I wanted to thank all of you who are still reading this fic. It's coming up on a year since I started posting it... most of that was because I had terrible writers block, and was discouraged by some of the reviews I had received. I'm glad to sat though, that I am nearing the conclusion of this story. We are only two to three chapters from the end. I can't really say that I'll be sad when this one ends, because it has been extremely difficult for me to write, but I can say I hope those of you who have followed the story faithfully will give my next fic a glance when I start posting it!

Well that's about it... Enjoy what's left of Black Dragon!

Her heeled boots sounded excruciatingly loud in her ears as she and Bastion ran up the never ending stairway at the base of the mountain. She could see the spires of the grand palace rising up against the darkening sky in a beautiful display of fine architecture. She realized the moment they had stepped out of the gate that this was not the first time she had laid eyes of the magnificence of the Earth King's domain.

She had been only a small child at the time, clinging to her mother because of the terrible feeling the place gave her. Layla had laid a comforting hand on Lucy's head, trying to calm her daughter's fears, but it had done very little in the end. Lucy couldn't remember why her mother had brought her to this place, or what they had done while they remained, but it wasn't long after the Lucy had begun training with Laxus. Whatever had transpired that day had shocked her mother into action; this simple truth was clear as crystal to her now.

The court yard was like a maze, with its seven foot hedges, and limestone pathways. Lucy nearly feared that they would lose their way when Bastion's soft thoughts broken through her barrier.

We will make it through this, we have to be strong.

That simple phrase repeated itself over and over in a silent mantra, meant only for Bastion himself to hear. Lucy felt her blood run cold with self-loathing, she was supposed to save the world, this was her destiny, her burden to bear, and here she was quaking in fear like some small child. Bastion was being far braver than she would ever be. Doubt was creeping into her mind, distracting her from her surroundings.

They continued on in silence.

Mira Jane watched the master drown his fourth mug of spirits with a sense of worry. He hadn't said much since Erza had run off after Laxus and the others, but she could tell there was something troubling him even now. The guild was far too quiet, without their main members and Mira found herself feeling lonely.

As if on cue Lisanna appeared, resting a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder. "There is a letter from Era." She placed the cream colored envelope on the counter with a soft smile before heading off in the direction of the only members who were still waiting for news about Lucy and the rest.

Dearest Mira, Erza, and everyone else who was left behind,

I know this will come as a shock to you, but I may not make it home this time. I wanted to ask you a favor, just this once. When everyone gets home, will you please tell them how proud I am to have known them? Tell them that I loved them, that everything I've done is to protect them. Once Fairy Tail fought on my behalf, and now it's my turn to fight. You have always been like a sister to me Mira, and I wanted to make sure you know that.

I suppose this is good bye then,

Live strong Mira and tell Grandpa that I will do my best to make him proud!

Lucy Dragneel.

Mira's sobs brought the attention of the guild back down to earth, her bottom lip was quivering, tears streaming freely from her eyes. Lisanna was at her side in moments, taking the paper carefully from her older sister's hand.

She took a moment to read through the roughly scribbled note before she felt hot tears sting her eyes as well.

"S-she can't…" The words hung in the air, as a group of friends tried to calm the two sisters.

Her sharp intakes of breath came in harsh quick successions, the exertion of running through the vast expanse of the castle's main floor leaving her breathless. Her heart was pounding painfully as it attempted to get oxygen to her aching muscles. The blonde woman had not felt this insecure for a long time, and she knew that doubting herself was only going to hurt in the long run, but she couldn't stop the flood of worried imaginings from flooding her mind. She struggled to keep her frayed nerves lying beneath the surface where her enemies could not reach, knowing that her composure would be one weapon she couldn't afford to lose.

"Are you ready?" Lucy hadn't even realized that they had reached their destination until Bastion laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked sideways meeting his worried amber eyes with a sigh.

"As I'll ever be." She muttered quietly pushing her shaking arms forward against the cold metal doors.

"You can do this, I know you can." As the words left the red haired man's mouth, Lucy felt cold steel clamp down around her wrists, and the undeniable bite of a blade to her throat.

"I may not be allowed to kill you, your highness, but I can assure you that I will not hesitate to scar you." The icy voice whispered closely to the blonde's ear, she noted a sense of satisfaction in the man's voice as his blade drew blood in order to drive his point home.

"I came here to speak with your master; I have no want nor need to go against you now." Lucy kept her voice calm and even, trying to hide the unease that she felt as the iron bands cut off her access to her magic. She had no idea how this man had been able to get within ten feet, without alerting her to his presence, but Lucy knew she needed to get out of those cuffs and fast.

"Where is Master Zeref then; he was supposed to be delivering you?" Confusion was thick in the man's voice now, and Lucy knew she needed to take advantage of it before her strength left her completely.

"He sent me ahead, so he could take care of my husband." The answer rolled right off her tongue, because it was partially the truth.

No further words were needed it seemed, because the man began muttering to himself. Only moments later Lucy was ushered past the doors, Bastion's limp body being dragged a short distance away by a second assailant.

Levy held her breath once more, as the battle field became eerily quiet for a second time. When the dust cleared she knew that Laxus wouldn't be getting up again. His broken body laid completely still half of him disappearing in a ditch, with his long golden hair sprayed so that she couldn't see his face. It was easy to see the wound that had finally taken the lightning mage down, the gore of it stood out in sharp contrast to the dull muddy colors around it. Blood still poured from the gaping hole on his side, further staining his white shirt in an ugly shade of crimson.

It would fall to her to take care of the wounded since Wendy was gone; Levy already knew this because she was the only one with a rational head in the face of a battle. She had to make sure to use her magic wisely during this fight, because her hard headed husband was just as anxious as the lightning mage was to see this man before them fall to his knees, which would end the same way she was sure.

She said a silent thank you to the earth dragons that had helped her prepare for this day as her hands began to rhythmically jot down the symbols of the ancient dragon script. She quickly prepared a barrier that would protect the wounded when the time arrived, which she knew wouldn't take long; she was right, by the time she had a chance to look up, Gajeel was on the field next to Laxus. It took one swift kick before the blonde haired man was across the barrier lines. Levy watched her husband in awe, he never turned his back to her, but she could feel the tension of his anger pulsing off him in waves.

"Keep that weakling safe, I will take care of this monster myself." Gajeel's face was stoic at best, his whole body growing stiff as his anger grew. Levy gave no answer as she pulled her medical kit from her bottomless bag. She wasted no time, tearing away the blood soaked fabric and tending to the lightning mage's worst wounds.

The battle field was spattered with blood from both men, but Laxus' was far more bountiful. The landscape was nearly unrecognizable now that a majority of trees in the surrounding area had been uprooted, or burned to ashes. Large craters in the ground made Gajeel's advances more difficult, but he had never once backed down from a fight just because the terrain wasn't ideal. He had fought the Salamander is a crumbling building for god sake, so a couple divots would barely slow him down.

Vulpi looked over at the pink haired mage with a raised brow. Something about how still Natsu had become seemed somewhat unnatural to the spirit, but then again he wasn't nearly as familiar with Natsu's behaviors as he was with his master's. The fox spirit looked across to Loki for guidance, but saw the lion held the same stoic position, his eyes hard as he watched the next battle progress.

Gajeel held his ground for the first portion of their battle, but this was common, both men were feeling out their opponent's strengths and weaknesses. Natsu watched each movement carefully the same as he had with Laxus' fight. Each step forward, every burst of magical energy had a pattern to it, Natsu knew this better than most. Gajeel grinned as he wiped a trail of blood from his broken lip, usually this was the point where the dark haired man would start throwing insults but Natsu could see that Gajeel was far beyond the need to goad his opponent.

"Damn it all!" A metal cased hand plowed into the far wall, bit of debris raining down as the hand was removed once more.

"Erza calm down." Jellal attempted to put a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder, but the pure look of fury she was sending him made the blue haired man think better of the action.

"Calm down? How can I possibly calm down when my friends have very possibly gone to their deaths?" Erza's voice shook uncontrollably with both anger and fear. She couldn't get Lucy's voice out of her head, that last Lycrima message had sounded too much like a final farewell, and now she knew that it most certainly could have been meant that way.

"Erza be reasonable, they have trained for this very moment since they were children. It is not your burden to bear!" Jellal said a little more forcefully.

"There is no reason in her death, in anyone's death!" Erza's voice hitched, showing signs that she was biting back tears of anger.

"Erza, listen to him, there is nothing we can do but wait." Gray leaned himself against a wall far enough away that Erza couldn't cause him any immediate pain. He was having trouble digesting the situation as much as the next, but he knew that getting worked up wasn't going to do anything but wear him out.

"Lucy-nee knows what she is doing, it's dangerous, oh so very dangerous, but she will come home with the same smile as before." Wendy threw herself into one of the overstuffed chairs, not bothering to fix her skirt as it road up her thigh.

"We are not dealing with simple mages here; they are going against the most evil dark mage who ever walked this earth!" Erza pointed out, with a hiss of fury.

"Do you want to see what is going on then?" A sleek voice came from the door way.

"How would we accomplish that, Ultear?" Erza wanted to punch the wall again, even though it would be far more gratifying to punch the person who was threating her friends.

"Follow me."

Lucy coughed uncomfortable from the pressure that was building around her throat, her eyes trained steadily on a dark spot on the cool gray marble floor.

"Give me a favorable answer and I'll have them release you." This man's voice had haunted her dreams since she was a small child, even if she could never remember his face, she would always recognize that low hum edged with madness. Lucy was sure how, but she had always known that one day she would be here in front of this arrogant man, on her knees no less, listening to him spout off his ridiculous notions of grandeur.

"N-n-n-ev-ve-er" Lucy hissed as she struggled to replace the breath that speaking had taken from her lungs. Another cough raked her body, and she could hear Bastion calling out from the other side of the room for them to release her. She was grateful to know he was still alive; the bash that he took to the head was certainly enough to knock him clean out, it was one more ounce of worry lifted from her mind.

"Ungrateful little worm, I shall deal with you later." His dark eyes narrowed as he spoke to the red haired man who was locked in a magic draining cage. This man was certainly not an imbecile; he knew it was useless to think he could contend with normal Mages let alone a group of the most powerful and reckless of all of them. He may be in a sense immortal, but that did not exempt his from things like pain. Yes, pain and suffering were things he knew could affect him very well, even if a dagger could not end his existence, he would still bleed were he to be stabbed.

Silence fell once more, Lucy struggled against the invisible restraints, but there was no way out of this phantom's choke hold. Black dots began to swim in front of her eyes, as each breath became more of a chore.

"Zeref must think I am losing my mind." He ran a hand through his long dark hair before kneeling down in front of Lucy. He reached out with a long delicate finger, propping the blonde's chin up so he could get a better look at her face. He pushed away some loose hair with his other hand and laughed. "He must know that I can always see what he does, hear what he says, and know how he feels. Perhaps we have been separated for too long though, and he has forgotten due to our distance."

Lucy struggled, trying to pull herself out of the man's ice cold grip, but the lack of oxygen was making her weaker by the moment. She could already feel the world start to slip out from underneath of her, twisting and swirling in a fascinating mixtures of colors and sounds that didn't completely reach her any more.

"Natsu will kill Zeref, you'll see, and then we'll go after you and that horrible pet of yours!" Bastion screamed. Lucy wanted to call out to him, but when she opened her mouth, consciousness slipped out of her grasp, and she fell into a pool of endless blackness.

Gajeel coughed, splattering the ground with an unhealthy amount of blood. "T-They sent reinforcements." He called as loudly as he could manage in his current state.

"You've done enough; we'll take it from here." Natsu stepped forward, flames licking every inch of his body.

"You can't take them all alone!" Levy cried out from behind the barrier.

"We will have his back." Loki called over to the blue haired mage with a sultry wink. Natsu paid no mind to the chaos that broke out all around him; his eyes were fixed on the dark haired mage whose eyes were glistening with unshed tears. Remorse and fear were so thick in the air that Natsu could feel it like a light mist in the air; he could smell the tang of it wafting around in the breeze like a sick perfume.

Natsu's features were set like stone in hard lines the flickering fire throwing ghastly shadows along his jaw and the hallows of his muscular neck. He watched his prey as he had always been taught, with calm indifference. He had to put his worries about Lucy to the back of his mind; he had to push everything to the back. Loki took off to the left, grabbing Gajeel under the arm, dragging his dead weight back to the tight lipped Levy.

"I can't do much with this barrier still up, Natsu please be careful." Levy shook violently as she watched her friend stop for a moment, though he didn't turn, she could see him nod his head slightly.

The corridor was long and narrow with so many twists and turns that Gray found himself feeling slightly dizzy. Wendy and Romeo rounded out the end of their party, as they finally came out onto a landing. Gray could feel his jaw drop as he looked into the vast expanses of the room.

Ultear was already moving further into the dim light, Gray's eyes widened when he realized where the light was coming from.

"The observation lycrima are still in place." Jellal breathed with uncertainty. "I can't believe they are still working after all this time."

The small group converged upon the large crystal like structure as Ultear summoned Wendy forward. The blue haired teen gave a small gulp before reaching out her hand to the crystal as she was told. Within moments the screen flickered to life. A large projection was cast out with an eerie glow, its image spilt in two. A gasp ran through the group as the picture of a war zone came to life.

"Is that really Zeref?" Wendy found herself unable to hold the question back.

They watched as Natsu strolled across the war torn clearing, their view obscured at points by the smoke and dust still rising from the earth. Erza could see the taunt muscles of Natsu arms flex sending a fresh wave of flames billowing from his entire body. The dark haired man who was half hidden in the lining of the trees didn't even dodge, and they heard a feral growl coming from Natsu as his blast was absorbed in a black sphere of dark matter.

"Yes, that is him." Ultear's voice shook against her will. "But where is Lucy, I can't see here anywhere." At her mention of the name, another screen flickered to life. Their collective attention was turned to the other screen.

"Lucy-nee!" Wendy cried out, seeing the blonde woman lying unconscious on a marble floor. A cruel looking man with dark hair, and cold eyes shook his head.

"It would seem that Lady Lucy has gone off on her own, to meet the Earth King." The elder mage commented with a disapproving sigh.

"Do you mean to say that this man is the third King?" Erza's cheeks were flaming red with anger.

"Shh, he's about to say something!" Wendy hissed. The room grew silent as they watched in horror.

"Do you truly believe that you can save them this way, my love? Have you been deluded by these promises of peace, of a world where everyone can love and be loved? Darling Lucy, you must know that I've watched you through your whole existence, I know you, like no other man can know you. I Know you don't expect to live in the world you plan to create." The dark haired man bent to his knees, casually lifting a lock of her long golden hair to his mouth. He inhaled deeply, and kissed the end of it before turning his eyes toward his other prisoner.

"You leave her alone Maso! Lucy won't bow down to you; she's far too smart to fall for your tricks! You are powerless before her!" Bastion's voice sounded drained, and weak, but the conviction behind his words was as firm as ever.

"I'll silence you permanently soon, filthy worm." Bastion fell back against the wall, clutching the invisible arm that was pinned against his windpipe. "A worthless insect like you should never speak the name of a god so casually."

A choking sound echoed through the vast hall, followed by the raving laughter of a mad man.

The observation run was deadly quiet, watching as Lucy twitched, on the floor. The mages watched her mouth something and her body fell limp, her chest ceasing to rise and fall. Gray watched with a sick feeling overwhelming his stomach; he had seen here like this before, where her body was torn to shreds, her life seemingly extinguished.

"It's me that you want."

Natsu dug his heels into the dirt as he braced for the next attack. Magic sparked between the two mages like an electrical current, making the air thick. He was being pushed back, again and again, but he still couldn't figure out how Zeref's mind worked. At moments he would use his dark magic killing everything that was within range, and then out of the blue he summoned a pair of swords that looked far too big for his frail young body.

Natsu allowed himself to become distracted once too many times as he looked to see the state that his comrades were in, and had to pay the price. Shining blades of gold came slicing through the air with such force that it would have cut a normal human in two. Natsu's forearms caught the blades, causing a cascade of fresh blood to rain down over the charred earth underfoot.

Natsu cursed under his breath, barely hardening his skin in enough time to avoid major damage. Off in the distance, screams of pain filled the air as Loki and Vulpi beat down the reinforcements. Neither was showing any mercy to their prey, leaving several of the young men maimed and bleeding. Lupus and Lynx were nowhere to be seen, and Levy was working franticly on the wounded, just trying to put a stop to the bleeding.

Laxus was by far the worst, his skin had gone a grayish shade, and dark shadows had already begun to rim his closed eyes. Levy feared that the eldest of them would not make it through to see the end of this battle.

"WHY ARE YOU HOLDING BACK!?" Natsu's eyes narrowed at the man's question. Why should Zeref care if Natsu was holding back, did it really matter in the end?

"Why are you?" A growl ripped from Natsu as he knocked one of Zeref's swords off into the trees.

"You need to kill me, you must kill me!" Desperation was thickening the dark mage's voice, so much that it seemed he was choking on his own words.

"Tell me where Lucy is." Natsu growled. Zeref jumped back letting his arms fall limp to his sides. He knew Natsu could be stubborn, but this was getting ridiculous.

"Two miles to the north and four to the east, you will find a grand palace by the sea. She will be held within the walls of the Earth King's domain."

"So you finally break free from your human limitations? You realize that this is exactly what I wanted right?" A menacing grin spread across his dark features, making him look as though the insanity inside was beginning to pour out in waves from his hot gaze.

"You have no power over me, not in this form. I will destroy you before you can touch any of my family." Lucy's eyes sparkled golden in dim light of the throne room. She started stepping forward towards Maso, casting aside her fears. She welcomed the icy grip of death in that moment, so long as it meant she would be able to destroy Maso along with his family's curse.

A/N:: Yeah! I finally posted this chapter! woot!