A/N: Bwahaha! I just looooove listening to the evil sadistic aspects of my personality as this story progresses. I hope you like it too and didn't think the last chapter was too devious. I guess I can say without spoiling too much, that there will be some good and happy stuff in this chapter.

With that said: welcome to chapter 5 ladies and gentlemen!

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Chapter 5: Whispering Madness

Natsu opened his eyes and stared into the darkness surrounding him. He couldn't recall falling asleep. As a matter of fact he didn't know for how long he had screamed and roared in frustration. His throat was sore though so he must have been at it for a while before he eventually was so exhausted he passed out.

Not that it mattered... Nothing did... Lucy was dead and that painful memory would haunt him for the rest of his life, just like the painful guilt would... couldn't save her...

For some reason his entire body felt numb and almost buzzing with an unknown feeling making his body tremble like it was covered in a cold but invisible sweat. In a way it felt as if he wasn't in his own body. It felt like he was just a copy of his former self, laying helpless in the darkness. Like a piece of meat that had been clawed, chewed and eventually torn apart until there was nothing left but the glistening bones... why...

A sharp pain in his stomach made him wrap his arms around his waist as if he was trying to soothe himself. But it didn't help, in fact it felt like the pain was somehow spreading towards his lungs making it harder to breathe. As a result he was finding it difficult getting enough air to enter his body no matter how many times he inhaled. He was starting to hyperventilate and he knew he should prevent it by calming himself but he didn't really care. It was all his fault... If only... Wait... he took a deep breath as he recalled the silhouette's voice. There was something vital missing but he was so confused by his emotions that he couldn't think straight.

Slowly he took a few deep breathes while trying to get a hold of his emotions. Her scent... the blood. As he calmed down he started focusing on the smells surrounding him. He could smell the iron in the air implying there was blood near him. But it wasn't an overwhelming smell and he knew that with the amount Lucy had lost, it would stink in such a foul way, that he should be tasting it every time he inhaled. Why couldn't he smell it? And why couldn't he smell her? Now that he thought about it more rationally the entire cave was covered in darkness making it hard to see anything. When he met Lucy he could see everything all too well, now it was hard even seeing the ground underneath him.

Something was definitely wrong with the situation and he had to know what it was. So with that in mind he extended one of his arms away from his body. For a split second he dreaded what he might find but somehow he succeeded in pushing the feeling aside as he ignited his hand.

Natsu's eyes widened as he stared at his surroundings. She wasn't there. His heart started beating faster as he in a swift move got up into a crouched position where he ignited the other hand as well. She wasn't there. The thought made him turn around feverishly trying to find something, anything that could give a hint or a clue to what had happened.

"Where are you..." he whispered while turning "... Lucy"

Natsu could feel a faint glimmer of hope spreading in his chest. If she wasn't there could she be somewhere else? He scanned his body and noticed that the only blood on him was from the wounds on his wrists that had somehow reopened. Her blood should be covering him as it had after the assault. Could it be... was it possible that she wasn't dead?

Gritting his teeth he thought about the moment the silhouette first materialised in front of him revealing a hand that was decaying. At that time it told him that Lucy was already dead. Or well it said that the bitch was dead. How could it say that, if it was going to kill her moments later? Had it already happened or was it perhaps something he had imagined because of some hallucination? And if so was it something the silhouette person had created?

Grunting he extinguished the fire in one of his hand before pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't know very much about the silhouette. The only thing he knew was it used some weird kind of magic he hadn't seen before. Besides if Lucy was dead then that would potentially mean that the creature could travel in time. Which didn't make sense because he knew first hand how difficult time travelling magic was. A single person or creature shouldn't have that kind of power. Of course he knew there was exceptions because there were powerful mages such as Zeref. But still... It could be a mistake that the creature used past tense. But then again who knew? The thing was utterly insane. So... could it be some sort of hallucination that tricked him? That just seemed impossible because no one and nothing could usually trick his keen instinct and senses.

Growling he got into a standing position as the pain of his sorrow seemed to evaporate replacing it with an overwhelming anger. Not knowing for sure what had happened was infuriating him on a level he hadn't experienced before. Natsu felt so restless he could feel his muscles aching with adrenaline from the need to either get moving or punch someone senseless. So since there wasn't anyone nearby he could punch he started walking through the cave with ignited hands that flowed in violent waves behind him, illuminating the caves with a crimson colour. It was almost as if the fury within him was being materialised into the flames that was escalating from his fists, burning and melting everything it touched to smithereens.

Hours went by with the restless dragon slayer roaming the cave as he searched for Lucy. But no matter where Natsu went there wasn't any clues to Lucy's whereabouts. Nor was there any significant evidence that could determine whether or not she might have been killed.

He felt so restless and angry that he wanted nothing more than to exterminate the whole cave and everything in it. Of course he couldn't do that but that didn't lessen the feelings boiling up inside of him.

As he searched through the tunnels in the cave he was surprised when he heard something throbbing in an even rhythm. The sound made him freeze because it was the first sound he had heard coming from within the cave that possibly wasn't from the silhouette thing. The sound was something he recognised though so was the smell coming from it. For a second he was slightly confused but then realisation hit him. A smirk appeared on his lips as he walked in the sounds direction. It didn't take him long before he reached the source of the sound and when he did he could hear his stomach rumbling.

"Water..." he whispered as he stared at the small treasure in front of him. There was a crack in the cave wall where a very small amount of water was flowing. The water was slowly running across several rocks until it gathered in a small dent. When there was enough water in the dent it would fall to the ground where it would make a splashing sound which was the noise Natsu had heard a moment ago.

Turning he noticed that there was some weird looking mushrooms growing next to the water, which potentially could provide some very much needed nutrition. Especially because it seemed like ages ago since he had emptied his stomach for whatever content was originally in it. However he knew he should be cautious because the mushrooms might be poisonous. Well even if they looked kind of purple and not edible it didn't have to be that way. Right?

Shrugging he extinguished the flame in one of his hands before picking one of the mushrooms bringing it up to his nose. It didn't really have any distinctive smell other than the lingering smell of earth which might come from the ground. So far so good, shrugging he took a small bite of the mushroom. The taste was... well it tasted like all the other mushrooms Lucy sometimes forced him to eat.

The thought of Lucy made him flinch momentarily before he picked up a handful of mushrooms he quickly consumed. Once that task was done he gathered his hand to form a small cup he used to gather water. The water felt cold and refreshing as it ran down his throat and further down to his stomach. As he took his time to get some more water into his system he could feel how his body seemed to rejuvenate, filling all of his energy depots with new found power. When Natsu felt he had satisfied his body's needs he sighed heavily before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

The energy that was rushing through his body had a positive effect on his mood as he somehow seemed to feel more rational about the whole situation. The rational feeling soon vanished though as he felt a sharp pain coming from his head. The pain made him grit his teeth as it seemed to intensify. Fortunately it didn't take many seconds before the pain reached it's climax and eventually started to evaporate. When the feeling was gone he took a deep breath before staring at the water in front of him. He knew he should probably do something about the wounds on his wrists because it wouldn't do anything good to him if the wounds became infected.

Sighing heavily he started removing the cloth that was wrapped around his wrists, while balancing the small flame in his hand so he had light to see the damage. The material he removed was covered with dry blood from the wound reopening from time to time. Once the cloth was gone he stared at the cuts he had received from the handcuffs. They weren't that bad looking and it was apparent that it was healing at a rapid pace. However the skin surrounding the wounds was looking rather red so it was obvious that he had to clean it as well as getting some fresh bandages. So with that in mind he started rubbing his wrists gently with water, removing the dried blood. Once it was gone the wound started bleeding again but fortunately it wasn't an ominous amount.

Sighing again he grabbed his pants and tore two long pieces off which he placed in his lap while he took a minute to remove the new blood that was now running down his arm. Once that task was done he wrapped the cloth around his wrists making sure it was sufficient to prevent the wound from bleeding too much. With that done, he opened and closed his hands a few times making sure the bandages wasn't too tight preventing blood to flow to his fingers. Satisfied he got into a standing position where he stood a minute before he ignited both hands before continuing his search.

Natsu was walking through the cave when a faint voice startled him. Instantly he thought it was the creature that wanted "to have more fun with him" so he couldn't prevent a snarl from escaping his mouth as he glared viscously around him. But there wasn't anything to see which annoyed him even more. However he did have a faint idea in which direction he had heard the voice so he started stomping in that direction determined to kill or at least beat the crap out of the stupid creature that lurked in the shadows. As he kept walking he heard the voice again. It was very faint and sounded almost like an echo of a voice. But still there was something about it that made him pause, because even though the sound was faint and barely recognisable there was something familiar about it.

His heart started pounding heavily in his chest as he pursued the direction he heard the sound.

It didn't take many minutes before he heard the voice again and this time he could feel his heart skip a beat making him widen his eyes. It felt like all of the oxygen in his lunges had been punched out of him all of a sudden, making him stop in his tracks.

It couldn't be... oh dear god please... Natsu could feel the adrenaline pumping through his body making him sprint recklessly through the cave. A lot of emotions was escalating inside of him as he kept running. Anger, insignificance, worry, fright, hope... He tried ignoring it but it was almost unavoidable as he heard the voice again and this time he did recognise it for certain. But it couldn't be...? Could it? It felt like something clutched his entrails in a uncomfortable way as he followed the voice that was luring him and telling him which direction to go.

As he kept running he noticed how the voice seemed to rise and fall in an even rhythm. It almost sounded like... a song? Listening to the sound rising in volume as he got closer to his target Natsu grew more convinced that it was some sort of melody. And it wasn't a regular song. No, it was her song. It was a unique melody she sometimes hummed or sung when she thought she was alone. He wasn't sure what to make of that though. In some aspects he dreaded what was ahead of him. But on the other hand he was feeling kind of nostalgic and anticipated. It was contradicting feelings and it was spreading through his body like a wildfire, mixing with the aching feeling in his muscles that was preparing to fight whatever was ahead of him.

All of a sudden he noticed light coming from a rather large opening in one of the cave walls. The voice was definitely coming from the lights location and he could feel his heart pounding furiously as if it wanted to force it's way out through his ribcage.

Natsu stopped running once he got to the opening, panting slightly as he took a moment to look at the view in front of him. There was a rather wide area which was illuminated with numerous torches. Besides the usual rocks that was characteristic for the cave, there was a small pond in the middle. But how? He asked himself as he stared with wide eyes at the scenario in front of him. How? He wondered again as he stared at a blonde girl who was taking a bath in the middle of the pond. The girl had her back turned towards him and was singing as she scrubbed her arms with water trying to remove whatever dirt was on them.

Natsu wanted to yell, he wanted to cry, he wanted to run up to her, but for some reason he couldn't move. His own feelings was paralysing his own body making him indecisive for one of the first times in his life. He could feel how his heart and pulse was pounding like a war drum inside of his body making a unpleasant beat that almost followed her singing in a rather sadistic way. As he stood there in shock he watched as the girl turned around revealing her face that once and for all clarified her identity.

"Eeeeeeeek!" the girl yelped before plopping down into the water until her head was the only part that was revealed.

"Lu...?"

"No! Don't come over here! Pervert!" she said while lashing one of her arms up and down.

"What...?" he said in a low voice while staring at her dumbfounded.

"You heard me Natsu! Don't get over here!"

"Why? Are you afraid that I might reveal your identity or something?" he snarled while staring at her through narrowed eyes.

"My identity?" her eyes widening in what looked like confusion "I don't know what you're talking a..."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" he roared as he raised one of his ignited hands and pointed an accusing finger towards her "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't walk right over there and beat you to a pathetic pulp! Huh?"

The girl seemed somewhat confused at first but then anger seemed to replace that feeling as she glared daggers towards the dragon slayer.

"You... you... IDIOT! You know who I am! I'm Lucy Heartfilia and the only reason I don't want you near me is because I'm naked!"

"Like hell I'm going to... what...?" he blinked before staring at her in disbelief, watching as her face started to blush more and more fiercely.

"... I'm... naked... and well..."

Her voice was so gentle and fragile that Natsu felt a rush of guilt rushing over him, as he stared at her now shivering body.

"I... I... " he gabbed like a fish on dry water.

"It's fine Natsu. To be honest I don't blame you for not trusting me. I mean... I've seen what that... creature... can do so I know how confusing this is. I mean, I know I am, and I know I should doubt your identity as well but somehow I just feel it's you. It's like... well it's like my heart is able to recognise you when everything else is filled with doubt"

She was smiling warmly towards him making him feel even worse about himself. He wanted so desperately to believe her. He truly did. But there was still this lingering suspicion in his mind causing him to doubt what was right in front of him. Heck, if this was a normal situation he would probably know for sure that this was Lucy. Her scent, her behaviour everything practically screamed the confirmation of her identity. So why... why couldn't he just believe in her like she believed in him? Had his short stay in the cave made him such an indecisive person?

Taking in a deep breath he extinguished the fire in his hands before rubbing his forehead. As he did this he lowered his head a bit while he stared at the ground underneath him.

"Look I'm sorry. To be honest this just feels too convenient for me to just stumble upon you right this. No not because you're naked, you know I don't care about that" he wasn't looking at her so he didn't see her offended look but kept talking "I just... well... it's just hard for me to believe the creature in this cave would permit me to just find you like this. Call me paranoid if you want it's just... well... it's hard knowing what's real and what isn't. I want to believe that its you, I do. Especially because I... want to believe you're alive" his voice broke as he uttered the last sentence.

"Natsu I... I don't don't know how to convince you that it's me. But I know that somehow you'll reach that realisation yourself. I have faith in that"

The sentence made him snap his head up to stare at the girl who was smiling encouraging towards him. How could she have so much faith in him? Why when he was doubting everything so much?

"I'm..."

"No!" She cut him off "Don't say it again! It's okay. As I said I don't blame you" she had a determined look in her eyes as she said this. The look did nothing to ease the blame that was rummaging through his body.

Sighing he stopped rubbing his forehead and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Thanks. I... hey you're shaking"

"Oh, yes well the water in here isn't exactly heated you know... so..."

"Oh"

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Lucy's cheeks started blushing a dark shade of red.

"I'm not getting out of here while you're staring at me Natsu!"

"Huh? Well I don't care about..."

"I care! Now turn around before I make a naked Lucy kick on you!"

He could feel his own cheeks blushing slightly but he did as she said and turned his back against her. His action could be considered a sign of trust but his senses was on high alert all the time if something suddenly happened. It only took a few minutes for her to put her clothes on but for Natsu it felt like an eternity passed by.

"You can turn around now" he heard her say before turning around to stare at her now fully dressed.

He wasn't sure how he felt at the moment. Truly he wanted to feel at ease. But still...

"Natsu?"

"Hm?"

"I know it must have seemed weird that I was taking a bath in this place. I mean it must seem suspicious somehow, right? To be honest I wanted to keep searching for you but when I found this place I couldn't resist taking a bath for some reason... so... if you don't believe it's me because of that it's okay... I guess... it is kind of weird taking a bath now that I think about it myself, hehe"

Natsu watched as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck while a slight blush started spreading cross her cheeks.

"Natsu I... I'm just so happy that you're okay. It... was hard being alone down here not knowing what had happened to you or if you were even alive. I mean... who knows what could have happened to you? Don't take this the wrong way! I have faith in you and of course I know you can accomplish anything because if you're determined about something you always pull through. But still... it's kind of embarrassing saying this but... I... I... was so scared... it was so dark and I couldn't see anything..."

He felt horrible as he watched a few lonely tears running down her cheeks.

"I..." Natsu tried but stopped as started shaking her head.

"It's okay... I guess I'm just weak at the moment or something"

"You know it's okay to feel scared sometimes. It's only natural feeling that way especially if you're concerned about people who are important to you. I was scared too running through this cave not knowing what had happened to you. But as I said I think that's natural and no I don't think it's a sign of weakness. Actually I think it's a sign of strength that you can have those feelings. So you're not weak, in fact because of your gentle nature and your ability to admit you're own flaws you're stronger than a lot of people. Even me..."

He watched her smile warmly towards him making him blush slightly.

"Thanks Natsu... I... I know this might be too much to ask... because of the situation and all. But would it be okay if I hugged you?"

"Uhm..." he was so surprised by her request that he didn't know how to react. So he just stared at her with wide eyes.

"... you know it's okay if you say no..."

She looked so embarrassed and fragile as she stared at him with huge glistening eyes, making him feel horrible and conflicted. But then again what harm could a hug do?

"Uhm... I guess that's okay...?"

Lucy was smiling brightly towards him before she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head gently against his chest.

"Thanks Natsu..."

"Uhm, it's nothing... really..."

His hands were hanging awkwardly to his sides because he wasn't sure if he wanted to hug her back. In some aspects he wanted nothing more than return her gesture. On the other hand... on the other what? What was the worst that could happen?

Sighing he placed his arms around her small figure. It felt rather nice and he could feel how his own emotions somehow seemed to calm down. Her scent, her presence, everything was like a soothing blanket that made a warm comfortable feeling spread through his body. He wanted her to be there. He wanted her to be safe... no, he needed her to be safe. She was a very important person to him and in so many ways she was his saviour. Natsu knew this but he never showed what he felt towards her. Of course he showed his gratitude from time to time but he never really owned up to it directly. Well he wasn't sure how he should do that other than giving her something nice or telling her how important she was to him. Or maybe he did know how to show it? Didn't he kiss her when he thought she was dying? Did that count as something or was it insignificance because of the situation? He didn't know for sure but he knew that only time would tell what his own emotions was trying to tell him. For now it didn't matter. Now was all about the presence and the girl in his arms.

"Thanks Natsu... for everything... for trusting me..."

"Mmm..."

"Natsu... I really mean it. Thank you... for everything. I know I should feel sorry..."

"Hm? No, you shouldn't feel sorry"

"Yeah... you're probably right... I shouldn't..."

He could feel her twisting slightly in his arms, which made him furrow his eyebrows in confusion. The confusion didn't lessen as he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

"... and I don't!"

"Wha...?"

Looking down he stared in disbelief at Lucy who was smirking deviously towards him.

"As I said..." she ducked out of his embrace before taking a step backwards "... I don't feel sorry"

The pain in his stomach seemed to intensify and instinctively he brought one of his hands to the area. As he did he looked down at his hand and to his surprise it was covered in blood.

"What.." Natsu whispered as he lifted his gaze to stare at Lucy.

"What, what?" she said teasingly "Oh, you mean this!" a giggle escaped her lips as she held out a dagger that was covered with blood and something else... poison?

"Why...?" he asked in a pained voice as the world seem to get more and more blurry.

"Mm... because I love you"

His heart felt like it was tearing apart as the world started to crumble before him. He knew this wasn't Lucy. It couldn't be. But still... to hear those words after being stabbed. It hurt. It fucking hurt. The pain from the wound seemed so insignificant compared to the suffering he felt in his soul. His heart was beating uncontrollably inside his ribcage making him clench a fists above his chest. As he did his breathing started becoming more irregular making him heave for air. He didn't know if his body reacted this way because of the poison or because of his emotions. Not that it mattered. Nothing seemed to matter, he thought as he gave a pained look towards the blonde, who was grinning viscously.

This was beyond evil... first he watched her die and now... he felt the pain of being betrayed by one of his closest friends. Because even if he knew that this couldn't be Lucy, it just couldn't, it didn't prevent his heart from suffering by her actions.

Why, he thought one last time as a wave of darkness swept him away, leaving the dreadful situation as he fell unconscious.

A/N: Should have trusted your instincts there Natsu. That's all I'm saying... I'm not going to judge you for thinking "what harm can a hug do?". Nope! Hugs can definitely be lethal if used in the correct way... I guess. Nighty, night dragon slayer... hope you wake up in the next chapter!

Natsu: "You're evil!"

H: "Oh yes!"