Lucy remained expressionless as she sat stiffly on her bed. She had a death grip on the omnicore, holding it closely to her. She was unresponsive to Natsu's former question.

The dragon slayer was crouched in front of her, but her gaze looked past him. There was a glaze over here eyes, one that made Natsu unsure Lucy was actually conscious or not. He called out to her again, gaining no response.

"C'mon, can't you hear me?" Natsu asking, desperation beginning to thicken in his voice. "Lucy!"

Natsu reached for the orb in her hands. The second his finger came into contact with it, Lucy pulled away, tucking the orb further into her abdomen. Natsu's eyebrow arched in confusion. Even though he only touched it for a second, he could feel the immense magic power flowing within it.

"Lucy, we gotta tell gramps you have it. We can go to the guild together, just—"

"No!" Lucy shrieked in a voice that did not quite belong to her.

Gone was the look of daze from her eyes, now replaced with one of anger. Natsu was at a loss for words. He had no idea what was going on. Sure, Lucy had been a little off and dealing with her episodes since her return, but this was something he hadn't seen yet. He needed to get Lucy to the guild, maybe Wendy, and he needed to get the orb back to gramps.

Natsu moved to reach for Lucy again before she pulled away, this time standing and placing a few feet of distance between them. She held the omnicore tightly.

"They'll be here any minute now," Lucy said with a smirk.

"Who—"

The gears in Natsu's brain moved slowly, but enough to put two and two together.

"The dark guild?"

Lucy nodded smugly while her eyes fell on the orb in her hands.

"My mission is almost complete."

"What are you talking about? Lucy—you need to snap out of this!"

Natsu took a step forward, making Lucy take a step backwards. He continued to move forward until her back was pressed against the walls. He reached for the orb, jaw dropping in disbelief when Lucy hissed in response.

"Did you just—"

Lucy turned her body, proceeding to elbow Natsu roughly in his abdomen. He felt the wind get knocked from his lungs, forcing himself to breathe again. He had enough of this.

"Okay, ow! What the heck's gotten into you?"

Lucy reached for whatever her hands could find on her nightstand. She sent the items flying towards Natsu, who ducked and turned to avoid them hitting his head. A water bottle, a book, a whole lamp! He blocked the lamp with his hands and Lucy was out of things to throw. The dragon slayer was done trying to get through to her. He was determined to stop her and get the orb now.

"Just had to do things the hard way," Natsu sighed.

He wasn't so cautious or gentle this time, quickly grabbing Lucy and turning her so her back was touching his stomach. She squirmed under his grasp but he held her firmly, managing to free the orb from her hands.

Natsu then let go of her, protecting the omnicore. Lucy was quick to try and attack him, screeching a 'give it back!' while diving at him. Natsu dodged her quickly, blocking and maneuvering around her attempts to get it back from him.

Lucy was crafty. She used the furniture in her apartment to her advantage. Natsu shifted his right leg any time he went to block one of her jumps, so she got him to dodge and move back by it, going for the same attack. His foot struck the wood, briefly catching him off balance and flinging the orb from his hand.

He and Lucy dove for it at the same time, toppling over each other. It was a back and forth couple of minutes, neither one of them gaining the upper hand. Then Natsu finally kicked her back and snatched the omnicore. He stood and put distance between them again, both panting while eyeing one another. He didn't have time to catch his breath before Lucy was pouncing on him again.

"Would you stop already?" Natsu said, pressing her away from him. "Whatever mind control or spell you're under, you're stronger than it. I know you're in there somewhere Lucy, fight it!"

For a second, he thought his words were working. Lucy stopped fighting him, standing still while it looked like an inner war was going on. Her breathing paused and her eyes clamped shut. Natsu thought the real Lucy was going to come back before her eyes opened again. She spoke, her voice different from the one she was sporting just a minute ago.

"No matter, have the girl," Lucy said, though it was clear someone else was speaking through her. "Now that I know the location of the omnicore, I will take what belongs to me."

Before Natsu could react to her words, Lucy's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she went limp. She began to fall forward before Natsu caught her, preventing her from hitting the ground. Panic rose within him once more while he tried shaking her awake.

"Lucy? Lucy?"

She wasn't responding, and Natsu opened his mouth to call for her again when she jolted awake. Her breathing was rapid while her eyes darted around the room before landing on Natsu. She looked like she had no clue what year it was.

"You back to normal?" Natsu questioned uncertainly.

Lucy stood when she realized Natsu was holding her up. She groaned and placed a hand to her forehead. "What do you mean? And what are you doing here?"

Yep, this was his Lucy. While he was glad the situation with her was over, an even worse one was on the rise. He looked at the orb in his hands, then back at Lucy. Her gaze followed his.

"Is that the—"

"Yeah, it is. I'm gonna guess you don't know why you had it?"

"Why I had it?" Lucy repeated.

"So you don't remember finding the omnicore and fighting me when I tried to take it from you?"

Lucy blinked at him.

"Right. Well, I'd explain if we had time, but I don't think we do."

"Time for what?"

"I think we're about to be attacked. I'll tell you as much as I can on the way to the guild."

Natsu was glad Lucy simply nodded, checking to make sure her keys were attached to her before the two headed towards the guild. It was a short run across the street, and though Lucy was back to normal, Natsu was sure to keep an eye on her.

They made it, entering and heading straight for the emergency communication lacrima. The pair used it to contact their guild mates, alerting them of the situation and telling them to hurry and meet at the guild.

"I hope they all get here in time," Lucy said nervously.

Natsu silently agreed. He looked at Lucy, a grin forming on his face. "Wanna bet on which of 'em gets here first?"

X

I just watched the first episode of 100YQ! Have you guys seen it? I'm excited but team Natsu's coloring and animation looks a littleee off. Other than that I can't wait for the rest! Weekly episodes are brutal.

Next chapter posted soon! Thanks for tuning in and have a great week!