With a toss of its head, the Leviathan spread its maw wide and roared into the cloudless sky. Natsu cringed, growling through gritted teeth, his eyes squeezed shut as his etherious clawed its way through his chest. The Leviathan's small, beady eyes glinted dully, its growls sending ripples across the surface of the water. Lucy gazed up at the monster with terror. Natsu's words echoed over themselves in her head, but she didn't want to believe them.

"How…how do you know?" Her words were so soft, Natsu almost didn't hear her. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"I don't know how, I just know." Natsu forced one eye open, glaring up at the creature. "It's the same feeling from back then. There's no other explanation."

"But that's impossible!" Happy trembled as he clung to Lucy's arm. "All the demons were destroyed when you defeated Zeref!"

Natsu grunted as he staggered to his feet. He couldn't be sure, but it felt like the Leviathan's hungry gaze was focused solely on him. "Apparently this guy didn't get the memo."

Captain Kobe pulled himself up along the door frame of the ship's cabin as the last of the sea water left his lungs in a fit of coughs. He was soaked and his head was buzzing, but he appeared to be fine. The old fisherman had sailed through worse storms in his days, and had seen his fair share of abnormalities as well. This Leviathan, though, was unlike anything he had ever imagined. A thick, almost palpable feeling of doom permeated the atmosphere, and it froze the sea man to the deck of his ship. Dread and hopelessness drowned him more than any wave ever could as he looked up at the massive monster.

The Leviathan reared back, coiling like a snake. With its long gray teeth spread wide, it seemed as if the monster meant to swallow the entire ship whole as it threw itself at the small craft. Kobe felt a scream tear from his throat. Closing his eyes, the old captain cowered behind his arms and waited for death.

"Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

A blinding gold light burst though the air, accompanied by a hollow clang and a static noise like wind blowing through a grassy field. A tremendous crash rattled the boat as the Leviathan's teeth clamped onto the bubble of energy surrounding the ship, pushing it through the water but leaving it unscratched. The Leviathan pulled back once again, screeching with frustration. The shield surrounding the boat dropped. Loke stood firm on the deck in front of Lucy and Natsu, his arms raised and fingers splayed wide. Lowering his arms, the spirit glared at the monster over the brims of his dark glasses.

"Are you guys alright?" Loke asked, his hands balled into fists. "I felt a strange power just now."

"We're okay," Lucy sputtered. She certainly didn't sound okay. "But we need to get out of here."

"No."

Lucy snapped her head around to stare at Natsu, but his own gaze was trained on the creature. If he was still in pain, he was hiding it well. His eyes were dark, almost manic with both fear and rage, yet when he spoke, he was calm and controlled.

"We've got to take this thing down and figure out what's going on." Natsu seethed, his voice tight and lips pulling back into a snarl. "I want to know why one of Zeref's demons is still alive and kicking after all these years."

Lucy's brows drew together in concern. "Natsu…"

Loke finally broke his stare-down with the Leviathan to spin toward Natsu in alarm. "That thing is an etherious?"

The Leviathan circled the boat, jostling it with the waves of its wake. The beast snapped its jaws threateningly at them, but remained cautious in the face of this new magic. The boat began to spin slowly. Natsu cursed as dizziness piled itself on top of his nausea and pain.

"That would explain the power I felt," Loke muttered, suddenly wary of the man that his master clung to. "But I thought all of Zeref's books were burned?"

Lucy wedged herself underneath Natsu like a crutch, keeping the dragon slayer on his feet. Happy curled himself around Natsu's leg in his own attempt to help. Kobe, still on his knees, gripped the side of his cabin tightly. The boat spun faster, the crashing of water against the sides of The Light Chaser sending up red flags in Lucy's mind.

"Doesn't matter what we thought, that thing is definitely not burned!" Lucy shouted at the spirit, frustration lacing her words. They were wasting time. "And we're going to die unless you do something!"

Loke turned back to the Leviathan, sneering at the creature. He wasn't exactly fit for aquatic warfare – that was more Aquarius' forte. But her new key was yet to be found, and with his own magic being flexible and powerful, there was really no one else Lucy could have called for. Leaping from the deck of the boat, the leader of the Zodiac plunged into the water, a ball of magic energy already forming at his fingertips. The Regulus Bomb sent an implosion of water skyward as it collided with the body of the serpent. The Leviathan jerked away from the attack, snarling at the spirit. With its circling interrupted, the whirlpool dissipated within a matter of seconds. The beast roared just before it plunged beneath the surface of the ocean once again, back to its domain where it had a clear advantage on the Zodiac Spirit. From there, the view of the battle was hidden from the bystanders on the boat.

"He's going to need help." Lucy grasped another key, holding it skyward. "Open! Gate of the Sea Goat! Capricorn!"

With another burst of stars and light, the tall spirit stepped up to Lucy with a short bow. Before he could speak his usual formalities, Lucy thrust an arm out, hand pointed to the cascade of bubbles coming up from the depths of the sea.

"I need you to help Leo distract the Leviathan long enough so we can get out of here!" She spoke quickly and urgently. "But be careful!"

"They don't call me the Sea Goat for nothing, Lady Lucy," was all Capricorn said before he too, jumped into the rolling waves. Lucy would have summoned more spirits to help even the odds, but experience and necessity had taught her that it was better to have fewer spirits fighting with all their strength rather than many spirits fighting with half their strength.

"Lucy, no!" Natsu pleaded, straining against her. "I told you, we need to beat that thing!"

Lucy ignored him, looking over her shoulder back at the Captain. "Kobe! Get us to land!"

It only took the captain a slight moment's hesitation, then he shook himself out of his shock, set his resolve, and climbed to his feet. Grabbing the wheel once again, Kobe groaned as he strained to hold it in one place in order to stop their spinning. When the Light Chaser was once again still on the water, Kobe cranked the wheel hard, turning the boat on a straight course for the closest shoreline. As they left the Leviathan and Lucy's spirits in their wake, Natsu struggled weakly in Lucy's and Happy's grip.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Natsu spat angrily. "Turn around!"

He was not prepared when Lucy suddenly slammed her hands against his chest. Losing his footing, Natsu stumbled till the backs of his knees hit one of the benches on the ship, and landed heavily on his butt. Just as he was about to shoot back to his feet, Lucy stepped up against him, pinning his knees and pushing his shoulders back.

"I'm not letting you anywhere near that thing!" Lucy screamed, her voice cracking. Natsu looked up and froze, his anger quickly fading. She had tears in her eyes. "I won't lose you again! Do you hear me, Natsu Dragneel?!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy cried from where he clung to Natsu's left arm, trying desperately in all his twelve-pound might to weigh down and immobilize the mage. The blue cat sniffled as he too began tearing up, eyes lost within dark memories.

Natsu didn't move. Lucy glared down at him, her eyes pleading despite her effort to remain strong.

"I will not..." Lucy's voice shook as her fingers dug lightly into his skin. "I can not let you risk your life. You mean too much to me."

Lucy raised one hand up to Natsu's face, her diamond ring glinting in the sun. "We're bonded together, Natsu, by something stronger than friendship. Where ever you go, I go. What ever happens to you happens to the both of us. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He did. He had been an idiot not to realize it on his own. They weren't kids or teenagers anymore - he couldn't act as recklessly as he used to. He had to be better than that, for her sake.

Sighing, Natsu lifted his free hand and cradled the right side of Lucy's jaw, catching one of her tears with his thumb. His eyes dropped to the scar on her hip. He didn't say anything, but Lucy knew what he was thinking about. When he finally looked up so they were gazing into each other's eyes, Natsu gave her a small smile.

"Okay," he said with a nod. "I'll stay right here."

A shaky breath escaped Lucy's lips. Dropping her head in relief, Lucy leaned back, giving him room to move. Happy loosened his deathgrip on his arm. Sitting up, Natsu groaned as his stomach roiled. It did seem, though, that the farther away they got from the Leviathan, the glass shards behind his heart ground less painfully. His etherious was receding. Maybe it had only been residual magic he had been feeling, and not actually E.N.D. baring his teeth once more. At least, Natsu hoped so.

The Light Chaser had just entered lighter, shallower water when Lucy winced where she sat next to Natsu. She was panting, a thin sheen of sweat on her brow. The stream of magic she had been feeding her spirits was taking its toll. Lucy huffed a sigh, eyes writhe with concern as she looked up at Natsu.

"Loke and Capricorn are back in the Celestial Plane." She peered out over the waves. "I hope they bought us enough time."

Natsu followed her gaze to the ocean, a line of worry between his eyebrows. Focusing on the beat of his heart within his chest, Natsu could feel the effects of the dark magic subside. The memory of pain hurt worse than what he felt right now, but Natsu was doubtful that they were out of the woods just yet. The boat slowed as the sluggish currents of the shallows and the coastal breeze shifted as they neared land. All was quiet, save for the water lapping against the boat and the distant roar of waves crashing on the beach. The sea leading out to the horizon was likewise calm, a brilliant facade for the horrors that lurked beneath. But after a while, the Leviathan had still not returned, and Natsu was beginning to think that just maybe-

"Gah!" Crumpling forward, Natsu cried as his body seized. A spear of pain jerked through him, worse than before. "Damn it! It's coming!"

Even as he spoke the words, the Leviathan broke the surface of the ocean, twisting and writhing in rage a hundred yards off. With blinding speed, the demon coursed toward the tiny boat like a snake over sand. Hundreds of small fresh cuts around its mouth and eyes oozed white with glowing liquid ethernano. It crashed over the waves, and didn't seem like it was thinking about slowing down. The monster was going to ram them, and the small wooden boat didn't stand a chance. Shooting to his feet, Natsu darted for the cabin of the ship on unsteady feet.

"Happy, get Lucy!" He shouted over his shoulder.

Lucy was too late to react as the blue exceed gripped her by the shoulders and carried her high into the air. Shouting desperately after him, Lucy watched as her fiance disappeared inside the Captain's cabin. In the time that it took for Lucy's frantic heart to beat just once, the Leviathan had plowed onto the sandy shoal and into the Light Chaser. The boat was overcome by a flurry of water and wet brown skin and teeth. Lucy and Happy could hear the wood splintering from where they hovered in the air. The momentum of the Leviathan was quickly stopped as it ran against the shallow floor. Grinding to a halt in a slimy heap, the beast beached itself just short of land with all of its demonic glory exposed for all to see. Its gills puffed in and out, trying to circulate air and failing. But although it had given up the advantage of deep water, its sheer size and power still presented a danger as the monster thrashed. The boat had been blown to smithereens, leaving no trace or any hint of the fate of the occupants left behind.

"Natsu!" Lucy wailed, tears brimming in her wide eyes. Clapping her hands over her mouth, feeling her engagement ring rub against her lip, Lucy tried not to assume the worst. He couldn't be gone, Lucy thought. There was no way. This couldn't be happening…

"Lucy, look!" Happy's eyes were locked onto a point on the water, off to the side but still dangerously close to the splashing creature. Lucy watched the familiar head of pink hair breach the water. Her relief was so potent, more tears sprung to her eyes.

Natsu grimaced as he tread water, his face bobbing just above the surface. He could touch the bottom, but the water was still too deep to properly stand. There were small cuts on his forehead and jaw, but he seemed okay. Kobe was next to him, spluttering as he too treaded water, also bleeding from a scratch across his ear. The poor Captain hadn't been expecting to be picked up bridal style and carried overboard moments before his precious boat had been destroyed. Nevertheless, he was thankful to the mage for saving his life. Both Natsu and Kobe quickly waded toward shallower depths. There the two men fell into the knee-deep water, gasping and spluttering.

Panting and trembling, Natsu coughed as he heard Lucy and Happy shout his name from the sky. Although his motion sickness was no more – and he was very grateful for that – the dark energy within him was so potent that Natsu couldn't even differentiate between it and his own magic. The amount of strain he was putting in to keeping it under control only made the pain more difficult to bear. It was hard to stop something from happening when he didn't even know how it was happening. Gritting his teeth, he looked up and across the water to where the Leviathan flopped and jerked, moving slowly but surely toward the mage and the captain across the sandy bottom of the ocean, its weak fins dragging its massive body forward one inch at a time. It snarled at Natsu, beady eyes flashing manically as it heaved itself closer and flung ethernano-blood from its many cuts.

A loud splash drew Natsu's attention briefly away from the monster. Lucy and Happy had landed a little ways away from him. His fiancé waded toward him as fast as she could. The ripping in Natsu's heart made him choke, reminding him that the Leviathan wasn't the only danger in the water.

"Stop!" Natsu rasped as he threw up a hand. "Don't come any closer!"

Thankfully, both Happy and Lucy listened, halting just several feet away. Natsu grunted as he pushed himself to his feet and faced the Leviathan once more. Sweat and salt water dripped down his face, stinging his eyes and the cuts on his face. If this kept up any longer, he was going to be torn apart from the inside out. The Leviathan was surging closer, now only a few yards away. Kobe had backwards crawled through the water until he bumped into Lucy's knees. The poor fisherman was scared out of his wits. Lucy and Happy stood their ground, but Natsu could tell that they also wanted to run.

There was no time to think. With his own magic contaminated, mixing with the etherious coursing through his veins, Natsu fully realized the danger he was putting himself in if he fought. But there was no other choice, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was barely hanging on by his fingertips as it was. Even now, he could feel the etherious seeping into his consciousness, the rage and mindless drive to destroy smashing against his will. It was weak, though – only a fraction of the power he had dealt with three years ago. However, it was still more than enough to take down the monster. If he was going to fall, then he was going to take the Leviathan with him.

Natsu cursed, untying the white scarf from around his waist and balling it up. Turning to Lucy, he tossed it to her. She snatched it out of the air, quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

"Hold onto that for me." He was smiling, but his voice told Lucy that something was very wrong. "I'll be right back. I swear."

With that, Natsu turned and waded toward the snapping maw of the Leviathan. The beast roared, waves of water splashing loudly as it tossed its head. Lucy stared after him, she and Happy helpless to do anything but watch.

He summoned his raw magic. The wild etherious rose with it. Natsu's head snapped sharply to the side, a muscle in his neck spasming. A growl slipped between his teeth. He started running, picking up speed quickly even in the knee deep water. The Leviathan screeched and thrashed in anticipation, its large teeth shining. It was only when the first flames flared up from Natsu's fingertips, up his arms and across his shoulders – flames that were tinged with black – that Lucy realized what he was about to do. Terror struck her like a lightning bolt.

"Natsu, don't!" Her legs started moving. "Na-!"

She was jerked to a stop by a firm grip on her arm. She whirled to see Captain Kobe holding fast, Happy captured in his other arm. The small cat clawed and kicked at his flesh, but he held tight.

"I can't let you go, Miss Lucy," he said, voice soft and sincere. "You won't make it."

"You don't understand!" Lucy yanked against his grip. "I have to stop him, or else he'll-!"

The Leviathan roared. Lucy turned. Her breathing stopped along with her heart.

Natsu's entire body was encased in black-laced flames, shining like a dark star. His arms and legs were charred black. An unmistakable and powerful feeling of malice permeated the air. Lucy's stomach dropped as her last threads of hope were cut. She had thought she would never see her best friend… the love of her life like this again.

The ocean water boiled around him as Natsu sprinted headlong through the sea, toward the twisting Leviathan. The monster raised up to meet him, its mouth spread wide with an ear-splitting roar cracking like thunder. Natsu jumped, one fist balled and swelling with demonic flames as he soared toward the monster's head. His mouth opened, releasing his own chilling, beastly roar. Just before the teeth of the Leviathan could snap shut around him, Natsu thrust his fist forward, blasting an inferno down the creature's throat. The Leviathan's body jerked as its insides were lit up. Its brown, slimy skin split apart along its hide, spewing fire and black smoke. Lucy could feel the heat of the flames from where she stood several yards away. She wanted to look away, but the carnage was too captivating.

The black flames burned everything they touched, rendering all to ashes. The firestorm Natsu had created broke the Leviathan apart within a column of fire reaching the sky. The dark flames were so bright, they dimmed the sun. Even the water burned, quickly filling the air with thick, salty steam. Lucy brought up an arm to cover her face. For a few painstaking seconds, the only things she heard were the death cries of the Leviathan, the sizzling of flesh and water, and the roar of the demonic flames. A terrible symphony of pain and despair.

But then everything went quiet as the grave.

Lucy lowered her arm and cast her eyes around the steamy sea, trying to listen above the sound of her frantic heart and breathing. Fear for what she might find almost kept her from stepping forward, out of Kobe's relaxed grip on her arm. But she had to know if Natsu was okay. She had to find him.

Lucy didn't know when she started running, her feet splashing loudly through the water. She was vaguely aware of Happy flying beside her, just barely skimming over the surface of the water. The farther she waded in the direction that Natsu had been, the closer she came to the verge of tears.

"Natsu!" Her call echoed hollowly in the steamy atmosphere, and went unanswered. "Natsu!"

There was a splash. Lucy and Happy stopped and spun toward the sound, peering through the dissipating steam to the familiar outline taking shape. Lucy gasped and clutched the scarf tighter, almost not believing her eyes.

"Lucy…"

Natsu stumbled out of the steam. There were no more flames, dark or light, and the man's overall physique seemed unharmed. His head was hung from exhaustion and he moved slowly. Lucy and Happy watched him with small, hopeful smiles on their faces. But something still felt… off. He was moving to slowly, not speaking as much as he usually would. Lucy stood here ground, despite the quivering in her gut that told her she was a rabbit being cornered by a fox. Natsu stepped out of the steam, revealing himself for Happy and Lucy to see. Their smiles quickly disappeared.

The black charring on his hands and feet was still there. Veins bulged under his skin. His breathing was ragged. The blood oozing out of the cuts on his forehead and jaw glowed ever so slightly with ethernano. When Natsu raised his head to look at Lucy and Happy, his irises were small black dots peering out at them from his shadowed face, dangerously manic and wild.

Lucy took an unconscious step back, tears of grief finally falling. "No…"

Natsu's black clawed fingers twitched, his teeth grinding hard as he fought to regain control. He was losing.

"Lucy… Happy…" His voice was tight and raspy when he spoke.

Happy was behind Lucy, his trembling paws touching her softly in preparation to take off once again. It wouldn't matter how far he flew. E.N.D. would find them. Natsu grunted as a muscle spasmed in his neck, jerking his head once more. His eyes rose back up to the girl and cat, both shaking with fear.

"Run."

A/N: I don't think I've ever had a first chapter get so many favorites and followers. Thank you so much!

EDIT: This chapter had been edited for style and content 6/2019

Reviews are greatly appreciated, even if it's just to point out stuff I might have forgotten or inconsistencies. Don't be afraid to critic me or ask questions~!

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