Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima


ACT V: Ragnarok – The Fateful Encounter

Approximately X793

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

Chapter 35: Last resort

Lucy was screaming his name as she fell, hoping in her heart that it would somehow reach his old personality before she met certain death. Unfortunately for her the demon was rather unaffected by it, so it was up to herself to figure out how to survive.

Darn it! She cursed as the mountains came closer at a disturbingly fast pace, making her turn her head frantically to search for a solution.

"Come on!" Lucy shouted when huge rocks came up on each side of her, indicating she was falling down a dark cliff.

She was starting to panic when her eyes suddenly spotted a large tree, which made an idea spawn in her mind, before she grabbed the hilt of her whip.

"Ahh!" Lucy shouted before she raised the hand holding the whip behind her and in a quick movement snapped it in the trees direction, where it wrapped around the trunk. The blonde fell for what felt like a second before her whip caught her weight, making the girl scream in pain because the force behind the fall was transferred to her arm, resulting in her shoulder dislocating with a snap. Fortunately Lucy didn't lose her grip on the whip, even when her body crashed into the side of the cliff, however it couldn't prevent another painful scream from escaping her mouth.

Lucy hanged dangling, when she noticed the tree was starting to crack loudly, indicating that her move had done damage to it. Turning her head to look upwards, she confirmed that theory as the tree started to fall in what almost looked like slow motion.

"Shit!" she cursed and in quick movement placed her free hand on her whip's handle, twisting it backwards in order to remove it from the trunk of the tree. A second later she felt her weapon loosen and remove its grip around the trunk, making her air born yet again before her body collided with a huge boulder that luckily stuck out of the side of the cliff, thereby saving her from joining the tree from falling deeper down.

"Ugh!" Lucy exclaimed as she tumbled around before eventually laying still on the exposed rock. A second later she saw the tree falling, before hearing the sound of it as it crashed against the ground somewhere underneath her.

As she laid there the celestial mage tried her best to focus on breathing through her mouth, in order to suppress the overwhelming pain she was feeling. It helped for a second but suddenly she experienced a weird sort of dizziness, making her feel rather fatigued and tired.

It was weird because her eyelids was starting to feel really heavy and even though she really tried, she couldn't prevent herself from giving in to the drowsiness.

"Natsu..." Lucy whispered and a few heartbeats later the blonde lost her consciousness.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

It was bright all around her, when Lucy woke up. Or well saying that she woke up wasn't the correct term to use, since her body was still out of commission in the real world.

"Ohh" the celestial mage muttered in surprise when her eyes finally adjusted to the glistening light.

"Welcome back" Mavis smiled warmly as she approached the blonde, leaving golden footprints behind her as she walked.

"Uhm... thank you" Lucy answered while turning her head to make sure that she was indeed back in the dimension of the crystal.

"Is there something you want to know?" the tiny mage chuckled when she saw the confused expression on Lucy's face.

"Yeah..." she blinked before settling her gaze on Mavis "... what am I doing back here?"

"It's time"

"Time for what?"

"That we use Lumen Historie" the blonde said in a serious tone "For the last and final time"

"I see" Lucy nodded, preparing herself mentally about what might possibly come next.

"We need to erase the darkness once and for all" Mavis sighed heavily "Which means we have to use all of the power remaining to ensure that it happens"

"What do you want me to do?"

"I'll get to that in a minute, but first I need you to be aware of the risks there is by doing this" the small blonde took a deep breath, her face looking utterly sad.

"It's okay, you told me that already" Lucy smiled hoping to cheer the first master up "That the magic from Lumen Historie contains of raw energy, so I should be careful while using it"

"That's not it" Mavis shook her head "As I said we need to destroy all the darkness, this also means the remains of the thing Zeref created 400 years ago"

"Wait..." a chill ran down Lucy's spine when she realised what Mavis was hinting "... you're not saying?"

"I am..."

"No..." Lucy gulped loudly "... I can't do that"

"I know..." Mavis said with a sympathetic smile playing on her lips.

"Then why are you asking me, when you know my answer?"

"Because we can't move forward, unless we erase and destroy the sins from the past"

"But Natsu isn't one of them" Lucy's voice cracked painfully as tears gathered in her eyes.

"I'm sorry... I know he's special to you, but we need to eliminate it" Mavis stated in a gently voice before she carefully grabbed the other blond's hands.

"No, we don't" she sobbed freely, feeling heartbroken by the prospect of potentially killing her best friend "He... he can control it... or... he can if he tries... so..."

"It's too big of a risk" Mavis sighed "I'm sorry"

"I won't..."

"You will" she gave Lucy's hand a squeeze before continuing "Because now you know the worst case scenario"

"What do you mean?"

"That I don't know what will happen. It's not like I've done this before, so you have to know that there's a chance that he'll die. However that isn't set in stones, it's also possible that he isn't affected by it and survives"

"Re-really?" Lucy sniffled loudly with tears streaming down her face.

"Yes" Mavis smiled warmly "All I know is that the light from Lumen Historie will erase the darkness, which means it will erase the curse he has and that means his demonic part will vanish as well. Maybe that's all that is removed, leaving Natsu unaffected by it"

"But... isn't it in his blood?" the celestial mage asked, clearly sceptic about it "Wouldn't it kill him to get that removed?"

"Perhaps" Mavis answered truthfully "Or maybe it doesn't affect him at all and he turns him into the human he originally was. After all he didn't always carry the demon in him, he was once a regular and normal child"

"Re-really?"

"Yes, in fact I'm sure that is what's going to happen" the tiny mage smiled as she placed a hand reassuringly on Lucy's cheek "But I need you to know, that there's still a small chance that it might kill him"

"I can't..." she shook her head in denial "Even if the chance of him dying is slim, I'm not willing to take that risk"

"You have to"

"No I don't!" Lucy shouted refusing to do anything that might harm the Dragon Slayer.

"Yes you do!" Mavis said in a serious and demanding tone "Even if he's fine now, think about what will happen if we leave him with his curse. He's part demon and that side of him will always want to seek out Zeref in order to destroy him and what do you think happens when he doesn't have that goal any more?"

"I... don't know" she answered truthfully.

"None of us do, but think about it" Mavis sighed heavily before continuing "At some point the thing that drives his curse will consume him, and even if he manages to fight it, it's unfortunately bound to happen eventually. It might not be in your lifetime, but it will happen eventually just like it did with the demons in Tartarus. Actually the death of his comrades be it from old age or something else might be the thing that eventually triggers it, making him wander the earth in his search to find Zeref"

"But..." Lucy tried interrupting, but Mavis continued her speech.

"AND when he's out searching for Zeref that is long gone what do you will happen? He'll seek other purposes to live and go on a killing spree to try and soothe his instincts, but it will never be enough to satisfy his urges and do you know what will happen then?"

"It..." Lucy sank and felt a droplet of cold sweat run down her forehead "It would drive him crazy wouldn't it?"

"Unfortunately, but yes" Mavis confirmed "Think about it the demons in Tartaros lived for 400 years, how long do you Natsu will go before someone finally manages to kill him? For all we know he can wander the earth for eternity before someone deals with him, or maybe he ends up slaughtering humanity"

"That's horrible..." Lucy felt her heart sink in her chest, because it was obvious she couldn't reject the idea any more. It physically hurt in her stomach though knowing that the method she would use might potentially kill one that was so precious to her, but then again she couldn't allow him to be consumed by the curse either. That was a fate much worse than death, where he would slowly turn into a psychopathic killer. So if she didn't do as Mavis asked she would choose a very selfish thing, that would lead to her unleashing a demon that would kill a lot of innocent people.

It hurt, it really hurt inside of her to the point she felt her heart was about to shatter.

"Don't worry" Mavis said before wrapping her arms around the other girl to give her an encouraging hug "It'll be fine I promise"

"Yeah?" Lucy replied in a weak voice as she hugged the girl back.

"Yes"

With that the celestial mage started to cry loudly against the smaller mage's shoulder. It was all just too much and unfair for her to handle.

She didn't know for how long they stood like that, but eventually Lucy got control of her emotions, making her squeeze Mavis before removing herself from the hug and to her surprise the first master was crying too.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked earning a nod from the other mage.

"Yes... yes I'm fine. It's just... I know sacrificing something is hard"

"Zeref?"

"Yes..." Mavis exhaled before quickly wiping tears away from her eyes "... but I know I have to do this because he deserves a happy ending as well"

"You're amazing you know that" the blonde smiled warmly before gently patting Mavis on her head.

"Thank you, I appreciate that" the small mage smiled back "Now let's get this started shall we?"

"Mmm!" Lucy nodded in respond.

"When you use the power this time I want you to do what you did the last time and reach out for the light. So close your eyes and focus. Concentrate on the light and the one magic, and you will sense it again"

Not answering Lucy took a deep breath before closing her eyes. Just like the first time it was easy to spot the energy, that was still like a radiating warm presence, that was constantly there. As she stood there she welcomed the light to enter her body. It still felt so pleasant and warm, like there was a stream of hot liquid that was slowly filling her body.

"Now the next time you summon it, I want you to use the energy to summon me as well" Mavis said before placing a finger on Lucy's forehead "I leave this trace of my magic inside of you, so you can use it as a key to summon my mortal body. That way you'll release me from the crystal which will cause it to shatter into pieces leaving it unusable in the future"

After saying that the celestial mage felt a warm and different type of light enter her body, which she immediately recognised as being the essence of the first master's magic.

"Now it's time you go, you need to confirm to your friend that you aren't dead" Mavis said in a comforting tone "Good luck"

With that Lucy felt herself suddenly getting evicted from the dimension in the crystal, all light suddenly being replaced with darkness and pain from the wounds on her body.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

"Lucy... can you hear me?" the celestial mage heard a desperate female voice shout from somewhere above her, as she slowly got her consciousness back.

"Lucy?"

"Mmm..." moaning she slowly opened her eyes and saw a blurry image that contained a huge amount of scarlet "Erza?"

"Indeed" the woman responded, as she guided the girl into a sitting position.

"Argh!" Lucy squealed in pain because the movement caused a sharp pain to spawn from her dislocated shoulder.

"You're hurt" the scarlet haired woman stated as she looked at Lucy's injury.

"Yeah..."

"Mmm..." Erza hummed to herself as she placed herself beside the girl "... I see"

"What is it?" Lucy asked dreading what her friend was up to.

"I was just thinking that you might never get a boyfriend" she answered in a serious tone while rubbing her chin as if she was deep in thought.

"This isn't the time to think about something like that!" the blonde said feeling a vein on her forehead pulsate with annoyance at Erza's sudden change of subject.

"It isn't?" the woman said in a neutral tone before smirking wickedly "Well I guess it doesn't matter, because according to my knowledge Natsu isn't that superficial, he might actually think a dislocated shoulder looks... what would he call it, awesome? I think"

"What the heck Erza?!" Lucy shouted in anger "I don't care what he thinks, besides he just tried to kill me!"

"They say you always hurt the one you love" Erza stated knowingly with a nod "So that must mean he loves you a lot since he tried to kill you"

"That's not how that works!" the girl growled her patience reaching it's limits "When it comes to love, there are certain rules and... arrrgh!" her rant was rudely interrupted as Erza seized the moment to quickly snap Lucy's shoulder into place, earning a scream from the blonde that echoed through the cliffs.

"Ahh.. hah" she heaved for air through her mouth, as the intense pain slowly started to subside "Couldn't... give me a little... warning... could you?"

"No" Erza shook her head "Knowing you, I concluded that it was for the best to catch you off guard"

"Kay..."

"I am sorry for provoking you" the woman smiled warmly "However it was the only solution I saw to make you forgot the current situation"

"It's okay, I know you meant well" Lucy smiled back.

"Very well" Erza's smile broadened as she got into a standing position "I guess we should head back to the fight, so we can figure out what to do with that demonic brat"

"I..." Lucy sank as she also got up on her feet.

"Let's go then" Erza stated as she quickly scooped Lucy into her arms and started flying away, making the girl squeal in surprise by the sudden act.

They flew in silence for a while, Lucy being occupied in her mind with what she had experienced with Mavis and the frightful prospect of what might happen later on. Because surely it was something she needed to do, but the thought of there being even a small margin for error scared her. Of course she knew it was silly dwelling on it, but thinking logical about it and somehow suppressing her feelings away was something completely different.

"Is something troubling you?" Erza asked after a while, clearly sensing something was off.

"It's just..." Lucy sighed heavily before continuing "I have a way to save Natsu, but I'm scared"

"You do?" she answered her voice sounding cheerful "Well that's very good news, but why does it frighten you?"

"Because there's a risk..." Lucy answered and momentarily bit down her lip before continuing "... I know it's a small one, but there's a chance it might kill him"

"I see, that is indeed troubling"

"Yeah..." she whispered back.

"Mmm... well if you don't want to use your method, we can always wait and hope another one shows up. However that might not be the case and if what you say is true, then I wouldn't dwell on it too much because sometimes you gotta take a leap of faith and believe in a positive outcome"

"So I should take the chance and hope nothing bad happens?"

"I think so, yes" Erza nodded assuringly "Because right now the fight doesn't look like it's going in our favour, when it comes to him revealing the solution"

"You know he told me that there was nothing we could do" Lucy said while rubbing her chin "That the curse had consumed him and that there was nothing we could do to stop it"

"He told you that?" Erza said sounding surprised.

"Yes... and Mavis told me that if I use Lumen Historie it will erase his curse"

"Mmm, then I guess it's settled then"

"What do you mean?"

"If the first master believes it will erase the demon in him, then I think that it is the best solution we could hope for even considering the consequences"

"You sure?"

"I am and rest assured that I'll do whatever I can to aid you"

"Thanks" Lucy smiled feeling uneasy but yet more confident than she had been earlier.

"So may I ask how you use this method?"

"I uhm... well" the blonde stuttered a blush spreading across her cheeks "It uhm... it's kinda the same way I used it the last time he turned into a demon"

"Ohh" Erza chuckled brightly making Lucy's blush intensify in color "Well since you've done that before, I fail to see why your face has suddenly turned red"

"Sh-shut up!" she shook her head and closed her eyes "It's not what you think, it's just... it... it isn't normal just to casually do that, you know?"

"Of course it isn't" the scarlet haired woman said cryptically, making Lucy wonder which part Erza was answering to.

"Anyway" Erza started being back into serious mode "Knowing that I'll make sure to create an opening for you and rest assured I'll do whatever it takes to ensure he doesn't harm you"

"Thank you, I really appreciate that" Lucy smiled at her friend earning one in return.

"You're welcome"

With that nobody said anything as they made their way towards the battlefield in silence. Both of them focusing on their resolve to finish the war and saving their friend for good.


A/N: *yawn* I'm tired today, like in "holy mother of goat cheese, just give me two chairs that's more enough for me to crash on... actually the floor is fine too" XD

For does who wanna know, yes some of the content in this chapter leads all the way back to some of the stuff that happened in chapter 11-13 ^^

I wanna say something smart and funny, but my coffee-o-meter is too low for that... so I hope you had a nice weekend and take care of yourselves *offers imaginary cakes*

Guest Reviewer Amy: Thanks for another review :) Don't worry I'm not gonna change the pairing, since it was planned from the beginning that they would end up together. Heheh, I might make a short ZerefxLucy at some point just because it would be so cute to see them together ^^

/H