Alternate Ending

Author's Note: Ne, mina! I got a review for this saying she expected Lucy to die. At first, I was against the idea of killing Lucy. I mean, she's one of my favorite characters, and doing that to her made me feel like a bad person. Hahaha. But then I got to thinking… killing Lucy might please my sadistic fans. So here's an alternate ending for Terror Unknown.

… "Is Lucy-nee alright?"

"She's alive," Wendy cut in, her hands glowing as she began to heal the celestial wizard's wounds. "She's just unconscious. It's a relief, too. If we had arrived just a minute later, she would've been gone."

"Can you heal her?"

Wendy looked up at her older brother-figure. "I'll do what I can." She looked back down to her patient. "Hang in there, Lucy-san." Natsu stared blankly at Lucy as Wendy worked her magic. He barely noticed Romeo's reassuring words and that the rest of the guild arrived, everyone flocking over to either Erza or Gray, and Lisanna cradled an injured Happy as she, Mira, and Levy sat around him to ask about Lucy. But he didn't hear any of it. Everything was silent.

Two days later…

Wendy did everything she could, but none of it helped. Lucy's body was too broken to be fixed, and it was only a matter of time until she passed. Natsu refused to go anywhere. He wouldn't eat, hardly even slept. All he did was sit in a chair beside Lucy's bed in the Fairy Tail infirmary, replaying what happened to her over and over again in his head. Her chest was steadily rising and falling, and judging from her heart monitor, her heart was normal. But he could tell she didn't have much time left, and the thought was breaking his heart. Releasing a long breath, he reached out a hand and brushed the hair from her eyes.

Her eyes… He hadn't seen them open since before she passed out in his arms. If she was going to…die, he wanted to at least see those eyes one more time. He wanted to hear her voice, to make her laugh… He heard the door open. "Natsu."

"What, Gray?"

Gray stepped inside, gently closing the door behind him. "Uh…" He cleared his throat. He already knew the answer to this question, but Erza and Mira told him to ask anyway. "Erza and I were thinking about going on a mission. Do you…"

"No."

The ice wizard nodded and approached the bed, moving to stand on the opposite side from where Natsu was sitting. "How's she doing?" he asked quietly. Natsu shook his head.

"Not good," he whispered. "Wendy told me she did everything she could, but…it's just no use. She's not gonna last much longer." Gray's shoulders dropped. He knew about the inevitable already, but hearing it come from Natsu caused his heart to clench rather painfully. Even though he wasn't nearly as attached to her as the dragon slayer was, Gray was heartbroken. Lucy was a close friend of his, too.

"I wish I could've done something," the exhibitionist murmured, lightly squeezing Lucy's hand before he made his way back to the door. He stopped next to Natsu and placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, catching the fire wizard's attention. He looked up at Gray, who refused to meet his eyes. "I'm really sorry, Natsu. I know how you feel about her, and it kills me knowing that I couldn't have done anything to help her." Without waiting for a response, he patted Natsu's shoulder and left, the door clicking shut behind him. Natsu listened as his comrade's footsteps faded down the hall, stunned. He'd never heard his voice shake. He'd never seen Gray's usually placid and collected face so solemn.

Natsu swallowed and turned back to Lucy. Scooting his chair closer to the mattress, he grasped her hand with both of his. "Lucy, I…" he said, his voice trailing off as he strained to keep it from cracking. Before he even realized it, tears begun to well up in his eyes, falling silently down his tanned cheeks without his consent. His voice fell into a whisper. "I'm sorry." He rested his forehead against the edge of the mattress, letting his tears fall freely. "I'm so sorry, Luce. I'm sorry I let this happen to you. I'm sorry for breaking into your house all those times. I'm sorry that I never told you… that I love you. I've always loved you." His grip on her hand tightened slightly. "Please… please don't leave. Fairy Tail needs you… Happy needs you… I need you." He jumped when he felt her hand weakly squeeze back. His head shot up, his slightly bloodshot eyes darting over to hers. They were barely open.

"Natsu…" she whispered.

"Luce…"

"Was all of that…true?" Natsu held her gaze and swallowed, nodding his head. She grinned and slipped her hand out of his grasp, lifting it to sit on his cheek. "I'll always be with you, Natsu." Her hand fell from his face, lacing back into his hand. "Tell Happy I love him. I love you, too. The two of you…were the greatest friends I've ever had. Thank you, Natsu… for everything." Her eyes fluttered closed, her hand slackened, and her heart monitor flat lined. Fresh tears brimmed in Natsu's eyes.

"No…"

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a tease. So how was it? Did you like it? Leave a review and check out my profile for more!