Natsu was sweating more than he'd like to admit. The soldiers that had reappeared continued to spawn in the guild hall, leaving him to fight his own battle. He had to continually dodge Lucy's attacks while trying to reach Xeno. The dragon slayer figured if he could defeat Xeno, then his mind control on Lucy would be broken off. At least temporarily anyways.

He tried getting through to Lucy with his words, but if they didn't work when she was being controlled from a distance, Natsu assumed that they definitely wouldn't work now. He sidestepped yet another attack from the blond. Xeno's spell appeared to enhance her strength and speed because her movements were much quicker than usual. Natsu was just glad Lucy didn't have her keys to fight with.

There were instances such as right now where her kick caught Natsu in the side. He sucked in a breath at the impact before jumping back and placing distance between them. Looking past Lucy, he saw the smirk Xeno had on his face. It was one that he wanted to punch off.

"You might not be able to stop his spell, Lucy, but I'll bet you can make him work harder to have control. If you can hear me in there, you gotta keep fighting it," Natsu said.

Lucy's face remained expressionless. A second later, and she was lunging for him again. Natsu sighed as he ducked, moving past her in an effort to reach Xeno. A step more and Natsu swung his fist, a blow that was dodged. Before he could throw another punch, Lucy had grabbed his arm and threw him against the wall.

Natsu grunted, pushing himself back up. "Can you stop that?! I'm trying to help you here!"

Lucy seemed to ignore his words as she began to stride toward him. But Natsu saw it. The slight hesitation in her step. It was so quick he nearly missed it, but when he looked to see Xeno concentrate harder to gain full control again Natsu smiled at himself. Lucy was fighting.

If she could get herself to hesitate a bit longer, he might be able to land some real hits on Xeno. A new determination lit inside Natsu. He pounded his fists together, breathing out fire as he felt a rush of energy surge within.

He watched as Lucy remained in place for a second, taking his chance and charging at Xeno. He grinned when he was able to make solid contact this time, a fire dragon iron fist punch connecting with his opponent's jaw. Lucy was there again. This time, Natsu could tell her movements were slower. She planted her foot and kicked for his chest. The fire dragon felt the difference in strength this time. Her kick was weaker, and that meant that Lucy was fighting.

"You got it, Luce! You're almost in control again. Just keep fighting!"

Natsu could've sworn he saw the smallest twitch in her lips. Almost a smile. Lucy looked to be fighting harder. The glow in her eyes was fading, and her movements were put to a halt. Natsu grinned at her efforts. Almost immediately, his smile fell. He watched in horror as Lucy reached for a nearby piece of broken glass, lifting it and thrusting it in her stomach.

Lucy felt trapped. She was watching everything play out through her own eyes. Her body wasn't moving the way it normally did when she willed it to. She had been trying to regain her movements for the last ten minutes.

The blond couldn't push away the dread that filled her every time she landed or came close to landing a hit on Natsu. He was talking to her, encouraging her to overcome the mind control. She wanted more than anything to do exactly that. But she didn't have the slightest clue how to.

Lucy had been wracking her brain for any way out of the spell she was under. Words, movements, anything… it didn't work. She tried stopping herself from stepping toward her partner, and was sure she felt her body listen, but only for a second. Lucy flinched as she watched herself throw Natsu into the wall. She smiled when he got right back up, a small smile crossing her face when he talked to her.

The next second, Lucy thought she heard someone else say something. Except it sounded like it was in her mind. She tried to stay in place but watched as her body moved on its own. Lucy shrugged it off, instead trying to listen for that same voice again.

"—ou stupid brat. Not much longer, and it will be your own ally who kills you."

It sounded exactly like Xeno. No, it was Xeno. But when Lucy could see him past Natsu, lips shut in a tight line, she knew it was in her head. He was obviously using magic power to control her, but was he using more now than when he was controlling her from a distance?

If so, Lucy deducted that his words in her mind were a result of that. That was why she heard him the same time she was able to stop herself for a moment. Meaning that if she could hear him more clearly now… he must be close to out of magic power.

Lucy concentrated harder. She focused all her mind and any power she might have over herself to regain control of her body again. It felt like it was working. She managed to keep herself from moving for a few seconds, watching as Natsu seized his opportunity to attack. She saw a look of anger flash in Xeno's eyes at the realization that Lucy was fighting back.

"You little—"

Xeno's voice flashed in her mind again. Whatever he had to say was cut short once Natsu delivered a blow to his face. Lucy was shocked when she felt as though she was the on the receiving end of the punch Natsu had just delt. Her face stung painfully. But it all made sense now.

Body link magic! Lucy had thought to herself. That must be what Xeno was using to control her. There were loopholes in this type of magic. If she could just think of a way to break the link, then…

Her body moved again without her consent. She attacked Natsu once more, but this time Lucy was able to keep herself restricted. She delivered a kick that even she could top without the enhancement from Xeno's spell. Natsu even noticed the missing power that she possessed just a couple minutes ago. She smiled when he complimented and encouraged her efforts.

"If she won't kill you, then I'll just have to do it myself."

Lucy's eyebrows shot up at Xeno's words. She could see him behind Natsu. He pulled a blade from a sheath attached to his belt. Lucy shouted at Natsu to turn around, but her words remained in her head. Xeno began to run towards Natsu. He was only a few feet away. Even if he turned now, Natsu wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time.

The next few seconds went by in slow motion for Lucy. Panic and desperation made her heartbeat quicken. Her eyes darted, looking for anything in her view that she could use to help Natsu. They landed on a jagged piece of broken glass. Once the thought crossed her mind, Lucy didn't think twice.

She focused as hard as she could, willing her body to bend to her command again. She could've cried tears of joy when it did. Lucy bent down, snatching the piece of glass her eyes had found. Without hesitation, Lucy thrust it deep into her stomach.

Xeno froze in place before dropping to his knees. He clutched his stomach in pain while rocking back and forth. Natsu's eyes hadn't left her, but when Xeno grunted in pain, he spared a glance his direction. The dragon slayer really didn't get enough credit for his wits sometimes. He pieced what happened together almost instantly.

Xeno waved his hand, and Lucy had full control over herself again. She fell to the ground while her hands hovered over her stomach. Xeno stood, somehow looking both impressed and unimpressed. He smirked a callous smirk at her.

"I'm surprised you figured out my magic so quickly, but to go to such lengths just to break free of it? That mistake will cost you," Xeno said to her.

Lucy coughed, breath quickening and eyes wide when she saw the blood that came from it. She swallowed, a replacing her scared look with one of determination. "And your mistake… will cost you even worse."

Xeno nearly laughed as he scoffed at her. A light grew burning bright just a few feet away from him. It caught Xeno's attention. His smile faded when he saw the murderous look in the salmon haired boy's eyes.

If Lucy didn't know who Natsu was, she'd be terrified of him right now. His gaze was violent and focused on Xeno. Xeno flashed a cocky smile at Natsu, but Lucy could tell he was petrified.

Natsu was covered in flames. His body was rigid while his fists remained at his side. They were clenched so tightly his veins were popping. His lips tugged downard; his eyes narrowed with a single intent. The scales on his skin told Lucy he had reached a whole new level of rage.

Dragon force.

X

Hello again my lovelies ❤︎ Sorry it took a while for me to update. I am in the process of moving so it's been a bit busy recently haha! But I am back to writing and posting on time again :)

Let me know what you think of this chapter! Next one will be posted once this story reaches 49 reviews ❤︎