Lucy sighed and brushed back a lock of blonde hair, "Sister T," she started, "I don't mean to be impatient, but when will practice end? When will I be able to work again?" She asked.
Sister T looked up at Lucy. They had been training for the equivalent of three months on Earth, and Lucy had done very well. "You have come quite far Lucy. I am very impressed with your ability to harness the Holy light so soon into your training."
Lucy bowed her head, "Thank you Sister. You're a great teacher." She smiled.
"How do you feel, after reading all of the scrolls?" Sister T turned her back and organized some papers.
"I feel nervous." Lucy admitted with a small laugh, "Some of the stories are terrible. The accidents that happen…" her voice trailed off.
Sister T looked towards Lucy again, "They are terrible situations. And all are the cause of a servant of Lucifer." Lucy's eyes shot up, and she stared at Sister T, "Haven't you noticed, Lucy?"
Lucy stared straight ahead as she went over all the scrolls she had read over the past three months. Her eyes widened as she made the connection. Tragedies, like the ones she had been reading about, didn't just happen. She thought back to her life on Earth, and the news she had read, and tragedies she heard about. Tidal waves, earth quakes, house fires without a cause…
"Servants of Lucifer…" She said quietly.
Sister T nodded, "You will run into them every single time you leave. Your purpose is to prevent them from the murder and tragedy and heart ache they will cause. As a Guardian angel, your job was to protect after the accident had occurred. Now, you must prevent, not protect. At any cost necessary." Lucy nodded, feeling more nervous by the minute.
"You will understand soon enough. You're first mission has just come in." A new scroll popped into Sister T's hands, "Here, Lucy."
Lucy grabbed the scroll and opened it.
Family of 5 in danger. Signs that a Servant will soon be in the home.
Lucy looked up, confused, "Sister, what signs? How do they know when there will be an attack?"
Sister T shook her head, "We will discuss that when you are back. You don't have much time. God bless, Lucy."
Sister T held up a hand in good bye, and Lucy felt her entire being drop as the floor beneath her feet opened up. She would never admit this out loud, but she loved being sent to Earth. She flipped herself so she was falling head first and spread her wings. She twirled and danced through the air as she fell, laughing with glee.
As she approached the ground, she straightened up and landed gracefully, toes first. She looked around at her surroundings. The stars were out, and the moon was bright. She figured it was about two in the morning. The house she had landed in front of was new, from the looks of it. The driveway had yet to gain much dirt, and the windows still shone with newness. She closed her eyes and focused. She didn't sense evil. She clasped a hand around the cross on her neck, and walked through the door. She wasn't tangible, making it easy for her to get places to save others.
She walked cautiously through the home looking for danger. She had been through the whole home and was beginning to think that Sister T had a mistake, and there wasn't actually any danger here. She was slightly disappointed, not being able to complete her first mission as a miraculous guardian angel. She spun around, ready to leave, when a sudden movement caught her eye.
Lucy gripped the cross hanging around her neck, "Who's there?" She called out. A small boy with dark hair walked past her without answering, and into the kitchen. She heard the sound of a cupboard opening and then the tap turn on. "Oh, it's just a kid." She breathed out.
"Yea, they're quite harmless at that age."
"AH!" Lucy screamed in surprise. She thrust her hand out in front of her and filled the room with holy light from her cross, a shadow huddled in the corner, scared off by the light.
"Ouch! Dammit, turn that thing off!" The voice said. Lucy obliged, and lowed the cross.
"Who are you?" She asked, "Why are you here?" the small boy left the kitchen, seemingly oblivious to the two people talking in front of him. He walked right through Lucy and up the stairs to the hallway to his room.
"He always was oblivious…" The voice mused, "Name's Natsu." The shadow stood up to full height. It was a boy. Lucy watched him carefully. He was tall. Messy pink hair. A black scarf tied around his neck. She couldn't make out much more than that in the dim room.
"Natsu who?" she questioned. The boy laughed.
"Doesn't matter." He said, he promptly stuck his arm through the wall and began to move it around, "And who are you?"
"My name is Lucy. I'm an Angel." She introduced herself.
"Kinda figured based on that light." He said lightly, "So, you're the newbie?" He stopped moving his arm around, but left it in the wall.
"Newbie? I have been a guardian angel for fifty years now." She explained, "I am far from new."
"Yea, while I haven't seen or heard of a pretty blonde angel messing with any of our jobs, so you must be new." Natsu replied.
Lucy held back a scoff, "What are you doing? I don't sense evil from you. Did Sister T send you to help me?" She asked instead.
Natsu burst out into laughter, "Haha! You're funny!" He gasped, "Me? An angel?! Only if Lucifer was God and lived in the sky!" He laughed.
Lucy straightened up, "Wait! You…you're a servant of Lucifer!?" She couldn't believe it. She felt no evil from Natsu. His grin and easy going attitude threw her off. She wasn't sure what she should do.
He shot her a strange look, "Uh, yea. Why do you think I'm tearing apart these wires behind the wall?"
She stared at him, uncomprehending of what he had just said, "You…you're a servant? Of Lucifer?" she asked again, just to be sure.
Natsu pulled his arm free from the wall, "You are way too new to be doing this. Listen, just leave, and let me do my job. It'll make it easier on everyone if you just fly away and leave us in peace."
Lucy pulled herself out of her confusion, "Excuse me? Your job is to kill people!" She snapped, "I am supposed to stop you and save them!"
Natsu sighed and pulled a paper out from his coat pocket, "Read this." He sighed. The paper was rough, burned around the edges, and crumpled looking. She spread it open and read what it said.
"Destroy Conbolt Family. Reward: 1 life saved for every life taken"
"This is about as descriptive as the one Sister T gave me." Lucy muttered, "What does it mean for every life taken, one will be saved?" She asked.
Natsu didn't even look at her, "When you make a deal with the devil, he gives you what you want, in the worst ways. I can protect whoever I want, if I kill whoever he wants. Now stand back."
Lucy stared at him, dumbfounded, "You made a deal with the devil?!" She cried, "Natsu, it's not too late! You can repent! God will forgive you!" She crushed the paper in her hand.
"Too late, angel." He planted his feet and held his hands up to his mouth. He took a deep breath in, and when he breathed out fire billowed out of his mouth and caught the wall. It began to spread quickly, "Lucy," He glanced at her, "These aren't ordinary flames. If you want to make a miracle, please, please, save Romeo." And he vanished on the spot.
"Natsu!" She called out, "Who is Romeo?!" She blinked, the fire was spreading extremely fast. It burned hotter than she ever thought could be possible. 'The rooms!' With a burst of speed, she flew up stairs. The smoke detectors had been turned off, thanks to Natsu cutting the electricity. The sleeping family would never wake up in time to get out. 'Romeo…Romeo… ROMEO!' She spotted the door with a hand drawn sign,
"KEEP OUT. ROMEO'S ROOM"
It read in messy blue letters. 'Sorry, Romeo!' Lucy thought as she walked through the door. The small boy from the kitchen was asleep in the bed. She knelt beside him and bowed her head, keeping her cross firmly between her hands.
"Heavenly Father above, please lend me your light. Let me protect Romeo. Help me, Father." Lucy prayed. Her cross began to glow, and the light spread throughout the room. The smoke that had begun to billow into the room under the crack of the door, stopped. The fire, it seemed, couldn't move past her holy light.
'What of his father? What of his family?' A small voice at the back of her mind cried out, 'This poor boy is going to be an orphan because you can't protect them all!' Lucy stared silently at the poor boys sleeping face. He had no idea what was happening. A memory flashed through her mind. It had been over 40 years since she had thought about her human life. Tears stung her eyes, "I won't let you be an orphan!" She cried out. She gripped her cross tighter, and willed the light to spread. As she prayed for the strength to protect the family, she imagined the light spreading across the top floor, into the other bed rooms and protecting the rest of his family.
"I will not let you be an orphan!" She cried again.
"I told you to leave!" Her head snapped up, her focus gone. Natsu stood in the door way, breathing heavy and looking away from the light.
"Actually you told me to protect Romeo!" She glared, "I will not let him become an orphan!" She gripped her cross, and turned back to face Romeo. She closed her eyes again, "I will help you. Don't worry." She said quietly. The light began to spread again.
"You have to leave!" He shouted at her.
"I will do no such thing!" She cried. She spun around and aimed her cross directly at Natsu. He screamed in pain, but didn't back away.
"You. Have. To. Leave." He said, his voice was low, but the words were clear, "HE is coming. And you need to leave!" Fire surrounded his hands, "Listen, Romeo is going to die. I was hoping I could protect him, but I don't…I haven't…You need to leave! If this family dies, I know you'll take care of them in Heaven!"
"He's a little boy, Natsu! I am not leaving him to die on the Devil's orders! If I can protect him, I will!" She declared. Natsu shrank back a little as Lucy glowed even brighter, her holy light extinguishing the flames around his hand.
"You are a stupid, stupid, STUPID angel!" Natsu shouted angrily. A black aura surrounded him, and he began to change. His eyes glowed red, and horns sprouted from his head.
"Ah, so Natsu wasn't lieing." He grinned. His voice had changed. It had taken a deeper, more alluring sound to it. He stood up.
"Lucifer." Lucy glared. She stood up and walked to the front of Romeo's bed. She stood between the boy and the fallen angel. "Why are you here?!" She demanded. 'Don't show fear, Lucy. Do not show it.' She tried desperately to think how she could summon Sister T. A servant, sure. She had been expecting that. Sister T had not said anything about encountering about the King of Hell himself.
"I am here, because that boy needs to die!" He yelled, pointing at Romeo.
"As long as I am around, you will not touch him!" Lucy cried. She drew in every ounce of faith and power she could find and directed it towards Lucifer.
He gave her an amused look as he took the beam of holy light right to the stomach, "I may not be in my true form, Lucy Heartfilia, but let me say, I am impressed." He pulled Natsu's shirt up, revealing a site that made her blush despite being an angel. In the center of Natsu's well-muscled stomach, was a bright red burn. It got darker as his body absorbed more light, "I do not feel pain in another's body, so you are just causing Natsu pain when I leave." He looked up and noticed Lucy's blush, "Ah, it is true then. I see even angels are not immune to temptation." He grinned. It looked out of place on Natsu's face.
"I will not be tempted!" Lucy tried to regain her composure, but the site had rattled her.
"Ah, how long has it been since you've had human touch?" He walked towards her. Lucy's blush deepened.
"I…What…That's not…Back off!" She yelled, holding up her cross.
"Tell me, Lucy," His voice was persuasive, "Do you long for human contact? Do you long to be with someone?"
She felt her composure slipping, as his face neared hers, "I said, BACK OFF!" She threw her leg out and delivered a kick that sent him flying into the hall way.
"Sister T has trained you well." Lucy's light dimmed, her energy drained and her mind was confused. Flames filled the hall, surrounding Lucifer. She could only see his shadowy outline through the fire, "But mark my words, I will have his soul, and if not his, I will take yours."