A/N: I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas Day, whether you celebrate it or not. I'm here to treat you with a new chapter ("finally", I hear you all saying :P)

I'm really sorry with how ridiculously late this chapter is. University was so much busier than I expected it to be, and just when I get time to at last start writing this chapter, my laptop decides to completely die on me and I had to wipe the whole thing! Bad luck, huh? But, alas! The chapter is now done for you wonderful readers and I really hope it does not disappoint.

Enjoy~

Chapter 6

Lucy became aware of herself standing, as if she had been zoned out of reality, to just remember she was actually awake. Alive. Her small hands were holding two brightly coloured bricks, one of red and the other of green, yet to be placed on the growing tower she had been raising from the ground. Waking out of her daze, Lucy's innocent eyes roamed her surroundings. She raised her petite arm, still holding its respective brick, to shield her vision from the glaring sun in the clear, crystal sky. As her vision adjusted to the light, the girl blinked around to discover there was a vast expanse of luscious, green grass, boarded with sculpted bushes, that lead a carpeted way to the looming mansion that was the Heartfilia household. The blonde's childhood home was there before her in all the grandeur of the past.

"Anything the matter, Lucy?" A kind, calm voice asked.

The little girl peered up under her forearm, which was providing shade, to find Layla Heartfilia warmly smiling at her. Her Mama was there. Her lovely Mama was actually there sitting next to where the blonde was standing, with a pool of coloured bricks in the lap of her skirts. A slight breeze shuffled the fringe of her tied up golden hair, just a shade richer than Lucy's own. A certain warmth flooded the young girls' small chest, as if she was relieved after a period of longing.

But, of course, the little girl was confused by such an alien emotion. As the little five year old Heartfilia began to forget the grains of her dreaded future, she basked in the glory of the enjoyment of childhood yet to be touched by death.

"Is little Lu day dreaming again?" Came a deep chuckle from the other side of Lucy.

Layla's attention was drawn to the male opposite her after he spoke, breaking the eye contact the mother and daughter had been sharing. The small blonde turned her head toward the other person, only taking her brown eyes off her Mama at the last moment, when it was necessary. It was as if Lucy the moment relinquished her attention from her Mama, the women would disappear forever. Not that Lucy knew anymore why she had the in depth fear of such an occurrence.

To the girl's unknowingly pleasant surprise there he was, Jude Heartfilia, kneeling beside the picnic he had been laying out for his family. His thin, crinkled eyes and expression filled with love toward his precious little girl as she faced him. Lucy's jaw fell slightly while she drank in the radiating affection from the man. Her Papa chuckled again at the blonde's, what he supposed, playful silence, before commencing with taking out the contents of the wicker basket, to place them on the plush, checkered blanket they were gathered on.

"Well, isn't this quaint?," a voice spoke into Lucy's ear.

The blonde whirled round on the balls of her feet to meet the person who whispered so close, but one of her small clasped hands collided with the tower of coloured bricks as it swung round, causing them to clatter to the blanketed ground. The motion of her twisted feet bunched the material underneath, and the little girl toppled on to her fallen bricks when the blanket refused to move with her. Lucy's outstretched palms landed on the hardened wooden edges of her toys to brace her fall, as her bare knees swiftly followed suit.

Lucy winced at the edges that dug into her young skin; the grazes stung. No matter her age the little girl refused to cry. She did not want to worry her parents over a little incident, especially when their day was going so perfectly. A soft hand came in contact with her shoulder, making her flinch at the contact. That strange voice had put her on edge. Why was she so afraid of it? She looked at the slender hand at her shoulder and swept her gaze up the laced arm to find her Mama. A smile still graced the women's lips, though her brown eyes appeared to be worried over her daughter.

"Did you hurt yourself, sweetie?" Layla took her hands off Lucy's shoulder to soothingly stroke the girl's blonde locks, her fingers lingering at the end of the small pigtail. "You wait with Papa while I get some things to make you feel better," she finished her reassuring words by closing her eyes with a smile that once again reached them.

With that, Lucy's Mama took her hands away to get up and slowly walked away toward the Heartfilia mansion. The girl looked around for the person she thought had spoken to her before, but there was no-one else around apart from her family. Of course there was not, it really was her imagination. Her brown eyes, the same as her beloved Mama's, traced to the receding figure of her mother. Panic had begun to fluctuate in her stomach at the sight. What was this feeling of loss?

No.

"No, Mama, please don't leave!" Lucy screamed after her, like she was compelled. "Don't go!" Tears welled up as fear gripped her.

She placed her weight onto her hands, still resting on the jagged bricks, as she hastily pulled herself to her feet; set to run after her Mama before she disappeared.

"Look what you did, Miss Heartfilia," the mocking voice came again in her ear, stopping her before she could pursue her Mama. Whose figure grew ever smaller in the distance.

"You forced your mother to leave." The spiteful utterance pulled Lucy's attention away from the house her Mama had just walked into, to the man standing behind her.

With her body half turned toward her home, Lucy stared incredulously at her Papa. He had since raised himself from his kneeling position, abandoning the picnic he had recently finished setting out, as he towered over her small frame, arms crossed over his chest. The mans' lips were set in a thin line while the rest of his expression was stern, hard. No longer was he looking at his little girl with eyes full of adoring love for his family.

Jude relaxed his arms to hang at his sides, with balled fists. He started to walk forward, barely missing Lucy as he walked past her. He stopped briefly beside his daughter, as he craned his neck to look down on the blonde.

"You stupid girl." He spat at the little child, before proceeding to walk away from her.

Lucy's eyes went wide, as her lip quaked at the sudden change in her Papa's persona, but it felt terribly familiar.

Why?

What had she done wrong? Everything was fine before that person whispered in her ear! Warm tingling had begun to spread over her skin, making Lucy rub at her flesh to placate the uncomfortable feeling.

"It was your destiny, Miss Heartfilia."

The blonde started at the words. Lucy wrapped her arms around herself as she backed away from the abandoned picnic and bricks. Her brown eyes darted around the scenery to find the man speaking to her.

"You can hear my thoughts?" She spoke quietly into the empty garden.

"Naturally," he replied. She could hear the smile in his tone.

A sparkling at the edges of the blonde's vision caught her attention. She turned her gaze to the Heartfilia mansion where there were golden orbs rising from it. The roof of Lucy's home was slowly dissipating into the orbs, as they dispersed in the blue sky giving it a golden hue. One of the bubbles of light floated up in front of her, wrenching her wide eyed gaze away from the house to the rest of her surroundings. Everything, the bushes, the trees, even down to each blade of grass was ceasing to exist, forming instead the glowing orbs.

Lucy fell hopelessly to her knees. "What's... what's happening?" The girl whispered to herself, she called into the peaceful scene."Mama! Papa!"

"They aren't coming back, little Lu," the voice spoke, sounding distinctly like her Papa. Lucy's hysteria created a revolt in her chest at the words.

The tingling on the blonde's skin intensified, causing her to cry out. She fell completely to a sitting position on the ground, as she wrapped her arms around her burning torso. Lucy bent her small body over, in a blind hope that making herself even smaller would make the pain go away. Dark chuckling reverberated in the atmosphere, causing the air to crack as if it were solid. The snapping din was like pieces of china scraping against each other. Deep, jagged lines formed a dome around Lucy, spreading under and around her, as her delicate, happy world broke apart. Fire pulsed through Lucy, not allowing her enough energy to scramble when the piece she was crouched on caved from under her.

Lucy tumbled downward into blackness, screaming, as she quickly descended away from the remaining fragments of the sunlight. There was no sound, save the rushing of air past the girls' ears, as she hurtled toward nothingness. Shards of the garden scene followed her, before they too dissipated into the golden orbs. However, these particular bubbles of light absorbed into her burning skin. Each one returned a memory of the five year old Lucy Heartfilia's future. Tears and laughter mingled with the burn, as she gained back each grain of memory. Long blonde hair lashed at her face, as Lucy's limbs and torso elongated and filled out. Gold painfully oozed out of her pours to transform her pink dress into the blonde's signature white and blue shirt, blue skirt combination. When the process was complete, Lucy finally reached the end of her fall. Her body hit the ground, forcing the crown of her head to snap onto the floor.

"You will very soon be mine." The voice sounded distant, yet close, as it echoed around the emptiness.

The Celestial Mage peeked through her crumpled eyes though, as she had suspected, Lucy could not see the man. She, however, felt his presence looming over her. Glowing, gold dust lazily drifted in the air, providing the only light in the vast darkness. Lucy gritted her teeth against each wave of fiery pain, as the particles continued to diffuse in and out of her pores. Fire engulfed her insides.

"Make it stop," she rasped.

"That would not be a good idea, I'm afraid." The ethereal being spoke as if he was smiling.

The pain suddenly flared. Its intensity caused Lucy's body to buck, ripping a scream from the mage's already swollen throat.

"Stay here like a good girl," he tried to coo, but a tinge of anxiety was evident in his choice of words.

"Argh!" Lucy groaned, as the gold particles closed around her frame causing her body to flicker.

"No!"

"Make it st-," the blonde pleaded.

"-top..."

"Lucy?" Hope practically dripped from Natsu's voice, warmth coursed through him ignited from the adrenaline sparked by her words.

The Celestial Mage's chest heaved with her panting, as her slim fingers twitched under Natsu's single handed grasp. His black eyes trained on the movement, the Dragon Slayer had desperately wanted to hold on to part of his best friend when her wounds re-opened. If he kept his grip on her, then surely the blonde would not be able to slip away, she would not be able to leave them because she would know that they all needed her. Hell, Natsu needed her more than anything else! Fairy Tail was his home, and he loved everyone within it, but there had always been a hollowness that echoed with his every action since Igneel had disappeared, followed by the pseudo death of Lisanna during his childhood. He had carried on regardless, accustomed to the feeling. Then, on that random day that Natsu thought he might find Igneel, he found Lucy instead. The girl who exuded love and compassion to any friend or foe, whose face was always graced with a smile despite her internal strife. The pull she had on Natsu, like a person drawn to a blazing camp fire on a freezing night, since their first encounter grew to a point where the pink haired boy could no longer live without that incitant heat.

Luce would not just leave like that, the pink haired mage told himself firmly.

Where had all of his natural optimism gone? Where was the boy's missing bizarre ability to find the positives in everything nasty thrown him, no matter what? It disappeared at the sight and stench of all the blood that seemingly seeped from every sliver of Lucy's soft skin, that is where. His Luce was waking up out of her unconsciousness, yet all he could draw on was a hope that could be easily shattered. Not faith or certainty, just dainty hope and no-one has ever called Natsu dainty.

Lucy's face animated, merging from an expression of peace to one of affliction, as the pain she had felt in her mind became reality. Her eye lids bunched together, while her lips parted to show her teeth clenched beneath them, in a grimace against the throbbing fire in her body. The blonde's hands reflexively grappled with the crimson stained sheets she laid on, in an attempt to bear with the stabbing across her skin.

Happy was dislodged from the Celestial Mage's right side, between her arms and waist, as the cotton fabric became taut. His large, glassy eyes gazed at her contorting demeanor, willing the sudden development in the girl's condition to be good news for them all. Sure, the multiple lacerations that decorated Lucy's body were still bleeding, which Levy and Juvia were doing their best to hinder and help the ruby droplets to congeal, but maybe their nakama waking up was a sign she was getting better. He compelled it to be true. The blue feline scanned the room, going from face to face of his friends present, all he was able to witness were expressions filled with concern, while hope had began to infiltrate the edges.

Audible gasps from Lucy filled the pregnant silence, while she tried to fill her restricted lungs with air. Natsu lightly rubbed soothing circles with his thumb around the blonde's whitened knuckles that were covered with a sheen of sweat, mingled with crimson. Levy and Juvia had not cleaned up that hand, wanting to avoid invading the boys delicate equilibrium. The pink haired boy watched Lucy tentatively, as her eye lids slid slowly upwards to reveal her eyes. The girl sluggishly moved her head to tilt toward the Dragon Slayer, his black eyes gladly meeting her brown. Her face looked haggard and creased with pain, dark shadows beneath her beautiful orbs that usually held so much light within their depths.

"Natsu..." Lucy rasped before being racked with harsh coughing.

The boy stood up with vigour, never letting go of the blonde's hand, and placed his other hand on top of her head. "It's going to be okay, Lucy," he soothed.

Natsu could not withhold the bubble of relief that doused him, he could truly place faith in his best friend's recovery. Lucy gave him a weak smile in return, a small line of blood trailing from her mouth.

A/N: Is Lucy finally on her way to recovery?

Once again, I'm really sorry to all of you for having to wait so long for this update . I will do my absolute best to keep to regular updates for you all!

I'd love to hear from ya, please leave a review on your way out!
SakuraWindChime~