Terror Unknown

Author's Note: Ne, mina! So…this was originally the flashback of what happened to Lucy in my story Never Cheat Death, but I decided to discontinue it because I wasn't feeling any inspiration with it at all. But, I had this whole scene planned out, so I thought I'd give you guys something. I hope you like my angsty, bloody oneshot! I know Ay-chan sure did. I was letting her read it as I was writing it, and she would get this scary look on her face every time she read what I had so far. I like to tease her. After all, she's my best editor/advice giver as well as my best friend. I try to torture her as much as possible. Hehehe.

1: ancient magic
2: burn
3: forbidden magic
4: mutilate

Blood…

A lot of blood…

Gray was across the way, his clothes torn to shreds and lay in jagged strips around him. Erza's head and left arm hung limply from a rock on a nearby mountain side, a thin trail of blood running down her arm and dripping from her fingertips. Happy was lying in a bruised heap on the dirt, the bag on his back now missing. Natsu was the only one still conscious, holding himself up on his hands and knees, his strained muscles causing his arms to shake noticeably with each ragged exhale. He was in no better shape than his comrades, his body bruised and bleeding and his clothes anything but pristine. His hair was uncharacteristically flat and was caked with blood. Unable to hold his weight any longer, he fell to his side, coughing up blood as he hit the ground.

"Done already?" asked a low, arrogant voice. "I was expecting a little more out of Fairy Tail's so-called 'strongest team.' How boring." Natsu slowly lifted his head to look at their opponent. He was much stronger than any of them anticipated. The Salamander couldn't remember ever being in so much pain. Even when he and his friends fought Hades. That was nothing compared to what he's feeling now. He looked around, his eyes falling on Happy, and then Gray, and then Erza. Damn…we've all reached our limit… And at that moment, a thought struck him like lightning, a thought that made his heart rate increase with panic. Lucy… Where was Lucy?

Natsu strained to sit up. He had to find Lucy before something happened to her. But he couldn't gather enough strength to even push himself back to his hands and knees. The dragon slayer groaned as he rolled onto his back, a hand cradling the massive bruise on the left side of his abdomen. He released a haggard breath and turned his head to look at his enemy. "Hmm…" said the dark wizard. His arms were folded smugly across his chest, and his eyes slowly observed each fairy. "It seems one of you is missing." No… Natsu pushed himself onto his stomach, and struggled to stand. He had to stand. He had to. He had to find Lucy before this bastard did. He took a deep, steadying breath through his mouth. Following the shaky exhale, he took a long breath through his nose, trying to find Lucy's scent. It was very faint, which was a good sign for him. "How about I go find her?"

Natsu felt his pupils narrowing and his body temperature increasing. "Over…" he breathed, lifting his head. "Over my dead body."

An evil smile crawled onto the dark wizard's face, and as much as he didn't like to admit it, it sent chills down Natsu's spine. "Well, Salamander," he growled, stepping closer. "That can be arranged." Kyōfu steadily stepped toward the injured boy, his hands glowing a dark and eerie aura. Natsu began to breathe quicker. Normally a comment like that would've barely fazed him, but…he couldn't stand, couldn't fight back. Hell, he could barely move as it is. Kyōfu stepped to Natsu's left and nudged him just enough to turn him to his side. He placed his boot against the boy's bruise and pressed down. Hard.

Natsu cried out in agony. He wanted nothing more than to give this guy a good knuckle sandwich, but even with the pain, he was unable to even turn away, or swipe his foot off of him. He just sat there, the pain intensifying as Kyōfu continued to add pressure. After twenty or so seconds, he removed his foot from the boy's bruise, but quickly threw it into his stomach. The dragon slayer grunted as if he was about to vomit and rolled onto his other side. He tried desperately to breathe in, but he found himself incapable to do so. The dark wizard touched the heal of his boot to Natsu's shoulder and pulled him onto his back. He positioned his foot directly above Natsu's chest, and quickly slammed it down, forcing the rest of the air from his lungs.

Just as he regained the ability to breathe, Kyōfu's hand grabbed his neck, cutting off the oxygen completely. Natsu began to writhe on the ground, lifting his hands to grab his opponent's wrist to pull his hand away, but Kyōfu's grip remained tight and secure around his throat. In one fluid motion, he lifted the dragon slayer clear off the ground. He cocked his free hand back, preparing himself for the final blow. As his vision began to blur, Natsu caught a glimpse of blonde hair from the corner of his eye.

No…

"Natsu!" Lucy cried. Kyōfu turned to her, keeping his grip on the boy's neck.

"Ah, the missing link," he said, flashing his teeth in a chilling grin.

"Let him go!" The girl pulled out her whip and swung it in his direction. Kyōfu held out his free hand, and the whip stopped in midair. Lucy gasped. "What?" With a swipe of the dark wizard's hand, she flew off the ground and slammed hard into a nearby tree. Natsu tightened his hands around Kyōfu's wrist.

"Lu…cy…" he whispered. Kyōfu chuckled darkly and released Natsu's neck, tossing him to the ground. He inhaled sharply, and as his lungs began to burn, he coughed violently, reaching one of his own hands up to his now bruised throat. As he continued to hack, he heard a clinking noise above his head. He looked up to see Lucy's keys on the ground beside him. He stared at them blankly. Oh, no… Lucy's scream snapped him out of his reverie, and he looked up toward the source. Kyōfu had Lucy by the hair, and he quickly lifted her off the ground and threw her into the same tree. This time, she hit it so hard, the thick trunk splintered. The man kicked the celestial wizard onto her back and slammed a foot down onto her stomach. As she felt the oxygen leave her lungs, she watched through wide eyes as he held out a hand.

"Kodai no mahō (1)," he recited, his voice low. "Moyasu (2)." The glow around his hand intensified, and Lucy was soon engulfed by the dark aura. Horrified, Natsu watched helplessly as she released a blood curdling scream. He'd never heard her scream like that. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, but ended up falling back to his side.

"Lucy…" he said. He has to help her. He must. "Lucy!" After what seemed like an eternity, she stopped screaming. Kyōfu shot his hand to the side, and she followed suit. Her body lifted off the ground and flew across the dirt, the dark aura disappearing. He took his time to walk up to her. Lucy propped her weight on her elbows, panting to regain her breath. The dark wizard kneeled down beside her and placed his hand on her skull. With incredible speed and force, he smashed her head against the ground. Natsu cringed and tried to stand once more, but failed.

"Stop!" he cried.

Kyōfu ignored him. "Kindan no mahō (3). Setsudan suru (4)." Another ear piercing scream ripped through her throat and echoed through the forest. Natsu felt tears burning in his eyes. He gasped when he realized what the spell was doing to her. Thin gashes slowly appeared all over her body, and before long, her skin and clothes were stained red with blood.

"Stop…" he said again, ignoring the salty tear that trailed down his cheek. "Please…" This time, the man listened and lowered his hand, stopping the spell. Lucy's chest heaved as she panted, her eyes shut tight as she tried to block out the pain. Natsu crawled closer to her, desperate to get to her, to hold her, to help her. She was going to die if he didn't help her soon. He's not going to lose her. He can't lose her. "Lucy…" The said girl turned her head to look at him, tears running from her eyes. She held out a hand to him, crimson blood trailed from the cuts on her fingers and hand, creating tiny droplets on the dirt.

"Natsu…" The fire wizard reached out for her hand. He cried out in surprise and pain when Kyōfu's boot slammed down hard on his hand.

"Ah, ah, ah," he said, shaking his head and waggling his finger like scolding a toddler. Natsu released a weak groan when the dark wizard rotated his foot, straining the bones in his wrist. "I'm not done with the woman yet." With that said, he shoved his free foot under the boy's chin, causing him to roll to the side, yet his hand remained flat and pinned to the ground. He let out an uncharacteristically frail moan as he felt his wrist edge closer to the point of snapping. Kyōfu added a little more pressure to his hand, sounding a small whimper from the young boy. He gasped as Kyōfu's foot left his hand, the strain disappearing. He rolled away, cradling his throbbing wrist against his bruised chest. Lucy watched the whole exchange through pained and scared eyes. She'd never heard that tone in Natsu's voice before. And on top of that, what Kyōfu said about not being finished with her sent violent chills through her body.

She looked up at the man as he turned around to face her, her normally lively and cheery brown eyes now clouded with terror. She grunted when the evil man kicked her jaw, and then her side, and then her chest. He stomped on her stomach, and then he reached down to grab a hand full of her hair. A shocked and pained cry sounded from the celestial wizard as he pulled her up and began to drag her across the ground. With one powerful swing of his arm, he lifted Lucy clear off the ground and threw her into a nearby tree. Natsu clenched his fists and cringed at the sickening cracking sound her back made as it collided with the thick bark. Lucy screamed in agony as she fell to the ground. Kyōfu deliberately stepped toward her and grabbed the back of the collar of her shirt, yanking her off the ground and tossing her aside.

"Stop it," Natsu demanded, steadily pushing himself to his hands and knees. He felt his body temperature increasing as his blood began to boil in anger. The dark wizard ignored him once again and continued to throw Lucy around like a ragdoll, throwing in the occasional kick to the ribcage as he did. "Stop it," the dragon slayer said again, positioning himself on one foot as he strained to stand. After a couple of moments, Lucy stopped yelling as the blows came. Her movement ceased as well. It's time to stop this… He's going to lose her if he doesn't do something soon. "I said… leave. Her. Alone."

Kyōfu looked over his shoulder at the boy. "And what will you do if I don't?" he asked smugly. He was taken aback when he saw that Natsu was now standing up completely straight. His pupils were narrowed into thin slits, like those of a reptile's, and scales had appeared on his forearms and around his eyes. A faint cloud of steam was encircling him. "Ah, so I see you're still able to stand."

"Fire dragon iron fist," Natsu chanted, a bright flame appearing around his fist. With surprising speed, he leapt forward and slammed an angered fist into Kyōfu's jaw, knocking him off his feet and through several trees. The man groaned and lifted himself into a sitting position. He looked up to see Natsu striding toward him, livid. He vaulted into the air. "Fire dragon talon!" Kyōfu was forced back down into the ground, a large crater forming around his body. Blood lightly splattered from his mouth. As the fire wizard moved for another attack, Kyōfu rolled to the side to dodge it. Caught off guard from the sudden attack, he lifted a hand to where Natsu's foot made contact with his skin. He looked up at the boy, angered.

"This isn't over, Salamander," he said, disappearing into thin air. Natsu stared at the spot his opponent had been just a second prior with wide eyes.

"Coward!" he screamed, baring his fangs. With a furious roar, he turned toward the closest tree and punched it, tearing a good chunk out of the trunk. Breathing heavily, he remembered the real issue. "Lucy…" He spun on his heel and sprinted over to her, dropping to his knees beside her. "Lucy!" He carefully rolled her into his arms, afraid he'd break her if he moved her around too quickly. "Lucy, wake up! Please! Open your eyes! Let me know you're okay!" He sucked in a breath when he felt her shift, however minutely. He held his breath, hoping, praying that she was okay. After a dreadfully long couple of seconds, her eyes opened into thin slits.

"Na…tsu…" she breathed.

"Luce…"

The blonde cringed. "It…hurts…"

"I know, Luce, I know. You're gonna be fine, though. I promise." Lucy's eyes were beginning to drift closed, causing Natsu to panic. He lifted a hand to her face. "Luce, don't do that. Look at me. You're gonna be fine, okay?" He brushed strands of her blood-tainted hair from her face. "Lucy, look at me. Please, stay awake."

"Natsu…" She lifted a weak hand to his cheek. "I'm…sorry…"

Natsu shook his head and shushed her. "No, don't say that. This isn't your fault. Please, stop talking like you're not gonna make it. You're gonna be fine. You're gonna—" He abruptly stopped talking, his highly sensitive ears picking up at a hopeful noise in the distance.

"Natsu-san!" yelled a feminine voice. He turned toward it, waiting to see whether or not it was his imagination. "Natsu-san!"

"Wendy?" he whispered.

"Natsu-san!"

"Wendy!" he shouted back, feeling his heart flutter with hope.

"He's this way!" said Gajeel. "I can smell him!"

The Salamander turned back to Lucy, a small, reassuring smile on his lips. "See, Luce? You're gonna be… Luce?" His smile quickly faded. He hadn't realized that her hand had fallen from his face, or that her body had gone limp in his arms. "Lucy…?" He lifted a hand to her face, lightly grazing his fingers against her cheek. Her skin was cold. "No… No, no, no, no." He felt tears pricking at his eyes. "Wendy! Wendy, hurry!" Within a matter of seconds, Pantherlily and Charle emerged from the trees, Gajeel and Wendy in their clutches respectively. The youngest dragon slayer dropped down to the ground and ran over to him.

"Natsu-san!" she yelled.

"Wendy," he said desperately as the bluenette fell to her knees before him. "Wendy, you have to save Lucy!"

"I'll do my best." With that promise, Natsu carefully laid the broken girl in his arms on the ground so Wendy could get to work.

"Damn it," Gajeel growled, looking from Gray, to Erza, to Happy, and then back again. "We're too late."

Natsu briefly looked up at his comrade, not even bothering to hide the tears falling down his tanned face. "How… how did…"

"I had a premonition," said Charle, answering his question before he could even finish asking it. "We tried to get here as fast as we could, but…like Gajeel said, we were too late."

"Natsu-nii!" The said boy turned to the one who said his name. Romeo was sprinting toward him.

"Romeo? You came too?"

"Of course. Me and the rest of the guild. Is Lucy-nee alright?"

"She's alive," Wendy cut in, her hands glowing as she began to heal the celestial wizard's wounds. "She's just unconscious. It's a relief, too. If we had arrived just a minute later, she would've been gone."

"Can you heal her?"

Wendy looked up at her older brother-figure. "I'll do what I can." She looked back down to her patient. "Hang in there, Lucy-san." Natsu stared blankly at Lucy as Wendy worked her magic. He barely noticed Romeo's reassuring words and that the rest of the guild arrived, everyone flocking over to either Erza or Gray, and Lisanna cradled an injured Happy as she, Mira, and Levy sat around him to ask about Lucy. But he didn't hear any of it. Everything was silent.

One week later…

Beep… Beep… Beep…

Lucy slowly pried her eyes open, the repetitive sound of a heart monitor beginning to annoy her. Blinking away her sleepiness, she took notice that she was on a bed with several pillows behind her back, keeping her in a half-sitting position and prevented her body from being flat. Why was she in the infirmary. "You're finally awake," said a familiar voice from across the room. The blonde blinked and turned to the source of the voice. A woman with long white hair approached her and gently touched her hand as she stood beside her. "It's good to see you again, Lucy."

"Mira…" Lucy breathed, blinking slowly. "Why am I here?"

"You… You had an accident. Well, not really an accident, but…" She trailed off, trying to find a good way to phrase this. "You were badly hurt on a mission. You've been asleep since it happened, which was a week ago." Lucy stared at her for a moment before she nodded. She remembered now. But then she thought about something.

"What… what about Natsu? And Gray and Erza and Happy?"

Mirajane smiled and stroked her hand with her thumb. "They're all alright. They didn't take nearly as much damage as you did, so they were able to heal a lot faster. They were all able to go home four days ago, as a matter of fact. Well…except Natsu." Detecting the fear on her friend's face, the she-demon shook her head. "No, he's fine. He just hasn't been out of the guild."

Lucy furrowed her brow. "Why not?"

"Because he's worried about you," Mira answered, a warm smile dancing on her lips. "He was the only one who saw what happened to you, and he's barely left your side since then."

The novelist glanced around the room. "Where is he now?"

"In the kitchen getting something to drink, I think. He hasn't eaten much this whole week. I'll go tell him you're awake."

"Just him?"

"Well, he's the only one still here. It's passed midnight, dear. Everyone's gone home."

"Why're you still here?"

"I was just checking on you before I left." Mira chuckled once. "We've all been pretty worried." Lucy nodded again as small, silent paused drifted between the two women. After that pause, Mira patted Lucy's hand. "It's good to see you awake again, Lucy," she said, making her way to the door. "I'll tell Natsu you're awake on my way out."

"Okay," she said softly. Not even two minutes after Mira left, she could hear Natsu's rushed footsteps echo in the hall before he hurriedly opened the door and stepped inside. She didn't get to say hello before he practically threw himself at her, giving her the most awkward hug she'd ever received.

"Luce…" he breathed. After a moment of awkward hugging, he pulled away, a relieved smile on his face. "I'm so glad that you're okay."

Lucy grinned. "You told me I would be."

Natsu released a breathy chuckle. "You know I don't lie." As a silence fell upon them, his smile slowly fell from his face and his eyes got a little glassy, and he looked down to hide the threatening tears from her.

"Natsu, what's wrong?" she asked concernedly.

The boy shook his head. "Nothing. It's just…" He trailed off and looked at her, his voice falling into a whisper. "I thought I lost you." Lucy held his gaze, slightly taken aback at the fact that he was almost crying. She'd never seen him cry, and now that she is witnessing it, she decided she didn't like it. She scooted over a little on the mattress, patted the spot beside her and held out her arm, gesturing for him to join her.

"Come here," she said softly. The dragon slayer switched his gaze from her, to the open space on the mattress, and then back to her. She wanted him to lie down with her? But she was hurt. He didn't want to—"I'll be fine, Natsu," she assured, as if reading his thoughts. "Come here." After a short pause, he hesitantly did as he was told. He carefully sat down and then lied down beside her, his head coming down to rest on her chest, his right arm draped over her stomach. "You're shaking." Natsu closed his eyes.

"Can you blame me?" he asked quietly. "I thought I was never gonna see my best friend again. I…I thought you died in my arms…" He opened his eyes and reached for her hand, bringing it to his lips. He kissed the back of her hand several times before whispering against it "I thought you left me." Lucy smiled softly, gently tracing her free hand over his Fairy Tail emblem. She leaned down and kissed his scalp. His hair smelled like a campfire.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Natsu grinned and closed his eyes, lacing his fingers with hers. "Good."

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