Based off of Chapter 382: "Alegria". Natsu and Lucy, mostly.

There are threads pulling them apart and there is nothing that can keep them together.

First they are standing feet apart in a hallway. Trash, rocks, damage everywhere, panting in the aftermath of a defeated enemy. There's the scent of victory, glorious victory in the air and as they gasp for breath they are so close to actually smelling it. Perhaps there is a chance that they will achieve more victory.

As they stand there a new person talks - "Can you hear me?". There is a voice relaying them news, a familiar voice some have known for months and some have known for years - Mirajane is alright, her siblings are okay. It's Warren. Lucy delivers more good news - "Wendy and Carla have stopped Face!" Then, Happy tells Master Makarov that it was time to "release the light". Silence before Makarov finally gives word that he understands. There is hope with this message, a piece of faith that if he does release whatever light, the war might stop. They might win. The last corner of the terrible three-part alliance might finally be destroyed.

There is belief that their horrible fight will soon come to an end, and yet it is just beginning. Everyone is almost light-hearted again among all of the tragedy that has happened and is soon to take place. They don't know what will happen next. They don't realize that soon, there will be more crying, more tears, and more fighting.

Until Warren cries out in pain and a new man speaks just one word.

"Alegria."

The ground shakes. Gravity disappears. The walls warp as turmoil erupts. Sacrifices, the king decides, must be made. One more sin wouldn't hurt.

He muses about that. Sacrifices for sins. Sins and sacrifices. It had a nice ring to it.

Meanwhile, two who had previously wanted to believe that they had won - even with the appearance of a dead enemy, even with the hard victory and the crushing soul-sucking beast - were being sucked into the walls by an incredible force. It was not invisible, and they knew it was magic, but it was one force or spell that they could not comprehend.

"Lucy!"

"Natsu!"

A tan hand reaches for her, twisting in an attempt to grab her pale one.

It's her right hand; the one that has her guild mark on it. The one most important to her. Her left hand is almost useless in her mind for without her guild, she is almost nothing.

It's one of his tan hands, one not as dark a shade as Ren, but still one darker than hers. It has scratches and cuts and scars from countless, old and new, battles.

And although she might not write with her left hand, and he might not really understand why he always lights one fist on fire rather than the other, they still care about the other's hands. Because maybe that hand will grab onto hers, maybe those fingers will intertwine with his, and they will be free of all of this chaos that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Besides, wasn't it her left hand that she had written with in the future? She'd had to adapt with only one hand, she remembers.

He remembers too, and they both remember losing each other in the future.

And they both know that these hands are as important as the world, for they cannot lose their best friend again and these hands are their best hope (and maybe they do mean the world to each other). It's impossible to draw a key and recite the magic words. There's no time to boost himself closer with fire.

She tries to move forward - as more forward as possible when everything is pushing them apart and they are flying - and he leans forward - as hard as he can, even though it's not much as it should be in his tired state. The hands almost touch - an inch closer, a centimeter closer, she didn't know. Just closer.

Just a little more.

Just a little closer.

It's only a few seconds long, this entire scene, and yet it's a forever in this reality as the forces go against their wishes. Maybe it isn't her lifelong ambition, but currently it's her biggest dream. There's nothing she wants more than to latch onto his fingers. And maybe in the long run, it isn't as important as finding his father - yet it's all he can think about. His mind only tells him to grab onto that hand. Both of them attempt to fulfill their goals.

But it is futile with the spell of Alegria.

There's one last desperate grab, one last lunge. They go towards each other but the supporting elements pull them apart. Wind howls, walls distort, and there is strangeness everywhere that they cannot comprehend as everything leaves, everything ends, too fast. They want to snatch onto that feeling, that small glimmer of hope they felt earlier, and use it to propel themselves closer to each other, except that would be impossible and the hope is no longer there.

And there is nothing that she can do, nothing that he can do, and nothing that can keep them together, even with reaching hands, because he's there and she's there, among the horrible turmoil. And then

he is

gone.