"Oh please tell me you didn't come in that!" Natsu unpleasantly said, turning green, as he watched Erza climb into the Magic Vehicle. "How else did you expect us to get here, Natsu?!"
"Don't make me go in it! Doon't~!" Natsu cried, as he collapsed to the ground. "I'm gonna be sick!" Gray rolled his eyes. "Shut the hell up Flame Brain, and get your ass in here. For Lucy."
Natsu cringed, but stood up and swayed while walking towards the vehicle. "But...only for...Lucy..Ghh.." He then climbed in the vehicle, next to Lucy, and immediately fell over once they were in motion.
At the guild
As Natsu kicked open the guild doors, and sprinted to the infirmary carrying a once again bleeding Lucy, many heads turned in question at what the Fire Dragon Slayer was in such a rush for. Some gasped, seeing his shirt covered in blood. Some raised an eyebrow, seeing familiar blond hair flowing to the side.
"Wendy!" Erza yelled, following behind Natsu. "Infirmary, now!" Wendy gave Charle a worried look, but proceeded to stand up. "O-okay!"
Natsu pushed into the infirmary, and quickly jogged over to a bed. "Why did you have to start bleeding again, dammit!" Natsu yelled in a hushed tone to himself. The pink-haired mage set Lucy down on the bed, and frantically looked around for anything to press on her wound.
Finding a towel, he immediately applied pressure with it to Lucy's wound.
"N-Natsu.. Wh-who..is that?" Wendy timidly asked, walking closer to the body on the bed. She smells just like-
"Lucy! But that's not important right now, heal her please!" Natsu yelled, his hands now stained in her blood. He stepped away from her body, once Wendy stood next to him.
Her eyes darted back and forth across Lucy's now red clothes, and she held her hands over the blond's body. Wendy's hands glowed a bright blue, and she worriedly looked over to Natsu, who was washing his hands.
Erza and Gray were standing, arms crossed, against the wall closest to the door. "Erza," Gray whispered, "Don't allow anyone in here." Erza nodded her head, and then moved to stand in front of the door.
I thought Lucy died?! She.. We saw the proof! Wendy breathed out a breath of relief as soon as she noticed Lucy's wound closing up. "N-Natsu, the wound is almost closed."
Natsu hurriedly walked to the bedside, and pushed blond hair out of Lucy's face. "Thank you, Wendy."
A few hours later
"Wh-where...are we?" Lucy asked, as her eyes fluttered open. There was a dull throbbing sensation in her abdomen, but she decided to ignore it for the time being. After a few seconds, her eyes adjusted to the intense light that filled the room.
The first thing Lucy noticed was Natsu, snoring in a chair not too far from her, chin resting on his hand. Next, she noticed Gray dozing off next to Erza, as she leaned up against the door, arms crossed. "E-Erza?" Lucy questioned, stretching her body. "Where are we?"
Erza's eyes widened, witnessing the situation. "O-oh, Lucy, you're awake." Lucy nodded her head, suspiciously. "Yeah.. I feel so much better than a few days ago.. Where are we?" The scarlet-haired mage nudged Gray, knocking him awake. "Y-yeah?!" He exclaimed, twitching.
"Lucy wants to know where she is. Mind telling her, Gray?" Erza said, raising an eyebrow and widening her eyes like how do we tell her?! "Oh.. Why don't we ask Natsu?.. Oi! Flame Brain, wake up!" He exclaimed, leaned back against the wall.
Natsu bolted awake, fist clenching. "What the hell do you want, Ice Breath?!" Gray tch-ed, and nodded his head towards the conscious Lucy.
"Where the hell are we?! Will someone tell me already?!" Lucy was becoming angry, and fast. Where the hell are we? Where's Mizuki? Where's Allison? What happened?
"L-Lucy.. We're...in the guild."
...
...
...
Lucy blinked her eyes, slowly.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
"What did you just say?" Lucy spat, realization hitting her. She began grinding her teeth together, and balling her fists into the thin sheets she was under. "Why the fuck are we back here?"
Natsu looked at the female with sadness, and stood up. "It was the only way to save you, Lucy. We brought you here so Wendy could heal you." His voice began raising. "And look at that, you seem to feel better, don't you?!" Lucy scoffed.
"Why are you so angry to be back here?! This was your home!"
"This is not my home anymore! I can specifically recall, you all leaving me for dead!" Lucy's voice echoed around the small room, and her heartbeat began to increase its pace.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
Natsu's hair shadowed his eyes, along with Erza's. Gray gazed upon the floor, recalling the memories of the events all those years ago.
Lucy could feel a panic attack slowly creeping up on her, but she did nothing to stop her rapid breathing. "Where's Mizuki. Where is my daughter." She demanded, getting up from her bed, cringing and holding her stomach. "She's back at your apartment, with Allison."
The Celestial Spirit mage was boiling with anger at this point.
"First, you bring me back to the people who abandoned me."
"Then, you leave my daughter with a baby sitter, who's worried sick, and possibly emotionally unstable at this point?!"
"She needs me, Natsu. She doesn't need you."
"I'm going home."
Lucy began to slowly limp towards the door, shooting glares at Erza, as if saying, get the hell out of my way. Erza refused to move, though. She was watching something behind Lucy.
Natsu came up from behind the injured girl, and grabbed her wrist. Tightly.
"Tch. Natsu, let go of me." Lucy commanded, venom dripping from every word. But, Natsu refused to back down.
"I don't care if you hate me, Lucy. You can hate me all you like, but I will never stop loving you, or our daughter."
"You're apart of Fairy Tail too, and this guild is built on friendship, and trust. Why can't you trust us, to make up for lost time? To make up for our actions? We all know what we did, we know, Lucy!"
Natsu clenched his fists, making his knuckles go white. "I'm trying to make it up to you now, but you're not allowing that! When will you stop acting like the lone wolf around here? Because you're not anymore. If you refuse to be the Lucy I knew, the one who forgave her friends, and looked towards the future, then...I don't want to be with you."
Lucy stood there, eyes wide from shock.
Trust. The noun she's never been one-hundred percent sure of, since four years ago.
Lucy ripped her wrist out of Natsu's grasp, which startled him. She kept a heavy glare, but that didn't stop her lip from quivering.
She looked from Natsu, to Erza, to Gray. A whimper escaped her lips, and she then looked to the ground.
"I'm sorry." Lucy whispered, tears slipping from her tear ducts.
Next, Natsu wrapped his arms around her, and squeezing her in a hug. "We will never let you go again, you got me?" He whispered into her hair, earning him a strangled cry. Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu, and cried into his chest.
"I'm sorry! Gomenasai..! Gomenasai..!" She yelled into his shirt, clutching him tighter.
"Shh.. It's okay Luce."
"Wh-who knows I'm a-alive?" Lucy asked, shaking uncontrollably.
"Just Wendy. She's the one who healed you earlier." Erza chimed in.
"How are we going to explain to everyone else?" Gray asked, taking off his shirt. Natsu rolled his eyes at Gray's actions, and continued to sooth Lucy.
"Exactly how we explained it to We-"
Erza was interrupted by a gag, and Natsu pulling away from Lucy. He had a spatter of blood on his shirt, and he look frightened. "L-Lucy?!" Erza asked, bewildered, taking a step forward.
Lucy's eyes slowly closed as her body went limp, and then began to fall over. Natsu grabbed her before she fell, of course, and noticed the trail of blood from the corner of her mouth to the edge of her chin.
Natsu carried the mage over to the bed, and laid her down. "Why.. Why isn't she healing?" Natsu asked, shaking his head sadly. "I'm not sure.. I've never seen anything like this." Erza stated, narrowing her eyes. "Is.. Mizuki really that strong..? That she could do all of this by one attack? And she's so young, too!" Gray looked confused, walking up to Lucy's bedside. All Natsu did was stare at the unconscious blond.
"We need to go tell them."
"Let's go."
Erza, Natsu, and Gray made their way down to the front of the guild, after cleaning Lucy's face up.
Mummers and whispers could be heard as the trio walked past the Fairy Tail members.
"Listen up, everyone." Erza caught the attention of those in the hall with her strong voice. "We have something to explain to you."
Lisanna and Happy exchanged anxious glances, knowing that who they brought in was none other than the member who was supposed to be deceased.
Natsu took a deep breath, and determination set across his features. "Lucy isn't dead. She never was."
Silence.
More silence.
Confused glances.
Coughs.
"Lu-chan..isn't...dead..?" Levy whispered, disbelief on her face.
"She never died in Akuzo's custody." Erza added. "She escaped, after he took that photo and sent it here. He was killed in his home, by Lucy."
Natsu looked around the hall.
Makarov's eyes were closed.
Mira's mouth was hanging open.
Levy's hands were to her mouth.
Bisca's eyebrows were furrowed.
Charle's eyes were wide.
"Lucy found people to take care of her, until recently, once we came." Gray announced, arms crossed over his bare chest.
"She gave birth to our daughter." Natsu chuckled, looking down at the ground.
"And now, she's in the infirmary, because of a wound our daughter gave her. Out of anger." He finished.
Silence.
Continued silence.
"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's throw a party!" Someone yelled from the crowd, earning an erupt of cheers from almost everyone in the vicinity.
"Lucy's back!"
"Yay!"
"Yeah!"
"Lucy's alive!"
"Natsu's a dad!"
"They have a kid!"
Natsu sighed heavily, and grinned at Erza and Gray, who returned the same relieved smiles.
"Someone should go get Mizuki, and bring her here." Gray said over his shoulder as he walked away. Erza nodded, and began to walk towards the doors. "I will."
Natsu held out his hand, and placed it on Erza's shoulder. "Don't worry, Natsu. It'll be fine. I'll bring her back safe and sound." The requip mage gave Natsu a smirk, and he seemed to accept it because he released his grip. "Be careful."
Back in the infirmary, Lucy laid flat on her back, staring up towards the ceiling. She made out most of what the trio downstairs said, and was now listening to the yells of joy.
Tears slid down the side of her face, landing on the pillow beneath her.
She was crying out a joy, but at the same time, pain.
Her hand was clutching her side, and she could taste a very metallic sensation in the back of her mouth.
"What's...happening to me..."
Review!
I've decided to start another Fairy Tail fic, but I will not actually begin writing it until I finish this story. So, I'm looking forward to that.
Thank you very much to all of the individuals who followed my story, and those who leave constant reviews! You brighten up my day :)