A/N - Whose ready for another whump series!?

This was supposed to be a one shot, but as I wrote more, I realized that it was getting dark and would take longer than one day to get out. Then I looked at tomorrow's prompt and I was like, this could work! So, this will be a few chapters long that will all deal with the Febuwhump prompts.

There are no apologies about how dark this will get. You have all been warned! Rating and tags will change as more chapters are added.

Dead Stars

By Genavere

Chapter One - Silent Tears

Bricks bit into her back as she tried to meld into the wall. One hand pressed an unconscious Natsu into the wall just as hard, and the other bruised the skin around her mouth to keep herself from making a sound. Rain poured from the sky and the roofs above them. It helped to hide the wetness caused by her own eyes.

Even with the rain, blood stained both of their clothes. Bile rose in her throat at the thought of where some of that blood came from. It was painful to remember, to see the train full of bodies, some withering in pain as they screamed out for help. Others had passed already. And the reason they were in that condition rested solely on her shoulders.

Queen Hisui had requested Lucy and Yukino to the palace and had informed them of a report that she had received. Portals were opening and causing issues that many were linking to the celestial realm. Grandpa Crux had told them that no information about the disturbances could be found, so they decided it would be better to check the reports than deal with a possible eclipse repeat.

Yukino and Lucy had decided to split up, one heading to the portal in the north and the other to the south. Since Fairy Tail was in the southern area of Fiore, Lucy volunteered to go south. Before they left, the palace, Hisui surprised them with members of their guild waiting for them at the exit.

"With my position, leaving to check these reports on my own has been ill-advised," she said, looking back at Arcadios and Darton who each give her a stern look. "But it would ease my mind to know if both of you had someone with you."

"Like we would let her go on her own when we could help." Sting grinned, standing with his arms crossed over his chest in pride. The rest of Team Sabertooth nodded in agreement as Yukino bit her lower lip to keep it from quivering.

"You guys…I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Minerva said. "As a team and as a guild, we will help you investigate this issue."

"You guys sure are packin' fire power." Natsu grinned at the other Dragon Slayers. "Wanna make a bet on who will get back here first?"

"You think you can beat the best of Sabertooth with just the two of you?" Sting raise an eyebrow and laughed. "You're on!"

Natsu joined in on the laughter, throwing an arm over Lucy's shoulders. "The rest will catch up after they finish their quest, but with Lucy's brain and my yawn, you guys have no chance!"

"Brawn," Lucy corrected.

"Wha?"

"You meant to say 'brawn,' not 'yawn.'"

He shrugged, "Doesn't matter, I believe in us!

In her chest, a fluttering left her breathless and she could not help but bite her lower lip. Maybe when they arrived at the area, they spend a little time at the inn first before checking out the reports.

If only pulling themselves away from each other had been the hardest part.

Footsteps splattered puddles on the road and passed close to their hiding place. "Have you found them yet?"

The same voice from the train made her blood freeze. If either of them made any noise, they would hear them. Neither were in a position to fight again, her from using almost all her magic just pushing them back to escape, and Natsu…She swallowed hard. It was best not to delve into those thoughts.

"No, sir!"

"Find that girl! Destroy the whole city if you have to!"

Movement went in the opposite direction of them, the wet splatter sounds disappearing quickly in the downpour. Every inch of her body ached and crumbled. Dirty sewage from the build up of old trash and other unmentionables splashed over her clothes and limbs.

She gathered Natsu close to her, pressing him against her chest as she pressed her face into his sopping hair. Finding him limp among the rest of the bodies after had nearly sent her into a panic. No matter how many times she called his name or shook him, there had been no response. But he still breathed, and she found his heartbeat under the blood that covered his neck. She still did not know if that had been his or not. No matter the answer, it terrified her regarding the circumstances that led to it.

The area the reports came from were a day's walk from an abandoned town that still had a train stop at it. As they were told at the ticket office, the only way they were able to ride the train back would be to purchase a round trip. He proceeded to give them a pamphlet that gave the train routes that would go by that stop, the dates they would go by, and the times.

"Just remember, if you are ready to be picked up, there is a manual signal you need to flip to red in order for the operator to see and know to stop. No red, no stop. Got it?"

Lucy nodded. "No red, no stop! We'll take two round trip tickets, please, sir."

Even with Natsu complaining that she was out to kill him with a round trip train ride, they took their bags and boarded. As usual, his head plopped right on her lap before they even began moving as he stared up at her. A pout marred his handsome features.

"So mean, Lushee."

She smiled down at him, running her fingers through his hair. "How about the next quest we take that is just us, and Happy if he wants to come, you can pick it and we can walk there."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"Deal!" A grin spread across his face and he laughed, rubbing his hands together. "And it will be one to take out a huge monster or to take on a whole guild!"

Groaning, she slumped into her seat in defeat. After so many years of being with him in every capacity, how could she have made such a rookie mistake. But he looked so happy, she thought, smiling as she glanced down at her partner. With him by her side, she could take on anything.

A violent shiver brought her back to her current situation, her jaw chattering as a chill began to settle into her bones. The only warmth came from Natsu, and that gave her hope that he would wake up soon. He had to wake up.

Carefully, she took a quick look over the debris she had taken shelter behind. With the sheets of rain falling, it was hard to tell if anyone had taken position beyond the alleyway. Would someone be waiting to capture them if they went that way? Or if they went out the other side, would someone be there, instead? Before she had given the survivors back at the train a distraction to escape, there had been enough enemies that fighting a whole guild would have been preferable.

Knowing that they could not stay there, she used the debris pile to help her stand. Tingling spread through her legs and quickly became thousands of tiny pins stabbing her. It hurt to move with her own weight on them.

"Come on, Natsu," she took his arm over her shoulder and lifted him up. Using the debris pile again, she moved him until he was on her back, his arms hung limply over her shoulders and each thigh supported by her arms. "Time to find warmer shelter."

Looking between the two exits, it came down to the one she knew they had already searched. If they thought she was somewhere else, why would they come back to an area they already searched? At least, that was what she hoped they would think.

She needed to slip by them and get out of the deserted city and into the nearby woods. When they were passing by the country side, there had been some larger rock formations that could have caves they could shelter in. It would be safer than in a building their pursuers could enter or destroy at any moment.

Checking each way before dashing out of the alleyway, they hurried to the next series of buildings and pressed into the tight corridors between them. If she thought there were voices nearby, an alcove or doorway became a close companion until she took the chance to run further.

Not once did the rain let up to give her a moment of rest. Instead, thunder rolled above her and urged her to hurry and covered her retreat with a gentle roll. If she had not talked to Laxus prior to leaving about the mission they were taking in the North, she would have sworn he had come to help.

Stumbling through another alleyway, her shoulder landed hard against the aged brick and added one more ache to her body. Exhaustion pressed in, the heat against her back did nothing to warm the ice in her core, and only sheer determination pushed her forward. Every time she wanted to drop to the ground, a battle they fought in the past would remind her of all the times Natsu had been knocked down, but he kept getting up. He got up when he had no more strength. He pushed himself to keep her safe so many times.

It was her turn to protect him, and if it meant walking all the way back to the guild, she would do it. Each step just took concentration. One foot in front of the other. If the enemy were close, they could easily capture her. But if they were not, that meant they were one step further from them.

Glancing up, she stumbled back and almost fell with the extra weight knocking her off balance. Trees sprouted up all around her and helped cover her from the storm above. Confusion swept over her weary body. When had she entered the forest? And the question that most concerned her when she realized she had been walking on autopilot caught her breath, had she been going in the right direction?

"Just keep walking, Lucy," she told herself, sniffling snot dribbled down her nose. At least it felt like her nose running, it could have been droplets from the rain, or the tears from her heated eyes. "There has to be a cave up here somewhere."

Numb feet continued inching forward, and she briefly wondered if the other survivors had been rescued yet…or if their attackers had gone back to finish them. Glassy eyes of a young child in a pile of bodies flashed from memories of earlier. Those who attacked the train were truly despicable! There had been no reason for them to bomb the train, to hurt so many people, to kill so many innocents!

A sob caught in her sore throat and she stumbled forward this time.

They had attacked without remorse, killed those who had nothing to do with the celestial world, guilds, or even magic besides useful household tools.

When the explosion had hit, neither had expected it, her because who would attack a train full of civilians and Natsu being too distracted keeping the contents of his stomach where they belonged. They both flew through the air with other bodies, the train derailing and landing on its side, and Natsu landing with a sickening thud against the far wall.

Even as the train compartments screeched and crumbled around them, she forced herself to him and held him to her chest. His limp body scared her and even hours later, in the middle of a forest, she could not say if it had been her screaming or the metal.

"Natsu…" She mumbled, stumbling. "Please…Natsu…"

A dark void caught her attention. Blinking away the tears and rain, she noticed the rock face and the darkness along the ground. If it was a cave…

Against her better judgement, her legs pushed faster, propelled by the glimmer of hope the darkness brought. A place to hide. A place to sleep.

Feet tangled up and pain shot through her as her chin bounced off the ground and her lower jaw snapped against the top. The weight of her partner finally becoming too much for her and she let out a silent wail. Even her lungs were too tired to let out a single sound.

Please…she mouthed, looking at the cave opening. It was close…so close. He needed to get to shelter…she had to keep him safe! Fingers dug into wet dirt, muscles strained, and slowly she managed to drag them forward bit by bit. A little closer…another fist full of grass, leaves, and dirt. Muscles screamed, ached, and popped. Joints threatened to lock up. The pressure in her chest shortened her breath.

Nails scraped along rock, bending and breaking as she pressed them down and used all her strength to crawl the last bit of distance towards the back wall of the cave. A chilled dampness settled over her.

They made it.

Natsu slipped from her back and she collapsed next to him, completely spent. There was nothing left. No energy, no magic power. Darkness crept in around her vision. Desperate for him and his warmth, she pressed herself against Natsu's side, curled in the smallest ball, and released a breath into oblivion.

A/N - The next prompt is "Can't Stay Awake" so I will let you imagine what the next chapter will contain.

Leave a comment to let me know what you think, and hope you enjoyed!

See you tomorrow for the next chapter!