Natsu couldn't seem to wrap his mind around what he was seeing, but Lucy insisted that this was the path she was choosing. The man who had tried to kill his wife in the not so distant past was sitting, unbound at the table, having a conversation about going off to war together. The facts just weren't adding up in Natsu's mind no matter how much he mulled over every possible scenario of how this situation even came to be.
"Bastion is on our side now; he wants to fight with us not against us." Lucy proclaimed for the fourth time, and Natsu just continued to stare at his wife in disbelief. He heard the words that were leaving her mouth, but somewhere in transit they completely lost their meaning, as if someone had jumbled them all up before they could reach his ears.
"He's coming; can you feel it, Lucy?" Bastion asked, his eyes shifting from left to right. "We need to move fast or he will get the upper hand, he's stronger than the last time you faced off."
Natsu took a deep breath suppressing the need to punch the red haired man in the nose to the point of breaking. This was getting to be too much for him, Natsu wasn't known for his patience, and the fact that he was still sitting was amazing in and of itself. He looked from Lucy to Bastion, and then to Loki who simply nodded his agreement from his place at the end of the table.
"I know this isn't what you want Natsu, but we need Bastion's inside knowledge." Lucy knotted her hands in her lap nervously, knowing exactly what her husband thought of the whole situation.
"What changed from yesterday to now? You're not trying to send everyone home anymore or something?" Natsu finally broke his pensive stare, slamming his fists on the table.
"Natsu, the whole situation has changed. He is on his way here with one purpose and one purpose only. Now is not the time to get picky about who is fighting alongside us." Lucy wanted to go more into detail, but she knew they had a crowd had gathered, listening at the door. She motioned for Vulpi to open said door, and a pile of people fell inside, with Laxus on the bottom. "Well lookie here, I found us a couple of rats." Vulpi's smile was tight and unnerving, as his ears folded flat against his head showing his obvious displeasure.
"I suppose you all heard enough that we can try to come up with a game plan." Lucy sighed, as the others scrambled into the small room so they could hear the rest of the details.
"How long do we have?" Natsu blurted out.
"Three hours max, we need to get to a place where there will be fewer civilian casualties." Lucy answered as she pulled out the map Elfman had supplied the day before. She started to survey the area until her index finger landed on a desolate portion of the mountain range they were close to. "I'll open a gate, so we can get there faster." There was a murmur of agreement from the others.
"Elfman, I know you aren't going to like this, but I want you to take Romeo back to Era. I want you to watch over him until this is all finished." Natsu said sternly, hoping there would be no room for arguments.
"I want you to go with them Wendy." Lucy added without taking her eyes off the map.
"No way! You can't leave me behind; I've worked too hard to get sent away!" Wendy hollered.
"Wendy, do you realize just how dangerous this battle will be?" Levy tried to lay a hand on the younger woman's shoulder but she jerked free harshly.
"Dangerous? It's BATTLE! Of course I know it's dangerous, that's why I'm coming with you! What if you need a healer, what will you do then if you send me away?" Wendy was livid.
"We will deal with those problems when the time comes." Lucy's voice was low and shaking as she refused to look Wendy in the eye. "Wendy, you are like a little sister to me, and I will not put you in a situation where you could die." Lucy's hand came down on the table hard enough to make Levy and Wendy flinch.
"Everyone could die Lucy-nee! Why am I the only one to get sent away?" Wendy also slammed her hands on the table, her body shaking violently with rage.
"Lucy calm down, I'm sure that Wendy will be fine, we are all there to watch her back." Laxus piped up in defense of Wendy and the other two.
"I've seen it three nights in a row now; if she comes with us she will die. So I've made up my mind, Wendy is going back to Era with Elfman and Romeo, and that is final." Lucy looked up through her eyelashes to see Wendy's eyes grow wide.
"You are worried about the upcoming battle, of course you are having scary dreams" Laxus tried to comfort his cousin, but his words only added fuel to the fire.
"Did you not hear me say that I've watched my little sister die in my dreams? Laxus you should know better than anyone else what that means! It's not written in stone, but I'm not going to play games with her life!" Lucy was trying her best to keep her volume down, but the idea that they didn't understand the severity of the situation was pushing her to the limits of her sanity.
"Can we really afford to lose three capable mages at a time like this?" Laxus tried to keep the thought quiet, but the others still heard him loud and clear.
"You think we are here for decoration, lightning boy?" Vulpi added in, growling in anger that anyone would speak back to his master.
"Alright fine we have you guys too, but Wendy is right about the loss of our healer." Laxus leaned back against the wall wondering what they would do next. It seemed like every time they had a solid plan or lead, that the tables were instantly turned, and their group lost their footing once more.
"Right here and now, you have to make a decision; what is more important between your life or the safety of the world? If we enter this battle there is no guarantee that you will come home in one piece, I can't promise that you'll survive at all. If you are going to follow me into battle then make peace with that destiny, if you can't do that then don't come with me." Lucy kept steady eye contact with her cousin, waiting for his visual cues, when he nodded his head with a smirk she turned back to the blue haired teen. "Wendy, you need to protect what's important to you, and right now this isn't where you need to be in order to do that. Go back to Era and help protect the people we left behind."
"I don't really get a choice here, do I?" Wendy finally sat back, folding her arms in defeat. Once again she was being treated like she couldn't handle herself, even after all the training she went through to increase her usefulness. She wanted to have the right to put her life on the line like any other mage, but as she looked across the table at the hopelessness in Lucy's eyes she had no choice but to give in, for now.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, but I will do what I must to protect you." Lucy answered Wendy's thoughts with a grim smile.
"A man never backs down from a battle, but protecting innocent people is manly as well so I will take them both back. I'll guard them with my life, I promise." Elfman nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest, content with his own decision. Wendy narrowed her eyes at his random interruption.
"Don't I get a say?" Romeo asked from his corner where he felt that no one had even noticed.
"No." Wendy, Lucy and Natsu all said at the same time.
"Natsu, use the key and send them back. Everyone else, get your things ready so we can go; we can't afford to waste any more time." Lucy's stomach was beginning to knot uncomfortably as the dark presence intruded on the edges of her mind. He was coming, and they were running out of time.
"What do you mean old man? Who are these kings everyone keeps talking about?" Gray was completely lost, though that seemed to be the norm with him as of late.
"You don't know the prophecy?" He asked slightly put off.
"Would I be asking if I did?" Gray raised a brow at the old man, becoming more irritated by the minute.
"Share the story with us, please." Jellal motioned to a chair so they could get the whole story.
At the beginning of time the earth was created in the heaven, giving birth to monstrous creatures, god like entities with life spans that spread out longer than the life of the stars themselves. In time three great kings came to rule the land equally. Each was the master of his own kind; the mighty Dragon King, the cunning Spirit King, and the proud Human King. In the beginning they all lived together in peace sharing the land and the sky in harmony, but as time ticked by the vanity of each species grew. War broke out once a claim was laid on the very Earth they all inhabited. Over many centuries the three kings fought over the land and the sky, their heirs taking up arms in their stead. Times of peace were forgotten, and all living creatures suffered because of this. Finally, a little over seven hundred years ago a decision was made, and the kings split the skies.
"The Celestial realm and the Lair of the Dragon King, those we are familiar with." Erza supplied.
The sky remained intact, but the creatures under the rule of the Dragon King, and the Spirit King vanished into a world that mortals could no longer see. The third kingdom was all that remained, known simply as the Earth King's Domain. It was written then by the fates that in the time of man, the three kings would finally settle their dispute, bringing about a peace that would never be shattered again. When at last the three Kings are again united, a final battle will release the world from the curse of hatred and a peace like the world has never known will arise from the One King's rule.
The old mage settled back into the chair comfortably as he finished his tale.
"Didn't Lucy say something about the chosen ones being marked?" Gray piped up; his mind was on overdrive now wondering what the hell this old geezer was trying to get at. "If Lucy and Natsu are two of the chosen, shouldn't the third King be marked as well?"
"For the Dragon and the Spirit, I can say for sure that this was the case, but for the Earth King, well, he has been cursed with waiting for the next descendants." A small smile lit the man's face, he hadn't been allowed to tell many people about this over his life time.
"How do you know so much?" Jellal was starting to feel as though the old mage was trying to pull the wool over their eyes.
"I've told you before that I've worked for the council for over a quarter of a century, I know things that would curl your toes. Before that though I was with a group of mage's who were researching the origins of our magic, during that time we stumbled on the ruins of the first Kings. I was a translator, charged with decoding the doctrines that were unearthed. Those findings seemed to have been forgotten long ago, but I've stayed here, biding my time till now. I had hoped I would live to see the day this nightmare finally comes to an end, to see the rightful King take his thrown." The man took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"Does that mean Lucy and Natsu will have to fight one another?" Erza didn't want to put those words into play, but it had to be voiced since she figured it was on everyone's mind. She remembered what Laxus had told them about Lucy and Natsu agreeing that they would never fight one another because it would be worse that unleashing the Etherion on whatever continent was unlucky enough to serve as their battle field.
"Only one king can rule." The man answered with a wry smile, pleased with his riddles.
"Lucy is a woman, so technique isn't a king, doesn't that screw up your whole equation?" Gray interjected.
"You're right, Lucy isn't a king." Erza's eyes widened.
"It seems you understand the situation better now." The old man continued. "You are indeed right, Lady Lucy has always been the key to the riddle. Igneel the Dragon King, and Lady Layla knew this from the moment she was born."
"Natsu and Lucy were groomed for one another from a very young age, that can't be a coincidence." Erza rubbed her chin with her thumb and forefinger and she thought aloud.
"They marked one another the first time they meet, even though they were too young to understand it themselves. This is where the Earth King's plan went into a downward spiral, during the imprinting process, if Master Natsu or Lady Lucy were to have died; the other would have died as well. Now, Lady Lucy is no longer in danger if Master Natsu were to die."
"They are aiming to take Natsu out and use Lucy." Gray was livid now, even though he wasn't sure why the enemy wanted to use Lucy he knew that it couldn't be for the greater good.
His outrage was cut short when the door began to glow golden, and Elfman stepped through followed shortly by Wendy and Romeo.
"They will never stop treating me like a kid!" Wendy growled angrily to Charle who came all too willingly.
"You are a kid." Elfman added helpfully.
"Why'd they send you back anyway? Aren't you strong enough to fight?" Romeo asked in a hurt tone.
"I was told to protect the two of you." Elfman answered easily. "It is a man's duty to take care of his weaker comrades." His chest filled with pride.
"I could take you with one hand tied behind my back." Wendy groaned walking towards the stunned mages on the other side of the room.
"A man would never lose to a child!" Elfman roared, trying to defend his wounded pride.
"Lucy sent you back because she didn't want Mira to be upset; I bet you that's it." Romeo supplied, ignoring the larger man.
"Damn it, they were finally going to get into something fun and now I'm stuck babysitting this ogre!" Wendy wanted to pull out her hair.
"Lucy was very clear on her reasoning Wendy. She can see things that even I can't, so please trust that she is doing this because she cares about you." Charle cooed in her most calming voice. Wendy on the other hand was so irritated that she let off an icy mist that took the temperature of the room down several degrees.
"Wendy, can you tell me where they are?" The blue haired teen looked up into the deep brown eyes of Erza, and she could see an emotion there that she had never seen before, fear, pure unadulterated fear.
"You won't make it. The fight will be breaking out any minute." Wendy calmed her voice slightly realizing that she needed to explain the situation to the uninformed. For a moment it actually made her feel better to see that Erza had been left out of the loop as well because she was a powerful mage herself. The thought was childish, but knowing she wasn't the only one made her feel less angry.
"Already?" Jellal asked smoothly, not losing his composure.
"They are pretty far off; I agree you won't make it since they are in the mountains just south of the border with Seven." Elfman added calmly. "Along the North Western Sea." Erza cursed violently turning to Jellal who shook his head.
"It would take at least five days to get there even by the fastest mode of transportation." Gray seemed to take that moment to come back to his senses.
"They sent you all back even though they are getting ready to fight?" He could understand Romeo, and even Elfman, but Wendy had been training for this day for such a long time that it just didn't seem fair to him.
"Lucy-nee, said I'd die if I stayed." Wendy hung her head, any traces of her former anger leaving her body.
"She was wise to send you away." The old man got up from his chair and patted the blue haired teen's shoulder gently. "It is foolish to ask the young to die for the mistakes of old men who had died so very long ago."
Lucy backed up against a tree, her eyes darting to the other end of the clearing. She knew he was here, she could feel his presence on the edge of her mind but for some reason he was still lurking in the shadows. She wanted to call out, and provoke him to attack her first, but she knew that wouldn't work.
Even still his mind was well guarded against her usual probing. Zeref was a hard nut to crack, and until she found out his intentions she wasn't going to move a muscle.
"Lucy Dragneel, I come to you with a proposition." His voice rang out over the vast expanse of the clearing. "Come to me willingly and I will not destroy everything you love." Lucy's mouth ran dry, as she had feared this outcome. They wanted her alive which meant they were looking to break the curse of the Earth King. It all made sense to her now, her visions, the door of the damned, and the man in the shadows.
"You and I both know your orders were a little more gruesome than to take me with you." Lucy called back.
"I'm afraid you're right. I am to dispatch Natsu as well, but if you come willingly I swear not to lay a hand on his head." Zeref stepped out into the clearing with his hands held high above his head. He knew this wasn't going to go well, but he had to at least try to preserve some life in this seemingly never ending war.
"Vulpi, Loki, remember what you promised me." Lucy called behind her as she showed herself to the enemy.
"I know Bastion is with you as well. My king wishes to have a few words with him so bring him with you." Zeref watched Lucy stiffen for a fraction of a moment before she moved further into the clearing. She didn't even need to say a word, and the red haired man was at her side.
"We are going to die soon anyway, might as well go out with a bang." He whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
"I fear my fate won't be as pleasant as simply dying Bastion, they don't plan on letting that happen for a while still to come." Lucy shuttered as she remembered the dreams she had while in the spirit world, the horrible scenes that played out with blood and mangled body parts flying this way and that. Of cold lifeless bodies that once belonged to people she loved. Lucy would do anything to stop that from happening, even handing herself over to the enemy.
"My Lord underestimates your abilities, but I've known since you were a child that you are far stronger than he is." Zeref breathed once Lucy was close enough. "If I die here, make sure you put an end to that man's life." With that Zeref lifted the mind block, pushing his memories of the castle to the front of his thoughts. She could see the centuries of torment that was laid on his head, and the sadness that enveloped his waking mind for what he had done in his past. His memories were painful to say the least, but Lucy bore with it so that she could understand the whole situation.
"Consider yourself avenged." Lucy whispered back.
Natsu watched the scene unfold without any inkling of what was really going on. Lucy had blocked their connection, and she was so far that he couldn't pick up the words that she was speaking. He looked to his left then to his right, realizing that her spirits were guarding him instead of their master. He wanted to cry out, but Lucy cut him off.
"Do your job Zeref, and I will do mine." The blonde woman didn't so much as glace back before she and Bastion vanished through another golden gate, and her presence was gone.
"Lucy!" Natsu couldn't hold himself back any longer. His instincts told him that he needed to follow Lucy, that she was in trouble, but he could see that the dark haired man in the middle of the clearing wouldn't allow him to follow after her.
"What did she mean?" Natsu growled stepping out into view.
"Simply that one of us will not be walking away from this battle." Zeref slide his right foot forward, bringing both of his hand directly in front of himself. "Either you or I will walk away from this today Natsu, and if you defeat me, take my life as the Queen had ordered."
Natsu swore loudly as the others came out of their hiding spots, ready to fight for their lives.
"Don't talk to me about killing you, tell me where Lucy went?" Natsu growled taking a step forward.
"The place she was always intending to go; the Earth Kings Domain." Zeref answered while waiting for Natsu to strike. "He won't lay a hand on her till the curse is lifted if that's what you are worried about." A deep growl rumbled through the clearing as the other two dragon slayers made their way to stand beside Natsu.
"When I defeat you, I want you to tell me how to get there." Natsu demanded.
"What an impatient Prince you have become, little Natsu." Zeref knew that Natsu's temper had always been his weak spot, he had watched the boy his entire life, and he knew the ins and outs of his mind better than anyone.
"Enough talk, tell me where my cousin is!" Laxus roared as he shot head long into battle. The clearing became a blur of flashes, one moment white lighting blinding all those present, and the next darkness as thick as molasses stealing their sight.
Each of Laxus' powerful punches were accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder, that shook the whole face of the mountain. For a moment it seemed as though the lightning mage had the upper hand in the battle of monsters. The on lookers remained deadly silent, watching with wide eyes as Laxus got pushed back time and time again. He would turn around only a moment later and push Zeref back in just the same fashion, though it was obvious that it was taking more energy for the lightning mage to accomplish his goal.
Time ticked past agonizingly slowly between each explosion of magic, both mages seemed to take more time to attack with every passing minute. A finally crash brought the fight to it's climax, the ground shook violently, and the heat of the battlefield burned all those who were close enough to see the flames that had broken out on the shattered earth.
Natsu and the others held their breath when the fight suddenly went quiet, the tell-tale signs of magic vanishing in a cloud of dust and smoke from the burning foliage.
It only took a few minutes before the dust cleared, showing the crowd who the victor was.
Lucy walked up the castle staircase with a heavy feeling of foreboding. They were only a short fifteen miles from where she had left the rest of her clan, and she could still sense them all. Her heart ached painfully with regret for deceiving them, but she knew this was something that she had to take care of on her own.
Laxus is fighting instead of Natsu she thought bitterly. Her cousin never wanted to do what she had planned. She was comforted by the fact that Zeref would stay true to his word, since his only objective was Lucy and Natsu, Laxus and the other's weren't safe per say but Zeref wasn't going to kill them intentionally.
She took a deep breath to steady her rapidly beating heart once more. There was no backing down; this was her duty to her loved ones as well as all the innocent people who would suffer if this man were to ascend the ultimate throne.
Bastion watched out of the corner of his eye, as Lucy began to glow with a golden aura that he knew meant she was getting ready for something big. He swallowed hard, trying to calm his own rapidly beating heart. Lucy was strong, he knew that, but so was Maso, the Earth King.
When she opened her eyes again the two began moving again albeit faster this time. The timeline she had set was already being pushed to its breaking point. Time was running short; she needed to take care of her end before Zeref was finished on his or the whole thing would fall apart.
"I want a crack at this asshole." Gajeel stepped in front of Laxus' limp body, pulling his arms across his chest to crack his shoulders.
"Be careful, please!" Levy cried out as she kneeled down at Laxus' side. She put her fingers to his jugular and was relieved to find that there was still a stead pulse flowing beneath the surface. She let out a breath that she hadn't intended on holding and prepared to put up a barrier. Reflect shield was only meant to last for a maximum of ten minutes, so Levy hoped that Gajeel could end this quickly, but she knew that he wouldn't be able to do much more than Laxus, this was all going to come down to Natsu and the Royal Guard.
Levy couldn't help but worry because with the guard here, Lucy was completely vulnerable with a man who had tried to kill her standing by her side no less. It was madness, absolute madness, but Levy knew that she needed to have faith that Lucy knew what she was doing.
Suddenly the air around Levy began to sizzle with electrical sparks, and she turned with wide eyes to see that it was Laxus, struggling to get to his feet.
"This is my fight, piss off metal bastard." Laxus growled as he pulled himself to his feet. Gajeel stopped in his tracks and smirked.
"Laxus be careful, he's stronger than you!" Levy cried out. She wished that Wendy was there to provide support magic, but she was alone with three monsters who wanted nothing more than to exact their own personal vengeance, consequences be damned.
"No, he isn't. A man who wants to die will never be stronger than a man who fights to live!" Laxus dove right back into the fight, his fists blazing with electrical currents. The clouds darkened as the howls of furry reached their peak. Tears splashed down the little blue haired mage's face as she watched him take blow after blow, coughing up large amounts of bile with each hit and eventually staining the grass red with his blood.
Levy couldn't understand why Gajeel and Natsu weren't moving. They were just standing there watching as their comrade was torn to pieces. She couldn't stand to look at the scene anymore, but she knew that if she looked away she would be an easy target.
"You sly bastard, sending them here." The young lord cooed as he observed the fight in his lycrima. "Even if you die now dear Zeref, you won't be able to stop the events that our ancestors have laid. Soon we will be ride of this dreadful curse, and I will rule over everything!" A crazed laugh left the man's mouth, twisting his handsome features once more into a mask of insanity and hatred. "Soon Lucy will be mine, and nothing else will matter!"
A/N: Almost there...