The final number of chapters has been decided at last! :'D One more to go!
Thankyou all so much for your enthusiasm, your kind and excited reviews and wonderful contributions. Reviews really make my day! :3
It was just for a second, but in that small instance Lucy felt him fade from existence, and her heart froze even as the flame sprung to new life and fought its way back to reality.
But just as her heart, her feet froze too. Her body refused to take a single step further.
It didn't matter what Natsu said: his life was at stake, and dangerously so. He was hanging by a thread, and she sure as hell would not risk losing him, no matter how he kicked and screamed. Though, she thought bitterly, at this point he probably did not have the energy left.
"Natsu," she whispered, and felt the fire's attention on her. "What do I do?"
Panic took a hold of her.
She had to do something. But even as her frantic thoughts raced and her heart pounded, her mind came up empty. There was no way out of this. Nowhere to run.
And yet instinct told her that this was precisely what she should be doing, against all sense and logic – running. There was danger here, and yet she was standing still, and every part of her was screaming to run, to save herself and the two people that depended on her.
So she did.
Blind panic pushed her on, made her put one foot in front of the other with no regard as to where it landed. Muddy water splashed against her calves, and more than once she tripped over treacherous roots and stumbled against treetrunks, ran into branches she had not seen coming until it had been too late.
The forest was not on her side here; it did not aid its guardian.
The forest here was full of terrors.
All the while, Lucy clutched Natsu's little flame tightly against her chest, feeling Happy's weight on her back even as his claws did not reach all the way through the thick cloak.
Something was chasing her. She was sure of it.
And if she stopped – oh, if she stopped – something horrible and unspeakable would be right there, right behind her, reaching out and–
Her foot caught on a large root.
It was a hard fall despite the soft, wet ground. Lucy refused to let go of Natsu or to turn onto her back with Happy still clinging to her in desperation, and so all she could do was close her eyes and hope for the best.
The traitorous root pushed harshly into her side, and the air was driven from her lungs so hard that it hurt to suck it back in. For a few torturous seconds she lay completely still, scared of what might happen if she were to move – scared of what she might find if she opened her hands.
Natsu's usually so comforting, blazing heat had become so weak that she could barely feel it even though it was contained between her hands. Half her face was pushed into the dirt, and little stones pressed against her skin, no doubt having ripped open some small gashes. Her body was trembling with fear.
She was lost and alone and Natsu was about to go out and– oh, what was she supposed to do?!
At last, a sob tore from her throat.
She was going to die here, and she had not been able to protect anyone.
The only sound in the stillness was her own erratic breathing. Natsu seemed to have lost the capacity of speech altogether, fighting with all his energy to simply stay alive, and Happy had to be just as terrified as her.
Lucy dared not look up; she knew all that she would find was complete darkness.
Darkness alone was more terrifying than the monsters that it might hold – it was the threat of uncertainty, of blindness and possibility that let the imagination run wild.
In a way, seeing what you were up against made it less scary.
But what if there was nothing to see?
What if there was nothing hiding in the darkness but darkness itself?
How did you fight something you could not touch, something without a body or even mind, something creeping in the shadows with the sole purpose of devouring?
It might not have physical form – but it was very real.
And it was coming for her.
Then, the sounds started. If Lucy had found the complete silence terrifying, then hearing a shapeless evil move in the dark was enough to drive her to the brink of madness.
Small noises drifted to her, of branches suddenly swaying in the wind, a quiet howling that sounded almost painful, as a presence settled around her. Lucy wailed quietly, curling in on herself and around Natsu, and Happy scrambled for safety beneath her arms aswell.
A faint touch ghosted across her side, and Lucy held her breath.
The darkness was clinging to her: she could feel it slowly dripping over her like goo.
Her magic, her life force, it was fading now like Natsu's had.
Suddenly, the sound of snapping branches drifted to her, of heavy steps that came closer. They scared her too, but they scared her less than the threat looming over her. Panting, she jerked up into a sitting position, gasping for breath even as she continued to shiver uncontrollably.
It was pitch-black, but she could feel something retracting, pulling back like a startled spider.
And then, at last, there was light.
Bright flames illuminated her surroundings, dancing between mossy treetrunks and shedding light into the dark.
She thought she could hear something hissing as the darkness faded.
"Well, fry me a bloody steak! If it isn't young Lucy," a carefree voice boomed, "How long has it been! What are you doing in these parts?"
If she hadn't known better, Lucy would gave thought she'd just woken from a bad dream.
In a daze, she blinked at the mighty silhouette behind the trees, watching as it slowly shrank together until it was swallowed by the forest and disappeared between the tree trunks. She recognized this voice.
"Igneel?" she asked, her voice trembling and rough.
"Looks like I arrived at just the right time, huh," the man that emerged from the shadows spoke, extending a hand as he came to a halt in front of Lucy.
He was tall, tangled red hair falling over a face that was half covered in scales, and half in a large scar that reached from his temple almost all the way down to his jaw.
But as ferocious as he looked, the warm smile on his face gave him away, transformed something scary into an invitation.
And yet, Lucy could not accept it. Her hands hurt, still tightly closed around Natsu's flame, and she was scared to move even a finger. The fire gently licked against her palms from time to time, but other than that there were no life signs coming from her friend.
Igneel noticed her distress, curiously fixing his gaze on her hands as she pulled them closer to her chest. Happy stroked around his knees, taking an immediate liking to the mysterious man and the heat that emanated from him.
"What do you have there?" he asked, eyes wide. "That's fire."
"That's… that's my friend," Lucy whispered, not quite trusting her voice not to break.
"Can I see?" he asked, voice calm as he kneeled down in front of her.
She nodded, very cautiously reaching out to open her hands.
Natsu was nothing more than a spark, glimmering and reaching out an occasional thin flame as if he was grasping for her, clinging onto life with his last strength. The fresh air was enough to coddle him up just the tiniest bit, and it looked almost as if he was raising his head to peek at the stranger in front of him.
Taking the small flame into his hands carefully, Igneel lifted it up to his face, inspecting it seriously. Then he took a deep breath – and breathed fire back into Natsu.
They both watched as the flame greedily accepted the offering, growing and growing until Igneel dropped his hands and stepped back. The fire flared up (a rather uncharacteristic sound mixed in with the crackling, very close to elated laughter) before it died down and, once more, a young man born of flame stood before Lucy.
"Hey," he grinned, and then his face fell as he watched her clasp a hand over her mouth, a violent sob shaking her. She flung herself at him before he could react, crying happy tears against his shoulder. He held her until she calmed down enough to pull back.
It was only after he'd wiped away her tears and gave he a warm smile that his attention snapped back to the man who had saved him.
They stared at each other, silent but curious, and when neither spoke Lucy felt compelled to rise up to the task.
"Natsu, this is Igneel," she introduced at last, and with a happy smile. It lit up her face and dried the remnants of her tears.
"You're… the dragon Lucy told me about!" Natsu all but gasped, eyes wide as he gaped at him. The longer he stared, the more something seemed to upset him. He pursed his lips. "You're so small."
Igneel broke into roaring laughter.
He lifted a clawed hand to wipe away his tears. "The pleasure is all mine."
Then he turned serious again, fixing Natsu under his stare in a way that made the boy stand up straight. "Now, what are you two doing out here? You're a reckless boy, aren't you; a young flame wandering into the dark woods. You must have a good reason."
"We're fighting the darkness!" Natsu declared proudly, "And we're going to win!"
"Quite rich coming from someone who was on the brink of death seconds ago," Igneel muttered, "You're fire, but you're not especially bright, are you?"
The side blow was lost on Natsu, who pouted at him in confusion.
"But you're a dragon. How can we lose with a dragon?" he simply asked, then answered his own question with the same breath, "We can't! And I am bright!"
Feeling the need to demonstrate this fact, Natsu puffed his cheeks and set his whole body ablaze. Waving his hands, he pointed at himself proudly. Igneel did not bat an eyelash, turned around without another word – and grinned. Then, he nodded, more to himself than the two wanderers, before turning back to Lucy.
"So, where are we going next?" Igneel asked, looking around, "Don't wanna stay in one place too long, do we."
"You'll… come with us?" Lucy asked, not trying to hide her shock, "You'll help us?"
"What kind of person would I be if I did not help the guardian of this forest – and my friend?" he asked with a fond nod at her, "I could no longer call myself a dragon king!"
New tears welled up in Lucy's eyes; happy, grateful tears that she was not ashamed of.
"You're not alone, young guardian," Igneel said, his old, wise eyes twinkling kindly, "It may be your calling to protect the forest – and you're doing it splendidly – but you are not fighting alone. Don't think you have to."
Lucy sniffed, smiling at him gratefully.
"Just look at this fine young man right here," he added a lot more loudly, voice booming as he slapped Natsu on the back, "He's a fun guy! Look after him for me, will ya!"
Natsu spluttered, the force of the dragon's well-meant gesture driving the air out of his lungs.
Nodding vigorously, Lucy caught Natsu as he crashed into her. (The direction Igneel had pushed him had been intentional, she was certain.) Immediately, Natsu hid behind her back, glaring at his saviour.
"Lucy, he's crazy!" he whispered, making sure his voice was loud enough for Igneel to hear. Then he blinked, straightening up as a thought seemed to occur to him. "…I want to fight him."
"He saved your life," Lucy chided," Do you really think–"
"Whenever you're ready, boy!" Igneel roared with laughter, slapping his thigh as angry flames erupted in Natsu's hair. Wiping away tears of laughter at last, he calmed down (just as Natsu, who was being soothed by Lucy). "But for now, don't you think we should do something about this annoying darkness around here?"
They both looked at him hopefully. "Can you…?"
"Me?" Igneel chuckled, "Oh, no. I can't do it. Not alone, anyways. Good thing I ran into you, then, is it not?"
He grinned widely. What a ridiculously optimistic guy he was, Lucy thought to herself. Weirdly enough, the feeling was contagious. Just as Natsu, Igneel seemed to be scared of little and excited by all. She'd been right – they'd get along wonderfully.
…and might burn down the forest in the process.
The corners of her mouth quirked upwards, and she was smiling brightly at the man before she knew it. Natsu too was beaming, but at her.
"Awesome! We can make a team, right Lucy?"
"If my guess is correct," Igneel intersected, "You were looking for the spirit king's gate?"
Lucy nodded to both their questions, first smiling at Natsu and then hanging her head.
"We were, yes… but I lost my way. I don't know where we are anymore, and I can't feel anything here. It's too dark… the forest isn't responding, and it all seems so unfamiliar."
She sighed, feeling lost all over again.
"Well, that can be helped," Igneel told her, and a large grin spread over Natsu's face as the two looked at each other. "I don't know the exact location of the gate, only you do, but I can bring you to the right part of the forest, and I'll be damned if we can't light it up for you. Right, Natsu?"
"Right!" the younger man called, stepping forward to take both her hands into his.
His face was only inches from hers when he stopped, his voice as gentle as his smile.
It was curious, how he could go from a raging widfire to a soft, comforting flame.
"Thankyou, Lucy," he smiled, and then slowly leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes closing. Her cheeks dusted a faint pink, but even though she was aware of Igneel's presence and his eyes on them, she leaned into Natsu, relaxing and revelling in his presence.
She'd been so close to losing him. It seemed almost ridiculous now, with him standing close, so tall and strong and so very much alive. It seemed impossible that someone like Natsu could ever be snuffed out. And now, she thought with a smile, he wouldn't.
Not ever.
"We'll protect the future, Lucy," Natsu spoke then, brushing his nose against hers before pulling away, "Together."
"Yes," Lucy agreed with a teary-eyed, bright grin, never having felt more hopeful and confident of their victory. Natsu did that to people.
"You protected me so many times," he said, "Now, let me protect you."
Oh, if only he knew that he had done more already than she could ever pay back.
In the span of three days, he had turned her life around. And she wanted it to continue for so many more.
She'd make sure to tell him, once all this was over.
If he wanted to, he could stay forever.