Summary: A possible scenario for the Manga….Lucy runs off with the Book of END, betraying Fairy Tail.
Pairings: END/Lucy/Natsu, Sisterly Erza/Wendy, Natsu/Gray friendship, Wendy/Charle friendship, Natsu/Happy friendship, general Team Natsu friendship, Gray/Loke friendship, some implied Zeref/Lucy friendship, and implied brotherly Zeref/Natsu if you really squint.
YouTube Prompt: A Fairy Tail tribute, with emphasis on Natsu/Lucy, to 'If Everyone Cared' by Nickleback.
They had found the Book of End when they had least expected it to. They were, of course, on an entirely different mission and were battling a different evil altogether when Lucy uncovered it in the bandit's wagon amongst their other loot.
Both Gray and Natsu stared at it hungrily, while Erza looked concerned and Wendy horrified.
"Lucy," Gray said in a strained voice, "pass that to me. That thing needs to be destroyed, now."
"No don't listen to him, Luce," Natsu said quickly, "You need to give that to me, I promised Igneel that I would keep it out of the wrong hands but not destroyed."
"You got to be fucking kidding me!" Gray snarled. "Who cares what your dragon wanted? My father made me promise on his deathbed to destroy that book and I will do whatever it takes to make that happen."
"Igneel was my father too!" Natsu snapped. "And I bet he knew a lot more than your Dad did seeing as he tried to destroy END before."
"You think my Dad didn't know what he was saying?!" Gray yelled. "He was part of Tartarus for the last fourteen years. I think he had better intelligence than you stupid, ash-brained, lizard."
Natsu, never able to let an insult to Igneel go, immediately punched Gray so hard that the ice mage flew across the clearing and crashed into a tree.
Wendy gasped and tried to run towards him to see if he was okay but both Charle and Erza held her back.
Gray immediately leaped back on his feet and retaliated by sending a blast of ice to knock Natsu back.
Before anyone knew it the pair of them were immediately locked in combat, ice and fire flying everywhere, as well as fists and feet as they tried to beat the other into a pulp and go off with the prize in Lucy's arms.
It was when both ice and fire almost hit Wendy (who was immediately snatched up by Erza as she jumped to the side to avoid the magic) that Erza decided to intervene. She quickly placed Wendy back on the ground, marched right up to Natsu and Gray, grabbed them by the hair and banged their heads together…..hard.
"Enough," she said coldly, "we are brothers and sisters in arms, we are from the same guild, the same family, we do not fight as if we are mortal enemies, we do not insult one's father, nor do we almost kill a fellow guild member. Am I understood?"
"But-"
"Am. I. understood?" She cut through Natsu and Gray's protests.
The pair of them looked as if they were about to argue some more but Erza then shot them her deadliest glare and they both wilted into submission. "Aye sir," they mumbled.
"Good," Erza smiled in satisfaction, "Now Lucy, pass me the book and we will take it to be examined and then make a decision."
"….No."
Everyone went still in surprise. No one ever said no to Erza, not unless they had a death wish, and Lucy never used that sort of defiant tone on anyone but a bad guy. There was a huge, under-lying, sense of something wrong that filled the air and made the tension unbearable. Slowly, they all turned to really look at Lucy, and shuddered in realisation that they couldn't see her face.
Her head was slightly ducked down as she clutched the Book of END to her chest as it was the most precious thing in the world. Her golden hair fell over her face, casting a great dark shadow over it.
They couldn't see her eyes at all.
For the first time ever, Natsu was unable to read Lucy's face. He had always been able to read it (understand it was an entirely different matter), and now he was completely at a loss.
"Lucy," Erza said calmly. "I am the Seventh Guild Master of Fairy Tail, do not make me ask you again."
"No," Lucy lifted her head up and her eyes flashed dangerously, "You are not my Master. I will not let you harm him."
Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Wendy instantly exchanged worried looks, could it be possible that Lucy was being possessed by the book? Charle grimaced, as if she had expected this, and Happy looked down at Lucy tearfully. "Ne, ne Lucy," he said, "don't you think you should put that book down?"
"And let one of you destroy it?" Lucy hissed. "No bloody way. I made my promise and I plan to keep it."
"Luce," Natsu said gently but firmly, "put that book down."
"No."
"Enough of this!" Gray barked. "Give us the book or I'll freeze some sense into you and take the fucking thing!"
"No."
Erza stared down coolly at Lucy. "You will fight us on this?" she asked. "Your own family?"
"If I have to," Lucy tightened her grip on the book, "then yes. I will."
Gray attacked first.
He didn't get very far, Taurus immediately hacked his ice attack into a million, shattered, pieces – wait, when did Taurus get summoned? Natsu frowned. He couldn't remember hearing Lucy call for him – and then Lucy transformed into her star dress and stomped one leg firmly onto the ground.
They were all sent flying.
Wendy hit her head, hard, against the tree, and with a quick, silent, struggle of staying awake, her eyes fluttered to a close. "WENDY!" Charle screamed.
"Lucy!" Erza snarled, outraged. "How could you?!" she transformed her own armour and swooped into an attack.
The battle was fierce, fast, and furious. Lucy and Erza kept up with one another as they both rapidly transformed from one form to another, but it was when Loke came out, that Lucy finally got the better of Erza.
A Regulus Punch to the stomach and Erza went down, shock written clearly on her face, and immediately Lucy whirled round and kicked Gray, who had been trying to sneak up on her, in the jaw and sent him flying back. "I am sorry about this Gray," Loke said sorrowfully as he pushed his glasses up, "but my Mistress' wishes had always came first."
Gray didn't really have much a chance against not just Lucy and Loke, but Virgo too. Unfairly out-matched, Natsu jumped to Gray's defence with Happy flying him in.
Sagittarius appeared out of nowhere as Virgo disappeared and Happy was suddenly pinned to a tree by an arrow, he screamed in agony, and Natsu fell to the floor just as Lucy's high hell from her Leo star dress form caught him in the forehead.
Lucy seemed to have snapped, temporarily, out of her furious haze and blinked down at him. One of her hands, as one still fucking clutched the Book of END to her chest, went to his forehead, and he hissed.
She had managed to cut him with her fucking high heel. He was never going to hear the end of this one.
Something fluttered across Lucy's face and then determination took over as she tightened her grip (was that even possible? Her knuckles had turned white now,) on the book, and she then pulled away from him.
Lucy was incredibly fast today but Natsu had always been faster, and he managed to snatch her wrist before she could go. "Why?" Natsu croaked. "Why are you protecting that demon over your own guild?"
"Because I love yo-him," she said firmly, and immediately Natsu felt something in his chest shatter at those damming words. How? Why? When? What was so fucking special about some demon dude in a book that she loved him? "More than anything," she continued, the shattered thing in Natsu's chest now splintered into more tiny pieces. "More than Fairy Tail," there was nothing but dust now left in his chest, "and I will not let anyone harm y-him. I made my promise a long time ago."
"Why?" Natsu moaned. "Why him?"
"One day," Lucy whispered, tears were definitely shining in her yes, and he wanted more than anything to wipe them away but Damnit! He was too hurt to do more than stare at her. "One day," she repeated a little louder, "you will understand everything. Goodbye Natsu."
And with that she brushed her lips against his forehead – God it burned, Natsu had never burned before, how did anyone deal with this? – and then she pulled out of his grip like it was nothing, whirled round, and ran for it.
Natsu didn't even think about it when he leaped to his feet, staggered, stumbled, and then ran after her.
Lucy had cut clean across the clearing and was already running further and further into the woods. All he had to do was get past the first set and he would be able to take over her. She would trip on her stupid heels, her dress would get caught, anything, and he would catch her, knock some sense into her, and –
A barrier stopped him, and he fell back.
He barely managed to clamber back onto his knees when a familiar set of feet appeared before him, slowly, he looked up and met the dark gaze of Zeref.
Zeref looked down and amongst the coldness, Natsu cold have sworn he saw remorse and sorrow in there, but they vanished quickly. "You should have never left her behind," Zeref said softly, "she makes promises so easily, and keeps them too."
Natsu shuddered and stiffened at the same time. A burning fury was boiling away in his stomach and he wanted nothing more than to punch Zeref hard.
The barrier stopped him though and Zeref tutted.
"Temper," he chided Natsu, "don't you worry. I will keep her in good company," he inclined his head towards the forest path Lucy had taken, "we have much in common," he said, "not only do we both love END but I too, always, keep my promises."
Natsu's eyes widened in horror as he remembered Zeref's last promise to him. You will suffer great tragedy, and before he could threaten the son of a bitch….he had simply vanished.
The barrier was still up.
Lucy's scent was getting further and further away.
Wendy was out cold in Charle's arms, Erza was struggling to get back onto her feet, Gray stared at the clearing dumbfounded, and Happy sobbed at the sudden betrayal of Lucy….
A roar ripped through Natsu's throat;
"LUCY!"