Lucy's eyes were wide as she took in the fire that was quickly spreading through the town, this time it wasn't even Natsu's fault! In fact, the Dragon Slayer was doing his best to eat up the flames, but there were too many even for his appetite alone. While he was fighting a losing battle with the flames, Lucy, Erza and Gray were evacuating people while Wendy worked on healing them. Happy had been sent back to assist Carla in the carrying of injured victims when Natsu got worried the heat of the flames were becoming too much for his buddy.
Gray was using his Ice Make Magic to form barriers for the evacuation route as well as reinforcing them as they melted quickly, holding back the flames that Natsu couldn't while Erza and Lucy were running into buildings and making sure they were clear of citizens. Nobody knew what had caused the fire, in fact their group was even there just to relax and enjoy a little time off. Lucy was thankful in a way that they were, who knows how many people would have died if they hadn't been here. But she was worried about her friends, wishing that they weren't having to be in danger.
Loke had brought himself into help a little while ago and Lucy would use some of Gray's melted ice to summon Aquarius, who didn't complain about being summoned for once, whenever they heard cries for help coming from some place blocked by fire. Lucy could feel her magic energy draining, they had been at this for hours with no sign of an end in sight. If only Juvia was there, she could use her water magic to take down gobs of this fast paced fire in seconds.
As it was, they were losing the fight with the fire, not only did have tons of fuel in the dry buildings of the town, but Lucy was pretty sure it had sprung from a magical source that either malicious or unintentional was giving it an extra burst of energy. She ran deeper into the town, following a child's cry for help, failing to notice the fire closing in behind her. The fire roared loudly in her ears as the child's cries became both louder and fainter, its caller either losing their voice or giving up hope or simply being overwhelmed by the smoke.
Lucy pulled her water soaked bandana further up her nose, courtesy of Aquarius the last time she had summoned her. Lucy stopped and listened, she hadn't heard the cry in a few minutes and she was worried that she was too late as she called out "Hello? Can you hear me!?" A small cry came from her immediate left and there, hiding under a bench, was a young child. Lucy pulled her out as she said "It's going to be okay. What do you say we get out of here?"
She turned to go back the way she had come, only now realizing that the smoke wasn't the only thing that now surrounded her, but also the flames from which it sprung. Lucy pulled the child closer to her, taking the rapidly drying bandana and putting it over the child's face, coughing as she took in her first breaths of smoke. Her eyes quickly scanned the area and she saw no way out, the fire was edging closer too.
She was going to call on Aquarius, but her magic levels were too low to do so. Taking in as much air as she dared, Lucy called out with her last conscious breath "Natsu!" Then the smoke overwhelmed her as she carefully collapsed to the ground, using her body as a shield for the small, terrified child. Through the haze that was creeping in, she could have sworn she heard Natsu calling her name.
XXX
Natsu was exhausted, which was odd considering how much fire he had eaten, he should have loads of energy. But this fire was not normal and along with its unwillingness to extinguish, it sapped him of his strength. He had lost track of how much time had passed since it all started, but he knew he wasn't the only tired one. Gray had been doing his best to hold back the flames and Erza, Lucy and Loke had been evacuating people non-stop. Carla and Happy's wings were drooping lower and lower each time he happened to catch a glimpse of them, but still they carried the injured to who he was sure was an equally exhausted Wendy.
Natsu couldn't stop he knew, Gray wouldn't be able to hold these flames back on his own, but he was starting to worry about Lucy. He could see Erza and Loke from time to time, helping someone to the path to safety, but he hadn't seen her in a while. Suddenly through the crackle of the flames, Natsu heard her calling his name. Turning in the direction it came from, he felt his stomach drop. It was near where the fire had started, or where they had figured it had.
The flames still hadn't burned any less brighter then when they had when it had all first started. "Lucy! Where are you!?" Natsu called out, but received no answer. The worry he felt turned into a giant knot in his throat and he yelled to Gray "Lucy's in trouble, can you handle this?" He could see the strain on his friend's face, but Gray nodded and said "Go, maybe she found out who was behind all this." That didn't make Natsu feel any better.
He rushed towards where he had last heard her voice, trying to smell her around the smoke and flames. That was another thing that bothered him about this fire, normally his senses wouldn't be hampered by it, but this one… He had to find Lucy! Natsu went purely on instinct, moving the fire around with his own and eating it when he had to.
Suddenly he paused. He had heard a whimper from somewhere nearby. He looked but all he could see was fire and smoke and he called out "Lucy! Can you hear me!" No response came and he was beginning to give up hope when he heard a child cry out "Over here, please help us!" Natsu was frustrated, he wanted to save Lucy. But he couldn't turn his back on someone in need. "Call out again!" Natsu yelled and when the child did, he moved in their direction.
Shortly he stumbled over something and he was about to continue on when a noise came from the sooty pile at his feet. Turning the person over, his heart leapt in his throat when he saw Lucy's face. It took him a moment to notice the child clutched in her arms, one who had tears streaming down their face. "Please, help us!" The child whimpered and Natsu knew he had found who had called out. Natsu nodded before gently picking up Lucy, who whimpered again and held the child a little tighter out of reflex.
Natsu then used his fire to vault them into the air, calling out "Happy! Help!" Happy heard Natsu and flew as fast as he could, catching Natsu on his return trip to the ground. Happy grunted, his arms ached from all the carrying he had done, but he made no comment as he saw Lucy's appearance. Lucy had cried out upon the impact of Natsu being grabbed, brought back to consciousness by the pain that raced through her back.
Seeing the worried face of her best friend, Lucy smiled and said "Thanks." before the pain pulled her back into the soothing darkness she had abruptly left. Happy flew quickly to Wendy who did her best as Natsu reluctantly headed back into the fire fight, not wanting to leave Lucy's side.
XXX
A couple of hours later, in the middle of the night, a sudden downpour enveloped the town, causing Loke to collapse back into the Spirit World and Erza, Natsu, Gray, Happy and Carla to the ground. Thanks to the Fairy Tail wizards, no lives were lost to the strange fire, though there were a few, including Lucy, who Wendy was still saying weren't out of the woods yet. Nobody cared how soaked they were, many just laying down on the ground, thankful to be alive and that the fire was out.
Morning came and it was obvious just by looking at it that the town was a complete lost. Natsu and the others picked themselves off the ground and made their way towards Wendy, just as the Rune Knights appeared on the scene. They questioned the townspeople and the Fairy Tail members, the latter being more helpful in that they could tell the Rune Knights that it was definitely magic based. They had brought a healer of their own, who gave Wendy a break, while they went to investigate the scene themselves.
Erza and Gray went to help them by showing where they had noticed it started from while Natsu stayed by Lucy's side. All the other victims had woken up, but Lucy had yet to do so since she had thanked Natsu. It was partially because of her badly burned back and partially because of her depleted magic levels. Wendy had comforted Natsu before collapsing on the ground to get some rest herself, telling him that Lucy was out of the woods, just resting.
Natsu gently brushed a stray strand of hair from her face before softly saying "Please wake up Luce." The little girl, having been reunited with her parents stopped by with them a couple of times that day, hoping to say their thanks in person to Lucy, but as darkness fell they made their way to the community of tents, provided by the Rune Knights, saying they would be back in the morning. Erza, Gray, Carla and Wendy had also gone to bed, though their tents were set up close to where Lucy now rested in one. Happy stayed with Natsu, but dozed off rather quickly.
Natsu just kept staring at his best friend, worried that Lucy or the Rune Knight healer may have missed something, though he would never tell Wendy that. He thought back on what had caused it all. Erza and Gray had returned from the site that they had shown the Rune Knights too with a look of disgust. It had been a magic bomb and they were sure it was set by some dark guild by how well put together it must have been, judging by the pieces. The Rune Knights worried that this may have just been a test run and hoped to catch the villain shortly and had therefore headed out on some small lead they had gotten from the wreckage.
He gently slammed a fist into the other hand, mentally vowing that if he ever found out who set the bomb he would make them pay for what they did not only to Lucy but the town and its people too. He heard a soft stirring noise and before his brain could tell him what it was, a soft, familiar voice said "Natsu?" He beamed down at his best friend as he said "Hey, you're awake. I was starting to get worried." Lucy smiled before a worried look crossed her face and asked "Was the little girl still okay?"
Natsu nodded and said "She made it out with just a small scratch thanks to you protecting her. She was awful close to the epicenter, I'm not sure how she lasted as long as she did before you reached her, to be honest." Lucy looked relieved before saying "Thanks for rescuing us." Natsu smiled and said "No problem. Now why don't you try getting some more sleep, Happy and I will be right here if you need us and someone wants to come see you tomorrow."
Lucy smiled and nodded, falling back to sleep feeling safe and protected. Natsu decided to lay on the ground next to her small cot that the Rune Knights had provided, he would be more comfortable then in the chair. Now that he knew in his own mind that Lucy was going to be okay, he too fell easily asleep.