Fairy Tail: The Phoenix Prophecy [AU] [Discontinued]

Chapter Twenty-Three

[A/N]: THE FIGHT SCENE HAD BEEN EDITED! NaLu ftw :3

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     The castle corridors felt a bit more menacing than it did the last time Lucy was in it. It seemed as though the walls were larger, the lights dimmer, the walls slimier and the entire place smelt of mildew and something metallic. Blood perhaps? Lucy held on to the giant black spikes on Zeref's back and looked from the dragon beneath her to the petite girl riding in the saddle on his neck, looking around with her staff in hand and an uncharacteristically serious expression adorning her features. Zeref kept his head bowed, walking cautiously down the halls as he tracked Etherious's scent trail.

     Natsu's scent trail.

     Lucy was still surprised that Natsu had actually managed to kill Ultear, or at least manage to mortally wound her. Hurting her was something that was understandably Natsu, for he was very, very protective over his friends, and Lucy saw first hand how determined he could be when it came to protecting the people he loves. But killing them?.. The thought that any version of Natsu could do something so terrible was unfathomable. The man- DRAGON- had a heart of gold! 

     The image of the black dragon from her dreams sent an involuntary shiver down Lucy's spine. She had had dreams of Etherious before they had even arrived to this damned castle, so how was she able to predict what would happen to Natsu?

    'On the next turn, he will be waiting for you,' a disembodied voice said, and Lucy narrowed her eyes, staring at nothing in particular as she thought back to the voice.

    Who are you? she demanded.

    'To remove his curse you cannot simply just remove the collar. You must be able to understand him on a spiritual level in order to free him, for only you can.'

     I'm getting sick of playing your mind games! Tell me who you are and why you're in my head!

     Something that sounded an awful lot like chuckling resonated through her skull. 'Who I am is not important to you for now, but all I will say is that I'm tied into your destiny. The fate of the world depends entirely on you and what you are willing to sacrifice in order to achieve peace.'

     What do you mean by that? You don't make any sense!

    'He is waiting. Go forth and reclaim him.'

     The voice said no more no matter how much Lucy prodded it, and she was so close to breaking something in irritation when she caught Mavis's worried look.

    "Lucy? Are you alright?" she asked, and Lucy nodded with a half-hearted laugh.

    "Yeah, yeah, just thinking," she responded.

    "You look constipated." SO BLUNT!

    "Wha- WHY WOULD YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!?!"

    "Quiet, the both of you!" Zeref scolded the both of them.

     The next left was coming up, and Lucy saw that Zeref was seemingly intending to walk past it. Lucy's eyes widened and she clutched her head and fell against the spikes of Zeref's back, whimpering in agony as images flashed before her eye. The moment Zeref would walk by that hall, the black dragon from Lucy's dream would emerge like a viper and kill both Zeref and Mavis while their guard was down. Etherious would then take Lucy to Acnologia, and he would reattach her to the machine Zeref, Simon, and Rogue had initially attached her to and they would awaken the last of her unknown power to release the Frozen End. If they get caught, it would be game over within an instant.