So, you all are probably angry with me that I haven't posted in months... right? I have to seriously apologize for that. There were several things that happened all at once, like my computer taking a nose dive into oblivion. My husband had to wipe the hard drive completely... so needless to say all the work I had done on EVERY fic I was working on went right out the window. A lot of other boring things happened as well, but that all lead up to the super long wait for you guys...
I'M SO SORRY! Any how, it's been such a long time since the last post so we shall take a moment to catch up on the story so far.
::from the beginning of book 3::
The gang spends the first half of the book traveling to the dragons lair, where they set off to train with their own tutors. Two years pass in the world of the dragons, and every member of the dragon colony comes home with a huge power boost in preparation to fight off Zeref and the Black Dragon. The dark guilds are being mobilized for reasons unmentioned, and it's up to the legal guilds to protect the country, whether the magic council likes it or not. In preparation for disapproval, Lucy and Levy over throw the council before heading back to be with the rest of the gang.
Meanwhile, Wendy returns from her secret mission to retrieve Bastion, who was once a friend of Lucy's. His mind had been so twisted in the process of being controlled that he was no longer himself even though he still tried to resist. His ocular prowess has not been mentioned up to this point in great detail, but it will come in handy in the future.
Now to where we actually left off. The group who was charged with rebuilding the council from scratch has found a room where Lycrima vision has been set up all over the country, and they are currently watching Lucy and Natsu as they both fight this seemingly never ending battles with batted breath.
"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.
"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 frantically 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 roar that shook the ground beneath the whole of Fiore erupted from the center of a wall of flames that had once been Natsu Dragneel. Everything within a twenty foot radius swiftly turned to ash, as the monstrous figure began to spark with a pulsating electrical current. His eyes burned crimson as he zeroed in on his prey, a twisted smile taking over his distorted features when the dark eyes of his prey locked with his own. Any normal human would have run for the hills by this point, screaming for his life to be spared, but the dark haired mage who was currently the monster's opponent stood firm, though he could feel himself shiver under the pressure of magic energy from the other young man.
For once in his four hundred plus years of living, Zeref felt himself tremble with real fear. Death was certain at this point; it had to be this way in order for the link between his life and his brother's to be severed. He had known this would need to happen in order to stop the senseless violence the two had waged on earth land for nearly half a millennium. Truth be told, he feared death as much as any other man, but he had come to terms with his fate a very long time ago.
Sacrifices would need to be made in order for the world to live in peace, and Zeref knew his life was not the only one that was to be forfeited on this day of atonement. Deep down he just hoped that Natsu would deliver a swift end, hopefully free of pain. One great blazing attack from flames as strong as what the mage was radiating would be enough to obliterate even the bones that remained behind leaving nothing but a pile of ash as proof that Zeref had once stood there.
A twisted smile marred the dark mage's face as he considered the possibility of a quick demise. It simply wasn't going to happen, not when the dragon slayer was this far gone. Anger had progressed into pure rage, and it seemed as though the Natsu he had once known was no longer present. This monster looked as though he would enjoy the pain his flames inflicted on his prey.
Zeref knew he would have to force the infamous Salamander into a corner, yes that was the only way to ensure that this ended quickly. He could not allow there to be time for him to recover between attacks, Zeref knew that it would become a never ending cycle if he did so. He needed this to end in one swift blow.
A black swirling cloud surrounded the dark mage in a last effort to convince the younger mage that he still had life left in him. It wasn't going to hold for long, since his magic was running almost on reserves, but it would give the illusion that he was still putting up a fight. This was all he needed, to convince the Dragon slayer that he was still alive and kicking. Wave after wave of flames rammed against the thin barrier, as though they were searching for any weak spot. It wasn't long before cracks started to appear, allowing ribbons of searing heat into the protective sphere.
Tears stung Zeref's dark eyes as he allowed his shield to fully break against the assault. Natsu was only a few feet away, and Zeref could see the cold expression the stole away the light that usually played in the dragon slayer's eyes. The Natsu that he had observed as a young man seemed long gone by this point, concealed within the shell of the beast that was now facing him.
Natsu's skin had gone ridged with what appeared to be scales, his teeth elongating to the point that they hung over his bottom lip. The image was absolutely terrifying, and yet the dark haired mage felt himself rooted to the spot even though every nerve in his body was screaming at him to run for the hills. Zeref suppressed a shiver of fear as Natsu took another step towards him, the ground underneath withering even further as the flames that licked the young man's body doubled in strength.
On the far side of the field Levy struggled to keep her barrier up against the force of Natsu's rage. Tears streamed freely from her eyes as she worked tirelessly at the dragon script that was all that protected her and the rest of the family from the ungodly heat of Natsu's strongest flames.
Laxus still lay unconscious, but the bleeding had finally stopped, giving Levy an opportunity to administer a potion to help restore that which he had already lost. Gajeel was in a much better state, though she could tell he had broken several bones during his fight. The blue haired mage had forced a sleeping draft on her husband to spare him from the pain, even if he wouldn't admit that he felt any in the first place.
"Kill me Natsu, if you want her to live then I must die." Any humanity that was left in Natsu's eyes vanished as the words met his ears. He released another terrifying roar before sending a fresh column of flames billowing from his mouth.
The intensity of these deep golden flames was unlike anything Zeref had ever encountered before. Within seconds his shield was completely shattered, and his clothing began to disintegrate floating like dust in the wind around him. In the last few moments of his consciousness, one thought prevailed above all the pain. Save her Natsu, Save Lucy and the world.
Back in Era a group of stunned mages found themselves practically holding their breath as the observed the two scenes. Wendy's eyes were wide with shock as he head kept swivling back and forth between the blinding flames and the glowing woman who was standing in the open.
Lucy smiled at her opponent uttering something that the lycrima couldn't pick up on. She took a step closer to the dark haired man, and extended her hand out to him. Her gown billowed out around her as she moved as if she were the air itself.
"What is she doing?" Gray was the first to cry out, ignoring the battle of his former rival. "Her body is completely vulnerable!"
The statement hung heavily in the air between the mages as they listen for what would happen next. Erza fought the urge to hide her face int he fabric or Jellal's coat while Elfman and Romeo wept openly at the prospects of Lucy's demise.
"This is what you wanted is it not?" The blonde woman stood tall bringing herself to her full height. "Leave the others be, and I'll go willingly." She only had one opportunity to get this right, and she was going to do it even if it killed her.
The dark eyes of the third king roamed over Lucy's body for a long moment, settling where the bust of her gown allowed a generous amount of of her cleavage to spill over. The pendent Natsu had given her so very long ago was peeking out just over the edge, and the man knew exactly what meaning the trinket held. Lucy didn't need to follow his eyes to understand the command. Maso needed proof, and her symbol of affection towards Natsu was perfect.
"You understand that this means you belong to me right?" Lucy was glad that she was so skilled with hiding contempt from all the years of practice she got with Jude Heartfilia, because if the man standing before her could sense the sheer malice and contempt that was pooling in the blonde's stomach he surely would have run her right through.
Without taking her eyes off of her captor, Lucy reached up and yanked the chain from her neck, breaking the clasp in the process. The small metal trinket fell to the floor, as a fake smile spread across her lips. "As you wish my lord." She bowed her head forward only slightly.
Meanwhile Bastion had come back to his senses, yet was unable to speak due to the pressure that had been applied to his wind pipe. He desperately wanted to scream, and tell Lucy to run while she still had the chance, but the words caught in his throat. Frustrated tears rimmed his eyes as he held onto the cage bars, pleading silently that she come back to her senses.
There was only one way to end this, Lucy was well aware, and as she drew nearer to her worst enemy she only hoped that her family would forgive her once it was all finished.
Gray choked as the small piece of metal hit the marble floor and lay there forgotten. Lucy's steps were taking her closer to this stranger, and she was doing it of her own free will. "What the hell is wrong with you Lucy?" He bellowed at the screen, even though he knew she couldn't hear him.
"Lucy, please don't so this." Erza pleaded in a small voice. She couldn't bring herself to believe that Lucy was actually going to give up her life in this way. Nor did any of the others present.
So there will only be 1 or 2 more chapters, don't worry I don't plan on making you all wait forever again! Feel free to PM me your opinions even if they are mean!