Sacrifice of Gold
by thepeacockandthebutterfly
Chapter 1: Celestial Light
END stood in front of Lucy, both tensed in a battle pose. The red horns crowning his head twisting upwards and the red scales coating his cheeks, arms, and legs gave him a sinister look that further separated him from Natsu.
"Natsu, this is your last chance," Lucy warned, strength evident in her voice. She brandished a key in her hand. A simple black key, similar in shape to the Serpent, but different.
END sneered. "I am not Natsu anymore. And you would do well to heed my words." He thrust a claw-tipped hand out to run it down the side of her face. "I wouldn't want a pretty thing like you to die like this."
She smiled at him and he felt a forbidding warmth in his chest. Let me to her. END heard the voice of Natsu in his head, but he refused to listen. Lucy batted away his hand with a careless grace. "Only Natsu has the right to touch me like that."
And then the two moved. They circled each other effortlessly, moving quickly. END gathered fire in his lungs and let it out in a crackling roar. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR CURSE!" The billowing flames were easily sidestepped by Lucy, who took a gold key and began to summon a spirit.
But END wouldn't have it. He sent another roar. And Lucy looked up at him, a smile resting on her perfect pink lips. She didn't move from her spot. LUCY MOVE! Natsu's voice roared from END's mouth.
A faint glimmer of some emotion burnt in Lucy's eyes before she switched the key in her grasp and brandished the black key, holding it above her head. Her lips moved, a chant rising from them. END delved into Natsu's memories and found nothing to aid him. And then she spoke:
Oh guiding river of light,
Lend me your strength to vanquish the evil.
Tetrabiblos, ruler of the stars,
Burn away the demon.
By the golden sacrifice,
I FREE YOU!
The light in her body rushed out in a blur of color, ripping through her. A halo of light surrounded her body as it began to fall, the light zooming into the black key. The black key, representing the demon power of END, was torn apart by the light of the blonde celestial mage. END fell to his knees, crying out in agony, but cracks formed on his scaly skin and horns, lighting him up. Meanwhile Lucy's voice joined the demon as she too cried out, overwhelmed by the sensation of life leaving her body. And then the light was gone, Lucy's dying body crumpling to the ground just as Natsu rose from the ashes of END.
The flash of light from Lucy's sacrifice could be seen from all around, the rest of Team Natsu saw it, and they began to run. "Lucy," they said in unison, their feet beating the ground in a symphony of movement.
He held her broken body in his arms, crying pitifully. The last vestiges of the demonic magic coating him were blown away by the golden magic of her sacrifice. "Why, Lucy? Why would you sacrifice yourself for me?" he choked out, clearly in emotional pain.
She smiled sadly at him, lifting a quivering hand to touch his cheek. Tears ran down her battered cheeks along with the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her delicate fingers traced a path down his cheek, collecting the tears that coursed down them. "Natsu, I-I," she coughed and even more blood came out, splattering on his black vest. "Sorry," she whispered, managing a wan smile.
He couldn't even manage a smile to answer hers, too lost in his misery. "Luce, why?" he sobbed.
Her eyes softened and the smile on her face faded, leaving her face in tired lines. "Natsu, love, you know why."
His face crumpled at her words, miserably wondering why she wouldn't tell him.
Her eyes fluttered and her breaths slowed, almost coming to a stop. "Natsu...I'm sorry. But I did this because I love y-" her voice trailed off and her hand fell from his face. Her shallow breaths ceased all together and she was still.
An unmoving corpse that he had once loved. Yes, love was the right word. She had been his best friend, his everything, his savior, and his love. And now she was gone, he had lost her to Death's cold grasp.
"LUCY!" he screamed, the cry caught by the wind and carried to the ears of his friends.
Wendy was the first to his side, fear of Lucy's death overcoming her fear of his demon side. "Hold on, Lucy, I'm giving you emergency treatment!"
Gray and Erza were there soon after, the former clutching Lucy's hand and the latter kneeling beside Natsu and placing an armored hand on his shaking shoulder. "Natsu, she'll be ok. Trust Wendy."
He shook his head, fighting to get words out through his sobs, "She's gone, Erza. I felt it." Erza lowered her head and he saw tears staining the redhead's cheeks as well.
Meanwhile, Gray was pleading for Lucy's life, "Lucy, come back to us! Please!" and when that didn't work, "Stache Face, you can hear me right? You see this girl, your 'old friend,' she's dead! Please give her back to us, she deserves to live! We destroyed her, we took away the life that once thrived in this body! Please, please give her back!" Gray collapsed into sobs, fighting for the life of the girl he had always considered a sister.
Wendy continued to pump healing magic into the girl's body, even though she knew it was to no avail. Silent tears poured down her cheeks, but Wendy kept her composure. For Lucy, it was all for Lucy. The dead girl on the ground had captured all of their hearts, so for her they would do anything.
They sat like that for a while, a beacon of unity and friendship that touched the heart of the Celestial King. He too grieved for the life of his old friend, but he had done the most he could. The golden spirit of Lucy sat beside him, looking down at her friends. Tear tracks stained her fair skin and she looked up at the king with her huge brown eyes.
"Please?"
The Celestial King groaned, shaking his head. He could never resist those puppy eyes of hers. "Fine," he grumbled, voice shaking the very ground of the spirit world, "but know that you must sacrifice all your memories of Fairy Tail if you wish to return."
Lucy's temples wrinkled as she frowned. Was it better to let her teammates get over her death while she lived out her afterlife in the Spirit World? Or would it be better to return to her family, even if it meant returning a whole different person? "Would I keep all my spirits as I currently have them and remember all the skills I've learned? I don't want to be the same spoiled rich girl I was when I first joined..."
The Spirit King smiled at his favorite celestial Mage. "Of course, iin fact, it only makes me more certain that I will know the spirits are in good hands."
"Then I am ready."
"Very well." The Spirit King clapped his hands together and Lucy disappeared in a flash, golden sparkles falling down from where her spirit had been.
Kayliana walked through the streets of Magnolia, heavy key ring slapping against her belt at every step. She made her way to the famed Fairy Tail guild hall and stood outside, watching, waiting. Another time, a girl stood before the same building, jaw touching the ground. "What is it with Magnolia and these images that keep appearing?" Kayliana muttered to herself, shaking her head.
Finally with a word of encouragement to herself she tossed her straight blonde hair over her shoulder and strode through the doors. Her brown eyes flashed around the hall, taking in the subdued atmosphere. She frowned. She had heard stories of the legendary ruckus the guild would cause, but what she saw was the farthest thing from a "ruckus."
She cleared her throat loudly and a few heads turned to look at her. A beaming smile broke out across one's face and a boy with pink hair came running towards her.
Only to stop when she took another step. "Luce?" he asked tentatively, nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air. "Huh, you smell so similar to her..." But with a sigh he turned to sit back down in his seat.
"Sorry about the guild, we recently lost one of our most beloved members, Natsu's," a beautiful white hair Mage indicated the pink-haired boy, "best friend and girlfriend."
Kayliana took another look at the woman before realizing. "Y-you're Mirajane Strauss! You were my favorite model for the Weekly Sorcerer!"
Mirajane smiled again, but it had lost some of its luster. "Funny, you really are a lot like her..." she muttered. Mirajane pulled out a stamp and brandished it at the girl. "Now then, what color do you want your guild mark?"
Kayliana thought about it for a moment. She opened her mouth to answer gold, but a nagging memory of sorts touched her mind. "Pink," she blurted out. An image filled her mind of a blonde girl who looked suspiciously like her holding up a hand marked with a hot pink Fairy Tail guild mark. She blinked her eyes, chasing away the feeling that seemed as if she had forgotten something. She looked down at her newly marked hand. The pink was a bright, vivid color, so contrasting to her fair skin and features.
"Hey, Natsu, look at my guild mark!" she said, almost as if it was a habit. She stopped suddenly, trying to figure out why she had said that. Natsu was nothing more than a stranger.
"Good for you," he muttered.
A dark-haired guy sitting next to him got up and approached Kayliana. His dark eyes were cold, but curious. "I'm sorry about Natsu, he's not very welcoming to newcomers these days...especially ones that remind him of her." He scratched the back of his head, unsure what to say next. "Um, my name is Gray."
She cocked her head at him before smiling. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Kayliana!" And then it happened again, a flash passing across her eyes. Gray sat next to the blonde girl on a train, putting a fist on top of his open palm and creating a beautiful ice sculpture. "It's so familiar..." she whispered. "You're an ice wizard."
Gray looked closely at her. His heart had jumped at the crazy hope that his prayers had been answered. "How did you know that?"
"I-I don't know...its like I remember you from something..." Kayliana rubbed her eyes, trying to stop the images. Why was this guild triggering such memories?
Gray bit his lip. He didn't want to hope in vain. "What type of magic do you use?"
She looked at him quickly. "I'm a Celestial wizard."
Gray's mouth nearly dropped open, but he controlled himself. "Which zodiac keys do you have?"
Kayliana felt herself blushing slightly. She noticed that many guild members were looking at her with interest. "I have 10 gold keys. Aquarius, Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Sagittarius, Loke, Aries, Scorpio, Gemini, and Capricorn."
Gray had to fight for control of his surprise again. "How did you get those keys?"
"Their last holder apparently died, so they came in a set to me from the Celestial King himself." Stars seemed to appear in her eyes. "That's the first I've ever heard of the Celestial King himself visiting a celestial mage."
Gray turned away with that, his hopes dashed. "Well...it was nice to meet you, Kayliana..." He forced a smile, but she wasn't stupid.
"Do I remind you of Lucy?"
Gray looked at her quickly before answering. "Very much. You have the same blonde hair and brown eyes as her...you could be her identical twin. You also have the same keys as her and you talk a lot like her too."
Kayliana was taken aback. And she swallowed, not knowing what to say after that. "I'm sorry."
He smiled at her thinly, but it was at least genuine. "Thanks," then he seemed to consider something, "would you be open to joining my team?"
"Alright then, it's settled. You're both going to be a part of our team," a grin broke out across Natsu's face while the blonde girl just sat on the floor of a house in confusion. Kayliana pushed the memory out from her mind and focused on the handsome man in front of her. "What's a team?"
"We all go on missions together and split the reward."
Kayliana didn't even have to think about it. "Sure!"
A/N: And here's the first chapter of my first chapter fanfiction for Fairy Tail! This story tells the story of Lucy's dying to save Natsu from END(himself). The thing is, she came back, but she doesn't remember anything of her old life. This story will follow her regaining her memories, but also developing new feelings for people in the guild. Buckle in for a long, but hopefully entertaining story!
I hope you all enjoy this story!
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