Chapter 11: Fall of the Daughter

Darkness consumed my vision and for a moment, I panicked. What can I do? Lucy is gone…and there's no way to save her… I straightened myself and used my ears to search for what was maybe happening. Hearing nothing, I settled back into my thoughts. There's only one thing to do: follow through with her last wishes. Destroy the body. Defeat the spirits. Defeat Melinoe. Destroy this nightmare so it can never hurt anyone ever again.

A second later, it felt as though my heart stopped in my chest. Appearing before me was…Lucy?! She looked to be just fine, wearing her normal "clothing" (I call it "clothing" because there isn't much there.) She was smiling brightly, crying out, "Natsu!" She ran up to me and jumped up and down in excitement. She shouted, "We can go on a job today, okay? Just like you said." Just as she said that however, an illuminated figure appeared behind her and I could see that it was Kain.

I tried to warn her to move, to get out of the way, when she was pummeled harshly into the ground. I tried to speak again but my voice wouldn't work. Then I could hear another voice, one from inside my own mind, "Concentrate Natsu. This isn't real. This isn't Lucy. This isn't Kain. You are being tricked…"

Disoriented, I lunged forward, through Lucy to find that she was only an image. Snarling, I allowed my power to surround me, fire going everywhere. I heard the voice in my head again, "You are Natsu Dragneel. The girl Lucy Heartfilia is gone. This isn't real. You need to wake up."

I screamed, "Fire…Dragon…ROAR!" Blowing fire out of my mouth, the darkness began to break and quickly shattered under the brunt of my raw destructive power.

Jumping out, I could see Melinoe holding her hands up, a very confused and nervous expression on her face. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Gajeel standing silently and he took on a battle stance. Melinoe muttered, "How is this possible? How could you break free of my nightmares so easily?"

I growled, "I've lived through my worst nightmare. I had to watch the love of my life die in front of my eyes. Nothing you show me can scare me."

Gajeel growled as well, "What scares you, I wonder?" A dark aura surrounded him and I could only imagine that I had a scary looking aura as well. Together we attacked. I don't know what spell Gajeel used, but it was one I hadn't seen before.

I shouted, "Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" I had used this spell earlier yet this time, instead of being orange and red, the flames were yellow and green. I muttered to myself, "Lucy?"

I could hear Melinoe screaming but I didn't let up. She couldn't get away with what she did. After an indeterminate amount of time, her screams came to a halt and I finally let my power dissipate. I was breathing heavily, and I could hear Gajeel doing the same.

Suddenly, everybody who had been surrounding us before blinked in confusion and gasped:

"What the…?" "Did I blank out?" "What just happened?" Questions rang from every direction yet I didn't even care in that moment. Instead, I was watching one corner of the room the figures of Lucy and Levy remained. They held their heads in their hands and began to groan and moan in agony. Then, something black and stringy began to flow out of their mouths pooling onto the floor in front of them. I could recognize them as the spirits that were forced into Lucy and Levy during the video.

Immediately, Erza took one of her swords and sliced the demons into pieces. They screamed harshly, yet beyond that, the room was silent. I approached Lucy's crumpled body and fell to my knees beside her. Choking back a sob, I grasped her gently and brushed back a loose strand of her beautiful blonde hair. She looked as though she was asleep, except she had harsh burns all over her body. That was me…I did that to her…

Gray took one look at my expression and said, "Look man, it's not your fault. It was Melinoe's."

I gulped and replied, "Yeah…but I didn't even get a chance to tell her how I feel." I cradled her body close to me to see Gajeel doing the same. He looked as though he was about to fall to pieces as he viewed Levy's crumpled body. I looked back down to Lucy and cried, "I wish I could talk to her, just to tell her that I loved her. Not as a friend, but more than that. I wish we could have gone on more adventures."

Bowing my head deeply, I buried it in the crook of her neck, inhaling her quickly fading scent. I need to memorize it…before it's gone forever…First Igneel and I've lost Lucy too. I screamed at the air, "When will you stop taking from me?! I have nothing left to give!" Crying, I put my head on Lucy's chest and cried while lying there. Everybody remained silent as they watched their two natural-born dragonslayers mourn the loss of their futures.

Suddenly, Lucy's body began to glow slightly. Jumping back in shock, I stepped away from her only for the brightness to increase. I shouted, "Loke! What's happening? Is this some kind of celestial spirit thing?"

It was Lisanna that answered, "No Natsu, look! It's happening to Levy too!" I turned and true enough, Levy was glowing slightly as well with ethereal light.

Then Bickslow gasped. He muttered, "No freaking way…" He reached out into the air and he seemed to be searching for something. Then he cried out, "Lucy's and Levy's spirits are still alive!"