Alegria
The rumbling was terrible. The crusty skulls and debris started rattling so hard that they started to be kicked up into the air.
"The walls…" Lucy said. He could hear the confusion and distress building up in his partner. As the hallway around them started to warp and distort, all he could think was how creepy it was.
Suddenly, Natsu felt a weightlessness and let out a surprised yell. He was ripped off his feet and saw Lucy tipped off balance. Neither had any control over their movements.
"What's this!? We're being sucked in!?" He heard Lucy cry out. He could feel the tug of some force pulling him in the opposite direction of the blonde mage and thrust out a hand in her direction, hoping to span the gap.
"LUCY!"
Her guild-crested had flung out in return and he tried to build momentum in her direction.
"NATSU!"
He grunted and groaned, trying to reach her and he could see the concentration and fear in her eyes. He couldn't let her go; he had to reach her. Through their sheer willpower, the distance between them shortened but it wasn't enough yet.
Natsu grit his teeth, his hand shaking and straining just as much as hers was. He didn't want to think about what would happen if this strange magic pulled them apart. He had a sinking feeling that no good would come of it. This guild was dangerous and lethal in their methods.
And if there was one person he had always felt a strong need to protect, it was her.
The vibrating air around them thickened just as his hand was barely an inch away. He thought he might have felt the tip of her finger, but he was suddenly ripped away, yelling out as he could do nothing but watch Lucy fall into the swirling and spiraling walls of the cube.
He'd failed, but he wouldn't give up.
The walls started to pull at him and latch on, like it was trying to seep into his skin and then swallow him whole. It was gummy- cold and slimy. His strength alone couldn't pull him away from the walls and he'd lost sight of Lucy, plummeting through the morphing chute.
"SHIIIIIT!" His last ditch effort was fueled by the knowledge that, while they were both strong-willed and she was extraordinarily brave and true, Lucy had never been one to use brute force. As his own strength failed him against the tugging of the wall behind him, all he could think about was how if he couldn't muscle his way out, she wouldn't either.
The sticky arms of the cube wrapped around his face and suddenly, the world was white.
.
.
.
He doesn't know how long he's been like this, since there's no way to tell time. He wonders what he's been doing and why he's here, but supposes it doesn't matter. The world may be white, but there's nothing wrong with that. He feels a little light-headed and a small warmth in his chest.
Joy, he thinks. That's what this feeling is. He's happy to be in this white world where there's nothing around. He wonders at the last time he's felt this happy, but can't recall it.
A sudden burst of heat floods through his chest right where he imagines his heart would be.
'I can't lose..!'
He thinks the voice he hears is feminine.
'I just can't… until I save everyone!'
The warmth in his chest expands and he can't help but feel that it is incredibly familiar. Yet a moment later, that warmth is gone, leaving nothing but a cold and empty spot. His light-headedness grows, why is this happening? He feels like he should remember something, but everything is fuzzy. He wants that warm feeling to return, craves it.
The voice returns, but it is so diminished and weak, it sends his head into another bout of dizziness.
'It can't end here… I must…!'
There is a pause in which the warmth in his chest returns, barely sizzling. He clings to it, but the bottom of his stomach drops out as that warmth hardened into something like disbelief and hurt. His pulse is going a mile a minute trying to keep up with the fluctuating feelings.
The voice returns, but it's desperate yet strong. It's so familiar, yet he can't-
'There must be another way! I'm not giving up!'
The heated stone in his stomach grows and the voice he hears protests to something loudly. He's shaking now, feeling worse and worse.
'I like you, Aquarius…'
The voice whispers this in agony and he's reminded of a hateful glare and torrents of water.
That warmth seeps into his every fiber and tingles, though he can still feel the aftershocks of the anguish rolling through his stomach. The tingling increases and the churning of his insides slows. The voice is calmer now and the warmth begins to burn.
'I must fight!'
He's sure the warmth burning in his body is going to explode until it suddenly releases its hold, sputtering away to a dull and slow throb. This worries him; is the voice okay?
Then there is a bright light, even brighter than the white that surrounds him and he feels the throbbing more acutely than he had before, as if all of his senses had been blocked. As the light dies down, he hears the voice one more time.
'Everyone… I've got to…'
And this time he knows it is Lucy.
.
.
.
As Natsu pulls away from the deteriorating wall, he feels the burn in his chest. As he races down the distorted hall he saw Lucy disappear down, he feels it tingle in his skin. And as he sucks in a deep breath of demon-fire, he lets it fuel his own flames.
He hadn't been able to catch her before, but he just knew.
"I don't really know what's goin' on, but somehow I get the feeling… That you really saved our asses, Lucy."
He doesn't have to look back at her to know she's got that small thankful smile on her face.
A/N: Take it as soul mates/bromance/best friends or whatever. We never found out what happens in Alegria, so I thought I'd take a stab. Alegria means joy, so my thought was that it made you forget about everything and gave you a false sense of happiness while disorienting you and keeping you prisoner. Natsu's bond with Lucy was trying to remind him of what real joy was... or something like that. I've got a companion piece to this for Memento Mori that could be stand alone or attached to this one. Hope you liked it!
zabeth
PS. I like to think that in some missed panel, their finger tips touched, making it even more terrible that they got split apart...