A/N: The time has come... Ugh, this chapter is so good and yet... well you'll know when you've read it. Bwahaha! So yeah this is a rather twisted, evil and somewhat cruel chapter, so I should warn you that there will be some aspects that might upset you. You could be affected emotionally or because it contains a vast amount of blood and violence. So consider yourself warned!

*makes a lot of Natsu clones and throws them randomly towards her readers, so they have someone to hug when reading this chapter*

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Chapter 4: Insufferable Pain

"Lucy?"

Natsu yelled as he stared the blonde girl in front of him. Her back was turned against him but it didn't take many seconds for the dragon slayer to recognise his precious friend. Her smell, her physic, every little thing that made Lucy the person she was, was standing only a few feet away. She was so close to him that he couldn't help from feeling slightly relieved.

"Lucy!" he called out again but nothing seemed to happen. Was she ignoring him?

"Lu... what the..." he questioned as he tried moving his arm to grab her shoulder but nothing happened. His body was paralysed preventing him from moving anything from his shoulders and down. It wasn't as if he couldn't feel his body though. No, he could feel that his body was covered with something unpleasant. In some aspects it felt like the unknown substance that had taken hold of him not long ago, that had a weird, cold and somehow lethal feeling to it. For some reason it didn't feel like it was trying to consume him, nor was it suffocating. In some ways it felt like a very cold blanket was being wrapped around his body making his muscles numb and tingling with a tiny layer of cold sweat.

A gust of wind suddenly spawned behind him coming in steady breathing like rhythms against his neck.

"Shh... watch... I told you I'd show you right? Now be a good boy and watch the show..." a hissing voice said behind him. A second later the wind behind him vanished making the anger in Natsu's stomach boil as he tried turning his neck to catch a glimpse of the person who said this. But unfortunately the thing was gone before he got a chance to confront it.

"Damn it..." he growled before turning his attention back to Lucy. She was standing still and even if he couldn't be sure about it, it looked as though she was staring in front of her at... nothing? Wait... where was this anyway? Narrowing his eyes he made a quick scan of their surroundings. It looked a lot like the same cave he had been running through. But he didn't recognise this place so it had to be somewhere within the cave he hadn't been yet.

"Lucy!" He tried once more and for a split-second he thought it might have worked as he saw her turn around looking right at him with frightened and confused eyes. She kept staring at him for a few seconds when it hit him. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. The cave was isolated from the sun and any other light source so she would need something or someone to guide her through the darkness in the cave. Without that she would practically be blind and have slim chances to find the right path without falling down one of the treacherous cliff's within the cave. Why didn't she call for her spirits? He started scanning for her keys but he couldn't spot them anywhere.

Did they take her keys? But even if they did it didn't explain why Loki wasn't there because he could spawn on his own when he felt his master in distress. Was there some sort of weird force field surrounding the cave or perhaps some other magic that could prevent Loki from coming to her aid? Now that he thought about it, it was also quite strange that his visibility was so good, when he knew Lucy couldn't see anything. Was it because of his abilities as a dragon slayer or was it because his eyes had gotten used to the darkness? Or did the shadow creature have anything to do with it?

Natsu soon forgot his trail of thoughts as he saw Lucy lean against the cave wall with her back. She stood there for a few seconds taking a few deep breaths before she started screaming "Natsuuuuuuuu!"

The sound of her voice combined with the underlying fear he sensed made his heart clench in pain as he kept staring at her with a frustrated look.

"Lucy..." Natsu whispered while watching as she brought her trembling hands up in front of her as if she wanted to stare at the cuts and bruises that was on them. Her wounds was obviously a result of her stumbling in the darkness and it somehow ignited his anger.

"Tsch! Lucyyy!" he tried yelling even if he knew it was a lost effort. But he had to do something... anything.

"... what am I doing...?" her voice was barely above a whisper as she kept staring in the direction her hands was "... I can't keep relying on everyone else... I... I have to do something... what would Natsu do if he was in the same situation... hmm... he would be determined to find his friends even if he had to destroy every inch of this cave... well..."

Lucy slowly turned her head in his direction while smiling gently "I guess I'll have to destroy this cave in a very reckless way then"

His heart skipped a beat as a warm pleasant feeling started spreading in his chest. There was something soothing about her determination even if she was terrified underneath that little smile. He knew she wouldn't give up without a fight and that was reassuring because it spiked his own determination to get the hell out of there.

The urge to grab was so intense that he tried once again fighting against the thing that was restricting his movements but no matter how much he struggled against the paralysing feeling it didn't budge an inch.

"Damn it... Lucy I swear I'll... just wait for me I'll..."

A shrilling and childish laugh suddenly started echoing throughout the cave. The sound made Natsu flinch as he turned his head trying to pinpoint the thing's location. As he did he noticed Lucy turning her head again to once again stare in the direction her hands were, which she was now clenching tightly in what he presumed was determination.

What was that? It was just for a second but he was almost certain that he saw something moving right behind Lucy. Of course he couldn't be sure but still. Narrowing his eyes he looked more thoroughly at the shadows behind her. Meanwhile the laughter seemed to intensify in volume making it echo in strange and loud waves throughout the cave. Slowly the laughter started to lower in volume until it was nothing more than a wicked chuckle. Luckily this meant the voice was easier to pinpoint because it came from one source. Unfortunately that place was right behind Lucy.

Natsu could feel the dread and horror spread like a wildfire through his veins as he watched a black shadow-like hand materialised right behind her, stretching it's dark finger's as if it was trying to grasp the air. The hand was right beside Lucy's head but for some reason it didn't look like she had sensed it appearing.

Panic and frustration made it's way into his system as he started screaming for Lucy's attention. But his efforts were futile and he knew it. None the less he couldn't prevent himself from screaming trying to get Lucy to run away from what he knew could become a very lethal situation.

"Behind you! Lucy! Get out of there!" he roared as an entire black arm became visible right next to Lucy's head. The hand started opening and closing in an uneven rhythm before it eventually stopped it's movement. As it did it started wiggling and twisting it's finger's teasingly while occasionally pointing towards Lucy's neck. Natsu dreaded what the thing was implying especially because he couldn't prevent the black silhouette thing from taking action if it wanted to.

"You! Get the fuck away from her!"

The arm stopped moving for a few seconds as if it was considering taking Natsu's advice and as it did silence filled the cave. The only sound Natsu could hear was his own heartbeat and it was almost deafening because it seemed to escalate inside of his skull, drowning all other sounds that might have been there.

Quicker than anything Natsu had ever seen before the dark hand grabbed Lucy's neck holding it in a very tight grip. The sight made him roar in anger and frustration, while he tried once again struggling against the unknown force that was restraining him. His blood was boiling filling him with rage that flowed like a wild fire through his body. As it did he glared with murderous intentions towards the hand.

It was a sight that would frighten an ordinary or sane person. Unfortunately the thing wasn't normal, no it was quite insane so instead of letting go of Lucy, that was starting to pant heavily, it strengthened it's hold around her neck, digging long fingers inside the soft flesh there making small drops of blood to flow from the now punctuated skin. The scream of agony and rage that came from the dragon slayer was heartbreaking but the shadow creature didn't seem to care. It kept it's firm hold against the girl's neck as the life in her eyes seemed to slowly faint away.

The anger that had consumed Natsu seemed to evaporate for a second, replacing the feeling with panic and sorrow because he could see by the look on Lucy's now very pale face, that she might die from suffocation any second.

"Stop it! Please!" he pleaded in a broken voice.

Red glistening eyes suddenly appeared in the shadows staring at Natsu in defiance "Oh, you want me to stop?"

"Yes, please... just... I..."

A sinister smirk that revealed a lethal set of canines appeared underneath the eyes, that was now shining with amusement "Okay I'll stop..." the shadow said while chuckling in a viscous tone.

Natsu could feel his heart violently skip a beat in his chest as he watching the hand loosening its grip, making Lucy hive desperately for air.

Time seemed to freeze as something suddenly sparked in the creature's eyes. Natsu knew that look all too well... no stop, anything but this, please... Widening his eyes he watched in horror as the shadow materialised it's other hand... please stop... the hand was clenched into a tight fist behind Lucy and in a flash it moved... no, not this... don't want to loose someone precious... not again... punching straight through Lucy's chest making blood spatter violently in every direction.

Natsu couldn't breathe, he couldn't focus. Did his heart stop? So many feelings was rushing through his body and yet he felt nothing as he watched the black hand that had punched through Lucy's chest.

The creature was laughing menacingly but Natsu didn't register anything. He was too traumatised and conflicted that he didn't register anything but the horrible sight in front of him. Because of that he didn't see the silhouette materialising right behind Lucy revealing what was hidden underneath the shadows.

Tears started streaming down Natsu's face but he didn't register that either. It wasn't until he saw the hand vanishing from the gigantic wound that he snapped his head in the direction of the culprit. In any other situation the sight might have surprised him but right now he didn't care. Anyone who laid a finger on someone who was precious to him deserved to die a horrible and violent death.

The person in front of him was holding Lucy with both arms so her body was resting almost casually against his chest. It was a cruel sight especially because the person behind her looked like Natsu in so many aspects. His height, physique... a lot of things was so similar that they might have been twins. One of the obvious differences however was the colours. His counterpart had green hair, red eyes and his skin was a weird combination of grey and white. Apart from that the villain had a lot of visible scars and wounds covering his body. The weirdest part though was that the flesh was missing in some places exposing bones and red glistening muscles.

Something finally snapped inside of Natsu as he watched his so called counterpart smirk deviously before licking Lucy's neck with a long pink tongue.

"Get the fuck away from her!" he yelled while trying once again to fight the substance that confined his body.

The person snapped his head backwards and started howling in what almost sounded like a laugh. A second later the red eyes was staring towards Natsu again.

"Mm, and whyyyy would I listen to you? Mm? Oh stop screaming already you're giving me a headache! Tsch! Fine! I'll leave you kids alone to have fun... I think she still has a pulse.. oh yes she does! Oh, will you stop looking at me like I just destroyed your favourite toy. Is she your favourite toy? Kinky... Mehh, but where's the gratitude? Here I am offering some time to you with this lovely lady and all you do is cry about it. What was that? Ohh yeah right I practically killed her didn't I? That's mere details! You are just like a spoiled child! See you later... Natsu Dragneel"

Natsu could feel the magic that was restraining his body slowly starting to evaporate simultaneously with his counterpart vanishing into the shadows once again. The person was still holding onto Lucy but suddenly it removed it's arms making Lucy fall towards the ground.

"Lucy!"

The restraints finally vanished entirely making Natsu leap from his position to catch Lucy's falling figure. With both arms wrapped around her body he managed to prevent her from colliding with the floor. But that was all he could prevent...

Not knowing what to do next he gave the blonde girl a soft hug before laying her gently on the ground. Once there he quickly felt for her pulse. It was there as his counterpart had said it was. But it was so weak and slow, that it was hard for him to even find it. Fuck, fuck, fuck...! The blood was rapidly flowing from her wound and he knew it was only a matter of minutes or even seconds before Lucy would... no... god no...

"Lucy?" he whispered in a hoarse voice as he placed his forehead against hers.

"Lucy?" he tried again, this time stroking her cheek gently with a thumb.

Being this close to Lucy he could smell how her scent was being mixed with the horrible metallic stench that reeked from the amount of blood that was splattered on the ground, on her and on him. It was horrible and for every breath he inhaled he could feel a tiny part of him shattering.

"Lucy..." his voice cracked in pain with tears flowing freely, running down his cheeks and eventually landing on Lucy's face, as if they wanted to remove the blood that stained her face.

"...Nat... su...?"

Her voice was so fragile and faint but he heard it. The sound made him freeze for a second, causing a lump of air to form in his throat.

"... Natsu...?"

"Yeah I'm here" he exhaled a shaking breath "It'll all be fine now"

"... I know... I... believe..."

"Shh, save your energy Lucy"

"... you always save me... from the beginning... remember...?"

"Yes, I do... on the boat..."

"... yes... always..."

"Lucy please don't..."

He grimaced in pain as he gently placed his hands on her cheeks. It might have been a selfish act but he didn't care as he brought his lips against hers kissing her very gently. The pain in his chest seemed to escalate as he kissed her and eventually it was too much for him so he had to stop his actions as his body started to tremble from all of the emotions that threatened to suffocate him.

Natsu was shaking as he inhaled a few times before resting his head against hers once again, looking directly into her huge brown eyes. It didn't look like she resented him for kissing him. No, it almost looked like there was something... happy... glistening in them...

"... Natsu I... I..."

She was smiling gently towards him as a single tear suddenly spawned from her eye, rolling down her face.

"I... "

Everything seemed to freeze as he watched the light suddenly vanished from her eyes. This was just cruel... evil... horrifying... there was no words that could describe the painful feeling that clawed inside of his chest making it hard for him to even breathe as he used one of his hand to close her eyelids.

...In the end he couldn't save her...

Clenching his teeth he gave into the overwhelming sadness and anger that was tearing him apart. The pain in his stomach was so excruciating that it felt like someone had taken all of his intestines and crushed them.

… why... why... why... did they all leave him in the end... why...

Shaking he wrapped his arms around Lucy hugging her body tightly against him as if it could somehow soothe the feelings raging inside of him.

… the pain of solitude... fear... pain... not good enough...

He was panting trying desperately to breathe normally and avoid hyperventilating. But it was futile as he felt another stab of pain clench through him making his heart beat irregularly.

… Lucy...

She was the last rational thought that rushed through Natsu's mind, before started screaming in agony as his world somehow seemed to shatter into a million pieces.

A/N: I told you I'm sorry right? *hides underneath her table* I must admit I kinda broke my own heart writing this...

Prepare to enter "the explaining corner" with yours truly and Natsu. Aye sir!

H: "Sniff, sniff! Sorry Natsu!"

Natsu: "Shut up... you know I thought you were a nice person.."

H: "I am!"

Natsu: "Not towards me! Anyhow would you mind explaining my reaction in this chapter?"

H: "Sure thing. Ohh spoiler alert for those who aren't up to date with the anime Fairy Tail (2014) and the current arc they are animating. I am not referring to the manga (all though I must admit I love the development there).

SO SPOILER ALERT HAVE BEEN INVOKED!

Natsu: "Anyhow in the episode where future Lucy dies I don't display such horror or pain you make me go through in this chapter. Of course I was angry and hurt, but it comes no where near the level you typed"

H: "Well not to say anything bad about a future Lucy but since she was a fragment from another time she would eventually vanish anyway. Besides in this chapter Natsu truly believe that this is the one and only Lucy and that she was brutally killed right in front of him. In the anime/manga he still has the current Lucy and that might soothe him knowing. In addition to that I think the surroundings and the circumstances of her death in this chapter (being very sudden and violent) would break any sane person just a tiny bit. I know some consider Natsu being almighty and stuff but I don't want to place him on a pedestal pretending he can conquer everything. He is a human being with real emotions like the rest of us and as I said earlier even the strongest characters can crumble if you add enough pressure on them"

Natsu: "Fine... well if anyone has any questions feel free to ask the crazy author. I'm going home..."

H: "Until next time! Have a nice day – and uhm... please don't kill me, mkay?"