"There's no way!" Cana said, looking around to her fellow guild mates for answers. They all shared looks of horror and disbelief.
"Impossible!" Lisanna cried, positioning herself between Natsu and the soldiers. "Natsu would never kill anyone! Especially not Lucy! She's part of Fairy Tail, she's family!"
Natsu sat down hard on the guild floor, his mind racing. The words echoed in his head. Murder, kill, Lucy. Did this mean….was he actually saying Lucy was…was….
"Lucy's Dead?" Markarov was the one who voice the question, his voice strained and heartbroken.
Doranbolts eyes softened as he looked at the downcast old man. He knew Markarov looked at all the young members of the guild like his children and deeply regretted the fact that he was the bearer of this sad news.
"They found her body a couple of hours ago floating in the river." He told them. Tears welled up in Mira's eyes. When her brother embraced her comfortingly she could feel his whole body shaking as he tried to control his emotions. Lisanna stood ridged at her post in font of Natsu, but her eyes grew wide and her hands shook.
"What evidence do you have that Natsu is responsible?" Markarov asked. Doranbolt angrily looked over the pink haired fire mage who sat on the floor cradling his head. As if his appearance wasn't evidence enough! His hands were literally stained red with blood! Doranbolt glared at him. He, like the others, hadn't though Natsu capable of such a thing. But with the evidence stacking up against him, he now looked down at Natsu as a monster. No matter what, he would not let Lucy's ghost go without justice.
"We have multiple witnesses that saw it happen. They saw him kill her!" Doranbolt tried to force himself to sound calm, after all Natsu hadn't had a trial yet.
"Natsu," He addressed the boy sternly "you need to tell us what happened. We need to know why you did it?"
Natsu started to rock back and forth shaking his head and ignoring Doranbolts question. His brain felt broken. No No No No No! He repeated over and over again. It was impossible! She was not dead, not gone.
"Natsu…." Lisanna whispered softly, leaning down and placing a hand on his head. He looked up at her, eye's wide. The feeling of despair was familiar and he remembered back to the time when they had told him Lisanna was dead. It had felt like the world was ending then too.
But they had been wrong. Lisanna now looked at him with concerned eyes. She wasn't dead, like they'd said, but here and alive. The idea lit the smallest spark of hope in him.
He stood quickly, startling everyone and turned toward the door. The soldiers moved to block his path.
"If your innocent; then you have nothing to fear from a trial" Doranbolt spat at him. Natsu once again ignored him.
"Move." He commanded the soldiers in way of warning, leaving no question in any of their minds what he would do if they didn't let him pass. A few twitched nervously and looked to their comrades to see if anyone would run. Natsu's fist ignited as he hobbled toward them and one soldier gulped audibly.
It was over before anyone really knew what had happened. There were a few short screams of pain as soldiers flew in all different directions. Natsu cut his way through their lines ferociously clobbering any that got in his way. They swarmed him, his pink hair disappearing beneath a pile of uniforms before his terrifying roar sent them flying.
He stood breathing heavily and glaring from the center of a circle of bodies. The few remaining soldiers fell down and pretended to be knocked out before the fire mage could do it for them. He started to leave when Doranbolt teleported directly behind him.
"Natsu stop!" He ordered trying to grab and pin the fire mages arms. Natsu growled, spinning around and head-butting him with a hard thwack. Doranbolt stepped back with a wobble before his eyes rolled back in his head and he sank to the floor unconscious.
Natsu didn't pause to look at his stunned guild mates. They were all looking at him in total shock. Even Markarov, who knew of Natsu's great potential, was impressed. He had just taken out a whole platoon of the councils soldiers, injured, and with almost no magic power left.
Lisanna made a movement as if to follow the steak of pink hair that was disappearing into the distance, but Markarov stopped her.
"Master" she pleaded with him, aching to follow Natsu.
"Let him go." Markarov said. He knew where Natsu was going, and slowly started to walk there after him.
Natsu threw open both of the ginormous wooden doors at the cathedral entrance and they slammed against the wall cracking and splintering. Several of the priest jumped up in alarm. When they caught sight of the look on Natsu's face, they ran away leaving their work and went to seek help.
Natsu's felt a vice clamp around his heart as he saw the figure laying on a table at the other end of the church. The Priests had been cleaning her, preparing her body for burial as they did for everyone who died in Magnolia. For a second Natsu felt irritated that they had abandoned her so quickly, the rag and bowl of water still sitting beside her still form. Then he started to shake, terrified and refusing to believe what he was seeing.
Slowly and as if he would rather have been anywhere else in the world, he walked down the aisle toward her unmoving figure. As he got closer he could make out her features; her eyes closed peacefully, the purple hue to her relaxed lips and the terrible paleness in her skin. Her blond hair was still wet and fanned out around her like a halo. He felt himself whimper softly. She could be sleeping.
Lucy.
A white sheet was drawn up to just under her shoulders. He reached a shaking hand down to stroke her cheek, and was heartbroken by how cold it was. His hand made its way down to grasp her neck and pull her head toward him but he stopped. Horrified, he took his hand away and saw small quarter shaped bruises on her neck that fit his finger placement perfectly.
He collapsed onto his knees, tears leaking from his eyes and a sob shaking his shoulders. He buried his head on the table next to her, unable to process what he was seeing. He had hoped, foolishly hoped, that if he came here it would all make sense. With Lisanna there had been no body, and therefore no real evidence that she was dead. But this time he knew that it was the Lucy he knew and loved that was lying in front of him and that it wasn't a trick. It was her sent that clung to the lifeless body.
Natsu had seen her like this before. The image of future Lucy lying dead was still one of his worst nightmares. That day he had sworn to himself he would never see that sight again. But here it was; once again he found himself looking down at her and feeling the rage build up in him. It wasn't the burning hot anger that made him stronger; before when she had died, he had the knowledge that he could save her in the back of his mind, keeping him fighting. What he felt now was a cold helplessness that consumed his heart.
He pulled himself closer to her, looking down into her tranquil face. He leaned in, taking a deep breath of her already fading scent and savored its memory. Then he closed his eyes and ever so softly brushed her cold lips with his.
"Lucy." He sobbed. That one word held a promise, a confession and a goodbye. He gently connected their foreheads and let his tears fall onto her face.
Then he stood, staring up at the ceiling and wiping his nose and eyes trying to regain composure. He took several deep breaths, feeling his heart harden and ice over.
He pulled back the sheet that was covering her naked body. In the center of her chest was a gaping hole, flesh and bone torn away as if someone had put a fist right through her. He felt suddenly nauseous at the sight of the wound. The scent of burning flesh still clung to it. Her once porcelain skin was black and cracked around the edges from intense heat.
The light patter of feet came walking up behind him.
"Master." Natsu greeted coldly, not turning away from Lucy's exposed form.
Markarov had opened him mouth to say something when he caught a full view of the dead girl in front of him. His breathing hitched and a single tear slid down the old man's face without his permission. She looked so young and innocent, and he felt a parent's guilt and not being able to save her.
"Natsu" He said when he had regained control "I need to ask you something." Natsu's shoulders shrugged slightly, giving permission to ask away.
"Look at me child" Markarov commanded. Natsu painfully tore his eyes away from Lucy to look down at the old man.
"Did you do this?" He asked quietly. Natsu's hand formed a flaming fist and he socked his master in the jaw before he could even think.
"How can you even ask me that?" He hissed as the old man calmly got up off the floor. "I would never, NEVER hurt her. She….We….I mean. I…" He struggled trying to find the words, but at the same time afraid to say them out loud.
Markarov sighed, nodding wearily.
"I know Natsu," He assured him, the look in his eyes telling Natsu that he really did understand. "I know."
"I don't think you killed Lucy" he said. "But someone has gone to a hell of a lot of trouble to make people thing you did." Natsu swallowed hard, trying to think about someone who would want to hurt him or Lucy.
"Master, what do we do?" he asked. Natsu looked so young and confused and heartbroken that the old man wanted nothing more than to take him back to the guild and hide him away from the world. But that couldn't be done.
"You need to turn yourself into the council." He told Natsu, who looked shocked and almost like he was going to hit the tiny mage again. "Listen," Markarov explained "The council will hold a trial where they will examine all the evidence against you. That will give us the opportunity to hear from all the witness and give us time to figure out a way to get your memories back."
Natsu nodded slowly, seeing the logic in this plan, but not really liking it.
"I'll be outside when you're ready." The old man said. Natsu nodded and looked back at Lucy's silent form. All he wanted in the world was for her to twitch, to see the corners of her mouth turn up and for her to start laughing, saying it was all a joke.
But she didn't wake and Natsu honed his new cold anger on whoever was responsible for taking her from him.
"I'll find whoever did this to you Lucy, I promise." He whispered to her, before following Markarov out of the church.
Author Note: Believe it or not, If this story goes the way I planed then it will have a happy ending.
Also, may become M rated, but maybe I'll save that for another story I'm playing with.