Chapter Text
She was cold.
It was an unfamiliar feeling for Lucy. Usually she was surrounded by the warmth of the Fairy Tail guild, the fiery exchanges between the members of her team or, most commonly, the intense heat of her best friend and partner Natsu. She shifted and shivered as her body swam toward consciousness, but found itself too exhausted to break the surface.
"…is her all right. Our Master will be pleased.“
"This puny human is to blame? It will never work.”
"She is the one who took away our Lord END. There are shadows swirling within her because of what she did. The ceremony will work.“
END? That was something she had not heard in a long time. Not since she had saved Natsu’s life by re-writing the Book of Zeref, and removing the demon from her best friend. So why were the voices around her talking about either of them?
"Grab her. It is time for the sacrifice.”
Lucy felt her body being lifted up, and inside her mind she kicked and screamed. Sacrifice?! She was going to be sacrificed? What was this? Who were these people? Her mental tantrum did nothing for the rest of her body though, and soon she was set down on cold stone.
"Excellent,“ a new voice said, and some sort of liquid was forced down her throat. She realized with dread that it was the culprit behind her strangely drugged state, paralyzed on the outside but fully aware in her mind.
"Lucy Heartfilia, for the vile crime of removing our Lord END from this world, you shall become an eternal servant to his throne. And you will destroy the very place that made such an act possible, Fairy Tail.”
She screamed. She screamed and cried and prayed that she would wake up from the nightmare. She begged her friends to find her. Most of all, she wanted these people to pay for worshipping END, the thing that has tormented Natsu for so long.
But her body made no sound in response.
Lucy felt an object penetrate her chest, and cried at the intensely searing pain that circulated quickly through her body. Slowly, she felt her conscious draining away. What had they done? Had she truly been… sacrificed…?
"Rise, Etherious Queen,“ spoke the leader of the Cult of END, as he removed his staff from the gaping hole in Lucy’s chest. "Rise, and seek out our Lord END’s mortal vessel, Natsu Dragneel. Destroy his home, Fairy Tail, and return him to us as we may bring Tartaros’s reign anew, with the Demon Lord at its lead.”
Lucy opened her eyes, but they were no longer warm brown. Instead, her eyes had been turned a horrific black. She looked down to her chest to see the wound close up, as if nothing had happened.
"Praise be to Lord END,“ spoke the revived witch, in a voice that stole Lucy’s and turned it demonic.
The Fairy Tail guild hall was at its most bustling hour, mages of all ages mulling about and drinking away their day or searching for new jobs to take. Peculiarly absent from the festivities, however, were three of the guild’s most notorious wizards; Natsu Dragneel, Happy, and Lucy Heartfilia. It did not take their friends long to notice how odd that all three were missing.
"Think Salamander finally put the moves on Bunny girl?” His fellow dragon slayer, Gajeel, inquired as he sat with the rest of Team Natsu, Pantherlily, Levy, and Juvia. He laughed his iconic chuckle, seemingly amused by the thought.
"I doubt it,“ Gray snorted with a grin. "Natsu’s barely got half a brain to notice he might like her after all.”
"I don’t know,“ ever polite Wendy insisted shyly. "I think it could have happened by now. Lucy could always be the one to confess first, too.”
"No she couldn’t!“ Levy threw her head back in laughter. "Lu can’t even admit she likes him to me!”
Erza, who had been watching the conservation with extreme curiosity, crossed her arms. “Well if the two of them are engaging in certain activities together, I only hope that they are being safe about it,” her expression darkened into a scowl. “And for his sake, that Natsu does not hurt Lucy; lest I be forced to slice him up into little pieces.”
Juvia, who had been silent for nearly the whole discussion, clasped her hands together and jumped to her feet in excitement. “That means Lucy won’t be my Love Rival for my darling Gray any longer, correct? What joyous news! I always knew the two of them would end up together!”
Gray face-palmed. “You just contradicted yourself, Juvia.”
At that moment, the group’s attention was drawn to the front of the guild hall where the doors had swung open so violently they nearly flew off their hinges. A familiar blonde stood in the doorway.
"Lucy?“ Erza said with a frown, almost instantly tensing up as she sensed something was wrong.
Wendy grew nervous too. "Where’s Natsu and Happy?”
She appeared to be scanning the guild hall for someone, and when the Sky Dragon Slayer mentioned their names, Lucy froze. She stared directly at the group of her teammates.
"I don’t know,“ she was eerily calm. "I haven’t seen them since last night, when we left the guild. That’s who I’m looking for.”
"Really?“ Levy raised an eyebrow. "He left with you. I guess we all just assumed he’d spend the night. Like he does every night.”
"Well you thought wrong,“ she snapped.
Levy flinched back, holding her hands up. "Whoa, Lu. What’s got you so worked up? Did something happen with Natsu?” She elbowed Gajeel beside her when she heard him mumble under his breath that it was clearly just the blonde’s time of the month.
Gray appeared to be studying her intensely. “That idiot pull some crap and ruin things between you guys?”
Erza got to her feet now. “I will slay him!”
"No, no need. I just need to know where he is.“
"Usually we’re the ones who come to you if we wanna know that,” Wendy added, shrinking back when Lucy’s furious gaze turned to her.
Lucy glanced around the guild hall once more, sighing. “If he’s not here, then, I guess I’ll go look at his house or something. What a pain.”
She turned to leave the guild hall when she found herself frozen in her spot. Juvia had jumped up and hugged her, and was squeezing her so tightly that she could not shake the water mage off.
"Oh Lucy! I sincerely must apologize for the way I have treated you these last few years!“ She was sobbing, tears getting everywhere. "I truly thought you were in love with my darling Gray as well! But if you have feelings for Natsu, that couldn’t be more perfect and I fully intend to support your relationship!”
"Get off me!“ Lucy groaned as she tried to detach Juvia, but the young, emotional woman held on tight. She stopped when something that Juvia had said registered with her. "Wait… Natsu and I? We’re dating?”
"Uh, I guess that would be something the two of you would have decided yourselves?“ Wendy laughed nervously.
"We all know you have feelings for each other,” Gajeel sneered.
Erza glanced from him back over to Lucy. “It’s just a matter of time. Did it happen last night? Is that why you’re trying to find him?”
But she was hardly listening anymore, as Lucy began to laugh. “That’s perfect! That’s just too perfect!”
Her smile was gone in the next instant however, replaced by utter disgust, when Juvia squeezed her again. “I’m so happy for you!”
"I said get off me!“ She roared so loud it seemed as though she had two voices. She then shoved Juvia so violently with such unexpected strength that the other girl flew into an unoccupied table and went crashing to the ground. It all happened so fast, and they were all so stunned by what had happened - including Juvia herself - that by the time an ominous, shadowy mass of magic had compiled itself in Lucy’s hand, no one had reacted.
"Eternal Darkness!” She shrieked, the two voices going inhumanly shrill as she fired a blast of magic at Juvia, striking her directly in the chest. The water mage let out a horrific scream, one that shook the shock off the rest of their friends as they scrambled to their feet.
At the same time the guild hall doors flew open again, this time announcing the appearance of a salmon-haired dragon slayer and his Exceed companion. The words died in his throat as he watched Lucy attack Juvia ferociously with a spell that wasn’t her own.
Natsu had woken up in Lucy’s bed, strangely alert and alarmed. Then he realized why; he’d fallen asleep next to her, and per usual she was awake before he was and he was getting worked up over nothing. But upon checking her whole house (while helping himself to her food), he found she was not there. After spending all morning following her scent only to have it disappear at the edge of Magnolia, he had immediately deduced something was wrong and rushed to the guild hall to tell everyone that Lucy was missing.
Only she wasn’t, because he had definitely just watched her attempt to kill Juvia.
"Lucy!“ Happy cried, drawing the attention of the blonde celestial wizard. She smiled cruelly when her eyes fell upon Natsu, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. Lucy’s brown eyes were gone, replaced by black irises that swirled with evil.
"If it isn’t just who I was looking for,” it was Lucy’s voice that spoke, not that horrific sound he had heard upon entering.
Natsu took a shaky step forward toward her. “Lucy-”
Only for him to recoil back with a exclamation, as a wall of ice suddenly cut in front of him. He looked to find Gray with an unconscious Juvia in his arms, the black markings that appeared whenever he used his demon slaying magic were covering the right side of his body and part of his face already.
"Natsu, don’t take a step closer,“ his voice shook with fury. "That isn’t Lucy. She’s been possessed by a demon.”
"What?“ Happy was the first to reply. "Lucy’s body has been taken over by a demon?”
"Everybody! Get out of the guild hall, NOW!“ Erza yelled toward the rest of the members who were watching the exchange with confused and horrified expressions. She and Gray seemed to be the only ones who were able to think straight; Wendy looked like she was going to start crying, Levy stared at her best friend with shock and horror, Gajeel was fuming after witnessing the attack on his closest friend, Juvia, and Natsu… the only word to describe his expression was broken. What had happened? Why was the demon here and what did it want with Lucy? Why was she looking for him?
"Natsu!” Gray yelled.
He looked up to dodge an attack from demonic Lucy, who let out a melancholic sigh. “I won’t hurt anyone if Natsu just comes with me quietly. Clearly the hall was very unnecessary.”
"Sure you’d say that,“ Gray slammed his hands together and fired ice demon-slaying lances at her. "Natsu ain’t goin’ nowhere! And you’re gonna give us Lucy back!”
She effortlessly dodged his attacks though, focusing in on Natsu. “I am Lucy. I’m right here.”
The girl before him might have Lucy’s body, but his partner, she was not. It was more than the dark eyes, more than the strange shadow magic, more than possessed. He knew Lucy, her scent and her hopes and dreams and none of what the imposter had could measure up to that. Clenching his fist, Natsu caught her off guard by letting out his Fire Dragon’s Roar.
"You are not Lucy!“ He roared furiously. "What do you really want? Who are you really? And how the hell did you get to Lucy?!”
The demon considered his demands for a moment, tapping her chin - no, Lucy’s chin - before smiling. “I am simply known as an Etherious Queen. And I am here for my lord, my liege… the one person I was born to serve.”
His blood ran cold completely, like Gray had frozen it in his veins. “You want END.”
"It appears my lord’s mortal vessel is more clever than I anticipated.“
Her answers raised only more questions to him, but as the Etherious Queen didn’t seem to be threatening him, Gray, Erza, and the rest of their friends did not attack her; for now. Good, because he needed to know everything. He had to make someone pay for what they had done to Lucy.
"Why would you want END back? His only purpose was to destroy Zeref. Zeref has been killed! Even if END could return to the world, he’d just kill everything, including you and whoever sent you!”
She gave him an even stare. “What only matters is my service to him, and nothing more. Lucy was sacrificed to become my vessel because of her horrendous crime in destroying END.”
He heard Gray swear under his breath. “Dammit, she rewrote the book!” He growled. “Must’ve given them something demonic to attach to.”
For possessions to work, the mortal had to have something inside their body to anchor the demon soul. Mirajane had demon blood, which was how her Takeover magic worked. Gray was right, Lucy held shadows within herself… shadows acquired when she saved him from END. Natsu felt a stab of guilt in his gut. This was his fault then. He had to save Lucy, but also because he had so many things to tell her. So many things she deserved to know.
"I won’t hold back for what you’ve done,“ he scowled, rage building up in his chest, making his fire burn hotter. "Who did this? Who sent you?”
She laughed. “You’d certainly better hold back, otherwise you’ll burn the body of your precious Lucy to a crisp.” The demon in Lucy’s body grabbed the key chain at her waist, and Natsu’s eyes widened.
"No!“ He dove at her, but she leapt out of his way and opened two celestial spirit gates. The sound of two doorbells rang out through the hall. He saw two figures before the smoke cleared, one with ginger hair, the other a black maid dress.
"Loke! Virgo!” Happy exclaimed, circling the two in a panicking fashion. “Close your gates! Close your gates quickly! Lucy’s been possessed!”
The two spirits looked to the members of Fairy Tail, immediately noticing Gray and Erza in full battle mode and Wendy attempting to ensure Juvia was okay. Gajeel and Levy stood by, ensuring their safety as they watched the fight. Then they noticed Lucy standing behind them, and the two immediately recognized that it truly wasn’t their wizard who had summoned them.
Loke scowled, his fists glowing in a similar manner to Natsu. “That was a foolish idea to summon us. We only fight for Lucy.”
"I concur,“ Virgo nodded. "Princess! We will save you!”
This statement made Natsu hesitate. “Wait, what do you mean we’ll save her?”
Before anyone could respond however, the Etherious Queen waved her hand, surrounding Loke and Virgo in a darkened aura. The two cried out in pain like nothing the members of Team Natsu had ever heard.
"No! Damn you!“ Erza exclaimed, and attacked brandishing her Black Wing Armor.
"I prefer Lucy’s spirits with a little more darkness to them, don’t you think?” The Etherious Queen answered, and Erza’s assault was stopped when a whip yanked her sword out of her hand.
"Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!“ Natsu groaned, staring at Loke and Virgo… who had been transformed into their corrupted Eclipsed versions. Both looked as cruel and evil as the demon who had corrupted them.
"We’ll hold them off. Gray! Gajeel!” Erza exclaimed, re-equipping into Heaven’s Wheel. “Natsu, Virgo sensed Lucy’s presence! She’s still in her body with the demon! Bring her back!”
The resolve in his chest to protect his best friend rang out with her words. Lucy… he had hurt her so much over the years, but he had also made her smile and laugh and had held her when she cried. He’d also threatened anyone who hurt her, made those who made her cry pay. Hell, was he going to stop protecting her? No, never!
"Lucy!!“ He yelled, once more jumping at the demon though as his friends clashed with the Eclipsed spirits. He ignited his hand for Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist. "I know you’re there! I won’t ever give up on you!”
For a second the demon’s grin disappeared. “Natsu?”
He faltered again, but when the Etherious Queen’s expression returned, she was too furious to take advantage of his weakness. “Shut up, you!”
Hope bubbled in him, as well as pride. That was his partner! Always fighting! Of course Lucy wouldn’t be gone! Of course he’d have her back!
"Lucy, I see you!“ He cried desperately. "I’m sorry that this is all because of what you had to do to save me! You are strong, you can overcome her. Come on, come back! Take back control of your body and the moment I know you’re safe I’ll make whatever bastard did this to you pay!”
"Natsu, I hear you,“ she gasped. He saw her brown eyes. She was winning. She was coming back, and he heard with relief as she forced Loke and Virgo’s gates closed. He wasn’t sure if the two of them would be safe and normal now, but that was something they could worry about when they got her back.
He rushed forward to grab her, to hold her close. She was almost back to him, the person he cared about most in the world was within his grasp. He had been so close to losing her that there was a million things he wanted to say. He wanted to laugh with her, fall asleep in her bed, go on jobs with her. Natsu saw the look in her eyes. She was almost there. Just one more push. Natsu took a deep breath. He knew what she needed to hear, the thing he’d been holding back inside him for so long.
"Lucy, I lo-”
The world flashed red. Her eyes flew open and Lucy collapsed into him. Natsu, who was still rushing toward her, caught her in his arms and was stunned for a moment before rolling her back to see what had happened. He almost dropped her when he saw the small knife stuck in her abdomen.
Blood. Already there was so much blood. How could that even be?
Horrified, he looked back to her face to find her grinning at him. The Etherious Queen’s eyes had stolen her brown ones.
"If I can’t have Lord END,“ she whispered softly in Lucy’s dying breaths, breaths that the demon didn’t deserve to steal. "Then you don’t get to have her.”
He saw her brown eyes once more for an instant before the life slipped from her.
"No!“ Levy’s shriek broke the air, as she descended into hysterical sobbing from behind him.
"Lucy!” Happy cried in anguish, and nearly the rest of the present mages did the same.
Natsu felt his whole body start to tremble, arms shaking while he held her. He grew numb, numb to Lucy’s blood on him, numb to the rage that he felt, numb to Erza’s touch when she and Gray rushed to his side. Numb to the tears that started to fall down his face as images of Igneel’s death flashed with those of Lucy’s. Both had been stolen from him. Murdered. Ripped from his life so violently, that he could never recover.
He should have said it all those years ago, the morning after the party. Maybe all of this could have been prevented if he’d been brave enough to tell her, instead of chickening out and dragging her to the century quest that they had completed in a single year. He should have told her then, now the thing she would never know.
He loved Lucy.