Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and all associated characters, locations, ect. are owned by Hiro Mashima.

Chapter 25 - Race against Time

Focus on Lucy

When Lucy opened her eyes, she was surprised to find herself at home in her apartment. Soft afternoon light shone through the open window. On a chair right next to her bed sat Natsu and read... her work-in-progress novel! Quickly she snatched it away from him and prepared to launch into a lecture about him not touching her stuff, but before she could, he was suddenly holding her hands. Absent-mindedly she wondered where her novel disappeared to, but before she could put much thought into it, her attention was drawn back to Natsu.

"I was so worried about you. I will never let you go again." he whispered softly and before she knew what was going on, his face was right before her. For some time they just stared into each other's eyes, only inches apart. No one said a word. Then Natsu's face slowly came closer. Lucy's heart began to hammer like crazy in her chest as his lips came closer and closer. What is happening to me? This will be my first kiss and it's going to be with Natsu. This is Natsu... my friend, my team-mate... we really shouldn't... but... but I want this. Lucy closed her eyes and pursed her lips in anticipation of the soft sensation of Natsu's lips on hers. She could already feel his breath whispering across her skin. Just when their mouths were about to meet, a shrill scream echoed through the room.

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up in a rush. Immediately a big wave of vertigo hit her and made her drop back again. When her back hit her bed, pain laced through her wounds and she let out a small cry. Why is my bed so hard and why did it suddenly become so dark? Wasn't it afternoon just now? Wait... this isn't my room.

Looking around Lucy belatedly realized that she was still in the room in which she had fought against the Demon who possessed Lisanna. She was still in Tartaros' flying headquarters and that... moment with Natsu was just a dream.

A second later she saw Natsu's - the real Natsu's - face appear above her. Memories of the almost kiss in the dream rose up in her mind unbidden and made her blush.

"Lucy! How are you?" he asked worried.

"I'm... not too bad. Dizzy and tired... what about Lisanna?"

"I'm fine. Thank you Lucy. You really saved me. Without you, I'd have lost my soul to the Demon... Natsu too." the Take-Over Mage said at Lucy's side. Only now did the Celestial Spirit Mage finally notice that she was back on the table on which her two friends had treated her before, with Lisanna lying right beside her. Happy was lying between them and nuzzled her hand.

"And your injuries?" Lucy asked.

"Nothing major. Just scratches and bruises."

"What was that scream just now?"

"Well... as you might have noticed before, I was... only wearing my Take-Over. When I fell unconscious the magic dispelled and I... I was caught off guard when I woke up... like this..." Lisanna stuttered while blushing. Finally Lucy noticed that the silver-haired woman was completely naked and holding her arm in front of her exposed chest. "And after what we've gone through I'd rather keep every last shred of power I have in case we need to fight again, rather than wasting it on... unimportant matters."

Lucy expected some kind of mischief from Natsu, but when she looked over at him he didn't even seem to notice that a young and attractive woman was sitting completely naked less than a meter away from him. All his attention was focussed on fussing with the bandages on her left shoulder.

Lucy gently pushed his hands away and tried to sit up, but both Natsu and Lisanna immediately held her down. "Lucy, please get some rest. You can't think of going out there in the state you're in!" the overprotective Dragon Slayer scolded.

"That's what I am thinking and that's what I'm going to do. The fate of the entire continent is at stake here and we still need to find Mira and Erza. We can't afford to just sit around and wait for the Demons to destroy all our magic. Once it's gone they'll have won." Lucy said resolutely. After a few moments of silence, the two other mages withdrew their hands and Lucy sat up slowly to avoid another bout of vertigo. She looked around the room to orientate herself and her eyes fell again on the naked Take-Over Mage.

"But maybe we really should do something about... that first. There's got to be something you can wear in all those shelves. Natsu can you wait outside please?"

"No. I'm not leaving you two! Neither of you is in any condition to fight."

A strange sensation rose up in Lucy. It was almost like her insides were suddenly filled with butterflies. She felt like smiling, but after some trying managed to put an angry expression on her face. She pointed at the door and repeated herself. "Outside Natsu! Now!"

Seeing the steel in her eyes he reluctantly relented. "Fine, but only because that's the only entrance to the room." he replied with a cute pout on his face and went outside, with Happy following right after him. Wait... cute? Did I really just think of Natsu as cute? Damn it... not now. Get your head on straight Lucy, this isn't the time or place. She shook her head and carefully tried to stand up. To her relief she found that she didn't have any problems with standing and walking. Together with Lisanna she began looking through the shelves. Most of the items were ripped or decayed, but after some searching they found a jacket and skirt that were still mostly intact. They weren't exactly Lisanna's size and far from fashionable, but they were good enough to keep her covered. The two women even found some clothes that were about Natsu's size. Judging from all the dark colour and the skull-like embroidery they guessed that they used to belong to a member of a dark guild.

When they called Natsu back in and presented him with the outfit, he immediately threw the cloth he was wearing away, without even waiting for the girls to turn around and jumped into the trousers without hesitation. He does look handsome in black... not again. What's up with me?

Noticing something strange about her, Natsu asked if anything was wrong. Oh no! He noticed. What should I tell him? I can hardly go and say that I find him attractive... Attractive, right... there I go again. Why can't I get those thoughts out of my head? "No... no... nothing... just the dizziness... I guess." Lucy stammered as an excuse. Neither Natsu nor Lisanna looked very convinced, but thankfully they let the issue drop, but their little feline companion wasn't so considerate. "She liiiikes you." Happy sang loudly at them, earning him a smack on the head from Lucy.

"Stop it cat. We need to stay quiet. There's no telling who might be listening nearby. There could be patrols passing us by at any moment!" Lucy scolded him in a whisper. After everything that had been going on in the room during the previous fight, Lucy doubted that anyone who cared about loud noises was even remotely close to them, but Happy's volume gave her an excuse to shut his teasing up... hopefully without anyone noticing how close the Exceed had gotten to deducing her thoughts.

Together the quartet set out looking for their missing friends. When they arrived at the laboratory at which Lisanna had left Mirajane, they found it completely trashed. There was no sign of the S-Class Mage, but after some looking they found the Demon she had been fighting against, lying in a crater. They couldn't really tell if she was just unconscious or dead, but at Lucy's and Lisanna's insistence they didn't go close enough to check. Since the Demon was down, it was obvious that Mira must have won the fight. Natsu told them that along with Mirajane's scent he could also smell Elfman.

"So a team came by and picked her up. That's good. Even if she was hurt in the battle, we don't have to worry about her." Lucy put everyone's thoughts into words. Lisanna still felt guilty for leaving her sister to fight alone, so this news was a great relief for her.

Knowing that Mira was safe, the small team went to look after Erza and her captive, but to their surprise and dismay, the cell - or what was left of it - was empty. In the middle of it there was a hole that went down two levels.

"So who was this Demon you caught after freeing Erza?" Lucy wondered.

"Her name was Kyouka. From the way she talked and behaved, she seemed to be quite far up in the Demon's chain of command, maybe even their leader." Lisanna answered.

"Hmm... this might be a good chance. Natsu, can you still follow her scent from when she entered the cell?" the Celestial Spirit Mage asked.

"I think I could, but why?" the Dragon Slayer wondered.

"If she's their leader, maybe she came from their command centre or something like that. If my guess is right, we should be able to find out more about the enemy's plans, maybe even the location of Face. Considering what's at stake, I think stopping Face from activating is more important right now than going after Erza. Besides, look at all the damage in here. If they keep fighting like this, one of the other teams is bound to hear the fight and come to her aid... if she needs any aid in the first place. This is Erza we're talking about after all."

"But you didn't see her... she wasn't acting like herself. I'm worried she won't be able to keep herself in check against this opponent." Natsu protested.

"If Face goes off, all of us will lose our magic, including Erza. I'm sorry Natsu, but this is more important than helping Erza. Without magic she won't be able to win against this Kyouka for sure. All our other comrades will also be helpless. And it's not just them, the entire continent will become helpless and easy pickings for the Demons. I know how you feel... I feel the same way, but we have to go after Face. I'm sorry." Lucy pleaded.

After looking at the Celestial Spirit Mage for a full minute without saying a word, Natsu finally conceded. "Fine. It doesn't sit right with me, but I know you're smarter than me, so I'll trust your judgment."

Making Natsu do something against his will made Lucy feel terrible and she too hated leaving Erza to fend for herself. She was greatly tempted to go looking for Erza after all, but in the end her logical mind won out over her emotions.

"I wonder why we haven't encountered any patrols." Lisanna whispered.

"Maybe all their soldiers are busy with keeping the others at bay. We are basically behind enemy lines here after all." Lucy replied in an equally quiet tone.

"I guess that makes sense. But we still shouldn't let our guard down." The white-haired mage replied and they continued on in silence.

Following Natsu's nose, the quartet soon found themselves in a big room full of displays, lacrima, dials and levers... and the corpse of the former Chairman of the Magic Council Crawford with a single stab wound through his chest.

"Looks like he was stabbed from behind." Natsu told them after inspecting the dead body. Seething in rage he added: "Wasn't he on their side? Their nakama? How can they do this to an ally?"

"You heard what Jackal said about Humans. They probably thought of him as just a useful tool and got rid of him once he fulfilled whatever purpose they had for him. Monsters..." Lucy remarked solemnly, before turning her attention to the displays, with the others following suit.

Dominating the centre of the room was a hologram that looked like a map of the south-eastern part of Fiore. They could easily make out Magnolia, Hargeon and the nearby towns. Further inland, in the desolate mountain region north-east of Mount Hokabe, a bright red dot was blinking and beside it there was a pictogram of a weird rock formation with its top carved into the shape of a humanoid face. They had found the location of Face, but the news wasn't all good.

"If I read this correctly... then the seal on Face is undone and they already started to charge it up. The countdown is at 42 minutes." Lucy remarked worried.

"Can you shut it down?" Natsu asked.

"I don't know how. There are so many buttons and dials." the Celestial Spirit Mage replied. "Without knowing what they do, I could hit random combinations for hours without getting it right."

"Don't bother Lucy. Look there" Lisanna said and pointed to another display. "According to this, there is no remote connection with Face. One of the Demons must have activated it on site... so we'll have to go there too and deactivate it directly."

"In 42 minutes? That place is almost as far from here as Hargeon. With that terrain we'll need several hours to get there on foot. We'll never make it in time!" Lucy pointed out.

"I can make it in time, but I can carry only one person." Happy remarked.

"If I use my Bird Take-Over I should also be able to carry someone. In the state I'm in, I'll probably lag behind Happy a bit, but I'm sure I can make it there in time." Lisanna pointed out hesitantly.

"That won't be necessary. Me and Happy will be plenty to beat the bastard who activated it and bust Face up!" Natsu declared.

"Don't be stupid. You can't just smash it up. Who knows what kind of catastrophe you'll cause if you just destroy it. And it's not just about beating the Demon, we also need to do it before the countdown runs out. You and Happy go ahead as fast as you can and we'll follow. But under no circumstance can you destroy whatever controls are on Face Natsu! We still need them to shut it down. Please listen to me, just this~" Lucy began to instruct the overeager Dragon Slayer when she heard a tinkle behind them.

"The despairing prayers of young maidens are the resounding chimes of hell's bells." a mysterious masked person said. He carried a staff with several interlocked rings at the top, which had been making the tinkling sounds before.

"Hey! Who are you calling a maiden?!" Natsu shouted, but the stranger just ignored him and continued.

"Your dwindling magic will breathe anew, restoring life into the earth. You maiden Fairies who have fallen into the Underworld shall become corpses and drift away in purgatory."

"A skeleton? Or is that just a mask?" Lisanna asked scared.

Lucy glanced at the timer again and saw it at 40 minutes and 38 seconds. "We don't have time for this. We need to distract him and make a run for it."

"If we don't stop Face, it'll get hairy." Happy agreed.

"Things already are quite hairy for you little vermin." Another Demon chimed as he came up behind the masked guy. "Especially for you pinkie. This time Silver-sama won't be there to save you!"

"Happy, grab Lucy and go after Face! Lisanna, you go with them! I'll keep those two busy!" Natsu shouted and charged the enemies with blazing fists.

Without hesitation Happy followed Natsu's instructions. Lucy just had time to see the Dragon Slayer disappear behind a cloud of flames, before they flew around a corner, Lisanna in her Bird-soul Take-Over close on their heels. They could hear the echoes of explosions as they sped away.

Suddenly the masked stranger stood in front of them further down the corridor.

"This guy? Didn't we just leave him behind in that room? How can he be in front of us?" Happy wondered out loud.

"We don't have time. Rush him head on Happy, Lisanna. If he grabs one of us, the other must keep going. We can't afford to waste any time!" Lucy told her friends.

The Demon lifted his staff higher and light started to gather around him. In a booming voice he commanded: "Gaze upon it! The Malefic~" whatever else he was about to say was abruptly cut off when a fist suddenly emerged from his chest and they could hear Gray shouting "Outa my way!"

A moment later the Demon seemed to dissolve into a cloud of black sand, which slowly sank to the floor.

"Finally found you. Sorry it took us so long, but those Tartaros guys were trying really hard to keep our teams from getting up here." Gray shouted excitedly. As always, Juvia was right behind the Ice Mage. To Lucy's surprise Wendy and Carla were also with them.

"We have found Face's location, but it's already activating. If we don't get there and shut it down in the next 38 or so minutes, it'll blow! We need to get going!" Lucy explained in a hurry.

"Look!" Juvia shouted. When they look in the direction she pointed to, they could see the black sand forming itself into the shape of the stranger's body again.

"That bastard... Juvia and I will take care of this guy, you go on and stop Face!" Gray shouted, brought his hands together and began to charge a spell. Happy and Carla quickly grabbed their respective passenger and followed closely by Lisanna they quickly continued on. Behind them they could hear the masked Demon begin to say "You. You are Silver's..." but then they rounded a corner and couldn't hear any more words.

"Wendy... what are you even doing here? Aren't you hurt and exhausted from the fight against Jackal?" Lucy asked as they sped through the corridors.

"I won't sit idly by and let the entire Magic World be destroyed just because of a broken cheekbone and a few sore spots. I was able to replenish my magic by eating air. I can still fight!" Wendy answered resolutely.

After a few more turns they finally saw a gallery up ahead. Just before they reached it, Carla broke to the side and shouted for the others to dodge, but before Happy had a chance to react, he and Lucy were hit by an explosion and smashed into the wall. Lisanna who had been flying a bit behind them just had time to dive under the flames. When she and Carla stopped outside the window and looked back, Lucy shouted at them to move on.

"Go on! We need to stop Face at all cost!" Not waiting for a reply, she quickly picked out Aries' key.

"Open Gate of the Ram! Aries!" Before her friends had a chance to even think about protesting or coming to Lucy's aid, the Spirit sealed the gallery's windows off behind a wool-wall to keep whoever had attacked them from following Wendy, Carla and Lisanna.

The attacker was still hidden behind a cloud of flames that only dissipated slowly. Just when Lucy could begin to make out a round silhouette, something that looked like an overly long arm shot out of the flames and directly at the Ram Spirit. Aries managed to dodge, but the arm just curved around her, shooting out tiny tendrils that stuck on her. The Spirit cried out in pain and Lucy immediately tried to close her gate, but felt no reaction from the key. When it didn't work, she tried to force the Gate closed, but that didn't work either.

Before Lucy could get close enough to try and break the tendrils with her hands, Aries came apart in the middle and was sucked up completely. "NO!" Lucy shouted and tried to grab the arm, but before she could reach it, it pulled back to the enemy who had assaulted them. The wool wall disappeared together with the Spirit, but Wendy, Carla and Lisanna were already out of sight. Even if I'm beaten here, at least they escaped. They'll deactivate Face for sure. Lucy thought as tears for Aries' anguish started to fall from her eyes.

"This is the first time I absorbed a Celestial Spirit... quite the odd sensation."

Through her tears Lucy could see a round Demon with spikes coming out of his back. He only had a single eye on his deep sitting head and a mouth so broad it would go from ear to ear, if the creature would have had any ears.

"Give Aries back!" she shouted and lashed out with her whip. The strike was spot on, but the Demon didn't even flinch when it hit him on the cheek.

The Demon's face transformed into that of her Spirit and she could hear Aries' voice softly whispering: "Why would you hurt me master? Have I done something to displease you? Please don't hit me again."

"You monster! Let Aries go!" Lucy said again though this time it was more sobbing than shouting. For fear of hurting her Spirit, she refrained from attacking for the time being.

The Demon let Aries shape drop away and replied in a shrill voice. "Let her go? Did you think you Humans could just barge in here and wreck our place without having to pay the price? These two measly souls are far from enough to atone for your sins." As he talked, he took a few slow and measured steps forward and stopped in the shadow of a column. Two souls? So he intends to absorb me too...

"Even if you beat me, Natsu will soon catch up with us and he'll defeat you for sure!"

"Natsu? Oh you mean that fire-spewing pinkette, don't you? As if a mere Human could ever hope to defeat a Demon in the first place. But he won't even be able to light the way for you from in here..." the Demon said in a threatening low whisper. Due to him standing in darkness, Lucy couldn't make out any details, but she saw his outline shift.

Then the Demon raised a hand close to his face and a flame ignited around his fist. Goosebumps ran over Lucy's body as his voice changed into an all too familiar tone. "... because I already took care of him."

Illuminated by the foreboding red light of the flames, Natsu's face grinned wickedly at Lucy, making her blood turn into ice in her veins.

Lucy fell to her knees in utter despair.

"Natsu! No!"

After words: Yay! I got my motivation and inspiration back! :-D Now only the busyness remains :-(
But it's a definite step up from the slump I was in when I tried to put the last chapter together.

It always bothered me a little how Lucy & Co just stumbled into the main command centre by chance in the manga, so I came up with the idea of Natsu tracking Kyouka's scent. Considering the massive size of the place, that makes more sense to me.

And Gray also gave the reason why Lucy, Lisanna and Natsu ran into so few enemy patrols so far. The majority of Tartaros' forces were busy with trying to keep the Fairy Tail Mages contained in the lower levels. Lucy and Wendy were lucky (or unlucky) to hit a weak spot in the enemy's cordon. Lucky because they could slip through with just a single fight. Unlucky because Jackal was sent there to reinforce the weak spot and I guess I don't need to remind you of how traumatic that fight was for Lucy.

Ah, those were very enjoyable chapters Mashima wrote in the last few weeks. I hope he can keep this kind of quality up.

Finally I'd like to thank Elisa-chan for the kind review and I absolutely agree with you, the story should get more reviews. ;-)

28.07.2017:I swear I only just realized how Happy calling the situation makes a nice pun. Only now when proofreading it again more than two years after originally writing the chapter. But I think I'll leave it in. It is a nice pun, even if it was accidental. ^^

Also I made some spelling corrections.