LUCY:
The guards came again in what seemed like a few minutes. They pulled me down to Natsu's cage, only this time he was unconscious. The Duke came down with a remote and with a jerk Natsu was awake, his eyes jumping from me to the guards to the Duke. The fat man kept asking Natsu to tell him what he saw with the cursed eye, but when the pink-haired boy glances at me I gave a miniscule shake of my head. He kept his mouth shut. Running out of patience he came up to me with another collar, slightly smaller than Natsu's. The metal was freezing and I could barely breathe with it on. Whenever Natsu refused to answer the Duke would shock me, the magic coursing through me in a wave of pain. Every time I told Natsu no, and every time he would look at me with pleading eyes. Each time I writhed on the floor his scales grew slightly and by the end of the session his arm was completely covered. When the guards pulled me away Natsu's good eye glazed over and he lost it completely. He started bashing into the bars of the cage and snarling. His scales began to crawl up his neck and each time he hit the bar there was a sickening crunch, as if the scales were breaking under the force of his attacks. When the Duke had enough he used the remote to shock Natsu into silence and the Dragon Slayer slumped against the bars. Before the guards pulled me away he looked at me with a dull, tired eye and I whispered against the cloth.
"It's okay, Natsu. It's okay." I don't know if he heard me but I felt his eye on my back as I was pulled up the stairs. A cloaked figure with the hood drawn up swept past me and my escort, heading towards the cage room. I was through the door to my cell when Natsu screamed.
"LUCY! DON'T TOUCH HER! PLEASE! LU—" He was cut off by a savage roar, monstrous and inhuman. It shook the air with its power and the volume had the guards clamping hands over their ears. My hands were inaccessible and as a result I felt deaf for a solid minute before my hearing gradually came back. Webs of cracks spread along the ceiling. A groan came from the stone and my tour guides rushed out moments before the ceiling caved in on me. It turned out that luck was on my side – I was cut off by two large chunks on either side and one on top of them, but no part of me got crushed. Dust rained on my eyes and swept into my mouth, sending me into fits of coughing. I needed my magic, so I found myself a sharp corner and sawed away at the cuffs. They were surprisingly fragile.
ERZA:
Four groups were chosen to invade the Duke's stronghold, but by the time we reached the castle there was nothing left for us to invade. The massive building had caved in, the formerly impenetrable walls reduced to shapeless chucks of stone and a million bits of dust. A roar shook the ground, loud enough to make us cover our ears. An explosion of fire had Gray jumping in front to create an ice shield. It barely held long enough to protect us from the worst of the flames.
"That'd be Natsu, eh?" He panted. I nodded grimly.
"Looks like he lost it." Gajeel smirked behind me. I turned around to face the teams.
"Listen up! Natsu is on a rampage. Most likely he doesn't remember us anymore, so don't waste your time. We go in, find Lucy and hopefully Natsu, and leave. Teams A and B, take the left half of the grounds. Teams C and D take the right half. Divide by our current position. Go!" We split, Levy and Bickslow on my heels as we raced for the destroyed building.
"Bickslow, what can you see?" I shouted.
The Rajinshu member pulled off his mask and eerie green eyes scanned the destruction. One soul below ground on our half. I can see Natsu too, but he looks intense." He shouted back. So Natsu really did lose it, huh?
"Levy, be careful. Stay with Bickslow." I commanded and requipped into my Flight Armor. The small mage nodded once without hesitation and I sped up, leaving the two behind. Coming up to the ruins I saw the problem straight away: a scaly and furious Natsu, a leering Duke, and the faceless mage from the attack on Fairy Tail. Requipping into my Flame Empress armor, I brought their attention to myself. A tuft of black hair behind the enemy informed me of Gray's presence.
"Warren, tell Gray to freeze the faceless mage and the Duke." I spoke mentally. Warren quickly replied in the affirmative and I called out to the trio.
"Natsu! What are you doing?" The pink-haired nightmare focus two pitch-black eyes on me and his growl vibrated in the air. The faceless mage pulled out a small remote and hit a white key. Natsu froze.
The Duke laughed. "Erza Scarlet, the great Titania, have you come to see my new pet? Natsu, go play with her." He leered. The Dragon Slayer took off at the command and flew at me, fists blazing. I deflected his hit with my sword, but I underestimated the gain in raw power. My feet slid back across the stone. Laughter echoed from the ruins.
"You see, Titania, this is a battle you cannot hope to win. He is your comrade, after all. You wouldn't hurt him but I can assure you that he holds no such restraints." I swore. The Duke was right, in a sense. Natsu lost his mind to the curse and had no more human feelings to stop him, but I wouldn't hesitate to injure him if it meant he would stop. I wasn't about to lose my life in battle. Another attack, this time coming from the elbow. I dodged it and thrust the hilt of my sword into his stomach. Natsu flew back a few feet before flipping over and attacking again. Gray leaped out from behind the wall to engage the two men watching my battle.
"Ice Make: Lance!" Spears of ice flew at the two spectators, hitting the Duke squarely while the faceless creep vanished, only to pop up a few feet away. Gray kept up the attack and within moments was joined by Levy, Bickslow, Cana, and Freed. Gajeel and Wendy joined my battle with a mindless Dragon Slayer.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
"Iron Dragon's Roar!"
Two powerful columns of air hit the scaly boy. He merely staggered and bared his teeth in what looked like a smile. I darted in and slashed across his chest but the scales deflected my blow. Natsu was one dense idiot.
"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!"
"Iron Dragon's Sword!"
The two friendly Dragon Slayers were barely holding their ground against Natsu. I changed for Black Wing Armor and landed several hits on Natsu, none making a dent. This was becoming a very bleak prospect.
"Rage Bringer." A cold voice hissed by my ear. My body spun around on instinct, the charged sword cutting my enemy in half. A black vortex spit out a red wave before fading away. Faceless was gone, but he'd done the job. I felt a small pull of rage in my mind but squashed it firmly under my resolve. Gray shut his eyes for a moment to collect himself and started an ice make. Cana sighed and chugged another bottle of booze. Freed followed Gray and took out his sword, his right eye already a deep purple. Wendy and Gajeel grabbed their faces, struggling with the powerful spell. Bickslow's dolls glowed and intense green. Tears poured from Levy's eyes and the small girl began to shake under the pressure.
"Ice Make: Geyser!"
"Shattering Light: Sky Drill!"
"Karma Demon: Iron God Sword!"
"Dark Ecriture: Pain!"
"Go, babies! Baryon Formation!"
"Booze!"
"Solid Script: Iron!"
My comrades put all of their power into the attack while I stood alert, waiting for any movement in the smoke. Sure enough, the explosion, although being of epic proportions, soon revealed a smoking monster with pink hair. His cold, ragged laugh ran around the crater. He tipped his head back and roared, the sound sending my ears into oblivion. For Gajeel and Wendy's sensitive hearing it must've been a thousand times worse. There was no doubt now: the creature was no longer Natsu.
NATSU:
The attack was incredibly cute. Was that the best they could do? A black blur shot at me, her sword repeatedly bouncing off my scales. I grew tired of her and caught the glistening blade between my fingers. Flinging the sword to the side, its owner flying with it, I gathered my magic and breathed out Fire Dragon's Roar. I didn't have to cast the actually spell. I was a dragon, and dragons didn't need the tools of humans. Or should I say maggots.
They were all going to die here. Surely they must know that. The only maggot that bothered me was the one who could control this stupid collar, which refused to break, but now he was gone. I was free to destroy at my leasure.
"NATSU!" A strange voice pierced my sensitive ears, full of despair and yet strangely melodic. "Natsu, look at me." Not knowing why, I turned. Her large brown eyes captured mine, a spot of color in an otherwise white and black landscape. She walked up to me and her small hand touched my cheek. I recoiled at the contact but she refused to budge. "Natsu, look at me. Remember? I'm Lucy." Sounded familiar. Lucy… The rage squished any memories that dared to bubble up. "You like my spicy chicken. You almost made me laugh." A picture was forming in my head as the rage screeched and tried to rip it to shreds. I felt myself wince. "You saved me when the bad guy messed with my head, remember?" The picture cleared slightly. I made out blonde hair and pale, creamy skin with lines of red. "You tried to protect me from the bad guy." Brown eyes were added to the creamy face. I smelled blood. "Remember how I used to whisper, Natsu?" The ghost of a smile and a laugh hidden in her eyes. "Remember my promise?" She had understood. It was a nice feeling, to be understood. "I promised that I would never run away." She had promised and she kept that promise. Somewhere deep inside my humanity stirred, drawn to her voice. "I told you that I could see past the scales and horns." The little human crawled out, testing the area. "I still can, Natsu. Can you come out?" With a heavy jolt I slammed into the human, my vision blacking out. Suddenly I was alone, surrounded by black flames. They towered over me, fueled by an ancient rage. My magic felt replenished and my fists became encased in fire, the golden light struggling against the onslaught of anger. Her voice rang through my head, sweet and caring. Lucy's voice. "I miss you, Natsu. Come out, please."
Determination took hold of my mind. "Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" My golden fire burned through the black and I was back in my body, the world spinning. Everything hurt. I felt exhausted but I needed to tell her something. Something important.
"Hey, Luce. I love you." I blacked out.