A/N: The first thing I should say about this story is that I started writing it nearly two years ago, before some recent revelations in the manga. So just to avoid confusion – NATSU IT NOT RELATED TO ZEREF IN THIS STORY. I couldn't find a way to make that revelation fit in, so I decided not to force it.
Also, I think this is my longest chapter.
I think that's it, really. Enjoy the chapter!

In a way, I was thankful that there wasn't really any time to think about what was to come. No dwelling, no fretting, just automatically going through the movements I would do before a fight. It was easier this way.
I decided to summon Capricorn as I heard the ominous footsteps rhythmically plodding down the stairs. I started going through battle strategies in my head, already deciding what my first attack would be.

BANG

Just as I grasped his key, an explosion from above made everyone (even the seemingly invincible Gildarts) jump. I almost dropped my keys as I looked around for damages near us…
But there were none. An odd thought popped into my head; did the reinforcements just bomb themselves?

After the shockwave-like sounds died down, I realised that the steady beat of guard footsteps had transformed into a sporadic mess of panic.
I exchanged glances with the others around me. What… was that?

Seconds later we heard a mob of panic approaching us and, brushing off the shock from the sounds we were now hearing, steeled ourselves to fight anyway.
That was, until a few of the guards came rushing in, ignoring us completely with terrified expressions which suggested that they had most likely wet themselves with fear.

In that moment, I wasn't sure whether to pinch myself or laugh.

"Do we… do we attack them?" I heard Cana ask.
I shrugged. They really didn't seem like much of a threat when they were like this.
The thing that had created that explosion though…

"MONSTERS!" one of the guards cried, grabbing onto his buddy in hysterics.

I looked back towards the entrances, shrinking away.
The monsters? As in ravens and phoenixes and whatever else they'd created to attack us?

Out of the corner of my eye, I was gobsmacked to see Levy determinedly head towards the entrance without saying a word. I put out my hand to stop her, only for her to struggle out of my grasp and soldier on.

"Levy, what are you thinking!?" I called out, barely audible over the rising volume of chaos outside.
"She got rid of them all earlier." Mirajane answered for Levy, who had now disappeared through the entrance alone. "All the monsters they made for us, I mean. Whatever's out there messing with the guards-"

"Might not be an enemy…" I finished for her.
I chuckled to myself in awe. Trust Levy, nicknamed after a tiny insignificant crustacean, to be the one behind getting rid of those things that must have killed so many of us.

Still… what if she was wrong? What if she hadn't gotten all of them? It was definitely a possibility-

"Guys!" everyone perked up upon hearing her surprisingly elated voice, her blue curls whipping around uncontrollably as she ran back to us. "You need to see this, come on!"

There was but a moment of hesitation before every single exhausted mage present ran in the direction she had come back from.

I couldn't believe this. Did this mean that we had reinforcements too? Were there more mages from other places that had come to help us? After all, who else could cause this much pandemonium other than a bunch of powerful mages?
Closing my eyes just before reaching the sunlight straining to reach the inside of the cave, I gathered myself to witness the saviours who had come to rescue us.

In those few seconds before I opened my eyes again, I fantasised about being saved, being offered a safe place to stay, asking them to help me find the missing dragon slayers before being whisked off, never having to feel afraid again.
It seemed too good to be true, but god, did it feel good to imagine a future like that after what we had all been through.

As soon as I felt the warm sunlight hitting my legs, I opened my eyes, blinking as my irises constricted more than they had in a long time. It took some time for my eyes to adjust and stop protesting against the sudden onslaught of brightness.

The first thing I noticed was that the sun was not the only source of light. Amongst the grass and fallen guards, an uncontrollable source of light was spreading, spreading, spreading.
Next thing I knew, a blast of this uncontrollable light smothered my senses.

Fire.
I could feel the heat.
Fire.

The rational part of my brain told me that it wasn't really that close to me. I could walk around it. It wouldn't spread that fast.

But then I felt the burns on my legs and arms as if they were brand new. I could hear an eerie echoing of the snickering of guards behind that wall as the phoenix leapt towards me, leaving only destruction in its path.

The rational part of my brain told me there was no phoenix or snickering guards here.

And yet, I was there. Back in the room with the phoenix. The same fear I felt that day was pumping through me as if it were fresh. I couldn't hear or see anything other than the phoenix, surrounded by fire. I was going to die here.

I wasn't really sure what happened next. I guess I had somehow gotten control of my legs again and ran as far away from the inferno as I could.

And that's how I ended up on the floor in a random underground tunnel, sobbing into my hand as I waited for my brain and body to get out of panic mode. I didn't know what just happened, only that I couldn't help it.
As I started to feel rational thought come back to me again, I attempted to control my breathing. My hand reached for my keys – and feeling an overwhelming relief as the cold metal touched my hand was just what I needed to help clear my head. Hiding the keys safely down my top, I grabbed my head and tried to think straight.

One thing I knew for sure – I was going crazy. I hadn't stepped foot in that room since Virgo had dragged me out. There was no phoenix. That was something I had created out of thin air.
I had no new burns and, as I took in the ambiance of the cool, silent tunnel, I realised that I was safe. For now.

I had had a panic attack, I think. A really, really intense one.

My eyes popped open when I thought about how everyone had gone outside, where the fire was. Were they safe? I mean, if the phoenix wasn't real, I'm sure they were okay…

My thoughts were interrupted by a familiar clicking sound. Metal against metal. Though subtle, it echoed off the walls of the tunnel…
and filled me with dread.

I looked towards the source of the sound, and after taking in the sight, I closed my eyes, swallowed, and opened my eyes again only to stare at the wall opposite me.

Why was I not surprised? Had I really been through so much today that the sight of Atwood, back on his feet and reloading his fucking gun, barely earned a reaction from me?
Of course this was going to happen. Of-fucking-course. I was so going to haunt the person who decided to give me the nickname 'lucky' Lucy.

I was just so tired.

"Get up. No funny business." Atwood ordered. His charisma had not returned since I tried to use urano metria on him. Not that I was surprised.

Making sure not to allow my keys to make a telltale jingling sound as I moved, I followed his orders. What else could I do? His gun was a lot faster than my summoning ability.

I lazily took in the sight of him as I faced him, standing a few metres away. Even from a distance, he stank of burning. I eyed the singed hair, clothes and… skin. Natsu really was thorough. I was surprised Atwood was standing.

"Getting burned hurts, doesn't it?" I heard myself saying calmly, as if I were discussing the weather.

A few seconds of silence passed as his face tightened.
And, for some reason, even though I knew I was probably seconds from death, I just couldn't stand the tension of waiting for him to make a move.

"Why haven't you shot me yet?" I asked. Again, my voice was calmer than I knew it should be.

"That would be a waste. You are still of use to me." he replied, evidently attempting to mimic my calm tone. I was surprised to hear an undertone of panic, though. He wasn't the one staring down the barrel of a gun.

"So what's going to stop me from just turning around and leaving?" I challenged him.

"You're defenceless and injured." He countered. Good. Let him think I didn't have my keys with me. "And I didn't say I needed you in good health. Though I'd rather refrain from having to drag you, I will not hesitate if you provoke me."

I nodded. I guess I already knew that was the case.
He beckoned me to start walking down the tunnel and I obliged, listening to his heavy footsteps as he followed me. I walked as slowly as I could, feigning a limp so that he wouldn't think I was trying to stall him in any way.

I needed time to think. Was there any way at all I could get out of this? Probably not. And what did he mean when he said I was of use? What use was I to him? He already knew I wouldn't kill for him. There were no more monsters for them to power using my magic.

I thought back to what the guard had said after he killed Rob. Something about getting more mages to replace us if we were killed. Why on earth would they need more mages who were supposedly dangerous?

I opened my mouth to ask him that, but decided against it. There was no point in wasting my breath. Even if I managed to dig up something big, what was the point if the information would die with me?

But then, my eye caught on something, barely visible on the wall I walked past. To the unknowing individual, one would think it was just a peculiar rock protrusion from the wall and nothing else. Their eyes would drift right past it.
I however, instantly thought back to when I had been reunited with Cana.

"You done with the camera stuff yet, Cana?" Natsu asked abruptly.
I gave him a questioning look, but his attention was drawn to Cana who replied with a short "Not yet."

Cameras. They had put up disguised cameras to film this place. To show to other people the horror that mages were put through. To show that we are not the dangerous ones.
My eyes widened. I had no doubt that this was their plan.
And even if we failed, even if we died, the footage would live on so that this treatment of mages could end once and for all.

And if I could get Atwood to unknowingly make a statement on camera… that could be the defining factor in making people realise that they obviously had a hidden agenda.
I had no time to lose. I thought fast.

"If you think you're going to be able to convince me to kill for you, you might as well shoot me right now. You know I won't do it." I said.

I heard him chuckle sickeningly.
"You know, I wouldn't have actually allowed those boys to drown fully. I just wanted to see if you would do it." he replied.

A pang in my chest at the fact that I could have saved Aquarius ripped through me. Was it true? If I had called his bluff and done it, would her key still be whole…?

No, Lucy. Come on. He's just trying to get to you. Plus, you would have never been able to gamble with their lives.
After trying to calm myself down, I visibly shrugged. I wouldn't let him know how much that comment had stung.

"Why not let them die? You guys evidently don't really care about our wellbeing. Aren't they destructive dangers to society?" I asked.
"They would grow to harbour quite a lot of magic inside them. We could tell they were different from the others due to their link with the dragons. Why waste that potential?"

I tried to quench both my nausea and eagerness. Getting him to talk was easier than I thought it would be.

"Potential? According to your propaganda, that potential is dangerous. I don't understand." I argued.

He chuckled again.
"You have a brain. Do you have any theories?" he asked mockingly.

"You use our magic to power the monsters you created. That much I know." I said after a few seconds. "But as you've probably heard from the battlefield, that plan backfired. Which leads me to the question of what use am I to you right now? If the idea that mages are dangerous is true, then why would you need to replace the mages you were planning to kill today? Why would you hesitate to kill us in the first place?"

"You're not the first to have asked this, you know." He said after I had finished. He then paused, I assume it was to think. "But I guess I should grant you the answer, seeing as you will be the first subject to help us to our goal after centuries of experimentation."

I swallowed, feeling a whole new wave of dread almost drown me.

"Experimentation?" I repeated.

"Centuries ago, there used to be next to no information on the phenomena that was magic. That was, until our finest scientists teamed together with an extremely powerful mage to seek answers." He said. "They found out everything they wanted to know – about the genetics, control and variation of magic. And then they went further, discovering some uses of magic that may change life as we know it."

"I never read about any of this anywhere. I was told the discovery of magic 400 years ago prompted a huge public scare, leaving mages everywhere to go into hiding." I interrupted him in confusion. "The mage who started it all was Zeref – he's the one who made everyone fear us."

"Ah, Zeref." He said as if he were casually reminiscing about an old friend. "Zeref was the powerful mage working to seek answers about magic. He became… angry when he learned of what was being done to study the uses of magic. He did not understand that it was for the greater good."

"What made him so angry?" I asked, a part of me not really wanting to know the answer.

"Experimentation. Human experimentation on mages… in order to find alternative, cleaner sources of energy."

My jaw dropped. I stopped dead in my tracks, barely registering the gun being pushed painfully between my shoulder blades. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How many people knew the truth?

"… Clean? You think a breach of basic human rights is… clean? Are you sure it wasn't just for the business? The money?"

"As I said, Lucy, it was for the greater good. Zeref did not understand that – and my predecessors had to silence him before ruining their magnificent plans for the future."

"And all this stuff about mages being dangerous was a cover-up, wasn't it? You're going to harvest our magic to power your bloody smartphones, without any consideration of how many of us you've killed!" I was almost shouting now, my rage getting the better of me. "Because if people knew the truth, you would have been stopped in a heartbeat. Did Zeref even do what they said he did in the textbooks? Did he really blow up an entire town?"

"He did, in a way. After all, how were my predecessors to know that using their unperfected technology on someone with as much magic as him would create that much energy?" he said, and I was disgusted to hear a complete lack of remorse.

"…So Zeref became one of their subjects – no, one of their victims. And they caused him to blow up the town, killing hundreds of people." I clarified, reminding myself that the cameras were still rolling.

"Along with the research facility, delaying the progress of our organisation by decades. It was truly a tragedy."

I grit my teeth, stopping myself from starting a rant at how absurd it was that he called that a tragedy above everything else.

"But I digress. You are probably wondering where you come into all of this." He drawled, pushing me forwards again. "This place has been overrun and is no longer safe for me. You're going to help me to get out of here so that my organisation may continue. You get the honour of being the first subject we use to produce functional electricity – which will be used for my essential escape. And while it may cost your life Lucy, it will be for the greater good."

"No…" I whispered.

I tried to scan my brain for anything, anything I could do to get myself out of this situation. But nothing turned up. Nothing.
I'd done what I wanted to do, though. I got him on camera revealing the secrets that only a handful of despicable people must have known. I'd just secured the future of all of my friends that had survived the battle today… and I felt proud about it.

But… I wanted to join them… I didn't want it to end for me here. Not like this.

And that was when I heard it. A barely audible disturbance coming from behind us, echoing through the silence.

NATSU POV

The one time… the one damn time I really needed to pull off a stealth attack… and I'd failed her. Again.

He had her in a chokehold, gun to her head before he even turned around. Before I could do anything to stop him.
I watched, frozen, as she finally laid her wide eyes on me. So many emotions fluttered through them in that instant, the last one bringing a tear to her eye as she glanced down at the white scarf wrapped firmly around my neck.

Yeah, Luce. I'd freed my dad, thanks to you. I'd made him proud; unleashing this power I never knew I had in order to knock out each and every guard. It happened to the other dragon slayers, too. Gajeel bullied the last measly guard standing into telling us how to shut off the cannons and it was a piece of cake from that point on.
It seemed so… unreal when I thought back to the epic flight I'd had after we crashed through the roof of the massive cave the dragons had been kept in. We'd spotted a whole new army of guards and I remember grinning so hard at the thought of kicking all their asses… with my dad right there next to me.

That was what I'd been craving all these years. Some quality father-son ass-kicking bonding time.

And then, just as the guards' numbers were dropping into double digits, and my adrenaline was starting to wear off, my dad landed and said he'd forgotten something important.
He then gave me my scarf back. Said that Luce had delivered it to him. Asked if I knew where she was.

And my chest started to ache because it still smelt of her, and, looking around, I couldn't see her anywhere.

Glancing around at the wicked patches of fire me and my dad had left behind, I knew she probably wouldn't be around here.
So that meant she was safe underground. I could just go there, follow her scent, and it would lead me straight to her. I could tell her everything was going to be okay. And then we'd hug and she'd kiss me on the cheek and…

And instead, I'd found her like this. I'd heard the last few words that he'd said to her.

"Natsu." She uttered silently, heartbroken. I noted that she'd finally found a way to get that metal thing off her face. That was the first time I'd heard her voice in ages.
I couldn't stand it anymore. He was watching my every movement with extreme caution. One tiny spark from me and I knew he'd hurt her. I could see it in his eyes.
I could only see one way to protect her, and she wasn't going to like it.

"Take me." I said, clearing my throat when I realised how blocked it had become. "If you leave her alone I'll be your subject, or whatever."

I have to admit, under different circumstances, I would have cried with laughter at the way her face scrunched up into a mask of intense fury. Maybe even provoked her even more over stupid things so that she'd chase me shouting over-the-top insults at me. That was always fun.
Atwood's smirk brought me back to reality, though.

"A generous offer-" was all he managed to say before the bombshell in his arms exploded.

"WHAT? WHAT THE HELL, NATSU, JUST GO-"

I saw red as she was cut off, gasping in pain as Atwood grabbed her broken arm and yanked harshly. I felt bile rise to my throat as my fists shook.
How dare he.

"STOP IT! I said you could take me instead! What part of leave her alone don't you understand?" I growled, barely suppressing the fire within me aching to come out.

And the slimebag chose that moment to start laughing.

"My boy, what made you think you were in a position to make demands?" he drawled, pressing his gun against Lucy's head. She didn't flinch, though. Her jaw was clenched, and her eyes were darting around as if she was looking for something that she knew to be invisible.
"I will accept your offer, though." He continued. "I see a lot more potential in you than I do in this unpromising girl. And I can assure you that as long as you do what I say, I will not shoot her. Deal?"

He was underestimating her big time, and I knew it.
But I guess there was nothing for it. I was out of ideas for now. All I could do was agree to what he says until I was given an opening.
All I knew is that I wasn't giving up just yet.
And I knew from the intense look in Lucy's eyes that she hadn't fully given up either.

LUCY POV

Damn that bloody self-sacrificing idiot! He could have just run away unharmed, but nooooooo, he had to make sure we both got killed instead of just one of us! Atwood was planning to kill him and then me; that much was obvious.

"Deal." I heard Natsu reply to Atwood's crooked proposal. Atwood then motioned for Natsu to walk forwards, passing by us so that Atwood could follow from behind. I had to prevent myself from reaching out to hold Natsu's steaming hand…
I wanted to be angry at the pink-haired moron, I really did. But I knew that if our roles had been switched, I wouldn't have run away either. I would have stayed with him until the end if I had to.

Funnily enough, the things they say in those cringey children's shows are true. The fact that Natsu was here, about to have his magic and life-force sucked out of him by this horrific excuse for a human being, made giving up not an option. With him here, I felt stronger. And I'm sure he felt the same way. I just needed to figure out something-

"Open the door on the left – this is where our latest technology is." Atwood ordered coldly.

My eyes widened in panic. We barely had minutes left before it would all be over… what if we didn't think of something in time?

We followed Natsu into a room full of work benches, tools and half-built objects that looked eerily similar to the cannons they'd used to harvest my magic. As we walked further into the room, I knew without Atwood having to motion towards it that we were heading for the large object in the corner. It was polished, pristine, and… deadly-looking.
It was like a larger version of the cannon I'd seen. Connected to its back was a thick wire, leading to a large battery. Its meter was set at empty. I glanced around. At the other side of the room was a doorway, signed as an emergency exit. I assumed that there was probably some sort of escape vehicle through that doorway… and the only way to power it was with the battery connected to the cannon.
This is what they'd been working on for years… the weapon they'd been planning to use on all of us…

I froze when images of Natsu at the receiving end of that thing flashed through my head.

"Stand there and strap yourself in." Atwood ordered, pointing towards the wall adjacent to the cannon.

Oh god, I couldn't breathe. This was going too fast. There wasn't an opening to get ourselves out of this, not with a gun pushed to my head. Once the cannon was on, there would be nothing I could do.

I looked desperately at Natsu. His back was to me. He hadn't moved, and I felt Atwood's grip get tighter.

"I said-"
"Can I say goodbye first?" Natsu interrupted him.

I started to shake my head. Goodbye? Don't tell me… was he giving up? No… no, he wouldn't…

"I will permit it, seeing as you are playing a pivotal role in this organisation. But you know what will happen if you try anything." Atwood agreed after a few silent moments.

"Natsu, don't, please-"
"It's okay, Luce. It's going to be okay. Look after my scarf, would you?" he was now walking towards me, his face unreadable.

Liar. It wasn't going to be okay. But I found myself nodding. I still couldn't believe he was giving up like this… and so calmly…

When he stood right in front of me, he caught me in an intense gaze. He then placed his hands on his scarf, not breaking eye contact with me as he took it off.

There was something peculiar about his movements. Usually he handled his scarf with as much care as possible, taking one end and unwrapping it so that the fibres wouldn't stretch.
I glanced down at his hands, watching as he loosened the scarf slightly, then yanked on one end in a fast movement to pull it off rather violently.

And I understood instantly.

He'd managed to communicate it to me without words. A way out of this.
He put the scarf around my neck and I nodded slightly, letting him know that I'd gotten his message loud and clear.
He then walked away and did as Atwood had instructed him to.

It was all up to me now. I just had to time it correctly. I would only get one shot at this, and one wrong move could kill me instantly.

And though I now had hope that both of us could actually survive this, it didn't stop the genuine sob that left my throat when Atwood turned on the cannon.

Natsu's screams filled the room. It felt like a direct stab right in my stomach, twisting painfully.

I watched him, my whole body trembling as I stood there, waiting, unable to do anything whilst the boy I loved was slowly being killed.
Just hold on for a little longer, Natsu. I promise I'll stop this soon.
I started sobbing openly, my body going limp in complete and utter hopelessness. But that was part of the plan.

Atwood eased his grip ever so slightly as he saw his life's work, his dream, finally coming to fruition.

It was now or never.

With a sudden movement, I mimicked the odd movements Natsu had made as he took off his scarf. This was what he'd no doubt been wordlessly telling me to do earlier. I'd never attempted to get out of a chokehold before, but I'd witnessed him do it countless times in his stupid brawls.

I'd caught Atwood off-guard. Of course a helpless, 'unpromising' girl would never try anything as stupid as this…
After securing my only working hand around his arm and yanking hard enough to pull him up against my back (yeah, I grimaced at our brief proximity, too), I stepped back, bent my knees and took advantage of my lower centre of gravity. With one more yank, I straightened my knees and bent forwards, flipping the dazed man onto the floor in front of me.
A deafening gunshot made me jump, but I heard it hit something metal at the other side of the room. It must have been a late reaction from Atwood, who still held the gun tightly in his hand.

There was no time to marvel over my own technique.

I saw him nearly instantly come out of his daze as he moved his gun towards me, but I gripped it before he could aim. I also shoved my foot into his face in my efforts to make him let go, but it only made him struggle harder as he brought up his other hand to pull the gun away from me. I couldn't hear what he was shouting over Natsu's screams.

Another gunshot.
And there were two screaming people in the room.

A gush of blood started dripping onto Atwood as he cradled his bloody hand to his chest. He'd just accidentally shot his own hand, and it could have easily been me…

Without thinking twice, I took this opportunity to finally yank the gun out of his hand, throwing it a few metres away. Then, quickly stepping over him, I desperately reached towards the switch on the cannon.

But after one aggressive tug at my leg, I was on the floor, being dragged back towards the man who would now not hesitate to kill me.

I wasn't going to give him a chance. Not now that I was so, so close to stopping whatever that cannon was doing to Natsu. I didn't know how long he had left before the damage would be irreversible…

With a ragged cry, I kicked my legs, managing to get a few strikes in before he overpowered me. He was nearly twice as big as me, and a lot stronger. After pinning my struggling body down, his profusely bleeding hand still cradled to his chest, his eyes searched the room for his gun.

They lit up with insane malice when he spotted it.

And I knew in that moment that I wasn't going to be able to overpower him and survive this… without magic. I knew of only one way which wouldn't endanger my keys.
The only problem was that I would be in the damage zone along with Atwood, but that hardly bothered me. I could also get the cannon in the damage zone. Win-win.

He quickly got up to run towards the gun but I managed to trip him up with my newly freed limbs. He then punched me and pinned me down again, shouting threats at me just as I knew he would.
Meanwhile, I closed my eyes, breathed in and started the chant.

"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens,
All the stars, far and wide..."

"Don't you dare start that again!" he yelled, trying to cover my mouth and thus freeing my hand, allowing me to get a firm grip on his hair. I wasn't going to let him move.

"Show me thy appearance,
With such shine."

Another punch to my face. It only served to increase the aggressiveness in my words and the power I put into the spell. My uncontrollable rage kept my concentration steady.

"Oh Tetrabiblos,
I am the ruler of the stars..."

I could feel the energy building within me, almost painfully. He was still struggling, but inside I was laughing at his futile attempt. He stopped me last time. I would not allow it to happen again.

"Aspect become complete,
Open thy malevolent gate."

I opened my eyes to see an explosion of colour everywhere, blinding me but at the same time filling me with wonder. This powerful feeling… it was exquisite.
An image of Natsu popped into my mind, with that big goofy grin on his face as he gestured me to follow him. My friends surrounded him, as Happy flew over everyone's heads cheerfully.
It was all I needed to put everything I had into my last few words.

"Oh 88 Stars of the heaven...
Shine!
Urano Metria!"

Suddenly, a colossal, fantastic force started pelting everything within several metres. I'd made sure Natsu wouldn't be in the line of fire, but I couldn't say the same for me.

Atwood, who was still pinning me down, took the worst of it. However, as he collapsed on top of me, I could feel the pure starlight of the spell burning me. Not in the same way fire does – it felt like more of an internal burning, threatening to rip me up from the inside.
Atwood must have felt this, but 100 times worse.
And that was what made me bring the spell to completion despite my own pain; I had to make sure he stayed down this time. In that moment, I wasn't even sure if I would have minded… killing him.

The spell stopped when I felt like there was nothing left within me.

The room settled into silence.
Silence? So… that meant that the cannon had been destroyed, right?

Though my body felt like it was made of lead, I had to see if Natsu was okay before I passed out. Pushing the heavy load that was Atwood off of my body, I looked towards him.

I almost screamed when I saw that the cannon was still very much undamaged (did magic not damage those things?), and still firing at Natsu. Natsu… who wasn't making noise anymore.

Oh, god… Was Natsu even… alive? Please… please say I wasn't too late…

As fast as I possibly could, I crawled towards the cannon. My progress was achingly slow, knowing that Natsu could die at any moment if he wasn't dead already.

He's not dead. He can't be.

I finally reached the cannon and, using it for support, I stretched my arm up as far as it would go towards the switch.
One last effort, and I felt the device stop humming as I collapsed against it.

That was it. That was the last small burst of energy I had left. All I could do now was lie down, facing Natsu's unmoving figure, no longer being struck by the eerie light from the cannon. I couldn't even check to see if he was still breathing…

My eyes eventually closed and I couldn't open them again.

"Natsu…" I whispered into the darkness. "Natsu, please… wake up. I can't lose you… please… I love you… so much…"

Every syllable was an effort, and I wasn't even sure if I was saying them aloud anymore. The temptation of unconsciousness was looming closer and closer, taking me in against my will.

And just as I drifted into complete darkness, I heard one word being said.

"Lucy."

But I couldn't tell whether or not it was real.

A/N: Funny how these things start out as happy little stories and then become angsty af towards the end *Looks pointedly at Hiro Mashima*

So, yeah. This story is officially coming to a close. A sort of epilogue-like chapter is next, and a proper "10 years later" epilogue may come after that.
It's been a ride, my dudes. And I've enjoyed every second of it thanks to you lot putting up with my extremely amateur writing style.

A note about this chapter is that it's most likely not an accurate representation of some things. Like I've had pretty bad panic attacks before, so I tried to draw from that experience, but I've never actually experienced PTSD.
I have learnt the self-defence technique of getting out of a chokehold, and it is easier and more effective if your opponent is taller than you, but then again I'm not a professional.
Blah blah blah, I'm still a naïve teenager, don't take anything I write seriously.

Thank you to everyone who followed and favourited the story, especially those who reviewed! Here are some replies to the extended reviews:

Whatstoknow – yeah, sorry, I'm really bad at this website. I only put the note in my bio and nobody really bothers to check that, I should have known. Thanks for bothering to review even though it was so late!

wildkat0122 – Dude I would marry Leo in a heartbeat, don't understand why he was the last one to get a relationship.

CupcakeTiara – thank you thank you thank you! And yeah, I remember before starting this story that I wanted to read something like it as well. I eventually got sick of waiting and just wrote the damn thing. Would recommend.

I guess that's it 'till next time. Remember to review to tell me how much you'll hate me if it turns out Natsu actually died!
Who knows, maybe he actually did.
Or not.

-usnoozulose