I am back with chapter 61! Please R&R and I shall see you at the bottom of the page.

POV: Lucy, Lucy, Natsu

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

I run as fast as my feet will take me, but my progress begins to slow down due to the fact that my body has taken enough beatings from the explosions. There's also the fact that it's deathly cold outside and all I have on is my long sleeve sweater shirt, a skirt, boots, and my torn leggings. It's hardly enough to keep me warm in this weather and I can already start feeling my fingers and toes go numb.

As I continue to push myself down the long dim road, something falling catches my attention and I stop to see what it was. I'm panting hard from running so much that large puffs of smoke billow out into the cold hair in tempo with my breathing. When I can't find what I was looking for on the floor I decide to look up in time to see more small things falling from the navy blue sky.

Snow. It's snowing.

Holding out my shivering hands, I watch as a few flurries of fallen snow land on my hands only to melt the next second. The other small flurries that fall around me stick to my clothing and hair as I continue to stand there in the middle of the street in a daze.

This is the first time in seven years that I've seen snow up close like this. It hardly ever snows back in Crocus, but when it does it only lasts during the night before melting completely the next day. Magnolia has been the only place I've been to where I've seen snow pile up so high that it felt as if it would swallow me whole.

My mom loved it when it snowed. She would always take me and my cousins out to go and play in the winter wonderland. We'd build snowmen and snow forts where we would hide from the boys when they would start throwing snowballs at us. Sometimes we'd even go downtown towards the skating rink that the town would set up and we would all skate while my mom watched us from the side. Afterwards we'd go and drink hot chocolate to defrost ourselves from the day's cold weather.

Winter was always my favorite season when I was little. That is until my mother passed away on a night the snow first fell…

I clutch my head just as a splitting pain assaults my head making me fall onto the cobblestone ground under me. The pain radiates from my skull and down my back threatening to split open as I wail into the night over the intense pain. Images flash throughout my brain in blurred colors making it near impossible to make out what they are.

A sense of fear takes over me as I begin to feel the pain slowly die down to a light thrumming in my head.

"Mommy where are you?!"

My head snaps over to the sound of a child's voice calling out from somewhere near me. I look around to my left but find only dark unlit buildings that are starting to be blurred out due to the falling snow.

"Mommy answer me!"

I feel a small gust of wind whip past me seeming to be heading towards whatever is at my back and on impulse I turn to find a large building towering over me. No, it's not just any ordinary building. Kardia Cathedra looms over me like a vengeful dark angel seeming to be warning for me to run away.

Standing to my feet, I wish to comply to the dark warning, but just as I am about to turn and continue running away something within the doors to the church catches my attention. I watch as a woman with blonde hair makes her way into the church and I can't help but feel like I know her from somewhere.

Taking a step towards the church, the warning bells that have been silent until now return, but they're not as loud as they usually are. They almost sound like wind chimes as I slowly make my way towards the large church feeling a bit nervous. I'm shaking vigorously as I pass through the open gates of the church while shuffling my heavy feet over the thin blanket of snow that has already covered the cobblestone floor.

Clutching my arms tightly to try to retain some warmth, I reach the steps to the large church and climb them towards the slightly open doors. I push my way inside finding the room to be empty and completely dark other than a few rays of light filtering in through the stained glass windows.

The last time I was inside the church had been when the members of Eisenwald had kidnapped me, but I had been taken to the top floor at the time. Even when I escaped I hadn't come down to the first floor since I was so intent of getting away as fast as I could and I only thought about going to the roof. Looking at the large room now it seems a bit familiar and a dark chill runs up and down my spine.

I was around eleven years old the last time I had been here when I came with my family some time before Christmas. Everybody had been so happy that day, but something tells me that that is not the memory I should be thinking about. Mostly because at that time the church had been lit up with dazzling candles that shimmered like starlight, but the darkness it holds now makes me feel like I've seen it before.

A dizzy spell takes over me as I crash into the side of the door and I barely have enough time to catch myself before I fall down. The pain from my head feels familiar now. It's just like those headaches I would get after my memory had been wiped away by Chelia so that I could forget about that night I babysat both Chelia and Wendy. I remember the pain from that night I had that nightmare of when I had been attacked by Mister Justine. I had been so confused at the time with so much pain coming from memories that wanted to be resurfaced.

Could it be that I was trying to remember something I had forgotten before?

"MOMMY!"

Suddenly everything comes crashing down on me like a ton of bricks. It's like when I hit my head after falling off the side of the church only a few weeks ago and all of my lost memories came back to me. The only difference from then is that I'm awake now instead of sleeping.

But what's worse, watching a nightmare while sleeping, or seeing it unfold before open unclouded eyes?

The dark room in front of me is no longer empty, it's still dark, but it's not empty. Two figures stand in the middle of the long aisle of the church seeming to be saying something to each other. It's almost as if they're arguing, but one of the figures seems to be calm while the other has a more urgent attitude.

"Listen to me, you don't understand…" the shorter of the two says sounding as if they are close to tears, "You have to tell me what happened Layla."

Layla.

That was the name of my deceased mother. Layla Heartfelia Dreyar.

Even though the room is dark, the little light that is filtering in through the windows is enough to allow me to recognize my mother. Her golden hair is wrapped up into a neat bun and her face looks calm and composed as her chocolate brown eyes, a clear replica of my own, look down at the man who continually speaks to her urgently. She's wearing a large brown sweater shirt that reaches just above her knees with thick leggings underneath, but even though it's completely cold outside she doesn't seem to be shivering.

"Nothing happened. I don't know what you're talking about dad."

Dad?

Now that I look closer at her shorter companion I instantly recognize it to be my grandfather. His expression, unlike my mother's, is full of pain and sadness. Tears spill down his withered cheeks at his daughter's words and I can see his hands shaking from either the cold or something completely different.

"Layla…" he says, but his voice wavers making it hard for him to continue as he looks off deeper into the shadows within the dark church.

They both remain silent before Layla moves forward and hugs her father tightly as he continues to shake, "Come now dad, its cold outside. We should head back home before Jude and Lucy start to worry of our absence."

As she moves back to look at her father Makarov places a shaking hand on her face and strokes her cheek, "I love you so much Layla," he sobs making my mother smile sweetly at him.

"Oh daddy," she says while shaking her head and giving my grandfather that kind of look that you usually give a child who is crying over something silly, "I love you too."

She leans in and kisses his forehead sweetly before suddenly leaning back with a gasp. Grandfather's sobs are no longer audible as Layla looks at him with eyes filled with disbelief, "I'm sorry Layla," is the only thing my grandfather says before my mother looks down at something between them.

When she looks up her eyes land on me and widen even further when she recognizes me through the darkness. Her soft smile surprises me even though I don't know what's going on and I take a step back to run when I feel myself crash into something hard.

I look up in time to see amber eyes looking down at me with pink tufts of hair billowing in the winter breeze coming through the open door, "Well what do we have here," he says while placing a heavy hand on my shoulder preventing me from escaping. Tears unwillingly spring from my eyes making the large man's own eyes widen in shock. He looks up over at my grandfather and I follow his gaze to find the old man standing alone in the large room with my mother completely missing, "Oh," comes the strange man's deep voice as he looks back down at me, "I'm sorry you had to see that kid."

He pulls me in closer in an almost awkward hug as silent tears continue to stream down my cold cheeks as I try to process what has just happened.

"Lucy?" I look over to find my grandfather looking at me with wide eyes as he slowly makes his way towards her.

"You know this kid master," the man behind me asks and my grandfather nods solemnly, his eyes red from his previous crying.

"She's my granddaughter," he whispers, his red eyes still trained on me as he stands only a foot away from us, "The target was her mother."

The hand holding me down falters before squeezing me a little tighter than before, "I'm so sorry master," he says while sounding completely remorseful.

Grandfather shakes his head before kneeling down on one leg before me as he stares at the ground seeming to be thinking of something, "Grandpa, where's mommy," I ask him and he flinches as he looks up at me with the saddest eyes I have ever seen in the nine years I had been alive.

"Don't worry Lucy," he says while nodding up at the man behind me who places a hand over my forehead while also shielding my eyes, "By the time you wake up tomorrow you won't remember a thing."

And after that complete and udder darkness consumed me for the very first time…

No one knows how much time had passed during the fight, but once knowledge got out that Lucy was no longer within Faiy Tail Academy grounds Eisenwald disappeared within seconds. We were all battered from the fight we had put up against the enemy members, but thankfully no one was seriously hurt. Loke, being the only poltergeist in our team, was able to take out a few of the members for good while the rest of us weren't so lucky. I guess escaping with our lives was luck enough.

We had regrouped after we made sure that all of the students that were caught in the blast were safe and thankfully no one had seen the fight. Who knows in what kind of trouble we'd all be in if more than one student had suddenly caught that mental disease that is contagious. It's the main reason why we keep this all a secret because if too many people knew about how messed up the world really was they'd no doubt spiral down a path of insanity. I've never witnessed it happen, but I've heard stories that have described how unpleasant and heartbreaking it could be.

After making sure that everyone was out of the burning building and that the unconscious members of the Thunder God Tribe were in good hands, we had to figure out where Lucy was before Eisenwald got a hold of her again. We needed to look fast and we had already lost precious time while checking for survivors and seeing if no one was infected.

Now, all the Fairy Tail members were running down empty streets with streetlamps our only source of light in the darkness. It had begun to snow some time while we were checking on the students and now just about everything was covered in a thin blanket of pristine white snow. It was actually starting to snow harder with small gusts of cold wind blowing at us from different directions, but thankfully the cold didn't really bother any of us.

We were all following Master Makarov who was running with one destination in mind, Kardia Cathedra. He had insisted that we go look for Lucy there first and ignored everyone's arguments when others volunteered to go search elsewhere just in case. He was more than adamant when he ordered us to follow him.

"I do not wish to question you master, but are you sure she's even there," Juvia, ever the word of wisdom, asks when we turn a corner leaving us only a few more blocks to go, "What if she went somewhere else? We should split up and search for her in other…"

"My instinct tells me that she's there," Makarov barks silencing the bluenette within seconds, "And if it tells me that she's there then that means she is."

No one says another word as we continue to follow the stubborn old man feeling doubtful and just as worried all the same.

Not long after we freeze at the sound of a bloodcurdling scream coming from just down the street, right where Kardia Cathedra is standing in all of its magnificent glory. The screams continue and it doesn't take long for us to recognize those heart stopping screams.

"Lucy," Jellal yells and without a word Makarov pushes himself faster to reach his granddaughter.

It doesn't take long for us all to reach the gates of the church only to freeze at the heartbreaking scene before us.

Lucy, whose smile shines brighter than the afternoon sun and whose warmth could beat that of a burning fire has completely shattered. One look at her and you'd think that this person was someone completely different, and there was a probability that that could be true because the girl in front of us was a stranger. Lucy's usual well combed hair is dirty and tangled all over her head. Soot, blood, cuts, and bruises cover just about every inch of her exposed skin and her clothes are torn and raggedy. She was a broken version of the girl we used to know, and it was all our fault.

Just a few feet away from the steps that lead into the massive church, Lucy is on her knees as she clutches her head and continues to scream at the top of her lungs. Tears stream down her burning red face in endless currents and her mouth is wide open with more screams and sobs escaping from a broken down dam. She's shaking vigorously as she rocks back and forth while she continues to scream and clutch her head as if it's about to split open. Looking at her like this makes my chest feel empty with a lump forming in my throat that threatens to choke me.

I take a step to go towards her, but a hand stops me from moving any further. I look up to find Gajeel's dark red eyes staring at me emotionlessly as he shakes his head. It's a silent warning for me to keep my distance from the broken girl only a few feet away from us.

Groaning in defeat, I look back towards where Lucy is still screaming so loud that I'm sure she'll make herself sick if she keeps it up. If only I could run towards her and hold her tight enough to keep her from shattering completely.

I finally understood what Gildarts meant when he told me those stories of people he's witnessed who fell down a path of insanity. He said you could clearly see the invisible cracks on a person as they slowly shattered like a thin sheet of ice with a large rock sitting on top of it. He also mentioned that the worst part of it all was watching it happen and not being able to do a single thing to stop it.

"It's just like grandmother Grace," Laxus whispers while staring at his cousin with defeated looking eyes.

We all look at him confused just as Makarov balls up his hands into tight fists and slowly makes his way towards his shattering granddaughter. His fists, white at the knuckles for how hard he has them balled up, shake at his sides while his eyes hold a firm determination. He's going to try to save his granddaughter and anyone with eyes could see that.

"Lucy," comes the master's deep voice that seems to fill every inch of this miserable place.

Lucy's screams die down as she slowly looks up at her grandfather. Her eyes are puffy and bloodshot but they also look distant and… dead. Her breathing is shallow and her quivering lips are turning blue from the freezing air around us. Her shaking hands remain clutching her head as she stares up at her grandfather before giving him an accusatory look.

"Y-You.." she starts, but her shaking voice doesn't let her continue on from there as more tears stream down her ashen face, "G-grandpa you…"

"Lucy I…"

As Makarov reaches out a withered hand towards Lucy, her eyes widen and without warning she slaps his hand away harshly as she falls backwards while screaming, "DON'T TOUCH ME!" We all stare at her in disbelief at the harsh action she took against her own grandfather who just stands there seeming to be watching her with guilt ridden eyes, "Don't you dare touch me," she says a little softer than before.

"Lucy please listen to me."

"No! I won't listen to you," she yells while staggering up onto her feet, "I'm done listening to your lies, all of you!" she waves her fingers at all of us and I can feel something stab my heart repeatedly at the sight of disgust coming from her eyes.

Her finger finally points back towards Makarov and she's quiet for a few seconds as she sways dangerously on her feet. Her breathing comes in angry pants as she continues to stare at her grandfather with the strongest animosity I have ever seen in a human being. Her arm shakes violently as she continues to keep it elevated while she herself remains silent with anger rolling off of her in violent waves.

"Lucy…"

"I remember everything," she cuts off Laxus who had also tried to take a step towards the pair.

Everyone flinches at her words and from my peripheral vision I catch Juvia clutching onto Gray's arm tightly. The silence of the night was so thick that not even the wind whipping around us could do a thing to break it. Not even the sound of my own heartbeat could drown out this stillness even if it tried.

"I remember the endless times you told me to stay away from Natsu," she seethes through clenched teeth making me wince, "The times I would spend with him behind your back, the secrets you tried to hide, the times I was hurt and saved," she continues, her voice gradually increasing in volumes, "The time I went to Balsam village and watched Gajeel kill Levy, or the time I was attacked by both Chelia and that strange monster in my own home," every word she says is like a whip striking me with an incredible force, "I also remember the fear that came after losing my memories that time, and even the fear that came afterwards before Eisenwald first kidnapped me along with the fear that came after that!" Her words are shouts that are the only source of sound that leaves all of us wanting to bow our heads in shame, "You said you'd make the eyes that were scaring me go away," she yells, her dark eyes landing on me along with her pointing finger and I can't help but step back from the blow of her words, "You lied to me! You all did!"

"That's enough Lucy!" Makarov yells while grabbing her arm and forcing her to look down at him, "You have to calm down and listen to me!"

Ripping her arm out of his grasp, Lucy steps back shoots an angry look down at her grandfather, "No, I'm done listening to all of your lies," she spits while shaking her head, "I know the truth about everything so there's nothing you can say that will get me to listen to you." She points her finger back towards him and with the coldest words I've ever heard she calls him a, "Murderer." Her lip quivers as fresh tears being to form at the corners of her eyes, "You killed my mother."

Suddenly, Gramps' words from that time he called me to his office come racing towards me like a freight train.

"Layla Heartfelia didn't die of a major illness like many people think she did."

"I killed her."

"Lucy I…"

"SHE WAS MY MOTHER! YOUR OWN DAUGHTER! HOW COULD YOU KILL YOUR OWN DAUGHTER?!" she shrieks while backing away from him seeming to be heading towards us, "I watched you kill her before you had that man erase my memories as a little girl. You took my mother from me and lied about it." By now she's already passed us just outside the entrance of the church's gate while her grandfather follows her before stopping completely at her next words, "You're a monster," and then her eyes were on us before settling on me as she whispered, "You're all monsters and I hate you," looking back at her grandfather she says, "I want to go home. I can't stand being here another minute."

"Your father isn't home yet Lucy," Makarov says sounding completely void of emotion, "Your house is completely vacant with all of its staff out on vacation."

"I don't care," she growls in response, "I'll wait alone if I have to if it means being away from you," she spits and without another word she is racing down the street away from the real monsters that have plagued her nightmares since the day she first arrived to Magnolia.

Once she's out of sight is storm forward to follow her only to be stopped once again. Looking down, I watch as Makarov looks off towards the spot where his granddaughter disappeared while keeping his arm out blocking my path.

"Let me go," I growl feeling arms grab both of my arms, "She's falling Gramps! She's falling and it's my job to catch her!" I yell while struggling against both Gajeel's and Laxus's hold, but he doesn't seem to be listening to me.

Loke, who has been deathly quiet up until now, places a hand on the old man's shoulder and whispers, "He's right. Natsu may be the only person left who can save her."

Closing his eyes with a heavy sigh, Makarov nods once signaling for both males to let me go. I don't wait for anyone to tell my anything else as I race off following Lucy's footprints in the clean white snow with Kageyama's haunting words ringing in my ears.

"You can't save her you know,"

"No matter how hard you try you're going to end up losing her."

So I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written for this story and I'm quite proud of myself. I was going to cut it into two parts, but decided not to. I was also going to keep this all in Lucy's POV but one thing lead to another and I gave Natsu one last POV before the final chapter, which is in fact the next chapter. Yes my wonderful readers, the next chapter is undoubtedly the last chapter of this amazing story and I promise to get it out as soon as I can, so look out for that.

Shout Outs

Great thanks to my Fantastic Favorites...

- beaniechubs

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To my Fabulous Followers...

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And to all of my Fantabulous Reviewers...

- Splendora Lopez = I didn't think Zeref would be king either and those 12 spriggan people do seem strong, but Fairy Tail is going to kick their a**. Also, I am a huge fan of Noragami and it is da best! I just don't like that I have to wait an entire month for them to update a new chapter *sigh* and I'm also glad that you enjoyed the chapter.

- FDsecretart = If you thought that chapter was sad this chapter was completely heartbreaking. I shattered my own demonic heart while writing this chapter. I'm happy you liked it, though, and hopefully you enjoyed this chapter as well.

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- Snavej = And I have brought you more my dear child. Hopefully this quenches your need to read until my last chapter that will be here soon.

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- fanficlove2014 = So many questions and only a few have been answered. Hopefully in the next chapter I can answer the rest of your questions.

Well that's all the shout outs for today.

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Until next time my lovelies.