This continues the story of Anata o Mitsukemasu. It was not posted for NaLu Week but requested by a fan on another fanfic site.

Anata o Mitsukemasu ending…. After a few minutes Lucy joins him, having donned one of his shirts. Natsu chuckles, "That's a dress on you." She sticks her tongue at him smiling and he kisses her cheek, "But you're adorable in it."

She wraps her arms around his waist, "So we're mate's now, right?"

He turns around in her arms and kisses the new mark on her chest, "Yes."

"And…" she touches his mark "…now I'm stuck with you…" a chuckle to her voice

"Forever." he grins. "Stuck with this goofy big kid"

"You forgot sexy." She smiles at him, "my sexy dragon."

They grab their bowls and plop down on the couch. "Luce I think we can go to the guild tomorrow."

"If you wish, even I'll feel a little out of place; being gone a year…" She smiles, "but it was all worth it."

"Three years," he sighs, "so much has probably changed."

"That's true, but the one thing that I know hasn't changed is everyone's hope you would return someday." Taking his empty bowl from him and placing it in the sink, "Let's get some sleep Natsu, tomorrow we'll go to the guild bright and early."

"Yeah…" he yawns, "I can't wait to eat some of Mira's cooking again and slap Gray!"

"If he's there, he and Juvia have a son, maybe a year old now I think." Walking to the bedroom she crawls into bed and lays on her side. "The boys name is Arashi…" yawning, "Looks just like Gray too."

"Really!" Natsu spoons up next to his wife, "Ice princess has a kid…" and hugs her tightly to him. "We'll need to catch up…" he whispers in her ear. "Can't let him beat me when it comes to a family."

She blushes, "It's not a competition silly. I do, want to have children with you… It's just after these last few years… I don't want to rush into it."

"I'm not gonna force you Luce…"

Lucy turns around in his arms, "I mean if it happens, it happens and… maybe I'm being a little selfish but we were separated for so long, I kinda want you all to myself right now."

He chuckles, "Well when you put it that way… I guess a kid can wait." kissing her forehead. "Goodnight Luce."

She snuggles into his chest, "Goodnight Natsu..." and falls asleep.

~~x~~

"I've waited so long for this…" she whispers through the kisses. "To finally have you…"

"We'll be together forever…" suckling her neck

She closes her eyes and moans as his teeth puncture her skin "Forever…" as a haze of red forms over her vision…

When Lucy opens her eyes again the scene has suddenly shifted. "Natsu?"She looks around the empty black expanse, 'where the hell am I?'Sitting on a floor made of what she can't tell, it's not dirt like she's outside, it's not a room in a building or wood or stone, it almost has the consistency of paper. "So strange…"

"I won't let you hurt her!"Lucy looks in the direction of the shouting.

"Natsu?"Getting off the ground she starts running towards it. "Natsu!"

"Lucy?" He stares down at the girl writhing on the bed.

"Stay back Lucy!I'm not gonna let him take you!"

As soon as Lucy can see who Natsu is yelling at she stops dead in her tracks. "Zeref!" her eyes expand, "No, it can't be, he's dead!"

"It's not really him, Luce, he's like the narrator of the story."

Twisting and struggling in her sleep, panic takes over for him as her breathing becomes shallow and strained like she can't breathe… "Lucy!" he shakes her

"I-I don't understand…story?"Lucy drops to the ground on her hands and knees. "Natsu why do I feel so sick?" coughing out blood.Collapsing, "I'm s-sorry Natsu…"

"Lucy!" he rushes over and cradles her in his arms.

The strange Zeref look-alike smiles, "Natsu, there are consequences for what she did to save you…"

"Lucy wake up!" he shakes her harder this time.

"Natsu…" her eyes pop open.

"Oh, thank goodness!" He hugs her tight. "I guess it was just a nightmare, but you had stopped breathing!"

"I feel fine…" she buries her head again in his chest, "Just wanna go back to sleep."

"What were you dreaming about?"

"I…" she tries to recall details but her mind is already drifting off. "…don't remember..."

Natsu sighs, 'I hope it was just a dream…'

~~x~~

When they reach the doors to the guildhall Natsu pauses and takes a deep breath, Lucy squeezing his hand reassuringly, "It's gonna be okay."

"I just keep thinking about some of the things I did while I was controlled by END…" he shudders, "they weren't exactly good."

"No…" she sighs, remembering that day she first saw him in action. "But it wasn't you, it wasn't the Natsu we love doing those things." He leans into her hand when she caresses his cheek. "And a lot of people don't know it was you, so I wouldn't bring it up unless you choose to."

"Luce… If it hadn't been for you I'd still be that monster. And I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make that up to you."

Moisture fills her tear ducts, "Just spend each day loving me like it could be our last…" She smiles at him, "that's all I require."

Natsu leans down and kisses her softly, "I definitely plan on doing just that." He has no idea how prophetic her words will turn out to be…

All of a sudden, the hall's doors fly open startling them. Natsu wraps his arms around Lucy and shields her on instinct; but it's just Erza. "Stop your jabbering and get your butts in here!" she pulls the couple inside to the screams and jubilation of the whole guild.

"Welcome Home Natsu!" Members are rushing up to the pair.

Lucy, "H-how did you know we were outside."

Erza points to Wendy, "She heard you two talking."

Natsu cups the back of his neck, "Hey everyone, long time no see."

"Oi, Flame brain!"

"Popsicle!" Natsu ducks a punch

Lucy chuckles, "Nothing's changed…" Natsu smirks from her comment.

Their closest friends drag them to a table and sit them down. Questions start flying from every direction. Where had they been, what had they been up to? When had they gotten back, are they home for good? How did Lucy find him, how did she change him back from END? Does that mean he is back to normal? Are they a couple now, did Natsu seal the deal?

"Yes…" Natsu turns red. "I claimed Lucy as my mate…"

"Did you get her pregnant?!"

"No, Mira!" Lucy adds with a flush on her face as well.

Gajeel walks up and sniffs her, "Bunny girl, why do you smell like Salamander?"

"That's a little harder to explain…" Natsu sits quietly through her recounting of the last year, from the time she found him until they returned. He knows she's left out a few parts, primarily the ones about the dark guilds, how was she able to transform him, and the details of their union which they don't need to know, but for the most part she tells them everything.

"What about you Natsu? Do you remember the two years prior to that?"

He shakes his head, "When I came out of END's control I lost my memory of that time…" Lucy looks at Natsu with a warm smile and squeezes his hand. She knows that's a lie, but they don't need to know what he had done, at least not until he was ready to share it himself. "Thank Mavis Lucy found me and was able to break through," he squeezes her hand back smiling.

Mira- "How exactly was Lucy able to snap you back to your senses Natsu? That part of her story was somewhat vague…"

"Well… when she first found me I had no idea who she was but I guess I found it intriguing that she had my scent on her from my scarf; that's why I didn't hurt her and I think a part of me thought she was already my mate. My primal instincts kicked on and I felt an obligation to protect her."

Gajeel, "That makes sense for a dragon to resort to that."

Lucy nods, "I used to cry myself to sleep every night and that first night with him, as soon as he heard me crying he came and comforted me until I fell asleep, "she squeezes his hand, "he's been doing it pretty much every night since no matter if I'm crying or not."

He squeezes back and smiles, "She would talk to me even though I didn't respond at first, but she'd tell me stories about us, about you guys, anything to try and jog my memory and eventually I did start to remember."

Gray, "So what about the END side, is it gone?"

Natsu shakes his head, "Whatever she was able to do, I still have it but I can control it now."

Erza, "Well I'm just glad to have you two home!"

Gray, "Aye, we couldn't have a Team Natsu without Natsu and Lucy!"

Wendy, "So what are your plans now that you're back?"

Lucy, "Well, the first thing I wanted to do was have Natsu teach me how to control my new powers."

Gajeel, "That's what I don't understand, our mates don't change just because of us, yet you did."

Lucy, "It's not because of the mating thing, it has something to do with my tampering with the END book…" she trails off that last part.

Erza raises an eyebrow, "Tampering with his book?"

Biting the corner of her lip, Lucy starts to fidget, "Err, well…"

Natsu interjects saving her from answering, "We don't really know how or why it happened so until we do we probably shouldn't say anymore." Lucy breathes a sigh of relief. "But now Luce has developed fire magic and since she doesn't know how to control it I need to teach her how to deal with it."

Gray, "How you gonna do that? Are you guys gonna go somewhere to train?"

Natsu,"No, I think we can do it here at home."

Wendy, "Yay! You guys have been gone long enough!" Lucy chuckles at the young girl's, well now young woman's enthusiasm.

Natsu smirks, "So Stripper, where's your son? Lucy said he looks just like you, the poor kid."

"Screw you Pyro! You're just jealous cause my kids are gonna look better than yours!"

"Oh yeah!" Natsu gets into Gray's face

"Yeah!" Gray pushes back and a fight breaks out.

Gajeel snickers, "You guys should stop bickering so much or one day your kids might end up dating."

"Shut up metal head!" The two boys yell at the same time.

Lucy rests her head on her hand and sighs, "It's so nice to be home…"

~~x~~

The next morning, Lucy wakes up to make breakfast while Natsu sleeps in. Standing in front of his wood burning stove, she grabs the box of matches. 'Hmm, I should be able to light this myself now…' Trying to blow out a small stream of fire at the pieces of wood, at first nothing happens so she tries again, concentrating harder this time. Whosh! A big ball of flames hits the wood splintering it and sending burning fragments around the kitchen. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" Lucy runs around with a pail of water trying to put out the small fires and while that works, it also causes the smoke to billow into larger clouds fogging up the room.

Smelling smoke Natsu walks out of the bedroom rubbing his eyes. "Lucy what are…" his eyes immediately widen when he sees a couple of fires growing on the kitchen table and a chair cushion. As serious as the situation might be he can't help but start laughing. "Lucy…" he's chuckling as he goes around and sucks up the flames before they can do anymore damage. "…What were you trying to do? You know you can just eat the flames."

"It's not funny!" she sniffles, "and I didn't think about eating it…"

"Why was there so much fire anyways?"

Pouting and close to tears, "I-I was just trying to light the stove myself… but the fire that came out of me was too big."

"I guess we should start your training right away babe; before you burn the place down." He smirks.

"Tch." She crosses her arms, "Sure, laugh it up. Make your own breakfast while you're at it!" stomping away to the bedroom.

"Luce…" he's still chuckling as he follows her. "It's okay, we'll just go to the guild for breakfast," Natsu sits next to her on the bed, "and I'll even clean up the kitchen so you don't have to worry about it," putting his hand on her thigh.

Still pouting, "You don't need to laugh at me though…" her voice much whinier than usual, "I'm not used to the fire stuff yet."

"I'm sorry Luce, I wasn't trying to mean. Come on," he pulls her off the bed. "Let's go eat and then we'll start your training."

Exhaling, she slumps her shoulders, "Oh-kay." His eyebrow raises, she's acting a little strange this morning…

At the hall, his suspicions mount after breakfast when Gray comes up to their table looking to pick a fight with Natsu. Nothing unusual about that, it almost feels like the 3 years Gray hadn't seen his friend never happened… or he's trying to make up for lost time. Either way her reaction puzzles and concerns the fire dragon even further.

"Oi Pyro! Fight me! My fists got 3 years of pent up energy it wants to release on your face!"

Natsu moves to stand, "Ice.." but Lucy beats him to it.

"Oh yeah Stripper, if a fight's what you want bring it!" she screams as her body bursts into flames.

"Um, Lucy?" Natsu stares at her dumbfounded.

And, so does Gray, "I meant Natsu…"

"Think I can't take you!" Lucy narrows her eyes. "I'm all fired up now!" She punches the air with a flaming fist and heads straight for Gray.

"Lucy!" Natsu snaps and grabs her, "What are you doing!"

"Ahh! Let me go, he asked for a fight!"

"Damn it Luce, you haven't been acting like yourself this morning!" She struggles in his grip and strangely she seems stronger, but he's still physically more powerful than her. "Calm Down!" Natsu tightens his hold on her. "Gray, go get Wendy please, I think, there's something wrong with her."

"Y-yeah…" Gray stammers and rushes for FairyHills.

Lucy thrashes in his arms for a few more minutes, growling, but Natsu can sense her energy running low. Figuring she'll give up he just holds on and lets her ride out this wave of emotions. With little warning, she doesn't just give up, she passes out. "Lucy?" Wait, something's not right; her energy is not just low, it's dangerously low.

Returning with both Wendy and Levy who had overheard what was going on, Gray finds Natsu and Lucy in the infirmary. "What happened, why is she passed out now?"

"I don't know, I could feel her getting tired but now her energy is really, really low and she won't wake up."

Wendy checks Lucy over, "Natsu's right, I can barely sense any magic coming from her. Everyone please wait outside, I'm going to try and restore her."

When the two boys and Levy leave the room, Levy corners Natsu. "Tell me what happened, and don't leave out any details."

"Well, Gray here came up and wanted to pick a fight…"

"No, Natsu start with the full details of how Lucy brought you back after I left."

He cups the back of his neck, "All I can tell you is what she admitted to because she performed the spell when I wasn't in the room. She said she had to use her blood mixed with the ink when she made the changes to the book and she thinks that her blood now ties her to me… That's why she may have my magic, she's like a part of the book itself, like I am."

Wendy comes out, "She's out of danger and sleeping for now, but I have no idea what caused her magic to drain like it did. Based on what Gray told me, it doesn't seem like it should have used up all her energy."

Natsu is close to tears, "Levy, do you think this has to do with her messing with my book?"

"I'm starting to think so."

"But how do we help her?!"

"I have no idea Natsu. I need to do more research on these demon books, is it okay if I search your house to see what Lucy may have used to figure it out?"

"Of course, anything. Go right over… but I'm gonna stay here until she wakes up."

Levy puts her hand on his shoulder, "Natsu, we'll figure this out," and leaves the hall.

Gray, "You gonna be okay man? I need to go check on Juvia at home."

"Yeah, I'll be alright. Wendy, I'm gonna check the archives to see if we have any information on these books, could you stay with her?"

"Sure Natsu, I'll keep watch over Lucy."

"Thanks Wendy."

Gray leaves and Wendy goes back into the infirmary while Natsu heads downstairs. He has no idea where to even begin looking…

~~x~~

Down at Natsu and Lucy's cottage, Levy searches for anything her friend had collected regarding the demon books or specifically, the E.N.D. book. Luckily for the brunette, Lucy had shown her a secret compartment in her desk where she used to hide her manuscript from everyone and that is exactly where she found what she hoped she had been looking for. Ancient looking scrolls and documents pertaining to how Zeref created the demon books. 'I wonder where she found these?' Levy ponders as she gathers everything and takes it to the kitchen. Along with the papers, she also finds the E.N.D. book and she guessed, the ink Natsu had been referring to sitting on top of the desk and takes those as well. Heeding Lucy's warning about the book, and especially after what she had seen, Levy does not open the book. But she knows it may contain information to help explain what is happening to her friend.

~~x~~

A couple of hours pass unchanging and unawares for the unconscious blonde. So far Natsu is not having any luck in their archives but he's not surprised, this was probably the first place Lucy checked in her quest to help him. If she had found anything, she had most likely taken it. He heads back upstairs to the infirmary. "How's she doing Wendy?"

"The rest seems to be working. Her magic and energy levels are almost back to normal so I'm sure she'll wake up very soon."

Exhale, "That's good news."

"I suggest trying to keep her calm, and don't let her use any magic until you figure out what's happening to her. I took her keys…" handing them to Natsu. "Leo dropped in to check on her too using his own magic so I already explained to him what was going on. He said he'll keep the others from responding to her if she tries to contact them."

"Oh, good thinking, thank you Wendy."

"Ughhh." Lucy moans alerting them to her state.

"Lucy?" Natsu walks over to his mate and gently takes her hand.

"Natsu?" she responds groggily, "Where am I?"

"You're in the infirmary."

"What… happened?"

"You don't remember?"

She shakes her head lightly, "For some reason I wanted to fight Gray, after that it's like I had no control over my body or mind… I don't even remember what happened once I was covered in flames."

Natsu looks at Wendy concerned. "Are memory lapses normal?" But the girl also shakes her head no. Turning back to Lucy he squeezes her hand, "Never mind, don't worry about. The main thing is Wendy says you're okay for now."

The blonde nods and closes her eyes again. When he's satisfied that Lucy has fallen back asleep he asks Wendy to stay with her while he goes to check on Levy. Finding her still at the cottage, as soon as he walks in he sees papers strewn all over the kitchen table and the brunette hunched over it with her reading glasses on deep in thought. "Hey Levy, find anything?"

"Actually, yeah I've found quite a bit of information." Looking up from her papers, "How is Lucy?"

"She's out of danger for now, so what'd ya find?"

"I'm glad she's okay for the moment, but according to what I'm reading… it's going to get worse."

All the blood drains from Natsu's face, "What do you mean worse!"

"According to these scrolls, these demon books are called living books. They aren't just paper and bindings with spells that create demons; the books themselves are alive in a way." He looks at her confused. "Okay so they don't just describe the creature in detail, but is a record of that creature's life, like a never-ending story. Well the end is when that creature is finally killed or dies, at which time the book also will disappear or vice versa. The story portion is not a word for word recording of the life, but more like a summary of what is happening, a storybook version. Your story contains everything right up till the present time, so it contains how you killed Zeref and Acnologia and became the king of the dragons, it also has how END took over for a time and now you are back to normal."

"Wait, didn't Lucy tell you not to touch the book?"

"She did, but I didn't touch it with my hands, I used a spell to turn the pages for me."

"Oh, okay." He exhales, "Considering what's happening with Lucy, I don't want to take any more chances."

"I definitely agree. Now when it pertains to Lucy, she is mentioned throughout your book because she was for the last 10 or so years apart of your life, but just as a character. What surprised me, is from the moment she fixed your book the first time, she became more than just a character. Those runes that had appeared on her body was her story being added, which means this END book has now become both of your stories. The difference between the first time and now is that the first time the book still had no physical link to her. When she fixed your story the second time using her blood to seal the words, it created a physical connection that it could attack."

"But why would it want to attack her?"

"The best I can figure is that this book regards her interjection into it like a virus it must get rid of."

He tips his head confused, "Huh?"

"When we get sick, our bodies try to fight whatever is making us sick. Same thing here, your book thinks it's sick and it's trying to fight it. Now the question is, how do we stop it."

"Ugh, why would Lucy put herself in this kind of danger just to save me?"

"I don't think she realized what she was doing would hurt her and in her rush to figure out how to help you, she only read the parts she needed to and didn't study the rest. I think that is why Zeref had made the comment that humans usually cannot survive touching these books."

Natsu slumps onto the couch, "But how do we help her? We can't let her be killed by my book."

"Unfortunately, there's not enough material for me to answer that. I have a feeling Lucy found much of this information in Alvarez, at Zeref's palace. We should confirm that with her and leave immediately."

"Are you okay to travel, um, in your condition?"

"Geez," Levy rolls her eyes, "I'm only pregnant, not disabled."

"Yeah, but will Gajeel be okay with you going… I don't know if I'd let Lucy is she were pregnant."

"He won't be able to stop me, although, he'll most likely insist on going."

"Alright. We should get back to the guild, Lucy might be awake by now."

Levy and Natsu head back to the hall and continue their discussion along the way, both agreeing that they shouldn't hide anything from Lucy. When they arrive, they find that she is up and seemingly back to normal so they call Makarov and Gajeel into the infirmary. After explaining the situation to everyone in the room, Lucy sits there silently for several minutes before responding.

With her head hung, "I'm so sorry Natsu, to put you through this."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're finally able to come home only to have to deal with my possible…"

"Don't, say it." He grits his teeth. "You risked your life to save me, if the rolls had been reversed I'd have done the same thing. But I will not let this thing take you away from me now!"

"Natsu…" tears well up in her eyes

He grabs her and pulls her into a hug, "We're gonna find a way to save you Luce!" Now he's crying, everyone's crying; well Gajeel is trying to hide it, but he's got tears in his eyes too.

Levy, "Lu, where did you find Zeref's scrolls?"

"In Alvarez." She sniffles. "Why?"

"We need to go back there, he might have left information that can help us figure this all out."

"Levy…"

She crosses her arms, "Gajeel, don't even bother. You can come along if you're worried but I'm going."

"I wasn't going to stop you."

"You weren't," she turns to him with a surprised expression.

"No. Just tell you the palace was torn down a few months ago. According to my contacts back at the magic counsel, anything he had left behind relating to magic and spells were taken to the Magic Library."

"Hell, that makes it easier for us!" Natsu grins, "and I won't have to ride on a boat. We could even leave right now."

Gajeel, "How, the next train won't be for a couple more hours?"

"I can carry Lucy, Happy can carry Levy, and Lily can carry you."

"I'm coming too." Interject Wendy, "Just as precaution."

"And I'll carry her." Adds Charle.

Levy, "Then let's go! Time is of the essence and if we leave now we can reach there by 2pm."

Makarov, "You kids be careful, and if you need anything just send a message by carrier."

~~x~~

Walking into the library, "Where do you think they put it all?" Lucy asks Levy

"I doubt someone has sorted it so it may still be in boxes in one of the warehouse wings." She scrunches her nose. "I'm gonna guess West section, since Alvarez is from the Western continent."

"Works for me." Natsu responds while everyone else nods in agreement.

~x~

"No way it was that easy…" Levy exclaims as soon as they walk into the wing. Crates stamped 'Alvarez' and 'Zeref' greet them as soon as they walk in. Natsu and Gajeel begin the task of unstacking and opening the crates while the girls start going through them, each donning special reading glasses to speed up the process. Finally, after a couple of hours of searching, they find scrolls describing the demon books.

"Here we go," Lucy brings it over to Levy, "I think this is what you are looking for."

"Thanks," Levy unrolls the scrolls over the table in front of her and Lucy returns to the stacks to continue looking for more information. As she reads, the more shocked Levy becomes but she hides her reactions from her friends. "Hey Lucy, Wendy could you guys go out in the library and find me a book, I need it to figure something out."

"Sure Levy," the two girls walk up to her

"I'm sorry I don't know what it will be called but I need to find something that tells me about different dimensions and planes of existence. According to these scrolls, these books are linked to a void between our world and hell and to figure out how to fight the book I need to figure out how to reach this place."

"Um, okay…" Lucy is somewhat confused. "That might take a while."

"I know you guys, I'm sorry but I need it to help me."

"We'll see if we can find something."

"Thanks."

As soon as the girls are gone Levy calls Natsu over to her. "I have good news and bad news."

Exhale, "What's the bad news?"

"According to this scroll, you will need to fight your own story for control in the plane that it exists in. I don't know exactly what you will encounter or who you must fight when you are there. But you must win at all costs."

"What'll happen if I don't win?"

"You both will die." His eyes widen. "Because what happens in the books world, happens here in the real world."

"What the hell was the good news?!"

"At least there is a way to try to save her."

Sigh, "And how do I get to this dimension?"

"That's what I sent Lucy and Wendy to look for, a book that'll tell me how to travel to other planes of existence."

"Should we tell her what we've found?"

"I leave that decision to you Natsu…"

It takes the two girls a couple of hours but they manage to find a spell book that explains how to travel to another parallel dimension. So, with the information they needed in hand, they gather up that book and a few other scrolls relating to the demon books with plans to take them back to Natsu and Lucy's house where they will be kept for now. By the time they leave the library, it's already getting dark so the group calls it a night, heading to their own homes with the plan to meet at Natsu's in the morning.

~~x~~

Lucy's dream…

"I've waited so long for this…" she whispers through the kisses. "To finally have you…"

"We'll be together forever…" suckling her neck

She closes her eyes and moans as his teeth puncture her skin "Forever…" as a haze of red forms over her vision…

Lucy and Natsu in the same dream…

When Lucy opens her eyes again the scene has suddenly shifted. "Natsu?"She looks around the empty black expanse, 'where the hell am I?'Sitting on a floor made of what she can't tell, it's not dirt like she's outside, it's not a room in a building or wood or stone, it almost has the consistency of paper. "So strange…"

"I won't let you hurt her!"Lucy looks in the direction of the shouting.

"Natsu?"Getting off the ground she starts running towards it. "Natsu!"

"Stay back Lucy!I'm not gonna let him take you!"

As soon as Lucy can see who Natsu is yelling at she stops dead in her tracks. "Zeref!" her eyes expand, "No, it can't be, he's dead!"

"It's not really him, Luce, he's like the narrator of the story."

"I-I don't understand…story?"Lucy drops to the ground on her hands and knees. "Natsu…" coughing out blood.Collapsing, "I'm s-sorry Natsu…"

"Lucy!" he rushes over and cradles her in his arms.

The strange Zeref look-alike smiles, "Natsu, I told you, there are consequences for what she did to save you…"

Lucy's body slumps in his arms, "No Lucy stay with me!Please Lucy!"

"…Please Lucy!" Natsu wakes up in a panic and shoots to a sitting position in bed. Next to him, he sees his mate struggling for air again. "Lucy wake up!" he shakes her hard. But unlike the night before, this time he sees a tiny amount of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

"I'm sorry Natsu…" her eyes close as her breathing gets shallower…

"Oh no!" Shaking her harder this time, "Lucy!"

"Natsu…" her eyes pop open as he's wiping the blood off her.

"I think you were having the same nightmare," He hugs her tight, "and now you're bleeding…"

"But I feel fine…" she buries her head again in his chest, "Just wanna go back to sleep."

"Do still not remember the dream?"

"No…" her mind is already drifting off. "I…don't..."

"Well I think I do… I think we were both in the same dream."

"How is that possible…" her words are slurring from being half asleep.

"The book…" is all he can manage. Sighing, ''Things are definitely not okay…'

~~x~~

The next morning Lucy wakes up and it's like the dream never happened. She doesn't even remember being woken up by Natsu nor has any traces of why blood was seeping out of her mouth. It baffles him because he remembers the dream, and more vividly than he'd like to, but not wanting to worry her, he keeps it to himself.

Wendy arrives first, wanting to check on Lucy's health so Natsu asks her to keep an eye on her while he gets breakfast for all of them. When he encounters Levy heading to the cottage, he stops her to tell her about the dream. "I don't know why I can remember it and she doesn't. It was the second time she's had the dream but this time was different. First off, I swear I was there too, and second, she really was bleeding."

"That is concerning." Levy taps her chin, "It could be the book is doing more damage to her than we realized. "But I'm not surprised you had a shared dream, especially if it's the books doing."

He hangs his head, "I'm so afraid I'm going to lose her Levy."

"Natsu," she hugs him, "Don't lose faith just yet…."

~~x~~

Mira was kind enough to whip up breakfast bento's for a large group, plenty to go around. Gray and Gajeel helped him to carry it all and by the time they get back to Natsu's cottage, the three girls and one more guest had arrived.

"Anna?" Natsu exclaims, "What brings you here?"

"Hello Natsu, Makarov contacted me about what was going on. I have some understanding of travelling between different dimensions that may assist you all."

"I showed Anna the book we found and she's been helping me to write a spell to get you into the books parallel world."

"That's awesome. I think the sooner we do this the better…"

~x~

Juvia drops by with Arashi a little later and it turns out to a be a great distraction for Lucy. As the two women chat and play with the boy, Wendy pulls Natsu aside. "Levy told me about the bleeding last night…"

"Did you…" he gulps, "find anything?"

She nods, "Lucy might be putting on a brave face right now…" they both look over to see her sitting on the floor bouncing the toddler on her knee. "…but I think she's hiding some of the pain she's having… from you."

Sigh, "I'm not surprised, she doesn't want me to worry more than I already am."

"I could feel internal damage to her cells and it's not just in one location, it's… all over her body like a cancer just spreading."

Nastu looks at his mate again and sighs, "Is there anything you can do for her Wendy?" But the young woman shakes her head bringing tears to his eyes. He quickly wipes them away not wanting Lucy to see him crumbling…

~x~

Needing a few herbs from Porlyusica to place Lucy in the suspended animation, Levy sends Natsu and Gajeel to get them from the healer. It takes some cajoling to see the crotchety old woman, but eventually they do it, dragging Gray with them.

While the boys are gone. "Levy…" Lucy sits next to her friend, "I know that you guys are not telling me everything that's going on…" the brunette opens her mouth to rebut but the blond puts her hand on her friend's shoulder, "…but it's okay. Maybe I don't wanna know… If Natsu fights he could…" But she doesn't finish, instead she sighs, "It's weird… I spent 3 years worried to death about Natsu, did things, saw things that I never thought I'd ever do and obviously, took risks I shouldn't have. I even hid most of it from all of you because I didn't want you to worry, never taking into consideration how it made you all feel…" giving a strained chuckle, Lucy half smiles. "Now the shoe is on the other foot and I know Natsu is putting on that same brave face for my benefit that I did with him and all of you before. But Levy," she takes one of her friend's hands, "You have to promise something for me…"

"Promise what?"

"I'll tell you after you promise."

"I'm not gonna…"

"Please Levy! Just say you'll promise to do what I'm about to ask you to do."

Seeing the seriousness in her friend's face, "Alright Lu, I promise."

"I know I'm dying," Lucy smiles, "and that this plan may or not work so if it comes down to us both dying or just me, I want you to save Natsu."

"Lu…"

"You promised me…"

Sigh, "I promise Lu, I'll pull him out of the spell."

"Thank you Levy… and please don't tell anyone…"

~~x~~

With everything ready, the plan will take place the following day and everyone returns to their homes to get some rest.

That night, Lucy wanders outside while Natsu is in the shower under the starry skies. She sighs as she plops down on the front lawn, pulling her knees to her chest. 'I have no regrets…' she admires the guild stamp on her hand. 'These were the happiest years of my life.' Tilting her head up and closing her eyes, breathing in the scents around her. Memories flash back to her, that first meeting in Hargeon… when she walked into Fairytail for the first time… Natsu catching her when she jumped from Phantoms castle… The Infiniti clock… The way he snapped when Dimaria tortured her… So many time's he'd been able to catch her when she fell, saved her too many times to count… Fought for her when he thought all was lost… Lucy sighs again and opens her eyes. 'I always had faith in him…I can't give up now… but this time it just feels different…'

"Watcha doin?" Natsu walks up and sits beside her.

"Just… relaxing…" she smiles at her mate. "…and thinking about things…"

"Like what?" he changes positions, sitting behind her instead and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"Just stuff…" gripping his arms and leaning her head against his shoulder, "Natsu… when did you realize you had feelings for me?"

"Hmm… he leans his head against hers, "I never thought about it before…"

"I had a hard time pinpointing it too until you marked me… I was sure the feelings had started to develop earlier, but the blood told me it was when you dug up the Rainbow tree." She smiles at the memory, "I remember seeing that tree floating along the canal and I just knew you had done that for me. As for when it changed from just like to love… What I do know for certain is when you left… it slapped me like a ton of bricks, I was totally in love with you."

Natsu thinks awhile before responding, "I guess with you I just felt the need from the beginning to protect you and over time, maybe it developed from there but I never really admitted anything to myself." Pausing. "That is until you found me. As END, I was running solely on primal instincts, not thinking about anything and my instincts told me you were my mate." He chuckles, "I had to not be thinking with my head anymore before it finally clicked from my heart."

"Natsu…" Lucy turns her body so she can cup his cheeks in her hands, as tears build in her eyes, "If tomorrow goes wrong… I just want you to know how happy you've made me all these years and I have no regrets for doing what I did. If putting my life in danger saved yours then it's repaying you for all the years you've protected me."

"Don't talk like that Luce…" tears gather in his eyes too. "I can't imagine my life without you in it and I swear on my soul I am going to save you!"

"Natsu..."

The tears unleash down his cheeks, "Promise me you'll fight Luce! You're the strongest woman I know and you Can beat this!"

"I… I promise…"

"Damn right! My girl's never been a quitter so don't you start now…"

~~x~~

Lucy in her dream…

'Where am I?'She looks around the empty black expanse, 'So Strange' Sitting on a floor made of what she can't tell, no she does know, it's… paper.Her eyes expand, "I'm in the book…"A sharp piercing sensation tears through her center, she clutches her stomach as it feels like her insides are ripping it apart.Tears pool and flow down her face in torrents; the pain is almost unbearable.

"You don't belong here…" a voice speaks to her.

Gritting her teeth, she can barely manage a response, "W-who, are, you?"

"You know who I am…and why this is happening…"

Through a whisper, "I only wanted to help him!"

Lucy and Natsu in the same dream…

Hearing another voice in the din, "Natsu?"

"I won't let you hurt her!"Lucy looks in the direction of the shouting.

"Natsu?"Mustering what little energy she has left, Lucy gets off the ground and starts staggering towards it. "Natsu!"

"Lucy?What are you doing in here?!"

As soon as Lucy can see who Natsu is yelling at she stops dead in her tracks. "Zeref!" her eyes expand, "That's who you have to fight?!"

"He's not the real Zeref, just like the narrator of the story..."

"Natsu…" Lucy collapses to the ground on her hands and knees coughing out blood, "I'm s-sorry Natsu…"

"Lucy!" he rushes over and cradles her in his arms.

The strange Zeref look-alike smiles, "I told you, there are consequences for what she did to save you…"

Lucy's body slumps in his arms, "No Lucy stay with me!Please Lucy!"

"…Please Lucy!" Natsu wakes up in a panic and shoots to a sitting position in bed. "Fuck, not again!" Next to him, he sees his mate struggling for air. "Lucy wake up!" he shakes her hard.

"Natsu…I…" her eyes close as her breathing gets shallower…

"Oh no not yet!" Shaking her harder this time, "Lucy!"

"Natsu…" her eyes slowly open as he's wiping the blood off her chin.

"Lucy!" He pulls her to his chest.

"Natsu, I'm… sorry…" she falls into a deep coma.

"No!" Sprouting wings, Natsu hold Lucy tight in his arms and races towards Fairyhills to find Wendy and Levy.

~~x~~

It's barely 3 o'clock in the morning as Wendy assess Lucy's condition, the blonde is still alive but barely and it's only a matter of time before her body gives out. "I think the book is fighting with her right now, that's part of what the dreams have been telling her." The two girls quickly follow him back to the cottage with Happy and Charles' help.

Levy instructs Natsu to place Lucy on the bed where Wendy can continue to monitor her vital signs. They had planned to do this later in the morning but with these turn of events, they have no choice but to begin already. Levy quickly gathers what she needs and sets up for the spell as Natsu rests adjacent to Lucy's left side whispering and murmuring, begging her to just hold on; he's coming for her.

"Are you ready for this Natsu?" Levy asks the pale young man

He shakes his head, "But it doesn't matter if I'm not, I have to save her."

"Remember, we don't know what you'll encounter or what you'll have to do to fight this… Somehow, you need to take control of your own story."

"Understood."

"Lie down on your back now, close your eyes, and hands at your sides…" Levy places the E.N.D. book on Natsu's chest and begins her incantation. "Through space and time, into a world built from deviltry and evil alchemy, I send you to a plane of parallel void… Into this story," she places one hand along with his left on the cover, "your story Etherious Natsu Dragneel!" Runes appear over Natsu and Levy takes a step back. "Go forth in your transcendent projection…" she moves to the other side of the bed to reach over and place Lucy's left hand into Natsu's right, "thine consortium characters incarnate to this artifact and take back control!" Natsu's body seizes into a rigid posture as his lungs gasp deeply like it's the last bit of air he'll ever breathe in; lasting for only a minute before it relaxes again into a form of suspended animation. "Only to return upon full command and domination of this book or as a failsafe…" Levy hesitates, "…if Etherious Natsu Dragneel's life is close to death shall I, invoker of this spell force the return of his soul back to this corporeal body."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Levy plops down on a chair next to the bed. "It's in your hands guys…" she murmurs.

"Do you think… He'll save her?" Wendy asks with hesitation in her voice.

"We've never seen Natsu give up or fail before… So, I have faith in him, in them… All we can do now is sit back and, pray."

While the two girls settle in for their vigil, the two exceeds leave and inform Makarov of the situation who in turn, contacts Anna, Porlyusica, and a few others. Many at the guild want to go to the cottage to help but they are told to stay away. Gray, Erza, and Gajeel are allowed into to the cottage but must stay out of the bedroom, and Mira brings food and drinks down so that Levy and Wendy can keep up their strength. Makarov, Anna, and Porlyusica join the two girls in the bedroom where Porlyusica helps Wendy in monitoring the young couple's vitals and Anna does what she can to help Levy read Natsu's body language for signals of what is going on.

In the book's parallel dimension…

'Where am I?' She looks around the empty black expanse, sitting on a floor made of paper.Her eyes expand, "I'm in the book…"Looking closer, the lines that she thought were just designs on this strange floor are words, 'These are the pages of the book!'But she soon realizes the 'words' are shifting, moving, 'if I'm a part of this tale…' she presses her palms against the surface and concentrates, 'Show me…'Lucy begins to read… 'Natsu Dragneel, reborn in the year X389 as Etherious Natsu Dragneel…Tampering with this story will evoke the sentinel…' 'Sentinel?' '…designed to protect END from outside corruption..…The only way to turn off this utility function is to…'A sharp piercing sensation tears through her center, she clutches her stomach as it feels like her insides are ripping apart.Tears pool and flow down her face, the pain is almost unbearable but she presses forward. '…re-write its code…'

But before she can read more, electric shocks surge from the floor into her hands and arms throwing her back.

"You don't belong here…" a voice speaks to her.

Gritting her teeth, she can barely manage a response, "W-who, are, you?"

"You know who I am…and why this is happening…"

Through a whisper, "But I only wanted to help him!"

Hearing another voice in the din, "Natsu?"

"I won't let you hurt her!"Lucy looks in the direction of the shouting.

"Natsu?"Mustering what little energy she has left, Lucy gets off the ground and starts staggering towards it. "Natsu!"

"Lucy?What are you doing in here?!"

"I don't know…"As soon as Lucy can see who Natsu is yelling at she stops dead in her tracks. "Zeref!" her eyes expand, "That's who you have to fight?!"

"He's not the real Zeref, just the..."

Lucy collapses to the ground on her hands and knees coughing out blood, "I'm s-sorry Natsu…"

"Lucy!" he rushes over and cradles her in his arms.

The strange Zeref look-alike smiles, "I told you, there are consequences for what she did to save you…"

Lucy's body slumps in his arms, "No Lucy stay with me!Please Lucy!"

"Natsu…I…" her eyes close as her breathing gets shallower…

Laughter fills the air, "It was not her place to mess with this book!So, now this is her punishment."

Natsu growls, "She saved me… And this is my book so I make the rules on who can touch and be a part of My story!"

"You're book!"Zeref's clone laughs, "You are nothing more than a creation, just like I am.But here, I am in control." Narrowing his eyes, "Even you can't do anything about it."

"Tch, that's where you're wrong." Natsu places Lucy on the ground and stands up. "I'll find a way to stop you!"and turns on his END side.

"Such a fool," the Zeref clone sneers, "I am a part of this book as much as you are.If you hurt me, you'll hurt yourself, and the same goes for me.So just give up, because anything you try will be futile."

Panic sets in for the young man, 'Crap!I didn't think about that…Inflicting damage will just impair me too…' "Damn it!"He paces for second, "If I have to destroy myself to try and save her then that's what I'm gonna do!"

"Are you crazy!?You are going to kill us over her?!"

"I can't live without my mate…" Natsu grits his teeth, "I'd rather see her live on with my child that she's carrying than die here because of me.Zeref, prepare to perish by my hand for the second time!"

As Natsu stands off against the Zeref clone, Lucy is going in and out of consciousness.She can hear her mate arguing with the sentinel, 'child?!' she places her hand over her stomach. 'he's going to sacrifice himself for me!'With the last of her strength fading fast, Lucy turns over to her side, placing her palm on the floor once more, she tries and finds the sentinel code again. 'The sentinel's appearance is modelled after the books author, designed to protect END from outside corruption, its sole purpose is to seek and destroy anything that it deems a threat to END's story and this book…' 'So, if I can just…' she rips the skin of her finger with her canines and writes directly onto the paper floor with her blood, adding to the code, '…except Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfillia Dragneel…'An aura of light gathers around her body.Looking over, she can see the same happening to Natsu.

Staring at his glowing hands, "Lucy?" he turns and sees his mate smiling, "Lucy what did you do?!"

"No!S-she changed the code!" the Zeref look alike utters before fading away.

Rushing to her side, Natsu bundles her into his arms. "Lucy, why?!"

She reaches out and tries to caress his cheek but her hand falls back lacking the strength to do more.As a tear trickles down, "I stopped him… so you couldn't die for me…"

"No, no, no!You can't do this Lucy, you need to stay with me!"

"I would have loved to bear your child Natsu…" her eyes close…

"Lucy!"

~x~

"Lucy!" Natsu shoots up in the bed, turning immediately to his mate. Seeing Wendy and Porlyusica working to save her life, "Can you save her?!" the panic in his voice is unmistakable.

"We don't know…" Wendy answers. "She's slipping away…"

"Levy," he grabs the young woman who is also beside herself. "I need your help, I think I know how to save her."

"How, Natsu, she's lost too much magic…"

"I need to find her in the book a-and write that she lives."

"What are you talking about, if you change the book…"

"She did something in there, somehow stopped the, whatever the hell it was, from attacking us. I feel like she gave me control over the book but at the cost of her life. Please Levy! I don't know how to write these enchantment things but I know it'll work!"

"A-Alright, if we can find the right spot in the book…"

Natsu grabs it and starts flipping pages, "It's gotta be towards the end since this just happened… Wholly shit, here it is…" Levy reads aloud where Natsu is pointing…

"Lucy reads the words she can see floating on the paper floor…'Tampering with this story will evoke the sentinel, designed to protect END from outside corruption…The only way to turn off this utility function is to…' A sharp piercing sensation tears through her center and she clutches her stomach as it feels like her insides are ripping apart. The pain is almost unbearable but she presses forward. '…re-write its code…' But before she can read further, electric shocks surge from the floor into her hands and arms throwing her back, the book is fighting.… She makes her way over to Natsu and collapses….. As Natsu stands off against the sentinel, Lucy is going in and out of consciousness. She can hear her mate arguing and finds out she is pregnant and that he plans to sacrifice himself to save her and their child. With the last of her strength fading fast, Lucy turns over to her side, placing her palm on the floor she tries one more time and finds the sentinel code again. 'The sentinel's appearance is modelled after the books author, designed to protect END from outside corruption, its sole purpose is to seek and destroy anything that it deems a threat to END's story and this book…', she rips open the skin of her finger and writes directly onto the paper floor with her blood, adding to the code, '…except Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfillia Dragneel…' An aura of light gathers around her body, the same happening to Natsu as the Sentinel fades away… Lucy sacrificed herself to save Natsu…" Levy is in tears by the time she reads that last part. "She's carrying…"

"Yes…" Natsu hangs his head, "I could smell the changes on her since yesterday… But I never got the chance to tell her. Do you see why I need to do something?!"

Levy thinks for a second, "Okay I got it, I need ink, your blood and a pen, you're gonna use the same technique Lucy used to alter your book, and I'll tell you where and what to write. So, go grab me the ink and pen while I come up with the right words, it's on the kitchen counter where I left it." Natsu rushes out of the room while Levy works on the code. In a minute, he's back. "Dump out half the bottle and top it back off with your blood. Make sure to mix it all well; your blood and her blood will seal the changes." He does as he's told with Erza's help. Levy hands him a sheet of paper with the roughly drafted words so it's easier for him to follow, Natsu's never had the best penmanship to begin with.

After the part of 'Lucy sacrificed herself to save Natsu…' he adds, 'but all was not lost for her as once the sentinel had been stopped, the energy taken from her was returned through the blood link.She required a short period of recuperation but will reawaken from her coma within the hour thanks to the help of her friends.' Wendy and Porlyusica step back for a moment as Lucy's body glows again; her breathing is returning to normal. Natsu drops the pen and takes hold of her hand, "she's warming back up!"

Laying her hands over the blonde, Wendy is amazed, "and her magic energy is returning!" she looks at Natsu with a sparkle in her eyes, "Lucy should wake up in a little while! She'll probably still need some rest till tomorrow, but she'll make it!"

"And…" Natsu hesitates, "Is the baby…"

"You know your nose is just astonishing, Natsu, I can barely sense it but yes, the baby will survive as well though you realize it's only a day or so developed."

He smiles and sighs, "yeah, but it's still my baby…"

"I can't believe the dunce is having a kid," Gray snickers from the doorway.

Everyone stops breathing for a second, shocked the ice mage could be so flippant at a time like this. "Yeah popsicle, well my kid is still gonna kick your kid's ass one day and with any luck he's gonna have his mom's smarts!"

"Oi, you calling my kid weak!" he stomps over to Natsu

"Damn straight I am! Just like his father!"

"Hey!" Levy and Erza shout at the same time. "Knock it off you two!" Erza grabs them both by the neck. "Natsu you go tend to Lucy and you," pushing Gray out the door, "You can fight over this later."

~~x~~

Lucy stays asleep until the next morning, Natsu never leaving her side.

Lucy's dream…

"I've waited so long for this…" she whispers through the kisses. "To finally have you…"

"We'll be together forever…" suckling her neck

She closes her eyes and moans as his teeth puncture her skin "Forever…" as a haze of red forms over her vision… Murmuring, "A bond…through our blood…"

"Yes… My love…" he breathes against her skin.

As a strange tingling sensation flows through her system, Lucy's mind suddenly clears and she's taken back to the moment her heart had chosen him…The Rainbow Sakura (Cherry Blossom) tree. 'Had it really been way back then?'She wonders, but her heart couldn't be lying about such a thing.

He laps up the few trickles of blood that have escaped from the punctures, as a three, small horizontal squiggly lines appear over their hearts. "How you feeling, Luce?"

"Warm…"The air permeating the bedroom heats up as she pulls him in for a passion laced kiss and her body begins to glow a reddish hue. "Complete…the ritual Natsu…" Lucy contorts her hips against his pelvis beckoning for him to enter her and seal their union….

"Mmmm…" Lucy grins through her lascivious dream, or rather memory of her marking. Stretching her arms and rolling partially onto her mate like any normal morning, this action wakes Natsu up. He checks but seeing that she's fine, smiling away in her sleep, so he kisses her forehead and closes his eyes again. 'Must be a good dream…' He smiles too, ecstatic his mate is no longer having the nightmares.

~~x~~

Later in the afternoon, Wendy and Levy drop by to check on her; all signs show she is 100 percent back to normal so Wendy gives her the all clear. She is still tied to the book but at least now there is no fear of being attacked by it. But just to be sure, Makarov has sealed the book away in the most secure vault of Fairytail because if anyone bent on hurting Natsu or Lucy were to ever get their hands on it, they would simply need to destroy the book to do so. Gajeel, Gray, and Erza join the group and in the living room, recount for her how Natsu brought her back to life. "Luce you shouldn't have tried to save me like that, you are so much more precious…"

"You were about to do the same for me Natsu… and after everything you've been through in your life, you deserved to live."

"I wouldn't have been able to survive without you…" he wraps his arms tight around her, "so don't you ever do anything like that again!"

"Sorry babe, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat because that's how much I love you!"

"Argh, Luce you are so stubborn!"

She laughs, "Says the master of being stubborn… I must have inherited it though the bond!"

Gajeel snorts, "She's got you there, Salamander!" Everyone in the room laughs, even the young couple.

Lucy sighs, "Even after all of this… the one thing I'm still in shock over is being pregnant, I hadn't planned to be so, soon."

"Well, didn't pinky warn you that during the marking ritual is when dragon mates will conceive the first born?"

"No…" Lucy side-eyes her now fidgeting mate, "…he failed to mention that."

"Hey!" he puts his hands up in defense, "Igneel never explained that to me so how was I supposed to know?"

"I wonder what you're gonna have…" Levy chimes in to lighten the mood.

They both answer at the same time. Lucy, "I'm hoping for a boy…" Natsu, "I'm hoping for a girl…"

Gray snickers, "Maybe you'll end up with twins."

"Bite your tongue! Ice Princess!" Lucy snaps, "being pregnant is tough enough but twins; one at a time is what I'm praying for."

"So, you want more than one?" Natsu teases

"Eventually… two or three would be nice."

"I think you're gonna have a girl…" Wendy whispers.

"Why do you think that?"

"Hormone levels are slightly different, depending on the sex of the child… And what I smell leads me to believe the baby will be female." Natsu nods in agreement to his wife's slight dismay.

"In the end, it doesn't matter, as long as the baby is healthy…" Lucy sighs. "Besides, it will be the product of our new bond," she smiles again, "making him or her very special."

Natsu kisses Lucy's cheek, "I already know the perfect name if it's a girl."

"Oh yeah?" she replies. "And what would that be?"

"Since she'll be a part of the both of us, her name should reflect that, so I think Nashi would be perfect."

The three other girls in the room all sigh, "Adorable! We love it!"