I am just so freaking excited that we've finally made it here!
As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading!
Once Leo was sure the restraints were on tight enough, he allowed himself to sink to his knees to catch his breath.
King Rhjothe had not gone down easy. Right after Natsu and the researcher had flown off, the kings had taken their fights off into other areas of the caves as well, probably to separate them. Leo wasn't worried about Erza, even against a king, and usually he wouldn't worry about Natsu, but he wasn't in a great head space at the moment. He had a feeling the other demon knew that, and would taunt Natsu with stories about whatever he'd been doing with Lucy to get under Natsu's skin and affect his ability to fight. Leo fervently hoped Natsu could keep his head, just this once.
He heard Erza before he saw her. The clanking of her armor gave her away, but Leo readied himself just in case it was someone else. As soon as she entered the space, his aura lit her up, revealing King Xeenathen in chains being pulled behind her.
"I'm glad to see you're well, Leo."
"I feel the same." He nodded at the demon behind her. "Is he still alive?"
"Of course. It will be up to the other kings to decide his punishment, not me. The same goes for Rhjothe and Zeref. I take it Rhjothe is alive as well?"
"Yeah, although for a while there I thought the fight wouldn't end until one of us was dead." He got to his feet and grabbed onto the strap around Rhjothe's chest so he could pull him as he followed Erza out. "Have you seen Natsu yet? Or Zeref? I have a feeling he probably has Lucy now."
"I have not looked yet, but I think returning to that blood pool is the best idea right now." She adjusted her grip on her chains so they were over her shoulder. "Since that is where they'll need to finish the ritual, I would bet that's where Zeref will be. We should hurry so we can stop him in time."
"Agreed." The pair took to the air, the kings restraints keeping them just above the ground as they moved. As they got closer to the correct cave, Leo could swear he could still hear the sounds of a fight.
As they entered the appropriate space, they both came to an abrupt halt. Zeref was standing next to the pool of blood with Midnight at his side and Lucy strung up above the pool. The clang of chains and Erza's armor brought Zeref's attention around in their direction. He gave them a smile as Midnight's shadows flared around them both. "You surprised me, Scarlet. I didn't take you for one to break and enter a king's home."
"It is an action I took only due to extenuating circumstances." She released her hold on Xeenathen and Leo subtly let Rhjothe go as well. "What is the meaning of this, King Zeref? Do you understand what you're doing?"
"Of course I do," he said as he fully turned. "Do you not? I wish I could say I'm surprised that you would be opposed to returning to the origin, but I'm not. I would have rather liked to have your support in my endeavors the last few years, but I figured you wouldn't approve of my current goals."
"You are correct," Erza confirmed.
"Why are you in favor?" Leo asked. His instincts were screaming at him to get to Lucy, but he needed to time his movements perfectly. The ritual was nearly complete, going by how much blood was in the pool, and since they'd brought Lucy in here, he suspected that killing her was the goal so he couldn't risk spooking the pair before he was close enough to get her out of harm's way.
When the noises from the other fight suddenly cut off, Leo felt hope stir a little in his chest. Maybe if he could just keep Zeref talking, Natsu could return in time.
He'd brought Natsu here to help him save Lucy, so hopefully he would.
"Well? Why do you want to return to the origin? As king, you have free reign to move among all nine realms. What is the appeal of the origin for you?"
Zeref laughed. "Oh come on, Leo. Surely you're not that dense." When Leo merely raised an eyebrow, the king sighed. "Well, that's disappointing. I thought for sure you of all people would understand. Do you not remember what it was like?
"The origin was a haven for us demons. Able to go wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted."
"That was the problem," Leo said. "You demons ruined things for the other races. It was why the realms were separated in the first place."
"But don't you see? That's why I want to go back." Zeref sighed. "I don't expect you to understand, honestly. How could you? As an angel, you've always been able to go wherever you wanted among all the realms. Especially as a member of the Zodiac, you are not bound by the same laws that restrict us to these lowly realms."
"Well that's just not true," Leo said.
"At any rate, the origin will be a new beginning for my people." Zeref took a step back. "They've been bound too long to the tenth circle. The least I can do for them to release them and give them back their freedoms."
"That will destroy the realms," Erza said with a frown. "You know as well as I that the nightmare demons will blame everyone besides those who are really at fault and destroy the other races with no regard for their guilt or innocence."
Zeref shrugged. "Why should I care? They are my people, and I will be their savior. Once they are released, I will not have to worry about anything anymore. Not from any of the other kings, the other demons, the angels, or least of all any of the other races." He smiled softly. "I will be free to do as I please."
Suddenly, a cold wind blasted through the cave and the candles went out. The only light came from Leo and he increased his aura to light up the rest of the space.
Zeref turned with a frown to look behind him. "What on earth are you do-" His eyes widened and he took a step away from the pool, as did Midnight when a large form entered the cave. "Gillax failed…"
The demon that passed through the other doorway growled, his shadows a writhing mess at his feet. Red dripped from almost every inch of his skin, as well as his maw, where he chewed on the remains of a long appendage.
"I've got him," Midnight said as he disappeared into his shadows.
"No, wait!" Zeref tried to stop him, but he was too late. Midnight appeared from his shadows above Natsu, but all the hybrid had to do was swing his arm over his head and Midnight fell to the ground, cut neatly in two.
Zeref took another step back as his shadows ballooned around him.
He was alone now.
Lucy's head felt too heavy to lift. She could hear voices around her, but they were distant and distorted. There were a few people talking, but she didn't recognize any of them.
No, that wasn't true. She recognized one. Loke. She couldn't understand his words, but she was certain it was him. She tried to move, tried to speak, but her body wouldn't accept her commands. Eventually, she was able to convince her eyes to open.
She couldn't see much, since her vision was as fuzzy as her hearing. There was something below her, something very red. As she tried to figure out what it was, she realized she wasn't standing on it. Something was wrapped around her arms, chest and hips, holding her airborne. And she was bleeding. She could see drops of red falling from her arm onto the ground below her. As she watched it for a while before it hit her that it was blood.
Her blood.
Panic filled her as she realized she was in a position exactly like Loke had warned her about. Someone had her, and was collecting her blood so they could combine the realms again. Her panic helped her focus, and she realized there was another voice with Loke that she recognized- Erza. Briefly, she wondered if Natsu was there and decided probably not. With his ban, there was no way she'd get to see him again.
She tipped her head a little, just enough to see around her. There were two people standing in front of her. Considering their skin colors and wings, she guessed they weren't human. If demons had her…
One of the people had their hands folded behind their back, and as they adjusted their weight from foot to the other, she saw the glint of metal.
They had a knife.
Lucy's heart rate increased even more. She was stuck, too disoriented to do anything to help herself, and even though Loke and Erza were there, she didn't think they could get to her in time. She wondered if she could let them know one of the bad guys had a knife and then decided that was a bad idea. No doubt Loke had a plan and was working on saving her. If she was patient, she was sure she would be alright.
A loud noise behind her had her hair standing on end and caused the others to fall silent. The two in front of her instantly tensed and turned, as though preparing to fight. "I've got him," one said just before he disappeared.
"No, wait!" the other cried. A moment later, there was a squishy thud behind her, and then the other demon moved farther away from her. With a sinking feeling, she closed her eyes.
Whatever was behind her, she knew she didn't want to see it.
It was going to get her killed, she was certain.
The desire to kill had never been more all consuming. His first prey had not gone down easy, but now that he was done, all Natsu wanted was to keep going. His desire to bathe in another's blood was so intense, he didn't even feel his injuries. With Gillax's arm still in his mouth, he began to move, heading towards the other voices he could hear nearby.
His magic preceded him in an icy blast that put out the lights around the cave. A moment later, though, another light increased, illuminating the entire space. He could sense their fear, all of it, as he growled.
"I've got him," one of the closer two said and then he sank into the darkness.
The other shouted something, but Natsu didn't hear what it was. He could sense the first moving, and as he appeared above him, Natsu swung his claws over his head with little effort. When the corpse landed in front of him, he didn't even look at it, annoyed that the foe had been so easy to defeat. He needed another like the first. Another real fight.
The other demon moved away from him, his own shadows gathered around him. Natsu recognized him, and the more he remembered, the more angry he grew.
That demon was the one who had ruined everything.
That was the one who had taken what was his.
That was the one he needed to kill.
And he was strong, so it was going to be a good fight.
He snarled and then sent a blast of black fire towards the demon, causing him to sink into himself to dodge the spell. A few more blasts barely missed the person hanging from the ceiling, but managed to tag the other demon who cursed before dodging across the space.
"Well, aren't you going to stop him?" the demon cried.
It was then that Natsu remembered there were others in the cave. The glowing one, and the one in the armor. He knew them too, but he was less angry with them.
Still, they were worthy opponents. Once he was done with his current fight, he would go after them.
He blasted the first demon once more as he dropped his trophy, waiting for a moment to see if the others would try to help.
"It is not my place to interfere," the armored demon said. "As he no longer has any contracts, I have no jurisdiction over him."
"Me either," Leo said.
"Isn't he your friend? Wouldn't you like to stop him before he gets himself hurt?"
"Pretty sure we're too late for that," the angel said. That's right, the glowing one was an angel Natsu finally remembered.
The hybrid sank into his shadows, subtly moving forward. He wondered if perhaps he'd have to chase his prey elsewhere to get him to fight. While he wasn't opposed to fighting them all, something held him back. Something about this space was distracting him. He wan't usually one to think so much about a fight, but in here… there was something…
Something that had him rethinking just charging his foe. But what?
Part of his attention veered off and finally studied the other person in the room. They were bleeding and thin, barely giving off any magical print, which is why he hadn't noticed them before. Even so… something about them drew Natsu in, so much so that he completely forgot about the others in the room. As he stepped forward, a low noise escaped him, alerting the others to his movements.
"Natsu, no!" the angel cried.
Natsu didn't notice the response of the others as the person's head suddenly lifted and then sought him out. Warm brown eyes grew impossibly wide as they locked with his and ensnared him.
This was who he'd been searching for…
"Natsu…" The name on her lips was like a melody, making him both completely calm and intensely focused. Tears filled her eyes and then fell as Natsu's entire being focused on the human before him, his inner dragon managing to break through and remind him who he was.
Who she was…
As the anger in his soul began to ease, he moved forward, determined to release her from her bonds.
As Lucy began to smile at him, there was the sound of something flying through the air, and then her head jerked. Her eyes widened and then blood suddenly shot out of her mouth as the blade Zeref had been hiding ripped through the front of her neck. The rack she was attached too suddenly tripped and her blood flowed in earnest towards the ground below her.
Directly into the pool of blood.
"NO!" Leo was so shocked, he wasn't able to move in time.
For a long moment, he'd been scared Natsu would attack Lucy, but somehow, he'd known who she was. In that moment their eyes had met, his had softened, and Leo had known that even his demon side had acknowledged Lucy as someone to protect. His relief had been so strong, he'd completely forgotten the other danger in the room.
He hadn't even seen the blade.
As Lucy's blood began to fall in earnest, Leo's only thought was that he had failed.
And there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Suddenly, everything around him froze. The shadows around Zeref, the blood falling from Lucy's neck, the black fire and shadows around Natsu's body, everything. A blast of heat shot through the cave, nearly knocking Leo to his feet, but he managed to keep himself upright as magic began to swirl around Natsu in a vortex of black and red.
"Natsu!" Leo called the hybrid's name, but those eyes didn't turn his way. They were so desolate, so sad, but also intensely focused on Lucy. Runes began to appear at Natsu's feet, three layers of them in the air, and four along the ground. The more runes that appeared, the faster the magic spun. They were halfway complete before Leo realized what he was doing.
"Natsu, don't! That will kill you!"
Still, those glowing eyes refused to look his way. A golden ring appeared around him, one for a completely different spell Leo was sure, and floated just below his shoulders.
"Natsu, please don't do it, we can still save her!" His healing magic wasn't perfect, but he could do enough to save Lucy's life. Deciding that action would be his best bet to convince Natsu, he moved forward to get to Lucy but was stopped. Something kept his feet stuck to the ground.
"Natsu, let me go, we can still save her! Together!"
As the runes finished, Natsu reached a wing forward. The hook on the end just barely reached Lucy from where he was. As he softly ran it down Lucy's cheek, catching the tear that threatened to fall, Natsu finally turned Leo's way.
Save her, came the voice in Leo's head. It was deep and gravelly, but it was Natsu's. Protect her better this time. Do what I can't, so that she can live a better life than I could give her.
Suddenly, all that magic, all that heat, shot inward, disappearing for a long moment in the space where Natsu stood.
"No!" Leo cried.
And then there was an explosion.
For all of you that keep telling me that I need to stop all these cliffhangers… I'm sorry, I just can't do it. They're my favorite thing to write.
Please forgive me.
