If this was death, it wasn't what Natsu was expecting. He just expected to… not be… And yet here he was, feeling like he was floating in a dark space between realities. It felt wet, thick, like a vat of ink. Ultimately, Natsu was grossed out.

Where had he been exactly before this? He remembered trees… A forest? He also remembered a voice, a very familiar voice. And then it all came to him. The darkness and resentment in his heart had finally caught up to him.

He was bitter, so very bitter, about the way his lives had been lived. Or hadn't, in this case. All he wanted was to just exist, and be happy with Lucy. Why had the universe denied him this happiness? Why was one of them destined to die?

All his negative emotions burned in him like a fire in his chest, and then his eyes snapped open. Tendrils of dark patterns growing up his arms, alongside the hatred inside fury was unquenchable.

'Go and take what is yours…' the voice whispered in the back of his mind 'Punish this world for it's cruelty'

Natsu felt his mouth stretch into a wide grin at the idea.

Lucy could've sword they were being caught in a hurricane. The dark smokey clouds billowed above the city, and people were exclaiming in terror, and some running with kids in tow, unable to hide their terror.

It felt like the dark energy Lucy could sense off the smaller demons she and Natsu had faced up to this point, but multiplied by one hundred and one.

"Lucy, snap out of it!" Yukino yelled at her over the chaos around them. Lucy shook her head to refocus herself on the problem at hand. Monsters were practically raining from the sky at this point, heightening the levels of fear previously held by the innocent townspeople.

"Sorry, but… where is Natsu…? He's… He usually picks up on these things before me…" Lucy said, aghast with wonder. Things seemed so calm not that long ago. Why was this happening?

Yukino watched her carefully, before turning back to the swarm of ever-growing monsters. She readied herself in a fighting stance. Muttering what sounded like a prayer, or the incantation to a spell.

"Spirits of the stars… Grant me the power to defeat the powers of darkness… Come! Libra! Pisces!"

The sky lit up in a brilliant light, and it shone down to engulf Yukino, and she was then flanked by what looked like three normal people, but Lucy could tell, they had holy magic. They were Celestial Spirits. Lucy's spirits.

"Ms. Lucy! You must find Sir Natsu! He is the only hope of quelling the source of this darkness! I will protect the city!" Yukino cried with determination, charging into battle with the spirits.

Lucy steeled herself, overcome with determination she hadn't felt in awhile. Just being in the presence of these holy spirits… They seemed to resonate with her heart, and flood her with faded memories and past emotions. She felt more like herself now than she ever had.

"Please! Be safe!" She yelled back to Yukino, as she ran off. She didn't really know where she was headed… But it felt like her heart was attached to a string. If she just followed the line, she knew Natsu would be at the end, hopefully looking for her too.

The forest was dark. Darker than Lucy had remembered. She knew the clouds probably weren't helping with the light problem, but this was still rather troubling. The darkness seemed to be pulsing around her, as if it were alive.

This only increased her worry for her pink-haired partner. Why was he in the middle of this? She hadn't seen Acnologia yet, and doubted he had shown himself yet, so he couldn't be fighting him. Was he fighting the smaller monsters?

Her question was answered soon as the man in question stumbled out from between the trees, and Lucy felt her heart lift up, but it dropped just as quickly. It looked like the darkness itself was clinging to his body.

"Natsu… Why… Are you okay?" Lucy whispered softly, reaching out to touch him, only to gasp as her hand was slapped away.

"Don't touch me!" He all but growled out "I don't need this… I don't need anything in this world…" he muttered, and Lucy could have sworn it got a few degrees hotter just then.

"What… What are you talking about…?"

Natsu straightened, flames eating up his body, the fire licking dangerously at the plants around him "I'm sick of you always saving this stupid world… Why don't you just ignore it and live?! Why do these stupid humans have to be so weak!" he roared, and in an instant, the entire forest was on fire.

Lucy gasped and stumbled back, trying to think of something she could do to put out this fire. But even if she did, Natsu could easily reignite it. She turned and watched as the fire spread, away towards the city of innocents. The city filled with these humans she loved.

No, the only way to stop this was to stop Natsu himself. She had to save him from the darkness.

"Natsu, you know I care about you… But I will not stand by as you try to destroy my creation!" she said sternly. Now was the time to fight.

'Remember, Lucy… Remember the power from your past' she told herself, and it was then that she felt it. The memories of her previous lives, and their sacrifice to protect this world. The memories of her days spent in the stars, with all the celestial spirits, her friends, at her side.

The memories of her times spent with Natsu. The god of fire.

Like a waterfall inside her gut, she could feel her holy power building up, reaching to the tips of her fingers. This was the holy power she needed to put a halt to Natsu's descent into darkness.

The light engulfing Lucy had now solidified, hardening into a long silk dress that was decorated with what looked like the stars themselves, as constellations gleamed brightly, almost proudly.

She felt her hand close around a sword, and her other a shield. She felt like the princess that would slay her own dragon.

Natsu bristled, and his lips pulled back to reveal sharp canines, barred in aggression. "Why… Why are they always more important?!" He yelled as he took up his true form. A large, red-scaled dragon, which towered over the trees in the forest. Stomping his front claws into the dirt, he let out an ear-splitting roar of anger.

Lucy felt the wetness in her own eyes, which she quickly wiped. "I'm so sorry… But I must save you from yourself…" she whispered, more to herself. And then she struck.

Yukino was having a bitch of a time taking care of these monsters already, and any hopes of Lucy returning any time soon were dashed as the giant dragon appeared from somewhere in the forest, where Lucy had been headed.

That could only mean that dragon was Natsu, and he did not look happy.

Sadly, she didn't have much time to question this new issue much as she fought off a mimic that had been trying to harm a child.

"Yukino." A voice as calm as the waters in the ocean spoke, and Yukino's head shot up, gasping as Zeref seemed to part a way through the crowd of chaos around them. "You are doing well to fight off these demons…" He noted.

Yukino felt suddenly uneasy at this. Why did he seem so calm, now of all times? He almost felt… happy. "Sir… Is something wrong?"

Zeref sighed, somewhat exasperatedly "Yes, I'm afraid so… It would seem my own magic won't suffice to break the seal on Acnologia." he said, and her heart leapt into her throat "See, I need someone with holy magic to break this seal…" he continued, inching closer.

Yukino tried to step away, but her feet felt like they were glued to the spot "S-Sir Zeref… no…"

He smiled serenely. The smile didn't match the wickedness in his eyes.

"Yukino… You have grown so much…" he said as he was now upon her "Your job is now done."

He raised his hand, he was going to use magic, and she was going to die, betrayed by one she had trusted.

The only thing Yukino could think to do now was scream.