Chapter 2

Here's chapter 2! Thanks for the reviews and favorites! You guys are the best.

I will try to upload another chapter before the end of July. In August, I will be on vacation, so I probably will only get time for a chapter or two. Please review and fav! :)

Please pardon any typos and mistakes. I typed this in the morning and I was really sleepy.

Also, I'm open to suggestions about what might happen next. Honestly, I'm playing this by ear and I have no idea where the story is going.

Thanks again! Enjoy ^.^

She thought that she would die.

She had leapt in front of her nakama, willing to lay down her life to protect him. Finally, the damsel in distress saves her dragon. When black patches had begun to spot her vision, Lucy felt sure that she was on the path to meet her mother. Strangely, she had no regrets. If she had another shot at life, she knew that she would do the exact same thing. As she lay in Natsu's arms, withering away, she figured that this was her last chance to tell him. "I love you, Natsu."

"I... I love you too, weirdo."

There's so much more I want to say, she thought sadly. But there isn't enough time...

A warm feeling spread through her chest as she embraced the darkness that swallowed her whole. At least I told him... The warmth faded quickly, to be replaced by iciness and a harsh pressure on her throat. The cold seemed to flow through her veins, burning her. She tried to cry out, but the unrelenting pressure on her neck only increased. The celestial mage gasped for air, yet found none. Is this what death feels like? She thought grimly as her consciousness faded away.

Oblivion claimed her. Her last coherent thought was on a certain pink-haired dragonslayer.

He woke up staring at the sky, lying in a black pool.

Tree branches, burnt and bare, reached up into the sky like skeletal fingers, grasping at the unattainable heavens. The boy on the ground sighed deeply, as if trying to release all of the negativity that curled like a snake in the pit of his stomach.

When is Igneel going to come? He thought, almost incoherently. When is dinner? He moved his hand around in the liquid, enjoying the coolness of it running through his calloused, injured fingers. Blood. I'm lying in blood. No sense of repulsiveness came to him, but he felt obliged to move.

Natsu tried to sit up, but his limbs felt numb, like pieces of lead tied to his body. Nothing moved when he willed his body to respond. His eyelids felt heavy and swollen, so he contemplated the idea of another nap. On top of that, he had a killer headache. I'm probably just tir-

Pain. A blonde girl falling to the ground.

Hate. Onyx eyes turning red with rage.

Murder. Dragon's flames licking the sky as black blood flies…

He spasmed violently as sudden, grisly visions filled his head. For a moment, all he could see was a monster mercilessly beating its opponent to a pulp. Red-white flames, streaked with black, engulfed the monster as the Chimera screeched shrilly, a death wail; a pathetic plea against the unforgiving demon that emerged from the fire- a gory god bathed in blood and fire, power and pain radiating from every inch of his body.

That's you, Natsu Dragneel. A deep, malicious voice chuckled in his mind, coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. The Salamander of Fairy Tail; a god, a monster, it purred, relishing the syllables.

Who are you? The boy said, looking for an escape from this nightmarish dream. Fear found its way into his heart.

I am you, it laughed, a rumble from the depths of hell. I am the shadow cast by your flames. I'm the other side of you. Natsu could almost hear the smirk on the stupid's voice's face; if it had one, that is. Ooh… Here's the good part.

The demon- no, he- roared as he stood over the Chimera's battered corpse. He was the king; he was the winner. The roar shook the forest as birds took flight from the trees. Yet there was nothing triumphant in the sound. No, Natsu watched the tears run down the blood-splattered face of the boy in the vision. It's the saddest sound I've ever heard.

The vision shattered, but the heart-wrenching cry followed him out of the nightmare.

His blissful ignorance in his initial state of confusion was shattered along with the vision. He was Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail, no longer the innocent little boy who lived with Igneel, nor the cheerful teen who spent his time with friends. He clawed at his Fairy Tail insignia, knowing that he no longer deserved it. His hands were stained with blood, and his heart was heavy with the guilt of his nakama's death.

Her name was Lucy Heartfillia. The love of his life. Lucy.

Natsu Dragneel, who was so gung-ho about family, about nakama, about the guild; who would gladly lay down his life for all three, was the reason the one he cared most for was cold and lifeless. Oh, how bitter was the irony. It was hard to swallow. And he was supposed to be her protector…

He slowly stood up, the blood he'd been lying in running off his body in torrents. He didn't care that Igneel's scarf was torn and bloodied. He didn't care that he needed medical attention. He only cared about one Lucy Heartfillia. She was his beacon. If he could only reach her…

Wobbling painfully, he shuffled toward Lucy, stumbling and trembling with effort. Only when he stood in front of her did he realize that she was lying in the arms of Grey Fullbuster, who watched the bloody boy warily with dark eyes. Is he scared of me? Natsu thought. The way the ice mage held his girl made his hair stand up on end. The two made eye contact and unspoken words flew between them.

"You don't look so good," Grey commented drily, cradling Lucy's still form.

Natsu opened his mouth to snap at him, but Grey beat him to it.

"Don't worry. She's not dead." He coughed, a spurt of blood coming from his mouth. The dragonslayer looked at him worriedly, noticing that his lips were tinted a poisonous shade of purple, but the ice mage waved his worry away. "Look, I'm okay. I sucked out some of the poison in her body and froze the rest. The only thing keeping her alive right now is a thin layer of my ice, which is melting rapidly because of her body heat. I can't try that again, because I'm out of magic power." He gestured at his legs, "I can't move and I can't make splints. The rest is up to you, Dragneel." Grey held out the motionless girl to the dragonslayer, his arms trembling with the effort. "Get her to Porlyusica."

Natsu nodded, naked gratitude in his eyes as he gently pulled Lucy closer to him. Suddenly, he felt less lost. She looked so peaceful… He had a reason to live for. No matter what, he was going to save Lucy, even if this body of his falls apart. "Don't you die on me, Luce," he whispered before running out of the forest clearing as fast as his injured body would allow him to. Deep cuts opened as his blood started to run, but he refused to stop. "HAPPY!" He cried, his voice sounding alien and rough to his own ears.

A small blue figure came barreling out of the forest almost immediately. While the mages had been fighting, the cat had been given the task of watching over their camp and fishing for their dinner. When he had heard a dragon's roar resounding through the forest, he knew that something had gone wrong. The voice was no doubt Natsu's, but it held so much loss and sadness in its depths. Happy had decided to go look for his best friend, but had gotten lost in the forest, having not been blessed with the dragonslayer's sharp sense of smell. When he heard Natsu's voice calling his name close-by, he rushed to meet him. Happy the exceed, normally so inquisitive, asked no questions this time and simply lifted the two of them to Porlyusica's home, even when he felt that his arms would fall off.

It's just what nakamas do for each other.

Eventually, the absolute darkness ceded. Her world was still black, but she realized that she could see. A strange, soft light was fighting the darkness away, bit by bit, as the darkness writhed and snapped back, but was kept at bay. A beautiful blonde woman stepped toward her, dressed in sparkling fabrics. Lucy couldn't help but stare. The woman was effortlessly graceful, like a swan, as she floated toward her. Mom?

Lucy. My lucky Lucy. Layla Heartfillia smiled. What are you doing here?

Mom… Lucy could feel the tears on her cheeks as she ran toward her mother's embrace. Suddenly, she was five again. Mom, I missed you! Where's Dad? I have so much to tell you, now that we're finally together again!

Layla's smile disappeared. Lucy, we're not together. You're not dead. Her mouth pressed into a hard line as she gestured behind her. Lucy looked up, surprised to see that Fairy Tail stood behind her mother. She even noticed a few friends she had made on their adventures together.

Everyone… She looked around, searching in the crowd for a head of pink hair.

You have friends to live for, my dear Lucy. Don't give up on life. Don't die so easily! Layla let go of her daughter and walked away, her body disintegrating along with the visions of her friends.

Wait! Don't leave me! Don't go! Lucy ran forward desperately, clutching for her mom as Layla's warm smile faded away in a shower of gold sparkles. Lucy fell to her knees and sobbed as the darkness enveloped her once again.

This time, however, she didn't lose consciousness. The darkness was like a blanket smothering her, rendering all of her thoughts useless and jumbled. Eventually, she stopped thinking all together and listened to her heart. Bu-dum. Bu-dum. The sound echoed in the darkness. I'm not afraid, she chanted bravely. Her mother and friends' visit soothed her a little, knowing now that she wasn't quite dead yet. I'm NOT AFRAID!

Suddenly, something brushed against her foot.

Porlyusica stared at the boy kneeling in front of her door. Covered in dirt, grime, and something black, he was hugging a girl to his chest like she was the most precious thing to him in the world.

"Please… Obaa-san, please help her…" He croaked, reluctantly holding the girl out just a little. Porlyusica realized with a jolt that she was one of Makarov's brats. Then he… She noticed a few patches of pink hair sticking up on his head, miraculously free from the black gunk that covered the rest of him. "Please. She's been bitten by a Chimera and she needs help…"

She was struck by the desperation in the boy's eyes. "Get up, human. Bring her inside and I will try to help her." She turned and walked inside. No one followed.

Porlyusica walked outside again, grumbling about human disobedience. "I said-"

The boy was crying. "I'm so sorry… I can't move anymore…" It was then that Porlyusica noticed the red blood pooling around his knees as he knelt there. Her expression softened. She walked down the steps and took the girl into her own arms, not caring that her clothes got dirty. "Thank you," said the boy, before he collapsed onto the ground.

The pink-haired witch groaned. Now she would have to carry him inside too. Then she noticed the exhausted blue cat stumbling toward to the boy. "Natsu…"

"Cat, go to the guild and bring the sky dragonslayer. I'll need her help." Happy looked up at the witch and nodded before taking to the sky once again, his wings flapping tiredly.

"Damn. I passed out again." Natsu woke up on a bed, disoriented and in pain. His noticed that he was covered in his own blood as well as the Chimera's. "That's right… I brought Lucy to the crazy old lady…"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN OLD LADY?!" He flinched as Porlyusica ranted about how impolite humans were. He noticed that she did not deny the "crazy" part. "Salamander, I gave you a potion to stop the bleeding. Your injuries are non-life-threatening, so you should be fine. I've prepared a healing bath for you, so go wash up." She turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Natsu hopped off the bed. "Obaa-san, how's Lucy?"

"The girl is in critical but stable condition. The poison is being controlled, but until the sky dragonslayer arrives to assist me, she will not wake." Porlyusica looked hesitant to continue. "The poison has poisoned her nerves and part of her brain already, so, to save her life, drastic measures may be needed."

"Drastic measures?" Natsu didn't like the sound of that.

"We will need to suppress the poisoned nerves. That means that parts of her brain might be wiped clean. She may never be the same again."

Those last words bounced around in Natsu's head, sounding more ominous with every rebound. "Never be the same?" He stuttered and backed up a few paces. His thoughts were running laps in his head, evading his grasp.

"Go take a bath, Salamander," the witch sighed as she lead the dirty, confused, and very scared boy to the washroom and locked him in. Then she added for good measure, "Get yourself cleaned up and stop stinking up my house!"

Humans… So rude, annoying, and unreasonable, but so endearing at the same time.

Porlyusica looked down at the girl lying on the bed in front of her, hoping with all her heart that she would survive.