Four

Natsu was running before he even realised, despite being painfully aware he was never going to make it.

That she wasn't ever going to make it.

Lucy may have been touched by the worst curse known to mankind, but that did nothing to change his urge to be by her side, to still try and save her.

A few steps in though and he felt an elbow hook around his neck, immediately ceasing his movement and pushing him onto his butt.

"Gray!" Natsu choked, "What the - "

He was immediately blinded, before wave after wave of wind, dust and debris began hitting him. He held his arms up against it, squinting to get a look at what was happening, looking for Lucy, but all he could see was horridly bright light that threatened to burn out his retinas.

There wasn't much time to spare over the whats and whys though, because the next thing he registered was agonised screaming that tore through the chaos.

Lucy's agonised screaming.

Brandish fought off another Alvarezian soldier with a heavy heart. It didn't feel right attacking her own people - especially when they looked at her with such accusatory eyes. 'Traitor,' they seemed to scream. But she knew when her own people were in the wrong. Well, at least she hoped she knew.

She was distracted from her thoughts thanks to a palpable change in the atmosphere. She, much like everyone else in their group, turned towards where the odd sensation seemed to be emanating from, barely registering the wind girl's gasp as her own jaw dropped.

It was unlike anything she had ever seen.

A tall pillar stood as though joining the earth and the heavens, absolutely teeming with volatile, violent energy. Black and golden waves clashed and swirled around each other forming the tall jet stream of power that seemed to shoot straight through the sky.

Her group wasn't the only one to witness this phenomenon. The entire war seemed to pause as everyone, struck with the anomaly and the sheer amounts of energy involved, stopped to stare.

"What the hell is that thing?" asked Mest, turning to the First in search for an answer.

"Take me there," she urged.

Mest read her tone and nodded gravely. "For once, Master, I hope you're wrong about whatever you're thinking."

Jellal and Erik stood, eyes wide at the sight before them.

"Even you can't figure this shit out?" asked Erik, shifting so he could support his guild master's weight better, not taking his eyes of the pillar.

"No," was Jellal's soft-spoken reply. Erik smirked, with more than a little relief, as he read Jellal's unspoken resolve to ensure he somehow did.

"W-what is that thing?" Sting asked, taking an instinctive step closer towards Rogue.

"I'm not sure," answered Rogue. "But whatever it is, it's no good. That's too much conflicting energy swarmed around one place."

"Conflicting?"

"Yeah," Rogue responded grimly, somehow aware of what that could feel like within one mortal body.

"Damn it," Sting cursed bracing himself against the now mobile enemy troupes. And Rogue could not agree more.

It hurt.

The moment she felt the coldness seep through her chest, her new-found energy seemed to burst through.

Literally, burst through.

It felt like it was tearing her into pieces. Every inch of her hurt in a manner she had never experienced before. She wanted to claw at her skin, tear the pain away with it, but found herself immobile in agony.

And there was so much of it.

Her ears rang with her own screams, and she was quickly losing her grip on reality.

In the distance, she could vaguely hear more screaming, a male who also seemed to be undergoing similar torture.

The memory of Zeref's cold, dark, manic eyes kept reminding her there was something to do, but what exactly, she couldn't remember.

She hurt far too much for that.

After a short infinity, she began to feel the wearing of her body. It started with her own magic container and though startled, her first feeling was relief.

It would soon be over.

It would stop.

She would be fre-

"LUCY!"

Lucy's eyes - which had been screwed shut against her pain - shot open. She couldn't see anything, but she finally understood.

"Gray, let go goddamn it, Lucy's in there somewhere! LUCY!"

Her anchor needed her.

She could not die.

Struggling against every instinct, she tried to move her body.

It took Gray all of Silver just to keep Natsu down and not let him kamikaze his way into the vortex.

He understood Natsu's need to, a little too well, but they had to minimise losses.

Losses.

Gray swallowed back tears that threatened to see the light of day.

Lucy.

He wasn't certain of what was happening, but from what little he could gather Lucy was somehow reacting - responding - to Zeref's curse, and he could only hope that that wouldn't kill her.

Gray had always been one of the most rational people he knew, but for once, despite all the evidence laid out before him, and what logic was screaming at him, he hoped Lucy would survive.

So no matter how much Natsu fought his hold or dug his talons into his arms, or cried her name with a fear that shook him to his core, Gray wouldn't let Natsu run to his death. Because Lucy wouldn't forgive him if something happened to Natsu.

And because Gray knew he couldn't stand the thought of potentially losing one dear teammate before his very eyes.

Losing two would most certainly kill him.

Gray was contemplating using his ice to seal Natsu temporarily, when another body aided him in holding down the dragon-demon.

"Loke! What's happening?" Gray asked frantically, praying he was misreading the scowl marring the lion spirit's handsome face.

"I can't tell," he growled clearly angry with himself for being unable to. "But this is way too much power for one mortal body."

"Princess!" Virgo gasped, appearing beside Loke. "This is wrong, brother!"

If there was any minor doubt in Gray's mind, it vanished seeing the panicked expression in the Virgo's otherwise fairly blank eyes.

"Yes," came Lucy's voice and Gray nearly gave himself whiplash turning towards her.

"Gemi, Mini?" Loke growled, Gray's heart sinking before it could even recognise the hope it was feeling. "What the hell is Lucy doing?" he exclaimed, noticing other spirits appearing around them.

Until all of them were.

Each one of Lucy's contracted spirits from Pyxis to Old man Crux and from Taurus to himself - were present just then and Loke's worry sky-rocketed. She had only done this once before - with fewer keys and for a shorter period of time.

She had collapsed within moments.

Struggling against the power he was facing on the outside, and that coursing through himself, Loke stood.

"You're not going in," Gray warned.

"I can't die. She can," Loke said simply, striding towards the vertical vortex, only to walk into another body that appeared.

"Mest?"

Wait, no. Bodies.

"Hello, Spirit of the Lion Zodiac," Mavis greeted calmly, her back facing Loke. "Please, let me take it from here."

"Master," Loke urged, "Lucy's life is in danger, and she's gone and opened all her gates - "

"In a very wise move," Mavis interrupted. "That much power should have killed her by now. She's channelising it so that it won't hurt her, and using her gates to ensure that the release doesn't cause harm to anyone else as well. All while ensuring she had enough to counter Zeref."

Mavis looked over her shoulder to look at Loke. "You have a very smart Mistress. Trust her."

Loke understood. He wasn't pleased - not one bit, but he understood.

"First," Natsu's raw voice startled her, "what's happening to Lucy."

The boisterous dragon slayer was never, ever supposed to sound so lost.

"Her magic is clashing with Zeref's - and it's hurting her and him. They'll be like that till someone wins."

"You said she was ensuring she had enough power left to fight his? You're actually saying she's stronger that the Dark Mage? How is this much power coming from Lucy?" asked Mest, his disbelief a bit too audible.

Mavis stole a quick glance towards Natsu. "The One Magic." She said simply.

Loke sputtered. "How - "

The vortex hummed, forcing everyone to take a step back. "She can't win without tipping the balance in her favour, and she can't do that without killing herself."

"Then I'll go," said Natsu rising to his feet, suddenly eerily calm. "I'm made of the same magic as Zeref, I should be able to help her," Natsu argued. No one missed the hope in his otherwise flat argument.

Mavis shook her head. "She'll need much more than END, Natsu. Besides, she wouldn't be very happy with you if she knew you threw your life away. She's fighting to keep hers, so return the favour?" She quietly reprimanded Natsu.

Taking his silence as his answer, she squared her shoulders. "It is time Fairy Heart was finally deployed," she declared, moving steadfastly towards the vortex.

"Master!" Gray called but she simply shook her head. "It is high time," she repeated, walking away from the group and towards the warring energies. "Loke, can I trust you and the other celestial spirits to aid in protecting the guild? You all need to expend all that energy as well, and the powers you now wield will save lives."

"Y-yes Master," came Loke's choked response as she walked away. There wasn't anything else anyone could say. All they could do was trust her and to ensure they didn't let the First faith them down.

Mavis craned her neck to take one final look at the pillar she now stood before, watching the gold trying its best to swallow the black, a soft smile appearing on her face. "Love is such a beautiful thing," she whispered in awe, before screwing her eyes shut.

It was scary. This really was the end. And even after so many years of existence and after so many attempts to take her own life, she found that she now didn't really want to move on, even if she had to. She had made new friends, a new family, and to leave them all hurt. To leave everything she and her very first friends built together hurt.

'You've done me proud Makarov,' she said, finally. 'It is time I did the same for our family.'

And with that final thought, she embraced her will to live and need to die. She raised her hands, called forth the magic she hadn't ever used before, and stepped inside.

Thank you for reading! This is really headed places I hadn't planned before lol - this was supposed to only be a drabble/one-shot after all. So feedback would be much appreciated!

Special thanks to ThatOneFriend-3, quite-a-riot, asian-simbae, Wizard Saint, Guest and WatchMist1412 for your lovely reviews and to everyone else who favourited and followed! :D