Rain, thunder and lightning cracked through out the sky as Erza gazed out the window of the guild with a frown. She more than wanted to go check on Natsu, but Makarov had stopped her in her tracks, saying maybe he needed some alone time. All she could think about was what's going on in Natsu's head at the moment. The mere thought of him curled up in his hammock, crying in his own despair of everything that happened. It broke her heart, causing a few tears to slip from her eyes, her hands quickly wiping them before anyone seen.

Footsteps could be heard behind her, but she paid it no mind, focusing on the raging storm outside that felt like a sea of emotions.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" Gray asked, stepping up next to her to watch the same stormy view.

Erza released a deep, dejected sigh. "It's that obvious huh?"

He chuckled softly, patting her shoulder. "You make it very obvious. But don't worry," his mouth became the line of a deep frown. "You're not the only one. You saw how he was before he left. I didn't even recognize him."

"That's what concerns me most," Erza added, rubbing her arm with a small frown. "He barely said a word to me everyday I visited him. It's like he was in a coma, but he was awake." She gritted her teeth tightly, feeling a new set of tears making their way to her eyes. "He looked... so lifeless, so numb of anything. I never once saw a smile from him after I left that room to get Lucy."

Gray clenched his fists tightly together till his knuckles were white at his sides. "Makes me wonder... did she tell him the truth?"

Erza turned to him with wide eyes, clenching her fist tightly with a small growl escaping her lips. "Now that you mention it. She did leave the guild rather abruptly with tears in her eyes. She hasn't even been to the guild at all."

"It makes too much sense for it to not be true Erza," Gray replied with a slight edge to his tone, feeling his very anger boil to the top. "If she did this to him..."

He felt a hand clutch his. He slowly looked up to Erza who had a determined smile on her face. "I'm going to find out. We need the truth now and then we'll focus on Natsu. I won't let him fall into darkness, not when he's done so much that we haven't done the same."

Gray couldn't help but smile at her comment, knowing she was right for the fact that Natsu pulled him from the dark more times than he could count. "You got me there. Go talk to Lucy and let me know what you find out. I'm ready to pound the sadness out of Flamebrain."

She giggled, letting go of his hand as she re-quipped into a rain coat, holding an umbrella in her hand. Without another moment's hesitation, she left the guild to head to Lucy's apartment.

Meanwhile Natsu slowly regained consciousness, lifting his bloodied head from the muddy ground. He stood on shaky legs, looking down at his mangled, bloody hands with gritted teeth as he clenched them tightly, feeling a strong surge of agonizing pain radiate off of them. "Guess I overdid it... Erza is gonna kill me," he muttered, wiping the mud off of his clothes as small drops of blood dripped from his cut open head. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath, turning towards his cot. With heavy footsteps he slowly dragged his body, a trail of blood following in his wake.

He slowly entered his home, immediately heading to the bathroom to grab a first aid kit he kept in one of many cabinets lining the wall. Natsu pulled out alchol, gauze wraps and bandages. He might not be skilled in medical knowledge, but he wasn't an idiot. Grabbing a cloth and placing it in between his teeth, he opened the bottle to pour over his hands as his screams were muffled. Blood ran off into the sink, staining the counter in red.

Natsu grabbed a hold of the gauze wrap, slowly unraveling the material around, gently wrapping them around the knuckles of his hands, biting down hard on the cloth that was in his mouth. After he finished, he grabbed a small cotton cloth, dabbing it with alchol as he used the mirror to rub the gash on his head, hissing at the burning feeling. He grabbed a small bandage unwrapping it to place it over the wound with a deep sigh. "Done..."

He stared at his body in the mirror, frowning deeply at the state. The muscles that were in his arms and body were much smaller, less defined. It didn't help he didn't eat for over a week he was in the infirmary. Natsu touched the bandage over his eye with a small growl escaping his lips.

"Feeling like a failure, a pathetic man are we?"

Natsu clenched his fists tightly, ignoring the aching pain in his knuckles with gritted fangs. "Shut up..."

"Such a pathetic boy to call himself a dragon slayer. You needed help with Acnologia, your weak, useless. Look at your left eye... oh wait you can't see it because you let yourself be blown up by a magic circle mine, while that red headed knight was helpless to stop it."

"I SAID SHUT UP ALREADY!" Natsu in one rapid motion, slammed his fist into his mirror, shattering it into pieces.

"Destroying more things in denial. Tell me Natsu... did Lucy visit you at all while you were recovering? Even after your pathetic meltdown."

A pain shot into Natsu's chest as he buckled over, clutching onto the counter with a ragged breath, his body shaking. "N-no... Lucy just needs time away from me.. s-she still loves me..."

"A funny way to show love huh dragon boy?"

He clutched his head tightly, a single tear streaming down his cheek. "S-stop..." Natsu begged in desperation, his voice slowly breaking into nothing. "Stop it..."

"Lucy doesn't want you, nobody wants you Natsu, accept it!"

As much as he wanted to deny the shadow's words he couldn't. Where was she when she broke his heart? Did she even call, stay one day with him? No... She wasn't there at all for him when he needed her. After everything he did for her, after all the times he saved her. This is what he got in return? Natsu poured his heart to her, and she... stomped on it without a care. "Lucy..." he whispered with an edge to his tone, gritting his teeth tightly together. "Doesn't want me anymore..."

If anyone could see it. The shadow had a a wide grin on it's face.

"Nobody does Natsu. Finally you see the truth before you. Now do us a favor and end your pathetic life."

Erza noticed the rain lighten slightly as the dark clouds began to part from the sky. She put away her umbrella, stopping in front of a familiar apartment building. "You owe me answers Lucy," she said, glancing up to her apartment window. "Even if I gotta force it out of you," with a bend of her legs she leaped up to the roof, landing next to her window. She slowly raised the glass, slipping into the dark room that shed no light. "Lucy, it's Erza. We need to talk," she called out before she heard muffled crying coming from the bathroom. Slowly she approached the door, raising her hand to knock on the door. "Lucy?"

"Go away Erza..." A hoarse voice responded, whimpering behind the door.

As much as it pained the knight to hear her friend sound so heartbroken, but she had a goal that no one was gonna stop her from achieving. "I'm not going anywhere till we talk Lucy. I know you know what's wrong with Natsu. So open the door or I will break it down," she responded with a commanding tone.

A quick shuffle from the other side could be heard, before the door opened to reveal Lucy who looked... awful. Her blond hair was a complete mess, standing up on straight ends, dark circles lined the corners of her eyes, along with the red puffy texture that showed she had been crying for a long time. "W-what do you want Erza?" She asked with a stutter, trying her best not to start crying once more.

Erza frowned gently, reaching out to touch the girls shoulder. "Lucy... what happened between you and Natsu?"

Lucy turned her gaze away from her, chuckling bitterly. "What do you think happened Erza? I told him the truth... and I ran away like a damn coward..."

The knight's gaze hardened with a small glare. "So that's why Natsu has been entirely different person since you left that day," Erza couldn't help but clutch onto Lucy's shoulder with a tight grip. "Do you even know what you just did to him? Do you even know what happened after you left?!" Her voice raised in volume as Lucy flinched at the tone.

"N-no I don't..."

Suddenly Lucy felt herself be pinned to the bathroom door, with a fuming scarlet knight looming over her with the deadliest glare she's ever felt off of Erza. "I'll tell you exactly what happened. He had a damn psychotic episode Lucy! When you ran out of the guildhall, he started screaming to the top of his lungs. Some of us rushed to his room and when we got there..." tears were streaming down her eyes, but her glare was still present. "He was having a panic attack, ontop of clawing at his chest like a wild animal... Lucy, he dug so deep into his skin, blood was on his finger nails and the gashes he inflicted upon himself..."

Lucy's eyes shot wide open, staring wide eyed at Erza. "W-what?!" She exclaimed in pure shock, tears threatening to spill out. "Why would he do that?!"

"I... I don't know Lucy. It took everything to bring him back to reality before he lost consciousness in my arms... He just got out of the infirmary today and even now," Erza stared deep into Lucy's eyes with a look of desperation and helplessness. "He's not himself at all Lucy. I'm deeply worried something is going to happen to him and I won't be able to stop it..." she couldn't take it anymore as she leaned against the blond's body, hugging her as tight as she possible could, sobbing her heart out that ached for the dragon slayer.

Lucy clutched onto her tightly, feeling her tears making their return. "I-Im sorry Erza... I'm so sorry for hurting him like this..." she whimpered, gasping for air with a sniffle. "I didn't mean for this to happen..."

"Please... don't blame yourself Lucy." Erza held the blond tightly against her body, rubbing her back up and down. "I know he or anyone could change how you felt about him. But I know you still care about him deeply."

"Of course I do! He's my best friend, his feelings mean the world to me... I-I just couldn't bare the thought of seeing how he probably hates me now.." Lucy answered with a choke in her voice. "I wouldn't blame him..."

Erza pulled away with a sad smile, her hand still resting on her shoulder. "Trust me Lucy, he doesn't hate you at all. He's probably more confused than anything on why you broke up with him, but more so hurt like anyone would be. Though..." she bit her lip, turning her head away with a frown. "His episode is what worries me the most. I've never seen Natsu seem so.. unstable before in all the years I've known him."

"I'm not sure what to make it of myself," Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes with a small frown. "Where is he now?"

"Back at his home. He insisted that none of us follow him, even Happy couldn't go with him and they are never separated from each other this long," The knight released her from her grasp, slowly walking over to the couch to take a seat, Lucy following right behind her.

Erza rested her hands on her thighs with a deep sigh, one of her hands running through her scarlet locks. "I don't know what to do Lucy... I want to go see him, but I don't want to invade his privacy if he wants to be alone. What can I do? What can any of us do to help him?"

"An answer I wish I had Erza," Lucy rested her back against the couch with a sigh of her own. She looked over towards the knight. There was a question she desperately wanted to ask her, but was now the right time? With a deep breath she poked Erza on the shoulder to get her attention. "Hey, Erza?"

"Yes Lucy?" Erza asked with a raised brow, turning her full attention towards the blond.

Lucy twiddled with her thumbs for a moment, biting her lip gently. "Can you tell me how you feel about Natsu?"

"What do you mean how I feel about Natsu?"

"I don't mean as a friend, or family. I mean... romantically."

Erza's cheeks burned in red as she stared forward, biting her lip at the question. How did she feel about Natsu? He's been her friend, someone she's looked at as a little brother, but romantically involving herself with him? She looked down at her hands, hoping to conjure up some answer in her brain. Lucy watched patiently with baited breath for her answer, noticing the deep blush on the knight's cheeks. "I.. I don't know to be completely honest," she paused for a moment to find the right words to process. "It was really never a thought that occurred to me since you were involved with him."

"Well, that is true," Lucy nodded her head with a small chuckle. "But think hard Erza. I think there was a time that you felt something for Natsu. I could see it in your eyes on the train when he was asleep on your lap. Your eyes never left his body."

Erza's blush deepened as she crossed her arms over her chest. "T-thats because I was concerned about him! He had just gone through that terrible accident, losing his eye. So of course my focus was on him."

Lucy giggled slightly at her reaction with a tiny smirk. "I wasn't talking about the second time. I was talking about the first time when you offered your lap to him. You were blushing up a storm, stroking his hair."

"W-well I-I um..." the knight's face was burning at this point in embarrassment, keeping all eye contact off the smirking blond.

Lucy placed a hand on her shoulder with a warm smile. "Erza, take a moment and dig deep to the times you've had with Natsu. I think you'll be surprised of what you find."

Erza did as she was told, rested her head against the couch, closing her eyes to dig deep into her brain. Suddenly, a surge of memories hit her like a ton of bricks. The tower, how he somehow pulled her out of that lacrima, and protected her from the blast, the lengths he went to take Jellal down, even consuming part of the etherion that could've easily killed him. The way he cried after, begging her to never do that again, and to live for her friends. Nirvana, Natsu practically fought the council's soldiers to not take Jellal for her sake. Just two moments that touched her heart, when there was so much more.

The battles they fought together, the times they spent as kids. Natsu was always there for her when it counted most. He never once gave up on her, but she never gave up on him. So many times she entrusted her faith to him to win the battle that felt impossible. Even the time she stopped Gray and Natsu from killing each other, which still confused her to this very day on why they were fighting in the middle of a war to begin with.

But then all those memories were replaced with the most recent moments. The time she spent in that room with him. His handsome smile, the beautiful shiny fanged grin of his, his soft pink hair that she could stroke forever. If... it was up to her she would've been in that bed with him, cuddling him against her chest, letting him know everything was going to be okay.

"If I'm being honest, I'd do it all over again."

The words that echoed in her head as she smiled. Even suffering something as terrible as he did. He would do it all again to make sure she wasn't the one who got hurt. It was all becoming too clear as a warmth spread through out her heart. How could she be so blind to this? Was she really that focused on Jellal? Who was she kidding to that question. She was obsessed with him, always desperately trying to get his attention on her. Then when she finally thought he had given her a chance, her heart forcibly ripped out of her chest because she deserved someone better than him. 'Yeah... I do deserve someone better. Someone who has always been there for me through my darkest days, always putting me first.' she thought before opening her eyes to look at Lucy.

"Well?" Lucy asked with a raised brow, a little grin that snuck it's way across her lips as she noticed the deep blush on Erza's face, but the smile that was there. "What's your answer?"

The knight pressed a palm to her beating heart with a smile as she proudly stated without a shadow of a doubt in her body.

"I'm in love with Natsu."

And there it is! Erza now knows where her heart belongs, and that's with Natsu. But how can you love someone that can't love another? Well, stay tuned to find out ;). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one. Later :)