Realization: A NaLu Story

Chapter 8: The Phoenix

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Dum dararaaam! :D Remember what Hana said? That the real Phoenix was near? Well, I bet some of you forgot about that bit. And now...IT SHALL HAPPEN! xD And I'm happy because it hasn't even been a month and I already have 300 reads on Realization! Arigato gozaimasu, minna~ I'm also happy to tell you guys that I haven't failed to write a least two pages for each chapter. :D BTW, Chapter 8 of Realization is dedicated to CharismaticHarmony. ^_^ ~Sherry

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~LUCY'S POV~

The next day, I woke up before Natsu did. I met his face. He looked so darn cute when he's asleep. His mouth formed a little 'o'. His pink hair was spiky in a way that made him look attractive yet innocent. He looked so peaceful. I had to use all my willpower not to run my hand through his seemingly soft hair. Mavis, he looked so charismatic. W-What the heck?! What am I thinking?! Bad Lucy, bad Lucy! I started to stand up when I felt a weight on my waist. It was only then that I had realized the position we were in.

Since when did Natsu wrap his arms around my waist?! I tried to pry his hands off but he just groaned. "Natsu, seriously. Let go of me, I have to get up."

"Mm...Lu...cy..." I blinked. He was dreaming about me, huh? I smiled at him lovingly. I brushed his face with my hand. Our faces were inches away, when...

BOOM!!! SKREEEE!!!

A horrible sound filled our ears and screams of terror followed. Natsu finally woke up. "What was that?! Luce, are you okay?!"

I stood up. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. What in Earthland...?" I poked my head out the window and saw...oh my Mavis...I had forgotten what Hana said...The real Phoenix had arrived! "Natsu...?"

"Yeah?" Natsu followed and when he saw the monster his jaw dropped to the floor.

"I think we have a problem. A ginormous problem."

"You think?" Natsu shook his head and marched out of the tent. "Dammit!"

"Natsu, wait!" I snatched my keys, including Aphrodite's, and followed Natsu. All around villagers of Skyreed were running. Hana was right. The Phoenix was gigantic! Almost as big as Acnologia! Key word: Almost. And of course it didn't help that it was constantly blazing with fire. Couldn't it be made of ice for once? I guess Natsu wanted to end it quick. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" His fire made contact with the Phoenix' but it looks like it only made things worse. Natsu stepped back. "W-Why isn't my fire working?"

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Because the Phoenix probably feeds on fire, Natsu. You can't fight. Let me handle this."

"B-But I want to kick some ass too!"

I chuckled. "Well...Maybe we can do at least a Triple Unison Raid. Gate of the Scorpion, I open thee! Scorpio! Gate of the Ram, I open thee! Aries!" The two said spirits appeared.

"Eh? Triple Unison Raid?"

I nodded. "Mm. Use your roar again. Scorpio, you use Sand Buster. Aries, use Wool Shot." They all did as they were told. Their attacks caused a strong impact to come upon the Phoenix. It stumbled back, but regained composure. It got provoked and used its own attack when I sent back my spirits. It launched some kind of fireball at me and I took it on. I was sent flying and my clothes were ripped, I had several burns around my body already. Natsu came to check on me. "Lucy! Lucy, are you alright?" It turned to the Phoenix and prepared to attack it. "You bastard! You hurt Lucy!"

I held him back before he could. "Natsu, no...You can't fight...I can still stand, I'm fine..."

He groaned in frustration. "Lucy, really--"

"I promise. But you have to promise me that you'll let me do this on my own."

Natsu stared at me and sighed. "Fine. I promise. But Luce, if that thing knocks you out cold, I will completely forget my promise and kill him." With that, he ran off and hid. I got into my fighting stance once again. "Gate of the Snake Charmer, I open thee! Ophiuchus!" (Yes, in my story, she has Ophiuchus' key). I was surprised to see that they were of equal size. But it looks like Ophiuchus had the upper hand. It had wrapped itself around the Phoenix, thus suffocating it. I decided to step it up a bit. "Gate of the Fish, I open thee! Pisces!"

The two fish joined in and began striking the Phoenix full force. I noticed they were experiencing pain from the heat that the Phoenix was emanating. I couldn't do anything about it. I would summon Aquarius to cool them off but there weren't any rivers nearby. It stayed that way for a few seconds until the Phoenix finally collapsed. I sent the two spirits back and watched the Phoenix. Well, I thought the battle was over. But Mavis, was I wrong.

Once again, the Phoenix managed to stand up. It lunged at me, but before it could hit me Aries appeared and protected me with her smoke. "A-Aries!" She was desperately trying to hold on. Finally the Phoenix gave up trying to penetrate Aries' powers and he backed up. I guess Aries must have taken a toll on him. The Phoenix looked like...almost as if it was...sleepy.

Loke and Taurus appeared and started peppering the Phoenix with their strongest attacks. Why were they appearing? I didn't summon them. The Phoenix suddenly made that deafening noise again, and I had to cover my ears. Loke and Taurus fell to the ground. I tried to help Loke. "Loke! W-Why are you guys popping out of nowhere? I didn't summon you!" Loke began to slowly disppear in sparkles. He replied weakly, "It's our job to protect you, Princess...We'll always be there for you..." After he completely disappeared along with Taurus, I said, "Get well soon, guys..." Then snapped my attention back to the Phoenix.

It had regained its strength again, Aries' attacks had worn off. And it was angry. Extremely angry. Once again it launched a fireball at me, but this time it was significantly bigger. And hotter.

I tried to dodge but it was to no avail. Once again I tumbled across the ground and everything became a blur of colors. I heard Natsu's voice. I shook my head and eventually my eyes adjusted agian. "Lucy! Lucy, you can't do this, we have to get out of here while we have the chance!"

"Ngh...No, Natsu...I won't give up..." I looked at him.

Natsu's eyes widened when he realized what I intended to do. "Lucy, no!"

I staggered to my feet. "I...have to do this, Natsu..." Once again, I slowly started to pull out a key...Aphrodite's key.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Haha, YES! It's a CLIFFHANGER AGAIN! :3 And YES, Lucy is going to RISK her life to defeat the Phoenix! :D Guess how the story will end...*wiggles eyebrows* And I'd just like to thank all my beloved readers and fans because Realization has already reached 300+ reads! =))))) You guys are awesome! Oh, and FYI, after this NaLu book series, that's the time that I'll do JeRza. xD Sorry, @GalaxyyyyGalaco! I have to finish "The Keys of the Goddesses" first so it'll be consistent. You're just going to have to wait. GOMENASAI! xD Stay sweet, everyone! ~Lots of love, Sherry <3