A/N Because this is an extra long chapter it is dedicated to two people! Aria Snow and Javakitty2 !
Thankyou both so much for all the lovely reviews and all the support! You are two of the people who keep me writing and updating so frequently! Your reviews always make my day and I hope you both enjoy this chapter!
The forest surrounding Lucy had gotten thicker and more damp. Her legs were sore and her shoulders ached from carrying her bag for so long without rest. They were getting close, she could feel it in her bones. So she kept walking, not slowing down or stopping for rest.
The other two girls looked as exhausted as she felt, they had been traveling for four days now but it felt longer. The only small mercy was that she was still sleeping really well despite being on the ground. Every morning she woke up feeling well rested and full of energy, though that energy would disappear as the day went on.
She missed Natsu, she really missed him. She didn't regret leaving but she regretted not asking him to come with her. Things just didn't feel right without him by her side.
She was lost in thought about her pink haired soul mate when Lisanna started squealing.
"We found it! Finally we found it!".
Mira just started laughing in response.
Lucy looked up from her feet to see what was going on and sure enough covered in overgrown bushes and trees was the temple, the door was barely visible. They had found it at last.
"You ready to find you're soul mate Lisanna!" Lucy wiped the sweat from her forehead as she spoke.
"I have been ready for days!". Lisanna was jumping around excitedly.
"Remember, we don't know what's in there. We need to stick together and be careful" Mirajane was looking at the door anxiously.
"Okay, okay we will now lets go!" Lisanna opened the door and all three girls walked in.
There were cobwebs everywhere as though nobody had been here in a long time... but torches were lit throughout the halls. It smelled old and damp and the moment Lucy walked in she could sense the old magic that resided there.
"Okay, where do we go? Which hall way do we go down?" She asked the two takeover mages standing beside her.
"I think we go left" Lisanna said in a hushed tone.
"Left it is, remember be to be ready for anything" Mira whispered, looking around wearily.
Lucy uncoiled her whip from her belt... Just in case.
Natsu was panicking. One moment he could sense Lucy's magic clear as day and the next... nothing. That could mean only one of two things. Either her magic was being blocked or she had gone too far away for even him to sense. Either way it wasn't good.
He was running and following nothing but her scent. He needed to find her, he didn't care if she found out he was following her he just needed to find her.
'Come on Lucy, keep yourself safe just until I get there... Don't do anything reckless.
It wasn't long before the three young mages found themselves in a large room, with only one object sitting on the floor it the middle. A small box with carvings all over it.
"That's it!" Lisanna whispered before taking off in a run toward it.
'This seems too easy' Lucy thought to herself looking around. 'The room is completely empty and unguarded... This can't be right'.
"Wait Lisanna!" Lucy screamed. But it was too late, the young girl already had the box in her hands and was jumping excitedly at the fact she was finally about to find the answer to all the questions she had been asking.
A hidden door opened behind Lisanna and a large beast ran out, straight toward the youngest take over mage.
Lucy and Mirajane were screaming at her and running toward her, she turned around just in time to jump out of the way. Lucy was first to stand in front of the young girl with her whip ready. She reached for hey keys to summon Virgo but her magic wasn't working, although Mira had performed take over without any issues.
"Mira, Lisanna! My keys wont work!" Lucy was starting to worry. It was only when she took a proper look at the creature they had to fight that she realised the gravity of the situation they were in.
"Oh fuck! Stop fighting right now we need to run! We need to run right now! That's a dragon!"
"We can't run! It won't let us get away!" Lisanna screamed as she performed takeover of her own turning into what looked like a half tiger and attempted to claw at the beast.
"Only dragon slayers can defeat dragons! We are useless!". Mira shouted. As she flew around the dragons head trying to keep its attention away from her sister
"We just have to hold it off long enough for Natsu to get here!". Lisanna shouted back and Lucy's heart skipped a beat. As she jumped to dodge a hit from the dragons tail and cracked her whip onto its back
"Natsu's here? How do you know?". Lucy yelled again while dodging another swipe of the massive tail.
"He has been coming to you every night to make sure you get enough sleep, he will be here the moment he senses that you're in danger. We just have to hold out until then!" Lisanna yelled while trying to jump and scratch the dragons back.
Knowing that Natsu had been watching out for her -even after they fought- brought tears to Lucy's eyes and she felt her heart swell with love. This was not a good thing because it obstructed her vision but she couldn't help it. She had never been as sure as she was in that moment that he was the one she was made for. He wasn't just her soul mate, he was her entire soul and she decided in that moment to tell him exactly that as soon as this was all over.
Natsu had followed Lucy's scent until he found the temple. 'So that's why I couldn't sense her, the temple has a block on certain types of magic, particularly spatial magic just like what Lucy uses'.
Natsu wasted no time in kicking the door down and running straight into the temple, following Lucy's scent the entire time. He had to get to her, he had to protect her even if she didn't want him to.
He could hear her shouting something but couldn't make out the words, he was getting closer. He turned a corner paying no mind to his surroundings as he ran, until he came to the room the three girls were in. He seen Lucy and that was all he could pay attention to.
"Its okay baby! I'm here!" He yelled out her and she looked straight toward him. For one second her eyes connected with his and she smiled at him... For one fatal second.
That was when he seen the dragon she had been fighting, it was also when she took her attention away from it. It happened so quickly, the dragon seen that she was distracted and decided to use that moment to take out of the three enemies it was up against.
It turned its head toward Lucy and used its teeth to grab her by the shoulder, bite down and throw her across the room and into the wall.
Lucy screamed then went silent and Natsu heard a sickening crack. But not in her bones, in his own heart.
"My mate". He whispered as he ran toward her still form. She looked almost like she was just sleeping.
CRACK
He could feel something hot pouring down his face as knelt down next to her and lifted her into his arms to hold her. He tried to be gentle with her, she was so small and fragile.
"Lucy, wake up, please Lucy... Lucy why aren't you moving?". More tears poured down his face and his whole body started feeling hot.
CRACK
"Please Lucy! I'll do anything!" He screamed into the sky. As if in response her chest made the smallest movement, the tiniest intake of air. There was still time, time to attempt something that only bonded dragons had ever been able to achieve- and live through.
In that moment Natsu had made his choice, one of them would die today... but it wouldn't be Lucy, he refused to let it be Lucy.
He could hear Lisanna and Mira screaming at him but he couldn't be damned trying to make out what they were saying. He could feel the steps of the dragon vibrating the ground as it ran toward him but he didn't give a shit about that either... he would kill the beast for harming his treasure.
He focused all his energy, all his anger and hurt... all his love into wrapping Lucy in his flames, the very flames that contained his own life force. They burned in gold around her and lifted her into the air, healing her broken body.
He turned to the dragon running toward him and set it on fire, his anger toward the creature over powering his lack of energy. It dropped to the ground quickly, clearly not a fire dragon.
He could hear footsteps running toward him. Both females shouting about how he had saved them and asking what he was doing to Lucy.
He took one last look at the golden fire surrounding his mate, he could feel in his heart that she was okay... that she was back with him for whatever short time he had left. He could feel the smile tug at his lips.
The golden fire stopped and his mate slowly floated toward the ground, eyes open and staring at him in confusion. Her beautiful brown eyes. He was glad they would be the last thing he would ever see.
He felt weak, but so damn happy. He had done his job, he protected his treasure and now she would live a full life. That was enough for him. He could feel that he was falling but he didn't have the energy to stop himself.
He felt warm arms catch him and looked up to see Lucy staring at him with tears in her eyes.
"You silly dragon, you're scaring me" she spoke smiling at him through the tears that had started to fall down her face.
"You're okay Luce, you will be okay". He whispered. He wanted to touch her face but he didn't even have the energy to do that.
"I need you to be okay for me to ever be okay Natsu". She was looking worried. He wished he could tell her not to be but he made his choice. He knew what would happen.
"I am okay Luce, I made my choice to save you... I am okay with the consequences". He tried to sooth her.
"Lisanna! Use your take over to transform into the biggest flying animal you possibly can! We need to get him back to his house! Its closest to here and to Porlyusica". He could hear Lucy screaming then someone lifting him into what felt like a bed of feathers. It was sweet of her to try but it was useless. He didn't know what she was planning but nothing could save him.
"What consequences Nastu?".
He could feel the smashing through the roof and flying fast, it felt good to feel the fresh air around them. Lisanna was a person, not transportation and for that he was grateful.
"I love you Lucy".
"I love you to Natsu, I accept you okay! I am accept you so you have no reason not to be okay!". He could feel Lucy holding him tightly to her and he had never felt more at home in his entire life. If only she had said those words sooner... they couldn't save him now.
He could feel they were flying fast, he wasn't sure how he hadn't fallen until he realized how tightly Lucy was holding him.
"Lucy, it's okay... I really am okay with this. I promise". He spoke softly, he felt so light and there were spots forming in his vision. He was trying to hold on, to have a few more precious moments with Lucy.
"Please Natsu, please just stay with me a little longer!" He could feel Lucy's tears falling on him. Somehow they gave him a little bit more will power. He didn't want his mate to be sad.
"Please don't be sad Lucy, I never want you to be sad".
"I will never be sad again if you stay with me, please don't leave me... you can't leave me!" She was sobbing, he could hear it in her voice.
"I'll never leave you Lucy, even when I die our souls are connected... I will never really leave you".
"That's not good enough damnit! It's not fucking good enough! You need to stay with me and have little pink haired babies with me and marry me and spend every day with me! None of that can happen if you die!".
Natsu smiled, he never knew that she pictured what their kids would look like. Or their wedding. It made him happy to know that she really did love him that much. Even if he was dying.
He could feel himself losing consciousness. Everything around him was fading out.
"I love you Lucy, I'm sorry".
Everything was turning black around him, his body felt numb and heavy. The last thing he remembered was Lucy screaming his name before he lost consciousness completely.
"Natsu!" Lucy was shaking him, her face was hot with tears. He was out cold. He wasn't dead yet... but he was close. His heartbeat was so faint and his breaths were getting further apart.
"How much longer!" She screamed at Lisanna, she didn't know the young girl could fly so fast but it made it hard to hold on. She was struggling to keep hold of Natsu.
"About a minute!" She heard Lisanna shout back, the wind in her ears made it difficult to hear.
"Good, once we are there leave straight away okay!".
There was only one thing she could do now, she just hoped it worked. If dragons and mates really had a connected life force like Natsu had told her... and if dragons really got stronger after they mated.
If it didn't work she would die too, she knew that much. It was a price she was willing to pay, it was the only hope she had left of saving Natsu. She realised that now.
She felt them land and Mirajane lifted them off Lisanna's back.
"We will go for help!" They said in unison.
"No! I have a plan but it needs to happen now! Please go!" She shouted. Tears still streaming down her face as she dragged Natsu through his front door and slammed in shut. Only she could save him now and she damn well would.
She put her head to his chest and heard the faintest thump. It wasn't too late. She layed down on the floor beside him and put her arm around him, she started nuzzling his neck.
"You may be okay with you dying, but I am not".
Then she bit down on his neck, breaking the skin and marking him forever.