Time seemed to blur for the next couple of hours as Lucy faded in and out of consciousness. First she was face down on the ground, her screams of pain - which she somehow managed to produce around the fact that she couldn't breathe - muffled by the earth pressed against her face. Then she was being held down by Gajeel and Levy to keep her from thrashing about and hurting herself further as Wendy knelt over her, the young girl's face filled with fear. The third time she was aware of anything around her, Natsu was finally there, his eyes wide with terror for her as his hands skimmed gently over her face, trying to coax her back into awareness. At one point, she thought she heard him pleading, "Come on, Luce, not now, don't give up now," but she wasn't sure.
When she opened her eyes the last time, she was fully aware of what was going on and the pain had died down into occasional stabs, the aftershocks of the original attack. She felt exhausted, as if she'd run in a race against Natsu, and was startled to find, of all people, Jellal kneeling over her, his brow drawn in concentration. She thought she could hear more people than she remembered murmuring behind him, but it came to a quick halt when Jellal muttered, "You're awake."
Natsu seemed to materialize beside him, searching her gaze and Lucy forced a faint smile to her face. "Guess so," she rasped. Memories of Gray's body hitting the ground had her eyes squeezing shut, tears threatening to fall again. She didn't want to see that again. Ever.
Jellal fell silent, gently prodding at her side, and Lucy winced. Natsu shot him a look, then mumbled, "You did it again, Luce."
She blinked in confusion. But then understanding raced through her and she hesitantly reached out to lace her fingers through his. "Sorry," she managed to slur out, tiredness sweeping over her in a tidal wave. "Didn' mean to."
"She needs rest, Natsu," Jellal said as he pulled back, lips pressed together in a hard line. "Food, too. Whatever's causing these attacks saps at her magic levels. You said her Celestial Spirits can't remain in this world for long?" The dragon slayer gave a curt nod. "That might be the reason why. If one was to come here of their own free will, it's likely they would be okay."
Lucy turned her gaze on him. Erza had to be glad that he was okay, she thought distantly, mind spinning. "I don't want them here," she mumbled out, "I don't want to risk it."
"You can't really stop them if they step out on their own accord, Lucy," Jellal answered bluntly before standing. Lucy took the chance to peer around him, as he'd been blocking her view of the others. She was shocked when she discovered none other than Lyon sitting near Happy, face in his hands, and Chelia seated a foot or so away from Wendy, black Marks lacing up her throat. Sympathy for Lyon filled her. He'd been so close to seeing Gray just one last time before the ice-make mage had been killed. "Anyways, get some sleep. Meredy," he called to the pink-haired woman, who'd been quietly speaking with Levy. "We need to go."
"What?" Erza seemed astonished, and Lucy realized that the requip mage had been expecting him to stay. "You're leaving?"
"I wouldn't recommend staying in such a large group," Jellal told her, glancing around. "Splitting off into pairs or smaller groups is better...they seem to like the challenge. The bigger the group, the better. I'm going to check on Sabertooth..."
"I want to go with you."
Erza's firm statement made him pause. He glanced back at her, and she glared at him, just daring him to say no. "...alright," he finally sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. "But nobody else."
Meredy smiled at Erza in a gentle manner. "You have the Marks, right?" Jellal shot both women a sharp look, and Meredy glared at him in response before shoving her cloak out of the way to show Erza the familiar black streaks racing up her arm. "You don't need to worry about staying away from me, at least. Jellal doesn't have them though."
"Understood," Erza said. Her gaze gleamed with a fierce light. But then she paused, looking back at her nakama. "Natsu," she ordered, narrowing her eyes at the dragon slayer, "Protect Lucy and Happy. I don't want either of them gone by the time I get back, is that clear?"
"Aye, sir," Natsu squeaked, and Lucy giggled breathlessly when his hand tightened around hers.
The trio bid them farewell and left.
Cana wrapped her arms around herself, looking lonely despite the fact that she sat beside Juvia. The water mage had long ago stopped speaking, and looked as if she was contemplating the idea of throwing herself into the fire that had been lit. Lucy grimaced at the thought. It didn't surprise her that Juvia was turning suicidal over Gray.
So it made the celestial mage feel a lot better when Lyon stood, moving to sit beside her. It took her a moment to realize that he, too, held the Marks. He leaned closer to murmur something to her, and Juvia looked up at him in surprise. The two began to talk quietly to each other, and it was then that Lucy realized Gajeel and Levy weren't there.
As if reading her mind, Natsu muttered, "Gajeel thought he heard something and went to go hunt it down. Levy went with him 'cause we don't think it's a good idea to go out alone. Hopefully it's actually food this time."
Lucy yawned, raising the hand that wasn't still holding his to rub at an eye. "What happened to that animal you smelled?"
"Jellal scared it off." Her lips twitched into a smile when he pouted. "Showed up just when I was about to grab it...we had to move camps," he added, gesturing the space around them. "Err, the blood was attracting the Marked to us."
Lucy's smile vanished, and she closed her eyes, wanting to cry. But the tears wouldn't come, and she made herself look up at Natsu with an expression on her face that had him frowning. "He's gone," she whispered. "Gray's gone. What are we going to do?" Her voice hitched, her voice becoming raw with pain. "Everyone's going to die at this rate, Natsu."
"I won't," he said fiercely, glaring down at her for even suggesting the idea. "And you aren't either. I'll protect you. Neither are Gajeel and Levy and Happy." Her heart twisted with grief when he failed to include those that were already Marked. "We'll be fine, Luce. Happy hasn't come up with anything from that attack earlier. Levy's looking into it to see if maybe the Exceeds can't get sick."
"It doesn't matter," Lucy mumbled, her voice soft enough that Natsu had to struggle to hear it despite his enhanced hearing.
They were all going to die. There was no doubt about it in Lucy's mind. And the idea of losing Natsu made her feel sick to her stomach. So when Gajeel returned with some kind of edible animal thrown over his shoulder, she didn't join in with the celebrating of a minor victory.
Instead, pretending she was asleep, she rolled onto her side, letting her hand slide out of Natsu's.
XxXx
It was cold when she woke up, but at the same time, it was warm. Instinctively, Lucy snuggled closer into the warmth, sighing contently. There was a quiet mumble in her ear, and arms tightened around her as a nose buried itself in her hair, and Lucy was perfectly content for all of a few seconds before that suddenly hit her.
Her eyes snapped open and she found herself tucked against a familiar body. Her eyes locked momentarily on the strangely scaled scarf before her face flushed in embarrassment and anger. No wonder she was warm. She had a human torch pressed up against her! Happy had joined in, too, it appeared, curled up against her stomach between them.
Trying not to get too upset - she'd rather have him like this than dead - and ignoring the snickers she could hear coming from what sounded like Gajeel, the celestial mage tried to squirm out of his grip. But Natsu only tightened them again, frowning and grumbling in his sleep. Lucy had to give him credit; at least he'd finally decided to sleep. But she didn't appreciate the fact that he wasn't letting her get up.
Lucy gave up with a sigh, rolling her eyes as Gajeel's laughter grew. "Shut up, Gajeel," she hissed over the shoulder of the dragon slayer that was snuggled happily against her. Annoyed that he found her situation hilarious, she grumbled to herself, burying her face against Natsu's chest. As irritated as she was, she was also grateful. He'd kept the nightmares away, giving her a full night of rest that wasn't from being knocked out, and he had kept the space around them fairly warm and clear of snow - which had decided to begin falling overnight.
"Great," Lucy muttered, making a face when something cold landed on her cheek before melting immediately.
Finally, the celestial mage grew tired of being crushed against Natsu and purposely kicked at his legs as hard as she could, squirming. "Natsu," she hissed, "Let go!"
His eyes sprang open and he was on his feet, flames bursting from his hands in an instant. He woke Happy, who sprang away with wide eyes, and Lucy swore, throwing her arms up in front of her face as she recoiled away from the searing heat that singed her. He took a moment to realize they weren't under attack, then dropped his fists, scowling. "Don't do that," he grumbled, flopping back down.
"Then let me go next time you decide to snuggle up," Lucy muttered, giving his legs another kick before climbing to her feet. She shivered when she was immediately met by cold. Gajeel was outright guffawing at them, his red eyes holding an evil glint that told Lucy that Levy would be finding out about this as soon as the solid-script mage was awake.
Pausing, rubbing her arms to try and fend off the cold, Lucy surveyed their group as she stepped over to the fire that Gajeel had kept going throughout the night. Wendy and Levy were curled up near each other, both looking peaceful. Lyon was close to Juvia, and her eyes softened; the ice-make mage had taken Gray's place to a certain degree, and she had the feeling Juvia would be relying heavily on him for the time being. Chelia was asleep off to the side, with Cana face down on the ground, her form trembling every now and then.
Lucy bit her lip, prodding at the fire with a spare stick. They needed to find shelter and hide out for a few days until they could get clothes that were sufficient for hanging around in the cold for more than a single night.
"Stop laughing," she gritted out at Gajeel, who had finally quieted down to the occasional chuckle. "Jerk."
He smirked. "Soon as Levy's awake, sure."
She moaned, throwing her head back in exasperation. At least he was in a good mood. He could have been giving her dirty looks.
She found it sad. It had taken them days upon days to get over the deaths of the first few that had gone. Now...they only had hours before they'd moved on. But they didn't have much of a choice. They had to, or risk losing their sanity more than they already were.
Thankful Gajeel's loud laughter hadn't woken anyone up, Lucy wrapped her arms around her legs, listening as Natsu mumbled apologies to Happy as the two made their way over to join her and Gajeel. He dropped down about a foot away from the celestial mage, staring at the fire longingly, as if he wanted to eat it. But he couldn't, as it was his own fire that had created it.
"Make it bigger," she pleaded, tightening her arms around herself. "It's cold."
"Huh," Gajeel snorted, eyeing her bare arms. "No wonder. Look at yourself."
"Shut up, please," Lucy said with false politeness, her gaze narrowed. Gajeel only smirked, just daring her to repeat the statement again with hardened red eyes. Natsu took notice and glowered until he stopped. "We need to get moving soon...Wendy and Levy are going to freeze to death out here," she muttered. Me, too!
It wasn't long before the others had begun to wake. The first awake was Wendy and Chelia, who went back to chatting quietly to each other, remaining a decent distance away from each other to avoid giving Wendy the disease...or whatever it was. Levy was next, and she didn't hesitate to seat herself close to Gajeel, nearly brushing against him as she smiled at the iron dragon slayer. He only glared at her with a huff, putting on an attitude that was just for show.
They were quickly joined by the others, excluding Cana, who decided to remain by herself off to the side. What was left of the hunted meat from last night was dished out by Levy. Those with the Marks were careful not to touch her as she handed over different sections, aware of the sharp look Gajeel gave them.
Lucy took Cana's portion from her and stood, aware of Natsu keeping an eye on her as she made her way over to the card mage. "Cana?" she asked soft, kneeling beside her. She held out the food. "Are you-"
The morning suddenly did a complete one-eighty when Cana sudden whirled on Lucy with a deep snarl. Lucy felt pain snap through her and her knees went out as Cana lunged forward, and she gave a scream when hands wrapped around her throat. Everyone was on their feet in an instant. Pushing past the pain, aware that it was harder to breathe than it usually was when the pain came, Lucy thrashed desperately to free herself, still screaming in surprise. Cana's hands seemed to morph as she grinned, digging in claws that had grown out of nowhere.
"Lucy!" Levy screamed, hands clasped over her mouth.
Natsu threw himself forward, only for Gajeel to slam a club of iron into his stomach, sending the fire dragon slayer to the ground. "Don't, she's been touched," he snarled.
It was Lyon and Juvia who came to the rescue. Lyon came barreling into Cana, sending her flying as he set to work on using his magic to deal with the problem that had suddenly arisen. Cana, or what had once been their friendly drunk, hissed between bared teeth, saliva splattering the snow around her. It melted immediately, actually turning black before disappearing into the earth.
Juvia threw herself down beside Lucy, gently checking the girl over. Lucy's eyes were wild with fear and pain and Juvia gently pressed a hand and over the wound on her neck, soothing her as pain wracked through the blonde's form. Lucy could barely hear her over the sound of her struggling heart pounding in her ears.
Just as Lyon managed to pierce through Cana's chest with a bird of ice, the pain slowed to a stop. Lucy moaned softly, raggedly dragging in air. Juvia murmured quietly to her, patting her cheek gently.
Natsu looked agonized as he stumbled over, ignoring Wendy's protested warning. He dropped to his knees beside her, careful not to touch her, and Lucy bit her lip, panting for breath. "Sorry," she rasped.
His hands trembled, flames flickering along his fingers in his rage. "How did we not notice?" he snarled out as Lyon made his way back over.
"It's not your fault, Natsu," Lyon murmured, shaking his head. "The wind was blowing in her direction and the snow should have dampered whatever would have reached your nose. You couldn't have noticed, no matter what you did."
"Juvia will help take care of Lucy," Juvia said firmly, smiling faintly at Natsu.
His hands clenched into fists as the celestial mage shoved herself into a sitting position. "We should have noticed," he growled, "She wasn't coming over. We should have noticed."
"Stop," Lucy rasped, shaking her head as she used Juvia to balance herself, her head spinning. Ripples of pain flashed through her again, increasing, and then faded fairly quickly. "There's nothing we can do to stop any of this Natsu. We'll just have to keep pushing forward, and we'll have to deal with it in the same manner we have been."
Natsu looked ready to murder someone, and she felt a flash of frustration when she realized she wouldn't be able to physically stop him if he actually tried to.
Regret filled her when she remembered how desperate she had been to get out of his arms earlier in the morning. She wouldn't be able to do that ever again. Tears rose to her eyes, but she forced them down. If she cried, Natsu would only get more upset and quite possibly go on a rampage like he'd done when news of Lisanna's death had reached him.
She glanced at Juvia, who smiled nervously before scurrying to Lyon's side to check on him, as if sensing Lucy's need to speak with Natsu in private. Making sure nobody was close enough to hear, Lucy smiled faintly at the dragon slayer, who, she realized with shock, had tears in his eyes. "Natsu," she said shakily, "Stop that, you're going to make me cry."
"I said I'd protect you," he rasped, his head falling into his hand. "And now you're gonna get sick, too!"
"It's not your fault," she protested, but he snarled almost immediately, "It is! I should have noticed!"
Lucy threw her hands up in frustration. "Natsu, you can't do everything, okay? I got touched, okay? My fault. I thought Cana was acting weird when she didn't come over, that's why I tried to take her food instead of Levy." Levy's head snapped around, her expression filling with guilt, and Lucy groaned. "Don't you start, Levy," she pleaded. "Gajeel-"
"Not your fault, shrimp," Gajeel confirmed, resting an elbow on her head and leaning on her. She nearly buckled under his weight, and tried to shove him off, her tears slowing as he purposely bugged her to distract her.
Lucy bit her lip, noting the tears rolling down Wendy's and Happy's cheeks as the two mourned what had happened. Her own began to finally fall when Natsu's did, and those left of Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail silently set to work on moving on moments later.
XxXx
A few days later, they finally arrived at the town of Hargeon. Lucy swallowed thickly, trying not to think too much over the fact that the once lively port town that she and Natsu had met in was destroyed as well. They split into groups to search out any survivors, food, clothing, and shelter, and Lucy ended up going with Juvia though she longed to go with Happy and Natsu.
As they picked their way around, Lucy tried to ignore the twinges of pain that raced along her back. It had been happening since Cana's death, and she was aware that it was increasingly becoming worse. She'd contemplated asking Juvia or Chelia to inspect it since she couldn't ask Levy to, but hadn't wanted to stress Natsu out more than he already was.
Since the attack, Natsu had stuck as close to her as he could get without touching her. She knew her time was running out, as was Juvia's. The water mage had claimed that a headache was forming, and after Gray, they all knew what that meant. Chelia, too. And Lucy had a feeling that it would fall on Lyon to take care of them when the time came, because there was no way she'd be able to.
She'd had two more attacks since Cana's death. Both hadn't been nearly as bad as some of the attacks she'd had, but they were still painful enough that they drove the air straight out of her. When they'd happened, Natsu had been right beside her, listening intently to make sure her heart didn't stop.
"Juvia found something."
Shaking her head, Lucy forced herself to focus on what Juvia was saying. "What'd you find?" She tried to tug her fingers through her disgusting hair with a grimace. She wanted a bath. Desperately. Trudging through the good foot or so of snow, she made her way to Juvia's side as the other woman prodded at something buried. Tugging the coat that she'd found earlier tighter around her, she joined in unburying it.
It turned out to be the best thing they'd seen in a while. Juvia beamed in pride as she and Lucy descended into a now unsealed cellar, checking out the darkness inside with care. Who knew where the Marked where could be hiding. But they weren't inside, and Juvia exchanged excited glances with Lucy as she ran her fingers along a large bed. "This must have been an apprentice's quarters," Lucy mused.
"Juvia will go find the others," Juvia said excitedly. "You stay here." She darted back up the steps they'd descended into the cellar from, leaving Lucy alone. Slightly unnerved by the fact, Lucy decided to skim over the books that lined a large bookshelf. Levy would love this. Just the night before, she'd been complaining about the fact that she missed reading.
Her fingers plucked a book from the shelf and she opened it, taking in the words with a soft smile appearing on her face. It was a book of fairytales for people to enjoy. She closed it. She'd read it aloud to everyone after they'd eaten some food, which she quickly discovered in a corner. Grateful that there were some slabs of dried meat for them to enjoy, courtesy of the beautiful cellar that she hoped they'd use as a base, Lucy settled down to wait, thoughts running wild.
All of her silver keys were gone, and she couldn't figure out how they'd done so. She hadn't summoned them. Only Chelia was aware of this fact, as she'd been the only one to notice. She'd suggested that maybe the marks had burned away their power, but Lucy hadn't been so sure. She believed they'd tried to step out on their own. Even little Plue.
Reading her thoughts, Loke's key warmed, and she shook her head. No. She wouldn't summon him. She missed the flirtatious lion now, and longed to seek his advice about matters she didn't dare speak to Natsu about. She knew that her Celestial Spirits would sense something different about her, and she felt a flash of grief over the fact that she wouldn't be able to see them again.
"This is awesome!"
Lucy's head snapped up and an affectionate smile appeared on her face when Natsu and Happy swung down into the cellar. Why did it not surprise her that he was the first there? Happy flew over to sit on the bed beside her, leaning against her and Lucy smiled warmly at him.
Levy had announced just two days ago that the Exceeds were incapable of acquiring whatever they as humans were dealing with, so Happy had taken it upon himself to physically comfort her in the fire dragon slayer's place.
Pulling him into her lap, Lucy giggled as Natsu took notice of the meat. "Don't touch that," she scolded, "You have to wait until the others get here so we can split it evenly, okay?"
Natsu stuck his tongue out at her, tugging impatiently at his scaled scarf. "I'm hungry," he whined with a pout.
"Well you can wait." Lucy rolled her eyes, patting the book beside her happily. "I found a book for us all to enjoy tonight. I figure Levy or I could read it aloud...though Gajeel might not let us."
Natsu snorted. "He will if Levy reads." Lucy hummed her agreement, her gaze saddening as he watched him explore the cellar, pretending he didn't notice when Lyon, Wendy, and Chelia ducked inside, followed by Gajeel, Levy, and Juvia. Juvia closed the cellar doors, and locked it behind them.
"We'll be safe here for the night," Levy decided agreeing with what Juvia had thought when she'd discovered it. Her eyes landed on Lucy and then what was beside her. "Is that-"
"Yeah," Lucy laughed, tossing it to her. She caught it with ease, hopping up and down in joy as she flipped through pages. "An unharmed book. I figured you or I could read it aloud tonight."
"Yay!" Levy cheered, then became serious. "But before we do that...I think all of us need to sit down. I figured out some things while Gajeel and I were checking out the dock, and I don't know how none of us figured it out...it's about you, Lucy."
"That's reassuring," she muttered, joining the circle that was being formed on the wooden floor. She sat between Natsu - who kept a decent distance away - and Juvia, who she had become even closer to in the last few days, Happy still balanced in her lap. "Speak, Levy. What'd you figure out?"
Levy adjusted the scarf she was now wearing, glancing at Gajeel before answering. "First, it's about your attacks. It's so obvious, even Natsu should have noticed." Natsu shot her a small glare for that. "Your attacks happen when one of us turns into one of the Marked completely, like when Cana did, or when one of us dies. Think about it," she insisted at the uncertain look Lucy wore. "When Gray died, you had one. When Lily died, you had one. When Cana died, it wasn't as bad, but you had one."
Wendy frowned. "It sounds right," she said quietly.
"It does," Natsu admitted. "When we were checking out Blue Pegasus, Laxus and Gramps got it and died along with half the guild."
"It was too much, so you passed out," Levy finished. "Your attacks are because of the curse that was placed on you by that thing." She was apparently moving onto her next subject, and she smiled broadly. "Lucy, you can't get the Marks. Look at yourself. Seriously. Look at your skin. You don't have any Marks."
Lucy blinked, taking that in for a moment. She didn't have time to check herself, however, as Natsu was suddenly there, ignoring her shriek of surprise and protest when he ripped her coat open, studying the fading bruises Cana had left. A huge grin spread across his face and before Lucy could say a single word, he had suddenly crushed his lips against hers in a fierce and loving kiss.
Silence filled the room.
And then all of the females began to squeal happily, particularly Levy, who gave a shrieked, "About time, you idiot!"
Gajeel, who winced at the loud noise, and Lyon exchanged slightly disgusted expressions, though the ice-make mage wasn't blind to the way that Gajeel shifted closer to Levy. Happy snickered, muttering a "Told you he likes her." under his breath.
Lucy's cheeks were flushed a brilliant red when the dragon slayer pulled back, his onyx eyes sparkling happily, a mischievous look on his face.
For the first time in a long time, it didn't hurt when her heart skipped a beat.