"Go on ahead, I'll bring Lucy once we've finished our business with that psycho." Natsu tried his best to give the others an encouraging smile, even though he knew it was only a pathetic attempt. He could tell that none of them were buying his facade anyway, so he soon let it slip into a solid frown. "Come on Loki, I might need you to help me track her."
Lucy followed silently behind Maso as they made their way along the deep cavernous corridor. Light was sparse since the torches had been spread out thinly along the cave walls, not that it made a difference to Lucy. She knew her way in this maze like the back of her hand, even if she didn't openly share it with the man in front of her. She had access to the map in her companion's mind, so even if she had never dreamed of this place, Lucy would have been able to decipher it from there.
Thinking about the layout reminded the blonde of the dreams she had been experiencing for so long. The sight of Wendy falling in battle made her stomach churn. Sweet little Wendy was no longer a child, but to Lucy she would always need protecting. Lucy hoped she would never have to see the youngest of their little family in that sort of situation, even if Wendy wanted to fight.
That was only one of the dreams that she had been exposed to over the past year though, and every single one left her breathless with tears streaming down her face. Whether it was her cousin Laxus laying prone on the ground with a gaping whole in his side, or Levy screaming for help as smoke burned her lungs, Lucy had seen so many horrifying things that she had almost become numb to the pain.
Honestly it was enough to make anyone lose hope in a future that had a bright and happy ending, but Lucy knew she couldn't go quietly. No She was a Dragneel now, and that meant that she would finish this fight no matter how frightened she was, because there were people depending on her.
The blonde spirit mage was attempting to keep the courage that she had gathered at the mouth of this cave as the pair drew closer to the end of their journey together. A short ten minute walk and she would find herself standing before the Door of the Damned. A part of Lucy expected that knowing the outcome of her exchange might be the reason she was able to remain calm in a situation that seemed so dire. In all honesty it didn't matter at this point, even if she lost her calm Maso would drag her kicking and screaming to the place where he would call the Black Dragon. He would bleed her of power before destroying everyone that Lucy had ever loved.
She had watched a proud glowing spirit glide along these halls in those dreams, a look of pure determination in her golden eyes. Lucy wanted to be that spirit in this moment as she thought of the friends she had left behind. She continually told herself that her mission was to keep them safe, at any cost, yet fear continued to creep into the recesses of her mind. She knew she had to be strong for them, so that they could live on into a future that she could create with her sacrifice.
The only exception was her husband, Lucy's hands shook with uncertainty when she wondered about Natsu's future. She had never seen passed this point in her visions, so she had no way of knowing exactly what would come after her life came to an end.
Somewhere deep down she knew that Natsu would never forgive her for doing this without telling him first. She tried on several occasions to tell him everything, but every time the words caught in her throat. Natsu would never have allowed her to enact a plan that would cost her life, he would have insisted on finding another way. Lucy knew that he would have wasted precious time trying to find a solution that didn't exist. It was the reason that she decided to block him from their connection completely, Lucy knew that her best bet was to steel her nerves, and pretend that everything was going to be ok. She had to do this for the greater good, even if it would leave the person she loved the most scarred in a way that would never heal.
Her goal now was to keep Maso from summoning the Black Dragon, and to stay alive long enough to make sure that no one could ever use the chamber again. Lucy was going to give her everything to make it happen.
"You surprise me, Lucy." The sudden sound of Maso's voice caught Lucy off guard, making a squeak slip from under her carefully formed facade. Her slip was met with a cool chuckle from her 'companion' as he stopped dead in his tracks.
Lucy's heart began to race when his cold dark eyes landed on her.
Loki had never seen Natsu so distraught in all the time he had known the young man, and yet there was something eerily calm in his swift movements. The hot headed Natsu of the past seemed to be hiding just behind the surface, screaming for action to be taken, while this new Natsu tried to focus his mind on the images he had memorized in their hotel room not that long ago.
It seemed to Loki that Natsu knew where he needed to go now, which was a relief to the lion spirit because he honestly couldn't pin point his masters location any longer. The pink haired man took a deep breath before opening a new gate, then turned to the lion spirit wish a nod.
It was time to rescue Lucy from a fate that neither of them were completely certain of, but Loki could tell by the fire behind his friend's eyes that the situation had become dire.
There was a moment where everything went red in the young dragon slayer's vision. For the first time in her life, she was experiencing a form of anger so violent that to call it rage would be an understatement. Wendy's blood began to boil, while her whole body shook with the effort to contain the coming storm.
A roar that shook the whole building ripped itself from her small body as she lunged head long into the fray, displaying a ferocity none of her friends had ever experienced before.
Wendy's heart was pounding painfully in her ears, blocking out a majority of the mess that was going on all around her. Not that she could tell at this point, since she only had one goal, and that was to avenge her friend's demise. She tore through the hall searching for the traces of magic that had surrounded the area around Romeo, mercilessly destroying everything and anything in her way.
Within minutes the young woman was cover in just as much blood as Romeo, who lay still on the cold marble floor. Wendy tore viciously at the enemies in her way, ripping them limb from limb with her new slicing techniques. Her breath attack took on a crueler side, with her new frost abilities allowing her to instantly freezing all that was in her path. Her vision was red, keeping her from really seeing what she was doing in that moment, even the fact that she nearly sliced Meredy in two during her blinded rampage.
Through the mist and carnage, a laugh caught the blue haired mage's attention. Her ears zeroed in on the sound, to find the source smiling from under one of those black cloaks. Wendy's lips peeled back over her fangs on instinct, her body frozen as she came to a realization that she had found her target. There wasn't much space between the two mages, but to Wendy every step felt agonizingly slow and the distance seemed to go on forever.
A couple enemy mages attempted to stop Wendy as she proceeded to move forward, but she batted them back as simply as if they were mere flies. Wind began to swirl around her body, whipping her long hair like vines in a hurricane. Wendy's opponent sent a bolt of lightning in her direction, cackling like a maniac as it zipped towards her.
Bastion could do nothing but pound on the bars like a child locked away in the middle of a tantrum. His voice still failed him, but he never stopped mouthing the words he longed would echo across the large hall. "Lucy come back, please don't die!"
His bare hands had burns across the palms that looked as though he had been grasping a block of ice for hours instead of bars. The fingers were purple with lack of oxygen, the palms so raw that the the blood seeping down his wrists had already began to clot. Bastion's unchecked tears had carved rivets in his cheeks, as he cried out silently for his lost friend.
The red haired man was completely oblivious to all of this as he continued to try escaping from his prison cell.
He would have continued his tireless efforts, but a bright light caught him off guard. He watched a door way open, and two men step forward into the room.
It only took a few seconds for the guards to converge on the spot, and they were met with a wall of flames that swallowed them without mercy.
Bastion watched with batted breath as the two dispatched all of Maso's forces in the blink of an eye. His eyes grew wide when he realized who it was and started trying to call out to Natsu, waving his arms around like an idiot since his voice was still so weak.
The fire mage looked in the direction of the cage and then over to the thrown and that's when Bastion realized that Lucy's body was still laying at an odd angle at the foot of the platform.