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krzyktty101 · 6 years

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7. Freedom/Chained

How did they always get themselves into these situations? The Oracion Seis, Tenrou Island, Tartarous, Zeref; how was it that her team was always in the middle of these world ending escapades?

A deep pitiable sigh slipped past her lips, she could practically feel her whole chest deflate with it. She shook her head back and forth violently, trying to clear it of the swirling torrent of thoughts and emotions clouding her mind. She was supposed to be on a 100 year quest with her closest friends right now, not fighting another madman to save the world. Tears began to well up in her eyes unwillingly; she couldn’t help but mourn the loss of it. She briefly wondered if her friends would still complete it after.

The 100 year quest was more about the journey than the actual mission; it was about never-ending bonds of friendship. It was their silent promise to each other that there would always be more adventures. She was sure it was also Natsu’s own special way of assuring her that she would never be alone again, that he would never leave her alone again. Natsu was always a more tactile communicator; words were never his strong suit. So what better way to prove to Lucy the level of his conviction than to drag her on a never ending quest? Well, the thrill of the challenge didn’t hurt either.

Everything until now was amazing. For the last three years Natsu, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Happy and Carla had traveled the world together with her. They were no closer to completing the quest than when they started, but every day was a new adventure. They went back to Magnolia often to visit their friends and family. Side quests were completed as required to keep money in their pockets. Last year she even found Aquarius’s key again. Life was great, and for the first time in years there was no dark dangerous cloud looming over their heads. That is, until Princess Hisui contacted their guild with a rather dire emergency; which was how Lucy found herself in this rather dispiriting situation. The Princess had contacted Fairy Tail days ago with intelligence that a dark guild was planning some sort of attack on Fiore using the Spirit World. The princess had reached out to Fairy Tail specifically because of Lucy; while Lucy wasn’t the only Celestial Wizard in the world, it was well known that she was by far the strongest. It didn’t hurt that she was supported by the strongest guild in the world either.

Team Natsu had successfully stopped the dark guild known as the Ace of Spades, but not before their leader Jax had torn open a rift to the Spirit World. His rather brash plan included using old magic and the ancient Celestial Shrine to force open a rather large “gate” to the Spirit World and then enslave the Spirit King. Lucy knew firsthand the frightening power of the Spirit King and did not wish to ever be on the other side of it again. His power was not meant for any one person to control, especially without limits. Years ago their group had seen up close what can happen to the Spirit World when the Celestial King was thrown into chaos, and this time the open gate bled the overwhelming energy of the Spirit World into Earthland as well. Princess Hisui was right to be worried, Jax’s plan was apocalyptic.

The whole ground shook as the magic power coalesced chaotically around the ancient shrine. Above her, high in the sky, midnight black clouds swirled malevolently and mixed with golden magical light. Energy from the two planes clashed in the sky and exploded creating an ethereal lightening show. Frustration welled up in Lucy’s chest; she clenched her hands into fists almost tight enough to draw blood. She bit into her lips, ignoring the coppery taste the seeped onto her tongue. She allowed the pain to stem the wail that threatened to tear itself from her lips. They had won the fight, but would ultimately lose the war.

“No. No, I won’t allow it!” A fire burned in her belly; strength welled up from the deepest recesses of her soul and flowed into every fiber of her being as though it were a living thing. She steeled her nerves for what she knew she must do.

Jax lay unconscious at Natsu’s feet, slumped against the wall on the outskirts of the large atrium which lay at the heart of the shrine. Erza, Gray, and Wendy had just rejoined the group mere seconds ago, finally finishing their own battles against the remnants of the dark guild moments before. However, for all of their success, no one had managed to stop the massive tear from being formed. “Well, at least the Spirit King wasn’t enslaved. Small miracles I suppose,” Lucy mumbled under her breath as she slowly walked into the center of the atrium. “Stardress: Aquarius!”

And it was true; they had managed to stop Jax before he was able to complete the ritual, thereby ensuring that the Spirit King remained free. However, that didn’t mean that anyone was safe. The idiot had torn open a rift so large between the two realms, it was quickly destabilizing both. The turbulent skies above her head, the quaking beneath her feet, and the magical lightening crashing around them were just the beginning. Left alone, both realities would collapse; Lucy knew she had to act quickly.

She surveyed the scene around her as she moved, taking stock of everything she wanted to protect, her friends, her home, and Natsu. Lucy wasn’t entirely sure where Carla and Happy were, but she thought she heard something about them researching the shrine for information on the ritual. It wasn’t much good now, but at least they wouldn’t be here for this. Steeling her resolve, she stopped her slow march at the center of the atrium of the shrine and prepared her mind and body for what she knew needed to be done.

“LUCY STOP!!”

She felt a strong hand grip her wrist and swing her around to face her detractor. Her heart sank at the sight; she was silently praying that she would be able to get through this without him figuring it out until it was too late. She should have known better, he always came whenever she was ever in any real danger.

“Loke.” Her voice rang true with the strong affection she held for her most loyal spirit and one of her closest friends; however, she could not completely hide the solemn resignation hidden within it either.

He had a manic look about his face; Fear, anger, exacerbation, pride, grief, and a stubborn refusal to accept the reality in front of him all vied for control creating a crazed look in his eyes. He gripped both of her wrists in his hands with such strength, she seriously doubted he entirely was conscious of it.

“You CAN’T DO this LUCY!”

“What choice do I have Loke? That gate has to be closed.”

He shook his head and dug his fingertips in even harder; they were sure to leave bruises on her fair skin. How could she act so calm about this, as though it were nothing! Surely she realized what this would do to him! He would not, could not accept this.

“Not alone!! There is Yukino, Princess Hisui, even Lady Anna, any of them could help!”

He didn’t want to see that look from Lucy, the look of pity and surrender. Loke turned his head from it tears starting to build in his eyes.

“They are days away, we don’t have that sort of time.”

“Then summon the Spirit King for help!”

Lucy’s gaze sharpened at that, fire from her eyes piercing through Loke’s soul. “No! One, there is already too much Celestial energy here; calling him forth would only make things worse. Two, only a Celestial Wizard can close the gate and you know that. Three, I refuse to ever sacrifice another spirit ever again.”

Grabbing onto her shoulders, Loke rattled Lucy back and forth, as though to shake common sense back into her thick skull. Loke screamed, “DAMMIT LUCY! THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING!”

By this point, Loke’s extreme reaction had drawn the attention of their friends. Now only a few feet away, Natsu cocked his head to the side confused. “Yo, whats going on?”

“LUCY’S TRYING TO KILL HERSELF!” Loke couldn’t keep the slight wail of hysteria from his tone.

Shock painted the face of her friends and kept them frozen in place for several moments; it was as though time itself stood still. Not surprisingly, Natsu was the first to recover. His muscles tensed, his eyes narrowed, and seething anger seeped into his voice as he growled out, “What the Hell?”

Lucy refused to shirk under his glare, “I have to close the gate. Leaving a rift like that open can destroy both worlds. I’m the only one here who can close it.”

“We have seen Lucy force gate closures multiple times?” Leave it to Erza to get to the heart of the problem with a single strike. Her simple statement was formed as a question, as though it answered itself with its obviousness.

Loke shot Erza a fierce glare, just another indicator to his emotional state. Under any other circumstance, he would never be crazy enough to look at her that way. “Look at the size of that gate! Closing a gate that large will take everything she has; IT WILL KILL HER!”

“Lucy?” Gray’s quiet voice held a string of questions within the one word. ‘Is this true?’ ‘Did you know?’ ‘How could you do this to us?’

Lucy held firm, though it broke her heart, she knew she was right. “I HAVE to close the gate. If I let this continue it will destroy both worlds. Everyone we have ever cared about, from both realms, will die. Either way I die. I might as well go out protecting those I love”

Loke sprung forward trapping Lucy in a fierce hug, as though he could keep her safe by sheer will alone. As his one arm wrapped firmly around her waist, his other gently cupped the back of her head pulling her into the crook of his neck as he laid his head atop hers. Lucy couldn’t help but melt slightly into his embrace and return the hug. She knew it was very likely the last time she would be able to show him how much he meant to her. “Lucy. Please stop. How can I just sit back and let my friend disappear right in front of me?”

Two lone tears leaked from her eyes. “Oh Loke. I can’t let any of you disappear either. Now it’s my turn to protect you.”

Loke stepped back so suddenly it was a bit jarring; then Lucy felt a warm hand grip her arm. Electric shocks raced through her body and settled in the pit of her stomach. Natsu’s grip was firm, unyielding but gentle. His entire body was tense like a tightly coiled spring, and one wrong word from her would cause the whole thing to explode. “You don’t die for your friends.”

Lucy looked at him, one of her signature mega-watt smiles gracing her face as she answered, “You live for them.”

And it was her unique smile, the smile all her friends had learned long ago to equate to the knowledge that everything would be all right. It threw them off kilter just long enough to give her the opening she needed. As her friends stood around her, startled that she could smile so fully in light of the current conversation, she unleashed her attack.

“WATER BARRIER!”

Her friends were flung back as a wall of water erupted around Lucy, keeping her in its protective shell. Natsu and Loke, who were closest to the source, flew with enough force to slam them into the shrine walls. Then her 9 other Zodiac spirit friends materialized in a line between her and her team.

“Aquarius, please give me space! Capricorn, Scorpio, and Taurus keep Natsu back! Gemini, Cancer, Sagittarius stand guard. Virgo and Ares, hold back Loke.”

“GATE OF THE SPIRIT WORLD, CLOSE!!!”

Lucy was swallowed by a pillar of golden light that erupted from her body and shot straight into the hole in the sky.

Natsu, though shaken, was the first to brush off the stunning attack, “LUCY!!” Natsu’s panicked scream cracked across the room like a whip. He planted his right hand on the floor with both feet against the wall he just peeled himself off of. Fire exploded from his feet, shooting him off like a rocket towards Lucy. Aquarius was ready for him, firing a torrent of bubbles which hit him dead on. Natsu flew back into the wall and the spirits quickly descended upon him.

A bit off to Natsu’s right, Loke’s expression moved past betrayal and straight onto rage. “How could you! You and she fought so hard to see each other again! How could you agree to this Aquarius!” Aquarius was ready for him though, and directed the torrent of bubbles at Loke before he could attack. Loke struggled against the force of her water unsuccessfully, one arm stretched helplessly towards his friend and owner.

Aquarius hung her head and looked away from his piercing gaze, “It is because of that struggle that I refuse to abandon her now.”

“Lions Brilliance!” A brilliant light exploded from inside Loke; his magical energy deflecting Aquarius’ attack. “And how is this not abandonment? You’ll all be kicked out of the Spirit World, just like I was. Do you plan to die with her?”Loke leaped towards Aquarius, fists prepared for his attack, when he was thrown back by a torrent of water.

“I will not treat her like a child! Lucy knows what she must do; I refuse to treat her as one too stupid to make her own choices. What would you have us do Leo? Would you have both worlds die with her? Would you sacrifice the Universe for her?

“I would find another way! Regulus Impact!”

“There is no other way!” Tears ran in rivers down her face as Aquarius swung her vase back, preparing to unleash her famous cyclone upon the group.

In a flash, a sword materialized holding the vase back; a blinding light enveloping Erza, “Sea Empress Armor; your water attacks will no longer hold power over me Aquarius.”

“Moshi Moshi! I am sorry miss, but that will not help you here.” A stream of arrows flew towards the female warrior with scary precision. The rate of fire was closer to one of Bisca and Alzac’s magic machine guns than arrows.

The room quickly descended into chaos as Erza fought Aquarius, and Sagittarius. Gray and Wendy reluctantly took Gemini and Cancer. Natsu was in an outright frantic brawl with Capricorn, Scorpio and Taurus. One never would have never guessed that Ares and Virgo were ever friends with Loke considering the way he was throwing himself into the fight. In the heart of it all stood Lucy, enveloped in a golden light, screaming from the severe strain to her body.

Natsu’s head reeled back after a particularly well placed punch from Capricorn and slammed into a wall, stone crumbling from the force. With a speed that rivaled Jet, Natsu recovered and threw himself back into the battle. “How the hell are you all here anyway? Even Lucy shouldn’t be able to summon 9 of your at once, not if she is using everything she has on that stupid hole!”

Capricorn was the first to answer as he evaded a particularly brutal double fire kick from Natsu. “That rift has broken down the barriers between our worlds. We no longer need a summoner to be here.”

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Lucy’s shrill screech tore through the air halting everyone in their tracks. Small tears started to appear all over as the swirling magical energy started to slice apart her delicate skin. Lucy would not be deterred though; one look at her friends was all that she needed to push through the pain, pouring even more energy into the demising gate above.

Erza, Gray and Wendy ceased their attacks solemnly; watching the amazing extent of Lucy’s determination diminished their own. Natsu though felt as if it was tearing his body itself in two; he subconsciously placed his fisted hand over his heart. “Listen to her! That is your friend, your comrade! How can you let her do this to herself?”

Capricorn, Scorpio, and Taurus regrouped during the brief lull, forming a wall between Natsu and Lucy.

“Yeah baby! That is exactly why we are here,” however, Scorpio’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes as he spoke. “We are here to support our owner!”

“We believe in Lucy’s strong and beautiful booody!”

“If that rift is not closed, both worlds will be destroyed. Everything that Lucy loves will be lost; she is the only one here who can close it. We must have faith in her.” Capricorn’s voice rang with strong conviction.

Natsu’s fists exploded in a fiery fury from the force of his emotions. “I don’t care. That is Lucy, our Lucy. And she is in pain!”

Erza, and Gray, who had regrouped next to Natsu in the lull, placed restraining hands on his shoulders, tears in both their eyes. “Natsu,” Erza spoke, “We must trust in our friend.”

Natsu’s eyes widened like saucers, his flames extinguished from sheer shock. “Erza? You too?”

“Look around you Flame Brain! Look at their eyes! Do you think they want this? Do you think we want this? We love her too! But if what they say is true, then what choice do we have but to trust in her?” Gray’s hand dug painfully into Natsu’s shoulder, as though he was physically restraining himself. It was as though he was trying to convince himself along with Natsu. His entire body shook silently with tremors.

Natsu’s head swung towards Wendy looking for support; surely she was still with him. His chest deflated as soon as he saw her face.

Another scream escaped their friend’s lips and reverberated around the shrine, echoing in their heads long after the sound itself was gone. Erza let go of Natsu’s shoulder and dropped it to her side. She took her other arm and wrapped it around her waist and gripped her arm as though she were holding herself back. “If we don’t let her do this, everyone will die. Lucy will die.”

“I refuse to accept it! I can’t lose her! I promised that I would always protect her; I promised that I would never fail her like Karen!?” Loke’s hands were fisted in his orange mane while he shook his head back and forth in crazed desperation. Virgo and Ares stood guard before him, boxing him in. “I won’t let her die! I can’t let her die! She is the most important person in the world to me! I would give my life for her! I don’t want to live in a world without Lucy.”

“Slap” The sharp sound bounced across the room. Loke barely registered the needle-like stinging sensation on his cheek. He looked up; Virgo’s hand was still raised and fire burned in her eyes. “Princess is not a damsel to be protected, and you are not the only one who cares for her!”

“Then why aren’t you helping me!! You’ll be banned from ever returning to the Spirit World. You’ll die too!”

Virgo shook her head, “No big brother. Remember, you and Lucy changed that rule. We will not be held accountable for supporting her decision.”

Ares looked upon her friend with pity, “She may be our friend, but we are also her spirits. Even when it is hard, we will obey her wishes. It is our pride as Celestial Spirits.”

“Well I won’t! Regulus Impact!”

Virgo and Ares went soaring across the shrine, creating a crater when they crashed into the stone floor. “Natsu! Get Ready! Lion’s Brilliance!”

The shrine was enveloped in a blinding bright light, stunning all but Loke and Natsu who used the opening to run to their suffering friend. Finding his friend in the light was easier than breathing, Natsu was so attuned to her at this point that locating her with his sharp nose was like a sixth sense. She was such an integral part of his life he didn’t even need to consciously try any more. As Natsu reached her back, he wrapped his strong arms around her waist and pulled her to him firmly. His face contorted in distress as he cried out, “STOP IT!! Please!” The light entombed them both, chaotic magical energy greedily now tearing at both of their flesh instead of one. Natsu winced from the pain as he tried his best to shield Lucy from harm. However, as the light finally receded, it was Loke who first noticed that their time had run out. The rift was now gone!

The last of Lucy’s magical energy floated away into the sky, being absorbed by the remnants of the now healed gate. She stood there pale and winded, huffing and gasping for breath after the exertion. Her clothes were in tatters, torn to shreds from the magical energy. Small ringlets of blood oozed from paper sized cuts all over her delicate body. Gently her arm came up, and lightly grabbed Natsu’s which were still wrapped firmly around her waist. Breathing a sigh of relief, Natsu slowly detangled himself from her.

Loke sank to the ground before her, knees slamming onto the hard stones beneath him. Violent sobs racked his body, his hands coming up to grip his wild mane as he shook his head lightly in denial. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no…,” that one word becoming his new mantra. Tears streaming down his face pooled on the cold stone floor before his knees.

To say that Natsu was confused by his comrade’s reaction was an understatement. She was standing right there. Yeah, she looked weak and tired, but she was alive. So what was with the water works? “Luce?”

Ignoring him for a moment, Lucy leaned down, and cupping Loke’s face in her hands she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. She caught Gray and Erza’s eyes as she stood, large smile gracing her face. “Take care of him please? Take care of all of them?” Lucy didn’t wait for a response; she trusted that they would.

“Luce? I don’t understand?” Fear, a rare emotion for him, started to seep into his heart. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew instinctively that he wouldn’t like the results.

Turning to her closest and truest friend, she gave Natsu the signature mega-watt Lucy smile. Her hand stretched out and cupped his cheek, her thumb rubbing small reassuring circles absentmindedly.

Natsu reached up to grasp her hand, becoming alarmed when he only touched air. His gaze sharpened as he turned towards where her arm was only a second before, and for that one moment, time stopped. Her arm was slowly disappearing right before him, as though it was never there. He struggled to regain his breath as he turned terrified eyes towards hers. “L...Lu...Luce?”

She leaned forward, kissing the tear off his cheek. Only Lucy’s chest and head were visible now, with more disappearing everyone second. “It will be ok Natsu.”

Natsu reached out quickly, trying to grab onto her, trying desperately to hold her to him. He became more frantic as she faded before him, arms flying everywhere trying to grasp onto any part of her. “Lucy! Hold on! You have to stay with us! You have to stay with me! We’ll be together forever right?”

Only Lucy’s face was visible now and it too slowly faded from view. “Forever and always. I love you Natsu.” And with that, Lucy was gone.

This is the first chapter to a new fic I am writing. Nothing is posted except here yet because I am not far into the story. Thought this would make a good submission for Nalu week 2018. Not sure about the title yet.

#nalu week #naluweek #nalu week 2018 #nalu fanfiction #fanfiction #angst #lucy heatfilia #natsu dragneel #character death?#maybe #have to read more to find out #freedom/chained #freedom / chained

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