Act 3

ATTENTION: MSLEAD ILLUSTRATED THIS CHAPTER. YOU CAN FIND IT ON TUMBLR. EITHER ON Mslead's TUMBLR PAGE OR Kytrin's

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30

Macbeth

"By the pricking of my thumbs,

Something wicked this way comes."

― William Shakespeare, Macbeth

...Natsu, can you hear me?

Natsu groaned as he flopped around on his cot, trying to get comfortable. While it was true they were able to move into a slightly bigger apartment, it was still an open floorplan with a single room and adjoining bathroom.

The bed creaked and groaned under his weight as he restlessly tried to find a soft spot to sleep on. But he couldn't deny it was cramped sleeping on the small mattress with the addition of Happy curling in his scarf.

"Natsu," Happy whined in his ear, his paw rubbing at his eyes, "can't you sleep...?"

He let out a gust of air, his hand resting on his stomach and his arm sliding out to support his head. Natsu gave Happy an apologetic look, his cheek twitching, "Sorry pal. I just can't seem to nod off."

There was something bugging him. Something coiling tension in his body and no matter how badly he tried to relax, it just seemed to wind him up more.

And now he was bugging Happy about it.

Natsu glanced over towards Lucy's silent bed, wondering if his creaking and thrashing about had managed to wake her up. He snorted as she snoozed away without a care in the world.

The girl might complain about his snores, but she could saw logs with the best of dragons.

Still, even with her snoring at least he would be able to stretch out on her bed, and it was a lot more comfortable than his cot. Maybe he should just join her! It wasn't like she was taking up the whole bed anyway. She could totally share instead of hogging it all to herself!

With that thought in mind he eased off his cot, mindful to keep Happy secure, and padded over to the bed. He paused to study the unconscious blond for a moment, something warm tickling his chest as he did. She really did look peaceful like that. It made him want to bug her in her sleep or something.

However, in the interest of his own sleep, he carefully peeled the covers back and moved to slither under them. However, the moment he did Lucy shifted and whined softly in her sleep, a frown tugging at her mouth and her brow wrinkling.

He immediately froze, wondering if she'd detected him and was about to wake up, but the way she curled in on herself dispelled that notion. She was dreaming.

And it didn't look like a particularly nice dream either.

"No mom..." She muttered in her sleep, her frown growing more pronounced, and he winced a little. Dreaming about your dead mom had to suck.

He quickly finished climbing into bed with her, glad that Happy had nodded back off, and wondered what to do.

He didn't want to sleep next to her when she was having a nightmare, but he didn't know how to get her out of it short of waking her up either.

He eyed her for a moment and hesitantly reached out to rub his hand over her back. Maybe that would help? He seemed to remember it had helped him whenever Igneel had done it.

He doubted it could hurt anyway.

However, before he could so much as touch her, Lucy's eyes snapped open and Natsu's heart nearly escaped out of his throat.

He snatched his hand away, drawing Happy out of his scarf and nestling him into the pillows, getting a sinking suspicion in his stomach that Lucy was about to be very unhappy with him.

"Uh, Lucy," He asked quietly, still somewhat afraid to disturb the night air around them, or wake up Happy. At least one of them could sleep soundly.

But she didn't say anything to him. Instead she sat up, rubbing the back of her hand against her eyes as she looked towards the door.

"...mom...?" Her voice whispered, Lucy's gaze riveted away from Natsu.

This time a flicker of alarm pushed through Natsu, his eyes widening at the way she seemed to look right through him. Lucy's gaze drifted over towards the cot he normally slept in, her teeth worrying her bottom lip.

She looked indecisive, but something called her to the door and her jaw set with determination.

Quietly, she crept from bed as if Natsu wasn't sitting directly next to her.

"Lucy, wait!" He hissed, reaching out to catch her arm, "Where are you going?"

Before he could snag her sleeve though, something repelled him, pushing his hand away before it could so much as graze her skin. And whatever the reason, she seemed deaf and blind to him.

"Please wait!" Lucy whispered to the phantom only she could see, not even bothering to slide on a pair of slippers and rushing quietly out of the room after the ghost of her mother.

That tension in the air, the one that kept him up.

Natsu's eyes widened as he recognized the soft pulse of magic. It was strange, almost undetectable. But it had the distinct sensation of powerful magic he knew from sensing it in the past. But what kind of magic could influence whatever Lucy's imagination could conjure.

He jumped out of bed and thudded from the room, ignoring Happy's whines.

He skidded to a halt as he got out the door of the building and looked around for Lucy. Her head start meant she'd gotten here just before him and of course she was nowhere immediately in sight.

Thankfully, her scent was still heavy on the night breeze so he hardly even hesitated as he picked up the trail and turned left after her.

He was a little surprised to find she was closer than he'd thought she would be. Apparently whoever had captured her had wanted to get her to this specific spot. And he could see why almost instantly.

It was an archway. He didn't know who had built it, or why, and he didn't really care. It looked old, like a portion of the town that had been forgotten. Thick ivy covered the seemingly innocent structure, but it made Natsu's heart coil in fear. What was important was that it would provide a good place for her to open a gate. Constructing them in existing doorways or archways was always easier for Lucy than not. Something about the right frame of mind.

Fortunately, she wasn't in the right frame of mind yet.

He could hear her entirely one-sided conversation with her mother.

"Are you sure mom?" Lucy asked, hesitation and worry in her voice, and Natsu's heart twisted a little when the invisible phantom apparently gave her the answer she was looking for as a wonderfully happy smile lit up Lucy's features.

It was like no other smile he'd ever seen from her. It was happiness. Pure, untainted, happiness. She must've loved her mother very deeply to have that effect.

A surge of guilt tore through him that he was about to spoil that happiness, but whatever was going on wasn't real, and it would only hurt her more.

His senses tingled as she began the spell needed to open the gate and he slipped forward. He didn't want to startle her and start the chase all over again if he could avoid it.

Instead he eased forward and slipped the scarf from around his neck. He couldn't touch her directly, but this should do the trick and get through to her. He hoped the dragon scales were strong enough to make a connection.

"Hey Lucy!" He called gently, trying to be as inviting as possible, "I need you to wake up now! Something fishy is going on." He managed to sidle up a little closer, "C'mon Luce! I know you can hear me in there!"

In a fluid motion, Natsu coiled his scarf over her head.

Tugging backwards on the ends looped around her shoulders, his eyes flashed through the darkness. Whoever was controlling the spell had to be nearby.

A crease formed on Lucy's brow, her hand lifting to graze across the scaled fabric Natsu draped over her. She shook her head, the gate beginning to half-form in the archway.

"No," She protested, her eyes fixated ahead of her, "My mom is right there! I can finally see her again."

Tears welled in Lucy's eyes, causing Natsu to take in a sharp gasp of breath. He stared at her, his eyes wide as fat droplets trickled over and ran down her smooth cheeks.

"She's right there..."

His heart clenched, his grip on his scarf loosening. Something akin to compassion tore through his chest and made it difficult to breathe. If he was seeing Igneel - what would he do? Stubbornly cling onto the belief he was there? Hold onto those scraps of dreams for as long as possible?

Natsu couldn't blame her and his heart ached anew. Lucy was crying. That sight alone was enough for him to push his feelings aside and ground himself in the moment.

A gust of wind, tunneling in from the half-formed gate, snapped them forward. Natsu grunted, his grip tightening around his scarf and his hand digging onto the base of one of Magnolia's prized sakura trees. Her desperation to reach her mother was fueling her magic, tugging them into the unstable gate.

"Lucy!" His grip tightened on the scarf, the only thing tethering her to him. Natsu was thankful the fabric was made from the toughest of dragon scales, otherwise he was sure it wouldn't have been able to withstand holding Lucy from the onslaught of her own magic.

"Your mother isn't there," He gritted through clenched teeth, straining to keep them both where they were, "And if you walk through that gate it won't take you to see your family."

"Lucy, please," He begged her, voice rising over the howling of her magic, trying to take her away. His heart hammered in fear. Fear that he would lose her to something mysterious and never be able to find her again, "Please look at me!"

Jerkily, Lucy's grip tightened on the scarf, her breath growing ragged as she spent her magic trying to escape towards the deception.

For a moment, he thought she was gone.

But slowly, she turned. Inch by inch, her teary eyes meeting his.

"N-natsu?" Her voice trembled, large eyes misty with water, and such a shattered expression on her face, Natsu thought his chest would burst in two.

"Your family is different now, but it's right here in Magnolia," He promised her, his gaze unflinching on hers. Grinding his heels into the dirt, he risked removing his arm from around the branch to hold a hand out to her. His grip on the scarf loosened as the wind began to die down.

He took that to mean her heart was indecisive again.

The choice for her to leave or stay was hers. He couldn't force it. Because whatever magic was preying on Lucy would only return if he forced the issue while she was still vulnerable in her decision. There had to be no doubts in her mind.

"I won't leave," He vowed and reached out to her, palm up, "If you decide you want to travel through that gate, I'll go with you."

Lucy hesitated, torn painfully between Natsu and what she knew was real versus the smiling image of her mother encouraging her to open the gate so they could be together again.

She wanted her mother to be real. Desperately. She missed her so much! Missed the family they had been when she was little. It was a constant ache in her heart and one which had opened again like a fresh wound.

"It is real." Layla murmured encouragingly, and Lucy choked on a sob even as she grabbed hold of Natsu's shirt.

"How can it be real?" She cried, her fists clenching tightly in the fabric of Natsu's shirt. Another thing she knew was real even if she wasn't sure about anything else, "You're dead!"

She jerked when she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder and buried her face in Natsu's chest, "I promise we'll be together again once you cross the gate." Layla soothed, "But you must finish it before your magic runs out."

"How will we be together?" Lucy demanded, stubbornly not budging, "The dead can't come back to life!"

It was a statement that shocked her as soon as she said it.

She'd flung it out there like a little kid daring her parents to explain something that didn't make sense. But as soon as it had left her lips it was like she'd been doused in cold water.

The dead couldn't be brought back to life.

Which meant... there was only one way they could be together again.

"No!" She shouted into Natsu's chest, tears streaming down her face, "You're not real! And if you're not real, your promises aren't!" She shifted enough to glare at the image of her mother, "You're not my mother!" She screamed, as the half formed gate began to collapse in on itself, "I won't open the gate for you! And I swear - whoever you really are - you will pay for this!"

Natsu nearly sagged in relief, his arms coiling tight around Lucy as he watched the gate disappear in a shower of golden sparks. His fingers twisted into Lucy's hair, pressing her to him as her muffled sobs wracked through her entire body.

Now with the spell on Lucy shattered, the lost magic twisted around, leaving a trickle of magic Natsu had felt before and a scent drifting in the wind.

He snarled angrily, fury on behalf of Lucy burning within him. That slimy little narcoleptic...

"Midnight!" He bared his fangs at the darkness, "Hiding out in the shadows isn't your style! Don't you usually like center stage?"

There was a moment of silence, where Natsu thought perhaps he wasn't going to answer, until the man's voice tilted into a light laugh. He still remained hidden a safe distance away, clearly not trusting his chances against him.

After all, Natsu could only detect one scent in the breeze, which meant he had come alone, no doubt on his Master's orders. He wouldn't want to risk bringing Lucy any damage either. Not if he wanted them captured.

"So you sniffed me out like a dog, didn't you End?" He asked, voice echoing around Natsu and making it difficult to pin down, "You realized I was using my Illusion magic, but only after a long time. Are your senses getting dulled?"

"Want me to find you to show you how dull they really are?" Natsu snarled, his eyelids drooping and lifting his nose to catch his scent in the air, "I don't think you'll like what will happen when I get my hands on you."

Lucy trembled in his arms, and Natsu's grip tightened, his mood blackening by the minute.

The very demonic impulse to find Midnight and tear him apart rose within Natsu. He would burn his individual parts to ash for hurting Lucy like this. Black fire bubbled in the back of his throat, aching to be unleashed. To purge the dark mage from the planet.

But he was reluctant to leave her when she was so vulnerable and spent of magic. Just because he didn't smell any more members of Midnight's guild wasn't proof of their absence.

"I think I've had enough fun for tonight, coming here on Rusty Rose's advice made for an interesting evening out to say the least," Midnight's voice faded, an edge to it that Natsu knew was tight consideration, "But I think we'll see one another again soon. The night is waning anyway, and I do hate the dawn."

And just like that, the wind shifted, taking away the man's scent and leaving Natsu alone with Lucy in his arms.

Natsu growled softly in frustration, but Lucy twisted in his arms so she could hug him more tightly had his attention shifting in a moment.

"C'mon Luce." He murmured, and reached down to gently scoop her up into his arms. It broke his heart to see her curling up as she clung to him and sobbed brokenly into his shoulder. It wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to be crying. Especially not like this.

She was supposed to be strong and smiling and always ready to confuse him with a bit of insight or butt heads with him over something. The sight of her any other way made all parts of him growl furiously.

Midnight had made Lucy cry.

He was going to pay very dearly for that.

However, he kept it to himself as he made his way back to their apartment. Unsurprisingly, Happy was awake when he got back, though he was clearly fighting off sleep, and looking very worried.

"What happened Natsu?" The kitten asked, even more concerned at the sight of Lucy in Natsu's arms.

He flew over and gently landed on Natsu's shoulder, reaching out to tenderly rub at Lucy's hair, "What happened?"

"Grimorie Heart and the Oracian Seis happened." Natsu rumbled tensely as he kicked the door closed and carried her over to her bed. She refused to let go of him so he obligingly crawled into the bed with her and wrapped himself around her as much as he could.

"I don't understand." Happy replied as he joined Natsu, upset that Lucy was so upset, and wanted to comfort her as much as he could.

Natsu just shook his head, "We'll talk about it later little buddy." He murmured, gently running his hands up and down Lucy's back and arms, "In the morning."

Happy nodded and snuggled up to Lucy as best he could. He didn't understand, but he could tell Lucy was hurting pretty badly and that was more than enough for him. He gently nuzzled the blond and purred for her as she cried herself to sleep in Natsu's arms.

Sorry, there's been a death in the family so I didn't have time to respond to anyone. I promise I'll do them next time! But again, thank you so so SO much for your continued support! You guys gave us another 50 reviews! Oh my goodness that's incredible, and it really helped to brighten my spirits these past couple of days. So I truly, truly appreciate it. Don't forget to check out the illustrated version Kytrin has on tumblr!

So again! Here's your well-deserved sneak!

"Would you mind," She asked shyly, averting her gaze down to her hands, "If I told you about them?"

His tan fingers closed around hers and he gave her an open smile. His thumb swiped across the back of her hand, over her pink guildmark and moved in a comforting circle.

"Tell me everything," He invited.