This story is broken into two parts. Lucy's part is present day and Levy's perspective is told one year in the future. Enjoy the chapter.


Chapter 1


Present Day

Lucy's Perspective

"What the hell were you thinking?" Levy McGarden yelled at me. I covered my ears a bit too late and I felt a head ache come back at full force. I tenderly rubbed at the sensitive area before shaking my head.

Natsu, Lisanna, Erza, Gray and I returned from a mission and not all of us returned from it unscathed. I had the worst injuries, almost resulting in my death if Wendy didn't make it in time to heal me.

"Honestly, I don't know. I thought I could help Natsu and Lisanna with their fight when one of bad guy's fist rammed into my stomach," I tried to defend myself but she glared at me.

"Did you think of summoning one of your spirits to help you fight?" Levy asked.

The flush of guilt on my face told her the answer she expected. She grabbed both of my shoulders and began to shake me hard. "Do you have any idea how close you were to dying?"

I tried to answer her but all the shaking made my head spin while my heart thundered in my ears. When she did stop shaking me, I found myself lying back on the hospital bed moaning in pain.

"That's what you get for trying to play heroic," she admonished me. Her hands crossed over her chest while I heard Erza's roar by the doorframe. Instantly, I knew she was keeping Natsu and Gray at bay while Levy and I had our private moment. "Don't you know that Cana's card could have been you?"

Levy was referring to Cana's Grim Reaper. "I don't think so," I was finally able to say.

"So you think her card is a fluke?" Levy asked as she raised her voice. I flinched.

Slowly, I shook my head. Maybe my response to her question was too slow.

"I don't know what kind of suicidal case you're playing but you're not going on the next mission with them."

"No, you can't do that!" I exclaimed immediately as I shot right out of the bed, only my knees buckled and I fell face flat on the floor.

"It's not up to me or your teammates. You're going to have to take it up with Master Makarov."

I nearly panicked when I heard the master's name. We were not on good terms about my idea of going on missions. Apparently, he heard of my lack of summoning spirits into battle. He went as far as threatening to take away my keys and my privileges of taking on missions, which was why I have been helping Mirajane run the bar and dealing with backup paperwork. Master Makarov found out my talents for filling out paperwork and he was deliberately leaving enough of it for me to fill out until I was completely exhausted at the end of the day.

"Please don't tell him," I begged as I bowed before her.

"And risk you meeting death?" she retorted. "I won't have you meeting your funeral any time soon."

"But you of all people should know why I'm doing this," I said to her as I shakily half sat in front of her. I had to support half of my upper body with my arms.

"Which is why I don't condone your actions. Your deceased parents wouldn't want something bad to happen to you," she answered as she unfolded her hands across her chest. "Think of what you're doing to yourself. You look pale, you're as weak as hell. I'm sorry to say you're not helping anyone."

"But it's the price I pay before I could summon..." I was rudely interrupted by my best friend.

"You're choosing to put yourself through a dangerous situation and I can't stand back to watch you suffer anymore." She turned her back on me and walked to the door. She opened the door to reveal Erza holding a sword at both Natsu's and Gray's necks. The scowl on her face spoke volumes of wanting to hurt something.

Slowly and steadily I rose to my feet. Somehow Natsu dodged Erza's sword and was at my side in a blink of an eye. He swept me off my feet until he was holding me bridal style. Flushing scarlet, I hid my face against his neck and squeaked inappropriately. I could have sworn I heard his chuckle as I felt the tremor against his hard chest.

"I think you could put her on the bed," Erza's threatening voice tumbled into the room as Gray still couldn't pass her form.

"She's better right where she is," Natsu said. Then he peered at me with innocent looking eyes and said, "Right, Luce?" And I noticed something flashed in his dark eyes that made me weary.

I dumbly nodded my head to keep a camaraderie going between us. The last thing I needed was for my friends to bicker over my delicate condition since I couldn't physically handle them.

"Maybe you should carry her like that during all of your battles," Gray wagged his eyebrows and then snickered as he watched the both of us. Erza growled and pounded the dull end of her sword on his head.

"Oww!" he cried as he rubbed his head. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you're acting like an immature brat. Can't you see that Lucy is injured? She needs our support." If only I weren't being held in Natsu arms, I would have hugged Erza for being sweet.

"Sorry," he muttered at me before dropping his head in shame.

"It's okay," I said. "I know you're trying to lighten up the situation."

"You're doing it the wrong way," Erza said while scowling at Gray.

Then everyone began laughing, including me. I wrapped my arms around Natsu's neck, feeling as if it was in his arms I belonged when the moment was ruined by Lisanna's and Happy's interference.

"Aye, what did I miss?" asked Happy while Lisanna paused in the room, taking in how Natsu had me in his arms. An uncomfortable feeling swept into the room and I found myself being placed back gently into the bed. Lisanna muttered an excuse and hurried out the room.

"I'll be right back, Luce." His voice sounded cheery but the tension I felt in his arms before he settled me on the bed told me something different altogether. There was something going on between him and Lisanna and I was in the middle of it.

"Okay," I said with a cracked voice. I knew he heard it because he quickly ran his hand along my cheek before disappearing out of the room. Erza might have witnessed his gesture but she had the decency not to say anything in front of Gray.

We spent a couple of minutes in the room together before Erza and Gray excused themselves, leaving me alone. Levy returned with her hands across against her chest. "I feel like telling them everything."

"Please don't," I begged as I reached out to grab her hands and clutched them tightly to me. "They won't understand."

"Remember our promise when you came to me for help?" she asked.

I nodded, remembering the promise. One month ago a package came to my door with a letter signed by my deceased father. I was shocked and somehow weary of opening it since my dad died a while ago. Maybe it was going to be like the clock incident where Yukino and I became some of the only celestial mages left. Then I went to Levy's place with the package. It was a large bundle for me to handle, but with her advice, we opened the box to see the contents and what we saw amazed us. There was a letter addressed to me by my father explaining his actions for treating me the way he did in the past. Also, there was an old age key with black and white trimmings and a leather bound book filled with undecipherable words in fading yellow pages.

Levy, curious as me, promised to help me decipher the words as long as my life wasn't in danger. If I broke our agreement, then she would tell my teammates and Master Makarov about its contents.

And so far things were looking very grim for me.


One Year Later

Levy's Perspective

"Levy McGarden!" a panicked voice called out to me. "Levy, we need to get out of here!" But I wasn't listening to the little blue hair girl beside me. Instead, I was searching around Lucy's room one last time in search for the ancient book I promised to hide safely from Natsu and the other members from Fairy Tail.

Bending down on my hands and knees, I lifted the ends of the bed sheet covering my view of what was under the bed. I saw scattered shoes, and scraps of paper on the floor. Lifting my head, I crawled toward Lucy's desk to check under it.

"We have to go!" Wendy shrieked. Her small hands were on my shoulders as if trying to get my attention. "Natsu will be here any minute!"

"I can't leave without it," I muttered under my breath. I wasn't worried when she squeezed my shoulders with her inhuman strength. In fact, nothing fazed me. Not the fire from three buildings away from me, or the screams outside the window, or the smoke spreading through the air. Most of Magnolia was already engulfed in flames. The Fairy Tail building was destroyed and half of the members died at Natsu's hands. The surviving members tried their best to evacuate Magnolia's citizens from the town. They were also searching for the wrong person they believed to be destroying their home.

"Levy, we need to go!" Wendy was roughly shaking me, obscuring my vision of the contents under Lucy's desk.

"We can't leave without it or else everything was done for nothing!" I yelled as I shoved Wendy's hands from my shoulders.

"What means so much to you that you're willing to risk your life for?" the girl asked.

"The ancient book. It's the only way to prove Lucy's not the one killing people," I said as I stood up and began tossing papers aside on Lucy's desk.

"All of this will mean nothing if Magnolia is burnt to the ground," the girl said as she tried to dissuade me from finding the book. What she said held a part of the truth, but the book was very important because it held secrets about magic that Lucy and I were looking for. It might hold an answer how to stop a deranged Natsu from attacking the city and help bring back Lucy from the other side.

"It does matter. For some strange reason, Natsu's murdering people and destroying the town he claimed to love so much. And Lucy is taking blame for killing some of the Fairy Tail members when it's Natsu's fault."

"We both know it's not her fault and it may be too late change everything," Wendy said with a sad voice.

Tossing the last paper aside, my eyes fell on a thick, worn leather bound volume with yellowing pages. I grabbed it and hugged it against my chest. Finally, I turned my attention to Wendy when I noticed she was looking at the floor. Her hands clutched the ends of her dress tightly; her bangs hid her eyes beneath shiny blue hair.

"Wendy," I called out her name.

"It's too late," she responded. Her tone was so low that I almost missed it.

"It's okay, I have the book." I attempted to show her the book, but she turned away from me.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Most of the town is gone. The people and Fairy Tail members are dead. And he's almost here. He intends to burn this place last."

"Will he kill us?" I asked her.

"Honestly, he shouldn't kill us because we're just like him. We're both looking for Lucy or what is left of her. Plus, there is the dragon moral, which is up held by all dragons and dragon slayers. A male dragon or dragon slayer may never hurt a female dragon, female dragon slayer, or a dragon slayer's mate," Wendy said.

"Even if he's in a deranged state of mind?" I shivered thinking of his feral smirk or the bloodlust in red eyes as he attacked Erza and Mirajane when he first walked into Fairy Tail. I shook my head to remove the unpleasant thoughts of how he killed Gray.

"Yes, he won't hurt us because as sad and angry as he is about losing Lucy, female dragons and mates of dragon slayers are the only hope to continue with the dragon line."

"He's sad?" I questioned her with a frown on my face. I stooped down to get a better vision of her face. What I saw almost floored me. Wendy's eyes looked dull, almost as if I was staring into hollow eyes.

"Natsu's sad because he thinks she's dead? What he doesn't understand is that she is neither dead nor alive. Her spirit is within the realm of other spirits and like them, she can be summoned into this world."

"Which is why I have to find the spell to reverse everything. We can save her, Wendy. This book is the key."

Wendy shook her head and covered her face with hands. "It's too late."

Before I can change her mind, a heated breeze drifted into the room. I averted my attention from her to the open window besides Lucy's bed and I almost fainted with fright. My arms and knees began shaking as I slowly stepped away from the looming figure that gracefully swung his long limbs through the window. His black robes flapped around his form as his magic radiated from his body. A smirk slowly spread across his face as he looked at me through one open eye. His other eye remained close.

"What do we have here? A lost little lamb?" Natsu asked darkly as his fangs flashed.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Wendy kneeling. Her head bowed, touching the floor and covering her legs. I heard her soft whimpers. Natsu bypassed her and kept walking toward me. For every step he made in my direction, I matched his pace in backing up until my back hit the wall. His magic enshrouded his form, heating up against my body until I clenched my teeth from pain and fear. If he continued to raise his magical aura, the sparks of fire surrounding his tall frame was going to leave first degree burns on my exposed skin. I thought Wendy said he wouldn't hurt us, but if he passed her, then he wouldn't hurt her. Me, on the other hand, he would hurt because I was not a female dragon slayer nor was I considered a dragon slayer's mate.

"What are you clutching so tightly too?" he asked. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until the one eye he left open looked down at the book I hugged to my chest. No matter what happened, I couldn't let him get the book or he would have access to deadly knowledge of magic in his hands that he could use to destroy the world.

When I didn't answer him, I felt his long heated fingers wrap around my throat. "Do you speak, little lamb?"

I nodded my head as I lowered my lashes and stared at the black robe covering his body. "So this is the game you'll play with me? Fuck, I like it." His smile grew wickeder as his fingers applied more pressure on my throat.

"Is that book important to you? Nod your head for a yes or shake your head for a no," he whispered darkly as he lowered his head until I could feel his hot breath against my ear.

I didn't know what else to do but to nod my head. I knew if I shook my head, he would sensed that I was deceiving him and if I could stress the importance of the book, then I could get him to change his mind about Lucy's situation.

"Is that why I found you here, in her apartment?" When he said "her" he meant Lucy. Maybe he couldn't say Lucy's name.

I nodded my head.

"Will you fight me if I take it?" I gulped and I felt his hand squeezed my throat, making it harder for me to breathe.

I couldn't let him have the book, even if it cost me my life. Vigorously, I nodded my head. Despite the fact that I was cornered, I raised my magical aura, notifying him that I wasn't going to pass out without a fight.

He snapped his head back and laughed sardonically and for a moment, I wondered how Lucy dealt with Natsu's dark sides in the past. I quivered when he looked at me. This time he had both eyes opened and pure malice was swimming through bloodlust eyes.

I was going to die.

Or at least I thought I was going to die if it weren't for another intense magical aura flying at both of us. Natsu took the brunt of it since his form mostly covered mine. With a grunt, he let go of my throat, leaving me to sag down against the wall while I gulped for air. Unknowingly, a hand went to my throat to rub at the rawness. I flinched as I felt blisters from Natsu's touch. Apparently, magic burst through Natsu's fingers to burn my throat.

"Stop!" yelled a female's voice. "You can't hurt her. She's Gajeel's mate."

"You mean she was Gajeel's mate," Natsu barely whispered but I heard his words and went completely still. There was no way that Gajeel would die. He was too stubborn neither for death nor to lose any fight against Natsu. But if Natsu revealed the truth, does that mean he could kill me without batting an eyelash?

"If he's dead, you still can't hurt her," Wendy said with a steel voice. She stood up to her full height and then crouched as though she was preparing for Natsu's attack.

"Do you want me to test that theory?" he laughed menacingly and I blinked as I realized that Wendy was trying to buy some time for me to recover so that I could get away.

"How about we take our dual elsewhere?"

"And miss more fun of killing the second to last member of Fairy Tail," he casually said as he turned his head to look at me. Red eyes deepened with malice as he stalked my frame.

Wendy was about to pounce on his back when I lifted my hand as a sign to stop her and him. My next words did make him stop. "What if I tell you Lucy's not dead?"

His long pause was enough to make the hair at the nape of my neck stand. I realized I was deliberately playing with fire.

"How can you convince me she's not dead?" he asked with a deadly tone that made me feel like he took the life from my body.

"This book," I pointed to the book, which somehow stayed with me, with a shaky finger, "is all you need." In a second, he was running toward me.