July 7, X791
Tears ran down Lucy Heartfilia's face as the walls of Mercurius began to collapse around her. Walls of stone could no longer contain the amount of magical power leaking from the gateway in front of her. Dust floated down from the ceiling, coating her torn clothing, yellow hair and slick skin in a chalky film. Biting her lip to prevent a whimper from escaping, Lucy looked down at the frail girl in her arms.
Yukino Aguria's face rested in Lucy's lap, her face drawn and pale, breaths coming in shallow gasps. Her eyelids fluttered before slowly opening, meeting the brown of Lucy's eyes. Lucy was surprised that the other celestial mage had the strength to do even that. With every passing second, the gateway was drawing out her magical power and life force. With only two of the twelve zodiac keys in her possession, Yukino's life force was being drawn away much faster than Lucy's. Even with her ten keys trying to slow the drain of power, Lucy's eyesight was beginning to blur around the edges – or maybe that was because of the tears.
"Lucy," Yukino whispered weakly.
"Shhh, don't talk," Lucy sniffed. "You should conserve your strength."
The other girl smiled sadly. "It's . . . almost all . . . gone, Lucy. I don't . . . I don't think I'll make it." A single tear slid down her cheek, cutting a path through the dust.
A sob tried to claw its way out of her throat, but Lucy managed to choke it down before glaring at the man who was responsible for all this. Arcadios had turned his back on the two mages, laughing maniacally while reveling in the soon-to-be success of his plan. He had all but forgotten Lucy and Yukino, their purpose fulfilled. Lucy couldn't believe she and Yukino had trusted him! He had made them believe Eclipse would save the world – but in fact it would bring darkness down on them all.
"You can't give up, Yukino. Help will be here soon – just you wait and see! Natsu, Erza and the others will come," Lucy soothed, believing wholeheartedly that Natsu would burst through the doors any second in a fiery rage and pummel the Squadron Chief into the ground.
A sudden surge of power reverberated throughout the hall, causing the entire palace to shake violently. Head-sized rubble rained down on the mages in the hall as Lucy felt a heavy pull within her core being. She gasped and doubled over as a large amount of magic power was ripped away from her body, pulled into the writhing vortex of magic forming at the center of the gateway. Lucy managed to pull herself up into a sitting position again, every muscle in her body resisting the movement. She was just so tired.
Lucy shook her head. No, I can't give in. I can't let him win! They'll come. I know it! Natsu always comes . . . always.
"Lucy . . ."
She looked down to find Yukino struggling to breathe. Panic seized her as she realized her companion was dying. Help would come too late for the other celestial mage. This time Lucy couldn't stop the sobs from escaping, her eyes squeezed shut in physical and emotional pain. "This isn't how it's supposed to end!" she cried, pulling Yukino closer. "Don't give up! Please!"
". . .Sing for me?"
The unexpected question helped Lucy to somewhat pull herself together. "W-w-what?" she stammered, unsure she'd heard the other girl correctly.
Yukino smiled faintly, her eyes glassy, "Wendy told me you have a . . . lovely singing voice. Please, Lucy . . . I want to hear . . . something pleasant before . . ." She trailed off, unable to finish, her eyelids fluttering closed.
Lucy's tears flowed freely as she bent her head in sorrow. The least she could do for her companion was grant her dying wish. There were no words, only a single line of melody that floated above the surrounding chaos, haunting and pure. With tears streaming down her face and Yukino cradled in her arms, Lucy Heartfilia sang as the world came down around her.
Natsu Dragneel ran through the halls of the collapsing Mercurius, desperation and rage dueling for control within him: desperation to find Lucy, to protect her, and bring her home safely; rage at those responsible for her abduction and at himself for allowing them to take her right from under his nose. He snarled at the thought of his failure. After losing her in the Hell Palace just a day ago, he had vowed to never let her out of his sight again, but he had trusted the people who had taken her. They had said they'd keep her safe, and that Eclipse would erase Zeref's darkness from the world. But that had been a lie. Now Lucy and Yukino's lives were in danger.
Coming to an intersection, Natsu skidded to a halt. Happy flew circles around his head, crying out in worry as Erza and Gray caught up.
"Which way?" Erza asked tersely. She too felt responsible for Lucy's kidnapping. After they had all returned from the palace with Lucy and Yukino, Erza had believed Arcadios when he told the members of Fairy Tail that Lucy and Yukino's power could help him go back in time and stop Zeref. She had watched as Lucy walked away, turning back and waving, "I'll see you guys soon!" She had stopped Natsu from following them. They all didn't learn the truth until a disheveled Jellal, disguised as Mystogan, came rushing into the tavern.
"Where's Lucy and the other spirit mage?" he had demanded.
"You just missed them," Makarov explained, sitting on the bar. "They left with Arcadios about an hour ago. What's all the fuss?"
"I'm too late," Crime Sorciere's master replied in disbelief. He had looked right at Erza and said, "I'm sorry, so sorry. Lucy's in danger: Arcadios lied to you all! We have to stop him!"
After hearing the truth from Jellal, Fairy Tail had quickly rallied, sending two groups to the palace in hopes to rescue their beloved guild mate. The others had gone to their ally guilds and the council, hoping against hope they could get more help on the way in time. At the gates, Laxus and the Raijinshuu had remained behind to stall the palace guard. Erza, Natsu and Gray had gone ahead, Natsu picking up Lucy's scent immediately.
Natsu lifted his head and took a deep breath through his nose. A myriad of scents flooded his brain, but there was only one that mattered. He would recognize her scent anywhere, could distinguish even the faintest hint of her from the thousands of odors assaulting his senses. Without a word, Natsu turned to the left and began running full speed. Lucy's scent was laced with fear, which only let the rage finally overpower the desperation.
A boom resounded throughout the palace causing the entire building to shake violently. Gray and Natsu were thrown into the walls, while Erza managed to keep her balance, knocking a falling piece of rubble as big as her breastplate away with a swing of her sword. All three mages stiffened as they felt a flare of magic – Lucy's magic.
"We'd better hurry," Gray stood up, brushing the dust of his jacket and glanced up at the now unstable ceiling. He was uncharacteristically still dressed, which was a testament to how worried he was. "The entire place is coming down. We'll all get trapped in here."
Natsu snarled and turned on the ice mage, "Are you saying we should just leave Lucy behind?"
"Natsu . . ." Happy cried, eyes tearful and ears flattened. "Lucy is-"
Eyes narrowing, Gray interrupted, "When did I ever say that, flame brain? I'm saying you're taking too long finding her and that we'll all die if you don't hurry up!"
Before Natsu could throw a punch, Erza stepped between the two irate, worried mages and said, "This is not the time for this. That flare of Lucy's magic was not a good sign. It was too much energy, too fast. You both should know that." A shadow had fallen across her face and she was quivering. Natsu and Gray both understood this to mean Erza was pissed off beyond belief, and it was enough to snap both young men back into reality.
Again, without a word, Natsu started off in the direction of Lucy's scent and the powerful magic threatening to tear Mercurius apart from the inside. Lucy, he shouted in his mind, hoping it would somehow reach his most precious nakama. I'm coming for you. Don't give up on me! I'm coming!
After that last pull on her magic, Lucy stopped singing, no longer possessing the strength to even cry. Yukino was still in her arms, skin cool to the touch, chest no longer rising with breath, but Lucy didn't notice. She felt numb, staring blankly at the swirling vortex of light that used to be Yukino's, her and countless other mages' magical energy. There was no sound, only a quiet, high-pitched hum in her ears. Blackness rimmed her eyesight. Her head slowly sank down until her chin hit her chest and she was staring at Yukino's still, seemingly peaceful face.
Is this shock? She wondered. Or am I dying too?
She didn't hear the doors burst open nor the clash of metal and ice as Erza and Gray met the guards at the door. Neither did she feel the red hot heat of dragon's fire as Natsu stormed into the room, dragging two guards by their collars. He tossed them at the four other guards who charged at him with enough force to slide the disorganized pile of armed men twenty feet across the floor.
Natsu immediately rushed over to Lucy, his rage waning for the moment as he checked to make sure his friend was okay. He knelt down beside her and Yukino, panic rising in his gut when Lucy didn't respond to his presence. He let out a momentary sigh of relief when he realized Lucy was still breathing. Noticing Yukino's lack of movement, Natsu inspected her, realizing with a sickening dread that they had arrived too late for at least one of the celestial mages.
"Lucy!" Happy wailed, flying past Natsu's shocked and angry face, tears trailing behind him. He hugged her chest, but her arms didn't rise up to meet him. "Lucy?" he warbled, looking up at her with round, unsure eyes.
It took a moment for Lucy to register Happy and Natsu's presence, her mind moving like molasses. She continued to stare blankly at Happy, unable to raise her head to meet Natsu's eyes. Hands gripped either side of her face gently and lifted her head up to meet the dragon slayer's intense stare.
"Lucy! Talk to me! Hey!" Natsu cried. His hands were hot, so very hot. The uncomfortable heat was enough to shock Lucy's system back to the present. Sound crashed down around her and the world came back into focus even though she still felt incredibly weak.
"N-N-Natsu?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the sounds of fighting and magic. "You came?" She smiled softly and reached her arms up slowly to cuddle a sobbing Happy to her chest who proceeded to bury his face in Lucy's breasts.
"Idiot, of course I came. I'll always come for you!" Natsu gave her his signature toothy grin, even though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Happy, stay with Luce. I'm gonna turn whoever's responsible for hurting her and Yukino into ashes."
As Natsu stood, Lucy remembered her fellow celestial mage. "Yukino!" She looked down and felt the tears welling up again at what she saw.
"I'll make them pay," Natsu slammed his fist into the open palm of his other hand, flames igniting all over his body. His eyes smoldered in rage as he picked out the man he instinctively knew was in charge. Arcadios scowled at the surrounding chaos and at the pesky Fairy Tail mages who had interrupted this momentous event.
"You're too late, Salamander," Arcadios said smugly. "You can't save your celestial mage friend. The glory of Zeref will prevail!"
"Like hell it's too late! As long as there's breath still in my body, I'll make you regret the day you thought you could hurt Luce and get away with it! That's my promise as a Fairy Tail mage!" Fists wreathed in flame and charging ahead, Natsu shouted, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Lucy felt a surge of strength as she watched her nakama fighting to save her and prevent Arcadios from succeeding in his plan. It would continue sucking out her life force until she died, giving it the energy it needed to open. No matter how hard her friends fought, it would amount to nothing if she didn't close that gateway. Somehow, Lucy knew that she was the only one who could do it.
Now that her mind was relatively clear, Lucy was able to focus on the gateway. It was gigantic, reaching almost all the way to the ceiling. Intricate carvings made their way up the two supporting columns of the arch before curving into the arch. Four cross symbols adorned the arch, topped by four matching fleur patterns that somewhat resembled phoenixes taking flight. An additional four columns rose up behind the arch, the outer columns connected to the inner two by buttresses. Dead center on the top of the gateway, connecting the two inner columns, was a black keystone with a pointed top and a ring in its center. On either side of the gateway, a slim, curved arm descended toward the floor, magical energy shooting in streams from pointed nodes at regular intervals along their lengths.
Though beautiful, these details were not as important as what was sitting beneath the arch. Set at regular intervals and locked into place were the twelve celestial keys of the zodiac, glowing intensely like molten gold with the amount of magical energy they were conducting. Ten of those were hers and Lucy desperately hoped that her spirits were not experiencing the same energy drain as she.
The gateway must be blocking my spirits and I from opening the door to the spirit realm, Lucy thought. Loke definitely would have shown up by now if he could have.
The gateway's light intensified, pulling even more life force out of Lucy and causing the entire palace to quake ominously. Lucy gasped in shock and pain, letting go of Happy and caught herself from falling on her face by placing her hands on the floor so that she was on hands and knees. The world spun wildly then went completely black for a moment, making her retch violently from the vertigo. Wiping her mouth, she gained her bearings and glared at the evil machinery stealing her life away.
Another pull of that magnitude will kill me, she thought grimly. I have to stop this now!
Without thinking it through, Lucy began to crawl towards the gateway, now unable to stand or walk. She could barely get her limbs to move forward, fatigue fighting for control. Oh, how nice it would be to just lie down and fall asleep! But Lucy stamped down that desire as best she could and continued to laboriously crawl toward the magic door.
Happy hopped alongside her. "Lucy, where are you going?" he cried desperately. "You shouldn't be moving!"
"Happy," Lucy panted, stopping for a moment to look the blue cat in the eyes. "This is something I think only I can do, something I must do!"
"Why only you?"
Lucy sighed and continued to crawl. "It's mostly celestial magic. I'm the only . . . " Lucy choked on that word, thinking of how she had failed Yukino. "I'm the only one here who can control this magic."
When Lucy noticed Happy was still following her, she turned to him and said, "You can't follow me there, Happy."
"But Natsu told me to stay with you!" he cried, flying up into the air suddenly, clearly upset.
"You'll get hurt if you get close to that magic, Happy," Lucy replied sadly. "You're not a celestial mage, right?"
Happy sank back down to the floor. "No . . ." he admitted. "But what about you, Lucy?"
Lucy gave him her brightest smile – at least she hoped it was close to that. "I'll be fine!" she answered. "This is my magic after all. It won't harm me!" She hated lying to Happy, knowing how upset he'd be after everything was over. Happy thought it over and then nodded. He stopped following her, leaving her alone again.
Lucy's smile faded as she turned away and continued arduously forward. The truth was that she probably wouldn't live through this day. There was no way Lucy could take in the amount of magical energy concentrated in the gateway and survive. It contained nearly all of her magic, all of Yukino's magic, the magic of the twelve zodiac keys and bits of magic from all the mages who had participated in the Daimatou Enbu over the last seven years. The shear power emanating from the gateway was almost enough to knock her down as she crawled closer.
Reaching the base of the arch, Lucy reached up and gripped the outermost column. Muscles screaming in protest, she managed to pull herself up to stand. Panting from the effort, Lucy leaned against the column, feeling the warmth of celestial magic brush her face. Remarkably, the magic calmed as Lucy drew nearer, swirling lazily instead of the erratic writhing of before. It seemed to beckon her with its warm, golden light, reminding her of home. Lucy was surprised to find a soft smile on her face as she stepped into the doorway.
That smile soon disappeared once the pain hit.
Natsu jumped back to avoid the deadly spell one of Arcadios' dark mages threw at him, landing between Erza and Gray. Gray had inevitably lost his jacket and shirt somewhere in the fray and was glaring at the dark mages as a fresh cut oozed blood along his right side. In a flash of light, Erza requipped from Purgatory Armor to her normal armor and assessed the situation. If they didn't stop Arcadios' plan soon, Lucy's magic and life would be pulled away, allowing that doorway to open.
In a smug monologue a few minutes back, Arcadios had told them what lay beyond the gateway. Acnologia was bad enough, but this . . .
Catching herself in thought, she 'tsked' and narrowed her eyes at the Zeref-obsessed man. She glanced over at Gray and Natsu, catching Gray's eyes in return. He nodded at her; he was following her lead. Natsu, on the other hand, was seething, flames leaking out of his mouth and pooling around his feet. His skin had turned partially scaly and his face was clenched in rage. Erza smiled grimly to herself – once Natsu got this way, there wasn't much on this Earth that could stop him.
Except Lucy.
A sudden change in the magical energy of the gate brought the three Fairy Tail mages out of battle mode. As if in slow motion, Erza turned to look at the gateway and her stomach dropped as she saw Lucy standing right before the magic doorway. Arcadios cursed loudly and one of the nameless dark mages prepared a black spell to throw at her, but he was too late. They were all too late. Erza could only watch in horror as one of her closest friends walked straight to her death.
Natsu bolted toward Lucy and the gateway without thinking. He had to stop her! He wasn't exactly sure what would happen to the celestial mage, but something told him it wasn't good. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Happy who was sitting twenty feet away from the gateway, watching Lucy intently.
"Lucy!" he screamed. "Stop!"
Without even a glance behind her, Lucy stepped into the doorway. A sudden flash of light and wave of magic hit Natsu in the chest, throwing him into Gray who had been right behind him. The two men toppled to floor, arms raised to shield their eyes from the light. Erza stopped beside them and turned her head away, her hair whooshing about her face as the blowback from the magic surge hit them.
Within the gateway, Lucy let the magic overtake her. It poured into her, filling both her "containers" almost instantaneously. The pain didn't hit until the magic pushing into her no longer had a safe place to reside. It stretched her "containers" painfully, before she felt an inner snap as they tore open, flooding her entire body in pure magic energy. Lucy screamed as pain more intense than any she had ever experienced burned through her muscles, blood vessels and organs. It infiltrated every cell, saturating her body in an effort to find a safe holding place. Lucy felt something deeper inside tear, an even sharper pain making her scream again. Her wail of agony was cut off as blood gurgled up in her throat, cutting off her air supply. Violently retching, Lucy fell to her hands and knees, succumbing to the indescribable weight of power.
This is it. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. She'd done enough crying today to last a lifetime. The thought made her laugh bitterly before she coughed up more blood. I won't have a lifetime now, huh?
Lucy, a voice whispered in her mind.
Head snapping up, Lucy looked around, but all she could see was the bright golden warmth of celestial magic. She knew that voice . . .
"Loke?" she whispered, the taste of her own blood strong on her tongue. She swallowed thickly and asked again, "Loke, is that you? How can you be here?"
"This is your magic power, and the power of the keys. We spirits are just a reflection of your magic here, so our essence is in here with you." Within the swirling power, the golden outline of her friend and most powerful spirit, Leo the Lion, or Loke as her guild mates knew him, appeared before her. His eyes held sadness and concern, but also determination. "Lucy, there's a chance you can live through this."
Hope sparked within Lucy, but it was washed away as a new wave of pain rolled through her body. She let out another scream, almost falling onto her side. Incorporeal hands caught her and helped her to sit up. Lucy looked over to see an outline of Virgo, her hands resting on Lucy's shoulder.
"I'm dying," Lucy whispered. "Every cell in my body feels like they're about to burst!"
"Lucy, do you trust us?" Loke asked, his head now close to hers.
"Of course I do . . ."
"Then let the magic take you. We'll handle the rest," Loke caressed her cheek with a finger. "You are the master of the zodiac and too precious to us to lose."
"But there is still a chance you may die . . . or lose yourself in the process, hime," Virgo added. "Do you wish to continue?"
Lucy closed her eyes. If there were even a remote chance she'd get to see Natsu and her friends again, she'd jump at it. "Yes," she breathed. She may still die, but at least there was a small glimmer of hope. Lucy latched onto that hope, her resolve returning as she smiled up at Loke.
He smiled and faded back into the twisting lights. Virgo helped Lucy stand and then she faded as well. The magic within the gateway was almost all within her, and still it found places to squeeze into. The pressure in her cells grew with every second until Lucy was sure she would explode. The pain was gone, her nerves fried and unable to conduct pain signals to her brain.
As the magic cleared, she was able to look out into the hall. Her eyes immediately found her friends. Happy had moved to Natsu's side, hugging the fire dragon slayer's arm, watching the arch with wide, terror-filled eyes. Natsu and Gray were on the floor, frozen in place while Erza stood behind them, a look of desperation in her eyes.
"Sorry guys," Lucy whispered, knowing they wouldn't be able to hear her. "This is something I have to do. I'll see you again, I promise." The last bit of magic swelled up and entered her body, leaving her in full view of her friends.
As soon as Lucy came back into view, Natsu shook himself out of his stupor. Before Erza or Gray could stop him, Natsu moved toward the gateway. Lucy looked at him, surrounded by a golden aura of light, specks of magic rising from her skin to dissipate in the air. Even though Natsu knew this was wrong – Lucy shouldn't be able to hold all that magic – he couldn't help but think she looked beautiful at that moment. It was almost as if time slowed in those last few seconds: as Natsu ran closer, he realized that the specks of magic rising off her skin weren't the excess magic espcaping. Lucy's body was disappearing.
"Lucy!" he cried. If only he could hold on to her, he'd prevent her from disappearing. He would be her anchor in this world. He reached out to her even as her form became transparent.
Smiling sadly at her best friend, Lucy completely faded away as Natsu fell through the space in which she had just been standing. The dragon slayer fell to his knees, breathing in her lingering scent. The gateway lay dark around him, no magic left to power it. Arcadios' Eclipse plan had been thwarted, but at a high cost – too high a cost. Not bothering to hold back tears, Natsu lifted his face toward the ceiling and let out a dragon's roar full of rage, guilt and anguish. Lucy was gone.