A/N Everyone is jumping on the E.N.D. train and with good reason. Personally I think a demon Natsu would be SUPER hot. But I also started thinking…how can I put my own twist on this? What can I add that hasn't been yet? Then it hit me: what if Lucy interrupted the spell? How would things go down then? So here we go. Read and review, everyone! Leave me some thoughts for how to keep going! I'll try to update a few times a week, I promise!

Zeref was laughing, holding the book high above his head.

"You fools! You should know better than to let your petty bickering outweigh your caution!" Still smirking, he opened the heavy book. I could feel my skin pull tight as the weight of what he was unleashing bore down on the world. I could also see that I was in deep shit.

I stood, facing off against Zeref, my brain frantically trying to work out how to get out of this in one piece.

"Natsu, no!"

I heard Lucy's voice but never took my eyes from my opponent. I knew if I gave him a single opportunity, he'd unleash E.N.D. on me. That was something I could never allow. Igneel hadn't sacrificed himself just for me to lose.

In the end, however, keeping eye contact didn't matter.

I saw his mouth moving, saw the book glowing in the darkness surrounding us. Saw the avalanche of pure evil rolling right for me.

And then I was tumbling sideways, rolling head over heels. I looked up in time to see Lucy, my Lucy, directly in the path of that wall of shadow. Time seemed to stop as I scrambled to my feet, racing back to her. Too late. Too slow.

The avalanche collapsed on her.

I could see her chocolate brown eyes pleading with me, saw an outstretched hand reaching for me, watched as her lips formed my name.

Then she was gone.

For a moment, total silence reigned, like someone had blocked my ears. The silence was shattered, however, by a piercing scream that erupted from the center of that darkness. It hooked itself into my heart and tore it into separate pieces. From the corner of my eye I saw Gray lean over and retch at the sound of that scream. Pain. Agony. Soul-shattering torture. I still can't explain what emotion was echoed in that sound. But when it cut off suddenly, and the black cloud dissipated, there was nothing left. Like Lucy had screamed herself out of existence.

And took my soul with her.