na…" she tried his name, but she hadn't spoken his name aloud for so long. It just felt so…
"L-Lucy…you, are you hurt?" he asked.
She didn't feel any pain, if anything it was happiness.
She couldn't help but cry, "N-Natsu!" she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
He quickly pushed her away, "Don't touch me. I…I don't want to hurt you again."
Lucy had been burned by him before his disappearance, on her right ankle, she ignored his comment.
"Natsu, don't. You can never hurt me. I…I love you." Lucy said noticing the ring still on his left ring finger.
He smiled, "Luc, I love you to, that's why I left. I didn't want to hurt you."
"Or Nashi." Lucy said.
"N-Nashi?" Natsu asked.
"Our daughter. After you left, she was born." She said rubbing her own ring.
"I, have a child? But…what if she gets my genes? My demon genes?" Natsu now panicked.
"It's fine Natsu. I just…missed you for so long. Come home." Lucy said.
He shook his head, "I can't. There's no way I could ever control these powers. They are getting out of control. You saw what I did."
Lucy looked over to the burning building, finally being put out.
"You could get a hang of it." Lucy said.
"But…I start wars. People want my power, people want me dead…" he continued.
"People want you home, people miss you." Lucy corrected.
"But that's why I have to leave. They'll take you, or our daughter away from me to take my power. I don't want either of your lives risked." He argued, "People start wars over meaningless things. There already is one starting."
"A war? Starting? What do you mean?" Lucy asked.
"Why do you think I came here? To lose the trackers of me. They don't even know what they are fighting for, those bastards…"
Natsu's power was imaginable, and all those greedy hoarders who wished for that magic power would fight their own people for meaningless reasons for it.
"Let's get others. We can go against them, and stop this." Lucy said optimistically.
"It'll never work." Natsu whispered.
"Mommy?! Where are you?"
Lucy knew that voice. "Nashi! H-how did you…?" Looking down to the ground stood the small three-year-old, crying as she held her small dragon plushy.
Climbing down from the roof, Lucy picked up her daughter, "How did you get here?"
"I used some things to make Auntie Lisanna fall asleep." Lucy knew Nashi was good with potions.
"I told you not to do that." Lucy said.
"I'm sorry Mommy, but…I wanted you to come home." She said resting her head on Lucy's shoulder.
"Is that?" Natsu asked peaking from the rooftop.
Lucy smiled up at him, "Nashi? Yes, come see your daughter."
"But…" Natsu was in full demon form, and could no longer look human, but Lucy had him come down anyway.
"Who is that Mommy?" she asked.
"That, sweetie, is your daddy." Lucy said ushering Natsu to come closer.
"Hey, Nashi." He said quietly.
"Daddy?" she tested. She'd never known her father, for she was born after he had left, "Daddy."
"See Natsu, come home." Lucy added.
He sighed, "Lucy, I…can't. But can Nashi go home before we talk about this?" he asked.
"Come on Nashi, let's go home." She said as she kept her eyes on her husband.
Walking in silence home, avoiding people not to see Natsu, got back home.
"Go on to bed, I'll be right there to tuck you in, ok?" Lucy said kissing her forehead.
"Ok Mommy." She went inside, leaving the two outside.
"Is Happy, alright?" Natsu asked.
"He's been rather quiet, but he stays in our room most of the time." Lucy said sadly.
"Now Lucy, I can't stay." Natsu brought up again.
"Why not?" Lucy asked.
"Because…"
"Because why?"
"I...I'm…Lucy, I'm dying."
Lucy froze. He…was…
Dying…?
"Wh-what?"
"Lucy, the council wants all demons dead. 2 years ago they set up a program to destroy all demons and half-demons. It was a poisonous gas let into the air that'd only affect anyone with demon blood in them." Natsu explained.
Lucy couldn't say anything. Her throat was dry, but her eyes were wet.
He continued, "It hurts every day. It's a slow, painful death. Sometimes I just want to give up. But I tell myself, I want to see my Lucy one more time. And now that I've seen you…"
The tears trailed down her face, "Natsu…n-no…please d-don't…Don't you remember when I told you I wanted to go on more adventures with you? I still do!"
He smiled.
"Why are you smiling!? This is serious!" she screamed.
"I…I know, but just thinking about it, time loops sure are interesting, huh. You think they're fixed, but really, you are just in another time loop. You will go back into the past to fix the eclipse portal, and you'll die…I don't want you to, live long Luce. But I was already dead in that Lucy's world. So this is just the flow of time." Natsu said holding Lucy's hands.
"But, I'll be so lonely…" she cried.
"I know, and I'm sorry, but I'm going to die sooner or later, I want it quicker than it is now." It was Natsu who now was as well crying.
"Take care of everyone. Tell them I love them. Raise Nashi strong and smart. Lucy, I love you too." And with that, he vanished into the darkness.
"Natsu…" Lucy looked around her, "Natsu, please come back…" she knew he wasn't, and she knew this was better for him. But the hurt couldn't stop from killing her heart. Putting her hand onto the doorknob, she closed her eyes as she let the tears fall.
That single gunshot echoed throughout the night, sending tears and chills deep into her mind.
Dark, I know. Sorry this took so long, procrastination sucks. See you next challenge!