Chapter 22: Lucy vs Natsu
Lucy climbed up Natsu's arm to sit between the joint of his neck and body, gripping the sharp spines on his back for balance. Her heart was already hammering, but she forced herself to calm down.
I can't lose…I can't lose…I must stop him…
Natsu turned his head to bare his fangs in a menacing grin, "Ready to get beaten?"
"Only if you are." Lucy shot back with more determination than she actually felt.
The Flame Drake grinned some more, then rushed out of the Hall into open air.
Lucy bit back a scream as Natsu dropped straight down over the city, then pulled up sharply right before he could touch the buildings. He flew upwards, wings flapping strongly to regain altitude. The drake seemed to revel in his flight and let out a growling chuckle.
Natsu glanced back at her and snickered, "Still alive?"
"Oh, please." Lucy muttered back, "You're just messing around! I've ridden on dragons before, y'know!"
"Not one like me."
There was something in the way he said that which made Lucy decidedly certain her mother had been right. Natsu really wasn't going to make this easy on her.
The Flame Drake smirked, "So, when are you gonna start this little Soul battle?"
Lucy's face scrunched up in determination as she closed her eyes and gripped the spike on Natsu's back even tighter, "Right now."
The air was very quiet for a moment as Natsu just hovered over Magnolia. The sun was still rising slowly over the horizon.
Lucy focused her breathing and started using magic to stretch her spirit to Natsu's. She felt a brief shock as the base Link was made, causing Natsu to growl a little.
Okay, now I have to make that Link way stronger and deeper…so for starters, I need to…
Natsu snorted impatiently, "Hello? Earth to-"
He stopped as an image of a small blonde girl flashed into his head. Natsu frowned, "The heck?"
Lucy opened one eye to stare at him, "Here's how this fight works. I'm going to try and force all of my Spirit's memories into your head. All you have to do is keep me out. If I can't focus, I can't do much."
Natsu arched a scaly eyebrow, "That's it?"
"That's just round one." she grinned, trying to appear confident.
He bared his fangs, "Well…I hope you're ready for a thrashing."
With that, Natsu bolted straight up into the air.
Lucy clutched onto him, squeezed her eyes shut again and began to send more of her memories into Natsu's mind. It was really hard to keep herself controlled with the young drake flying so rapidly, but she managed somehow.
/
A child version of Lucy playing with a tiny doll while Layla and Jude looked on. She looked so happy and innocent with that big smile on her face.
/
Natsu was tempted to sneer at the mental image, "Aw, that's cute."
He dove straight down, flapping his wings swiftly to pick up speed. Natsu tucked his wings in and increased his rate of descent even more, resembling an overgrown red falcon diving for prey.
/
Seven years old, now. The whole town was celebrating her birthday. Lucy giggled as the tiny old man that was Makarov's human form helped cut the cake. Layla and Jude laughed as she demanded to piggyback the Fairy Tail leader.
/
Natsu lashed his tail as more of her memories came through. She was getting through to him a little too easily for his liking.
Try this on for size, girly, he thought.
He pulled up sharply from the dive, then corkscrewed upwards towards the sky. Lucy shrieked on his back, giving Natsu a sense of satisfaction.
"Had enough yet, princes-?!"
/
Lucy at eleven years old. She skipped through the Thunder Hall with a small, blue-haired girl close behind.
The short blonde turned and giggled, "Come on, Levy! Mister Makarov said some new dragons came here!"
"Oh, why can't I be a dragon again, Lucy!" A young Levy complained, "I can't run fast as a human! This isn't fair!"
"Because I ate all my lunch before you! That was the deal~" Lucy chirped happily.
Levy pouted, but still chased after her friend.
Makarov was in the back with three young dragons, one of which still didn't have its wings.
Lucy called to them, "Hello, Mister Makarov! Are they the new dragons? What are their names?"
The huge old drake smiled at her, "I think you should ask them yourself. Don't worry yourselves, little ones." he said to the new dragons as they warily watched Lucy and Levy approach, "Levy is a dragon like you, and Lucy is a very nice young girl. You'll get along just fine."
"If you say so." the apparent eldest of the three new dragons, a white dragonelle, offered a small smirk at the two girls, "I'm Mirajane. Just call me Mira, alright?"
The drake beside her was larger, but his wings looked as though they had only recently come out, "My name is Elfman. I'm a real man!"
Lucy giggled, "He's funny!"
The youngest of the three, a small white dragonelle whose wings had yet to appear, laughed with her in agreement, "That's just the way my big brother is! I'm Lisanna by the way! It's nice to meet you!"
"Likewise!" Lucy smiled back, "We'll be great friends!"
/
"I'm not that easy to keep out, Natsu." Lucy smiled with her eyes still closed.
The Flame Drake tch'd, "You're persistent, I'll give you that."
He started flying in a rapid loop, spiraling upwards before stopping and entering a nosedive at his peak. Lucy gritted her teeth and held onto him as tightly as she could.
Natsu didn't pull up until the absolute last second, his claws actually scraping into the street while the wind from his wings buffeted houses and knocked over a few of the early rising pedestrians, who yelled in surprise.
Lucy gasped, "Natsu! Watch out for the people, will you?!"
"Not my problem!" he snapped, "It's on them if they can't get out of my way in time!"
"You…!" Lucy concentrated harder and rammed even more of her memories into Natsu's consciousness, making him growl in annoyance.
/
"M-mama, I'm not sure about this!" Lucy protested.
Layla smiled, "It's okay, Lucy. You've ridden on dragons before."
Lucy shook her head, "This is different! I've never been on one that's flying!"
Erza brought her head down to look reassuringly at the blonde girl, "I won't let you fall, Lucy. I promise."
She still looked uncertain, so Layla put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "Lucy, how old are you now?"
"Fourteen…"
Layla nodded, "And remember how old I was when I first rode a flying dragon?"
"Ten…"
"That's right. There's nothing to be afraid of. Erza's just going to fly over Magnolia for a few minutes and come back, ok?"
Lucy glanced up at Erza and swallowed, "You know I'm scared of heights, right?"
The Blade Dragonelle gave Lucy a friendly nudge with her snout, "I know. But I'll help you overcome that fear. That's what friends do. We help each other."
"Okay…I trust you." Lucy finally agreed.
She climbed onto Erza's back and gripped the dragonelle's feathers tightly as Erza padded to the edge of the Thunder Hall, then jumped out into the air.
Lucy gasped and squeezed her eyes shut, certain they were about to plummet to their deaths.
"You can open your eyes now."
Erza's voice was amused. Lucy dared to open her eyes a smidgeon before they flew wide open.
"Whooaa!"
The whole city was laid out beneath her, and further on she could see past the lake, into the forest and to the faint outline of mountains beyond.
Lucy's mouth was wide open, "Amazing!"
Erza hummed with laughter, "It certainly is. Are you as afraid as before?"
"Not really. It's just too beautiful for me to be scared!"
/
Natsu's eyes focused on Lucy with a smirk, "Fear of heights? Seriously?"
"I got over that a long time ago." she grumbled, her cheeks slightly red. The only problem she had with this was that Natsu would see every memory she ever had, even the most embarrassing ones.
The Flame Drake snorted and dove into another corkscrew, then pulled up sharply and almost threw Lucy off of his back. She squealed and grabbed at him to keep from falling off.
Natsu got more annoyed as she continued to squeeze memories into his head. Now they were at points he knew about.
/
"So, what do you think of those three staying with us?" Kinana asked.
Lucy glanced at her, "Who?"
"You know, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy?"
"Oh." Lucy thought about it and shrugged, "Well, Wendy I don't have a problem with. She seems a bit shy, but it only makes her even cuter. Although…"
Mira smirked a bit, "I'm guessing you don't like Natsu and Gajeel that much, huh?"
The blonde girl muttered, "Ugh, don't know what gives you that idea. Gajeel just seems like a jerk and as for Natsu…he's pretty much an ass."
"Some first impression, huh?" Kinana giggled.
/
"What's wrong, Natsu?" Lucy challenged, "I'm beating you!"
"I'm going easy on you, runt." Natsu growled, "I haven't decided if I want to kill you or not."
"Then this round is mine!"
/
"Natsu's animosity toward humans is at a critical point. If something goes wrong, he'll never trust another human as long as he lives. We cannot allow that to happen, for Igneel's sake. But I don't have the strength right now to do anything that could help him. It's going to have to be you. You'll have to stop Natsu."
That was Layla, and now Lucy responded, "What do I have to do?"
"I think you'll have to form a Soul Link with him." Layla decided.
"WHAT?!"
Lucy was shocked, "I can barely manage a temporary link, forget a permanent one! And against a dragon like Natsu?! He'd crush me!"
/
The air grew silent as Natsu paused in midair.
Lucy's face went white. Uh-oh.
"Lucy..."
She gulped and tried to look innocent as Natsu's head slowly turned around to glare daggers at her, "What…is a Soul Link?"
"Ahh…funny you should ask that…ehehe…" Lucy chuckled nervously.
The Flame Drake had a look of thunder on his face, "What did you mean, a permanent link?"
"Well, onto round two!" she said quickly. Good thing that wasn't a prominent subject in my older memories, but he's gonna get so mad when the next part starts!
Natsu narrowed his eyes, "Tell me what a Soul Link is, Lucy, or I'll-"
/
His tiny head broke free, but he squeaked as the egg fell over and rolled him on his back. The rest of his body was still stuck inside the shell.
A soft laughter echoed in the air. A huge, dark pink dragonelle leaned down to gaze at him with gentle blue eyes.
"Do you need help, little one?"
/
Natsu froze. In the first round, Lucy forced HER memories into MY head…and the second round is…
Lucy giggled a bit, "You sure were cute as a baby-KYAA!"
"OH, HELL NO!" Natsu roared in fury.
Throwing aerial finesse out the window, the Flame Drake started bolting everywhere in midair, snarling with anger. His bellows woke up every living thing in the city.
/\/\/\/\/\
Layla's eyes flew open at the titanic roar. She threw the blankets off of her and darted to the window, eyes widening when she saw Natsu spitting fireballs above the city. A small figure was clearly clutching onto his back.
Lucy! Don't you DARE let go of him! He'll really try to kill you now!
/\/\/\/\/\
"LUCY! Get out of my head before you REALLY make me mad!" Natsu's roars sounded crazed with rage.
Lucy held on for dear life as Natsu struggled furiously to force her off his back, pulling every aerobatic move he knew and then some. She clutched at him desperately and kept on trying to delve deeper into his soul's memories.
Getting my memories into his head was the hard part! Since he doesn't know much about mental defenses, taking his memories into me shouldn't be as difficult! She thought to encourage herself.
Her heart lurched as Natsu spat a fireball and lunged right through it. Lucy shrieked as the intense heat made her skin burn.
At least, that was the theory!
Even with the Flame Drake's enraged efforts to get her off, Lucy managed to get through the first few years of his life without much trouble. She made sure to pay attention to every memory, trying to get a picture as to who Natsu really was as a person.
As the memories poured on and Natsu's rage got even more intense, Lucy became aware of a deep, rapid thumping sound. She realized excitedly what it was.
Our heartbeats are starting to synchronize! I'm almost there!
/
A black dragon.
/
Lucy froze with fright. What is that thing?!
/
She could sense terrible pain from the memory and fear, yes, fear deep within Natsu's heart. The pain of his wound was nothing compared to the agony that followed when the volcano buried Igneel and Acnologia. It got worse when only the black dragon reemerged in victory.
/
Lucy now knew the horrible pain of losing a family member. But the shocks she would find in Natsu had only just begun.
/
A small human girl; Kagura. Natsu's uncertainty and alarm at seeing her at first, then relief when she found herbs for him and his wounded mother, Sunrose. The young dragon seemed to like the little human, and rescued her from bad people in her village before flying over the sea with Kagura on his back and his mother beside him.
/
Quite frankly, Lucy was stunned. He used to be THAT friendly with humans? Seriously? But what happened to-
(GET OUT OF MY SKULL!)
Lucy squealed at the force of the powerful mental roar. She felt relief though.
Our consciousness finally connected! Once I finish reading his memories, we'll be-!
/
Sunrose in the water, screeching in pain as men speared her from a ship. Her blood turned the water red.
Horror coursing through Natsu, then a mass of hot fury. The formidable rage drove him to dive onto the ship and rip at human after human until his claws and fangs were colored bright blood red.
The ship sank, but the damage was done. Sunrose cried a weakened plea to her son, telling him to live on before she slipped under the waves.
Gone.
Gone!
GONE!
She's gone!
I'm alone!
/
Lucy had no idea she was crying. The horrible sadness inside of Natsu was almost too deep for her to withstand. It was pure agony, but she gasped in shock as every ounce of that terrible despair turned to an unfettered, overwhelming hatred.
/
Humans…
They took mom away…
They killed her…
They hurt and kill other dragons…
I'll never forgive ANY of them!
/
Lucy was stunned.
(Lucy, get the hell out of my head!) Natsu mentally bellowed at her. (You have no right to take what's mine!)
(You…are right to think of humans like that…)
The Fire Drake halted his rampage for a moment. (Come again?!)
She cried on his back, stopping the mental conversation to catch her breath and whisper, "No wonder you hate us so much. What those people did to you is horrible!"
Natsu was stunned momentarily, but his eyes narrowed, "Don't act like you understand! Get out of my memories before I incinerate you!"
Lucy held on tight as he began his crazed flight again, trying to get through the sadness in Natsu's heart to delve deeper into his mind.
/\/\/\/\/\
Layla swallowed as Natsu's flight got even more reckless and desperate. The Fire Drake was clearly throwing everything he had at Lucy.
"Layla!"
Erza and Wendy ran over in their human forms, eyes wide in alarm, "What's going on?! Why is Lucy on Natsu like that?!"
The Spirit Priestess shook her head, "It would take too long to explain, but…we can't interfere. This is a battle Lucy must fight herself, and she must win, no matter what."
Wendy gulped, "I don't know if she can last much longer…Natsu's way too strong!"
Layla bit her lip fearfully, "I know. But she must succeed, nonetheless."
/\/\/\/\/\
Meeting Gajeel and Wendy, a little bit of happiness for once.
The Dragon Slavers spoiled the brief joy after they slew an innocent young dragon for sport. Natsu's burning breath turned them all to ash and made his hate for humans even more intense.
A plan to take over a Thunder to get stronger and stop all the evil things in their lives, seven years of raiding and pillaging and traveling through Fairy Tail's territory.
Natsu growing from a barely fledged dragon into a fully mature Fire Drake, strong and proud like a stag.
She could sense longing in him. A need to find other dragons. Of course he had Gajeel and Wendy, but Lucy could tell they were really more like siblings to him. He didn't really want to find another drake though- that would only put him in a fighting mood. No, what Natsu really sought was a dragonelle of his own age. He was sure that was the only creature on Earth he could trust without question.
A rush of excitement one morning. He'd seen a dragon with the characteristic angelic wings of a dragonelle. And she was-
/
Lucy gaped in surprise, "Lisanna?!"
Natsu froze, mentally and literally screeching, "Lucy, get OUT!"
She didn't though. Lucy had to keep going, especially now that she was so close.
Utterly furious, Natsu lunged towards the mountain peak above the Thunder Hall and slammed his side into it, dragging along the stone in a maddened effort to get Lucy off of him. She screamed as one of the jagged edges left a cut in her arm and a burst of crushed rock pelted her skin.
But still, she didn't surrender and held on tightly, much to the drakes increasing rage.
/\/\/\/\/\
Wendy covered her eyes with a shriek, "Ahh! I can't watch!"
Erza looked alarmed, "He's really trying to kill her now."
Layla barely had the nerve to keep watching her daughter in such a deadly situation. She clasped her hands and said a silent prayer.
/\/\/\/\/\
Natsu's overwhelming excitement to find a dragon like himself after so long of seeing just Wendy and Gajeel from time to time.
Lisanna was hostile at first, knowing he was one of the three raiding dragons. Natsu seemed to worry that maybe she really wouldn't want anything to do with him.
A brief argument, then the start of a hunt. Natsu's playful side came out for the first time in years. Lucy couldn't remember feeling such ecstasy just by being near someone she hardly knew.
His happiness wavered slightly when Lisanna returned after a few days with a frustrated expression, making Natsu believe he probably wouldn't see her again. Then it was back to excitement and a mock fight when Lisanna apologized and asked him to stay.
/
Lucy couldn't believe Lisanna had kept Natsu's presence in her hunting grounds a secret from everyone. It was so unlike her to do something like that.
That must be why Dragion said she was upset a while ago! Lucy realized.
/
Natsu was playing with her again.
Feelings of excitement, joy, and eagerness pulsed through Natsu's heart as he chased Lisanna in a game. It was like little kids that had finally found their best friends.
Or maybe more than that. After the game was over, an image of the two lying close while Natsu's wing blanketed the dragonelle. Content flowing through every scale in the Fire Drake's body.
Another month of memories passed by. Lisanna came to see Natsu many times to hunt, play, and just chat cheerfully with each other. He kept his promise to never raze a village while he stayed in the waterfall cave.
Then Gajeel reappeared out of nowhere and the month of happiness quickly evaporated into alarm. Wendy had been captured.
Ambushing the Dragon Slavers, then captured by Fairy Tail with Erza at the head. Lucy recognized most of the memories afterwards and passed by the rest quickly.
/
"LUCY! I'll FLAY you when this is over, mark my words!"Natsu spat furiously.
Lucy did her best to ignore his fury and went through his memories faster, watching for any more signs of his emotions spiking.
/
Jose, near the end of his train of memories. Terrible anger that a human had stolen Gajeel from them and dared to wound Wendy, Lisanna, and Makarov.
Humans…
I have had enough of them all.
/
Lucy passed over the last of Natsu's memories at last, and his mind went into pitch-black.
That's it!
Natsu gasped and his eyes rolled back into his head. His body went limp as Lucy completed the Soul Link. She felt exhausted from the effort of holding onto him during his wild aerial rampage, but was relieved the ordeal was finally over.
Then she realized they had started to fall straight down towards the lake.
Lucy had time to widen her eyes before they crashed into the dark waters and began sinking towards the bottom.
/\/\/\/\/\
Layla stood outside her home with the two dragonelles and held her breath when Natsu suddenly froze in midair, then began to plummet from the skies. Lucy did it!
But the drake kept falling and made a massive splash as he and Lucy slammed into the lake and sunk.
"No!" Erza gasped.
They rushed for the lake. Natsu didn't recover from the shock in time!
/\/\/\/\/\
Lucy held onto Natsu's neck as they sank deeper into the water. She gave a mental shout, trying to rouse his consciousness. (Natsu, wake up!)
The young drake's eyes flickered open and he started thrashing underwater in confusion. He glared at Lucy and tried to roar, but a mass of bubbles was all she was met with.
Natsu instead growled through the telepathy. (What did you do to me?!)
Lucy refused to let go of him. (I created a permanent link between our spirits…a Soul Link. Now I can sense everything you feel, and you can sense everything I feel.)
He looked enraged. (What gives you the right to do that?! I'm not your pet, you human brat!)
(Definitely not.) She agreed. (Natsu, all the times you've wanted to find someone that you can tell any secret to…I know you can't keep all of that to yourself. If you want…I can be that person. I'll never tell anybody about your secrets, but I want to be your friend in return.)
His dark eyes were piercing as the two of them kept sinking further underwater. (So you forced this stupid Link onto me? Yeah, Lucy, that's really friendly, all right.)
Lucy did her best to ignore the scathing remark and hugged his neck tighter. (I don't want to see you get hurt. I really do admire you, Natsu…you're so much stronger than I thought. My spirits would have sunk and given up so early on if I had been in your place. You've gone through so much pain…)
She closed her eyes as they continued to sink. (It's your choice if you want to let me be your friend…but I will do everything in my power to protect you no matter what. That's what friends do.)
Natsu was silent for a while. They finally hit the lakebed as the Fire Drake stared up at the light filtering through the water. (Why go so far for me? After all that hell I put you through…and I'm sure you know by now just how much I really hate humans.)
(Well…I don't know.) Lucy admitted. (I can't really explain it. It just feels as though something inside you is…missing. Broken. Like a piece of you was torn out and lost long ago…I get the feeling that piece is a person to watch over you. Not because you aren't strong, but because you don't have anyone that you can go to that you absolutely trust. It's like you've been alone with any and every dark shadow in your life…)
(That loneliness hurts a lot, doesn't it? Please, let me help you…I don't want my friends to feel so sad. It tears me up inside.)
Natsu watched the fish swim over them for a moment. (…Can I really trust you to keep my life a secret? Never say a word about my past without asking me.)
Lucy smiled into the dragon's scales. (Always. I promise, Natsu.)
He did seem content with that, but Lucy still sensed he wasn't ok with the whole thing.
(I really don't like how you did this to me without my permission.) he thought critically.
It was getting really hard for Lucy to keep calm and continue the telepathic conversations. Her lungs need air, and fast.
(Well, actually…I only shaped the Soul Link's base. The only way it can completely solidify is if you agree to it.)
Surprise emanated from the Fire Drake. (What?)
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to ignore the need for air. (Unless you consent to the Soul Link, it'll fade away quickly. So in the end, it's your choice if you want me to be with you like this or not.)
Natsu was appalled. (You…you did all this just to Link our souls halfway? That's insane!)
(It's worth it…) Lucy was about to pass out. Her consciousness was fading into darkness.
He shifted his bulk to crouch on the lakebed, eyes fixed on the light. (You know that you're dying, right? There's no way you can stay underwater like this for much longer. You're suffocating as we speak!)
The dragon could sense her slipping away. (I'll give anything…anything…if it means defending my friends…if it's my life…so be it…)
Natsu remained utterly silent for a few moments. He felt Lucy passing out from the lack of air before finally lunging up towards the surface.
Water roared past Lucy's ears as her vision flickered, then Natsu exploded out of the lake.
The Fire Drake's wings spread and flexed, shivering in the warm light. As water cascaded off of his body, the morning sun reflected the liquid droplets on Natsu's crimson scales. Lucy was transfixed by the dazzling bright red shining with the water and sunlight.
(Beautiful…)
Natsu's tail twitched a bit at her thoughts, then he spun around and flew away from Magnolia towards the forest beyond the lake.
Lucy clung onto him, barely strong enough to keep her balance.
/\/\/\/\/\
Layla, Erza, and Wendy were almost to the lake when Natsu burst from the surface and flew away from the city.
Erza cast a hurried glance at the blonde woman, "Do I pursue him?"
"…" Layla was silent for a while before shaking her head, "No…let him be. He'll come back to us."
Wendy watched her friend vanish over the treetops across the lake and frowned worriedly, "I hope so…"
The Spirit Priestess also gazed after the young Fire Drake. Lucy had still been hanging onto his back, but no doubt she was exhausted from the ordeal.
Lucy…
/\/\/\/\/\
Natsu flew for a short while until he found a small clearing in the forest and landed. He crouched on the ground and let Lucy slip off his back, catching her with his tail before she could hit the ground.
He set her down gently and leaned over the girl's exhausted form with a scolding look, "You're way too reckless. That was such a ridiculous idea, Lucy."
She managed a faint smile, "But it looks like…I finally got your respect..didn't I?"
"The only thing you convinced me of is that you're the craziest human I've ever met." Natsu muttered.
The girl's smile just widened, "Sometimes you have to do crazy things…if it's for your friends..then nothing is too absurd…You and I are the same..in that aspect…"
Natsu stared down at her for a while in silence.
Lucy felt herself slipping into unconsciousness, but before she could pass out, Natsu lay down close by and used his tail to gently pull her up to his flank. She collapsed onto the red scales, calmed by the warmth radiating from the young dragon's body.
Natsu curled his huge form around her, setting his head close to her body. He snorted slightly, "If you really meant every word you said..and if you had the guts to go through with every bit of hell I put you through…then I guess I can respect you for that."
Lucy felt Natsu relax into the Soul Link and sensed it solidify. She grew happy once more.
He accepted it…
She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to the huge, scaled body of the Fire Drake. Natsu's inner flame warmed her from the cold of the lake water.
Lucy fell asleep swiftly, but Natsu stayed up for a while and watched her with his dark eyes. The light of curiosity shone in the black irises.
Alright…you win this round.
Lucy.