Chapter 38: Finally Together
Natsu's attack shot straight towards Anna. She ducked and swung her axe; the axe absorbed the fire.
"No, stop! Natsu! I don't want to fight you!" cried Anna.
"Then you should have thought about it before you tried to kill Lucy" Natsu growled.
"Fire'Dragon's Claw!"
Natsu's claw like attack hit the axe. Anna was pushed back by the sheer force Natsu put in the attack.
"Why?! Why do you want to protect her?! She's weak, she's scum!"
"Fire Dragon's Fist!"
Natsu's punch hit Anna in the stomach. She coughed and was blasted back again.
"Don't you dare call her weak or scum again" Natsu said, his look murderous.
"But… why?" Anna said, coughing half way through her sentence. "She's… weak"
"She's not weak. She's stronger than you will ever be"
"Wha… how?"
"She will never fall into the darkness. She will fight until her last breath to protect and fight what she holds dear. You'll never be like her"
Looking at where Lucy is, Natsu continued, "She's the light that brightens my heart. Her voice brought me back"
Anna started to tremble. Her whole world was crumbling apart in front of her. Natsu felt the sadness that was in the air, but then he felt the anger that was starting to surround her.
"You…. You…" Anna started to say, her voice sounding deeper than before.
"I will never be with you, Anna" Natsu said bluntly. He then positioned himself for battle. "I will protect Lucy with my life"
"Then so be it" Anna said, her voice now unrecognizable.
"That… voice…" said Lucy, struggling to get up.
"Lucy, don't get up! Your injuries!"
"I can't… let you take all the credit, Natsu" said Lucy sarcastically. She finally got up, looking at Anna. The aura around her completely changed. It was really familiar to Lucy. It was…
"You're the darkness that… was controlling Pendragon"
"Correct, Celestial Mage" Anna, or the darkness, answered.
"What?!" Natsu stared at Anna. "So you're the one who destroyed the guild?!"
"No, dragon slayer. Vincent would have destroyed it years later anyway" said the darkness sarcastically.
"I am his darkness. He is the Dark Dragon Slayer; when he was taught the Dark Dragon Slayer magic, I was born from his darkness. He did really well to keep me under control, but he couldn't keep my influence from affecting people. Swapping bodies to control is an easy task for me"
"Then… why did you influence Pendragon?" asked Lucy, walking up towards were Natsu stood.
"What's the fun in killing him straight away?" Anna, controlled by the darkness, smiled devilishly. "He kept me under control for a long time. It was my revenge against him. It almost worked too"
Anger crept into Natsu and Lucy's eyes.
"You are going to pay for what you did to Vincent. And to everyone in Devil's Eye" said Lucy
"No-one will hurt our friends like that" Natsu followed. "You pissed off the wrong guild"
"Hahahaha!" laughed the darkness out loud. "You can't stop me! Vincent couldn't even stop me, and he is twice as strong as you two are! You two will end here!"
"Darkness Devil Flame!"
A jet black flame shot out from both Anna's hands, and heading straight towards Natsu and Lucy.
While looking at the attack, Natsu gently reached for Lucy's hand. He held it softly.
"We can win. Lucy, please lend me your strength"
"Yes, Natsu. Our feelings… our light together will defeat it"
Natsu was holding Lucy's right hand, while Lucy was holding Natsu's left. Magic started to gather around the held hands.
"What is this?" said the darkness. "Your final attack? Your trump up your sleeve? It's not going to defeat me!"
Natsu and Lucy both lifted the held hands together. They screamed the attack in unison.
"Unison Laid: Light Flame Dragon Pheonix Blade!"
A light, shrouded by flame and lightening, shot out of the held hands and hit the darkness attack full on. Two great attacks were battling the odds in mid-air.
Shock waves were being shot out from the attacks, causing the trees to crumble. The Darkness inside Anna was genuinely surprised.
"Wow, even in strength?! I am genuinely surprised. Not even Vincent could do that" Darkness started to gather around Anna again.
"But how about this!?"
More darkness hit the battle in mid-air, causing the darkness to push the light back and towards Natsu and Lucy.
Both mages were grinding their teeth. But Natsu looked up at Anna; he smiled. The darkness inside her was shocked.
"Why are you smiling?!"
"You really don't get it, do you?"
"What?! GO TO HELL!"
More darkness joined the attack, pushing the light further towards Natsu and Lucy. They still stood their ground.
"It's not the matter of brute strength, darkness"
"WHAT?!"
Darkness was starting to be pushed back towards the middle, then towards Anna.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"This is why you can't win" Lucy answered. "This light is the power of our feelings. My feelings towards Natsu"
"And my feelings towards Lucy" Natsu followed. "Our feelings combined together, will defeat anything that does not consider feelings. This will defeat you!"
"HAAAAAA!" Screamed Natsu and Lucy.
The light broke the darkness attack into pieces, and hit Anna in full force.
"NOOOOOOO!" screamed the darkness. "THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING, I AM THE NIGHT! I AM THE ONE TRUE BEING OF ALL!" I AM-"
The light consumed the darkness, and Anna whole. The darkness screamed in pain; its scream echoed throughout the forest. The light clawed away the darkness, and Anna started to disappear. She managed to get one last glimpse of Natsu and Lucy; they were still holding each other's hands.
"I wish…. I was like that with you, Natsu", she said sadly. She disappeared into the light, never to be seen again.
The light subdued, and the forest became dark again. Natsu and Lucy were staring at where Anna disappeared. Lucy spoke up.
"What happened to her?"
"She was affected too much by the darkness. That light was only supposed to claw away the darkness from her; I guess she became one with it"
"She really was a… psychopath" said Lucy, almost collapsing onto the ground.
"Lucy!"
Natsu managed to grab hold of Lucy, and carried her in a princess hug.
"Thanks, Natsu" said Lucy, her face going red.
"Lucy…" Natsu tried to say something, but stopped. Lucy knew what he wanted to say.
"Don't worry about it, Natsu. It had to be done that time"
"But… but…" tears started to roam down his face. "I killed you"
"And I killed you too" said Lucy, tears falling down her face too. "You lost your memories for two years and you were in a coma because of me"
Lucy put her hand on Natsu's face. He stared at her. "I'm sorry I made you suffer, Natsu"
"No you didn't! I…" Natsu tried to say more, but he couldn't. He was overflown with emotion and he didn't know how to express how he felt.
Lucy smiled warmly. "I know your feelings, Natsu"
Natsu looked shocked. "What?!"
"You're not that hard to read, idiot" Lucy laughed a little.
Natsu stared at her blankly. He started to chuckle.
"I can't beat you, can I?"
"Nope" she smiled devilishly.
Natsu leaned closer to Lucy. His heart was starting to pound really fast. Lucy saw that too, and she started to go bright red.
They got closer and closer until their foreheads touched. Natsu was staring into Lucy's eyes, and Lucy was staring into Natsu's eyes. They saw their reflections off each other' eyes.
They both closed their eyes and leaned in. Natsu's lips touched Lucy's softly. He never felt something like this soft before. At that occasion, he knew, he loved her. He felt a strong feeling that he will protect her forever.
Lucy never felt so happy in her life. She was with the most kind person in the world, and she wanted to be with him forever.
They stayed like that for a couple of minutes until they moved away. Natsu slowly opened his eyes; Lucy was staring into him. His one true love.
"I love you, Lucy"
"I love you, Natsu"
Kissing her softly again, Natsu said, "Let's go home"
Natsu started walking back, holding Lucy in a princess hug. She put her head on his shoulder, feeling at one with the world for the first time. Natsu and Lucy were finally together.
They were heading towards the Guild Hall, their home.