[Unedited]
<>Lucy<>
My vision doubled as the sticky netting around me wound tighter, cutting off circulation to my hands and feet. It compressed against my chest, depriving me of much needed oxygen. I could see red tinted at the edges of my sight.
'Lucy!' Natsu shouted.
Three straight explosions in a row rattles the ground beneath me, stirring up the headache that had just recently subsided. I groaned, then yelped as my body was jerked sideways by the webs.
A voice chuckled right above me, 'Gotcha, ya pesky little fly.'
Natsu growled, a noise I could clearly define across the mountain top, even with the storm rumbling above. It was a bellow that came from the depths of his chest, a sound that chilled my bones and warmed my skin at the same time; the sound of a very protective, very angry dragon.
'Gimme. Back. LUCY!' he roared. I gasped as much as I could with restraints pulling at my breath. A bonfire suddenly lit up my view like a single burning candle igniting the darkness, and all focus was on it. A ball of fire came catapulting my way and I yelped, the flaming projectile grazing the hairs of my arms and bursting all around me in a raging firestorm.
The girl holding my binds screeched and dropped her end of the webs, the end that tied me going slack. But I was preoccupied with the fact I was standing in the middle of a blaze, completely unscathed. My eyes drew wide. I could feel the tickle the flames left on my skin, but the heat was nothing more than a warm embrace.
Pushing myself up, the webs fell off me. I stared at Natsu as my blurry vision gradually combined into one clear image; Natsu, and he was mad.
Flames climbed up his arms and legs, licking the edges of his clothes and dancing along the tips of his hair. His pupils were dilated and burning with anger, a fire inside the onyx that told you you were dead meat. His fists were clenched by his sides, shaking. Painted along his cheeks were the scales of a dragon.
My breath hitched inside my chest, 'Natsu...'
Spider Girl coughed from underneath the smoke blanket. As she fixed her eyes on the dragon slayer, they widened in fear.
Behind me, Ava was laughing. The sound sickened me down to my stomach, filling my insides with bile that threatened to make an appearance. She sounded so unlike herself; so unAva.
I grit my teeth, 'Natsu!'
Blinking some amount of clarity back into his eyes, his head snapped towards me. His mouth hanging open the slightest bit. I pointed at Ava who raised an eyebrow, smirking unsettlingly.
'I can't fight against my wizard,' I called. 'Celestial rules. Leave Spider Girl to me.'
Natsu hesitated. For a moment, I was scared that he couldn't hear me; he was too far gone into the anger, just as Ava was. But then he bared his fangs in a goofy grin that melted my heart. He raised him hand in a thumbs up.'
Gotcha, Luce.'I felt my lips move into a smile against my will.
'Don't hurt her!' I shouted as Natsu took off, fists of fire blazing.
'I'll try,' he barked back.
Struggling to my feet, I held back a pained groan. Spider Girl was still staring after Natsu, her hands clenched by her sides in an effort to stop them shaking. As I moved into action, however, her attention turned to me.
'Leave me to you, huh?' she sneered. 'What are you gonna do, spirit?'
I bit my tongue and flicked a quick glance over my shoulder. Behind me, things were ugly.
Gajeel stood in the center of the hurricane, acting as a lightning rod that sucked up majority of the storm caused by the Typhoon Brothers. With each strike, he flinched as electricity coursed through his body. Levy and Juvia stood as his guards, defending him from their attackers as he kept the storm at bay.
Gray and Erza faced the Explosion girl two on one. Powerful mages as they were, they still couldn't seem to land a hit on her as she danced around, glass shards whipping in a frenzy and shattering around their feet. Erza and Gray were doing all they could to dodge the deadly projectiles.
I turned back to my opponent and studied her.
'What are you?' I asked in mock curiosity. 'Some sort of rope mage?'
'Webs,' she snapped irritably. 'Spider webs.'
I chuckled, 'Gotcha. And, that big spider is sitting behind you because?'
'What?'
Spider Girl whirled around, blinking behind her confusedly. I grinned; you fell for it.
'Eta Carinae Blast,' I intoned, my hands flickering in the holy blue light of the stars.
Thrusting my fist outwards at Spider Girl as she turned back, eyes flashing with an anger that quickly changed to alarm as she raised her arms in defence. My burning impact hit her full on just as she cast up a defensive shield.
'Sticky board!' she chanted.
My spell slammed into a white webbed wall that glistened like a dew fall. The blue fire stuck fast and lingered in the web, Spider Girl stepping out from behind her barrier.
'Spider webs are astonishingly sticky,' she said with a smirk. 'All it took was a little, manipulation, to change it into a-''
Nova Storm!'
Winds exploded from my palms in a dark blue whirlwind, catapulting towards Spider Girl and blasting her back into the rocks. I followed after her at a steady jog, hands out in preparation. My boots steamed with every crunch of gravel, the smell of burning leather filling my nostrils.
'Blech,' Spider Girl spat dirt out. The side of her face was scraped with blood and one eye was shut in pain. Her clothes were torn up one side. 'That wasn't nice! I wasn't finished speaking!'
Unable to contain myself, I rolled my eyes. 'I'm sure it was your average evil villain speech. "I will defeat you and darkness will claim the earth." Yada, yada, yada.'
Spider Girl sweatdropped, 'That wasn't it at all.'
'That's all I heard.'
Growling lowly, Spider Girl pointed at me and a single thread shot out of her finger and headed straight for my chest. My hands instinctively burned bright blue with intense fire of the stars. I trained my eyes on the thread. It was six feet, four feet, two feet.
I twisted sideways as it shot past me, grabbing its length and burning it to a crisp. Azure fire raced up the web, zooming towards Spider Girl's hand. Narrowing her eyes, she dropped her end with a yelp.
Spider Girl shouted, shifting both hands out at me.
Dozens of thin white lines shot out from her open palms. They twisted around me before I could react, wrapping around me in a ribbon cage that glimmered with tiny droplets. My hands flared up and my legs tensed.
'Web needles!'
Spines shot out from everywhere; sharp, piercing threads aimed straight for my flesh. Just because I was a spirit, that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt like a trip to hell and back if I was caught in the crossfire. Besides, I didn't have the time to go back to the Spirit World.
'Hayah!'
The first needle I grabbed and burnt to ash. The second shot at my legs and I jumped, landing on top of it and slamming my hand down on the ground, incinerating it as well as dodging another three that zipped over my head. I ducked around two that came at me from the left and managed to grasp onto another two that tried to close in from either side. They soon were nothing more than dust.
The next round wasn't so lucky. Careless footwork was the cause of a long stripe down my foreleg. I stepped back and winced with a small gasp; a needle caught me across the face. I touched the mark gingerly, feeling my fingers come away wet and sticky.
Another launch of webs came at me and my eyes widened. I jumped aside, skidding in the rocks and skinning my knees as the projectiles came down behind me.
Spider Girl laughed, 'You can't dodge forever, spirit.'
I growled, 'I have a name.'
She tipped her head, 'Oh yeah?'
My anger reared up and my hands crackled with blue star fire. It whooshed up my arms, cloaking me in flames. I launched myself at Spider Girl, alight with rage.
'MY NAME IS LUCY!' I screamed. 'LUCY THE STAR CHILD OF FAIRY TAIL!'
My hands made contact around her throat and we both went tumbling, travelling further and further away from the battlefield and the sounds of combat.
Please be okay, minna, I prayed silently.
Spider Girl coughed and choked, reaching up to lock her hands around my own neck. I squeezed her and she returned the favour. I felt my head spin as my air course was suddenly halted. Spider Girl's face turned a pale shade of scarlet.
'Tch.'
I closed one eye as the pain in my head tripled, my oxygen depleting fast. My opponent wasn't in much better shape, but neither of us showed any signs of movement.
'Gi-ve, u-p,' Spider Girl croaked nastily.
I shook my head slightly, 'Ne-v-er.'
My hands sparked and fire came to life in my palms pressed against her skin. Spider Girl widened her eyes as the heat intensified, flames licking her neck and burning the tender flesh underneath. She yelped and screamed, soon withdrawing her hands to pull at mine, tugging at me to let go.
As soon as I had air, I gulped it down selfishly like a hungry wolf. My sight cleared and my fire dimmed to a steady burn. Spider Girl whimpered. Pinning her arms down by her sides, I removed my hands. The skin beneath was blistered and burnt.
I placed my hands on her head, 'Sleeping Star Song.'
Like Natsu before, she was out in seconds. Her head lolled against the gravel ground, her eyes rolling back into her skull. Her hands dropped lifelessly.
I breathed a heavy sigh of relief and climbed off her, pushing up to my feet. Glancing back at the battle, I could hear the fight wasn't over. Pumping my feet, I took off, shouting to the nearest mages.
'Erza!' I called. 'Gray!'
Explosion girl still had them pinned down in a dangerous dance of dodge ball. She cackled and laughed as she made the two Fairy Tailers jump.
'Eta Carinae Blast!'
My attack hit Explosion girl directly between her shoulder blades, spurring her backwards into Gray's waiting stance.
'Ice Make: Knuckle!'
A frozen fist forced Explosion girl across the battlefield, sending her tumbling. She rolled in the gravel and came to a groaning stop. She pushed herself up uneasily.
'I got this!' the ice mage promised. 'You guys handle the rest of them. The girls aren't holding up well against Windy and Gusty.'
'Roger,' Erza nodded. 'We'll leave this one too you.'
I bit my lip anxiously, 'Don't die.'
Gray smirked, 'Why don't you tell me exactly what you think. I don't go down so easily, you know.'
He spun on his heel and sprinted towards Explosion girl who had totted to her feet looking more enraged than before.
'Let's go,' I started towards the Typhoon Brothers, my an armoured hand caught my arm.
'Wait, Lucy,' Erza pulled me back. 'Go help Natsu. He has no memory.'
I felt a thousand bugs climb up my stomach walls, up into my throat and then fall back down to do it all over again.
'I, can't,' I said sadly. 'Celestial Rules say I can't fight my wizard.'
'Lucy,' Erza grabbed my bare shoulders, startling me. 'Natsu needs you.'
Natsu needs me.
My resolve hardened, as did my eyes. I grinned and my hands burned blue again.
'Roger,' I parroted. 'Leave this to me, Commander Erza!'
I didn't wait for a response, only turning back to where I'd last seen the celestial wizard and dragon slayer. The slither of metal told me that my redhead companion had returned to combat. There was a burst of orange fire ahead of me.
I'm coming, I thought. I am never letting you go again. Not in the name of the stars.