I'm back~~
Well friends, it's been a rough few months with my friend still getting sicker, but I won't get into it. Suffice to say, things are improving a little and with it my desire to write and I've been doing A LOT of writing.
This chapter broke the 12000 word mark for your reading pleasure, and with it, FTTD broke 500000 words as well.
So, I hope you all enjoy this chapter after waiting so long (sorry again).
~Onward!
59
The Light
The room was tense. Natsu was putting on a show of being unfazed by the surprising appearance of the demon across from them, but Haru knew better. The Fire Slayer's muscles were subtly contracted, his claw-tipped fingers twitching with the effort to not wrap them into fists.
"You've always been despicable, but I'd never have guessed your pride would allow you to join the ranks of Kyôka's pets," Natsu said, spitting the final word with as much acid as he could summon.
Despite the demon's face being a monochrome sheet of black, Haru swore he could see the smirk that peeled across it. "For this power, it is worth submitting to the Slave Demon," Jude declared, "I have only one wish left in this lifetime, after you and that ungrateful bitch I called a daughter, took everything from me."
Haru only knew Lucy's father by way of Natsu's recap years ago, having caught up with them only after the stellar mage had taken him down. He knew his partner still regretted not destroying Jude with his own hands, but Natsu had known, even back then, that Lucy needed to overcome him by her own power, if she was ever to move past the reach of his shadow. Jude would surely regret standing in Natsu's way now though, ethereal power-up or not.
"And what would that be?" Natsu asked coldly.
"Why Natsu, I should think that would be obvious," he said, amusement and malice dripping from every word. "My only desire is to drag you, beaten and broken before Lucy, and kill you with my bare hands. And when her spirit is truly broken…"
A dark chuckle permeated the space, despite its reserve, and it sent a shiver crawling down Haru's spine one vertebra at a time. But that unnerving sound hadn't come from their enemy. Natsu's face was void of any warmth, the words that followed, only ice and self-loathing. "She's already seen that," he retorted bluntly, "Lucy's stronger than you ever gave her credit for, and nothing you can throw at her will break her."
"Nirvana did."
Natsu flinched, barely perceptible, but he didn't question Jude further. Apparently that careless statement would be the final nail in their enemy's coffin. Natsu was done talking. Done letting himself be goaded into exchanging words like blades, especially when Lucy was not far away, and very likely in need of help. Power, orange-red and rippling with otherworldly vibrant blue streaks erupted in a column around Natsu, his ethereal markings expanded slightly, crackling with veins of glowing blue that reminded the Water Slayer uncomfortably of Acnologia. Natsu, who had been right next to him, was there and then gone in a split second.
Jude's body crashed into the ground with violent power, his head carving a line through the floor, driven by an unseen force. Natsu—End—appeared a moment later, blood-red eyes and sharp canines flashing in anger, as he leaned low over his enemy's head, pinned down with one hand covering most of the ebony face. "You've done me a favour, Jude, by showing your face to me again…" Natsu growled.
The temperature in the room climbed steadily, forcing Haru to wrap himself in a skin of ice magic, it was the most action he could find in himself at the moment. Instead, he continuously reassured himself that Natsu was still in control, that his demon instincts or Nirvana's influence weren't overwhelming him, despite all the negative emotions.
The shadows in the room swelled, expanding and contracting, before drawing toward the two still tangled on the floor. Jude let out an inhuman yell as he concentrated that power on Natsu, the cursed form of his dark star magic, magic that was no longer magic.
Rumbling filled the room and what remained of the walls began crumbling, the air dissipated, stripped from the edges of the room toward the apex of Jude's curse. Haru's hand whipped to his throat, immediately mastering his heart rate as though he were free diving again, ensuring the precious little oxygen in his lungs could sustain him while Natsu came up with his counter—and Haru knew he would.
Jude, head still crushed into the ground beneath Natsu's grip, sent a punch seething with the voids of space itself at the Fire Slayer and with minimal effort, Natsu caught the fist in his free hand. A webbing of red lines cracked outward from Natsu's fist, the void of his own curse swallowing the miniature black hole.
Grinning manically as Jude's eyes widened—perceptible only due to the gold lining them stretching—Natsu asked, "Is that all you've got? Gave up your humanity… enslaved yourself over to Kyôka… and this measly power is what you have to show for it?"
That same low, dark chuckle.
"I've waited a long time, to end you. Good riddance, Asshole."
Fire. A blazing mix of dragon-red and orange, god-black and the ethereal-blue… Haru's eyes widened, shocked at the level of control he was witnessing now, the mesmerizing beauty and devastating potential of Natsu's combined flames as they swelled and consumed himself and Jude. Nothing visible behind that curtain of fire. Haru gasped as the air suddenly returned and sucked in a breath as the flames winked out completely in an instant, leaving no ash or smoke to mark the spell or curse or whatever it had been.
Natsu reappeared in a flash to his left, and just ahead of him. Hesitantly, Haru reached for his shoulder and the fire mage jumped slightly, his head whipping back to meet his stare. The recognition in those red orbs offered Haru much needed relief. "You good?" he asked carefully, ignoring the multitude of other questions he wanted answers to.
Nodding slowly, Natsu started forward, "Nirvana is at Stage 2… We have to hurry," he said simply.
Haru didn't get a chance to ask what that meant because Natsu was already halfway across the room, charging toward the next obstacle between himself and Lucy.
Between themselves and Zeref.
. . .
The Gate was throwing off more light than Lucy had ever seen previously.
She had followed the hum of celestial magic right to it, confident she'd find the Black Mage if she did. Not Wendy's desperate plea, nor Aquarius appearing to scold had dissuaded her. Not the realization that Aquarius being unaffected had nothing to do with the water bearer's stubbornness, and everything to do with Leo and Gemini's own traumatic pasts contracted to dark mages, that had allowed Nirvana to turn them. Aquarius had pointed out that her current actions, selfish exploits that were hurting her friends, were now harming Leo and the others that had suffered through that once before. That maybe… She would turn out no better than her father on her current path.
Lucy had shot back a furious denial, but it still didn't stop her from restraining Wendy with the magic cord of her whip to keep her from following, or from Force Closing Aquarius' gate… She'd told Wendy she wasn't strong enough, and the young girl had pleaded that she let Fairy Tail help, because together they would be. The Sky Slayer misunderstood.
Lucy wasn't strong enough… She couldn't lose anyone else…
The light of the Gate pulsed even brighter, now void of any colour at all, just blinding light. Brighter than the magic it had expelled back when she'd been forced to open it, restoring Zeref's slumbering power… And it wasn't even open right now. The potential power that was building within the magical structure didn't seem to bode well.
It was a fusion between the Gate and Nirvana—Lucy had never considered the possibility that the power of the two might be combined, but Zeref had found a way. The devastating potential wielded by each magic tool—each weapon—separately, merged before her eyes.
They hadn't seemed to notice her yet, Zeref… and the pair of unknown demons with him, their collective attention remained fixed on the Gate ahead. A small mercy.
"I knew your misguided human love for Natsu would bring you here, Lucy."
Misguided?! She raged internally, even as she instinctually ducked back around the corner she'd been hiding behind, despite the evidence that Zeref already knew she'd arrived. "No need to be shy…" a cold voice said flippantly from behind her. Lucy flinched again, just catching a glimpse of Minerva before the woman-turned-demon shoved her, sending her stumbling forward and fully into the room. Recovering her balance, Lucy straightened defiantly as Zeref faced her, his cold eyes locking with hers.
Cruelty defined the slight upturn of his lips as he regarded her. "Nirvana has entered Stage 2," Zeref announced as his attention flicked over Lucy's shoulder to the demoness standing behind her, "Minerva." The name was an order on his tongue.
To Lucy's wonder, Minerva hesitated, looking slightly uneased as she surveyed the melding of Zeref's weapons. Still, she summoned her curse power, whorls of shadowy purple auras appearing at the tips of her fingers to either side of her, and with them—
Lucy gasped, "Yukino! Princess Hisui!"
More questions raced through her head, what did the Princess' capture mean for Laxus and his team? Yukino, she knew, had been captured during Haru's last mission… She hadn't pressed the Water Slayer for details, because he'd looked how she always felt these days, haunted by something no one else could possibly understand. Like he was struggling just to keep himself from falling apart in that moment.
"It's a trap Lucy! It's your power he wants, please run!" Yukino cried desperately.
"On the contrary, little celestial, all of you have your roles to play in the birth of the New World," Zeref told her.
"This again?!" Lucy barked, "you think your new world is going to be any better than this shit? News flash: the world sucks!"
"I'd think you of all people would understand my dream, Lucy," Zeref replied, "after all, everything I have done, I have done for Natsu, and I succeeded! I brought him back you know, centuries ago… and I created the Thirteen Gates of Tartaros to live on eternally—so long as their books remained intact—of course you Fairies ended that. But no matter, Hell's Core can be rebuilt." Zeref turned and ran a few fingers down Eclipse's metallic structure in wonder, his eyes reminiscent. "For decades I researched how to bring my little brother back, but the world continued to decline into more chaos, the continuing rise of magic brought nothing but more suffering, more death, and more grief. I couldn't bring Natsu back into that, not when the Gods were willing to abandon him in the first place, to forsake a life as joyous and innocent as his and subject him to indescribable pain… You could never imagine the sort of agony he experienced—I experienced—in his last moments."
Lucy's heart ached at the thought, she was grateful Natsu never gained all his memories back before… Well maybe that was the true mercy. Zeref continued on, unaware of her inner turmoil, "All the anguish of humanity is due to this power imbalance, the rise of magic that humans should never have mastered, corrupted their ideals… made them seek more power over everyone else. It was the power struggle between two factions of dragonkind and the first dragon slayers—after all—that ravaged the world, and my Thirteen Demon Gates, half-human, half-demon and the Etherious that walked the world then, that righted it. Reset it. The dwindling remnants of the dragon race and slayers were wiped from existence and dragon slayer magic lost with them. Still, ethernano levels continued to rise, and with it, the birth of increasingly powerful and power-hungry humans."
Cold, dead eyes flicked back to Lucy's, she felt a pit form in her stomach at everything that one look conveyed. Lucy, I have waited all these centuries to finally reset our world again. Truly this time, magic will be stripped from our world, once and for all and we can all live in peace. Don't you want to live in the world where you could be reunited with Natsu?"
Lucy's eyes burned, the cold numb detachment of Nirvana's influence fraying as her anger gave way under the mountain of her grief. "It's wrong," she said, voice trembling, "of course I want to see Natsu again… my mother too… but it's wrong. Stripping magic from mages is as good as stripping their life essence, so many good people, who fight for this world every day, will die! Who are you to decide which lives are worthy?!" she yelled.
Zeref didn't answer her question, his attention flicking back to the Gate as the blinding light faded, Nirvana's runes snaking over the Gate's frame. The Gate itself pulsed, steadily and with slowly increasing frequency until Lucy became aware of the increasing heat resting against her hip. The ten keys she wielded glowed vibrantly, their magic pulsing in time with the Eclipse Gate until the Zodiac's magic was forcibly stripped from their keys, streaking to each of the twelve key holes that decorated the upper arch.
The Black Mage grinned. "I am the God of Death," he proclaimed in answer, waving a hand toward the Gate. Startled sounds peeled out of her fellow celestial mages and both women vanished under Minerva's Territory spell, reappearing across the room, restrained to each of the two pillars of the Eclipse frame by an unseeable force.
A violent pulse of ethernano burst outward from the Gate, setting the entire room trembling under the magic pressure. "Zeref! What did you do?!" Lucy demanded furiously, clenching her key ring, now mostly void of the innate magic connection she usually felt with the Celestial Realm.
Heartfilia Estate
A film of muted purple fog clung to the air now, not quite masking the chaos of all the fighting in the surrounding area, but certainly obscuring attacks aimed her way into less identifiable blotches. Erza stood her ground, trying not to move unnecessarily and speed up the effects of the viruses. The shapes of her comrades and enemies alike moved all around her, the sounds of spells and curses, and of physical attacks being exchanged making it more challenging to stay focused. The black splotches and blurring in her vision weren't helping either.
The pair of blades she held felt heavy and with it, her movements sluggish. She tried not to think too much on the critical state Haru had been in when Laxus had returned to their team's infirmary all those months ago. She needed to keep Vira away from the rest of her guildmates, and their allies who'd come to join the fray.
Where are you, dammit?
Vira had dissolved into her miasma again, vanishing from the physical battle and waiting for an opportune moment to strike, no doubt. It was a cowardly strategy, in Erza's opinion, but an effective one and perhaps the smartest one, given Erza's initial strategy had been to aim for another win by severing the demoness' nerves as well… Couldn't sever what wasn't solid.
There!
Erza leapt, flipping to the side to narrowly dodge the sharp kick aimed for her head, she planted her feet and sprung back, blade flashing. It sliced straight through another purple cloud. "Dammit!" she cursed through her clenched teeth. Erza hated to admit it, but this was not a good match up for her. Maybe Wendy with her wind and enchantments, though even Wendy hadn't been able to heal the damage accosting Haru's lungs… Maybe Gajeel with his iron lungs would be unaffected by the virus, though his fighting style was as physical as hers…
Natsu… Natsu would have been the perfect answer to her curse. An extraordinarily high body temperature to burn away any virus… and flames to burn the demoness away, regardless of what state she adopted.
Natsu… What can I do?
Erza knew her friends fighting nearby were starting to feel the afflictions of the virus as well, she'd seen their steps becoming more staggering, their counterattacks and blocks slowing, and Vira's airborne curse continued to spread across the field. But maybe that formerly deadly combination of their Twin Dragons could be the answer she was looking for, water to douse and weigh down the particulate in the air, and fire to burn it all away. She Requipped her Flame Empress Armour, relying on the slight boost to her own body heat to slow the progress of infection, and pulled her Empress Blades from space.
She wouldn't lose. Fairy Tail wouldn't lose, they had to finish what Natsu and Haru had started while they were gone. The ultimate way to honour Natsu's memory.
Erza spun, slashing the blades through the air in full circles around her, pouring her magic into the twin blades to manifest a whirlpool of water laced with vortexes of fire. Sure enough, the water saturated the miasma clinging to the air and weighed it down, immediately improving visibility.
And then, a scream.
Head snapping in the direction of the scream, Erza was already in the air, vaulting towards the revealed demoness with her blades at the ready. Vira glared at her, skin blemished with angry red burns and animalistic fury in her eyes, "How dare you mar my beautiful face!" she screamed. Shock rang through Erza as the Virus Demon intercepted both her blades with her bare arm—or it had been bare—now it was coated in sleek black skin, hard as armour, her hand replaced with a pincer claw. "I loathe this form," she informed in a low hiss, "but for you, I'll make an exception."
Erza leapt back multiple times, getting distance between her and the unknown implications of this new form. Vira's lower body lengthened; a large, sectioned tail capped with a dangerous looking stinger morphing from her backside. She stood on six legs now, her body covered in that hard black skin that had rendered a strike from Erza's blade useless. Vira smiled revealing a mouthful of what looked more like claws than teeth as she flicked her tail back and forth and snapped her pincers in the air before her.
The whole thing was nauseating. Erza tightened her grip on the hilts of her swords subconsciously as she stared down the nightmare she now faced. "I can see why you don't like this form, it's hideous," Erza declared.
Hissing, Vira flipped her long lavender locks over her shoulder with one monstrously clawed hand, the only feature remaining that might be considered beautiful. "This won't take long," Vira alluded, "my neurotoxin is far more fatal than my viruses, you'll be dead in the next ten minutes."
Mercurius
Without thinking Lucy sprinted across the room, straight for Yukino, intent on tearing her off the Gate. She slammed straight into an invisible barrier and the force sent her staggering backward a few steps, her teeth ringing with the impact. Cursing, Lucy released her magic, attempting to summon Taurus' Star Dress and failed, only then realizing to what degree the Gate had severed her connection with the Celestial Realm. Lucy screamed in frustration, wrapping the power of Star Reform around her fists instead and began hammering away at the barrier separating her from her friends.
Nirvana flashed, light rushing through the runes spiralling around the Gate's frame from the arch to the base in waves, and then Yukino and Hisui screamed. Thinner chains of runes began winding around their bodies as well, tearing their magic from them and feeding it directly to Eclipse. Lucy cursed, changing tactics, and launched herself straight for Zeref, star magic rippling around her in glittery gold and voids of black. "Let them go now!" she demanded as she threw her fist at him, following with an onslaught of strike after strike. Zeref dodged easily, swaying around each attack without bothering to retaliate.
Suddenly, she couldn't move. With her body frozen, Lucy looked around frantically for what bound her, gaze landing on the Territory Demon still standing across the hall. Lucy was trapped in a pocket of space under Minerva's total control.
"With this, Nirvana nears Stage 3… Reversing the laws of space, time and magic," Zeref announced in a hysteric sounding tone. He burst into fits of laughter, "this, all thanks to the unwitting framework laid by the powers wielded by Acnologia and END!"
"What do you mean?!"
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed? You, a girlso undeniably connected to another realm?"
Lucy didn't quite understand what the Black Mage was implying this time, was there something wrong with the Celestial Realm? She'd contemplate that later, right now she was just so fucking tired of hearing Zeref talk about Natsu as if he was still an unwitting cog in his plan. How dare he imply that Natsu was integral to the approaching downfall of the world he so passionately strived to protect. "Natsu's gone!" she screamed vehemently.
A low rumble preceded a loud explosion, one that knocked Minerva right off her feet, breaking her control over Territory long enough for Lucy to spin and get her forearms up to block the shower of rubble now raining down on them. The entire back wall, the one Lucy had hidden behind just a short while ago, had been obliterated, leaving only a cloud of dust and chunks of marble in its wake.
Lucy was fully aware she was gaping like an idiot, but it was a reassuring consolation to realize Zeref and his trio of demons looked just as bewildered. The dust was too thick to discern anything beyond it, but they weren't left waiting for long. Unbelievably, Wendy burst though, crying Lucy's name as she rushed straight for her and threw her arms around her waist. The blonde didn't think the situation could have gotten any more confusing, but there it was. Wendy breaking free of the magic whip seemed unlikely… but even if she had, Wendy certainly didn't have the kind of explosive power it would take to destroy a thick marble wall in one blow.
She sensed an overwhelming power before she saw anything, and everything that followed happened in the span of seconds. Streaks of fire and water blew by her, and slammed into the magic shield surrounding the Gate, shattering it as if it were mere flimsy plastic. The pair of unknown demons had been rendered unconscious, or more likely dead, on the floor to either side. Lucy hadn't even seen the strikes that took them down.
Impossible.
Eclipse seemed to quiver with the aftershocks of whatever had been unleashed on it, and there was Yukino, safely cradled in Haru's arms, and on the adjacent side with Hisui cradled similarly…
"Natsu…" Lucy said breathlessly.
Heartfilia Estate
Vira launched straight for her; her speed increased exponentially despite her now hulking size. Erza barely managed to shoulder-roll out of the way of the demoness' striking tail. Short pants rattled in her lungs as Erza remained in her crouched position, eyeing the way the soil bubbled with toxicity where she'd just been standing.
Ignoring the light-headedness that sent the world around her waving, the redhead vaulted over a second strike, springing off the end of her enemy's tail. From midair, she raised her the fiery blade overhead and swung it down, catching Vira in the left shoulder right between plates of that thick armoured skin, the blade sunk halfway into the bone.
Screeching in pain, Vira countered with her free pincer, catching Erza's leg in a bruising grip that possessed the potential to cut it clean from her body. Hanging precariously upside down as the Virus Demon's tail lashed again, Erza reacted in an instant, swinging her fire blade again and immediately followed its arc with the water blade into the same spot—the vulnerable, unprotected space of her enemy's elbow joint—and succeeded in severing the lower arm and pincer entirely this time.
Though not fast enough.
As she fell free of the steel grip, a single point of stabbing pain struck just between her spine and her scapula. Erza landed hard her upper back, and agony ripped through her body, her own cry of pain joining the demon gate's. There was no time to worry over just how much faster the neurotoxin could spell her end over the virus still tearing apart her respiratory tract. Erza rolled to the side and flipped back to her feet before Vira's tail could land a second successful strike to her abdomen and threw herself right back into the fight.
They whirled around each other, the embers licking along Erza's blade sending lines of fire cutting through the dark around them, lighting up the nightmarish maw of the demoness as she snapped back. The glow of her fire and other spells made Erza more aware of some the lower-class demons still around them, and her comrades… Many of them were down now, on their knees, the viral affects finally causing too much damage to allow them to put up much of a fight any longer.
They would die. There was nothing Erza could do to save them. Even if she could kill Vira with her next strike, before she herself succumbed to the poisons coursing through her own system, she wouldn't be able to cure her comrades of the effects of the virus. All she could do is make sure no one else could be infected, the pain of that conclusion was more than she could bear.
Her blade met the hammer-strike of Vira's remaining pincer, and she stabbed the water blade straight the previously injured shoulder joint, severing the second arm. Vira convulsed before her, the demon-scorpion's form lurching to the side, and it took Erza a moment to realize that was her own perception, the neurotoxins rooting deeper into her nervous system already affecting her awareness.
This was it, she wouldn't make it, but she could make sure she took Vira down with her.
Erza sprung up one last time, not bothering to dodge Vira's tail that pierced her side just above her right hip and wrapped her legs around the demoness' neck. Erza raised both arms, space glowing as she traded the Empress Blades for the Nakagami Halberd. Screaming as she twirled the long shaft of the weapon in circles overhead, the redhead swung downward with all her might. "Nakagami Starlight!" she yelled, tears streaking down her cheeks as the adrenaline continued to rush through her, the reality of everything crashing down around her. The halberd lodged deep into the center of Vira's chest, radiant starlight ripping through night temporarily as it shredded the demoness apart.
The Virus Demon collapsed with a sound that was muffled by the gurgling blood in her throat, and Erza collapsed with her, each and every breath a fight now as her nervous system began failing to provide motor control to her heart and lungs. Lying flat on her back, half sprawled over her defeated opponent, Erza stared at the sky, the stars that glowed on in defiance of the darkness in the world. She let out a long sigh, wishing she could've done more.
I'll see you soon, Natsu… Simon…
"Yeeeehaw!"
Erza's eyes blew wide open at the familiar call, and trailed after bursts of mint green magic popping across the span of the battlefield. Pearly wings, glowing faintly with magic even in the night whipped by overhead, Happy, swooping by with Bisca in his paws as she rained magic bullets down on the ongoing fights. Back-up had arrived, but too late. More explosions of gunner magic, but the demons around her didn't seem to be dropping under the assault. Erza's head was swimming too much to even begin to analyze what was happening.
"Shadow Dragon's Roar!"
Rogue was here too… lower demons toppling like dominos in the face of his power. Maybe some of her comrades could be saved then, maybe for some of them, it wouldn't be too late. She could hope, and that hope gave her some peace.
A short moment later, Happy and Bisca landed nearby, "Erza! I'm sorry we're late!" Bisca was saying over Happy's concerned wailing. "You're going to be okay now, hold on."
Erza tried to shake her head, she knew there was nothing that could save her now, not with the neurotoxin wound deeply into her already—but Happy wasn't moving to lift her and carry her away to safety. The blue cat just watched idly as Bisca shifted, extended her weapon and took aim, aiming for her. The green magic circle of gunner magic wrapped around the barrel of the pistol and the proceeding bullet found its mark in the center of her chest, sending an incredible warmth through her entire body.
Bisca knelt, sliding an arm around her shoulders and lifted her gently from the scorpion corpse. The green-haired woman laughed lightly, "Leave it to you, to be stubborn enough to take down a literal virus, when anyone else should have died," she said lightly, flicking a thumb at the body beside them.
Breath easing slightly, Erza met the gunner's eyes with confusion, "How?" she asked in a strained voice, throat still ravaged by her ordeal.
"Porlyusica was able to make an antidote from the blood she had stashed from treating Haru back at the Games," she explained, "it took a little bit to adapt it to magic bullets that could be administered more quickly."
"But—" Erza rasped out a breath again, "that was… the virus… the neurotoxin…" she tried to ask in broken sentences, revealing the hole in her side. Viruses and neurotoxins had different antidotes, whatever Porlyusica had concocted, it shouldn't have worked on her.
Bisca shrugged a shoulder as she pulled out some bandages from the med-kit strapped to her hip, "Got me Erza, I don't pretend to understand the old woman's work… she's on a different level of brainiac."
Erza nodded slowly, pondering. Porlyusica must have been experimenting with the properties of demon-physiology since learning Natsu's true nature. Years of studying the make-up of demonic ethereal power… Maybe it was something in Vira's own virus that yielded the antidote to all her powers, after all, they were facets of the same curse.
"Anyway, let's get you patched up and off the battlefield to recover—no arguments—Master is holding the perimeter on the estate, so Porlyusica can treat the injured."
Swallowing the various arguments that Bisca had predicted she'd propose, Erza nodded again. She was lucky to be alive, the least she could do is let the old healer's antidote fully neutralize the virus and the toxins in her body so she could properly aid her friends without becoming a burden. She glanced around the Heartfilia lands, pops of colour still pulsing through the dark in vibrant colour at random intervals.
They were ending the Thirteen Gates, one by one, Torafuzar, Lullaby, Tempesta, Vira… Ezel had escaped his end at her hands, and there was still Keyes to contend with as well.
Jellal…was Jellal okay?
She closed her eyes, trying to stay focused on the war, and not all the unknowns. Though, speaking of unknowns, half of the Etherious remained unaccounted for… including END. Natsu.
Haru, I hope you know what you're doing.
Keep fighting everyone, we're starting to turn the tables…
Mercurius
He had horns.
Natsu had horns.
Not the horns of fire, proof of his mastery over Dragon Force… but real, physical, demonic horns. Lucy couldn't breathe against the weight on her chest, she stood frozen in the middle of the chaotic scene. Natsu was keeping Zeref and Minerva at bay while Haru and Wendy worked behind him, trying desperately to save her fellow celestial mages after their power had been stripped from them by Nirvana. The Gate's doors were opening slowly, the power stifling.
"Yukino won't wake up!" Wendy cried.
"Magic Deficiency Illness is more dangerous the more magic you hold, just focus on helping her, I will see what I can do for Hisiu!"
"You can use healing magic?!"
"I don't know, I have to try, you can't heal both of them, not with this much magic drained from them."
Magic exploded against an invisible shield across the room, an array of different colours of embers flying in every direction. Natsu flipped to the side, avoiding Territory, and vanished in an instant, leaving cracks of space behind. Then Minerva was smashed into the floor, face first, Natsu's clawed grip wrapped around the back of her neck as he unleashed a storm of fire toward the Black Mage again.
With Minerva down, Zeref and Natsu continued in an unrelenting barrage of strikes, but Natsu still appeared to be at a disadvantage. And Lucy still couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Couldn't trust her eyes. The Fire Slayer was sent flying by a burst of black magic. With a flare of fire he flipped mid-air, planted his feet on the wall he'd been about to hit and landed unscathed. Without taking even a second to reconsider his strategy he shot right back for their enemy, yelling at Lucy as he flew by, "Lucy! Snap out of it, I need your help!"
My help…
Lucy could hear her pulse in her ears, her heart hammering against her chest, she thought she might pass out. Then a column of water erupted and burst apart, and Wendy was alone with the two women. Haru materialized on the other side of the room, matching Natsu strike for strike as they fell into their usual strategies.
Natsu in this demon form, and Haru in an enhanced form of his Dragon Force—if the golden shimmer over his cerulean scales was any indication—fighting in perfect tandem, building on each other's attacks seamlessly… The Twin Dragons facing down Fairy Tail's most dangerous threat once more, as if the last weeks had never separated them.
What the actual fuck?!
"Lucy!" Natsu roared, "close the Gate!"
Lucy's attention shot to the Gate, the doors half-open now, and widening still, expelling more nauseating pressure. "I… I can't," she breathed, so quietly that not even dragon-enhanced hearing would have picked it up over the interval collisions of such destructive spells. "My keys don't work! I'm not connected to the Celestial Realm anymore!" she yelled back louder now, voice breaking with the true weight of that admission.
Natsu and Haru were both sent careening with the force of Zeref's next spell, cries of pain ripped from both of them. The Water Slayer hit the ground not far from her, back rolling on the impact and grinding his feet and hands into the formerly smooth floor to stop in a crouch, already surveying the fight again. Opposite them, Natsu was already up and on his feet again, meeting the Black Mage in brutal hand-to-hand, that Lucy could barely follow.
Exhaling slowly, Lucy extended an arm, bracing it with the other, "Mavis, lend me your power, please." She worried that after falling to Nirvana's influence, that she might be cut off from the First Master still, so relief flooded her when she felt the warmth of the Grand Spells fill her veins. The child-like voice agreeing with a happy chirp to help.
The Fairy's power welled inside her, building until it's pure light flowed off her, untainted this time. That got Zeref's attention, as though just now realizing she was still in the room, and one of Fairy Tail's most powerful spells was being aimed straight for him.
The Dragon Slayers doubled their efforts in trying to force his attention back to their battle, but Zeref didn't appear concerned, he appeared thrilled. "Yes! That's it!" he called ecstatically. The Gate throbbed in response to her magic, Nirvana's runes lighting up again. Suddenly, Lucy felt a strong pull, like a vacuum sucking her in. Except it wasn't her it was her magic.
"It's Nirvana!" Haru shouted, "just like back then! It's absorbing our magic!"
"We need to stop it!"
The combined magic pressure of the Twin Dragons spiked, and Lucy was vaguely aware of their Abyss Break unison raid being fired straight for the fusion of Nirvana and the Gate. This time though, their destructive power did nothing to affect it. Bolstered with all twelve of the Zodiac, and the magic of two celestial mages, the five elements wielded between the Dragon Slayers was simply absorbed.
Undeterred, Natsu tried a solo attack next, leaping at the Gate with space literally fracturing around him and unleashed a barrage of ethereal blue flames and was thrown back by an eruption of gold magic. Celestial magic… Light based magic… Natsu screamed in agony as he crashed into the ground, tearing the marble up with the force. Haru was next to him in a second, gaging his injuries.
Air. Lucy's breaths were getting shallower. She was panicking. She stared at Natsu from across the room, his shoulders supported by his partner as Haru appeared to be using ice magic to seal whatever wounds he'd sustained. Light against a demon, and Natsu was a demon now, she reminded herself.
Demon or not, Lucy couldn't watch him die again, or any of her friends. Her gaze snapped back to the Gate as she leaned away from the power pulling at her. Pulling at her magic. The Gate had stripped the magic from her keys, and now Nirvana would strip the Grand Spells from her. And Zeref would use them for whatever terrible plans he had—she couldn't let Mavis' power be used to hurt Fairy Tail, and everyone else.
If she could just close the Gate, that should de-activate Stage 3 at least, but how? The Gate only closed when someone crossed through it… She shook her head. Screwed her eyes shut as tears built up. She could do it, for her family.
"I can close the Gate!" Lucy yelled to the room. Zeref whipped toward her, eyes wide in what looked to be panic, and then Lucy broke into a full sprint, straight for the expanse of white void. The Black Mage began throwing spells at her, running toward her, trying to intercept, but she was too far ahead.
"NO! Lucy please don't go!"
Natsu.
Lucy leapt, just a few feet from the Gate with Zeref right on her heels, intent on stopping her. The blinding light swallowed her, and she was gone.
Unknown Place, Unknown Time
Lucy woke slowly; dim light met her when she opened her eyes. She appeared to be in a rundown home, though the blankets she was wrapped in were fresh and clean, a stark contrast to everything else in the space. The only light was filtered through some frayed green curtains that hung over the window, casting the room in a green-tinged orange. Was it sunrise? Or sunset? More importantly, where the hell was she?
The last thing she remembered—
She whipped up in the small bed she occupied, just now remembering that she'd thrown herself through the Gate to close it, and to keep Zeref's hands off the Grand Spells. As far as she knew, she should have landed in the castle—the Gate wasn't here, so someone had found her, and moved her.
Unease settled in her stomach at the thought. The world was so quiet, why was it so quiet? If this really was Dragnof, it should be a bustling city with hundreds of thousands of citizens and even dragons milling about. It was dead silent. Cautiously, Lucy stood and moved toward the small window in the room and peered out through the small tears in the curtain. It was sunset, the sun was a red globe through layers of smog or smoke, slowly sinking beyond the horizon. The streets were empty.
Lucy didn't know what to do next, she looked around again, and sat back on the bed feeling defeated. She held her keyring in her hands, just an ordinary set of keys now, no connection to the Celestial Realm. No way to open the Gate and return home, but at least that meant Zeref couldn't re-open the Gate to fully activate Stage 3 of Nirvana either. At least, she had to hope that'd be the case. He did seem frantic when she sprinted for the bright void of the Gate, declaring that she would close it once and for all…
Now she was trapped, and that was just the cost of saving her friends. Especially after she hurt them.
"No! Lucy please don't go!"
Natsu.
Natsu had been there… by whatever trick of magic, another of Zeref's deplorable living magic spells that backfired on him, no doubt. The Fire Slayer—or END—had clearly been on their side, working effortlessly with Haru as if their partnership had never been in question. Lucy hadn't even been able to bring herself to say anything, to fight with them when Natsu had demanded she snap out it because it was impossible. Another cruel ray of hope, and she'd known in her heart that it couldn't last. That his presence couldn't possibly be permanent.
Now she'd never know for sure, what events had brought him there.
Separated from her friends by centuries. Alone. Or with whoever brought her here…
Well, she had to do something, sitting here with only her memories and thoughts for company felt awful, and Lucy had always been good with pushing her emotions down through various distractions… One good thing she learned from her father, she considered bitterly. Well, maybe good wasn't the right word, but she needed the skill, otherwise she'd have been irreversibly broken so many times before.
Lucy walked over to the small bedroom door, and brought her hand up in front of her, summoning the sparks of her Star Reform just to be sure she had some sort of defense in case she ran into trouble. She wasn't that reckless… With her star magic glowing around her hand, the stellar mage gave herself a determined nod, "Okay… Let's see what I've gotten myself into…"
The first thing she noticed was the air, dry and thick in her lungs, remnant of the fire had ravaged this city… The buildings, including the one she exited were all damaged extensively, many just charred skeletons of the homes and shops they'd once been.
Now that she was outside, the silence was even more noticeable, the emptiness of the streets even more unsettling. And she could swear she was being watched. A city of ghosts. Lucy scanned the buildings to either side of her constantly as she walked, searching for signs of any other people, or any dangers. Her magic tingled at her fingertips, ready to defend or counterattack if needed.
Lucy had made it a couple blocks, and still nothing moved, nothing made a sound. It was also getting darker. She wondered if she should go back, but what would that do? She never saw the attack coming until she was slammed into the ground and pain was shooting through her ankle. Immediately she answered with Star Reform, the golden magic wrapping around her fist as she looked around wildly for her attacker.
An inhuman sound announced her company from behind her, she spun just in time to see a large beast in the air, lunging for her again. "Star Reform: arrows!" Lucy yelled, launching a series of gold beams right for its belly. It crashed into the ground, giving Lucy her first clear look at it, and she recoiled from the sight alone. It looked similar to a wolf, though much larger, with spikes peeling down its spine and a jaw big enough to fit her head. Fur covered most of it, but certain spots along its rib cage appeared to be decaying flesh.
She panted, heart hammering wildly in her chest again. Demon. Just where, or when, was she? There was a castle rising up in the distance, what she'd been headed towards, hoping she might find people hidden safely inside from whatever had ravaged the city beyond its walls… She'd hoped it would be Dragnof, that she could use what she'd learned from the guys to help her navigate. Seems she had bigger problems to worry about.
Lucy, turned in place her instincts screaming at her again, and then a second demon prowled toward her from the shadows of an alley. And another, from the other side, behind her. Lucy swallowed thickly. 'Mavis are you there? I could sure use your help about now…'
Nothing. As Lucy had feared.
The first demon charged, and Lucy let loose another round of arrows, bestial shrieks of pain rising as her target stumbled into the ground. The second was already on her, slamming into her side as she whirled to meet the threat, her head cracked off the ground sending stars across her vision. Gathering her magic, she punched the beast in the ear as hard as she could, freeing herself from the pin just long enough to scramble to her feet and start running for her life.
It was behind her, with one, maybe two more joining it, and rapidly getting closer. She could smell its rancid breath, feel the heat of its panting on her calves. Star magic swelled around her hands again as she fed as much power into preparing her Star Shatter as she could. Her magic reserves already seemed to be dwindling low, how was that possible? She'd only used a few spells!
"Star Reform: Shatter!"
The orb of bright light exploded above her and still, the growing pack of demons kept coming. Lucy's ankle screamed in protest, sending stabs of pain up her shin with every foot fall, but she didn't dare stop.
"Fire Dragon's purifying flame storm!"
A wall of golden fire cut off the demons, dropping one that had been midair with its claws poised for Lucy's back, in in a smoking mess not two feet from her. She whirled around, crying out in relief as she collapsed to her knees, staring at the remains of the demons that had been pursuing her.
"Lucy, geez! Do you know how worried I was? What were you thinking leaving the house?!" Natsu yelled as he ran toward her. He slid into a kneel in front her, already assessing her head with a couple careful fingers.
Anger snapped through her at the reprimand. "What were you thinking going off and leaving me?! I didn't even know you were here!"
He pressed his lips together in a thin line, belying his irritation despite the validity of her point adding colour to his cheeks. "I was only gone for ten minutes; I was doing a perimeter check before nightfall… You might have noticed there's a few more demons running around here, then in our time, and as I found out yesterday, they prefer the dark."
"Natsu look out—"
Spinning as fire ignited around his knuckles, Natsu buried his fist into the maw of another demon that attempted its attack from his blind spot. The creature collapsed in heap beside them, but she still kept the pink-haired man pinned with her glare, even as his own upset faded. He sighed, "Your stamina must be improving, I just honestly didn't expect you to wake up so soon after the Gate absorbed most of our magic when we crossed through. But I'm sorry, you're right, I should have been there when you woke up."
She looked away, eyes burning, "You should have been there for a lot more than that," she muttered.
The Fire Slayer didn't say anything to defend himself, and she couldn't see his reaction because she refused to look at him… but she was sure her words had to have landed with some sting. Whether he deserved her stinging remarks, she hadn't decided yet. Natsu turned away silently, and gestured for her to get on his back, which she did without further complaint. "Just keep pressure on that head wound… I will clean it up properly when we get back to safety."
. . .
Natsu sat in front of her on the bed she'd abandoned earlier, his eyebrows pinched in concentration as he cleaned the gash on the side of her head. He'd carried her all the way back, saying nothing the whole way. The horns and the black marks, and those strangely mesmerizing scarlet eyes were gone, leaving the Natsu she always pictured behind. Though she noted Tartaros' mark still remained on his left shoulder in the same shade of crimson as the Fairy Tail mark on his right.
Words were failing her again.
His head tilted to the side, pink bangs falling across his forehead as he stuck a bandage in place and his eyes finally flicked to hers. He gave her a small smile, seeming so unsure of himself for once—she rarely saw him struggle for words—this was a man that just said whatever came to his head, consequences be damned. "My scarf looks good on you…" he said, clawless fingers running down the length of the scaled material.
A choked sound escaped her throat instead of the words she intended, but he didn't press her to say anything. He simply remained still and considering, brushing his thumb over her knuckles… When had he taken her hand? Natsu was right in front of her, doing all the things she would have expected from her Natsu. And Haru had seemed to accept this reality, the only other person nearly as damaged as she was by everything that had happened. And if it was all a figment of her grief, or a facet of Zeref's truly fucked up plans, then why had Natsu jumped into the literal void with her?
But was this really Natsu? Or END? Did it really matter?
Lucy had known for months now that he was Etherious, it hadn't changed anything about what she felt for him. So whether he was human, or dragon, or a fully realized demon… It really didn't fucking matter to her. So long as he was Natsu. Her Natsu.
He definitely owed her a lot of answers though.
"Oh!" she yelped, realizing she'd been lost in thought, staring at him like a total weirdo. She pulled at the scarf, unravelling it from her neck slightly, "do you want it back?" she asked awkwardly.
Chuckling, Natsu shook his head, "Give it back to me when we've put all of this behind us… Loonie."
The old pet-name sent warmth through her whole body, despite the creeping cold and darkness outside, despite the demons roaming the world and only the thin layer of the dilapidated schoolhouse separating them from that danger. "You honestly still think we're going to get out of this?" she asked quietly, "after everything?"
Natsu flashed his signature toothy grin, and the sight literally stole her breath. Her Natsu. "Of course we will Luce! Not even death kept us apart! So not Tartaros and Nirvana, or Acnologia, or anything else the Gods throw at us will keep us and Fairy Tail from moving forward, together." He seemed to notice a little late that his haphazard mention of his death had her cringing, and his face softened, "I'm sorry Lucy, really, I'm sorry for all of it, for not telling you I was okay the second I was regenerated."
Sighing, Lucy drew the blankets around herself and hesitantly tucked herself against his chest, relishing the natural warmth as she had so many times over the years. "Tell me everything, help me understand."
And he did. Every heart-wrenching detail from what he felt when he realized that she was Kyôka's target, waking up in a tube completely disoriented, alone, and in the middle of enemy territory, making the split-second decision to infiltrate them instead of tearing out the Slave Demon's throat when Seilah tried to turn him with Macro… The devastation he felt when he'd faced Haru, and the immense, bottomless relief he'd felt when he'd realized that she hadn't accompanied the Water Slayer, because he could never have kept up his act… Not with her.
Lucy nodded to herself, with every detail revealed, even knowing he was waiting with baited breath for her reaction. Turning, she met his eyes again and traced her fingertips across his cheek bone where the ebony markings had been, before gliding them over the mark of Tartaros that remained. The unspoken question hanging between them. "I'm still me, Lucy," he reassured, he lifted his arm, the one he'd kept bandaged up until his death. The runes remained inked against his skin though they pulsed with vibrant blue when he focused on them. "I'm still me, still human, and Etherious—as I've always been—Hell's Core just awakened the more dormant ethereal powers and with it, my demon state—it was actually Kyôka threatening your safety that really did it—" he added quickly and continued without waiting to see how she felt about that. "I still channel that power through these runes… So it's really not much different from Dragon Force, except it doesn't drain my magic stores."
Lucy still couldn't find much more response than to nod dumbly. It was all so much. To lose him, and then be sitting in front of him, curled into his side like the last weeks had all be some terrible nightmare. "Luce…" he said in a shaky voice, drawing her attention back to his face. She sucked in a breath, startled by the shine of tears glistening in his eyes, threatening to fall. "Do I scare you? Do you still trust me?" he asked, partially echoing the words he'd asked back in Mercurius before revealing his true nature.
That genuine uncertainty was what finally broke her own uncertainty. "Idiot," she said though a quiet chuckle, "you're still Natsu to me." Shifting, she slid one leg over his to seat herself in his lap, slid her fingers into his hair at the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss.
It was gentle, reassuring, conveying everything they both needed to say after all the hardship they'd faced—and the fear of their current circumstances, but at the very least, they could take comfort in their reunion. If they couldn't get home, Lucy thought, at least they'd be together.
Natsu's hands were on her hips, stroking up and down her sides, then her back, pulling her impossibly closer as he tilted his head and slipped his tongue into her mouth. Lucy moaned softly in approval, sliding one hand under the hem of the dark red shirt he wore, exploring the planes of his abdominals. "Luce…" Her name was reverent on his lips, and hesitant, "maybe we shouldn't, this place isn't exactly safe," he said regretfully.
"I mourned your death Natsu, I mourned what our life together could have been," she told him, placing a chaste kiss on his neck, the edge of his jaw, "and now somehow, impossibly, you made it back to me. If we don't make it out of here—"
"We will—"
"If—" Lucy emphasized, "we don't make it home, I don't want to be regret not taking the chance I have now, to be with you again, like this, even if it's just one more time. Please Natsu."
She cut off whatever he was going to say with another kiss, sealing his lips more aggressively this time as she pressed him down to the worn bed, keeping the blankets he'd apparently requipped around them. Any remaining protests he might have had died when she unlatched his belt, the gold of the Twin Dragons' buckle glinting as she dropped it on the floor. His hands roamed any skin they could reach, leaving trails of heat everywhere they went, further igniting her as only he'd ever been able to do.
Still, she could see he was unsure, not quite his cocky self, letting her take the lead—rare for him. The blonde didn't think it was really their location bothering him, after all, he wasn't above roasting demons buck naked. His confidence in their relationship, in himself and what he thought she deserved,had taken a hit. If she were to hazard a guess, in true Natsu fashion, he was probably deciding whether he was still worthy of her, probably overthinking what she really thought after being confronted with his demon form.
She knew just how to snap him out of it.
Lucy stripped him of his shirt, and sat up, commanding his gaze as she rocked her hips against his slowly. With a coy smile, she trailed her hand down her stomach and snuck her fingers under her skirt and revelled in the flush that spread across his cheeks as she continued to roll her hips on her own fingers now. His lips parted as he watched her back arch under her own ministrations. "So…" she said in a tantalizing whisper, as she leaned over him, placing kisses over the defined muscle of his torso. She nipped her way along his collar bone and whispered in his ear, "can you enter your demon state at will?"
Natsu's eyes widened as she sat back up, trying to grasp her meaning. She continued working herself with her fingers, knowing she was making it extremely challenging for him to concentrate. The Fire Slayer shifted subconsciously, the compression of her weight on his hardening, concealed length must have been getting difficult to ignore, and uncomfortable. Still, he didn't try to move her, or relieve himself of his pants. By his expression, Lucy knew he was still grappling with the implications of her question.
It hadn't escaped her notice that he'd abandoned the form despite it obviously being stronger, despite his Dragon Force drawing on magic stores that the Gate had apparently drained significantly from both of them. He didn't want her seeing him like that. "Uh… yeah…" he said finally, slowly his hands tensed against the swell of her hips, reflexively trying to prevent her from causing more friction against his straining hard-on.
Meeting his stare beneath a layer of thick lashes, Lucy said as flirtatiously as she could, "Show me?"
"What—?"
The single word cut off in such a high-pitched squeak, a sound Lucy would never have guessed Natsu capable of, that she actually burst out laughing. That gained an indignant look from him, and he growled in protest as he flipped them, effectively cutting off her giggles, but she still met his eyes unflinching. "Maybe it's you that's scared?" she taunted, "'cause I'm not."
Lucy watched in fascination as he searched her face for hesitation, canines lengthening in a fashion no different from his dragon states. "Alright then Lucy, if that's what you really want."
Veins of bright blue pulsed across the runes that spiralled up his arm. Then the intricate black marks that all the true Etherious—the Thirteen Gates of Tartaros—shared to mark their activated demon forms, rippled up his arms, over his shoulders and across his pectorals. The tips of horns, glinting slightly with copper tones against the sleek black even in the dark room, poked through his pink locks, lengthening gradually until they curled back along the sides of his head. The flecks of red in his eyes swelled to fully drown out the onyx just as the final strands of his ethereal markings streaked across his cheekbones, ending just before the bridge of his nose.
Remaining completely still, Natsu watched her with an intense stare, waiting to see if she'd regret her request, no doubt, but she was only mesmerized. Just another facet of Natsu, no less incredible and unfairly attractivethan every other part of him. "Beautiful," she whispered, "your eyes… red, gold, or green… you can't hide the kindness in your eyes… if Tartaros knew anything of kindness, of love, you'd never have fooled them as long as you did."
"Luuuce," he whined, dragging out the syllable, "stoooop, you'll make me tear up again! I can't cry like this! I'm a big, strong demon!"
Grinning widely, she agreed with one emendation, "My big, strong, sexy, demon…" He blinked a few times, wonder painting his face.
"I don't deserve you."
"Are they sensitive?" she asked, flat out ignoring his comment, tone half mischief, half curious.
"Are what sensitive?"
Before he could catch on, she brushed her fingers along the curve of one horn from base to tip and back down again, wrapping fully around the base as she flashed him a mirthful smile when he shivered involuntarily. She did it again for good measure and he gasped in surprise, like he had been previously unaware of just how much sensation his horns might have. Lucy's other hand glided down his back and over his hip before disappearing into his pants, and he shuddered above her again as she wrapped her hand around his cock and gave him one long stroke.
"Fuck… Lucy…" he panted out, arms shaking with the effort of staying braced above her under the double onslaught of pleasure she was torturing him with. He growled lowly when she increased her pressure with both hands, and he lowered himself over her body, shoved her shirt and bra up in one sweep and eyed her from just above her exposed breasts, "two can play at this game, Luce." That was the only warning she got before he latched his mouth around one breast and snuck his free hand down her stomach to continue the work she'd started on herself earlier. Lucy gasped, clamping her thighs tightly against his hips as his thumb found her clit.
How long had it been since their last time? Just after they'd returned from the Games? Too long.
Not to be outdone, Lucy met the time of his strokes as he carefully pressed two fingers into her dripping core. He added another finger not long after, pumping deeper into her, the heat of his magic doing all the right things to enhance that steadily building pleasure. She was panting, rolling her hips shamelessly against his fingers as he laved attention over her other breast. Reflexively, she used the grip she had on his horn to pull him further against her chest and he growled audibly against her nipple, shuddering notably at the forceful action.
Curling his fingers inside her one more time, Natsu pressed down on her clit with his thumb at the same time and she came apart, crying her pleasure against the hand he'd covered her mouth with just in time.
He was grinning widely, entirely pleased with himself for getting her off first, he even caught the hand she had in his pants to prevent her from knocking him over the edge just yet. Cocky. She knew having him release END would get him out of his head after a time. Quirking a brow at the prideful look he was giving her, she asked him, "What, don't tell me that's all the big, strong demon's got?"
Lucy wasn't sure if she was going to appreciate the resulting flash of challenge that lit up those red orbs… He leapt off her and had his pants and boxers off in seconds, and the remainder of her clothing, save her panties, in the next. He stood there, at the edge of the bed, eyes scanning over every inch of her exposed flesh as he stroked himself lazily. The ethereal marks twisted down the sides of his legs and the fronts of his shins as well, leaving only the front his throat, abdominals, and quad muscles unmarked. "So this is what you wanted, Luce," he said, gesturing to himself—the ethereal marks—with his free hand, there was no questioning tone and no discomfort on his face anymore. "What do you think then?"
All overt confidence again.
Smirking up at him as she grazed a hand over her breast, her nipple pebbling at the ghosting touch, Lucy stood up, stepped close enough that their noses almost touched. "I think that your body is work of art, in whatever form you take… Now," she said as his chest puffed subtly with male pride, "are you going to finish what you started, or not?" Natsu caught her ass in both hands, pulling a squeak of surprise from her as he lifted her up and pinned her to the sturdier-looking wall. Then his lips were back on hers, his tongue aggressively exploring her mouth and her panties were—ash! Again!
"Dammit Natsu—" he cut her off with another kiss as he slammed himself deep into her. Lucy cried out, wrapping her legs tighter around his hips as she caught one of his horns again both as a support, and in retaliation. His answering sound, half growl, half moan, pleased her more than she could say. Natsu increased his frantic pace, as he nipped at her neck, claws slightly biting into the skin of her bottom.
All coherent thought was lost to Lucy, reduced to clinging to his shoulder and his horn just to stabilize herself against the harsh pace he set, chanting his name on repeat. "Gods, Lucy, I have never deserved you…" he said breathlessly, repeating his earlier words. His eyes screwed shut, lips parted with the exertion of supporting both their weights, muscles contracting and stretching as he thrust into her. Lucy thought the same of him. He really was a fucking work of art, in whatever form, she decided again.
Once again, she used the grip she had on his horn to forcibly drag him back in for a searing kiss, and whether it was the rough handling of his horns, or if she wanted to get overly romantic-cliched, the love she tried to convey with that kiss… Natsu gasped against her mouth, muscles tensing to keep them both steady against the wall as he came hard. She held his head against the crook of her neck as he rode out the waves of euphoria, still stubbornly managing to roll his hips into hers sporadically, refusing to concede getting her to a second climax.
Reaching between their bodies, he began skillfully working her to completion with his fingers and the heat of his magic. It only took a couple more strokes to have her seeing stars again, this orgasm impossibly stronger than the first, setting her toes curling and her whole body shaking. Lucy was aware of the tears slipping down her cheeks as the Thirteenth Gate—her Natsu—pulled his softening length out of her and carefully lowered her to her feet. He kept one arm around her waist, and the other braced against the wall as he caught his breath.
The soft breaths filling the small room, the heartbeat she felt beneath her cheek was all she could have asked for. Proof he was alive and here with her in this moment. She thought back to her conversation with Igneel while dancing around the Mercurius ballroom… about whether magic was borne of love or hate, the need to protect, or to avenge… and maybe it was neither.
It was Etherious, curse power—by definition, corrupted by the most negative emotions, that had brought Natsu back not once, but twice. And it was Natsu, who, wielding some of the most destructive lost magics and curses, chose to use every drop of that power to protect the world, rather than ravage it as nature supposedly intended. While Zeref, wielding ethernano, magic, which Igneel liked to believe was borne of love and a desire to protect, was choosing to use it to spread death in the misguided name of love.
So then, it didn't really matter where or how a power came to be, but rather, how each individual chose to use the powers they had been gifted. She smiled at the thought, looked up at Natsu.
"What's with you, Loonie?"
She didn't share her thoughts on magic and curses, instead she said lightly, "I guess that's one mystery solved."
"And what mystery would that be…" he said skeptically, like she was leading him into a trap.
"That your horns are super sensitive."
He rolled his eyes, "I'd thank you to keep that information to yourself…"
"You think I'd share the secret of your weakness? I'm putting that in my back pocket for the next time we spar, I'll kick your butt in front of the whole guild!"
Amused expression dropping completely now, Natsu pointed out incredulously, "I'd also thank you to never put your wicked fingers on any of my horns in public!"
. . .
It was a relief when dawn brought soft light into the room, and even tinted in green from the curtains, Lucy was beautiful. Natsu still couldn't comprehend just what it had meant to him that Lucy had not only accepted his return and forgiven the pain his actions had brought upon her, but she'd also embraced—quite literally, he thought, snickering to himself—his demon side as wholeheartedly as she did his dragonic instincts.
He could be content to lay here all day and just watch her, but that might be creepy… and they'd left Haru and the others at the mercy of a sure-to-be enraged Zeref. Natsu would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about them, even if Lucy throwing herself through the Gate had at least halted Stage 3, Stage 2 posed some potentially big problems for them already, according to Seilah.
"Hey, Luce…" he said softly, brushing the whisps of blonde bangs from her eyes.
She blinked a couple times, scrubbed at her eyes with the heel of her hand, "You're still here," she said softly. The fire mage just nodded, he understood the disbelief, he'd had numerous mornings like that when they'd first been reunited after Tenrou. Trauma made it hard to accept what was right in front of you sometimes.
"We need to get home Luce, which means, we need to get back into the castle and to the Gate… and there are a lot of demons between us and it, the castle is overrun, getting out was—"
"Wait, Natsu, slow down, what is getting to the Gate going to do. My keys can't open it."
"Well, I admit this is just a theory… But it's the best we've got, so we're just gonna have to trust it'll work," he told her as he untangled himself from her and reached for his pants, discarded on the floor. Lucy rolled her eyes as she made a spiralling motion with her index finger, Lucy for 'get to the point, Natsu.' She made no effort to get up and dressed herself yet, he chuckled. "The Celestial Realm stands still from the effects of time—"
"No it doesn't, it moves faster, remember?"
Natsu threaded his belt through the black combat-style pants he wore, and began turning in circles, lips pursed until he noticed Lucy pointing amusedly at his shirt that had somehow ended up in a ball on the other side of the room. He stuck his tongue out at her in retaliation. "Yeeeah, but the spirits are unaffected by time. The Leo Anna could summon and the Leo I summoned in the past were one, we couldn't both summon him at the same time."
"Okay, and how does that help us if I can't summon them anyway?"
"You, and the others travelled to the Celestial Realm by way of your power, if we do that now, maybe Horologium or the Spirit King can get us back to our own time, preferably at the exact moment the Gate closed." Natsu pulled on his shirt, oblivious to the incredulous look his girlfriend had fixed on him. He threw her own shirt at her, "come on, get dressed, would you? I'll explain the rest on the way."
She released an exacerbated breath, "Just two problems with your plan, Natsu." He quirked an eyebrow in question as he picked up her skirt and tossed that onto the bed too. "One: I'm not connected to the Celestial Realm anymore, I can't feel it, even a little. Two—" she held out a hand expectantly, "I can't get dressed because someone burned up my underwear again!"
Natsu grinned widely at the memory and approached her, looping his scarf behind her neck and used the ends to tug her toward him. "Don't be silly Luce, of course you're still connected to the Celestial Realm… That's the only part of this plan I'm sure of!"
"Well that's reassuring…"
He ignored her sarcasm outright. "Just think, Leo was able to summon himself to you, even when I had his key thousands of miles away on a different continent, right? You don't need some shiny pieces of metal to be connected with the Celestials, you're the badass Ruler of the Stars! Most powerful Stellar Mage since Anna."
The thoughtful look on her face pleased him, even marred by an underlayer of doubt, so he pulled the scrap of lacy material she called underwear from his requip space and dropped them in her lap with a cheeky smile. "Trust me, this'll work, just get dressed."
"I trust you."
A/N: So things (and our favourite idiots) are hitting their climax, won't be too long now before we finally start seeing how this first book ends.
I moved Gray's fight to next chapter cuz this one was already clocked in at over 12000 words...
So, any predictions?
I would like to extend all my gratitude to the readers who continue to be patient, encourage me, and leave thoughtful reviews, they mean everything. So to FyerFalcon, SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta, HisSecretLover18, EternalFlame, Nami4Life, NaLuLover28, mastercheif1229, Carla The Wizard, Godschildtweety, FireShifter, piratedylan and some guests, I send my undying love!
'Till next time,
~Muse