CHAPTER 2 . . . Deja Vu

Natsu had to make sure she was okay.

He burst out the door, barefoot, ignoring Happy's shouts. His feet ached, his chest still burned from a wound he never had, but he didn't care.

"Where are we going?" Happy asked, flying beside him.

"Lucy's."

At their arrival, he did not waste any time clawing her window open.

Lucy sat up, startled. "W-What..."

She was alive.

Without thinking, he launched himself at her, burying his face in her stomach. "You're alive... you're okay..." Her fingers hesitantly caressed the back of his sweaty neck.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, attempting amusement, but concern edged her voice.

He jolted up, releasing his grasp around her waist. "I had this… dream… this… vision?" He struggled to explain, his fingers tracing the creases in his palms as if searching for proof he was awake. "But… it felt so real. And, in it… y-you…" Natsu's gaze lifted from his hands to her face. Her lips were pursed, brows furrowed in confusion. "Died," he finished, his mouth setting into a tight line.

"Whoa…" Lucy responded, at a loss for words. Silence stretched between them. Natsu watched her closely as she absentmindedly touched her chin, lost in thought. The moonlight cast a soft glow over her features. She was so… present. His heart, which had been pounding moments ago, finally began to steady.

"Well… maybe it was some kind of warning from the universe," she mused, a small, contented smile forming. "We'll just have to be extra careful on our job today."

Job… Natsu's thoughts spiraled again. Did they really have to go? "Right," he murmured, discomfort evident in his tone.

. . .

The sun rose, signaling a new day. As they walked to the train station, Natsu barely registered his usual dread of motion sickness. His mind was consumed by the eerie similarity of everything to his 'dream'. Erza strode ahead with her usual confidence. The clouds mirrored what he remembered. Even the rocks beneath his feet were the same ones he had kicked earlier. He turned toward Lucy, making sure she was still beside him.

The aura around her was as lively as usual, confirming Natsu's relief that she was safe. She wore the same outfit from his dream—a blue halter top and a bouncy side ponytail. His gaze was fixed on her, observing her over and over again. Eventually, Lucy caught on.

"You're staring," she teased, though her grin faltered with unease.

"You like her!" Happy yelled, oblivious. Lucy shot a glare his way, but Natsu's mind was too far away to process what Happy had said.

"Just… makin' sure you're real, is all," Natsu muttered, his eyes reluctantly shifting away from her, though the churning in his gut didn't stop.

"Natsu…" Lucy gently placed a hand on his shoulder, meeting his gaze. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

He wanted to believe her, but her words didn't ease the gnawing in his gut.

. . .

As they neared the wizard's home, unease curled tighter around Natsu's heart. Every step felt heavier, as though his body resisted moving forward.

"Guys." His voice came out strained. "Do we have to do this?"

Lucy's gaze flickered with concern, but the others simply stared at him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gray asked, folding his arms.

"Yeah, where is this coming from?" Erza's brow arched.

Natsu hesitated, and then Happy spoke for him. "Natsu had a bad dream last night."

Gray snorted. "Really? That's what this is about?"

Wendy offered a small, kind smile. "We've been through worse, Natsu."

"She's right," Erza added. "We'll be fine."

Carla, however, studied him with sharp, calculating eyes. "Let's not ignore Natsu's intuition," she urged.

Gray scoffed. "Don't enable his delusions. It's just a dream."

"Let's just be extra careful, okay?" Wendy suggested.

Natsu wanted to argue. He wanted to scream at them, demanding them to turn back. They didn't know what he saw. What they would have to go through. But the words lodged in his throat. What if it was just a stupid dream? They pressed forward.

. . .

The conversation with the wizard played out exactly as it had before. Word for word.

"This sort of weapon is no ordinary object," the wizard explained gravely. "It's dangerous—too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands. I've set a trap for the thief tonight – you must retrieve it then."

Natsu felt his pulse quicken.

"Why do you have a weapon you can't use?"

"If it's so powerful, should anyone have it? Even the state?"

Everything blurred as his breathing grew shallow. This wasn't right. The world began to slow. All the voices around him overlapped with one another. Was his dream some sort of prediction? A warning, maybe?

The wizard's sharp gaze snapped to him. "Young man, is everything sound?"

Natsu swallowed hard. "What exactly does your weapon do?"

The wizard hesitated. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno… just curious, I guess."

The wizard studied him before responding. "It deals not only physical damage but psychological as well. It is not a weapon to be trifled with."

Psychological…

Lucy tilted her head. "Like… attacking someone's mind?"

"Kinda like a Lucy Kick to the brain!" Happy chirply chimed in.

Natsu barely reacted. His hands balled into fists.

The wizard's gaze flickered toward Lucy. "Exercise caution," he warned.

Her eyebrows furrowed with anxiety. She reached for either one of her elbows, shielding her torso. Dammit. Not again.

. . .

They took their positions inside the tower once more. Natsu stationed himself directly in front of Lucy. "Natsu, I can't see," she complained. He ignored her. He would not risk her dying again. His muscles were taut, ready for a fight.

A moment later, Happy's ears twitched. "I hear footsteps!" The door creaked open. Something stepped inside. Silent. Too silent. Gray moved to confront the perpetrator—but then, it happened.

White light swallowed the room. The floor disappeared, and Natsu fell through space. His mind clawed at the walls, trying to dig itself out, but it could only keep falling, helplessly.

A scream tore through the air, snapping Natsu back into reality. But this time, it wasn't Lucy's.

"Wendy!" Erza's voice cracked.

Natsu turned. Wendy was on the ground, blood gushing from her sizzling leg. Tears ran all over her cheeks as her yells coursed through the air.

"Dammit! You son of a—" Natsu charged without thinking.

That same damned sickening grin was the last thing he saw before the world flashed white again.

An overwhelming sense of dread overtook him once his vision came back. He had not been attacked. Someone else had. Time slowed as he turned.

Lucy's hands hovered over the middle of her chest. Blood oozed between her fingers, droplets falling onto her lap. Her expression was empty, pale. Her eyes then met Natsu's.

"Natsu…" she croaked. Her eyes glazed over as she began to weep silently — not in pain, but in loss.

"No." His voice broke. "No, no, no—"

He caught her as she collapsed. "You're gonna be fine, Lucy. Just hold on," he reassured her, pulling her closer to him.

Her body trembled against his. Her hands reached for his chest, weakly pulling on his clothing for support. "Natsu… it's cold…" Her voice was barely a whisper like she fought to say it out loud.

Then, her body went limp.

Not again.

His mind screamed, but no sound left his lips. This couldn't be happening. Not again. He held her tighter as if it would bring her back. He felt her blood bleed into his clothing and wet his skin underneath.

"Why?" he choked out. "Why didn't we just stay home?"

A voice echoed through his agony.

Hoarse. Amused.

"Try again."

And then, the world went white.