Markings: a NaLu/Fairy Tail Fanfic

The Battle for Life Begins

Sorry! I usually try to update every month or so, but I'm gonna try my best to get them done earlier! I just have the finals this month.... And *girly squeal* over 6,000 reads and over 140 votes! Thanks to all of the support! Gonna start dedicating chapters again too!!

This chapter is dedicated to: Jennabenna1228

Chapter Fourteen: The Battle For Life Begins

P.O.V. Lucy Heartfilia

Lucy collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Over two weeks of training non-stop had taken a heavy toll on her. Yes, her body and magic power had gotten stronger, but the lack of sleep caused her to have dark circles under her eyes. She mostly only managed about four to five hours of sleep at the most every night. Between training, and that... other thing on her mind, she couldn't find herself being able to relax at night. Her head now throbbed with a killer headache.

"Lucy!" Loke exclaimed, rushing over to her side. "Are you alright?" He helped her stand up, taking her hand and gently letting go when she was sturdy enough to stay upright. Would he have done that, if he were here? Her eyes narrowed in grief, but she quickly let the expression slip away.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she faked determination. "Let's keep going!" Another painful throb. Lucy shot a glance at Gray, sitting under the shadow of an oak. He had his arms crossed, and he was looking at her worriedly. Of course he had seen through her act, but she hoped that he would not have. But because of the endless adventures she had had with him, Erza, Happy, and... They had seen it all.

They knew her too well. She bit her lip and almost screamed at the next wave of pounding that overcame her head. She closed her eyes for a moment. She had she had seven spirits out right now, Loke, Aquarius, (though the only reason she stayed out was because Scorpio was out as well), Scorpio, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Horologium. So she had already managed six Zodiac spirits... She hoped she could manage one more, just one more. She took a deep breath. And blacked out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucy opened her eyes wearily. She felt a small weight on her chest, and breath reeking of fish blow on her face. Even before her eyes opened she knew exactly who it was.

"Luuccyy!" Exclaimed an overjoyed Happy, throwing his small arms around her neck.

"Hey, Happy." She returned the embrace. She looked around, and realized she was in the Fairy Tail infirmary.

"Lucy!" Cried Happy. I was so lonely without you for three days!" He looked up at her with serious eyes, but filled with tears. "Three days."

Lucy stiffened. Three days? "I'm sorry, Happy. I won't let it happen again." She looked down at him with soft eyes. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Aye!" He put a paw on his chin. "Well, after you fainted, your spirits disappeared. Gray and I ran over to you, and we tried to wake you up, but you didn't, so I flew ahead to tell everyone and Gray carried you here!" He nodded wisely. "And that's what happened."

"I see..." She would have to thank Gray later. But for now, she had to get back to training. Six spirits was nowhere near twelve; it was only half of the needed spirits. She had to do it. There was no other choice.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Two weeks passed, and Lucy managed three more spirits. It had been a month, and Lucy had been only able to summon nine spirits out of the needed twelve. What was worse, Zeref could start an attack at any moment. There was no telling what would happen. Lucy sat at a table in the guild, next to her best friend Levy. They had become much closer than ever before after this whole mess had started. They were chatting quietly about the possible outcomes for the next few days, and how they should prepare for them. It was all going well until the unenviable happened. Warren burst in through the doors of the guild, panting heavily.

Lucy jumped up at this sudden entrance; it was obviously something of importance. Master walked up to Warren, and spoke in a serious tone, "Warren, don't speak too quicky, their hearts may not be able to take it." He turned around and sat back down.

"But-!" Master shot a warning look at Warren. "Alright." Warren grit his teeth. "There has been some serious trouble down at the city south of Magnolia."

"You mean Harthorn?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Okay, and what happened?"

"...well, you see...." "Anarmyhasattackedharthornandtheyreportedthatthearmyconsistsofdarkbeingswhichthereforebringsustozerefwhowasseenneartherearofthearmywithapinkhajredolderteenwhowehaveconfirmedisnatsuandtheyarecurrentlyheadeduptowardsmagnolia." Warren gulped in a lungful of air.

"Uh..." Lucy relpied, unsure of what had just tumbled from his mouth. "Come again?"

Warren shot a glance at Master, who had paled considerably. So he had understood. "Master...?" he said hesitantly.

"Go, warn the citizens of Magnolia. Tell them to evacuate the city immediately." He stood up. "I will inform the guild."

"Wait, what?" said Lucy. Master looked at her a moment, before raising his voice to call silence over the guild. He stood on top of a table and cleared his throat.

"I... I must inform everyone of grave news. But everyone should have expected it, nonetheless." Lucy bit her lip. She was apprehensive of what Master was about to say. The whole guild was silent. "There has been an attack on Hawthorn, by an army." He swollowed. "The army consists of Dark Beings... and at the rear of the army, Zeref. It was reported that next to him, there was a pink haired male teen." His eyes sweeped over the mambers of the guild. "And it is confirmed that it is indeed, Natsu Dragneel."

Lucy bit her lip, harder yet. Blood trickled down her chin. Gray, who had appeared beside her without her noticing, had his fist clenched so hard, that his nails bit into his skin. He too, shed blood.

Lucy wanted to scream so badly. No, she had to be strong for the guild. But she knew what Master's next word would be, and if she heard them she wasn't sure if she would stay emotionally stable ever again. Many things went through the Fairy Tail master's mind. One, being that he knew that he was responsible for the town's safety. Two, knowing that his guild members, oh, he loved them so much, would get hurt. Three, no, he wouldn't think it right now. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to say it in a moment. It would be too much. He cleared his throat and held his head up high.

"The army is approaching. They are making a beeline to the King's castle in the center of Fiore. The guild in Hawthorn tried to stop them, but they failed. We must now uphold what they attempted, and protect the kingdom and Magnolia. Doing so will cost us." He paused and took a deep breath, not wanting to say what came next. "Many of you will get injured. But we must win this. We must take down Zeref's army. We must free Natsu. If we can't free him... If we can't...." He hunched over, clutching at his heart.

Mirajane rushed over, but he straightened up. There were tears in his eyes. "If we can't, he too, must be eliminated." The tears ran down his face, but he made no sound.

Lucy too, felt the little drops slide down her cheeks. Looking around, she could see everyone in the guild was crying as well.

Erza stood up straight. "It's what Natsu would want." She said in a strangled voice.

"The time has come." Master said. "They will arive in four hours." He grit his teeth. "All members, prepare for war."

-_---___-__-__---___--_-_-____--_----__--_--_-----__--_--_____-_-_--_-----_

Natsu stood behind Zeref, at the rear of the army, riding on a floating platform. All he could see before him, were masses of those monsters called Dark Beings. Fitting name for them. They looked basically like shadows. They were steadily rising a hill, so further landscape was invisible to him. Natsu looked at Zeref. He was standing stock still, his face expressionless.

"Zeref?"

Zeref blinked slowly.

"When will we arrive?"

He was itching to get some energy out. He had been stuck inside for nearly a month.

"Ten minutes." Zeref replied shortly.

Natsu nodded. That was all that was needed. He looked back in front, and could just start to see beyond the hill. There, a bit away, was that city he had escaped from. And on the road before it, stood a whole guild of mages. The same one he had escaped from. He cracked his knuckles and smirked. "Well this should be fun."