When the E.N.D Comes

Chapter 1: Awakening

She could feel it in the air as the deep chill suddenly made its way down her spine.

She could feel it in her bones, the deep confines of her heart and the pit in her stomach.

It was a feeling she got whenever something...wrong-no, bad-was about to happen. It was a natural instinct that foretold the coming of something... wicked. The cold had an edge to it...a sort of malice that couldn't be put into words. It was the malice one felt when darkness began to fall.

To Lucy Heartfillia, Fairy Tail's beloved Celestial Spirit Mage, "bad" didn't seem to be the proper word to befit the cold that slowly wound its way gripped her heart.

...Terrible.

Yes, that was the more appropriate word. Something terrible was about to happen.

And as her feet pounded on the rubble that littered the ground and the frantic beating of her heart thundered in her ears, Lucy had a frightened inkling as to what, or rather who, this terrible feeling was linked to.

"Natsu," Lucy said in between breaths, "hang on we're almost there!"

Lucy was not alone as she navigated the ruins of what had been the West side of Magnolia Town and the now decimated remainder of what had been The Cube, the home base for the Dark Guild Tartarus.

Her fellow mages and guild mates were right behind her every step of the way, moving at an equally frantic pace.

And still overhead, Acnologia and Igneel continued their battle in the air; the two legendary dragons trading blow after blow, hit for hit. Lucy still couldn't believe that after all this time, after so many years of searching for Igneel, Igneel had appeared from within Natsu. Natsu had been with his father this entire time and never once had suspected it.

Natsu.

Lucy's mind conjured up the image of her pink haired, best friend and the goofy but lovable grin of his.

Lucy bit her lip and pushed her legs to go faster, the events leading up to the current predicament playing over in her head.

XXXX

It had been only minutes earlier that they had gathered at the remains of the beloved guild hall, with the exception of the few who stayed behind to continue their battle with the leader of Tartarus; Mard Geer. The threat of the remaining 3,000 Face's activating was still a present factor but Master Makarov had managed to establish a telepathic link with everyone informing them that Face could be stopped but they had to act fast.

As the mages had gathered in the basement of the guild, which was surprisingly still intact, Master Makarov had unveiled the secret of Lumen Histoire; Fairy Tail's ultimate weapon...was the body of Fairy Tail's first guild master-Mavis Vermillion. Her body, still young as her spirit had portrayed on multiple occasions, was preserved behind a protective casing of lacrima. To Lucy's understanding, amidst the shock she had found herself in, if Mavis was awoken then the legendary tactician would undoubtedly figure out a way to stop Face from fully activating. So, as per Makarov's instructions, the mages concentrated their magic and sent it into the lacrima. The more energy that was added, the brighter the crystal had grown until it shattered in a burst of light.

When the light faded, Mavis stood-albeit on shaking legs before her guild. Makarov had quickly draped a jacket over the young woman's shoulders as she came to her senses. Eyes opening to the sight of the mages, Mavis smiled her knowing smile.

"It seems my time has finally come," she said, "things must be really bad if you've woken me up after all this time instead of calling my spirit."

"Indeed," Makarov said, "our situation is dire number one. The Dark Guild Tartarus and its demons are in the process of activating the Face anti magic weapons system. We have managed to fight and defeat the majority of the demons but time is still running out. We're certain Face is ready to fire and we need your help in stopping it."