The Cliffhanger
A/N: Okay, so I wrote this story waaaayyy back when I first started writing and I reread it a couple weeks ago and was like, "Damn this seriously needs to be revised." When I saw all the themes popping up for Nalu week I was like, "Sweet, this could go along for Climax day." I dunno, when I think of a cliff I think of climax XD I did write a part two, but I'm probably going to edit that one as well. I'm really sorry if there's still a lot of errors, (Fight scene writing is freaking hard) I'm still trying to finish two more stories! So here it is, now severely edited! Hope you enjoy!
For Climax day, Nalu week
Background: Natsu and Lucy are battling the earth shatter wizard, Rowen, out by the edge of the forest where the ends of the cliff are at. Rowan is an earth shatter mage who can control and manipulate elements of the earth, however, he uses his magic to shatter terrain grounds. After turning a village into stone, Fairy Tail send Natsu and Lucy to go after the baddie. The story takes off right when the two wizards face off with the earth shatter mage.
"Damn-it Lucy, I can take care of him!" Natsu yelled as she stepped in front of him. She completely ignored him, letting herself unfurl her celestial whip. "Are you even listening-"
"I can fight him myself," Lucy said, eyes locked on the enemy. Nothing was going to reassure Natsu on the idea of her fighting for him, but she wasn't going to sit on the sidelines anymore. She was stronger than that.
She began to hurtle towards the enemy with great force. "LUCY-KICK!" she yelled as she struck the earth mage.
"LUCY!"
From the corner of her eye, she could see Natsu ready to charge back into the fight. "No,stay back!" she held out her hand for him to stop. He paused in his tracks. "If you believe in me, you'll let me deal with him on my own."
Natsu growled under his breath. This was his fight, and he wouldn't let anything try to hurt Lucy. Still, if she was certain that she could defeat this guy, he had to put his faith in her.
"Alright." he gave in, "but I'm not happy about this."
Lucy gave a subtle smile. Of course, he was going to be pissed she stole his thunder. Now time to attack. "Etolie Whip!" she cried, sending her whip flying towards the mage. The enemy sneered as he dodged her attacks. "So the blondie can fight after all." He scoffed, "What a surprise."
"Just who the hell are you?" she pulled on the whip tightly. The mage gave a loud cackle, sending shivers down her spine. "Me? You don't remember me, Lucy Heartfilia?"
Lucy's eyes narrowed. Was she supposed to know this guy? His black hair fell just right under his olive green eyes. His tan skin almost identified close to Natsu's, but nothing seemed to ring a bell.
The name's Rowan Terrarose. You might have heard of me as the Earth-Shatter wizard."
"Rowan Terrarose?" Lucy gasped. Now she was starting to remember. Back when she was a child, her father had cut off all charity money to a poor village called, Cassius. Rowan's father was the mayor of that town and went to the mansion to negotiate. He brought his little child, who bragged to her about learning earth magic so he could help with his town. "If your dad helps my daddy, our town can start growing crops again!" she remembered him saying. Lucy had smiled at the boy, and would ask all sort of questions about his magic. When her father kicked them out, she remembered Rowan giving her a scornful look.
"Now I remember you…" Lucy said, keeping a careful eye on him. "You're that little boy that visited the mansion."
"That's right!" he pointed at her. "-And do you know what happened that day?"
Lucy lowered her eyes, "My father-"
"Sent us to our graves!" Rowan cut in, attacking the mage. She hurtled back, landing on herself on the ground.
"LUCY!" she heard right next to her. "I'm alright, Natsu." she slowly picked herself up. Damn, this guy was strong. Rowan smiled, cracking the side of his neck. "Now I get to take it out on Jude's daughter."
"Stop! This has nothing to do with what you did to that city!"
Rowan stopped in his tracks. "Oh?" he replied, jaw clenched.
"You brought a whole city down to their knee's, begging you for mercy. Yet, you still turned them into stone." Lucy caught herself shaking. "What you did to them is unforgivable, and yet you still did it. Why?"
"That rotten city held it's wealth from its people. Do you think a city like that deserves to keep getting richer while the poor are given nothing?"
"No!" Lucy shook her head, "But that doesn't make it right for taking their lives!"
"I'm tired of talking!" Rowan put a hand to the ground, making the earth vibrate.
"Let's fight!"
Lucy charged the enemy and began lashing out at him. "Behind you!" Natsu shouted from behind.
"What?!"
Rowan targeted the mage, sending boulders hurtling her way. Lucy collapsed to the ground, letting out a loud cry. "GAH!"
"It's useless," Rowan shouted from where he stood. "You're weak."
"Damnit…" Natsu was growing frustrated now. Lucy was being thrown around like some kind of rag doll. He needed to step in before things got ugly for her.
She needed to get up and fight. "Up, get up and fight!" Before she knew it she was back on her feet, shaking from the attack. "I...won't..give up." she panted. She could hear Rowan laughing at her for even trying to stand her ground "You're pathetic!" he screamed at her.
"You're wrong." she wiped the blood that was coming off her lip. "I'm stronger than I look."
When Lucy saw her chance, she swung her whip around the wizard, but he stopped the attack just before it smacked him. The enemy held a tight grip against the whip leaving Lucy with only her celestial keys. With her free hand, she pulled out one of her golden keys. She felt confident with this spirit.
"Open, gate of the golden bull, Taurus!"
The celestial spirit popped out in front of her. "MOOO!"
"Finish this guy off!"
"Do i get a big S-MOO-CH!"
"Maybe if you wipe the floor with this guy!"
Taurus charged at him with great speed. He drove the earth mage up with his ax, slamming him up against another boulder. "Y-You think you have the upper hand, don't you," he said, struggling from Taurus's attack.
"It sure looks like it." The blonde winked. "Hell yeah! Kick his ass Lucy!" she heard Natsu behind her.
She smiled. Now it was her turn to win.
"Y-You S-surely underestimated...me!"
Rowan squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on his magic power. The earth began to rumble all over again, and suddenly without any warning, the dust from the ground lifted up, creating two boulders on both side of Taurus."
"LOOK OUT!"
"Earth-shatter crush!"
The two boulders smashed into the celestial spirit, immediately closing his gate.
"I'll keep fighting, don't you worry," Lucy promises, putting her key back inside.
"Think you've had enough?" Rowan says with a smirk. He picked up the mage's whip and before Natsu could even jump right in front of her, he slashed it over at Lucy, sending her straight to the ground, cold.
"LUCY!" Natsu cried as he rushed over to his partner's side. She was bruised and bleeding from the side of her temple. "I'm Okay…" she wheezed, holding onto her stomach. "Just let me-"
"-No." Natsu cut her off. He picked himself up and glared straight at Rowan. "I'll finish him off."
"I'm going to kick this guy's ass." Natsu promised, "When I'm done, we're getting you some help."
"Be careful Natsu…"
He couldn't sit on the sidelines anymore. Watching Lucy being hurtled back to the ground was way too much for him to see, and now it was his turn. He cracked his knuckles as his fists turned to flame. "I've had enough of you and your pathetic excuse's." He snarled at the earth mage, "What you did to that village was inexcusable...but what you did to Lucy...THAT WAS UNFORGIVABLE!"
Rowan replied with a wicked laugh. "Bring it, Salamander."
Natsu sprinted over to the earth mage and struck him with a Fire Dragon's brilliant flame attack. Everything came out of him as an impulse. His mind was running wild, trying to keep up with his opponent. He would hit him with his left, right, and swing a cheap shot with is earth magic. His eyes stung with all the dust Rowan had been throwing around.
"Fire dragon...ROAR!"
"A hot-head I see?" Rowan mused, "Let's see how you handle this!"
Rowan lifted the dirt off the ground and created another boulder in a matter of seconds.
"What the?" Natsu muttered just before the giant rock swung his way. The boulder face-planted Natsu sending him flying back towards the ground.
The earth mage laughed as he met the ground with Natsu. "You can't win, Dragonslayer. I'm too powerful."
"I'll stop you…"Natsu grunted, "Even if it's the last thing I do."
The heel of Rowan's boot smashed the back of Natsu's head into the ground, leaving him unconscious.
"Quiet you."
Lucy's eyes widened over Natsu's motionless body.
"NATSU!" she screamed.
She groaned as she tried pulling herself back up. The sharp pains from her injuries stabbed her all over, making it even difficult to even stand. "I have to do something…" she grunted. She knee's was begging for her to drop but she needed to get up. Natsu was out cold, and she couldn't bare for him to continue getting hurt.
Rowan kicked Natsu to the side as he made his way towards Lucy.
"Still up for more?" he smiled as he cracked his knuckles. "This will be easy."
"I'm not going to let you hurt my friend." Lucy hissed. "You can hurt me, kick me, beat me to a pulp, but nothing's going to stop me from kicking your ass."
Rowan raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Oh?" he teased "And if I end up killing both you and your friend?"
Lucy replied with a sarcastic laugh. "I'm a fairy tail wizard." She scoffed. "We can't die as long as we have our emblem embedded in our hearts. We live for our friends. That's what gives our guild strength. The undying love we have for each other!"
Rowan shook his head at the celestial wizard. "Your words mean nothing to me. You're the worst of them all, Lucy Heartfilia. You came from a wealthy family and gave nothing to the unfortunate! You should be with the rest of those I've turned to stone!"
Lucy balled her hand into a fist. She desperately wanted to punch Rowan straight into the ground, but now was not the time to strike.
"I couldn't do anything, Rowan. I was only a child! My father was the one in charge of all the finances, and it doesn't even matter now. The mansion is abandoned and my father is gone! Money doesn't solve problems! Get that through your thick head!"
The earth mage gathered all the dust from the ground creating a giant boulder to hover over Lucy. "I'll send you to hell along with your father. Goodbye, Lucy Heartfilia!"
Suddenly, as if on cue, Natsu raged in and crushed the molded boulder sending it to pieces. "Over my dead body."
Lucy smiled as her partner came to her rescue. She could still see he was injured from his last attack, but that couldn't stop him. Natsu now pissed more than ever,began to strike at Rowan with everything he had. How dare he charge at Lucy! If Natsu hadn't been there in time to protect her, who knows what could have happened.
"I'm tired of you pesky fairies." Rowan snarled at the pair, "EARTH-SHATTER GROUND!" . With a single stomp of his foot, the ground began to shake. Lucy, too scared to move, saw the tree's trembling back and forth over the attack. This was bad. The trees weren't strong enough to hold from that blow. She could hear the tree's creak, giving off a warning.
"Watch out!" Natsu threw himself over, Lucy. Dust swirled around them, making them completely vulnerable in vision. They stood up, scanning everywhere for any sign of the earth mage."Shit, this is bad." Natsu thought to himself.
"I can't see Natsu!" Lucy cried out.
"Just hang on to me!"
Lucy clung to the back of Natsu's jacket as they tried to make their way out from the brown dust cloud.
"There's no escape from me." Rowan huffed, "EARTH-SHATTER MOUNTAIN!"
In a split second, Natsu and Lucy went flying over the edge of the remaining cliff.
Lucy had almost fallen straight down if it wasn't for Natsu catching her hand in time. He clung his free hand on a stuck-out root that was by the ledge of the cliff. The two wizards dangled over a two hundred feet drop. It was not a survivable drop if they were to fall.
"Are you okay?!" Natsu shouted over to his partner. Lucy covered with scratches and dried-up blood could only mumble a single yes.
"I'll lift you up!" Natsu promised, "Just hold on tight."
He powered all his strength to his arm, forcing it to support the weight of his own and Lucy's. She could see his distinctive veins pop up on his forehead. "Just a little more…" he grunted. They were almost close to land when he heard footsteps growing closer.
"Oh no, you don't." He heard a voice above him.
"Rowan…." He growled. Natsu's shot him a dead glare as he looked up the earth-shatter mage.
"I can't have you too…y'know…hanging around." Rowan cackled as he stomped over Natsu's hand.
"GAHH!" Natsu whimpered from the pain shooting from his hand.
"Let's see what happens when I let two fairy tail wizards fall to their death."
"As soon as I get up there, you're dead!" Natsu growled, eyes filled with rage.
"We'll see about that," Rowan smirked. He continued to smash his boot over Natsu's hand repeatedly. By now, his hand had to be severely fractured or broken, but he didn't care. Natsu was holding on for Lucy and his sake. If he let go, they would both hurdle to their death.
As Natsu battled through the shocking pain, he could feel Lucy's hand beginning to slip away from him. Quickly, Natsu clenched onto her hand tighter.
"LUCY, HANG ON!" he frantically ordered.
The celestial mage let out a painful whimper. "I…I.." she stammered
"You can do this Lucy….You're strong!"
The blonde looked up at her partner. She could see he was struggling holding on for the both of them. "I'm weighing him down." She thought to herself. Even with Natsu's firm grip on her, she knew he wouldn't be able to hold onto the cliff for any longer. Her hand began to inch away again.
She would drag him down with him and she couldn't bear to think of that. Natsu was so important to everyone, especially the guild. Who knows what would happen to fairy tail without him. Besides, she couldn't drag someone else down that she cared so much for.
If she let go… If she freed herself from his grip, he still could keep fighting.
If she let go, there might be a chance of him surviving. "Yeah…" she thought. "Let him live." At that moment, Lucy knew what she had to do.
She had to let go.
"Natsu…" she sniffled out "Natsu…I-"
Natsu lowered his eyes only to see his partner crying. He had seen her cry before, but this time, it was different. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes pooled with tears.
"Lucy, what's wrong?"
She took a big gulp and looked straight into those onyx eyes for the last time.
"Goodbye, Natsu."
"You have to let go…," Lucy demanded.
Natsu's eyes widened at his partners request. "WHAT?!" he snapped, "I can't do that! What are you, crazy?!"
The celestial mage's eyes spilled warm tears down her flushed cheeks. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, but she had to do it. For him.
"NATSU! YOU HAVE TO!" She cried, "ITS THE ONLY WAY!"
"THE ONLY WAY FOR WHAT?! I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT LUCY!"
"FOR YOU TO LIVE! YOU HAVE TO KEEP GOING!" Lucy yelled, now bawling. "I'll be okay…I'll be with my parents again. I'll get to see them and tell them all the wonderful adventures we shared. It will be okay…"
Natsu, now with a lump in his throat, ignored all of Rowan's bashes to his hand. His own best friend, his partner, laid down her life for him to live. He couldn't live to see a life without her. Her smile…her sassy remarks…the way her forehead creased whenever she yelled for him to get out of her apartment…these were all things he couldn't imagine not living without her. Lucy and he were a team, without her, who would Natsu be?
Lucy…" he choked out. "I can't have you do that…I can't let you go…You mean so much to everyone at the guild…your spirits…and to me. If I let you go, imagine all the pain everyone would go through from losing you. Remember what you said earlier? Fairytail wizards can't die. We live for our friends. Our guild's strength, our love for each other is what keeps us together. You can hang on, I know you can. You're incredibly strong… I just can't lose you Lucy…not again."
"B-But, Natsu…I'm slipping! I can't drag you down!"
"Please just hang on!" Natsu his voice cracked, letting one tear roll down his face. "If you die, I'm dying with you."
Lucy could see only his tear streaked face. He was serious, if she fell, he would too. She had to hold on now, for his sake.
The tension immediately grew between them. Natsu and Lucy knew what had to be said now, and it had to be at this moment. His heart pounded tremendously as he prepared the words he was about to say. Natsu gripped tightly to Lucy's delicate hand. The hand that held her emblem mark.
"Lucy…" Natsu lightly said, the two still dangled over the cliff as Rowan stood above them. "Lucy, I-"
"EARTH SHATTER GROUND!"
And with that, Rowan smashed his foot on the remaining terrain causing the ground to shake once more. Natsu could feel the warmth of the hand that held Lucy disappear. The struggling weight that motivated him to hang on was now gone.
"No…it can't be…"
He looked down beneath him. His heart pounded hard against his chest, louder than a beating drum. There was nothing but his own empty hand.
"LUCY!"