Here goes another one. I felt that the last chapter was a little more morbid than I usually write, but this story is taking a turn. Be prepared. I'm also looking for cover art for this, so if you have suggestions, please PM me!

The girl twirled. She could identify the magic, see it, feel it, taste it. It tasted like that man's blood. Promise of escape and eternal peace with a shot of iron. The girl twirled again, wondering when she could taste her father's blood.

Jude watched his daughter spin around her cell, eyes unfocused and feet clumsy. So this was the darker Lucy he had created when she was a child, the one he had longed to meet so that she could hate him. Why did she never hate him, even when he had beat the shit out of her? Her hate was necessary. Without her hate, he could never move forward in his life. With a daughter in his life, people assumed there was a weakness. He had no weakness. Checking his watch, he noted that the doctor should be here by now. This man, whoever he was, could be the true test of his daughter's sanity. His life was of no importance. Jude straightened his tie and dusted off his sleeves. His daughter laughed.

"I swear to god, if you touch your tie again I will strange you with it."

"But it's uncomfortable."

"It's for looks, not comfort, you idiot!"

"You want to call me that again, kitten?"

Loke was about to retort, but Natsu slammed a hand across his mouth. A knock on the door indicated that their conversation most certainly would have been overheard had they continued longer. Natsu straightened his tie, and put on his best confident aura before saying,

"Please, come in. We are the guests in your house."

A man entered, eyes cold and stormy, but brown, brown like Lucy's yet not as bright. Natsu made a quick judgment that this man was Lucy's father, Jude.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Lieder and Mr. Westin. I hope our hospitality was to your liking; we have been a little preoccupied with my sick daughter, so we did not have time to prepare refreshments."

"Please be assured we were more than comfortable. Now, if you don't mind, could we please discuss the patient? To my understanding, your daughter has been exhibiting strange behavior consistent with some kind of psychosis or mania?"

Natsu did not miss the haughty scent emanating off the man before him; it made him sick to just humor him and kill time when he could be saving Lucy.

"Yes, I regret to say so. She has been experiencing small bouts of depression over the last year, but never enough to warrant treatment. Lucy was having another bout when it seemed as if she snapped. She tried to attack one of my bodyguards and has been spouting nonsense. She even tried to hurt herself, so I put her in a cell below with a guard watching her at all time. The cell was the only place there was nothing already there to hurt herself. Shall I show you downstairs?"

"Please. I would like to examine the patient."

Jude held the door open for Natsu and Loke, who stiffly exited the room. Natsu tugged lightly at the tie again, feeling his temperature rising from anticipation and anger. This man was scum; Natsu longed deeply to burn him to ashes and scatter the ashes. The stairs were long, long enough for Loke to realize that Jude had not been joking when he said that he had put his daughter in the dungeon. Loke could feel the call of her keys and his spirit friends nearby but not strong enough for him to locate them. He vowed to hand Lucy her keys himself.

"I do apologize, but I'm afraid I am running a little shorter on time than I had originally thought. Please continue down this hallway and take a left, you will see my guard standing outside her cell. He has been instructed to give you complete privacy while you examine my daughter. I will come back to check on you in an hour."

Jude turned on his heel and walked back up the stairs, barely able to contain a smirk. This doctor wasn't much older than his daughter, and yet he was about to be killed by her. Natsu watched him go, allowing himself a small growl. Loke tugged on his sleeve. The hallway ahead was short; they could see the guard Jude had mentioned standing outside a solitary jail cell. As soon as they approached, the guard nodded an acknowledgement and walked away. As soon as the guard rounded the corner, Natsu ripped the tie he was wearing off and burnt it to a crisp.

"There's no going back now, Loke. I'm going to burn this place to the ground."

Loke did not answer. He stood in front of the cell door, a mix of emotions flooding his face and frozen.

"Loke?"

No answer again. Natsu stalked over, a bit angry at his friend's nonresponsive attitude. He waved his hand across his eyes, then looked through the cell slot. He stilled instantly. The cell was empty. He could smell Lucy all over it, but he could not see her. He grabbed the door handle, throwing it in. To his relief, Lucy was sleeping in the corner, a blind spot for the door slot.

"NATSU, MOVE!"

Natsu barely moved in time to avoid a tendril of black magic that had shot down from the ceiling. Grabbing Lucy and holding her close, he cast fire at the tendril, satisfied to watch it turn to ash. Lucy stirred in his arms.

"Lucy, you okay?"

She didn't answer, just turned her head up to him. Loke darted over, grabbing her and throwing her relatively limp bady away from Natsu.

"What the hell, Loke?!"

"That's not Lucy."

"What do you mean, it's not Lucy?!"

"You should listen to the little kitty. Lucy Heartphilia is dead, dead, dead, and I'd like you to join her."

A chill ran down his spine at the cold words. They came from a now-standing Lucy, but one with eyes no longer brown and a sadistic smile that didn't belong. She cracked her knuckles harshly. Natsu couldn't comprehend what had happened to his friend.

"Loke, what the hell? Care to explain what might be going on?"

The door to the cell slammed shut, locked, and magically sealed.

"This was all part of his plan, Natsu. Jude must have manipulated her mind with magic, and he plans to have her kill us. We have to figure out what's controlling her and remove it. It's most likely in this room-"

Loke got blasted back, cutting off his explanation. Natsu grabbed Lucy, locking her arms above her head with his own.

"Just kill me, Natsu. You'll never get her back."

"I will NEVER give up on her. Give her back you bitch."

Black magic shot down from the ceiling again, ripping Natsu away from Lucy. She sunk her nails in his chest, tearing bloody tracks down his torso. Loke pulled himself up off the floor, finding in horror that Lucy was tearing Natsu apart. He grabbed her around the waist, throwing her off Natsu. A nasty energy was brewing on the ceiling, dark and ugly.

"I think the magic on the ceiling is contaminating her mind! We need to get rid of it!"

"NO SHIT!"

Loke ducked as Lucy went to crush his skull. He swooped down, grabbing her by the waist, and pinned her to the wall.

"Burn it, Natsu!"

Loke's back began to blister as Natsu put off enough fire to fill the room; fire that would have certainly killed Lucy had he not been shielding her. He felt his energy dying out, but he would not leave his master to burn in the fire that would save her. She screamed. Lucy clutched the man she knew to be the wall between her and the fire, pleading with any gods that he wouldn't move. In one quick instant, the fire was gone, leaving behind only the subtle scent of ash. Natsu stared in horror at Loke, nearly dead as he protected Lucy. The orange-head vanished in golden light, Lucy slumping down to the floor unconscious.

"LUCY!"

Natsu ran over, checking her pulse and gently shaking her. She mumbled a bit, something incoherent, and cracked her eyes open at him. Almost as quickly as she had opened them, tears began to pour out. She leaned forward to rest her head on his chest. Slightly awkward and embarrassed, Natsu still managed to wrap his arms around her in a tight hug.

"You okay, Lucy?"

He received no answer. He didn't expect to.

The girl examined her hands. They were clean, albeit a bit shaky, but they had been covered in blood not long ago. Her hair had stained red, and so had her hands. How appropriate. Looking out on the future, she realized she had no more place here. She picked up the pistol on the ground, and shot herself in the head. She would never kill again, nor would she create misery. The girl wished Lucy the best of luck, and died.

Well, that was strange and surreal, but I think I did it mild justice. For explanation's sake, the girl in italics was the darker part of Lucy's mind born during the time she was abused by her father. After coming to her senses, that darker part of her realized that while she wanted revenge, she could not do it at the cost of her friends. So, she terminated herself and all the painful memories via the gunshot. Make sense? God I hope so.