Chapter 10: The Power of the Forest's Creatures

"Drop me Happy," Natsu commanded. Happy complied, circling back to make sure Erza, Gray, Carla, and Wendy knew where the battle was. Lucy and Baselius lunged forward. Three figures moving towards the frozen creature whose eyes moved from Lucy to Compassio. The dagger met flesh with a sickening sound which was partnered with a cry of pain. The unicorn stood unharmed.

Baselius dropped onto one knee unsteadily, a pool of blood appearing where the head of the dagger jutted out of his chest. His eyes were unfocused as he fell to the side. Lucy caught him in her arms, eyes wide with horror at the sight of the old man's wound.

"Lucy," Baselius muttered.

"Don't talk," Lucy told him. She scanned the forest. If Natsu was here, then surely Wendy must be as well. "We can save you."

Baselius hummed in response allowing his eyes to close and open lazily. His lids were so very heavy.

Compassio let out a howl of rage, pointing accusingly at Lucy. "You! You did this! I'll kill you and then that cursed creature!"

"You won't get near either of them," growled Natsu, his hands lighting up and face darkening into one of determination.

Lucy turned her attention again to Baselius. With Compassio distracted by Natsu, she could feel her one darkness lifting, but it still weighed heavily on her. It was taking a lot of focus to stay present. Baselius had his eyes closed again, but she called to him urgently.

"Baselius! Wake up, you can't sleep!"

Baselius' eyes fluttered open a bit, looking around slowly as if he were trying to decipher where he was.

"My friends are on their way," Lucy assured him. "They can help."

"Ah, yes, friends," Baselius agreed, eyes moved towards Lucy's, then to the unicorn. He sighed, reaching out a shaky hand to pat the unicorns nose. "Lucy, there is something important."

"Yes," Lucy prompted.

Baselius took a deep breath before continuing, "after this is over, go to the chest in my cabin and get my letter to Ventri. Be sure he gets it, yes?"

Lucy nodded, tears rolling down her cheek.

"Your friend needs help," Baselius observed as Natsu was slammed against a tree, falling to the ground. "Compassio is not one you can defeat with physical might alone. It is... also... the heart's might."

He nudged Lucy away as the unicorn approached closer. He wanted her to fight with Natsu, not cry over a dying old man. Lucy turned away from them, watching as Natsu pushed himself up, arms shaking beneath him. He didn't seem that injured, but his face was marked with tears. Lucy's eyes widened. Compassio was inside his heart!

"Stop it," she called, rushing towards Natsu. "Natsu! Can you hear me?"

Natsu seemed to be physically shrinking, body shaking as he brought a flaming hand down against the ground with so much power that the earth beneath him cracked. What could he be remembering? The feeling of Igneel's death before his eyes? The discovery that he was E.N.D. and would potentially destroy his friends? The guilt of making Erza cry as she separated Gray and himself?

"L-lucy," Natsu muttered. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders carefully. "Lucy? Why are you so still?"

"I'm not still, Natsu," She said urgently. "I'm right here, can't you hear me?"

She felt Compassio turn his attention on her before she saw him make any physical moves. The darkness that had never fully left expanded within her.

Aquarius' key shattered making a light flared before disappearing, though Lucy could barely hear over the sound of her own call to her departing friend- her oldest friend gone. Her mother's friend- gone. Her betrayal and loneliness the year fairy tail had fear that engulfed her when Natsu had disappeared, even after she'd rewritten the book of E.N.D.

I have to beat him with my heart, Lucy reminded herself. But how? When she couldn't find any happiness here?

As if to answer, a light shown in the darkness and suddenly, Lucy's memories were flooded with joy.

The happiness when she joined fairy tail.

The pleasure at reuniting with her father after their fortune was gone.

The surprise of a rainbow cherry blossom tree floating down the Magnolia river.

The relief when Natsu remembered her (undoing the invisible potion and making her visible again).

The wonder when Natsu managed to catch her after the infinity clock, his toothy grin looking up at her. That toothy grin which appeared so often in her happiest memories.

Like stars in the early night sky the memories began to twinkle to life. When she won her award for writing. When they partnered up to fight against a difficult opponent. The moment they defeated Acnologia and the dragon slayers returned from the time rift. Natsu had been falling directly onto her and Happy, pinning them to the ground before his face broke into a broad toothy grin before declaring, "I'm home!" And all the memories in between with little smiles and joy: busting him for breaking into her apartment & his look at losing a game (and he didn't want to admit he was a sore loser).

All of these memories came flooding into the darkness, breaking through until the darkness crumbled away.

"Lucy," Natsu grumbled, responding to her for the first time since her approach. "You're glowing."

Looking around her she found the unicorn's horn touching her back, just where her heart would be and from that spot her whole body was starting to glow. She felt rejuvenated.

"Do you feel better as well," she asked Natsu as the unicorn stepped back, moving back towards Baselius' body on the edge of the forest.

"Better than before," Natsu grinned. "Let's do it!"

They both stood, nodded at one another and then moved into action. In three swift movements, Natsu fired off his attack, distracting Compassio long enough for Lucy to summon Capricorn, Sagittarius, and Virgo.

"Let's knock him out," Lucy called, changing into her own Capricorn dress, glasses set to hopefully ward off any additional emotional attacks.

The attacks threw Compassio into an arc in the air, slamming him down on the ground before the beating continued. By the third wave of attacks, he was out cold. Lucy felt her magical energy returning to normal as her spirits left one by one.

"Nice job," Natsu beamed, holding a thumbs up.

Lucy nodded, "You too!"

"Looks like we missed all the fun," Gray called. An ice a cage fell over Compassio as Gray, Erza, and Wendy finally reached the scene. "You don't look so hot," he added teasingly to Natsu.

"Watch it ice-bucket," Natsu growled halfheartedly. He turned again to Lucy, "Besides, Lucy did all the real work."

Lucy smiled lightly at his toothy grin and felt her heart give a light flutter as another happy memory fell into place.

...

It took them an additional day to finally get on the road again. They had to return King Baselius' body to Ventri, and deliver the letter Lucy had been instructed to find. It outlined all that had happened and the treason that Compassio had committed. King Ventri thanked them for their gift of the truth, vowing to protect his people and the forest, including all the creatures within it so long as he held the throne. Then, he organized a banquet that made even Natsu and Happy too full to move for the night.

As they walked, Natsu and Gray bickered and exchanged insults, challenging one another on who would be able to defeat the next god-dragon. Erza intervened with a deathly glare and a whack on both of their heads as Wendy and Carla giggled from behind.

Lucy sighed contented. They were a wild bunch, always finding themselves in trouble, but she wouldn't change them for the world.

Natsu looked over his shoulder, catching Lucy's eyes and breaking into his beaming grin again as he teased, "Lucy, you're slowing us down!"

Lucy simply laughed, throwing her head back so that the light caught her golden hair, making it dance. She could make it through even the darkest moments so long as her friends were there.

The end.

Thanks for reading & hope your enjoyed! Conclusions are always so difficult, but I think this one came out okay and I couldn't resist some Nalu (whoops!). Don't forget to review!