Fairy Tail Vacation

Chapter 4

Mom,

I can't believe it- one whole  month to spend relaxing with my best friends. But when I say 'relaxing', I use the term loosely... I have no doubt in my mind that the majority of our time spent here is going to be anything but relaxing. Especially with Mr Pyro and his mischievous blue cat.

Love ya loads!

Lucy xx

__________________

Lucy's POV

After observing a stimulating game of volleyball (Natsu vs Gray... Gray won because Juvia decided to step in and help him making it 2v1), I feel like I'm in the mood for a swim. I slip into the turquoise sea, its sun-heated waters inviting me in. I float on my back and relax. The pleasant rays soak into my skin, and give me the impression that I am being replenished. My magic power slowly starts to build back up again and I relish in the feeling. My eyelids drift shut and I don't resist, sighing in content.

All seems to be right in the world.

Natsu's POV

I can't believe that the perverted popsicle himself beat me. Well, correction. Mira was the judge, and even though it was against the rules for Juvia to come and help, Mira 'ships' them and LET THEM CHEAT. FAVORITISM! And on top of that, Lucy decided to just watch from the sidelines, and didn't come over and help, even when Juvia went and helped Gray! Speaking of Lucy, where is she? I haven't seen her for the past hour.

"LUCE!"

No answer.

"LUCY?" The crash of waves hitting sand is all I get for an answer. My breathing hitches in my throat. "LUUUUCCCYYYY!!"

Lucy's POV

Startled, I open my eyes. I swear I just heard someone calling my name. I hear it again. "LUUUUCCCCCCYYYYYY!"

It's faint, but is most definitely Natsu.

Returning to a doggy-paddle position I look towards where I deemed the shore would be. All I can see is the hint of a dark silhouette puncturing the sky. The cliffs behind the resort.  My eyes widen, as I realize that I am at least 2 miles out from the shore. My body goes rigid, and I feel my muscles start to cramp and seize up. What the...

And that's when it hits me. The cold. Where did the sun go?! I must have been out in the water for a while now, because I can't control my shivering. So... c-cold...

"NATSUUUUU!" I yell, imploring him to hear me.

"Lucy!"

He heard me. He must have.

And is it just my imagination, or have the cliffs gotten smaller? With a sinking horror, I feel the sea pulling me away from the land. Away from my friends. I thrash around, trying to get some feeling back into my arms and legs, plunging towards my friends.

But each struggle leaves me more tired and hopeless than before.

I look down to see my left leg unwilling to move. Damn leg! I will it to move. I will myself to live. But even I, with my vision fading and my thoughts blurring together, know that I don't have long to live. 

"N-Na-Natsu" I call, hoarsely.

I smile, glad to see his face in my final thoughts. I reach out, as if I'm trying to grasp the freedom that lies out of reach. Gravity and the current pulls me down, as all of the oxygen rushes out of my lungs. For a second, I have a strange sense of vertigo.

I see a girl, her lips blue, her eyes closed, her arm outstretched towards the sky. Her body is completely still and the ghost of a smile rests upon her features. She is fading. Fading into the swirling, black abyss that lies beneath her. Everything around her is dull. Even as I watch, I can see her life draining away. But on her outstretched hand, something catches my attention. A mark upon her hand that symbolized friendship and family.

I open my eyes and see the Fairy Tail emblem blazing on my hand. Pink- a certain cheeky grin accompanied by salmon hair comes to mind, and this time, his face remains engraved in my mind, even as my vision fails and I fall into the abyssal darkness.