Lucy fell to the ground with a short cry having landed on the broken fragments of the original fountain. She tried pushing herself up, only to have her arms give out whenever she put any pressure on them. Her wrists were stinging from where the ropes had been on them earlier, and her back hurt from where it had been pressed into the columns and the fountain. Everything hurt. Still.
It was like the pain had never truly left her that time. It wasn't excruciating, but it was there. It was enough to make her want to close her eyes and just scream from the frustration of it. She just wanted it all to be over. It had gone on for too long.
Slowly, she managed to pull herself up, gritting her teeth through the pain. Every muscle, bone, cell – they all still hurt. When she turned to look at the chaos in front her, she wanted to scream. But she couldn't. Her throat was raw.
Thorne's hand was wrapped around Bickslow's throat as he held him up in the air, the Seith mage's hands wrapped around Thorne's arm. With all the chaos around them, Erza and Laxus chasing Natasha as the rest dealt with the minions that had emerged from almost every single street leading to the town square, things between the two seemed almost civil.
Before Lucy could see what was going to happen next, Happy and Carla had swooped down, picking her up and lifting her up before flying away from the mess in the centre of the town. Even though she wanted to stay, she wanted to help, she knew she couldn't. She didn't have her keys, her whip, nothing. She was in too much pain to be of any help and she was too weak in that moment. She knew that.
The tears rolled down her cheeks as she closed her eyes.
Please be okay, everyone… Bickslow…
Because if anything happened to any of them, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.
Bickslow grinned when the two Exceeds lifted the blonde off to safety, most likely taking her to either Wendy or Chelia, he figured. He'd done exactly what he'd wanted to do – caused enough of a distraction to create an opening for her to get out. Lucy was going to be okay and that's all that mattered.
Thorne snarled at the grinning Seith mage he was holding up. It was him who had caused all of the trouble they were in then, and boy, was he going to pay for it. The blonde didn't matter anymore to Thorne. The idiot in his hand would be enough.
With a flick of his wrist, he'd let his grip on Bickslow's throat lessen and tossed him into the same column Lucy had been pressed against earlier. "You fairies never learn, do you?" he growled, walking towards the still grinning Seith mage, though it was wavering. He walked through the blasts from Bickslow's souls like they were nothing.
"Part of being a member of Fairy Tail," Bickslow shot back. "We don't really like learning."
"Not for much longer," Thorne snarled with a malicious grin. With another flick of his wrist, Bickslow's head went back as he tried to hold back his scream.
Bickslow had always had a high pain tolerance. Loke had sent him flying across half the town once and he'd been able to walk it off… Well, a week later, that is. But the pain that coursed through him then was on a whole new level. He'd never felt anything like it before.
When he couldn't hold back his scream any longer and let it rip from his throat, so much anger coursed right through him. It was Thorne who had made Lucy scream like that. It was Thorne who had hurt her, made her feel pain like she'd never experienced, and to Bickslow, that hurt him more than anything else. He couldn't even begin to imagine just how much pain Lucy had been in, especially when to Bickslow, it was worse than anything he'd ever felt. To Lucy, it would have been worse. Much, much worse.
"Fuck… you…" Bickslow ground out, breathing heavily when the pain diminished, "You're gonna get thrown back in jail… Along with that bitch daughter."
Thorne snapped. His eyes darkening even more as he stormed towards the Seith mage, then, with his hand outstretched, he swung his arm to the side and Bickslow was sent in that direction, flying through the air and through a partially destroyed wall.
He'd landed on a pile of rubble, and with a groan he tried to push himself up, only to cry out in pain when he tried to move. He lifted his head, looking down, and slowly with one hand, he moved his cloak out of the way and he grimaced at the piece of bloodied steel piercing him. Bickslow had landed on piles of bricks and old pieces of sheet metal they'd used for some of the rooves. The large pierce was sticking in on an angle, from his back and coming out on the side of his waist, curving around his stomach slightly.
He couldn't move.
Thorne's heavy footsteps accompanied by the sound of his laughter was heard as Bickslow lifted his head again, glaring at the guild master as he stepped through the hole in the wall.
"Well," Thorne chuckled, moving to stand in front of the injured Seith mage. "So this is what happens when fairies fly, huh?"
He lifted his hand again, balling it into a fist as Bickslow threw his head back again, balling his own hands into fists as he screamed, probably loud enough for anyone across the town to hear. The pain in his side from the metal was getting exponentially worse the longer Thorne used his magic.
And then he stopped, chuckling as Bickslow panted and gritting his teeth. Each breath he took was hurting him.
Thorne turned, heading for the hole in the wall again. "I was going to make your death quick. An act of kindness, if you may…" he mused. "But this is so much better. You'll die a slow and painful death, listening to the cries of your beloved fairies."
"The only ones who are dying are you and your hellspawn," Bickslow spat, wincing slightly. Eternal life in prison wasn't going to be good enough for those two, not after what they did. Never.
When Thorne walked away chuckling, Bickslow looked back down to the metal that was piercing him through and through. He could feel where it was going in and he could feel exactly where it was coming out. Every inch of it.
With a grimace, he tried to lift himself up, to get himself off it, perhaps. Another scream ripped through him when he tried moving and he knew for certain that there was no way he was getting out of that one.
But… He was okay, in a way. He knew the rest of his team and the guild would get Thorne and Natasha and send their asses back to prison (or kill them, who knew), and they'd all be okay. Lucy would be okay and that's all that mattered.
Raising an arm, he unclipped his visor and pushed the hood back, tossing the smaller piece of metal away as he stared up at the sky, the roof having collapsed and instead leaving the gaping hole.
Above him were stars – thousands of thousands of them. Bickslow had grown fond of looking at the stars since dating Lucy. He could remember when she'd looked up at them after their first date and he'd wondered how anyone could find an almost blank sky entertaining. But slowly, he'd begun to enjoy it. It was peaceful. Relaxing.
And, in a way, he could forget everything bad or frustrating that was going on when he looked up at the stars. The stars reminded him of Lucy, and Lucy had always made him feel like that. There didn't have to be a million stars out like there was that night, there just had to be one. One single star was all Bickslow needed to think of Lucy, and when he did, a lazy smile made its home on his face.
Through the pain, he could smile, because he knew that the woman he loved was going to be fine and that's all that mattered.
Lucy watched as the Rune Knights escorted the last members of Thorne's Deceit into the multiple transport carriages that had lined up in the destroyed town square. All around her were injured people, most of them her friends and family, each of them getting treated by either Wendy or Chelia or those from the Rune Knights.
She looked down to the bandages around her wrists and then to the one around her thigh from where she had a cut from landing on the broken pieces of the fountain.
Everything was over. The pain was gone and Thorne's Deceit was finally going to be a thing of the past. Everyone was finally able to go home and get the rest they all deserved. It had been a long day and they were all exhausted.
Happy and Carla had found her keys in amongst some rubble a few streets over when everyone had still been in the midst of battle, and as soon as she'd touched the familiar leather pouch, she'd hugged them close to her, a sigh of relief escaping her lips when she felt that every single key was intact, including Loke's. It didn't explain why the lion spirit had been unable to help her, but it didn't matter. They were all safe, and that's what was important.
She looked down to where Natsu was sitting on the ground just next to her, his arm getting bandaged by one of the many Rune Knights running about. The guy was covered in bandages, just like he was after almost ever job.
Just like Erza, Natsu was feeling guilty. He'd been there the last time the guild had been a problem, but neither of them had recognised the name that time around. They felt like it was their fault, that everyone had gotten hurt because of them, and undoubtedly, Lucy had been through the worst of them all and it was their fault. Or so they thought, anyway.
But Lucy wasn't having any of that. Not one bit. She didn't want her family to feel guilty over what was essentially something that shouldn't have happened. Lucy knew that they weren't the only ones who were feeling guilt. Mira had come running up to her and wrapped her arms around her as soon as she'd come back to the square with Wendy when she was able to walk on her own.
Eventually, the last of the Rune Knights left, leaving just the legal guilds as they gathered up all of their members, getting ready to call it a night and head back to their own homes. Everything was done and everyone was okay.
Lucy's heart sank when the five familiar totems that belonged to only one person zoomed out from an alley and hovered just before her. Bickslow's babies rarely got too far away from him, but when Lucy's eyes went over the dark town square, she started to panic. Bickslow wasn't there, and he never had been. She'd only just noticed.
"Lucy! Lucy!" the dolls chanted.
"Huh? Babies? Where's Bickslow?" he asked, her voice trembling slightly.
And then they all spun around and headed back into the alley they'd come from. They wanted her to follow them, and that was exactly what Lucy was going to do because she knew they'd lead her to Bickslow, and more than anything, she hoped that he was okay. Bickslows to be okay.
When she saw Bickslow lying on top of the pile of rubble, barely moving and barely breathing, the tears started streaming down her face and a garbled cry left her through as she ran over to his side, kneeling down on top of the rubble.
"Oh God… B-Bicks…" She cried, her hands shaking in front of her. She looked down to see the large piece of metal sticking through his side, the width as long as her forearm. Her hands went to her mouth, just because she didn't know where else to put them. She didn't want to touch him because she didn't want to hurt him.
Bickslow slowly opened his eyes and he breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a grimace from the pain. Lucy was actually okay. She was alive. "You're okay?" he whispered.
"Me?! Y-You're asking me if I-I'm okay? W-What about you?" she spluttered, mentally cursing herself when she realised just how stupid a question it was. He's got a piece of metal sticking through him! Of course he's not okay!
"Been better," Bickslow said with a grin, chuckling slightly before he had to stop to groan in pain when Lucy shook his head at him.
Even though he was smiling, Lucy knew he was still in pain. A lot of pain. But he was trying to hide it from her and she didn't want him to do that. She didn't want him to be in pain at all, but she didn't know what she could do about it.
Bickslow's grin faltered when he looked up to the stars once again, briefly forgetting the pain and what he knew was going to happen. He saw it as inevitable. "You know," he whispered, turning his head back to face Lucy, her head still down as her tears fell to the rubble. "At least I can say I'll love you until the day I die." Because Bickslow was a smart guy – occasionally. He was smart enough to know that this was the end for him.
He wasn't looking forward to it, but he wasn't scared of dying. Not when he was going to be able to spend the last moments of his life with the love of his life right there next to him. Honestly, there were worse ways to go.
Neither heard the muffled cry from Levy or how both of their teams had gathered where there used to be a wall, but whether Bickslow and Lucy knew they were there was irrelevant. Neither cared, and for once, their friends weren't going to interrupt. They knew better than to do that.
Lucy had the urge to slap Bickslow then as she looked up, but she couldn't. Not when she saw his face and saw nothing but pain and total honesty. No smiles, smirks, or grins. Without taking a second to think about, she took his face in her small hands and leant over him, making sure not to disturb the metal, and pressed her lips to his. When she choked on a sob, she pulled back and looked his straight in the eyes, neither caring that her tears falling on his face.
"No," she choked. "You don't get to do that, Bickslow. You don't get to just sit there and make jokes, pretending like everything is okay."
"Lucy—"
"No, Bickslow. Listen to me," Lucy interrupted, raising her voice slightly. "You can't sit there and act like everything would be okay if you left like this, like everyone would be able to move on. It's not fair. You can't do that to me, especially not after everything we've been through already."
Bickslow could only nod once. He couldn't talk, because he didn't know what to say. He'd never expected it to be easy for anyone, because hell, it had been hard enough for him to admit it to himself earlier, but there was still nothing he could do. To Bickslow, there were always some things that couldn't be healed, and he believed that he was on of those things. He couldn't even move. How was he supposed to see a way of getting out of there and being able to see the next day?
To Bickslow, it was simple. He wasn't going to. He was in too much pain to do anything, and he didn't know if that was from seeing Lucy distraught just over the mere thought of him dying, or if it was from the, well… giant piece of steel running through him. Probably a mix of both, he realised.
"Do you remember what I said this morning? When I was sitting on your back?" Lucy asked quietly, and when Bickslow raised an eyebrow in confusion at the subject, the corner of her mouth lifted up into a small smile. "You know, one day, I want to say that and not mean it as a joke," she whispered, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth. She was aware her face was as red as Erza's hair. After all, she'd pretty much just said she wanted to have kids with the guy one day and that was not something you talked about, not when you've only been dating for four and a half months.
"Shit, you've… You've thought about that already?" Bickslow murmured, staring at her incredulously.
Something resembling half a laugh escaped her throat as she looked down at the Seith mage she loved. "I can't help it. I've thought about lots of things like that, and whether that particular one happens or not, it doesn't really matter," she said softly, bringing her head down to rest her forehead against his gently. "I love you, Bicks, and you can't leave me. Not like this."
Bickslow didn't know how to feel, honestly. He'd never really thought very far ahead in terms of their relationship, but Lucy had. On one hand he was overjoyed that she'd thought of a future where they were still together and she'd be pregnant and they'd be happy (which was honestly a little terrifying since he'd never really been too fond of the whole kids concept). She saw him in their future, and that's when he realised it wasn't actually going to be their future. It wasn't going to exist, because he wasn't going to be there.
Bickslow, for the most part, was incredible stubborn and he always had been. There had always been a few people who could get him to see things differently, and Lucy was one of those, but right then… He was set on believing that he was going to die that day. He just didn't see any other future for himself.
Slowly but surely, he was beginning to get scared. Bickslow rarely got scared. He was scared of what would happen after he died. Was it possible to miss someone even though you're dead? Because if it was, he'd miss Lucy more than anything. Would he become a wandering soul and come under another Seith mage's manipulation? Who knew, because Bickslow surely didn't. He didn't know what there was to expect.
He was also scared of leaving Lucy, and if anything, that's what scared him the most. He'd be leaving her even though he'd never wanted to have to do that again.
There just wasn't anything he could do about it. As far as his mind could see, anyway.
Suddenly, Laxus was kneeling by Bickslow's feet and ripping off a strip of fabric from the skirt-like cloth. "Fuck this," he mumbled. He walked over to Bickslow's side as the man looked back at him confusion, then crouched down down, balling up the fabric and shoving it into Bickslow's mouth. "Bite down on it."
Bickslow was starting to panic. What the fuck is he doing? Can't a guy just die in peace with his girlfriend? Is that too hard to ask?! He turned back to face Lucy just in time to see Erza pull her back, her arms wrapped around Lucy's to keep her in her grip as she struggled, and then Gajeel had taken her place on top of the rubble.
"What? What are you doing?!" Lucy shrieked, still trying to escape from Erza's grip. Despite being injured, the Requip mage was a lot stronger than she was.
Bickslow looked between the two Dragon Slayers as he felt their hands shifting to move under him, involuntarily biting down on the fabric when the move caused more pain in his side. There's no fucking way they're doing that. Nope. Nope. Nope.
"Not letting your sorry ass die to a piece of metal," Gajeel muttered, and then, with a quick glance towards Laxus and a nod, they bent down further and in one swift movement, they'd pulled the Seith mage off at roughly the same angle he'd been impaled on.
If Bickslow had thought the pain from having a giant piece of steel running through his side and Thorne's magic was bad, he was wrong. Getting lifted from said piece of steel was so much worse.
He could only bite down on the fabric in his mouth to muffle his scream. He didn't even register the two Dragon Slayers moving him to a flat piece of ground free from any sharp pieces of metal that he could be skewered on, because he was suddenly aware of just how much blood he'd lost. The rubble he'd been lying on was stained red and he felt like the world was spinning and it was hard to keep his eyes open. It was honestly a miracle he'd been alive at all, based on how much he'd lost.
But he couldn't even worry about that, because the next thing he knew, everything was black.
A/N: There is an alternate ending to this chapter up on my profile, titled "Stargazing." I felt the need to write it after writing out this scene, except it was done over a year after this chapter was originally written so it goes a little differently. Still, if you want to cry, I recommend checking it out. There's also another alternate ending to this story as a whole up there, titled "The Day the Light Went Out." That one is a little bit happier, but still full of angst.