Lucy screamed as red splattered against the grass and flowers. Blood.
She peered through the dust and felt her heart plummet and plunge down through her stomach. Erza could not have just cut her own damned arm off. It wasn't possible.
Luckily, she hadn't.
Wendy stood with Erza's blade trapped between her hands with less than in inch between the deadly sharp metal and Erza's poisoned flesh, a furiously focused expression on her young face. The sinister blade cut deep into Wendy's palms, but the young drakon didn't seem to care. Erza looked shocked, staring down at where her disembodied limb should have been before looking up at Wendy with something like pride in her dark eyes.
"Let me fix it," Wendy panted, refusing to let go of the blade until Erza relented. Lucy wanted to run over there and help, knowing Wendy was way too depleted to properly heal Erza without significantly injuring herself, but she had to find her keys. Her keychain was sitting gently in a patch of purple and yellow pansies, the metal catching the sunlight and shining among the brilliant flowers.
She turned her focus away from Erza and Wendy, knowing the two of them would figure out something less drastic than cutting of Erza's arm. Right now, they had to figure out who was attacking them and why. Well, she had a good inkling as to why they were being attacked and suspicions on the who, but they needed more information.
They needed to get back to Fairy Tail as soon as possible. She pushed past the pain in her ankle and slowly inched closer to Natsu and Gray, who stood between her and her keys. If they, along with Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale, could distract their mysterious attackers, she could find the strength to summon someone.
Already, despite Wendy's help, she was starting to feel the fatigue of magic depletion tugging at her limbs. Hissing, she paused a few feet away from Gray, who was fuming and focused on the tree line with ice coating his arms.
"Gray," she said slowly, her fear obvious in her tone. Gray just nodded, already on the same page. They had to get Erza and get out of there. Everyone could regroup and figure out the next move when they were safe.
But Lucy had to get her spirits back. She figured whoever was knocking her away from them was the same blurred figure causing havoc for Natsu and Gray, someone with extreme speed abilities. She had a cut on her brow and she could feel a droplet of blood sliding down her sweaty skin. Her ankle was throbbing in pain and everyone else seemed equally injured so far. Natsu was facing away from her, his eyes scanning the trees, so she couldn't tell if he was injured.
She felt her concern for him well up inside of her, stronger than it had been before. She knew he was plenty capable of defending himself, but she couldn't help but worry. Especially when she knew his personality. No way would he want to leave when the bastards who were attacking their group were still around.
Lucy took stock of the state of the meadow, which was nearly destroyed, and those inside of it. The men of Blue Pegasus were gathered together to her left, each back to back to form a circle. The mages of Lamia Scale looked somewhat ruffled, Jura appearing to be the center of their trio as they slowly inched closer to where Natsu was standing. Erza had a fierce looking sword in her good hand while Wendy was focused on subduing the poison in her other arm, her glowing healing magic flickering as the girl tried her best to use the last of her power.
All in all, they were in terrible shape. Lucy kept glancing over at her keys, anxious to get them and hating how vulnerable they looked in the patch of pansies. She knew that when she tried to grab them, though, that mysterious speedster would undoubtedly attack again.
At that moment, an idea popped into her head. An awful idea, but an idea nonetheless. She knew nobody would like it, least of all Natsu, but it was their best chance at deterring the speedster.
"Natsu," she said, her anticipation growing with each passing second as their attackers waited. She heard him hum in response, refusing to turn his gaze away from the shadowed trees looming around the once peaceful meadow.
"I have an idea," she began, wincing at how much she was going to hurt afterwards. Their opponents chose to make their move after she created a chaotic environment with her outburst, so maybe she could do it again and use her starlight against them. There was no telling how many were out there, waiting to attack, but if she could at least stop the speedster long enough for Natsu and Gray to make their moves it might be enough for them to catch their bearings.
"I need you both to close your eyes when that speedster comes back," she continued. She knew he would attack again when she went after her keys, so that would be when she'd make her move. Lucy doubted she had enough magic left in her to turn on the light and heat for too long before either exploding or passing out.
Gray glanced at her, worry in his gaze. He knew what she was planning, even if Natsu hadn't put it together yet. Lucy hoped the others would get with the plan once she made her move, but she didn't want to risk trying to communicate with them.
She felt Natsu's attention on her, even if he wasn't looking at her. Taking a few deep breaths, she darted towards her keys, reaching out blindly as she dove towards them.
Lucy reached down into the core of her magic and tugged with all her might, begging her starlight to shine just as bright as it did before. She allowed the fear of her nightmare to fuel her magic and she held the light just under her skin and waited for the opportune moment. Straining, she reached towards her keys and felt the barest brush of wind hit her fingertips.
Screaming, she pushed her magic through her skin and out, letting the brilliant light seep from her every pore. She heard a curse and saw a shadow from the corner of her eye as she fell towards the ground, pushing every last bit of her energy into maintaining the blinding light.
Everything went white and she crashed into the ground and into the depths of her stardust, the golden energy encasing her in its all-consuming warmth.
-ooooo-
When Lucy said she had a plan, Natsu trusted her without pause or question. She was one of the smartest people he knew, if not the smartest. He had absolute faith in her abilities and knew whatever she had in mind would work. She told him to close his eyes at some point, which he didn't totally understand but would do when the time came.
His mind flashed back to their moment in the cabin, when he nearly kissed her before everything went to shit. He didn't know what had come over him. He only knew that he had to be close to her and when she leaned into his touch, he couldn't help himself. Her presence was intoxicating. The sweet scent of stardust along with the constant golden glow she exuded always drew him in and he never wanted to leave her.
It was strange, since Natsu had never felt this way about anyone before. He wasn't sure what to do and had decided to trust his instincts. They rarely led him astray before and he found that he really wanted to kiss Lucy.
Even now, his attention was half focused on her presence from where she stood slightly behind him and next to Gray. His ears listened to her breathing and his nose caught her scent in the wind. He was so in tune with her breathing that his started to match her own.
So, when she darted off towards the other end of the clearing, he let his attention on the trees where their enemies were hiding falter. It only took a fraction of a second for his mistake to cost him. Natsu turned towards where Lucy was running as he heard her scream and was blasted back by the force of the magic that exploded from her. Sliding against the dirt, he lifted his hands to block the intense light and blasting heat.
Cursing, he saw exactly why she decided to explode again. There was a shadow reeling away from the starlight burning from her as she fell against the ground, the man clutching at his face. Growling, Natsu ran at the shadowed man, using his sense of smell to target since he could barely see anything in the brilliant light streaming from Lucy.
He quickly let loose a fiery roar, the pillar of flames hitting the shadowed figure dead on right before a volley of ice lances struck. While the figure was recovering, Natsu darted past and grabbed Lucy's limp body and her keys, stuffing them in one of his pockets. He winced as her starlight burned his skin, but he had to get her out of there.
Gray kept up his attack as he charged towards the figure, who was quickly recovering from Lucy's attack. Natsu could hear shouting from the other guilds as they were affected by the force of Lucy's magic again. Luckily, Jura got with the program and began attacking the figure before he ran off back to the dark trees in a blur.
Natsu laid Lucy down on the soft grass, one of the few undisturbed parts of the meadow left and held her face in his hands. She was completely unconscious, and thankfully he could feel the heat leaving her skin and saw the light begin to fade. Sighing in relief, he gently scooped her back into his arms and regrouped with the others.
The white-haired ice mage was cursing and rubbing his eyes, grumbling under his breath. Jura had the pink-haired girl under his arm as they limped to the center of the meadow where everyone else was gathering. Wendy and Erza had even moved to join the group. Erza's arm was no longer sickly colored and he couldn't smell as much rot and poison from her. Natsu couldn't remember any of the other people's names, which didn't matter. All that mattered was if they could fight.
Lucy's skin gradually cooled as her magic faded, but as the light shining from within her dimmed, she looked paler and sicker. Her skin turned ice-cold and sallow and Natsu felt his heart sink in his chest. She needed healing, as soon as possible. Wendy was just as burnt out, Erza practically carrying the small drakon despite her own injuries. Cursing, he held her tighter against his chest and increased his own body temperature to warm her.
"Gray, we gotta go," he growled, his overprotective instincts kicking in full blast. A part of him wanted to charge out after their new enemies and show them exactly what would happen for messing with his family and his guild, but thankfully the small rational side of his brain won out. Their group was caught by surprise and unable to catch up. Half of them were seriously injured and their only supportive mage was out of commission.
"I fucking know, flame-brain," Gray cursed. Another snarl built in Natsu's chest. He glanced around the darkened tree line again, but Lucy's body in his arms distracted his keen senses.
"Fairy Tail," a deep masculine voice boomed from the surrounding forest. "And others. You know about us, and you know what we want. Let this be a warning to you of our power. We won't go so easy on you next time." The voice cut off with a low laugh. Natsu felt another angry growl rumble from his throat as he sensed their opponents disappear into the forest.
There was a tense few moments of silence. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. When there was not any sign of their attackers for a couple minutes, everyone let loose a relieved breath. Natsu was still curled around Lucy, his entire attention focused on her. Wendy and Erza were being held up by the three men from Blue Pegasus, the short strange one was collapsed on the ground near them.
He heard talk of a portal, and vague discussion on what to do next, but he couldn't focus when Lucy felt like she was dying in his arms. Despite his attempts to warm her, she was still freezing, and he felt a wave of panic rising within him. He focused on that kernel of his power he felt inside her, the tiniest spark of magic. He pressed his forehead against hers, hissing at the chill on his skin.
"Luce, you gotta stay with me," he whispered. He pushed his magic through their connected foreheads and focused on that kernel of his magic he knew dwelled inside of her. He remembered, when she first fainted from using too much magic, how a deep fear rooted in his chest as he stared at her unconscious form, and how he somehow built a bridge between their magic. He focused on that bridge now, sending waves of heat pulsing across it and pulling at the tether between them. A tether that had only grown in intensity over the past few weeks.
He felt her sigh, the air washing across his lips, and felt her aura warm slightly. It wasn't enough, but it was a start. Natsu still felt an anvil of fear weighing him down, but now they had time to get an actual healer.
"-Tail guild is the safest, since our run in with Phantom Lord its location has been top secret, even from the magic council," Erza explained. Natsu nodded and grunted his agreement. At Fairy Tail, Porlyusica could come and tend to their injuries. To Lucy's injuries. Her attack plan wasn't the safest, nor the smartest, but it worked well enough to distract the speedster so he could land a hit.
Before he knew it, with the help of Jura, Erza and Gray had created the portal. Natsu lifted Lucy in his arms, cradling her head against the crook of his neck, and carried her through the glowing doorway. He came out on the other side in the entrance of Fairy Tail's bar, surrounded by wounded, with nausea curling in his gut.
He heard a platter of glasses clatter against the ground and sounds of shock echo through the near empty chamber as the guild took notice of their sudden arrival. He heard Mira calling out for Makarov and Laxus and then those in the guild were crowding around them, helping the newcomers find chairs and asking a million questions. Natsu chose to let the others answer, since he had bigger problems.
"We need Porlyusica!" He shouted, just as Erza and Wendy stumbled through the portal and collapsed against the guild floor. Wendy was passed out and pale, and Erza wasn't much better. Mira was at Wendy's side in an instant, concern washing away the fury in her blue eyes. Cana was staring at her cards with a conflicted expression, a barrel of liquor on the counter next to her. She quickly abandoned her drink and whatever her cards were telling her to join in the chaos.
Makarov burst from his office with Laxus hot on his heels, each bearing confused looks before a grim realization broke on their faces. Everyone was hustling around and not doing anything to help Lucy. Levy was by Wendy's side, and there was a loud hum from melding voices. Natsu, who was standing closer to the edge of the crowd, snarled and tightened his grip on Lucy.
"I said, we need Porlyusica!" He screamed, his voice booming through the guild and catching the attention of his fellow mages. Levy rose from her crouch, covering her mouth with her hand in shock when she saw Lucy's dim form in his arms.
"Lucy!" Levy cried, running towards him. She reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from Lucy's face. Levy sniffled and grabbed Lucy's dangling hand, gasping when she felt the chill of her friend's skin. Natsu clutched Lucy tighter against his chest, a protective growl rumbling from him. His draconic instincts were beginning to take over and he didn't think he'd stay in control for very much longer. His Lucy was injured and needed healing, but nobody was doing anything.
A few minutes passed, though for Natsu they felt like an eternity, and the portal shone again as Porlyusica stepped through and into chaos. The older woman was immediately swarmed by guild members, each demanding they heal someone else first. Nastu felt his temper slip from his grasp.
"If you bastards don't get out of my fucking way I'll burn you to a crisp," he snarled to the crowd surrounding the only woman who could heal Lucy's magic depletion sickness. Nab paled and pulled Warren out of the way to let Natsu through.
"You need to heal her," he said to Porlyusica, the woman tending to Wendy with Erza at the young girl's side. The pink haired witch looked up and frowned when she saw Lucy. "Wendy is in safe enough condition now. She'll just need to sleep off the sickness and take this tonic two times a day." She handed Erza a small bottle of deep blue shimmering liquid.
Erza nodded solemnly and stayed near the unconscious wind drakon. Porlyusica quickly joined Levy at Natsu's side, her eyes assessing the blonde's grave condition. She pointed to an empty table and ordered Natsu to set Lucy down, so she could work. He followed her instructions, but when it came to letting Lucy leave his arms, he found he couldn't do it. He couldn't leave her side, couldn't stand not having her skin against his and his warmth around her. He wanted to be able to fix her himself, wanted his fire to be hot enough to heal her.
"Natsu, you can stay by her side, but we have to let Porlyusica do her work," Levy said, helping him slide Lucy onto the table with a sympathetic expression. Grimacing, Natsu finally gently placed Lucy on the long table, kneeling next to it and keeping her hand clasped between his.
Porlyusica grumbled under her breath as she began slowly waving her healing hands over Lucy's unconscious form, assessing the damage. The grumpy woman's frown only deepened, her wrinkles etched into her skin.
"This is very bad. She used every drop of her magic power and then some, tapping into some strange well of magic that stole from her lifeforce." Porlyusica dug around in her bag, ignoring how Natsu and Levy reacted. Levy mentioned going to tell the others about Lucy's condition and checking in on everyone, leaving Natsu alone with Lucy as Porlyusica worked. The healer pulled a larger vial of the same blue potion she gave to Wendy and poured it down Lucy's throat.
It was then that Natsu closed his eyes and focused his hearing on listening to Lucy's breathing and her heartbeat. He held her hand against his lips, murmuring under his breath and asking her to come back to him.
First, she'd lost control from the nightmare haunting her and blew out her reserves, then she was caught up in the attack in the meadow and sacrificed herself to give Natsu and Gray the opportunity to strike at their enemy. His heart was swollen with emotions he couldn't understand. Natsu had never felt this strongly about anyone before, at least not in this way. He knew what love was, had heard about it from his friends and seen it from the outside of other people's relationships. But he'd never thought he would ever feel anything strong enough to call love.
It seemed things were changing. While he wasn't sure if what he felt for Lucy was love, he knew it must be close. Seeing her so severely injured brought up his own insecurities and doubts about his abilities, but it also made him realize he didn't just want to be her friend. He wanted…
More.
He wanted more time, more adventures, more pranks with Lucy. He wanted her to be by his side always, to fight alongside him. He wanted to keep breaking into her apartment and playing stupid jokes on her with Happy. He wanted more. More.
For now, however, he just wanted her healed. He wanted to bask in the golden glow of her starlight and hear her laugh and see her smile. Everything else could wait.
-00000-
I'm back! The fall semester just started so of course I'm writing as a form of procrastination! I hope you all like this new chapter and where I'm taking the plot!
More NaLu! More Angst!
Thanks for reading and please don't hesitate to leave a comment below! It really helps keep me motivated!
