Chapter 4 - X784

The Fairy Tail guildhall was bustling today; you couldn't turn a corner without running into someone. The Fairy Tail Council, composed of S-Class wizards, along with Master Makarov were seated unmoving in his office, oblivious to the commotion outside.

"Natsu? What should we do?" Gildarts' voice broke the tension in the air. His eyes scanned Natsu's figure, taking in his uncaring posture.

Natsu Dragneel, on the other hand, simply scrunched his nose, turning his head away with a 'tch'.

"Why was a meeting called for such a stupid matter? Just blame it on the Ice Prick, nobody will notice!"

"Hey- stupid flame brain! I could say the same to you, ash-ass!"

Makarov shook his head. This was a daily occurrence, and he could do nothing about his, though he should have definitely been more cautious of placing those two in a team. Together. Alone.

"Enough of this nonsense! Natsu, Gray! This entire ordeal is all your fault- you have no right to speak here! Now, what is to be done in compensation to the… "

Natsu tuned the old man out. He fiddled with the ends of his vest, the frayed edges making a great distraction. His pink locks fell over his eyes, and his onyx pupils darted around the room uncaringly. He could barely hear the Master ordering and scolding him and Gray, and he could only assume the Ice Princess tuned him out too. He turned his head away, facing the large window to his left.

It was a beautiful day today. The sky had few clouds, the beautiful blue taking over most of the-

Falling.

Natsu blinked. What? Falling? Where had that thought come from?

She was falling. The wind was pushing at her face, stealing the air from her lungs, She flailed her arms-

He clutched his chest in reflex, jumping up due to the shock. No- it wasn't a thought. He literally felt as though he was falling.

"Hey Flame Brain, you ok?"

Natsu's vision blackened, only to be replaced by visions of the sky, clouds, and the approaching ground.

He let out a roar of frustration, as a random dizziness overtook his senses.

"Natsu! What-"

"Someone's falling!" He shouted.

Once again, his vision blackened. He held his hand out in an effort to balance himself, as the sound of air whipping by and the sound of screams filled his ears. His efforts were futile, his hand just barely grazing the table before he fell back, crashing into his chair.

Falling.

Jolting his body up, he rushed out of the office, running at full speed. Natsu slammed the door of the office open, only to be knocked over by the sheer fear that ran through his veins.

"No! Save her!" He screamed.

He fell to the floor with an uncharacteristic thud, his screams turning the heads of each member of the guild. Gildarts ran to his side, along with Gray, both of them lending a hand to the fallen Dragon Slayer. Natsu, though, only snapped their hands back, as red seeped into his veins. His final roar of agony sent it back in a flash, as he steadied himself beside the door. He once again strained his eyes open, blurry flashes of colour the only thing he could make out- was he crying?

He felt warm liquid pool in his eyes, stinging his skin.

"Save her.. No!"

"Natsu! What is going on? Who's falling? We don't know- " Gray's desperate words were cut off by Natsu as he grabbed his collar with force, slamming him against the office walls.

"I DON'T KNOW!"

Natsu released Gray's collar, another roar building up in his throat. He clutched his hair in frustration, not knowing how to release the pent up tension. His vision blackened again, but something else stole his attention- if only for a second. Ripples of celestial magic echoed throughout Magnolia, and he knew it wasn't just him who sensed it.

"Loke's here." Makarov spoke. "He's.. He's about 50 feet in the sky, above the- " Makarov's words were cut off as Natsu's now gravelly voice intercepted him.

"The Sola Tree. He's gonna catch her." He sighed in relief.

He clutched his stomach, this time as a different sensation ran through his veins. It was a warmth that touched his soul; and a sensation of absolute happiness, euphoria.

A tight tug in his stomach told him all he needed to know. His mate was arriving. Natsu licked his lips in anticipation as he let out a dark chuckle.

Lucy was falling, and there was no use denying it. Doing so would only cause a speedier conclusion. Lucy spread her arms and legs out, flailing them as deep dread and agonising foreboding spread through her veins. She was going to die.

Just as she closed her eyes, though, she felt a searing heat from the pocket of her pants, and realisation hit her. The keys and the box. They were still with her. She strained against the wind to place her hand on them over the fabric in an effort to protect the two things that stayed with her during the entirety of her life.

Though, when her hand came into the briefest of contact with the area, a large flash of light appeared, blinding the falling blonde. Her eyes screwed shut as she felt warm hands encircle her waist. She felt the winds stop around her, and deeming it safe to look, she slowly pried her dry eyes open.

The first thing she noticed was a mane of orange hair, the blue tinted glasses and a pristine black suit. Then of course, the fact that she was about 50 feet in the sky above a large tree about to impale her returned to her running thoughts.

So she screamed.

"Calm down, Princess! I'm here to save you! You're not falling anymore!" The strange man's voice seemed so familiar - yet so distant in her memory - that she calmed down, her eyes flooding with tears. She immediately wrapped herself around the man as he began his slow descent.

"Princess, I'm going to Portal to the Guildhall. Hold onto me like your life depends on it, because right now, it does." Lucy listened to the man, at this moment not bothering to fact check. Portal? Guildhall? What?

A second later, though, her stomach twisted, and the air was once again knocked out of her lungs. It lasted only a millisecond, and she felt alright as soon as warm air hit her.

She held her mysterious saviour closer to her chest, not willing to let go. A pitiful whimper escaped her lips as the man's hand stroked her hair. Why did he seem so familiar!?

"Princess, you can look now." She felt herself being lowered to the floor, and she slowly untucked her legs and released herself from him. She brought her hands up to her eyes as she slowly wiped away her tears and squinted her eyes open. She was greeted with blurry blobs of shifting colours, and they slowly cleared to reveal a crowd standing before her. She stared at them with wide eyes, shifting away from the mystery man and all the people before her. Her hands instinctively shot to her stomach as an intense tightening ripped through her abdomen.

"Aghhh!" Her groan of pain seemed to wake everyone from their daze, as they immediately began to worry for the stranger in the middle of their hall.

"Oh no!", "What's wrong, Lady!", and shouts of concern rang around her, pausing only when another roar of distress sounded from Makarov's office upstairs.

It was quiet. Quiet for about a second when Lucy heard a loud crash, and spotted a mop of pink hair from the corner of her eye. The pain in her stomach tightened, and she couldn't help but let out a grunt of pain.

"Princess! I need you to open your eyes. Look at me!"

Lucy obeyed.

"Okay, now. NATSU! Get over here!" The mystery man grabbed the pink-haired man - Natsu? - gently, twisting his face towards Lucy's.

They locked eyes.

'Onyx.'

'Hazel.'

That was what set it off.

Natsu burst into a raging flame as Lucy's own magical aura flared uncontrollably. Their magics seemed to collide; Natsu's dark, black speckled flames and Lucy's own golden light merging into a beautiful shade of crimson. The light dissipated, returning to a dull glow as the now crimson light twisted in on itself, forming gorgeous coils and speckles of light, floating between them.

Lucy and Natsu stared at it unmoving, as the light uncurled, floating towards them, lengthening as it closed the distance between the pair.

One end of it coiled around Lucy's right pinkie as the other end did the same around Natsu's.

It was the Red String.

Author Notes

Chappies are gettin' longerrrrrrrrrr!