A/N: Again this is late, what's wrong with me! … Don't answer that. This is only late by like, not even an hour but it's late all the same! Curse Jeff Dunham and his distracting yet quite hilarious ways! Okay, I want to start responding to people's reviews in a story I'll be posting soon (another FT fic of course) so I want to get into the hang of it. To do so, I'm going to practice now. It's strange I know, but I like to embrace my strangeness. :)

These are the people that reviewed before and during the time I was writing this, so if you're not here, sorry.

Suikodengel: I'm pretty sure you've been reading since the beginning, so I want to say thanks for staying throughout the whole thing! Yeah, it did. Simple answer. :)

Icetail1r: Yeah, the last chapter was pretty much a set-up for this and maybe the next one. I wanted this chapter to come out differently, but this was the best I could do… I think. I tried to put more into this chapter, but it's not as good as I hoped. I'm glad you still like it though. :)

GoldenRoseLuceTanya: As you can see, I did. :D

Princess Happy: No need to worry! i would never kill the main character (remembers first story where Lucy dies)

Chapter 21: The Final Battle

Natsu was still tied to the chair when he was placed down next to Lucy's bed. Laxus stood next to him. The thunder mage glanced down at the fire mage for a moment, then back to Lucy. He didn't like having to rely on the idiot to save her, but he had no other choice.

"I'll be using a variation of my Organic Link Magic," Laxus warned the others, "I'll link Natsu to Lucy, with myself as the connector. I'll be able to pass the taint from Lucy, through me, to Natsu." A few of the others gasped. "Natsu will be fine, because of his connection to Acnologia."

Levy was about to ask a question, and it looked like Mira wanted to as well. Laxus shook his head. Now was not the time for questions, they needed to hurry. Laxus placed his head atop the Natsu's head, his pink hair flattened down. Laxus then placed his other hand gently on Lucy, who was still being held down by Levy and Mira.

He closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths. Laxus then built up his power, harnessed it, and focused it so that it spread from hand to hand. Suddenly, a black aura pulsated around Laxus' left hand, the one that laid atop Lucy's head. The menacing aura spiraled up Laxus' arm. When the spiral reached Laxus' shoulder, it started to recede from his hand and became a tight coil around his left arm.

He was almost done, there was only one more step. Laxus focused his magic on the coil. With his will, he was able to direct it across his body to where he knew it needed to go. The dark aura moved and criss-crossed against Laxus' chest. His focus intensified, and the dark aura was gone. A long sigh escaped Laxus' lips as he fell back to the floor. His job was completed, and he wasn't needed anymore.

...

Lucy awoke to a blank darkness. Everywhere she turned there was only black. There was no light, no life. A world where there was no light, no hope. Only fear and anger. A world that shouldn't exist.

Lucy tried to tap into her power, but all she felt was an emptiness. Calmly, Lucy studied the darkness around her once again. She needed to figure out where she was and how she got there. That's when she remembered what happened. And that confused her. The key should have merged with her. She should have battled Acnologia. She should be with Laxus and her family, sitting at home and reading pregnancy books.

There was only one explanation. She and the key hadn't been merged. That means her conscious was inside the key. But then... where was Acnologia? Lucy took a step forward and then suddenly an eerie blue light erupted from beneath her. Surprise racked Lucy's brain for a moment and all she could do was step back. Whatever she was standing on rumbled, as if growling. Lucy took another step, then another. The object shook violently and she was sent rocketing down.

As she fell, the distance between her and the light increased. As the distance increased, Lucy was able to recognize what it was. It was Acnologia's blue markings. Lucy could make out the tail, the wings, even parts of the face. Lucy squinted her eyes as she tried to make something out before she was to far away. Acnologia's eyes, they were open. And they were staring directly at her.

Acnologia moved, and a terrifying noise ripped through the whistle of air against her ears. A bright orb of energy formed, illuminating Acnologia and herself, but nothing else. The orb formed and grew at the base of the dragon's open snout. Not even moments later, a large beam ripped through the empty space and hurdled itself towards Lucy.

Lucy twirled her body, using the momentum to quickly evade the attack by the skin of her teeth. Lucy didn't even have time to look back as Acnologia flew at her and slammed against her small body. Lucy soared from the impact. Nothing blocked her path, allowing Lucy to take advantage of the attack and clumsily direct herself away from Acnologia.

Lucy looked over her shoulder to see Acnologia chasing after her. Suddenly, Lucy crashed into something. Even though she was moving at such a high speed, Lucy didn't feel any pain. That's the way it worked. Both she and Acnologia were only spirits inside of her crystal key.

Lucy slid down whatever she had crashed into. Lucy looked back once again to see Acnologia still following her, now quickly catching up to her. Lucy could soon feel the movement of air Acnologia's wings created as they moved. That was not a good sign. Luckily, Lucy had reached the bottom of the wall she had been riding and was now sliding against what felt like an uneven stone floor. Acnologia crashed into the stone.

Taking this chance, Lucy ran as fast as she could. If she couldn't use her magic, then she didn't stand a chance against the evil creature. As Lucy ran, she brushed her fingers against the floor, and recognized it as crystal. They must literally be inside the key. That was one thing even Lucy hadn't known.

Lucy looked back once again to see Acnologia no longer there. Suddenly, she was trapped underneath what felt like a giant claw. She squirmed and struggled against the unknown force but to no avail. Lucy slowly turned her head and saw Acnologia's glowing blue markings, confirming her suspicions.

Without warning, a bright light burned through the darkness and revealed that they were, in fact, inside the key. Lucy could feel her power return, and she knew the key was now successfully within her. The sudden light blinded Acnologia, but Lucy was unaffected. In it's blinded state, the dragon released. Lucy smirked as she focused her magic in her legs and quickly leapt into the air. Lucy was almost able to brush her hands against the roof of the chamber within the key at the epoch of her ascent. At the same time, Acnologia recovered from its daze. The black dragon roared up at Lucy as it flew up towards her.

Lucy yelled out a battle cry as she released her magic. "Lucy Kick!"

Lucy's magic formed around her and trailed behind in a golden blaze. Lucy twirled once again, adding power to her final attack. Her back jarred as she landed atop Acnologia, smashing both it and herself back into the crystal floor. Gracefully, she backflipped away.

Acnologia was defeated. As those three words formed inside Lucy's mind, Acnologia's body began to transform into a dark black mist that soon dispersed into nothing. Soon, all of Acnologia's body was gone, and all that remained was a woman. The woman stood where Acnologia's head had once been. Her hair was a glimmering silver and here eyes were a majestic shade of was slightly shorted than Lucy and wore a flowing white dress and a gracious smile.

Lucy gaped, her mouth hung wide open. She had no idea what was going on now. Who was this lady? What was she doing here? How did she get here? Lucy tried to ask these questions, but no words came out. The woman seemed to notice this as she giggled slightly and walked up to Lucy.

Smiling cutely, she cupped her hands around Lucy's. "Hello Lucy. My name is Acnologia, celestial spirit of man kind."

A/N: Well, I hope that was at least a little bit surprising. i'm sure it could have been better. It's rushed, it seems rushed, and it will always be rushed, boohoo. I'm going to try to get the next chapter up sooner than usual, hopefully Thursday, but I'm not promising anything (stares at you all through computer screen). Have fun!