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summylise · 7 years

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The Beginning of the End

A/N: OML THIS IS SOOOOOO LATE I CAN’T EVEN. I MEANT TO POST THIS TWO DAYS AGO BUuutt i was kind of on the road and couldn’t post it from my phone ahaha. So here is the third chapter of Nightmares, Scars, and the END.

title: Nightmares, Scars, and the END

prompt: END, duh

chapter 1, chapter 2 , chapter 3

rating: T

pairings: nalu

words: 5417

summary: He had given in, and she was too late. There was nothing she could do besides beg and plead for him to come back to her. She knew it was in vain, that the words would never reach him. But there was still a sliver of her that hoped he was still in there. In the end, her kindness gave her scars that would never let her forget when her happiness had slipped through her fingers.

Eight months earlier

Lucy’s alarm screeched in her ear, ripping her eyes open and had her sitting upright in her bed faster than you could say “Aye.” All the blood rushed to her head, sending stars in every direction. God how she hated having that damn alarm clock. She’d only bought it because Erza kept insisting that “to be the most productive, you must start the day off with a bang,” or something. Now she was seriously considering throwing it from her second story window. But for now, she just settled on slamming the off button and smothering it with a blanket.

Lucy rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced out the window. At least it had woken her when the sun was actually up, rather than yesterday when it was still the middle of the night. She groaned and padded to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, surprisingly fast for Lucy, she was showered, dressed, and marching down the street towards Fairy Tail. Magnolia was alive and bustling, even this early in the morning. The baker across the street placed all sorts of treats and confectionaries out for display in his windows and waved to her as she passed. The local fruit vendor was just arriving and setting up his stall, ready to take on a day of sales and hopefully leave without any rotting or bruised produce. Her favorite yogurt shop was just opening for the day, the elderly owner flipping over the closed sign and waving at Lucy as she passed. She smiled and took in a deep breath of fresh, spring air.

Her hands pressed against the rough wood of the guild hall doors. The scent of beer and fried food wafted in through the open doors, instantly easing the tension from her shoulders. The only thing unusual about the guild hall was the sheer lack of anyone, really. Mira still held her place by the bar, gently wiping down the glasses that were surely used the night before, Cana in front of her drinking from a wine glass, instead of her usual barrel of alcohol. Max swept through the rows of tables and chairs, too preoccupied with cleaning to notice her walk in.

Lucy padded to the bar and took the seat next to Cana, slamming her head on the table the instant she sat down. Despite being up and out of the house in record time, her brain was still in sleep mode. She automatically nodded when Mira asked her something, not giving much thought to what the bar maid’s muffled voice had said. Mira slid a small plate of eggs and bacon towards her a few minutes later, a mug of coffee following soon after. Lucy blindly reached for the mug and brought it to her lips.

“I don’t know how you can stand that,” said Cana, gesturing to her mug.

Lucy rolled her eyes and lifted her head to face Cana.

“Says the girl who only ever drinks one thing,” Lucy countered.

Cana’s mouth opened then closed again, as she thought of what to say next. She ended up smirking and tilting her glass in Lucy’s direction.

“Touché.”

Lucy picked the fork from its thrown position beside her and poked at the eggs haphazardly. Her eyes felt heavy, and she couldn’t help the yawn that slipped out.

“Dang seems like they partied hard last night, huh?” she said to no one in particular. She continued to stare at the breakfast and after a second started eating.

“Well you know how they are,” Mira started, her ever-present smile visible. “Most of them collapsed in the guild hall, but I kicked them out pretty early this morning.”

“And you’re still here this early?” Lucy said, almost wrenching her gaze from her plate. Mira looked unfazed by the lack of sleep, her face bright and clear as usual.

“Whatever would we do without our responsible barkeep and mother hen, Mirajane?” Cana said with a wink.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “I was going to comment on your being here early too, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Cana smiled and wrapped her arm around Lucy’s shoulders, nearly causing the fork to stuff its way down Lucy’s throat.

She was gagging when Cana said, “Hey, the earlier I am, the more booze I get. Haven’t you heard the saying ‘early bird gets the beer’?”

“I don’t think that’s how that’s how it goes,” Mira mused.

Cana rolled her eyes and lifted the arm from Lucy. Lucy’s eyes watered, still recovering from the almost suffocation by fork. Her hands sought after her mug and greedily gulped it down. She tried to ignore the course, burning as she chugged the coffee, instead relishing in the relief it gave her when she could finally breathe.

Being without taste buds for a while was a hell of a lot better than dying, she thought.

It wasn’t until about ten that morning that people started filing in, most making a lethargic beeline for the bar begging for Mira’s hangover-cure-all. It got to a point where, after seeing Mira overflowing with the numerous requests, Lucy had decided to help the poor bar hand. By the end of it all, Lucy was sat slumped over the bar and wishing she could just go back to bed and the bar looked a lot emptier, and a lot dirtier, than it had when she arrived.

Lucy twisted in her chair to watch as the life slowly returned to her insane guild. Elfman and the Thunder Legion were the worst victims, still slung over a table in the darkest corner of the room, groaning about headaches or how men never got drunk. Alzack and Bisca along with Team Shadow Gear, well just Levy really, had abstained from the party, instead focusing on their daughter or pouring over books. Gray and Erza had been the quickest to recover, Erza already starting on her morning dose of confectionaries whereas Gray was helping Juvia through a particularly uncomfortable hangover. Well, it was more like she was sobbing while holding onto him for dear life while he just stroked her hair and let it all pass. Wendy was the only one moving any faster than a snail’s pace; she raced from table to table, administering varying degrees of her affectionately named “Hangover Magic” as Mira’s cure-all slowly kicked in.

It took her a second to realize that something was off, not quite right. It was as if the guild hall was warm and welcoming but that there was just one piece, one portion missing from the intricate pattern. Her smile began to fall as she glanced at all the faces around the hall. Erza, too, had lifted her head from the basket of breakfast sweets to sweep the hall. It was just too…quiet. Too calm for this to be right, even for the morning.

The answer hit her like a freight train, and she didn’t know why it took so long to figure it out.

There was no arm slammed over her shoulder, no one yelling at her to pick a job, no fighting, nothing. Just an eerie calm that began to press on her like a thick, woolen blanket. No blue cat sat on the bar top, happily munching at today’s fresh catch of the day. No dragon slayer stood beside her, bragging about his latest fight with Gray.

“Natsu,” she murmured.

Her mouth parted as she turned to Mira, ready to ask her about the dragon slayer.

The great, wooden doors of the hall slammed open as a something came whizzing in her direction, slamming into her chest. The wind rushed out of her, and her body crashed to the ground with a bang.

“Lucy!” screamed the creature sobbing in her chest.

Happy, she realized as she glanced down at the blue cat. His claws dug into her shirt as if his life depended on it. His tiny body trembled violently as each sob racked his body. The entire guild froze, their eyes glued to Happy. No one dare say a word. No one even breathed. Lucy’s heart picked up, and her eyes widened. She tentatively placed her fingers on his fur, lightly stroking it in the hopes that he would calm down if only a fraction. He tensed for a moment when her skin touched his fur.

“Happy,” she almost whispered, her voice straining. “What happened? What’s going on?”

Happy shook his head and pressed himself further into her chest.

“He…it. It was so scary and then…and then-Natsu-“

Lucy jerked her head up and tried searching for her friend at the mention of his name.

“Happy, where’s Natsu?”

“Natsu! He-he got Natsu! He just-“

“Woah, woah, woah, slow down, Happy,” mused Mirajane. She tried to appear calm, but Lucy could see the way her eyes strained and how her smile was thin. Lucy’s stomach twisted. Her arms began to tremble, blood running cold.

Lucy slowly peeled Happy away from her chest and looked him in the eye. The poor cat was a mess: his eyes, swollen and red, were wide with terror, tears streamed down his cheeks, making the blue of his fur turn a dark shade of navy. She placed her palms on his cheeks and wiped at his tears with her thumbs. Happy sniffed, and his sobs began to dissolve. His little paws grasped onto her wrists and gripped with all their might.

“Natsu…he…he was kind of attacked? It all happened so fast I…I didn’t know what happened. But it seemed to be taking him over or something. Next thing I knew, he was yelling at me to go to the guild, and it was Natsu but…wasn’t him…like it was his voice, but it sounded very scary. Very not-Natsu,” Happy started.

Lucy’s mouth slowly parted, her eyes widening a fraction. Her stomach twisted painfully again. Something attacked Natsu? And he couldn’t beat it?

His sobbing picked up again. “A-and there was nothing I could do! I just floated there for a second and couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything!”

Mira walked around the bar and crouched to make herself eye level with Happy. The smile was gone from her face, her jaw clenched. Her hands were fists at her side, but even Lucy could see how much they shook.

“What attacked him, Happy,” Mira said slowly.

Just as Happy was about to speak again, Jet raced through the doors.

“Guys! Something’s attacking the town! South-side! It’s tearing everything apart!”

Southside. That’s near Happy and Natsu’s place.

The blood drained from her face, and she slowly turned back to Happy. The cat’s eyes were wide, terrified. He stared up at Lucy with those huge, tear-filled eyes, and she knew. Something had been scratching at her all morning, but the look he gave her confirmed her suspicions.

Her blood flushed from her body. Erza was the first to speak up and yelled something that jumbled in her ears. Her mind was laser focused. She could only think of one thing as she was hauled out of the hall and started to the explosions in the distance:

“Natsu.”

~~~

The scene they arrived to was straight out of one of her novels: fire everywhere, in the buildings, in the bushes, on…people. Smoke clawed out of buildings like caged animals, ignoring those caught inside. The smell was just as bad as the sight, if not worse. Smoke, sweat, blood, so much blood. It all invaded and enveloped her senses so fast; she barely had time to clamp a hand over her mouth before it tore its way into her throat. Lucy couldn’t help but gag at the smell and taste of it all.

People everywhere were screaming, pleading for help. Civilians raced paced her, and she barely managed to keep herself standing. Mothers held their children precariously out of windows of the burning buildings to those waiting below. Lucy couldn’t stand the sight of it and had a hard time holding in her breakfast.

If it wasn’t the people themselves, it was the creature, far enough in the distance for her to not be able to see its features but close enough to smell the death and decay and hear its vicious roars. The roars that were purely demonic, dark and scratchy, like gravel thrown into a paper shredder. It was animalistic, rough and deep, but with a hint of something else. Something raw. Something…human.

Erza stepped forward, breaking her from her thoughts.

“Alright, everyone! Spread out! Shadow Gear and Thunder Legion! You handle rescues. Make sure everyone is safe and stays that way. Wendy! Help the rescue teams. Make sure everyone makes it out of here alive! Gray, Happy, Lucy. You’re with me! Everyone else, try and back up the rescuers and keep the damage to a minimum! And make sure that thing doesn’t get any farther than this square!”

The instant she finished, everyone kicked into gear. Lucy raced to Erza’s side, closely followed by Gray and Happy.

“Please tell me you have some kind of plan,” Gray asked.

Erza slowly shook her head, her eyes glued to the creature slowly lumbering towards them.

“We just have to take it down as fast as possible. No matter the cost. We can’t let that creature harm any more people,” she stated through gritted teeth, her face almost impassive. She took a quick breath and broke off into a sprint after the creature.

Lucy locked eyes with Gray and nodded, turning to face the demon as well. Lucy took a steadying breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She shook out her hands. Her lip snuck between her teeth. Then she too was racing after the creature.

“Open!” she called, slashing her key downwards. “Gate of the archer! Sagittarius!”

She pointed the key ahead of her to the roof of a building above the demon. Seconds later, a bright light flashed into existence. A man in a horse costume carrying a fairly large bow appeared, his hand already saluting her even from a distance away. Lucy pointed towards the demon as she pulled out her second key. As she neared, she saw Sagittarius nod and lift his bow to aim. She gripped the second key between her fingers and swiped it downwards as well.

“Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!”

A light, even brighter than Sagittarius’, flashed into existence beside her. Loke, wild orange mane and all, appeared beside her matching her pace.

“What are we up against this time?” he questioned, his tone serious.

Lucy panted, feeling the slight pull on her magic from summoning two spirits. She grit her teeth. There was no time for her to be getting the least bit tired; the citizens of Magnolia were in danger.

“I don’t know. But whatever it is, it was strong enough to beat Natsu pretty easily so watch out.”

Loke nodded, his eyes never leaving those of the demon.

As they neared, the true monstrosity of it came into view, and she had to bit her lip to suppress the gasp. It was coated in dark, inky liquid that dripped onto the cobblestone path, coating it with its oily substance. It was tall, the top of its head almost reaching the second floors of the surrounding buildings, with great horns that curved back to form a sort of helm of dark ivory. Its dark wings shot out from behind him, almost touching the buildings on either side of him. Its large, sharp claws nearly the size of her shoe slashed at the few people that tried to escape around him, instantly setting him ablaze. He tossed a ball of fire with his other hand into the apartment building just behind Lucy, sending embers in every direction. His muscular, shadowy arms tensed as it caught sight of the small group before him. His golden eyes widened a fraction before narrowing on each of them. It paused and scanned each of them individually before stopping on her and Happy. Lucy clenched her fists and glared into its deep eyes, challenging it despite her fear almost overwhelming her.

Then the creature dipped its head and smirked, revealing its large sharp canines. It was almost as if it was taunting them, bragging. The shadows and inky liquid coating it slowly dripped down and off its skin. The creature itself began to shrink, its features becoming more defined. The wings seemed to flex and pulse as if trying to shake off the oily substance. The horns remained but the liquid melted from its body revealing…no.

It couldn’t be.

The last of the ink slid down his cheek and dripped into the pool that formed beneath him revealing tanned skin. Lucy’s eyes widened, her hands flying to her lips. He continued grinning at them, that same grin that used to make her heart skip, now infected by darkness and contorting into a mocking, baring of teeth. His eyes still golden, held a sort of insane mirth, something she had never seen in him in all of their years together. The dark horns, his horns, protruded from his blazing pink hair like a dark inkblot on a crisp, clean page. It was foreign. It was out of place. It was…wrong.

“Natsu,” she murmured between her fingers.

She saw from the corner of her eye, Sagittarius’ bow lower and Loke tense. She could hardly register the shock of her friends around her, their astonishment that their fire-breathing maniac of a friend had deliberately set fire to Magnolia and killed its residents. It was as though tunnel vision had taken her over and all she could see was Natsu. Crazed, destroying, and horn-toting Natsu but also…not-Natsu.

The creature-no Natsu- laughed, the noise something straight out of a horror novel. That wasn’t Natsu’s laugh. It was dark and gravelly and thick. It was as though someone had taken Natsu and infected him with dark magic.

“Nah, that guy’s long gone. Made sure of that the moment I took over,” he growled in his dark, evil voice.

“Liar.” Lucy ground out the words. “That’s not true, and you know it. Natsu’s still in there.”

“Lucy,” Loke warned under his breath.

Natsu narrowed his eyes. A challenge.

“Oh really?” he taunted. “Why don’t you come over and find out.”

Lucy grit her teeth.

“I’m not going to do that. I can’t fight you. I can’t fight Natsu,” she said.

Natsu’s large, black claws flexed and a tick in his jaw clicked. The muscles in his shoulders tensed and Lucy saw, with a deep shot to the gut that his guild mark was nowhere to be seen, instead covered by a large, black stain. He snarled and reeled back on his haunches.

Natsu leaped in the air, launching himself directly at her before she could even register he had left the ground. Lucy couldn’t think of what to do other than squeeze her eyes shut.

But no attack came.

She slowly peeled her eyes open to see a pair of glasses and a bright orange mane staring down at her with wide eyes. Natsu slammed into the cobblestone where she had just stood, smashing the rock and sending debris in all directions. Adrenaline shot like lightning throughout her body, and her eyes shot wide. That could have been her. Terror flashed through her, sending a chill down her spine. She slowly lifted her eyes to Natsu’s, expecting pure hatred and rage.

Instead, she saw a flash of onyx, gone so fast she thought she was imagining things. He didn’t immediately charge at her. He could have easily released a fire attack and killed them instantly, but he chose not to. Because Natsu was still in there and Natsu couldn’t kill them. And if Natsu was fighting, so would she.

Lucy gulped and took a calming breath.

“Loke,” she said, her voice steady.

Sensing her intentions, he placed her on the ground.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“So do I. Wish me luck?” Lucy said, lifting her eyes to him with a smirk.

He chuckled, a bit more strained than she would have hoped but he mimicked her smirk. He shifted his glasses and placed his hands on his hip.

“You don’t need it. You’re Lucky, Lucy Heartfilia, remember,” he retorted.

Lucy grabbed his arm as he turned to return to the Celestial World. Loke paused. His eyes glanced to the fingers that gripped his black, suit sleeve then followed them up his wizard’s arm to her determined face. Her eyes stared at the ground, her mind somewhere else.

“I want you to promise me something, Loke.”

Loke slowly turned to face her, the corners of his lips quirked. “Anything for you, Princess.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. She paused and took a breath, choosing her words carefully. She couldn’t risk him coming back.

“Promise me you won’t come back. No matter what. I don’t want Natsu hurt in any way-”

“Lucy-”

“Promise me,” she repeated. Lucy lifted her eyes to his. “No matter what. You have to trust me.”

The spirit stared at her for a moment, eyes searching for something, anything that indicated doubt. Instead, he found a fire, an unwavering determination to Natsu. He could feel her emotions through the keys, how much she cared, how much she really cared, about the dragon slayer and how much she absolutely needed to save him.

He sighed and inevitably nodded.

“Just try not to blow up the town, ok? Magnolia’s kind of grown on me over the years,” he said, dissolving into gold stars with Sagittarius soon behind.

Lucy rolled her eyes as she snatched at her whip and raced to Natsu, still crouched and stared at her with those deep golden eyes. Erza requipped a few feet away from her and Gray pressed his fist to his palm, mist already forming at its center.

“Natsu’s still in there, I know it! We just have to draw it out!” she called out to them. “But try not to hurt him! We don’t want to hit Natsu!”

Gray paused a moment before nodding. Natsu roared and charged toward the group. Erza let out a battle cry, racing to meet him halfway. She jerked up her Flame Empress sword, countering his fiery slash.

“Now, Lucy!” she cried, grunting against his force.

“Natsu!” Lucy called, leaping back behind Gray. “I know you’re in there! If you can hear me, please say something!”

Natsu growled when Erza held her ground against his attack. His claw closed around her sword. Erza’s eyes widened. Natsu pivoted his body abruptly, extending his wings and slamming into Erza’s side. With a resounding oof! Erza was sent skidding backward. She barely managed to keep herself upright.

Natsu slashed down with his dark claws, narrowly missing Erza’s head and threw a large, deep orange fireball directly at Gray. He barely managed to throw up a shield before the ball barreled into him, sending him careening sideways.

“You’re stronger than this, and you know it!” she cried, staying on the edge of the battle, searching for an opening. Lucy tightened her grip on her whip handle, attempting to stop her trembling hands.

Natsu turned his focus back on Erza, ignoring Lucy’s voice again, his attacks doubling in speed and ferocity. He growled when she deflected almost all of his blows. His sharp claws clanged against the metal of her blades, not hitting her a single time.

Gray let out a war cry and slammed his hands onto the cobblestone streets. A stream of ice shot from his fingertips, racing along the floor towards Natsu’s clawed feet. The ice quickly encased around his talons, rooting him to the floor. Natsu snarled, his eyes lifting to zero in on Gray.

“Come on, Flame Brain,” Gray yelled. “Snap out of it!”

Natsu kicked against the barriers at his feet. His body began to heat at an alarming rate, sending excruciating waves of heat in all directions. Lucy threw her hands to her face, shielding herself from the blast. The clamps at his feet melted almost instantly, and Natsu’s black wings flexed. He lifted off the ground and charged at Gray.

“We’re not leaving here without you, Natsu!” Erza tried, requiping into her Black Wing Armor. She raised the sword above her head, ready to jump to Gray’s defense.

Lucy slashed her arm down, sending the whip to wrap around his foot. She slammed the whip to the ground with a grunt. Natsu crashed, hard, to the ground, splintering the brick road. Lucy winced. The sound of skull hitting concrete was unmistakable.

The snarl that left his maw, the sound deep and gravely. Definitely not Natsu. He snatched at the whip wrapped around his feet, ripping it above his head taking Lucy with it. Lucy screamed. She heard Gray and Erza call her name as she slammed back to the heard. Her head smashed into the cobblestone with a sickening crack, the air forced from her lungs.

Stars exploded across her vision, shattering and shooting in every direction. The world twisted and tumbled, churning like waves in the middle of a storm. She felt pressure then a sharp snap in her arm, a cry flying past her lips before she could catch it. She clenched her jaw, trying to block out the pain.

Someone shrieked, the sharp noise piercing through the loud ringing in her ears. Lucy lifted her head, dropping it a moment later.

Lucy lolled her head to the side, toward the scream. A large black blur lifted a red figure and tossed it haphazardly to the side, shooting into the air a moment later. Lucy blinked and blinked, but the dots would not fade. A deep voice bellowed and stared up at where the blur had shot. Lucy clenched her eyes shut, hoping that her vision would finally focus.

She opened her eyes just in time to see Natsu dive into Gray. Gray let out a deep, gravelly bellow as he used his Ice Make abilities to keep himself upright. He coated his fist with ice and aimed it at the demon. Natsu dodged with inhuman speed. He threw a hand out and snatched Gray’s other fist before it made contact. His golden eyes glinted. Gray faltered. Before he could blink, Natsu threw a flaming punch into his gut, sending Gray flying into a building fifty feet away.

“Please, Natsu! This isn’t like you!” she called weakly.

Natsu snarled and turned his dark gaze onto her. Then there was only her.

Lucy’s stomach twisted sharply, and adrenaline shot through her like a bullet. She was the last line of defense against Natsu’s reign of terror. She had to throw everything she had at him. She turned on her stomach, the world finally starting to even out. Her arms trembled as she pushed herself onto her elbow. She wouldn’t let her fear show. She had to be strong, if not for herself but for him.

She stared back at him, firmly holding her gaze with his flashing golden one. He smirked again, egging her on. He lifted a shadowy claw to his mouth and licked something, blood, from its tip.

“And then there was one. If an Ice Make wizard and the great Titania couldn’t take me down, a Celestial Spirit mage who can hardly move should be a piece of cake,” Natsu taunted, strutting his way towards her.

“I know you’re still in there. I know you can hear me,” Lucy grunted, making sure that he heard every word she said despite her frail voice.

“I’m getting very tired of your playing the hero thing you’re doing right now. Really starting to piss me off,” Natsu said, the smirk dropping from his face. He crouched beside her head, cocking his head. Analyzing her.

Lucy gulped. She steeled herself for her next attack. She knew she was likely not going to make it out of here, but if she could disturb him, somehow make Natsu fight back against this thing, it would be worth it. She took a breath.

“What would Igneel think?” Natsu tensed. “He would be ashamed to see you beaten without much of a fight!”

His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. His wings jerked open. He roared, a gruesome, oily noise and hardly gave Lucy time to think before he pounced on her and flipped her over. His claws closed over her throat.

“How dare you call me a coward?” the beast bellowed, squeezing.

She glared up at him, ignoring the pounding in her ears. She felt the blood rush to her face. She gulped at air desperately, wishing his knees weren’t pinning her hands down. The gold in his eyes faltered, flickering to onyx for all but a moment. Natsu shook his head violently. The hand loosened and Lucy gasped.

She turned her eyes to meet his as he raised a large blackened claw above his head. Lucy’s eyes slammed shut. Natsu snarled as he brought it down.

Warm liquid dripped down the side of her face, tracing a line down the side of her neck. She waited in anticipation for the pain of an attack that didn’t seem to come. More warm droplets trailed down the side of her cheek, her neck, and even down her shoulder. For a moment, she wondered if it was raining, if suddenly he had moved and it had begun to rain.

But then she tasted more blood, more iron in her mouth and tried to open her eyes. She knew that he had, in fact, cut her, carved a deep wound from the top of her brow to the tip of her shoulder and that one of her eyes would not open. The warm substance wasn’t rain. It was blood. Her blood.

It registered then. The pain, the excruciating pain that rippled through her like a wave beating against an ocean. It felt as though someone had placed a hot dagger at her brown and carved a sharp line down the length of her form. Her eyes flashed white, and she screamed.

She screamed so loud that her ears rang. She let out a scream that tore and ripped and clawed its way up her throat and out her mouth. She screamed so loud that even Natsu recoiled. She thrashed beneath his clawed feet pressing her arms into the stone street, the pain just not subsiding even a fraction. It just kept crashing into her, wave after wave of white hot, spasming pain.

Tears streamed from her eyes, the salty liquid stinging more as it leaked from her unopened eye and touched the fresh wounds. Her screams turned shrill, like nails on a chalkboard, making the hair on her arms stand on end. More tears spilled over her cheeks, creating a seemingly infinite cycle of agony.

Natsu roared somewhere above her. Thick hands pressed back down on her neck, instantly cutting her off. Lucy choked and gasped, desperately scrambling for air. Her body thrashed again, more violent, more desperate than before. This time it did it out of a need to live rather than pain. Lucy could do nothing but desperately gasp and try and gulp down air she desperately needed in her lungs. Blood raced past her ears, trying to get as much oxygen to her brain as possible.

Natsu said something above her, but the ringing in her ears overwhelmed her senses. She could only focus on one thing. Air. Air. She needed air.

“Natsu,” she choked out. One final attempt. One last try. “Please.”

Her limbs grew cold and limp, her thrashings slowing to a stop. Lucy struggled to keep her eyes open. Her chokes turned into pitiful whimpers. Blackness encroached on the edges of her vision. Her lungs screamed for air, for something, for anything.

She looks up at Natsu one last time and swears she see his onyx eyes flash into focus again.

Someone called her name from somewhere behind her.

Then, as suddenly as he was on her, the weight loosened. Lucy gasped and gulped and clawed at any air she could get her hands on. Color returned to her vision, but her limbs still refused to function.

She felt her body go weightless, felt her body being pulled from the ground, her feet leaving it. And then the hand around her neck was gone too. But she was still weightless. Still flying. Air whooshed passed her violently, too quick for her to be falling.

She slammed into a hard surface and crumpled into a heap.

And then there was nothing.

#ft fanfiction #nalu #nalu angst week #nalu-angst-week #angst #summer writes

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