Everyone, thank you so, so much for all the reviews! I think that was record high for this story, and your input was all very helpful. Thanks again. :) Love you guys.

I will admit, I made up some attacks for Natsu in this chapter. We don't really see enough of his Lightning Flame mode to know all the attacks he can use anyway :P

ENJOY!

*Fear for the Future*
~Chapter 6: The Fire of the Heavens~

Natsu springs at Ronon, his body engulfed in flames and electricity. "Iron Fist of the Lightning Flame Dragon!"

Ronon dodges Natsu's punch easily, laughing. "You think you can beat me that easily? I've spent fifteen years training in magic so I could kill you someday! I failed killing you eight years ago, so there's no way I'm going to fail now!"

"You've hurt Lucy!" Natsu snarls. "She's GONE because of YOU! There's no way I'm going to let you live! That is a crime that even death won't be enough punishment for!" Ronon laughs harder as Natsu swipes at his legs, "TALON OF THE LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON! LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON CLAW!" Both of his attacks miss, leaving him wide open. Ronon punches him in the gut, using no magic, and Natsu staggers backwards from the blow. Biting down on his lip, Natsu leaps at Ronon again, screaming, "LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON IMPACT! ROAR! TALON! IRON FIST!" None of his attacks make a dent in Ronon's plan, only leaving Natsu vulnerable once more.

"Shockwave!" Ronon counters, sending a bolt of lightning into Natsu's stomach, right where he punched him eariler. Natsu cries out in pain, hissing and wincing. Ronon chuckles, "Natsu Dragneel...you're such a naive child... Not only are you wasting all your energy on uselessly attacking me, you're playing all the wrong cards in this game of misery."

"Game?!" snarls Natsu. "What game?!"

Ronon throws his head back, laughing once more. "I want to make you suffer, remember? And I succeeded, by making you really believe that I killed your precious soulmate!" He grins evily. "You belived she was dead, so you poured everything you had into attacking me, blinded by your tears of rage and despair... I now can predict your every attack...and I lost nothing." He turns his head slightly to look over his shoulder. "Thompson, drop the illusion."

It was as if the sun came out behind the clouds. The darkness that surrounded Natsu melts away, bringing the color back into the world. Horrifed, Natsu realizes that Ronon cheated and brought another guild member...who used the same magic as Ivan Dreyer. Natsu closes his eyes, remembering Ronon's words. 'You believed she was dead...and I lost nothing.'

His eyes snap open, instantly looking at the ground by Ronon's feet. There she was, battered, breathing, and very much alive. "LUCY!" he cries. She opens one eye, looking at him with a weak smile.

"Natsu..."

"You're...you're alive..." he whispers, silent tears falling down his cheeks.

"I heard...everything..." Lucy coughs, tears in her eyes as well. Ronon steps up behind her, smirking as he grabs her by the hair again.

"STOP!" Natsu roars, desperately wanting to leap forward. But again, Ronon had Lucy in between them, preventing Natsu from attacking. "KEEP HER OUT OF THIS!" Ronon doesn't listen, simply pulling Lucy upwards off the ground even further.

She coughs violently, her tears beginning to fall now. "I...I want you to know..." She sucks in air painfully, the wounds from her battle with Yataro still hurting her. "I...I need you to know... I always...I have always..."

"Shut up," Ronon says abruptly. "You two are so sappy you make me sick. I already feel like I want to puke." He sighs, placing a hand on his hip as his fingers curl around his sword. "Or else..." he begins, drawing the sword. "I might accidentally do this."

Natsu felt like this was his worst nightmare. This couldn't be happening...not again... Just like the illusion, the sword plunged into Lucy's back and through her chest. Crimson spurts from the wound, hot, dark, and thick. Her eyes glaze over in pain as sweat drips down her forehead. Her high-pitched scream mingles with Natsu's roar of fury, creating a sound loud enough to frighten a thousand men.

Natsu falls to his knees, howling in despair as tears coated his face once more. Twice...she had been stabbed twice in the last ten minutes...even if one of them was a fake, he still saw it...he still felt the pain... He wasn't sure his heart could stand much more...

Ronon pulls the sword out of Lucy, and she falls to the ground, clutching her chest as a dark stain leaks through her fingers. "Idiot!" Ronon shouts as Natsu bangs his fist into the ground. "Unlike the vision, I didn't pierce her heart! She's still got maybe an hour to live, if you hurry!"

Natsu looks up at Ronon, shaking violently. "You..."

"Don't glare at me like that," Ronon laughs. "I just told you that she's still alive! You should be overjoyed!" On the ground, Lucy screams in agony, tears falling from her eyes like a fierce rain. She struggles to sit up, coughing up blood. Her hand does nothing to stop the bloodflow, since the sword went all the way through... Dark crimson pours from the wounds on her back and chest, splattering onto the grass below her.,

"Lie down!" Natsu screams, choking slightly on his tears. "You're losing to much blood!"

"Natsu..." Lucy whispers, a small trail of blood trickling out of her mouth. "I can't let you fight him on your own..." With shaky, bloody hands, Lucy reaches towards her keys. She fingers Gemini's key, smearing red on the cold metal.

"Stop!" Natsu sobs. He furiously swipes at his eyes, shaking. "I...can...HANDLE HIM!" Natsu's sobs turn into a roar of rage as his body erupts in both fire and lightning. Unbelievably, scales from on his arms and face, just like he did when he ate Jellal's golden fire.

Ronon's eyes widen. "Dragon Force..." He shakes his head slightly. "But...that's impossible... I thought you needed an increase in magic power to-"

"LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON IRON FIST!" Natsu roars, slamming his fist into Ronon's stomach. Heat and flame flood though his body, and before he has time to react, Natsu is attacking again. "LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON TALON! ROAR! CLAW! PUNISHING FIRE!"

"Master Ronon!" shouts Thompson as Ronon falls to the ground. "I'll help you!"

"NO!" Ronon commands, his voice echoing. "I will do this myself!" Very slowly he rises to his feet in front of Natsu, who is still flaming and sparking. Natsu takes a single step backwards, trying to make it seem like he was readying himself, when really he was examining his opponent. Ronon's eyes were glowing, just like Lucy's were all those years ago. A dark aura radiates off of him, like black and dark purple smoke. "Yes..." Ronon smirks. "I can posses myself...making my strength double in power..."

"Impossible!" Natsu snarls.

"So is activating Dragon Force the way you did," Ronon points out. "Only Third Genera-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU BASTARD!" Natsu leaps towards Ronon, flames following him in his wake. "I DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT HOW IMPOSSIBLE EITHER ONE OF US IS!" Ronon dodges Natsu's punch easily, his eyes glinting.

"Saw it coming," he says, dodging another punch, then a kick. "I know everything, remember?! I've spent years studying Dragon Slay-"

"You talk too much," Natsu growls, attempting another attack. Ronon dodges each one with ease, laughing like a maniac. "You're not even fighting back!" Natsu's eyes narrow. "STOP PLAYING WITH ME, BASTARD! THIS ISN'T SOMETHING TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY! YOU HURT LUCY, AND YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

"Fine," Ronon's voice echoes in Natsu's ears. "I'll get serious. But remember this...you asked for it." Natsu readies another punch, springing towards the Dark Wizard. Ronon sighs, mumbling to himself. He slams a fist of lightning into Natsu's chest, sending him flying. The Fairy Tail wizard crumples to the ground, coughing as his flames falter. His legs shaking, Natsu attempts to pull himself to his feet.

"How?" he croaks painfully. "With one...hit..."

Ronon laughs. "How many times do I have to tell you that I've studied Dragon Slayer Magic? I know everything there is to know about it, maybe even more than you."

"That's...bullshit," coughs Natsu.

"Your retorts are getting old," Ronon sighs. "I'm sorry, Son of Igneel, but it's time to die..."

"No..." a voice whispers. Ronon and Natsu turn their heads towards the voice's source. Lucy stands behind Natsu, trembling as she looks at them. "I...I may be wounded, but...I've still got...magic power..."

Natsu shakes his head weakly. "No...Luce...don't..." Shaking, Lucy stumbles over to Natsu and offers him a bloody hand. Holding back tears, Natsu slowly slides his hand into hers. Amused, Ronon watches with interest.

"Use...your secret art..." Lucy gasps. "I'm going...to try to use...Urano Metria..." Natsu nods slightly, knowing that it was unless to protest. Lucy opens her mouth, and shouts with all her might, "Survey the Heavens, open the Heavens! All the stars, far and wide! Show me thy appearance with such shine!" Her voice trembles, and she gasps for air before continuing. "Oh Tetrabiblos! I am the ruler of the stars! Open thy malevolent gate! Oh 88 Stars of the heaven...shine! URANO METRIA!"

Natsu's voice joins with hers, "LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON SECRET ART! CRIMSON LOTUS EXPLODING FLAME EDGE!"

Ronon's eyes widen as the Fairy Tail wizard's strength doubles in strength, then combines. Their hands are still joined, binding them together. Their bodies and eyes glow with power as they move in sync, somehow unleashing both attacks without moving more than a foot.

"A...a Unison Raid?" gasps Ronon. "But...impossible...how...?" Before he could say another word, he sinks to his knees. The stars fall towards the earth as flames lick Ronon's legs and lighting explodes from the sky. In that moment, Ronon couldn't help but to be purely amazed by the sheer beauty of the duo's immense power. "Even the girl is strong..." he whispers. "The fact that she's preforming an Unison Raid while bleeding to death...it's...unbelievable..."

Ronon hears the voices of his guildmates, Yataro and Thompson, screaming out his name. 'No...' Ronon thinks. 'Do not help me... I will take this pain as another lesson...another lesson to make me stronger...'

Defeated, the Dark Wizard closes his eyes. Around him, the Unison Raid between the dragon and his soulmate fades into nothing. Ronon hears Salamander's cry of fear as the girl falls to the ground, dying. A sickening smile spreads across Ronon's face at the sound of his enemy's strangled sobs. 'Even if I didn't kill him...I still am making him suffer...' He struggles to his feet, finally regaining a bit of strength. 'This isn't the end, Son of Igneel... We will meet again...when you are more vulnerable than ever...' With that, he swirls his cape around him, and disappears in a puff of smoke.

Sorry if you thought Ronon was too powerful. Natsu just needs some powerful enemies, because he always plows them over, and I felt like he should have a bigger challenge. Besides, if someone was that intent on killing Natsu, they'd need some serious magic power.

That aside, I have always wanted to write a Natsu/Lucy Unison Raid :) It needs to happen in the show, that'd be freakishly awesome.

Please leave a review! Tell me how I did! Was it climactic enough? Sad enough? Dramatic enough? What was your favorite part? I'd love to hear from you, it'd make my day.

~ForeverDreamer12, signing out.