SUMMARY: Spoilers to chapter 428. Don't read if you haven't read the manga.

A/N: I just HAD to write this. Hope you like it~

Natsu rushed to Lucy's rescue, but the chains didn't allow him to move around as he pleased. He struggled to set himself free, somehow activate his magic and melt the chains, but it didn't work.

Avatar Goumon tried to keep Natsu in place. He expected him to be more weakened by the chains than he actually was…

"Even while we've sealed his magic… How is it that he's still so strong…?"

Avatar Jerome placed his sword near Lucy's head, threatening to hurt her if he makes one more move towards her.

"Don't move."

Natsu clenched his teeth, panting from all his previous struggle to break free. He underestimated his opponents. They weren't as weak as they seemed to be at first… But, after all, he defeated them one after another. Now he was defeated by all of them simultaneously.

He took a moment to look at Gray, who suddenly spoke.

"This is what you get for sticking your nose into other people's business… Natsu…"

"SNAP OUT OF IT GRAY! You're being possessed by a demon!", Natsu roared, angered.

"I'm perfectly sane…", Gray replied calmly. His 'friends' though seemed a bit shaken by Natsu's words.

"I destroyed that 'family link' of ours on my own accord. Now does that answer your question?", Gray continued, a sickening smile playing on his lips.

Lucy turned to look at Gray, even as her stomach was hurting. Happy did the same, before Abel started to hit him again. Natsu shot Gray a deadly stare.

"Gray….", he growled.

'Set me free, Natsu…~', a voice sang playfully in his head. A voice he was already used to. 'I can help you…'

'Shut up, I don't have time for you', Natsu thought, aware that the voice would be able to hear his thoughts.

'Angry now, aren't we? Don't you want me to help you free yourself and that girl… Lucy?', the voice taunted. 'Or do you want her to suffer?'

Natsu clenched his teeth and took a look at Lucy. Her stomach was hurting because of that girl's black magic. Anger stirred inside him as she smiled at everyone with a too sweet smile.

'Set me free… And you'll be able to get revenge…'

Natsu suddenly felt a painful headache. Something underneath his bandage started glowing red and the voice in his head chuckled.

An unhuman roar escaped Natsu's lips as he felt like if his brains were being smashed. The others took a step back, startled as Natsu screamed, shaking his head like if he was crazy.

"Natsu…?", Lucy managed to mumble in her pain as she watched helplessly as he was screaming in pain.

Gray asked Mary if she did anything to him, to which she shook her head. He watched confused as the salmon-haired man roared in pain.

Goumon finally noticed his glowing bandage and called Jerome to remove it while he hold Natsu. Jerome quickly took off Natsu's bandage, and revealed strange black marks covering his right arm, marks which were glowing red. Natsu suddenly let his head fall to the side, silence falling upon them for a brief moment.

"Thanks for freeing me…", Jerome heard Natsu mumble in a bizarre voice.

The chains holding Natsu broke as he raised from the ground, looking at everyone's stunned faces. His eyes glew red and his canines sharpened, the marks around his hand glowing even more.

There was a deadly silence. Natsu cracked his neck and fingers, a creepy smile lingering on his face.

"Natsu… Why are you looking so scary…?", Happy mumbled quietly.

They all saw a flash of red, and suddenly Natsu was holding Mary in the air by her neck, threatening to kill her.

"So fast…", Virgo muttered, stunned. "It's almost like he isn't himself anymore…"

Mary was choking. She brought her hands up to his hands, trying desperately to free herself.

Goumon made a step closer to them to help her, but stopped abruptly as he felt Natsu's magic. It was so…

"So dark…", Braiya muttered, amazed. 'Even more than Ice… It's like if he was born out of hatred…'

Meanwhile, Gray stared in disbelief.

'This magic… It's so dark, so unlike Natsu…. It's almost like if he was a….'

"D-DEMON!", Mary managed to scream before she collapsed on the ground.

"Mary!", her comrades screamed and rushed to her aid.

Natsu glanced at them and rolled his eyes as he approached Lucy and Happy. They were shaking because of the magic he was emanating.

"Well… Looks like my job here's done", Natsu said, confusing everyone.

The marks on his right arm seized to glow as Natsu collapsed to the ground, half-conscious.

"That bastard…", he muttered. "Taking over me like that…"

"W-What do you mean, Natsu?", Lucy managed to say. "That wasn't y-you?"

She received no response as Natsu stood there, unconscious.

The Avatar members stared at them.

"Should we attack them now…?", Jerome asked.

"No", Gray said. "It seems we had no idea what we were fighting. He isn't an ordinary mage."

"You're right Ice", Braiya sighed. "We should resume this battle later."

"Right. Let's take care of Mary", Jerome spoke and they all left.

Lucy looked behind them and then at Natsu, relieved that it was all over for now.

"Natsu… What happened to you….?"

Soo~ this was it. I hope you liked it. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧