Xeno laughed at Natsu, but it was obvious he was trying not to appear afraid. Everything else about him gave away the fact that he was shaking with fear. The slight quiver in his lip, the slump in his posture, and the way his feet remained planted all gave away the trepidation he truly felt.

Natsu merely took a step in Xeno's direction and it had him backpedaling. The fire dragon's speed was more than the criminal could handle. Within a second, Natsu had launched himself towards Xeno, who was no match for the crazed boy.

Images of future Lucy being struck by future Rogue's attack replayed in his mind. They were followed by images of present Lucy stabbing herself just seconds ago. Natsu knew she'd done it to save him, and he hated that he was distracted to the point that she had to do something like that to protect him.

His eyes narrowed at Xeno. He charged up a powerful punch, sending the man flying across the room. Natsu quickly ran up to him again. He could've laughed when he felt the prodding of Xeno trying to use mind control on him. He already felt as though a demon had possessed him. Whatever Xeno was trying to use wouldn't work on him in this state.

The dragon slayer unleashed attack after attack. Xeno was covered with injuries and gasping for breath. Natsu wanted to stop, but the reminder of what he'd done to Lucy kept replaying in his mind. It made any empathy he had vanish. One more blow, and Xeno would surely be killed.

His anger bested him and Natsu prepared to deal the final punch. A small but firm grasp took hold of his wrist. Natsu looked down to find Lucy had crawled over to him. She was still on her knees, one hand holding the wound on her stomach and the other holding onto him. Her face said the words she couldn't.

The fire that had engulfed Natsu's body and had yet to dim finally began to go out. The scaled faded from his skin as he knelt to the ground with Lucy. She smiled at him before wincing in pain. Her hand left his wrist and she pressed hard against her stomach.

Natsu's eyes desperately scanned the guild. Where was Wendy?! His gaze was drawn back to Lucy when she placed a gentle hand on his cheek. A bloodied hand. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Natsu's eyes kept darting from her wound back to her face.

"N-natsu," Lucy began.

Natsu shook his head swiftly, not wanting to hear it. His lip trembled and— shit, he was about to cry too.

"It's gonna be okay," his voice wavered. "If that wasn't what you were gonna say then don't say anything."

Lucy swallowed. She decided against speaking, opting for a nod instead as fresh tears spilled from her eyes. They mixed with her blood. Natsu hated the smell.

He was about to comfort her, place his hand on top of hers and reassure her. But he felt an immense amount of magic power, followed by a whizzing sound that grew closer and closer. Quickly, Natsu ducked, covering and pushing Lucy down with him as a blue fireball just missed them.

Natsu stood in front of Lucy. He turned to find Xeno leaning heavily against the wall, his hand outstretched from his attack. He tried again, launching a bigger fireball at Natsu. His eyes widened exponentially when the fire dragon simply ate his attack and patted his stomach.

He recalled the look in Lucy's eyes and refrained from a full force attack. A small elbow to the head knocked Xeno unconscious. Natsu searched his pockets and found Cana's card that contained the omnicore.

The soldiers who had filled the guild began to fade away once again. Natsu turned to see Erza was triumphant in her battle, knocking out not one but two people. A man and a woman. He assumed one of them was responsible for the illusions of the guards.

Gray and Juvia had the man who could teleport frozen in place. Laxus and the thunder legion looked like they had an easy time taking down their opponent. Natsu's eyes landed on Wendy and he ran to her, wordlessly tugging her towards Lucy.

Wendy gasped and covered her mouth at the sight. Lucy was still doubled over, pressing firmly on her wound. The small girl quickly got to work, ignoring Carla's request to go slow and not hurt herself. With the dark guild defeated, attention quickly became focused on Lucy.

"What the hell happened?" Gray asked.

"Is she going to be okay?" Juvia questioned.

"Let's give Wendy space to work."

Erza scooted everyone away except for Natsu, who was clearly not going to move an inch. He spared her a glance and his eyebrows show up in surprise at what she was holding. It was the staff. There was a golden ring and prongs that looked like they were intended to hold the omnicore orb. His ears picked up on the conversation happening across the hall while his eyes remained glued on Lucy.

"Master, do you think it's possible that the gold on this staff… could be the zodiac keys? I know they were an important component, but could they really have been turned into this?" Erza asked.

"Do you even know if the zodiac keys can be melted?" Gray asked.

"I wouldn't say they can't be," Levy stated.

"In the case that it is her keys, how will we get them back?" Juvia questioned.

"Do you think it's possible?" Happy asked master Makarov.

Natsu stopped listening when Lucy whimpered. She was lying on her back now, eyes screwed shut in pain. Blood had slightly pooled beneath her before Wendy stopped the bleeding. She was instructed to keep her hands at her side while Wendy worked. Her chest quickly rose and fell as her heart rate quickened.

Natsu reached for her hand, and she squeezed it tightly. Lucy opened her eyes to look at Natsu. Despite the nausea and fear he felt, he gave her a small reassuring smile. Her eyebrows knit in pain.

"It hurts," was all she said.

Natsu frowned. Lucy's eyes began to droop closed. Wendy was quick to catch it.

"Keep her awake, Natsu! Don't let her fall asleep!"

Panic spiked in his heart as Natsu tapped his hand against her face, putting in more force when she wasn't responding. He shook her shoulders, but the features in her face softened and Natsu knew he wouldn't be able to wake her. He called out to her anyway, desperation thick in his voice.

"Lucy? Lucy?"

It was no use. She was out cold.

X

Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck around for this story so far. I love reading all your reviews, and tysm Star-Queen for your recent reviews. Each of them made me smile so much and I appreciate you taking the time to write them :)

This story is likely one chapter away from being complete ❤︎