AN: I love this chapter and I am very proud of it so I hope you guys like it just as much as I do! This chapter was inspired by my regular guest reviewer Alexa! Thank you so much for some of the ideas you've given me and I hope I did them justice and I hope you enjoy the most! :D

Chapter 16

Mira, Makarov, Loke, Wendy, and Carla were running somewhere deep in the woods, searching for their companions, most importantly Lucy. The females in the group had no idea what kind of spell Lucy had learned, but knew it was a matter of grave importance if their master was so serious about it. They had been running for miles; Wendy was surprised her legs hadn't given out on her. Worry filled each of them to the bone, hoping that they would make it in time.

"Master," Mira began, "what spell are you two talking about? How is Lucy going to kill herself and everyone else?"

Makarov opened his mouth only to close it once again. He shook his head and replied, "There is no time for that. For now, we must run and pray we make it in time."

Loke knew that they were still at least a half hour away. Judging by the time Lucy had left him, she wasn't much farther away from Natsu and the others. Despair engulfed the boy. He was about to lose another master whom he had loved so much. Nobody had ever treated him and the other spirits with such respect and kindness that the bubbly blonde had, and it was killing him that she may die because of a spell he had taught her.

"Please Lucy," he thought, rubbing away the tears that were escaping his eyes, "just wait for us."

Lucy ran through the woods, leaves and branches hitting her body. She shielded Lucas from these obstacles, but never slowed down despite his begs. There was no time to slow down. Natsu was losing too much blood. She needed to get there to save Natsu and the others. Crystalline tears hadn't stopped streaming from her chocolate brown eyes, blurring her vision. But that didn't stop her. At this point, nothing would.

Just a few yards ahead of her, Lucy noticed trees that were melting from what looked like lava. The blonde felt an intense heat from up above and she knew that it had to be the remnants of Natsu's magic from his battle. Forcing her legs to go faster, the girl ran with all of her might and felt her heart stop beating when she finally approached the group.

Amber and Johnathon were lying unconscious, hand in hand. Happy was nearby, his fur matted in blood. Erza had severe gashes over her body while Gray's usually pale skin had turned into a nasty purple as most of his body was covered in painful bruises. Three of the enemies were knocked out, two of them tied together with rope. Last but not least, her gaze landed on Natsu.

If Lucy felt her heart stop before, then this time it had stopped completely and surely she was dead. His skin was missing over his right hand and his entire right leg. The ends of his hair were no longer pink, but were instead a deep shade of red as they had been soaking in his own blood. In fact, Natsu himself laid in a huge pool of his own crimson blood. Loke wasn't kidding, he really was bleeding out.

"So you escaped, Miss Lucy Heartfilia," a grim voice sounded to the left of her. As she expected, it was Takeshi, his thin lips brought into a wicked smile. "That is of no matter. I suppose I can kill you as well. But first, let me finish off this boy. I can't let him get away with injuring me, after all."

A smaller black hole was brought just in front of his hand and he slowly inched it towards Natsu's face, his smile growing more unpleasant by the second. Just as he was inches apart from colliding his black hole with Natsu's sleeping face, Lucy was finally brought out of her trance. Pulling out her whip, the blonde thrust it at him and latched it onto his wrist, stopping his movements.

"Lucas," she shakily managed to let out, "go to your parents and stay by them. Do not move." The little boy did as he was told and scurried away from the angry blonde. For once, Lucas actually feared his savior more than his captor.

"Oh, Miss Lucy. When will you ever stop playing these games?" Takeshi asked, turning his attention back towards the celestial mage. "Oh well, I suppose I could start with you."

Creating another black hole with his left hand, the evil mage brought it towards the whip that was encircling his dominant wrist. It was torn to shreds immediately, just as Natsu's skin was. Lucy stared at her weapon and tossed it aside. Closing her eyes, the blonde clasped her hands together and began to mumble.

"This spell again, Lucy?" Takeshi asked, followed by ugly cackles. "When will you ever learn? Oh well, go ahead! Use your spell! It's the last thing you'll be able to do anyways!"

As Lucy continued mumbling the necessary chants, her whole body became enveloped in the brightest magical circle Takeshi had ever seen. Sure, celestial spirit magic was always bright as it relied on the power of the stars, but this was just ridiculous. The light was blinding, and the spell hadn't even begun. That's when it struck him: this wasn't the same spell. No, this one was much stronger.

For once, Takeshi had felt fear course through his veins. Deciding not to let her finish her spell, the man threw a large black hole towards the blonde. However, it was stopped and evaporated by an invisible force field that surrounded Lucy.

Lucy finally opened her eyes. She had stopped mumbling and instead was staring with an emotionless look at Takeshi. Her enemy. The one that had severely hurt Natsu. Natsu. That five letter name continued to replay in her mind, reminding her of the hatred she felt for the man that stood in front of her. Slowly raising her arms up, the blonde relished in the look of fear that was featured upon his face. When her slender arms were completely raised above her head, twelve bright lights encircled the group of people. She was starting the spell.

As Loke led the way throughout the deep forest, he felt his whole body being drained of magical power. He had used so much materializing in front of Natsu and the others, followed by Lucy, and now the guild. Not only that, but he had stayed to show them the way towards his master. He could see the melted trees, they were just ahead, only ten more minutes away! His determination to save Lucy kept him going. That is, until a blinding light surrounded him.

"Shit!" the lion spirit cursed.

"Loke!" Mira shouted in worry. "What is that light!?"

"She's starting the spell!" Makarov shouted.

"Hurry!" Loke yelled. "Since I am being brought to her, she has only finished the first set of chants needed! I can't stop her! Go towards the melted trees and you'll find them! Go now and save Lucy, plea-"

With that, the orange-haired spirit was gone, along with the flash of light that enveloped him. The group turned their attention back towards the melted trees and lava, and sure enough, they could sense Lucy's magical power.

"We must hurry!" Makarov stated, dashing towards the right direction.

Lucy was stunned as she watched spirits being summoned into the bright lights. First was Aries, followed by Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer. With another push of energy, the blonde summoned Leo. He was clearly distraught, but it seemed that all of the magical energy he had lost before was now being filled as Lucy continued her chants. Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius were next. The next bright light that was supposed to showcase a zodiac spirit remained empty. Lucy knew that was were Aquarius would be if she were still alive and shed even more tears for her fallen friend. This only pushed Lucy to try more as she summoned the last zodiac spirit, Pisces.

By now, Erza's eyes were slowly fluttering open due to the bright light that surrounded her. Gray's eyes followed in pursuit as he had woken up seconds later. The two looked around and gasped at the sight surrounding them. Lucy was enveloped by bright light, all eleven of the supreme celestial spirits circling them. Erza looked to see Natsu, still unconscious.

"Gray," the red-head let out, choking on her own blood immediately after. "Go to Natsu. Wake him."

"I don't think that I can," the ice mage replied. He willed for his legs to move, but it was futile.

"Yes you can. You are in a far better condition than I. Please, find a way."

Gray cursed under his breath but complied. The mage flipped himself over onto his stomach and winced at the pain. He could tell that his legs were broken, along with a couple of his ribs, but he pushed himself to continue. Using his arms, which were the least injured surprisingly, the boy army crawled slowly towards the unconscious dragon slayer. When he finally approached Natsu, Gray used the rest of his energy to shake the pinkette awake.

Natsu's onyx eyes slowly fluttered open and he was immediately reminded of the pain. However, he quickly forgot about that as he found Lucy standing just a few feet in front of him in the brightest light he had ever seen before in his life. Slowly turning his head, he found all of the zodiac spirits- even the ones that weren't contracted to Lucy- surrounding them.

"Lu… Cy…" was all that escaped his mouth in a barely audible tone. He couldn't speak. Instead, he could only will himself to stay awake and watch.

All eleven of the remaining zodiac were in a circle around them. Lucy remembered how she and Yukino were ecstatic that Loke and Libra were going to teach them both a new spell. The blonde also remembered being told that it would summon all of the zodiac, even if they didn't have a contract with them, making it the ultimate celestial spell. She then remembered the look of urgency as Loke told her to never use it unless absolutely necessary. Seeing Natsu lying in a pool of his own blood made the blonde deem it as necessary.

The first set of chants were to get the twelve gates of the zodiacs. By unclasping her hands and raising her arms above her head, Lucy was able to begin the second set of chants. This allowed her to summon the spirits and to fill them with any lost magical power. Finally, Lucy's mumbling stopped. Bringing her arms back down to her side, the blonde felt a wave of dizziness throughout her body. Ignoring it, she set her gaze onto Takeshi, who was standing still, frozen in fear. It was time.

"Celeste Spirit Mode: Activa-"

"LUCY!" a sudden voice rang from behind the girl. Lucy looked over her shoulder to see Makarov, Mira, Wendy, and Carla running towards her. The worried expressions on their faces didn't go unnoticed.

"M-Master?" Lucy questioned, surprised to see them there. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to stop you," the short, old man said with a grave tone.

"W-What do you mean?"

"You can't use that spell, Lucy."

The blonde's eyes widened and a pang of betrayal ran through her. Can't use the spell? What the hell was he talking about? Did he not see Natsu and the others?

"What are you talking about!?" she screamed. "Natsu is in danger! He was going to kill him!"

"I understand that, but you must not use the spell."

At this point, Lucy had become utterly irrational. Shaking her head furiously, she turned her attention back towards Takeshi, reminded once again of the pain he had caused the man she loved. She refused to let him get away.

"I need to kill him," she finally said. "He hurt Natsu. I will kill him. Celeste Spirit Mode-"

"LUCY LISTEN TO ME!" Makarov shouted, once again gaining her attention. "Please just listen to me!"

"No, he could get away if you distract me!"

"No he can't! I know more about this spell than you do! There is a force field not only around you, but also around the circle of the spirits! None can leave!"

"That's good, so let me just finish this-"

"Lucy! Listen to me, child! Indeed, that spell will kill him. But it will also kill you!"

Natsu's body flinched as he listened to his master's words.

"Kill Lucy?" he wondered. "Lucy is going to die?" Tears cascaded through his eyes once again at the thought of losing his best friend and the love of his life. "No. Lucy can't die. I won't let that happen."

Following in Gray's example, Natsu brought his arms ahead of him and slowly tried to army crawl towards Lucy. The feeling of his right hand touching the dirt sent waves of cruel pain throughout his body. It was even worse feeling his right leg, which was devoid of any skin, being dragged across the ground. He knew it was going to get infected. It didn't matter though. He had to stop Lucy. Since he couldn't speak, this was his only option. He would rather feel like death than let Lucy die.

"I don't care if I die!" Lucy spat out, not noticing the pink-haired below that was very slowly approaching her. Her judgement was completely clouded at the moment. "I need to do this!"

"Are you prepared to see Natsu die as well then!?" Makarov shouted back, losing his patience with the blonde. "Allow me to educate you since Loke did not. The first person to use this spell and the creator was none other than your own mother, Layla Heartfilia."

"M-Mama?"

"Yes, and that is why she had died."

Lucy blinked once, then twice as tears quickly flooded her eyes, blurring her vision entirely. She then blinked them away, shaking her head slowly in denial. "T-There's no way… I was there when she died… She died of illness…"

"She died of magical deficiency. Celeste Spirit Mode is indeed one of the strongest spells known to man. Your mother was the strongest celestial spirit mage that had ever lived, and it is clear that you are following in her footsteps. However, while her sacrifice was respectable, your actions are ill-thought and foolish, Lucy."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Celeste Spirit Mode drains the magical power of the user, making them unable to use magic. As you know, magic is our life force. However, it only leaves the tiniest speck, allowing the user to live for a short period of time, though they are unable to use their magic. That is how she went back to see you before she had passed."

"B-But what did she fight?"

Makarov sighed and continued, "One of the strongest demons Zeref had ever created. It was rampaging throughout an entire city, killing most of the citizens. When your mother arrived, set on using the spell that she had created, she was aware that she was going to die. However, she didn't know that the survivors that were encompassed in the spell would die as well as the demon. Thus, after she killed the demon and found that she had also killed the innocent citizens, she had returned home to you, not only with a frail and dying body, but also with a serious depression."

Lucy brought her hands to her face and sobbed into them. "T-That's not possible… She was always so happy…"

"That is because you were her greatest joy, Lucy. But at the moment, your grief of seeing Natsu in pain has blinded you and caused you to think irrationally. If you were to use that spell, you would have no choice but to watch as you kill Natsu and the others."

Lucy continued to sob uncontrollably, but didn't call off the spell. She was too distracted by the new information about her mother to remember what she was doing. That is, until she felt something grasp onto her ankle. Gasping, the blonde looked down and saw Natsu holding onto her.

"Don't… die…" he said, his voice barely audible.

With that, Lucy fell to her knees and held onto the pink-haired boy for dear life. She cried and cried into his torn vest, feeling a minor sense of comfort. Finally, the light around her and the spirits dimmed until it eventually disappeared completely.

"I'm so sorry, Natsu!" she cried out, clutching onto him even tighter. "I almost-"

"It doesn't matter… Just stop crying already, sheesh. Y-You're getting snot all over me."

Lucy giggled and then hiccupped due to her incessant crying. Erza and Gray smiled and let their heads lay back on the ground, their bodies relaxing once more. Mira and Wendy wiped tears out of their eyes, glad that Lucy was finally in her right mind again. Then the petite dragon slayer scurried towards the two and began to heal Natsu.

"No you don't!" a sudden voice boomed.

Lucy and Wendy looked to see Takeshi quickly sending a huge, ominous black hole towards them. The blonde positioned herself above both Natsu and Wendy so that she would take most if not all of the damage. She had no more magical power, not to mention the fact that she didn't have her keys. This was it.

"FAIRY LAW!" Makarov shouted as he cast one of Fairy Tail's most powerful spells just in time. It quickly filled the black hole as it came just inches away from Lucy. The light also began to heal wounds and refill lost magical power. Takeshi was left unconscious on the floor, his clothes tattered and his hair disintegrated. It was finally over.

Wendy quickly went to work to finish healing Natsu. She had definitely gotten stronger over the year since the guild disbanded. Lucy could literally see skin being regenerated over Natsu's leg and hand. Knowing that her friends were alright, the blonde's eyes slowly began to droop closed. And she let them.

AN: I hope you guys loved it as much as I did :') Please leave reviews! :D

FireShifter: Yay she didn't do the spell! :D Thanks to Makarov haha! Thanks for the review :)

Beginswithkay: Haha I love cliffhangers! :D Hopefully this chapter made up for it! Thank you!

Alexa: THANK YOU FOR THE INSPIRATION OF MY FAVORITE CHAPTER SO FAR. Seriously, this chapter was all thanks to you and I love it! :D I am glad you gave me so many ideas and I sincerely hope that you liked this chapter! :') And thank you about my writing! I have another nalu story up if you're interested and there will be plenty more to come! :D

MirorFlame: HAHA SORRY BUT THE KILLING WITH SUSPENSE MUST BE DONE! At least this chapter cleared everything up :D Btw, who is your least favorite Fairy Tail ship? :)

12Rayne: Which is just the reaction I was looking for! :D Haha thanks for the review again :D